Jack Mentoring DeRozan And Weems | Hoops Addict
A lot of times younger players don?t heed the advice of veteran teammates. Not Weems and DeRozan. They both realize they have plenty to learn about playing in the NBA, even if it comes from a player with only five years of experience.
Atlantic preview: Celtics possibly more dangerous than ‘08 version – NBA – CBSSports.com Basketball
If all goes according to plan: Turkoglu gives coach Jay Triano a legitimate pest when it comes to attacking the defense and taking the pressure off Chris Bosh to create the bulk of the offensive opportunities. Jose Calderon is healthy enough to play 75-plus games, and Triano has multiple options at shooting guard: Wright (defense), Jack (scoring), Belinelli (long-range shooting), and DeRozan (youth, athleticism, upside). Andrea Bargnani rewards GM Bryan Colangelo and plays up to his five-year, $50 million extension.
Toronto Raptors? Marcus Bank Told to Stay Away – Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
Marcus Banks wasn’t at the ACC on Sunday and his permitted return date was unknown. Banks has been kept way for the most mundane of reasons, but a reason that is striking fear into coaches and GMs across the league, H1N1 or Swine Flu is here.
Raptors shift into high gear – thestar.com
The Raptors still have some conditioning issues to work through with Bosh, Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright, all of whom have missed a significant portion of the pre-season.
Raps look to get tougher | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun
"I was talking to the guys about breaking an (opponent’s) rhythm," Wright explained. "A guy like Ray Allen can get going pretty quick and sometimes you have to knock him down one time. You don’t get roll-over fouls. You don’t get roll-over fouls. You don’t get to use them the next time so sometimes you have to break his rhythm, take a hard foul, regroup, talk, cuss a little bit, maybe change the coverage."
Wright pushes for consideration with Raptors – The Globe and Mail
The proper description of Antoine Wright is just one of the lingering questions Raptors head coach Jay Triano needs to get sorted out as his club enters the final week of the NBA preseason.
Orlando Sentinel: Bosh 4th best PF in the NBA
4. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors: Bosh will be one of the league's most-coveted free agents next summer and since this is a contract year he should have one of his best seasons statistically.
Toronto Raptors: A Team For Whom Winning Is More Than Half the Battle | Bleacher Report
We've almost closed the book on the NBA preseason (Sonny Weems: A Man For All Preseasons is definitely making the bestseller lists); and the premature season hasn't treated the Raptors kindly thus far. They've compiled a 2-5 record and have had fans everywhere wondering what this means for the upcoming season. It could all just be preseason hyperbole, or it could be some ominous foreshadowing, at the moment it's improbable to tell (that improbable was for all you time travelers out there, I got your back Doc and Marty).
One thing that needs to change for the Raptors to win is the fashion in which they play the second halves of games.
Raptors? Wright talks trash at practice
?Jose, we love you,? Wright would yell after each of his successful shots, the cries more of a taunting variety than an admiring one. ?Jose, we love you. Jose, we love you.? ?Honestly, I talk trash everyday,? Wright said afterward. ?You either are going to beat me or get tired of hearing me talking. I think now, the level of practices just has been raised just with guys (having) to hear . . . me celebrating about all of the wins I got today. (Tuesday) they are going to be ready to play, hopefully.?
MiamiHerald.com: 2009-10 Toronto Raptors Preview
Chris Bosh is an All-Star and Andrea Bargnani is a skilled big man, but neither likes to mix it up down low. Meanwhile, point guard Jose Calderon is nice facilitator but gives up quite a bit at the other end.
Toronto needed toughness and it picked up a little by dealing Jason Kapono to Philadelphia for Reggie Evans but Evans' limited offensive skills make it hard to play him more than 10 minutes a night.
Despite their deficiencies, the Raptors big moves in the offseason were acquiring former Magic All-Star forward Hedo Turkoglu in a sign-and-trade deal and drafting USC forward DeMar DeRozan in the first round of the draft,
19 Raps
Don’t know how I feel about Wright trash talking in practice. Especially against Jose. He seems to be a target for the gangster NBA players.
I generally want to throw up when I see most of the guys in the NBA run their mouths like 7 year olds. But the Raps need some swagger badly and if Wright thinks a little friendly barbing will get under a few guys skin and make them compete a bit harder I’m all for it. It’s not about being liked. I loved the quote from Chauncey Billups when he met his new team in Denver. He said something like “I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to win basketball games” That is tough….
It’s tough, but it is what winners do. I appreciate fierce guys like that. Sure Calderon gets picked on, but it will only help him improve.
I agree 100%. When scrubs talk trash the legit players will pay harder to take it to them; regardless if it’s practice or in a real game. Intensity and focus seems to have been a problem for this team so it’s a necessary evil
…and at the end of the day these guys know Wright is right; if they are all that then they shouldn’t be letting him get the better of them.
“Sometimes, but it’s all about competing,” Bosh said about having everyone at top speed all the time. “If you’re a competitor, we have a lot of competition drills and I don’t want to hear anybody’s mouth in the locker room after so I’m going to make sure I do my best to win every game.”
It was good to hear Wright’s comments yesterday.
The team needed someone to come in and talk trash and hopefully be willing to give a hard foul to send a message.
It’s not that you’d want a whole team doing that, but it’s not good if nobody will do it either.
A cool aside: http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=3630 has preseason stats. What sticks out at me for the raptors? The player with the biggest on-court impact for the raptors — i.e. biggest difference between how many points raptors scored (offensive rating)and how many they gave up (defensive rating) when he was on the floor? Jose Calderon. As far as I can tell from the stats, the Raptors offense totally didn’t function when he wasn’t on the floor. WHo’d have thought?
This team will have no trouble scoring, so it would appear the coach is taking the correct approach. Indeed, a good starting point, let’s see if we have any hope of stopping them. And if I see like last season, the ball keep coming out to the other team like for 4 tries like last season, well, that be like zero progress. And on that note, preseason w-l is irrelevant, get over it.
Jose’s toughness has improved over the years as he’s gained confidence. I don’t think a little trash talk will do anything but help him focus.
Side note: You can win a pair of courtside tickets to see the Raps against the Pistons on Nov. 4 at TOROmagazine.com. Just have to sign up for a weekly newsletter. Here’s the link:
http://www.toromagazine.com/?q=node/79
Wow! I just voted on the poll asking who has a higher ceiling, Bosh or Bargs. So far Bargs is ahead. That is insane! Even if Bosh never plays another game, he is already a four time allstar, been on the all NBA second team, and won an Olympic gold metal. Bargs would be lucky to reach any of those goals. I love Bargs, he is one of my favorite players in the league, but this Bosh hatred is getting out of hand. If Bosh has already reached his maximum potential, it’s still top 15 in the league over a 6-8 year stretch. Bargs will never be that.
This poll better be about the roofs in their condos, or I am pissed.
I agree. Bargs ceiling isn’t even at Nowitzki’s level. We’d be VERY fortunate if ever did reach that level though. So for me its a simple vote. Bosh.
“Bargs ceiling isn’t even at Nowitzki’s level.”
Please do not tell me that you think that somehow Bosh is better or has a higher ceiling than Nowitzki – 8 time All-Star, 9 time All-NBA, and MVP…
Ridiculous.
And while we’re on the topic, the question as presented was who has the higher ceiling. Whether or not either of them ever reaches their respective ceiling is a whole other question. And not the one being asked.
A 7′ PF/C, with good handles/passing and a great shooting touch is going to have a higher ceiling than a 6′10 PF with only a mid-range to high-post face up game.
If the question was, which player is better now. Or even which player will be the better player over the next couple years, I’d give it to Bosh. However, in six years, Bosh has yet to develop a meaningful post game and his passing out of doubles hasn’t improved either… I’ll take a pass on his three point shooting.
Bosh is good for 20 points and 10 rebs. Will Bargs ever provide that? I want to think he can but I seriously doubt it. Its that simple.
175 votes in on the poll now and Bargnani has 72% of the vote.
I can’t wrap my head around that. Wow!
Embarrassing is what it is. And are these the same people who are reading this site?
There are several issues at work here that seem to be causing anger and confusion:
1) The question is horrendously subjective in terms of defining what their ceilings are.
2) The question is open to misinterpretation of what is being asked (i.e., some people may read it as “who will have the best career?”).
3) If Bosh plays for 15 years and is great for the vast majority of them, while Bargnani is mediocre for 12 years and amazing for 1 year, then Bargnani’s ceiling is higher.
That last point seems to be hard for some people to grasp. A player’s ceiling is his PEEK. If for even one season Bargnani is better than Bosh ever was, than he has a higher ceiling.
Keep in mind that some players take MUCH longer to develop. Steve Nash took 5 years to basically be Jose Calderon, and 9 years (and a move to Phoenix) to become the MVP level Nash we know and love.
Bargnani COULD be Nowitzki good. The likelihood of that happening is debatable, but to say it is impossible is just silly.
Explanation is simple.
It looks like Bosh has reached his ceiling.
Bargs still is getting better each year and his ceiling isn’t defined yet.
As I see that poll, and to which some people have alluded to, Bosh seems to be at, or close to his ceiling. Andrea may never get to the level we envision a No. 1 draft pick – however that simple statement implicitedly means … he has a higher ceiling, or at least we believe the ceiling is still enough above him. Of course, the exception to this way of thinking would be Khandor.
Semantics or not, I still believe Bargnani represents a greater potential then what we see now. Bosh, I see only a marginal difference. Of course any team would choose the latter – at this point in time. But change the scenario to a Bosh making 27 million in year 6 (as I understand), and I bet GM’s would have good reason to pause. That kind of contract can be an albatross. Case in point – JO.
As I’ve reiterated on a number of occasions, Basketball is not only a game of talent, but of financial accounting. And a bit magician work. Several months ago, the Raptors appeared to have a set of financial handcuffs on. Then BC performed a little magical work, and quickly enough, optimism arrived and our Bench seemed to strengthen.
As much as I’d like to see Bosh stay a Raptor, I’m afraid his “I deserve Max like Lebron” persona might come back to haunt us. And I think that might be how BC sees the Big Picture as well.
Just a tiny correction: it’ll be ~$25 mil in year 6 if he resigns with the Raptors or is flipped in a sign and trade, or just a tad under $22 mil in year 5 (and thus, likely ~$23 mil in year 6 assuming basketball revenue doesn’t skyrocket) if he signs with a different team.