Pick a caption, they all apply tonight.
The Point: Calderon had his second solid game in a row, but needs to get the guys more involved. He did a great job of pushing the ball, then pulling back at the last moment until everyone else caught up. Jack needs to not shoot the ball as much, and just attack the rim. I didn’t even realize Kidd was playing,
Matchup: Raptors
The Skill: DeRozan had his worst game of the year. Belinelli did even less. Howard in his first game of the season looked like he didn’t skip a beat. Terry picked up where Josh left off, taking it up three notches, and scored every-time he wanted too.
Matchup: Mavericks
The Swingman: Turkoglu’s worst game as a Raptor. Hit an acrobatic shot to start the 1st, but nothing else for the rest of the game. Wright did a decent job of attacking the paint, but once he got there, he kept losing his dribble. Was much worse from the perimeter, needs to stop shooting threes. Marion ran the break, crashed the boards, gave Hedo fits on defense, and proved why the Raptors made the wrong choice during the summer.
Matchup: Mavericks
The Big: Bosh continued his new-found swagger. The key = his home, but there is only so much one man can do. Johnson held his own when he saw the floor, but the night belonged to Dirk. Zeh Jerman hit dagger after dagger pacing the Mavs early, and pulling away in the 3rd quarter.
Matchup: Mavericks
The Strong: Bargnani didn’t get enough looks in the 4th when he was feeling it, but didn’t really matter as it would have been padding during a loss. Still, our boy looks comfortable out there, and owned Dampier.
Matchup: Raptors
Player of the Game: Dirk Nowitzki – 29pts grebes 4ast 2stl +16
103 Raps
“Marion ran the break, crashed the boards, gave Hedo fits on defense, and proved why the Raptors made the wrong choice during the summer”
I hope this is typical RR-style hyperbole.
Just stirring the pot.
I love having Turk on the team. He makes the offence work more smoothly. We are scoring more, even when we lose, and he is bringing out the best in Bargs. I would much rather lose 137-122 with Turk than lose 93-81 with Marion playing solid ‘D’ and rebounding.
It amazes me how someone can make such an idiotic statement about Turk based on one bad performance. But if you wish to maintain any lack of credibility please do so.
It amazes me how someone can completely fail at reading the context. Yes, obviously he was making a serious opinion about Turkoglu based on one bad performance, given the HIGH LEVEL of INDEPTH ANALYSIS in this EXTREMELY LONG ARTICLE. AMIRIGHT?
doesn’t change the fact that he said it and that it was stupid…
one bad matchup in the WEST. So we’re gonna meet up with them when, when it counts? NBA Finals?
Versus Hedo being a fantastic matchup against both Pierce and Lebron… both of whom we are going to see multiple times in the regular season, and early into the playoffs (crossing fingers on making it). the fact that there was no analysis behind it makes the statement even worse, not acceptable.
So no, you are not right.
Obvious sarcasm isn’t obvious, it seems.
The hyperbole made by Raps Fan was a comparison between how the two players in question played in THIS game. Whereas Marion had a good night, Turkoglu did not. That is where the statement “[Marion] proved why the Raptors made the wrong choice during the summer” comes into play, as a simple comparison between their games and nothing else.
That doesn’t make any sense. The decision made by the Raptors was made for 5 years. Not one game. Do you even know what you’re talking about?
consider the pot stirred.
I was expecting a loss to the Mavs tonight but not the huge point loss. As I said,Dallas is an elite team(hell, they even beat the Lakers at Staples Centre). They have 3 top 10 rebounders in the L. They exposed us tonight but necessarily, we are not meeting teams like this every night. With this in mind, I revise my prediction of a win against the Spurs. We will be .500 for the first 12 games(as long as we beat the Clippers, Miami and Utah(except if Deron owns us again), we will lose to the Spurs, Bulls and the Suns(they beat a championship contender in the Celtics last night)).
Actually, the game against the Bulls is in Toronto, and Chicago has a home game the night before. We are currently 2-0 in such circumstances, and I expect that to stay the same.
I think that if Tony Parker is still out for that game, and if we get some good rest so that we have our legs under us (we really shot our way OUT of the game last night), we have a shot against the Spurs. We need to limit Duncan (be physical with him to wear him out), and the team needs to be told about 500 times: ALWAYS make Ginobilli go to his RIGHT. ALWAYS. period.
Beyond that, we need to execute far better offensively than we have the last two games. I did not think we executed well against New Orleans, we just shot lights out. When the opposite was true last night, the result was also the opposite.
I highly doubt that we will be 6-6, thought. This is how I see our record going for the first 15 games (at this point, 3-3):
SA: 3-4
CHI: 4-4
LAC: 5-4
PHX: 5-5
DEN: 5-6
UTA: 5-7
MIA: 6-7
ORL: 6-8
IND: 7-8
The stretch from Phoenix to Orlando is just brutal. And we have a chance of winning ONE of the MIA or ORL games, but not both.
We will beat Utah(that is where your Analysis is wrong). Since Utah lost to the Lakers in the first round last year, they have not been the sae. Mehmet is old, Kirilenko is not like before. The only performer on the Utah team now is Deron Williams(we can win as long as we limit him like we did CP3) and a little bit of Paul Millsap with the rebounds. The key to the Utah game is to limit Deron Williams(ala CP3) and keep Paul Millsap off the offensive boards. I can see Triano playing Antoine Wright for huge minutes to stop 3s onslaught from Deron and Mehmet. I don’t think Derozan should play in this game as he would get burned easily against Deron and Mehmet(and by the way, Mehmet is better than Peja – no comparison). By the way, I never knew the Bulls game was at Toronto(tanks for the reminder, I erred here) – This should be a W. All other records is straight head on. The W-L record should be like this(Currently 3-3):-
Spurs(3-4)
Bulls(4-4)
Clippers(5-4)
Suns(5-5)
Nuggets(5-6)
Jazz(6-6)(looks like a one-man team with Deron just like the Hornets currently)
Heat(7-6)
Magic(7-7)
Indiana(8-7)
Conclusion:- 1 game over .500 in November or if we lose to Jazz(as you predicted) – 1 game less than .500. This is still acceptable as we thought we would really be below .500 in November. However, we will still lose to teams like the Suns, Nuggets and Magic for now in this month.
I totally have to agree that Utah is looking all kinds of messed up. Millsap does not seem like the same player since getting his juicy contract, Boozer seems disinterested, and Okur is grabbing as few rebounds as Bargnani.
But for the massive disadvantages, see below. (I hadn’t seen your post when I commented again).
If we were playing a weak team (e.g., the Clippers) the night before, I would give us a fighting chance. Our only shot right now is if Denver blows us out so badly that the starters are rested. Even then, they played limited minutes against NO and still looked tired last night.
I think Millsap is bummed because he figured Boozer would be gone by now… poor guy.
As for the Bulls, thank goodness for the second of a back-to-back for opponents… how else are we gonna get wins :P
Also, forgot to add: the Jazz have what is probably the most hostile crowd in the league, and Utah is usually terrific at home. Plus, we will be on the second game of a murderous back-to-back set.
If we lose that one by less than 20 points, I will be thrilled.
Sacramento Kings actually beat Utah at home with the crowd. If the Kings(one of the weakest teams in the NBA) could come out of Utah with a W, the Raps can also win there too. I figure Triano might just mail it in for the Nuggets game as we might blown out as early as the second quarter or might be lucky to be blown out in the 3rd Q instead. Either way, I see most of our starters not even playing the 4th Q after the terrible blow out at the hands of the Nuggets. If Triano goes with his starters into the 4th Q, we will still beat the Jazz because of the following reasons:-
1.This is a Deron Williams team just like the CP3 team and LeBron team(and we know how that plays out once we defend those guys).
2.Boozer is a cancer on this team, Millsap has reduced minutes because of him.
3.Kirilenko and Mehmet are old and slow now, so they will have their hands full against Bargs.
4.Bosh should be able hopefully to keep Millsap off the offensive boards.
This all translates to a win. Add the Parker-less Spurs(as long as we play good perimeter defense against Michael Finley and George Hill and keep Tim Duncan working for his shots) and the Bulls(Home game at the ACC and Bulls on a back-to-back). 3 wins that we should have and no excuses will suffice for losses to these teams.
Hey if we all wait for jupiter to be in the southern sky when there is a full moon then stand on our heads, click our fingers and shout out Go Raps, Go Raps, Go Raps. I think we can beat all teams and win it all.
Why is it easy for some to love the guy who didn’t want to sign with your team?
Marion only played well in Toronto if Jose feed him the ball and he shot it terribly while he was here.
Hedo wants to be here – we should be embracing the very good player that’s here. Not pining for the guy who didn’t want to sign.
Forget the bum!
I want ratings, re-do this post!!!!
agreed. no one gets higher than a 6.
Jose – B
DeRozan – F
Hedo – F
Bosh – A
Bargnani – A
Jack – C
Wright – C+
Johnson – B
Banks – C+
Belinelli – D
O’Bryant – C+
Not sure that johnson gets a B, that pob gets a c+, or that jose gets a b. all below, i think.. It seemed like the raps couldn’t make a pass, couldn’t penetrate the paint without getting owned..
The real problem was the jumpers early in the shot clock. Too many low percentage shooters are taking it way too often!!
Don’t Banks And POB get a “so what” or “unrated” due to garbage minutes?
Johnson did show some signs of life.
Got to feel for DeRozan facing Howard for the first time. Life as a rookie can be tough!
I thought Banks and POB gave it a good effort, even though it was garbage time. Would have been nice if Triano brought them in earlier. This game was lost in the 3rd quarter. Tough game for DeRozan, Howard is nasty.
It is games like this, on a back-to-back, where you need to look to your bench to provide solid minutes. They did not. Jack, Belinelli, Wright, (I include DeRozan because of his limited minutes) need to step up because the starters are fatigued.
We did not close out on Dirk. We looked sluggish on offence, and couldn’t get any movement. Marion owned Hedo who couldn’t find any rhythm. Bad loss because we looked flat, and our bench did not come through for us. We were supposed to have a deep team, weren’t we?
Explain to me how Amir Johnson did something good today?
He crashed the boards, and played some good defense when it mattered. B may be a bit high, but I stand by it.
The Pic basically summed up the night. Bosh and Bargs played great, while the rest of the team stunk it up. Hedo was a non factor, but it was the D that really killed us [what a surprise]. Hopefully the can get some rest and play better Monday against a TonyParker-less Spurs team.
Highlight of the night was POB’s little slide tackle on Beaubois in the fourth. Yeah, it was that bad of a night…
I think the problem was how hot the Mavericks were. If you play basketball you know how discouraging it is when you play great defense and the guy is still making the shot time and time again. That keeps happening and you just basically start giving up, much like the Raptors did.
Wright needs to stop looking for his offense as much. When we played small ball he killed us offensively. Jack needs to stop shooting so much as well.
Also, there were a lot of “jump passes” being thrown around… what happened to safe, easy passes? It’s not like Dallas’ defense was outstanding.
Anyway, this is what the Raps will look like on bad shooting nights. Overall a decent effort. Might have gone differently if the Mavs weren’t so hot and didn’t get 3 days of rest.
I agree with everything you said. Pointless passes killed us and we ended up taking bad shots with the clock winding down. Overall, the effort and energy wasn’t there. If you notice, Dirk made about 40% of shots when Bargs was actively contesting.
Bargs was defending Dirk well – it just didn’t matter cause Dirk wasn’t going to miss unless he was fouled. Just one of nights defending a real all-star!
+1
The way to defend Dirk is to keep him off of his sweet spots without fouling him. Not an easy task but other than keeping him from getting the ball that is the only way that you can stop him unless he is having an off night.
Bargs didn’t play extremely well, but it’s encouraging that even on off nights, he’s still pretty good. I’d like to see him take it inside more when his shot isn’t falling. I doubt Dampier could have done anything to him.
Also, hanging onto Marion was not the right choice. Hedo had a bad night and Marion did give him trouble, but turkoglu’s ability to create shots and mismatches will help us win more games this season than Marion’s waning athletic ability – not to mention his clutch shooting, although these days I think Bargs should be taking those shots.
I felt as though he was trying to take it inside, as he was establishing deep post position, but Jose consistently looked him off. His teammates need to do a better job of recognizing deep post position.
He toot his play more inside than against NO. I wish the Raps would run more traditional post plays for him.
A bud who lives and dies by the scoreboard(s) has a rule or two that he does his very best to stick to, and one of them is that he almost never goes with the team that’s on the second night of a back-to-back. If they’re on the road for both of those games, it’s even less likely that he’ll take them for that second game.
He’d probably call tonight’s game against the Mavs a perfect example of why that rule is a good one, for his purposes.
The Raps stuck with them pretty well through the first half and if Bargnani had his shot falling, it’s possible they get out of the first half with the lead. Which might’ve made the difference for however much energy they could’ve mustered up for the second half. (Emphasize ‘might’ve’.)
As it was, they came out of the half-time, settling it seemed, for the notion that they always had the long ball to fall back on (maybe the pitfall to watch out for after a game like they’d had the night before) … and their energy which had dropped off four or five percent quickly became eight or ten percent as the shots still weren’t falling … and it was as good as over.
And that’s not even talking about Dirk Nowitzki. I’ve seen him play and I’ve marveled … but I still found myself thinking tonight, “I didn’t know he was this good.”
There will be games like this. I still like our chances against the Spurs, Monday.
Who was guarding Dirk? Bosh right? Yeah… that explains it.
Both Bosh and Bargs took their turns guarding one of the most potent offensive threats of all time.
You may also consider that Dirk is a 25ppg scorer, 1st team NBA, All-Star and the leading PF scorer for the last few years for a reason.
You may also consider that the Raptors have not won @ Dallas in the last 10 years for a reason.
Bargnani and Bosh took turns guarding Dirk. But it’s obvious that someone as dense as yourself didn’t realize that Dirk, a 7 footer with tremendous scoring ability was making contested shots left and right.
Obviously Bosh and Bargnani are complete failures if they can’t shut down a perenniel all-star like Dirk.
Everyone other then Bosh and Bargnani should be ashamed, what an aweful effort by everyone else, especially our wings.
Calderon was alright, but i agree with Arsenalist, he needs to get the team involved instead of bringing the ball up and jacking up a shot from 18 feet with 20 seconds left on the shot clock. Also when is this team going to learn that when someone is hot it might be a good idea to get them some shots?
I always give DeRozan an F. Look at his performance tonight, it was so horrible. I was disgusted. He only scored 2 points tonight.
As a typical Raptors fan will say for an excuse, “Hey, don’t worry, he has a lot of potential than any rookies this year. It’s part of the process.”
In my butt!
A process? Scoring not more than double figures every game call that a process? Yes, it’s understandable to score 4 pts or 8 pts per night maybe if you’re only playing limited minutes. But 20 minutes a night but scoring only a single digit is not a type of thing a potential player would perform.
I knew it from the very beginning that picking DeRozan is not a good idea. This guy is unproven, can’t shoot, and only good in dunking. DeRozan didn’t even played well in USC. He only hanging-out with Romeo all the time and picking-up chicks on campus. Well, they can pick-up chicks and get laid every night cuz’ they’re in the basketball team + Romeo is a celebrity — a perfect wing-man.
I really wonder why Colangelo picked him instead of Brandon Jennings. Man, I really wanted Brandon Jennings. I was really surprised why DeRozan’s name was called for the 9th pick. This made me think way back in 1984 NBA Draft where the Portland TrailBlazers selected Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan.
Brandon Jennings chose to play overseas instead of going to college. This guy has professional experience, he played with great Europlayers like Rubio, Childress, Papaloukas, and former NBA players. Yeah he scored about 6 ppg during his career overseas, but that’s not a bad stat for an American teenager in a pursuit for an American dream making big to the NBA. Right now, he is scoring 18.8 ppg and firing all the cylinders up every night like what Iverson did during his prime. This guy has the ‘will to win’ attitude and only few NBA GMs appreciate that mentality (unfortunately, Colangelo is not one of them).
Well, I know all of you Raptors fans think DeRozan is better than any rookies down in 2 years or whatever. And I can’t let you stop cheering for DeRozan, taking pictures with him, or replying to his tweeter and say, “you did a good bro” and etc etc but I want to let you know that we just missed an opportunity of being a contender way before the game was started.
I know someday y’all gonna say, “Man, we should’ve had picked Brandon Jennings way back in 2009 NBA Draft. Look at him now, he’s on top of his game”
PEACE OUT!
Lilromeo…should be embarassed using that handle…of course you knew BJ was gonna be the steal of the draft, although it’s interesting that I never saw you post that during the summer or pre-season. Any jackass can make these statements in hindsight. Just out of curiousity, since you’re so smart, who’s gonna be the steal of next years draft.
Daner, I actually did.
Seriously this the most ridiculous post about how you wanted Brandon Jennings all along. This sounds like a loud of shit to me.
Dude … you’re gonna hurt yourself.
(on another note, is anybody else finding this ongoing DeRozan/Jennings rant-thing a little bit hilarious?)
Just a little early to predicting the steal of the 2009 draft.
Could be anybody by the end of this season or next season or season after that. There’s always some late pick that was the real steal of the draft and the team that got him was just plain lucky.
that late pick…Dejuan Blair.
i understand why teams were leery of blair.
http://www.fray.slate.com/id/2234460/
If Blair didn’t have questions about his knee, he would have been a top 20 pick.
So, where would Jennings get his time with Jose and Jack?
The Raptors should’ve had used Jennings as back-up for Jose Calderon. That would be the best PG combo. However, Colangelo chose Jarrett Jack (a Georgia Tech product) inorder to keep Chris Bosh happy with the team.
Jack acquisition was just a waste of money.
Honestly, who cares about Bosh in 2010. Yes, he’s the franchise player but Colangelo don’t have to keep on supplicating him inorder for him to stay. If he like living in Toronto for a long time and retire as a Raptor, he’ll stay whatever the outcome of the team. If he doesn’t want to remain as a Raptor next year, we can use him for a sign-and-trade. Period.
If we could’ve had got Jennings…
We all know that Jose Calderon is one of the best point guards in the NBA even though Gilbert Arenas and TNT’s Kenny Smith will disagree on this claim. Even though he is “one of the best point guards”, he shows inconsistency more often especially now that he’s still trying to find his rhythm after having an abstinence from basketball. This would a perfect situation for Jennings to back-up Calderon and learn the PG tactics. If however, Colangelo decides to trade Calderon after the season, it’s time for Jennings to be the starting point guard and find a back-up guard once again. And finding another point guard is not hard to find in the off-season.
In show-business industry, actors don’t get casted on a role based on their potential but based on their skills and their credits.
Too bad, Colangelo chose DeRozan because he “he has a lot of potential” than any other rookies in the draft. Why Colangelo always pick a player who has a “potential” instead of picking a player who already possess the skill?! I mean, this is professional sports. It’s a waste of time teaching him on how to run like a shooting guard, how to shoot like a shooting guard and all that jazz. This is very atrocious.
No offence guys, DeRozan reminds me of Joey Graham and Fred Jones on their rookie year. I know where DeRozan will go in the next 3 years: mostly on bench and struggling to find a new team when his contract is over. Book it.
I dont undestand why everyone wants Jennings. Hes one of my favourite players, but hes a scorer first and I really doubt he would be content backing up Jose. The team Defense is the concern, not individual positions.
Demar reminds you of Joey? Which part, the part where he takes idiotic shots or the part where he makes stupid plays. Demar has been unremarkable, but at least hes not trying to do too much and is not the reason why the Raps are losing. Jay Triano isn’t even running some plays for him.
@ the end of the day its only been 6 games…
man, fred jones was what? 25 when he played for the raptors? if derozan looks like fred jones in 5 years, then ok, you were right. but the kid turned 20 like a few months ago jesus! if you expect a 20 year old rookie to score double figures in 20 minutes consistently, you are fucking retaruded.
yup, ironic typo.
seriously tho, you’re fucking retarded. it still blows my mind that out of all the players on the raptors, you’re picking on the 20 year old rookie. it’s blatantly obvious that you’re hating on him because colangelo cockblocked you with jennings. it’s ok. remember: they always disappoint you in the end.
Yea. Comparing Demar to Fred and Joey now is retarded. Jennings wouldn’t even be a good fit here because he needs a lot of shots. I still think Demar is going to be good this season, just give him more than 6 games.
Funniest thing is if they had picked Jennings — and they wouldn’t since he wasn’t even on the radar — he would be averaging 6 PPG with his ass nailed to the bench for making rookie mistakes, unlike in Milwaukee where they’d have to use either Ridnour or *gasp* Ukic. You’d be bitching even more about how your mancrush wasn’t getting the minutes he deserved. Get a room, seriously.
“Why Colangelo always pick a player who has a “potential” instead of picking a player who already possess the skill?”
Always? In the last *four* drafts, BC didn’t have a pick in two of them, and the other two, he picked 1) Bargnani and 2) DeRozan. I guess 2 is a big enough sample size. Oh and before that he drafted Stoudemire, Barbosa, and Marion (and passed in 4 other years). Yes, he always drafts based on potential and he always gets burned.
“In show-business industry, actors don’t get casted on a role based on their potential but based on their skills and their credits.”
Good thing this isn’t show-biz. Anything other irrelevance you want to add?
“If we could’ve had got Jennings…”
Yeah, this is about as serious as the rest of your analysis.
You know …a better comparison might be Tracy McGrady who sucked when he was an 18 year old rookie for the Raptors, totally unprepared for the NBA and looking totally lost most nights – he turned out to be a pretty good player.
LMAO. You are a joke, LilRomeo, and this is why:
1) So Jennings scored 6 ppg in his first professional season (barely) playing in a league where the “great Europlayers” consist of a teenager who hasn’t played NBA ball, a buncha *former” NBA players, and Childress? Yet you bash DeRozan for similar output in his first professional season in the most competitive league in the world?
2) You obviously have no comprehension of the difference between ready-for-NBA prospects and raw prospects with potential. Yes, we picked the latter so deal with it.
3) Most importantly, and I think everyone will agree, you actually made a comparison between Jennings and MJ. Good on you!
1. Jennings scored 6 ppg with limited minutes. He didn’t had an enough playing time because the guy was unproven to play professionally. Again, he only played LIMITED minutes. DeRozan played 20 minutes per game but only scored single digit.
2. Players who are ready-for-NBA are the best one to get because “they are ready”. That’s common sense. Coaches don’t have to teach them a lot of stuffs rather those “potential” who still don’t know how to do a post-defence, spin move, etc. It’s a waste of time, they should’ve learn it by now.
3. I compared Jennings and Michael Jordan because they have the same situation on their respective drafts. Michael Jordan could’ve been the 2nd overall on 1984 NBA Draft and played with Portland throughout his career while Brandon Jennings could’ve been the 9th overall on this year’s draft instead of being the 10th overall. However, ColanJELLO chose DeRozan because he believe that he has more “potential” than any players left in the draft. Look at DeRozan, struggling to find his man and always lost on the floor. He’s not an NBA calibre, yet. DeRozan didn’t entered the draft because he’s 100% ready, but forced to because of his ailing mother. What’s that have to do with playing in the NBA?! lmfao
On your first point, here are Jennings’ stats for his first professional year, against lesser competition:
Min: 19.6
PPG: 7.6
RPG: 1.6
AST: 1.6
TO: 1.2
Now here are Demar’s numbers, against elite competition:
Min: 19.3
PPG: 5.2
RPG: 3.2
AST: 1.3
TO: 0.5
So, Derozan is scoring less, but on a higher shooting percentage (and only 6 games into the season), but is rebounding better and getting few turnovers. I find it interesting how you call Jennings’ minutes “LIMITED,” but give no such excuse for Derozan, who is averaging FEWER minutes than Jennings did in a second-rate league.
And I emphasize “second-rate league.” That is how useless Jennings’ was last season, that he could not get playing time in such a league. Demar is earning his against he best in the world (especially at his position).
Oh, and you are absolutely right about draft strategy. I mean, what were the Lakers thinking drafting for potential in Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. Major fuckup, right? Look how poorly THOSE PICKS turned out…
/sarcasm.
I have nothing to argue more. Just think of this: Brandon Jennings scoring 18.8 ppg while DeMar DeRozan scoring 5.2 ppg.
Have a great day!
In their rookie seasons:
- Kobe averaged 7.6 ppg, whereas Shareef Abdul-Rahim averaged 18.7 ppg
- Tracy McGrady averaged 7 ppg, and Ron Mercer averaged 15.3 ppg.
- Joe Johnson averaged 7.5 ppg, Jason Richardson scored 15.4 ppg
- Tony Parker averaged 4.3 apg, Jamaal Tinsley dished out 8.1 apg.\
The list is endless.
How long have you been following the NBA that you’re making judgements on who’s a better player after 5 games?
Lol. I love the sarcasm there. By the way, the “potential” players like Amir would never turn out to be a Kobe or Andrew Bynum(even Andrew got better because the Lakers got a big man coach for him in the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). I am actually happy, the Amir guy only has a one year contract and I’m sure Bryan won’t hesitate not to resign him or even extend his contract . Seriously, the Amir guy needs a big man coach to improve his game. 3 teams in 4 years is a bad omen for a guy drafted purely on “potential”.
Do You Even Watch The Games Or Just Read The Boxscore Later On? Jennings Has The Ball On EVERY Possession And Controls What He Wants To Do With It, DeRozan Plays With All-Stars And His Time Will Come.
You Like It In The Butt, No Wonder You’re Thinking Is So Anal!
The only highlight: Marcus Banks breaking JJ Barea’s ankles at the end of the game. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Bosh, Bargnani and Calderon committed only 2 fouls combined while the Mavs shot over 62%.
It was clear from watching the game that the Raptors were just too slow on defense tonight and never with the exception of Johnson sufficently bodied up the guy they were supposed to defend.
Tired legs on the 2nd night of a back to back?
Whatever, it was terrible.
Good point.
With Dirk shooting that hot Bargs and Bosh should have wasted a couple of fouls each just hacking him.
But they (and the whole team) looked like they were just not going to be able to even do that.
Go with tired legs? Why not. Back-to-back on the road is very tough.
This is where Evans will help when he returns. Johnson knows how to give hard fouls and has no problem doing it if he has fouls to give. Unfortunately it is very rare that he has fouls to give.
A few good hard fouls given to the appropriate player at the appropriate time early in the game can help set the tone.
Reminds me of the Denver-Dallas game in the Western Conference Semi-finals. Dirk was really D’ed up by the Denver players and given some hard fouls. We need a sort of Dahntay Jones or Bruce Bowen in our team that is ready to give hard fouls to send a message to Dirk. Buddhafan hit the nail exactly on the head.
Or we can just wait till Reggie gets back and he can do the “dirty work”.
Dirk is going to be unstoppable unless a defender plays physical on him.
Remember how Kenyon Martin played Dirk last year?
Okay … let’s just admit that the Mavs are a much much better team than the Raps, and the loss is not unexpected. To their credit, the Raps held up until the second half when the Mavs established a 20 pt. lead and and the Raps couldn’t overcome it because their shooting failed.
This game reveals the reality of the Raps, namely:
1. If the starting five cannot establish good shooting %age and efficient ball movement quickly, they will play catchup throughout the game against top teams steamrollering them.
2. Raps are starting only 4 1/2 players with DeRozan, who is only getting floor time for development. Perhaps JT should have started Wright against his old team. When two of the starters are non-productive, as were Hedo and Demar, that creates a losing situation.
3. The Raps don’t have reputable consistent scoring threat coming off the bench. Wright is okay, but Belinelli is a fat flop who’s slow and lost. When Evans is healthy he will only be a defensive presence.
4. Jack had 3 disastrous turnovers on sloppy passes which resulted in layups and established the Mav’s lead. There is something wrong with Jack, that Indiana recognized .. he’s turnover prone.
5. Raptors failed to play as a team, so their gelling process is still not there. They are still a shallow talent team that’s exposed when playing a top team like the Mavs.
Rejoice in wins .. but learn from losses ….
Last year, Jack playing for Indiana averaged 2.2 in 33:06 minutes…while Jose averaged 2.1 in 34:17 minutes.
2.2 turnovers and 2.1 turnovers
I agree with a few of these points at least somewhat, but right now, I especially agree with # 3. Belinelli looks to me like he might be the kind of player who won’t last all that long in the NBA … and only because he just doesn’t work hard enough at his craft. If so, it’s a shame.
“doesn’t work hard enough at his craft.” How did you figure this out…are you at their practices?
no … but I don’t think it’s that difficult to see. Just my guess on what his work-habits might be like, going by what I observe about him. Hope I’m wrong.
That’s a pretty ridiculous statement to make. It’s a question of proffessionalism, and i wouldnt just toss that around as if its meaningless. If he wasnt working hard enough I doubt very highly he would still be on the team. Its not difficult to make an example of a bench player.
Agreed!
“It’s a question of professionalism” (Ya think? Whose?). “and I wouldn’t just toss that around as if it’s meaningless”. (Why not? … as in, what’s so meaningful about it?)
It was just a thought that occurred to me as I watched him play. What I thought was, “ole Marco doesn’t look like the kind of player (to me) who’s going to last a whole long time in this league.” I left it at that, but the background thinking on it was something along the line of him appearing (to me) to be the kind of player who probably doesn’t work as hard at his game day-in-day-out (as say, a guy like Bosh), and then who just ‘brings it as best as he can’ for the games, sometimes working out ok … and other times, not so much. Like watching him this last game, seeing him initiate seemingly valiant attempts to get to the basket, ending mostly by wasting the whole effort, clanking a shot that in retrospect (for at least a few that I saw), seemed ridiculous. And those kinds of players (I was concluding to myself) don’t tend to stick around at the NBA level for a long, long time.
Meant no offense to him personally. In case you’re actually him.
So you’re just being completely subjective? Perhaps you don’t like his face? I definitely sense a bit of lazy bum from the way he has his mouthguard hanging out all the time, but that’s just me.
To wsg’s credit, I think that:
A) Marco is supposedly a shooter, but has not found his groove (and in his short career has had a history of being inconsistent. I hope that changes over time).
B) Keeps taking bad, off-balance shots. I am not someone who knows a great deal about shooting mechanics, but even I can see how he does not go up straight on almost every single shot he takes. And he will often pass up a decent shot for an on-the-move, off-balance, somewhat fading 3pt attempt.
He needs to improve his shooting mechanics (including not taking off-balance shots), and work on being a intelligent, team defender. If he can fix his shot and improve his BB IQ, he should stick. Otherwise, he will be a bench-warmer for life, at best.
Well, thank you there, LC, but to J’s question, yes, I guess it is completely subjective. And no, it’s not his face or anything else like that … I was actually, quite happy to see him arrive here, even if a part of it had something to do with getting a stable-pony for Andrea. What it probably is, is seeing him look a bit puffy now and again – hard for me to fathom a pro-athlete, especially one who has a little something extra to prove, being in anything other than tip-top shape – plus, I read here or somewhere else that he enjoys a smoke now and again, or was at least seen somewhere with a cigarette in his hand … and while those things alone or even together might not add up to squat in the real world (and I certainly have no objection – personal or otherwise – to whatever it is he or anyone else chooses to do), when I’m looking for a hint here or a tidbit there, I’ll gather whatever it is I think I see – right or wrong – put it together with what I see on the floor when the lights are on and it’s game-time, and … surmise away. Just like most all of us do here from time to time, in one way or another.
That’s just a little to much analysis of playing a back-to-back western conference road trip games against expected playoff teams.
How about no one in their right mind would have bet money on the Raps winning tonight. Especially this early in the season.
Coming up flat was a highly likely outcome.
On DeRozan, I believe Colangelo and Triano have longer plans for the rookie than this month or this season. Live with it for 18 minutes a night.
No need to repeat your complete lack of faith in the various Raptors players – it is already well documented. (You will be right on some and wrong on others, so?)
Point 1 applies to every team in the league – crap if you shoot poorly you might lose! Yah you’re right so, I guess if you shoot well you might win?
At .500 6 games in the Raps are ahead of any reasonable prediction for this early in the season. And look better than expected too.
Can’t wait for the home game v Chicago on Wednesday.
What did we actually learn anyway? We knew Dirk was an all-star and Howard can take DeRozan’s toys away and not give them back.
Your analysis is so .. superficial … have you ever played bball at a higher level or even coached kids in summer bball … or are you just a keyboard baller ….???!!!!!
a keyboard baller. It must be past my bedtime cuz I can’t stop laughing at that one. G’NIGHT!
There we go with FAQ flaunting his college career (or was it high school, I keep forgetting) and his non-speculative strategizing (in non-FAQ terms, plain old “prediction”).
you’re the reason AltRaps left the site. have you ever been good at anything?
Actually Brother Steve, I expected a loss but not a blow out(28 point loss). If the Raps had lost by 8-15 points, I would appreciate their effort at keeping it close. The Raps are going to lose some games but seeing blow outs is really discouraging. Why can’t we be like the Celtics who lose in single digits(at least there was an effort to make it close) to other teams if they are not playing well or their shots are not falling(like the Raps did against Dallas or like the Celtics did against the Phoenix Suns – difference was that one was close(the latter) while the other was a blow out)?
FAQ.. they will never gel. BC has a history of putting together players that individually play well, and on paper appear to be a force together, but rarely does it work out to a productive team. It’s painful to watch how these guys don’t gel at all. There was a stretch last night where they looked like they just put themselves together for a pick up game, no one knew what the other can do.. so they resorted to chucking up 3s for a while. All I could think of was Oak – you ain’t going nowhere with 7 footers shooting 3s. Point blank.
Beli leads the team in steals (tied with Calderon) and is third in the +/- category after Bosh and Andrea and he is not slow (did you see the fast break with Caldy last night) . Your opinion on a lot of things is ignored by everyone on this site . You are not trying to be objective instead you want to stir up the pot continuously. Beli is struggling but not more than a few other ones on the team. Would you like to get Kapono back and his one dimensional game instead ?.
The reason why this was the bipolar opposite from NOH, Marion and Carlisle worked out a plan to shut down Turkoglu’s pick and roll set. Besides the fact that Dirk-diggler going off on our defense like the actual Dirk Diggler going off on Julian Moore and Heather Graham, the Mavericks defense knew how to shut down our big 3’s sets with Marion affecting us BIG TIME.
Screw the fact we were fatigued, Marion has a BBall IQ way larger than Julian Wright.
That’s for sure. Marion has been playing at a high level for years.
And the Raps were tired.
The Raps were tired, this a back to back, Mavs are elite, it’s early in the season, we need time blah blah blah f blah.. non stop excuses. Holy f is this getting annoying. Year in and year out the same BS excuses. When will it end.. WHEN? When are people going to recognize the fact BC has not clue what he’s doing, Triano doesn’t either… both of them are so wrapped up in winning the next game – there’s no long term plan or vision. Just win tonight baby! And if you do, it’s “oh I knew BC is a genius, look at how amazing we are (Cavs, NO)… and if you don’t it’s “oh, well we were unlucky, they have Dirk, insert any other moronic excuse in here”
Last night proved again – come March, April and *gasp* a playoff spot.. this team is going nowhere. How much will these regular season wins mean? They wont- real ball fans could care less about the regular season. It’s just there for the NBA to make money.
And did anyone notice Bosh dragging around the tire boot on his knee in the second half? He will not last the whole season. No f way.
The defense was the main problem.
Dirk wasn’t the only one that lit the Raptors up.
The offense was also off its game from the night before but a lot of that was due to the fact that the Raptors spend the whole night taking the ball out at the baseline after the Mavs scored.
The Mavs had some ridiculous adavantage in fast break points of like 30 to 5 or something close to that.
The Mavs were able to get there defense set all night because the Raptors had to go 94 feet on over 60% of their possessions.
Is the FEAR on Bosh’s face due to the fact that he’s bent over with two long (as they say in NBA circles) men standing behind him? Or because he finds himself in the paint in an NBA game? Never seen an NBA “star” with such a look of fear on his face while actually playing ball.
Reading a little too much into a moment in time? And that `star’ is averaging 28.5 ppg on .526 shooting, 11.8 rpg, and 14.5 ftapg, while playing MVP-level ball.
But, then again, that picture says more than anything else, doesn’t it?
Caption: GANG-BANG in the O.K.-EH-NAL
Caption: Hold still Chris, I promise I’m more gentle this time.