a) strong rebounders who are confident with outlet passes
b) a guard/wing (basically, someone who can handle the ball & make good decisions) making themselves available for said outlet pass who is willing/able to push it
c) someone who can finish in traffic, even with contact.

i’d say the pieces are there…they just aren’t looking to do it on a regular basis. sure, there are spurts in the game when they look to push the pace, but that’s more often simply jose or jack dribbling up the floor quicker, before settling into a halfcourt set. the only time they truly ‘run’ seems to be when they trap & force turnovers, which has happened just a handful of times so far (and usually involves bench/role players like amir & belli). of course, that brings up another point – why don’t the raps pressure the ball more often, especially when facing ’superior’ opposition? yes, there is greater risk for easier hoops if/when the trap is broken, but let’s be honest…it’s not like they don’t give up ‘easy’ looks when their defense is set in a traditional manner anyway. fuck, let’s see some imagination…and at least an attempt to mitigate our obvious weaknesses & turn what little we have in terms of an advantage (a relatively deep, relatively athletic bench) to better use.

You end up like OKC, Portland and Milwaukee…all of which have 2 things on this raps team:

- They’re better teams now
- They have a better future

I hope for 2-2

1) More firepower on 2nd unit to make good runs and create a lead.
2) He doesn’t go up against the better C’s in the league so his D isn’t such a liability
3) Bosh, Hedo, and Bargs can get their share of touches throughout the game
4) Our starting line up could have a real defender in the front court to help rebound/defend

If guys like Ginobli, Crawford, Terry, Odom come off the bench, why can’t Bargs?

Same tier? Not really. I’m not saying we’re definitely going to win the next two games — after all, that’s why you play the games — but though their record is similar to ours, they’ve had the 2nd “easiest” schedule (Milwaukee, surprise surprise, is #1), while we’ve had the fourth hardest.

Gonna say it here — the Pacers belong in the bottom-most tier in our conference.

The NBA is perhaps the only sport in which the number of superstars dictates the winning. You can’t take it all with a bunch of good players and one superstar. You need 3, and not much else. The Raps have one. Bosh will stay in Toronto if they can get him some more high-level talent.

Dumping superstars in the hopes that at some undefined time in the future you can draft more of them is not a good plan.

Otherwise you stay on the ‘no asset’ treadmill. You have to borrow from tomorrow to bring in assets to help the team win…

I was at the game today and noticed during timeouts that Jay spends 3/4 of the time in a huddle with his assistants 10 feet away from the team, then slowly makes his way to the players on the bench to give instruction. Meanwhile, over at the Orlando bench, Ron Jeremy is giving instruction face to face to his players, getting in their faces and actually coaching. I have a few issues with what Jay has done in his first full season as a head coach (overplaying the combo of Jackerone being atop the list), but I found this highly bizarre during the timeouts.

Also, Orlando looked far more focused and seemed to want to win much more than Toronto. Whether this is Jay not getting through or not I’m not sure.

Bosh should be the only untouchable player on this roster.

Missed Breakway points – Are we one of the worst teams in the league in missed breakways opportunities without finishing?! how many times have we had 1 on 1 or 2 on 1 or even 3 on 1 where we usually see Calderon pull back waiting for everyone else to arrive or we end up going for a jumpshot that doesn’t go in or we attack the basket and the ball doesn’t go in.

Those missed breakways add up to the team overall lack of confidence.

Move Calderon in a deal for picks and youth and then let Bosh go in a sign in trade to NY or NJ and get into the Wall sweepstakes…then rebuild around Bargs, Turk, a young defensive center (a la Hibbert – dammit), derozan and a handfull of prospects…

Jose is a nice piece on the second unit of a contender.