The “frustrated yet?” edition.
Banks – he had a tough decision to make during the game today: seat #3 or seat #5. He made the best choice.
Bargnani – came out of the gates just the way we needed him to: focused. He kept us in the game early as Bosh struggled and spent the rest of the game going after boards (really!) and staying out of foul trouble. Nice game full of drives that unfortunately finished with ill-advised jumpers.
Belinelli – well, I’ve looked pretty smart for going on a week and a half. I thought it was a waste bringing him in and he’s lived up to my words lately. Not only is he not playing well, he just isn’t playing at all. He looks as interested in showing effort as your kid looks interested in broccoli. If you want to be a shooter, then make your shots.
Bosh – brutal start to the game with no rebounds in the 1st quarter and ending it with 3 points. Unlike the rest of his teammates, he turned it on when he checked back in and ended up with 30/17. This was his 15th double double and he leads the NBA in that category.
Calderon – we needed him today. He gave us 2pts and 7 assists, but he worked his tail off defensively. Yes, he was still victim on most plays, but just as in Phoenix, he accepted the challenge of being on Nash and Amare. Like a broken record, though, good things come out of driving the ball, especially against Nash. Maybe next year he’ll listen.
DeRozan – Lighthouse had a couple good rim rockers today, but he gave everything back by committing weak fouls. They actually even called plays for him today and he looked for contact on a few of them. Far from a breakout game offensively, but he moved a lot more than usual.
Evans – faker that will be back quicker than you think.
Jack – stat sheet isn’t great and is reflective of his game. Silly out of bound violation, caught out of position on D, but he did try the drive and kick. Tough to find people tonight with Phoenix sticking man-to-man when he was on the floor.
Johnson – quickly becoming the working mans favourite Raptor. Nice blocks, only 2 (!) fouls, and the usual dog-after-scraps mentality. He can’t be looked at as a game changer, though, merely a complimentary piece. Now, if other players give zero effort, a complimentary piece to nothing doesn’t mean much.
Mensah-Bonsu – put in during garbage time. No value.
Nesterovic – just not the type of game you need him. Had a fantastic game the other night, but to have thrown him in there against this squad makes zero sense.
O’Bryant – nice suit. Please take Reggie shopping.
Turkoglu- if +/- was a true indicator of effort, Hedo would be at –424,328. Is he another shining example of Bryan Colangelo’s lack of spotting talent in his Raptor years? Hedo looked disinterested, barely moved or contested on defense, made a questionably dirty play on Barbosa by undercutting him on a 3. Sure, he woke up late, but big contract, little contribution.
Weems – stuck on the bench. He better keep hoping he sees Banks in a suit pre-game, because they might swap spots soon.
Wright – gotta back up your words on the court. 10 minutes of playing time with no points to show for it is as worthless as a defensive clinic being run by, say, Jay Triano.
Driving The Bus: Chris Bosh
Under The Bus: Marco Belinelli
Game Theme:
86 Raps
At least the three-point streak is still alive!
Now listen to the tribal honking babies crying because their home team didn’t win for their feeeeelings. This non-athletic crud just can’t appreciate good bball … because all they want is wins wins wins .. to shore up their pathetic existence.
The Sunday game against Phx was not as bad a loss as the score might suggest. We held them under 100 points til there was 4 min left in the game. And for once our defence was about as close to full potential as possible, for us, at this time; we kept them covered and every time we jumped with the shooter, they missed. It wasn’t perfect, obviously, but with everything we did better under their bucket we were a little weak under our own. At least half a dozen break aways in the clear at the 3pt line were passed off to disappointing results. If we fix these areas next time we meet up with the Nash bash, could be a win or at least a tie… half a dozen 3pts=18… how much did we lose by?
This is how I feel right now – blow the motherf**ker up. We can’t play a shred of defence with this team. We go through a cold spell at the beginning of the third, but then we can’t get stop of our own.
If BC made the following trade I would be happy:
Banks, Belinelli, Calderon, Evans, Weems for McGrady (and this trade works).
Houston wouldn’t do it I know, but right now I think we need capspace, because this team will not win anything as it is presently built. I gave the team time to see if they could work it out. Could Bosh and Bargs play solid team defence? No. Is Calderon the right pointguard for a team with weak interior defence? No. Blow it up.
Bah! I know I am being inconsistent, as in the past I have said that before BC makes changes Triano needs to shake up the lines. But right now, I feel so pessimistic – just blow it up. I hate to see Bosh go, because he is the best player on the team, hands down, but that seems to be inevitable.
hell, throw in Amir into that trade as our ‘incentive’. (The trade still works).
present-day injury-riddled McGrady or All-Star McGrady of three years ago?
i don’t think we’d get the latter.
but i agree on the line shakeup.
get Demar out of the starting lineup.
i know they want him to learn, but fuck, build him up slowly.
have him play against the opponent’s second unit and build confidence from there.
right now, he’s about as useless as a deflated inflatable doll.
okay, now i have to go off on Triano.
has the Jack + Calderon combo even worked this year???
we seem to always lose steam when those two are playing together.
But hey, Triano’s the coach and he’s Canadian so he must be awesome.
Balls.
Before we blow it up, I think some rotation changes should be made. I know we’ve screwed Bargs around before, but I think having Bargs and Turk on the floor at the same time is really hurting our defense, mainly because they are 2 of the laziest players in the NBA.
I would like to see if our overall defense improves if we started Rasho or Amir, and brought Bargs in as our 6th man and ran every play for him. I think Bargs likes being the focal point on offense and he could dominate 2nd string centres.
I’ve also been calling for Jack to start and Jose to come in off the bench since the pre-season. Not the time to panic, but unless we get better, I’m afraid CB4 is a goner. Imagine this team without him? Not pretty.
i know it is the reasonable thing to shake up the lines before considering a trade, but right now I do not feel reasonable.
I hear you. I’ve missed 3 games in 2 years. I’m pretty frustrated with the lack of effort and intensity from this team. They look like they’re coasting. Not acceptable.
That won’t work. Chris Bosh needs someone in the first unit to spread the defense. Remember last year with Jermaine O’Neal was playing with Bosh. Bosh could not do anything inside because of all the defenders. Bosh is getting more open looks inside this year because the defense has to pay special attention to barg (~50% FG, 40% 3-pt, ~90%Ft).
Bosh has played well at times with both Amir and Rasho. You can’t say it won’t work unless you try it. I would still want Bargs to play 30+ minutes. Rasho and Bosh played well together for the ‘06-07 team and Amir provides a super athletic 5 that Bosh has never had before.
I would prefer keeping Bargs in the starting line up if we could bring Turk off the bench for a 6th man role, but there is no one that could replace Hedo in the starting 5. We need more defensive intensity especially to start games and to start the 3rd quarter. You cannot win consistently in this league with just offense, unless you have a hall of famer like Nash running the show.
Beginning to see why the Magic barely tried to sign Turk. I don’t care about numbers, it’s all about effort. His laziness is beginning to get on my nerves.
Beginning? I have been consistent saying it was a bad signing, simply because it is too long of a contract and a big amount each year. Now if it was 2 or 3 year for 10 million i would take that, simply because no other mediocre player would sign with the raptors. The first minute we signed him, I could imagine him being as slow as rasho in 4 years, and being one of the worst contracts in the league.
Well, it was either this, or blowing up the whole team, because if Hedo was not signed Bosh would have been gone next year. I can’t blame BC. However, now if this situation continues and bosh leaves, our team would be a disaster. Just imagine, Hedo for another 4 years, Calderon with a 8 million dollar contract for another 2 years, and jack for another 3. Let’s just hope this line-up works, because we will be like the New York Knicks for 3 years to come if bosh leaves next year.
we cant seem to score in the 3rd quater for some reason i think is a curse
No I just think it is bad coaching. Out of half times, is when coaches are really effective, and obviously Triano does not seem to be very effective.
Now that Lawrence Frank is in vacation, we could sign him.
We need a coach. I think.
We need a team. I think.
Although the switching does piss me off, when there is no need, and Calderon gets abused in the paint, Triano doesn’t have a team capable of playing any kind of team defence.
throw in Jay too
Hand the car keys to DeRozen, and call our team a 10-72 team.
it’s true. but if i’m the coach i’ll take every single player by the neck.
I think everyone should calm the f*** down. Phoenix is one of the top teams in the league. I think we did a decent enough job on defense. Not good exactly, but not terrible for this team. It was our offense that failed, and I hate to go all smitch here, but we just needed to make shats. If we had shot our normal percentage from 3, we would have won the game. And our misses weren’t due to great D on phoenix’s part, for the most part they came in the flow of the offense and we just missed ‘em. Bosh did a great job on the boards, Bargs was good enough, and Turk just had an off game.
To quote Walter Sobchek: Nothing is fucked here, dude. Nothing is fucked.
if we replay this game 100 times we’ill find 100 different ways to lose it
I agree, and love your quote!
where you watching the game??? how many games are you going to win by allowing teams to score 100+ every night. keep teams from hitting there scoring average, the raps have more then enough offense to win. too many scorers in the starting lineup. need more balance offense/defense
We did hold them under their average. They scored 113 points on 108 possessions, for an offensive efficiency of 104.6, well below their season average of 113.9. You really can’t complain about the D too much on this one.
One thing you are missing. The raptors needed to win this game. In a playoff series when a team usually wants to win it to keep themselves alive, they usually do. Good teams put up great efforts, sometimes those efforts come up short, but it usually comes down to the final shot.
Now that is in a playoff series, this is regular season and at home, after a lot of tough talking.
If this does not tell us what we have, than what does?
.
Can there be a tie for “Under the Bus” – Marco & Wright.
Phoenix is one potent offensive team. I think Nash had 2 rainbow shots that swished – with Andrea in his face, and hands extended.
To win against a team like the Suns, we need our Bench to shine. And as much as our two Bigs gave us 54 points, we need more than 2 points from our PG. We also need Amir’s energy from more guys.
Not that this is a reason for our woes, but when do we start playing the easy teams.
.
Just our luck, the Knicks, Nets, 76ers and Wizards will all get good by the time we actually get to play them.
Or maybe just when we play them.
What’s this about Evans being back quicker than we think?
now we have a loser mantality. need a change, in every way
You can buy instant “offense”, but “defense” requires a long term commitment from a “team”. Team defense requires a high bball IQ because you must anticipate the ball handler plus the other 4 players … not an easy state of mind … but non-athletic t.h. fans can’t understand that because they only watch the ball.
I enjoyed the game … watching the Suns discombobulate the developing Raptor team … particularly watching Nash do his surgery while taking lil’ fade-away pot shots … really amusing …LOL
The Suns showed how a “team” plays bball against an inferior opponent still trying to gel as a team. What it also demonstrates is that playing 3 tall players all 6′10″(Bosh, Bargs, Hedo) and over, are just not fast enough to stop a high scoring running team like the Suns.
It was noted that the Suns only play defense at crucial times .. while pressing their run’n gun offense … a joy to watch ..!!!!
They are 7-11, relax. You’d think they were the Nets or something they way all of you bitch and complain.
EXPECTATION. YOU DON’T SIGN BARGS LONG TERM, TURK LONG TERM, JACK LONG TERM, AND KICK YOUR FEET UP AND ACCEPT THAT TYPE OF EFFORT. I SEE NO OVERALL DIFFERNCE IN THIS TEAM FROM LAST YEARS TEAM. THE GOAL WAS THE PLAYOFFS, RIGHT NOW IF THEY DO MANAGE TO SQUEAK IN, THAT MEANS THEY WILL FACE ORLANDO (LOSE), BOSTON (LOSE), CLEVELAND (LOSE), ATLANTA ( STRUGGLE, LOSE). SO KNOWING THAT, YOU STILL WANT TO RELAX. THIS IS ABOUT WINNING AND BATTLING TO THE END, EVEN IF YOU DON’T WIN. YOU CAN SEE THE ACCEPTANCE OF LOSING ON THIS TEAM. IT DOESN’T BOTHER THEM . SIGN IVERSON!!!
For my part, I think signing Bargs to an extension was the best deal done this summer. Turk worst signing of the summer, and Jack O.K. pick up. However, it is the contract of Hedo that is scaring me. It will come back to hunt us in 2 years, just wait and see.
each player just play for himself.
the suns play in such a beauty manner…each of the them shares the ball,every body, moves everybody scores. we just throw the rock
caldy+bosh > losers
nash+Amare > mvp, all Nba
equals from distance, but on the field…
You do realize that the second part of your equation should read with only Nash’s name. Amare had the nickname “Stat” for a reason… that was/is all he ever worries about. Nash makes him a helluva lot more effective than he actually is…
damn Nash has gotten a silly amount of bad contracts signed by making mediocre players look like superstars. The next collective bargaining agreement probably should have a “Nash teammate” clause to keep salaries down
Standing Tall And Talented FTW
I’ll keep amare over bosh anytime.
at least he’s a badass, we’re stuck with rupaul
wow come to think of it, bringing in iverson is the only way to change the mentality of this soft team.
Now I was just like most of you saying we dont need iverson, but lets face it, he might be cocky but its better than those pussies we have on our team, plus he can solve that third quarter problem we have by turning the switch on.
its not like Derozan was goin to be the starter forever….
Iverson… As ridiculous as I would have considered that a few days ago, it does seem intriguing doesn’t it? Imagine him in place of DeRozan on the starting five…
I know, it’s nuts but when things look as bleak as they are starting to, these crazy ideas start to look tempting don’t they?
i dont think bringing in iverson or mcgrady is a bad idea if only to replace mr wright as demars mentor.
Yes, because you want a guy who doesn’t practice or workout much and sulks if he isn’t the main players, or a guy who had the talent to be an MVP, but is incredibly lazy and injury prone, to be mentors for DeRozan.
Do you people follow the NBA at all????
McGrady and Iverson?
The ONLY thing McGrady would bring to the Raptors is an expiring contract.
And do you really want to bring in two below average defenders to a team whose biggest weakness is defense?
I’m sorry, but some of you people are ridiculous.
Next game, send a Raptors Access question to Collangelo, and ask him why he won’t get Iverson?
Do we really need another poor defensive undersized guard? Let’s put the Iverson thing to rest.
How come some teams look energized all the time and Raps always look tired? Do they need a curfew or something?
After watching the effort in Charlotte, I couldnt stand to watch another defensive implosion so I stuck with the NFL.. I have never seen a team with fewer offensive rebounds..a sure sign of lack of effort as well as poor technique. Anyone who has watched Dennis Rodman in his prime (I saw him pull down 17 O-boards one night) could only wish that the raptors would find a talent like him…Instead of the wimps that fill out the roster now.
After the Friday Fiasco, I didn’t know what we’d see today. Breathing fire or still nursing the trauma they must’ve carried out of the locker room in Boston? I wouldn’t say it was in-between, ‘cause it looked like they had a plan to play strong … but either they just don’t have the horses to pull the full load, or … they need more time to find those elusive cohesive qualities that winning teams develop, or … maybe the coaching just isn’t good enough to properly cultivate what a team needs to ‘bring it’ every day, enough to win in the NBA with consistency. I don’t know … but what I really wonder is, does BC know?
Bargnani brought it, especially defensively, I thought. He chased after rebounds, certainly more than we’re used to seeing and he kept moving well, getting himself to where he should’ve been. Offensively, he looked ready to go off, but … well … another had to be fed … and there’s only so much ball to go around (or maybe I was just seeing it that way). Bosh was good and what else can you say when a guy scores 30 and pulls down 17 rebounds? But Bosh is only ‘full-value good’ when his jumper is falling and … it wasn’t much today, that I saw. Same with Calderon. What’s up with him this year? I remember thinking that his shot was getting consistently better (before this season) but now, I just don’t know. I also used to think he had a much higher ceiling than what I do now. Watching Nash, I wondered about what a luxury it must be to have a player like that at the point. And I reminisced about those times when I thought Jose had a chance to get that good, if he really worked at it. I wish I could say I still even hoped that it could be so. But … no. I don’t really hope that anymore.
I hate the 3rd quarter
We have failed! Yes it really early in the season…we have plenty of basketball left to play. Am I panicking? YES! I think we will get wins as time progresses and sneak into the playoff for a very quick exit.
Problem is that’s not good enough. We openned our wallets this offseason to be a good basketball team capable of making some noise in the payoffs. When Bosh leaves this is going to be a sad team. And he is definately leaving. I mean how can he stay??? I wouldn’t! He is gaining a bad rep in the league due in large to his teammates and not neccessary himself. Our nucleus of Calderon and Bargnani needs to be broken up. For sure politics will not allow Bargnani to go but really a starting lineup of Hedo, Bargnani, Calderon and a Rookie screams exploitation. My suggestion is to get rid of Calderon…he isn’t really good at creating on offence and we all know he isn’t a lock down defender. If he can’t creat easy shots on offence and take PGs off the dribble he really is of no use to us.
Well, Calderon has kind of a bad contract. 8 million? Are you kidding me? I don’t think anyone will want him, except if they are a dire need of a mediocre PG. And, I also think this line-up will ever work. There are just too many people who want their shots, and play little defense. And you know, I am sick and tired of people saying if bosh wants to stay. You know what, I am not sure if want to re-sign by the he is playing. He is a not a LEADER! He cares too about stats, and too little about winning. Bosh is perfect for a 2 man player on a team, just like Gasol, or Ray Allen. This team needs a leader more than anything. Look at our starting line up, there egos and attitudes are just a joke. Calderon is the only guy, who I see actually cares about winning. Other guys, are just worrying about stats, and Bosh is the prime example of that. But you know, I kind of sense a leader in DD. I still believe in this guy. I think it will be dejavu all over again. Bosh leaves, and a new guy takes over the team. This is a cycle that we just can’t get out of. DD is the only bright light I can see in this team…
As much as I like Jose Calderon, perhaps it is time to trade him while he still has a decent reputation. This team is absolutely brutal defensively and is not winning the shoot outs like it was designed to. Jose is struggling with his shot, that I am sure will come around, but his defensive play likely never will. Why not see if there is any interest in trading his “steady” hand for someone with a little bit more athleticism. Besides, Jarret Jack is just as steady of an option as Jose, and is a better defender. His shot may not be quite as good, but I would rather have a PG with average shooting who does not get violated by faster PG’s on every possession.
I agree with you there RAPMAN, Hedo looks like he is 80! Joke the Orlando GM told Portland when they lost out on him that they weren’t missing much. He is alright in all fairness to him if he plays with solid defence guards so he doesn’t have to play too much defence. He had that when he came in the league with the Kings and the Spurs and more recently with Orlando. What scares me is he is a month and a half into a 5 year contract and he looks like he is riding on empty.
Guys, Give it a rest !!! There is not going to be any trades any time soon. The players that you want to move have big contract and not so good of Reputation.
It is too early in the season and also no other team is thinking about making thise major changes that such a trade requires.
Also with summer of 2010, not many teams want to tie themself now with 3-4 year old contracts for guys like Calderon, AB and Turk.
So this is it people. These are the guys you have with edition of Reggie. End of the Story.
Yeah, no big trades this early. Not like we could have had Stephen Jackson for nothing like Charlotte did. Hard to imagine a big athletic PG with a nasty attitude, great shooting and strong defense helping out…
Apathy (also called impassivity or perfunctoriness) is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest or concern to emotional, social, or physical life.
Often, apathy has been felt after witnessing horrific acts, such as the killing or maiming of soldiers(raptors) during a war(insert game or season(s) here)
Yep folks, this is what it has come to for me.
The Raps are becoming the poor mans Golden State, except Golden State are fun to watch even when losing.
I think Bargnani needs to go to the bench like Odom, J. Crawford have done and now Villenueva.
Three guys who can score, especially the last two but whose defense is highly questionable.
I don’t know who would start in his place but the Raptors need to start a big man who can defend, grab rebounds and stay out of foul trouble.
There would still be enough scoring on the first unit without Bargnani and Bargnani, Belinelli and Jack would make for a very potent second unit. Bargnani’s poor defense would be as much a negative if you put him on the second unit.
One of the better suggestions I have read amongst all the gloom and doom lately. There really needs to be a defensive presence in the middle and Bargs as we have seen is certainly not up to it. Bargs can come in for his instant offence with the second crew and possibly cudgel the opposing second group. Never thought I’d be looking forward to a Evans as much as is obvious for what this team really needs. Even getting Rasho some more minutes and slipping Bosh in there to play centre (which he has done before) should be tried. Anything but this pitiful display of nightly capitulation….unless of course they come up against the dregs in the league and having everything fall for them. I am tired of this marvellous jump shooting play which works once in eight games or so.
So what are all you whiny apocalyptic prognosticators going to do when they are two games over five hundred by the end of December. I’m sure you’ll find other things to complain about.
And FAQ calling anybody out from some kind of overwrought sense of your own superiority is a gas and a half. You write like some geeked out fanboy in your mothers basement. I’m sure she makes great cookies, and just because your jack mag is a thesaurus doesn’t make you a genius. Careful of the assumptions you make about other people.
Weren’t some of you saying they were going to go 2-8 in their first ten?
So we’re 7-11 after having the worst November schedule in the entire NBA. More road games and more games against perennial playoff teams than anybody else…Yeah and you’re tired of hearing that excuse…maybe it’s not a f*cking excuse…maybe it’s the reality.
In short spurts we’ve seen what this team can be. If they don’t fold after the way they were just tested, then they will find their rhythm. Between the listless Turk and the bizarre clanking rim from three point land, this wasn’t an ordinary game. We didn’t miss those shots because Phoenix is a great perimeter defensive team…we just missed ‘em this time. We’re ranked third in the NBA in 3 point percentage for a reason…but sometimes they don’t fall.
Man I hope for the sake of all your wives and girlfriends that you’re not this fickle in your real life.
Have to say amen to your comments. If we look at the upcoming schedule there are a lot of games coming up where I like our chances. Success breeds success and this team just needs a nice winning streak to loosen things up.
It wasn’t the loss that has made me so frustrated. It is our complete lack of improvement shown on the defensive end. Amare punished Jose every single time he switched on (which was a lot) by getting really deep post position so he could score before the help came. Phoenix found ways to adjust, and we didn’t have it in us play solid D. Again.
The Raps are not capable of making a string of defensive stands. We should be making other teams work hard to get their points. We have a good offence, but we have to work hard for all of our points it seems. Bosh has to hustle and grind. Amir the same. Turk needs to fight through tough screens etc… The Raps just happen to be offensively talented to overcome this most of the game.
But, on offence, the third quarters have hurt us because coming out of the half other teams ramp up their defences. In the playoffs, that level of effort lasts a whole game. What do we do then?
We play good teams and lose. I can live with that. It is what I see when I watch the games that bothers me. Ya, it is an overreaction maybe, to blow up the team. But man, is it frustrating to see this squad playing in the here and now, especially when we waste a good effort by Bargnani, and beastly effort by Bosh.
Look I get it. I’ve sworn at the TV. But I’m taking issue with the arm chair GM’s who offer these overtly simplistic trade him for him scenario’s, without a clue as to what goes in to a trade much less what it takes to field a winning team.
Nash has carved up fourteen other teams. And he’s going to do it for the rest of the season. You can’t defend against a player like that. And we still held them under percentage and point total for their average. What killed us was our offence.
And as defensively deficient as Jose is, there’s no point guard on the planet that is going to stop Amare. The guys a complete beast.
I think Bosh is becoming a stats collecter but he does try to win though. I think Bosh is doing what he needs to do. What more can the guy do. The Raptors and politics in the front office have let him down. You can’t teach hurt, hustle and pride. I like Jose’s passion on occasion but Bargnani doesn’t play with any agressiveness or passion. He does have talen shooting the rock at his size but he needs a level of cockiness to hid game and play with a swag. Little things like that makes you better. He looks scared or worried most times…watch him sometimes when he makes a good play and check his facial expression. He doesn’t seem like he likes playing, like it’s a duty for him.
I thought with a few more seasons under his belt Jose would become a toptier PG in the league and a very good creater and scorer for the shoot out type of basketball we try to play but he hasn’t improved and his potential looks to me to have capped. The Raps should either look to trade him or ride it out with him and be hopeful for the draft. In my opinion even though many on the roster have struggled our lack of a fast penetrating PG who can create for himself and give others easy opportunities like a Jennings or a T. Evans helps the team a lot especially one constructed like ours.
Maybe AB needs a nice signorina in the evenings to keep him upbeat about his dayjob. But then again he looks tired and pissed most of the time so I wonder if he is playing too much at nights.
The Raps are 1-1 vs. teams worse than them in the standings. They are the 22nd best team in the NBA. They have not played many teams worse than them. There are certainly teams worse than them in the league. I’m sure the Raps will play them soon.
Since people seem to be commenting on Bargs still I gonna post this mainly because Bargs was a different player today and was in the game, the whole game. I mean, you have to see he was different today or you aren’t seeing. No, the reasons they lost today are on Calderon, Turk, Beli, and Wright. Pretty simple really. This group may have included Bargs on a few other occasions but not today. But this group in general, over the past couple games – yikes.
Well…hold on here. BC still has a couple of moves left up his sleeve to salvage the season:
Option #1 – Fire Triano. If Mitchell had to pay for the J.O. deal, it follows that Triano should have to pay for Turkoglu. And it isn’t going to be Maurizio Gheardini. Either way, there should be no mud thrown on Colangelo’s $2100 Italian-made suit. In a moment of poetic justice, I say they fire Jay next season after an 8-9 start.
Option #2 – Orchestrate a gutsy trade deadline deal. Remember – when BC took over this team we were still recovering from the Babcock era. Colangelo traded his way out of it. He shipped Charlie V. out, flipped him into TJ Ford, rolled him up into Jermaine O’Neal, recycled him into an expiring Shawn Marion and then shanghaied Portland into letting us outbid them for the services of the Big Turk (Along the way, he turned us into a 47 win team and then into a 33 win team and finally into the disaster you see before you). Good thing we didn’t just hang onto Villenueva. Why do that when you could just overpay a 36 year old Turkoglu 5 years from now? You don’t win Executive of the Year awards by just standing pat. You gotta keep making bold decisions.
Option #3 – Bring in more unherealded foreign talent – Remember Euro-league import Will Solomon and young Roko Ukic? Gheardini and Colangelo really have a way of sniffing out winners that 30 other teams have passed on. Oh wait – we’ve already tried this option…by bringing Pops back again for Round 2. Maybe we can find someone else with an even crazier first name to electrify the ACC crowd.
Option #4 – Build through the draft. Lets say, for shits and giggles, that we somehow finish out of the playoffs and back in the lottery – even though 16 teams make it to the postseason every year and we’ve spent to the luxury tax (again). Then the solution is simple – we let Colangelo draft our way out of it. Maybe we even luck out and land the first pick. Hopefully, there’ll be another Brandon Roy in the mix.
Option #5 – Blow the whole thing up again. When all else fails, BC can do what he usually does and just fire the players. Forget bringing 3 guys back (Calderon, Bosh and the #1 ‘07 pick, Bargnani – all holdovers from the Babcock era) – just ship everybody out. I want to see 15 new faces on the floor next October. Just to keep it interesting.
i’m very disappointed with the team! the team is still soft and a bunch of pussies. same old problem, the team is too nice. i first saw it in the denver game, when jr smith had a breakaway dunk and bowed to the home crowd, i expected a hard foul. then the boston game with paul fucking pierce kneeing bosh’s manhood and giving him the seductive faggoty look. and then today when amare gets on bosh again, and only jose pretends like usual to be the vocal leader fouls nash but is the first to pick him up. what was that? he does not want to upset the canadians at the acc? then he should have fouled some1 else.
if this continues, bosh is a big sign that he will ditch us as it looks like he doesnt have the support of his teammates. too bad reggie aint here and he would have crushed paul pierce’s nuts with his bare hands. but come on, is there anyone else??? pops aint that guy, he just wants to destroy and take the crap out of the basketball rim. and please could we get rid of obryant??? send him to the dleague or to europe for good.
the offense has vastly improved, but the toughness still aint there. i thought this is hockey town, where you got guys in the league like laraque, lucic, ruutu, and mr. avery. o wait, those guys dont play for the leafs.
I truly love reading the comments and suggestions here from people with strong pro or college basketball experience (as you seem to have the solutions of the Raptors woes). As BC regularly visits here, he should be studying them seriously.
I think the Raptor’s plays and coaching are adjusting/reacting to situations but not at the rate that we want them to (but hey, are we in a position to set this rate? And maybe BC and JT have their own performance milestones set for this team.). Second, someone has to evolve quickly as emotion/mental stabilizer during crucial periods (the infamous 3rd quarter meltdown) – good teams have guards performing this, and in the current Raptor’s case it is JT’s timeout hoping the players calm down and dump that panicking mindset (the signature jump shots that almost always miss is one of the manifestations). Calderon is not there yet, but Turk is the better candidate based on his experience and maturity (although he hasn’t recovered his old self yet). Turk is hesitant to take over because he is still new and also probably out of respect for the Raptor’s old three especially to Calderon. But be it Calderon or Turk, someone has to want it and must declare it! (Definitely not CB or AB as they are just receivers). I am sure we still have to see yet the best of this team.
And finally for the tense people here, maybe take viagra to relieve that strong emotion inside as spilling it here will sometimes only partially work! Go Raps Go.
A nice counterpoint to the chemically imbalanced nihilistic radicals that lace this forum with vitriol.
If the Viagra doesn’t work they can always try Quaaludes or perhaps something of the illegal mood modifying street variety.
The sad, truthful part of all this is If Colangelo were to ever get relived of his duties, MLSE will not hire a top notch GM. They will appoint Gherardini as new GM and president.
I have no doubt in my mind about that. He’s a great business man ( Poor B-ball evaluator) and holds all kind of contacts in Europe which MLSE will be looking to get a piece of in terms of TV contracts, business developers, maybe Real estate, maybe MLSE will want to buy a soccer team down in Italy in the future?
It’s a business to MLSE bring in an all Euro team to reflect the city of Toronto. Get a bunch of nice guys that are always polite to the media and fans. Will never be disruptive and always shake hands and hug opposing players. Boooom!! More tickets will be sold that way. Forget about real talent. You think Tanaenbaum wants a group of tough black players with shady pasts? After all the Vince Carter BS they went through. Even if they are talented and can rebound and play defense MLSE will not go that route.
Management would rather have Sasha Vujacic over JR Smith.
jim balsillie, please buy the toronto raptors!!!
WE DESERVE BETTER .. blow it all up .. trade Jose and Bargs .. fire Triano .. fire BC .. Hedo is a flop .. we want “wins wins wins” … whhhaaaaa …!!!!
Tribal honking fans (aka non-athletic crud) demand a winning team for Toronto regardless of the reality that the team is essentially composed of 3 veteran core players (Bosh, Bargs, Jose) .. and 12 newbies … so obvious.
Still the tribal honkers expect miracles and wins wins wins … otherwise their life is not worth living … LOL
This forum is becoming a pathetic hole filled with honking whiners …. and if they want “wins”, they should be rooting for another team .. like Milwaukee maybe …
Non-athletic crud? Have you looked down at your waistline between each orgasmic giggle you experience admiring your own genius? I think not.
It’s amusing because you totally come across as someone who needs to post incessantly (usually about the same things over and over again) for your life to be worth living.
Sadly, the only thing pathetic is the sad, sad woman who brought you into this world. Get a life. Your past days playing college basketball (if even) don’t constitute one.
Via the earlier idea concept of New Orleans trade.
Verbatim makes a good point, bring back Tmac.
Also try to fit in A.I. and have they adjust their games and we may have our own big three with Bosh.
Plus we really need a true center.
have them* adjust their games, i meant.
I am under no illusions that the trade I proposed will vault our team to success. Adding AI, another ego alongside of T-Mac would probably also hurt. There is after all, only one ball.
It was proposed as an idea to free up capspace, and see what T-Mac and Bosh had to offer in terms of entertainment. We would not be a deep team, and would suffer enormously down the stretch.
And it was not really a reasonable trade scenario – bot this early. Just more of a venting of frustration.
vent is good.
I mean is not like New Orleans will give up CP3 for anyone, expect maybe CB4 and might not even do that. Which all in all defeats the chance of CP3 paired with CB4 in T.dot.
1) Banks and Bargnani to New Orleans for Okafor
2) Tmac and Budinger(I’m not a fan) for Turk, Weems, and Calderon?
3) bring in A.I. as shooting guard could be possible, if he can handle less shots but starting. Sacrifice for the team and allow DD to grow his game offensively through A.I. is not half bad. just not the other half where he holds the ball and tells everyone to get out of the way.
Than we could have something of a starting line up like:
Jack
A.I.
Tmac
Bosh
Okafor
kinda of interesting, just venting though.
i would rather trade anyone/everyone in our roster for steve nash.
jose caldereta still sucks!
Iverson doesnt play defense and is undersized so we would continue to get lit up.
Even though he wouldnt help in getting wins, atleast it would make for an interesting starting 5.
5 guys who can score in bunches and play zero D :)
Ehmmm… I need some videos about Calderon “defense” and even on Wrigth “shot selection”
Just a comment about Bosh and his what, 17 rebounds yesterday… did u see some of the rebounds though? there were a few where it was literally like 4 raptors, and no suns players standing around after a phoenix miss and the ball is literally about to be grabbed by another Raptors player and Bosh comes out of no where, being the most physical i think i have ever seen the guy play against someone, and pretty much ripping the ball away from another one of our players.
I appreciate the aggressiveness, but i swear on one play, Bargs literally had the ball in his hands before Bosh just ripped it from him, knocking Bargnani to the floor… and we wonder why Bosh is leading the league in double doubles and we are disappointed with Bargs’ lack of rebounds…
I know what you mean, but it’s a state of mind I appreciate. Just attacking the ball and owning it regardless of who is there. All the great rebounders have the same attitude “thats MY ball”