I have absolutely no interest in writing about the Raptors right now. If I did, I would write a Choose Your Own Adventure style column, or a Mad Libs column, similar to the following:
“__(curse word) __ (curse word) ___(curse word) Jay Triano ___ (curse word) defense ________ (curse word) polar bears ________ (curse word) OLIVER MILLER!!!”
And I’m sure everyone reading this has already wrote, spoke, or thought that sequence multiple times in the last few weeks. So instead, I’ve decided to put in just slightly more effort than the Raptors on the defensive end and offer a player-by-player First Quarter Bitch SlapEvaluation. Enjoy, and step back from that ledge, my friend.
Chris Bosh
Level of Failing: Exonerated by comparison
Key Number: 25.93
What It Is: His Player Efficiency Rating, good for 7th in the NBA
Why I Hate Him: Because two weeks ago that read “2nd in the NBA,” and because the further this team spirals, the more likely it is he’ll leave town. Hey, I know the field is split on paying Bosh maximum money, expecially given the team’s struggles and his own sub-par defense, but the guy has been the 7th most efficient offensive player in the league (and that includes the stink bomb he dropped in Georgia). Being the best player on a struggling team has never been more of a backhanded compliment.
Andrea Bargnani
Level of Failing: Not as high as previous seasons
Key Number: 7/10
What It Is: The number of “Best Five” combinations Bargnani appears in, including all of the top five.
Why I Hate Him: Even with all of his improvements, he’s still not a superstar on offense (17.61 PER, still pretty nice), and even with that he’s an “even” player in terms of plus/minus because his defense is fairly porous and the rest of the team appears to, well, suck. That said, his “Hollinger Stats” (True Shooting %, Rebounding Rate, PER) are all at career-high levels.
Jose Calderon
Level of Failing: Annoying
Key Number: -5.4
What It Is: His PER differential according to 82games.com, meaning despite his above-average PER of 17.3, he is still, as Dave Feschuk put it, “turning every opposing point guard into Steve Nash.”
Why I Hate Him: Because I could beat him off the dribble. Seriously, I’m not ready to throw one of my favorite players under the bus this early, but his offensive efficiency has slipped a bit (18.80 PER to 16.21), making his obvious defensive shortcomings even more frustrating.
Hedo Turkoglu
Level of Failing: $10M
Key Number: 10.6
What It Is: Field goal attempts per game, his lowest amount since 2003-04 and 25% less than last year.
Why I Hate Him: His usage on the offensive end might not be his own fault, but he has been fairly passive at times. His PER is also below league average for the second year in a row (13.67). It doesn’t seem as if his offensive skills have deteriorated much, as his shooting percentages are up from last year and his rebounding rate has only slightly decreased. Strangely enough, his PER is a +2.0, meaning he’s done a decent job against opposing small forwards…though this seems like a potential mathematical error. Regardless, $10M for slightly below average offense and a passive manner on the floor? Yikes. Somehow, still, the Raptors have been better with him on the floor, but it’s probably because he’s always playing with the best Raptors (?? I don’t know, this confounded me).
Jarrett Jack
Level of Failing: Jeff Jarrett
Key Number: 12.4
What It Is: His Points Per Game over the last eight, after averaging just 6.2 in the first twelve
Why I Hate Him: Because there hasn’t been a statistical improvement over last year’s point guard rotation (Calderon-Ukic-WoSo). While some of this can be levied on Jose, Jack was just awful for the first dozen games. Lately, he’s been more aggressive and the results are apparent in the box score. Still, and my apologies to the dead horse I’m beating, his defense has been at times insufferable. He’s played just over half of his minutes at PG, where he has held opponents to a phenomenal 10.5 PER, but he’s played the rest at SG, where he’s essentially turning opposing players into Manu Ginobili with a PER of 21.5. But hey, at least someone is finally speaking up on this team!
DeMar DeRozan
Level of Failing: Rookie T-Mac
Key Number: 7.0-4.2-1.5 on 45% shooting
What It Is: T-Mac’s numbers as a rookie (since that’s the rose-colored comparison, right?) compared to DeRozan’s 7.2-2.8-0.8 on 44% shooting.
Why I Hate Him: The Raptors have been worse with DeRozan on the floor (-6.1 points) than off (-2.1 points) but I think a lot of this has to do with the awfulness of the starting unit as a whole in the third quarter. DeRozan very clearly needs to be coming off the bench, and the reasons are threefold: to get some defense into the starting unit; to allow DeRozan to develop some offense (and get touches!) against players who aren’t the best in the league at their positions, and; both of those reasons again, since players are out producing him at SG (18.3 to 12.3 PER advantage) and SF (29.9 to 11.9 PER advantage….seriously…I actually can not believe this). The kid needs some help…he’s got big time potential but has been put into a pretty poor situation in terms of usage.
Marco Belinelli
Level of Failing: Not quite Devean George
Key Number: 117.9
What It Is: The team’s offensive efficiency rating with Marco on the floor, compared to it’s 116.9 defensive efficiency rating with him on the floor. There is just a lot of scoring when he’s out there.
Why I Hate Him: He’s actually been a positive, bringing some excitement and a 42.6% three-point mark. Lather, rinse, repeat about the defense and the softness, but at least he brings some intensity on offense and is fun to watch. He’d be an interesting fit in the starting lineup since the Calderon-Belinelli-Turkoglu-Bargnani-Bosh combination has been highly effective (83.3% win probability, 133.0 points per 100 possessions).
Amir Johnson
Level of Failing: N/A
Key Number: -7.1
What It Is: The Raptors net points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, making him, surprisingly, only a middle-class Raptor in that sense (but a disclaimer: this stat also claims Kevin Durant hurts his team….bull ISH, man).
Why I Hate Him: Amir has been the most pleasant surprise for the Raps this year. Whether it’s his near-league-best 64.1% shooting percentage (if he qualified), his 15.48 PER, his exemplary 17.1 Rebound Rate, or the fact that he constantly appears to be the only Raptor trying, Amir has been the man. At just 22, Amir still has some upside despite being a 5th-year veteran…it will be unfortunate if his minutes get crunched further when Reggie Evans returns (17.1 per game right now), since Amir can’t really play the three.
Antoine Wright
Level of Failing: Epic
Key Number: 3.11
What It Is: His PER, making him the worst offensive player in the NBA!!
Why I Hate Him: He’s always been far below average offensively (career high PER is 8.63) but this is ludicrous. Additionally, his defense has only been ‘alright,’ as he’s surrendered PERs of 18.6 and 16.9 to SGs and SFs, respectively. His net PER is close to the worst in the league, almost by default since the next worst offensive player (Mo-Pete!) has two full PER points on him. I am astounded by how bad the numbers are…28% shooting. Twenty Eight Percent Shooting. If I was an I-Chat person, I’d type “/wrists” (slash wrists) every time he touches the ball. Hey, remember when I thought he should be in the starting lineup for his D? I actually still think that, primarily for DeRozan reasons, but this certainly makes me look stubborn and stupid.
Sonny Weems
Level of Failing: Third Graham Triplet
Key Number: 127.8
What It Is: Opponents points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor…every night is like Wednesday night!
Why I Hate Him: Only POB has a worse “simple rating” and that’s in 15 minutes of play. Weems plays a lot of grabage time, but he has also been given some early-game run against more athletic opponents. He hasn’t earned it, apparently, shooting just 37% and missing all four of his threes. He brings some entertainment value and I don’t think he’s been as bad as the numbers suggest, but you can’t will away a -18.9 net points per 100 posessions when he’s on the floor. I wish you could.
Rasho Nesterovic
Level of Failing: Anti-Rasho
Key Number: 21.89
What It Is: His PER, are you f’ing serious? 18.3-and-10.5 per-40 rates and 60% shooting will do that for you.
Why I Hate Him: He is a new kind of slow, called Rasho-slow or Rashlow, but there is nothing else to hate. He’s held opposing centers to an 8.7 PER, giving him one of the most favorable PER gaps in the league. While he probably can’t be trusted to play 20 minutes a night at this point, by comparison he deserves to be playing 48. Despite his awesome sample-size-and-match-up-inflated numbers, the team is still far worse when he’s on the floor, suggesting opposing players can fill it up due to the absence of help defense, and the fact that the Raptors essentially play with four men and a screen on offense. (But let’s give it up for Rasho and that PER.)
Patrick O’Bryant, Pops Mensah-Bonsu
Level of Failing: DNQ
Key Number: 58
What It Is: Their combined minutes total.
Why I Hate Him: I’m not going to condemn the end-of-the-bench guys, though O’Bryant, based on “simple rating,” has been the team’s worst player…for 15 minutes.
Reggie Evans
Level of Failing: Reggie Evans-sized
Key Number: 0
What It Is: Minutes Played
Why I Hate Him: Please come back…and kick EVERYBODY’s ass in practice.
Look, I know I was picking and choosing stats, and some players maybe haven’t been as good or bad as I made it out…but I needed to vent, and looking at the numbers closely really did make me want to puke. Trash the piece if you must, but I’m sure a good chunk of you would rather trash the team. And, please, allow me a disclaimer: I don’t think this is an awful team. Awful defensively, yes, but this is still a playoff team just going through a really really tough stretch.
Now that it’s all over with, head here for help.
96 Raps
I’m pretty sure I could get a 3.11 PER, wow that’s embarassing.
Thats what happens when a guy “thinks he can shoot”. Thats what happens when you shoot 28% from the field, thats what happens when you jack up threes like a douche…. Thats what happens when you should be playing in the D-League.
Wright in college -”(As a junior, Wright ranked fourth in the Big 12 in scoring, with 17.8 points per game, and led the league in three-point completion percentage (.447)” WTF happened.
I remember seeing Wright play in New Jersey and thinking he had the worst offensive skill set I’ve ever seen on a player in this league. Now, seeing him play every night, I’m all the more sure of that…
Is that stat correct, is he actually the worst in the NBA??
Yup…dead last, 315th of 315 who qualify…MoPete is next closest at 5.12.
so mopete is 60% better then antoine wright? LOL
Worst offensive player in the league, and also #1 most annoying locker room presence on our roster. Talks a big talk, walks a weak walk- more of a limp. BC will ship is a** out of here before Feb for sure.
Scroll down to Advanced, actually says 3.0 there:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/wrighan01.html
I was going off ESPN.com for PER, for reference, and 82games.com for defensive PER (some slight differences but the point is the same).
Oh yeah! Bottom 5:
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2579/nbaworstper.png
Not ready to Blow it up yet. If by New Years we are still…. not good…. Then blow this shit to bits.
Not trashing the piece, but why point out all negative facts and conclude with “this is still a playoff team”?
Venting is fine, but don’t spend 3/4 of your article making us believe the players suck only to say they are playoff calibre or that they aren’t an “awful” team.
Fair enough…more or less I wanted to leave myself an out by making it clear I’m not quitting on the team, just extremely frustrated. They HAVE been bad, they CAN be good…you’re probably right that those are thoughts for separate articles.
Would have loved to see you add a “why I love him” line to balance it off. This would have made a nice offsetting argument.
I can appreciate the frustration.
I don’t understand how Bargs can be in 7/10 “best five” combinations when Rashlow’s PER is above 21.
All I know is when he (our starting Center) takes more 3’s than rebounds in a game it doesn’t result in a win-win-win (team-player-fans) scenario.
The data past the top 3 or 4 is sufficient anyway (top lineup #4 has only played 25 min together for the season vs our starting lineup at 190 min)
What’s VERY interesting is our closing lineup data: Win Percentage: 36.3%
http://www.82games.com/0910/0910TOR2.HTM
hey chris.the teams spiraling out of control and you’re leadership skills are non existent and we need you to come out big and LEAD US and thanks for the 2 pts and the NO SHOW….max money for this mental midget?…btw,playing d isnt standing in front of the bucket with your arms raised like a pylon.
At least he plays with his arms straight up and doesn’t lower his arms like Bargs does, getting called for silly fouls.
Chris altered 2 shots last night simply by having his arms straight up…small sample size in a brutal game, but he saved 4 points by doing just that.
Barg is terrible defender. I am not going to debate it.
Why do you have to compare him to barg. Defensive mechasim. The other person never compared Bosh to Barg. This is not about who is better. This is about the highest paid player who may get a 130 million dollar contract. The initial run that Atlanta made was when both Bosh and Amir were on the floor together. Both Bosh and Barg are terrible defenders. Why do we have discuss barg when someone is critiquing Bosh. One major difference I can think of is that we are paying one only 6.5 million the other 15.6 million this season.
What has this so called franchise player accomplished in Toronto?
Value in real life is not about numbers but results.
the question you should be asking is what any power foward in the league could have done with this roster. garnett had a similar one in minnesota that went nowhere. don’t forget that.
The T-wolves never one a title but they did chllenge have a couple of pretty successful years with Garnett. Sure the roster is not ideal if Bosh is the center piece but let’s also consider the fact that Garnett caried that team to the playoffs several times on the strenth of his play alone. Can you really see Bosh doing that? Plus I don’t see any of the desire from Bosh that I saw from Garnett.
they had one successful year, with a team that had sam cassel and latrell sprewel and a couple others on it. those guys are loads better then what bargnani has ever had. play fair man. i could see bosh have a 45+ win team with players that were comperable to those minnesota teams. now i’m not saying bosh is better then garnett, i’m just saying if had those players, this on this team, the raptors would be loads better. can we agree on that?
yes, though I assume you meant Bosh not Bargs. I was more concerned that Bosh was being made out to be as good as Garnett. Guy was a monster.
yes, i meant bosh there, thanks. and he’s not as good as garnett, i agree with you there.
KG has made the All-Defensive team 10 times in his career. Bosh… never.
The Twovles had a winning percentage of .520 throughout his tenure. Bosh – .430.
THings were going great for that Minnie team UNTIL—> “I got kids to Feed” came into the mix
“The T-wolves never one a title but they did chllenge have a couple of pretty successful years with Garnett.”
Minnie had quite a good playoff run for several years in a row. KG had Cassell, Spreewell and Trenton Hassell on his team then + some less known players. Not an all-star type of supporting cast, but they played well as a team.
You cannot really say that Raptors played well as a team this year. Perhaps, first game only, which is strange as they were new to each other. I see a huge coaching problem here. Triano is just too soft towards players and yet stubborn when it comes to changing his “defensive schemes”.
This team has resigned as far as I can see, and it will be interesting to see if Colangelo will be able to change anything. I remember him saying “that he wants to create winning culture” in TO. All I can see is a total resignation.
I actually agree with you.
In the early parts of his career, most of the offense went thorugh kevin garnett. Great numbers but no result.
After he was traded to Boston, he focused more on the defensive end and played great TEAM basketball. He accepted the role as not being the man but one who wanted to win. Chris Bosh wants to be the man even if that means taking 26 shots for 30 points in Phoenix, 22 shots for 22 points against Washington and getting two points in Atlanta. Analyze the first game against Cleveland. The reason why they excelled is because they played an all-round team basketball game. Sharing the basketball not caring about stats produces wins.
chris bosh is a team player. he isn’t a selfish guy, and has only taken 20 shots 4 times this season (2-2 in those games btw)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=1977
he averages 16.6 shots a game, to score 24.1 points a game, that is pretty efficient man.
bargnani on the other hand takes 13 shots a game to score 17
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/gamelog?playerId=2987
let me ask, who would you rather have take the shots here?
Bargnani has taken 80 shots from outside the 3 points line to Bosh 10. Bosh has taken 208 shots from the free throw line to Barg 66 . It is far easier to score from the free throw line , we all know that.
The point is that these two players complement each other on the offensive. The defensive game is another story.
Bosh has taken 20+ shots six times actually.
Bargnani’s eFG% = 55%
Bosh’s eFG% = 48%
Based on that Bargnani should take more shots.
There you go bringing up bargs name again. In my post did I ever mention Barg or compare him to Bosh. This board is really inflicted with a bad case of defensive mechanism. Criticize Bosh, they comment about Barg.
I just want the ball movement to generate the scoring as opposed Calderon dishing to Bosh and everyone waits to see what happens. This has not led to any success for the team.
Why is Bosh better when Bargs is also on the floor?
at brain Colangelo
Bosh plays better when Barg is on the floor because Bargs spreads because of his jump shooting. This increases Bosh’s chance of getting close to the rim an getting one on ones. This part of the offense has been working well when Bargs becomes a threat. My problem is this team goes into stretches where they repeatedly just go into Bosh and Forget Bargs,which hurts their offensive strategy. Not that the offence is the problem here. Someone please correct me if I’m mistaken.
Chris is an expert at defending slam dunks with his balls.
HAHAHAHA
That is the rap of the day!
Funny piece, true too. This is a playoff team only if they fix their effort issues and Triano understands what he has at his disposal and plays to their strengths, not weaknesses. Even then, it’ll be tough because it’s not like teams Washington, Charlotte and Chicago will just fall by the wayside. There’s also Philly and Detroit to consider, both have started poorly but have enough talent to make a run.
Thought you had us as a playoff team from the start?
I was counting on effort. Silly me.
So is this still a playoff team?
This is a 42 win playoff team if they at least try to play defense and if the goddamn starting lineup is fixed up.
Raptors are a constipated team .. and it’s Bosh who is bunging things up … The team needs an enema to flush out Bosh and bring in some athletic players, because Bosh is the only tradeable chip on this team.
Bosh for Beasley & picks?
Bosh for Ellis & Biedrins/Randolph?
Jose’s D is passable on a better team. Look at Atlanta: they hide Bibby really well on D because their SG is an above average defender, their PF and C are also good. We do not have that going for this team.
The one thing I really do pin on Triano is keeping the Jack and Jose combo on the floor. It just does not make sense.
J&J on the floor together has been a disaster – Why can’t Triano just admit he’s made a mistake and move on?
There is no hiding anyone’s defensive liabilities on the Raptors right now. But they should be able to do a better job than over the past 10 games!
“He’s played just over half of his minutes at PG, where he has held opponents to a phenomenal 10.5 PER”
Ivaroni: “Hey Jay, let’s try starting Jack…its a better fit…Jose won’t get burned by the second string guys and Jack is a stopper – just look at his PER!!!”
Jay: “Nah, we’ll start Calderon”.
In this whole equation, why do we think Iavaroni is the voice of reason?
I blame him for our defensive schemes, and the pointless switching and over-helping. He was brought in to design our defence. And he has no record of good defensive coaching!
Totally agree – Just couldn’t think of anyone else to play the part of “voice in his ear”.
At the end of the day though, Triano is the captain of the ship…if he doesn’t like the schemes he can have them changed.
Change Iavaroni to Boogie and I am with you!
This guy from Nicaragua can play ball like Chris Bosh. Check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmPmIJyi0sc&NR=1
Ahh Just got Rick Rolled, hey at least playing that will pass the time when the Raps are playing.
An interesting trade scenario for the Raps: Andre Miller is unhappy in Portland. Portland wanted Turkoglu this summer. A Jose Calderon/Hedo Turkouglu/Rasho Nesterovic trade for Andre Miller/Travis Outlaw/Joel Pryzbilla would make sense for both teams. Raps gets some badly needed defense and Portland gets some 3-point shooting they they need as well as Turk playing point forward. Only snag…this trade cannot be made at the moment because several players were recently signed to new contracts.
I think the earliest recently signed players can be traded is December 15th. I’d do that trade in a second, but I’m not sure Portland would go for it. Hedo’s 5 years are a killer.
I was thinking the same thing, especially since Miller doesn’t look like a fit in Portland. Also, I remember hearing Portland was interested in Calderon a couple years ago before he re-signed here. Guess it also depends on how badly Turkoglu burned his bridge in Portland by spurning them at the last second this summer (then again, teams overlook stuff like that if they think they can get better).
i’d be reaaaally surprised if portland makes any kind of move involving their young core. pritchard is in love with those guys. miller, on the hand, i could see being moved eventually.
Trading 2 of our best outside shooters (Jose, Hedo) for guys who can’t shoot is not such a good idea IMO. Who would we have as a deep threat to keep the defense honest? Only Bargs?
Outlaw and Prybilla really are solid defenders and Miller runs a nice offense though.
Pryzbilla is much too good to be given to us, and Portland knows this.
I don’t think Portland would do that deal, but they might do Calderon for Miller straight-up (with POB-type filler as needed to make the salaries balance). That would give the Raps a starting PG who plays reasonable defense, can drive and kick and is a distributor first. Portland has enough defense to cover for Calderon’s failings and would benefit from his reliable distribution and shooting. Seems like a win-win scenario.
Turkoglu wants to stay with the Raps. Dre Miller can’t shoot, which is why he is a journeyman, trading Rasho when he specifically wanted to sign with the Raps and is giving them good minutes — when he could have retired — would be a kick in the teeth.
I doubt either Turkoglu or Rasho would report to the Blazers.
And what do you do with Przbilla, play him ahead of Bargs? Then why not trade Bargs? There’s only so many minutes at the 5.
Garnett was always an exeptional defender. On the Bosh with as good a team theory, I think those teams had a lot more vets with game. However, I also think that
The East is pretty bad and if he can’t get this team that has a lot of talented players even if they’re cream puffs. Garnett in the day would have us 13-7 not the other way
Lies, damn lies .. and statistics …. okay, but I prefer a holistic view of the team and how the pieces fit together … rather than isolating the players and their statistics.
Reality is that the only way the Raptors can improve is to trade for more athletic and effective players, and still have a cogent team. So who sticks out on this team???… Bosh!!!!
Bosh just doesn’t belong on this team and should be traded asap … and besides, he’s the only viable trading chip the Raptors have. Then the Raptors can continue their ‘development’ and hopefully provide some decent entertainment too. Just a blue-collar multiculti team that Torontonians can associate with and forget the “wins”.
Again … I’ve suggested trading Bosh to the NYKs for Lee, Gallinari, Darko … and NYKs can use Bosh as bait for Lebron … why not, because after 2010, the Raptors and other mediocre teams will be crushed by max player teams. The NBA will become a mockery … unless they have a lockout by the owners to defeat max money contracts.
David Lee is tough to trade for.
On a 1 yr deal, Lee has to consent to a trade and give up his bird rights. Plus as a BYC his outgoing trade value is $3.5m, but his contract is for $7m.
I’d suggest looking at Chicago – they need offense, have defense to trade. I’m sure there are other easier situations.
brothersteve … Chicago is not interesting because their defensive bigs are all in their 30’s and tough to build on. Lee will not return to NY next season, Darko is talking about going back to Europe, and Gallinari would find a home in Toronto with the Raptors.
BC could easily offer Lee a 5 year $60Mil contract, Darko a chance to play starting center, and Gallinari a starring role with the Raptors and Gallinari a juicy extension in 2011.
Bosh certainly cannot be part of the Raptor’s future … so obvious now.
So we start Calderon, DD, Turk, Lee, and Darko? Then we have Gallinari, Bargs, Jack, Johnson/Evans and Belli off the bench. Not a bad team by the look of it. I might start bargs ahead of Darko and we’d still have no decent guy at shooting guard until DD develops but it has the look of a solid team. Does this trade work though?
Actually no they are not!
(Miller for Rasho would be a straight up except for dollars.)
Bosh is young – Raps have to demand youth back. See Deng, Noah, TT.
There should be a deal here somewhere.
Raps can’t pull a Gasol for cap space type of trade with Bosh – they need value back.
I’d be afraid with Lee the Raps would have the same “chemistry” issues as Bargs & Bosh. Lee isn’t a good defender.
We’ll see, I think.
You wouldn’t trade Bosh for a package that includes a large expiring? Especially if the other team were willing to take, say, Banks too? I would say Calderon, but that’s probably asking too much. Clearing Banks from the books would allow the Raps to reenter the deep 2010 FA market with some money to spend. Plenty of teams with possible interest in Bosh have large expiring contracts (Miller, Dampier, McGrady, Ilgauskas, just about anyone on Miami, including Haslem). What about Haslem plus Beasley plus another Miami expiring like Quentin Richardson and a pick or two for Bosh and Banks? Beasley replaces Bosh, you allow Haslem and Richardson to expire and pursue another free agent, or you resign either or both.
Let’s see, Chicago’s “defensive bigs” are Noah, Taj Gibson, and Ty Thomas, each in their early 20s, not 30s. Perhaps you were thinking of the offensive-minded Brad Miller.
David Lee was already a restricted free agent and got no offers at all. He plays no defense inside, although he’s a decent rebounder, he’s nothing compared to CB4. Nobody wants him, not even New York. If BC offered Lee a deal the size and length you suggest, he’d be bidding against himself.
Darko has proven to be a horrible player everywhere except in his own fantasies.
CB4 had better be part of the Raptors’ future, if the team wants to compete. His staggering offensive play early in the campaign is the only reason the ball club was winning. What they need to do is add great players around him, not the trash you suggest.
Your post was completely counter-factual. Do you work for the New Jersey Nets?
i acutally want this team to tank so that we can go for EVAN TURNER OR JOHN WALL sweepstakes
you ask for too much…and the ping pong balls might go against all
Good read. I don’t think your being overly critical.
I have been very negative in my assessment of this team over the last week.
This negativity is borne of a bitterness was has permeated every pore of my being.
I too believe this team does not stink. They are only playing like a team that stinks.
It’s not so much the losing. But how we’re losing.
I can’t speak of the loss in Atlanta, as I turned it off to watch CP24 in the 1st quarter, but the way teams can score at will on us, with nary a disapproving look, let alone an effort to keep your man in front of you.
I mean…. do something. Wave at the guy as be blows by you, throw a shoe at him.
The smug look on the face of the opposing scorer, as he runs back on D is embarrassing to me, as a man.
It’s like some guy just kissed my girlfriend and then smiles about it, in my face, knowing there’s nothing I can do about it.
At some point, these guys need to show some pride.
I think, to coin a Pat Quinn phrase, we have too many sweeties on this team.
who throws a shoe…honestly
That’s straight up good stuff.
Duh!
, Amir still has some upside despite being a 5th-year veteran>>
============
Johnson may be in his 5th year of practice in the NBA but prior to this year he had at total 1,838 NBA minutes.
At 25 minutes a game which is a decent number for a bench rotation guy that gives him the equivalent of 74 NBA games worth of experience. At 30 minutes a game assuming he had gone to college that equates to 61 college games.
At 22 he is the age of what a 4 year college rookie would be.
So in terms of age actual game experience he would be a NBA rookie with 2 years college experience.
He has a lot more upside than you might think.
This raptors team is a rudderless, weak-kneed, gutless, no-fucking pulse bullshit team. Write all the analysis you want, bottom line is THEY SUCK!
I think the most interesting number I’ve looked at is Defensive Win Shares — which is an attempt to judge how much a player is contributing wins to his team through defense.
This number can be negative, 0, or positive. Prior to this year, all of the Raps players including Bargs, Calderon, Turkoglu and Bosh have positive Defensive Win Shares.
This year, not a single Raptor so far has a DWS above 0.0 — Most of them are in the negative. Bargs, Calderon, Turkoglu, Belinelli, DDR, Jack, Weems, and Wright all have negative defensive win shares. All of the other players are at 0.0
I am at a loss to explain this. These guys didn’t all of a sudden become horrendous defenders. Calderon is bad, but not worse than Nash, Mo Williams, or Jameer Nelson. Turksoglu has quite a few DWS in past seasons.
If they aren’t trying, if there’s no effort, then why this year? Why didn’t they fail to provide effort in past seasons too?
If it’s coaching, which aspect? Poor organization, poor attention to detail, poor strategy?
More lies, damn lies and statistics … your Defensive Win Shares is flawed because Hedo didn’t play for the Raptors … for much of last season Jose was hobbled with his hammy problemo … and this season the Raptor starting lineup is filled with 3 big slow men, a soft PG and a non-existent rookie …. so how can you come to your ludicrous conclusions when you are comparing cantaloupes to watermelons …???!!!!!
This is getting bad. They might as well have had Chris Bosh come out during pregame warm ups last night and just squat down and take a shit at halfcourt…..Would have saved us 2.5 hours of embarrasment
That got me laughin’ man. Appreciated.
ATTENTION!!! ATTENTION!!!
Now that I have the ears of some you, I would like to know if this makes sense. . . The problem of the raptors isn’t defence in particular, but it’s the defence of CALDERON!!!! If you guys listen to jacks interview, you get a sense that his comments are not only directed to jay but calderon as well. . . Mike Bibby lit him up yesterday, and it’s not that he had his hand in Bibbys face, he was fighting of picks and screens and failing to reach Bibby. . . Now I know Bibby is a good shooter from outside but if your hand is in his face, things might be different. . . You guys who were watching the game might’ve noticed that Jack was mad because after they made an 8-2 run. . . Still some time left in the game. . . Jack and Calderon were on together, and 4rth quarter jack was taken off replaced for derozan instead of calderon. . . Calderon was also the first one to be pulled out along with Hedo in the 3rd quarter and you can see the frustration on his face when having an animated converstation with Triano. . . May be what im saying is just nonesense but I think the players know that the Calderon issue needs to be adressed before the derozan issue. . . I was the biggest fan of calderone when we had TJ. . . But it’s not the same NO WAY JOSE!!!! He looks slower, may be he’s injured. . . And you know Derozan will get skooled here and there but he’s not a big problem as Jose is. . . And one more thing i’ve noticed players don’t look for Bargs in important streches. . . Yes JOSE! give bosh the ball, but please not every time you run down and when he puts his hand up you put it in his hands. . . They gotta run more plays for bargnani not outside but inside. . .
Calderon, Turkoglu and Bargnani are who the players are talking about. Also, the players are pissed at Triano for leaving these stiffs on the floor while we constantly get abused and the players who care sit and watch.
Listen to Bosh’s “jumpers are nice, they look pretty” comments, referring to Turk and Bargs ZERO rebounds and launching from all over, while Bosh gets 2 shots for the game
or Jack’s “we gotta substitute quicker” comments, referring to Calderon getting burned repeatedly with no reaction by the coaches
pretty obvious to me, then again I could be wrong…comments?
I agree that’s probably who those guys meant. From my perspective though Bosh’s 2 in Atlanta are due to him getting three fouls in the first half and playing extrodinarily uninspired ball. Jack’s commets seem dead on about Calderon and I find that stat that he isn’t a bad defender at the point very interesting.
my favorite moment of that game was bosh taking an ill advised off balance fadeaway over zaza….for a brick.did i mention he was being guarded by zaza?….i dont care what any of you say.bosh’s play over the last 3 games is a man defeated…did i mention he’s our leader?
Easily fixed pairings. Bosh Bargs
Hedo DD
Calderon Jack
Three ways to improve, none of which have been attempted.
Why did Bosh only play 15 minutes? WTF does that say about our coach and how quickly he gave up?
Was there a point after the 14th minute where Jay said “Hmmm… this game is over, no need to play Bosh anymore, lets take him out.”
If our coach gives up, so will his players!
Now that I adressed the problem of what the issue at hand is. . . I need to also search for the solution this early in the season. . . Why? because I think the raps have played enough games for us to grasp the concept of the teams identity! SOFT!!! And NO! Reggie not the short or long term solution. . . If anything I think Amir Johnson stole some minutes away from Reggie when he comes off. . . I rather have Amir as my first option because the man is pure hustle, not that Reg isn’t but he’ll have some competition. . . Back to the solution. . . There are several directions this franchise can go. And all need to be examined but the one that in my view is the best option is a semirebuild! WHAT DO I MEAN? well rebuild this team within a one or two year span. . . Now the rebuilding process wont be like OKC getting 5 first rounders. . . NO! I just need two first rounders but solid blue chip prospects, more like the trailblazers. . . Yes they have three first round picks but let us look at their success when Oden wasn’t there. . . They had two solid prospects in roy and alderidge in one year! For the raptors to start this process by adressing BOSH’s plan. . . I herd the rapsrepublic podcast the other day and I think it’s really dumb to wait untill freeagency and then examine the issue! AND NO ORLANDO GETTING VC IS NOT CONSIDERED A SIGN AND TRADE. . . THAT TEAM IS WINNING, WHY WOULD ANYONE WANNA COME TO TORONTO. . . LOOSING BOSH FOR NOTHING ISN’T A GAIN. . . PLEASE BEFORE YOU GUYS DO A PODCAST MAKE SENSE OF THESE ISSUES!!! SIGN AND TRADE ONLY WORKS IN A SITUATION WHERE YOU GET SOME SORD OF VALUE BACK LIKE ANTWON WRIGHT, A GOOD PIECE BUT NOT EQUIVALENT TO A MARION, BUT WE GOT HIM BECAUSE OTHER TEAMS WANTED MARION TO AND DALLAS WAS THE BEST WE GOT BACK FOR MARION! Moving on get a feel of the situation if Bosh needs to be traded then that is now or trade deadline. . . I am definently eyes the UTAH JAZZ pick from the knicks they received. . . I think turkaloo will be a nice fit on the JAZZ and they’ll be a way better team if they have another guy who can handle the ball and hit open shots. . . Trade calderon, his value is still high because Toronto is out of the eyes of most of the NBA, thats the advantage and stats don’t lie. . . Before this years numbers become a constant routine trade him! there are three pieces right there that are huge. . . You work with Bargnani, Demar, Marco, Amir. . . Work on these young players don’t worry about loosing. . . We get a high pick, we snab another high pick. . . Who knows! John Wall looks like a solid prospect and I defenently see flashes of wade in him. . . Next year you have Barnes whose garnished hype like Durant, melo, bron bron. . . We already have some pieces to build on, add more pieces and remove pieces that may not be here(BOSH) by maximizing your chips. . . Am I the only one crazy? Playing general manager here is easy but im sure it’s hard for Colangelo what you guys think?
Paragraphs my friend, paragraphs.
That stream of consciousness stuff you got going there would make Dostoyevsky proud, but I can’t read it.
let’s say we dismiss the 2006 season as an anomaly…bringing in seasoned veterans such as Garbo, a 3 year younger Rasho & AP, etc….magic in a bottle we’ll call it…
There has only been one constant through all these years of futility, going way back to 2003 or so.
the GM’s, the coaches, all the players…only one person has remained a constant on the team.
yes, the team has been BAD
I just read the page on the suicide hotline site about ‘reasons to live’ and none of them made me feel any better…
Hedo is garbage. Marion wasn’t the right fit, but we needed someone with similar abilities at the 3 spot.
Theoretically, Turks’s playmaking ability filled a need but they should be getting that from the starting PG & SG spots. BTW has anyone checked out Mr. Fourth Quarter’s clutch statistics so far?
.222 FG%, .228 eFG%
Worst among all rotation players.
I was never for Hedo signing, ever. Not for a 5 year/50 million contract. I was hoping we could land Ariza somehow.
I truly hoped that Turkoglu would end up in Portland. We will be stuck with Hedo for another 5 years. Can you imagine him at 35? Scary.
I do think he can be good complementary player on a team that has other weapons offensively, plays sound defense and gets rebounds. Howard was able to bail him out and get a rebound whenever he misses his shot. There is nobody in Toronto to do that, except for Amir (occasionally).
Hedo was brought here to be high scorer on a team which is supposed outrun and outscore their opponents. He is simply not a type of player who can outrun anybody. Just too slow and too lazy to play defense.
Just curious as to whether any Raptors fans had noticed Jamario Moon’s play as of late? He is really turning into a key guy off the bench for the Cavs. When the Cavs signed him, I know there were more than a few Raptors fans that more or less said, “good riddance” to the guy, and some warned Cavs fans that he would not live up to any of the expectations…. but I must say, he’s been a very pleasant surprise. Hustles, crashes the boards, solid defensively, and he’s knocked down the open shot.
I mean, not to kick Bosh while he’s down, but I think Moon’s play with Cleveland says a lot about Bron’s influence on the guys around him.
That being said, Raptors fans definitely have a right to pile on Bosh. Forget the stats, it’s nice that he’s putting up big numbers, but 146 POINTS! It shouldn’t matter if the guy can play defense or not, he’s supposed to be the leader of that team. 146 points goes beyond “bad defense” into “just not giving a s**t.” As a fan (for the record, I am a Cavs fan…. and seeing the Raptors struggle pains me as we lost to them), I can handle losing if my team is playing its ass off and we just get beat. No shame in that. But fans should not accept this kind of beatdown as “just a transition.” That’s BS, and reading some of the comments after the game, I was stunned to see some people trying to make excuses. No, that kind of game just shows a lack of effort and no will to win. Some of that blame may be on the coaches, but a lot of it has to fall on the leader of the team. There’s more to leading than putting up big numbers.
warning – excessively long, ‘i’m not in work-mode ’cause it’s friday’ post:
stupid ESPN trade machine…not only is it a super time-waster, the links don’t work (i.e. you can save a trade, but when you copy/paste the link, it just goes to the main trade machine page.
anyway…i was playing around with it yesterday. i’m not much of a ‘trade everyone now for anything’ kinda guy, but i was thinking about a few realities:
a) bosh is likely to leave, given how the team has started & the likelihood that their recent play isn’t an anomoly.
b) paying jose $40M over the next 4 years is gonna hurt. not saying he can’t be a productive player, and perhaps with better support defenders, his own weaknesses could be hidden (somewhat); but still, he’s producing (all-around) at a back-up level. unfortunately, the raps already have a back-up PG (who has been a starter in the past); and, if need be, an emergency back-up PG (belli CAN do it…he just shouldn’t); and, if there’s a further need, they have a SF who can handle the ball (turk), who’s possibly also the most untradeable player in the league at the moment.
c) further to point b – hedon’t ain’t going anywhere.
d) bargs has played well this year, and has perhaps opened up some eyes of GMs out there who had previously disregarded him as being one-dimensional. well, he still is (mostly), but maybe they aren’t seeing that. i was initially thinking that because of his contract status, he was virtually untradeable (poison pill provision & all), but maybe – just maybe – there’s a way to make a deal work.
e) the raps really ‘only’ have 4 ‘bad’ contracts, and only one really bad one, and even that one isn’t completely horrible (like, say, on a marko jaric level of horrible). banks’ contract is bad, but if he’s a throw-in as part of a bigger deal, it’s probably manageable. jose & bargs have ‘bad’ contracts in that they are high-$, long-term, (relatively) low-yield deals; turks is bad…ok, really bad. but his is really the only one on the roster that makes the player untradeable, IMHO.
ok, so – all that being said…if this year’s a total write-off (and it’s looking more & more like it is), and if we accept the above 5-points…then why not blow it the fuck sky-high? 3-teamer here:
bosh & banks to miami
jose & bargs to wash
jamison, foye, beasley, JO, the pick we sent them for marion/banks & their #1 (unprotected) in ‘10 to TO.
now, some of you will scream that the raps are giving up too much, and maybe they are. but in reality…how far are they going with those guys?
and some of you will scream that there’s ‘no way’ a team like wash gives up jamison & foye for bargs & jose. and maybe that’s true. maybe not. some will scream it’s too early to give up on bargs, and that jose is too valuable to trade, etc.
but look at each team after that trade.
miami gets their prize, and a big lure to keep wade in miami (which is their #1 priority). yes, they lose beasley, and have to take on banks; but they were ridding themselves of JO’s contract at the end of the year in order to make a run at signing a big-time FA anyway. is beasley, picks & JO really too much to give up for bosh? not by a long-shot.
wash gets an actual PG, one who’s pass-first mentality & care with the ball will actually help them, as he’ll cut down on arenas’ turnovers; he should also help them with their perimeter game, as he’ll be left open as teams focus on butler & arenas. ditto for bargs.
now, what does TO get. well, they get jamison, who, despite getting up there in age has actually been quite impervious to injury over the course of his career. as we’ve seen first-hand over the last few years, he most certainly still has ‘it.’ beasley gives them a replacement for bargs right away, and for jamison as they both age. foye gives them a legit scoring 2, either starting or off the bench, as well as a capable back-up PG. jack moves to the starting PG role. JO is welcomed back to TO with open arms (altraps organizes the welcoming party). all goes swimmingly for two weeks, then he either gets hurt or starts tanking, but y’know what? who fucking cares, his monster contract comes off the books at the end of the year, meaning the raps can swim in the FA pool come summer ‘10. plus, they’ll likely continue to lose games at a decent rate this year – LOTTERY!!! x2!
now, before i get reamed – tell me, just how ‘good’ are the raps, as currently constructed, going to be this year? i’m not suggesting that they’ll be any better by completing this trade, but the fact is, the players they’ll be obtaining in return will allow them to remain as competitive (perhaps moreso?) in the short-term, while also giving them greater flexibility in the long-term. basically, they’d be left with one bad contract (turk’s).
and yes, i know it’ll never happen. humour me. i watched celts/spurs last night, and almost teared-up watching two actual TEAMS play ball.
yertu damfule … yer assuming that Beasley and Jamison will show up and that JO would just retire before being shunted back to Toronto – the graveyard of US NBA homies.
What you don’t seem to perceive is that the Raptors have now established their reputation as the NBA team for Euros, which makes it like poison for top US NBA players.
I think you should concede that my trade scenario with NYK sending Lee, Darko and Gallinari for Bosh is much more sane than your’s … and these three are more reflective of the Euro-Raptors.
so…jettisoning bosh for a failed euro centre, a promising euro big who’s primary (actually, only) ability at this point seems to be as a long-range bomber, and a guy who would veto the deal (lee – wouldn’t he have to give up his bird rights, as was pointed out earlier, if the deal were to proceed) would make the raps better. shit, i see why NY would pull that, but it just seems farcical to think that BC would go that route. wait…big, soft euro shooter…big failed euro bust…overrated, non-D-playing white guy…hmmm – never mind.