Filling in for the vacationing AltRaps, it’s the “No, no revenge here” edition.
Banks – It’s hard to believe but he’s looked like an NBA player of late, not a good one by any means but nonetheless, an NBA player. Played some defense on CP3, stuck a jumper behind a screen and deserved more than the 0 assists he’s credited with. Play like this and he might even latch on to a D-League team after his contract runs out.
Bargnani – A nice time to bless us with his fifth double-double of the season, 11 rebounds and no, they didn’t fall into his lap. A key block on a driving guard is the play he should be remembered for and he better give a Christmas gift to Bosh for cleaning up two of his 5 errant threes. The three-point shot is missing, he’s 6/26 of late which isn’t cutting it. Hit one went it counted late, though.
Belinelli – Marcus Banks is ahead of him in the rotation and his first option on offense is a step-back three. ‘Nuf said.
Bosh – 25/11 on 10-16. Sometimes the stats do the talking, he got fired up early and made West look like a statue on more than one play. The talk from the Hornets locker-room was all about revenge and his play took the wind out of them early.
Calderon – Windows 7 was his idea.
DeRozan – Key in the that third quarter stretch which kept the Hornets at bay. Shortened his jumper by stepping in and was his usual slashing self, the NJ game helped him regain his confidence. Once the rookie develops that upper-body strength and gets his mid-range going, watch out.
Evans – Is anybody missing Kapono?
Jack – Awesome. He pushes it early in the shot-clock, he doesn’t waste time dribbling, he sets up his teammates on a plate, he plays defense and he runs the offense better than Calderon. The question is can he play 35 minutes every night? Wait, it’s not like Jose can do that. You think Chris Paul was expecting to go 3-13 against a backup? Jack made it happen.
Johnson – 12 rebounds in 22 minutes and that’s not even counting the times he got pushed in the back for a loose ball foul, Songaila and Okafor still don’t know what hit ‘em. Don’t make calls for him to start, he’s a great bench player and does what he’s asked to do to perfection. Let’s not ruin that.
Mensah-Bonsu – Tomorrow’s D-Day and I say we let go of POB instead.
Nesterovic – You know that guy who gets in to the up-elevator wanting to go down and desperately keeps hitting P1 hoping for something to happen? That’s Rasho.
O’Bryant – When the Player’s Association votes on the CBA, get gets 1/5th of a vote.
Turkoglu- Came out looking to make things happen which is all we ask of the $53M man. His 7 assists (many on the high screen) speak to how effective he can be if we just let him do what he’s good at – create. We even saw a bit of the PnR with him and Bosh; the icing on the cake was picking off the lazy cross-court pass for a breakaway dunk. DPOY.
Weems – Was overheard asking Belinelli how his ass tasted. We know he can slash, we know he can run the break, but the defensive work today was admirable, the fourth quarter steal off the in-bounds pass was all hustle. He knew when he was about to do too much and dished it off in time to collect 5 dimes. The fadeaway he hit was, dare I say, Kobesque. I have no issues with him taking mid-range jumpers when the sagging defense dares him to.
Wright – Even the dogs in the doghouse don’t want him there.
Driving The Bus: Jarrett Jack
Under The Bus: Marco Belinelli
Game Theme:
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149 Raps
Billups showed in Detroit that the guards that defend against Paul the best, are strong guards. Jack did nothing today to contradict that.
Even with his bad left ankle it seems to me that Paul would have eaten Calderon’s lunch.
How was JJ driving the bus? I would say Johnson was driving the bus, and the other did what was expected of them.
Banks wasnt half bad today either… he played like a good third stringer today. Good for him.
I always thought the fans were too hard on him. Like the kid barely played at all this season. When hes in shape, he has pretty good perimeter D.
Banks turned 28 last month so he is still relatively young.
In 05-06 he played for the the Celtics and the KG led T-Wolves and had his best year.
With the T-Wolves he played 40 games and averaged 30 mpg 12 ppg and 4.7 apg shooting 48% from the field including 36% from beyond the arc.
So its not like the guy can’t play.
It seems to me that he is probably the best 3rd string PG in the league.
I for one am happy he’s done OK the last few games, I though he was getting bagged unduly because he had no consistent minutes. Is he worth 4 million? no, but when his contract runs out I wouldn’t mind if the Raptors resigned him for the minimum. Wright and Belinelli on the other hand …….. adios.
Hahah I think the team wouldnt mind swallowing a whole league minimum on Bellinelli haha
Might not be the best 3rd string PG but he is strong, strangely quick on his feet and definitely was disruptive on the defensive end.
Calderon has played his BEST games against CP3 since his 2nd year in the NBA. Paul has never been able to stop him and the Raps have usually won!
true that!
The energy unit + one needs a nickname.
I don’t have one for them yet, but I’m not feeling Kid Dynamite for DeRozan. “Razor” DeRozan has a nice ring to it and it fits his game, cutting and slashing!!
The Razor slashes through the lane!
Okay.
that the problem with devlin coining nicknames.
Babyface !
obviously DeRozan’s nickname should be ‘tits’.
LMFAO!
AB has two great blocks in the 4th quarter. I thought those were great plays and maybe why BC is not willing o trade him. I was very impressed by those plays.
Bosh, in the 2th quarter, There were few minutes that he seemed uninterested, had turn overs , took jump shots and missed. Somehow, he turned around but I think this team’s atitude starts and ends with Bosh’s atitude.
Very impressed by Jack and Johnson and Weems
Yeah those step-up blocks were wicked in the 4th quarter – clutch time no-less…. According to Doug Smith he was spotted in street clothes those few games he was out chatting up the defense, calling screens, correcting players on inbounds play positions etc…. maybe he’s going to attempt to be our mini-Garnett out there??
Wow…nice read…you should be saying to altraps “how does my ass taste.” No negative bias towards the players, no lame humour. Concise, accurate, and witty. Nice job. Would trade altraps and an ice cream cone for arse in a second.
The Raptors Roll Call definitely had a different flavor to it today.
Totally agree. Used to enjoy reading the role calls, then for a long stretch they left a horrible taste in my mouth. Definitely like this version better (someone could pick up some pointers here) — now if only it could stay this way.
roll*
I have to agree with you guys. No disrespect to AltRap, but I enjoyed this better. Maybe it is because I see myslef agreeing with Arsenalist and RapsFan more even in podcast and …
Beggers cant be choosers – I’m greatful for all of the content here – and the overwhelming majority of it is spot on…
Sorry to disagree…Altraps is fine especially on losing nights when he makes it a bit palatable with his humor. We all have our biases (players) and possibly missed action but his analysis seems honest (Banks constant putdowns possibly excepted).
Kelly’s Heroes….funnest alltime ww2 movies…Donald Sutherland is hilarious in it.
LOVED the line about Windows 7 being Calderon’s idea.
Windows 7 is Vista SP3 with a few nice additions.
and half of the system requirements
“and half of the system requirements”
And that’s basically why they got it out so quickly. Vista sucks BIG time.
Haha, hilarious!
Yeah, I think we (myself included) have butchered Banks a little too much. He hasn’t played for a while and we come in and expect him to play like Calderon/Jack. But in these last 2 games he’s shown he can hit shots and play some D. He made a dumb turnover to start the 3rd or 4th quarter, but still, I thought he did a nice job today!
Love the Roll Calls!
Hey man good job, u did altraps proud ! I like the Jose rant haha and Belli’s play is pretty bad right now, i cant believe im saying this but whats Joey Graham doing these days ??
surprisingly getting minutes in Denver actually… about 10 a game behind anthony and is averaging 3.4ppg off 49% and getting to the FT line a bit.
What is the fascination with ex-bench players???? Is this a Toronto obsession. Joey was and is a bust. He will get minutes in garbage time or if there is a perfect matchup….. That is it. Any one really care about 10 minutes and 3.4 ppg????? Pathetic….
Joey’s enduring legacy shall be “I was picked before Danny Granger”.
Close game today Denver vs. Memphis….. Joey DNP…. Boy what a key piece……
Being labeled a draft bust usually wears off for the mostpart after switching team… Joey is a fine player to backup Carmelo for a few minutes a night – Draft busts turn into useful players all over the league after they are moved – Just look at Belinelli, Delfino, AP, Bass, Humphries, Okafor, Alvin Williams, Chandler, Weems, Amir, etc.
I hate that Joey was a zombie in a Raptors Jersey – to the point that I would cringe if I ever saw him in one again…. but he’s still good enough to be in the league somewhere in a limited role…\
As for the facination – Its the fact that we’ve had soooo many player go through the revolving doors that is this franchise… and it’s a natural nostalgia to have a “where are they now” type moment…
A few minutes???? Like ZERO yesterday???? That confirms his usefulness and need in Denver, just like it was in Toronto. Nothing against Joey the person, but the fact anyone cares one iota amazes me…. He was an under performer here and some people seemed to hold on to any nugget of hope that he’d be a passable player. he was not….
Driving The Bus = CB4
that REB + bucket in the 4th quarter was the game winner in my eyes
the runner up would be the clutch blowby on West a play or 2 earlier…
“that REB + bucket in the 4th quarter was the game winner in my eyes” Absolutely, that decided the game today. It went unnoticed for some reason. Great effort overall. Now, if we can beat Pistons that would be amazing. But, it would not surprise me that they beat us by 35 or something like that. Anyways, go Raps.
I thought the entire play was great. An extra pass to an open Bargs… tough miss… but Bosh was there to finish it off.
I agree. Bosh got the job done with the put-back, but the whole offensive sequence was nice. Even though AB missed it, he was wide open. And he is one of the guys you want shooting threes at crucial moments (if you are going to take a three). Good ball movement anyway.
Plus, that’s about as close a miss as you’ll ever see.
JJ won this game. He made CP3 work on both ends of the floor, sucking his energy like a sponge. CP3′s sagging injury helped as well.. and when Hornets offense faltered it was easy transition buckets for amir, weems and dd.
Great win for the Raps. Please mean that you’re turning it around!
Overall the team defense was pretty good today especially with helping out. However, the lack of blocking out on the defensive glass led to way to many easy put backs for the Hornets.
The CP3 inside bouncepass was a weakness as well…
As usual the SIX turnovers by Bosh had no impact on the game. Whatever he scored, he gave back. “ONE” of the errant three pointers that Bosh grabbed at the end of the game, basically went in and out of the basket. I really love how RR can twist anything to justify their point of view.
Anyone see the interview at halftime with Colangelo. He spoke more about a trade concerning Bosh than signing him.
The experiment with Bosh has failed in Toronto. Time to move on.
Yep trade Botch for a couple draftpicks/bench players and start Amir Johnson already! We would be better off without him.
You guys MUST be joking! Bosh is not only our best low post option, but he and Turkoglu make for an extremely dangerous pNr/pNp duo. Amir is a good rebounder/defender off the bench, don’t make him out to be an All-Star power forward in the league just yet. Haven’t you noticed that a huge majority of his points come off of dunks or lay-ups? That’s because he gets fast-break buckets and garbage buckets for the most part, which is great, but he’s not a primary offensive option, which Bosh is.
I’m seriously struggling to find the words to explain this to you because you’re so wrong! Yes he had a bunch of turnovers this game. Yes, they cost us some points. But no, Amir is not going to replace Bosh instantly if he is traded or walks after the season. Stop whining about Bosh and realize that mistakes and turnovers are going to happen to every player in the league. Nobody tells Cleveland to trade Lebron if he has 6 turnovers because they realize he is a huge part of their team. Smarten up dammit!
So next time another player not named Chris Bosh gets many turnovers, then I presume that the RR Roll Call will not mention it and of course you guys won’t factor it into the impact of the game. No discussion, no criticism and no name calling.
If you agree with that then there is not more to say.
Its a roll call not a complete game summary – go play your violin somewhere else please cuz it’s lowering the IQ of my Bosh loving Bargs hating Amir opressing mind.
Give it a rest for one day. Pleeeez
+1
Boshs’ time in Toronto will end if and when Chris says it ends. Chris is a true warrior and every team in the NBA would love to have him.
The other side of the fence always looks greener but Bosh is a prince of Toronto and I’m sure he can see this is a team that could evolve into something special so it’s very difficult to guess which way he’s leaning.
The decision on Bosh will come down to money not talent. CB4 is the best player on the Raptors, BUT will MLSE pony up the $130 mill to keep him?
It isn’t a question of whether MLSE will pony up the dough. They will continue to pay salaries up to the cap.
Wrong. They have been paying salaries over the cap for as long as I can remember, and will continue to pay salaries up to the luxury tax level.
Strange how basketball fans still can’t get this right, huh?
And it is highly likely signing Bosh to a max deal will put the team over the luxury tax line within 3 seasons.
Personally, I believe they’ll have to $10-20m over the Lux tax line to compete for championship – so I HOPE they go for it. But I’ll be surprised if it happens.
The same dude who says “I am not attacking Bosh – just want all the players to be accountable. I want people to stop bashing the European players…” is, what…? Attacking Bosh.
Wow.
We have a decent win. Not faultless, but decent and the best dude can do is criticize again. Wow.
Solid win today. Raps must win 2 of next 3 minimum to keep this rolling and not do their usual two steps forward, 3 back routine.
Right on re Bargs- “The three-point shot is missing, he’s 6/26 of late which isn’t cutting it.”
Not sure if ankle through off his rhythm early on, but lately he is just not making them, even though the Bosh putback could not gone in any further without coming out.
However, just as importantly, in the last few games when he drives he is probably shooting 90%. Today 3 for 3 by my count. So either Barg’s, must himself smarten up and take less 3′s unless he is hot or Triano must get on him to drive more often and pass up the 3’s a bit.
Bargs is fairly fleet-footed for a big but not enough so that he can drive at will (even Bosh cant entirely make that claim) – he needs a defender to respect a fake/etc to get that half step advantage…
Agreed,
He can look very fast sometimes, but a big man still depends on exploiting matchups and space so that a pesky guard ain’t nearby to strip the ball off the driblle.
That’s True for anybody.
yes but Bargs is a potent offensive tool that needs to be used in a specific type of way to be completely effective – he’s not exactly a Marion-type that is there as a glue guy to cover teamates deficiencies.
Agree but the most important thing is that Bargs is competing defensively and rebounding. If his shot is not falling he is at least giving the team a chance at winning.
There’s too many games when 2 or 3 of the starters dont play well. This is not one of them thankfully.
Hamilton and Gordon missed the Pistons game against the Thunder.
I will be watching the Lakers-Pistons in about an hour. If I get an update on their status for Wed I will post it.
The Pistons Wed game vs the Raptors is the second of a back to back which should help the Raptors a lot especially if Hamilton and Gordon are still out come Wed. game. The back to back will probably also slow down Wallace on Wed.
read in passing that a Piston’s blog was so relieved to get the Raps this week since we’re struggling so mightily… I would put money on a 1 and 1 record at worst in favour of us…
I think that the Raptors match up really well against the Pistons. Gordon went for 30 in the Raptors win earlier this year.
I hate to criticize parts of the game especially after a nice win, but what was Triano thinking at the end of the game (40 secs left I believe) leaving Weems out there and not subbing in Marco. Now don’t get me wrong, Weems has been great lately and playing extremely well with Derozan and Jack, and Marco has been, well, ass. But… you know Marco is hitting his FTs… Weems is not. You know New Orleans is going to foul. WTF?
I also thought that Jay waited WAY to long to bring the starters back in, in the fourth.
The second unit started slipping with 7 minutes to go while they were up 9 or so and Jay just let them continue playing… their offense had stagnated and they looked completely lost on defense.
Leave it to Jay to wait until there was ~5 min left and only a 5 point lead with the Hornets building momentum before he did anything… just terrible.
CB4 definitely bailed him out of that one.
Jay’s coaching has been horrible. I somehow believe that this team would have had much better record with decent coach. His decisions not to call time outs during momentum changes already cost us several games.
Who would you pick that is out there that would be willing to coach for a low salary?
Mitchell was fired when he had worse roster and better record. Since Triano took over he accomplished one big nothing (last season and this season, so far).
You are right as far as salaries go – who can pay 3 coaches at the same time? Little too late for a good coach.
Weems was left on for defense.
I’m talking Marcus Banks and Amir at the 7 minute mark…
The mistake was in-bounding the ball to Weems! 4 80% FT shooters on the floor and they toss it to Weems? Who drew up that play?
Questionable call but think Triano might have been doing the psychological thing and rewarding a player who has, surprisingly, been consistent off the bench of late.
Definitely NOT the time to reward someone… He could have just taken everyone to Dairy Queens and got Sonny two.
DQ – that was a chuckism wasn’t?
yeah good point I was shocked to see Weems out there and not surprised to see the NO leave him open for the inbounds pass than quickly foul – JT brain fart me thinks.
To be fair you have to assume to an extent that he had a motive to do so…… but you’re right to criticize since there were some somewhat questionable decisions.
What the heck was up with Matt Devlin yelling out “PUNJABI” after that peja stojakovic shot?
I think he only did it once as a shout out to the Punjabi announcers.
I think he meant to yell Peja, but yelled Punjabi instead. I spent the next 5 minutes laughing as they tried to cover it up. Oh Matt… no one is more unintentionally hilarious than you.
Ya that was absolutely awesome, he blew it so badly with that. Leo was all over him with it too. I am usually just annoyed with Leo all game but I gotta give him props on calling Devlin on that screw up!
It was pure gold! I was laughing so hard for like 20 minutes after that happened. I agree, I think he meant to say Peja… whatever.. call of the year!
Hilarious. Now can you imagine Triano saying post-game something like this…”Yes, effort was there, I cannot say guys were not trying, we just need to shoot more PUNJABIS” Complete mess, I cannot stop laughing all day. Thanks Matt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOXsoM2SMFs
I’m so happy someone documented that. Let’s never let him live it down
He-he-he…unreal :) True gem.
When I heard Devlin bust out that gem I said to myself, “enough with these two idiots” and switched over to the Punjabi broadcast for the rest of the game.
Best decision I’ve ever made! I don’t even speak the language and their jokes were way funnier. I especially enjoyed when Parminder kept calling CP3 Sean Paul… Classic!
i only watch punjabi now. have been since about the 4 game mark. devlin is simply unbearable. he’s terrible. who is this guy? i want to cock punch him.
Anyone agree with me that a nate robinson trade would be “OK” as long as it was just a swap of expiring contracts (he’s a BYC so it’s very complicated but maybe a Wright + Pops or POB and possibly a 2nd rounder for Nate)
Selfish hog who does not understand team play. He looks more for his stats. We already have one player on the team like that.
No thank you.
Maybe you are mistaking our bench for an offensive juggernaut? Nate Robinson has the potential to absolutely destroy games. So what if he hogs the ball when the starters are out? He will put up points – and if he’s off, bench him.
Be fair – Nate has the potential to be a complete cancer and cause locker room issues. He thinks his value is higher than it is and even though he’s a potent offensive player, his mix of size and skills makes for a limited role that he would be useful to most teams… the effect that a big ego might have on Triano and the coaching staff might be the scariest aspect but as long as they keep on top of it and waive/trade him before it completely got out of hand it might be a good risk for a rental player… plus it would free up atleast 1 roster spot for another insurance player…. now the comment on Bosh being a hog is a bit dense but the Nate comments are pretty spot on.
Sure, did you want to sign AI while you’re at it?
Why are you picking on Calderon?
because he sucks.
I wouldn’t give a 2nd rounder for Robinson. Robinson is an expiring contract who will not get any playing time in NY. He is basically a waste of spot on that roaster which is very similar to POB expiring contract. However, since the money does not match, then we need to thrown in Wright.
Normally, I would not trade Wright but since Jay is NOT going to play him, then I say go for it.
i would take robinson and a pick or two for pob. that about it
No one else wanted his free agent services in the off season so he resigned with the Knicks, there must be a reason.
wasnt he an RFA? feel free to correct me on that.
YES! Lee and Nate were RFA.
Now both are on 1 year deals and will lose their bird-rights in a trade. So the team that gets them can only sign them again if they are under the cap or can use their MLE.
Nate Robinson thinks he’s way better than he is. He’s talented for sure, and can play well from time to time, but will never understand team concept and is selfish ball hog. I hate him. I wouldn’t give up Marcus fucking Banks for him.
+ Banks plays “d” AND has been pretty good in not being a cancer.
At the end, Jose was mouthing “I want pizza!” Made me laugh.
Nice win today….. Can we finally build some momentum? Bosh great job on the offensive boards.
Bargnani good D and saw him also get upset when he did not get help when he went to double team.
The only way a shooter get’s out of a slump is to shoot. AB has to take those open 3′s as they will go down eventually. Also saw him agressive when he did get it in the low post.
On the way back again have to liste to someone call the Fan590 and declare Bargnani a bust….. Please this is getting old…. After a Double/Double some people just have to spout their personal agendas….. Enough please. Do we want more???? Yes…. Are we getting decent #’s? Yes….
Nice to see Banks be serviceable…. One of those games we hear nothing but negative if we lose…..
Some stupidos will call Andrea a bust even if he become an all-star in a year or two . He is a 7 footer and is supposed to catch 10 rebounds a game on average . As an example , in this game he had 11 rebounds , 2 blocks , a steal etc… but in their hatred for him they failed to appreciate his contribution in winning the game . They are losers , nothing else.
Ok I’m just gonna go ahead and say it: Banks deserves more credit than he is getting on this site. There is no denying that he has improved with each game he’s played since Jose got injured.
Here’s another bold statement: He was our best defender today. He defended Chris Paul even better than Jack did (which wasn’t bad either). He stifled him each time he came up the court, and had the lateral quickness to stay right up on him. I was at the game today and it was apparent that Banks’s defending was frustrating the hell out of Paul. Paul was rendered ineffective when Banks was on the floor and that is saying a lot about a player like him. If you watch the games closely and without bias there is no denying that Banks is the best defender of our 3 point guards.
He never deserved this credit before and yes his contract absolutely BLOWS but I’ve been impressed with Marcus’s play and I think he can be a solid backup point guard (not just a third stringer). I’d say Jose is now expendible.
For the record, I know this post will take a lot of flack but I think I’m just saying something OBJECTIVELY as a result of what I see on the court, without being influenced by the bashing of the guy that goes on on this site.
I agree – Jose is not necessarily expendable until Banks plays enough to prove consistancy – but I’ve reminded posters a few times on this site that Banks is a legit NBA player in the same sense as Ridnour, Watson, Udrih etc are. Now due to his bball IQ/inconsistancy over his career if he were a FA today he’d likely only be able to get the minimum, but he’s got the skills to be a 3rd (or even 2nd) string PG in the league if he can keep his brain in the game and/or find motivation to play to his maximum ability. But his history shows that the odds are against him to keep his level of play up…
sorry but did I miss something here? Banks plays a non-crappy handful of minutes and we get “Jose is not necessarily expendable until Banks plays enough to prove consistancy”?
Even hinting at Banks replacing Jose is quite the stretch. Its one game. I hope he builds on it… but as soon as Jose is back Banks is heading right back to the bench.
sorry more of a reply to optifan….
Banks as the team’s 3rd stringer? This is not a bad thing. At least he has some skills compared to Ukic who will never be an NBA player.
Jury’s still out on Ukic, Banks is playing well, but hasn’t proved to be THAT good yet..plus Ukic is younger too, so its not crazy to think he could develop into at least the same level as Banks no?
Another note – he’s really not up to par as a playmaker so dont underestimate the effect of having Turk/Beli/etc on the floor with him to avoid having the offense get stagnant.
“I’d say Jose is now expendible” (due to Banks play in 1 game) and “I’m just saying something OBJECTIVELY” should not be in the same paragraph.
I am not getting that carried away with Jose is now expendable, he should be a 3rd stringer but with more minutes as a defensive stopper, like what was hoped for with Wright. He is as good a defender as Wright but with arguably a better offensive game.
Banks knows how to defend and I have to agree Paul looked frustrated having to deal with Banks’ strength.
Banks was a minus 5, Jack a +11.
Banks did a GREAT job for the 3rd string PG pressed into action due to injury.
Banks would have trouble taking almost any other teams back-up PG minutes – But he’s proving to be an important piece for the Raps right now.
No need to over-sell what he’s done. Everybody needs a 3rd string PG – Banks is proving to be a GOOD 3rd string back-up.
interesting stat-
our record against the top 4 teams in each conference: 1-10
rest of the league: 12-7
Shows the Raps are not an elite team and not a dog team like many here seem to think. they are a 0.500 team – maybe slightly above maybe slightly below, which was the general expectation at the start of the season
the more disturbing part is that we’ve played the top 8 teams (top 25%) of the league teams 11 times in 30 games (36.7% of our games) :|
And thats not mentioning that we beat both conference’s 5th place teams (Houston and Miami)…
Good stat. If you forget the Cleveland game to start the season, we have yet to beat a great team. Until that happens, I’m just going to assume another disappointing first round playoff loss.
You were expecting something else?
Could only be if Atlanta didn’t get better than last year – too late, they are!
Right now, it appears as though our best hope is a first round matchup against Cleveland.
That’s scary…
I wouldn’t be scared of that at all. Watching someone ELSE’s inability to guard the pick and roll would be a welcome change. Especially given what the Celtics, Magic, and Hawks have a history of doing to us…
using those winning %’s across the whole year it comes out to 40.725 wins and 40.894 losses at the end of the season…. so basically we’re on par for exactly 41 and 41…. now take into consideration:
- we’ve had quite difficult schedule to date
- we’ve had a VERY compressed schedule to date (we’ve played the most games (30) and the rest of the league is averaging under 25 games played)
The adjustment for schedule difficulty is generally over-stated….. in our situation it wouldnt likely change the 82 game season by more than a game or two – meaning our projected record (assuming their level of play doesn’t improve) is 41-41 at worst, and perhaps 43-39 at best, which in turn would place us in a dogfight with Miami to decide the 5th (vs Atlanta) and 6th spot (vs either Cleveland or Orlando).
Basically what I’m getting to is that we’re Exactly on track with 90% of the pre-season projections… And that’s by no means entirely bad.
The positive note is that, while we didn’t fair well against the elite teams, those losses surely taught the team about how hard they will have to compete if there are any aspirations of moving up in the standings.
Without Gordon and Hamilton the Pistons are forced to play Atkins at the PG and move Stuckey to the off guard. There offense with him at the PG looks totally impotent against the Lakers.
If neither Gordon or Hamilton play in either of the games the Raptors should win both of them.
Jack should start even when calderon gets back.
I think they should be working them 50/50 anyways… You could make cases for either of them to start for different reasons – Jack for defense and Calderon for offensive purposes…
jack is the point guard that we need. very good signing. put caldereta on the bench, make him into a jason terry/eddie house type of player like he should be. our bench is our current weakness now. there is no consistency in the offence. weems is showing some spark but he has only been hot recently. banks has been ok so far, very strong, big bodied guard, who thankfully, is better than will solomon and roko ukic. amir j is currently our best reserve. Pops is pops, but i hope they still keep him. please dump POB!!! bellinelli should have a defined permanent role, whether he should be a point guard, an all-around sg, or a plain shooter catch and shoot guy (like a reggie miller, rip hamilton, or unfortunately jason kapono).
jack-jose tandem is a total disaster. and, jack is also better offensively than caldy coz he drives to the lane, has the quickness, and is also good midrange and average 3pointer. he is what we have missed since we traded tj. way better than tj.
And you need to get off of Marcus Banks arsenalist! The guy has been sitting on the bench for 3 years, do you expect him to be chris paul now? He looks like a good back up point guard and thats all you can ask
i agree. banks has been ok, also coz we dont have to depend on him as the main backup even with caldy injured. hedo is great playing point forward. jack has played great with big minutes. hopefully he doesnt wear down.
we dont have to depend on banks the way we depended on roko and solomon and even AP last year.
I see from time to time that Bosh does a bit of hogging and when his shot isn’t falling he gets a bit lazy but overall he does his job. Seems like lately I would rather see Amir and Weems in the flor rather than DeRozan and Bargs but you want to develop the rookie and you can’ show that your 50 mill man was a bad choice. As fo theendofthe season, I don’t see and of the big three free agants (James, Wade or Bosh) leaving bt I think you might find FAs like Amare in another spot. I think this stretch of games will be a positive thing for the Raps but I think we’ll see them get blown out once by Detroit.
Maybe you missed how well DeRozan and Weems played together! DeRozan, Weems, Amir, & Bargs made for a good combination!
Bargs still (and likely always will) do things Amir physically isn’t capable of.
Weems is in his 2nd season officially, but as he only played for 55 minutes last year, Weems is really a rookie too!
PUNJABBBIIIII!!!!! – whats wrong with matt devlin?
He’s clearly been posessed by a candarian demon that causes him to have a dorky side-part/combover and have occasional turrets that make him spurt out rediculous nicknames and catch phrases…. ooooor maybe it’s just some percieved pressure to act like Chuck did.
yeah he try to be like chuck. chuck one of a kind though.
I really think he just meant to say Peja and it came out wrong. It would be nice to see him address the slip up and I imagine he will.
“The question is can he play 35 minutes every night? Wait, it’s not like Jose can do that. You think Chris Paul was expecting to go 3-13 against a backup? Jack made it happen.”
Ummmm…Jack is not a backup, he has proven before this year and this year, that he is (and should be) a starting point guard….just saying.
I assume there is a point in there somewhere?
Everyone knew Jack could start, that’s why the Raps signed him. For times like this!
check your pnr status here
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I think as a first round matchup clevland would be lesser of evils. Cosidering that lebron and to dome degree shaq are the only players that could do a lot of damage, do not forget the bench cuz they have some decent pieces. The rest of the top 4 are very dangerous with multiple players that can light it up on any occasion, plus they have much better bench players than the raptors. It is quite possible to pull of an upset if we have clevland. That would probablly build enough confidence to make it a series in the second round possiblly mimicing the bulls last season against the C’s