The “we LOVE when Jose and Jarrett play together” edition.
Banks – must have felt nice to get back on the floor, garbage time or not. Have to keep him active and game-ready if these trades happen.
Bargnani – fairly quiet, well except for that hammer home, first half, but found his rhythm in the second. Defended better, used his quick release and put the nail in the Dallas coffin.
Belinelli – icky sicky. Chef Boyardee wrote him a sick note.
Bosh – well, if he wanted to show he’d rather play in Dallas than New York, Guess he let his game do the talking with Cuban in the house. 23/13, 6 trips to the line. Still, his 1st quarter was ugly. Jump shot after jump shot, horrible defending. Any time he saw Marion anywhere near him he seemed to turn into an Ex-Lax commercial and poop his pants.
Calderon – just call him Zippo because he fired his team up today. He produced what was almost a perfect second quarter, something we needed after a slow first. He appeared to have the Mavericks off guard right from the start, did a great job in trying to get Hedo going, made shots, drove to the hoop and didn’t give away the farm on defence. 15pts, 7 assists and only 1 turnover.
DeRozan – hit his jumpers with regularity, something we haven’t seen most of the year. Hope he doesn’t go all Vince-like with them, but also hope this opens the floor for him a bit to attack. For that to happen, though, Jay needs to call some plays for him.
Evans – in a just world, DeMar would use Reggie’s foot cast as a prop in the dunk contest.
Jack – the second half of the J&J connection that worked so well today. Jack shot 5 of 8 (including a sweet circus shot) and dished out 7 assists in the same playing time as his back up. He played with his happy face today, a tell-tale sign as to the type of game he is going to have.
Johnson – The Amir Army can stand up and be proud today. He had a pretty emphatic block, played very well with 5 fouls, pulled down 8 boards and assisted (!) on Andrea’s dagger. His effort was indicative of what the Raptors did as a team today.
Nesterovic – the only healthy Raptor to not see the floor. Yes, POB was above him on the depth chart. That’s kind of like being at a strip club for 4 hours and not being asked to go for a dance.
O’Bryant – he got ABSOLUTELY HAMMERED and the ref justifiably made the call. My man made one of two and will gladly surrender his sweat drenched jersey to the cold-water Tide gods for re-use on Tuesday.
Turkoglu- you know when you go to a party and it’s in full swing…everybody seems to be enjoying themselves, getting into it, making their own little mark on the festivities? Then you pan around and always see one or two people off to the side, keeping to themselves, trying to fit in but just not feeling it. Those there people are Hedo’s.
Weems – well, there had to be one bench guy that just didn’t pull their weight today. Sonny just seemed out of sorts and just wasn’t creative enough to get himself going.
Wright – textbook guy playing his former team game for him. You could almost feel that he wanted this win to show his old friends up and he, unlike Sonny, forced himself into the game. He even dished the ball to open guys and didn’t just heave up shots, playing with patience and within the team concept. Good game.
Driving The Bus: Jose Calderon
Under The Bus: Sonny Weems
Game Theme:
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134 Raps
I would have thrown Turkoglu under the bus. Weems was mostly on the court during garbage time.
And have the same bus back up and run over him again…Hedo was just happy the Raps scored over 100…pizza,pizza,pizza!
Not sure what game you were at but Hedo did what was needed to help his team win. Nothing great but played solid defense and facilitated the offense. 2 steals, 6 dimes, 4 boards and 8 points helped the Raps win this one.
If his shot had been on everyone would be talking about the great game he just had.
Agreed. If Hedo is 5-9 instead of 2-9 then it’s a typical game for him.
But his shot was not on, and he didn’t have a great game. Dudes who make $10mil/year produce more then Hedo does on a regular basis. Hell, Ariza produces more $4mil les. That’s all I’m saying Steve. As far as doing enough for the Raptors to win, sure, he had a great second quarter, and was absent the rest of the game when he wasn’t needed.
T-Mac is making $23 mil/yr and he produces nothing. Steve Francis and Gilbert Arenas are making/were making twice what Hedo is making, and produced absolutely nothing. Hedo, on the other hand, is helping facilitate one of the top 5 offenses in the NBA.
In Toronto, though, we call THAT nothing, apparently.
“mostly”, but he also played his regular diet of minutes in the first half and gave us next to nothing. Hedo gave us what he has given us most of the season. If you want to hate on him for that, talk to the guy who offered him a contract.
Yes, but DeRozan only played 9 minutes, and Turkoglu missed 3 big shots when the score was closer. It’s possible I’m just hating the guy.
I really did feel the Raps were going to win today …!!!
Looks like the gelled early. Instead of starting 3 and 30, is it possible they finish 30-3? Give us a prediction, oh FAQ like one
You must mean 9 minutes in the first quarter cause DeRozan played 24 minutes today.
I meant Weems, sorry.
Reason for slow 1st qtr was Weems jacking it up 3 consecutive times as soon as he touched it and no one ready for any rebound on his 2 misses. Its tough to throw him under the bus however when he’s really playing for a contract (team option only for next yr). It also tough when everyone (including Colangelo) thought he was just filler for the Delfino trade. Someone (wake up Colangelo!) should be whispering into his agent’s ear and assuring him the team is going to pick up the option.
Weems and Colangelo both know that his option is all but guaranteed to be picked up. He’s making minimum salary and he’s clearly a rotational player… there is always room for those types of under-earners in the soft cap system…
H. Turkoglu – 8 pts, 4 rb, 6 asst, 2 steals. Not worthy of under the bus.
Hedo is doing what is asked of him. He is cold with his shot, but you guys have to give him a break. Do you honestly think he takes the pizza commercial seriously. Come on! I will take all bets that when the end of the season comes around, and he hits the big shot. You’ll all be saying, that’s what we got him for.
For his entire career he has looked the same way! Colangelo knew what he was getting in terms of personalty. If we were 10 and 31 maybe you could say something. But the Raptors are going to make the playoffs, so everyone should just be positive about everyone on the team.
What exactly are you wanting from this guy? He is the type of player that doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, and makes the defense honest. He also makes every other player better.
+1
Actually he was +11
err, I believe Buddahfan meant that he agrees with you.
+1 = I agree
unless you were being sarcastic, then my bad.
We’re only asking him to get 8 pts a game (he scored 17 ppg a year ago)? Or if cold, hall down an amazing 4 boards?! Wow and we get all this for only $53m! Bargain!
“What exactly are you wanting from this guy?” To produce and help win games.
I think its reasonable to expect more from a $53 million dollar player than a $0.736 million dollar player.
What I think He’s trying to say (and I agree) is that the only problem with hedo right now is that his shots are falling, but 6 assits is a very good number and he average 5 rebs last year, he grabbed 9 against the knicks.
I think if you value a players impact by the contract you will have a lot of dissapointments.
Richard Jefferson is earning almos 15 millions this season, and I reather have Turk than him because Hedo is a more complete player. Arenas has a 111 million contract and he’s suspended and on his way out of the NBA. Even Eddy Curry is earning more money than Hedo this year.
The thing that makes Hedo so valuable is that even when he’s shots are falling (like this past week for example) he can still contribue to the team (6 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals today) and help winning games. his playmaking skill are very rare for a player that big. And about his age, his game is not based on his athletic ability and the shooting and the basketball IQ is not somethin he will loose with the years
Your points are well made. I still say – on average – he’s performed well below expectations and that most nights his effort is not at the level that it needs to be for the “investment” we made in him.
I can’t wait to rub this in all of your faces come playoffs. I was made a fool of last year. But I have watched Hedo for years, I love his game. He is a slow, seemingly out of shape (but I’m sure he’ld take us all) white guy. Wait until April…..Hedo will be the new Joe Carter!
im with this dude. turdudu wasnt brought here for regular season he was brought here for the playoffs.
playoffs=crack
regular season=mexican dirt weed
dudes on a low. once we get to the promised land he’s gonna take it to another level. turd has never been the problem….a more troubling concern is bosh getting no lift out of his knees to contest shots on d and showing zero lateral quicks…now thats a concern.
“I think if you value a players impact by the contract you will have a lot of dissapointments”
very true.
I like the Agent Zero comparison. (I really dislike him, and “fans” who bought into his hype believing that somehow a big mouth + a me first attitude = star player … maybe Caldy should go and smile and say hi to him)
See Raul below — He is helping to win games. From what I see this is a team game played by not one, two or even three people. There are five people on the floor at one time, and only one ball!
Turk did not have a bad game!
Turk is Turk. He’s coasting until the playoffs. And he’s pretty much doing exactly what we expected; acting as a second point guard on the floor, and it’s working. Sure he’s overpaid, but Turk is proving he doesn’t have to be the number one guy to be useful. Once his shot starts falling, he’ll be fine.
Let’s put it this way … Orlando is missing Turk a lot more right now than we’re missing Vince, that’s for damn sure.
In fact if there was a three-way trade, where we sent Turk to Orlando, Vince went to Washington, and Butler came to Toronto, I think Orlando would do it in a heartbeat.
“Once his shot starts falling, he’ll be fine.”
It is about time they start falling, we are half way through the season. 53 million player was supposed to bring us to that (illusory) next level, right?
stupidest comment of the day. We are at the next level!!!!
The last level (last year) we out of the playoffs. We have reached the next level = play off spot.
Once we get (or develop) a quality SG we will move up to the next level = top for seed.
last year we were lucky to win 30 game and we missed the playoffs.
We have now moved up a level and should hit 40+ games.
nuff said
yeah, lets start separating it into 34 different levels to feel better about ourselves.. there is only two, chap. contenders and non contenders – we can are not contenders.
1st
haha owned!
He spent too much time typing his name in.
hahaha, personally i hate when people just come to a post to say they are first. Nobody cares!
This website uses a heavy caching mechanism. Sometimes you might see zero comments on a post because you’re viewing a cached version of the page (old by about 5-7 minutes or so).
bargnani was the best player on the floor….again
At times he was, absolutely.
Bargnani takes over games, in stretches. Generally, those are the stretches where we suddenly have a double digit lead.
He’s been doing it a lot lately.
It’s kind of hard to take over the game when your teammates dont pass you the ball. He drives on Dirk early in the first quarter and gets an “and 1″ only to never get a touch for the remainder of the quarter. The Raps get into a mode where only Bosh and Jose hog the ball and dont even consider anyone else. This will be their downfall in the playoffs.
Jose distributes. And he didn’t play in the first quarter, so…. you’re dumb.
But otherwise I agree with the first statement, the Raps generally forget to find Bargs when he’s hot.
When did I say Jose was responsible for why they didnt get him the ball in the first quarter? So if you have trouble with basic reading comprehension then you might want to hold off on calling others dumb.
What I did say was that his teammates ignore him for whatever reason and when Jose and Bosh are on the court they have tunnel vision and hardly anyone else gets a look.
Here –> “He drives on Dirk early in the first quarter and gets an “and 1″ only to never get a touch for the remainder of the quarter. The Raps get into a mode where only Bosh and Jose hog the ball and dont even consider anyone else.”
But sorry about the ‘dumb’ comment, was a line from Grandma’s Boy (sounded funny in my head, didn’t translate to text well).
I’m not sure, I think its arguable that Calderon was best out there. He’s like the engine to this team. He brings so much spirit and energy.
the raptors never ride the hot hand, half the time the hot hand gets subbed out and sits for five minutes.
don’t know why triano isn’t yelling at jose and jack to get the appropriate players the ball, more disturbing is that jack/calderon and the rest of the guys on the floor aren’t paying enough attention to do it themselves
The Raptors’ under control offence yet again – I have to wonder whether this was because of blowing the lead in Indiana. Good win, and nice to see the Raps take it to another team on home floor because we got a tough bit of a stretch coming up.
Part of that offence is being able to switch up looks between Jose and Jack. Jose’s steady hand, and newfound aggressive shooting really provides a good counterpunch to Jack’s looking for seems in the defence to drive.
I dunno, if I am BC, I wouldn’t be too happy to trigger a Jose or a Jack deal. I mean, if there is an offer that is worth it, then fine, but I just don’t see the point in shopping them and disrupting a real chemistry forming.
I would be shocked if there are any legs to these trade rumors at all.
With Jose we have probably one of the top 5 benches in the league. He makes the rest of the bench that much better.
I agree 100%. I really like Jose coming off the bench but finishing the games instead of Jack. The bench is MUCH different with him running it. How you guys noticed the recently bench points produced?
Trading any of these 2 guys would be a huge mistake. Why not keeping 2 quality PGs?
A voice of reason in a mad, mad world
I still doubt that the Raptors will be trading anyone of import between now and when Bosh makes his decision to stay at least one more season or go south for next season
specially since they seem to co-exist so well unlike the TJ/JC fiasco.
I agree. I think that Jose and Jack on the floor (separately) make a great pair for the Raptors, and I see no reason to shop Jose. Especially since he brings so much heart to the game.
jose plays his best ball in his current role, he did it with ford and he’s doing it with jack. he says the right things, and if he really means it even better. they look legit the way they are playing right now and if they keep beating/competing with the league powers i dont think you should move him
i guess it all depends on how much money bc is gonna be allowed to play with, if jose was making jack money or banks was making league minimum this wouldnt really be as much an issue
great game by the raps, this is not just any team guys, their 2nd in the west and to blow them out of the house like that….well i wont mind if they get destroyed next game, as long as they show some effort
The Cavs just barely squeaked past the Clippers and outside of Lebron, I fear no one on that team. If the Raps buckle down and play like they did tonight, we can take that game too.
As I mentioned over on the forums, the ball movement and most notably the help defence were simply amazing from start to finish.
The only flaw I saw the entire game was how badly Hedo’s continuing to struggle. He needs to play smarter. If you know your shot isn’t falling from beyond the arc, why keep forcing more and more shots up? Create more on offense and drive a little. I thought Hedo was supposed to be able to create his own offense. I have yet to see that.
Those in knowing – is there any way to get rid of Hedo’s ridiculous contract? I know planting gun in his locker was brilliant idea, but seriously, if Bosh decides to leave – would it be possible to package it with him? I mean, Belli can do better job than him at the fraction of the price. Any thoughts?
That would be a ton of money going the other way. I think right now, you couldn’t entice anyone to take Hedo and his atrocious contract even if you are dangling Bosh as bait. We’re stuck with Hedo for now. He can only fix this problem himself. Hedo fans can only lay blame on Triano for so long. And I think that opportunity has already run it course. Time for Hedo to step it up.
I believe he will especially in the money season. His positive contribution is his swaggah, clearly jacked by Bargnani, Bosh and others. Conversely Orlando misses this mojo.
Shouldn’t be so quick to throw away good players! Don’t encourage it.
Why is it every time some player disappoints some fans expectations the solution is to trade them for a bag of balls and cap space. Ridiculous!
Just how many 13, 4.5, 4.5 SF does everyone think are out there to be had?
And Turk apparently played through some of that heavy schedule with a sore back.
There is NOTHING wrong. A 14-7 record says these guys are better than most fans were expecting a month ago.
If anything the Raps should look to add talent, not toss away the key talents they have.
A lot of fans have absolutely no idea what makes for a good or a bad contract.
We may end up regretting Hedo’s contract, but we won’t know for 2 or 3 years. If he regresses a lot over time, it will be a bad contract. Otherwise, not so much.
Say Hedo tore his ACL tomorrow do you think The Raptors would be a better team with say, Antoine Wright or Sonny Weems the full time three?
Hedo hasn’t played as sell as hoped however if we hd’t signed him the team would be much worse off – marion wasn’t going to come back.
is not about what he brings. It is about what he doesnt bring with his 10m/year salary. just think about what raps could get with an extra 10 million. We could have got Marion and another decent 2 gaurd. And who is saying Marion did not want to sign? Is was BC who was iffy. He was going to be signed until Hedo showed up…
Oh I forgot to say, sometimes I feel raps would be much better of without him on the floor. He is just forcing too many shots when he is not on, which is often. This guy is still not feeling it home, it is obvious that he is missing orlando.
Marion Wanted 10 million and 5 years as well !!! The only reason he went for less to Dallas was that he realized no one is buying at that price. Also, Marion’s game is all about his power and agility and … Wait a year and see how he performs.
As many here said already, Raptor fans need to learn to give time to some of these talented player and let them find their place.
Good game! Turk didn’t play that bad!
Yes he had a fine game. Stop worrying about the money he’s making, he has earned that contract! It isn’t your money to worry about. You will all be eating your words come April!
Not only are you extremely paranoid, you’re bringing up negatives that the poster never mentioned =/
Paranoid how? Detour
I just made comments that seem to be present throughout the Hedo Bashing. The main one being his contract.
While I think Hedo was ok today (he did not have to be a saviour) and his game has yet to be fully integrated with this team (responsibility both his and the coaches), it is quite appropriate for some to question value visavis his salary. The nba has a cap system and teams can be really hamstrung when bad descisions are made on personnel. This is not baseball (no cap where you can just go out and get another player ala Yankees) and I dont think its personal. More power to HT for getting his contract. And I do think Hedo adds value to the team….how much is what is at debate I think.
Turk was passable this game. His defence was pretty good, especially that time he was switched on Dirk and disrupted a big shot was key. I think he will pick it up, eventually. But we need him if we want a shot in the playoffs. I mean, we need A LOT more from him to win.
Great win today, let’s keep it rolling against the Cavs!
Despite not hitting his shot Hedo was a key part in the great secon quarter. He had 5 assits by halftime one of them to Jose for a three after a steal. The best moments of his game were when he was sharing the court with Jose
Player of the Game, IMO it was Jose, he had a great game, shooting very well from the floor and involving everybody on offense
Hope the rumors of him being in the block are no true. We shouldn’t trade him, he makes every one around him better and he’s our best PG, and BC should know it
To bad he is just Jack’s “back up” acording to Mr. AltRaps!?
It seems to me that Triano deserves to at least get shot gun on the bus today.
1. He changed up the offense from what the Raptors ran against the Knicks. A lot less high screen and roll. Instead the Raptors went to the motion offense and even some Triangle. LOL It very worked well except for the first quarter.
2. Triano decided to take a bit of a gamble early in the 4th quarter by not bringing Bosh back in at his usual time even though the Raptors did have the game wrapped up at that time by any stretch of the imagination. It worked out very well and Bosh got a much deserved rest.
3. Terry went off but Dirk was basically neutralized by the Raptors defense and the Raptors exposing Dirk’s defensive liabilities within the flow of the offense.
Great observations, I’ve been feeling Triano and the staff lately. Raptors outclassed a good team today much credit to the coaches.
Never thought I would agree, but I do. The coaches held up their end of the bargain today.
Raps coaches seem to be learning their craft.
But it has been painful at times.
Colangelo seems to have a lot of faith in JT, he’s a smart guy – so we’ll just have to hope JT continues to prove he can be a good coach.
(All rookies have their learning curve)
At the game today and one of the better wins I’ve seen from this team although there were moments.
Bargs blow by’s on Dirk in the the first quarter got them started but they wenty too long without getting Bargs the ball again.
Bosh played well although he settled for the shot way too muchh…good thing it was dropping.
Wemms played like a bum today and took quick poor shots overlooking better shooters and positions.
DeRozan had a so so game but he definitely needs to learn to pass more..as soon as he touches the ball you know he’s going to shoot.
Jack played good for the most part and made some nice plays, although Jose was clearly the spark needed at PG and he delivered.
Amir was outstanding…needs to slow down his offence a touch.
Wright still a major bum and I cringe when he’s on the floor but he didn’t screw up too bad today.
Great team win and solid defence inside by Bargnani and Bosh.
Turk was pretty much a bum and pretty much played like he has all season. If he could only be somewhat better this team would be amazing.
I just realized I’m a hedo….I thought I was the only one like me….now I have a group to call my own!
Great game. These games I can watch. Consistent effort = no frustrated Rye!
I’d still rather have Hedo than Marion.
Maybe Marion was a better fit than Turk but don’t forget BC offered him a contract and he said no, so did Ariza. This team has his 5 best players, with the exception of Bosh, commited to the team and willing to be here.
Right! And if Marion had signed we wouldn’t have Jack, Amir, Weems, Wright (who I could live without) or Bellineli….you know…basically our ENTIRE BENCH! I’d take Hedo over Marion any day, he’s better anyway!
We would still have Weems and Johnson because they were traded for Delfino and Ukic. Jack was signed as a free agent, and contrary to what you may think, we never lost the use of the mid-level.
Yes, if we wouldn’t make de four team trade we would loose the mid level because we were under the cap, but if we wanted to re-sign Marion we would still have the Mid-Level
From my understanding of the cap, if we resigned Marion, that would have put us OVER the cap, allowing us to sign Jack. I concede this team would have looked different and may not be a .500 team if Marion was kept.
BUT you’re forgetting a little detail, Marion didn’t wanted to be kept
Okay, just to clear things up:
1) Since Marion was *our* free agent, we could have signed him without clearing up cap space. Turkoglu was the issue, not Marion. Without the S&T, we would need to have enough cap space to sign him, thus putting us below the cap and taking away the MLE we used to sign Jack.
2) Of course, nobody really knows what BC and Marion were thinking at the time; however, it’s probably safe to say that BC would have brought Marion back for the right price and Marion would have come back for the right price, and these “right prices” did not match. Just because he was willing to sign for $7 mil a year with Dallas doesn’t mean he would have accepted the same from Toronto — that’s what most people are forgetting. Meanwhile, BC obviously valued Turkoglu more at his current deal than Marion at whatever he was asking.
Amir must be kept. I fear the secret is out though, so we might have to pay more than we like. He definitely isn’t a starter, but is the best backup big man in the league. Can we get by offering 6 year 5 mil a year or something?
Calderon is playing like an excellent 6th man.
Should we just stand pat, not upgrade the 2 spot? Hope that DDR/Belli/Wright/Weems can man it? Is playing Caron Butler out of position at SG better than SG by committee, and losing Calderon bench production?
How do we ensure that Cack never appears on the floor again?
I am puzzled. If Calderon can become Jason Terry off the bench, his contract is well worth it. But is this a mirage? Should we get out of his contract now, bring in Caron? I refuse to give up Amir in the process, however.
Sorry I like Amir but he’s not the best Back Up big man in the league. Antonio McDayss, Rasheed Wallace, Paul Milsap, Nick Collison, Carl Landry comes to mind right now
It’s not about being the best in the league. Lamar Odom would start on any other team, at $9mill per year he is a relative bargain. If Raptors can get Amir Johnson’s production for 6mill per year it would also be a relative bargain.
I disagree – His current contract is very accurate in relative value.
Lamar Odom Salary:
2008-09 $14,148,596
2009-10 $7,500,000
No one suggested he was overpaid in 08-09. His statistics do not stand out because of his usage%.
Dyess has been done for 3 years. He can’t move laterally any more and is slower than molasses. All he can do is knock down an occasional three point shot and grab some rebounds when he parks his butt in the paint.
Wallace can still play some low post defense when he is moved to. His entire offense has devolved into chucking up three balls and other than a couple of games this year like the last one against the Raptors his three point shooting is a big liability.
Milsap is pretty good but he makes over $6 million a lot more than it will take to keep who the Raptors got.
Collison makes $6.7 million, more than Milsap. He like Milsap would be an upgrade over what the Raptors currently have coming off the bench
Landry has one more left after this season after this year at $3 million. Not very lightly he will sign in the summer of 2011 for less than $7 million.
If money was not an option I would prefer to have Landry.
Dyess: Should have said. Knock down an occasional 15 – 20 foot jump shot.
HOW CAN THE SECRET NOT BE OUT.
Amir currently makes 4. How many teams would use MLE on him? 6+? Do Raptors have his Bird rights?
I was hoping people would think his low scoring and propensity of fouling would help to mask his value. Plus how Detroit discarded him like chaff..sigh, oh well.
Raul: You are right, I am exaggerating. But I think he is an excellent value even at 6 million, even if he never improves his game. Since he is only 22, presumably he will get better..
In terms of money, Amir is bringing what you might expect from a 3.8 mill player in the last year of his contract.
But like you said, he’s a 22 years old, long and athletic PF/C and with his bests years ahead of him. He’ll get some attention from teams with cap space looking to add depth to their frontcourt like the Thunder or the Kings, If we can keep him at 4 or 5 mill, great but if he wants more, I think there’re better options out there for 6 millions.
Plus we still don’t know if he wants to re-sign, remember that little problem between american players and the city of Toronto
I agree, I think anything more than 5 is too much. I say 4 year, 20 million is a good number both for Raptors and for Amir.
Just my opinion but I think it is way to early to speculate on this one way or another.
1. Lets see what happens during the second half of the season.
1. Lets see what happens after Evans returns
2. Lets see what happens in the playoffs
I thought about posting some comments on this subject on my blog nba-25-15.blogspot.com but decided to wait until the picture becomes clearer later in the season.
At this point, I don’t see what we gain from keeping Evans. Doesn’t Amir do everything Evans does, is younger and could be had for less as a relatively unproven player in the league? What am I missing here?
I wasn’t talking about Evans. I was just saying that in my opinion it is too early to speculate on what Raptors free agents will do come July 1st, Bosh included. There is a lot of season left and every player wants to win. So if the Raptors can manage a good showing in the first round of the playoffs or maybe even win the first round BC will try like the dickens to keep this core together for next season and in my opinion most likely will be able to since they are basically young and should only get better over the next several years if they can be kept together. Players will take less money if they think that they have a shot of at least getting to the Finals with their current team even if not for a year or two.
As far as keeping Evans goes. At the beginning of the year when people expected him to be playing by now I along with many others thought he should be the first big off of the bench when he returned. Now some feel different but I will hold off changing my position until after Evans returns and we see what happens. I don’t think that the Raptors should let him go in case of an injury to one of their bigs or in case Rasho bolts for Europe or some place like that.
“But like you said, he’s a 22 years old, long and athletic PF/C and with his bests years ahead of him. He’ll get some attention from teams with cap space looking to add depth to their frontcourt like the Thunder or the Kings, If we can keep him at 4 or 5 mill, great but if he wants more, I think there’re better options out there for 6 millions.”
As far as I know, the Raptors will likely be over the salary cap (not the lux cap, just salary cap) if they choose not to resign him, so the only way they can replace him is w/ the MLE. If they do resign him, however, they can use the MLE on someone else, which would be better overall, wouldn’t it?
They would have bird-rights, so they wouldnt HAVE to use the Mid-Level to sign him…
Everyone must be kept. The raptors are coming together. This win today was one step closer to a fully balanced attack.
Stop all trade talks.
Well, no chance of us moving Hedo anyway:)
I’d feel less inclined to get a legit SG if Wright weren’t such a bad offensive player. Why can’t be become Bruce Bowen? You don’t see Bowen trying to create off the dribble or take bad shots..
But Bowen was not a bad 3pt. catch and shoot chucker from the corners. You dont really want Wright trying that do you? Clang!
Cuban: “Weez gonna haf’ta make changes here!!!”
Dirk: “Hooz dat bossman??”
Cuban: “Git yo’ azz outa here!!!”
Dirk: “Wazza matta bossman??”
Cuban: “Yooz too long in da tooth!!”
Dirk: “But I’z yo’ maynman bossman!!”
Cuban: “Weez got Boshman an’ yooz got sno..!”
Dirk: “But I’z luv Dallas heet!!”
Cuban: “Git yo’ azz to Toe Ron Toe..!!!”
+1. FAQ be leanin.
…. i luv ma ballz ….
http://vodpod.com/watch/513538-juvenile-way-i-be-leanin
LOL , how long did it take you to prepare that?
2 minutes … believe it … LOL
Duz i got talent …???!!!!
^– ROTD.
What exactly is the simplification of the Raps defence all the broadcastes discuss. It is cutting back on the inane amount of switching and kepping Bosh and Bargs more in the paint?
lol what about trading hedo and wright for Hamilton….detroit needs a good destrubtor and it allows Stuckey to play more as a shooting guard?
What about we keep Hedo, and stop talking panic trades.
We’re 14-7 since our team meeting, and have looked spectacular.
No doubt that the meeting helped but the easier schedule; i.e more time off between games, as well as all the recent practice time have helped tremendously.
With all the new bodies and pre-season injuries the team really did not have any time to come together and make in season adjustments because of the lack of practice time until December.
Jack and Calderon looked pretty good out on the floor together tonight… I was concerned when i saw it at first, but it was successful. Now did this work because Dallas plays 2 pgs often, just a chance happening or because Hedo wasn’t out there with them?
Makes me curious…
I think having the two of them with Hedo is the issue. Having Jack and Hedo play together works because Jack gives it up to him early in the shot clock and before the defense is set. Jose needs to control the ball as well so I feel Jack is the one that can play with either of them. If all three or a Jose/Hedo combo are on the floor it ruins our flow and spacing.
I’m wondering why the Raps are looking so good on D. A few weeks ago we’re laughing at our defensive specialist coach Iavaroni but things are definitely looking different these days.
Even a broken clock…
GREAT game overall. sometimes i think that with bargs the way he is we can afford to trade cb and get back a dominant center, moving bargs to the 4.. Either way I love my raptors
Raul and brothersteve i am with you. Good analysis you guys both have. The team seems to be getting together finally and no reason to be picking up on anyone, perhaps a bit on the coach to better be more assertive and going after players in showing their mistakes right away during the game. We need to be winning as positions after 5 in the conference standing is getting tighter.
Jay again was very passive with his timeouts. At the begining of the 3rd, when Dallas went on a run and was scorin at ease , going into the pain, pulling as close as 8 point to us, Jay just sat there.
At that time, our team was shooting tough jump shots and was limited wo contested tough jump shots. Lucky for us, they were falling tonight and we managed to keep our lead but that is not going to be the case all the time.
For the art of being Zen on calling timeouts I refer you to Phil Jackson and his 8 NBA titles, or whatever the ridiculous count is now plus one more come this June.
If it is good enough for the Zenmeister it is good enough for Triano.
1. Not calling quick timeouts
2. A little Triangle
Gee, has Triano been studying the techniques of the HOF coach?
Jackson can do this because of the players he had/has. Having guys like MJ and Kobe on the floor, being a coach of experienced teams, battle proven teams, allows you to give them freedom and not control them too much. When you have leaders like those in your team with such a high competitive spirit then you can relax on the bench alittle.
This Raptor team is no where close to those teams and does not have players who are that good. Letting them play through the other team’s run is just giving up the big leads which we have seen over and over this season.
We got lucky last night that our contested Jump shots fell during that period otherwise who knows what might have happen if Mavs could have erase the lead we had.
Raps sure look good with Jose coming off the bench. I suspect it’s acknowledged by all who matter (on the team) that Jose is REALLY the number one pg … but with Jack doing a fine job with the starting unit and Jose coming off the bench with fireworks and dynamite, it just has to be a nightmare to match up with for any team.
I don’t know for sure, but I would really have to guess that S Simmons – of the Jose-trade rumour – is a BIG a-hole. I’m kind of hoping so, anyway.
Is there any updates on Evans’ injury ?? It did not look too seriuos when it happened but now, it has been 3 month !!
Props to Jay Triano (since he never gets props on wins, but gets blasted when the Raps lose). He and his coaching staff devised a defensive scheme to contain Nowitzki and Dirk finished with only 19 points. Its been a while since a team held Dirk to below 20 points.
Props to the Raptors for executing on defense as a team. Dallas has a lot of weapons and the Raptors D was able to throw them off, get them out of sync and force them to focus on the refs and the calls being made. That is the mark of a good defensive team, so perhaps this is a sign that the Raptors are now becoming a good defensive team.
Props to Chris Bosh for coming up with another masterpiece 20/10 game even though it seemed like he was out of the flow offensively and jacking up too many jumpers early. If only he could block some more shots.
All in all, a quality, statement win against a very, very good team that was playing very good basketball. This is the Toronto Raptor potential on display (and we didn’t even need Turk to get 10+ points to show it).
.
Great game. Lot’s of Hedo analysis. Some not so friendly.
The irony is, Hedo’s across the board average with the Raps, is (statistically) similar to last season’s play-off totals. Which I realize is only part of the picture.
The way I see this situation, is that the Raps are playing this way, while Hedo struggles. Trying hard to make those occasional great games, more familiar. Find his stroke, and the Raps will be a tough team to beat.
Turkoglu started this season out of shape – physically & game-wise – then had his Knee/Upper Respiratory/too much pizza issues take their toll. Then again, it`s possible that this is all due to a 10 million dollar persona.
Whatever the reason for the slow start – the talent is there – if Hedo gets up to speed in time for the play-offs, the Raps might surprise at least one team.
As for the Jack & Jose show, or perceived one, if these 2 Raptors can be convinced how much better it is to win – call TJ for his “real” thoughts – this duo could be all that Forderon offered at one time.
.
BTW, why do we view Reggie Evans as some sort of panacea?
Admittedly, I did not watch him play at all last year. But looking at 82games.com and such, he seems to be a horrible man defender and scorer. He also blows ~1/3rd of his dunks…
Does he provide some intangibles that I am not aware of? What is the argument for why he should be taking any minutes from Amir?
I don’t think we should view the Kapono trade as adding a rotation player. View it instead as getting out of a bad contract, I think.
It’s not about viewing him as anything. It’s how we both saw him play in the preseason, and how he changed some of the other Raptors by being in proximity to him. He adds the killer component that this team doesn’t have and may be the final ingredient that pushes them to the next level.
Am I saying that this will make them the 96 Bulls? No. But the more players that we have that refuse to back down and leave everything they have out on that court the better.
I guarantee you with him on the court there will be very little Paul Pierce flexing over our best player after a dunk.
No idea.
Where does a career 11.6 PER player fit? Pops 13.3 was released. Legendary offensive rebounding? 20% of PMB’s boards are offensive, 14% for Reggie.
Imagine Antoine Wright had been injured instead of Reggie. WE REQUIRE OUR LOCKDOWN WING DEFENDER WHO WE HAVE NEVER SEEN PLAY BEFORE!! lol
Hrm, watching the game again…We really need to attack Dirk (or should I call him Irk?) more. He is easily the weakest link defensively on their starting lineup, and at the same time their best scorer. Against most teams, the Mavs are successful at hiding him. But since we start two offensively skilled bigs, this is impossible.
I guess all I am saying is that the Mavericks should be a relatively easy team for us to beat, since their best player cannot defend his position at all.
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