Once again, filling in for Scott.
It’s the “Who do we start now?” edition.
Banks – Was hiding under a chair praying Triano would spare him the humiliation but nothing doing.
Bargnani – Midway through the second he had 13 points and 1 rebound. Funnily enough, the Thunder had 13 second chance points at that exact same moment. I’m not big on +/- but -30 surely must say something. Overpaid stiff.
Belinelli – Looked about as reluctant to come on as a man being walked to the gallows. Triano’s failed to harness his skill and ability, and left him to find his game entirely on his own. I don’t make excuses for players but you have to wonder why a good spot-up shooter, a half-decent defender and a good ball-handler with great vision isn’t giving us more.
Bosh – Drank the Colangelo Koolaid over the summer just like everyone else but is smartening up to the fact that the players are soft, the GM clueless, the coach a yes-man and his foot out the door. At this point I reckon it’s all about what we can get in a S&T. Got his double-double with 22/10 so Devlin must be ecstatic. Hollow points, hollow rebounds, hollow career.
Calderon – Worst defensive starting PG in the league. Russell Westbrook is really good, but he’s not a Hall of Famer and Jose made him look like one. How about picking your man up in transition for once? Calderon’s lateral quicks are shot and he doesn’t have any agility, speed or strength to handle anyone in this guard-dominated league. His three early turnovers help rev up the Thunder freight train as it plowed over our sorry asses. Talks the talk, but doesn’t walk the walk.
DeRozan – Sefolosha was on him like white on rice. He hasn’t seen that kind of defense since….well, never. The rationale behind him being a fifth starter was that he’s be the worst of them and would be left open by defenses who would be busy breaking a sweat dealing with Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu and Calderon. Fact is nobody breaks a sweat facing any of the Raptors and DeRozan hasn’t been left open since the opening few games of the season. So much for him being our Courtney Lee.
Evans – Didn’t enter the game till the third as Triano was “saving him” to inspire the troops in the third. In reality, he was late because he couldn’t find parking for his white horse. Asking him to make an impact on this team is like asking a baby with a water-gun to put out the fire in a blazing 50-story building. I don’t care what his effort and intensity levels are, it’s just not rubbing off on anyone and all we’re left to see is what a bad player he is.
Jack – Was he pissed or was he pissed about starting the fourth? Did a decent job of ball-distribution with 7 assists but the problem on this night was at the defensive end and he got rocked by the Thunder guards just like Jose, but as is always the case, just to a slightly lower degree. I can’t help but think he had found his groove as a starter just like Calderon had found his groove as a sub, and Triano ruined it all (perhaps at Colangelo’s calling).
Johnson – Good hustle as always which I can appreciate but boy, does he struggle in zonal box-outs. Gave up a few offensive rebounds on his watch, but I feel bad for criticizing garbage-men because nothing much is to be expected of them anyway and anything they give you should be seen as a bonus. Problem is that half the fan-base is seeing him as a saviour on defense which he’s not.
Nesterovic – Aah, remember when we burned the bi-annual exception on him and everybody thought it was such a shrewd move?
O’Bryant – You know that guy at the grocery store who lines up in the “8 items or less” line with a shopping cart which has clearly more than 8 items? That’s Patrick.
Turkoglu- 5pts, 1reb, 2asts and the honor of being Durant’s little bitch. He’s fat, he’s slow, he’s overpaid, he doesn’t care, and he makes $10M/yr. What’s not to like?
Weems – I like Sonny, but I find it hard to agree that a 21-footer from him with 16 seconds on the shot-clock should be option #1 on offense. Again, he’s a good 8th or 9th man on a decent team, but you can’t be mad at him because he was basically the 15th guy on the roster in training camp.
Wright – There was an article in one of our fine Toronto newspapers about how he’s mentoring Sonny Weems and DeMar DeRozan. I hope they’re not listening.
Driving The Bus:
Under The Bus: Jay Triano for not getting these guys to play hard. Bryan Colangelo for assembling a flawed team and killing our cap. The entire team for not having any pride. The fans for continuing to support this nonsense.
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123 Raps
Can anyone tell me why Jose was all smiles and high-fiving everyone while we were down 30+ points? Where is the pride with this team?
You know our lives are pathetic when we are watching these raptors on a Friday night… posted this on FML.com
cuz he makin 8.5 mil a year and has 0 pressure on him
I wonder whether it was a good idea to move him back into the starting lineup. He doesn’t appear to be able to shoot any more, and really is a terrible defender. Will another team be so willing to take a chance on him when they get to read the ginormous statlines that other PGs post against him? Might hurt his trade value..
He’s trying to remind everyone how wonderful the idiot Colangelo is for giving him a 5yr $10MM/yr contract and how wonderful it is for the locals to have him for 3 remaining yrs before he retires to his villa.
Thank god my cable was out.
Thank god I knew they were going to get shit on and didn’t watch the game
^WINNER!!!!
ROTD
Bravo on the under the bus…..glad the management could fit under those wheel wells….
Hopeless effort.
Wow, Arsenalist, you were sure in a surly mood when you wrote the Roll Call, but can you be blamed for being so? I just got in and missed the game completely, so I have no idea what happened until now, other than the fact that we were being blown out after 3 quarters when I got a scoring update. I have no idea what the Final Score was, and I don’t really care.
This team is pathetic on so many levels. Do we even want to have the indignity of being blown out by the Cavs by not winning the 8th spot, but having the Bulls hand it to us on a silver platter, which they are with their depleted roster.
I say screw it. I have seen enough. Bosh is gone regardless, so you may as well grab a lottery pick, even though it will be mid first round. Regardless, what hope do we have for next 3 years with our roster and the bunch of stiffs locked up.
Would you want to be drafted by the Raptors knowing that your NBA career is going to be marred playing with these stiffs …????
Ouch. Hopefully DeMar doesn’t follow your line of thinking.
What a painful game to watch. It is not good for my emotional health to dislike Turkoglu this much…….but come on! Why do potential changes to the starting roster rarely include benching him? Of course, he is not the only one who sucked tonight.
+10
What the fuck happened to this team during the all-star break? Glad I didn’t even bother to watch this game. I was pretty sure they were going to lose, but not this bad…I was expecting Atlanta to do this to us.
Blow it up. Seriously now-no hyperbole. Keeps Amir and DeRozan (MAYBE Bargs) and have a fire sale on everyone else…The problem is the other teams may decide just watch our store burn down at this point.
How bad do they have to lose before most of you get a clue?
Devlin and Armstrong were terrible tonight.
You don’t spend the whole game raving about the opponents and giving their career bios.
Everyone knows how good the Thunder are. You don’t need your home announcers hyping them.
Its an art to announce NBA games on TV and sometimes the less said the better. This was one of those games.
There was over 2 quarters of garbage time, gotta talk about something! And when isn’t Devlin terrible?
They were doing this in the first half which wasn’t garbage time.
I didn’t listen to the second half.
im no fan of our crew, but i dont see an issue with them talking about OKC… most fans dont know much about em, and they are a talented team no doubt. The one thing that bothers me the most about broadcasters is the hardcore homers… i find more often than not when watching an American teams broadcast, they throw a temper tantrum every time a 50/50 call doesnt go their way, or claim “his foot was definitely on the line” even as the replay is proving them wrong. Just plain disrespectful to the officials.
devlin’s best comment at the end of the 3rd “if you are still here the raps are losing”
I might be reading into this too much, but I think, at least in Jack Armstrong’s case, he was indirectly criticizing the Raptors by continuously praising the Thunder. I’m not talking about just the team, but the coaches and management as well. I remember at one point he was raving about Scott Brooks and how he always “gets his guys to buy into playing defense”, hinting that Triano and the rest of the staff haven’t been able to do that. Or who knows, maybe I’m just crazy.
Amir is a throwaway energy guy you can easily find elsewhere. DeRozan and Barney are 2 of the dysfunctional players in the lineup and besides that they’re Colangelo’s ridiculous picks. To blow it up – you blow out everyone!!!!!!!!!
Raptors are 4-15 since the All-Star break. What happened .. did the Raps ungell … did the other teams gel for the final run..???
Looks like the Raps are disintegrating and certainly not playing like a team .. just poor offense and hopeless defense .. I shudder to think of them in the playoffs playing the Cavs with a healthy LeBron. It’s going to be brutal …!!!!
Toronto may be a NBA-sized city, but what if the decent US NBA players don’t want to play in Toronto …???!!!
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703701004575113711299000350.html
Thats why I think American players will want to come to TO. Espeically after the Woods saga, many gossip sites have discovered not only do players have crazy private lives than most celebrities, but that the public loves to hear about the athletes crazy private life.
Wonder if Ms Halem has serviced Mr Woods?
Someone send that article to every team and player in the NBA. Please.
Devlin and Armstrong under the bus.
I killed the sound after the first half. I couldn’t imagine how any two announcers could be worse.
All they did the first half was rave about the Thunder; the team and each individual player ad-nauseam. It was absolutely pathetic.
The Thunder are pretty good. Maybe you hadn’t noticed?
Everyone knows the Thunder are good.
That is no excuse for Devlin and Armstrong trying to ESPN announcers.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if they just commented here and there about the Thunder organization and players, but they were raving about them. Total crap especially since it was still the first half.
It was like they didn’t want to to associated with the Raptors but were trying to feel better by hyping the Thunder. Very unprofessional.
Understand where you’re coming from but what would you rather them do? Talk ad nauseum about how bad the Raps are? They obviously can’t do that as they work for MLSE. As a fan I also don’t want to hear what I already know and have to watch.
Personally, I enjoyed hearing about a team we don’t hear enough about. They are young and passionate, well-coached, smart basketball players. They’re the type of team I wish the Raps were. Durant is a superstar in the making and I give credit to Jack and Matt for giving credit where it’s due. Would be nice if our guys gave them a reason to sing their praises but it just isn’t there.
Ditto.
Couldn’t agree more.
I also agree. It made the game more interesting.
They could talk basketball in a little more detail. Talk about the plays being run, the breakdowns on defense, why something is working, why somebody is so good at what they do etc. Their broadcast seems like it is geared to somebody watching for the first time.
When the home team is being trounced, praising the visitors should only go so far and yesterday was too much. Just call it like it is on the court. Real basketball fans know about the Thunder already and can just look at the scoreboard to see how well they are playing.
“Everyone knows the Thunder are good” is dead wrong.
plenty of people realize they are improving, but few realize how good they already. i’m fine hearing about them all game… if the raps play better, the commentators will talk about them
Absolutely Owned Great job Arse!
This team is trash, didnt even know Turk played to be honest
Triano can screw himself and go coach highschool
bye-bye Bosh and probably the whole team after this offseason
BLOW THIS SHIT UP NOW!
Dude. Just clicked the theme…..I didn’t know Jose was an actress in the off-season….rough stuff.
…..perhaps “hollow career” was a bit harsh, but we got the gist of the Roll Call tonight….everyone is on the same depressed page.
derozan has been better than lee
36 minutes of garbage time? WAaaaaa
POLL:
“Raptors should tank the rest of the season and stay out of the playoffs.”
YES:
NO:
It’s happening:
I don’t think there is a wrong choice. (That’s my positive spin take)
Too late. They already ahead of Chicago.
Before Johnson came to the Raptors I remember one game in his four years in Detroit that the Pistons played zone while he was on the court. I am sure there were a few more.
In any case the Pistons were down by 30 or or something on the road vs the Lakers. Johnson and C. Samb came in. The Pistons went to a zone and they cut the Lakers lead to single digits at one point.
Zone defense is for guys and gals who don’t know how to play defense. Good defensive teams rarely play zone defense. Still it would be good if Johnson learned how box out while playing the zone.
No Johnson is not a defensive savior. No one player no matter how good a defender they are good save this Raptor squad from being the worst defensive team ever to make the playoffs assuming they make them.
He is an above average defender but can only do so much when he has four other guys on the court with him whose idea of defense is to wear deodorant on a date.
It was nice that the Raptors finally passed him the ball in the low post. It only took about 34 minutes into the game before they did it.
What’s more is that recently Jay Triano actually said that a lot of the losses has to do with not having a full 12-man roster. He counted that we had 96-game misses all-together by one or more of our players and that not having a full 12 man roster usually hinders the preparation of a team before a game….HMMMMM he fails to mention that out of those 96 almost 60 of them are by Reggie Evans. Realistically this is the healthiest, I have seen the Raptors in a long run and for the team to go out like this…it’s just sad. FINALLY ARSE, you put Triano under the bus. I mean shouldn’t we have gelled by now? what happened? when we were knocking out the knicks and the jerseys of this league, everyone was actually talking about how much the raptors have grown…well that’s all a scapper! I think the Heat has our first round draft pick this year from the Marion trade, so really hell with this team. I hope Bosh departs and leaves this replica of a Euroleague team.
Did Triano really blame injuries? Ughh
shit replica is right… I’m not even sure we are up to Euroleague level…
Triano is really a tool if he blamed injuries.
Wow…..had prior obligations so I missed this game…not sure that was altogether a bad thing. Just looked at the box score and am trying to find a positive. How old is Amir? Can he gain 30 pounds? The only reason I ask is he is the closest we have to a “convential” center. AB deserves a little break because HE IS NOT A CENTER. We have asked a lot of this guy and you know what….he can play ball, he is not a bust…but maybe we should play to his natural talents rather than “rebounding”. Triano deserves a break because he has a SF (Turk) who frankly does not have the jumps and is best a SG, two PFs who can not, for the life of them, understand the concept of the low post and THE PASS OUT. And we all to blame Jay??? No offense, you stick any coach with a team that unconvential (see F%^^#cked up).
How do we blow this up?????? We can’t. If we are lucky (VERYVERYVERYVERY lucky) we can arrange a trade that includes Turk with Bosh. If we are only a little lucky we can dump Calderon with Bosh. Otherwise…….we’re screwed.
I know, that’s the worst part. There is no way that any team will take Turk..he will be here until the end of his contract – and probably starting if BC has anything to say about it.
Also, I really have doubts as to weather Bosh will do a sign and trade.
I just don’t think Triano is a great in-game coach. It seems like he’s a good preparation coach and assistant coach though. Granted he only has about 1.5 seasons of experience but I just don’t see it.
Man. Got as far as ‘Belinelli’ and I had to open a page to write a comment. And I may not read anymore of the roll call for a day or two.
Went to the game, saw it up close and in person for myself – was given two section 102s, behind the basket for fifty bucks.
I’m actually glad I went, ‘cause I don’t know if the real horror of it all would have truly translated on the tv screen for me as terribly as it really was, being there. And I’ll never watch it to find out.
Got nothing else to say, really, except the mention of ‘Triano’ ‘failing to harness (Belinelli’s) skill and ability …’ … well, that’s a big tip of one view of the stinking, rotten, soul-less wreck of a sinking iceberg that was on display tonight. I did actually waste my own breath yelling down to the other end … ‘Triano!’ … and what else, I don’t know, maybe nothing. But I had to try to let him hear that he was being held as responsible for the disgraceful mess on the floor that was right there in front of us as much as anyone else was.
As for Bosh … another time, maybe. (I doubt it.) But I will say this: If Chris Bosh continues to SO not attempt to lead this team … and to not fight and try and play with some sense of desire, basically tanking the rest of the season … he’ll always regret it. Because, it will always be remembered as a part of his career.
That’s all.
Peace, fellow Raptor fans. I kind of don’t want to say this ‘cause I’d probably hate to be reading it, but … it’s only right that it’s said, in case nobody does. For this year, it’s over. It really is.
The only chance the Raptors have in our life time is to find a coach like Fabio Capello who was named to-day the most powerful man in English sport by the Times newspaper. Not to find a disciplinarian and capable coach is the biggest mistake made by BC in my opinion (hopefully he does not compound his mistakes by offering max money to someone who will NEVER be a leader on the floor).
The problem is that bringing in some no-name, Euro, hard-assed coach will accomplish nothing. Do you really think that these NBA-sized egos will let some stranger (who hasn’t earned respect at the NBA level) boss them around?
Capello is the coach of the English football (soccer) national team . Their national team was being beaten up by second tier European teams before he was hired as coach . He is a disciplinarian who changed the mentally of over-paid , undisciplined , spoiled but gifted players and made them one of the favorites for this year world cup .
I was implying that a TOUGH and CAPABLE coach (most likely American) is the only chance to turn this team around (if not this year then soon afterward).
Ok, a bit more. Watching the game on tv this time on RaptorsTV – ya, glutton for punishment – the travesty of it all is definitely NOT near as apparent to me on the screen, as it was to be there in person. (I have to say that I did forget how good Bargnani looked for brief flashes in the first quarter. What happened after that … ? Who the hell knows.)
First time sitting behind the basket and for this game, it was too close to not see some of what I hated to see. One comment I made (more than once) during the game last night was that ‘the whole team (Raptors) seems to have no legs from the ankles to the knees’. It was weird and I can’t really describe it any better than that … and I can’t say I can even see it on the tv screen watching it right now (it’s still on) … but last night, I thought it often enough to repeat a few times. It was like they were on half-legs. Watching Jose dribble – and not just Jose, but I thought it about him more than once – was … maddening. Lazy, high-bounce dribbles, looking like he hadn’t a clue. It was one of many mistakes that Triano has made and will (without question) continue to make as long as he’s there … to replace Jack starting, with Jose. Big mistake. And speaking of … what I could see on the tv better than I did last night at the game was that OKC’s coach is about a thousand times better than our coach. Maybe … eleven thousand times better. Triano absolutely positively has to go. No ifs ands or buts about it. He’s not an NBA level coach in any way at all. And he never will be. That’s about all I got.
Except … dude (nadir) who’s asking for comments on Colangelo and what do we think of him now? Man, I don’t know. I’m not sure he could’ve seen the nasty turn this thing has taken … ‘cause … again, they sure looked better than this before the All Star break. That said … maybe he should’ve had a better feel for what was in Bosh’s head. (And maybe he did but just couldn’t do anything about it … ?) I like to think that if I was him, I would’ve known. But … probably not, especially if Bosh didn’t really know what he was gonna do up until he went to Dallas for the All Star game. (Because, in my mind, that is absolutely the grenade that went off that wrecked this team.) But … I guess he has to go, as well. There’s no sugar-coating it. It’s gotta be on him more than anyone. So … yank that plug like you’re startin’ a lawn-mower.
How the hell is the rest of this mess gonna play out for the remaining games? I’m not looking forward to seeing what the answer to that is. Kind of dreading it, actually.
And oh yeah … regarding Colangelo … for signing Turk for five f***ing years and not somehow making certain that he’d be in shape, mentally and physically for an NBA season with a new team … for that alone, he should be savagely abused, many times over. Never mind, even, the whole bogus bullshit about how Mrs Turk so loved that Toronto had such a vibrant Turkish community – that I frankly, never even heard of before that – and then us all finding out recently that she’s never, to this day, set FOOT in Toronto … ya, he should definitely be severely … held accountable.
About Brooks vs Triano… didn’t the Thunder start 3-30 in Brooks’ first season? just saying
IF anything we should try our hardest to make miami’s pick worse… I think thats the last thing we have to play for.
Um soo.. Hmm to be an Orlando fan or a Cleveland fan?
OkC came with playoff theatrics, raptors are still thinking its the season. THE SEASON IS OVER!!!wake up!! boys.. good luck with your contracts!!!
The Raptors can’t make it any worse than it is now.
If the Raptors fail to make the playoffs the pick is their’s this year as a protected pick and the scenario plays out again next season.
Under the bus fans. Toronto. But we like Evans. Yay.
I am done with these guys. I ain’t watchin’ this circus until Colangelo, Triano and Iavaroni are gone.
Cheers fellas.
You guys want to know whats wrong with this team?
First, no way should DeRozan be starting on this team, he should of been coming off the bench since the first game.
Calderon is a back up PG no where near a starter his lack or no defense play makes Bosh and co. have to help out everytime the opposing PG passes him.
Triano should of made this team his way instead of taking orders from Colangelo.
The starting line up from the first game should have been: Jack, Bosh, Bargs, Hedo, and Wright (we just needed his D nothing else, more than enough Offense in the starting 5)
I noticed the Bollywood rape victim was screaming before Tarzan even got down on her. In contrast, the Raps were kinda mute while the Thunder were actually Woods-ing the team. If they just made a little noise while they had their pants down it might say something…I think…instead of being so effing passive. Hedo should also get a looser shirt. I could see his rolls of waistline do a jiggle as he panted during each stoppage.
I think we all looked at this roster on paper and thought we could challenge for 5th in the conference this year. And that’s before we knew what guys like Johnson and Weems would bring.
At this point in the season I’d say that Johnson and Weems have exceeded most people’s expectations, and yet this team is a steaming pile of crap and in free-fall on its way to not making the playoffs or being embarassed in the first round. So what gives? In my opinion, the two key reasons are:
1 – Turkoglu being a bust.
2 – Coaching that is severely lacking.
I think for the most part, everyone else has delivered as advertised.
You can’t really do much about the first one for next year except hope Turkoglu turns it around or that we find something better so that he can come off the bench.
As for the second, I hope to God that Triano is not behind the bench next year, or if he is, then as an assistant.
Turk coming off the bench won’t happen nor would it do any good. His attitude is bad enough.
The only way Triano will still be part of this team is as a Head Coach. No chance he gets demoted and keeps any respect with the players let alone self-pride.
This team is softer than Reggie Evans’ woman’s vag.
Man that game was disgusting…. I hope we get rid of Triano ASAP. Our coach is weak and he has the worst excuses. Turkoglu also has to be traded as well. I know it’s highly unlikely that anyone will take Turk but we still have to get rid of him. Even if we make the playoffs, I still think Bosh is leaving. We should be aiming for lottery picks and the future. Right now the Raptors have no future.
Bosh is the problem. It starts and ends with him.
For a guy who supposedly is not a stat padder, did you notice how the shitty coach still had to leave him in long enough to get his double double even though the game was lost long ago and apparently his ankle hurts and you don’t want him to get injured??? A little longer and he would have got his triple double because he turns the ball over as much as he makes you tube videos. I hope to hell this team keeps tanking so we have a better shot of him walking and having to rebuild this team without him.
I was driving the bus…Like a whore in church!!!
BUT HEY! bosh got his again tonight. 2 bad he has zero leadership abilities and doesnt want the mantle. this team has no true leader,its sickening. a coach like the zen master or sloan would command that type of respect. a player like kobe or a dwade can demand that type of respect. we have neither. just a bunch of suits and a bunch of spineless ballers trying to get paid. ZERO COHESIVENESS.ZERO LEADERSHIP.
just sad….BUT HEY! i cant wait to give bosh a 6 year 123 million dollar contract!WE’LL BE AWESOME THEN!
Hrm. Never really actually thought about it that way…at an average of ~20 mil a year, that is pretty spectacular value. Obviously is wasted on a team like the Raptors, but will be interesting to see next year what a more competent organization can get done with such a piece.
Bravo Arsenalist! Your best roll call of the year; what a pathetic performance…a bunch of sorry ass nba players who play one good quarter of basketball against the Hawks and think all the sudden they will just win ball games by showing up…fucking losers…
The bottom line is that the starting lineup has to change. We give up wayyyy too many points in the first quarter. Look at todays starting five and you can see why. One(Bosh) is considered a good rebounder who is not that strong a defender, three others (Derozen, Hedo and Calderon) who are considered some of the worst defenders in the league and a 7 footer who is so brain dead that he still doesn’t realize that he must put a damn body on somebody to get a rebound. How many times does Bargnani just stand there and watch guys take our boards? I don’t see any value in a 7 ft player who cannot rebound and can score for one quarter per game.
Lastly, it’s time that Banks plays some more. What have we got to lose? The guy is by far our best defender at guard and has played well. I also agree that Hedo has to sit. What purpose does it serve to continue to start a guy who consistently scores under 10 points just because he makes 10 million a year?
Put Jack back at the start. Calderon get’s way too exposed. On another note, I was at the game today and was very impressed with the ball movement and offensive system run by the Thunder. This team was 36 games under 500 last season. Well coached team
Right… start Amir over Bosh… maybe that will work ..LOL
Where in my post did you read me say that Amir should start over Bosh? If your gonna take a shot at my post at least make some sense.
Killer stats:
Thunder – 94 shots of which 22 were threes …
Raptors – 73 shot of which 9 were threes …
Forget about the scoring percentages because the Thunder just ran the Raps into the ground … no mercy …!!!!
Indeed. Pretty difficult to win if the other team gets 20 more shots, I guess.
This same team will beat Cleveland in the playoff. As bad as it looks is one loss (by 1 or 30, still one it counts)
Conspiracy theory: Bargnani is playing like shit because he wants Bosh to leave town so he can be the No.1 guy.
On the surface, they say the right things about each other. But subtleties have shown they haven’t liked each other ever since that number one pick was made.
Hrm, interesting. Let’s follow this line of reasoning a bit. Won’t it also result in his protector BC getting fired? Look at how the Toronto media has turned on BC. I think Bosh and BC’s fates are linked…either both stay or both will be gone.
And another GM might be less invested in him.
Kind of a dicey game to play.
Did BC sign his extension ?
Nope…they only picked up his option, did not extend him. Very telling. Could be fired or a lame duck for 2010-2011, depending on what happens this summer.
I don’t know if firing him will really help us. We will make the playoff this season with the way Chicago is playing, so we will have no 1st round pick.
Bosh will leave anyway :) so a better GM can not really do anything.
we have 3 big contracts on the book with 2 of them almost untradeable and maybe all 3 because a new CBA and …
so why play BC to leave and pay someone else to come in who will not be able to do anything speacial anyway and will fire the coaching staff as well , so more money to pay and all….
Lets face it, with Bosh leaving, and these huge contracts, we are doomed for next 3-4 years
I’m not the one making the decisions, don’t complaint at me. But look at how the media is turning on BC already. What do you think will happen after Bosh leaves? The Toronto media (aside from Feschuk) has already taken Bosh’s side and pretty much agree he’d be more likely to achieve personal success elsewhere…
So you’ve lost the face of the franchise, ticket sales are down horribly, and the team will for sure suck…think the current Nets.
There is absolutely no way BC survives that.
Another thing too…would you really trust BC with the 2011 draft pick? He is bound to screw it up somehow. Better to get a good drafting GM so you can rebuild quickly, and generate new interest in the franchise.
Dont you remember how Bargnani shit his pants dealing with double-teams for the collective 7 games that Bosh missed? The LAST thing Bargnani should want is to be the #1 guy. He’s just too retarded to do anything about it. He hasn’t learned how to box out in 4 years. With this kind of learning curve, he’ll be 30 yrs old before he realizes how to pass out of doubles (or that turn-around fade-away jumpers are the worst shots one could take when a PG is guarding you in the post). Clueless….simply clueless.
Anybody here predicting wins against the Nets on Saturday and the T-Wolves on Monday… both away games???
So I’m watching the game on league pass..around 1:31 in the third Serge Ibaka is complaining that Amir held his wrist to prevent him from helping on a Bargnani drive and dunk. If you remember, he also grabbed Pau Gasol’s shorts in the Lakers game.
Amir is awesome, and I hope he is kept by the Raps.
Man…Ibaka is a beast. Two blocks on Bosh, then a huge putback slam over Amir. What a gem.
24th pick in the 2008 draft. This is why BC absolutely has to be fired. You cannot piss away draft picks like this and build through crappy free agents. There ARE gems to be had in the draft, if only you spend the time looking. You can’t put all your eggs in one basket.
So Mrs. Turk, this is what 50 million some odd dollars gets us? I think the money alone paid for this stunned, unathletic worthless prick is an outrage.That money could help out a third world country, cure f – ing cancer for f’s sake at that rate. Too bad that coward will never show his face in the Streets of T.O. I know that was not well said, im just so angry have too many thoughts going through my head.
Turkoglu absolutely should not have been guarding Durant. You put your best defensive wing on the other team’s best scorer. Putting Turk on Durant is about as intelligent as putting Jose on him.
Perhaps as fans, we should make it our mission to make life in Toronto an absolute living hell for Turk. Hopefully by this summer, he’ll be so unhappy here, that he’ll demand a trade. Even if we get nothing but a bucket of Gatorade in return, it will be worth it. After all, the players need electrolyte replenishment :|
Someone in the lower bowl, please make a sign that reads, “Hey Hedo, DO SOMETHING…ANYTHING!!!”
I still think we have a very talented team but an awful coaching staff. I still think with a better coach (stricter) we would have been able to get much more out of Hedo and the rest of the guys.
That being said, I do blame Bosh, Jose and AB (for recommending Jay) and most importantly BC for choosing Jay as a head coach.
Something has happened since the ALL-STAR and this team is broken. It is clear to me that Bosh is leaving now and I see a very dark future for a Raptors.
I was talking to two friends in Toronto, both season ticket holders for past 10 years, who swear that they will NOT but season ticket next year. Maybe more fans should do that !!
Question:
Does anyone know how Jack’s defence was as a member of Blazer and also Pacers ??
I did not follow this guy too closely but I do NOt remember him being called a BAD defender in that PG position.
I heard complain about his Js being unreliable and him not having too much control on his drive or not getting his teammates involved when playing as PG BUT never the defence.
Can someone make a comment and shed some light on this? Could it be the scheme that is used by our coaching staff that is making our PGs so bad in defence.
Jack is a good player. He is an OK defender at the PG position. He knows how to push the ball. Last year w/ the Pacers, he started off slow but really picked up the pace post all-star break. He avg’d something around 17pts/6asts. His production value currently is I think at 14pt/5ast and gets paid 5 mil per year, so that is a sound investment. Calderon 50 mil/5 yrs is not a good investment. As I have pointed out earlier, Jay yanking Jack was the wrong move. This guy did not deserve that. If anything he is the only player who shows any kind of emotion on the court. He cares and he does what he can, and doesn’t try to do too much or too less. It’s the 3 spineless Euros that we have invested 30 mil of our cap on that deserves to be benched. That’s HALF of our cap on – Hedo, Bargs, Jose for the next 5 years.
I think that Jack’s defense is slightly improved over years past but is overall fairly comparable to his defense while with the Pacers + Blazers.
I thought his defense against SGs, while still below average, was better in past seasons though.
Thank you Clark and Dave
This is exactly what I am trying to figure out. If Jack had a reputation for being BAD defender at PG position, then why the heck BC goes and sign him while he has another shitty defender in Calderon at PG position. Did he do some homework before signing Jack ? Or did he just sign him since he is Bosh’s buddy ? Or Jack did not have a reputation and bad defence in just due to system and lack of effort culture in Raptors.
I always thought there was disconnect between Jack’s reputation as a defender + his actual impact on the court defensively.
Jarrett Jack had a reputation as a good defensive point guard. Nothing great but solid. Slightly above average. A guy who improves your defense. Whereas, I felt he was below average defensively. That his man-to-man defense at the position was spotty and that he struggled against dribble penetration and quick guards.
Jack did have a good reputation defensively but I didn’t think it was an accurate portrayal of his abilities. Most GM’s fall in line with a player’s reputation and judging from Colangelo’s comments on Jack when he acquired him BC clearly felt he was getting a good defender.
lol funny funny post shahinc. I love the way you jokingly question colangelo, almost as if you believed he understood that defense is 50% of the game of basketball, which he so clearly does not.
This is from NBA.com, I found it interesting.
“After a lopsided victory like this one, one coach wanted his team to use this performance as a model for how to play every game, while the other wanted to wipe it from memory.
“We have to forget that and move on,” Jay Triano said.
Forgetting it is one thing, hopefully the Raptors learn from it as well. Looking up at a jammed Eastern Conference playoff race, Toronto doesn’t have time –or games?to waste.”
“How about picking your man up in transition for once?”
Jose? How does this make any sense? He isn’t fast…he will only get blown by.
BTW, Durant, Green and Kristic all are terrible or poor defenders. How do they have one of the best defenses in the league? There really is no excuse for the Raps being so bad defensively. Swap Scott Brooks and Jay Triano, and the Raps would probably be a top 10 or 15 team, defensively.
Really cannot believe BC screwed the coaching choice up so badly in such an important season.
I have seen every Thunder game this year and disagree that Durant, Green and Krstic are terrible or poor defenders.
The worst of the three is Green. Durant is very long and has committed himself to becoming a good defender. In his first two years, he would get blown by very easily. This year however, he is moving his feet much better and using his length to disrupt shots. Krstic is actually a pretty good defender. He’s a legitimate 7-footer and plays good help defense and is usually good for a block or two per game. Green has a problem against bigger PFs because he’s undersized at the position. He is quick and strong however. In the last game OKC played against Dallas, Green shut down Dirk pretty well and OKC got the win.
I think it’s the Thunder’s defensive system and their length and athleticism that makes them a Top 5 defensive team. The players are similar in size so they can switch on every screen. And they all are great at helping if their guy beats them.
The Raptors wouldn’t be as successful defensively even if they had Scott Brooks and defensive guru Ron Adams because you guys just don’t have the personnel. Bargnani, Turkoglu and Calderon are just not quick or athletic enough to stop people. That’s my opinion anyway.
I dont feel sorry for Nets fans anymore, in fact I wish we were them right now, at least they have light at the end of the tunnel, not so this bunch of sorry arse losers!!!!!!
OKC is a better team. But it’s the way we lost that kills a fan base. I fully support the team in a loss if the effort is there. But wow does it ever look like a few of our main players are mailing it in despite a fight for a playoff spot. Telling.
Still have not seen anybody recast their opinion of GM. All is well? Still in rebuild? 50 wins? comments?
How are we doing with this, no updates yet?
i still don’t understand how Calderon in the starting lineup was the solution. Of all the problems, i.e. Turk, Derozan, we go and switch Jack?
They want to make the ruination complete. Some people on here, let alone at the home games, endorsed this. Yikes.
Arse:
Re Johnson
—————–
Go back and rewatch the game.
In the first quarter Johnson was on Ibaka. In 2:26 Ibaka did not score nor do I believe did he grab an offensive rebound
In the second quarter Johnson was on Collison who got one back door bucket and one offensive rebound.
So in 9 minutes in the first half the guys that Johnson were guarding got exactly
1 Field Goal
1 Offensive Rebound
That was it.
Arse: I think you still have a hole in your screen door when it comes to Johnson.
The second half was irrelevant because it was garbage time.
Ibaka made that one spectacular play on an offensive rebound in the second quarter when he ran toward the basket jumped and dunked over Johnson who was should have been about another foot or so from the basket.
So I counted one bad defensive play in 9 minutes in the first half by Johnson.
Could you imagine if all the Raptors players only gave up 2 points per 9 minutes to the men they were guarding. Maybe the Raptors would win some more.
it’s funny that some week ago there was rumors about a trade involving Ibaka/Green for Bosh (and someone was think that wasn’t enough) hope it was only rumors, too big to be true
A lot of of complaining but nothing constructive.
Issues with coaching:
-In the first quarter Bargs was the only on scoring. He had 13 points. He finished with 15 and didn’t take more than three more shots. I know he played terribly on defense but why did he not get more shots in the second quarter? For people saying he has to go get his shot, he isn’t that type of player, something like 70% of his shots are assisted so you need to actually run plays for him. this is a coaching issue.
-Why did we just give up in the third? I know it’s a back too back and Triano wants to conserve minutes but this is our home court. We got blown out at HOME. This was one of those situations where you need to point out to your guys that someone is walking into your house and raping your wife while you watch dispassionately. Only good tough play I remember was Bosh fouling Durant hard at the rim. Needed more of that at the beginning.
-Oh and we gave up 20 offensive rebounds and 19 turnovers (Bosh had 4). Seriously.
The Raps lost this game when Bosh exited in the 1st quarter. Amir came in and STUNK – that hustle showed up after the game was over and he was playing vs their 3rd string.
Bargs was hot. But Triano is a slave to his rotations – so he sat Bargs for 6.5 minutes to start the 2nd quarter and when he got back he was cold and the game was over. Overpaid Stiff – BULLSHIT what game were you at? – Bargs was the only player the Raps had who could score to start this game.
Bosh had a BAD game. Green let Bosh score when it didn’t matter and no other Raptor was doing anything anyway. Blocked twice, four TO, Ouch. Has Bosh really recovered from his injury?? He is not the same player.
Raptors were getting hosed by the refs in the first half but they stopped playing all on their own. A bad game, a poor effort.
But it seems someone spiked somebody’s morning coffee. Memories are extremely short today. A split between the Thunder and Hawks is not exactly a disaster.
Brothersteve always good to hear from you. It seems often that you are one of the few that watches the game from the same angle as my friends and I. Once again Bargnani could score at will but Triano kept him on the bench almost until the game was over, and when he got in he never touched the ball for 5 minutes in favour of long jumpers from Weems, Bosh or Jose who were not hitting. Bosh also drove to the rim and looked like Jarret Jack the way he forced everything even though he could get nowhere. When Bargs was doubled he passed out quickly to Jose or others open for a good shot. Two things there that Bosh has not learned QUICKLY and PASS. It was also very characteristic of this coach and our franchise player to give up the game early and sit everyone except Bosh who still needed to pad his stats as usual. I loved it last week when he continually deflected blame away from himself. This team will be way better off when and if Bosh leaves because they will have to figure it out without him, and hopefully Triano is an assistant again because he cannot be a head coach.
Thank God March Madness is on right now, which helps ease the pain of this team. I watched less than a quarter of this game.
Just like Orlando laughes at us for taking Hedon’t, Toronto will laugh harder at the City that takes Bosh at a MAX contract this summer.
LOL.
Stop with the Jack is good talk.
He sucks, Jose sucks, they both are fucking shit.
Jose is a better shooter, worse defender, better passer, but he hasn’t been taking care of the ball, but even when Jose commits turnovers, they are not at the rate of Jack handling the ball.
Jose>Jarret
But they are both shit, so who cares who starts.
Still I think Jose is better.
Adrian that’s about as good as I’ve heard it put!!