10 things that I did not expect to happen this Raptor Season.
10- Jose Calderon Gets Benched- I mean given all that was expected if you had told me in March that Jose Calderon would be benched down the stretch of a game I would have laughed. I know that I am not a Jose fan but this is the main guy and I never would have thought he would be benched for Anthony Parker to play the point.
9- J.O being Traded- I give Colangelo credit for correcting his error when it comes to O'Neal but to actually have traded you big off-season pick up is truly shocking.
8- Talking Draft and Not Playoffs in March- I really am shocked that the Raptors are totally out of it. March Madness is always something I love and watch. But to be watching wondering who would make a good lottery pick for the Raptors. Unreal.
7- Jay Triano as Coach of Raptors- I think Sam Mitchell getting fired was not a total shock. The timing of it likely was. I really was hopefully this day would come for Jay Triano. However the spot he has been put in has been awful. It all is a shame.
6- Joey Graham Being A Key Rotation Player- I know that I have always been the voice of anti-Joey things. But I give him credit for taking advantage of what has been an awful season for most. He has done enough to get himself another contract in the NBA. I just hope it is not here. That being said I am happy that Joey will likely get to remain in the league. Something heading into this season I think would have been questioned by a lot of folks.
5- Awful Defense- We made the trade in the summer to get better on defense. Bosh had a summer of playing great defense for team USA. The Raptor defense has never been great. But this season has been truly brutal. Be it Mitchell or Triano this team has failed to stop anybody for most of the season and it continues on.
4- Wing Woes- I knew that the Raptors were not going to be strong at the wing spots. But this has been awful. Part of how Joey has had the chances I mentioned in #6 was because Jason Kapono, Jamario Moon (Now in Miami) and Anthony Parker. Just a total meltdown failure. Jamario Moon went from Cinderella to an Ugly Step Sister in terms of his story. A.P looks older and slower and is more inconsistent than ever. Jason Kapono has just been awful. It all adds up to bad things for the Raptors and it has.
3- Andrea Bargnani- The one bright spot is a sea of woe. Andrea Bargnani has had a great 3rd season and has been a happy surprise. I was convinced he was mentally gone and not coming back. However through all the losing and all the problems the most consistent thing about this team may be Andrea Bargnani. If that does not shock a lot of people I am not sure what will.
2- In Honour of Total Disrespect Of Fans We Give You The TSN 2 Mess- O.K it is MARCH AND THIS IS STILL NOT SOLVED. GIVE ME A BREAK. I am stunned and saddened that this is still something we are talking about. I have said it all in the past and I am not going to bother repeating myself. The latest move by MLSE that I mentioned off the top does not erase this issue by a long shot. THIS IS WRONG WRONG WRONG and should be a total embarrassment for all involved.
1- CB4 and You The People- If someone had told me people would be demanding for Bosh to be traded in March back in November I think everyone would laugh. But that is where we are with a lot of fans wanting to get rid of Chris Bosh. I am not among them. But the fact that people are trying to make comparisons to Vince Carter and Chris Bosh although they are not true in my view still is amazing. It will be an interesting summer and I am hopeful that when all the smoke clears I will still see Chris Bosh in a number 4 jersey.
So that is my list what is yours? Feel free to share it in the comments. The great thing about lists is there really are no wrong answers.
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I hate how Toronto fans are so quick to vilify our top players (i.e. Bosh, Calderon), but when a team underperformed as the Raps have this season, it's easy to point fingers. Truth is though, there haven't been any players who have been exempt from criticism, but it certainly has surprised me how eager some people are to want to get rid of Bosh.
ReplyDeleteI agree Chi. Fans are very quick to forget all that people have done. When it comes to Calderon I have always had my concerns for a long time. But the amount of support of things I have said long ago is strange. These have to be some of same people that said my comments were nuts. Oh well it has been a bad year for sure. But thanks to Chi and all of you other loyal readers that have hung in with the Dino Blogger I am grateful for it. After all a blogger never misses or makes a shot. We are tied to the team and it's fans of which are great and loyal even if I don't always agree with them. I consider myself a fan as well and always will hopefully.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure we'll see CB wearing a #4...I'm just not sure it'll be with Toronto. Not because I want him traded, but because I think he may have had enough. The only problem is, I'm not sure what we can get for him. In Toronto, yes he is a superstar. But in comparison the the rest of the NBA, he's not what Raptors fans make him out to be. Basically he's the best player on the second worst team in the East. That's not saying much. He is a top tear player but it's not like we'll get a Chris Paul or Dwight Howard straight up for him. If he were traded, I'm sure we'd only get like 3 or 4 OK players and a draft pick. And I'm sure at least one of those players would be European. Which is something else that BC can no longer do. We need an athletic beast and you won't find any over seas, they're too soft. I have checked out for the season, but can't wait to see what the summer brings. Go Celtics!
ReplyDeleteYou had me till Go Celtics...LOL. Thanks for the comments. That is my point if you trade Bosh I do not think you get better and I am not even sure you get as much as you suggest.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ashton
Great list!! However, I must object to #1 on it. I don't think anybody truly thinks Bosh isn't a good player or wants him traded - its just a question of how much we should pay to keep him. I think before the season started there was a lot of talk that he was going to be joining that elite Lebron, Kobe, Wade, Howard group - especially after the Olympics. That's the kind of player people don't mind paying max money for and locking into the franchise. After a fast start, it never really materialized for Bosh. The talk of "CB4 for MVP" disappeared as quickly as the 42 point nights did and the Raptors completely collapsed. Bosh showed himself to be incapable of leading the team out of the hole and was injury prone throughout the season. Rather Rather than go through a healthy process of reflection and self-criticism, it seems that CB4 instead directed the discussion towards what could be done to "make him stay" in T.O. He could have quashed such talk by saying he would stay for max money, but he didn't do that. I think after a while, people began to wonder whether we should throw max money after a guy who led us to 23 wins and our worst season ever.
ReplyDeleteOther things I never expected this season?
ReplyDeletea)Matt Devlin's sick haircut and even worse announcing.
b) That Jose Calderon would stink so badly. That last game against Utah...I mean...Jesus. It makes me miss the crippled hobbling of the permanently injured Alvin Williams and the chain-potsmoking of Damon Stoudamire (BTW, I think his teams won more games than this years Raptor team).
c) That Rod Black would have so many nights off from covering figure skating at the Calgary Saddledome to appear on Raptor broadcasts. He really sucks at his job. No analysis, no enthusiasm, no effort.
d) That Leo Rautins is still around. I would have thought the debacle with Canada basketball and the emergence of Jack Armstrong would have been enough to finally have him removed from the analysts' job. Evidently not.
e) That Jamario Moon was still a starter. And we thought we were contenders? Really?
f) That Anthony Parker has a pulse. It took 60 some odd games for him to show it, but he's finally playing quality basketball.
g) That Kris Humpheries would become the new Yogi Stewart - Often injured, often benched, rarely played. Humpheries forgot to do everything this season except cash a hefty check. Its too bad too, because we were so strapped for cash this season that we had to hire two back up point guards that nobody ever heard of.
h) The Back Up Points - Ukic? Solomon? Anybody ever hear of these guys? My god, they provided the team with some ugly minutes. Have we ever had worse point guard play than we received this season? If so, when?
Cheers James
ReplyDeletehttp://www.raptorsforum.com/f/f5/dino-nation-10-things-i-never-expected-raptors-season-6956.html