For a number of reasons this training camp and pre-season will be very important for the Raptors. First reason has nothing to do with the roster turnover at all. Dwane Casey never even had much of a training camp last season. Despite those less than ideal circumstances for a new coach he was able to do a fantastic job. He was able to turn the Raptors in an acceptable team on the defensive end of the floor. He took huge first steps in changing this team’s culture and identity. When you factor in injures the Raptors endured it makes it even more amazing. Casey had more wins in 66 games than Jay Triano could muster in 82.
Now Casey has had an entire off-season to manage his players off-season activates and a full training camp to fully implement his defensive system. Just on these things alone the Raptors should be somewhat improved. You factor in the roster changes made and that makes you even more optimistic to a degree. You have more talent and more depth to work with. Casey has options this season if players fail to perform. It should help expand on a culture of accountability that he was able to create last season.
It will be important for the Raptors to see what they truly have in guys like Jonas Valancuinas, Terrence Ross and even Quincy Acy. Jonas will be at the top of that list as his learning curve will be the steepest of all. When you factor he is living in a brand new country something than Linas Kleiza should be helpful with adapting too. Learning the many nuances of the NBA game will be a challenge. Along with dealing with a mountain of expectations built in the year of fans waiting for his arrival. He will likely have the largest role of any of the rookies and it would be a disappointment if he was not the starter at center by the end of this season.
Terrence Ross has a lot less to worry about. He will not be expected to start and will be given time to grow. If Demar DeRozan is able to play like expected Terrence’s role should be very focused and controlled. While he can shoot and has great athletic ability, expect his defence to be his main focus at first.
Quincy Acy will likely not see much time on the floor. He will be asked to push all the Raptor big men in practice something he is capable of doing. He is an energy guy and if guys like Air Johnson and Ed Davis and others let up Acy will make that obvious. If he sees the floor it will be to send messages to others or because the Raptors have some serious injury issues.
It was made clear that DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis were impacted negatively by the lack of a normal off-season last year. If that theory is to be proven right than we need to see a much better performance from both out of the gate this season. If we do not that is a problem and something that will need to be addressed in some form or fashion.
Kyle Lowry has been given the starting job by most. He still has to go out and earn that spot technically. That should not be an issue for him. What will be is learning his new team and developing chemistry with guys like Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan. In fact at his position you really need to know everyone and how to get them the ball and make them most effective. He also needs to lead the charge on defence as he offers something the Raptors have lacked for some time. Lowry is an effective defender at the point that will challenge the opposing point guard and make life difficult for them. In addition to that he has to be mindful of Jose Calderon and do his best to deal with a situation that will be tricky to navigate.
Lowry has to establish himself as the guy and do it in a way where he doesn’t offend Jose Calderon in the process. How Calderon reacts to Lowry will also be something to wonder about. He could help Lowry make this transition easier. Most think this will happen based on Calderon’s reputation as a team guy. I am not as sold based on what we have been told about Calderon’s reaction to the Raptors off-season moves in which it was made pretty clear his days starting in Toronto were done.
All of these things and we haven’t touched on Ed Davis and Amir Johnson fighting for a spot in the rotation. Not a word on how Landry Fields fits into the mix and if he will be the guy starting at the small forward for the Raptors. Can Demar DeRozan learn to split time at the two and three positions? Will Andrea Bargnani stay injury free and show that the way he played when healthy last year was not a fluke.
There are a lot of things to be accomplished and maybe that is why most of the team is already on hand and working out on their own prior to training camp. It feels a lot like the first full season Bryan Colangelo had as G.M here in Toronto. The same results from that season would be far too optimistic as that team won a division title and finished in third place in the Eastern Conference. The NBA landscape has changed since that time. In fact forget the league, the Atlantic Division has changed in a major way. The Raptors will have to fight hard to compete in a division that is truly stacked and offers no easy games.
Showing posts with label Ed Davis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ed Davis. Show all posts
5/3/12
Jack Armstrong Is Here For The Starting 5
As I mentioned Jack will be back to talk about the draft once the Lottery Balls have fallen. He obviously gave you a hint on his feelings on Anthony Davis but safe to say almost everyone shares that opinion that he is the consensus number one pick heading into the draft. We will be reaching out to others getting their thoughts on the season and off-season to come in the next few weeks. So stay tuned and be on the look out for more guests as we get prepared for the off-season. Jack is an honorary member of #TeamDNB for me. He has become our most popular guest over the years and it is mainly because of two things. The first is Jack and his no nonsense approach mixed with good humour that Raptor fans have come to love. Second his willingness to be a guest on a regular basis and show faith in me to do a good interview. Those two things are what has made him are most frequent and most popular guest in The Starting 5 and we are thrilled as always to have him on with us.
4/27/12
Raptors Last Day Of School
It was a long day in Toronto for me yesterday. First there was the annual end of the year press conference for the players. Normally commonly refereed to as locker clean out day, but the Raptors still had a game to play. A concert by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers allowed this uncommon event to take place. The common theme of those exit interviews was a general consensus that things had changed for the Raptors. This was stated from longest serving Raptor Jose Calderon to second year man Ed Davis. What was also a common theme was a desire to grab the brass ring and make it to the NBA Playoffs next season. To say it is one thing, to believe it is another. The respect this team seems to universally have for Dwane Casey has been obvious throughout the season. Ultimately the Raptors seem to feel they now have an identity and blue print to build on towards that goal of returning to the post season.
No one seemed to have any answers or be willing to share thoughts of what they needed in terms of additions to the roster that will help in that goal of being a playoff team in 2012-13. They all deferred to Bryan Colangelo who has a massive off-season in front of him. The days of everyone just accepting the genius of Bryan Colangelo is no longer just accepted anymore. The first thing that he will be judged on is his draft choice from last season in Jonas Valanciunas who if you hadn't heard will be coming next year. While the Raptors odds of landing Anthony Davis seem bleak at this point, if Valancinus lives up to the considerable hype it might not be the disaster it appears to be for some. In my opinion the Raptors would actually be better served in some respects to wind up the runner-up and select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also of Kentucky. The Raptors need a better option at the small forward position. James Johnson can be a good player for this team but ultimately does not have the overall skill set to be in the starting line-up. Johnson spoke of his late season blow up with coach Casey and said it is in the past and that he respects him. If the Raptors add someone that ultimately will play in front of him, it will be vital that he is able to stay motivated and contributing. While he still strongly believes in his game on the offensive end, it will be his defensive game that will be what is required for him to be part of the solution.
Andrea Bargnani looked like another person when this season began. When asked what was his best memory from this season, he said it was two minutes prior to ultimately re-injuring his calf muscle in Utah. When that happened you saw some rare raw emotion from Andrea Bargnani. After that we saw little of Bargnani and the Andrea we saw after that point looked a lot more like the Bargnani we had seen in the past. Dwane Casey in his post season remarks today praised Andrea for allowing him to push him. Ultimately heading into next season there will be two main questions. One is if Andrea Bargnani can be healthy and when injures happen can he grind and play through them. The fact this same injury was a factor no less than three times this season has to be a major concern. In addition Andrea Bargnani needs to prove the guy that many were saying was playing at an all-star level is the guy that shows up next season. Italy will not be going to Olympics so Andrea unlike some other players will not be part of things in London. He will have a entire off-season to figure all this out.
Jose Calderon will be in London and likely playing major minutes for Spain given the fact Ricky Rubio is no longer an option for the Spanish Team. Raptor fans outside of Spain may not be so thrilled with that. The Raptors have not exactly had the best of luck in terms of players participating for Spain. Calderon had one of the more solid seasons he has had in the past few years. Colangelo dismissed any thought that Calderon will be going anywhere in his remarks to the media today. He praised Calderon's defense which has improved to some degree under Casey. I would debate how much it has in comparison to Colangelo's assessment.
There seems to be a common consensus that both Ed Davis and Amir Johnson can not both remain as part of this team moving forward. I would tend to disagree with that given the uncertainty to Bargnani's health moving forward. You can throw Linas Kleiza is in that mix as well but given the coming of Jonas, if for no other reason than to help with his transition to life in the NBA and North America it would make sense that he remains on the roster.
In terms of Ed Davis this off-season will be vital for him and his long term future with the Raptors. He has yet to have a full off-season and training camp based on injuries and the NBA Lockout. I personally have concerns about Ed and his ability to develop. He seems to need to be constantly pushed. Casey consistently as mentioned his desire to see Ed and Demar both hit the weights in the off-season and get stronger. Davis when asked about it responded in a rather concerning way. He felt that people will always be questioning his size throughout his NBA Career. This sounded a lot like what use to be said by a young Chris Bosh. That said, the comparison between Bosh and Davis ends there. It is one thing to put up 24 points in a game that the other team had no desire to win and doing it in a game that matters. The organization has stated that he will be the primary focus of the Raptors Summer League team in Las Vegas. Colangelo in his remarks today basically stated that Ed Davis will be held more accountable moving forward and there will be less tolerance in terms of allowing him to develop.
There will be not much said about Demar DeRozan in this post because I had a chance to talk with him later in the day prior to the game last night. Colangelo in his remarks today said that the sky was the limit for DeRozan and he mentioned the same things that Coach Casey has stated about Demar getting bigger and stronger. He also made the point that Demar was the youngest player on this roster on a team full of young players. Colangelo also broke some news in his remarks as he stated that Dwane Casey has got his contract extended. He also made reference to Casey earning bonuses based on this teams dramatic improvement on defense.
That sums up the interviews of the players and we touched on what Casey and Colangelo had to say. Will have more on that later today or tomorrow. However let's shift to the game from last night briefly and touch on a few points.
First the crowd was addressed by Jaamal Magloire and as I had mentioned I was not looking forward to this. It was all I expected and even more. Keeping in mind that Magloire is not even under contract for next season at this point. It is thought that the Raptors might be willing to keep him around and it is clear he is desperate to be around. All of that said he when out and thanked the fans and encouraged them to stick with the team. That is your standard stuff no shock in that. The next part was, in which he more or less gave a promise of the playoffs next season. I am fine if that is Andrea Bargnani talking or Demar DeRozan stating that. We are confident they are going to be here and be a huge part in making that happen. Jaamal Magloire for all of the praise he gets has little impact directly on the floor. Everyone will tell you about his impact off of the floor and that is hard to evaluate in it's actual impact. If he is back I would not be happy about it, but that will not shock anyone.
This game was a utter shame on so many levels. The Raptors and Nets played in effect a glorified Vegas Summer League game. The only thing that made this somewhat bearable was the performance of Ben Uzoh. He got a triple double and became the first Raptor to do so since Alvin Williams in 2001. Sure this game was utterly without meaning in almost every way. That said to get a triple double under any circumstances is not easy to achieve. If it was than surly someone on the Raptors would have done it in 12 years. If you want to earn some respect or dough in the future remember the name Ben Uzoh and triple double and you will have the ultimate trivia question in about 5 years. Who is to say what the future holds for Alan Anderson and Ben Uzoh and if they will ever wear a Raptor jersey again. What you can say is good for them in doing a solid job in building a case for themselves to be in the NBA even if that isn't here in Toronto. They had an opportunity and they ceased it and took advantage of it.
Ultimately this season was about Dwane Casey establish a positive identity for the Toronto Raptors. Everyone from the players, to the fans, to other NBA Teams now have an understanding of what it means to be or face the Toronto Raptors. It seems almost comical now how some people at this time last season were still convinced that Jay Triano would still be the coach of this team heading into this season. The best decision the Raptors made this past off-season was hiring Dwane Casey and nothing else comes even close to that. The fact he earned an extension based on his performance this season will surprise no one. The Raptors will pick up the option year on his contract. He has brought back an accountability to the Toronto Raptors that had been lacking for years. When you go in the Raptor locker room it is very clear who the boss is on this team and it is him. To earn the respect of NBA players and be able to get them to buy into what you are selling is a tough job and a constant struggle. In a season that was challenging for any coach in the NBA, it allowed Casey to thrive and survive his first season exceeding almost all expectations that may have been made on what he could realistically achieve.
Up next on our off-season madness of work will be taking a look at Demar DeRozan and hearing his thoughts on what lies ahead for his future and off-season. So be on the look out for that. Also as I was making people aware on Twitter I have lined up a number of guests to talk with us about the season that was and get their thoughts on the future. That begins with my favourite guest Jack Armstrong sometime next week. Many of you missed him on the broadcasts during the final stretch so you will get you fix of Jack here in the DNB. He always has some interesting thoughts on what is going on with the Raptors and I just love having him in the blog. He even helps me learn some things when he is. So that said the season is over but the Dino Nation Blog marches on the entire off-season for the most part. So make sure to stick with us through the off-season which promises to be an eventful one for the Raptors.
No one seemed to have any answers or be willing to share thoughts of what they needed in terms of additions to the roster that will help in that goal of being a playoff team in 2012-13. They all deferred to Bryan Colangelo who has a massive off-season in front of him. The days of everyone just accepting the genius of Bryan Colangelo is no longer just accepted anymore. The first thing that he will be judged on is his draft choice from last season in Jonas Valanciunas who if you hadn't heard will be coming next year. While the Raptors odds of landing Anthony Davis seem bleak at this point, if Valancinus lives up to the considerable hype it might not be the disaster it appears to be for some. In my opinion the Raptors would actually be better served in some respects to wind up the runner-up and select Michael Kidd-Gilchrist also of Kentucky. The Raptors need a better option at the small forward position. James Johnson can be a good player for this team but ultimately does not have the overall skill set to be in the starting line-up. Johnson spoke of his late season blow up with coach Casey and said it is in the past and that he respects him. If the Raptors add someone that ultimately will play in front of him, it will be vital that he is able to stay motivated and contributing. While he still strongly believes in his game on the offensive end, it will be his defensive game that will be what is required for him to be part of the solution.
Andrea Bargnani looked like another person when this season began. When asked what was his best memory from this season, he said it was two minutes prior to ultimately re-injuring his calf muscle in Utah. When that happened you saw some rare raw emotion from Andrea Bargnani. After that we saw little of Bargnani and the Andrea we saw after that point looked a lot more like the Bargnani we had seen in the past. Dwane Casey in his post season remarks today praised Andrea for allowing him to push him. Ultimately heading into next season there will be two main questions. One is if Andrea Bargnani can be healthy and when injures happen can he grind and play through them. The fact this same injury was a factor no less than three times this season has to be a major concern. In addition Andrea Bargnani needs to prove the guy that many were saying was playing at an all-star level is the guy that shows up next season. Italy will not be going to Olympics so Andrea unlike some other players will not be part of things in London. He will have a entire off-season to figure all this out.
Jose Calderon will be in London and likely playing major minutes for Spain given the fact Ricky Rubio is no longer an option for the Spanish Team. Raptor fans outside of Spain may not be so thrilled with that. The Raptors have not exactly had the best of luck in terms of players participating for Spain. Calderon had one of the more solid seasons he has had in the past few years. Colangelo dismissed any thought that Calderon will be going anywhere in his remarks to the media today. He praised Calderon's defense which has improved to some degree under Casey. I would debate how much it has in comparison to Colangelo's assessment.
There seems to be a common consensus that both Ed Davis and Amir Johnson can not both remain as part of this team moving forward. I would tend to disagree with that given the uncertainty to Bargnani's health moving forward. You can throw Linas Kleiza is in that mix as well but given the coming of Jonas, if for no other reason than to help with his transition to life in the NBA and North America it would make sense that he remains on the roster.
In terms of Ed Davis this off-season will be vital for him and his long term future with the Raptors. He has yet to have a full off-season and training camp based on injuries and the NBA Lockout. I personally have concerns about Ed and his ability to develop. He seems to need to be constantly pushed. Casey consistently as mentioned his desire to see Ed and Demar both hit the weights in the off-season and get stronger. Davis when asked about it responded in a rather concerning way. He felt that people will always be questioning his size throughout his NBA Career. This sounded a lot like what use to be said by a young Chris Bosh. That said, the comparison between Bosh and Davis ends there. It is one thing to put up 24 points in a game that the other team had no desire to win and doing it in a game that matters. The organization has stated that he will be the primary focus of the Raptors Summer League team in Las Vegas. Colangelo in his remarks today basically stated that Ed Davis will be held more accountable moving forward and there will be less tolerance in terms of allowing him to develop.
There will be not much said about Demar DeRozan in this post because I had a chance to talk with him later in the day prior to the game last night. Colangelo in his remarks today said that the sky was the limit for DeRozan and he mentioned the same things that Coach Casey has stated about Demar getting bigger and stronger. He also made the point that Demar was the youngest player on this roster on a team full of young players. Colangelo also broke some news in his remarks as he stated that Dwane Casey has got his contract extended. He also made reference to Casey earning bonuses based on this teams dramatic improvement on defense.
That sums up the interviews of the players and we touched on what Casey and Colangelo had to say. Will have more on that later today or tomorrow. However let's shift to the game from last night briefly and touch on a few points.
First the crowd was addressed by Jaamal Magloire and as I had mentioned I was not looking forward to this. It was all I expected and even more. Keeping in mind that Magloire is not even under contract for next season at this point. It is thought that the Raptors might be willing to keep him around and it is clear he is desperate to be around. All of that said he when out and thanked the fans and encouraged them to stick with the team. That is your standard stuff no shock in that. The next part was, in which he more or less gave a promise of the playoffs next season. I am fine if that is Andrea Bargnani talking or Demar DeRozan stating that. We are confident they are going to be here and be a huge part in making that happen. Jaamal Magloire for all of the praise he gets has little impact directly on the floor. Everyone will tell you about his impact off of the floor and that is hard to evaluate in it's actual impact. If he is back I would not be happy about it, but that will not shock anyone.
This game was a utter shame on so many levels. The Raptors and Nets played in effect a glorified Vegas Summer League game. The only thing that made this somewhat bearable was the performance of Ben Uzoh. He got a triple double and became the first Raptor to do so since Alvin Williams in 2001. Sure this game was utterly without meaning in almost every way. That said to get a triple double under any circumstances is not easy to achieve. If it was than surly someone on the Raptors would have done it in 12 years. If you want to earn some respect or dough in the future remember the name Ben Uzoh and triple double and you will have the ultimate trivia question in about 5 years. Who is to say what the future holds for Alan Anderson and Ben Uzoh and if they will ever wear a Raptor jersey again. What you can say is good for them in doing a solid job in building a case for themselves to be in the NBA even if that isn't here in Toronto. They had an opportunity and they ceased it and took advantage of it.
Ultimately this season was about Dwane Casey establish a positive identity for the Toronto Raptors. Everyone from the players, to the fans, to other NBA Teams now have an understanding of what it means to be or face the Toronto Raptors. It seems almost comical now how some people at this time last season were still convinced that Jay Triano would still be the coach of this team heading into this season. The best decision the Raptors made this past off-season was hiring Dwane Casey and nothing else comes even close to that. The fact he earned an extension based on his performance this season will surprise no one. The Raptors will pick up the option year on his contract. He has brought back an accountability to the Toronto Raptors that had been lacking for years. When you go in the Raptor locker room it is very clear who the boss is on this team and it is him. To earn the respect of NBA players and be able to get them to buy into what you are selling is a tough job and a constant struggle. In a season that was challenging for any coach in the NBA, it allowed Casey to thrive and survive his first season exceeding almost all expectations that may have been made on what he could realistically achieve.
Up next on our off-season madness of work will be taking a look at Demar DeRozan and hearing his thoughts on what lies ahead for his future and off-season. So be on the look out for that. Also as I was making people aware on Twitter I have lined up a number of guests to talk with us about the season that was and get their thoughts on the future. That begins with my favourite guest Jack Armstrong sometime next week. Many of you missed him on the broadcasts during the final stretch so you will get you fix of Jack here in the DNB. He always has some interesting thoughts on what is going on with the Raptors and I just love having him in the blog. He even helps me learn some things when he is. So that said the season is over but the Dino Nation Blog marches on the entire off-season for the most part. So make sure to stick with us through the off-season which promises to be an eventful one for the Raptors.
4/24/12
DNB Top 10- Things I Will "TRY" To Forget About 2011-12 Raptors Season
We have not done one of these in a long time. We even started doing a few top ten's in video but this is not one of those. This is what many would class as a forgettable season for the Toronto Raptors. There have been many of those lately. So what will I want to forget about this season most? So many options to choose from. Let's get this rolling.
#10 The NBA Lockout- I think I may be one of the last people still kind of ticked off about it. I mean the CBA never turned out to be what it should have been. The league lost 2 months of the season. This schedule has been a painful experience to do my job well. I probably won't forget this but most of you have and some even likely believe those NBA Cares Ads. Dwight Howard cares about Orlando as much as Shaq did.
#9 Anthony Carter- I honestly never really spoke to him in his time here. He kinda looked like a scary dude and with no Reggie Evans this year to have my back I felt keeping my distance was wise. I never saw the point in him being signed and actually was the first and maybe only to suggest the Raptors should have signed some kid named Jeremy Lin instead. He was cut and no one cared so what really was their to remember.
#8 Pound The Rock- This likely has no hope of happening. I mean it is written on stuff all over the ACC and their is that big rock as you enter and exit the Raptor Locker Room. That said, I am all for a good story and some inspiration. But people using this expression made me more feeling like pounding my head than any sense of inspiration from it. If the players like it and buy into it great. I am out of the Rock pounding game if I was ever really in it.
#7 Jamaal Maglorie's Raptor Career- Wait he is still on the team? This is true but he will be long gone this off-season if there is a God and he likes me even a little bit. This whole thing was a complete shame and an insult to the history of this franchise. Now when kids 25 years from now look up who was the first Canadian to play for the Raptors it will be him. If a kid asks me in 25 years about it here is what I will say. He was a guy that stopped being good 9 years before he ever was a Raptor. If you want to know about actual good Canadian Player read about Steve Nash who is in the NBA Hall of Fame (He will be).
#6 Leo Rautins and Rod Black- On their own they both can be annoying and provide no sort of entertainment what so ever. Together they are a toxic waste of time that makes 90% of viewers glad the mute button was invented. We as basketball fans have evolved since 1995 the way both of these individuals present the game to fans has not. They have not grown or cared to understand that this fan base is a lot more intelligent and smarter to basketball than it was back in 1995.
#5 Andrea Bargnani's Calf- This will be a good thing if I forget about this. It will mean that Andrea comes back next season and is healthy.Why do I know this is not going to be the case. Why do I think that Andrea Bargnani has the healing power of a Vince Carter in his prime. I don't know let's just call it experience.
#4 Primo Pasta- Please GOD SOMEONE END THIS AD. I CAN NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
#3 Camo Uniforms- Again I would like to believe I can say good bye to these things. Sadly I don't think I will be. MLSE has found a way to hide behind doing something good and pocket some money for themselves. That is fantastic isn't it. No it isn't, and this, above all things is what got me the most angry about this season.
#2 Ed Davis- It will be for one of two reasons. He is on one of those 29 other NBA Teams he was auditioning for down the stretch or he actually had a full off-season of improvement and is sticking around as part of the core of this team. One way or the other it was a forgettable season from Ed Davis and some inspired play in games that don't matter won't change that.
and now the number one thing I would like to forget about this season. I was going to say the entire thing but that seemed like a cop out. So here we go get your hashtag ready.
#1 Rasaul "Friggin" Butler- From almost day one I was like what the hell is this guy doing here? It got me so upset I started a hashtag that became somewhat popular with Raptor fans. It was simple and to the point #CutButler, which the Raptors eventually did and stated they were allowing him to go to pursue options with a contender. Shockingly enough not even a contender for the D-League Championship let alone the NBA Championship came calling. What do you know. This was one of a trio of signings in the off-season that were just a joke and insulting to Raptor fans. No surprise that all three got mentioned in this. But if there was one guy that everyone could agree offered absolutely nothing it was THE BUTLER!!!
I will try to forget all of this, kind of like we forget things like Yogi Stewart....The Banger Brothers....oh wait that is right I was the guy that wrote an article Raptor Fans are like elephants and never forget. Sadly I guess I will remember all of this!!!
#10 The NBA Lockout- I think I may be one of the last people still kind of ticked off about it. I mean the CBA never turned out to be what it should have been. The league lost 2 months of the season. This schedule has been a painful experience to do my job well. I probably won't forget this but most of you have and some even likely believe those NBA Cares Ads. Dwight Howard cares about Orlando as much as Shaq did.
#9 Anthony Carter- I honestly never really spoke to him in his time here. He kinda looked like a scary dude and with no Reggie Evans this year to have my back I felt keeping my distance was wise. I never saw the point in him being signed and actually was the first and maybe only to suggest the Raptors should have signed some kid named Jeremy Lin instead. He was cut and no one cared so what really was their to remember.
#8 Pound The Rock- This likely has no hope of happening. I mean it is written on stuff all over the ACC and their is that big rock as you enter and exit the Raptor Locker Room. That said, I am all for a good story and some inspiration. But people using this expression made me more feeling like pounding my head than any sense of inspiration from it. If the players like it and buy into it great. I am out of the Rock pounding game if I was ever really in it.
#7 Jamaal Maglorie's Raptor Career- Wait he is still on the team? This is true but he will be long gone this off-season if there is a God and he likes me even a little bit. This whole thing was a complete shame and an insult to the history of this franchise. Now when kids 25 years from now look up who was the first Canadian to play for the Raptors it will be him. If a kid asks me in 25 years about it here is what I will say. He was a guy that stopped being good 9 years before he ever was a Raptor. If you want to know about actual good Canadian Player read about Steve Nash who is in the NBA Hall of Fame (He will be).
#6 Leo Rautins and Rod Black- On their own they both can be annoying and provide no sort of entertainment what so ever. Together they are a toxic waste of time that makes 90% of viewers glad the mute button was invented. We as basketball fans have evolved since 1995 the way both of these individuals present the game to fans has not. They have not grown or cared to understand that this fan base is a lot more intelligent and smarter to basketball than it was back in 1995.
#5 Andrea Bargnani's Calf- This will be a good thing if I forget about this. It will mean that Andrea comes back next season and is healthy.Why do I know this is not going to be the case. Why do I think that Andrea Bargnani has the healing power of a Vince Carter in his prime. I don't know let's just call it experience.
#4 Primo Pasta- Please GOD SOMEONE END THIS AD. I CAN NOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!
#3 Camo Uniforms- Again I would like to believe I can say good bye to these things. Sadly I don't think I will be. MLSE has found a way to hide behind doing something good and pocket some money for themselves. That is fantastic isn't it. No it isn't, and this, above all things is what got me the most angry about this season.
#2 Ed Davis- It will be for one of two reasons. He is on one of those 29 other NBA Teams he was auditioning for down the stretch or he actually had a full off-season of improvement and is sticking around as part of the core of this team. One way or the other it was a forgettable season from Ed Davis and some inspired play in games that don't matter won't change that.
and now the number one thing I would like to forget about this season. I was going to say the entire thing but that seemed like a cop out. So here we go get your hashtag ready.
#1 Rasaul "Friggin" Butler- From almost day one I was like what the hell is this guy doing here? It got me so upset I started a hashtag that became somewhat popular with Raptor fans. It was simple and to the point #CutButler, which the Raptors eventually did and stated they were allowing him to go to pursue options with a contender. Shockingly enough not even a contender for the D-League Championship let alone the NBA Championship came calling. What do you know. This was one of a trio of signings in the off-season that were just a joke and insulting to Raptor fans. No surprise that all three got mentioned in this. But if there was one guy that everyone could agree offered absolutely nothing it was THE BUTLER!!!
I will try to forget all of this, kind of like we forget things like Yogi Stewart....The Banger Brothers....oh wait that is right I was the guy that wrote an article Raptor Fans are like elephants and never forget. Sadly I guess I will remember all of this!!!
4/20/12
Some Early Reflections On The Season That Was
First off I apologize for no blog yesterday. Just was a lot of stuff going on life wise to take care of. We never did recap the Raptors loss to Miami but basically it could be summed up in one line. Lebron James is awesome. You may not like the guy as a person but he is a hell of a basketball player however you care to cut it. His detractors will point out his lack of rings and the fact he has had sometimes in the 4th quarter where he can go missing. All that said he is a pure athletic freak that it is fun to watch perform if you can get over all your hate.
The season is winding down for the Raptors with just 3 games left to go. It honestly has seemed to fly by, as it seemed like the Raptors had a game every other night. Oh wait, with the NBA Lockout schedule they pretty much did. They say time flies when you are having fun. I am not sure much about this season was all that fun. It would appear though that the Raptors have at least hired the right coach. Dwane Casey has been nothing short of fantastic this season. I am not sure if many believed he could actually turn around the Raptors miserable defense into something respectable but he has. That fact alone it pretty amazing but when you consider how he was able to with all the disadvantages the lockout offered it is flat out beyond logic. On top of all of that you have a season in which your squad was injury plagued. Miracle worker might be going to far, but whatever comes just before that would some up what Dwane Casey has done this year.
That was a success, what was not a success to any large degree was the moves Colangelo made in the off-season. When Aaron Gray looks like the best signing that you made there is a problem. This talk of the Raptors adding all of this leadership they so desperately needed was about as believable as the "It's not you, it's me" line someone gives you when breaking up with you. Carter and Butler didn't even last the season and Jaamal Maglorie might be the most over hyped Raptor for doing next to nothing that I have ever seen. Aside from that band of veteran leadership brought in there is Gary Forbes who even after 63 games remains a bit of a riddle as to what he is or can be? The Raptors did find a decent player in Alan Anderson with their 10 day contracts. There is no guarantee he will be around next season.
Demar DeRozan after starting off having all kinds of trouble has rallied in the second half of the season. He still looks like he has the potential to grow into the star many hoped he could be. Ed Davis meanwhile has perhaps shown why he slipped into the draft down to the Raptors at 13. He until very recently had shown zero signs of improvement or even life. Still, the giant question left by this season will be which was the real Andrea Bargnani? Was it the guy that started the season like gangbusters and after 13 games was being hyped and an All-Star Candidate? Or is it that guy that came back after his calf injury that hobbled him for most of the season. That guy looked a lot like the Andrea from the past 6 seasons before Casey arrived.
Then we have hype in two forms. Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. That would be the Raptors insistence on hyping up their draft choice that never got to play this season. I think his name is Jonas something. You might have heard of him a time or two or 2 thousand times from the Raptors this season. I think they have made a huge mistake in building all of this hype. It will bite them in the butt if Jonas Valanciunas does not come through right away. They will then whine to their fans to be patient. Well maybe they would be if you hadn't run a year long hype campaign about the kid. I am convinced by the time he gets here he will walk across Lake Ontario to his first practice with the Raptors. At the end of the day I don't blame him at all for all of this. A dose of reality on all of this hype is that big man in the NBA seldom just show up and take over. It takes a long time to develop them generally. So why you would tie a rocket to this kids back and send expectations to the moon? It is short sighted and ultimately stupid.
Now to the less advertised hype. Bryan Colangelo has consistently laid out a plan that is centered on this upcoming off-season. He basically in his actions and words wrote this season off before it ever started. I think he might be as shocked as anyone that Dwane Casey has been able to get 22 wins and counting out of this group. It almost feels like a wrestling hype job when I say what comes next. This is likely the most important off-season of Byran Colangelo's career with the Raptors. I feel like we say that almost every summer. Just like ever wrestling or UFC show is going to be better than the last one. However, this is the truth if for no other reason than Bryan Colangelo has made it the truth in how he has approached talking about this season and next. If all he has is another top draft pick and his boy wonder Jonas than he is in trouble. Don't expect the changes to come through free agency though. Colangelo is likely to use his cap space in trades to look to improve the Raptors. Given his track record at free agency that might be a wise idea. Although a lot of his trades have not exactly worked out that well either especially lately.
It promises to be an interesting off-season and given how Colangelo has set things up the off-season moves could come very early on. The trade of Barbosa made that possible. It is safe to say the Raptor fan base will expect and demand much more next season. The pressure is on MLSE and Colangelo to provide a winner and not an apology and excuses.
The season is winding down for the Raptors with just 3 games left to go. It honestly has seemed to fly by, as it seemed like the Raptors had a game every other night. Oh wait, with the NBA Lockout schedule they pretty much did. They say time flies when you are having fun. I am not sure much about this season was all that fun. It would appear though that the Raptors have at least hired the right coach. Dwane Casey has been nothing short of fantastic this season. I am not sure if many believed he could actually turn around the Raptors miserable defense into something respectable but he has. That fact alone it pretty amazing but when you consider how he was able to with all the disadvantages the lockout offered it is flat out beyond logic. On top of all of that you have a season in which your squad was injury plagued. Miracle worker might be going to far, but whatever comes just before that would some up what Dwane Casey has done this year.
That was a success, what was not a success to any large degree was the moves Colangelo made in the off-season. When Aaron Gray looks like the best signing that you made there is a problem. This talk of the Raptors adding all of this leadership they so desperately needed was about as believable as the "It's not you, it's me" line someone gives you when breaking up with you. Carter and Butler didn't even last the season and Jaamal Maglorie might be the most over hyped Raptor for doing next to nothing that I have ever seen. Aside from that band of veteran leadership brought in there is Gary Forbes who even after 63 games remains a bit of a riddle as to what he is or can be? The Raptors did find a decent player in Alan Anderson with their 10 day contracts. There is no guarantee he will be around next season.
Demar DeRozan after starting off having all kinds of trouble has rallied in the second half of the season. He still looks like he has the potential to grow into the star many hoped he could be. Ed Davis meanwhile has perhaps shown why he slipped into the draft down to the Raptors at 13. He until very recently had shown zero signs of improvement or even life. Still, the giant question left by this season will be which was the real Andrea Bargnani? Was it the guy that started the season like gangbusters and after 13 games was being hyped and an All-Star Candidate? Or is it that guy that came back after his calf injury that hobbled him for most of the season. That guy looked a lot like the Andrea from the past 6 seasons before Casey arrived.
Then we have hype in two forms. Let's get the obvious one out of the way first. That would be the Raptors insistence on hyping up their draft choice that never got to play this season. I think his name is Jonas something. You might have heard of him a time or two or 2 thousand times from the Raptors this season. I think they have made a huge mistake in building all of this hype. It will bite them in the butt if Jonas Valanciunas does not come through right away. They will then whine to their fans to be patient. Well maybe they would be if you hadn't run a year long hype campaign about the kid. I am convinced by the time he gets here he will walk across Lake Ontario to his first practice with the Raptors. At the end of the day I don't blame him at all for all of this. A dose of reality on all of this hype is that big man in the NBA seldom just show up and take over. It takes a long time to develop them generally. So why you would tie a rocket to this kids back and send expectations to the moon? It is short sighted and ultimately stupid.
Now to the less advertised hype. Bryan Colangelo has consistently laid out a plan that is centered on this upcoming off-season. He basically in his actions and words wrote this season off before it ever started. I think he might be as shocked as anyone that Dwane Casey has been able to get 22 wins and counting out of this group. It almost feels like a wrestling hype job when I say what comes next. This is likely the most important off-season of Byran Colangelo's career with the Raptors. I feel like we say that almost every summer. Just like ever wrestling or UFC show is going to be better than the last one. However, this is the truth if for no other reason than Bryan Colangelo has made it the truth in how he has approached talking about this season and next. If all he has is another top draft pick and his boy wonder Jonas than he is in trouble. Don't expect the changes to come through free agency though. Colangelo is likely to use his cap space in trades to look to improve the Raptors. Given his track record at free agency that might be a wise idea. Although a lot of his trades have not exactly worked out that well either especially lately.
It promises to be an interesting off-season and given how Colangelo has set things up the off-season moves could come very early on. The trade of Barbosa made that possible. It is safe to say the Raptor fan base will expect and demand much more next season. The pressure is on MLSE and Colangelo to provide a winner and not an apology and excuses.
4/16/12
A Cold, No Net And Another Win
So it has been a bad 24 hours here at DNB HQ. I had a lousy spring cold and to make matters worse had no internet access, so the combination of those two things made it pretty impossible to offer much opinion on the Raptors second win in a row vs the Hawks in Atlanta. The first time the Raptors have won in the ATL in awhile as they had lost 7 straight there until last night. That included a thrashing on the MLK holiday for the Raptors with much more health bodies. Based on that win the Raptors match their win total from last season in a shorter season this year. The Raptors are already 4 games better on the road this season as well with 10 wins and still 3 more road games to play. It proves the old phrase that defense travels to be true.
The Raptors are as Tank Nation will point out, really messing with there lottery odds winning a couple games they were not suppose too against Boston and Atlanta. They now are tied with the Nets and a half game behind the Pistons. Both of whom they will play down the stretch and will have a direct impact on their lottery odds. They play the Pistons on the road on the 22nd with 3 days rest prior to that game and close out the season against the Nets on the 26th. Golden State also is one of 4 teams with 22 wins but have 2 fewer losses than the Raptors. What you love about Casey is the exact thing that is costing the Raptors in terms of the lottery. He refuses to allow his team to quit and they continue to bring effort. What it might cost you in the draft might be worth it in terms of what you have in a coach.
Also the way Demar DeRozan has been playing down the stretch has to be impressing some folks. Even Ed Davis has shown signs of life in this late part of the season. I can't imagine the Raptors finding a way to win the next two games. An angry Hawks team rolls into Toronto tonight and then playing the Miami Heat on Wednesday should be losses. What you can take good from these games is the Raptors have competed well against some teams with everything to play for. If you choose to see the glass half empty you can say that the Raptors are playing with no pressure on them and the teams they are beating have simply overlooked them. I can't deny either of those things being true. Still you are building some confidence for some players and showing that this team will not roll over and die like it has in the past.
While I won't go as far as some have said that this team could be a playoff team if not for injuries, I will say that this is a team heading in the right direction. In terms of what happens with the Lottery if they win or lose is not the point. Let's say they did lose all of these games down the stretch and still find a way to not win at the Lottery than where are you at? At least players are ending the season on a high note and enter the off-season more motivated to improve for the future. The Charlotte Bobcats will have the best chance to win the Lottery and that has been clear for awhile. Even if they were to win and land Anthony Davis does anyone think that takes them to the next level? Worse if they don't where are they at? If the Raptors don't get Anthony Davis it likely allows them to not have to decide on if they have to say good bye to Amir Johnson or Ed Davis. They still may ultimately make a decision on those players but if they do they won't be forced into it. Besides at the end of the day isn't Jonas Valanciunas basically the guy you have for that spot? If the Raptors landed at the 3rd spot and got a shot at Kidd-Gilchrist that would be a much easier guy to fit into what you already have without having to be forced into altering the roster.
Not to mention the simple fact of you are not getting any joy out of the Raptors pulling off two pretty unexpected wins. But however those lottery balls end up your number still has to come up to win it. It would be nice if the Raptors got into the top 3 and land another good young player to add to the mix. That said this is a draft that is fairly deep and it doesn't have that break out star at the top and huge drop off beyond that. While Davis is the consensus number one pick it is not like people honestly can say he will be a giant superstar. He can be a very good NBA Player but the jury is out if he gets to that rare air of a huge superstar. There are lots of good to very good players that will be available no matter where the Raptors happen to end up selecting. There is also nothing that says Bryan Colangelo would not swing a deal to move up if he wanted to do that. He has all that cap room earlier from the Barbosa trade to play with for a reason. It could include moving up in the draft or acquiring a second first round pick. Time will tell.
The bottom line of everything is do you do not feel at least more optimistic than you were at this time last year? That is a good thing and a sign that this thing might be finally heading in the right direction.
The Raptors are as Tank Nation will point out, really messing with there lottery odds winning a couple games they were not suppose too against Boston and Atlanta. They now are tied with the Nets and a half game behind the Pistons. Both of whom they will play down the stretch and will have a direct impact on their lottery odds. They play the Pistons on the road on the 22nd with 3 days rest prior to that game and close out the season against the Nets on the 26th. Golden State also is one of 4 teams with 22 wins but have 2 fewer losses than the Raptors. What you love about Casey is the exact thing that is costing the Raptors in terms of the lottery. He refuses to allow his team to quit and they continue to bring effort. What it might cost you in the draft might be worth it in terms of what you have in a coach.
Also the way Demar DeRozan has been playing down the stretch has to be impressing some folks. Even Ed Davis has shown signs of life in this late part of the season. I can't imagine the Raptors finding a way to win the next two games. An angry Hawks team rolls into Toronto tonight and then playing the Miami Heat on Wednesday should be losses. What you can take good from these games is the Raptors have competed well against some teams with everything to play for. If you choose to see the glass half empty you can say that the Raptors are playing with no pressure on them and the teams they are beating have simply overlooked them. I can't deny either of those things being true. Still you are building some confidence for some players and showing that this team will not roll over and die like it has in the past.
While I won't go as far as some have said that this team could be a playoff team if not for injuries, I will say that this is a team heading in the right direction. In terms of what happens with the Lottery if they win or lose is not the point. Let's say they did lose all of these games down the stretch and still find a way to not win at the Lottery than where are you at? At least players are ending the season on a high note and enter the off-season more motivated to improve for the future. The Charlotte Bobcats will have the best chance to win the Lottery and that has been clear for awhile. Even if they were to win and land Anthony Davis does anyone think that takes them to the next level? Worse if they don't where are they at? If the Raptors don't get Anthony Davis it likely allows them to not have to decide on if they have to say good bye to Amir Johnson or Ed Davis. They still may ultimately make a decision on those players but if they do they won't be forced into it. Besides at the end of the day isn't Jonas Valanciunas basically the guy you have for that spot? If the Raptors landed at the 3rd spot and got a shot at Kidd-Gilchrist that would be a much easier guy to fit into what you already have without having to be forced into altering the roster.
Not to mention the simple fact of you are not getting any joy out of the Raptors pulling off two pretty unexpected wins. But however those lottery balls end up your number still has to come up to win it. It would be nice if the Raptors got into the top 3 and land another good young player to add to the mix. That said this is a draft that is fairly deep and it doesn't have that break out star at the top and huge drop off beyond that. While Davis is the consensus number one pick it is not like people honestly can say he will be a giant superstar. He can be a very good NBA Player but the jury is out if he gets to that rare air of a huge superstar. There are lots of good to very good players that will be available no matter where the Raptors happen to end up selecting. There is also nothing that says Bryan Colangelo would not swing a deal to move up if he wanted to do that. He has all that cap room earlier from the Barbosa trade to play with for a reason. It could include moving up in the draft or acquiring a second first round pick. Time will tell.
The bottom line of everything is do you do not feel at least more optimistic than you were at this time last year? That is a good thing and a sign that this thing might be finally heading in the right direction.
4/13/12
All Signs Point To Celtics Blowout Win
The Boston Celtics are getting a ton of media love from all the same folks that declared them dead at the start of this NBA season. Yeah it is like that in this world. For myself the Celtics are still about the simple fact of how in Rajon Rondo playing? If the answer is good than so are the Celtics. If the answer is bad so are the Celtics. Rondo is now what drives the big three and so goes the circle of life. For anyone that thinks the Celtics are going anywhere beyond the 2nd round of the playoffs you are dreaming.
The Raptors would just like to remember what the playoffs are like? It has been a long time after all. But for now it is just another all expense paid trip to New Jersey for the NBA lottery. That is a fitting place to hold the NBA Lottery. Raptors are a banged up group with Calderon getting a second gash above his eye, Bargnani is out with his calf again, Kleiza has a sore knee and so does Amir Johnson or is it his back? Bayless gone for the season and you might have a guy on a 10 day contract trying to guard Rondo? Yeah this has every indication that it will be a complete blowout.
Against the NHL Playoffs and the Blue Jays playing down the street this could be a pretty small crowd of on lookers both in person and on T.V. The Raptors season is coming to a familiar ending and it lacks any reason to be interested. Safe to say the Raptors will be hard pressed to find a win in their next 3 games they play. After tonight with Boston it is a Sunday/Monday back to back with the Hawks.
Ed Davis will have lots of minutes to showcase himself to 29 other teams. A lot was made of his comment post game against the Sixers. I really didn't take much from it considering that Ed Davis had a father that played for several teams in the NBA and even as kid Ed was introduced to the business of basketball with his father having to change addresses. Should Ed be concerned about what the 29 other NBA teams think of him? Sure he should because if the ping pong balls come up with the name Anthony Davis that means someone is going to be voted off the island.
The Raptors would just like to remember what the playoffs are like? It has been a long time after all. But for now it is just another all expense paid trip to New Jersey for the NBA lottery. That is a fitting place to hold the NBA Lottery. Raptors are a banged up group with Calderon getting a second gash above his eye, Bargnani is out with his calf again, Kleiza has a sore knee and so does Amir Johnson or is it his back? Bayless gone for the season and you might have a guy on a 10 day contract trying to guard Rondo? Yeah this has every indication that it will be a complete blowout.
Against the NHL Playoffs and the Blue Jays playing down the street this could be a pretty small crowd of on lookers both in person and on T.V. The Raptors season is coming to a familiar ending and it lacks any reason to be interested. Safe to say the Raptors will be hard pressed to find a win in their next 3 games they play. After tonight with Boston it is a Sunday/Monday back to back with the Hawks.
Ed Davis will have lots of minutes to showcase himself to 29 other teams. A lot was made of his comment post game against the Sixers. I really didn't take much from it considering that Ed Davis had a father that played for several teams in the NBA and even as kid Ed was introduced to the business of basketball with his father having to change addresses. Should Ed be concerned about what the 29 other NBA teams think of him? Sure he should because if the ping pong balls come up with the name Anthony Davis that means someone is going to be voted off the island.
4/12/12
My Day was Much Better than the Raptors Day
To bring this back to the Raptors, making the walk from the building I will always call Skydome toward the ACC, it got me thinking of what an opportunity has been lost for the Raptors. One of the Leafs was in attendance at the Jays game and he was introduced to the crowd to a loud boo. Take that in contrast to the loud cheer from the smaller crowd at the Raptors game for Ricky Romero. The point is that Leafs are in rough shape and Toronto sports fans are desperate for a winner. MLSE has not provided that in hockey, basketball and soccer. The Jays owned by soon to be part owner of MLSE Rogers, have provided a buzz of excitement and optimism surrounding the team they own.
This would have really been a chance for the Raptors to make up some ground on the giant that owns the city that is the Maple Leafs. Instead it would appear that the Jays have taken that ball and are starting to run with it. While the Raptors are optimistic for their future as well, the Jays have much more to be optimistic about. The Raptors have Jonas and whatever comes out of the draft to add to the mix next year. The Jays have a minor league system full of exciting prospects that people are high on. Obviously baseball is different and you get a chance to have more opportunities to develop players. If Jonas was a baseball player it is likely you wouldn't see him for not just this year but a view more years.
That really is off the topic somewhat, but the real point I am making is the Leafs franchise has never been in a more weak a fragile state since perhaps the days of Harold Ballard owning them. There was no basketball team back then, trying to compete for attention, but there is now. The Raptors may not get their act together in time if they do at all as it seems clear that Toronto is on verge of going back to the days of the early 90's when the Jays were the biggest thing in town. If you are not old enough to remember those days it was quite amazing. The Jays would fill Skydome on a nightly basis and have crowds pushing 50,000 every night. They are still a long way from that now but they are creating a buzz and the Raptors have absolutely no buzz at all right now.
In terms of the game last night if I was ever to be inclined to feel sorry for Jose Calderon it might be now. I mean to get cut open for a second time in a game that ultimately means little to your season already being eliminated from the post season. This in the face of your supposed star Andrea Bargnani out for a 3rd time with the same calf injury. I would bet we might see Jose back this year but I would also bet we have seen the last of Bargnani. I will say this for Calderon he does do his best to play through things and try and compete. He was at the Blue Jays game the night before and threw out the first pitch. Trying to get the rub of that Jays Magic to come over to the Raptors. It obviously didn't work.
The game itself aside from more injures to Calderon and Kleiza pretty much went as you might expect. A desperate Philly team that had been embarrassed at the hands of the Raptors a week earlier was not going to have it happen a second time. The Raptors did a good job trying to hang around for a half but the Sixers came out guns a blazing in the final quarter against an undermanned Raptors squad.
The focus seems to be towards the coming off-season now and Dwane Casey gets his first chance to guide his players through an off-season something he was not afforded with the NBA Lockout this past summer. Given the excellent job Casey has done you wonder how much it could have had an impact. Ed Davis as an example finally seems to be turning a corner. He himself based on the Lockout and injury has yet to have a full NBA off-season and training camp to improve. This year if he stays healthy for the last 7 games and throughout the summer, he should finally have that chance. I had a chance to talk with Demar DeRozan and he is looking forward to a more normal off-season and plans on spending more time in Toronto during it. You can hear all of that in an interview we did, that should be up later today or tomorrow.
I have one more game that I will be covering this season (In Person) the last one vs the New Jersey Nets on the 26th. For many Raptor fans that game can not get here soon enough. In a season that has been shorter it has seemed so much longer. It sure doesn't seem like the Raptors are better than they were last year. However they in fact have made a minor improvement in winning % and major improvement on D.
Still losing year after year can be rough. Just ask a Leaf fan if you happen not to be one. They know all about it.
3/23/12
DeJa Vu For Two
The Raptors will get to repeat their last two games and hope for better results. The venues will be different for both but the same two teams stand in their way. First up is a re-match with Knicks that dismantled the Raptors down the stretch in the 4th at MSG. In that game Jerryd Bayless had a coming together that left him with a left hip pointer. He tried to go vs the Bulls the next night and was unable to go. Will see what his status is for tonight. If he can't go that leaves Jeremy Lin for Jose Calderon to deal with for the most part. It is hard to imagine the Raptors can change much in just a couple days to find a way to beat the Knicks or the Bulls for that matter.
Just 19 games remain in this season and for the Raptors it is much more about the individual parts than the wins and losses at this point. A number of players future with the Raptors will be decided in part based on how things go down the stretch. Ed Davis would be at the top of that list who has struggled for the majority of his 2nd season to this point. Still to move someone on a rookie contract is highly unlikely and it is next to impossible to get fair value in return. Amir Johnson has had a rough season as well. Depending on where the Raptors go in the draft it could make his future in doubt. If the Raptors hit the lottery and got Anthony Davis from Kentucky that would almost make it certain that Davis or Johnson would likely be out. When you consider the Raptors would have Bargnani and Valanciunas who are not going anywhere. There also might be a place for Aaron Gray moving forward. The rest of the Raptor additions have been a disappointment for the most part. Magloire and Butler it is safe to say will not be back. Carter is already gone. Gary Forbes may have an opportunity to prove his worth in these last 19 games. The trade of Barbosa perhaps benefits him more than anyone else. The Raptors will also have to decide what they want to do with Jerryd Bayless. He will be a RFA and have the chance to go elsewhere. The Raptors would be able to maintain his rights by matching any offer he would see come his way.
The Raptors will be looking to evaluate many things over these last 19 games. It is safe to assume some will confuse this with tanking. That ship or tank is silly to suggest at this point the Raptors are going to finish pretty much where we predicted them to finish on their merit. It was not with tanking in mind that I wrote the Raptors would finish 20-46 and 12th in the East. We are just over a month from the end of the season and yet again the focus is about the long term future and not the immediate future. Still this team is a long way from being competitive. While many look to next season as the year things finally start to turn around. That still could be true but if you expect an instant turnaround that might be a little much to expect. Bryan Colangelo will have a lot of tough choices to make this off-season and the start of those decisions is going to happen over this next month.
Just 19 games remain in this season and for the Raptors it is much more about the individual parts than the wins and losses at this point. A number of players future with the Raptors will be decided in part based on how things go down the stretch. Ed Davis would be at the top of that list who has struggled for the majority of his 2nd season to this point. Still to move someone on a rookie contract is highly unlikely and it is next to impossible to get fair value in return. Amir Johnson has had a rough season as well. Depending on where the Raptors go in the draft it could make his future in doubt. If the Raptors hit the lottery and got Anthony Davis from Kentucky that would almost make it certain that Davis or Johnson would likely be out. When you consider the Raptors would have Bargnani and Valanciunas who are not going anywhere. There also might be a place for Aaron Gray moving forward. The rest of the Raptor additions have been a disappointment for the most part. Magloire and Butler it is safe to say will not be back. Carter is already gone. Gary Forbes may have an opportunity to prove his worth in these last 19 games. The trade of Barbosa perhaps benefits him more than anyone else. The Raptors will also have to decide what they want to do with Jerryd Bayless. He will be a RFA and have the chance to go elsewhere. The Raptors would be able to maintain his rights by matching any offer he would see come his way.
The Raptors will be looking to evaluate many things over these last 19 games. It is safe to assume some will confuse this with tanking. That ship or tank is silly to suggest at this point the Raptors are going to finish pretty much where we predicted them to finish on their merit. It was not with tanking in mind that I wrote the Raptors would finish 20-46 and 12th in the East. We are just over a month from the end of the season and yet again the focus is about the long term future and not the immediate future. Still this team is a long way from being competitive. While many look to next season as the year things finally start to turn around. That still could be true but if you expect an instant turnaround that might be a little much to expect. Bryan Colangelo will have a lot of tough choices to make this off-season and the start of those decisions is going to happen over this next month.
3/20/12
Raptors Sluggish At The Mecca
Jose Calderon returns to the Raptors line-up as mentioned in our preview Jose actually did a solid job the last time he matched up with Jeremy Lin. What will become of the improvement we have seen out of Jerryd Bayless is another issue altogether. The Knicks are trying to hang on to a playoff spot and the Raptors despite what anyone trying to spin positivity might say are playing out the string. So a game like tonight offers the Raptors a chance to play spoiler and build on what they have been doing. A loss to Bobcats was not exactly a building moment.
Demar DeRozan with the cut to the lane and score to get this one under way. Demar sometimes steps up to a big stage will see if that was a start to something big for him. After his first bucket both teams had two empty possessions. Tyson Chandler would get a slam and drop a foul on a nice pass from Stoudemire. He missed the free throw though. DeRozan's second shot would fall of the rim but get put back in by Aaron Gray on the glass. It was just 5-4 Knicks with 3 minutes gone by in this one. A steal by Melo and then the return pass from Lin to Melo for the break away lay-up. Calderon would hit a 3 pointer to make it a 10-9 Knicks lead. But more Jose this time hooking up with his buddy Amir, the lead would not last as Knicks got a dunk at the other end. Lead was ping ponging back and forth between the Knicks and Raptors at the mid point of the first quarter. Andrea Bargnani with a drive down the middle of the lane with a slam. Chandler answers with two at the other end and it was 16-15 Knicks. Raptors got called for an offensive foul and were down 3 with 4:04 to play. Carmelo Anthony would double that lead with a 3 in rhythm. Knicks were starting to get on a bit of a role and playing some defense something that was unheard of with Mike D'Antoni in charge. Demar DeRozan was not shy taking shots tonight and he was making his fair share to cut lead to 4. Bayless made a basket but then on the next possession ran over J.R Smith for a charge. Smith got on the offensive glass for a tab back to extend the Knicks lead to 6. Linas Kleiza nailed a buzzer three from very deep it would be reviewed but looked good to me.
The three would stand and that made score after 1 Knicks leading 27-24. After a good play by Kleiza to close the 1st, a bad play near start of 2nd with a bailout foul with little left on shot clock. Ed Davis showing signs of life with a score and a rebound leading to Bayless bucket to tie the game at 29. Knicks went on a 7-0 run after that and Dwane Casey was forced into calling a time out. Raptors after a Bargs airball out of the time out would get rolling with 5 point push of their own. Knicks would respond and re-establish their advantage and make it even a little more now with a 42-34 lead. Make that a 10 point lead and Andrea Bargnani was getting taking to school on defensive end. Some regression perhaps? Who said that? Jeremy Lin meantime you may have hear of had 6 assists and added a corner three to his stat line to give the Knicks an 11 point lead. Bargnani showing his point guard skills with a nice pass to Amir Johnson for the slam dunk cutting the lead down to 7. But another Lin three...actually make it a 2 and the Knicks would take a 9 point advantage to locker room if they could hold on for 8.5 seconds. Fields would play good D on Calderon and do just that. Knicks take a 53-44 lead to the locker room.
Teams were trading buckets earlier and the Raptors interior defense was lacking. Knicks would star to pull away sparked by Lin with a jumper, than a nice Alley Oop play with Fields and it was 61-50. Then for some reason Aaron Gray blew a gasket and got tossed from the game after the techs and all the Knicks lead was up to 15 points. The Raptors were helping restore Linsainty as he helped his team restore a 15 point lead with a deep 3. Raptor had been having a 3rd quarter to forget much like they did in Charlotte but against a better team. But the Knicks did not exactly take advantage and put them away. Raptors had a chance to cut the lead to single digits. That would happen if a banged up Bayless could make a couple free throws after colliding with A'mare which he did. However, on other end A'mare got an easy put back to push lead back to 11 with the score 79-68 for Knicks. The Raptors based on how they played should feel fortunate to be only down two more points from halftime.
Calderon was in for the 4th and Bayless might be done for night will see. Knicks were doing enough to stay on top and not much more than that. If the Raptors could get a little run together they might be able to get in this game. Still the Raptors looked pretty disinterested and both teams seemed frustrated with the refs at times. Bayless is a tough minded guy and was back in there playing along side Calderon for now. Ed Davis had a nice slam and had a quiet 7 points and 7 rebounds. However when Ed does well more often than not it seldom leads to a Raptor win. Novak hitting a open three after the Davis slam was looking to keep that trend continuing with Knicks up 87-76. Barring something spectacular the Knicks would give Spike Lee a win on his birthday up 89-77 with under 6 to go in the 4th. Bayless tried to give it go but would be done for the night with a left hip pointer. Jermey Lin with a break away dunk...Good Night and tip your waitress. The Knicks would get another dunk on a sloppy Raptor turnover and Chuck Swirsky watching in Toronto has got out the salami and cheese on the Raptors chances in this one. This was getting into a major embarrassment fast. Really fast as the Knicks lead was on steroids now up 101-79 and the Knicks would pull the starters with 3:20 to play. How bad was it? We had a Solomon Alabi sighting. Knicks would take this one 106-87.
I got nothing more to say on this one. Actually Happy Birthday Spike Lee. That is all.
Demar DeRozan with the cut to the lane and score to get this one under way. Demar sometimes steps up to a big stage will see if that was a start to something big for him. After his first bucket both teams had two empty possessions. Tyson Chandler would get a slam and drop a foul on a nice pass from Stoudemire. He missed the free throw though. DeRozan's second shot would fall of the rim but get put back in by Aaron Gray on the glass. It was just 5-4 Knicks with 3 minutes gone by in this one. A steal by Melo and then the return pass from Lin to Melo for the break away lay-up. Calderon would hit a 3 pointer to make it a 10-9 Knicks lead. But more Jose this time hooking up with his buddy Amir, the lead would not last as Knicks got a dunk at the other end. Lead was ping ponging back and forth between the Knicks and Raptors at the mid point of the first quarter. Andrea Bargnani with a drive down the middle of the lane with a slam. Chandler answers with two at the other end and it was 16-15 Knicks. Raptors got called for an offensive foul and were down 3 with 4:04 to play. Carmelo Anthony would double that lead with a 3 in rhythm. Knicks were starting to get on a bit of a role and playing some defense something that was unheard of with Mike D'Antoni in charge. Demar DeRozan was not shy taking shots tonight and he was making his fair share to cut lead to 4. Bayless made a basket but then on the next possession ran over J.R Smith for a charge. Smith got on the offensive glass for a tab back to extend the Knicks lead to 6. Linas Kleiza nailed a buzzer three from very deep it would be reviewed but looked good to me.
The three would stand and that made score after 1 Knicks leading 27-24. After a good play by Kleiza to close the 1st, a bad play near start of 2nd with a bailout foul with little left on shot clock. Ed Davis showing signs of life with a score and a rebound leading to Bayless bucket to tie the game at 29. Knicks went on a 7-0 run after that and Dwane Casey was forced into calling a time out. Raptors after a Bargs airball out of the time out would get rolling with 5 point push of their own. Knicks would respond and re-establish their advantage and make it even a little more now with a 42-34 lead. Make that a 10 point lead and Andrea Bargnani was getting taking to school on defensive end. Some regression perhaps? Who said that? Jeremy Lin meantime you may have hear of had 6 assists and added a corner three to his stat line to give the Knicks an 11 point lead. Bargnani showing his point guard skills with a nice pass to Amir Johnson for the slam dunk cutting the lead down to 7. But another Lin three...actually make it a 2 and the Knicks would take a 9 point advantage to locker room if they could hold on for 8.5 seconds. Fields would play good D on Calderon and do just that. Knicks take a 53-44 lead to the locker room.
Teams were trading buckets earlier and the Raptors interior defense was lacking. Knicks would star to pull away sparked by Lin with a jumper, than a nice Alley Oop play with Fields and it was 61-50. Then for some reason Aaron Gray blew a gasket and got tossed from the game after the techs and all the Knicks lead was up to 15 points. The Raptors were helping restore Linsainty as he helped his team restore a 15 point lead with a deep 3. Raptor had been having a 3rd quarter to forget much like they did in Charlotte but against a better team. But the Knicks did not exactly take advantage and put them away. Raptors had a chance to cut the lead to single digits. That would happen if a banged up Bayless could make a couple free throws after colliding with A'mare which he did. However, on other end A'mare got an easy put back to push lead back to 11 with the score 79-68 for Knicks. The Raptors based on how they played should feel fortunate to be only down two more points from halftime.
Calderon was in for the 4th and Bayless might be done for night will see. Knicks were doing enough to stay on top and not much more than that. If the Raptors could get a little run together they might be able to get in this game. Still the Raptors looked pretty disinterested and both teams seemed frustrated with the refs at times. Bayless is a tough minded guy and was back in there playing along side Calderon for now. Ed Davis had a nice slam and had a quiet 7 points and 7 rebounds. However when Ed does well more often than not it seldom leads to a Raptor win. Novak hitting a open three after the Davis slam was looking to keep that trend continuing with Knicks up 87-76. Barring something spectacular the Knicks would give Spike Lee a win on his birthday up 89-77 with under 6 to go in the 4th. Bayless tried to give it go but would be done for the night with a left hip pointer. Jermey Lin with a break away dunk...Good Night and tip your waitress. The Knicks would get another dunk on a sloppy Raptor turnover and Chuck Swirsky watching in Toronto has got out the salami and cheese on the Raptors chances in this one. This was getting into a major embarrassment fast. Really fast as the Knicks lead was on steroids now up 101-79 and the Knicks would pull the starters with 3:20 to play. How bad was it? We had a Solomon Alabi sighting. Knicks would take this one 106-87.
I got nothing more to say on this one. Actually Happy Birthday Spike Lee. That is all.
2/28/12
Bad Start, Leads To Another Close Loss.
James Johnson opens the scoring after a turnover on the first possession of the 2nd half of the season. Rockets go on a 6-0 run until Calderon drives and finally gets the Raptors back on track. Rockets again score 6 to the Raptors nothing and it was 12-4 early. Raptors shooting was awful early in this one. Raptors were shooting sub 20% and were down 17-7 just past mid point in the first. Raps finally got it rolling a little to make it 19-13 only to see the Rocket nail a 3 and push the lead back to 9. Raptors shot 31% and trail by a dozen after 1 with score 27-15.
Raps get off to a decent start in the second and cut the lead to 7 with score 29-22 on a 7-2 run to start the 2nd. Make that 5 as back to back Barbosa buckets make NBA scouts drool that are scouting for trade deadline. Bayless gets a silly tech but the Raps keep fighting and get the lead down to 4. However, again Rockets respond and push the lead to 9 again on a Lee three. Raps just slugged along in quarter. Ed Davis seems to show up on nights the rest on the team does not. He had 10 rebounds in 1st half. Aside from that as bad as the Raptors were they only trailed by 9 at the half with score 45-36.
Raptors were doing a decent job on defense but they had little to no offense making it seem unlikely they had a chance to win. Houston gets a three from Lowery and Jose answers with a three, which was more points in one play than he had the entire first half. Houston lead 53-45 with 7 minutes to play in the 3rd. Nice throw down for DeRozan but Houston has a quick replay and the lead was 10. Martin hit a three he was just 3-13 on the night but that made the lead 13 and that might be enough to get Rockets to finally put this to bed. They had been the better team all night long but had failed to deliver the death blow. Raptors have 8-0 run to cling to life. Lowery ends that with a three and lead was 65-55. But Barbosa has an answer 3 from the corner back to a touchdown lead for the Texans/Oilers or Rockets take your pick. Raps cut the 10 point lead in half to 5 with the score 65-60.....make that 65-62 with under 2 to play thanks to a steal and slam from DeRozan. Davis a bucket near end of third but Raps fail to play defense and Dragic nails a buzzer beater on the drive. Rockets take a 5 point lead to the 4th up 69-64.
In talking with some of the Raptors after and before the game vs Detroit the common theme was this team needed to learn to win close games. Not that Raptors deserved it but they found themselves in one. Actual on defense they did deserve it. But the Raptors offense was finally showing a pulse and and had this to 2 point game 75-73. Barbosa misses a three to take the lead and there was 6 minutes to go. Another key three for Houston they have had a lot to this point this one makes it a 78-73 lead. Amir Johnson came in for Ed Davis who had tied his career high in rebounds with 15. Seemed a strange move as someone pointed out on Twitter but Amir scores and gets the Raptors back to within 2 with score 79-77. Raptors had a really strange line-up on the floor with Antony Carter at the point along with Barbosa, Johnson, Johnson and Kleiza on the floor. Demar DeRozan had not seen much if any time in fourth and seemed less than thrilled. Jose Calderon was not exactly thrilled to be sitting either. But Casey rolled with this group to the end.
Houston missed a free throw with 11.7 seconds left and Houston led 86-83. Calderon checks in and will inbound the ball. It would end up in a rush and well guarded three pointer by Kleiza and he bricks it. Rockets get fouled with 1.2 seconds left and ice it at the line with 2 free throws making the score 88-83. Back to the drawing board for the Raptors in terms of close games. Raps would score a basket but the result was a L. Houston takes it 88-85.
Raps get off to a decent start in the second and cut the lead to 7 with score 29-22 on a 7-2 run to start the 2nd. Make that 5 as back to back Barbosa buckets make NBA scouts drool that are scouting for trade deadline. Bayless gets a silly tech but the Raps keep fighting and get the lead down to 4. However, again Rockets respond and push the lead to 9 again on a Lee three. Raps just slugged along in quarter. Ed Davis seems to show up on nights the rest on the team does not. He had 10 rebounds in 1st half. Aside from that as bad as the Raptors were they only trailed by 9 at the half with score 45-36.
Raptors were doing a decent job on defense but they had little to no offense making it seem unlikely they had a chance to win. Houston gets a three from Lowery and Jose answers with a three, which was more points in one play than he had the entire first half. Houston lead 53-45 with 7 minutes to play in the 3rd. Nice throw down for DeRozan but Houston has a quick replay and the lead was 10. Martin hit a three he was just 3-13 on the night but that made the lead 13 and that might be enough to get Rockets to finally put this to bed. They had been the better team all night long but had failed to deliver the death blow. Raptors have 8-0 run to cling to life. Lowery ends that with a three and lead was 65-55. But Barbosa has an answer 3 from the corner back to a touchdown lead for the Texans/Oilers or Rockets take your pick. Raps cut the 10 point lead in half to 5 with the score 65-60.....make that 65-62 with under 2 to play thanks to a steal and slam from DeRozan. Davis a bucket near end of third but Raps fail to play defense and Dragic nails a buzzer beater on the drive. Rockets take a 5 point lead to the 4th up 69-64.
In talking with some of the Raptors after and before the game vs Detroit the common theme was this team needed to learn to win close games. Not that Raptors deserved it but they found themselves in one. Actual on defense they did deserve it. But the Raptors offense was finally showing a pulse and and had this to 2 point game 75-73. Barbosa misses a three to take the lead and there was 6 minutes to go. Another key three for Houston they have had a lot to this point this one makes it a 78-73 lead. Amir Johnson came in for Ed Davis who had tied his career high in rebounds with 15. Seemed a strange move as someone pointed out on Twitter but Amir scores and gets the Raptors back to within 2 with score 79-77. Raptors had a really strange line-up on the floor with Antony Carter at the point along with Barbosa, Johnson, Johnson and Kleiza on the floor. Demar DeRozan had not seen much if any time in fourth and seemed less than thrilled. Jose Calderon was not exactly thrilled to be sitting either. But Casey rolled with this group to the end.
Houston missed a free throw with 11.7 seconds left and Houston led 86-83. Calderon checks in and will inbound the ball. It would end up in a rush and well guarded three pointer by Kleiza and he bricks it. Rockets get fouled with 1.2 seconds left and ice it at the line with 2 free throws making the score 88-83. Back to the drawing board for the Raptors in terms of close games. Raps would score a basket but the result was a L. Houston takes it 88-85.
2/21/12
Looking Back On The Season So Far.
I have to say it has been nice to have a break form the grind of this season. Sunday I even decided to take a day off. That will change from now on at least on Sundays. We are going to starting doing a 30 minute Podcast called "This Week in Raptor Land". It will take a look back on the week that was for the Raptors. It should be something fun to try and do. Hopefully it grows into one the the staple things we do here in the DNB. As we close in on the unofficial half way mark of the NBA Season maybe I will just give some random thoughts on the Raptors. Will likely have some of that in the podcast on Sunday as well.
Raptor Surprises?
I will start with a guy that I really don't care a lot for, Jose Calderon has been a surprise to me in many ways. First and foremost, the fact he is playing at all. Given the amount of games, the schedule and the fact Jerryd Bayless has been out more than he has been in that shocks me. I am not alone in having had questions about Calderon's durability in the past. However, this season he has been there night in and night out. He has done more than been there, producing to levels we have not seen in a long time from him. It pains me to say it, but if he wants to remain and play out the final year of his deal, the Raptors might not have any better options. No point guards in the draft look to be the answer long term for Toronto at least not to start in their first season. While I haven't studied it to any great degree, there is no real stud point guard that will be a free agent in this upcoming class either. The idea to amnesty Calderon seems silly at this point. This is not to say that I would endorse going any further with Jose beyond this contract. I still think that he has had a long run here and the team has failed to produce under his leadership or lack of it at the point guard position. He too seems like he would welcome a change, maybe he hasn't said it and never will, but ultimately both he and Raptors have been unsuccessful overall. That said his numbers and durability have been a surprise. You might even be able to trade him in that final year of his contract, or the Raptors can keep him and let him walk and take a run at Brandon Jennings or someone else with the 10 million plus in cap space him leaving would create. But Calderon in a season of a lot of underachievement has overachieved to a great extent. I have even seen flashes of effort on defense.
If you had told me at the start of this season that the Raptors best pick up in the off-season would be Aaron Gray I think I would have laughed you out of the room. After a rocky start with his health issues with his heart, he has been a contributor to the team. He lacks any real skill on offense, but for a team that let it's best rebounder walk away in Reggie Evans he has helped out in that regard. He also is a decent defender, nothing spectacular but decent. He is the best signing in part based on how awful everyone else has been. Rasaul Butler has been a train wreck from the word go. Jamaal Magloire is so bad that the fact he is Canadian does not keep people from stating the obvious that he has been awful. There was lots made about him coming home and playing in his hometown of Toronto. But honestly, did any other NBA team want him at this stage of his career? If they did would they now? Anthony Carter is no Jeremy Lin. In fact he maybe no Darrick Martin and maybe only slightly more valuable than Marcus Banks. Gary Forbes might be the only guy that you would even consider, but he has barely seen the floor and is pretty much a non factor most nights. So is it by omission that Aaron Gray is the Raptors best pick up. Yes in part, but he has done something which is more than can be said for the others.
Dwane Casey's impact on this team. I admit the whole "Pound The Rock" thing didn't play with me a bit. It still doesn't to any large degree. However, the fact the Dwane Casey has been able to make progress with this group on defense so quickly is a surprise to me. I know, he won a ring in Dallas and was the guru behind there D that shut down Miami. However, this was the Raptors, a team that for the majority of their existence have been a team challenged to play even average defense. The fact he has been able to even get Andrea Bargnani to look like he is actually trying to play defense is pretty amazing. In that building of defense first mindset, Casey has brought back something that had been lacking for a long time in Toronto. Accountability was something we never saw under Jay Triano and to be honest you are left to question how much the Raptors truly respected Triano in the role of head coach. No one is questioning if they respect Dwane Casey. I recently came up with an expression I like about Casey. In terms of how he deals with the media. He is a less entertaining version of Sam Mitchell. He like Sam did tells it like it is, but just does it in a very low key way. While Sam Mitchell might have said of the loss to Bobcats, that we let the Washington Generals come into our home and kick our butts. Casey said of his great disappointment in how his team performed and failed to show up. Sam's makes the better quote, but the honesty is there from both. All the candy coating losses and players is pretty much gone. Which is something we can all appreciate.
Raptor Disappointments
Demar and Ed were suppose to be part of what made this season somewhat bearable at the end of the day. To watch them develop into part of this young core that Colangelo keeps telling us we have. Both have failed to show consistency from night to night. They also have shown very few signs of improvement. Beyond the fact that now and then Demar DeRozan can make the occasional three point shot not much has improved. While there are some very legitimate excuses as to why this has been, it does not change the fact it has been. It seems that when Ed Davis has big days, it is on days when the Raptors as a whole struggle. Case and point the last game vs the Bobcats. While DeRozan has had his fair share of issues on both ends of the floor. Andrea Bargnani not being around has shifted the spotlight to DeRozan and made his flaws more glaring and obvious. While Andrea has proven he can play some defense under Casey, the same can not be said for Demar. Also when you are playing along side the team's best defender for many in James Johnson that makes it more obvious as well. While on offense he has at times drifted away from his strengths and been exposed for his below average handling of the basketball. This off-season for both and what is left of this season, are going to be vital for both Davis and DeRozan to step up and be counted. At this point you have to say in terms of both, we have seen regression not progression.
On a team that lacks a roster that is very talented in comparison to many other teams around the league, the last thing you need is injuries. While in the brief amount of time he has played we have seen a much improved Andrea Bargnani, that does very little to help when he is not playing. In fact it does nothing at all. His injury and subsequent re-injury of his calf has been the most glaring and obvious issue. But the Raptors have seen Jerryd Bayless barely play at all on top of it. We touched on this earlier in talking about both Carter and Calderon. Missing Bayless has been also a big deal, if for no other reason than it allows Jose Calderon to have more gas in his tank. You started the season without Linas Kleiza and Aaron Gray both who when healthy have contributed. It has been a season in which we have seen very little of the Raptors at 100% in terms of healthy bodies. This is not unique to them in this crazy NBA season. Almost every team has had to endure injuries and some teams to key players like Al Horford in Atlanta who is out for the season. But the Raptors given their lack of talent to start with are hurt more by this than other teams.
Were almost halfway through this season. When I look back on this year five years from now I probably will just be thankfully that I survived it. This has not been one of the more fun times in the history of the Toronto Raptors or the NBA in general. Sure there have been moments. But aside from looking back on the start of Jeremy Lin's hall of fame career what will I honestly remember? Maybe nothing, and maybe Jeremy Lin is not even around. But at the end of the day as much as we may love basketball, this season will not be one that has made you more of a fan, it will be one that you have endured and looked for reasons to be excited. That maybe a contributing factor in the rise of Linsanity. While it is a great story it makes up for all the ugly basketball that has been seen throughout this season. There has been a lot of that. Raptor fans have seen some of it first hand just like they got to see Linsanity come to town.
But in any case we are almost halfway home in a season that from the outset had never been promised to be anything but a hard season to deal with. It has delivered on that promise to a great extent.
2/1/12
James Johnson in The Starting 5.
I have started to come around in terms of James Johnson. When you go back to his draft year, the Raptors had been said to be considering him for their pick that year. They did not end up drafting him and he was eventually selected by the Bulls. Last season the Bulls decided to trade him to the Raptors in a deal near the deadline. I was not really excited about it. It to me was a sign that things did not look good for Sonny Weems who I like as a player and personally. Bit by bit I have started to change my opinion on Johnson as a player. He has been very impressive with his play on defence. He is now slowly starting to show signs on the offensive end of the floor. I don't think he has done enough to say he solves the Raptors problems at the small forward position as a starter. But he has shown that he can be a part of the puzzle. If I was on the fence talking with him last night prior to the Raptors game vs the Hawks got me off it.
It was an interesting chat. We began talking about how his training in martial arts and how it converts to the basketball floor. MMA training has become popular with athletes in many sports and I have seen many good features about how that training translates to football. There has been a lot of talk in broadcasts about the work he has been investing in his jump shot so we talk about that as well. In addition the difficulties that both this season and the odd lockout off-season had on him being able to improve his game. I really found this a honest and interesting interview hope you will feel the same.
One of the things that has been widely talked about is the struggles of Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis this season. I think through what James had to say it gives you a window into how not just for him, but for all the Raptors, it was a tough off-season to improve lacking the support and direction they would normally have. This combined with the tough grind of this NBA schedule makes improvement a larger challenge. I had talked about this topic with Jack Armstrong in a previous edition of the Starting 5. In this interview you get the player prospective on the issues this off-season had for players.
It makes you think that maybe we should factor that in before we judge any of these young players to harshly. In many ways this was an off-season for them in which no matter the amount of work they put in, without the direction that they would normally have, it made it harder, if not impossible to gain the maximum results you would see in a normal off-season. It is a big factor even if you don't want to accept it as an excuse. It was at the very least a challenge for every player to have to overcome.
James Johnson like everyone else continues to work hard despite a situation for a young team that is far from ideal. Which is something Dwane Casey made reference to in reflecting on the team through the first month of this NBA Season. The lack of practice time and the most busy January in Raptors history made things challenging. Not to mention the many injuries the Raptors have had to deal with, the most significant to Andrea Bargnani. But as Johnson said, it is just a case of you really have no days off if you hope to improve in a season such as this. That will test you both mentally and physically which lends itself well to Johnson's background in martial arts.
It was an interesting chat. We began talking about how his training in martial arts and how it converts to the basketball floor. MMA training has become popular with athletes in many sports and I have seen many good features about how that training translates to football. There has been a lot of talk in broadcasts about the work he has been investing in his jump shot so we talk about that as well. In addition the difficulties that both this season and the odd lockout off-season had on him being able to improve his game. I really found this a honest and interesting interview hope you will feel the same.
One of the things that has been widely talked about is the struggles of Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis this season. I think through what James had to say it gives you a window into how not just for him, but for all the Raptors, it was a tough off-season to improve lacking the support and direction they would normally have. This combined with the tough grind of this NBA schedule makes improvement a larger challenge. I had talked about this topic with Jack Armstrong in a previous edition of the Starting 5. In this interview you get the player prospective on the issues this off-season had for players.
It makes you think that maybe we should factor that in before we judge any of these young players to harshly. In many ways this was an off-season for them in which no matter the amount of work they put in, without the direction that they would normally have, it made it harder, if not impossible to gain the maximum results you would see in a normal off-season. It is a big factor even if you don't want to accept it as an excuse. It was at the very least a challenge for every player to have to overcome.
James Johnson like everyone else continues to work hard despite a situation for a young team that is far from ideal. Which is something Dwane Casey made reference to in reflecting on the team through the first month of this NBA Season. The lack of practice time and the most busy January in Raptors history made things challenging. Not to mention the many injuries the Raptors have had to deal with, the most significant to Andrea Bargnani. But as Johnson said, it is just a case of you really have no days off if you hope to improve in a season such as this. That will test you both mentally and physically which lends itself well to Johnson's background in martial arts.
From One Problem To Another.
Well I saw it live and in person and it was not pretty. The Raptors did at least get off to a decent start which has plagued them most of the season. But in the second quarter this game would slip away and like a snow ball heading down hill the Hawks lead would grow bigger and bigger. Josh Smith was the guy that did all the damage last time, this time it was Joe Johnson. He racked up 30 in 3 quarters including 8 points in 51 seconds to close out the 1st half. The Raptors stuck to the small starting line-up to begin this game and it was not productive. Just 40 points in all for the starters led by Bayless with 14 points. Demar DeRozan after a season high 27 had just 9. DeRozan has now not reached double figures in scoring in 3 of the last 5 games. Hawks won it big 100-77.
A few other thoughts on the night. Prior to the game had a chance to catch up with James Johnson, it was a interesting chat look for it in the DNB tomorrow. In a game of few positive Ed Davis finally got some minutes and took advantage of them going for a double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Last but not least Toronto still hates T-Mac or at least boos him. I personally get a kick out of it. However so does T-Mac who more than any player that has level gets is roll as the "Bad Guy" and embraces it. T-Mac fuelled by boos got 15 off the bench for the Hawks. While many will be critical of fans for still booing him. I am not one of them. I think it is fans right to do as they choose. It might not be the wisest idea against McGrady but I understand why some would never want to forgive him and always boo him.
Raptor spent about 36 hours back in Toronto and they are back on the road off to Boston to take on the Celtics. Another team that has never been a kind opposition to Raptors. The Celtics have been much improved since snapping a 5 game losing streak against the Raptors in Boston the last time the Raptors paid a visit. Boston played last night as well in Cleveland and had to hold off a furious Cavs run in the 4th to hang on for a 93-90 win and are back to .500 on the season at 10-10. Boston is 5-2 since crushing the Raptors by 23 back on January 18th.
Rajon Rondo played outstanding in that game before getting injured by Linas Kleiza with a hard foul late in the 3rd. He has not played since for the Celtics. So could we see a really chippy game tonight between the Raptors and Celtics? It would not surprise anyone if we did. Avery Bradley the Texas product has been playing in his spot but is no Rondo.
Still despite not having Rondo the Celtics have taken advantage of a soft portion of their schedule and been able to fight back from an awful start to the season. Paul Pierce has been playing well of late. Since that game vs the Raptors in which he only scored 8 points he has averaged 22.1 points per game including a season high 34 vs the Wizards.
So let's get the 3 keys for this one:
Be Aggressive: The Celtics are not a team that forgets much. The fact Linas Kleiza took out Rajon Rondo will not be something that they will. Expect a lot of chatter and a lot of heavy blows in this one. If there was one positive in the blow out loss to Celtics for the first time in a long time the Raptors were pushing back in physical stuff with the Celtics.
Pierce and Allen: Both have had big shooting games vs the Raptors in the past. Be aware of where they are and do not allow them open looks at 3's or it could be a long night for the Raptors. There is no reason to believe Pierce or Allen are not capable of doing the same thing Joe Johnson did last night if the Raptors do not do a much better job defending them.
Attack Attack Attack: Take advantage of the Celtics perhaps wanting to be the bully by attacking the basket. Demar DeRozan would be the man you would look to in leading this charge. If the Raptors can get to the line and get easy points, it will help them stay competitive on the scoreboard. It is not a secret the Celtics have the potential to produce a lot more offence compared to the Raptors. No offence to Gary Forbes, but if he is your leading scorer again tonight, as he was in the last game vs Boston with a season high 19 points for him, the Raptors have some problems.
A few other thoughts on the night. Prior to the game had a chance to catch up with James Johnson, it was a interesting chat look for it in the DNB tomorrow. In a game of few positive Ed Davis finally got some minutes and took advantage of them going for a double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. Last but not least Toronto still hates T-Mac or at least boos him. I personally get a kick out of it. However so does T-Mac who more than any player that has level gets is roll as the "Bad Guy" and embraces it. T-Mac fuelled by boos got 15 off the bench for the Hawks. While many will be critical of fans for still booing him. I am not one of them. I think it is fans right to do as they choose. It might not be the wisest idea against McGrady but I understand why some would never want to forgive him and always boo him.
Raptor spent about 36 hours back in Toronto and they are back on the road off to Boston to take on the Celtics. Another team that has never been a kind opposition to Raptors. The Celtics have been much improved since snapping a 5 game losing streak against the Raptors in Boston the last time the Raptors paid a visit. Boston played last night as well in Cleveland and had to hold off a furious Cavs run in the 4th to hang on for a 93-90 win and are back to .500 on the season at 10-10. Boston is 5-2 since crushing the Raptors by 23 back on January 18th.
Rajon Rondo played outstanding in that game before getting injured by Linas Kleiza with a hard foul late in the 3rd. He has not played since for the Celtics. So could we see a really chippy game tonight between the Raptors and Celtics? It would not surprise anyone if we did. Avery Bradley the Texas product has been playing in his spot but is no Rondo.
Still despite not having Rondo the Celtics have taken advantage of a soft portion of their schedule and been able to fight back from an awful start to the season. Paul Pierce has been playing well of late. Since that game vs the Raptors in which he only scored 8 points he has averaged 22.1 points per game including a season high 34 vs the Wizards.
So let's get the 3 keys for this one:
Be Aggressive: The Celtics are not a team that forgets much. The fact Linas Kleiza took out Rajon Rondo will not be something that they will. Expect a lot of chatter and a lot of heavy blows in this one. If there was one positive in the blow out loss to Celtics for the first time in a long time the Raptors were pushing back in physical stuff with the Celtics.
Pierce and Allen: Both have had big shooting games vs the Raptors in the past. Be aware of where they are and do not allow them open looks at 3's or it could be a long night for the Raptors. There is no reason to believe Pierce or Allen are not capable of doing the same thing Joe Johnson did last night if the Raptors do not do a much better job defending them.
Attack Attack Attack: Take advantage of the Celtics perhaps wanting to be the bully by attacking the basket. Demar DeRozan would be the man you would look to in leading this charge. If the Raptors can get to the line and get easy points, it will help them stay competitive on the scoreboard. It is not a secret the Celtics have the potential to produce a lot more offence compared to the Raptors. No offence to Gary Forbes, but if he is your leading scorer again tonight, as he was in the last game vs Boston with a season high 19 points for him, the Raptors have some problems.
1/26/12
Starting 5 With Matt Devlin From Denver
Today in the Starting 5 we catch up with Matt Devlin on the road with the Raptors in Denver, after some extra work last night in calling a double OT win for the Dinos in Utah. We start with conversation on that game and the unfortunate injury to Andrea Bargnani. Also look back a bit at the win in Phoenix. We also talk about the major step up Bargnani has made on the floor and Matt says who he thinks deserves the credit for it. In addition thoughts on the struggles of Ed Davis, Amir Johnson and Demar DeRozan. We also get into some discussion as well about James Johnson. Matt shares his thoughts on how Johnson reminds him of a player he covered prior to coming to Toronto still playing in the league today. All this and some talk of Jack Armstrong and Tebowing in Denver. It is a informative and hopefully fun conversation for your listening pleasure. We also make reference to Matt's road segment that appears on Raptors.com "Life on the 2nd Bus". Matt references the latest episode so I wanted to give you folks a link to it. Someone apparently Tebow's in it given the fact the Raptors are in Denver. As for the picture that comes from the Raptor press room from a game I covered last season. You might remember it as with Matt's blessing I posted it on Twitter. So with out further adieu here is the latest episode of The Starting 5.Thanks to Matt for making time for us. Matt has been kind enough to be a guest with us since his arrival in Toronto and we always enjoy having him as a guest. This maybe a back to back for us in The Starting 5 as well as we are attempting to get another guest lined up for tomorrow. So keep you ears and eyes ready. I will try and make mention of it on Twitter if it comes together. We look forward to talking with Matt again and appreciate him taking the time after a long night of work to be on with us today.
1/19/12
DNB Game In Pictures II
So we had so much fun we decided to do it again. Unfortunately another loss for the Raptors but that does not stop DNB Pictures from having some fun. So let's get ready set ROLLEM!!!
1/16/12
More Of The Same In The ATL
The Raptors would be another man down as the entered Atlanta for a special MLK Day Matinee. James Johnson joins Jerryd Bayless, Aaron Gray and of course Andrea Bargnani. The writing was on the wall it seemed heading into this one. Demar DeRozan day started out the day on the right foot with the Raptors opening score in this game driving to bucket and getting an easy two points. But by the end of the afternoon DeRozan would be as frustrated as the fans watching the game likely were. He would get a rare technically foul and end up on the bench cooling his jets with 4 fouls. Amir Johnson would also have his issues with foul trouble as well on this afternoon. He quickly had to make an exit in the 3rd quarter with about 9 minutes left. For an undermanned Raptors squad that made it an even rougher afternoon.
It did start somewhat well though with an 11-5 lead in early going in the first. But Josh Smith would be big all afternoon and it started with 8 points of a 10-0 run that brought the Hawks back to take the lead. This would set a pattern for most of the afternoon. The Hawks would seem to turn it on and off proving that they are, both good enough to be good, but why they never will be great. They were the like a cat playing with a mouse before they killed it. Raptors fought back to get the lead down to 4 with the score 22-18 only to see the Hawks pull away again before the end of the first with a 26-18 advantage after one.
In the second despite many foolish and silly turnovers by the Raptors, the Hawks were letting their foot off the gas pedal, especially at the end of the half. After letting a 34-22 lead be trimmed to 36-30, only to go on another 7-0 run and have their largest lead of the game at 13 points. But again they let things slide and only led 50-45. It was a gift the Raptors were still in this game.
The Hawks continued to feed Raptor fans hope and their own fans concern. The Raptors with a less than full roster, and having a few folks in form of Young Onez as spectators were able to hang around. Barbosa was the main offensive weapon, his 22 points off the bench led the Raptors on the afternoon. The Raptors would be just down 2, heading to the fourth quarter with the score 73-71 Hawks. But as often been the theme for the Raptors of late, the 4th quarter was an epic disaster. They would take over 5 and half minutes to even register a field goal. Hawks did enough to close the door outscoring the Raptors 20-13 and finish off the Raptors 93-84.
Raptors 5th loss in a row as they head next to Boston to conclude this 3 game road swing. Josh Smith had the line of the game with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Joe Johnson was not shabby either with 27 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists with a couple steals. Compare that to the Raptors future as Demar DeRozan had just 10 points and was 5-17 from the field. Ed Davis did have a season high 11 rebounds but only 7 points as he was forced to play 40 minutes in part because of Amir Johnson's foul trouble. Johnson did have 13 points and 10 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. Calderon had 13 points and 11 assists but also 4 turnovers. You can certainly understand why the Raptors are struggling with injuries mounting combined with the schedule that has been challenging. But, if you are not starting to have some deep concerns about this young core that Raptors have claimed they are building, then you must not be paying attention. Is it a product of the new system? Is it a product of having to play harder with a focus on the defensive end of the floor? Is it the fact the Raptors were handcuffed by the lockout and had no control of there young players for the entire lockout? It could be all of the above. But for the Raptors ultimate game plan to work they need a lot more from their young core. That begins with Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis.
It did start somewhat well though with an 11-5 lead in early going in the first. But Josh Smith would be big all afternoon and it started with 8 points of a 10-0 run that brought the Hawks back to take the lead. This would set a pattern for most of the afternoon. The Hawks would seem to turn it on and off proving that they are, both good enough to be good, but why they never will be great. They were the like a cat playing with a mouse before they killed it. Raptors fought back to get the lead down to 4 with the score 22-18 only to see the Hawks pull away again before the end of the first with a 26-18 advantage after one.
In the second despite many foolish and silly turnovers by the Raptors, the Hawks were letting their foot off the gas pedal, especially at the end of the half. After letting a 34-22 lead be trimmed to 36-30, only to go on another 7-0 run and have their largest lead of the game at 13 points. But again they let things slide and only led 50-45. It was a gift the Raptors were still in this game.
The Hawks continued to feed Raptor fans hope and their own fans concern. The Raptors with a less than full roster, and having a few folks in form of Young Onez as spectators were able to hang around. Barbosa was the main offensive weapon, his 22 points off the bench led the Raptors on the afternoon. The Raptors would be just down 2, heading to the fourth quarter with the score 73-71 Hawks. But as often been the theme for the Raptors of late, the 4th quarter was an epic disaster. They would take over 5 and half minutes to even register a field goal. Hawks did enough to close the door outscoring the Raptors 20-13 and finish off the Raptors 93-84.
Raptors 5th loss in a row as they head next to Boston to conclude this 3 game road swing. Josh Smith had the line of the game with 28 points and 15 rebounds. Joe Johnson was not shabby either with 27 points 5 rebounds and 6 assists with a couple steals. Compare that to the Raptors future as Demar DeRozan had just 10 points and was 5-17 from the field. Ed Davis did have a season high 11 rebounds but only 7 points as he was forced to play 40 minutes in part because of Amir Johnson's foul trouble. Johnson did have 13 points and 10 rebounds in just 25 minutes of action. Calderon had 13 points and 11 assists but also 4 turnovers. You can certainly understand why the Raptors are struggling with injuries mounting combined with the schedule that has been challenging. But, if you are not starting to have some deep concerns about this young core that Raptors have claimed they are building, then you must not be paying attention. Is it a product of the new system? Is it a product of having to play harder with a focus on the defensive end of the floor? Is it the fact the Raptors were handcuffed by the lockout and had no control of there young players for the entire lockout? It could be all of the above. But for the Raptors ultimate game plan to work they need a lot more from their young core. That begins with Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis.
1/12/12
Season Debut of The Starting 5 With Jack Armstrong
One of the things at the Dino Nation Blog I am most proud of is The Starting 5. It has been the driving force that has made this blog as well known as it is. Given how the NBA Season was sprung on all of us, I did not want to impose on guests during the holiday season as they tried to prepare for an NBA Season, that none of us were sure would happen and when. So, it has been awhile now and we are back at it with the Starting 5. There have been many guests we have had the thrill of having over the years. But this man is by far our favourite he is the colour analyst for the Raptors since the last time we had a lockout prior to this one on Radio at first and now for many years on T.V. Hello Jack Armstrong and welcome back to The Starting 5 for another season. In this episode we talk about the NBA and it's crazy schedule. Jack shares his thoughts on everything from Pounding The Rock to the age old question of if he will ever be joining the rest of the world on Twitter. An in depth look at the struggles of Demar DeRozan. Thoughts on Dwane Casey and the new coaching staff. As well as his thoughts on the new and improved Andrea Bargnani and why he can succeed potentially where Chris Bosh could not. It is all in there in a in depth 30 minute chat with our good friend Jack Armstrong.Thanks to Jack and now that the Starting 5 is back you can expect all of the guests we have had in the past like Paul Jones, Matt Devlin and our ever growing list of regular guests to be popping by. In addition to any new ones we come across along the way. So hope you enjoyed this one and thanks for your support of the Starting 5 and please make sure to visit us daily for all our work covering the Toronto Raptors. It has been a 4 year plus ride of a lifetime for me. I am so thrilled to have the chance to bring you quality guests like Jack and hopefully some quality info and opinion on a daily basis.
1/9/12
Spain's Civil War Round One
Knowing Jose Calderon it is unlikely he is going to say a bad thing about Ricky Rubio. However it has always been a tense relationship between the two as they have battled for playing time in the summer for Spain over the years. That battle now hits the floors of the NBA and the first one will take place in Toronto. Rubio has dazzled the NBA after his long awaited debut. Drafted all the way back in 2009 he finally has made his way to the NBA. So if you are upset having to wait a year for Jonas Valanciunas think how people in Minnesota have felt. The Raptors only hope the transition for him goes as well as it has for Rubio. Personally I took a flyer on Rubio in fantasy basketball and am one happy owner. He has impressive stats across the board with 9.9 points per game, 7.6 assists, 1.1 steals and is averaging 50% from behind the 3 point line with a hair under 4 rebounds a game at 3.9 rebounds per game. Calderon has better numbers overall with 12.4 points per game, 9.4 assists the one major difference is in 3 point % where Rubio has the clear advantage with Calderon at just 38.7%. Spain will be watching even if North America in general might find the T-Wolves vs Raptors a snooze.
So three points for tonight's Match-Up:
Ed and Demar Please Stand Up- It has been a rough go for the Raptors two most recent draft picks on the roster. Both are in bad need of good nights. As the Raptors begin this back to back to back it is vital these guys get going in the right direction.
Energy Level- Raptors will have a tough time dealing with Kevin Love who is taking his "Numbers" to incredible levels. I mean his stats not his cheesy PR driven fragrance for men. The Raptors will need to match the T-Wolves energy and battle hard on the glass. If they don't you can see a result like they had vs the Nets or worse like they had vs the Sixers.
Limit Rubio- If there is anyone that would have a good scouting report on what Ricky Rubio can do it has to be Jose Calderon right? So will see if Jose is able to help his Raptor amigos in how to stop the Spanish Fly that is Ricky Rubio on defence.
Win lose or draw Raps will hop on a plane and head for Washington. They will not get to visit Obama though. The Mavs are doing that today and Vince Carter is meeting the President. Doesn't that just turn your stomach? Leave it to Vince to find a way to meet the President of the United States without winning a championship. That being said Lebron James has met him several times and campaigned for him in the last election. When people liked Lebron in Ohio which in politics is a big swing state. But that is a different story for another blog. In terms of this blog we are not asking for much, just a game that I can watch and not feel like I am being punished for doing something wrong.
So three points for tonight's Match-Up:
Ed and Demar Please Stand Up- It has been a rough go for the Raptors two most recent draft picks on the roster. Both are in bad need of good nights. As the Raptors begin this back to back to back it is vital these guys get going in the right direction.
Energy Level- Raptors will have a tough time dealing with Kevin Love who is taking his "Numbers" to incredible levels. I mean his stats not his cheesy PR driven fragrance for men. The Raptors will need to match the T-Wolves energy and battle hard on the glass. If they don't you can see a result like they had vs the Nets or worse like they had vs the Sixers.
Limit Rubio- If there is anyone that would have a good scouting report on what Ricky Rubio can do it has to be Jose Calderon right? So will see if Jose is able to help his Raptor amigos in how to stop the Spanish Fly that is Ricky Rubio on defence.
Win lose or draw Raps will hop on a plane and head for Washington. They will not get to visit Obama though. The Mavs are doing that today and Vince Carter is meeting the President. Doesn't that just turn your stomach? Leave it to Vince to find a way to meet the President of the United States without winning a championship. That being said Lebron James has met him several times and campaigned for him in the last election. When people liked Lebron in Ohio which in politics is a big swing state. But that is a different story for another blog. In terms of this blog we are not asking for much, just a game that I can watch and not feel like I am being punished for doing something wrong.
1/3/12
Raptors Better Than Advertised?
I generally take pride in having a good take on the Toronto Raptors. To have that feeling of knowing what to expect. It is not unlike when you are a wrestling fan you know what is coming next before it happens. As an example fans had been told someone was coming to the WWE and they already had Y2J signs ready to display. How did they know? Mainly because wrestling is predictable and scripted. Sports does not follow a script and as much as you can think you know sometimes you don't know. Could anyone have predicted the Denver Broncos would make the playoffs with Tim Tebow as their quarterback when the season began? He wasn't even the starter. Life and sports are dynamic.
In a lot of ways despite the Raptors making big strides under Dwane Casey some of the same old issues are still lingering around. Raptors no matter what defensive system they have employed have all seemed to have issues with defending the three point line. The Raptors traditionally have always had issues holding leads even with some of the best rosters they have put on the court.
It gets to the point as a long time fan you don't just hope it won't happen but you know it will happen. The Raptors could have as big a lead as you like at any point in the first three quarters of a game and you wait for that other shoe to drop. To not expect that to happen makes you incredibly loyal or ignorant to history. But the history really shouldn't apply after all this team has many different parts, but this has been a theme that has lasted longer than anyone on this roster.
The idea of changing culture gets thrown around a lot in this organization over the years. You know when that really happens? When people honestly don't go into a 4th quarter expecting the worst and hoping for the best. When you have enough confidence to sit there calm and secure that your team can win the game.
When you start to break this down to the individuals there are positives and negatives. Dwane Casey is all positive to this point. You can't help but applaud his effort to take a core group of players, that many felt it would be next to impossible to get them to play defence and he has made it happen. The poster boy for that lack of belief was Andrea Bargnani. If you had never seen the first 6 seasons of this guys career you would not believe how awful he has been in terms of his effort and defence for 6 years. Is 5 games enough to wash away 6 years of a bad taste in your mouth? No not really, but it is enough to make you stop and wait and see.
The player that has been wildly inconsistent has not been Bargnani it has been DeRozan. Last night we saw his most complete performance of the season. Ed Davis who many had high expectations for has had his issues. He also has had his opportunities reduced by the improvment and position change of Bargnani. About the only thing that seems to be consistent in what we have known about the Raptors in the past is Jose Calderon. If you love Jose you point to how he is still one of the most efficient floor generals in the NBA. If you hate Jose you point out he still can not stay in front of almost any point guard he faces. You point to his shooting and on one night his fans will see glimpses of the shooter he once was, on another you will see the shooter he has become for his detractors.
In terms of the new Raptors you have seen a Jamaal Magloire that is offensively challenged but has at times made an impact on the glass. Much as I hate to admit it a lot like what you could get out of Reggie Evans. If not for the other factors that bother me about Magloire I would almost like him. The main difference to me is Reggie is so genuine and I find Magloire to be the opposite. He has embraced this role has the hometown guy that has finally come home. But I can't help but think the chance was there long before the end of his career and his lack of playing for this country ever makes it hard for me to accept him as any kind of Canadian Hero. But if we keep it to basketball a game like last night is what a Reggie Evans could do on the floor.
Anthony Carter really would not have been playing at this point if not for Bayless and his injury. If you take that into account it is hard to tear the guy apart. Would he have been my choice as the 3rd point guard for this team? No. But given his role I don't expect much. He to me is a different more defensively sound version of Derrick Martin. Who was half coach and half player. Now we get on to perhaps the most puzzling of all. Rasual Butler who until the 2nd half in NYC last night did not look like he belonged starting in the D-League forget about on an NBA roster. He came alive late to make some key shots and boards to help secure the win last night. Maybe it was to harsh to expect more given in a normal season last night would have been the second last game of the pre-season more or less. In terms of Aaron Gray he has been sidelined with heart issues. Makes you wonder if Raptors were aware when they signed him? Same thing happened with Nathan Jawai in terms of finding out about heart issues with him on eve of training camp. Is this simple bad luck or did the Raptors miss something? Never going know the answer. But it is hard to be angry about something like that with the player. You just hope the best for their lives screw basketball. As for Gary Forbes seems like a great guy have not seen near enough of him to have any strong opinion.
When you look at this team as whole it really is not all that impressive. It looks like the team that many had very little in terms of expectations. But some how they are able to come together and find a way to hang around and be in games. The improved defence is the reason. Some even have fired off things like this team can be in hunt for the playoffs in the East. The people cheering for lottery balls are very dismayed by that. I am just not to the point of being convinced they can be that. However if they can build on what they did in New York and find ways to hang on and grind out wins maybe I can be swayed. When this season started I said the Raptors would be able to hang around in more games than people think. So far that is true. But I also said they would likely lose more of those games than they would win. That is the part I am starting to question. It would make you feel more confident if Knicks had Amare Soudemire in the line-up and the Raptors had the same result. In this crazy season you are going to catch and have to endure a lot of good and bad breaks in terms of the schedule and injuries. The Raptors had the bad draw in terms of the schedule last night but got the good draw in terms of injures. No Bayless vs no Amare is advantage Raptors.
So maybe at the end of it all. The Raptors are who I thought they were. But I remain willing to accept they could be better than that. But I have no real indication of if that is true yet. I am pretty excited to be going to see it in person tomorrow night. Tristan Thompson and the Cavs get a second shot at the Raptors. This will also be a good test to see what a team does after getting a look at the Raptors improved defence the second time around. Tomorrow could hold some answers on if this team truly can be as this blog asks, better than advertised?
In a lot of ways despite the Raptors making big strides under Dwane Casey some of the same old issues are still lingering around. Raptors no matter what defensive system they have employed have all seemed to have issues with defending the three point line. The Raptors traditionally have always had issues holding leads even with some of the best rosters they have put on the court.
It gets to the point as a long time fan you don't just hope it won't happen but you know it will happen. The Raptors could have as big a lead as you like at any point in the first three quarters of a game and you wait for that other shoe to drop. To not expect that to happen makes you incredibly loyal or ignorant to history. But the history really shouldn't apply after all this team has many different parts, but this has been a theme that has lasted longer than anyone on this roster.
The idea of changing culture gets thrown around a lot in this organization over the years. You know when that really happens? When people honestly don't go into a 4th quarter expecting the worst and hoping for the best. When you have enough confidence to sit there calm and secure that your team can win the game.
When you start to break this down to the individuals there are positives and negatives. Dwane Casey is all positive to this point. You can't help but applaud his effort to take a core group of players, that many felt it would be next to impossible to get them to play defence and he has made it happen. The poster boy for that lack of belief was Andrea Bargnani. If you had never seen the first 6 seasons of this guys career you would not believe how awful he has been in terms of his effort and defence for 6 years. Is 5 games enough to wash away 6 years of a bad taste in your mouth? No not really, but it is enough to make you stop and wait and see.
The player that has been wildly inconsistent has not been Bargnani it has been DeRozan. Last night we saw his most complete performance of the season. Ed Davis who many had high expectations for has had his issues. He also has had his opportunities reduced by the improvment and position change of Bargnani. About the only thing that seems to be consistent in what we have known about the Raptors in the past is Jose Calderon. If you love Jose you point to how he is still one of the most efficient floor generals in the NBA. If you hate Jose you point out he still can not stay in front of almost any point guard he faces. You point to his shooting and on one night his fans will see glimpses of the shooter he once was, on another you will see the shooter he has become for his detractors.
In terms of the new Raptors you have seen a Jamaal Magloire that is offensively challenged but has at times made an impact on the glass. Much as I hate to admit it a lot like what you could get out of Reggie Evans. If not for the other factors that bother me about Magloire I would almost like him. The main difference to me is Reggie is so genuine and I find Magloire to be the opposite. He has embraced this role has the hometown guy that has finally come home. But I can't help but think the chance was there long before the end of his career and his lack of playing for this country ever makes it hard for me to accept him as any kind of Canadian Hero. But if we keep it to basketball a game like last night is what a Reggie Evans could do on the floor.
Anthony Carter really would not have been playing at this point if not for Bayless and his injury. If you take that into account it is hard to tear the guy apart. Would he have been my choice as the 3rd point guard for this team? No. But given his role I don't expect much. He to me is a different more defensively sound version of Derrick Martin. Who was half coach and half player. Now we get on to perhaps the most puzzling of all. Rasual Butler who until the 2nd half in NYC last night did not look like he belonged starting in the D-League forget about on an NBA roster. He came alive late to make some key shots and boards to help secure the win last night. Maybe it was to harsh to expect more given in a normal season last night would have been the second last game of the pre-season more or less. In terms of Aaron Gray he has been sidelined with heart issues. Makes you wonder if Raptors were aware when they signed him? Same thing happened with Nathan Jawai in terms of finding out about heart issues with him on eve of training camp. Is this simple bad luck or did the Raptors miss something? Never going know the answer. But it is hard to be angry about something like that with the player. You just hope the best for their lives screw basketball. As for Gary Forbes seems like a great guy have not seen near enough of him to have any strong opinion.
When you look at this team as whole it really is not all that impressive. It looks like the team that many had very little in terms of expectations. But some how they are able to come together and find a way to hang around and be in games. The improved defence is the reason. Some even have fired off things like this team can be in hunt for the playoffs in the East. The people cheering for lottery balls are very dismayed by that. I am just not to the point of being convinced they can be that. However if they can build on what they did in New York and find ways to hang on and grind out wins maybe I can be swayed. When this season started I said the Raptors would be able to hang around in more games than people think. So far that is true. But I also said they would likely lose more of those games than they would win. That is the part I am starting to question. It would make you feel more confident if Knicks had Amare Soudemire in the line-up and the Raptors had the same result. In this crazy season you are going to catch and have to endure a lot of good and bad breaks in terms of the schedule and injuries. The Raptors had the bad draw in terms of the schedule last night but got the good draw in terms of injures. No Bayless vs no Amare is advantage Raptors.
So maybe at the end of it all. The Raptors are who I thought they were. But I remain willing to accept they could be better than that. But I have no real indication of if that is true yet. I am pretty excited to be going to see it in person tomorrow night. Tristan Thompson and the Cavs get a second shot at the Raptors. This will also be a good test to see what a team does after getting a look at the Raptors improved defence the second time around. Tomorrow could hold some answers on if this team truly can be as this blog asks, better than advertised?
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