The Draft: hopefully it is rich and clean and goes down smooth

The Draft

Let's talk a little bit about this draft since we got nothing else to talk about lately. I'm not bored though as I am being well entertained by the NHL playoffs and my boys down at the Igloo are doing well so far. This discussion is with the idea that Christopher Wesson Bosh is going to do what everyone including that jackass former espn analyst thinks Chris should do which is say SAYO-F'n Nara Toronto. I hope I am wrong. With that in mind we would draft a PF would we not? But hold on here.

Andrea Bargnani sliding over to PF. That's what Bryan Colangelo says. That has the makings of a disaster and I am guessing that if they do this, he'll either be back at the Center spot by the end of November or he's going to be injured by trying to go up against the most physical and athletic position players in the world. In comparison, NBA centres are big, heavy, and slow. Perfect for the likes of a 3 point shooting bigman, anomaly, and pasta pusher to go around, pump fake out of their shoes to make plays and/or shoot over. PF's are faster, more agile, more defensively intelligent and capable of dealing with that type of coverage. PF's would eat Andrea up and spit him out. Andrea's game is based on 2 mismatches:

A. The aforementioned slow, sluggish, only-playing-basketball-cause-I-am-7-feet-tall sloths in the NBA. There are of course exceptions to every rule and I am sure you can point out a few to me but in general most C's are usually slow. Unlike the glory years when you had guys in the league named Hakeem, The Admiral, Ewing, and the young Shaq, aka Shaq Fu: The Return.

B. AB7 also plays upon the mismatch of SF's who the other team might put on him to test out his much improved post play. As we've seen he's had much more success in this department this season.

It's like the difference between matching wits with Steve Urkel vs. Stephon Urkel. It's not much of a contest here. They might look the similar but there is no comparisons who is smoother. PF wins out.

So therefore in my estimation we should draft a PF. Positionally a PF is what we need if you want to talk about needs.

Who I like in the race:

Ed Davis. He's the anti-Bargs and seems to be a good compliment to him on both ends of the floor. He doesn't overwhelm you with size but he's got the skillz. A good example is Antawn Jamison who isn't big but who could argue with me that he isn't one of the league's best PF's?

Donatas Whatevertheheckicantpronouncehisdamnnameis. He's a Andrea Bargnani wannabe! Do two wrongs make a right? Most people say no. I say screw you, hell yeah it does. We shouldn't be stockpiling more Euros true. But Donny here is a skilled bigman. Apparently he has more of knack for lowpost play, rebounding and physicality. He's got a good jumper and seems almost like he's already got the skill set that Andrea lacked before the NBA and now has recent come to fruition with. Just the idea of having two skilled 7 footers who are pretty interchangeable seems scarey to me. That'd being said... if we take him we don't have a legit inside rebounding threat. It's not like Andrea is all of a sudden going to pull down double digit rebounds and can't expect Donatas to do that either in his first season. Having two European roosters in the hen house might not be very good for egos though.


Hassan Whiteside. A defensive and rebounding specialist. Just what the doctor ordered. He's another 7 footer who's got the size and athleticism. Seems like another perfect tonic to what ails the Raptors these days. A legit center. But I am guessing he'd handle the move to PF a lot better than the fragile confidence of Il Mago would.

Any of the aforemention 3 players would be good picks in my opinion and I would be quite happy with. Of course the team has to go with the best talent available as well and if theres a player available down at 13 that is in any floor position, take him regardless of need.

The team could also go a different route and take a PG. We are in need of one believe it or not. It's not a dire need. It's nothing we can't handle at the moment unlike trying to plug a hole filled once by a perennial all-star. But the Raps are probably going to get rid of Jose or Jarrett. Jose sucks and I pray it's him that goes but the business side of it says otherwise. Apparently it's more fiscally responsible to ship Jack off. Man that sound's bad. Anyways, even if they do keep Jack he is not an elite level PG. Jack is a very good PG especially in contrast to the swiss cheese contributions provided by Jose. So if we pick up a good PG now and develop him, it might pay dividends down the road. .

Whatever happens, this is sure to be a very interesting draft and post season for us to see unfold. Very entertaining no doubt. Will we pick up what we need to get us over the hump? Or will we be headed for another disappointing season? Oh hear me ye basketball gods, bless upon us Raptor fans the players, skills, and intangibles needed to bring glory and victory on the battlefields of the National Basketball Association and the floor of the Air Canada Centre. Bring upon 2nd round defeat for our evil monstrous green enemies.

The Squanch: First annual Squanchy Awards

State of the 'Squanch
So as some may have noticed I have not been blogging much lately since the Raptors were a depressing topic in my life and all of our lives. There was no point blogging. I was just regurgitating things since the problems from this team played out in front of use like a broken record. It was just starting to bore the heck out of me.


My Expectations
So the team is out as I suspected they would be and as they deserve to be. If they had made the playoffs I worry that some people would become mislead to thinking that this is a good team. So part of my is glad people didn't get disillusioned about the quality. Part of me is glad that change is coming but I am definitely disappointed. From the beginning of the season after Bryan added Jack, Derozan, Wright, Amir, and Reggie I was optimistic. I knew it was an improvement from last season or at least the team was being pointed in the right direction so yes, I am disappointed. Then again when you look at the rest of the Eastern Conference and see what they have done as well, it should have come as no surprise and so I wasn't surprised but I guess you could say that I was hopeful about this team.

End of year awards: THE FIRST ANNUAL SQUANCHY AWARDS
Lets have a bit of fun and give out some Raptors awards. I know it is cliche and lame but what the heck let's go ahead and do it anyways.


Best Receding Hairline:
Rasho. Special mention to Jose

Best Dressed inactive player award:
Chris Bosh hands down

Worst Dressed inactive player award:
Reggie Evans for looking like a monster out of a sesame street sketch or a muppets party. Special mention to Andrea for his purple maitre d' costume. Umm garcon, hold the Parmesan on the Penne.

Best "Shoelacer":
Jarrett Jack for being a showstopper and providing one of the positive moments in this season.

Worst Interviewer:
Andrea Bargnani for not answering questions asked to him and instead going off on some preconceived rants and looking as comfortable as a kid who just wet his pants. 

Best interview:
"Ball"


Best Dancer:
Sonny "Money" Weems. Probably has a career in teenage rhythm dancing if his NBA career falls through.



Most improved player: 
Sonny "Money" Weems for being better than he was last year. Not really fair since he didn't really do anything last year. So I will have to reluctantly tie him with Andrea Bargnani since he increase his scoring by a few points and grabbed a few more boards and swatted away a few more shots. Andrea's defense sucked but it sucked more last year trust me.


Team MVP:
Chris Bosh obviously with special mention to Jarrett Jack

Team LVP:
Hidyet Turkoglu

Defensive Player of the year: 
No Recipient. If i had to give it to someone I would give it to Antoine but I don't have to do anything I don't want to.


REPORT CARDS:


Marcus Banks: Going from a turd left on our bench by Miami to a fathomable backup point guard is not bad. He certainly didn't disappoint when he was called upon. His price tag still makes me cringe but when you got another guy on the team that is the nuclear equivalent, Marcus Banks looks like a friggin pope. B-

Andrea Bargnani:Needs to work on everything else he was working on but more this summer and like Jay Triano says, he needs to learn the meaning of team defense. Not that stupid shit he does where he reacts to everything like a 2 year old on too much sugar. Maybe we can somehow tether him to his man. It's like this, if he were told just to stick on his own man like glue he would still be better off even if the other team gets a few buckets as a result of it. Better then the crap he's shown us where he completely loses his man somehow. Still scored 17ppg on a team where the next best scorers are closer to 10ppg. It's nothing to sneeze at. The name of the game is still scoring. His rebounding sucks but he improved it. This summer he needs to hit the weights and maybe spend a few weekends with Reggie in a mosh pit to train his mind to take contact more. If I were Bryan Colangelo I would force him to do a boot camp or force him to train with an MMA trainer. B

Marco Bellineli:I dunno what this man needs. I guess he just needs confidence. He shows he has the skills but seems so scatter brained about things that he should be in some kind of athletic remedial class for stupid animals. It boggles my mind too cause he plays so well for Italy internationally but he's just lost in translation here. D

Chris Bosh: What can you say about this guy. He bulked up and gave us all he had. Top 10 in PPG, top 10 in RPG. What else can you ask out of your franchise player? Some say he wasn't a good enough leader. I say that's bullshit. He's a better leader than most captains I've seen in Toronto pro sports. The guy was an absolute animal at some times during this season. It's too bad he was hampered by a few nagging injuries and that his team couldn't hold down the fort without him. It'll be a sad day to see him go. A+

Jose Calderon: I don't know whats wrong with this guy. He's not the Jose I knew 3 seasons ago. He's a human turnstile on defense and he's definitely lost a few steps on offense as well. I didn't foresee him aging this quickly right before my eyes. I am sure some team out there is willing to part ways with something for him. For now though, if he were to stay he would make a good serviceable backup point guard. C+

Amir Johnson: This is exactly the type of hustle guy we needed on this team but he needs to get more consistent and develop his go-to moves in the post. He also needs to learn how to shoot a jumper. That being said, I wouldn't say he had a disappointing year by any stretch but being the first big off the bench he should have given us a lot more. Let's hope the last 2 games of the season is a positive indication of the future and not just a few drops of water in a bucket of crap. B-

Demar Derozan: Give this guy a break. He's a rookie playing for a coach that guaranteed to sit his ass down in the fourth quarter regardless of how good or how bad he was playing. I think he did alright in his first year. Sonny's will and determination will rub off on him and he certainly has the work ethic *cough Bargnani cough*. I only see upside when I look at this kid. He needs to learn how to go after people on the defensive end like a doberman on a pork chop. Offensively he needs to work on the jumper a bit more. Considering it was his biggest weakness in pre draft reports, he has definitely improved but obviously he needs more. C+

Sonny Weems: Like i have been saying all season, everyone keeps sleeping on this kid's jumper. I think next year teams will think twice before daring him to take a shot. He's got quicks, lateral movement, good instincts on offense and defense and a good attitude. He just needs more. He needs to push himself to the next level. Spend the summer playing pickup games with better players. He's got a good jumper so he's got half of it figured out already. Imagine where this team would be if he would have started all season. B-

Antoine Wright: Our defensive stopper. Had a bad start to the season with an injury that really seemed to screw him over. Once he finally righted the ship he has been good for us. He also needs to be more consistent. Go down to the courts with Sonny and Demar and play summer ball with the hardcore guys down there. Work on every aspect of your game and I hope the Raptors welcome you back cause god knows this team needs any speck of defense it can get its dainty little Raptor claws on.

Hedo Turkoglu: You know how I feel about him. I know how you feel about him. He's a walking, talking, smirking, $55million dollar mistake. He's a black hole on both ends of the floor. That game he had where he got 19 rebs was a slap in the face of every Raptor fan out there. Here's what I can do when I try, the rest of the time, I frig off! What's his problem? Attitude, effort, focus, should I keep going? He's proven to have the skills but he doesn't have the will. I'll trade him for a sack of shit. How to improve? Do something Hedo, do anything. It'll all help more then whatever it is you're doing now. F-

My wishlist: If Bosh has to go, trade him to NY for either David Lee or Galinari. You know we won't get much in return since it's a sign and trade but either of those 2 pieces are good and I bet NY would be willing to part with just about anyone to get their hands on one of the top prizes this summer. I say we should blackmail them into taking Hedo and Jose as a part of the deal. I doubt even they are that stupid. Then again they did get Marbury, Steve Francis, Eddy Curry, Johnathan Bender, Larry Hughes... should I keep going?


Fire the coach? Sure, he hasn't proven he should stay. Why waste time on a guy like him when there are proven coaches out there with NBA experience? Why indeed. Do we keep him cause he's Canadian? Sure that's cool and all but as long as he's a winner. Which he is most certainly not.

Positive Note: We get some sort of mid first round draft pick this year. Which is better than nothing.

See you next season I guess. In the meantime I might blog about trades, the draft and the NHL playoffs. I hope you enjoyed this blog.

Raps make it a streak and build momentum

The Toronto Raptors won an early Saturday game today against the Sixers in extra time despite blowing a 17 point lead. A win is a win and in my opinion this was still a good win and a character win as they still stuck in there in OT and didn't fold like they usually do. First team to play defense wins, or maybe this game was more like, last team not to play defense wins cause this game was like a scoring clinic. Everyone was hoisting 3 pointers and long shots and everything went in. The Sixers and Raptors shot 55% and 56% respectively as indication of that.


The work of CB4 and AB7
The Killer Bees were at it again and the important thing was that they both mostly shot good percentages from the floor and quite well from the line too. This wouldn't be my blog though if I didn't have anything to nit pick at. Bosh had a very very solid game and both he and AB7 seem to be catching a second wind in the season even though it's late in the season. What I have to complain about is really the same thing I and many other Raps fans have mention many times over this season and nothing has really improved. It's the ball possession and handling by Chris Bosh. He can't seem to pass out of the post very well. I just realized the reason for that recently and it's because he fails to recognize the double team or he realizes but only when it's way too late and he ends up coughing it up or passing it to a player with the wrong jersey on. This as a result will negatively effect your three point shooting as you can't create enough open looks for your teammates when a double team occurs. Hence the Bosh Butterfingers. Turk seems to have this problem too but it usually happens to Turk closer to the arc.

Sonny could be the best accidental positive in Raptor history
In the last two games, Weems has only missed two field goals. Compare that with Turk's shooting. Now tell me who was this year's big free agent acquisition. Sonny finished this game with an impressive 18 points which is a very nice supplement to the starting squad as early in the season, the starting squad seems way too stagnant to start games. Sonny seems to have all the tools that a player in his position needs to develop into a solid slashing sharpshooting wing. Only things he needs to work on is his free throw shooting and his three pointers. He defends well, has a great mid range jumper which he hits off screens very well, he rebounds, runs the floor and isn't afraid of driving to the hoop. All this at under $800K which makes Bryan look a bit less stupid after picking up Turk. I've been calling to have him replace Turk in the starting line up for months. So far I'm feeling pretty good about that but it's not like it took any sort of genius to figure it out. Just not a Triano. Sonny Weems is a diamond in the rough and the Raptors accidentally buffed it just a bit.


More Ab7... more damn you!!
The Big Italian Cool showed more evidence that he's nobody's robot by noticeably smiling on several occasion during this game. And he had reason to smile as he hit a very impressive and unexpected 3/4 court heave to end a quarter. Either he's playing well or he's discovered the secrets of the spending quality time with the opposite sex. His 3 pointer was a bit more "on" than it has been in this later part of the season and he seemed very focused and alert. He wasn't lock down on D but he was still effective for the most part. Coulda used a few more boards from him but I guess the ends justify the means so they say. What I really really wanna see from this guy is a two handed dunk where he hangs on the rim a little bit. Only time i can remember him do that was in his first or second season when he did it against the Clippers over top of 2 bigs including Kaman. I believe it's on Youtube.

Jose was very effective on the offensive end.
You certainly notice deficiencies a lot less when the offense is rolling and Jose's play was good especially against. This is important as the Sixers are a team whose point guards have historically torched him.
Line: 16pts 10assts 1to. Can't really argue about that. This is the least I have complained about this guy since January.

Just like the Jenifer Aniston's boss said in Office Space
You call that flare? There's people who do the bare minimal and don't put on enough flare. Then there's people who go above and beyond. Unfortunately for us, Turk is the Jenifer Aniston in this situation. He just does the bare minimal game in and game out. Sometimes he does less than that but this game was a good example of doing the bare minimal. I think 11 must be his favourite number cause he seems to hit that on the offensive end quite often. He wasn't noticeably bad in this game, he just wasn't noticeably good either.

So yeah it's three in a row late in the season and I know all of you wished they could have regain their composure a lot quicker after the post All star game slide but at least they have proven they have a heart beat lately and hope that they can bring this on in the post season. What's troubling me is that you know and I know that the playoffs require a 6th gear that a team needs to kick into and this does not exist for the Raptors. Unless they show me something I have never ever seen before or could never expect. Like Bargnani all of a sudden averaging 30 and 10 outta nowhere. Which would never ever happen. I have a feeling the Raps are in for a rude awakening.

So the Raptors get a win tonight against one of the world's worst franchises. This may be so, but the Clippers are in my opinion still a semi decent team hurt by injuries. It was a very good effort overall by the Raptors as many Raptors chipped in well in one way or another. We also finally see that spark back in Bosh's game that seems to have been vacant since he sank 2 free throws to help win it for the East All Stars. They didn't fold and pack it in at the fourth quarter. They remembered that the game is 48 minutes and played through the entire game without too much of a lull.

Why they won
The main reasons for this win were 2 fold in my opinion. First and most importantly is that the Clippers are despite several good players were not good tonight, not by a long shot. It was like role reversal for the Rap's opponent as they folded in the fourth quarter and kind of packed it in the same way the Raps usually do. Even Bosh said that part of the reason for the win was that the opponents were not quite that good when Jack Armstrong asked him about it.

The other reason they won was that their 2 main scorers actually scored. When's the last time both players played well offensively? Must've been a while cause I can't recall. Bargnani had a good game offensive and was decent on defense. His FG% wasn't that good but he still made an impact. Oh, and he grabbed a good number or boards, most of which were right to him but some of which he did go and get. He tallied 21 8 rebs 3 blks and only 1 turnover. Stunning. And Bosh added in 34 and 11 rebs!!! Haven't seen production like that out of him for far too long.


The Supporting Cast
Turkoglu played his least embarrassing game for this team in a long time. He hasn't bitched of moaned about his benching too much. Not publicly anyways. He ran the floor well and facilitated the offense pretty well. I even spotted him playing good defense on one instance.

The real x-factor hero of the night is Sonny Weems with no doubt. His jumper was pinpoint accurate tonight and teams continue to underestimate him. He was a perfect 8/8 if i remember correctly. He even hit a late 3 just for fun. He works on defense and is an obvious choice to me as a starter.

Double J played well too distributing 10 assists while only turning the ball over once. He made very good passes to Sonny in a key stretch in the game that blew the game wide open. Him and Turk were noticeably good distributing the ball. Demar chipped in quite well too off the bench. He seems to be comfortable coming off the bench and he adds a nice little kick off the bench. Antoine was decent too continuing his strong play of late.

Where on earth was Amir? Barely noticed his skinny ass on in the game at all. We didn't need him tonight though. Our two bigs woke up tonight and realized that they were once the productive useful duo known as the Killer B's.