The Nightmare is over

First I want to start by praising BC for ridding us of the nightmare known as Turkey Poo. True he brought it on himself but he had the team's best intentions in mind even though i didn't agree with it from the outset. He also got rid of Jose who I will miss but his lack of defense was too big of a hole to continue to suffer through. I haven't blogged in a while so I will touch upon some of our acquisitions. If BC can just get a free agent signing correct he might be alright. I don't understand all this hate for him. He's trying his ass off and not screwing up Babcock-style so I don't get all the hate.

Ed"209"Davis (Trademark Pending): First impression I had from him is that he didn't seem happy coming to Toronto. Not one bit. But lets hope he settles in. How many Raps fans felt like punching that reporter that kept asking him about Canadian taxes? I felt like super-kicking him. But alas, I didn't really know too much about his game as I hadn't seen it for myself but from what I heard he can rebound and block shots. I heard from some people that he couldn't score, and from other people that he had a strong low post arsenal. I was more excited about Soloman on draft night then I was Ed. However this all changed after watching them play during the first summer league game. Ya ya it's just one game but you could tell a lot about them just from the way the carry themselves on the court. Ed was quite impressive. Seems very comfortable in the post, has some good back-to-the-basket moves and some nice hooks and footwork. Needs to add muscle... ya ya ya... they say that about every bigman not named Shaq or Dwight. Also needs work on his mid range jumper. Bet a lot of fans wished he took #33 so they can recycle their Antonio Davis jerseys. I dunno what do you think? Ed 209, or Little Baby Davis?


Soloman Alabi: Some of the words used to describe him was that he was mechanical and robotic. This does seem to be the case after watching him. Looks like he needs to stick to what he's good at which is swatting shots and rebounding. Offense can come into play slowly as he adjusts and learns. Needs to smooth out that hook shot and shoot the mid range shot more cause I know he can hit it. Well spoken guy and seems pleasant enough. He'll be a good backup center or pf and an upgrade over POB during garbage time. During draft night I had hoped the Raps traded for Lani Gawal instead. Looks like he's turning into a super stud in the summer league. I hate when I'm right.


Leandro Barbosa: I don't know much about him having only watched him play a few times but what I don't understand is why people are saying he'll be the starting PG. He's not a playmaker from what I can tell so I don't understand the logic. He's super fast so obviously you want him on the wings. I like this pickup cause he can score but I worry that his arrival will hinder the development of Sonny and DD.  Nonetheless, a solid pickup which upgrades our team. I like Cpt. Barbosa off the bench as a spark plug allowing Weems to start and develop.

Boris Diaw: The man is a rock. A skilled one at that but he needs to get away from my favourite spot which is the buffet line and spend more time on the treadmill. Hopefully this comes to fruition. Plays just about any spot on the floor except the 2. Defends well which goes without saying is an overwhelming need. I like Boris coming off the bench as well or used as a defensive stopper. Too much of a log jam at the 5 and the 4 positions to justify starting him.


Tyson Chandler: Ah, my favourite pickup of the trades. What's weird is that I traded for him in my game on NBA 2k10 like a week ago. Then again I also traded for Turkoglu a few years ago and promptly realized he was a dickwad and traded him away for something good. But whatever, TC is a solid legit center. He brings intensity and is one of the quicker centers in the league. This is a definite upgrade for us on the defensive end. Let's hope he's healthy but I like this pickup more than I liked the Jermaine O'neal one back then since I always thought Jermaine was so fragile that he was one bad bump away from serious time off.... which he was. Chandler is younger and his issues seem a lot less serious. I'll take a bad toe over 2 bummed knees any day. His defense should cover up the some of the defensive inefficiencies produced by my favourite Italian bigman.

So the Raptors make some good trades today and I just like playing around with line ups cause it's fun. 

Depth Chart:
C: Chandler, Amir, Alabi

PF: Bargs, Davis

SF: Diaw, Weems

SG: Derozan, Barbosa, Belli

PG: Jack, Banks

Possible Starting Line up:
1:
C: Chandler
PF: Bargnani
SF: Weems
SG: Derozan
PG: Jack

2:
Chandler
Bargnani
Diaw
Derozan
Barbosa

3:
Bargnani
Amir
Weems
Barbosa
Jack

Bench:
Amir
Davis
Bellineli
Alabi

Starting line up 1 is my favourite as it has the two towers up top and the young guns being allowed to develop with more minutes. Jack is our only real legit PG so he's going there unless there's another major trade. Another big issue is how they're going to find minutes for Amir Johnson the $34M man and their prized rookie Ed "209" Davis

Looks like it opens up some spots to sign guys like Mike Roll, Bobby Brown, Joey Dorsey or some other legit free agents that are still available. Doug Smith said the Raps are done dealing but I am not sure about that. Can a guy like Colangelo really keep the gun holstered? Also, like I said it doesn't rule out signings since we still have that $15M trade exception. Cha-ching! We also need a backup PG cause I really don't see Captain Barbosa as a legit PG.

A great day in Raptorland. I can finally stop complaining about the Turkish Shit factory. No disrespect at all intended to other Turkish people who I know are outstanding citizens. This is the biggest thing to happen to Toronto Sports in a long time. Maybe we should actually have a parade down Yonge St.

Raptors Thoughts

First I just wanna say that I love Victoria day and this weekend was totally awesome. Nothing beats bbq'n with family.

Hopefully these things happen for the Raptors. And again this is speaking from the viewpoint that Bosh is gone baby gone.

The Raptors either move up in the draft or still end up with a decent player at the 13th spot. This time of year is exciting because eventhough our team blows, this time of year provides us hope to look towards the future and getting lucky in the draft like PHX did when they picked 9th a few faithful years ago.

There's been a lot of lamenting going on down south in regards to Hedo.... TRUST ME... if you guys want him back in Orlando you can have him!!! FOR FREE~!~!~! Fuck, I bet we can even get Bryan to throw in a play or two for free just to unload him. Shit, I bet we can even get the GM of Orlando a new car or something.

Please please trade away Jose. I know he's been good in the past but the guy is a stiff on D and I am sick of watching guys break down the defense at Jose's expense. He might have an amazing ASST/TO ratio but if you count how many times he lets his man go around him... well you don't let a man go around you in any situation but if you count those times.... he's not looking like too good of a player.


Bosh mentioned his top 4... let me get that right for all you people. It's 4 teams. There's only one good option here for the Raptors. Let's get that straight. There's only one good feasible option and that his to take David Lee and/or Galinari in exchange for Bosh's rights in a sign and trade. There is not option in Chicago. If we do business with them we won't get back Noah. Not with his stock so high. And in turn we would get back garbage. People complain that Lee can't defend. But regardless... the Raps are in trouble and his scoring and rebounding would help. It might not be Bosh Caliber but it still helps. Galinari would just be icing but he's a very skilled player with heart and amazing up-side. Los Angeles? Bynum is a human ACL issue. I don't want damaged goods. He would only be acceptable as a consolation prize. It's like when we got Jermaine. He's good... if he can stay healthy. Which we all know he can't. Bynum is like Hakeem. He's good but he was one injury away from retirement. 

No matter what happens. I trust Bryan. All of you complain about Bryan but  he does something that I love. He actually makes trades and turns every stone for a possible move. He's not a chicken. Some of the things he's done might not have worked out (ie Hedo). But at least the bastard tries his butt off to make the team better. For that... I would follow him to hell and back I would.

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.

GUTLESS!!!

Starting on the lighter side:
Did anyone notice how much Leo was tootin Tyreke Evans' horn? I was tellin him to shut his pie hole the entire game. Well actually, I was telling my TV. I do that a lot, yell things at the screen. But Leo, if you love him so much why don't you quit your job with the Raptors and go move in with him? I think he's got a man-crush on him and is going to buy him candy and flowers.


The Game:
A gutless performance in the second half.  The Raptors mailed it in during halftime, put on their night caps and went to sleep. Their offense consisted of a lot of standing around and shooting an ill-advised jumper first thing down the court. Bosh was off big time and he kept forcing up that jumper that just wasn't working. He needed to post up every single time but he didn't. They needed to get the ball to him in the post, or post up Bargnani or run high ISO for him... they didn't. They needed to get Jose the heck off the court and out of the arena. They lost to an obviously inferior team and might as well pack it in this season. This ship seems to be sinking faster than Reggie Evans in a above ground pool.

The Complaints:
Jose was awful, just frickin awful. He should NOT have been left on the floor but yet after missing shots, turning the ball over and getting a flagrant foul, Jay was adamant about leaving him in the game cause things were going so well. With Jack our offense had a flow, but he remained on the pine again way too long. Jack at least can pass as an NBA pointguard even when he's having a bad game. Jose lately, seems like some dude they picked up out of the crowd. It pains me to say it since he used to be such a good player but he's just been a shadow of his former self. As his hair has gone, so has his game.

Again, Andrea does well in the first half and they don't go to him in the third till the end of the quarter when they've realized they've just been jacking up errant jump shots.  By that time he's worn out and ready to come out for a breather. To say that the Raptors have been stoopid is an understatement. Even Devlin and Rautins noted it. I get tired of saying, you must be tired of hearing it. I just put both my hands up in frustration, that's what I'll do from now on.

For the first time ever, I've felt that Jay Triano is not fit as headcoach. I've always been a supporter but now I see the idiocy of his ways. Bad substitution management, bad play calling, bad time-out timing and management. Ask yourselves this question Raptor fans, do you think any team would hire him if he got let go tomorrow? Uh-No.

The usual Turkoglu plea:
Dear Jay Triano and/or Bryan Colangelo. You made a mistake with regards to acquiring Hidayet "The Turnover" Turkoglu. Please remove him from the team. At least remove him from the starting line up. He is the newest version of Stephon Marbury. Last version was Tracy McGrady but he's playing again now. Hedo needs to leave the team, go home and keep from hurting his own team during games. He is the worst free agent acquisition in sports history, no wait hat was Hakeem. He is the second worst acquisition in sports history. If Jason Blake can be removed from the Leafs, the Raps have some sort of chance of getting rid of him this off season. I bet the Blazers are laughing their asses off at us.

To Live and Die in LA... in 1.9 secs

Ok off topic first...
Forest:
I GOTTA FIND BUBBA!! 
Bubba:
Forest, why did this happen?
Forest:
You got shot...






YOU GOTTA QUADRUPLE TEAM KOBE!!
Bynum:
Bosh, why did this happen?
Bosh: Kobe's got a fade away jump shot...
Bargnani:
Say... me fell like me want some shrimp on me penne



It was a good effort by most of the Toronto Raptors against one of the top teams in the world but in the end, the desired outcome slipped by the wayside by a silky smooth fadeaway jumper by Kobe. I didn't get a lot of time to write this one as it was a late game and I hit the sack as soon as it was over and I had work the next day so here I am writing this with a few hours till tipoff in Sackless-town.

Basically we lost this game due to a variety of reason which have been touched on by most people online and most people with eyes. These reasons are very obvious to everyone but like so many things in sports, seems to be invisible to the team's and the other people involved in the game.

The Refs should be SHOT or HUNG or STABBED but they should not be let go without consequence.
Now before you go and call me a psycho I don't mean that literally of course but these refs lastnight were a good example of a major issue in this game. That being, giving the superstars preferential treatment. Kobe was given every chance to get to the line on a variety of phantom calls where he would fall on his own ass and not be in the vicinity of a Raptor but yet the Refs who must've had something of LA's in their pants would call everything against the Raps and basically changed the outcome. This is not acceptable. This is not what fair play is about. This is disgusting.

What's also disgusting is the pig of a player we have on the Raps. The oinker in question of course is Hedo "The Turnover" Turkoglu who was without a doubt a detriment to this basketball team. Not only is he not living up to his guaranteed contract. A contract that spits in the face of every hardworking, blue collared... or white collared for that matter, citizen of the world. But he is costing us games with his sloppy play. He's slow, sloppy, careless, lazy and now you can add sorry to that list. This pig is gobbling up money, taking away playing time from players who could contribute and all the while, he's laughing and smirking on the court and on the bench. A horrible attitude, coupled with a horrible season is a good formula for failure.

Triano... I hope this is a situation where you learn from your mistakes, but since you've made these mistakes countless times I am guessing you are blind. Why on earth would you take Jack out at the end of the 3rd, and hold him out of the game till about the 8 min mark of the 4th when your team has given up the lead or is on a serious cold streak? Jack was on a rampage lastnight and the idiot coaching staff decides to rest him way too long. This is the NBA, it's the 4th quarter against a top team you are within reach of beating. I am sure Jarrett can spare some tiredness to push towards a win. Compounded with leaving Bosh and Bargs on the bench way too long as well, this was another formula for failure and Jay Triano is every bit as culpable as anyone. Jay has a bad habit of taking hot players out of the game. And by this I mean players who are on a scoring streak or are effective at a certain moment in a game. Then he totally ignores the person the rest of the game. Key examples are where Bargs gets hot. Suddenly Bargs couldn't touch the ball other than to swing it to the other side of the court on top of the key. Jack is another example of course, as is Demar. When Demar gets hot in the first half, it doesn't matter. He's coming out of the game in the 4th or even as soon as the 3rd. Demar had a very good first quarter but was completely forgotten about after. I'd still rather have him on the court playing defense than Turk who would more likely tear a groin than play good man to man defense. It's like asking a giraffe to run down a gazelle.

In this end, a double teamed Kobe hit his trademark game winner. He's what a real game winner is. Turk is a joke, he's not a 4th quarter player, he's not a 1st, 2nd or 3rd one for that matter and I wish I could say otherwise. I am a Raptor fan. He is a Raptor... i don't want to see him fail but that's all he seems to be able to do. Wait, the only other thing he is capable of doing is inducing Raptor fans to slap themselves in the forehead with the palms of their hands after watching him play. Vomit, wipe, repeat.

Boshless in New Jersey... Rash Nest of fury

So the Raptors roll into the big swamp without the services of their ace, Christopher "the Animal" Bosh. So someone needed to step up on both ends of the court. It's like a car missing it's steering wheel, or missing 2 pistons in the engine. Luckily they had an ace up their sleeve in Rashman and the whole team turned it up a notch to compensate. Especially considering that they were facing former Raptor, The Humpty Hump. Nah, I am just kidding but in all seriousness I miss having the services of Kris Humphries. I always thought he could have provided a lot more if given more steady minutes. He has a good jumper, decent footwork, and hustles more than most Raps did last season. The only knock on him was he took a few jumpers you wouldn't want to see but how do you expect a young player to develop his game without taking some shots. I wouldn't be opposed to the Raptors re-acquiring him.

Hedo Turkoglu bounced back well and it really was a good opportunity for him as he would be getting more shots with Chris out of the lineup. After his horrible 1 pt performace, Hedo came back with 14 pts, 6 boards and 6 assists. It's the type of performance that you want from him on a more consistent basis and here's hoping he strings together a few more games like this so he can get back into the flow. One thing I did notice tonight is that he had a more serious demeanor out on the floor, not smiling at everything and he seemed more focused on the court than I have seen. Even more so than that season best performance he had against the Knicks. It was against the Nets but it's a good building block for him.

• Rasho showed what he's made out of. He's a classic styled centre that you don't see much anymore. He relies on his clean, smooth jumper and has a variety of moves in the post. He possesses a good hook, and good instincts which I suspect comes from his years of veteran experience. As bad as he's looked sometimes this season, he's shown us what he can provide given solid minutes. He's making Colangelo look like a genius. Or... more of a genius than he already did.

• Bargs only had 13 points. I expected a lot more points out of this guy tonight but Bargnani played within the confines of the team's gameplan and the flow of the game. The rest of the team was scoring and didn't need him to score 20 in order to win. He had a good shooting percentage and played well on the defensive end. That being said, he seems to have cooled off and needs to step it up. There's something missing in his game. Perhaps it's aggressiveness, more likely assertiveness. He needs to impose his will on the offensive end like we've become used to seeing. It's almost like he's mentally tired.  He needs to pick up his britches and find some way to spark his game. Another factor that I might not be considering... at least for this game, is the dynamic that he and Bosh have together when they're both on the floor. The operating space that they create for each other was obviously not there.

• Turkoglu, like I said looked really focused. He didn't toss up too many ill-advised shots, ran off screens well, tried his post up game and took what the game gave him. People may say I have been too harsh on him and too harsh last game since he had some family issues. I did not know about his issues till after I blogged but I still think it was fair since he has been off his game the entire season. He needs to concentrate on himself, instead of pouting about him not getting "Ball". This game was a good example of what he can do. Let's see some more of this and hope it's not another case of a blind squirrel finding his acorn. He is a highly skilled forward but in my opinion he hasn't shown the mental toughness or the assertiveness he's capable of. I for one pray he brings it together down the stretch of this season. Will he be Dr. Turko, or Mr. Hide?

• Double J and Mr. Jose. Jarrett more than made up for his off game against the Griz. He ran the offense well and didn't embarrass himself at all. He pushed the ball well and found his teammates. On the defensive end he looked like he was more awake than previous.  Jose came off the bench and sparked a 7-0 run. He really is the sparkplug off the bench and is exactly what we need from a 6th man. His shot was on which is very good to see for Raptors fans cause we know the type of damage he can do when he's nailing those shots off screen and rolls and off curls.

• Demar stepped it up a bit and played the type of aggressive game that he needs to play. He attacked the basket and got a good variety of dunks and more importantly, put-backs. He seems to have the skills and just needs to develop naturally as wings of his types do. Hopefully he develops into a top tier player. He seems to be getting more comfortable as the season goes along and that can only mean good things for this up and coming team.

• Swamp monsters. To be fair to the Nets, this team was as much won by the Raptors as it was lost by them as they were playing their usual NJ Nets style basketball. They don't have the talent to compete but at the same time, also don't have the confidence and all the other little things that make a good cohesive unit. They've lost too many games and even if they did have the talent, they certainly don't have the will anymore. The cupboards aren't totally bare in NJ though as they have some quality players. Obviously Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, and Yi Lian Jian are the bright pieces they have but Yi hasn't played to his ability and to his potential. 

• If the last Raptor loss could be blamed on the absence of Turk's game, then this NJ loss can be at least partially blamed on Yi's brick show. In fairness to him he still played well defensively at least from a numbers standpoint. Perhaps he needs a change of scenario much like most of these Nets. I suggest he enlists to services of a good big-man coach much like the way Patrick Ewing is for Dwight Howard. In fact, I would suggest that for Bargnani too. So far he's been an embarrassment to his Chinese people but he's got the tools to turn it around and I hoping to see more from this guy.

I just got HDTV thanks to my cousin Julie and I absolutely love watching the Raptors on HD. It makes a world of a difference. Of course when my favourite team wins, it certainly doesn't hurt. Tonight, they face a Wizards team that I don't know. I don't even know who they have on the team anymore, seriously. I am going to have to look up their roster cause they have pillaged this team worse than the Nets did. No Jamison, no Butler, and thanks to his gunshow, no Agent Zero... now just Plain Zero, (thank you Arnie!). What I worry about is that it is a second end of a ROAD back-to-back. This is a game Andrea should be able to dominate but we shall see.

Raptors This and That

With the trade deadline rolling around there has been a lot of rumours and guessing going on from fans online and I didn't want to add fuel to the fire but since there is this lull between games I thought I'd put my two cents in so to speak. 

Bryan Colangelo is a very smart man and clever dealmaker as we all know. He's also demonstrated the patience of a 5 year old kid that's just eaten a pack of skittles. He makes trades a lot and is definitely not shy about pulling the trigger. He makes a move any chance he gets so I am almost certain he's gonna make a move. He even confirmed it by telling the Fan 590 that he's gonna be a buyer. So we're all in agreement that something will happen and we also all know it won't involve CB4. Another factor in this is that the Raptors don't have a pick in the next draft so any move he makes might include a pick. He's too much of a gunslinger to let himself sit idle. Also, there's been a lot of talk about how he hasn't done a good job with the acquisitions he's made but would you rather have Rob Babcock back? At least the man makes an effort to improve the team every chance he gets which is all I can ask for as a fan. His contract as Gm is coming up and personally I am worried. I shouldn't be because I think he's going to stay but I wouldn't like to see this team without him. Without him I suspect we'd still be the basement dwelling garbage pile that we were before he came in.

What we also know is that this team is very crowded at the 2 spot and weak at the 2 and 3. As good as Demar and Sonny are they are still relatively inexperienced and in terms of playoffs, probably not the strongest options seeing as how they'll have to contend with the likes of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Lebron James, etc. In saying so, I don't think you move either of them if you can help it. They are the team's future and you just don't mess with that.

Options to trade:

Jose Calderon:

• For: Jack is doing very well and eventhough he isn't causing a stink, you can sense Jose would prefer to be starting. He's a strong player at PG and would still get some interest from teams. The Raptors are weak at the 2 and 3 spots so creating a more balanced attack would be a positive. Making a deal where you trade Jose for a solid swingman would be the goal. It is also necessary since Turk reeks and isn't nearly what we envisioned him to be. So unless Turk becomes that 18 ppg scorer he was in the playoffs, this might be necessary.

• Against: Like I said he's a strong player and benefits the team while he is on the floor. When Jack comes out of the game there is no dip in skill at the PG position which is critical. It creates production from our second unit as Jose has a tendency of making plays for the likes of Weems, Amir, and Belli. The second unit would take a dip in production if he leaves which can't be underestimated as this is a strong point for this team at the moment.

Turkoglu:

• For: Assuming any team would want him with the way he's played and acted this season and with the amount of money he gets, getting rid of him would be a positive for this team. He has been playing a bit better lately so the team has to be convinced that he's not going to improve the rest of the season. More than half the season is over and he's scored 20 pts or more in just a handful of games. He certainly isn't having a big positive impact for this team and bringing in a more traditional slashing player at the 3 spot would be beneficial. He's also acted like a child. Complaining about not getting the ball enough and voicing it with his stupid "ball" interview. And refused to wear a mask to protect a broken bone. These sound like the actions of a child to me and can't possibly be good for the locker room.

• Against: He could possibly get better. He dropped a bunch of points on the lowly Knicks and played decent enough against the Kings in the last outing. If he can find a way to blend his tools in with the rest of his teammates the way he was supposed to when he was brought in, he could make the difference. I don't see this happening but maybe I am just a pessimist. Problem is, his defense is suspect at best and he usually just ends up waving at defenders as they go by, or even worse fouling them with a cheap unnecessary foul which ends up costing the Raps. His lateral movement is obviously weak. I mean if it's obvious to any casual observer than it's obvious to his on-court enemies. 

Amir, Antoine, Belinelli:

• For: If you can get something significantly better from a desperate team then by all means go for it but It's gotta have to be something damn good. Memphis gave Pau Gasol away for practically nothing so there are teams out there stupid enough to do it. Not to mention NJ... they're real dumb and there's that idiot out there named Babcock. He's not a GM but I hope he can influence his GM to make a stupid move.

• Against: The second unit is playing well, all three of these players have played well at some point through the last few games. There is chemistry there that you don't want to mess with. Amir has been a catalyst for hustle which this team sorely lacked. Antoine has been defending well and hitting very very high pressure, game changing shots for us. Belinelli has struggled a bit but has played well in stretches and provides bench scoring and slashing that this team also needs. I suspect any trade made wouldn't be anything more than a minor improvement and therefore wouldn't be worth the risk. Personally I am totally against this unless it is completely in our favour which is not impossible but not likely. 

I don't see any other scenarios that could happen. Bryan could shock us all and blow us all out of the water but with the success this team has been having I seriously doubt that. What I would like to see happen and I am sure I am not alone in this thinking is that they get rid of Turk for something good.

People seem to want to get Iggy but I think the price tag for him is going to be quite high. However, given his skill I think it would be worth it. I am not sure what his contract situation is but if he's got two or more years left then I would do the deal in a second.  You have to give up something to get something back as everyone knows and I would be willing to depart with practically anyone for Iggy. Demar, Sonny if need be but preferably Turk, Jose or both. I haven't done any ESPN trade machine tinkering but I am sure some garbage parts and picks could be used as mortar for it.  

Iggy would fit in very well and doesn't need to handle the ball the way Turk does to be successful. He is a much better defender, younger, and rebounds the ball better as well. He is the type of player that can flat out score and would give us the scoring we need game in and game out that we need. It would be a winning situation with no doubt. The problem would be convincing the 76er's to part with him. Seeing as the Sixers suck and are probably in favour of a reboot, maybe it wouldn't be so difficult.

I guess I am stating the obvious with this post cause everyone knows something is going to happen. Still, it's fun to try to guess what's going to happen. So sit back, put your feet up and enjoy. Not every city has such good GM's in it that have the guts to pull off the big trades to improve their teams. 

Sweet Revenge

So the Raptors finally beat the Mavs and I don't just mean the first half of the game and then blow a huge lead and eventually lose. You see, that's what they did against the mavs twice last season. Earlier this season, they just flat out got their asses kicked. Tonight they did the opposite and beat the Mavs in convincing fashion and satisfied their fan's blood thirst for revenge. Too long have the Mavs embarassed Toronto, too long has Dirk Nowitzki strutted his stuff on the court at the expense of the Raps. Now only if they could do it against the Craptics then the world would be right.

Everyone seemed to play well tonight. Not only from an offense standpoint but on defense as well. Well duh, you can't win without having to play hard defense you must be thinking. But that's the thing that was their Achilles heel all this time and somehow they have suddenly managed to look like they're a good defensive team. They all seem to be playing very hard, getting into opponent's space and forcing them to pass or put up a bad shot. This has been the biggest change lately in their successes. A key part of this is Andrea Bargnani's improved defense. Since he is not leaving his man wide open anymore during switches, hedges and help defense, he's not allowing the opponent the chance to swing the ball around to the open man or just drive right into the lane. This in turn allows the Raptors to not look like total jackasses. But their defense wasn't entirely AB7's fault earlier this season. Every Raptor fan out their knew they had a problem with the other team's guards and wings just blowing by their defender and helping themselves to an endless buffet of jam, slams, layups and whatever they their hearts desired. They seemed to have developed this ingenious trick where they slide over and deny a slashing opponent a clear path. Groundbreaking strategy, I know. Nonetheless, these tweaks to the defense seemed to have stabilized them and allowed them to build confidence which as well all know is super duper important to success.

So to sing the praises of my favourite player even though I like to be fair and point out his shortcomings, Bargnani has been the difference to the team with their recent success. No matter how much defense you play you still have to score to win and the extra points we're getting from our new Madman AB7 is the difference. He's not only scoring, he's doing it efficiently, playing defense, rebounding, and showing some real fire and emotion. This seems to pump up his teammates and becomes contagious. Well to everyone except Hidayet Turkoglu. Yes that's his real name. Hidayet, (Rhymes with idiot) seems to be in a real slump. Bargnani on the other hand is on fire and here's hoping he stays this way and doesn't relapse back into the shadow of the player he's become.

When the Raptors signed him to a 5 year $50million deal I knew it was a great deal even though everyone else cried foul. Even without his recent improvements, at the time Bargnani was still one of the best centers in the league. I mean look at some of the other bums that play center in the NBA that make more money. Samuel Dalembert makes about $12 million a year. He is not half the player Bargnani is. Bargnani may not be as good a defender but Bargnani's ceiling for improvement is unlimited in comparison. Brad Miller is making over $12 million, Andrew Bogut is making 10, Tyson Chandler making about 12, Eric Dampier, 10, and he's making $13 million next season. Now... can you tell me how much you'd pay Bargnani in comparison? Not only that, he's very very happy with the deal telling me he's not a greedy bastard. I mean giving a person $10 million a year to play 82, two and a half hour games, a few practices a week, then get the summer off? Who wouldn't be content? Other NBA players, that's who! Bargnani is a quality player and Colangelo is a friggin genius. Darko is making $7.5 million and he's an absolute useless 7 foot tall pile of garbage. $2.5 million more and it upgrades you to Bargnani? Sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Let's face it, besides a few exceptional players, most centers are just tall guys that wave their arms around. Very few of them can shoot jumpers, even fewer of them can drive the ball, handle the ball, and the ones that can shoot threes? Well you can count them all on one hand. Bargnani, Troy Murphy(might be considered a PF), Brad Miller, Mehmet Ohkur, Rasheed Wallace(also might me considered a PF). Now that Bargnani has added shot blocking and rebound on a more consistent basis we now have one of the premier centers in the game. Dwight Howard might be a zillion times better but the man is naturally a PF and so is the boringest player in the NBA, Tim Duncan.

Now if only they can parlay Turkoglu into a decent wing we'd be a legit contender. No offense to Demar but since he's a rookie and for no other reason, i think we need another wing in order to go deep into the playoffs. Nobody wins a championship without a solid slashing, scoring, wing who possibly could be able to post their opponent up. Who does that sound like? Kobe and Lebron are extreme versions of this but someone a bit less skilled(and cheaper) would do the trick too. Kind of the way Carter used to be before he turned into a giant buffoon. Or at least until we realized he was one.

Trading Calderon was an option too when he was injured, but since he's come back he's played his way back into the lineup, back into respectability and back into my heart. LOL. But in all seriousness he's run the second unit so well and has executed the offense so well that he's untradeable in my books. He's showing that he's back to form. The type of form he had so long ago, most of us forgot how it used to look like. He's driving the ball and using that sweet lay-in. He's making great crisp passes to teammates that put them in good position, he's confusing the opponent's defense with quick swing passes, and he's hitting his shot off screens like he used to instead of clanking them really badly. Making shots instead of missing them? Great insight I know. There's no longer a huge drop off in PG play and offensive direction once the starting PG sits down for a rest. Other teams are finding that their secondary PGs are no match for us. Unlike Slowmo Ukic, who was garbage, human garbage. He's also finding Bargs more. Bargnani doesn't seem to get the ball enough in key moments of the game before. Bargnani would score 12 points in a first quarter, then the team stops giving him the ball. It's happened on many many occasions. Know how people always wonder why he does well in first and third quarters and disappears? Well it's cause he's not getting any passes!!! The only passes he gets is to move the ball in position for a play to feed Bosh or someone else. So when he does get the ball he forces up an ill advised 3 cause it's the only chance he gets to score.

So kudos to Bargnani and Calderon. Boo to Hedont Turkoglu.

Raptors beat the Knickerbockers

Okay so obviously I am please to be wrong about my previous prediction that the Raps would drop this one but they almost did. However, they hung in there and managed to pull off a decent beating on the Pairs of Pants from New York. Many things to take note of from this game where the Raptors played like it was their last game on earth in the first half. Burying everything they got their hands on, running the break very well, attacking the rim methodically and playing defense so tight, the Knicks barely had room to move. Then they played some gutless, uninspired baskeball in the third. Turned the ball over like it was out of fashion, and laid more cinder than a mason. Luckily they got a surprise scoring punch from Jose and Double D.

Bargnani was playing out of his mind. I don't know why but he and Jose both seemed to have their shots locked down and zeroed in. It's like when you go bowling and you hit several strikes in a row. For some reason something just clicks and your shot is on. Bargnani went 5 for 6 from downtown, including some shots that were so far from the 3 line that I thought he was insane when he first let the ball go. But every time it would swish in. His dunk through traffic was one of the most impressive plays of his career. The offensive end was great but his defense... i just can't explain what I saw. It was the best defense I've ever seen him play. It was like some other defensive legend had possessed his body and was playing great positional defense, help defense, getting his hand in everyone's face and grabbing every rebound near him and ripping them down with force. I wonder what kind of pasta he ate. Yes Galinari scored a few more points but the battle of the I-talians goes to AB7, no question. Watching him jump up and down and yelling like he was the top gorilla of the banana pile was kind of cool but also a bit scarey since we never usually see him like this. Hooting and hollar after plays, slapping his teammates and acting like he isn't Frankenstein.

One particular development was AB7 taking the ball in the post several times and either getting a nice hook, a jumper in or kicking it out after drawing a double team. They need to run this play more in the future. It just flat out works and creates space on the floor for an open shot when the defense tries to recover from collapsing on him. It would probably work for CB4 too if he knew how to pass out of the post. It only didn't work once when the refs called him for a travel but I thought Harrington fouled him as he turned baseline. He was running roughshod on them all night and David Lee seemed pissed at times which makes me happy. AB7 gets an A for his performance.

Jose was also playing well. Running circles around their defense and spotted up for a lot of shots which he iced every time. I didn't feel this level of confidence in his shot since two seasons ago when he stole the starting spot from TJ. He also made some nice passes, setting up his teammates with several easy scores. This included that sweet little lob to Double D for that slick looking left handed alley-oop. He drove the ball right into the defense and helped buoy the Raptors' lead in the 3rd and 4th. Jack played well in the first but seemed a bit out of sorts the rest of the game. I think it was mainly due to some of his passes leading to the bricks Hedo put up and leading to Bosh getting shut down in the post several times. Jose is making a case to be the starter but he's going to have to put up a few more stat lines like this to convince the coaching staff. Maybe the trade winds will die down a bit. Jose gets a B and Jack gets a C.

Bosh played well in some stretches and seemed to battle Lee but this was subdued by Lee and some double teams. Bosh's problem is that he is a ball hog. I love the guy but 99% of the time he gets the ball, he keeps it regardless of the situation. This results in one of two things. He either drives it in for a hook, or a nice move under the basket where he scores more often than not, or it results in him turning the ball over. He needs to learn how to kick the ball out to the open player on the perimeter. I am starting to suspect this is part of the reason why Kapono never had much success here since Bosh can't pass out of a double team. It's frustrating to watch him lose the ball off his foot, off his butter fingers or just having it stolen or stripped outright by the help defense. He was subdued by this but on this night it didn't matter much and he knew it. His teammates were bringing home the bacon this time and he didn't need to be the force he usually is. I'd rate his performance a B-. I mean the guy still scored 18 and 9. Can't argue with that.

Hedo is the guy I credit most with the Raptors losing their big lead. He provided nothing early on and threw up brick after brick. Bricking shots in key possessions that fueled the Knicks run. Not to mention his turnovers which weren't too many but seemed to be at the worst times which helped the Knicks build momentum. Particularly his idiotic turnover and clear path foul which nearly made me tear my hair out. He made some key shots down the stretch but it probably only partially made up for the points he gave up on their other end in the third. Jay even bench his ass in favor of Sonny. He has this mentality of shooting weird, out of rhythm shots, that are not in the process and not produced from a set play. The shots that he took that were advised were way off and often clanked off front rim. Then he tried to make fancy passes that result in turnovers. On defense he was like a ghost. He stood there, waved his hand sparingly, and looked like he rarely expended any energy at all trying to distract the opponent. Basically, he just stood there and his presence was only barely known by visual means. Turk gets an D-. Would be an F if he didn't hit a few shots late.

Derozan was the other player that, like Bargnani was possessed by some sort of Basketball demon. He was cutting and slashing his way through the Knicks D. Slithering through and getting fouled or getting a lay-in, dunk, or getting fouled. He did his damage at the free throw line. It's quite obvious to see in the boxscore. He kept the team in the game and had a huge part in this W.

So what do we gather from this game? I mean in order to improve the team. Bosh needs to learn how to kick the ball out, Derozan needs to drive the ball to the basket every chance he gets, and Turkoglu needs to be shipped out of here. I suggest trying to snatch one of the decent players from the Nets, or seeing what the Magic might give you since he had most of his success there and now the Magic look like they wish they had paid him max money instead of letting him go and signing a coked out Vince Carter.

In the end, this was an excellent game to watch as a Raptors fan. Especially the first half. It's always satisfying to see one of my teams beat a New York team. It really makes me happy to see the Knicks on a losing end of a Raptors beat down. Now on to Dallas where I hope they don't get squashed and can carry some of the momentum over. Here's hoping they don't melt down again in the third.

Inaugural Spat

So this is the initial entry in my blog where I am gonna blab about crap that nobody cares about. Well mostly I will blab about the Toronto Raptors and the NBA. I might also make mention other Toronto sports and happenings.

So since it is the topic of the day, lets talk about the latest Raptor loss to the Pacers. Yes it was a dreadful game and who do I blame? Let's see, first I would blame Hedo Jurkoglu for throwing up air balls, bricks, and handing the Pacers some juicy turnovers. What pisses me off about him is that he commits these stupid turnovers, then goes and fouls the guy. It's something a kid would do on a playground. You take a ball away from me, so what am I gonna do? I'll shove you for no reason.

I really don't understand why he hasn't gelled with this team. This team is based on a certain level of talent in terms of shooting and passing ability. Play making. As Hedo is known for all of these characteristics, it just blows my mind how he hasn't been able to fit in. My opinion is that he's just lackadaisical, not focused, and not putting forth effort. Just from my personal observation... his head doesn't seem to be in the games. In the paper he complains about the team not being like the Magic and not having the ball enough. I respond to those comments by thinking, are you not a professional player? Can you not figure out how to make your game work with this system? It doesn't seem like a difficult system. You run around some screens that Bosh or Bargnani are setting and you shoot the ball. Or heck, post someone up. You're 6'10'' and I have seen you have success in the post.

So what's the solution? I am not quite sure to be honest. I guess what we're doing is sitting it out and hoping he falls in line. For $52 million I guess what else can we do? It's frustrating but at the same time I guess we can give him the benefit of the doubt. I don't know about these knee-jerk reaction trades that some people are suggesting to me. I mean if we did that we would have traded away Bargnani for next to nothing and I don't think there's too many Raptor fans out there that would agree to that anymore.

I guess the only thing we can do is sit, watch and hope that Hedo gets better. I don't care if he is giving us a lot of assists. I don't think Colangelo signed him knowing he was gonna average 13 points a game. Barely outscoring Jack and Calderon.