Raptors Potpourri + Podcast #4
Posted by Arsenalist on March 25, 2008
Let’s start things of with an interesting discussion going on in a remote part of this blog concerning race. It’s fascinating stuff!
Once you’re done understanding what constitutes white and what doesn’t, let’s move along to Chris Bosh’s birthday bash held on Sunday night which privileged blogger Dinosty had the chance of attending. I can’t imagine the mood being too cheery after the recent struggles of the Raptors and Bosh proverbially “calling out” the team. Nonetheless, I’m sure the festive atmosphere must’ve compensated for the malaise that the on-court product has been in.
Once you’ve had a chance to stomach that post, I present to you, Podcast #4 where amalgamated thoughts include Forderon, Bryan Colangelo, some of our technical issues and the playoff push:
“Nothing Cool” - Download it! (Size: 5MB, 14:13)
Coming up we have Detroit which has a significant advantage over us in every matchup. We’ve played them twice and it’s not been close, Wallace scares Bosh, Billups can cancel three Calderon’s and 2 Ford’s just by himself and Jason Maxiell gives us nightmares. For us to have a chance in this one, the rebounding battle must be even which is asking a lot of the Raptors against the Piston tall trees. Surprisingly, Rasho was glued to the bench against the Pistons earlier in the year which was questionable given Detroit’s size and the way they were killing us on the boards. Let’s see if Sam has learned anything since.
With Philly on our heels (can’t believe they’re better than us) and Washington pulling away, we need to go on a 3 game winning streak after the Detroit loss. New York and New Orleans at home followed by a trip to Charlotte to avenge the 32-0 second chance point drubbing. New York should be easy and there shouldn’t be any worries there but after that it’s New Orleans who we beat in their arena earlier in the year. In that game, Jose Calderon, Anthony Parker and Andrea Bargnani had great performances to complement a 29 point effort by Bosh and the Raptors overcame a 29/16/7 night from Chris Paul. In order to repeat that feat, the same needs to happen and judging by the way the Raptors are playing, it’s a tall order. The Charlotte game was humiliating and the Raptors need to be truly angry before heading into that one, maybe Sam Mitchell should replay the tape just to jog some memories and pump up the adrenalin.
Bryan Colangelo is really concerned about the way the Raptors are playing. Who wouldn’t be? It’s even forced him to return home early from a European vacation scouting trip where he was looking at Euro talent which apparently is running low. Thank God, I think we’ve maxed out the foreign quota allowed on this team.
I was watching Detroit and Phoenix last night and with the Pistons down 1 with a minute left, Chauncey Billups didn’t even look to pass in attacking Raja Bell and going straight down the middle of the paint and scoring on a three point play. The Pistons prevailed and I said to myself, Now, that’s a player. The great teams have always had someone who they can just go to in the clutch and get a high percentage shot. Even if they miss, you’ll feel good about the offensive decision. I don’t know if I get that feeling with Chris Bosh. He’s a very good player that can cause nightmares because of his quickness but I’m wondering if he’ll ever mature and evolve into a Kevin Garnett or a Tim Duncan type player where scoring is a matter of mechanics and routine. We’ll see I suppose but he’s got a long way to go.
I’m excited to see Chris Paul in Toronto. Mark Jackson in Peter Vescey’s column believes that Steve Nash is the third best point guard behind Paul and Deron Williams, I have to agree with that assessment. Steven Nash is great but Williams and Paul are just oozing with ability, talent and superior physical strength. Steve Nash happens to be the perfect point guard for Phoenix, Mike D’Antoni’s style of play suites him very well and he’s got great complimentary players. I think a lot of his success is a product of the Phoenix system, rather than sheer ability.
Forget the college basketball bracket, make sure you vote for the Raptors DancePak in their annual NBA.com tournament. They’re up against some skanks from the Miami Heat who are relying on immense cleavage to pull them through. On a sidenote, anybody see that special on Minerva done at halftime a couple weeks ago? I’m not feeling it anymore.
Update: TJ and Rasho back in starting lineup. Bargnani and Calderon out.
Later.
March 25, 2008 at 9:54 am
I don’t get how Colangelo being around the team helps them on the court. But I’m glad he’s back because the last thing we need is more European scouting. Why isn’t he at March Madness or the NIT? That’s where he should be looking.
Good podcast, the double team problems you described are very accurate.
March 25, 2008 at 10:54 am
[...] - Arsenalist [...]
March 25, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Arsenalist:
I don’t agree that the Gap between Billups and Calderon is as large as you describe. Granted Billups has more size, experience, and is more of a scorer and driver than Jose. Their matchup in the last game in TO was Jose 7/13, 9 ast, 15pts and Billups 7/14, 9 ast,18pts
Rap’s lost by 16 pts and shot 41% vs 50%, outrebounded, missed 8 FT’s, not a trifecta that leads to wins against anyone, let alone the Pistons.
To beat the Pistons need 3 things to happen:
Bosh has to score 20/10 at least
Team rebounding even or very close
Team shoot 48% plus, and even at least in FT’s
March 25, 2008 at 12:30 pm
uhm…the gap between billups and calderon is very large. billups is the finals mvp, he hits big shot after big shot, he makes the right play, he plays incredible man/help defense. what the fuck man? sorry, i don’t mean to be an asshole, but you’re on crack. that is exactly the type of comment that has raptor fans delusional. if your assessment of why this gap is not as large as described is the stats of one game, then you should be carrying swirksy’s bag between fluffing sessions.
as far as your three keys to victory, bosh does 20/10 pretty much every game, the raptors wont get close in rebounding, and they wont shoot 48% because the pistons play incredible man defense, and the few interior points the raptors score a game will be reduced even more, and every jump shot will be contested.
again, sorry to be an asshole, i hate the raptors, go philly!
March 25, 2008 at 12:32 pm
ok, i was a bit harsh, i apologize, i’m just sick of this team, and everyone saying they are better then the are. they aren’t, they are worse then last season. espn was bang on when they said they would be 39-43, and tied for 9th in the east. they overshot their ranking, but are right there in terms of win/loss.
March 25, 2008 at 1:11 pm
John, I was comparing clutch play-making ability rather than talent. And I was comparing Bosh and Billups’ ability to have an impact in the clutch, Calderon wasn’t in the discussion.
Comparing numbers over a few head-to-head games doesn’t say much. Calderon put up good numbers against Chris Paul too but he’s obviously not in the same league as him. Whether he’s in the same league as Billups is also very questionable, I think Billups’ shot-making, penetrating and post-up game sets him apart from Calderon. Not to mention his defense.
March 25, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Great “pod”cast.
Speaking of the Dance Pak, I think even THEIR quality has been on a downward path over the last few years.
Don’t know if you saw me say this awhile back, but their in-game guy was moved over to do the Marlies when the Marlies came to town. He was responsible for the Pak, halftime, etc. Basically everything you see when you go to the game. He took the Marlie move as a demotion, resigned, and has gone on to a theatre in Toronto. Ever since then, going to the games has missed that “touch”. And, yes, he was the guy responsible for the baby crying sound when Camby played us in the playoffs…and he paid the fine.
Don’t get me started on Minerva. I could tell you a few stories. It’s a shame that a cute woman houses all that ego.
Anyway, to offset RapsFan….Let’s Go Raptors…Let’s Go!!
(clap clap clap clap clap)
March 25, 2008 at 4:14 pm
man i feel bad now. sorry johnn19, i am having a rough day, didn’t mean to be a dick.
i love the raptors, i love the leader…
March 25, 2008 at 4:23 pm
Don’t feel bad, dude.
You are like the Chris Bosh of Raptor bloggers…calling people out. Good on ya.
March 25, 2008 at 9:41 pm
great podcast man. you touch on something i have been thinking about quite a bit myself:
smitch keeps doing the same things hoping for a different result. he needs to start coming up with some strategy that hides the raptors weaknesses, while taking advantage of the things they do well.
i don’t know what that would be, but doing the same things hoping for a different result is plain stupid.
what do you make of bc cutting his euro trip short to be here? what exactly is he planning on doing?
March 25, 2008 at 11:40 pm
I thought Nash got there early enough to get the charge call but it was still a great play by Billups. Chris Paul’s numbers are off the charts, he’s become my favorite player to watch. In two or three years he’ll be the best player in the league, ahead of Lebron. Heard it here first.
March 25, 2008 at 11:48 pm
Arsenalist … listened to your mp3 podcast, and I want to make these 4 commentaries:
1. We all thought that BC was going to make the Raptors into a run’n gun team like the Suns, but now we see they have evolved into a half-court jump shooting team with Jose as PG. Ford doesn’t fit into the Raptor style of play and he appears redundant. In my wish list, I would like to see Ford go to the Suns to back up Nash who is struggling with his back, and when Barbosa attempts to play PG the Suns suck. With Ford, the Suns would have a PG with similar moves as Nash, but of course not as good. Ford could flourish in PHX. In exchange we could get Barbosa(Brazil) or Diaw(France) .. I wish I wish ..!!!!
2. Your expectations of Bargnani are totally unrealistic and you and others display absolutely no empathy for the conversion Bargnani is going through in his game. Let’s admit it, in his first season he was a great 3-point shooting machine as he sat outside the arc .. while Garbo was doing the dirty work under the basket at both ends. Sam could leave Bargs outside and doing his thingy to rack up big numbers. He was a hero last season, but this season everybody is putting him into the dog house. Don’t you realize that Bargs is virtually changing his game 100% and struggling during the season when everybody can see his problems?? He must now learn to drive with the ball and take mid-range jump shots that are aggressively challenged. His 3-point shooting posture is all messed up now. On defense he is expected to bang with the bigs while thinking when and how to ‘rotate’. It’s all new to him, and you dare dump on the guy ??? … for shame ..!!! Have you never played basketball at a high competitive level .. why can’t you and others appreciate the difficulty to convert a 7 foot set shooting 3 1/2 into a 5 …??!!!
3. No athletic big from the US wants to live and play for the Toronto Raptors. There is just not the social and cultural aspect here as there is in any other US city. The exception is if he is a veteran finishing off his career and Toronto is his only option, like Oakley and Davis, and you know that story. The only way Toronto can get a young US big is through the draft, like Bosh, because no rising young US NBA player wants to join the Raptors, even for money. BC is stuck with searching the world for players and creating a team that depends on teamwork rather than star athletes who can create on their own. I think good analogy is the Spanish team that won the world championship last year with a teamwork mentality, while the US team with stars who create on their own were stopped cold. (For those that remember when the USSR hockey team beat the NHL All-Stars, it was exactly the same .. teamwork versus flash.).
4. I have this creepy feeling that the Raptors will finish the season at 41-41, or very close to that for seventh place and out of the playoffs with maybe only one win. The team has come apart recently after Ford’s injury and headcase problems, and Bargs inconsistency ….. and BC has probably told Sam to not worry about this season and just try to pump up Ford, Kapono, Graham, others for trade bait. Think Barbosa, Diaw … oh I wwiisshh ..!!!!
I really don’t know why Toronto Raptor fans think they deserve a championship team this season when the team is obviously “under construction” .. and they should just be happy they will be entertained in the playoffs for a short while … maybe it’s got something to do with the tribal honking mentality of deluding fans …!!!
March 25, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Raps Fan: Why are you using that name as you obviously are not one !!
Arsenalist:
I was comparing only one game Calderon vs Billups, as that was your reference. Obviously there is no Calderon (in his 3rd yr, ist as a starter) comparison to Billups in his 11th yr, with an NBA ring.
However there is also the Pistons talent (together for 7/8 years @ 50 wins per, and rings ) to consider as Raptors (together for 1+ years, no play-off wins)are no comparison either. Let’s consider what might happen if you put Calderon in Detroit and Billups in Toronto. What would the impact on the two teams be???
March 26, 2008 at 6:54 am
I am a fan, just not a dellusional one. I retract the apology. I’ll tell you what would happen if that scenario happened:
the raptors would be better the pistons would be worse.
March 26, 2008 at 8:35 am
Nice header, I don’t know who that is but we need someone like that on the Raps. Looks like an emotional guy who can’t tolerate losing and lazy play. My kind of player.
March 26, 2008 at 9:47 am
I think that’s Adebayor.
March 26, 2008 at 10:08 am
FAQ:
1. That is a very interesting POV. I think I’m somewhat inclined to agree.
2. Yeah, I’m not sold on Bargnani nor do I care much for his struggles. I think you yourself are pointing out his weaknesses and how hard he has to overcome the things that are wrong with his game. You’re looking at it as a player trying to fit in and change his game while I”m choosing to look at it as a player who was overrated and should’ve come packages with a lot of the skills that he’s learning. Remember, there are no complaints if Bargnani is the 8th pick in the draft, it’s the fact that we severely reached at #1 that bugs me.
3. “No athletic big from the US wants to live and play for the Toronto Raptors. There is just not the social and cultural aspect here as there is in any other US city.” - This could not be more false. It might’ve been true a few years ago when the Raptors were still under the “expansion” label but if the money’s right, that stuff doesn’t matter anymore. It was always the losing than the city that bugged NBA players, IMHO.
4. As I said the Podcast, Philly’s schedule is tougher than ours and we hold the tie-breaker. Even considering how bad the Raps have been, I still think we’ll finish higher than Philly - it might come down to the tie-breaker, but we will. And yeah, it’s absurd to think of the Raptors as even close to being a championship team given the talent on the squad and the plethora of talent on other teams.
March 26, 2008 at 11:34 am
Arsenalist,
——————————————————————–
re: I think that’s Adebayor.
——————————————————————–
Just so that you know …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tas5hU5rTTU
… my association with ‘the Gunners’ can be traced back to the early days of Liam Brady.
:-)
March 26, 2008 at 12:05 pm
TJ/Rasho back in starting lineup, Calderon/Rasho in:
http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/350985
Good move by the Smitch. Nice of Jose.
March 26, 2008 at 12:15 pm
You are right, Arsenalist!
Great move by BC..I mean by Sam, and if the report is not sugarcoated, kudos to Jose (that’s a real team “play”) !
Andrea will benefit from this as well.
GO RAPTORS!
March 26, 2008 at 12:49 pm
To continue the discussion:
1. The PHX Suns essentially have no backup PG for Nash, and if he goes down they are flucked because Barbosa is a SG and a lousy PG. Ford would be a great backup for Nash and they could share PT to save Nash’s back. Now the number$ don’t match up with Ford @ $8M while Barbosa is @ $6M. If the Suns would throw Diaw @ $9M into the mix, the Raptors could provide Kapono @ $5M and Graham @ $2M. I’m fantacising terribly, so forgive me.
2. BC and Gherardini knew Bargnani would be a long term project, when they made him the #1 draft pick as they planned for a Euro team and possibly less Bosh. Toronto fans and yourself expect too much from the Raptors, and your complaints become specious. So Bargs doesn’t have the total package, he has the potential perhaps just like Nowitzki who took several years before he matured. Your emotional ‘fan’ needs are quite … pompous, but that’s Toronto.
3. I recall a recent Bosh interview where he was asked about his adapting to the Raptors and Toronto. He said it took him 2 years before he adjusted to the city of Toronto. “It was tough!”, he said. Star US players really don’t want to come to Toronto based on it being a ‘foreign’ city, the Carter debacle, and perhaps more importantly the perception that the Raptors are being built as a ‘Euroball’ team … no ’stars’ just teamwork. There are known negatives about the Raptors, and US players are not interested in the BC ‘experiment’. (Barbosa and Diaw would be perfect for TO).
4. Regardless where the Raptors place for first round playoffs, they have little chance of showing well against any of the top 4 Eastern Conference teams in a playoff series. Raptor fans will just have to be grateful the team is in the playoffs, and just enjoy watching the superior team playing basketball and not feeling the pain of the Raptor team.
Fans are emotionally driven and therefore not good analysts … while basketball aficionados can enjoy the play of both teams on the floor. Sometimes I just force myself to watch the footwork of players like Nash, Paul, Jose, Wade, LeBron, others … and getting a different perspective of how the game is played .. instead of continually watching the ball being bounced and thrown at the basket. I gather you observe the movements of all 10 players as the plays develop.
Ball gawkers are geeks …..
March 26, 2008 at 1:09 pm
“Basketball is like the church. Many attend it, but very few understand it”
March 26, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Just ‘watch & see’ what happens next … once this inevitable move has been made … and, then, runs its course.
You were told, some time ago, that … Pandora’s Box has been opened … and that, no matter what measures are taken … it is impossible to return the Genie to Aladdin’s Magic Lamp, after it’s been released … physically and metaphorically.
With this move, at this time, Mitchell-Angelo>/b> is showing you what he (they) ‘really’ knows about Organizational Leadership and ‘How best to accomplish the long term objective of eventually winning the NBA championship’. NOT.
Unfortunately, it now looks as though things are going to get ‘ugly’ down-the-road for the Toronto Raptors … during the next phase of their development as an NBA franchise.
P.S. The real shame is that things didn’t ever have to play out this way for this franchise.
March 26, 2008 at 3:15 pm
TJ and Rasho back in starting lineup. Bargnani and Calderon out.
Let’s pray that TJ shines and his trade value increases .. so that we can trade him to the Suns for Barbosa … in the off-season of course.
I suspect that BC has convinced Sam to start TJ, most likely against Sam’s wishes .. but when the boss speaks ….!!!!
Any bets when Sam will yank TJ out of the game ..??!!!
March 26, 2008 at 3:29 pm
FAQ, saying nowitzki took several years to mature is ridiculous. his first year, he averages 8.2 points per game, and that jumped to 17.2 in his second year, and has never dipped below 21.8 since. so where are you getting your information from? don’t believe me, check out his profile on nba.com:
http://www.nba.com/playerfile/dirk_nowitzki/career_stats.html
so the issues comes in when you say bargnani is like nowitzki. he has the same skill sets, whatever… when you say things like that, people think the guy will be doing 17.2 points per game, and not have his averages dip in his second year.
as far as tj and rasho starting…i agree with rasho starting, but not tj. i was a ford guy, but his recent behaviour has been unacceptable to me. hopefully this move will calm things down.
March 26, 2008 at 3:35 pm
BC convinced Sam to start TJ against Sam’s wishes? FAQ, do you just pull stuff out of your ass or what?
Sam loves TJ. Can’t believe you haven’t figured that out yet, Sam was probably looking for a reason to start TJ and Caldeorn suggesting it made things easier. I think the decision to trade TJ is still up in the air despite what anybody thinks (that’s you too Arsenalist - I heard that podcast). His playoff performance this year will say a lot in determining that.
Bargnani - Go ahead and keep being patient with him, let me know when you end up convincing yourself that this guy’s ceiling is Mehmet Okur nad if things go really right, Toni Kukoc. This franchise is hanging on to the remote possibility that he’ll become a franchise player, it’s just a matter of time once BC realizes its not gonna happen.
Detroit tonight, it don’t matter who starts we’re gonna get our ass kicked.
March 26, 2008 at 4:55 pm
the raps are now 2nd tier team in the atlantic division. from champs to chumps !
March 26, 2008 at 5:25 pm
FAQ,
IMO … there is no way Steve Kerr … as former PG … would be interested in trading Barbosa for Ford.
Not in a million years.
ROTFLOL