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Sooooo Close!
Posted on | March 10, 2010 | 1 Comment
THAT’S the Raptors team that went 25-11 until their recent troubles. No, it wasn’t a win, but if it wasn’t for some of the worst officiating I’ve seen in recent memory, I think the Raptors come out victorious in that one.
If Bosh were a Laker, he'd be going to the line now...
Just a quick comment on the refs. I never complain about bad calls or get on the bandwagon that claim that refs favour other teams, but I have never, EVER been so frustrated watching what were offensively bad calls, all in favour of the Lakers. At first, Gasol seemed to be getting foul calls the moment any Raptor made contact on defense, and then Turkoglu got several phantom calls. Then the second half, where I actually had to turn the channel out of frustration. The Lakers were getting EVERY call, and the Raptors weren’t getting similar ones on the other end. The “foul” that Kobe drew after he missed the layup was laughable. Well, it would have been if you were a Laker fan. Of course, the Raptor players took about 6 jumpshots in a row after that, so it’s pretty hard to get a makeup call when you do that, but it should never have been called in the first place.
Okay, rant over.
As for the game, the Lakers actually played well, but the Raptors showed why they are one of the better teams in the East. They scored when they needed to, played tough defense when they needed to, and if they continue to play like they did tonight, they very well could win their next three road games.
What is it about Bargnani that whenever I go on a little bit of a rant about him, he has a good game. It’s not just me writing about him, though, which makes me think he reads the criticism levelled against him. If he can keep up this pace the rest of the season, then I will not mention benching or trading him again for the rest of the season. I promise.
While Bargnani played fairly well, although seemed to disappear in the fourth, and Bosh deserves credit for hitting that HUGE three to tie it, the game belonged to Jarrett Jack. He’s been playing very well lately, and I notice I don’t hear those same complaints about teaming him with Calderon at the end of games anymore. When the criticism was at it’s loudest, I defended Triano’s decision to play both Jack and Calderon together because I felt it would pay off later in the season. And we’re starting to see it. Jack and Calderon are the Raptors two best guards and two best ball handlers. It makes sense for them to be on the court together when it matters.
AROUND THE NBA
It never ceases to amaze me how stupid and ungrateful some NBA players are. Case in point (this time)? Allen Iverson and Rafer Alston. I would be absolutely shocked if either player ever plays in the league again. Rafer abandons the Miami after he was moved to the bench. This is a guy who was waived by New Jersey earlier this season. The guy has never been the most reliable guy, but skipping out on your team and only texting them is a bad way to end your career.
And Iverson has probably burned his last bridge. Philadephia was criticized for signing Iverson after he skipped out on Memphis after a few games, but now he seems to have abandoned them, too. At first, the story of dealing with a sick daughter was understandable and commendable. As a father myself, I can understand dropping everything when your child is in need. But then for the wife to file for divorce during that time made you wonder. Now there are stories about drinking and gambling problems.
We should have a poll for the next player who’s going to prematurely shoot his own career in the foot. Actually, I think I will…
Loading ...UHHHH, DUHHHH!
Speaking of stupid, the Clippers and Mike Dunleavy have apparently “severed ties” after it became clear the team had not made “sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure” .
It took you seven years to figure that out?????
It almost makes you feel sorry for Elgin Baylor, who Dunleavy apparently pushed out the door so he could run the franchise. I say `almost’ because it’s not like Baylor did any better job than Dunleavy.
Now if only Donald Sterling and the Clippers would “severe ties”, the Clippers might one day be a half decent team.
HARD CHARGING BUCKS
The Bucks are now solidly in the 5th seed in the East and don’t look to be letting up. Their big win against the Celtics tonight must have been a confidence booster. What seems to have turned their season around was the trade for John Salmons. It’s the second year in a row Salmons was traded to a team that then went on a bit of a tear. Will the Bucks have the same impact the Bulls did in the playoffs last season?
Just to make things interesting, the Bucks play both Atlanta and Boston twice each in the next month. One of them will likely be their playoff opponent. I’d circle those games as ones to watch.
And before Raptor fans start bemoaning the fact that the Raptors have dropped to the 6th seed, realize that, at this point, that would mean the Raptors would face the Celtics instead of the Hawks. Yes, the Celtics are a more veteran team, but I can’t be the only Raptor fan who would rather the Raptors not face the Hawks in the playoffs.
Who Should Start For The Raptors?
Posted on | March 9, 2010 | 18 Comments
[Bloggers Note: Yes, I said I would do a post trade deadline analysis, but I got busy and now I just don't want to. Sue me.]
There’s been a lot of discussion about whether DeRozan should be replaced in the starting lineup, which might stop the Raptors from digging themselves in a hole early in games, as they have been. With the way the Raptors have been playing all year, however. the question that needs to be asked is whether this team is building around the wrong players.
Now, I’ve never been a big fan of +/- stats, or any stats in particular, when gauging a player’s worth to a team. I think it ignores factors that simply aren’t logged in the box score, such as defense, hustle and veteran savvy. Sometimes, however, it does give an interesting picture of what’s going on. Take for example, the stats on 82games.com. What previously was called the Roland Rating, but now seems to be called the Simple rating, is an average of a player’s +/- production and on/off court results. It’s not the greatest indicator, but it’s half decent barometer for how much a player is helping his team win.
Now, take a look at the Raptor’s next opponent, the Lakers. The top five players are the five best players, Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Artest and Bynum. These are the players that play the bulk of the minutes for the Lakers. Boston’s top five players are their starters: Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, Allen and Perkins. Same goes for Atlanta. It’s not like that for every team, but there’s enough of a pattern for me to want to take a closer look at the Raptors roster.
As most Raptor fans know, the Raptor starters are Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu, DeRozan and Jack.
The top five Raptors according to 82games.com’s Simple/Roland Rating? Bosh, Evans, Belinelli, Johnson and Calderon.
Things get even more interesting when you look at the Individual Player Floor Time Stats, the top five being Johnson, Wright, Bosh, Belinelli and Calderon.
Now, I don’t pretend to know what all these statistics mean, or whether or not they actually mean anything what-so-ever, but when you look at all the players, you realize two things. The first is that all, but one, are at least average defensively. The second thing you notice is that Bargnani, Turkoglu, Jack and DeRozan are not listed.
As readers of this blog know, I’ve often been critical of Bargnani. I HATE the fact that he can’t rebound the ball for his size, and while I applauded him for his improved defense a little while ago, he seems to have taken a couple of steps back in that category lately. In fact, he’s taken a couple of steps back in just about EVERY category lately. In the last five games, Bargnani is averaging 14.4 ppg, 4 rpg and 0.6 bpg. Those that said that Bargnani would rebound more and score more inside without Bosh have been silenced. Bargnani actually played worse, and less inside, without Bosh. I don’t know if any player is more responsible for the current slump the Raptors find themselves in than Bargnani. When he plays good defense and scores, the Raptors usually win. Unfortunately, after nearly four full years, it’s becoming fairly clear that Bargnani can never be a player you can count on. He needs to score to be effective, but isn’t a consistent enough scorer to be a first or second option on a contender, and doesn’t do anything else well enough to warrant heavy minutes if he’s NOT scoring 15+ a game.
Turkoglu has at least shown that he can be a starter on a contender. Unfortunately, that was only one season, and he’s currently not playing at that same level. If he can get back to that level, it’s obvious that Turkoglu could easily be a starter again for a contender. With his below average rebounding and weak defense, he would need a team with an above average defense and rebounding front line. This describes Bosh, but not Bargnani.
Jack is a peculiar case. He doesn’t have any glaring weaknesses that the other starters not mentioned do, and he’s actually one of the Raptors more complete players. He hasn’t been all that consistent, though, and with him in the starting lineup, the Raptors have often started games badly. He certainly doesn’t have the acumen for running an offense that Calderon has. And his defense is not where I thought it would be.
Now, I actually feel that DeRozan has done a half-decent job this season. I said at the beginning that if he had a season similar to Courtney Lee’s rookie season, then it would be a success. Well, in nearly every statistical category, including PER, DeRozan’s numbers are pretty similar to Lee’s. The two things that Lee was better at was Defense and 3 point shooting. Of course, Lee was 3 years older than DeRozan is, so that is a big factor. I never had a problem starting DeRozan, because he was playing well enough, and it was a good way of helping him grow. Earlier in the season, I argued against those who said he should be replaced in the starting lineup and I still believe I was right. Hell, their record since December 5th was pretty damn good, so I’d say it was a good choice. And while I think it was not alright to replace him then, I think now might be the time to. Two things have changed. The first is that he seems to have hit the rookie wall. The second, and most important, is that as the playoffs approach, wins become more important. Until now, DeRozan’s development outweighed the few wins his starting might have missed out on.
Now, changing the starting lineup now might not be the best idea, and I don’t know if the change would benefit the team this season (although it very well might). I do think, however, that who the Raptors starters are needs to be looked at further this summer. Either way, there are questions that come up when looking at which players help the team win more? Would Amir Johnson be a better frontcourt partner to Bosh than Bargnani?Should Calderon be moved back into the starting lineup? Is Belinelli, because of his all around game, a more fitting starter at the shooting guard until DeRozan develops more, or should Wright’s defense be taken more advantage of despite his brain freezes on offense?
Personally, if I was coaching the Raptors, and didn’t have to take into consideration contracts or team investments in certain players, against the Lakers, and for the rest of the season, I’d trot out a starting lineup of Bosh, Johnson, Turkoglu, Belinelli and Calderon. I’d give those players the bulk of the minutes, and generally finish the game with those players, as well.
I know that Belinelli has been incredibly inconsistent this season, but as readers of this blog know, I’m a fan of his and feel he’d be more consistent as a starter. His one game as a starter was his best of the season, and he strikes me as the type of player that excels when not looking over his shoulder. He’s also much better defensively than many give him credit for. In fact, I’d say that he’s the second best wing player on the defensive end, behind Wright.
Calderon has not been good defensively this year, but with Belinelli and Johnson in the starting lineup, the team defense would improve enough that I think he would do alright. Besides, his offense is just too good to have him come off the bench when the team has been struggling so much to start games.
While Johnson is not the scorer than Bargnani is, he so much better on the boards and defensively that I actually think he might be a better player than Bargnani, at least right now. Just looking at PER, which is flawed and doesn’t take into consideration defense, they are neck and neck. When you then include defense, I’d rather have Johnson on the floor than Bargnani.
Turkoglu has shown he can play on a contender with better statistics, and while you could put Wright in here, Turkoglu’s worth can not often be seen on the stat sheet. Unlike Bargnani, Turkglu is not a one note player. He makes players around him better, and that’s not something that can be overlooked.
Bosh, Johnson, Turkoglu, Belinelli and Calderon is a starting unit that is dangerous offensively and should be able to play good defense. Calderon, Belinelli and Turkoglu can all create, score from the outside get the ball to the big men inside. Bosh and Johnson can clean up the boards inside and defend the middle. I think the team would be much more consistent offensively and defensively.
Who would your starters be?
An Open Letter To Raptor Fans
Posted on | February 18, 2010 | 8 Comments
Just a short post this time. For once.
Dear Raptor Fans,
Get some fucking medication!
It’s not the end of the world!
Sincerely,
Me
Yes, the Raptors lost a game they should have won. In fact, I, as well as I can only assume most others, thought that the Raptors had the game wrapped up. I had almost turned off the television when O.J. Mayo hit the three to bring Memphis within two. Maybe if I hadn’t, he wouldn’t have hit it. Who knows?
Anyway, the loss. After the game, I went to Raptors Republic to read their Roll Call, and couldn’t believe the vitriol from fans. Suddenly, Jose needed to be traded with Hedo, and Triano was the worst coach in the league. Sorry, but had Bosh hit that last second jumper in regulation, would these people still feel the same way? Probably not. Calderon played a fantastic game, almost single handedly brought the Raptors back in the second and was the only PG the Raptors had who could play a damn tonight, but all theses fans just point to how exposed he was on defense tonight. Sorry? I actually thought Calderon played one of his better defensive games of the season and was actually above average. But what these people are whining about is that he couldn’t guard and athletic freak six inches taller than him. No matter who the defender is, that’s called a mismatch for a reason. Rajon frickin’ Rondo would have a tough time stopping Gay, especially the way he was shooting.
Raptor fans, though, are always looking for someone to blame.
Triano, of course, didn’t escape their vitriol. One of the main complaints was that he subbed Turkoglu back in despite him playing poorly. Yes, he subbed a relative rookie out for the ten year veteran with the history of coming up big in the clutch and lots of big game experience. If Phil Jackson had done it, it would have been called an intelligent gamble. Triano does it and he’s an awful coach. And you know what? I’ve seen Phil Jackson, Gregg Popovich, Pat Riley, Chuck Daly and Jerry Sloan do the EXACT same thing. And I’ve seen it backfire. Sometimes that happens.
The other complaint against Triano was that he allowed Calderon to switch off to Gay, which obviously caused a mismatch Memphis exploited. The last time I saw this short a memory, I was swimming around my fishbowl in a former life! Apparently none of these complainers remember that the switching on defense strategy was one of the reasons the Raptors started turning things around in December. It’s worked well enough for them to go 22-11 since then, but an overtime loss against an offensively talented team, and suddenly it’s the worst strategy in the world.
The Raptors lost in overtime tonight, despite another great game by Bosh who is becoming above reproach, he’s playing so well. I find it funny that this happened on the trade deadline. I’m shocked there weren’t any calls to trade Bosh since he obviously won’t re-sign after tonight’s game.
PARTING THOUGHTS
Again, one last second shot goes down, and everything would be okay. And remember, this is the same Memphis team that beat the Lakers by two points a couple of weeks ago and amazingly, they decided not to dismantle the team before the deadline.
My next post is going to be about all the trades, as soon as I figure out where everyone landed.
keep looking »
