TORONTO: Exceeds Expectations

5. Jonas Valanciunas

It’s deja vu all over again. Last year, a team above them unexpectedly took an athletic defensive power forward which resulted in a higher ranked big man unexpectedly falling to the Raptors. Colangelo and the Raptors brass probably can’t believe their luck. I was afraid they might still take Knight, but Colangelo showed he is indeed focused on the future, rather than the present.

Valanciunas will fill the void at center the Raptors have been lacking for, well, ever. While apparently a lot of Raptor fans are unhappy with the pick, I think they’ll eventually regret that as Valanciunas is the type of player that Raptor fans love. He’s a high energy player who hustles, defends and rebounds. English, though, is not his strong suit.

On the other hand, the pick they got from the Heat, which they traded to the Bulls for James Johnson, could have been used to pick Corey Joseph at 28, who went one spot later to the Spurs. Who knows if that’s who Colangelo would have picked, as he was projected to go in the second round, but I’ll certainly be comparing their careers. And since the Spurs are pretty much never wrong…

I would have liked to see them try and scoop up another pick, but it’s not a big deal that they didn’t.

SAN ANTONIO: Exceeds Expectations

29. Cory Joseph

Traded George Hill for Indiana’s 15th pick, Kawhi Leonard.

I assumed the Spurs would exceed expectations, and again they have. Trading for Leonard is huge, especially since he was projected to go in the top ten and dropped. He’s the type of defender than the Spurs love, is in the perfect situation, and should step in Bruce Bowen’s shoes, that have been empty for a few years.

If on of my sleepers, Toronto’s Cory Joseph couldn’t get drafted by the Raptors, then the Spurs would have been my second choice. And it’s incredible timing because they might have their replacement for Hill. Yes, he projected to go in the second round, but I think he has first round talent and so, apparently, do the Spurs.haunt them. Burks should be a decent player, but guys like him are a dime a dozen.

CHARLOTTE: Exceeds Expectations

7. Bismack Biyombo
9. Kemba Walker

Traded Stephen Jackson for Sacramento’s 7th pick and Corey Maggette.

Sold 39th pick, Jeremy Tyler to Golden State, I’m guessing for cash.

It hurts to say it, but Charlotte actually did well. I was surprised that they passed on Knight for Biyombo, as they’ve been looking for a real starting PG for, well, their entire existence, but they resisted temptation and went with a guy who I think will be better down the road. I also look forward to watching Biyombo and Tyrus Thomas being on the floor at the same time. The front row needs to watch out.

Maggette was a disaster in Milwaukee and now brings his brand of scoring and no defense to Charlotte. He’s probably going to lose games for them, but that’s kind of what they wanted, so maybe it’s a good thing?

Walker fell, but not as far as I thought he might. I think it’s still a pretty good pick at 9, but Charlotte seems to like picking decent PGs with little upside.

CHICAGO: Exceeds Expectations

23. Nikola Mirotic
30. Jimmy Butler

Traded 28th and 43rd picks for Houstons 23rd pick, Nikola Mirotic.

Butler was very efficient offensively at Butler, and is a very good defender, so the Bulls may have a sleeper on their hands.

How much do you think the Spurs are pissed at not getting Mirotic, who is exactly the type of player they usually scoop up at the end up the first round? He’s a huge steal, but will play overseas for a couple of more seasons. That’s fine with the Bulls.

DENVER: Exceeds Expectations

22. Kenneth Faried
26. Jordan Hamilton
56. Chukwudiebere Maduabum

Traded Raymond Felton for Portland’s 26th pick, Jordan Hamilton, and Andre Miller.

Traded for Laker’s 56th pick, Chukwudiebere Maduabum, somehow.

Although I haven’t confirmed that Denver is, in fact, keeping Faried, if they do this was a very good draft day. I would have liked to have seen them get more for Felton, but Miller is a good, veteran PG that will probably be shipped elsewhere soon. Plus they were able to pick up another pick and a SF who has a chance to be a decent pro.

Faried is the type of player that everyone loves and helps you win. So why didn’t he go higher? Probably because he’s not a scorer and a little undersized.

I have no idea who Chukwudiebere Maduabum, but on his Draft Express profile, he’s listed as Chu Chu. I think he’s worthy of picking just for that. He immediately is in the running for best All-Tim NBA name.

MEMPHIS: Exceeds Expectations

49. Josh Selby

Selby was considered a first round talent, so this has to be considered a steal. Where they’ll find room for him, is another thing.
DETROIT: Exceeds Expectations

8. Brandon Knight
33. Kyle Singler
52. Vernon Macklin

Although I question whether he can play PG, Knight was projected to go in the top 5 and dropped to 8th, so Pistons fans have to be happy. Of course, he kind of presents the same problems that Rodney Stuckey, who’s also a combo guard they tried to turn into a point guard, did.

Singler is never going to be a star, but last year he was considered a middle first round pick and they got him in the second round. I think he’ll hang on and have a decent career as a bench player.

DALLAS: Exceeds Expectations

Traded their 26th pick to Portland for Rudy Fernandez

The rich get richer. Dallas has no use for a rookie and no one picked there was going to help them like Fernandez. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up starting next year.

LAKERS: Exceeds Expectations

41. Darius Morris
46. Andrew Goodelock
58. Ater Majok

Without a first round pick, they were able to pick up a decent prospect, in Darius Morris. This might be the second year in a row they get at least one keeper from the second round.

PHILADELPHIA: Exceeds Expectations

16. Nikola Vucevic
50. Lavoy Allen

Vucevic should end up being a pretty good pro and probable starter. At 16, in this draft, that’s pretty damn good.

CLEVELAND: Meets Expectations

1. Kyrie Irving
4. Tristan Thompson
32. Justin Harper

Irving will probably be the best player, so it was no surprise he was the first pick.

Thompson was the first big surprise of the night. And while I don’t think it’s a bad pick, since I think Thompson is going to be a very good pro, but he was a big reach at 3. Valanciunas would have made much more sense, but apparently Cleveland wants to make an impact immediately. Something they might regret down the line.

I think Cleveland should have offered Minnesota everything but it’s first pick to move up to 2 and draft Williams. If they had come out of the draft with Irving AND Williams, their future would have looked A LOT brighter.

Justin Harper is a stretch 4 that isn’t very big and probably won’t be much of a rebounder in the NBA. If he sticks, it’s because of his shooting. On Cleveland, that’s devoid of talent, he might, but with Antawn Jamison and J.J. Hickson as well as Anderson Varejao, who will probably be traded this summer, it’s puzzling why they’d take another power forward.

NEW YORK: Meets Expectations

45. Josh Harrellson

New York gets the guy Enes Kanter apparently made into the player he is today. So says Harrellson.

MINNESOTA: Meets Expectations

2. Derrick Williams

Traded Jonny Flynn for Houston’s 23rd pick, Nikola Mirotic, and Brad Miller.

For some reason the T-Wolves don’t end up with the 23d pick, so it’s basically a Flynn for Miller deal. Not sure why they’d do that.

Keeping Williams is the right move even though he doubles up on Beasley’s skills. He should be better than Bealsey and should give the Wolves some star power.

UTAH: Meets Expectations

3. Enes Kanter
12. Alec Burks

Although a lot of people had Brandon Knight going to Utah for the months leading up to the draft, they apparently changed their mind with less than a week to go. And while I was a little missed he didn’t fall to the Raptors, I think Utah will be VERY happy they chose Kanter instead of Knight.

Of course, while I think they made the right decision at 3, passing up Leonard, who is probably exactly what the Jazz need, is probably going to

OKLAHOMA CITY: Meets Expectations

27. Reggie Jackson

Jackson is a combo guard who joins an already crowded Thunder backcourt. I really don’t know where he’ll find minutes. I wonder why Oklahoma didn’t simply trade out of the draft.

PORTLAND: Meets Expectations

21. Nolan Smith
51. Jon Diebler

Traded Andre Miller for Raymond Felton

Traded Rudy Fernandez to Dallas for 26th pick, which they gave to Denver in prearranged deal.

Getting Felton for Miller is a great deal for Portland. He might be the young point guard they’ve been looking for all these years.

Unfortunately, picking Nolan Smith over Faried, who they could really use, was a mistake.

ORLANDO: Meets Expectations

53. DeAndre Liggins

He’s a player that was on Kentucky, but now he’s not.

ATLANTA: Meets Expectations

48. Keith Benson

He’s got legit size for an NBA power forward, and he’s stronger than he looks. For the 48th pick, the Hawks did well.

For a team hitting their ceiling, I would have liked to have seen them a little more active. Maybe after the new CBA is signed, whenever that happens.

MIAMI: Approaching Expectations

28. Norris Cole

Somehow got the 28th pick from Chicago to draft Cole, a PG, who should provide insurance in case Bibby is not re-upped.

BOSTON: Approaching  Expectations

27. JuJuan Johnson
55. E’Twaun Moore

Traded their 25th pick for the 27th pick.

Johnson is a decent player, but I don’t see him making any impact on the Celtics, either now or down the line. But would anyone else have?

Moore is an undersized shooting guard, but I’m guessing what attracted Boston was the ability to tell people they drafted JuJuan and E’Twaun. And both are American.

MILWAUKEE: Approaching Expectations

19. Tobias Harris
40. John Leuer

Traded Corey Maggette and 10th pick for Stephen Jackson and Charlotte’s 19th pick, Tobias Harris.

Getting rid of Maggette, who was a disaster, is good, but is Jackson really what they need? And how much longer does he have? Harris is a good pick, though, who’s been compared to Shane Battier.

PHOENIX: Approaching  Expectations

13. Markieff Morris

Morris might make a pretty good role player on a good team. Phoenix, however, needs home runs, not singles. They have a lot of role players and the engine that makes them go, Nash, is nearing the end of his career.

GOLDEN STATE: Approaching Expectations

11. Klay Thompson
37. Jeremy Tyler
44. Charles Jenkins

So they STILL have Monta Ellis, yet decide to draft yet another shooter, while Kawhi Leonard  and Nikola Vucevic were still available. Thompson might be the best player available, for all I know, though, and if Jerry West thinks so, it’s probably true.

I don’t know about Tyler, though, who seems to have the physical tools, but needs maturity.

WASHINGTON: Approaching Expectations

6. Jan Vesely
18.Chris Singleton
34. Shelvin Mack

A lot of teams seemed high on Vesley, but I don’t understand the attraction to him. He’s 6’11 and athletic, but he’s not a great scorer, can’t shoot, isn’t a good ball handler, will probably struggle defensively at the 3 and is a poor rebounder for his size. He’s apparently got a good motor, though, and he’s got a very hot girlfriend, so those are both pluses.

Singleton was on my don’t draft list and I really don’t see how he’s going to play with Vesley. Neither can shoot, but Singleton has even fewer skills than Vesley.

NEW JERSEY: Approaching Expectations

25. Marshon Brooks
36. Jordan Williams

Traded their 27th pick, JaJuan Johnson for Boston’s 25th pick, Marshon Brooks

When I first saw a trade between Boston and New Jersey involving Brooks, I thought it was a blockbuster. No, it was not Brooks Lopez, but Marshon Brooks, who bring his great shooting and horrible defense to a bad defensive team.

CLIPPERS: Needs Improvement

37. Trey Thompkins
47. Travis Leslie

The Clippers traded away a unprotected lottery pick that ended up being Kyrie Irving, who’s probably just what the Clippers could have used to solidify them as one of the teams of the future. What they ended up drafting were two solid NCAA players with probably very little chance of sticking in the NBA.

SACRAMENTO: Needs Improvement

10. Jimmer Fredette
35. Tyler Honeycutt

Traded their 7th pick for Milwaukee’s 10th pick, Jimmer Fredette, and John Salmons

So, the Kings trade John Salmons away, only to trade back for him a couple of years later. And move down in the draft in order to do it. Fredette might be a great shooter, but I don’t see how he helps Sacramento. He’s not going to be a good defender and will do nothing for the chemistry. Keeping the pick and taking Knight or Walker would have been preferable.

HOUSTON: Needs Improvement

14. Marcus Morris
38. Chandler Parsons

Traded Brad Miller, the 23rd pick and a future first rounder for Minnesota’s 20th pick, Donatas Motiejunas, and Jonny Flynn.

Houston’s GM, Daryl Morey, intrigues me. He’s apparently a big advanced stats guy and was initially a guy a lot of Raptor fans wanted to replace Colangelo, but he makes the most head scratching trades. Motiejunas was another on my do not draft list. He doesn’t defend or rebound, but should be able to score a lot, which makes him basically a bigger version of Kevin Martin

Morris is, yet another young, decent power forward to join Houston’s stable of other decent, power forwards. Apparently you can never get enough of them.

Parsons is a typical Rocket small forward. he does a whole lot of things, but none of them really well.

INDIANA: Needs Improvement

Traded their 15th pick, Kawhi Leonard, to the Spurs for George Hill

Don’t the Pacers already have enough PGs who aren’t really PGs? George Hill looked good in the Spurs system, but you need to watch out for those guys, because there’s a good chance he won’t look nearly as good out of it. And while the Pacers already have enough SFs, don’t they know not to trade a draft pick to the Spurs?

NEW ORLEANS: Incomplete

Traded completely out of the draft by trading the 45th pick, Josh Harrellson, to the Knicks for cash.

No, I really don’t think it’s a good idea to be combing through Europe to find the next Dirk, just as it wasn’t a good idea to start stacking your team with two centers, after Houston miraculously made it to the Finals, in 1986, with Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, or to start trying to convert shooting guards and small forwards into point guards, simply because Magic Johnson was 6’9 and could pass and handle the ball like a guy a foot shorter.

You see, the main reason it’s not a good idea to start copying teams that have just won Championships is because you can’t duplicate someone else’s success. There’s not blueprint you can follow. Every Champion has been completely unique. Look back at all the teams that have won and you can’t really say that any team was like any other one that ended up winning it all.

The teams that end up winning it all are usually teams that don’t try and be like another team, or even build itself to beat another team (talk about a bad idea). The real contenders are the ones who are trailblazers (no pun intended) and make everyone else adjust to them, not the other way around.

In the end, THAT’S what we may have learned this season. Well, if you hadn’t been paying attention the last 50 or so years the NBA has been around.

Now, I’m not saying the playoffs weren’t entertaining, because they most definitely were. Close games and unexpected results are always entertaining. But watching the playoffs, something kept gnawing at my brain.

When my beloved Spurs were knocked out in the first round, I realized that these playoffs were going to be a little different. The big problem was not that the #8 seeded Grizzlies knocking off the #1 seeded Spurs was a huge upset. It was, but not to the degree it seemed. The problem was that despite winning 61 games, second in the NBA, the Spurs were simply not that good a team. And neither were any of the other teams out there. I never once thought to myself, “Wow, THAT’S a Championship team”, while watching ANY team play. A few teams looked great in spurts, but in many ways, this year looks a lot like the 2004 season when the Larry Brown coached Detroit Pistons won their Championship.

2004 was, in many ways, a hiccup year. The two top teams were the Indiana Pacers and Minnesota Timberwolves, two teams that had not made it out of the first round of the playoffs in at least the previous three years and had only won 51 and 48 games respectively the previous season.  And both teams only won 44 games the next season.  This was a weird year, to say the least.

And the Detroit Pistons took advantage. Despite winning only 54 games in a very weak East, the Pistons were able to make it to the Finals just in time to play a collapsing Laker team that was on the verge of being broken up and Phil Jackson retiring (the first time, having learned from Jordan that only sissies retire once). The Pistons would become one of the least talented Championship teams in the last few decades, becoming the first team since 1979 to win a Championship without a current or former All-NBA player (Chauncey Billups would later make the All-NBA 2nd team, but not until after the team had won their Championship) on the roster.

So what does all that have to do with these playoffs? Well, as I said, no team really jumped out at me as being great this year, or in these playoffs, not even the NBA Champion Mavericks.

The Celtics completely screwed themselves when they traded Kendrick Perkins and, with him, the only advantage they had over Miami. Ironically, they made the trade in order to try and be able to defend Miami better, proving they were apparently one of the people not paying attention the last 50 years. Instead of making Miami adjust to their size, Boston blinked first and adjusted their roster to beat Miami. And lost.

Orlando went from contender to pretender when they tried to turn back the clock and sacrificed defense for offense in trading for Hedo Turkoglu. Orlando also hadn’t been paying attention the last 50 years when nearly every single NBA Champion consisted of one of the best defensive teams in the league. I find it amazing that Otis Smith, who until he got his job in Orlando was noteworthy only because he competed in a dunk contest against Michael Jordan while he was at Golden State, still has his job after trying to beat the record for killing a team’s title chances the fastest.

The Lakers won 57 games, but never once looked like the dominant team that marched to the Championship the last two years. And the Spurs, despite having one of the worst defensive seasons in over a decade, won 61 games, yet never seemed to be a real threat to win the title.

And then there’s Miami. Well, I do find it funny that there is so much discussion on the internet that the Miami experiment is now considered a failure and that the big 3 needs to be broken up. This from a team that came within 2 wins of winning the title. If Miami needs to be broken up, I’d hate to think what needs to be done in Chicago or Boston, both of whom could only take a game from Miami in their march to the Finals.

Miami was never the dominant team that some expected, but neither are they the disaster that people are making them out to be, now. On a related note, LeBron is being completely maligned after coming up short in the deciding game, yet until just a few games ago, people were talking about LeBron being better than Michael Jordan. Even Jordan’s wingman, Scottie Pippen, uttered such unbelievable thoughts. But just as they tried to anoint (and then tarnish and then anoint etc) Kobe Bryant as the air apparent, the media and fans try and jump to conclusions far too quickly.

So what does this all mean? Well, it means that Dallas is the best team this year, but that might not be saying much. It means that LeBron isn’t Jordan, but that’s not necessarily an insult. It means that everything will start over again in October, if we’re lucky.

As one of the main focuses of this blog is on the Raptors, does it mean anything to the Raptors? Well it doesn’t mean at all what PhdSteve, over at Raptors Republic, seems to think it does. I don’t see Miami’s defeat as somehow a “referendum” on just how valuable Andrea Bargnani is. The one thing we learned from these playoffs (again, for those who weren’t paying attention the previous 50 years) is that defense wins and bad defensive players Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic all are players that were never the greatest defensive players, but have simply become bad as they’ve gotten older. And all three watched their minutes plummet as the playoffs progressed.

It wasn’t just the teams in the Finals, though. On Boston, the former starter at center for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Nenad Krstic, watched his playing time disappear because, while a good offensive player, was a weak link on a good defensive team.

Now, astute readers will point to Zach Randolph, a player who’s never been accused of taking defense too seriously, came within a game of leading his team to the Conference Finals. Well, all I can say is that Memphis might have ended up beating the Thunder of Randolph was a better defender. Or if that doesn’t work, I could just say they’re the exception that proves the rule, whatever that means.

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COACHING CAROUSEL

Getting back to the Raptors, I find myself unable to get too excited about the coaching search. Dwayne Casey, Lawrence Frank and now Maurice Cheeks are are perfectly adequate choices. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I think they are adequate. Only a desperate coach is going to want to take over a 22 win team with mediocre talent, so the chance of hiring a great coach is pretty slim. It’s one of the reasons I thought the letting go of Triano was a little premature. First of all, I don’t think he did that bad of a job. No, he didn’t do a good one, either, but given what he was given, I don’t think anyone would have done much better. And I don’t know if there would have been much harm in giving him one more year. After that, the team might have more talent to attract a better coach.

GETTING TOO GREEDY

In my last post, I discussed how Golden State might be on the right track when rumours surfaced about a possible trade of Monta Ellis for Andre Iguodala. I’ve always thought that Ellis, while a fantastic scorer, is basically like a model with a drug habit. Sure, she looks great, but the relationship is never going to go anywhere. Iguodala isn’t the scorer that Ellis is, but he’s better at virtually every other aspect of the game. But now news is that Golden State wants more than Iguodala. Maybe that’s why I’m not a GM (well, that and I’m not exactly qualified). I’d take the offer and run. With Jerry West advising the Warriors, I wouldn’t be surprised if they now end up with Philly’s first round pick, or something.

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The Rookies and Sophomores were announced and while DeMar DeRozan was selected, Ed Davis was not.  Was Davis deserving? Sure, but  wouldn’t call it a snub. Favors, who got in over Davis, has similar numbers and with the Nets not having anyone with any chance to make the team, I’m guessing the NBA wanted them to have some presence. It’s likely Davis will replace Blake Griffin, anyway, since most feel Griffin is going to be playing in the big game.

As for the real All-Stars, here would be my selections:

WEST

Guards:

Like other years in the West, there are more All-Stars than spots available for the All-Star game. Guys who probably should make it, but don’t really have a shot, like Steve Nash and Tony Parker, would probably make it in the East.

Manu Ginobili

The best player on the best team in the league. Yes, Tim Duncan may be still the franchise player, but Ginobili is the guy who carries this team and he’s having a career year now that he’s finally injury free. The reason the Spurs are my favourite to win the title is partly because of this guy. No one gets better at crunch time than him. No one.

Deron Williams

Deron deserves a better team than he is surrounded by at the moment, and Utah’s high level mediocrity is not his fault. Without him, this team wouldn’t have a shot at the playoffs.

Forwards:

Someone deserving is going to get left off, and, like the guard position snubs, at least one of them would probably make it if he had this season in the East.

Dirk Nowitzki

Before he went down with injury, Dallas was the second best team in the league. Without him, they were 2-7. It’s not hard to do the math on that one. Nowitzki will never be the defensive force that most Hall of Fame big men are, and because of that probably won’t ever lead Dallas to a Championship (Dallas has underperformed consistently in the playoffs with him), but there’s no doubt this team is far, far much better because of him.

Blake Griffin

Blake Griffin very well might be having the best rookie season since Tim Duncan. He’s 12th in scoring, 4th in rebounding and even dishing a very good 3.6 assists per game, 3rd among ALL big men (PFs and centers) in the league. And he’s getting better every month. Plus, he’s actually helping the Clippers not suck, which is enough to get my vote. Still, if he wants to become truly great, he’s going to have to vastly improve his defense because right now he makes Amare Stoudemire look like Bill Russell.

Center:

Remember when the West had Shaq in his prime and David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon still playing very high level basketball? Now, in order to find a healthy, All-Star worthy center, you have to use the David Stern added rule that you can pick someone who ALSO plays center.

Pau Gasol

Gasol has struggled this year, partly due to an increased workload, but he’s still been one of the main reasons why the Lakers, despite their struggles, are still number 2 in the West.

Wildcards:

Kevin Love

He scores 21.4 ppg and grabs a monstrous 15.5 rpg despite taking 148 shots from beyond the arc and being 10th in the league in 3 point percentage. Oh, and he’s one of the top passers at his position. Sure, he plays for the basement dwelling T-Wolves, but as his video tells us, he’s got the numbers

Russell Westbrook

Some thought he was Oklahoma’s MVP in the early part of the season, and he’s shown some kinks in his armour (why is a PG who shoots 43% from the field taking 17 shots per game), but he’s still helped Oklahoma move up to the fourth seed in the West.

Who I left off:

Obviously I’ve left off some very good players. Tim Duncan was probably the most difficult omission, since he plays on the best team in the league, right now, but does anyone really think he’s not going to be selected to replace Yao?

Tony Parker and Steve Nash I already mentioned, and it’s a shame they won’t make it because they are having All-Star seasons. There just simply isn’t room.

Another guy I’d love to include, but can’t, is LaMarcus Aldridge. He’s carries the Blazers since Roy went down and if he had played like he has in January for the entire season, I’d be tempted to include him. Still, he’s quietly becoming one of the best PFs in the league.

I know Monta Ellis and Zach Randolph put up great numbers, and I included Kevin Love because of his great stats, but I simply can’t see either player ever being a major contributor for a contender. These are prototypical good players on bad teams.

EAST

Guards:

The guard position is very much like the Center position in the West. Obviously not as glaring, but still not exactly strong.

Rajon Rondo

It’s amazing how much he’s improved since he was drafted. His lack of jumpshot might very well be the Celtic’s Achilles heal, but he’s still managed to shoot over 50% from the field, so he’s not exactly hurting the team much.

Ray Allen

He’s having his best season as a Celtic and looking nothing like the creaky, aging player that sometimes looked like he might not have a lot left in the tank the last year or two. I don’t know what the Celtics are giving him, but I want some.

Forwards:

Kevin Garnett

Back when Garnett went down with injury, in 2008, I was adamant that the Celtics were hiding the seriousness of the injury. They never satisfactorily explained the injury or commented how long he’d be out. The deeper the Celtics got in the playoffs, the more fishy it looked that he didn’t look like he was trying to return. Honestly, after that, I figured his career was pretty much done. Especially after the start last year. But whatever the Celtics are giving to Allen, they must also be giving to Garnett because he looks fully recovered.

Chris Bosh

Remember when everyone thought Chris Bosh was the problem in Miami during their horrible start? No one has any harsh words to say about him now (well, except for some Raptor fans). He’s not the best player on the Heat, but he’s just as important as Wade and LeBron to their success.

Center:

A lot has changed in the East at the center position when Jamaal Magloire made the All Star team for the sole fact that he was the best player at a position that didn’t include many good players.While the position is not exactly teeming with All-Star worthy players, with guys like Horford, Noah, Bogut and Lopez, the East looks like it won’t have any trouble filling the position any time soon.

Al Horford

Joe Johnson is the team’s leading scorer, but I think Horford has become the team’s best player. When Johnson went down, the team barely faltered, but they lost Horford, I think they’d be in trouble. He’s not a great scorer, but he can score if needed, and he really doesn’t have a weakness.

Wildcards:

Paul Pierce

The main reason the Celtics didn’t falter when Rondo went down was Paul Pierce played like an MVP. Like his other veteran stars, he’s getting old, but he’s proven he’s still got a couple of good years left, at least.

Carlos Boozer

The selection I’m least happy about. Noah is the second best player on Chicago, but because he’s injured, he’s out. I could easily be swayed to select Joe Johnson, instead, but Boozer had a big impact on Chicago, so he sneaks by. He’s still not a good defensive player, but he’s decent enough that he’s not a liability on that end.

Who I left off:

Obviously Joe Johnson was the hardest cut. And I’m not thrilled about having FOUR Celtics, no matter how good the team is. San Antonio only has three and they have the best record in the league. The truth is, though, that all four Celtic All-Stars are deserving.

Joakim Noah will be a perennial All-Star when he’s healthy, and his injury is the only thing that prevented his inclusion.

Andrew Bogut might end up being a perennial snub since both Noah and Horford should probably always be ahead of him. He’s still a very good player and would probably be an All-Star in the West, at center.

Josh Smith again misses out on the cut. Good, but not good enough.

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My end of the year post, which detailed 5 trades that needed to happen in 2011, may not have been so far out, after all. A few weeks after I posted that column, and not long after Anderson Varejao ended his season with an injury, it came out that Oklahoma was in discussions with Cleveland to try and get…you guessed it, Anderson Varejao.

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Speaking of my trades that need to happen, the Nets have pulled out and I think it’s probably the best thing for them. Carmelo has never proven to be enough of a difference maker to want to dismantle your team to get him. He’d certainly be a nice player if they can sign him, but if I were the Nets, I wouldn’t try and hit a home run with a kid’s bat (that’s the only analogy I could think of). Especially if the deal includes the aging Richard Hamilton and Chauncey Billups, who are still good, but aren’t going to get the Nets to the promised land.

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One more thing about Andrea Bargnani after last week’s column. Kevin Love, who is averaging 15.5 rpg has taken 3 fewer three point shots, while shooting a much higher percentage, than Andrea, this season. So much for the excuse that Bargnani doesn’t grab as many rebounds because he takes so many threes. Obviously Kevin Love doesn’t listen to excuses.

“I told him if he goes down to the D-League and isn’t a dominant player, there should be red flags all over the place, and he should be the first to notice.”

He went on to say that O’Bryant not only didn’t dominate, he didn’t play well. And Raptor fans saw the result of that.

So, what exactly is with the jaded NC crowd in the background? The woman appears to be TEXTING while her team gets a dunk.

Well, Ed Davis has been called up to the Raptors after a shortened run with the Eerie Bayhawks due to Reggie Evans’ injury. After watching him in two NDBL games, in limited minutes, I can honestly, and happily, say that Davis dominated. I didn’t see one play run for him, yet he was still able to average 10 ppg on .583 shooting, 5 rpg and 3 bpg in just 17.5 mpg. For those who aren’t mathematically inclined, that’s basically 20-10-6 if he had played 30+ minutes. Obviously those stats don’t tell the whole story, but for two games, it’s obviously that Davis played well.

Beyond the stats, Davis looked good. He looks like he may have gained some muscle since the summer league, which is good since his biggest weakness right now might very well be his lack of bulk. It occurred to me at one point that he reminds me of a more skilled Amir Johnson. He’s very active around the rim, and keeps the ball high on rebounds and lob passes. Hopefully, Davis doesn’t follow Amir’s lead fouling, as well.

It will be interesting to see Davis and Johnson play together since both are active on both ends of the floor and will probably be the two best front court defenders the Raptors have. Dorsey certainly tries to make up for Reggie’s rebounding, and he’s more of a threat on the offensive end, but his defense was not particularly good against the Hawks.

I wouldn’t expect Davis to much more than 10-15 mpg, at first, until he gets comfortable. By around the New Year, or so, he might be playing as many as 20 mpg. Of course his future allotment of minutes will depend heavily on how long Reggie is out for and how successful Davis is on the court.

Now while I’m expecting Davis to play well, Raptor fans shouldn’t get their hopes up that he’s going to make much of an impact on the win column. Not when you look around the league and see how the other rookies are doing. It’s actually a bit stunning. If you take the teams with the top five picks this last draft, as well as the Clippers, who had the top pick from last season (since Blake Griffin didn’t play last year, he’s a rookie this year), you’ll see that they have 6 of the 7 worst records in the league this year.

What’s even more eye opening is that 8 of the top 9 rookies this season play for 6 of the bottom 7 teams. Rookies are great, but if you want to win, they generally aren’t going to help you much, no matter what kind of numbers they’re putting up. Both John Wall and Blake Griffin are having All-Star calibre seasons, but probably won’t be selected for the big game since both their teams are simply terrible.

And while John Wall has missed 5 of the Wizards 15 games, they’re only 3 and 7 with him in the lineup. Interestingly, those three wins are against Philadelphia (twice) and Houston. Sound familiar to Raptor fans? Yes, of Toronto’s 6 wins, two were against the Sixers and one against Houston, both apparently fodder for the lesser teams in the league.

The Clippers are unique because they have arguably 3 of the top 10 rookies of the year (Griffin, Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe- who was one of my sleepers of the draft), yet are currently sitting at the bottom in the standings. Still, the future has to look pretty bright for the Clippers with those three, as well as scoring phenom and third year SG, Eric Gordon and big man Chris Kaman on board.

The current Clipper squad  reminds me a little of the early Miami Heat teams that had Rony Seikaly, Glen Rice, Steve Smith, Grant Long and Bimbo Coles. All five of those players were drafted by the Heat within 3 years of one another and, in 1992 and led the Heat to their first ever playoff appearance in just their fourth season.

In fact, the next season, the Heat had 11 players on the roster that were drafted by the team in the last four years. Talk about stockpiling youth.

The Heat looked like the model expansion franchise. Unfortunately injuries, some poor drafting and a couple of bad trades later and the team had to be rebuilt. Only one player from that 1992 team was on the 1997 Heat team that made it to the Conference Finals, Keith Askins, a deep bench player for the ’92 team that found a role as a tough, defensive player on the ’97 team. While the ’92 team had youth and talent, what they didn’t have enough of was veteran play.

Which brings us back to the Clippers and the moral of my story. Am I the only one who thinks the Clippers draft pick might be ripe for the picking this summer? Another rookie is probably the last thing they need and it’s likely they’ll be looking to move it for a quality veteran who will actually give them a few more wins.

Youth certainly is being wasted on the young in Sacramento, too, where they have the fourth worst record despite former Rookie of the Year, Tyreke Evans, and 5th pick, DeMarcus Cousins, one of only 3 rookies to average double figures in scoring, teaming up. Of course, it doesn’t help that neither player is shooting anything closely resembling respectable. Cousins, especially, is shooting a shockingly bad .384 even though he’s supposed to be their best post player. One of the big problems with Sacramento, other than the fact that their defense is pretty bad, is the main reason I’ve never been a huge fan of Evans. He’s a ball dominator who doesn’t make those around him better. Wade, Kobe and Brandon Roy are SG’s that dominate the ball, but they also raise the level of play of those around them. Evans simply doesn’t do that.

And Evans has had questions surrounding his character since before was drafted, and was charged with reckless driving while driving at speeds as fast as 130 mph (210 kph). This makes the news that Cousins was kicked out of a recent practice all the more disturbing. If Evans and Cousins are the future of the team, what does it say that neither can seem to stay out of trouble?

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In other news around the NBA, things are getting worse and worse for the Heat. While they did win last night, it was against the lowly Wizards, and now there are rumours that head coach, Erik Spoelstra, has lost the confidence in his players. The now infamous “bump”, is apparently not the first time LeBron has taken his frustrations out on his coach. There may be some bigger issues than just meshing the big three together. Raptor fans watch all of this with great interest as the Heat’s pick the Raptors will be getting gets higher and higher. Even if they do end up putting it all together at some point, the more they struggle at first, the higher the pick will be.

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In New Jersey, former Raptor (Jazz and Maverick) Kris Humphries is having a career year and starting not only in front of 3rd pick Derrick Favors, but the guy who was supposed to be the starter, Troy Murphy. In his last ten games, Humphries is averaging 9.7 ppg and 11.8 rpg while shooting over 60% for the season. One of the biggest problems with Humphries, in his 6 pervious seasons, was that he never seemed to get over the fact that he was not the teams main offensive guy. He couldn’t help taking more shots than he should, instead of concentrating at what he was good at- rebounding and doing the dirty work. In New Jersey, he may have finally figured it out.

Speaking of New Jersey, Troy Murphy may not be too long there. Apparently he and coach Avery Johnson are not on speaking terms after Johnson pulled Murphy out of the lineup due to “fitness concerns”, which was news to Murphy.

I’ve got to say I’m amazed when I read things like this. I couldn’t imagine a similar scenario in a “real” workplace. Two mature adults should never act like that, especially at their place of employment.

Keep in mind, I live in Vancouver. And it’s November. In the last five minutes, we’ve gotten more snow than we did all of last winter. The winter that hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world descended upon the city to watch the 2010 Winter Olympics. The winter that the local ski mountain had to actually import snow in order to have enough to run the events.

A look at the current NBA standings doesn’t help matters. Wasn’t Miami supposed to be a powerhouse this year? As of right now, they’re sitting 6th in the East, barely above .500. In fact, if the playoffs started today, and they were in the West, they’d be a lottery team. Can you imagine if the Heat missed the playoffs?

San Antonio, who many wrote off as a legitimate contender, is the best team in the league. Houston, on the other hand, which some felt was the sleeper of the West, is floundering near the bottom.

Charlotte is a bottom dweller, Milwaukee looks awful and Cleveland is in the 8th spot, just a game and a half behind Miami. What’s even more shocking is that Toronto, who many pundits called the worst team in the league, before the season started, is just below Cleveland in the 9th spot, and have just reeled off four wins in a row. In fact, the Raptors have beaten the top two teams in the East, Orlando and Boston.

And right on cue, Raptor fans are starting to think about the playoffs. Keep in mind, this is the same Raptor fanbase that wanted to dismantle the team after losing to Charlotte at home just two weeks ago. Neck braces are required with the amount of whiplash Raptor fans give.

So what to make of all that is happening?

First, I want to look at a few teams before the Raptors (if all you want to do is read about the Raptors, than I suggest you scroll down a little).

Too much is already written about the Miami Heat, so I won’t go into great detail, but they do show that simply getting talent isn’t enough. You’ve got to get the right talent. While the Heat grabbed, arguably, the three biggest free agents on the market last summer, not one of them compliments each other. And while they were able to retain and sign some role players, they apparently weren’t the right ones. They have possibly the worst starting PG in the entire league and practically invite scoring in the paint. And now with Udonis Haslem out for possibly the year.

Now, I certainly don’t think they will continue to play at this low level for the rest of the season, even with Haslem, who was their best interior defender, possibly out for the season. If they win fewer than 50 games this year, I will be absolutely shocked, despite them being half a game above .500 right now. Still, for Raptor fans, even 50 games would probably give the Raptors a pick in the low 20′s (they got Miami’s first round pick in the sign and trade for Bosh), which would be a lot better than most expected.

And then there’s Philadelphia. With Doug Collins on board, the 2nd pick in the draft and another year’s maturation of the young players, many people thought Philadelphia might be vying for a playoff spot. After watching them lose twice against the Raptors, as well as ten other teams, it’s obvious the only thing they will be vying for is the fewest wins with the Clippers.

The Sixers certainly weren’t good last year (another season in which they didn’t live up to expectations), but injuries caused problems and they did finish with 27 wins. 27 wins would be a ten game improvement over where they are projected to be if they continue at the same pace. So why are they playing so poorly? Believe it or not, I think it has a lot to do with them trading away Samuel Dalembert.

Sure, Dalembert was not a great fit for the team and never lived up to his contract, but for all his faults he was a defensive center who could rebound the ball and defend the middle. Without him, Philly is left with Spencer Hawes, who was supposed to give them more offense, but has given them very little of anything. And Elton Brand is not the intimidator he used to be, so driving the paint, as the Raptors have discovered in two games against them, is relatively easy.

And while Jrue Holiday is putting up pretty good stats, and playing good defense, he’s still struggling mightily trying to figure out how to run a team. He’s the perfect examples of why assist numbers don’t automatically mean a player is a good PG. Holiday is a pretty good player, but he’s still got a while to go before he’s a good PG.

Milwaukee certainly doesn’t have a hole in the middle. Andrew Bogut has recovered nicely from his brutal injury last season and is putting up similar numbers to last season, although scoring fewer points at a lower percentage. In fact, the entire team is having some trouble putting the ball in the hoop at a reasonably high rate. Of the top 4 scorers on the Bucks, only one is shooting above 40%, Carlos Delfino, and he’s not exactly lighting it up at 42%. Milwaukee is currently last in the league in field goal percentage at .409. That’s bad. Historically bad. That’s something that shouldn’t happen with a really good point guard.

I was critical of Brandon Jennings, last season, because I felt that, despite his numbers, his game was still quite flawed. He shot a low percentage, but that didn’t stop him from shooting more than anyone else on the team. If you’re the PG, your job is to get your team the best shots possible, and if you’re taking a lot of bad shots, that’s a good indication that your decision making is a problem. Apparently it still is. He’s taking more than 3 shots a game more than anyone else on the team yet shooting 38%.

On the other end of the spectrum are the Spurs. There was a time, not so long ago, when I would pick them every year to win the Championship every year and be right half of the time. I even picked them last year, after a little hiatus, because I thought the moves they made, like trading for Richard Jefferson, was enough to put them back over the top. I guess I was a year late. No, they still aren’t favourites to win the Championship, not with Kobe and the Lakers still around, but they are looking like a much better team. They are scoring better, Jefferson finally looks like he’s fitting in. They have an excellent front line, anchored by one of the best defensive bigs in the league, and both Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are playing like All-Stars again. Between them they are averaging more than 40 points and 12 assists per game.

And now we come to the Raptors. Before the season began, I predicted the Raptors would win 28 games. They’re currently on pace to win 32 games. So the first question is, why are they playing better than most predicted?

Well, they are scoring at a lower rate with a lower percentage, so obviously the improvement is not on the offensive end. On defense, a quick look shows that they are 19th in opponents scoring per game and near the bottom in defensive field goal percentage. Their defensive rating, however HAS improved, in part because they are rebounding the ball better and, in part, because they are causing more turnovers.

No doubt about it, this Raptor team looks completely different from the one that played last year, even though much the personnel is the same. They are more athletic, run more, despite scoring less, and rebound the ball much better (thanks largely to Reggie Evans). And Jose Calderon is finally looking like the same guy who signed his big contract a couple of years ago. He seems healthy, is playing with confidence and has improved his defense to where it’s almost respectable. Not quite, but close.

And they’re on a four game win streak. Time to start thinking about the playoffs?

At the risk of annoying fans who hate anything written about their beloved Raptors that doesn’t involve rainbows coming out the player’s asses, I have to say that it’s a little early to start planning for playoff tickets.

While the four game win streak was nice, two of the wins came against an inept Philadelphia team that can’t score or defend, one came against a very bad Houston team and the other against a Rondo-less Celtics team. Nothing to sneeze at, especially after the recent Florida trip which got people’s hopes up.

The team is in a precarious position. In order for the team to play like they are, too many things have to go right for them to do it on a consistent basis. First off, Reggie Evans is having a career year. He’s rebounding the ball like no Raptor player has ever done, and his hustle is contagious. Unfortunately, because of his lack of offense, there’s no way in hell he should be starting, and might very well be traded before the trade deadline. He’s starting, however, to make up for the anemic rebounding that Bargnani gives the team. While Bargnani is scoring like a maniac, he’s still deficient on the defensive end of the floor and on the boards, so when he isn’t scoring big, he simply hurts the team. Of the Raptors 6 wins, in only one of them did Bargnani score fewer than 24 points. And that game was against a Cleveland team missing two of it’s best players.

And what happens when Ed Davis returns? Whose minutes does he take? Amir Johnson probably deserves more than the 20 mpg he’s playing now, as long as he can stay on the floor, and while I think Davis will eventually be a very good player, he’s going to take some time. And while I think he should be able to rebound well, he’s not going to do it at a rate similar to Reggie, so rebounds might end up being a problem agains for the Raptors.

And while Calderon looks like he’s turned the corner, DeMar DeRozan is still too inconsistent to be counted on. It’s far, far too early to write him off, especially after what he showed early, but it’s obvious he’s going to take more time. Keep in mind that, despite his struggles, DeRozan is playing much better in his second season than Bargnani did in his second season, so anyone who thinks he should be traded, especially those Bargnani fans who I know have called for it, are ignorant at best and hypocritical at worst.

And while the Raptors have improved their defense, they aren’t exactly holding their opponents to a low shooting percentage. They just happen to often shoot better than them in the games they win. Not a recipe for consistent success.

While it may sound like I’m predicted doom and gloom for the Raptors, the Raptors have proven, even when they lose, to be an entertaining team that works hard. And while the playoffs may seem like a great thought, is it really the right thing for them in the long run? Well, that’s another story….