October 31, 2009 at 10:06 pm · Filed under Personal
Happy Halloween to everyone out there in Basketball land!
I hope you all had a great day of trick or treating, cuz I sure did.
On another, more somber note, there were 7 games on the schedule and not a SINGLE ONE was on when I channel surfed this evening … I mean seriously … I pay over 90$ a month for cable PURELY so I can catch some NBA and there are nights when mother****ing poker and darts take the evening stage! Those damn things belong on The Ocho!
And instead of being able to watch San Antonio or Dallas go at it tonight, I had to settle for watching Rocky Horror Picture Show and a lame boxing match!
Oh well …. I hope you guys like this LeBron James jack-o-lantern that I found on the web tonight …. I call it “The Jack-O-Bron” lol.
October 31, 2009 at 12:00 am · Filed under NBA, bizarre
On the heels of hearing that Donaghy’s book is gonna get canceled, Deadspin has excerpts of the book that show, in great detail, WHY the NBA has been threatening legal action against former publisher Random House.
If there is ONE article you read this year, make it this one!
One of my most favourite sections …
If Kobe Bryant had two fouls in the first or second quarter and went to the bench, one referee would tell the other two, “Kobe’s got two fouls. Let’s make sure that if we call a foul on him, it’s an obvious foul, because otherwise he’s gonna go back to the bench. If he is involved in a play where a foul is called, give the foul to another player.”
Similarly, when games got physically rough, we would huddle up and agree to tighten the game up. So we started calling fouls on guys who didn’t really matter — “ticky-tack” or “touch” fouls where one player just touched another but didn’t really impede his progress. Under regular circumstances these wouldn’t be fouls, but after a skirmish we wanted to regain control. We would never call these types of fouls on superstars, just on the average players who didn’t have star status. It was important to keep the stars on the floor.
I mean … you just HAD to know …. didn’t you? … Even an inkling?
The impressive part is not the score of the game or what the Big 3 (or 4) did so much as what rookie DeJuan Blair did – 7/10 from the field, 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers!
Literally. The NBA mafia started sending out legal action letters to Random House and, them being the spineless corporation that they are, tucked their tail between their legs and ran. I guess they were scared of what Don Sterneone would say if the book was published.
I want Donaghy’s story to be aired. Give the man his chance to speak. But the NBA has a REAL vendetta against Donaghy and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
This game was played at the ACC and Cleveland was coming off a tough loss to Boston the night before. Raptors won the game 101-91.
I watched this game as a replay and have SO many things that stand out that I wanna note ….
1. LeBron James is a basketball FREAK!
He nets 38 points and 4 blocks in his first game and gets a triple double in this one – 23 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists. I mean, this kid is a juggernaut! I watch him play and am amazed by his level of skill at such a young age …. he’s only 24!
2. The Cavs are watching instead of playing
A bunch of times, I noticed that the Cavs are standing around and watching LeBron James DO everything. This is what happened to the Lakers of ’06-’07 and ’07-’08. The Cavs need to move more and help James out by taking defenders eyes off him.
3. The Cavs don’t quite know what to do with Shaq
There were a few times where they simply didn’t know how to work with Shaq. Especially defensively, they are expecting him to be more like Ilgauskas (high BB IQ) and it translated into some terrible plays for the Cavs, on both O and D. This is a lot of what it was like when he played in Phoenix that first year. They know he is a beast on the block and they feed it to him there, but, just like with Bron, once that ball goes in, everyone stops and watches. What makes Shaq so good is when he gets people cutting and slashing into the lane and the Cavs are not doing that. Maybe they are star struck?
4. Andrea Bargnani has finally arrived!
Wow did Bargs LOOK GOOD last night! 28 points, 5 rebounds. And his points were TIMELY! They weren’t at the start of the game but rather, when the Raps needed a bucket and needed someone to make something happen! With both Shaq and Z, Bargnani definitely had the advantage when he took the ball on the wing, schooling Shaq once of twice on a drive, slashing for a couple of blocks and draining an open trey or foul line jumper when Z or Shaq refused to guard him out there. They are gonna need that this year from him with teams looking to smother Bosh in the block.
Also, the addition of Nesterovic was RIDICULOUSLY good last night as he and Bargnani formed a Twin Towers lineup that basically neutralized Shaq and Z! It was like “Whoa”!
5. Bosh is still a beast!
21 points, 16 rebounds and 2 assists. He got blocked a few times and made a couple of bad plays but he was, overall, really good. I think he is benefiting from having Turk and Calderon back.
6. Belinelli and Turkoglu = Perimeter awesomeness!
At least for this game, Turkoglu (12p, 7r, 3a, 3b) and Belinelli (10 pts) made some very important plays throughout the game! Belinelli, especially, was very impressive. He went through the lane, one play, on a drive that ended in a two handed slam that made ME stand and cheer! I thought his shooting was a bit erratic (4-8) and could have used better decision making, but he was overall very solid. Turkoglu was ice when they needed to cool down the Cavs and he had a couple of key stops on D that made a huge difference for the Raps.
7. As a TEAM, the Raps LOOK good right now
Their performance against an early Conference Final favourite was solid and, if they can keep up the momentum, they can really make some noise and/or shatter some dreams this year.
8. The Cavs are 0-2.
First time that has happened since 2004. What is going on there? LeBron shot some exasperated looks at various players throughout the night, including his new teammate – Shaq! I wonder if Shaq could diss LeBron like he did with Kobe, Penny and Howard without getting ridiculed by someone …. and at what point do we declare the Shaq experiment to be a success or a failure?
It’s a stress fracture of his knee cap that apparently occurred after the dunk of a game … he is slated to be out a minimum of 6 weeks ….. SIX WEEKS!!!
From a personal perspective, I can completely understand his injury and can sympathize with him.
From a Fantasy Perspective, it pisses me right off! I used a draft pick on him and watched as other comparable players were picked away … Damn it!
I hope Corey Brewer has some Magic in his uniform tomorrow …
What a knucklehead … and his apology is so SO WEAK!
“I am extremely disappointed that this incident occurred and that it will prevent me from starting the season with the rest of my teammates. I was defending myself. I wasn’t just fighting. I feel like I let my team down by breaking my hand. I have to make better decisions on how I choose my friends.”
I’m unable to watch the rest of the games on TV … stupid cable … but I will post results when I find them out …
October 22, 2009 at 10:09 pm · Filed under fantasy
We’re sitting at October 22nd and there’s about 3 days left to the start of our fantasy draft!
I’m getting pumped up right now!
I’ve done my homework, watched fantasy television broadcasts, downloaded my fantasy kit, done some independant research and formed personal lists and I consider myself to be ready for this weekend’s draft!
All I gotta say is that if you don’t take the time and sign up now, you’re gonna miss out on a fun season. There’s drama, intrigue, trash talk, and lots of LOLs.
Nickname: None yet, but given his name and his special effects laden skills, he should be nicknamed 3D
Birth Date: August 7, 1989
Height: 6′-7″
Weight: 220 lbs
Drafted: Ninth overall by the Toronto Raptors, April 8, 2009
Salary: $2.2 Million
Position: Shooting Guard
College: USC Trojans, (one year)
College Stats: 13.5PPG, 5.7RPG, 1.5APG
High School: Compton High in Compton, California
High School Stats: 29PPG, 8RPG, ranked #3 in nation, went 26-6 to win Division Championship, 2008 McDonalds All American, 2008 All State Team (Cali), 2008 McDonalds All American Dunk Champ, played for Master P and his PMiller Ballers with Lil Romeo in AAU.
Family: Frank and Diane DeRozan – Parents, mother suffers from Lupus, 1 older brother – Jermaine
Able to dunk: By Grade 6
Favourite Player: Kobe Bryant – he loses MANY respect points for this ….
Favourite Team: LA Lakers – he loses many MORE respect points for this ….
Favourite Shoes: Nike – signed to Kobe’s shoe company (the ONLY player to get signed this year to THAT label
Drama: Check this link out for a laundry list of drama that followed DeRozan throughout his HS and College Careers.
Final Thoughts: Already being called “Heir Canada”, he possesses freakish athletic skills and is already being compared to Vince Carter but with a more humble, down to earth attitude. He is primarily a slahser that plays from the wing and has shot .370 from the field in the pre season. He is already being given the “next franchise player” label without having actually played a single NBA game, which is quite disrespectful to Bargnani, Calderon and Bosh, if you ask me. I guess the Raps are pretty sure that Chris Bosh is gonna leave this coming summer. Regardless, DeRozan appears poised to be the next great Raptors cash cow.
On a side note, can we PLEASE STOP with the “Air Canada” labels? It’s not only cheesy and lame, it’s also ridiculosuly capitalist/marketing BS. Something more creative needs to be thought up. Doesn’t anybody know that Air Canada SUCKS as a transportation company!?!?!?
I have an account that keeps track of certain statistics on my site. For example, I can see when someone comes over from a search engine and what the search term was that they were looking for.
Well, this week someone on the Int3Rwee8Z was actuallylooking for an image of a Bobcat fighting a Tiger.
I laughed out loud when I saw this. The IDEA is just silly! So I went online to look for information as to HOW silly the prospect of a Tiger “fighting” a Bobcat really is and this is what I found …
Full Grown Weight: Around 700lbs – this is about 100 – 125lbs more than a full grown Lion.
The largest recorded Tiger weighed in at 1,000lbs
Full Grown Size: In length, from 7 – 13 FEET. In height, up to 3 FEET
Where are they found: Mainly in Asia, in the regions of Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhatan, and Malaysia as well as India.
So …. as we can see, aside from the OBVIOUS height, length and weight advantage the tiger has, the two animals live in 2 entirely different ecological systems and in two completely opposite areas of the world. The chances of a Tiger meeting a Bobcat in the wild and having that encounter be caught by a National Geographic Photo Crew are about as good as yourchances of dating Beyonce Knowles …. Or being struck in the head by an Asteroid.
And IF a Tiger ever was pitted against a Bobcat in a “fight to the death”, then I would gather that the Tiger would floss his genitals with the Bobcat first before eating it in one bite. Not to mention the legal ramifications of setting up that grudge match.
So to whomever is out there looking for Images of a Bobcat fighting a Tiger, how about if I just post a picture of Trogdor fighting a Liger?
That seems like a more plausible scenario seeing as it would be an artist’s paper and pencil that would bring this encounter to life as opposed to … you know … REAL LIFE. Plus I’ve added a few Scrabble tiles in there so you can earn POINTS for your imagination.
Okay, the story itself is about the Tel-Aviv coach who refused to leave in the third quarter. Great. The REAL Story, as far as I am concerned, is Darko Milicic and how much of a punk this guy is. Go to the bottom of the article and read the second to last sentence.
The sentence says that Darko Milicic sat out the second half of a pre-season game vs. Macabi Tel-Aviv because ….. ready for it? …. of an upset stomach.
AN UPSET STOMACH!
Dude gets paid about $7 Million Dollars PER YEAR toplay basketball! And he sits out a half because his tummy has an owie. Yet he felt good enough to play the FIRST 24 minutes! That makes NO sense to me!
As if his reputation isn’t already terrible, now he’s gonna baby it up in the biggest market in the entire NBA!
I swear, some people are just such a waste of height and talent …. I know people (including myself) who would play through ligament tears! And this guy gets indigestion and he has to get bedrest!
It’s actually making me mad just thinking and writing about this so I am gonna stop.
“If you will call your troubles ‘experiences’, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.”
I am trying to take the approach that adversity (troubles, difficulties) are nothing more than opportunities to develop something more within yourself. I think we could ALL stand to remember that things could always be worse. From being homeless to being unemployed, there’s always some other way that life can suck. So the decision is always, ultimately, ours to make:
Bow our head and give in or dig our heels and make due with what we got …
Easier to preach than to do …. but always worth trying …
“I don’t want to be a role model. … Being captain was overrated to me, anyway. You don’t do anything but go out before the game and talk to the refs. I don’t want to do that, anyway.”
“Any time somebody takes $150,000 from me, of course it’s going to change. If my mom took some money from me I’d still love her to death but I’d still be upset about it. And he’s not my mom.”
To say that things in Golden State are frigid would be an understatement. After becoming darlings in 2007, The Warriors are back to being the donkeys on the NBA. And Jackson is none too happy about that. For those who do not yet know (like, 2 of you) Jackson was suspended 2 games for “conduct detrimental to the team” and fined roughly $150,000 by Warriors brass (aka – Nelson). This after getting hit with 5 fouls and a Technical in under 9 minutes of action in his game vs. The Lakers
Although I understand and feel his pain, a part of me has to wonder WHY he would choose to act this way after working so hard to fix his image and get back to being considered a solid player to have on your squad. PART of the reason for the blow up was the ever charismatic Kobe Bryant. This article showcases the lack of class and maturity of Mr. Bryant … and for that matter, the author who apparently “loves it” when Kobe turns into a mega jackass.
As a side note, does the game’s supposed best player HAVE to act in such a way that demeans his opponents as human beings on top of destroying them in game? Is it a part of the game to have to insult your opponent? No. It is not. It is not what we teach the kids coming up in all the programs, or in schools or anywhere else where good sportsmanship is practiced. I also happen to think that until FANS stop condoning his (or any other jackass NBA Player’s) behaviour, we’ll see more and more primma donna douchebags coming up and acting the fool when they really don’t need to.
ANYWAY, it is now clear that Jackson’s days in Warriors garb is coming to a close. I find it kinda sad as it appeared that he had found a place to call home. Interesting what a year or two can do to a person / team.
“I’m resting, doing what Michael Jordan did, enjoying life, doing things I haven’t done in 16 years, keep building my empire. I wasn’t going to Boston for that money. It was a prudent business decision to take off this year.”
This is difficult to understand because, well, first of all he’s NOT Jordan. Secondly, the one season sit is NOT by choice. He just flat out tells you that it was about the money! So let’s see …. perception in the media is that he is 100% crazy, that he is a cancer in the locker room, he is a selfish basketball player, and now you add GREEDY and out of shape to the list! I think Steph’s career is as good as done. So long as he keeps focusing on his “brand” more than his game, he is done. I don’t see any GM out there who would be willing to take a chance on him anymore. Not with his baggage.
And that window is closing quickly! He’s 32 this year (he was born in ’77) and every year he takes to be a nuisance is one less year that he will get paid to play hoops! At this rate, he’ll be lucky to get a commentating job on any radio or TV station – and that is the life blood on most NBA players after their playing days are done!!
What’s worse is that he’s causing issues once again for the Knicks! After stating that he’ll sit this year out, he went on to add that he’s going to take in the Knicks Season Opener, though he wonders why any other New York fan would want to …
“I’m just talking as a fan and New Yorker who grew up loving the Knicks: Why would I give you my money to watch them? This is atrocious. Guys coming down court, just raising up 3-pointers from anywhere. The coaching is horrible. What kind of coaching is this?”
Maybe he forgot how he played already ….. then he goes on to talk about LeBron!
“LeBron isn’t coming to a rebuilding team. Why would he come to a rebuilding team? It makes no sense. Is this franchise built to win a championship or to make money?”
Things just keep getting weirder with this guy. He needs an intervention in a major, major way.
I mean, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE crazy! I happen to be a permanent resident! But there’s a difference between “Ha! He ate his pillow!” crazy and “OMG, he’s got a bomb!” crazy … and Steph is starting to toe the line between those two categories. It is apparent to everyone who knows anything about him that he is headed for a supernova level meltdown …
Larry Brown was fined around $60,000 by the NBA and the Bobcats were fined another $60,000 for an altercation between Brown and the officials at a pre-season game.
On top of this, they found out that Flip Murray is suffering from a stress reaction in his left shin and is out for the remainder of the pre-season.
Oh, and Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler (surprise, surprise) are recovering from injuries too.
He’s out for the remainder of the pre-season with a strained calf. As he gets older and older, I imagine we might see him succumb more and more to injuries and such. Could this be a sign of things to come?
In a game vs. the Cavs, he went up for what looked to be a regular, ordinary shot blocking attempt. But I guess the angle was not right. Z fought through the block attempt and hit Jamison right under the armpit. Jamison came down and immediately clutched his shoulder and headed for the locker room.
The verdict right now is that he’s out at least 1 week. But he could lose up to 1 month if the thing turns out to be a dislocation. This would suck for Jamison and the Wizznuts as he is one of their most consistent and important players on the court.
Not to mention the implications in Fantasy Leagues …
Reports put his recovery time at 4-6 weeks which is a damn shame as this kid is supposed to be having a break out year this year! Oh well. Next month, Love.
The official line is that Olympiakos has judgments against it, dating back to a court case in 1999, where the club was found to have breached a contract with Chris Morris.
Fast forward 10 years. Olympiakos starts luring NBA Stars away and held exhibition games vs. The Cavaliers on the 12th of October and San Antonio on the 9th of October.
All of a sudden, Peter King, a US Congressman out of New York starts asking why the NBA is holding talks and dealing with someone who has breached a contract with one of its former players and WHAT the NBA is doing to ensure fair treatment of its players overseas.
The NBA launched a video rulebook Thursday. It is a website where fans can watch clips of plays accompanied by explanations of the rules. So if you ever wanted to know WHAT a charge or a block is, then go to the site and check it out.
For the record, I went to the site and checked some of the rules out and most of the stuff there is pretty Mickey Mouse High School Basketball rules. There is no examples of LeBron’s crab walk dribble dribble, or the traveling that happens excessively on turn around jumpers and reverse dribbles. Or Kobe’s fade away.
As a potential sign of things to come, the Pre Season is looking interesting. Of note is that Philly is 4-1, Orlando is 5-0, and Chicago is 5-1. Especially interesting is the Atlantic Division where the Celtics come in second place at 4-1 and the Raps come in 4th behind New York, of all teams. I don’t know that the Sixers will be able to maintain that 4-1 momentum into the regular season, but it does look like the Raps are 3rd or 4th seed in their division, with Jersey putting on the Dunce cap for the year along with perennial loser-ville residents Sacramento, Memphis, Minnesota, LA Clippers (I don’t care what the standings say, they are NOT a 3-1 team) or the tempermental Golden State Warriors.
We’re down to 10 days to the regular season tip!
10 days before we get to see our old friends EJ, Kenny and Charles as well as Kamla, Eric Snow and Andre Aldridge …. then again, in 10 days we’ll be force fed Gary Payton, Chris Webber and Ahmad Rashad too ….. I suppose there’s always a Yang to my Yin ….
On the advice of my friends and family, I visited the Sports Injury Clinic today. This, after being unable to put any weight on my leg for 2 whole days. I went in for an X-Ray and proceeded to wait for 4 1/2 hours. When it was all said and done, I was told that I have fractured my ankle. Not only that, but it appears that my body was trying to heal a previous fracture in the same general area!
In the image above, the fracture occurs at the Medial Malleolus. MY fracture occurs on Talus bone, right around where the line ends.
The prognosis is 4-6 weeks minimum before I can get back. I have a follow up appointment in 3 weeks where we will see how the healing is going. If everything goes well and my body does its job properly, I can begin a 2-3 week rehab regimen.
You better believe that I am gonna do my rehab and that I am gonna strengthen the muscles in my feet this coming offseason!
And no more playing without my braces. This is the end of ankle injuries for me – of the serious variety, anyway.
The one bright side to the appointment is that the doctor says that I can make a full recovery and go back to playing like normal. That and the fact that I caught it in time before I did anything stupid, like play on it or something.
It’s gonna be a LONG month …
Oh, by the way, do yourself a favour and DO NOT go to google to search “fractured ankle” because the first 10 images or so are of compound breaks and fractures where the bone portrudes from the skin …. I actually got a wee bit squeamish at seeing what COULD have happened if more weight had been added to my leg on the fall …
Going up for a block, I came down on the foot of a teammate and had someone land on the side of my calf (inside of my leg) bringing the sprain down with someone else’s added force. I had to be helped out of the gym and was not able to put weight down on my foot.
Since I got home, I have been following the R.I.C.E. prescription and have taken Aleve, which is formulated to help with joint and muscle pains. This is now the second time in about 21/2 months that I have sprained my ankle and I am starting to feel the effects. I am still unable (after 2 days) to put any meaningful weight on my foot and any flexion of my foot sends stabbing pains up to my quad.
Maybe it’s the age talking, but the pains are more intense now than they have ever been. And I find that I have been exhausted, just absolutely wasted tired since Tuesday – maybe it’s my body trying to heal. I have not gone to the doctor yet as I don’t think that I have broken or fractured anything. But I am gonna keep an eye on it. If after 4 or 5 days I am still unable to put weight on my foot, then I am definitely gonna go for a look-see at the doctor’s.
And I think that I am going to start wearing my ankle braces again. At least until next year’s season when I have had the time to completely heal and strengthen the muscles in my ankle and foot properly.
I don’t know how the sprain will affect my availability for next game yet, but right now I am leaning towards missing the next game. We should be fine, size wise and I could definitely use the time to perhaps strengthen my core and do some more foot exercises. The alternative is that I play and leave myself susceptible to further injury later in the season. At my age, I have to start thinking with an eye towards the future.
October 14, 2009 at 6:44 pm · Filed under NBA News
The Raptors were mega busy this offseason in an effort to boost their squad to make it more attractive for Chris Bosh to stay in the Tee Dot next summer ….
Imports for 2009: Reggie Evans, Hedo Turkoglu, Marco Bellinelli, Demar DeRozan, Rasho Nesterovic, Sonny Weems, Antoine Wright, Jarrett Jack and Amir Johnson
Exports for 2009: Jermaine O’Neal, Shawn Marion, Roko Ukic, Hassan Adams, Anthony Parker, Nathan Jawai, Carlos Delfino, Joey Graham, Jake Voshkul, Pops Mensah Bonsu
Holdovers from 2008-2009: Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani ….. as well as Patrick O’Bryant, Marcus Banks and Quincy Douby (acquired late last season)
So basically what we have is a 90% roster overhaul. 12 NEW players are on the team dating back to last year’s opening tip. TWELVE!
What does this all mean for this year’s edition of the Toronto Raptors?
It means many things:
1. A slow start – You HAVE to know that we’ll start the season going maybe 4-15 or something crazy like that. It HAS to be that way. Why? Chemistry. 12 new players have to remember a new offense, get used to new play calls, get used to playing for a new coach, get used to the rotations … there’s just such a learning curve there, I don’t see how there could be ANY sort of success up front.
2. A tight Playoff race – With Boston getting KG back, Orlando improving (marginally) with the addition of Carter, Philadelphia, Detroit, Atlanta, Chicago staying steady and New York, Indiana, Washington and Miami all having improved their rosters it means that the East is gonna be a dog fight all the way til the last week of the season. If the Raps suffer from a slow start, it could mean hustling for a playoff spot or worse, missing the playoffs altogether!
3. The Raps WANT Chris Bosh – The fact that they have poneyed up and made so many roster moves in an attempt to make the club successful means that the Raps are trying to find a formula that will secure their star player to a new long term contract. Not that they have not made a BIG contract with any players other than Bargnani and Calderon … I think the Raps are gonna offer the Universe to Bosh this offseason. And rightfully so! Bosh is a great player with great charisma and a good sense of humour.
4. Chris Bosh wants OUT – The same thing happened with Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Damon Stoudemire. Toronto is just not good enough to keep a player of Bosh’s caliber. The constant losing wears on people, the body breaks down. You look to your team and you see that ONE injury can decimate your chances of any success. It might be overly pessimistic of me to say this NOW, but I’m gonna go on record and say that I think Chris Bosh’s time in a Raptors jersey is coming to a close. It pains me to say that. Reading the words that I am typing HURTS. But the truth is that Chris Bosh wants a championship and the Raps have proven that they are no closer to a chip than when Glen Grunfeld was in charge.
5. An Exciting Season – Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve watched a few of the preseason games and have liked what I have seen from the Raps so far. They have a high ceiling. Weems and DeRozan are athletic, fearless and aggressive. They can fly! Chris Bosh looks more rigid, less mobile, but still as effective as ever. Hedo looks tentative, but good. Calderon looks refreshed. Bargnani looks more focused. Evans is a scrapper and provides that front line toughness the Raps have missed since Oakley packed his bags. This could be a VERY exciting season, if the Raps can pull it together by the time opening day comes.
My friend A-Wax writes:
Hey dude, what’s your take on the Raptors this season? On paper I felt they had a playoff-bound team due to the Turk signing and a much better bench. Watching their pre-season games, they still have work to do and still seem pretty soft. I probably shouldn’t take too much stock on pre-season games but they won’t scare anyone yet. I know the “on paper” quote doesn’t mean a thing because that’s what they said about last year’s squad. Though I still think that with the players they have, they shouldn’t be missing the playoffs.
I dunno, I personally think they’ll be ok. Bosh is in a contract year so he’ll be going all out.
The bench may be marginally improved, though I am not so sure of that …. I mean, is Antoine Wright, Jarret Jack, Quincy Douby, Marcus Banks and Patrick O’Bryant REALLY an upgrade over Carlos Delfino, Jason Kapono, Joey Graham, Roko Ukic and Pops Mensah Bonsu?
Check out the comparison of career stats of all the players that have been on the bench for the Raptors the last 2 seasons …
08-09 Raptors
09-10 Raptors
Player
PPG
RPG
APG
Player
PPG
RPG
APG
Carlos Delfino
5.8
3.0
1.2
Marco Bellinelli
6.2
1.1
1.2
Anthony Parker
10.1
3.4
2.2
Jarret Jack
10.4
2.7
4.0
Jake Voshkul
4.0
3.4
0.5
Amir Johnson
3.7
3.8
0.4
Jason Kapono
7.5
1.9
0.9 *
Quincy Douby
4.1
1.1
0.7
Pops Mensah Bonsu
4.1
3.9
0.2 *
Patrick O’Bryant
2.1
1.5
0.3
Joey Graham
6.4
3.1
0.6
Antoine Wright
5.3
2.2
1.0
Roko Ukic
4.2
1.0
2.1
Marcus Banks
6.0
1.5
2.2
Nathan Jawai
0.3
0.3
0.0
Reggie Evans
4.3
6.9
0.6
Things of note:
Patrick O’Bryant has played in 79 out of a possible 324 games. Quincy Douby has played in 124 of 324 possible games. This means potential injury issues for both players.
Nathan Jawai received 3.2 Minutes per Game last year, so his stats don’t amount to much but it’s not his fault.
Reggie Evans is the ONLY guy that I can’t find a replacement for. He is unique to this squad.
I have tried to place statistically similar players together to showcase the idea that the bench has not really CHANGED so much as it has simply been renamed. The players are playing, generally, the same position and amassed (as you can see) very similar stats with a SLIGHT edge going to last year’s Raptor Bench.
DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems are not included as they have no actual NBA stats (aside from pre-season) to track.
Okay, so that reveals nothing except that the bench may have been swapped with another team’s bench. So, we need to look at the preseason to get a better idea of things to come …..
The Raptors are 2-2 this preseason, having lost to Philadelphia twice (98-107 and 79-84) and won against Minnesota (112-97) and Washington (100-93). Don’t take this as anything less than a sign of things to come. Beating Minnesota and Washington is great. But they are non-playoff teams still, nowhere near contention – with apologies to Gilbert Arenas. Philadelphia, who is in the same conference and DIVISION (Atlantic) as the Raptors are definitely in the hunt for a playoff spot. Losing to them should give every Raptors fan cause for concern. If they lose to a lower echelon playoff team like the 76ers NOW then what will happen when they meet Detroit, Cleveland, Boston, Orlando or New York?
Well, I suppose we’ll find out soon enough. The Raptors’ next game is Wednesday at Boston and they follow that up on Thursday with a showdown vs. Houston. Their final 2 games are against Boston (again) and Minnesota (again). If the Raps can gain some momentum we might be able to witness some happy times in Raptorland before the midseason bubble bursts.
But my take is that the Raptors are a scratch under .500 for the season and that the playoff race will be determined by consistency.
One thing is for sure. Come hell or high water, I will be cheering for the Raptors all season. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride, but I’m not gonna bail now. Ride or die …. Go Raptors!
*** UPDATE – OCTOBER 15, 2009 ***
The Raptors lost their game vs. Boston 106-90. They also lost their game at home vs. the Rockets 124-112
——-
This puts the Raptors at 2-4 for the preseason with their only wins coming vs. non-playoff teams. ALL games vs contenders resulted in Losses.
In case you have not noticed yet, I usually put up a song on the sidebar every once in a while when the mood shifts and it’s thematically significant.
This week, and this week ONLY, the song that I have made available for your listening pleasure is Morcheeba’s Remix of “Be Thankful for What You’ve got”, which was first recorded and made popular by William DeVaughn in 1974.
It is one of the ALL TIME smoothest Pimp Anthems out there and it has a GREAT message to its listening audience.
But WHY only one week? Well, I don’t want the song to get played out. Nor do I want to get bored of it. Plus, it’s a Thanksgiving Theme.
I have had this picture in my Rec Room for a long time and decided to finally post it for y’all to see. It is originally from a basketball card that our old coach (Mr. P.) gave us as a memento of our season.
This was my Grade 11 year at Silver Heights. We were SO bad … and yet we had SUCH potential ….
I’ve come such a long way as a basketball player since those days …. which brings me to my Thanksgiving thoughts ….
I am grateful that I was introduced to basketball and that I had a chance to play in school. I grateful that I was able to make the sport MEAN something to me and that I was able to make it work for me as a person.
I am thankful for old coaches. Not only did they teach me about the game, but they also gave me valuable tools that have helped me become a better coach and person. They paid for my basketball camps when I could not afford them and they provided me an avenue to keep improving and stay out of trouble. I am grateful that saw enough in me to give me a shot and put me on the team, even when “common” sense dictated otherwise.
I am thankful that I put in the necessary work to become decent at basketball because the sport would have been less fun had I been less dedicated to making it fun.
I am thankful that I was never truly satisfied with the roles that I was tasked with playing and that I was always looking for ways to improve my own game. I am grateful for being inquisitive and going out of my way to find and develop skills; I have become a fairly versatile player because of that. I am grateful that I learned how to play the game properly and that I have been successful in doing so.
I am thankful that basketball is an outlet for all my emotions and that I have been able to release all my frustration, aggression, angst, fear, sadness and confusion on the court over the years.
I am grateful that I have such great memories of playing basketball, both IN High School and ESPECIALLY since I have been out. The people, teams and experiences I have had playing since graduation have been some of the most memorable of my entire life.
I am thankful that there were people out there who helped my love for the game GROW; I am thankful for their lessons on sportsmanship, game theory, commitment, conditioning and nutrition.
I am thankful for my current teammates and their families – that we’ve been able to make this thing work over the past 10 years and that things still look bright for the future. I am thankful that we are able to share and be a community; that is a luxury that is very rare in senior men’s leagues.
And I’ll tell ya what, as nostalgic as it is to see this picture, I am thankful that I never have to experience High School again.
October 12, 2009 at 8:29 pm · Filed under Personal
Taking a cue from a new friend, I have decided to try something new.
Originally, I had made my blog open to comments from people who signed up for an account ONLY. This was, in part, due to the tendency to have spam posted onto your blog. It was something I read about a few months ago to do with online safety and spamming tactics.
Problem was, I wasn’t having any interaction with anyone from the outside world – I guess people didn’t wanna subscribe to hear me wax poetic on topics that are already being discussed ad-nauseam by the other (more educated and credible) talking heads out there.
But after 2 1/2 years of blogging about it, I have decided that it is time to open up my Blog to other users who may share the same sort of feelings I have about Basketball.
It’ll be an experiment, I think. And if it fails, maybe I’ll shut it down and make the comment feature accessible only to registered users again. But for now …. here I am, world!
So we lost our first game by a pretty large margin. Hey, at least we’re having fun doing it. I’ve never been a member of a team, EVER, that was so cheery after getting decapitated by 28 points.
It’s a testament to the group of guys we have assembled on our team. But it is also because we love what we do (basketball) and we love a challenge. And we know that, even though you may not win, the joy is in the attempt itself.
We can’t win them all, but we can certainly have fun trying.
October 10, 2009 at 12:21 am · Filed under NBA, fantasy
The Live Draft is in 14 days – 2 weeks – and I am starting to get excited.
We’ve got 11 teams signed up for this year’s NBA Marathon and there’s still room for 9 more. I’ve never played a fantasy season with 20 teams, but I am eager to try it out at least once. It will certainly make the teams have to look deeper into the NBA benches for talented help – specialists in certain statistics.
I’m gonna encourage more people to join, now.
If you wanna hook up with us, or if you think you can handle us, then come in and join our fantasy league! We take on all comers and it’s almost always fun. We’ve got room for 9 (NINE) more teams! E-mail me and ask for the login info or check one of the earlier fantasy posts from September.
14 days and counting til I begin my title Heavyweight Championship defense …. just call me Stone Cold, baby!
Hey, man, I’ve only got 2 weeks left to talk trash to y’all before we go to war again. Dealwitit!
