trick

A 20 ppg scorer who was shooting 45+ percent from the field doesn't deserve his fair share of shots?

Bosh also had his best PPG thus far with James at the helm btw, and was shooting above 50% from the field himself. In fact, the Raptors were a way better offensive team last year than this year, and that was with way lesser talent overall.

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Knick_Killer31

yeah but its all about the defense baby

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BBF Sim-League Indiana Pacers GM

trick

Then again, how much defense can you play with Villanueva starting and the former three-headed monster in Bonner-Sow-Araujo. Come to think of it, Mitchell most likely knew ahead of time that "that" team were incapable of playing defense so might as well do everything in their power to outscore their opponents instead...

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seifer0406

I don't think anyone will disagree that Mike James' stats last year were inflated because he was playing on a team that were out of the playoff race 16 games into the season. Personally I do not fault Mike James for shooting so much since the Raptors were going to be just as bad no matter what he did. There were 2 possible scenarios last season for Mike James. 1. James tries to score as much as possible, the Raptors win 27 games. 2. James tries to play like a true PG, the Raptors win around 27 games. The fact that he took the first road helped earned him a better contract this year and I'm happy for him. But seriously, he is not a 20 ppg player. Tim Duncan is a 20 ppg guy, Richard Hamilton is 20 ppg, Reggie Miller is 20 ppg, Mike James is just Mike James. You put Mike James in 80% of the teams last year and he wouldn't have even put up 15 ppg. I like Mike James' game but he really isn't that good. Hop over to the Minnesota board and ask them whether or not they're happy with Mike James' play this season or download a few Minny games and see for yourself.

Raptors lost CV and Mike James this season but got TJ Ford, Garbo, Bargnani, AP, Fred Jones in return. I don't think the team is worse in terms of offense and definitely not way worse like you say.

anniebananerz

I wouldn't be jeering at Mike James if I'm in the ACC crowd, but I don't think the crowd will give him a huge ovation or anything.

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Mo Pete is my hero!

C H E L S E A F.C.* <3 a l l t h e w a y!

Knick_Killer31

He will get booed and he deserves to get booed. I still like him though

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BBF Sim-League Indiana Pacers GM

trick

Deserves to get booed? For what, being a former player? Is it that simple? Is anything that simple?

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trick

Percentages my friend, percentages. I can understand how anyone can say a stat is inflated due to the sum up of numbers but look at the percentages. Mike James was a 45+% guy for the team last year. I don't care if you're Eric Snow or Lebron James, if the guard can shoot 45+% from the field, that guard deserves a good number of shots. How do you inflate a good shooting percentage?

Also, look at the cast that was given to him. Compare
Villanueva-Araujo-Bonner-(injured) Calderon-Graham-Eric Williams-Pape Sow
to
Garbajosa-Nesterovic-Parker-Bargnani-(healthy) Calderon-(revamped) Graham-PJ Tucker.
Tucker would most likely be part of that regular rotation if he were in last year's lineup. You can not deny that this year's squad is more talented than last year's, meanwhile providing more depth as well.

Lastly, do you see anything similar to Dwayne Casey's style in play and coaching? Two words, Kevin O'Neill. Both their styles are so eerily similar that it's scary. They play slow down basketball hoping to grind out wins through hussle and defence.

Would the team be better with James as this year's PG than Ford? Hard to say. But I at least understand why he was taking the volume of shots last year, besides that year being a contract year.

How is the team not worse in offense? Percentages are down, total ppg are down, and the team is forced to play more halfcourt style. They have to play more controlled since the free-flowing style got way out of hand too fast.

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Knick_Killer31

He deserves it for what he said to the Raptors organization just because Colangelo wanted him to come off the bench. Thats where he belongs! He sucks! The Raptors was just soo damn crappy last year that it made him look good. Toronto made his career. Look at his career before toronto. Pathetic. Gettin traded all the time. He's not that good......and he whines too much. He's no star...to whine you gotta be a star (terrel owens, vince carter) Good move by Bryan Colangelo. It took me a while to agree with it though. Just like all of the other moves Bryan made.

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BBF Sim-League Indiana Pacers GM

trick

Bah-Ram-Yu

PS: Was there even anything nice about the Raptors organization last year?

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seifer0406

Raptors are without Chris Bosh for the past 9 games. We've played 28 games so far, so that's about 1/3 of the season without their leading scorer and rebounder. Moreover if you look at the way the Raps' season have progessed, at the beginning of the season, the Raptors new players were still adjusting to the league. Just as they were getting more comfortable, Bosh went down. Therefore I think by the end of the season, barring another serious injury, the Raptors will have an offense that is equal if not better than last year's.

As far as Mike James goes, I still suggest you go over to the Minny board and ask for their fans' opinion. There is a difference in the style of basketball betwen a team playing to win and a team playing for lottery. When a player appears more impressive when he's playing for a lottery team than when he's playing for a potential playoff team, that means the player is overrated in my opinion.

Knick_Killer31

Bah-Ram-Yu? W