Junkyard Dog13

Think he will be here next year, has'nt lived up to a being a 1st rnd pick, still fouls to mouch, is a good rebounder, a good hustle player oof the bench, But since we have no rnd 1 pick i think BC will package him to get the missing piece this team needs in my view a stellar SF.

I tought he could develop the way Caron Butler cory Magette did but Joey really seems like nothing more than Bruce Bowen type, play's good but picicks up fouls to often.

your toughts Board

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NeoSamurai

i want to see him succeed, but its been 2 years without much improvement in his game...hes an awesome athlete, and one hopes that he could become our defensive stopper, but mentally, he just hasnt developed into that aggressive player we need coming off the bench like Calderon does for us at the 1

i think his spot on the roster should be given to PJ...i like what PJ could potentially become for us: a Reuben Patterson clone minus the attitude issues...PJ has shown in spots that he can defend 4s in this league by using his quickness (the matchup against Amare early in the year when we played Pheonix comes to mind)...i'm more willing to give him a spot on the roster than Joey at this point...have PJ go up against Bosh day after day in practice (this will also help Bosh since Bosh seems to have problems when teams place smaller defenders on him), and see what develops...

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lucky777s

I still believe in Joey Graham.

Not the BS about him being a great defender coming out of college. That was obviously garbage. But he is an asset that Sam just can't figure out how to use. He and Parker are the only wings we have that can finish strong at the rim. Joey is our only perimeter guy who can post up other wings. He also has a rock solid jumpshot (except when he does that stupid step-back J of his). He could be an effective player slashing through the lane to accept a pass and finishing strong. Or to run curls off screens like a Rip Hamilton. Runs the lanes on the break extremely well.

He is a horrible, horrible defender on the perimeter. Doesn't move his feet or anticipate well at all. Poor balance and vision to see plays develop. Gets blown by every time by the same move. Doesn't learn. Rarely takes a charge. But he is a decent rebounder who can help box out bigger guys on help rotations - VERY important to the Raps.

There is no reason Joey couldn't be a very productive guy for us with regular minutes. Backdoor cuts and alley-oops, spot up J's from midrange, a few post ups, rebounding, and a physical wing defender. At the very least we could turn him into a more tradeable asset by playing him more and boosting his confidence. We did it with Charlie who was also a horrendous defender and a bit of a floater.

But Sam has always been harder on Joey than anyone not named Hoffa. If Joey makes a mistake it is somehow worse than if Bosh, Charlie, MoP, TJ or whoever else makes the same mistake. Way too short a hook with Joey.

Unlike MoP, Joey's inconsistency comes from lack of consistent minutes. Although I will admit he seems kind of dumb for a pilot. Bball IQ is low. Can't remember seeing one great pass from him.

ballocks

i think this is an excellent point, overlooked far too often. there are some critics who refer to the "good joey" and "bad joey" and i'm like, when he's on the floor he's pretty consistent. but he's not consistently on the floor. i mean, he could play 25 minutes tonight and 4 minutes tomorrow and we're complaining about how he scored 12 pts tonight and went scoreless tomorrow? it's sometimes a good point but not often enough for me: "joey justifies his own playing time." that sounds more like a cop-out excuse for the coach and decision-makers than it is valid imo. after all, we could always say that- it doesn't mean that it's necessarily true.

morris peterson and joey graham have both frustrated me of late- not because they're poor performers when on the floor, but more because i don't think the team recognizes their importance to the potential of the team. we need to find a way to make it work with them because, quite frankly, they're still among the few raptors who can turn the momentum of a game in a heartbeat. the rest of our team tends to be reliable, but reliable is inherently predictable. if you intend to take it to the 'next level', you often need players who have yet to plateau, whose ceilings might be ahead of them. i still see mop in the same light, but i certainly see joey there. his game is the team's wild card and we have to find a way to make it work for us.

i don't think anyone could suggest that sam has made particularly good use of graham, although he's obviously not a scrub. so a new approach may be needed. this 'tough love' effort has probably done all it can do. try something else, imo. it seems like we've got it all backwards these days: we're not treating joey this way for joey, we're treating joey this way for ourselves- he's become the resident 'whipping boy'. we need to be careful whenever our leadership reaches that stage.

peace

narrator

Joey Graham is a career bench player. He does well in limited minutes there is no way he should be a starter or a 6th man on a playoff team.

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JuniorNoboa

He really has limited trade value. If he is traded as part of a package I would assume it is more to balance $ then anything else.

Knick_Killer31

the kid has had 2 strange years...give him some time guys.

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TJ Ford

Yea, he's pretty strange. Is it me or does he appear to have an average basketball IQ? I mean, sometimes he can do so well, yet sometimes he just doesn't know what to do. Defensively, he's been a little slow, and fouls a lot.
Anyways, I hope he can be more consistent. But I doubt it. Let's just ride his aggressiveness whenever it presents itself.

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