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seifer0406 · 01-07-2008, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucky777s

Not sure we can say the core is the same as last year with TJ, Garbo, MoP out and Rasho's role greatly reduced. Bball IQ may have fallen with the changes.

Our "core" is Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon, and TJ, the rest of them are supporting pieces.

The point was that the team isn't going to get much better simply by playing together longer, at least not nearly as much improvement as last year when you look at the difference from November to February. If we just ride this out, we are counting on the team to go on a bit of a lucky stretch and perhaps finishing 5 games above .500 at the most. It is not satisfactory considering the steps we made last season imo.

If Bargnani is going to start, he needs to rebound, period. If you play 30 minutes a game as a starting center and gets 1 or 2 rebounds, you're a liability to the team even if you score 20 points.

southeasy · 01-07-2008, 05:12 PM

Do none of you guys remember when we were like 13-21 to begin last season?...

either you have very short-term memories.. or you really faithfully believed last year we'd turn it around to end with 47.. and since we are at 17-17 now, and last year our first time at .500 was with a 22-22 mark.. i think we can only go up from here.

we have no consistancy right now, we can't win successions of games like the detroits, dallas, bostons, sa's, even the portlands/new orleans are gettign respect out of a good schedule, ours just now is starting to get better, we'll start winning in no time.

don't forget we are a very talented team with wins over Dallas, San Antonio, New Orleans & Houston this season already.

southeasy · 01-07-2008, 10:04 PM

also incase anyone cares, that was chris bosh's cousin & girlfriend the other night talkin trash to lebron... LBJ said himself that those girls are the reason Toronto lost lastnight.. pretty funny tho if you ask me, there is a thread on it in the nba general forum.

CB, keep your girl @ home.

seifer0406 · 01-07-2008, 10:44 PM

That's obviously a joke. Lebron always have big games against us because our puny perimeter people are hopeless against him. He played bad for 3 quarters, but the odds of him going cold for all 4 just wasn't in our favor.

SkywalkerAC · 01-07-2008, 11:57 PM

at the end of the day we're in just as good of shape as the Cavs, who pretty much have the best player in the world on their team, and have a lot more assets to make moves with.

southeasy · 01-08-2008, 02:36 AM

i know it was a joke, still funny, he was actin all mad all game, watch the clip in general.. pretty funny, probably the only attention from american media we will get all year.

and i had NO idea the cavs had assets not named lebron james & daniel gibson.

lucky777s · 01-08-2008, 05:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seifer0406

Our "core" is Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon, and TJ, the rest of them are supporting pieces.

Well, that is our YOUNG core for sure. What we will build around going forward, as of today. But if we are talking about why we made such a big turnaround last year you have to talk about Garbo, Parker, and Rasho. Smart, consistent, experienced veterans who were vital parts to winning teams in the past. Not career role players but starters and stars in their own right. There is no Jordan, Pippen, Magic, Kobe, Shaq, Duncan, Bird, Olajuwon in our young core. So the 'supporting pieces' have to be much better as a result.

You also have to wonder how much of last year was due to teams being totally unfamiliar with half our roster and our style of play, coupled with the fact that we had some lucky breaks in a season where many teams self-destructed. That WIZ game where we had the MoP miracle for one. Playing teams when they are in a slide instead of when they are rolling is just luck of the draw with scheduling.

47 wins and 35 losses is really only 6 wins over .500. So today we sit at .500 with almost 50 games to play. Hardly impossible for us to go 28-22 or better down the stretch and wind up with around 45 wins or so. Comparable to last year in a tougher Eastern Conference but because we have higher expectations it seems like a failure.

I was worried about a fall back this year during the previous season, but over the summer I started to believe that our offensive system was more consistent than it is and that our defensive improvement would continue.

But something is missing from this team. The exciting play and crisp ball movement from last year is rarely seen.

Victor Page · 01-09-2008, 12:59 PM

Lucky 777s - as per your previous post, you're just listing Calderon's numbers like a fantasy pool player.

If you watch the actual game again on a Raptors TV replay or something, you'll see that Jose was too exhausted to run the offence and create higher percentage looks for guys like Kapono and AP. He didn't have his usual jump. That is why the offense went dry in the fourth; it was not because AP and Kapono were missing open looks.

When TJ gets back, the Raptors will also get a more productive Calderon.

SkywalkerAC · 01-09-2008, 01:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by southeasy

i know it was a joke, still funny, he was actin all mad all game, watch the clip in general.. pretty funny, probably the only attention from american media we will get all year.

and i had NO idea the cavs had assets not named lebron james & daniel gibson.

Sorry, I was talking about the Raps as the team that has assets.

lucky777s · 01-09-2008, 02:26 PM

I don't quite understand what 'higher percentage looks' you think can be created for Parker and Kap. They are shooters, they got wide open looks, they missed. To blame that on the PG is just silly

To say the offense did not go dry because of wide open misses is illogical. If those shots went in then our offense would not be dry at all. Those are the shots those guys want to get. And to ignore all the O rebounds that limited our possessions and opportunities to score is just avoiding the facts so you can try to substantiate your criticism of Jose.

"When TJ gets back, the Raptors will also get a more productive Calderon." A more productive Calderon? Are you not watching these games and hearing the all-star buzz around Calderon? His numbers are even better as a starter than they were as a backup. Now if you want to say the entire second unit will be more productive with TJ or Jose coming off the bench with them then I would have to agree. Our 2 PG system is much more productive than having only one of them in the lineup.

I just hope TJ is learning something from watching Calderon and can cut down the senseless turnovers and forced shot attempts.

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