RollWithEm

I haven't heard anything nice said about Val's defense, yet? Is he just going to be a sieve on that end of the floor or will he be able to hold his own?

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But that's just me.

Porn Player

He averaged 1.8blks in preseason. His D is the thing that gets me giddy about the kid. He moves his feet very well, he stands tall and straight so doesn't pick up stupid fouls.

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Babe Ruth

His defense still worries me a bit. He's more advance defensively than most European players coming in to the NBA at his age, but he'll get beaten by centers that have a real quick step to the basket. But, it's something that we already expected. I see him being a great defensive player in a few years.

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ozzzymandius

Well hopefully you guys will get to see some of these first few games and see the kid for yourselves. I had the same concerns about his footwork, ability to stay out of foul trouble and his overall court sense. Let's just say he's completely sold me on his ability!! I'm stunned at how good the rook is. You shoulda seen the block he had on Amare ... The look on Amare's face when he didn't get a call was priceless. And I forget which game it was but we were in the middle of the fourth quarter, he had 5 fouls (for the first time) and he was still aggressive, highly effective and didn't foul out!!
Those were some of my big moments from him so far. And yes he did travel on a couple of possessions (memory fails on exactly which games) but even that was minor for what could be expected from a rookie big ... and far fewer than we see with DD!!

Let us know what your thoughts are when you see him though.

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"My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

P. Shelley

Babe Ruth

Good night minutes in the first quarter for Jonas. He has six points, four rebounds. He did pick up two fouls, though. He probably won't be back till late in the second quarter.

The Raptors defense looks pretty bad right now. The Pacers are scoring with ease right now. The Raptors will need to tighten up that defense or Indiana will run away with it.

Bargnani had a great first quarter. Already has eleven points, but no rebounds. DeRozan is struggling, though. But, a lot of times there's been a lot of no calls on him where he should have gone to the line.

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scdn

Raptors should have done better closing the game out, but to me that should have been out of bounds to Toronto before Hill's winning floater. Still, some positives with Lowry and Val.

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KVBL Owner, San Antonio Spurs

Tyler
Tate
Moore
Booker

Porn Player

Well... that was a heartbreaker to start the season with

Lowry - Phenomenal job all night, he should have taken that last shot.
DeRozan - Really took a while to get going, drove the paint well but seemed lost when the Refs weren't calling Pacers for fouls, so threw 3 or 4 ill advised shots up. Started to get it going during the Raptors most dominant stretch and I thought he played well defensively, only losing his man once or twice over the course of the entire game. The lob from Lowry to DD was really impressive as well.
Fields - I don't want to be down on this guy, but what does he bring to the team that Alan Andersen does not? Fields was an offensive black hole last night, when you're the 5th option on the floor, you have to be keep the opposition D true and knock down the looks you get but Fields couldn't get it done and it hurt the team.
Bargnani - Started off great, hitting all kinds of shots in David West's face. He played some really good man to man (even showed a little help too) D until the 4th quarter, and then got abused by David West to close out the game and let the Pacers back in, I actually think Casey needs to take some blame for this, a time out needed to be called and the D switched up. Not many defenders could have stopped West last night. Bargnani also took an ill advised jumper trying to tie the game, if you ask to take the last shot, make sure it's a good look or give it up.
Valanciunas - Double double in your first professional game. Took a couple of shots he shouldn't have. Hibbert was too big and crafty for him at times, but at others he really played good D. His help D got us a lot of extra possessions. His hands are soft and take anything in, but they're also strong and he doesn't give the rock up easily. Had a monster put back in the 3rd that would have had me on my feet had I not been lying in bed watching.

The rest. Amir Johnson is starting to piss me off with these long 2's he thinks he can hit. He has ugly shooting form and they're too hard everytime and clank off the back of the rim. If he keeps shooting them, I could see myself turning against him this year, not to mention if he is putting up jumpers at the top of the key, he is away from the area that he's most effective. Ed Davis played great, thought he did exactly what he was good at and really gave the 2nd unit some momentum. Jose played really well, he will be the best PG in the league to be playing in the 2nd unit and should have a great season from FG% as he can pretty much get what he wants. Alan Andersen played some good D but wasn't hitting his shot. Terrence Ross only played a couple of minutes and jacked to bad shots in the process, first night nerves were all over this kid. Aaron Gray played some really solid minutes against Hibbert, the big guy definitely has a place on this roster.

Overall, the Pacers are a very good team and they showed that last night. I think the call was bullshit and should have been our possession to end the game but we should never have been in that situation after pulling away in the 3rd. The intensity from our team was great, and the game was certainly exciting to watch, so I hope for many more like it, just with a better final outcome.

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Porn Player

Next up.. @ Brooklyn Nets




This is now BKN's home opener as the game against NY has been postponed due to Sandy.

The atmosphere is going to be electric. I hope the Raptors can use the fact we've played a competitive game to our advantage and get the win.

DeMar needs to have a better game, and he should as the Brooklyn frontcourt isn't anywhere near as good defensively as the Pacers.

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Jonas Valanciunas highlights from the game last night if anyone missed it.

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AllRim

JV and Lowry ARE the future. Hopefully we can "net" a win here, doubt it though

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ozzzymandius

I'm thinking we should start separate game threads ....
Looking at our level of posts and the viewing only crowd we attract I think we can manage. And given that the excitement will only build from here (I for example have been a member here for years but haven't posted anything since complaining about VC's level of shitty play)....
So .. how about we try it out?? Speedy use to make great game threads ...

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"My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

P. Shelley

RollWithEm

I will be tuning in tonight for my first look at the Raps.

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But that's just me.

ozzzymandius

You may like what you seeeeeee..... :-)

So what's our chances here and who are their key players to watch out for?

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"My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

P. Shelley

RollWithEm

Well BK hasn't played a game, yet, so I don't know exactly what their rotation will look like... but I anticipate a heavy dose of pick and pops with Brook. Also I would watch out for those fake iso-Joe situations where Gerald Wallace makes a hard basket cut. Keeping Humphries/Evans/Blatche off the glass should be a problem for the Raps as well.

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But that's just me.

ozzzymandius

So .... The team has just introduced their mascot .. "the Brooklyn Knight" ... Probably the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. Totally laughable....
Anyways on to the teams ... We've got a bit of a battle here ...
D.Williams, J.Johnson, C.Humphries and B.Lopez in their starting five .... they're pretty stacked. I don't know anything about G.Wallace at SF .... But I'm still calling a win for our boys based on our second unit.
Raps by 8 !!!!

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"My name is Ozymandius, King of Kings:
Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

P. Shelley