[Lakers Own]

Sportsnet.

"He's averaging just over five minutes per game and every time he messes up, Mitchell gives him the hook. So far he's been a complete bust and it's hard to give him minutes if he isn't doing anything when he's out there, however if it is their intention to keep him on this team, he has to play."

"Let's face it, unless they are willing to let him go at the end of the year and pay the final year of his contract he will be a Raptor again next season so why not get him out there. What's the worst thing that will happen? He messes up and the Raptors lose. News flash, they are losing anyway so what's the big deal?"

http://www.sportsnet.ca/nba/columnist.jsp?content=20051114_102736_376

I know what the big deal is. Rafael Aruajo sucks. He starts, just like he did last year, I have a thing I like to call the Rafael Araujo rule; this is when a garbage player starts for whatever reason then get's subbed after 5 minutes. This happened last year when Marshall would go on for him and this year after Aruajo grabs one board, 3 fouls and twiddles his thumbs on offense, Charlie V goes on to play about 30+ minutes. Aruajo is garbage, I see no potential in him, Charlie V does have potential. I'd rather see a player who can actually improve, get better by playing more minutes than some garbage who will never amount to anything.

 

[Sánchez AF]

Agree i think let Araujo play + 20 mpg wont hurt anyone, and will give him confidence. and Maybe the Raptors can find a good surprise in him

 

[Big Dub]

Agree i think let Araujo play + 20 mpg wont hurt anyone, and will give him confidence. and Maybe the Raptors can find a good surprise in him

it would hurt though to give him those 20+ minutes mainly th eprogress of C-villa since CV is averaging 28 minutes a game and Bosh i sabout 40 i couls see mitchell cuttin back on his minutes but we just cant Bosh HAS to be on the floor 40+ minutes or we get no inside scoring and reboiunding . the only wasy the Hoffa can reach his full potential is of course get minutes and theonly wasy he os goin ot ge tthose is of we send him down to the D league which i think is a good idea let him develope down there and worse case senerio, he doesnt pan out not like he has already so the obviouse choise is to send him down.

 

[Sánchez AF]

it would hurt though to give him those 20+ minutes mainly th eprogress of C-villa since CV is averaging 28 minutes a game and Bosh i sabout 40 i couls see mitchell cuttin back on his minutes but we just cant Bosh HAS to be on the floor 40+ minutes or we get no inside scoring and reboiunding . the only wasy the Hoffa can reach his full potential is of course get minutes and theonly wasy he os goin ot ge tthose is of we send him down to the D league which i think is a good idea let him develope down there and worse case senerio, he doesnt pan out not like he has already so the obviouse choise is to send him down.

Bosh will receive his minutes, and CV and Hoffa can easy receieve 25 minutes each.

 

[LakerLunatic]

Agreed, Hoffa is the worst player in Basketball. Did you see the defense he was playing against Mourning?

He had his hands straight up, its like, i know 13 year olds who know how to play post D, and he dosent even know how to. Good god, seriously just waive him i dont care if he has a guaranteed contract, he blows and he is a waste of a roster spot. jahidi white looks like Amare compared to hoffa.

 

[adhir1]

it would hurt though to give him those 20+ minutes mainly th eprogress of C-villa since CV is averaging 28 minutes a game and Bosh i sabout 40 i couls see mitchell cuttin back on his minutes but we just cant Bosh HAS to be on the floor 40+ minutes or we get no inside scoring and reboiunding . the only wasy the Hoffa can reach his full potential is of course get minutes and theonly wasy he os goin ot ge tthose is of we send him down to the D league which i think is a good idea let him develope down there and worse case senerio, he doesnt pan out not like he has already so the obviouse choise is to send him down.

why not try out our supposed lineup of the future....CV/Bosh/Hoffa and the 3,4,5 repectively?????

Agreed, Hoffa is the worst player in Basketball. Did you see the defense he was playing against Mourning?

He had his hands straight up, its like, i know 13 year olds who know how to play post D, and he dosent even know how to. Good god, seriously just waive him i dont care if he has a guaranteed contract, he blows and he is a waste of a roster spot. jahidi white looks like Amare compared to hoffa.

wow...u take what commentators say preety seriously....and on teh whole part....ZO was completely ABUSING whomever we through at thim..whether it be Bosh or CV...Hoffa was banging with him down low...and was the only thing that stopped Zo from giong off for a 20/20 game agaisnt us...he played preety damn good defense that game if u ask em...

 

[Lakers Own]

I agree that Hoffa should be sent to the D League. Maybe if theres a drop of potential in him he can reach it there. There is no way Araujo can play 25 mins a game. For one thing I doubt his conditioning is that good. Secondly, he's probably foul out after 10 minutes. Third, if by some miracle he were able to stay foul free he would just get tooled on by anyone in the league and it would hurt the team more than help them.

 

[[email protected]]

Agreed, Hoffa is the worst player in Basketball. Did you see the defense he was playing against Mourning?

He had his hands straight up, its like, i know 13 year olds who know how to play post D, and he dosent even know how to. Good god, seriously just waive him i dont care if he has a guaranteed contract, he blows and he is a waste of a roster spot. jahidi white looks like Amare compared to hoffa.

what the ****? that was great defense he played on Zo. that's the best defense ive seen any toronto centre play on Zo. so get that garbage out of here.
also, the Raptors need someone like jahadi white to grab boards...lol

 

[[email protected]]

I agree that Hoffa should be sent to the D League. Maybe if theres a drop of potential in him he can reach it there. There is no way Araujo can play 25 mins a game. For one thing I doubt his conditioning is that good. Secondly, he's probably foul out after 10 minutes. Third, if by some miracle he were able to stay foul free he would just get tooled on by anyone in the league and it would hurt the team more than help them.

so what do you suggest? let bosh get tooled around instead and decrease his value as a natural PF?
have you ever even played basketball in your life? or any sport for that matter?

to start someone on the court/field for 5 minutes then taking them off right away has to be one of (if not THE) most confidence shattering things of all times. big men develop the slowest and the Raptors need him more than people think. ya let's trade Woods, send Hoffa to the NBDL and never play Aaron Williams. OH look at that, we have no more big men.

 

[Crossword]

I agree with the article, definitely. The notion that if we give Hoffa 20 minutes a game (20 minutes!) will cut back from Villy and Bosh's minutes is just so absurd. We need someone to play centre for us. Bosh and Villy can handle it in small spurts, but neither is a centre. Bosh DOES NOT have to play 40+ minutes a game at this point.

Here's the deal: we're a rebuilding team, and we're not doing ourselves any good by leaving him to rot on the bench rather than try developing him on the court.

 

[Benis007]

Send him to the D League, or package him with Rose to a team that thinks he can produce at this level.

Someone stupid like Isiah.

In my NBA LIVE 06 season I traded Hoffa and Rose for Penny and Frye, done and done.
Its amazing how realistic games are today.

 

[shookem]

Send him to the D League, or package him with Rose to a team that thinks he can produce at this level.

Someone stupid like Isiah.

In my NBA LIVE 06 season I traded Hoffa and Rose for Penny and Frye, done and done.
Its amazing how realistic games are today.

OMG, i have to change my pants, that deal is that sweet....hoff, hmmm yeah we're losing but if hoff can't follow Sam's game plan get him out....however if he does do what Sam asks of him and still picks up fouls, well that's not so much his fault.

Hoff's made his bed.

 

[spinz]

lets hope he gained some much needed confidence with his dance with Zo'...he needed a game like that against a beast like Zo to either make or break his confidence...

i think it was a good call by mitchell to start Hoffa (not much other choices), instead of bonner, woods or williams...

not only that, but his teammates were cheering him on and encouraging him during the game...gotta be a nice feeling to have your team behind you...

next up: Phoenix...go Hoffa go!!!

 

[Crossword]

I don't think we'll see much of Hoffa against Phoenix. I hope he gets the start, but I'd be surprised to see him get any more than 10 minutes, if that. They're too much of an uptempo team for him to log major minutes in, plus he has nobody to bang with down low. Kurt Thomas? Yikes, he'd foul out in 5 minutes if he plays the way he did with Zo.

However, I'd still like to see him get burn and start the first and third quarters, if for no other reason, as a confidence boost. But I think the Bonner at C experiment might actually fit for this game here.

 

[SkywalkerAC]

People said the very same things about the current starting center for the Lakers, and while Mihm is no all-star and an average center at best, he's still a contributing NBA center.

No, Hoffa can't block shots. No he doesn't dunk on people. Can he do other things on the court? He certainly can. He can be an intimidator, a post battler, a high percentage jump shooter, and many other things.

I had started to think that Mitchell was writing him off but then I noticed that Hoffa wasn't just getting out there for garbage minutes, Sam was just trying to get real use out of him in a limited role (until last night). I don't think he was really being pulled for messing up, just like Aaron wasn't benched for messing up.

I think Hoffa is starting to get it and Mitchell will develop him as our primary big man outside of Bosh and Charlie. Sometimes Bonner may get more minutes but for the most part Hoffa will get to come in and do what he does best- bruising. His rebounding is looking better (it certainly did against Zo) and he definitely looks more comfortable on the court.

By the allstar break, Hoffa will be solid. 10-20 minutes a game and making a significant contribution.

 

[Lakers Own]

so what do you suggest? let bosh get tooled around instead and decrease his value as a natural PF?
have you ever even played basketball in your life? or any sport for that matter?

to start someone on the court/field for 5 minutes then taking them off right away has to be one of (if not THE) most confidence shattering things of all times. big men develop the slowest and the Raptors need him more than people think. ya let's trade Woods, send Hoffa to the NBDL and never play Aaron Williams. OH look at that, we have no more big men.

What the **** is your problem? When did I say start Bosh at 5? When did I say not to play Aaron Williams and trade Woods? Sam Mitchell doesn't screw around, if you aren't playing well he'll pull you, this is happened many times and it has started happening to Rose. I agree with you that playing for 5 minutes then getting pulled is very bad for ones phyche. So why not bring him off then bench and see if maybe that'll give him some more motivation to play better and become a starter? I'm not bashing the Raptors I like the Raptors seeing as I live in Canada so don't get all defensive.

 

[shookem]

What the **** is your problem? When did I say start Bosh at 5? When did I say not to play Aaron Williams and trade Woods? Sam Mitchell doesn't screw around, if you aren't playing well he'll pull you, this is happened many times and it has started happening to Rose. I agree with you that playing for 5 minutes then getting pulled is very bad for ones phyche. So why not bring him off then bench and see if maybe that'll give him some more motivation to play better and become a starter? I'm not bashing the Raptors I like the Raptors seeing as I live in Canada so don't get all defensive.

actually Sam pulling guys who aren't playing well is a pretty new thing for him....hoffa usually gets in foul trouble and forces Sam's hand, but guys who don't play well? Hell, untill recently Sam didn't even know when to call a timeout.....He is getting better and LakersO, you're right, he is finally begining to pull guys who start weak.

 

[ABC]

Agree i think let Araujo play + 20 mpg wont hurt anyone, and will give him confidence. and Maybe the Raptors can find a good surprise in him

if this is a video game and you can turn the fouls--> off, he fouled out in 10 mins of straight play..

 

[SkywalkerAC]

if this is a video game and you can turn the fouls--> off, he fouled out in 10 mins of straight play..

Not in his last game, playing 20 minutes, he didn't.

 

[shookem]

Not in his last game, playing 20 minutes, he didn't.

yeah and games like that are about as rare as an Irish Raptors fan...jj lol. :cheers: