Tip-In, Toronto Raptors’ Post-Game: Two and a Half on Five

Great post Franchise. I heard BC on the Fan this morning and he sounded down.

Great article - Franchise. My daughter Izzy and I think you are the man. I just read her the article.

Great article Franchise!

I really hope CB4 and Jose sit out for the next 10-15 games. This will be great for the team.

Joey has been good more than bad this season. With more playing time he might just take this next step...

AB is just playing flawless and the Lakers play by play guy seem to in love with AB over is skill set.

With Bosh's annual 12 game sidelining about to commence, this might not be that much of a bad thing at all. If JO is moved and Bargs plays the five with Marion at the 4, Bargs as likely the focal point of the offense, will draw the double teams that should only help him develop into an elite player (if that is what he has in him). If JO stays and Bargs plays the 4, still as the focal point of the offense, it gives management a sense of how the team will performance in a "what if Bosh leaves" scenario. Either way, management comes out more informed and likely better equipped to make the right decisions going forward.

Also, we might be seeing the evolution of Joey Graham into a premier Sixth Man. Starting in the meantime won't hurt that cause.

Nice post Franchise. I agree with many of your points. The only thing I worry about is if the Raptors end up in the lottery, and they get the number 1 pick. Blake Griffin is going to be such a huge bust, but BC might be forced to take him. Anyway, let's hope the Raps can keep it together, but still lose enough games to guarantee us a shot at Jrue Holiday, James Hardin, or Demar Derozan (no Dukies! Kyle Singler as a domestic white guy is going to be laughable in the NBA, Josh McRoberts anyone?)

Ah, "if we only didn't have injuries." The lament of the fans of a loser franchise. Every team has injuries, the bottom line is that Colangelo built a shitty bench--this team never had a chance.

Draft: no white guys, no Euros, no one over 6'8". Please Colangelo, don't mess up/trade away your first rounder again this year.

2 stats pop off the boxscore from last night's game:

Lakers: only 4 turnovers
Raptors: -10 in the 4th

We still need 1 aggressive defender (or a different system) to create at least a few turnovers a night.

And - we still need that go-to scorer who makes things happen in crunch time.

Other than that -- yes, our bench blows goats, but we did hang with the Lakers for 40+ minutes.

How's that for setting the bar low?

I just read the "no white guys" comment... I'd take a Ginobli or Fernandez (or Garbo for that matter) at the 3 over Pietrus.

I get the point though - we need an athlete who can blow by people vs. a euro/skills guy. Kapono has shown that his skills are best suited to the 3-pt contest where no one is guarding him.

I think that the Oneal deal died when Bosh got hurt. This team has to wait until the offseason to unload him or risk being a laughing stock. BC should concentrate on flipping Kapono for whatever he can get (even if it is just an expiring contract). Nothing more to say other than stick a fork in em.

So help me god, if Moon sees this article and starts shooting more, I'm gonna come looking for you. Ha ha

I like to think that Kapono has become the reverse Vince. While Carter got sick of dunking and wanted to be a shooter/ 3pt jacker, Kapono seems to want to do the opposite. Maybe he's foolishly trying to prove he's not one-dimensional despite the fact that his one dimension is what's got him this far.

Back to Moon - regardless of what the stats may say, I will never be happy watching Moon take a jump shot. Especially if his shots and playing time come at the expense of someone like Kapono. This is especially because Moon makes horrible decisions on boths ends of the floor. Heck, even Jack was catching on to his bone-headed stuff last night. Can you imagine if he actually was made to feel empowered out there? My god, it'd be terrible.

You know when everyone realized that Bargnani was a volume shooter and that he needed reps to get going? Maybe it's the same thing with Kapono? If the guy would just freakin' stick to his job and shoot 3s already, maybe we'd see what it was that Colangelo saw in him.

Maybe if we put Antoine Walker's brain into Jason Kapono's body? That could work - a super jacker with a sweet stroke. Wait, that sounds dirty...

Amen Franchise, Amen… I listened to the Colangelo interview this morning and he was asked to explain what went wrong this season. His answer was that this team started to head south with the Garbo injury. Again Colangelo sidestepped taking any accountability for this roster and the teams rappid decline. But more importantly he’s wrong on the overall big picture… I would argue, that the downfall of this team (as you’ve eluded to Franchise) began with the Kapono signing.

I never understood this deal. First of all, he was and is increasingly over paid. Second, coming out of our 47 win season and first round loss to New Jersey, if you asked any scout in the NBA what this team’s deficiencies were it was toughness, athleticism, rebounding and defence. All attributes Kapono does NOT have and never will. Yet BC went and spent our available cap space on JK. Never understood that one…

All of this is on the money. I can't recall who posted the other day about the wages of wins score for Moon, but I was struck by the fact it was so high compared to other players on the team. What tells me is that despite his obvious flaws he is in fact more useful defensively then we give him credit for.

Kapono shows up as being a one-trick pony that doesn't do that one trick particularly well.

So despite my continued outrage at Moon's shot selection, and his indifferent attitude towards getting to the rim, I think we can still give him a pass over Kapono.

We should also give BC credit for finding that diamond in the rough. He seems to have much better luck finding players where others don't look (Garbo, Parker, Moon) than in signing bigger names to help out the team (O'Neal, Kapono, etc.)

I don't even know what to think about Joey Graham anymore, except 'more please'.

great piece franchise, this is why I'm in camp A, but still getting bored of this team... though last night was an exception... some of that aggression we've been waiting for... mad props to joey g, even the defense is starting to come around...

great post franchise, but too many 'what ifs' for me. to me, the biggest problem these raptors face is one of chemistry. it's not about fighting or not liking each other, it's just a matter of on court chemistry. they come out one game and play hard, then stink up the joint the following 4 or 5.

last night was the 'good game'. if they stay true to form, we should all bunker down cause the next one(s) are going to be ugly.

outside of that, last night was just a great game to watch! a lot of fun.

You can't make mountains out of molehills.

A casual fan recently asked me why the raps so much. I said it's because BC has had exactly 1 draft pick and no coach hirings of his choice so far.

But the major problem is we're expecting mountains from our mole hills. BC has made a miracle signing every year via Parker, Garbo and Moon. Garbage pieces to every other team in the league. And the biggest difference this year? He couldn't turn water into wine.

Imagine where this team would have been without those signings?

Remember pre-BC days? It didn't seem like we'd ever have a true C or a PG, the most important pieces to any Basketball club. It was very very dire indeed.

IMHO this team turned around too quick and raised everyone's expecation (including mine to some degree)to an unrealistic bar. As I've said, over and over, basketball turnarounds are slow - unless you pull off miracle trades like the Celts or Lakers where you trade nothing for something.

And let the Gasol & KG deals remind us why we shouldn't bother with even thinking of trading Bosh.

So stop expecting your mole hills to be mountains. In the NBA, you better be a basketball fan first, or else you're gonna have more heartaches than pleasure.

oh and btw Franchise,

How painful was last nights loss to Clemson?!?

"Their impotent 47 points was their lowest output since 1994. It was their first regular season loss to Clemson in 20 games. "

I agree with much that has been said, particularly as it relates to Kapono, lack of draft picks, depth, etc.

I also think that the injuries to CB4 and Jose are the best thing that could have happened. Any extended absence of those two essentially puts to bed any questions of making a run this year and allows us to focus on a total rebuild.

That means trading Parker, which should bring some type of return (i.e. 2nd rounders, late first-rounder if a miracle happens), or even just using the carrot of Parker to get some other team to take on Kapono's salary.

Also, I shoud note that any trade which sends Marcus Banks to us without Kapono going the other way is ridiculous. Which brings me to the question of why in the name of goodness we would take 2 months of Shawn Marion for JO. Two weeks ago I was thinking JO had no value whatsoever, but if he gets the chance to showcase himself in the next few weeks he might actually bring something of value in return that will help us in the next 2-3 seasons, as opposed to simply aiming for cap space.

It's firesale time, and if we are going to do it, we might as well do it shamelessly. Our goal should be to sell anything we can, improve our cap position and acquire young players or draft picks. That's really the only way we're going to improve and fill in the holes around our core 3, which, by the way, is something that shouldn't really be all that difficult to do if we have cap room.

"fake the 3 and duck inside the arc for the 2. "
If you're not laughing...you're crying.

I'd like to see a goal set of having Jawai show some progress in live action between now and and the end of the year. Maybe just a better showing in garbage time, like improving his ability to set good screens.
Gain some confidence, so that he goes into summer league with the attitude that he belongs on an NBA floor and imposes his will. No happy to be here nonsense, get that out of his system right now. And keep our young players the hell away from Jamario. Probably skips reading scouting report to check out all the Youtube mixes of his uncontested dunks.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that if I was BC I would probably trade CB4 if I wasn't very sure that he was going to resign. A package from the TrailBlazers makes the most sense to me since they could give us the best assets without ruining their squad. While I once dreaded the thought of us losing him, I"ve realized that we've probably squandered his window here by not adding enough young, improving pieces in the past 5 years. However, maybe Bosh has realized that the best thing he can do to change that is sit out and allow us to go on a miserable losing streak and increase our chances in the lottery.

Anyways, I've moved on to the JC and Bargs era, and the idea of Rudy Fernandez, LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless or some other combination + high lottery pick this year is something I find much more exciting than the prospect of losing him for nothing. If so, two years of CB4 is going to bring a lot more than waiting until next year when he'll simply be a rental.

You can put me in the "playing for 09 camp while not blatantly tanking". I would trade Parker only if we have another SG and a PG coming back the other way, either in the same transaction or the JO trade. I agree with Franchise that Parker is a glue-guy, but only in the short term. He's been on a gradual decline, that only became apparent last year. While he could bring back value, the problem is that due to lack of depth, we're hanging on to a wing and a prayer when it comes to fielding a competitive NBA squad each night.

I'll even go a step further. I think BC should wrangle some cap breathing room for the express purpose of a second SG, ideally someone who fits into our 2009 plans.

No matter how well JO plays, I think Miami is the only valid destination, perhaps Chicago. No team that's in playoff contention, especially out West, would risk the huge turnover (and resultant disruption of chemistry) required to match salaries for JO. By the time you get him up to speed, and have the other players on the team acclimatized to new roles, you could already be out of the playoffs, a concept that teams in the East are understandably unfamiliar with :-)

Yardly Saaid: While he (Parker) could bring back value, the problem is that due to lack of depth, we're hanging on to a wing and a prayer when it comes to fielding a competitive NBA squad each night.

I agree wholeheartedly, and that's why I'm so intent on doing it. The other thing is, if he's so great and we're so intent on having him next year, why not just resign him this offseason when he's unrestricted?

Last night -- and I can't believe I'm writing this -- Joey Graham showed how good this team could be with some athleticism, slashing and scoring from the wings.

I'm excited by the possibility that the Raptors could be flush with cap space this summer after dealing O'Neal.

Bring on the lottery pick, a few free agents to address the depth issue, and the continued development of Bosh, Calderon, Bargs, Ukic and Joey Freaking Graham.

Still no news on Bosh but I think it's safe to say he won't be playing for at least a few games. I'll talk more about this in tomorrow morning's preview against the Hornets but as one reader commented, this might be the best thing for Andrea too. Now JO aside, he'll be the focal point of the offense and get some time at the 4 as well which should only improve him in the long-run.

If you think Kyle Singler is your typical soft Dukie you haven't seen him play yet this year. (Although yes, please don't use last night's destruction at the hands of Clemson as your sample size. Weird night in NCAA - Wake gets clocked by Miami, Texas falls, and Ok almost blows their game as well.) Singler is as tough as nails and very well-rounded. He's not the slasher this team needs for sure, but he'd be a huge upgrade off the bench over Moon, Hump, etc, etc.

Love Joey for sixth man plan. I'm not sure he's got the lights out scoring style to take out perennial favourites like Manu, Jason Terry and Barbosa but perhaps he can be that super-sub in the mould of AK-47; a guy who can score a bit, rebound, and play solid D. For the rest of the year though, I want to see him start.

(Wow - I can't believe I just typed that. Even going back a year ago having typed that would have probably meant closing the doors on the HQ.)

Also, I say we start up the RaptorsHQ Institute of Science and Technology so we can start some experimenting. Let's see if we can combine Moon and Kapono, or yes, put Antoine Walker's brain in Moon's.

Imagine the shimmies!??!!

RE: DRAFT 2009

1. I think we if we get a lottery pick then we really should go for that AMINU kid. From what I have seen in him - I am being convinced that he's the real deal.

Good pick from the HQ...

2. If we can't draft Aminu, and have a lottery pick we don't want to use, we could always try and trade down and pick up some of these players:

i)Tyler SMITH (the power!)
ii) James JOHNSON (simply solid)
iii)Austin DAYE (soo much upside)
iv)Terrence WILLIAMS (SF who can dish dimes, move his feet and play bully on the inside - crappy shooter though).

Simply put, there are some SF players worth bagging that can be had from picks 15-40.

Great post franchise. Hate to see moon become more of a chucker but youve got a great poitn - on another team hes an eighth or ninth guy so doesnt have the same opportunity to frustrate fans. Imagine eddie house starting at the 2???? Pretty sure wed see the same sort of results so good point.

Bring on the draft talk.

Interesting post via Ira Winderman in Miami:

http://blogs.sun-sentinel.com/sports_basketball_heat/2009/02/how-itchy-is-that-trigger-finger.html

I might be able to stomach Marcus Banks. But giving up a draft pick (our only one this year since our 2nd rounder went in the Delfino deal) is out of the question.

I can't see Colangelo being swindled like that in a trade; I don't see him taking Banks and giving up the pick because it could turn out to be quite high given the injuries.

Worst case scenario, we hold onto JO and try and deal him in the offseason or next years deadline to a team trying to clear space for a run at a 2010 FA. There's no sense in getting desperate now and exacerbating this teams problems by doing such a deal with Miami.

Rob

This is just a speculation and a DREAM if this ever happen but I had to post it here;

"Sources believe the Suns are more apt to shop Stoudemire to the Eastern Conference, where Toronto and New York are natural possibilities. Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo drafted Stoudemire for the Suns, and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni helped turn him into an All-Star. Still, the acrimonious nature of Colangelo’s and D’Antoni’s departures could lessen Phoenix management’s willingness to deal with them.

Nevertheless, Phoenix promises once more be at the center of the league’s biggest trade talks leading up to the deadline."

Source:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArKKXiZXKF68Iz6PtzlWrfnqbwM6?slug=aw-stoudemiresuns020509&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

If BC is the man he will pull this off without give up Bosh or AB. Would this actually work if he can pull this trade off Amare + CB4?!?

I think AB would have to go in this deal?

WOULD YOU GUYS PULL THE TRIGGER IF SUNS CALL YOU ABOUT AMARE?

JordanFanatic..sorry but I don't think I'd be in the mood to repeat another year where your best talent plays the same position. Amare for O'Neal would be a lateral move at best. I'm not moving Bargnani for ANOTHER PLAYER WHO WILL BE A FREE AGENT IN 2010 unless that player's name is Lebron. That's setting the team up for a disaster. Even Bosh for Amare might be coming out on the short end as I'm not sure if Amare is not just the result of the system he plays in. That said, Bosh for Amare is an interesting discussion from the standpoint of an attitudinal shift and how that might translate on the court.

My $0.02

Remember BC's justification for signing JK. "We're going to be making so many shots we won't need to rebound" LOL. we'll what about defensive rebouning?

Moon is the classic case of a player that needed 4 years in college. He's athletic, he does have a nice stroke, and it's not that his handle is bad, he just has no clue how to use it. He doesn't recognize when he has his man beat, and when he does get past his man he doesn't know how to finish. He doesn't understand how to play without the ball, his rotations are poor, he bites too much at fakes. These are all things that a good college coach would have beaten out of him.

How nice is it to have a defensive presence in the lane. I LOVE having a guy that will challenge layups. Without JO the raps are a layup line, the best sequence of the game was when JO blocked Powell in consequence possession and then let Powell know about it.

Is it just me or was a correlation between Jose sitting out, and the raptors allowing less dribble penetration?

Finally Joey, we've been waiting 3 years for you. Please let make us forget that we drafted you over Danny Granger. (ok maybe I'm getting carried away)

Andrea playing with confidence is a beautiful thing to see.

Chris,

Oh yeah, I remeber that ridiculous statement by BC! And its as mind boggling now as it was then... I think I just got whiplash from shaking my head too hard!

That was an excellent, excellent post franchise, nuff respect!!!!!!!!!

I was at Media Day when BC uttered those famous words...think I still have it on tape actually!

Good news on Bosh for those who haven't heard yet - injury is minor as there was no structural damage. He and Jose are both making the trip to New Orleans apparently but I doubt either will play in that game or Saturday night against Memphis.

The downside of this of course is that it means both sit for only a few games perhaps. I would have rather seen them sit for more than as per my post this morning but we'll see what happens I suppose.

Trading Bosh for Amare makes perfect sense; then we can do the JO for Marion/Banks deal; and I know the Suns would take Jose for Nash; we already have Voskuhl and we could get Grant Hill on veteran's min deal; We could go out and hire Iavaroni and then the run and gun Suns could give it another shot, except as the Raptors...........

I know that sounds absurd, but still not as absurd as trading a 24 yr old, 4 time all-star PF, who is a LEADER and a team player for a guy who is older, has had microfracture surgery on his knee and is the farthest thing from a team player; and on top of that you seem happy about such a trade..............Now that's absurd!

Great recap Franchise. With the exception of Moon, I can echo your sentiments.

As is now being reported, Bosh & Calderon are making the trip, but are day-to-day, so that’s a positive. I think if CB can take a couple of games off, it gives us a chance to showcase JO some more. Pressure must be mounting on teams, as we approach the trade deadline. I would hope BC holds out, if JO’s not drawing a good enough return. Next year will only increase his value.

My one concern – if JO should play out the season in Toronto – is that AB may be impacted. I dislike the 3 Big rotation on a regular basis, although it does have the occasional benefit in certain situations, and against a few teams - very few though.

Being as the trade scenarios will start to blossom, I’m wondering if we can do a O’Neil, Moon, Kapono & Solomon trade, for Marion, Banks & Blount. It gives us that 3 spot, and replacements/salary matchups. For Miami, Kap might become what he was supposed to here; Solomon needs a change up, and Moon – well, everyone else seems to appreciate him much more then we do, so let’s take advantage of that. Blount is off the books for the 2010 sweepstakes, and Banks is a lesser exchange for Kap’s contract.

Oh and if the Raptors are serious about retaining Bosh, BC needs to do something with O'Neal ASAP (trade deadlone or offseason) because we can't have another season of this and then pray Bosh re-signs.

I know someone on here suggested JO for Marbury which would be a good deal to clear cap space.

But I think Cleveland might also be a good target; we could trade JO for Wally and Eric Snow (who's still on the books). Then we waive Wally and he can go re-sign with them if he wants, or more importantly, if they want.

Another scenario could involve LA and trying to pry Odom away in a package, now that Bynum is done for the year.

Either way, we need a scoring/rebounding wing to put into the line-up alongside Bosh/Bargs/Calderon in order to make any noise next year. The more I read, the more I fear Bosh moving on.

watching teams in the bottom of the league and watching teams at the top of the league is so differet.Even the reffing is different. Wat a treat Lakers and Celtics tonight

If there was a problem,

yo I'll solve it,

check the hook,

while my dj revolves it,