3 In the Key – Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Detroit

- I didn't feel confident facing Detroit at the best of times...

- If were not going to make the play-offs we ought to tank properly. Rest Bosh and Calderon.

- So any pieces coming up on the top 8 prospects or anything?

- For some reason I am feeling somewhat optimistic about Bargs playing with Italy. I read (albeit not from a reliable source), that he will be playing C. Also, not all italian stars will be playing, so bargs figures to be more of a focal point. It would be great to see him just dominate - he'll have a size advantage in the post, and that short 3pt line for a 7 footer looks like a free throw. (Like an adult playing with their kids or something. The purportions just don't make sense to your brain.)

Howland,thanks again
You hit it right on the head,Jay has been getting away scott free because of the "interim badge".If anything comes to mind,is that if the powers to be are even considering blowing this thing up,nobody should be safe,all coaching staff included( also the entire scouting dep).Jay said that he would have no problem finding a job,well go ahead and start looking.Everything I've read on Messina has been positive however I don't know how patient the fans will be,because there will be a learning curve no doubt.I,for one would love to see a system,yup a system in which the team can start from scratch and learn with together.Would Bosh be willing to stick around and play for a nba rookie coach? I dont know and quite frankly,I dont care.I would love to see this team become more blue collar,minus the baggage the big stars bring.

Iam going to the game tonight and i am very excited. Sure chances are they may lose and cursing like carzy but as an avid Raptors fan I am still in Camp A (dilussional eh) and here's hoping for a playoff. But i will not be terribly upset if we have Calderon and Bosh rest for the rest of the season. Go Raps Go!

I was thinking about the Raptor scouting department the other day and I came to realise something as I went through the list of players drafted by the Raptors over the years.
They have done a pretty decent job of finding NBA talent in the lottery. The problem is, it seems that the Raptors can only draft decent lottery players. In fact, I can think of only 2 players who were drafted outside of the lottery who have turned into decent pros (and for one the jury is still out), Mo Pete, and Joey Graham. In fact the Raptors have never drafted a player in the 2nd round who has played more than a few games in the NBA (Roko doesn't count because he is in his rookie season). The more I thought about it the more I started to feel that this is what has been lacking from our team as the 1st round is to draft starters and the 2nd round is address team needs for various roles. Stealing a starting NBA player is just a bonus. By hitting two players in the draft you increase your depth almost immediately and it allows you keep it cheap over the first few years of their contracts. The Raptors have not been able to do this in the entire history of their franchise. EVER. What does that say about our scouting department? Heck we have only drafted one really good player outside of the lottery (not that our team has been out of the lottery much 4 times in fact). If BC hasn't cleaned house there maybe it is time.

I'm not as bothered necessarily by keeping the guys we draft. More so about realizing the value if they do leave. Loosing primary assets for nothing can sink a Farnchise (and any organization/person).

Point 1. is hilarious!
Raptors and perimeter defense!

There is absolutely no one on the Raptors than can stay with Stuckey or Hamilton... except maybe Marion circa 2005/2006 when he was guarding Tony Parker in the playoffs.

On a side note, here's a question:

If Calderon gets rested for the remainder of the season, does he get the FT% record? What is the minimum number of attempts?

The Raptors need some grit. Can you name one player on the team that is a tough SOB or intimidates. I got nothing.

At least VC had Oakley, JYD, Antonio Davis etc. Those mofos wouldn't back down from anybody. Wanna go into the lane with those guys for a fancy dunk. Be prepared to take you licks.

This current Raps edition is too soft and needs some Reggie Evans type of players. Guys who will foul you hard or give you a whack in the chops when you try to showcase dunk or drive to the hoop.

Who in this team is the scrapper/ enforcer? CB4? He's a finesse player who is so skinny he's praying a strong wind doesn't come up. Bargnani? AP? Pops? Who knows? Maybe Joey and Hump. Hell I miss Rasho who knew a little something about elbow grease.

Over the last few seasons Kobe puts up 81 and everyone kind of stands around and watches.Bogut shoves CB on the way to the hoop and the only one getting T'd up on the Raps is 3'2" TJ Ford. Horford puts TJ Ford out of commission last year and the only one ready to rumble was Sam. Granger shoves CB after a hard foul and everyone on the Raps put their hands up in the air like a bank holdup, says Whoa and that's it.

This team has enough players who can fill the hoop. BC needs to find bench players who are hard pipe hitting mofos who can play some hard nosed D and put people on their asses.

Raps are going to win 15 of the remaining 17 and make the playoffs on a roll.

Similar to the 2004 season i believe...when we won 15 in a row to get in the playoffs?

Mark my Words!!!

Off topic a bit, but if the concerns about Bosh re-signing are real, would a sign and trade of Bosh for Iguodala make sense for both teams?

As for keeping Triano, I just don't know. Its been an unfair season to appraise his performance what with all the nagging injuries (Bosh, Calderon) and indifferent attitudes (Bosh) on the team.

Marion I'm now 50/50 on. He has the right tools and attitude, but he's also clearly in decline.

I'm still a positivist about the team in that I like the nucleus of AB, Bosh and Calderon, but I'm increasingly worried about whether those three can co-exist together. Bosh is awesome but needs a rebounder to take the pressure off of him. AB is trending awesome but plays too much on the perimeter to be the guy Bosh needs. Calderon can be awesome offensively when healthy, but is dreadful defensively.

All of which speaks for the desperate need for athleticism and defense as priorities for our wings. Marion can bring some of that, but AP simply can't except in spurts.

I love the idea of signing Childress to be the new SF, but that would still leave a hole at the 2 guard, and a lack of bench strength as places that need to be filled.

And I am just not sure that can be fixed without trading one of the nucleus.

All said, Bosh will make our path clearer when he does or doesn't sign his extension.

Bedhead, I think you're right on about Bosh's decision this summer making things much clearer in terms of what direction the team takes. More specifically, he can make things very clear by re-signing with the Raps because if he doesn't the only thing that really becomes clear is that BC will have to move him.

As far as a deal with Philly goes, they already have brand signed long term so that would probably be the guy they would offer for Bosh. And why would you want to trade Bosh in division (like Vince) so he can come back to kill us on what would be a stacked 76ers team?

Marion; well Shawn has made it clear that he is not the answer to this teams swingman ills. He is a very good defender and can lead a fast break, but he isn't the scoring type this team really needs. I personally think "good" Joey is superior to Marion in many respects.

That's why this team needs to target a talented SG who can create off the dribble, score in crunch time and can be paid in the 8-10 million dollar range; ladie and gentleman may I suggest one Jamal Crawford of the GOlden State Nellies. I think he could be had for a sack of peanuts if it were up to Nellie, so maybe a sign and trade of Marion for Crawford might be enough to entice GSW.

Rob

I can't even talk about the Raptors after last night's UConn-Syracuse game; greatest college game I've ever seen.

The fight that Cuse showed made me embarrassed to be a Raps fan, especially because UConn's bigs didn't foul out until the fifth OT session.

Tonight I just want to see this team go out and compete. I don't care if they lose, but I want to see them play tough, even if that means seeing 40 minutes of Pops and Roko...

Although tangentially related, here is a post from one of my favourite bloggers about Air Italia and their "customer service":

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/03/the-worst-airli.php

Says one of the commenters: "this story is mainly about how Italian workers will do anything not to take responsibility at their jobs. Why are they like that? I'd like to hear someone explain that."

Note that on the Raptors there is Bargnani, Gherardini, and, of Italian extract, Kapono, Triano, and... Colangelo. Makes you wonder.

wow jj, way to take a very random news item and extrapolate to an entire nationality of people. well done, and one of the more dinosaur-like moves i've seen of late.

Just heard the replay of some NBA analyst from ESPN commenting on the Raptors on last night's Hoops. He argued that if Bosh wants to win a couple of rings and be in the HOF, he needs to jettison the Raptors and play with Lebron or Wade. So, no offence to us, he's going to leave after next season.

I have always liked CB4, both as a baller and as a person, and hoped that he remains here. However, this guy really made sense and I think Bosh should go for the sake of his career. Let's hope that BC can get us somthing tangible for CB4 this summer.

jjdynomite you are translating a company's name "Alitalia" into Air Italia, it is as intelligent as if I was trying to translate "Chris Bosh" into another language.... it makes you wonder indeed....

ps Alitalia went bankrupt and most of those people lost their job. If you ask me, not a moment too soon. They had very little solidarity from anybody in Italy, I would go that far to say that most people in Italy hoped they would die and burn in hell

renato --
Apologies for rewriting Alitalia as Air Italia. But that gets me thinking, Air Canada also went bankrupt in 2003 and I do know that customer service has improved considerably since that happened. So have hope.

Benjihopper --
I was making an analogy that, this season, the so-called Legomaster and his Italian side-kick have been exposed as FRAUDS that lie to their paying customers ("best team ever assembled"). Not too different from Air It.. oops, Alitalia screwing over their paying customers.

I am going to the game tonight; it would be interesting to see how Detroit's bench wipes the floor with that of the Raptors. Remember Howland that the Pistons are playing without two normative starters so their bench is weaker than usual and still miles better than what BC's assembled bunch of scrubs can offer.

When was the last Raps victory over the Pistons? I watch all games, and I can't recall a single victory over Detroit.

Rasheed Wallace owns CB.

(I know the team is different now, just saying)

One thing is certain, every team in the league salivates at that Raps Logo coming up on their schedule.

I still can't quite believe the raps never made any kind of a run and just were this bad... they'll probably have some better games now, but I sure hope that doesn't make BC think, hey maybe we should stand pat... still need a shot creator, still need a better coaching staff, still need a bench... at least our expectations will be low next year...

I didnt see the game... but did Bargniani get injured or somthing? or was it the flu kicking in?

It was the flu apparently. Much better defensive effort tonight... not awesome, but good at a few crucial times to get to overtime, too bad it took like two minutes to even try to score in the paint once they got there, aarrgh jump shots

"Jason Maxiell scored on an easy dunk for Detroit as the Pistons swept their season series with Toronto for the first time in 11 years."

Ok, I guess I stand corrected; good game last night though.