Lunchbox Links
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 14, 2010 2:02 PM EST
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PrintESPN's John Hollinger chats about whether a Jose Calderon-for-Kevin Martin swap is realistic and why a Chris Bosh-for-Andrew Bynum deal is probably the best way to rebuild.
Calderon and Bosh rank 11th and 14th, respectively, in Chad Ford's list of players most likely to be dealt. (ESPN Insider)
Add the Denver Nuggets to the list of teams rumoured to be pursuing Bosh.
The Score's Holly MacKenzie talks practice, including this gem from coach Jay Triano:
"I like having three ball handlers and they can all shoot the basketball as well. I don't mind that. I don't think it's something we want to do on a steady basis throughout most of the game but to finish games we want guys on the floor who can make free throws when we have a lead, who can make plays for each other and who can make shots."
No mention of having too many cooks in the kitchen or possibly playing guys who can defend during crunch time. Because that would make sense.
The Globe and Mail's Michael Grange weighs in on the Bosh trade buzz in his From Deep blog.
Chris Black questions Doug Smith's blog post anointing Bosh as the best power forward in the NBA. Mr. Black also takes a trip down (recent) memory lane to point out how bad last year's Raptors team really was.
Arsenalist from Raptors Republic takes an in-depth look at DeMar DeRozan.
In case you weren't aware, Ron Artest may be slightly unstable.
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Rebuild?
Didn’t realize the Lakers were looking to rebuild.
In context, the line refers to the best way for Toronto to rebuild
Lakers will be contending for a championship for the next half-decade if this trade goes through.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Battier
What do you think we’d have to give up to get Shane Battier? He would greatly improve our D.
I don't know what they'd have to give up...
… or even what HOU would want outside of Bosh… but Battier would be one hell of an acquisition for the Raps
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 14, 2010 3:42 PM EST up reply actions
3 ball handlers
It may be good to have multiple players that can handle the ball on the court at the end of a game, but it is not good to have three ball handlers. There should be one ball handler who knows that is his role. Then the rest of the team can play off that person. Right now the Raps have 3 guys simultaneously trying to run the team and only Bosh and Bargnani available to receive the ball and score.
It’s hard to say whether the problem is that Triano has not clearly defined the players roles or if the players are having trouble adapting to/accepting those roles or if they are just too thick and/or don’t communicate.
I like the job the coaching staff and players have been doing lately to improve the communication and organization on defense. Hopefully, they are doing the same type of work to clarify things on offense, especially in end of game situations.
I am not that enamored with Bynum. He may be a good young talent and he would definitely help this team as he is a true center (Bargnani can move to PF) but he is also a constant injury risk. Didn’t we learn anything from Jermaine Oneal experiment? I would rather get a weaker player at center who is always healthy and can give 25 minutes a game then a guy who may miss as many as 20 games a season. I still think the best bet for a trade (both talent wise and realistically) is Houston. Nobody else can offer us the number of skill players who could put this team into contention like Houston can. Just my opinion.
He's not a "constant injury risk"
Unless you think a player is going to fall on his knee every year at about mid-season. As for Houston, they would have to give up a lot of talent to get Bosh, and they have no one that offers equal value to Bynum or is a better fit than Bynum for Toronto.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Um...
Outside of the 2006-2007 season, he has not played more than 50 games a season. He has been in the league for 4 and a half seasons now. I’d say he’s a pretty big injury risk. No thanks to Bynum.
And both were freak injuries
He falls onto Lamar Odom’s foot and tweaks his knee, and in the subsequent year, Kobe Bryant falls literally onto his knee.
Unless you think players will fall onto his extremities on a yearly basis, then no, he’s not “injury prone,” which is reserved for players like McGrady and Yao that get hurt on a yearly basis simply due to the wear and tear of playing.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Simple Question
Isn’t Bargnani a better centre than Andrew Bynum? He’s sturdy, has shown that he can defend, is mobile and versatile. If the feeling is Bosh is better than Bynum, and if Bargnani is better than Bynum, then why the fuss over Bynum?
Sometimes we see so much of our own team and so little of others that we lose perspective on how the skills really compare. Look at how many people are frustrated with Turk this year? And yet expectations were coloured by the small sample of Turk we saw last year.
Reading some Laker fan posts, a few expect Bosh to be that defensive force he was in the Olympics. Interesting.
Bynum v. Andrea
Over the past 10 games, Andrea has definitely been better than Bynum. Drea’s defense and even rebounding is at a much higher level that we’ve ever seen, while Bynum’s been in a funk. I think how you come out on this depends on whether you view this small sample as an aberration, or the new norm.
Living in Laker-country, I can tell you that Lakers fans are very frustrated by Bynum’s inconsistency on the offensive end. They see the good nights, and can’t understand why they’re not getting that all the time. When he’s getting touches on offense, he’s a serious weapon. If he gets position, it’s an automatic 2 points. He’s a true back-to-the-basket center. If he’s facing the basket, he’s not putting it on the floor.
At the other end of the floor, Bynum is a serious weapon. His defense is consistently a plus. He can neutralize other big centers. He’s usually matched up against the other team’s slower big, letting Pau guard the more mobile guy. But I don’t think he’s a liability if the other team goes small.
Making this deal would be pretty conservative. The gambling move is to try to keep CB4 in the off-season, and risk getting back nothing.
I have these fears sometimes of next November seeing a starting lineup of Jose, Demar, Hedo, Andrea and Reggie Evans/Amir Johnson. Can that team win some games? Sure. Is it a playoff team? Doubters.
The big problem as far as Bynum's inconsistency goes
Has been his inability to be effective on offense with Gasol, and yes, coming from a Lakers fan, this has caused endless consternation, which is the primary reason Bosh is so attractive because his offensive game meshes so well with Gasol’s. That said, I’m not sure how one could consider Bargnani to be a better player than Bynum by any stretch of the imagination. He doesn’t have close to the defensive presence that Bynum has, he’s by far an inferior rebounder, even with the recent spree of good rebounding games under his belt, and Bynum is a much more consistent scoring presence than Bargnani, especially in light of the fact that Toronto has no real back-to-the-basket scorers. On that note, Bynum’s and Bargnani’s offensive games mesh very well, and that would be quite the solid frontcourt moving forward.
To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy is provided by the enemy himself.
Bynum’s PER is 19.66 putting him 10th with Cs. Bargs is no where to be found. http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/statistics?sort=per&qual=true&pos=c&seasonType=2&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnba%2fhollinger%2fstatistics%3fsort%3dper%26qual%3dtrue%26pos%3dc%26seasonType%3d2
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