Raptors Finally Rebuilding the Right Way
by Adam Francis on Dec 15, 2011 8:10 AM EST
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After a history of flawed rebuild efforts, the HQ's Scott Campsall wonders if Bryan Colangelo has finally got it right...
Being a fan of the Toronto Raptors is not, and has never been a particularly rewarding experience; actively rooting for the Raptors means rooting for success, but never fully getting the gratification of seeing it take place. It also means buying into plans put forth by management year after year, but never seeing those plans come to fruition the way we anticipated they would. But, maybe because there are no other professional basketball teams in Canada, maybe just simply because we love the game of basketball or for some other reason that remains unknown to us, we talk ourselves into rooting for the Raptors every season.
When you have been a Raptors fan for as long as I have, you start to become immune to all the bad news that comes with the territory. The Raptors have a long history of underachievement, missed opportunities and disinterested superstars.
True Raptors fans will remember what it felt like when Damon Stoudemire asked out, when T-Mac left town, and when Vince got dealt for ten cents on the dollar. That's the very same feeling we had when we heard the name Rafael Araujo for the first time, or when Chris Bosh sat out the final five games of the 2010 season, and then was traded for a couple of draft picks and a trade exception. (Which looks increasingly bad thanks to recent Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony trades.) The same can be said about the way the Hedo signing and Jermaine O'Neal trade turned out. And then there was last off-season's crushing trade that wasn't, involving a game changer in Tyson Chandler who we all saw go on to become an integral part of the Mav's championship run.
For some, that is also the feeling brought about by the last few acquisitions made by the Raptors' brass. To many it feels a little empty and familiar; drafting another Euro, a player that the wont even be seen in a Raptors uniform this year. Free agents additions like Jamaal Magloire and Rasual Butler, both guys that couldn't crack their team's respective lineups for majority of last season, then a career reserve in Aaron Gray. Another potential addition, Anthony Carter is a career journey-man that is memorable only to the true diehard NBA fans. These are all moves that on the surface lack the luster of a Tyson Chandler, or Nene signing and feel more like the familiar signings of Fred Jones and Primoz Brezec of the past.
The general perception of the upcoming season for the Dinos is that it will be just another losing season, a season where the players go through the motions and collect their paychecks; a season in which it's only reward will be to grab their yearly spot in the lottery.
That is the feeling for many, but for me, this time it feels different. The 2000-01 Toronto Raptors team was the culmination of a game plan, built with the proper pieces around a superstar in Vince Carter. This period of Raptors basketball, which could have easily been at least a five year stretch of success, was destroyed when Vince Carter struggled with injuries and was eventually traded out of town. The Raptors squads of subsequent eras--including the Colangelo era teams--have been plagued by reckless roster construction, and deconstruction, with very little attention being paid to chemistry and long term planning. This is something we have seen for years. That is, until this year.
The team may not win very many games this season, but there is something refreshing about witnessing a plan put in place by management, and then an actual commitment to seeing that plan out. Colangelo has never been one to build a long term plan, and has always tried to hit the home run with one big move when a number of small moves would do the trick. But this year, he has made some of those small moves and put the team in position to be successful going forward.
I think Colangelo deserves some credit for his dedication, especially for a guy on a shorter term contract that could potentially be on the hot seat if this team doesn't perform in the next couple of years. He has put his faith in the growth and development of young players and a passionate head coach with minimal head coaching experience.
He has already shown the willingness to make unpopular moves for the long-term betterment of this team. If you don't believe me, you clearly weren't frequenting the message boards when Colangelo used the 5th overall pick in this year's draft on Jonas Valanciunas. Valanciunas is a guy that has the tools to make a serious impact in the league, at a position where not many of those types of players exists. Yet, drafting him meant waiting a season for him to come over, and dealing with the backlash he would surely face for drafting another "Euro".
Going back to last season, Colangelo could have tried to use the trade exception he acquired in the Bosh deal to add a player with a bigger contract that could come in and have an impact right away, but instead, he used it on a number of deals, including the one which landed both a young piece in Jerryd Bayless and some cap flexibility in the form of Peja Stojakovic's expiring contract.
Unpopular moves at the time? Maybe, but they are all a part of Colangelo's plan to build an actual team that will grow together, rather than assembling parts and hoping they come together in a single season.
This offseason, BC hired a coach with limited head coaching experience, but a proven defensive guy; not a sexy hire, but a good solid basketball hire given this team's history of defensive inefficiency, and lack of accountability on that end of the floor.
During free agency Colangelo has added some veteran locker room guys in Butler, Magloire and Carter; and a couple of younger guys that could be a part of the team going forward in Forbes and Gray, all in the name of helping the development of young players, preserving cap flexibility and sticking to his long term plan of improving this team.
Granted, it did take a few seasons for Bryan Colangelo to initiate a building plan of action, and he deserves his share of criticism for that; but if you are going to criticize him for his shortcomings, than as fans, we should acknowledge the change in philosophy and the potential for excitement about what this team could become if it is given the time to develop.
This is why Raptors fans must stick by this team and see this through. We have been through it all, we have seen the ups and the downs-of which there have been plenty-but this time is different. To me, it feels like we are headed in the right direction; like there are more ups than downs in store for the team, and for its fans, in the near future.
It may seem as though we have seen this whole script before, but in truth, this could be the beginning of something we haven't seen in Raptorland in quite some time: a real future.
SCOTT CAMPSALL
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I am in the wait and see category right now as BC always makes me think about how having a relationship with him (as a fan) is like having a relationship with a Heroin Addict. He seems like he might have changed and then BAM, Hedo Turkoglu. If he follows this course and next offseason we get a good pick and don’t blow it, and then make responsible FA signings, then I will give him credit. Otherwise, I am getting ready to duck and cover.
agreed
It must be killing B.C. to have had all those nice free agent pieces available and some cap space burning a hole in his pocket. Hopefully he settles in and stays patient, especially with the coach. Casey’s got his work cut out for him.
by axl t on Dec 15, 2011 9:07 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I think there have been some good moves by BC that point things in the right direction…but as I noted in the comments yesterday, I need to see what they do with guys like Bargnani before I’m fully back on board.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
by Adam Francis on Dec 15, 2011 12:09 PM EST up reply actions
it is a little slim
as a single reason for a go/no go decision
That was a particularly good write up this morning and spot on as well
I like the dirction of the team. 2 more high draft picks and we’ll be well on our way. We still need an above average player, a true star to complete the build.
That Is The Problem With Putting A Team Ahead Of a Sport
I fall victim to the same thing being such a big fan of the Chairman.
We all do it. It is natural in sports to become a big fan of someone or some team and place it above being a fan firstly of the sport. By sport in this case I don’t mean just the NBA but all of basketball.
Basketball is a special and beautiful game played by exceptionally physically gifted people. I know it is very hard to put the sport above the one team or one player, been there and done it starting with the Detroit Tigers when I was growing up in Buffalo.
Some of us are fortunate enough to grow beyond that and to love the sport more than one team or one player. For those of us who do we come to enjoy the sport a lot a more and be a lot happier in our relationship to it.
Been there, done it.
Say What - Has Casey Lost His Marbles?
RaptorsRhetoric NBA Hoops Daily
Listening to Dwane Casey last night, it sounds like Bargnani and Ed Davis will spend most of their time at PF, and Amir will play C.
3 minutes ago
Nothing like throwing a dog to the wolves eh. Even at 256 with almost zero percent body fat I doubt that Amir can handle playing most of his time at Center. It should be fun watching Bargnani trying to chase around PFs and guard the likes of Dirk. This will surely be interesting if it happens.
Amir has the smarts and courage to hold down the Centre position, but I agree about the size issue. We’ll see how he does in pre-season.
Size Does Matter
That is how “No Hands” Kwame has managed to earn over $58 million in his NBA career.
I Don't Think Casey Is Looking For Much Scoring From Amir
Protect the paint
Rebound
Set Screens
Run an occasional pick and roll or pick and pop
Run the floor
There are a number of reasons that Casey might want to do this. One that I can think of is that the guy playing Center on defense usually has a better vision of the court action than the other four. Amir started being more vocal on defense last season. Even though Bargnani’s English has improved I can not envision Bargnani out there barking out defensive instructions. I can see Amir doing this.
There Is Another Possibility
Play Amir at Center until Jonas arrives and can handle starting.
Play Bargnani at PF and Ed behind him to showcase Bargnani as a PF. The trade him in a year or so.
So in say 2013-14 you have
Jonas starting at Center
Davis starting at PF
Amir coming in off the bench playing both Center and PF
That could be their longer term thinking.
ISTM that the only way Amir could successfully handle starting at Center would be to bulk up even more next summer to about 270. That would be enough weight.
Anyway it is all useless speculation. Let the games begin.
What you are describing as the long term plan is certainly the direction that I would like to see the team go. If a potential superstar like ADavis/Drummond falls into their lap in the next draft then they could adjust, but otherwise I really like the idea of a future JV-Ed-Amir big man rotation.
For Now The Job is Amir's To Lose
It not like Amir is old. He is only two years older than Ed.
Amir is working very hard to improve his game.
I do believe if he can ever get the foul problem under control to where he can play 35 mpg if needed without worrying about fouls than he still has some very good upside. He did make significant progress in this area last season reducing his fouls per 36 minutes from 6.5 in 2009-10 while coming off the bench to 5.1 per 35 minutes in 2010-11 while starting over 50 games. So who knows if he can continue to improve in this area.
We shall see.
Who would have thought two and half years ago when the Raptors acquired him Amir would weigh 256 be starting at Center and have a fairly decent mid-range game. On top of that staying after practice to work on his jump shot.
Probably very few. I never imagined he would start at Center in the NBA though I have always felt that he could start at PF.
So Ed and Jonas both will have their work cut for them if they hope to dislodge the Chairman from the starting spot. This of course bodes well for the Raptors future. Hopefully Amir’s hard work will rub off on the rest of the team including Ed.
I don’t know who I like yet in the top five next June. Way to early to tell. For example Henson at NC has made great strides on this offensive game and right now is a more complete package than Drummond and Davis.
He is averaging 15 and 11 for NC in 29 MPG. Yes he is a junior but I have seen Davis, Drummond and Henson play and if I had to choose someone today from the three who I could get good minutes out of right now on a NBA team it would be Henson, without a question. Henson will become all of 21 years old in about two weeks.
Great numbers from Henson. Has his strength improved? I have been skeptical about his ability to put muscle on his frame.
Drummond vs A. Davis
Quick observation based on watching Drummond play once and Davis several times.
1. Drummond – Big – Supersized – Needless to say he takes up an awful lot of space. Lumbers a bit doesn’t appear to be deathly slow, No offense. No way to tell about his strength since he was not going up against anyone where he might have to use it. Big men his size tend to have difficulty playing extended minutes in up tempo games, so that along with his lack of offense are concerns. Even though I haven’t heard or read anything about it, he could have serious knee problems down the road due to being so big.
2. Davis – Long and athletic – Relatively slim of frame. Haven’’t seen much offense out of him. Reminds me of a slightly shorter and less long version of Camby without the throw (as opposed to jump) shot.
Neither has any offense to speak of but they are still only pre-season freshmen, so we shall see. Both appear to have a tendency to get into foul trouble early and often. Davis especially since he tries to block everything. Probably not strong enough yet to take a charge. Drummond on the other hand could probably have a Hummer drive into him and the Hummer would summer more damage than he would. LOL
Better than last year
Even though the season is likely to be a mess, I like this year’s team better than last year’s. Better balance between offence and defence and more veteran presence.
A Big Part of the 19th Century Growth
of Western N.Y. We learned all about the Canal’s history in school growing up in Buffalo.
Yet another basketball tidbit gem Budda. Are you sure you are not writing to us from a convalescence home?
Nope
Those places are awful. I used to work for a company that owned a bunch of them. Really bad news. You never want to wind up in one.
Isaiah Austin looked really good tonight as did Emanual Mudiay and Julius Randle. Three kids that could be one and done guys after they get to college.
GP had too much fire power for Prestonwood
Yeah I want to keep him too
Hes real raw only played ball for like 5 years. Tonne of untapped potentiall and it’s not costing us anything. It’s also nice to have a big banger to go against in practice for guys like Davis and bargs
Fav fighters - Machida, Faber, Koch, Hominick, Pettis, Hardy, Stout, Cerrone and killer Cain
"I'm so fast that, last night, I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark." - Ali
by Kalejohncox on Dec 15, 2011 11:04 AM EST up reply actions
Evidently The Chairman Is Taking This Season Even More Seriously
heisamirjohnson heisamirjohnson
RT @PayalDoshiTV: Meant to tweet this yesterday, @IamAmirJohnson was the last person working away on the practice court. #mymainman #raptors
18 minutes ago
Amnesty
Any thoughts on what the Raptors are planning here? Isn’t the deadline for it tomorrow? Sportsguy has said that it should be Calderon, but not sure that is our best choice.
Probably Jose due to his experience
Also DC might want to continue working Davis with Bayless as much as possible. Bayless could also see some time at the #2
I think that is the best move for them to make. They already filled their roster, so there is no pressing need for cap space right now. Save the amnesty til later.
Calderon is productive player. He might be a little overpaid, but cap issues are not a concern right now.
I definitely think keeping it in case Barney suffers a serious injury is an excellent idea as he is the only long term significant amount of money left on the team (Caderon has only on year after this one and Kleiza is not that huge in comparison).
Disagree on that. Hoping Casey can establish some accountability this year.
by dhackett1565 on Dec 16, 2011 10:45 AM EST up reply actions
Oh I am right there on the Hope Train with you...
I just hope the train departs on schedule…
"the Truth"
Pops Impressive in Eurochallenge Debut
December 15, 2011 21:18 pm
Took Great Britain forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu just two games to get back into the swing of things as he returned to competitive action in Turkey after missing 6 months due to shoulder surgery.
On Tuesday Mensah-Bonsu made his debut for Beskitas in the EuroChallenge, beating BG Göttingen 96-59, and finishing with a 21 point-9 rebound performance.
The 28 year old Londoner had 14 points and six rebounds in the first quarter alone, and played just 26 minutes in total, going 8/9 from the field and 5/8 at the line.
Talking to FIBA about his performance, he said:
Comment At the End Is
from Jay Satur. He just tweeted me saying it was him.
Dwayne Casey...
James Johnson is definitely the best of the 3 at the SF position…
I TOLD you he was workin!!!
He also said Jose was the starter over Bayless… so I digress there…
"the Truth"
Johnson Show Some Real Good Defensive Potential Last Season
Can handle the ball, pretty good handles, pass the ball and rebound well enough from the #3 spot..
My issue with him is his shooting. It has to get better. Last season it was nowhere near acceptable. His decision making with ball needs to slow down a bit also, so he can cut down on his turnovers. Played too much out of control last season. This happens a lot with rookies which in terms of minutes he really was last season.
It takes a while for the game to slow down for young guys. Enough so that they can just go with the flow and read to make the right play.
The difference between then, and now ...
is Chris Bosh.
Kind of hard to rebuild when you had him. BC tried to do what he could to build a play off team and make Chris happy. The O’Neil and Hedo signings on paper looked pretty good.
Now that they don’t have a real franchise player, he is pretty much forced to “rebuild”.
On a side note ...
I’m a bit disappointed is the Stefanski hiring. The 76ers track record isn’t that great in my book (they did pick Iggy, only because we picked Araujo). I’m far from being qualified to be a GM, but I would of like what’s his name from the Spurs.
What papers were those? Rolling papers? Bringing in Hedo and O’Neill were reactions and poor ones at that as Hedo was already overpaid and then they tried to turn him into Mo Pete 2.0 so he was misused. O’Neill was as much a "get what you can for TJ as anything and ended up handing Bosh and Lebron to Miami.
looking forward
Jose- still productive and passionate, he should be the teams experienced leader to run the offence and I expect his shooting touch to improve from last year.
Amir- awesome hustle player with skills and youth
Bayless- young, athletic, exciting; should be fun to watch if he can improve
Ed- helped win a NCAA title in his rookie year and shows lots of promise if he can add polish; should be fun to watch
JJ- Young, athletic and exciting; should be fun to watch if he can improve
DD- lots of talent, young, exciting….let’s see what he can do this year
Aaron Gray- still has a chance to be a relevant centre who plays solid minutes and contributes and will be fairly cheap
Linas- might be a lost cause but has shown very rare signs of brilliance over the years, maybe he can do something…anything? Probanly not, but the rest of the guys on this list are very exciting.
AB- wow has he taken a beating from some fans. Man is he frustrating to watch on D. But maybe, just maybe he can be used in a more productive way. Maybe he can learn to pass more. Maybe he can go inside on O more often. Maybe he can be less responsible for help D and concentrate playing hard straight up D on one man more, (as this is the one thing I have seen him do well at times) .
or he plays a lot, puts up decent stats and we can trade him for something. Either way it’s better than what he is now.
Time for some bball and right now, I feel excited about our team and our future. I am even excited to see how AB will do in his new circumstance and I do give him a chance to be successful. Right now, everyone on this team has something to prove, even Alabi and Linas. The only exceptions are Magloire and Carter, who have nothing to prove but are expected to be leaders in the locker room and practice and teach the younger players what it takes to win. And they are both happy to still be playing. Nobody who doesn’t want to be here. I like the chemistry so far. Go Raps.
Amir Is Way Beyond Just Hustle
Update your player bios
read it again
“awesome hustle player with skills and youth”
If that’s not a positive review of Amir, I think you love him too much. He’s one of my favourites and he has lots of potential and skill. That is what I said and I stand by it. No update required at this time.
by defensive rap on Dec 15, 2011 9:02 PM EST up reply actions
That Is What It Says Now
He is the best Raptors player.
This is based upon watching the Raptors when he is on the court
When Amir was on the court last season most of it as a starter the Raptors outscored their opponents by 6.83 points per 100 possessions.
When you look at the current roster of players who were on the team last season the next best player who played 50 or more games was Jose at a +2.83 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. points per 100 possessions
You can go to any other advanced stat that is based upon a players performance and the Raptors performance and Amir almost always comes out #1
Calderon almost always comes out #2
Now you can say these are just numbers. Yes they are numbers but they don’t come out of thin air. They reflect what happens on the court. Over the last two seasons Amir’s adjusted +/- is +3.90. The next best current Raptors player who played the last two seasons for the Raptors is Jose at +.43.
If you look at just last season Amir was a +/- of +4.63. Next best of all the Raptors players still on the roster who played over 50 games last season was Barbosa at +.14
It goes on and on. People need to watch the games more closely and not just focus on scoring and rebounding. Most people never have probably even thought about how Amir affects the Raptors performance on offense through setting of screens. Again of all the Raptors players who were on the team last season and are on it this season the Raptors scored more points per 100 possessions when Amir was on the court than any other Raptors players. They scored 108.43 points per 100 possessions when he was on the court. The next highest was Barbosa at 107.51.
My thing with Amir is that I feel because people really don’t understand what makes a player good they have constantly undervalued Amir’s contribution to a team. Clearly Raptors management realized this when they extended him for possibly up to five years.
So I am fighting to get the truth out. I wouldn’t care which player it was. I fight for the truth. You don’t think so. Read all the posts I have made about Amir’s foul problem. I have never said he doesn’t have one. I have never said that is footwork on offense is good, which it isn’t. You and others may think I am biased but i don’t see it that way and the reality on the court supports my position.
Amir rocks Buddah
That is my opinion. I don’t see how what I posted contradicts anything you wrote. He currently is my favourite player on the team. He has really developed his mid range jumper and he plays hard and has more experience than any other NBA player his age I can think of save a handful. I watch the games and pay attention and I have not said anything bad about Amir. If they want to change the culture of this team, Amir is the essence of what they claim they want to create here, so to me, he is the least tradeable player on the team.
He relates well to the media and seems to appreciate his situation more than most. Reminds me of the red rocket in that regard and it is always nice to see a humble person work really hard and succeed. Is that positive enough?
Awesome hustle player with skills and youth and …..what did I miss?
…and great character and the most athletic player of our time? No.
….infectious attitude and a willingness to work harder and commit fully to the game of basketball….? Maybe, but I still say my comment was hugely positive.
Stay positive Buddahfan, it becomes you.
by defensive rap on Dec 16, 2011 12:09 AM EST up reply actions
When Amir was on the court last season most of it as a starter the Raptors outscored their opponents by 6.83 points per 100 possessions.
You’re reading those stats wrong. The 6.83 for Amir is his net impact. When he was on the court, the Raps were outscored by 3 points per 100 possessions. When he was off the court, they were outscored by almost 10 – hence his net 6.83 points per 100. He is certainly valuable, but he in no way lifted the team to winning status while he was on the floor.
Julian Wright had a better rating last year, and actually had a positive plus minus.
Don’t get me wrong, Amir is good. He is one of the pieces I definitely want on the team going forward. But all these adjusted stats are very dependent on who is replacing you at your position, and beating out players like Bargnani, Evans, a rookie Davis, and Ajinca is nothing particularly special. The amount he beat them out by show how valuable he is (very) but he is not the piece to build around – he is a very good complementary piece, and I think there are several players that have more room for growth that might end up being the player to build around (Davis, DeRozan, Val).
My thing with Amir is that I feel because people really don’t understand what makes a player good they have constantly undervalued Amir’s contribution to a team. Clearly Raptors management realized this when they extended him for possibly up to five years.
Yes. They realized he is a young, very skilled hustle player who can have a huge positive impact on the team. Just like d-rap said, and you refuted.
by dhackett1565 on Dec 16, 2011 8:56 AM EST up reply actions
You have forgotten one thing
Amir is signed to a team-friendly contract extension, which makes him even more valuable. I firmly believe that he could easily get a lot more on the open market these days, even under the new CBA.
Yep – look at what bigs are getting on the open market this year.
by dhackett1565 on Dec 16, 2011 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
thanks dhackett
I always appreciate your posts and insight.
I don’t know why Buddha misunderstood my post. I was trying to say good things about a lot of young players on the team, and Amir was one of the ones I was trying to compliment. I think he’s a bit overzealous on this topic.
by defensive rap on Dec 16, 2011 7:31 PM EST up reply actions
JV + 1
And most exciting of all…..JV + 1 next year.
He Has A Long Way To Go
before he can start in the NBA
Maybe 2013-14 when he is 22.
I really like that this season will be a complete gong show
with tons of hard fouls, tough (maybe dirty) play, and anything possible to shift the “soft” tag our team has been burdoned with. Then next year, or more likely the year after, our young team doesn’t have that tag attached to them and can carve out their own identity and reputation.
Some here might say, ‘who gives a crap about a tag being attached to you?’ Even if it is just what people call you, mentally you will most likely take on that attribute/philosophy and that has really hurt us over the years. With the media and the entire league calling us soft, it has made us even softer, due both to the subconscious impact on our players but the lack of respect from our opponents. Time to knock Melo, LeBron, Kobe, and Blake on their asses and hope they remember it their next trip up north.
Formerly known as timboslice85
by Rebrand_the_Raps on Dec 15, 2011 7:28 PM EST reply actions
BC's final oportunity to save his legacy in T.O. is the decision on the front court positions
In the next 12 to 24 months a significant decision will have to be made on what to do with the teams’ front court rotation and more specifically the PF position. With Ed, Amir, Jonas and Andrea already in the fold, 6 of the top ten draft prospects (as per DraftExpress) are either PFs or Centres. For me the answer is obvious. As expressed above, a rotation of Jonas, Johnson and Davis (and maybe this year’s draft pick) is tantelizing. The thought of trading Ed or Amir to make room for one of the worst players in Basketball is terrifying.
While some may be quick to laud BC for finally getting it through his thick scull after 5 years that this team is not “close” and a propper rebuild was needed, I will reserve acolades until I find out what happens with the log jam in the front court. Why? Because I have a hunch we will all be disapointed. Prove me wrong Colangelo….
Sportsnet Staff
Sportsnet Staff | December 15, 2011, 11:01 am
Dwane Casey is facing one of the toughest challenges of his coaching career.
The new Toronto Raptors bench boss knows he needs to develop Andrea Bargnani into a defensive presence.
Bargnani, who was the No.1 overall pick in the 2006 draft, has been highly criticized during his tenure in Toronto for his lack of physical play. One of Casey’s main priorities after the NBA lockout was lifted was to immediately help change the mindset of the enigmatic Bargnani.
Casey, who expects to play Bargnani at his natural power forward position, has been incredibly pleased with the effort and results he’s seen in the team’s training camp so far.
“Andrea has done a tremendous job,” Casey told Jeff Blair of Sportsnet 590 The Fan on Thursday morning. “He’s working defensively, trying. He’s going to the boards. Hitting the boards. Rebounding. Hitting people. I’ve been really proud of his progress.”
more on link
good
It is what we expect as a fan base when we pay a guy over 50 million. We expect them to try hard.
by defensive rap on Dec 15, 2011 9:04 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe The Problem Is That I
Posted that Amir was staying after practice and put up a video showing him knocking down 18 footers in practice.
If I read the same thing about Ed Davis I would post them too. Has anyone else read this about Ed Davis staying after practice or found of video of him drilling 18 footers in practice. If so, please post. I am sure all of us would love to see it. Seriously. I posted that positive article about Ed. Has anyone else done that since camp opened. If you know of one please post it, seriously.
I don’t make these stories and videos up. They are right there on the Net for anyone to find. I post them because they are positive things about a Raptors core player. I posted the positive article on Bargnani and everyone here knows how much I have wanted the Raptors to get rid of him because of his awful team defense and rebounding. So this article about him was encouraging so I posted it. I want him to succeed because if he does the Raptors do better. If he doesn’t get better than I stand by my position that he should be gone one way or the other.
To many here live under a dark cloud of negativism when it comes to the Raptors. Well fine if people get off on bashing the team that is their right but I prefer to look for the positive and when I find it I post it. I don’t care who the Raptors player is.
Maybe others who post here might want to consider doing the same rather than showing up and throwing out the same old negativism.
Of course not all posters here live under a dark cloud so to those who don’t this post is not meant for you.
Please post some positive stuff out of Raptors camp about Ed. I would love to see it. Someone posted that he is handling interviews better. That is nice. I never attacked it.
Show me the car fax. LOL
If I read the same thing about Ed Davis I would post them too.
Really? Because about 90% of the stuff you post about players currently on the roster is about Amir. I doubt 90% of the coverage out there is about Amir.
Maybe The Problem Is That I …
What problem? This seems like just a random post you’ve put up to point out that you haven’t heard much about Davis out of camp, with no provocation. No one even responded to your post about Amir.
by dhackett1565 on Dec 16, 2011 9:03 AM EST up reply actions
Assistant coach Sterner gets into some really interesting stuff towards the end of his scrum yesterday, basically talking about stance, and I think addressing the bizarre tactic we saw from the raps under Triano, where the seem to stand sideways and give the other player a lane. I like that the focus is on fundamentals, though it must be hard for a guy like amir who is solid.
http://www.nba.com/raptors/video/2011/12/15/RWEB111215STERNER-1936188
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