Tip In: Bargnani Injures calf as Raptors Drop Contest to Kings 98-91

“including a massive put-back by DeMarcus Cousins; but, in classic Cousins fashion, he received a technical foul for screaming and staring down Amir Johnson following the play”

I actually laughed after that play, not because it wasn’t massive. Not because Cousins stared down Amir and flexed. Not because of Cousin’s T. But rather because it was such an obvious foul that went uncalled.

Anyone want to reconsider my Fan Post trade proposal? LOL

I was encouraged by Amir’s performance vs Cousins especially since Casey did not have Amir take it to Cousins on the Raptors first few offensive possessions. This would clearly have established Amir and the Raptors as the aggressor and set the tone for the Raptors being the aggressor and the game may have been officiated more to the liking of Raptors fans. It might also have gotten Cousins in early trouble.

Having said that.

I really liked Amr’s willingness to physically mix it up with Cousins. I would definitely put Cousins among the top five NBA Centers in aggressiveness and strength. Though Amir eventually fouled out and lost the head to head numbers game against Cousins the Raptors played the Kings dead even for the 28 minutes Amir was on the court.

Knowing his history I expect Amir to come back next season heavier, maybe 265 or so and a lot stronger.

P.S. I wonder who gave Cousins that shot to his left rib cage that had him wincing in pain when he, Amir and a couple others were scrumming on the floor for the ball late in the game. That play was after the Cousins dunk and stare down.

It would be nice to see a flash forward piece on what the Raptors could look like in 12 months from today….a fictional positive piece.

JV and AB starting front court
Harrison Barnes ROY
DD finally putting it together
Jose staying healthy and playing well

Amir and Ed backing up as PF/C off the bench
Linas bringing scoring off the bench at the 3 and JJ bringing D
Bayless playing like J Terry and the Raps excepting who he is, a scorer who can play D

Now we need someone to back up Jose but a backup PG with potential is not impossible to find as a FA.

This season is difficult for fans. We really need ping pong balls but you always want to win. Maybe dreaming of next year is allowed in this long and painful season. It’s been fun so far to have AB and Jose be reborn and for Amir to show his improvement. And Casey seems like the real deal. But in the end, we will lose a lot of games and that is the awful medicine, for a few more months that we have to take. Then we get the best two players from the last two years coming in as rookies to join a young team with a new coach. That’s right JV is the best player of his draft and Barnes will be too……we hope. Right now, it is very possible.

They are both so young, and neither is over 21 years old. They need to learn to play the right way and right now neither is playing well. DD started off better but has regressed lately and Ed hash’t gotten enough playing time, but he will and then we will know more. He looks upset he isn’t playing enough and that type of spoiled attitude is not good, but it is easy to understand. He has been a superstar on every team he has been on and now he barely plays. He needs to get over it and we need to be patient.

These two players are both unknowns at this point. DD should be further along but we knew he was raw when we got him and Ed is very young. I say we should play them both a lot this year and develop them or determine they are not part of our future plans and trade em. We can afford to play them because although they are learning on the job, we need them to learn more than we need the victories this year. Ping pong.

Essentially we could have 4 “Rookie Like” players on our roster next year and they could all be impact players. Ed and DD are both still very young and DD has only played for Jay Triano for two years which in retrospect may not have helped him much. Then JV and ? (Barnes?)

Add Jose, Andrea and Amir to that group and it provides hope.

Bayless, Linas and JJ can provide solid bench play. What we need is for 3 of those four “rookie like” players to work out. If all four do great, but three need to.

Here’s what I see in my rose coloured glasses;
1. JV is a monster centre for years in the NBA. Player most like…..David Robinson
2. Harrison Barnes all star 3 and top ten scorer…..most like Grant Hill
3. DD solid scoring two with good shot and good finisher…..most like Clyde Drexler (hehe)
4. Ed Davis becomes a powerful defender and efficient scorer….most like Antonio Davis, but better

If three of the four turn out to be good to great, we should have no more season like this one for a long, long time.

we may not win one in the next ten. Can’t hurry Andrea back. We just have to make sure he comes back with more of the same. No reason to rush a calf injury because they suck if they recur. I know, I play squash and calfs are tricky.

Jose’s minutes need to be protected, even if it costs us games. If he goes down we are really gonna fight for the first pick. 15 wins maybe.

If Andrea doesn’t come back we might only win 13. If they both are out we may not win 10. I hope we lose every game by one and get the first pick because in the big picture I want rings not playoff first round exits, but I wish no one injury.

First pick comes with a lot of options. Imagine the third pick has a desire for number one and we want someone else instead…..trade the 1st pick for 3rd pick and a 19th pick and grab Barnes at 3 and a top prospect for PGs because of the heavy draft who is still there at 19. Then have Jose mentor him. As he transitions to a starter and Jose moves to the bench, we go from being a young playoff team to a finalist and then winner. Jose comes off the bench in his last two seasons as a pro as we win back to back rings. Rings baby. Pound the rock for a reason.

Casey will soon adopt this long term philosophy. When he realizes he can’t make the playoffs this year, he will use the rest of the season as practice if he is smart and has perspective. Then we will end up near the bottom of the league and Butler and Magloire may end up playing quite a bit.

After the next ten games, if we are clearly out of the playoffs, we should adopt the philosophy we are more worried about instilling a system for our players to pay than wins.

Next year is different, hang in there….imagine being Phoenix. Nice to watch (Nash) but maybe the furthest team in the league from a ring. (Jersey at least as Russian money and a new stadium to hope for)

Go Raps.