Interim report card

I’d be less forgiving with DeMar and Ed, though maybe my expectations were too high in first place.

Barbosa has been good enough but I’m not sure he should get the highest mark on this team. I’d probably go with Bargs despite the injuries.

As this obviously takes some time, games happened in the mean time and guys started playing some alternate universe ball and I got frustrated and stopped… lol

Here are some excerpts…

Andrea Bargnani
Finally coming into his own apparently, after a brutal first 4 or 5 seasons, the 7 foot Italian jump shooter can get good looks on anybody and has the purest stroke on the payroll. Also a plus, he seems to authentically care about basketball, finally. When defended by smaller, quicker players his size advantage allows him to simply shoot over the top. When defended by bigger, slower players he doesn’t hesitate to create. A drive to the basket typically means the paint enforcer is the guy he’s just left behind him, leaving light resistance at the rim. His increased efforts regarding rebounding and team defence are quite noticeable and, if maintained, make him a top tier player on any team.
From a defensive standpoint Andrea has been pathologically slow and lazy in his team defence while being a mediocre individual defender. While he seems to hold his own one on one against power players, he struggles when matched up against quickness. While Andrea may be one of the quicker 7 footers in the NBA on offence, his reflexes and reaction time are exposed on D and this hurts him when defending against agile attackers. Andrea is relegated to either fouling or getting out of the way in most scenarios when attacked with speed. This is not likely to change as it is more a reflex issue than a technique issue. Film work and “predictive” defence are about the only way to improve this aspect of his game. Where he has shown much improvement this season is his help defence. While still having old habits to kick, Andrea has increasingly made efforts to be aware of rotations needed to protect the paint. From across the lane, seeing a team mate get beaten, Andrea has time to react and move to help out. And the big kicker is, he is actually choosing to provide the help! These rotational improvements greatly affect the overall team defence and should continue to improve as old habits are further supressed.
If Andrea sustains the play he has demonstrated in the first part of this season he is an absolute key piece in building a successful team in Toronto. Having NBA skills were never an issue with Andrea, his major handicap was mental. He may have been a slow learner but it seems he has finally gotten it.

DeMar DeRozan
Young, athletic, hard working. All of these things describe DeMar. Raw, soft, immature. Unfortunately these also apply. Many people, myself included, bought into the hype machine that advertised DeMar as our emerging All Star. There were so many flashes of “could be great” and “vast potential” last season. Flaws were noted, but excused as merely instances of youth needing experience. But overall, Kobe-light was inheriting a franchise. I have since had the wool pulled back from my eyes to see the truth. In young DeRozan, the Raptors have a valuable asset. A player who will require scouting reports from opposition. He becomes another option for instances when “Option A” and “Option B” are failing. He can be a source of energy for team mates and fans. But he is an asset that brings along a few liabilities. DeMar defends arguably the toughest position in the game. In this sport, as in most, the offensive player always has the upper hand, knowing the attack strategy, while the defender’s actions are reactionary. DeMar defends against the most agile and athletic position on the floor. And to be honest, he just doesn’t do it well.
For all the “bashing” Andrea Bargnani took last season regarding his poor help defence one thing wasn’t focused on that maybe should have been. You have a lot more instances requiring help defence when your team mates can’t keep their guy in front of them. DeMar may have average reflexes and instincts, but he defends against guys that make “average” look like slow motion replay. Dwayne Casey has employed a zone defence strategy that has helped to mask the problem frequently this season. Can a team contend for meaningful success solely riding the back of a zone defence? I don’t think so.
Perhaps an elite defender can be paired with DeMar to handle defending the larger offensive threat situationally. But at what cost to the offence? It’s no secret that elite defenders expend a lot of energy and in most cases are not exactly offensive juggernauts. There are a few exceptions, but these are Franchise talents, All Star players. Can DeMar provide enough legitimate offence to justify catering to his defensive woes? I believe he can. For now. I believe he would flourish as a sixth man once we strengthen our roster. I will detail this later. DeMar DeRozan, the new enigma.

Jose Calderon
Ah, Mr. Calderon. Jose is truly a top level point guard with gratuitous experience and passion for hard play. He is a confident floor general who makes good decisions, is scrappy, a leader and he always shows up to work. Jose knows his job and plays within his game, making his team mates better through smart play and great vision. When he is healthy, Jose is even better than he thinks he is. Jose is a good shooter, but he doesn’t often look to shoot. Jose often drives all the way to the basket, just to dribble back out and reset the offence. Jose is painfully unselfish and it hurts the team. I absolutely respect that Jose wants to get his younger team mates fired up and into a flow. It’s commendable that he doesn’t need to be the team’s high scorer to sleep well at night. But he is the team’s second best shooter. And he is one of the only players on payroll that can create a smart shot in a pressure situation. And he plays on a team seriously devoid of talent. Jose is a league leader in assists to turnovers AND is fourth in assists per 48 min. Imagine how far out ahead of the pack he would be if his team could hit better than 30% of their open looks. (that may be a slight exaggeration in shooting percentage, but not much) If this team wants to win games, Jose needs to put the ball in the bucket. There may be no “i” in “team” but there is in “win”. Jose would do well to remember that.
Jose has one more season under contract and then many people have suggested retaining him as a mentor to a successor point man. That’s a nice warm thought to snuggle by the fire with at Christmas, but Jose is competitive and he wants to play for a title. He is more than good enough to be wanted by an elite team, and he will take less money to do so. Believe me, Jose is the consummate professional and will give everything to these Raptors while he is here. But he will not be here forever. Neither should we expect him to be. Jose is in his prime, maybe even on the back stretch of it, and by the time this team is contending he will be more coach than player. Look for Jose to be in Laker gold or Miami black in the not so distant future.

Jerryd Bayless
“The Little Engine that Could”, except in this case “Almost Could.” Jerryd has classic little man syndrome. Which is kind of funny because outside of his profession, in regular society, he is taller than average. But he’s an NBA player, and he’s so little. He plays like he has something to prove every time he gets the chance. Unfortunately often the thing that he proves is that he is not the best candidate to lead this team forward. I love his heart, I love his hustle, I love his rage. I see myself in Jerryd. Deeply offended at the suggestion I may not be the best choice for a job. But that doesn’t make me right. He is a streaky shooter who can give you a nice boost at times. Other times his lack of a throttle governor can bury you. He can break down his man and get in the paint. But he often careens directly into a waiting defender. His feisty defence is probably his best and most consitent attribute however, and this makes him a valuable piece in our rebuild. Insert him into a game to shut down an opponents hot hand, give him a few reps on offence to see if he’s hot and decide whether to ride him or yank him. Easy peezy. Oh, and don’t pinch his cute little angry cheeks, he just HATES that.

Here’s how I see them (I emphasize subjective grading based on what’s expected of the player, willingness to work, and effectiveness):

L. Barbosa —> C+ : He’s doing pretty much what is expected of him with some brilliant games, some clunkers, and a whole bunch of ball hogging once he gets it.

A. Bargnani → A : Mostly because the improbable improvement to his game. The old Bargs would have gotten a D-

J. Calderon —> C : Always hard working but his shooting has declined.

J. Bayless → C : Failing in the backup PG role but doing much better as the starting SG

J. Johnson —> B+ : Brings maximum effort but needs to work on his shooting, which I think has marginally improved as the season has gone on.

E. Davis → C : Seemed lost at the beginning of the season but now shows up occasionally

L. Kleiza → B- : Brings a willingness to mix it up that many other Raptors don’t. Hasn’t had nearly the same number of traveling calls he got last year

D. DeRozan → C : Started the season looking like he would earn an A for his improved shooting. Then he just completely lost it. He might have turned the corner again.

A. Johnson —> D : Something isn’t right. There’s been a report or two about personal issues and there’s the hand injury, but he doesn’t have the same spark right now.

A. Gray → C+ : Doing pretty much what you would expect of a backup center. I almost gave him a B because he knows what he needs to do and does it, but he really doesn’t get enough playing time to justify the higher grade.

G. Forbes → D+ : Initially, looked really bad, but he’s shown enough to be the emergency PG and doing OK at that role

A. Carter —> F : Not good and he looks like he’s just about done

R. Butler —> F : A shooter who can’t shoot earns this

J. Magloire —> D : Doing pretty much what he was asked to do but not being terribly effective at it

S. Alabi —> inc. : no data on which to base a grade