A quick LBL for this Thursday, as the Raps get a break from play before taking on the Bobcats tomorrow night.
We'll start with some takes on last night's action though including Ryan Wolstat's regular "Points per Game" piece from the Toronto Sun, and Eric Koreen's take over at the National Post.
From the other side of the fence we've got the SB Nation's Spurs Blog, "Pounding the Rock," giving their take on their club's ninth straight win.
The loss last night to San Antonio hardly guarantees the Raptors the number one overall pick come June, but it certainly keeps them on track for a decent shot at Anthony Davis, the consensus number one projected pick...who just happens to be Draftexpress' "NBA Prospect of the Week."
In other Raptors, news, a very interesting look at the Dinos' personnel, especially the club's power forwards, in regards to the upcoming NBA trade deadline. TSN.ca's Tim Chisholm points out that Bryan Colangelo has some major decisions to make up front regarding the current logjam.
Also in Raptors' news, an interesting look at how the LA Lakers stopped the Raptors from running their favorite play, this being at the end of last Sunday's match.
Moving on to other matters, like Jeremy Lin, an interesting post from ESPN.com regarding Lin's success and the system he's now playing in. I've often thought about the importance of this fit, and we've seen a number of examples in the past of players leaving Toronto after struggling in their offensive system, only to find new life elsewhere. Matt Bonner might top that list but others like Roger Mason Jr. and even Carlos Delfino, having a great year in Milwaukee, would fit the bill.
Keeping things local, our friends over at HipHoopJunkies.com are giving away a free "Free Steve Nash" t-shirt, via a contest on their site. It's pretty easy to enter, and make sure you check out some of the other t-shirt designs on display.
Finally, a good read I think for all of us who write/comment/post/discuss various topics here at the HQ. SB Nation's Jason Concepcion writes on how basketball elitists can learn to talk to NBA fans, and digs into a common problem for most of us stat-heads.
"The average sports fan doesn't care about things like PER, only about dunks."
And speaking of which...no surprise, but no DeMar in this year's field.
Instead we've got Paul George, Iman Shumpert/Jeremy Lin, Chase Budinger and Derrick Williams...
...cricket cricket.