Da Bulls pt. 2/The Raptors/The Warriors

Let me talk about a few different teams here…


Chicago Bulls

Just to finish up with what I was saying before. It certainly is confusing why this team has fallen fast and hard…or is it? I was watching NBA TV on Sunday night and they were discussing the Bulls/Raps game, and when they started to get specific about the Bulls problems, the one guy (Frank Iasota although that is not how you spell his last name) pretty much laid it all out on what the problem is…no low post scoring. Well, was that not what we have been hearing for over a year now about this Bulls team? But of course, as some of us ponder and examine the issues with this Chicago team, I think that Frank is right in saying that the old problem is still today’s problem. Right now the Bulls have 3 scorers (Deng/Hinrich/Gordon) who are all shooters and who can get streaky. Add on the fact that defenses can relax in major ways off of Ben Wallace and help out with Deng and Gordon cutting off screens, and now you are looking at a team that just can’t score. Chicago and Toronto are actually quite similar except that Toronto has a Chris Bosh working inside. Both teams have the shooters to go along with it, but as we Raptor fans have seen, the shooters are only as good as the inside presence is at attracting defenses off the perimeter. The confusing part of this was the fact, and the reason why everyone (myself included) pick Chicago to do big things this year, that this team was successful without the inside man. They swept the Heat, who was not at 100% at the time of the playoffs, but a sweep is still a sweep. Chicago also got a few games against Detroit. This team was having success without the inside guy, and while that player would be nice, it was looking like it was not necessary. Well here we are one month into the season, and I guess maybe that player is necessary. Wallace is not getting younger and he is getting more and more useless by the game. Scott Skiles I think has done major damage to Tyrus Thomas’s contributions this season. Joe Smith can knock down a shot, but he is not even close to what they need. No doubt about it now, this team is going to need to make a trade. AND NO, not that Kobe trade.

This team can still pull it together and have some success with this current line-up. But with the aging Wallace in the middle, this team is just getting more and more exposed and I think we can see after these first few weeks that whatever success they had previously can not be duplicated with out making changes.

Trade Tyrus since Skiles ruined him, keep Noah, and trade Ben Gordon.



Toronto Raptors

Let’s talk about a few things. Garbo is having surgery and I think it’s now pretty clear what has been going on, and the Raps have been saying it from day one. The guy is still hurt. Now, from our standpoint, if we see a player playing and looking perfectly fine, then we do assume he is fine and give him some PT baby!! But, clearly he was not fine. Spain is attacking the Raptors management making accusations about this being punishment for Garbo playing for his national team, but that is stupid. Besides the fact that this line of thinking would assume that Colangelo is evil (revenge over an issue of national pride) it is also silly to think that this team, who is clearly driven to show success on the court, would rather punish a player instead of using him when he has been proven to be productive on the court. Even Garbo has come out recently to defend the Raptors management. So bottom line is that Garbo will be going under the knife once again, and perhaps be back for the end of the season. Hopefully this guy can still contribute down the road, because it would be a shame if we, as Raptor fans, only get ¾ of a season out of Garbo’s entire career.

Jamario Moon is the talk of the town, and besides the fact that his 15 points, 7 board, 6 block, 4 steal Sunday game pretty much won my week in fantasy basketball, he is a stud for just simply playing his role and playing to his abilities. He is staying in that starting line-up and will be in the 33-38 minutes a game range. The great thing about Moon is the fact that he has confidence, and the more comfortable he gets, the better he plays.


Golden State Warriors

I jumped on the bandwagon last spring, but last night’s game against the Suns proves why I did that. This team is fantastic. The Warriors still can’t beat teams like Utah or Boston or Houston because of the types of teams they are, but Golden State can outrun the Suns. The difference is that the Suns are built to take on the Utah’s/Boston’s/Houston’s as well. Regardless, if the Warriors keep this up and can get close to the 50 win mark, I am calling for Don Nelson as coach of the year.

Da Bulls

The questions of "What is happening.." has already been asked hundreds of times. Now, the Chicago Bulls are in flat out trouble. Today they came into the ACC and had about 5 minutes worth of "classic" Chicago Bulls basketball. You remember that kind of basketball? The kind of basketball where they take and make shots in rhythm. If it wasn't for the efforts of Nocioni, then this game could have gone down that 30 point blow out road that the Raps took the Bulls on a few weeks ago.

It is just wierd and unusual to see a team like Chicago playing like this. Why do you think that everyone was so high on this team this season? They swept the Heat and then got intimidated by the Pistons until finally they decided NOT to be intimidated and made a series out of it last spring. You would think that they would be able to come into the season with a lot more confidence then what they are showing, but it is just not there at all for them.

Sure, the Kobe thing got them off there game early on, and once they started to travel down that dark road of defeats and negativity, it becomes much much tougher for a young team to rebound. Can they even rebound? Of course they can, and I still expect them to do it. But at this point that team is going to have to forget all about the "Drive for the Championship" attitude or the "Best in the East" label. What they need to focus on is joining a handful of other teams in the "just trying to make the playoffs" approach to the season.

And will someone tell Kirk Hinrich that perhaps playing full court man to man is only doing damage to his own conditioning? I play basketball today and I am no where close to decent shape, and I know that when I get tired, the shot starts to miss and the turnovers start to pile. Kirk, that full court defence is not working on anyone. Is it really worth putting that much effort on defence when your offence is shit?

Oh, and Scott Skiles might have killed the year for Tyrus Thomas. Tyrus Thomas against Detroit was huge. So we know he can play the game, even though he will be inconsistent because he is a second year player. Same with Bargnani here, as everyone has high expecations although we all need to remember that he is only a pup in the league. When it comes to Tyrus though, he has just looked awful the past week plus, been getting called out (who cares if there was an apology after) by his coach and then benched. Hmm...could this be coming accross to the young player as a vote that HE is the problem so far? True or not true, is it not possible that he might feel that way? That is the difference with Bargnani by the way, cause when Bargnani went to the bench and played shitty, but no one ever made mention that Bargnani was to blame for the teams troubles. The only way now that Chicago is going to win is with Tyrus on the bench. And that is not completely Tyrus's fault.

So THATS why he is considered the favorite to win MVP

Tough lose for the Raptors. Tough because for the first 14 or 15 minutes, the Raptors were dominating ala Dallas/New Jersey/Chicago. But the bench work of the Raps (Derrek "Carlton Banks" Martin) put the Cavs back into the game, Cleveland starting to make some outside shots, Lebron stepped up and since it was in Cleveland, it was tough to stop that train.

Lebron freakin James. WOW

Positive of the night was Chris Bosh's stat line. It's now official that he is back, and even though the Raps lost a tough one, the fact that Bosh is back is a sign of sunnier days ahead.

And here is something I didn't think would be the case before the game...we need Ford back stat. And I don't say that because I believe we lost the game because of Martin. But this game did change when Jose was off the floor and this is why one of the strengths of the Raps is the double point guard power. Jose also is not use to playing 40 minutes and I think perhaps is trying to pace himself for the length of the game. Hence him not taking it to the net as ofter.

One thing that I have noticed with the Raps is historically they have a tough time against superstar players. Tonight against Lebron and a few days ago with DIrk is just a small slice of what MVP players have done. Can we really forget who it was that felt the wrath of 81 Kobe points? Even Vince Carter was dominating the Raps for a while, until the Raptor fans finally got to him.

Little of this and a little of that

Not much to discuss today. Raptors are getting ready for a big game tomorrow against Cleveland, as the players on the Raptors side are talking right now with confidence. Things like "Turning the Corner" "Figuring it out" "We understand". CB4 has put up outstanding numbers the past two games, and if he does more of the same, these Raptors will be deadly. As for Bargnani, well it would seem his "Summer League Flashback" stretch was directly related to his move back to the bench. Sure, now in retrospect that seems obvious, but Bargnani always seems more confident that perhaps he actually is (which is fine, he is 21 and in his 2nd year).

In fact, not too many 2nd year players are performing strong so far. Sure, LaMarcus Aldridge is bringing the goods, but Brandon Roy is struggling with his knee, Tyrus Thomas is struggling because of his coach. Rudy Gay has done nothing newsworthy so far this year. Randy Foye is hurt.

Even with the inconsistencies, Bargnani is still easily looking like the right choice at number one last year, although like I said, Aldridge is bringing the goods so far this season.



By the way...I posted something a few days ago which linked Bill Simmons of ESPN comparing the Raptor fans like soccer moms, but in a good way. Well, again this morning I was reading an article saying how Memphis has one of the best young 1-2 point guards in the league, if they move Damon Stoudimire and be left with Lowry and Conley. Then it was followed up with the writer making a reference that he was about to get some nasty emails from a lot of Raptor fans.

I have been hearing this for awhile, about us Raptor fans getting our voices heard on the web, but are we REALLY that crazy compared to other fan bases? I can already tell you that Celtic fans and Laker fans are just as crazy.

Previously on.....

Believe it or not, the Raptors actually looked really really good last night. The fact that it was tight down the stretch and Memphis was leading with about 4 or 5 minutes to go would indicate that the Raptors did not have a great game, which they didn’t, but you could tell that it was a matter of fatigue more then anything else. The plays they ran, the spacing on the floor, the decision making was all looking good. The shots were just not dropping and the Raps looking sluggish at times. And that is understandable, as they did play in a very emotionally draining game against Dallas the night before.

Speaking of Dallas, I guess us Raptor fans don’t need to feel as bad about what happened against the Mavs since Dallas did almost the exact same thing to Houston last night.

Now let me mention Bargnani for a moment, as last night was a very important evening for the man. You see, the last two weeks he has been struggling. And last night, starting the game 0-9 was not an indication that things were going to turn around for the guy. Previously, Bargnani was not only shooting shitty, but also getting into really really early foul trouble and getting pulled rather quickly. So when you look at last nights game, even though he was shooting at the start like he has been shooting for most of the season (first half of the Dallas game excluded) he was bringing enough on defense and rebounding that Mitchell did not pull him. And what happen? As what will happen with any shooter who keeps taking shots, the shots started to drop. Bargnani finishes with around 14 points including a huge 3 with 3 minutes left in the game and hopefully Bargnani “gets it” and has turned the corner here. I think that has been something the Raps have been stressing the past few days to the players, which is don’t worry about the shot dropping, do the other things right and you will stay in the game.

Jamario Moon, ladies and gentlemen, really just might be legit! Now he is hitting jumpers with confidence right in the eye of the defenders. Give me those steals and blocks (got him on my fantasy team) and we will all be happy.

Bosh looked better and I think we might be getting to that stage of being able to say “He’s back”. Not yet though, let’s see what happens against the Cavs and Bulls first.

Kapono had his best game as a Raptor.

Jose was O.K.

Props to Mitchell for going with Delfino over Parker down the stretch. Delfino hit a huge three that put the game away for the Raps.

But Mitch, let’s me just tell you, Moon is looking legit. Good work on that one. No one gives you the proper credit for taking that bold move, but I will. But on the other hand, let’s keep Baston in street cloths. Mitchell, you have been coaching great for the most part, but that whole “Bosh has his 4th foul so let’s put in Hump for 2 minutes, then yank him and put in Baston who blows big time so let’s yank him and go small.” KEEP BASTON AWAY FROM THE COURT.

Kinda wanted to see Jose start one more game, although it sounds like Ford will be back for Saturdays game. That being said, at least Ford being back will keep Carlton Banks aka Derrick Martin off the court.

I got this feeling deep inside, that the Raps are going to murder the Cavs and have a hell of a game against the Bulls at the ACC.

You can just forget about that whole "Give Garbo more minutes" thing

Well, maybe this is the reason why Garbo has gotten no love. I mean, they keep saying that his leg is still broken, so really there was no way he could play 25-30 minutes a game. But if his leg was broken, how in the hell did he play in the Euros, and practice on a regular basis with the Raps for 2 months and play in the games he actually has had a chance to play so far this year? Until we learn more about what they found on the MRI, we really don’t have a clue what to expect here but I got a feeling that he is going to need that surgery that he was putting off.

So as we saw last night, Hump got Garbo’s spot in the rotation. Kind of scary to be honest because, as we say in the Jersey series last spring, Garbo would have helped out quite a bit last night, being the steady rock to help keep the ship steady while the Mavs made that run. Again, the Raps lost it last night because they were overwhelmed, and I think that is what Garbo brings to the table…stability. That will be missed, because Hump does not bring that at all. And then when you look at the other players on the rotation, who can help turn it around when things are going down the toilet? Moon is WAY to inexperienced to be able to contribute much in getting things straightened, he disappeared completely in the 3rd quarter (but he didn’t do anything negative enough to warrant taking him out of the starting 5, Moon played well for the most part last night). Kapono is certainly not the guy. Delfino can get a big steal and play tight defense, although not so much offensively when the team really needs a bucket. Having Parker on the court is a must in terms of stability. Bargnani we are hoping will be that guy, but even after a fantastic first quarter last night, he disappeared in the second half. And of course CB4. As I mentioned earlier, it’s all about him, he needs to bring that stability but right now he has been having his own confidence issues to deal with. That’s why Ford has been taking over the game a lot so far this season, because on one else on the team is stepping up.

With experience comes the skill of being “that guy”. So hopefully last night was a solid learning experience for some of the players and someone will step up when it matters.

Ohhh...so THAT'S why he was MVP last year

At the end of the day, it is a lose like any other lose. Fans in Dallas will not be thinking “Wow, did Toronto ever look good tonight.” Or “Thank the good lords above that Dirk saved us.” because the reality is that for Dallas fans, Toronto is just another decent East team in the league for the Mavs to get 2 wins out of during the season. Even a 24 point lead that the Raps have would not be attributed to the Raptors great play but more the Mavs lack of effort. That’s the way it goes. Like when the Pacers played the Raps, Indiana got off to a quick start, but then the Raps took over and won the game. And afterwards, we Rap fans think “Nice game, Raps should have won” or “Raptors finally are dropping that shot”. What we didn’t think was “Pacers gave us a hell of a time pulling out that win.” Or “Toronto is going to be in trouble next time they play Indiana”. The league has a pecking order, and even if you can build a huge lead during a game, that will be viewed more of a fluke then skill if there is a wide difference between the teams on that pecking order.

So I guess what I want to make very clear here, is that the Raptors completely dominated the Mavs for about 21 minutes last night. Just destroyed them in every way possible. The Mavs were feeling the pain that Nets/Bulls felt, and it really did look like the Raps had it nailed down. But, with major props to Devin Harris, Dirk Nowitski was just something else. Now I don’t get to see him play much, I know based on his stats how dominate he is, but last night not only did he look like an MVP during that 3rd quarter, but when he dropped 4 threes in 2 minutes…good lord the guy looked 50 greatest of all time. Not saying I think he is, cause I don’t, but that was one of the most impressive displays of shooting and confidence that I have seen in a long time. The Mavs were already getting back into the game before those shots, but that was game over once Dirk nailed number 4.

So this is ether the started of something good for the Raps, or the start of the downfall. Tonight against Memphis is actually a very important game. Will the Raps take away the many many positives from last night, or the huge huge disappointment? I can say that the Raps lost last night because they were simply overwhelmed. The problem with those huge leads is that once the other team gets that momentum going, as talented as Dallas is, it’s going to be REALLY tough to stop that run. IF you stop it, you win the game, but when the Raps actually did look like they were stopping it and start to rebuild the lead to double didgets, that is when Disco Dirk went off. But during the Mavs big run, the Raptors just looked…well, quite honestly they looked scared. One of the best teams in the league in not committing turnovers created about 3 or 4 in a row! Bargnani, who played like current all-star Bargnani in the first half, just disappeared in the second. I know that the 31 and 12 from Bosh looks and sounds good, but believe me, he is still not there mentally. As a lot of plays were broken due to his indecisivness. The Raps as a unit looked like deer in headlights when facing a 3-2 zone. So with a lot of the negatives, we still have to look at the main positive, the Raptors DOMINATED the Dallas Mavericks in Dallas for almost 2 quarters. Again, as I said at the top, at the end of the day, the lose is still a lose. No one outside of Toronto is thinking “Wow the Raptors Dominated for 2 quarters last night”. They are thinking “Wow, Dirk went off last night” or “Dallas played like shit for the first half”. But my dear Raptor Fans, you and I know better.

The Raptors were the best of both worlds last night, the dominating Atlantic champions, and the 4-5 middle of the East team. But that view of the dominating Champs certainly was wonderful to see.

Now the Raptors can go out tonight, knowing that they have what it takes overall and that they just need to gain that experience to deal with certain things, like when a strong opponent gets on a huge run. And to sum up last night, it was all just a big display of inexperience on the Raptors part. The top teams don’t get scared or intimidated, but the top teams also don’t have the youth that the Raptors has.

But these positive vibes will only be present IF the Raptors win tonight. A lose tonight and you can forget about anything good that came from this Dallas game. Which is why tonight against Memphis is one of the bigger games so far in this early year. A bounce back game. Do the Raps come out blazing or frustrated. Do they put together a complete 48 minute game, or show the same early positive signs like last night until once again having a lid be placed over the net. Will we remember this Dallas game like we remember that Orlando game from last year when Bargnani went off for 5 threes in the 4th and was the symbol of the start of the turnaround for that team, or will we just remember it for Dirks amazing 2 minute display?

By the way, the Raps used a 9 man rotation last night, gave the starters the majority of the minutes, and the only difference from my suggestions were that Hump was in while Garbo now has something wrong with his leg showing up on MRI’s. THAT is not good folks. This whole Garbo thing is getting worse and worse by the second.

Ford also had a stinger last night, and as well as Ford has played this year, and he has play some great great basketball, having a different look with Jose starting might be a nice jolt just to get this team into a consistent rythem. Remember last year when Jose started that stretch, the Raps were playing some great ball, so hopefully we can see some of that magic again.

Big game tonight.

The week ahead

So here we go. This next week I feel is going to be a rough one. A stretch of time where we can see this Raptor team dip below 500 by more then a few games. In one weeks time, I got this feeling that the Raps will be in desperation mode, and that actually might just be what this team needs to be honest. They are already feeling it now, especially with the ACC actually booing them at the end of the Warriors game. But in a week, when they are below 500, I think it’s going to hit it’s peak and at that point, it will be go time for the Raptors.

Tonight at Dallas
Wednesday at Memphis
Friday at Cleveland
Saturday vs Chicago

Well 2 out of 4 would be ideal, get over this stretch of games still at 500. I mean, this team is eventually going to have to start to make some moves up the standings, but as they try to build some sort of momentum, we can only hope for at least a split here. Now a breakdown with these games…

Dallas is a machine at home, and the Raps have not shown the ability so far to beat the top tier teams (Boston, Orlando, Utah) so I don’t know how we should expect them to do it on the road. It would be nice to think that this team is going to pull off the big win, especially since they have actually been very good on the road so far this year, but I am not holding my breath. I don’t have good feelings about tonight.

And then Memphis. Here is the problem with the Raps. When they get matched up against shooting teams, those teams always seem to get on fire against the Raps. I have no doubt that the Raps will keep the Griz below what ever Memphis season avg is in PPG, as the Raptors have improved in it’s defense so far this season, but with a disappearing offense on the Raptors end, they won’t be able to go toe to toe. Again, on the road the Raptors have been playing better. This game is one that the Raps should get, but right now in this gloomy state, I can just as easily see them losing because of the type of team Memphis is.

Cleveland I have good feelings about. The Raps played Cleveland tight last year, and it was actually Anderson Varejoe who hurt the Raps the most last season. With him gone, and the Raps in a potential state of panic going into this game, this is one I feel confident in the Raps winning, and even doing to the Cavs what the Raps did to the Nets/Bulls.

Back at the ACC for Chicago. It all depends on how well they did the previous 3 games. Because we do know that the Bulls will be remembering what the Raps did a few weeks ago, and with Nocioni in the starting 5 now, it will be a different Bulls team to a certain degree that will be looking for revenge. Now if the Raps went 0-3 going into this game, then the desperation of the Raps will toss the revenge factor aside and give the Raptors a win. But if the Raps actually end up with some success during the 3 games, this one could be difficult. Of course, the reality is also that the Bulls just flat out don’t look good, so really the Raps should win this game regardless.

And now, a glance around the league

Continuing with my previous posting which graded all the Raptors. Let me take a quick glance at the 5 teams in the NBA that are stepping up after 10 Raptor games, the 5 teams that are doing exactly what is expected, and the 5 teams that have yet to bring that which we expected them to bring.


Bringing the goods

1) Orlando Magic - Rashard Lewis was still overpayed. But who can complain about the results so far? It’s hard to get too excited about this team as last season they started off in a similar fashion to all of a sudden crumble. But with a new scorer in Lewis, with Howard looking like he is taking the next step, with Jameer Nelson and Hedo Turkoglu playing much better then they did last season, and most importantly, a new quality coach in Stan Van Gundy, this team just might very well be legit. With the win vs Boston yesterday, the Magic have defied expectations and are currently the team to beat in the east.

2) New Orleans Hornets - And the West keeps getting better. With the big three of the Mavs/Suns/Spurs still playing like the big three, and with the Rockets/Jazz/Nuggets all playing great basketball, who would have thought that the Hornets would be the team that would threaten the most to turn the West from the big three into the big four. I thought they would be better, but to jump over 3 teams in the West pecking order is pretty impressive. That being said, it is still early. Paul is already out with injuries and the reality is that this team has only played 3 quality opponents, beating the Nuggets and the Lakers while losing to the Spurs. For New Orleans, it is a so far so good type of vibe but this team has yet to prove itself worthy of the big 4 label.

3) Los Angles Lakers - They are still going to be in the 6-9 spot in the conference and they are still going to be out in the first round, but they are winning games right now when everyone thought they were going to be a basement dweller with all that preseason drama. The reality has been that this team is not AS bad as Kobe Bryant thinks it is. They have young talent which is to be expected when they trade a superstar in Shaq. But now the Kobe trade talk is quiet and the Lakers are on somewhat of a roll. Of course, wait until that big losing streak, when Kobe then decides the team needs him to jack up 30-40 shots and we are going to be back to the same old drama, but gotta give credit where credit is due for today.

4) Los Angles Clippers - Remember when you heard that Elton Brand was going to be out for at least 3 months? Remember when you thought it would be a battle at that point between the Clips, Sonics and Wolves for the number one pick in the draft? Well not so fast. Seems like coach Dunleavy has decided to be smart for once, and has allowed Tim Thomas and Corey Maggette to do there thing, which Sam Cassell keeps pushing back father time to give one more year. Throw in a comeback season so far for Chris Kaman, and here is a team that might, JUST MIGHT be able to survive until Elton Brand gets back. They are in the tough and tumble Western conference, and really, I doubt anyone expects them to survive, but again, credit where credit is due.

5) Charlotte Bobcats - They have yet to beat a quality opponent, but this team each season takes one step closer to the playoffs. And here is the thing, the East is not as strong as we thought it would be. Sure there is some East teams that are underachieving at this point and should turn it around sooner rather then later, BUT this is still a golden opportunity for the Bobcats as they are playing well and have the drive to survive. Let’s hope the injury bug, which has already hit them, stays away for the remaining 72. It would be a nice surprise to see them get swept out of the first round.


Status quo
(Sure a lot of teams could fit in here, but let’s talk about 5 of them)

1) Phoenix Suns - Some picked this team to be the team to beat on the quest for a championship, and so far, the Suns looks like one of the teams to beat on the quest for a championship. Amare is looking like he is going to be healthy. Grant Hill is playing like it’s 1998. And Barbosa…WHAT is going on there??? At this rate, Barbosa might be the MVP of the team. The Suns are strong right now, and posed to make the big push next April/May and yes, June.

2) Denver Nuggets - They said that they needed a training camp to get everything organized, and so far, that looks like that was true. Now this team is on a roll currently, but how this team handles a rough patch, a 3 game losing streak for example, will be how we determine this teams playoff chances.

3) Cleveland Cavs - What did we think before the season? This team will be a playoff team, based on the play of potential MVP Lebron James, and that they might make the second round but will have no chance in making the finals again. After 10 games, I think it’s fair to say that we are thinking the exact same thing.

4) Portland Trailblazers - Did Portland have a chance for playoffs with Oden? Tough to tell, but this team does have talent. Brandon Roy is slightly inconsistent this season but still playing strong over all, LaMarcus Aldridge is doing his Greg Oden impressions and this team over all is playing like a team that is full of potential but not enough experience to make the playoffs. That is what we thought about this team WITH Oden, so I guess they are status quo based on the early summer predictions.

5) Atlanta Hawks - Stormed out of the gates, as they always do, this team is again looking like that team that has potential but will just miss the playoffs. Questionable attitudes on the team might hurt them down the road when it is down the road that they are looking to make the push.


Below the belt

1) Washington Wizards - As with most of the teams on this list, injuries have prevented them from getting off to a quick start, and the majority here should still be seeing playoff action. But regardless of what SHOULD happen, we do know what so far HAS happened and that is some team underachieving. Arenas is just starting to regain form, and of course, so has the Wizards, 4-0 after a 0-5 start. But are they just on a hot streak that will quickly turn back cold? Or were they just this years version of last years Suns/Mavs team?

2) New Jersey Nets - Charles Barkley’s team to win the East. What is that guy thinking? Regardless, this team is off to another slow start, after making a vow to get it going quicker this year. Sure Vince has missed some games, but it’s not like this team was looking strong before he went down.

3) Golden State Warriors - Again, at this point this team is not playing well. But that can change quickly with Jackson back and Harrington back in the starting 5. The problem with this team is that it’s style of play can lead to streaky play, which will make it tough to dig out of a early season hole. This team will be life and death for that 8th spot come playoffs, but if we see another Dallas vs Warriors matchup…that’s going to be special.

4) Chicago Bulls - Unlike these other teams that can blame injuries/suspensions for it’s troubles, the Bulls are just flat out sucking. And here is the team that a lot (me included) felt were the team to beat in the East. But Tyrus Thomas has taken a large step back. Deng has not taken that next step forward. Wallace is looking battling Shaq for quickest drop off in the center position. And Kirk Hinrich is just flat out playing horribly. This team can easily turn things around, and with Nocioni in the starting 5, that will help them overall, but this team has shown enough cracks to easily take them out of “Best in the East” consideration.

5) Miami Heat - Speaking of Shaq, here is Miami, who couldn’t win a game during preseason and pretty much couldn’t win during the regular season. Dwayne Wade is back, and the guy is a force ala Lebron, but just like the Cavs, this team will only go so far with one man carrying the team on his back. And sorry, but Shaq daddy is done.

Grading the Raptors

A few things for you Raps fans to read…

This one about Chris Bosh in his funk
This one about the Raps playing predictable.

I don’t know if I completely agree with that last article though, as it’s not like the Raptors were doing a bunch of wild and crazy things last year. I believe that scouts started to take the Raps serious around New Years and the Raps still had shooters, and still ran the pick and roll, and opposing teams still knew it was coming, and the Raps were winning. Sure it might be nice to throw in a small wrinkle or two, but that is not the reason why the Raps are at a disappointing 5-5.

I have been mentioning Garbo the past few days, and I think really to sum everything up, the Raptors need to settle on a solid 9 man rotation. The depth of the team is really nice, but Phoenix does not have the best depth and they are one of the big three teams in the league. Dallas uses 9 men on a nightly basis. Look at the over achieving Celtics, winning with some of the worst depth in the league. So yeah, depth is nice, but at the end of the day, it’s going to be 9 players that take you to the dance. But which 9 players for the Raps is the tough question.

And let me add that I am not a fan of playing players based on matchups. At least, I am not a fan of changing that 9 man rotation based on it. Here is the thing, players need consistence. Garbo had a great game against Indiana, but didn’t play against the Warriors. I am quite sure it was due to the Raps worried about match-ups (hence 6-1 Juan Dixon getting some burn) but that now means against Dallas this week, when that game Garbo had against the Pacers would REALLY help, he might have lost the mojo due to riding the pine on Sunday. Consistency is needed here. The only player on the team that I view as a match-up type of player is Rasho.

So let me try to break down who should be in the 9 man rotation while also doing a 10game grade, a look at all 15 players and giving them a grade on how I think they have been performing…


The 9 Man Rotation

PG ) T.J. Ford B+
So far, so good for the most part. I don’t think he is getting the kind of help from his friends that he needs, but compared to a year ago when he was running out of control and missing every shot both inside the paint and outside the three point line, he is playing right now in late 06-07 form. He is also doing a good job in figuring out when the team needs him to pass, and when he needs to shoot. The outside shot is still not as consistent as it needs to be, but it is better. My big issue with T.J. has been some questionable late game decisions. Look, Ford is capable of hitting a big late game shot, but other players on the team are also capable and more then likely will be more consistent taking them. As Parker ever had a late game shot? Since he is the teams best 3 point shooter, shouldn’t he get some consideration for taking it? But so far, Ford seems to be trying to be the guy in that situation, when I feel it should be someone else. So room for improvement, but last year at this time he would have gotten a C-, so this is a huge step up with plenty of time to go.

SG) Anthony Parker A-
A rough start to the season, turned around the moment that his shot started falling. Now, AP is already back into that 06-07 form with even some more room for improvement to look forward to as the season grows. He has looked a step slow on the defensive end, as opposing players have been able to break down all of our players off the dribble (yesterday vs Golden State it happened every play I think) But Parker is still our best defender, and when he is on the court, the Raps flat out have more composure. Now let’s get this guy 36-40 minutes a game instead of 30-36.

PF) Chris Bosh C-
Really if you want to understand the problems the Raptors have been having, look no further then CB4. And that knee injury is not around any longer to blame. While the first 3-4 games could have been viewed as just “getting into rhythm” games, that ship sailed and now we are clearly in the “he is in a funk and we don’t know why” land. It has been said in the past that Bosh needs practice time to perform at a high level, and he has not gotten much of it yet this year. But he didn’t get much last year ether, and was still performing better at this stage. The problem is that when Bosh is on the court, the offense flows threw him. The lack of ball movement can be attributed to the fact that Bosh is struggling. The teams 5-5 record can also be attributed to Bosh’s struggles. We need 22-10 Bosh. Not 16-6 Bosh. I feel he will turn it around, but it does not look like it is going to happen as quickly as we might want it too.

C) Andrea Bargnani D
Here is the problem with Bargnani. He in 10 games has already looked like the future all-star we all feel he will be, he has already looked like that player last Feburary that was not there yet but full of potential, he has already looked like that player 3 games into his first season, and the scary thing, is that he has already looked like that player having no clue what to do in summer league over a year ago. The move back to the bench did hurt his confidence, but no matter what happens, Bargnani is a rotation player. He is the future. But he is still a 2nd year player, and we need to keep reminding ourselves that. Regardless of that fact though, he does have the potential and while maybe we shouldn’t expect all-star Bargnani right now, we should be expecting “full of potential” Bargnani. These moments of “Summer league” Bargnani is not helping out this team.

PG) Jose Calderon A-
That turing the corner off the pick and roll is not there as much this year, but Jose is still running the show as effectivly as last season. The only problem has been the inconsistency of his 2nd unit teammates, as he is only as effective as his team. When the second unit is on a roll, Jose is a MACHINE. But when the second unit is struggling, Jose can only do so much. This is a jump shooting team, and if they are not hitting the jump shots, what is a PG to do? Also…yes, T.J. is the starter, but don’t be so quick to not give Jose a chance to be a closer. One game out of 10 is not enough.

SF) Jason Kapono B-
Kapono was brought in for his shooting. And since he is at 50% for both inside the 3 point line and outside the 3 point line, I guess he is doing his job so far. And he is not starting which I completely agree with. Kapono is a great guy to have coming off the bench giving instant offense. He is also the guy that I would limit to “needing baskets quickly” status, meaning if the Raps are in the lead or in a tight game, I might limit Kapono’s minutes. If the Raps are in a hole, give Kapono some burn. He is a shooter, so use him when needed.

SG) Carlos Delfino B
The knock on him during his time with Detroit was that he was inconsistent. And that has been pretty much true here in Toronto so far. But when he is on, he brings defense, rounding and shooting and he has looked very good in a few games so far this season. He is a guy who I think can turn it on more consistent as the season wears on. Remember, these players have been in the league for a while, and they do realize that November games are not nearly as important as March/April/May games. I would give him not only the backing up Parker time, but also the backing up the SF time as well when Kapono is not needed.

SF) Jamario Moon A+
Look, I am not jumping on the Moon band wagon THAT much by giving him an A+. But how can you not be impressed by the guy who was picked up during a tryout at the ACC last spring, was the 16th guy on a 15th man roster. Sent poor Luke Jackson home. Wore street cloths for the first few games. And is now the winner of the Kapono vs. Deflino vs. Garbo battle. It is still VERY VERY early, and by next week, he could be back on the bench. Hell, he could even be back in street cloths. BUT the point is, today he is not. Today he is the Toronto Raptors starting small forward. He has started in 3 games and not lost that spot. It is going to be very interesting to see what transpires with Moon over the course of the season. As I have said previously, he fills a need on this team. But today, you can’t give anything but an A plus to this Cinderalla story.

PF) Jorge Garbajosa B-
I have already talked about Garbo in previous posts. Let me just add, that Garbo has not been as consistent as the team needs, this is true. I just think that a big reason for that has been playing time. We don’t know the full story about why Garbo is getting DNP’s but I also have no doubt that he can help this 5-5 team. I mean, he did it last year, so why should we not expect him to do it again this year?


Most nights, it should only be these 9 players that see’s the court. And some nights, they can trim it to 8, keeping Kapono out if the team doesn’t need him or Garbo if Bargnani is on point. This rotation does require Bargnani is step it up on a regular basis, but there is nothing wrong with sliding Bosh to center and putting Garbo in at PF if Bargnani is not bringing the goods. And of course, there is also nothing wrong with going to a 10 man rotation on occasion.


On the bubble

C) Rasho Nesterovic C+
We need Rasho against the big teams. Vs the Celtics, Rasho does the best job vs Garnett then anyone else on the team. Rasho is a big body that can be used in all sorts of different situations during the season. We also though must remember that Rasho was completely useless vs Jersey in the playoffs and he was out of the rotation during the big game 5 and 6 last spring. The reason I give him a low grade though is based on the fact that he has missed a lot of shots around the basket. The guy does need to put the ball threw the hoop more frequently to not be a liability on offense.


The Foul trouble/Garbage time crew

SG) Juan Dixon B
Hey, at least he is doing what he is suppose to, and that is scoring. Juan has been on a roll so far this season, looking much better then he did during late last year. Here is the problem, we have scorier already and Juan is just too much of a liability on defense. I like Juan, and this is not a reflection of his talent or work ethic, but how many times have I gotten him confused with T.J. Ford? One 5’11 player on the court creates problems on the defensive end, having two 5’11 players on the court is just undoable.

PF) Kris Humphries C+
Hump is an energy guy. And can he ever fight for the boards. And if one of the big guys in the rotation goes out for any length of time due to injury, Hump is a great player to have as back-up. But we are trying to make big moves in the East here, and even though he can shoot the ball, he doesn’t always take the best shots. He is a rebounder, and he is one dimensional. And he should stay deep on the bench.

PF) Maceo Baston C
It’s not his fault he was put into the starting line-up. As far as Baston goes, he has done an alright job so far this year given the role he has been given, which is spot starter. It’s not like he is Rafeal Arujo and needs to sub off after 2 minutes of game time. But regardless, Baston should not be starting, nor should he be dressing up for most games. The reality is that he brings nothing to the table that is not already provided by 3 or 4 other players. Hump at least brings the boards better then pretty much everyone on the team. Dixon is a scoring machine at times. Baston does nothing special, and is average at best at every aspect of the game. He should stay in a suit.

PF) Joey Graham Inconclusive
Of course, he has been injuried for a majoriy of the year, but I got a feeling that we have seen the last of rotation player Joey Graham. Of course, knowing Mitchell, he will be fair and give Joey at least one or two more tries when Joey gets healthy. But I don’t think it’s a secret that Joey is just not going to bring the goods on a regular basis.

PG) Derek Martin B-
Why does Carlton er… Martin get a B- when he has not even dressed for a game as of yet? Because as we all know, Martin is a coach now and one of the many mentors for the PG’s on the team. The PG’s are not the teams problems so far this season, so gotta give credit to the master cheerleader himself, Derek Martin.


The Coach

Sam Mitchell C+
He made some big bold moves that paid off with Moon as a starter. He is not afraid to put 5.5 million dollar Kapono on the bench. Not afraid to put number one pick Bargnani on the bench. Of course, he is not afraid to put Baston in the starting line-up…so these gambles he has been taking, some have worked and some have not. At least he is a guy ready to try different things to get the results he wants. His ingame coaching is still inconsistent, but that is to be expected. The true time to judge Mitchell will be at the New years mark. Will this team be full of momentum and ready to take serious aim at the 50 win mark? Or will this team be fighting life and death to stay above 500? Mitchell needs to get some consistency on the rotation in order to be successful, so let’s give him a benefit of a wait and see attitude.


The Team

The Raptors C+
They have made big impacts (Jersey, Bulls), they had close games that could have sent ether way (Celtics, Orlando) and some games that they should be frankly embarrassed about (Warriors, Utah) since they should have won those. The Raptors have yet to put together any type of momentum. But the real problem here is how they are playing in the ACC. What use to be a safe haven last season, is turning into something quite ugly. The boo birds were out last night, and I was quite happy for it. Sorry boys, but we expect more then what you are giving, and we are letting you know that we are not happy with the results at the Air Canada Center. Both of those big blow outs vs the Nets and Bulls were on the road, so us fans were not even able to enjoy those games live. But to follow up on what I said yesterday, the Raptors need to bring the urgency more this season then they have been. Want to know why the Celtics have had success so far? Yes the big three are playing well, but watch the Celtics bench as they are the ultimate cheerleaders in the league. The Celtics are not better then a handful of teams in the league, but they are bringing an energy that is almost unmatched. The Raptors had that energy last year as well, but this year it’s just been sluggish and a “it’s a long season” mentallity that is hurting them more then they realize. Because instead of realizing that it’s the mental approach that is the problem, they instead become confused and frustrated. It really is a long season, but the grind should come from the emotional drain of being so into and focused on every game, instead of the “this is game 10 of 82” lines that we have been hearing so far.


Sitting at 500, middle of the eastern confernce. This team is still more then capable of being in the top tier, but we all do realize that they are not at that point today.