Finding positive in misery

It’s never fun to watch your favorite team losing 9 in a row, even if you have little to no expectation about the season.  Losing gets to players, coaches and fans.  It’s easy to say the team “is doing exactly what it should, tank to get the best possible draft pick” but it’s not much fun enduring this.

While it’s not pretty right now, with the team is losing and hurting at the same time, there are positives this month.  Here are three players that has a really good January despite all the losing. And if there is a big positive coming out of it, it’s that all 3 players are quite young.

1) DeMar DeRozan. It’s a break-through month of DeRozan. In 14 games, DeRozan average more than 20 points a game, shooting over 47% from the field, while getting to the line 5 times a game.  He is showing a lot more consistency with his mid-range jump shot and making opponents paid for fouling him by hitting 86% from the FT line.  The jump shot is a real key to his game. Opposing players give him space to shoot, but may not want to do so if he is consistent hitting jumpers.  DeRozan still has a lot of things he can improve on.  He is going to see more double team, trapping and other stuff.  Right now when he drives, he is looking for his shots when driving.  If he could learn how to pass the ball to open teammate while driving to the hoop, you may have a pretty special player.  He also has to improve on his rebounding and defense. But for a 21 year old, he can be a pretty special player.

2) Ed Davis. Davis is looking even better in January.  Averaging 6.3 points , 6.1 boards and 1.5 blocks while shooting over 65% averaging around 22 minutes.  Like all rookies, he struggled at times, especially against teams with stronger players who can push him around.  But he is looking very impressive for a rookie who missed the entire training camp.  He shows that he has a nose for the ball, and understand where and when to get to the open spot.  He doesn’t have much of an offensive game, but I am not sure the Raptors are looking for him to be an impact player on offense.  They want him to be a good defender first.  Davis do need to hit the weights during the off-season and get stronger.

3) Amir Johnson. Despite playing with abad back, Amir has a fine month. Averaging 10.9 points, 7.1 boards and shooting over 65% from the field playing 28 minutes per game in Jan.  When Amir can stay on the floor, he is a contributor.  Unfortunately he still fouls way too much (4 per game).  He has to know that he will only hurt his team if he is on the bench due to foul issues.  Amir’s offensive game has improved though, he has a decent face up game, where he used his quickness and good hands to get easy score.  Amir is a very good pick and roll player, and as his jumper continues to improve, he will be harder to defend. On paper, the duo of Johnson and Davis would be a good defensive duo, I am not sure if it will work though. Both Johnson and Davis lack strength, and they are not tall enough to guard bigger players.

Johnson is the oldest of the 3 at 23 years old, if all three can continue to improve their game, then maybe all is not lost for the Raptors this season.

Half Season Grades

As it stands right now, the Raptors are 13-28, a simple calculation would have them winning 26 games this year.  Since I predicted 25 wins earlier, it seems like the team is performing as expected.

I will say this about the Raptors, their issues with injuries probably cause them a few games.  With a healthier lineup, they may have won a few more games.  Their effort is there for the most part, but they are just not good enough and lately not healthy enough.

Having said that, I still have to be realistic about the grades.  Since the team only won 13 games, and no all-star in this bunch, no one will get a grade above B.  To be fair, the team doesn’t really have a lot of total failures, I think that’s good.

On to the report card:

Jose Calderon: Probably the best Raptor so far this year.  I know many people will argue against it and his game today didn’t help his case.  But Jose has been very solid in terms of shooting the ball and finding the open man;  he remains the only player in the lineup that can run a team.  His turnovers are a little higher mostly due to the fact that he is trying to push the ball more, and that’s something he isn’t built for.  Calderon is an old-school PG in many ways, love to run the team on the half court and find open man; teammates love him because he will give them the ball at the right spot, coaches love him because he can run a team.  His defense has actually improved, he is just bad, not awful now.  Grade B

DeMar DeRozan: Good news, he is getting more consistent in terms of scoring.  Bad News, need to work on everything else.  His defense isn’t good, which is kind of expected for a 21 year old.  His rebounding though is just awful considering his athletic ability. He is too busy leaking out instead of helping out on the boards.   It’s fine if you have a Dwight Howard there, but when you have Andrea Bargnani as your center, he needs all the help he can get. Too often DeRozan isn’t helping.  We will see if he can show further improvements in his game during the 2nd half of the season. Grade C

Linas Kleiza: He is the only Raptor getting a failing grade, so that’s saying something.  Sadly, he is playing way too many minutes for a guy who is a turnover waiting to happen on offense, and a pylon on defense.  The sad thing is that he is not hitting his open looks, which is the least he could do.  This is another Bryan Colangelo free agent signing special, please don’t give him money to sign anyone.  Grade F

Amir Johnson: When he stays on the court, Amir is a pretty darn good basketball player.  Runs the floor well, good instinct on the boards, improved jump shot and doing well at the FT line.  Unfortunately, he can’t stay on the floor thanks to foul trouble. Some of those are just stupid fouls, like fouling a guy 75 feet from the basket, is not a good foul no matter how you slice it.  Unless he plays 30 minutes a game, he is not worth his contract.  I can’t hate on him too much since he is playing with a bad back and he is good when he is on the floor. Grade B-

Andrea Bargnani: If nothing else, Bargnani is proving that he can score the basketball with consistency.  No longer just an outside shooter, he can now post up and score as well.  He is extremely difficult for anyone to guard because he is 7 ft tall, and can go inside and outside.  Unfortunately, his help defense and rebounding is still lacking.  I am not sure I have seen a worse help defender in a Raptor uniform and that’s saying something. And I wish he could put more effort on the boards.  Opposing teams know they will have a field day on the boards when they play against the Raptors thanks to Bargnani’s little contribution there. Grade C+

Leandro Barbosa: When healthy, a pretty darn exciting player to watch.  Streaky to the nth degree.  If he is on a bad streak, pull him right away and don’t play him again because he is going to jack up shots like he is on a hot streak.  Was asked to be a backup PG at times, due to injuries on this team, and he fared better than expected.  He didn’t play keep away as often as he would have done as a SG.  Barbosa is also one of the quickest player in the league, which is especially helpful in a short clock situation.  His defense isn’t much, he read the passing lane well, but otherwise doesn’t offer much resistance.  Grade B-

Ed Davis: I wrote about him last week, saying that I don’t see him being a star player.  Prompting someone hating on me.  I did say he is going to be a good NBA player, like a Tyson Chandler or something like that.  Personally I see a lot of Dale Davis in him, which isn’t bad considering he is the 13th pick in the draft and Dale Davis had a real good career. I am not sure how by not comparing Ed Davis to an all-star is insulting him.  Not everyone can be a Kevin Garnett or Tim Duncan, someone has to do the dirty work.  Davis is a guy who can do that, he has a good nose for the ball, I think he is very good when he doesn’t have the ball.  He knows his limitation and not try to do things he isn’t capable of doing.  Couple of things he need to do in the off-season: Get stronger, players are pushing him around in the low post. And improve his FT shooting. He is going to be around for a long time if he can keep this up, not as a star but as a solid starter in this league. Grade B-

Joey Dorsey: I like Dorsey. He can rebound and play decent defense.  He is not an offensive zero like Reggie Evans.  He isn’t the worst 5th big in this league, he didn’t embarrass himself as a starter either.  I would bring him back for a min contract.  Grade B-

Sonny Weems: Disappointing.  Last year, I was hoping he would develop into an all-around player, but he focused on his scoring instead.  He surely tried hard to be Kobe Bryant some nights, with horrible results.  A tip to Sonny, run the break, find the open man, rebound the ball and let other people do the scoring.  Defensively, he is getting blown by too many times.  Grade C-

Julian Wright: The best defensive player for the Raptors, and it’s not by default.  He is genuinely good.  Long arms, quick feet, I wish to see him getting more playing time.  I would actually put him as a starter as someone who can give me energy on the defensive end.  The starting 5  needs someone who can play defense and Wright is darn good at it.  Offensively, he is not that great.  He can handle the ball and find open man, but his instinct is a question mark to say the least.  And he has no jump shot, which doesn’t mesh well with DeRozan.  But then again, the Raptors don’t exactly have LeBron James in their starting lineup.  He is probably the best of the bunch. Grade C+

Jerryd Bayless: If I am the coaching staff, I would not let him come back until he is 100%.  Injuries like this needs time to heal.  I don’t see any need to rush him back, it’s not like the team will stop losing when he is healthy.  Bayless played well for the Raptors; he still couldn’t run the team yet but he is showing some improvement in that department.  His defense though isn’t any good.  He is quick and strong and pretty big for a PG, so there is no excuse for him not being any good.  Grade C+

Reggie Evans: He was on his way to having the weirdest stat year in recent memory.  His 40 min number would be 5.9/17.8/2.1, which is pretty amazing in itself.  I am glad that he isn’t trying to do anything on offense.  When he gets the offensive boards, he kicks it back out for a fresh shot clock.  He was in great shape and had good movements laterally on defense.  In a way he is the anti-Bargnani.  His injury hurts.  His hustle play gives the team good energy and hide the weakness of Bargnani.  I am not sure he will come back as a Raptor next year, but I will miss him.  Grade B-

Jay Triano: Did a much better job in terms of getting his message across.  He is harder on the players and hold them accountable.  Unfortunately, the team is still one of the worst defensive team in the league.  But the effort of his team may have save his job till at least the end of the year.  Grade C

Bryan Colangelo: He usually fares well on trades, not so well on free agent signing.  That’s pretty much bang on this year.  Bayless for Jack is a steal, and getting Barbosa for Turkoglu is a robbery.  But again, he spend his free-agent money on guys that ended up as a big disappointment.  I think the problem is that Colangelo thinks he can make a trade at any time so if a free agent doesn’t work out, he can trade him out of town.  Jason Kapono see ya, Turkoglu gone, Jack not here anymore. So in the end these free agents doesn’t hurt the team as much as it could be, but it doesn’t really help the team either.  Right now the team is going to win less than 30 games, and miss the playoffs for the 3rd year straight.  That is a failure no matter how you spin it.  Grade D

Didn’t grade: Peja and Alabi

 

The second half of the season will start on Wed, and it will not be any prettier than the first half.  If you want to watch winning basketball, the Raptors may not be the team to watch.  I will suggest everyone to start watching some NCAA basketball, you will hear a lot of names come draft time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Does Ed Davis have star potential?

I haven’t posted for a while now, mostly because I was quite busy during holiday times, and I didn’t have much of a chance to catch an entire Raptor game.  I did watch the Raptors beat the Kings in a ‘who plays less defense contest?’.  Even with the win, the Raptors are now 13-24, a long shot at best for the last playoff spot.

The main purpose for this Raptor season is to retool and see who belongs in the next good Raptor team.  DeMar DeRozan looks like a keeper, he has been very consistent with his scoring recently; he has more confidence with his jumper and getting to the basket constantly.  However, he does need to work on other part of his game, such as defense, passing and rebounding.  The good news is that DeRozan is only 21 years old, and has time to learn.

The other 21 year old playing for the Raptors is Ed Davis.  Like all rookies, Davis has some up and down moments.  He was huge against Dallas getting 17/12/3 playing against the Mavs, but he also had games like this afternoon where he only 2 points and 2 rebounds.  This sort of thing is expected for any rookie, especially someone who didn’t play in the pre-season due to injury.  Davis has a nose for the ball, he is a very good offensive rebounder, and most of his points comes either from offensive boards or someone creating shots for him.  He has not shown a lot of ability to be a good offensive option in the post.  He is very quick off his feet, and a good shot blocker.  However, he needs to get stronger, as he lose his position quite a bit as his opponents just push him off.

So can he be an all-star? I know lots of Raptor fans think the world of him and some even compare him to Jermaine O’Neal.  But let’s be realistic here, I didn’t see star potential when I watched Davis played in UNC and now the Raptors.  Even the numbers backs in up.

I did a quick comparison using Basketball Reference, by choosing all 21 year old players with 6-8 or taller who doesn’t create a lot of shots, a good rebounder and shot blocker like Davis.  Basically, I look at Davis Rebounding Rate, shot blocking rate and Usage rate and expand it a little bit.

For more go to: http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/psl_finder.cgi?request=1&sum=0&type=per_minute&per_minute_base=36&lg_id=NBA&is_playoffs=N&year_min=1991&year_max=2011&franch_id=&season_start=1&season_end=-1&age_min=21&age_max=21&height_min=80&height_max=99&birth_country_is=Y&birth_country=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos=&qual=&c1stat=usg_pct&c1comp=lt&c1val=15&c2stat=blk_pct&c2comp=gt&c2val=3&c3stat=trb_pct&c3comp=gt&c3val=14&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&c5stat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws

The results (using per 36 minutes stats):

Rk	Player	Ht	Season	Age	Tm	Lg	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	3P	3PA	FT	FTA	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS	FG%	3P%	FT%	USG%	BLK%	TRB%	WS
1	Andris Biedrins	6-11	2007-08	21	GSW	NBA	76	59	2078	5.9	9.4	0.0	0.0	2.0	3.2	4.4	8.5	12.9	1.3	1.0	1.6	1.5	4.5	13.8	.626		.620	14.4	3.3	19.1	8.0
2	Amir Johnson	6-9	2008-09	21	DET	NBA	62	24	911	3.8	6.4	0.0	0.0	0.9	1.4	4.0	5.1	9.2	0.8	0.8	2.4	1.3	6.8	8.6	.595		.657	11.1	5.1	15.1	2.7
3	Kendrick Perkins	6-10	2005-06	21	BOS	NBA	68	40	1332	3.7	7.2	0.0	0.1	2.2	3.5	3.8	7.1	10.9	1.9	0.6	2.8	2.9	5.4	9.6	.515	.000	.615	14.8	6.0	18.5	2.3
4	Tyson Chandler	7-1	2003-04	21	CHI	NBA	35	8	782	3.1	7.3	0.0	0.0	3.6	5.4	3.8	8.7	12.4	1.1	0.8	2.0	1.7	4.0	9.8	.424	.000	.669	14.2	4.1	18.9	1.9
5	DeAndre Jordan	6-11	2009-10	21	LAC	NBA	70	12	1137	4.6	7.5	0.0	0.1	1.5	4.1	3.9	7.3	11.1	0.7	0.5	2.0	2.4	4.8	10.6	.605	.000	.375	14.7	4.0	17.9	1.5
6	Ed Davis	6-10	2010-11	21	TOR	NBA	19	2	393	4.5	8.4	0.0	0.0	1.2	2.6	3.9	6.0	9.9	0.5	0.9	1.8	1.2	4.6	10.2	.533		.464	13.1	3.9	16.4	0.7
7	Jamal Sampson	6-11	2004-05	21	CHA	NBA	23	0	329	3.1	6.8	0.0	0.0	2.5	4.3	3.9	9.4	13.3	0.9	0.4	1.9	1.9	5.8	8.6	.452		.590	13.0	3.9	21.2	0.5
8	Joel Przybilla	7-1	2000-01	21	MIL	NBA	33	13	270	1.6	4.7	0.0	0.0	0.4	1.5	3.9	5.6	9.5	0.3	0.4	4.0	1.7	7.5	3.6	.343		.273	8.9	8.2	14.9	0.1

As you can see there is no all-star in this group.  Sampson is now out of the league, and with the exception of Biedrins, everyone of them are mostly known for their defense,but they don’t do much on offense.  Kendrick Perkins is an excellent defensive player, the Celtics wouldn’t win the championship without him, but he is a stronger player than Davis.  Amir Johnsons is very similar to Davis in terms of built, but Davis is better in terms of basketball IQ, Davis scored a bit more and not fouling as much as Amir at the same age.  DeAndre Jordan maybe his best comp stat wise, Jordan is a little taller.  But again, none of these guys have ever made the all-star team nor come close to getting to one.   Also, it’s telling that if you don’t have a decent offensive game by 21, you probably won’t have one.  Perkins and Chandler came out of high school and still struggle to create and score in the post.

The good news is that most of these players  have a decent career, with the exception of Sampson.  And everyone of them with the exceptions of Sampson is/was a starter for a NBA team at one point or the other.  They didn’t embarrass themselves while starting.  That’s what Davis is, a guy who has the potential to be a starter for a good NBA team, and there is nothing wrong with that.

Post game thought: Dallas Mavericks vs Toronto Raptors. Biggest win of the year

Walking wounded not equal to walking dead. You got to love the effort here tonight.  No Bargnani, Weems, Jose Calderon. Barbosa not 100%, Amir could barely walk. Bayless twisted an ankle, left the game. Kleiza with two techs and thrown out of the game.  The Raptors beat one of the best team in the league at their home court, even though the Mavs were without Dirk Nowitski, this is a game they should win in their sleep considering the talent differences between the two teams.

Toronto Raptors: Effort, Effort, Effort. Give the guys in red a lot of credit, they played with a lot of heart tonight.  Amir probably wouldn’t be playing if Bargnani is healthy, same goes for Barbosa.  Bayless probably shouldn’t play after the first Ankle Twist, but they soldier on, as the team was already short of players.  They played a really gritty game.  Knowing the Mavericks without Dirk, the Raptors congested the passing lane and forced the veteran teams into 17 turnovers.  This is the best defensive effort of the year for the team.  They talked on the half court, communicating with each other and run whenever they can.  The Raps simply outworked the Mavs and the stats don’t lie. They out-rebounded the Mavs by 7, they went to the line10 more times than Dallas, and they even had more assists even though the Mavericks have one of the best passing PG in Jason Kidd. They dared the Mavericks to score from the outside and the help defense is very good.  Ed Davis has his best game as a rookie. 17 points, 12 boards, 3 steals and 3 block shots.  He showed more energy than the entire Dallas Mavericks team.  Most of his points came from hustle, running the lane on a break, getting offensive boards. Amir Johnson played 42 minutes despite a bad back. DeRozan showed a lot of confidence in his jump shot and balance his game well.  Bayless played hard before his ankle injuries (probably will miss at least a few games).  Julian Wright played great defense when he was on the court.  One negative note, Kleiza should know better, his team was down on healthy bodies and he should have stopped arguing with the ref after the first tech.  That’s being selfish and dumb.  Otherwise, everyone come up and played like a team. As a Raptor fan, I am very proud of the effort tonight.  This is probably the most impressive win of the year, the most unlikely win in franchise history.

Dallas: They should be ashamed.  They looked lethergic out there.  Sloppy with the ball, slow on the help.  The Raptors outworked them.  The Mavericks should have won the game by double digits even without their best player, but instead they laid an egg in front of the home crowd.  I have watched many Mavs game this season, and this is the first time they looked like they have no energy.  Obviously they didn’t take the game seriously, but you would think a veteran team like this would know better.  This is an embarrassment.

 

Next Game: Friday in Houston.  Hopefully, they have 8 healthy bodies ready to go.

 

 

Our future PG, Jerryd Bayless

There is no secret that NBA is a guard’s league and more importantly, most good teams have a PG that can break down the defense.  For years, the Raptors don’t have that guy, but now they may have found one in Jerryd Bayless.

Bayless played PG in Arizona, many scouts had him as top 5 pick, great size and very good handle, very strong and quick.  He didn’t have as good a season in Arizona, mostly because he is playing for Kevin O’Neil who inexplicably slowed the pace down.  Bayless excelled in the open court, but he didn’t have too many chances to do so in Arizona.  He dropped to 11th overall in the first round and was picked by the Pacers who traded him to the Blazers for a package that included Jarrett Jack.

His first year in the NBA was quite rocky.  Bayless is not a natural PG, like a lot of 19 year old playing in the NBA, he turned the ball over quite a bit and couldn’t shoot.  The Blazers never gave him minutes to develop.  He did a lot better in his second season, especially in the playoffs where he played SG beside Andre Miller.  He averaged 13 points in 27 minutes in 6 playoff games. He was then traded to the Hornets for a top 7 protected pick.

For whatever reason, he just couldn’t do much in New Orleans.  The lack of playing time is certainly difficult, with Chris Paul around, Bayless isn’t going to have a chance to do much.  When the Raptors acquired him in a trade, it was a blessing for Bayless.  He went from one of the slowest pace team to a team that pushed the pace.

His numbers as a Raptor is very impressive.  Look at his per 36 minute numbers: 20.5 points, 6.8 assists and 5.4 rebounds, shooting 47% from the field, and 44% from the 3 point line.  He has a knack of going to the free throw line, averaging 6.8 attempts in 36 minutes. He has shown he can get to the paint against anyone and has expressed the desire to win.

Now, I am not sure he could continue to shoot 44 percent from the 3 point line, he has a line drive jumper which tends to go through streaks.  He is still learning how to run a team properly, and his inexperience shows at times.  Triano knows this and would have Barbosa run the point at times when Bayless struggled.  His defense is good at times, but tend to bite on head fakes, and he doesn’t get a lot of steals for someone who is so quick.  He does have the physical skills to be better.

I hope the coaching staff spend a lot of time with him before and after the game and looking at tapes on what he can do better.  Bayless would do well to learn a little bit from Jose Calderon on how to run a team.  It doesn’t mean that he has to become a pass first guard, but learning where your teammates are would be a good start.

If he can continue to improve, the Raptors would have finally found someone that can be a building block.  That’s a positive in a year where wins are hard to come by.

 

Post Game Thought: Toronto Raptors vs Charlotte Bobcats

If you are a basketball purist, then you probably had a heart attack watching this game.  Turnovers, missed free throws.  Just horrible basketball. The Raptors really missed Jose Calderon tonight, Bayless showed his inexperience running the team in crunch time and the Raptors losing a game that they probably shouldn’t have.
Toronto: Andrea Bargnani wasn’t into the game tonight.  He didn’t look good to say the least, the Raptors need him to score and he gave them nothing.  He is a frustrating player to watch, he has talent but he doesn’t show up all the time, it’s like there is a switch on him.  Tonight it was off.  When Bayless is sharing the basketball, he looked good, but that didn’t happen often enough tonight.  He has to remember that there are 4 other players on the court, when he gets to the lane, he could pass the ball to his teammates when opponents come to help.  Keep it simple, you don’t have to be a hero all the time.  Same can be said about Sonny Weems, forcing shots isn’t going to get you anywhere in this league.  The Raptors did start off well in the first quarter, and then when the Bobcats start pressuring the ball, the Raptors just throwing the ball away. Again, this is where they missed Calderon.  People tend to focus on what Calderon can’t do but forgot about his ability to run a team and make the right decision. The Raptors could hit some free throws as well, again you can’t miss free throws on the road.  Very frustrating game to watch overall.

Charlotte: They are just not that good, especially on offense.  But they got the swagger on the defensive end tonight.  They have to play top notch defense every game in order to win.  They had 4 straight sequences on offense in the first quarter that has to be the worst sequences I have seen from a NBA team.  Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers, force shots.  Just ugly basketball all around.  The thing is they didn’t really stop turning the ball over, it’s the Raptors that did the work for them. I hope Larry Brown knows that Tyrus Thomas is their best player and it’s time for him to play 30+ minutes per night; sure he has his issues, but he is such a force on defense and he can hit the mid range shot.  I would start him and Nazr Mohammed instead of Boris Diaw, who belongs to the bench.  I was actually hoping that Stephen Jackson wasn’t fouled out of the game, because he almost did cost the Bobcats the victory tonight.  Lazy on defense, nothing on offense.  Larry Brown is right, his second unit is working better than his starting unit right now.  I think it’s a good idea to make the change.

Next Game: vs Chicago Bulls.  Back to back against a very good team, yes it’s an easy L.

Post game thought: New York Knicks vs Toronto Raptors

What can you say about that?  Some time it’s a bounce here and there.  The Raptors played hard and almost pulled it off.  You really can’t complain about the effort here.

Toronto: The Raptors recipe of success in offense is quite easy.  Give the ball to Bargnani early and often.  Let him have a rhythm, and that’s what happened tonight.  The Knicks don’t have anyone who can guard him.  He is hitting outside shot, inside shot, had a great rhythm. He read the double team well, and got 6 assists.  41 points with 24 shots, he carried his team tonight against a team rolling.  DeRozan had a good game, going to the line 8 times.  Sonny Weems need to work on his right hand, because he goes left every time, and the defense knows it; as a result, he has to rely on his jumper.  The team could help themselves by hitting their Free Throws as well.  I am not sure what’s happening there, but man they are bricking a lot of those lately.  I am beginning to have a strong hatred for Linas Kleiza, I kept screaming at the TV thanks to Kleiza amazing ineffectiveness.  Bayless looked good driving at the basket, Davis struggled a little bit defending against Amare.  Amir never got into a groove because of his fouls. Defensively, well it’s a little better but still have long ways to go.  The key for the Raptors again: Give the ball to Bargnani early.

New York: Felton has really improved his jumper off the dribble.  He would not even come close to making that winning shot two years ago.  Shooting off the dribble is one of the most important skills for any guard to become a really good player.  Most players can shoot with their feet set, but shooting off the dribble makes it harder to defend.  Amare came up huge again in the 4th quarter, though his defense is just absolutely horrendous.  He didn’t even bother sometimes.  I liked the rookie Landry Fields, high basketball IQ, understand how to play the game, he is a glue guy.  Every good team needs a glue guy on your team, and Fields will have a long career ahead of him, reminds me a lot of Shane Battier.

 

Next game vs Nuggets

 

Post Game Thought: NY Knicks vs Toronto Raptors

Not a pretty game to watch if you are a Raptor fa.  The Knicks is just a better team right now.  Moving the ball well, great spacing and excellent shooting.  The Raptors didn’t help themselves with some shoddy defense and awful free throw shooting.

Toronto: The Raptors missed 11 free throws, shooting 50 percent from the line overall.  It didn’t matter the way the Raptors play defense tonight.  The pick and roll D was pretty bad.  Everyone was a step slow and Knicks were getting wide open looks. This is the second Sunday in a row, where the team just didn’t look to have enough energy.  Most of their missed jumpers, were hitting the front of the rim.  Did anyone know that it’s a 1 o’clock start time?

Bargnani didn’t have a good game, and once again the Raptors need him to score for them to have a chance to win.  I thought the team didn’t run enough post up for him especially when he’s being guarded by Chandler.

Amir Johnson had a great game with 22/16, 3 steals and 2 block shots.  The key to Amir is his fouls, he needs to stay on the floor.  This game shows how good he can be.  I like Bayless and he had a good game, but his decision making needs to be better.  I think he needs to run the team a little better when he is on the court. He has so much potential to be a very good PG in this league. He has the size and athletic ability.  He is hot today, but his line drive shot is not consistent, so I won’t expect 5/7 from three point line every game.  Eric Davis has another solid game, didn’t embarrass himself when he was on the court (though the FT shooting was pretty horrid).  He is good on defense and knows his role right now.  For a rookie who didn’t have any training camp, this is a great sign.

New York: The Knicks are for real.  Felton seems to make much better decision on the pick and roll, and he is shooting the ball real well.  It’s hard to complain about Amare, 31/16.  Though the less he is used in Iso the better.  Chandler cost a lot of issues for the Raptors, they can’t guard him.  I really liked the ball movement, that’s when the Knicks are at their best.  With Felton and Amare, surround them with good 3 point shooters, you got yourself a tough team to defend against.  I want to see how they fare against Boston or Miami, but right now they are rolling.

 

 

Post Game thought: Washington Wizards vs Toronto Raptors

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

After losing in embarrassing fashion a couple of weeks ago in Washington, the Raptors did the opposite to the Wizards winning the game 127-108.  The score is quite an understatement of how much of a blow out this is.  The Raptors had a 20 point lead at the half scoring 72 points. They scored 101 points thru 3, (they should give fans two slices of pizza if the team score over 100 in 3 quarters) and the game was never close.

Toronto: After a season low 78 points scored on Sunday, the Raptors made a conscious decision to attack the basket, and did they ever.  The first half is a dunk-fest; Weems, Bargnani, DeRozan, Ed Davis all got into the dunking act for the Raptors.  They get into the lane at will, the Wizards didn’t even try to stop anyone tonight.  Everyone played well, DeRozan attack the basket early and then have the confidence to hit some jumpers.  Sonny Weems bounced back from two ugly games and looked very good.  Bayless is growing on me, he got 16/6/5 tonight, doing a good job running the point.  Andrea Bargnani had a slow start in his first 6 minutes or so, and then he seem to wake up and attack McGee and Blatche, scoring 18 points and grabbing 8 rebounds.  The Raptor as a team out rebound the Wizards 52-30, scoring 62 points in the paint.

Enough about the game, let’s take a look at Ed Davis debut.  He had an excellent game.  11 points, 6 rebounds and 2 block shots with 0 turnover.  I am not sure you can have a better debut than that.  The Raptors didn’t run a lot of plays for him.  Most of those points come off of offensive boards, in which he had 4 tonight.  He is very quick off his feet, looks like he has good instinct on what to do out there.  I watched him in North Carolina, Davis will work the offensive boards and provide energy.  That’s what he has to do as  a rookie.  The Raptors will probably not run too many plays for him, so if he want to contribute he has to rebound, block shots and play some defense.  He is a little slim so he needs to get a little bigger and stronger so he can defend the post better.

Washington: Well, nothing went right for the Wizards.  The defense was just horrendous all game.  Help defense was non-existent, every one looked like they are half asleep.  Gilbert Arenas did his best to kill my fantasy team by going 1 for 10, he did take some horrible shots.  They got out-worked, pure and simple.  They are 0-9 on the road, and if they want to win a game on the road, they got to play defense.  They are not doing that right now.  I do like the combo of Wall and McGee for this team.  McGee is freakishly long and can be a Marcus Camby clone for the Wizards.  He still needs to get stronger, but he can be a force on defense.  On offense, everything is a dunk right now.  Wall reminds me a lot of Jason Kidd in Dallas, except I think Wall can shoot better.  He has great speed and size.  He can run the fast break as well as anyone.  His only weakness right now is shooting a jumper off the dribble.  The Wizards need to get rid of Arenas as soon as possible and let Wall run things.  This is his team.

7-11. If you looked at the standing the Raptors are 9th in the Eastern Conference only half a game back of Cleveland.  If the Cavs lose tomorrow against the Heat, they will be sharing the final spot with the Raptors.  Crappy Eastern conference.

Next Game vs Oklahoma City.  Tough game, with or without Durant.

 

Raptors November in Review

Record:  6-11.  Not a big surprise there, pretty much expected based on the talent level and a tough early schedule.  The team could have won games against Washington or Charlotte, but they did get some surprising wins over Orlando and Boston.  7 wins would be a very good month for this group, but 6 is ok.

Offensive Efficiency: 102.8 (19th).  I think Sunday game dragged down the ratings a bit.  This is one of the worst jump shooting team in Raptor history.  Ranked 27th in Efficient Field Goal and 24th in assist ratio.  The Raptors is very good on the offensive boards thanks to Reggie Evans, but with Evans out for an indefinite period of time, things could get much worse on offense for the Raptors.

Defensive Efficiency: 106.9 (23rd).  While ranking 23rd in the league is bad, it’s still a huge improvement over last season pathetic effort.  This team forces more turnovers and play the passing lane better.  But it’s still very weak on the help rotation.

Best Player: Andrea Bargnani. Amir Johnson led the team in PER, but he didn’t play enough minutes to justify this, thanks to his foul issues.  If Bargnani doesn’t score at least 20 points, the Raptors won’t win.  This is a fact.  We just don’t have enough scorers that can make up for a bad Bargnani performance.  In the 6 Raptor wins, Bargnani averaged 26 points per game while shooting 54% from the field, 42% from 3 point line and 6.5 attempts to the free throw line.  Bargnani still has lots of holes in his game (defense, rebounding), but his importance to the Raptors success can’t be understated.

Worst Player: Linas Kleiza.  It’s actually pretty difficult to find a truly horrible player who also receive lots of playing time  for the Raptors this season.  There is no Michael Curry or Antoine Wright on this team.  Kleiza is very turnover prone, and he just hasn’t shot the ball all that well.  He is a tweener who struggle on defense.  He will be playing more PF with Evan’s injury, I think that’s his best position on this team as undersized PF coming off the bench.

Forgotten man: Julian Wright.

Other stuff to look forward to: With Evans probably out for quite some time, the Raptors need someone to rebound.  We know Andrea Bargnani isn’t going to do that.  Amir would be a great choice, but he fouls too much (many of those are just silly fouls), to have a true impact.  Joey Dorsey can rebound and can finish better than Evans, but he is also very raw.  We will probably see a bit of Ed Davis coming back from his injuries.  I don’t have a lot expectation from Davis, it’s hard to come back from an injury while missing the entire training camp.  Another thing to look for: can Bayless run the team as a point guard?  He is young, and have some upside, hopefully we can see some progress from that front.  With Bayless/DeRozan/Weems/Wright/Davis, the Raptors have a very young and athletic core.  I am hoping to see more from them this month.

Look ahead to December: The Raptors will play 15 games in December.  8 at home, 7 on the road.  The longest road trip comes after Christmas when they face Memphis, Dallas and Houston.  They will face some tough teams at home however, the Lakers, Nuggets, The Bulls and the Thunder will be visiting ACC in December.