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The thing I love about Demar is you can get on him, and he won't get shook by mistakes. He is a player that will be easier and quicker to develop than Bargnani because he isn't a little girl who needs to be babied. Add to that he WANTS to learn and WANTS to become a good player I think we have a keeper on our hands. I just hope he can develop his handle and jump shot so he is able to one day break his man down one on one off the dribble. I think he is gonna be a good defender and he is already a good rebounder at the 2 or 3.

I wish Wallace was a Raptor, any time you get 10+ rebounds a night from your SF you are laughing. But he would hate playing with Bargnani lol. This is the kind of attitude (Wallace's) that I am looking forward to see from Evans, he will call dudes out when they aren't doing their job. Never been so excited for a low rotation player before.

PPG: 7.7 RPG: 3.2 APG: 0.7 SPG: 0.6 FG%: .439 3P%: .333 FT%: .782 Per 36 adjusted his stat line is 13.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.2 APG and 1.0 SPG. Overall what are your thoughts on Demar so far? Has he met your expectations? Exceeded? Less than expected? For me I think Demar has been better than I could have asked for or expected, I really expected him to be raw and make a lot of bad decisions when he had the ball. Instead he has been really composed when he gets the ball, typically doesn't force too many shots and just really seems to play within himself. His jumper is shaky but not as bad as many people said before the season, I think his FT% is a good indicator of this shooting nearly 80% already after only like 65% in college. Though his 3 point shot is still very bad, he has a pretty okay shot off the dribble. Like any rooke he has been inconsistent, he went through a stretch of averaging 14 a game over 5 games 3 of which were wins. But then he went through a stretch recently of 2-2-4-4 point games which 3 of those games were losses. I think when Demar is aggressive early on he is much better, if he isn't he gets yanked by Jay. Even when Demar has 8 in the first quarter he still gets yanked which is very frustrating. What I fail to understand is that with Jose out and Jack playing strictly PG that should open up around 20-25 minutes at the SG slot, but Demar is still stuck at his typical 20-22 minutes a game? Instead of increasing Demar's minutes he is giving the minutes to Sonny Weems and Marco when Demar is the guy we are supposed to be developing, and usually is the better of the three players anyways. I think what could wind up holding Demar back is Jay, with Jose out Demar's responsibilities and minutes should be increasing, but instead Sonny Weems is the one getting minutes with Antoine being benched (thank goodness). By the end of the year I would like to see Demar have some 30 minute games, but he has only done that once this year and it was exactly 30 minutes. I would like to see Demar get some more run with the bench players because that way he can get more touches. I really have liked seeing Jack-Sonny-Demar-Amir out there together, they get out and run and actually cause turnovers. Anyways, post what you have thought of Demar thus far.

Laker fans stay talking about Kobe being better than LeBron. Nice first thread.

Evans looks like a stud. Don't watch either but I heard Rose is absolutely horrid and lost on defense. Evans looks like a Dwyane Wade V2 looking at his stats. Honestly just give me Evans at this point, his numbers are awesome. Good comparison, though I wish Evans had a full year under his belt. I mean he could very well pull a Wade and average 25 next year or instead have a worse year. It is hard to tell, and we are still waiting for him to hit that rookie wall.

Bosh is better than anyone else you could sign not named Nowitzki, Wade or LeBron. Funnily enough if you don't get LBJ you will probably walk away giving Amare a 6 year 120 million deal when he is worse than Bosh.

Lol? Yes...... if his points are coming off the pick and roll with Steve Nash the majority of the time then I don't think he is a particularly great player. He doesn't play defense and doesn't have any commitment on the glass. He is all offense and isn't even particularly good there. He has had plenty of surgeries and what not but I don't think he is better than the guys I posted. Are you suggesting that I cannot have a different opinion than everyone else? It is not a fact he isn't top 5, a lot of people might put him there, I just refuse to do that for a player who shows no commitment defensively or rebounding, and isn't even dominant offensively. By your logic LeBron is basically as good a player as Melo or Kobe offensively because his PPG is comparable, when really he isn't. So it does matter how you can get your points, Melo and Kobe are far more versatile offensively which is what separates their games, particularly Kobe.

This team needs someone who can lead this team and organize this offense. I don't watch them but I figure that there is no structure, who is supposed to be taking the shots etc. They need a floor general at the PG spot, I mean honestly Jose Calderon would be better than Arenas at running the offense. I think they should package Gilbert+One of their wings like Miller or Caron for a competent PG and a good banger down low like Ben Wallace but better obviously. I don't know if such a deal is available, but they need to do something. I just don't think you can win when your PG is always thinking shoot first, and is completely ignorant to his own contributions to the team, he thinks when he gets 6 assists he is being particularly unselfish, I could be off base due to my dislike for him but I just don't think any team with Arenas is going to be successful unless he is playing with a SG like Brandon Roy or someone who can handle the ball. An Arenas-Jason Kidd backcourt would be awesome, Kidd could run the offense and defend the SG's, and Arenas could play SG on offense and defend the PG's. Get on the phone with the Mavs

Shannon Brown is a perfect example. I wish I could think of more examples outside of the Lakers, but playing with great players makes you look better I suppose. Rondo is a great example as well like mentioned earlier, he is good but I still feel like his game is so incomplete. Meanwhile guys who are beasting on inferior teams are consistently overlooked. Playing on a good team really helps cover up your weaknesses, I mean I wonder how many people would call Pau a championship big man if he was still averaging 21-9 on the Grizzlies.

Ya but Wade needs someone who can alleviate the offensive pressure, he isn't built like LBJ. LBJ can dominate game in game out with ease because he can overpower EVERYONE who tries to guard him pretty much. Wade has to work harder for his buckets I would assume. I mean do you honestly believe that the Heat could beat the Celtics, Magic or Cavaliers in a series? I mean maybe the Hawks but that is as far as I would go and Wade would have to piss every game for them to even do that. This is basically the same team that lost to the Hawks last year and the Hawks are playing a lot better this year so far. All Wade needs is a single guy who can average 20 a night and this team will instantly contend, so I completely agree with you. But in terms of this season I don't think there is any way the Heat can make it past the 2nd round. The East is tough right now though, I mean the top 4 is as tough as it gets so I mean the Heat would need more than just another star to move into the 'anything less than the ECF' group, they would need to retain their entire team and at the same time improve their bench. If you guys got Bosh in a sign and trade (to keep your expiring player's rights as well as your MLE) I think your team would instantly be shot into the discussion with Cavs, Celtics etc, Wade is that dominant and adding another star would make it so much easier for him to become more than just a scorer. Wade and Bosh on the pick and roll would be amazing.

What would the Celtics be offering? That would be a good pickup I personally like the kid as a sparkplug off the bench. But he would basically be providing the same [expletive] House does wouldn't he? House seems competent and is making considerably less, idk if the Celtics can afford his salary.

Kevin Garnett is no longer a top 5 PF, Bosh is not the best PF in the league even though his stats might indicate such. 1. Dirk Nowitzki by far 2. Chris Bosh 3. Tim Duncan even though I thought he was classified as a C now? 4. Pau Gasol 5. Josh Smith 6 aka Honourable Mention: Zach Randolph I refuse to put a guy who gets all his points off dunks and less than 9 RPG on the list of top 5 at a big man position. Amare.

This surprised me, never knew their D was this good. But it isn't like they are running away with the West, the Mavericks are right there and probably will be all year.

Market and team success plays way too much of a factor. If Bosh was a second option on a better team, like has happened to Pau, this makes him a better player? I simply fail to see the logic in that. Pau took less of a role and this makes him a better player, hmmm. Anyways on the to topic at hand, I think market and team success is HUGE, I mean if Bosh goes to NY they will overrate him disgustingly, he will instantly become an undisputed top big man. If he averages 18-12 and his team wins a title he is a better player? Making statistical sacrifices makes you a better player? If anything the player who is the only option on his team and still manages to produce amazing stats and lead his team to a decent amount of success, is the best type of player. Sorry again for turning this into a Pau issue, but going from the first option to a second option on a top team has made him better in everyone's eyes, it is simply absurd. Bosh is better than Pau Gasol is, but neither are capable of being the best player on a championship team IMO. Btw I am only mentioning Bosh because I am not familiar with anyone else who would become more highly touted on a better team/bigger market. It is like when people say VC isn't a winner when he has had like 3 seasons in his entire career with a chance to make a decent run, but has never been on a title team. Same with LeBron, whether you like it or not he has never had a championship cast and pretty soon if he doesn't win a title people are gonna hold his lack of a title against him instead of management.

Wait hold on, Nets fans are happy Bosh doesn't want to go there? LOL he would be your best player. Anyways to the above, Kingfish, Bosh is at the very least on the level of Pau Gasol. He would be an amazing second option, no one ever though of Pau as a championship player but now look at him? Playing on a great team with other good player does wonders for people's perception of you, or so it seems. I just don't see how you can draw the conclusion that someone is 'not a championship player' when they have never played on a team above mediocre. Bosh is by no means an unflawed player, I agree he has plenty of room to improve. But he is a star and he is a big man ANY team could use if they have championship aspirations.

He isn't even in double figures lol, does he even start? If he doesn't start how is he not a role player? I am a fan of his but you don't trade a top 5 pick for Foye, who has been a disappointment in his career to me, and Miller, who is nice but just not the answer this team needed as they are already loaded on the wing. Overall just a horrible decision by management to bring in wings when they already have 3 studs on the wing (this is me considering Jamison a wing btw) along with a solid bench of wing players. Ray Allen was traded to the Celtics for the 5th pick a few years ago, the Wizards needed to go out and address their big man situation in a similar fashion, and instead they added more shooting wings. They wasted their pick which should have been used in a power deal to catapult this team to mid seed in the playoffs, but they failed. The Caron+Pick for Amare is a nice deal but only if Amare is signing an extension with you, otherwise that is suspect because I can't disagree for passing on that to be honest. A top 5 pick alone SHOULD have been enough but I guess it wasn't. Fortunately they have a lot of assets and could go a lot of different ways, this team doesn't necessarily need to rebuild IMO. Just shuffle some talent around, and I would start by shipping Arenas out.

Well he has only played 15 games so those numbers could easily come down just like Bosh's are. But really how many 50-50 balls is he getting? I am just curious because I don't watch the Lakers, but with 2 7 footers and Odom I doubt teams are anxious to crash the offensive glass. But either way, I can't sit here and scoff at 13 RPG from a guy who doesn't get 9 for his career. Woah at Bynum though, I always thought he was a double double guy? Maybe there are only so many rebounds to go around but I always figured him as a 10 RPG guy consistently. Odom just looks like he is having a bad year so far idk, his stats seem to be crappier that they usually do when I check them each season.

Martin has always seemed like a ball stopper to me. Evans seems like a beast, might as well try and ditch the contract (Martin) and start over with a rebuild around Evans. That Thompson kid's stats look nice, don't watch him at all, but he looks like a keeper. You can easily get someone to bite on him in a deal I mean he was averaging 30 PPG before he got hurt, albeit on pretty poor percentages.

Nice win by the Raptors, can't recall many games when we are under 100 and win. Either Paul was hurt or Banks and Jack shut his [expletive] down lol, I think it would be the first one. But overall I think this team is definitely better with Jose out and Hedo is getting a lot more touches lately. We are a better team with a competent defensive PG and Hedo running the offense more often than he does with Jose hogging the ball all game. I just feel like our team plays more natural without Jose, with Jose everything feels too structured. With Jack and Hedo holding the ball I feel like anything can happen but with Jose everything feels so predictable.

Cool off? Because I said wtf? Honestly I wasn't even mad lol I know that kid and I was just being a doucher to him, if he is honestly offended he can take it up with my but I doubt he is. Also I don't see how the Raptors are relevant in this conversation but okay lol. All I was saying is why would you analyze what the Celtics do against a crappy team when teams almost always play different (better) against other elite teams. If your hope was to find out flaws in the team in hoping to see what it will take playoff time, I don't see how very many of these games are going to be relevant. Getting me mad on a basketball forum would probably take a lot more than an avatar or a post about the Celtics. And to me this isn't better than a thread like that because I would rather talk about my team's scrubs than an 11 game win streak by a team I don't even like. But if you are suggesting that is a useless topic I will be sure not to start anymore in the Raptors forum for you.

Well this thread is better for guys who have teams not in the mix right now. For me I really want to see Dirk get the monkey off his back, I feel bad for the dude to be honest everyone hates on him but he is a top 10 player no question. I would also love to see the Magic win so D12 can start his legacy and so VC can get his ring. Also the Hawks because it would be cool to see a darkhorse win for once. The teams I want to see win the least are Lakers first and Celtics 2nd. The Lakers just won and I don't need to hear all the Lakers fans talking more than they already are. And Celtics just because I hate that team and their players, also I don't like watching the same teams win year in year out. Also Cleveland I would like to see win, LeBron needs to get that title asap before people start putting the pressure on him to get that ring. Also because he needs to start his legacy like I said for D12. But really anyone besides Spurs, Celtics or Lakers and I will be happy.

I haven't watched him so I don't know how he is playing in terms of being a team player. But his stats are what they always are so I don't see why you would be surprised by that. In fact he is having a worse season, statistically, than last year BUT is playing much more efficiently so that could speak about the type of player he has been this year. But overall he is really solid player and has been 20-10 year in year out for half a decade now. Not sure why anyone would be surprised by his play besides maybe his efficiency.

I didn't read your entire post because no matter how much you alter the strategy you aren't going to break through the ceiling of the top 4 teams. What the Heat really need to do is hit a home run in FA next season because Wade desperately needs a second option at his side. While you might not get Bosh or LBJ you could get someone like Joe Johnson who would be great alongside Wade, or maybe Stat. They just need another guy who can drop 20 consistently for them, because your roster is filled out okay with role players but you need that second star. EDIT - To the above, wow I can't believe Wade's shooting numbers, especially for a guy who gets to the rim alot doesn't he? I think this further proves he needs someone who can alleviate some of the pressure, especially offensively. I mean the guy has the ball in his hands 90% of the time down the floor so it's hard for him to dominate all game every game.

Wtf? Don't post one of your team's flaws, then when I suggest why that flaw might be occurring, snap at me. Nice avatar, that wasn't even a nice dunk Pierce's arm almost got ripped off because he can hardly get up 6 inches anymore. Also what is the point of this thread? Is it to find out why they are winning or are we trying to find out how to beat the Celtics? Because analyzing [expletive]ty teams they beat is pretty irrelevant.

Care to elaborate please? This is a very bold declaration, unless it is a gut feeling in which case w/e lol.