Built Ford Tough

DeRozan has only had one good year and Bargnani is a scoring machine. Let DeRozan develop before you let him take last second game winning shots. PS: If you think fatigue isn't an excuse for a 7'0, 250 pound center playing over 50 minutes on the 2nd end of a back to back, you are a moron.

Mostly making mid range jumpers. I think he had one layup off of a drive to start the game and one ally oop in transition, but the other 9 points he scored in the 1st came off of jumpers. Vujacic started guarding him, but they put Outlaw on him when Outlaw came into the game. As for the Lopez comment, they are sending him as a second defender whenever Vujacic was getting posted up. Nice drive by Bayless. He has had a solid game so far. He definitely has outplayed Calderon today, but it is not liek that matters as Calderon needs to play his mandatory 35 minutes. The most fursturating thing about this game has to be DeRozan, though. Guy starts out on fire scoring 13 points in the 1st, then he sits on the bench for about the first 8 minutes of the 2nd quarter, gets 2 shots in the quarter (one of which was at the very end of the half) and basically is forced to stand in the corner on offense all 3rd quarter. He still have 13 points and has only taken like 3 shots since the first. That is inexcusable.

You can tell when DeRozan is feeling it when he doesn't even hesitate to put up a three and swishes it. And now he does what he does best, finishes an oop in transition. 13 points for DeRozan on 6/7 shooting. Is it safe to say he enjoys playing in the 02 Arena? Lopez is dominating the Raptors inside, though. What does he have, 10 points already? I think every point he has scored has been off of a layup or dunk, too.

The most impressive thing about that was the fact that Bargnani was even in the position to get dunked on in the first place.

So, apperantly James Johnson is the Raptors starting point forward and DeMar DeRozan is the starting point guard. At least according to the PA announcer.

You can't blame Bargnani for Lopez going off considering the fact that he was rarely matched up with him. I didn't see the last 3 minutes or so of the game, but Johnson and Davis were the ones who were matched up with Lopez for the large majority of the game. You can blame Bargnani for allowing Humphries to get a near 20/20 game, though. It is pretty clear watching that again that Weems fell because he tripped over Humphries. He completely bit on the crossover, not denying that, but that wasn't the reason why he fell.

It is pretty bad when Vujacic completely sags off of DeRozan to force him into a jumper and he still gets blown by. DeRozan with 26 points. I like the fact that he is having a good game, but he better not pull a win out of his ass.

Williams checks back into the game and the Raptors cut the lead down to 7. If I get home from work to find out the Raptors won this game it is going to suck.

He looks good at first but once he plays 2 or 3 games for a team he turns into a selfish, blackhole chucker. At least that is what he did in Toronto and Utah (from what I saw from him). Perfect start to the 4th quarter for the Raptors. They've been outscored 20-6 already and are now facing a double digit defecit. I like.

And then he gets pissed off and hacks the shit out of DeRozan on the next possession. Nice decision by Bayless to find Bargnani for the trailer three. Normally he will put up a reckless drive to the rim in that situation. He shows signs of being a decent point guard, but then shows that he is just an undersized 2 guard. Hopefully he can continue to develop those point guard skills as the season goes along and works really hard at it during the offseason. I really like him as a player when he is getting his teammates involved. Humphries has been superb for the Nets tonight. He can be a really nice role player for a team when he isn't trying to do everything by himself like he did a lot of the time during his tenure with the Raptors.

Andrea Bargnani is so infuriating when he gets a mismatch (and on defense, and on the glass and, well, everything in general). Seeing him fading away over guys like Vujacic and Farmar is ridiculous. Seeing him get his shot blocked when he has a mismatch on Vujacic is just hilarious. DeRozan has been great on offense so far. 18 points, highly efficient shooting and the offense has just been a hell of a lot better when he has been on the floor. Loving the game from him so far. Hopefully he can continue to have a great game and the team manages to lose it down the stretch. And now Bargnani takes a soft jumper over Williams. Jesus.

When they showed the replay of it, it actually looked more like Weems tripped over Humphries foot when he went to set the screen. Still was a nasty crossover from Williams, though.

Sonny Weems can't do anything right anymore. Last season he carved out a niche as a solid defender and dangerous mid range shooting. This season he bricks every jumper he takes and gets crossed up so bad he falls on his ass.

I don't understand the thought process of putting Amir on Lopez and Bargnani on Humphries. Bargnani is a better man defender than help defender while Amir is a better help defender than man defender. It makes more sense to put the bigger, stronger Bargnani on Lopez and have Amir waiting to provide help considering Amir doesn't have the size or strength to handle Lopez down low. Nice chase down block by Humphries on Johnson (James). I thought Johnson had a sure dunk there, but Hump did a nice job of getting back. He has also done a very nice job on the galss.

I'd at least settle for a proven head coach in general and at least Messina fits that bill. Its not like proven NBA coaches like Jeff Van Gundy, Larry Brown (just throwing names out here) or guys like that are going to flock to Toronto to coach this team anyways. At least Messina has proven to be a good coach at a high level of basketball. I'd rather take a guy that has at least proven the ability to be a head coach at a professional level than hiring another "top notch" assistaint like Kevin O'Neil, Sam Mitchell or Jay Triano.

http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/83153/180/in-shocker-messina-steps-down-at-madrid I know that it doesn't say anything about him actually heading to the NBA, much less to Toronto, but if you recall a few years back, there were a bunch of rumors abuot him making his way to Toronto to coach the Raptors. He has held basketball clinics in Toronto before so he obviously enjoys the city. Colangelo has mentioned his name as one of his favourite coaches plenty of times before and with so many people calling for Triano's head, it makes you wonder if next season the Raptors might see Messina on the sidelines. I know that Colangelo has expressed his support for Triano, but lets face it, the guy is better off as an assistaint who focuses on player development, like he was for the last 8 years or so before he was hired as Mitchell's replacement. He just fits that role better if you ask me. Messina is supposed to be a great teacher for young players (at least according to some things I've read, he is also supposed to be a real hard ass as well) which makes it make even more sense that a coaching job in Toronto is, at the very least, a possibility. Again, not saying that there is even any sort of rumor about him coming to Torono as this is purely speculation on my part.

I know that, but you would think that the league would make it so that the one of these games would be considered a home game for the Raptors so that they would each play each other in their own arenas once. Instead, New Jersey travels to Toronto twice and the Raptors don't travel to New Jersey once this season. That is why I said good question because it is just stupid that you take two real home games away from the Nets and none away from the Raptors.

Doesn't really lack athleticism as much as he isn't a freak athlete. He has a nice first step, can finish at the rim and isn't what I would consider to be slow, but he doesn't blow you away with his athletic ability like a lot of the past top picks have (like Wall, Griffin, Rose, etc...). His game is more based on reading and reacting and using his solid feel for the defense more than just simply dominating with his athletic ability, though. As for creating his own shot, he is good at creating seperation to just a jumper off, but he still has a lot of work to do on his handles in order for him to be able to consistently get to the rim. I think some of it has to due with the fact that college is such a perimeter oriented game with the shorter 3 point line and the no defensive three second rule allowing teams to pack the paint, but it isn't the strongest part of his game. I do believe that it will be easier for him at the next level when there is more spacing and the lane isn't as clogged up as it is in college. One of the reasons why I want him on the Raptors so much is because he is better off of the ball than he is wth it. He can space the floor with his shooting while DeRozan will do more of the slashing. I think the two of them would mesh really well together. Well, Irving is just a better prospect overall. He is great at running an offense, near unstoppable in transition, good shooter, good playmaker and I would say has the higher upside as well. The only real reason to be weary of Irving is this toe injury that has forced him to miss basically the entire season, although that still isn't enough to scare gms away from picking him. Pretty much, he is without a doubt the top prospect in this years draft and basically everybody feels that way. As for Jones (I'm assuming you mean Perry and not Terrence), he is more of a boom or bust kind of player. He definitely has more upside, but I think there is a much greater chance of him becoming a bust. I can't comment specifically on his game as I haven't been able to match many Baylor games and even then, Baylor's guard play is awful which makes Jones' game stand out even less considering he doesn't get as many touches, but I think a lot of his worth as a prospect hinges on whether or not he will be able to play the 3 in the pros. As a 4, I don't think he is an elite prospect, but if he can make the transition to a small forward, he definitely is worth a team taking a chance on. Barnes has two surefire things going for him. He is a good shooter (don't let the numbers fool you as he has great form and mechanics and working with NBA shooting coaches will do wonders for him) and is going to be a very good defender at the next level. There are questions about his ability to create his own offense and his desire to be the man and other things, but he has two skills that are very transferable to the next level, which is why I believe he will have a successful career at the next level. He doesn't have the upside that Irving or Jones do, but he is a much more sure thing than Jones is (I think Irving is a sure thing too). I wish I could be more specific, but I haven't caught enough games as of late with school and work to really get down into specific details.

Good question. You would think that the Nets would be considered the "home" team for one game the Raptors for the other, but the Nets are considered the "home" team for both games. That doesn't really make much sense to me. As for the game, I'm desperately hoping for a Raptors loss. If they win both of these games against the Nets it basically puts an end to any chances of them finishing with a bottom 3 record. In fact, it would put Utah over the Raptors in the Tank Standings and push Toronto to something like 6th. That is simply unacceptable. If they do win both of these games, the Raptors better come back to Canada with the news that Leandro Barbosa is shut down for the rest of the year due to wrist surgery, Jose Calderon's constant hamstring injury "flared" up and will require him to miss the rest of the season and Andrea Bargnani is suffering from a serious cased of inflamed vagina and will miss the rest of the year.

When did you watch him play? I can understand thinking he is overrated considering the hype that he had coming into UNC (although I don't think that makes him any less of a prospect, he just isn't the immediate impact freshman he was made out to be), but you can't really judge him based on his play from the start of the season as he has grown tremendously since then.

Irving sure because I think he has the ability to become a top 5 point guard in the league, but I honestly don't know if I would say that the Cavs would have a better future than the Raptors if they land Jones, considering the Raptors will be picking in the top 7 at worst, top 3 at best. I'd take a young core of: DeRozan Davis Johnson Johnson Lotto pick over Hickson Jones Eyenga Sessions Clippers pick It is pretty much irrelevant, though, considering enither one of these teams are going to be worth a damn for another 3 years at least (and more realistically, it will be around 5 unless they get a bonafide superstar in the draft). Cleveland has mastered the art of tanking so I'd probably give them the edge.

Interesting note on Jonas Valanciunas: I know it may not go over well with Raptor fans if they pick a project center from Europe considering Bargnani and all, but at this point in time, I honestly think that I would put him in my top 3 for the Raptors, right behind Kyrie and Barnes. I think that if he reaches his potential that he can become an absolute beast on the defensive end with his athletic ability, length and size. If the Raptors miss out on Barnes and Irving, I wouldn't be opposed to taking a chance on him at all depending on how he does in workouts. It would basically ensure another top pick for the Raptors as well, considering he won't come in and turn this team around immediately like Irving has a chance to do (although I don't think he will). Speaking of Valanciunas, his team was eliminated from Euroleague play today. He had 9 points on 4/5 shooting, 11 boards and a block. Jan Vesely, another highly touted European prospect, also played his last Euroleague game today as Partizan Belgrade didn't make the playoffs. He went out with a bang, though, as he put up 23 points on 9/12 shooting (2-4 from three) and 6 rebounds. I'm just excited to see how the tourmanet shakes up the draft board. Part of me is hoping that a guy like Terrence Jones dominates in the tournament because for some reason I think the Raptors are going to go on a bit of a run and completely ruin their draft stock. If somebody like Jones has an awesome tournament it may vault him over Barnes and allow the Raptors to draft him at around 6th or 7th or something like that.

You do realize that he is coming off of major knee surgery that is supposed to take 2 years to full recover from, right? Kevin Garnett had the same surgery (or similar, not exactly sure) and everybody was saying last year that he was done and is a shell of his former self, yet this year he is just as good as he was when he first joined the Celtics. He doesn't have the same quickness or explosiveness that he had prior to the surgery. It doesn't help that we are nearly 60 games into the season and players are always banged up at this time of the year. He may not be as quick and explosve as he was pre-surgery, but he is clearly not playing at 100% right now. If he is still playing like this next season then it maybe time to start worrying about him, but I'll give him a pass on this season considering the expected recovery time of the surgery that he had last year. I made the mistake in writing off Kevin Garnett last season and I'll not do the same thing to Paul. EDIT: I can understand if somebody is trying to say that he seems to have quit on the Hornets, though. His body language was absolutely awful against the Raptors and by the sounds of it, it wasn't any better against the Knicks when Toney Douglas lit him up like Calderon did. I think the injury is affecting his ability to play right now, but he doesn't seem to be all that motivated to play in New Orleans anymore, either.

Exactly, the draft is weak so it is even more curcial to ensure a top 3-5 pick. If the draft had nice depth and you could still land an impact player in the 7-10 range I wouldn't care about a few wins here or there as much (I would still be completely in favour of losing, though) because the team would still get a bonafide building block for the future. With this draft being limited in potential impact players, it makes it even more important to lock down that top 5 pick and makes meaningless wins like this one and the one against Chicago bad for the future of the team.

It is amazing what a player can do when playing alongside a competent point guard. It is no coincidence that both Barnes and UNC started turning their season around once Drew left the team and Marshall was inserted into the starting lineup. As for Barnes himself, his season is alarmingly similar to DeMar DeRozan's freshman season at USC. Both were considered can't miss prospects coming out of high school (both were ranked #1 for their positions and considered the top high school recruits) and both had huge expectations from their respective programs with UNC playing in the NIT the year before Barnes' arrival and DeRozan filling in for Mayo. Both of them got off to slow starts and fell down mock drafts to the mid to late lottery but by the time that conference tournament came along, both picked their games up (DeRozan won MVP and Barnes has been clutch as hell for UNC) and scouts started taking notice of them again. I still think the Raptors were lucky to land DeRozan at 9 and it is looking like a team will experience the same thing with Barnes should he fall out of the top 3-5 like he is projected to as of right now. He is still, and has always been, number 2 on my Raptor draft list all season long. There is no denying the guys talent and honestly, what freshman wouldn't struggle with those ridiculous expectations that Barnes was faced with? The guy has NBA level skill, sounds like he has a great work ethic, seems to have a great head on his shoulders and just has an outstanding feel for the game. It was only a matter of time before he started to figure things out and start playing well. He is too talented not to.