hey, i'm not sure if anyone remembers me but i used to post a lot in the raptors forum section and i used to be a really huge raptors fan. two years ago, i started to lose interest because the team fell apart and real life swamped me. now that i got my life in order, i'm actually looking to getting back to watching raptors basketball again. how is our team right now? i think this thread would show the highs and lows of our team anyways so it would'nt necessarily be spam.
good for you that you got your life back together (genuinely).. but unfortunately the team is in shambles. Not much talent on the team and our best hopes are Demar Derozan and Ed Davis who are really supporting players to me rather than main cogs. But at least the whole Bosh fiasco is over and we are legitimately in rebuilding phase. We all are here hoping for a 2nd year with a shitty record so we can pick up another high draft pick, and waiting on val to come over from Europe. welcome back.
edit: and i'm speaking for myself here. but i personally hope that Bargs and Calderon are both putting on different jersey's by years end.
Yeah bokes summed it up well. DeRozan, Davis and Valanciunas are what we are building around. Which isn't a good or bad thing.
We have some decent young supporting players like Amir Johnson, James Johnson and Jared Bayless.
We signed some guys to one year contracts to fill out the roster like Anthony Carter, Aaron Gray and Jamaal Magloire.
We have some veterans on long term contracts that don't seem to be part of the long term plans anymore. These guys are Calderon, Kleiza and Bargnani and as bokes said previously, I expect at least one of these guys to be traded before the conclusion of the season.
Yeah, BC is making mistake after mistake. But after all he is getting his plan done. In a couple of season we'll have a playoff team with a lineup of
Calderon/Derozan/Kleiza/Bargnani/Valanciunas.
He also signed two fan favourite candidates (McGloire and Gray) to sell more tickets.
Bayless, JJohnson, Amir and Ed Davis are trying to prove themselves as decent backups.
Yeah, BC is making mistake after mistake. But after all he is getting his plan done. In a couple of season we'll have a playoff team with a lineup of
Calderon/Derozan/Kleiza/Bargnani/Valanciunas.
He also signed two fan favourite candidates (McGloire and Gray) to sell more tickets.
Bayless, JJohnson, Amir and Ed Davis are trying to prove themselves as decent backups.
i have a pretty good picture of what this team is like.. pretty much hoping for a tank. where's qw with his nesterovijk avatar that bobbles?
anyways, here's for another tanking season and hoping for development on our younger players.
Here's what I worry about with regard to tanking:
The Raps have a pretty young group of players. While not skilled, they do have the advantages of youth - endurance, the ability to recover quicker, etc. This year, with so many games in so few days (some teams have 5 games in 6 nights!), might that work in the Raps advantage (in terms of winning... disadvantage in terms of tanking)? How many times will the Raps come up against older teams playing their 4th game in 5 nights and have an advantage not on talent, but on 'jump'?
The Raps have a pretty young group of players. While not skilled, they do have the advantages of youth - endurance, the ability to recover quicker, etc. This year, with so many games in so few days (some teams have 5 games in 6 nights!), might that work in the Raps advantage (in terms of winning... disadvantage in terms of tanking)? How many times will the Raps come up against older teams playing their 4th game in 5 nights and have an advantage not on talent, but on 'jump'?
The thought of this terrifies me.
I have faith in the lack of talent on this team. Last year the Raptors were one of the worst defensive teams and in the bottom 1/3 of the league in offense as well. Other than possibly some internal development (Davis, Derozan, James Johnson?) this is pretty much the same team. In that first game they played against an awful team and had an incredibly good offensive game.
Quote:
where's qw with his nesterovijk avatar that bobbles?
I was actually considering switching back to that for the baseball offseason. I think it might be time...
our competition for the tank have the same advantage (or is it disadvantage?).
All the teams at the bottom have youth and endurance going for them so it should all even out in the end. More likely a lot will depend on injuries this year. If Tyreke evans get hurt than they will likely finish worse than us. If he stays healthy they should be better.
After watching the first two games. I have actually been pretty impressed with the team's resolve. They are playing with intensity.
I have been especially impressed with James Johnson. This guy could become one of the best defensive players in the league. He is looking like a young josh smith on the defensive end.
sadly the raps are definitely not the worst team in the league.
JJohnson is the tank commander IMO.
And I am not sure I like the heavier Amir neither. He is stronger to fight for the rebounds, but he lost some quickness to running the floor and to complete the pick'n'rolls.
We suck big time. Cleveland is the only team I can think of that is worse than us. And this effort will be difficult to continue when we are like 2-10. No problem with the tanking.
JJohnson is the tank commander IMO.
And I am not sure I like the heavier Amir neither. He is stronger to fight for the rebounds, but he lost some quickness to running the floor and to complete the pick'n'rolls.
We suck big time. Cleveland is the only team I can think of that is worse than us. And this effort will be difficult to continue when we are like 2-10. No problem with the tanking.
I was at the game last night courtside section, 2nd row so I had a very close look at the action. I have to say, I am AMAZED by James Johnson's defense. He has a super high basketball IQ, almost always making the right play. He's a great man to man defender and an incredible weak side shot blocker. He rarely bites on pump fakes...it was awesome to watch.
Bargs was horrible despite his numbers. He did however get two key boards in traffic which surprised me. Bayless only looks for his shot. No way he can be a lead PG. DeRozen was ok. Silent in the first half. Amir looks huge, but he still has no offensive game.
Getting back to Basketball
Not much talent on the team and our best hopes are Demar Derozan and Ed Davis who are really supporting players to me rather than main cogs. But at least the whole Bosh fiasco is over and we are legitimately in rebuilding phase. We all are here hoping for a 2nd year with a shitty record so we can pick up another high draft pick, and waiting on val to come over from Europe. welcome back. 
