well put chutney. I believe that between Jay and Marc, this team will be solid on both ends of the floor and BC has assembled some very good pieces... I can't wait...
Mike D controlled phx's pace ivaroni was his bitch, and who did he have in memphis? seriously name one good player on that team they are all underachievers!!!!
Based on last year's scoring averages: Bosh = 22.7 Bargnani = 15.4 Calderon = 12.8 Hedo = 16.8 Belinelli = 8.9 Total = 76.6 Looks like you could be about 13 or 14 points shy of averaging 90 PPG from your starters. Yeah, some of them could improve, and if they play at a fast enough pace, I could see your starters averaging > 80 PPG, but I think 90 is a stretch. I agree, DEFENSE (the lack of) and rebounding (also the lack of) are your two biggest issues. No matter what coach, or scheme you have, you need to have players on the court that can play defense. You lost Marion, your best defender and are left with a starting line-up of Bargnani (horrible defender), Bosh (athletic, but soft), Hedo, (horrible man-to-man defense, better in a zone, but still below average defender), Belinelli, (weak defender) and Calderon (horrible defender). So, in terms of personel, your defense has gotten worse. You replaced Marion with Hedo and Parker with Belinelli. Please explain how that improves your defense (or your rebounding). Extremely unlikely. Only four teams in the entire NBA won 55, or more, games last season. They were the Cavs, the Lakers, the Celtics and the Magic. Do you really think the Raptors belong in that same class? Do you really think adding Hedo, at the expense of losing Marion, and adding Belinelli in place of Parker, plus a few minor upgrades to your bench (Jack, Rasho, DeRozan) transforms a 33 win team into one of the top 5 teams in the league? A little perspective: in the entire history of your franchise, the team has never won more than 47 games. Do you REALLY think this is THE best team in franchise history? If so, do you REALLY think they are 8 wins better than your previous best? Sorry, I just don't see it. With your poor defense and lack of rebounding, I see 45 wins tops, with something in the 40 - 45 win range the most likely win total for this coming season. And, I don't see any way you make it out of the 1st round. BNM
bnm thanks for your reply! i guess i can see a more balanced offense and i am convinced that they will be a lot tougher overall on defense! do i think 55 wins may be idealistic? sure, but it is July, we can still hope, can't we?? I do see this team in much better position than last season and i do think that a 50+ season is more than possible. imho
from what i heard- iavaroni had full reign over the defense in phoenix and same with memphis i would assume. however, a more accurate statement would be that he u need the horses to play defense and he simply doesnt have it toronto. fyi-a few years ago, i read that they were using marion as a rover to protect nash because he would constantly be taken off the dribble; i wonder who's going to be the raptors rover this year to protect caledron?
One good player? Easy - Pau Gasol. Iavaroni coached Memphis for exactly a season and a half (they went 33 - 90 with him as head coach). During the first half of his only full season, he had Pau Gasol on his team. BNM
