PF Amir Johnson - Started the season off the bench, but since coming in as a starter; has shown spurts of being really good. However, as a clock at hits 12 twice a day, I repeat myself....CON-SIS-TEN-CY!!! I can't stress how important it is for Triano to get his Raps in consistent roles, and for them to being going out every night with the same goal in mind. For Amir, it's 'Get to the rim' 'Look for the pass DL' 'Get Boards' 'Don't foul out' 'Hit open jumpers' Mark...B+....Better than I expected, and his 22-16 game is a nice addition. Lets see how his stats are by all-star break. Ed Davis - Rookie off injury, so there isn't to much to really give my critique too. I like his game a lot, and I really think Davis can he a hell of a PF. He's got the length, good college background & solid skill base. When he improves his jumper, and his back to the basket game - he'll be hard to stop. He's huge on the D end and a guy like him can really change a game, not to mention tons of shots. MARK....A+...He blocked the number 1 pick. HARD. Please see Sig Reggie Evans - 15.3 boards per game. 'Nuff said. MARK - A+....Was a tank and his injury opened up playing time for our young guns. You da best Reggie.
C Andrea Bargnani - I can't really call him a bust because I saw him single handily put the Raptors back in to a game, they could of won if it weren't for some gay bounce. Averaging over 20PPG and is showing he is extremely hard to guard. His down low game is getting really good, plus he can take out of the key and hit the jumper right in your grill. Plus we all know he can hit the three. I have to see, this year, Bargnani has really made me re-think his game. He's a crucial part of this team and really is becoming on the best C's in the league. No C has a game like his right now, and if he continues to develop (Again, 23-24?) He will be right behind Howard. His ability to hit the jumper and take you inside is something only a few teams have upfront. He's the guy I want shooting the last shot right now, no doubt. Mark...A...Good year so far and his last game was a fucking gem. Keep it up Bargs, you're the franchise right now. Dorsey & Alabi - Alabi > Dorsey. Watch that. Dorsey is solid, but undersized. And Alabi I think can be a pretty good back-up C. He's been called up so I'm excited to see him play. MARK - D...Not much has been seen from either. But they aren't Klieza so they pass.
There you go folks, take it with a grain of salt ahah. I'd love to hear what you guys think (All..5 of you Next game against the Nuggets tomorrow. Should be a high scoring affair with Carmelo for sure having a season high of some sort.
Fair assessment. I guess I'll provide some minor points of disagreement cause i don't want to study. I don't think DeRozan should be B+, little too high. He's had some good games and then some stinkers too where he doesn't demand the ball at all. His jumper also extremely suspect and the spin move is too predictable. Sonny - C-ish. He goes into Kobe-mode and thinks he can hit anything; playing for that contract i guess. He's better than Klieza most of the time so i won't complain. btw you forgot Wright. . C+ capable defender and energy player. Tries too hard on offense. Triano - B. I think he gets too much blame sometimes (I do it too) of being the problem with this team. The players just aren't that good. He does stupid things sometimes (see: Klieza) but overall i think he's done a decent job of coaching a young team and has made some decent adjustments and finally learned when to call timeouts. I really liked what they did last night with Bargnani getting the ball in the mid-post and our wings cutting. This really gets other players involved in the offense without them having to force jumpers. I hope Triano learns from this and continues to utilize Bargnani's passing ability. Ps. I was at the Nuggets game last year and saw that shot Carmelo hit; largest collective groan ever. He was hurt last game so don't know if he will be playing; sadly i will be writing an exam and will be unable to watch. [video=youtube;bFUVxLgWrXQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFUVxLgWrXQ[/video]
On DeMar, I see exactly what you're saying. His spin move is all he does inside, but I've seen a couple of times him try and change it up. In terms of his jumper, it's all about practice. Once he gets a fluid motion in, he'll be a pretty good shooter. He's got the elevation and shooting touch, just needs some technical tweeks. Sonny, I still see potential. He can be a very good player, just; like you said; should not go to Kobe mode. I feel that lack of a leader really hurts the Raps in terms of guys thinking they can do it all. Bargs needs to get more vocal. Wright is Wright ahah, I did forget him though However, my coach assessment; I was waiting on that. Triano - B +. I can pretty much agree with everything you said on Triano, but I do wanna see him work more defensive schemes. He seems to be getting guys doing what their good at on the offensive side, but on D; we still look lost. He makes adjustments, he is also still a young coach learning and he truly is a players coach. The whole Raptor coaching staff seems to be trying to build character and really change how the team plays and carries themselves. Jay likes input, but he makes the decisions at the end of the day. Game after game, he makes me believe in him more and more. The day I see a good defensive scheme, is the day I'll admit he is the right guy for the job. Right now, he's on the right track; but I'm not sold.
Nuggets smashed up. Well, we kept it close only because we were making shots. And when we stopped making shots, we also continued not to play defense. So, on to the next one!! Pistons tonight, and we really need to win this one to at least show some separation between 8-11 and 12-15 (In terms of the standings) I'm not sure on the status of Jose Calderon, but I think he'll want to play tonight. However, I can't say I didn't like seeing Mr.JerryD Bayless start.
Defense must have been atrocious considering they scored 120+ without Carmelo. I'm only looking at the boxscores, but Bayless didn't look so hot as a starter.
What a fucking come back! I was losing some hope, but god damn it felt amazing to watch that. Bayless, while playing like doodoo the first half, really stepped it up and is showing he should be the number 1 guy. The Raps have some really good chemistry going, and it feels good to finally get a break. Ben Wallace looked like he was an offensive dynamo LOL. Still, great fucking win, wow. I was going nuts.
I didn't see most of the game, but Bayless' stats say he was excellent but I've been reading comments that he really wasn't really very good. Was it his defense really bad or something?
He had a lot of turnovers in the first half, but he redeemed himself in my mind; and we won. To me, he is way better than Jose and needs to be started. He's got all the qualities to be an elite PG and where is Boob-No-More, Bayless is playing nothing like he did in PDX. Maybe because he actually has the playing time and he is showing he's got the skills. Let my wishes for the Raptors continue to come true, please - start Bayless, trade Klieza. LET IT BE DONE!
Close game, but just let the foot off the pedal against the Bobcats. DeMar just destroyed Tyrus with that And-1 slam, I'll get that up in a .gif soon Got Chi-town tomorrow, and the intensity has to be the whole 48 minutes. Plus, we gotta get Bargs going early. We take ourselves outta games by him scoring under 20. Should be no excuse for that. Ed Davis also needs to be worked in to the offense more, he's left to scavenge up boards. However, the times he's involved, he gets things done.
Youngest starting 5 in Raptors history, and it also is the one I've wanted to see since we traded Jack. Bayless - DeMar - Sonny - Davis - Johnson Beauty.
