Archive for Raptors Report

Raptors Preseason, Primer and a Prediction

December 26, 2011 Nat Raptor Ramblings, Raptors Report

“A lot of games, sad to say, are going to be practices.” – Dwane Casey

Preseason Notes

Coach Casey (Photo Credit: AP)Coach Casey isn’t about to sugar coat it. This rebuild is a long process and he clearly understands the challenge on hand.

The Raptors headed into the 2 game preseason against the Boston Celtics with five new faces and got fed their first dose of reality.

The Celtics were without Paul Pierce for Game 1 at the ACC and the Raptors put themselves in a position to win but came up short thanks to a game winner from Stiemsma. Andrea Bargnani showed signs that he is finally starting to understand the effort he will need to put in on the defensive end. He even hit the rebounding quota set by coach (9 RB). DeMar DeRozan tried to make his way to the hoop each time he had the ball but also got to show off the work he had put in on that long range jumper. Ed Davis recorded a double-double and James Johnson had a block party. Amir Johnson got a chance to put his surgically repaired ankle to work. The 21 turnovers were indicative of a preseason game but the surprising stat was the Raptors holding Boston to 76 points. Dwane Casey’s plan may take a while to execute but that surely was the first glimpse.

Most of the positives went out the window in Game 2 at the Garden. DeRozan recorded a double-double and the Raptors were +10 on the boards but their inability to execute on offense was stifling. Bargnani and DeRozan combined for 36 points on a night when the team managed to shoot just 32% from the floor. The Raptors were playing catchup all game and lost sight of the positives they had shown in the first game.

Preseason never means much but with a new coach, new system, new faces and little time to put it together before the games start to matter, the Raptors displayed what most fans are prepared for — a whole lot of growing pains.

Primer: Game #1 – Raptors @ Cavaliers

The Raptors kick off their 17th year in the NBA against the Cleveland Cavaliers tonight. Both teams found themselves watching the lottery balls drop at the end of last season and head into this one as a work in progress.

With 13 guys ready to go, the Raptors starting lineup remains a mystery as coach Casey elected not to divulge that information post shoot around. There are a couple of locks (DeRozan & Bargnani) but the starting spots at PG, SF and C are wide open. Expect to see Calderon, J. Johnson and A. Johnson to get the nods tonight as they face a Cavs starting lineup of the Irving, Jamison, Parker, Casspi and Varejao.

The toughest defensive assignments for the Raptors tonight will be Irving and Jamison. If Calderon is unable to keep the rookie PG in front of him, Bayless may get some extra minutes to take on the assignment. Jamison has always been a Raptor killer. His ability to stretch the floor messes with defensive positioning and rotations.

This is one of the few winnable games on the schedule and the Raptors have the edge with their bench and scoring weapons. It all comes down to how they react on defense when trying to guard Jamison on the outside, Varejao on the inside all while stopping Irving from setting up a lay-up line down the lane.

Predictions

“I want to win,” Casey told the Toronto Sun. “I want to compete, I want to build. We have so many fundamentals that are lacking — screening, physical style of play.”

Let’s not kid ourselves, this 66 game season is about to feel like the longest one ever. The Raptors are going to play hard each night as they did last year but my glass half full prediction is not far off from the glass half empty one.

Glass half full: 23 wins
Glass half empty: 19 wins

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Raptors Report – Preparing For A Season Of “Small Victories”

December 20, 2011 Nat Raptors Report

A shortened season may just be what the doctor ordered for the Raptors who are clearly in a rebuilding phase once again. Moving ahead with DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani as the building blocks, this season is pretty much a write-off with hopes that the main pieces of the puzzle develop some good habits and grow under new head coach Dwane Casey. Raptors fans need to be prepared to ignore that win-loss column (unless they are tracking draft lottery standings) and buy into the idea of games filled with small victories and silver linings.

Dwane Casey (Photo Credit: AP)

Expect coach to be doing a whole lot of this during the season.

Coach Casey has started putting his imprint on the team right away and it all begins on the defensive end. The Raptors defensive woes have been well documented over the past few seasons and he will have his work cut out trying to get some of these guys to buy what he is selling. A roster mixed with veteran and young players, not a marquee player in sight, this is going to have to be about TEAM. A team that talks on both ends, picks their guy up when he is down, pounds the rock, crashes the boards and holds each other accountable.
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Fan in the Stands — Bobcats @ Raptors

November 15, 2010 Nat Raptors Report

Last week I ran a contest on here to give away a pair of tickets to the Bobcats game. There were some amazing entries and I managed to secure tickets for the runner up as well. In return to attending the game, I asked the winner, @YaRock to write a recap of the game and his experience.

The game started off with the Raptors playing cool and collected ball, but DeMar DeRozan got into some quick foul trouble and was benched. DeMar earned a lot of my respect last night, you can tell how much he wants to play and he was visibly upset at getting benched, kicking at the towels and swearing. Linas Klezia had a big first quarter, getting hot for a few trips down the court and Bargnani surprised me by having a fairly decent game (23 points, 9 rebounds). I’d like to go on record and say that Reggie Evans may be, pound for pound, the worst basketball player I have ever seen. He looks huge up-close, but he lacks the interior presence that it takes to get the ball in the hoop. Jose Calderon is clearly this teams leader and is Triano’s go-to guy on the floor. I don’t think Jarret Jack sat down the entire game; even when he was on the bench he had a towel in his hand cheering the team and the fans along. Our boom sticks were deafening and I’d like to believe they were the cause of a turnover or two for the ‘Cats and contributed to Toronto’s 36 fast-break points and a few sick jams. There were some occasions where Toronto was simply caught sleeping, and the Raptors paid for it by giving up 21 points off 17 turnovers. We kept it close throughout the game, but a few late threes from Stephen Jackson, four clutch free throws by Tyrus Thomas and a boneheaded turnover by Il Mago in the last 5 seconds caused the Raptors to give this one away 101-96. Barbosa looked morose all game and you could tell that he wants to go out there and play, he was still in all the huddles and the odd time I looked over I saw him talking to P.J. Carlesimo. On an unrelated note, Jay Triano gives the most awkward ass-taps I’ve ever seen; he winds up for it like he’s Kenny Powers and then gently puts his whole palm on the backside so that it looks like more of a push than a tap.

The energy was unreal, the fans hung in there until the very end. The Young Guns section was crazy with most of them sporting Bosh jerseys with a duct-taped X across them. I was going to wear my Vince Carter jersey but I would’ve looked like a hipster because apparently it’s not cool to hate Vince anymore.  My favourite part of the game was at the end, when the players go to the change rooms through the tunnel. I managed to get a prime piece of real estate and got daps from all the players and coaches, including one from a very surprised Matt Carroll who seemed shocked that somebody knew who he was. I wish I got a chance to talk with Matt because I just traded for him on my 2K11 team and he’s tearing it up right now, so I’d like to know what he has to say about that.

Many thanks to Heels On The Hardwood for this, and I hope it’s the first of many instances.

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The Toronto Raptors want you to come along for the ride…

October 27, 2010 Nat Raptor Ramblings, Raptors Report

A new season is upon us and for Raptor fans it is a lot more than that. No more Chris Bosh. No defined face of the franchise. The youth movement is in full effect with growing pains to follow. This is a chance for one of these guys to step up and become the clean up hitter (blame the baseball reference on me being totally immersed in the playoffs.) Experts have the Raptors pegged at the bottom of the league. For the most part they are probably right. To counteract the win-loss expectations, the organization is trying to sell the fun aspect of the game to the fans. There is a new FANATICS section at home games, there is the Young Onez movement and even a Dynamic price on tickets (based on demand on a game per game basis). They stepped up their social media game and have the players reaching out in a variety of ways to get people hyped for the season.

The Toronto Raptors are embracing the city… will the city embrace them back?
Photo via @raptorspacekat

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Raptor Report Card – Vegas Summer League

July 22, 2010 Nat Raptors Report

Anytime I can watch some basketball during the long offseason I get excited. Last week I set off for Vegas to catch NBA Summer League, otherwise known as glorified pickup ball. It’s a great opportunity to catch the rookies in action and get a feel of what the youth is going add to a team. In the past, there have been players who have made a name at summer league — some go on to success in the NBA and others remain summer league legends. For me, this was a chance to catch the Young Gunz in action and begin to evaluate the Raptors in the post-Bosh era.

Paired with Sonny Weems, the Raptors had a full highwire act going with DeRozan. DeRozan looked like he was primed for a signicant jump in productivity this season, especially with Chris Bosh you-know-where. He has such great length and his explosion was in the elite class. Averaging 21 points and 4.5 rebounds during Summer League, he and Weems had a plethora of highlight reels and looked like possibly the most impressive sophomore of the bunch. — Matt Moore (CBS)

There was a lot expected of DeMar last summer as he was drafted 9th overall by the Raptors and he had a fairly solid showing. This summer was different as he looked to be a man amongst boys. Right away you could see a change in his body — bulked up his upper half. His focus was there out the gates and it wasn’t long before he had heads turning. His mid-range game seems to have become more consistent, he was more committed to getting to the basket and the rebounding numbers were more in line with what the team needs after losing Bosh this summer. It is no secret that he is more of a quiet guy on the floor and that is something he needs to work on. With CB4 gone, there is a need for guys to step up and even though it may be a lot to ask from a young guy he will be better for it in the long run. Right now he has a comfort zone with Weems, Johnson and Jack but he has a chance to grow into a leader on this team.

Davis turned out to be one of the biggest surprises for me at summer league. Not just from the Raptors but almost all the guys I watched over the span of 5 days. Considering that he had not played organized basketball since about February, he was able to make his presence felt on both ends of the floor. He definitely is raw offensively but he already has a couple of go to moves and seems to be a great position player. His basketball IQ is there which helps him be johnny on the spot grabbing boards and swatting the ball into the stands. I didn’t know what to expect going in to watch him play but he really got me excited for the upcoming season. He comes from a good program and its evident that he has focused on the fundamentals. He also has a good frame that will fill out with access to a training staff. His lower body is bigger than the departed star which will help him in the block holding his ground. Again, he doesn’t have that alpha personality but if the other Young Gunz take him in there is a great opportunity for the team to have some serious chemistry that can will a few wins through the course of the season.

Weems surprised Raptor fans over the past season and took his act to summer league. Everyone I talked to wanted to talk about him and how he has found a perfect situation for himself. The jumper was there last season and it complements his high flying act. He had some of the best dunks seen in Vegas but still committed himself to defense. Two things stood out to me — Firstly, DeMar looks bigger than Sonny now and Secondly, he really needs to pass the ball a little more. Maybe it was summer league and he was having fun with it but it sure seemed like he jacked up a lot of shots. I imagine this was his final trip to Vegas in the summer (along with DeMar) and seeing what he brings to the table I see him as a core component to the Toronto Raptors in the future.

One word — RAW. Alabi is a project, straight and simple. He didn’t start playing organized basketball until a later age compared to most and has a lot to learn on a more basic level. I expect to see him in the D League or street clothes but if he focuses, he can learn a lot from observing the other players at his position. He has the length to be a premier shot blocker and rebounder but right now he needs to figure out how to play positionally. He has a butter fingers effect going for him right now which doesn’t allow finishing at the hoop with confidence. His face up game is more developed than the other aspects of his game. Right now the best thing for him is to watch, learn and practice hard. He has a bunch of guys ahead of him at the position so he will not have any pressure, rather just have a chance to develop at a steady pace with good coaching and some cooperation on his end.

Dwight-lite as @stackmack puts it. This guy is massive. Built like a tank with the cantaloupe shoulders, the only thing he lacks is height. With a non-guaranteed contract, Dorsey had to try and impress the Raptors coaching staff. He can rebound with the best of them but it stops there. Coaches were constantly harping at him for not running plays they called or when he was in a position to score he just couldn’t finish. I think if a team is committed to try and develop him as a Ben Wallace type it may work for him. I can’t see him cracking the Raptors roster when the team is already deep at his position making it hard to find minutes for him to develop. There is only room for 1 project at a time and the team has already handed Alabi that pass.

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