The Star Player and the Raptors

I was thinking over something my brother and I were talking about over the weekend. I am sure plenty of people have talked it over with their friends.

It was about star power in Toronto, and why the stars always flee.

You could say that it’s because of Toronto and Canada and all the tax stuff (which I don’t buy completely). But although we seem to strike out with the American audience, Toronto has one of the largest markets in professional sports. So the fans are there.

But seeing as how most of the major talent in the NBA is American, maybe a stay north of the border isn’t in the dreams of the up and coming stars of professional basketball. Maybe that’s the problem.

On the other hand, maybe it’s because the Raptors haven’t won anything. Toronto has suffered several major setbacks in its history due to the loss of a key player looking to move to a major American market.

But the Raptors aren’t the only team with that problem. We certainly don’t have a tougher time than, say, Minnesota. In fact, lots of teams have trouble keeping players, and maybe it’s because they haven’t done anything yet.

Who knows? There could be a lot of reason. Let’s pretend like it’s the first issue though.

Let us pretend the major American players simply have no interest in playing in Canada. This is what my conversation with my brother was about, and our ideas were not new. They inevitably came to the concept of Toronto “the super world team” Raptors.

This is based on the assumption that only non-American stars would be willing to spend their entire career in a Raptors' uniform.

To be honest, it’s hasn’t happened yet, and I don’t think there is any reason to believe that superstars outside of the US are any more likely to play here than people who called the states their home.

So, what our discussion turned into was more along the idea of having a European style team—one that emphasized all-around team play rather than the star player concept a lot of NBA teams adopt.

Perhaps Toronto was never meant to hold onto its stars in the NBA. Maybe the team should be modeled after Euroleague teams like Olympiacos, Barcelona and CSKA Moscow, all of which operate with a sharing style offense where the scoring load is split between three or four players equally.

Another thing those team's have in common? They all stand at the top of the standings every year.

Of course, the Euroleague isn’t the NBA, and team-first squads have existed before in the league.

The Raptors are not the Pistons of 2003-04, but maybe before they go and hand Andrea Bargnani a heap load of pressure and ask DeMar DeRozan to do much more than he’s capable of they should tweak the philosophy a bit.

Right now they have a team with no superstars, but there is no reason they can't win a few games.

And that is fine with me. I would rather see a winning team than a Raptors jersey at the All-Star game.

Raptors Re-tool and Rebuild.

I am an optimist when it comes to the home town team. You have to be an optimist when Toronto is the sports city you live for.

My optimism allows me to look at the (in the works) trade for Tyson Chandler, Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa and say “I can dig it.”

A franchise could crumble when it loses the player of focus. However, in Toronto that happens every six or seven years.

It will happen again.

Chris Bosh leaving was no surprise. Everyone saw it coming. It was anti-climatic in the end.

You can thank LeBron James for easing the trauma by giving us a look at a full fledged kick in the nuts. Compared to “The Decision,” Bosh’s exit was tame. We can move on.

With Bosh gone, something needed to happen. The Raptors had two choices. Rebuild or re-tool.

Mr. Colangelo is coming to the end of his own contract. He decided to re-tool.

Assuming the proposed transactions go through, these are the players departed and acquired.

Departed:

Hedo Turkoglu

Jose Calderon

Reggie Evans

Acquired:

Tyson Chandler

Boris Diaw

Leandro Barbosa



The remarkable thing with this deal with is that the Raptors have freed up a considerable amount of money for the future. Take the extra cash and the two first round pick we got for the sign-and-trade with the Heat, and all of a sudden the future isn’t looking so bad.

Although the Raptors are re-tooling to compete next season, they are doing so with big expiring contracts that allow the team to rebuild much sooner than they could have with Calderon and Hedo’s heavy contracts on the books for the next half decade.

This is a great consolation prize if the Raps eventually end up missing the playoffs again (which has a good chance of happening, I’m not that much of an optimist).

I don’t really have the patience to do the number crunching.

Getting a legit center to play beside Andrea and a proven (if not streaky) forward to replace Turkoglu for the cost of an overpaid PG in Calderon, beloved as he is, was a good deal.

If Chandler leaves after this season, so what? His contract goes with him.

Chandler and Diaw won’t hinder the developments of Ed Davis and Solomon Alabi, not with Evans and Turk leaving.

Andrea can move to the five whenever they need him to and Davis will get his minutes.

As for Alabi, he will be wearing a suit until someone goes down. Alabi has potential but he is just too raw to see considerable time next season.

No one needs to talk about the Turkoglu trade. He had to go.

Barbosa gets paid a little too much as a spark off the bench. His contract only has two years left and is still less than Hedo’s. I like it.

Call me crazy. I like the new line up.

Bosh left. I thought I would care more. I don’t.

This team could win 40 or more games and there are still moves to be made.

These moves will keep the team competitive without compromising the future. This team is going to be young and have a high ceiling next year with the fresh talent coming in.

If nothing else, at least we won’t have the worst defense in the NBA anymore.

Its Not So Bad Jays Fans

From my article on Bleacher Report

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/346679-its-not-so-bad-jays-fans

As the NBA All-Star weekend comes to a close and the Raptors get back to the grind. I find myself thinking more about the up coming MLB season. The time until spring training can be measured in days and before we know it opening day will be upon us. For baseball fans in Toronto the fist pitch will begin a season long question and answer period. Even though we have little chance to make any kind of push, I will enjoy watching to see how everything turns out. What works what doesn’t? Who stays and who goes? Will Encarnacion break out? He’s still young. Who knows what will happen. It’s all great fun.

For a better part of a decade the Bluejays have had the pleasure of having Roy Halladay throw the opener. No beating a dead horse, I know. Halladay is gone and we got all we could for him. It's tough losing the face of your favorite team but for me at least it brings at least some level of excitement. It also leads us to the first question to be answered.

Question #1: Who will step up?

There really isn't a clear choice for the organization. Ricky Romero seems to be the front runner but isn't a lock. Brandon Morrow has some experience and Shawn Marcum has giving quality innings in the past. Its unclear at this point though who will step up and become the staff leader. It seems that after game one the rotation order will become irrelevant and it all becomes a matter of who performs.

Question #2: Who will fill out the rotation?

There are so many possibilities. It seems unlikely at this point that Romero, Marcum or Morrow would be left out of the rotation. Assuming they are 1 2 3, who then becomes 4 and 5? Brett Cecil? Marc Rzepczynski? Both these pitchers have had little time to prove themselves, and unproven is much better than proven bad. Brian Tallet had been good at times and wouldn’t be the worst bottom rotation starter in the league. However, Tallet has proven to be a much better middle relief pitcher than anything else. David Purcey also has not had the time to evolve at the major league level and could still become something better than he is. Also in the running would be Eveland and Richmond(meh). A couple of these guys might actually turn out to be high quality pitchers. They also might become the worst rotation in history. There potential for bad and good is exciting!

Question #3: What will Wells do?

Wells is bad because his contract is ridiculous. If Wells was being paid a couple of Million a season to bat .260 with 20 Homers and 75 RBI’s while batting 7th, then all would be sunshine. He doesn’t and let us forget about it. This is the last year I hold on to my fan status of Vernon Wells. He can pull it together this if he wants to. The pressure is off. No one expects anything from him anymore. Hill and Lind had monster seasons and the fans will look to them for the numbers. Wells has a chance to capitalize off the success of his teammates. With any luck Wells gets pulled for the clean-up and put into the 2nd or 6/7th spot in the line-up. If that happens than all he has to worry about is getting on base, not winning the game with clutch hitting. A new role coupled with is recent wrist surgery could be the formula needed to raise him back from the dead. He could also just be a mediocre baseball player who had a couple of big years. We’ll see!

Question #4: Will Hill and Lind repeat?

It is one thing to have a good year. Aaron Hill and Adam Lind had great years in 2009. It is another to repeat the feat. I am most excited about this. If Hill and Lind can be counted on to perform as they did last season then Toronto will be looking good for the future. Hill is signed to a 4 year 12 mil contract with club options for 2012-15. Which is peanuts if he can put up .280 with 25+ Homeruns while playing gold glove caliber second base. Lind is still on his first contract. Which is close to minimum. Can wait to see what these guys do in 2010.

Question #5: Will be see the prospects and will they perform?

Will we get a chance to see what we got for the best player I, and many others, have watched play. Drabek is young and pitchers need time to develop. When the jays are sitting 4th in the AL east come September I think we might see him make a few spot starts. Who knows maybe the rotation will be so bad that we need him earlier. J.P. Arencibia might see the majors early. Buck isn’t good and Chavez is worse. Brett Wallace is the first to reach the Jays roster I hope. That would mean that Overbay has been traded or at least seeing less playing time. Wallace is a 3rd basemen that will be moved to 1st. This will hopefully end Overbay’s reign of ugly baseball and bring some pop to the slugger position. Needless to say the Jays are not competing for a title so its safe to say we will see one if not all of these guys get some playing time this season.

Question #6: What will Anthopoulos Do?

We won’t see any big moves bringing in major contract to the Jays, but maybe AA has a few tricks up his sleeves. He seems committed to improving Toronto organization as well as the team it fields. The ownership, surprisingly, seems willing to spend some money. I’m hoping the young new GM sticks to his guns and maybe gets us some more future prospects and fill out or minor systems even more than he has. Overbay has to be worth something and if he is we know now, unlike season past, there is someone to pull the trigger on the deal.

The Bluejays do have an underdog’s chance at something this year with all this unproven talent, but it’s probably going to be a losing season. That is never fun for the fans, but it shouldn’t be the focus. Toronto baseball fans have the opportunity to be apart of a few small victories this season. There are a lot of players to get behind. The team was at an end and it has begun again. Now is the time to be a fan. There is no bandwagon, just us.

DeRozan and the Dunk-in

Hey DeMar are you gonna beat Gordon?

"Eric? Yeah, of course." Said DeRozan jokingly.

He was joking, but the confidence came through. With good reason. Consider the amount of times fans have caught him flying through the highlight reels on NBA.com. Throwing down lob passes from everybody and two handing rebounds back through the mesh. Which I like to call "Humphries". DeRozan and his team of cutters have captivated fans in Toronto. Watching a Raptors game now has the added attraction of waiting for the dunks to happen. Waiting for a moment to stand and gasp and applaud the effort. Which is a welcomed addition to a previously non athletic team. Derozan's high-flying displays have not only caught the eyes of Toronto basketball fans, they have caught the eyes of the NBA itself. His antics have earned him a spot in the NBA's first ever dunk-in. A competition between the Clippers Eric Gordan and himself to see who will get the final spot on Saturdays dunk comp with the big boys. Which is an opportunity for DeRozan to break out of the Canadian Cocoon and show the rest of the BBall community what he is capable of and what his entertainment value is. More importantly it is an opportunity for DeMar to gain a little publicity for the Raptors organization. TSN highlights are one thing, Friday and possibly Saturday night on TNT is another

We are in the Midst of a decent season. The team is fun to watch. They are winning games and playing like the care. You have two starting caliber point guards tossing up alley-oops to slashing wing men and a franchise player exceeding expectations. Add to that our ever growing international supporting cast/fan base and what you got is a fun team to watch. The need for aggressive offence as a result of spotty defence also helps. And do you know what? I've gotten used to the fact that no matter what happens the Raptors won't get much play in the U.S.A. Which is fine, maybe they can take advantage of the European stars market the team to the world. Of course it would be nice to get some attention and with this dunk comp, I hope we can see some excitement generated south of the border. Everyone remembers Vince and his elbow hanging, but that was ten years ago and people are starting to forget that he even played for the Raptors. And every year in between then and now had us with a Vince Carter with ailing knees and no desire to play here, a few good teams, a lot of bad ones and no one featured on the plays on the week. We had Jamario Moon Throwing down occasionally, but no one remembers his 2008 D-comp campaign, mainly because it was awful. I won't knock Moon's playing ability, dunk comps don't prove that, but in the midst of a middling 2007-2008 season having a Raptor on the main stage for awhile and eventually disappointing himself and fans was a bit of a blow. Adding wood to the boring fire and giving strength the don't know don't care attitude of American fans and commentators alike.

On Feb 12th 2010 DeMar DeRozan has the opportunity to heal some of those wounds Vince the Prince left. He can make a name for himself helping him progress as a player. He can help his team gain momentum going into the "second half". He can set the pace of his career. I hope he does and I think he will.

Player Comparisons: Is Dirk Better than Bosh?

Answer: Maybe?

Dirk is lights out and hands down the reason for the success Dallas has. He is dominant and nearly unguardable. I like him. I like to watch him play. I like his hair cut. There is no denying that Dirk is a tier 1 player and one of the best power forwards of this decade. I just don't think he is better than Bosh. I'm being a Homer and I'm not alone. A lot of people think Bosh is better than Dirk and a lot of people don't. It's nothing new. I'm just a bored blogger.... Here we go

Dirk is a German monster and NBA.com ranks him pretty high in the MVP race for the season. One spot ahead of bosh. The MVP rankings don't mean much thanks to Lebron James, but it does shine a little light on how the NBA.com writers compare Bosh to Dirk. Or perhaps more accurately Toronto to Dallas. Dirk's team wins more games.. There is a good player on every team and great players on a few teams and MVP's on winning teams. MVP's need to win games and Dallas has been winning games since Bosh was in high school. So I concede these ranks in Dirks favour. Anyways MVP rankings aside what I found interesting about the right up was the stat that compared Dirk to his PF opponents. Dirk, up until Feb 4th, has outscored his PF opponent by 10 or more points 30 times. 31 if you include the three games after. I think that's pretty impressive. Of course bosh is #2 with 23. 24 with the hurt he put on the Kings. Of course we already know that these two are premiere power forwards and when faced with opponents like Ronny Turiaf and Donte Greene, they should really be bringing the pain. So what this stat really brought to my mind is how these two pair up against each other.

In their two meeting this year:
November 7th, 2009
Dirk.

pts 29, rebs 9(0 offensive), ast 4, stls 2, Blks 1 TO 3 ... on 12-20 Shooting , 3-4 from 3pt range ,2-2 from the line , in 36 mins of play +26

Bosh
pts 26, rebs 12(6 offensive), ast 1, stls 1, blks 1, TO 3... on 8-16 Shooting , 9-11 from the line,
in 31 mins of play... he even hit a three -24

This game finished with a Dallas blowout. edge Dirk.

January 17th, 2010
Dirk
pts 19, rebs 3(0 offensive), ast 4, stls 1, blks 1, TO 1.... 9-15 Shooting, 0-1 from 3pt range,
1-4 from the line in 36 mins of play. -15

Bosh
pts 23, rebs 13(2 offensive), asts 2, stls 0 , blks 2, TO 0.....9-18 shooting, 5-6 from the line.
in 35 mins of play. +8

This game ended with a Toronto blowout leaving the season series tied at 1-1. score one for Bosh. Of course this doesn't really shed any light on who is a better player. Bosh doesn't really spend a lot of time guarding Dirk and in both those games the supporting cast for the winning team was playing extremely well. If anything it just made this comparison harder.

Now if you love John Hollinger and buy into the PER stat rankings than you know that Bosh is Ranked 4th behind James, Wade and Duncan. Nowitzki is ranked 14 just ahead of Pau Gasol. But like most people I don't really know how to make sense of that. I don't believe that Tim Duncan ,as good as he is playing, is a better player than Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant.

I guess I'm not sure who is better.
What a great post.