The reason the Raptors cannot Rebound the ball

In contrast to what you might read elsewhere on the net,

e.g. Raptors Rebounding Woes Continue

in the NBA, the inability to REBOUND the basketball on a consistent basis, as a TEAM, is not a “Concentration” issue; nor is it an issue of “failing to get into [opponents'] bodies”.

At this level of competition …

A team’s ability to REBOUND successfully is a “Personnel” issue. Period.

Relative to the position they are playing:

“++” Rebounders are major contributers;
“+” Rebounders are positive contributers;
“0″ Rebounders are neither positive nor negative contributers; and,
“-” Rebounders are negative contributers.

When you look at the Raptors’ roster, this is what you see:

PG /Calderon 0
OG/Kapono -
SF/Moon +
PF/Bosh +
C/O’Neal 0
———————
PG/Ukic 0
OG/Parker 0
SF/Graham +
PF/Humpries +
C/Bargnani -
———————
PG/Solomon 0
OG/Adams 0
PF/Jawai 0
C/Voskuhl -

A good Rebounding team in the NBA needs to have at least three [3] “+” Rebounders on the court at all times.

With their current roster, the Raptors do not fit into this category … plain and simple … because:

1. Specifically, given the “+” Rebounders they DO have on this team, the Raptors are choosing to play the WRONG players in combination with one another, so far this season;

and,

2. In general, there are NOT ENOUGH “+” Rebounders on the Raptors’ roster in the first place.

Until the Raptors fix THIS issue they will not be able to solve their Rebounding problem.

Oh, Thunder Road

Raptors fans …

So you’re scared and you’re thinking
That maybe we ain’t that young anymore
Show a little faith there’s magic in the night
You ain’t a beauty but hey you’re alright
Oh and that’s alright with me …

Going into tonight’s game, which of these two player rosters would you prefer, if you were a working GM in the NBA?

Oklahoma Thunder Active Roster
No.	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	DOB	Exp	College
4	Collison, Nick	FC	6-9	255	10/26/80	5	Kansas
35	Durant, Kevin	GF	6-9	215	9/29/88	1	Texas
22	Green, Jeff	F	6-9	235	8/8/86	1	Georgetown
51	Hill, Steven	FC	7-0	245	11/14/85	R	Arkansas
34	Mason, Desmond	GF	6-5	222	10/11/77	8	Oklahoma State
27	Petro, Johan	C	7-0	247	1/27/86	3	None
18	Sene, Mouhamed	C	6-11	230	5/12/86	2	None
7	Smith, Joe	PF	6-10	225	7/26/75	13	Maryland
31	Swift, Robert	C	7-1	270	12/3/85	4	None
25	Watson, Earl	PG	6-1	185	6/12/79	7	UCLA
5	Weaver, Kyle	G	6-6	201	2/18/86	R	Washington State
0	Westbrook, Russell	PG	6-3	190	11/12/88	R	UCLA
3	White, D.J.	PF	6-9	251	8/31/86	R	Indiana
54	Wilcox, Chris	FC	6-10	235	9/3/82	6	Maryland
21	Wilkins, Damien	GF	6-6	225	1/11/80	4	Georgia

Toronto Raptors Active Roster
No.	Player	Pos	Ht	Wt	DOB	Exp	College
3	Adams, Hassan	GF	6-4	230	6/20/84	2	Arizona
7	Bargnani, Andrea	FC	7-0	260	10/26/85	2	None
4	Bosh, Chris	FC	6-10	230	3/24/84	5	Georgia Tech
8	Calderon, Jose	PG	6-3	205	9/28/81	3	None
14	Graham, Joey	GF	6-7	230	6/11/82	3	Oklahoma State
43	Humphries, Kris	F	6-9	255	2/6/85	4	Minnesota
21	Jawai, Nathan	FC	6-10	285	10/10/86	R	Midland College
24	Kapono, Jason	GF	6-8	215	2/4/81	5	UCLA
33	Moon, Jamario	SF	6-8	200	6/13/80	1	Meridian (MS) CC
6	O’Neal, Jermaine	FC	6-11	260	10/13/78	12	None
18	Parker, Anthony	GF	6-6	215	6/19/75	11	Bradley
5	Solomon, Will	PG	6-1	180	7/20/78	7	Clemson
1	Ukic, Roko	G	6-5	190	12/5/84	R	None
23	Voskuhl, Jake	C	6-11	255	11/1/77	8	Connecticut

  – Player injured

——————————————-

One is $12.7 million over the Salary Cap; the other is $1.1 million under the Cap.

One has an average age of 24.7; the other an average age of 26.6.

One has 2 No. 1 [overall] NBA Draft Picks on it; the other has 1.

Both are led by first-time, interim head coaches.

Objectively speaking, when you’re hard-pressed to distinguish between the authentic talent levels of two teams in the NBA with respective W-L records as far apart as these … i.e. Toronto is 10-15, .400; Oklahoma is 2-24, .077 … it does not portend well for the squad with the higher win percentage, if it’s also playing away from home.

As the first game in a 6-stop Western road trip, this is now a crucial get for the Raptors. 

* Win tonight … and the up-coming match-ups against the Clippers, Kings and the Warriors will not look nearly so daunting.

* Lose tonight … and the Dinos will be staring straight into the abyss of a calamitous 10-game losing streak:

Sun Dec 14 vs New Orleans/15-7, .682 - LOSS
Mon Dec 15 vs New Jersey/12-12, .500 - LOSS
Wed Dec 17 vs Dallas/14-10, .583 - LOSS
Fr Dec 19 at Oklahoma City/2-24, 0.77 - ?
Sat Dec 20 at San Antonio/15-10, .600 – ? [L]
Mon Dec 22 at LA Clippers/7-18, .280 - ?
Fri Dec 26 at Sacramento/7-19, .269 - ?
Sat Dec 27 at Portland/17-10, .630 - ? [L]
Mon Dec 29 at Golden State/7-19, .269 - ?
Wed Dec 31 vs Denver/17-8, .680 - ? [L]

from which they might not be able recover this season.

On the road, in the NBA, is where a team – especially one that’s struggling – finds out exactly what it’s made of … and, whether it should either:

A. Sit tight, [and] take hold

or

B. Trade in these wings on some wheels.

Key early season games for the Raptors
Key early season games for the Raptors: Part II

Come Jan 01 2009, the Raptors will have their answer.

————–

“The door’s open but the ride it ain’t free.”
- Thunder Road [Bruce Springstein]

Solving the Riddle in Raptorville, in advance

Regular readers of this space already know that the Raptors should not have:

* Traded Rasho Nesterovic [PF/C], TJ Ford [PG], Maceo Baston [PF] and the 2008 No. 17 [overall] Draft Pick to the Pacers in exchange for Jermaine O’Neal [PF/C] and the 2008 No. 41 [overall] Draft Pick;

* Bought out the contract of Jorge Garbajosa [PF/SF/C];

* Failed to re-sign Carlos Delfino [SF/OG/PG];

* Signed Roko Ukic, as their back-up PG;

* Signed Will Solomon, as their insurance 3rd-string PG; and,

* Signed Hassan Adams, as their reserve Wing Player;

as it put their team in a highly vulnerable situation for this season, whereby, they:

* Are Over the Salary Cap;

* Are only $1,100 below the Luxury Tax Threshold; and,

* Only have a 13-man roster, in a league with a 15-player limit.

——————————————

What even these regular readers might not realize, however, is THIS CORNER’S:

* Antipathy towards the countless Woulda, Shoulda,  Coulda’s that are articulated by others, for the most, in hindsight only, after-the-fact;

* Focus on:

• Learning … from What’s Happened Before;
• Awareness & Appreciation for the Here & Now; and,
• Providing a Legitimate Prescription for Future Success, Short and Long Term.

In this regard, here is some of what’s appeared in this space, about the Raptors’ situation, this season, once their present roster was finalized this summer, given the strengths and weaknesses of the 13 players on their team.

* Raptors’ line-up … tough enough [or not] [Sep 08]
* Toronto Raptors’ Best 5-Man Unit [Sep 11]
* First good news out of Raptors’ camp [Oct 01]
* Second good news out of Raptors’ camp [Oct 02]

——————————————-

Now …

* After losing to the Lakers, in Los Angeles
* Getting embarassed by the Nuggets, in Denver
* Firing their head coach, Sam Mitchell
* Losing miserably to the Jazz, in Utah
* Getting nipped at the wire by the Blazers, at home, and
* Getting hammered by the Cavaliers, in Cleveland

Here’s what the Raptors’ rotation was last night:

Raptors	1	2	3	4	5	+/-
1st Q
Starters	Calderon	Kapono	Moon	Bosh	O’Neal	-2
Sub 1				Bargnani	Bosh	0
Sub 2				Graham		+6
Sub 3					O’Neal	0
Sub 4	Ukic					0
Sub 5		Solomon
2nd Q
Sub 6			Graham	Bargnani		-4
Sub 7	Calderon	Kapono	Bargnani	Bosh	O’Neal	+2
Sub 8			Moon			+7
Sub 9				Graham	Bosh	0
Sub 10					Bargnani
3rd Q
Sub 11				Bosh	O’Neal	+4
Sub 12			Graham	Bargnani	Bosh	-4
Sub 13					O’Neal
Sub 14	Ukic
Sub 15		Kapono				+2
4th Q
						-1
Sub 16	Calderon
Sub 17				Bosh
Sub 18				Bargnani	Bosh	+3
Sub 19			Moon	Bosh	O’Neal	-5
Sub 20		Moon	Graham			+3
Sub 21	Ukic	Solomon	Adams	Bargnani

Which, in turn, reveals the following things:

1. Calderon, Kapono & Moon … can, ideed, be a Solid Threesome for this team, with JC as the Facilitator, JK as the Designated Shooter & JM as the Designated Defender/Rebounder.

2. Calderon, Moon & Graham … can, indeed, be a solid Closing Group that makes the Raptors into a ”bigger” Rebounding and Defensive team, especially, in combination with O’Neal/Bargnani [at #4/PF] and Bosh [at #5/C].

3. When the Raptors do NOT make the mistake of playing Anthony Parker + Jason Kapono together with Jose Calderon … and, especially, in conjunction with Andrea Bargani … then, they can, indeed, be an effective team, in terms of Rebounding, Team Defense & Shared Team Offense.

4. When the Raptors do NOT use Bargnani at the #3/SF position … or, at least, use him there as little as possible … then, they can, indeed, be something other than an atrocious defensive team, especially in transition.

——————————————–

Once Kris Humphries and Anthony Parker return to good health, if the Raptors use them in the proper way …

i.e. with Parker as their back-up #1-2/PG-OG and Humphries as their Starting #4/PF …

within the parameters of what’s written here … re: #1, #2, #3 and #4, above, and the suggested rotations … there is every reason to believe that this team should be able to qualify for the Eastern Conference Playoffs this season.

———————–

The answer to the riddle is always to be found in the original source material.

Deciphering the correct code for the Raptors

FINAL SCORE: Raptors 93, Nuggets 132
Game Info

Jeez-louise … that one was ugly.

Three points to make.

1. The person responsible for the Raptors’ current situation is not Sam Mitchell, the team’s head coach … it is Bryan Colangelo, the team’s President/GM, who has made the decisions which have led this franchise dangerously close to “Treadmill Status” [right now], something that was relatively easy to see as a likely predicament for this group of players since this past summer, at least, for those who have not been drinking of the Kool-Aid from MLSE.

It’s not necessary to re-hash that long list again, is it?

[Let's hope not. ]

The 2nd-3rd week of December is approaching quickly, and the FACT IS … the man has a history of changing head coaches during this first part of the regular season, if/when there’s a need for a scapegoat to be found to explain the sorry plight of a team which he has been responsible for constructing in the first place.

Will he do it again this year?

Hmmm …

For the sake of the Raptors’ long term goal, which should be trying to eventually bring a NBA Championship to the City of Toronto, let’s hope not.

2. That said …

There are some individuals in this world who are positive thinkers … despite what certain others might have to say about them and their ideas, which can sometimes be complex and difficult to understand, especially at first glance … and incapable of ever accepting a No-win Situation, for what it appears to be, on the surface. These individuals, IN FACT, are properly characterized as out-of-the-box-thinkers who have learned the lessons well of Sun Tzu, and knowing both themselves and their opponent, at all times, are able to “Make chicken out of chicken salad”, on a regular basis, because it’s who they happen to be and what they happen to do in this world. Different strokes for different folks.

Finding THE WAY OUT for this year’s team is akin to the classic “trap scenario” involved with the single room, two doors [one which leads to eventual escape and salvation; the other which leads to death and damnation], two gate-keepers, one who always tells the truth and the other who always tells a lie; and, the single question which you, as the solo game player, must be able to ask correctly, of either gate-keeper, in order to choose the one RIGHT door, without knowing in advance which keeper is the truth-teller and which is the falsemaster.

i.e. All the pieces to the puzzle have been laid out in front of you already; what you have to do is decipher them correctly. Once the answer to the riddle has been told to you, it makes perfect sense. It is not earth-shaking, in any sense. It is simple “common” sense; which really isn’t common at all, at least, not until everyone IN FACT has it “in common” with each other, which unfortunately not all do in this topsy turvy world. Still, if you think it through carefully, there is nothing preventing you, or anyone else for that matter, from arriving at THE correct answer for yourself. One of the keys? “See” and “listen” very carefully, as “Looking” and “Hearing” alone, won’t get you very far. The answer to the riddle is always to be found in the original source material. Sorta like THE pudding and THE eating.

When a team’s roster of players looks like this:

Calderon, Parker, Bargnani, Bosh, O’Neal
Ukic, Kapono, Moon, Graham, Humphries
Solomon, Adams, Jawai

a coach who is incapable of negotiating his way through the labyrinth correctly SHOULD NOT be held accountable for failing to be an out-of-the-box-thinker, in the first place …

as the simple FACT IS … relatively speaking, few men/women are, including the President/GM responsible for the operation of the Toronto Raptors.

3. There are some NBA observers who actually do know what they’re talking about when it comes to understanding, both, the League, in general, and the Raptors, specifically. If you wish to disregard what they have to say, on a regular basis, that’s your decision to make.

Complex, out-of-the-box-thinking is not everyone’s preferred method of operation.

What you’ll see tonight is just how little the Raptors need their new $21 Million Man

It’s half-time of tonight’s Raptors [6-7] vs Bobcats [4-9] game, and this is what the Box Score looks like:

———————————————

Bobcats

			Field Goals				Rebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
E. Okafor	F	11:13	1-2	0-0	2-2	+1	1	5	6	1	2	2	0	1	0	4
G. Wallace	F	16:57	5-8	0-0	7-11	-2	0	3	3	1	2	1	1	0	1	17
A. Ajinca	C	04:00	1-4	0-0	0-0	-3	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
D. Augustin	G	21:18	1-2	1-2	3-3	-5	0	0	0	2	0	1	5	0	0	6
R. Felton	G	20:01	2-5	0-1	0-0	-2	0	1	1	4	0	1	1	0	0	4
J. Dudley		12:00	3-3	0-0	0-1	-6	1	1	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	6
A. Morrison		08:50	0-4	0-3	0-0	-6	1	1	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
M. Carroll		06:41	1-4	0-2	1-1	-3	0	1	1	1	1	0	1	0	0	3
N. Mohammed		07:29	0-1	0-0	0-0	-2	0	1	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0
S. May		06:25	2-2	0-0	0-0	+5	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	0	4
R. Hollins		05:06	0-1	0-0	0-0	-2	1	1	2	0	2	0	0	0	1	0
S. Brown		00:00	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		120	16-36	1-8	13-18		5	14	19	12	10	7	9	1		46
			44.4%	12.5%	72.2%		Team Rebs: 4				Total TO: 9

Raptors

			Field Goals				Rebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
C. Bosh	F	23:07	9-10	0-0	6-6	+1	1	3	4	0	2	1	1	2	0	24
J. Moon	F	12:06	1-3	1-1	0-0	+3	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	3
A. Bargnani	C	20:49	2-9	0-1	1-2	+2	2	4	6	2	2	0	2	2	1	5
J. Calderon	G	16:52	1-5	0-2	0-0	+4	0	2	2	4	1	0	2	0	0	2
A. Parker	G	18:02	2-3	1-2	0-0	0	1	1	2	2	0	2	2	0	0	5
K. Humphries		08:49	0-3	0-0	0-0	+6	0	2	2	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
J. Kapono		07:28	1-1	0-0	0-0	+3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2
R. Ukic		07:08	1-2	0-0	0-0	+1	0	1	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	2
J. Graham		05:39	2-2	0-0	4-4	+5	1	2	3	0	2	0	0	0	0	8
H. Adams		00:00	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
W. Solomon		00:00	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
J. O’Neal		00:00	-	-	-	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total		120	19-38	2-6	11-12		5	15	20	11	10	4	8	4		51
			50.0%	33.3%	91.7%		Team Rebs: 2				Total TO: 8

 Technical Fouls

TOR 2nd Qtr5:39 Chris Bosh

 Scoring

Lead Changes : 16

Times Tied : 12

ARENA STATS

 

Arena:

Air Canada Centre, Toronto, OT

Officials:

#50 O. Poole, #10 R. Garretson, #51 L. Richardson

Attendance:

-

Duration:

0:58

 

———————————————

Tonight marks the first game this season, the Raptors will be without Jermain O’Neal in their 12-man line-up.

Since their blockbuster trade with the Pacers was consummated this past summer, this corner has repeatedly said that the Raptors did not NEED to make this acquisition at this point during their attempted climb up the Eastern Conference standings.

Well, with O’Neal in their line-up, this team has performed at a .461 pace so far this season.

It says here & now that as long as O’Neal is not healthy enough to play for the Raptors this season … and, instead, their other younger and/or more athletic players [i.e. Andrea Bargnani, Kris Humphries, Jamario Moon, Joey Graham & Roko Ukic] get those available minutes of floor time … this team will perform in a similar or slightly better way as they’ve done to this point with JO as their Starting Center.

THAT’S how little this Raptors’ team actually NEEDS Jermaine O’Neal on the floor.

—————————-

UPDATE:

• The Raptors are up by 5 points with 4:58 remaining in the 4th Q.
• They are being hurt right now by keeping Kapono on the floor with Calderon, Parker, Bargnani & Bosh. J-Killa is simply not athletic enough to play beside Calderon and Parker and Bargnani, none of whom are High End NBA Athletes in their own right.
• Returning Graham to the game, for Kapono, or going with Moon, instead, will address this problem.
• Graham returns for Kapono.
• Raptors now ahead by 3 pts.
• Okafor with a hoop, Raptors now ahead by 1pt.
• Bosh hits a jumper from the TOTK. Raptors ahead by 3 pts.
• Calderon to Graham at the front of the rim for a dunk. Raptors ahead by 5 pts. Time-out [Full] Charlotte.
• Felton, offensive foul. Drawn charge by Bargnani.
• Augustin misses with a runner. Shot altered by Bargnani & Bosh in the lane. 
• Calderon makes a dribble left pull-up jumper over Felton. Raptors ahead by 7 pts.
• Steal by Graham.
• Raptors win, 93-86.

——————

Here’s the final Box Score and the in-game Play-By-Play for you to examine for yourself.

Game Review: Raptors at Lakers, Oct 19

FINAL SCORE: Raptors 89, Lakers 112
Game Information

The fundamental inequities which exist between the rosters of these two teams were on full display in last night’s exhibition game.

———————————————-

At the 02:41 mark of the 3rd Quarter, the Lakers made 3 substitutions:

* Replacing V-Radmanovic with Lamar Odom,
* Replacing D-Fisher with Trevor Ariza, and
* Replacing A-Bynum with Jordan Farmar;

while, the Raptors made 1 substitution:

* Replacing A-Parker with Jason Kapono.

9 seconds later, at the 02:32 mark, the Raptors made a 2nd substitution:

* Replacing J-Calderon with Roko Ukic;

and leaving each team with the following line-ups on the court:

RAPTORS – Ukic [PG], Adams [OG/SF], Kapono [SF/OG], Bargnani [C/PF] & O’Neal [PF/C]

LAKERS – Farmar [PG], Bryant [OG/SF], Ariza [SF/OG], Odom [PF] & Gasol [C]

After Jason Kapono made 2 Free Throws to put the Raptors ahead, 72-70, the Lakers closed the quarter with a 10-4 run which put them up, 80-76. 

During the run, the Raptors made 1 substitution, at the 00:30 mark:

* Replacing J-O’Neal with Chris Bosh.

To open the 4th Quarter, the Raptors made no new substitutions, while the Lakers made 2 substitutions:

* Replacing K-Bryant with Luke Walton, and
* Replacing P-Gasol with Chris Mihm;

leaving them with the following line-up:

LAKERS – Farmar [PG], Ariza [OG/SF], Walton [SF/OG], Odom [PF] & Mihm [C].

Without bringing Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, or Andrew Bynum back into the game, the Lakers then outscored the Raptors in the 4th Quarter, 32-13, to seal their victory.

The following table indicates the substitutions made by each team during these respective phases of the game:

RAPTORS	Time	Score	LAKERS
	3rd Q
Calderon, Adams, Parker, Bargnani, O’Neal	02:42	70-70	Fisher, Bryant, Radmanovic, Gasol, Bynum
Calderon, Adams, Kapono, O’Neal, Bargnani	02:41	70-70	Farmar, Bryant, Ariza, Odom, Gasol
Ukic, Adams, Kapono, O’Neal, Bargnani	02:32	72-70
Ukic, Adams, Kapono, Bosh, Bargnani	00:30	76-77
	4th Q
	12:00	76-80	Farmar, Ariza, Walton, Odom, Mihm
	06:23	83-96	Farmar, Ariza, Walton, Powell, Mihm
Ukic, Adams, Moon, Humphries, Bargnani	05:42	84-98
	03:28	86-104	Farmar, Ariza, Yue, Powell, Mbenga
	00:00	89-112

while the final table reflects the playing time alotted to each player for both teams who saw action during these two sequences of the 3rd and 4th Quarters: 

 

RAPTORS	Minutes	LAKERS	Minutes
Calderon	00.09	Fisher	00:01
Adams	14:41	Bryant	02:41
Parker	00:01	Radmanovic	00:01
Bosh	06:48	Bynum	00:01
O’Neal	02:11	Gasol	02:41
Ukic	14:32	Farmar	14:41
Kapono	08:59	Ariza	14:41
Moon	05:42	Odom	08:18
Bargnani	14:41	Walton	08:32
		Mihm	08:32
		Powell	06:23
		Yue	03:28
		Mbenga	03:28

———————————————-

When assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the Raptors and the Lakers, it is comical to think that some other NBA observers are actually considering the current version of the Raptors:

1. To be a ‘legitimate’ contending team in the NBA this season; or,

2. To be a ‘legitimate’ contending team in the Eastern Conference this season.

As is … the cold, hard, reality is: 

I) When Jose Calderon is not in the game, the Raptors do not have a capable back-up Point Guard who they can use to run their team against a high calibre opponent.

[Note 1: In part, this is because they have shown little to no interest, thus far, in using Anthony Parker ... a capable ball-handler and decision-maker ... in this capacity.]

II) When some combination of Chris Bosh, Jermaine O’Neal and Kris Humphries are not on the court together, the Raptors are incapable of rebounding the ball in a way which is consistent with being a legitimate contending team in the NBA … given the deficiencies of their back-up players, like Andrea Bargnani [C/PF], Jason Kapono [SF/OG], Hassan Adams [OG/SF] and Roko Ukic [PG], in this specific area of the game.

III) The absence of QUALITY DEPTH on the Raptors’ roster is going to be an achilles heel for their team this season, in comparison with the other top flight teams in the NBA this season,

e.g. Boston Celtics, LA Lakers, Detroit Pistons, New Orleans Hornets, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and Portland Trail Blazers;

as well as, the other 2nd & 3rd tier teams that are in the ‘chase pack’ alongside Toronto.

To those in Raptorville who might be more inclined to listen now

Since the Jermaine O’Neal trade was first announced, this corner has said repeatedly that this move alone was NOT going to solve the Raptors’ REBOUNDING problem … which occurs when they play against a high calibre opponent with as much or more ‘athleticism’ at the 5 positions on the floor, in comparison with Toronto’s line-up.

When this current collection of Raptors matches-up with a team like this current group of 76ers … what you’re going to get, more often than not, is a ‘Board Deficit’ like you saw in yesterday’s encounter:

Box Score: Philadelphia 85, Toronto 79

There are specific ways to effectively address a team’s REBOUNDING problem … when it’s the type of problem the Raptors have had for the last two years … but, one of them is NOT:

* To trade your team’s 2nd best Rebounder [who is also your best Low Post Defender, i.e. Nesterovic]
* To include a flip-flop of 1st & 2nd Round Draft Picks [which turns out to be ... THEY get Roy Hibbert; YOU get Nathan Jawai!!!]
* To include your back-up PG in the deal [Ford]
* To include a throw-away Big from the end of the bench [Baston]
* Plus, decide to let another throw-away Big from the end of the bench to walk for nothing [Brezec]
* Plus, decide to let a useful player like Carlos Delfino walk away for nothing
* Plus, decide to let a VERY useful player like Jorge Garbajosa do the same

… in exchange for adding:

* Either inexperienced and/or marginal players like Jawai, Roko Ukic, Hassan Adams, and Will Solomon
* Plus, a veteran player like Jermaine O’Neal, who is returning from a series of leg injuries.

That ^^^, right there, is like making a 7 for 4 deal, where …

Toronto Loses: Nesterovic + Ford + Hibbert + Baston + Brezec + Delfino + Garbajosa

and

Toronto Adds: O’Neal + Jawai + Adams + Solomon

[strictly speaking Ukic cannot be included amongst the additions since his rights already belonged to the Raptors]

in which 5 of the 6 players who you know already can play effectively in the NBA, in some capacity, are going the other way … while you are getting ‘the best player’, overall … but, who you can only HOPE is going to regain his effectiveness coming off his most recent injury.

THAT ^^^, right there, is a BAD TRADE.

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By trying to make a ‘blockbuster’ trade this summer … instead of simply moving TJ Ford for a back-up, serviceable, Wing player like Rodney Carney … and promoting Calderon to the starter’s position … and, THEN, holding onto Nesterovic, Delfino & Garbajosa, until further notice … what the Raptors have done now is, in fact, ROLL THE DICE big time that they do not pick up any sort of serious injury to Bosh, O’Neal or Calderon, and can survive these next two years with their current line-up intact, while not dropping down into the #9-12 spots in the EC, where they would be a DEFINITE ‘treadmill’ team … i.e not good enough to make the playoffs and not bad enough to get a high NBA DRAFT Lottery Pick anytime soon … waiting for the 2010-2011 season when they will once again have some wiggle room under the Salary Cap/Luxury Tax Threshold to add/subtract players to/from their roster.

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Which, in turn … given the Raptors’ current player roster … is part of the reason they SHOULD think long and hard, right now, about:

* Removing Anthony Parker from their starting line-up
* Shifting Jamario Moon to the #2-spot
* Inserting Joey Graham into the starting line-up
* Using AP as the primary back-up PG/OG, coming off the bench
* Removing Jermaine O’Neal from the starting line-up
* Inserting Kris Humphries into the starting line-up, as the partner for CB4
* Using O’Neal [PF] and Bargnani [C] together, as the Bigs with their 2nd Unit
* Using Jason Kapono for instant offense off the bench, as a spot player on the Wing with either the 1st or 2nd Units, at a later point in the game when the situation dictates
* Using a system of higly structured set plays which would allow limited offensive players like Graham, Moon, Humphries, and Bargnani to function at their maximum level of efficiency by only shooting ‘designated’ shots …

and, thereby, create a better balanced rotation for this Raptors’ team, which accounts for and integrates the areas of Rebounding, Defense and Team Offense.

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Then, again … this corner could always be proven wrong about this … over the course of time.

Pacers and Raptors … moving forward from here

There’s an interesting interview with Larry Bird on NBA.com today which gives his interpretation of the Pacers’ situation looking forward to this season and their future in the next few years ahead.

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NBA.com: What do you see as the No. 1 area of improvement for the Pacers this season?
Larry Bird: Obviously we have to get better on the defensive end. Last year we committed too many fouls and we didn’t defend the three-point shot. So overall our defense has to get better to win games. Offensively, we’ll score a lot of points. Defense was the problem last year. As far as the team goes, I think we did something in the draft to help us overall, and I think we solidified our point guard position with Travis [Diener],T.J., and Jarrett Jack so we’re very strong in that area right now.

NBA.com: How big of an impact will rookie Roy Hibbert have on the defensive end in the role of shot blocker, overall defensive presence?
Larry Bird: It’s always good to have a big guy in there. Without Jermaine last year we didn’t have that potential to block shots. With Roy in there he takes up a lot of space and even if we don’t block a lot of shots, you can get guys to shoot up over him and maybe distract them a little bit. I think it’s going to be a major plus for us. Obviously he’s a rookie and he’s got a lot of learning to do, but in the long run he’ll be fine.

NBA.com: Who is the team leader?
Larry Bird: I think it can be a couple guys. We’ve had some players around here just waiting for the opportunity to step in and I think now they’ll look at the training camp and go through and you’ll sort of see after a while who the players gravitate to.

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What’s of most interest to this corner is:

(1) The possible location of two former Raptors on Indiana’s current depth chart, i.e. TJ Ford and Rasho Nesterovic; and,

(2) The overall level of optimism Larry Legend has for the likes of Mike Dunleavy, Danny Granger, Troy Murphy, Roy Hibbert, et al., as a core group of players which the Pacers can build around over the next few seasons …

specifically, in comparison with the current roster of the Pacers’ trading partner in the deal they made this summer for Jermaine O’Neal.

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2008-2009
A) Raptors’ Current Roster	B) Pacers’ Current Roster
1 PG – Jose Calderon *	1 PG – Travis Diener *
2 OG – Anthony Parker	2 OG/SF – Mike Dunleavy
3 SF – Jamarion Moon	3 SF – Danny Granger
4 PF – Chris Bosh *	4 PF - Troy Murphy *
5 C – Jermaine O’Neal **	5 C – Rasho Nesterovic **
6 PG – Will Solomon **	6 PG – TJ Ford **
7 OG – Jason Kapono	7 OG – Brandon Rush **
8 SF – Joey Graham	8 SF – Marquis Daniels
9 PF – Kris Humphries	9 PF – Austin Croshere **
10 C – Andrea Bargnani	10 C – Jeff Foster
11 PG/OG – Roko Ukic **	11 PG/OG – Jarrett Jack **
12 OG/SF – Hassan Adams **	12 PG – Roy Hibbert **
13 PF/C – Nathan Jawai **	13 SF – Stephen Graham
14 ? PF – Jamal Sampson **	14 SF/PF – Shawne Williams
15 ?	15 PF – Josh McRoberts **
LEGEND: * New Role this season; ** New Player Added

While most of the ’2008-2009 NBA Season Forecasts’ these eyes have read, thus far, see the Pacers finishing toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference; and, the Raptors with a solid chance to finish in the top third of the EC … looking strictly at the rosters of these two teams, paints a very different picture in the mind of this NBA connoisseur.

Is it possible that the Raptors manage to navigate the entire NBA season without a significant injury to one [or more] of their key players [i.e. Bosh, O'Neal or Calderon]?

Yes it is.

If so … then, it is certainly possible to see how the Raptors might finish this campaign higher in the EC standings than the Pacers.

However, on the flip side … even if Toronto goes injury-free this year …

Is it also possible to see how this Pacers’ roster … with the Quality Depth it has … might, in fact, be able to generate just as many W’s this season as the Toronto Raptors?

Yes it is … if Larry legend is correct and the players he’s mentioned are indeed capable of stepping up their games to assume Leadership Roles with their team this season.

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From the perspective of this corner, these are just two of many teams in the EC that could realistically finish anywhere from #6-14 this season should the breaks go their way or not.

You make the call … on the Raptors’ roster

Which one of these two player rosters would you prefer to have, going forward from this point, if you were Jerry West and you were the GM for the Toronto Raptors?

[please read the question carefully]

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2008-2009
A) Raptors’ Current Roster	B) khandor’s Raptors’ Roster
1 PG – Jose Calderon *	1 PG – Jose Calderon *
2 OG – Anthony Parker	2 OG/SF – Jamario Moon *
3 SF – Jamarion Moon	3 SF – Joey Graham *
4 PF – Chris Bosh *	4 PF – Kris Humphries *
5 C – Jermaine O’Neal **	5 C – Chris Bosh *
6 PG – Will Solomon **	6 PG/OG – Anthony Parker *
7 OG – Jason Kapono	7 OG/SF – Jason Kapono
8 SF – Joey Graham	8 PF – Andrea Bargnani
9 PF – Kris Humphries	9 C – Rasho Nesterovic
10 C – Andrea Bargnani
11 PG/OG – Roko Ukic **	10 OG/SF – Rodney Carney **
12 OG/SF – Hassan Adams **	11 PG – Roko Ukic **
	12 PF/C – Austin Croshere **
13 PF/C – Nathan Jawai **	13 SF/OG/PG – Carlos Delfino
14 ? PF – Jamal Sampson **	14 PG/OG/SF – Julius Hodge **
15 ?	15 PF – Joey Dorsey or SF – CDR **
LEGEND: * New Role this season; ** New Player Added

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1. Make a choice between A or B.
2. Provide your rationale, if possible.

On paper … the best team the Raptors have had

According to a quote attributed to Bryan Colangelo yesterday …

This is ‘best’ Raptors team on paper, GM Colangelo says
Bryan Colangelo considered the question and considered the moment and considered the circumstances in which the query was posed. And then he offered a qualified answer about the talent level of this incarnation of the Toronto Raptor roster.

“On paper, in terms of just pure talent, I would say, yes, this is the best team we’ve had,” the Raptor president and general manager said Monday afternoon.

So off they go to training camp, a merry band of just 13 players but a group richer in individual talent than has been put together in Toronto in years. No games have been played, no practices have been held so every question about the season came with qualifications but the over-riding feeling out of the annual media day was of unbridled enthusiasm.

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Hmmmmm ….

Here’s the team’s current roster:

’08-09 W-L Rec’d-? Playoff Finish-? Coach: Mitchell-S

STARTERS O’Neal-J Bosh-C Moon-J Parker-A Calderon-J

KEY BENCH SUBS Ukic-R Kapono-J Bargnani-A

RESERVES Solomon-W Adams-H Graham-J Humphries-K Jawai-N

and here’s a snapshot of the previous 9 teams [1999-2008] in Raptors’ history:

Toronto Raptors’ Roster 1999-2008
‘99-00 45-37 1st Rd – NYK Carter-B	‘00-01 47-35 2nd Rd – PHI Wilkens-L	’01-02 42-40 1st Rd - Wilkens-L
Davis-A Oakley-C Christie-D Carter-V McGrady-T	Davis-A Oakley-C Peterson-M Carter-V Williams-A	Olajuwon-H Davis-A Peterson-M Carter-V Williams-A
Bogues-M Brown-D Curry-D Thomas-J Willis-K	Childs-C Curry-D Clark-K Williams-J Montross-E	Childs-C Curry-D Murray-T Clark-K Williams-J
Williams-A Workman-H Marks-S Stewart-M Radojevic-A	Murray-T N’diaye-M Stewart-M	N’diaye-M Stewart-M Montross-E
’02-03 24-58 DNQ Wilkens-L	’03-04 33-49 DNQ O’Neill-K	’04-05 35-47 DNQ Mitchell-S
Davis-A Williams-J Peterson-M Carter-V Williams-A	Bosh-C Marshall-D Rose-J Carter-V Williams-A	Bosh-C Marshall-D Rose-J Carter-V Alston-R
Alston-R Lenard-V Jefferies-C Bradley-M McCoy-J	Palacio-M Peterson-M Curry-M Moiso-J Blount-C	Palacio-M Peterson-M Murray-L Bonner-M
Hamilton-Z N’diaye-M Huffman-N Foster-G Long-A Baston-M Brown-D Hunter-L	Strickland-R Glover-D Mason, Jr. Murray-L Archibald-R	Cook-O Williams-E Moiso-J Williams-Aa Araujo-R Sow-P Woods-L
’05-06 27-55 DNQ Mitchell-S	’06-07 47-35 1st Rd – NJN Mitchell-S	’07-08 39-39 (at present) 1st Rd – ORL Mitchell-S
Bosh-C Villanueva-C Rose-J Peterson-M James-M	Bosh-C Garbajosa-J Peterson-M Parker-A Ford-TJ	Bosh-C Nesterovic-R Moon-J Parker-A Ford-TJ
Calderon-J Graham-J Bonner-M Araujo-R	Calderon-J Dixon-L Graham-J Nesterovic-R	Calderon-J Delfino-C Kapono-J Bargnani-A
Barrett-A Martin-D Williams-E Williams-A Williams-Aa Sow-P Davis-A Woods-L	Martin-D Jones-F Tucker-PJ Jackson-L Sow-P Bargnani-A Humphries-K Sow-P Slokar-U	Martin-D Graham-J Johnson-L Humphries-K Baston-M Brezec-P

Does it seem to you as though this might, in fact, be the one with the most ‘pure talent’ on it?

Or …

How about just in the last 3 years? 
[since the start of Bryan Colangelo's tenure with the team]

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Cause unless these eyes have suddenly lost their ability to see with any degree of acuity … this statement is very, very far away from being accurate.

According to the judgment of this corner … there are, at least, 5 other teams on that list which, on paper, are superior to the current version of the Rapshow … i.e. ’99-00, ’00-01, ’01-02, ’06-07 and ’07-08.

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It is going to be a very interesting season in Raptorville.

NOTE:
* Heart concerns sideline Raptors’ Jawai
* Spotlight squarely on Raptors’ Bargnani
* O’Neal ready to take his lumps