Bryan Colangelo, unplugged [Dec 08]

“The answer to the riddle is found in the original source material.”
- khandor

As a Raptors fan, you need to Listen to the whole thing.

Of Scorpions, frogs, GM’s and coaches [April 30, 2008]

Nothing more and nothing less than THAT.

Tough ‘talk’ … from a NBA coach’s perspective

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” – Anonymous

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With the ‘taunting‘ that took place in the Raptors vs Celtics game, earlier this week, and the ‘skirmish‘ which then developed in the Rockets vs Suns ’tussle’ … What qualifies as authentic Toughness, in the NBA today? … is a pertinent subject.

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Mitchell’s tough talk
“We want to be tougher from the standpoint of playing tougher defence, but I don’t get into that toughness thing,” Mitchell said. “The NBA has rules and no one is going to let you physically beat anyone up, and you can’t get into a guys face and trash talk or wave your finger in a guy’s face,” he added, clearly taking a shot at the crew that officiated the game in Boston on Monday and let Kevin Garnett do just that without being penalized.

“For me that stuff doesn’t mean anything,” Mitchell said. “For me toughness is executing. Going to set picks when you are supposed to set picks. Make hard cuts. Run the floor. Those types of things. Being mentally tough for me is when the game comes to a grind, being able to execute. That other stuff is more for the cameras. You really want to find out who is tough? Meet me behind the arena or in a back alley where it’s just you and I. Then you find out who is tough and who is fake tough because the camera is on.”

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Know that this space agrees 100% with the perspective of the Raptors’ head coach.

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Of particular interest, though, is the extent to which, the sentiments expressed by yours truly, sometimes, elsewhere in the blogosphere [in this case, yesterday] …

Sixers exact revenge as Wings waste Big 3 effort, Comment #119

… have a n almost magical way of preceding [by a day or two] echoing that which a real life NBA coach has to say on a specific matter.

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The good people at RaptorsRepublic.com are off to a fine start with their new venture.

This corner of the net would simply encourage all Raptors fans, everywhere around the globe and beyond, to drop by and participate freely in the lively exchange of thoughts and ideas which happens there daily, concerning the fortunes of this franchise.

Where for art thou Phoenix?

Actually, it’s a super interesting process …

Whither the Suns: An Update

gradually becoming more and more active on-line, in a variety of different places.

Where they’ll go from here

The NBA’s pre-season is now complete.

These are the final standings:

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2008-2009 Conference Preseason Standings
Eastern Conference
Eastern	W	L	PCT	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	L 10	STREAK
Orlando	6	1	0.857	0.0	4-1	4-1	3-1	3-0	6-1	W 6
Boston	6	2	0.750	0.5	5-2	3-2	3-1	3-1	6-2	W 2
Detroit	6	2	0.750	0.5	5-1	3-0	3-2	3-0	6-2	L 1
Atlanta	5	3	0.625	1.5	4-1	3-1	1-2	4-1	5-3	W 1
Philadelphia	4	3	0.571	2.0	4-3	4-1	1-2	3-1	4-3	W 1
Chicago	4	4	0.500	2.5	1-1	1-1	2-3	2-1	4-4	W 3
Indiana	4	4	0.500	2.5	1-0	1-0	3-1	1-3	4-4	W 1
Toronto	4	4	0.500	2.5	1-1	1-1	2-3	2-1	4-4	L 2
New Jersey	3	4	0.429	3.0	2-4	1-4	1-3	2-1	3-4	W 1
New York	3	4	0.429	3.0	3-4	3-4	0-3	3-1	3-4	L 2
Cleveland	3	5	0.375	3.5	3-3	0-1	2-3	1-2	3-5	W 1
Miami	2	5	0.286	4.0	0-3	0-1	1-3	1-2	2-5	W 1
Washington	2	5	0.286	4.0	0-2	0-0	0-2	2-3	2-5	L 1
Milwaukee	1	7	0.125	5.5	0-3	0-3	1-3	0-4	1-7	L 3
Charlotte	0	8	0.000	6.5	0-4	0-4	0-2	0-6	0-8	L 8
Western Conference
Western	W	L	PCT	GB	CONF	DIV	HOME	ROAD	L 10	STREAK
New Orleans	7	0	1.000	0.0	2-0	1-0	4-0	3-0	7-0	W 7
Denver	5	1	0.833	1.5	3-1	2-1	3-0	2-1	5-1	W 2
L.A. Lakers	6	2	0.750	1.5	2-2	1-1	6-2	0-0	6-2	W 6
Minnesota	6	2	0.750	1.5	2-1	2-1	3-1	3-1	6-2	W 1
Houston	5	2	0.714	2.0	5-0	3-0	3-1	2-1	5-2	W 3
Phoenix	5	2	0.714	2.0	3-0	1-0	2-1	3-1	5-2	W 3
Golden State	4	2	0.667	2.5	2-1	0-0	3-0	1-2	4-2	W 2
Portland	4	3	0.571	3.0	3-3	0-2	2-2	2-1	4-3	L 1
Utah	4	3	0.571	3.0	3-2	2-1	1-1	3-2	4-3	W 2
Dallas	4	4	0.500	3.5	1-0	0-0	2-2	2-2	4-4	L 2
L.A. Clippers	4	4	0.500	3.5	2-3	2-1	0-4	4-0	4-4	L 3
San Antonio	3	4	0.429	4.0	0-2	0-2	1-3	2-1	3-4	L 2
Memphis	2	6	0.250	5.5	0-2	0-2	2-2	0-4	2-6	L 4
Oklahoma City	1	6	0.143	6.0	0-5	0-1	0-1	1-5	1-6	L 3
Sacramento	1	7	0.125	6.5	1-7	0-2	1-3	0-4	1-7	L 6

 x-Clinched Playoff Berth | e-Clinched Eastern Conference | a-Clinched Atlantic Division | c-Clinched Central Division |
 se-Clinched Southeast Division | w-Clinched Western Conference | sw-Clinched Southwest Division |
 nw-Clinched Northwest Division | p-Clinched Pacific Division | o-Eliminated from Playoffs contention

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Fans should take a close look at where their favourite team is at today … and, then, compare this reality to the final regular season standings which they’ll see in April, 2009, as the little bolded letters get placed beside the playoff-bound teams’ names in the far-left column.

Time to Let the games begin, in earnest …

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Mano a Mano

Certified

Bad Boyz II

Sunrise, Sunset

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2nd Coming

… because this is going to be a terrific year, in the NBA!

Taking on all comers

Reading this specific blog entry … precipitated the following thought:

If you could construct your ideal 12-man team of current NBA players, who would you select?

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Hmmmmmmm …

From that many possibilities, there would be some exceptionally difficult choices to make … and a lot of supremely talented and valuable players left out in the cold.

Regardless … according to these eyes,

these are the Dirtiest Dozen, in the NBA today:

[listed by position & role]

Starters
PG – Lebron James … far and away his best and most natural position
G/F – Dwyane Wade … the best, taking it to the rack, in the half-court
G/F – Kobe Bryant … Samarai Warrior
PF - Kevin Garnett … Rebounding & Energy are thy true names
C – Greg Oden [my, oh, my] … that’s right, before he’s played a game 

Key Bench Subs
PG – Deron Williams … well-balanced in every respect
G/F – Manu Ginobili … the best 6th Man in existence
PF/C – Tim Duncan … the best combo Big in existence

Reserves
PG – Steve Nash … still the best facilitaor in the business, bar none
G/F – Tracy McGrady … multi-purpose player
PF/C – Amare Stoudemire … multi-purpose player
PF/C – Rasheed Wallace … multi-purpose player

Coach – Philip Patrick Jackson Riley … ‘The Sacred Winner Hoops Within’

“Train them … Excite them … and, Turn them Loose … “

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There you go!

Now … Which 12 players would you choose for your team?

[PLEASE NOTE: Who you choose, in what positions & roles, and who you leave out, says a lot about your unique vision of the game.]

Filling in the gaps for the Suns

Further to: Whither the Suns in the Western Conference 

A report yesterday indicates that a new ‘Starting 5′ is on the way, in Phoenix, this season …

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Barnes expected to start; Hill to come off the bench
“ … in a roundabout way, Matt Barnes adds depth to the team, as he will be starting and Grant Hill will move to the bench this season.

This last point just about floored everyone in attendance [at the Suns' Fantasy Camp], but it sounds like this is what Coach Porter and Hill want to do [according to Suns' President Rick Welts, who addressed the campers directly].”

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If accurate … it’s another step in the right direction for the Suns, by the Terry Porter/Steve Kerr tandem, as the following new line-up:

STARTERS:
1 – Nash
2 - Bell
3 - Barnes
4 - Stoudemire
5 - O’Neal

SUBS:
1 – Singeletary
1 - Dragic
1/2 – Leandro Barbosa
2/3 – Hill
3/2 – Tucker
4/3 – Diaw
4 – Amundson
5 – Lopez

is a better balanced set-up than Mike D’Antoni’s prior alternative versions.

UPDATE: Confirmation that Grant Hill would be on-board with this proposed shift in Phoenix. [Wed Sep 24 2008]

Whither the Suns in the Western Conference

At the beginning of last season, this corner forecast the precipatous decline of ‘Seven Seconds or Less‘ … and then went on to proclaim early-on that, after 3 years at-or-near the top of the Western Conference, knocking on the door of the NBA Finals, Phoenix WOULD NOT EVEN MAKE IT OUT OF THE 1st ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS LAST SEASON …

* NBA Playoffs Preview [2007-2008]
* Legitimate Contenders in the NBA: Part IV
* Eclipse of The Suns: An Update
* Hubris, The Big Aristotle and the Phoenix Suns
* Eclipse of the Suns

which is precisely what happened.

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Looking back on 2007-2008 …

Q1. What exactly did the Suns accomplish, since the start of last season?
A1. By …

* Replacing Mike D’Antoni with Steve Kerr [former PG with the Bulls & Spurs]
* Adding Grant Hill [6-8, 225]
* Replacing Shawn Marion [6-7, 230] with Shaquille O’Neal [7-1, 325]
* Replacing Mike D’Antoni with Terry Porter [former PG with the Blazers]
* Retaining & then elevating Alando Tucker [6-6, 205]
* Adding Robin Lopez [7-0, 255], Matt Barnes [6-7, 226], Goran Dragic [6-4, 180], Sean Singletary [6-0, 185] and Louis Amundson [6-9, 225]

they’ve changed the entire culture of the organization … AND dramatically improved their chances of returning to the upper echelon of the Western Conference next season and beyond.

That’s what they’ve done in Phoenix over the last 12 months.

Whereas, last year at this time, the Suns were an ALL OFFENSE, NO DEFENSE & POOR REBOUNDING team, using a bandjo-tight 8-man rotation … with almost no legit chance to ever win four [4] consecutive series in the NBA playoffs [what it takes to claim the title!] … as they head to training camp this year … this is NO LONGER the eternal and/or external make-up of this team.

THIS TEAM, this season … with the line-up it can now put on the floor, night-in and night-out:

STARTERS
1 – Nash [6-3, 178]
2 – Bell [6-5, 215]
3 – Hill
4 – Stoudemire [6-10, 249] 
5 – Shaq
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KEY BENCH SUBS
1 – Singletary [or Dragic]
2/1 – Barbosa [6-3, 202]
3/2 – Tucker [or Barnes]
4/3 – Diaw [6-8, 235] [or Amundson]
5 – Lopez
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RESERVES
1 – Dragic [or Singletary]
3 – Barnes [or Tucker]
4 – Amundson
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HEALTHY SCRATCHES
3 – Piatkowski [?]
4/5 – Marks [?]

is as deep and athletically talented as any other outfit in the Western Conference,

this side of the LA Lakers, and

has a solid chance to return to the Western Conference Playoffs … WITH a legit opportunity to win a round or two and, possibly, advancing to the WC Finals, once again … as an upper echelon team, in the NBA.

By returning the focus in Phoenix to what makes for a championship calibre product, in this League … i.e. a commitment to REBOUNDING, Team Defense and a Balanced [higly structured] Team Offense … Steve Kerr may have accomplished in just one season at the helm something which Jerry Colangelo, Bryan Colangelo & Mike D’Antoni [before him] were NOT able to do over the course of their careers in the ‘Valley of the Sun’ … i.e. transform this team into a LEGITIMATE CONTENDER for an NBA championship … i.e. please see, What it takes to win the NBA Championship.

Which is not an easy feat … working for an owner with the reputation of one Robert Sarver.

Q2. Could it be … ‘The Rising of a New Sun[s] in Phoenix‘ this season? 
A2. Yes, Sir, indeed … it just might be that exact thing.

El Matador es el numero ocho

[as a follow-up to last week's entry ... Ranking Jose Calderon as a PG]

Given the list of players who customarily play the Point Guard position for their respective teams in the NBA, this is how they now rank, in the eyes of this corner:

[previous ranking]

1. Deron Williams [5] … the best combination of PG skills today
2. Chauncey Billups [1] … when healthy, still formidable
3. Chris Paul [7] … only drawback is his lack of size
4. Tony Parker [4] … still plagued by periods of erratic decision-making
5. Steve Nash [3] … inconsistent D & now age beginning to take their toll
6. Jason Kidd [2] … major slippage noticed this past season; REBOUNDING king
7. Baron Davis [6] … multi-dimensional but where will playoff success come from?
8. Jose Calderon [8] … physically sound, steadily improving & just entering the prime of his career

That said … if there was one game to be played next season with the outcome to determine the fate of the hypothetical team GM’d by khandor’s sports blog, in the NBA … Brandon Roy would have the ball in his hands with the shot clock ticking down, on behalf of that team.

NOTE: Thanks to those who submitted comments and voted during the past week; unfortunately, not enough in total to serve as a valid ‘informal’ poll.

Ranking Jose Calderon as a Point Guard

Saw this quote two days ago in a solid Olympic Scouting Report [courtesy of Xavier, a European coach, at Forum Blue and Gold]:

“Jose Calderon would be a starter in 25 of the 30 NBA teams … “

and, as you might expect by now, it started the wheels a-turning.

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Where exactly does El Matador [Jose Calderon] stack up in today’s NBA, versus the likes of:

[in alphabetical order]

Alston, Rafer; Arenas, Gilbert; Barbosa, Leandro; Bibby, Mike; Billups, Chauncey; Blake, Steve; Calderon, Jose; Conley, Mike Jr.; Davis, Baron; Duhon, Chris; Ellis, Monta; Felton, Raymond; Fisher, Derek; Ford, TJ; Foye, Randy; Gibson, Daniel; Gordon, Ben; Harris, Devan; Hinrich, Kirk; Iverson, Allen; Jack, Jarrett; Kidd, Jason; Livingston, Shaun; Lowry, Nick; Marbury, Stephon; Miller, Andre; Nash, Steve; Nelson, Jameer; Parker, Tony; Paul, Chris; Ridnour, Luke; Rondo, Rajon; Roy, Brandon; Telfair, Sebastien; Terry, Jason; Tinsley, Jamaal; Udrih, Beno; Watson, Earl; West, Delonte; Williams, Marcus; Williams, Deron; Williams, Jason; Williams, Mo

Do you think Calderon would be considered as The Starter for as many as 25 of the NBA’s 30 teams?

Where do you rank him, as a Point Guard, heading into the 2008-2009 season? [i.e. as No. ?]

In your personal rankings, is Calderon in your:

i) #1-5
ii) #6-10
iii) #11-15
iv) #16 plus

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Once again, all are welcome to participate.

Note 1: Final Results will be published Thu, August 14, 2008.
Note 2 : As a precursor … this ranking was published here Dec 19, 2007; followed by this one [Jan 30, 2008].

Stepbrothers in Santa Monica: Boomdizzle and me

Took a while to figure out how to show this properly using wordpress but … in the end … it’s worth it.

Ridiculously Exceptional by Captain Canada & the Beard.

PS. Defining Athleticism in the NBA.