Toronto Raptors - We can't be pathetic forever, can we?

[T Dot O Dot]

It will be interesting to see the combine measurements on some of these guys

according to draft express :

Thomas Robinson - 6'9"

Sullinger - 6'9"

Draymond Green - 6'6"

By my estimation, only one person above is listed at their true height

[sotola]

I think he's going to be a Shane Battier type. Lockdown defender at the 3, capable of checking smaller/stretch 4s. Maybe even being able to guard some bigger 2s (if rumors about him losing weight are accurate).

Probably won't have quite the 3pt shot of Shane, but he scored very efficiently, rebounded well, got assists with a very low turnover rate, got a lot of steals, did pretty well getting blocks, all with a pretty high usage rate. Pretty much everything that he did well are the things that transfer the best to the NBA game.

Every year a bunch of bad GMs draft guys with athleticism/potential ("look the part") over guys with actual production ("act the part").

Agreed Sim. I saw a lot of mock boards that don't even have him in the 2nd round. I would gamble a 2nd round pick on a guy that plays hard any day of the week. Perhaps Colangelo can use one of our two 2nd rounders on him.

He doesn't do anything INCREDIBLY well but he does everything well, nothing poorly, and plays hard. I wish he was a little bigger so that I could say he reminds me of a more skilled version of Oakley/Ben Wallace..... guys that would never take a possession off.

[Simitar]

Agreed Sim. I saw a lot of mock boards that don't even have him in the 2nd round. I would gamble a 2nd round pick on a guy that plays hard any day of the week. Perhaps Colangelo can use one of our two 2nd rounders on him.

I think after interviews and workouts he ends up going late teens, early 20s. He's exactly the type of guy San Antonio would look to acquire a pick to get. If the Wolves had someone more competent than Kahn, I;d be getting my hopes up that we'd take him at 17.

And if I'm the agent for Kidd-Gilchrist or one of the other lottery wings, I do everything I can to not schedule a workout where my guy goes against Crowder.

[sotola]

OK, so we sit Kleiza, Gray, Calderone, DeRozan, and Johnson (along with injuries to Bayless and Bargnani) and win by 31 over the Nets???

Yeah, I am sure that Howard is chomping at the bit to join NJ and Williams is probably just ecstatic about the possible future in Brooklyn. I know that Williams and Hump didn't play but if another BAD team sits 6 of their top 8 players and beats you by 31, your team sucks far worse.

I honestly can't see Williams re-upping with that team.

[Bklyn]

Sadly, I agree. The stadium is not far from the cribbo, so I wanted to roll over there and catch some good games...I guess I do get to check the Lakers when they come to town and the Heat. There is that.

[T Dot O Dot]

tied for 7th pick with a coin flip happening today

we lose when were supposed to win & we win when were supposed to lose

this franchise is just one heaping pile of FAIL

[Bklyn]

...and you lost the flip.

[Jungle Rat]

I think the basketball Gods are telling you the NBA should not be in Canada.

[Bklyn]

Indeed.

Actually, basketball hasn't been in Canada for nearly a decade.

[Jungle Rat]

Very true.

[T Dot O Dot]

please, someone has to play "farm team" for the one & dones after they leave school

[Jungle Rat]

Maybe you should hire Cal to extend it a bit longer.

[T Dot O Dot]

[T Dot O Dot]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^

probably the newest Raptor

7' wingspan & shot 60% from 2pt fg territory this year, which is amazing

scouts are basing his lack of production this year on 2 things

1) sub par play at the point guard position (shabbazz napier / ryan boatright)

2) lack of a killer instinct

doesnt really assist or rebound that well

it's time to see what Casey can do with a full 82 game schedule & training camp

[T Dot O Dot]

most important

he's got that long neck which brings back comparisons to our namesake, the velociraptor

Chris Bosh had the same thing and he put up 20 & 10 here

[Jungle Rat]

Cal needs to invest in a prep school. Then he will have it all!

[Bklyn]

Lamb should have been so much better...

[sotola]

Indeed.

Actually, basketball hasn't been in Canada for nearly a decade.

Not completely true. It just hasn't been played professionally for about a decade. Most of us Canadians are still waiting for our youngins (Thompson, Joseph, Kabongo, Wiggins, Pangos, Wiltjer, Heslip, and others) to join the NBA to make the game interesting.

Basketball doesn't fail in Toronto because of lack of basketball interest. It fails in Toronto because it's a "professional" sport that "fans" pay alot of money for regardless of whether they produce. And we never get mad at the owner's for failing to deliver a quality product. We keep going back so why change?

But we do support them with an intense level of love. Evidence - we all now feel like the Blue Jays can win the world series... Why? Because they are above .500 of course!!!

[Jungle Rat]

Sounds like Astros fans

[Simitar]

Dwane Casey is optimistic of how much Jonas Valanciunas will improve the defense of the Raptors.

“I saw him last summer with the Lithuanian national team and the Euro games in the championships — big-time energy, runs the floor, rebounds. At the worst, we’re getting a Joakim Noah from Chicago — a guy who mans the middle, challenged a little bit in terms of scoring in the paint but as far as of pick-and-rolling to the basket, he has great hands to roll and finish. He hasn’t developed that consistent outside jumpshot at the elbows yet, but something that you can’t teach — and I do know that it’s an NBA skill — is each every time he walks on the floor, he’s gonna hit people, he’s gonna play with energy, he’s gonna play hard, he’s gonna bring an energy to the court that is an NBA skill. And being seven-foot, that’s a plus when you can have your big man with that type of energy and that type of aggression.”

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/22 ... z1teZXIFIT