The Biggest Mistake the Raptors Have Made Thus Far
Throughout the storied history of the NBA, there have only been so many players … usually Guard-Forwards … with the goods to do THIS …
to Win games for their team, on a regular basis
Despite what some Raptors fans might think about his antics … which habitually include writhing on the floor whenever he gets injured … it’s a crying shame that Wince Carter was, quite literally, run out of town by the Raptors organization and their “faithful” fanbase.
Tags: Vince Carter
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:49 pm
I’m not a Raptor fan, I live in New Orleans. But my iconic image of Vince Carter is his hangdog, towel over his head, “I’ve tanked” look on the sideline of a game with the Hornets.
A veteran leader on a young team can’t project that sort of defeatism, even if it arises out of a desiren to win that makes losing to painful to handle.
I’d have booed him out of town if I was a Raptor fan.
January 3rd, 2009 at 8:55 pm
actually two mistakes the raptors made:
1. running him out of town
2. when they ran him out of town, they didn’t get close to equal value for him
since carter, we haven’t had anyone who could put the team on his back and win tough games…thanks for opening up old wounds, lol.
January 4th, 2009 at 1:01 am
[...] The Biggest Mistake the Raptors Have Made Thus Far - [...]
January 4th, 2009 at 1:48 am
Thank you Nolaman.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:53 am
Nolaman,
Thanks for your comment.
IMO, the hangdog was in need of a swift kick in the rear end, no doubt … but not a “boot out of town”.
In the grand history of this league … the best organizations have always found a way to keep their best players for the long haul, no matter what their individual transgressions may be, as long as they do not involve the commision of a felony.
If the Raptors would have held onto Wince Carter and gradually worked to imoprove their team … around him and Chris Bosh … the re-building in Toronto would have almost been complete by now.
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IMO … one of the major problems which too many Raptors fans still have today is an inability to decipher correctly what the best position is for a talented player on their team, not according to what the fans themselves WOULD like to see him pay but what position that player is actually best at in the NBA … for example:
1. Wince Carter … TO fans wanted him to play as a driving #3 when his best spot in this league is as a jumpshooting #2.
2. Chris Bosh … TO fans want him to play as a dominant scoring #4 when his best spot in this league is as a rebounding, solid [but not dominant] scoring and defensive minded #5.
3. Andrea Bargnani … TO fans want him to be like Dirk Nowitzi when his best spot in this league is playing as a better version of Bill Laimbeer [i.e. with a more advanced skill set].
This type of nonsense should not be happening in Toronto.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:58 am
Time Intact,
Thanks for your comment.
January 5th, 2009 at 4:51 pm
khan, i appreciate the direction you are going in with the laimbeer comparisons, but a great deal of what made bill-bill was his attitude, not talent level. it could be argued that his talent level was low, and it was his mental game that willed him to excellence. that and the fierce streak.
maybe i’m just jaded and don’t see it, but bargnani doesn’t have that ferociousness to him to be mentioned in the same breath as laimbeer in that capacity. clearly his skill level is far more advanced, but the attitude…
again, maybe i’m just jaded and don’t see it.
January 6th, 2009 at 11:43 am
Raps Fan,
Although it has not yet been on full display for others to see necessarily … the ferociousness of which you speak is indeed there with this young man, You just need to know what to look for, specifically, in ultra-brief glimpses, thus far.
Like the Gatorade commercial says, “It is IN him” … just waiting to prompted by the right individual who can see that it’s there and then bring it out of him on a consistent basis. That’s where TOP NOTCH coaching and/or managing comes in.
Watch a tape of that game against Orlando on Sunday. Watch it closely. Look for a moment in the 1st half when AB is tangled up with D12. He doesn’t back away. He’s beginning to revel in it. He’s growing into his body … which is eventually going to end up looking a lot like Laimbeer’s, not Nowitzki’s … only even bigger and stronger. Recall what happened when AB got tangled up with Wince Carter, in one of their match-ups earlier, when VC was quite literally thrown to the ground by the big fella … “Get off me, gnat, and take THAT for good measure” … sending Vinsanity hurtling into the front row picking up a double foul [1 for each participant] in the process. Recall last season, when he was injured in that game against Atlanta, I think, when his septum ended up being deviated and he had to wear a mask; and, no other other Raptor came to his aid. Well … he was feeling bullied then, and, I think, he didn’t like it one bit. Now, in a classic case of role-reversal … he has gotten stronger, and the kid who scored on that pre-draft personality test as an individual who is unbothered at all by what others think of him is also a remorseless prick/saddest, much like Mr. Laimbeer, who is willing to do whatever it takes to get exactly what he wants … which is really respect, more than anything else, because he didn’t like being bullied one bit when others had the chance and took advantage of him.
You know who AB is capable of becoming? [figuratively]
This fellow … right here.
My name is Andrea … and, this is what I do. Toronto, now, Dangerous.
That’s who.
But … the fact is … it will take a special person to first see and then bring it out of him.
There are not a lot of those just walking around in this world.
January 6th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
interesting, i will be looking harder from now…
as for no raptor coming to any raptors defense…lol…
January 6th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
Raps Fan,
Hopefully you clicked on the link provided above for Bangkok Dangerous.
When I first found it … what came to mind immediately was how it could be applied to a certain other “Joe/joey” growing in notoriety on RR:
My name is Joe … and this is what I do … day and night at RaptorsRepublic.com.
Some things are just too difficult to resist.
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October 30th, 2009 at 8:33 am
nobt,
Welcome aboard!