Posts Tagged ‘Carlos Delfino’

Mis-diagnosing what went wrong for the Bucks last night

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

It’s been said in this space on several occasions before …

Kelly Dwyer is a talented writer, who just happens to dabble in The Realm of Hoops, while being a basketball fan[-atic] but, from time-to-time, even he is sometimes prone to missing the mark completely, when it comes to analyzing with accuracy what specifically happened in a NBA game that permanently turned the tide in one team’s favour or the other:

—————————————-

Detroit 93, Milwaukee 81

Another run from the Bucks where they just fell off the face of the earth, offensively. Nine points in the first quarter, and in a contest this slow, that was certain death as Detroit’s offense actually showed up.

Milwaukee rebounded with 29 in the second period, but this thing was more or less over by then. This was an 82-possession game, so that 12-point disparity needs to be reflected on properly. This was a blowout.

18 points on 12 shot attempts for Ben Gordon(notes) in the win.

———————————————

In the opinion of yours truly …

This game was far from being a BLOW-OUT.

Recap; Boxscore; and, Full Play-By-Play

When you take a closer look at the play-by-play, this is what you should be able to see:

PISTONS

BUCKS

- Stuckey replaced Hamilton to begin the 4th quarter

- After not playing for the entire 3rd quarter, Stackhouse replaced Bell to begin the 4th quarter

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

12:00

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

Bynum

Gordon

Stuckey

Villanueva

Maxiell

64-62

Ridnour

Stackhouse

Delfino

Warrick

Bogut

- Stuckey missed Layup

 

 

 

- Bynum made FT-1 and FT-2

 

 

 

* Det +2

 

- Warrick missed Layup

- Bogut missed Tip-in

- Bogut TO

 

- Stackhouse TO [Off PF]

- Jennings replaced Ridnour  and Mbah A Moute replaced Bogut [i.e. Mil went small]

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

11:04

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

 

 

 

66-62

Jennings

 

 

 

LRMAM

- Gordon missed Layup

 

- Bynum made J2

 

- Stuckey missed Reverse Layup

- Maxiell missed J2

 

- Jerebko replaced Villanueva [i.e. Det went Bigger/more defense & rebounding at PF]

 

- Delfino made J3

 

- Stackhouse made J2

 

 

- Delfino missed J3

 

* Mil +3

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

9:03

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

 

Jerebko

 

68-67

Jennings

 

 

 

 

- Gordon made J3

 

- Maxiell missed J2

 

- Maxiell made J2

 

- Jerebko made J2

* Det +5

 

- Prince replaced Bynum [i.e. Det went Big at the guard spots]

 

- Warrick missed J2

 

- Warrick made Running Dunk

 

- Stackhouse missed J3

 

- Time-out: Regular

 

- Bell replaced Stackhouse [i.e. Mil went smaller at the guard spots]

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

7:08

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

Stuckey

Gordon

Prince

 

 

75-69

 

Bell

 

 

 

 

 

- Team TO [Shot Clock Violation]

 

 

- Hamilton replaced Jerebko [i.e. Det went small up front; while staying Big at the guard spots]

- Jennings missed Layup
- LRMAM missed Tip-in

 

- LRMAM TO [Off PF]

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

6:16

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

Hamilton

Prince

 

75-69

 

 

 

 

 

- Stuckey made J2

 

* Det +2

- Time-out: Official

 

 

- Warrick TO

 

- Bogut replaced Warrick [i.e. Mil went Big up front again]

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

5:37

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

 

 

 

77-69

 

 

 

LRMAM

Bogut

- Maxiell made J2

 

- Hamilton made J2

 

 

- Stuckey made J2

 

 

- Stuckey made J2

 

 

 

- Gordon made J2

 

* Det +2

- Time-out: Regular

 

- Bell made J3

 

- LRMAM missed Hook Shot

 

 

- Jennings missed FT-1

- Jennings made FT-2

 

- Jennings missed J2

- Bogut missed Tip-in

- Bogut made Tip-in

 

- Bogut made Layup

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

2:26

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

 

 

 

87-77

 

 

 

 

 

- Gordon made J2

 

* Det +1

 

- Bell made FT-1

- Ilyasova replaced Bogut

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

2:05

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

 

 

 

89-78

 

 

 

 

Ilyasova

 

- Prince made J2

 

- Maxiell made Layup

* Det +3

- Bell made FT-2

 

- Delfino missed J3

 

- Time-out: Short

- Ridnour replaced Jennings; Meeks replaced Delfino; and, Warrick replaced LRMAM

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

1:13

PG

OG

SF

PF

C

 

 

 

 

 

93-79

Ridnour

 

Meeks

Warrick

 

 

- Prince missed J2

- Stuckey missed J2

 

 

- Ridnour TO

 

 

- Bell made J2

* Mil +2

FINAL SCORE

93-81

 

This was a 2 point game when the 4th quarter began, i.e. Det 64, MIL 62, and the principal reason Milwaukee lost is because Scott Skiles failed to use his substitutes to their best advantage against a team with specific strengths and weaknesses like Detroit.

i.e. When he made the decision to “go small” up-front, resting Andrew Bogut, and going with the combination of Hakim Warrick/PF and Luc Richard Mbah A Moute/C against the Pistons tandem of Jonas Jerebko/PF and Jason Maxiell/C … during which time Detroit then increased its lead from 4 to 6 points 

i.e. When he then decided to “go small” at the guard spots, as well, matching-up the threesome of Brandon Jennings/PG, Charlie Bell/OG and Carlos Delfino/SF against Rodney Stuckey/PG, Ben Gordon/OG and Tayshaun Prince/SF, when the Pistons increased their size at the PG and SF positions [at the 7:08 mark] … during which time Detroit pushed its lead from 6 to 8 points [before Skiles responded by returning Bogut/C to the game and shifting Mbah A Moute back to PF].

i.e. When he never returned to the 5-Man Units which had been successful for Milwaukee during the earlier stages of the game:

[for example]

Ridnour + Bell + Stackhouse + Warrick + Ilyasova
Jennings + Bell + Stackhouse + Mbah A Moute + Bogut
Jennings + Bell + Delfino + Mbah A Moute + Bogut
Ridnour + Bell + Delfino + Mbah A Moute + Bogut
Ridnour + Bell + Delfino + Ilyasova + Bogut

at any time during the 4th quarter and, instead, chose to use the following combinations of players:

Ridnour + Stackhouse + Delfino + Warrick + Bogut
Jennings + Stackhouse + Delfino + Warrick + Mbah A Moute
Jennings + Bell + Delfino + Warrick + Mbah A Moute
Jennings + Bell + Delfino + Mbah A Moute + Bogut
Jennings + Bell + Delfino + Mbah A Moute + Ilyasova.  

The overall low number of possessions in this game was irrelevant to the eventual outcome.

The fact is …

1. The Bucks’ offense just didn’t “fall off the face of the earth” on its own in the 4th quarter, last night, and neither did the Pistons’ offense just happen to ”show up, all of sudden,” on its own accord.

2. In both cases, they were given a “healthy assist” by the specific personnel decisons which were made in that quarter by the Bucks’ head coach.

3. Congratulations to John Kuester for using his own personnel relatively well last night, in the 4th quarter, given what Coach Skiles was doing in return.

RAPTORS vs Bucks, Preview

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

For the benefit of both Raptors and Bucks fans:

 

RAPTORS

Adv

BUCKS

RATIONALE

STARTERS

Jack, PG

=

Jennings, PG

Both are solid on Off and Def. Although Jennings more explosive offensively, Jack is a veteran who should be able to use his savvy to keep the rook in check.

DeRozan, OG

=

Delfino, OG

DeRozan is more explosive on Off; although, Delfino is the better all-around player at this stage [i.e. vet vs rook].

Turkoglu, SF

ß

Mbah A Moute, SF

Turkoglu SHOULD be the better player. If he is not, the Raptors will be at a major disadvantage going with any other wing player in this spot.

Bosh, SF

ß

Ilyasova, PF

Bosh is the superior player. Period.

Bargnani, C

=

Bogut, C

Bargnani is much better on the perimeter. Bogut is solid in the post. Bargnani is a more explosive scorer; while Bogut is a superior Rebounder and Team Defender. Conflicting Styles make for a good fight.

 

 

 

 

 

KEY SUBS

Calderon, PG

ß

Ridnour, PG

El Matador SHOULD be the better player. If he is not, the Raptors will be at a major disadvantage and will probably lose this game.

Belinelli, OG

=

Bell, PG-OG

Belinelli’s better offense is cancelled out by Bell’s better defense and rebounding.

Wright, SF

=

Stackhouse, SF

Stack was once a vastly superior player to Wright; but, Stack has played very little over the last 2 years.

Johnson, PF

=

Warrick, PF

Johnson is the better defender/rebounder. Warrick is better offensively.

Nesterovic, C

=

Elson, PF-C

Nesterovic has more veteran savvy; but, Elson is a moderately effective, lively [i.e. relatively athletic], still-youngish player.

 

 

 

 

 

RESERVES

Banks, PG

=

Meeks, OG

Neither is going to have an impact on the outcome.

Weems, OG-SF

à

Thomas, PF-C

Weems is a better player than Wright but is not being used properly at-present. Thomas is a solid vet with a great deal of tenacity and savvy.

COACH

Jay Traino

à

Scott Skiles

Skiles is an experienced NBA head coach, who was a tough-minded, former NBA player; Triano is neither of these 2 things.

QIR/QR

#23/66

à

#19/55

TOR = 17th/PDR, 26th/PAR, 23rd/RDR; Mil = 18th/PDR, 15th/PAR; 22nd/RDR.

Home

Yes

ß

No

TOR Home = 13-6; Mil Away = 5-16

EXPECTED RESULT
TORONTO should win outright.  Covering the final number [-7.5/-105], however, might not be a sure proposition.

Legend: QIR – Quality Index Ranking [No. 1-30]; QR – Quality Rating [PDR + PAR + RDR]; PDR – Points Differential Ranking; PAR – Points Allowed Ranking; RDR – Rebounding Differential Ranking.

Enjoy! … what should prove to be a very entertaining and close game.

Two ships passing in the night, in Raptorville

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

The word “benchmark” has the following definition:

bench·mark (bnchmärk)

n.
1. A standard by which something can be measured or judged: “Inflation . . . is a great distorter of seemingly fixed economic ideas and benchmarks” (Benjamin M. Friedman). See Synonyms at standard.
2. often bench mark A surveyor’s mark made on a stationary object of previously determined position and elevation and used as a reference point in tidal observations and surveys.
tr.v. bench·marked, bench·mark·ing, bench·marks
To measure (a rival’s product) according to specified standards in order to compare it with and improve one’s own product.

As was mentioned yesterday, last night’s contest between Toronto and Milwaukee should have been viewed by each team as a pivotal game, and an early season barometer for where their respective franchise stands in relation to the other middle-of-the-pack squads in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto Raptors 95
MILWAUKEE BUCKS 117
Complete Game Summary

By no means should the Bucks be viewed as an ideal, or even an up-and-coming, franchise in the NBA, at this point in time. Milwaukee has:

- a talented, young Starting-calibre PG
- a defensively stout young Starting-calibre SF-PF 
- an all-around solid Starting-calibre C

who they can build around moving forward …

- a solid, experienced, head coach

who they can build with moving forward … and,

- a dead-weight former “franchise player”

who is no longer a major part of their team with a fairly hefty contract that is due to expire in just 2 years

- a slew of good-but-still-far-from-being-very-good back-up players on their roster

who they can use to fill in the gaps, while hoping to field a highly competitive team, on an annual basis …

and, then, prescious little more than that.

Yet, last night, playing their 3rd game in 4 nights, after losing 8 of their previous 9 games … they were still able to dismantle the Raptors on the strength of [a] Brandon Jennings first-half scoring exploits, [b] solid team defense, and [c] individual offensive contributions from a host of different back-up players [e.g. Ersan Ilyasova , 17 pts; Roko Ukic, 17 pts; Carlos Delfino, 14 pts; Luke Ridnour, 15 pts].

Raptors fans who thought that their team’s recent 3-game winning streak was an authentic indication of a “righted ship”, heading toward the upper-middle region of the conference standings, sometime soon, were simply being delusional, once again. 

The road victory over Washington [7-12/.368, 10th/EC] was an overtime decision that could have gone either way at the end of regulation and at the final buzzer when Gilbert Arenas inexplicably missed an open lay-up.

The road victory over Chicago [7-13/.350, 11th/EC] was a relatively meaningless encounter against an opponent that is currently in free-fall … coping with [I] debilitating injuries to 2 key rotation players, both of whom are solid defender/rebounders, at their respective positions, and [II] the loss of their leading scorer from last season [i.e. Ben Gordon, who was not retained, as an UFA, this past summer].

The home victory over Minnesota [3-19/.136; 15th/WC] was secured in the final 90 seconds, when a 3PT shot from Antoine Wright [3FG% = 30.2] found the bottom of the net to push the Raptors’ precarious lead from 2 to 5 points.

On the other hand, last night’s game against the Bucks was a different beast entirely.

The Bucks were looking ahead at their next 3 opponents … i.e. vs the Blazers, vs the Lakers and @ the Cavaliers … and not liking what they saw, at all.

The Bucks are a solid middle-of-the-pack team this season:

[Ratings as of Mon Dec 05, 2009]

 

Match-up

PDR

PAR

RDR

QR

QIR

Raptors

20

29

17

66

23

WIZARDS

21

19

15

55

20

 

Match-up

PDR

PAR

RDR

QR

QIR

Raptors

20

29

17

66

23

BULLS

28

13

23

64

22

 

Match-up

PDR

PAR

RDR

QR

QIR

T-wolves

30

24

25

79

28

RAPTORS

20

29

17

66

23

 

Match-up

PDR

PAR

RDR

QR

QIR

Raptors

20

29

17

66

23

BUCKS

15

17

22

54

19

In last night’s game, key [revealing?] stats included:

STATS

Raptors

BUCKS

Points

95

117

FGA

68

80

TO

13

9

FTA

33

28

FTA * .44

15

12

Poss

96

101

TSV

181

209

Pts/TSV

0.525

0.560

Pts/Poss

0.990

1.158

Legend: FGA – Field Goal Attempts; TO – Turnovers; FTA – Free Throw Attempts; Poss – Possessions; TSV – Total Shot Value; Pts/TSV – Points per Total Shot Value; Pts/Poss – Points per Possession.

When an opponent converts 3.5% more of its Total Shot Value, creates 5 more Possessions and a Points per Possession differential of 0.168, it indicates that your team was out-classed in a number of different ways.  

1/4 of the way through the regular season schedule, what should now be a legit concern for the Raptors organization, and its fanbase, is what you see when you look at the following two charts; appraising [i] where these two teams were last night:

RAPTORS, 9th

W-L, 10-14/.417

Current Streak, L1

Last

Night

Adv

BUCKS, 6th

W-L, 10-11/.476

Current Streak, W1

Starters

Jack

à

Jennings

DeRozan

0

Delfino

Turkoglu

0

Mbah A Moute

Nesterovic

à

Bogut

Bosh

ß

Ilyasova

Key Subs

Banks

à

Ridnour

Belinelli

0

Ukic

Wright

0

Meeks

Johnson

0

Warrick

Reserves

Weems

0

Bell

Mensah-Bonsu

à

Thomas

O’Bryant

à

Gadzuric

Extras/Out

Calderon-inj.

ß

Redd-inj.

Evans-inj.

ß

Alexander

Bargnani-inj.

ß

Elson

Head Coach

Jay Triano

à

Scott Skiles

General Manager

Bryan Colangelo

0

John Hammond

Owner

MLSE

0

Herb Kohl

+4

Total

+6

and, then, [ii] where it looks as though they might be headed in the immediate future:

RAPTORS, 9th

W-L, 10-14/.417

Current Streak, L1

Future

Adv

BUCKS, 6th

W-L, 10-11/.476

Current Streak, W1

Starters

Calderon

à

Jennings

DeRozan

ß

Delfino

Turkoglu

à

Mbah A Moute

Bosh [UFA, 2010]

ß

Ilyasova

Bargnani

0

Bogut

Key Subs

Jack

0

Ridnour

Belinelli

0

Redd [UFA, 2011]

Wright

à

Meeks

Johnson

0

Warrick

Reserves

Weems

0

Bell

Evans

à

Thomas

Nesterovic

à

Gadzuric

Extras/Out

Banks

à

Ukic

Mensah-Bonsu

0

Alexander

O’Bryant

à

Elson

Head Coach

Jay Triano

à

Scott Skiles

General Manager

Bryan Colangelo

0

John Hammond

Owner

MLSE

0

Herb Kohl

+2

Total

+8

When the 2009-2010 off-season arrives and Chris Bosh sits down to evaluate where his chances might be the best to effectively challenge for a future NBA championship, realistically, do you think that he is going to perceive the Toronto Raptors as the No. 1 place for him to accomplish this goal in the no-too-distant future?

A team which might even be considered as beneath the decidedly “average” Milwaukee Bucks on the authentic depth chart in the East this season?

The Raptors next 4 games are:

Fri Dec 11 vs Atlanta [QR = 30; QIR = 9]
Sun Dec 13 vs Houston [QR = 42; QIR = T-13]
Tue Dec 15 @ MIAMI [QR = 42; QIR = T-13]
Wed Dec 16 @ ORLANDO [QR = 17; QIR = 2]

Legend: QR – Quality Rating [PDR/Points Differential Rank + PAR/Points Allowed Rank + RDR/Rebounding Differential Rank]; QIR – Quality Index Ranking [#1-30]; as of Sun Dec 06.

When assessing the relative strength of these 4 opponents, it’s imperative that the Raptors [10-14] get their act together quickly, substantially improve their Team Defense, and win their up-coming 2 home games … or, face the very real possibility of amassing another extended losing streak [i.e. a 5-gamer this time] and an inauspicious W-L Record [10-18?].

What Toronto has done so far this season is no way to go about convincing Chris Bosh that he should actually re-sign with the Raptors, as one of the premier unrestricted free agents in 2010.

To paraphrase something once said by Yogi Berra, noted philosopher :-) :

“Sometimes, it really does get late early out there … in the process of pursuing one’s own UFA.”

The Raptors would do well to not forget that Life Truism this season. 

Raptors improvement relative to other teams in division & conference

Monday, September 14th, 2009

The 5 teams in the Atlantic Division finished in the following order last season:

1. Boston Celtics, 62-20/.756, 2nd East, Lost 2nd Round 
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 41-41/.500, 6th East, Lost 1st Round  
3. New Jersey Nets, 34-48/.415, 3rd East, Missed Playoffs
4. Toronto Raptors, 33-49/.402, 13th East, Missed Playoffs
5. New York Knicks, 32-50/.390, 14th East, Missed Playoffs

At this point in the off season, the teams have made the following player personnel changes:

BOSTON CELTICS
Significant Losses
1. Leon Powe [PF], UFA
2. Mikki Moore [PF-C], UFA
3. Stephon Marbury [PG]
4. Gabe Pruitt [PG-OG]

Significant Adds
1. Lester Hudson/2nd Round Draft Pick [No. 58, overall]
2. Rasheed Wallace, UFA
3. Sheldon Williams, UFA
4. Marquis Daniels, UFA

PHILADELPHIA 76ERS
Significant Losses
1. Reggie Evans [PF], trade
2. Andre Miller [PG], UFA
3. Theo Ratliff [PF-C], UFA

Significant Adds
1. Elton Brand [PF], returns from injury
2. Jason Smith [PF-C], returns from injury
3. Jason Kapono [SF], trade
4. Jrue Holiday [PG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 19, overall]  
5. Rodney Carney [SF], UFA

NEW JERSEY NETS
Significant Losses
1. Vince Carter [SF-OG], trade
2. Ryan Anderson [PF], trade

Significant Adds
1. Terrence Williams [SF-OG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 11, overall]
2. Courtney Lee [OG], trade
3. Rafer Alston [PG], trade
4. Tony Battie [PF-C], trade

TORONTO RAPTORS
Significant Losses
1. Jason Kapono [SF], trade
2. Shawn Marion [PF-SF], UFA/Sign & trade
3. Kris Humphries [PF], trade
4. Nathan Jawai [PF-C], trade
5. Anthony Parker [OG-SF-PG], UFA
6. Joey Graham [SF], UFA
7. Roko Ukic [PG], trade
8. Carlos Delfino [SF-OG], trade

Significant Adds
1. Reggie Evans [PF], trade
2. DeMar DeRozan [OG-SF], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 9, overall]
3. Hedo Turkoglu [SF], Sign & trade
4. Antoine Wright [SF-OG], trade
5. Jarrett Jack [PG-OG], RFA
6. Marco Belinelli [OG-SF-PG], trade
7. Rasho Nesterovic [C-PF], UFA
8. Amir Johnson [PF], trade 

NEW YORK KNICKS
Significant Losses
1. Quentin Richardson [SF-OG], trade
2. Chris Wilcox, PF-C], UFA

Significant Adds
1. Danilo Gallinari [SF-PF], returns from injury
2. Jordan Hill [PF-C], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 8, overall]
3. Toney Douglas [PG-OG], 1st Round Draft Pick [No. 29, overall]
4. Darko Milicic [PF-C], trade
5. Sun Yue [PG], UFA

While several NBA observers seem to think the Raptors SHOULD be much improved this coming season, based on the wholesale changes made to their roster … this corner does not necessarily share that same opinion, when evaluated against the LOSSESS & ADDS of the other teams in their Division.

Q1. Have the Raptors improved, overall, from last season, relative to their competition?

A1. Maybe; maybe not … is the correct answer, at this point.

The Knicks and Nets are in re-building mode, and the Raptors SHOULD have been expected to finish this coming season in NO WORSE than 3rd place in the Atlantic Division, behind the Celtics and, possibly, the 76ers … even if they would have done “nothing” substantive to improve their team this summer.

However, given that doing “nothing” was in fact the OPPOSITE of what the Raptors decided to do this off season … i.e. see above … it SHOULD now be EXPECTED that this supposedly improved team SHOULD finish NO WORSE than in 2nd place in the Atlantic Division behind the Boston Celtics.

Once this expectation is established, what then becomes interesting is …

if the divisional standings eventually look something like this:

ATLANTIC
1 Boston
2 Toronto or Philadelphia
3 Philadelphia or Toronto
4 New York or New Jersey
5 New Jersey or New York

and the conference standings eventually look something like this:

SOUTHEAST
1 Orlando
2 Atlanta or Miami or Washington
3 Miami Atlanto or Washington
4 Washington or Atlanta or Miami
5 Charlotte

CENTRAL
1 Cleveland
2 Detroit or Chicago or Indiana
3 Chicago or Detroit or Indiana
4 Indiana or Detroit or Chicago
5 Milwaukee

and the playoff race eventually looks something like this:

Eastern Conference
1-2-3 Orlando - High End, Southeast
1-2-3 Cleveland - High End, Central
1-2-3 Boston - High End, Atlantic

4-5-6 Atlanta - Upper Middle, Southeast
4-5-6 Miami - Upper Middle, Southeast
4-5-6 Washington - Upper Middle, Southeast

7-8-9-10-11-12 Detroit - Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Chicago - Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Indiana - Middle, Central
7-8-9-10-11-12 Toronto - Middle, Atlantic
7-8-9-10-11-12 Philadelphia - Middle, Atlantic
7-8-9-10-11-12 Charlotte - Low End, Southwest

12-13-14-15 Milwaukee - Low End, Central
12-13-14-15 New York - Low End, Atlantic
12-13-14-15 New Jersey - Low End, Atlantic

indicating, perhaps, that the relative strength of each division may be shifting this season:

#1. Southeast
#2. Central
#3. Atlantic 

IF a scenario like this is eventually what plays out this season, then, how much will the Raptors really have improved this summer, relative to the other teams in their Division and the Eastern Conference, as a whole?

Initial thoughts on the Raptors talent base compared with the previous 3 seasons

Monday, August 24th, 2009

Matching-up the Raptors’ current roster with the end-of-season version for the 2008-2009 campaign, on a position-by-position basis, looks like this:

#

Pos

2008-2009

33-49/.402

Adv

2009-2010

?/?

Assessment

 

1

PG

Calderon

à

Calderon

Injury-free = improved.

2

OG

Parker

ß

DeRozan

Solid vet > NCAA rookie.

3

SF

Marion

ß

Turkoglu

Better overall player.

4

PF

Bosh

=

Bosh

Perennial All-Star.

5

C

Bargnani

=

Bargnani

Same. *Wildcard*.

 

6

PG

Ukic

à

Jack

Stable. Better shooter.

7

OG

Kapono

à

Belinelli

Better scorer. Versatile.

8

SF

Graham

=

Wright

Medium-grade players.

9

PF

M-Bonsu

=

Evans

Energetic rebounder.

10

C

O’Bryant

à

Nesterovic

Significant upgrade.

 

11

PG

Banks

=

Banks

Same.

12

OG

Douby

=

Douby

Same.

13

PF

Jawai

=

Weems [SF]

Different not better.

14

PF

Humphries

=

Johnson

Different. Similar.

15

C

Voskuhl

=

O’Bryant

Will to improve?

SUMMARY:

- 2 players better from 2008-2009 [Darkest shade]
- 4 players better from 2009-2010 [Darker shade]

- 10 players relatively equal

- EDGE to 2009-2010

While it’s relatively easy to see how other NBA observers can feel that the Raptors have increased their Perceived Talent Level [PTL] by a substantial amount this off season, when a comparative eye is then cast further backwards, to the previous year [2007-2008]:

#

Pos

2007-2008

41-41/.500

Adv

2009-2010

?/?

Assessment

 

1

PG

Ford

à

Calderon

Injury-free = improved.

2

OG

Parker

ß

DeRozan

Solid vet > Rookie.

3

SF

Moon

à

Turkoglu

More consistent.

4

PF

Bosh

=

Bosh

Perennial All-Star.

5

C

Bargnani

=

Bargnani

Same. *Wildcard*.

 

6

PG

Calderon

=

Jack

Similar value; diff skills.

7

OG

Delfino

=

Belinelli

Similar value; diff skills.

8

SF

Kapono

=

Wright

Similar value; diff skills.

9

PF

Humphries

=

Evans

Energetic rebounder.

10

C

Nesterovic

=

Nesterovic

Same; older now.

 

11

PG

Martin

ß

Banks

Solid vet. Accepted role.

12

OG

Dixon

=

Douby

Similar value; diff skills.

13

SF

Johnson-L

=

Weems

Low grade players.

14

PF

Baston

à

Johnson-A

Upside. Under-used.

15

C

Brezec

=

O’Bryant

Will to improve?

SUMMARY:

- 2 players better from 2007-2008 [Darkest shade]
- 3 players better from 2009-2010 [Darker shade]

- 10 players relatively equal

- SLIGHT EDGE to 2009-2010

and, ultimately, to the watershed 2006-2007 season: 

#

Pos

2006-2007

47-35/.573

Adv

2009-2010

?/?

Assessment

 

1

PG

Ford

=

Calderon

Similar value, diff skills.

2

OG

Parker

ß

DeRozan

Euro star > Experience.

3

SF

Peterson

à

Turkoglu

More consistent player.

4

PF

Garbajosa

=

Bosh

Versatile Euro player.

5

C

Bosh

ß

Bargnani

All-Star > highly erratic.

 

6

PG

Calderon

=

Jack

Similar value; diff skills.

7

OG

Graham

à

Belinelli

More value; better skills.

8

SF

Bargnani

ß

Wright

More value; better skills.

9

PF

Humphries

=

Evans

Energetic rebounder.

10

C

Nesterovic

=

Nesterovic

Same. Older now.