khandor’s sports blog

With the recent departure of Chris Bosh, the Toronto Raptors will now be led by Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250], the former No. 1 [overall] Selection from the 2006 NBA Draft.

Although different voices on-line have discussed Bargnani’s ability, as a No. 1 Option [i.e. offensively, defensively and in rebounding] for the team, ad nauseum … and, to a large extent, still see him as a gifted scoring, uniquely talented Big Man, in the mold of a young Dirk Nowitzki:

Exhibit A, B, C and D 

the view from this corner, remains essentially unchanged:

1. As Bargnani’s Points Scored [Pts] and Minutes Played [MP] have steadily increased over the last 4 years, this is what the Raptors’ W-L records have been:

2006-2007, 1629/MP, 751/Pts, 47/W
2007-2008, 1861/MP, 792/Pts, 41/W
2008-2009, 2453/MP, 1202/Pts, 33/W
2009-2010, 2799/MP, 1376/Pts, 40/W
2010-2011,?/MP, ?/Pts, ?/W

Toronto Raptors Franchise Index

Conversely, this is what those same stats look like for the first 5 years of Nowitzki’s career in Dallas:

1998-1999, 958/MP, 385/Pts, 19/W
1999-2000, 2938/MP, 1435/Pts, 40/W
2001-2002, 3125/MP, 1784/Pts, 53/W
2002-2003, 2891/MP, 1779/Pts, 57/W
2003-2004, 3117/MP, 2011/Pts, 60/W

Dallas Mavericks Franchise Index

2. If Bargnani averages 20 pts next season … What does it really matter, in the grand scheme of things?

3. During his 5th season in the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki’s Mavericks won 60 games, finished 1st in the Mid-West Division, and Lost in the Western Conference Finals … with the following roster.

Those who think the 2010-2011 version of the Raptors might actually approach 60 wins are hopelessly delusional.

3. The name Bargnani name does not warrant inclusion in any basketball-related article which also deals with the abilities of Dirk Nowitzki.

4. Bargnani is only a polarizing player for those fans who don’t truly value being able to compete for a league championship.

5. To this point in his NBA career, Andrea Bargnani has been an overt symptom of what has actually ailed the Raptors franchise - i.e. the first in a series of baffling personnel decisions which have not focused on creating a well-balanced team, overall, with a raft of multi-dimensional players who are capable of poducing first-class Team Defense [e.g. Points Allowed], Team Rebounding [e.g. Reb Differential] and Team Offense [e.g. Points Scored Differential] - rather than a constructive part of the solution.

6. At this point of the off season, all indications are that the Raptors … led on-court by Andrea Bargnani … will probably find themselves right back in the NBA’s Draft Lottery next summer … which might not be a bad thing, at all,

if the long term objective for this franchise is to be able to compete for a League Championship sometime in the not-too-distant future.

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“From the ashes of defeat can the makings of victory arise … if it’s handled properly.” - khandor

Dan Devine [no ... not THAT one; the OTHER one] goes yard, in a major way.

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On Nowitzki, savoring success and recognizing your team’s saints

Transformational players — the kinds of guys that can put cities on the map or breathe life into dead franchises; the kind of guy Nowitzki’s been — don’t come around that often. You’ve got to appreciate the bounty they provide, and you’ve got to do right by ‘em. If you don’t — if, say, you panic, ship them out in the wrong deal and lead them into sad, inglorious endings — well, as the Big Aristotle once said, “Trade a legend, bad things happen to you.”

I don’t want to see that. Mavs fans definitely don’t want to see that. Anyone who really cares about what makes this game special can’t want to see that.

Freeman implores us to “acknowledge [Nowitzki] for what he is, not what he isn’t.” It’s the right idea. Too often, we allow our recollections to veer dark and become muddled. For Dirk, and for all the wonder children that have blazed across the sky and fallen short, may our hearts and memories point us toward a better path.

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Enjoy!

PS. Raptors fans, presently dealing with the Chris Bosh situation, should take heed. Franchise best players simply DO NOT come along every day.

For those who might not have seen it yet …
 

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The Mavs only made 3 player substitutions in the quarter:

08:32 Kidd replaced Terry

07:01 Terry replaced Barea

00:28:02 Humphries replaced Nowitzki

and Nowitzki’s individual Box Score line for the game looked like this:

which included 4th quarter contributions of:

29 points [7-8/FG's; 14-14/FT's], 5 Rebs, 2 Ast

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“On all of these plays, I’m looking at Mehmet Okur. He has on his tap dancing shoes … he can’t stay in place. Whoahhh! … he gave it to you, Mehmet.” - Steve Smith [NBA TV Analyst]

Gallinari Practices and the Knicks can barely contain themselves
The superlatives and expectations keep growing for Gallinari, the sixth overall pick in the 2008 draft. He showed no signs of discomfort in Tuesday’s two practices, or any indication that he had undergone minor back surgery five months ago.

He did, however, show off his full range of skills while playing with the first unit in the evening scrimmage.

Standing on the perimeter, Gallinari beat Larry Hughes off the dribble and fed David Lee inside for a layup attempt. (Lee missed.) When Al Harrington missed a 3-pointer, Gallinari soared in for a putback dunk. And in the highlight of the night, Gallinari spun past Ron Howard and flew in for a two-handed dunk. He missed a 3-pointer, but shooting is one skill the Knicks know Gallinari has in abundance.

D’Antoni has never wavered in his enthusiasm for Gallinari and is not concerned about raising expectations. Gallinari, 21, said he was not concerned either.

“I’m happy for that, because I think that if a player wants to be at a good level, you need responsibility, you need expectations,” Gallinari said, adding: “I like that. I know how to deal with that.”

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Remember the words, “Larry Nowitzki”, and exactly where you read them first.

If Gallinari can stay healthy this season … those who think that the Knicks are simply going to be push-overs in the EC [including many of the good folks in Raptorville] will be in for a rather Rude Awakening v1.

[ ... which, almost, unbelievably, led to this, this, this and, then, finally, this and this ... when we were all a great deal younger than today.]

Related:

Best shooter I’ve ever seen

re: How an astute NBA observer might expect the first part of the schedule to unfold for the Raptors this year

The first back-2-back of the season for the Raptors will be a difficult one to win. In general, whichever team gets the best player in a NBA trade will eventually be seen as “the winner” in that specific transaction. In this instance, Dallas won the 4-team player swap of the summer by acquiring Shawn Marion, who is a flat-out better player than Hedo Turkoglu. Shifting Dirk Nowitzki to the Center position this season will present the Mavericks with their best possible 5-Man Unit, allowing Josh Howard and The Matrix to co-exist as interchangeable #3/SF-#4/PF’s, in an under-sized line-up that is going to be very difficult for opponents to match-up against, given their ability to rebound ball with their superior athleticism. Rookie PG, Rodrigue Beaubois has the makings of a future “star” in the NBA, and it will be very interesting to see whether or not the Mavs choose to integrate him into their line-up this season with J-Kidd, Jason Terry and JJ Barea still on their roster. The Mavs are going to be a very good team this season and a tough out in the WC playoffs.

Game 6– @ Dallas [Sat Nov 07]

Raptors expected W-L Record: L, 2-4

For those questioning the merit of yesterday’s poll which asked visitors to select between Andrea Bargnani and Danilo Gallinari … and the suggestion made by yours truly that the 2nd year New York Knick might just be the first coming of a hybrid ‘Larry Nowitzki’ … comes this news today, in the form of an absolutely stunning quote from a reputable source:

Knicks don’t expect too much from Curry

Coach Mike D’Antoni had a far more positive take on Danilo Gallinari, the 2008 lottery pick who finally is 100 percent healthy after a rookie season plagued by a back injury that was corrected by surgery in April. D’Antoni called Gallinari “the best shooter I’ve ever seen” and pointed out that in the 28 games he played last season, the Knicks were 14-14.

D’Antoni acknowledged that the 21-year-old needs to get stronger, but he also suggested that the multi-talented Gallinari could play a key role in the team’s achieving what most people see as an improbable result this season: a playoff berth.

“I think we can fool a lot of people,” D’Antoni said, “and I think we can overachieve.”

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High praise indeed, especially, when you consider some of the other players who the current Knicks head coach has previously had the good fortune of working with [A] in Phoenix … including Steve Nash, a former 2-time NBA MVP … and [B] with the USA’s Men’s National Team … including Kobe Bryant, a former NBA MVP, and Michael Redd, widely acknowledged as one of the best pure spot-up shooters in the NBA today.

Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250] was the No. 1 [overall] Selection in the 2006 NBA Draft and is set to begin his 4th full season in the League.

Danilo Gallinari [F, 6-10, 225] was the No. 6 [overall] Selection in the 2008 NBA Draft and, following an injury-plagued 1st season last year, is set to begin his 2nd campaign … according to published reports … in good health. 

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The view from this corner says that … if both are able to maintain relatively good health … when all is said and done, 15-20 years from today, Danilo Gallinari will be acknowledged as the superior NBA player, by a wide margin, given his diverse skill-set.

If there’s going to be a next-coming, on the NBA horizon, which combines the attributes of Larry Bird and Dirk Nowitzki, in a hybrid form, Gallinari is THAT player.

Related:

The best shooter I’ve ever seen …

Prior to the recent transaction between the Raptors [Bryan Colangelo], Mavericks [Donnie Nelson], Magic [Otis Smith & Dave Twardzik] and Grizzlies [Chris Wallace], this is what each of those team’s rosters looked like:

Coming out the other side, today, this is what they look like now, respectively:

Legend:
UFA - Unrestricted Free Agent; RFA - Restricted Free Agent; R - Rookie Player; TPE - Traded Player Exception; DP - Draft Pick; CC - Cash Considerations

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The Perspective From This Corner

The fact is, however, that the Cleveland Cavaliers [Danny Ferry] MAY have benefitted most of all from this specific transaction, as they subsequently gained unfettered access to Anthony Parker, the exact sort of complementary wing player they were searching for … to augment LeBron James & Co., in an effort to win their 1st NBA Championship. 

Your feedback is welcome in the “Comments” section.

FINAL SCORE: Raptors 99, MAVERICKS 108
Complete Game Info

Down by 7 points at the half, the Raptors quickly closed the gap on the Mavericks to open up the 3rd quarter scoring on 3 of their first 4 possessions:

Full Play-By-Play

At the 10:36 mark, however, when Joey Graham [SF] was called for his 4th PF and was then replaced by Marcus Banks [OG/PG], the Mavericks responded by inserting James Singleton [F] into their line-up, replacing Eric Dampier [C]. After pulling down 5 Rebounds in the first half, Singleton collected 9 more in the 3rd quarter, which allowed the Mavericks to match-up successfully with the Raptors’ “small” line-up and still retain their Rebounding superiority.

When the Mavericks then replaced Antoine Wright [OG/SF] with Jason Terry [OG/PG], to further spread the floor, it was Toronto that could not match-up successfully with Dallas, as the home team opened up a 9-point margin … on the strength of [i] 2 Fts by Jason Kidd, [ii] a putback dunk by Singleton, and [iii] consecutive jumpshots by Dirk Nowitzki [one 2FG & one 3FG] … that it would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

When the Raptors then chose to end the quarter with the following line-up:

1/Ukic + 2/Banks + 3/Kapono + 4/Bosh + 5/Bargnani

[i.e. Chris Bosh plus 4 non-Solid Rebounders]

any hope of a 2nd half comeback was eliminated, as the lead then ballooned to 15-points [75-90].

If/when you compare [B] where the Raptors could/SHOULD have been with their player roster for the 2008-2009 season and [A] where they stand today, in relation to a team like the Mavericks:

it’s quite stunning just how much the talent level of this team’s overall roster has declined this season.

Coming out of the annual All-Star Break and heading toward this week’s Trade Deadline  [Feb 19, 3:00 PM] … as different trade rumours swirl about the NBA [on-line & elsewhere] … it can be instructive to assess where certain marquee players rank amongst their brethren, at the specific position[s] they play the best.

When considering Big Men [i.e. Centers/C and Power Forwards/PF], it is also imperative to understand what their fundamental role is within the NBA game and what qualities are the most important for them to exhibit on a consistent basis, if their respective team’s are going to have a legitimate chance to win a League Championship, now or in the not-too-distant future.

Big Man Ranking Criteria

* Leadership
* Rebounding [which includes: i. Defensive; ii. Offense]
* Team Defense [which includes: i. Interior Rotations; ii. Perimeter Rotations; iii. Execution of Pick & Roll Techniques; iv. Transition Effectiveness; v. Shot blocking off the ball; Switching off the ball]
* Low-Mid Post Scoring
* Passing Effectiveness
* Individual Low-Mid Post Defense [which includes Shot blocking on the ball]
* Individual Perimeter Defense
* Screening Effectiveness
* Picking Effectiveness
* Perimeter Scoring
* Offensive Transition
* Physical Traits: i. Quickness; ii. Agility; iii. Explosive Power; iv. Size & Strength
* Psycho-Emotional Traits: i. Stability; ii. Intelligence; iii. Intensity; iv. Toughness 

These are the current rankings, according to this corner:

Use the “comments” section to provide your feedback.