khandor’s sports blog

 Chris Bosh’s interview on FAN590 [Fri Oct 29 2010]

“I love Toronto. I got drafted by Toronto. I wouldn’t be here today without going through that city, and going through the changes, and the ups and downs, while I was there. So, at the end of the day, it’s nothing but good memories. And, like I said before, I don’t have anything bad to say, you know, and I always thank everybody for their support, and if they didn’t think … you know … that I’m thankful, I am. I thank everybody for everything. It was a hell*va ride while we were doing it.” – Chris Bosh

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A prime example of a fine young man with his priorities back in the right place.

MLSE employees … and members of the ‘pro team sports’ media, in Toronto … who choose to speak poorly of Chris Bosh reveal a great deal about their own flawed character and only succeed in putting themselves in a negative light.

If you are someone who needs to “not have an established ‘star’ player on your team” in order to “have the freedom to coach” and to “not have your arms tied behind your back, offensively or defensively”, or “to not cater to a ‘superstar’”, etc.:

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Jay Triano’s interview on Primetime Sports/FAN590 yesterday afternoon.

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then, the unfortunate … and, somewhat, harsh … reality is that you are probably not someone who has what it takes to succeed … at least, in a major way … in the specific – i.e. pressure-cooker – environment which exists in the NBA.

Those who offer excuses like these for a team’s poor performance are simply not cut from the right cloth to lead a team to the league championship.

Incredulously …

This is just some of what was said, earlier this morning, by the Raptors’ GM, during his interview segment on FAN590 radio:

Click here. [to listen for yourself]

“We’ve got to focus on the 9 games left in the season to, uhh … you know … to try to finish this thing the right way, and … and, finish in the best possible position to have some success in the playoffs, if we should be so lucky, and fortunate, to get there.” - Bryan Colangelo

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The remaining schedule for Toronto/#8 and Chicago/#9 looks like this:

Even if, by some miraculous turn of fate, the Bulls are capable of beating 3 “>.500″ teams at home [marked with orange and a ?, above] and beating 1 “>.500″ team on the road [also marked with orange and a ?, above] …

How on earth does anyone actually see Chicago being able to collect 8 WINS [i.e. winning out] the rest of the way? …

since the Raptors also have the head-to-head tie-breaker in their favour, and the Bulls are now playing without 2 of their “starters” [i.e. Luol Deng/SF and Kirk Hinrich/OG-PG]

… if Toronto can simply take care of its own business properly, by winning the 6 almost “gimme” games left on its schedule [marked in green, above].

The simple fact is …

“Luck”, per se, will have almost nothing to do with whether, or not, the Raptors are capable of qualifying for the playoffs this season.

It’s when Bryan Colangelo says nonsense stuff like this that he loses a certain measure of R.E.S.P.E.C.T. in the eyes of someone like yours truly, who has actually been around the “basketball” block … at least … once, or twice, in his/her lifetime.

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Truth be told …

At the 73 game mark of the season, the Raptors should now be considered the PROHIBITIVE favourite to earn the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs … and if, through some type of Haley’s Cometesque occurrence, Toronto should [somehow?] manage to blow this opportunity, it could only be perceived as an epic collapse, in the annals of the NBA.  

During Wednesday’s television broadcast of the Orlando/Toronto game, Jack Armstrong, Toronto’s analyst, made the following observation about the perceived talent level for this year’s Raptors team:  

Then, on Thursday evening , during the FAN590′s ”Hoops” broadcast, Eric Smith, Toronto’s radio analyst, tried to re-iterated this same point of view, when a caller suggested that the Charlotte Bobcats should actually be considered as “a better team with more NBA talent than the Raptors” … along with, at least, 4 other teams in the Estern Conference, i.e. Boston, Orlando, Cleveland and Atlanta.

After hearing Eric’s response to that caller, this is the exact comment [including errors] which was submitted by yours truly to his FAN590 blog, The Rap, on Friday, Dec 18 2009, at 2:17 PM:

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Hi, Eric.

I heard you on speak with a caller on last night’s show, just prior to 8:00 PM, concerning your belief that the Raptors [11-17/.393] are a better team than the Bobcats [10-14/.417]. According to what you said, your opinion was based on conversations you have had with various NBA insiders who you have encountered across the league and what their impression of Toronto and Charlotte has been to this point in the season.

Respectfully, it is my contention that you … and these NBA insiders who you happened to have communicated with regarding the relative strength of these two teams … happen to be incorrect in this assessment, and will eventually be proven wrong are the season plays itself out.

After starting the season poorly, without Stephen Jackson on their roster, the Bobcats have begun to climb up the standings in the Eastern Conference, and are now ahead of the Raptors. Although the Raptors [#4] have played a more difficult schedule than the Bobcats [#15], to this point, IMO, Charlotte has more “NBA talent” on its current roster, and should probably be expected to close out the current season by finishing ahead of Toronto in the final standings.

Calderon [+1] > Felton
DeRozan < Jackson [+1]
Turkoglu < Wallace [+2]
Bosh [+2] > Diaw
Bargnani < Chandler [+3]
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Jack = Augustin
Belinelli < Henderson [+4]
Wright < Brown [+5]
Johnson = Mohammed
Nesterovic [+3] > Diop
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Banks < Murray [+6]
Seems [+4] > Law
 Mensah-Bonsu = Graham
Evans [+5] ?
O’Bryant = Ajinca
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Triano < Brown [+7]

PS. Hopefully, the fanbase should now be able to see that we’ve been saying for a while now, re: Jose Calderon’s relative lack of individual defensive prowess not being the major catalyst for the team’s many short-comings on that side of the ball, has been a highly accurate assessment.

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As you can clearly see there are several typos and what appear to be “publication errors” contained in that specific comment, which was submitted rather hurriedly and is still awaiting moderation/publication at The Rap.

In an effort to clear up any mis-understanding which Eric Smith - or other visitors to his blog – might have … 

Here is a more “in-depth” analysis of the rosters for the Raptors and the Bobcats, with a few adjustments to the initial ratings that more accurately reflect the current state of affairs with these two teams, from the perspective of this coner:

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Visitors here are invited to elaborate further on their own answer to this question in the comments section.

Earlier in November, Bryan Colangelo was quoted in an interview with Eric Smith [FAN590], as saying:

“ … we’ll know what we’ve got by the end of the month.”

For the benefit of those now looking ahead in the schedule:

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Use the comments section to elaborate on your answer.

Related:

Raptors Face Major Decisions About Bosh and the Future

In the interview Bryan Colangelo did with Eric Smith [FAN590], prior to the Raptors’ win vs the Bulls [Nov 11 2009], he said the following words:

“We’ll know what we’ve got by the end of the month.”

The Bosh Factor: Bryan Colangelo Won’t Be Patient With Early Losses

At the time, Toronto’s W-L Record was 3-4/.429.

11 days later, it is now 6-7/.462, good enough for 2nd place in the Atlantic Division and 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Beginning with this afternoon’s home game vs Orlando, the Raptors will play 7 games over the next 11 days:

Game 14 Sun Nov 22 vs Orl [10-3/.769; 1st Southeast, 2nd EC]

Game 15 Tue Nov 24 vs Ind [5-5/.500; 4th Central, 8th EC]
Game 16 Wed Nov 25 @ CHA [3-9/.250; 4th (tie) Southeast, 10th (tie) EC]

Game 17 Fri Nov 27 @ BOS [9-4/.692; 1st Atlantic, 4th EC]

Game 18 Sun Nov 29 vs Pho [10-3/.769; 1st Pacific, 1st (tie) WC]

Game 19 Tue Dec 01 vs Was [3-9/.250; 4th (tie) Southeast, 12th (tie) EC]
Game 20 Wed Dec 02 @ ATL [11-3/.786; 1st Southeast, 1st EC]

which will take the team to the 1/4 pole of the regular season schedule.

This is the specific stretch of games that will reveal exactly what type of team the Raptors have, at the moment, and what can be expected from this group for the remainder of the season should there be no further major player personnel and/or coaching changes going forward.

While some voices in Raptorville believe the team’s performance during this stretch will turn out to be a source of tremendous optimism, and preceed a gradual upswing in the standings, as the season progresses …

45 Wins, and How the Raptors Will Get There [5-2, Nov 22 to Dec 02]

looking ahead, in September, from the vantage point of an astute NBA observer, this corner did not share that same perspective:

Raptors half-way through their first 20 games

According to his record, as a General Manager, Bryan Colangelo has a well-documented history of making an assessment of his team’s situation sometime in the first two weeks of December.

Tic toc, tic toc, tic toc … [Apr 11 2008]

If he likes what he has seen to that point, he continues moving forward, as is.

If, however, he does NOT like what he “thinks” he sees from his team … then, the fanbase best be prepared for a seismic shift, in terms of either player personnel and/or the head coach position.

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & coaches [Apr 30 2008]

Wait a second … what’s really going on here [Dec 04 2008]

What is really going on here: Part II [Dec 05 2008]

Of scorpions, frogs, GMs & faces of the franchise [Mar 25 2009]

The next 2 weeks should prove to be a most interesting time in the 15 year history of the Toronto Raptors franchise. 

Related:

VC Declines Honour

It seems as though a certain segment within Raptorville is, once again, suffering from grotesque “delusions of grandeur”, regarding the actual ability and hoped for improvement of Andrea Bargnani [C, 7-0, 250, 2006 No. 1 Overall Selection] this off-season.

i.e. According to Doug Smith, in a segment on PrimeTime Sports [FAN590] yesterday, a legitimate case can be made that Bargnani might qualify as the 2nd Best Center in the Eastern Conference [EC] over the course of the 2009-2010 season.

The following list contains the names of the 15 Centers expected to play this position for their current teams, in the EC next season:

Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland Cavaliers [1]
Kendric Perkins, Boston Celtics [2]
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic [3]
Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks [4]
Jermaine O’Neal, Miami Heat [5]
Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia 76ers [6]
Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls [7]
Rasheed Wallace, Detroit Pistons [8]
Jeff Foster, Indiana Pacers [9]
Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats [10]
Brook Lopez, New Jersey Nets [11]
Andrew Bogut, Milwaukee Bucks [12]
Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors [13]
David Lee, New York Knicks [14]
Brendan Haywood, Washington [15]

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Although yours truly usually finds very little to agree upon with host Bob McCown that is not the case in this instance.

According to these eyes, whoever happens to agree with Doug Smith, in this regard, is quite likely to be suffering from a form of Post-Concussion Syndrome … as there are, at least, 7 players who should be listed ahead of Il Mago on a depth chart of this sort looking forward just 1 season.

As was said yesterday in this space, there are Those who understand how The Game works and those who do not.

According to yours truly … in general … Dave Feschuk [Toronto Star columnist] is someone who fits into the former category.

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Dealing O’Neal could prevent Raptor implosion
How did it go so wrong, so quickly? Clearly the summertime trade that brought O’Neal to Toronto for T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and a first-round draft pick, panned in this corner as it happened, is a failure. Colangelo spoke before the season of his belief that O’Neal would fill a hole in the club’s defence and rebounding corps – but they’re as bad as they’ve ever been in both categories. Colangelo figured O’Neal would complement Chris Bosh, the resident all-star, but O’Neal, when healthy, has largely been an older, slower duplicate to Bosh.

And though O’Neal is a public-relations genius who unfurls a yarn with the skill of 100 spin doctors, you can’t help but think that his unwillingness to play through pain and his diva-esque demeanour have been at least partly responsible for the palpable lack of chemistry on this season’s squad.

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There are very few authentic visionaries in this world, and those who are DO NOT operate best via consensus … which is the stated M.O. of the Raptors’ President/GM.

Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit C & Exhibit D

“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.

According to a report on FAN590 radio, this is how things are shaping up during the early stages of training camp for the Toronto Raptors:

STARTING UNIT: Calderon, Parker, Moon, O’Neal & Bosh

2nd Unit: Ukic, Kapono, Graham, Humphries & Bargnani

Reserves: Solomon or Adams & Jawai or Sampson

As straight-forward, conventional line-ups go, in the NBA … if the Raptors eventually decide to stick with this one - i.e. using Kapono & Graham as the primary back-ups for Parker & Moon, at the 2 & 3 positions, respectively – they are going to find themselves in a solid position to compete night-in and night-out with the other 2nd tier group of teams in the Eastern Conference, on the heels of Detroit and Boston … so long as there are no major injuries to Bosh, O’Neal or Calderon.

As is … the major problem with this team is the overall Lack of Quality Depth … but, there’s no denying the fact that the squad has 10 pieces to the puzzle of a 15-piece Playoff Contender Set, in the Eastern Conference, this season.

If Raptors fans everywhere do their best to avoid (i) crossing paths with Black Cats, (ii) walking underneath ladders, and (iii) breaking mirrors, etc., who knows … maybe just this one time, this team can roll the dice, in this way, and gingerly side-step the injury bugaboo that almost always rears its head and derails the best laid plans of mice & men who try to play the game with a short stack.

Although, in general … high risk, low reward propositions seldom produce a winning combination, in the NBA, over the long grind of an 82-game season.