Daki: I
don't think that there could be a better way to reunite the founding members of
the Millennium blog than with a discussion about all things Toronto Raptors and
some NBA talk. So I hit up Jovan and Luka with this message after another
gritty effort by the Raps fell short (a 6-point loss to Brooklyn without 6
rotation players). Guys, we may or may not have placed a decent sum of money on
the "over" for the Raptors win total (which we thought was a
hilarious number of 'only' 32.5). My question to you is: On a scale of one to
ten; with ten being "we may as well have lit our money on fire" how
depressed are you right now? Furthermore what do you guys think is the matter
with this team? Things have gotten so bad that even Amir Johnson lost his cool
in a very bizarre manner and threw his mouth-guard at a ref. Reading the RealGM
forums is making me clinically depressed about this team, and the Leafs are
outselling the Raptors and they don't even have a season! Please share your
thoughts.
Luka: Hate
to answer your question with another question but what isn't wrong with these
guys? The defense that Dwane Casey managed to squeeze out of the rag-tag
line-up we had last year (shout out to Uzoh) is completely gone. I'm pretty
sure we hold the record for allowed wide open threes after several blown
rotations followed by a guy standing and watching instead of properly closing
out. Our rotations are an absolute disaster as well because Casey refuses to
play Davis (really improved this year, looks legit and plays well every
time he gets minutes) and Valanciunas (love everything I've seen from him
this year, will make mistakes as all rookies do) at the same time, instead
giving those minutes to Amir "Can you believe I am making almost 20 million
for the next 3 years" Johnson, Aaron "You couldn't move
slower if you tried" Gray and Bargs who quite frankly isn't worth
mentioning the way he's played this year. Jose continues to troll the
organization by looking fantastic as a starter and then like absolute garbage
(compliment) as a bench guy despite playing against weaker opposition in the
latter scenario. It's almost as if he wants another PG controversy so he can
win over the job and then become absolutely mediocre once he gets it. You could
say I should cut the Raps some slack, their top 2 small forwards have been out
for most of the year after all until you realize they're Landry Fields and Alan
fucking Anderson. The few bright spots this year have been Davis, Val and
DeRozan whose play has quieted the critics of his contract extension. I never
had a problem with the deal because that's the market price for a player of
Demar's caliber and to his credit he's been much improved this year.
The big reason that I've already typed this many words on a 4-19 team is Andrea
Bargnani. Remember when Bargs showed us the "player he could be" last
year in that magical 13-game stretch? I think Bargs drowned that guy in a big
bowl of Pasta Primo and sauce before the year. All in all I've never seen less
fucks given on the basketball court by a "marquee" guy. I mean if I
have to watch Andrea brick one more flat-footed contested long 2 followed by
that completely blank stare, I'm going to lose it. Just get him out. I don't
care for who at this point. The guy is everything that's wrong with this team.
Jovan: The
scale is definitely at a 10. I’m willing to accept that we have lost our money
because the way this team is playing right now, there is no chance they are
winning another 29 games. They are 1-14 on the road right now and I don’t even
see how they could win a second game. Lowry was a good offseason addition, but
since his injury three games in, the Raps have been shitting the bed. Bargnani
has reached a new low – he was never good on defense (and he is challenging
Jose as the worst help defender in the NBA), and the only part of his game that
was of any use (his offense) has completely disappeared. Ed Davis would be a
much better option for this team, as his overall ability has vastly improved
since last season, but the front office is still telling Casey to play Bargs.
Other than Bargnani, we have Jose, who only knows how to rack up assists (when
he starts) and do nothing else. Valanciunas has been average in his rookie
season and the others haven’t done anything of any value. Thankfully, the Raps
got rid of McGuire and brought in Pietrus, who is a decent defender, but lacks
consistency on offense. Casey can’t coach in the fourth, and Colangelo hasn’t
been able to do anything since Garbajosa’s injury. This team is spiralling
downward and they need to start making some changes. They need a fresh start.
Daki: Man,
I am so glad you brought up Garbajosa, a player so vastly underrated by Raptors
fans that it saddens me that some people still think he was not an important
part of those competitive Raptors teams. That brings up the bigger picture, BC
and the front office need to stop this love affair with Bargs and Jose. Swallow
your pride and bring Bargnani off of the bench until he can prove that he
deserves to start. I am a Casey fan and I think he has been dealt a tough hand,
but the man needs to grow some balls and stand up to the front office. I feel
that once a coach does this, the organization could move forward after being
stuck in the same spot for almost a decade now. To comment on your thoughts,
Derozan's play has been a major positive and its nice to see that guys on this
team at least still care and try hard. I feel that the early losses, all of
which hinged on two or three plays and one or two missed calls (awarding the
ball to Indiana based on "inconclusive" evidence and the no call on
Gilchrist when he fouled Bargnani being the examples which stand out the most)
have really affected the psyche of this team. But do you know what the worst
part is? Oklahoma City has our pick if it is not in the top 3! When will people
realize that Colangelo is not a good GM and that his dad was calling all the
shots for the Suns when they were contenders? The key to a good organization
starts at the top, and right now, we should be clearing house.
Luka: It
should let you know how successful the Raptors have been over the last few
years when die-hard fans consistently remember a Spanish role player who may or
may not have known how to shower as a franchise high point. This year's edition
of the Raps and in general the team going forward is one that I believe can't
succeed with Bargs as a part of it. Casey's Raptors are striving to be this
tough, defensive-minded team that hustles for every loose ball and never gives
up. Does that sound anything like Andrea Bargnani to you guys? No and that's
why he has to go. If the rumored trade of Pau Gasol for Jose, Kleiza, and Bargs
somehow happens, we’ll be forced to realize a few things. One, that the Lakers
whose major weakpoint is D don't watch basketball because that could be the
only reason they'd want two pylons on the defensive end (hey but at least jose
does the fake hustle crap and claps every time someone shoots. Please LA, take
these clowns.) and two, that we'd be on Kobe homicide watch playing with
Bargnani. Can you imagine a worse pairing than that? One is the most
competitive guy in the league who is only second to Jordan in completely
belittling his teammates while the other guy is 7 ft tall, gets about 2 boards
a game and probably feels proud of his achievements. Either way I'm praying at
the altar of Gasol for this to happen.
Jovan: The trade for Gasol unfortunately won't happen
because Kobe isn't stupid enough to allow it. As you said, no one in their
right mind would want Bargnani right now. He still has another year left
on his ridiculous contract (for the way he's currently playing, he should
be getting D-League salary) and is of no use to any team in the NBA
because no one wants a hole on defense. I don't understand why they keep
pushing this guy to try and become the player everything thought he could
be. He had the potential, but lacks basic defensive intelligence and can’t
catch a rebound to save his life. Perhaps he isn't playing this badly on
purpose, but the lack of effort to become the player he could have been is
almost worse than what Carter did to us. At least he said he didn't want
to play for the Raps. Bargs is consistently playing like shit and isn't
making any efforts to help us get any wins. Either sit the fuck down on the
bench or start making a contribution to this team. Colangelo needs to
realize this as well. You gave him the contract (and you also gave Jose
his contract) - you know, when you think about it, Colangelo
hasn't been able to do anything useful in a long time. This entire
organization is falling apart, and as Daki mentioned, it's time we start
clearing house. We have a few good pieces, but with the record that we
have now, it's evident that major changes have to be made. First
and foremost however, get rid of Il Mago - he's anything but a magician.
No NBA team wants to be a laughingstock, but the Raptors are at the bottom
of the power rankings in my book.
Daki: I am praying for that trade to happen for so
many reasons. Gasol is a legitimate star, the Kobe-Bargnani dynamic would be
amazing, especially because Kobe is fluent in Italian, and the Raptors would
finally have a foundation. But knowing the Raptors (and the Lakers) this is
more likely to happen: Bargnani would morph into Dirk 2.0, Jose and Nash will
be the first point guard tandem to have the much coveted 50-40-90 percentages,
and Kleiza would morph into a poor man's Robert Horry, and Sports Illustrated
will be publishing "the genius of D'antoni" articles. On the flip
side, Gasol would revitalize the franchise, we would make the playoffs next
season and then he would leave as a free agent. I realize that this scenario is
unlikely, but the fact that it would not shock anyone if it happened speaks
volumes. Can the Raptors even push for the heady heights of 11th in the East
this year? Just for fun: if you guys had any say, what three things would you
change right now to make this season more watchable? Bonus points for creative
answers.
My three:
The fans: Dust off those "VC sucks" chants and
just go a letter higher in the alphabet so we can get some nice "BC
sucks" chants going. Seriously, do this and not even Leo will be able to
sugar-coat it, and that guy sugar-coats the Raptors more than anyone. Want
proof? Here, taken directly off Raptorsrepublic (A great blog if you are a fan
of the Raptors by the way)
"Gotta love Leo Rautins ripping Andray Blatche and Joe
Johnson for lack of effort when we got Andrea Bargnani on the team. Who he
should be ripping is the coach who, for some reason, let one of our hottest
players in JV ride the bench way too long in the fourth."
If it’s one thing Toronto is good at, its letting people in
the sports world know when they suck at their job, let’s put some pressure on
the organization and run Colangelo out of town so that he can destroy another
team.
Secondly, pay Bargnani by the rebound. I for one would love
to see how much effort he would give if he could only earn money by rebounding.
Luka: Because this season has been so un-watchable,
I'm going to cheat and give more than 3.
Fire Leo Rautins. Watching games where Leo is doing the
color commentary have become painful, the guy doesn't really have anything
useful to say and it honestly feels like Matt Devlin hates him (who can blame
him?).
Take away the 100-point pizza offer. Our on-court product
is embarrassing enough as it is. We don't need to cringe every time we score
100 points in a blowout and the fans react like the Leafs just won the cup.
It's a slice of pizza. Just because you're getting it for free doesn't make it
any more important. Just chill when you get it.
Play Ed and Val way more. I'll take mistakes from these two
because they're trying their hearts out over laziness and lack of care any day.
Bring back the striped Raptors jerseys!! It seems like
every single team in the NBA has had a retro night with every single jersey in
that team's history except for the Raps who've only played in those Huskies
jerseys which are fine but they're not the ones we want.
Make Casey coach an entire game wearing a hat. Dwane Casey
doesn't know how to put on a hat. Seriously watch any of his interviews where
he's wearing one. It looks like he purposely laid it on top of his head just
enough so it wouldn't fall off. I'd definitely watch this game with way more
interest than any others.
Fire BC and trade Bargnani. With these two guys gone (and
hopefully Jose) we'll finally be able to move from the "Euro" era of
the Raptors into the future. Let's get this done.
Jovan: Bring back Chuck Swirsky. As good as Devlin is,
I really miss our players hitting shots from downtown Petersborough and making
other teams eat Spalding. The salami and cheese would never be taken out for
its intended use because of the way the Raps have been playing, but at least
you could get some laughs throughout the game even though you would probably
already be laughing at how bad the Raps are.
I’m going to repeat one of the points above. Fire BC and
get rid of Bargs. Both of them have done nothing of any use for this franchise.
I don’t understand why BC was rehired a few years back when the Raps were
already going downhill. Maybe the owners don’t want the Raps to ever be a good
team.
Rather than taking away the 100-point pizza offer, I would
cut it down to 75 points. Air Canada is currently offering fans the chance to
win a prize if they can correctly guess who will score the 75th point, but
twice this year (if not more) fans lost their chance to win because the Raps
couldn’t even manage 75 points. It’s kind of embarrassing. This wouldn’t make
the season more watchable, but at this point, I don’t really know if anything
could.
Lastly, for the love of God, start winning some more games.
Otherwise, forfeit the season so that we don’t lose our lottery pick.
This seems like a good spot to end
it, hopefully things will improve and the team will start to play better,
otherwise; fire everybody. Cheers!
