Raptors: To the Point

By Jeff Wong

Now that the Toronto Raptors are officially eliminated from playoff contention, it’s time for Raps fans to enjoy their annual “what-does-our-offseason-look-like” game. Let’s indulge in some fantasizing.

First, the point guard spot.

General Manager Bryan Colangelo has started to address the 2006-2007 season with the non-guaranteed signing of Andre Barrett. Impressed? I wasn’t either. I actually yelled “What?!” when I saw it on the ticker . However, this does set the stage for further changes to the point position. At the start of ‘06-’07, the roster will include the following players (excluding Alvin “The Black Knight” Williams): Andre Barrett (5′10″, age 24), Jose Calderon (6′3″, age 25) and Roko-Leni Ukic (6′5″, age 22). According to RaptorBlog, Ukic may be coming to North America “sooner than expected.”

Colangelo has already been quoted by the Star as saying, “Another young guy with no experience may not be the best thing for this team,” and all of the above indeed have little NBA experience. Obviously, then, the Raptors will look to trade for or sign a veteran who doesn’t mind splitting time with a couple of rookies (this excludes Mike James, of course). My guess is that Barrett and Ukic would duke it out for the 3rd guard role. If Ukic is good enough to open the season, then Barrett is released. Otherwise, Ukic goes down to the D-League until he’s ready. According to my projections that leaves the rotation with a veteran, Calderon, and Barrett or Ukic.

Are there enough minutes to go around? Some have argued that Ukic is more of a combo guard and can get minutes at the two spot, while others say he is strictly a one, being effective only with the ball in his hands. If the former is the case, then this could work.

As for Barrett, I see him as a stop gap and insurance. Nothing personal, but size matters, and the ceiling is higher (no pun intended) for the Euro-guards.

Who are the veteran PG candidates? Some have suggested Speedy Claxton (this year a “NOOCH” behind Chris Paul). An interesting side note on Claxton is that according to Chuck Swirsky the Raptors’ brass in 2000 were interested in drafting him. Who else might be available and willing? Eric Snow? Darrick Martin? Rod Strickland? Thankfully, Colangelo probably has more ideas than I do. One thing’s for sure, if the two youngsters are meant to see significant floor time, the vet will have to be past his prime and resigned to being a career backup.

I would enjoy this group as the ‘06-’07 Raptor point guards because Calderon is already a fan favorite, Ukic is a flashy and talented 2nd round steal, and whomever Colangelo gets for the remaining spot will no doubt be effective, at least for the short term.

The Pitbull Has Lost His Bite

Mike James spoke out this weekend once again about his impending free agency. On Sunday he vented to the Boston Globe that, ”I’m a pit bull because I’m misunderstood. A pit bull is the sweetest, most loving dog in the world and full of energy. But if crossed, they’ve got lockjaw. When I lock on to something, I’m not letting go.”

Unfortunately for Raptors fans it appears that James has locked onto the idea of getting paid. For the past month it seem as though James has made a point of showing what he can do on the court even if it doesn’t help the Raptors post some wins. In close games James would rather jack up an ill-advised three than work the ball down into the post or swing it around the arc to find an open teammate. This is acceptable for a team that’s rebuilding and is trying to get as many ping pong balls as possible but this isn’t the type of play that teams hoping to advance in the playoffs looks for (probably the reason why teams like Detroit, Miami and Houston have let him go).

Later in the Boston Globe’s article James complained that, “if somebody else was putting up the stats that I was putting up, they would throw all the money in the world at them. So, just treat me the same way as you would treat anybody else who’s a free agent. Money is not my motivator, but I also want to enjoy the fruits of my labor.”

James fails to realize that he’s posting big numbers because he’s playing on a weak team that needs him to be jack up tons of shots. GM’s around the league are aware that he’s a player that’s bounced around the League and they feel that he’s posted big numbers this season because the Raptors lack other scoring options. It’s not a case of the media and the League not showing him the love, it’s just a case of him playing for a weak team this season and people not being sold on his ability to contribute to a winning team.

While we’re talking about James getting paid, I’m all for players making as much money as they can, while they can. The average NBA player only plays a couple of years in the League so I’m not going to begrudge any player for trying to make as much money as they can.

I do begrudge James for putting himself ahead of the team.

Earlier this season I loved the guy’s heart and willingness to take the big shot at the end of games but as the season has worn on I’ve started to question his motives. A perfect example of this showed up late in Sunday’s game. With the game tied and time winding down in regulation James didn’t even look to make a pass but instead took the ball to the lane and tossed up an off-balanced shot. Most nights this would be an okay play but at the time he was shooting an atrocious 3 for 17 from the field and he should have passed the rock to one of his teammates that was doing a better job shooting the rock.

James tried to justify his shooting when he told the reporters gathered around his locker this weekend that, “it happens. I shot bad tonight. Not every night is going to be a great night but the main thing is perseverance and fighting through it. They say you miss 100 percent of the shots that you don’t take. If I have an open shot as hard as I work I am going to continue to believe in myself. No matter if the shot goes down or not if I feel in my heart it’s a good shot I’m going to continue to shoot it.”

When reporters continued to ask if he should stop shooting on off nights James stuck to his guns and told the media scrum that, “you just gotta’ keep working. You can’t let it get to you. It’s frustrating because you work on these shots every day so you believe 9 out of 10 times these shots will go in for you. If I give even half the performance that I’ve been giving this season then we would have probably won tonight. I missed the big one in the first overtime that went in and out for me. These are shots that I normally make so I’m going to live and die with what I do on the court.”

James was the Raptors best player this year but I don’t think we should re-sign him this summer because of his shoot-first mentality. He’s a “tweener” guard who doesn’t have the size to playing shooting guard and lacks the pass-first mentality to be help a team go deep in the playoffs. If I were the GM of the Raptors I’d rather go with a player like Speedy Claxton this summer because he is younger, looks to pass first and will come a lot cheaper than James will.

Basketball Mural Completed!

The basketball mural’s finally completed! Matt came over yesterday and put the finishing touches on things and the mural looks sweet. I’ve posted a picture of the wall Matt finished today at the bottom of this post but if you head over to my FlickR account you can see how the whole mural came together (from sketches and “taping” all the way until how it looks now at the end).

Matt did some great work and I can’t wait to see what he’s going to do with the layout for the Hoops Addict Magazine next fall!

To see the rest of the pictures click here.

Ex-Raptors Audio Clips

Last week a fellow teacher passed a CD full of Raptors School Messages that have numerous members of the Raptors from the 2003-04 season talking about leadership, bullying, self-confidence and a bunch of topics that teachers can use.

Why do basketball fans care about this?

Because idiots like Vince Carter and Antonio Davis have clips on this CD that are hilarious now that we can see where their careers have gone.

The best clip came from Vince Carter who talks about being a leader on and off the court. In his clip Carter tells kids that, “as a professional athlete I work hard on and off the court. A leader must set a good example for others by having a positive attitude. I always come to practice ready to give 100 percent.”

Keep in mind this audio clip is from the same player who refused to play through nagging injuries during his time in Toronto and admitted to the media that he dogged it during his last year in Toronto.

For reasons I can’t fathom the Raptors had Davis telling kids about leadership. Davis tells kids in his clip that, “a leader must set a good example for others by having a positive attitude. I always come to practice ready to give 100 percent.”

This the same clown that demanded a trade out off town, who’s back forced the Raptors to buy out his contract and who’s wife tried to get into a fight with a fan during a game this season.

Another gem comes from Davis when he talks about bullies. Davis tells kids that, “I’m here to tell you that no one loves to play with bullies and bad sports. It is easy to get caught up in winning and losing, but remember it is important to play the game with a positive attitude and respect for both your teammates and opponents.”

There are so many jokes I could make here. Do I make fun of his wife who gets into fights with fans? Do I make a joke about the fact that Davis talks about not being a bully yet his wife is one? So many jokes, so little time. As my friends like to remind me, I’m not someone who can crack jokes so I’ll let you listen to these clips and let you post some comments below. Enjoy!

Writers Wanted

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HoopsAddict.com is looking to become the definitive basketball site on the Internet and we’re hoping that the addition of more writers will provide readers with more unique commentary and insight. This is a great opportunity for a new writer to see their work on a website that has over 2,000 unique visitors and over 3,000 page views per week. Writers who catch our attention with their online articles will be given the chance to contribute to our magazine that will be published next fall. We welcome new writers but prefer to use those with previous journalism/writing experience.

If you’re passionate about basketball and are interested in joining the HoopsAddict.com team drop Ryan an email at admin@hoopsaddict.com

Bobcats Ditch Rush

The Bobcats got fed up with Kareem Rush this weekend and kicked him to the curb with less than nine games remaining in the season. Additional salt in the wound came when Bernie Bickerstaff told the media that Rush was waived because, “the Bobcats are about two things: hard work and maximum effort. With that in mind, we think that it is best to go in a different direction with Kareem.”

That’s cold, man.

Why would Charlotte feel the need to kick the guy while he’s down? Getting cut would have hurt enough but those comments are nothing short of a kick to the junk. The Bobcats are a young franchise that is struggling to get wins and now they are going to get a reputation with players as a place that doesn’t treat it’s own well.

Bickerstaff tried to backtrack later with the media by Charlotte Observer writer Rick Bonnell that he and Rush, “had a conversation, and it ended abruptly. The young man has an abundance of talent, and I hope he realizes that.”

Rick Bonnell wrote about Rush today in a column for the Observer and had nothing but positive things to say about Rush at the begining of his article. Near the beginning of his article he wrote that, “three times in the past six weeks, I asked Rush what he thought of his future here. He was playing under a one-year contract, worth $3 million, with a team option beyond this season. Each time Rush would respond with a detached shrug, and say he anticipated employment somewhere in the NBA next season, however it worked out. I’m convinced that trait — detachment — doomed Rush here. Rush is a nice guy — there’s nothing malicious or mean-spirited in his personality — but he left you thinking basketball was his job, not his passion.”

Later on in his article Bonnell seemed to switch gears and wrote about Rush getting numerous chances with the franchise. Bonnell wrote, “Rush isn’t a crash-into-walls kind of guy. But he had skills — the ability to create and make a jump shot with the 24-second clock dying — that the Bobcats severely lacked when Bickerstaff acquired him last season. Bickerstaff cut a player of some use (Eddie House) to make room for Rush and sent two second-round picks to the Los Angeles Lakers to complete the transaction. From then on, Rush was the closest thing the Bobcats had to a golden child. Miss shots? He still played. Hurt a lot? He still played. Poor shape entering training camp? He still played.”

While Rush may have played the game with a lack of passion this isn’t a reason to cut someone with less than nine games left in a season. If anything, the Bobcats should have known about his personality and playing abilties after he played 34 games for them last season.

Cutting Rush with nine games left in the season was a blatantly malicious move by Bickerstaff that doesn’t sit well with me.

GAME RECAP: Phoenix 140, Toronto 126

Phoenix and Toronto elected to put forth minimal effort on the defensive end last night and the result was an old fashioned shootout that had the Suns walking away with 140 to 125 victory over the Raptors.

The Suns were ahead 70 to 60 at the half and by the midway point of the third quarter the score was already an eye-popping 84-79 in favor of the Suns.

Despite yet another loss, Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell was in a jovial mood following the game and told the media scrum waiting form him that, “it was obvious that we weren’t going to stop them so we had to make shots. I thought Mo and Mike did what they had to do to try to keep us in the basketball game. They made shots. I wasn’t disappointed in the way they played. I thought Pape played hard, I thought Andre and all our guys played hard. That’s a smart basketball team and they have the best point guard in the league that orchestrate things.”

Suns head coach Mike D’Antoni wasn’t content with the win and complained to reporters following the game about his team’s inability to play defense. While basketball fans love watching games like this D’Antoni realizes that Championships are won by teams that are able to stop other teams not just outscore them.

“We really try to play defense, we really do,” D’Antoni joked to reporters following the game. “I just thought they hit unbelievable shots. We couldn’t get the separation from them and they played a good game. But again, people are going to score a lot of points because we score a lot of points. We gave them a lot of chances to do it.”

Morris Peterson had 23 points at the half and finished the game with 38 points. Peterson was able to hit outside shots which opened up the lane for him to throw down a couple of nasty dunks. Following the game Peterson was more interested in dwelling on another tough loss rather than a enjoying praise after a strong individual game. The vet talked about why his team lost told reporters that, “a team like that who have been doing that all year, and that’s their style, they are not going to stop. They are going to try to score more points than you. If you come down and score, they don’t care, they’re going to push the ball up the court. The things we have to learn is that when you play a team like that you have to get back. You have to get back and find your man. If you don’t find your man, you have to find the closest guy to you. If it’s not your man, all those guys are interchangeable. We did a terrible job of that tonight.”

Mike James dropped 36 points on the Suns but was in a sour mood following the game after yet another loss. When a reporter asked James about what it’s like to be in a zone, James turned to the reporter and corrected him by saying, “that’s just how I play, it ain’t no zone. A zone is if I score 60 in a game then ask me if I feel like I’m in a zone. It’s not like I haven’t done this the whole season. I’m just playing my game and taking whatever shots come my way and still trying to make plays for my teammates.”

Another player who had a strong game for the Raptors was Pape Sow who had a career high in points (15) and rebounds (13) and posted the first double-double of his career.