http://www.wagesofwins.com/AllPlayersMid0708.html




Check out whos last....

Bosh in the all-star team!!!

Andrew Bynum is ahead of Kobe Bryant? Shawn Marion above Steve Nash? WTH is this state again?

I'll be honest, I dont fully understand what this stat is all about. Maybe someone can enlighten me. I just dont want to be last in any stat run...no matter how ambiguous it is.

Benjamin Disraeli: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics."

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/teams/news_story/?ID...ame=nba-raptors

Toronto's All-Time 'no show' team

Toronto's All-time team

I agree with the starters on the "all time team" except for Might Mouse, gotta stick Calderon in there...but the bench isn't right. TJ should definitely be on instead of Alvin, I'd take Parker over Peterson any day, Humphries, Donyell, Charlie V or Moon instead of Bonner.

I agree, they seem to have taken presedence on older players.

For any of you non pre-VC fans, Mighty Mouse was great in his Toronto days. He ran the whole team.

I HEART Jose as well... but MM was the MAN back in 95/96.

Donyell Marshall or Dell Curry should definitely be ahead of Matt Bonner. Hell, half of last year's team on one season alone - Parker, Calderon, and Garbo - should be there ahead of him.

Maybe they were looking for best end-of-the-bench cheerleader.

There isn't a crappy waiver wire pickup thread or released player pickup thread so I suppose I'll post here. The idea of a Magliore pickup is intriguing. He is a locker rom cancer who apparantly likes the "lifestyle" and is a little lazy. While he grabs 7-8 boards he is slow and a defensive liaility not to mention a crappy free throw shooter. The weird thing is hometown boy might want to make a feel good story here for a short lived run and hope for a contract .the worst thing would be if that long term was with us. I feel if we could get rent a gliore and only have to deal with him through may Id waive Primoz. It is just the short spurt he might actually work hard enough at to fool someone and have it pay off in front of his hometown buddies for a contract

I'm thinking he's going to end up in Detroit. They waived Flip Murray so they have room to bring him in now. I don't mind Flip Murray's game, it will be interesting to see what happens with him.

Also, if the Pistons do sign him, if any player can light a fire under his azz it would be Sheed, maybe thats what he needs.

I dont understand the whole "sign Jamal Magloire" logic - he got cut by the Nets. Enough said. If he cant hack it there, he offers nothing to the Raptors

^Agreed. Pistons are going to sign Dale Davis.

Dale Davis is still in the league?

I remember when everyone wanted Magloire in T-Dot 2 years ago. Me and AND18 specifically stated he would suck ass, and loe and behold, we were right

BC ruined by desktop background that i just made last week!

http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=raptorsso1.png

one thing i noticed while making this background is that our uni's are eff'd up. i think we are the only team in the L, with the exception of g-state, who's road jerseys say the team name on the the city name. im guess this is because they were an alternate jersey before they were our road unis.

but still, our red gear should say "toronto", not "raptors".

sorry but somethings been bothering me....why do ppl keep on saying that kobe is the only trade exception in the nba? doesn't devean george have one?

George was eligible for a certain rule in the NBA. I believe it's something like if you resign with the team you played for last season, and you sign a 1 year contract, you are eligible to decline trades that involve you.

While Kobe just has that clause because they put it there, while George just used one of his rights. It is a pretty unknown rule to most people.

Apropos of nothing (which is why this qualifies as random banter), I think the Raps should make a strong effort to sign Josh Childress to be our starting SF this offseason.

He will probably sign for less than Maggette or some other high profile FAs, and with Atlanta's shaky management situation and profusion of other young guys they need to sign, they may be able to shake him loose for the MLE or slightly more.

The Raps may have to make this a sign and trade, or even give up a 1st round pick, but in the East, the Raps appear to be a playoff lock for the next 2-3 years (barring catastrophic injuries) and picks in the late teens/early twenties are highly unlikely to deliver a player who is ready to play at that level.

Childress isn't an all-star, but he's definitely an above average player who can defend some, shoot a high percentage, get to the line, and who won't require the ball all the time to be effective.

He isn't a very good 3 point shooter, but the Raps already have plenty of those, and he may get better over time (apparently he has some big mechanical flaws).

Anyway, I wanted to put that out there.

Go Raps!

yeah I've had my eye on him too, looks like a pretty decent player with some rebounding abilities and as you mentioned, high fg%. I haven't seen him play much and I rarely hear people talking about him, but seems like a good addition and might be obtained at a decent price.

absolutely...i'm on board, i spent a good while playing with childress on the espn trade machine before remembering how terribly atlanta is run....is he an unrestricted FA?

Nah He is restricted and so are Josh Smith and Iguodala. I don't know if Atlanta would want to resign Smith and Chilldress, maybe they'll just let Childress walk. If the Raps were able to sign Iggy or Smith I think I would finally feel healed from that horrible Hoffa pick, Childress would be nice too but not quite as nice as the other two. Iggy would bring solid one on one defense to the team and a second scoring option, or if they got Smith that would bring some rebounding and a major shot blocking presence, which the Raps lack in a major way.

Maybe some draft picks, Kapono and expiring contracts would help in a sign and trade.

i have seen much of childress, but what exactly does josh childress do that jamario moon doesnt for 1/10th the price?

here's a quote from Jamario taken from this weeks nba.com rookie rankings:

"Hey man, with a coach like Sam Mitchell, man, you will stay in line. Sam lets me know every day that no one is supposed to be here, you got to earn the spot to be here, he always points that out to me. Then I got teammates who give me things to help me out throughout the season. With my teammates and my coaches all on my side, it's easy to stay grounded."

Hollinger:

"I've been getting a lot of puzzled e-mails lately about the Toronto Raptors, who are fourth in this morning's Hollinger Power Rankings despite having the league's 13th-best record.

Chris Bosh and the Raptors are a force to be reckoned with.

The Raptors didn't have a big reputation coming into the season, have only one household name in the lineup, and haven't been past the first round of the playoffs in half a decade. So what gives?

Here's the deal: They're a lot better than their record. As I keep saying, victory margin is a better indicator of future success than win-loss record, and the Raptors' average margin of plus-4.64 is better than that of the Mavs, Magic, Rockets, Warriors and Nuggets -- all of whom have better win-loss records.

Additionally, that number has ballooned of late. The Raptors haven't put together an impressive win streak, so they have slipped past everyone's attention -- the Raptors are a solid but hardly awe-inspiring 10-6 in their past 16 games.

But look closer and you'll see what an impressive stretch it's been. Five of the six losses were by five points or less, while eight of the 10 wins were by 17 or more; one of the two that wasn't was a 114-112 win in Boston that was the best shooting display a team has put on all season.

Let's put it more simply: The Raps aren't beating people, they're killing them. Toronto topped Milwaukee by 31, Washington by 39, Miami by 32, Minnesota by 23 and 22, New Jersey by 18, Orlando by 17, and New York by 23. In a 16-game stretch, half their games were blowout wins.

Sum it up and you'll see in that modest-looking 16-game stretch the Raptors are outscoring opponents by an impressive 10 points per game.

And although the Raps may seem short on star power, you might want to revisit that assumption. Check out what Chris Bosh has done lately -- he's risen to fifth in the league in player efficiency rating thanks to a huge two-month stretch. Since New Year's Day he's averaging 25.7 points per game and shooting 56.9 percent from the field.

Not much further down the list is Jose Calderon, who ranks 16th in PER thanks to his insanely high efficiency. I've already expounded on his unique combination of high assists, low turnovers and high-percentage shooting so I won't repeat myself here; suffice it to say that he's been far superior to several players with much greater reputations.

And although their supporting cast lacks stars, it also lacks duds. Everybody can shoot -- the Raps lead the league at 42.2 percent on 3-pointers -- and they have the second-lowest turnover rate in the league. So even though the Raptors attack doesn't seem that awe-inspiring, they're actually fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and first in the Eastern Conference.

And it gets better. With T.J. Ford back from injury, Toronto has a third dynamic offensive player to plug into the equation.

Yet despite their weapons, I don't see anybody taking this team seriously as a contender in the East. So I must report that they are, most definitely, a contender in the East. I still like Boston and Detroit's odds better, but if you're looking for a dark horse and thinking Cleveland, I'd suggest shifting your gaze further north."

That was touching and all, but even as a fan I can't call them a contender, not yet. I think Cleveland would beat the Raps with relative ease in the playoffs.

I don't understand why Hollinger doesn't backup his statistics regarding his assertion that margin of victory is a better indicator than Win-Loss record. This guy lives in the realm of numbers, but instead, he's using a subjective mathematical formula that places the Rapstors as 4th best in his rankings. Shouldn't he have some supporting stats that literally show that teams that have a superior margin of victory actually go further in the playoffs? The only explanation I can come up with is that if he had the supporting figures, he would have tabled them, but instead, the numbers actually contradict his power rankings....

Ratliffe was waived by the T Wolves, get him Colangelo.

Who do you clear from the current roster for Theo?

Baston. Not that I condone signing Ratliff or anything.

Good call. Seeing that Ratliff is going to the Pistons, I guess the point is moot anyway.

http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=G_O8O3ZmYV0

I have a new theory about the Raptors consistency (or lack thereof) this season.

And yes, it has to do with the lack of an enforcer, but not the type of enforcer that has been called for so far.

The Raptors lack locker room leadership. And that goes straight to Bosh.

In the famous example, Rodman played hard for Jordan because he respected Jordan as an "alpha dog." Marion played hard for Nash because he respected Nash's talent. You see any slackers in San Antonio? Any "inconsistencies?" What about Boston? KG comes in there and suddenly players that couldn't make any contender's rotation are playing solid again.

Bosh is the Raptors alpha dog. Last year's team was magical because Bosh was magical. Remember the chants of "M-V-P" raining down in the ACC?

This year, Bosh is down in nearly every meaningful stat, and he's way down in rebounds (he hasn't rebounded at such a low rate since his sophomore year). Likewise, his control over the locker room has decreased, and now we have players like Delfino, Bargs, and the rest of the team as a whole playing with less consistency, and therefore less effort.

I don't think this means that we need to dump Bosh. I just think that this season is part of the growing pains of becoming "the man," which I believe were the words Bosh used when asked why he wanted to play for Toronto. Jordan didn't win a championship till his seventh season. The only reason Duncan, Wade and Kobe won championships in their younger years was because Robinson and Shaq were "the man" for them. Hakeem didn't win till late in his career. The only championship team in the last 20 years that won a championship without an older veteran alpha dog was Detroit--because arguably they had four old alpha dogs.

Now I know Bosh isn't Duncan, Jordan, Robinson, or Hakeem. But my point isn't that Bosh needs to be them: my point is that young leaders don't win as often as older leaders do. Bosh turns 24 later this month. An inconsistent team that can't put anything together is to be expected of any team led by a young guy who's having a down year.

What needs to happen for this team to go places is Bosh needs to be a little more selfish with the ball. Take more shots, score more points, and jump for more rebounds that a teammate would probably get anyways. He needs to be player of the month, an all-star starter, and eventually an MVP.

I think Bosh can do it. Just not now. For him to have the energy/capability to do this, I highly suggest endurance training over the summer (as I mentioned in an earlier post). Seriously, one of the two best cross country skiing teams in the world is the Italian one--Bargs has connections, right?

Not only do I agree with your thoughts and examples, but I bet CB4 would agree.

The thing that scares me is this is what we did to VC. VC was NEVER a leader...and never wanted to be. But the Raps kept pushing him to become one. Just because you're the best player, doesnt make you a natural or willing leader.

CB4 is different, but still young and new at the job of being leader. I think a couple more years under his belt and he will be that leader.

Remember, this is only his second year leading a team worth leading.

LINK: Pistons' assistant Terry Porter, in an interview with TrueHoop, who also talks about Amir Johnson, the rest of the Pistons, LeBron, and whether or not T.J. should be playing despite the injury risk.

trade him

"I'm the most versatile player, I think, in the league." -Joey Graham

Link

His athleticism certainly puts him up there with the potential to be one of the most versatile. But his lack of focus and basketball IQ are too detrimental to put him that class of players... yet. Anyone think he's gonna start improving? This stretch, with Bosh out of the lineup, may be his proving ground if Smitch let's him play.

Graham is younger than Moon and also younger than caledron yet both of those guys are/were given ample opportunity to 'improve.' Has to be pretty damn frustrating.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmTkZyvhzfg


HAHAHHAHAHA...hard to disagree

It's so sad and true, I'm crying right now.

Honestly, I think he's going to bounce around the League after his contract is up. He might turn into a decent role player in the right situation, but I don't think he has the overall ability to develop too much further in terms of growth as a player. He has skills, he just can't put it together.

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/NBA/article/350046

"Chris Bosh calls out teammates"


it is about time.

Bosh is definitely right, but I'm not sure what it's going to do. I have noticed he's been trying to get to the hoop since he's been back, especially in that Denver game. I thought it was great how Bosh was taking it right at Camby and Martin and getting some fouls on them. Martin did a solid job, but Bosh still had the right idea. Lets see if the rest of these softies follow his lead..

Raps To sign Linton Johnson, and Waive Martin

Looks like a pointless signing to me. If they're gonna waive Martin, just get rid of him all together. You want to surround this team with true winners, not with below average players like Martin who haven't done anything substantial in their careers.