Watching Knicks-Raptors on Friday night told me the entire story of what exactly is wrong with the Toronto Raptors.
Early into the broadcast, the Knicks broadcastors talked of Amir Johnson making his first start of the year in place of an ill Chris Bosh, and acknowledged his consistently solid play so far this season. This was followed up by talk of how the Raptors have had one of the best benches as far as points per game in the game. However, this is still a team that is barely hovering above .500 and barely hanging in the playoff hunt. So that brings a very good question.
Where are the starting five?
Chris Bosh is essentially the entire starting lineup, his averaging a double-double every night and consistently topping 20 points is the reason Toronto even has a realistic shot at the playoffs. But what about the "others"???
You have Andrea Bargnani, soon to be Toronto's new face of the franchise, a former #1 overall pick who plays like a dominant force on one night, and then on the next night plays with the energy of a sloth. He has so much potential and talent, but most of it has so far gon unfulfilled. Fortunatly he has many years ahead to improve.
On the flip side, Hedo Turkaglu is similar to Bargnani, plenty of talent, most of it wasted, except he is a veteran. Turkaglu plays well when he feels like it similarly and though he has had many unfortunate accidents this year, seems to leave every fourth or fifth game with some type of injury. The sharp shooter from last year's Finals must still be held up at customs somewhere, because he still hasn't shown up north of the border.
Point guard is a revolving door. Jarrett Jack has shown spurts of starting point guard material, but lacks the consistency and mentality of a true ball handler like Jose Calderon. Unfortuantly, injuries have slowed are beloved Calderon, hence leaving the point as a position of peril.
And shooting guard....every week I complain about this guy, and every week I feel more true. The Raptors HQ blog recently had a poll on who should replace DeMar DeRozan as starting shooting guard. That teels you something right there. DeRozan isn't ready to be an NBA starter and has faltered 9 times out of 10 this year. I'll take Antoine Wright or Sonny Weems over him at this point.
In any case, a team can have the best bench in the world, but with a soon to be gone star, two underachievers, one revolving door, and an overrated rookie starting, you aren't going to win a whole lot.
Thumbs Up This Week
1. Sonny Weems- Close to a double-double for Weems on Friday, who was a huge reason the Raptors managed to win on Friday. As a matter of fact, the whole bench tore up the Knicks late, accounting for the win. Against better teams, this won't hold up.
2. Amir Johnson- Admirable job by Johnson filling in for Bosh this week. 14 points and eight boards in over 40 minutes proved that Johnson can be a good lead guy off the bench at least and a valuable injury replacement.
3. Toronto Huskies- I love the Raptors nickname and logo, it's why I'm hooked on the Dinos in the first place. However, why didn't the team go with Huskies back in the 90's? Maybe we would channel some good aura from the basketball programs at UConn....
Thumbs Down This Week
1. Lack of Heart- The showing at home against Sixers on Sunday was an utter joke. No effort from anyone and no real lack of care or competitive mentality. Thaddeus Young and Jrue Holliday looked like they were actually good.
2. DeMar DeRozan- I'm seriously getting sick of writing thumbs down for DeMar every week, like Bosh on thumbs up, DeRozan is becoming a thumbs down lock. Played decently on Friday, played poorly on Sunday and was a non-factor. Don't get me wrong, but shouldn't a shooting guard score more than 10 points a game?
3. Andrea Bargnani- Once upon a time, I thought Bargnani could be the next Chris Bosh. But what he proved while Bosh was out was that he's simply just another supporting player. Hey Toronto, three "supporting" players doesn't equal a superstar in the NBA.
My Raptors Picks This Week
I mixed up the win and loss this past week and ended up 0-2 sadly, who knew the Raptors could win without Bosh and lose against the 76ers with him?
This week, Toronto embarks on a tough four game road trip, two games against playoff teams and two against lousy teams. I'll go with the obvious, Toronto never wins at the Lakers, so expect it to be ugly tonight, despite L.A.'s recent struggles. Toronto will recover and actually win the games they should at Sacramento and Golden State before falling Sunday at Portland.
Last Week 0-2
Season 25-18
Tues. at LA Lakers LOSS
Wed. at Sacramento WIN
Sat. at Golden State WIN
Sun. at Portland LOSS
It's Happy Time!!!
Happy 35th Birthday Adonal Foyle- The former 1st round pick was a long-time bench player for the Golden State Warriors. After a little over a full year in Orlando, a major knee injury may mean we've seen the last of Adonal. Still I'm sure a few of the 20 Warriors fans will remember Foyle.
Happy 13th Anniversary Karl Malone- The great former Utah Jazz player became the fifth player in NBA history on this day 13 years ago to score 25,000 points and grab 10,000 rebounds. Malone and John Stockton were two of the biggest duos ever in my lifetime, so hats off to Mr. Malone.
Happy Trails Tony Parker- An injury to his right ring finger has Parker out to possibly the playoffs. Given that Manu Ginobili ran the table last night in the Spurs game against the Cavaliers, San Antonio should be able to cope and make it to the playoffs, but only time will tell in the tough Western Conference.
Around the NBA
Atlantic- Allen Iverson should be all but done. Reports leaked this week that Iverson has had drinking an gambling problems that has gotten him banned from casinos. Between, that, an the recent divorce, I think it's safe to say Iverson's NBA career is crashing to a spectacular finish. It's a shame that things are playing out this way, but it is Iverson's own fault in a way as well.
Central- The Cleveland Cavaliers, without Lebron James, Shaquielle O'Neal, OR Antwain Jamison continue to win games, beating the Spurs last night. They are proving why they are number one atop my Thursday power rankings and (spoiler alert!!) will be there again next week. This is the best team in the NBA currently, bar none. The playoffs...well that may be another story.
Southeast- In a rematch of last year's finals, the Magic upended a slumping Laker team on Sunday on ABC. It's interesting, because the Lakers sudden slump has me wondering if they COULD be upended in the West if they hit a cold streak in April or May. The game showed less of what Orlando could do and more of the Lakers vulnerbilities.
Southwest- As mention earlier, Tony Parker is set to miss most if not all of the rest of the regular season with a broken ring finger. While a broken finger could present problems with wearing his wedding band from Eva Longoria, it also presents shooting issues for the San Antonio starter. Parker's recovery could be crucial to the Spurs' playoff hopes.
Northwest- In somewhat meaningful news, Minnesota's Al Jefferson returned from a suspension last night against the Dallas Mavericks. He scored a solid 36 points, the Timberwolves still got smoked by the red-hot Mavs. Moving on.....
Pacific- Tonight, two limping teams meet at Staples Center as the Raptors face the Lakers. Don't even start to think upset tonight. I'm a big Raptors fan, but even I know a Lakers slump will end tonight when they meet the ultimate underachievers in Toronto. In my predictions it says a loss for Toronto tonight, but maybe I should add the word blowout. 124-108 Lakers.
What to Watch This Week
Tuesday- Toronto at LA Lakers 10:30 FS West
Wednesday- Memphis at Boston 7:30 CSN New England
Thursday- Chicago at Orlando 8:00 TNT
Friday- LA Lakers at Phoenix 9:00 KCAL 9 Los Angeles
Saturday- Denver at Memphis 8:00 Altitude
Sunday- Boston at Cleveland 3:30 ABC
Monday- Denver at Houston 8:30 Altitude
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