Chueey,
Read this and tell me you arent on the pasta bandwagon....
Jermaine O'Neal Said:
"Man, it was good," O'Neal said. "I had heard a lot about Bargnani. But he came in and he worked hard. He beat me to the gym every single day and he left when I left and that's a lot. We put in some five-hour days in the gym.
"When you watch a person work out you learn a lot about him," O'Neal said. "Some guys are naturally gifted and don't like to work real hard. They just breeze through.
"This guy was working hard and he really wanted it. I don't know what has gone on with him before here, but he really accepted the challenge. We played together for the first week and the next week we played against each other. He didn't shy away and I was trying to beat him to death."
But what amazed O'Neal the most was the quickness Bargnani possesses and while it might not go over well with his new bosses, O'Neal came right out and said playing Bargnani at small forward would be a mistake.
"Now, I have heard about them playing him at the three, and this is just me, the team is going to do what they're going to do, but I believe there is no (power forward or centre) in the league who can guard him. You put a three on him and he'll keep up with him, but fours and fives will be dead in the water."
Thas super propaganda! I personally agree with the idea about NOT playin the Italian stallion at the 3 too.
C'mon Chu, why say no when it feels so good to say yes? - Tommy Boy
Toronto Raptors your 2008/9 NBA Champs
Richie
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thoughts On the Raptors Before Training Camp
The new NBA season is almost here, so I thought I'd share some initial thoughts I had about the Raptors with all of you. Keep in mind, all of these feelings will probably change by the time the first pre-season game rolls around, but that's just because loving the Raptors is a roller coaster of pain.
The Bosh and JO tandem is going to be money. Bosh is coming off a stellar Olympics where he emerged as one of the best defensive players for the US, and led them in rebounding. While this doesn't sound like much, I honestly believe that excelling in the Olympics does carryover to the NBA (Manu wasn't central to the Spurs until he made the leap with Argentina).
I think JO is about to pull a Randy Moss-esque resurgence. Personally, I think he may have shut it down the last couple of seasons when he realized that Jamal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels were better at handling firearms then they were at ball handling. Whlie that sounds like as shocking lack of heart on JO's part, its okay as the Raptors are Bosh's team, and JO just needs to come here and do his job (shotblocking, helpside D, rebounding).
JO needs to hold up, his presence let's the Raptors start the Pylon known as Kapono. Now, Kapono can at least play slow white guy body up defense because he knows that he has a ton of weakside and frontside help in either JO or Bosh. If Smitch can get his defensive rotations down, then the Raps will be one of the best defensive teams in the East.
I can't make a prediction on where they could finish because I honestly think they could end up anywhere between 2 and 6 for sure, and if Boston gets nicked up, I would say 1 through 6 is a possibilitiy. For now, I am looking forward to them being a one of the elite teams in the East, and that's my expectation.
Here is my BOLD prediction for the season. The Raptors are going to start incorporating a lot of fast break elements into their offense. I make this prediction based on 3 major factors. 1) By having Bosh and JO, the Raptors should dominate their own boards, freeing Jose, AP, Moon, Kapono, etc to take off once the the rebound has been corralled. 2) Great defensive teams ALWAYS fast break, look at Boston last year and some of the previous Spurs teams. Being great at defense means that you want to be on defense more often, which means that you want to push your own offensive pace (while slowing down the other team). 3) If the Raptors are serious about keeping JO healthy, they can't let him get pounded on in the half court on offense. JO has a certain number of miles left, they can't be wasted on offense.
The Bosh and JO tandem is going to be money. Bosh is coming off a stellar Olympics where he emerged as one of the best defensive players for the US, and led them in rebounding. While this doesn't sound like much, I honestly believe that excelling in the Olympics does carryover to the NBA (Manu wasn't central to the Spurs until he made the leap with Argentina).
I think JO is about to pull a Randy Moss-esque resurgence. Personally, I think he may have shut it down the last couple of seasons when he realized that Jamal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels were better at handling firearms then they were at ball handling. Whlie that sounds like as shocking lack of heart on JO's part, its okay as the Raptors are Bosh's team, and JO just needs to come here and do his job (shotblocking, helpside D, rebounding).
JO needs to hold up, his presence let's the Raptors start the Pylon known as Kapono. Now, Kapono can at least play slow white guy body up defense because he knows that he has a ton of weakside and frontside help in either JO or Bosh. If Smitch can get his defensive rotations down, then the Raps will be one of the best defensive teams in the East.
I can't make a prediction on where they could finish because I honestly think they could end up anywhere between 2 and 6 for sure, and if Boston gets nicked up, I would say 1 through 6 is a possibilitiy. For now, I am looking forward to them being a one of the elite teams in the East, and that's my expectation.
Here is my BOLD prediction for the season. The Raptors are going to start incorporating a lot of fast break elements into their offense. I make this prediction based on 3 major factors. 1) By having Bosh and JO, the Raptors should dominate their own boards, freeing Jose, AP, Moon, Kapono, etc to take off once the the rebound has been corralled. 2) Great defensive teams ALWAYS fast break, look at Boston last year and some of the previous Spurs teams. Being great at defense means that you want to be on defense more often, which means that you want to push your own offensive pace (while slowing down the other team). 3) If the Raptors are serious about keeping JO healthy, they can't let him get pounded on in the half court on offense. JO has a certain number of miles left, they can't be wasted on offense.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Coming soon...
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