Leafs win, Raps need a 3, and I Hate Chuck Swirsky.

It was another nice win for the Buds last night as they took down the Habs 6-3. Van Ryn was the recipient of a cheap shot that resulted in a 5 minute boarding call and ejection, and the NHL will be taking a closer look at the hit. There was a positive that came from this hit; the team had Van Ryn's back. Carlo went after Kostopoulos right away, and the rest of the team ran Carey Price for the rest of the night (which worked very well, better get used to Carey). This group of guys is really starting to look like a team. Every step in the right direction is a good thing.

I want to echo Billy Bee's comments on the Raptors need for a wing player. It is such a glaring hole in a team with so much potential that BC has to make a change. Jamario Moon has the potential to be a great bench player, but he is not an NBA starter. Joey Graham doesn't appear that he will make the leap either. Giving Darius Miles a 10 day contract (after he serves his suspension) isn't a bad idea. Something needs to change.

I decided that I should help the GM out and do a little homework with the ESPN Trade Machine. Every trade listed here works in terms of dollars. This is a birthday wish list of deals I'd like to see the Raps make to fill the hole at the 3.

4) Anthony Parker and Joey Graham for Hedo Turkoglu.
Hedo has lost a few steps on the D side of the ball in recent years, but he would give the Raps a veteran who can be another scoring option. Toronto is "international player friendly", but Turkoglu is a little older than I'd like.

3) Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker for Caron Butler.
The Wizards are going no where and the sooner they start to rebuild the better they will be in the long run. This is the kind of deal that could burn the Raps for years if Andrea develops any level of consistency.


2) Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and cash for Stephen Jackson.
Monta Ellis put the first nail in this teams coffin when he crashed his Vespa. Corey Maggette is the future in Golden State, and it's time for Jackson to move on. Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neil being reunited in Toronto would make this the best season ever. If this trade happens I will officially buy a jersey before the first game. (I couldn't choose between these two pics; both rule).
1) Josh Howard for Andrea Bargnani, Jamario Moon, and Kris Humphries. Josh Howard would be a great option, but this trade is a long shot until he does something brutal. Gerald Green has been brought in as a security measure in case Howard does something dumb, which I am hoping happens in the worst way. Mark Cuban has always had a chubby for tall white guys (Raef, Dirk, Bradley), and although he loves controversy he wants to win a title even more. Dallas isn't going to win a title with the roster they have now.

On another note, I am so happy that I can finally watch Raptors games in peace. The salami and cheese is no more. Although Chuck Swirsky can be credited with helping to develop the Raptors thriving fan base, it was mostly new basketball fans who enjoyed his schtick. For fans who just wanted to watch basketball and not be "entertained" during EVERY SECOND, he was the most annoying person who every existed. Even this video click couldn't make it better.



I'm not 100% sold on Devlin yet, but ANYONE is better than Swirsky.

View from Above the Tunnel: Colour Me Curious (Raps - Knicks Pre-season)

So I went the the Raptors - Knicks game last night, which was the first home preseason game of the season. How excited was I? Not much, its preseason, I didn't exactly expect mid-April intensity from the players. However, I was interested to see the new makeup of the Raptors, and see if I could get an idea of what Sam Mitchell is thinking about the overall rotation.

3 Things I liked:
1. Jamario Moon looks like he found a jump shot over the summer. Is he the next Jesus Shuttlesworth? Obviously not, but it does look like he will make teams pay for giving him an open look. He is still active defensively and was pretty disruptive. He even had a monster block on Nate Robinson.

2. Andrea Bargnani finally discovered the weight room. I had heard rumours of a more buffed up Andrea being seen around the ACC, but I was extremely skeptical. However, I must say that I was impressed last night. Now, he isn't exactly a chisled Adonis, BUT he is noticabley bigger (and hopefully stronger). Shocking fact of the night, he was actively looking to mix it up on the block on offense. He even showed the ability to get off his shot with a couple of decent post moves. He missed a few gimmes after making a move, but they could have easily fallen as well. Overall I was satisfied that Andrea looks like he actually worked on his game this summer rather than working on his faux hawk. As a bonus, he even he a couple of 3's and grabbed a board in traffic!

3. Roko Ukic looks like he is going to be a player. He was all over the court yesterday, playing some 1, and a lot of 2. I will say this, he is not afraid to take it to the hoop. I didn't think he'd be smooth, but he looks comfortable out there. Mitchell is definitely using Ukic as more of a 2 guard right now, which makes sense. It seems to be easing him into the game, and all he has to do is worry about creating something for himself, and maybe dish of the help comes (he had a rather nifty dribble drive bounce pass to Hump, who promptly missed the layup). His defense has the biggest surprise though. He didn't let Jamal Crawford light him up, and he seems to have the size to be a decent defender. Early returns on this guy are positive, but I am taking a wait and see attitude.

3 Things that I Hated:
1. Hump. What can I say, I thought that his new hairdo would mark give him some sense. I was wrong. He was an offensive black hole. If anyone passed him the ball, that was it, he was putting the shot up. It frustrated the hell out of me because the Raps bench needed to work on their offensive sets. With 2 Scoops Hump out there, that wasn't possible. 20 footer from the elbow? Hump. Triple pump fake fadaway? Hump. Sufficent to say, I was not impressed.

2. Jamario Moon will never take it to the hoop. I don't think its in his DNA. I just doesn't seem like driving is something that enters his head when he gets the ball. Was it a prodcut of the Knicks giving him the jumper? Maybe, but there is still a shocking lack of aggression on his part.

3. The driving Jason Kapono. You know what I think when I see Jason Kapono driving? That's another 3 pt shot he ISN'T TAKING!!!!! He took 2 treys in the game, both were so pretty, and hit nothing but net. When he drove? Hilarity ensued.

All in all it was a solid preseason effort that ended in a W. 2-0, let's hope we keep seeing more improvement.