If a Tree Falls....

Well its finally done. I swore to myself that I would not write something new until BC traded Jermaine O'Neal to Maimi for Shawn Marion. Thanks to Pat Riely's dicking around, you have all been robbed of my insight into the craptastic Raptors.

So what do I think of the Matrix donning a Raptors uni? Well, to all the haters out there, I am standing up and saying, I really like this trade! I know, that's a pretty muted response, but you can't expect to say stand up and say that I loved it, when it clearly has its flaws.

Here's what I am thinking:

1. Marion is now the starting SF. Awesome!!!!!

A) Defense - He is hands down the greatest man on man defender on the wing that the raptors have ever had even though he has slipped. We no longer have to watch every elite wing in the L back our helpless defenders into the high post and hit gimmie turn arounds from the free throw line.

B) Offense - definitely trickier to integrate Matrix. Now I think we can all agree that Matrix's best seasons were with Nash. Which makes me think that he is a player that is really depandent on his pg to find him opportunities in the offense. Will jose find him those shots? We will see, but he is the best finisher that the raps have had since Vince left town.

2. Marcus Banks - I have gone on record many times saying that Banks gets ripped just because he is owed 4 million for another 2 years. At the same time people insist that Delfino NEEDS to be resigned this summer for a 500K less and an extra year, but that is worth it cause Delfino is the shiznit. I think Banks in the off guard spot on the second unit will be as good as Delfino on the offensive end. He is probably the 4th best athlete on the team, and on a team that is too white I welcome the additional pigmentation.

3. Trading a future non lottery first rounder. Colangelo definitely seems to hate first round picks outside the top 13. I don't share the same level of outrage that some of you have displayed. The pick has excellent lotoo protection especially since
the protection doesn't runout for 5 years. Many of the people who have said that a 17 pick really wasn't going to help the raps can't turn around now and say the raps gave up the "future" of the franchise. Yes, the raps gave up some potential young talent, who could be a solid rotation player, but I doubt this first will "haunt" the raps forever. Did BC give up a little extra to not pay JO 22 mil next season? For sure, but its not the end of the franchise.

As for the warts on this deal, I am not going to talk about them here. Most of the print media in this city hates it, so if you want to fill up on some haterade, I suggest you go to those sites.

Wednesday marks the start of a new era, I am excited again!

Rough Weekend for Toronto

Just to recap the obvious, the Leafs came out flat against an injury depleted Capitals team and lost a game they probably should have won. More bad news came with the grogginess that Niklas Hagmen suffered, which I think we can leap to judge as a minor concussion.

Even more worrisome, was the injury sustained by rookie phenom Luke Schenn. After a hit from Ovechkin he came up gimpy and the early reports say he will be out two weeks with some sort of knee injury.

The Raps finally showed signs they could compete in the NBA after some blowout losses. Jermaine O'Neal played an inspired game. Unfortunately for the Raptors, an inability to grab rebounds in the closing moments led to a broken play where Steve Blake knocked down a three over Calderon. Triano missed his first win in the league by 1 measly point.

If anything though, it was somewhat encouraging to see the Raptors show signs of life again.

On a positive note, the NFL seems to be getting closer to our fine city. I'm a sentimental guy who hates the idea of teams moving. So I must say, I do not support the idea of stealing Buffalo's team. I mean, hell, what else does Buffalo have going for it? Taking their Bills would be the equivalent of ripping their city's heart out in a brutal, ritualistic Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom kinda style. I hope Toronto gets an expansion team for the sake of the fans who suffered through four consecutive Superbowl losses.

Food for Thought: Owning Your Own Defense

An interesting statement by Jermaine last night got me thinking.......

Jermaaine O'Neal stated a very important point that the Raptors guards/small forwards should take to heart. He mentioned that the Raptors lost last night's game in large part because they just could not get a stop in the 4th quarter when they really needed one. He pointed out that the team was able to close it to 1 or 2 points several times, but just couldn't get over the hump by getting a stop. Importantly, he also mentioned that while on the road these kinds of games happen, it shouldn't be the case in your own gym, when the crowd is getting into it (since I was there, I can vouch for the crowd. It was sitting on its hands in the first half, but we were loud and into when the Raps made their runs).

Interestingly, he was fairly direct with his critque. He stated that at some point, every man on the Raptors needs to feel accountable for their defensive assignment. For the Raptors to become an excellent defensive team, he believes that the perimeter defenders have to defend like they are not going to get any help. I thought this was a pretty clear point that strikes right to the heart of the Raptors' defensive problems.

Since the Golden State game, the Raptors perimeter defense has sagged dramatically. Is this because they have gotten lazy and dependant on Bosh and JO to clean up their messes and missed assignments? Is this just their lack of athleticism showing? Is this because the coaching staff has put in a defensive scheme that doesn't put their players in a position to succeed? Is it a failure of the coach to get through to his players about playing defense with accountability?

Whatever the answer is, I go back to my point last night (with perspective from JO), if the Raptors don't commit totally to defense, and play with the reckless abandon shown by teams like Boston and Atlanta, then the Raptors are just running in place, and the future is indeed glum.

Comments are open, and I look forward to hear everyone's thoughts on this.......