So I missed the first quarter of the game because the officials in Philly decided to move the game up because of the World Series. You figure after a 46 hour rain delay, they could wait another hour. Anyway onto the very first regular season edition of 6 things. Sorry for the late review, but my job got in the way. Without further ado, 3 things I liked, 3 things I don't:
3 things I liked:
1. 4th quarter Jason Kapono: What's this Kapono decided to just catch it and let'er rip? He also scored 10 pts in the 4th on 3/4 shooting from long distance? This is why the Raps are paying you $6 million dollars. Nice way to close out the game.
2. Defensive Energy: I loved that the Raps put the clamps on Philly whenever they decided to make any attempt at a run. Moon and Parker were extremely aggressive in their perimeter defense, and Bosh and O'Neal protected the rim with abandon. Now, the blocked shots total wasn't that high, but it was clear that Bosh and JO altered plenty of Sixer attempts (36%, damn Philly can't shoot!). Plus the Raptors forced the Sixers into a ton of turnovers, which I think is the key measure of a great defensive basketball team (rather than shooting %)
3. Chris Bosh: Wow, what a start to the year. He had the eye of the Tiger going on last night. Just attacking the rim on offense and he was a beast on the glass and in his own end. You couldn't have asked Bosh to do more, and yet it seemed like he had plenty more to give if the Raps weren't up by 10 with a couple mins left. People have been worried about the Raptors lack of a one on one, drive the lane type scorer. Well, I have a feeling Bosh is going to be that guy for us. His first step looks devastating, in fact, I don't think I can think of one big man in the entire NBA that will be able to take away Bosh's drive.
3 things that made my go hmmmmm:
1. Quarters 1 through 3 Jason Kapono: What the hell Kapono?? 2 travels and a blocked shot!!!! Way to take advantage of the new found space with JO and Bosh. Whenever I see Kapono dribble, I go into a blind rage. Why does JK insist on doing anything except shoot 3 pointers. Sam Mitchell needs to start using a cattle prod on him during practice. Everytime the ball is in his hands, and he takes a dribble and a step forward, he should get tasered. Period.
2. The rebounding disparity: First, I must say that watching quarters 2-4, it didn't seem like the Raptors were being out rebounded. However, after the game the Raps were a steller -14 (or something like that). What the hell? That big of a rebounding differential will get you killed most nights. Now, I have been told that the first quarter was an absolute shit show, but from what I saw, I think that number might be misleading.
3. Total offensive stagnation without Jose: I know, it was Roko's first NBA game, and I should expect too much out of him. I actually thought he did okay, he minimized his turnovers, and he wasn't playing total OLE defense. However, the Sixers felt confident enough to put a full court press on him, which just shows you that they don't think he can play. While he did break the press efficiently (thank God), in the Raps half court sets, there was a lot of aimless dribbling by Roko Ono. Keep your head, son! Hopefully, he keeps improving.
Showing posts with label Roko Ukic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Roko Ukic. Show all posts
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
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.
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.
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