So how did the Raps beat the Mavs without their so called "stars" Lowry and Bargnani?

[Jkwasia]

i'm going to pretend i didn't read that. best pg? thanks for the laugh

because dribbles is better right?! 0.o ha ! now im laughing :|

[ReubenJRD]

I said 'best pg in a while'. I'd take Lowry over Calderon, Ford, Jack, James, and others. He's the only one with star potential. And that isn't very arguable

+1. This I agree on. Lowry has been fairly disappointing last couple games though.

[Pill]

Can't believe everyone is already jumping the gun on Lowry. He's the best PG the Raps have had in a while, give the guy a chance to gel with the rest of the team

He was playing well before he got injured. When he came back he was playing like he was trying to prove something to only himself. Bad shot selection, horrible turnovers, reckless play and he takes far too many chances on defense. I also think his style of play is not conducive to longevity. On all those times he drives to the net with a botched layup he ends up on the ground. Do that for a few seasons and your body breaks down. I am really pissed off we wasted a first round pick on this guy especially since he is only ours for 2 more years. I think we would have been better off going for Goran Dragic, signing him for 4 years. If that didnt work out, hold steady with Calderon and see what we can do in the coming offseason for a PG. This accelerated build was a disaster imo.

[knickz]

because dribbles is better right?! 0.o ha ! now im laughing :|

of course he's better

[SuperRaptor]

He was playing well before he got injured. When he came back he was playing like he was trying to prove something to only himself. Bad shot selection, horrible turnovers, reckless play and he takes far too many chances on defense. I also think his style of play is not conducive to longevity. On all those times he drives to the net with a botched layup he ends up on the ground. Do that for a few seasons and your body breaks down. I am really pissed off we wasted a first round pick on this guy especially since he is only ours for 2 more years. I think we would have been better off going for Goran Dragic, signing him for 4 years. If that didnt work out, hold steady with Calderon and see what we can do in the coming offseason for a PG. This accelerated build was a disaster imo.

I agree with this statement about Lowry, I think he can be great for us but as of right now his FG% is pretty low, he has been turning the ball over, and he goes for steals too much.

If we can get him to just play the "pack it in the paint" defense that Casey preaches and keep PG's in front of him, be a little bit more high percentage with his passing and shooting, I think his lateral defense and rebounding can really help us. He can also break the defense down offensively which is great.

In the past I have disagreed about trading Bargnani ... But I have reconsidered my position, he is hurting the team big time right now, he shoots so much but has a horrible percentage and his rebounding is non existent for his position. Time for us to give those minutes to Ed Davis, one of the best PER's in the league right now? I'm down with that.

I would hate to trade him for Gasol however, why do the raptors need another overpriced, over the hill big man?

Go Raps Go!

[Rapstor4Life]

Casey making Pietrus and Anderson guard Mayo and doubling Mayo when he chose to step past the 3 point line was huge. Ed Davis didnt have a double double but he had a quiet effective game that isnt measured on the stat sheet, same with DeRozan really showing his maturity, last year DD would force some really dumb shots, didnt get angry took the jumpers that were his to take and looked for his teammates when doubled getting much better with his decision making.

#tradeBargnani

[Jkwasia]

of course he's better

Dribbles sucks thats why he has been on the trading block for the past two years and nobody wants him.....fans like you over-value marginal talent and look at stats like assist to t.o ratio but forget to look at the larger picture like consecutive losing seasons horrible decision makings(late game inbounds) and his timid "protect my stats plays"....Lowry is better in every aspect of the game and its not even a debate.

[NoPropsneeded]

of course he's better

And Andrea bargnani is an all star

[psrs1]

I know:

- Raps played great TEAM defence
- Shot selection is so much better
- Ball movement
- Effort
- Communication on D

That's it. They're like a completely different team without those two. They look like an NBA team again.

Problem with their so called stars is, with Lowry. He always takes unnecessary/forced/dumb shots in crucial situation. He always plays hero ball. His shot selection is just brutal. And his D in my opinion is just as bad as Calderon.

Not crapping on Kyle. He's a talented player. But right now he's a liability to this team. Main thing that he needs to improve is his shot selection. When to shoot and when to pass.

As for Bargnani, i can go on and on about this guy. Where to start? Below average defender, worst rebounding 7footer in the history of the game, no awareness in his game, shoots whenever he gets the ball. Enough already.

One good game is nice but it's only one game.

[psrs1]

I agree with this statement about Lowry, I think he can be great for us but as of right now his FG% is pretty low, he has been turning the ball over, and he goes for steals too much.

If we can get him to just play the "pack it in the paint" defense that Casey preaches and keep PG's in front of him, be a little bit more high percentage with his passing and shooting, I think his lateral defense and rebounding can really help us. He can also break the defense down offensively which is great.

In the past I have disagreed about trading Bargnani ... But I have reconsidered my position, he is hurting the team big time right now, he shoots so much but has a horrible percentage and his rebounding is non existent for his position. Time for us to give those minutes to Ed Davis, one of the best PER's in the league right now? I'm down with that.

I would hate to trade him for Gasol however, why do the raptors need another overpriced, over the hill big man?

Go Raps Go!

If not trade AB then what would you suggest? Come off the bench as 6th man?

[SuperRaptor]

If not trade AB then what would you suggest? Come off the bench as 6th man?

I would trade him, just not for Gasol, that trade (calderon, kleiza, and bargnani) is a no brainer for LA if you ask me, they free up a lot of cap space by unloading Gasol's contract to us and taking back less obligation. Gasol's play over the last few years has not been worthy of such a large contract. A trade for some youth and or cap space would be better if you ask me. Davis can play the PF, Amir can back him up, and we can give more minutes to Aaron Gray as a backup to JV.

If a trade is not do able. Then yes the logical choice is to bring him in as the 6th man, and limit his min. to no more than around 24. I dont think that even he would debate that his play over the years is anything more than warranting a 6th man position. Its all about the team winning, we need to play defense, score on the fast break, and hit around a third of our 3 point shots to win. The talent level of this team is not enough to be able to win without defending. We need to play our best defenders.

That being said I like our current starting lineup from a defensive standpoint, especially when we get lowry back in the line up, I think we can give other teams fits on the offensive and defensive glass.

[ceez]

You guys need to relax in regards to Lowry. Since he came back from injury (the first time) he's been essentially playing still hurt while not in game shape. To be honest, I think they rushed him back too soon.

I didn't hear any of this talk before he got hurt.

He does need to remember to play defense, though. My only issue with his play thus far.

[CT2010]

You guys need to relax in regards to Lowry. Since he came back from injury (the first time) he's been essentially playing still hurt while not in game shape. To be honest, I think they rushed him back too soon.

I didn't hear any of this talk before he got hurt.

He does need to remember to play defense, though. My only issue with his play thus far.

How does any of this relate to not being able to pass the ball, run the pick and roll, get beat easily on defense over and over. He is a ferocious player and I hope he learns how to play basketball because he could be something special. As of now he hasn't really shown anything of value to me. Iam not advocating trading him, but he needs to be held accountable for his constant poor decisions with the ball and on defense. If Casey is true to his recent words, Lowry will be sitting on the bench with Andrea a lot as the season progresses.

[Just Is]

You guys need to relax in regards to Lowry. Since he came back from injury (the first time) he's been essentially playing still hurt while not in game shape. To be honest, I think they rushed him back too soon.

I didn't hear any of this talk before he got hurt.

He does need to remember to play defense, though. My only issue with his play thus far.

I was thinking the same thing here. I do think Lowry does try to cheat on defense in order to spark something but even then I wouldn't even fault that but the way some people are just jumping at him is just ridiculous. Especially given that in quite a few of our losses, its happened in cases where he's been subbed off for Calderon. And in others, there were games where he was the only reason we stuck in there. I'm not saying anything bad in relation to Calderon but people really do need to be consistent with their judgement and not stuck in the moment.

At the very best, you could say he does better starting then he does coming off the bench this season (cause he hasn't been good coming off the bench at all this season)? Neither is a reflection on Lowry. My only problem with him (Lowry) is also on the defensive end and thats only when he tries to cheat and grab a steal. And I've only really noticed that happening after he came back from injury and when we're down a few or in a drought.

[Rapstor4Life]

A lot of our loses are from wasted shots from Bargs and poor defense from Bargs what more proof do you need? Bargs has been shooting like 32% this season on like 20 something attempts a game. He wastes posessions and doesnt rebound which means more posessions for the opposing team and even worse defense for us.

Lowry's gambles wont be as bad with legit bigs defending the paint, what he does is what you want from your PG plus he rebounds on the regular boxes out and can put teams in fould trouble with his play style. Lowry is legit.