Injuries

Toronto
Reggie Evans – Out
Linas Kleiza – Out
Andrea Bargnani – Should play

New Orleans
David West – Should play
Emeka Okafor – Should play

Match-ups

Jose Calderon
Loved his performance against the Mavs: 15pts 8rebs 8ast; great balance. If he plays off Paul a bit, and forces him to shoot more than he drives and passes, the Raptors can surprise tonight. The Hornets have a nice point guard situation; you have a top-2 point guard in the league with Jarrett Jack, who could potentially be a top-5 back-up point guard. The only thing Paul doesn’t do is block shots. For those of you who don’t have ESPN Insider access, this is what Hollinger has to say about Paul:

• Devastating pick-and-roll operator with superb quickness and impeccable handle.
• Not a great shooter, but a fantastic passer and outstanding rebounder for size.
• Disrupter with league’s fastest hands, but size limits ability to challenge shots.

Paul’s not been playing like himself the last few games, averaging 12pts 9ast 4rebs over his last five. Not surprisingly, the Hornets are 2-3 over that span, and have failed to score 100 points in a winning affair since January 26th.
Box: 8pts 14ast 4rebs

DeMar DeRozan
I have one knock on DeMar since his resurgence as a legit scoring threat: he doesn’t do much of anything else. And it’s not like he plays a very high-level of defense either. Now that the jumper is primo, how about working on the drive-and-kick. He does such a good job of getting into the paint, might as well find the open guy on the perimeter looking to shoot the ball. Willie Green is going to be a tough cover tonight and has been doing a great job in the starting unit. Over the last 5 games, the kid is averaging 15pts a game while shooting over 50% from the field. Time to focus.
Box: 19pts 3reb 1ast

James Johnson
This is exactly the kind of game where he will be useful; against a tall-athletic wing (Ariza) who can go inside-and-out. I like his defense and shot blocking ability a lot, but he has shown little else. Still don’t know what to expect form him, but if his offense doesn’t start to pick up, it’s going to be a drag on the starting unit to compensate. Not saying it’s not possible, but when your effectively playing 4 on 5, makes things hard
Box: 6pts 7rebs 1stl 2blk

Amir Johnson
You have to like the dudes who quietly go about their business and earn their pay in full. David West qualifies as one of these cats. He’s not flashy, and just makes things happen. Offensively, he’s a poor mans Karl Malone who comes off the roll like a pit bull. Im putting the over/under on pick-n-roll dunks at 3; its going to be nasty. The good news for the Raptors is that between Johnson, Davis, and Bargnani (on certain match-ups) they have quite a few different looks to throw at West. Again, the front court is where the Raptors can make their stand, but the depth they have may not make up for the quality of the players and system around them. I’m convinced Amir is straight-up injured, and while I totally love and respect him playing through pain like he has been, I don’t want things getting worse for the kid. If it’s getting bad, shut it down and heal a bit.
Box: 16pts 9rebs 3ast

Andrea Bargnani
A healthy Chandler is probably better suited as a pick-n-roll partner for Paul, but Okafor has done a pretty good job in his place. While he doesn’t possess Tyson’s raw athleticism, the guy is fundamental, and can be counted on for a double-double, as well as elite level defense in the low-block. The Raptors missed Bargnani against the Mavs. I’m not convinced the defense woud have been worse off with Bargnani in the middle, but the Raptors would have had the chance to stick a few key shots at key times and maybe (I’m happy this morning, leave me alone) could have held on. The match-up with Okafor is rife with mis-match opportunities, with rebounding being the lone challenge. While the Hornets are a good rebounding team, both West and Okafor do it rather well. Bargnani can impact the game much more with his rebounding than scoring since I suspect this will be a slower paced, more deliberate type of game.
Box: 22pts 6rebs 1blk

Keys to the Game

Aggressive Pick-n-Roll Defense
I’m anticipating another Triano f-bomb sound byte today, but there is a glimmer of hope: the weakest part of Paul’s offensive game is his jumper. If the defender of the guy setting the pick jumps out and takes away the lane, the guy getting picked sticks to the roller, and the rest of the team stays home on defense, then Chris’ options on he roll will be limited. I can live with CP3 scoring 30 If it means he isn’t getting folks involved. However, loots of ‘ifs’ and perfect defensive execution is required for this to work out.

Zone
The zone will also help battle the pick-n-roll, as well as disrupt scoring lanes. David West does like to play in the high-post, so he can bust it with some dead-eye shooting from the elbow. That being said, no matter the defensive set/strategy, the Raptors will need to play it very aggressively because of Paul’s ability to get to the ball to the right guy at the right time.

Bench Production
With Jack, Landry and Belinelli coming of the bench, the Hornets bench is quite formidable. Landry gives the a very good low-post presence off the bench that they haven’t had

The Line

The gamblers have the Hornets as 5.5 point favourite with an over/under of 192. It’s not that the Raptors can’t play a slower paced game, they dropped the last meeting 85-81, but this one has the makings of a defensive battle which doesn’t play to the Raptors strengths. Tip-off at 7pm.

We have about a month until the NBA Draft and free agency kicks in, so I decided to talk to some of the teams around the NBA that have been linked to Chris Bosh and the Raptors in one way or another to get a feel for their franchise, and what we could expect back in a sign and trade.

While the early offers for CB4 have not been very exciting (you’ll see when we get to them), they do paint a picture of why trades are so difficult, especially when you have your back to the wall. While I don’t think the picture is so bleak in regards to Bosh (I still think he resigns; there is no sane reason why he would either), I concede that we wont even get 40 cents on the dollar for our franchise player.

First stop, I check in with Rahat Huq from The Houston Rockets TrueHoop blog Red94. Overall, he’s a good guy, a bit delusional, but he knows his stuff (I can’t wait till we resign Bosh so I get my face on his website banner for a week or so):

Sam Holako: Are you guys regretting replacing Artest with Ariza? Maybe I’m just being biased, but Artest took pretty much the same team to game 7 against the Lakers last year, and Ariza couldn’t even get them into the playoffs.

Rahat Huq: Not at all. I fully appreciate the contributions Ron made to this team last season, and it was definitely a surreal ride. But let’s be clear – he didn’t take this team anywhere against the Lakers and in fact, was a complete liability offensively.

For the series, Ron shot just 38% from the floor (28% from 3) in averaging his 15.6 points per game and was even more dreadful when we needed him most upon the injury to Yao, averaging just 9.5ppg in the last 4 games, on 28% shooting (and a terrifying 15% on his 26 3-point attempts.)

Ariza wasn’t brought here to get the team anywhere; Trevor was signed to be a complementary piece. He struggled early due to being forced into a high usage role out of necessity, but settled in very nicely after the arrival of Kevin Martin.

SH: Let’s not beat around the bush; make me an offer for Chris Bosh.

RH: These are my two offers:

1) Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Jared Jeffries, Dave Andersen, Jermaine Taylor, one Knick draft pick
2) Jordan Hill, Shane Battier, Dave Andersen, Jermaine Taylor, one Knick draft pick.

Andersen and Taylor included to make the numbers match – I could be slightly off on the figures.

SH: That offer makes me sad…very very sad. While Hill and the Knicks pick could have big value, I think I can speak for the rest of The Republic when I say that we expected more of an offer. I honestly haven’t even heard of Dave Andersen and Jermaine Taylor. The problem with your offer is that you think the Raptors have no leverage in this, but they do. Everyone knows that Chris Bosh wont leave the franchise high-and-dry for no other reason than if he does, he’s out 1 year and $30mill. Just for being insolent, Colangelo can use this S&T as a means to get rid of some dead weight in the form of either Calderon or Turkoglu. Let’s figure Jose since Brooks isn’t really a point guard, and you guys will need someone who knows how a pick-n-roll works.

RH: The inclusion of Andersen and Taylor would simply be for salary matching purposes. As far as our offer, I think you are coming in with unrealistic expectations. Look at the history of sign&trades for max players. From Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace (when he was a nobody), to draft picks for Rashard Lewis and Kenyon Martin, you won’t find a package even approaching the attractiveness of Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and a lightly protected probable lottery pick.

SH: I have a feeling we might get into a fist-fight…so lets talk about Yao. The guy misses a whole season, is largely forgotten around the league, but should make a full recovery and be Über effective next season. The prospect of playing against a Bosh/Yao front court is scary; what are the plans for him going forward?

RH: He’s resumed workouts and is on schedule with his recovery.

I think the organization plans to limit his minutes and usage next season, and that shouldn’t be too great a concern considering some of the other parts that are in place. Still, Yao’s greatest value to the team is on the defensive end where, while he is not the best of shotblockers, he is as good as just about anyone at protecting the paint.

Yao/Bosh would indeed be scary simply because their skillsets mesh so perfectly. I’ve long felt that Yao was a finisher rather than an initiator. With Bosh’s high post abilities, he would provide the team a focal point from which to start its offense.

SH: Suppose in a bizzarro NBA world the Raptors sign-and-trade Bosh for Jordan Hill and spare parts, how do the Rockets matchup against the rest of the Western Conference? What can we expect from them?

RH: They won 42 games without Yao and Bosh and with a major personnel change midway through the season. If they can add what would have to be the best power forward – center duo in basketball in Yao – Bosh to the quintet of Scola-Lowry-Brooks-Martin-Ariza, along with a lottery pick, you would have to expect a significant increase in wins. Will they contend immediately? The talent is certainly there, but I think it could take a while and at least some growing pains to reach that level.

Based on your indignation over my proposal, I think you’re really suffering from delusions of grandeur. If a package of Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and a future lottery pick would not suffice, in light of what has been bartered in past sign & trades of this type (Atkins/Wallace, only picks), I must ask, what exactly are you hoping for? It’s true that the Raptors hold leverage, but to a certain degree. They’ll pick the destination, but they won’t exactly be able to extract a king’s ransom, nor will they be able to offload their garbage (Calderon, Turkoglu.)

On the second night of a back-to-back, the Raptors head to Houston to play a retooled Rockets team; without Bosh for the 5th game in a row.

I checked in with Rahat Huq of Red94 (you can catch him on Twitter) to get a sense of where the Rockets were after the McGrady trade:

Q: Darryl Morey: best GM in the league?
A: Obviously I’m biased, so my opinion there doesn’t hold much weight, but I think most people around the league have certainly taken notice. What Morey needs now in his resume is real success. The team obviously exceeded expectations last season and prior to the trade, this year, but for him to really cement his standing, he needs a real title run to show that his approach isn’t just conducive to overachievement – it can bring championships.

Q: How do you see Martin and Jeffries fitting into this team?
A: Jeffries just looks like a Houston Rocket – the activity and energy on the defensive end, always rotating, making deflections, drawing charges. Unfortunately, he also fits the bill for Rockets teams of past years on the offensive side in that he has no abilities. Martin is one of the most efficient scorers in our league and he kind of symbolizes the first major step towards what perhaps might be a vision to build an “offensive machine” – a drastic shift away from the defensive philosophy of years past. But he attacks the basket and draws fouls and it looks like, with the Lowry trade last year, that might be one of the main skills that the Rockets are building upon.

Q: Do you seirously think you guys have any chance of landing Bosh? What’s Plan B when you don’t land him?
A: I think there could be a chance given his ties to the state of Texas and the solid lineup we have built to (theoretically) fit around him. He fits this offense perfectly with his ability to operate from the high post. I think there might be some appeal to a guy like Bosh to coming to a situation where he would not only be the undisputed first option, but also have sufficient help around him. That’s pretty unique and I’m not sure many other teams can offer that appeal. Plan B would likely be Stoudemire or simply holding on until the deadline to see who might become available via trade. But I do think they will be very aggressive in free agency in gathering from what Daryl Morey has said.

Q: I’m sure you guys must be a stinging from getting thumped by the Raptors the last time out; what do you have to do to win this game?
A: I would really be shocked if we won this game. Not enough emphasis has been placed on the loss of Kyle Lowry, a guy who statistically speaking has been the team’s most impactful player this season.

The last time we played Houston, the Raptors played as good a game as they ever have, taking it to the Rockets for a full 48. With no real threat on the perimeter, and no double-team worthy player in the post, the Raptors perimeter defense was able to keep Battier and Ariza in check (and Brooks who went 6-20 but put up 20pts).

Scola and Landry were just monsters in the post, and absolutely owned Bosh and Bargnani combining for 46pts 22rebs, but Bosh and Bargnani countered with 41pts and 13rebs, and Turkoglu came up big from the wing with 23pts 6rebs 5ast. Replacing Landry off the bench with Jeffries is a step back, but the Rockets improved with the moves overall both strategically and tactically.

While the addition of Kevin Martin gives the Rockets someone who can create from the wing and score in bunches, he gives it back on defense. It will be up to DeRozan (but mostly Weems and Belinelli) to attack the hell out of him on offense, and keep Martin on his toes.

If Bosh were playing, I’d be all-in for a Raptor win, but in his absence, we don’t have a clear edge in the paint. Bargnani hasn’t really been utilized effectively, and Evans/Johnson/Rasho haven’t been able to fill in by committee. At the minimum, the pick-and-roll with Evans should just be put aside and never used again under any circumstances. While he does get the ball in motion, he is unable to do anything with it.

BARGNANI. BALL. PLEASE!!

I mean seriously, last night Bargs went 6-9 from the field; with Bosh out, why isn’t he getting more shots? I realize some of it has to do with Bargnani making himself available and aggressive; but no plays are being called for him. Nothing. Just to recap shot distribution last night:

Rasho Nesterovic – 4-10
Hedo Turkoglu – 3-8
Andrea Bargnani – 6-9
Jarrett Jack – 4-8
DeMar DeRozan – 4-10
Reggie Evans – 2-4
Antoine Wright – 2-8
Jose Calderon – 2-5
Amir Johnson – 3-7
Patrick O’Bryant – 1-3
Marco Belinelli – 2-4
Sonny Weems – 5-11

That’s a lot of bad shots that could have been given to bargnani. Even if a quarter of those missed shots (those 5 combined for 18-46 = 28 missed shots) were called for Bargnani, that’s 9 more attempts by somebody who was shooting the ball well. When you figure the Raptors lost by 20, that gap starts to close rapidly, even with the sloppy play. Think about it Jay, it could help tonight.

The Raptors gave as close to a full 48 minutes as we’ve ever seen. Yesterday against the Rockets, the Raptors solidified themselves as one of the most interesting teams in the league, since you don’t know which squad you are getting from a game-to-game basis. In a masterful display of defense, the Raptors flipped the switch on the Rockets, leaving them swinging elbows and wondering wtf happened. It was great. I was speaking to my buddy after the game, and he asked me if the Raptors had won the game (not knowing the outcome), since I was in a good mood. “Night and day” were his exact words.

It was the defense that stepped up yesterday and won it for the Raptors. From the tip, DeRozan and Turkoglu kept Ariza and Battier on a short leash. Not giving them the ability to spread the floor and create some space to operate in the paint. Scola was a beast in the paint early with 6pts 2rebs, but he was earning every basket with McHale-esque post moves. Jack got the nod with Jose out, again, and had a tough time with Brook’s quickness off the bounce. He made the little dynamo work on defense, bullying his way to the rack, but he didn’t let Brooks orchestrate any offense. The Rockets were forced to beat the Raptors off of one-on-one play in the first, and they just couldn’t. On the other end, the Rockets couldn’t deal with the Raptors size in the paint, as Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu made them pay possession after possession – scoring 26 (of 32 points) in the paint.

From the 2:25 mark of the 1st quarter until about the 8:40 mark of the 2nd, the Raptors bench provided QUALITY minutes of relief for the starters. A lineup of Banks, Belinelli, Weems, Johnson and Pops conceded 8 points in a 6 minute stretch that allowed the Raptors to stretch a 9 point lead to 15. Shocking, I know, with Banks on the floor and all. Pops was extra….Pops(?!?), as he wanted to exact some revenge on the Rockets for letting him go earlier in the season. He had two really big blocks, one of which forced me off the couch. Weems carried the offensive load for the B-squad, getting his points from slashes to the rim. We talked about this in the podcast, but Weems is doing a lot of the things that we thought DeRozan would be. It will be interesting to see who does what for the rest of the season with nothing guaranteed for the rook at this point.

The 3rd started ugly. The Rockets closed the gap to 9 points with a 5-1 run to start the quarter. The Raptors buckled down, and collapsed into the paint, forcing the Rockets to take bad jumpers from the perimeter. The surprising part was that they closed out on the shooters, not conceding an inch. A 12-0 Raptor run pushed the lead to 21 with the Raptors taking the ball into the paint, and kicking to the open man. Textbook. Jack and Turkoglu were doing everything. In fact, both of them had their best game of the year.

The Rockets cut the lead to 9 a few times, but the Raptors responded every single time. The second half saw the Rockets front court take it right to Bosh hard and in waves. Landry, Hayes and Scola were relentless with Bargnani part injured/part in foul trouble, and Bosh not carrying his weight in the second half (0 rebounds, ridiculous). It was the Raptor rebounding, or lack thereof, that let the Rockets hover on the fringe through the second half. Houston grabbed 9 offensive boards (25 total) in the second half compared to the Raptors 0 offensive (13 total) – Jack and Bargnani had 5 apiece accounting for 10 of the 13. And that was pretty much the game. The Raptors built a lead off of their defense, and maintained it with their defense.

Four Factors to Winning

As you can see, the Rockets lost this game because of their poor shooting. 38.5% eFG will not win you games, regardless of how well they defended the ball, grabbed offensive rebounds and got to the foul line. I’ll spare you the details, but it was defense that won the Raptors this game.

Player Impact

Jarrett Jack, it was all him today. Close to a triple-double, he did everything that was needed. This is the first time that Bosh hasn’t lit up this graph. Jack had a ridiculous game, to the point where I forgot about Calderon and was able to stomach Banks getting minutes

Quick Thoughts

• Surprises me to say so, but a 27pt 6reb performance by Bosh was an uninspired one. He had ample opportunities to really dominate the paint on both ends but he didn’t.
• A rolling strategy for the Raptors in regards to Bargnani would be to let him get off first. Unlike most men, when he gets his he doesn’t roll over and fall asleep.
• Speaking of Bargnani, if the guy is injured, we need to sit him. Can’t risk having him go down for extended periods of time this season.
• Sonny Weems is doing what DeRozan should be. After glimpses into what Heir Canada can do, he has taken a backseat the last two games while Weems is doing everything he can with the opportunity he is getting.
• Is it time to trade Calderon? While I’m not a Banks fan, Belinelli/Turkoglu could be used to orchestrate the offense while Jack gets rest on the bench. Calderon (other then Bosh/Bargnani) is probably the only guy who can fetch anything of value in a trade, and if Jack keeps up this level of play…I’m just saying, it is something to think about.
• Above all, Triano had the best game of his life. His substitutions were spot on the whole time. He managed the starters minutes, especially during that 6 minute stretch between the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd.
• WTF was with Ariza and that elbow? It looked like he wanted to hurt our boy. DeRozan did shut him down (1pt lol), but you can’t be throwing MMA style maneuvers at a dude on the court. At least it should cost him some money when Stu Jackson watches the tape. Tell me you didn’t love seeing Jack standing up for DeRozan who had no idea what happened.
• We wont know until tomorrow night if the Raptors have turned the corner, when the Raptors roll into Florida to play the Magic and Heat on back-to-back nights.

Slow and steady doesn’t win the race, but at least it gives you time NOT to f*ck up. Two days into the second most important free agency period this team has ever gone through (the most important being the summer we re-upped AD, JYD and Boogie), and I’m glad Colangelo didn’t jump the gun to sign a free agent Shawn Marion. What would you say the contract he was going to be offered would be worth, 3yr/$21mil? Now, two days in and I bet not many of you would offer him more then a 3yr/$18mil deal, I know I wouldn’t.

Top 3 wing on the FA market sound about right? There a few teams around the league who are expected to compete for the championship, who could use the defense and rebounding that Marion brings to the table, but the funny thing is, there is zero chatter. Who wants Shawn Marion I know the Raptors do, but there doesn’t seem to be anyone else out there who will drive his asking price up, which should end up well for the Raptors. I can only speculate the reason Marion is taking his sweet time is that he hopes someone else will come in, and offer him a contract that will force BC to up the ante. I like the guy a lot, but he is 31, and any deal with him has to be 3 years and under $7mil/year.

I have to admit, the David Lee rumours make me nervous…really nervous. It makes no sense to sign Lee if the plan is to keep Chris Bosh. Argue all you want about what Chris’ natural position is (4 or 5), but as long as Bargnani is a Raptor, Bosh is a 4 (and Bargnani will be a Raptor unless we can get Wade or LeBron for him aka he will be here for ever). Does signing Lee give us options? It gives us a great deal of options, but the question is whether the Raptors would be a better team by signing Lee and trading Bosh for pieces, or keeping Bosh and signing/trading for pieces? Put me in the camp that supports the latter.

$60mil for Hedu? Seriously? I floated a 5yr/$50mil as my threshold of pain for the guy, but $60mil? I can only imagine that number was floated by his agent, in hopes of it working out for Hedu. Regardless, the Raptors seem to be out of hunting for the guy, which is fine with me, because…

ARTEST IS A LAKER!!!!

I love what he says about playing against Kobe in the finals, about not being friends and helping folks off the floor – I LOVE THAT ATTITUDE (we could have used Artest desperately). With the Lakers committing to Artest, Ariza is as good as gone, and the number of teams that could drive the value of his contract higher just decreased by one. I feel like Ariza is a younger Marion (not as talented mind you, but a younger-raw’er? version), and would be a nice fit lining up with Bosh and Bargnani in the front court. The rumour is that whoever, between Portland and Toronto, didn’t land Turkoglu would target Ariza. For once, here’s hoping the Blazers “win” the Hedu sweepstakes and we get the “consolation” prize.

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Today’s recap:

Pistons

• Signed Ben Gordon to a 5r/$55mil contract.
• Signed Charlie Villanueva to a 5yr/$35-$40mil contract.

Dumars saved face with the whole Michael Curry situation by making a massive splash on Day 1 of free agency. Did he pay too much for Gordon? Probably, but he got himself a youngin who can score in buckets, is tough as nails, and clutch. Also, he scooped up our boy CV31, and signed him to a GREAT deal. Are the Pistons championship contenders? No, but they have a nice young core of Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiel, Aaron Afflalo, Amir Johnson with the likes of Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Not too bad.

Grade: B+ – Retooling quick, but at a price.

Grizzlies/Clippers

• Clipps exile Zach Randolph to the Grizz for Quentin Richardson and calmer nerves.

Can’t believe they actually found someone who will take Zach and that nasty attitude/contract off their hands, but they did. Clipps get rid of a cancer, save some money, and clear space for Griffin to become the #1 guy on the right block, all in one move. Memphis on the other hand just made Thabeet’s life much tougher protecting the paint.

Clippers Grade: A – Franchise moving in the right direction…finally.
Grizzlies Grade: D – WTF????

Lakers

• Ariza wants more then mid-level, I’d give it to him.

Is he worth it? Maybe. Is he going to walk? Probably. The Lakers need to keep Odom before giving Ariza the big bucks. One of the guys I would target if I were BC, a younger Marion.

Grade: D – You keep this guy, no questions.

Blazers

• Flirting with Hedu, I like the guy, but not for $60mil.

Not a good move, could just be smoke/mirrors. Khandor breaks this move down better then I could. On the bright side, this whole thing has Fernandez pissed off, giving most of us something to talk about, even though some other GM will probably pluck him out of the air if he becomes available.

Grade: D – I’d rather keep Rudy and bring in a Richard Hamilton type, that’s just me.

Up until the draft, we are going to talk to Chris about college hoops, top prospects, international players, who the Raptors should be targeting, and why NetScouts should be retained by Colangelo to shore up our scouting. Part 1 after the jump:

Q. What do you look for in a player that other scouts may not?
A. I can’t speak for other scouts but one thing I look for is results. What did they get done? A guy may look good in a uniform and run and jump well but never gets a rebound and is a low percentage shooter. I would prefer the guy who has shown he’ll produce for you. The best explanation of this is the NFL Combine and NBA Pre-Draft Camp where guys are tested on their physical abilities. Look at mock drafts before these events and then after and notice how some guy who jumped out of the gym is now a lottery pick but before he wasn’t a lock 1st round pick simply because he is an exciting athlete.

Last year Kevin Love and Michael Beasley were VERY similar in their ‘measurable’ scores such as 3/4 court sprint, cone drill, etc. Prior to that event everyone thought Love was too slow and not athletic enough to play. Another example is a guy like Josh Howard who slid to the 29th pick of the draft after being the 2003 ACC Player of the Year! I guess 28 teams decided to ignore what he did night in and night out in the ACC, “he’s ‘only’ 6’6 (but has very long arms) and not overly strong or quick” so he slid down the draft board. He’s since become an All-Star and played on a good Dallas team who regularly makes the playoffs.

In this years draft there are several guys who fit this label such as Ty Hansbrough, Dajuan Blair, and Sam Young. I’ll be curious to see where they go.

Sam Young - Slept on/ready to step up?

Q. What is the toughest position to scout for?
A. I think the Center position is the toughest because automatically we all love that size. Get the 7’0 franchise center for your organization! Well, not many big men have panned out lately. Although he’s coming off injury and just completed his official Rookie season, Greg Oden is a great example for this question. He has not performed to the ability it appeared he had coming out of Ohio State and a lot of people are starting to question just how good he’ll end up being. So he is replaced by Kosta Koufas at Ohio State, a skilled big man who also comes out early and is selected by the Jazz. He spends his entire year either on the bench or in the NBA Developmental League. Now the third young big man from Ohio State, BJ Mullins, is coming out early and being projected as a late lottery to mid-first round pick. This guy didn’t even start at Ohio State and his numbers pale in comparison to the other two.

Perhaps someone will take him, develop him and he becomes the best of the 3 but I think that is what makes evaluating the Big Men the toughest for scouts.

Q. The Raptors need a 2/3 that can defend and score from the perimeter, who should they be targeting?
A. If the Raptors are looking for a 2/3 that can defend and score from the perimeter, they can go a couple ways. Do they want an Combo-Guard/Shooter type who can also play some point or do they want more size in a Small Forward/Wing type guy who might be able to slide over to the two spot as well? Or will they simply take the ‘Best Available Player’ on the board? Once they make those decisions I think it’s important to look at the option of trading up to get their guy or going 2 for 1 and trading down. If the position is deep or the guy you want may be available later and you can get another value pick or player for the 9th, trade it! The Spurs & Blazers have made a killing doing this type of thing over the past few years.

Specifically they’ll be looking at:

• James Harden, 6’5 218 SG, Arizona State (Lefty, scorer, would probably need to trade up)
• DeMar DeRozen, 6’7 200 SF/SG, USC (only 19 years old, up and down year at USC)
• Chase Budinger, 6’7 218 SF/SG, Arizona (Shooter, good athlete)
• Sam Young, 6’6 215 SF, Pitt (Tough, proven All-Big East performer)
• Gerald Henderson, 6’5 215 SG, Duke (Great Leaper, father was NBA Player)
• Terrance Williams, 6’6 220 SG, Louisville (Multi-Skilled, Best Passer of group)
• Tyreke Evans, 6’5 195 SG, Memphis (only 19 years old, streak shooter)

If they did want to consider a Combo Guard type of player they’d also look at:

• Stephen Curry, 6’3 185 Guard, Davidson (Best Shooter in the draft?)
• Jrue Holiday, 6’4 195 SG/PG, UCLA (18 years old, athletic defender, shaky season at UCLA)

If it were me, with the depth available, they may consider trading down and still coming away with Young, Henderson, or Williams and another player or pick.

Demar DeRozan - A few more years?

Q. Are you suggesting that the drop off from a DeMar DeRozan to a Sam Young (or one of the other guys) isn’t that steep? Is it a matter of that player needing to be in a certain situation to shine, or their ability/skill level that makes you say that?
A. Yes, it depends on how they have guys ranked and who they feel can help them, and if two guys are very close. But the consensus is that one is going very high, drop and take the other and get a second rd. pick or a vet player in the exchange. As an example, I for one, really like Sam Young and think DeRozan (although highly athletic) is a few years away. If I’m a team like the Raptors who went from playoffs to out, I must feel like I’m only a player or two away from challenging again, and can I wait on a young guy to develop? Take for example Courtney Lee of the Magic, he is a guy who played college ball, learned and developed, then found a role with a good team like Orlando shooting open 3′s when teams double Howard and playing tough defense. Sam Young, Terrance Williams, and Gerald Henderson could fill a similar role whereas I think DeRozan needs physical strength and maturity but could eventually be better than all of them. The question is, do the Raptors want to wait for that to happen?

Q. Lakers or Magic?
A. I’m not in the prediction business but I think you have to consider the Lakers the favorite with Kobe and they have home court.

Gasol & Bynum will be key to the LA attack as Howard has had occasional foul issues. If LA can get good defensive play from their role guys like Walton, Ariza, & Vujacic, and Lamar Odom they could wear down the Magic.

I like the Magic, I like how they play and think Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu have been terrific so from a fan perspective that is who I’ll be rooting for.

Smart pick? Lakers in 6.

If you have any questions you want Chris to answer, post them in the comments or drop me an email (rapsfan [at] raptorsrepublic [.] com). We are working on a few posts from now until the draft, so we will do our best to get them all answered.

Chris is active on Twitter, and one of the folks I enjoy following, you can catch him at @chrisdenker and @netscouts.

We’re active too, check us out: @raptorsrepublic @altraps @arsenalist @rapsfan

It’s times like this where I wished I could smite BC for his idiotic abuse of this franchise and its fans. The latest obscenity happens to potentially be the most expensive.

When this team was in desperate need of a wing player who could create his own scoring options and defend on the perimeter, he broke the bank by shipping out our three most marketable assets for a player who was past his prime and injury ridden for the last two seasons. Good job. Don’t be fooled, this trade isn’t a good one for the Raptors. It’s sexy, but it that’s it, no good will come of it.

The lone saving grace of having O’Neal in a Raptors uniform was the cap space he brought in the most anticipated free agent period in the history of the NBA. Not so much anymore, since we get to be a player the year before, did I F*&#(*$ miss something? Why wouldn’t the Raptors want to be players in the 2010 FA? Imagine they were able to somehow lure Lebron, Wade or Joe Johnson here. Ok, there must be some gems in this seasons free agent list, lets take a look at the cream of the crop:

• Mike Bibby
• Ben Gordon
• Brandon Bass
• Allen Iverson
• Rasheed Wallace
• Ron Artest
• Trevor Ariza
• Lamar Odom
• Shawn Marion
• Andre Miller

Anyone there you think would make this team an EC power, keeping Bosh happy so he doesn’t force a move next season where we will surely get sodomized in yet another trade? A show of hands…yea, me neither. How bad is this Marion trade? In essence, this is what happened:

Outgoing

• TJ Ford
• Rasho Nesterovic
• 2008 1st Round Pick – Roy Hibbert
• Maceo Baston
• Jamario Moon
• Conditional 1st Round Pick 2010-2015
• $4mill trade exception
• Fan Pride

Incoming

• Shawn Marion
• Nathan Jawai
• Marcus Banks
• $3mill cash
• Increased Raptered Fan Syndrome

About the 1st round conditional pick:

The Heat will receive a first-round pick from Toronto in 2010, unless that pick is among the first 14 (lottery) selections. Should Toronto be in the draft lottery in 2010, in essence not make next season’s playoffs, the Heat then would receive a 2010 second-round pick from the Raptors. The first-round pick then would be sent to the Heat in any year, from 2011 through 2014 that it is not among the first 14 selections (the next year Toronto makes the playoffs). Should the Heat not get the first-round pick by 2014, it then would receive a 2015 first-round pick from the Raptors.

So the kicker is if the Raptors are a lottery team next season, they lose a 2nd round pick in 2010, and a 1st rounder down the line somewhere, genius.

Implications of the trade:

• Another 1st round pick gone…
• The wing position is still thin
• Marion will be forced to play 3, what about Joey?
• Overall depth is even more suspect
• Marcus F*&#(*$ Banks, are you F*&#(*$ kidding me? F*&#(*$!!
• We have cap space in the summer of 2009, not 2010 – which is like playing in the NBDL instead of the NBA…
• There is $14,200,000 of salary tied up between Kapono, Humphries and Banks…

Idiot. Fool’s Gold this BC is. If you think otherwise, I know this Nigerian businessman who has a proposition for you.

Respect to Cuzzy from Cuzoogle.com for the graphic.

Free Ukic!