Stop the presses, put the phones down, ignore the workouts, screw the draft – we have some breaking news: Starting this fall the Raptors will play under a brand new 17-screen scoreboard supplied by Mitsubishi Electric which uses the “Black Package” Diamond Vision high-definition technology! The idea is to distract the other team by having them in complete awe of the scoreboard. This will easily be Colangelo’s most influential move of the summer, let’s see how it pans out.
Let’s turn now to Jim Kelly who talks about the workouts of Bill Walker, CDR and Brandon Rush on Thursday. The Raptors were concerned about Bill Walker and Brandon Rush’s injury problems and after the workouts today they feel Rush has fully recovered and has gotten even better than before, not to mention more athletic. Walker still hasn’t regained the athletic and jumping ability he had a year and a half ago and it appears that its making the Raptors wary of him. There were concerns about CDR’s shooting ability when he’s tired and it looks like he didn’t do as well as they would’ve hoped. Kelly seemed generally impressed with Brandon Rush, especially his composure on the court. You can see all the interviews here and Doug Smith’s article is basically a transcript of Kelly’s interview.
The Rush vs. CDR battle started in college and looks to continue in the NBA. They were matched up in yesterday’s workout and it was Rush who got the better of his counterpart because of his defense. You would’ve thought if there’s one thing CDR has over Rush it’s got to be his reach and athleticism on the defensive end; then again it was one workout….and one national championship. How much can missed FTs tell you about a player? I’m not saying CDR is a Nick Anderson but there’s something to be said for a guy who’s 6-7 from the line and then goes 0-2 in the clutch. So far Rush has the edge over him and if the Raptors are going for a swing guy at #17, they need to pick up Rush. And I’m not even saying this because I’m a Kansas supporter, seriously.
Chauncey Billups is considered to be the likeliest candidate to be traded on the Pistons. At this point a team wouldn’t touch him unless they’re looking for that final piece of the puzzle in a championship team. As suggested a while back in this space this is the start of the fire sale in Detroit which could also see Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince depart. Richard Hamilton is the one you’d want to pick but he apparently falls in the untouchable category. We already have a great trading relationship with Detroit so if Prince is on the outs the Raptors would be fools not to call.
A little to the side now. You know most of us bloggers just do this unpaid shit because we love the Raptors and want them to be part of our daily routine (Its sad but much better than masturbating). Take me for instance, after every game I angrily get up from the couch, swear at the TV, give my wife an angry look and storm off to the computer to write a heated PG recap. Others, like Ryan from Hoops Addict, actually go to NBA workouts, take notes, record audio, have one-on-one interviews and end up presenting a report that’s better than any TV or newspaper reporters’ out there. So if you’re going to click on one link in today’s post, click here and here and here. Much, much respect.
Rowan Barrett wanted to play some ball and Leo Rautins obliged. Now only if Magloire could grow a set of balls and play for Canada he might even be able to resurrect his fledgling NBA career.
Chris Bosh did his thing with Jay Leno last night and it was hilarious. Check out the video, it’s funny stuff. Nothing else going on really, oh yeah, Channing Frye is complaining about spending 25 bucks. Those cunty Celtics won again, if they win the title I won’t be able to eat for months.
