Word to the wise: Chris Bosh is good. If you didn’t know it already the Olympics were supposed to remind you of that. His defense in the Olympics is being hailed as one of the key factors for Team USA’s win and you can’t disagree with that. I’d like for the media to halt the praise and wait for him to get out of the first round before labeling him an NBA superstar. Don’t get me wrong, I understand a fan’s need to have a superstar on their favorite team but right Bosh is a very good player, not a superstar. Winning Olympic gold is great but frankly if you ask him if he’d rather beat the Magic in the first round the answer might be surprising.
It’s a apparently been a great Olympics for Bryan Colangelo. I suppose Ukic, Calderon and Bosh getting international playing time is supposed to be great for the Raptors. I remember the summer Vince Carter had when he exploded for Team USA only to flop during the NBA season. Buyer beware the hype of international success. I’m inclined to agree with Frank Zicarelli’s article in the Sun where he talks about what exactly Chris Bosh’s Olympic means for the Raptors. Very little. It’s one thing when you have 4 other legitimate All-Stars on the floor to relieve the pressure off of you, its another thing when Jamario Moon’s man is sagging to double you.
There’s some discussion about Calderon’s rough Olympics where he couldn’t play in the Gold medal game, whined about the refs and made a stereotypical gesture at someone. I hardly call it rough, I do all these things in a day and people still return my calls. Seriously, summertime is so slow that if a crow shits on a cow it’ll make front page news.
Raptors Talk has an analysis of how the time is now for Andrea Bargnani and how we can’t wait anymore for him. I stopped waiting for him a while back, I’m in the “hoping” stage now. The article compares his progress to Elton Brand, Dirk Nowtizki, Kenyon Martin and Tim Duncan. I suppose its a fair comparison for a #1 pick but it doesn’t factor in the minor problem that he wasn’t supposed to be a #1 pick but a mid-lottery selection which our trigger-happy GM and his fat sidekick jumped on. I feel bad for Andrea, he was probably as shocked as anybody when they told him he’d be the first overall selection. I hope he turns it around this year, I can’t bear to listen to the sound of his clanged jumpers, they’re like a thousand church bells ringing at once.
I’d like to end with commenting on the Mo Williams trade from a week or so back. Very good trade for Cleveland, the 1-spot was an obvious weakness for them. Delonte West wasn’t cutting it and struggled from the perimeter since the trade was made, Williams is a much more reliable scorer that can penetrate and finish. Just another example of a team we’re competing against getting better.
So far here are our roster changes:
Out: TJ Ford, Carlos Delfino, Rasho Nesterovic, Maceo Baston, Primoz Brezec
In: Jermaine O’Neal, Hassan Adams, Willie Solomon, Nathan Jawai
Can’t wait for training camp to start.
