Look at that howl of pain, he’s done. If you don’t believe me, just ask Serge Ibaka’s face.
They say he’s sprained his ankle in Spain’s 86-64 win over Slovenia, where he was having a 9/6/3 game before Goran Dragic pulled a Bruce Bowen on him. Let’s analyze and exaggerate team impact:
#1 Season starts on time and Calderon can’t play
Great. Give Bayless more time, development and what-not, let Calderon get healthy (LOL!), and lose some games while we’re at it.
#2 Season starts late
Alright! Calderon gets to heal.
#3 Season starts late and Calderon is still injured
See #1
I know, it’s brilliant analysis like this that keeps you coming back here.
Have to feel sorry for Jose, his “star” sure has fallen since the Forderon days, he went from being a great backup, to an average starter, to a straight-up liability, and I’m not even sure it’s all because of his injuries. Some players were just never meant to start, like Jarrett Jack, and I’m afraid to say Calderon is probably one of them. He had a nice little season last year, nothing remotely spectacular or even above average, but it looked like he was contributing to things (of course, ‘things’ here is a 22-win season). He’s played 68 games in each of his last three campaigns, and he’ll be the first to tell you that he wasn’t 100% healthy doing so either. Well, he won’t outright tell you, it’ll go something like this:
Reporter: Jose, you 100%?
Jose: *Smiles with a slight wince as he limps*
Reporter: Is that a ‘no’?
Jose: *Smiles again, while clenching his teeth in pain that probably doesn’t warrant teeth to be clenched*
Reporter: What?
Jose: *Pretends to hide that he’s in pain, while making a full effort to show reporter that he’s in pain*
Reporter concludes that Jose is a hero and the fact that he’s dressing up alone warrants worship, and automatically means that any of his defensive issues get a pass because he’s injured.
I’m not ripping Jose here, he was OK last year, pressured the ball up-top a lot better which is the main reason he lead the team in steals. The good pressure he put on guards above the three-point line took a lot of attention away from his lateral quicks/man-defense, and the meaningless nature of the season meant that fans were all too willing to give Jose a pass, and look at him in the same light as you would your loving Grandpa when he tries to turn the TV on using a telephone. I used to rip his defense when the Raptors were in the midst of trying to “contend” with Bosh/O’Neal/Turkoglu/Whoever, but last year with nothing on the line, the only opinion I held of Jose was that he’s at least giving a rat’s ass. Kudos for giving a rat’s ass.
Jose’s been a true professional in his time here. He’s always given unquestionable effort, has always had team spirit, and is well-liked by his teammates for being an all-around great guy. Hell, you wouldn’t mind your sister marrying a man like Jose. What’s been sad about his career is that he’s stuck on a team which isn’t a great fit for him for three reasons. First, with so many poor defenders on the team, Jose is even more exposed. Second, he’s a perfect bench player who’s asked to play beyond his talent on a bad team. Maybe on a good defensive team you could get away with hiding his defense, while using his great ability to keep the dribble alive to feed capable outside shooters. However, that’s not the case here, and he still manages to put up respectable assist numbers. Third, he has no future here. He’s turning 30 next week, and that makes him the oldest Raptor (assuming Reggie, 31, is gone). Just doesn’t fit in with the plans here.
I want him on the Lakers, or Spurs, or somewhere where he can win a title so I can feel better that someone associated with the Raptors for such a long time won something. It’s the same reason I supported the Kings with Doug Christie.
For now, Jose, get back to 100% because if you have a chance in hell of playing for a decent NBA team before your career is over, you’ll need to show someone something so they can be interested in acquiring you and your contract. If you continue to play (and regress) as you have, the only place you’ll play when your contract runs out at the age of 32 is in Europe, and that’s disappointing considering the promise you showed at the outset.
There’s also this:
