Filling in for Blake one last time as he’s off for the Sloan thing. On the Rapcast today is Tas Melas from The Basketball Jones as we talk some Raptors basketball. Topics include:
- Getting into basketball in the mid-90s and about the temptation of watching games other than the Raptors (Judas!)
- Tas wasn’t hugely excited about the Rudy Gay trade but now that we’ve seen a version of “Good Rudy” (oh, those game winners) and some “Bad Rudy” (eFG%, TS%, FG%, LMNOP%), has he warmed up to the trade?
- The Raptors being locked in to the current crop of players for the next two years – that’s your good ‘ol “window of contention” so you best contend
- Which of the current crop is the franchise relying on most to improve and become something special: Valanciunas, Ross, DeRozan, Lowry – the answer will surprise you
- As we do every week, the Colangelo extension question is asked and as always, we hope for a different answer
- Would trading Bargnani really mean a “turning of the page” for the franchise? What about Colangelo leaving? Is there even such a thing as turning the page?
- Dwane Casey gets called on for his 4-Guard-Bargnani lineup, his substitutions, and refusing to play the hot hand
- The problem with Bargnani coming off the bench and how handing him the “car to the keys” has backfired
- Look at the poll on the site. What’s Colangelo planning to do in the summer? Does he even have a choice given the contracts he’s handed out?
- Predictions for Indiana, Milwaukee and Golden State
Grab the iTunes feed or the plain old feed. You can also download the file (24:25, 29 MB). Or just listen below:
Thanks to Tas for coming on and while I have you here, here’s something that caught my eye against Cleveland. There I am watching the fourth quarter thinking the Raptors might be gearing up to make a run and this play happens and ends my hopes. Usually I’d do a frame-by-frame breakdown of what went wrong here, but I think the video speaks for itself. In case you need a hint, everyone but DeRozan is a culprit here. What I’m trying to get at is that a team that’s trying to fight for a playoff spot against a poor and short-handed club on the road should never display a drop in concentration and communication such as this. Please also note everyone’s body language after the basket.
This is also the point where Dwane Casey finally decided to call a timeout, i.e., after a 13-0 run (quarter break in between).
