At Cornell University they have an incredible piece of scientific equipment known as the Tunneling Electron Microscope. Now, this microscope is so powerful that by firing electrons you can actually see images of the atom, the infinitesimally minute building blocks of our universe. If I were using that microscope right now and pointing it directly at the Raptors pre-season schedule, I still wouldn’t be able to locate any interest in the games (sauce).
My #1 question right now is just where Tim W is. The man, by some freak galactic event which involved Mercury’s retrograde, managed to get a press pass and was last seen getting his head bashed in by Tyler Hansbrough.
.@raptorsrepublic: @THANS50 is not pleased with our very own @the_picketfence‘s writing. pic.twitter.com/mwfXrZefwO
— Raptors Republic (@raptorsrepublic) October 4, 2014
He promised to write a couple pieces on what he witnessed, who snubbed him, who he pissed off, and how he got escorted out by security, but nothing so far. Still, I retain my faith in Tim and his ability to to purge out 2000 repetitive words, so watch out for him at some point today.
The Raptors are playing the Kings in Vancouver’s Rogers Arena at 7pm today, and it’s a bit of reunion of Team USA. First, we got DeMar DeRozan going up against Rudy Gay, who now plays no position because the Kings are exploring something called “positionless basketball”. This brand of basketball essentially entails nobody on the court having any idea on what they’re supposed to be doing, meaning this should be very easy for the Kings to pick up.
There’s also DeMarcus Cousins reuniting with DeRozan, and of course, the guy he almost tried to murder, Jonas Valanciunas. In that game Valanciunas did outscore Cousins by playing twice the minutes, which for this game means absolutely nothing. I just figured I’d mention it.
I’ll keep my eye on DeRozan’s ball-handling, Valanciunas’ post-moves, Ross’s shooting and Lowry’s speed and movement, but that’s run-of-the-mill observations. My eyes are going to be James Johnson, because he is one of the two new signings the Raptors have made this year, and any improvement outside of “growing up” will have to come from Johnson or Lou Williams, so I’m curious to see what his attitude and approach to a meaningless game will be. I figure it’ll be telling of what his approach to the season may be.
Casey, who coached Johnson in his first stint with the Raptors as well, noticed some changes in Johnson’s approach:
“At that time of his career, he wasn’t ready to accept the role he was in. It wasn’t that it was personal or anything. I’ve got a different approach with James this time. He’s at a different place in his life as a person and doing a great job of really, really staying within his lane, keeping the game really simple and making the easy plays. That’s going to be his growth pattern and the more he is able to continue doing that the more he is going to grow as a player.”
Translation: Johnson has come to terms with his talent level and is more focused on using his valuable, but limited, skill to the benefit of the greater good rather than Jamario Moon his way through life. Good on you, James, good on you.
There’s also the intrigue surrounding Bruno Caboclo, where lots of questions remain unanswered. What’s his wingspan? Is wingspan one word, or two like wing span? Is the best use of wingspan to change a light bulb on a 9-foot ceiling? How will Caboclo look with NBA players around him? What’s rawer – ISIS underground footage, or Caboclo’s jumper? Shrouded in mystery, Caboclo remains the type of swing where you can’t yet tell if the ball’s fair or foul, only time will and that time starts tonight in Vancouver.
I also watched the Lou Williams interview for you guys and fair warning, don’t try to play a drinking game where you take a swig every time he says “focused” when describing how this training camp is unique. He’s got a shifty look throughout this interview and doesn’t make eye contact with the questioner, kind of reminds me of that time I stole a CD at HMV and this staff member engaged me in a conversation about Metallica’s Harvester of Sorrow, while I sweated profusely.
Williams mentioned that the team is taking these pre-season games “very seriously”, which is a lie, but he did drop one interesting line:
“We’re very clear on what every guy brings to the table at this point.”
This is important. There’s always question marks surrounding certain players and where they’ll fit into the rotation and what their usage will be. If expectations are managed accordingly and there’s a sense of responsibility and accountability for every player, then that’ll directly result in a more cohesive unit where roles are well-defined. When this element is missing you’ll often see players stepping out of their strengths because it’s termed OK to experiment since your job isn’t defined and enforced. There’s a need for rigour and discipline in every basketball team, and the Spurs are obviously the best example.
The Raptors should be closer to this ideal than most other teams because they’ve retained the key group and added supplements that have very niche roles. When you examine the risk of uncertainty on this roster, it’s probably at fringe positions. The flip side of the coin is that whenever you have defined roles and pecking order, competition at spots decreases. Who really will challenge DeRozan, Lowry, or Valanciunas for their starting spots? No one. The power forward and small forward are slightly more competitive, but a rather natural order sorts itself there as well.
I don’t really see an issue with three out of the five starters remaining unchallenged, because all three players aren’t the type that settle into a comfort zone and coast. All three have something to prove. DeRozan needs to prove that the All-Star thing wasn’t a flash in the pan and that he can be a legitimate top three SG in the league. Lowry’s got the contract to justify, and Valanciunas has to answer to the hype that FIBA was another coming out party and that he’s a candidate for second-best center in the East. I’d say motivation’s quite high.
So there you go, the wait to watch NBA basketball (or at least a lower form of it) is over. Let’s go Raps!
