Gameday: Raptors vs 72 Wins

Preseason is dragging along quite a bit now, thankfully tonight is the final home preseason against the Bulls. After that the Raptors play the Knicks in Montreal on Friday and then the season starts a week from today. There's no analysis today, just bullet points about stuff. Raptors stuff (mostly):

Preseason is dragging along quite a bit now, thankfully tonight is the final home preseason against the Bulls. After that the Raptors play the Knicks in Montreal on Friday and then the season starts a week from today. There’s no analysis today, just bullet points about stuff. Raptors stuff (mostly):

  1. I’d like to see Andrea Bargnani dunk on Joakim Noah, who falls down and then Bargnani proceeds to stand on him. Like Pippen on Ewing.
  2. The talent level in the NBA is diluted and they should drop a couple teams. Start with the Bobcats.
  3. The Bulls have the best logo in basketball.
  4. P.J Carlesimo is itching to be the head coach of an NBA team. Jay Triano should be worried.
  5. If Julian Wright had a jumper he’d be Trevor Ariza.
  6. The trade deadline will offer the Raptors an opportunity to trade an All-Star type for their expiring contracts. They shouldn’t take it.
  7. I find it odd that that Andrea Bargnani is considered the face of the franchise but is not shown in the season seat promo on raptors.com.
  8. There’s a culture clash between the “faces” of this franchise, meaning YGZ® and Bargnani. Can the two co-exist? Yes, but it’s going to be difficult. They need someone who brings the two different styles of play/attitude together, and it’s not Triano. A player that does so would be nice. Maybe a PG?
  9. Would you do a Taj Gibson for Ed Davis deal?
  10. The Jose Calderon and T.J Ford combo are completely different than the Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack one.
  11. Sonny Weems has effort issues which he needs to fix.
  12. DeMar DeRozan’s lack of jumper could kill his NBA career, luckily he’s still got plenty of time to fix it. Passing up a jumper to drive into a waiting defense is a recipe to get blocked. And so he does.
  13. This Rap is pure truth.
  14. Lineup that will work: Jack-Barbosa-Andersen-Johnson-Weems.
  15. Lineup that will not work: Any lineup involving both Calderon and Bargnani.
  16. Top three Raptors in terms of effort: Joey Dorsey, Reggie Evans, Amir Johnson.
  17. Worst three Raptors in terms of effort: Andrea Bargnani, Sonny Weems, DeMar DeRozan
  18. The Raptors are no longer paying Sam Mitchell.
  19. If the game was on the line and Raptor had to go one-on-one to win it, I’d pick DeMar DeRozan. He’s the most likely to get fouled.
  20. The Raptors coaching staff needs to do a much better job of creating clean looks from 15-20 feet for the guards.
  21. Linas Kleiza and Sonny Weems need to improve their assist numbers by a couple each. Both look for their shot first which is good, but they tend to ignore the options available.
  22. I still can’t believe this is the same dress.