Official Toronto Raptors Thread.

It's funny how Cy made such a good post and then it is followed by a post that practically does nothing but up the reply number by one.

I'm still not sold on Garbagehosa. I guess I have a personal bias against undersized players, and I'm not too sure his game transitions into the NBA. I haven't heard too much about him either, so if anyone can fill me in on something about him that would be nice.

That's exactly what I've been thinking Cy. The only problem I can see coming up is the team chemistry, which is always going to be an issue when a team is revamped.

Here's a question; if the Raptors don't do much better this season, is there a chance Mitchell will be fired? I hope not, I think he's a great coach whose doing his best with what he has, but last year there was some talk.

What the hell? Mitchell a good coach? I have to say that probably his best point is that he's brutually honest and doesn't take the players' crap, but his defensive and offensive schemes are ridiculous. On offence, it seems like the only set play the Raptors are capable of running are pick and rolls and you can already tell statiscally the wonders of Mitchell's defence.

But hey, if the Raptors start winning next season, I wouldn't mind keeping him around.

Personally, I think the Raptors made a big mistake by drafting Bargnani. I don't think he will be a complete bust like other Europeans such as Tsitichvilli or however u spell it. I think he can be a solid bench player that can hit some shots. Even if he turns out to be good player, he won't help this team because they need defense not another gunner like Peterson. I think they should have drafted LaMarcus Aldridge because he is very good defensively and a polished player on offense.

To be honest, the draft couldn't really fufill any of the Raptors needs with the number one pick, but Bargnani is a worthy gamble that could potentially play the 3 and the 5 where as Aldridge will take a couple of years until he can play the 5 spot legimiately.

Bargnani at center? This guy hasn't shown he can rebound or block shots. How will he be more ready to play at center then Aldridge will?

Bargnani at center? This guy hasn't shown he can rebound or block shots. How will he be more ready to play at center then Aldridge will?

Brgs will not be the ony person to play at C. Garbageman (don't know his name) will likely play at C along with Rasho. So there are 3 Cs that will share the plaing time at that position. Also, I have a feeling that Bargs and Garbageman will also play at PF.

And they should get rid of Mitchell, or atleast make him an assistant coach.

Garbageman, I like that. You should suggest it to Chuck as his nickname.

send chuck an email at cswirsky@torontoraptors.com
he reads AND REPLIES to every email.
seriously just like yesterday i sent him an email and he replied 1 min later

now if bargnani will play c, i dont think garbajosa will also be joining in. im sure they would like to give him as much playing time as possible being the #1 draft pick.

Bargnani at center? This guy hasn't shown he can rebound or block shots. How will he be more ready to play at center then Aldridge will?

If the Raptors utilize the run and gun offence, they'll need the extra three point shooting.

I'm still not sold on Garbagehosa. I guess I have a personal bias against undersized players, and I'm not too sure his game transitions into the NBA. I haven't heard too much about him either, so if anyone can fill me in on something about him that would be nice.

I don't know much about him either. All I've heard about him so far is that he is tough, a fundamentally sound rebounder, and can shoot the three. He's an inch shorter than Alonzo Mourning, so he's definitely a power forward. He seems to have potential, and I like the idea of him being a banger, but we'll see.

Here's a question; if the Raptors don't do much better this season, is there a chance Mitchell will be fired? I hope not, I think he's a great coach whose doing his best with what he has, but last year there was some talk.

Mitchell's not a great coach; I wanted him fired several times before, but this is his chance to show that he has grown since. At least he can apply his run-and-gun style that he wanted this season.

Personally, I think the Raptors made a big mistake by drafting Bargnani.

There's lots of comparisons with him and Dirk (and there's not too many seven feet players that can run fast and shoot the three), and if we consider Dirk's first season, Bargs has lots of potential. Too many scouting reports have shown that this kid has a lot of upside. He is still a question mark, but he's a risk that I would've taken.

Bargnani at center? This guy hasn't shown he can rebound or block shots. How will he be more ready to play at center then Aldridge will?

He needs work on his rebounding, for sure, but that can be coached. Aldridge is more center-ready than Bargs, but Bargnani is a very versatile player that would be better utilized for the Raptor's style of play. As for blocks, I think Bargs is a fairly good blocker for his age. His timing is really good, but he needs to get used to the NBA style if he wants to average a block a game.

The "Garbageman" is used over at RealGM, and I think I heard it here before. Some sya they call him that becuase he gets rebounds or something. BTW, isn't his his real nicknames something prono?

Also, I am extremely tired of people saying and wanting the Raptors playing Phoenix style basketball. I mean, c'mon, our coach is not capable of teaching he team to play like that, and I cannot see Mitchell sitting on teh bench and watching his team play defense, but not offense, and even if he does try to play a balanced game, it won't happen since he is not capable of teaching guys how to play defense.

I see Raptors having more success playing a halfcourt (and sometimes run-n-gun, but only occasionally) than playing like Phoenix, I mean..... Phoenix did almost get eliminated by the Lakers.

He seems to have potential, and I like the idea of him being a banger

Does he normally take it up the butt or do you?

I'm sorry, I couldn't resist

I see Raptors having more success playing a halfcourt (and sometimes run-n-gun, but only occasionally) than playing like Phoenix, I mean..... Phoenix did almost get eliminated by the Lakers.

The reason I say that they'll play a run-and-gun style like Phoenix is because they have a team that can run. TJ Ford is the biggest indication of that. Another reason is Bryan Colangelo, who built the Phoenix team that we see today. A third reason is that Sam Mitchell wants to play that ever since he started coaching, but it didn't work halfway through the season cause of the players he was with.

Its_asdf:

^I'll take that reply as "I most certainly love to take it up the butt from a scruffy looking European."

hipn it was said in the live 06 anouncements section when someone tried making a garbajosa cyberface.

To be honest, the draft couldn't really fufill any of the Raptors needs with the number one pick, but Bargnani is a worthy gamble that could potentially play the 3 and the 5 where as Aldridge will take a couple of years until he can play the 5 spot legimiately.

They could have Drafted Marcus Williams, and grab some BIG MEN for some Defence. as a PG, NJ got him and they are gonna be dangerous!!

Raps will probably have another crappy season!! Trying to be the Phoenix suns is a good business move. . .basketball wise . . I don't think that shit will work in the EAST

A lot of Reporters a dick Riding Colangelo and he hasn't done nothing but bring some European players to Torotno to make it the NBA's European Team!! the best thing he done was sign Bosh and Get Fred Jones and Rasho (who showed in SA he can't play in an uptempo offence). Some fans predict the Raps winnin 45 Games THIS YEAR. . LMAO, come on now. . 35 the Most.

Well, Williams had his fair shair of off-court troubles, and if 20 something teams passed on him there has to be something that they didn't like or found wrong about him.

I do agree that the Raptors are a tad overhyped, but why are you bashing the European players? A lot of them are proven players and proven winners, and there isn't much on the free agent market for Toronto. If Toronto did sign someone, they'd have to cough up millions in extra cash for a mediocre to average player. For the amount of cash that they signed for, they are low risk players so if it doesn't work out then the Raptors aren't screwed financially like they have been in previous years. It's not like Europeans (the top tier ones anyway) are completely inferior to American players.

You're point about the Spurs' offence isn't entirely correct either. San Antonio isn't a very up-tempo offence, they can choose to run and gun but they're more of a well-rounded offensive team than someone like the Suns who play solely in that type of system.

Also try and justify how the run and gun offence won't work in the East. The majority of the teams run and gun anyway.

If you're going to post some non-sensical jabbering, please do it somewhere else. I've had enough high blood pressure by looking at some of the other people's posts.

The european players that the Raptors have aquired are very skilled players, plus plenty of experience, wining ones. Like Its_asdf said, they come cheap. They may not be as athletic as the some of the NBA players, but they are very fundamentally skilled. International basketball tends to play a lot more team basketball, so these players are also team players. They've been on wining teams for many years. Another thing that might help these players adapt to the NBA game faster is that they will be seeing a lot of minutes. Maybe not 30+, but maybe in the 20 min range every night. A lot of other european players that have failed to succeed in the NBA is because they didn't play enough min to get used the game, or prove themselves. Calderon and Garbajosa are teammates on the Spain National team. They know each other, so that helps a lot on the communications part.

I think the Raptors will have a good season. I'm hoping for a playoff spot, but i can see how people think the Raptors won't make it. After all, it's a whole new team.

The Raptors are on the road to being a very good team in the near future .

^^ Yeah, but not next year!! I'm tired of Raptors starting over every 2 years, it's getting old

I'm not bashing European players, I'm just not impressed with these moves. And just because teams passed on Marcus Williams doesn't mean something was wrong, they were just looking for something else!! NJ was smart to grab him! Anthony Parker is a good player, but I never seen him play (OH, 1 game against the Raps). . I never seen half these guys play (summer league doesn't count). . so of course i'm gonna be skeptikal.

The only reason the Run and Gun works in Phoenix is because of Steve Nash. PERIOD. Put Steve Nash on the Raptors and you'll see how many more wins he'll bring the raptors. TJ Ford ain't gonna come close to that (I ain't saying he's not good, I just don't think he can win the Raps 40+ Games).

Run and run will work for the Raps cause all they do is jack up threes anyways. . don't matter whos on the team. Dated back in the VC probably even before that!! And Raps could use another Centre, cause who's gonna guard Shaq, Bargnani LOL

Run and Gun won't work in the East cause Teams are good in transition and can stop a fast paced game. It's proven once you slow the game down, fast-paced teams cannot win!! Why you think the clippers took the suns to game 7 last year. If they played slow, they would have beaten Phoenix in game 7.

well about the tj ford comment, im pretty sure someone here if not somewhere else posted that tj ford helped bucks win bla games. when he was injured they sucked. when he returned they made the playoffs.

well about the tj ford comment, im pretty sure someone here if not somewhere else posted that tj ford helped bucks win bla games. when he was injured they sucked. when he returned they made the playoffs.

Well you also have to figure Bogut, Magloire, Simmons, and Bell's addition helped them win games. It wasnt all just because Ford came back. Im happy to see him leave the Bucks. He was the #1 guy i wanted them to trade this offseason.

^^ LMAO, even bucks fans say he's over-rated. He is!! Cause he runs fast with the ball, that's why Raptors want him!!

Mike James >>>>>>>>>>> TJ Ford

I'm not bashing European players, I'm just not impressed with these moves. And just because teams passed on Marcus Williams doesn't mean something was wrong, they were just looking for something else!! NJ was smart to grab him! Anthony Parker is a good player, but I never seen him play (OH, 1 game against the Raps). . I never seen half these guys play (summer league doesn't count). . so of course i'm gonna be skeptikal.

Explain to me how guards like Foye, Douby, Rondo who were supposed to be worse than Williams got drafted ahead of him. It was his attitude problems in the past that scared the teams away, and would you honestly want to waste a number one pick on a potential head case?

The only reason the Run and Gun works in Phoenix is because of Steve Nash. PERIOD. Put Steve Nash on the Raptors and you'll see how many more wins he'll bring the raptors. TJ Ford ain't gonna come close to that (I ain't saying he's not good, I just don't think he can win the Raps 40+ Games).

That's not the point. I pointed out that a lot of other teams in the EAST use the run and gun offence and don't necessarily have a legitimate big man. Adding this brings nothing to the discussion.

Run and run will work for the Raps cause all they do is jack up threes anyways. . don't matter whos on the team. Dated back in the VC probably even before that!! And Raps could use another Centre, cause who's gonna guard Shaq, Bargnani LOL

Another brilliant post. I can smell the stench of brilliance. LOL

Run and Gun won't work in the East cause Teams are good in transition and can stop a fast paced game. It's proven once you slow the game down, fast-paced teams cannot win!! Why you think the clippers took the suns to game 7 last year. If they played slow, they would have beaten Phoenix in game 7.

Clippers and Suns are in the West, so why on earth are you using it to validate your point? LMAO

^^ LMAO, even bucks fans say he's over-rated. He is!! Cause he runs fast with the ball, that's why Raptors want him!!

Mike James >>>>>>>>>>> TJ Ford

Your "LMAO"s and "LOL"s are really starting to become troublesome.

Mike James might be better than Ford, but he isn't a guard that is meant to run a system in the Raptors, which needs a quick distributor to get players in the right spots for open shots and to share/run the break. Ford's perfect for that, so it doesn't really matter if James is better, Ford's effectiveness on the team is what makes him valuable to the team.