I'm gonna give a dynasty stories thread a run, never done one before; I'm just posting now to give myself threadspace and to get down some basic transactions. I'll edit after the first game tonight, add in some pictures and all that stuff.
Toronto Star - 6/27/05
Draft Night 2005, Part One by Tyler Sherkin
The NBA Draft is an important part of every NBA off-season and for the Toronto Raptors, this year's draft is more important than most.
Not only does the franchise's future potentially hinge on whatever talented is gleaned from this year's promising pool of talent, the image of the franchise and perhaps the job of their GM is also at stake. After last year's much-maligned selection of Rafael Araujo, Raptors fans are hoping that their GM does something a little more traditional and maybe adds some youth and athleticism on the wing this year. If the Raptors pull another Hoffa out of the draft, it's going to be another long year in Toronto and the Raptors could begin to see their normally outstanding fanbase begin to wane.
Toronto Star - 6/28/05
Draft Night 2005, Part Two by Tyler Sherkin
Raptors trade 7th pick + Denver's 2006 pick for 5th Pick. Raptors trade both 2005 2nd round picks, 2006 first round pick and to Orlando for 11th pick.
5th Selection - Raymond Felton
11th Selection - Charlie Villanueva
16th Selection - Gerald Green (Boston selects Joey Graham at the 18th pick)
Raptors' GM Rob Babcock unleashes some daring moves, dealing away all of Toronto's second round picks as well as both of their first round picks in the 2006 draft for Raymond Felton, Gerald Green and Charlie Villanueva.
Toronto fans have to be pleased; the Raptors moved up in the draft and got themselves a point guard who should have a positive impact on the team. At worst, Felton will challenge Rafer Alston in practice and make him work harder to earn his position as starter. He's a pass-first point guard who developed well in his time at North Carolina. With an explosive first step, a developing shot and great instincts on the break, Felton should really help the Raptors improve their execution and get some more easy buckets.
The 11th pick came around and pretty much everyone and their dog expected the Raptors to select Gerald Green. It was a surprise that he was still on the board but the Raptors took... Charlie Villanueva?
At first glance, he doesn't really fit in with Rob Babcock's stated intentions to draft players of good character and work ethic because of all the hub-ub that he wasn't properly motivated and didn't work hard enough but comments from his college coach seem to show a new Charlie V and the Raptors can only hope that this versatile big man can find some minutes and contribute.
The real steal for the Raptors was getting Gerald Green; he slid all the way down to the 16th pick in the draft and the Raptors snapped him up. He probably won't contribute this year but he's a young player with a good shot and explosive athleticism, so at worst he'll be a guy who can finish the break when he's out there with Raymond Felton. We'll see how well the Raptors deal with their high school pick this time down the road after the Tracy McGrady fiasco.
Toronto Star - 7/7/05
Signed Raymond Felton, Charlie Villanueva and Gerald Green.
Toronto Star - 8/3/05
Signed Jose Manuel Calderon.
Toronto Star - 8/3/05
Re-signed Pape Sow.
Toronto Star - 8/3/05
Re-signed Matt Bonner.
Toronto Star - 8/21/05
The Raptors are rumored to be taking a look at Shawn Kemp, the former Sonics star. Kemp is reportedly looking great, spending the summer working with famous trainer Tim Grover on getting his weight down and getting himself into basketball shape. He said in an interview with a Seattle-based paper that he was down to 260 pounds (from over 280 in his last stint in the NBA, with Orlando), that he was skipping rope like a boxer every day and that he was jumping higher than he had since 2000.
Toronto Star - 8/24/05
The Raptors have signed DeSagana Diop. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Toronto Star - 8/27/05
There will be another trade here but I have to work out the specifics in the actual game; I'll edit tonight.
Toronto Star - 8/30/05
The Raptors have extended a training camp invite to Shawn Kemp.
Toronto Star - 9/2/05
The Raptors have waived Lamond Murray.
Aside:
As you can see, I'm not going the traditional route; I'm not content with the Raptors' roster as it actually went because I'd have rather had Felton and/or Green but that's the beauty of video games, right? The trades are reasonably realistic, I don't know if Charlotte or Orlando would have actually gone for them but they're suitably balanced. Toronto gives up a pick only 2 picks lower than Charlotte's and gives Charlotte another first rounder in '06, so that's not a bad deal at all for them, even though the hometowner they wanted was in this draft. Orlando got two second rounders and what would, to their thinking, probably be a top 10 pick in the '06 draft to go with their own pick. Also not a bad deal. So if they're not necessarily realistic, they are at least grounded enough that they should be decent offers. Of course, the deals mean the Raptors can't trade their '07 draft pick away without another first rounder that year in return but hey, it doesn't matter.
Raptors Dynasty [9-6] - Next Up, Memphis
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Raptors Dynasty [9-6] - Next Up, Memphis
by tsherkin on Tue Oct 04, 2005 8:57 am
Last edited by tsherkin on Thu Oct 06, 2005 8:38 am, edited 3 times in total.
- tsherkin
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by tsherkin on Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:25 pm
Thanks for the feedback, folks.
That update that I was talking about... I'm way too tired to do images and stuff but here's the trade:
Chris Bosh + Morris Peterson + Eric Williams
to L.A. for
Kwame Brown + Von Wafer + Slava Medvedenko
Imagine the Babcock-bashing... right after Bosh's "breakout" year...
That update that I was talking about... I'm way too tired to do images and stuff but here's the trade:
Chris Bosh + Morris Peterson + Eric Williams
to L.A. for
Kwame Brown + Von Wafer + Slava Medvedenko
Imagine the Babcock-bashing... right after Bosh's "breakout" year...
- tsherkin
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by BOSS on Tue Oct 04, 2005 1:34 pm
tsherkin wrote:Thanks for the feedback, folks.
That update that I was talking about... I'm way too tired to do images and stuff but here's the trade:
Chris Bosh + Morris Peterson + Eric Williams
to L.A. for
Kwame Brown + Von Wafer + Slava Medvedenko
Imagine the Babcock-bashing... right after Bosh's "breakout" year...
ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS ! This one is off my list
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by tsherkin on Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:25 pm
OK, so in the course of making some trades, I had to sim about a half-dozen games; not a big chunk, to be sure.
The Raptors opened up the season with a win over the Wizards and followed it with consecutive losses to New Jersey, Detroit and Cleveland before halting the slide in Utah.
The New Jersey game was the season's first reunion with Vince Carter; Carter went 5-14 because of stifling defense from Gerald Green. Carter ended up scoring 11 points, grabbing 5 boards and dishing 3 assists. Green dropped 18 points, grabbed 4 boards and dished out 7 assists, including a beautiful behind-the-head dish to a streaking Kwame Brown.
Charlie Villanueva also dropped 18 points, grabbing boards and dishing 4 assists.
Raymond Felton lead the attack for the Raptors with 21 points, despite shooting only 37% from the floor. He grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 7 assists.
Even DeSagana Diop got into the action against New Jersey, scoring 4, grabbing 3 boards, dishing out an assist, blocking 3 shots and recording 2 steals.
Unfortunately, it was all for naught as old-timer Cliff Robinson dumped in 20 points and Jason Kidd exploded for 23, 10 and 11, recording his first triple-double of the season in the Raptors' loss.
The Raptors' starting five has been Kwame, Charlie V, Rose, Gerald Green and Raymond Felton from Day 1, Felton beating out Alston in training camp with great decision-making and ability to create for his teammates.
Through 5, the starters are averaging:
Kwame Brown: 13.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.2 bpg
Brown has played excellent defense and rebounded very well; his offense has left something to be desired but the Raptors have been concentrating more on their perimeter attack than anything else. Kwame did drop 25 points on the Pistons and flashed a number of new post moves that looked well-practiced and comfortable for him.
Charlive Villanueva: 11.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.2 bpg
Charlie V has been a strong contributor for the Raptors, though perhaps not quite what they were hoping for at the #11. Still, he has shown signs of being a great all-around player, his rebounding and passing complementing a nice mid-range touch.
Jalen Rose: 16.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.6 bpg
Jalen Rose has been a disappointment; taking as many shots as he did last year, he's been scoring less, getting to the foul line less often, passing less and playing even less defense, if that's possible. The Raptors have to be doing everything in their power to dump him as soon as possible. He has yet to shoot over 40% in a game this season.
Gerald Green: 19.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1 spg, 0.4 bpg
Gerald Green has done far more than expected; everyone thought he'd come into the league and play limited minutes, get thoroughly abused on defense and struggle to contribute at all in his first year. Instead, he's been the Raptors' leading scorer over the first 5 games, scoring at a 51% clip no less. He's brought rebounding, he's the second leading passer on the team and he has shown considerable defensive potential, highlighted by the number he did on Vince Carter in the New Jersey game.
Green seems to have added a noticeable amount of muscle since he was drafted and is a reguar in the Raptors gym. Pre-draft concerns about work ethic and his mental preparedness for the game have been brushed aside in a flurry of three-pointers, beautiful pull-up Js and monstrous jams. The facial he dropped on Zydrunas Ilgauskas was nothing shy of incredible and will be a regular on the highlight reel all year.
Raymond Felton: 12.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 7.8 apg, 2.4 spg, 0.2 bpg
Felton has had his ups and downs as a shooter (the downs including the 9-21 night against New Jersey and the ups including an 11-11 performance against Utah) and he hasn't proven to be much of a rebounder, though Brown, Villanueva and Rose seem to be doing a great job of that, with DeSagana Diop grabbing almost 5 boards off the bench as well.
Felton's strenght has been as a playmaker and a floor general, which is exactly what the Raptors wanted out of him. He's been excellent about controling the pace of the game, keeping everyone involved, creating something out of broken plays and in general leading the Raptors' attack. He's also been a devastating ball-thief and ranks among the league leaders in steals at this early juncture in the season.
Next up, the struggling Sonics (1-4).
There's been little for Sonics fans to cheer about early in the season except for Damien Wilkins, who's been averaging 13, 6 and 3. That and Ray Allen having another career season. However, the losses of Antonio Daniels and Jerome James have proven significant, though both pale in comparison to the loss of Nate McMillan. Without their sidelines mastermind, the Sonics have crawled out of the gate, stumbling worse than have the Raptors.
Toronto looks to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
The Raptors opened up the season with a win over the Wizards and followed it with consecutive losses to New Jersey, Detroit and Cleveland before halting the slide in Utah.
The New Jersey game was the season's first reunion with Vince Carter; Carter went 5-14 because of stifling defense from Gerald Green. Carter ended up scoring 11 points, grabbing 5 boards and dishing 3 assists. Green dropped 18 points, grabbed 4 boards and dished out 7 assists, including a beautiful behind-the-head dish to a streaking Kwame Brown.
Charlie Villanueva also dropped 18 points, grabbing boards and dishing 4 assists.
Raymond Felton lead the attack for the Raptors with 21 points, despite shooting only 37% from the floor. He grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 7 assists.
Even DeSagana Diop got into the action against New Jersey, scoring 4, grabbing 3 boards, dishing out an assist, blocking 3 shots and recording 2 steals.
Unfortunately, it was all for naught as old-timer Cliff Robinson dumped in 20 points and Jason Kidd exploded for 23, 10 and 11, recording his first triple-double of the season in the Raptors' loss.
The Raptors' starting five has been Kwame, Charlie V, Rose, Gerald Green and Raymond Felton from Day 1, Felton beating out Alston in training camp with great decision-making and ability to create for his teammates.
Through 5, the starters are averaging:
Kwame Brown: 13.2 ppg, 10.8 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.2 bpg
Brown has played excellent defense and rebounded very well; his offense has left something to be desired but the Raptors have been concentrating more on their perimeter attack than anything else. Kwame did drop 25 points on the Pistons and flashed a number of new post moves that looked well-practiced and comfortable for him.
Charlive Villanueva: 11.8 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 3.0 apg, 0.6 spg, 1.2 bpg
Charlie V has been a strong contributor for the Raptors, though perhaps not quite what they were hoping for at the #11. Still, he has shown signs of being a great all-around player, his rebounding and passing complementing a nice mid-range touch.
Jalen Rose: 16.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.6 bpg
Jalen Rose has been a disappointment; taking as many shots as he did last year, he's been scoring less, getting to the foul line less often, passing less and playing even less defense, if that's possible. The Raptors have to be doing everything in their power to dump him as soon as possible. He has yet to shoot over 40% in a game this season.
Gerald Green: 19.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1 spg, 0.4 bpg
Gerald Green has done far more than expected; everyone thought he'd come into the league and play limited minutes, get thoroughly abused on defense and struggle to contribute at all in his first year. Instead, he's been the Raptors' leading scorer over the first 5 games, scoring at a 51% clip no less. He's brought rebounding, he's the second leading passer on the team and he has shown considerable defensive potential, highlighted by the number he did on Vince Carter in the New Jersey game.
Green seems to have added a noticeable amount of muscle since he was drafted and is a reguar in the Raptors gym. Pre-draft concerns about work ethic and his mental preparedness for the game have been brushed aside in a flurry of three-pointers, beautiful pull-up Js and monstrous jams. The facial he dropped on Zydrunas Ilgauskas was nothing shy of incredible and will be a regular on the highlight reel all year.
Raymond Felton: 12.6 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 7.8 apg, 2.4 spg, 0.2 bpg
Felton has had his ups and downs as a shooter (the downs including the 9-21 night against New Jersey and the ups including an 11-11 performance against Utah) and he hasn't proven to be much of a rebounder, though Brown, Villanueva and Rose seem to be doing a great job of that, with DeSagana Diop grabbing almost 5 boards off the bench as well.
Felton's strenght has been as a playmaker and a floor general, which is exactly what the Raptors wanted out of him. He's been excellent about controling the pace of the game, keeping everyone involved, creating something out of broken plays and in general leading the Raptors' attack. He's also been a devastating ball-thief and ranks among the league leaders in steals at this early juncture in the season.
Next up, the struggling Sonics (1-4).
There's been little for Sonics fans to cheer about early in the season except for Damien Wilkins, who's been averaging 13, 6 and 3. That and Ray Allen having another career season. However, the losses of Antonio Daniels and Jerome James have proven significant, though both pale in comparison to the loss of Nate McMillan. Without their sidelines mastermind, the Sonics have crawled out of the gate, stumbling worse than have the Raptors.
Toronto looks to win consecutive games for the first time this season.
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by tsherkin on Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:27 pm
A few days before the Sonics game, the Raptors announced the following:
Aaron Williams was released and Lorinza Harrington signed.
Matt Bonner and Loren Woods were traded for Martell Webster.
Pape Sow and Rafael Araujo were traded for Shane Battier.
Jerome Beasley was signed to a contract, terms of the deal undisclosed.
Each of the new players will be in uniform for the Sonics game.
Aaron Williams was released and Lorinza Harrington signed.
Matt Bonner and Loren Woods were traded for Martell Webster.
Pape Sow and Rafael Araujo were traded for Shane Battier.
Jerome Beasley was signed to a contract, terms of the deal undisclosed.
Each of the new players will be in uniform for the Sonics game.
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by Its_asdf on Tue Oct 04, 2005 9:55 pm
Your trades are very lop sided, but I'm interested to see how the high schoolers (Webster and Green) play together. Trading away Pape Sow AND Araujo as well doesn't seem like a good move. Aren't you a little thin on big men as it is?
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Big Images!
by tsherkin on Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:40 am
I am thin for power forwards right now, yes.
At center I've got Kwame and DeSagana Diop and that's been decent for the moment. What I really need to do is get rid of Jalen Rose, his contract is a blight on my salary cap situation and he's shooting TERRIBLY... and not defending anyone.
Martell Webster is a project; he isn't as quick as I'd like, or possessed of strong handles. Gerald Green, on the other hand, has been a prodigy and is my team's leading scorer
, which has been, needless to say, a HUGE surprise.
As far as Peterson...
I have Shane Battier, who is way better and also younger.
The Seattle game will be interesting; Ray Allen is going to be a real pain to stop and I can see Rashard Lewis going off for a big night as well. If I can contain ONE of them, then I have a reasonable shot at winning because no one else on that team is a serious threat offensively and I've got good offensive firepower.
Here's a pic from a pre-season game:
Gerald Green dunking on Vladimir Radmanovich as Ray Allen waves to someone in the stands.
The second part of that same dunk.
Gerald Green tossing down a 180-degree, two-handed windmill reverse as Reggie Evans looks on in amazement while dodging out of the way.[/img]
At center I've got Kwame and DeSagana Diop and that's been decent for the moment. What I really need to do is get rid of Jalen Rose, his contract is a blight on my salary cap situation and he's shooting TERRIBLY... and not defending anyone.
Martell Webster is a project; he isn't as quick as I'd like, or possessed of strong handles. Gerald Green, on the other hand, has been a prodigy and is my team's leading scorer
, which has been, needless to say, a HUGE surprise.
As far as Peterson...
I have Shane Battier, who is way better and also younger.
The Seattle game will be interesting; Ray Allen is going to be a real pain to stop and I can see Rashard Lewis going off for a big night as well. If I can contain ONE of them, then I have a reasonable shot at winning because no one else on that team is a serious threat offensively and I've got good offensive firepower.
Here's a pic from a pre-season game:
Gerald Green dunking on Vladimir Radmanovich as Ray Allen waves to someone in the stands.
The second part of that same dunk.
Gerald Green tossing down a 180-degree, two-handed windmill reverse as Reggie Evans looks on in amazement while dodging out of the way.[/img]
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by Its_asdf on Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:44 am
I think you should resize your pictures, they are a tad too big and might be a turn off to some 56k viewers.
I know this sounds kind of silly, but also press the little square next to the screenshot button. It makes the pictures look a lot better if you just take the screenshot without the whole chunky bar in there.
Just a little thing that got on my nerves, but not really a big deal.
I know this sounds kind of silly, but also press the little square next to the screenshot button. It makes the pictures look a lot better if you just take the screenshot without the whole chunky bar in there.
Just a little thing that got on my nerves, but not really a big deal.
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by tsherkin on Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:09 pm
The Raptors thoroughly dominated Seattle 131-88. Gerald Green stymied Ray Allen into 4-21 shooting and Charlie Villanueva held Rashard Lewis in check as the Raptors' transition game utterly overwhelmed the Sonics.
Gerald Green set a season-high with 32 points, followed closely by Kwame Brown's career-high 31 points and 22 rebounds. The Raptors dominated with an inside-out game that had their shooters feasting off of kick-outs from Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop and Charlie V from mid-range and the perimeter.
The Raptors followed this win with two wins against Philly (87-82, 104-92) on a back-to-back home-and-home series against the Sixers.
The Raptors followed the 3-game streak with losses at Boston (86-83) and Miami (114-104) and then beat the Clippers 99-68 and the Kings 106-101.
The Raptors looked particularly impressive during the last three games. Despite losing to the Heat, the Raptors went down fighting and the score was padded by a pair of threes that Antoine Walker hit in the final 20 seconds of the game. Kwame Brown limited Shaquille O'neals offense to 22 points despite Miami's better efforts and Shaq having an incredible night from the foul line (11-11).
Toronto Star - 11/27/05
The league announced a three-team trade:
The Los Angeles Lakers receive Carlos Boozer, Rafer Alston and Alvin Williams
The Utah Jazz receive Jalen Rose, Lorinza Harrington and Von Wafer
The Toronto Raptors receive Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm and Eric Williams.
The Raptors also signed Tierre Brown to a 2 yr deal.
Gerald Green set a season-high with 32 points, followed closely by Kwame Brown's career-high 31 points and 22 rebounds. The Raptors dominated with an inside-out game that had their shooters feasting off of kick-outs from Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop and Charlie V from mid-range and the perimeter.
The Raptors followed this win with two wins against Philly (87-82, 104-92) on a back-to-back home-and-home series against the Sixers.
The Raptors followed the 3-game streak with losses at Boston (86-83) and Miami (114-104) and then beat the Clippers 99-68 and the Kings 106-101.
The Raptors looked particularly impressive during the last three games. Despite losing to the Heat, the Raptors went down fighting and the score was padded by a pair of threes that Antoine Walker hit in the final 20 seconds of the game. Kwame Brown limited Shaquille O'neals offense to 22 points despite Miami's better efforts and Shaq having an incredible night from the foul line (11-11).
Toronto Star - 11/27/05
The league announced a three-team trade:
The Los Angeles Lakers receive Carlos Boozer, Rafer Alston and Alvin Williams
The Utah Jazz receive Jalen Rose, Lorinza Harrington and Von Wafer
The Toronto Raptors receive Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm and Eric Williams.
The Raptors also signed Tierre Brown to a 2 yr deal.
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by tsherkin on Wed Oct 05, 2005 2:19 pm
I have a host of pictures ready, most of them of Gerald Green dominating the league, but I need to fiddle around with them first.
The latest game:
Toronto Star - 11/27/05
Toronto 164, Golden State 154
It was an 80s-style shootout on Saturday, with the Raptors emerging the victor in what was a close game, despite the final score.
It was tight the whole way, with Golden State leading after the first and third quarters and never down by more than 10. The Raptors fought through the whole thing with a blazing hot offense and excellent defense. The score doesn't show it but the Raptors dug in deep and played some spectacular defense, the Warriors were just making all kinds of trick shots and hit almost all of their 30 foul shots.
Gerald Green led the Raptors with a season-high 50 points to go with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. The 50 points were the most by a rookie since Wilt Chamberlain dropped 58 in 59-60. He put a resounding stamp on his arrival into the league with a half-dozen different thunder dunks on Golden State's hapless defenders while putting on a mid-range shooting clinic and nailing 2 of 5 from long range to go with his 18 made free throws in as many attempts. Green put on a mid-range shooting clinc with pull-ups, fades and turnarounds from the block as well as some catch-and-shoot plays all over the floor.
((Call me out if that's incorrect, folks))
Kwame Brown built upon a great performance in Miami and added 20 points, 15 boards, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 4 assists.
Charlie Villaneuva had his best game of the season with 16 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists. Raymond Felton added 12 points, 3 boards and 8 assists.
The latest game:
Toronto Star - 11/27/05
Toronto 164, Golden State 154
It was an 80s-style shootout on Saturday, with the Raptors emerging the victor in what was a close game, despite the final score.
It was tight the whole way, with Golden State leading after the first and third quarters and never down by more than 10. The Raptors fought through the whole thing with a blazing hot offense and excellent defense. The score doesn't show it but the Raptors dug in deep and played some spectacular defense, the Warriors were just making all kinds of trick shots and hit almost all of their 30 foul shots.
Gerald Green led the Raptors with a season-high 50 points to go with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. The 50 points were the most by a rookie since Wilt Chamberlain dropped 58 in 59-60. He put a resounding stamp on his arrival into the league with a half-dozen different thunder dunks on Golden State's hapless defenders while putting on a mid-range shooting clinic and nailing 2 of 5 from long range to go with his 18 made free throws in as many attempts. Green put on a mid-range shooting clinc with pull-ups, fades and turnarounds from the block as well as some catch-and-shoot plays all over the floor.
((Call me out if that's incorrect, folks))
Kwame Brown built upon a great performance in Miami and added 20 points, 15 boards, 3 blocks, 2 steals and 4 assists.
Charlie Villaneuva had his best game of the season with 16 points, 20 rebounds and 5 assists. Raymond Felton added 12 points, 3 boards and 8 assists.
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by tsherkin on Thu Oct 06, 2005 9:01 am
Toronto Star - 11/27/05
Late Sunday night, the Toronto Raptors announced a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
The Raptors sent Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm and Jarron Collins to the Bulls for Antonio Davis, Jared Reiner and Luol Deng.
The return of Antonio Davis to Toronto has been a topic of some controversy and it is expected that he was promised that the Raptors would move him again in short order.
Toronto Star 11/28/05
Toronto 155, Dallas 139
The Raptors welcomed another new player to their team and he helped them win their 9th game of the season.
Luol Deng made his debut with the Raptors Monday afternoon and posted 23 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes while playing excellent defense against the Dallas wingmen, in particular against Jerry Stackhouse.
The game was close the whole way; the Raptors were up by one at the end of the first quarter, down by 3 at the end of two and down by ten points going into the fourth quarter.
Sam Mitchell had the Raptors playing full-court press defense throughout the fourth quarter and it seemed to throw the Mavericks into disarray. The pressure D forced a number of key turnovers and the Raptors really turned up the offense in the fourth quarter. Dallas was unable to get stops and relied solely on their potent offense and specifically their jumpshooters.
Gerald Green poured in 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter on a couple of big dunks, a number of mid-range jumpers and three consecutive three-pointers in the closing thirty seconds of the game to put the Mavericks away.
The Raptors attack was lead by Green, who was spectacular throughout the game in a way few rookies have been and showed up most notably in the pressure-packed fourth quarter when not only was he utterly unstoppable on offense, he was completely unshakable on defense. Jason Terry and Marquis Daniels were both blanked in the fourth quarter with Green guarding them. He even had a big blocked shot on a Dirk Nowitzki jumper that would have put the Mavericks up one with just over a minute to go. Green added 6 rebounds and 7 assists to his scoring total.
Kwame Brown added another monstrous game, dropping 34 points on Erick Dampier while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. He swatted 3 shots and added a steal as well.
Charlie Villanueva continued to show that he was no mistake at the 11th pick, recording 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. His all-around game really hurt the Mavericks badly, since the Raptors were able to put some huge lineups and abused the Mavericks down low almost at will. In some lineups, the 6'11 Villanueva functioned as the primary ball-handler, running with Kwame Brown at power forward (7'1), DeSagana Diop at center (7'1), Gerald Green (6'7) and Shane Battier (6'8). It was positively Don Nelson-esque at times.
Raymond Felton had another solid game, adding 12 points and 7 assists. He asserted himself on offense in the third quarter, scoring all but two of his points then to keep an offensively stagnant Raptors team in the game. He added two huge steals early in the fourth quarter to get the Raptors some momentum, turning one into a fastbreak layup for himself and another into a spectacular alley-oop for Kwame Brown. He would add two other assists (one to a streaking Charlie V for a dunk and another for a kick-out three to Gerald Green) in the same quarter.
Sam Mitchell has the Raptors digging deep for these last couple of wins, playing hard-nosed defense, the kind he played as a player. The players seem to enjoy the freedom they enjoy offensively.
Said Raymond Felton: "Coach doesn't give us lots of plays to run except from time-outs and out-of-bounds situations; mostly, we just run and see what we get from there. If we have to, we slow down and attack the D with pick-and-rolls, screens, that kinda thing. We've got room to just do our thing. If it aint' working, Coach calls some plays to get us some good looks but mostly, we're all about running and moving without the ball. It's worked so far."
Kwame Brown on his breakout season:
"It's early yet but I've just come out trying to show everyone what I can do in an offense where I'm involved, you know? I knew I could do this, it was just a matter of being in the right situation with the right guys. Raymond, Gerald, Charlie, everyone's really good about sharing the ball because they know that they'll get it back or that someone'll look for them next time down the floor. We move the ball a lot and everyone gets touches, so we're all happy. As far as my numbers, they just show I'm playing hard and have good guys running with me."
Sam Mitchell on the team's prospects:
"I'll tell you in April, OK? We're just playing ball right now, seeing what we can do game-by-game. We're what, nine and six right now? So we're over .500 and that's a big, a huge step for us. We're a young ball club so, you know, we don't always make the best decisions but we can make up for some of that with athleticism and pure talent. But we're learning, so that's what this season is going to be all about, just getting the guys to learn how to play together, how to handle pressure... Tonight was a good example of that, of guys stepping up and saying 'We're not losing this game.' I thought Gerald and Kwame were really big in that regard but everyone did a great job tonight and hey, we walked away with a win. It doesn't get better than that."
Avery Johnson on the loss:
"It's tough, you know? Our games came out and played hard. I thought Dirk had a really good game, Devin was doing a great job early on... We just couldn't get some stops down the stretch and that hurt us. Toronto just killed us on second-chance shots with their big guys."
The Raptors' next opponent is Memphis, whom they face on Wednesday.
Late Sunday night, the Toronto Raptors announced a trade with the Chicago Bulls.
The Raptors sent Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm and Jarron Collins to the Bulls for Antonio Davis, Jared Reiner and Luol Deng.
The return of Antonio Davis to Toronto has been a topic of some controversy and it is expected that he was promised that the Raptors would move him again in short order.
Toronto Star 11/28/05
Toronto 155, Dallas 139
The Raptors welcomed another new player to their team and he helped them win their 9th game of the season.
Luol Deng made his debut with the Raptors Monday afternoon and posted 23 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 27 minutes while playing excellent defense against the Dallas wingmen, in particular against Jerry Stackhouse.
The game was close the whole way; the Raptors were up by one at the end of the first quarter, down by 3 at the end of two and down by ten points going into the fourth quarter.
Sam Mitchell had the Raptors playing full-court press defense throughout the fourth quarter and it seemed to throw the Mavericks into disarray. The pressure D forced a number of key turnovers and the Raptors really turned up the offense in the fourth quarter. Dallas was unable to get stops and relied solely on their potent offense and specifically their jumpshooters.
Gerald Green poured in 20 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter on a couple of big dunks, a number of mid-range jumpers and three consecutive three-pointers in the closing thirty seconds of the game to put the Mavericks away.
The Raptors attack was lead by Green, who was spectacular throughout the game in a way few rookies have been and showed up most notably in the pressure-packed fourth quarter when not only was he utterly unstoppable on offense, he was completely unshakable on defense. Jason Terry and Marquis Daniels were both blanked in the fourth quarter with Green guarding them. He even had a big blocked shot on a Dirk Nowitzki jumper that would have put the Mavericks up one with just over a minute to go. Green added 6 rebounds and 7 assists to his scoring total.
Kwame Brown added another monstrous game, dropping 34 points on Erick Dampier while grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. He swatted 3 shots and added a steal as well.
Charlie Villanueva continued to show that he was no mistake at the 11th pick, recording 18 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 blocks and 2 steals. His all-around game really hurt the Mavericks badly, since the Raptors were able to put some huge lineups and abused the Mavericks down low almost at will. In some lineups, the 6'11 Villanueva functioned as the primary ball-handler, running with Kwame Brown at power forward (7'1), DeSagana Diop at center (7'1), Gerald Green (6'7) and Shane Battier (6'8). It was positively Don Nelson-esque at times.
Raymond Felton had another solid game, adding 12 points and 7 assists. He asserted himself on offense in the third quarter, scoring all but two of his points then to keep an offensively stagnant Raptors team in the game. He added two huge steals early in the fourth quarter to get the Raptors some momentum, turning one into a fastbreak layup for himself and another into a spectacular alley-oop for Kwame Brown. He would add two other assists (one to a streaking Charlie V for a dunk and another for a kick-out three to Gerald Green) in the same quarter.
Sam Mitchell has the Raptors digging deep for these last couple of wins, playing hard-nosed defense, the kind he played as a player. The players seem to enjoy the freedom they enjoy offensively.
Said Raymond Felton: "Coach doesn't give us lots of plays to run except from time-outs and out-of-bounds situations; mostly, we just run and see what we get from there. If we have to, we slow down and attack the D with pick-and-rolls, screens, that kinda thing. We've got room to just do our thing. If it aint' working, Coach calls some plays to get us some good looks but mostly, we're all about running and moving without the ball. It's worked so far."
Kwame Brown on his breakout season:
"It's early yet but I've just come out trying to show everyone what I can do in an offense where I'm involved, you know? I knew I could do this, it was just a matter of being in the right situation with the right guys. Raymond, Gerald, Charlie, everyone's really good about sharing the ball because they know that they'll get it back or that someone'll look for them next time down the floor. We move the ball a lot and everyone gets touches, so we're all happy. As far as my numbers, they just show I'm playing hard and have good guys running with me."
Sam Mitchell on the team's prospects:
"I'll tell you in April, OK? We're just playing ball right now, seeing what we can do game-by-game. We're what, nine and six right now? So we're over .500 and that's a big, a huge step for us. We're a young ball club so, you know, we don't always make the best decisions but we can make up for some of that with athleticism and pure talent. But we're learning, so that's what this season is going to be all about, just getting the guys to learn how to play together, how to handle pressure... Tonight was a good example of that, of guys stepping up and saying 'We're not losing this game.' I thought Gerald and Kwame were really big in that regard but everyone did a great job tonight and hey, we walked away with a win. It doesn't get better than that."
Avery Johnson on the loss:
"It's tough, you know? Our games came out and played hard. I thought Dirk had a really good game, Devin was doing a great job early on... We just couldn't get some stops down the stretch and that hurt us. Toronto just killed us on second-chance shots with their big guys."
The Raptors' next opponent is Memphis, whom they face on Wednesday.
- tsherkin
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