Being Realistic

I often get accused of having no love for Toronto teams because my favorite team isn't the Toronto Blue Jays and I hate the Maple Leafs. Well there is one Toronto team that I love, the Toronto Raptors.

I have been a Raps fan since the organization was created in 1995 and will continue to be a fan even if they continue to remain mediocre. Yes I love them but they are a mediocre team that will never win a championship until certain things change.

Before I continue with the Raptors there is something I want to go over quickly. Basketball is the one sport in which 1 single person can have the most impact. While 1 person can make a difference in baseball, hockey, or football they cannot win a championship by themselves and they cannot carry a team by themselves.

This is because basketball is a 5 on 5 sport where 1 player can play the entire game if needed. This means that the best player on your team can always be involved in the game and having an impact. This is obviously not the case for the other sports mentioned.

The point I am trying to make is that when looking at a basketball team the success the team will achieve can closely be linked to who their best player or players are. In the NBA analysts usually look at the best 3. This philosophy has always been popular but has gained increased usage since the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship in 2008 with the "Big 3."

So any basketball team will be judged based on who their best 3 players are. In the case of the 2009 NBA Champion LA Lakers their best 3 players would be Kobe Bryamt, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom with Kobe being the best player.

Now that I have gone over that let us return to my Raptors.

The best 3 players on the Toronto Raptors are Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, and Hedo Turkoglu with Bosh being the best. Now these 3 players are not good enough to win an NBA championship. They are good enough to be a competitive team that will make the playoffs but they lack the talent to win a title.

This is a fact that cannot be disputed. In order to prove my point I need only compare them to the other teams in the Eastern Conference. So here is a list of their main competition and their best 3 players.

Boston - Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen

Cleveland - LeBron James, Shaq, Mo Williams

Orlando - Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson

Miami - Dwyane Wade, Michael Beasley, Jermaine O'Neal

Washington - Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison

All of these teams have a better "Big 3" than the Raptors. Are all of these teams championship contenders? No. The Heat and Wizards do not have the talent to contend for championship titles but I feel they have a better chance than the Raptors.

The main problem that the Raptors face is that they treat Chris Bosh as if he can lead them to a championship. I personally feel like Bosh will only ever win a title as the 2nd best player on a team as I don't think he possesses the skills to lead a team to a championship. Now I may be wrong on this but so far in his career there is no evidence to prove me wrong.

Don't get me wrong he has the stats. He is a fantasy league All-Star but that is because he is the primary scoring option. To further prove my point look at the list of 'best players' that have led their teams to titles since the Raptors became an organization:

Michael Jordan

Tim Duncan

Kobe Bryant

Kevin Garnett

Dwyane Wade

Shaq

Note: the 2004 Pistons are the exception to the rule here as while they did not have 1 amazing player they had a starting 5 of really good players a feat I feel may become impossible as the NBA evolves.

These are all GREAT players. Hall of Fame players. They are the kind of players that can take over a game and put a team on their back and win. They can demoralize a team with their play and can strike fear into their opponents with their mere presence. Chris Bosh is not that type of player.

The Raptors are trying to stay competitive in a tough Eastern Conference but it is getting tougher. They need to make a move that will change the balance of power and make them NBA Championship contenders. They need to stop trying to appease Bosh by signing guys like Turkoglu and instead make a play for a 2010 free agent. Get that 'best player' that will lead the team to the Finals and a title.

Until they do this they will remain a mediocre team with no hope of winning a championship.

I am not saying this because I am a pessimist. I am just being realistic.

Random YouTube Video

Sickening Behavior

As I sat watching the replay of the Raptors Lakers game on Raptors TV I couldn't help but find something off putting about the whole thing.  It wasn't the fact that the Raps were leading going into the 4th quarter or even the fact that Joey Graham was the leading scorer.  It was the fact that people that were at the game were cheering "MVP" for Kobe Bryant when he was at the foul line and when he was making shots against the Raptors.  

What kind of turncoat behavior is that?  You don't cheer MVP for a player on the other team no matter what.  I don't care if its Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, or Michael Jordan the game is being played in Toronto and we are supposed to be Toronto Raptors fans.

People are all over the radio asking questions such as, "what's wrong with the Raptors" and "we upgraded the roster why aren't we winning?"  Maybe its cause fans are cheering for players on the other damn team.  Now I know that if the Raptors don't resign Bosh you can kiss the franchise goodbye for three or four years while we rebuild and with the way fans are acting its no wonder he wants to leave.  Who would want to play for a team where the home fans cheer for the guys you are playing against.

I am a Raptors fan and I always loved going to the games and hearing the fans cheering for the team.  I mean even if we were losing we were cheering for that 100th point so we could get that free slice.  Have Raptors fans sunk so low that we are now in the same category as Leaf fans who cheer for their team to lose and miss the playoffs so they can get a better draft pick?  I sincerely hope we haven't sunk that low.

Raptors fans need to a realise that the season is not over and that while we may be 13 games under .500 we are only 4 games out of the playoffs.  We play in the Eastern Conference so we can still do some damage.  We have a perennial all-star in Chris Bosh and talented players around him.  The season is not lost and at the deadline we are not sellers.  This team does not need to be blown up.   Toronto is the 5th largest city in North America and until recently was a great basketball city with amazing fans.  Players should want to come here.  Let's not make our team look unappealing by being jerkstores at the game and cheering for other team.

I recall listening to a Bill Simmons podcast recently in which he stated that, "Raptors fans are amongst the best in the league.  They go nuts for their team and they are smart too."  I just hope Bill Simmons wasn't watch the game tonight.

What’s Wrong with the Raptors?

Coming into the 2008-2009 NBA season many people had the Raptors being a force to be reckoned with in the East.  They had traded locker room disruption TJ Ford and had acquired Jermaine O’Neal a former All-Star.  Even with the questions of O’Neal’s health people still assumed that with Bosh, Calderon and now O’neal that the Raptors would challenge for top spot in the East.

Now two months into the season the Raptors are 16-28 having lost their last seven in a row.  They have fired Sam Mitchell, a man who only two years earlier had won Coach of the Year, and have replaced him with untested Jay Triano.  Jose Calderon and Jermaine O’Neal have both been injured and trade rumors are swirling that anyone could be traded at any moment.  All of these things have compounded into a negative attitude in Toronto that has the fans upset and superstar Chris Bosh looking unhappy.

Something has to change in Toronto if the Raptors want to save their season.  But this far into the season and looking at the Eastern conference one is forced to wonder if GM Brian Colangelo actually wants to improve this current squad or if would be better served to “blow it up” and start all over.

As it stands now the Raptors don’t have many options as the players and compensation they would receive on players such as Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono would not be worth their true value.  There has been talk of the Raptors trading O’Neal straight up to the Heat for Shawn Marion but do the Raps really need a self-centered player who isn’t nearly as good as he believes he is? 

For now it seems that all the Raptors can do is try and dump some of their contracts and attempt to sign some free agents in the off-season and use draft picks to rebuild because what they have now clearly isn’t working.  The only real problem is that if you decide to blow up the team that would mean Bosh would have to go which would hurt the franchise deeply as he is the cornerstone.  What they can’t allow to happen is another Vince Carter situation where they are forced to deal their best player and get nothing in return.

Maybe if the Raptors can get healthy and get their full team out there they may be able to compete.  However seeing as they are 3^rd last in the Eastern Conference maybe they should just sit it out and hope for another 1^st overall draft pick.  God knows the Thunder don’t need another one.

Bryan Colangelo Shakes Things Up

As of today the a trade has been agreed upon in principle between the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers. The deal would send TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic, a player to be named later, and the 17th overall pick in the NBA Draft to be held later on tonight to the Pacers in exchange for Jermaine O'neal. The trade was agreed to in principle and would only require physicals to be completed according to the press release that came out yesterday.

It was thought before the start of last season that the Raptors had struck gold and could use a two guard system to wreak havoc on the league but after Ford went down and Jose Calderon stepped in and played like an all-star Ford became expendable. Calderon was still willing to split time with Ford although he was not happy about it but it eventually became clear that Calderon was the new #1 guy and Ford was visibly not happy with the decision. With Ford's unhappiness evident to the league offers began pouring in from all over from teams trying to add Ford.

"We're talking about a player in T.J. that's an asset," Bryan Colangelo Raptors GM said. "He's a starting point guard in the NBA. Due to the fact that ... it's been known that he's available, so to speak, there's been a lot of interest. Teams have called and inquired and not put deals on the table that have been insulting in any regard. It's apparent that T.J.'s value is very high."

Earlier in the week there were talks that Ford might end up going to Phoenix in exchange for Boris Diaw but Indiana soon emerged with the offer of O'neal that was apparently too good to pass up.

O'Neal has missed over 50 games in the past two seasons due to serious knee problems, including a career high 40 last year after his knee was surgically repaired in the off-season. When he is actually healthy, O'Neal is a beast and i arguably one the NBA's dominant big men, averaging at least 19 points and nine rebounds. His numbers did drop last year a bit 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds but that can mostly be attributed to his knee issues. Along with his injury problems O'Neal brings with him a hefty contract as he has two years and $44-million remaining.

The thing that bothers me the most about this trade as a Raptors fan is that what the Raptors truly need is a center. Granted Jermaine O'neal can play center he is the same type of player as Chris Bosh a PF/C who feels more comfortable at PF. Why the Raptors didn't use Ford and the pick to move up and select Brooke Lopez is beyond me. Also I don't like trading for players who have a history of injury, are 29 years old, and have a big contract. However maybe Colangelo is trying to assemble his own Big 3 of Bosh, Calderon, and O'neal. Only time will tell but for now I remain skeptical.