Hollinger Thinks The Raptors Are Losers

[Hassan]

I dont think amir johnsons deal is that bad. klieza is a bad defender but hes a hard noised tough player which the raptors lacked but using the mle on him was stupid. I think we got better defensibly by getting rid of Hedo and replacing bosh with Johnson who is a better defender then bosh also with the drafting ed davis a line up of jack,weems,derozan,johnson,bargs isn't bad defensibly.

[Multipaul]

Who said anything about being fed up with this team? Relax, homeboy.
If you think this team will be good this season, you're going to be very disappointed. We're very green, still very much young with a lot to learn. We're not going to win very many games. Still a lot of holes on this team. Still have defensive deficiencies. I'm just not trying to look at this with rose coloured glasses. Instead, I'm looking at this with realistic expectations and realize that this is a process.
Edit: I don't think we're as good as the Nets or Clippers.

Here is the Nets roster. I'm sure we can find you at the ACC no problem Mango rocking your Johan Petro jersey...


2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER POS HT WT DOB FROM YRS
Josh Boone (FA) C 6-10 240 11/21/1984 Connecticut 4
2 Jordan Farmar G 6-2 180 11/30/1986 UCLA 4
14 Derrick Favors F 6-10 246 07/15/1991 Georgia Tech R
34 Devin Harris G 6-3 190 02/27/1983 Wisconsin 6
Trenton Hassell (FA) F 6-5 227 03/04/1979 Austin Peay 9
Jarvis Hayes (FA) F 6-8 228 08/09/1981 Georgia 7
43 Kris Humphries F 6-9 235 02/06/1985 Minnesota 6
10 Damion James F 6-7 220 10/07/1987 Texas R
6 Courtney Lee G-F 6-5 200 10/03/1985 Western Kentucky 2
11 Brook Lopez C 7-0 265 04/01/1988 Stanford 2
22 Anthony Morrow G 6-5 210 09/27/1985 Georgia Tech 2
21 Travis Outlaw F 6-9 207 09/18/1984 Starkville HS (MS) 7
27 Johan Petro C 7-0 247 01/27/1986 Paris, France 5
Chris Quinn (FA) G 6-2 175 09/27/1983 Notre Dame 4
13 Quinton Ross G-F 6-6 193 04/30/1981 Southern Methodist 6
Bobby Simmons (FA) F 6-6 230 06/02/1980 DePaul 8
18 Ben Uzoh G 6-3 205 03/19/1988 Tulsa R
1 Terrence Williams G-F 6-6 220 06/28/1987 Louisville 1
35 Brian Zoubek C 7-1 260 04/06/1988 Duke R

[Sam]

At this point I don't think our defensive improvement is going to offset the decline in our offence. No one on this team looks like they can create their own shot or require a consistent double team. I'm ok with that and will be watching games for more than the final score but right now I think we're like Sacramento last year and that ain't good if all you're looking at is the coming season.

But there's hope beyond that as long as management takes a long-term view of things. Not sure I trust BC yet but so far, he's been ok in this regard. Too bad about the Charlotte deal. That would have really improved the long-term outlook. But I can deal with Jose remaining here. He might be our best offensive player.

[MangoKid]

Here is the Nets roster. I'm sure we can find you at the ACC no problem Mango rocking your Johan Petro jersey...


2010-11 Roster
NUM PLAYER POS HT WT DOB FROM YRS
Josh Boone (FA) C 6-10 240 11/21/1984 Connecticut 4
2 Jordan Farmar G 6-2 180 11/30/1986 UCLA 4
14 Derrick Favors F 6-10 246 07/15/1991 Georgia Tech R
34 Devin Harris G 6-3 190 02/27/1983 Wisconsin 6
Trenton Hassell (FA) F 6-5 227 03/04/1979 Austin Peay 9
Jarvis Hayes (FA) F 6-8 228 08/09/1981 Georgia 7
43 Kris Humphries F 6-9 235 02/06/1985 Minnesota 6
10 Damion James F 6-7 220 10/07/1987 Texas R
6 Courtney Lee G-F 6-5 200 10/03/1985 Western Kentucky 2
11 Brook Lopez C 7-0 265 04/01/1988 Stanford 2
22 Anthony Morrow G 6-5 210 09/27/1985 Georgia Tech 2
21 Travis Outlaw F 6-9 207 09/18/1984 Starkville HS (MS) 7
27 Johan Petro C 7-0 247 01/27/1986 Paris, France 5
Chris Quinn (FA) G 6-2 175 09/27/1983 Notre Dame 4
13 Quinton Ross G-F 6-6 193 04/30/1981 Southern Methodist 6
Bobby Simmons (FA) F 6-6 230 06/02/1980 DePaul 8
18 Ben Uzoh G 6-3 205 03/19/1988 Tulsa R
1 Terrence Williams G-F 6-6 220 06/28/1987 Louisville 1
35 Brian Zoubek C 7-1 260 04/06/1988 Duke R

Thanks for copy and pasting the Nets' roster. Didn't need it, but thanks anyways.

Looking over it, I forgot they had drafted Favours and had signed Morrow from GSW and Outlaw from Portland/LAC. And you don't think the Nets are better than us? On paper, I believe they're a lot better than us. They should be in the hunt for that #8 spot in the east.They're young, athletic and talented. I think their starting 5 is better than ours. Same goes for the Clippers.

[heinz57]

the raptors have been losers... for the last 7 yrs

and i dont want to hear no shit about the year they won the division title... winning your division means nothing when you get blown out of the playoffs by a team in your own division...

and losing to vince carter.. dear god.... losing to vc in the playoffs should have nullified all the "franchise player" talk about bosh a long time ago...

luckily the biggest loser left for miami where he wont be able to pad his stats because his SG is a better rebounder than he is.

i'm willing to put money on bargs averaging more rebounds than him next season

im just hoping for entertaining basketball... im sick of players mailing it in...

[Multipaul]

You guys are such defeatists. Go get some prozac or something to numb your pain. Why not go into this season with a "winning" attitude and see what happens then.

To TRX, I'm not saying we are winners yet, but we aren't losers either. As a FAN of the team, i would choose to take a positive attitude.

[Multipaul]

i'm willing to put money on bargs averaging more rebounds than him next season

For sure, this goes without saying. Bosh ain't no all star, Bargs is.

[TRX]

It's hard for the Raptors to not fall off offensively, considering they had the sixth best offence in the league, but I don't think it'll take a massive tumble. I still expect them to stay in the top third of the league. The defence seems to be a wild card right now; it depends how far DeRozan and Bargnani have come, how many minutes Amir can play and how Davis adjusts to the NBA, among other things.

It's hard not to be perceived as an offseason loser when you lose your franchise player. The key word here being perceived.

And to the fanboys saying you can't count the Raptors as losers since the season hasn't started yet, by the same token, how can you count them as winners?

EDIT: Fortunately, my wellbeing doesn't hinge on the Raptors being a good or bad team, so I'm not in pain. I have no impact on the team; who actually benefits if I "have a winning attitude". Not expecting the greatest season ever doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy seeing them achieve success. Note here that "success" is not purely defined by total number of wins.

[MangoKid]

You guys are such defeatists. Go get some prozac or something to numb your pain. Why not go into this season with a "winning" attitude and see what happens then.

To TRX, I'm not saying we are winners yet, but we aren't losers either. As a FAN of the team, i would choose to take a positive attitude.

Your attitude can't alter the talent or coaching of this team. As much as you'd like for it to happen, it just doesn't play out like that. If it were the case, everyone here would be coming in like we were Richard Simmons' mentor. Full of energy and positivity.

[Multipaul]

So what is the point of proclaiming a team you CLAIM to support LOSERS before they have even played one game? Do you just swallow everything that is spoon fed to you from ESPN?

[MangoKid]

i'm willing to put money on bargs averaging more rebounds than him next season

Ohhhhhhhhhh.. I will totally take you up on that bet. There's no way Andrea averages more boards per game than Bosh.

[jlongs]

Seems like the word "loser" is hitting a few sore spots. How about we just say that most of us fans have low expectations of the current roster when it comes to the W/L column, and wouldn't be surprised if the L's far outnumber the W's. That said, that doesn't mean we won't be cheering for the team to win as much games as possible.

I, for one, am excited to see the young players develop throughout the season. I'm also looking forward to see what Bargnani is really made of. But like the Raptors as a whole, I won't be expecting much.

[MangoKid]

So what is the point of proclaiming a team you CLAIM to support LOSERS before they have even played one game? Do you just swallow everything that is spoon fed to you from ESPN?

You know nothing about me. I was a season ticket holder for 5 seasons and I attend 10+ games a season. I was there for the lean years. I'm sure a lot of us were. I support them just as everyone else here does. I put out hard earned money to support them and cheer them on - as have many of us. I'm also a realist. I know this is going to be a tough season. The talent is there, but most of it hasn't been tapped as of yet. You can't piss on us and tell us that it's rain.
We haven't been out of the first round since 2001 and since that, close to 10 years now, we've won 5 playoff games. We just lost our best player this summer. I think that qualifies us as being losers.

[GameBreaker]

anyone who says we are "losers" should shut the f**k up and go be a fan of another team.
the season hasn't even started yet, you are a bunch of whiny b*tches if you are already dooming us for the season.

look at poor Minny, they won 15 games last year, or worse, the nets, clippers ,etc.. We are not even close to as bad.

just cause some loser on espn says we are bad you are going to take the same mentality.

This season will be awesome, why cast a shadow over it before it has started. probably a bunch of depressed Bosh ball washers. go to south beach and party with that tranny if u r so fed up with your hometown team.

+1. Tired of these wack fans, who call themselves Raps fans. They remind me of the writers in the U.S., who diss us. Go cheer for Miami, wit ya non-supportive shizzle.

[Frankthetank]

Offense won't be the problem. The raptors are one of the more gifted offensive teams. The raptors season will be determined by how well they improve their defense. Don't be suprised if we have a similar record to last year.