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2012 Draft Thursday, June 28th: Raptors select Terence Ross

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  • If JJ and DeMar can learn to shoot I don't see why a player as hard working as MKG can't.
    @sweatpantsjer

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    • Nilanka wrote: View Post
      http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog?...rds-team-needs

      Anyone have ESPN Insider access to the rest of this article?
      They should have mentioned that nobody with the exception of the Knicks have improved as much defensively, but Toronto didn't have to go out and pay the big bucks on a guy like Chandler to make the improvement.

      Comment


      • MangoKid wrote: View Post
        Yeah, I got you..

        The Toronto Raptors , believe it or not, had about
        as perfect a season as they could have hoped
        for, outside of becoming a serious contender,
        that is.
        First and foremost, first-year coach Dwayne
        Casey proved to be a keeper, convincing his
        players to defend with better purpose and
        passion. Perhaps only the New York Knicks
        improved as much on defense from last season,
        and this improvement in Toronto will be a
        strong foundation moving forward.
        Then they watched as their top pick from last
        June's draft, Jonas Valanciunas, prove to be the
        exciting prospect they had hoped by playing well
        last summer through his current season in
        Europe. And all this happened while Toronto
        kept losing games, assuring them of a very high
        draft pick in the 2012 draft. Indeed, this team
        obviously, still has a lot of needs. But it looks
        like they should be able to fill an important spot
        no matter where they pick in the lottery come
        May 30. This is a team that is rapidly acquiring
        and developing talent.
        Needs: Athleticism on the frontline, perimeter
        shooters on the wings, guard depth
        The obvious pick: Anthony Davis
        Certainly this will happen if the Raptors
        somehow get the No. 1 pick. And yes, even
        though Davis would battle both Andrea Bargnani
        and Valanciunas for playing time, he would make
        a huge impact in Toronto, who field a number of
        below-the-rim players inside. Coming off the
        bench, Davis would still get as much playing
        time as he'd need, and he fits well next to either
        of those two guys.
        Kind of fits: Andre Drummond
        The Raptors wisely chose Valanciunas last year
        knowing they would let him develop for a season
        overseas first. They can do the same thing with
        Drummond, perhaps using the D-League
        properly and letting Drummond build his skill
        set, confidence, and overall basketball IQ there.
        It's possible he could develop into a good
        partner with Valanciunas, perhaps letting the
        Raps move off Bargnani. But developing two
        bigs at the same time is challenging. If not
        Drummond, Kansas' Thomas Robinson would
        add immediate help to their biggest need, with
        his great quickness for a guy that strong.
        Bad fit: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
        Kidd-Gilchrist would give them much-needed
        athleticism and energy but his poor perimeter
        shooting will not likely allow him to stretch
        defenses for some time, if ever. However, let's
        be clear, Kidd-Gilchrist would not be a
        disaterous pick. It's just that picking so high, the
        Raptors will have better choices available.
        Perfect fit: Bradley Beal , Thomas Robinson
        DeMar DeRozan is a good NBA scorer, but his
        lack of perimeter shooting and suspect defense
        warrants looking into a replacement, if it makes
        sense. It does with Beal, as he projects as an
        outstanding shooter and a very good scorer. He
        should become a better player than DeRozan in
        almost every other facet of the game. In fact,
        adding Beal would allow them to bring DeRozan
        off the bench, where he could end up being an
        excellent sixth man while still being a primary
        scorer. Both guys could even finish games
        together as Beal will be able to defend many
        small forwards thanks to his length and
        strength. Toronto can't go wrong with Robinson
        either, as he fills a huge need for athleticism on
        the front line with the perfect game for Casey --
        tough and energetic and willing to fight and
        defend. He'd play major minutes as a rookie
        and improve the Raptors in his first season.
        Thanks for posting Mango.

        I'm not sure I agree with the insistence on Drummond, Davis, and Robinson. Now if they are the best players available, then yes, take them - obviously for Davis. However, this insistence for athleticism and strength in the frontline ignores the fact the Raptors out rebound their opponents, are top 10 in opposition field goal %, and are among the leaders in allowing the opposition fewest points in the paint.

        To me this is a perfect example of people who are writing on the NBA with very little knowledge of a particular team (in this case Toronto) outside of the known stereotypes.

        MKG, in my opinion, would be a much better fit than Drummond or Robinson.

        I do agree Beal would be ideal.

        Comment


        • Their shooting percentages are nothing to brag about. MKG may improve his shooting, but I don't think he'll be an elite scoring threat if he isn't a natural shooter. We're pretty decent with our D, and can only improve with more time under Casey and a legit Centre coming over, so perhaps we need to look at improving on the offensive end of the floor. Bring on Beal or Barnes!

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          • You know who was a poor shooter in college but got drafted high because of his motor and leadership qualities? MJ and Wade.

            Keep that in mind.
            @sweatpantsjer

            Comment


            • If we somehow get the 2nd or 3rd pick, and Bryan chose Drummond, I think I might just stop watching Raptor ball completely.

              Comment


              • ceez wrote: View Post
                You know who was a poor shooter in college but got drafted high because of his motor and leadership qualities? MJ and Wade.

                Keep that in mind.
                VEEEEEEEERRRRRRRY good point.

                Comment


                • ceez wrote: View Post
                  You know who was a poor shooter in college but got drafted high because of his motor and leadership qualities? MJ and Wade.

                  Keep that in mind.
                  That sir, is a serious statement. I don't see that kind of greatness in MKG, not by a long shot, but gotta respect that you can come out make a statement like that.

                  Comment


                  • Neither do I, but at the same time when you look at MKG's qualities and attributes and put a check beside every single one of the important ones except "outside shooting" and say "well, going to have to pass then" it seems insane to me.

                    Just ask Portland about it, they did it twice.
                    @sweatpantsjer

                    Comment


                    • ceez wrote: View Post
                      Neither do I, but at the same time when you look at MKG's qualities and attributes and put a check beside every single one of the important ones except "outside shooting" and say "well, going to have to pass then" it seems insane to me.

                      Just ask Portland about it, they did it twice.
                      Iam a MKG supporter too. He is an alpha male type and was the defacto leader as a rookie on a ncaa championship team and I believe has already been one in hs. I also believe he subjugated his game for the team (as others also did). Taking long Js occasionally/when that is not your assignment but probably taken with the clock winding down isnt easy. My feeling is he may turn out to most valuable of the bunch.

                      The only issue I see is that JV is an alpha too...from the video I have seen of his games. He looks like the leader of his team in Lith. Is having multiple alpha types on one team a good thing? Lebron & Wade are doing it but they are vets now and are going for a championship.

                      Comment


                      • Bendit wrote: View Post
                        Iam a MKG supporter too. He is an alpha male type and was the defacto leader as a rookie on a ncaa championship team and I believe has already been one in hs. I also believe he subjugated his game for the team (as others also did). Taking long Js occasionally/when that is not your assignment but probably taken with the clock winding down isnt easy. My feeling is he may turn out to most valuable of the bunch.

                        The only issue I see is that JV is an alpha too...from the video I have seen of his games. He looks like the leader of his team in Lith. Is having multiple alpha types on one team a good thing? Lebron & Wade are doing it but they are vets now and are going for a championship.
                        If Val and MKG ended up on the same team, I'm sure they'd both be force-fed a few slices of humble pie by our coaching staff and veterans. I wouldn't be concerned about their personalities clashing.

                        Comment


                        • ceez wrote: View Post
                          You know who was a poor shooter in college but got drafted high because of his motor and leadership qualities? MJ and Wade.

                          Keep that in mind.
                          That's not true, especially in MJ's case he shot 54% from the field as a Tar Heel, 44.7% from the 3 point line.

                          http://www.michaeljordansworld.com/college_stats.htm

                          Wade shot 49.4% from the field at Marquette but only 30% from the 3 point line.

                          http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/pla...te/dwyane-wade

                          Comment


                          • stretch wrote: View Post
                            That's not true, especially in MJ's case he shot 54% from the field as a Tar Heel, 44.7% from the 3 point line.

                            http://www.michaeljordansworld.com/college_stats.htm

                            Wade shot 49.4% from the field at Marquette but only 30% from the 3 point line.

                            http://statsheet.com/mcb/players/pla...te/dwyane-wade
                            Field goal percentage aside, were Jordan or Wade's jumpers considered "weapons" in college? MKG shot 49% last year too.

                            Comment


                            • When your offense consists mostly of slashing to the basket and dunking you're going to have a decent FG%
                              @sweatpantsjer

                              Comment


                              • taking the risk of what seems like no risk?

                                The more I think about it........maybe it's in our best interest to draft harrison barnes, yeah he can't create for himself and his handles suck, but he can shoot and finish well, the way he leaps toward the basket (when he has the chance) is impressive. If he improves his ball handling and one on one skills, maybe he can provide the star power we desperately need, if he doesn't, we are going to be mediocre for a lonnnnggg time.

                                Another problem I've had is bargnani's poor play down the stretch, especially defensively. While it might be b/c he is injured, I'm not sure I buy that theory, and I definitely question the fitness of the big man. Anyways, the point is we should take the risk that ed could develop into the starter, and bargnani becomes our sixth man.

                                I would sign barbosa, and a veteran centre so jonas can adjust and we have:

                                Valanciunas/Kaman?
                                Ed Davis/Bargnani
                                Harrison/James Johnson/Kleiza
                                derozan/barbosa/alan anderson
                                Calderon/Bayless/Uzoh (he has grown on me)

                                and while that roster seems underwhelming, I think we can compete if harrison turns into a star, not to mention we will be stronger defensively with bargnani coming off the bench, of course Im assuming Ed davis will be a starter either next year or the year after. If ed doesn't work out, we will have to settle for bargnani helping to protect the paint, which would work against average teams, while stronger teams will continually attack the weak link come playoff time, of course that is assuming bargnani returns to his beginning of the season form, if he comes back playing like he did near the end of the season, even the weaker teams will beat us lol.

                                now this train of thought is a departure of my initial idea of drafting a PF and trading bargnani, which could get messy quick. I guess this is more feasible

                                thoughts?

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