February 28 - Houston Rockets

[mcHAPPY]

Oh man. I've been agreeing with Doug Smith a lot lately - what is going on?

A key guy sits

Our seats were in the corner and were better than many in that spot in various arenas because we weren’t too high or too far away from the court.

And I had a perfect angle to see precisely what the coaches have been harping about with DeMar all season; and if any of you are ever at a game, watch it closely. It’s not something you can see on TV but it’s a huge problem with his game.

When they run stuff for him that involves him curling off a screen, or cutting across the lane, he simply does not work hard enough to get open.

He kind of lollygags at times, doesn’t use his body to get separation from his man and won’t use screens effectively.

I believe he was miffed after the game – he apparently tweeted “Straight Bulls#!+" on the bus to the airport – but here’s what I think someone needs to say to him:

Play better. Work harder. Be more effective. Then you’ll play, as you have in every fourth quarter in every game this season.

http://thestar.blogs.com/raptors/201...er-a-game.html

[Puffer]

"He kind of lollygags at times, doesn’t use his body to get separation from his man and won’t use screens effectively."

If that is why they sat him, I'm okay with it. As long as they show him some film and point to the problem areas so he can improve.

[Papa Burgundy]

After the first half I said the words to my bro, "wasn't Casey supposed to have a short leash? He hasn't used it on Demar".
I like the message - see if he has the stones to respond in the right way ... on the court, every night.

[Bendit]

A message not just for DD but for the team as well.

[ceez]

Love me some Casey. Everyone has to earn it. Everyone.

[SitnonDfence]

Love me some Casey. Everyone has to earn it. Everyone.

+3 - if he played hard in the first half , the last thing he would have had to worry about was closing the game.

Im also assuming that with the couple days of practice we had before the all-start game, everyone had some things they were suppose to work on/ accomplish.... maybe he didnt do it. I dont think Casey has to justify his benching to any of us. If indeed it was a Barbosa showcase, then BC should be the one answering to the fans. Lets just make sure we point the fingers in the right direction folks.

[Joey]

I don't know who played worse - Kleiza or Bayless. Given my bias, I'll go with Bayless.

Hahaha Love the honesty Matt.

[ReubenJRD]

Gonna say this again. Demar, just work harder, play as well as you've been doing recently on both ends of the floor, and you'll be back to closing games.

[charlz]

Anyone notice demar's tweet after the game? "Straight Bulls#!+" after being benched for the fourth? Its been removed since.

Source: http://blogs.thescore.com/raptorblog/

How come no one is talking much about this? I think this is huge!

[mcHAPPY]

How come no one is talking much about this? I think this is huge!

The manner in which Casey handled it pretty much snuffed any controversy, in my opinion.

DeMar deserved to be benched.
DeMar was frustrated and made a bad decision.
Casey spoke to DeMar.
DeMar realized he messed up.
Casey downplayed it publicly.
DeMar acknowledged his poor judgement publicly.
DeMar responded with a game emulating what the coaches are asking from him.
Everybody moved on.
Case closed.

[ReubenJRD]

The manner in which Casey handled it pretty much snuffed any controversy, in my opinion.

DeMar deserved to be benched.
DeMar was frustrated and made a bad decision.
Casey spoke to DeMar.
DeMar realized he messed up.
Casey downplayed it publicly.
DeMar acknowledged his poor judgement publicly.
DeMar responded with a game emulating what the coaches are asking from him.
Everybody moved on.
Case closed.

Happens with the best of players.

Demar doesn't have a bad attitude, he just has bad composure, which he used to be the best at in the business in my opinion.