Bargnani – if I told you a guy was 3 of 17 from the floor, defended like a wet paper towel in a waterfall, and talked on the floor like a man with no tongue, could you guess who it was? What? You guessed last years #1 overall pick?!? Wow! You win!!!!
Bosh – this has been 3 or 4 years now that I have seen him take the microphone at the beginning and/or end of the season to talk to the fans. Always sounds like he is munching on chaw. I’m sorry, but for the backbone of this team, his play tonight was substandard at best. We could be playing the cast of Disney in Orlando and we could be taken out if Chris plays like this.
Brezec – 2 minutes of play, 1 technical, and he continued yapping at the refs after the game. Classic. It’s like Arsenal thinking they are better than Man U. It’s just not right. Paging Mister Preeemosh Brehzich…Preeemosh Brehzich….please board your plain to the Mexican League….Prreeeeemosh Brehzich…..
Calderon – I still miss his drives to the hoop. Really. No idea if it is planned out this way or he is looking for his teammates more, but that drive worked wonders for him. He received, by far, the loudest ovation of the night. Louder than Bosh by my estimation.
Delfino – this game must have fallen on a day with a vowel in it, because it was an off day for him. 3pts 2 asts make for a “why did he even bother” night.
Ford – I was soooooo waiting for Tempestuous TJ after that charging call, but rather than yell at the ref, he decided to direct his anger at the only guy on the floor actually scoring: Rasho. That’s it, Mr. Point Guard….you give it to Rasho. He’s been piss poor for months and should always be looking to bail you out in times of trouble that you have created for yourself.
Graham – I went to the washroom and missed him. Oh, I saw him on the court, he just usually is in the washroom offering me soap and a handtowel during the game.
Humphries - in a perfect world, Moon or Bargs goes down in the playoffs, Mitchell is forced to play Humph, he hustles, wins the hearts of the fans, it is late in game 7, we are down by 1, Jose steals the ball, passes it up to Humph who is ahead of the pack, Humph stops 2 feet short of the bucket, he looks at Sam and says “hey, thanks for the confidence in me all year, not like I could help your rebounding problems”, flips Sam the bird, puts the ball off the glass, catches it, then dunks it, giving himself a rebound and 2 points on the play. He then turns, clotheslines Hedo, smiles and rides off into the sunset. I’m just sayin. Oh, and he had 1 board and 2 points in 2 minutes tonight. MVP numbers over 48 minutes.
Kapono – you know when you are outside in the summer and a fly comes around you? You swat at it…it dodges away…comes back at you…blows by your hand…comes again and you know it’s just taunting you?? Well, fly = average NBA player, your hand = Jason Kapono. Thanks. There will be a test.
Moon – run floor. stop. stand. wait. wait. wait. wave hands. stand. receive ball. shoot. go back on defence. stand. get screened off your man. wave arms like you are landing a plane. ignore coach. repeat.
Nesterovic – you know, if teddd was still around from the altraps newsgroup days, I’d probably be washing his car again because of Rasho’s late season plays. If I were him, I would have squashed TJ like a bug for showing me up mid-play. Instead, Rasho, being better than me, nodded and slapped TJ’s hand so the love can continue. Maybe, as I’m typing this, Rasho has dropped the soap in the locker room shower and is making TJ pick it up. If so, Rasho is the man and I’m getting his shirt. Hey, maybe now I know why TJ walks like a cowboy and is always pissy!
Parker – anyone else noticing the trend of off games since his sister has done so well? Bueller? Bueller? That said, have you seen his sister? Hot damn! No wonder Anthony flails his arms when he is playing D…he’s had a few years of practice keeping the boys at bay.
Driving the Bus: Rasho Nesterovic
Under the Bus: Carlos Delfino & The Arsenalist for not sticking up for his team.
Theme Song: [audio:Bad.mp3]
Related posts:
parker and humphries both have hot sisters!
as for the game…i am all mixed up about…i’m partly disgusted, partly disapointed, partly confused, partly indifferent, partly numb…
Raps Fan’s last blog post..Raptors beat the Heat 91-75 [41-40] – April 14, 2008
Bang on comments (again), specifically the Rasho and Moon remarks. I’m *still* (blindly?) on board with Kapono – we’re not using him properly (if I say it enough, will it be true?)
Oh, and the Hump comments made me laugh out loud.
RapsFan…that sounds like a Pink Floyd song.
Kenz…I’m with you on Kapono. On a team lacking defence and supposedly built around offense, I think he is underutilized. I still think very few, if any, plays are run specifically for him. His horrible D is not much worse than, say, 9-10 of his teammates.
Scott’s last blog post..Raptors Roll Call April 14 vs Heat
What did you want me to do to a stranger wearing a Man Utd jersey? Trash talk while his team is at the top of the league? It doesn’t work that way, I’d get laughed at. Plus, people on other teams don’t buy the “robbed the the ref” argument no matter how true it is. Maye if the Gunners were on top, I’d bump into him and go, “Oh, I’m so sorry that those pathetic Oasis-loving, pillow-biting, uneducated incestuous cunts couldn’t stay with The Arsenal”. But as it stands right now they got all the ammo to talk shit. Next year son, next year we’ll win the league by a good 15 points and I’ll buy a 40ft Arsenal flag and hang it outside my condo – book it.
Back to this snore -fest, Bosh had a weak game but for once I got to say that his teammates never even looked for him. Sure he could’ve demanded the ball more but even when he did they just looked him off.
Isn’t it sad that a 2-11FG for Bargnani counts as a good game.
Arsenalist’s last blog post..Unmotivated Raptors crawl past Heat, get Magic in playoffs
I think Rasho is the only reason basketball is still in TO.
And I hate to blame it all on TJ (actually… I don’t hate that at all), but the guy brings down the intensity the second he steps on the court. He plays defense about 20% of the time, sulks after he makes a bad play, and, with the exception of the odd lob to Moon, doesn’t really make anyone better. I know his stats are still decent, but anyone who’s seen him play since his return can see him infecting the team. Last night was a perfect example – one of the most important games of the year for us and he starts the game getting torched by Chris F-ing Quinn!
Having said all that, we got the matchup we wanted in the first round, so let’s make something happen! It’s ours for the taking if we can get it together.
Scott G, you’re a bit harsh on TJ. he was key in the third quarter run and hit some shots early to keep the scoring going. Quinn did torch him early but he made up for it later. I hate the sulking too but I try to look past it.
Arsenalist’s last blog post..Unmotivated Raptors crawl past Heat, get Magic in playoffs
I know, I am probably a little harsh… but I really believe his attitude has been the single largest factor in our team’s decline this year. Prior to his return, we looked like a scrappy, fairly talented team. Now, we look lazy, indifferent, and deserving of our record. Here’s to TJ playing his butt off in the playoffs so someone will take him off our hands!!
Interesting concept, Scott. Never thought of that myself. I do think his attitude has rubbed off in a negative way as the season went on. I’m sure that is the reason Jose stepped up, just to quell all the bullshit.
I also wonder if the guys that are still around from last year aren’t maybe disappointed in the result this year. I’m sure after winning the division and the massive support received last year, they expected a lot more.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – April 15
His attitude is the single biggest reason for our decline? How about perimeter defense, interior rotations, settling for jumpers, Bosh not being aggressive in the clutch, Jamario Moon refusing to drive, Jason Kapono not shooting threes, Parker’s defense, Delfino’s inconsistency…blah blah blah.
Blaming the season on TJ is crazy.
Arsenalist’s last blog post..Unmotivated Raptors crawl past Heat, get Magic in playoffs
Arsenalist… note that I said “biggest factor”, rather than only factor. Of course, one guy’s attitude can’t be the only reason, but I tend to feel that the team has collectively lost the bounce that it had in its step during his absence. I think his attitude has affected many of the things that you mentioned.
No doubt, other guys haven’t stepped up the way they could have, but this just seems to me like a team that is just going through the motions without much in the way of leadership, while the team we watched in dec/jan/feb during Ford’s absence really benefited from Calderon’s on-court demeanor.
But hey, we’re all entitled to our opinion, so feel free to spread the blame elsewhere!
The leadership question is a strange one. I can appreciate that a team looks to the point position for guidance on the floor and in that “leadership” category, I think Jose excels as it relates to moving teammates to the right position and getting the ball into the right hands.
Off the court, obviously he has shown he cannot handle the pressure of the team concept, so he lacks leadership there as well.
TJ is a good player that can create but he seems to choose the same partners each time, which becomes tiresome and predictable.
Further, outside of the knighting of Bosh, I’m not sure this team has a leader. I commend Rasho for stepping up in the past 2 months and assuming part of that role and being a bit more vocal in the dressing room and media, but it would be nice if one of the younger guys would break out of their shell a bit and grasp a part of that role as well.
Scott’s last blog post..Adult Diapers to Press Row Please…