Its_asdf's Raptors Dynasty - Discontinued

[tommy]

Good decision in re-signing Marion, though I'm guessing you were leaning that way all along. Worst case scenario, he becomes expendable and very valuable trade asset. One way or another, I'd expect re-signing him will pay off.

Andrew is right, I think Marion will also help Terrell to develop his game...

[Its_asdf]

Three Lingering Questions
Toronto Starting off the Season with Uncertainty


September 17, 2009
Doug Smith
SPORTS REPORTER

Toronto Raptors' Opening Night Roster

Mediocrity has always been the strong suit of the Raptors' for the majority of their existence, but with yet another franchise player on the verge of walking out the door, the credibility of the franchise are at stake and the pressure to obtain results are mounting.

Even though there is a fresh 82 game season on the horizon, one must realize that the Raptors are heading into the 2009-2010 season with mostly unchanged parts, give or take a few role players. This of course is not a good sign given their underachieving record of 33-49 last season.

Whether the team can become a winning cohesive unit or fizzle out like they did in the past remains to be seen. Convincing Bosh that the current roster can compete can be difficult as there are numerous question marks surrounding the team itself.

These will be three itching questions that most of us have in the back of our minds when the Raptors kick off their season opener (fittingly it is against one-time Rap Jermaine O'Neal and the Miami Heat) and will determine whether or not the Raptors can salvage a respectable season to sway Bosh's decision:

1. Who's Going to Step it Up At the Guard Spots?

With the drafting of Terrell and the re-signing of Marion, all looks solid at the small forward spot. The same cannot be said about the point and shooting guard positions though.

Outside of Calderon, the Raptors are forced to rely on a ton of young, inexperienced talent that could either flourish or flunk out with the Raps.

First off, of course, is last year's back-up point, Roko Ukic. Ukic has shown some nice flashes of dribble penetration, but remained shaky from the perimeter and distributing the ball to teammates. He's supposedly worked on his jumper throughout the entire off-season, but will he be enough to keep the offense rolling after Calderon needs a breather?

Then there's Javaris Crittenton, the third year combo guard out of Georgia Tech. Despite Crittenton's potential and size to play both guard spots, he's bounced around the league a lot already and has found scarce opportunities to show what he can do. He's a bit of an anigma though; can he put pressure on Ukic to perform or is he simply more dead-weight to the team?

Finally, there's Rodney Carney. From the looks of things, Carney might have to start at the 2 for the Raptors. Despite the fact that Carney showed flashes of promise on a Minnesota squad that no one paid attention to near the end of the season, one has to wonder if him being a starter is a good thing. He has the athletic gifts to be a pretty special player, but what troubles me is that his circumstances seemingly mirror that of former Raptor Joey Graham. I really wonder if he can use his head to put all that talent together.

Javaris Crittenton was brought on board as a competitor for the back-up point guard spot for Ukic

2. Will it Be Boom or Bust for Bargnani?

After a promising rookie year followed by horribly sluggish sophomore slump, Bargnani bounced back in his third year by taking his game to another level half way into last season. The Italian Stallion gave us glimpses of what many expected out of him when he was drafted first overall; a fine finesse inside-outside game that is capable of giving opposing defenses fits. Although his stellar play for the latter half of the season earned much praise from the Raptor faithful, the smooth 7 footer has yet to showcase that he can maintain his magificent play for a full 82 game season. Some days we see a scary future match-up nightmare while on others we see a tentative and uninterested softie. It's gut-check time for Bargnani, and Bosh is going to be needing his help more than ever this year.

Bargnani will need to reward Colangelo's faith with a stellar season

3. Is Bosh's Free Agency Status Going to Affect Things on the Court?

The million dollar question this year will be where Chris Bosh ends up by the end of the season. Bosh has already grown a bit tiresome of the excessive inquiries on his plans for the future after a few months and it doesn't look like it will be getting better any time soon, especially considering Colangelo has openly admitted that he does not wish to trade Bosh and would rather play the waiting game. Whether or not his potentially last year as a Toronto Raptor will fire him up to take his game to another level or whether he will simply fold under the pressure of the rapid-fire media and mail it in mid-season remains to be seen.

Bryan Colangelo is probably holding his breath for Bosh's decision, but Bosh has to be feeling a bit of the pressure as well. With the 2010 off-season extravaganza slowly inching towards us, Bosh will need to put on a brilliant job selling himself to every team in the league that he's got what it takes to be a big time player in the NBA. Raptor fans know too well how Bosh was considered an MVP candidate at the start of last season but slowly fizzled out along with the rest of his teams' playoff chances. That can't happen if Bosh hopes to get what he's looking for next off-season.

There's even more pressure on Bosh now to show everyone that he's a max contract player.

[Its_asdf]

Nice news in resigning the Matrix. Any big name player who changed teams in free agency?

Sadly, there have been no movements in free agency. I guess thats what happens when you play an outdated basketball game.

I am planning on making the VC, Shaq and Crawford trades though, so at least then it won't feel like playing the 2009 season all over again with generated rookies.

That's NBA Live, only a few players change teams in the summer. And even those are non-all-star players.

Love that you resigned Marion! Should help you a lot with his versatility.

Yeah, it's a disappointing aspect of the game (that and no MLE ) that did not really expect to happen after playing 2k9 for such a long time which is a lot more realistic in terms of actual player movement, but hey, what can you do.

good job in resigning Marion. I had another thought you could always trade marion for Jason Richardson. I for some reason feel that your rookie will pan out and with getting Richardson you are set at the 2. That trade is just a thought.

I was thinking along the lines of something similar to that as well, given my amazing man-crush on J-Rich. I do tihnk that there would be better players that I can potentially trade for though, but all in all only time will tell if Terrell can become an effective player down the line.

Plans on fielding a smaller lineup with Marion at PF?

Starting... not really. I tend to favour more "traditional" lineups and have Marion as my starting small forward, but I definitely wouldn't rule out playing the two at both forward spots if I'm struggling to find minutes for Terrell.

Good decision in re-signing Marion, though I'm guessing you were leaning that way all along. Worst case scenario, he becomes expendable and very valuable trade asset. One way or another, I'd expect re-signing him will pay off.

That's definitely the way of thinking I used when giving him that 3 year deal.

Andrew is right, I think Marion will also help Terrell to develop his game...

Yeah, I'm definitely toying with a Marion/Terrell mentorship type of thing to write about for a future article or something.

[Andrew]

Great work on the latest article, I enjoyed reading it. I like your presentation too and choice of screenshots for the features too.

[dascoot]

it will be exciting to see how your season pans out. Hopefully if you stink this will be another strong draft and you could get a good guard out of the draft. I wonder who your starting five is going to be (I'm wondering if it will be Bargani, Bosh, Marion, A. Parker and Calderon)

[tommy]

Amazing article, man!

1. Maybe trying to trade Banks and O'Bryant to get a better SG?
2. Trust in Bargnani but, his nickname is "Il mago", the italian stallion is Daniel Hackett
3. Unfortunately, I haven't an answer for you...

[Its_asdf]

1-0 0-1
*Click on logos for boxscores

O'Neal Throttles Former Team in Season Opener (110-100 Heat)

Oct. 31

Chris Bosh and the Toronto Raptors came out of the gate firing in their season home opener, but it was Jermaine O'Neal and Mario Chalmers who soured Toronto's first game of the season. "We knew that this was the first game of the season and we wanted to set the tone at their homecourt," said former one-time Raptor Jermaine O'Neal. O'Neal, who was greeted with cheers as he stepped on the court, did not disappoint in his return to Raptors' court by finishing the game with a 25 point 13 rebound double-double.

The Raptors played well early on, taking a 26-21 lead to open the first quarter behind 10 points from Andrea Bargnani. However, sophomore guard Mario Chalmers ignited a run for the Heat by running circles around Jose Calderon and scored 17 of his career-high 24 points in the second quarter which allowed the Heat to take a 5 point half-time lead. Calderon was forced to sit for most of the third and fourth quarter as a result. "That quarter really hurt us," said Raptors' head coach Jay Triano. "Jose's defense at that point of the game was unacceptable."

Things got worse as the lead ballooned to 12 in the third quarter. Calderon helped redeem himself by nailing two 3-pointers to cut the lead back down to 6, but the Raptors would trade baskets for the rest of the game as a result of the porous perimeter and interior defense. "You can beat a team with Dwyane Wade on it by trading baskets," said Chris Bosh, who led all scorers wit 29 points. "We just didn't communicate on the switches, and if Wade or Chalmers didn't score they always got it inside to O'Neal for an easy two."

Notes:
-Raptors rookie Chuck Terrell had a terrible debut, scoring 6 points on 1 of 14 shooting off the bench. "I just played a bad game," said Terrell. "I wasn't too nervous or anything, but I just couldn't find the bottom of the net on any of my shots."
-Andrea Bargnani snagged a career high 16 rebounds.
-Jamario Moon, who was also part of the Jermaine O'Neal deal to Miami, played poorly with 6 points on 3 of 10 shooting.
-The Miami Heat's back-up center Jamal Magloire is a well-known Toronto native.

J.O. showed the Raptors the interior beast that they had traded away

Player of the Game

Jermaine O'Neal
Pts - 25
Rebs - 13
Asts - 3
FG - 12/15
Blks - 3



1-2 1-1
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Raptors Lock Down Nets (90-73 Raptors)

November 1, 2009

It wasn't a pretty game from either team, but somehow the Raptors managed to blow-out the New Jersey Nets. Both teams struggled to hit their shots for most of the game; Toronto had a 41% field goal percentage while the Nets connected on a dismal 29 of 86 shots.

The X-factor in this game were freethrows. The Raptors were embarassed on their home court after their season opening loss to the Heat, and took out their frustration on the Nets by getting to the line 27 times. The Nets of course are coming off a busy off-season where they had traded away all-star Vince Carter. From the looks of this game, they sorely missed his play.

From the very start of the tip-off, the Raptors' frontcourt of Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and Shawn Marion helped Toronto take an early lead and never let the foot off the gas pedal."They came out with a lot of fire today," said Nets head coach Lawrence Frank. "Their front court really took it to us."



Marion showed the Raptors why they re-signed him with a great all-around performance

Notes:
-This is the first time ever in Raptors history where 4 different players recorded at least a double-double (Calderon, Bosh, Bargnani and Marion).
-Bosh, Bargnani and Marion accounted for 49 of the Raptors' 59 rebounds and 56 of the Raptors 90 points.
-Courtney Lee, the Newest Jersey Net from the Vince Carter trade finished with a team-high 18 points.

Player of the Game:

Chris Bosh
Pts - 25
Rebs - 11
Asts - 3
FG - 10/17
FT - 5/6

0-4 2-1
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Raps Stave off Iguodala's Herorics (103-96 Raptors)

November 2, 2009

Chuck Terrell is looking like he's finally grasping the NBA game. The highly touted 6'7 rookie scored a career-high 22 points and looked very comfortable in the Raptors offense for the first time in 3 games. "I think I was trying to do too much my first game," explained Terrell, referring to his 1 for 14 blunder. "I tried to simplify everything by going inside-out instead of outside-in."

"We knew that he would get it together after a few games," said head coach Jay Triano. "He's a tough kid that doesn't seem to be phased by anything out there."

The first half of the game consisted of sharp contrasts; one team would be on fire one quarter while the other would struggle. Things would sway in the Raptors favour in the third quarter though, as Andrea Bargnani and Terrell each had a big third quarter to push the lead 9. The Sixers fought back immediately, culminating their run with a Kareem Rush buzzer beating jumper to bring the game to within 3, 74-71.

The Raptors and Sixers exchanged runs with Elton Brand and Andre Iguodala leading the late charge. Iguodala and Brand had 12 and 8 points in the fourth respectively. However, a Bosh alley-oop followed by a Terrell 3 point play gave the Raptors a 98-92 lead with a minute left to play. Brand tipped in a missed shot at the other end to keep things close but Jose Calderon answered with a corner mid range dagger to seal the Sixers' fate.


Chuck Terrell looked comfortable abusing the Sixers' forwards in the post

Notes:
-Kareem Rush was originally drafted by the Raptors with the 20th overall pick in the 2002 Draft, but never played a single minute for them as they shipped his rights to the Lakers for Chris Jeffries.
-Ironically, Sixers' sharpshooter Donyell Marshall had his NBA record 12 three pointers against Philadephia when he played for the Raptors.
-Jason Kapono, who was traded from the Raptors to the Sixers, had 10 points on 4 of 10 shooting. Reggie Evans went scoreless with 2 rebounds.

Player of the Game:

Jose Calderon
Pts - 19
Rebs - 5
Asts - 9
FG - 6/13
Stls - 3

3-2 2-2
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Arenas, Jamison, Stop Late Raptor Surge (109-106 Wizards)

November 4, 2009

The Toronto Raptors couldn't finish off the week with a three streak courtesy of two great plays by Wizards stars Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas. Arenas came up with the game winning steal at one end that led to an Antawn Jamison three point play at the other end to break a 106 stalemate and push the Wizards' lead to 3 with 3 seconds left. "I knew that they were running a play to get the ball to Calderon at the point," explained Arenas, who continued to look like he has successfully bounced back from the knee injuries that have plagued him for most oof his recent career. "I took a calculated risk and it paid off for us."

The Raptors allowed the Wizards to shoot 62% in the first quarter which enabled them to score a whopping 41 points in the opening quarter. The Raptors battled back from the up hill battle, utilizing their efficient and fast paced offense led by Chris Bosh's 24 points while also forcing the Wizards into 40% shooting in the second half. The Raptors whittled away at the double digit lead throughout the game and finally managed to tie the game up 106-106 with 41 seconds remaining after consecutive three pointers by Jose Calderon and Chuck Terrell. DeShawn Stevenson bricked a three pointer with 27 seconds left, allowing the Raptors to call a timeout but also set the stage for Arenas' heroic game-winning steal.

"We just didn't play defense for the first 3 quarters, and that really hurt us in the end," Terrell said, who had 19 points off the bench. "We could have beat them but we just always had a miscue every now and then that would swing momentum their away."


Arenas showed his returning explosiveness as he nabbed the game winning steal

Notes:
-The Wizards are now off to a 3-0 start against Eastern Conference teams.
-Chris Bosh now leads the league in the field goals made category by surpassing Manu Ginobili with 46 field goals made (Ginobili has 45) after this game.
-Former Wizard Javaris Crittenton played a season high 18 minutes this game and rewarded Jay Triano's faith by giving him solid minutes at the point. "We knew that he would want to come out and show his former team up," Triano had said. "I was really impressed with the energy he brought off the bench."

Player of the Game:

Gilbert Arenas
Pts - 25
Rebs - 2
Asts - 3
FG - 8/20
3PT - 4/8



Raptor of the Week


Chris Bosh

The Raptors went 2-2 this week, and although the Raptors had their ups and downs the main constant had been Chris Bosh's stellar play. Bosh has been well involved in the Raptors offense this week, never scoring less than 24 points while also nearing the ever so exclusive 20-10 club. He hasn't been to the free throw line as much as we liked, but he has been making teams pay for not putting him at the line (shooting well over 50%).

PPG - 26
RPG - 9.3
APG - 1.8
FG - 55%
BPG - 1

[Its_asdf]

Great work on the latest article, I enjoyed reading it. I like your presentation too and choice of screenshots for the features too.

Thank you, i wrote that article on another unbearably humid night where I couldn't sleep.

it will be exciting to see how your season pans out. Hopefully if you stink this will be another strong draft and you could get a good guard out of the draft. I wonder who your starting five is going to be (I'm wondering if it will be Bargani, Bosh, Marion, A. Parker and Calderon)

Actually, I decided not to re-sign Parker because he's getting up there in terms of age (that and he pissed me off on numerous occasions last season watching him play) so I figured I might as well try to go more for a younger, athletic approach at the guard spot. So far it's working out pretty well with Carney, which is surprising.

[quote='tommy"]Amazing article, man!

1. Maybe trying to trade Banks and O'Bryant to get a better SG?
2. Trust in Bargnani but, his nickname is "Il mago", the italian stallion is Daniel Hackett
3. Unfortunately, I haven't an answer for you... [/quote]

Thank you for the compliment, and I do realize that Il Mago is his nickname, but I just hear it so much from other Raptor fans that I couldn't bare to use it myself .

Also, if I do trade Banks and O'Bryant, I'd definitely have to acquire more of a prospect type of player considering that Banks and O'Bryant's ratings are absolute garbage. Most teams are also on a full 15 man roster, so it'll be difficult to send a two-for-one deal. I'm always open for trade ideas/suggestions though, keep them coming.

[Andrew]

A bit of an up-and-down first week. Nice to see Terrell rebound from that shocking debut...that's where Live needs to update its crowd logic to boo home players who aren't performing well. Or let's just say that they did.

[Its_asdf]

Yeah, I'm pretty satisfied with the results given that I'm still getting used to 2005 again, and I pretty much lost to the teams that I expected to lose to.

I was also utilizing Terrell pretty terribly as well; I pretty much force-fed him the ball and bricked a ton of jumpers (still getting used to the slower release point of the game). I always need to get Terrell on the block and just out muscle people in the paint to get him going a bit first in order to have his jumper to start falling. When that happens he pretty much carries the team in the fourth quarter.

[Andrew]

I know the feeling, it's easy enough to do with generated rookies. You want to see them succeed and be an important part of the team (especially when they're lottery picks) and you do get a bit overzealous and force-feed them the ball and try to do a bit too much. It can even happen with real players, sometimes I get a bit too trigger happy with my three point shooters so their percentages could be better than they are if not for a few games here and there where I should've had them take a step in or simply passed up the shot.

[tommy]

I like Bargnani's number of boards, but he must get back his 3 point accuracy...

Good impact of your rookie from the bench, let him succeed to Ben Gordon at the 6th man award as a rookie

[kibaxx7]

Amazing article, man!

1. Maybe trying to trade Banks and O'Bryant to get a better SG?
2. Trust in Bargnani but, his nickname is "Il mago", the italian stallion is Daniel Hackett
3. Unfortunately, I haven't an answer for you...

Thank you for the compliment, and I do realize that Il Mago is his nickname, but I just hear it so much from other Raptor fans that I couldn't bare to use it myself .

Bargnani or Hackett haven't taken part in enough porn movies to be called "The Italian Stallion", if you know who I'm talking about.

[Its_asdf]

3-2 2-2
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Big Quarter by Bosh Propels Raptors Past Hawks (100-95 Raptors)

November 6, 2009

With the game seemingly at a stalemate and the score all tied up at 46 by half-time, Chris Bosh had decided that it was his time to take over. The 6'10 Dallas native exploded to score 12 of his 29 points in the third quarter and helped lead the Raptors to a game-changing 32 point quarter. This allowed the Raptors to finally take the lead and would not relinquish it for the rest of the game.

The Raptors' had a lead as big as 9 points, but had it cut to only 4 points at the 3 minute mark of the fourth quarter. The game at that point turned into a showdown between the Raptors' front court of Bosh, Bargnani and Marion against the Hawks' backcourt of Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby; a battle that Toronto would eventually win. "Both teams were probably neck-in-neck until he (Bosh) just put his team on his back in the second half of the game," Bibby said after scoring a team-high 27 points.




Bosh's continued stellar play caught the Hawks' frontcourt off guard, especially during this posterizing slam.

Notes:
-Patrick O'Bryant sustained a wrist injury during the second quarter, but scans indicate that there was no severe damage and he should be 100% for the Raptors next game against Detroit.
- This is the first of a three game road trip for the Raptors
- Despite his poor showing tonight, Marvin Williams came into this game averaging 18 points per game, 11 rebounds per game and 2 blocks per game.

Player of the Game:

Chris Bosh
Pts - 29
Rebs - 12
Asts - 2
FG - 13/21
Blk - 2

3-3 4-3
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Iverson and Prince Put Away the Raptors (109-107 Pistons)

November 8, 2009

The hot shooting of Allen Iverson helped the Pistons to build their lead in the early parts of the game, and when the Toronto Raptors attempted to make their run he showed the Raptors exactly why he is still considered "The Answer".

The Pistons led by as many as 10 points in the game thanks to a sizzling third quarter where Detroit nailed 4 three pointers, one of which being a hail mary buzzer beater by Rasheed Wallace from quarter court. "It was just one of those nights where they simply hit everything they threw up," sighed Rodney Carney, as he finished the game with 15 points.

The fourth quarter saw the Raptors answering with their own hot shooting. Back to back Calderon three balls from the corner followed by a Shawn Marion dunk capped an 8-0 run that closed the gap to 89-86. After Iverson and Prince hit back to back jumpers for the Pistons to re-extend the lead to 7, Calderon nailed another shot from the top of the circle and Marion stole the following inbound pass for an easy lay-in to cut the lead back down to 3 with one minute remaining. The Raptors just couldn't get the stops they needed though, as an Iverson three point play and a Mcdysse jumper finished off the Raptors in crunch time.


Bosh struggled from the frequent triple teams that he faced.

Notes:
-Detroit is currently ranked seventh or higher in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks. However, they also rank fifth in most turnovers.
-The Pistons have extended their winning streak to 4 games after this victory (their previous 3 wins being low scoring grind 'em out 80 point games).
-All five starters for Detriot shot at least 50%.

Player of the Game:

Allen Iverson
Pts - 29
Rebs - 3
Asts - 5
FG - 12/18
3PT - 5/6

3-4 3-3
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Shaq and King James Wear Down the Raps (106-97 Cavaliers)

November 9, 2009

The Toronto Raptors were playing their second game of a back to back and the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers capitalized on the Raptors' fatigue by wearing them down as the game progressed.

Cleveland decided to employ a zone defense throughout the entire game and the Raptors made them pay by by starting off by shooting a blazing 63% from the field in the first quarter. Unfortunately, by the time the second half rolled around the Raptors were shooting 35% and struggled to find Bosh and Bargnani in the crowded paint. "We definitely lost our legs as the game wore on," Roko Ukic said. Despite the Raptors poor performance from the field, Ukic's slashing ability was able to break Cleveland's zone defense down but the Raptors failed to capitalize from the perimeter (9 of 27 from three). "When we stopped hitting out shots, we couldn't get it into Bosh to spark our offense."

"It's an adjustment process," said LeBron James of his team's slow start. "Shaq just changes the dynamic of this team in a huge way and we're just learning how to play with him." He later added with a smile "I think we're finally clicking with the big guy," referring to Shaq's impressive 24 and 15 double-double that complimented LeBron's 32 points.


This was a common site as Bargnani got bullied by Shaq all game long.

Notes:
-LeBron James has struggled mightily at the start of the season, averaging only 16.8 points per game prior to this game.
-Ukic's 10 points is his season high thus far in the season.

Player of the Game:

Shaquille O'Neal
Pts - 24
Rebs - 15
Asts - 1
FG - 12/17
PF - 0

5-3 4-4
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Bosh and Co. Come Out on Top in Shoot-Out (115-109 Raptors)

November 12, 2009

Defense was definitely not a word that can be used to describe this game. The Raptors and the Wizards engaged in a high-octane offensive battle that resulted in Toronto exacting their revenge after a loss to Washington last week. "I think we might have ourselves a little of a rivarly going on," smirked Chuck Terrell.

The Wizards were without all-star forward Caron Butler after he injured his wrist earlier in the week. In his stead, Nick Young started at the small forward spot and did not disappoint as he led his team in scoring with 28 points. Antawn Jamison and DeShawn Stevenson also had big games to help the Wizards shoot 59%.

"We shot better than Toronto and we probably outplayed them overall," Jamison said. "But we didn't defend and when you rack up the 18 turnovers that we did you're bound to lose."

The Raptors broke the game open in the fourth quarter when they went on a 5-0 run to start the quarter to push their lead to a 15 point margin. This big lead remained intact until the 2 minute mark, when the Wizards attempted to make a late game run that was too little too late.


Turnovers were the only reason why Toronto managed to come up on top.

Notes:
-Gilbert Arenas and Jose Calderon are neck-in-neck in the 3-point field goals made rankings (5th and 6th), but both struggled to hit their shots from beyond the arc (1/7 by Calderon and 0/2 by Arenas).
-This marks the first time this season that Reggie Evans scored in double figures.
-Washington headed into this game with a three game winning streak.
-Nick Young tied his career high of 3 three point field goals made.
-8 of the 9 players who played for Toronto registered at least one steal for the Raptors.

Player of the Game:

Chris Bosh
Pts - 33
Rebs - 7
Asts - 2
FG - 13/16
Blk - 2

Raptor of the Week


Shawn Marion

Despite some great games by Bargnani and Bosh this week, no other Raptor has been as consistent as Marion. Marion has only led the Raptors in scoring once so far (in a loss to Cleveland this week), but he has always filled whatever holes needed to be plugged in the Raptors offensive schemes. Whether it be passing, rebounding, a quick basket in the paint or a timely steal to ingnite the break, Marion has done it this week.

PPG - 16.8
RPG - 5
APG - 4
FG - 51%
SPG - 2.5
*Note: These are only averages for the week.

[Its_asdf]

I know the feeling, it's easy enough to do with generated rookies. You want to see them succeed and be an important part of the team (especially when they're lottery picks) and you do get a bit overzealous and force-feed them the ball and try to do a bit too much. It can even happen with real players, sometimes I get a bit too trigger happy with my three point shooters so their percentages could be better than they are if not for a few games here and there where I should've had them take a step in or simply passed up the shot.

Yeah I'm definitely in a funk with Jose Calderon as well, (if you haven't noticed). I was really hoping for him to bounce back from that injury-plagued season that I've turned him into an ever worse chucker than Antoine Walker.

I like Bargnani's number of boards, but he must get back his 3 point accuracy...

Good impact of your rookie from the bench, let him succeed to Ben Gordon at the 6th man award as a rookie

Yep, I'm definitely trying to get Terrell the 6th man of the year award. With no one really in my second unit that can produce offfensively, he's bound to get a crapload of touches usually during the second/third quarters. I'm contemplating beefing up my bench, but it is pretty difficult considering how crappily rated my bench players are.

Bargnani or Hackett haven't taken part in enough porn movies to be called "The Italian Stallion", if you know who I'm talking about.

Who knows, that might be an idea for a future write-up at some point!

[dascoot]

this is a very interesting Dynasty so far. I really hope that the Raptors here make the playoffs and Terrell winning 6th man of the year award. What are your standings

[Martti.]

Bosh was very superb in the 2 wins, but struggled in the losses. I guess good shooting night for Bosh = Win.

[homicide1550]

Still catching up with the updates but based on the ones that I have already read, this is going to be one of the better dynasties here...
Keep it up!

[kibaxx7]

I always hate that 2-3 point losses, specially against a team like the Pistons.

[Andrew]

Thanks for the latest updates, good reading. Shame about some of those losses but I think in Dynasty Mode it kind of fires you up and keeps things interesting. I find that once you hit the ten game mark, that's when you really get engrossed in a Dynasty. Keep up the good work!

[hova-]

Nice recaps ... was on vacation lately thats why I didnt post. Imho Live 05 still has some nice graphics in the tanks. You really rely on Bosh so far but its nice to see that the resigning of Marion turns out the be a good move. Keep it up, I like the read.

[Its_asdf]

4-3 5-4
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Bargnani Burns Hawks With a Fourth Quarter Rally (106-98 Raptors)

November 13, 2009

If there's one thing that we learned from this game against the Hawks, it's that Toronto Raptors' center Andrea Bargnani hates to lose. The game was close for the first two quarters of the game, showcasing both the Raptors' and Hawks' potent offenses. However, the Raptors seemed to have fallen into bad habits once again as their sloppy perimeter defense allowed the Hawks to go on an 11-0 run to start the third quarter. The charge was fuelled by back-to-back Mike Bibby threes that helped the Hawks come up with a solid 59-50 lead by the quarters' end.

Thats when the usually soft-spoken European surprisingly took charge and let his teammates have it. "I just got everyone together before the fourth quarter and told them that the way we played in the third quarter was trash," Bargnani recalled. "I was sick and tired of watching games slip through our fingers because we choose not to play defense."

The Bargnani rant must have worked as the Raptors tore into the Hawks in the fourth. The Raptors' defense tightened, forcing the Hawks into 8 consecutive misses en route to a 13-0 Raptor run. Bargnani of course contributed a great deal during this run by scoring 14 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter while also controlling the paint as he grabbed 8 of his 14 rebounds during the period as well. The run was just enough to give the Raptors the lead, and with time ticking down the Raptors would hold on by knocking down their free throws down the stretch.


Andrea Bargnani capped off his fourth quarter dominance by sealing the game with two big free throws.

Notes:
-The Atlanta Hawks are now 0-2 against the Raptors
-The Hawks were previously on a 2 game winning streak
-Jose Calderon and Chuck Terrell both registered career highs, Calderon registered 5 steals while Terrell snagged 9 rebounds


Player of the Game:

Andrea Bargnani
Pts - 24
Rebs - 14
Asts - 3
FG - 10/20
Blk - 2

6-4 4-5
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Terrell's Stellar Fourth Quarter Shocks Bobcats (97-89 Raptors)

November 15, 2009

Raptors' rookie Chuck Terrell looks like he's finally generating some NBA buzz. The 6'8 forward out of USC led the Toronto Raptors in scoring off of the bench for the first time ever this season by tying a career high 22 points. "The kid is scary good," Bobcats forward Gerald Wallace said. Wallace, a well known perimeter defender, lauded Terrell for his offensive repitoire. "He can do it all man; he's got such a great mixture of strength of speed which allows him to get anywhere on the court."

The game itself was not pretty one. From the opening tip, the game quickly became a low scoring, grind-it-out affair that heavily favoured post play. To compensate, the Raptors became agressive and went to the line frequently. The Raptors shot only 7 of 14 from the charity stripe for the first three quarters until Terrell led the Raptors' charge by scoring 14 points in the fourth; including 10 of 10 from the line as the Raptors shot and made all 16 free throw attempts in the quarter. "Almost every call went their way in the final quarter," mumbled Bobcats' coach Larry Brown as he shook his head.

"I'm just trying to assert myself more," Terrell replied in response to his career-high in free-throw attempts. "Coach (Triano) is showing a lot more faith in me by running more plays for me and I'm just showing that I'm ready to play at a high level. I'm not the fastest guy out there, but I pride myself on being a very crafty player around the post."


The fourth quarter became the Chuck Terrell Show.

Notes:
-This is the third consecutive game where Terrell has scored 15+ points.
-Dean Friedman and Chuck Terrell are neck in neck for the race for the Eastern Conference Player of the Month. Friedman averages 11.3 points per game and 4.3 rebounds per game but struggled this game (5 of 19 shooting).
-Boris Diaw has taken over as the leading scorer of a well balanced Charlotte attack, averaging a career-high in points with 17.3 points per game to compliment 6.3 rebounds per game and 4.9 assists per game.
-Bargnani had his fourth consecutive game with a double-double.

Player of the Game:

Chuck Terrell
Pts - 22
Rebs - 5
Asts - 3
FG - 6/13
FT - 10/10

5-5 7-4
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Terrell Does it Again, This Time with 30 (109-105 Raptors)

November 17, 2009

Chuck Terrell just keeps on looking better and better, this time with another dominating performance in the fourth quarter. Not only is Terrell shaping up to be an early favourite for the rookie of the year candidate, but he also looks as if he can be the first rookie since Ben Gordon to nab the Sixth Man of the Year trophy. Terrell continued his strong fourth quarter play by scoring 19 of his career-high 30 points in the fourth quarter. "He's our Mr. Fourth Quarter right now," Raptors forward Shawn Marion said. "I think he surprises a lot of people with what he can do because you don't expect a rookie to be that confident."

At one point the Knicks were up 10 points in the third quarter, the largest lead for either team. However, Toronto's gamble-heavy defense allowed them to force a myriad of turnovers leading to plenty of fast break opportunitites. Terrell started from where he left off last game by agressively attacking the hoop in the fourth quarter and getting the Knicks over the limit early in the quarter. "We did a pretty good job on denying Bosh the ball the first three quarters, but when Terrell forced us over the limit early we became really passive," explained Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni. "That just opened up the paint to all of their slashers."

"This kid is special," Knicks leading scorer Al Harrington proclaimed. "He put his team on his back and he already has very good chemistry with his teammates."


Marion's steals were crucial down the stretch.

Notes:
-Knicks rookie Demian Reirden has struggled thus far this season, averaging only 4.4 ppg. Reirden was selected as the second overall pick in the draft ahead of Terrell.
-This game marked the first time this season that the Raptors have strung together a four game winning streak.
-In addition to his career-high 30 points, Terrell also achieved a new career-high in steals (3).
-The Raptors have not shot this well from 3 point territory all season long (the closest percentage they had to shooting this well from beyond the arc was in a loss against the Wizards on November 4).

Player of the Game:

Chuck Terrell
Pts - 30
Rebs - 3
Asts - 4
FG - 9/19
Stls - 3

7-5 5-6
*Click on the logos for boxscores

Backcourt Duo of Jackson and Ellis Edge Raptors (93-88 Warriors)

November 19, 2009

The Raptors had their 4 game winning streak snapped as a fourth quarter melt down ensued. The Raptors, who are usually the ones who dish out the hurt in the fourth quarter, were stimied by Golden State's unusually good defense and caused the Raptors numerous turnovers. "We're the ones usually applying the pressure on defense and forcing turnovers," Raptors' all-star Chris Bosh said as he struggled against the athleticism and length of Anthony Randolph and Andris Biedrins. "We kind of got away from what made us successful during our 4 game winning streak and settled for too many threes."

Toronto seemed to have swung the game in their favour by the end of the third quarter when they led the Warriors 74-68 after holding leading scorer Stephen Jackson to just 7 of 18 shooting throughout the game and held the Warriors to only 9 points for that quarter. Toronto's fourth quarter scorer Chuck Terrell picked up his fifth foul early in the fourth quarter, and the Raptors' offense and defense both became stagnant. Stephen Jackson hit back to back jumpers for Golden State as they went on a 15-4 tear to firmly re-establish a 85-79 lead with 2:13 left to go.


Captain Jack nailed his jumpers when it mattered in crunch time.

Notes:
-Monta Ellis has had a poor start to the season, averaging only 9.7 ppg for the Warriors. Could this be a sign of Ellis' unhappiness with the state of the franchise?
-Andris Biedrins ranks second in the league in rebounds per game (12.4)
-Despite being near the bottom of the league in blocks and steals, Golden State managed to force 15 turnovers out of the Raptors.
-Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson have formed a formidable tandem in Golden State, as they both are ranked in the top 15 in points per game.

Player of the Game:

Stephen Jackson
Pts - 26
Rebs - 2
Asts - 1
FG - 9/21
FT - 5/5

Raptor of the Week


Andrea Bargnani

Chuck Terrell and Andrea Bargnani were neck in neck for Raptor of the Week honours, but Terrell failed to make a significant impact during the final game of the week against Golden State. Bargnani on the other hand, has become the Raptors' double-double machine - notching double-doubles in 3 of the 4 games while also shooting a killer percentage from the field. His three point percentage seems like it needs a lot of work, but with Bargnani's huge strides in his post game one would still be satisified with his inconsistency from beyond the arc.

PPG - 19.5
RPG - 11.8
APG - 3.3
FG% - 49%
3PT% - 29%
*Note: These are only averages for the week.

[Its_asdf]

this is a very interesting Dynasty so far. I really hope that the Raptors here make the playoffs and Terrell winning 6th man of the year award. What are your standings

Right now I'm sitting at 5th in the East after the huge week that I had. Before week 3 I was pretty much on the outside looking in (9th). The season's still far away, but if I can maintain this type of play I'm sure I'll hover at around that range.

Bosh was very superb in the 2 wins, but struggled in the losses. I guess good shooting night for Bosh = Win.

Yeah pretty much. Bosh currently leads the league in points per game... So as of right now , wherever Bosh goes, the Raptors go. This team really needs a deeper bench.

Still catching up with the updates but based on the ones that I have already read, this is going to be one of the better dynasties here...
Keep it up!

Thanks for the compliment man, you've got quite the dynasty up and running yourself.

I always hate that 2-3 point losses, specially against a team like the Pistons.

Yeah tell me about it! If there's one team that I absolutely despise in the NBA, it's the PIstons for some reason. Them and the Knicks.

Thanks for the latest updates, good reading. Shame about some of those losses but I think in Dynasty Mode it kind of fires you up and keeps things interesting. I find that once you hit the ten game mark, that's when you really get engrossed in a Dynasty. Keep up the good work!

I'm definitely starting to get more into it, thanks for your continued support. I'm going to start simming the first two quarters of each game though, as I really want to get close to finishing the season by early September and there are simply too many games to cover if I play through all of them. i think this way I'll probably get more realistic results as well and provide everyone with more frequent updates.

Nice recaps ... was on vacation lately thats why I didnt post. Imho Live 05 still has some nice graphics in the tanks. You really rely on Bosh so far but its nice to see that the resigning of Marion turns out the be a good move. Keep it up, I like the read.

Hey, no problem about the posting thing... I'm just glad people actually read/enjoy what I post. Stopping by once in a while and leaving your feedback every now and then is more than enough.

[Andrew]

Great work as always. Nice to see Terrell starting to live up to the "hype", you've definitely got to be happy with what you've been able to do with Bargnani as well. Simming a bit more to speed things along probably wouldn't be a bad idea, as a matter of fact I'm thinking of doing the same in my Dynasty.

[hova-]

Very good week. Chuck Terrell on fire. Hes shooting a good percentage and his FT% is superb. With Bargnani and Bosh you have some nice inside play. The pieces are there, just keep putting them together. (and stop shooting threes with Marion )