[19-28] 'Saur Losers | Retired

Shaq or DeRozen will need to kick some ass

Damn, big loss in that injury. It seems Turkoglu or Shaq needs to step up big time

Yeah, losing Bargnani changes the rotation quite a bit. Things get interesting with him out. For all the Ed Davis fans (anybody? *crickets*), this will probably be his biggest opportunity of the season.

Ed Davis, who dat?

Ohhh gutted about Bargs, will be interesting to see who will carry the load.

Mills needs more minutes!

Turk has been arguably my most important player actually. I've been running the offense though him as opposed to Jack and DeRozan lately, and it works pretty well. Great passer, and can create his own shot somewhat. No plans to deal him... yet.

Good call. Winning strategy right there.

What's Davis' ratings?

So I hope this means Triano's out.

Can't wait to see the Bargnani-less Raps.

Week 8 In Review

January 1, 2011 - Talk about surprising. The Raptors are 15-18, and are only two losses out of the division lead going into the New Year. This final week was a truly inspired one. Without the services of team captain Andrea Bargnani, the team persevered, winning all three games. They capped the month off with a come-from-behind win against the Bobcats, thanks largely to young guns Patrick Mills, Sonny Weems, Ed Davis, Hasheem Thabeet and of course, DeMar DeRozan. This was definitely the most exciting week of the season so far.

Hedo Leads Raptors Past Pistons, Ben Gordon Helps

December 23, 2010 - The Pistons may be the worst team in the league, but they weren't going to let a Raptors team missing arguably its best player beat them in the Palace that easily. The two teams duked it out all game, trading leads several times. In the end, Hedo Turkoglu would carry his Raptors to victory, as Ben Gordon shot his team out of the game, dropping Detroit to 15 games under .500.

27 21 29 28 105 (13-18) | Turkoglu: 19/4/8, 9-14 FG (PotG); DeRozan: 18/6/6; Barbosa: 13/4/1, 6-8 FG
22 27 24 25 98 (7-22) | Nelson: 19/4/5; Jerebko: 10/4/3; Okafor: 9/7/0 (Shitass: Ben Gordon: 11/0/1, 3-17 FG)

Raptors Hold Off Pistons, Escape With Third Straight Win

December 27, 2010 - The Pistons are a little underrated. They obviously aren't that underrated, but they've gotten some bad breaks. Case in point: their comeback win in Toronto that wasn't. Despite big games from Jameer Nelson and Emeka Okafor, Detroit found themselves trailing by 10 points going into the fourth. An inspired late game run put them down just two points with 8 seconds to go. Rodney Stuckey intercepted an inbounds pass, and then tossed up an open three at the buzzer: in and out. The Raptors breathed a sigh of relief, winning their third straight game.

27 18 21 29 95 (7-23) | Okafor: 20/14/0; Nelson: 21/4/7; Gordon: 21/0/1 (Shitass: Richard Hamilton: 10/1/3, 3 TO's, 4-14 FG)
24 29 23 21 97 (14-18) | Diaw: 14/15/5, 5-7 FG (PotG); DeRozan: 14/5/4; S. O'Neal: 8/8/3 blocks

Bobkittens Lose To Toronto's Bench Warmers


Former teammates duke it out. | Old dog, old jerseys, old tricks.
December 30, 2010 - And back to .500 we go. In a game where the Cats donned their hideous Cheetos jerseys, we jumped out to big lead, then blew it to a team we had no business losing too. Indeed, our trend of playing down to our lackluster competition continues as the Raptors, already terrible in the first place, were without Andrea Bargnani. In his first game playing more than 10 minutes, Ed Davis destroyed us, and a late rally fell short as we fell to 15-15.

The game was ugly to start out. Neither team bothered to play defense, Nazr Mohammed got in foul trouble, and the score was 27-25 Craptors to start. We stepped up our D to enter the half up 9 points, and led by as many as 14 in the third. Then, things fell apart. Stephen Jackson started chucking up brick after brick, and the defensive pressure ceased as "Easy E" Davis and DeMar DeRozan dominated. Toronto finished the quarter on a 17-4 run, taking the lead.

We retook the lead briefly in the fourth, but the Raptors got it back. DeRozan, who had 6 points (on 1-7 shooting) in the first half, was on fire. A Sonny Weems dunk made it 94-85 with three minutes left. We closed the gap to three late, before Patty Mills sank an improbable layup as the shot clock expired. A Tyrus Thomas dunk and pair of Jose Calderon free throws put us within one with under 10 seconds to go. DeRozan then sank a clutch pair of free throws to put the Raps back up 3 and reach a career high 27 points. He then blocked Calderon's potential game-tying bucket to win the game. Adding insult to injury, the Raptors lineup in the final five minutes was: Mills, Weems, DeRozan, Davis and Hasheem Thabeet.

phpBB [video]

Tyrus Thomas airballs a three. Ugh.
25 29 18 26 98 (15-15) | T. Thomas: 20/6/4, 8-12 FG; Wallace: 20/7/3; Calderon: 12/5/11 (Shitass: DJ Augustin: 0/0/0, 0-5 FG)
27 18 28 28 101 (15-18) | DeRozan: 27/4/3 (PotG); E. Davis: 17/5/2, 8-9 FG; S. O'Neal: 14/13/1

Ariza Dealt To Pacers In Three-Team Deal

December 23, 2010 - Hot on the heels of their signing of Allen Iverson, the Pacers have acquired Trevor Ariza in a three-team deal that also sends Troy Murphy to the Nets and Courtney Lee to the Rockets. Ariza was averaging nearly 15 points per game but the Rockets were shopping him due to a disappointing start to the season and a reported feud with Aaron Brooks. The Pacers receive a young athletic swingman who should slot in to their starting 2 slot (and be an excellent stand-in for the oft-injured Danny Granger). However, the caveat is that Tyler Hansbrough becomes their starting 4...

The Rockets accomplished three things in the trade: got a backup SG for the injured Kevin Martin (broken hand), got rid of Ariza and saved milions dumping Ariza's borderline albatross deal. The trade will re-insert Shane Battier into the starting 5. The Nets have suffered yet another turrible start to the season, and used some of their remaining cap space to acquire a veteran PF who will have rookie Derrick Favors' back. As Murphy is an expiring, and Lee was rotting on the bench, this is a low-risk deal for the Nets, who just want to be respectable at this point.

Pacers Grade: B- | Rockets Grade: A | Nets Grade: B

Boxscore of the Week:


December 23, 2010: Pacers @ Celtics
In Allen Iverson and Trevor Ariza's Pacer debut, AI went for 24 points, and Ariza chipped in 15 as the Pacers upset the slumping Celtics in Boston. The win keeps Indiana in the playoff picture, and further jeopardizes Boston's division standing.

Players of the Week:
LeBron James (MIA): 24.3 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 7.9 APG, 31.7 PER, .628% TS (Heat: 28-2)
Another undefeated week for the Heat. Another great week for LeBron James, who's doing it all, and then some. Moving on...
Kevin Durant (OKC): 32.1 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 4.1 APG, 33.4 PER, .626% TS (Thunder: 23-9)
KD's unstoppable. Leading the league in scoring by a considerable margin on remarkable efficiency while also averaging nearly 9 boards and game and playing defense, the Durantula is undoubtedly the best player in the NBA. The Thunder now have a narrow lead over Portland and LA for the top spot in the West, and Durant is why.

Division Standings:
(4) BOS 15-16 | .483% | GB: 0
TOR | 15-18 | .454% | GB: 1
NYK | 13-19 | .406% | GB: 2.5
PHI | 11-21 | .343% | GB: 4.5
NJN | 10-22 | .312% | GB: 5.5

Raptors Leaders:

PPG: D. DeRozan: 15.3 (50th); A. Bargnani: 14.9; S. O'Neal: 12.5
RPG: S. O'Neal: 8.1 (35th); A. Bargnani: 7.4; D. DeRozan: 5.4
APG: H. Turkoglu: 5.4 (26th); J. Jack: 3.6; D. DeRozan: 2.6
SPG: L. Barbosa: 1.2 (47th); J. Jack: 0.9; D. DeRozan: 0.9
BPG: A. Bargnani: 1.9 (21st); S. O'Neal: 1.7; H. Thabeet: 1.3
MPG: A. Bargnani: 31.7 (56th); J. Jack: 31.0; D. DeRozan: 30.6
FG%: S. O'Neal: .585% (1st); H. Thabeet: .535%; B. Diaw: .483%
3pt%: B. Diaw: .418% (13th); J. Jack: .402%; A. Bargnani: .400%
FT%: J. Jack: .865% (20th); L. Barbosa: .818%; H. Turkoglu: .802%
PER: S. O'Neal: 18.5 (48th); A. Bargnani: 18.0; D. DeRozan: 17.1
TS%: A. Bargnani: .586% (22nd); J. Jack: .577%; H. Turkoglu: .561%

Wow you're actually winning, Davis is playing great but when Bargnani return he will again rots at the bench.

Bobcats banner is so hilarious. Good 3 consecutive wins, though they were against easy teams. Andrea Bargnani is a curse for the Raptors when he's playing.

Yep, props for the Lolcats banner. Nice triumphs!

When is the breakout game for Mills?

Love the Bobcats/lolcats banner

When is the breakout game for Mills?

That

woo your team is on fire

Goo craptors

NLSC Class of 2011: Part 1

January 2, 2011 - The draft may be several months away, but it's never too early to discuss prospects. Today, we'll cover four international prospects: William Sit of Australia, Albano Spagnoletti of France, Leo Lai of Hong Kong and Shad O'Greene of the Phillippines. These prospects figure to go anywhere from late lottery to the second round of the draft.

William Sit | PG/SG | 6'4", 200 lbs | Australia | Age 21

William Sit is the highest touted Australian basketball prospect since Andrew Bogut. Starring for the NBL-leading Wollongong Hawks, Sit leads the league in scoring at a clip of 23.1 points per game, and also averages 4.5 assists. The Asian-Australian combo guard is the early MVP favorite, and is one of the top point guard hopefuls in the draft. With his cocky demeanor and fantastic shooting ability, he has been compared to Gilbert Arenas. In addition to his scoring ability, Sit is also a pesky defender, though it is hard to say whether it will translate to the NBA level. Naysayers have cited streakiness, ego, and his lack of college experience as red flags, but with his star potential, Sit should figure to be selected in the late lottery.

Projected: Late Lottery
Ceiling: Gilbert Arenas | Basement: Rashad McCants | Most Likely: OJ Mayo

Albano Spagnoletti | PG | 6'3", 185 lbs | Argentina | Age 19

Argentina's Albano Spagnoletti is an intriguing prospect. Like fellow international point guard Rodrigue Beaubois last year, scouts have been abuzz about his potential. Still very raw, Spagnoletti's game is unpolished, but he currently makes up for it with athleticism and blinding quickness. Spagnoletti is a slight liability on the defensive end, but with his lateral quickness, he could become a solid defender. He is a decent mid-range shooter, but has very limited range. The majority of his scoring comes from drives. With his star potential, Spagnoletti should be a lock for the first round, but his commitment to the NBA has been questioned.

Projected: Mid-Late First Round
Ceiling: Devin Harris | Basement: Patrick Mills | Most Likely: Rodrigue Beaubois

Leo Lai | SG/PG | 6'6", 175 lbs | Hong Kong | Age 19

Hong Kong swingman Leo Lai has dominated in his home country for most of his teen years, and now he's taking his talents to the next level. The 6'6" Lai is a freak athlete who has been dubbed "the Chinese Kobe Bryant". Indeed, Lai has likened his game to that of Bryant's. Lai is a freak athlete, solid defender and scoring machine. Unfortunately, he is underweight at 175 lbs, and will likely be unable to defend other 2 guards at the next level without bulking up considerably. Lai is likely to go in the late teens or early twenties of the draft, but could be taken in the lottery thanks to his upside and nationality.

Projected: Mid-Late First Round
Ceiling: Poor man's Kobe Bryant | Basement: Gerald Green | Most Likely: Shannon Brown

Shad O'Greene | SF/PF | 6'8", 210 lbs | Phillippines | Age 28

Perhaps the most interesting prospect in the draft, the Phillippines' Shad O'Greene is a 28 year old basketball legend. The perennial defensive player of the year in the Phillippine league, O'Greene opted to forgo the NBA for the glory of being a big fish in a small pond. However, since the 2009 flood, the league has not been able to reward the players with salaries. At the ripe old age of 28, O'Greene (affectionately known at the Shadowgrinch, after breaking into an orphanage's vault on a Christmas Day "PBA Cares" duty) has made the jump. Better late than never?

Possessing very little offensive skills whatsoever (except for passing ability - he led the league in assists with 0.7 a game last season), O'Greene makes up for it by being a dominant force on the defensive end. Having won several championships with the San Miguel Beermen, Shadowgrinch brings veteran savvy to the table. Due to his age and inability to score in the weakest of leagues, O'Greene is expected to be a second round prospect. However, his defensive tenacity could make him a solid pick-up for a contender.

Projected: Second Round
Ceiling: Shane Battier (sans jumper) | Basement: Joe Alexander (less athletic) | Most Likely: Renaldo Balkman

Last edited by Lamrock on Sun Aug 29, 2010 6:54 am, edited 1 time in total.

That pic of Calderon going face first into Bonner(?) is fucking amazing.

Keep up the good work, Lamrock.

Nice reports man, if those are late 1st round or 2nd round then maybe my player is on the late 2nd round.

Interesting prospects

However, since the 2009 flood, the league has not been able to reward the players with salaries. At the ripe old age of 28, O'Greene (affectionately known at the Shadowgrinch, after breaking into an orphanage's vault on a Christmas Day "PBA Cares" duty) has made the jump.

god. damn. it.
No wonder he's going to another country.

Possessing very little offensive skills whatsoever (except for passing ability - he led the league in assists with 0.7 a game last season)

It's still better than L-Train's 0.4 apg.

I like the 'research'. San Miguel would have been the 2nd choice after Ginebra, but Ginebra doesn't play defense at all so placing O'Greene at Ginebra as his previous team wouldn't make sense, system wise. Good placement or guess

Can I still join the draft class?

I think shadowgrin was the most interesting prospect. He better improve his offensive game.

I gave Lamrock freedom with the background and the bastard almost ran away with it.
Stealing from an orphanage, that's just cold man.
Unless...it's really valuable and the orphans don't need it anyway...that got me thinking ...

I challenge the shadowgrinch to one on one.