Official Toronto Raptors Thread.

[Zoom]

Just came in to say that at least my prediction of starting slowly then picking up pace for the second half of the season and slipping into the playoffs is still on track.

On another note... the Raptors are disappointing me... they just can't finish games.

[cyanide]

Rick Adelman would be great for our organization.

For sure, but I think Colangelo might have his eyes set on Iavaroni, who's the current assistant coach for Phoenix.

[Its_asdf]

I absolutely hate Sam Mitchell. I've been waiting for him to grow as a coach and start learning how to execute some plays on defence and offence, but it just hasn't been happening. It seems that whenever the Raptors win it's simply because the players, not the coach or a combination of both won the game for them.

[Raps13]

Rick Adelman would be great for our organization.

For sure, but I think Colangelo might have his eyes set on Iavaroni, who's the current assistant coach for Phoenix.

I believe there a rule in place that Colangelo cant pursue employees from Phoenix (His former club) for one year. Im not sure whether its from the date of his hiring or from the start of a full season

[theflash02]

Why not get MARV ALBERT to coach the raptors.. The Grizzlies hired his former partner anyways.. LOL

I mean he already has a lot of basketball knowledge from his commentaries..And he knows what players around the league are capable of..I think he should be coaching a team after a few years or so..

[[C][B]#4]

Raptors 2-8 now... I really wanna know what's going on in Bryan Colangelo's head. I know it's a tough schedule and all, but starting 2-8 for the season? That's not much of an improvement from 1-9 from last year. I didn't expect the Raptors to be above .500, but they could've beaten Golden State and Denver. Heck, they were up 16 in the third today against the Jazz. They could easily be 4-6 or even 5-5 right now.

[air_edwards23]

personally, i everyone seems to blame sam mitchell, but when i look at it seems like its the players that cant finish out games. Also the raptors need a 2/3 player that is an excellent scorer cause anthony parker and mo pete are so medicore and barnani was a f**ckin waste of a pick!!

[Carmo]

Its pretty funny how quickly fans can turn their thoughts around 180 degrees.

[[L3]1101]

realgm was going nuts today after the game. Many of them want Mitchell to be fired. I agree that the players need to finish the game, but Mitchell also need to be blamed for not being able to keep a 16 point lead. If the game is turning around, Mitchell needs to take appropriate actions, whether it is substitutions or calling out plays. If the players don't know what to do (which is a pretty bad sign), Mitchell needs to take control.

And like air_edwards23 said, we need a solid 2/3 guy. Parker is good, and Mo Pete is Mr. Raptor, but they need to be more consistent.

[Raps13]

realgm was going nuts today after the game. Many of them want Mitchell to be fired. I agree that the players need to finish the game, but Mitchell also need to be blamed for not being able to keep a 16 point lead. If the game is turning around, Mitchell needs to take appropriate actions, whether it is substitutions or calling out plays. If the players don't know what to do (which is a pretty bad sign), Mitchell needs to take control.

And like air_edwards23 said, we need a solid 2/3 guy. Parker is good, and Mo Pete is Mr. Raptor, but they need to be more consistent.

The players cant finish out games because they aren't in shape, which is absolutely horrible at this time of the year. Watch the end of all of our games, we are short on the majority of our shots, the players aren't getting their legs into their shots. Mitchell needs to have this team in the best shape possible if we are going to run. Mitchell has failed miserably this season and has failed to grow as a coach, he needs to go

[Indy]

I'm surprised that Rick Adleman still doesn't have a job. The Raptors, Bucks, Rockets and Celtics all are probably going to be getting rid of their coaches this year, and Adleman would be a good fit for all of those clubs.

[cyanide]

Problem is, Adelman can't finish out games. Same with Mitchell.

Mitchell will be replaced, no doubt, but I'm curious to see how long Colangelo will hold on to him. I'm not sure what his plan is, but there's a reason for how long he's going to hold Mitchell for: chemistry to gel, get a better draft pick, give more of a reason for Mitchell being responsible, or he's in the process of interviewing other head coaches.

Btw, Fred Jones should stop taking threes. He's killing the Raptors with that ugly shot.

[[C][B]#4]

Btw, Fred Jones should stop taking threes. He's killing the Raptors with that ugly shot.

Agreed. He's been struggling the entire road trip, especially in the fourth quarter, and he still takes threes? Sure, some may have been wide open, but if they don't fall after 2 or 3 games in a row, I don't care how wide open you are. If you're wide open just take the ball to the rim and dunk it on whoever's in the way. He can get three points the old fashion way. He's an exceptional athlete and tremendous free throw shooter, so he should use those skills to his advantage.

Raptors and Cavaliers tommorow. Let's hope the Cavs are a little tired on the back to back and LeBron doesn't go for another 55 or something, and Damon Jones better not hit another game winner

[Abctest123]

I don't think anyone should be THAT surprised by how the Raptors were doing. I for one, am only maybe just SLIGHTLY surprised, expected probably 2 more wins or so. Before the season began, I personally thought that this season, they would show glimpse and hints of a good team in the making. I predicted that they would contend for a playoff spot, but just fall short. 2-8 is disappointing of course, but with all the new players, you HAVE to allow time to have players gel with each other. Yes, elite teams have players that can quickly adjust to each other, but the Raptors are NOT even a good (yet). It has and will continue to be a slow start to the season for Toronto, but by the All-Star break, I think they will be a much improved ball club. By the end of the season, I think people will know to watch out for the Raptors next season. This is the season where they show the fans THERE IS A NEW HOPE.

However, if the Raptors do not make the postseason in 2007-2008, I will be very disappointed.

EDIT: Forgot to say a few words on Fred Jones. He needs to learn that the three is deffinately NOT his strong point, and that running in the fast break, and getting to the rim are MUCH better options for him. By the time you've gone something like 0-3 or 0-5 or 1-6, that should already be a sign to you, stop taking the 3, and go to the basket to get your offense going. He's gone from being an efficient scoring punch off the bench to a shotchucker from three point land.

[[C][B]#4]

Looks like Bryan Colangelo's starting to take action.

http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archi ... evaluated/

[Cable]

^^ That's a good start, at least he recognizes that there's a problem. As for the Raptors, it's not like they've played like shit. Once again, they're in most of the games, but they just can't seem to finish the game strong.

[cyanide]

they just can't seem to finish the game strong.

It was the same problem last year, and it should be a problem this year, since most of the roster consist of new or inexperienced guys. This is a very young team.

[Cable]

Yeah, I know. Part of me hates it for obvious reasons, but the other part says wait (ie. suffer) a few more years for the team to gel and gain experience and then see what happens. I think it's fair to say that no-one wants to wait all that long anymore, though.

[volsey]

Well the just beat the Cavs, I only saw the first quarter and the 4th quarter. They started the game strong, and ended it strong. LeBron definately seemed tired after last nights game at memphis, as did the whole team except for Varejoa. No one player really stood out, it was a good team game, well from what I got to watch. LeBron was taking stupid shots, barely drove tot he basket, and noone else could hit an open shot. But anyways Raps definately closed out he game well.

[[C][B]#4]

Finally the Raps get it done. The Raptors really took advantage at the free throw line, getting 34 attempts, compared to the Cavaliers 12. Joey Graham had a solid game with 16 points and 8 boards, and Bargnani's playing with alot more confidence. LeBron had his usual stellar game with 30 pts, 10 boards and 8 assists, but looked kinda sloppy in the fourth quarter. He passed up alot of shots that he should've taken.

On another note, it's a shame that Mo Pete had his ironman streak broken. It was his bobblehead night in Toronto too.

[cyanide]

I read that Mo-Pete's bobblehead also had "Ironman" on it. Pretty ironic. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets traded, though. He's starting to look out of place in the rotations.

Bargs played well against Ilgauskas, which says a lot. It's a matter of time and adjusting, but I'm glad his confidence is high.

[[L3]1101]

Raptors has always been a solid home team, and it's nice to see them maintain this way.
I didn't get to see the game, but i did check the stats. They shot 72% in the first quarter!!! Bargs had a solid game, again with limited minutes. TJ didn't play that well, but got it done toward the end it seems from the highlights.

[[C][B]#4]

Raptors has always been a solid home team, and it's nice to see them maintain this way.
I didn't get to see the game, but i did check the stats. They shot 72% in the first quarter!!! Bargs had a solid game, again with limited minutes. TJ didn't play that well, but got it done toward the end it seems from the highlights.

Yah TJ didn't have too great of night, but in the fourth, he hit two pretty clutch baskets. One of them was a driving layup. He absolutely exposed Daniel Gibson on that one.

Time to get ready for the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. I think the Raps can get this one, with all the injuries the Hawks have right now. As long as Josh Smith doesn't hit 4 three pointers, I think we're set to win our first road game of the season.

[Dean]

What exactly is Petersons iron man streak?

[cyanide]

What exactly is Petersons iron man streak?

Ironman refers to how many consecutive games a player has played in without getting injured. The streak now goes to Joe Johnson who has 300-something. Mr Ironman goes to AC Green, who has 1000-something games in a row.