Official Toronto Raptors Thread.

by **JT_55** on Sat Sep 01, 2007 10:20 am

Can't Moon play shooting guard? But that might get a logjam at SF, with Delfino and Graham there.

by **Its_asdf** on Sat Sep 01, 2007 2:03 pm

Why can't Delfino play guard? From what I've heard, the guy has solid quickness and nice fluidity to his slashing game.

by **Abctest123** on Sat Sep 01, 2007 10:53 pm

JT_55 wrote:Can't Moon play shooting guard? But that might get a logjam at SF, with Delfino and Graham there.

Moon can't play SG, from what I've read, hes deffinately only a forward.

by **cyanide** on Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:09 am

Its_asdf wrote:Why can't Delfino play guard? From what I've heard, the guy has solid quickness and nice fluidity to his slashing game.

I wouldn't want him hanging out in the perimeter since he's not a great shooter, but then again, aren't SF and SG positions almost synonymous depending on the offensive plan?

by **TheMC5** on Sun Sep 02, 2007 8:36 am

cyanide wrote:
Its_asdf wrote:Why can't Delfino play guard? From what I've heard, the guy has solid quickness and nice fluidity to his slashing game.

I wouldn't want him hanging out in the perimeter since he's not a great shooter, but then again, aren't SF and SG positions almost synonymous depending on the offensive plan?

Yeah basically. I personally divide players into Point guards, swingmen, and bigs.

As for Raps rotation, I see something like this (only include players who play significant minutes):

C: Bargnani/Nesterovic
PF: Bosh/Garbajosa/Bargnani
SF: Kapono/Graham/Garbajosa
SG: Parker/Delfino/Dixon
PG: Ford/Calderon

by **Its_asdf** on Sun Sep 02, 2007 2:20 pm

cyanide wrote:
Its_asdf wrote:Why can't Delfino play guard? From what I've heard, the guy has solid quickness and nice fluidity to his slashing game.

I wouldn't want him hanging out in the perimeter since he's not a great shooter, but then again, aren't SF and SG positions almost synonymous depending on the offensive plan?

He's not a terrible shooter; just awfully streaky. He was forced to play as more of a spot up shooter in Detriot which limited his effectiveness, but by doing so I think helped him develop his three point shot greatly. And we all know how important that is in the Raptors' offence... Besides, if Toronto has at least 1 three point threat on the floor at all times (e.g. Kapono, Parker, Bargs) I don't see why using him as a slasher isn't such a bad idea.

by **Its_asdf** on Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:27 am

Bumpity bump.

Raptors playing the new-look Celts overseas at 2:30 ET today. Definitely catching this game today. (Y)

I'll look to post up some observations of the Raptors after the game.

by **cyanide** on Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:04 am

I read the entire RealGM game thread since I didn't have RaptorsTV.

For Boston, KG was a monster.

For the Raptors, Bargnani did well all around except for fouls and rebounding. Parker, Ford, and Bosh didn't play too well. Calderon and Delfino played very well. I think it might be a fight between Delfino and Kapono for the starting spot, but for now, I like Kapono starting. I think the biggest positive sign would be Moon. Read that he has incredible vertical, hustle, and plays excellent defense. Seems that Luke Jackson might be cut. Baston and Humphries apparently didn't play well, but hopefully they can regain form.

It was 89-85 for the Celtics, but considering the big three all played over 30 minutes and the most minutes by any Raptor would be TJ and Bosh with 24 minutes (and they didn't play well). I'm happy with the outlook of team, but it's still only preseason.

by **TheMC5** on Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:11 am

Won't Garbo be the likely starter at the 3?

by **Its_asdf** on Sun Oct 07, 2007 10:48 am

One thing I noticed during the game was that the ball movement was a lot better this time around; a lot of nice cuts and perimeter passing, this is an area that the team has definitely improved on. Rebounding still seems to be a problem, and it showed the Garnett bullied the Raps in the paint (he also had a couple of monster slams). If Bargnani wants to start at centre, he can't let things like that happen. 3 boards is pathetic for a centre.

I also liked T.J. Ford. He seemed kind of quiet scoring his 15 points, but at least I didn't notice him dribbling around in circles and then hoisting a mid-range jumper. I think he's imrpoved his decision making (he had 0 turnovers). He played under control most of the time, unless he was driving to the paint and trying to draw the foul on a bigger guy.

Delfino fits in perfectly, he didn't miss a beat and did a lot of things well on the court. Had a few nice passes here and there.

To be honest, Moon looked a little too eager today. I felt he forced a lot of his shots, but he did stop a few posessions and has good size to become a pretty good defender. Can't really blame him though, Moon seems like the odd man out of the rotation with Delfino and Graham off the bench and I guess that sort of rattled his nerves a little this time around.

Someone kill Juan Dixon, please. Near the final moments of the game, I was very close to giving him props for his stellar play in crunch time (driving lay up, stole the ball at their end of the court and then ran in for another layup to bring the Raptors to within striking distance), but all he did was chuck up contested shots at the end of the game to seal the victory for the Celts. It's just an exhibition game, but can you at least try to win the game?

by **cyanide** on Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:12 am

TheMC5 wrote:Won't Garbo be the likely starter at the 3?

After he injured his foot and with Kapono on the team, I think Garbs will be coming off the bench.

Its_asdf: Yeah, some nasty comments on Dixon on RealGM as well. Good to hear that the passing and cutting was good. Hopefully tomorrow Bargnani will focus more on rebounding.

by **Matt** on Sun Oct 07, 2007 11:18 pm

Delfino can play SG but looks better at SF. To what extent i don't know....he just seemed to get along better with Hamilton than Prince. He's easily more comfortable defending 3's as well.

by **Its_asdf** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:40 am

We're playing another European team today. I believe Roko Ukic will be playing for that team, so I hope to see something positive from him today.

by **[C][B]#4** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:26 am

Just finished watching the game vs. Lottomatica Roma. The Raptors win 93-87.

Some observations:
- I liked what I saw from Andrea Bargnani today. He crashed the boards, had a couple of offensive boards. He ended up with 7 today which was an improvement.
-Perimeter defense in the third quarter was attrocious, but they adjusted and closed out on the three point shooters of Roma.
- Baston, Jackson and Moon didn't get any burn. I was hoping to see them in action, especially Moon
- Bosh, TJ were solid as usual
- I liked what Kapono did today, he drove to the basket a couple of times, which was nice to see. His 3 point shooting was there as always 3/3
- Roko Ukic I thought played pretty well, his 3 point shot looked pretty good as was his passing ability. Still needs to bulk up a bit more IMO.

Anyone else watch the game??

YouTube · by **ThaLiveKing** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:29 am

cyanide wrote:I read the entire RealGM game thread since I didn't have RaptorsTV.

For Boston, KG was a monster.

For the Raptors, Bargnani did well all around except for fouls and rebounding. Parker, Ford, and Bosh didn't play too well. Calderon and Delfino played very well. I think it might be a fight between Delfino and Kapono for the starting spot, but for now, I like Kapono starting. I think the biggest positive sign would be Moon. Read that he has incredible vertical, hustle, and plays excellent defense. Seems that Luke Jackson might be cut. Baston and Humphries apparently didn't play well, but hopefully they can regain form.

It was 89-85 for the Celtics, but considering the big three all played over 30 minutes and the most minutes by any Raptor would be TJ and Bosh with 24 minutes (and they didn't play well). I'm happy with the outlook of team, but it's still only preseason.

U should have Seen Bargnani Go After Garnet, That Boy Ain't Scared!!! Raps are a scary team to play. Once they figure out how to keep leads I wouldn't want to play them and people have them finishing 8th lol!!!

by **Its_asdf** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 11:19 am

I think the Raptors regressed a little this game. Like [C][B]#4 said earlier, Toronto's d stunk up the place, especially out on the perimeter and on transition. Drejer and Stefansson killed the Raptors' defence with their three point shooting. T.J. Ford was pretty agressive early on, but he kind of got away from that and went into "jack up as many mid range pull up jumpers within 5 seconds of the clock as possible" mode. Juan Dixon stunk it up once again, Joey Graham continues his complacent play showing no signs of improvement and Delfino was a lot more invisible this game.

On a more positive note, Bosh played very well, recognizing the obvious mismatch that he had inside and went to work on Rome's bigs. Bargnani also was a lot more agressive on the glass and went inside (both on post ups and slashing to the rim) more this game, shooting only 1 three pointer for the entire game and grabbing around 7 boards I think. Il Mago missed a few short inside jumpers, so I don't think he's all too comfortable playing in the paint just yet.

Kapono and Garbajosa probably were the biggest factors in helping the Raptors win the game. Kapono really suprised me this game. I was never a big fan of him and I thought he'd just be a catch and shoot kind of guy especially after the Boston game, but my expectations have risen after watching this game. He knew how to move to open spots out in the perimeter and understands spacing very well. He also can drive a bit too, drawing a few fouls on their defence. Garbajosa went pretty much unnoticed for me in the first half of the game, but he really picked it up and didn't look as rusty as last game. He hustled and helped the Raptors pick up quite a bit of freebies from the free throw line.

Ukic was awesome. He had a sweet spinning layup in the first quarter and he's one of those guards that generates the majority of his assists from driving and kicking the ball out to the perimeter, which makes me believe that he'll be perfect for the Raptors' system in the near future. He was everything as advertised, a quick, lengthy point guard that really looks for his teammates. When he tried scoring himself, he wasn't all too impressive, but I doubt he needs to be. He can generate points for himself by slashing or nailing an occasional three ball here and there, but he's definitely a pure point that creates for others rather than scoring the ball himself.

The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

by **Abctest123** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 1:47 pm

Its_asdf wrote:The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

While I was watching (I started watching parts of it like with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, I think one of the Roma guys were at the freethrow line, then this dude walked across the screen around the side or soemthing. I did a double take to see if I saw what I thought I saw but by the time I did the double take, the camera was on someone else. Sure enough, after seeing the boxscore, I found out I wasn't hullucinating. :lol:

EDIT: By the way, according to some post on RealGM that I read, if you have Rogers Digital Cable, apparently their having RaptorsTV preview for this week or something on channel 413 (I don't have a clue what restrictions there are on this preview ie. restricted to Toronto or whatever). That's how I caught a bit of this game.

by **Drex** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:52 pm

Delfino can play SG but looks better at SF. To what extent i don't know....he just seemed to get along better with Hamilton than Prince. He's easily more comfortable defending 3's as well.

Probably because Rip's a shooter and Delfino's a slasher (or is he a scramble scorer :crazy:

)

EDIT: What the hell do I know, I havent watched the Pistons or Raptors or NBA basketball in a while

by **benji** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 5:04 pm

Nah, you're right Drex. Delfino does and can shoot jumpers, but he's at his best driving really, his body is made for it oddly. Prince cannot really create a lot of shots on his own, and neither can Delfino. (In terms of NBA players). Even though Rip takes a lot of shots off passes as he is best that way, he can create his own shot fairly well, that is why Delfino did not work as well with Prince.

Delfino is stronger than he appears, but also not as quick, that's why he seems better as three than a two. He's a good defender at both spots however, he's smart even though he tends to overplay.

by **grusom** on Mon Oct 08, 2007 6:36 pm

Wow, nice game for Christian Drejer!

He is one of the only NBA prospects to ever come out of Denmark, so it's nice to see him have a good game against a NBA team.

by **_marsal** on Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:11 pm

Its_asdf wrote:The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

I don't think you realize that a few years ago he was one of the best bigs in Euroleauge. He was relatively quick, good shooter and long. It was hard to stop him, believe it or not. :wink:

by **grusom** on Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:03 pm

_marsal wrote:
Its_asdf wrote:The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

I don't think you realize that a few years ago he was one of the best bigs in Euroleauge. He was relatively quick, good shooter and long. It was hard to stop him, believe it or not.

Yeah, and he had great ball handling for a guy his size. I remember him using cross over- and behind the back dribbles on a regular basis.

It wasn't only his name that made him intertaining to watch back then :-)

by **Elbeen** on Wed Oct 10, 2007 6:29 am

_marsal wrote:
Its_asdf wrote:The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

I don't think you realize that a few years ago he was one of the best bigs in Euroleauge. He was relatively quick, good shooter and long. It was hard to stop him, believe it or not.

What ever happened to that guy?

Did he deteriorate in his game because of age or something?

YouTube · by **shadowgrin** on Wed Oct 10, 2007 8:20 pm

grusom wrote:
_marsal wrote:
Its_asdf wrote:The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

I don't think you realize that a few years ago he was one of the best bigs in Euroleauge. He was relatively quick, good shooter and long. It was hard to stop him, believe it or not.

Yeah, and he had great ball handling for a guy his size. I remember him using cross over- and behind the back dribbles on a regular basis.

It wasn't only his name that made him intertaining to watch back then

With a name like "Fucka", he better have mad game.

by **noxe** on Thu Oct 11, 2007 3:02 pm

Elbeen wrote:
_marsal wrote:
Its_asdf wrote:The best part of the game was watching that "Fucka" guy play. Funny name indeed.

I don't think you realize that a few years ago he was one of the best bigs in Euroleauge. He was relatively quick, good shooter and long. It was hard to stop him, believe it or not.

What ever happened to that guy?

Did he deteriorate in his game because of age or something?

Yeah, he'd 36 yrs old now so he has lost a step (maybe more) but would definately like to see him in the NBA just to hear the announcers say "FUCKA!" :lol:

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