RAPTOR FANS: PLEASE BE OPTIMISTIC

So, it has been a few months since I have scribed my thoughts on the things that matter to me most in the world of sports (particularly basketball). For those that are actually interested in my thoughts and have asked me in person why I haven't blogged in these past few months. My only and shameful excuse is that I was busy with work and school. I underestimated how much interest there was in this blog and thus slacked off a little. My apologies!!! I have also been writing for a website (www.thedashingfellows.com) as a contributing writer and have shifted a bit of my focus to that.

A lot has been going on in Raptorland. Here we are again sitting at the doorstep of yet another losing season and the dinos are currently sitting in the second to last position in the eastern conference. If any one of you are like me and truly do care about this team then you must have gone through a plethora of emotions during this season.

You probably started off the season being very optimistic. The pundits and pseudo-know-it-alls managed to convince all of us that this years edition of the Raps were good enough to finish the season in the middle of the pack. Place anywhere from fourth to sixth place; make the playoffs and maybe even make it out of the first round. The fact that the team started the season by winning their first three games also added to the illusion but ever since that mark, the team has shown that they really are what they are.

"They are NOT who we thought they were"

I had to pay a little humorous homage to the infamous public rant by Dennis Green back in October of 2006 after his team failed to secure a victory against a much better Chicago Bears team.

The Raptors are not who we thought they were. Even though we added Jermaine O'Neal to the fold; we should have known better that the teams make-up was not built to withstand the test of more physically and athletically gifted teams in the league. Although the expectations were high, the shocker for me is the fact that we lost this many games and are just sitting one spot above the Washington Wizards. The Raps are not good enough to meet the preseason expectations but are most definitely not this bad to be in this current position. Let's be honest here; if the Wizards had Gilbert Arenas playing all season and were not plagued with numerous injuries to a lot of their core players, they would be sitting above us and we would be the ones sitting in the last place. I take a look at the standings and see Milwaukee, Indiana, New Jersey and New York ahead of us. Does anyone serious think that these teams are better than the Raptors. One thing that these teams have in common and of which we are serious lacking is the ultra-athletic wing player. Richard Jefferson, Danny Granger, Vince Carter and Al Harrington. Pre-Shawn Marion; all we had on the wing were Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and Jason Kapono. SERIOUSLY??? These three are good players that should be coming off the bench for us. They would be the perfect backup for a team that has an any one of the wing players from the aforementioned teams named above.

This leads me to the 2009 NBA draft. With this season rapidly coming to an end, it's natural for teams that will be spending the month of April doing nothing to start looking forward tot he next season. Team scouts are not the only ones that keep an eye out for college ballers that might be declaring for the draft. Fans like me actually make mental notes and sometimes even write down the name and specifics of college players that I feel will be a good fit for the Raptors. Based on the teams area of need and sometimes based on a guess-timation of draft class and team draft position. For those that have read an earlier post that I wrote about team success being on the wing, then it shouldn't be a surprise when you read the list of potential draft-able players that I feel our Raptors should pick if they are available. I personally like these three players and strongly feel that they will be able to make an immediate contribution to the Raps.

Gerald Henderson. SG, 6'5. Duke
Henderson is an athletic wing player with the toughness that the Raptors badly need in that position. If anyone doubts how tough this kid is - please check out this link from YouTube in which he gives Tyler Hansbrough a "little love tap."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5glRSAUVCQ
Don't just typecast him as a goon that can "throw them bows", he is also a very talented played that can fill up the basket in bunches. He plays great defense and can literally jump right out of the gym.

James Harden. SG, 6'5. Arizona
Lefties are revered in the world of sports. This lefty is a smooth operator that averages 21ppg and 5rpg for the Wildcats. Harden is a flat out scorer that can do a little bit of everything really well - except play solid defense. I am not too worried about his defense since everything I have seen, read and heard about him states that he is an extreme hard worker and competitor. He has often handled the point guard responsibilities for his team in order to create mismatches.

Demar DeRozan. SG, 6'6. USC
DeRozan is the baller that intrigues me the most. His extremely freakish athletic ability makes me overlook all his deficiencies; and trust me, their are a few. He is not a good shooter. His dribbling skills need a lot of work and he often relies on fast breaking opportunities to get his points. With that said, he honestly has the biggest upside of all three of my picks ans for that matter of many of the players that will be drafted. (An obvious exception is Blake Griffin. Okay. A quick B-Griff rant: If in some miraculous way, the Raps secure the first overall pick and pick Griffin. I would be absolutely overjoyed. He plays the same position as Bosh and will have to play right away because he is that good a player. I say we trade Bosh and get some good pieces to put beside Griffin, Bargnani and Calderon. Draft picks of other players would do. I am boldly saying this right now that I would take Griffin right now over Bosh. I need to stress that I think the world of CB4 but the pending 2010 drama is the main reason why I say this. There is no guarantee that Bosh will stay and if we get the first pick then he becomes a great trading asset. End of rant!!!) DeRozans shooting form is not awkward and he is athletically gifted enough to work on his in-between game and dribbling skills. He will make a good pro; hopefully it's with the Raptors.

I am still very much interested in how this season unfolds. The Raps have won four of the last five games and are again showing that they are not as bad as their record indicates but at the same time are showing that the needs on the wing should be addressed in next years draft or through trades. After a roller-coast of emotions that had me initially optimistic, then skeptical followed by disappointment and eventually pessimism. I have come full circle back to optimism. After all, I am a true Toronto Raptor fan and I honestly believe in next years team.

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete

Expectations on high. Way too high!!!

I have a question for all Raptor fans out there. I need an honest answer that requires an unbiased mind frame during this process.

Here's my question. Aside from Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal, whom else on the Raps current starting line-up would be a starter on any other NBA squad?

I'll give you sometime to go over the entire roster. I bet you are thinking of bad teams like the Bobcats, Timberwolves and Clippers - comparing them with the Raps, thinking that these teams roster are just as bad. If you can't come up with any player that deserves to be starting alongside the three mentioned above; then how come there is such a high expectation for the team to do so well and make the playoffs this season.

I will confess that I was blinded by love at the beginning of the season when I said this in an earlier post: "My prediction: 49-33 record, finish 4th or 5th in the east and lose in the second round to...........????." Well, since then my eyes have been opened. Here's a small analysis of three Raptor players that should not be starting for the squad or almost any other team.

Jamario Moon would only be getting spot minutes on most NBA teams. Somewhere around 10 - 15 minutes max, coming off the bench. Moon is arguably the most athletically gifted player on the team but he has serious problems with his lateral movements. He settles too often on defence by allowing his man to blow by him and then he attempts to block the player from behind. This usually results in him either getting called for a foul, his man scoring or drawing the Raps big men (Bosh and O'Neal) away from the basket to the baseline or top of the key. This opens up numerous back door passes for dunks and easy layups. Moon does not have the necessary ball handling skills to create his own shots and thus he often takes two or three dribbles and settles for a pass or a tough fadeaway shot. On some teams in this league, Moon would only be playing during blowout games or close to the end of the season when bench players sometimes start the last few games.

Anthony Parker is a hustler. This description of him is two-fold. A hustler in the way that he plays hard and never lets his offensive game affect his effort on the d-side. You can always count on him to guard the toughest and best wing players from opposing teams. He is also a hustler in the sense that his hard work and ethics on defence has been fooling us for a while that he is actually a better defender than he truly is. He is not playing any tricks on us with his personality. In actuality, it's his physical capabilities that has had us bamboozled for the last few years now. Put him on a good team and he is the first or second guy coming of the bench. He is the guy that comes in for mismatch purposes. The offense for defense substitute in the final moments of a close game. Parker is a valuable player but should not be starting. He should be key role player on most teams in this league.

Jason Kapono is a tough one to analyze. His ability to shoot really well makes him good enough to start on most teams but his unwillingness to shoot at will and his liability on the defensive end makes me think otherwise. I should note that Kapono has had a resurgence recently since Sam Mitchell got fired and Jay Triano (the interim bench boss) inserted him in the starting lineup. He is shooting more and is playing a smarter brand of basketball. I guess Triano has figured out a way to use Kapono without giving too much away on the defensive end. I have noticed that most of the time, the plan is to funnel Kapono's man to the centre of the court which results in a pass out without drawing the bigs too far from the basket. This strategy works at times but still allows the opposing team to swing the ball to the top of the key and subsequently to the corner for a wide open three. Kapono would be more effective as a starter if Moon was not the incumbent wing player beside him.

I am not going to over-analyze Andrea Bargnani. I am simply convinced that his up, and mostly down performance is rooted in his personality and mentality rather than his skill set. It's obvious that he still has room for improvement but I think he needs to see a sports psychologist (preferably an Italian speaking one) that will figure out a way to bring out the fiery Italian in him. Yes, I am stereotyping here but Bargnani needs to play with the same passion that Italians are known for.

How in the world does Bryan Colangelo keep telling himself that these guys named above, along with the rest of the Raps mostly inept bench squad are good enough to make the playoffs? Reality bites and it sometimes bites really hard and often leaves a nasty mark. Unless Colangelo makes a trade or two, the bite marks on the squad this season will have them missing the playoffs. This will be nasty and upsetting because most fans have bought into the high expectations that was created by Colangelo and partially, the media. On that note, I feel it's up to me to temper the high expectation. Thus, I have changed my prediction for our beloved Raptors.

My new prediction: 33-49 (yah, I simply flipped it. What?!?!?)

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete

MVP-DS Part 2 of 14

First things first, I refuse to comment or blog on the dismal performance of my Raptors against the New Jersey Nets a couple of days ago. Hurts too much! Way too much!!!

Lebron James is not getting a vote in this installment of my Most Valuable Player-Decider System. I know his numbers are great. His numbers will always be great and his team has a 10-3 record but as I stated in the first installment of the MVP-DS, team record will not be a factor until the end of the season.
I'll briefly revisit it for you. If a players team does not make the playoffs or has an horrendous team record close to the end of the season, then he loses his votes. Obviously if a player has astronomical numbers but his team goes 0-6 during a voting stretch, then the result is no votes. What I am using as a main criteria for getting votes is the players stats and also the amount of supporting cast that the player has. LBJ is averaging 29ppg, 8rpg, 7asg and 1spg. Yeah, I know those are great numbers but the reason he gets no votes is that fact that his team can survive a bad game from him. Also important to getting left off this list is the fact that he is not filling the stats sheet in the blocks department. At 6'8, I guess I expect more from him in that department. You will see as you read this blog that a close friend of LBJ whom is way shorter is filling up the stats in the blocks department.

I think I have spent enough time on someone that's not getting a vote. On to the candidates.........

Is there anyone at this junction into the 08/09 NBA season that's more valuable to his team that Dwayne Wade. The simple answer is no!!! The Miami Heat should not be 7-6 and sitting in third place in the southeast standings. After seeing D-Wades performance in the Olympics, I was convinced that he would be unstoppable this season. I figured he would score a ton of points but the fact that he is currently averaging a career high in three categories is the main reason why he is the first on the list of candidates. Twenty-nine points per game seats him in the second spot for the league lead but the shocking stat is the 2bpg. At 6 foot 4 and being a shooting guard, the blocks are a revelation that his resurgence as an elite player, after an injury filled 07/08 season, is complete. Wade has also upped his steals(2.4) and assist(8). He goes to the charity stripe at a clip of eight times per game. I admit that he could improve on his ft percentage from seventy seven to around eighty percent but there is no other player in the league that is doing more for his team at this juncture in the season.


The second player to get a vote is Chris Paul. Lets talk about efficiency for a second here. CP3 is averaging three less shots per game this season but has managed to maintain his 21 point average from last season. He is currently shooting 53 percent from the field and is leading the league with averages 12 assist and 3 steals per game. CP3 has averaged in double digits in the assist department in every game except for two and has had a steal for the 96th consecutive game, this is only nine short of the NBA record of 105 set by Alvin Robertson. Paul had a triple-double for the first time this season in yesterdays win over the woeful Oklahoma Thunder.

The best power forward in the game right now is Chris Bosh! I'm not going to make the mistake of leaving him off the list this time. How could I anyway. The proof is in the pudding......and CB4's game is nice like chocolate pudding. Ahem, I know that was lame but I don't care. Tell me of any forward in the game right now that has the arsenal of offensive weapons that Bosh possesses. I say he edges even Kevin Garnett by a small margin. A career high of 27 points and 11 rebounds per game makes him one of the best players in the game right now.

I am going to go off the MVP rant a little here. A couple of days ago, while watching the half-time show on NBA TV, former Raptor Jalen Rose made a bold statement that he claims was provided by "some very credible sources." He stated that Lebron James and Chris Bosh are going to sign with the New York Knicks in 2010. He repeated it several times and got even more confident each time he said it. I am left with this conclusion that Rose is either trying to establish himself as an NBA insider a la Peter Vescey, so he is throwing out bold but baseless statements or he actually has managed to get an inside scope on this matter. Ever if it's fact or fabrication, it's not something that I am pleased to hear. After the Knicks traded Jamal Crawford, Zack Randolph and Mardy Colins a couple of days ago, New York has now cleared around US$27 million in salary-cap space for 2010. Folks, that is enough to sign both LBJ and CB4. Now consider how much they will have when they finally trade or buy-out the problematic Stephon Marbury. As a Bosh/Raptor fan, this worries me, BIG TIME!!!

Back to the votes. The second installment votes go to Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul and Chris Bosh.

Here's the tally:

Chris Paul - 2 votes
Chris Bosh - 2 votes
Dwayne Wade - 2 votes
Lebron James - 1 vote
Dwight Howard - 1 vote
Kobe Bryant - 0 votes

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete

I should be ashamed of myself!!! MVP-DS Revisited.

Please allow me to graciously pull my over-sized head out of the sand for omitting a player who definitely should be added to the list of ballers in my first installment of my MVP-DS.

No one can be as stupid as I was when I decided that his 1 block per game and almost no assist per game was enough reason to leave him off this list. Well, I got a shot of "profanely-filled" reality check from a good friend that called me after reading the blog.

THANK YOU Albs! Your carefully structured verbal lecture made me see my mistake. For that, I say thanks bud!!!

The player I left off is CHRIS BOSH. I did mention him at the beginning of the entry but left him off the final run of MVP candidates. How could I have left him off because of a low number of blocks per game and then include Dwight Howard and his horrendous below .500 ft percentage. Even the original Superman (Shaq) is shooting at a better clip that Howard.

Forgive me CB4. Please forgive the omission of a misguided soul such as myself. You are currently shooting 54 percent from the field, even though most of your shots are jump shots. Your 82 percent from the charity strip should not have been ignored since Howard would give you his NASA designed physique just to be able to shoot at that clip for a game.

I should be even more ashamed for ignoring the fact that you are currently in the top five for MVP talks at this point by many league experts. I saw you single-handedly carry us to victory against the Charlotte Bobcats last night; and yet I acted "ignant" by leaving you off the list.

Chris Bosh numbers thus far: 27ppg, 11rpg, 3apg and 1bpg

Those numbers are definitely MVP worthy. Here is my revised list of the candidates after the six games; in no particular order:

Chris Paul
Chris Bosh
Dwayne Wade
Lebron James
Dwight Howard

Looking forward to one of these guys and a few others to separate themselves from the pack.

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete

My NBA: MVP-Decider System (MVP-DS). Part 1 of 14.

Is it too early to start the race for the league MVP?

Nope!!!

CP3 is one of the players leading the way for MVP considerations; at least in my opinion. After six games into the 08/09 NBA season, his averages are:

21.3ppg, 5.2rpg, 11.7apg and 3.3stg

A strong case can be made for Joe Johnson and Carlos Boozer. Heck, I would even toss my man Chris Bosh in there. After all, a winning team record is one of the main criteria in deciding whom the MVP designation belongs.

In order to make it more fun for myself, I have come up with my own way of determining the leagues most valuable player.

Every six games, I will evaluate players and their performance during that small period of time. Team record during the six game period will play a role but performance will be considered high and above all. Team record will only come into heavy play at the end of the season. In this case, if a player gets more votes in my system but his team does not make the playoffs, then he will get stripped of the award. The player with the second most votes and also has a playoff bound team will be declared the winner. In case of a tie...........I'LL JUST FLIP A COIN!!!

Nah, I'm just kidding. Overall team record will come into play and if there is another tie, then I'll really flip a coin!!!

All in all, the player that gets the most votes after 82 games, with my evaluation system, should be the league MVP. This means that each player has a potential of getting 14 MVP votes.

(82 divided by 6 equals 13.6. Round that up and you get the magical number 14)


It will be an almost impossible task for any one player to garner all 14 votes. This is because of the caliber all the players that are in contention for the award this year. The only time I can say a player would have earned all 14 votes in my system would be in 1961-62 when Oscar Robertson average a triple double for the entire season. Wilt Chamberlain obviously gets a node also but his average or 50 points and 25 rebounds per game were rivaled by Bill Russel's 19ppg and 24rpg. This debate can go on forever because of Wilt's scoring average but I make this argument that outside of Russel, there were no other "good-enough" centers that could contend with the Stilt on a nightly basis. Robertson on the other hand had to face great players almost on a game by game basis.

Getting carried away here! Back to my "MVP-Decider System." Right now, I would say that it's a four way tie. I have already made a case for Chris Paul. Here are the other three guys that are in the running at this point:

Lebron James: 28ppg, 9rpg, 7apg, 1bpg and 1spg
Dwayne Wade: 26ppg, 7rpg, 8apg, 3bpg and 2spg
Dwight Howard: 22ppg, 14rpg, 4bpg and 1spg

So after 6 games; according to my "MVP-DS": CP3, LBJ, DWade, and Superman2 all have 1(one) vote each. I hope that after another 6 game set, there will be a little bit of distinction between these players. Heck, another player might just outplay them. I hope so!!!

Be on the look out for thirteen more of these to determine whom the 08/09 NBA's Most Valuable Player will be.

Sportacularly yours,

The Vicarious Athlete


NOTE: The "MVP-Decider System" or" MVP-DS"; in relation to the NBA most valuable player award is a trademarked creation of The Vicarious Athlete and thus the name and the ideology behind it cannot be used without permission and written consent.

The Vicarious Athlete returns!!!

Alright peoples!!! It's been quite a while since I poured out my "vicariously athletic" soul on this blog. I kinda lost the passion after the "real world" insisted on taking up a lot of my time. I've been somewhat busy with my job hunting and part-time student status at Ryerson University but I recently came back to my senses and realized that there is way too much going on in the sporting world without me adding my benevolent 2cents to it.

Without further adieu.....allow me to re-introduce this blog!!! (thanks Jay-Z).....Lol

I am CRAZY! about Basketball, totally in love with Football, building a promising relationship with Baseball, going on occasional dates with Soccer and...........I only hang out with Hockey when it's convenient.

That's an honest breakdown of how I pay attention to sports. I am certain everyone's point of view would be different, so if you are expecting me to blog a lot about the "only when it's convenient" sport, then you will be disappointed. It will happen but not a whole lot of it.

So, what's been happening in Raptor-ville lately?
Jermaine O'Neal will start a new chapter in his basketball career as a Raptor on October 29th. Just like all the Raptor fans out there, I am very optimistic about this season and it all has to do with trading for J.O. After eight pre-season games, he is gradually rounding out into his expected talented form. My prediction of his stats goes something like this:

12-15ppg, 9-11rpg and 2-2.8bpg

The big question is if trading T.J Ford will end up hurting my beloved Raps? I THINK IT WILL!!!

Why? Because the diminutive Ford gave the Raps an uncanny advantage in ball control. We were the envy of the league in that category but it was took good to last (like all good things I guess) because Ford decided to summon the twisted spirit of Vince Carter Past....well in a reversed sought of way. Unlike the shameless Carter (whom, by the way I am still a fan of......yes, I can like someone and still be objective in seeing and telling the truth about them) deciding not to play hard or care about the success of the team in order to get want he wanted. Ford decided, after coming back from that freakish and unfortunate injury, to play very hard and try to score every time he touched the ball. In his mind, he must have been thinking that outscoring Jose Calderon would re-establish him as the the true starting point guard for the team. In the process, he destroyed the on and off court chemistry that the team had. I still like his game a lot and sometimes go back and forth that maybe we should have traded Calderon instead.

Before you start yelling......OFF WITH HIS HEAD!! Let me explain why. Calderon's stock was very very high and he would have gotten the Raps a lot more in a trade. Maybe a young big man and a draft pick or two. Ford was seen as a semi-headache and injury prone guard. The trade that sent him and Rasho Nesterovic to Indiana for O'Neal definitely addressed a lot of our needs but, I think it inadvertently left us vulnerable in the back court. So, we got rid of one weakness just to inherit another.

What ever happens this season is going to be exciting and positive. I truly believe that. Calderon is the better floor leader between he and Ford. O'Neal will help us TREMENDOUSLY! Bosh will be Bosh. Reliable.

My prediction: 49-33 record, finish 4th or 5th in the east and lose in the second round to...........????

Sportacularly yours,

TheVicariousAthlete