Jay Triano hinted that any moves the Toronto Raptors make before the deadline will be made in order to help the team in the future. This means we should not expect to see the Raptors involved in any blockbuster deadline moves, and instead we will see deals more along the lines of the one that took place earlier today.
The Toronto Raptors have traded the Miami Heat 2011 first round pick they acquired in the Chris Bosh sign and trade to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for 6'9'', SG/SF James Johnson.
Johnson was selected 16th overall in the 2009 draft by the Chicago Bulls, however, he was unable to lock up a spot in the starting rotation and ended up on a stint in the D league due to a lack of production. Nevertheless, in his defense, he averaged a dismal 11.3 minutes per game with the Bulls.
By not really shining in Chicago, Johnson was given limited minutes and few occasions to prove his worth. However, with the Raptors this will not be the case. His potential will not be lost on the Raptors, and he will be given ample opportunity to prove himself.
Standing 6'9'' and weighing 245 pounds with quite the wingspan, Johnson can play either the two spot as a backup for DeMar DeRozan or play the three spot, either competing with Sonny Weems/Linas Kleiza for a spot in the starting rotation or as his backup.
Speaking of DeMar, he actually seems to be quite high on this guy.
When asked who the Raptors may have taken had he not been available DeRozan suggested that Johnson would have been the one.
DeRozan also stressed the versatility of his former draft mate, saying that he thinks he will fit in well on this team.
I will trust what DeRozan had to say, and Bryan Colangelo seems to feel the same. Colangelo admitted that Johnson was one of the players the Raptors had their eye on in the 2009 draft, emphasizing the strength, athleticism and versatility of Johnson.
As for how Johnson actually plays the game, I still have to read more and I may even have to wait until I see him play a couple games with the Raps.
Nevertheless, at the moment I am under the impression that he plays much like DeRozan. If this is in fact the case then I think playing alongside DeRozan will be very beneficial for him and his development into a legitimate player in the NBA.
My Reaction to the trade:
My first reaction to this trade was actually disappointment.
I am well aware that this draft will not be very deep when it comes to overall talent. Nevertheless, I think it offers quite a large selection of small forwards and centers, which happens to be the Raptors biggest weaknesses, position-wise.
Therefore, I was really looking forward to having two first round picks this year, and I was definitely hoping the Raptors would select a star small forward with the lottery pick. Then, with the Miami pick, I was hoping they would take a defensive-minded center to either backup or replace Andrea Bargnani, allowing him to move to the power forward position.
However, after allowing myself a little time to research James Johnson I am beginning to think this deal may not be all that bad for the Raptors. The Raptors are getting a young player who deserves a second chance to prove himself. His versatility will help the injury riddled Raptors, and I think this fresh start will do wonders for his game.
That being said, Johnson is certainly not our “small forward of the future,” whom I expect we will find in this year’s draft. As a result, excluding the remainder of this season (provided we do in fact draft a SF with our lottery pick), Johnson will remain a backup SG/SF with the potential to become a sixth man type player once Barbosa is gone.
Conclusion:
Finally, I think there is one important thing we can take from this trade—with the acquisition of James Johnson, Sonny Weems and his expiring contract become even more expendable.
It would be a wise move for the Raptors to try and trade Weems before the deadline because he could get them a good piece in return, and I do not think he is a part of the future of the team.
If Sonny Weems is not traded before the deadline, and if Johnson plays well for the remainder of the season, I think we should just let Sonny Weems go because he would most likely be looking for a long term contract, like the one Amir Johnson signed, and this would not be in the best interest of the team following this trade for James Johnson.
Regardless, it all depends on how Johnson plays for the rest of this season, so now we can only wait and see what happens.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Seven Reasons Why Ricky Rubio Would Be a Great Fit for the Toronto Raptors
There has been quite a bit of confusion over the whole situation with Ricky Rubio, and a lot of people are wondering what happened/is happening with him, when he could possible be coming to the NBA, and then of course, once he arrives, where he will play.
Well, here are the answers to those questions to the best of my knowledge. According to what I have read, the earliest he could come to the NBA is the 2011/2012 season, because he has a buyout option in his current contract with FC Barcelona.
However, if he were to decide to come over and play in the NBA next season, it would have to be with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it is still unknown whether or not he actually wants to play in Minnesota.
With this being the case, it is quite likely that Minnesota will try to trade him while his value is still high. If this happens, I suggest that the Raptors make a strong push to acquire him, if the price is right.
However, Rubio could also wait another two years, which brings us to the 2012/2013 season, by which point he would become a free agent and would be free to undergo negotiations with teams that are not the called the Minnesota Timberwolves. Therefore, if we would like to wait two more years we could and should make ourselves one of those teams.
Okay, so I hope you guys understood everything from the first slide. It is a lot of information to take in at one time, and honestly, there is still a lot more to it than what I explained, I just didn’t want to draw it out too long, so nonetheless, following this is my little disclaimer and then I will get started.
Alright, since I am unsure as to whether or not all of this will actually happen, and I do not know exactly what Minnesota would be asking for in return if they were to trade him next year, I haven’t really spent too much time thinking about what we may have to offer the T-Wolves in exchange for Rubio’s services; however, what I have been doing is taking the time to think about the top seven reasons why I think Rubio would be a great fit for the Raps.
So here they are, in no real specific order...
7. He Wants To Play on the East Coast
Apparently, Ricky Rubio has stated that he would like to play on the East Coast, and I have even heard that he has expressed interest in coming to Toronto.
This is excellent news for us, because it means that we already have our foot in the door. When you consider the other six reasons I am going to mention, I think we would have a pretty good chance of landing him either this coming season via trade with Minnesota or the year after that by signing him as a free agent.
6. Point Guard of the Future
Now, I know we already have Jerryd Bayless, who has been labeled as our possible point guard of the future, but, Rubio does have some great potential. He hasn’t really been able to live up to the huge amount of hype he had received; however, in his defence, he has been being examined through a very critical lens, which tends to focus on the wrong areas of his game.
Rubio is the definition of pass first point guard, and that is exactly how he plays. He is committed to his team, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win with little if any concern for individual stats. He plays a much more team based game than most point guards in the NBA today.
Because of this, it is hard to rate his play by simply looking at his statistics. Much like Reggie Evans, he is the type of player who does the small things that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheets, yet they add up and certainly pay off big in the long run.
Much as Reggie Evans injects the Raptors with energy, Ricky Rubio offers a high basketball I.Q combined with superb court vision and awareness both on offense and defence.
5. He Plays Defence
Speaking of defence, because of his high Basketball I.Q and his above average length at his position, he is more than able to shut down opposing point guards.
Ricky Rubio is 6’4" and has a wingspan of 6’9”. He understands the game very well, and he is great at reading plays and anticipating what others team will do on offense. This makes it much easier for him to interrupt plays and often times come up with the steal.
Furthermore, defence is one area that has notoriously been a problem for the Raptors. If they plan on contending at some point in the near future, it is necessary that they have a good defensive PG to compete with teams like the Celtics and Bulls, who have superstar guards Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose.
** Rubio has won at least one defensive award while playing in Europe, and he has also led his league in steals on at least one occasion.
4. International Flavour
I use this every time I am considering reasons why any international player should come to Toronto; however, it is with good reason. Toronto is a very multicultural city. This really helps international players by facilitating the transition period and also by helping them feel at home in a foreign country.
This “International flavour” also applies to the team itself. The Toronto Raptors are a very diverse team with six international players, good enough for tops in the league. This would make the transition process on and off the court much easier for Rubio because there are six other guys who have experienced the same thing and will be able to help him through it.
3. Jose Calderon
Of the six international players I mentioned in the last slide, the most important one would have to be Jose Calderon. Calderon would certainly be a key part of our effort to convince Rubio to come to Toronto. Furthermore, I think Calderon has a lot to offer his fellow Spaniard as he would serve as a mentor for him and guide him both on and off the court.
Calderon is more than capable of running the Toronto offense, and here’s hoping that he can help Rubio develop into the same type of player. In addition, Calderon is an excellent jump shooter, particularly from behind the three-point line, which is the area of greatest weakness for Rubio. So hopefully, Calderon would help him work on this, and also, between Calderon and Barbosa, they could even help Rubio improve when it comes to his ability successfully finish at the basket.
However, in the end, this would all depend on how willing Jose Calderon is to once again share/surrender the starting point guard job in Toronto, as well as how willing Rubio would be to either share the starting job with Calderon or to split minutes with him as his backup.
However, one quality that I have seen in both of these men is their willingness to take a back seat if it gives the team a better chance to win. Jose did this for several years without any complaints, and I think Rubio would do the same until it comes time for him to take over.
2. He Understands the Game
As I have stressed throughout this entire article, Ricky Rubio possess superb court vision and he has a very high basketball I.Q. As a result, he will undoubtedly make everyone around him better.
His ability to find the open man and the open passing lane ranks up there with the best of them. As a result, he has drawn comparisons to NBA greats such as “Pistol” Pete Maravich as well as current pure point guard stars like Steve Nash.
It takes a lot to be compared to guys like Pistol Pete and Steve Nash; however, in this case, I feel that Rubio is deserving of the comparisons. It will undoubtedly take a year or two for him to adjust to the league, but once all is said and done, I think he will end up finishing his career à la Steve Nash: an underrated player throughout the beginning of his career, but he will certainly finished strong near the end of it, like Nash is doing right now.
So, here’s hoping he is still a Raptor when that happens.
1. He Wants to Win and He Knows How to Do It
Ricky Rubio knows how to win. He was a member of the gold medal Spanish National team in the FIBA Europe under 16 championship in 2006, he won the Euro Cup championship with Joventut in 2008 and he also won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Rubio wants to win and he wants to play with the best players in the world. This is why I know that he will end up in the NBA sooner rather than later.
Also, it is important to note that the Raptors are not a team with an undisputed star that we can depend on game in and game out to put the team on his shoulders and get the win for us. Instead, we have several guys who work together to get the job done, and although they may not each be at their best every game, they are starting to learn how to compensate for each other when someone else is struggling. Although it has not translated into many wins this season, I think it will soon enough.
The Raptors will remain like this for years to come, and Rubio’s team first mentality and his ability to make everyone on the team play better go perfectly with the way this team functions.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I think Ricky Rubio would be a great addition to our team, especially if we are able to get him for cheap. I think he is extremely un-selfish, especially considering how much this is evident in the way he plays the game. Furthermore, I don’t think he would mind splitting time with Jose and I feel he would fit in very well with the team’s chemistry.
Also, I completely disagree with the way he has sometimes been portrayed as a selfish and cocky player who refused to play for a team like Minnesota because he wanted to be drafted by a big market team like LA or New York. There is much more to his decision, such as his contractual issues with his former team, and he also needed to consider what was best for him and his family.
Off the court, I see Ricky Rubio being a very loyal and humble person, such as Jose Calderon (not only because they are both from Spain, I actually see a lot of similarities between the two that go far beyond their common nationality), or Steve Nash, to whom he has also drawn comparisons on the court.
If we were to acquire Ricky Rubio, we would have a solid young team with lots of potential at each position (assuming we draft a bright young SF with our lottery pick in this year’s draft). So, all we will have to do after that is to wait and hope that all of that potential will translate into success.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to comment.
Well, here are the answers to those questions to the best of my knowledge. According to what I have read, the earliest he could come to the NBA is the 2011/2012 season, because he has a buyout option in his current contract with FC Barcelona.
However, if he were to decide to come over and play in the NBA next season, it would have to be with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it is still unknown whether or not he actually wants to play in Minnesota.
With this being the case, it is quite likely that Minnesota will try to trade him while his value is still high. If this happens, I suggest that the Raptors make a strong push to acquire him, if the price is right.
However, Rubio could also wait another two years, which brings us to the 2012/2013 season, by which point he would become a free agent and would be free to undergo negotiations with teams that are not the called the Minnesota Timberwolves. Therefore, if we would like to wait two more years we could and should make ourselves one of those teams.
Okay, so I hope you guys understood everything from the first slide. It is a lot of information to take in at one time, and honestly, there is still a lot more to it than what I explained, I just didn’t want to draw it out too long, so nonetheless, following this is my little disclaimer and then I will get started.
Alright, since I am unsure as to whether or not all of this will actually happen, and I do not know exactly what Minnesota would be asking for in return if they were to trade him next year, I haven’t really spent too much time thinking about what we may have to offer the T-Wolves in exchange for Rubio’s services; however, what I have been doing is taking the time to think about the top seven reasons why I think Rubio would be a great fit for the Raps.
So here they are, in no real specific order...
7. He Wants To Play on the East Coast
Apparently, Ricky Rubio has stated that he would like to play on the East Coast, and I have even heard that he has expressed interest in coming to Toronto.
This is excellent news for us, because it means that we already have our foot in the door. When you consider the other six reasons I am going to mention, I think we would have a pretty good chance of landing him either this coming season via trade with Minnesota or the year after that by signing him as a free agent.
6. Point Guard of the Future
Now, I know we already have Jerryd Bayless, who has been labeled as our possible point guard of the future, but, Rubio does have some great potential. He hasn’t really been able to live up to the huge amount of hype he had received; however, in his defence, he has been being examined through a very critical lens, which tends to focus on the wrong areas of his game.
Rubio is the definition of pass first point guard, and that is exactly how he plays. He is committed to his team, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win with little if any concern for individual stats. He plays a much more team based game than most point guards in the NBA today.
Because of this, it is hard to rate his play by simply looking at his statistics. Much like Reggie Evans, he is the type of player who does the small things that don’t necessarily show up on the stat sheets, yet they add up and certainly pay off big in the long run.
Much as Reggie Evans injects the Raptors with energy, Ricky Rubio offers a high basketball I.Q combined with superb court vision and awareness both on offense and defence.
5. He Plays Defence
Speaking of defence, because of his high Basketball I.Q and his above average length at his position, he is more than able to shut down opposing point guards.
Ricky Rubio is 6’4" and has a wingspan of 6’9”. He understands the game very well, and he is great at reading plays and anticipating what others team will do on offense. This makes it much easier for him to interrupt plays and often times come up with the steal.
Furthermore, defence is one area that has notoriously been a problem for the Raptors. If they plan on contending at some point in the near future, it is necessary that they have a good defensive PG to compete with teams like the Celtics and Bulls, who have superstar guards Rajon Rondo and Derrick Rose.
** Rubio has won at least one defensive award while playing in Europe, and he has also led his league in steals on at least one occasion.
4. International Flavour
I use this every time I am considering reasons why any international player should come to Toronto; however, it is with good reason. Toronto is a very multicultural city. This really helps international players by facilitating the transition period and also by helping them feel at home in a foreign country.
This “International flavour” also applies to the team itself. The Toronto Raptors are a very diverse team with six international players, good enough for tops in the league. This would make the transition process on and off the court much easier for Rubio because there are six other guys who have experienced the same thing and will be able to help him through it.
3. Jose Calderon
Of the six international players I mentioned in the last slide, the most important one would have to be Jose Calderon. Calderon would certainly be a key part of our effort to convince Rubio to come to Toronto. Furthermore, I think Calderon has a lot to offer his fellow Spaniard as he would serve as a mentor for him and guide him both on and off the court.
Calderon is more than capable of running the Toronto offense, and here’s hoping that he can help Rubio develop into the same type of player. In addition, Calderon is an excellent jump shooter, particularly from behind the three-point line, which is the area of greatest weakness for Rubio. So hopefully, Calderon would help him work on this, and also, between Calderon and Barbosa, they could even help Rubio improve when it comes to his ability successfully finish at the basket.
However, in the end, this would all depend on how willing Jose Calderon is to once again share/surrender the starting point guard job in Toronto, as well as how willing Rubio would be to either share the starting job with Calderon or to split minutes with him as his backup.
However, one quality that I have seen in both of these men is their willingness to take a back seat if it gives the team a better chance to win. Jose did this for several years without any complaints, and I think Rubio would do the same until it comes time for him to take over.
2. He Understands the Game
As I have stressed throughout this entire article, Ricky Rubio possess superb court vision and he has a very high basketball I.Q. As a result, he will undoubtedly make everyone around him better.
His ability to find the open man and the open passing lane ranks up there with the best of them. As a result, he has drawn comparisons to NBA greats such as “Pistol” Pete Maravich as well as current pure point guard stars like Steve Nash.
It takes a lot to be compared to guys like Pistol Pete and Steve Nash; however, in this case, I feel that Rubio is deserving of the comparisons. It will undoubtedly take a year or two for him to adjust to the league, but once all is said and done, I think he will end up finishing his career à la Steve Nash: an underrated player throughout the beginning of his career, but he will certainly finished strong near the end of it, like Nash is doing right now.
So, here’s hoping he is still a Raptor when that happens.
1. He Wants to Win and He Knows How to Do It
Ricky Rubio knows how to win. He was a member of the gold medal Spanish National team in the FIBA Europe under 16 championship in 2006, he won the Euro Cup championship with Joventut in 2008 and he also won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Rubio wants to win and he wants to play with the best players in the world. This is why I know that he will end up in the NBA sooner rather than later.
Also, it is important to note that the Raptors are not a team with an undisputed star that we can depend on game in and game out to put the team on his shoulders and get the win for us. Instead, we have several guys who work together to get the job done, and although they may not each be at their best every game, they are starting to learn how to compensate for each other when someone else is struggling. Although it has not translated into many wins this season, I think it will soon enough.
The Raptors will remain like this for years to come, and Rubio’s team first mentality and his ability to make everyone on the team play better go perfectly with the way this team functions.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I think Ricky Rubio would be a great addition to our team, especially if we are able to get him for cheap. I think he is extremely un-selfish, especially considering how much this is evident in the way he plays the game. Furthermore, I don’t think he would mind splitting time with Jose and I feel he would fit in very well with the team’s chemistry.
Also, I completely disagree with the way he has sometimes been portrayed as a selfish and cocky player who refused to play for a team like Minnesota because he wanted to be drafted by a big market team like LA or New York. There is much more to his decision, such as his contractual issues with his former team, and he also needed to consider what was best for him and his family.
Off the court, I see Ricky Rubio being a very loyal and humble person, such as Jose Calderon (not only because they are both from Spain, I actually see a lot of similarities between the two that go far beyond their common nationality), or Steve Nash, to whom he has also drawn comparisons on the court.
If we were to acquire Ricky Rubio, we would have a solid young team with lots of potential at each position (assuming we draft a bright young SF with our lottery pick in this year’s draft). So, all we will have to do after that is to wait and hope that all of that potential will translate into success.
Thanks for reading, and don’t forget to comment.
Ron Artest: Would He Be A Good Fit For The Toronto Raptors?
There have been quite a few trade rumors surrounding Ron Artest lately, and although Ron has made it clear that he does not want to leave LA (and really who could blame him) there are still some other options out there.
Firstly I want to make it clear that I have not heard of any rumors about Ron Artest coming to Toronto, and honestly, I’d say there’s about a two percent chance of him ending up with the Raptors. Nonetheless, I thought since Toronto’s most glaring weakness is at the SF position, it might be interesting to discuss the reasons why I do and do not think Ron Artest would be a good fit for the Raptors. In addition, this allows us to obtain a better idea of what qualities we do need and would like to have in our “Small Forward of the Future”.
Offense:
Ron Artest has been around the league for some time, as a matter of fact, he is now in his eleventh season. That being said, we can come to the reasonable conclusion that he knows what he’s doing and could certainly be a good veteran presence and possible leader for this young Toronto team. I think he was a great leader when he played for the Rockets, (once Tracy McGrady went down due to injury) especially in the playoffs.
For example, take a look at their series against the Lakers; he wasn’t amazing statistically and even though he did let his emotions get the best of him on a couple of occasions, I could really see the fire in his eyes as he went head to head with Kobe Bryant. Apparently Kobe and Phil Jackson saw this fire as well, and as a result Ron Artest was in Lakers uniform the following season.
Since joining the Lakers, Artest has begun his slow digression as the result of not only age but also the fact that he had a smaller role on the team which I think has caused a bit of rust. The Lakers acquired Artest primarily for his defence and on offense he was the third or fourth option behind Kobe, Pau, and Bynum/Odom (depending on the night) as he struggled to comprehend the concept that is Phil Jackson’s triangle offense.
In the 2009/2010 season Artest only attempted 740 Field Goal, compared to his 1,037 attempts the year before with the Rockets. However, playing with the Raptors he would generally be our second or third option on offense behind Bargnani and DeRozan. He would certainly play a much more central role with the Raptors on offense and as a result, I think he would be able to regain some of his youth and play more like he did with the Rockets for a good two to three seasons.
Defence:
Now that we are finished with offense, I would like to turn your attention to the other side of the ball, defence. Defence has certainly been the Achilles heel of the Raptors for a very long time. However, Artest would be able to step in and immediately solve that problem for us. When he is motivated, Artest is still one of the best defenders in the league today, furthermore, he fills our void at the SF position and would be able to shut down star small forwards and some of the less speedy shooting guards in the Eastern conference and prevent them from torching us on offense.
At first glance, what you see when you look at Ron Artest is;
A. A savvy veteran who has overall experience as well as playoff experience,
B. A top notch defender who is able to shut down star SF’s in the east such as Paul Pierce and LeBron James and
C. An adequate scorer who could step up any night when Bargnani and DeRozan are struggling and lead the offensive charge.
So that’s good right? He offers three things that would go a long way in improving this Raptors team, let’s make a trade right now… Not so fast!
Yes Artest is a smart veteran who offers a lot to this young Toronto team, however, he is not always the best role model for younger players. Yes I know the brawl at the palace is something that will always taint the way we look at Ron Artest but that was more than half a decade ago; can’t we just move on already? I guess not, because this comes up just about every single time there is a discussion about a Ron Artest trade.
That being said, the question now becomes how would his personality most likely influence the chemistry and attitude of this Toronto team? The Raptors already have great chemistry and I would hate to see Artest come in and ruin that, but then there is also the possibility that he could bring some big energy to this team on defence. Essentially, I am torn in this regard as would be any team considering acquiring Artest, so what about the other qualities I mentioned earlier?
How would Artest be able to contribute to the Toronto offense?
Well he is a bit limited by his age which could impact our ability to play up tempo basketball and capitalize on fast breaks. This has become a specialty for this team due to our many athletic players who can get up the court in no time at all. In this regard, Ron Artest could hurt the team a bit and may also result in him having to sit out a couple extra minutes here and there in exchange for a younger quicker player who can get up and down the court faster, however I don’t think this would really be too much of a problem.
Furthermore, I think Artest would be able to make up for his lack of speed with his three-point shooting. Having him on this team would help spread out the defence, which in turn would open up more scoring lanes that allow guys like DeRozan, Bayless and Barbosa more opportunities to drive to the basket.
In addition, Artest was also pretty clutch on offense in the playoffs last year. This would help us late in the fourth quarter, which is a big need for us considering how Toronto has notoriously had problems scoring in the fourth quarter.
Wrap it up:
The bottom line is having Ron Artest on this Raptors teams would be a good thing in the short term especially if we ready to win now, however this is not the case. Artest only has about two or three more quality years left in him, which means right around the time when Toronto should begin reaping the benefits of our current “Re-tooling” process he will no longer be around. This is a big problem because first of all the extra playing time we give him would take away from the opportunities for our younger guys to play and gain valuable experience and on top of that, unless we acquire another young SF that will follow in his footsteps for the next couple seasons there will be no one to take over for him once he is gone and then we will essentially be back at square one.
Therefore, I conclude that Ron Artest is a great fit for a team that is ready to contend now, and only needs a SF to really be a top team, such as the Orlando Magic, however for a team like the Raptors who are looking to build a core of young talented players he is not the best choice, however a younger version of Ron Artest may be exactly what we need!
If we could get our hands on a younger version of Ron Artest with….
1. His grit and defensive prowess, which would greatly improve our defence at the three sport as well as overall team defence.
2. His adequate offensive game, which gives us someone who could step up on days when our better players are struggling and carry some of the offensive load.
3. His three-point shooting ability, which would help spread the floor and result in more open lanes for guys like DeRozan, Bargnani, Bayless, Barbosa, etc… who are at their best when they are driving to the basket and drawing fouls.
We would certainly be in good hands!
Thanks for reading and don’t forget to comment!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Taco Bell Skills Competition 2011: Jose Calderon and Other Star Guards Snubbed
I’m browsing the NBA.com homepage today, and as per usual, the first thing that catches my eye is the fancy Trade Deadline countdown, but that’s nothing new; I’ve seen that before, so I continue down the page and check the top stories of the day.
So I am cycling through the lead stories. I begin with a story on the announcement of the All-Star reserves that came earlier tonight; not too shabby. Then, there is an ad hyping up the Heat-Magic game later tonight; should be a good one. After that, I see a Spurs ad, but I don’t feel like hearing about the Spurs, so I skip to the next one, and then bam, there’s Charles Barkley all up in my face talking about his “Not so terrible website”, but that’s not what I want to talk about,
I want to talk about what I saw next. It was an ad for the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Intrigued, I decide to further investigate and place possibly place my vote.
So, how am I feeling about this Taco Best Skills competition right about now? Well, to be honest, I am quite disappointed. Right away, I am thinking, okay, Chris Paul is an elite guard in the league, and yeah, I am well aware that he was recently and probably still is first in the league in assists per turnover ratio as well as assists, but why does he get a free pass to the contest? He was not even in it last year. If anyone should get a free pass, it should be Steve Nash, the defending champion (not too to take anything away from Chris Paul’s game).
So anyway, I eventually get over myself and decide to scroll down and see whom all I can choose. There is Baron Davis, Tyreke Evans, and Derek Fisher…and right about now, I am shocked, yet I somehow find the strength to keep going. I see Tony Parker, Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Russell Westbrook, and I can finally breathe easy again. I am quite content now, knowing that the regular superstar point guards are there, but then, not too shortly after since I have an incredibly short attention span, I start thinking to myself…where be D-Will? And Rondo? And, where the hell is Nash?
Then I start thinking again, okay, if they’re going to have guys like Tyreke Evans, Baron Davis and Derek Fisher as candidates, then there is absolutely no reason why Jose Calderon should be left out.
Now that I am absolutely flabbergasted by the situation, I decide to check out some stats and see how accurate my initial reactions really were. Derek Fisher is averaging 2.8 assists per game and is definitely not the quickest cat in the league, so why is he here?
Then I check out the next guy, Baron Davis; what do I see? Well, he is not much better than Fisher is; he has got 6.6 assists per game, which are good enough for 18th in the league, 18th! So again, I get over myself and check the third and final member of the trio of disappointments, and it's even worse, Evans is 27th in the league with 5.5 Assists per game.
Dazed and confused, I ask myself, why did they choose these three players? They are all on underachieving teams (sorry LA, had to be said, even though I still have faith), and aside from Fisher, their teams are playing horribly. Therefore, this means I can forget about them trying to select someone from a good team, and it furthers they theory that Jose Calderon should have been selected as an option.
Calderon is seventh in the league with 8.5 assists per game and third in assists per 48 minutes with 13.5. And it gets better; he is second in assists to turnover ratio with 4.03 assists for each turnover, so with accurate passing like that, are you really going to tell me that he wouldn’t be one the best when it comes to getting the pumpkin through those tiny little hoops? Because if you are then I say, you are lying!
The only knock on Calderon when it comes to an event like this is that he doesn’t have blinding speed, but then again, neither does the aging Derek Fisher or the out of shape Baron Davis. And aside from that, one might say that he isn’t popular enough to be in the event, but then again, isn't the point of these events to help the rising stars gain momentum and popularity?
Well since that is the case, I say more power to him. Winning this event could be a huge boost for Calderon and could finally get him the popularity and respect he deserves.
Therefore, in conclusion, I will steal a chant/quote from last year’s dunk contest and rather than cheering “Let Shannon Dunk”, I say “LET JOSE PASS!”
If you enjoyed this article, please comment and let me know, and if you hated it, comment anyway and let me know why.
I hope you enjoyed what I have to say on this topic because I still have a lot more to say, so stick around to hear more in the near future.
So I am cycling through the lead stories. I begin with a story on the announcement of the All-Star reserves that came earlier tonight; not too shabby. Then, there is an ad hyping up the Heat-Magic game later tonight; should be a good one. After that, I see a Spurs ad, but I don’t feel like hearing about the Spurs, so I skip to the next one, and then bam, there’s Charles Barkley all up in my face talking about his “Not so terrible website”, but that’s not what I want to talk about,
I want to talk about what I saw next. It was an ad for the Taco Bell Skills Challenge. Intrigued, I decide to further investigate and place possibly place my vote.
So, how am I feeling about this Taco Best Skills competition right about now? Well, to be honest, I am quite disappointed. Right away, I am thinking, okay, Chris Paul is an elite guard in the league, and yeah, I am well aware that he was recently and probably still is first in the league in assists per turnover ratio as well as assists, but why does he get a free pass to the contest? He was not even in it last year. If anyone should get a free pass, it should be Steve Nash, the defending champion (not too to take anything away from Chris Paul’s game).
So anyway, I eventually get over myself and decide to scroll down and see whom all I can choose. There is Baron Davis, Tyreke Evans, and Derek Fisher…and right about now, I am shocked, yet I somehow find the strength to keep going. I see Tony Parker, Stephen Curry, Derrick Rose, John Wall, and Russell Westbrook, and I can finally breathe easy again. I am quite content now, knowing that the regular superstar point guards are there, but then, not too shortly after since I have an incredibly short attention span, I start thinking to myself…where be D-Will? And Rondo? And, where the hell is Nash?
Then I start thinking again, okay, if they’re going to have guys like Tyreke Evans, Baron Davis and Derek Fisher as candidates, then there is absolutely no reason why Jose Calderon should be left out.
Now that I am absolutely flabbergasted by the situation, I decide to check out some stats and see how accurate my initial reactions really were. Derek Fisher is averaging 2.8 assists per game and is definitely not the quickest cat in the league, so why is he here?
Then I check out the next guy, Baron Davis; what do I see? Well, he is not much better than Fisher is; he has got 6.6 assists per game, which are good enough for 18th in the league, 18th! So again, I get over myself and check the third and final member of the trio of disappointments, and it's even worse, Evans is 27th in the league with 5.5 Assists per game.
Dazed and confused, I ask myself, why did they choose these three players? They are all on underachieving teams (sorry LA, had to be said, even though I still have faith), and aside from Fisher, their teams are playing horribly. Therefore, this means I can forget about them trying to select someone from a good team, and it furthers they theory that Jose Calderon should have been selected as an option.
Calderon is seventh in the league with 8.5 assists per game and third in assists per 48 minutes with 13.5. And it gets better; he is second in assists to turnover ratio with 4.03 assists for each turnover, so with accurate passing like that, are you really going to tell me that he wouldn’t be one the best when it comes to getting the pumpkin through those tiny little hoops? Because if you are then I say, you are lying!
The only knock on Calderon when it comes to an event like this is that he doesn’t have blinding speed, but then again, neither does the aging Derek Fisher or the out of shape Baron Davis. And aside from that, one might say that he isn’t popular enough to be in the event, but then again, isn't the point of these events to help the rising stars gain momentum and popularity?
Well since that is the case, I say more power to him. Winning this event could be a huge boost for Calderon and could finally get him the popularity and respect he deserves.
Therefore, in conclusion, I will steal a chant/quote from last year’s dunk contest and rather than cheering “Let Shannon Dunk”, I say “LET JOSE PASS!”
If you enjoyed this article, please comment and let me know, and if you hated it, comment anyway and let me know why.
I hope you enjoyed what I have to say on this topic because I still have a lot more to say, so stick around to hear more in the near future.
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