Raptor Talk 11-12 Big Changes May be in the Works!

re: Davis

It looks like he did very little to develop his game. And if he did put in the time - it's frightening because there are no results to see.

His game is limited to put backs and close range screen and rolls.

He is a horrible passer, has no handle, and an awful looking jumper.

I personally think he is a bigger and stronger from last season... but he has no clue on how to use that strength or bulk.

My guess is... he put time in the weight room and that's about it.

The calf injury sustained by Andrea should come as no surprise to anyone. With the insane NBA scheduling there will be many going down. On a bad shooting day he contributed 10 boards which was a positive. We were lost on offence without him.

Jose Calderon seems to be the only other guy capable of stepping up. But wait - finally some production out of Leandro Barbosa! AND---Linas Kleiza looked like he will help the black hole in our offence at small forward.

A bunch of our young guys are struggling with their games. DeRozan, Johnson, Davis to name a few. Rasual Butler appears to have no game!

No Sonny Weems to beat on these days - maybe he's in a happier place in the basketball universe balling against our man of the future J-V in Lithuania!

There has been some ugly basketball on this side of the ocean that no one can dispute! But we knew it was coming just the same!

Another issue was exposed in the loss to the Kings, difficulty in dealing with waterbug quickness at the point. Isaiah Thomas frequently got by his coverage and into the lane where he both scored and distributed. For the 60th pick he looks like he could be a great pick up.

Hard to beleive the Raptors couldn't find one rookie to audition for this team in what looks like it will be a season with lots of playing time (aka garbage time at the ends of losses) available.

Calderon for all his improved defence in Coach Casey's system is certainly challenged by that kind of quickness as is Carter.

I wonder if we ever get a shot at Cory Joseph - he can defend!

Just saw on Twitter Cory is back with the Spurs.

Cory Joseph is back with the Spurs after it was announced TJ Ford will be out 4-6 weeks with a hamstring injury. http://projectspurs.com/2012-articles/january/joseph-back-in-with-spurs-ford-out-4-6-weeks.html

My guess is we will not be getting a shot at Cory.

I think that now being given the opportunity he will establish himself with the Spurs.

Cory got three or four games in the D-Leagaue with about 30 min a game and scoring/averaging in double digits.

This is his opportunity... let's see if he's ready.

They lost 8 in a row and got Phoenix, Utah, Denver and Jersey on the road and then back home vs. Atlanta and then Boston.

8 can easily become 14.

And if they don't beat Washington... 14 can easily become 21 as they have Miami, Milwaukee, Boston, Lakers, Knicks and Spurs.

Coaches slogan of "Pound the Rock"... well wonder if coach knew that the rock is a diamond rock.

YIKES!!!!

People are becoming critical of Casey's offence but if you lack the talent not much any coach could do!

It's totally a talent issue!!!

I can't stop thinking how dissappointing DD's progress is... and Davis.

To boot Amir looks very disinterested last several games... almost too sore and tired to play?

And that is totally contrary to what Amir is about!

He is an energy guy for sure and without that he is very ordinary as a player! When a player is hurting its hard to be motivated.

My own coaching has prevented me from seeing much these days but that is a blessing the way things have been going!

Bargnani could help by being that consistent scorer if he is 100%.

Raps were 4 and 6 before Bargs got hurt... and they are winless since.

Bargnani was back and so was some Raptor offence! He had 36 pts. to inject some game into his - for the most part - lifeless teammates. Barbosa also played with energy and purpose.

What in the world is ailing our young guys? Amir, Davis and DeRozan continue to struggle. When oh when will they come out of their funk?

We need much more than we are getting from that troika that's for damn sure!

Thank God for Bargs coming out to play last night and breaking this losing slump.

Hope he can stay healthy and gets to the all star game - he certainly deserves!!

He certainly does!

It was nice to see the Raps get a huge road win back-to-back on the road. It was a gutsy effort to say the least and close to a months worth of wins in the company we are keeping.

A great effort by Kleiza and the Amir Johnson we know and love showed up in the OT to help secure the W.

Still the loss of Bargnani for what may be a considerable period of games puts a damper on all the happy feelings this game brought to the Raptor faithful. He has certainly given ample proof of what his mere presence means to the Raptor offence.

Hopefully he's back at 100% sooner rather than later!

I respect what Coach Casey is doing with the Raptors, instilling some accountability and sense of team defense. However, playing Bargnani 42 minutes on Tuesday and 40 on Wednesday, considering that he was coming off a six game injury layoff, was a mistake. A guy like that should be playing 20 to 25 minutes a game until he gets back in full game shape.

I was very surprised at his minutes against Phoenix and thought his minutes would be very limited against Utah.

I agree Casey made a mistake but it shows where Casey's head is - he wants to compete! Losses do not sit easily with him.

Wait until he gets some better players to work with! In spite of this instance of poor judgment he has the stuff to help turn things around for us in the future! Indeed the culture is already changing. I really believe in this coach!

A good pick in this year's draft would help greatly!

Also we need to see the growth of some of our young guys who have been hugely disappointing so far this season.

Eric Smith tweet:

MRI taken in Denver showed no structural damage to @AndreaBargnani's left calf. No timetable set for his return.

Coach doing the twitter thing - yeah baby!!!

Totally agree with the poor judgement on Casey's part - horribe decision.

Very deep draft but they're mostly bigs... not too talented at the 1's, 2's, or 3's.
And that's what we need... a pure stud at the 3. Not a softee like DD.

I would keep my eye on that Kidd Gilcrist guy from Kentucky... and watch how he dominates come tournament time.

Kidd-Gilchrist looking like a stud!

I guess that's why they play the games. Who woulda' thunk the Raptors could be capable of beating a mediocre College side let alone an NBA squad while playing without his two main offensive threats and with an offensively challenged team at even the best of times. Yet win they did minus Bargnani - a huge weapon offensively this season and Barbosa who has stepped up impressively in recent games.

Casey patched together a small unit and got some great defence out of his guys. Jerryd Bayless made the most obvious contribution on the court by "holding" Deron Williams to 24 pts. but it was truly a team effort inspired by their coach. DeMar DeRozan had his best offensive output of the season by notching 25 points but this was 100% a team win.

And leading/showing/pointing the way was the Coach - Dwane Casey!

Here I was thinking winning a game on this road trip woul've been considered somewhat of a success... but they come out above .500.

This team needs DD to play, like he did against the Nets, EVERY single night.

The Wizards just announced that Blatche, will be out "three to five weeks" with a strained calf muscle in his left leg. Nothing that definitive out of the Raptors, but a similar timeline appears likely.

Rumour is that Calderon is on the block. Trading him at this point in time makes some sense, as he's been relatively injury free this year, is in shape, and could have some value to a contending team. While improved, I don't think his defense is fully consistent with the team's new defense first approach.

I like Calderon... total class act.

Might be a good time to trade him... but would still hate to see him go but c'est la vie.

He has been playing very good... great stat line... he's been locked in almost every game... would be an amazing back up to a contending team