Three Raptors Thoughts

#1 Hedo Turkoglu

If Hedo Turkoglu isn’t allowed to control the basketball and run the offense then he’s only a role player. You’ll get the contribution we saw from him during his time in Sacramento, San Antonio and in Orlando pre-Stan Van Gundy.

Turkoglu is only a high end player when he’s given large amounts of time on the ball + a huge amount of freedom to do as he pleases + is a key playmaker (creator) for your team.

So far, Toronto isn’t giving him those opportunities. If the Raptors continue down this path then (1) The team is going to be significantly worse than it should be (2) his $50 million contract is going to become an albatross (3) The team won’t be able to trade him until the final two years of his contract and will stuck with his overpaid under-productive self.

The Raptors (coach + point guards) have done a very poor job of getting Hedo Turkoglu enough opportunities in the first two games.

Comment On The Picket Fence

I was reading Tim W’s latest article on his website The Picket Fence and I noticed an interesting comment by Mike G

“Yes, I’m hard on him, but when you have the kind of talent he has, it’s a shame to waste it.”

Can’t a guy just have a bad game. Bargnani will never be a defensive monster but has a unique skill set that will allow him to impact most of the games he’ll play in.

Rashard Lewis and Lemarcus Aldridge are also below average rebounders but I never see anybody complaining about their sub-standard defence to this extent.

I started to write a response in the comments section but next thing you know I had over 700 words written … so I decided to post my thoughts on the topic here instead of clogging up Tim’s comment box.

Game Time: Chicago vs San Antonio

Not a game log, just a few thoughts on the game.

San Antonio Spurs Thoughts

Starting Lineup

• Tim Duncan
• Matt Bonner — poor rebounder
• Richard Jefferson — below average rebounder
• Michael Finley — very poor rebounder
• Tony Parker — mediocre rebounder

Can we please get Timmy more help on the backboards? He’s the only above average rebounder in the lineup.

Bargnani’s Debut To The Season

I wrote this earlier in the comments section

Shaq was terrible last night. He can’t come anywhere close to defending a shooter of Bargnani’s caliber in the high pick and roll, and he can’t defend the ball-handler either. That’s a very nice flaw for the Raptors opposing team to have … one they can pummel the opposition with over and over and over again.

Andrea Bargnani did a very good job defending Shaquille O’Neal in the low post too. His post defense was good-to-very good last season … hopefully he can take another leap defensively in that area again this season too.

Andrea Bargnani had a very good game. Offensively he was brilliantly and defensively he was good (very good one-on-one, particularly in the post).

Nets Decline Option On Sean Williams

RealGM has the press release

The New Jersey Nets have exercised third year contract options on Courtney Lee and Brook Lopez, and a fourth year contract option on Yi Jianlian, while declining to pick up the fourth year contract option on Sean Williams, Nets President Rod Thorn announced today.Lee, Lopez and Yi are now signed through the 2010-11 season.

2010 Teams With Cap Space

In a couple of days time I’m going to begin looking at the teams who have substantial cap space heading into next summer.

Here is a quick list of the teams that I’ll be looking at:

• New York – $27 million in salaries
• Miami – $31 million in salaries
• New Jersey – $23-28 million in salaries
• Oklahoma – $39 million in salaries
• Minnesota – $40 million in salaries
• LA Clippers – $42 million in salaries
• Chicago – $43 million in salaries

Cavs Need Power Forward

The Cleveland Cavaliers need a power forward who can play above average defense and in particular play defense out on the perimeter while also supplying good jump shooting, preferably three point shooting ability. They need this skill-set to make their offense and their defensive more cohesive after the acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal.

This is a rare mix of skills and is thus hard to find. So let’s have a look around the league and eye up some of the potential targets:

Power forwards who are above average defenders who can play defense on the perimeter and can shoot the ball reasonably well:

• Atlanta — nobody (Marvin Williams?)
• Boston — KG
• Charlotte — Boris Diaw

Jax Trade Discussions Heating Up?

ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports

For now, this is a rumor because I haven’t verified it with sources close to the situation, but I’ve been told by a few people around the league that the Stephen Jackson trade talk is heating up. I’m told that Golden State is mulling several offers, and one person told me he expects something to happen within the next few days.

I don’t know the particulars of any supposed offers, but I’m told Cleveland, Denver, San Antonio, New Orleans and the Los Angeles Clippers are all interested in Jackson.

Donaghy’s Book

ESPN reports that the publication of Donaghy’s book has been canceled.

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy’s tell-all book has been canceled by Triumph Books and parent company Random House, the publisher said.

“Blowing the Whistle: The Culture of Fraud in the NBA” was slated for publication later this month. The book was to have covered Donaghy’s experience as an NBA referee and the events leading up to his conviction on federal wire fraud charges.

During the process of editing and vetting the manuscript, which Triumph received from Donaghy in the spring, Random House and its imprint made the joint decision to cancel the book out of “concerns over potential liability,” according to an e-mail from a Triumph representative.

But Deadspin.com has a few excerpts for us to flick through though:

Game Time: Toronto vs Cleveland

First Quarter

• Nice intro video + music from the Raptors
• Bosh and Shaq jump up it … Bosh wins the tip. Calderon dribbles forward, pick and roll, over to Bargnani who ran around the baseline, Varejao is defending him, head fake, drives baseline, dunks over Varejao. Nice move.
• Bargnani is defending Shaquille on the other end. Mo Williams misses from the corner, Varejao beats Bosh to the rebound.
• Chris Bosh posts up on the right box, turns middle, lefty hook, well defended by Varejao, miss.