Built Ford Tough

No I don't. What is the difference? (I was joking with that post. I just hate when people use the whole "he isn't on the same level as that guy so he should shut his mouth" comments.)

If that happens, I hope his toe falls off and he never plays a game again.

Chris Bosh isn't good enough to "speak on Kobe Bryant" but some random dude on a message board is good enough to say that Bosh needs to be quiet?

<3 Kyrie.

Horrible finish to the game for Texas. They really got outplayed down the stretch, but luckily for them they had a big enough lead that they were able to hold on. I definitely would worry about this team in a tight game. They have the talent, that is for sure, but they just don't play well together for the most part. Barnes just can't seem to get his players on the same page. I'm not sure if they said this during the broadcast or not, but it is like they just picked the best 5 guys off of the street and told them to go out and play. They looked to be turning a corner the last time I saw them play, but this was a mirror image of the Texas team from last year that underachieved so much.

Youtube videos and highlights can make anybody look like a superstar. Sure, the odd mix here and there can give you a nice starting point for reference, but there is absolutely no subsitute for watching them play an actual game. If I really wanted to, I'm sure I could go and pull up a mix of Kwame Brown that makes him look like he should be an All-Star caliber center, but that doesn't change the fact that he is a scrub. Why don't the Raptors need a point guard right now? Because they have a 29 year old, defensive liability, scared to shoot and take any risks Jose Calderon? The league is transitioning from big men to explosive point guards and Calderon is about the furthest thing from an explosive point guard that you will find in the NBA. When you are constantly overmatched at the point of attack, like the Raptors are in 90% of the games that they play, it puts so much pressure on the rest of the team. With the Raptors not having anybody on the roster who can create their shot off of the bounce, it makes it even more crucial to find that dynamic point guard. Lastly, the system that they run is completely point guard dominant and Colangelo teams are always that way. Whether it was Kidd, Marbury, Nash, Ford or Calderon, point guards on Bryan Colangelo teams are arguably the most important player on the floor. The Raptors system is garbage without a great point guard and Irving has that potential. Look, I would have no problem with agreeing with you about taking Barnes over Irving if they were comparable prospects, but the fact of the matter is that they aren't. Irving is simply the better prospect between the two of them and since both fill a huge need for the team, you go with the better prospect. And not, potential franchise point guards don't come around in any draft. In fact, next years draft has a lot more small forwards than point guards. Myck Kabongo is the only point guard who is expected to go in the top 10 (Austin Rivers is not a point guard, and I don't think Bradley Beal is one either), yet there are 5 small fowards predicted to go in the top 15 of the draft, including 2 players (Michael Gilchrist and Quincy Miller) who have a legitimate shot at going number 1. Next years draft is chalk full of small forwards and completely thin when it comes to point guards, so the Raptors would be much better off walking away with Irving in this draft and filling their small forward need next year than getting Barnes this year and hoping that they are able to draft the one or two legit point guards in the draft next year. Really though, this is all semantics at this point. Like I said, I've got no problems with you thinking that Barnes is a better prospect even though I disagree with it. I would certainly not be upset if they walked away with Barnes this season. Lets just agree to disagree on this fact because it is still way too early to tell. Hell, both of these two may not even declare for the draft this year.

Thompson is just abusing Oakland on the glass. I think he has 3 offensive rebounds in the first 4:30 of the 2nd half. It doesn't hurt to play with Hamilton to pad your rebound numbers, though. There isn't a shot that guy won't take. Thomspon with the nice post move. He also has 6 blocks already. Canada ftw!

And Vandy turns it over and can't even get a shot off. I feel sorry for anybody who ever chooses this team to win anything more than one game in their brackets.

Very tough leaner by that Richmond player to put them up by 3 with about 19 seconds left. PS: Does Vandy ever not choke?

And exactly how many times have you even watched Barnes and Irving play? Hell, two weeks ago you said that the Raptors need Irving. Because of how many good point guards there are in the league, it makes landing Irving so important for the Raptors. Night in and night out you are going to go up against all-star caliber guards in the NBA (the Raptors have 3 of them in their own division in Williams, Rondo and Billups and a potential all-star in Holiday). That is 16 games a year against some serious competition at the point guard spot. This is just inter-division competition and not including guys like Rose and Wall or Western point guards like Westbrook, Paul and Nash. That is why it is so important to go land a guy like Irving. Not only is he the clear cut number one in this draft, but he fills a gaping hole for the Raptors (Barnes does that too, but Irving is the better prospect). Don't get me wrong, I'd be happy with Barnes, but Irving is definitely the better prospect between the two. As for top prospects in March Madness, Brandon Knight was held pointless for the first 39:58 but ended up hitting the game winning layup with 2 seconds left to give UK the win over Princeton. Terrence Jones was invisible by the sounds of it as well.

For all the people picking Granger, you realize he has been an All-Star before right? He was one in 08-09. As for the Raptors, it would be John Wall without thinking twice. Andrew Bogut would be my 2nd choice as he is one of the two players in the NBA that I think you can start beside Bargnani and still have a legitimate frontcourt (Howard is obviously the other). Since it is unlikely that Colangelo will move Bargnani anytime soon, you might as well add a center that can cover Bargnani's ass and give you some low post offense. His passing ability would be a great addition to the Raptors lineup as well. I think he and DeRozan could develop some really nice chemistry together. EDIT: Nevermind, I thought the topic was who has never been on an All-Star team. I can see picking Granger now that I took a second look at the topic.

According to Singler, Irving hasn't missed a beat and is playing just as well in practice as he was prior to the injury. I know that he is supposed to say something like that and won't come out and say that he has sucked something fierce in practice, but it is still worth mentioning. It also sounds pretty likely that he will play, however he will be limited: http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2011/03/15/17631976.html .

Amir Johnson tweaked his ankle in practice yesterday and won't be playing tonight, so that might help out the Raptors in their hunt for a loss. I have basically no interest in watching the Raptors play anymore, though. I didn't even realize that they played the Bobcats on Sunday until last night when I saw the game thread in the Raptors forum and even if I didn't have class tonight and had the evening off, I would defintiely watch the Leafs game anyways. I just have absolutely no interest in watching Bargnani and Barbosa chuck up 20 shots a game, Evans play 25-30 minutes and Calderon pound the ball for 35 minutes. Maybe if they bench/limit/shut down some of these guys and play guys like Bayless and Davis 30+ minutes I might be interested in the team again, but as of now, I couldn't care less about watching them. /rant.

There was some speculation about him returning to the lineup in the ACC tournament this past weekend (he was in warm ups on game, I believe), so this wouldn't surprise me at all if it were true. Hopefully he plays terribly and his draft stock plummets.

Al Jefferson isn't a free agent. Here is an article from Frank Zicarelli saying that he believes Barnes would be a nice fit with the Raptors: http://www.torontosun.com/sports/basketball/2011/03/14/17613211.html I agree with the thought of Barnes being a nice fit on the Raptors, but if they win the lottery and take Barnes instead of Irving, that would be brutal. As much as I like Barnes and think he will be a great fit on the Raptors, Irving is a better fit for the Raptors and has more star potential than Harrison does. Barnes would be a nice consolation prize, but he is not the main prize of this draft. That is Kyrie Irving. EDIT: Givony (Draft Express) is going to have a detailed scouting report on Barnes up on DX soon. This was from David Thorpe's chat:

Top 3 pick seems a bit optimistic to me. They are looking more likely to end up around 5th, unless they get some luck in the lottery. They certainly won't catch Cleveland and it is looking likely that they won't finish worse than Sacramento either. That puts them in a best case scenario (barring winning the lotto) of finishing 3rd. Even then, they are a game up on Washington as of right now and are about 2.5 up on Minnesota, so I think it is safe to say that they won't finish worse than Minny, which puts them at 4. So unless they get some luck in the lottery, the best I see them picking would be 4th, 5th being more likely and worst case scenario would be 6th, as I don't see two teams below them moving up into the top 3. Barnes would definitely be available if the Raptors move into the top 3 (unless he goes nuts in the tournament or has off the char workouts), but I'm not too sure if he will still be there at 5th.

How much shorter is the game? I'll probably pick this up in about a month or so when I'm done all my exams.

Not really. I think it would actually help DeRozan's game. Barnes is primarily a shotoer right now and, assuming he continues to shot at a near 40% clip from downtown, he would force defenses to cover him from behind the arc, which would open up room for DeRozan to get off his mid range jumpers and attack the rim. Barnes is a shooter while DeRozan is more of a slasher, so their offensive strengths would compliment each other really well. In addition to that, Barnes projects to be a solid defender as well, which would help out DeRozan who is below average in that area of the game. Barnes would matchup with the better of the two perimeter offensive players while DeRozan would be able to guard the lesser of the two. Barnes is also a solid rebounder which will help the team and put less pressure on DeRozan to help out on the glass., which could allow him to leak out more and look to get in transition, which is the best part of his game. The pair of them would be a very nice complimentary duo. The biggest downside would be that neither one of them are very good at creating their own offense (at least as of now) and this would put a lot of pressure on the Raptors point guards to create. Really though, is this anything new? The Raptors haven't had a perimeter player who has been able to consistently create his own offense since Carter left anyways.

This has been known for a while now. News first broke about 2-3 months ago that they are looking to sell and Tanenbaum and Rogers (own the Blue Jays) were speculated to be the most interested in purchasing their share. The most interesting part of this is, according to something I read (not sure if it is in the same article that you are quoting or not) it sounds like the reason why Colangelo hasn't been extended is because of the OTPP. Here is the link to what I am talking about http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/nba/raptors/article/953142--feschuk-number-cruncher-standing-in-way-of-colangelo-s-new-contract

Just set an ACC tournament record for most points by a freshman with 40 (on 12-17 shooting and 6-8 from three) including 14 points in overtime. Since Marshall was inserted into the starting lineup, he is averaging: 19.6/6.4/1.4 with 1.4 steals, .5 blocks. 47% FG, 38% 3pt, 81% FT in 30.7 minutes. He has really picked it up in the latter half of the season. It is making my DeRozan comparision look even more fitting with the way that he has stepped up his play in the ACC tournament and is looking likely to win the MVP, should UNC manage to win the Finals.

Way too early to tell. If Irving is gone, Barnes would be my next choice at this point in time, but who knows what will happen in the 3 months between now and the draft. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to drafting him, but it is too early to say difinitively that he should be their pick. For anybody that is interested, since Marshall was inserted into the starting lineup and Carolina's season turned around, Barnes is averaging: 19.6/6.4/1.4 with 1.4 steals, .5 blocks. 47% FG, 38% 3pt, 81% FT in 30.7 minutes.

http://www.torontosun.com/sports/othersports/2011/03/12/17593171.html I defintiely didn't see that coming. UFC has pretty much got a monoploy in the North American MMA market now. EDIT: Just read that they won't be merging the two companies. Strikeforce will still operate under that name, its fighters will still fight for them and Scott Coker is still the CEO. UFC may send some of their fighters over to give them more depth, but guys like Overeem, Fedor, Diaz etc... are all still going to be fighting under the Strikeforce name and not the UFC.

So Barnes just set an ACC record for most points by a freshman in the ACC tournament. He finished the game with 40 points (12-17 from the field, 6-8 from three and 10-11 from the line) including 14 in overtime. He pretty much won UNC the game in that overtime as he hit two big threes, converted on a 3 point play and went 5-6 from the line at the end of the game to ice it. He also had 8 rebounds (4 offensive) and was crucial in causing that 35 second violation at the end of regulation that allowed the Tar Heels to tie the game. I liked the fact that he was at his best when his team needed him the most. He did almost all of his damage in the first quarter, where everybody else on the team played very poorly, and down the stretch of the 2nd half and in overtime. He seemed to always make the big shot that either sparked a UNC run, put an end to a Clemson run or late in the game. He did most of his work wtih the jumper, coming off of screens and squaring up or using one or two hard dribbles and pulling up. He had a few drives, but for the most part, he looked uncomfortable when he was forced to create off of the bounce for more than 2 or 3 dribbles. He definitely needs to work on that area of his game It is understandable that he needs work on his ability to drive to the rim considering he was a post player for most his time in high school and just recently made the transition to the perimeter (I think he was playing in the post up until his senior year of high school, unless I'm thinking of somebody else). He will probably never become elite at creating his own offense but if all the positives that everybody has said about his work ethic and just the way that he carries himself on the court, I think that he will eventually develop the ability to at least be able to create his own offense well enough that teams will have to respect that part of his game. Defensively, I was really impressed with how well he moves his feet and doesn't reach. He got switched onto Clemson's point guard/shooting guard a couple of times and did a very nice job of moving his feet and using his length to keep him in good defensive position. He lost his man a few times off the ball which resulted in some open threes. This was a bit worrisome, but he most of the time he lost him because he was overhelping on dribble penetration (one specific play I remember was Marshall got beat and then Barnes rotated over even though Zeller was already there, which resulted in a made three) rather than a lack of defensive awareness. Really though, outside of a few defensive lapses and a few turnovers from poor handles or a lack of awareness where the double teamw as coming from, this was pretty close to a perfect game for Barnes. I'm a bit worried that he is going to increase his draft stock substantially during the tournament and will be out of reach by the time the Raptors are picking. He has already had two great games in the ACC tournament and people are absolutely gushing about his game today, already.

Barnes with a huge three pointer with about a minute left to make it a 2 point game, then the Heels forced a 35 second violation. Zeller hits a hook to tie it up and Clemson misses the potential game winner. Game is now in OT. Henson and Zeller really came alive in the 2nd half, so Barnes wasn't forced to carry the offense like he did in the first half. He still has 26 points on very good efficiency, though. I'll post more detailed breakdown after the game finishes.

Barnes with 16 points and 2 boards on 6-9 shooting (2-3 from deep) in the first half. The rest of the Heels? 3-14 for 12 points. This game is eerily similar to yesterdays. Should be interesting to see if UNC can come back from another double digit half time defecit and pick up the win. Should also be interesting to see if Barnes can continue his hot shooting in the 2nd half as he played like this in the first half yesterday, (had 16 points in fact) but finished with only 18, although the rest of the team stepped it up in the 2nd. As for specific comments on Barnes' play, other than the ones in my above post, he also had: - A nice dribble move for a step back jumper. He missed the jumper, but he tracked down his own offensive rebound just above the foul line, took 2 hard dribbles and finished with a layup. - Got double teamed and turned into the help defender, which forced a turnover. He seemed a bit surprised by the double and didn't react in time to it. - Lost his man on a screen that led to a wide open three for Clemson. - Fought through a double screen on the baseline to get a hand in his mans face, but he still drained the shot. - Ran his man off of a Henson screen beautifully, which made the Clemson defender cheat his way and allowed Marshall to get into the paint and find Zeller for an easy layup at the end of the half I haven't really noticed anything about his straight up man to man defense, which could be a good thing as you normally only notice the mistakes. A large part of that probably has to do with the fact that Clemson hasn't seemed to really look to whoever Barnes is guarding for offense, so he hasn't really been put into many one on one defensive situations.