Built Ford Tough

I'd rather just let Calderon expire at the end of the season and then amnesty Bargnani than take on Gasol at his age and contract. EDIT: I should say that I'd rather do the scenario above because I want to see Ed Davis get some significant burn. If I thought the Raptors had any chance of being even an ECF team, I'd be all for this trade but that simply isn't the case.

UCLA has looked awful to start the season. Got beat down by Georgetown, squeaked past UC Irvine by 1 point in overtime and now they lose by two to Cal Poly after blowing a 17 point lead with 10 minutes left in the game. The best part of the collapse was that the refs bailed them out by calling a travelling violation on Cal Poly after a missed Drew II free throw when it could've easily been a foul on Muhammad instead. On the ensuing inbounds play they get a wide open look under the hoop for Adams who tied the game. Then on the next Cal Poly possession Powell intentionall fouled a Mustang thinking that UCLA was still trailing. He sinks two free throws to put them back up 2, UCLA comes down the floor and Muhammad and Drew both nearly turn the ball over. Adams ends up missing a tough 3 at the buzzer and the collapse was complete.

I probably would if I knew of any that would allow me to watch games whenever I wanted. If there was a college basketball version of NBA League Pass Broadband, I'd buy it for sure. I don't know if it is because he is still getting in game shape or what, but Muhammad doesn't look anything like the explosive athlete he was billed to be in high school. He is playing way too fast and out of control in this game, but even in the Georgia game where he dropped 21 he never really made any play where I thought that he was "wow, that was an explosive move". He looked a lot more methodical and cerebral in his approach like a Manu Ginobili than a super athletic wing like a Dwyane Wade, who he drew a lot of comparisions to. It will be interesting to see what kind of bounce and explosion he shows later in the season when he is in better shape and has adjusted to the college game. There is something about Kyle Anderson that I love to watch. SlowMo is a perfect nickname for him as he definitely looks like he is moving in slow motion, yet he still manages to always get to where he wants to go on the floor. I love watching him get a defensive board, slowly weave his way up the court and make a pin point bounce pass for an easy basket for a teammate.

His 2-19 (10.5%) shooting was the worst in Raptors history for a player who attempted at least 16 shots. http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=game&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=TOR&opp_id=&is_playoffs=N&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=fga&c1comp=gt&c1val=16&c2stat=fg_pct&c2comp=lt&c2val=20&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=fg_pct&order_by_asc=Y 3rd worst FG% by a PF/C with a minimum of 19 shots in the last 28 years. http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=game&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=&opp_id=&is_playoffs=N&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=fga&c1comp=gt&c1val=19&c2stat=fg_pct&c2comp=lt&c2val=20&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=fg_pct&order_by_asc=Y One of only 2 players in NBA history to score 4 points on 19 or more shots. http://www.basketball-reference.com/play-index/pgl_finder.cgi?request=1&player_id=&match=game&year_min=&year_max=&age_min=0&age_max=99&team_id=&opp_id=&is_playoffs=&round_is_ec1=Y&round_is_ecs=Y&round_is_ecf=Y&round_is_wc1=Y&round_is_wcs=Y&round_is_wcf=Y&round_is_fin=Y&game_num_type=&game_num_min=&game_num_max=&game_month=&game_location=&game_result=&is_starter=&is_active=&is_hof=&pos_is_g=Y&pos_is_gf=Y&pos_is_f=Y&pos_is_fg=Y&pos_is_fc=Y&pos_is_c=Y&pos_is_cf=Y&c1stat=pts&c1comp=lt&c1val=4&c2stat=fga&c2comp=gt&c2val=19&c3stat=&c3comp=gt&c3val=&c4stat=&c4comp=gt&c4val=&order_by=pts http://i.qkme.me/3rwywo.jpg

No it wasn't. A 6'8 power forward dunking on a 6'4 shooting guard trying to draw a charge is nowhere near as good as a 6'8 Barnes dunking on a 6'11, 290 pound center who was actually contesting the dunk. Jones' dunk was nice, but there is no way that it was much better than Barnes' last night.

http://i750.photobucket.com/albums/xx144/lillehammer/Turbo_Zone%20Sigs/Turbozone_EdDavisWrong.jpg http://www.turbozone.ca/wp-content/uploads/Turbozone_Dwayne-to-Andrea1.jpg http://www.turbozone.ca/wp-content/uploads/Turbozone_Dwayne-Quoted-II.jpg http://www.turbozone.ca/wp-content/uploads/Turbozone_Colangelo-Truth-Conference.jpg Sums it up, no?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjECOakCpt8 I completely acknowledge the fact that I am biased, but dunk of the year so far?

Isolation - 0.74 PPP, 11-29 FG (37.9%), 35.3 score% Spot-up - 1.07 PPP, 33-79 FG (41.8%), 44.4 score% PnR Roll Man - 0.9 PPP, 9-19 FG (47.4%), 45 score% Keep in mind that this accounts for Bargnani's man and doesn't necessarily take into consideration plays where he won't hedge on the screen (or over hedge) and not slow up the PnR ball handler enough for the perimeter defender to recover in time. I'm fairly sure that if, say, the opposing PG hits an open 3 off a screen involving Bargnani's man because of Bargnani blowing the help coverage, it would count against the Raptors PG and not Bargnani, so these numbers don't represent the whole story as they show just what the roll man is doing when Bargnani is covering him.

Paul George finally had the breakout game that people seemed to be expecting of him since the start of the season. 37 points on 9-13 from deep. I admit that I haven't seen the game so as far as I know this was just the case of a guy getting in a zone from deep more than anything else. Based on 27 of his 37 points coming behind the arc, that looks like it may be true, but like I said, I don't know for sure. Regardless, an impressive game. I believe the 9 threes is a new Pacer record, no?

Thompson really turned it around fast in that 3rd quarter. After watching him for the first 30 or so minutes I thought the Warriors were in for another sub-25% shooting night from Thompson and then all of a sudden he just went off to close out the 3rd and into the fourth. I think he finished with 23 points on over 50% shooting. He is so damn streaky, but when he is on he really is a joy to watch as his game is so smooth. This Golden State team is really fun to watch, though. Get after you on defense (don't remember the exact ranking, but they were around 5th or so in opponents FG% a week or so ago), are relentless on the glass and have some offensive players who can get on a serious roll at any moment.

http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2012/11/brandon_roy_opens_up_about_why_he_came_back_what_i.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter Will Roy be the first player in the NBA to play after underoging a knee replacement (assuming nobody has, I honestly have no idea)? Dude seems hell bent on playing regardless of the damage it will do to his knees.

Do I know you...?

Yeah, what exactly is that supposed to do? "Hey Toronto, sorry about the refs missing a foul that would've won you the game, but, uhh, well, tough luck, you still get a loss" Like CmS said, that is a huge kick in the nuts. There was also a couple tweets from Wolstat: PS: NBA, all will be forgiven if you give the Raptors Wiggins. Hell, you can [expletive] them over every game from now until the 2014 draft for all I care, as long as Wiggins is a Raptor.

I can live with the no call on the Bargnani shot since you usually have to see more contact than that at the end of the game to get a call. However, them completely missing Taylor stepping out of bounds with the ball with over a second left is a joke. This has definitely been a very, very frusturating start to the season.

I love how DeMar literally has to get hit by 3 players to get a foul call, yet Walker and MKG just run out of control into a completely vertical Valanciunas and they get the call. Valanciunas is getting the rookie treatment hardcore.

The fact that the refs even had to review to see if that foul on Lowry was a flagrant shows how soft this league has gotten.

Collins absolutely bent Casey over in that 4th quarter. It isn't even fair how badly Casey got outcoached. The Raptors got into the bonus with 8 minutes left in the 4th. Collins counters that by going small and for some strange reason Casey decides he is going to go small. The result? They attempt 4 free throws for the rest of the game, 2 of which were DeRozan getting fouled in the act of shooting anyways. Jonas Valanciunas plays great basketball (11/11/3/3) helping build a 10 point lead in the 3rd quarter. He exits the game with 1:47 left in the 3rd quarter with the Raptors up 76-66. From that point on Philly outscored Toronto 40-22. DeRozan starts the game 2-8, makes 8 of his next 10 shots, yet gets completely frozen out of the offense down the stretch. Even after timeouts, plays are drawn up for Bargnani, Lowry or Calderon with DeRozan standing in the corner doing nothing. Philly gets hot from 3 particularly taking advantage of the small Raptors backcourt by attacking Calderon with dribble penetration and finding Richardson on the perimeter who can just rise up and shoot over Lowry. Instead of either going zone or switching Lowry onto Holiday to better contain the dribble penetration, Casey does nothing and watches as Philly takes back the lead and eventually wins the game. These are just some examples I noticed. It never is simple, but I think the biggest reason for the Sixers winning this game was because of how how badly Collins outcoached Casey in the 4th.

I absolutely loathe this stupid two point guard lineup. It never worked with Ford and Calderon. It never worked with Jack and Calderon. It doesn't work with Lowry and Calderon. It just creates horrible mismatches for the opposing team. Either you have Holiday blowing by Calderon like the last two possessions, or you have Richardson or Young taking advantage of their size on Lowry. Also, Lowry needs to stop with the damn hero ball. He has been awful in the 4th quarter. Although at this point he can go ahead and play hero ball all he wants as Philly has this one wrapped up.

Lmao. Did Devlin just have an orgasm over DeRozan draining a fairly uncontested 3? Then to top it off he yells "give it back to me baby!" after Young drains a 3 for Philly on the next possession. Dude is so awkward.

Scratch that, Richardson went down with a head injury. Had nothing to do with his ankle.

http://www.thefirstrow.eu/sport/basketball.html North Carolina looks like garbage against Butler so far. I've only seen about 6 minutes or so, but there wasn't a single positive I saw from them. Sloppy turnovers, stupid fouls and forced shots on offense. It isn't just the freshman either, as I saw Strickland try and go 1-5, McAdoo took a ridiculous running hook in the paint and Bullock with an unforced turnover with 2 seconds left in the first half. I never thought the Heels were a top 10 team in the country and that their 9th ranking was pretty generous, but I didn't think they'd be dominated like this against any team in Maui, no disrespect inteded to Butler or any of the other teams in the tournament.

Had no idea Lowry was playing tonight. There was no mention of it yesterday. Seeing him check in a few minutes ago was a pleasant surprise. Of course as I type this Lowry goes down and gets up walking gingerly after tripping over Richardson, who also appears to have possibly re-injured his sprained ankle.

http://sash.ae/image/47202S2z2r1W/%23Wizards%20now%200-9,%20I%20present%20John%20Wall%20Face.png

I'm really struggling on deciding who was worse tonight between Klay Thompson and Darren Collison. Thompson was 2-14 for 7 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 turnovers. He had OJ Mayo drop 27/5/4 on 11-21 shooting on him. About 14 of those points came in the 4th quarter and overtime. Meanwhile, Collison was 2-11 for 7 points, 5 assists, 3 steals and 5 turnovers. He had Steph Curry drop 31/6/9 on 9-21 shooting on him. About 18 of Curry's points came in the 4th quarter and overtime. I think I'll give the nod to Thompson as having the worst game simply because you can't blame all of Curry's late outburst on Collison since he had Dom Jones and Dahntay Jones on him for parts of it. Mayo was just abusing Thompson. Collison also hit a huge shot to send the game into overtime while Thompson decided to jack a 3 with 16 seconds left on the clock instead of holding for the final shot. EDIT: I just looked up the numbers and over his last 4 games Barnes is averaging 17.3 ppg and 8.9 rpg on 51% shooting. Take away the 12 point, 1 rebound game against OKC the other night and those numbers are 19 ppg and 11.3 rpg on 52% shooting. Small sample size, yeah, but just as much of it is because he is actually getting plays run for him and the ball as opposed to the first couple weeks of the season where his entire role was to stand in the corner on offense. PS: Harrison Barnes is going to be an All-Star someday. All of those people who said he would be a better NBA player than college player were spot on. Barnes has looked awesome over his past 4 games. He still has some work to do on the defensive end of the floor, but I seriously believe he is the 2nd best offensive player on the team right now behind Curry. 20/12 on 8-16 shooting and 4-6 from deep for him tonight.