Built Ford Tough

Thought the game started at 1PM EST so I didn't wake up until 10AM Pacific time and missed the first quarter. There is also a BC Lions CFL playoff game on right now as well, so I will probably be switching back and forth all day long so I probably won't be too active in this thread today. And Redick starts to torch the Raptors again.

Rondo has some pretty damn big hands as well. Not making excuses of him because I don't even like Rondo and the reason why he is a poor free throw shooter is because he sucks at shooting, but he definitely has some of the biggest hands of a point guard that I have ever seen, or atleast remember.

Thanks man. That was exactly what I was looking for.

I missed most of this game as it was my dad's birthday and we went out for dinner. I got back in time to see most of the 4th quarter. Could anybody give me a bit of a breakdown of the game like I usually do (doesn't have to be long lol)? Just list some of the positives and negatives from last nights game, if anybody has the time.

I have absolutely no problem with them suspending players for flopping and things like that, but suspending a player for a hand ball if just completely over the top and ridiculous. How can anybody justify suspending players of a hand ball, whether it was intentional or not? This is like suspending an NHL player for intentionally icing the pick or not following the rules of a delayed offside (staying in the zone and chasing the puck rather than exiting the attacking zone first). Hand balls are a part of the game and suspending players for intentional hand balls is just stupid. There is no reason that Henry should be suspended because of the ref's incompetence, whether it was an intentional hand ball or not. Just my 2 cents at least.

For what exactly? Suspend him for a hand ball? That is laughable. Unless something happened that I am unaware of, as I didn't watch the game, there is absolutely no reason why Henry should be suspended.

http://tsn.ca/mlb/story/?id=299259 The Blue Jays better trade him before the start of next season if this is the case. They can't afford to hold onto Halladay and just let him walk at the end of the season for nothing. I also believe that if they were to trade him before the season then they will be able to get more for him than if they were to trade him at the deadline. It will suck to see Halladay leave Toronto as a Blue Jays fan, but they need to deal him and get some prospects in return for him. Losing him for nothing will be even suckier (grammar FTW! lol).

Golden State has absolutely no interior presence without Biedrins in the lineup. Randolph seems to be trying, but he just doesn't cut it. Portland is doing a really good job of attacking the interior which is opening up some very good looks on the outside for them. Monta Ellis has had a really good game thus far though. He has done a good job of attacking Portland and putting the pressure on them. He is doing a good job of distributing and he has had some very nice passes off of his penetration as well. He is really using his speed and quickness to his advantage.

Its been a while since I have wrote anything and with the news about Iverson I thought that I would throw something together quickly. This is by no means my best work, but it is better than nothing. Anyways, here it is: As you all know, the Allen Iverson era in Memphis came to an end this past week as the Grizzlies and Iverson came to a mutual agreement to part ways. Iverson spent just under two months in Memphis, but it was quite clear that this situation simply was not going to work, not only for Iverson himself, but for the Grizzlies franchise as well. Today, Allen Iverson cleared waivers and is able to sign with another NBA team. There are reports surfacing that he may be closing in on a deal that will see Allen Iverson heading to New York. Although New York Knicks’ president Donnie Walsh has not officially said that he will sign Iverson, but according to the New York Daily News Walsh has hinted that the Knicks are strongly leaning towards signing the disgruntled star. The Knicks have gotten off to a very poor start as they are currently sitting at a rudimentary 2-9 record. To make matters worse, the Utah Jazz are sitting with New York’s unprotected 1st round draft pick this season which means that there is no light at the end of tunnel for this franchise, at least in terms of a top notch prospect. While adding Iverson to the roster will by no means make the Knicks a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference, it may be enough to help them pick up a few more victories and, more importantly, might be able to spark some excitement back into Madison Square Garden. By signing with New York, Iverson will look to re-establish his reputation as one of the NBA’s premier scorers. The Knicks, under Coach Mike D’Antoni, love to play a fast paced, high octane offensive game and this style of play suits Iverson very well. Iverson, despite all of his off the court problems recently, is still a very dangerous scorer and would fit right in with D’Antoni’s system. His defensive shortcomings won’t be a huge deal because of the lack of emphasis on that end of the floor (the Knicks are giving up the 2nd most points against at 109.5 points per game). He will be able to get away with gambling in the passing lanes and defensive breakdowns as long as he continues to put up points on the offensive end of the floor. The Knicks already have some talented offensive players on their roster in Al Harrington, who leads the team in scoring, and Danilo Gallinari, the sharp shooting sophomore. Iverson has never been known as a pass first player, but the attention that he demands, along with his ability to break down the defense, creates great opportunities for his teammates. A shooter like Gallinari could end up getting some great looks off of dribble penetration. Harrington could also thrive off of the attention that Iverson will draw. There are a couple of potential snags in Iverson heading to New York though. According to the New York Daily News the Miami Heat are interested in adding Iverson to their roster. It is also believed that James Dolan would have to sign off on the deal. Dolan has had a history of not wanting to acquire players that could be considered as controversial and he was behind Latrell Sprewell and Stephon Marbury leaving the Knicks. He may be put off by Iverson who does not have the greatest of track records by any stretch of the imagination. Although Iverson may not be the same player that he was during his prime, he is still a dangerous scorer and can put up points in a hurry. The deal is by no means a sure thing, but if you ask me, this is a no risk move as the Knicks really can’t get much worse. Iverson may be able to rejuvenate his sputtering career by joining the Knicks and finishing the year strong and in the process help the Knicks pick up a few more wins. Will New York take a chance and sign Iverson? Only time will tell. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/294021-allen-iverson-broadway-bound

I [expletive]ing hate Calderon. Why the hell is he even on the court? He is the worst defensive player in the NBA and can't do [expletive] all on offense. He is absolutely terrible yet he is still on the floor and chucking up shots. I can't stand this player. I honestly am at the point where I hate him more than Jason Kapono, and I didn't even think that was possible.

He has 22 points on 8/11 shooting and 6/9 from the stripe. I honestly don't think that there is anything wrong with the way that he has played so far (offensively at least). He is doing a good job of mixing it up and keeping the Jazz defense guessing. Boozer and Millsap aren't able to guard him off of the bounce so when they have gradually started to give him more and more space which he has taken advantage of. He is mixing it up and I have really liked the way that he has played offensively. Lol, Williams just goes around Calderon like he isn't even there. I honestly think that a paraplegic could drop 20 on him. Ok, maybe that is taking it too far, but stil.

I don't understand how somebody can be so bad on defense. I mean not being a good man defender is one thing because there really is only so much you can do about it. If you lack the necessary skills to guard your man then you won't be a good man defender. I can live with that. But I don't understand how somebody can be so completely clueless when it comes to team defense and just fundamentals of defense. Is it really hard to understand that you need to see the ball and your man? Is it really that hard to understand that when you are slow defensively that you should gap your man and not crowd him? The lack of fundamentals when it comes to defense is just absolutely pathetic. You learn this [expletive] in grade school for crying out loud. Two guesses as to which player I am talking about. Oh yeah, Jarrett Jack sucks. Might as well play Marcus Banks because Jack does NOTHING out there.

Nasty dunk by Bargnani over Anderson (wow, that is weird to type lol). That was probably the nicest drive I have ever seen from Bargnani. Used the pump fake to perfection to get Balkman in the air and then went up strong over the shot blocker in Anderson. Raptors need to see more of that from Bargnani.

Turkoglu might not even play. Last I heard he was a game time decision, as well as Antoine Wright. It makes sense to just sit these two out tonight and rest them up for the more "winnable" game tomorrow against Utah. They have a much better chance at beatint the Jazz than they do the Nuggets so it might be better off for the Raptors to just sit Turk and let him rest. I don't care what they do with Wright. I think that Smith is going to torch the Raptors. This is the type of defense that he longs to play against as he is going to get plenty of great looks from deep and not face much resistance when he drives to the hoop. Obviously I expect Melo to have a big game as well, and Billups as well with his size. He is going to bully Calderon around all over the place. Should be another entertaining game though.

I would've rather them sign a project perimeter player to sit on the bench, or a project in general. It just makes more sense to me to have high reward player riding the pine than a player who has already peaked in terms of their development. It is nice to see Menash-Bonsu back though, I guess.

So can somebody explain to me why exactly the Kings would even consider this deal? They are hardly a contending team and are not even a playoff team despite what their recent hot streak says. They are still rebuilding so why do they trade Kenny Thomas and his expiring deal to acquire Sameul Dalembert and his horrific contract? I can understand packaging Thomas with Nocioni if they are desperate enough to rid theirselves of his contract, but adding Dalembert just makes their situation worse. I didn't like the rumour floating around about Okafor for Thomas, but at least Okafor is a good two way player that can contribute and be a part of the team going forward(I just don't think it would be smart for a rebuilding team to take on that kind of contract), Dalembert is just a bum and will hinder them from making moves. Unless ownership thinks that this move will somehow convince people to come out to the games and incrase attendance, it makes no sense for the Kings to do this. For Philly, I like this move a lot. They get rid of Dalembert's ridiculous contract while adding 3 expiring deals. They may lose out from a talent standpoint (even though Dalembert is hardly talented) but this move definitely puts them in a better position for the long haul. Lastly, Boston gets a lot better as well. Nocioni would really fit in well with the Celtics system. He is a tough, gritty player and that is exactly the kind of player that Rivers would love to have off of his bench. He is a capable offensive player and will do the little things for the Celtics. It gives them a very good backup to relieve Pierce and allow them to cut his minutes. Nocioni could play a similar role that James Posey did in the Celtics Championship run. Obviously Nocioni isn't as good of a defender as Posey was for the Celtics, but they both bring a lot of the same things to the table. I like the move for both Philly and Boston, but I absolutely hate it for the Kings.

Clutch shot from Dirk right there. He has a hand in his face as Mbah A Moute (or however you spell it) played great defense there. He has such a soft touch on his jumper and that was what enabled the ball to bounce back in. What will go unnoticed on this play though is the pass from Jason Kidd. That was a great job by Kidd to not panic and put the pass in a place that only Dirk would've been able to come down with it. Excellent execution from the Mavericks right there.

Umm, no you can't (well, I guess you can). Just look at these stats: Amir Johnson: 59.3 FG% (career 57.8%), 2.7 FGA (career 2.7), 1.6 FGM (career 1.6) and 2.3 ORPG (career 1.6) Pops Mensah-Bonsu (with Raptors last year): 35.4 FG% (career 41.1%), 5.1 FGA (career 3.3), 1.8 FGM (career 1.3) and 2.6 ORPG (career 1.7). So I really fail to see how Amir Johnson's rebounding numbers are inflated because he is grabbing all of these offensive rebounds off of his own misses when he is shooting 59% and is only missing 1 shot a game. Last season with Toronto Pops was grabbing 2.6 offensive boards and taking 5.1 shots a game while only shooting 35%. So at most Johnson would only be able to grab one offensive board off of his own miss compared to Pops being able to grab almost 4. So yeah, I guess you could argue the same point for Amir, if you want to make an idiot out of yourself, lol. The facts are right there.

Had some homework I had to do last night after the game so I didn't really have time to post my usual post game thoughts so I will post them now. - Tough break for the Raptors with Turkoglu getting a good look at the buzzer but having his shot rim out. I wasn't a huge fan of the play call as I would've liked to see Bosh invovled as well as see something going to the rim rather than a jumper, but it was a good look that just didn't fall. If it was me calling that play I would've had Bosh set the screen instead of Bargnani and have Bosh roll to the basket for either a pass or to look for an offensive rebound opportunity. Oh well, nothing we can do about it as it really wasn't a bad look. - Speaking of Bosh, I didn't like how the Raptors used him in the 4th quarter. They got way too jump shot happy and ignored him too often in the 4th. With Bosh being the only player on the team who can consistently get to the rim and free throw line, he should be getting a touch once every 2nd possession at least. He wasn't playing great last night, at least in regards to how he has started off the season, but he was the only Raptor who was shooting above 50% in the game. I don't think that it is a coincidence that the Suns made their run when the Raptors got jumpshot happy. These long jumpers led to long rebounds which led to run out opportunities for the Suns. Gotta tighten that up. - I liked the defense that Bosh and Bargnani both played on Steve Nash when they were switched onto him. They did a good job of using their length to allow them to back off of him but still contest his shots. I think that they might have played better defense on Nash than Calderon did last night, which is funny, but pathetic at the same time. - Have I mentioned how much I hate the Jose/Jack backcourt? They get abused on defense and having Jack out there with Calderon and Turkoglu is just a stupid decision if you ask me. When he is out there with Hedo and Jose he is used as a spot up shooter and the problem with this is that he is not a very good shooter. He is so much better with the ball in his hands but he isn't going to take the ball out of the hands of these two. I just hate having this backcourt out there and I honestly can't even recall a moment this season that would make me think it is a good idea to continouly put out this lineup. - Steve Nash is just a joy to watch when he has the ball in his hands. I still believe that he can be argued as the best offensive point guard in the NBA. He doesn't score as much as Paul does, but the passes that he makes and the decisions that he makes are just perfect. That one dump off/wraparound pass that he gave to Amundson early in the game with 1 second on the shot clock was just beautiful. He is just such a fun player to watch. - Channing Frye is the perfect fit for this team. His shooting ability at the 5 spot opens up the lane wondefully for Stoudemire and for the Suns perimeter players when they are attacking. I was really dissapointed with the defense that the Raptors, Bargnani in particular, played on Frye though. You know that he is basically nothing more than a spot up shooter and isn't nearly as effective when he isn't able to set his feet so don't you think that you would try to, you know, make him move and not let him get set? - Grant Hill is another player that I love to watch. This is a guy who was on his way to being an all time great but had his career derailed by injuries and his athleticism was affected greatly as well. He persevered through the injuries and has adjusted his game to still be an effective player. He always seems to be in the right position on offense and defense, he makes great decisions and always seems to come up with some huge shots. That pass he threw to J-Rich for that transition layup in the 4th was just the perfect pass from Hill. I really wish that he wasn't decimated by injuries because he really would've been something special. - This was a fun game to watch. The Raptors impressed me with their compete level last night. I didn't expect them to hang in there with the Suns, and I certainly didn't expect them to lead for the majority of the game. Its like I said earlier in this thread though, they just had to withstand one Suns run and they couldn't do that. That run in the 4th quarter was ultimately the difference in the game. I can live with this loss though, it is the Magic and Spurs losses that eat me up. Good game from both sides though.

And of BFT's awesome G-Moding, right?

Amir Johnson by far. Pops is a good rebounder, but his rebounding was inflated last season because of the fact that he would get 2 or 3 offensive rebounds a game because of his complete inability to finish around the basket. Amir is the better finisher, defender and plays within himself better. Their rebounding is probably a wash. The icing on the cake is that Amir is younger and has more potential than Pops does imo. I liked what Pops did for the Raptors last season, but in my opinion, he got vastly overrated by a lot of people. I don't even want to see Mensah-Bonsu back with the team anyways. The Raptors already have Bosh, Bargnani, Johnson, Rasho and Evans (when he comes back) at the 4/5 positions and I don't like Pops at the 3 at all. They would be better off getting some project player and just take a chance on him developing. Whether it is a project big or a perimeter player, it doesn't matter to me, but it should be a project. Pops is too redundant as far as I am concerned.

Even though the Raptors have been in the lead for most of the game thus far, I am more worried about this game than I was at any point in the Clipper game. The Suns really haven't went on any sort of run tonight and I am just waiting for them to go on a significant run towards the end of the quarter or at the beginning of the 4th. If that run does occur, the Raptors are going to have to weather the storm and not let it get out of hand because everybody knows that you are going to be able to get your points against this Suns defense. This game definitely slowed down though. The way the game started off I thought that it would be a final score of like 130-128 or something.

Lol, 13 points in the first 1:30. And Calderon just drained a 3 to make it 16 in the first 1:45 or so, lol. Good god, 27 points and we aren't even 4 minutes into the game.

Well this is good news. I would probably throw something at my TV watching Wright play tonight. I can't imagine how man terrible decisions that he would make offensively in an uptempo game like tonight is inevitably going to end up as. Its not like his defense is going to be missed tonight either becuase lets face is, if the Raptors somehow manage to pull out a victory tonight it is most likely going to be as a result of them flat out out scoring the Suns. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what DeRozan is able to do with the extra minutes and I'm hoping to see him throw down some nice dunks in transition, but I am more interested in seeing what kind of game Belinelli has. He was great last night putting up 16/3 on 60% shooting or something like that (3 three's as well) and this game suits his style to a tee. he will get a lot of good looks in transition and I definitely think that he will be able to create off of the bounce with somebody like Barbosa guarding him. He could have a huge impact tonight. I expect both of them to get a fair amount of minutes because I don't envision Turkoglu playing 35 minutes in a game like this. I don't think that he will be able to go that long so Belli and DeRozan should both see an increase in minutes tonight. Hopefully they can make the most of them. Whats are the odds that the combined score tonight is above 250? Erick would absolutely hate watching this game becuase there definitely won't be much defense being played.

Terrible news for the Sixers. Speights was really playing well to start off the season and he will definitely be missed. On the bright side though, this may open things up for Elton Brand. With Speights out of the lineup he will be getting more minutes and probably a lot more touches. This may be the opportunity that he needs to get his game back in order. Sucks for Speights though. He was having a very good start to the season. EDIT: Just noticed that this was already made, can somebody merge/delete this thread?