Built Ford Tough

Anderson strikes again. He literally pushes Pierce into Lowry, allowing Barbosa an uncontested lane into the paint. Then, to top it off, he gets pissed at Lowry after the play.

I wonder how much longer he plays until deciding to call it quits. It seems like his left knee has been bugging him for 5 years now. I don't see him playing much longer. As far as the Sixers go, what does this do to their playoff chances? I really haven't watched Philly much this year so I can't really say how much of an impact he has on the team and how his loss will effect the team.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130205_PHO@MEM

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20130205_ATL@IND

Best game I've seen Lowry play in a long time. Well, I've only seen the 3rd quarter so far, but still, this is the most active and impactful I've seen him in a really long time. I know he got reamed out for playing too selfishly during that team meeting they had, but he has to play aggressively in order to be an impactful player. When he is just passively going through the motions or swinging the ball and not looking to penetrate or even look for his own offense, he is an average at best player. He has completely changed the momentum of this game and keyed that 34 point 3rd quarter and 10 point Raptor lead.

He didn't want to go down in the record book as the coach of the team that allowed the NBA record for most 3's in a game so he did something to prevent it. 5 years from now nobody is going to remember Mark Jackson instructing his team to foul. If Houston hits that 24th 3, everybody will remember how Houston broke the record against a Mark Jackson coached team. I can undestand why you personally (and Dash) would be upset since you're a Rockets fan. As a neutral observor (I do like Golden State, but at the end of the day I really don't care whether they win or lose games), I didn't have a problem with anything that happened. It made an otherwise boring 6 minutes of garbage time basketball very compelling.

As great as that dunk was, I was even more impressed by the hesitation move he put on Wallace on the following possession. That was absolutely filthy the way he set Wallace up for that. He completely froze him and then just exploded by him for the wide open layup. It may not be as flashy as some of the stuff we see from guys like Kyrie Irving or Jamal Crawford, but that was one of the sickest one-on-one moves of the year so far as far as I'm concerned.

I loved it. I also loved the foul Green laid on Beverly as well. You are up 30 points and you stare down the bench after an uncontested dunk? You do that you deserve to get popped in the mouth. Green didn't go overboard or attempt to injure Beverly, either. It was barely even a flagrant. Really though, I don't have a single problem with anything that happened in that game. I loved all of it. The NBA is way too soft now and this kind of stuff is needed. If Jackson doesn't instruct his guys to foul, Beverly doesn't stare down the bench up 30 and Green doesn't retaliate, next Tuesday's game is just another game. Now? It is a must see game as far as I'm concerned.

Pretty much all over the world. Career history 2005–2007 Charlotte Bobcats 2006–2007 Tulsa 66ers 2007–2008 VidiVici Bologna 2008 Triumph Lyubertsy 2008–2009 Cibona Zagreb 2009–2010 Maccabi Tel Aviv 2010 New Mexico Thunderbirds 2010–2011 Regal Barcelona 2011–2012 Shandong Lions 2012 Canton Charge 2012–present Toronto Raptors As for why they brought him back, who knows. They signed him to a couple of 10 days last year when DeMar and a bunch of others got hurt and for some reason Casey developed a raging hard on for him that has lasted ever since. The 2nd half of this game pretty much confirmed my fears about this team. When teams pack the paint and force the Raptors to shoot jumpers, how are they going to score? Now every team doesn't have the defensive ability of Miami, especially on the perimeter, but it was startling how easily they shut down the Raptors offense in the 2nd half. DeMar still got his by scoring 11 in the 2nd half, but even then, I think he might've gotten to the line twice all half as opposed to 10 in the first half. Gay had 20 on 8-12 in the first half and finished with 27 on 10-21. They really need Lowry, who was absolutely awful today, and guys like Ross (when they go small) to hit outside shots or else teams are just going to start packing the paint, especially if Casey continues to play Gray so much, and force DeRozan and Gay to beat them with jumpers. That is not a receipe for success.

DeRozan and Gay are both on the floor, both have at least 20 points, but who is the offense running through? Alan [expletive]ing Anderson.

Any enjoyment I've gotten out of watching DeRozan and Gay play in this game is completely nulified when I have to watch that idiot Anderson think he should be the number one option with this 11 shots a game and 36% shooting. Gay has 14 points and DeRozan has around that much as well, and yet Anderson is jacking up jumpers with 15+ seconds left on the shot clock. I have absolutely no idea what Casey's infatuation with this scrub is. At least when Ross takes stupid shots you can excuse him for being a rookie, Anderson is 30 years old for crying out loud.

DeRozan's play of late is just awesome. I know the chances of him actually keeping this up are very slim, but man, I love the way he has played over his last few games. He has had some seriously impressive streches this season where he has shown some much improved aspects of his game. Unfortunately, he has had some seriously unimpressive strecthes as well. I keep on wanting to believe that DeMar is starting to turn a corner but then he reverts back into the same player we saw last year.

Love the start for DeRozan. He missed a couple jumpers early but ever since then he has been super aggressive attacking the rim. What is even more impressive is how he is looking to actually go through guys and trying to dunk over them as opposed to his usual trying to either go around them or just draw a foul. He has had 3 really great drives that resulted in trips to the line.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2013-02-03/clippers-are-after-celtics-kevin-garnett-sources-tell-sporting-news I would've thought they'd have more interest in trading for Pierce to really shore up their small forward spot. Although i guess the Clippers don't have a whole lot of big man depth if they plan on using Odom at the 3, which I imagine they would do if they made a trade like this. Anyways, thoughts? Do you think any sort of deal will come to fruition, or is this just pointless speculation?

Punk move by Dragic in this game. I'm not sure if there is a video on Youtube or anything (haven't looked) but there was a sequence where Bogut went up to block a Dragic shot and made some contact with him that sent him to the floor. Dragic didn't like the contact and got up and tried to kick at Bogut's ankle, knowin full well the problems he has had with it for the past 2 years. Real bitch move from Dragic.

It is tough to rally fault Burke for last night, though. Hardaway was having troubles shedding Oladipo and getting open off the pin-downs and back screens that they were setting for him. Oladipo did a fantastic job fighting through all of those screens, which is saying something because McGary sets some really good screens. When Hardaway did manage to get open, he did a nice job of hitting his shots, but those times weren't exactly common occurances. Robinson III was just a complete ghost out there. He was such a non-factor that I forgot he was even playing. When those two things happen, Burke has to change his approach and look for his own offense more. Yeah, you'd like to see him try to get into the paint a bit more rather than settle for jumpers as often as he did, but he did do a really nice job creating seperation with his step backs to get off fairly clean looks. That was one area that really impressed me about Burke. The space he creates when stepping back is Paul-lite. He definitely didn't have his best game, but aside from missing some shots he normally makes (and taking some poor shots) I thought he had a solid game considering the circumstances.

I think a fair comparision for Howell's draft stock would be Quincy Acy last year. Both seniors, both highly athletic, both very good rebounders and both considered good defenders. Howell is bigger than Acy, but I think scouts saw more offensive potential with Acy. Acy was considered a 2nd round pick all year long and ended up going with the 7th pick in the 2nd round. I wouldn't be shocked to see Howell slip into the late 1st round if some team is looking for somebody to help out on the glass, but I find that players like Howell ususally end up finding themselves being drafted in that 31-38 range. Again, though, for what it is worth, these players usually end up having better careers than many of those taken in the 25-30 range. As for the Zaga thing, I live not too far from Spokane (about 8 hour drive or so, although obviously, I'm still in Canada) and attended a basketball camp run by some Zaga personnel when I was younger. I'm still a big UNC fan (you probably just revoked any props you had for me after reading that, lol) but I've always had a soft spot for the Zags. I really, really like this team in particular. So much fun to watch.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-130201-02/eight-trade-truths-deadline Do you think Millsap gets dealt? Which teams do you think will be interested in him? What will Utah want in return for him if they do decide to trade him?

So because I'm not overrating a one game performance where Toronto, feeding off the energy of a big roster shakeup, played way over their heads and jumping for joy at being locked into a bottome tier playoff, luxury taxed core until 2015 I'm a "negative nancy"? Give me a break. Give me a reason why I should be absolutely thrilled about the long term future of this team. Budding star on the roster? Nope. Cap flexiblity to make smart trades or signings? Nah. Current contender? Not even a fringe one. Team of 4 or 5 borderline stars who perfectly compliment each other? Negative. If not being excited about watching a slightly better version of the Milwakee Bucks of the past 4 years makes me a negative asshole, well, I'd take that over being a blind fanboy every day of the week.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-130201-02/eight-trade-truths-deadline Problem is that with Calderon now in Detroit, Toronto doesn't really have many options to attach to Bargnani to make salaries work. They basically have two options. 1. Attach Linas Kleiza and a minimum contract (likely Alan Anderson since Pietrus won't be able to be traded before the deadline) with Bargnani. 2. Attach Landry Fields with Bargnani. The Lakers, who probably have minimal interest in Bargnani in the first place, don't even give Colangelo time to get the names Kleiza or Fields out of his mouth before hanging up the phone, unless Colangelo is dangling Valanciunas or Ross as well. Colangelo isn't that stupid, or at least I hope he isn't. Conversely for Toronto, Colangelo likely has to dump Fields or, at the very least, Kleiza's contracts in order for MLSE to sign off on the trade or else they'd be paying way too much tax next year (and because, well, they have to be included for salary reasons). So even though the interest may be there, I really don't see any chance of this deal happening, unlike the Gay trade where I was about 99% sure it would happen after reading Stein's original report. PS: There is another option for Toronto, but I didn't even mention it because it would never happen. That is including Amir Johnson with Bargnani, but that doesn't happen.

I think he goes in the 2nd round. Great rebounder, solid defender and athletic, like you said, but from what I've seen, he is still really mechanical on offense and I don't see much from him on that side of the ball. I think a lot of his production is simply because he is so much stronger and athletic than most other bigs in the ACC and that isn't going to be the case in the NBA. Correct me if I'm wrong on that because I watched a lot more State games last year. I've seen some this year, but only about 5 or so and 3 of those were early in the season. I definitely think he gets drafted because of his rebounding ability, which is elite and we've seen players get drafted in the 2nd round and stick because of that trait. I don't think he cracks the 1st round, though. For what it is worth, I don't necessarily disagree with you about your comment about Leslie, either. I think Leslie is a fringe 1st rounder and I wouldn't be surprised at all if Howell has a better NBA career than Leslie does.

Because they won a game against a Clippers team without their best player and who played disinterested all game long? And, just going out on a limb here, I don't think Shaliq would care all that much about a blow out loss to the Raptors at the beginning of February. I think he can just look at the Clippers' record, compare it to the Raptors record and laugh himself to sleep. Was it an entertaining game? Of course, the best of the Raptors season. Does this game magically make it such a great time to be a Raptors fan? I really don't see wy. It was an anomoly game, not a sign of things to come.

http://bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/02/02/jared-sullinger-celtics-out-for-season-with-back-injury/kLW2TzSclazIAYzSLfWpmK/story.html Not as big as the Rondo injury, but another blow to their depth. Sullinger was also playing his basketball averaging 7 and 7 in 23 minutes a night during January. Celtics are probably going to have to start extending Garnett's minutes. He averaged over 30 for the first time all season in January and that number is probably going to increase to the 35 range now without Sullinger around.

Casey seems to have finally reached his breaking point and went off (well, at least for him) on the officials post game.

Well, Conley plays 33 minutes a game and come playoff time/down the stretch, he'll probably up that to closer to 38. You also have Jerryd Bayless backing him up. By trading Gay they'd be looking at starting Quincy Pondexter at the 3. You're right in saying that Prince isn't as good as he once was, but I'd still take him over Pondexter. Playing for a contender (or, at least a fringe contender) might also get a little more spring in his legs. Basically, I think they looked at it from a standpoint where having Calderon backing up Conley would be a fantastic luxury to have, but not one they could afford with the hole at the 3 that trading Gay created.