Linkage - Feb 6
Now none of this matters if the Raptors aren’t swinging the ball and finding the open man but lately they have been doing that as well as they ever have.
Consider that in three of the past five games they have surpassed the 130-point mark, something they now have done a franchise record five times. The 31 assists the Raptors had Monday night was a perfect indication of how much the ball was moving.
In the past half dozen games, the Raptors have gone over the century mark and are averaging 110.7 points over that stretch.
Understandably there has been a lot of discussion and was a lot of discussion and will continue to be a lot of discussion about T.J. Ford’s propensity for making turnovers, at least relative to Calderon.
That said, Ford’s assist-to-turnover ratio is better than 3:1, which is still exceptional. I remember when Tim Hardaway was running the point for Pat Riley in the ‘90s and Riley used to say that getting Hardaway to the 3:1 range was when he became an elite point guard, and not just an elite guard. It’s just not as exceptional as Calderon, who is in the 5:1 neighbourhood – which is freaky for a point playing heavy minutes in a pick-and-roll system and who actually racks up a high volume of assists. Damon Jones led the NBA in the ratio a few years back, but that was because he never penetrated and simply swung the ball to open jump shooters, which is about safest play a point guard can make. Calderon is a much, much more aggressive play maker than that, but he’s not in Ford’s class as a pure ‘make something out of nothing playmaker’
"It’s good," Raptors guard Jose Calderon said of the extra time in the Florida sun. "I think the few days here were really good for the team. We were able to get together off the court so it was a really good idea for the team."
"We care about one another," Ford said of Jose Calderon. "We never made it about one of us. I think that’s the difference between being on this team compared to my last team (the Milwaukee Bucks). We have the same goal, and that’s to win."
And after a long stretch of lamentable work, Andrea Bargnani, the second-year seven-footer who had 22 points Monday, is threatening to become a consistent force.
"He’s got his confidence back," said Calderon of Bargnani. "Sometimes when he didn’t make shots, he just stopped playing. Now I think he’s reading the defence. … When he plays like this, everybody on our team is a better player, too."
How would you feel out there in Raptorland if Bryan Colangelo didn’t make a trade before Feb. 21?
I’m sure he’s looking at the long-term financial situation pretty closely, looking two or three years out, and he knows he’s got to lock up Jose Calderon and Carlos Delfino this summer.
Not saying he won’t make a deal – I know he’s working the phones as diligently as always – but there’s a chance he gets nothing done. Is this team good enough to win the East? To play for a conference title?
On Friday, February 8th, 2007, the Toronto Raptors will play the 1000th game in franchise history. From the days of Isiah and Damon to ‘Air Canada’ Carter to the Bryan Colangelo era, TSN.ca looks back at the highlights and the lowlights of the past 1000 games of NBA basketball in the city of Toronto.
Recently, Phil Jackson praised the work ethic and commitment of Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson but changed his tone when asked about Carter. He said Carter seems to just be “playing” and adds it is not “with that fire that Jason (Kidd) seems to imbue in his game.”
With that said, is it really any surprise? In Toronto, Carter pulled the same stunt. He got his money, was deemed “The Man” and just fell off the face of the planet before his tasteless departure. He lashed out at the media when he was asked where his drive was – literally, and then proceeded to play with more intensity when he was traded.
It looks like the same old song and dance in New Jersey. When things don’t go his way, Vince seems to turn it down a notch and recede back into mediocrity. Instead of being “Half-Man, Half-Amazing” he becomes Half-Sulk, Half Headache.
I wonder who really got the worst of that Carter trade now.
The Raptors are on the rise and the Nets have accepted their place as nothing but an average team in the NBA.
Somewhere Rob Babcock is smiling.
The LA Clippers game coming up will be game #1000 in Raptors history which immediately got me thinking about memorable games, here’s my top 5:
- Game 5 of the Knick series we son.
- Vince beating Boston with a turnaround three in Boston.
- Game 7 against the 76ers in the EC Semis.
- Last game at Maple Leaf Gardens against the 76ers, we got crushed and Grunwald gave “The Speech”.
- Raptors beating the 72-10 bulls.
Even when the Raps aren’t playing, there’s another Toronto team which I take great joy in watching when they’re playing like this. I don’t mean to kick a guy when he’s down but the years of overshadowing the Raptors for no good reason has really filled many a fan with a sort of despise for the Leafs.
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