The AltRaps Blog

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It was only the Heat. Only the Wizards. Everyone blows them out, nothing to be proud of.

Whatever.

Last season, this Raptors team had a tremendous amount of trouble beating the teams they should beat. This year, one loss out of 4 to Philly, an early drubbing by Milwaukee and a loss to Seattle are the only real head-scratchers in a season that could end up being better than last year, record-wise. No, we won’t retain the Atlantic division, but we might break 50. Of the 35 games we have left, 22 are against sub-.500 teams, including 3 against the Heat and Knicks. I’m not the stats guy, but our strength of schedule HAS to be one of the weakest in the league right now. I don’t expect 30-point prison assaults each time we play these teams, but winning is expected.

It used to be that one could point to the Raptors poor road form as a reason they might lose some of these upcoming “easy games”. That’s simply not the case this year. An old adage says that championship teams play .500 ball on the road, which is where we are right now. If we can continue our recent stellar home form, we’ll be in good shape come playoff time. Provided we can avoid Washington.

Dwyane Wade looked like he was mailing it in. No way he stayed in Miami unless a major acquisition happened. The question is, was the major acquisition enough? With Wade having signed the same type of extension that LeBron and CB4 signed, he’s in Miami for a while, with an option coming up. There is a feeling that he’s too classy to request a trade, and that he’d rather be the guy who rebuilds the team than the guy who bails on it. Marion is a great player as option 2, but he’s not the answer to Miami’s troubles, and with his option at the end of the season, will he stay long enough to put a smile on Wade’s face?

The other side of that coin, of course, is that Marion is a free agent in the summer. Danny Ferry on line 1.

And how, exactly, will Shaq help Phoenix? Oh, he can go on all he wants about being in a non-running system, and how that doesn’t mean he can’t run. Did you expect him perhaps to come out and say he was going to suck in Phoenix and they were dumb to acquire him? Amare at the 4? Beastly.

Ford is back and showing no ill effects, so the possibility of moving him is slightly higher. In my dreams, we get Kidd. Then again, in my dreams I’m 3 inches taller and 50 pounds lighter and playing for the Raptors, so take that how you wish. Even if you accept that Ford is on the trading block, which is by no means guaranteed at this point, you have to wonder not only who wants him, but who wants him that has something we want. We need a rebounder, preferably one who stands in the lane and looks scary. We could also do with a point guard to replace Ford, although if we can swing a 2-for-1 trade, we should be able to grab one on a 10-day. I wouldn’t mind Reggie Evans, and if Philly are trying to move Miller, then Ford and AI2 in their backcourt is an athletic proposition. I’m sure there’s some salary filler required, though, so this trade probably won’t work. You get the idea though.

Now that Kobe has the help he was crying for, I don’t foresee him moving. That leaves Marion, Kidd, Kirilenko, Bibby and possibly Arenas as big-name tradeables. Yes that’s right, I said Arenas.

Washington has been better without Agent 0. Caron is having a breakout year and Jamison is back to the form he showed before. Their backup corps of Mason, Stevenson and company have played extremely well in relief, and if they can get a young point guard in exchange, someone like a Ridnour, they’ll be in a nice position going forward. The biggest bonus, though, is disposing of Arenas’ mouth.

It looks as though Bargnani is snapping out of his extended slump. He’s doing exactly what a certain sexy, talented columnist for this very site suggested he should: drive more, increase his rebounds to around 5 per game, and shoot his way into form. Wonder which columnist that was? Self-praise aside, this Andrea is the one we’re going to need in the playoffs, because Parker is going to be busy defending, José will be worn out, and Bosh will be locked down tighter than a bottle of Tanqueray at the Spears household. Teams with only one offensive option do not win in the playoffs. Delfino and Kapono are responses, not threats. If Bargnani can average 15 and 5 over the rest of the regular season, he will be another body for defenses to worry about come May.

Juan Dixon…I just don’t see the level of suckitude that the rest of you do. He turns the ball over…so do a lot of people. He’s still an effective scorer on his day, is quick, is not as much of a defensive liability as some point guards we’ve had (looking squarely in the direction of Houston, TX), and does not complain about his role. Not too many 11th men on too many teams can come in and light up the scoreboards. There’s no denying that Juan has the ability to do just that. A little time with the only assistant coach in the league with a roster spot (looking at YOU, Mr Martin) and some more garbage time will help him out. With the schedule looking so favourable, the garbage time should be plentiful.

As a shout-out to my brother Rick, how favourable is the situation in Sacramento? Brad Miller is dropping stats like he was taking a vision test, they get two premium players back in Kevin Martin and Mike Bibby, giving them two bench guys in Udrih and Salmons who have been performing at epic levels all season, and the Artest trade talk is starting again. If you consider that any of Udrih, Artest, Salmons and Bibby could be traded in the next couple of weeks, likely to strengthen the questionable interior defense and provide some non-mental-case depth, happy days may be ahead. They’ll still lose to Toronto, of course.

Dear New Jersey, thanks for trying to make a Big 3. You fail. The name of your fail is Vince Carter. I hear Toronto is willing to offer Maceo Baston, Jorge Garbajosa, Sam Mitchell’s left sock, Chris Bosh’s girlfriend and a pair of 2nd round picks for Vince. It’s probably the best deal you’re going to get. Oh, and because of Vince, you’ve now lost the greatest all-around point guard since that Earvin Johnson guy.

Yeah, that’s about it. Lansdellicious - Out.

….if the Loafs can lose in LA, the Raps can lose in New York.

I think it has taken at least a day for me to get over the sheer ugliness of the new Jordan shoe. They are almost Gheorghe Muresan ugly.

Speaking of ugly, how about Jermaine O’Neals club closing it’s doors in Indianapolis with plans to re-open as a….country & western bar? No doubt it will be THE hotspot for visiting teams.

When it comes to cars, when you think NBA, don’t you immediately think about driving a Kia? No? Well, you might now.

You ever watch Pros vs Joes? It is a show that pits real athletes against people like you and I. I’ve never been interested, really, although the two or three times I watched it, it left me thinking of one person I’d love to see on it. Well, next season my wish is fulfilled. Ladies and gentlemen, Charles Oakley.

I was ecstatic to hear about the extension of the arena lease in New Orleans. It is by far my favourite place to see an NBA game (sorry Winnipeg) and the city deserves to have them stick around.

What isn’t wrong with the Heat? Maybe they should bring in Ron Artest to ref their scrimmages like he has been doing in Sactown, just to bring some levity to life.

You know, back when I was knee high to Spud Webb, posters referred to things you hung on your wall. Here is a great piece looking back at that long lost art of making your walls look better than your buddies.

The Bosh video continues to garner good and bad press. I linked to his appearance on The Best Damn Sports Show in the Altraps news feed. They seemed to like it. Dude over at SLAM thinks players should re-think the whole idea. Man, can’t the Raptors and their fans ever get along??

Anybody else find it strange that Bargnani sits out an eternity after his appendectomy and the 87-year old Grant Hill will only be gone 2-3 weeks?

As always, if you want up to date newslinks sent to your cell or email, sign up for our Twitter feed which will let you know when our blogs are updated and send you the latest media reports every day. Of course, feel free to speak your mind in the comments below or in our forums.

w00t.

….this ain’t cold. You know, when I was a kid, you used to walk to school with icicles forming in your nostrils. You young kids don’t know from suffering.

The Bosh video continues to get applause and eyerolls. Have to agree with the negative. While this thing could have come off as a good laugh, I think it’s becoming the opposite. It looks like a plea from a player who has numbers down from last year and looking up at possibly the two best players in the game this year. Besides, it’s not really even that funny. A sextape with Bosh and his hottie girlfriend would probably help his cause more than this.

Besides, there are much better ideas for commercials out there. Here is a great list to get it started.

Many of you that have read my posts on Usenet and in our forums over the years know how I despise hearing the crowd in Toronto boo returning ex-Raptors. Childish, classless, useless. Well, at least we now have some company. Open the door to the mormons and let them in and feel their love. Sad.

I hate hockey. I watch maybe 2-3 games a year and usually only in hopes of a game that knocks the Maple Loafs out for the season. I did, however, check out the outdoor game in Buffalo. I thought it was fantastic and it deserves all the kudos it is getting as well as the good ratings numbers from the US viewers. How about playing a basketball game outdoors? How about doing it in, say, Minnesota?

You catch that Magic/Nets game last night? Great comeback by the Nets, but hell of a block by Howard on Vince late in the game. It’s like Dwight had a bat in his hand….like here. Another great name on tonight, by the way, if only just to see the 40-year retro stuff being rolled out by the Suns against the Sonics. Shame that there will be no retro-uniforms worn by Phoenix, though. The dancers and mascot will partake, though.

Speaking of the Nets, looks like their move to Brooklyn has been pushed back to 2010. Gives me another year to save up for my seasons to sit close to these two. Hell, by that time, may Isiah’s championship banner will be raised to the rafters of MSG. A title, huh? Good luck with that. The Knicks have as much chance of that happening as the Bulls have of leaving January with a losing record for the month.

With the ability to sign 10-days coming up and the trade deadline not too far in the offing, some names are being floated around: Mickael Pietrus, Mike Bibby & Ron Artest, Elton Brand, and even my man Ricky Davis. Could be a busy few weeks in the lives of NBAers that are getting a bit closer to a rec league than a championship.

Stay indoors and watch some ball tonight. To keep you warm, here is a nice look back at the Kevin Garnett draft and, for hilarity, what Isiah would have done had the Raps been able to trade up to draft him. What do you think?

w00t.