smitch: raptors will be scary.

[bill russell]

Interesting piece from the Post about bargs and sam, addresses a lot of the things we've been talking about on this board so it deserves its own thread.

the highlights:
sam says it was his decision to start bargs
sam says team has been winning "in spite of" andrea.
raptors will be "scary" when bargs comes around
insiders on team compare andrea to jack sikma (probably 'cause he is white)
sam wants bargs to anchor defense
http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=261249

i'm kidding about the sikma thing. it's actually an interesting comparison

[CreaM]

Thing is that for the raptors to be scary, Bargs has to have some kind of inside game to balance his outside game. Hes not going to be knocking down threes every game like he was yesterday.

[99 Problems]

I had flashes of that last night, where Bargs was taking over in the first half and Bosh was behind the scenes for most of the game before taking over later in the game... Man if thats the future I would be ecstatic...

When you see Bargs playing like that, know you got an All-Star in CB4 as well, plus Jose and TJ... all we need is a couple of more pieces and we could be contenders in the near future... Ideally a banging athletic big man and a near elite SG/SF, then we move Moon/AP and Jose/TJ to the bench and suddenly we have an incredible bench as well... it all depends on Bargs though...

Bargs has to build on this game though, I don't want to see 3 points, 2 reb, 6 fouls against Bogut on Friday...

[kingr]

As someone mentioned, bargs isn't gonna be shooting that well from beyond the arc every game, even in his prime. So he better be able to do something else.

And if he has to score, before he can rebound... according to some people, then he won't be productive on his off shooting nights.

[yt_boi]

Bargs has to build on this game though, I don't want to see 3 points, 2 reb, 6 fouls against Bogut on Friday...

He'll never have 6 fouls. Sam doesn't allow it. I'm not even sure if arajuo ever fouled out of a game here. Sam just benches them. Even Bosh has only fouled out of 1 or 2 games.

I think there is a problem with that, Sam should let them foul out sometimes, let them learn from it.

Either way, great game and hopefully he can build on it.

[villabong]

I think he'll come around eventually but I'm not sure he can meet early expectations. Either way, he and Bosh could make up a formidable front court. With the point guard position already set, I think Colangelo will be able to address the wings within the next couple of years.

[Test of Wills]

Many have said this before and I will say it again.
IF we want to be contenders in the future we need Bargs to play big and improve in every asset of his game in the future including REBOUNDING. It all matters about Bargs for the future not Bosh but Bargs. We already know what Chris brings to the table game in and game out but we need Bargs for the future. And this team will be very scary.

[dagger]

Everyone keeps focussing on his need to develop an inside game, and it will come, but not overnight. But it's his shooting that changes games, as Hollinger's analysis of last night's game attests. When teams have to cover him, it opens the court for the rest of the team. The pick and roll, our bread and butter play, becomes more dangerous. Our point guards becomes more dangerous. Other three point shooters have more room to get off their shots. We don't need a double post threat a la Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph. We need a high-low threat from our bigs, where AB or CB can break down defences, even feed each other. Bargnani needs some post game in order to develop, but it's not the most important part of the C job he has to assimilate. Defence and rebounding are more important than offensive post skills.

[bill russell]

jack sikma won a world championship with the sonics, back in the day. Six or seven time all-star, had at least one season of 20 pts and 10 rebounds. one of the best jump-shooting centers to play in the league.

[bill russell]

dagger -- where is hollinger's analysis of last night's game? (I agree, by the way, that defense is the key to his development as a center, and that seems to be what sam is saying)

[Grizzled]

"Last year Andrea basically floated around outside and shot jump shots," Mitchell said. "And we did that just to get him to the point where we can get his confidence up, get something out of him. But now the NBA, a year later, [figured it out]."

Now Bargnani has to figure it out. He is 22 years old, starting from somewhere near scratch.

This fits perfectly into the category of a sophomore slump.

"We were still able to win games in spite of him," Mitchell said. "[If he comes around], then think about how good we could be. We could be scary. Him and Chris Bosh are still getting better, and in a year or two, if Andrea becomes what we think he can become, how good do you think we could be?"

And this is what all real Raptors fans should be looking forward to.

[SpaceJam]

It's too bad Bargs and Bosh play on diffrent ends of the court, or is that good?

[DonkeyPunch]

There was one game this season when bargs dribbled into the center of the key and delivered a flawless hook shot...does anyone remember this?

DO IT AGAIN DAMN YOU

[bill russell]

There was one game this season when bargs dribbled into the center of the key and delivered a flawless hook shot...does anyone remember this?

DO IT AGAIN DAMN YOU

didn't catch it but i'd love to see him develop that shot. he's got the soft shooting touch and enough handles to pull it off. the hook is a terrific weapon but a lost art.

[Bryans_Collar]

Everyone keeps focussing on his need to develop an inside game, and it will come, but not overnight. But it's his shooting that changes games, as Hollinger's analysis of last night's game attests. When teams have to cover him, it opens the court for the rest of the team. The pick and roll, our bread and butter play, becomes more dangerous. Our point guards becomes more dangerous. Other three point shooters have more room to get off their shots. We don't need a double post threat a la Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph. We need a high-low threat from our bigs, where AB or CB can break down defences, even feed each other. Bargnani needs some post game in order to develop, but it's not the most important part of the C job he has to assimilate. Defence and rebounding are more important than offensive post skills.

Ok lets say for the rest of the year, for better or worse, all he really contributes is being a shooter.

What good does a 40% shooter do when he doesn't get a tonne of FTA?

What is the distribution of games that he's shooting in the 20, 25, 30% range and what is our probability of winning those games? They're inevitable and they're going to happen far more often than ppl think. (judging by how giddy we get after one hot night)

We need other things (D and rebounding) so that in those inevitable games when his shooting is **** he is still a net +ve on the court. Then we're in business.

The Boston game was awesome for team building purposes (the Sam squat-cheer, the Bargs fist pump at the buzzer, etc) but let's get serious: we want to be able to win in there without needing 19/19 FT's and 15/21 from 3 pt range for real success.

I never bash the guy in game threads we he bricks 3 shots in a row. Poor shooting nights are part of game to game variance. We all know he can shoot. We want other aspects of the game to develop.

[uniballer]

As someone mentioned, bargs isn't gonna be shooting that well from beyond the arc every game, even in his prime. So he better be able to do something else.

And if he has to score, before he can rebound... according to some people, then he won't be productive on his off shooting nights.

he was 3/6 from 3 pt land.

he shot 50% on shots inside the arc and he was moving getting open... if a team gives him those mid rangers i dont have a problem with him shooting