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vulture wrote:

Yuri Vaultin wrote:One thing is for certain this season, that was definitely not last year; when in crunch time and nursing a lead we now have the depth to give starters a rest and have players with a higher defensive b-ball IQ than a grapefruit.

Nice avatar, Yuri. Oldboy is a classic, can you believe holywood will be remaking this classic?

Tha Cynic wrote:I'm not sure why people are finding "Euroraps" so offensive, unless of course people find being European offensive, in which case you should be looking at yourself. In North America, when a team is made of a majority that aren't North American players, articles make note of this. Its not just in sports either. Regular news articles usually make note of a person's nationality.

It is always amusing how much people love anyone who gives the Raptors positive comments, and hate everyone who gives them negative. You don't need to be loved by everyone; this is just one guy's personal opinion. I would say the Raptors aren't going to be beating their all-time win record, but they will not be below .500 either.

Yuri Vaultin wrote:

vulture wrote:

Yuri Vaultin wrote:One thing is for certain this season, that was definitely not last year; when in crunch time and nursing a lead we now have the depth to give starters a rest and have players with a higher defensive b-ball IQ than a grapefruit.

Nice avatar, Yuri. Oldboy is a classic, can you believe holywood will be remaking this classic?

Don't even get me started on this... I heard Speilberg and &*%$#@! Wil Smith no less... Makes me want to puke. A project like this (if it HAS to be made) should be reserved for Quentin Tarantino and Benicio Del Toro.

Indiana Jones wrote:the only thing that bugs me about this article is the slight at DeMar. Had just about any other team picked him, Hollinger would probably like his potential, especially given his SL play. But since he's a Raptor, it's wide open to the typical Raptor bashing.

The unpleasant surprise: DeMar DeRozan

I'd be hard-pressed to name a potential high lottery pick throughout the years about whom the Draft Rater has been less excited. I rated 90 prospects for this draft, and DeRozan ranked 54th among them. Two of his USC teammates -- Daniel Hackett and Taj Gibson -- outranked him, as did assorted other nonentities such as Kevin Rogers, Chinemelu Elonu and Ben Woodside. I'll wait here while you Google them.

Why? Because there really isn't anything in DeRozan's statistical profile that makes you think "NBA star." He rarely took or made 3-pointers, and he had a strongly negative pure point rating, which are two powerful indicators for a wing player. His numbers in other areas were unimpressive, too. In particular, he was a bad free throw shooter, which indicates that his outside shot might never be a strong suit.

Some scouts I have talked to have compared DeRozan to Rudy Gay in terms of being an NBA athlete but having a questionable motor. But that comparison falls flat, according to the Draft Rater: Gay was the top-rated player in his draft class, while DeRozan is nowhere close. And although he's supposed to be a great athlete, he didn't show it on the court often enough: His rebound, block and steal totals were all very ordinary.

As I mentioned above, one-and-done players sometimes fool the system -- they're the youngest, least experienced guys in the pool, and thus, a major factor is how much they improve post-draft rather than just how good they are pre-draft.

Nonetheless, I would back away from DeRozan if the 12 relatively safe guys at the top of the Draft Rater are still on the board.

Speaking of which, let's take a look at the collegians for 2009.

Alodar wrote:Statistically, Hollinger’s analysis is spot on.

It is impossible to predict based on previous performance how the Raptors will do next season.

From the 2008/2009 33 win roster only 3 players are returning whom I would consider in the top 10 of this year’s depth chart ( Calderon , Jack, Derozan, Belinelli, Wright, Turkoglu, Evans, Bosh , Bargnani , Nesterovic). It is even difficult to predict the play of the returning players based on last season’s performance. Jose was fighting injuries for most of the season, Andrea was inconsistent but came on in the second half and Chris, although 20/10, had injuries, and for half the season was fighting Jermaine O’Neal for space.

You might like the moves, or think the individuals that were brought in are an improvement over the individuals that went out. You might think our front court is a mismatch nightmare for other teams, or you might think our defence will be porous, depending of course on what system we use and how the players might work together. You might think we’ll win 50 games next season, or 41 or 74 or 12. But none of our predictions are based on stats or previous permorance.

And, between the drivel, that is what Hollinger is stating: There is nothing statistical to base his prediction on how well the Raptors will do next season. He is simply guessing – as are we all.

Brinbe wrote:Remember this? http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft200 ... ter-090618

Nonetheless, I would back away from DeRozan if the 12 relatively safe guys at the top of the Draft Rater are still on the board.

Speaking of which, let's take a look at the collegians for 2009.

Yeah, he's never really been a DD fan...

vulture wrote:No, Yuri! Keep it away from them. I can't see Hollywood recreating the beautiful cinematography and that hallway scene can never be duplicated.

burn1down wrote:Interesting how the Kapono for Evans trade is so often overlooked and forgotten. I am not suggesting he will solve our defensive and rebounding problems, but he will add things that have been missing for sure. I look forward to seeing him come in and define his role.