Bosh/Calderon is the future...

Kosta · Post #1 » by **Kosta** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:31 pm

Coming into the season most of us believed Bosh/Bargnani/Ford were the franchise, Calderon was usually the 4th guy mentioned when we talked about contending for a chip one day. After 44 games this season, I think it's clear that the future of this franchise relies heavily on Bosh still of course, but now enter in Jose Calderon, IMO is the making of the next elite point guard in the NBA. He's not as young as Paul or Deron and I'm not putting him on their level yet, but he's still 26 and has yet to hit his NBA prime.

Now, I'm not saying Bargnani and T.J Ford aren't part of our future, I still believe we need Andrea to become a force for us if really want to make the next step, although his game has taken one giant step back this season. He's still only 22 and we have to be patient with him growing as a C.

As for T.J, seriously, what to do? I think it's clear Jose has played himself as the starter on the team and has also forced our hand in matching anything for him this off-season. Where does this leave T.J, remains to be seen. One thing for sure is that he is still a valuable asset to the ball club, either as a teammate or a trading piece.

But for certain, at least in my mind, Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon are the two most important pieces we have moving on.

bychai · Post #2 » by **bychai** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:34 pm

As of now, it sure does look that way. Too bad it was realized at the expense of TJ's stellar play. It's tough to figure out what's going on in BC's mind right now with all of this.

Kosta · Post #3 » by **Kosta** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:35 pm

bychai wrote:As of now, it sure does look that way. Too bad it was realized at the expense of TJ's stellar play. It's tough to figure out what's going on in BC's mind right now with all of this.

Nice avatar.. :rofl:

Mascot · Post #4 » by **Mascot** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:36 pm

TJ vs Jose IBTL

Boogie-Boogz · Post #5 » by **Boogie-Boogz** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:45 pm

KOSTA YOU TRAITOR!!!I THOUGHT YOU HAD FORDS BACK :nonono:

Seriously though, when people said Calderons better than Ford in the past all I could do is :noway:

But even though I do feel Ford is the better player I understand why people prefer Caldy to TJ. Me personally I think Ford is the PG we need he can be the second guy get Bosh in good positions easy points off the break. Overall its ridiculouse how people talk highly of Calderon while ridiculing Ford.

Theta64 · Post #6 » by **Theta64** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:56 pm

Can we all just give TJ a chance to return and see how he plays before we act like Calderon is the second coming of Nash. I have a feeling the Ford will be playing better than he was before when he returns.

raptorsfan1985 · Post #7 » by **raptorsfan1985** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:01 pm

Post #8 » by **Shaazzam** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:01 pm

If he improves his defence, possibly.

But as of now it's atrocious. He can't contain anyone. If we get an evil shot blocker in there sure, but he gets exposed by any guard with any sort of quicks. And before the inevitable Nash comparison comes up, IMO Nash is an infinitely better team defender than Jose is.

J Dilla · Post #9 » by **J Dilla** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:04 pm

Am I the only non Calderon hating TJ supporter in here?

Seriously we can't come to conclusions about TJ=Nash, Jose=Stockton.
If TJ=Nash and Jose = Stockton, what the hell are Deron and Paul equal to?

24-20 isnt very special. Look at CP3, NO is 1st in their conference because of his stellar play.

Kosta · Post #10 » by **Kosta** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:07 pm

hump43 wrote:Am I the only non Calderon hating TJ supporter in here?

Seriously we can't come to conclusions about TJ=Nash, Jose=Stockton.
If TJ=Nash and Jose = Stockton, what the hell are Deron and Paul equal to?

24-20 isnt very special. Look at CP3, NO is 1st in their conference because of his stellar play.

N.O also has a great team built around him right now, they have the defense, rebounding and shooting. Chandler, West and Stojakovic.

If we had Tyson Chandler @ C...

raptorsfan1985 · Post #11 » by **raptorsfan1985** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:08 pm

Im sorry but an "Allstar" PG would have taken over last nights game during the third and fourth quarter. Take more shots, create, drive and kick (done once way too late), and defend your man. I remember people are comparing this guy to CP3 and Nash. LMAO

Kosta · Post #12 » by **Kosta** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:12 pm

young-skipp wrote:KOSTA YOU TRADER!!!I THOUGHT YOU HAD FORDS BACK

Seriously though, when people said Calderons better than Ford in the past all I could do is But even though I do feel Ford is the better player I understand why people prefer Caldy to TJ. Me personally I think Ford is the PG we need he can be the second guy get Bosh in good positions easy points off the break. Overall its ridiculouse how people talk highly of Calderon while ridiculing Ford.

No, no. No traitor, no traitor. I'm just seeing a 26 year old player transforming into a great point guard. He's dominating the game offensively night in and night out and he continues to get better. I know people like to harp on his defense, but I think its actually a little underrated. The last time I remember him getting seriously abused was the last time we faced Detroit, and a lot of people get abused by Chauncey Billups. He obviously needs to improve keeping his man in front of him, but he's getting better. We can't undervalue that he's been playing 40 + minutes a night for a while now because we have nobody to back him up.

AfricanSensation · Post #13 » by **AfricanSensation** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:13 pm

No Bosh, one of the PGs and a 3d star is the future. I don't care if we keep Jose or TJ, all I want is a 3rd star. Jose and Bosh are great right now, still are they better than Deron and Boozer, Paul and West, Parker and Duncan, Nash and Amare? Nope

And all these duo have a much better 3rd option than we have. Look at the Spurs losing to Seattle with Parker out or losing to us with manu out. The thing is without Manu the Spurs are a 45-47 team just like us, no matter how great Duncan is or their D or Popovitch as a coach, if they had a big 2 they would at best be a 50 win team waiting for a 1st or 2nd round playoff exit.

We should all be on our knees praying that TJ comes back 100% playing like a top 5 PG again so that we can deal either him or Jose by next year deadline for a legitimate 3rd star.

Depth is overated, you can get a fino, Moon, Garbo or Pono whenever you want with the MLE, and decent backup PGs are out there. We need a 3d star. That should be the future...

ShaqSlamsU · Post #14 » by **ShaqSlamsU** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:15 pm

We missed Ford last night, if he was in the game we'd have won !

I don't think we need super star sissy type players on this team,
this is all about teamwork and the best team with the best players usually wins...

Raptors90102 · Post #15 » by **Raptors90102** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:24 pm

ShaqSlamsU wrote:We missed Ford last night, if he was in the game we'd have won !

I don't think we need super star sissy type players on this team,
this is all about teamwork and the best team with the best players usually wins...

Yeah you're right, if we had TJ last night, he wouldn't have allowed those 19 offensive rebounds and boxed out the likes of McGuire, Blatche and Jamison, right?

MEDIC · Post #16 » by **MEDIC** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:24 pm

young-skipp wrote:KOSTA YOU TRADER!!!I THOUGHT YOU HAD FORDS BACK

Seriously though, when people said Calderons better than Ford in the past all I could do is But even though I do feel Ford is the better player I understand why people prefer Caldy to TJ. Me personally I think Ford is the PG we need he can be the second guy get Bosh in good positions easy points off the break. Overall its ridiculouse how people talk highly of Calderon while ridiculing Ford.

Nobody is ridiculing Ford. I think most people on this board appreciate the types of things that Ford brings to the table, especially his scoring. I think he is extremely skilled player and a good point guard. To run a team, you don't necesarily need a top notch athlete (ie. Magic, Nash, Mark Jackson, Stockton, etc ). You need someone who is in control, can make great decisions and can score when "needed".

Personally, I think Ford would be a great 6th man. With him coming off the bench and changing things up speed wise, it would really throw the other team off and cause them to make adjustments. He could add some quick scoring power, while still adequately run the team.

Calderon, on the other hand is the type of player that can take you to a championship. He has already is won in large scale events. You can see it in his demeanor on the court. You can trust the decisions that he is going to make. His energy helps make the players around him better. He IS that type of player. Bottom line, he is a great at one thing....playing the poing guard position. There is no question as to wether he is a one or a two, or a two trapped in a one's body. He is a great point guard, that's it. All of the great point guards seem to come from this mold. You can't picture them playing any other position..........regardless of size. Their focus on running a team......as opposed to 70% scoring( Iverson, Francis, etc.).

I think we have the point guard to take us deep into the playoffs. We have a big man that can also do the same. All we need now is to surround them with legitimate 2nd and 3rd scoring threats. Luckily for Colangelo, he has quite a few pieces that he can work with this summer......

Post #17 » by **Yuri Vaultin** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:31 pm

Shaazzam wrote: And before the inevitable Nash comparison comes up, IMO Nash is an infinitely better team defender than Jose is.

Nash was not always a good help defender though was he? I thought it was something that he worked on very hard as Nash's defensive deficiencies have always been the one thing his detractors have touted as woefully bad.

Post #18 » by **Shaazzam** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:41 pm

Yuri Vaultin wrote:
Nash was not always a good help defender though was he? I thought it was something that he worked on very hard as Nash's defensive deficiencies have always been the one thing his detractors have touted as woefully bad.

Hey, if Jose can continue to improve on different facets, and he has improved a tonne since he came in the L, my opinion will change. I hope he proves me wrong and I hope we would get the talent around Jose to let him do what he does best, because then I won't care about the things he doesn't do as well.

But right now I've only got that sort of looking into the future and excusing the present for one dude. :wink:

Post #19 » by **Yuri Vaultin** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:52 pm

One can not even begin to comprehend the effectiveness of Jose's "magic defensive clap" - it's way more effective than Garbo's "infectuous burning clap"

:wink:

Tha Cynic · Post #20 » by **Tha Cynic** » Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:54 pm

How about we give TJ the chance to play for us before we make these sudden decisions before he's even had the chance to run this team as a true starter. He's put up ridiculous numbers with Jose out. Right now a big problem with this team is defending dribble penetration, and Jose is the biggest reason for that. If teams do what Washington did last night in OT consistently, the Raptors' defense can be beat pretty easily.