GT: Jan 30th Bobcats @ Spurs 8:30pm

[Diop]

Alley-oop layup by Aron Baynes. Assist: Patrick Mills

[thruthefire]

Biz with the worst pass of the season.

[fatlever]

sessions has obviously reached that "**** it" in the season where he realizes the rest of the team sucks and cant score so he makes no attempt to look for anyone other than kemba.

we should keep 2 players back on defense at all times and let kemba, sessions and biz play 3vs5 on offense. biz is only there to set picks.

[catch20two]

And he's scored 20. Hey, you wanted Rudy Gay so badly, Ramon's giving him to you...

I'd rather have the real version. He's 6 inches taller.

...and much more expensive.

...and he'll be in the playoffs next season while we'll still be at the bottom of standings, waiting on the Summer of 2014 to figure out which project we're going to draft next.

[fatlever]

Anyone noticed the solid play of our former Bobcat Emeka Okafor as of late?????

He's having a revival. He needs to come back and teach Biyombo something.

i was just about to post something about okafor. hats off to him.

[BlackOutBuzz]

I'd rather have the real version. He's 6 inches taller.

...and much more expensive.

...and he'll be in the playoffs next season while we'll still be at the bottom of standings, waiting on the Summer of 2014 to figure out which project we're going to draft next.

I don't disagree with you, but I'd rather be at the bottom of the standings than be in Toronto's current situation.

[debo23]

Outside of taylor & kemba, we've really **** up these past two drafts... this team is just fugly to watch now

[catch20two]

...and much more expensive.

...and he'll be in the playoffs next season while we'll still be at the bottom of standings, waiting on the Summer of 2014 to figure out which project we're going to draft next.

I don't disagree with you, but I'd rather be at the bottom of the standings than be in Toronto's current situation.

The only part about their situation that I wouldn't want to be in is DeRozan's contract...but whether they are paying the luxury tax or not they'll still have more talent on their roster than us and will likely still be bringing in more revenue. If Jordan wasn't such a competitor he would just sell this team off and make a profit.

[thruthefire]

Sessions and Gay have been in the playoffs the same number of times. But unlike Gay, Sessions has actually managed to win a series.

[catch20two]

Sessions and Gay have been in the playoffs the same number of times. But unlike Gay, Sessions has actually managed to win a series.

That is a very irrational statement.

[thruthefire]

...so is taking a comment about scoring efficiency and turning it into a discussion on height and who will make the playoffs in 2014.

[catch20two]

...so is taking a comment about scoring efficiency and turning it into a discussion on height and who will make the playoffs in 2014.

No, because if Sessions was 6'9", could rebound, and defend the SF position then he would be perfect because we wouldn't be playing small ball. My problem with Sessions shooting close to 20 shots is because he's the backup PG. Our starting PG is a better scorer, couldn't, and shouldn't on most nights get up that many shots.

[BlackOutBuzz]

...and he'll be in the playoffs next season while we'll still be at the bottom of standings, waiting on the Summer of 2014 to figure out which project we're going to draft next.

I don't disagree with you, but I'd rather be at the bottom of the standings than be in Toronto's current situation.

The only part about their situation that I wouldn't want to be in is DeRozan's contract...but whether they are paying the luxury tax or not they'll still have more talent on their roster than us and will likely still be bringing in more revenue. If Jordan wasn't such a competitor he would just sell this team off and make a profit.

And Bargnani's contract, and Gay's contract...heck they're even overpaying Fields and Kleiza. Revenue is of little importance to me - as a fan - though cap space is. Regardless, NBA teams are showing growth across the board, so I'm not too concerned about the financial side.

The Raptors may have bought themselves a 7 seed and an early playoff exit, congrats to them, we all know how that feels. I'd rather shoot for long-term viability and you don't get that with Gay and DeRozan. Don't confuse me with someone who doesn't want to spend at all, but I'd rather that money go to a proven big than a 1-dimensional player making all-pro money when he's never even been to an all-star game.

And Toronto is always going to bring in more revenue, they're one of the biggest markets in the league.

[SWedd523]

...and he'll be in the playoffs next season while we'll still be at the bottom of standings, waiting on the Summer of 2014 to figure out which project we're going to draft next.

...for about a week, as they get swept by the Heat/Bulls/Nets/Knicks

[catch20two]

...and he'll be in the playoffs next season while we'll still be at the bottom of standings, waiting on the Summer of 2014 to figure out which project we're going to draft next.

...for about a week, as they get swept by the Heat/Bulls/Nets/Knicks

I have to ask. When and if we ever make the playoffs again 3-4 years from now are we supposed to make it out of the 1st round? because if we're supposed to be following the OKC model down to a T then we are expected to get beat as a 8th seed by the eventual champions like they did back in 2010 during their 1st playoff appearance with Durant and Westbrook.

[BlackOutBuzz]

^That Thunder team was clearly on the upswing though with young, improving players. Next year's Raptor team is what, a 2nd round team at best? And they're main pieces have pretty much peaked (Ross may be the SG of the future but for now he's stuck behind Gay and DeRozan), this Toronto team's ceiling is much lower than that OKC group.

[catch20two]

^That Thunder team was clearly on the upswing though with young, improving players. Next year's Raptor team is what, a 2nd round team at best? And they're main pieces have pretty much peaked (Ross may be the SG of the future but for now he's stuck behind Gay and DeRozan), this Toronto team's ceiling is much lower than that OKC group.

So...will DeRozan, Valancunias, and Ross not be considered young and improving players? As far as OKC go, there's no guarantee that they'll ever win a championship. I personally don't even think the Thunder will make the Finals this season.

[BlackOutBuzz]

I think we've pretty much seen the best of DeRozan, he might marginally improve but I think what you see is pretty much what you get. I mentioned Ross, but he's now buried behind Gay and DeRozan. Val has potential but he's not the reason they'll make the playoffs next year. Durant, Westbrook, and Harden were all well-before their primes when they first brought that team into the playoffs, and they were the core. But with the Raptors it's almost two different groups: the current prime players like Gay who can push them to the playoffs, and the young guys like Ross and Val that'll be trying to sustain that.

I think they're best move now is to get whatever they can for DeRozan and Bargs, even if they don't get market value in return. I think they can make a sustainable team out of this group, but those two contracts will handicap further growth. They'll make a run next year, but they should continue to suck this year IMO, grab a quality big to pair with Val. and make a run next season.

PG: Lowry, Lucas
SG: Ross, Anderson
SF: Gay, Fields
PF: (Bennett), Johnson
C: Val, Gray

EDIT: Completely forgot OKC has Toronto's top 3, 15-30 protected pick this year; all the more reason to tank it!

[LamarMatic7]

To my surprise, I got through the whole game. Some random thoughts:

I loved how Biz scared Parker on that fast break and forced him to palm the ball. Props for MKG for diving for the lose ball twice during this game.

The SAS broadcast crew really got on my nerves. They screamed out "Baynes" every two minutes with excessive enthusiasm. Like Slam said - he's 6'10, has a pulse and is playing against us. He had something along the lines of 5pts/9rebs/1dunk/1blk and Sean Elliott acted like he's the next Tim Duncan. Moreover, they show way too less replays of the opposing team. That's what I enjoy about our broadcasts, we don't shy away from giving props to the opponents.

Our pick-n-roll sets looked so lowly against the team that utilizes them so good. I don't know why the hell do we run so many plays where bigs have to hand off the ball to the guard on the perimeter. There were times when we spent 12 seconds just passing the ball to Biz, who then passed to Adrien and who then waits for the point guard to do a dribble hand-off which turns in to a PnR. If it is unsuccessful (and it is very often, since our roll guys aren't really threats), there's basically 8 seconds left for Kemba and Sessions to create something out of nothing. Hold that thought...
Meanwhile, the Spurs know exactly what they are doing. Splitter and Baynes were ready to set a fast pick the moment Parker reached the three point line, if it doesn't work TP has probably passed the ball to a 2-guard who has the center already in position to play another pick-n-roll. If needed, the Spurs are able to run three, four pick-n-rolls during one possession and they will end up finding a good open shoot after penetration.

Back to Sessions. With our guys not being the best threat from the three point line and the guards frequently having to make something out of nothing with few seconds left on the shot clock, I don't particularly blame him for attempting so many shots. Our offense is sluggish and at times we don't know what we're doing out there. Might as well let Ramon force the issue and drive to the basket. He does suck the defense in the paint.

I sometimes find myself wondering why Gordon is playing for us, the lowly, Bobcats, when his instant offense should belong on a playoff team. Then he reminds me why with one of these halfs of basketball, like the first one last night. When his difficult shots aren't falling, you're basically playing a worthless guard and every third of your offensive possessions will end with a horrible shot.

We as a basketball fan community really do take Bavetta for granted. Seriously... He's 70+ and still reffing games. How do we not bitch about this more often? How can you ref such a fast game at the age of 73!? I'm not saying that he had a bad game or anything, but still....

I had to laugh out loud at the possession where the Spurs were "too open" and couldn't decide who should take the open three since nobody had a defender on him, even though every Bobcat was back on defense. Which other team could actually be so bad on defense that it kind of disturbed the offense!?

Ginobili might have faded as far as his athletic abilities go, but he still knows where to be and how to play this game.

The Spurs played at about 70% and it seemed like they could go on a 8-0 run whenever they pleased to. I don't know why I bet on us winning the spread (+15).

Our front-court is so awful that a D-League pick-up is pretty much our best big on the team. He's taken away all minutes from Tyrus and Warrick, two established NBA power forwards. Kudos to Rocky!

Completely OT: the TBJ guys were talking about the best NBA players to follow on twitter. I was surprised to hear Tas Melas say that UPS is one. He called him Derrick White or something before correcting himself, but still...

[fatlever]

great stuff lamar. i always love reading your impressions of the games. you make some really good points about the differences between our pick and roll vs the spurs. so much wasted time on our side of the ball. its been like this for two seasons with different coaches. i'd love to go back in time in an alternate universe and see pops coach this team for the year, so we could know how much of our sucking was in part to coaching. 0%? 10%? 25%?