Thursday, November 25, 2010

Raptors confidence continues to grow with latest win

It’s safe to say that nobody outside of the Raptors' locker room predicted this team would win four straight games at any point this season.  After all, the club is supposed to be in rebuilding mode. 

Yet once the horn sounded on Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre, the Raptors had won their fourth straight game, a 106-90 thrashing of the Philadelphia 76ers. 

Right from opening tip-off, there was a certain positive aura surrounding the Raptors. Fans in the building were eagerly anticipating the debuts of guard Jerryd Bayless and forward Peja Stojakovic, who came over from New Orleans on the weekend, and Toronto could smell blood, a result of the Sixers lowly 3-11 record.

And like they’ve been doing lately, the Raptors took control of the game by getting their big man Andrea Bargnani involved early, allowing him to get a feel for the game.  He didn't disappoint, showcasing the fluidity and touch that has become his trademark early in the 2010-11 season, one in which he’s averaging a career-high in points scored per game at 21.7. 

Without the services of Elton Brand due to a suspension, the Sixers stuck lanky-forward Thaddeus Young on the Raptors center.  Early on, Bargnani backed him down and used his newly-developed arsenal of post moves to score.  Then when Young sagged off, the seven-footer showed his knack for knocking down the long-range jumpers.  Bargnani used this inside-outside combination to terrorize the Sixers’ defense for 24 points on 8/16 shooting from the field.  

It’s becoming clear that Bargani is getting more comfortable in his role as the go to guy. Getting him touches early on in ball games has been a key component in building his confidence and efficiency on the court this season. The Italian is finally exhibiting the maturation that Raptor's fans have been expecting for years, but perhaps could have only arisen after the departure of Chris Bosh.

Opening up space on the court has also helped Bargani find his stride, and the Raptors can thank forward Reggie Evans for this. His tough presence in the post and his super-human rebounding ability has helped Bargani play off the ball and establish an offensive rhythm. 

It’s Evans who’s also injecting the team with passion and swagger, two intangibles that have been lacking in Toronto. After the November 16th loss to the Washington Wizards, he spoke up to the media regarding his team’s lack of effort and poor attitude, and they responded with four impressive wins in a row.  

Evans came into Wednesday night's contest ranked fourth in the NBA in rebounding with 11.8 per-game.  |He pulled down ten rebounds in the first quarter alone, en route to a career-high 22 in the game.  He also chipped in with 12 points for his first double double of the season. While his offense won't be there on every night, the second chance opportunities that Reggie creates with his rebounding are invaluable.  The Raptors are no longer hesitant to take jump shots and they are letting them fly in the flow of the offense. If the shots don't drop, there is always the chance that Reggie will grab the offensive board and keep the possession going.

What about the new guys?  

Nobody really knew what to expect from the 22-year old Bayless, a shoot-first point guard who in his two previous stops in the NBA, hadn’t really been given a fair opportunity.  

Similarly, nobody knew what to expect from Stojakovic, one of the best three-point shooters in NBA history, but well past his prime. However, the questions surrounding the two newcomers did little to discourage them from contributing to the winning cause on Wednesday night.  

Bayless showed off his quickness, defensive tenacity and his smooth shooting stroke, while going a perfect 3-of-3 from behind the arc and finishing with 13 points in only 15 minutes of action. While Stojakovic dropped a quick 7 points in only six minutes of action.

Hopefully, as Bayless continues to get comfortable in head coach Jay triano’s offense, he will be given more minutes, and a clearer picture will develop of how he might fit into the Raptors long-term plans.

With regards to Peja Stojakovic's ability, if he remains with the Raptors for the rest of the season, he will be a valuable three-point threat. The Raptors are currently the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA and Stojakovic will help turn that around. He says he’s healthy and ready to go, and if he can prove to be consistent, might carve out a niche role with the club from behind the arc.

The current winning streak has been fun for Raptor fans, but it’s important to keep things in perspective.  The Raptors were picked by just about everybody to finish last in the Eastern Conference, if not the NBA.  Heck, they're even ranked last in the NBA 2K11 video game!

But there are certain positives that have emerged during this streak; positives that cannot be denied.  With every win, their confidence is getting stronger and their passion more evident.  If the recent roster moves can prove successful, it is not inconceivable that the 2010-2011 Raptors could surprise some people; that is if they haven't already.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Raptors deal throws more youth into the mix

News has broken this morning that the Toronto Raptors and New Orleans Hornets have agreed to a five-player deal that would see them send point guard Jarrett Jack, forward David Andersen and everyone's favourite benchwarmer Marcus Banks to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for one-time explosive sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic and young point guard Jerryd Bayless. 
Imagine yourself as the general manager of an NBA basketball team.  There are only 12 active players on your roster, many of whom are role players that, really, can be considered interchangeable with role players from another team.  One would hope then, that in any trade to be explored, you would desperately want to acquire the best player in the deal, or at the very least, the player with the most potential.  In this deal, that player is Jerryd Bayless.  By targeting Bayless, Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo is going after a 22-year old (11th overall in 2008) who hasn't really been given the chance to prove himself two seasons and 11 games into his NBA career.  With this deal, that is definitely about to change.

Bayless doesn't exactly fit the mold of today's "pass-first" point guard.  His first instinct is to shoot the ball, which doesn't seem to make him much different than Jarrett Jack.  He isn't the most efficient scorer either, a career 39.7% shooter from the field and 29.3% shooter from long range.  Those numbers aren't exactly encouraging for a shoot-first floor general.  However, Bayless has proved that he has the ability to fill it up when needed.  In only 17 mpg last season, he averaged 8.5 points.  Factor that with the 28 mpg he's likely to see with the Raptors, and Bayless should now average over 14 ppg.  All hypotheticals of course and there are a lot of other factors in play such as team chemistry, coaching, etc.  But 14 ppg from a 22 year old with unknown potential?  Sure beats 10 ppg from a 28-year old with a ceiling.

Jarrett Jack's shooting touch seems to have disappeared this season.  He is hitting just 39.3% of his field goals, including 17% of his threes for 10.8 ppg.  And as his shooting numbers have dropped, his assist average has fallen, albeit marginally, from 5.0 to 4.5 apg.

Bayless and Jack appear to be similar players.  But the main difference between the two is their age and potential.  While Bayless is 22 years of age and largely unproven, Jack is 28 and is in his sixth season in the league.  He'll provide his team on most nights with 10-12 ppg, 3-5 assists, and 3 boards.  What Jarrett Jack brings to the table is no longer a secret.  The Raptors will miss Jarrett Jack's veteran presence and leadership, but Bayless is an exciting young player that will be given every opportunity to succeed in Toronto.

The other parts of this deal are mostly money-related.  Peja Stojakovic and Marcus Banks' contracts are both expiring, but the Raptors seem to be getting the better of that trade off.  Peja's contract is worth almost $15 million dollars, while Marcus Banks contract sits at $4.7 million.  This affords the Raptors tons of salary cap space going into next season's draft and free agency period.  In terms of ability, Peja is one of the best three point shooters of our generation.  But now in his 13th season, he was buried on the bench in NO, playing only 15 minutes a night, and seems destined to come off the bench for the Raptors.

The only lasting concern about this deal is the reputation that GM Bryan Colangelo has for acquiring players and then flipping them to other teams.  Jermaine O'neal, Shawn Marion, Hedo Turkoglu, even Jarrett Jack and now David Andersen are part of a growing list of players whom Colangelo has signed as free agents, or traded for, only to let them walk or package them off in a deal less than two seasons later.  One has to wonder, are free agents going to want to play for a general manager who is notorious for signing players, letting them become comfortable in the city, and then sending them elsewhere?  It is a legitimate concern that, hopefully, future free agents don't pick up on.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Is cheering for losses 'morally justifiable'?

As the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors continue to struggle, therein lies a unique phenomenon; the different ways in which Toronto fans tend to react.  Supporters of the Maple Leafs cannot reach for the panic button quick enough, while Raptor fans have mostly reacted with indifference and apathy.  Why are Leaf fans stricken with incomprehensible anxieties, while Raptor fans are merely shrugging their shoulders and taking the 1-7 start for what it's worth?

Surely, it is not from a difference of expectations.  Any logical Leaf fan knows that the current roster is not going to cause serious damage.  And as for the Raptors, everybody (and I mean EVERYBODY) projected them to be this bad.  

So?  The difference in fan reaction stems from each team's prospects for the future. Once the Leafs finish near the bottom in the NHL standings, they will be handing the Boston Bruins another top first round pick.  That would likely render the Phil Kessel deal an absolute disaster.  For the Leafs, there is no saviour draft pick on the horizon.  What you see is what you get.  However, there is no doubt that the Raptors roster is going to look drastically different next year with the looming addition of a top draft pick in the 2011 NBA draft.  For the Raptors, unlike the Leafs, there is the opportunity for a quick fix.  Thus, failure by the Leafs will not be tolerated, but for the Raptors, losses seem to be manageable.

This begs the question.  Is it ever justifiable as a sports fan to cheer for your team to lose?  In the situation of the Raptors, it sure is.

As we have seen, Toronto is not a desirable playing destination among NBA stars.  Vince Carter came and went, ditto for Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu (not really a star, but still) left on bad terms.  After all that these athletes have said about the city, and their lack of understanding about how dynamic the city of Toronto really is, there are few options for the Raptors to improve.  It seems the only way is through the NBA draft.  And so while it can be considered offensive to the current players on the Raptors roster to cheer for losses, a true FAN will understand the dire situation that faces the franchise.  The only way for the Raptors to get better is for the losses to mount.  At least this way, the Raps can lock up a stud draft pick for two years and have the option in the third and fourth year to keep the player around.

This idea does not suggest that one should go to the Raptor home games and cheer against them.  That is crude and disrespectful to the players' whose job is still to try and win basketball games.  Simply be mindful of the fact that losses are the best way for the Toronto Raptors to improve and know that it is absolutely justifiable to let yourself be overcome with excitement if/when the Raptors finish with the worst record in the NBA.

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Bautista's Convincing Case for MVP

A funny thing happened in 2003.  For the first time, probably since the back to back world series championships in 1992 and 1993, fans of the Toronto Blue Jays had something, more importantly, someone to be proud of. That player was the ace of the Blue Jays staff, Roy “Doc” Halladay.  

Halladay was the face of the franchise.  A true class act that seemed to epitomize the Canadian way.  It was in 2003 that Halladay walked away with the American League Cy Young Award.  Seven years later, Blue Jays fans have plenty of reasons to get behind their new classy leader, Jose Bautista, as he vies for another major piece of individual hardware.  This time, the AL MVP award.

Blue Jays outfielder/third baseman Jose Bautista deserves to be American League MVP.  The true definition of the MVP award is surely open to interpretation.  Should it matter if the player comes from a playoff team?  Are there a certain number of wins that a team should attain in order for their best player to qualify for the award?  These are appropriate questions that, to this day, still have not been answered.  MVP’s are voted for based on the personal preferences of the media members who vote.  However, it seems that the most prudential way of selecting the winner of the award should come from identifying the player who best epitomizes “value” to his team.  After all, the award is named for the Most Valuable Player. Here’s another way of looking at it, if said player is removed from his teams’ lineup, will the void left be too gaping to fill?  And will it be greater than the void left by the other MVP candidates? Neither one of these definitions proves that the appearance of the team in the postseason should have any bearing on whether a player wins the award.  This does not always seem to be the case in the minds of the voters, but for all-intensive purposes, this article shall approach the MVP award in its true sense, that of value.  And if the discussion is who is the most valuable player in the league, that player is Jose Bautista.

Nobody picked the Toronto Blue Jays to be where they were this season.  In fact, most baseball pundits had the “Doc-less” Jays finishing well below the .500 mark.  But in 2010, the Blue Jays finished the season at 85-77.  Still in fourth place in the division, but substantially better than anybody could have imagined them being.  The Blue Jays themselves were a macrocosm of their leader, Jose Bautista.  Nobody picked Jose Bautista to be in the running for AL MVP.  Nobody even thought Jose Bautista would hit more than 20 homeruns. He was supposed to be a stop-gap measure on a rebuilding team. But consider the following numbers: .260 avg, 54 homeruns, 124 rbis, .378 OBP.  Like his team, Bautista’s numbers were an overwhelming surprise.  He deserves the majority of the credit for leading the Jays to what can be considered a successful season.

Aside from his major league leading homerun number, Bautista has shown significant abilities that his greatest competitors for MVP have not, and that's in the field.  This is not to say Josh Hamilton isn’t a great centre fielder.  Or Robinson Cano isn’t an above average second baseman.  But Bautista didn't just excel at one position.  He did it in right field and at third base. Bautista was so versatile that he showed up at the ballpark on any given day willing to play at either position Cito Gaston felt necessary. Bautista has a plus arm for both the outfield and third base.  He has good speed.  Lost among many MLB fans is the difference in arm angle that an outfielder uses versus that of an infielder.  An outfielder throws straight overhand, trying to generate as much power with the body.  However an infielder will use more of a three-quarters release in an attempt to be more accurate.  Therefore, playing these two positions, Bautista was forced to switch his arm angle all the time.  Bautista only committed four errors at third base all year. He had only six in the outfield.  By comparison, Josh Hamilton had eight in centre field and he missed the Rangers last 20 games.  Perhaps Bautista’s biggest competitor for MVP, Miguel Cabrera, made 13 errors in 147 games at first base!  And neither Hamilton nor Cabrera had to deal with the intricacies of switching between the infield and the outfield.

When thinking of reasons why Bautista should not win MVP, most people will point to his batting average.  Granted, Bautista’s average this season was not close to Hamilton’s or Cabrera’s.  Bautista’s finished at .260, while Hamilton’s was at a hefty .359 and Cabrera’s is at a cool .328.  But on base percentage should matter more than batting average.  The objective of baseball is to score as many runs as possible.  The more time a batter spends on base, the greater chance he will give his team to win the game.  And if one were to look at OBP instead of batting average, the numbers are much closer.  Cabrera finished at .420, Hamilton at .411 and Bautista at .378.  Not nearly as drastic as the batting average numbers.

Furthermore in his case for MVP, Jose developed into the leader of the Blue Jays.  On a team with a significant Latino core, Bautista was often the liaison between the coaching staff and the Latino players.  And as the statistical leader, Bautista easily engrained a penchant for heart, hustle and passion into the minds of his teammates.  'If Jose can hit that many homers, why can’t we?'  That seemed to be the silent motto of the Jays as they climbed toward the franchise record for homeruns in a season.  

Perhaps the greatest example of Jose’s leadership came in an August 24th game against the Yankees.  One at bat after Bautista took Yanks starter Ivan Nova deep, Nova threw at Bautista’s head causing him to duck for cover. Bautista, visibly angry, approached the mound and the benches cleared. But no punches were thrown.  Jose is too classy for that.  He waited until his next at-bat.  And then he did what he’s been doing all season.  Hit a homerun.  He stared at the pitching mound while trotting to first base, leaving a clear message to the Yankees and to the rest of major league baseball.  Jose Bautista and the Toronto Blue Jays will not be pushed around.  Not anymore.  That type of leadership is what should epitomize an MVP.

Bautista’s case for MVP, both statistically and in the dugout is compelling.  Statistically, Bautista finished the season leading the AL in homeruns by a ridiculous 15 long bombs.  Voters should look past his apparent deficiencies in the batting average department and give the man his due.  Emotionally, Bautista energized a city in need of a leader.  The city has been devoid of one since the aforementioned “Doc” Halladay.  And while the Blue Jays were not in the playoffs this season, Bautista bringing home the MVP hardware will definitely give Blue Jays fans something to cheer about.