The Finals and Workouts, yet again!

Today The Raptors held Pre-Draft Workouts. The players who worked out were:

Ty Lawson - Guard - 6′0 - UNC

Grievis Vasquez - Guard - 6′6 - Maryland

Derrick Brown - Forward - 6′8 - Xavier

Austin Daye - Forward - 6′11 - Gonzaga

James Johnson - Forward - 6′9 - Wake Forest

Earl Clark - Forward - 6′9 - Louisville

The videos can be found at RAPTORS.COM.

Grievis Vasquez didn’t say anything other then the idea of returning to school, If he felt he wouldn’t be drafted to the right team. Other words, he doesn’t want to play to the Raps.

 

 

You’ve got to love Earl Clark:

“I don’t know hot I fit here [Toronto], but I would love to come here and play with those guys. And learn from the Veterans. You know we’ll see what happens”

I laughed when I heard this. I was trying to figure out what veteran he was talking about. If I searched, I’d probably find out that he’s said this to every team. On the plus side, He’s very adorable.

Ty Lawson’s entire Interview (On Raptors.com) is about Mock Drafts. Him and I agree that they are very opinionated and wrong 20% of the time! A plus, Boogie likes him. Speaking of which….

Give the man a jersey!

Having him back on the team brings back so much memories. I’m young so I grew up watching him, JYD and Vince. Plus, he’s still young and that will help him connect with the players. Maybe he could teach Roko something…

Ryan McNeill from Hoops Addict, had Exclusive interviews with the other prospects that were not interviewed by RaptorsTV and other media members. Derrick Brown. James Johnson who intrigues me. He talks about the ‘mental toughness’ he has. Austin Daye looks younger than me. Best part, When Ryan asks him about Mock Drafts and Chad Ford. The boys is fully rolling his eyes! In case you didn’t know, he’s only testing the waters…

The Finals

I’m sure, if you follow me on Twitter, you know I’m an Orlando Magic bandwagon jumper. (I jumped on when Philly didn’t beat them) So even though they were down 2-0 to Kobe and his minions, I still had faith in them. SO it did not surprise me when they won last night. What did surprise me, is how well they shot throughout the entire game but only won by 4!

You have to thank Kobe for missing the free throws and leaving his clutch in his car (I was going to say ‘in bed with his wife’) because if he hit those shots I would be writing about my secret love for the Lakers. Which I’m not ready to admit it yet…

Another thing you might know from Twitter. I love Courtney Lee!! So here’s a something sweet:

If you notice anything incorrect please feel free comment and let me know. I edit this myself and there might be things I miss. Thank you

Assistant Coaches, Workouts, Finals, etc

"Toronto being right over the border of where I'm from, Niagara Falls, I'm basically Canadian so it would be nice to come here." Jonny Flynn

The Toronto Raptors (finally) announced they have hired Marc Iavaroni and Alex English as assistant coaches. The pair has a combined 42 years of experience coaching and playing in the NBA. They will support Jay Triano, who signed a three-year contract as head coach May 11. Per team policy, financial terms were not announced. (RAPTORS.COM)

Our wonderful (cough) Doug Smith has been saying this for awhile and now it has finally happened. So this isn’t surprising, if you are surprised, shoot yourself! I’m kidding… Now were waiting to hear the same thing for Alvin Williams.

Now normally at this point, I’m supposed to tell you if this is a good choice or not… um, no that’s my forte… But that is! LOL. Sorry, but I can’t judge that and I’m not going to speculate, you can find that here! When they comment on it…

Next. Workouts. Michael Grange told us to keep an eye on who was working out today. Only ones interesting were Jonny Flynn, Jrue (not Jrew) Holiday and Chase Budinger. Flynn and Holiday spoke to the media, about going up against each other. Jonny Flynn actually knows our starting line-up. Don’t worry I’m still on a DeMar DeRozan watch. Even though he hasn’t worked out for us….

I guess I should mention that Chris Bosh has decided not to sign an extension. It’s ok that just means he’ll like its his contract year next year, right? This isn’t news play  people. He will be here next year unless the Lakers and Cavs make a three team deal with us. You get my point. We’ll worry about 2010 next year, for now its about this season coming up.

Now for yesterday. Lebron James has finally gotten fined for ignoring his media obligations. And the Magic lost game 1 of the Finals. I still believe they have a chance in the series. I stopped watching the game in 3rd quarter when it was evident the Magic were not going to make a run. There is no way Dwight only hits ONE shot or they shoot badly like that again. Same with Andrew Bynum, he had too good of a start. Though this might be his series to get going…

The whole JVG thing is stupid. I think he would act the same way for any team. People were just listening to him more because his brother is coaching one of the teams. Otherwise I didn’t think he was bias or a homer like Doug Collins. YES I said it! Anyways, Sorry for the late post been very busy.

If you notice anything incorrect please feel free comment and let me know. I edit this myself and there might be things I miss. Thank you

The finals are here and I have my predictions!!

First, Chris Bosh finally broke out the Big announcement. He is signing a deal with…. Warner Music Canada to produce a unique DVD and CD to be released in the fall of 2009. Chris also announced that he has become the first athlete in the world to launch his own application for iPhone and iPod. Exciting isn’t it? Didn’t think so.

On to the more interesting stuff. The finals will start this Thursday June 4th. After finishing off the Cavs in gorgeous fashion, The Magic are making only their 2nd finals trip in the past 25 years. The Lakers, However, are no strangers to the finals, and are looking to do what they failed to do last year. It is clear that the Lakers are the heavy favourites, but the Magic have just proved anything is possible. It also helps that the Magic swept the Lakers in the regular season and are extremely confident right now

Now the last time I made predictions I went 8/12. This Time I’m predicting the Magic win this in 7. I’m 0-3 in the last 3 years for my finals pick, so I think I just jinxed the Magic.BUT  I believe the Magic have a chance to upset again, so I will stick with them.

Just one more thing, The Nike Puppet ads were good, but they, and everybody else, jinxed suggested a Laker/Cav, I mean, Kobe/Lebron final. I‘m just happy that did not happen, because just like the Denver Nuggets, The Magic had just as much right as The Lakers and The Cavs to be in the final. Unfortunately the Nuggets gave up in game 6 after they played so well to get themselves to Conference Finals.

SO two things everybody learned (Unless you honestly never knew before) in the Conference Finals:

1. The game is a TEAM game. One can show flashes of carrying a team, but in the end, it will not work. Even children know going 5 against 1 is a big disadvantage. And It sucks even more when you think you have that TEAM but they don’t show up when it matters the most. Lebron is ONE of the best players in the game today, but he CANNOT carry a team. Ignore game 2 and game 5, because that wont happen all the time.
2. The game is about MATCHUPS. case #1: Rashard Lewis, a crafty PF, against the likes of Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas. Lewis has been a matchup nightmare to most teams in the league. A big part of his game is the 3 ball. Something he shoots pretty well. When a big comes out to guard him he fakes them out or beats them off the dribble, If the 3 is NOT available. Most bigs can’t keep up with that. case #2: Pau Gasol (another crafty big) owned the Nuggets bigs, when his teammate decided to throw him the ball. He kept the ball high, crashed the boards and never shied away from contact (can’t believe I just said that). Trevor Ariza, Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu were others or caused their opponents fits

TSN, ABC, and NBATV will be covering the Finals. Cross our fingers for a seven game series.

SO LETS GO MAGIC!!

Toronto Raptors 89 Los Angeles Lakers 112

32-13 in the 4th quarter is what won that game. Well not only that, but we were in the game for the first 3 quarters. In a sick way I enjoyed that game last night. Underneath some Raptors love and Canadian pride there is a soft spot for the Los Angeles Lakers. So watching them have their way with us, isn't too hard. Its become expected now, ever since that day.

SWEET, eh? Anyways I watched the Game on the P2P site, only to find out that they aired it on RaptorsTV. My poor Laptop. So I said some things yesterday about some players, and they must of read what I said. First, Mr. Parker. Love that guy, really do. He goes 6-7 in 17 mins. Nothing else though. But that didn't stop The Commentators from gushing on him. Actually they wouldn't stop going on about J.O and Bosh. Is that all our team is about? Actually yah.

Hassan Adams is a smart man. Make evey think he's worthless, but then comes and scores 14 points in 22 minutes. But this is Preseason, he'll jus revert back to his old self on tuesday.

Some Mentionable stats:

• The lakers got 26 points off our 18 turnovers
• The lakers had 14 steals!!
• Surprisingly 12 Offensive Rebounds, but only 35 rebounds in total compared to the Lakers 50
• we shot 42.1% from the field, 45.5% behind the arc and a measly 60% at the line

I have to mention that at some points the we played some good defense but the Lakers would get some ridicuulous shot in, and that would hide the good defense we were playing for 20 before that. I thought the starters wouldn't play more then 20 mintues, but I'm not a coach and I don't know what best for these guys, so BOsh ended up playing 34 on the second night of a back-to-back, in the preseason.

The Section for Our Swingmen
Only AP showed up for work. Even thought it was for 17 minutes. Joey had one of his 'meh' games. Atleast he went to the line. Jamario, the man who is 'fighting' for his starting spot, went 0-8, in 14 mintues of nothingness. Grabbed 4 boards. Only shots JK made were from behind the arc. The commentators had fun making jokes about his one talent. Which made me twitch. When he was at the line they suggested he take his freethrow shots from the 3-point line. So Roko Ukic is Shooting Guard now (says ESPN), But i got a specialplace for him. Hassan was the only bright spot.

The Section for the battle of the PGs (Roko vs Willie)
2 minutes to 20 minutes is all I need to say. Though Roko impress much in 20 minutes. I think he could done better, maybe Kobe scared him.

Last thought
We weill never beat the Lakers this year =]

~will add pictures later

Toronto Raptors at L.A. Lakers 10:30 EST

It is the time we've all been waiting for. The Shoot-out finals!! Raptors fans, be sure to wear your red and cheer your team on!!! Oh, wait. It's still preseason? I forgot for a second there. Today's game will be like yesterdays, no local TV or Radio. I will check again if there is a change. I watched the Lakers game last night, and FC could have one that. Lots of turnovers from the Lakers helped bring the Barca back in the game. Maybe they will do it again tonight and we might actually win.

I would be surprised if our starters play more than 20 minutes. Same with the Lakers. Back-to-back in the preseason is just stupid. We could win this game if Hassan Adams drops 81 points. Seriously though, that guy is hard to watch. What was Bryan thinking. Let me just get this off my chest. HE SUCKS!! Maybe its just preseason and he hasn't gotten his rhythm of flow, but I cringe when I hear him subbing in. Poor kid, when the fans get a piece of him their gonna eat him alive, unless he becomes a 'gangsta'. Then maybe they'll love him.

Back to the 'game'. Couldn't find any highlights of lastnights game, shows you how unimportant it was. Tonight however, there will be. I just checked (while writing this) and the game will be on FS (maybe Fox Sports) West HD and AM 570. Should be able get highlights, or see it on the internet, if you search. But I will be back later tonight or in the morning with a recap.

Keys to winning:

• No unforced turnovers
• Defense
• Rebounding
• Going to the line
• Quick start
• Bench
  
• AND OFFENSE DAMNIT
• Oh yah, and Maybe AP, and Jamario Moon should show up to work, and play like they are getting paid.
  

I think the Lakers might take this one. With Bynum and Gasol down low. Kobe might kill us in the 12 minutes he plays. Thats all for now.

Just know I'm trying to keep this going till I get some readers. Feels like I'm talking to myself right now =]

Toronto Raptors 93 Los Angeles Clippers 89

I was going to start this article off by talking about the last 2 minutes of the game. About when Hassan Adams entered the game, but we won, why complain. So I couldn't watch or hear the game to see how we did so I watched the ESPN Gamecast. The Gamecast thing is very creative with the little animations and such. You have to have patience though. I'm going to totally base this recap on stats, which doesn't always help.

First I clap my hands for J.O. He went 7/15 and it all came from the first three quarters. He went to the line 6 times and made all of them and finished the game with 20 points, nine rebounds, 4 offensive. I should also add 5 BLOCKS!! That is a pretty good stat line. Chris has his share too, finishing with a double-double 26 points, 11 rebounds. AND he went to the line nine times. So our twin towers we're doing their 'thang'. Which is probably why we won. Our bench guys showed up to work for a bit. No Il Ravioli, Leg Contusion, which sucks. And we didn't get to see the Clippers newbies (OK veterans) Davis and Camby. Some mentionable stats:

• 7 turnovers!!
• Went to the free throw line 33 times
• Our 3 PGs combined for 13 assists out of 18, with only 3 turnovers. Good Ratio
• Ukic played more minutes than Solomon
• But than Hassan Adams got floor time. He went 0 for2, no free throws...
  
• Humphries did his mediocre thing 12 points, 5 rebounds
  

Now for the section called Swingmen.
All four men, who shall remain nameless because they know they are, combined for 6-26 from the field, 3-9 from behind the arc, 11 rebounds, 19 points and a full 48 mins of absence. I am soooo disgusted. One was playing like an old man with weak legs, Another was playing like a one trick pony who kept going for the 3, even though he was missing, another was having one of his USUAL bad days and the other, well, he just wasn't competing. I hope this isn't how we will be all season, Cause that would just be a waste of time. Most teams' star player is a swingman so if that is our weakness its going to be looong year.

As a team we shot bad, but the 20 points off of 13 Clipper TO, and the 27 points we got from the charity line is, in the end, what saved us from another lost. 38.8% isn't going win games especially if your opponent is shooting a nice 44.4%. So we owe this one to our bigs. Because we won this game, we will be facing either FC Barcelona at 7:30 or Kobe and Crew at 10:30. Oh the Joy! These games wont be on TV either. Hopefully LA Radio, or TV. But I doubt it. SO I will See ya'll tomorrow

Some more info on Tonight

They how tonight works is, if the Raptors win tonight, they will face either the Lakers of FC Barcelona. That depends on who wins their game at 10:30 EST. So its like a mini tournament with no prize. So Recap:

Toronto Raptors at LA Clippers 7:30 EST and FC Barcelona at LA Lakers 10:30. Winners of both will face each other on Sunday. It might be at the at Staples Center too. Not so sure.