Raptors Report Week 22: Jose Calderon on the Way Out?

This article is by Sachin Arora, who also is the main contributor of RaptorsCage.com, a new Raptors fan-blog.

Mike Cassese/REUTERS

The Raptors finally snapped their losing streak against the Orlando Magic, and Jarryd Bayless was one of the main reasons why.

Once again, Bayless has sparked a point guard controversy. For some reason, the young point guard only seems to play well when Jose Calderon is out of the line-up and Bayless is in the starting line-up.

The reason for this is probably because Bayless is very potent, but when he’s coming off the bench he feels urged to force his offense because he needs to earn his minutes. When he’s starting he plays much more relaxed, and is in much more control.

Raptors Report Week 21: Andrea Bargnani on the Trading Block?

Julian Wright was fantastic in college, but needs
to realize he's not 'the guy' for the Raptors.

This was arguably the worst week of the season for the Raptors, and many problems were risen in the locker room.

Julian Wright complained to Jay Triano when he was given playing time in the garbage minutes, and refused to enter the game. After the game Wright, or “Ju-Ju” as Reggie Evans would say, apologized and realized that his actions were wrong. The chemistry in the locker room still appears strong as the season comes to the end, and this will be a key to the teams success next season.

There has also been a report that the Raptors are now willing to trade Andrea Bargnani, and are looking to build the team around DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis. 

Bargnani apparently has very large market value, and if the Raptors can get a nice piece for him and pick of a true center, it could be time to part ways with Bargnani in the offseason.

Toronto Raptors Report Week 18: The Raps Pull a Dud on National TV

In perhaps one of the most anticipated games of the season, the Raptors couldn't pull out a win in London, England vs. the New Jersey Nets in the only two games nationally broadcasted for the Raptors.

Will Andrea Bargnani ever improve his rebound rate
to become a dependable 20-10 player?



This certainly won't help the American stereotype of the Raptors as a crappy, bottom feeding team who is in the same boat as the Cleveland Cavaliers. 
Another point I will bring up is Andrea Bargnani's rebounding issues. Bargnani was recently interviewed by an Italian television station and was asked about his rebounding woes. Guess what he said.

"I play basketball, not rebound-ball."

Wow. Great attitude, Andrea. That's certainly the way to improve your rebounding. Bargnani also went on about how he's sometimes lazy and focuses more on offense.

This isn't news to us as Raptor fans, but it's of even more significance now that the matter is coming from the horse's mouth.

NBA All Star Weekend: DeMar DeRozan Robbed Once Again of Dunk Contest Title

DeMar DeRozan tweeted "No more dunk contests for me unless it's in Toronto!" after last nights affairs and rightfully so. If I were DeMar and they asked me to dunk next year, I would hastily tell them off.

The dunk contest has become a popularity contest, and it served no justice for the raw talent of dunks that DeRozan performed at the Staples Center.

Blake Griffin and Javale McGee edged Serge Ibaka and DeMar DeRozan in the first round, and Griffin ended up beating McGee in the finals as you could have guessed.

Now, there are a few things I would like to address. For starters, there was no way Griffin deserved to be in that final. Now hey, I'm not jumping to any conclusions that the judges were bias or anything, but the fact that Griffin edged DeRozan by a mere one point puzzles me.

Now I won't lie, Griffin's first dunk was impressive and got the score that it deserved.

Raptors Report Week 15: Biggest Game of Season Coming Up For Raps

He's coming back to Toronto...

The Raptors had another losing week and the trend just seems to continue. Though there are many bright spots on the team, the Raps just don't play well enough when it counts.

Their inablilty to close out games is biting them, and if they want to compete, this is something that needs work.

On another note, Chris Bosh makes his return to Toronto this Wednesday after leaving for the Heat in the offseason, and the Raptors have had three days to prepare for this big game. This will definitely be a sell-out and is the most anticipated game of the Raptors' season.

Onto the report:

Record: 1-3

Performance on a scale of 1-10: 5

Here is a recap of the four games:

Raptors Report Week 14: Is Amir Johnson The Raptors Top Player?

The streak is over, and in this case, it's a good thing.

The Raps finally snapped their losing streak, which lasted a season long 13 games. Raptors fans everywhere struggled through this time period.

At least it's finally over.

I would like to take this time to bring up a case for Amir Johnson being the Raptors most complete player, offensively and defensively.

Over the past five games he's averaged roughly 18 points and 10 rebounds, which is more than solid stats for a guy who's not even close to 100% healthy.

He's easily the Raps most efficient player, and he shoots the 5th highest field-goal percentage in the league (for players who've played more than 40 games). Not bad for a guy who's been labeled with one of the worst contracts in the league.

While being an efficiency king, Amir has also been one of the Raptors best defenders and rebounders, and he's earning every penny of that contract.

On another note, the Raps gave the D-league's leading scorer Trey Johnson another ten-day contract.

Onto the report:

Record: 1-2

Performance on a scale of 1-10: 5.5

Here's a recap of the four games:

Raptors @ Pacers, L 93-104

Positives

For a team that was on an eight-man rotation, the effort wasn't bad. The Raps were down by a huge margin and battled back to make it a contest again, though it wasn't enough to secure the victory on the road. Amir Johnson was solid.

Negatives

For a team that was on a huge losing streak, the Raps sure didn't play like they wanted to snap it. They were down early and down big. That's not a recipe to win games, especially on the road. The Raps will have to do a better job on the road to win those games.

Raptors @ Hawks, L 87 - 100

Positives

The Raps hung around, but they never really had the Hawks worried. Amir Johnson was great.

Negatives

The Raps just didn't play good enough to win and it hurts. Joe Johnson exploded for a season high 37 points and this was just another bad road game. DeRozan and Bargnani continued to struggle.

Raptors vs T'Wolves, W 111-100

Positives

Whoo-hoo! The streak is over! The Raps finally won a game and got on track after a depressing stretch. DeRozan and Bargnani finally woke up, and Amir Johnson was great once again.

Negatives

The T'Wolves hung around for far too long, and that just can't happen.

Ask Sachin

Why do you think Sonny and DeMar cannot play together? Is it that there is competition between the two? - Kevin Ji

I don't know if it's a competition, or if their styles of play don't fit, but something is definitely up. DeRozan's numbers have taken a huge hit since Weems' return, and he's still been getting his minutes. Is he not getting the ball enough? Could be.

Regardless, if they can't play together, Weems needs to go.

Follow me on twitter for more exclusive Raptors articles and updates @Thesachman

BREAKING: Toronto Raptors' Linas Kleiza Out For The Year After Knee Surgery

Linas Kleiza is very unlikely to play
again this season

The Raps are going to lose their starting small forward for the rest of the season, and maybe more.

Linas Kleiza just underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee and is expected to be out for 8-12 months.

This is tough for Raptors fans, another injury, except thins one is going to be long term. 

Similar to Jorge Garbajosa in the sense that he was out for an extended period of time, it is unknown whether Kleiza will remain with the team.

Kleiza was expected to be the Raptors second scoring option this season, and many Raptors fans had high hopes for the 25 year old.

While his stats weren't sparkling, they were decent. He played in 39 games with 23 starts, averaging 11.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 26.5 minutes.

Sonny Weems is expected to start for the rest of the season, and Julian Wright will continue to 

Raptors Lose Again; Should Bryan Colangelo Be Extended?

Do you think Colangelo should be
offered an extension? Please comment below

The Toronto Raptors have lost a tenth consecutive game, and last night allowed Ersan Ilyasova, Corey Maggette, and Andrew Bogut to score on them at an outrageous pace as they lost to Milwaukee 116-110 in OT.

On Toronto's side of the ball, not a whole lot happened in they way of development. Sure, Amir Johnson had a good game (24-12) but DeMar DeRozan's shot was off as he went 5-14 and a total of 11 points. New acquisition Alexis Ajinca did well in his limited minutes (13), and Ed Davis managed nine boards in only 22 minutes.

But it's not all about counting stats. The fact is, Toronto can't defend anybody right now and haven't been able to for a few years now. The Raptors have enough offensive firepower to take down any team in the NBA, but their 105.1 PA isn't doing them any favours. As much as Andrei Bargnani deserves to start on most teams - and he certainly could be the Raptors starting PF when they're ready to contend, as much as Amir Johnson and Jose Calderon deserve prominent roles on any club, and DeMar DeRozan is a solid future piece, the truth is, these players can't be described as anything but sub-par on defense.

The Raptors have no inside defensive presence and frankly, a poor perimeter defense as well. There is no quick fix, the Raptors need to invest in players that are willing to go all-out on both ends of the court. Signing a Shane Battier-type player this offseason would be a good start, but Bryan Colangelo also needs to focus on guys that are more than just role-player pieces, perhaps a big-man that's comfortable in the key. Alexis Ajinca could fill that role eventually, as could Ed Davis potentially.

But will it be Bryan Colangelo? It is fairly well-known that his contract expires at the end of this year and Colangelo is reportedly looking for a 4-5 year contract offer.

And I think the Raptors should do what they can to extend him. Yes, he's made regrettable trades, notable the Jermaine O'Neal to Toronto trade, in which Roy Hibbert may end up being the best current piece in the whole deal. The Hedo Turkoglu signing also didn't work out, but hey, the Raptors did receive good pieces from Phoenix for Turkoglu, so we can call that a wash. Yes, he wasn't able to re-sign Chris Bosh... but would anybody have been able to pry Bosh from Miami - and is Bosh even worth a max contract anyway?

While Colangelo has yet to lead the Raptors to anything resembling a playoff run, he's done all a GM can do in his power to lead his team to a championship - it just hasn't worked out. However, this isn't to say that drastic measures mustn't be exercised. I believe that althoug it's awfully hard to measure how well NBA coaches do their job, I don't think Jay Triano should be a coach in this league. The Raptors have yet to live up to their full potential with Triano at coach, and the team does seem to lose a curious amount of close games.

As well, Colangelo must do everything in his power to either sign or trade for an impact player this offseason. The team is devoid of a face, and Bargnani & Calderon don't cut it. No team will win a title (or make the second round of the playoffs, for that matter) with either of them being even the second best player. Bryan Colangelo needs to bring in a star, even if he has to wildly overpay.

But, this will need to compound a top three 2011 draft choice. As I've said earlier, it's much better for the Raptors in the short-term that they tank, the draft is a much easier way to acquire high-end talent, as it comes at a much lower financial price than free agency.

Raptors Report Week 12: Lack of Talent, Injuries, Biased Refs Catching Up To Raptors

The Raptors had another brutal week, losing all four of their games this past road trip. 

Well, there was one positive from the past week:
DeMar DeRozan will replace Brandon Jennings
in the All-Star Weekend Dunk Contest

While the Raps faced some tough teams, they were able to hang in there most games, but the lack of talent and inexperience on the roster led to them blowing their chances and failing to close out games.

In their defense, they faced four playoff teams on the road. Also, the refs have been extremely tough on the inexperienced team and have been giving the benefit of the doubt to the better teams.

It's been a tough year for Raptors fans, but there have been positive signs shown by DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis, and Andrea Bargnani.

Record: 0-4

Performance on a scale of 1-10: Five

Here is a recap of the four games:

Raptors @ Hornets, L 81-85

Positives

The Raptors really did play well enough to win. The refs didn't seem to think so. I know you should never make excuses, but down the stretch the officiating was just pathetic. DeRozan continued his tear, scoring 23, and the Raptors played very solid defense.

Negatives

Offensively, this team was awful. Andrea Bargnani was just bad, and the whole team seemed out of sync. Also, the Raptors only really have five healthy players, and many players were playing hurt.

Raptors @ Spurs, L 95-104

Positives

The Raps led most of this game and played pretty well overall. It just wasn't good enough to beat the best team in the West on the road. Once again, DeRozan was amazing with 28, and offensively, the team was much better.

Negatives

Defensively the team wasn't too good; on the boards they weren't great either, and Bargnani was bad once again.

Raptors @ Magic, L 72-112

Positives

Y'know, I tried to find a positive from this game, but I really couldn't. When you lose by 40 points, there's  just not much to say. Everyone on the team was awful. Julian Wright led the Raps with 10 rebounds, there.

Negatives

Hoo boy. Where do I start? Dwight Howard out-rebounded the whole Raps starting lineup, and offensively, the team was just terrible. Nobody shot the ball well, nobody moved it around, and after the first half, Dwight Howard just took over.

Defensively, the team was also awful. I could go on, but it hurts.

Raptors @ Heat, L 103-120

Positives

Once again the team was down by nearly 30 points, but the Raps fought back and cut it to seven late in the game. DeRozan was great and Bargnani finally regained his scoring touch. The Raps had a good overall effort; they just couldn't contain LeBron.

Negatives

The Heat didn't have Bosh or Wade, but they still killed the Raps. The Raps weren't healthy and also were very tired, but this was a winnable game.When you give up 32 points to the struggling Mike Miller, something is wrong on defense.

Overall, this was another tough week. The Raps play seven teams below .500 in their next eight games so these games should be more competitive.

Ask Sachin

"Why did the Raptors release Peja Stojakovic?" - George Stone

Peja was clearly not a part of the future plans, and the Raps just acquired him for cap relief this offseason. By buying him out, the Raps save some luxury tax money, and have to pay less of his contract (however much the Mavs pay him) but still get his full expiring contract. To read more about the deal, click here.

If you want to have your question answered in the next Raptors Report, leave a comment below. Thanks.