Category Archives: Raptors

JR Smith’s Night Signifies the Change in Denver

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In tonight’s Nuggets-Raptors game JR Smith did something that he had never done before, he recorded over 7 rebounds and 7 assists congruently in a game. JR is known to be stingy with the ball, but tonight he decided to share. Smith even got some time as the Nuggets point guard, granted the Nuggets were playing (and thrashing) the Raptors. Regardless of the opponent JR deserves some recognition for his game. 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists is not something you see regularly beside the name “JR Smith” in a box score, in fact you’ve never seen it.

We all remember JaVale McGee’s perhaps embarrassing attempt to notch a triple-double when his team was down 20 points, albeit a successful one. Well JR made no such attempt tonight, and his team was winning by roughly 40 points. I don’t think anyone would have blamed JR for pulling a McGee or Ricky Davis tonight in pursuit of the glorified achievement, but instead he just kept playing the way he had been all game, he seemed contempt with his teams accomplishment and his own numbers. The fact that JR Smith has bought into what George Karl is preaching to this non-Melo team genuinely refreshing.

Typically Smith’s role has been to go into a game, and shoot whenever he touches the ball. He can be quite effective in that role, but tonight he adjusted to what the team needed. The Nuggets were without point guard Raymond Felton, so they were shorthanded at the position, thus why Karl called upon Smith to lead the team when Ty Lawson needed a rest. Can we all take a moment to appreciate the fact that JR Smith played some point guard tonight? Thanks.

On the other side of the spectrum the Carmelo-led Knicks continued to struggle and lost to the Boston Celtics, 96-86. The Celtics went on a 33-17 run to comeback and close out the game.

Congrats to JR Smith for tying a career high in assists, eight, and congrats to George Karl and the Nuggets for getting JR Smith to tie his career high in assists.

In addition to Stacheketball Matt founded and runs the NBA blog, Momentum Three. You can find him on Twitter @Matthouston91 where you can mock him about his horrific March Madness bracket, and his horrific favorite basketball team, the Washington Wizards.

Eastern Conference Players To Watch

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With roughly 25 games left in the season it is time to look at some players who are primed to breakout, or have broken out and need to be recognized. Some young players who have been buried on depth charts for the majority of the year will start getting more playing time on teams who have given up hope, and other young players will be thrown into the fire and expected to help lead their teams to a playoff birth.

Here are 5 guys from the Eastern Conference that are not particularly “main stream” to watch during the remainder of the season, not in any particular order.

Paul George:

  • Indiana Pacers: Forward
  • Rookie from Fresno State
  • 6’8-210 lbs.
  • 20 years old

George has started to play more minutes over the last month or so and has shown signs of promise for the future. His draft stock skyrocketed during the combine, as he showed he could be an incredibly versatile player. He is a stat sheet stuffer, who can contribute with points, threes, rebounds, steals and blocks. In January he played in 14 games and in February 13. In the prior 3 month he appeared in just 10 games combined. He has averaged 9.0 PPG in the last two months, and roughly 3.6 RPG. Right now he appears to be a key role player on a Pacer team that is fighting for a playoff spot. George is also a fun player to watch because of his athleticism and versatility. He is currently one of my favorite players in the league.

Nick Young:

  • Washington Wizards: Guard
  • 4th year from USC
  • 6’6-200 lbs
  • 25 years old

Nick Young is the oldest player on this list at 25 years old. This is his fourth season in the league, but the first where he is getting substantial playing time. Being a Wizards fan, at times I love Nick and then other times I hate him and want him off of the team. He is a scorer, and that is all he is. He is averaging a career high 17.7 PPG. After the departure of Gilbert Arenas (who faked a preseason game to give Nick more minutes) Young’s minutes got a big boost, which led to his scoring surge. Nick is one of those guys where if he makes his first two shots watch out, but if he misses his first two, he ain’t recovering. He can certainly put on some special performances. Also you MUST check out this shot…potential play of the year material.

Jrue Holiday:

  • Philadelphia 76ers: Guard
  • 2nd year from UCLA
  • 6’3-180 lbs
  • 20 years old

Jrue is a key component to the 76ers team that is on the rise. The Sixers and currently 7th in the East and just one game behind the new look Knicks for 6th, after getting the second overall pick last season. Jrue is averaging 13.8 PPG, 6.3 APG and 3.9 RPG. He is quick off the dribble and has a cool head. He makes plays when the Sixers need it and he is a good free throw shooter. While his play has dipped a little bit after a great start to the season, Jrue is still making great strides in his progression. He is only 20 years old and looks like he is on the right path to being a good to very good point guard in the NBA. With all of the ridiculously good point guards in the league right now it is understandable to overlook Holiday, but in reality he deserves a great deal of recognition.

DeMar DeRozan:

  • Toronto Raptors: Guard
  • 2nd year from USC
  • 6’7-220 lbs
  • 21 years old

Let me start by saying that DeRozan was ROBBED in the dunk contest. He absolutely deserved a spot in the finals. DeRozan is more than just a dunker though, he has become a very intriguing two guard in the NBA. He can’t shoot threes AT ALL right now, but hey neither could Tracy McGrady when he came into the league. I use the McGrady comparison because that is the player that DeRozan resembles the most right now. DeMar is averaging 16.1 PPG but over the last two months he is averaging just shy of 19. He gets to the foul line, and converts nearly 80% from the line, which is huge. As a slasher you need to be able to make your free throws. It would be nice to see more rebounding from a 6-7 guard, but it is hard to complain with his offensive production. If DeRozan continues to grow and develop he will be an incredibly exciting player to watch. Also how can you not like someone whose name is DeMar DeRozan.

Austin Daye:

  • Detroit Pistons: Forward
  • 2nd year from Gonzaga
  • 6’11-200 lbs
  • 22 years old

We all know the Pistons are a complete mess. Sadly there is not much to look forward to when watching this team, except for seeing which players actually show up to play, yet for some reason I have found myself LeaguePassing a few Pistons games as of late. While watching the Pistons, Daye was the player that really caught my eye. Most likely because he was knocking down threes, and nothing gets me more excited than watching a player knock down threes… Also he looks like a much taller version of Austin Rivers. So he held my interest. He is averaging 7.4 PPG this season and has upped his 3-point FG % considerably from his rookie season last year, jumping from 30.5 to 43.3%. Despite his size Daye is very much a finesse player, only grabbing 3.4 RPG (6.5 per 36 minutes). With the season pretty much ruined I would really like to see Daye get the majority of minutes at SF.

Others to watch: Greg Monroe-Detroit, Christian Eyenga-Cleveland, Gerald Henderson-Charlotte.

Hit Matt up on Twitter if you think he missed anybody, or just to chat NBA/Pop-Music @Matthouston91

2011 NBA All-Star Game Predictions

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NBA All-Star weekend tips off tomorrow and I’m anticipating it to be one of the best we’ve seen in a while. Me and the chief-of-staff, Rey-Rey, will be tweeting all weekend from Staples on behalf of American Express and AmexSports (Follow us on twitter for all updates, behind the scene pictures and live tweets: @TheNoLookPass & @Suga_Shane).

For all the participants in this weekends events, check out http://espn.go.com/nba/allstargame. On to my predictions for the weekend.

Rookie/Sophomore Game MVP:

This game has some promise although Tyreke Evans,  the reigning Rookie of the Year, won’t participate. DeJaun Blair took home the MVP last year and he will be suiting up for the Sophomore team again this season but I’m going to go with DeMar DeRozan here. Kid’s been a beast as of late and one of the lone bright spots on a dismal Toronto team. His jumper has really come along and I don’t really need to tell you about his athletic abilities.

Skills Challange:

The skills challange is setup in such a manner that it favors speedsters with passing accuracy and a nice mid-range shot. That mid-range shot and passing accuracy become very important half way through the challenge because you have to hit a 20 footer and then thread a some what difficult pass into a tiny hole.  I have to eliminate Chris Paul because of how hurt he’s been looking the last few weeks. He’s going to be lacking the necessary speed to win it all.

I’m going to go with Stephen Curry here. Curry has some sneaky quickness to him plus he is the second most accurate passer and the best shooter in the bunch. D-Rose fans: Sorry i snubbed your dude, but I’ll make it up to you in a bit.

3-Point Shootout:

This event will probably be the funnest of all the sideshows mainly because of all the characters involved. Mainly Paul Pierce. He was really lobbying to get himself selected because he wanted to have a nationally televised shootout versus his Celtics teammate, Ray Allen. Well, Paul got what he wished for but it’s not going to be easy to repeat as the 3-point champ this year. Ray Allen happens to be the newly crowned 3-point king and James Jones is a dark horse to surprise everyone. I honestly don’t know who will win this one but I’m going to go with my gut here and select Ray Allen.

Slam Dunk Contest:

I keep having these horrible nightmares where Blake Griffin pulls a Shannon Brown and disappoints the entire world. Deep down inside, I know you are all fearing the same outcome. But really, who would bet against Quake? Anyone? No? Didn’t think so. Then again, DeMar DeRozan is a scary foe in this competition.

All-Star Game:

Have you seen the Eastern Conference starting five? It’s pretty much you All-NBA First Team and your TeamUSA starters for London 2012. No joke. This has to be the meanest 5-man line-up we’ve seen in a long time. If the East doesn’t take this, then blame it on Rondo (why not?).

All-Star MVP:

Derrick Rose has to be the MVP, right? Now that he is a starter, the offense is going to run through him for the majority of this game. And after watching him go H.A.M. vs. the Spurs (and the majority of this season) I feel compelled to side with Rose.  After all, why can’t he be MVP?

The Shoes:

By far my favorite part of the All-Star weekend. This is the part were we, the fans, win. Enjoy.

Shane is a part-time contributor for Stacheketball & NBAOffseason.com and a full-time lover of fresh socks. Find him tweeting nonsense at @Suga_Shane


Weekend NBA Doodles

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Last night I was having some serious writer’s block. So to try to stir the creative juices, I started doodling with my pen on some notecards I had lying around. I don’t usually post on the weekends, but I thought something as simple and that didn’t require any thought would be a fun post for the weekend. Interspersed with my insomnia-fueled doodles are drawings I do in my spare time, which I post every weekday on NBAillustrations.tumblr.com.

Shawn Kemp! Note the Reebok Kamikazes on his feet!

Another one of Shawn Kemp. This time, he teabags Dennis Rodman on a dunk in the 1996 NBA Finals

DeMar DeRozan!

Shaun Livingston, ain't he thin and lanky?

Muggsy Bogues

Gerald Wallace (excuse the scratched out mistake area)

Erik Spoelstra

Patty Mills and his fashionable Three Goggles

Paul Silas

Well, I hope you enjoyed these drawings, some crude and others on which I spent a good bit of time. If you liked ‘em, there will be more at the site I mentioned in the opening paragraph, and I’ll also post some here every week. Enjoy the weekend and the Super Bowl, Stacheketeers!

Cardboard Gerald is the Baby Spice of the Stacheketball writing staff and the resident Bobcats fan. You don’t need to feel sorry for him, but you can follow him on Twitter, if you’d like (@CardboardGerald).

Rudy Gay Beats Raptors, Raptors Fan’s Spirit

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Just look at that swagger. No, wait! Look at that guy in the blue shirt to the right! Ha ha ha.™ (AP Photo)

Last night, the Toronto Raptors made an epic comeback (okay, maybe not epic, but considering the team’s injuries, a 12 point deficit with 8:30 to go? I’d say that’s epic) to tie the game against the Memphis Grizzlies with about 19 seconds left in the game. So, Memphis had possession and the shot clock was turned off.

And then it was Rudy Gay time.

Oof. Shades of the game winner against LeBron and Miami. And then there was this video from the crowd from a very vocal, clairvoyant – and funny – fan.

PROFANITY WARNING

This loss ends the Raptors’ 986 game streak of games with at least one made three pointer. And it’s the Raptors’ 8th loss in a row. But hey, don’t worry! Alexis Ajinca is on his way! Good luck Toronto, get healthy soon!

Cardboard Gerald is the Baby Spice of the Stacheketball writing staff and the resident Bobcats fan. You don’t need to feel sorry for him, but you can follow him on Twitter, if you’d like (@CardboardGerald).

Video: Vintage Tmac Dunk with German Announcers

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TMac, or Tracy McGrady as the kids are calling him, used to be good. He also is related to Vince Carter. Back in 2002 when TMac would play against Vince, it was… kind of a big deal. In this clip TMac crosses over Vincanity, and leaves him at the three point line. Then he posterizes Keon Clark. This is all well and good. It is all fine and dandy. It is a clip that you most likely still remember if you were a big NBA fan in 2002. If you are a Raptors fan, it most likely still haunts your dreams.

Now add German announcers emphatically describing the facial dunk. They say the name Tracy McGrady like they are retelling a tale of how Zeus came down from the heavens and smited the Earth with a thunderous bolt of lightning that he had thrown from his own hand.

I love this.

And Now For Something Completely Different: The Andrea Bargnani Argument

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Ever since the Toronto Raptors selected Andrea Bargnani first overall in the 2006 draft, there have been plenty of debates over his effectiveness as an NBA player. Many of these debates haven’t been particularly illuminating, as they’ve generally gone “He sucks!” “No, he doesn’t suck!”. As Michael Palin says above, “That isn’t an argument, that’s just contradiction!”

There is an actual debate to be had here, though. Since his entrance into the league, Bargnani has had mixed results. He’s provided his critics with plenty of ammunition, particularly in his sophomore season of 2007-08, where he averaged just 10.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while shooting 38.6 per cent from the field. Since then, though, Bargnani’s stock has trended upwards by most measures, and this year, he’s now averaging 17.4 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.3 per cent from the field, all career highs.
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