Ok, I know this is obviously old news that tj was traded to the raptors, but I cant help but be more excited this year for him than last. First off let me start by saying im a longhorn so im a massive fan of tj. on top of that he is so much fun to watch. amazingly skilled passer and every year he seems to get smarter with the ball which is crazy scary. if he amazingly strong to the rim but hes gotta work on that jumper. if he can develop that...then watch out. could be a second comming of steve nash. anyways, since we are in the west i usually like to go for a team in the east... and its going to be the raptors this year. they just seem like a fun bunch of players to watch. bosh i think is the real deal and should be intresting to see how their first round pick Bargnani does this year. on top of all of this they have a great new gm. give this team couple more years and BAM.
If you remember last season there are a few of us watching T.J. and our attention will switch from the Bucks to the Raptors. I'll start right off mentioning what will be a recurring theme all season: Does Sam Mitchell fit what Colangelo is trying to do? I say no, and the only reason he is still the coach is because the Raptors aren't expecting a lot this year. If they show promise after this season, Mitchell is gone and Colangelo will hire his own guy. Every time a powerhouse GM is hired, you can put the incumbent coach on the hot seat. Back to the team. They are trying to become the "Suns in the East" but they don't have the personnel to do it yet. But the uptempo offense plays right into T.J's strengths.
i'd have to say that im really looking forward to this year. there are alot of teams that have done alot of work in the off season to gain my attention...the raptors would have to be one of those teams..
T.J. seems to be turnover prone in the preseason. I don't know if that's because of the new ball or what, but if he can get that under control then he's in a great situation to have a great year.
Got to agree with this.. Sam Mitchell is as good as gone after this year, unless they do something amazing like make the 2nd round of playoffs. I don't watch many Raptor games, but he doesn't seem to do much in the way of coaching. I can see Colangelo hiring a European coach to go with all his European players.. if any of the top Euro team coaches are interested, we might see our first international coach.
Let's not forget the Raptors lost Mike James. Granted, he is definitely not the same type of PG as a TJ Ford, but he was a damn good player last year....over 20 ppg and at 5.8 apg, less than TJ, but only by 0.8 apg. For as good a ball-handler and playmaker as he seemed to be last year, TJ only had 6.6 apg. And I love to watch him play, he's got blazing speed that's just fun to watch. I'm just saying I don't expect significant improvement from the Raptors this year. I guess its hard to be worse, and they seem like a decent enough team to follow. I'm also interested in following the Bobcats this year. They'll still suck, too, but I like Wallace's game, I think Felton will continue to improve, I think May will give them more than last year...and how can you not be eager to see Mustache play??
Nash is a natural shooter. TJ doesn't have that natural touch needed to potentially put him in Steve Nash category. In fact, I would be happy if he ever made it to all-star.
From how I remember it, Rafer had issues with Sam Mitchell getting him readied for the opponents and team preparation in whole. Which led to him getting traded here. We're saying well WHO'S RAFER to talk and Mike James 'owned' him as a player. 81 points scored by one man on the Raptors - Sam Mitchell the Raptors coach Maybe Rafer was onto something. Nash is just a pure shooter from all over and it'd be tough to ask TJ or anyone in the league to sink shots in the same way. TJ if he has a good midrange game will be very very good, close to Nash-like. I'm looking forward to watching him this year too
sam mitchell the coach sucks. i watched his entire raptors coaching career and i dont know why he has last as long as he has. guy b****es about his player to the media unlike any coach i've seen. one scene i remember clearly is him throwing out rafer alston and another player for arguing a call against a ref. and the team was down at that moment, and of course got blown out by the end of the game. the media put the focus all on rafer for losing the game. he was one of few players that year that actually wanted to play hard and win.
well, you'll be happy to note that the Raps are looking to ink him to a long term deal...and w/out him playing as much as a single meaningful game in a Toronto uni. http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Basketball/2006/10/17/2048910-sun.html the Raptors have a chance to do some damage in the east this season. They are pretty much complete and have depth across the board. And if Bargnani comes on early, that will icing.
Would we ever be able to afford him unless he had a real bad season? Then would we even want him? Plus, with Yao in the middle and Tracy getting double teamed, i think we need a PG that can shoot. That's why Mike James was so successful. He got the kickback from someone who was double teamed for a bunch of open shots. Ford can't shoot and on top of that is not a great defender. I love UT and i loved watching him play, but he's not a long term answer.
He'll have a strong first half then miss the second half of the season due to injuries or just a general prolonged slump...book it.
