OT: The "Euro" Raptors?

[Haakzilla]

Sources: Raptors nab Belinelli

By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

The Toronto Raptors’ intrigue with running a European-modeled franchise advanced again with a trade for Golden State guard Marco Belinelli(notes), NBA sources told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday night.

The Raptors will send Devean George(notes) to the Warriors.

Belinelli, an Italian guard, was a favorite of Toronto GM Bryan Colangelo prior to the 2007 draft when the Warriors selected him with the 18th pick. Belinelli averaged nearly nine points a game for Golden State last season. He joins fellow Italian Andrea Bargnani(notes) on the Raptors roster.

George, 31, arrived in Toronto this summer as part of the Shawn Marion(notes) sign-and-trade with Dallas. He averaged 3.4 points a game for the Mavericks.

...interesting

 

[oldmangrouch]

Curious. For the Raps, this seems like a small risk/modest reward move. For the Warriors? I just don't see what they get out of it.

He is an expiring contract, but only for 1.7 mil. Big whoop.

 

[Minstrel]

Yeah. I don't really understand Golden State's motivation, unless Belinelli was in Don Nelson's doghouse and he just wanted him gone.

 

[hasoos]

They gave up on him flat out. It doesn't help when you trade a guy like Jason Richardson in order to clear playing time for him, only to have it not pan out. They probably just want to leave it behind them, and move on.

 

[BalancedMan]

All of a sudden a Calderon/Belinelli/Hedo/Bosh/Bargnarni lineup (with Jarret Jack backing up the guard spots) doesn't seem like such a bad team. Should do okay next season in my opinion. DeRozen might help too. But all-mighty, they really, REALLY need help with a solid backup big man.

 

[Chutney]

Curious. For the Raps, this seems like a small risk/modest reward move. For the Warriors? I just don't see what they get out of it.

He is an expiring contract, but only for 1.7 mil. Big whoop.

Don't even see the risk, to be honest. Both contracts are expiring, but only one of the players is younger and might pan out. The other is basically useless and at the tail end of his career.

 

[Minstrel]

All of a sudden a Calderon/Belinelli/Hedo/Bosh/Bargnarni lineup (with Jarret Jack backing up the guard spots) doesn't seem like such a bad team. Should do okay next season in my opinion. DeRozen might help too. But all-mighty, they really, REALLY need help with a solid backup big man.

It sounds like a fun team to watch, but a pretty poor defensive and rebounding team.

I think they project to me as a low playoff seed in the East...a 7/8 seed.

 

[Nikolokolus]

It sounds like a fun team to watch, but a pretty poor defensive and rebounding team.

I think they project to me as a low playoff seed in the East...a 7/8 seed.

It's like the run-n-fun Suns with half the talent. I like Bosh, and Calderon is OK, but that looks like a perennial first round exit team.

 

[andalusian]

All of a sudden a Calderon/Belinelli/Hedo/Bosh/Bargnarni lineup (with Jarret Jack backing up the guard spots) doesn't seem like such a bad team. Should do okay next season in my opinion. DeRozen might help too. But all-mighty, they really, REALLY need help with a solid backup big man.

Did anyone tell the Raptors that Bosh is an American? I can't believe they did not offer him for Dirk Diggler

 

[Pinwheel1]

All of a sudden a Calderon/Belinelli/Hedo/Bosh/Bargnarni lineup (with Jarret Jack backing up the guard spots) doesn't seem like such a bad team. Should do okay next season in my opinion. DeRozen might help too. But all-mighty, they really, REALLY need help with a solid backup big man.

That has to be the worst defensive line-up in the NBA. They will be good at home (Especially Sunday morning when the west coast teams are still asleep) and horrible on the road.

 

[Minstrel]

It's like the run-n-fun Suns with half the talent. I like Bosh, and Calderon is OK, but that looks like a perennial first round exit team.

I agree. Bosh and Stoudemire are reasonable comps, Calderon is a poor man's Nash and the rest of that lineup is a very low-rent Suns supporting cast.

 

[Chutney]

That has to be the worst defensive line-up in the NBA. They will be good at home (Especially Sunday morning when the west coast teams are still asleep) and horrible on the road.

That has to be one of the NBA's unintentional running farces. I still don't know how we get away with that. It almost guarantees a handful of wins every season.

 

[Eastoff]

That has to be one of the NBA's unintentional running farces. I still don't know how we get away with that. It almost guarantees a handful of wins every season.

I don't get this. what does sunday early games have to do with easy wins?

 

[Eastoff]

Did anyone tell the Raptors that Bosh is an American? I can't believe they did not offer him for Dirk Diggler

uhh Dirk Diggler is american too, DUH... They should try to get Dirk Nowitzki to complete their european team.

 

[deception]

why do u guys hate us?

 

[Boob-No-More]

why do u guys hate us?

I don't think we hate you. We just find you mildly entertaining - like a trainwreck. We see this bold experiment by Colangelo and just can't look away. We just know it's not going to end well. With his recent acquisitions, he's obviously totally given up on the notion of defense. A high powered, fast paced offense may get you a few more wins in the regular season, but it's a roster ill suited to post season success.

Besides, with Colangelo making so damn many moves this off season, what else are we going to talk about?

BNM

 

[deception]

I don't think we hate you. We just find you mildly entertaining - like a trainwreck. We see this bold experiment by Colangelo and just can't look away. We just know it's not going to end well. With his recent acquisitions, he's obviously totally given up on the notion of defense. A high powered, fast paced offense may get you a few more wins in the regular season, but it's a roster ill suited to post season success.

Besides, with Colangelo making so damn many moves this off season, what else are we going to talk about?

BNM

im withholding judgment on colangelo's frenetic summer but keep in mind that im unequivocally the most ardent critic of colangelo in raptorland. although, i will say that he's acquiring assets which means that if we get close within the next couple of years, he might be able to swing a deal that would make us serious contenders. of course that hinges on derozan blossoming and hedo making a significant contribution. big IF's? but without hope- we would have nothing but our socialized healthcare.

 

[Entity]

im withholding judgment on colangelo's frenetic summer but keep in mind that im unequivocally the most ardent critic of colangelo in raptorland.

I wish some of our GM's most ardent critics were more like you.

 

[Boob-No-More]

im withholding judgment on colangelo's frenetic summer but keep in mind that im unequivocally the most ardent critic of colangelo in raptorland. although, i will say that he's acquiring assets which means that if we get close within the next couple of years, he might be able to swing a deal that would make us serious contenders. of course that hinges on derozan blossoming and hedo making a significant contribution. big IF's? but without hope- we would have nothing but our socialized healthcare.

Do you honestly ever see this team, as currently constructed (poor rebounding, no defense) ever making it out of the 1st round?

This team reminds me of the team Colangelo originally constructed back in 2006-07 that won 47 games and the Atlantic Division title. Three problems:

1) The Atlantic Division was incredibly weak back then. That meant several extra easy wins to pad your win total. You won't have that advantage this season.

2) If anything, this team is worse defensively than that one was.

3) In spite of winning the division and having home court advantage, you lost in the 1st round to a team that won only 41 regular season games. A big factor in losing that series was rebounding. In six games the Raptors didn't out rebound the Nets once. Other than the decisive Game 6, when the Raptors were out rebounded 40 - 30, the rebounding was fairly close, with a small advantage to the Nets. But, that advantage was enough to tip the series in the Nets favor. If the Raptors could have owned the edge on the boards, they probably would have won that series. And, if anything, the 2009-10 version of the EuroRaptors will be an even weaker rebounding team.

I know Raps fans and the local media are excited about all these moves, and they have improved the team. But many of them are going overboard - predicting that the Raptors will get HCA and will be a lock to make it to at least the 2nd round. They are, unfortunately, ignoring the fact that it takes defense and rebounding to win in the play-offs and the Raptors are VERY weak in both areas.

To me, this whole strategy smacks of desperation by Colangelo. With the Raptors regular seson win totals going from 47 to 41 to 33, he needs to reverse this trend to keep his job. I do think the Raptors will win more regular season games this season (probably in the 40 - 45 win range if Bosh is healthy and motivated), but I just don't see any way they make it past the 1st round with such poor defense and weak rebounding.

BNM

 

[rocketeer]

pg - calderon/jack
sg - belinelli/jack
sf - hedo/derozan
pf - bosh/reggie evans
c - bargnani/patrick obryant

that's basically what the raptors are looking at. it really is a very poor man's suns team from when they had joe johnson. you've got bosh as amare, calderon as a lesser version of nash, and hedo as young joe johnson. the biggest diffence is the downgrade from marion/qrich/barbosa/jim jackson to bargnani/belinelli/jack/derozan.

i see 50 wins as possible for this raptors team if everything goes right(though my prediction would be a record just over .500), but it's hard for me to see them knocking off anyone in the playoffs.

 

[Chutney]

I don't get this. what does sunday early games have to do with easy wins?

Teams that have to travel that night struggle to get enough rest for a noon or 1PM game. Especially Western Conference teams. My favourite instance of that happening was when we faced Golden State last year. A bunch of their core looked absolutely out of it during the game. Later it came out that they had celebrated Baron's bday (got drunk), then travelled, then played a really early game.

 

[speeds]

The Raps will have to score 106 points a game to get 50 wins because they're going to be giving up 105.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think it's interesting how quickly they gave up on him after they raved about him in summer league.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Teams that have to travel that night struggle to get enough rest for a noon or 1PM game. Especially Western Conference teams. My favourite instance of that happening was when we faced Golden State last year. A bunch of their core looked absolutely out of it during the game. Later it came out that they had celebrated Baron's bday (got drunk), then travelled, then played a really early game.

In addition to the travel time, there is also the 3 hour time difference for west coast teams. So, wen the Blazers play the Raptors on the 1st game of a road trip with a noon start time, that feels like 9:00am for them.

BNM

 

[andalusian]

uhh Dirk Diggler is american too, DUH... They should try to get Dirk Nowitzki to complete their european team.

You know that one of Nowitzki's nicknames is DD... right?

 

[Masbee]

All of a sudden a Calderon/Belinelli/Hedo/Bosh/Bargnarni lineup (with Jarret Jack backing up the guard spots) doesn't seem like such a bad team.

Yes it does. That is a BAD team. They won't stop anybody. A team like that will hang around for most of the game for most of their games, only to succumb at the end because the other team's star will get whatever shots they like. Pathetic.

 

[BalancedMan]

Yes it does. That is a BAD team. They won't stop anybody. A team like that will hang around for most of the game for most of their games, only to succumb at the end because the other team's star will get whatever shots they like. Pathetic.

Well as others mentioned, it would kind of be like a broke-man's SSOL Sun's team, which I found very entertaining (and they won games). The Suns didn't have any good defenders outside of Marion either really. I think it would be fun to watch, at the very least. I wasn't saying their a contender by any means.

 

[Ed O]

I don't think that the Raptors team is all that bad... they'll be interesting, and the team is doing something different. Going essentially all-offense might not work, but it's possible that it will.

And by "work" I don't mean "win multiple titles". I mean to outperform a group of similarly talented players that have more diverse skill set.

I'm all for teams trying different things and seeing what works.

Ed O.

 

[deception]

Do you honestly ever see this team, as currently constructed (poor rebounding, no defense) ever making it out of the 1st round?

This team reminds me of the team Colangelo originally constructed back in 2006-07 that won 47 games and the Atlantic Division title. Three problems:

1) The Atlantic Division was incredibly weak back then. That meant several extra easy wins to pad your win total. You won't have that advantage this season.

2) If anything, this team is worse defensively than that one was.

3) In spite of winning the division and having home court advantage, you lost in the 1st round to a team that won only 41 regular season games. A big factor in losing that series was rebounding. In six games the Raptors didn't out rebound the Nets once. Other than the decisive Game 6, when the Raptors were out rebounded 40 - 30, the rebounding was fairly close, with a small advantage to the Nets. But, that advantage was enough to tip the series in the Nets favor. If the Raptors could have owned the edge on the boards, they probably would have won that series. And, if anything, the 2009-10 version of the EuroRaptors will be an even weaker rebounding team.

I know Raps fans and the local media are excited about all these moves, and they have improved the team. But many of them are going overboard - predicting that the Raptors will get HCA and will be a lock to make it to at least the 2nd round. They are, unfortunately, ignoring the fact that it takes defense and rebounding to win in the play-offs and the Raptors are VERY weak in both areas.

To me, this whole strategy smacks of desperation by Colangelo. With the Raptors regular seson win totals going from 47 to 41 to 33, he needs to reverse this trend to keep his job. I do think the Raptors will win more regular season games this season (probably in the 40 - 45 win range if Bosh is healthy and motivated), but I just don't see any way they make it past the 1st round with such poor defense and weak rebounding.

BNM

clearly the league is being stratified between the haves and the have-nots. cleveland, orlando and boston are the class of the east and atl, washington, miami and toronto are a few notches behind. in that second tier- i think tor has a legit chance to get the fourth seed. why? cause they have more depth than the other three and in a 82 game season- depth matters. plus, the superstar in miami and agent zero both have well chronicled injury histories.

back to the new jersey series- i know u might think i suffer from a bout of homerism but i guarantee u that the raps should of won that series. the raps all but won the decisive game sixth but caledron throw an errant (really bad) pass which should have connected with chris bosh for a wide open layup. that would have meant game seven at home for toronto and as u know- home teams have historically dominated games sevens.

notwithstanding all the optimism from raptor nation- i agree, the raps are at best a second round team.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I don't think that the Raptors team is all that bad...

They certainly look to be better than the team that won 33 games and missed the play-offs last season. I suspect they will win 40 - 45 games - which in the East will be good for a 6th - 8th seed.

they'll be interesting, and the team is doing something different. Going essentially all-offense might not work, but it's possible that it will.

They should be fun to watch. Lots of scoring at both ends. - kind of like an all-star game without the stars.

And by "work" I don't mean "win multiple titles". I mean to outperform a group of similarly talented players that have more diverse skill set.

Teams that run high paced "gimick" offenses tend to overachieve during the regular season, but underachieve in the play-offs. During the regular season, with so many games, rarely playing the same team twice in a row, and few days to prepare between games, teams that play an unconventional style tend to steal several games against "better" teams. In the post season, when you play the same team 4 - 7 games in a row and have multiple days off between games to prepare it's easy to exploit your opponent's weaknesses. The only SSOL team that has had any success in the post season was the Suns - and even they underperformed in the post season relative to their regular season results.

So, an unconventional offense can win you more regular season games, which can help land a higher play-off seed, but teams that don't rebound and play defense get exploited in the post season. That's exactly what I expect from this Toronto team - a decent regular season record and a quick 1st round exit.

BNM