Tag: Basketball

2014, Basketball, Sports

The Raptors’ 2014 Draft

The Raptors surprised everyone this year by drafting a seemingly unknown Brazilian player, Bruno Caboclo, 20th overall. And as much as I would like to give Ujiri the benefit of the doubt, I think we can object to this decision even without invoking the sports xenophobia that idiotic Raptors “fans” have already invoked to criticize …

2013, 2014, Basketball, Sports

Your 2013-14 Toronto Raptors

A little while ago I wondered aloud whether or not this Raptors team would rank among the best ever. [Editor’s note: Post since deleted because a) it was just a listicle of good Raptors teams and b) 2019 happened.] Now that they have been eliminated by the Nets, I think we can say that they …

2013, Basketball, Sports

On Your Way, Jose: Raptors Trade Calderon

You may wonder why I haven’t yet started a “Campaign to fire Bryan Colangelo” in this space. Well, there are two main reasons. To this day, I do not know basketball like I know hockey. At this moment, without cable and without league pass, I watch way more college basketball than NBA basketball, and I …

2012, Basketball, Sports

Dwight Howard Trade August 2012

Putting Howard’s ridiculous, childish behaviour – which perhaps only seems so childish because it has been amplified by our new “social media” technology – which caused this trade, I want to try to think about it from a purely practical perspective. Denver gets: Andre Iguodala (from Philly) Iguodala: 28, SG/SF: 37.7 MPG; 14.6 PP36, 5.6 …

2012, Playoffs, Sports

The NBA still needs to adopt the CFL crossover rule in order to be fair

A quarter of the way through the season, it is already apparent, as it seems to be every season, that some decent western conference teams will be left out of the playoffs for yet another year.  Here are the standings of the top 20 teams by winning percentage:

2011, Basketball, Playoffs, Sports

Why the Heat Should be Worried they Squandered This Opportunity

Though it may seem obvious to some the Heat will have another chance at a title, I’m not sure it’s so certain. For a variety of reasons. Wade’s fragile body: LeBron has been quite healthy since he came into the league. And Bosh has been reasonably healthy. But Wade – their best player if the …

2011, Basketball, Journalism, Playoffs, Sports

Media Bias in the 2011 NBA Finals

So maybe I’m just a homer, and I can’t be objective about my second favourite basketball team (I certainly couldn’t be in 2006), but it seemed like everything was “Miami is doing this well” / “Miami isn’t doing this well” and very little was about Dallas. Worse, it seemed like Jackson had already decided Miami …

Basketball, Sports

Point Forwards and Shooting Forwards

The concept of the point forward was introduced some time ago – in the ’80s I think – but it is still resisted in many quarters. There are a few people on the TSN boards who constantly get upset when anyone uses the term “point forward,” especially back when Turkoglu was on the Raptors. The …

Hockey, Sports, The Campaign to Fire Brian Burke

2009 Toronto Drafts

So I figured I’d share my opinions about the Drafts but suddenly it was early July and I hadn’t done anything yet. Oops. Maple Leafs: It could have been better and it could have been worse. Burke should have kept his mouth shut. I still believe he could have maneuvered to get a top 3 …

2008, 2009, Basketball, Playoffs, Sports

Playoff reform, seriously

Once again I renew my call (which no one answers) for playoff reform in the NHL and in the NBA. In the NHL: No points for losses already. This is so stupid. No other professional league does this, that I know of. It is retarded. There is no rationalization for it. It skews the standings. …