Tag Archives: Rajon Rondo

by | April 15, 2012 · 12:42 pm

Colangelo’s Dilema

So getting a better chance at the top pick this year is proving to be a difficult task for Bryan Colangelo and his Toronto Raptors.  No matter what they seem to do, no mater the obstacle in their way, the Raptors keep winning.

I’m not suggesting that Colangelo is trying to “tank”, but he has shut down Jarryd Bayless (in the midst of a hot streak), Andrea Bargnani and has filled the teams holes with D-League players and borderline NBA talent.  He seems to be forcing Dwane Casey’s hands a little bit and attempting to get this team closer to a high pick.

It doesn’t seem to matter what ingredients Colangelo gives Dwane Casey, because Casey he keeps making five-star meals.  Alan Anderson? No problem, Casey’s got Anderson playing like he belongs in this league for years to come.  Justin Dentmon? Well Casey’s got this kid playing better than anyone ever could have imagined.  Ben Uzoh? Well he posted a near triple-double against Celtics All-star Rajon Rondo.  Suddenly Raptor fans are including some of these unfamiliar names on their depth charts for next year.

It all starts with the coach, in my opinion. 

After one season together, it is clear that Bryan Colangelo hired the right guy to coach the Raptors. Now he needs to go out and get him some talent.

No matter what Colangelo gives him, Casey keeps winning.

The Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks were the latest victims of seemingly unimaginable play from a team full of D-League castaways.  Next is another chance at the Hawks and then a matchup with the Heat. 

 This team shouldn’t be winning games.  They should be losing a lot and yet they are playing great basketball and winning games they have no business being a part of.  Most of the success is due to the defensive system Casey has put into place.

Credit Dwane Casey for this surprise turnaround.

The Raptor organization needs to sit up and take notice of the fact that Casey is getting results with D-League players.  His system is working and whatever it is that he is using to motivate his team is getting through to the players.

Perhaps it is time to talk “extension” with our coach.

Colangelo is not likely getting the player he covets (a Kidd-Gilchrist or Harrison Barnes) but maybe that doesn’t matter.  Maybe he just needs to upgrade the talent on the team so that his coach has something more to work with.

If Casey can make magic with this lesser group of talent, imagine what he could do if he was given even a minor upgrade in personnel.

Colangelo can keep shutting players down and bringing in more D-league players to try to finish up the season with as many losses as possible, but I have a feeling it’s not going to matter.

Casey is going to keep fighting and he’s going to keep getting his players working hard no matter where they may have started the season.  He’s also likely to keep winning.

So what is Colangelo to do?

Maybe enjoy the ride and know that you hired the right guy to guide this team going forward.  And in the last year of your contract try to go out and give him a roster he can do some damage with next year.

Perhaps all this talk of a “tank” has actually revealed where this team’s true strength is going to come from going forward: Behind the bench.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | January 18, 2012 · 11:12 pm

Ugh

So what is there to say about that one?

That was ugly.  It was so ugly it was ooglie.

Unfortunately when you’re missing your best player, playing a tough team on the road and don’t bring your A game there are gonna be nights like tonight.

The Raptors, somehow, were able to hang with the Celtics until the half.

Then all heck broke loose and the Raptors were just beaten.  In every way possible, they were beaten.  Their shots didn’t fall, they lost rebounds, couldn’t defend, took bad fouls and could not get any momentum.

The veteran Celtics team smelled the blood in the water and finished the Raps early in the third.  The fourth was  almost unnecessay as the Raps were bested by the Celtics first, second and third units.

In the end the fans out there leading “Tank Nation” will be happy with the result, while others hoping to see, at least, some positive signs of progress will be disappointed with, what is now, the Raptors’ sixth straight loss.

Zan for Three

Panic Button?

So it is well documented in the Toronto media that Demar Derozan is not playing that well.  I’m sure he reads and hears about it more than he cares to right now.  Rightly or wrongly the worry and concern over the team has been focused squarely on him.

It was a long night at the office for the Raptors who were obliterated 96-73 in Boston.

Is it time to worry?

This could be a slump and something he needs to work through.  It could also be evidence that he isn’t ready to be a number one player on this team.

The season is still only starting and there is plenty of time for Demar to turn it arouind.  So, maybe we should hold off on all the doomsday talk for a little while and see how he battles through this.  

The true mark of a great player is how they respond to adversity.

Forbes Nation

I realize that the sample size is tiny, but I’m liking what I’m seeing from Gary Forbes in the last few games. Obviously it is hard to assess a guy that played well in a blow out, but he has looked good over the last little while shooting and handling the ball.  He is taking to the point position well so far and seems to be solid on both ends of the floor.

Tim Chisholm recently tweeted that he wasn’t sure whether Forbes was actually good or just looked good next to the rest of the Raptor team.  That is a fair comment, as the team certainly isn’t setting the world on fire, but I think Forbes has some talent.  He is fast and provides coach Casey with a number of different options. 

He is creative, can shoot the ball and is able to get to the rim with his speed.

Definitely a player to keep an eye on.

Contenders?

So where does this Celtic team stack up in the East? Obviously they are not the beasts they once were, but still possess major stars in Rondo, Allen, Garnett, and Paul Pierce.  All these players are significantly older and their once strong bench has been depleted by trades.

Are these guys for real?

Sure they can beat up on Toronto, but can they handle the Heat? Can they match up against Chicago?  Are they a serious threat to compete for a championship or even for a top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference?

Are they a team to fear?

A few years ago this was something that wasn’t a question, now it’s debatable, but in the end they are a far cry from what they once were.

Zan of the Night

Aaron Gray

Welcome Back to the Show! Extended minutes that showed hustle and a desire to win.  I liked the fight he had in him tonight, despite the fact that he was coming in cold and hadn’t played competitively since the summer.  Glad to see him finally haelthy enough to play.  Welcome to Toronto Aaron!

Not Zan of the Game

Everyone who had the misfortune of watching that debacle.  Honestly, one of the worst I can remember in recent memory.  Thank goodness this shortened NBA season has a quick turnaround most nights.  The Raptors are back at it on Friday against Portland.  May our memories be short.

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Kristoffer Pedlar

The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | May 23, 2011 · 11:21 am

The Time has come to Forgive Chris Bosh

I couldn’t help but get a little emotional after the Heat’s big victory over the Bulls on Sunday.  Maybe I was remembering how amazing it was to see Chris Bosh play a dominant game.  Maybe it was seeing the emotion and passion he played with.  I haven’t seen that from CB4 (errr CB1) in a long, long time.  Maybe it was a bit of guilt.

Chris Bosh played, arguably, his best playoff game as a professional last night and bailed out his much more talked about teammates.  He was dominant and played with defensive intensity throughout.  In fact, he has been fairly consistent throughout this postseason.

Bosh, as Miami’s obvious number 3, doesn’t get much credit; especially around these parts.  He is seen as soft, a player that refuses to battle against stronger inside players, and one that could not get the job done when it mattered most.

He never took us on a playoff run.  He never took control of a playoff game the way he did against the Bulls on Sunday.  He hadn’t shown that much intensity in Toronto in a long, long time.  But there it was on Sunday.

Suddenly all the memories came flooding back. The All Star appearances, the magical run to the Atlantic Division title, the “MVP” chants in 07, the double-doubles, the way he collapsed to the floor when missing a lay up against the Warriors.  It all seemed like yesterday.

All the anger and bitterness that was felt for Bosh after his departure from the team faded away and suddenly I was feeling, almost compelled, to cheer for him.

Despite the Hate, Chris Bosh has shown he is a very special player in these playoffs and deserves a lot more credit than he has been getting.

Toronto fans hold resentment for Bosh for being a bit hashtag happy while his impending free agency loomed and felt jilted when he made the move to South Beach.  Videos and blogs have bashed Bosh, including this one, for selling out and betraying his loyal fans as well as many insinuations that he was soft and could not lead a team on his own.  Toronto fans, including this one, took joy in watching Bosh and the Heat struggle this year.  Bosh was posterized by Rajon Rondo in a game early on in the season and was taunted for likely being the Heat player that cried after a loss to the Bulls.

Still Bosh persevered.  He took all of the shots that came.  Reggie Miller was incessant during the first round of the playoffs calling him out a number of times and claiming that he was a weak link to the Heat.  Despite being one of the most consistent playoff performers this year, he was called the exact opposite.

All that noise stopped on Sunday night.  I suddenly realized that Chris Bosh is still the same player on the court that he has always been.  Even if he doesn’t wear the right uniform anymore he is still the guy we voted to the All-star game 5 times, chanted MVP for and prayed would return this past off-season.  It’s all still there.

I think it is time all of us, myself included, put away the hate (until the Heat come to Toronto for a visit) and cheer him on in his quest for a championship.

I hated when Chris Bosh left Toronto.  I booed him relentlessly when I went to see the Heat play against Toronto.  I laughed at the Basketball Jones’s “like a Bosh” video and passed it on to all my friends.  I still laugh at it.  But let’s give credit where credit is due.  Chris Bosh is good.  Chris Bosh is very, very good.  Watching him play over the course of the postseason I cannot help but feel a little guilty for saying the things I have and or writing the things I have.

He left Toronto for a chance to win a championship and he is well on his way to doing just that.  How can we blame him for leaving?  In the end it will likely get him a legitimate shot at a ring, either this season or next, (something he simply could not have done here) and it helped his former team finally accept the inevitability of rebuilding.

I hope Bosh continues to play well.  He deserves to be seen on the biggest stage the NBA has to offer and I’m glad he’s taking advantage of it.  I wish we could have had this moment in a Raptor uniform, but all the best to him in his quest for a ring.

Now that Lebron guy? I still can’t forgive that guy.  So I’m still solidly behind the Bulls as their epic battle with the Heat continues, but I’m also firmly behind Chris Bosh.   He deserves some credit.

If nothing else, it was nice to have that feeling of excitement watching him play again.

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Kristoffer Pedlar

The Zan Tabak Herald
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by | November 21, 2010 · 9:07 pm

Raps are Jacked Up In Win Over the Celtics

A day after trading away their starting point guard and a key reserve, an undermanned Raptor squad walked into the ACC and played some great ball against, arguably, the best team in the association.   The Raptors hung around all game and were able to pull ahead in the fourth against a tired Boston Celtics team who were without Rajon Rondo.  The Raptors were led by Andrea Bargnani who once again showed off his strong offensive game with 29 points. What was more amazing that he was scoring in the post, off the dribble and was his usual deadly self from the field.  Reggie Evans chipped in with a string defensive game and 14 more rebounds.  Calderon was steady at the helm, for most of the game, and Barbosa and Amir Johnson provided very strong minutes off the bench.

The talk of a tank might be a bit pre-mature as these Raptors are showing they can hang with the best in the league and don’t look now, but they’ve won three in a row and have looked very good over the last stretch of games.  This team might be better than anyone is giving them credit for.

The Zan for Three

Like a Bosh

No, this is not a comment on the brilliant video by the good folks over at The Basketball Jones.  Although there is plenty to like in the video chronicling the Raptor career of Chris Bosh and his subsequent departure from the Great White North or “White Vegas” as we’ve now been called. 

The loss of Chris Bosh was thought to throw this Raptor franchise into rebuild mode and most people who follow the NBA have agree with this sentiment.  Chris Bosh gave the Raptors 20 and 10 each night and that kind of production is hard to replace, or is it?  Amir Johnson has been doing his best Chris Bosh impression over the last couple of games.  A 17 and 11 performance tonight and two huge free throws to give his team victory gave the Raptors exactly what they needed.  If he can do this consistently then the Raptors may not be that bad without Chris Bosh.  Couple Johnson’s performance with the rebounding production that Reggie Evans has been giving the team and the output of Chris Bosh has actually been replaced with more production. One of the things that Amir does so well, possibly even better than Bosh is rebound the ball and get putback points.  Tonight he was in the right place at the right time and capitalized.  Offensive rebounds usually mean points.  This is something Chris Bosh is still having trouble with in Miami.  Amir looked like the new Bosh out there today.  Chris Bosh?  As Jose Calderon would say: WHO?

Amir Johnson celebrates after hitting the game winning free throws. He was a key part of the Raptors victory and is now looking more and more like a potential starting forward.

This is not to suggest that the Raptors are better off without Chris, but right now Amir and Reggie have more than made up for what Bosh was giving the team last year and the numbers that he is putting up in Miami.  If Amir can keep this up the team will be looking better and better now and into the future and Colangelo’s signing in the offseason won’t seem as crazy as it did at the time.

Addition by Subtraction

The Raptors were only able to dress 10 players after the trade with New Orleans and were seriously undermanned on paper.  Both Peja and Bayless have yet to join the team and will not see any action until Wednesday at the earliest.  This would seem to  have been a problem for a team facing off against the defending Eastern Conference Champions, but this was not the case.  The Raptors, who only actually used 8 of their 10 players in uniform, used a tight rotation to beat the Celtics.  Calderon and Barbosa shared minutes at point guard and Amir Johnson played extended minutes and Kleiza was given some time at power forward.  This tight rotation might be the way to go.  Roles are clearer than they were a mere 24 hours earlier.  Players know what they have to do and held more accountable when they make a mistake.

Good teams have a consistent 8 player rotation or less and on Sunday the Raptors gave extended minutes to the players that they thought deserved it and would help the team win.  There is no point giving a player minutes for the sake of giving them minutes.  Without Jack and Anderson the Raptors were able to keep players on the floor longer.  More minutes for Barbosa and Johnson is definitely a good idea.  Hopefully when the new arrivals get to Toronto Triano keeps this in mind and doesn’t give minutes to players because he has to.  Players need to earn their minutes and if they don’t they shouldn’t play.

The Barbosa Factor

One of the things the Raptors haven’t been able to take advantage of this season is the speed of Leandro Barbosa.  He is a game changer.  He was a game changer in Phoenix and he can be again in Toronto. With Barbosa relegated to back up shooting guard duties he didn’t always get the minutes or significant role that he needs to help this team.  When he takes over at the point, the tempo of the game changes.  He changes the way the Raptors play and that difference makes the Raptors second unit so dangerous.  Whether or not he gets a chance to play this many minutes when Jarryd Bayless arrives remains to be seen, but Jay Triano should think long and hard about giving this guy more minutes each night.  He is a tough match up and his speed gives the team a dynamic it doesn’t have in the starting five.  He changes the style of the team and it makes the Raptors hard to defend.

When he was on the floor today he pushed the ball up the floor and changed the pace of the game.  Coming from a system like the one in Phoenix, you know he can score, but he was also active on the defensive end.  He was in peoples faces and deflected many passes the Celts tried to complete.  He was a pest all day long, and led a very active and productive second unit.

Zan of the Night

Andrea Bargnani

The number of times this guy has been crapped on in the media and on blogs all over the country is astounding.  All he did wrong was to be drafted number one overall.  If he wasn’t a number one pick, he would be a complete and utter success story, but because he was a number one overall pick, he is often looked at as a disappointment.   Andrea Bargnani is the leader of this team.  He certainly isnt the vocal guy on the bench or in the locker room, but he is the leader by example and he is the teams best player, by far.  He is the go-to guy and the one his teammates are looking for late in the game.  Andrea is emerging as a unique talent and possibly among the leagues elite.  Today he shot the ball with confidence and took the ball to the rim repeatedly.  He scored from outside and from inside the post.  He was deadly from wherever he was and looked like a team leader.

Despite his poor play early on in the season, he has put together several good games this year and looks to be the main building block of the franchise going forward.  People need to start giving credit where credit is due.  Bargnani is the real deal.

Not Zan of the Night

Demar Derozan

Something is up with Derozan.  Early in the season he was attacking the rim with ferocity and was getting to the line several times a night as a result.  The last few games he has been almost invisible on offense and is getting outplayed by Sonny Weems.  Derozan only attempted 8 shots today and got to the line a total of three times.  This is not where he needs to be.  In the win against Philly he only had four points and two free throw attempts.  He has shown flashes this year, but lately all he is showing is inconsistency.  These are not the signs of a future superstar.  Demar is getting lost on the court but thankfully, for now, his teammates are  carrying the load without him.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald
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by | July 10, 2010 · 3:53 pm

The Zan Dishes on Lebron-gate

So he made his decision.  Lebron is going to take his talents to South Beach and play with Bosh and Wade.  It stings a little if you’re a fan of competitive basketball and it will definitely sting for the fans in Cleveland more so  than anywhere else.  But, Lebron made the choice he had the right to make.

I don’t think any of the anger comes from the fact that Lebron chose Miami.  Lebron was a free agent and was entitled to choose the team he wanted to play for.  He had meetings with various teams, which was not an issue either.  In the end, the Heat looked like the start of a great team and are led by one of the great NBA coaches and minds of all time in Pat Riley.  A Wade, Bosh, James threesome makes sense on many levels.  For Wade, for Lebron and definitely for Bosh.

The NBA's new Three-headed monster was unvailed this week in Miami. Will they win anything? Will championships follow "King James" to South Beach? We will find out come November.

Where things get ugly is the way in which Lebron decided to make his decision.  A Primetime special?  For a free agency decision?  The NBA and National media were able to stretch this circus into a full hour of television.  How do you spell boring?  arrogant? absolutely ridiculous?

Lebron gave fans in New York, New Jersey, Chicago and Cleveland the collective finger when he made his very public announcement.  The fact that he considered himself so important to have a primetime special in the first place is beyond me.  The classless tact he implored to make the announcement public in front of fans that adored him for seven years was just plain sickening.

Then the three of them being introduced like a WWE tag team to the Miami Heat fans in their new jerseys was tough to watch as well.  The “three-headed monster” are celebrating as if they’ve won something more than a new jersey.  Someone needs to remind these three that they haven’t won anything yet.  Another punch in the gut for the fans in Cleveland to swallow.  Another spectacle for the self-proclaimed “king”.

Players come and players go, but few allow a city to hold its collective breath and then punch them in the stomach like Lebron did on Thursday night.

Cleveland, especially, deserved better.

Watching the jersey burnings and crying fans in Ohio, one couldn’t help but picture the fall of the Roman Empire.  Lebron has gone from hero to villain. The Cavs have gone from title contender to an afterthought.  I imagine the Miami Heat will be the most despised team in all of sports come November.  Minus the masses in Miami and a few bandwagon fans out there.

So what does this all mean?

Well, I wouldn’t fit these three for rings, just yet.  Combined they have one championship ring that a little guy named Shaq had a lot to do with.  Lebron, Wade and Bosh also need to find a few teammates…like nine of them before they can even play a game.  What little money the Heat have left will need to spent very wisely or they’ll have to call in a lot of favours or hope that some veterans don’t mind playing Lebron’s caddy for the league minimum.

The Heat look solid on paper and Boston’s “Big Three” model has proven that three superstars can lead a team to a championship.  But whereas Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett proved to be very unselfish with the basketball and Rajon Rondo emerged to make it a strong foursome, this threesome might have trouble sharing the ball.

Bosh has only been effective in Toronto because the offense runs through him.  On the “superteam” the ball will not go to him very often if at all.  He will have to bang and fight for rebounds and he has never proven to be that type of player.  He may also have to do something he has fought against for the last seven years: play centre.

Lebron will have to share the ball with Dwayne Wade.  Both players play similar style games and have controlled the ball considerably over the last seven years.  Who controls the ball now?  Who will take the bulk of the shots.

Can a guy who had a Primetime special to announce his free agent decision, share the basketball?  Share the limelight?  Share his cookies?  I don’t know.

They all can’t score 30+ every night.  Someone is going to have to pass up taking shots.  Who takes the shot in the fourth quarter?

They will need a good coach to reign in all of that testosterone and ego.  Eric Spolestra is probably not the guy to do that.  I’m not sure he has any testosterone to speak of.

So the Heat will come in as favourites to win it all and also the least liked team in the entire league.  Expect a lot of booing for this trio in Cleveland, New York, New Jersey, Toronto and Chicago especially.  This “super team” will have to find a way to co-exist.  On paper in looks great, but games are not won on paper.  If that was so, the Cavaliers would have been champions this year.

The Heat look hot right now, but lets see how hot they look come November.  A whole lot of teams are going to be licking their chops to beat these three.  The Miami Heat:  Public Enemy Number One.

We’ll have more on what this all means for the Raptors tomorrow.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | May 23, 2010 · 1:14 pm

The Boston Celtics: The Team You Love to Hate

I know I’m not alone here.  I hate the Celtics.  I hate them with a passion and every game they get closer and closer to the NBA Finals it makes my stomach turn.  They are, however, one game away from achieving what not a lot of people thought they could.

At the beginning of the playoffs pundits and fans were calling the Celtics “old”, “tired” and “slow. Many thought this playoffs would be the end of the Celtics era.  Kevin Garnett wasn’t looking his regular self at the end of the season; one that was plagued by injuries.  Ray Allen had not been dominant all season and Boston was forced to rely on players that were not used to the pressure.  Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby were all asked to step up their game.  Not many believed they were a strong enough supporting cast to do that.  Even Rasheed Wallace wasnt looking himself.

Boston is one of the least-likable teams in the League, but you can't help but appreciate the way they are playing in these Playoffs.

This team is one that is hard to like because of the cocky swagger they exude when on the court.  Kevin Garnett’s “stink face” is one of the best “stink faces” in the league.  It all seems a little put on to me, which is why it can become so annoying.  Remember him getting into Jose Calderon’s face?  That was the peak of my dislike for the guy.  Hard to like a player that is so “mean” and “intense” all the time.  Like a villain wrestler in the WWE.

At least I can handle it from, arguably, one of the best players in the league.  But Kendrick Perkins getting into people’s faces?  Big Baby? Arguably the least like-able player in the world.  He has no right to get into players faces and walk around with the confidence of a league scoring leader.  Kevin Garnett, he is not.  Big Baby, one of the worst nicknames in the league by the way, has been riding Kevin Garnett’s tail feathers since he came into the league and is copying the wrong attributes.  Playing with the stars in Boston is the only reason a guy like him could ever win a championship.  Put Big Baby on any other team and he would fade into the background.  One of the most over rated players in the league and everyone knows it except him.

They are brash, confident and hard to like.  It seems to have become the calling card of the Celtics over the last couple of years. They seem to lack humility in victory or defeat.  If they lose, they complain to the refs.  If they win, they walk around like they own the world.  What makes them even less like-able is that they always seem to find a way to win.

King James can’t walk around like that because he hasn’t won what the Celtics have won.  Bitter Raptors fans, like myself, can’t walk around with that confidence because our team just isn’t good enough.  They aren’t the Celtics.  And, god I wish they were a little more like the Celtics.

What the Celtics have been able to do during this post-season is shut people like me up.  How can you argue against a team that wins games?  How can you hate a team that shares the ball and plays defense?  Isn’t that what we all want from our team?  Orlando and Phoenix are sure wishing they had it right now.

How can you hate the way Rajon Rondo has been playing?  This kid went from being a cheap option off the bench for the Celtics after the mega-offseason they had to get Garnett and Allen, to a superstar in his own right.  He was scrub riding the coat tails of bigger and better players.  But he has really emerged into an elite player.  He is looking like the best player on the court almost every night in these playoffs and has many times this season.  He is beginning to eclipse the play of the players he once rode to a championship.  He is becoming the Celtics go-to guy.  There certainly are not many that can stop him.

Rajon Rondo has really emerged as a player to worry about. He has gone from bench warmer to superstar in the last year. He is emerging as the Celtics best player in these playoffs.

The Celtics came in as long shots to make a trip to the final.  Many predicted that Dwayne Wade would run circles around the “old” and “tired” Celtics team.  But, he didn’t.  The Celtics dominated the series and played team basketball.  Every night it was a different player that stepped up: Pierce, Rondo, Garnett, Wallace, Allen.  They were too much to handle.

Surely these “old-timers” wouldn’t be able to keep up with King James and the Cavaliers.  The Cavs loaded up at the deadline adding Antawn Jamison and looked destined for the finals.  Guess again.  The Celtics absolutely shut King James down.  He has never looked so human.  The Celtics played strong, tough defense and would not allow the Cavs to do anything. King James dream will have to wait another year with possibly a different club.

Now Orlando is shooting blanks against Boston as well.  The Celtics aren’t looking old, it’s Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and even Dwight Howard that are looking “slow” and “tired”.  Stan Van Gundy certainly is.  He can’t figure out what to do.  How do you stop Rajon Rondo?  Not with Jameer Nelson.  How do you get inside the minds of this Celtics team?  It doesn’t look like you can.

The Celtics deserve to be where they are and they deserve to walk around like winners, because they are.  It won’t make me like them anymore.  I will continue to hate the hell out of them.  I will cheer for the Lakers or Suns in the Finals no matter what.  But I won’t be able to help myself as I enjoy watching the way Boston plays.  I will enjoy watching Rondo and I will enjoy hating the Celtics.

The hate I feel for them is truly a jealousy.  I wish the team I cheered for played like that.

Sometimes the Bad Guys can’t be stopped.  If you can’t beat ‘em.  Join ‘em.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | January 10, 2010 · 4:20 pm

The Raptors fail to measure up against Celtics once agian

Oh man. Nothing quite gets my blood boiling like the Raptors playing the Celtics. They may just be my least favorite team in the league. Maybe it’s because they’re so good. It’s probably because they’re so cocky. The one good thing to take from this game? We don’t have to play them again this year.

Zan for three

Hedo who?

It’s time for Jay Triano to call out  Hedo Turkoglu. We’re paying him big money and he hasn’t lived up to that.  He’s not playing like a 7 million dollar player right now. Just last week we saw Ron Wilson rip into Phil Kessel, it’s time for Jay to do the same.

Best of the bunch

Out of the four games we’ve played the Celtics this is the best of the bunch. More confident. More aggressive. The Raptors are a team on a roll right now, but the Celtics are the best coached team in the league and they’re top three in talent. That’s a tough combination to match up against.

Rasheed and Rondo

These guys have swaggar!  As a Raptors fan It was horredous to watch these two play on Sunday, but you have to appreciate their energy and confidence as a basketball fan. Rondo has really turned a corner as an NBA player.  He was once a scrub on a three man team and has since  become an All Star.

Rasheed Wallace just keeps on trucking. I thought his career might be done a couple of years ago but he just keeps getting better.  To be fair, he had a lot of calls go his way.  Maybe barking at the referees insessently works.  He never shuts up and is rewarded regularly.

Plus the foul

Enough of the Bosh talk

It seems as though Bosh trade talk has heated up in the past week or so. Unsubstantiated and biased. A lot of reporters (all from American media) seem to think it’s a forgone conclusion, when the truth is, nobody knows. Not Chris. Not Bryan. Not anybody.

I, for one, think Bosh is staying in Toronto. Why? He’s the man here with a good core of players. And the grass isn’t always greener. See Tracy McGrady. See Vince Carter. See Damon Stoudamire. Three of the Raptors departed.

Zan of the Night

Rajon Rondo

I was never a Rajon Rondo fan. In past years, I thought he was more hype than substance. But this year he’s proven me wrong. He’s fantastic.

Not Zan of the Night

Hedo Turkoglu

He needs less Pizza Pizza and a big time boost of motivation.

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Nest up a game against Indiana on Monday.  A big game to regain the momentum they’ve built over the last 10 games.

~~~~
Jeremiah McNama & Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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