Tag Archives: Shaquille O’Neal

by | January 2, 2011 · 9:06 pm

Raptors Fight to the Bitter End

The Boston Celtics are arguably the best team in the East, at least until Miami or Orlando beats them in a seven game series. Tonight the Raptors hung with the best and had many opportunities to pull away, but suffered from a very poor shooting night.  This is the kind of loss you have to take with a grain of salt.  The Celtics are the best team in the East, the Raptors are a young team still finding an identity.  There is no shame in this loss.  The Raps fought hard all game long and should hold their heads high.

Paul Pierce was absolutely brilliant and the Celtics hung around long enough for their other star players to warm up and contribute to the victory.  Pierce was basically a one man show for much of the game and seemed to single-handedly keep his team in the game.  The hotter Paul Pierce gets the better the Celtics will be.  Going into the second half of the season the Celtics are gonna need Pierce to be at his best.  Like a fine European wine, he only gets better as time goes on.

His dunk in the second half over virtually everyone was absolutely awe-inspiring!

Not to be outdone Demar Derozan once again was the best Raptor on the floor and may be turning a corner in his development.  He looked confident and was aggressive on the offensive end of the floor.  The Raptors are banking on Derozan becoming a big part of the team’s future and lately he has been looking like the real deal.  Tonight he played great ball against some of the best in the game.

Paul Pierce and his 30 points were too much to handle as the Celtics beat the Raptors 93-79 at the ACC on Sunday.

 

Zan For Three

Hard Work Rewarded

Two players worked harder than anyone else out there today: Joey Dorsey and Ray Allen.

Joey Dorsey was matched up against Shaquille Oneal and Jermaine Oneal, arguably one of the most frightening assignments in the NBA, in my honest opinion. He was solid defensively, worked his ass off on the offensive glass and was a key contributor all game long.  The Raps are down a few guys and have never been an overly effective team when it comes to rebounding, but Dorsey is doing it all in the limited amount of time he’s been given.  A few more games like this and Dorsey may earn himself more playing time, even after others come back from injury.

Ray Allen is a timeless wonder.  His outside shot is an automatic if he’s open.  He’s become, arguably, one of the most dependable players in the league.  He is never going to go out there and stink up the joint.  Today he had the quietest 23 points I’ve ever seen.  His team was struggling, outside of Paul Pierce, and they needed someone else to start hitting shots.  Enter Mr. Dependable.

Paul Pierce was the best player on the court today for the Celtics, but no way they win without the contribution of their silent leader.

Young Onez Unite!!

Am I the only one who is starting to get a little excited about the future of this ball club?  True, there is no Lebron James type or a John Wall that you can hope becomes an NBA superstar, but these kids are really starting to mature into fine NBA players.

Demar Derozan has elevate his game to another level recently and looks like he may finally explode into the player many hoped he was going to be.  Ed Davis is looking like a bona fide gem and Amir Johnson has played with increasing maturity.  If Amir stays on the floor, he has a good game almost every time.

This season has certainly had its bleak moments, but there is definitely something to be hopeful about as the new year arrives.

Gotta Cash in Those Freebies

I’ll be the first to admit the Raptors did not get the benefit of the doubt on a lot of calls in the paint.  Derozan and Calderon got hammered several times without a whistle, but would the Raptors have done much with their extra chances even if they had them?  10/22 from the Free Throw line isn’t going to cut it.  That’s twelve free points you’re not cashing in.  When you lose a game like the raps did today, you can look at that stat alone and see how close the game

Demar Derozan may be turning a corner in his development and is becoming what Raptor fans dreamed of when he was drafted two seasons ago.

really could have been.  The Raptors have got to be more consistent from the stripe.

 

Zan of the Night

Demar Derozan

In truth Paul Pierce played a damn fine game, but Derozan gets the Zan for putting together another gem.  This kid is playing aggressively out there.  He is taking the ball to the rim whether he’s gonna get hammered or not.  He is getting to the line and he seems more and more comfortable shooting the ball.  When he drives the net he opens up opportunities for the rest of his team.  Derozan followed up a gem against Houston with another gem against one of the toughest opponents in the NBA.  This kid may have finally arrived.

Not Zan of the Night

Linas Kleiza

True fact: Nobody on the Raptors team was hitting shots with consistency.  Barbosa, Calderon and even Amir Johnson all had bad shooting nights, but no one made it look as ugly as Kleiza did.  He threw up some of the worst shots I have seen in a long time.  I like that he has confidence in his abilities, but you also have to be aware of when it just isn’t your night.  He was downright awful on the offensive end tonight.

 

 

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald
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Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @Zantabakherald

 

 

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by | May 15, 2010 · 12:07 pm

Cavs Channel Raptors in Losing Series to Celtics

Is it just me or did the Cavaliers do their best Raptor impression during the last series with the Celtics?

I’m not trying to take a swipe at the hometown team, nor am I trying to take a swipe at the Cavaliers, but there were parallels that were hard to question and the parallels will continue for these two franchises moving into the big free agent summer of 2010.

The Cavaliers were favoured against the Celtics and were expected to waltz all the way to th NBA Final series.  The only bump in the road was expected to be the Magic from Orlando.

There will be a lot of soul searching for Lebron this summer as his Cavaliers were once again bounced from the playoffs.

The Cavaliers were led by their superstar de jour: Lebron James.  He did everything a superstar was supposed to do during the regular season, but was criticized heavily during this series.  He didn’t put in the effort Cleveland fans have become accustomed to.  His heart and defensive ability came into question, despite scoring a triple-double in the decisive game 6.

Does this not remind you of The Raptors superstar de jour: Chris Bosh?  Who played incredibly well during the first half of the season.  Not MVP well, but well enough to lead his team to the playoffs.  And then the second half of the season happened and he wasn’t quite the same.  He was a little tentative, not aggressive on the defensive end and his heart was called into question.  All of this, despite leading his team in scoring and averaging a double-double all season long.

Both are superstars that did not lead the way a Kobe or Jordan led.  Both put up amazing individual numbers, but neither could lead their team to the collective goal of winning.

Other elements were similar too.

There was the big acquisition of Shaquile O’neal that never really panned out for the Cavs.  He was injured for parts of the season and looked old out there on a regular basis.  He wasn’t the same player he has been in his career and was absolutely outmatched by Kevin Garnett on the defensive end in the Celtics series.  He was a bust of an acquisition that was supposed to put the Cavaliers over the edge.  There was no player that was more disappointing this season than Shaq.

Kind of reminds me of  Hedo Turkoglu.  The player that was supposed to put the Raptors over the hump.  The big playoff performer of just one year ago.  He added little in the way of leadership, looked lost on offense and his only success was his penchant for one worded interviews.

It was a disappointing season for Chris Bosh in Toronto. Will it be his last in the city?

Former Raptors were even a part of the Cavaliers failure this playoff season.  Anthony Parker played good in spurts for the Cavs but he was overmatched as a starting 2 on a team that was supposed to have championship visions.  He was overmatched much the way he was last year as a starter on a Raptor team that missed the playoffs.  A great player, one of my favourites, but not a starter in this league.

Jamario Moon was out there tossing up inadvertant three balls, much the way he did when he was a Raptor.  In fact, he took a ridiculous three for an air ball in that decisive sixth game and that was the sign, to me, that the Cavs were done.  No team is going to win with Jamario Moon taking three balls.

The coaching of both teams has been called into question all season long.  Is Mike Brown the right coach to lead a team to a championship?  Has he lost the ears of his team?

Jay Triano has been heavily criticized as well.  He hasn’t made the playoffs as a head coach and he lost the locker room this season as Turkoglu’s antics damaged th chemistry of the team.

Will either be back?  Only time will tell.

The Cavaliers are channeling the Raptors both on and off the court as well.  Danny Ferry is a solid GM.  He brought in a number of pieces to compliment LeBron, but hasn’t found the right mix.  This past season he seemed to be playing a frantic game of chess trying to put the right pieces together.  Adding Shaq and then later Antawn Jamison were good moves for the regular season, but Shaq is old and very “foulable”, since he still can’t hit a free throw to save his life and Jamison has still not had extensive playoff experience.  Clear in hindsight, I suppose.

Very reminiscent of Colangelo’s juggling act in Raptor Land.  Jermaine O’neal?  Looked good at the time but busted completely.  Turkoglu?  I suppose one could argue the jury is still out on that one, but it looked pretty bad this year.  Belinelli, Jack, Derozan, Weems, Johnson? Lots of moves that had varying degrees of success and failure, but the mix did not equal victory.

Now both franchise’s find themselves on the verge of the biggest summer of their existence.  Both teams are in a position to lose their greatest assets.  Lebron and Bosh are the architects of their future success in the league.  Wil they stay? or Will they go?  If New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has anything to say about it, both will be Knicks next year.  But, many pundits have looked at Los Angeles, Dallas, Miami, Chicago as possible destinations as well.  There is also a possibility they will stay as both players like their team and city.

Lebron turned Cleveland into a team to be reckoned with during his time there.

Bosh brought the Raptors back to respectability since his arrival.

No one knows what will end up happening.  Now both teams’ fans play the agonizing waiting game.  They will put faith in their respective GM’s to make the right call.  Both teams will be anxiously waiting for news from Twitter, the papers or the stars themselves for the next two months.  It will be excruciating.

Fans in Cleveland and Toronto will be united in their agony of waiting to see where the chips fall.

Where they fall could have serious repercussions for these two franchises.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | May 8, 2010 · 6:29 pm

Suns Rising in Phoenix

Who would have thought it, only a few months ago?  The Phoenix Suns on the verge of making it into the Western Conference Finals.

A month ago people were talking about Lakers and Mavericks with the Spurs and Nuggets having outside chances.  No one was talking about Phoenix.

Steve Nash celebrates a victory over the Spurs. He has been the leader for the Suns in this years playoffs once again and is carrying his team to the finish.

They have been a cursed team ever since Steve Nash was body-checked into the scorers table against the Spurs by Robert Horry.  They haven’t really contended for this sort of success since that day.

The Suns have made the Conference Finals twice in the last six years, only to come up short.  They almost made the conference finals in 2006 but were thwarted by a Robert Horry body-check that resulted in players being suspended.

Nash won two NBA MVP trophies and had one of the most dominating starting lineups in the league during those years, but still came up short.  They let Joe Johnson go, traded away Shawn Marion and draft pick after draft pick, leaving them with Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire and question marks.

The team has really turned it around this year and it all stems from the play of its leader: Steve Nash.

Nash has a history of making players into stars.  He did it for Shawn Marion and Joe Johnson and he’s doing it now for Jason Richardson and Channing Frye.  It seems no matter who he is playing with on the court, they are better because Nash gives them the ball in the right spot at the right moment.   The point guard shows confidence in their ability to score and they do.

He handles that ball out there with such confidence.  He runs the floor with ease and seems to always find an open player.  Whether he earns the assist or not, the team usually comes out of each set with a decent shot at the basket.

Amare Stoudamire is not complaining.

Coach Alvin Gentry has certainly found the right chemistry in this post-season. The Suns look poised to take out the Spurs and head the Western Conference Finals.

He has been the beneficiary of Steve Nash’s leadership since Nash arrived to Phoenix in 2004.  Now, that’s not to say Amare isn’t one heck of an NBA player on his own merit, but Nash has certainly made his job easier.  In fact, this summer Amare might be thanking Nash a whole lot if Stoudamire is able to cash in on a big payday in this summers free agent market.

Amare may now be the premier big man on the market this off-season.  Sorry, Chris Bosh. He is almost assured a max contract from somewhere.  Hopefully for the Suns, he is able to stick around and continue his alliance with Nash.

GM Steve Kerr will have some tough decisions to make this off-season, but for now he should be happy to watch the team he has built perform in the desert.  The Suns have achieved higher than expectations.

Kerr has finally found the right mix of players.  Something the team has been searching for since it lost to San Antonio in the Conference Finals in 2005.  Players have come in and players have left.  Joe Johnson, Shawn Marion, Quentin Richardson, Shaquille Oneal… the list goes on and on.  They have never found the right mix of players.

But this year, led by Nash and Amare,  the Suns have found the magic necessary to compete with the top teams in the very tough Western Conference. Kerr is the one who brought them in.  Not all are household names, but they have fit in well.  Most are castaways from other teams or former stars that lost a bit of their lustre.

Channing Frye, a tough inside player with a three-point shot let go by New York despite consistent play.  Jared Dudley, a defensive specialist who played a key role on a rebuilding Charlotte team.   Grant Hill, the ageless wonder playing like he is wearing a Duke uniform, was let go by Orlando and was pondering retirement before Kerr snapped him up and added him to the Suns frontcourt.  Goran Dragic, the apparent successor to Steve Nash emerging as a hero in these playoffs was acquired from the Spurs after being drafted 46th overall in 2008 (don’t they wish they had that one back now).  And Jason Richardson, emerging as a possible future star in this league was a key Kerr acquisition at the end of the 2008 season and has been a focal point for the team on offense.

Finally a balanced attack.  One that coach Alvin Gentry has used perfectly in taking down the Trailblazers and now the Spurs.

Kudos to GM Steve Kerr for sticking with the right pieces and making smart off-season moves and trades to fill in the missing holes.  And kudos to Alvin Gentry who has gotten the most out of this team.

One thing is for certain, this is not a team I would want to be facing in the Conference Finals.

Good luck to the Lakers.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | March 16, 2010 · 7:54 pm

Raptors Still Looking for Leader of the Pack

The Raptors ship is in danger of sinking.  They are barely holding on to the eighth seed in the East and have two tough home games against the Hawks and Thunder this week.

If the Raptors intend to the have visions of playoffs dancing in their heads they need to turn a corner.  This corner has nothing to do with their shot selection or match-ups against opposing teams.  They need to find that inner dragon.  The will to win.  The belief in themselves and the unapologetic fight that winning teams have in spades.  They need to find the swagger that the Cavaliers and Lakers have.  The vocal leadership that players like Rasheed Wallace and Joe Johnson bring to the table with their respective teams.

Charles Oakley was never one to "beat around the bush". He told it as he saw it.

The Raptors have not had that in a long time.  Not since Charles Oakley.

Love him or hate him Oakley was a motivator in that locker room and was key to the initial success of the Toronto Raptors.  Yes, Vince and McGrady had a thing or two to do with the Raptors making the playoffs for the first time and winning their first series, but it was Oakley that pushed them to get there.

He was vocal, wasn’t afraid to call out his coach and teammates and he brought it on the floor.  He fought for loose balls, rebounded with the best of them and knew his role.  Not everyone liked what he had to say but he pushed his teammates to be better.  And they were.

Where is that presence now?  Where has it been the last few years?

Chris Bosh finally broke his silence and called out himself and his team but where has that been all season?  Where has that been since Chris Bosh was a member of this Raptor team? It was long overdue and hopefully not too late.   Let’s hope it wasn’t a one-off because the Raptors need that leadership in the locker room if they intend to be a playoff team.

Good Teams have vocal leaders.

Boston has Garnett and Wallace, there’s Lebron and Shaq in Cleveland.  Juwan Howard is a nice complement to the young stars in Portland and Stackhouse has been invaluable in Milwaukee.  Where is our veteran leader?  Who was that even supposed to be going into this season?

I feel that Colangelo had designs of that player being Hedo Turkoglu but we see how that has panned out.  If anything his example is catching on in a negative way, setting a poor example for young players like Derozan and Jarrett Jack who are emulating his negative attitude. Hedo hasn’t led on the court and he has been awfully quiet off of it.  Unless you count “ball” as motivational speaking.

Bosh has taken it on himself, but his comments may be too little, too late.  Team meetings and group talks aren’t working.

The time for discussion is over and tough love needs to be delivered.  The players have chosen their words carefully and decided not to rock the boat.  Chris Bosh’s words were direct, but still lacked that punch the Raptors need.  Even the moves by the coach have been reluctant and tentative.  Putting Calderon in to start the 3rd against Portland was a significant signal but not a wake up call.  Benching Hedo, calling out a player or two directly…these are the moves that drastically shake a locker room and it looks like this locker room needs some shaking.

Oakley was a player that walked the walk and talked the talk. This leadership has been missing from this years Raptor squad.

Charles Oakley was the type of veteran voice in the locker room that is missing in Toronto.  The Raptors need that now more than ever.  A Charles Okaley, a Derek Fisher, a Jason Kidd.  Someone who is going to come in and inspire. Who will fight on every possession even if they lose the fight.  Someone who won’t only lead by example, but be one as well.  A coach can’t do that.

This Raptors team needs to find it’s inner Oak and fight to the finish.

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Kristoffer Pedlar
The Zan Tabak Herald

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by | January 19, 2010 · 10:29 pm

The One That Got Away

It was a tough game to lose as the Raps played well enough to win against the very talented Lebron James and the Cavs.  The Raps battled and hung with Cleveland all night but missed opportunities, especially in the fourth, and as a result watched what could have been a big win fall through the cracks.  Free throw shooting, rebounding and a rough end to the game did them in.  A lot of positives to take away from the game but definitely a missed chance.

Lebron James draws another foul (surprise, surprise) en route to a tough win over Raptors.

The Zan for Three

4th Quarter Efficiency

Lebron and the Cavs are an elite NBA team and the Raptors hung with them all night and had many chances to steal a win, but if you’re going to be considered an elite team yourself you need to come up big in the fourth quarter.  The Raps didn’t make the right calls in the fourth opting for jumpshots instead of finding cuts and taking the ball to the rim (Which is what had them in the game all night).  Toronto played well enough to win but didn’t get the job done in the fourth.

Flu Shot for the Win!

Marco Belinelli has not played the last couple of games because of the flu but he looked well rested and healthy tonight.  Belinelli was one of the key reasons the Raps hung around so long.  He made smart cuts, drove to the basket and shot the ball really well.  He brought a lot of energy , on a night that Hedo Turkoglu couldn’t and didn’t , and was a major reason the Raptors played so well.

Lebron Factor

The man really is an amazing player to watch even if he looks like Sanford from “Sanford and Son”.  The play of the game, from my point of view, was not his dunks or nice passes, but his steal on the Calderon pass to Bosh in the fourth quarter.  Say what you will about the refs when he plays (and they were their regular star-loving selves tonight)  but he is quite an efficient player and a marvel to watch on both ends of the floor.  His shots are so confident, he drives the net with ease and his defence is nothing to sneeze at either.  There was no stopping him tonight, whether the refs would have let that happen or not.  He is a tough player to beat.

Zan of the Night

Who Else?

Lebron James.  He was the driving force behind the Cavs (as he is most nights).  Points, Assists, Defence.  You name it, he did it.   It was also rare to see Shaq actually back him up tonight with some decent play.  Shaq is looking older and older but tonight he gave Lebron some decent offensive support..

Honorable Mention to Demar Derozan.  The Kid is starting to play with confidence and is earning his minutes.  He played another great game tonight and is hopefully turning the corner this year as he heads to a very important second half for himself and the Raptors.  He could be a big part of the success of the Raptors down the stretch.

Not Zan of the Night

Hedo Turkoglu.  He picked up two quick fouls and was from that point on, a non factor.  There are, oh I don’t know, $50 million reasons why he should be a factor but continues to underwhelm and disappoint.  It has been a rough patch for him.  Let’s hope he pulls it together because if we are going to compete in the playoffs and maybe steal one from a big club like Cleveland we will need Hedo Turkoglu.  Could have used him tonight.

By the way….  I miss Anthony Parker.  Just saying.

Kristoffer Pedlar
Zan Tabak Herald

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