just an fyi, the raptors won the division last night with a victory over philly and a nets loss in chicago.

colangelo should win executive of the year hands down.

mitchell should be in serious consideration for coach of the year.

4th best record in the league since january 1st.

they're the 2nd best functioning team in the east. i suggest to all those with league pass, to watch them a few times. they really are a fun team to watch.

and i've been very impressed with sam mitchell's growth as a coach. it will be interesting to see them in the playoffs and see if mitchell can make adjustments during a series against the same team.

well guess what, his guys have been at full strength since jan 1st... except for their rook. but just goes to show that their crew can be solid, their core is good. bosh is a 2-way player, and how good the coach looks really sometimes is a reflection on how good of a team the GM has put together. Francis has sucked here.

Q was a leader, but he's injured. Jeffries was a wasted player - he sucks. The rookies are great. Nate has great talent, but is not pulling it together - he needs to grow. Channing is moping all season like a child. Imagine if Bargnani just moped around like that the whole time. He needs to step up and make something happen. With the knicks, it's not just on one player, but a bunch of players who have sucked.

Posted by Caseloads:

and how good the coach looks really sometimes is a reflection on how good of a team the GM has put together.

does it work the other way too? like how bad a coach looks is a reflection on how bad of a team the gm put together?

they lost bosh for 12 games in december. (marbury + curry have missed a total of 3-5 games this season).

they lost AP for a bunch of games (starting SG).

they lost tj ford for a bunch of games (starting PG).

they lost garbajosa for the season 3 weeks ago (starting PF).

and they lost bargnani for a good 15 games (6th man).

no...his guys have not been at full strength since jan 1st. no team really has. they are in the same boat as everyone else.

colangelo went out and brought in leaders and winners.

tj ford is a natural born leader at the pg position.
garbajosa - vet from the world championship team.
AP - back to back euro league mvp.
and the underappreciated rasho from a world championship team.

it's not a real wonder why everything just clicked.

not to mention a brilliant fred jones for juan dixon move (and a araujo for kris humpries one as well). not sexy moves on paper but got rid of players not playing for 2 that are helping the team win.

colangelo has the touch of gold. and sam mitchell has got them playing hard.

[Edited by - djsunyc on 04-07-2007 3:55 PM]

If we apply some of our daily excuses (injuries, coaching, hate a scrub, takes years for chemistry form) to them they should project to be world champs in a couple of years, while were trying to sneak in at the 8th spot.

on monday december 11th, the raps were 7-14 and on a 4 game losing streak.

since then, they've gone 36-19. that's 17 games over .500.

Solace

You have me dying right now hahahahahaha

Now we just have to get cracking on the excuses for the 2014-2024 seasons.

Posted by djsunyc:

i apologize for the brief thread jack by solace and bitty...but back to the raptors...

they are 30-15 since january 1st for the 4th best record in the nba during that time frame.

and for the first time in nba history, boasted the player of the month (bosh), coach of the month (mitchell) and rookie of the month (bargnani) in january.

dj you know where I stood with this team and it was way back in December. I love how some apologist glow over the Knicks playing .500 basketball after their poor start meanwhile the Raptors have been playing considerably better than .500 basketball after their poor start. They are considerably better recordwise since the injuries to their key players in Bargnani and Garb.

But before Luva goes off I must remember we can't compare the Knicks to the Raptors because they are an EXCEPTION.

Posted by djsunyc:

i apologize for the brief thread jack by solace and bitty...but back to the raptors...

they are 30-15 since january 1st for the 4th best record in the nba during that time frame.

and for the first time in nba history, boasted the player of the month (bosh), coach of the month (mitchell) and rookie of the month (bargnani) in january.

We're on a KNICKS message board and bitty made an interesting point. Sorry if you think it's a thread jack. Would you rather we made a new thread about it?

Anyway, congrats to the Raptors. They've turned it around quicker than most would've expected and you have to give them props for that.

Posted by BlueSeats:

Posted by djsunyc:

i apologize for the brief thread jack by solace and bitty...but back to the raptors...

they are 30-15 since january 1st for the 4th best record in the nba during that time frame.

and for the first time in nba history, boasted the player of the month (bosh), coach of the month (mitchell) and rookie of the month (bargnani) in january.

We found the one hater who can't be called a Nets fan.

dude was at the knicks game last night but watching the Raps on his slingbox phone thingy.

Posted by martin:

Posted by BlueSeats:

Posted by djsunyc:

i apologize for the brief thread jack by solace and bitty...but back to the raptors...

they are 30-15 since january 1st for the 4th best record in the nba during that time frame.

and for the first time in nba history, boasted the player of the month (bosh), coach of the month (mitchell) and rookie of the month (bargnani) in january.

We found the one hater who can't be called a Nets fan.

dude was at the knicks game last night but watching the Raps on his slingbox phone thingy.

Is that a joke or are you serious???