[smub]

who do you think is going to take the NBA Title this year ??

i think it'll be Miami, and i want them to take the title.

Not only because they are my home team, but they have D. Wade and Shaq, and they can turn the game around any second they want.

I hope they win.

Who do you think will win ??

 

[masterofhockeyknowledge]

who do you think is going to take the NBA Title this year ??

i think it'll be Miami, and i want them to take the title.

Not only because they are my home team, but they have D. Wade and Shaq, and they can turn the game around any second they want.

I hope they win.

Who do you think will win ??

No way. Detroit is the most high powered, unstoppable playoff team ever. It's impossible to beat them in the playoffs. I bet they will beat San Antonio in a rematch yet again.

 

[NICEGUY]

I think i can say forsure it wont be the raptors. And since theyre my home team, and theyre HORRIBLE (god, even talking about them is a waste of time) i dont watch, care of follow.

Toronto just doesnt build wining teams, we're happy with 2nd best :thumbsdow

 

[outsider]

Detroit obviously!

I dont concentrate much on NBA but I have heard in many forums that Detroit is presently the strongest!

My vote is for DETROIT

 

[imported_shookem]

Same question a year latter.

I think it's going to be either Phoenix or Dallas.

Huge win for the Raps last night over the Nets. They now are up 4.5 games for the division lead.

 

[Sabres Fan]

I think it will be between the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavericks

Detroit will win it though

 

[BE-LEAF-ABLE]

If Steve Nash stays healthy, then I also think Phoenix.

 

[imported_shookem]

ASG weekend in the association!

I love the skills comp and can't wait to watch the rookie / soph game.

Go Bargnani and Garbo!

 

[imported_shookem]

Did anyone catch any of it last night?

It was perfect timing, just after the Leafs game ended the three point comp and dunk-off were on.

Jason Kapono is deadly, he made 70 per cent of his shots!

Gerald Green deserved to win the dunk comp but Dwight Howard was robbed, he should have been in the finals. Nate was played out, although him being in Green's dunk was cool.

It was fun though. The big game tonight!

 

[panoo]

Raptors' rebuilding pleases its architect

GM has no plan for big moves ahead of deadline
Bruce Arthur in Toronto, National Post
Published: Wednesday, February 21, 2007

In previous years, all it took to locate holes in the good ship Toronto Raptors was to look, and then to point. Point guard? Chemistry? Salary flexibility? Defence? Centre? It was all there. Or rather, more often, it was not.

But as tomorrow's NBA trade deadline follows in the echoes of the all-star weekend -- on a personal note, we're just happy to have made it out of Las Vegas alive -- the team's weaknesses are far more difficult to find. Point guards? T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon might comprise the best one-two point guard punch in the league, unless you consider Phoenix's Leandro Barbosa a point guard, which we don't. Chemistry? Got it. Salary flexibility? There's only two contracts that go more than three years, and they belong to player options for Ford and Chris Bosh.

As well, the Raptors are 27-16 since a 2-8 start; 16-6 since Bosh returned from a knee injury to start 2007; and 10-2 in its past 12 games. This is going pretty well.

All this adds up to a deadline that is unlikely to be active, and even if the Raptors do make a move, it would be a surprise if it didn't take place at the far end of the bench.

"I don't anticipate anything, and certainly nothing significant," said Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo yesterday. "The group of players that we have together, and the way the team is performing right now, and how it fits into the building of the team over a period projecting out several years -- the pieces that I consider significant are not going to be moved."

If you look at his record, the defining trait of Colangelo's career is that he is unafraid to make bold strokes, and that, like many general managers, he is never satisfied. A quiet deadline does not mean this is a perfect team, since obviously it isn't. If you're looking for areas that could certainly stand improvement, Toronto could use a small forward who can create off the dribble to play in a three-man rotation with Anthony Parker and Morris Peterson, and a short-term backup centre. But it's not the end of the world if that doesn't happen.

FULL STORY

 

[panoo]

Report: Raptors ship Jones to Blazers

TSN.ca Staff
2/22/2007 1:22:42 PM

TORONTO (CP) - Juan Dixon is the newest member of the Toronto Raptors.

The Raptors acquired the backup guard from the Portland Trail Blazers ahead of the NBA's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline in exchange for Fred Jones, a source out of Portland confirmed Thursday.

The six-foot-three Dixon is averaging 8.9 points, 1.5 assists and 1.5 rebounds this season. The 28-year-old is in his fifth season in the league.

Dixon has this season and next left on his contract that will pay him US$2.5 million this season and $2.75 next season.

FULL STORY

 

[panoo]

Former Celtics great Johnson passes away

Associated Press
2/22/2007 4:53:06 PM

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Dennis Johnson, the star NBA guard who was part of three championship teams and combined with Larry Bird in one of the great post-season plays, died Thursday after collapsing at the end of practice. He was 52.

Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, was unconscious and in cardiac arrest when paramedics arrived at Austin Convention Center, said Warren Hassinger, spokesman for Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services.

Paramedics tried to resuscitate him for 23 minutes before he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, Hassinger added. Mayra Freeman, a spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office, said there will be an autopsy.

The Toros postponed home games Friday and Saturday nights, the D-League said.

Johnson, a five-time all-star and one of the great defensive guards, played 14 seasons and retired after the 1989-90 season. He played on title teams with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979, when he was the NBA finals MVP.

FULL STORY

 

[Briere48]

I think the Dallas Mavericks or Phoenix Suns will win the title this year, and in the final 1 of those teams will be playing Detroit. I also believe that if the Rockets make it to the playoffs then they will be in with a chance.

 

[panoo]

Raptors roll over Rockets

Associated Press
2/28/2007 11:04:38 PM

HOUSTON (AP) - After a 16-point loss in their last game, the Toronto Raptors talked about improving their passing.

That fundamental translated into some excellent shooting Wednesday night as the Raptors used a strong first half to build a 20-point lead and beat the Houston Rockets 106-90.

Andrea Bargnani scored 20 points and T.J. Ford and Kris Humphries added 16 apiece for the Raptors, winners of 10 of 13. Toronto was coming off a 107-91 loss at San Antonio on Monday night.

"After not playing so well at San Antonio, today we moved the ball well," said Bargnani, who was 8-for-12 from the field, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. "We moved the ball and we got open looks.

"Some days you hit the shots. Some days you don't. Today was a good day for shots."

Coach Sam Mitchell agreed.

FULL STORY

 

[imported_shookem]

I think the Dallas Mavericks or Phoenix Suns will win the title this year, and in the final 1 of those teams will be playing Detroit. I also believe that if the Rockets make it to the playoffs then they will be in with a chance.

Oooo, those Rockets didn't look too good last night when my Raptors kicked to poop out of them. Granted, Yao was out but still, other than T-Mac, how has that team done so well, they've got nobody!!

 

[panoo]

Kings' Ron Artest arrested for assault

Associated Press
3/5/2007 7:13:44 PM

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Sacramento Kings forward Ron Artest was arrested Monday after a woman called 911 from his home saying she had been assaulted.

Placer County sheriff's deputies responded about 9:30 a.m. to Artest's estate in the Sacramento suburb of Loomis, where they found a woman who had suffered injuries, officials said. She declined medical attention.

Deputies arrested Artest on suspicion of domestic violence and using force or violence to prevent the woman from reporting a crime, sheriff's spokeswoman Dena Erwin said.

FULL STORY

 

[Briere48]

Do you think the Mavs will make it to 70 wins this season?
Hope so!

 

[panoo]

Raps' Bargnani undergoes appendectomy

Canadian Press
3/21/2007 7:46:41 PM

TORONTO (CP) - The Toronto Raptors will have to figure out how to play without Andrea Bargnani after the prized rookie underwent an emergency appendectomy early Wednesday morning.

Bargnani is one of the NBA's top first-year players and has emerged as a key cog in the team's push to their first playoff appearance in five years.

''We've played with guys being out for different reasons, we've just got to move on and we'll get him back when we get him back,'' said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell before Wednesday's 92-85 win over Orlando at the Air Canada Centre. ''We've had different guys out, every guy's important. We'll just go out and do what we've been doing, play the best we can play.''

The No. 1 overall draft pick in 2006 from Italy will remain in hospital for the next few days.

''At this point, there's no set timetable for a return,'' Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo said. ''We're going to be looking at trying to get him back as quickly as possible but we obviously will do it the right way.

FULL STORY

 

[imported_shookem]

The team responded well last night beating the Magic.

Chris Bosh got a career high in points as the Raps increased their division lead to six games over the New Jersey Nets.

 

[Briere48]

Bryant Amongst the Scoring Elite

By scoring 60 points in a 121-119 win over Memphis on Thursday, Kobe Bryant became the first player since Michael Jordan in April of 1987 to score 50-plus points in three straight games.

At this rate, Bryant has a chance to become the greatest scorer the NBA has ever seen.

Let that marinate for a minute.

The G.O.A.T. of the NBA. Top of the totem pole. Best of the bunch.

Bryant has the opportunity to be better than Wilt with his 50-point single-season average. More accomplished than Kareem and his 38,387 total points. Even more prolific than MJ who dropped 63 points in the playoffs and caused another guy who wasn’t too shabby at scoring himself, Larry Bird, to say it was like playing against James Naismith, er, God, disguised as Michael Jordan.

He entered the league having not one measly collegiate point and could exit with more scoring feats than any player to ever lace them up.

How did it happen? How did a player who scored zero points in his NBA debut and who took 16 games as a pro to reach 80 career points end up scoring 81 in a single game?

How did a skinny guard out of a suburban Philadelphia high school that took 90 games to reach the 30-point plateau, end up scoring 30 points in a single quarter (just short of George Gervin’s record 33) against the Jazz this season?

Full Story