davis or ross

[koreancabbage]

With regards to our current roster, probably Davis.

na, we have Amir Johnson. who is only 25 still.

Ed Davis was as expendable as can be on this team. We are getting 1 more big back in a short while - so something had to give. Amir, Acy, and JVal are the hustle players on this team. Thats more than enough to fill the "void" left by Davis.

[ink]

na, we have Amir Johnson. who is only 25 still.

Ed Davis was as expendable as can be on this team. We are getting 1 more big back in a short while - so something had to give. Amir, Acy, and JVal are the hustle players on this team. Thats more than enough to fill the "void" left by Davis.

Two of those three are our best future starters. Hustle guys to compete with the best in the league?? Yes there is a void to fill.

Doesn't change my vote though. I'm glad we still have Ross.

[Vdot]

Two of those three are our best future starters. Hustle guys to compete with the best in the league?? Yes there is a void to fill.

Doesn't change my vote though. I'm glad we still have Ross.

Amir is still young yet experienced, has gotten better every year and is averaging numbers similar if not better than Davis as a starter. He's not just a hustle guy, he's a skilled finisher and rebounder as well. And he always knows where to be on the court. I think if he started every game next season, he could easily average something like 14 and 10. That's good enough for a starter, considering the bulk of the scoring is expected to come from the wing positions.

And as with Jonas, I think everyone can agree he has starter potential.

So IMO Amir and Jonas fill any void left with Davis being traded.

[ink]

Amir is still young yet experienced, has gotten better every year and is averaging numbers similar if not better than Davis as a starter. He's not just a hustle guy, he's a skilled finisher and rebounder as well. And he always knows where to be on the court. I think if he started every game next season, he could easily average something like 14 and 10. That's good enough for a starter, considering the bulk of the scoring is expected to come from the wing positions.

And as with Jonas, I think everyone can agree he has starter potential.

So IMO Amir and Jonas fill any void left with Davis being traded.

Amir and Jonas as the starting bigs on a contender? Sorry, that's not very credible. They're both good players but come on. Jonas has a long way to go and Amir struggles with bigs with size. Believe me, I like the player and yes, I saw the great game he had tonight, but we need an upgrade there. Even if they were to be the starters, and I think that's a stretch, we have little depth and the void shows up there.

[koreancabbage]

Two of those three are our best future starters. Hustle guys to compete with the best in the league?? Yes there is a void to fill.

Doesn't change my vote though. I'm glad we still have Ross.

oh i'm not disagreeing with you but when you already have three hustle guys as your bigs in those three, Ed Davis' value was the highest and most tradeable. How else can you explain that if this trade was proposed at the beginning of the season, this obscure trade that would have been laughed at and dismissed.? Amir Johnson is still developing per say and he's dropping that fouls/game ratio down.

its a definitely a win in terms of what we got back in Gay. BC was brilliant for not falling to their demands for Ross. Now you have to wonder what kind of trade demands they were asking from Washington (who was alleged frontrunner for Gay)

[koreancabbage]

Amir and Jonas as the starting bigs on a contender? Sorry, that's not very credible. They're both good players but come on. Jonas has a long way to go and Amir struggles with bigs with size. Believe me, I like the player and yes, I saw the great game he had tonight, but we need an upgrade there. Even if they were to be the starters, and I think that's a stretch, we have little depth and the void shows up there.

its okay. we have Aaron Gray.

[ink]

oh i'm not disagreeing with you but when you already have three hustle guys as your bigs in those three, Ed Davis' value was the highest and most tradeable. How else can you explain that if this trade was proposed at the beginning of the season, this obscure trade that would have been laughed at and dismissed.? Amir Johnson is still developing per say and he's dropping that fouls/game ratio down.

its a definitely a win in terms of what we got back in Gay. BC was brilliant for not falling to their demands for Ross. Now you have to wonder what kind of trade demands they were asking from Washington (who was alleged frontrunner for Gay)

I'm over Davis being traded. It was not really about Davis per se, it was about that leaving the door open for Bargnani to return to the starting PF role. If he temporarily comes back and shoots the lights out as the 6th man, increasing his trade value, all the better. My concern, like a lot of people here, is that Bargs will return and disrupt the flow of a rapidly developing team.

[koreancabbage]

I'm over Davis being traded. It was not really about Davis per se, it was about that leaving the door open for Bargnani to return to the starting PF role. If he temporarily comes back and shoots the lights out as the 6th man, increasing his trade value, all the better. My concern, like a lot of people here, is that Bargs will return and disrupt the flow of a rapidly developing team.

I dont think so. I think Casey has proven that he's gotten hold of this team now and he wont let Bargnani shoot 20 shots a game anymore like he did in the beginning of the season. I think when Bargnani comes back, he's gonna be efficient, and there will be less focus on him defensively. He's a decent one-on-one defender and thats what we need still in terms of big man. Amir can't do it all the time.

I think Bargnani as a 3rd/4th option is going to help this team moving forward and I actually like that he CAN space the floor or play in the post. as long as the ball is not in his hands for more than 5 seconds in any given 24 second shot clock possession.

[Sanyo]

Poor Davis only got 5 minutes of playing time today -- I really hope Memphis gives him minutes. I have a feeling they may flip Davis for somebody else...

[Borough]

Ross has the potential, Davis has the position

toss up but i voted Davis cause now were evidently weak with the bigs

[rockbottom2010]

alex anthopoulos v2.0

[B2B]

Amir and Jonas as the starting bigs on a contender? Sorry, that's not very credible. They're both good players but come on. Jonas has a long way to go and Amir struggles with bigs with size. Believe me, I like the player and yes, I saw the great game he had tonight, but we need an upgrade there. Even if they were to be the starters, and I think that's a stretch, we have little depth and the void shows up there.

Could that perception to you be because the team uses him at centre?.

Last night against Griffin who is one of the bigger/stronger/athletic PF's in the league.

Griffing 17pts, 9rbs, 2asts (4-11) 34mins

Amir -19pts, 16rbs, 3asts, 1stl, 1blk (7-9) 37mins

Points in the paint Raptors 38 - 30 against lob city.

The increase in Amirs production is mainly because he's getting more minutes. IMO best player on court for either team, shout out to DeRozan.

If the team were to play Amir at centre next to an undersized PF (Ed) Jordan & Griffin would have went off. Instead they had Amir at PF with Grey's size on Jordan.

Amir is this teams best overall big man defender & 2 way player.

Something i would try with this team that I know would not be favorable is Bargnani at centre playing high point on offense utilizing Gay, Amir in the post & occasionally DeRozan if he has a smaller defender on him.

[B2B]

Poor Davis only got 5 minutes of playing time today -- I really hope Memphis gives him minutes. I have a feeling they may flip Davis for somebody else...

Something that I know won't get mentioned is that Ed also followed Arthur off the bench.

Randolph 36min, Arthur 17mins, Ed 5mins

Arthur is 25 & on a 3mil contract for the next 2 seasons. With Ed about to get an extension, I can only assume Memphis are angling to trade Randolph & replace him with Ed hopping he would become the cheaper equivalent despite his extension next season.

[ink]

Could that perception to you be because the team uses him at centre?.

Last night against Griffin who is one of the bigger/stronger/athletic PF's in the league.

Griffing 17pts, 9rbs, 2asts (4-11) 34mins

Amir -19pts, 16rbs, 3asts, 1stl, 1blk (7-9) 37mins

Points in the paint Raptors 38 - 30 against lob city.

The increase in Amirs production is mainly because he's getting more minutes. IMO best player on court for either team, shout out to DeRozan.

If the team were to play Amir at centre next to an undersized PF (Ed) Jordan & Griffin would have went off. Instead they had Amir at PF with Grey's size on Jordan.

Amir is this teams best overall big man defender & 2 way player.

Something i would try with this team that I know would not be favorable is Bargnani at centre playing high point on offense utilizing Gay, Amir in the post & occasionally DeRozan if he has a smaller defender on him.

Yes that is my concern. Amir ends up at C.

It's a little like the Rudy Gay situation. He's very good but getting him opens up holes in other areas. Do you see how I can easily like Rudy Gay or Amir Johnson but see that strategically getting these players (Gay) or using these players (both Gay and Amir) out of position (at the 4 and 5 respectively) can work situationally but doesn't address the need for someone solid BESIDE them. It's not that THEY are so lacking, so there's no need to keep proving that they are good. My issue is more with team building than with the worth of those individuals.

It's that they are not enough and there are other holes that need to be addressed. You saw that in order to compensate for holes at the 4 Casey used Gay there last night right? I heard in his post game interview that Gay says "sure, put me at PG, I'll do it". I admire his willingness and enthusiasm but I'm hoping the GM has a few better ideas than to spread the players all over the lineup out of position to compensate for holes he hasn't addressed with his roster.

And I feel like the organization needs to close the chapter on Bargnani, not misuse him again at C. He may surprise us but we have really seen a lot of him and by now you'd think BC would know that we need another option. That's my only reluctance about losing Ed Davis. I know Amir is solid but he's only one player.

As for Ross, I am glad we kept him but damn he needs minutes to improve, and he needs to drive more. We have some interesting problems on the wing now. It will be interesting to see how they resolve themselves. Hopefully the minutes issue will be relieved a bit through trade of one of Anderson or Fields.

[B2B]

Yes that is my concern. Amir ends up at C.

It's a little like the Rudy Gay situation. He's very good but getting him opens up holes in other areas. Do you see how I can easily like Rudy Gay or Amir Johnson but see that strategically getting these players (Gay) or using these players (both Gay and Amir) out of position (at the 4 and 5 respectively) can work situationally but doesn't address the need for someone solid BESIDE them. It's not that THEY are so lacking, so there's no need to keep proving that they are good. My issue is more with team building than with the worth of those individuals.

It's that they are not enough and there are other holes that need to be addressed. You saw that in order to compensate for holes at the 4 Casey used Gay there last night right? I heard in his post game interview that Gay says "sure, put me at PG, I'll do it". I admire his willingness and enthusiasm but I'm hoping the GM has a few better ideas than to spread the players all over the lineup out of position to compensate for holes he hasn't addressed with his roster.

And I feel like the organization needs to close the chapter on Bargnani, not misuse him again at C. He may surprise us but we have really seen a lot of him and by now you'd think BC would know that we need another option. That's my only reluctance about losing Ed Davis. I know Amir is solid but he's only one player.

As for Ross, I am glad we kept him but damn he needs minutes to improve, and he needs to drive more. We have some interesting problems on the wing now. It will be interesting to see how they resolve themselves. Hopefully the minutes issue will be relieved a bit through trade of one of Anderson or Fields.

Then your concern is with coaching. Casey can use all of Jonas, Gray & Bargnani at C.

Gray for size/strength match ups, Jonas for prototypical length, energy, speed & Bargnani offensively.

Prototypical lineup

Gray/Val
Amir/Bargnani
Gay
DD/Ross
Lowry

Unconventional spacing

Bargnani -stretch
Amir - post big
Gay - pseudo PF
DD - post him against smaller players
Lowry

Small ball

Amir/Jonas
Gay
DD
Ross
Lowry