One giant leap for Moonkind

Jamario Moon led the Raps in minutes played tonight and was second in scoring. I have no further comments (because Turk has no further comments).

Crisis in Raptorland

After a promising 2-0 start, the wheels have fallen off the Raptors' season. Just two days after shellacking the Nets in New Jersey, questions began to arise about this team. In their OT loss to the Celtics, the Raps rode three quarters of offensive ineptitude to a nearly insurmountable lead, only to have TJ Ford rescue them with some timely threes. However, OT showed that when the Raptors need a stop, they're more dependent on the other team missing than anything they do. CB4 was manhandled in the post by KG, who happened to lead the NBA in adjusted plus/minus last year (see 82games.com). Ray Allen was also a beneficiary of Garnett, and the Raps' porous D, knocking down open shots when KG was doubled and using a monstrous screen from the big man to free himself for the game winning shot.
Tonight came more questions in a blowout loss at Milwaukee. The Raps were never in this one. Over the course of an 82 game season, these games will happen from time to time; but there were many troubling signs for Toronto in this one. Here are the most worrisome:
1. Reliance on the jump shot: This team seems to know they can shoot the ball. And, much like Vince Carter when he vastly improved his jumper, they have fallen in love with shooting. The Raps seem to have only two options on offence. Take quick jump shots and take quick fadeaway jump shots. No one attacks the rim with any consistency. If the Raps are going to be a good shooting team, percentage-wise, they're going to have to work the ball inside outside. Post and re-post. Drive and kick. Their current approach will lead to quick, bad shots, and blowout losses.
2. CB4: Plain and simple, he doesn't look like a starter in the league right now, let alone a 2 time all-star. Maybe it's his injury, his lack of conditioning. Whatever it is, he looks brutal. 1 point in 16 minutes? Getting outplayed, badly, by Andrew Bogut? Bring back Garth Joseph.
3. Sam's Rotation: I'm the biggest (only?) Jamario Moon supporter out there, but bringing the kid in midway through the second quarter in a still winnable game, before Jorge Garbajosa took off his warmups, was extremely premature. Mitchell has also been unable to find any combinations that have gelled yet and seems to have no idea how to utilize 18 Parkerville court, Bargnani, or Jason Kaponovich. You got three big, athletic shooters -- do we really prefer Juan Dixon, Kris Humprhies, and Jose Calderon jacking up all of our shots?

Sadly, there are more issues with this team, but I've exceeded my (self-imposed) word limit. Remember, though, that the Raps started last year 2-8. So as long as they win one of their next 6, they're ahead of last year's Atlantic Division winning pace.

Oh, and a big Happy Birthday to my most loyal, and only, reader, Shalom. May your birthday never again be host to such a pathetic Toronto sports performance (don't even get me started on the Leafs...)

One Small Step For Moon

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/271646

After an impressive pre-season, Jamario Moon has landed a spot on the Raptors 15 man roster. While his year will be a great success if his playing time exceeds my readership, just making the team is an incredible achievement for the career journeyman. And, if Colangelo's Midas Touch continues to shine through, look for Moon to headline the NBA all-defensive team by 2009.

My 2007-08 NBA predictions

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Chicago Bulls 54-28
2. Toronto Raptors52-30
   
3. Detroit Pistons 50-32
4. Orlando Magic 46-36
5. Boston Celtics 48-34
6. Cleveland Cavaliers 46-36
7. New Jersey Nets 43-39
8. Washington Wizards 41-41
9. Miami Heat 39-43
10. Milwaukee Bucks 35-47
11. Atlanta Hawks 34-48
12. New York Knicks 33-49
13. Charlotte Bobcats 29-53
14. Philadelphia 76ers 27-55
15. Indiana Pacers 26-56

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Phoenix Suns 63-19
2. San Antonio Spurs 60-22
3. Dallas Mavericks 57-25
4. Denver Nuggets 49-33
5. Houston Rockets 52-30
6. Utah Jazz 47-35
7. New Orleans Hornets 43-39
8. Memphis Grizzlies 42-40
9. Los Angeles Lakers 41-41
10. Golden State Warriors 39-43
11. Los Angeles Clippers 36-46
12. Sacramento Kings 30-52
13. Portland Trail Blazers 26-56
14. Seattle Supersonics 23-59
15. Minnesota Timberwolves 19-63
    

PLAYOFFS
First Round:
Bulls over Wizards ---- Suns over Grizzlies
Raptors over Nets ---- Spurs over Warriors
Pistons over Cavs ---- Mavs over Jazz
Celtics over Magic ---- Rockets over Nuggets

Second Round:
Bulls over Celtics ---- Suns over Rockets
Raptors over Pistons ---- Mavs over Spurs

Conference Finals:
Bulls over Raptors
Suns over Mavs

NBA Championship:
Suns over Bulls

AWARDS (runner-ups in brackets)
MVP: LeBron James (Steve Nash)
Rookie of the Year: Kevin Durant (Al Horford)
Coach of the Year: Marc Iavaroni (Stan Van Gundy)
6th Man: Leandro Barbosa (Manu Ginobili)
Most Improved:Lamarcus Aldridge (Daniel Gibson)
Defensive Player: Shawn Marion (Tim Duncan)

**Stay tuned for other random NBA predictions**

edited 10/25

John Hollinger's NBA predictions

	TEAM	PROJECTED RECORD	PROJECTED DIV. FINISH
1.	Chicago Bulls	55-27	1st in Central
Despite the glaring lack of frontcourt scoring, the Bulls are a threat to be taken very seriously ... MORE
2.	Cleveland Cavaliers	54-28	2nd in Central
People are dismissing the Cavs after watching their unimpressive performance in the Finals ... MORE
3.	Boston Celtics	51-31	1st in Atlantic
The addition of Garnett and Allen means the team is likely to more than double its win total ... MORE
4.	Orlando Magic	49-33	1st in Southeast
With the youth and the addition of Lewis, a five-game improvement doesn't seem outrageous ... MORE
5.	Detroit Pistons	48-34	3rd in Central
Despite the incredibly good fit between Detroit's different pieces, one wonders if this nucleus ... MORE
6.	Miami Heat	43-39	2nd in Southeast
The Heat are an incredibly difficult team to predict this year because they're basically ... MORE
7.	Atlanta Hawks	42-40	3rd in Southeast
Atlanta should win as much as it loses this season, and in this conference that makes ... MORE
8.	Toronto Raptors	40-42	2nd in Atlantic
Every key Raptor except Bosh and Bargnani projects to have a lower PER than a season ago ... MORE
9.	New Jersey Nets	39-43	3rd in Atlantic
The Nets still envision themselves as contenders in the East, but it's time for a reality check. ... MORE
10.	New York Knicks	38-44	4th in Atlantic
The Knicks won't be terrible, simply because Randolph gives them such an offensive force ... MORE
11.	Milwaukee Bucks	35-47	4th in Central
The Bucks should be quite a bit better because they'll effectively add three players to the ... MORE
12.	Charlotte Bobcats	34-48	4th in Southeast
Nobody is talking about the Bobcats, but the way they finished last season people really ... MORE
13.	Washington Wizards	33-49	5th in Southeast
I see Washington in decline for at least a year or two until the youngsters are ready to step up ... MORE
14.	Indiana Pacers	28-54	5th in Central
The Pacers seem headed in the wrong direction, and their reluctance to nuke the roster ... MORE
15.	Philadelphia 76ers	21-61	5th in Atlantic
Despite the good karma from last season's finish, it seems to me the Sixers will need to ... MORE

Hollinger's Projected Western Conference Standings (INSIDER)
	TEAM	PROJECTED RECORD	PROJECTED DIV. FINISH
1.	Houston Rockets	61-21	1st in Southwest
Betting on Adelman and McGrady to achieve postseason success hasn't been a really wise ... MORE
2.	San Antonio Spurs	59-23	2nd in Southwest
Once again, we'll conveniently ignore the Spurs until March 1, then look up and notice ... MORE
3.	Dallas Mavericks	58-24	3rd in Southwest (5th seed)
While I still get this uneasy feeling that 2006 was this team's best shot at a ring ... MORE
4.	Phoenix Suns	54-28	1st in Pacific (3rd seed)
They'll still be a great show, of course, and they'll still be a factor come May. But ... MORE
5.	Denver Nuggets	53-29	1st in Northwest (4th seed)
So while the upside for this group is high, they look more like bridesmaids in this conference. ... MORE
6.	Utah Jazz	50-32	2nd in Northwest
The Jazz have a couple factors pulling them in each direction. On the one hand ... MORE
7.	Los Angeles Lakers	43-39	2nd in Pacific
Nobody's really sure what their goal is or what the timeframe is for achieving it, but they ... MORE
8.	New Orleans Hornets	39-43	4th in Southwest
With improved health and the decline of several potential contenders, I think they'll ... MORE
9.	Golden State Warriors	36-46	3rd in Pacific
The fact the Warriors put it all together for two months last season doesn't necessarily ... MORE
10.	Seattle SuperSonics	35-47	3rd in Northwest
Clearly, we shouldn't expect much of a home-court advantage. But the Sonics will be better ... MORE
11.	Memphis Grizzlies	34-48	5th in Southwest
Yes, they'll be better, but that's hardly saying much. This is a transition season ... MORE
12.	Sacramento Kings	27-55	4th in Pacific
As a result, I'm looking for the worst Kings season yet -- and that's before they break out the ... MORE
13.	Portland Trail Blazers	26-56	4th in Northwest
Blazer fans might be crying into their organic fair-trade soy lattes after the loss of Oden, but ... MORE
14.	Minnesota Timberwolves	22-60	5th in Northwest
The Wolves lost 50 games with Garnett, and clearly they won't be better without him. ... MORE
15.	Los Angeles Clippers	20-62	5th in Pacific
Lots of people expect the Clippers to stink now that Brand is out. I'll take things a step further ... MORE