SB Nation - Rafael Araujo

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post-Game Report - Fool's Gold

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 14:33:03 -0000

Story of the night for Toronto; one Atlanta player out-working and out-leaping three Raptors...

Franchise has seen enough. After a second straight lopsided loss to the Hawks, it's clear that this team needs some major changes if they hope to return to the post-season...

Last year after the season had concluded, I wrote a piece asking if the Raptors were really as good as the Hawks , who last year had sewn up a fourth place position in the playoffs.

After all, when Bryan Colangelo spoke to the media at season's end, he stated that he felt last year's Raptors' club should have been on par with teams like Atlanta, fighting for one of the 4 to 8 seeds in the East.

While a 111 to 89 loss wasn't a throttling on the same level as the last time these clubs met, last night's loss to Atlanta was further proof of just how far this Dino team has to go to be on par with the Hawks. I said it last night and I'll say it again; the Raptors could take on the Hawks 10 times this season and I'm completely convinced they'd get throttled each and every time; this is just a nightmare match-up for Toronto between Atlanta's advanced talent and superior athleticism.

However that alone doesn't explain yet another lackluster effort by the Raps in a short season already full of them. While Toronto kept things close in the first quarter, they were unable to get much help from their bench (outscored 55 to 31 by the Hawks last night) and once again, the game was essentially over by halftime.

Last night's loss ran Toronto's record to 3 and 15 when they allow opponents to score 100 or more points. (Their record is 7-0 when holding teams below that 100 point plateau.)

The defence isn't there, and hasn't been all season really, and now even the offence is floundering. Toronto for the second straight game barely extended their "3-pointers made" streak, and in fact took only 10 long-range bombs last night. Simply put, this team is not nearly athletic or aggressive enough to score without a heavy dose of 3-point shooting so 10 on a night is not going to cut it.

And that three-game winning streak from last week sure looks hollow now doesn't it?

The club beat up on a terrible Bulls' team, lucked-out of an OT loss to Washington after Gilbert Arenas blew a game-winning lay-up, and barely beat a 3 and 20 Minnesota club.

And now, with a slew of tough games on the horizon, it's possible that win number 11 doesn't come until next Friday against the Nets.

The frustrating thing from my perspective, is the effort first and foremost.

It just ain't there.

I've been a Triano backer all season but it's getting pretty hard to defend him and his staff. I mean, last night marked the ninth time already this season that the Raps have been beaten by 13 or more points! I was never a big Sam Mitchell fan but it was pretty hard to argue with the effort he got out of his club on a nightly basis. Even in the Mike James era on a club devoid of talent, at least you knew you were getting a max effort each and every time the team stepped on the floor. The team scrapped and clawed on every possession and ended up upending some teams despite relying on a journeyman chucker at the 1, Chris Bosh...and Rafael Araujo. There's no arguing that this team is a lot more talented, however they don't have the fight previous incarnations of the Raps had.

That's a pretty strong statement in itself considering that it's been years since one could refer to Toronto as being a "tough" team.

At some point, and soon, something needs to be done here as it's pretty obvious that even after the vaunted "closed door meeting" the team had recently, some things haven't been fixed.

Unfortunately, aside from moving some starters around (which now seems a sure thing at least at the 1; Jose Calderon re-injured himself last night and while I have no idea why he played at all last night, he's likely to miss a big chunk of time), I'm not sure what else can be done. The problems start with this team's composition and the players themselves, and a coaching change or line-up swap is again only a band-aid solution.

The reality in my books is that once again Bryan Colangelo has put together a team in his own image; flashy on the outside but hollow beyond that. Sure, the offence looks nice most of the time, but that's all for naught if the defence is beyond paper-thin, the effort isn't there every night, and the team wilts at the slightest challenge. The Raptors shot over 55 per cent from the field in the first quarter last night, but again were still behind on the scoreboard. That's simply absurd, but a defining statement about this club, who again fell to pieces as soon as Atlanta made their second quarter push.

That's why it still blows my mind that Toronto thought maxing out on Hedo Turkoglu was a good idea. The team is already chalk-full of players in his ilk; ones who can do a bit of everything, but who can't take over games when need be or defend and get stops.

In many ways he's the perfect Bryan Colangelo player, a fool's gold specimen if you will. 12 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists with a block looks beautiful on paper (or on your fantasy team), but again this came in a very lopsided loss, one in which he barely had an impact.

He's not alone in this boat though as we're 25 games into the season and this team still has no identity. The team has been outplayed badly in over a third of the games they've played, and risk running their lone bright spot right out of town.

Something's gotta give here.

Unfortunately, I'm just not sure what BC can do to get out of the corner he's boxed himself into.

Open Thread II: 2009 NBA Draft Lottery- Welcome to the 2009 Playoffs Warriors fans!

Atma Brother ONE — Tue, 19 May 2009 07:15:10 -0000

UPDATE (4:06 pm): Originally posted on May 19, 2009 12:15 AM PDT. Bumped up for the big show, but you better believe it's going back down if the Warriors fall to #10. Whether the Warriors land the #1 pick or slip 3 spots- remember GSoM is a family show!

----------------

How's this for dedication? We had an open thread up for today's big event TWO whole months in advance!

It's playoff time in the Bay! It's time for our annual installment of the NBA Lottery.

Photo: Warriors.com

After the jump a look at the 7 different possible scenarios for the Warriors this afternoon and how they've worked out the past 10 years for the teams drafting in those respective slots.

Odds via Wikipedia

#1 PICK (4.3% chance): A dream come true.

Hey you know GSoM did win the 2009 NBA Blogger Draft lottery, so maybe our luck will continue. Blake Griffin is the consensus #1 overall pick and I doubt the Warriors deviate from the norm here. Griffin would be a god-send and looks like a real deal franchise player.

Here's the last 10 #1 overall picks:

2008: Derrick Rose (Chicago Bulls)
2007: Greg Oden (Portland TrailBlazers)
2006: Andrea Bargnani (Toronto Raptors)
2005: Andrew Bogut (Milwaukee Bucks)
2004: Dwight Howard (Orlando Magic)
2003: LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers)
2002: Yao Ming (Houston Rockets)
2001: Kwame Brown (Washington Wizards)- BUST
2000: Kenyon Martin (New Jersey Nets)
1999: Elton Brand (Chicago Bulls)

#2 PICK (4.9% chance): So close, but not close enough.

The pundits seem to be picking Ricky Rubio to go #2, but is he really that much better than the next point guard on the board Brandon Jennings who is "mocked" to go as low as 7? I don't know.

#2's since 1999:

2008: Michael Beasley (Miami Heat)
2007: Kevin Durant (Seattle SuperSonics)
2006: LaMarcus Aldridge (Chicago Bulls)
2005: Marvin Williams (Atlanta Hawks)
2004: Emeka Okafor (Charlotte Bobcats)
2003: Darko Miicic (Detroit Pistons)- BUST
2002: Jay Williams (Chicago Bulls)- BUST
2001: Tyson Chandler (LA Clippers)
2000: Stromile Swift (Vancouver Grizzlies)- BUST
1999: Steve Francis (Vancouver Grizzlies)

#3 PICK (5.8% chance): In any other year this would be a real blessing.

But this year? Not too exciting, but who knows?

2008: O.J. Mayo (Minnesota Timberwolves)

2007: Al Horford (Atlanta Hawks)

2006: Adam Morrison (Charlotte Bobcats)- BUST

2005: Deron WIlliams (Utah Jazz)

2004: Ben Gordon (Chicago Bulls)

2003: Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)

2002: Mike Dunleavy (Golden State Warriors)- BUST

2001: Pau Gasol (Vancouver Grizzlies)

2000: Darius Miles (LA Clippers)- BUST

1999: Baron Davis (Charlotte Hornets)

#7 PICK (60.0% chance): We tanked it for this one.

Thanks to that marvelous extra tanking by Nellie and crew this is where the Warriors are currently slotted. If the Warriors don't move up to one of the top 3 spots and none of the teams below them move up they'll be drafting here.

Just for reference here are the last 10 players drafted at the #7 spot:

2008: Eric Gordon (LA Clippers)
2007: Corey Brewer (Minnesota Timberwolves)
2006: Randy Foye (Minnesota Timberwolves)- BUST
2005: Charlie Villanueva (Toronto Raptors)
2004: Luol Deng (Phoenix Suns)
2003: Kirk Hinrich (Chicago Bulls)
2002: Nene Hilario (Denver Nuggets)
2001: Eddie Griffin (New Jersey Nets)- BUST
2000: Chris Mihm (Chicago Bulls)- BUST
1999: Richard Hamilton (Washington Wizards)

#8 PICK (23.2% chance): Moving down...

2008: Joe Alexander (Milwaukee Bucks)

2007: Brandan Wright (Charlotte Bobcats)

2006: Rudy Gay (Houston Rockets)

2005: Channing Frye (New York Knicks)

2004: Rafael Araujo (Toronto Raptors)- BUST

2003: T.J. Ford (Milwaukee Bucks)

2002: Chris WIlcox (LA Clippers)

2001: DeSagana Diop (Cleveland Cavaliers)

2000: Jamal Crawford (Cleveland Cavaliers)

1999: Andre Miller (Cleveland Cavaliers)

#9 PICK (1.8% chance): 2 teams leap-frogged the Warriors.

2008: D.J. Augustin (Charlotte Bobcats)

2007: Joakim Noah (Chicago Bulls)

2006: Patrick O'Bryant (Golden State Warriors)- BUST

2005: Ike Diogu (Golden State Warriors)- BUST

2004: Andre Iguodala (Philadelphia 76ers)

2003: Michael Sweetney (New York Knicks)- BUST

2002: Amare Stoudemire (Phoenix Suns)

2001: Rodney White (Detroit Pistons)- BUST

2000: Joel Przybilla (Houston Rockets)

1999: Shawn Marion (Phoenix Suns)

#10 PICK (less than 0.01% chance): God is not a Warriors fan

This would mean THREE teams with better records this past season and consequently worse lottery odds for a top 3 pick moved up ahead of the Warriors. This would mean the 2009 NBA Draft Lottery went something like this: 1) New York Knicks, 2) Phoenix Suns, and 3) Charlotte Bobcats. Looks funny huh?

Here's the last 10 #10 picks:

2008: Brook Lopez (New Jersey Nets)

2007: Spencer Hawes (Sacramento Kings)

2006: Mouhamed Sene (Seattle SuperSonics)- BUST

2005: Andrew Bynum (LA Lakers)

2004: Luke Jackson (Cleveland Cavaliers)- BUST

2003: Jarvis Hayes (Washington Wizards)

2002: Caron Butler (Miami Heat)

2001: Joe Johnson (Boston Celtics)

2000: Kenyon Dooling (Orlando Magic)- BUST

1999: Jason Terry (Atlanta Hawks)

On a side note, it's too bad the Golden State Warriors unlike the NY Times didn't pay attention to Polling GSoM. We wanted Thunder to rep the Dubs in Secaucus, NJ, but it looks like new GM Larry Riley will be manning the ship. I would've loved to see Thunder, but I wish Riley the best.

Still...

It's PLAYOFF TIME in the Bay!

Poll

Where will the Golden State Warriors be drafting in the 2009 NBA Draft?

#7- They'll stay in the same spot

195 votes

#1- Hello Blake Griffin!

166 votes

#2- Ricky Rubio?

132 votes

#3- They'll move up 4 spots for the right to overpay someone

67 votes

#8- The Bricks, Craptors, Bucked, Net Loss, BETcats, Posers, or Sunny Delight will move up to the top 3

49 votes

#9- Ike Diogu, Patrick O'Bryant, and ??? (2 teams with better records than the Warriors will move up)

20 votes

#10- "Unstoppable Baby!" (THREE teams with better records than the Warriors will move up)

69 votes

698 votes | Poll has closed

Notes from the Bunker...

Peter W — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 02:18:52 -0000

Let me see...in the last week and a half I've lost serious investment money, heard some KTLK radio maroons claim Magic Johnson faked AIDS, saw some lady from Shakopee insist to John McCain that Obama is an Arab (she repeated her opinion, then added the two other often whispered but bogus Muslim and terrorist claims to a Star Tribune reporter), and watched the Lakeville town hall crowd boo when McCain told them Obama was a decent fellow. Not a great time to be in the middle class here in the Tundra.

Properly depressed, I hit the bunker for awhile, complete with my new HD screen, Wii, a great Vodka martini, and an Internet connection, scanning my universe for signs of hope. Given my ongoing distrust of our local NBA franchise, you can imagine how rock bottom my world is to say I have found a spark of promise in our club. How 'bout them Wolves anyway?

As much as I've joked about the Iron Ranger and the Wolves front office, they continue to make the little moves that have low risk and potentially high reward. Yes, they swung and missed on Shaun Livingston, but adding Kevin Ollie and David Harrison could be small gems during this long season. Harrison is a potential problem child to be sure, but has much more talent than either the just departed Rafael Araujo, or certainly Cal (Tattoo) Booth. If healthy and focused, Harrison gives them another legitimate big body; from what we've seen so far this preseason, Kevin Love will have some defensive adjustments to make against quality big men, which equates to fouls and extended bench time. Having both Harrison and Collins playing minutes at the 5 means no "forced feeding" of the rookie (pun intended); if Love has it going, keep him in, if not, slide Big Al over to his natural power position and let the Wolves work with a bigger front court. Here's hoping Harrison can get healthy and force the club to either buy out or waive Booth by the beginning of the season.

Ollie isn't a great player by any stretch of the imagination. However, like Greg Buckner last year, he can be enough of a glue guy to help out 5 -10 minutes per contest, or be DNP for a number of games and still make a contribution when his number is called. Other than Mike Miller, the veterans on this roster aren't particularly talented, but they seem to be straight up guys. That should help in the locker room if and/or when those extended losing streaks occur.

It may have been Fatigue Friday against the Nuggets (without Anthony, I might add), but my sense is the Wolves will increase their overall win total on the backs of teams like OKC, Milwaukee and Memphis this season, but still struggle mightily against the elite teams--save for a couple of exciting upsets. Hope is what we're looking for, so if those upsets come, say, against the Spurs, or a certain green clad team from Boston, that and 30 or so other wins will be enough for the majority of us.

Speaking of the Celtics by the way, it looks like they may have added some talent, also under the cover of low risk contracts. Here's Peter Vecsey's column today in the NY Post about one Patrick O'Bryant. We'll have to see if Darius Miles has anything left, but O'Bryant is showing some serious upside in the preseason. Good for them, bad for the rest of the league...maybe.

Looks like everyone everywhere could use a little more hope, even the champs.

Hoffa Gone, Snyder Hopping the Pond?

wyn — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 19:15:47 -0000

Well, that was quick. Rafael Araujo has been cut (Zgoda has the story), an unsurprising move considering the roster size and signing of David Harrison.

In just over 5 minutes of preseason action, Araujo notched 1 point and 2 rebounds. Not exactly a loss to lament.

In other transaction news, the Reno Gazette-Journal has this bit about Kirk Snyder:

And while Snyder isn't in camp, [agent Chris] Emens said his client is considering three offers from international teams -- one in Europe and two in Asia -- and is in conversation with one NBA team, which he declined to name. Emens said he expects Snyder to make a decision sometime next week on where he will play this season.

Seeholzer had this story on his PiPress blog yesterday, but didn't link to the RGJ.

As for Snyder, he played very hard for the Wolves last year and was a positive contributor, but his minutes would've been slim at the 2/3 with Miller, McCants, Brewer, Carney and such getting burn.

Look to Sham: Wolves Training Camp Picks Are At Least Entertaining

wyn — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 20:37:27 -0000

Because I dream of being the man, I wanted to share with you Sham's take on Minnesota's training camp signings:

Minnesota made me a happy man this summer. Their camp signings were Kevin Ollie, Blake Ahearn and Rafael Araujo, while Chris Richard accepted his qualifying offer. Blake Ahearn is a nice player. Kevin Ollie is a moustachioed legend with something of a Brunson complex. But....Araujo? That's friggin' perfect, man, on so many levels. There's so much right about that move. Part of it is the way that Rob Babock won't let go, part of it is the fact that it's Rafael Araujo, but also because his signing allows for the existence of this picture:

Only Rafael Araujo could use training camp media day as an excuse to pull an unhateably funny face such as that, while sitting in a brand spanking new home jersey that he's already managed to dribble on. The NBA needs Rafael Araujo.

Sham's prediction: Unfortunately, it probably won't get him. These moves give Minnesota 18 players under contract, 16 of which are at least partially guaranteed (except for maybe Richard. Notice I said maybe). The two that aren't are Ollie and Araujo, which doesn't bode well for Hoffa, as much as we want him to make the team. As things stand, Minnesota has the unrivalled Frontcourt Fivesome Of Shite™, with Araujo, Brian Cardinal, Calvin Booth, Mark Madsen and Jason Collins all on the roster. I want this to continue on forever and ever. But it won't. (Ahearn makes the team, by the way, and Booth gets cut. This is the prediction that I promised you, from the website that occasionally keeps its promises.)

A Salute to Kevin Ollie

wyn — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:56:45 -0000

In the comments section of a post this week I decried the signing of Kevin Ollie as our potential 3rd point guard. I'd like to say here and now that I apologize to Mr. Ollie and would like to present to you the reasons why I'd like the Wolves to consider keeping him over Rafael Araujo, Blake Ahearn and Calvin Booth.

Kevin Ollie was undrafted. Yep, plenty of guys get passed over in late June, only to work their way onto a couple NBA rosters or even have a very respectable NBA career (Ben Wallace, for one). But Kevin Ollie has stuck around for 11 years since leaving UCONN. Coincidentally, the Wolves are Ollie's 11th team (Joe Smith, Bobby Jones and Dan Dickau: eat your hearts out).

For a point guard to stick in the NBA for 11 years with averages of 3.8 ppg and 2.3 apg while shooting 41.1% isn't easy. So if he's not contributing much in the box score, there's got to be a reason he's averaged 15.6 mpg in 587 career games, right? Ollie works extremely hard, plays solid defense (at least he has in younger days), and makes very few mistakes. While those things won't get you on the All-NBA team, they will keep you in the leauge and are invaluable qualities on a young squad.

A couple statistics in his favor are nice too: his career Ast/TO ratio is 2.875, he's never averaged more than 1.3 tpg (he did it twice and once was as a rookie).

Those 11 years of experience are exactly what we need from a 3rd point guard. We don't need a starting or even backup point guard. We have a pair that are 25 and 23 years old. Despite Sebastian Telfair's improvement as a floor general and because Randy Foye has a ways to go, the Wolves could use a steady hand to run the offense in times of crisis and on the practice floor. Moreover, with the youth talking playoffs, it's nice to actually have someone who's experienced team success in the postseason.

Turns out Ollie's a stand-up guy in the community to. Read this story about his basketball camp and tell me your heart isn't warmed.

He rocks one of the best mustaches in the league:

via i.a.cnn.net

I rest my case.

So, Mr. Ollie, welcome to Minnesota, at least for the time being.