SB Nation - Pops Mensah-Bonsu

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - A Little Athleticism Goes a Long Way

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 12:46:47 -0000

More photos » by Ron Turenne - NBAE/Getty Images

The HQ has loved Sonny Weems for a while, and so should you. Here's just one example of why.

Defeating one of the better teams in the Western Conference, the Toronto Raptors snapped their two game losing streak. Vicious D talks about the win and gives us a look at the game that was.

The fans wanted Jarrett Jack to start. With Jose Calderon out, they got what they wanted.

The fans wanted more athleticism on the floor, especially with regards to Sonny Weems. With fewer options as Jarrett Jack would need to play a lot of minutes at the point, the fans indeed got more Weems as well.

The fans wanted "the Legend" to get some burn. With the Rockets having few lumbering big men, Pops Mensah-Bonsu came into the game and showed the Rockets what they had let go.

Now that's not to say that every single opinion of every fan should be taken as the truth, but there's a reason why the Toronto Raptors took down a very capable Houston Rockets team 101-88 for their first Sunday win of the season. Jay Triano deserves quite a bit of credit for finally giving some burn to players we've clamored for all season, and Triano even went so far to start the second quarter without a single starter on the floor. As a result, the Raps were covering each other on defense, racking up nine blocks for the entire game. It was impressive seeing both Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Amir Johnson help each other out of jams with their tenacious defense. Both energized the crowd throughout the game with their tenacity and grit to get rebounds and to protect the Raptors' paint.

On the other end of the court, Sonny Weems gave the Raptors a fairly impressive boost from the bench. Scoring with drives and his jump shot, Weems managed to put up 11 points off the pine, a nice boost during the times when the Raptors offense stalled. Chris Bosh put in a fairly quiet 27 points leading all scorers, but the best player on the court yesterday had to be Jarrett Jack. Taking the ball inside and out, distributing effectively to his teammates, sticking his nose into the crowd to get rebounds, almost sitting on players in order to "defend" them, and even coming to the defense of teammates, Jack showed the heart that was sorely needed in the absence of Jose Calderon.

Sticking up for DeMar DeRozan after Trevor Ariza took a swing at the rookie, Jarrett Jack immediately stepped into Ariza and proceeded to defend the rook. All over the ACC, everyone was applauding the move as the Raptors have been too soft and too slow in the past to take such actions. It is this kind of heart that Jack has shown that has made him another leader in this team so far in this young season, something again, that this team sorely needs.

On the Rocket's end, you never really felt that the Raptors had complete control of the game as Houston managed to keep hanging around. And a late run brought Toronto's lead down to single digits. However with Ariza away from the game, the Raptors kept defensive pressure on the Rockets perimeter while making some key baskets down the stretch. Carl Landry and Luis Scola were both having their way in the paint, but beyond that, Houston just didn't get that many opportunities, especially on the break. Other than Aaron Brooks, who had 20 points, the rest of the Rockets team couldn't crack the 10 point plateau. The fatigue argument could be made for Houston but you still have to hand it to Toronto's defense on the afternoon.

With the next two games being their annual back-to-back trip to Miami and Orlando, the Dinos will need to sustain the effort that they put into yesterday's game. We've already seen that this Raptors team can overcome their defensive stigma if they only work on it a little and if the right personnel are given a chance. We are almost halfway through December and it's time that Jay Triano sticks with what works. Certain players have consistently shown a propensity to change the tempo of the game even when the starters sometimes have shown a lack of initiative.

So enough with the "set line-ups."

As the team draws near the trimester mark of the season, It's time they go with what works best in terms of playing time, even if this means injuring a few egos along the way.

After all, Bryan Colangelo talked about 50 wins to start the season.

With yesterday being only win number 11, this team still has a long ways to go but provided they can get near that 50 mark, I'm pretty sure both management and the fans won't care what line-ups help reach that plateau.

Raptors Rapid Recap - Toronto 101 - Houston 88

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:40:12 -0000

-Best game of the year so far by the Toronto Raptors? It's quite possible as Toronto pulled off a surprising win this afternoon against a tough Houston squad using some smothering defense.

-How good was the D? The Raps held the Rockets to only 88 points on 37 per cent shooting. Houston helped matters by having an atrocious shooting day from downtown (13 per cent) and outside of the interior of Carl Landry and Luis Scola (46 of the team's 88 points), didn't get much of a boost from their perimeter players.

-In fact, in a very strange incident, wing Trevor Ariza was tossed in the third quarter for throwing an elbow at the back of DeMar DeRozan's head. From the replays, it was hard to tell if it was intentional or simply a reactionary play after DeRozan stole the ball from him and started the fast break. It wouldn't be surprising though to see a suspension come from Ariza's actions.

-But back to Toronto here. Chris Bosh led the way again with 27 points but he finally got some great balance on O from the rest of his teammates. Hedo Turkoglu busted out of his slump with 23 points, Andrea Bargnani had an efficient 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Sonny Weems even chipped in 11 off the pine.

-The player of the game though was Jarrett Jack, who was masterful at both ends of the court finishing with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists. He led the charge in terms of intensity and gave the team a huge boost of grit and toughness enabling them to hold the lead for the game's duration.

-The other person on the Raps who deserves major recognition is Jay Triano. Triano finally saw the light in regards to playing TO's most effective players and it resulted more minutes for the likes of Weems and Mensah-Bonsu, and less for players like Belinelli and Wright (who didn't get off the pine.)

-We'll break down this win further in the morning but safe to say it was a biggie. Toronto desperately needed to get a W before heading to Miami and Orlando and now have some momentum going into those two tough matches.

3 In the Key: Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Houston

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 14:47:24 -0000

More photos » by Chris Young - AP

The Raptors are going to need a lot of this kind of play if they hope to keep pace with an extremely balanced Rockets team.

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Vicious D looks at today's game and is quite envious of the Houston Rockets who are extremely good despite not having their two best players. The Raptors will be in it tough today if they don't play like a team.

Oh hey.

If the last two Raptors games gave you a migraine, I don't blame you. I'm starting to think I'm a sadist as this will be the third game that I'll be attending in this young year. In all honesty, I usually make it a rule to go to games in the second half of the season after the Christmas break, just to make sure the team has started to hit their stride. The Raptors, after having a flash of "let's play defense" for two games against weaker opponents, have now lost against two fairly good teams who have exposed the Raptors' "improved defense" for what it is: a paper tiger.

Now you might say, "ok, the Raptors were down Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani as both weren't 100%". Ok, but our opponents today are the Houston Rockets. They're a team that has been arguably down at least one of their two best players for what seems like an eternity, and yet, they remain competitive, focused to win, and have depth in spades.

So much so that they could even cast off Pops Mensah-Bonsu without even batting an eye.

However, it's not like we were all gun-ho about all the moves that were made. It was back in the middle of the summer when most of the Raptors' Nation was in awe of Colangelo's Great Canadian Raptors Makeover Part Deux. Bryan Colangelo decided to let Pops walk, go for Hedo Turkoglu, fill his rosters with a coveted European and signed Jarrett Jack. At this point, while most of the Raptors nation was marveling at the moves, Franchise and Howland were both grumbling. We had one of our Raptors HQ meetings where I posed the situation and question:

Bryan Colangelo for all his flaws, has always been a good GM because he's left himself flexibility to get out from players that have underperformed. He's always seemed to have expiring contracts that he could trade away and get something back for. Now let's say this team is merely good at best, and at worst, terrible. Who can he trade away and change? Besides Chris Bosh, just about everyone is locked up for the next 3-4 years at least. That's starting and backup point guard, starting small forward, starting center. That doesn't exactly allow you make changes if you need to.

And so here we are, a team that will need to play extremely hard just to get a mediocre defensive effort. A team that has to rely on a high powered offense, which by the way, isn't all that high powered having lost in every good ol' fashioned shootout with just about every team out there this young season.

Yup, that almost just screams at Chris Bosh to stay.

But back to Houston. The Rockets are a team that have managed to stay relatively consistent thanks to some veteran leaders, some smart drafting, and keeping their roster full of athletes who have good basketball IQ. In fact, you could even argue that the Rockets are a much more dangerous team without T-Mac than with. Coming into today's game having won two in a row, having beaten both L.A. and Cleveland, the Rockets are a team that wins thanks to true balance throughout their roster. They are the well-oiled machine to the Raptors' own greasy mess, so our boys will have a tough time. To keep things competitive so that we can see a rare Sunday win, the Raptors will need to:

1) Minimalize the Loss of Calderon
Everyone's taken shots at the Spaniard this year. I've always defended Calderon over the years for his abilities, and he's been one of the players on this team who actually stands up for himself and his team. Those who wanted Jarrett Jack to start will now have a healthy dose of Jack for a while. The question is just how the bench will respond. We've long proposed to have a lot more Belinelli instead of Banks since he's comfortable with the ball and quick enough to defend against most point guards, but the trickle down effect should also mean that Sonny Weems will get more play time.

On the other hand, a lot of people have mentioned that this will maybe give Turkoglu more minutes handling the ball, but I'm not convinced that the reason the Turk has struggled has been because he doesn't have the ball enough. In any case, the Raptors have lost a leader, a guy who has been a fairly good shooter, and one of the hearts of this edition of the Raptors.

How the Raptors will overcome that will need to start today.

2) Team Play
The only way the Raptors will play good defense against the Rockets is if they communicate and act like a team. One of the reasons for the Rockets' success is that different players have stepped up over the course of the season to make big plays. The tough part about playing a team like the Rockets is that anyone can be a potential threat. So the Raptors will need to be organized on defense, they'll need players to have personal responsibility while they're defending their man, and they'll need to communicate. Otherwise, the Rockets will find that one or two weak spots and the whole defensive scheme will fall apart.

3) No Sleep For the Bench
In Friday's game against Philadelphia, the Rockets had six players in double figures. Their top scorer? Carl Landry off the bench. The Rockets are a team that are unabashed about playing their bench. With players who can get double digit nights when needed, and consistent rebounding that doesn't seem to drop off, the Rockets' bench has always seemed to be an X-Factor. Kyle Lowry and Chase Budinger are both ready to come in and steady the shop along with Landry when the starters aren't getting it done. It's allowed this Rocket team to weather storms and pull out some close victories.

Outside of last Saturday's win, the Raptors have lost on every single weekend game so far this season. This win won't be easy to come by, especially since the Raptors will need to make adjustments to compensate for the injured Calderon. But the Raptors have traditionally been fairly strong against the Rockets at home. Here's hoping the Raptors figure it out and manage to pull out a much needed quality win.

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - Jacked

RaptorsHQ - Howland — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 14:16:37 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

After drawing comparisons to Roko, Jarrett Jack awoke from an early season slumber and was key in the Raps victory Friday night. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

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The Raptors continued their roller-coaster ways on Friday night. After taking a commanding lead early in Friday night's affair the Dinos allowed the Heat back into the game and barely managed to secure the 120-113 win after some big shots from an unexpected source.....Mr. Jarrett Jack

After games like this one I have a difficult time trying to recap what transpired.

I mean, where do I begin?

Well, there is no better place than the beginning...and at the beginning it was all good.

Although things started slow out of the gate (a pace that favours the Heat) the Raps were staying in the game, as opposed to say... falling behind by 20. Actually, had it not been for a few turnovers the Raps would have been beating the Heat at their own game.

Having managed to stave off a slow start things started to turn heavily in the Raps favour when Coach Triano went to the bench - Sonny Weems and Pops Mensah Bonsu in particular. In a somewhat surprising move the first two guys off the Raptors bench were not named Marco Belinelli or Amir Johnson. The insertion of Weems and Pops sent a clear message to anyone who cared to take note. That message? Guys willing to play defense will get playing time. A commendable message and one that needed to be sent.

At that point the Raps really turned up the temperature on the Heat. The Raps were holding their opponents to a more than respectable shooting percentage and their offense started to click. Suddenly the tempo of the game was more up-beat and the Raptors offense was starting to thrive off the D. The Raps started to play what we all view as "Raptors Basketball".

Triano's message seemed to have reached it's intended targets. When Johnson and Marco entered the game both seemed focused and ready to play - in particular Marco. Belinelli was a force in the second quarter. Not only was the "chucker" making his shots but he was also creating for others (4 assists).

The bench play seemed to inspire the starters and before you knew it the Raps were up by 20. The proverbial shoe, was now on the other foot.

Now if you only watched the first half and then looked at the box score this morning it looks like all went well in the last 24 minutes. What the box score tells you is that Turkoglu was strong in all areas, Bargs had a double-double (gasp), Bosh continued to be a beast and Calderon handed out 10 assists. Well this is one of those times when the box score doesn't really tell you what happened.

The box score doesn't tell you how the Raps managed to do a complete about face and fall back into being the team we saw on the West Coast.

So what happened?

First off, Coach Triano, seemed to go completely rogue. After showcasing an impeccable substitution strategy in the first half, the Raptors Head Coach shortened the bench and for unknown reasons seemed committed to leaving the same guys responsible for the great first half on the bench. In the alternative, Triano favored playing Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack at the same time and for the majority of the second half.

As Franchise and Defensive Stance have discussed, this back-court duo just is not getting it done when playing together. It was no different tonight. Jose and Jack just don't make good back-court mates and the statistics support that proposition. Watching Triano see the J&J back-court squander the double digit lead without so much batting an eye or turning to the bench is baffling. I am left scratching my head.. I can understand why Triano didn't want DeRozan guarding Wade (early on Wade was schooling the rook), and Marco had apparently tweaked his ankle, but I am not sure why Triano wouldn't have gone with Jack at the point with Weems at the two.

Why no Calderon you ask?

Well, it is quite simple.

First, Calderon is playing horrible defense right now. Actually horrible is probably an understatement. Jose is getting killed off the bounce and as a result the Raps collective team defense is suffering. This was clearly obvious in the second half where Calderon's defense left the Raps big men no choice but to leave their man to help resulting in some open looks for the Heat. Jose was also the man guarding Mario Chalmers who helped shoot Miami back into the game.

Second, last night Jarrett Jack played easily his best game as a Raptor.

After a slow start to the season Jack finally broke out and was absolutely clutch down the stretch scoring 10 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter including two big three point shots. His was more confident shooting the ball he simply looked more "in control". He not only has a nice scoring night but he also had three assists with no turnovers. Hopefully this is a turning point for Jack and he can start playing at a level we all expect. He is a much better player than shown so far.

Speaking of turnovers, the Raps did a poor job protecting the basketball and this was a major factor in allowing the Heat back into the game. The Raps turned the ball over 20 times as compared to the Heat's 9. The turnover differential really hurt given they were shooting so much better than the Heat (57.5% vs. 43.8%). The Raptors gave the Heat more opportunities to score and Dwyane Wade and Co. took advantage.

The Raps, despite a terrible second half, still managed to get the win and now find themselves just one game under .500. It is nice to see the Raps get back to winning but I have to wonder whether this type of basketball is conducive to winning.

The most concerning thing in my eyes is the lack of consistent effort that continues to plague this team. It's clear that this team can play respectable defense and when sharing the ball the offense can be an unstoppable force. Yet for some reason, they cannot, or at least they have not, put it all together. As a result we are seeing 20 point deficits turn into close games and 20 point leads disappear in a quarter.

Does it make for entertaining ball? Absolutely.

Does it make for winning ball? On this evening yes, but long term I have my doubts.

Up next for the Raps is another team from the Southwest Division...the Orlando Magic.

The Magic are coming off a statement win in Boston where even without Jameer Nelson they were able to get a W at the Garden.

So what are the three key's to tomorrow's game?

1. Stay Afloat Early - This upcoming game strikes me as one where the Raps could find themselves down by 20 in a blink of an eye much like what happened in Denver. Even without Nelson the Magic had a lot of firepower and if facing little resistance on the defensive end could bag this game early. Don't forget this Magic team, even without Carter and Rashard Lewis, put 125 points up on the Raps in the last meeting. The Raps need to protect home court and not allow this game to get out of hand. If they can stay in it early the fans should give them the much needed extra boost (with Carter in town) to try and steal the win.

2. Bosh vs. Howard - Remember in the last match-up when good friends CB4 and Dwight Howard got into it under the hoop and Bosh didn't back down? It's that kind of attitude which can help this team win. No-one on the Raps can back down and that includes Bosh who is going to have to put up another massive game. Bosh, and Bargnani for that matter, will have to attack Howard time and time again in hopes of either putting Goliath into foul trouble. If Howard is given the chance to dominate the painted area it is going to be an uphill battle. Look for Rasho to get some burn as well.

3. Jarrett Jack - Now that Jack had his breakout game let's see if he can continue to build off that performance. Given the lack of depth the Magic have at the PG position Jack will need to take advantage of the likes of Anthony Johnson. Again second unit play is going to be big in this game. Here's hoping that Jack gets his minutes at the PG spot on Sunday because if J&J end up together on the floor again I may just have to turn to football.

Waive Goodbye, Part 3

Jon L — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:15:16 -0000

by Chris Young - AP

Pops! (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

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We wrap up our look at which players got waived last week and which made their respective teams with the Divisions Atlantic and Southwest. Really, I promise those are the correct divisions. I know some of these cuts happened a while ago, but I think that seeing them all as a group helps give a broader perspective as to which teams around the league are filling out the end of their benches with cheap talent (and it is talent). Here's part 1, and here's part 2 (and ignore the whole "Derrick Byars made the Bulls" thing. It happened, then it didn't happen.) Part 3 is here:

Boston Celtics

Who got cut: Mike Sweetney

Who got kept: No one.

Well, not no one, but their third-string guards are going to be recent draft picks Lester Hudson and the J.R. Giddens Rebounding Machine. Mike Sweetney is trying, he really is, and he's mostly fine on the offensive end. His conditioning is awful, though, which means he gets hurt and that he's several steps too slow on defense when he makes it onto the court. There's been some suggestion that he could try working his way back into shape in the D-League, and it will be interesting to see what he does from here. J.R. Giddens will likely see some D-League action himself, as his shooting is still really bad. I'm guessing Lester Hudson will as well. After all, the Celtics have a team in their own backyard, and they can't make Danny's son look bad by withholding their NBA talent.

Dallas Mavericks

Who got cut: Jake Voskuhl

Who got kept: No one.

What, you want me to talk about Jake Voskuhl? The Mavericks also rid themselves of Nate Jawai, who hadn't been there all that long, but I suspect that was more of a cap move than anything. D-League-wise, ESPN's Marc Stein things that rookie Rodrigue Beaubois could see some time in Alberquerque, as minutes could be hard to come by for him in Dallas. Beaubois is definitely talented, and he had an intriguing Summer League, so he could be fun to watch for the Thunderbirds.

Houston Rockets

Who got cut: Will Conroy, Romel Beck, Garrett Temple

Who got kept: Pops Mensah-Bonsu

The Rockets had to waive Brent Barry in order to keep Pops, so that's something. It's a shame Conroy couldn't stick around, as he played very well in Summer League and decently when he got preseason minutes, but the (ridiculous?) upside is that he hopefully showed other teams around the league that he can run an offense and is ready to play in the NBA. It's great that Mensah-Bonsu made the team, obviously, but it shouldn't really be that much of a surprise. A power forward/center somewhere between 6'6" and 6'9" who rebounds the hell out of the ball? Sounds like the Rockets to me. Add to that the fact that the team doesn't really know what it's going to get from new center David Andersen either, and you can see why they might want some extra frontcourt help behind Scola, Hayes and Landry. Mensah-Bonsu's offense will be up and down, but as Rockets fans are finding out, that's going to be true for a lot of their players. I'd definitely expect to see Jermaine Taylor and hopefully (for his and the team's sake) Chase Budinger in Rio Grande Valley at some point later this season.

Memphis Grizzlies

Who got cut: Mike Taylor, Thomas Gardner, Leon Rodgers

Who got kept: No one.

Again, it's not really "no one," as Trey Gilder is still around after signing a partially-guaranteed contract back in August. Mike Taylor has proven that he can play in the NBA, provided he can keep his turnovers to a minimum. It will be interesting to see what he does, as other players with less NBA experience have already said they're fed up with trying to make it out of the D-League and are heading to Europe. Taylor probably could lead the Euroleague in scoring, but he'd also be perhaps the number one call-up candidate should come back to the D-League, based on his NBA experience and ability.

New Jersey Nets

Who got cut: Bennet Davis, Will Blalock, Brian Hamilton

Who got kept: No one.

I didn't really expect any of these guys to stick around. Blalock and Hamilton are headed back overseas, I suspect, while Davis would do well to go back to the D-League and either develop an offensive game or become a top-notch post defender to go with his elite shot-blocking ability.

New Orleans Hornets

Who got cut: Earl Barron, Larry Owens

Who got kept: No one.

The Hornets are one of those teams that clearly don't care about the D-League, so I'm not really sure what to write here. Pass? Incomplete? Not qualified? Earl Barron has a D-League pedigree, sure, but even given his time with the Miami Heat this was pretty clearly not going to work out for him unless Hilton Armstrong went down with an injury. I'm guessing Barron goes the overseas route, but seeing him in the D-League would be a pleasant surprise.

New York Knicks

Who got cut: Warren Carter, Sun Yue, Ron Howard, Gabe Pruitt

Who got kept: Marcus Landry

Plus, don't forget the team also cut partially-guaranteed guys Chris Hunter and Joe Crawford. This team is all about winning on the cheap, right? And yet they cut several good, cheap players. But hey, have fun with that whole Jared Jeffries thing. Carter is probably going back to Europe, though I think coming to the D-League might be worth his time, because as I've noted several times before he has a David Lee-ish game. Ron Howard may come back to the D-League, though I'm less certain about Sun or Hunter. I wouldn't be surprised if Sun entered the draft, as he's become a semi-prominent example of a Chinese basketball product aiming for the NBA, and to give up on that while he's so young could be somewhat embarrassing. It also would give the D-League someone to market with so many players headed overseas this year. If he does enter the draft, it will be interesting to see both where he ends up and in what round, as the league considers him somewhat of a star, and while NBA stars can play pretty much anywhere, I'm not sure the same is true for the D-League. A crazy thought popped just into my head: would the Spurs/Toros be interested in giving him the Marcus Williams Treatment? Sun's offense isn't nearly at the level that Williams's is and was, but the Toros essentially created an NBA point guard where there wasn't one, which is what Sun Yue is. Or isn't.

Philadelphia 76ers

Who got cut: Stromile Swift, Sean Singletary, Rashad Jones-Jennings, Brandon Bowman, Dionte Christmas

Who got kept: No one.

So the 76ers apparently were comfortable with their roster as it stood. How's that working out? Yeah, yeah, they already had a lot of guaranteed contracts, and it's not like Sean Singletary is the bee's knees, but this is yet another team that doesn't really care about the D-League, or where their end-of-bench guys come from. Singletary could benefit from some D-League time, but a lot of European teams don't really care whether their point guards can distribute the ball as long as they can score, so that's likely where he's headed. Christmas could stay in the U.S., if for no other reason than to be on hand if the 76ers decide they want to sign him to a 10-day and then not play him.

San Antonio Spurs

Who got cut: Marcus Williams, Curtis Jerrells, Dwayne Jones, Jack McClinton

Who got kept: Malik Hairston

San Antonio went with Keith Bogans over Marcus Williams, even though Bogans played pretty poorly in the preseason while Williams barely played. I say that Williams was waived instead of Bogans and not Malik Hairston because Hairston played so well in both Summer League and the preseason that I would've beeen pretty shocked to see him gone. McClinton, Jones and Jerrells have already signed overseas, and Williams is another guy who it will be interesting to watch, because he'd be at the front of the call-up list should be come back to the D-League. He'd probably also be a first-round D-League draft pick and maybe the first player taken overall. As much as we praise him here at RU, Williams does still have some work to do as a point guard, mainly getting his turnovers down. And, if he tries to hang around the Spurs universe he'll have to become a better-than-passable defender. But the fact that he's gone from a gunning wing to a high-scoring, (mostly efficient), high-assist point guard in the span of less than a year is a testament to Williams's talent and how hard he's willing to work to improve his chances, which speaks well to his basketball future.

Toronto Raptors

Who got cut: No one.

Who got kept: No one.

Okay, this is who should get the pass/incomplete/not qualified. They didn't sign any waiver fodder, so they didn't have to cut any waiver fodder. All is not lost, however, as Sonny Weems seems to have landed solidly in Toronto after being traded twice this offseason. He's begun the season on the inactive list, where I suspect he'll see a fair amount of time, but still.

Game 1 Preview: Rockets vs. Blazers

Dave — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:45:06 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Oh NO you DIDN'T preview us like that!!! Rudy, how's your man gonna do us that way after we beat y'all in the playoffs? That's cold, man! Cold!

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Game Time: 7:00 p.m. Pacific TV: KGWHD

It's a game. A real...live...game! The start of the season is upon us!!! Pull out your remotes, brush off those season tickets, order that extra-large hot wings appetizer, or whatever it is that you do when the Blazers hit the floor. It's go time.

A Look at the Rockets

You probably remember the Rockets from the last time we played them which was, well, the last game we played. Who can forget Portland's first return to the playoffs since the Wallace years? Who did not tremble at the coming of Yao Ming, the behemoth who owned the...what? Yao is out with another foot injury? How many feet does this guy have? Is he an octopus or something? OK, then I'm sure we all remember the way Ron Artest pushed the Blazers around and scored at wil...huh? With the L*kers? Fine, fine. But you still can't take the Rockets lightly with Tracy McGrady around. He may be getting older but he's still tall, fairly agile, and can hit shots that mere mortals wouldn't dare to appro...o...ohhhh what NOW? Why are you tittering behind your hands? Let me guess. Tracy McGrady went to get a chili dog at an all night stand and as he was paying he dropped the a quarter which rolled towards a sewer grate and when he bent over to pick it up he was rudely assaulted by a vicious yo-yo gang who left dents and bruises on tender parts of his anatomy and he won't be in service for another six months.

Will somebody please tell me who IS actually available for the Rockets?

I see. Aaron Brooks. He's speedy. Trevor Ariza. The most overrated acquisition of the off-season. Shane Battier. An older, but better, Ariza. Scola, Hayes, and Landry. Isn't that the firm that represented Ben in his latest round of contract negotiations? And that's it? Oh...excuse me. How could I forget Kyle Lowry, Chase Budinger, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu?

Look, there are some good players there. They're great complementary players even. But this is just...ouch. Somebody's going to score in that lineup, but he's not going to be anyone's first choice. Brooks' speed and the rebounding and jump-shooting of the three forwards tied the Blazers in knots last spring but all of them keyed off the threat of Yao and Artest. Without those two breaking ground the Blazers should be able to handle the threat the rest of this lineup poses, both individually and combined. They'll still rebound. They'll still defend well. They'll still manufacture some points. But every single shot is going to be harder without those stars. Every single miss will be more crucial. And every single Blazer is going to be harder to handle.

There's not much you can say about this 0-0 version of the Rockets except that they're going to try really hard but the game will be a struggle for them every single night. It's like going to a potluck at the nursing home. Maybe, just maybe, you'll find some hidden gems on that table. But most of it you're just going to want to avoid.

Keys to the Game

1. Greg Oden...SMASH!!!

2. Greg Oden...SMASH MORE!!!

3. Just contest every shot. Mid-range jumpers are no threat if you have a hand in the shooter's face. Since you don't have to commit to stopping Yao in the post your hand should be in their face approximately 100% of the time. Similarly Aaron Brooks is going to get past our guards but he should meet some nifty and only slightly-stressed help defense on the way to the bucket. If you do any kind of reasonable job on defense there's no way they should be able to manufacture enough points to win.

4. Don't let the defense of Battier and Ariza frustrate you. Just work around them. Score from other positions first and then when they run to help set your shooting guards and small forwards loose. The one danger in this game is that you simply try to butt heads with the Rockets, grinding out a one-on-one offense that's not likely to score any more points than theirs does. Move the ball, make them chase it and deal with mismatches elsewhere, then once they're scrambling take them out.

5. They're not deep, so pound, run, scratch, and move them around. They'll get rebounds but make sure they're hard-fought. Push the ball up and make them run with you even if you don't have a fast break. Substitute enough to keep you fresh while they tire. Watch the fun commence as the second half progresses.

6. Greg Oden ANGRY NOW! SMASH EVERYONE GOOOOOD!!!!!!!

Final Thoughts

Since we're going with the semi-serious preview for Game 1 anyway we might as well open up the joviality in the comments. In addition to speculating about tonight's game share with us your favorite pre-game, in-game, or beginning-of-season superstitions and rituals. What do you do to bring the Blazers good mojo? What kind of welcome do you have planned for the season? Where, how, and with what bells and whistles will you be viewing the game tonight?

Be extra sure to check out the always-excellent TheDreamShake. Seriously, these guys put up one of my favorite sites ever. It has literally everything: analysis, emotion, goofiness, and sometimes flat-out jaw-dropping cantankerousness. Plus they're going to be angry about that nursing home potluck reference. "Who lost their partial in the mashed potatoes? Mr. Kamenski, that is NOT a serving spoon! Yes Mrs. Peters, I'll try your special recipe bean casserole. But you didn't have any beans or seasoning? You improvised? Oh...and that's not cream of mushroom soup either? Oy veh."

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 14:00:53 -0000

More photos » by Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images

8 months ago: LOS ANGELES - APRIL 15: D.J. White #3 of the Oklahoma City Thunder goes up for a dunk against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on April 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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The preseason is beginning to wind down, as there were just three games last night. And pretty uninteresting ones too for our purposes. A lot of guys playing two or three minutes. Let's get to it, I guess.

Atlanta Hawks 113, Washington Wizards 95

Paul Davis has played better in the preseason than I expected, and last night he shot 3-4 from the field and 2-2 from the line, and finished with eight points, three rebounds and a steal in a little under seven minutes. Courtney Sims played about eight and a half minutes and a finished with six points (on 2-2 shooting both from the field and the line), but had no rebounds and a pair of fouls. He's been scoring pretty well and pretty efficiently for Atlanta, but hasn't offered much else.

Houston Rockets 105, Oklahoma City 85

D.J. White had a pretty good game, shooting 4-6 and finishing with eight points, four rebounds and a block in 16 minutes. Efficient Pops was back in this one, as Mensah-Bonsu made five of his six field goals (though only three of his six free throws). He also grabbed four rebounds in a little over 16 minutes, though he also had a pair of turnovers.

Does Joey Dorsey make the Rockets' roster?

grungedave — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:24:55 -0000

I'm starting to get a little bit concerned.

Pops Mensah-Bonsu played a hell of a good game last night against the Raptors. David Andersen has showed he's at least competent in the rebounding and shot-blocking department. Chuck Hayes certainly isn't going anywhere. The Rockets can't just cut Brian Cook because they'd be eating too much $$$ (though this is an option if Les Alexander can afford the $3.5M hit). We all know that Luis Scola and Carl Landry are secure in their roles in the Rockets' frontcourt. And more and more it looks like Chase Budinger is going to stick with the team and continue the great tradition of tall token white guy shooters for the Rockets.

That leaves seven players that would compete for playing time in at the C and PF positions.

That also means a certain Joey Dorsey might be on the outside looking in. It's already been a topic of discussion among the beat reporters. Dorsey hasn't been getting regular minutes in the rotation. Not even in the pre-season. He certainly didn't get much run last year (his faulty foot injury did not help matters). Is it really possible that Dorsey gets cut in the next two weeks?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

This may truly put me at a loss for words. Whose alternate personality could I possibly take over if there are no antics involving the Dorsey Fin to write about? Pops just doesn't strike me as inherently funny and it would almost seem cruel to have a parody version of Chase Budinger for me to mock incessantly.

I'm crushed. Maybe I should start a "Please don't cut Joey Dorsey" petition? Who is with me?

Last Night in the Preseason

Jon L — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 05:24:35 -0000

More photos » by Chris Young - AP

2 months ago: Houston Rockets' Pops Mensah-Bonsu, left, scores over Toronto Raptors' Rasho Nesterovic during second-half NBA preseason basketball game action in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Chris Young)

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Houston Rockets 124, Toronto Raptors 112

Pops Mensah-Bonsu had a huge game off the bench for the Rockets, with 17 points on 8-9 shooting, seven rebounds and five blocks in 23 and a half minutes. It's probably not just optimism that makes me say that Mensah-Bonsu has a solid shot at becoming Houston's backup center this year, as the only other two guys who can play the position are Luis Scola, who's really more of a power forward, and David Andersen, who's talented but also new to the system and to the NBA (he fouled out in 22 and a half minutes). M-B's a bit undersized to play in the middle, true, but that matters less in Houston than with any other team. The lack of a consistent offensive game is what's held Mensah-Bonsu in the past, and one game certainly isn't evidence that it's suddenly shown up, but I do like his chances. Sonny Weems wasn't great for Toronto, scoring 11 points on nine shots, but he was bothered by his foot a little bit and also picked up three rebounds and a steal.

Utah Jazz 99, Portland Trail Blazers 96

Ime Udoka hasn't played much this preseason, but he had a pretty good game last night with five points on three shots, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in 19 and a half minutes. Utah's former D-Leaguers were more of a mixed bag (which makes sense, since there were, well, more of them). On one side there was Kosta Koufos who made his only shot, grabbed two rebounds and had a block, and while his per-minute numbers aren't great (he played just nine, and eight rebounds-per-36 is okay but not fantastic), both rebounds were on the offensive end, so that's nice. On the other side is Kyrylo Fesenko, who picked up four fouls and turned the ball over three times in his 11 minutes of action, though he did also have a pair of blocks.

Miami Heat 97, New Orleans Hornets

The Heat were in control for almost the entire game, and surprise surprise New Orleans' lack of any real bench scoring was one reason why. Rookie Marcus Thornton should help, but I remain puzzled as to why a team with such a smart, capable GM hasn't brought in any cheap help in over the last year. The team reported has liked Courtney Sims in the past, for instance, and he could've helped them out in both the scoring and big man departments. Maybe there are some stories I'm not privy to, or maybe they just don't consider the D-League, and bring in guys like Luke Nevill and Earl Barron and Larry Owens instead. If all of this seems off-topic it's because no one this website cares about played much. The aforementioned Barron played a little over four minutes and had two points and zero rebounds. John Lucas played two and a half minutes and scored four points on 1-1 shooting and going 2-2 from the free throw line, but once again Carlos Arroyo got the big backup PG minutes. Wheeeeeee.

Dallas Mavericks 113, Detroit Pistons 88

Nate Jawai played a little under eight minutes in this one, and the result was, well, Jawai-y. Two points, two assists, zero rebounds, two turnovers, two fouls. Maybe Dallas wasn't crazy for bringing Jake Voskuhl in after all (four minutes, two points, three rebounds, a steal and a block).

LA Lakers 98, Sacramento Kings 92

Shannon Brown seems to have firmed up his place in the NBA the last few years, but I'll include him here to "cover" this game. He didn't play particularly well, shooting 2-7 and finishing with six points and three fouls in 17 minutes, though he also grabbed four rebounds. It also sounds like he'll get some significant minutes this year, as he'll have spent more time in the Triangle, and the team has forwards who can run it (like Luke Walton) while hecontinues to get up to speed.

Ridiculous Transactions: 8/31-9/6

Jon L — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 18:57:32 -0000

So long, Josh Davis. Scott's going to miss you.

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Not much happened this past week save for a few minorly major signings, so this will be a post somewhat fitting for Labor Day. Let's get to it.

September 3: Josh Davis - signed with Panellinios (Greece); Jason Collins - signed with the Atlanta Hawks; Mikki Moore - signed with the Golden State Warriors

We don't cover a lot of NBA moves here, but I thought I'd offer the above two as contrast. Jason Collins can get an NBA job, but Josh Davis can't? But Lance Allred can't? But Will Frisby can't? Even Mikki Moore, D-League success story that he is, doesn't really rebound much anymore, and never really did much else. Sigh. It's stuff like this that keeps us here at RU working and talking about these players. Memo to the NBA: Davis, Allred and Frisby are all better than Jason Collins. They can actually help your team.

The other thing worth mentioning is that Davis was another player drafted by the Red Claws who now won't be with the team at the start of the season. I know the team likes to post comments here talking up their draft, but I'll just point out that the only frontcourt player whose rights they drafted who will actually be with the team come November is now Noel Felix, who is a solid defender but who offensively doesn't put much scare into other teams. I'm not too surprised at Davis's move, as he's 29 years old, and even though he can play in the NBA right now, the NBA doesn't seem to be requesting his services anymore. He has a family, so this was obviously something he felt he needed to do, and it's hard to argue with.

September 4: Pops Mensah-Bonsu - signed with the Houston Rockets

See Marge? These guys get it. It's officially official now, and while the contract is non-guaranteed and the Rockets have a lot of guys under contract right now, Chase Budinger and Jermaine Taylor are likely candidates to see beautiful Rio Grande Valley this season. The Rockets also like to go big, so having five guys who can play PF/C isn't the worst thing in the world. I'd also hope that at this point Mensah-Bonsu could beat out, say, Brian Cook for a roster spot, but crazier things have happened, like NBA teams continuing to pay Jason Collins.