The tale of two sophomores
Thursday, December 20, 2007 | 10:46 PM ET
Last night (Dec. 19) the Toronto Raptors hit a wall, scoring only 13 points in the fourth quarter, on the way to a 101-96 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. The Raptors started the game off shooting well, racking up 83 points in the first three quarters, before fatigue caught up with them in their second game on back-to-back nights.
Last night’s game was dominated by last year’s NBA Rookie of the Year and sixth overall draft pick, Portland’s Brandon Roy. He finished the game with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists - all team highs. This was in stark comparison to last year’s top overall draft pick, Toronto’s Andrea Bargnani (runner-up in rookie of the year voting), who had two points, two rebounds and one assist.
After the success Roy and Bargnani achieved last year it looked like the two sophomores were well on their way to establishing themselves as the class of last year’s draft and potential future NBA All-Stars. But so far this year, it looks like Roy is the only one headed in that direction.
Roy is having another solid season. He’s averaging 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, and is in the midst of leading his team on a nine-game winning streak. Bargnani, on the other hand, has been relegated to coming off the bench. And although the Raptors are playing well as a team - they have won five of their last seven games - they really only started to pick it up after benching Bargnani, who is averaging 9.5 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Right now he’s playing without a lot of confidence.
Big man not getting boards
I know it’s early in the season, but Bargnani’s scoring and rebounding are down from last year. And the fact that a seven-foot guy is averaging only 3.7 rebounds a game troubles me.
Think about this, Roy a 6’6” guard is outrebounding him. In my opinion that’s reason enough to bench Bargnani, but the real reason why Raptors coach Sam Mitchell has Bargnani planted on the bench is because of his struggles on the defensive end of the floor.
Bargnani is a better defender now than he was last year, but without Jorge Garbajosa (leg injury) in the lineup, he needs to be way better if he wants to get more minutes. Scoring is not enough. Everybody knows Bargnani can score if given the minutes, but for all the offensive skills he has - and he has plenty - right now he is a defensive liability on the court.
Rebounding and defending are mindsets more than skill sets. The most important assets you need to be good at both those things are attitude and effort. You have to go hard after every missed shot and you have to take pride in your ability to not let your man score. Bargnani needs to adopt that attitude and put forth a solid defensive effort on a consistent basis.
Bargnani has all the talent to be as good or even better than Brandon Roy, but he has to get out of the funk he’s in and start to contribute. The Raptors need Bargnani to play well if they want to go deep in the playoffs this year. Maybe if he takes a couple of charges and rings up some double digit rebound nights he can get back some of his confidence.
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About the Author
Nick Davis is the senior producer of Metro Morning on CBC Radio One 99.1 FM. He's been involved in basketball since 1978 when he played the game for the first time as an eighth grader. He has covered basketball as a reporter from 1987 to 2001 including college and university basketball, the Canadian national team program and the Toronto Raptors.
An assistant with Sheridan College for the past 13 years, Davis still finds time to coach youth hoops in Toronto. Some of the players Nick has coached include NBAer Jamaal Magloire, European pro Wayne Smith, and Canadian national team members Sherman Douglas and Michael Meeks.
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Comments
Dana Cross
hahahahaha. Really what else can you do with some of these outrageous comments! Bosh is no good. Ford can't play. The Italian Stallion is a Gelding. I'm sure other NBA teams are just lying down to make these guys look good just so they can snatch it away in the playoffs. I hope none of the Raps read this garbage. I rarely read these comments and never write comments but these were so extreme I just had to respond.
Posted January 22, 2008 06:32 PM
Bob
Toronto
He's only 22! I mean he's still getting used to his surroundings and the pressure that the media and the Raps fans are putting on him for being the 'future' of this franchise. He is only in his sophomore year too...I mean, can you imagine playing and all of the shots that you make, all of the rebounds, etc. being publicly watched by everyone who believes that you are the future of an unstable franchise? Another point that I want to make is that they don't need anymore critics... I mean I'm just shocked at the fact that people are starting to kick Bargs on the curve because of his extended funk. What kind of fans are they may I ask? Being a critic wouldn't exactly help Bargs with his problem, what he needs is our support, which most of us aren't giving. Give him some room to breath, and be supportive... for sure he'll be out of this funk, and playing awesomely sooner than later...
Kudos...
Posted January 10, 2008 10:20 PM
Sanchayan Sivanathan
Toronto
Bargnani is very young he still needs time to build. Yes he hasnt been up to par this season but that will change in the second half. This kid is extremely talented.I totally agree with Maurizio Bernedetti that he is a gem. His knee is still bothering him. Sam Mitchell needs to put him on more regardless of the outcome and the more minutes he gets the more his confidence is going to grow. Ladies and Gentlemen watch out for Andrea to blow up and be ferocious in the second half
Sanchayan
Posted December 31, 2007 03:20 PM
TMAC
Ontario
speaeking about over rated Raptors...look no further than Bosh. He rarley beats his defender, he just plows into his defender and hopes for a call. And when the ref doesnt bail him out he shoots from the outside. Thats the last thing the raptors need him to do, be another mediocre outside shooter.
Posted December 30, 2007 05:40 AM
P Fernandez
Hamilton
In response to Brian R from BC, you obviously know nothing about basketball if you cannot appreciate what TJ Ford brings to this team. If you have not been watching lately (since you are probably just a bandwagon fan that only watches when we are winning) our main problem is our inability to penetrate. TJ Ford is the only player on the roster that has the ballhandling skills to do so, thus creating open looks for our shooters. Look at how stagnant our offense has been. As good as Jose Calderon is he cannot do it alone. Our major advantage is our superior point guard play. Ford and Calderon compliment each other perfectly, people need to stop nitpicking and just appreciate what we have.
Posted December 28, 2007 07:50 PM
Saj
Toronto
Really disappointed with Bargnani. I thought he would live up to the number 1 draft pick hype, but I guess he has some ways to go. Know this, the kid will be a star. Just how long it takes him to get there is a question no one can answer. Plus the Toroto coaching staff is not making it easier on him either.
Posted December 27, 2007 01:15 AM
Brian R
BC
Roy is far superior to Bargnani and always will be. Bargnani is soft and scared and unless he finds some courage somewhere, his NBA career will be a bust.
Everyone who thought Brian Colangelo was the perfect GM, think again. Bargnani was a collosal mistake for a first pick, he's a top 20 but not first. TJ Ford was another mistake. An injury prone, out of control, selfish, egocentric point guard wannabe that will go nowhere in the long run. He may already be done.
There's still work to be done to make this a top tier team. Colangelo's contribution has been mixed so far, let's hope he can swallow his pride and do what's right for the franchise.
Posted December 25, 2007 08:03 AM
Kevin Murray
Maple
I agree with the Raptors pushing him to the bench and now bringing him back. I question his heart some days and his smarts other days. I hope he looks at Jamario Moon and realizes that he needs to make the most of this opportunity. Being outplayed by Humphries should be a wakeup call for Bargnani.
He doesn't need to be great but he needs to be a lot better than what he has been.
Posted December 25, 2007 02:41 AM
Steve
Toronto
I agree with Mallory. Bargnani is way overhyped as a player. Toronto fans and esspecialy media has to wake up and stop gloryfing Bargnani. He is just an average player. Toronto is never going success as long they have so called coach of the year and continue to believe that Bargnani is going to show his so called talent.
Posted December 24, 2007 02:02 PM
Chris Lansdell
Newfoundland
Bargnani does not "suck". He's in an extended slump, possibly. He's not playing as well as we know he can, certainly. But to say ANY NBA player sucks is ridiculous. Bargnani would own each and every one of us on the court. And smile while doing it.
As stated on www.altraps.com, comparing Bargs to Roy is about as sensible as comparing Jordan to Shaq: they have completely different skillsets. The best parallel to draw is between Bargnani in his second year and Dirk in his. Of course Andrea is not going to average 10 boards per, he's rail-thin and spends most of his time outside. Yes, he's a defensive liability. So is Dirk.
Bottom line: Don't expect too much from a guy who's 21? 22? and coming from Europe where players are mostly camping on the outside and nowhere near as physical. He will take time to develop, like Dirk did. Wait, didn't Dirk just win the MVP? Not that I expect that from Bargnani, but if he does a portion of what Dirk has done, I'll be happy.
Except choking in the playoffs.
Posted December 24, 2007 12:41 PM
Mallory
"Bargnani has all the talent to be as good or even better than Brandon Roy."
That statment isn't remotely true. It's never been true. Bargnani was overhyped last season. The distance between he and Roy got greater every month. Now, it's a grand canyon.
All the superior stats aside, Roy is a leader. He is the playmaker that has the youngest team in the NBA performaning much above expectations. Kind of like the underappreciative views of Roy, himself.
Hell, Andy Katz said Roy should have gone to a j.c. and would be lucky to be an NBDL player. Well, NBA coaches now know better . They continue to try everything they've got, and they still can't stop Roy. Double teams only make it easier for the Blazers to exploit their concerns.
The author apparently falls for the notion one has to beat his chest and scream after an unnecessary dunk to be a "star." (I guessing at that.) It doesn't compute.
Give up. Bargnani sucks and no lipstick is gonna fix that.
Posted December 21, 2007 08:39 AM