This is True

1. The Lakers and Bulls have been talking. This is news because despite what you've read, they haven't spoken about #24 since before the draft, and it was a cursory discussion then.

2. The teams are not ideal trading partners, mostly because the contracts the Bulls have are not ideal for a team that would be starting over. Moreover, many of the contracts the Bulls have will be hard to move right away.

3. The terms discussed thus far are surprisingly vague. I'm told that this is how it usually goes, that rather than jump into the sack, two potential trading partners generally speak abstractly about what they'd like to have financially, talent-wise, etc. Or maybe part of this is because of #2, and that the things the Bulls have and would be willing to part with for The Player That Formerly Wore #8 might have to be moved to a 3rd team.

4. A certain guy that used to wear #23 phoned to try to get in on what's happening, probably in relation to what's described in the latter half of #3 above.

Puffer's Posts - Raps Steamroll Wiz

This game was over with 4 miutes to go in the second half, when the Raps had a 26 point lead. Outside of the first 2 minutes of the game, when the starting five looked a little unorganized, they were able to score at will and quickly ran up a 10 point lead. Andrea in particular stood out with a plethora of sweet post moves. He scored on reverses, baseline cuts and spins. If he had the ball in his hands within eight feet of the basket, nobody wearing a Wizards unifom was going to stop him. I was expecting Sam to bring out Moon, Maceo and Luke before the second half was over.

We have seen flashes of this in almost every preseason game so far, but last night Bargs brought the whole package. The only thing that wasn't working was his mid-range jumper. He managed to grab 8 boards to go along with his 17 points, all in 22 minutes. He was extremely efficient as well, shooting 66% from the field and he was 4 for 4 from the line.

Chris Bosh looked like the old Chris Bosh. Sam only played him for 16.5 minutes, and he scored a tidy 8 points with 3 rebounds.

Delfino continued his outstanding play of late. He managed 10 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals in 19 minutes. Carlos is turnig into a fantasy players dream. I hope I pick him up in the 6th or 7th round on Sundays altraps.com fantasy league draft.

Kapono missed his first 3 or 4 shots, then hit about 3 in a row. He still doesn't look comfortable to start the game. He might be more effective coming off the bench. I don't know if he feels additional pressure because he got the big bucks to generate three's this year, but he is missing wide open shots. it's got nothing to do with other teams being able to focus on him defensively. I'm talking wide open as in a "Sunday walk in the park" wide open.

Looking back over the preseason, the only game against NBA opponents that the Raps haven't dominated is their game against Boston. In that game, most of the Raps starters only played a little over 20 minutes, as opposed to the Celtics starters averaging around 32. And the Raps lost by a point. Of course, the preseason means nothing, and every team, outside of Boston, has been missing key players. But Sam has been careful with his starters minutes. We have seen how the Raps expect their offence to work. Sharp, crisp passes, with the ball generally touching 3 or 4 sets of hands before being hoisted. Very little one-on-one play. And incredibly unselfish finishes, with teamates passing off to get a shot that is just a couple of percentage points better than the one they have.

I can't help but think that, once again, the Raps are being underestimated by the pundits. No one expected to see Bargs improve his post play like this. And few would have expected Delfino to be this silky smooth, fitting into the Raps offense. And TJ Ford has lifted his game another notch, eschewing his own shots and strong desire to go mano a mano against the other teams guard, in the interests of giving his teamates better scoring opportunities.

Go Raps Go.

Puffer's Posts - What We Want to Remember in '08

Here's one for Scott, and all the others who have been around for awhile. This is the kind of series I want to see the Raptors in this year. They don't have to get to the second round, though I will be sorely dissappointed if they don't. But my minimum requirement for 07/08 is that they be in a first round series this tight. It's got to go down to the wire in the seventh at least. let's face it, as magical as last season was, the playoffs were a huge let down.

Puffer's Posts - D-Fense, D-Fense

Last nights game against the Cavaliers was interesting for me from a couple of perspectives. First, it gave me another opportunity to carry on my Kapono watching. And second, I was able to add to my "Bargs in the paint" memory bank of significant moments. What I saw in both cases helped make me the happy camper I am today. Delfino having a "break out game" was defintely icing on the cake. And Ford, with 13 assists to 2 turnovers and only 8 shot attempts on a poor (25%) shooting night was like having that nice, light, whipped icing.

Kapono did not guard his position, which made everyone happy, since that would have had him trying to stop King James. That job fell to Anthony Parker, who managed to do a good job while only picking up 3 Personal Fouls. Kapono spent most of his time on either Devin Brown, or Larry Hughes. Both started the majority of their games last year, and both played on a team that went to the finals last year. Brown had slightly lower numbers than last year, on slightly more minutes, and Hughes had just 1 point under his season average, on 4 less minutes. So using the boxscore, you could say that Kapono was no worse on defense than the average NBA defender while watching either of his two assignments last night. At the same time, offensively, he got 12 points on 63% shooting, and also picked up 3 rebounds and an assist, all in 21 minutes, versus his opponents 32 minutes each.

Hey, I know this is reaching, but that's what the boxscore says. What it can't say, but I can, is that Jason fights around picks to stay with his man, plays smart help defense, alwasy keeping one eye on his assignment if he leaves to help, and he does a good job of switching.

What about Bargs defensive assignment? Gooden played a few more minutes, got a couple less points than last years average and only 6 rebounds, as against his last year average of 8. At the same time Bargs got 8 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes. He was 0 for 3 from the arc and missed 2 free throws. His problem is still stayijg in the game long enough to get in the flow. In the early going he had 5 personal fouls. Sam left him in for quite a while with 5, and eventually pulled him so he could play the rest of the bench.

Now Gooden is no Yao Ming, but he started in all 80 games he played in for the Cavs, and his team went to the finals last year, so this is a reasonable enough test of Bargs. Definitely a passing grade. He boxed out, was always pushing Gooden away from the basket and also played reasonably good help D. So he kept Gooden below his season averages, which makes Bargs better than Goodens average NBA defender. (Okay, I'm reaching a little, but youo get my point).

Now I don't know what you saw last night, but it was reassuring to me, amidst all this talk about Bargs not being able to play center, and ther being no "D" in Kapono.

Puffers Posts - Is This the Raptors?

Last night the Raps looked like world beaters as they took apart the Chicago Bulls. Mind you, this was a Bulls team without Ben Wallace, Ben Gordon and a game in which Luol deng only played 5 minutes or so.

On the other side, the Raps were without Chris Bosh, still resting his sore knee, and only got six minutes each from Anthony Parker and Jason Kapono. So it was largely a game of bench against bench,and that is a game the Raps would love to play, most nights.

Andrea got 19 points, with at least 6 of them coming from inside the paint on slashing drives and a few more from short inside passes. He also picked up more than his normal share of rebounds. In fact, the Raps out rebounded the Bulls for most of the game until the last half of the fourth quarter, during scrub time, when they were also out scored.

I made a point of watching Jason Kapono's defensive efforts, and he played an excellent positional game in his time on the floor. Good box outs, good face up play, effectively cutting off the lanes and, when his man was loose, disrupting passing attempts to him. Jason gets beat on D, but the times I've watched him exclusively, I've been pleasantly surprised. There are Raptors teams in the past where he would have been the number 3 man, defensively.

Of the three wing players fighting for the starting spot, I would say Kapono does a better, more consistent defensive job than Graham. You aren't going to see any athletic blocks, but he is also not going to be on the opposite side of the floor from where he is supposed to be because he forgot his assignment. I wish I could say the same about Joey.

I think Luke Jackson punched his going away ticket on Friday. The way things stand right now, there doesn't seem to be any upside for Luke, but there's really no telling where Jamario Moon could get to, except you know it's above some rung on the ladder that Jackson is climbing. Luke played well for the first few games he was in last year, but he has done nothing this preseason. I suspect he is playing tight when he does get some burn, and so makes silly anxiety motivated boneheaded plays. That is too bad, but it is not going to win him any points with Sam. Unless he is the perfect practice guy, it's hard to see him making it out of training camp.

If the Raps are to get off to a good start this season, and I think they have an excellent chance to light things up in their first dozen games, it is imperative that Chris play the next two preseason games. He needs to be in rythmn when the season starts. You know Chris will be good for 22/11 or so this year, probably better. Both Doug Smith, of the Toronto Star and I think Bargs can average right around 19/7 for the year. But it is critical that these two spend time playing together. They can create a living hell for other teams, especially in the East.

TJ has been playing largely under control so far, but we haven't seen enough NBA opponenets to make a good assessment about his play. Parker seemed to wake up a little in the Bulls game. He has been quiet so far this year. He needs to start faster than he did last year for the Raps to make a run at the Atlantic Division banner.

I believe the Raps are being under-rated again this season. I don't think enough credit is being given to Bargs improvements, because his appendicitis and flu at the end of last season caused a signifivcant drop off in his numbers and effectiveness. I think sports writers are giving too much credit to the impact of Shaq and Wade on Kapono's game last year. The Raps run a much better style of attack for Jasons skill set. He should thrive once he gets a solid rotation and a little more comfortable. I think his game was hurt in playing Euro teams, this preseason. They have a much more defensively skilled collection of players, who are better at help defense and team defense than is the case in the NBA. I think Jason will have no trouble averaging 13 - 15 points a game in 25 minutes. I think Sam will use Delfino for anywhere from 15 - 20 minutes at the 3. Too bad Joey.

I think this year, the Raps will have fewer than 10 games decided by 1-2 points. Their offense is significantly improved, and their defense is a bit better. Enough to move them three spots up the NBA ranks. Mark them down for 48 wins.

Boston??? Give me a break. They will improve to the point where they are no longer a laughing stock, maybe fighting it out for one of the last two spots in the East.

At least, that's my takee.

The Truth According to Kobe

Kobe Bryant's vanity website, kb24.com, seems to be going through some server troubles, with unintentionally hilarious results. There's a section called "The Truth" where Kobe writes ordinarily banal things and signs his posts Strength and Honor, Mambo.

Yes, he calls himself Mambo. It's like Babe Ruth writing his grocery list and signing it The Sultan of Swat.

But given the latest twists in the Laker soap opera this week, the truth is apparently in short supply:




Incidentally, I immediately took to Kobe's closing and have begun to sign my office memos the same way:

Dear Delores,

We are out of pens. We are also running low on office whiskey and the canary-colored legal pads which are easy on my eyes. Could you visit the supply closet and stop at the liquor store on the corner on your way back? There's a 10 spot in it for you.

Strength and Honor,
Granbo

Edit: Ha, and now it's back. Thank God I saved a screenshot.

Blood Flows Red on the Salary Cap

A few days ago on the altraps forum, Scott pointed out this article regarding the rather unprecedented (at least under the current CBA, as well as its immediate predecessors) hold-outs of two Cavs restricted free agents: noted Slobodan Milosevic fan Sasha Pavlovic and noted gay community icon Anderson Varejao:

The summers of 2004, 2005 and 2006 featured record spending in the NBA. Part of it was due to a new collective bargaining agreement in 2005 that bolstered the salary cap.Lots of max contracts were given out, numerous teams had, and used, giant amounts of cap space; lots of teams used their entire mid-level exceptions to sign mid-level players to contracts worth more than $35 million; and lots of restricted free agents got huge deals without having to get legitimate offers elsewhere.

That was the flow, now is the ebb.

(The article also points out that the Raptors were the only team in the NBA this summer to use their full mid-level exemption to lure a player away from another team -- the frankly somewhat bizarre signing of Jason Kapono. This is actually not entirely accurate, as the capped-out Bulls used nearly all of theirs in the understandable but certainly no less painful signing of Joe Smith.)

I've long argued that it's these mid-level deals and not the obviously bloated max-contracts to unworthy players that destroy a team's cap flexibility. Never in their Clipper careers will Cuttino Mobley or the Talented Tim Thomas be their team's highest paid player, but the Clips will be on the hook for a combined $14 million dollars for their dubious services for each of the next three seasons. Look around the league and you see a lot of toxic tandems like this, from Vlad Radmanovic and Kwame Brown for Lakers (nearly $15 million this season) to Kenny Thomas and Shareef Abdur-Rahim for the Kings ($13 million escalating up to $15 million over the next three years).

Of course, the master of the pointless mid-level exemption is still Kevin McHale of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Prior to this summer's firesale, the Wolves were on the hook for past MLE-like duds like rap superstar Troy Hudson ($6.5 million on average over the next three years), Marko Jaric ($6 escalating to $7.5 million over the next four years) and Mike James (an average of $6.5 million over the next three years). Note that all three of them were point guards, and none have ever been good enough to start for anything resembling a playoff team. Dumping Kevin Garnett this summer was a useful distraction from the fact that the team is still on the hook for $18 million dollars for useless scrubs.