"The Raptors talent level..." (December 23, 1997)

The Toronto Raptors just lost another game, this time to the Hornets, with another last second basket. I have been listening to the radio of late and sport personalities all think this is a talented team and they should wait, or the team has no talent and the team should be rebuilt. Sometimes, it's a bit of both. I don't know where I stand. First off, you have ask yourself, how much talent do the Raptors have? It's a good talent indicator is all-star game appearances? The Raptors have no one. O.K., the next would be other type of awards, etc. Damon Stoudamire did win rookie of the year. Doug Christie was second in most improved player of the year. Of course, that award is like being valedictorian in summer school, no one wants to be known as a crappy player before the award. Ike Austin won it last year. But I can't remember the last good player to win the award and remain good. Gheorge Muresan won the award and now look at him. My man, Don McLean won the award, the only year he was healthy, but now look at him. I think Pervis Ellison won it as well. Enough said. It's like this kiss of death or a Sports Illustrated cover. So we've covered that Damon has skills. Doug did last year, according to sports writers. Marcus Camby? He's been injured for a while, so the jury is still out. He has talent. Here's another test. It really works. Take any guy on a team who was not drafted by that team and find out where he was on his former team. The Raptors have only drafted three players who have remained on their team, Damon (skills), Camby (skills, but injury prone) and Tracy McGrady (can't buy beer).

Let's take a Tracy McGrady break. Like all the other Raptors, he's been injury prone. He does have skills, but like other rookies, especially young ones like Jermaine O'Neal or Kobe Bryant, or Shawn Kemp years ago, he's lost a lot out there. Oh sure, he'll be a good player when he develops, but right now, he shows it in flashed. A consistent 15 minutes a game is about the most you can expect to get from him or he'll do something young and foolish. It's not a knock on him, just the reality. If he was a four year grad, then you could expect more maturity on the court like Damon or Brevin Knight. O.K., I'm done with Tracy. He's a talent. Probably has the second or third most talent in the draft behind Tim Duncan and either Keith Van Horn or Tim Thomas (see Tracy McGrady and insert Tim Thomas).

So if we discount all the drafts by the Raptors (and remember they did draft Jimmy King with their second round pick in their inaugural draft when Rashard Griffith was available) you have nine roster players left. They were either traded for, signed or picked in the expansion draft. Basically, this usually means they were not wanted. Let's go around the horn. I've mentioned Doug Christie before. Leo Rautins (formerly of the 76ers and presently color man of the Raptors, and by the way, never disappoints me when he mentions who he played against when he played in college. "I remember when Pat [Ewing] and I used to have those battles at Georgetown.") says Doug Christie is one of the best defensive players in the league. He shut down Jordan twice. That's a big deal. But is he a great defensive player? I don't know. He gets lit up by lesser men. Doug was one of my favorite players at Pepperdine. I'm a WCC fan, back in the Hank "The Bankman", Bo Kimble, Jeff Fryer, Paul Westhead days at Loyola Maramount. I'd watch all the WCC games I could. I saw Doug play and he dominated that weak league like Hank and Bo. Doug was drafted by Seattle and never played. Big mistake. He could have done well there with that system. He was dealt to the Lakers. This is when the Lakers were not good. He was thought of as "the next Magic". I think all guard/forwards over 6'6" and over 200 lbs who can handle the ball are the next Magic. The Lakers turned the ball over to him and he, well, sucked. He was dealt to the Knicks, where he, along with Bo Kimble, were deep on the Knicks bench. I guess the WCC doesn't develop quality players, John Stockton (Gonzaga) excepted. Here's my point, Doug couldn't crack the lineup of the Knicks when they needed a shooting guard. They used John Starks when he was a nobody instead of Christie. He couldn't even get mop up time. He didn't stick on the Lakers when they needed some back court help either. Where would he be on a good team? 9th on the bench? He'd be a fourth guard on a good team, not a starting two guard. He had a great year last year, but it was his final year of his contract when most players play better.

Walt Williams. I think he was called the next Magic when he left Maryland. I mean, with a name like the Wizard, you think there was a little pressure on him. He was drafted by Sacramento. He was playing every position except center. The Kings turned the offense over to him. Guess what? The high socked one did not produce. He was dealt to the Heat for Billy Owens (who is the same player except where Walt has the outside game and no inside, Owens has no outside and all inside). If Walt couldn't produce on a team like Sacramento where the only other guy who actually could play was Mitch Richmond, then how could he produce on a good team where he'd get the ball less. I guess you could argue that since he was the only other option he didn't get too many good looks because he was being double teamed on the Kings, but why does Rock score 23 ppg and shoot 50% from the floor? Because he's good. Good players produce. Walt did not on the Kings. He wasn't much better on the Heat. He voided his contract to get the big bucks in the free agent market. The Raptors signed him to a minimum contract with Zeke's promise for big bucks at the end of the year if he produced. He did. (See Doug Christie for an explanation on final year of contracts for extraordinary production). Besides, he was the only other option besides Damon who could shoot. He shot a lot and put up some decent numbers. Is he good? No. He's a O.K. player. He has some good skills. He can shoot. He can pass. He can put the ball on the floor, but you'd never guess it, because he hasn't done it in about three years. He's not fast enough to guard the gray hounds at small forward. He's not strong enough to bang down low and has never been one to go after the rebound. Glen Rice didn't become a super star until last year when he was determined to take go hard to hole and rebound with abandon. Having Anthony Mason as enforcer helps too. So Walt is a decent player. Where would he be on a good team? Sitting beside Doug Christie as a backup. He washed out of Sacramento and Miami (when they weren't good). He put up good numbers with quantity over quality. The Wizard would be a number eight kind of guy on a good team.

Moving around the horn, Camby has been mentioned, but not too deeply. He can play. Everyone admits that he is talented. If he stays healthy, he'll be a really good player. He can dominate a game without scoring because of his defense. He can block 7 or 8 a game, even more scary, he can block his man's shot, which is a great skills. Ask Kevin McHale about that. Camby probably could start on a lot of teams, if he was consistently healthy.

At center the Raptors have Oliver Miller and Zan Tabak. I can hear the virtual laughing out there. And you're right. They both are, well, no good. Miller is a three time washout. He had a couple decent years with both Toronto and Phoenix (back in another lifetime), but he's overweight and undermotivated. He couldn't even crack the rotation of almost any team. Dallas cut him last year. DALLAS! That speaks volumes. Zan Tabak. Where to start. He has a ring. I guess it's lucky to be Hakeem's caddie when Michael was playing baseball. Tabak has one skills, being tall. There is always a call for tall guys. I haven't seen him have a good game all year. 'Nuff said. Both Miller and Tabak wouldn't even be on any team. They'd be in the CBA or Denver, whichever is worse.

Carlos Rogers traded along with 3 second round washouts and Victor Alexander for B.J. Armstrong. Did Isiah ever get ridiculed for this trade? I don't think so. Because it was done just after the strike/lockout was over, people forgot about it. B.J. was a good player back then and they could have got a real player, but instead they got five chumps, O.K., four chumps and Rogers. Rogers is tall. Tall is good. But like most of the Raptors except Miller, he's a string bean. He along with Camby make up the Thin Towers. 14 feet and 450 pounds of bone and skin. Rogers is energetic. He's athletic. I hear that all the time, when there is nothing good to say about a player. Rogers is an athlete, but not a great ball player. He doesn't really have a position. Too small for 4 or 5, not a great outside game or ball handling for 3. He was traded by Golden State when they needed big men. Scary to think they knew something before the Raptors did. I could see Carlos Rogers as a Cliff Levington type. Energetic towel waver who plays 5 minutes a game and that's it. Cliff was a banger though. Carlos is not.

Shawn Respert was a star in college. He was a great player at Michigan State. I liked him a lot. He could put it up. Now, he's a backup. He couldn't even be a backup in Milwaukee when they needed a point guard. True he's a shooting guard at 6'2", but he has to make the adjustment to play in the NBA. Look at Bobby Jackson. He made the transition. Khalid Reeves didn't. Some do and some don't. Respert's best trait is that he was traded for Acie Earl and for that reason, he should stay on the team, even if he wouldn't make any other team.

Who did I miss. Popeye Jones. Great player. Love him. Great heart. Great rebounder. Good shooting from inside. Good defensive player. Isiah did him a great disservice when they shopped him around. He was the Raptors best player before he got injured this year. He could play on any team, maybe not start, but be 6 or 7. He's a really good player.

John Wallace? Wallace couldn't crack the Knicks rotation when they needed a backup small forward. Weird that they unload all their picks over the past few years and get Chris Mills. Is Mills better than Wallace? Compare Mills stats from his last few years (not this year because he doesn't play as much) to Wallace's stats this year? Mills and Wallace score about the same, maybe Wallace some more. Rebounding is a wash, more or less, but Wallace can hit the board if he played more inside. Sure Mills could play some 2 guard, but Wallace can swing to 4 in a pinch. Mills is a really good defensive player. Wallace is average at best. Let's say that Mills is a bit better otherwise it doesn't make sense that Wallace was unloaded and the Knicks traded for Mills. Wallace is a good player. He just didn't get much of a chance on that veteran Knicks team. Of course, Wallace is given a bit more freedom on the Raptors and the ball more often. The Knicks were, down to Ewing, back to Houston (repeat verse, same as the first). Wallace is given the ball on the wing and can back down his defender or put it on the floor. Here it is. Wallace didn't prove himself on the Knicks. The Knicks are good team. What does that say about Wallace? He couldn't crack the lineup of a good team. So he'd be exactly where he was last year, 9 or 10 on the bench. I still think he's a good player, but he has only offensive skills and you need more. Although, if I only was given one skill, it would be shooting, ask Steve Kerr.

Reggie Slater. He's more like Cliff Levingston than Carlos Rogers. Nicknamed the Bull, he can muscle down low. Because of injuries and lack of front court depth, he has been playing a lot. He's good at what he does. He was cut by Denver, so that does show he is not that good.

I'm trying to think who I missed. Tim Kempton? Hehehe. He's been cut more times that Freddy Kreuger shaving. Garner? Is that his name? Some third string point guard who wears number 00. Did you know the Raptors had Chris Whitney in camp during their first season but had to cut him because they had B.J. Tyler on the payroll even though he didn't player. Stupid. B.J. never played. Was cut and the Raptors never did get that backup point guard. Whitney is a good backup. Hmmm...anyone else? Aw who cares. Let's face it. The Raptors only really have one player who could play on any team and that's Damon Stoudamire. Camby might one day, but not now. Every other player on the team is a bench player at best or a CBA at worst, and I might be slighting the CBA when I say that.

Last year the Raptors played about their collective heads. Williams and Christie had career years, but it was their contract years. Damon hadn't burned out quite. Camby was relatively healthy. Even Carlos Rogers had career highs (although they weren't that high). Now players are injured, not playing with the intensity, intelligence and skill level of last year and losing begets losing.

What should be done? First, wait until everyone is healthy. That might take a while, but you can't judge a team when it's hurt. Second, when they are healthy (and they are almost there) make the offensive system simpler. Bob Kloppenberg's defensive scheme is ingenious, but it requires dedication, superior athletic talent and Gary Payton. This is not dissimilar to Zeke wanting the triangle offense installed. That requires dedication to the system, great shooters and Michael Jordan. Make the game simple. Play straight man defense. Use the pick and roll more often. Get the ball down low to Camby and tell him to make quick moves to the basket (a la Hakeem) and not sit for 8 seconds to see what happens. Take the rock to the rack, shoot a fade away, create contact. Do something. When the ball is sent down low to Miller, he holds the ball and waits. Most NBA teams don't have cutters any more. Miller (and others) wait for the double team and then pass out for the 22 footer. This is not basketball. This is boring. When the double team doesn't come, he holds the ball too long and the Raptors force Damon to take the bailout shot. Run some motion. Check out an Indiana game plan. Watch the Lakers. They all move when Shaq or Elden Campbell get the ball in the post. They need to set more screens to free the best shooters (re: Damon) and go to the boards. The Raptors are a poor rebounding team, so they need more men down to rebound. Also, they need intensity. The Raptors look like a defeated them even before the tip-off. They need to regain their youthful enthusiasm.

Return to the 1997 edition of Hoop-LA

Return to Hoop-LA Home Page