LX

good points - and that would explain why Bargnani likes more minutes. He needs them to get in a rhythm, and then he'll get out of rhythm and need to find it all over again. And he does love the game, and being out there. He just doesn't have what it takes to make an overall impact consistently.

Still it would be nice to think that he could turn into a crawford-type player off the bench.

RAPMAN

Second straight week Sports Illustrated bashes Andrea Bargnani. I love it, keep it coming:


"This is the third straight week I'm picking on Andrea Bargnani, but the unavoidable story in Toronto is how much livelier and competitive the Raptors were in their last two games -- a victory against Orlando and a loss to Chicago -- without their injured leaders in scoring (Bargnani) and assists (Jose Calderon). With the 7-foot Bargnani sidelined, the Magic and Bulls both shot a lower percentage at the rim than the Raptors' season average for opponents. That's because rookie Ed Davis and veteran Reggie Evans received more minutes, along with Toronto's most efficient player, Amir Johnson, on the front line. More surprising, against two of the NBA's three most efficient defenses, the Raptors shot better than 50 percent, had 44 assists versus 16 turnovers and averaged 104 points. This improvement with youth (22-year-old Jerryd Bayless and 21-year-old DeMar DeRozan were the primary backcourt) would be more heartening if Bargnani and Calderon weren't set to remain Toronto's highest-paid players for each of the next two years."

Read more: Lakers No. 1,*Bulls No.*2,*Heat No. 3*in NBA Power Rankings - Britt Robson - SI.com

carp

gotta love raptor fans that cheer against it's players.... lol

Benzo

Meh, I cheered against TJ and Bosh and roko at times.

RAPMAN

I cheer for my team. When the Raps get rid of this bad apple, it will be a step in the right direction for this franchise.

jonzab

Discuss..

Don Vito

Yes, that is a valid assessment. Bargnani is worthless to this team, he makes Aginca look like Wilt Chamberlain.

eazy187

the PFs we have right now are a little to foul prone.. and Reggie Evans can't score points.

Aamir

Was the question with or without him??


WITHOUT

halphbreedballer

AB has been playing at the PF spot for most of the season...This is just one more reason people want to trade him...

n30tokyo

you meant to say: most of his career. even when he was put in the 5, he left it to the 4 to get some boards.

n30tokyo

If BC doesn't want to trade this bum, I'm fine with it. Just as long as he's a reserved because I'd like to see Ed Davis get more play time. A demotion would also be an added bonus in hopes he doesn't get any increase in salary.

forme123

overexaggeration or not, dumbass comment to make....did u see last nights game against the Knicks, really makes all those people that say we're better off with him not in the lineup look dumb now....and ajinca is shit, he'll be back in euroland next year

powerfulpanda

did you even watch the game?
he started and played 8 minutes and was a -19
we were down 20 points to start the game.... its not unreasonable for a young team to feel demoralized when you start the game like this
they played well rest of the way tho, but that horrible start was what killed this game

forme123

YA 8 MINUTES with an injury....those minutes are so small its basically an entire game without him there, when he left the lead got worse.....and if you are going to use that stupid effectiveness stat against me....james johnson was -21 and amir was -17. i dont see you complaining about them...just scapegoating barg as usual for the teams shittiness...

LX

The lead got worse, but shots were being contested, or in some cases guys were just firing away from deeper than expected. That one shot from Carmelo came from near halfcourt. The Knicks offense gained the advantage they needed in those eight minutes that Bargnani played. When he was in there it was like shootaround, and from there, with a big lead, stopping them from hitting shots comfortably took a pretty big turnaround. And that turnaround did occur. The complete embarrassment became something of a competitive enterprise.

If Andrea was so injured as to be utterly useless, he should never have been on the court. If you're on the court then you're hurt - not injured, and it's up to you to have an impact all the same.

powerfulpanda

using james johnson's -21 and amir's -17 goes against you.
the point was that this team plays better without Bargs on the floor

ps: if your gonna play with an injury, don't use that as an excuse

forme123

no using their stats actually shows the whole team plays like shit and Bargs isnt the only ineffective one....which is my main point

powerfulpanda

i don't know how +/- shows the whole team plays like shit....
if Bargnani lets his man score, everyone on the floor for the raps get -2, so... ya
if you watched the game (you still haven't said if you did), the young guys actually tried to make it a game. if only looking at the 2nd half it was quite competitive.
bargnani shouldn't even have played....he basically ruined the outcome of the game even by just playing 8 minutes
thats actually really hard to do

FoldedLaundry

Well for me, Bargs was the ineffective one. If you're team's "leader" can't play defense or set an aggressive tone during the game, then your team will follow suit and not play aggressively offensively or defensively. The only times we've won with Bargs is when we either carried him when he slumped, or when he was being aggressive and shooting well. Players feed off their team leaders during games.