Saturday, January 17, 2009

The Matrix Revolutions

Since its all the hype right now, lets talk about this seemingly very real possibility of the Matrix himself, Shawn Marion, coming to Toronto. I don't like his character. I know he is very talented athlete and player, he can do wonders for our defense and fast-break, and of course, add something the Raptors severely lack in - athleticism. BUT, again, I don't like his character. This guy was living a dream playing in Phoenix with Steve Nash and Stoudemire, and as Bill Simmons once said in one of his articles, Shawn Marion should be thanking God every night that Steve Nash and Mike D'Antoni ever walked into his life. Instead, he started whining about not being in the spotlight enough and even more ridiculous - that he also should've been considered an MVP candidate. Are you kidding me? Steve Nash brought out the best in him with his run-and-gun style and selfless team play. Amare Stoudemire would warrant more of an MVP vote than Marion. So he cries about not getting enough touches and didn't wanna play second, or I guess third banana on a team and then goes to Miami. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Marion can't create his own shot for shit.

Now don't get me wrong, again, he's a GREAT piece to have, if he can open his eyes and see that he's not a #1 option, or #2 for that matter. He brings a lot to the table, and I'm hoping he realizes now that "hey you know what, I'm not that prolific scorer that I thought I was."
Acquiring Shawn Marion for Jermaine O'Neal is a good or bad deal depending on what Colangelo is trying to achieve. Is it just for salary purposes, and to experiment and see if this works out? If so, then fine. But Shawn Marion is far from the answer for our glaring need of a scoring small forward. Dude can't create his own shot and his jumpshot makes Jamario Moon's look smooth.

There's further rumours that after getting Marion, Colangelo is looking to trade Calderon for Nash. Are you out of your fucking mind? This is the equivalent to Cuban trading Devin Harris for Jason Kidd last year. No, I'm not saying Calderon is anything close to as good as Harris is, but you get my point - trading a young, promising point guard for an old, about-to-be-out-of-the league one. For all his defensive discrepancies, Calderon is one heck of a point guard. Yes, you're right, he probably couldn't stop Robert "Tractor" Traylor from blowing by him, but he's still one of the more top-tier pg's. Which brings us back to the Matrix. Marion's strength offensively is fast-break, and we all know Jose isn't that type of point guard. So what, you're gonna get Nash just so we can run that for a year...maybe 2? The whole point is to grow into a contender with our young, promising squad and have a bright future, correct?

I'm all for Marion coming to Toronto for the right reasons. But if Colangelo and co. are seriously expecting him to be that slashing wing we so desperately need, than he needs to get off the crack. And that's as much on Marion as it is on Colangelo; if Marion's attitude has changed then this may work. And I guess with the shitstorm of a season we've had, why not try it right? It just looks gloomy, naturally, for us Raptors fans. The Matrix Reloaded in Miami, and has been a disappointment there so far from what I've read, and coming to T.O would be the Revolution.

9 comments:

  1. Hey man. We only write the truth. Relax. We don't hate, we analyze maaaaaaan!

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  2. Funny articles. Did you draw the layout?

    thumbs up.

    A.

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  3. haha wow our first hating fan! I love it. anyways I don't really know what your talking about with all the hating. I actually think this Marion trade will make us better. Mainly because with Parker playing more consistently again and Bargnani lighting it up, I don't think we need anything more than what he's averaging right now. Also I'd rather have cap space now then in two years.

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  4. Despite building pretty good team chemistry, that attitude might be decent for the Raptors. This may be irrelevant, but I've noticed a huge lack of personality from pretty much all of the team with the exception of Moon and Graham two players who seem to be considered not good enough. Most of the interviews could put you to sleep. I actually noticed in the last game I went to that before announcing the starting lineup, there's a video of all the players in a convertible driving round the city having a 'guys night out.' With the exception of Super Jamario, it was one of the most awkward things I've ever seen. While not having the skill, I've noticed that the two I've mentioned are the kinds of players who can be determined to turn a game around. Maybe that type of arrogance and rit can be good, especially in a team that seems to have plenty of morale-glue players to keep the rest in check. May be irrelevant, but its just a thought.

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  5. if moon could take that energy and channel it efficiently (and by efficiently, i mean actually using his athleticism on a more consistent basis and not relying on that ill-advised jumpshot), he wouldnt be as "not good enough" as he is now.

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  6. also, youre trading veteran talking for veteran whining. BC has normally made it a point to get "quality" characters, which is why this trade is a bit baffling.

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  7. First hating comment, awesome. By the way "Anonymous", learn how to spell before you call someone an idiot you dumbass.

    Rob, you make a good point. O'Neal has that tough attitude but he can barely even get on the court, and that intro video is awkward beyond belief - I don't think anybody thought it was cool other than 8 year olds :P

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  8. Rach, BC drafted Marion in Phoenix, and he's not a 'bad guy' per say, he's just been known to whine, but like I said, hopefully his time in Miami has made him realize he's not a #1 option.

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  9. Actually what Rob said really stuck with me. Even though we may not like Marion's attitude, I still think his talent is undeniable, and perhaps his attitude, can at least give this team a persona. I'd rather have an appearance of a whiny team with talent, than a team of nice guys who lose graciously. Besides, I think more than talent, a team having an identity, propels us beyond the summation of our pieces. When I look back to BC's first year, I think that was our least talented team, but we did have that scrappy identity, and it definitely showed. I was mentioning to Alvaro, that during that season, what made it so exciting was that we had so many games decided by 3 points or less, and for a majority of them, we came out on top. Sigh, what a distant memory that is now.

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