Raptor karma’s a female pooch, isn’t she MJ?
Back in the summer when those reports first surfaced that the Raptors were about to steal trade for Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw from Charlotte, we were positively giddy.
The proposed heist would have sent Reggie Evans and Jose Calderon the other way, but Evans blabbed the news to the universe on his Twitter account, alerting Bobcats owner Michael Jordan just in time to deliver a front-office, push-off on the deal.
Although a somewhat injury-prone, 28-year-old centre, Chandler can average double-doubles when healthy and productive—see numbers this year in Dallas—and he would have provided us with the shot-blocking presence under the basket that we so desperately need (fingers crossed for Ed Davis).
Sure, Chandler’s also a free agent at the end of the season, but we would have had nothing to lose by bringing him in for a year. If it worked out, great, try and lock him up. And if he turned out to be the latest in 15-year arc of Raptors nightmares at centre (Zan Tabak, Oliver Miller, Loren Woods, Jerome Moiso, Rafael Arajuo) cut him loose and day dream about the ways you're going to spend the $12.75 million in cap room you’ve just freed up for yourself.
Alas, none of this came to pass and if we sound bitter, it’s because we are.
Truth be told, we’ve always acknowledged and admired Jordan’s greatness on the court but reviled his arrogance (see video below) off it, so perhaps a healthy serving of humble pie is just desserts for His Airness.
The good news however for our Raptors (and fellow Jordan haters) is as we head into Charlotte Tuesday for a date with his sad Bobcats, his team looks on the verge of an implosion after mailing in a 93-62 defeat to the Celtics on Saturday.
Anyone got a light?
How bad were Jordan’s boys on Sunday?
- Just two players – center Nazr Mohammed (14 points) and guard Stephen Jackson (13) reached double-figures.
- As a team, they shot 34 percent.
- They committed 22 turnovers.
- The Celtics could have gone scoreless in the fourth quarter and still won by two.
- Jordan himself ripped the team in the locker-room after the game.
Laughably, before the season, Jordan claimed his (9-15) team should at the very least make the playoffs and its greatest strength was the competitiveness of its two best players, Stephen Jackson and (noted Raptor killer) Gerald Wallace.
Wallace missed 13 of 15 shots Sunday while Jackson could only muster 13 points. It’s hasn’t been exactly a Kwame Brown miscalculation, but it’s been enjoyable to follow nonetheless.
What scares us about tonight’s game however is that it's another one there for the taking against a team in disarray. We should jump all over the Bobcats tonight, but as Saturday in Detroit reminded us—a killer instinct is a trait this team has yet to develop.
Cause for panic concern:
- Raps haven’t won two straight road games all season
- Raps have given up an average of 118.4 points and allowed opponents to shoot 52.2 percent the past five games.
- Jose Calderon will sit with a left foot injury
- Should we get a stern phone call today from a “friend” of Jordan’s with a Vegas area code.
On the plus side:
- We get another chance to see how Young Bayless handles major minutes. As Ryan Wolstat writes in the Sun, he’s averaging 12.3 points, 4.0 assists and 3.6 rebounds on 45.8% shooting as a Raptor in just 21 minutes per game. Lovely.
- Bobcats coach Larry Brown looks and sounds like he’s already dreaming of returning to the NCAA.
- If we spank them, we should get plenty of wincing-Jordan on-cams.
And just in case you still think Jordan is a great guy...…
