| Toronto Star To Buy-Out Feschuk Authored by Nolan Hand - October 23, 2005 - 10:48 pm
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Buying out Dave Feschuk was, obviously, the only logical choice. If being generally unproductive but with occasional glimpses of, well, not greatness, but acceptability, merits a buy-out, then by all means, sign the severance cheque and walk him out the door. The irony of all this is that both Hoffa and Dave Feschuk are in their respective positions to make their colleagues better; the difference is that Mr. Feschuk doesn’t do it intentionally. *
And speaking of slow starts…
As the halfway mark of the preseason rolls around (what a reach for material that is), it seems as though the Raptors might have found their feet, if only temporarily. Hitting the 4-game mark of an 8-game schedule with a 1-3 record doesn’t sound encouraging, and I won’t lie – in many ways, it’s not encouraging. At all. But, thankfully, it hasn’t all been bad. Just as there are negatives to be found in a win, bright spots can be found in a loss. So, a short look at the preseason so far:
vs. Utah: The first game is always going to be worth watching, no matter the performances. Against Utah, the Raps were out-rebounded by 16 and never really found a defensive flow. The game went into overtime and was lost on a last-second tip in by Jazz rookie Robert Whaley. Tierre Brown (training camp invitee) and Charlie Villanueva (first round draft choice, 7th overall) led the Raptors in scoring with 24 and 15 points respectively. Charlie also notched 5 boards, 4 blocks and 2 steals. Not bad for a rookie. As fans, we were also finally introduced to Joey Graham (first round draft choice, 16th overall) and Jose Calderon (European free agent). Calderon played solid ball, and our view of Graham was unfortunately cut short due to a minor knee injury.
Final: Utah 102 -- Toronto 101
vs. Boston: This game, Matt Bonner’s homecoming, was less than stellar. The inability to close out the game was a sight that became too familiar last season, but we’ll chalk this one up to preseason uneasiness and just… pray. Our Rafer Alston replacement Mike James put up 20 points, Matt Bonner chipped in 16 on 67% shooting, and Charlie Villanueva added 17 points and 6 rebounds, but fouled out in 26 minutes. Joey Graham sat the game out to rest his sore knee. Jose Calderon was a bright spot, coming up with 6 assists in 14 minutes of play, and something tells me that is only a hint of what we can expect from our new “friend.”
Final: Boston 107 – Toronto 100
vs. Maccabi: The frustrating part about this game was that our starters logged heavy minutes and we still lost to a club team (granted, we lost to the best club team in Europe, but still a club team). The remarkable part was the play of Chris Bosh. A box score for this game never found its way onto the Internet, so there are no official numbers, but we do know that Bosh tallied 27 points and 14 rebounds, 6 of them offensive. Perhaps the most intriguing part of all those points is how they were acquired; we saw a vastly improved back-to-the-basket game from Bosh, with several buckets coming on a, albeit rough-looking, baby hook. We saw Bosh sky for offensive rebounds, come down, compose himself, and lay it in. We saw aggression, we saw desire, and we saw that it wasn’t quite enough. It’s difficult to remember sometimes that, though he may be our new franchise player, he still needs the help from his teammates. Perhaps it’s his job to motivate them, or maybe it’s his job to get them involved, but to win games, we’ll need more than Chris Bosh, and we’ll see that part of our team develop as the season is played out.
Final: Maccabi 105 – Toronto 103
vs. New Jersey: For most Raptor fans, a victory against the New Jersey Nets is as cathartic as it gets. If you’re anything like me, you were slumped in your couch at halftime, angry at the world (but mostly New Jersey), with most hopes of a comeback floating in the back of your mind, somewhere in between winning the lottery and finding Angelina Jolie sitting in your bedroom after the game. Villanueva hitting those three free-throws and Calderon running the team like a veteran instantly brought back all the hope that was lost in the Maccabi game.
Final: Toronto 107 – New Jersey 105
Don’t despair, Raps fans – there’s still plenty to look forward to. Just don’t tell Dave Feschuk. **
Nolan Hand
threeinthekey@gmail.com
* Dave Feschuk, sadly, wasn’t actually bought out. It’s just satire, folks.
** All opinions in the preceding article are of the writer, and don’t necessarily reflect those at RealGM. |
