Kathrynpires2015
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| PHOENIX - As his team endured what turned out to be their most disheartening loss of the young season, Masai Ujiri followed along on his iPad. Accompanied by a couple of his scouts, the Raptors general manager was returning from a road trip to Syracuse, where he watched the Orange defeat the Hoosiers Tuesday evening. All the while he kept an eye on what was unfolding on the opposite end of the country. With the Raptors on the verge of a historic collapse, all he could do was watch the score, as a 27-point lead morphed into a nine-point loss in 21 minutes of game time. Ujiri watched the game in its entirety when he got back home, not because hes a glutton for punishment but because he has work to do, which is becoming more and more clear with each passing loss. "Obviously, theres something that we have to fix," Ujiri told Macko and Cauz in a Thursday morning interview on TSN Radio 1050. Listen to the entire interview here. "One thing Ill tell you and the fans," he said, "we will not be caught in no-mans land in the NBA. We all know what no mans land is. Were going to really evaluate this team and see how we can go forward." To the dismay of the reigning NBA Executive of the Year, the Raptors have been and continue to be in the centre of no-mans land. Theyve been trapped there for half a decade - or longer depending on your definition of "no-mans land" - without a clear or easy way of escaping. At 6-12 they sit comfortably in 10th place, exactly where they finished last season. Theyre too good to be bad in a truly terrible Eastern Conference but theyre a long ways from being good enough to compete. So what now? Tuesdays loss - as painful as it was - is just one game. As Dwane Casey put it, "Its a long season and one game doesnt define us." The game doesnt but what it represents does. The roster is fundamentally flawed. A loss like Tuesdays makes Ujiris decision easier, while making his job that much more difficult. Whether hes watching from the stands, the tunnel or his iPad, Ujiri has been watching closely, and waiting. For lack of a more prudent solution at the time he took the gig, he gave this group - mostly assembled by his predecessor - an opportunity to sink or swim. Now, over a month into the season, hes seen what he needs to see. "Its not rocket science," he said. "Im not trying to deceive anybody here. Were evaluating our team and well continue to field calls, make calls [and] see how we can make our team better or figure out what direction we go with this team." Theres no question Ujiri has been and will continue to be a busy man (he and his wife welcomed their first child on Saturday). December 15th is a date most, including Ujiri, have circled on their calendar. That will be the first day in which offseason signees are eligible to be traded, widening the market and thus increasing Torontos options. At that point, the clock starts and its only a matter of time before Ujiri pulls the trigger. Who goes, what comes back and when does it all happen? Ujiri may not even have those answers yet. Its important to remember that wanting to dance is not enough, you need a willing partner. Not surprisingly, the primary areas of evaluation for Ujiri and his staff leading up to Dec. 15 are focused around redundancy in the roster and a general lack of chemistry amongst this group. "For me, guys should be willing to play with each other, for each other," Torontos GM insisted. "I dont think our guys are selfish, its not something in terms of, I dont want to pass to that guy, or I wont pass to that guy, I dont really think its that. I think its the style of player, the way they are constructed as players." Two players who are under the microscope, largely because of their hefty salaries and similarities to one another on the floor, are Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan. That duo, both high-volume scorers and subpar defenders, account for the bulk of Torontos usage offensively. Both players tend to operate best in isolation, which has practically flatlined the teams offence this season. It has become clear to the organizations primary decision-makers that this pair has to be broken up, regardless of the path the franchise chooses to take going forward. Although theyd prefer to part ways with Gay, according to a team source - not a surprise, given his on-court regression and the $19.3 million hes owed next year (assuming he opts in) - that may prove to be an impossible task. Gay is shooting 39 per cent from the field and committing 3.4 turnovers per contest, both marks are the worst of his career, and his league-wide value is believed to reflect that. Meanwhile DeRozans value is trending upwards, averaging career-highs in points (21.8), assists (2.8) and three-point shooting (39 per cent). Therein lies the conundrum for Ujiri and company; sell high on player with optimum value, or take whatever you can get for the other. At least for now Casey appears to be safe. Using the coach as a scapegoat is often the easiest answer but its not one that fits Ujiris style. Hes too rationale and too patient. He knows Casey, like the rest of the team, is handcuffed by the roster, a flawed group, pieces that just wont and never will fit together. With each passing game Ujiri is reminded of that. Theyre not good enough. Theyre not bad enough. They are precisely where he refuses to be; in no-mans land. The day of reckoning for this team, as we know it, is just around the corner. Wholesale Jerseys China . 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Saborio got under a bouncing long ball as three Dallas players closed in on it at the same time. Saborio hesitated a moment at the top of the box and then turned and threaded the ball inside the left post. Cooper tied it for Dallas (10-10-11), which snapped a three-game losing streak. Je-Vaughn Watson beat Tony Beltran down the right side and fired a shot at Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimmando.dddddddddddd His shot was deflected by Rimando out to Cooper at the right post. Cooper collected the ball and fired it past Rimando inside the opposite post. Salt Lake defender Abdoulie Mansally was sent off with a red card in the 17th minute after a reckless tackle on Dallas midfielder Jackson. Mansally undercut Jackson as he tracked down a long ball along the sideline. Jackson flipped high into the air and crashed down on his knee. Both players were down for a few minutes before the match resumed. Both Mansally and Javier Morales will miss the teams next match against the Portland Timbers. 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posted on: 11/04/2015 05:34:51 AM
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