Orgfiller

Wait who actually hates on Buerhle? The guy is the definition of durable, even with his 86 mph fastballs. I also don't get why people hate Lawrie? I mean sure off and on the field he seems like he shoots red bull, but he's a guy that gives it all while playing, and that's what really matters, IMO he isn't in the same city as JPA regarding douchiness. Bautista I sort of get because he does complain too much but sometimes you take it if his arrogance doesn't reach Braun or A-Rod territory.

I don't remember if you were ever on the old board, but I think it's fair to say that our dislike of JP intensified when we became aware that he was (I think dead last) one of the worst catchers defensively in the league when factoring in framing numbers. Some had hopes that he would work on it and at least be average and he could combine that with above-average PRODUKSHUN for a catcher.

Yeah that blows. At least I think it's fair to say our fans are pretty loyal, even when we were sucking. It's a huge advantage to have if we manage to clinch the 3-seed.

I understand part of what you're saying, but for example, given that Ross has a good shot and great athleticism (as you mentioned), what is the logic to having Novak in there? All Novak does is stand in the corner hoping for a pass, while Ross has great mobility, if told he could stay at the 3 point line and gather attention, or run to the basket and draw some contact/finish. In summary, Novak just stands there, and TR can at least run around the line which is much harder to control. Then there's defense, I don't want to sound pretentious but anyone could have committed the foul to give, I'm certain that Casey being a good coach was screaming that the foul was a possibility, and players were probably ready. Overrated or not, Ross is a GOOD man-to-man defender, and the best we have; if Salmons was known for his D I wouldn't object to putting him in the game over the sophomore, but sadly, he isn't.

Look at the atmosphere in the ACC, it's great to see so many fans in the seats supporting the team.

This isn't the Pacers. On this roster Ross is without a doubt a guy to have on the court in the last minute of the game, who's the alternative? Salmons? Novak? To put it into perspective, you're not arguing whether to take out LeBron for Paul George, you're basically saying it's fine playing Marco Bellinelli over Kawhi Leonard.

Wasn't #top10catcher before the season even started? We became aware of JP's awful defense a while back, coupled with his inability to draw a walk was slowly garnering up a serious hate storm. I think the only reason people were never too hard on him is because they thought that JP was just a stepping stone to d'Arnaud.

Um, I can't speak for the rest of the game, but saying that quite possibly our best man-to-man defender "isn't exactly a big stopper" is kind of an egregious statement.

Wow, looks like I unfortunately missed a great game: T. Ross 28:03 6-13 FG 1-5 from 3, -3, 17 points and added 4 boards and 3 assists as well as 2 steals. From what I can gather played some great D. An example of +/- not always being the most telling stat A. Johnson 28:18 4-8 FG, -13, 8/8, and the gamewinner to put the Raps in the playoffs, why not? Also added 2 blocks. J. Valanciunas 34:34 3-6, 7-8 FT, +9 13/8 with 3 offensive boards and also two blocks. D. DeRozan 35:05 12-27 FG, 6-6 FT, -16, finished with 30 along with 4 assists and 3 rebounds. K. Lowry 33:40 4-13 FG, 0-6 from 3, +5, 9/5 AST/6 rebounds. J. Salmons 23:18 2-4, +15 (wat), 5 points with a pair of assists and steals. C. Hayes 27:06 3-3, +15, the undersized big man finished with 6 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals! And once again way too much playing time, though reports still indicate that PPat could be back Sunday or Monday. G. Vasquez 23:54 5-11 FG, 3-5 from downtown, +5, 15/5 assists, a very good game from our primary backup PG T. Hansbrough 05:40 -9, added a total of 2 points and 2 offensive rebounds. Novak played all of 22 seconds...yeah...

Damnit! I was going to say just about the same thing. Oh well, put me down for 85 as well.

It's that time of the night again! T. Ross 36:44 9-16 FG 5-9 from 3 +19 24 pts A. Johnson 30:02 4-6 including a 3! +8 10/7 with 4 offensive boards. J. Valanciunas 35:02 7-12 +14 15/14 with 3 off. boards. D. DeRozan 39:44 5-13 FG 10-11 FT +20 20/7 K. Lowry 34:11 8-17 FG 4-8 from 3 +11 23/9 boards G. Vasquez 16:53 3-10 1-3 -2 C. Hayes 26:57 0-4 +3 6 boards, 3 off. also added 3 blocks J. Salmons 13:19 -10, literally did nothing, except for one lucky steal N. De Colo 03:09 -11 wasn't very relevant either. T. Hansbrough 03:59 -7 barely played but managed to get 2 fouls Sorry for the terrible spacing but otherwise it would have been really annoying to read.

Agreed on all accounts, we would really need to drive a lot and draw contact against the Bulls, getting their starting bigs into foul trouble would be huge, and we certainly have players capable of doing that. PPat is key to us at least putting up a good fight. The less we play Hayes and Novak the better off we'll be.

Noah and Taj Gibson will rape our backup bigs, the only way we stand a chance is if Lowry can take over, and at least Vasquez/De Colo can put up a decent fight.

I know you're just stating facts, but that is still ridiculous, at one point it was a 4 point game, you don't think it would have been smart to put the best big on the court? This is the kind of coaching that will get badly exposed against a decent team.

He was clearly the strongest player down low by far, they couldn't stop him, he was getting offensive rebounds as he pleased...no reason for him to not even finish the game.

Did Valanciunas even play in the 4th quarter? Seriously Casey?

RESIGN THIS MAN! HE WILL NOT BACK DOWN. And Ross! Boom!

Rondo's defense is godly. How the f*** was that a foul? They're calling everything inside.

Amir's the one with 5 personal fouls, JV only 2. It makes no sense!

Are you kidding me? Is Jared Sullinger really taking over again?

Good to see the league putting younger referees in...

f***ing Joey Crawford for you, ALL BALL.

In what world was that T-Bro's fault?

Look Hansbrough's alive.

Am I the only one that at times thinks that Chuck Hayes is 36? The guy's only a year older than LeBron wtf. Wow Ross.