Joseph Casciaro

Recent Posts

More Lin Talk and the Point Guard Situation Going Forward

Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Jeremy Lin, Jerryd Bayless, Jose Calderon, Steve Nash on May 22, 2012

A week ago we talked about a New York Daily News report that mentioned the Raptors as possible suitors for Jeremy Lin, by way of a potential back-loaded contract.

Already this week, the New York Post writes that “a source confirmed” Toronto will be an offer sheet suitor for Lin and ESPN.com has Toronto No. 1 on a list of teams besides the Knicks that might go after the young point guard.

One thing that hasn’t been given much thought yet though, is whether Lin would be a good fit in Toronto and whether signing him long term would be a good decision.

To really get a grasp on an answer to those questions, we have to look at what the options are at the point guard position for the Raptors next season, and going forward.

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Toronto’s Potential Amnesty Targets

Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Amir Johnson, Amnesty Clause, Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, Linas Kleiza on May 19, 2012

Between Bryan Colangelo referring to the upcoming summer as an “exciting and active” off-season and recent reports/rumours linking the Raptors with the likes of Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin, Raptors fans have become rightfully anxious to get the 2012 off-season underway.

While the May 30th Draft Lottery, the Draft itself and free agency are the obvious talking points for fans and media alike, I’ve been quietly wondering how, if at all, the amnesty clause might come in to play for Toronto this summer.

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This Is Getting Linsane

Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Jeremy Lin, New York Knicks, Steve Nash on May 14, 2012

Even the most optimistic of Raptors fans probably thought that between the season finale on April 26 and the Draft Lottery on May 30, there wouldn’t be much in the form of interesting or intriguing Raptors news. But as Manchester United supporters are painfully aware today, assuming makes a big pretty big ass out of everybody.

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Catching Up with Vince Carter

Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Vince Carter on May 11, 2012

On Thursday night we unveiled Vince Carter as the No. 1 Raptor (surprise, surprise) in the finale of our Ultimate Raptors Rankings.

What I didn’t mention in that post is that Scott and I actually had a chance to talk to Vince a couple of weeks ago, during the final week of the regular season.

Vince was great to chat with, as he was friendly, courteous, honest with his answers when we got to the tougher questions about the John Thompson interview, and seemed like an all around good guy. It was kind of interesting to hear him say “oh, wow” when we explained that the reason we wanted to interview him was because we were naming him the best Raptor in franchise history for our Raptors-related blog. He sounded genuinely surprised and flattered, which kind of caught me off guard. The fact that something as small as a couple of bloggers in Toronto naming him the best Raptor would surprise him, makes me think that Carter is humbler than people give him credit for. Heck, he thanked us for our time at the end, when in reality, we were the ones that were lucky to be granted a few minutes with Vince Carter for RaptorBlog.

Anyway, here’s the interview:

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Ultimate Raptors Rankings – No. 1: Vince Carter

Posted by Joseph Casciaro under Ultimate Raptors Rankings, Vince Carter on May 10, 2012

The Ultimate Raptors Rankings are the RaptorBlog editors’ attempt to rank the top 30 Toronto Raptors of all time. These rankings are obviously somewhat arbitrary and endlessly debatable, but they’re based on each player’s contribution, performance and longevity as a Raptor, and on how beloved they are by Raptors fans.

Vince Carter’s Raptors résumé:

- 2nd in All-Time Franchise points (9420) and 1st in Points per game (23.4)

- 3rd in total rebounds (2091) and 4th in total assists (1553)

- 2nd in total blocks (415) and 3rd in total steals (534)

- Leader in P.E.R. (21.8)

- 5th in games played (403) and 3rd in minutes played (15,114)

- Perennial All Star and multiple-time leading vote-getter

- 2000 Slam Dunk champion

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