Fordicus' Raps - Nets Preview

When Ford sent this email out, I almost passed out reading cause it got me so pumped...

Raps - Nets Preview

It was a scary thing to realize last week that this series was a
possibility. I was resigned to the idea of a relatively lax first round
against a depleted Wizards squad, but now the Raps have the kind of match-up
that could cause them to expend alot of energy and emotion. There is no
doubt the AC will be going bananas in our first return to the playoffs in
half a decade... and all the hatred, all the angst of failed seasons past
will be focused on one man: Vince Carter. Let's hope the rest of their bums
don't get overlooked in the process.

I hope Rasho knocks that bitch on the floor everytime he tries to get in the
paint. Then we will see the evidence for what his nickname should have
been... 'half man, half 20-foot fade away'. Still, he's won a few games
single-handedly before with a wince on his face and without a lick of effort
on defence.

ESPN has once again disappointed with three out of four predicting a Jersey
win. I'm not daunted by this in the least, but for the hell of it, let's go
through the match-up by position to see who has the edge here:

PG - TJ Ford & Calderon vs. J. Kidd & Marcus Williams: Ford and Calderon
are the best PG tandem in the league. No arguments allowed. Kidd is a
future HOF inductee and will have his moments of brilliance as he always
does, but this year his scoring has been down and he is visibly a step
slower starting the break after his knee surgeries. Marcus Williams is a
fat piece of shit who shoots 28% from 3. Calderon and Ford should wear down
Kidd and feast on the chubby laptop thief.

Edge: Raptors

SG - Anthony Parker, Juan Dixon, Mo Pete vs. Carter, Eddie House, Antoine
Wright: Parker has been the best surprise acquisition since Keon Clark was
electrifying crowds on a 20 win team a few years back. He will receive the
brunt of the minutes guarding VC, and will be counted on to hit some big
3's. Maybe you can only hope to contain the injury-prone pussy, but he is
still the best player in this group by a large margin. I look for Mo to get
some minutes in the early going if his knee is sound, but eventually get
benched for the younger, more intense Juan Dixon. Eddie house and Antoine
Wright both suck balls.

Edge: Jersey, but only slightly. The 3 or 4 guys Tdot can put on Carter
narrows the gap.

SF - Joey Graham, Andrea Bargnani vs. Richard Jefferson, Bostjan Nachbar:
This is going to sound crazy, but Nachbar is good. He's shown me he can
take it to the rack and hit the open 3 with consistency and he actually
scares me more than the post-injury Jefferson. Graham needs to keep up his
strong play and Bargs needs to get himself in shape and get his legs under
him quickly. If he can pose a threat from long range and utilize his
passing ability off the dribble, the Raps will be in good shape.

Edge: Tie

PF - Bosh, The Hump vs. Mikki Moore, Josh Boone?: I don't even really know
who the fours and fives are for NJ. A collection of scrap heap guys and
projects. Does anyone think they will be able to handle Bosh for a second,
or even keep Hump off the offensive glass. I say no way. This position is
a massacre and the Raps need to exploit it.

Edge: RAPTORS (caps lock for screaming)

C - Rasho vs. Jason Collins: I think we all know the big Lithuanian keeps
bodies in the trunk of his car despite his icy, stoic gaze. All he needs to
do is stand there and play good post position on both ends, hit the odd
elbow jumper and lay-up every would be dunk. Jason Collins is a stiff.
Always has been, never will change. These teams will likely go small and
also use a combo of their 4's at center, but the Nets just can't test up
front.

Edge: Raptors again.

Conclusion: While superstars win championships, and the Nets have an edge
of 1.6 superstars (Carter = .8, Kidd and Jefferson about .4 each) to the
Raptors 1 (Bosh), this Toronto team is built with the depth and role
awareness to easily dispose of this heavily flawed nuisance.

Prediction: Raptors in 5 and the ACC will have the roof blown off.