Bleacher Report - Articles by Alessandro Lobalsamo

Matt Cassel Is Not Tom Brady...But He's Not Bad

Alessandro Lobalsamo — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:47:28 -0400

There is absolutely no comparison to be made between Tom Brady and Matt Cassel that gives you the idea that they are similar.

They are not. Brady is more talented, more mobile, more confident, and by the end of his career, he will be among the best quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL. Matt Cassel is a backup that is filling in for the time being.

I'm not here to bash Cassel, as it may appear right off the pitch, this article is to actually highlight the attributes that make Matt Cassel not the worst thing that could have happened to the Patriots.

It was said best by Madden during a recent broadcast, "He is not gonna put up Tom Brady numbers, but he also isn't screwing up!"

Cassel is guarded by the same offensive line that was set to protect the multi-million-dollar business that is Tom Brady. Sure, he went down in the first game of the season, but normally that O-line can provide time and room for anyone to make a play in the pocket or otherwise.

The receivers that assisted in the destruction of so many defences last season and made Tom Brady hold almost every single-season throwing and scoring record are still there. Although Randy Moss and Wes Welker are not gonna have career seasons with Cassel throwing to them, they will produce enough to win.

Cassel is in a situation where he has all the tools to succeed, he would have to be Rex Grossman to mess this opportunity up, and due to his lack of an overly-strong arm, he will mostly make safer passes and utilize the run game.

His knowledge and protection will ensure fewer fumbles, interceptions, and sacks. He has learned enough from his Hall of Fame tutor to know these things and will not likely win games alone, but he will scarcely lose games for his team.

Cassel knows the offence well, and he is now starting because of that. Tony Kornheiser, from PTI, can attest to why they are going with Cassel: It's due to his knowledge of the system. Why go out and get Daunte Culpepper and try and teach him a complex playbook?

Belichick has someone who is far more prepared and groomed to play in a system that he knows to be the ONLY system.

Cassel is a smart quarterback who does not have illusions of grandeur. He knows why he is playing. He knows that the organization, coaches, and players have faith in him. And he knows his limitations.

The only reason he did not start in college has now become obvious, due to the likes of Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart being the other QBs on his team. He sure did have a lot of time to watch them though, and then he gets drafted to become the backup to Tom Brady. This is seen as such a negative aspect. Is it though?

I, on the other hand, see this as the following: Cassel has never stopped learning. He had the fortunate experience to learn from three exciting quarterbacks, two of which normally lead explosive teams with a proven pass game, the other (Leinart) may be on the bench now, but his stubbly, aging competition is teaching him a thing or two for when it is his time to command the Cardinals' offence.

Expect the Patriots to keep on winning with their stout defence, slowly improving run game, where Sammy Morris is reminding people about his pretty darn good multiple 100-yard, TD games last year, a dangerously accurate kicker, and a future Hall of Fame coach/genius.

Matt Cassel has learned what to do and what not to do to become a successful QB in the NFL and due to Brady's season last year, he is trying to fill in the biggest shoes ever. He may not even remotely fit/fill them, but he will still be able to walk very slowly in them.

Toronto Raptors Are Magically Knocked Out in Orlando

Alessandro Lobalsamo — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 20:59:17 -0400

For the second year in a row, the Toronto Raptors have been eliminated in early fashion by a team they wanted to match up against in the playoffs and thought they could have beaten.

This was truly the dream match up for Toronto fans. It was Orlando instead of Boston or Detroit. I was at a bar in Toronto when the Cavaliers beat the 76ers on the second last game of the season to make Toronto Clinch sixth place.

The roar that went up when those two free throws were hit was invigorating. As a Raptors fan, I felt like, YES, MAYBE we can make it out of the first round this year.

Oh how I was mistaken. After that first game in Orlando, anyone who watched it could see that the presence of Dwight Howard was going to be the deciding factor in this series.

As a blind Raptors Fan, I did not see how completely hopeless the series was. A smart (non-biased) analyst would have seen that the Raptors had absolutely no chance, but I, being from Toronto, thought otherwise.

That aside, the series was over before it began. Toronto would need much more than two good point guards in T.J Ford and Jose Calderon and a franchise of a power forward in Chris Bosh.

They needed someone who could run into all 6'11"(2.11m), 265 pounds of Dwight Howard. They seriously lacked this, as no one would cover or even contest Dwight for rebounds or jams. Chris Bosh is an outstanding player, but the extra 35-40 pounds of muscle that Dwight has over CB4 means a lot.

Rasho Nesterovich is another big Raptor who had absolutely no chance of doing anything against Howard. Boston and Detroit aren't looking so bad right now, as they are both tied 2-2 in their series.

This absolute domination does not mean that Orlando is monumentally better than Toronto. It simply means that the lack of a dominant center means so much in the NBA.

Toronto has got a lot of talent, and the playoff performance over the last two years should prompt Bryan Colangelo, the GM for the Raptors, to seriously think about some moves maybe in the summer.

I have not forgotten about Jorge Garbajosa who when healthy will be a beneficial return to the team, and his big 6'9", 245-pound frame provides some size for the very small, very thin Raptors. Garbo is only a forward though, and at 6'9", he is not a center.

So what to do in Toronto?

There is only one thing to do: get a presence under that rim. Portland will be among the, or possibly the best in the west in the upcoming years.

Why? Because they are essentially the 05/06 Raptors of the West, except with a bit less luck and more talent then that 05/06 Raptor team.

Portland has got the brightest Future in the NBA in my opinion. If Greg Oden is as healthy and strong as he was in his Ohio State days, he will be a star in the NBA.

The set of Oden, Roy and Aldridge is a dynasty in the making. Throw Travis Outlaw, Jarrett Jack, and Joel Pryzbilla into the mix and that dynasty will last and have some depth. If these players keep on growing and learning, the Trailblazers will be one of the elite in the West.

The big piece to the puzzle though is Greg Oden. This was a problem this year, and they have their solution: getting healthy and strong for next season. The Raptors, on the other hand, do not have the solution training somewhere in a high tech facility/gym. They don’t have that solution at all.

It is no surprise why The Raptors took a seven footer first overall in the 06/07 draft. As well as a big, talented Spaniard in Garbo, but it is becoming evident that Andrea Bargnani will not be the answer to their rebounding woes.

The Raps need a big man, plain and simple. They have all the tools like the Trailblazers do. But unlike them, there is no Greg Oden ready to put on a Raptors jersey next year.

Hopefully, this playoff series against the Magic was a wake up call for Bryan Colangelo and this organization. The call should not come as a surprise; I mean the series was a culmination of the Raptors season, to the tee.

One game they show highlights of greatness, rebounding, hitting three-pointers, just firing on all cylinders.

Then the very next game, you have T.J ford taking impossible fade-away jumpers five times a game and Dwight Howard getting a free pass up the lane to do whatever he wants.

This is how the season was, not enough rebounds and second opportunity points. An actual Center is what the team need if they ever want to get out of the first round of the playoffs.

I will admit it is easier said then done, due to the shortage of true strong Centers in the game. So how about we get into the three pointers that Orlando was able to take?

It is quite hard to get a rebound against Dwight Howard, but what is very attainable is getting a hand in the face of Jameer Nelson or Rashard Lewis when they or anyone may go for a three ball.

The 91 total rebounds Dwight accumulated over the series are nauseating, but the open looks that the Raptors gave them is almost equally as sickening.

The percentages were bad, so very bad for a playoff game. And it seemed like the Magic constantly had room and time to make shots that the had no business making.

Bryan Colangelo is one of the best GMs in the league, but he better put his thinking cap back on after this series, because that high paced, exciting ball that he has created, needs help in Toronto.

He took this team from rags to a Division Championship, a trophy he can pretty much kiss goodbye for the years to come. The Celtics will be taking that home from now on, and he'll have to think about how he can win playoff games.

This team is good but could drop so easily in the upcoming years what with the rising talent in all the other teams in the East, especially those directly under them.

It's going to be tough, but moves have to be made. The Raptors are slipping, and if Colangelo is the basketball genius he is, he will see that and work some Magic between now and October to avoid the Magic working his team over in the years to come.

Phoenix Suns: Will They Ever Beat the San Antonio Spurs in the Playoffs?

Alessandro Lobalsamo — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 09:22:29 -0400

This year in basketball saw an unfathomed number of moves of players to much different teams.

The Boston Celtics started it all off—setting the bar impossibly high when they got Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett in the offseason.

The wild changes would really start when Pau Gasol went to the Lakers and every western team got into an arms race. Dallas would go on to trade their future away for Jason Kidd, and The Phoenix Suns traded one of their franchise players for one that is said to be at the end of his career.

If anyone told you Shawn Marion would go to the Miami Heat for Shaquille O'Neal, you would surely have laughed like I did when speculation of this trade first made it to the media. But when it was confirmed, it seemed jaws dropped in amazement.

It was hard to swallow, especially as a Suns fan, but after some long deliberation, it appeared that those put in charge of the Suns organization after one of the best GM's of the day, Brian Colangelo, left actually had a plan. The way they say it, the current big three of Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, and Marion was apparently not working, and led them to the being eliminated from the playoffs before the final.

They were fed up with not making it to the championship series, and with rumor going around that Marion wanted to be traded, the decision was logical. Trade a young intense small forward/power forward for one of the most recognizable and dominant centers the sport has seen.

Marion is the more talented of the two, but he lacks the defensive mind that Shaq does, as well as the dominant presence.

The Suns guaranteed Marion a six-year $80 million deal, so it would be hard to push on someone and get a fair return for him.

Shaq fit all these requirements, and so the trade was made.

Now we see the results—the Suns are on the brink of elimination in the playoffs and it seems nothing has changed.

Is it possible that the Suns are just choke artists in the playoffs? Or is it that Nash, Amare, and Barbosa have found their kryptonite in Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs.

It seems that the defending champs are the real deal, playing some of the most boring basketball one will ever see. Having the rings to back up their play, no one can really say much. The Spurs are a dynamically defensive team, their late season runs and championships mean they are doing something right.

The Suns, however, good they may be, seem to always be on the losing end of the spectrum.

The new slower Suns are good, and if not for San Antonio, they would no doubt be on their way to the championship.

Will they ever beat San Antonio?

Not with this team, the Suns are an amazing balance of talent and size, but their lack of a bench really hurts them.

Unlike some teams who have two confident big men, like the 76ers with Samuel Dalembert and Reggie Evans, or Lakers with Gasol and Andrew Bynum, the list goes on.

The Suns have a weak bench, without Grant Hill, it's even worse.

As long as the Spurs have the outstanding defensive mind that the coach and players have, and the Suns are still looking for a deeper bench that can grab boards and hold a lead, the Suns will never beat the Spurs in a playoff series.

The Suns need to gel a bit better, and find a big man for their bench and find some role players who will not squander a massive lead accrued by the big four.

If they ever want to contend with the Spurs these things have to happen, and until then, they will remain the worst of the best in the West.