How bad was it? I decided to wait till the next day to write about it. I did live blog the game for The Score though if you care to read my thoughts along with those of the audience as it happened. The Raps did actually hang with the Mavericks for about a quarter and a half. After that the defense went south and so did they. That same old problem came back again of guarding that 3 point line. The Raptors are going to wear Huskies throwback gear this season. Back in those days the NBA had no 3 point line and maybe the Raps would be better off with out it. They do have that streak of games with a 3 pointer that sits at 800 and something. But really the Raps are the definition of that old expression you live by the 3 and you die by the 3. The Raptors lost 129-101 to the Mavs was the exact opposite of the win in New Orleans.
The Raptors have won 3 games and 2 of them in impressive fashion. In their 3 losses two of them were ugly ones and the other was to the Iversonless Grizzlies. Which if you haven't heard is now the case again. In terms of the Raptors though you just find yourself unclear on what you will see night to night. I guess you can say that is a product of those 9 new faces and all of that. It is also the product of a pretty difficult schedule. It is just the Raptors seem to be winning or losing in a major way. In 6 games it would be hard to argue the Raps did not deserve to win the games they have and the same can be said for the games they lost.
A lot of folks are freaking out a bit about Demar DeRozan. The calls to send the Raps rookie to the bench have already started. Welcome to the NBA young fella. Part of the reason is the play of Antonie Wright who is taking charges and reminding me of a Morris Peterson back in the day. The fact Demar DeRozan has had his name called 6 times has not been the reason for 3 losses anymore than it has been for 3 wins. It's not about who starts the game it is about who finishes it.
Some also think Jarrett Jack should be starting and not Jose Calderon. Believe it or not I am not one of them. I have said at some point Jack could indeed do that. However he is not playing so great in his own right at the moment. Calderon has looked ok in the last couple games. Just like you don't have to play DeRozan at the end of games, there is no reason Triano can not make subs for offense and defense at the end switching them as situations dictate.
You may have noticed a couple dunks from Chris Bosh last night. They were hard to miss full of frustration and anger. Chris Bosh despite his great stats is more concerned about the 3-3 stat that is the Raptors record. This is the stat that will most determine his future. If the Raptors were 5-1 and you put that along side Bosh's stats in this early season you would get an M.V.P candidate early in this NBA season. Bosh wants to believe that this team is on a path to being a contender and having a chance at a championship. Really isn't that what all of you want as well? Chris Bosh has never got to experience winning in his hometown as a Raptor. That streak continued again last night and the Raps have not won in Dallas in the 2k. A small fact and not that meaningful for the Raptors seeing as they only play there once a year. However for Bosh I think it would only be human if it bothered him just a bit, if not a lot. Let's just hope he is around again to try next season.
Raptors will face a Spurs team that will likely be without it's point guard in Tony Parker and this could be a chance to steal a win on Monday night. However that being said the Raps will need to do a much better job guarding that 3 point line if they hope to come out on top. If you are looking here for the answer to if they can do that, I do not have an answer for you. The Raps have been more difficult to figure out in this early season than perhaps at anytime in their 15 year history. It is a crazy ride of emotions of both glee and frustration. It is being a sports fan and Raps fans got to experience the high and low in that in a span of 24 hours.
11/8/09
11/7/09
Raptors Make It Rain In Big Easy
Not exactly a re-cap for you. Just some sound thoughts on Raps and Hornets from Friday night. Jose Calderon has taken a lot of heat here and elsewhere but on this Friday in November Calderon looked more like the guy some see as an all-star. For whatever reason Chris Paul seems to bring out the best in Jose. The last time the Raptors had won in New Orleans Jose would shock everyone and out play Chris Paul on New Year's Eve. He was not as good on this night but miles ahead of anything we have seen from him this season. He had 16 points and 8 assists even had a steal. He would draw a charge on Paul in the 3rd quarter and was talking some smack. It was a fired up Jose Calderon on this night. You have to give credit when it is deserved and on this night it clearly was. Chris Bosh continued his amazing start to the season with a very solid 27 points to be the games high scorer along with 7 rebounds and a block. He did all that with sitting a big part of the 4th. He was not hurt or anything he just was not needed. The Raptors trailed by 2 at the half and came out of the locker room and blitzed the Hornets out scoring them 34-14 in the 3rd quarter. The defense was much better even guarding the are in which New Orleans was only 6-20. The Raptors were 14-29 from downtown and that was the big difference. The Raptors clearly can score coming into the game as 3rd best in the NBA. If not for the fact the Raps have to play Dallas tomorrow night it is likely Andrea Bargnani would have back to back double doubles. After 12 rebounds vs the Pistons Bargnani had 9 boards to go with 14 points. HedoTurkoglu is starting to show signs of turning the corner and looking more like the guy that was advertised coming to the Raptors. It was a quiet night for Demar DeRozan with 4 points a couple boards and a block.
Jack and Belinelli lead the 30 point effort from the bench with 9 each. Wright and Johnson also looked good and it was a solid all around effort for the team as a whole. The Raptors even showed a little bit of a press look. If there was a knock on the Raps maybe the foul line where they were just 65% but it was better than New Orleans who shot below that and Raps got the line more.
Raptors would take this contest 107-90. They will now head to face Antonie Wright's former team and Chris Bosh games home. The Dallas Mavericks were sitting home and likely watching the Raptors take apart a team that they lost to in overtime. The Mavs did have a big win over the Lakers on their early season resume. The Raps head to Dallas riding a 2 game win streak.
The Raptors have been hard to figure out early on. Maybe they are final starting to come together and gel. You would like to hope so if you are trying to think positive. This is a very tough November in terms of schedule. If the Raps exit this month .500 or better there is real reason to be positive about this team moving forward. The Raps need to have effort like this on a night in and night out basis. A big help to that cause will be Reggie Evans once he returns to the fold. He seems the be getting closer and he did make the trip with the team. It probably would seem unlikely he would be ready to play on this trip. However he gets into it on the bench and when he does return he would only help things in terms of defense and rebounding. He can hold his own with even that big Italian rebounding monster we have.
A final word on Chris Bosh. It is hard not to think about the uncertain future for him and staying with the Raptors. However that will not be decided anytime soon. What is happening now is you are seeing a very motivated and determined CB4. Regardless of if it is for the final season or for many more to come Bosh is getting it done and showing you why he has become a fixture on Team U.S.A and a regular at the NBA All-Star game. Try not to let any paranoid feelings you may have about 2010 get in the way of enjoying what this guy is doing. Bosh for the second straight season has started the season with a bang. We can only hope that he remains healthy and does not have the off-court distractions he faced last season. If Bosh is able to keep at it and not have those issues, I believe you are going to see the best season of this kid's career. Well he is not a kid but he is younger than me. Here is something to think about for Bosh and all of you. When the 2 previous franchise players left looking for a fresh start they got that. However they never matched the level of success they had in Toronto in Raptors jersey. You can bet like Lebron James was likely asked tonight about N.Y.C someone will ask Bosh about a return home to the Mavs. I will say it right now Bosh is not playing for the Mavs next year. I am confident in thinking that will e the case. More wins and performances like tonight and there will not be a question of where Chris will be. The answer will be likely Toronto.
11/6/09
Beware An Angry Hornet
The Raptors start a 3 game road stretch and face Chris Paul and the Hornets to kick it off in New Orleans. Paul is to say the least an angry young man of late. There was talk after a loss to Boston he tried to get into the Boston locker room. This is not the smiling Chris Paul that we see on those NBA Cares ads. Raptors have Jose Calderon still playing less than acceptable defense. It could be trouble given the way Chris Paul is feeling these days. Hornets are 2-3 on the young season and in the Western Conference you have to be much better than that. Hornets come in off an OT win over Dallas who the Raptors will play tomorrow night on the 2nd half of a back to back. Paul is off to an amazing personal start averaging 30 points and 8.2 assists and has been making shots from 3 point range where he is a blazing 12-15 from behind the arc. Chris Bosh has some very nice numbers as well through 4 games with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Hornets are undefeated at home despite the 2-3 record. Raps did have some recent success in New Orleans winning on New Year's Eve a couple years back. Even though Paul has been hot from 3 point range the Hornets are shooting just 35% as a team. Still Peja and Moe P are going to look to take the 3 point shot. Inside the Hornets have All-Star David West and Ex-Bobcat Emeka Oakfor. Could be a nice match-up for Andrea Bargnani.
This may be the best chance for the Raptors to get a win on this 3 game trip. However it will be far from an easy task. You can expect to see both Jack and Wright taking turns guarding Chris Paul after we see Jose Calderon get blown by a few times. The main goal for the Raptors should be to force Paul to be a scorer. He alone will not beat the Raptors unless he can get his team involved. Raps should be able to have an advantage in the front court and that is how they can win. Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu can all get the better of their individual match-ups. Bosh has the most difficult of the 3 going against David West. The Raptors will need to battle on the boards though as both West and Okafor are capable of having a double double on any given night. Okafor is averaging 11.2 boards a game.
It is becoming so hard what to expect from this Raptors team from game to game. One of the things they need to do is get off to a better start. On the road they can not afford to get off to slow starts. Some will say that may mean having Demar DeRozan go to the bench in favour of Wright. I still think you roll with the rookie for now. It is not like you can't have a very fast hook for him should Demar not play well. He does offer little spurts of athleticism that you do not want to see go away. Also Wright offers a defensive spark of the bench that this team badly needs. It is just 4 games into the season I am not really in favour of making any major changes to the rotation at this point. Heck we have not even get to see Reggie Evans in the rotation yet. It is not to say that this starting line-up will last the entire season. It may not but now is not the time to shuffle the deck.
The bench will be important tonight with it being the first half of a back to back. The more they can add the better it will be for tomorrow night in Dallas. It was the bench lead by Jack and Wright that got the Raps back in the game vs the Pistons. The more the Raps can get from the bench the better off they will be. They have many challenging games in this early schedule and there will be some nights that the starters are going to have to carry the load.
So will see what happens tonight as the Raps would like to get this 3 game road trip off on the right foot. Speaking of feet Reggie Evans left foot seems to be on mend and hopefully it will not be long before we get to see his regular season debut.
This may be the best chance for the Raptors to get a win on this 3 game trip. However it will be far from an easy task. You can expect to see both Jack and Wright taking turns guarding Chris Paul after we see Jose Calderon get blown by a few times. The main goal for the Raptors should be to force Paul to be a scorer. He alone will not beat the Raptors unless he can get his team involved. Raps should be able to have an advantage in the front court and that is how they can win. Bosh, Bargnani and Turkoglu can all get the better of their individual match-ups. Bosh has the most difficult of the 3 going against David West. The Raptors will need to battle on the boards though as both West and Okafor are capable of having a double double on any given night. Okafor is averaging 11.2 boards a game.
It is becoming so hard what to expect from this Raptors team from game to game. One of the things they need to do is get off to a better start. On the road they can not afford to get off to slow starts. Some will say that may mean having Demar DeRozan go to the bench in favour of Wright. I still think you roll with the rookie for now. It is not like you can't have a very fast hook for him should Demar not play well. He does offer little spurts of athleticism that you do not want to see go away. Also Wright offers a defensive spark of the bench that this team badly needs. It is just 4 games into the season I am not really in favour of making any major changes to the rotation at this point. Heck we have not even get to see Reggie Evans in the rotation yet. It is not to say that this starting line-up will last the entire season. It may not but now is not the time to shuffle the deck.
The bench will be important tonight with it being the first half of a back to back. The more they can add the better it will be for tomorrow night in Dallas. It was the bench lead by Jack and Wright that got the Raps back in the game vs the Pistons. The more the Raps can get from the bench the better off they will be. They have many challenging games in this early schedule and there will be some nights that the starters are going to have to carry the load.
So will see what happens tonight as the Raps would like to get this 3 game road trip off on the right foot. Speaking of feet Reggie Evans left foot seems to be on mend and hopefully it will not be long before we get to see his regular season debut.
11/5/09
DNB 5 and 5
This is going to be a short little mini feature that I am going to do in the Dino Nation Blog once in awhile. Feel free to play along at home. I find that in this crazy world of Raptors basketball some of us tend to be far to negative while others are living with their head in the clouds. So in this blog feature we try to bring those 2 ideas together. 5 things to freak out and worry about and 5 things to be excited and happy about. They say life is all about balance. This is my small attempt to bring balance to the Raptor Universe.
5 Up!!!
1. Granted it was not a great night last night but Demar DeRozan is bringing back that WOW factor to the Raptors. You remember how that felt when Vince Carter would throw down a dunk and make you jump out of your chair. Heir Canada has that ability to do it and it is great to have it back in the mix.
2. Charles Oakley- how I missed his no nonsense reality, it may have only been for one night, but it was nice to have it back. Oakley has no filter at all and tells you what he thinks and believes with no apologies.
3. Twitter always gets a thumbs up. I enjoy it for hearing from readers players and broadcasters. I may not have embraced all the changes in this modern world. But Twitter is one that I have. Yesterday I made my 5000th tweet. It has been a fun ride on Twitter. Thanks to all the folks that follow me @dinonationblog.
4. CB4- He has been doing all he can every game. If you buy into the fact he is as good as gone next year. You sure could not tell it from his play on the floor. I don't of course and hope that Bosh can continue this amazing start and have a great season and bring the Raps along for the ride.
5. Andrea Bargnani- 12 rebounds...12 rebounds....I never thought I would see the day. Andrea really has turned a corner and in the past I had my doubts about this guy but I have become convinced he is going to at very least be good. So pasta for everyone and the 50 million contract that concerned me at first is more and more looking like a steal.
5 Down
1. Jose Calderon's Defense is a growing concern and a problem. We heard all the excuses last season with injuries and all of that. He was injured but he was not a good defender before the injury and he is not after it. Bottom line is talking about is great but like the man listed about at #2 you got to be about it and back up that talk. Jose Calderon is an expert in spelling NBA players names and the numbers they wear. Why? Simple because he sees them all blowing past him on the back of jerseys.
2. Raps TV. What did we do to deserve 30 minutes less of pre-game and post game? Why do I care about the Leafs, Toronto FC or what band is coming into the ACC? Oh that is right, I don't and the fact MLSE is so obviously turning the station into an MLSE infomercial is sad. I like Matt Devlin, Adnan Virk, Paul Jones, Jack Armstrong and some of the other folks on there. IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. The fact this network has taken steps backwards instead of forwards makes me sad. Raptor fans deserve far better.
3. NBA Schedule Maker sure does not like the Raps does he? The month of November is no fun at all. Look for him (NBA Schedule maker) to return to this feature in the up section in Feb/2010.
4. Raps have the silly streak of games making a consecutive 3 pointer. I lost count at where it is at. But in that same streak how many 3's have we given up. It is time to FINALLY ADDRESS GUARDING THE PERIMETER!!!
5. My fantasy teams. I did my best to draft quality teams and I have players dropping like flies and am taking a fantasy beat down in the early season. If this keeps up I may have to fire myself as Fantasy GM of my teams.
So that is it. Share your 5 ups and downs in the comments or we have that lovely chat feature over on the right there. You can use that to talk about this or any other blog as well as the Raps and the NBA. It is free to use so take advantage of it..so few things are these days.
5 Up!!!
1. Granted it was not a great night last night but Demar DeRozan is bringing back that WOW factor to the Raptors. You remember how that felt when Vince Carter would throw down a dunk and make you jump out of your chair. Heir Canada has that ability to do it and it is great to have it back in the mix.
2. Charles Oakley- how I missed his no nonsense reality, it may have only been for one night, but it was nice to have it back. Oakley has no filter at all and tells you what he thinks and believes with no apologies.
3. Twitter always gets a thumbs up. I enjoy it for hearing from readers players and broadcasters. I may not have embraced all the changes in this modern world. But Twitter is one that I have. Yesterday I made my 5000th tweet. It has been a fun ride on Twitter. Thanks to all the folks that follow me @dinonationblog.
4. CB4- He has been doing all he can every game. If you buy into the fact he is as good as gone next year. You sure could not tell it from his play on the floor. I don't of course and hope that Bosh can continue this amazing start and have a great season and bring the Raps along for the ride.
5. Andrea Bargnani- 12 rebounds...12 rebounds....I never thought I would see the day. Andrea really has turned a corner and in the past I had my doubts about this guy but I have become convinced he is going to at very least be good. So pasta for everyone and the 50 million contract that concerned me at first is more and more looking like a steal.
5 Down
1. Jose Calderon's Defense is a growing concern and a problem. We heard all the excuses last season with injuries and all of that. He was injured but he was not a good defender before the injury and he is not after it. Bottom line is talking about is great but like the man listed about at #2 you got to be about it and back up that talk. Jose Calderon is an expert in spelling NBA players names and the numbers they wear. Why? Simple because he sees them all blowing past him on the back of jerseys.
2. Raps TV. What did we do to deserve 30 minutes less of pre-game and post game? Why do I care about the Leafs, Toronto FC or what band is coming into the ACC? Oh that is right, I don't and the fact MLSE is so obviously turning the station into an MLSE infomercial is sad. I like Matt Devlin, Adnan Virk, Paul Jones, Jack Armstrong and some of the other folks on there. IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT. The fact this network has taken steps backwards instead of forwards makes me sad. Raptor fans deserve far better.
3. NBA Schedule Maker sure does not like the Raps does he? The month of November is no fun at all. Look for him (NBA Schedule maker) to return to this feature in the up section in Feb/2010.
4. Raps have the silly streak of games making a consecutive 3 pointer. I lost count at where it is at. But in that same streak how many 3's have we given up. It is time to FINALLY ADDRESS GUARDING THE PERIMETER!!!
5. My fantasy teams. I did my best to draft quality teams and I have players dropping like flies and am taking a fantasy beat down in the early season. If this keeps up I may have to fire myself as Fantasy GM of my teams.
So that is it. Share your 5 ups and downs in the comments or we have that lovely chat feature over on the right there. You can use that to talk about this or any other blog as well as the Raps and the NBA. It is free to use so take advantage of it..so few things are these days.
11/4/09
Good, Bad and Ugly, But A Win
I had a chance to live blog this game for The Score. So if you did happen to miss this game you can see how I called it as it went down. Here is a link to the Pistons and Raps Live Blog from the Score.com. It was a lot of fun to share in a Raps game with a bunch of Raptors fans on The Score. I really do enjoy my job live blogging sports for them. Nothing beats doing a Raps game though. Maybe the playoffs but beyond that nothing is as crazy. I have done many sports and no one brings it like you Raps fans. I was thinking today just how lucky I have been in the last 2 years to get to know some many great people. The readers of this blog and all the the other folks I have got to know some more than others. I think we all know Charles Oakley and getting to hear from him again was great. There is only one Charles Oakley and watching old highlights of him brought a smile to my face. I wonder what Oakley would say to Jose Calderon if he was his team mate? Jose Calderon is really just not getting it done defensively. But on a night full of strange stat lines Jose having just 1 assist might have been the oddest. It was pointed out in the broadcast for the majority of the game he had none. His shooting has been far from stellar of late as well. He did make a clutch 3 down the stretch. That was after getting blown by Stuckey and Bynum so much he should have whiplash. Jarrett Jack on this night was a lot better. He had 9 points and 6 assists with 3 boards. He had a couple bad moments defensively as well but on the whole was much better. If you checked out the Live Blog above Jose was one of the more popular issues on the night. Many feel it will only be a matter of time before Jack takes over at the starting point guard spot. Jack of course did that last year in Indiana with T. J Ford. It may be a case of De Ja Vu all over again. Fitting statement on a night when the Yankees win the World Series.
Demar DeRozan had one of those nights that rookies will have. He had 3 points, 3 rebounds a steal and an assist. He got blocked himself twice and looked a bit out of sorts on this night. There will be days like that for Demar, but when you see the one big moment he did have, with the big dunk you see the future and it is bright.
I mentioned there were some strange lines in this one. Chris Bosh lived at the line tonight. He had 25 points and went to the line an eye popping 20 times making 15. Bosh has been having an amazing year and is finding a way to contribute night in and night out. But the most strange stat of the night belongs to Andrea Bargnani. Many had just given up hope on Andrea being able to get rebounds. Well he had 12 of them tonight and that is unreal. Andrea is starting to look like that #1 pick that at on time seemed to be a weight to heavy for him to bear. It seems we all underestimated him or at least most of us did. As good as it was for Andrea it was a pretty unimpressive night Marco Belinelli. He had one stretch were he made back to back horrible plays. It just was not his night at all.
Antonie Wright was solid and he was part of the bench that pulled the Raps back into this one. This was a game where as confusing as the Raps can be from game to game, in this night it was from quarter to quarter. Raps looked bad in the first till reserves came in. They exploded in the 2nd scoring 44 in quarter. The Raps who at one point had the lead up to 17 would give it all back and actually trail by 2. Only to have clutch performances down the stretch of the game from Hedo, Bosh and Bargnani. Finally Hedo gave us a glimpse of what we had been waiting for. A tremendous pick and roll play lead to a Bosh dunk and Bryan Colangelo must have smiled when he say that play.
Raps still have some serious defensive issues to solve. Ben Gordon went off at the start of this one. He would be the game's high scorer with 30. Bynum and Stuckey as mentioned earlier exposed Jose Calderon on D. But worried or not the Raptors desperately needed this win with 7 of the next 8 being on the road. The Raps are 2-2 and still leave you scratching you head even in victory. Maybe Chris Bosh said it best heading into this game. Really will anyone remember these games in April? I think the may thing one just base on the Bargnani 12 rebounds.
But Good, Bad or Ugly Raps found a way to win. It was a win that they truly needed BAD!!! A Monster road trip lies ahead with stops in New Orleans, Dallas (Chris Bosh Homecoming) and San Antonio. That is what made stealing a win from a depleted and tired Pistons squad a requirement.
But be concerned and worried tomorrow...FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR THE RAPS WIN!!!!
Raps 110 Pistons 99
Oak, V.C and Pistons
How Ironic is it that a team struggling on the defensive end of the floor they are going to honour and celebrate Charles Oakley. It was said Oakley has some interest in coaching. I suggested why not here? If for no other reason that quotes would be entertaining. Sam Mitchell has nothing on the Oak man for telling it like it is. Jay Triano might be wise to have a talk with Oakley and see if he has interest in coaching as an assistant. If you think I am lying about the quotes, go check out this article in The Toronto Star. Charles Oakley would bring accountability to this organization or die trying. You already have Alvin Williams on the staff so why not add another former Raptor to the mix? It made sense when I thought about it in the summer and it makes sense now. Maybe even for one night by just his presence in the building the Raptors can find that defensive effort that has gone MIA.
This is long over do to honour Oakley here in Toronto. The guy was a big influence on some of those teams that had V.C and the rest. Jeff Van Gundy as it says in that article in The Star speaks highly of Oakley. Calling him the smartest player that Van Gundy has personally ever coached. Reggie Evans is the first guy since Oakley to be anywhere close to him. Good news on that Reggie front as he is said to have started walking around without that protective boot. It won't be long before Reggie is back and he is needed. When I spoke with Reggie at camp he had nothing but respect in terms of talking about Oakley. If you ask any Knick or Raptor fan you would be hard pressed to find one that does not respect Charles Oakley. If you are at the ACC tonight and don't get out of your seat, something is wrong with you.
I am sure Charles Oakley would have a good quote about this next item. The Raps also plan on honouring Vince Carter when the Magic return on the 22nd. When I heard it, I was like are they serious? Vince Carter being honoured in Toronto is just to strange for words. The fact Raptor fans boo the guy has been made part of the video game NBA Live 10. No idea what this acknowledgment or ceremony will be but it should be truly odd. Vince is a huge part of the history of this franchise. It is not a question on if in terms of what he has done should be honoured. However the Raptors know and pretty much everyone in the NBA knows Toronto fans HATE this guy. The Raptors plan on doing the same for other former Raps that come town like Moe P and Matt Bonner. However both left on good terms and are still loved by the fans. I have said in the past that love him or hate him that Vince Carter likely should have his #15 (Currently worn by Amir Johnson) retired. Is this some kind of test balloon to see if that would ever play well? If it is, much like the Balloon Boy, it may leave most filling empty in the end at the results. Some day Raps fans may turn the page and maybe even make it possible to have Vince's number 15 retired as it should be. However that day is not November 22nd 2009, and fans will not cheer V.C in any large numbers. If the Raptors have an arch enemy it is Vince Carter.
On to the current day Raptors that have opportunity knocking as Detroit comes in missing 2 key players in Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. In the case of Prince it will break a lengthy ironman streak for him. Still the Raps had 3 key guys out for the Magic and could not get the job done. Amir Johnson plays against his former club in Detroit. Perhaps he can add a spark to this game. In addition the Pistons are playing the second half of a back to back coming in off a win over Orlando 85-80. Orlando with V.C back in the line up by the way. The Pistons enter tonight 2-2 and will be one of those teams battling to make the playoffs in the East.
The Raptors need a win bad in this one as they hit the road to play a desperate and frustrated Hornets team, Dallas fresh off a win over the Lakers and the Spurs. None of those games look very promising in finding a win on the road. The pressure on this team is only going to increase as we move forward so they need to get wins when possible and tonight is a night where it should be.
If the Raptors hope to get a win they need to push the pace and try to use the one thing that is going fairly well it's offense. Chris Bosh has been on a tear, and with no more Rasheed Wallace in the Piston line-up, I would expect that will continue. If the Raps are going to have a decent chance at winning, they want to get the score into that magic pizza level and not in the 80's. Take advantage of the Pistons being on that back to back and come out focused and attack early, much like they did against the Cavs in the same position. When the schedule offers you a gift you need to answer the bell and take it.
Jay Triano was on Toronto's Fan 590 talking about his players still trying to get use to Hedo Turkoglu and what he can do in terms of passing and making plays. There is no question that Hedo taking that extended rest in the pre-season is at least costing the Raptors in the short term. Raptors if you think about have yet to see this roster altogether at full strength from the very first day of camp till today. Evans and Wright have also been in and out along with Bosh at the start of camp.
The point guard that finds his game first in Toronto may actually rule the day. Both Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon have struggled. If it lasts much longer I am going to call it the curse of T.J Ford or the curse of the Horns. The day is fast coming that Jose Calderon will have to prove he can be a decent defender or run the risk of not being a starter or at the very least not playing in the 4th quarter.
Jack Armstrong and Eric Smith were talking about the Raptors defense yesterday on the Game Plan. Jack seems to think the Raps should mix in some zone looks and try to hide the face that this starting 5 is lacking in terms of defense. However you care to look at it the Raps have said they need to get better on defense and that will be the test of Triano as the coach. If he fails to get this team to improve on the defensive end he will unfortunately fail as head coach of this team. That truly is the bottom line of it all. Perhaps Oakley could return on a staff with Jeff Van Gundy some day. He has always been a name you hear thrown out by Raps fans as a possible coach for this team. He fully admits that he would like to go back and coach someday. I would hate to lose him on T.V because he truly has become one of the best at that in such a short time. Jay Triano's job is safe as we speak but if that ever were to change the name Van Gundy will be mentioned as long as he is still sitting at a broadcast table.
Let me make it clear that I am not suggesting Jay Triano's job is in jeopardy after 2 bad losses. Just stating that his time however long or short it will be is going to be defined by how this team will play on the defensive end of the floor. Still regardless of all that is going on with the Raptors it is great to have Charles Oakley back even if it is just for one night. Still it would be nice to have him sitting somewhere on that Raptor sideline on a nightly basis. Coach in charge of accountability ...Charles Oakley!!!!
This is long over do to honour Oakley here in Toronto. The guy was a big influence on some of those teams that had V.C and the rest. Jeff Van Gundy as it says in that article in The Star speaks highly of Oakley. Calling him the smartest player that Van Gundy has personally ever coached. Reggie Evans is the first guy since Oakley to be anywhere close to him. Good news on that Reggie front as he is said to have started walking around without that protective boot. It won't be long before Reggie is back and he is needed. When I spoke with Reggie at camp he had nothing but respect in terms of talking about Oakley. If you ask any Knick or Raptor fan you would be hard pressed to find one that does not respect Charles Oakley. If you are at the ACC tonight and don't get out of your seat, something is wrong with you.
I am sure Charles Oakley would have a good quote about this next item. The Raps also plan on honouring Vince Carter when the Magic return on the 22nd. When I heard it, I was like are they serious? Vince Carter being honoured in Toronto is just to strange for words. The fact Raptor fans boo the guy has been made part of the video game NBA Live 10. No idea what this acknowledgment or ceremony will be but it should be truly odd. Vince is a huge part of the history of this franchise. It is not a question on if in terms of what he has done should be honoured. However the Raptors know and pretty much everyone in the NBA knows Toronto fans HATE this guy. The Raptors plan on doing the same for other former Raps that come town like Moe P and Matt Bonner. However both left on good terms and are still loved by the fans. I have said in the past that love him or hate him that Vince Carter likely should have his #15 (Currently worn by Amir Johnson) retired. Is this some kind of test balloon to see if that would ever play well? If it is, much like the Balloon Boy, it may leave most filling empty in the end at the results. Some day Raps fans may turn the page and maybe even make it possible to have Vince's number 15 retired as it should be. However that day is not November 22nd 2009, and fans will not cheer V.C in any large numbers. If the Raptors have an arch enemy it is Vince Carter.
On to the current day Raptors that have opportunity knocking as Detroit comes in missing 2 key players in Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. In the case of Prince it will break a lengthy ironman streak for him. Still the Raps had 3 key guys out for the Magic and could not get the job done. Amir Johnson plays against his former club in Detroit. Perhaps he can add a spark to this game. In addition the Pistons are playing the second half of a back to back coming in off a win over Orlando 85-80. Orlando with V.C back in the line up by the way. The Pistons enter tonight 2-2 and will be one of those teams battling to make the playoffs in the East.
The Raptors need a win bad in this one as they hit the road to play a desperate and frustrated Hornets team, Dallas fresh off a win over the Lakers and the Spurs. None of those games look very promising in finding a win on the road. The pressure on this team is only going to increase as we move forward so they need to get wins when possible and tonight is a night where it should be.
If the Raptors hope to get a win they need to push the pace and try to use the one thing that is going fairly well it's offense. Chris Bosh has been on a tear, and with no more Rasheed Wallace in the Piston line-up, I would expect that will continue. If the Raps are going to have a decent chance at winning, they want to get the score into that magic pizza level and not in the 80's. Take advantage of the Pistons being on that back to back and come out focused and attack early, much like they did against the Cavs in the same position. When the schedule offers you a gift you need to answer the bell and take it.
Jay Triano was on Toronto's Fan 590 talking about his players still trying to get use to Hedo Turkoglu and what he can do in terms of passing and making plays. There is no question that Hedo taking that extended rest in the pre-season is at least costing the Raptors in the short term. Raptors if you think about have yet to see this roster altogether at full strength from the very first day of camp till today. Evans and Wright have also been in and out along with Bosh at the start of camp.
The point guard that finds his game first in Toronto may actually rule the day. Both Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon have struggled. If it lasts much longer I am going to call it the curse of T.J Ford or the curse of the Horns. The day is fast coming that Jose Calderon will have to prove he can be a decent defender or run the risk of not being a starter or at the very least not playing in the 4th quarter.
Jack Armstrong and Eric Smith were talking about the Raptors defense yesterday on the Game Plan. Jack seems to think the Raps should mix in some zone looks and try to hide the face that this starting 5 is lacking in terms of defense. However you care to look at it the Raps have said they need to get better on defense and that will be the test of Triano as the coach. If he fails to get this team to improve on the defensive end he will unfortunately fail as head coach of this team. That truly is the bottom line of it all. Perhaps Oakley could return on a staff with Jeff Van Gundy some day. He has always been a name you hear thrown out by Raps fans as a possible coach for this team. He fully admits that he would like to go back and coach someday. I would hate to lose him on T.V because he truly has become one of the best at that in such a short time. Jay Triano's job is safe as we speak but if that ever were to change the name Van Gundy will be mentioned as long as he is still sitting at a broadcast table.
Let me make it clear that I am not suggesting Jay Triano's job is in jeopardy after 2 bad losses. Just stating that his time however long or short it will be is going to be defined by how this team will play on the defensive end of the floor. Still regardless of all that is going on with the Raptors it is great to have Charles Oakley back even if it is just for one night. Still it would be nice to have him sitting somewhere on that Raptor sideline on a nightly basis. Coach in charge of accountability ...Charles Oakley!!!!
11/3/09
On Radio In B.C
Taking a bit of a day off today. But if you really can't live without me for a day? You can check me out on Jacked In with Jessica on AM 1150 in Kelwona B.C talking Raps and blogging. I am scheduled to be on at 8:50 and you can listen in online here. Dino Nation Blog will be back late tonight or tomorrow. I am enjoying my new copy of NBA 2K10. Zack Cooper of the FAN590 and many of the loyal readers of the DNB were right it is a fine game. But Live has booing V.C in it. Which makes what is going to happen later this month at the ACC very odd scene indeed. The Raptors plan on honoring V.C prior to the game vs the Magic as part of the 15th anniversary festivities. Charles Oakley will be on hand for the Raps and Pistons and I would like to over him a uniform to get out there and help fix this D. Maybe not but as a coach? Something to think about. Anyway will talk about that and honoring V.C later on. So check me out on the Radio and talk with you all later.
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