I must admit that I had never seen Golden State's Marco Belinelli play until last night's Toronto Raptors-Golden State Warriors game. I found out that he's Italian and a teammate of Andrea Bargnani on the Italian national team. I did a little searching and found this Nike ad with both Bells and Bargs.
The Raps faced off against the 9-23 Golden State Warriors. The Warriors were losers of three of their last four but their lone win came against an Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Boston Celtics. Raps came off a disappointing loss against the Portland Blazers as they finished their six game Western road trip last night against Golden State.
As usual, the Raptors played a good first quarter. Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon both had 9 points a piece as the Raps led 29-28 after one. Golden State who isn't known for their defense let the Raps get the shots that they wanted. Who is Marco Belinelli? If you haven't heard of him before, you probably know him now. He's an Italian product who apparently wants to be the best basketball player in the world. He has a lot of skill, as he displayed last night. He can shoot and can also distribute the ball well. He definitely outperformed his Italian counterpart, Andrea Bargnani on this night. He had some nice plays including some key threes and some nice dishes to Andris Biedrins. Chris Bosh hit a three in the mid second to pull within one, as the Warriors led 37-36. Although the Warriors slack on the defensive end, they had a few nice defensive plays where Ronny Turiaf had two consecutive blocks on Bosh and Jose. After the blocks, he danced and it looked something like this. From there, the Golden State made a run and then led by eight at the half. Chris Bosh had a good half with 17 points at the half. Jermaine O'neal did not return after the half due to flu-like symptoms.
The Golden State Warriors were living off the three ball and were 8/13 from three, two minutes into the third. They ended up going on a 12-2 run and with another three from Marco Belinelli, the Warriors got up 15 on the Raps. Jamario Moon then hit a three and had three threes in the game. Crazy. The Warriors REALLY don't play defense if Jamario's knocking down threes. The Warriors in turn had hit ten three pointers by the third quarter.
I think you might remember this guy, Kris Humphries (who's been buried on the bench), he made an appearance in the fourth and made a few key plays to get within 4. Marco Belinelli continued to perform well and had some good assists. The final minutes with the score 106-101, Bosh drilled a three to knock the Warriors' lead down to two. Then the Raps had a few open look threes, Parker, Kapono and Calderon all had open looks but they all bounced out. Bosh was able to get some good boards for an opportunity for a Kapono three but the shot still wouldn't fall. The Raps kept getting breaks with offensive fouls against the Warriors but couldn't convert. The Raps were only down 108-106 with one minute remaining until CJ Watons hit a clutch basket to go up 4. The Raps turned it over twice in the closing seconds including a botched inbounds play. Anthony Parker hit a three at the end to bring the Raps to 113-109 but it wasn't enough as the Warriors finished off the Raps 117-111. Tough loss for the Raps.
Double Double Doubles
Bosh had 30pts & 14 boards, Calderon had 21 pts & 16 assists
Warriors Who Came out to Play
Marco Belinelli had 23 points, 6 assists and 5 threes
Stephen Jackson had 30pts, 7 assists, 7 boards in 48 minutes of play
Andris Biedrins had 13pts, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks
For a Warriors point of view, check out GoldenStateOfMind.com
The Raps are finally home on Wednesday as they face the Denver Nuggets.
Photo credit: (AP Photo/Ben Margot)
If you want to see which NBA blogs that didn't suck check out hoopsaddict.com's Carnival of the NBA #62 Suprisingly, we made the list.
Who didn't suck in the NBA last week? Here are your un-sucky teams and players for last week:
Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
Last Week: 30.5 pts, 7 reb, 9.5 assists, 1.5 steals
The Atlanta Hawks have won four straight all thanks to Joe Johnson. The Hawks have been on a 7-game home stand and Joe Johnson went off for 41 against the Bulls and had a triple double (20, 11 & 11) against the Thunder.
Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
Last Week: Averaged 29 pts, 5 asst, 6 reb and 2 stls
Flash led the Heat to 2 wins in three games last week knocking off the Warriors and Bulls.
Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats
Last Week: Averaged 22 pts, 12 boards and almost 3 blocks
Emeka had a monster game against the Wizards last week scoring 29pts with 18rebounds and 3 blocks.
Shaquille O'Neal/Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
Last Week: The duo combined for 48 pts, 15 rebounds, 3 steals and 6 blocks in their lone game against the Spurs.
The game resulted in a one-point loss for the Suns on Christmas Day but the towering duo led the Suns throughout the game until the Roger Mason buzzer beater three in the closing seconds.
Jermaine O'Neal, Toronto Raptors
Last Week: Averaged 25 pts, 7 boards, 2 steals and 3.3 blocks
J.O. looked like the old Indiana Pacers All-Star as he was a defensive presence for the Raptors and had a big game with 36 pts and 9 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks against the Sacramento Kings.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland has been the hot team and have won six straight knocking off big opponents like the Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets. Lebron James was named Player of the Week last week and the Cavs have their best franchise start with their 25-4 record.
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic sit on top of the Southeast division and have wont 7 straight. Last week they knocked off the New Orleans Hornets by 20 points and are winners of the last 11 of 12.
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have won their last five games and seem to have got their groove back. Squeezing out a one point win against the Phoenix Suns on Christmas Day and a 3-point win against the Memphis Grizzles. They are 0.5 game ahead of the New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets in the Southwest Division.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
If the Raps were packaged in a box and had a set of instructions, they would read as follows:
Play Well.
Build Lead.
Blow Lead.
Rinse.
Repeat.
Play Well.
The Raps started out well against the Blazers in Portland. The Blazers crowd was loud, the Blazers had the lead until Jose Calderon hit a shot to tie it up early in the first. Greg Oden who has been knocked in the press lately for his disappointing play, looked a lot better this game. He nailed some points in the paint and knocked down free throws. The Raps had great shooting and took a two point lead at the end of the first 28-26.
Build Lead.
The second quarter had the Raps and Blazers exchanging shots. Bargnani would hit baskets and then Rudy Fernandez and Channing Frye would nail shots. The Raps built up a 6 point lead in the mid second quarter where J.O. nailed shots down low and Calderon had a nice alley oop to Jamario Moon. Chris Bosh looked good and had nasty throwdown as the Raps continued to build their lead to 11. Chris Bosh had 15 points and the Raps shot 52% for the half. Travis Outlaw had a buzzer beater to lessen the lead to single digits.
Blow Lead.
This is where it fell apart, Raps were only 3 for 11 in midway throught the third and Brandon Roy tied it up at 65. Will Solomon turned it over with 1 second in the third as Portland regained the lead 69-67. Raps stunk it up, I mean straight up stank as they shot 22% from the field and had 5 turnovers in the third quarter alone. The Raps only scored 10 points in the third, a straight up nasty, horrible, disgusting quarter by the Raps. Brandon Roy then scored 14 in the 4th to close out the Raps. The Raps shot 12 for 34 and did not hit any threes at all in the second half. Final score 102-89, Blazers.
Rinse. Repeat.
Raps have the Warriors on Monday in Golden State.
Key Notes:
Blazers outrebounded the Raps 40-36
Brandon Roy scored 32 pts, 9 reb
Greg Oden scored 16 pts, 10 reb
Lamarcus Aldridge had 21 pts, 9 reb
Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal led the way for the Raps with a combined 46 points
Chris Bosh hit all eleven of his free throws
For a Blazers perspective, check out BustaBucket.com
Photo Credit: (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
it's gonna go down.....
Chris Bosh with the nasty left handed jam on the Blazers. Bosh fought the Outlaw but the Outlaw LOST.
The Sacramento Kings are 7-23 for a reason. They've just fired their coach, they're young and rebuilding. The young Kings faced off against the struggling Raps who were fresh off of a win against the Clippers. Last night, Jermaine O'neal just dominated down low against the Sacramento bigs: Spencer Hawes, Brad Miller and Mikki Moore. He looked like the '03-'04 Indiana Pacers all-star as the Raps had good ball movement to get the ball down low to the Raps centre. Chris Bosh had early foul trouble which allowed O'neal to just take over.
The Raps played a good first quarter going up 30-26 and shooting 60% from the field. But first quarters have never been a problem with the Raps as they tend to get early leads but blow them down the stretch. And the second quarter displayed this, the Kings outscored the Raps 30-21 where the Raps just turned the ball over too many times. J.O. looked like he had hurt his hand but was able to play through it.
After the half, the Raps came back as they played a better third quarter and J.O. continued to rip apart the Sacramento bigs and the Raps went into the 4th with a three point lead. The Raps built up a nine point lead in the fourth while resting Bosh, J.O. and Calderon on the bench and then the Kings went on a 7-0 run withi 7 minutes left to pull within 2. Joey Graham had another Graham slam (if I find a clip, I'll link to it) to end the run. Bosh got his 5th foul with 6 minutes left an then the Raps just gave the ball to J.O. in the closing minutes as it was only a two possession game with one minute left. While it was 103-99 with a minute left, J.O. had a key steal to regain possession. Final score, Raps win 107-101.
Key Notes:
First win for Toronto in Sacramento since 1997
The Raptors outrebounded the Kings 39-34
Raps shot 55% for the game
Brad Miller led the Kings with 20 points & 8 rebounds.
Photo credit: (AP Photo/Steve Yeater)
In yesterday's Christmas Day action, San Antonio's Roger Mason nails the game winning triple on Steve Nash's Suns......
This game lived up to the bill as Suns-Spurs games are always exciting
Read more...
Season's Greeting from the crew at Hoop Heads North!
Cue up "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang and let the streamers fly from the rafters, the Raps have broken their 5 game losing skid!
Photo Credit: (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
Oh yeah. Good energy from the Raps tonight. Jamario Moon and Jake Voskuhl wore their "rally" headbands and I think Jose Calderon got a haircut. The Spurs are my team and have been for the longest time, long before the Raps were even born, so either way I was going to be pleased. But I really wanted the Raps to get out of their funk, and they did, kind of.
First quarter, the Raps looked a lot different tonight and it was for the better. They were moving the ball up the floor faster getting some easy baskets. The Raps led 25-20 after 1.
In the second quarter, there was a Jake Voskul sighting!!! San Antonio outscored the Raps 36-21 in the second and led 56-48 at the half. Raps shot well, shooting 46% from the field.
The second half was all about runs. Raps would pull within 7 but then the Spurs went on a run to go back up by ten, then the Raps would go on a run to get within 4, Spurs run and then Spurs were up by 10. The Raptors made smarter decisions with the ball (well, in comparison to the last few games). Tonight, just when Bosh would normally take a three, this time he passed it down low to J.O. for the easy basket to pull within 9. That was it though, Jason Kapono hit a three to pull within 5, Joey Graham had a chance to get it closer but the layup didn't fall during the closing minutes. Tim Duncan iced it with consecutive baskets and the Spurs capped off the Raps, final score 107-97. The Raptors played better tonight and just got beat by the three ball and on the boards. If the Raps played with this energy this whole season, I really think their record would be more like 13-14 as opposed to their 10-17 record right about now.
Key Notes:
Raps were outrebounded 48-38 for the millionth time
The Spurs went 16 for 35 from three
J.O. had 24 pts & 10 reb
Chris Bosh had 17 pts & 10 reb
Former Raptors, Roger Mason and Matt Bonner went a combined 8-13 from three
Tony Parker flirted with a triple double with 24 pts, 8 rebounds & 10 assists
Jake Voskuhl with 4 pts in his Raptors debut
For a Spurs perspective, check out PoundingTheRock.com, they've coined a new nickname for Andrea, Andrea "Darko Two" Bargnani. Ouch.
Clippers are up on Monday. This game will be a big challenge as the Raps will have to do everything they can vs the Clips to show the world that they are playing the WORST basketball right now. The Clips lost by 34 tonight, so it'll be a big challenge.
Photo credit: (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
With the Raptors just being the Raptors, we all need some straight up positivity, just some straight up "not sucking" news. So here are the guys who DIDN'T suck last week:
Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
Devin averaged 26 pts 9 assists and 2.5 steals last week. He took it to his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday, going off for 41 pts and 13 assists.
With Devin Harris as the new big baller in New Jersey, the crowd gave their thanks to Mark Cuban.
Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Averaged 40.5 ppg last week, including a careeer high Fitty Two against the Suns. Fitty Two!
Zach Randolph & Marcus Camby, LA Clippers
These two are the new Elton Brands of LA. Z-Bo averaged 29pts and 12reb and Marcus Camby averaged 16pts, 16boards and almost 3 blocks last week. The Clippers seem to have gotten their act together and have won 5 of their last 7.
Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz
Averaged 22pts and 12rebounds last week filling in for Carlos Boozer who had recently told ESPN.com that he plans on opting out of his contract. Paul Millsap has had 14 straight double doubles.
Danny Granger
Last week, he averaged 27 pts, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. At his game against the "No D" Golden State Warriors, Danny went for a career high 41 pts, 11reb and 6 assists. His game isn't throwing down big dunks or shooting threes, he's known for knocking down that mid range J.
Rajon Rondo
Big Three? More like the Big Four. Rajon Rondo has had an amazing season averaging 16 pts, 6 reb and 10 assists along with almost 4 steals a game last week. This triple double threat has made big time contributions with the Celtics 17 game winning streak.
Boston Celtics
They've won 17 in a row. Do I really need to explain more?
New Orleans Hornets
Led by CP3, the Hornets are on a 3 game winning streak knocking off Toronto, Memphis and most recently, the San Antonio Spurs.
Did I just fall asleep on the couch last night and dream that the Raps lost to the worst team in basketball? It was funny, in my dream "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC was playing during every play. Seriously, what time does this game start?
You got it all wrong! The A.C.C Crowd Wasn't Booing..
Ok, ok, Raptor fans are pissed. Chris Bosh has been horrible as of late, Bargnani has no confidence whatsoever, the Raptors are not closing out games and the biggest news today are the stories of the Toronto fans booing the Raps at Wednesday night's game. Chris Bosh now thinks the fans aren't supporting the Raps but I don't think Toronto fans (Canadian fans at that) would boo their home team.
This game was the last time Toronto would face the Nets for the regular season and this was also the "rubber" match as the series was tied 1-1. There was some good and bad, so here it is in Pleasure & Pain format.
Pleasure - The Raps started out really well jumping on the Nets from the get go. They started out on a 9-0 run until NJ called a timeout. Vince scored a basket out of the timeout but the Raps continued to make a run getting up 16-2 on the Nets including a nice alley oop from Jose Calderon to Jamario Moon. Jermaine O'Neal played well in the first as well. The Raps played a good first quarter and had the lead 28-20 in the first.
Pain - The Raps couldn't shut down Vince like the last game, and VC scored all of the Nets first 7 points.
Pleasure - It was good to see good plays from all around the roster: Roko had a sweet dish to JO, Bosh had a nice block on Trenton Hassell and Joey Graham had a sick "Graham slam". Ever since the coaching change, Joey has been playing with more energy and confidence and his game has really stepped up.
Pain - The Nets were able to chip away at the Raps lead and Yi was able to bring it within two with a three. The Raps stunk it up on the offensive boards as the Nets beat the Raps on second chance points 14-0 which lead to a Nets 1 point lead at halftime. I'm not a fan of Jamario's outside jumpers and three attempts either, I think he's got the hops and should attack the basket more. I've seen a lot of Jamario missed outside jumpers when he could probably attempt for a better shot.
Pleasure - The Raps came back in the third outscoring the Nets 25-17 and were up by 7 at the end of the 3rd. Joey Graham continued to look active and Andrea was more aggressive driving to the basket and playing good defense. It was good to see him tussle with Vince when trying to get a rebound, it shows his grit that we've rarely seen from him.
Pain - Andrea Bargnani played well last night but looks like he has been suffering the Greg Oden disease and not looking confident in his game. Like Oden, people have been dogging them since they were both #1 draft picks and haven't been meeting the high expectations.
Pleasure - Here came the famous Raptor "lead-blowing" and the Raps again blew their lead but managed to get big shots to stay in the game. Jason Kapono continued to hit the big threes, Jose hit big shots and Bosh hit a big three during the closing minutes.
Pain - Devin Harris scored 14 of his 20 points the 4th. The D started to break down again and the Raps continued to go back to their bad habits of settling for jumpers. Nets regained the lead and the Raps continued to turn the ball over with careless passes and bad shots. The Raps again were outrebounded by the opponent (for the 13th straight game), and were outrebounded 54-38. The Nets ended up building their lead to 10 with 3 minutes left and closed out the Raps 94-87
Pleasure - The Raps again had 6 players in double figures including 5 threes form Kapono. All starters had double figures along with Andrea's 10 points off the bench.
Pain - Toronto wasn't able to shut down Vince and Devin Harris like the last game and gave up as the duo combined for 40 points. Ryan Anderson from the Nets had a great game going for 21 points, 9 rebounds with 3 threes and some big shots down the stretch. And yes, the biggest pain was for Raps fans as VC got the better of us again.
The Raps are home to Dallas on Wednesday.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
What a tough matchup for Toronto with CP3 and his New Orleans Hornets in town. It was a Jose Calderon-Chris Paul point guard matchup and it was also the return of MoPete to Toronto, one of the Raps' all-time faves. Unfortunately, he was a DNP - Coach's Decision.
The first quarter had the Raps playing good D holding Paul and the Hornets to only 22 pts. I think Raps play well when they hold opponents to under 25 pts per quarter. James Posey hit some big shots early on in the first.
The play of the day? AP with the sweet dish to Jermaine Oneal.
In the second quarter, Raps came out strong building up on their lead of 8 points until.....
Posey hit another big three.
Posey again with a three.
Again, Posey with the 3 to tie it at 44, the Hornets went on a 17-4 run
James Posey had 5 threes at the half...ouch. James Posey has been a great addition to the Hornets with his championship experience with Miami and Boston. Chris Paul was great too, as he just drove down the lane, the Toronto defense would collapse and then he just kicked it out to any of their outside shooters. As far as Toronto, Andrea Bargnani is looking more and more like "Bust"-nani as he continues to be ineffective both offensively and defensively. He needs to become more consistent with his efforts as you never what you're going to get form him from game to game. Raps managed to lose their lead (again) and trailed 51-46 to the Hornets at the half. New Orleans had shot 51% at the half.
In the second half, Posey hit another 3 in the 3rd quarter for a total of 6 threes for the game. Raps defense played good D in the second half but were only down 8 to New Orleans 80-72 after the third. In the 4th, Jose hit a big three with 6 min left to pull within 6. The Raps stayed close but missed some key shots at the end. I'm not too crazy on Bosh's three attempts in the closing minutes when they're down. Hornets ended up closing out the Raps 99-91
It was a loss but a loss to a very good Western Conference team. It wasn't disappointing as the Raps played good ball and were competitive to the end. Bosh, Calderon and J.O. all had great games. Bosh had 25pts-8reb-6asst, J.O. had 19pts-7reb and Jose had 22pts, 7 assists going 8-8 from the field. For the Hornets, David West led the way with 29pts, 9 boards.
As a side note, the CBC crew announced that the Raptors signed Jake Voskuhl and can play as soon as tomorrow against the Nets.
Photo credit: (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Frank Gunn)
There’s an old James Brown song called the Big Payback and Friday was the Raps chance to get it.
With the recent Phoenix trade where Charlotte's Jason Richardson was traded for Phoenix Suns Boris Diaw and Raja Bell, it has sparked me back to fellow HoopHeadsNorth contributor's U-E's point that Triano may be the bait to attract Steve Nash. Nash is a little sour with the Suns as Raja Bell has been known to be Steve Nash's good friend, and Nash is also known to be one of Jay Triano's biggest supporters. I'm not sure if it all makes dollars and sense but Colangelo has ties to the Phoenix Suns to add to this point. A Bosh-Nash combo? Oh my Bosh, that would be Sick, Wicked & Nash-ty!
Here's the Score's view on Steve Nash`s possibility on moving up North.
Raptors Win, Raptors Win, Raptors Win! A win? Raps win? Yep, they did. "The Curse of No-Swirsk" may have been lifted. It may have only been against the 7-13 Indiana Pacers but these Pacers have beaten the Boston Celtics & the LA Lakers!
Anthony Parker was out with an ankle injury so Jason Kapono got the start. Jamario Moon also got the start over Bargnani and it seemed to pay off. Raps came out strong int he first half, shooting 50% from the field. And the suprise of the game? Jason Kapono got some extra run and had 15 points at the half. Raps were up 11 at the half.
And suprisingly, the Raps were strong the rest of the way. No "lead-blowing" which the Raptors have been famous for. It was a great performance with 6 Raps in double figures.
J. Kapono - 25pts, 8 boards
Jose - 11pts, 14 assists
Bosh - 21pts, 10 assists
J.O. - 10pts, 9 boards
Jamario - 17 pts, 9 boards
Joey Graham - 12pts
This was the offensive production we expected from the Raptors this season (but haven't seen lately), and the defense was great holding Indy to 88 points. For Indy, Troy Murphy went off for a 20pt-20reb game and Danny Granger had 22. It was a nice win for the Raps, Triano finally gets his first win as an NBA head coach. For a Pacers perspective, check out indycornrows.com Hopefully this leads to the start of a streak, as they face VC on Friday in New Jersey.
Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)
With the Raps losing five in a row and struggling to compete, I am reminded that they sorely miss the creative play-by-play calling of Chuck Swirsky, who moved on to do radio commentary for the Chicago Bulls at the start of the season. Now, we've all heard 18 Parkerville Court, oh my Bosh and another MP3 download (#3 Mo Peete when he was with the Raps), which we at HoopHeadsNorth affectionately call “Swirsky-isms”, from season's past. Let's take a moment and venture into a parallel universe, where the Raps are leading the league, have a 20 game winning streak going and the Swirsk is calling the Raps game versus the Pacers tonight. What would we hear him say? Hmmm...
10 - “What a block by the Raptor's Jermaine man in the middle!”
9 - “Oooh! Calderon! Numero ochoooooooo mama what a pass by Jose!”
8 - “Joey throws down a Graham slam!”
7 - “A-B-7! It's as easy as 1-2-3, Do re mi, Bargnani with another threeahhhballlzzaahhh like the meeeattaballlzahh!”
6 - “And 1 for Moon! Granger picks up the foul going for the block, but its-a 33, Jamario! - (in a super mario voice – Swirsk had pizza tonight and seems to be riding out the Italian theme)
5 - “J-Kap caps another one! Quick on the trigga coming off a CB-4 screen!” (Swirsk has been brushing up on his gangsta rap)
4 - “Hassan Adams! Leo, I'm gonna need a SAM Adams after that move!”
3 - “Everybody, do the Humphries hump, watch #43 do the humphries hump! People say “Yo Humphries! You're real funny-lookin'. That's aiight 'cause he gets things cookin'” (Apparently, he's been brushing up on his early 90's hip hop as well. Digital Underground WHAT!)
2 - “Roko with the slam over Rasho! He will, he will Roko U, Indiana! Raps routing the Pacers!”
(Roko throwing it down over Rasho?!? Rout for the Raps?!? Remember, parallel universe. On that note, Ukic also went through the legs and 360'ed before his dunk. Cut to Brian Colangelo by the tunnel SMILING.)
1 - “Will Solomon Grundy sinks a shot on a Wednesday bring on the Nets on a Friday! It's salami and cheese time Leo!”
Swirsk also said, “Oh my Bosh!” about 50 times on this night, as the crowd chanted M-V-P! M-V-P on multiple occasions...
If each Raptor fan chants all ten of these once, maybe just maybe, the Curse of No-Swirsk will be lifted and the Raps can begin the turn around tonight against the Pacers and beyond. May reality collide with this parallel universe. Strength and honour!
It was like a broken record:
Cavs steal the ball, Lebron slams it home........Cavs steals the ball, Lebron slams it home....Cavs steals the ball, Lebron slams it home, (repeat)
And this game had some broken records as well.
The Raps continued to get bullied by NBA teams on the road and this matchup was another one of those beatings as the Cavs sent the Raps packing with another L.
How did the game start? Lebron with two quick dunks. Ouch. Then, Cleveland takes the time to honour Lebron as he broke the Cavs all-time steals record. As the Raps struggle on the road, the Raps get outscored in the paint falling in love with the jumper and shot 33% from the field in the first.
In the second quarter, Jose continued his consecutive free throws streak going 45 for 45. Parker got the hot hand hitting back to back threes which got the Raps on a run getting within 9. Cleveland got a little clumsy getting 3 techs in the first half. There was another Cavs milestone tonight, Big Z passed Brad Daugherty as the all time rebound leader for the Cavs. With a minute left in the half, Raps pull within 4 but the quarter ended with a Lebron buzzer-beater. Cavs up at the half 59-51 with the Raps outscoring the Cave 32-29.
Third quarter, guess who showed up? Karl Malone.....no, not really but Lebron did make his tribute to him with this dunk.
Another one bites the dust.......another coach down.
Arrrrrgghhh......here's the recap of today's game.
I'm just fresh off of watching the Manny Pacquiao-De La Hoya fight so I've scored this afternoon's Raps-Blazers game round by round.
Here are the NBA's top 5 crying moments:
Runner up: Charlotte Bobcat, Adam Morrison while at Gonzaga
The Top 5:
5. Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
4. Former Raptor, Tracy McGrady
3. Former Raptor, Vince Carter
2. Sasha Vujacic, LA Lakers
1. Glen "BIG BABY" Davis (shoutouts to the thehoopdoctors.com for the clip)
Yes, Big Baby. The origin of his nickname?
“Ronald Glen Davis was born in Baton Rouge on Jan. 1, 1986 to Donald Robertson and Tonya Davis. He got the nickname big baby when he was playing in peewee leagues. Because he was bigger than the other kids his age, he was playing with older kids and would whine at times and they would call him a big baby and the name stuck.”
Sometimes it's nice to see the outlook on the Toronto Raptors coming from people outside of the Toronto Raptors media.
Check out Kenny, Charles and C-Webb's take on the Raptors & the firing of Sam Mitchell:
Charles Barkley is one funny dude.
Read more...
Wake me up when this string of games are over. The Raps stunk up another one but in fairness to the Raps, Triano was trying to implement new offensive/defensive schemes with one day's practice. Just when you thought they would come out and compete, the Raps showed off their weaknesses again losing 114-87. Paul Millsap did a fine job filling in for Boozer with a monster double double with 17 pts, 11 reb, 7 assists.
J.O. had foul trouble with three fouls in the first quarter and the Jazz were able to roll over the Raps in the getting 33 points in the first. The Raps offensive game was pretty bad going 7 for 20 in the field. By the end they shot 36 for 82 (43% from the field)
Joey Graham had another good game scoring 13pts and 5 boards. He also a sick jam on Mehmet Okur. CB had a double double with 18&11.
Jack Armstrong hit my point last night talking about the Raps having to limit teams to under 100 points. The Raptors are 1-8 when teams score over 100 against them. But the D was still terrible allowing 64 points to Utah at halftime. The Raps are giving up an average of 119 ppg on this road trip.
If you watch the highlights of last night's Jazz-Raps game, all the plays that you'll see are defensive breakdowns and the Utah Jazz scoring easy layups. Utah had a whopping 66 points in the paint to the Raps 44 and the rebounds were in Utah's favor (55 to Toronto's 38). The Raptors have to close the lane more and stop these easy baskets. Also, Jay Triano is trying to have the Raps run more but this led Toronto's 23 turnovers. These turnovers lead to even more easy baskets. Raps have a lot to improve on defense and have to handle the ball better in order to compete with these Western Conference teams. Overall, the Utah Jazz exposed the Raps defensive weaknesses and had no problem taking care of the Raps.
While watching the other NBA highlights at halftime last night, I couldn't stop laughing at Big Baby being a Big Baby, crying on the Celtics bench last night. He is never going to live this one down.
Raps take on the Blazers on Sunday. Another tough matchup with Brandon Roy and Bosh/J.O. matching up with Greg Oden/Lamarcus Aldridge.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images)
I just wanted that title so I could throw in the Stetsasonic video.
The 8-9 Toronto Raptors take on the 12-8 Jazz tonight at 10:30pm EST. Jay Triano makes his debut as head coach for Toronto as the interim replacement for Sam Mitchell. Sam Mitchell had his success in Toronto with an Atlantic Division title and Coach of the Year award in 06-07 but it’s a new day in Toronto. Exit Smitch, Enter Triano and ever since the firing there’s been a party at FireSamMitchell.com And since the recent development of Jay Triano's promotion, also check out FireSamMitchell's next target at FireJayTriano.com
At least someone loves Sam Mitchell, Rick Kamla from NBATV is a die hard Timberwolves fan and wants his Wolves to pick up former Timberwolve and former Raps head coach, Sam Mitchell.
As far as tonight's Raps-Jazz game, here are some highlights/hopes for tonight:
The New Coach Factor
There have been two fired coaches this season, Oklahoma City’s PJ Carlesimo and Washington’s Eddie Jordan. Once Eddie Jordan was fired, the Wizards won their first game by a large margin 124-100 against the Golden State Warriors . The Wizards had a miserable 1-10 start and were hungry to stop the bleeding, ending it with the win. Hopefully, the Raps' coaching change can fire them up. This also gives Jay Triano a chance to add some his own flavor on the Raps. He hopes to have the team running for easy baskets as opposed to sticking to half court play. This is an excellent opportuntity for Canadian Basketball, and Jay Triano should make us proud. Co-contributor U-E, thinks this also may be an opportinity to lure Steve Nash to Toronto.
Little known fact: According to Yahoo! Jay Triano was signed by the Utah Jazz in 1984-85, John Stockton's rookie season. As a coincidence, Jay will make his debut tonight against the Utah Jazz.
No Boozer
According to the Deseret news, Carlos Boozer has been ruled as doubtful for tonight’s game. This works in Toronto’s favor giving Toronto's big 3 of Bosh/JO/Bargnani an advantage both on the offensive and defensive end. The Jazz do have Paul Milsap starting in place of Boozer but he will have a tough time with J.O/Bosh.
Jazz vs. Eastern Conference
7 of the 8 Utah Jazz's losses come against the Eastern Conference this season. These weren't against the top Eastern Conference teams either but they have been against the mediocre Eastern Conference teams. They have lost to the Miami Heat 89-93 and the New Jersey Nets 88-105. They have also lost to Charlotte, Washington, Chicago and New York…….yes, the Knicks! We do have a chance!
National Coverage
The game has US national coverage on ESPN. This will be a great stage for the Raps to show tht they are back on track and will also be a great opportunity for Jay Triano to make his mark in the NBA.
National Pride, Eh!
Quoting J.O. after the miserable loss to Denver:
“The game was what it was, it was embarrassing and it was embarrassing not only
for us but for the people who represent the Toronto Raptor organization, the
city, the country.”—Jermaine O’Neal, after Tuesday’s 132-93 loss to Denver.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Sam Mitchell has been fired and Jay Triano (Canada Represent!) will be coaching in the interim. Jay Triano is Canadian born and is the first Canadian NBA head coach. He was most recently an assistant coach with USA Basketball. According to the Bryan Colangelo at his press conference on the Raptors channel, Triano will likely be the head coach for the remainder of the season.
Sam Mitchell had a 156-189 coaching record and was Coach of the Year in the 2006-2007 season.
Ugly.
I have a nephew that played Mini ball a few years ago. One of the rules was that if one team was running the other team off the floor, they just stopped scoring for the rest of the game. Tonight's game was one of those games. At the end of the 3rd, they should have just turned off the scoreboard. The Denver Nuggets had 100 points at the end of the third. The Denver Nuggets just walloped the Raps 132-93.
Chauncey Billups just buried the Raps. When he drove he scored, when he penetrated he dished off to Nene or Melo, when he felt like it, he hit big buckets. The Nuggets had no problems with the Raps at all. The Raps took a bunch of jumpers in the first and could not get it going from the start.
Jermaine O'Neal made his return and had 12 pts. Chris Bosh had 24 and 12.
As for the Nuggets, Chauncey and Melo led the way with 24pts and 23pts respectively.
On an off topic, I think the Denver Nuggets are the most tatted team in the NBA. (These are the things you notice when you watch a blowout)
This was just a straight up horrible game for the Raps from the beginning and the Nuggets had their way with them. Raps have to learn to play better D and try to keep teams to 25 pts/quarter. The Nuggets were able to shoot 60% vs. the Raps disappointing 37% from the floor. In all of the Raps wins, they held teams to under 100 points. The Nuggets scored 132 tonight.
Raps have a tough stretch of games still and Utah is up next (Friday) Let's hope this leads to a better result.....ugh.
Photo Credit: (Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)
Tonight, the 8-8 Toronto Raptors take on the 12-6 Denver Nuggets. This is as tough of a matchup as the Lakers. Denver has been a hot team ever since the acquisition of Chauncey Billups. Here's a breakdown on the matchups:
Matchups:
Jose vs. Mr. Big Shot
The will be the big matchup of the night. The Nuggets have been 11-3 since Chauncey has joined them. The 3 losses have been against NBA powerhouses New Orleans, LA Lakers and Cleveland, all stellar teams. Jose will be able to use his speed against Chauncey but he has been playing some real good ball in Denver.
AP vs. Dahntay Jones
This will probably be more AP vs. JR Smith but AP has the edge here as long as he can hit those big threes.
Bargnani vs. Carmelo
According to the Denver Post, Carmelo may be dealing with a right elbow contusion but he is a go for tonight. Andrea has come into his own and may be able to take advantage of the injury riddled Melo.
Bosh vs. K-Mart
Bosh has a chance to bounce back with J.O. back in the lineup. He had a tough time on Sunday playing against the Lakers big men. The combo of big defenders, K-Mart and Nene may cause Bosh to face similar situations tonight.
J.O. vs Nene
According to the Toronto Star, it looks like Jermaine O’neal will start tonight. This will help relieve Chris Bosh on the defensive end against the Nuggets bigs. His return to the lineup should boost the Raps defensive intensity.
Toronto's Bench (Kapono, Graham, Moon) vs. Denver's Bench (Kleiza, Smith, Carter)
I say the Raps have a better bench but Denver has a highly offensive guard in JR Smith who can go off for 20-30 if he gets the hot hand. This could be a deciding factor.
Ok, just to start off, those goggles that Vlad-Rad wear are pretty darn cool. They are very 90’s Antoine Carr-esque.
Raps vs. Lakers result: Mike Tyson beat Little Mac.
The Raps got knocked out by the Lakers 112-99. It wasn’t an ugly beating as some thought it would be and on a positive note, it turned to be somewhat of a good display for the Raps.
Here’s the post-fight recap:
Did they follow Doc Louis’ advice? Yes & No
Did they copy Detroit?
Raps were unable to copy the Pistons and hold the Lakers to under 100pts which means they didn’t defend well. Lakers shot 51% from the field and they also outrebounded the Raps 54-36. If you play a team that averages almost 108 ppg, you have to play tighter defense and hold them to 25 pts per quarter or less to compete. The Lakers ended up scoring 32 in the first.
Did they increase offensive production?
Yes they did. There was a well-balanced attack from the starting lineup where all Raps starters scored in double figures. Bosh & Jose both had 12 pts, Bargnani had 14 & 11 boards, Moon finished with 11 and AP led the way with 19.
Did they take advantage of injuries?
Well, this didn’t work in the Raps favor. There seemed to be a lot of talk of J.O. starting against the Lakers but turned out that he had to sit out. To add to that, Andrew Bynum was good to go for this game and he put on a good showing with 18pts & 10 reb. Had J.O. started, it probably would have affected the Raps gameplay. Chris Bosh was forced to deal with Pau and Bynum guarding him where J.O. may have been able to relieve some of that pressure.
Did they let Kobe score 81?
No, he only ended up with 23 in 29 minutes. I don’t know if it was good defense or that Kobe sat out most of the 4th with the game in hand. Either way, he didnt light up the Raps for another 81.
Did Bosh prove his MVP worthiness against the Lakers & the reigning MVP?
Yes and No. Bosh's teammates played better but Bosh’s game was rusty, settling for jumpers as opposed to driving to the hoop.....and his jumper was ugly last night. Unfortunately, he had a brick wall to face with Pau and Andrew Bynum. Did it expose his ineffectiveness against a stellar team? Maybe.
In summary, the Raps put up a good effort against a tough team in the Lakers. They were able to pull it close at times but Lakers would go on a run. Andrea Bargnani seems to look better each game and looking more comfortable with his game. Raps were also able to get decent production out of their bench from Jason Kapono and Joey Graham. Raps have Denver (Tuesday) and Utah (Friday) up next.
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