Devin Harris Shakes, Bakes But Doesn't Make

Raptors 107, Net 106

Devin Harris had his chance to put away the Raps but his wide open jumper clanked off the rim.

The New Jersey Nets made a run in the fourth but couldn't close it out as the Raptors won their third in a row.

This was an important game for the Toronto Raptors as the games leading to all-star break become very crucial. If the Raps have playoff hopes, they need to start piling on the W's. Last night's game against the Nets and the matchup against Milwaukee on Friday are games the Raps have to win because of the tough four game stretch after that. They face Orlando, Cleveland, the LA Lakers and New Orleans Hornets afterwards. So in order to build on any playoff hopes, the Raps had to stick it to VC & Devin Harris' Nets.

The Raps were at home.....oops I mean they were in their home white jersey in Jersey. I think the Nets like the red alternate road jerseys as they are a horrible 9-14 at home. Vince went off in the first going for 16 in the quarter. The Raps shot 52% but were still down 30-21 after the first.

The Raps started to get the three ball falling as Jason Kapono and Andrea Bargnani nailed threes. Chris Bosh started to get it going and hit the jumper bringing the Raps to within four. Oh yeah, I'm seeing a beard. Anthony Parker didn't shave, so immediately I had high expectations of exceptional play from AP. Bobby Simmons hit a three to get the Nets up eleven but AP answered back with a three. Jamario then hit a three to get within five. Then more AP, who hit another three. Chris Bosh hit the jumper and got the foul to get it to 52-50. At the half, Nets were up 54-50.

The Raptors were a little reckless with ball and had 10 turnovers in the first half. Anthony Parker had 16 points for the Raps, all thanks to the beard. Even though the Raps were down by four, they shot a lot better than the Nets: Raps 61 FG%, NJ 43 FG% but the Raps just turned it over too many times.

Chris Bosh got it started in the third by hitting the jumper. Jamario Moon played a decent game and had a nice block on Bobby Simmons which landed right in Jay Triano's hands. Raps got the lead 55-54 with another Parker three. Jose Calderon played well in third and had a nice alley oop to Jamario Moon. The Nets got it going again as Devin Harris blew by Anthony Parker and took it to Chris Bosh for the And 1. NJ got up 64-60. Jose Calderon continued his excellent play and had 10 points in the third quarter. The Raps went on a 8-0 run up 82-74 after three.

Devin Harris started the fourth with a three. Jose Calderon nailed the J to get up nine. Anthony Parker played excellent backup point guard, hooking up Joey Graham with the basket. Our boy, Beard-nani didn't play much of the fourth as the Raps went withh the small ball. Even though the Raps had a good lead throughout the second half, the Nets made a run at the end of the fourth. Bobby Simmons hit a three to get within four, Vince Carter hit a three to get within three and Devin Harris drove in for the layup to get it to one, down 107-106. Jose Calderon missed his jumper leaving it to NJ for the last possession. Devin Harris handled the ball in the closing seconds, broke Joey Graham's ankles but his open jumper didn't fall. Raps won their third game in a row.

Key Notes:
JOSE! had 17 pts & 11 assists

Anthony Parker: 21 pts, 6 assists, 7 boards and 1 stubbly beard
Raps' Bench aka Joey, Jason and Jermaine scored 33 pts
Raps shot 56% and NJ shot 46% from the field
Devin Harris/Vince Carter combined for 52 pts, 13 rebounds and 15 assists
Raptors had six players in double figures

Raps play the Bucks on Friday

Photo credit: (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Jamari-OOOOOOOHHHH-NOO...

Hawks 87, Raps 84

Ok here's the situation:

Score: 84-85 Hawks

0:41 Chris Bosh defensive rebound

0:35 Jamario Moon misses 26-foot three point jumper

WTF.

Why oh why would Jamario Moon chuck a quick three during one of the last Raps' possessions down 1? Ugh...Raps dropped their sixth game in a row.

Triano went with the same lineup change today with AP at the point and Joey Graham at the two. As the J.O./Sean Marion trade rumors swirl, Jermaine O'Neal sat out and Jose Calderon sat today as well.

First quarter, Joey Graham started with a sick dunk. Josh Smith had a couple of nice dunks as well in the first quarter with his Hawks down 24-21. Raps were up 24-23 after one. The Raps took control in the first half, Roko was just blowing by the Hawks with layups, Bosh & Bargs also had it going as the Raps got up 11, 51-40. Raps shot 50% in the first half holding the Atlanta Hawks to 39% shooting. The Raps also outrebounded the Hawks 23-17 in the first half.

The Raps stunk it up in the second half, Joe Johnson hit a jumper in the third to get it to a 58-53 Raps lead. Then the Raps went cold going 0 for 7, while Mike Bibby cut it to one point. Raps led 64-62 after the third quarter. Toronto only scored 13 points in the third. The Raps continued to tank as they shot 9-32 throughout the second half, shooting under 30%. The Raps fell behing 76-71 until Jamario Moon hit a three to tie it at 78. The Raps started to hit shots as Chris Bosh hit a jumper to get up 2.

Then this is where it started to go sour. First, Jamario bit on a Mike Bibby pump fake that sent Bibby to the line where Bibby went 2/2 from the line to get up 85-84. With 54 seconds left, the Raps inballed the ball to Bosh who just lost it off the dribble which lead to a Hawks steal. Luckily, Mo Evans completely missed a layup giving the Raps a perfect opportunity to set up for the go-ahead basket. But as Jamario ran down the floor, he decided to go for the quick three. A quick three? Ugh. Ugly. Leo and Matt Devlin couldn't believe it along with the rest of the Raps nation. This set up Joe Johnson to nail a clutch jumper to get up three. Raps had 12 seconds to get a decent shot, but they couldn't a decent shot at all. The Raps lose another "OHHH, SO CLOSE" game again.

Key Notes:

Joe Johnson/Josh Smith/Mike Bibby all scored 20+: Johnson 28, Smith 22, Bibby 23

Bosh/Bargs each had double doubles: Bosh 22pts/14reb, Bargs 20pts/10reb

Toronto shot 34% in the second half

Anthony Parker almost had a triple double, 12 pts, 9 assists, 9 rebounds

Will Solomon was a DNP-CD

Raps have Detroit on Wednesday.

Photo credit: (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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UNBELIEVA-BULL: Rose's 17 in the 4th outshines Bargs' career night

Bulls 102, Raps 98

Bargs was large. He played so well, he even tipped in a basket for the Bulls. Andrea Bargnani had a career night but this was another heart-breaker. The Raps came out flat in the first, falling as much as 12 pts behind the Bulls. After one, the Bulls led 27-18, outrebounding the Raps 14-6.

The Raps just got killed on the offensive boards in the first half, the Bulls had 10 offensive boards versus the Raps' donut. The Raps made a run in the second that started with a huge Jamario Moon block on Kirk Hinrich as the Raps got within four. Will Solomon then hit a jumper to get within one and then he followed it with an alley oop pass to Jamario Moon to take the lead. Bargs had it going scoring 10 points in the second quarter alone. The Raps took the lead at 48-47 at halftime. Bulls outrebounded the Raps 26-11 and killed them on the offensive boards 12-1.
The third quarter had the Raps bench struggling and settling for too many jumpers. Bosh/Bargnani carried the load scoring 14 of the Raps 18 points. Roko Ukic had a late layup to get up 71-68 at the end of the third.

The Bulls started off on a 7-0 run to start the fourth. The Bulls had good ball movement passing it around until they found a high percentage shot. The Bulls were just killing the Raps in the paint. Then the Raps got back on a run again, AP hit a three to get within one. AP was clutch in the fourth as he hit another jumper to take the lead. Derrick Rose was amazing, he was just so quick and explosive, he just drove to the basket with ease. Chris Bosh had a nice cut to the basket for the dunk, as the score was 98-96 Bulls. Derrick Rose and Anthony Parker traded baskets and then the Bulls had the ball with 15 seconds left. Kirk Hinrich had a bad inbounds pass which led to a Chris Bosh steal. Toronto got the ball to Chris Bosh, down 2, but Joakim Noah stuck to him and blocked Bosh's jumper. Bulls Win, Bulls Win, Bulls Win, break out the salami and cheese that ball game was over.

Key Notes:
Andrea Bargnani had a career high 31 points and 10 rebounds
Derrick Rose had 25 points and 10 assists and scored 17 in the fourth quarter
Luol Deng had 16 points and 14 rebounds
Chris Bosh had 25 points and 4 rebounds

Raps are @ Indiana on Friday.


Photo credit: (Photo by Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Top Ten Things Heard at the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday Night

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.

I'm thinking the Toronto media are getting it confused, we have several theories:

10. Fans were cheering for "Jamario MOOOOOOOOOOON"

9. Or maybe it was just the crowd chanting "We love Chris BOOOOOOOOO - sh!"

8. Was it crowd chants of "Roko YOOOOOOOO-kic" or maybe the crowd was crying for "Jake Vosk-OOOOOOOOOOO-l" to come into the game?

7. Chants of Joey Gr-OOOOOOOOOOO-m? Maybe? He had a good game. Maybe he's getting married? And he's the groom?

6. I know, I know......Kevin YOOOOOOOOOU-kilis! Man, who doesn't love YOOOOK? Shit, that's baseball.

5. Maybe it was just fans ordering food "I want TWWOOOOOOOOO hot dogs and TWWOOOOOOOO beers!"

4. Or Raps fans may have been chanting that their favorite blog is "HOOOOOOOOOOP Heads North!"

3. Or maybe, because Canadians are so polite, everyone was passing by each other all at the same time and saying "Exc-UUUUUUUUUUUUse me"

2. Maybe it's that Toronto fans were still reeling about the recent NFL game in Toronto and they wanted more FOOOOOOOOOOOT-ball? Huh, huh? Maybe? Or that former Toronto Maple Leaf, Mats Sundin recently signed with the Van-COOOOOOOOOOO-ver Canucks?

1. Or maybe they were talking about Nathan Jawai being cleared to practice and the fact he's from Australia, the home of animals like Koala bears and kanga-ROOOOOOOOOOS?

Or maybe it was all just "Boooos", who knows....

(in case you were wondering, yes Simpsons' fans, this was inspired by the Boo-urns episode, watch the clip)

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Raptors Win, Raptors Win, Raptors Win! A win? Raps win?

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)

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A THEORY ON THE RAPS WOES: THE CURSE OF NO-SWIRSK

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!

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