Utah Jazz and Millsap Rip Raps

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)

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Talkin’ All That Jazz

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.

Raps need to win for Canada, the Raptors have not only embarrased Raps fans but have embarrased the whole country of Canada. Forget the Coalition Government, forget the falling economy, the important issue for Canadians is ensuring that the Raps win!!

It should be good game tonight, I say "SHOULD" but I still never know with these Raps.

Anyhow, please take some time to reflect on Sam Mitchell. We will miss you like we miss The Swirsk.

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