Prince Punishes the Raps

Pistons 95, Raps 76

Raps got blown out by the Pistons last night, leading to their 7th loss in a row as the Raps just fell apart in the second half. The Raps stayed close in the first two quarters only to get outscored 30-19 in the third quarter. This was the first game that the Pistons had Rip Hamilton coming off of the bench. Jermaine O'Neal made his return to coming off the bench for the Raps.


Nathan Jawai made his NBA debut last night. The Aussie Baby Shaq got the ball in the post only to be called for a travel.


His line: 3:05 minutes, 1 turnover


Yep, that's how exciting the game was, the Nathan Jawai's 3 minutes of garbage time was the highlight of the night.


Key Notes:


Joey Graham sucked. Your starting shooting guard had 0 points in 22 min. Need I explain more? If the Raps even think about winning a game, Joey Graham has to do something.


Rodney Stuckey didn't suck. He took it to the Raptor guards going for 17 pts & 7 assists. Iverson got the start at the two and Rip Hamilton was last night's sixth man. The Billups-Iverson trade has really displayed what type of talent this kid has.


Roko Ukic sucked. He also had a donut off of the bench (0 pts, 3 assists, 2 reb). Sometimes he looks unstoppable on the the floor and then sometimes you just have to cringe when he tries to create his own offense. On back to back possessions, Roko decided to get the offense going on his own but had no luck.


Tayshaun Prince didn't suck. Tayshaun just torched the Raps for 25 pts on 11-16 shooting.


The Raptors in the second half sucked. The Raps only scored 33 points in the second half and gave up 49 to the Pistons. They got killed on the boards....Raps defense, Raps offense were just terrible all the way through.


The Bosh/Bargnani comobo didn't suck. They weren't great but Bosh/Bargs did their thing offensively. Bosh started off strong and finished with 19 pts & 5 rebounds. Bargs had 16 pts 6 rebounds.


But 12 combined rebounds from the Raps Bigs (O'Neal/Bosh/Bargnani)? That's horrible.


Rasheed Wallace sucked. 'Sheed didn't get anything going offensively, which I guess the Raps Bigs did do something right defensively. Rasheed finished with three points on 1-6 shooting.


Jason Maxiell didn't suck. J-Max had 16 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. Wow, he played better than anyone on the Raps roster last night. Jason Maxiell eats babies.


The Raps have to do something soon, this Marion-O'Neal trade has to happen or the Raps just have to start thinking about next year's draft. Raps play the Bulls on Friday.

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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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Chef Steve Nash with 18 dishes against the Raps

Suns 117, Raps 113

The good news is that the Raps next nine games include seven against the Eastern Coference. So this is a the stretch where the Raps can either make or break their season. Yesterday, Triano made some lineup changes putting Anthony Parker as the starting point guard and puttting Joey Graham as the starting shooting guard. Apparently, these guys along with Bosh, Bargs and Moon were the only ones who could get it going in the fourth of the Raps-Pacers game.

The Raps came out swinging in this one starting off with 18-6 start over the Suns as this would be a high scoring affair. Then the Terry Porter Phoenix Suns looked more like the D'Antoni Suns Sunday afternoon as J-Rich hit a three to lead the Suns to five buckets in a row to get up on the Raps 27-26. Phoenix would continue the hot streak going on a 21-9 run to get up 36-34. The Raps would shoot a hot 64% but the defense let Phoenix shoot a sweltering 72%. The hot offense continued until halftime, the Phoenix Suns led 71-67.......at halftime, yes halftime. Steve Nash was scoreless at the half but had 11 assists.

Here's a funny little clip from the first half: Steve Nash gets a Little Offended by Chris Bosh's Mouth Funk

The second half started with Chris Bosh playing Shaq one on one in the post and Bosh got just got swatted. Anthony Parker and Joey Graham continued to play well as the Raps stayed in this one, down only eight after three. In the fourth, Jamario Moon hit a three to make it a five point game and then Joey Graham nailed a jumper for a career high 20 pts. The Raps got within two, 102-100. Joey Graham nailed another jumper to make it a tie game. There was a scary moment when Bosh hit a rainbow jumper over Shaq, but when coming down, Chris Bosh landed on Shaq's big-ass shoe. It looked pretty nasty but Bosh was able to wak it off. Jamario Moon had a crazy putback slam out of nowhere to get within three, 114-111. But in the next Raps possession, Anthony Parker would throw it away, turning the ball over leading to a Nash missed wide open three. AP redeemed himself to get back within one. During the closing seconds, Nash drew Bosh in, then drove passed him for the layup to go up 116-113. In the last seconds for the Raps, it was a lot of chaos of offensive boards trying to tip it in but the shots just didnt fall. Kid Canada wins in Canada 117-113.

Key Notes:
AP & Joey Graham were huge: AP: 26/7/5, Joey Graham: 22/7/4
Amare Stoudemire 31 pts, 6 reb
Steve Nash had 9 pts and a season high 18 assists

Raps play the Hawks on MLK Day, Monday afternoon.

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

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Celtics with Almost a 4th Quarter Collapse, but Ray Allen's Eight Triples Cripple the Raps

Celtics 94, Raps 88

Good effort. Going into the game, the Raps were the hot team and the Celtics not so hot. The Raps offense had been on fire, averaging 100 points/game in their last five. The Celtics on the other hand have been losers of four in a row. There were a few lineup changes today, Jose Calderon was back in the Raps starting five. For the C's, Kendrick Perkins was out and Brian Scalabrine started in his place.

Raps started off the first well, Jamario Moon hit a three to put the Raps up 12-6. And then.....Jesus came out on Sunday. Jesus Shuttlesworth AKA Ray Allen started to drop some treys on the Raps. The Celtics hit back to back threes to tie it back up at 12. Ray Allen went 5/5 in the first quarter from three point land. The Raps only shot 37%. 32-20 after 1.

The Celtics got up 42-24 on the Raps until Bargnani hit a three and then Anthony Parker hit another triple to get with 10. Things got a little physical as Joey Graham and Brian Scalabrine knocked heads. It was pretty cool, the ACC just erupted with a "JOEY, JOEY, JOEY" chant. As the crowd got excited, the Raps went on a run to get it down to 42-34. And then to top it off, Joey Graham dunked on Brian Scalabrine to get within six as the Raps went on a 10-0 run. But the Celtics went back on a run as Rajon Rondo had a ridiculous dunk on Will Solomon. Celtics were up 54-41 at halftime.

The third quarter was all Celtics as Ray Allen continued to hit threes. Boston outscored the Raps 21-14 in the 3rd, leading the Raps by 18, 73-55. In the fourth quarter, the Celtics went cold. They started off 0/7 until Ray Allen hit a shot to end the Raps 11-2 run. Joey Graham hit a basket to cut the Celtics lead down from 20 to 10 points. The Raps got hot in the fourth, going 6/8 and then Joey Graham had a block on Rajon Rondo that lead to a Chris Bosh dunk. The Raps continued to make a push when Andrea Bargnani hit a three with 1:30 left in the game to get within five. Kapono hit a late three to get it to 92-88 but the Celtics managed to maintain their lead. Final, C's won 94-88.

Key Notes:
Raps shot 28 for 74, 37% for the game
Ray Allen had 8 of the Celtics' 10 threes, he finished with 36 points
Rajon Rondo and KG both had double doubles
The Killer B's: Andrea Bargnani had 17 pts & 9 rebounds, Bosh had 15 pts & 11 boards

For a Celtics perspective, check out RedsArmy

The Raps are at Boston on Monday.


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

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Raps Get Whacked By Jersey

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)

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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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Blake Serves Up The Raps On A Trey

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.

Pre-game thoughts:
Welcome Home, Toronto. It was a painful road trip. I thought this would be a tough matchup against the young Blazers but the Blazers road record was 7-7 so Toronto had a chance. Bosh-Bargnani-O'Neal had a challenge against young Blazers Aldridge-Oden. And the way the Raps have been playing against Denver, Utah & LA, the opposing teams were killing the Raps on the inside. This was also a tough matchup for AP against Brandon Roy, Parker would need to play tough defense on the Blazers' star. The last game between the Raptors-Blazers went double OT and this game looked to be somewhat of the same.

Round 1
I don't know what the stats are on these Sunday afternoon 1pm EST games but the Blazers looked sluggish in the first. Raps looked good defensively and there offense was there, Chris Bosh actually nailed a 3 in the quarter.

Defensively, the Raptors looked good limiting the Blazers' points in the paint, settling for outside jumpers. Raps jumped to a 20-8 lead, looking a lot better than their last few starts.

Joey Graham is coming around, he looked more confident and driving to the hoop. The Raps played great D holding the Blazers to only 37% from the field in the first quarter. Another aspect where the Raps were struggling were points in the paint and the Raps outscored the Blazers 14-2

Round 1: Toronto won it 31-20
Round 1 to Toronto!


Round 2
JO played really well today in the post. Even Jason Kapono played a lot better and it looked like he was getting more minutes. Bosh played good D on Aldridge, Blazers had a difficult time getting the ball to him.

Rudy Fernandez and Steve Blake hit some big threes and the Blazers battled back to pull within 2.

Chris Bosh had to leave late in the 2nd with a cut to the forehead.

Toronto handled the ball well with only 3 turnovers.

Round 2: Blazers outscored the Raps 28-19 only down 2 to the Raps at the half.
Round 2 to Portland


Round 3
Bosh came back with a band-aid on his forehead. Apparently he had to get stitches from an Oden elbow to the forehead.

Steve Blake continued to hit big corner threes even Larmarcus Aldridge hit a three. Lamarcus Aldridge is going to be a good player along with the rest of the young Blazers. Roy, Fernandez, Oden & Aldridge should all have great NBA careers. Blazers had extended their lead over the Raptors to 10.

Jermaine O'Neal had played extremely well in the third. The Raptors then made a run and Jose hit a big three to pull it within 2. After that, Jason Kapono hit another three to take the lead.

The play of the day?
Joey Graham facial on Pryzbilla HELLLOO! (Jack Armstrong style)

Round 3: Even though Toronto had the energy at the end, Portland outscores the Raptors 30-25
Round 3 to Portland


Round 4
Blazers continued to have the hot hand, hitting big j's. I think the biggest mistake of the game was Bosh and then Bargnani shooting quick threes and they were only down 5? Not sure why they thought that it was the best play. Blazers were able to build another 10 point lead.

I was really enjoying the energy from Joey Graham, taking it to the hoop, not afraid to attack the basket. JO was clutch down the stretch hitting big baskets from the post. Raps made another run and Jose hit another big three and the Raps were back within two.

Brandon Roy hit a big basket with 48 seconds to go to tie it at 95 and then Bosh hit a jumper to take the lead with 27 seconds left.

The final play was nuts. Blazers final possession dealt with a lot of tips and then it was knocked out to Steve Blake who hit the dagger, hitting a three to put them up by 1.

Bosh had the ball With 8.4 seconds left, he drove in but no luck. Chris Bosh looked a little awkward and fatigued towards the end.

Round 4: Toronto outscored the Blazers 22-20 but Steve Blake had the dagger
Round 4 to Toronto, but Blazers took the win 98-97

Final:
It went all 4 rounds. It wasnt a game where it was over by the third and the Raptors competed until the end.

JO had a great game (24 pts, 8 rebounds and 6 blocks!), he just brings some defensive toughness for this Raptors team. Chris Bosh had a regular day scoring 19pts with 5boards but he looked sluggish while J.O. looked fresh today. The West Coast trip must have taken a lot out of Bosh. I was thinking he would have one of the "MVP"-ish like games and go for 40 but today wasn't his day.

Raps played much better today and got a lot of bench production from Joey Graham and Jason Kapono. Triano said after the game that he was going to spread the minutes more, hopefully having the starters fresh for the 4th. You could really notice it today, since we saw a lot more Kapono and Solomon minutes. Anyhow, it was a good game but a loss is a loss. Raptors dropped their 4th straight. For a Blazers perpsective, check out bustabucket.com

Raps games this week: Cavs on Tuesday, Pacers on Wednesday and VC and the Nets on Friday.

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

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KOBE BRYANT'S PUNCHOUT!! - I think the Raps can beat the LA Lakers!

Remember Mike Tyson's Punch-out!!? Tonight's matchup feels like a matchup between Little Mac and Mike Tyson but I think Raps can beat Kobe Bryant! Ok, Ok, Ok.....I know it may be a stretch but here's what the Raps have to do to beat the Lakers.

Here's the Tale of the Tape:

LA Lakers

Record 13-1

Home Record 8-1

Offense 107.5 ppg

Defense 93.7 ppg

Home Offense 108.9 ppg

Home Defense 95.4 ppg

Toronto Raptors

Record 8-7

Away Record 4-3

Offense 97.9 ppg

Defense 98.9 ppg

Away Offense 92.1 ppg
Away Defense 93.1 ppg

If this was Punch-Out, Doc Louis would be in your corner telling you to "Join the Nintendo Fun Club today" or "Dance like a fly, bite like a mosquito!" or to do this:

"Copy Detroit, Raps!"

OK, so the record alone speaks for itself. Kobe's Lakers are the best team in the league. The Lakers own one loss this season BUT that came from a matchup at HOME against an Eastern Conference team in the Detroit Pistons. Detroit kept the Lakers under 100 points and played tough defense on Kobe. So if the Raptors can match that defensively, they'll have a chance.

"Increase Offensive Production!"

Defensively, the Raps statistically match up with the Lakers. The biggest mismatch? Offense. Lakers average 107 points per game vs. the Raps 97 points per game. How can the Raps overcome this? More offensive production from starters Anthony Paker and Andrea Bargnani. When the Pistons beat the Lakers, all 5 starters scored in double figures including Kwame Brown.......yes, KWAME BROWN! Raps need some decent offensive production from guys off of the bench like Joey Graham (let's put together a string of good games!) and some big buckets from Jason Kapono.

"Take Advantage of the Injuries!"

Let's see how the injury factor plays out. It sounds like Andrew Bynum is playing through a foot injury and Jermaine O'neal may be a game-time decision. If J.O. can go tonight, that should be a huge help to the Raps' offense and defense. In my opinion, the Raps win the bigs matchup with Bosh-Bargs-O'Neal vs. Pau-Radmanovic-Bynum.

"Don't let Kobe score 81!"

This will be the biggest challenge for the Raps.....shutting down Kobe Bryant. The Raps' defense has been questionable this season. Anthony Parker/Jose Calderon have to contain to Kobe. The Pistons kept Kobe to 12 of 30. Raps may have to pull Joey Graham off the bench to play some rugged defense on Kobe to hopefully throw him off his game.

"You the man now, Bosh! Live up to the MVP chatter"

Chris Bosh has to live up to his MVP chants. The biggest challenge for him is to compete against the reigning MVP. The Raptors also have to prove that they are a playoff contender this year, and prove that they can move past the first round. Chris Bosh has been a beast but now he has to show that he can make his team better, and increase production out of his teammates Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon.

A win may be unrealistic, but if the Raps can at least go 12 rounds with the Lakers, they'll make some noise around the league.

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Raps Rock Hawks With a Boost From the Bench

The Raptors pick up a big win over the Hawks tonight, 93-88. Bosh looked like an MVP yet again, putting up 30 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. To me, this may have been his best performance of the year so far. When the Hawks played off of him, he nailed J's like they were layups, when they crowded him, he drove, when they doubled him, he dished, with only 2 turnovers on the night... And oh yeah, he anchored the D with Jermaine O'Neal sitting out with his bum knee.

The Raps also got a spark off the bench as Jason Kapono and Joey Graham picked up the slack for Calderon, who had a bad shooting night and Bargnani, who disappeared with foul trouble after a great first quarter (including an X-box glitch-looking dunk where he took off from far out but looked like he only got about 2 inches off the ground when he slammed it home). Kapono put on his best Dell Curry impression with 16 points off the bench with a series of quick release jumpers off screens and Joey Graham showed what he's capable of doing with 11 points off the bench. Note to Joey: Bring it EVERY NIGHT, PLEEEAAASE!!!!

Next up: Lakers, Denver and Jazz on the road.

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

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Bosh Wines, Dines and Thirty Nines the 'Cats

Raps were on a mission tonight. This was a so-called "must win" game against the Charlotte Bobcats. Friday, they face the Hawks......and then after that?

They face:
LA Lakers
Denver
Utah
Portland
Cleveland
Indiana
VC & the Nets (ugh)
New Orleans
One more time, VC & the Nets (ugh x 2)
Dallas




That is one, as Charles Barkley would say, "TURRRIBLE" schedule. That's one tough stretch of games. If the Raps go 1-9 or 0-10 over those games, Sam Mitchell might be in trouble.

So Raps vs. Bobcats:
J.O. was out of the lineup (he had not practiced for the last couple of days), and Jamario Moon was moved in as the starter.

Mission 1 tonight: Get ahead from the start.

The Raps were hoping to do it Celtics-style and get a jump on the Bobcats. Mission 1 failed. Charlotte won the first quarter 25-24. It was ok though, Raps were up 5 at the half.

Mission Two: Play better D.

Charlotte shot 43% from the field and were 3-16 from the 3pt line. The Raps looked a lot better defensively holding the Bobcats to 86 points. The Raps defended hot guards DJ Augustin and Raymond Felton well, holding them to a combined 17 pts. Mission Accomplished. DJ Augustin is sick with the dribble.

Mission Three: Help Bosh.

Raps are 0-2 when Bosh scores 40. Chris, whatever you do, DO NOT SCORE 40. Have your teammates help you.

Bosh had 22 at mid 2nd quarter.....uh oh. Chris Bosh played 45 minutes but scored........(drumroll)..........39. And yes, you guessed it, the Raps won.

Chris got his help tonight. Joey Graham made an appearance and scored 17 off of the bench (2nd leading scorer). Bargnani had a decent game with 11 pts, 9 boards and 3 blocks.

Roko Ukic had a behind the back dish to CB4 for the dunk. It was sick.

Mission Four: Win.

Raps had a 87-80 lead with 7 minutes left but with 3 minutes left in the 4th, Raps were only up 87-86....yikes! This is when Raps fans start to cringe.

There were no early celebrations from Jose, CB4 did not score 40 (he scored 39) and Raps pulled out the win. Raps beat the Bobcats 93-86. Thank god.

Chris Bosh has been on a tear. He had 39 points, 11 boards and 2 blocks tonight. He only missed one shot through three quarters. Raps face Atlanta on Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving to the US. And Raps fans can be thankful for this win.


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

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