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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Finally the Swirsk has returned to Toronto....

Tonight the Raps face off against the 16-22 Chicago Bulls but this also means the return of The Swirsk, Chuck Swirsky, former Raps announcer.


After having Chuck as the announcer of the Raps for so many years, it just seems weird of having the new guy in Matt Devlin in there. Don't get me wrong Matt Devlin is a great announcer but I was just a fan of the originality that Chuck had brought. Be it "Another MP3 Download" (for a Morris Peterson three) or "The Red Rocket" (for former Raptor Matt Bonner) it just made the Raps broadcast that more enjoyable to watch. I know Devlin doing his best for the nicknames but the "Rockin' Roko" or "Will the Thrill" nicknames just doesn't cut it. Anyhow, it will be nice to see Swirsk back in Toronto.

Welcome back, Swirsk.




Check out TSN's Top 10 Chuck Swirsky Tribute:

Also check out our "Curse of No-Swirsk", this season's Chuck Swirsky calls if he was sill in T.O.

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SUCKA FREE 4: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

Vince Carter of the NJ Nets didn't suck
Last week: 25pts, 8 rebounds, 11 assists
VC has been dropping dimes, getting double digit assist games against Milwaukee and Memphis.

Lamarcus Aldridge of the Portland Blazers didn't suck
Last week: 24 pts, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Lamarcus had three twenty point games against the LA Lakers, Detroit Pistons and Golden State. The Blazers sit a game and half behind the Nuggets in the Northwest.

Pau Gasol of the LA Lakers didn't suck
Last week: 20 pts, 10 rebounds
PG 20-10 averaged 20-10 last week with a huge game against Golden State. He had 33 points, 18 rebounds and 2 blocks against the Warriors. Check out the dish by Pau in this clip:

Philadelphia 76ers didn't suck
Last Week: Won 4 in a row
The've won four in a row knocking off Houston, Milwaukee, Charlotte and Atlanta. They sit in the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

Minnesota Timberwolves didn't suck
Last Week: Won 5 in a row
The Wolves are only 11-25 but are on a streak beating mediocre teams Golden State, Chicago, Memphis, OKC and Milwauekee. The Wolves are 4th in the Northwest. They squeaked out a win against the Bucks 106-104 even without Kevin McHale (ejected) and Al Jefferson (fouled out)

Photo credit: (Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Paul P with Thirty Nine as the C's Defeat the Raps For the Fourth Time

Celtics, 115, Raptors 109 (OT)

Suprisingly, the Raps had the lead early on. Andrea Bargnani had 3 fouls in the second as the Raps were up 41-35. The Raps bench played an important factor in the first half with Roko Ukic, Jason Kapono and Joey Graham all hitting shots. The trio from the bench had a combined 20 points in the first half. The Raps shot 54% from the field and also outrebounded the C's in the first half. The Bosh/Bargnani combo also played well combining for 20 pts and 11 rebounds.


In the third, Brian Scalabrine hit back to back shots to knock the Raps lead down to four. But then the Raps managed to build their lead back up, Anthony Parker hit a late shot clock jumper and then Bargs hit a three to get up ten. Andrea has been a beast lately playing with so much confidence, I really don't know what they plan on doing when J.O. returns. In the late third quarter, Paul Pierce just took over getting the C's within two. The Raps led 74-70 afer three.

To start off the fourth, Gabe Pruitt hit an open three to get the C's a lead. Then Bosh had a sick dunk on Big Baby Davis. The Raps were a little cold, Roko tried to make plays but his shot wasn't falling. I've never seen anyone play such good defense on Bosh better than KG. He just gets right in his face every play. KG & Ray Allen hit back to back baskets to get up 4. The Raps were cold, only 2 for 14 in 9 minutes. Rajon Rondo had a nice layup, faking the pass and then driving to the hoop.

The last minute of the fourth was pretty exciting. First Will Solomon hit a three to get within 2. Paul Pierce nailed a jumper and then Bargs had the pump fake on KG and hit the j, to make the score 92-90 for the Celtics. Pierce went to the line for free throws and went 1/2 to put the Celtics to get up 93-90. The last play was chaos, Bosh tried to knock the rebound out and it got to parker, passed to Kapono and then Kapono dished it to Bargs for the three and then whoosh. Tie game with 1 second left.

The overtime period was all Paul Pierce and the Celtics as they went on to beat the Raps 115-109. Raps have the Bulls on Wednesday.



Key notes:

Andrea Bargnani scored 23 pts, 8 rebounds

Paul Pierce had 39 pts, 9 rebounds, 4 assists

Roko Ukic had 16 points off of the Raps bench





Photo credit: (Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Chris Bosh is a Fatty Fatty Peppermint Patty

Do you want to see a young Chris Bosh at a press conference discussing trash talk or a young Jose Calderon speaking about his contract negotiations? Check out these Raptors Foundation spots:

Chris Bosh is a stupid head.

Jose Calderon loves candy.

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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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TRULY OUT-RAJ-EOUS! Rondo with the facial on Will Solomon

Rajon Rondo with the nastiness on Will Solomon. Rondo had 14 points against the Raps today and here was two of them:

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Fo Shizzle, Raptizzle Beat the Grizzle

Final Score: Raps 103, Grizz 82

Raps are on a streak! Raps are now winners of 4 of the last 5 and it's a great time for the Raps to get on this streak since they are facing the slumping Celtics on Sunday. Now that game can result in one of two ways: Celtics can continue to slump on Sunday afternoon or they can finally wake up and just demolish the Raps.

Unfortunately, I didn't catch last night's game since I was in attendance at the home opener of the Halifax Rainmen. The Rainmen are a local PBL (Premier Basketball League) basketball team based in Halifax. An interesting tidbit about this minor basketball league is that former Houston Rocket and TNT analyst Kenny Smith is the commissioner.

Key Notes from the Raps-Grizz Game:

Chris Bosh - 32 pts, 10 reb, 3 blocks , 11/13 from the floor, 10/12 from the line
Bargnani - 21 pts, 8 reb, 2 blocks
Raps outrebounded the Grizz 38-33
Rudy Gay led the Memphis Grizzlies with 22 pts
Raps outscored the Grizz 56-38 in the second half

For an extensive recap, check out these blogs:

Raptors Forum - Raps vs. Grizzlies - Post-game
Raptors Repbulic - God smiles on Chris Bosh

Next Game, Sunday afternoon: Celtics - Raps

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Nobody beats the Wiz......actually most teams do, they're freaking 7-27

Final score: Raptors 99, Wiz 93

Ok, first off Hassan Adams was traded yesterday. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with cash for a future second round draft pick. He was then immediately waived by the Clippers as the headlines read "Clippers acquire, waive Hassan Adams" I'm sure there's a logical explanation but I'm not exactly sure what it is.

Anyhow, Raptors were shorthanded for the night. No Jose, no J.O., no Jamario (attending the birth of mini-Jamario) and no Hassan Adams. So the Raps were short 3 starters and 1 cheerleader. Joey Graham, Will Solomon and Andrea Bargnani got the start. Jake Voskuhl replaced Hassan Adams as the bench cheerleader.

So the Raps were down to nine players but they were facing the lowly 7-26 Wizards. If the Raps could pull off a win, it would have to be against the Wizards who were on the end of a back to back. And the Raps lucked out, the Wiz looked flat from the start. Andrea Bargnani got another start at centre and showed more of his Dirk-side and not hit Darko-side last night. The Raps quickly got off to a hot start getting up 10-2 on the Wizards from the start. The Raps could barely miss a shot in the first quarter, Will Solomon was hitting shots, Bargs was hitting shots and the Raps as a team shot freaking 70% in the first quarter. They were had a lead up as big as 21-8 and finished the first quarter 27-16.

In the second, Andrea & Anthony Parker got the Raps up to 46-25 after hitting back to back threes with 4 minutes left in the quarter. That's when I thought, "OK, this is where the Raps will begin to blow the lead" And it happened, the Wiz went on a 9-0 run to knock the lead down to 12. Antwawn Jamison led the way to the second half as the Wiz trailed the Raps 50-38 at the half.

The third quarter got a little sloppy for the Raps. Andray Blatche hit a jumper to get within 8 as the Raps turned the ball over too many times. And then Bosh, Will Solomon and Andrea Bargnani got the Raps offense going again to get the lead back up 73-60. I was sure that this quarter was going to be the one that the Raps were going to blow but they held their ground and built their lead again. Andrea Bargnani had 15 points at this point going 6/7 from the field.

The fourth quarter was all Jamison as he was hitting jumpers to lead the Wiz back into the game. Five minutes into the fourth, the Wiz were only down five as the Raps continued to turn the ball over. But from that point on, Raps kept their compsure as Andrea Bargnani was "on" in the 4th hitting his shots down the stretch.

Key notes:
Bargs had a nice game, 25 pts, 4 rebounds
Antawn Jamison had 32 pts, 7 rebounds for the Wiz
Raps actually outrebounded a team beating the Wiz 39-28 on the boards
Toronto had a horrible 20 turnovers
The Wizards never had a lead during this game

For a Wiz perspective check out Bullets Forever

Raps beat the Wiz and the take on the Grizz on Friday.


Photo credit: (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Bucks were Redd Hot, Raps went Ice Cold

Forget about Andrea Bargnani scoring 21, forget about Bosh's 31 points, forget that the Raps shot 55% and forget that the Raps have won two in a row. This game was a "shoulda won" game.

Just scrap the first 46 minutes of the game and go right to the 2:39 minute mark left in the fourth quarter. Raps are up 95-91.

Here's the play-play:

Luke Ridnour makes 27-foot three point jumper (Michael Redd assists) 95-94
Will Solomon misses 18-foot jumper
Charlie Bell makes 23-foot three point jumper (Charlie Villanueva assists) 97-97
Will Solomon misses 26-foot three point jumper
Luke Ridnour makes 26-foot three point jumper 97-102
Andrea Bargnani misses 21-foot jumper
Michael Redd makes free throw 2 of 2 97-104
Michael Redd makes free throw 2 of 2 97-106
Will Solomon misses layup


Will Solomon? Will Solomon who was 2 for 13? Did they forget Chris Bosh was on the floor?

This game just slipped away from the Raps so fast as the Bucks went on a 13-0 run in the closing 2 minutes. It went from a four-point Raps lead to a 10 point loss against the Bucks. It was just a nasty way to finish a game and it goes to show that the Raps still have a ways to go if they couldn't finish off this game. The Raps went ice cold while the Bucks' Luke Ridnour hit a couple of big threes at the end.

For the Bucks, Michael Redd went for 35 pts, Charlie V went for 25 and Richard Jefferson had an offnight going for 6 points. For the Raptors, Bargs had a good game, 21 points and 8 boards, no one can call him Darko Two now. Chris Bosh scored 31 for the Raps along with 11 boards but the Raps did not go to the leading scorer in the closing minutes. The Raps had a lead as large as 13 during this game but the three ball got the Bucks back into this game as the Bucks hit 11 threes. This was a ugly loss, just too much Michael Redd and too much Will Solomon in the deciding minutes.

For a Bucks perspective, check out Brew Hoop The Raps are at Washington Wednesday night.




Photo credit: (Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Dwight Howard Signals Raps Fans to Suck It

D12 dropped the DX on Sunday.

I caught this in the last minute of Sunday's Raps-Magic game. Chris Bosh had been shooting free throws and the Toronto hecklers kept taunting Dwight Howard with "HOOOOOOWWARRD.....YOU SUCK!" Dwight Howard in turn, dropped the ol' Degeneration X Suck It. Watch closely:

Shoutouts to raptorsrecap.ulmb.com for pulling that video for me.

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SUCKA FREE 3: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

Who DIDN'T suck in the NBA last week?


Marcus Camby of the LA Clippers didn't suck
Last Week: 16.5 pts, 19 boards, 2.8 blocks
He had a couple of 20 board games against the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers still suck but Camby has been a beast on the boards.

Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers didn't suck
Last Week: 35.5 pts, 5reb, 4assts, 3 stls
Kobe had 40 against the Jazz as the Lakers have been rolling over opponents.

Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns didn't suck
Last Week: 23 pts, 11 reb, 2.3 blocks
The 52-year old is still chugging along and still putting up all-starish numbers as the Suns have won three in row.

Troy Murphy/Danny Granger of the Indian Pacers didn't suck
Last Week: Granger 26 pts, 5 assts, 4 reb and 1.8 steals, Murphy 13pts & 15 rebounds
The Pacers combo combined for an average of 39pts and 19 rebounds for the young Pacers squad.

Detroit Pistons didn't suck
The Pistons have won 7 in a row knocking off some bad teams last week in the Sacramento Kings and LA Clippers. Rodney Stuckey was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week including a 39 point performance against the Kings.


LA Lakers didn't suck
The Lakers have won 5 in a row and were 8-2 in their last 10. With the Celtics slumping, the Lakers moved up to be the best team in the NBA. That Phil Jackson is one smart cookie. Check out this silky smooth pass by Pau Gasol last week against the Jazz:

Photo credit: (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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What a shot by Tony Parker......oh snap, is that Sam Mitchell?

BREAKING NEWS: SAM MITCHELL SIGHTING.....SAM MITCHELL SIGHTING.....

I couldn't help but post this and shoutouts to ballerblogger.com for the find.

I was watching this YouTube clip of Tony Parker's buzzer beater against the Sixers from Saturday night and then I heard this familiar voice at the end of the clip. Who was it? Sam Mitchell doing commentary for NBATV.

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WE WILL, WE WILL ROKO U...

The 26-7 Orlando Magic came into town as winners of 9 of their last 10 games. The Toronto Raptors were winners of 3 of their last 10. Normally, I would think this would be another L for the Raps but I had new outlook on this game. It's 2009 and the Raps are 1-0 for the new year. Today's starters for the Raptors looked a little different: Anthony Parker, Will Solomon and Jamario Moon were all starting with Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon sitting out due to injury. This meant more run for Will Solomon and Roko Ukic at the point guard position.

First Half Pleasure & Pain

Pleasure - The G's were Money
The Magic had an early 17-14 lead on the Raptors seven minutes into the game but the Raptors guards put an end to it. The combo of Anthony Parker and Will Solomon went 6 for 6 from the field as the Raptors went on a 20-5 run from that point. Roko Ukic came into the game in the late first quarter hitting a shot and extended the Raptor lead to 15. By the end of the first, the guards (Parker-Solomon-Ukic) were 7 of 8 from the field and the Raps led 34-22. Raps had the hot hand shooting 66% and their defense held the Orlando Magic to only 40% shooting.

Pleasure - Andrea Bargnani
I don't know where this Andrea Bargnani has been, but I like it. More confidence, more swagger...we should have seen this a long time ago. Bargs played some decent defense on Dwight Howard and he also hit a big three to get up 38-26 on the Magic.

Pain - The infamous Toronto Raptors lead blowing
Dwight Howard started to get get things going with big dunks down low and had 18 points by mid second quarter. Jameer Nelson started to hit shots and knocked the Raptors lead down to only 6. Hedo Turkoglu continued the run and hit a jumper while Jameer Nelson hit another shot to get it down to a one-possession game. The Raps were lucky enough to have Will Solomon hit a jumper in the closing minutes of the second to put the Raps back up by seven. The Raps were up 56-49 at the half and were on pace to a 100 point game...which usually leads to Raptor wins.


Second Half Pleasure & Pain

Pain - Magic Eight Ball, No...More like Magic Three Ball
The Magic wouldn't go away and stayed in it with the three ball. Rashard Lewis came into the third quarter and hit a three and then the three ball came from everywhere. Everytime the Raps would double team Dwight Howard, there were open bodies on the three point line waiting for a shot. Rashard Lewis, Jameer Nelson, Courtney Lee all hit threes and then with 40 seconds to go in the third, Dwight Howard came down with the ferocious jam to take the lead 78-77. At the end of the third, the Magic were 12 for 26 from three point land vs. the Raps 2 for 9 from three point land. The Magic finished with 15 threes in the game.

Pleasure - AP
Anthony Paker finally got it going, he had 14 points by mid third quarter. I've never seen this guy dunk so much until this game, the Magic just didn't defend him at all. He finished with 26 points going 13-15 from the field.

Pleasure - Raps actually maintaing composure
The Raps didn't seem to get rattled when the Magic came back. They kept their ground and actually played well down the stretch. Jamario had played great defense and got some key defensive boards. Andrea Bargnani was all over the place, hitting a three to get the Raps up by ten and then stole the ball and took it to the basket for a layup. And then when he got doubled, he dished it to Bosh for the dunk.

Pain - The Magic fought back
Dwight Howard had a big game (he finished with 39 points) and got it going in the 4th. Stan Van Gundy put in JJ Redick to get the offense going and he hit threes. Then Rashard Lewis hit another big three, his 6th three of the game.

Pleasure - Toronto clutch down the stretch
Bosh hit both free throws with 2:27 left to tie the game at 101. Up to the fourth quarter, the Raps were 18 for 18 from the free throw line. Bosh was key at the end of the fourth, grabbing key rebounds and hit a crazy almost And-1 circus shot (thanks to hoopdoctors.com)

Pleasure - We Will, We Will Roko U
Roko Ukic was important at the end and it was actually the first time fans got to see Roko in a decisive portion of a Raps game. Roko hit a key jumper in the closing minutes to seal the win as the Raps won 108-102.

For a Magic perspective, check out thirdquartercollapse.com The Raps are at Milwaukee tomorrow night.


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

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Rockets Couldn't Stop It, The Rockets Couldn't Stop, Raps Kept Ticking and Tocking.....

....Raps worked it all around the clock.

I guess the Raps played a full 48 minutes of good basketball. Wow. A Raps blowout? Hassan Adams got minutes?

I don't know....Yao, TMac and Artest all played. The Raps were short J.O. and Jose Calderon and the Raps still won against the Houston Rockets. That is just nuts.

The Raps either played a really good game or the Rockets just played a really bad one. I think it was a little of both. Andrea Batgnani took advantage with his speed and shooting ability against Yao Ming. With Andrea being a three point threat, it drew Yao out to the three point line, opening opportunities for shots down low. This led to an early 14 point lead over the Rockets. Former Raptors, Rafer Alston and Tracy McGrady were non-factors with a combined 12 points.

Jose Calderon left in the first and came back in the second quarter but then left soon after with a strained hamstring. The Rockets were able to make a run as Carl Landry hit a jumper to get within 2. Ron Artest had a hot hand for the Rockets and had three threes in the first half with his third three bringing the Rockets to within one point. Will Solomon get some extra run with the Calderon injury and had nice pass to Joey Graham down low with the easy layup. Raps as usual played a good first half and led by ten, 48-38 at halftime.

In the second half, Bargnani used his speed against Yao, beating him down to the Raps offensive end, getting some easy opportunities. Jamario Moon had a nice open slam with one minute left in the third quarter. Toronto built up their lead 68-49. Jake Voskuhl played some great defense where his defensive plays led to some great shots. The fourth quarter was just garbage time and the Raps emptied their bench. Every member of the Toronto Raptors roster had at least one basket. The Toronto Raptors just blew out the Rockets, 94-73.

Key Notes
The Houston Rockets were a horrible 28 for 82, shooting only 34%
Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh eached scored 19
Every Raptor had at least one basket
Jake Voskuhl had a good defensive game: 3 pts, 8 boards and 1 block in 17 min of action

Hopefully 2009 leads to more of this type of Raptors basketball. Orlando is up on Sunday in Toronto.

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Happy Ne-new Year! Nene scores 21 in Nuggs New Years Eve win

Well at least it wasn't a 39 point loss and no head coach was fired. The Raps were without Jason Kapono (thigh injury) and Jermaine O'Neal (knee injury) in the starting lineup last night. Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Parker filled the gaps for the Raps who were playing their first home game after their 6-game Western road trip. Denver head coach, George Karl was going for his 900th career coaching win.

The tough part about coming home for the Raps was having to go against the Chauncey Billups and the Denver Nuggets shorthanded. Nene made his return to the Nuggets after missing their last game due to injury and came out strong. The Raps played a good first half against Nene's Nuggets and were only down three at halftime. In the third quarter, Jose Calderon hit a three to go up on the Nuggets by one and then hit another three later in the quarter to get up three. The third quarter remained tight until Denver made a push to go up by eight at the end of the third. Andrea Bargnani who has been up and down this season, performed well filling in for J.O at centre. He had 11 points in the first half and continued to hit shots in the second half. In the fourth quarter, Anthony Parker found Joey Graham for the open layup to get within two with only 4 minutes left. And then Chauncey Billups, Mr. Big Shot hit a big shot three to get up by six on the Raps. In the final seconds, Anthony Parker hit a three to get within four but the Raps couldn't get any closer as the Nuggets won 114-107.

Key Notes
Denver had 7 players in double figures
All of the Raptors starters were in double figures
Andrea Bargnani broke out with 26 pts, 6 boards and 5 blocks
Bosh had 24 pts and 11 boards
Nene led the Nuggets with 21 points and 7 rebounds

The Raps have another tough home matchup as they face the Houston Rockets Friday night.


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

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Marco Belinelli & Andrea Bargnani Nike Spot

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.

I'm not sure exactly what Andrea is saying but it kind of sounds like this:

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Raps Can't Get No Satisfaction, Giving Up 30 to Stephen Jackson

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)

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SUCKA FREE 2: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

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)

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We Don't Need No Water, Let the Raptors Lead Burn!

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)

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