On the road, losing with the Raptors. The Raptors road record is now 2-7.

To be fair to the Toronto Raptors, the NBA handed them a very tough opening road schedule against 8 western conference clubs to start the season.

And to be fair, the Raptors have been very good at the ACC. Plus, no one could realistically be disappointed ahead of time if they knew the Raptors would lose games to western conference playoff teams on the road.

But losing to the Memphis Grizzlies isn’t the mark of a team hoping to make the playoffs.  And losing badly to the 5-9 Charlotte Bobcats can only be described as a major disappointment, even on the back-end of a back-to-back.

Wednesday nights blow loss, 81-116 to the Charlotte Bobcats was a Bobcats record.  Not something the Raptors should be proud of.

And the game wasn’t typical of any of Toronto’s games so far this season.

The 81 points scored by Toronto is 25 points below their season average and 10 points lower than any game they have played to-date.  And this comes the day after the Raptors scored 74 points in a half against Indiana.

A scoring drought of this magnitude warrants some investigation.

Against the Bobcats, the hot shooting Raptors, averaging 47 percent on the season, hit on just 34.5 percent of their shots.  The main causes were:

Target Number 1, Chris Bosh.

For the second game in as many nights, Chris Bosh’s shot only found the bottom of the basket five times.  A 5-14 night on the heels of Tuesday’s 5-19 performance.  Bosh has still been grabbing rebounds at a career best rate, but the Raptors rely on Bosh’s scoring and when he isn’t going, a lot of other things have to go right to get a win.

Target Number 2, Jarrett Jack.

Chris Bosh’s college buddy bailed out his teammate on Tuesday with a 7-7 shooting performance.  But on Wednesday, Jack was 1-9 with two turnovers early in the second quarter while the game was still under control.

Unfortunately these early turnovers helped to fuel Charlotte’s fast break game that just kept getting stronger as the night wore on.

Target Number 3, Marco Belinelli.

Belinelli was cold from the floor for his second game in a row.  But unlike Tuesday when he made up for his 1-4 shooting by going 8-10 from the line, on Wednesday Belinelli was 2-9 from the floor and 2-2 from the stripe.

Target Number 4, DeMar DeRozan.

Normally it isn’t fair to point out a poor shooting performance by a rookie.  And the loss to Charlotte had little to do with DeRozan.  But DeRozan usually takes five or six shots per game.  On Wednesday, he was 4-12.

Of course getting blown out usually requires more than just poor shooting.  And lots went wrong for the Raptors besides just poor shooting.

The Raptors gave up twice their season average in steals to the Bobcats.  Charlotte took 13 balls away from the Raptors and boosted their steals average to 8.1 per game.  And it seemed every steal led to a Bobcats fast break lay-up.

Uncharacteristically leading the Raptors with poor decision-making was Jose Calderon with six turnovers. The Bobcats pressured the Raptors ball-handlers and the Raptors coughed it up!

Unfortunately Jose was also one a few Raptors doing anything right.  His 3-6 shooting and eight assists did help keep the Raptors in this game early. Maybe he should have shot more?

And Jay Triano seemed lost, frustrated, and confused by Charlotte’s refusal to give this game to the Raptors.

After watching Jarrett Jack start the second quarter 0-3 with two turnovers and Jose Calderon get two more turnovers after replacing Jack.  Triano thought the best move was to finish the quarter off with both his point guards on the floor together.  No surprise, this didn’t help.

Perhaps more surprisingly was that Triano’s only reliable scorer in the first half barely saw the floor in the second half.

In the first half, Bargnani shot 6-10 for 15 points, leading the Raptors in scoring.  Playing only eight minutes in the second half and getting just two shots, Triano benched his only effective offensive threat.  And he did it while the game was still well within reach at 68-59 Bobcats in the third quarter.

With an explanation that smacks of desperation, Triano had a line-up of Amir Johnson, Antoine Wright, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Jarrett Jack, and Sonny Weems to close out the third quarter.

Triano says he was looking for energy?  Maybe there is energy in that line-up.  But who exactly is going to be putting the ball in the hole?

Is it any real surprise that the Bobcats went on a scoring spree in the second half of the third to go up 85-67.

The fourth quarter began with Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Chris Bosh, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu on the floor.

As anyone who follows these posts or has read Hollinger’s analysis of the Jack-Calderon line-ups knows, everybody scores more against the Raptors when Jose and Jarrett play together.

Plus down by 18 points, where was the Raptors’ leading scorer in this game? With Bosh unable to hit a shot, why was the hot shooting Bargnani nailed to the bench?

The Bobcats cruised to 35 point victory in the fourth, the Raptors who got to play barely putting up a fight.

To put the game in context, this is just a road loss on a back-to-back.  But it is still a bad loss.

Maybe the Raptors’ players were suffering from the effects of playing back-to-back games, but one doesn’t expect the coaching staff to be out-of-it!

However, all will be forgotten with a good outing against the Celtics on Friday and a win Sunday at home against the Suns.

The story of the night

Yeah, so the Raptors were pounded last night in Charlotte. How does that happen, even on the road and in the second of a back-to-back? Well, here’s how: The team just ain’t that good. And what’s this breakout year everyone is talking about Chris Bosh having? The team is 7-9! Not sure if you recall, but last November Bosh had even better numbers than these, then got tired at the end of the month and limped the rest of the way home. If you’re a superstar, CB, then let’s see it. Win some games.

Anyway, that’s my opening rant. I’m probably overreacting, because realistically this is a slightly-better-than .500 team and that’s probably where it’ll end up at the end of the year. Still, last night’s effort in Charlotte was embarrassing. After making an apparent first quarter defensive stand, the Raps let their guard down, allowing the Bobcats — a team that had scored 100-plus three times in 14 games and never more than 104 this season — to score 116 and set franchise-record with a 35-point win. Toronto shot a season-low 34.5% from the field and was out-boarded 49-42.

There isn’t much use going around pointing fingers, since this was just an all-around ugly effort. Jose Calderon had six turnovers, Bosh was held without a field goal until right before halftime, big-time free agent signing Hedo Turkoglu had five points and no rebounds and the bench, aside from Amir Johnson, combined to shoot 4-of-27. Johnson was the only real bright spot, finishing with 13 points, eight boards and three blocks in 23 minutes.

As bad as that was, it may get worse — the Raps are off today but are in Boston to face the Celtics tomorrow. How about this is where you prove you’re a star in this league, CB4?

After a nice win over former teammate TJ Ford and the Pacers, the Raps got absolutely drilled in Charlotte tonight.  Maybe it was the fact we were on the second night of a back to back, maybe it was because the Raps were depressed over Iversons retirement, or maybe the Bobcats just ran circles around the Raps all night long.  There is something about Charlotte losses that sting.  Last year the Raps were trying to put something together in the second half of the season, went into Charlotte and lost a big one, ending their playoff dreams…this one might be significant too.  The Raps were looking like they might emerge from a tough opening 20 games with their spirits intact…but this one sets them back a bit.

The Zan for Three

Chris Bosh fights Stephen Jackson for a loose ball on route to an ugly loss

Gerald Wallace

Every year someone, somewhere, puts out a Gerald Wallace to the Raptors trade rumour.  The guy has been rumoured to be a Raptor so many times it’s not even funny.  Doesn’t sound so crazy after a game like this does it? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he beats the hell out of us every time we play him, but he certainly makes himself look good playing against the Raps.  He made shots, got rebounds, drove the lane and took advantage of the defense.  Definitely a game changer.

Sending a Message

Down 19pts in the thrid quarter, with loads of time on the clock, Jay Triano pulled his starters and put in Pops Mensah Bonsu and Sonny Weems.  This was not a matchup issue, nor do I believe it was throwing in the white towel, but rather a message to his starters.  Jose, Bosh and Hedo had terrible games, and Bargs wasn’t great either.  Jay isn’t going to stroke his starters and make them feel at ease if they’re playing terrible. And although some of his rotation was questionable tonight at times, I liked this decision.  Kick these guys in the ass!  They have to bring it in games like this and fight through the fatigue. If the Raptors are going to get to the playoffs (and the thinking is they should) they need to show some physical and mental toughness. Tyson Chandler abused them on the boards and Wallace scored at will. Get tough, or don’t play!

Allen Iverson

There really isn’t much else to say about this game…it blows to lose like that to anyone let alone the Bobcats.  We should take some time here to give a big shout out to one of the Raptors all-time nemeses.  Iverson has been kind of a train wreck the last couple of years, but he put up some amazing clinics in scoring over the years. Who can forget his dual with Vince in the second round of the playoffs in 2001? Just incredible.  Or his message to young athletes everywhere about the merits of practice? The guy was a player you loved to hate.  I have a feeling we have not seen the last of him, but if this is the end, then we wish him nothing but the best.

Zan of the Game

There wasn’t a single Raptor worthy of the award tonight so Gerald Wallace gets it for having another huge game against a team he must lick his chops before facing everytime he plays them.

Not Zan of the Game

The Raptors Starting Five

Tonight they were tired. They did just have a crazy stretch of road games and it was the second night of a back to back…but we needed this one. We really did.  Fight through it and man up!  Hopefully they got the message loud and clear and will bring it next game. It’s either that or Jay is going to lose it on awhole lot more clipboards.

And Another Thing…

Nice to see Dell Curry in the crowd.  I miss that guy and his clutch shooting.  Just good to see him, that’s all.

I personally believe that it is still embarassing if you get destroyed by the Charlotte Bobcats. But if anything, they are a well-coached team. Plus they’ve only given up 100 points or more in a game once this season, and despite being losers of seven of their past eight, kept the Raptors to 81 Wednesday night. The Raps shot under 35%, and the scoresheet is hideous to look at: Bosh 5 of 14, Turkoglu 2 of 7, Belinelli 2 of 9.

Back-to-backs, plane rides, whatever. Bench warmer Patrick O’Bryant was singing the praises of the Charlotte Ritz Carlton on Twitter for what it’s worth, so don’t blame the hotel. Forget defence completely – it’s a mythical creature here, like the Yeti, or his North American cousin, the Sasquatch.* It’s clear now that this is how Toronto will live and die, so enjoy the orgasmic highs and heroin-withdrawal lows.

*Stolen from a Seinfeld episode

Chuck Burton/The Associated Press

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Texas @ Texas A& M

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Alabama @ Auburn

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Arkansas @ LSU

The loss for LSU was a tough one that will linger over to this week. Arkansas has pulled off the upset against LSU the last two seasons. The Razorbacks are 11-6 as road dogs and the visitor is 6-3 in the past nine meetings. The Tigers are 2-14 as SEC home favorites and they have floundered in 27 of 34 ATS at Baton Rouge in November. Arkansas knows hwo to beat LSU and will do it again.

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Free Pick For Sunday November 29th

Indianapolis @ Houston
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Toronto bench triumphs as Raptors easily defeat Indiana

Jarrett Jack smiled over at his former Pacer teammates when he came in off the bench, foreshadowing what became his best effort of the season. Jack was 7 for 7 from the field, scoring 18 points and handing out 6 assists as the Raptors defeated Indiana 123 – 112.

“I felt extra energized,” Jack said. “That might have something to do with me playing against my old team, but I felt like I was in a good rhythm from the moment I was warming up with Coach Alvin Williams,” he continued. “I just came out firing, man. I just have to thank my teammates they found me on a lot of my open shots and I was able to knock them down.”

Jose Calderon also had a big game, scoring 21 points and dishing out 7 assists. The two guards played on the same line for key portions of the game, a combination that impressed Raptors Head Coach Jay Triano.

“I really liked when they were out there together,” Coach Jay Triano said. “At one point they were probably thinking they were competing for a position and now they realize they can play together on the floor as well as give each other relief.”

Last season, the Toronto Raptors had a choice between Calderon and T.J. Ford at the point. Ford was a selfish player, unable to come off the bench without feeling slighted while putting up lesser numbers than his teammate. Ford had 16 points last night but was ineffective against both Calderon and Jack when it counted, putting more pressure on Danny Granger to step up. Granger did his part, scoring a game high 36 points while fetching 9 boards, but it just wasn’t enough.

“They shot 55 percent tonight,” Granger said, also holding a copy of the box score. “I don’t even know what to say. We emphasized what we wanted to do. Sometimes we do it and sometimes we don’t and we didn’t do it tonight.”

Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan continued to see his playing time diminish, scoring 8 points in just 10 minutes as a starter. Rasho Nesterovich finally got some quality playing time and used it productively, scoring 12 points to go along with 7 rebounds in 16 minutes. Chris Bosh struggled with his game but still had his twelfth double double of the year, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 boards in the victory for the Raps.

Toronto continues its heavy schedule today as they face off against the Charlotte Bobcats.

Well, that was fun. Just about all the offense you can handle from the Raptors tonight, as they handed the Pacers a 123 – 112 loss. The game got close to start the fourth, but you never really thought the Pacers had what it took to take the game. Mostly because our team was scoring at will. And scoring. And scoring. And scoring.

The Zan for three

The Big Italian

Is it just me or does Bargnani not look like himself these days?  Call it a lack of effort, or passion, or something else I can’t quite put my finger on. Sure his numbers looked fine, but the big man doesn’t look motivated. Who knows what could be going on. Maybe he’s still sick. Maybe there’s something going on in his personal life. Either way we need him to pick up the passion. He’s not going to be an all star unless we see a little more heat and hustle.

Not a lot of Chris.

Speaking of offense, you know what was nice to see? The Raptors put up 74 points in the first half (unreal) and Chris Bosh has just 6 of those points (unreal). That’s a credit to unselfish ball movement and a very deep bench. Kudos to Bryan Colangelo and the team he built and Jay for making it work. They’re starting to resemble the Phoenix Suns of yesteryear. If this team finds it within them to play some decent defense we could be in for a good season.

Reggie Reggie!

And that…leads to this. How nice is it to know that the one thing we need to improve on (defense) can be helped significantly by a guy who’s coming off an injury? Reggie Evans is exactly the type of player we need in a Raptors’ uniform. If we didn’t have him, we’d be crying to trade for a player just like him. That’s comforting.

Zan of the Night

Jarrett Jack

You gotta give it to him, right? 7 for 7. 18 points. 6 dimes. All against his former team. Stellar.

Not Zan of the Night

The New Jersey Nets

We didn’t even play them and they still get the Not Zan of the Night.

In a game where the Raptors score 74 first half points, one might be led to believe fans saw an exciting game at the ACC on Tuesday night.  They didn’t, it wasn’t.

The only thing that might have salvaged this game would have been if the Raptors had set their all time high in points scored.

And they should have.

After shooting at a 60 percent clip all night, the Raptors went cold in the last two minutes and missed their final three shots.  All wide open three-point attempts that had been falling all evening.

So fans had to settle for a 123-112 Raptors win.

The Pacers were desperate to turn around a three game losing skid to the Knicks, Cavs, and Bobcats in which they couldn’t stop anyone from scoring. So they started Jeff Foster and Troy Murphy instead of Jones and Hibbert.

It didn’t make any difference.  The Pacers appeared to be indifferent to anything the Raptors choose to run.

The only thing preventing this game from becoming a complete Pacers’ embarrassment was that Chris Bosh shot 5-19 from the field and 6-10 from the charity stripe.  And Bosh’s poor shooting had nothing to do with the Pacers defense.

After getting up 74-53 in the first half, the Raptors coasted their way home for the victory.

Even the 39 points the Pacers put up in the third quarter didn’t seem to provide them with any confidence that a win was possible for them on this night.  But it did at least make the game a little more interesting to watch.

A large Turkish contingent was in attendance and seemed to greatly enjoy their national hero’s efforts.  Hedo Turkoglu had a very good night with 14 points, 4 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals, and 3 blocked shots.

In all 7 Raptors scored in double digits led by Jose Calderon with 21 points.

Jarrett Jack had his best game as a Raptor shooting a perfect 7-7 for 18 points.  Jack also contributed 6 dimes and 3 boards.  He really liked playing against his old team!

Chris Bosh did manage yet another double-double with 16 points and 12 boards.

The Pacers were led by Danny Granger who had 36 points, 9 boards, and 5 assists.  Granger led his team in all three categories and was the only starter on the Pacers with a plus/minus of zero.  The Pacers seemed lost when Granger wasn’t on the floor.

No complaints about getting a win in a strangely boring high scoring game.  At this point in the season, every win is a good one!

The real test is Wednesday night in Charlotte where the Raptors have a chance to win their first back-to-back this year.  And the resting Charlotte Bobcats just beat up the Pacers 104-88 on Sunday.

Sixers vs Wizards, 7:00 pm

Philly will improve to six wins tonight and hand Washinton their third straight loss.  Lou Williams has played well in his last two outings and will continue to do so tonight.  Andre Iguodala will also play a big role for the Sixers with his sixth twenty point game of the season.  Look for Antawn Jamison to rebound from a subpar performance on Saturday and play well.

Pacers vs Raptors, 7:00 pm

The Pacers will head back to Indiana with a victory over Chris Bosh’s Raptors.  Danny Granger will lead his team in a big way with a season-high point total.  Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh will drive the Toronto attack with strong scoring nights.

Lakers vs Knicks, 10:30 pm

Kobe Bryant’s Lakers will post their fourth straight win against an overmatched Knicks team.  Al Harrington and David Lee will do their best to keep the game competitive but will come up short despite nice games.  Bryant and Odom will both turn in solid performances for the streaking Lake Show.

Oher Winners: Jazz, Mavs, Nuggets

LEADERS

Scoring: Dirk Nowitzki, Danny Granger, Carmelo Anthony

Rebounds: David Lee, Chris Bosh

Assists: Devin Harris, Jason Kidd

Best Overall Performance: Danny Granger

Before this season started, it was widely assumed the offense would not be a concern of the Toronto Raptors.

In the preseason, Jay Triano virtually boasted that the team had spent almost no time on offense as this wasn’t going to be an issue.  And to start the season it looked like he was 100 percent correct.

The Toronto Raptors started out of the gate scoring easily and often. The Raptors averaged 109.4 points per game over the first seven games of the season, winning three and losing four.

Bosh and Bargnani returned as the Killer Bs of last season.  Regularly racking up a combined 50 points and 20 boards per game to start.  Bosh averaging 29 points per game and Bargnani averaging just over 20.

In those first seven games:

Hedo Turkoglu started out averaging 15 points;

Calderon had a slightly disappointing 11.6 points;

Marco Belinelli and Jarrett Jack each averaged just over seven points; and,

DeMar DeRozan averaged a modest 4.7 points.

Obviously some of their opponents enjoyed similar success against the Raptors.  A 111.4 points per game surrendered ensured the Raptors didn’t win more than they lost.

And the defensively challenged Raptors let opponents shoot almost 48 percent against them.

Something changed in game eight of the season.  The Raptors won a game without scoring over 100 points as they held the offensively challenged Chicago Bulls to just 89 points on the night.

The next game in LA against the Clippers saw a repeat defensive performance.  The Clippers were held to 89 points as well in another Raptors victory.

Over these last seven games, the Raptors have held their opponents to an average of 104.3 points per game.  A very nice 7.1 points per game improvement over the first seven games. But the Raptors were still letting teams shoot at about 47 percent over this period.

Unfortunately, the Raptors own “inevitable” ability to score had subsided as they only managed to score 103.1 points per game over this period.  A substantial 6.3 point per game dip from their hot start.

So the Raptors record over those next seven games was the same as the first seven.  The Raptors won three and lost four again.

The Killer Bs had become less dangerous averaging just 40 points per game between them. Turkoglu missed a game and had a slight dip in his points production.  But offsetting some of the damage was Marco Belinelli putting in an extra 3 points per game.

Over the last seven games:

Bosh has averaged 24 points, down 5;

Bargnani 15.6 points; down 4.5;

Calderon found his stroke and averaged 13.4 points;

Belinelli averaged 10.1 points;

Jack stayed at about 7 points; and

DeMar DeRozan improved to 6.2 points.

The Raptors scoring is disappearing at a just slightly slower rate than their opponents.

The Raptors evidence of defense was mirrored by a decline in their own production resulting in no real change in outcome.

And the miniscule decline in opponents shooting percentage still does not get to the Raptors team’s goal of an opponents field goal percentage of 45.

But the trend is encouraging.  Over those last seven games, at least two of the loses were winnable by the Raptors.  Only a small change in fortunes could take the Raptors from a just under .500 team to substantially over .500.

Continued improvement on defense and the re-discovery of their disappearing scoring is all that stands in the way of a huge run by the Toronto Raptors.

]]> http://oddmanic.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/raptors-come-up-short-against-orlando/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 01:17:05 +0000 oddmanic http://oddmanic.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/raptors-come-up-short-against-orlando/

Toronto’s bench shows game but can’t seal the deal at the ACC

It was one of those games that could have gone either way…if the Magic were playing Cleveland or Boston. But against the Raptors on Sunday afternoon, Orlando kept up the pressure and proved the Raps are once again a predictable squad as the game winds down.

Orlando came back from a weak first quarter and traded momentum with Toronto until both teams let their second line players ultimately decide their fates. Jason Williams, starting for the injured Jameer Nelson, and J.J. Redick hit decisive threes in the fourth quarter to put Orlando up by 10 and an eventual victory, 104 – 96.

“I think that our bench is deep,” Redick said. “We missed Vince and Rashard for several games early in the year. We’ve played with that lineup before and we’ve been successful.”

Vince Carter, who was customarily booed all afternoon, finished with 24 points, twelve of them in the third quarter. The former Raptor started the game poorly but kicked it up a notch in the second half…literally.

“The first half was a rough one,” Carter said. “I was just trying to be aggressive, trying to get into the paint, just make plays. Make the referees decide what is what. I think I was a little overly aggressive, playing a little too fast. I was trying to get there but not really playing under control. The second half when I changed my shoes, it was OK.”

Andrea Bargnani struggled for the Raps, scoring just 11 points to go along with 9 boards and fouling out with 4 minutes left in the game. Chris Bosh scored 22 points but was contained well by the Magic who made him settle for jumpers most of the game. Hedo Turkoglu was a non factor, scoring twelve points on 3 of 11 shooting from the field, while Calderon scored 16 points but managed just 4 assists.

The bigger story may have been the disappearing act of DeMar DeRozan. The rookie failed to step up against Carter and was not a factor at all throughout the game. Once again, speculation on whether or not DeRozan will still have the starting job when either Wright or Evans returns is swirling around the ACC. Head Coach Jay Triano appears to be trying to instill confidence in the young guard, but what is it costing the Raptors in the interim? DeRozan scored 1 point and 1 rebound in just over 17 minutes of playing time.

Meanwhile, Jarret Jack continued his strong play of late, handing out 9 assists to go along with 8 points and 7 rebounds.

The Raptors fall to 6 – 8 on the season and will face the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday at the ACC.

Bosh and Superman are set to battle

I see you’re not gonna sit this one out with an “injury”, hey Vince? Alright, I’d be lying to myself if I said Carter didn’t love coming to Toronto and torching the Raptors. Air Canada and the Magic are in for the second time this season, tipping at 12:30 this afternoon at the ACC. As always, check out the full preview over at Raptors Republic.

I honestly believed coming into this season Orlando would be worse off with Carter than Hedo Turkoglu, but as much as it kills me to say it, I was wrong. Vince seems to have found the perfect scenario — one where he’s not pressured to be the top guy, or better yet, one where he can routinely take nights off and people won’t notice because Rashard Lewis and Superman will pick up the slack. Yeah, Turkoglu was killer in the clutch, but Vince has been known to hold up alright come crunch time when he feels like it. The Magic, behind Carter’s 18.1 points per game, come in at 10-3, including a 125-116 win in Toronto on Nov. 1.

As usual, the key for the Raptors will be D’ing up, especially on the perimeter against a team like Orlando. The Magic drilled 17 threes in their previous win over Toronto, and that came without Carter, who’s averaging almost three per game. Chris Bosh & co. will also do well to attack Dwight Howard early and try to get him in foul trouble.

Anyway, fresh off a home win over Miami Friday, it would be nice to make it two and a row with a walk in the park coming in the form of Indiana on Tuesday.

Chris Bosh played like a man with something to prove last night

Spirited game by Chris Bosh and the Raptors last night against Miami. Man alive, were they smoking hot for the first two quarters. To Miami’s credit they scratched and clawed their way back into the game, but ran out of gas in the fourth. Similar to the way the Raps played against Utah.

Bosh vs Wade

Get the sense Bosh had something to prove last night? Man, was he awesome. Gobbling up rebounds, scoring at will, getting to the line. It was something to see. He outplayed Wade and his team won. Take that American media.

When it clicks it clicks.

In the second quarter the Raptors were blazing hot. The team was hitting threes, Chris Bosh was having his way inside and getting to the line. Everything clicked. We’ve touched on this before, when the Raptors are firing on all cylinders they can be one of the best teams in the league. What’s that mean? It means, it’s working. Given a few more months to gel and they can be very good. Given a few years and they might just become an elite team in the league.

Don Nelson Fan Club

Don Nelson is on crack. It’s hard to imagine what he was thinking when he gave away Bellineli for nothing. But we ain’t complaining. Beli is phenomenal. A fantastic addition to this team. Let’s hope his ankle is a go for tomorrows game.

Zan of the Night

Georgia Tech

Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack everyone. Oh Jack. We’ve been hard on you here at the ZTH. But tonight you deserved a little bit of credit.

Not Zan of the Night

Anyone on Miami not named Dwayne Wade

Get this guy some help Pat Riley. He’s still with the Heat right?

Toronto shoots 58% and continues to dominate Eastern Conference teams

They needed it. They needed it badly.

The Toronto Raptors are an interesting team this year. Once again they find themselves unable to cope with opposing big men and perimeter defense, but this time something is different.

This team can score.

The Raptors returned home and easily handled the Miami Heat 120 – 113 in a game that saw some much needed clutch shooting by Jarret Jack in the final frame. Jack scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth, securing victory from a pesky Heat squad that rattled off a 14-0 run that cut Toronto’s lead to just 2 points.

“I just knew it was going to turn around for me at some point,” Jack said. “Last night we had the day off, and I was on the gym late getting up shots. I didn’t know when, but I knew at some point in time, it was going to pay off for me. I’m just glad it was today.”

Chris Bosh continued his contract-year style of play, pouring in 29 points and snatching 12 boards. Bosh also had four blocks in the victory. The team looked rejuvenated after looking worn out in Utah on Wednesday where they collapsed in the final half. The team outrebounded their opponents for just the second time this season.

“Rebounding is important but I think we can still do better team-wise,” Bosh said. “One thing I wanted to challenge Andrea to do this year and challenge myself to do this year is rebound the basketball. We did a good job, we just have to do a better job of limiting their second-chance points and the offensive rebounds.”

Andrea Bargnani finished with 24 points to go along with 10 boards and was key down the stretch, hitting a clutch three pointer and driving the lane with some big man authority. DeMar DeRozan, still trying to feel comfortable as an NBA starter, made up for his disappearing offense by pulling down 7 rebounds of his own. DeRozan is expected to continue starting for the Raps but may be relegated to bench status once Antoine Wright returns from a sprained ankle injury.

Dwayne Wade and Mario Chalmers each scored 30 points for the Heat who fall to a record of 7 – 6 on the year. The raptors are now 4 – 1 against Eastern Conference teams, second only to the surprising Atlanta Hawks who have an 11 – 2 record on the season overall, including a 6 – 1 record against the East.

The Raptors play the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon at the ACC.

Love that fire, CB

Raptors basketball just wouldn’t be Raptors basketball without the nightly heart attacks, would it? Tonight’s came in the form of a 23-point third quarter lead dwindling to one late in the fourth, but Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack led a late push en route to a 120-113 win over the Heat in Toronto’s return to the ACC.

Bosh was magnificent tonight, going 10-of-14 and finishing with 29 points and 12 rebounds and Jack made a pair of clutch threes from the corner in the final three minutes, finishing with a season-best 17 in 31 minutes off the bench. Andrea Bargnani had 24 and 10 and Hedo Turkoglu had arguably his best game as a Raptor, scoring 19 points to go with five boards and eight assists.

Of course, this one came with it’s share of second half head-to-wall banging, as the Heat went about 27 possessions in a row late in the third with a bucket. Bargnani was eaten alive by Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers had a riot at the hands of Jose Calderon, scoring a career-high 30. Even when it looked like the Raps were putting Miami away midway through the fourth, Calderon managed to lose Chalmers on back-to-back possessions for threes to pull the Heat right back in. On the bright side, a handful of Toronto defenders did a commendable job on Dwyane Wade, holding him to 10-of-24.

I know the NBA is a game of runs, but it doesn’t always have to be. With that said, it would be nice to see the boys put it to bed next time they jump to a double digit lead in the second half.

So, a win in the first game back after four straight out west leaves the Raps at 6-7. Superman and the Magic, who beat Toronto at the ACC Nov. 1, are in town Sunday.

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Free College Football Sports Betting Pick for Saturday November 20th

TCU Vs Wyoming

TCU showed the world last week that they deserve the top ranking they have. They jumped to #4 in the country and with that came an inflated line. TCU has struggled a bit on the road in November (4-9-1 ATS). Wyoming is 13-5 ATS off a SU win and 5-1 ATS at home with revenge off a straight up and ATS win. Letdown is a real possibility with this inflated line.

Play: Wyoming +31.5

15 Team Teasers and parlays!!

If only...

“And starting at wide receiver for your Cleveland Browns, number #23,  The King, Lebron James.”

That has quite the ring to it, doesn’t it. With the recent suggestion that Lebron James has the talent to join an elite group of athletes by starring in two sports, I ask that you to let me take you on a ride, a hypothetical ride, down the path that could have been.

Let’s go back to 2003 and instead of the buzz surrounding the NBA draft, the hype surrounds which college football team Lebron will choose to attend. After much internal debate, Lebron decides to stick with his hometown Buckeyes, forgoing a shot to start with the Gators. During his first year with the Buckeyes, Lebron gets his feet wet and turns some heads with his long reach and jaw dropping ability to pick up yards after the catch. On the NBA side of things, Darko Milicic ends up going first to the Cavs, followed by Carmelo to the Pistons, Bosh to Denver and Wade to Toronto.

With James at Ohio State for a second year, the Pistons continue their domination of the NBA with their second NBA Championship in a row to go along with Carmelo’s Rookie of the Year award. Cleveland’s downward spiral into oblivion is fast-tracked by the poor selection of Darko at number one. The team is surrounded by talks of contraction and movement. On the other side, James lights up the NCAA and ends up as a Heisman finalist.

Coming off his best season, Lebron declares that he will enter the 2005 NFL draft. With his ridiculous stats and abnormal height, Lebron is touted as the number one wide receiver. Ironically enough he is drafted third overall to the Cleveland Browns, pushing wide receiver Braylon Edwards to the number four spot overall.

Prior to entering the NFL, Lebron signs a record-breaking deal with Adidas, bringing the brand to the forefront of the NFL for the first time in history. With Lebron starting at wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, the 2005-2006 season turns out to be the first winning season in quite a while for the team. In the NBA, Detroit reaches the finals once again after beating the Toronto Raptors who reach the NBA Conference Finals as Vince Carter and Dwayne Wade have formed one of the top backcourts in the history of the NBA.  A Toronto fan can only dream…

Fast-forward to the present day. Lebron is still a member of the Cleveland Browns, who have had four straight winning seasons and are coming off of a SuperBowl appearance on the backs on James and QB Brady Quinn. In the NBA, Toronto is the team to beat in the East as Vince Carter has decided to stay and play with Dwayne Wade. In other news, Nike hooks on to Darko Milicic and over the course of the 5 years subsequent to his draft, they endured the 5 least profitable years in their history. Oh how different history could have been.

While it is fun to hypothesize and speculate, the reality is that Lebron is a phenom on the NBA court and as sports’ fans we should not wish or even suggest anything more. He is the bar that everyone is going to be measured against for years and years to come in the NBA. With that being said, the only thing we can hope for is that James doesn’t make the same mistake as another famous 23 did. Stick to basketball Lebron, if only for your sake.

Bosh and the Raps stare down Miami tonight

Ah yes, home sweet home. After seven of eight out west, the Raptors are back at the ACC tonight to face Dwyane Wade and the Heat. The boys escaped the trip at 2-5 (wins in New Orleans and LA) and sit at 5-7 on the year — to be honest, a mark I’m pretty, pretty pleased with at this point. As always, a full preview for tonight’s game is available at Raptors Republic, including my world-famous simulation.

Miami enters tonight’s game at 7-4, but don’t be deceived: The Heat’s schedule has been the opposite of Toronto’s — not to hate on the Knicks and Nets, but it’s been a walk in the park, highlighted by eight of 11 at home. With apologies to first-class citizen Jermaine O’Neal, the Heat really have nothing going for them aside from Wade. Case in point: The Band-Aid Man was 6-of-18 for 15 points in Atlanta Wednesday and Miami was pasted 105-90. If the Raptors can keep Wade from going out of his mind, this should be a comfortable win.

With “defensive stopper” Antoine Wright expected out for Toronto, the Raptors will be forced into throwing a host of defenders at Wade, none of which, I’m sure, will be Jose Calderon. With Udonis Haslem unlikely to dress for the Heat, Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani should be set for field days against O’Neal and big softy Michael “Supercool” Beasley. No excuses for Andrea — time to get back to work after a couple nightmarish games.

The Raptors and Heat get it popping at seven.

First Ink. This is that secret project Bosh has been working on this summer. I’m excited to see the full thing.

Deron Williams made it look easy

The Raptors are heading home and it’s not a moment too soon. Chris Bosh and the boys wrapped up a four-game trip tonight, falling 104-91 in Utah — their third straight loss after taking the opener against the Clippers last Friday.

This one had blowout written all over it early, as the Raptors started the way they finished Tuesday in Denver, falling behind by 18 in the first quarter. Bosh and Marco Belinelli helped Toronto claw its way back in, cutting the lead to one early in the fourth before the wheels fell off for the second straight night. Bosh finished with 32 points and 17 rebounds and Belinelli had his fourth straight double digit effort off the bench, scoring 19 on 7-of-14 shooting.

The most notable difference in this one was the point guard play. Jose Calderon wasn’t himself of late, going 4-of-14 and finishing with two assists and two turnovers. His counterpart, Deron Williams, ran all over him, scoring 22 and adding nine dimes. Carlos Boozer added 22 and 18 boards for the Jazz and Andrei Kirilenko had 20 points off the bench while sporting a fresh “new lesbian” hairstyle, as my man Sully Sullivan would say.

Another loss, but at least one that signals the end of hellish trip out west. After playing seven of the last eight on the road, the Raptors are home to face Miami Friday in the first of three at the ACC.

Great College Football Free Sports Betting Picks

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Thursday Night Free Pick: Colorado is trying to end a season that has been one of the worst seasons in a long time. The straight up winner has prevailed by double-digits in 14 of the past 17 meetings between these Big 12 rivals. The Cowboys have cashed 11 of 14 as favorites and at a 14-5-1 clip at home versus conference competition. They are also 10-5-2 ATS in their last 17 finales at Pickens Stadium. The Buffaloes are 4-13 as dogs with revenge. This game is a blowout and Oklahoma ST cruises and wins by 30 points!
Play: Oklahoma St -18

Since the home opener this season, the Toronto Raptors seem to be on the outs with the NBA referees.

I’ll admit to wearing a Raptors’ Fans Glasses. But it seems that when it matters, the Raptors are being held back by some highly biased NBA refereeing.

Not one to hog all the bitter complaining to myself, here’s a recent selection from this season’s refereeing rants.

Stevesraptors:

“@DeMar_DeRozan Raps Fans still made at Refs in Denver – Unfortunately you guys can’t afford to do that!”

DanRapsFan:

“Refs have given some great home court advantage for the Nuggets”

“Triano should get himself tossed on purpose for all of those Bosh non calls by the refs.  WTF no call!”

LetsNBA:

“Welcome to the NBA, raps up 11 refs take over for the home team”

JJTO:

“F**k! The ref’s called a lot of bad fouls in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, but no excuse to hang your head and drag your feet; no mental toughness…”

H to the Immo:

“You need to add ‘refs’ to the lineup. Here – I’ll do your writeup.

Refs – decided that Denver needed to get back into it in the 2nd quarter, resulting in 3 Donaghy’s. More of the same in the 3rd, as Denver was allowed a ridiculous number of fast breaks off non-calls on the offensive glass.”

Dave:

“The Raptors would have had a hard enough time beating just the Nuggets, but having to play against the Nuggets and the Refs they had no chance. During stretches of the game that I saw Bosh was called for goaltending on a perfectly legal block, Jose was called for a foul on Carmelo when Anthony had clearly fouled Jose first and on and on.”

Waterboy:

“NBA refs are horrible, and players or coaches can’t speak up because they get fined if they do, why shouldn’t we as spectators speak up?”

“all i will say is, the first few games i watched of toronto (including the cavaliers game) were full of extremely biased calls AGAINST the raptors, which hurts our team tremendously.”

Bogus:

“If you really wanted to get freaked out about the refs, read these excerpts from Donaghy’s book. If he’s telling the truth, it’s completely nuts”

creative1mm:

“well.. yesterday raps were doing fine until the referees made their little run and screwed up the game for them”

“like 4 bad calls in a row, mellow slaps the ball out of Calderons arm then elbows Calderon then Calderon gets called for the foul.. that is BS”

Belsius:

“OK Im f**king pissed. I dont know if Im being paranoic but to me, it looked like for that stretch of 4 minutes or so the refs really really wanted to make this game close. Making sure the Raptors didnt get away. 5 or 6 calls against us and none or way.”

brothersteve:

“Aside from Jack Armstrong’s weak (but NBA fine safe) comments that Bosh couldn’t get a call, the BOGUS ref calls in the first half kept the Nuggets in this game – A game the Raps were threatening to run away with.”

“Bosh was mad because the Raps were getting fouls for doing the same things the Nugs were doing to him for free!”

“The Refs made a blatant attempt to keep the Nugs in the game during the first half.  Throwing a few foul calls the Raps way at the end when it was meaningless!”

Suns game: “The BOGUS charge on Bosh when the ref called the foul then waited until he could see who had hit the floor, Nash stands up and it’s a charge! Not to mention the last minute foul call on Nash’s drive – was that a foul or did the wind just blow through his uniform.”

The Raptors fearless broadcast crews have never taken the NBA referees to task for blatantly bad calls over the years.  Perhaps because they work for the Raptors they are subject to the NBA’s wrath.

Their needs to be more of an outpouring of disgust when bad refereeing costs the Raptors a game on the road.

When the Raptors are at home we can jeer with loud calls of B*LLSH1T from the stands!  When they are on the road, the jeers need to come from writers and the posts!

No Mercy for the Refs on Friday Night.  Come Ready to JEER.

Coach Triano’s bizarre substitutions partly to blame for loss

It had the air of a preseason game by the start of the fourth quarter. Raptors head coach Jay Triano had 5 non starters on the court in an eight point deficit to the Denver Nuggets, losing 130 – 112 in an embarrassing display of poor defense and severe bench mismanagement.

Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin and Nene Halario accumulated 67 of the Nuggets 130 points, completely dominating the Raptors starters at both ends of the floor. J.R Smith also had an impressive 29 points off the bench in just 21 minutes of playing time.

The loss was another defensive collapse by the Raptors who have now allowed 109 points per game, 2nd worst in the league. It also showed Triano’s potential weakness as a coach as key players like Rasho Nesterovich played just 8 minutes while Nugget big men were scoring easily in the paint. Demar Derozan had a good night on paper, but his 17 total points came when the score didn’t matter and Anthony schooled the rookie for most of the night. Anthony was suffering from a migraine headache and still managed to dominate Toronto at both ends.

“My legs could work,” Anthony said. “As long as I could run up and down that court, I was good. One of those Doug Moe games. It ended in the third quarter, though. In the first half, we were trying to outscore them. We was going bucket for bucket. We got together at halftime and told each other we didn’t want to play like that. In the third quarter, we played old Denver Nugget basketball, getting up and down the court in transition, playing defense . It was easy for us.”

The Nuggets also managed to cool down Bosh’s game, holding the Raptors forward to just 13 points. Bosh still managed to put up a double-double by grabbing 14 rebounds, his eighth of the season – but his inside game disappeared and Triano’s team settled for jumpers while allowing the Nuggets to score almost at will.

“They were physical on Chris Bosh, they were bumping him all night and he only got two free throws,” Triano said. Denver head coach George Karl had the same thought.

“Keeping Bosh under control was huge,” Karl said. “Maybe they went away from him some, but it seemed like he never got a personality.”

The Raptors are now 5 – 6 and play the Jazz in Utah tonight.

Rough night for our boys yesterday as we fell by 20 to the Denver Nuggets. We played well for nearly three quarters, but by the end nothing was left in the tank and our defense sagged.  As did our offense.  When your offense goes against a team like the Nuggets, that’s the end of the game.

The Zan for Three

George Karl is Brilliant.

When a team comes into Denver, the Nuggets have a clear advantage – they’re used to the altitude.  So what does Karl do? He plays his starters for the entire third quarter.  Naturally, Jay responds by keeping his starters in the game.  Our guys get tired and their guys do not.  That my friends, was the end of the game.

Chris Bosh

I’m going to harp on this for the rest of the season because it’s driving me nuts. When Chris Bosh decides to double team the ball at the top of the circle, the opposing team always gets an open shot. Why? He’s running through the motions. He doesn’t double aggressively on the ball (therefore the double is pointless) and the team has to rotate  to guard the player he’s supposed to be covering. One or two smart passes later and the opposing team has a wide open look. Watch for it.

Hoops Bar and Grill

I love you Hoops. I watch basketball games there often. But for the love of God, if you’re not going to play the Raptor game over the Leaf game don’t call yourself Hoops. It’s maddening.

Zan of the Night

JR Smith

He was a monster.  It was one of those nights.  Not necessarily our fault. He was hitting everything from everywhere.

Not Zan of the Night

JR Smith

Nice bow douchebag. Momma says, don’t let yourself get too high when you win or too low when you lose.  Honourable mention goes to Jarrett Jack who was once again the worst player on the court.