4-3 CLE 10:34 1st: Raptors start off with a couple of turnovers and LBJ finishing on the break. LBJ reaches some sort of milestone. Bargnani’s looking to get involved, got a wide open three off of a nice play but then missed a very quick jumper (badly). Game is stopped to LBJ can be honored.
23-12 2:29 1st: Raps Milestone – It’s getting ugly, the good part about this stretch is Bosh reaching 1000 OREB. Our offense not looking great, stricly jumpas. Big Z’s scoring against JO in the post and shooting over him from the outside. JO has trouble launching his fadeaways against his length but does gather and power himself in for a couple. Unfortunately he has a nasty habit of turning the ball over for every made FG. Bosh fakes a three and turns the ball over. I don’t mind the turnover, but faking threes is for girls. Parker’s having trouble containing West, he’s burned him for a couple assists after DP and gotten crossed over once. Cleveland’s applying very good ball pressure and we’re responding by taking jumpers instead of challenging their tight D. Gibson and West making plays off the bounce against Calderon and Parker. Bosh is a non-factor. Kapono gets crossed by West who missed the J but Kapono bails him out with a late hit. We’re playing like we don’t want it. Raps with 5 TOs and CLE already with 12 PINP. Memo to Bosh: do something.
29-19 End 1st: Jose hits a three and our best looking play of the evening is a Kap/Bosh PNR which Bosh lays in. Just as I’m celebrating LBJ drives unmolested for a lay-in. Leave it for Will Solomon to make the most aggressive move of the night and get two FTs. Atta boy Will. It actually motivated Bosh to drive and get fouled by Sideshow Bob. Cleveland’ moving the ball beautifully on the perimeter and we’re struggling to keep up, they’re not hitting their wide open jumpers so far and we should be thankful for it. It’s what’s keeping us in the game – somewhat.
45-26 7:37 2nd: This one’s getting ugly. Not a great start to the quarter with Cleveland looking for Wally v Kap early and it gets them a three off of an OREB. On the next possession Willie turns the ball over and to make matters worse, him and Kap lose Boobie who nails another three. 6-0 run right there. The Raptors have trouble defensive rebounding because they think the possessions over once CLE misses a shot. Bosh and Parker have “the look” on the bench. Cleveland getting great ball movement kicked off by semi-deep dribble penetration and we’re having trouble keeping up – trailing plays and having our ankles twisted. Raptors are scoring here and there through Will’s one-on-one jumpers and Kapono’s impersonation of Reggie Miller but its not happening as a unit. Mike Brown is not wearing a tie, in fact it’s a pink shirt. Bosh 3pts, LBJ 10 pts.
47-33 6:24 2ndThe stretch starts off with JO finding his desire to play. First he blocks Sideshow who thought he had found the lane. Then he finds a cutting Kapono for two (yes, I said cutting). Mo Will burns Calderon but JO gets the assist of the night finding Bosh who’s left open.
53-45 2:33 2nd: LBJ sucked the momentum we got in the last stretch with a thunderous dunk after curling on Parker. JO then dribbles it off his foot ala Big Dog in those days when his back stopped working. Parker’s been left open twice by LBJ who’s busy cheating for steals and gets burned for two treys. Calderon doing an excellent job of setting people early and its catching the Cavs a little off-guard, his highlight is finding Bosh for an alley-oop dunk, but Bosh gave it right back by letting LBJ back-cut him for another ESPN highlight. Calderon’s also had a great drive to the rim against West whose defense remains untested. JO and Big Z trading FTs, JO fouling him on his fade and Big Z getting him on the drive. JO is learning from Parker though, flops beautifully much to the chagrin of Z. The stretch ends with Calderon turning the ball over on a bad entry pass which sparks the Cleveland break, West finds Wallace but he misses a dunk after the contest from JO.
59-51 Halftime: Jose with 51 straight FTs to start the season (ties Billups for franchise lead). All Parker can do is keep LBJ on the perimeter and entice him for threes and LBJ misses one after Parker goes under the screen. Big Z with another CLE milestone, all-time rebounding leader beating Brad Daugherty. Our rebounding might be a bit off but you wouldn’t have thought it the way JO cleaned up a Bosh jumper with a dunk. Bosh had Mo Will on him and passed it off resulting in a turnover – had a chance to cut the lead to 4, I cannot even begin to explain that. Jose has his second nice drive of the game and finishes in 06-07 style. Raptors were down by 19 but JO, Jose and Parker bring the Raps back to within 8 and that’s only because Parker gave LBJ a very, very clean look for three to end the quarter. Still, we’re in it because of FT (11-17) and 3PT (5-11) shooting. Need to tighten up that D and maintain that second quarter enthusiasm for the rest of the game.
67-53 8:30 3rd: Bargnani starts off the third like he did the first. Nice screens and a nice catch and shoot for a nice jumper. Big Z with a hook over JO, noting he can do to stop that. Bosh/Jose miscommunication for a TO, one of the rare tmes you’ll see Bosh pass to Jose and not the other way around. Bargnani’s got LBJ in the post and finally gets it, LBJ reached and gave Bargnani the lane but Bargs took the J, should’ve driven it. JO needs to start hitting his paint jumpers, those are key to our offense under Triano. Mo Will gets the better of Jose for two. More miscommunication between Parker and Bosh and LBJ pounces on it like a cat for a breakaway dunk.
74-55 7:45 3rd: LBJ picks off another pass (this time by Jose) for another breakaway dunk. He’s playing the passing lanes to perfection. JO with a bad pass to Jose and Mo William picks it off for a breakaway. Cleveland has uppet its defense and we haven’t failed to match the intensity. Wallace blocks JO after helping Big Z and Z caps off the run with a three-pt play. CLE defense keying their offense. Bargnani with the worst turnover of the quarter, just throws it away out of bounds after driving and expecting somebody to be 180 degrees behind him.
90-67 End 3rd:
Let’s switch to bullet point form:
- Bosh, Bargs and JO watch Big Z get a put-back
- Bosh misses dunk
- Mo Williams makes a three
- Parker takes a bad three
- Ah fuck it…..
Cleveland’s superstar had them up their defensive intensity and the entire team responded. They suffocated us and we turned the ball over and got flustered under the pressure. The offense never had any continuity to begin with and whatever little we had going fell apart. We don’t have the offensive firepower to make up for our bad defense and when Bosh is taking the night off, it becomes impossible to win…we’ll chat more in the post-game. It’s garbage time END BLOG
31 Raps
Bosh is officially your retarded cousin now, the one who you just can’t say anything about….. there is no excuse that the Raptors insipid cretins will not stoop to to explain his lack of “superstar” behaviour…. now it’s “Olympic Legs”…from the genius Rod Black..to which Rautins says “maybe”…jesus fucking christ….ONLY Bosh played in the Olympics I suppose…and I suppose he carried that team, played the most minutes and was solely responsible for the gold medal too…(they only slaughtered teams in the qualifying round without Bosh even playing because of his powerful theta waves coming to them from his potent brain too, I guess)…Bosh barely played into the playoffs, while LeBron and Kobe went to the semis and finals…LeBron, Kobe, Wade fuck, MOST of the Olympic team played more minutes than Bosh in China and yet somehow our “superstar MVP” is the only one who simply cannot be expected to be effective now because of the summer.
HOW ABOUT WE STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR THIS GUY AND PUT A FUCKING MORATORIUM ON THE “STAR” STUFF UNTIL HIS PLAY ACTUALLY LEADS TO ONE FUCKING WIN OVER AN ELITE TEAM…JUST ONE FUCKING WIN!
Impressive performance by the Cavs
Lebron James is simply better than our whole team. Frankly, that doesn’t depress me much, as Lebron is also better than most of the other teams in the league and that exactly what I expected to happen tonight.
Long live the King
holy fuck. can dec. 15th get here any sooner? blow this mo-fo up, ’cause it’ll take every single one of ‘em to up their respective games by a factor of 10 to even be able to compete with the likes of the cavs. what a joke. they do realize they’re a laughinstock, right? BC needs to stop beating off to those (in)famous pre-draft test results of vegetable lasagna, and realize that he’s completely fucking useless.
and holy crap, can we stop with the SoS excuses? it’s one thing to make the statement that they’ve had a tough schedule, but it’s not like they’re just barely losing, they’re being EMBARASSED. there is a difference.
at least triano sat the superstars when it got out of hand.
hey, didja know TJ is outrebounding bargnani this year?
boy, i hope they can make a push and get the lead to under 20…it’d be embarassing to get blown out by 20+ pts AGAIN.
well, they couldn’t even do that. way to show up, fuckers.
why do i get the feeling that the raptor fanbase gives a bigger shit than the raptor players?
holy fuck yertu, you’re right about TJ getting more rebs than Bargs :|
insipid = insepid
Embarassing…unwatchable if your a fan…I’m giving up, not even following Ukic is worth the pain of having to watch this sucky team on a nightly basis..
What was that cavs run at the start of 3rd quarter 26-6? raptors blow a fat one. This team looks like a rebuilding franchise and cant compete in the league. On the other hand, almost everyone from last year is there + 2 superstars, #1 pick and the best 3 point shooter in the game, that says a lot.
yertu,
Do you remember what you said in reply when I wrote on Grange’s blog that the Raptors were not going to improve their Rebounding Differential this season versus the High End Teams in this League with the addition of Jermaine O’Neal [at the expense of Rasho Nesterovic]?
They had to stop the game couple of times cuz the other team’s players were breaking records on steals and rebounds tonite:)
am i a bad person for wanting them to continue to get blown out? it seems that’s the only way BC will grow a set & make a move. not that it matters at this point, they’re cooked, and no matter what they give up in a trade, they ain’t getting back enough to fill the titanic-sized hole in this clusterfuck of a lineup.
so. dec 15th, eh? i can wait a few more days. bring on indy. they have as bad a record as the raps, so that means the raps will win easy, right?
it’s been 20 games, arse…i’m anxious to read your thoughts. i suppose some reconfiguring of anticipated win total is in order. i’m down to 35-ish…if they stand-pat.
when do the ‘does it make sense to deal bosh – in the ‘right’ move comes along’ start to not sound ridiculous?
khan – no, but i’m sure it was AWESOME.
and yes, rebounding differential was definitely the reason the raps lost tonight.
rasho & delfino (sans JO) would have helped the raps stomp the cavs into dust.
hey yertu,
If we only won 35 games in the 06 and 07 year, would our deluded expectations be much more to reality than it was now?
You know what is scary?
I found out a trend about TJ Ford: Milwuakee drafts Ford and he plays 50+ games with him in 2003-2004, & they made it to the playoffs. 2004-2005, they don’t make it at all due to the Madsen-Ford incident and only played 20 games. In 2005-2006 he plays 50+ games again and Bucks make it to the playoffs.
Toronto: Made it both times to the playoffs as Ford plays 50+ for both seasons.
Not pointing out anything to Calderon at all, or saying that Ford is a one man army, but he seems to be some type of good luck charm for a team that has him. Of all the crappy things I said of Ford and anti-Ford campaigning, TJ Ford sure proves a point to us all. I do feel stupid now for sure, but I guess there is always a bright side on a rusty coin.
yertu said it right… Raptors fans care more than this team does. Against better teams they start the game as if they’ve already lost. Beatings like this team has taken from Boston, Denver, Lakers, Utah, etc. should make them play hard to rebound from such embarassments. But they appear to have given up and come out game after game already defeated. The question is, how can you make them care?
I’m sure you’re right, yertu. I’m sure you’re right.
Nesterovic was a similar type of good luck charm. He has never been out of the play-offs in his playing career.
I’m choosing to look on the positive side here. At the end of this year you might have an improved and potentially stater-worthy Joey Graham, Roko is showing signs of coming along, JO is 20 million in cap space slash players and picks waiting to happen, Bargnani will always intrigue some other gullible GM enough to get some solid bench pieces back, and Kapono is just begging to be dangled in front of some contender wannabe looking to add a shooter. If you flip those players and just get decent value for the salaries you’re paying, and it will be an improved team. Remember, Bosh has 2 years to make up his mind, not 1. More importantly, we’ve got 2 years to find out if Bosh is going to turn into a superstar or not.
Well, let us state the obvious, shall we? The Raptors are not a good team, by any reasonable standard in the NBA. The question is, what can be done about it.
First of all, there is talent here, but no depth. There is a system trying to be put in place, but the system is flawed. There is an unwillingness to break the luxury tax line, even though you have a couple of really fat contracts on the books.
The Raps lost tonight because LeBron is a powerhouse. Everyone becomes a good player when he is on the floor because no one else take contested shots because they are all guarding him. I think only the Celtics could have a chance to stop him. I don’t think LeBron can win a championship though, once the defence clamps down in the playoffs. That said, the Raps got blown out tonight because we have a system that is being forced upon a team that is wholly unsuited for it. Look at the starting line:
Bosh has been looking slower and slower (more on him in a minute)
O’Neal is the kind of player that needs to battle in post
Bargnani is always a step behind his defensive matchup
Parker has no driving element to his game, and
Calderon looks very uncomfortable behind the opposing net, something Nash lived on in the run and gun Suns.
Joey Graham is the only player I have seen benefit from this system. He has the athleticism and willingness to drive to the net. This is good because his strength is attacking before the defense has set. But honestly, Bosh is inbounding the ball meaning he is the trailer? At least have Bargnani do it, so he can get some open threes. (That is, if he stays at the 3 in this running system, which is a mistake.)
BC, if you want to run and gun, starting 5 cannot have Bargs at the 3. Put him and Bosh at 4 and 5. Then, you can sub in O-Neal for either of them when the pace starts to slow down. I know, this is not possible – if I were O’Neal I wouldn’t want to be coming off the bench. No way. This tells me that the team is not ready for this system.
(By the way, have you noticed that pressuring the ball handler up the court nullifies the running anyway? I am getting tired of trying something that cannot work. Like trying to fit the square piece into the circle mould)
Another screwed up sense of perception I realized:
Is Bryan Colangelo gonna trade Bosh, get a Euro-coach, get the most notorious Euroleague players who flop, play mind games, whine, and hit clutch shots w/ ding-hole celebrations, and make Toronto one of the most hated NBA cities to date? Even more irritating than 12 EVil Kevin Garnetts on the same team?
as for Bosh. He looks beaten down. He looks tired, and he looks old. I am seeing bad decisions on a regular basis, and an unwillingness to get hacked and sent to the freethrow line. I am also seeing a lack of communication on the boards – if O’Neal makes the stop, Bosh boxes out. If Bosh makes the stop, O’Neal boxes out.
How do we fix this? I have no idea then to ride it out. Honestly, I am at a loss. Bosh is an all-star. He could be a superstar – we have seen it. It is possible. Don’t tell me he sucks or this and that. It is false. He is good.
So, just a couple of ideas.
1) Bosh should not be our inbound player after baskets.
2) Bosh should forget that shooting exists in the NBA.
3) Tell Bosh that games are not for practicing moves you are working on, like trailing 3’s.
4) Get more active perimiter movement and basket cuts to give him better passing out options.
5) Teach Bosh how to pass again.
I think that with a system on offence that is focussed on off the ball movement, the Raps season can be salvaged. With this roster, we can be a .500 team. There is too much individual talent. But, .500 just isn’t good enough.
Dave, can we start saying Bosh shrinks against elite teams in the NBA?
Or do we have stats that support the contrary?
Yertu, I am with you. I cannot wait to see the epic 20 game post by Arse.
Hey, at least that lil cunt TJ is gone and we got interior presence, am I right? Guys?
#19 has to be the most delusional, ridiculous, outrageous statement I have ever read. Or that’s BC typing.
I never cared if Bosh was going to stay, but at this point I want him gone. Good riddance.
Somewhere, Sam M. is ROFLHAO!
What are the odds the go on the longest losing streak in franchise history?
Flux,
IMO …
That’s an example of the same type of incorrect/erratic thinking which ultimately cost this franchise Wince Carter.
——————–
An authentic TOP NOTCH GM, in the NBA, would never ever:
1. Think like THAT … about either CB4 or Wince; or,
2. Have fired Sam Mitchell, last week, in Denver, on Wed Dec 03, 2008; or,
3. Have traded for Jermaine O’Neal, at the expense of Rasho Nesterovic & the No. 17 [overall] Draft Pick/2008; or,
4. Have bought out Jorge Garbajosa; or,
5. Have decided to keep Jason Kapono over Carlos Delfino; or,
6. Have signed Will Solomon, thinking he was ready to play in the NBA; or,
7. Have signed Hassan Adams, thinking he was a worthwhile investment for this year’s team; or,
8. Have traded for Carlos Delfino, in exchange for two 2nd Round Draft Picks, after already signing Jason Kapono, as an UFA, two summers ago; or,
9. Have signed Jason Kapono to a $5 Million/year contract, as an UFA, in the first place; or,
10. Have signed Sam Mitchell to a multi-year contract extension in May/2007; or,
11. Have signed Fred Jones, as an UFA; or,
12. Have selected Andrea Bargnani, as the No. 1 [overall] Draft Pick, in the 2006 NBA Lottery, with Brandon Roy & Rudy Gay still on the board; or,
13. Have traded Charlie Villanueva for TJ Ford [a talented but erratic PG with a congenital narrowing of his spinal column]; or,
14. The actual list goes on, and on, and on, and on …
collectively.
Any one of these is quite acceptable for an authentic TOP NOTCH GM, in the NBA, to fall prey.
It’s the totality of these moves, plus others, initiated since Feb 2006, that have this franchise where it is today … i.e. going backwards in the EC Standings and heading firmly towards TREADMILL STATUS, if it isn’t very, very careful … something which was clearly spelled out, in black & white, for others [including the Raptors' Management Team] to “see” months and months ago.
“The answer to the riddle is to be found in the original source material.”
- khandor
and,
“The proof of the pudding is [always] in the eating.”
- Anonymous
… whether others like to hear and see the message of truth, or not.
———————
Keep On Truck’n : )
[no matter what, keep thinking positively ... because there is no need to accept a no-win situation, in Life, as things could always be worse than what they are today]
Flux,
No, I don’t think you can say Bosh shrinks against top teams. He is absolutely having a poor stretch right now but I think you’re jumping to a premature conclusion and it’s an inaccurate one at that.
Bosh scored 27ppg in his previous 5 meetings against the Cavs.
OK Dave, I guess some of us can wait until the end of his career to make the call.
Again with the stats, ha? OK, please tell me how many of those game did the Raptors win and how many points did Bosh score in the 4thq and crunch time?
Flux,
They lost each of those 5 games if my memory serves me. No idea on the 4th quarter points, you’re welcome to look that up and inform me.
Thanks Dave, will do. Just so I know, what constitutes under your definition “shrinking”? Simply averaging low statistical numbers over an x amount of games?
Flux,
How would I define shrinking? Consistently under-performing by a significant amount. One doesn’t need to use statistics to define that, but precise information of some kind (stats/anecdotal/quotes perhaps) would be nice.
I’m perfectly happy with Raptors fans saying that Bosh has been under performing, or shrinking or whatever word, against top sides as of late because he has. It’s a true statement. No complaints.
I think it’s wrong though when the same fans that have watched him for several years and have seen have lots of big games and consistently perform well against those sides, say that he always does it. I also think it’s wrong for a fan base to throw their best players under the bus when the faults lie elsewhere. As if one player, who we agree is not an MVP candidate, should be able to put a whole team on his shoulders and carry them against a squad that’s vastly superior and is beating his teammates all over the court. I also think it’s wrong when fans turn a slump into something more than it is, and again concentrate solely on that instead of the contributions the player has made to the team over a long period of time.
I don’t understand this type of thinking from several fans from fan bases across the league and all sports. I can’t make sense of it. I don’t understand how some fans disregard so much and focus so tightly on one or two issues and turn it into something they’re not. Like the character assassination that Stephen Jackson suffered through because of a couple of mistakes, despite so many other examples of great character to contrary, as if the rest of his life+character became irrelevant. I don’t understand it.
I don’t understand why a few recent performances by Chris Bosh count more so than the rest of his career. I just don’t understand it.
Perhaps because we live in a what have you done for me lately world? I really don’t think, for some, this has been a “throwing him under the bus” situation, just noticing that this latest “slump” seems to be more evidence that in fact he is not someone who rises to the occasion, and perhaps shouldn’t be shower with the over the top praise as he has.
He is also a NBA player with certain amount of talent and you shouldn’t be given over the top praise for doing your job. Going above and beyond, “stepping up” is what is also expected if you are going to start throwing around words like MVP.