Kid Dynamite steps up and brings it home for the Raps.
It wasn’t an exciting one, in fact, the best part about the game was that it was coming to an end, but then the last half (or so) of the 4th quarter happened, and we saw something we aren’t used to – the Raptors held it together and pulled one out. How many times over the years have the Raptors trailed heading into the 4th, and won the game? I’m sure it’s happened, but I can’t think of any many. Even though it is pre-season, and the bench is playing most of the game, we saw our boys play hard for the 4th game in 6 days, and bring the pre-season record to 2-2. like These games are good for one thing: to see what the guys on the 2nd and 3rd units can do with the minutes they are handed, and for this one, they did pretty damn good.
Bosh had his minutes managed again, getting eased back into play. While he was on the floor though, his play from the low post was the best I have seen from him. That conditioning from the hips onwards he talked about from the summer, lets him set AND keep position in the block. A luxury he hasn’t had, ever.
You hear about those games that build character for a team, and I really believe this is one of them. Sans Bosh/Calderon/Hedo/Bargnani contributing anything major, our boys weathered the loss of Weems (the best player in pre-season) and won against a team that will be gunning for us in the regular season. Can’t ask for much more, other then an exciting game.
The Good
After losing the most important quarter (3rd) of the game, the Raptors held it together and won the 4th 30-11 locking up the game. Sure it was the 2nd/3rd unit, but they done-did-right. Amir Johnson and Patrick O’Bryant used their length and athleticism to change the game on the boards. Thing of beauty. If the toe jam is no big deal, Weems looks more and more like a regular contributor then the 3rd forward off the bench.
Where would we be this pre-season without Sonny Weems? Dude is everything to everyone at every point of the game. Before leaving the game with an injured toe, he crashed the boards hard, went coast to coast and dunked in traffic, came off a screen and stuck a J from the elbow, all while playing defense. Hopefully the toe isn’t serious.
DeMar had his best game by far, playing 36mins and dropping 19pts 3rebs 1blck and a +17. I love this kid, he fills a very real need this franchise has had over the years: a slasher. The fact that he isn’t a great shooter will benefit him in the long run. You can always take 500 jumpers a day and improve that shot, but while that goes down, he can work on attacking that rim. We saw some maturing from the kid today. He wasn’t trying to outjump/outrun folks, but used his athleticism to get him better looks, and attack the basket. He had a putback dunk off a missed shot, a dunk in transition, and grabbed an offensive board for an easy layup.
So I ate a big heaping serving of crow when I called Johnson inconsistent. He got at the whole time he was in the game, and really changed the flow in the 4th. 12rebs 3blks 5pfs in 23mins. That’s what you call getting at it. Oh, he chipped in 7pts and two monstrous dunks, one a put-back off a missed free throw that took 3 years off Flip Saunders life. The kid just needs to work on his fouls, but in doing so, he might not be as affective on the boards and on defense. The left hand and the right.
In what could be considered a turning of the guard, and a validation of one of a few astute people have mentioned previously, Belinelli was the best playmaker of the day. He only dropped 3 dimes, but on 3 different occasions that I could remember, he penetrated from the wing position and kicked out to a wide open shooter *cough* Jose *cough* who just missed the shot.
Evans shot a bit more then I would like (every single one of his shots exact the layup he drew a foul on), but he hit the boards and was vocal. Tough dude. Like seeing that.
The Bad
You can’t win every quarter, but the Raptors almost seemed to lie down in the 3rd. The lack of aggressiveness and really bad decision making continued from the 2nd quarter, but got worse. Jose had his only good couple of plays at the end of the 3rd when he was moved to off-guard. He drove the ball to the hoop and hit a trey in two straight possessions.
Calderon…I know he is getting back into game shape after a full summer off, grabbed more rebounds then he had assists, but he had 12pts on pretty decent shooting 3-4 from the field if you don’t count his performance from beyond the arc (1-4). He did look good as an off-guard at the end of the 3rd. I worry about him long term if it turns out that Belinelli can actually run the point, and the Raptors get that play-making we all so desperately want out of Hedo.
Jack could have been a bit more assertive, but you can excuse his ughh…none aggressiveness since he had his hands full with Arenas when Agent Zero started to go off on Calderon. You had to like how he played when teamed up with JC at the point. Am really interested to see that dynamic during the regular season.
The Ugly
It was a boring game. We saw the Raptors cycle between sharing the ball around the perimeter without creating any meaningful scoring opportunities and holding on to the ball, bringing the entire offense to a screeching halt.
Bosh was badly shown up by Jamison who had his way from the tip. We can excuse him seeing as he has been injured the and missed training camp, but we would have liked to see him get a bit better from the last outing, which was a pretty good 1st showing. Fortunately, this wont continue, and Bosh will get bounce back…hopefully.
Finally, my X-Factor for the year, Bargnani, had a terrible showing. Sure he grabbed 5 rebounds, and he looked pretty decent early in the 1st quarter when attacking the rim, but he just plain disappeared. If I didn’t look at the boxscore, I would have guessed he played no more then 10 minutes (he played 25).
Keys to the Game
What stood out for me the most, and got me super excited was how the Raptors won this game:
- The Raptors out-rebounded Washington 49-41 (13-10 on the offensive boards). The bench contributed 27, with Johnson and Evans grabbing 12 and 7 respectively.
- 90% (36-40) shooting from the line. That’s how you put points on the board when your jumpers aren’t falling.
- Sonny Weems started it from the wing 4pts 6rebs 1ast in the 1st quarter, and DeRozan finished it in the 4th. How much have we missed that slashing wing play?
Check our game gallery. Happy Thanksgiving guys.
28 Raps
I’m not going to hold my breath on the whole rebounding thing. While it’s nice to see our bench can rebound and rebound well, I’m more interested in seeing how are starting lineup rebounds since they get the bulk of minutes. Guess we’ll have to wait till the season starts for that, but let’s hope Andrea+Bosh can average 18-20 boards a game together.
You are right, it is only one game, but the Wizards have active front line players, and if the Raptors can maintain the intensity of hitting he boards how they did, then they should bode well in that department. We will know how good this team is after a couple weeks of regular season play.
I have to say that I am really impressed with Jay, and this is coming from a huge critic of his. He seems to have more control of this team than last year (i bet part of that is due to shedding the ‘interim’ label).
I know I am sticking my neck out here, as it is only preseason, but he has used the talent available to him very well.
Like FAQ, I too was worried that he would eurofy (did i just make up a word?) Derozan and Johnson. Yet that is far from what I see, he is using their strengths to compliment this team.
This is messing with my head, I am even starting to like Andrea. He actually seems like a good dude all of a sudden, I know his weaknesses and I respect his strengths. The thing that did for me was suddenly seeing his personality in interviews. He seems more relaxed and comfortable and strangely that makes me feel a little more secure with him on our team. He doesn’t seem so odd anymore.
That’s a great point about Andrea. I think he has become evermore comfortable with the english language and this has helped his confidence to grow. I look forward to watching Andrea continue to grow in leaps and bounds both on and off the floor.
Roy Hibbert is looking pretty good right now..
…don’t remind me. Kelly and Colangelo, where are like “are they serious, they want us to pick Hibbert?” (I think it was more Kelly than BC, Bryan was simply trusting his scout).
WHEN THE %$Q#$@#$%@#$%@#$ are we going to FIRE this freeloading, Australian trip charging piece of crap?
Our 2nd round scouting is atrocious, and that is the true measure of a scout. Too many missed moves.
I like Hibbert’s game in college and he showed some good flashes last year in his rookie year.
I think he is going to a very good player. Its a little too early to say if he has all-star potential, but for my money he has a greater chance of making a future all-star team than Thabeet, who in my opinion should have stay with soccer. LOL
I do not HATE euros, I may be a little wearry of them. (purely skill related)
…but the established euros that play in this league, belong here!!! They are choosing to leave the comfort of their countries to play at the highest levels, and some of them are seriously dominating!
but that does not mean the euroleague is equal, its not, its a crap league, if you are not good enough for the NBA that is where you play!
I think you have a point but I’m not sure what it is. You think Euroleague could be better?
(I was a little loaded when I wrote some of that so sorry for the extra venom. I feel I overstated my point.)
I think that in our market (Toronto) fans vastly overrate Euro league talent. I think as a result this cost us missed opportunities to groom young local guys. Instead we used the more experienced euro vets.
Sure Garbo and Parker’s contracts were reasonable, but because most GM’s thought they had already reached their ceiling, those contracts were not so easy to move once their play started to decline.
I think you can address holes with euroleague players, but filling starting positions with that talent is only going to make you ‘treadmill’ team.
Playing those players keeps you from developing younger guys. They are just a stop gap solution. You know that they will never be able to dominate the elite players in the league, and at the same time they are eating valuable minutes to only put you a few rungs above par.
I would rather take a chance on a quantity who’s ceiling is yet to be determined, than a player who is slightly above average and who has already reached his peak.
LOL Wow, nice exhibition of frustration, hate and negative feelings! Monday blues?
Johnson isn’t going to start.
If Triano plays him once the season starts who cares how many fouls he picks up in say 20 – 25 minutes a night. Even with zero fouls he isn’t going to get more than 20 – 25 minutes a night. The main thing is that the fouls are smart hard fouls and hustle fouls but not stupid fouls.
In any case I have seen this before with him only to the coach bench him when the real deal starts because he screws up on an out of bounds play.
I ain’t holding my breadth on him gettitng 20 + minutes a night starting Oct 28th.
Though from the little video I have seen of him from the last 4 games he is definitely more muscular and solid this year than he has ever been and his atleticism looks like it has returned to pre last year levels in which he never did look right.
One more observation about Johnson’s play.
For some reason as far back as I can remember which is now going on 5 years he has this habit of playing between lousy and poorly after having had a long period of game inaction.
It has always taken him about a half dozen games or so to get up to speed.
In fact Curry mentioned that last October. Curry said that Johnson needs consistent minutes to play well. Then what does Curry do. He gives Johnson inconsistent minutes all year and Johnson’s play reflected it.
Some guys can come in off the bench or from the injured list and not miss a beat. I remember The Microwave from the Bad Boys era. Instant points no matter when he was inserted into the game. Others like Johnson for some reason need to have consistency in their minutes in order to play at or near their peak level of play.
So far Triano has been pretty consistent with Johnson’s minutes and Johnson’s play is starting to reflect that. Of course we aren’t at Oct 28th yet, so we will just have to wait and see how it unfolds.
- When Bosh and Andrea are on the floor together and the ball does not go through Andrea the offence stagnates. Maybe that won’t happen if Hedo is on the floor but it’s a concern that our best offensive players don’t seem to gel well.
- Bosh has a post game? Amazing.
- Belinelli jumps the passing lanes very well.
- By starting DeRozan over Belinelli we’ve put a lot of pressure on Jose and Hedo to start the break and even more pressure on the bigs to grab defensive boards. It would be a shame to separate DeRozan from Jack (they have nice chemistry) and not have him run.
- If Weems can steal Wright’s role what happens to Wright?
- I never want to see Douby plus 2 PGs on the floor again. Ever.
Just watched a couple of Triano interviews. Gotta say, what a contrast to Sam Mitchell. Sam was, almost from the beginning, snarky, sarcastic, almost condescending in his tone. Jay treats every question seriously, does not hedge on answers, straightforward.
Liking that change.
Hey Raps Fan:
Before you get so excited about closing out the game, lets remember it’s preseason, and Jamison, Foye, and Arenas who scored a combined 25 pts against the Raps who were led by Calderon with 10 points in the 3rd, did not play in the 4th qtr.
Jack who scored 10 and DeRozan with 9 in the fourth played against the Wiz 2nd an 3rd teams just like ours. It’s preseason for Flip, the same as Jay. Not going to happen when they play for real.
Thinking out loud….I love Rasho,appreciate his experience,but I dont know how he will be able to match up with Amirs energy crashing the boards which we all agree is huge ?
Loving the competition for wings !!!!
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Hey … when did Dick Cheney start watching the Raps.
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wow, I just re-read my comment and your reaction, and I think I set you off by inventing a new word “eurofy”
ummmm… ok let me put it to you this way, the euroleague is a HORRRIBLE HORRRIBLE league… its slow and retarded, all they do is jumpshoot… they are unathletic and keep overpaying for our rejects. Anyone that wants to play ball at the highest level would never be cought DEAD in that league.
For god sakes Garbo is considered one of the best players. The raptors had their best winning streak under SAM while he was injured. I don’t buy any of the Garbo hype… he is a looser that sold his careeer to RUSSIA just like Delfino! Garbo cost the Raptors more than he was worth.
Euroleague is for NBA rejects. END POINT!
Just so you know, I don’t represent RR.com.
I just hate the euroleague, I think it is pure crap. I love basketball, and love the fact that they play it over there, but I am not going to hide the fact that they are inferior to us at it. (take your soccer and run, we own you for life in basketball!!!!!!)
At the same time, I don’t like fans like you… who only root for players in our league, instead actual teams. I think euro fans should just stick to their inferior version of basketball where rebounding and defence does not counnt a lick.
Arrivederci – mate.
When he suspected Douby to be a terrorist.
Just to let you know, you can’t reason with it, so just ignore it
You are just an idiot. If you knew anything about basketball you would know when Garbo was healthy he was the x-factor in all of our wins. When he went down, we didn’t have that anymore. I would bet you anything that if we had Garbo in the playoffs, we would beat the NETs a 100%. It was just unfortunate that he got injured for 2 years.
Did you see the Olympics last summer? Where America almost had it’s ass handed to them by an undermanned Spanish team? How about the few years before that where they were taking losses left and right. Something the Euros do better than the Americans is play team ball. So much so that Coach K modeled that sensibility with the Olympic team he created. And that’s something that this Raptors TEAM is going to have to do.
Look I’m sure the little swastika’s on your basketballs are just iron ons, but welcome to Now. A time where Basketball is a global game. No Bigots allowed…as you can tell by the copious amount of people who don’t like your opinion.
trizzo ,
The best soccer players in the world end up playing in Europe and the best basketball players in the world end up playing in North America.
It is not the big deal you are trying to make.
so, let me see if i got your point. You hate the euroleague because it’s slow and boring, so because there’re no dunks or amazing blocks?
The euroleague has the best TEAMS in the world. Of courdr, in terms of talent the nba will always be better but teams like real madrid will beat the kings or the grizzles or even the knicks with ease. Garbajosa is just a role player, let me tell you something, in the euroleague there are NO stars, every player has a role and know how to do it.
I have to wonder, how many euroleague’s games have you seen? try to watch the final four or the quarter finals or a game between real madrid and cska for example.
The most important part of the europe basketball is the defence, cska won two tittles playing defense and not individual defense but TEAM defense.
Stop talking about thinks that you have no idea. the best basketball in the world is played in the euroleague, if you don’t believe me, try watching the most succefull team in the past 10 years in the NBA, the spurs, or the jazz, or even de magic from last season. All of them play an euro style of basketball. The magic with half of the talent the cavs had beat them 4-2 and one of those wins was with a shot in the last second so, try to understand basketball before talking, it’s not just dunking, blocking and try to steal every ball on defense. or if you have the posibility, try to talk with the best minds in the basketball world, jerry sloan, greag popovich, rc buford, mike d’antoni, and all the raptors coaching staff and front office, will tell you that you are wrong
Trizzo, sorry…I was just reading the comments really early and I thought you and that Andiamo were the same guy…that’s why my comment sounded as harsh as it did. I was responding to the harshness he sent you…
No more comments for me until I’m done my coffee…
That is my point precisely.
What is the average euroleague attendance? 4K
Nothing wrong with an NFL team picking up CFL players. One or two is fine, but looking for starters in that league will get you in to trouble.