Son, what did I say about bringing that garbage in here?Expectations are still in check but that felt good. After the pre-season we had and all that talk of fatigue, chemistry, nine new players and what not, it was good to get our first quality win out of the way early. Naysayers will say it was against a disoriented and overrated Cleveland team on a back-to-back and that may be true, but you only get to play who you’re served on the schedule. This game was a test and the Raptors passed it, not in flying colours, that would have been the case if they had maintained the big lead for the whole contest, but with enough comprehension that we can at least remain optimistic and say that this team has a fighting chance. This can all come crashing down quickly, but at least we’re on the right track.
The first play of the game could serve as foreshadowing for Bargnani’s season. Facing up against Sideshow Bob, he didn’t for a moment hesitate and snuck by the big Brazilian for an emphatic right hand jam. No hesitation in the move, and no doubt about the result either. So often have we seen him get caught in two minds in those situations and fall into the trap of taking a low percentage shot, but not this time. After that play the game took an ominous complexion with Shaq getting the better of our big men despite timely double teams. But every team has a weakness and Cleveland’s is defending the pick ‘n roll. Shaq’s refusal and inability to come out and check Bargnani at the perimeter after the high screen meant open shots for the Italian and he made the most of it in an early 13-0 run. Give credit to Jose who set up Bargnani for 6 of his makes. Jose’s assist distribution was Bargnani 6 and 1 each for DeRozan, Bosh, Belinelli, Turkoglu and Wright. Triano on the obvious advantage of Bargnani:
“We knew it was going to be a battle (between Bargnani and O’Neal) and (Bargnani) picked up that early foul but he didn’t back down at all the rest of the night. That’s one of the advantages of (Bargnani), he’s going to make a big guy have to come out and guard him and if you don’t he’s going to make you pay for it.”
All that’s just intelligent basketball but something from Bargnani truly stood out for me, it was how hard he ran the break. One only tends to remember the plays that lead to points and that’ll what make the highlight reel – a run down the middle that forced Calderon to make a pass he wasn’t even thinking about for the layup. The way he faced up Big Z on the perimeter, sized him up, made him wobble just a bit and then blew by him forcing help and a foul from Shaq. Those are plays that set tones and more important than the scoring and defense, Bargnani set the tone for us. It’s one game and I’m the last one to get carried away, but things look promising for him because he seems to be mentally tougher. Thirteen first quarter points, 28 overall, 11-15 FG and two horseshit fouls that could’ve meant more than just 30 minutes for him. At the end of one we had a five point lead with Cleveland, other than Shaq, looking very perimeter oriented and Lebron taking a back seat to I don’t know what.
In this game Bosh wasn’t asked to be the man, he was asked to scrap for points, hit the glass and clean up others’ mess. Guess what? He was phenomenal with 16 rebounds, at least 5 of them contested (you know, the ones that don’t fall into your lap), and 21 points. The shot-selection wasn’t great and the indecision was ever present, but as the game wore on, he asserted himself more and more. In the beginning he looked intimidated by Shaq but as the team started doing well, he seemed to gain confidence and started taking better shots. Out-rebounding a team such as Cleveland (49-48) is a feat in itself and Bosh deserves full credit because if it weren’t for him, Cleveland would’ve had a lot more than just 12 second chance points.
The second quarter belonged to Marco Belinelli who came out of nowhere to light it up. In the chat I was told that I was too harsh on Belinelli in the pre-season but that’s just not true, he had a terrible pre-season where he took bad shots and looked out of sync, he deserved the flak. In this game, he took some bad shots but knocked them down. He mixed it up with a couple drives, one of them leading to a dunk right down the middle as Shaq failed to help. This is Belinelli – he’s feast or famine. Today he was 4-8 with a +19 in 19 minutes which is simply ridiculous, next game he might be 2-8 with a -16 in 20 minutes. I’m going to try and stay even about this guy until I see him play 20 games, but for today, cheers to you.
Cleveland shot at a 35% clip for the entire game. They looked to set up their bigs in the first quarter with Lebron only taking two shots, he took seven in the second but Belinelli and Bargnani continued the onslaught as Cleveland’s late shifting and slow-footed defense was no match. They had real issues dealing with the Raptors’ spacing and constant ball movement, and it was in those rotation sequences that their defense looked the most disjointed mainly because of their bigs who were glued to the paint. Other than Big Z’s hook, two FTs by Moon and a layup by Shaq, Lebron tried to carry the load but in the end lost the second quarter 30-17. Bargnani carved him open in the post on one possession through an up and under. The crowd went nuts, I spilled my beverage.
The Raptors offense was very simple, other than high screen usage, good spacing and timely cuts by Belinelli and DeRozan, nothing quite stood out. We just made sure the ball never got stuck on one side of the floor or with one person, something that plagued this team last year with Bosh. I suppose there’s no reason to make things complicated when they’re coming easy using basic plays. I’m sure against a tighter defense things would have been different. Triano went with the Calderon-Jack lineup in the second quarter and just like it hasn’t all pre-season, it didn’t do much for me. I feel Jack comes into the game with the weight of the world on him and tries to do a bit too much; instead of just letting the momentum in the game take its course, he tries to force the issue, often taking quick shots and going at a faster pace than necessary. As we saw in the fourth quarter of this game, it can pay off, but I just wish he’d take it a bit easy.
18 point lead at the half, should’ve been 22 if Jose had finished a layup and we hadn’t let Lebron run it back for a hoop in four seconds. Great first half, can we carry it over to the third? No, we sh*t our pants. A 23-6 run midway through the third and it’s a tie game. Why did this happen? Cleveland went with a smaller lineup featuring Hickson, Gibson, Williams, Lebron and Parker and focused on swinging the ball rather than playing inside-out with their bigs. Our defense didn’t see it coming and got caught over-helping on soft drives to the paint, something I’m sure is preached in practice. The result was Gibson, Williams and Parker knocking down open threes while we went into jumper mode. Not to mention, the refs made some terrible calls in that quarter, most notably calling two offensive fouls on Bargnani for nothing. They were momentum shifting plays that really helped Cleveland.
Sure, I was upset when that happened and said Here we go again.. but at the same time I’m glad it happened because now we’d be tested in a close game. This win means a lot more because of Cleveland’s comeback than it would have otherwise. After the Cavs had tied the game at 69, Hedo finally decided to assert himself. Nothing spectacular, a good recognition of Bosh in the post led to two points, after Jose closed out hard resulting in a Gibson travel, Wright took it straight to the rim for two more. Hedo then waived of the guards to handle the ball and attracted the double on a left wing screen to free up DeRozan for an open corner jumper. A heat-check Lebron missed three later, Turkoglu drove it to the rim for two. It’s now 78-71 Raptors going into the fourth and that is a hell of a lot better than going into the final frame tied. It gives the players a mental cushion and assures them that even though they stunk the joint up for most of the third, they still got a decent enough lead to protect. To me that sequence was the game and Triano spoke about playing their game instead of trying to play into Cleveland’s hands:
“We stopped playing against their lineup and played with our lineup. We tried to match up small a lot tonight because they started making a couple of threes and we went back to our bigger lineup. When we went back to our bigger lineup, we had guys in position where they knew the actual offence we were running.”
I’m not sure Mike Brown runs any sets, it’s hard to do when you’ve got a superstar player but at some point you might want to contemplate having something in place when Lebron’s not in the game, like early in the fourth. A trailing three by Bargnani and a great cut by Jack which was rewarded with a Bargnani pass for a hoop which set the early tone, Bosh added some gravy with a jumper over Shaq as Cleveland’s offense misfired. Mo Williams and Daniel Gibson missed three ill-advised jumpers during this early fourth quarter stretch which pushed the Raptors lead to 13. Cleveland never returned to the small lineup hey had success with earlier in the third, instead dumping it down to Shaq who doesn’t seem to pass anymore. Yeah, he scored a few here and there but the Raptors were more than happy to have four Cavaliers standing still while Shaq did his business inside. Jarrett Jack deserves credit here for playing some very sound defense on Williams, forcing two turnovers and driving it straight to the rim for FTs. It really iced the game for us, in the past we’d settle for jumpers in the fourth but Jack really took it to Cleveland.
In the end, it’s a great win for the Raptors and it should do wonders for their confidence. Friday should be routine, if it’s not, all this goes to hell.
One-Liners:
- My money’s on Mike Brown as the first coach to go.
- I don’t miss Anthony Parker. Leo, please explain to me who exactly is saying that was the “signing of the summer”.
- Antoine Wright picked up a charge on Williams and Parker each. He didn’t shut down Lebron (7-19 FG) but did make him pass a few times when he’d have rather hung on to the ball.
- Lebron with a poor shooting night in 40 minutes. 7-19FG, 8-14FT but a triple double. Is it just me or has he made that feat lose all it’s impressiveness…
- Special mention to Rasho for his put-back over Shaq which pushed it back to 13 later in the fourth after the latter had dunked one on the other end.
- Consider Shaq’s -25 and Gibson’s +12 and then take into account that most of their minutes were mutually exclusive. That can tell you just how much better Cleveland played with their “small ball” lineup.
- I didn’t mention DeRozan much and that’s a good thing. The rookie doesn’t force things, spreads the floor by staying in the corner and cuts when the defense isn’t paying attention. At this point, that’s all we can ask of him. If he knocks that corner jumper like he did today, we might have found a solution for the void left by Parker.
- Leo/Matt, maybe it makes you guys feel better that the Cavs are staying in Toronto and not bolting, but we fans don’t need reassurance that NBA players want to play in Toronto. Same for the Hedo thing, he chose Toronto because we paid him $53M dollars, I’d play in Siberia for that much dough.
- Jose Calderon won some sort of an award for his FT shooting. He then clanked his first two of the season.
- This is what O Fortuna sounds like with the crescendo at 1:49.
- This got me so excited I played an hour and a half of pick-up right after.
Thanks for reading. There’s also the ratings post which has a ridiculous amount of comments.
143 Raps
It was actually Kobe Bryant that said that the Anthony Parker signing was huge.
It was on the Dan Patrick radio show. Patrick asked Kobe who the biggest acquisition was this offseason. Kobe said it was Cleveland signing Anthony Parker. “It’s always the glue guys. Those are the pieces that win championships.”
And the SI NBA season preview on the Cavs called him the LeBron James of the Euroleague. In the same article, Mike Brown compares him to Reggie Miller.
I saw the Kobe quote and still wonder if that was supposed to be some sort of slight against Shaq/ the Shaq signing. I mean, it seemed like the reporters were trying to drum something up there. I think the Shaq signing was a mistake, but the first thing I wondered was why Kobe didn’t mention Shaq in his response. Really Kobe, you thought AP was the big signing? ABC/ESPN are gonna go nuts with this when they air the inevitable (imaginary) feud game between Kobe and Shaq.
good point, there. That’s likely exactly why Kobe over-praised Anthony Parker.
And I’d say that we got the ultimate ‘glue guy’ in Turkoglu.
I also think that in the “NBA.com GM Survey” thing the GMs picked him as the most underrated player acquisition.
http://www.nba.com/news/features/gmsurvey.moves/index.html
Maybe that’s what Leo was talking about.
i liked what i saw from Marco, and if Jack is gonna play 31 min/game like he did against the Cavs, then i hope he can work on his outside shot. we’re gonna need it.
p.s. how many people are still doubting Triano now? he did an amazing job instilling that “House” defense in the Raptors – holding the Cavs to a mere 35%FG shooting! Big ups to J-Tree!
I was impressed with the D for the most part too, but way to many guys out on the three point line are open to wide ass open. Rotators have to pick those guys up.
well thats what your conceding to a certain degree. It makes sense, since how many teams shoot better then 40% from three anyways?
Don’t get too excited we were facing a team that was dead tired and just came off a tough loss to Boston a night earlier, you could see in the 4th they were tanked. Cleavland looks paper thin this year, they have no chance against Orlando for the East. Big Diesel looks like he’s running on empty…
Tough loss…WTF. They lost to Boston plain and simple. Forget about it and play the next game. Would you be making the same stupid excuse for the Raps if they lost to the Celtics the night before? Tanked in the 4th…we had an 18 pt lead at half. And who gives a fuck if they’re tanked…they’re professional basketball players in the 2nd game of the season. It’s not what Cleveland was unable to do…it’s what the Raps were able to do. Good perimeter defense, rebounding, variety on offense, playing as a team. This, on a team with 9 new players that didn’t have the best pre-season, especially with injuries…so sorry if we get a little excited because the Raps look like they have the potential to have a breakout year!
Thin on paper this year…they got rid of Pavlovic,Ben Wallace and Szcerbiak and replaced them with Parker, Moon and Shaq. Dude, are you sure you’re not a Cav’s fan?
Parker and Moon are duds…Shaq is washed up… Cleveland will be lucky if they can hold the 3rd spot down in the East behind Orlando and Boston. Look for Shaq to kill their offensive game the same way he destroyed Phoenix last year. Regardless great win for the raps showing some grit and not imploding when the Cavs made a run in the 3rd. Hope they can carry the momentum into tonights game against Memphis.
Now if that was the reason the momentum of the game would have been, they blow us out in the first and second, and then by the fourth we worm our way back to eek out a win. And that’s not what I saw. We blew them out in the first half when, even after a game the night before, they still should have legs.
I’m sure it contributed in the fourth but writing off this game because of that is ridiculous.
And as soon as Cleveland figures out a way to use it’s second line they will be a much better team. Maybe not Orlando good because they look unstoppable but still really good. Too many minutes for that rookie Hickson…he hasn’t impressed me at all in either game. West will make a huge difference if he can stop being a mental case.
I precisely agree with your argument (and my prediction was exactly what you just said).
As a side note, I really wish people would stop stating West’s issues with such a negative connotation. Unless you’ve dealt with mental/mood disorders, you have no idea how tough it can be. It is not like an injury that you look at and go “I need rest and rehab to get better.” Some mental disorders basically sabotage your attempts to get better at the mental level.
/agree with your comment on mental disorders.
I agree with your attitude towards mental disorders. I just don’t know if we really need to patrol a sports blog with PC language police. I could have said, “West will make a huge difference if he can hopefully get the help he needs and deals with his unfortunate situation in a direct and holistic manor.” It just didn’t seem like the time or the place for it considering that we are talking about basketball first and foremost.
I’m all for being aware of the power of language, I just think we can’t be fascistic about it, that’s all.
And you’re assumptive comment about whether I’ve dealt with mental disorders should be held in check, because I have a Mother that has had to deal with severe biochemical imbalances for most of her adult life.
@Gman: Sorry, didn’t mean to be too anal about it (which is why I said people in general, not you). I won’t keep picking on people over it, I promise.
Also, I certainly was not making any assumption, which is why I said “Unless you’ve dealt with” (which you have, as you said).
Anyhow, I’ll let the subject sleep now…
Raptors rock!! the only thing that suck about the game is how the players play with their mouthpiece.. It’s disgusting…NBA should do something about that.
Well the ultimate for disgusting has to be the Steve Nash licking his fingers for grip thing, even after he wipes the soles of his shoes and tucks back his hair behind his ears. But yeah, the mouthpiece stuff is pretty gross too.
I wonder when the rest of the nba will start copying Jose and stop when LeBron is charging down for a block.
i thought that was great IQ from jose. Just a great decision and you could tell bron was pissed.
T.J Ford used to make the same move…I’m surprised more players don’t make that move when you have someone like LBJ gunning for a block.
It’s also the play that caused that huge injury for TJ remember – alot of players avoid that move since you’re likely to get mauled by the defender…
It is not the same play that caused the injury to Ford. Ford went to cut across the lane to lose his man and Horford reached in to foul him and knocked him off balance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaZdJzsHeZk
Great IQ? It was brilliant!
Just the night before I had told my girlfriend (who is a big Raptors fan), as we watched the CLE-BOS game, that players on a break-away must get nervous when they know Lebron is behind them.
Then Jose goes and turns that into an advantage (AND gets the bucket too)!
Great win, a big confidence booster. Have to keep in mind that the Cavs’ 35% shooting was not totally due to the Raptors’ defence- they had some bad bounces as well. Might have been a different story if shots were falling the Cavs’ way. Still, have to give the D some serious credit for creating situations in which the Cavs shot so poorly.
I’m impressed that the Raps fought through the refs’ terrible calls. I thought that they were wearing Cleveland uniforms for a second there.
I’m starting to think that I’m going to have to buy NBA League Pass so that I can watch this team without going to the bars in Pacific Beach and asking bartenders to put the game on. Should be worth the $169 USD!
Is it $169/season or month? I have NBA League Pass but this is the free preview until Nov 3rd.
Talking about the refs, I don’t think there was a difference between the regular NBA refs than the replacement refs. They were all the same to me. Anyways, good to know there’s a Raptors fan in San Diego.
that one ref, don’t know his name but was the only african american one was killing us and wouldn’t even look at our players after making a call.. wtf!?
OK…I normally think that the Raps get the short end of the stick on calls, but last night was ridiculus. I had the game PVRed and watched it late last night. When LBJ went to the rack and Bosh was standing in front of him and got a blocking foul, I yelled at the t.v. and woke up my 2 year old…I was P’ed.
Block/charge is a very difficult call – but the offensive player has to make a “reasonable” attempt to avoid colliding into the defender. The fact that Lebron had literally 5 feet of open space in every direction (and feet planted) is what made the call look so uber-rediculous…
jose should be on the sportscentre highlight of the night for today.
yesterday, it was lebron’s huge block on a rondo breakaway layup. jose’s move is a very smart counter to lebron. jose stops, lebron goes for the block,jose lays it in and1.
If you can remember, the reason Jose stopped to avoid the LBJ block was because last year, he went up for the layup one time, and got smoked and banged his head on the floor. Ever since, he has never just went for the layup and stops. It’s not a new play for Jose, nor was it a ploy to get the LBJ foul. In this case, it worked as LBJ wants the super-ESPN highlight block, but if it were anybody else, it wouldn’t work as affectively…Just watch throughout the season.
How about the DeRozan block of Lebron…that was damn fine work. That’s hilitable no question.
Shaq is horrible. He’s slow, out of shape, lazy with an ego bigger than his skill level. Mike Brown was a complete idiot for bringin him in, in the second half.
I’m interested in the rotation Triano used/will use, I wonder if he’ll have Marco on a short leash on those ‘famine’ days. Amir didn’t get much playing time, but this wasn’t a great match up for him.
Jack needs to take pointers from Hedo and just blend in.
Albeit Jack finally came around during the 4th quarter, for the most of the game he looked like Mike James-lite. Floating and disinterested on defence and trying too hard to be “the man” on offense trying to rush everything. I guess the coaching staff must of said something to him after the 3rd quarter because it was a different JJ that came out in the 4th and looked fantastic on both ends of the court.
Great start to the season for the Raptors, but I refuse to get too excited. We’ve seen this before. ;)
I think you are forgetting that Shaq is almost 38. I agree he looked bad but how many 38 year olds look better. Would you retire are forfit 20 million? Neither would I.
If Garnett (Douche-nett) and Duncan hit that 38 years-old, they will still play efficient on the floor and give their team championship chances, I can almost guarantee. This explains why Rasho lost a bit more weight before-hand, so it woon’t put a burden on his knees. Shaq is dumb, he should know that losing weight (going down to 280-290 lbs) will probably prolong his efficiency and his career.
Jarrett, here’s a lesson to be learned from football for you. Pass rushers are MORE effective when they gear down one notch! Why? Since they arrive at the destination under control, no matter what the QB chooses to do, the pass rusher can adjust and maintain pressure on the QB. That means a failed play for the QB, usually. You want to be in a position do do whatever is the best decision last. The athlete that makes the last adjustment is usually the one that wins the battle, no matter what the sport. By the way, congratulations on winning last evening’s war!!!!!!!!!! It was fun to watch!!!!!!!!!!
Right. Pass rushers not making a decision until the last seconds will likely lead to a sack of the QB. This was how the Pittsburgh Steelers won the Super Bowl last year by keeping pressure on Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals throughout the game. Pittsburgh is a nice sports city this year, the Pittsburgh Penguins also won the Stanley Cup over the Detroit Red Wings.
A few things:
Congrats to my fellow raps fans that predicted a win last night like i…i think there are 2 of you…
MO WILLIAMS should be playing SOCCER for Arsenal….the guy flops more than an 80 year old taking her bra off
Anyone else think that if Bosh can continue to average say 12-14 boards a game (just putting it out there)and just go for the garbage points, and Bargs plays like he did last night (26-28 points, 5-6 boards which is possible), maybe Khandor and his ilk will stop saying Bargs cant play.
oh and god damn, were the replacement still calling the game last night?? it was horrible…the blocking call on Bosh at the end was just the worst call of the game, but there were many more unfortuanately
“MO WILLIAMS should be playing SOCCER for Arsenal….the guy flops more than an 80 year old taking her bra off”
ROTD
That was what I was saying in the previous post. If Bosh averages 12+ rebounds(and he is due for one this year to slam critics who has said he has plateaued, what’s more he has put on weight to bang with the players in the post), we don’t need a lot of points from him(15-20 pts per night). Turkoglu or Bargs should be the number one option on offense and Bosh as the garbage man going after the rebounds.
FC Arsenal is pure awesomeness.
But I know, what you mean regarding “All-Star” Mo Williams.
Byron Scott will be the first coach to go, not Mike Brown.
Yeah I thought the Hornets completely quitting on him in the playoffs last season would send the message…I guess not.
Agreed, but if Mike Brown pulls a Toronto Maple Leafs of ‘09 and ‘10, then there will be blood in Cleveland, Paul Silas might return.
What a big win for the Raps. Reffing was terrible though, that blocking foul on Bosh when LeBron ran him over has to be in the early running for worst call of the season. Lots of shitty off the ball fouls too. I thought they were going to take it from us, but the men persevered. Well done and see you in Memphis.
Hollinger’s Rookie PERs here.
Monster games by Caspi and Blair to start off.
DeRozan will pick it up but it was a nice start.
I think before the end of the year he will be the Raptors 3rd option on offense and Hedo assumes more of a facilitator and do whatever is necessary role.
http://bit.ly/1qwj2l
West might be a head case, but the Cavs definitely miss him on the court. Candace can outplay her brother any day.
im not quite sure why arse implies bellinelli is feast or famine.you make these wack comments based on what,his play with that imbecile of a coach in gstate? hes played one game for us.this is bellinelli?when belli has gotten minutes hes been consistent and like all ballers he’ll probably have an off day or two along the way….feast or famine my ass.well so far feast 1 famine 0.
arse’s point may simply be that he’s been inconsistent throughout his career & in the pre-season, so we probably shouldn’t expect him to be as good game-in & game-out. i’ll admit, i was pretty impressed with his overall game – though i did wince a couple times when he took those fadeaways…vintage delfino…
i’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade, but it’s one game; as the wolf would say, let’s not start sucking each others d**ks just yet. if they’d been blown out, there’d be lot’s of clamouring about how horrible they are, if they’d blown the lead & lost a close one, there’d be lot’s of clamouring about how they’re the same as last year…but it’s just one game; win or lose, what we should be hoping to see is solid, consistent effort each possession & a committment to actually playing D (not just talking about playing D). and we saw that. for 1 game. now they get to go back to work and do it all again tomorrow. and again & again & again.
win or lose, strong start to the season or weak, it’s gonna take a larger sample than one game to know just what this team’s capable of. so let’s chill…be happy for a win, for a solid effort, for a good coaching gameplan & managing of minutes, for solid shooting, good D & rebounding, and in general, quite good chemistry…and for andrea. may he slay the ‘VL’ moniker forever. now grab a fucking rebound! ;)
Yertu, completely agree that its only 1 game, and we all have to see more. But I think the excitement really comes from the fact that we ALL expected them to get CRUSHED tonight, yet they come out and spanked the Cavs in the first half, and then put the hammer down in the 2nd half after the Cavs made their run (which HAS to be expected since LeBron is never going to just go away).
Andrea was excellent at boxing out and keep his man from getting the board. Fuck the rebound, keep hitting shots!
Yertu , you and Kandor are the only ones having negative thinking on Andrea any more. You must realize by now that you are a very ,very small minority and in my youth in the old country I found out that the more you hit the mule the less it want to get moving . Don’t be a mule.
i’m not sure what you’re problem is, i’m simply trying to stay on an even keel after ONE FUCKING GAME. i’d feel the same – generally – if they’d lost. i’m as happy as anyone they won, but more than that, i’m genuinely enthusiastic that they (seem to) have not only bought into the defensive system, but also seem capable of executing. i love that bargnani had a big night; as a fan, i’d like nothing more than to just enjoy watching them play & root root root. but…
we’ve been here before. i need a bigger sample size before drawing conclusions (same as if they’d lost). i need guys like bargs & belli to keep up (& improve) on what they showed last night. far too often have the raps of the past put on an excellent display of ball (like last night), only to spit the bit against a ‘weaker’ opponent the next game.
all i’d like to see is a little level-headedness, after wins & losses.
“… as a fan, I’d like nothing more than to just enjoy watching them …”. I gotta ask, yertu … as well as being a fan … what else are you? (Really? I’m trying to figure out what the rest of that thought might’ve been.)
And don’t worry. They’re not likely to go 82 – 0, so with luck, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to yet again, show that winsome, sardonic wit, ever-so-playfully poking fun at your favorite team and its fans …
a realist? a skeptic? a long-suffering raps fan?
Yertu,
Would of been interesting reading your comments had they lost this “only one game”.
i don’t give much stock in w’s/l’s at this juncture, what i’m interested in seeing is how they compete, chemistry, focus, intensity, adherence to systems, etc. it’s why i’m not going to read too much into this win, because i wouldn’t be reading too much into a loss either.
i guess that we’re all supposed to be planning the parade route & congratulating each other after each win, and looking for the nearest bridge to jump off after each loss?
So ever since Triano has taken over the team, Bargnani has averaged around 20 points a game? Thats more then half a season, is that a big enough sample size for you?
Jesus you guys are Ragging a wee bit on Yertu, dontcha think? His arguement is very balanced and accurate – are you all commenting based on what he said or a past relationship/previous comments? Jesus Christ just read and digest the comment itself and dont worry so damn much about who made it. Please dont make this RealGM 2.0!
Yertu , do not expect Barg to become any more than an average rebounder (for a 7 footer) but he is getting there at a slower rate than some fans like yourself would expect. No one know exactly what his limits on rebounding are. May be specific exercises will help . You are wrong in thinking that he is not interested in improving that aspect of his game. Appreciate his overall improvements like most fans are now doing.
Even if they lost last night, I would not criticize them.Why? Because the players showed passion for the game on home court(the attitude I have not seen since 2006 – The Garbo years).That is all I need from the team, even if they have a subpar record at the end of the season. I’m tired of teams like Dallas, Phoenix, Jazz, Hornets and Portland winning without resistance on our home court.
why am I not surprised … ?
props to Rapsfan for calling this one in yesterday’s preview- and most fans on the site today are right:
-Triano’s d system looked good yesterday
-Bargs looked like a 50 million dollar man
-Bosh looked franchise
-and all of Colangelo’s pick ups (Wright, Bellinelli, DeRoz, Rasho, and Jack) looked good.
Can we get 82 games of this? who cares. It was fun to watch and nice to have a little hope.
Most impressive part of the night and reason to believe there is hope for this team:
1) they took it to the Cavs to start the game. The Cavs were tired having lost the night before in an emotional game to Boston, before flying to Toronto. Last year, for example, the Raps would have started off slow and not taken advantage of the schedule
2) they took it to the Cavs to end the game. After a horrible 3rd quarter, where the Cavs actually erased a 20 pt defecit, the Raps went on a run of their own and owned the 4th quarter.
Own the 1st and the 4th and you will win a lot of games.
now, Im not ready to plan the parade, but I may end up eating some crow if this continues.
Kudos to Jay.
Last night was a an amazing Raptors basketball! I thought we were going to lose because we were facing Cleveland. But I was wrong!
Bargnani did an awesome job last night, OMG, it was spectacular. I can’t believe what I saw on Barg’s performance. This guy didn’t take shit from anyone, he faced Shaq like a warrior proving that he’s not gonna be intimidated by anyone. He knows that Shaq’s supremacy is over and the best thing to do for him is to take over the supremacy. Too bad he missed the two-handed dunk or else it would definitely the ‘highlight of the night’. Bargnani has the mojo like any other NBA superstars. I hope we can see a lot more from this guy.
The other Italian, Belinelli, did a decent performance last night nailing 10 points. We can see why this guy is wearing #0 — this guy wants a re-start, forgetting what happened in the passed and all he wants is to focus about today and tomorrow. Marco Belinelli has the ‘will to win’ attitude and his confidence level is where it needs to be. I totally believe that Belinelli is the perfect “partner in rhyme, partner in crime” to Bargnani on and off the court and it could be the reason why Bargnani is playing better than we expected. Anyways, it was an amazing Italian invasion in Toronto.
You guys got to read this thread.
http://www.realcavsfans.com/showthread.php?t=25956&page=21
LoL, good find with that Cavs msg board. Looks like Cavs fans are as reactionary as us :P
The best part is when they start talking about belinelli owning them as a FIBA player and start calling him Barnini.
LOL
+1 to the link, Cavs fans are worse than us :p
Thanks for the link LilRomeo. It was really interesting to watch the pregame trashing of the Raps as not even being worthy of playing their vaunted Cavs. They talked about how Bargnani and the rest of the Raptors were soft on defense and that Shaq would end up with forty points because none of the Raps could guard him.
And then as the game started, you could hear the screws tightening. And they started screaming bloody murder about their own team. They’re seemed like a few sane voices that actually gave the Raps credit for what was happening. There was even a couple before the game that said they had a bad feeling about it.
And then the rants at the end were priceless. It’s nice to know that as sports fans were no where near the craziest in the world.
Judging from the day-in-day-out comments on this fine forum, Raptors fans are probably the most level-headed in the league. We have to be in order to keep sane.
Wow, I’m impressed. The team didn’t collapse, guys played better thna pre-season and, more importantly, the team played DEFENCE. Shutting down the Cavs has to be a big plus for this team, which was a plan implemented by Jay from the get go.
Count me as one of those fans who were feeling serious angst before the game. If the team keeps the defensive effort, Raps could easily contend for 50 wins.
It’s still too early but things look promising.
the reason JJack forced his game
was because triano told him too. to be more of a scorer.
told him to push the ball and the pace of the game as much as he can.
hes not a great scoring pg but is being a good soldier and does what he is told for the good of the team.
cant blame the guy for that, and I expect him to get better and more comfortable doing it as the season progresses
“Here we go again..” I was thinking the exact same thing in the 3rd! I was all the more impressed that we still led into the 4th and didn’t settle for jumpers.
I am enjoying this! It’s so good to be wrong!
Lebron (7-19 FG) is actually pretty good defensively for us.
Jose winning an award for his FT shooting then clanking his first two of the season was kind of funny.
Now that everyone has access to TSN2, am I allowed to complain about Cogeco not having The Score and TSN2 available in HD in my area? Raps TV isn’t available in HD either, but that doesn’t really matter.
No? Ok, fine then. I’ll suck it up and watch standard definition TV.
complaining doesn’t hurt, but complaining here doesn’t help, either. complain to cogeco. or get a dish.
Like you Arsenalist, im of the last ones to get carried away win or lose. But i wonder if anyone else sees in Demar similar ‘hidden’ potential that T-mac showed when he was a rook in Toronto?
its not hidden. we had him ranked as one of the two best talents in the draft as early as February on this site. he looked solid last night- not a bad first NBA game!
Where’s Khandor at? Time to eat some shit buddy, too bad that haterade you love to drink went sour on you.
Okay, onto a more constructive post (just had to rub Khandor’s face in it though). I think the biggest takeaways from this game are:
1) Andrea Bargnani is a legit NBA scorer now, and he is displaying a very impressive mid range pull up game to pair with his still streaky trey. The fact that he doesn’t soley rely on the 3 ball is very encouraging. Also, his quote “I had to take a smaller man into the post, otherwise I am useless” spoke volumes about his increased understanding of situations and matchups at the NBA level.
2) If Bosh is asked to play in this kind of role, where his main responsibilities are playing great defense, hovering up defensive boards, and getting his points on post ups on the block, he will be unstoppable.
3) Hedo showed he isn’t really the #2 scoring option for the Raps. Its pretty clear that Bosh and Bargnani are going to be asked to carry the socring load, and Hedo really isn’t looking to “get his” right now. But whenever the Raptors were getting stuck offensively, or when the team just needed to be settled offensively, Hedo knew EXACTLY what needed to be done. I think this is the kind of play that we should expect from Hedo for the rest of the year. Relatively quiet stats-wise, but when its nut cracking time, Hedo knows what to do with the ball.
“Andrea Bargnani is a legit NBA scorer now”
You cannot make a statement like that after a game. We’ve seen him have games like this in the past, @Detroit, @Boston jumps to mind and he’s fizzled out shortly after.
He looked confident and sure of himself yesterday, but from watching him over the years he has a tendency to self-destruct when his shot isn’t falling and loses confidence. Maybe this is the year he’s finally matured and can stay even keel for the whole season, I don’t know. All it is is a good start, remains to be seen whether he can keep it up.
You’re right about Bosh. Somebody in the ratings post called his game a “glorified garbage man” which is pretty accurate and something he had success with in the Olympics. 16rebs was huge and the ones he got in traffic were damn impressive (over Shaq).
Hey Arse, I have to disagree with you there.
I suffered through EVERY Raps game in the preseason, it was horrible, but the ONLY bright spot I saw was Andrea’s play. His recognition of when to drive (remember the hesistation move he put on KG, after which he blew by and hammered it home 2 handed!) and when to pull up for a mid range J are really starting to come together. I know it was only 1 play, but he undressed the KING on that post move. The fact that he recognize the situation, and posted LBJ up right away shows incredible growth on the part of Bargnani.
Hey, you won’t hear me chanting MVP when Andrea has the ball, but all I am saying is that over the 2nd half of last season + this preseason, Andrea has proven to me that he understands how he is going to get his points in the L. Of course, he could still implode, but I am just saying that I don’t think he will.
Andrea has been a legit scorer since he was a rookie. No one has ever questioned his ability to score.
Tonight AB played tough inside against 2 much bigger veteran centers. And he ran them into submission.
Agreed. Bargnani’s always been a legit NBA scorer. It’s the other parts of his game that I wonder about.
You agree that Bosh is a “glorified garbage man.” Are you a fucking idiot. A perennial all-star who had a major role on the Olympic gold medal team…yeah, he was the #1 big,ahead of Dwight Howard and Carlos Boozer and played excellent defense. His career stats average 20pts and 9rbs. He has an excellent mid-range game and while he lacks a low post game with his back to the basket, he can beat most players off the dribble when facing the basket. Sound like a garbage man to you. Why is it that certain Raps fans have to continuosly throw there players under the bus. An injured Calderon last year, Bargnani and Bosh all of the time, BC this summer, Turkoglu during pre-season. Jeez…enough already.
I really dont think you’re comprehending what was said about Bosh. Last night was Team USA Bosh who is really more like Garnett (with Boston) where he recognizes he helps the team more by being a leader, defensive presents, hard hedger/doubler and a dominant rebounder. Its hardly an insult to be such an impactful and versatile player…
I was responding to Arsenalist’s thread…
It isnt one game, ever since Triano took over, he has averaged 20 points a game, despite being the second option on offence and having very few plasy called for him. Thats a timeframe of over half a season, so he has definitely showed that he can score in this league.
So are we not allowed to take the second half of last season as a sign that he’s a legit NBA scorer? Did his almost twenty points a game not convince you? We’ve had a big enough sample size. The kid is coming in to his own.
Btw, Jose didn’t just win “some kind of award”. Jose set the all time record for FT percentages. Jose IS the ONLY Raptor EVER to have his name in the NBA record books. I think we shouldn’t dismiss that so lightly even if it happened during a season we would all like to forget!
Sorry man, didn’t mean it that way. It just occurred to me at 2AM and I included it. Yeah, it’s an impressive feat. Probably a record that’ll stand for a long time.
More likely forever – Calvin Murphy set the previous record of 95.8 was set in friggen 1980-81! I think this one is almost as safe a record as Chamberlain’s 100point game… It’s a once in a lifetime feat.
Give Turkoglu his DUE!
Raps would have lost this game last year with Moon at the 3.
dont get too happy, they also would have won with Marion at the 3.
Not necessarily. Pointless to speculate on whether the game would have played out the same way with Marion instead, but what I do know is Turkoglu made a few timely shots, drove when we needed it, and made a few good passes. Unless Marion worked his ass off for last night’s Raptors win, why are you trying to give him any credit at all?
not really. hedo may be less athletic than marion but hedo is a very underrated defender. he did a good job against lebron in the playoffs, using his 6′10″ frame very well, he also covered kobe at times (he blocked kobe in the dying minutes of the 4th qtr).and the good thing about hedo is he can be a point forward, and a scorer as well. marion is more of a small forward/power forward type who mainly scores well inside.
plus, marion rejected the raptors’ offer this summer, which prompted BC to snag hedo from portland.
Lebron is a perfect matchup for Hedo. All Turk has to do is sit back a foot and let him throw up contested ill-advised jumpers.
LBJ is only pretending to be a good jump shooter, he hasn’t fooled me.
you say that until he drops 40… or hits 5 threes….
Lebron can shoot. He may not be a Ray Allen, but the guy can shoot. If you don’t cover him and he gets hot its game over.
LBJ is likely the hardest player in the league to cover (or up there with Kobe, Wade etc.)…. don’t belittle Hedo’s impressive work.
I wasn’t trying to belittle the Turk, in fact, it was meant as a compliment. Hedo is a very smart player and he has enough sense to know exactly how Lebron should be guarded. Marion would have probably tried to get blocks/steals only to get beat off the dribble/dunked on.
In the right system, with the right guys backing him up, Turkoglu can be a GREAT defender, not just a good one. Why do you think he’s been on so many winning teams?
because he has a good agent?
Because a hot wife is good for team morale? ;)
Man I couldn’t believe that african american ref last nite. He was killing us. Each time it was him making the horrible calls. He called each of the ridiculous fouls on Bargs, Called CB for a block when it was a textbook charge, and just about anything else he could do to us, he did. Does anyone know his name? He was basically a 6th Cavalier on the floor last nite.
corbin?
Yup, Sean Corbin:
http://www.probasketballrefs.com/Portals/0/Graphics/RefPics/Misc/Sean%20Corbin%202.jpg
The blocking call on Bosh was hilarious – the baseline ref held his arms at his sides but held off on making the HUNNNHHH blocking humping motion until the ref at the 3 pt line (also hands in the same position) gave him a look, and then they both went BLOCKING FOUL.
Shaq was literally throwing people to the ground. No call. Swinging his elbows above the head (nailed Calderon once). No call.
it’s a toss-up as to the worst call…bosh’s ‘block’ on LBJ, bargs’ ‘push-off’ on floppy, or JJ’s ‘no-touch’ 3-pt foul (the ‘contact,’ if you can call it that, was nothing more than their feet coming together slightly as the shooter came down…of course, JJ jumped pretty much straight up & down, and the shooter jumped forward & initiated the contact, but whatever). that, to me, was the biggest bullshit call.
Gotta also give Triano huge props…he countered Brown’s small ball crew with one of our own and it didn’t work very well so he decided to put out a big line up (our matchup strength for the night) which was risky. We started to dictate the play of the game and it forced Brown to go big and we torched them. Great win for the coach.
can someone tell me where to find that version of o fortuna that was played in the opening sequence of the game ..
Good win.
Next stop Memphis.
It’s a new team but I hope our fans that attend games adopt a new attitude this year. After they lost most of the lead in the 3rd you could hear a pin drop in the arena and everyone started to get that ‘here we go again’ feeling.
Let’s stop that.
It’s a new team, new players, and new attitude and if that game were in S.A, or L.A. or any other top notch basketball city the fans would be continuing to urge their team on regardless.
We’ve had plenty of reason for pessimism in the past and still may have in the future but defending home court is crucial so i’d like it if the fans stay loud and aggressive win or lose.
At the very least let visiting teams know that when they come to the dot the fans are rowdy and don’t let up.
I love Jay’s comments about it being great that we won but it being just one game.
My beef of the night with Devlin and Leo: Why do they keep glorifying these refs? They hold out the entire preseason, then come in and call another classic “pro-LeBron” game — don’t ask me how he picks up his dribble at half court and manages to make it to the rim without getting called for travelling (at the halftime buzzer). And then, of course, the blocking call on Bosh in the final minute. Absolutely disgraceful.
Did anyone read the excerpts from Tim Donaghy’s book that were posted on Deadspin yesterday? Interesting stuff…
Yeah, I hate to fire the conspiracy flames, but it really looked like the refs wanted Cleveland to win that game
I did. Man, I don’t read sports documentaries but I’d pay to buy that book after reading the entry on Deadspin. Donaghy sure bet the games mob/Vegas style, but I was glad he had shown plenty of dirt on the refs we obviously hate and on the ones that Leo Rautins want to sodomize after the game (Dick Bevetta). I guess we are not surprised that the refs play these manipulative games on us fans and the players behind the sidelines, but knowing some details kinda opened our eyes to this matter. He didn’t say anything that bad on Joey (”wanna fight”) Crawford, that bald temper-tantrum might actually be a clean ref.
http://deadspin.com/5392067/excerpts-from-the-book-the-nba-doesnt-want-you-to-read?skyline=true&s=x
thanks for the link. Just read it and … man, that is disturbing.
Cold Blooded Killer…. the fire is Brewing in the Italian Stalion. Give him the rock. Dial it up Andrea or take it to the rack.
I was worried about the early foul. I though “Please don’t get into foul trouble again this season” but El Mago is proving he’s understanding that D is more than flailing your arms around.
Plus he’s deadly as the trailing big man. WIDE open 3-balls.
Cleavland looks like a dysfunctional family tring to decide what is the game plan… anyone…anyone…??? My bet is they will be the biggest disappointment this year. Why do Run & Gun teams pick up Shaq????
RASHO!!! The big guy was huge and played some solid minutes. I was worried we would have to play Amir without Evans in the lineup, but Rasho stepped up and did his usual steady job.
I think Amir has potential, but not with Shaq and Big Z out there. I think he could have been useful during the small ball lineup in the third though. I don;t remember, was he played in the third?
I just thought that play on that tip-in during the 4th quarter was a bigger play than everyone took it as. Those 2 minutes he played really kept the team together when Bargs was called for the 5th foul.
1
Christ if one more person says anything about Hedo being tired or still tired or a bit tired or kind of tired from playing this summer I’m going to beat them with a fuckin’ 2 by 4.
2
Devlvlvin is garbage. DOUBLE D? Shut your stupid face. And he gets so many things wrong it’s embarassing. “Triggers it” is a really stupid way to say “takes a shot”.
3
There was a HILARIOUS moment when Hedo got the ball on the right side at the top of the key and took a thousand steps exactly like that infamous Majerle travel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D9Z1wAwQtM
The infamous crab dribble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jvcfouEiSw&NR=1
AB displayed how a good offensive can be a great defensive. He wore the shit out of the Cavs bigs and took their legs out from under them every time he was on the floor. Bosh could grab more boards and the Cavs bigs weren’t very active on O; it was fun to watch and I hope it continues…but we should also keep in mind that the Cavs were keying on Bosh and allowing Bargs to go one on one. The lead feet of Shaq and Z made it look like it was one on none much of the time.
The match-ups wont always be so favourable but on most nights a Bargs and Bosh combo should dominate on O (especially with Turk facilitating)…three 6′10″ who can take you off the bounce and drill jumpers from long range is pretty scary but the key is Bargs and Bosh taking undersized mismatches into the paint (they seemed pretty determined to do that yesterday). Once Jose and Jack start nailing their shots and if Belli, DeR, Wright and Weems keep focusing on going to the rim we could be unstoppable on offense.
Jay Triano deserve allot of credit as it seems the role definition on this team is very clear (which makes chemistry much easier to come by…FAQ, you listening?:) I also like what coach I is bringing to the table on D. Love the commitment to the trap (not the faux traps we attempted last year). Still quite a few miscues on rotations but not as much as I expected at this point. Rebounding will never be a strength for the starters but Demar looks promising and the bench might make up for some of that weakness.
…and I love Wright; MoP v2.0 with less O and more D…always talking and getting guys jacked. He’s our Turkey Glue on D.
…and if we don’t maul the Grizz tomorrow, I take it all back.
On AP. What were Cavs fans expecting?…they’re ripping him on the blogs. Didn’t they realize he was going to be relegated to a 6th man on a lottery win team desperate for wings? That he’s a notorious slow starter and should be on a 25 minute max time limit. DWest – TAKE YOUR MEDS!
It was halftime before I realized the game was on The Score and not TSN2. I missed the opening. Does anyone have a link to the opening live choir/orchestra recording?
Andrea Bargnani scored 28 points and had a team-best FIC game score of 16.5 in Toronto’s 101-91 Opening Night win over Cleveland.
“I was talking about that with a friend the other day. I was saying if Andrea gets going, if he’s scoring the basketball a lot, then we’re going to be tough to beat,” said Chris Bosh. “He had a great second half of (last) season, but we haven’t had that consistency with him scoring so many points. So that’s a plus for us.”
“I think there’s not too many 7-footers who can do the things he can do,” added Toronto point guard Jose Calderon, who picked up 11 assists. “Maybe (Dirk) Nowitzki is the only one.”
Via Toronto Sun
http://basketball.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/62431/20091029/bosh_bargnanis_scoring_will_make_raptors_tough_to_beat/
• RealGM calculates the Floor Impact Counter using the following formula: (Points + .75 Defensive Rebounds + Offensive Rebounds + Steals + Assists + Blocks – .75 Field Goal Attempts – .375 Free Throw Attempts – Turnovers – .5 Personal Fouls)
Enjoyed the read, but a suggestion, if I may.
I knew this was written by Arsenalist without loading at the byline because of his use of “what not”. He even says this during his podcasts. It’s filler and should be excluded.
Speaking of which, I think the variety of guests RR speaks with is great, but I find that the questions are a bit all over the place sometimes. Arsenalist will let out a stream of 4 or 5 questions before allowing the guest to speak, which either a) attempts to lead the guest to agree with the line his line of thought, or b) the guest will only answer the last question, which negates the point of asking the other preceding questions. My suggestion is to ask a question or two at a time to allow the guest to focus is on the true question at hand.
Don’t mistake my post as hating. Just some constructive criticism, if you will.
Anyone notice Belinelli’s defense last night? I knew he was a decent defender from what I saw with his time in GSW, but he is a better defender than I thought. Quite the pest.
I was also thinking about our starters vs. our bench. Our starters (Calderon, DeRozan, Turkoglu, Bosh, Bargnani) is one hell of an offensive lineup. Our bench (Jack, Belinelli, Wright, Johnson/Evans, Rasho) is quite the defensive lineup. If our starters build a little lead by the time both benches hit the floor, it’ll be pretty difficult for opposing teams to get back in the game.
I want to see Johnson get some more floor time. I’m sure he’ll get some extended playing time against that powerhouse of a team they call the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
As for last nights game, I was really impressed with the defense. Triano has really gotten through to the team on his defensive schemes. They forced the Cavs to take long jumpers, and you know you played good defense when LeBron doesn’t have a single dunk in the game.
P.S. – Great player intro. Nas’ ‘Hate Me Now’, much better than that garbage they had last year.
Uh, it was Carl Orff’s “O Fortuna”. Yes, Nas did use the song for “Hate Me Now”, but you didn’t hear him rapping last night, did ya?
Thanks for the correction. Regardless, great intro.
Agreed. =)
Did anyone hear those idiotic MVP chants for Bosh halfway through the game? Wow that almost made me embarrassed to be a Raptors fan. Hope nobody in here was in on that. I suppose the problem with being a Raptors fan is that they share some of the same fans the Leafs which means some of them get overly excited over nothing. Settle down people.
Maybe they were chanting MVP for Bargnani. ;)
let the fans celebrate bro! we didnt have to wait 8,9 games to get a taste of victory. and this is not just a simple win. we beat one of the most highly rated teams in the league, a team that destroyed us last season. i would have chanted MVP or more probably MIP for bargs if i watched the game live.
but, the team still have 81 more games. this win gives us hope as raptors fans. the feeling is good, but the war is just beginning.
Are you following me? =P
Whats wrong with them chanting MVP… does any team (that has a star player) not do it?
Or was Vince getting jealous again?
MVP chants are wrong because the MVP is a bullshit award.
The crowd should chant “Champ-ion-ship” instead.
To follow up: Since the 2000-2001 season, only one regular season MVP has gone on to win the championship (Duncan in ‘03).
Regular season MVP is just a popularity contest now. It never used to be that way.
Chanting MVP on the first game of the season is stupid. Last time I checked you had to actually play through the season to earn that title. It’s way too early to chant MVP for Bosh, Bargs, LeBron, Kobe or anyone, that’s my point.
Just curious: why do people keep referring to Bargnani’s output as being “just one game”? Just one game this season? Sure – it was game 1 after all. But why is everyone forgetting his great second half of the season from last year where he averaged 20ppg? Last night wasn’t just one game, it’s more like his 40th game in a row where he’s brought it. In my opinion, he seemed to have turned the corner last year around the ASG – form that point on, he’s looked good. Last night was reassurring to me – I was wondering if he would start off this year as great as he ended last year (offensively, at least). He did.
greatness is about doing it not only game after game, month after month…but season after season. bargs had a fantastic 2009. he was completely hit or miss the previous two-and-a-half seasons. is it unreasonable that he put together an entire season like his 2009 before we assume he’s arrived for good.
now, before i get drilled by those who feel i’m anti-bargs…chill. him succeeding at this level will help the team, and that’s all i really care about.
lol.
I know it’s still early but I like what Triano’s doing. He seems like he really has an understanding of his team this year. I liked the defence plus bargnani was keeping shaq away from the bucket and as we all know shaq aint droppin no J’s. Good call by JT…..
ALSO….bosh didnt really impress me…..
but what Bosh did was likely exactly what Triano wanted … except for the whole ‘missing more shots than he usually will’ thing. Even so (missing shots), Raps probably don’t win last night without Bosh doing what he did.
One thing you shoulda mentioned was how Demar actually attacked the basket on a few possessions (even when he was kinda open). When was the last time a Guard/Forward did that? I know for sure Moon and Parker never did that.
Parker would attack the basket on occasion…Moon,however had some phobia about attacking the basket…although I did see him do it once when he was playing for Miami…go figure
Just finished browsing the real cavs fan forum, found some fun perspective on the ref calls from them
-Am I the only one pissed at these ref calls? I mean we deserved to lose but somehow came back and well.. i feel like they pissed it away.
-The refs called every ticky tack call for Bosh, it was disgusting.
No mention of the blocking foul on Bosh and the cheap offensive fouls for Bargs, heh.
wow….lets all play it safe and not make a call….on the new raps.
…..I havent seen this kind of play in the raps ever……..based on 1 game yes i will go out on a limb and say this team will and is going to be be far superior than last years team and will finish ahead of cleveland.