Peek-a-boo!All that was last night was a W. It wasn’t a moral victory; it wasn’t a matter of clamping down in the second half; the Raptors just had more gas in the tank. In what was the hardest game to watch so far this season, the Raptors stopped the bleeding from going 1-2 on the first half of the West coast swing, with a W over a Bulls team that had nothing left. In fact, the Bulls needed to be individually showered, changed and carried to the bus after the game.
Seems like the schedule has been our best weapon early in the season, as 3 of the 4 wins can be directly attributed to our opponent playing on the 2nd night of a back-to-back:
- The Cavs lost to the C**tics
- The Pistons upset the Magic at home
- The Bulls were millimeters away from beating the Nuggets
It was actually amazing for me that the Bulls had any fight in them at all last night. I thought for sure that when Brad Miller’s shot at the buzzer was waived off, that they would be a shell of a team last night, but playing the Raptors seems to fix what ails every team.
True to form, it was a wild 1st quarter. Taj Gibson, a steal as the 26th pick in the draft this year, started fast by taking it right at Bosh early. Scoring 6 of the teams first 8 points, he was active on both ends of the floor. In fact, he was the story of the 1st quarter, finishing with 8pts 2rebs and an assist (he also ended up having a career game with 18pts 5rebs, another career game against the Raptors…sigh).
It wasn’t so much that Bosh wasn’t hustling in this match-up, he was battling in the paint and getting good position in the post; Bosh was just missing the shots he should have made. It didn’t hurt that he had his hands full on the glass, battling for rebounds, seemingly alone, against Gibson/Noah since Bargnani was nowhere to be found.
The haters were out in full force on Twitter ripping Chris a new one, but Bargnani literally did nothing until the 2:46 mark of the 1st quarter when a rebound landed in his lap (he didn’t grab it, it came right to him, he didn’t even jump or extend his arms to get it either), and hit a layup on the next possession. I don’t understand why Bosh gets ripped constantly while having an MVP calibre year, and Bargnani gets nothing.
The saving grace of the first quarter was the play of DeRozan and Calderon. Both of whom kept the Raptors in this one single-handedly. Our Rook was a beast around the rim, grabbing offensive boards, slashing to the hoop, hitting a three and finishing off the hop. His defense on Salmons was also pretty solid, since Salmons is one of those guys who has always given the Raptors a headache.
Calderon is improving incrementally. In fact, I had no problems with him last night. He pushed the ball hard, quickly answering made baskets by the Bulls with a layup on the other end. He did that twice on two straight possessions. Our boy has been pushing more this season then in previous ones, but still not that guy who attacks constantly.
The 2nd and 3rd quarter were just absolutely brutal. The second quarter was bad because the Raptors kept leaving someone open, and that someone would hit the shot. In fact, the Bulls took and made almost every single shot they wanted. They aren’t that type of team that runs you into the ground. This is a blue collar team that gets rebounds, and runs play for a good look at a jumper. So the 2nd quarter was all about the Bulls doing just that. They dropped 35 of them in fact, and headed into half with a 60-53 team.
The 3rd was brutal because the Bulls were getting the exact same shots, but not making them, and the Raptors couldn’t capitalize fast enough. They traded baskets for most of the quarter, but the Bulls had two stretches of 2+ minutes where they didn’t score a basket, letting the Raptors back in it. Calderon did a great job of pacing the offense, coming off screens, penetrating and kicking to open players, dropping 4 of his 6 dimes in this frame.
By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, the Bulls had nothing, absolutely zero. In fact, they were almost in danger of not scoring for the last 6 minutes of the 4th until Calderon fouled Hinrich with 10 seconds left in the game, and Kirk hit one of his free throws. How bad was it? 11pts…yea. Triano knew it:
“I think they wore down a little bit, too. Shots they were making earlier, they started missing. Whether it was the result of a back-to-back, or Jose and Jarrett (Jack) doing a nice job of picking up full court and making them work to get the ball up the court … they just seemed to run out of juice.”
That isn’t a glowing endorsement of your team after a win. Lets just put this to rest right now before folks start getting excited about the 89 points surrendered: THE RAPTORS ARE NOT A GOOD DEFENSIVE TEAM. Nothing positive can be taken from this win. They did not make any incremental improvements from the last game. How can I say this? Well, you can’t surrender 108.6pts a game, and be accused of improving, especially when the last two contests you gave up 129 and 131 points in regulation play.
Four Factors to Winning
Shooting the Ball well
The Raptors shot 40.9% from the field, and the Bulls were 39.8%. Wasn’t a matter of shooting well from the field, it was a mater of marginally shooting better then a poor shooting opponent.
Raptors – 43.7%
Bulls – 40.9%
Taking Care of the Ball
Both teams had 99 possessions, but the Bulls turned the ball over less then the Raptors: Bulls – 13 Raptors 15. Most of the Bulls turnovers came in the 2nd half where they committed 9 of their 15 turnovers.
Raptors – 15.1%
Bulls – 13.1%
Offensive Rebounding
The Bulls grabbed 15 to the Raptors 11. This didn’t give the Bulls more possessions as the Raptors (as they both had 99), but it did give the Bulls some cheap put-backs early in the game that paced their half-time lead.
Raptors – 26.1%
Bulls – 29.4%
Getting to the Free Throw Line
Like the other three Factors, this was a close one too, but the Raptors got to the line 2 more lines, going 22/23 on the game. Bosh was a solid 10/10 on the night.
Raptors – 26.1%
Bulls – 23.8%
What the Four Factors tell us is that this was a very close one. Had the Bulls not gone scoreless in the last 6 minutes of the game, this may not have ended positively for the Raptors as the Bulls missed 11 shots and 2 free throws in that stretch. Putting it into perspective, the Raptors only shot the ball better than Bulls by 2.8%.
Player Impact
Bosh was the man again, no surprise. Our boy plays like an MVP candidate, and gets ripped.
The Raptors head out west for a four game swing starting Friday in Los Angeles, fortunately it’s the Clippers, I’m calling it now (a Raptor win that is).
109 Raps
What I don’t get is that Bargs seems to have a quickness advantage over almost all centres in the league on offense, though on defense he moves with the effectiveness and efficiency of a wounded water buffalo
Bargs is quick going forward… sideways and backwards he is not.
Interesting – would attribute his defensive struggles to this physical limitation? Are there techniques to compensate?
It is not guarding 5’s that this presnts an issue – in the post one on one he does a solid job – it is when he has to step out against quick guards and wings on screen and rolls that there are problems
I think its his biggest problem on D. Whether any training can improve it (without diminishing his offense) I’m not sure.
Bargnani’s problem is not his feet. It’s his laziness. I love Bargnani. I was probably one of the few who wanted the Raptors to draft him number one and has actually admitted to it all the way through, however painful at times.
That being said, he’s on lazy bastard on defense. His shows are lazy and weak (but not as terrible as Amir), he doesn’t ever feel the need to box out, or actually MOVE.
There were at least two examples where Bargs was the closest man to a trailer and he didn’t even bother to run out… both turned into made baskets.
Defense is mostly effort, believe me. Don’t be tricked into thinking that you need to be a Dwight Howard to play it.
Agreed. Rasho is not more athletic the Andrea, yet worlds more defensively sound.
It’s mental. Bargnani just doesn’t know what to do on his own side of the floor.
And he is Italian. His soccer background should suggest strong defensive instincts.
In fact, all European players play basketball only one side of the floor.
I think it’s got something to do with GMs drafting only the offensive minded ones for their shooting because the defensive minded players from overseas generally are worse athletically than the talent that can be found in the U.S.
I stopped reading after “the hardest game to watch so far this season.”
Did you watch the Mavs or Spurs game? Remember MattyB with the two handed slam? Remember all those easy baskets the Mavs kept getting the full 48? How bout the loss to Memphis?
The Bulls are a good young team and running out of gas only accounts for a part of it. The last 2/3rds of the fourth they were steamed, front rimming everything but the 3rd q and most of the 4th the Raps actually played good, hard, hustling D. It’s an important step. So is DD getting 10 shots. He needs to be involved or he needs to come off the bench in favor of AW’s defense. Hell, just Bosh’s perseverance in the post despite getting beaten up and not getting as many calls as he deserved without B!tching to the refs was worth watching.
yea we ripped the raptors for losing to the spurs when they were missing Duncan/Parker.
These same spurs just wiped the floor with the Mavs last night missing Duncan and Parker again…
I dont feel so bad anymore… :P
Me neither actually, however, the mavs didnt give up 131 points, something to consider.
Mavs couldn’t score either – different game played at a different tempo.
Mavs don’t get anything for giving up fewer points than the Raps did in a loss.
Thanks to us, we broke the Spurs’ slump on offense or Duncan was actually the guy causing the offense to become lethargic. The Spurs need to win 12 more games in a row to fulfill my prophecy of them playing after us.
You missed out not reading the rest.
Nice piece, RapsFan.
“3 of the 4 wins can be directly attributed to our opponent playing on the 2nd night of a back-to-back”
Can we therefore apply the same logic to our loss against Dallas, or no?
“The saving grace of the first quarter was the play of DeRozan and Calderon. Both of whom kept the Raptors in this one single-handedly.”
Not entirely sure that you know what ’single-handedly’ means.
two-handedly? it was Calderon attacking the basket and setting up jumpers, and derozan’s rebounding and shot making that kept the raptors on par during the first quarter when both bosh/bargnani/turkoglu were fairly invisible.
Teams aren’t going to give back wins because the other team might have been tired.
And the Raps aren’t going to get a “break” for loses on their back-to-backs.
Every team has them. It’s just part of the schedule. Right?
Gotta love what’s coming from DeRozan! 9 Boards is exactly what the Raps need from a guard! (But there’s no such thing as single-handed in a team game)
DeRozan has rebounded nicely from the Mavs/Spurs games. I was very happy of his performance last night.
Am I in a bad mood lately, or is every RR article whiny negative moaning. Even after wins.
Both, lol.
RapsFan suffering from extended PMS:
Even when they win they can’t win
Imagine how Bosh must feel, getting ripped while he’s the only guy actually doing his job.
Anyone ripping Bosh this season is crazy. He’s doing everything one could reasonably expect from a franchise big.
Which is not to say there isn’t some good analysis in there amongst the “XXXX sucks” stuff.
You are completely right. We didn’t win this game, the bulls lost it.
We are terrible on D, terrible. If we played a D league team or a WNBA team we would give up close to 100 points.
This is going to be a long season if they don’t get their act together on D. It is just way too easy to hate on them when they show us night in and night out that they are not committed to keeping other teams from hitting easy jumpers, giving up tons of offensive boards and allowing anyone and everyone to get inside for an easy two.
I bet watching the raps from the bench must be killing Evans, it’s killing me watching them play D and I have nothing invested in them.
The Bulls certainly ran out of steam in the fourth quarter, but the Raptors capitalized on it, which is the point. They ran away with the game when they needed to.
Bulls are just a poor shooting team. The Achilles’ heal of our defensive scheme is often giving up outside shots as you emphasize protecting the paint. Against the Bulls this works well – they only have two decent outside shooters.
Being gassed is largely BS (my view of course). Playing 2 games in a day back in high school, fine, you may be gassed at the end of the second game. Playing 30 min one night and 24 hours later playing another 30 – athletes at this level shouldn’t have a problem. Yes, you had to get on an hour long flight in nice big comfy chairs.
Most of the Bulls are young guys. They just are not a good shooting team.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/stats/byteam?cat1=Total&cat2=team&sort=229
If we put in that time of effort last night, we should win more than our fair share against below average shooting teams. We’ll still have issues with good shooting teams (no, we’ll never “close out” properly).
I agree that the Bulls poor outside shooting was a big factor. When Salmons hit that three early I was worried he’d break out of his slump (28% from deep on the year) but another huge problem with this team is keeping opponets SF’s and Guards off the glass and limiting 2nd chance points. These are things the Bulls, esp. with a healthy Deng, are very good at and the raps did limit them here.
“limiting 2nd chance points” – bang on – that’s obv the Raps other major issue. Did a better job late 3rd and all of the 4th.
We need Reggie Evans in there! Amir showed some nice hustle though.
Totally agree. Raps destroy San Antonio if this happens. Bulls game is over in the first half if they reduce the 2nd chance points. Instead it kept the Bulls and San Antonio in the game (and in the lead) for most of the game.
The Raps offense is so good and effecient that merely having more possessions in a game is likely (although not always) going to mean a win. But when you constantly give up offensive rebounds and give opportunities back to you opponent the result will not be pleasant.
I’m with you on the conditioning part, but I have conceded that 30minutes of NBA basketball is much greater then a high school basketball team.
I wouldn’t classify the bulls as a below average team. To me, they are on the same level as the Raptors a few other Eastern Conference teams.
Sorry Sam – I meant to emphasize a below average shooting team. They are an above average slash, fight, elbow, rebound, 2nd chance point team. Thus, middle of the pack overall since their shooting holds them back (third worst in the league).
If a team takes away the lane and boxes them out (Miller and Noah are very good rebounders) then you neutralize their strengths. The Raptors largely did that in the second half.
Sorry, but being gassed IS an excuse for losing a game. If fatigue is a factor, you’d expect the team playing the second game of a back-to-back set to score less and give up more points in the second half. We’ve already seen it happen four times watching Raptors games.
I’m sure somebody’s done a study on this.
An excuse for who…do you see the players,coaches,management or owners making these excuses. Absolutely not and you never will because these are professional athletes and regardless of how they feel physically they have to give 110%. The excuses are for the stupid fans who don’t realize that a loss is a loss and a win is a win…end of fucking story.
Perhaps if I had use “reason” or “cause”, it might have been better. I’m not saying that teams playing the second game in a back-to-back situation aren’t trying. What I am saying is that teams in this situation are less likely to win than if they had a day between the games.
Agreed that some teams on the 2nd game of a back to back might have to struggle with fatigue a may be less likely to win. I’m sure the top tier teams in the league have a less likelihood of this happening though. I’m just tired of the people who are saying the Raps are only winning on back to back where the other team played the night before. When I look at the win-loss record, I don’t see any asterisks indicating this…thus it is irrelevant in the end.
I also think it’s worth pointing out that José has had arguably his best games against CP3 and Rose, two guys who can break anyone down off the dribble and excel at getting in the lane.
Amir was a beast. Only officially grabbed 6 rebounds but was using his length to keep balls alive and prevented the bulls front court from getting anything easy. AJ was key in the second half. I’d love to see how many tips/deflections he got.
I agree the single biggest change in the game last night was the increased intensity the raps showed in going after lose balls and playing harder on defence. Amir Johnson really stood out in the second half with his agressiveness. Every loose ball went contested. I also liked Antoine Wrights defence and effort, he played great defence in the fourth quarter against rose and really gave the team a good spark. But maybe this can be attributed to the bulls having no energy because all of this seem to occur in the second half. If the raps can match the intensity of every team they play they can play effective-enough defence to match their potent offence.
again I ask when is reggie coming back?
Apparently said “2 weeks” to a couple of ppl via Twitter. A few others are guessing “by the end of the month” – perhaps just to be more conservative.
Somehow, Reggie Evan’s return feels like usual agitating episodes from Dragon Ball Z; trying to wait for Goku to return from heaven, a ship, or a stasis pod while his friends are getting the shit kicked out of them by Frieza, Cell, or Majin Buu. When I was a kid watching it on YTV I was swearing at the TV when the episode ended, the announcer started talking, and Goku wasn’t there yet.
Good 1
wtf?
I think he’ll make a difference and will give make Johnson and Bargnani look over their shoulder. If Triano values defense as much as he says he does, you’re bound to see a few mild benching of Bargnani early, especially if we’re coming up against a big team who’s hitting the glass.
The Clips game should test our bigs, looking forward to it.
‘I don’t understand why Bosh gets ripped constantly while having an MVP calibre year, and Bargnani gets nothing.’
First reason is they have made up their minds about Bosh from previous years and Toronto fans are notorious for trying to drive players out of their city for no apparently good reason.
The second reason is that they like Barg’s ‘Penne Pasta’ commerical and detest Bosh’s ‘Juicy Fruit’ ads.
The third reason I will refrain from saying seeing that I’m a black dude and the comment will incite comments about me being a racist, but I’m sure you know where I’m going with this one.
“The third reason I will refrain from saying seeing that I’m a black dude and the comment will incite comments about me being a racist, but I’m sure you know where I’m going with this one.”
Assuming racism is just as bad as using racism itself. It is self defeating and re-inforces racist opinions. There is absolutely not even a shred of evidence, in any fashion or reasoning, that race has anything to do with it
This is a completely ignorant and unwarranted post. You should be completely embarrassed. If not, I’m embarrassed for you.
Hardcore Raps
don’t be. I am entitled to my opinion.
People rip Bosh because he’s the highest payed player and he’s looking for a max contract.
Is he worth it? Alot of the ripping comes from his end of game play from last year. This has
nothing to do with his color.
Since you bring up racism then how do you explain black only basketball tournments. No whites
are allowed to play. There is one in Halifax. It’s a big tournment. Teams from across the country
play in it. Sometimes NBA players. But if your white, you’re not allowed to play.
I’m tired of blacks waving the racist card all the time, when they themselves are extremely racists.
I don’t know, Hardcore. It surprises me to read the word ‘racism’ in this sort of context … but I am (frankly) a blithely unaware white guy so it doesn’t really occur to me all that much. But … if I were a black dude, I can see that it might cross my mind on occasion. To want to stifle the whole notion or idea from even being suggested or discussed might be a little disingenuous (or over-sensitive), when you really think about it. With respect.
Its a matter of having evidence racism actually exists rather than simply assuming it is racism because one person (or persons) is of a certain colour and the other(s) isn’t.
I’m not trying to stifle talk on racism, or say racism doesn’t exist… but to ‘accuse’ people of racism with absolutely no evidence or reasoning is just as bad as ‘accusing’ people of certain deeds simply because they are of a certain colour.
Remember the little boy who cried wolf……
there is no racism whatsoever! unless you consider VL being racist. bargnani was the whipping boy for 3 years the standards for him are lower. bosh gets it more because he expects more ie a max contract. i also agree that bosh should not be ripped for much at all this season, and i used to love to rip bosh. hes driving, rebounding ,not settling and hes doing a better job of leading. this is the best bosh we’ve ever seen, and for the first time im scared of him leaving.
Good post and kudos for the position. We are all aware of the reality of overt and subconscious racism which exists. For crying out…we are in a basketball forum here and unless there was real reasoning and evidence (there was none whatsoever) to the accusation, that was really uncalled for. And I have seen plenty of Bargs related negativity here. I would say that there is more anti-euro sentiment ala Cherry in those barbs than any perceived black/white thing happening with Bosh.
When their team struggles Toronto fans have a kneejerk tendancy to project the shortcomings of the team onto the best player – “if only e was a better leader, the team would be much better” – I recall it happening with Mats Sundin and Carlos Delgado – rather flawed and simplistic thinking in my view. Like Bosh they are/were the least of their teams problems!
Leaders need better leaders, I hope the Raptors can acquire accomplished veterans through trade or waivers. Kinda like what Chicago has with Lindsey Hunter, more of a talker/teacher than a player himself.
Andrea was subject to a lot of abuse from the fans during his second year. Comments like ‘he is a bust’ , ‘trade him while he still has some value’ , ‘BC is not a good GM because he should have picked…’ . ’send him and MG back to Italy’ etc..etc..
Then at the start of his third year improvements began to show and they are continuing , fans have realized that many bigs take a while to round off their game and he is a typical example . As long as his game is on a upward curve the fans will accept that . He will never think that some day he will be worth max money nor does he think of leaving the team . Loyalty to the team is appreciated by all fans but his progress has to continue to keep most fans from ripping him.
It would appear his progress has stopped short. And then, it’s Bosh who keeps getting better. Who knew?
His shooting percentages and rebounds are up from last year . His steal off Noah to hammer in the last nail on the Bulls coffin showed good defensive work and he was part of good team defense when the Raptors began to catch up with the Bulls.
Fans want Bargs to succeed because they want to view the #1 overall pick as a big success and not a bust. Bosh has already been to 4 all-star games, so expectations are higher. But Bosh could not possibly be doing more than he already is. Regardless of contract-year heroics, this is the best player in the NBA. Last night, he beat Noah at his own game, grabbed offensive boards and used them to beat the Bulls. Then he and Bargs fouled Noah out of the game. That was sweet.
That’s it exactly. We all prop up Bargs because we desperately want him to realize his potential. Where Bargs goes, this team goes.
Bosh, on the other hand, might be gone after this season.
My first reaction was similar to Hardcore Raps. But then I started to think a bit more on.
It’s undeniable that there are racists in the world and some of them will watch the Raptors. So for these individuals, race will be a factor.
However, I think it’s also undeniable that there are people who rip Bosh but not Bargnani who are not thinking in terms of race.
My first reaction was defensive in nature but then I realized that you are not saying all people who rip Bosh and not Bargnani are racist. You are saying for some, it is racist, and that I can believe.
The Sam M / Jay T treatment falls under the same umbrella.
People just want to ignore that as a reality, as sad as it is.
Good recap. Not hooked into Twitter so I don’t see that stuff, but … wtf? Don’t understand giving Bosh a hard time, at all; doesn’t make sense. (Is this from actual Raptors fans, I wonder?) And Bargnani seriously needs to get himself ENGAGED in a big way – if he was half as engaged on the floor as Reggie is on the bench, he’d be dangerous. I like Andrea and want to see him do well (for the team), but I’m not happy with what he’s bringing, lately. Also, I hope Turk is (just still) playing himself into shape, ‘cause he doesn’t look there yet. In the end, Raptors could way too easily have lost this game, which would’ve been tremendously discouraging, but they got lucky. Bulls handed it to them on a platter.
While BC may have had a hard-on over the roster he assembled before the season began and was a little over-zealous in his predictions for this season, Triano and the players have been crystal clear that this team will start off as a major work in progress and it’s going to take several games before the defence starts to gel.
After 8 games we are 4 and 4. That’s actually better than I expected.
Meanwhile, the Raps have looked like a masterpiece for some spurts and a train wreck for others – and everything in between. And that’s a surprise to the OP?
Put the spreadsheets away until this team gets even close to performing on all cylinders. Seriously, it’s a waste of time.
We have a .500 team that has nothing but upside. Yet all you write about is the negative. Lighten up a little for Christ’s sake.
I agree that we’re a work in progress, but the spreadsheet helps track where we’re improving and where we’re slacking.
Agreed. But there’s no point trying to quantify a cluster-fuck. Which is basically what our D is right now.
Before the season, I felt like the bulls were a better team than us AND had more upside. While we were running aroung like A-holes in the first half I was getting mad because I felt likek we should have been dominating them. It felt like we were letting a worse team get the better of us. I’ll take that in a heatbeat. This year our optimistic ceiling is pretty high.
Last year, even the biggest fan had to admit we were absolute ass. Add on to that the fact that it looked like we had no cap room to improve the team and things were looking pretty bleak.
This team has a chance to be something pretty damn good and fun to watch by the latter part of the season. Maybe they’ll suck. But let’s enjoy the ride. This team is WAY better than last year.
“Last year, even the biggest fan had to admit we were absolute ass”
That’s just straight up good sytanx. Funny stuff.
It reminds me of a buddy I had that would compare everything to ass.
“This couch is lumpy as ass”….the best was “This food is tasty as ass”
Is this a serious blog? The “hardest game to watch”?
The worst games have been the ones that finish like the first half started last night. I am sick of watching the team trade baskets. They played with a little defensive fire in the second half. This is all that we are asking for. In the second half, they showed that they are a playoff team, even if a weak one, in the East.
We have had a tough schedule and we are in 7th in the East with a 3-1 record against the East. We now have a 2-0 record against teams that we’ll be competing with come April. I am not upset with this result.
Raps have beaten the teams they need to be ahead of in April!
This is a great start for a rebuilt team!
More than just happy – shocked the Raps have done so well.
I think they are doing well overall, but I am not shocked. I actually predicted 4-4 at this point in time (with the wins switched from the Hornets to the Grizzly):
http://raptorsrepublic.com/2009/08/10/45-wins-and-how-the-raptors-will-get-there/
I actually didn’t even have them 4-4 at this point, so they are doing better than I thought, and I still predicted them doing pretty well this year (44 win and a 5th or 6th seed).
It was for me, just bear with me…
If the Mavs/Spurs game was a movie scene, it would be the one from Heat where they robbed the bank, and were in a massive gun fight with the cops. The Raptors in this case would be the cops. They lost the fight, took down some dudes, but it was fun as hell to watch.
The Bulls game last night was more like the scene in Saw where the girl had to cut into that dudes stomach to get the key to unlock that contraption on her head before it mangled her. The Raptors were the girl, and I was the guy having my stomach cut open for a win.
First half had weak defense by the Raps BUT
The Raps were leading 47-45 when Triano put Jack out with Calderon at 4:48 of the 2nd quarter to close out the half. END of Half – 60-53 Chicago! Salmons makes his only 3 for his 5th and last points. Raps poor defense disappears completely!
Fortunately in the 4th quarter – NO Jack & JC. Wright plays SG and the Bulls don’t make a shot for 9:20.
It doesn’t take much to stop a really bad offensive team from scoring – but that’s no reason to help them out. Jay sounded like he understood why the Raps stepped it up defensively in the 4th – very promising!
Sounds like Triano is still trying to get adjusted to his subs, please don’t be as bad as S.Mitchell!! I can still remembering subbing in Derrick Martin in Portland and we lost a 12 point lead just because of that blatantly obvious substitution F#^%-up.
I usually frequent other teams blogs before games and I have to say that RR is the most critical and most negative. I love this site. I visit about 10 times a day but the negativity starts to wear on me after a while.
We came behind from a deficit and got some good performances.not great but good. Enjoy the W.
Couldn’t agree more. It seems that the bloggers and most of the commenters just come on here to bitch and moan. Starting off the season 4-4 isn’t so bad considering some of the predictions…isn’t that right FAQ.
Exactly, Wins over Cleveland, New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit are solid wins. We’ve had a ridiculously hard schedule and it doesn’t get much better. If we can hover around .500 or be a few games above it will be that much better when we get to play the Knicks, Kings, Bobcats etc.
Raps Fan, your analysis echoed mine almost exactly. I actually watched most of the game with the sound off last night. The announcers just get in the way of watching the game. The first half was horrible and provides further evidence that this team is mostly lazy, stupid or both. Third quarter, more of the same until about half way through. then they finally started to play better D and push the ball.
But you’re absolutely right. This was much more about the Bulls losing it then the Raptors winning it. Bosh is the only guy on the team who has been consistently good this season. I am so sick of watching Bargnani stand around waiting for rebounds to come to him. The Raptors are collectively horrible when it comes to getting position for rebounds but the coaches should be all over this guy like flies on shit to get position and go after balls. You’re seven feet tall. Give me a break! This is a player who obviously needs to be pushed. I heard somebody ask if this guy might make the all-star team this year. What an incredible joke. This guy is light years from making an all-star team. Show some heart and prove you’re worth the money you’re being paid.
I can’t wait for Reggie Evans to get healthy. I was amazed watching how active this guy is. Constantly cheering the team, talking to all of the players. So into the game. They so need this guy on the court. I’m holding out hope that he will be a positive influence on the team, someone who will lead by example to the rest of the lazy fucks on this squad.
I was at the game and watched the Bulls play Denver Tuesday.
What we saw from the Bulls is what you can expect from the Bulls. Long stretches on offensive ineptitude is just part of their team. Last night that was helped greatly by a better defensive scheme from Jay Triano in the 2nd half.
The Bulls are at risk of losing to anybody because they can’t score. But they are going to be in games with their defense. That is who they are – at least right now.
I’m ready to defend Bosh against all the ‘twitter-haters’ with my fists and my boots!
…and I know ‘@ReggieEvans30′ has my back too!!
Belinelli scares the crap out of me!
This guy plays way out of control, and to be honest with you, I would rather see the minutes going between Quincy & Sonny. Both had good summers and pre-seasons and deserve the chance. One thing for sure is they will be trying their hardest and are well aware of the problems that they haven’t been part of. I guarantee you they are licking their chops to go and play.
Not to say they play at the end of games, or important minutes.
Plus DeRozan needs more touches and offense geared towards him, especially at the beginning of games. Trust me that will pick up the back-ups play, and he is proving to be pretty good. Again you’ll get 100% effort from him. I hate seeing him buried on the wing, and getting poor touches. Let the kid drive and use that athleticism!
Jose has made me eat my words a little, but I still think he’s better starting elsewhere, or off the bench. My fantasy headline reads as such: Calderon and O’Bryant to Bobcats for Gerald “I’ll get every rebound that comes my way, and score a few points too!” Wallace. I know it’s a dream, but I love Wallace’s game.
Imagine the starting five and bench
Bosh-Bargnani-Wallace-DeRozan-Jack
6th and 7th: Wright and Turkoglu (for either Wallace, DeRozan, Bargs or Jack)
8th:Evans
9th: Douby, Rasho, Weems
That’s my dream. I think that is a recipe for a trip to the semi’s and an outside chance to the finals.
Honestly I am really disappointed thus far, but do realize it is early. I hate that I read Bosh and the Knicks in the same sentence today. I really dislike that team, and hope all self-respecting players stay clear of their money.
When it comes to maximizing his earnings, I am 100% certain that Bosh doesn’t give 2 shits what teams you or I hate. Just like he doesn’t care if you work for RBC, who once screwed him out of $30 for a bogus NSF fee.
Your not serious about Jack being a starting PG, in place of Calderon.
He is not currently capable as a back up PG, and can’t make a shot as a SG either. Jack is an undersised combo guard, back-up PG and emergency starting PG, who cannot make a jump shot, nothing more.
Not only are you “Old” .. you are demented … so obvious.
Oh yes. Charlotte definitely wants to stock pike another PG. Felton, Augustine and Calderon. I don’t even need to address the rest of your suggestion.
I think Reggie is going to make a huge difference. Rebounding and presence will be immediatly addressed. I like the look of having Wright as our defensive guy on the outside and Reggie as our guy on the inside. Im borderline in favour of starting Reggie and having either Bargs or Turk coming off the bench. I know that sounds weird, but Bosh/bargs/Turk in the front is a way weak defensive front line. What do you think? We have enough offense to go around.
Reggie will be our Oakley and JYD … believe it..!!!!
Reggie is very much like JYD.
Great disrupter off the bench. Will get other guys off their game.
Don’t see him as an Oak – Reggie getting 9.5 & 9.5 on a season isn’t easy to imagine.
This whole starter/non-starter bull is totally bush league. Who cares who starts? It matters who plays. Take a cue from Popovich.
Calderon/DeRozen/Turk/Bosh/Bargs should be our starting line up for the entire season (and playoffs). Players thrive off of consistency.
Since 3 of the Raptors’ 4 victories have been against teams on the second game of a back-to-back set, I decided to see how many such situations we will encounter this year. First of all, you can find out how many B2B games each team plays at the bottom of this article: http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/6807/lessons-from-the-schedule .
Since the average seems to be 20 B2B games per team, and the fact that we have 21, I find it sad that we only get 18 opponents on such nights. [I just checked our schedule, and I can only count 20 B2B nights...]
Anyhow, here is who we play on the second game of a B2B (including games already played):
ATL 1
BOS 1
CHA 2
CHI 1
DAL 1
DET 1
GS 1
IND 1
MIL 2
NJ 2
NY 1
ORL 1
POR 1
SAC 1
SA 1
UTA 1
WAS 1
I think about 8 of those should still be winnable (which would make it 8-12 for the year on B2B nights). That would still be pretty good. And here is who plays us on a second night of B2B sets (including games already played):
ATL 1
BOS 1
CHI 2
CLE 2
DET 2
LAC 1
MEM 1
MIL 1
NJ 1
ORL 1
PHI 1
POR 1
SAC 1
SA 1
WAS 1
Of those, about 5 of the previous-night opponents are pretty weak (NJ twice, NY, MIL, MIN), so our opponent may not be that tired. Other than that, I would expect the Raps to drop maybe the BOS game and the ORL game. That’s it. That would make it 11-7, and if all predictions here are correct, this would even out with our own B2B record. Not too bad, I suppose.
Now if only the Raptors could figure out how to beat teams NOT on a B2B and NOT named the Hornets…
Nice Rap!
If it does even out (us playing B2B vs. them playing B2B) then it’s better than “not too bad”, in my opinion, due to the fact that there are 2 (3?) more instances of us being on the tired end of playing a B2B.
I don’t get this, how did both teams end up with 99 possessions if the Bulls had 2 less turnovers and 4 more offensive rebounds? Doesn’t make sense..
It doesn’t make good sense to me either, but I got the stats from:
http://statsheet.com/nba/games/2009/11/11/chicago-bulls-89-toronto-raptors-99
Just go to the Advanced Team Stats, it’s all there. These guys are widely used and trusted.
47-46 total rebounds for Raps + 10-7 in team rebounds?
Have to look at shooting fouls as well – too much work!
Bargs was fouled on a clear path.
This takes dedication!
“The haters were out in full force on Twitter ripping Chris a new one”
Which is reason 1074 why I hate Twitter.
Only those with short attention span brainlets Twitter because anything over 140 characters is a novel requiring thinking .. and thinking hurts their brainlets … believe it.
I don’t disagree at all, but am I wrong in saying that you lost a certain bet -the terms of which included you not posting here anymore?
I’ll miss ya, you’re posts are sometimes balanced and well formed and the rest of the time they’re pretty funny.
What exactly did CB4 do wrong on Wed night?
man check ur box score is suppose ot be bulls instead od spurs???
thanks man, fixed.
“the Bulls needed to be individually showered, changed and carried to the bus after the game.”
I don’t want to hear this. Although the Bulls may very well have been tired, this is a team who took Boston to seven games last year in what was arguably one of the most gruelling series’ ever (after playing a full 82 game season).
If the Bulls don’t have it in the tank to play a back-to-back 7 games into the season, I don’t know what they’re going to be like later on in the season.
So as much as it was a moral victory for the Raps regardless, I’d like to think that the reason for the vitory was that they did nail down the D a bit in the second half.
Raptors just waived 2Pac Jr. (Douby)…
.
If one was to say the Bull’s ran out of steam by the 4th quarter, or simply used it all up in the first half – would there be any distinction there? Is the latter more a gamble, while the former inevitable.
Semantics aside, I think it’s safe to say our Raptors are far from being a gelled team. Aside from Bosh’s extra offensive effort, Toronto simple looks lost out there. Poor passes, missed defensive assignments – whatever – the fact is, we lack a cohesive mix. The offense is there, but that’s more a function of the firepower we really do have.
All that said, there are times when I get tired of how minute our analysis gets, this early in the season. I take solace in the belief that we do have a fine team. And if we can weather this “perfect storm” of tough opponents, and awkward beginnings, this Raptor team will make us forget what last year was like. At least I hope so.
Hell, I get excited waiting for the day when Reggie “ya wanna be a eunuch” Evans starts roaming the floor. I’m sure he’ll help me forget 08-09. Until then, I’m glad we’re at 500 ball, whether we deserve it or not.
.
Something I’ve been thinking about the last hour or so …
I remember reading a comment that yertu wrote a while back (here or at the Star site), laying out an argument for Bargnani coming off the bench. Being a Bargnani fan, I (still) had to nod at the logic of it ‘cause I understood the good sense it made.
These days, I agree with it even more. Why? Because, when Bosh is on the floor, he’s the first and second option … and in that position, Bargs doesn’t really know what to do with himself (as has been suggested here, by more than one, today). I believe that Bargs is a natural ‘first option’ and when he’s thrust into that role, I think it’s more likely that he will excel. The opener against Cleveland might be a good example of this notion. Right off the bat at the beginning of that game, Bargs found himself with the ball near the corner and went around Varejao (I think) and slammed it home. From there on, it was like the game was his. He took it to the Cavs every way he could.
Since that game, Bosh has gotten more and more aggressive with his play – and spectacularly so – but with it, we’ve seen less and less of Andrea Bargnani doing all of the things that we know he’s so capable of doing (having seen it).
The question that I wonder is, why is it that we don’t we see all of those things lately? I can’t believe that Bargnani is actually just l a z y . I just don’t believe that. There’s something else, another dynamic in play here, that is causing him to be lesser of a player than what he really is.
Watching CB4 at work these days, he’s an absolute one-man wrecking crew. But when he has the ball, there’s not a much chance that it’s going anywhere except to the basket … whether it goes in or not. Any passes he makes are usually only because he’s been absolutely forced to. This isn’t a knock on Bosh at all … it’s just his game. (I’m a big Bosh fan, by the way.)
Then, we usually see Bosh take the first rest while Bargnani is left on the floor … to (probably) let him chair the ‘hot seat’ for a while … but, the problem as I see it is, the patterns (for Bargs) have already been set (finicky mind perhaps – I tend to think thoroughbred race-horse-like) and what he’s now being ‘asked’ to do is not what he’s already been doing out there, for those last minutes.
This may seem like a view-point of one who wants to over-coddle Bargnani … but, I can’t help but suspect that there is SOME truth to what I’m thinking. Basically, I imagine that he’s sort of a complex cat – more than what his exterior generally shows … and – right or wrong, good or bad – playing second banana just takes an unnatural toll on him and he’s not good at it.
This might not be the reason why yertu suggested what he did about Bargnani coming off the bench (not exactly, anyway), but it sort of amounts to the same thing (in the end, I think). And the thing is, I don’t even think Bargnani would even mind all that much … especially if he was sold on the idea, that the second unit was ‘his’ … more or less. If this is even a little bit true, and if the Raptors are going to be as good as they could and should be, I think they should seriously consider having Bargnani come off the bench. The team would benefit.
I have two problems with bringing Bargnani off the bench. The first is that there is no one else to really start at center for the Raptors. If they had another option, then it might be a possibility and the second, and more important one is that Bargnani has never played well coming off the bench. By moving him to the bench, you risk stifling his game, which has been somewhat fragile over the course of his career. He’s been tried in many situations and so far the only place he’s had any real success is as a starting center.
Give it time. Thats what Triano is working at, spreading the offense more around. Problem is Bosh has been playing like a monster. You gotta feed the monster.
Bargnani coming off the bench won’t happen, but haven;t you noticed the substitutions. Jay takes one of them out fairly early and them they’re not on together until halfway into second quarter. Decision gets harder near end of close games. Don’t worry, they are working on it.
I am all for starting Evans and having Bargnani come off the bench. Evans will take rebounding pressure off of Bosh. He will add toughness to the first unit. If Evans gets into early foul trouble then Triano an bring Bargnani in.
With Bosh having added the 15 or so pounds of muscle he can handle most centers in the league. In some case Evans could guard the bigger guys like Shaq or Howard. This isn’t as ridiculous as it might sound. The Pistons had very good success with Maxiell who is actually a bit smaller than Evans guarding Howard.
Johnson can fill in as needed.
An improvement in team defense will solve most of the problems the team has. Andrea and CB4 are already one of the most productive bigs duo and they will keep getting better as the season progress . If Triano can get the team to play defense like in the last quarter of the Bulls game more wins will be guaranteed and everybody will be happy. I am not saying this will be easily done.
I think you are right about Bargnani’s mentality, but I would address the issue in a different way. I would start him and go to him right off the bat for some points. At the same time I would tell Bosh that he is going to set the defensive tone of the game right off the bat and attack the glass at both ends. Once Bargnani has had a little time in the spotlight, I would make him an early sub and then start going to Bosh(say 5-6 minutes in), who should be warmed up for his defending and rebounding and ready to attack on offense. When Bosh is spent(say around the end of the first quarter, I would sub Bargnani back in for him to be the primary scorer on the second unit. Then, I bring Bosh back in mid-way through the second quarter and late in the quarted I take Bargnani out in favour of a defensive presence, in order to avoid a defensive letdown just before half. In the second half, I’d do something similar.
On a similar note, I think JayT is starting to figure out which players do well when they are on the floor together. For example, Bosh-Turk and Bosh-Calderon, Bargnani-Belinelli, Johnson-Belinelli(for some reason), etc… That can only get better as the season goes along.