That’s not a promo, these are the players who aren’t 100% for the Clips.Every time we play the Clippers this memory is conjured up. I remember Swirsky calling that on the radio and going into mild cardiac arrest. Nine years later the Raptors are embarking on a potentially lethal four game road trip with some knocks. None of Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon and Turkoglu could go 100% in practice on Wednesday due to various bumps and bruises. All four will play but as Triano so eloquently put it, today was a day of “maintenance” which was necessary after the effort expended against the Bulls (I know, I know). The Raptors have won their last three meetings in the Clippers version of the Staples Center and this is our best chance of picking up a win on this trip which also sees us play Phoenix, Denver and Utah; you do recall what happened the last time we were in Denver and Utah, right?
Blake Griffin’s already out for them and the Raptors do catch another break, second year guard Eric Gordon is out with a strained left groin. He was averaging 19pts and 4asts but has missed the last two games in which the Clippers replaced him with Al Thornton, so they do have some size in the backcourt. Before we look at the matchups, let’s get our ESPN Truehoop partner ClipperBlog’s take on some things:
Blogger’s Take
A low key player liable to have a big game against a bad defense and why?
Craig Smith has been really active for the Clippers. He’s both brawny and agile. Matched up against the likes of Andrea Bargnani, he should be able to use those attributes to work himself easy shots and second-chance points.
How’s Baron Davis doing?
Much better. He actually recorded his first dunk as a Clipper Wednesday night. More important, his ratio of long jumpers to close-range shots has narrowed considerably this season. Because he’s in better shape, he’s been able to re-establish his dribble-drive game and, as a result, create opportunities for others.
Would you pull the trigger on an Andrea Bargnani for Chris Kaman and Al Thornton trade?
At this point, probably not. Though Thornton is a liability, the Clips are pretty set up front and Kaman is a big part of that. Despite an off night on Wednesday (his first real stinkbomb of the season…he still managed a double-double), he looks great.
Are you secretly a Lakers fan?
I’m secretly a Lamar Odom fan.
Matchups
The Point: Jose Calderon’s averaging 15pts and 7asts over his last four games and seems to be out of his early funk. Baron Davis is netting 14pts and 7asts but shooting a pathetic 38%, needless to say we should be going under any screen set for him. However, as ClipperBlog said, he is being more aggressive and launching less questionable shots so it could be a matter of how motivated Baron Davis feels to go at Jose Calderon. Since Jose doesn’t appear to in the fullest of health for this game, this could be a turning point. Davis was never a defensive force and definitely isn’t one now, if Calderon could take advantage of the lateral uncertainty of Rose and Hinrich, Davis shouldn’t be a problem. If he does turn out to make a mess of this, there’s always Jarrett Jack who, remember, is supposed to defend these bigger PGs/smaller SGs. Still waiting for a complete game from that guy. I’d even flirt with the idea of putting Wright on Davis.
The Man: An excited DeRozan returns to California and faces Al Thornton who is equally athletic but far more unpredictable. The defensive work for DeRozan should be easy, Thornton’s shooting 38% this year so there’s not going to be a reason to play him tight to start things off. In fact, DeRozan’s the ideal candidate here to provide help to others as long as the rotations are there to back him up. The rookie has no excuse to let Thornton go off, especially since the Clipper’s only crossed double digits twice this season. Offensively, you’d think there would be opportunities to get points for him on the break and such but let’s face it, to get those easy ones you need to be able to rebound properly and we’re 28th in the league at -2.25.
The Wing: If Turkoglu is worth $53 million, he needs to undress Rasual Butler tonight. There are no excuses, this must be a matchup that we win hands down. Turk’s not been very assertive in his playmaking or offense so far and the Clippers present a good opportunity for him to create by getting their bigs in pick ‘n roll situations. I’m expecting a big game from him even though he’s being guarded by a good defensive player. He better not let Butler pull a Marion on him.
The Big: Chris Kaman can’t move and doesn’t like leaving the paint, in fact, his mobility could be worse than Shaq’s. Our bread and butter tonight should be to get Kaman involved in PnR situations where he’s forced to step-out at a 45. After that he should be at Bargnani’s mercy and more importantly, out of rebounding position. Even if Bargnani’s settling for jumpers he should first make sure that there’s somebody other than Camby under the boards, which is not what he did against Chicago. Kaman is a whale who can move Bargnani with one swipe of his dorsal fin and there’s not much Bargnani can do about it except maintain position. Could be a weak-point for us.
The Strong: Emm Vee Pee…Emm Vee Pee…unfortunately, players on .500 teams don’t get MVPs and at some point the team will have to start doing well before he gets the TV time he deserves down south. This is a battle of old and new as Marcus Camby tries to use his length and span to disrupt Bosh. Bosh will have to prove his jumper first because the strategy of barreling in is less likely to work against Camby who can afford to give space and still contest any shot attempted by Bosh. The Raptors are still dead last in defensive rating while the Clippers are a surprisingly respectable 14th, a lot of it has to do with sheer athleticism and passable defensive rebounding (although the margin is worse than the Raptors). They’re above average in every defensive category and are 2nd in the league in blocks at 7.66. Camby is swatting 2.33 and leads the team in rebounding with 9.7. Bosh could have a tough time tonight.
How to win this game
The Clippers are averaging 96.44ppg and if we hold them to that number, we’ll win. Simple as that. Forget about X’s and O’s, just like we showed up and played hard on the first game of the earlier roadtrip against New Orleans, do the same. The first game is always the one to steal and the Clippers happen to be missing a key player in Eric Gordon so life should be easier. We can’t let Camby and Kaman carve us up inside, you know both of these guys will be hitting the glass so both Andrea Bargnani and Amir Johnson need to match them in effort and commitment to rebound.
Hedo Turkoglu and Jose Calderon need to be initiators of all things offense and they both have favorable matchups which they can take advantage of if the screening is done right and the floor is spread properly, something the Raptors have done very well this year. We can’t rely on Bosh to get his through one-on-one tonight so the wing play will need to be solid. I’m picking Belinelli to come off the bench and have an impact on offense, but both him and Jack should be warned that having a Clipper scrub like Craig Smith or Sebastian Telfair explode on us will result in a Greyhound bus to Phoenix.
The Clippers are 19th in 3pt shooting at 33% so the pack-the-paint strategy could work.
Prediction
Visser’s sim says 94-82 Raps. I say add 10 points to both totals and you get the right score. So far my prediction of 2-2 for this week is on course.
Not much else going on other than Quincy Douby being released which means that we’re going to add someone to the roster. The question is do we add another big or a defensive wing, I’m leaning towards a wing only because Reggie Evans will be coming back in two weeks or so at which point it’ll create a logjam. Unless of course we release Patrick O’Bryant at that time which would make sense, after all, he’s been as useless as anyone on this roster, including my man Douby. This does leave us very thin at the PG because if one of Calderon or Jack goes down it’ll mean Marcus Banks getting a non-practice minute which we can all agree is fatal.
Tonight’s the first Raptor Fan Friday of the season at Sports Centre Cafe on Yonge/St. Clair. First drink on the Realizar.
A man once asked me to run in a marathon, I said no. He said it was for a good cause, I told him to buzz off because I didn’t like waking up at 6AM on a Saturday. This is easier but uglier, do it, it’s for a good cause.
Let’s go Raps, win it for the Q. Oh, and fake trades anyone?
50 Raps
We should win. I think Bosh might hit 40 this game. I expect Demar to hit double digits for the first time in his career (hopefully Jay give him more than 18 minutes this game).
With the Raptors, “where giving unknown players and weak teams career highs in the L and making the impossible happen”.Lol. Let’s hope they get a W(the Memphis loss still fresh in my mind like Tim Hortons cofee).
Definitely think this one is ours for the taking, with Gordon out, but I’ve been wrong about almost every Raptors prediction I’ve made thus far.
Gonna miss this RFF, but will be there down the road. Have a good one.
If Kaman is a whale what is Shaq? I think Barney the Whale Hunter can dominate that matchup with good shooting and aggressive play. Our ball handlers should be able to get to anywhere they want on be on the court tonight so the key to victory will be rebounding. We don’t need to outdefend the Clips b/c we will outshoot them. Bosh (and Amir and Bad Moon DeRozan need to clean up the mess).
Will we see Bargs leave his feet to grab a board again… ever?
I’m feeling much better about this game with Gordon missing. That guy would seriously carve us up.
don’t worry…someone else will. which scrub who hasn’t done squat against anyone else yet will light it up vs. the raps? deandre jordan?
Hes a big isnt he? We know how other teams PF/C always kill us on the boards
arse – thanks for plugging movember.
as for the game…this is either a stinker or a blowout in the raps’ favour. actually, that’s generally how i feel before every game against a ‘weaker’ opponent. agree that they should have wright on davis as much as possible, it was effective against rose. i fear the damage kaveman & camby will wreak on the glass.
and in news that’ll be fired under ‘it’s REEEAAAAL early in the season, but this move is WAAAAAY late,’ byron scott was fired yesterday.
Hey guys, just a random question here. When T-Mac was traded to the Magic what did we get in return? I kept reading about this 1st round pick but I coudn’t really get confirmation on it. Who did the raps end up drafting with it? Or did they trade it? And for who?
And on a side note, I’ve noticed that the raptors have had a history of passing up on studs right. Wade, Granger, Jennings, Igoudala were each drafted right after a raptors selection. That just has to be disturbing for a diehard raptors fan, right?
uh, can we pull a big mac and not discuss the past?
Sure, very disturbing. Now do some historical analysis on all the other teams in the league and you’ll see the same thing.
Happens to everyone, and honestly, only Igoudala really belongs on that list. There were no or few complaints when Bosh was picked over Wade, Graham over Granger (if you remember, most people thought Graham was a good smart pick, whereas Villanueva was the supposed bust), and DeRozan over Jennings. Igoudala, however, was supposed to go before the Raptors pick, so when he was passed over, most fans were outraged and rightly so. To claim credit for the other “missed” picks, you’d have to be a revisionist.
I don’t remember exactly, but the McGrady first-round pick was either protected or owed to another team.
oh gawd… this part of the season is always dreadful..
Now, wouldn’t it be something in these early stages if we could be 6-6. Most Raptor fans are not realizing what they are witnessing.
Banks on the court? We have regular rotation players that can pass the ball. If Calderon or Jack get injured, Belinelli & Turkoglu can share the responsibilities until they’re back. Forget about Banks!
The Big: Chris Kaman can’t move and doesn’t like leaving the paint, in fact, his mobility could be worse than Shaq’s. >>
First let me say that Kaman has some kind of virus and was kept away from the team yesterday. It is unknown if he will play tonight.
Secondly: As I have posted I live in Los Angeles and watch all of the Clippers games and have for years. (Why not? I like their announcers!!) Next to Bynum Kaman has some of the best low post moves with both hands of any center in the league. You can put that in the bank.
In addition he can effectively shoot up to 15 feet facing up or on turn around jump shots. He can effectively make jump hook shots with either hand from 10 – 12 feet.
According the L.A. Times Kaman will probably play tonight.
Now that I have gotten that off of my chest.
The Clippers will be without Eric Gordon. Gordon is by far their best shooter and next to Kaman their best player.
Gordon has missed 6 games since he came into the league. The Clippers are 0 – 6 in those games. No reason it shouldn’t be 0 – 7 after tonight.
Well if Reggie was playing, Kaman should be wearing a baseball cup tonight, or he will be anyways because Reggie won’t sit down on our bench in street clothes. Funny if you see Reggie signal to Kaman with a grasping hands.
I heard Reggie isn’t making the trip out and is due to sit another 2 weeks. Too bad there will be no mindgames.. on Kaman’s crotch.
“This does leave us very thin at the PG because if one of Calderon or Jack goes down it’ll mean Marcus Banks getting a non-practice minute which we can all agree is fatal.”
For sure. But I believe the combination of Beli and Turk on the floor will reduce our dependence on Banks – perhaps more like 8 min/game or less for Banks.
Baron Davis
==============
I never liked his game when he played for the Bruins.
I was never really impressed with his game when he played for the Warriors
and I like it even less now that he plays for the Clippers.
He is not very good at all in a half court game. He can play pretty good in a run and gun game like the Warriors play so he put up some good numbers with them.
If the game tonight is high scoring he could be pretty effective. If the game is at a slower pace Calderon shouldn’t have much trouble with him.
He was fantastic as a Charlotte Hornet. He carried that team deep in the playoffs when they had no business being there.
Erik Gordon will be damn explosive tonight if DeRozan will be on the floor for a long time guarding him. Antoine Wright should clean-up DeRozan’s mess if he do terrible tonight. Guarding Gordon tightly will affect Gordon’s game, so they should consider this.
The Raptors should perform a massive assault early in the 1st and 3rd quarter inorder to secure a win tonight. They tend to play so slow on 2nd and 4th quarter for some reason — the coaching staff should address this matter.
Chris Bosh should be more aggressive on the floor and grab every ball like what he did vs Bulls. He should do an ‘in yo face’ dunk for highlights sake and so US Media will start respecting this team. Bosh should school DeAndre Jordan.
Wait, Gordon is injured. Well, it doesn’t mean DeRozan will have a 15 minutes of fame in his hometown. There’s still Al Thornton to be handle. If he wants to play with huge minutes tonight, show your ego and tell them that you are the best. This is how players became superstars — showing ego will help you become better in the game (see Allen Iverson). He should perform wicked dunks and alley-ops so that people will start praising you including me.
for the life of me, i can’t figure out if you’re being tongue-in-cheek with your posts, or if you experienced some recent head trauma. either way, i hope you wear a helmet at all times.
Whichever it is, he doesn’t sound very bright.
If you don’t know what I’m talkin about, maybe you don’t know how to represent yourself to others. If you have had read the “Art of War” or “48 Laws of Power”, you’ll get every single thing that I previously posted in this site.
According to 48 Laws of Power, Law #34: You have to act whatever you wish you desire to be. If you act like a superstar, you have to start acting like a superstar. Look at Nate Robinson, for me, he’s not a superstar just by looking at his stats. Even his team don’t believe he’s a superstar (as he only signed a 1 year deal with New York). However, Nate Robinson became a household name because he always treated himself a superstar every game even though he’s not. Again, the way you carry yourself determine how you’ll be treated: In the long run, appearing like an ordinary player, you’ll be treated like one and media will ignore and criticize you.
This is a lesson for all of you! Happy Friday.
I guess Kobe, Dirk, McGrady, Granger, Jermaine O’Neal, and countless others could all learn from you! None of these top players came into the league guns blazin’. And honestly, I’d like to see you point out which points you derived from Sun Tzu’s Art of War. Wesley Snipes’ Art of War, more likely.
Words of wisdom from LilRomeo…LMFAO!
Wesley Snipes Art of War? That’s gold man!
LOL. I’ve been baited by this guy (?) a couple of times. I can’t tell if it’s a 12 year old fu@cking with everyone or if he/she’s really that dim and uncouth.
The sad part is I’m starting to dislike Jennings a little bit because of this clown.
It’s the darned funnist thing I’ve read in this forum…so ridiculous. Agree about the helmet.
You are way too hard on DeRozan, if you’re comparing his production to a rookie like Tyreke Evans, know that DeRozan doesn’t have the freedom most other rookies have because he’s a small cog in what is supposed to be a winning team. His sub patterns are inconsistent and he can’t just go out there and get himself comfortable. You put him on a bad team like the Kings or Bucks and he’ll produce the stats which is basically all you’re looking at when analyzing him.
LAC always looks like they have the ability to lose.
Raps need this one – far and away the weakest team they’ll see on this trip.
But its never easy on the road.
Hopefully DD doesn’t get caught up in the home-coming distractions and plays like he did on Wednesday.
pretty unrelated, but i just saw this article on TSN’s website: http://www.tsn.ca/nfl/story/?id=298039 about an ESPN documentary series they’re airing, one is about Len Bias, it should be pretty interesting. Plus I’ve heard good things about this whole series from friends in the US. Sounds like it’s worth watching! Has anyone seen this already?
On Hoopshype … what does this mean?!:
Under doctor’s orders, Chris Kaman stayed away from his teammates Thursday. Nothing against the Clippers’ leading scorer, but that may have been the best call of the week. Kaman is suffering from a virus — not flu, the team says — and the last thing they need is for what he has to go spreading through the squad. It’s not a good thing if their numbers continue to hover around 10 and 11 players, at practice, and especially with a three-game trip coming up, starting at Oklahoma City on Sunday. Los Angeles Times
If he has contracted some kind of ‘virus’ that will drag him down if he tries to exert effort. Gonna be interesting ….
He had the virus during the Clippers last game and it showed. It was his first bad game of the season.
You are correct if he is still feeling its affects it will definitely help the Raptors tonight.
Raps don’t need excuses to win (re: so & so is out, they are on a back to back etc) the just should win because they are the better team.
I’d worry more if Kaman was out. For some inexplicable reason the Raptors can’t handle scrubs.
Could Kaman also infect Raptor players with his ‘virus’ by playing in close contact with guys like Bosh, Bargs, Amir …????
Maybe they should be wearing surgical masks if Kaman is on the floor tonight ..!!!!!
It doesn’t matter if Kaman plays or not he always has horrible outings against the Raps. I can guarantee if he plays that they will mention his stats against the Raptors.
If the Raps lose and use the we are ‘banged up’ excuse because they played a quarter of defense against the Bulls, I will stop watching this team.
Wow…now there’s a threat.
Game is winnable, but I’m not putting guarantees on this game because I think our defense and inability to rebound will make us throw our remotes to the TV screen. Clippers have better chemistry, if not better luck or anti-curses, since the removal of Zach Randolph, and the addition of glue-man Rasual Butler. No Eric Gordon, but Davis could be eating Calderon for dinner. We can win and get bigger leads if we make Telfair shoot jumpers.
There is good reason why home teams are favored most nights.
Never take a road game for granted.
Wow I was just looking at the clippers team, and I was thinking these guys will be realllyyyyy good next year. Watch out for the clips in 2 years, they will be the lakers of LA. Once blake griffin sets foot, and the top 5 pick they will have this year…. watch out!
If they get/draft a better backup PG, get rid of Ricky Davis, and an established 6th man SG, they can make it to the playoffs time to time.
Sorry, Clippers curse still holds true.
No doubt. They’ll find some way to fuck it all up. They always do.
So basically, Blake Griffin will contract some disease and go blind, they win the lottery, but after pre-season, their pick gets hit by a car, Reggie Evans returns and finishes off Kaman’s nuts etc.
I think that Griffin gets enough Beta-Carotene to avoid getting conjunctivitis, I’ll bet the Clippers take Jeremy Tyler with their pick, who then shatters both of Griffins kneecaps to get more playing time. Oh, and they’ll find a way to reacquire Zach Randolph because Donald Sterling misses what he brings to the team