That’s what it takes to win games.That’s how you start a Western road swing, with a come-from-behind win over a team who let up just enough for the us to pull the rug out from under their feet. The Raptors got down 22 points early in the 2nd quarter but spent the rest of the game attacking the Clippers, finally taking the lead with a big 23-2 run to close out the game. This is the second game in a row the Raptors got themselves into a big mess, but unlike the Bulls-game, the Raptors made key defensive stops late in the 4th that broke the Clippers’ back.
This was a game of runs and an entertaining one at that. It started with the both teams matching each other basket for basket. Bargnani was attacking Kaman off the dribble early, blowing by him from the perimeter and finishing at the rim. Kaman returned the favour in kind with some big play in the post, scoring 9pts and grabbing 2rebs (1 offensive), even dropping a ridiculous duck-under move that got me out of my seat (I love watching fancy post-play). A couple fadeaways to boot and Kaman was looking as refined as ever, despite having a “virus”.
That’s when it happened; the Clippers turned it on; with the game 15-13 Clips, Baron Davis stepped up, and started to attack. He hit Rasual Butler, who was curling off a screen, with a pass for an open J. Davis slashed to the rim and Camby hit him with a pass for the layup. He drew the double on a penetration and kicked out to DeAndre Jordan and boom, 8-0 Clippers run pushes their lead to 23-13. Raptor timeout.
The timeout didn’t help as the Clippers went on another run with Davis and Camby playing off of each other, pacing an 11-2 run to end the first quarter leading the Raps 34-17. Hedo was obviously hurting, wincing every time he took a breath, Bosh was attacking, but couldn’t hit any of his shots as the lengthier Camby was obviously bothering him. Calderon was doing okay, but Davis was playing like a Top-5 point guard (7pts 5ast). DeRozan was feeling the pressure to preform in front of his family/friends and it showed with a turnover and a horrible looking airball.
The quarter started like the first one ended, with Antoine Wright taking a stupid shot. For some reason, I still like the dude a lot, just wish he would never shoot another jumper again, ever. Kaman and a guy named Craig Smith and Steve Novak pushed the lead to 22 by attacking the paint and hitting wide open 3s, but things were a bit different this time. Our bench was really giving the Clippers some problems. Amir Johnson was more then a handful for Kaman in the paint; Belinelli was running around like a vulture looking for the right time to strike, and he struck with timely jumpers that kept this game from getting out of hand. All his shots felt like daggers and he’s got the facial expression which lets you know it.
Bosh entered the game 4 minutes in and went to work. With Camby on the bench, he hit a beauty of a half-hook over Smith, grabbed rebounds, and went to the line. He teamed up with Amir Johnson to literally take control of the paint on both ends. The two were boxing out and pulling down rebounds, attacking the offensive glass, drawing doubles that opened up some space for Belinelli who hit his dagger jumpers.
Belinelli and Johnson’s energy off the bench was the game changer. With Hedo hurt and Bargnani absolutely invisible, these too provided the inside/outside punch to disrupt the sweet spot the Clippers got into. Kaman had no answer for Johnson’s tenacity on the boards. He may have blocked him once or twice but Johnson didn’t care. The Raptors were +12 in the paint in the 2nd, and cut the lead to 54-45 at the half. Getting back to Amir for a second; our boy is fierce, and having him line up along side Bosh is a combination I want to see Triano play more often (as opposed to say Calderon and Jack teamed up in the backcourt which gets more burn for some reason).
The 3rd quarter started the like the 2nd ended, with the Raptors attacking. Bosh and Bargnani got the ball rolling, but it was spearheaded by Calderon who had 9pts and 3ast. Baron Davis had no answers as JC drove, dished and dissected the Clippers. The earlier abuse Calderon took was now being reversed towards the Baron. The Raptors started the quarter on a 6-1 run; then a 9-2 run to take their first lead at 65-64. In fact, it was bucket for bucket until the 4:26 mark of the 4th, with the Clippers up 89-88, and the Raptors fielding the lineup of Calderon/Belinelli/Wright/Bosh/Bargnani:
- Bargnani trails the play and hits a DEEP three point; 91-89 Raptors
- Calderon blocks Telfair on the 3pt (greatest defensive play of his career) after a great 24 seconds of team defense
- Wright draws a foul on the drive and hits both from the line, 93-89 Raps
- Bosh/Bargnani force Kaman to take a bad shot
- Calderon hands off the ball to Belinelli for an acrobatic 3, 96-89 Raps
- Bosh/Bargnani collapse on Kaman in the paint, forcing him to airball from 3ft
- Bargnani trails the play, and Calderon finds him for another deep three, 99-89 Raps
- Davis is pressure on the drive by a rotating Bargnani, misses the layup
- Calderon quickly pushes the ball and hits a layup, 101-89 Raps
- Davis misses from 28ft
- Bosh draws the double and kicks out to an open Jose for a trey, 104-89
Unlike the Bulls game, where the Raptors capitalized on poor Bulls shooting from the perimeter to win the game; the Raptors played great team defense, communicating and rotating like they’ve been here before. Then pushing back after the defensive stand to capitalize on a Clippers team that was playing on their heels.
The Four Factors to Winning
Shooting the Ball
The Raptors took and hit good shots. They attacked the paint, found the open shooter when bigs got doubled, but stuck shot after shot.
Raptors – 56.8%
Clippers – 50%
Taking Care of the Ball
86 possessions, 28 assists and only 9 turnovers. ‘Nuf said.
Raptors – 10.4%
Clippers -17.4%
Offensive Rebounding
The Clippers front court are big boys. Between the Raptors good shooting, and the length and size of Camby/Kaman, there wasn’t much for Bosh/Johnson to grab. Kaman was an animal on the offensive glass, and really had his way with Bargnani.
Raptors – 25%
Clippers – 31.5%
Getting to the Free Throw Line
No surprise that with the attacking nature of the Clippers, and the jump shooting nature of the Raptors, the Clippers had double the FT rate. It should be noted that Bosh went to the line more then the rest of the Raptors combined (8-7).
Raptors – 18.7%
Clippers - 38.5%
Player Impact
Belinelli was driving the bus, but it was the MVP calibre play of Bosh that made the difference. After a slow start, Bosh dropped 21pts 14rebs 6ast, that’s ridiculous. Check the live blog to get the feel for the game.
45 Raps
Is it just me or does Jose look like pagliacci in that picture?
Congrats Rap fans. If the defense was that good as AltRaps said it was, then this team finally gets the message. It also looks like Amir has been hearing a lot of bad news about him, hence the beautiful change up for 2 games(or maybe he’s scared that when Reggie comes back, his minutes will be drastically reduced or he won’t play at all if he does not step up his game crashing the boards). Nice first road win on this 4-game trip. However, expect losses to the Phoenix Suns(Nash has been phenomenal with his points, assists and some defense we have not seen him ever play(when Nash is staying in front of his man and barking orders like a defensive general, you know something is up) and Amare Stoudemire has been a beast – maybe Nash is thinking about having a last run for a ring as he is already going to be an Hall-of-Famer)), Denver Nuggets(would meet a real center in Nene, shot-blockers in Kenyon Martin and Chris “the Birdman” Andersen and a defense-first PG in Chauncey Billups) and possibly Utah(except if we rest our starters early after the demoralizing loss to the Nuggets, keep Paul Millsap off the glass and limit Deron Williams dribble penetrations and also limit Deron to jumpers instead of layups). I see us taking the Utah game. The result of the 4-game road trip will be possibly 2-2(excellent) or 1-3(good, could have been better).
And the 3pt block by Calderon on Telfair as AltRaps said was really ridiculous and will be possibly Jose’s best defensive play ever. It deserves a Top 10 highlights.Lol.
The should be aiming for a 4-0 road trip, I can’t see how 2-2 is excellent or 1-3 is good.
A lot of posts on RR criticize the Raps even after a win, nothing wrong with that, cause I don’t know about you but I want there record to be 82-0. I know that is not possible but if you are happy with mediocrity the that is what you will get.
Great come back win but if you let the likes Boston, Magic, LA etc up by 20, then goodnight.
BTW – Bargs had 2 rebounds, LOL, someone tell him to take his skirt off and a least try to give Bosh a hand on the boards or give Amir more of his minutes.
So I guess the Lakers were a dissapointment last year…
The Raps play Phoenix (8-2) tomorrow night who have beaten the Celtics on their home court. Channing Frye is averaging 12.9pts and 5.2rbs while Amare is averaging 18.1pts and 7.9rbs. Bargnani is averaging 19.6pts. and 5.9rbs while Bosh is averaging 28pts and 11.8rbs. The Raps have a 16.6pt and 4.6rb advantage when compared to their starting center and pf. I keep hearing from all of the Bargnani bashers that we can’t win if he doesn’t rebound better…obviously that is not the case as the Suns seem to be playing well with a perimeter oriented center who doesn’t rebound well.
And Reggie Evans has yet to make a contribution with respect to rebounding…
19pts sam, 19pts
You and I know, OzRapfan, that a 4-0 record on this road swing will be hard. I see us losing to Phoenix and Denver for obvious reasons. We are not yet over the hump for now.
It seems Amir “gets it” now. Play defense and rotate quick. That is what Amir Johnson should see himself doing and knowing he is better than Bargnani in the rebounding and defensive rotation effort category. If Amir can’t block 3shots/game at least rebound like a Birdman on all sides, even if he falls down or stupidly stepping out of bounds, he shows the effort.
We might lets say have a chance in PHX, but we have to stop Nash from running his offense. Amare might eat us, but the “new” Bosh might do much better than last year. Just watch out for J. Dudley and Lou Amundson, those are two bench guys I’d want to look out for on the rebounding side of things. Danver we are raped, and Utah we are prison raped.
I would not be so quick to put such a ceiling on this road trip on this years squad if they continue to evolve their ‘d’
– they might get hot from 3
or catch one of these squads napping….
He may look like Pagliaccio , a tragic clown in the opera Pagliacci which depicts a real drama taking place while the comedians are entertaining villagers with a cuckolded husband comedy (real life imitating fiction).
There was also a play, either late in the third or early in the fourth where Bargs blocked Kaman and then Jose fed Bargs for a trailing three on the ensuing break. Bargs missed the three, which left the game close. But I loved the balls and killer instinct on that play. Over the coming years, i can see Bargs becoming a guy who deflates opponents with timely, emotional threes often.
Yea that 3 would of just killed the Clips! Love the intentions behind it
I look forward to a game when Bargnani hits his first 3 pt shot … and the second and then the third … and continues on, to have a perfect game percentage-wise on 3 pt shots, hitting a whole slew of ‘em. I can see it happening, one day. Will be very cool if it ever does.
“Calderon blocks Telfair on the 3pt (greatest defensive play of his career) after a great 24 seconds of team defense”
talk about a back handed compliment….
I didn’t mean it backhanded. He was active, up in Telfair’s face, stayed with him, didn’t bail him out, and blocked his shot. Took an elbow to the face for his trouble too.
As bad as Bargnani’s defensive game was, he came up with a huge stop on Kaman late in the fourth by forcing him into a fadeaway. It was in the start of that big run we ended the game on. Yes, but how he only had 2 rebounds that late into the game is mind-blowing, good thing Amir Johnson stepped up.
The second half saw the raps with a look in their eyes like San Antonio did against us last week. Knowing your team can will themselves to victory on the road is a plus. Knowing that your team can cough up 34 points/ quarter against the Clippers is a minus.
The fourth quarter recap is done well. How is this for a first quarter recap? Bosh forces his offense on way too many occasions leading to poor shot selection and the offense goes stagnate. This despite the fact that Bargnani showed that he could exploit Kaman off the dribble and potentially get Kaman into foul trouble. Nevertheless, the raptors continue to look off Bargnani leading many to believe that he lacks the necessary effort to be a top centre in the league. Moreover, the Clippers shoot a mind boggling 75% from the field. All of which is Bargnani’s fault ofcourse. Most of Kaman’s shots are from outside the key and are contested by Bargnani. Yet it is all Bargnani’s fault because he lets Kaman(a fellow 7 footer) hit fade away shots from outside the key (when is Bargnani going to learn to fight harder in the post and push his player all the way out to the three point line?). Bargnani fails to grab a rebound all quarter (what a douche). How is it possible that a 7 footer cannot rebound? During this time the clippers manage to grab a mind boggling 3 offensive rebounds. Once again all Bargnani’s fault. One of their offensive rebounds was off a Bargnani block. Bargnani should of jumped higher to grab the ball rather than swat it away (why can’t this guy rebound). The clippers hit 75% of their shots (why can’t this guy rebound). The other two offensive rebounds occurred when Bargnani made the mistake of playing team defense and provided help defense at the top of the key (why can’t this guy rebound) Bargnani should no better to keep his ass in the key and let his teamate
I have been a big proponent of Bargnani getting more looks. The Raptors went way from him for too long in the first half, but Bargnani also disappeared on the boards for a stretch there.
Maybe it is time to trade Bargs for Andris Biedrins or Brooke Lopez(would love the latter, he is younger and averages close to 12 rpg and 2 bpg)(legit centers in the L that grab at least 7rpg and 12-14 ppg). Bryan take note. Bargs has never and will never be a legit center in the NBA except if he improves his rpg to at least 7rpg. The best that Triano and Bryan can do is light a fire under his ass and tell him if he does not get 7rpg, he will be traded. However, Bryan will be willing to help him(since he was his #1 draft pick) by getting a big man coach in the name of Hakeem “the Dream” Olajuwon or Karl Malone. The measly rebound stats is what we can expect from Bargs(a defensively deficient center in the L) which is why we don’t have a chance to beat teams with real legit centers(that are also physical) that buy into their teams defensive systems in Boston(Perkins) and the Nuggets(Nene Hilario).
These two play on teams that suck and have sucked the whole time they have been there – what evidence is there any of these players would make The Raptors a better team other than wishful thinking? Same comments would apply to David Lee or Chris Kaman. Also The Celtics sucked with Perkins before Garnett and Allen arrived – he is just a role player who profile is raised by playing with great players.
Bargnani is a gifted scorer, the kind that is hard to find – why not try and find players that compliment his weaknesses rather than harping about his weaknesses.
BTW – when The Lakers were winning championpships in the 1980’s Kareem rebounded about as well as Bargnani – that is to say below average.
Ok, let’s think about this.
So far this year, VL’s averages:
FG% .512 (great)
FT% .931 (amazing)
3pt% .467 (great)
PTS 19.6 (great)
REB 5.9 (uh, well….you know.)
Plus a Block, 1.9 turnovers and 2.3 3-pointers per. (fantastic)
That’s pretty good. “legit”? Definitely
What other centers in the league score at least 18ppg?
There’s 7 others (Bosh, Kaman, Bynum, Howard, Z Randolph, Al Harrington-he’s worse in rpg- and Amare)
How many of them average even one 3-pointer a game? zero.
How many of them averages less turnovers a game? Only Bosh
How many shoot at least 80% (never mind 93%!) from the line other than VL? Just Harrington, who again has less rpg.
He’s definitely legit. Other than Howard, what center in the east is putting up better numbers right now?
Yes, he has to rebound better/more. We shouldn’t have to trade Rebounds for 3’s. We need both.
For sure the numbers do the talk, but he’s just gotta start scrapping for the ball when it comes to rebounding, it will save his life in the future or when Bosh might now be around.
Man some people never give up. We have a good team this year, and people are like trade this guy, bench this guy, start that guy. I think the coaches and management have a little bit better grasp on things than us and they have done a great job to start the season
Do you mean teams like Cleveland, with Shack, who the Raps beat by 10 points at home ??
Bargnani is currently averaging 19.9pts and 5.9rbs…do you really think one more rebound per game is gonna take the Raptors over the top. Plus, Reggie Evans has yet to play a single game in a Raptor uniform and I’m guessing he will improve our rebounding woes. As for Lopez, do you think New Jersey is going to trade him for nothing.
Great Post. VL… Kaman made shots and instead of going back to Bargs and giving them a taste, they blamed Bargs for Kaman’s scoring. The clips lead ballooned, with Bargs on the bench. There were not many boards to be had when Clips shot 75%.
A bit melodramatic, wouldn’t you say? I think it’s a fair criticism when your PF outrebounds your C 14-2. Yes, maybe Bargnani is blocking out his man so Bosh can grab the rebounds, but that means Bosh is also blocking out and being forced to go get the ball. Is it fair to ask Bosh to ALWAYS grab the rebound, while Bargs simply keeps his man away? And then ask Bosh to be the primary weapon on offense? Obviously not. At some point Bargs has to take some initiative and actually go get the rebound.
Macy when are you and other bashers going to realize Bargs is not a traditional center, which is why the Raps took him. If you want a traditional center who rebounds but cannot do much else then where will Bosh play since he needs the lane to be effective. Bargs is exactly the type of center a team wants when your pf is a guy like Bosh. If you want a big lumox then cheer for shaq
My point was that rebounding is a team game. Most teams these days are running a high screen with their center and point guard against us. When this happens Bargnani is often required to help on the PG. In turn, this results in Bargs being out of position for the rebound and therefore deduced to the role of trying to box out. In no way was I trying to diminish Bosh’s rebounding. I believe that when Bargnani switches to guard the other teams PG is when our defense is most vulnerable. This is why many people blame Calderon/Jack and Bargnani for our poor defense (they are always the first point of attack). Maybe we should try Bosh defending the high screen. He has much more quickness and better hops to grab rebounds when he is out of position. I agree that Bargnani lacks the tenacity and anticipation to become a dominant rebounder. However, we must remember that Bargnani was a shooting guard during most of his early career. Moreover, the center position in Europe is far different than in North America. I feel that Bargnani has shown improvement this year in his rebounding acumen and I expect him to improve.
Okay, here is why I favour the Brook Lopez for Bargs trade:-
1. The guy is averaging double digits ppg and rpg on a team that sucks. He is probably the number 1 scoring option on the team. He creates an awesome interior presence(with bpg, rpg stats) on the team that if not for the defensively deficient PF, he might be paired with, most of their losses will not be in the paint. This is an ideal situation for a ’star’ like Brooke Lopez to be offered another chance on a middle of the road club(unlike bottom feeders, the Nets). Even Brooke will want to leave the Nets right now, as probably CP3 wants to leave the Hornets. And when a player is playing well in all facets of the game for a team that sucks, he is a winner and has a killer instinct(something that we are yet to see from Bargs)
2.His pairing with Bosh gives us huge interior presence that will enable the Raps to deal with physical teams like Denver and Boston(can’t remember more for now). The trade will happen because Brooke would want to leave the Nets(ala Vince Carter’s demand of a trade out of the Raps) and most times, the players’ wishes are granted. To make it an even sweeter deal, the Nets get Bargs for Brooke(no dip in scoring), which the Nets will probably consider. Add in a few second round draft picks(the Nets are in rebuilding mode), the trade is highly possible. We get a young center like Bargs’ age that can actually rebound and post blocks and half of the Raps problems are solved. If the trade can be pulled immediately after the NBA season(before Bosh changes his mind and decides to bolt for another team to FA 2010), even Bosh will resign with the Raps if he sees this trade materialize.
3. I offered out a way for Bargs(since he is Bryan Colangelo’s boy and #1 draft pick) by even getting a big man coach for him(Olajuwon or Malone) to improve his rpg stats. Let us face it as Rap fans, if we do not light a fire under Bargs’ ass(by telling him to improve his rpg stats and defense and telling him he is tradeable), he is not going to improve. The last thing the Raps need is a defensively deficient center(who thinks because he is the #1 pick ,Colangelo’s guy and led to Sam’s sack because Sam was not playing him enough(I support Sam’s decision here)) who will make his team being manhandled by the Denver Nuggets and Boston Celtics because of sub-par rebounding and defense.
The last thing:- I did not and will ever say Perkins is/was a star. He was only the foundation along with Rondo and Pierce for the Celtics, we know today.
I rest my case here.
It was like the Raps came out after the half and suddenly realized, “No. There is no way we’re going to lose to the Clippers.”
Calderon played like a man possessed, I’d like to see more of that from him. A LOT more.
I would agree that at times Bargnani does get some undeserved flak. Part of his utility to the team is being able to pull opposing centers out of the paint due to his ability to hit the three. The obvious consequence of this is that he is away from the hoop and not in a very good position to hit the offensive glass. Couple this with the fact that he takes a lot of long range shots and it somewhat explains his poor offensive rebounding numbers.
I would also agree that last night he forced Kaman into some tough shots. When a big hits fade aways outside the paint with a hand in his face sometimes you just need to tip your hat to him.
All that being said, I think the main reason that Bargs gets hated on is his lack of effort on the defensive glass. You watch enough raps games and you come to realize that it is a rare sight to see him aggressively go after loose balls etc. Being Canadian sports fans, we put a premium on hustle (see R Evans growing fan base) and Bargs does not display that too often.
Marco “Bailout” Belinelli
Marco “Rocky” Belinelli
Marco Ginobli
etc.
I thought the same thing.
pops just got release wouldn’t seeing him on the roster since Banana sucks at rebounding
Problem is…Pops doesn’t play much unless there’s a whole lot more injuries. He’d be behind Evans (when healthy), Johnson, and maybe Rasho. I loved the energy he brought last year, but I wouldn’t get excited about a guy whose ceiling is “5th big” on the team.
Amir Johnson is our Pops…. don’t be tempted to take him in recklessly, but seeing him replace O’Bryant is a welcome sight.
how come hedo has pretty much gotten a free pass so far when he really hasnt done much of anything and people continually rip bargnani for his lack of rebounding ignoring his efficient scoring and the fact hes probably been our most clutch player?
we didnt draft bargnani for his rebounding, we drafted him for exactly what he’s been giving us so far. 2 rebounds is pathetic but hes probably only a 6 of 7 rpg player anyway. if we are lacking rebounding its going to have to come from the 3. unfortunately hedo’s not that guy. if we could pull a hedo for anthony randolph trade i think it would solve our rebounding and defensive shortcomings, until something like that happens we’re gonna be a weak rebounding and defensive team.
“Kaman was an animal on the offensive glass, and really had his way with Bargnani”
Are you just looking at Kaman’s four offensive rebounds and assuming he grabbed those from Bargs? That wasn’t the case.
He stole 2 of them from Bosh & Amir, one from Wright after Bargnani left to help and prevent penetration, and the other one came directly off a blocked shot by Andrea.
I would’t say Wright shouldn’t shoot. He should drive! He has less skill off tje dribble than Moon. The only thing he can do is corner 3’s.
that’s valuable if he plays with our first unit
I thought Wright was supposed to catch alley-oops also.