The “man alive that was a long game” edition.
Banks – back in his rightful place: hanging out with the usher at the end of the bench looking for scraps.
Bargnani – took him a full half to get going. Not sure if his illness is lingering, but he had the Bargnani-of-old look to start the game: disinterest. Pulled it together in the second half and was a contributing factor.
Belinelli – fought his way to the free throw line tonight and showed he can indeed be a great distributor. I’m sure Triano (and I) would love to see him tone down the flashy passes just a wee bit, but whatever works.
Bosh – far from dominating on the offense end, but had 2 fantastic blocks covering for s beaten teammate and refused to stop looking for contact even though it seemed like he was only getting 50% of the calls he may have deserved.
Calderon – see what happens when you attack the hoop and demand attention right from the outset? One of his best games of the season with the ball in his hand. Did TJ burn him on the other end? Do I need to answer? I just hope Jose now knows he doesn’t have to be the primary playmaker on this team anymore. Relax and take what is given to you. Offset your defensive liabilities by working to produce elsewhere.
DeRozan – how about the nickname “Lighthouse” since he likes to get lit up every night? He needs time and I’m a patient guy, but he is quickly becoming somewhat of a liability. No plays are run for him, he stands in one spot too often and on the defensive end it’s like he should be holding 2 lit directional cones like they use to direct airplanes on the tarmac.
Evans – faker with a nice boot.
Jack – you think he was a bit hungry? This is somewhat like I expected from Hedo the other night. He was perfect from the field, perfect from the stripe and also had 6 dimes. Yes, he was pumped to play his old team, but more importantly he kept his “returning to form” play up. Great to see.
Johnson – I think he was caught up in a situation tonight where he felt he had to be too many places at once. He’s always moving every night, but tonight he seemed like he was trying to decide who to cover.
Mensah-Bonsu – never moved off the bench. Guess Indiana was too athletic a team for him to see any action.
Nesterovic – best game of the year. He showed he doesn’t always just bring bulk, but he can add some awkward finesse to it as well. It was nicely odd to see guys actually looking for him when they were passing the ball. It was almost like Rasho was 10 years younger and could actually, you know, produce.
O’Bryant – when he fills out his taxes, do you think he states he is a part-time seasonal worker? Kind of like a shopping mall Santa?
Turkoglu- you think he is starting to fit in? I still think he’s about 5 games away, but I’m thinking Jay and Jose are starting to believe he can actually run the offense a bit. I’m just waiting to see him running the point with Jarrett as his sidekick. The Hedojack Connection.
Weems – didn’t play. He did, however, order season 4 of Friends from amazon.com.
Wright – back in action. Didn’t seem to go full out and only saw 16minutes, but he did hit a much needed 3. Didn’t do much else, but we didn’t need it tonight. Not going to be able to say that too often, though.
Driving The Bus: Jose Calderon
Under The Bus: DeMar DeRozan
Game Theme:
24 Raps
fair assessment.
though i think jack’s driving the bus tonight. his points seemed to come at meaningful point throughout the game- particularly to stop the pacers 3rd quarter run.
side note: the pacers are a ridiculously boring team to watch. geeeezus.
Nice Roll Call… great to see us win a game without relying on Bosh and Bargs all night. I bet Triano wouldn’t give a crap if Belinelli wore a ski-mask, much less use flashy passes, as long as he keeps playing like he did tonight.
I think it should be CalderJack riding the bus.
Granger can score. But I think to be a real top-flight player, he needs to stop relying on his jump-shot when it isn’t falling (like in the first half), and attack the rim with his height and leap.
I don’t think Bargnani played well until the 4th quarter. Until then, he was lost on D and hopelessly clumsy on O. In the 4th though, we saw him nail some clutch shots and put this one out of reach. I am not willing to give him a pass tonight though on the strength of his one quarter. He has to bring that rhythm and intensity (and soft hands which were noticeably missing for 3 quarters) for all the minutes he is out there.
Andrea didn’t play well in quarters 1-3 because his teammates don’t pass him the ball. The only guys that are looking for him out there are Jarrett Jack (usually for 3 in transition), Belinelli, and Turk.
Jose looks Bargs off 9 times out of 10. Bosh would rather attack 3 swarming defenders than kick it out, or take a jumpshot when Andrea’s trying to postup. Jay has designed one play to get AB open in the midrange area and that’s used once every other game.
Bargnani could easily be an elite scorer at the C position right now, but so far he’s been used primarily as a decoy/outside threat.
Chris shot 26% today and still took 3 more FGAs than Bargnani’s season high. Even when the guy is lighting it up he’s still only getting 12-14 shots in a game…. that’s f’n ridiculous.
Bargs rarely sees the ball until Jack & Belinelli get on the floor.
Jose only has eyes for Bosh!
Amen to that.
I wonder to myself why a certain coach of the year is currently unemployed…
Bosh was 5 on 19 but I understand Bargnani (6 on 10) is an easier target for you….
Apparently you guys have been missing the times when Bargnani IS passed the ball in a scoring position but fumbles it or drops the pass. One pass Calderon made to a cutting Bargnani bounced off his chest because he wasn’t even looking for the pass (then why were you cutting???). I don’t know if it’s a lack of strength, or what, but Bosh is a much better target because he actually catches the ball cleanly most of the time.
Thought on the game…
1. What is up with our 2nd halves. 3 nights in a row where we look lost, disintrested and generally lazy on the defensive side
2. Jack’s stroke is coming along, when he’s agressive early it seems to make his outside shooting better. it seems like its all confidence with him
3. Marco and Amir have some great chemistry so far this season
********Question to Raptors Republic*********
How much difference will Reggie Evens bring to the defensive side of things in terms of difference in points allowed, FG% and turnovers created. Can we expect the entire team to improve defensivly or just better individual defense from 1 guy (6 Reb, 1 steal, and alot of hustleplays)
Game was over at the half.
Even scoring 39 in the third didn’t really give the Pacers any life. They are a dead team right now!
.
It will not so much be what Reggie brings, but what he does.
He could be the perfect tonic in encouraging some toughness in Bargnani. And help keep that 9.25 Rebound average (in the past 4 gaems) going.
Evans is there at the games – cheerleading an all — but it’s at the practices that he will help guys like Andrea, and Amir. Toughness that Reggie will bring to the games, along with a little motivation. Something that needs to be demonstrated to AB.
As for tonite’s game, I had the feeling like Post # 1 …. when does this end?
Nice to see we scored 74 points and the BB guys only contributed 12. Have we become the slow version of Phoenix North?
.
I thought the pace was pretty fast. The Pacers scored 50+ first half points on 41% shooting and no discernible difference in rebounding or turnovers.
Played out exaclty like the Miami game. Close 1st Q then a blowout 2nd horrible 3rd then finishing solid. They should start intergrating plays for DD, at least 1, he did a good job taking it to the rim in the opening seconds.
Nice to see Bargnani work his way through. Thought he came up with some key boards at a key time in the fourth. Odd, he shoots 6-10 and we think he’s had an off night offensively.
I’m really loving what Belinelli brings to this team off the bench. He definitely has a little showtime in him with the passes he makes, and I love how fearless he is attcking the bucket. This guy is a great spark and isnt afraid to get his nose dirty, great pickup by BC.
Yeah, i find him him the most interesting raptor to watch when he is on. Actially, Bargs and him are tied. I just like their smooth threes. SWISHHHHH
AltRaps – Re: Calderon “Did TJ burn him on the other end? Do I need to answer?” Are you kidding? Did you even watch the game or did you just look at the box score? TJ hit some tough shots and credit to him because he made them but Calderon’s defense on him was actually good. But, you wouldn’t dare acknowledge that. Instead you suggest he was burned on the other end when TJ got 16 points? Crazy.
You know, this game actually scares me instead of making me feel good. By the way they are playing thus far into the season, we can conclude that when raptors has a huge lead, the game will be never over, because we cant trust them.
Also, just imagine, our offence cant get better than how we played tonight, and still it was a 10 point game at the end against INDIANA! Are you kidding me? If we just played a little defense, this game should have been a 40 point blow out. This is just scary. Even, play this kind of defense, we might make the playoffs, but don’t expect us to win more than 2 games in the playoffs….
Watch much basketball? It’s generally only the elite teams that, if they run out to an early lead, keep it. Most teams that run out to a big lead in the first half end up letting the other team come back. The team ahead usually relaxes a bit and the other team comes out of the half with purpose. Only veterans teams, like San Antonio, the Lakers and Celtics know not to relax with a big lead, and even they give away big leads every now and then.
It’s normal.
It was a good win but man this team is scary, They had a good lead at the half but let Indiana back into it. That’s a few times now they have a terrible 3rd after a dominating half.
Overall I think they are getting better, they seem like a team that could win 12 in a row but they also seem like they could just as easily go 0-12 as well.
Tonight’s Game Was Boring!
The Pacers have NO Heart.
AND THE LOWER BOWL DOES NOT SUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best seats in the house are lower bowl behind the basket across from the Raptors bench.
Who do you think leads the cheers – VC Sucks Fire Mitchell BULLSHIT (at the Refs)
It’s not the Upper Bowl – It’s All from Sections 113 & 114 Lower Bowl – The best fans in the house!
Very nice to see our PG’s both play well at the same time. And I dont agree that Calderon got beaten defensively. TJ had 16point mostly on jumpers and only 3 assists (2 turnovers). I dont think thats horrible defense from our PG.
The offense in the first half was ridiculous. We were moving the ball and everyone was getting involved. Also everyone hit their shots outside Bosh (2-9 in the first half). Even Rasho looked like offensive menace. Great ball moving by both PG’s + Hedo and Belli there.
The third Q was craptastic. We stopped playing together and just started giving the ball to Bosh and waiting for him to score. And he wasnt scoring as he didnt get calls his way and started taking jumpers. Defensively Bosh played great last night, but you would hope that he could understand that in a game where everyone else is hot and you are not, you shouldnt take all the shots. I guess he needed to get his stats :)
And people are saying AB had a bad game. I dont think so. We had offense clicking in the first half so Im ok with him not forcing it that much. He only had few points in the half, but didnt take many shots either. And couple of times he tried going in strong (once he was fouled while trying to dunk and other time got the ball slapped away from him). In the fourth when we needed him to score he did. His offense was efficient (6-10 fg, 1 turnover) and he got 7 rebounds, two of which were important offensive ones in fourth. Compared to Bosh, he had two less points, but 9 less field goal attempts. He didnt hurt our offensive good flow, but was able to come through in fourth. Id say pretty good game.
It would have been nice to keep the lead through 3rd just to let starters rest before tonight game, but its also nice to see that we can easily finish these teams of even when losing a big lead (something we have done consistently this year).
We are 15 games into the regular season. Setting aside the tough schedule and road games, our success so far has been moderate. We see stretches of brilliance from all areas of this line up. Yet we see vexing periods of disinterest and confusion – mostly on the defensive side of the ball.
So, what’s wrong?
I can’t help but feel that the Raptors are a group of talented individuals who phase in and out of the team concept. Can this lack of consistency by placed at the feet of Coach Triano or should we be looking elsewhere?
Players play. That tired bromide explains a lot. What this team needs is the same thing that has been missing for some time – Player Leadership.
Who best to lead than our best player? Bosh has been in the league for over 450 games. This summer we heard that he was putting 20 pounds of muscle on and was preparing to go to war. And, Bosh has been tougher and arguably is having a career year – in a contract year! But still we are looking for answers to inconsistent team play.
The outstanding question in my mind is – can Bosh lead a championship team or at the least a playoff winning team? Many of the bloggers give Bosh a pass on leadership failings. But many of those same bloggers know that something is missing from this team. A heightened sense of awareness about Reggie Evan’s return is not for the missing attributes of his floor play but I believe in a misplaced hope that a bench player can bring the required leadership attributes that this team is searching for.
Until we find that missing player leadership, I am afraid we can get use to more inconsistent play – brilliance followed by indifference.