From here on out, every game is a must win. Triano talked about not panicking recently, and I agree to a certain point. When your franchise player is out of the lineup, and you lose 4-in-a-row because the rest of the team isn’t that good, you just hope Bosh gets better quick and gets back fast enough to assure us of a playoff spot. Now that he’s back, and we’re in the stretch run, these girls need to pull up their skirts and get down to business.
With the resurgent Milwaukee Bucks a half game behind us for 5th, things are tighter in the East than you might expect. The difference between the 5th spot (where the Raptors currently are) and the 9th spot (where the Bobcats are trying not to fall apart from) is only three games. Considering we just dropped 4 in a row, whatever cushion we had just evaporated and the certainty of a playoff spot we had a week ago has been reduced to a dog fight.
Over the last four games, the Raptors have just been terrible, they:
- have lost by an average margin of 16.2 points
- have given up an average of 115.5 ppg
- allowed their opponents to shoot 47.1% from the field
- turned the ball over 61 times, which has lead to 80 points
Oh…and no one has stepped up to fill in for Bosh. I mean, Jack has done a pretty good job of steadying the ship, but Turkoglu is playing just a bit better than usual, and Bargnani doesn’t seem to have what it takes to be #1; and you can’t really expect much from the rest.
What we have got a glimpse of the last 6 games is what life will be like if Bosh walks this summer (not a sign and trade). If the franchise ups-and-leaves, we will have almost enough cap space to replace him with anyone other than the likes of a Drew Gooden or someone along those lines. I get nauseous just thinking about it.
The Knicks are just all kinds of awful. They are 3-10 since February (including a 9 game losing streak) with 2 of their 3 wins coming against the Wizards. It’s a sadder sight than Arsenalist at a Justin Bieber concert hopping, clapping and swooning. However, they are coming off a hard fought win against the Pistons where D’Antoni used a tight 7-man rotation.
If the same lineup is used tonight against the Raptors, things will get interesting.
Starters
G, Tracy McGrady [6-8, 223]
OG, Bill Walker [6-6, 230]
SF, Danilo Gallinari [6-10, 225]
PF, Al Harrington [6-9, 250]
C, David Lee [6-9, 250]
Bench
PG, Sergio Rodriguez [6-3, 176]
OG/PG, Eddie House [6-1, 180]
I don’t know a whole lot about Bill Walker, but the rest of this lineup is very athletic and matches up very well with an injury plagued Raptors (Calderon and Turkoglu are listed as day-to-day). The only thing that worries me is McGrady at the point, who has been playing pretty good in the 7 games he’s been a Knick (four of which he has scored more than 15 points). Jack will have his hands full, as McGrady can shoot over him at will and post him up.
I like Banks/Weems off the bench against Rodriguez and House, but I suspect Wilson Chandler will get plenty of burn since he likes to light the Raptors up. Poor Eddie, guy got shafted large with this exile.
While I hope Turkoglu and Calderon are fine and will be ready for the playoffs, I like that Wright and Banks will be getting plenty of burn in their stead. Banks has don’e nothing but ball when given the opportunity, but Wright especially, given how it is expected for his minutes to increase heading into the playoffs.
I’m mostly hoping Al Harrington treats us to cocky moments like this in a Raptor win:
After getting the shaft during the Olympic semi-finals, Raptor Fan Fridays is back tonight at the Sport Centre Cafe.
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24 Raps
Harrington looks a little FABULOUS in that pic
lol
HaHahahahaaaaa “SUPER!”
LOL! Clearly pimpin ain’t easy! HAHAHAHAHA
lol.
Bill Walker I believe was a former teammate of Beasley on that K-State college team. Tore up his knee I think but very athletic and was a nasty dunker in college.
yup, and he’s got a touch of crazy in him too.
Same kid who got into Tmac’s face during the preseason last year (with Celtics). Hes a retard (and I am being nice).
“From here on out, every game is a must win.”
Really? Lay back on the hyperbole here. If the raptors went 23-0 to finish the season, they’d move into the top 4 of the east, and likely be 2nd (I don’t think they’d catch the cavs.)
How about every other game is a must win? If they finish at or above .500 they will make the playoffs.
HEY NOW!! quit setting expectations so freaking high. next thing you know, you’ll want the raps to actually play to their abilities.
‘must win’ simply means that they have to approach each game as though it’s an important one to win, with the mindset that they can’t go in unprepared, or expect that they’ll be able to put up a lackadaisacal effort & still come away with a W.
To paraphrase Doug Smith, if they lose tonight, does that make the next game a must must win?
A must win game is a game if they lose, they no longer have a chance at winning the championship. Game 7 of a playoff series, or any playoff game where the other team has 3 wins for example.
The sixers, pistons, wizards and knicks are rapidly approaching the point where every game is a must win, because if they don’t they will have no mathematical chance at making the playoffs.
true…but the more winnable games they let slip through their fingers, the closer they get to having ‘must-win’ games in the regular season. for some reason, raptor fans seem to think it’s a pre-conceived notion that the raps are a lock for not only the playoffs, but for a 5/6 seed.
and puh-lease with the doug smith paraphrasing. the raps could lose 81 in a row, and he’d still be talking about the last loss as ‘just one game,’ and how it would be important to finish the season (game 82) on a strong note.
Injury update:
Jose (elbow): will play.
Turkoglu (ankle): game-time decision.
Bosh (stomach virus): game-time decision.
was bosh’s stomach virus brought on by watching film of the last couple games?
Really Chris ? You were injuried and now you want a sick day ? Hopefully Jack will talk to him …. remember that game not so long ago they say JJ was puking his guts out 30 minutes before the game and came out on fire and helpped the raps to a W ?
If Chris is on the hardwood tonight, he’d better be wearing a jersey and not a suit or I’m going to lose my mind.
Comeon Chris, we need whatever you can bring.
come on Bosh take some extra strength immodium and get out there!!
I hope that the stomach flu is not an excuse for a lingering ankle issue…but, I would rather we had Bosh for our West Coast road trip, than have him come out now and possibly get hurt.
Of course that is just speculation. There is, after all, a stomach flu going around…
Just read the article where T-Mac was saying that he was essentially a whiny little kid who hated Toronto when he was here, and that he thinks Bosh has a million reasons to leave. I think you all join me in saying that T-Mac has had the kind of career that would lean towards old lady Karma kicking him in the ass for being a sniveling little baby. Never made it out of the first round and was constantly hurt. Am I being childish? Yes. But I’m fine with that.
i’m holding out hope that bosh is insightful enough to look around the league & realize that previous examples of players leaving hasn’t necessarily translated to success.
i wonder – looking back now on the way his career unfolded, does T-mac regret forcing his way out of TO? does he really think things could have actually turned out WORSE for him had he stayed? if so…yikes.
yes that is true but some have. shaq, nash, j.johnson off the top of my head.
I’d agree with you about both Nash and J.Johnson. But even though Shaq left and won another ring, he left a dynasty behind. When people look back on Shaq’s career it’ll be the three rings he won in L.A. that stand out.
I know. I was talking the ‘young’ Shaq Diesel that left Orlando and went to LA.
yeah, that was more of franchise decision who chose to keep Kobe over shaq over financial decisions despite all the controversy.
David Lee in that pic…hmmm….
T-Mac career night?
Or Bill Walker?
Final score 160 149 ish?
Finally a game that will have some life to it.