Raptors buried by hot-shooting Mavericks – thestar.com

To their credit, the Raptors didn’t trot out any excuse about the game being the second of the season’s first back-to-back against a well-rested opponent.

Triano alluded to it early in his post-game media session but bristled later on when it was brought up again.

“We have 19 of them,” he said of back-to-backs. “What are we going to do? Just mail it in 19 times when we have a back-to-back? That can’t happen. We have to find a way to fight through it with mental toughness.”

Chris Bosh, who has now lost all seven games he’s played as a professional in his hometown, led Toronto with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but he had just 11 and two in the second half. Andrea Bargnani started slowly but managed to finish with 22 points while Calderon had 13.

Raps schooled in Big D – Toronto Sun

Flying up and down the court the way they were, Dallas definitely made it look like the Raptors were fatigued.

"We'd like to blame it on coverages but it was man-on-man stuff," head coach Jay Triano said. "We were just a step slow tonight and it showed. They went past us when they wanted to and they scored over top of us when they wanted to."

As reluctant as he was to use fatigue as an excuse, Triano had to admit that's the way it appeared to him.

"This is a team that was sitting here waiting for us, watched us the other night and were very prepared for us," Triano said. "We are on a back-to-back but you can't use that excuse 19 times a year, so I'm disappointed but they had more energy, more movement and better confidence shooting the basketball."

Raps Replay – Toronto Sun

RAPS CATCH BREAK

San Antonio is never an easy place to get a win, but the Raptors' effort to get another road victory got decidedly easier when Tony Parker rolled over on his left ankle Friday and will be out at least a week. In two games against the Raptors last season, Parker averaged 23 points. The Raps play the Spurs tomorrow.

JUST NOT IN DALLAS

The Mavericks played the first five games of the season without forward Josh Howard but he returned last night along with guard Quinton Ross from a bruised back. Howard, a key piece in the Mavericks lineup, had ankle surgery in the off-season and has been slow to heal.

No Answer – Dime Magazine

As good as Chris Bosh is playing right now, every Toronto fan knows there’s a decent possibility he’s gone after this year. If that happens, how good do you think the Raptors can be with a core group of Andrea Bargnani, Hedo Turkoglu, Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan? Bargnani has been tearing it up, averaging 20.7 points on 51% shooting from deep. If he’s your best player, do you have a playoff team?

Terry Stotts – The FAN 590 Toronto – Audio on Demand

The Mavericks' assistant and former head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks joins Jonesy to talk about Dallas' expectations in 2009-10 and to shed some light on former Raptor (and current Maverick) Shawn Marion.

Kris Humphries – The FAN 590 Toronto – Audio on Demand

The former Raptor and current Maverick joins Eric to talk about his transition from Toronto to Dallas and whether or not he plans to play a similar role with the Mavericks as he did with the Raptors.

Post Game Thoughts: Mavericks vs Raptors – New Leisure Blog

Keys to the loss:

- Lack of energy. Chris Bosh is probably the only guy who shows energy trying and fighting.

- Defense is a work in progress for this team. If they can get a team to shoot under 50%, they have a good chance of winning. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen often enough. Allowing another team to shoot over 60% is embarrassing.

Trampled in Texas – Raptors HQ

Granted, this was all before Dallas pulled away in the third quarter, but I'm looking a lot at just how the Raptors chose not to go inside during the second half. Yes, Chris Bosh was their primary inside presence, but that's not Chris Bosh's fault. After all, it seemed as though he was the only person hitting from the field over the course of the game. Andrea Bargnani continues to be looked off while posting up or within the arc and it frustrates me to no end just how many times Turkoglu would take the ball and swing it around the arc to the other side when Bargnani had firmly established his post position.

These are all areas where this team will need to tighten up especially when their 3's aren't falling.

Mavs shoot 4th highest percentage in franchise history

The Mavericks scored a season-high 129 points on a season-best 62.4 percent shooting from the field. They shot 74.4 percent from the field in the second half. Last season, Dallas' season-high field goal percentage in a game was 60.3 against Miami. Since 1991-92, the Mavericks have had only three better-shooting nights in a game:

Nowitzki, Howard too much as Mavericks down Raptors – TSN.ca

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle was impressed with Howard's first-quarter effort.

"He's definitely one of the high-energy guys," Carlisle said. "Josh was aggressive, which is his nature."

"You've got to be ready when the lights go on," said Howard, who was counted on to provide first-quarter offence for the Mavericks last season. "I want to be the guy who gets things going. I don't want to lose that job. The one person besides myself who does a great job in the first quarter is LeBron James."

Mavericks Goose the Raptors – The Rap

Stats that stood out:
- Toronto gives up 56 Points in the Paint to the Mavs
- The Raptors cough up 21 points off turnovers
- Mavs opened the game shooting 2/9 (22%). After that they went 51/76 (67%). WOW. And they finished the game a WHOPPING 62.4% from the field.
- Tight on the Glass: 42-39 REB advantage for Dallas
- Mavs win every QRT … scoring 30+ in both the 3rd (30 points) and 4th (44 points!)

Thumbs Up:
- Outside of Chris Bosh’s play, it’s hard to give a thumb up to anything for the Raptors in this game. Their defence was weak, and they couldn’t muster-up anything offensively for most of the night.

Thumbs Down:
- The second unit. Ya, the defence overall was TERRIBLE in this game. But the reserves have already earned a name for themselves as being hustle guys and solid defenders (especially Jarrett Jack, Antoine Wright, and Amir Johnson) and they showed little-to-none of that in this game. Offensively, Jack: 3/8 FG … Wright: 1/9 FG … Johnson: 1/3 FG

Mavericks crush Raptors – The Globe and Mail

“It was our first back-to-back, and they got off to a track meet,” Bosh said. “We kind of played into their game. We settled for too many jump shots. They got long rebounds and were off to the races.”

The Raptors set a club record with eight three-pointers in the third quarter against the Hornets, but Toronto made only 8 of 22 from long range against Dallas.

“They went past us, and they shot over us,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said. “They had more movement and energy and had confidence in their shooting. Our energy level was low.”

Toronto vs Dallas Game Flow

Toronto vs Dallas Game Flow

Mavericks dominate weary Raptors – thestar.com

Chris Bosh was their best player, with 26 points and 12 rebounds but only 11 points and two boards in the second half. Andrea Bargnani had 22 points and Jose Calderon 13.

Bosh, who went into Saturday night's action fourth in the NBA in scoring (29.0 points per game) and tied for second in rebounding (11.8 per game) has been playing with a decided "edge" through his first five games.

He seems more demonstrative on the court and more aggressive on the glass, facts not lost on his teammates.

Raps come back to Earth – That’s what I’m saying, guy

I swear, if Disco Dirk Nowitzki got to play the Raptors 82 times a year, he’d average something like 62.1 points and shoot about 80% from the field. Something like that, at least. The German Sensation went to work again tonight, scoring 29 points and adding nine boards before calling in quits early in the fourth. Dallas shot an unheard of 62.4% and scored 74 points in the second half against Toronto’s usually rock-solid D (not).

Jones: Fast break No. 6 – sportsnet.ca

It has always been said here that chemistry would be one of the biggest issues facing the Raptors and how quickly they can develop into a cohesive unit. But some players, namely Bosh and Jarrett Jack, already have a jump on the rest of the team. It was interesting to hear Jack in the locker room after the win over the Hornets talking about how he "pushes" his former Georgia Tech teammate. Jack says he doesn’t let Bosh settle for jumpers and always finds him during a timeout and gets in his ear regarding the game. The rest of the team seems to be coming together as the friendly jabs are flying across the locker room and the popular refrain seems to be "(insert name here) gimme a shout out" whenever a microphone or notepad appears in front of a teammate being interviewed.

What Point Guard Controversy? | Hoops Addict

Has Calderon gotten of the kind of start fans envision? No, but a large part of that is due to the complete roster overhaul this summer. When a point guard enters camp with only two other familiar faces from the previous season, there are bound to be some growing pains.

We were in a back-to-back situation and the Mavericks were playing on three days rest, but 62.4%? That’s like…a lot! Even if you consider the team still gelling and all that chemistry stuff, that’s still a very high percentage to give up, in fact, it’s the worst given up by any team this season and everybody’s played back-to-backs. The game did follow classic Raptors back-to-back pattern, start off with the energy you finished the night before with, cool off towards the second and sh*t bricks in the third. It’s almost like after the Raptors played well early somebody reminded them, Hey, remember, you’re supposed to suck in this game because you played last night and suddenly the team drops their energy, forgets about defense, hangs their heads and loses focus. That’s what the game-deciding third quarter was about, I don’t know what Triano said at the half, but he might want to take note and trash that speech.

Josh Howard made his season debut after ankle injury and the Mavs’ first few plays were all about trying to get him in rhythm. It was clear strategy on their part as he hoisted 7 shots for 7 points in the first. This meant that DeRozan had to do some defending which he did well enough but still managed to get replaced at 5:20 of the first. I don’t get it, I just don’t. While the red carpet was being laid out for Howard, Bosh went back to work in the manner we’ve become used to this season – determined attack against the slow-footed Dampier who couldn’t cope. The result was 10 points and 7 rebounds in the frame, he was hitting the offensive glass like Realizar hits the bottle – aggressively and with passion. Dirk was relatively quiet getting a couple hoops here and there and Bargnani, after missing two jumpers early, nailed two deep bombs right in his face.

Dirk looked pretty suspect on defense in their last game against New Orleans and actually fouled out against West and Okafor. I would’ve liked to have seen Bargnani test his lateral movement and nail him to the bench with a couple quick fouls, instead he opted for the jumpers which are great if they go in, but a guy like Dirk will always concede that in favor of actually playing some defense. When DeRozan was benched for Wright, Jack was brought in to face Jason Terry midway through the first. My thought at the time was to let DeRozan stay in the game and have Wright come in to guard Terry (taller and all), Jack’s not shown the ability to defend scoring SGs so far this season and he didn’t again tonight. In fact, he got lit up. More on that later, but for now let’s say he turned the ball over twice throwing lazy cross-court passes which even a TV viewer eating Cheetos and sipping on JD could foreshadow. This led to points and started to give Dallas momentum. It was 26-25 at the end of the first.

Terry, Barea, Howard and Kidd pushing the ball in transition against a back-tracking and late-reacting defense was the theme of the second and third quarters. The second was all about Dallas high screens and our defense leaving Nowitzki open in the 16-20 foot range (8 in the 2nd). With Jason Terry spreading the defense and Barea’s quickness against Jack proving to be too much, it resulted in the Raptors helping/collapsing on dribble penetration in the 7-12 foot area. Now, whereas another team might panic and turn the ball over when surrounded by defenders, Dallas is a club that thrives when “forced” to swing the ball to find the open shooter and are always looking to get easy baskets by dumping it inside to their bigs like Singleton and Dampier when the defense is too busy paying attention to the wing shooters.

The Raptors offense in the second quarter went cold. Hedo Turkoglu was being defended very well by Shawn Marion, he was up in his face, forcing him to drive into the paint which he shied away from doing. I thought the opportunity to be assertive was there (as Hedo had showed early in the first) but for whatever reason he didn’t feel motivated to do it. The Mavs were showing doubles against Bosh and Bargnani already which meant Hedo was seeing single coverage all night long. He was 1-5 midway through the third when this was still a game and finished 3-8, Marion got the better of him with 18/8/6, all high percentage shots in transition or deep post-ups, check out his short chart. It wasn’t pretty, Hedo looked old and slow and couldn’t deliver in that third quarter when we really needed our offense to match theirs.

The second unit had failed to deliver the spark they did against New Orleans and Detroit and it was 55-48 at the half. The warning signs for that third quarter were already here, Bosh cooling off, Hedo struggling, Bargnani only 3-8 and Calderon was the only one who seemed could get by his man (how’s that for a change?). There were also problems on the offensive end, the Raptors were swinging the ball around well and were getting clean perimeter looks, but the shots that went down in New Orleans, weren’t going down tonight (38% for the Raps, 52% for the Mavs in the half). That’s how jump-shooting works. You could also make out that Dallas had no issue conceding the jumper to Wright who went 1-9; I like his defense but if he’s shooting 9 shots in 18 minutes this team isn’t going anywhere.

There was no semblance of a post-presence for the Raptors and Bosh’s assault on the offensive glass was about as close to the rim as we got. Bargnani did demand the ball but the entry passes were poor, leading to turnovers; even the point-to-wing pass guards make to find a better post angle were being deflected. It was almost as if we wanted to post Bargnani up against Dirk but encountered some difficulty and were too lazy to try again. We’re pretty thin on options in the post and I would really like to see us give the ball to DeRozan a couple possessions a game in the block and see what he can do with it. He doesn’t have to back his man down, let him get an iso on the elbow and figure out where to go from there, it’ll go a long ways in helping him figure things out and we might even get a pleasant surprise.

It was a 25-12 run in the third that did the Raptors in, what I remember the most is Bosh guarding Nowitzki and giving him way too much space to shoot. Dirk was getting open by doing nothing, they weren’t even setting screens for him and he was finding space. In hindsight, Bargnani’s first half defense on Dirk was something we should’ve stuck with. No idea why the switch happened. He had 14 points in the quarter which the Mavs started on a 15-4 run to take an 18 point lead. The Raptors looked lethargic and had mentally conceded the game. Bosh looked exhausted and unwilling to step up to the challenge, he was hardly alone.

Jarrett Jack’s defense was god awful in the third and the combo with Jose failed again due to defensive reasons. He blew his assignment on Terry with a big fat F. Forget about shutting him down, how about staying within 8 feet of him. He was losing him in transition, leaving him open in the corner in the half-court, and not putting any pressure whatsoever on him on the live dribble. I was screaming to whoever would listen that Jack was costing us the game., Sometimes you need someone to lift the team spirit when its in doldrums and as one of the most vocal Raptors who’s supposed to be a good defender, I was expecting him to do just that. Not only was his defense terrible, he couldn’t get anything going on offense – 3 turnovers and 0 assists, a terrible PG game against a very average defense. Didn’t see any fire from him tonight. It’s in this area that I feel we miss Reggie Evans, I think a guy like him could’ve made a difference, at least would’ve given us a lift and maybe inspired some emotion and effort. He was the only one standing on the bench when things went from bad to worse.

The whole team’s energy was awful in the second half and it reflected in Dallas’ PINP and fast-break point advantage, 56-36 and 24-12, respectively. Singleton and Humphries went 8-10 for them which should not happen under Bosh, Bargnani and Johnson’s watch, you have to take some personal pride and stop scrubs from scoring against you, that too on layups and dunks. Of course it’s part dribble penetration, part strategy, part back-to-back but it’s also definitely part laziness.

“It was our first back-to-back, and they got off to a track meet,” Bosh said. “We kind of played into their game. We settled for too many jump shots. They got long rebounds and were off to the races.”

“They went past us, and they shot over us,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said. “They had more movement and energy and had confidence in their shooting. Our energy level was low.”

It’s a disappointing loss even though Dallas is a good team. You get the feeling that after a good enough first half, if we had only kept up our pace and intensity through the third, we would’ve been in the game in the fourth which is all you can ask. We were 2-8 from threes in the first half which cost us, they were all clean looks which could’ve given us a big boost going into the half, instead we went in feeling a bit sorry for ourselves and expecting a meltdown. I don’t know how much is chemistry, a new system, laziness or fatigue, but that defense we saw in the third was despicable. There was a genuine lack of effort which should be unacceptable. Our starters got a good rest in the fourth against New Orleans so you can’t blame it on fatigue, back-to-backs are a part of NBA life and they’re usually more competitive than this. Triano made no excuses later:

“We have 19 of them,” he said of back-to-backs. “What are we going to do? Just mail it in 19 times when we have a back-to-back? That can’t happen. We have to find a way to fight through it with mental toughness.”

The fourth quarter was a mere formality and to tell you how meaningless it was, let me just say that Patrick O’Bryant and Marcus Banks saw the floor.

Liners:

• Our bench got outscored 58-30. Terry had 19 and Singleton had a hustling 10. We need more offense from Belinelli and Johnson.
• I expect players like Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson to thrive in this open court style of ball but they’re both struggling with their offensive games, going a combined 2-7 for 8 points. Johnson’s effort has been better of late but you get the feeling he’s just not going to be able to provide much offense off the bench in a garbage-man capacity. His finishing is too weak and his footwork is terrible, his six rebounds were nice but we have Reggie who can do that job better.
• Bargnani: 22/5/4, Bosh 26/12/6. Good numbers but a great example of how the box score doesn’t tell the whole story, especially in the case of Bosh once you consider his third quarter. There was an offensive rebound Bargnani got in the second quarter for a put-back that made you wonder why he can’t do that more often. No complaints tonight though, rebounding isn’t the reason we lost.
• We lost because we let our defensive guard down, nay, our defensive guard was shattered in the third and you have to give credit to the Mavs for making us pay. Their ball-movement was brilliant, their guard play was impressive and Dirk got his points without having to work too hard for them – too many weapons.
• I cannot explain what DeRozan did to get benched early. He was doing an okay job on Howard who was forced into contested shots. I would’ve even liked to have seen DeRozan on Terry and see if he could bother the sharp-shooter with his size because Terry was simply shooting over Jack all night long.
• Did you know the NBA changed rim manufacturers this year? Could that have something to do with the increased scoring?
• 3-3 after 6. I think most us had them going 2-4 in this stretch so it’s not all terrible. Let’s give this team a little more time before we burn Triano at the stake for his team producing the defensive effort they did tonight.

I got me a new Twitter account for all things Raptors.

Pick a caption, they all apply tonight.

The Point: Calderon had his second solid game in a row, but needs to get the guys more involved. He did a great job of pushing the ball, then pulling back at the last moment until everyone else caught up. Jack needs to not shoot the ball as much, and just attack the rim. I didn’t even realize Kidd was playing,
Matchup: Raptors

The Skill: DeRozan had his worst game of the year. Belinelli did even less. Howard in his first game of the season looked like he didn’t skip a beat. Terry picked up where Josh left off, taking it up three notches, and scored every-time he wanted too.
Matchup: Mavericks

The Swingman: Turkoglu’s worst game as a Raptor. Hit an acrobatic shot to start the 1st, but nothing else for the rest of the game. Wright did a decent job of attacking the paint, but once he got there, he kept losing his dribble. Was much worse from the perimeter, needs to stop shooting threes. Marion ran the break, crashed the boards, gave Hedo fits on defense, and proved why the Raptors made the wrong choice during the summer.
Matchup: Mavericks

The Big: Bosh continued his new-found swagger. The key = his home, but there is only so much one man can do. Johnson held his own when he saw the floor, but the night belonged to Dirk. Zeh Jerman hit dagger after dagger pacing the Mavs early, and pulling away in the 3rd quarter.
Matchup: Mavericks

The Strong: Bargnani didn’t get enough looks in the 4th when he was feeling it, but didn’t really matter as it would have been padding during a loss. Still, our boy looks comfortable out there, and owned Dampier.
Matchup: Raptors

Player of the Game: Dirk Nowitzki – 29pts grebes 4ast 2stl +16

Raptors Sting the Hornets – The Rap, Eric Smith

Thumbs Up:
- Andrea Bargnani had a game-high 9 rebounds (1 shy of back to back double-doubles)

Thumbs Down:
- Quite honestly, it’s hard to find anything wrong with this game. Yes, Chris Paul WENT OFF … but that was part of the plan for Toronto: Let CP3 “get his” and keep everyone else off the score sheet. Toronto did just that. Plus, the Raps didn’t turn the ball over much (11), they out-rebounded the Hornets, shoot 50+ per cent, and won on the road by 17! I guess if you wanna get picky, you could said the Raps looked a little sluggish to start the game and they can’t afford to do that in Dallas tomorrow night.

Raptors @ Hornets – Live Blog Nov 16 – RR Forums

62-56 8:05 3rd: Helter Skelter start. Mo Pete hits a three on DeRozan after he cheats to help on Paul v Calderon. Bosh with a tough fade over Okafor who comes right back with a dunk after a PNR. Raps move the ball around and Calderon drills a deeep three after begging for the ball – good recognition by DeRozan to find him. Intensity picking up a just a bit here, Raps still missing open threes though, Hedo's the latest one to bomb an open look but fear not, he comes back with a step-back three – I guess it needs to be a hard shot for him. Chris Bosh hits his fourth three of the season, he's 4-4 from there. This one with Okafor's hand in his face. The Raps end an 11-0 run with Hedo setting up Jose for a clean look for two.

Calderon leads the charge – Toronto Sun

"He hasn't been playing great and he knows it," Triano said. "It's not like we're going to bench him. He knows the best way to play out of (a funk) is to just give a solid effort. It's going to come around. He has been very good at working hard and he was bound and determined tonight. He doesn't like a lot of the things that have been written about him and he takes it to heart. He came out today and I thought he did an outstanding job."

Calderon finished the night with 16 points, eight assists and not a single turnover.

A team-first guy if ever there was one in the NBA, he was thrilled with the win, but seemed less so with his own personal evening.

Raptors’ fiery Jose Calderon silences critics – thestar.com

"He doesn't like a lot of the things that have been written about him … he takes it to heart and I thought he came out and did an excellent job."

As did the entire team in a third quarter that was as good a stretch as they've played at both ends of the court this young season.

The Raptors made eight three-pointers in the decisive third – a single-quarter franchise record – and held New Orleans to 5-for-17 shooting from the field. In all, the Raptors were 14-for-29 from beyond the arc, with Hedo Turkoglu (four) and Andrea Bargnani (three) leading the way.

Millz Raptors Rant – mitc

Furthermore, I have tried to understand our team’s “identity” over the years as well. I mean, what exactly are we known for? Orlando is known as being a threat from beyond the arc, the Lakers are known for their triangle offense, Utah is known for its tendency to operate through half-court sets, etc….. AND Toronto is known for being a “freestyle” team who has no specific sets that they run? Pass and screen away does not qualify as a play either, and neither do spontaneous cuts from the offensive players. Although it is exciting to watch the “9-second” rule that Marc Iavorni brought to our team from Mike D’Antoni’s Phoenix Suns tactics, this strategy does not qualify as a set play either. I am extremely disappointed with the decision to bring yet another inexperienced coach to start a Raptors season.

Raptors vs Hornets – Popcornmachine.net Game Flow

Visual image of the game

Dino Nation Blog: Raptors Make It Rain In Big Easy

A final word on Chris Bosh. It is hard not to think about the uncertain future for him and staying with the Raptors. However that will not be decided anytime soon. What is happening now is you are seeing a very motivated and determined CB4. Regardless of if it is for the final season or for many more to come Bosh is getting it done and showing you why he has become a fixture on Team U.S.A and a regular at the NBA All-Star game. Try not to let any paranoid feels you may have about 2010 get in the way of enjoying what this guy is doing. Bosh for the second straight season has started the season with a bang. We can only hope that he remains healthy and does not have the off-court distractions he faced last season. If Bosh is able to keep at it and not have those issues, I believe you are going to see the best season of this kid's career.

Post Game Thought: Hornets vs Raptors « New Leisure Blog

- Byron Scott could be the first coach fired in the current NBA season. His team was disinterested on defense, their body language was horrible and they are off to a slow start. The Hornets did lose to the Nuggets at home in an embarrassing fashion in the playoffs last season. Not too many coaches can survive that and Scott looks like he is losing his players. If things don’t improve soon, he is gone.

- Did you know Chris Paul could have been a Raptor? Paul was the 4th pick overall in the 2005 draft. Portland had the #3 pick but was looking to trade down to get Martell Webster. Apparently there is an offer made the Blazers to the Raptors for the 7th and 16th pick, but Rob Babcock refused. Instead, the Blazers took Utah’s offer which is 6th, 27th and a late first round pick in the 2006 draft. Obviously, the 7th and 16th picks would be a much better package for the Blazers. Really if Babcock knows what he is doing, we could have CP3 playing with CB4. Damn it!

For the Toronto Raptors Jose Calderon, The Big Easy is New Orleans « Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog

Over the past four trips to New Orleans, Jose Calderon has averaged 15.5 points, 8.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 steals. And he did this shooting 55% from the field and 42% from three. Jose must have been really looking forward to Friday night’s game!

To say Jose Calderon had gotten off to a slow start in the current season would be an understatement. Calderon was shooting just 38% from the field and 20% from three before the game in New Orleans. A 9.8 point, 5.3 assist, 2 rebound, and 0.8 steal line over four games was well below the standard expected from Jose Calderon.

Bosh and Raptors sting Hornets – The Globe and Mail

“Our focus tonight was on Chris Paul,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said. “Any time he gave it up for the most part our guys had a hand in his face. He had to work for everything he got.”

Bobby Brown added 16 points and David West had 14 for New Orleans.

The Hornets (2-4), who are below .500 after six games for the first time since 2005-06, trailed 83-65 at the end of the third quarter and heard some boos as they walked to the bench.

Raps defence puts brakes on Paul | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun

"We showed him as many bodies as we could," Triano said. "I thought Jose (Calderon) and Jarrett (Jack) did a great job of sharing and taking turns of staying in front of him and making him work for everything he got. He still had great numbers but we wanted to wear him down and make him work." Antoine Wright, who is becoming the defensive conscience of this Raptors club, loved every minute of it, particularly the third quarter.

"It felt good and it normally does when guys are all on the same page," Wright said of the third frame during which the Raptors outscored their opponents 34-14.

It’s Raining In New Orleans! : The Picket Fence

Yes, Jose was able to survive the lynch mobs by Raptor fans, as well as the calls for Triano to park him on the bench, to put together a game that people expected of Jose before the season started. In fact, if he finished the season with the stats he got tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised. 16 points (6-11 fg, 2-4 3fg), 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 0 turnovers. It wasn’t a spectacular game, but I think everyone hopes it means that the real Jose is back. He looked comfortable right from the started, played with confidence and even showed some of that feistiness we’re so used to seeing from him. It was nice to see.

Poor Chris Bosh had an off night against the Hornets, with season lows for rebounds, free throw attempts and field goal attempts. Of course, he also played a season low 30 minutes because the Raptors were so far ahead that he sat much of the fourth quarter, which is good because they play Dallas tomorrow night.

Raptor Addict: The Man With the Plan

That was also the year that Sam Mitchell won his Coach of the Year award, supposedly for being the facilitator of this lightning-quick camaraderie. For weeks we heard praise lauded on him from all corners saying what he lacked as an X’s and O’s guy he made up for by being a “Jimmy’s and Joe’s” kind of guy, in that he knew how to deal with players on a personal level, hence the swift cohesion.

Raptors fire away in third to defeat Hornets | NOLA.com

"For the life of me, I can't understand why we came out with that type of energy, " Scott said. "We just kind of allowed them to run their offense and take the shots that they had."

Andrea Bargnani, the Raptors' 7-foot starting center, stood beyond the 3-point arc, and he made three of six 3-point attempts with Hornets center Emeka Okafor often arriving late to contest. In all, Toronto made 13 of 22 shots to outscore New Orleans 34-14 in the quarter.

While the Raptors were carrying out their shooting clinic, the Hornets made six of 17 shots in the third. They missed five of their seven attempts from behind the 3-point line in the period. And Paul, who led the Hornets with 21 points, went scoreless in the quarter, missing his only two attempts. Coming into the game, Paul had scored 30 or more points in three of the previous four games.

Sharp-shooting Raptors fly past Hornets – thestar.com

The Raptors made eight three-pointers in the decisive third – a single-quarter franchise record – and held New Orleans to 5-for-17 shooting from the field. In all, the Raptors shot a remarkable 14-for-29 from three-point range.

It was as if all the things coach Jay Triano had been talking about since the season began came together at once.

Jose Calderon, mired in a four-game shooting slump, finished with 16 points and eight assists in his best game of the season, while Chris Bosh was perfect.

Bosh, who has been dominant in all his games so far, made all nine field goals he attempted – including a three-pointer – and finished with 27 points to lead Toronto.

And, most important, when he attracted some extra attention in the third quarter, he calmly took a backseat in the offence, kicking the ball out to shooters who knocked down open looks.

The Raptors beat the Hornets – Hornets247.com

Jumping into some bullets:

* When the Raptors weren't lighting it up from deep in the third quarter, they were playing some zone defense that the Hornets had trouble cracking. And when they weren't in that zone, they did a nice job crowding the middle and recovering to challenge the Hornets shooters. There were holes there for our wings to drive off the catch, but alas, most of our wings can't drive.

* The Raps also did a solid job defending the pick and roll, hedging hard with a big and having an extra man help enough to cover West fading or Okafor rolling.

* Chris Bosh: 27 points (9-9 FGs) and 7 rebounds. He showed the entire offensive arsenal tonight. Post moves, fade-aways, hook shots, as well as a three pointer and plenty of hard drives that got him to the free throw line. I was impressed with his intensity and focus on the defensive end, too. Truly a great player.

Toronto Raptors at Dallas Mavericks preview | Dallas Morning News

Scouting the Mavericks

They are 3-2 after Wednesday's 114-107 overtime loss to New Orleans. … The Mavericks swept Toronto last season, winning 96-86 on the road and 109-98 at home. … Forwards Shawn Marion and Kris Humphries played for Toronto last season. … The Mavericks have improved defensively but are shooting only 41.7 percent from the field. … Center Erick Dampier recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 14 rebounds against New Orleans. The Mavs are 34-11 when he records a double-double.

Raptors Make It Look Easy In The Big Easy – Hoop Heads North

Toronto played a solid 48-minute game and used a lights out 3rd quarter to knock out New Orleans early and cruised to a 107-90 win. The Hornets were outscored 34-14 in the third as the Raptors played some solid D to go with their hot shooting. The Raptors had 8 three pointers in the 3rd quarter, finishing 14-29 overall from behind the arc. With the win well in hand, I was able to make use of my NBA League Pass Broadband to watch Kid Canada and the Suns hand the Celtics their first loss of the season.

Chris Bosh was a perfect 9-9 from the field, finishing with 27 points and 7 boards. He also hit a 3 during the 3rd quarter run, putting him at 4-4 from behind the arc this season. If my math is correct, at this rate, he would finish the season a perfect 66-66 from 3-point land. Take THAT Reggie Miller and Larry Bird… and Craig Hodges with your NBA jersey!

Toronto Raptors vs. New Orleans Hornets – Box Score – November 06, 2009 – ESPN

Toronto Raptors vs. New Orleans Hornets – Box Score – November 06, 2009 – ESPN

Inside The Purple Room – Game 4

..with Payal Doshi

With their resounding 107-90 win over the Hornets last night, the Raptors showed that they are now staring to gel as a team and are developing the kind of chemistry to begin achieving their expectations this season. With all of the veteran players seemingly in the prime of their careers, they came together as a team tonight in the first game of their first road trip of the season. The timing of this win was ideal.

Overall, the Raptors played what could be considered a perfect 48 minute game – a rare feat for this franchise, but not particularly this team – that had everything to do with great coaching and great shooting. There was a definite game plan in terms of neutralizing Chris Paul in making him a non-factor, which was most evident during an 8:30 minute stretch in the 3rd quarter when the Raptors went on a spectacular 27-4 run that broke what was a very close back-and-forth game completely wide open.

The strategy of the coaching staff to frequently send a second defender on Paul as soon as he would get the ball at the three-point line took away his ability to beat his primary guard off the dribble to get into paint and pick apart our help defense, or to even take a shot. This forced Paul to pass the ball early in the shot clock. But because no other Hornets player is able to effectively create their own shot, it made the job of our help defense less difficult and made our defensive rotations look good. After forcing Paul to pass the ball, what resulted was another Hornets player trying to get the ball to West or Okafor in the post. But when that wasn’t made easy with our bigs fronting their bigs, it usually led to either some posturing dribbling and a low-percentage shot, or an eventual pass-back to Paul. But even when Paul did get into the paint forcing the Raptors interior help defence to collapse on him to take away the lay-up option leaving Paul with having to kick-it back to his open teammates on the perimeter, the glaring problem with this Hornets team is the fact that they don’t have any really good shooters surrounding Paul. Adding to the Hornets flawed roster is that they aren’t all that athletic and aren’t a great rebounding team. Altogether, Jay Triano and the assistant coaches demonstrated that the Hornets aren’t as good as they once were, while the players executed to perfections a game plan that had opposing team scouts eager to communicate it back to their bosses.

As for the players, the highest of praise has to be bestowed on Chris Bosh. Scoring 27 points in 30 minutes on a measly 9 shots, and making every one of them including a 3-pointer, is downright incredible. He got to the line 11 times by being ultra-aggressive in going and getting to the rim. Plus, he also got some close fouls called his way – Dick Bevetta has been a ref in the league for nearly a century because he’s as old (and smart) as David Stern and because he knows how to treat “superstar” players. What I’m seeing from Bosh so far this season is a max-money player.

Quick Game Notes:

* I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the consecutive bricks Calderon threw up before he took a seat and called it a night. But his on-ball defence against Paul was pretty good and the charge he created and took by stepping into Paul’s way when Paul had his back turned to receive an in-bounds pass was great!

* Chris Paul had 17 points and 10 assists at halftime, but only 4 points and 8 assists in the 2nd half.

* Did anyone else notice the message Byron Scott sent by keeping Paul, West, Okafur and Wright on the court for 5 last minutes of garbage time?

* Bosh’s two-handed, turn-around, monster dunk in the 2nd quarter was an awesome display of his power, and his over the head, backwards tip-in on a missed Jack shot was an unbelievable display of his soft hands and athletic coordination.

* Morris Peterson is done as an NBA player. He’s had a nice career, but he’s no longer effective.

* Peja Stojakovic is done too.

* How many alley-oops is Paul thowing Okafur? Do you think the Hornets fans are going to start regretting that trade pretty soon?

* The fact DeRozan is starting as a rookie and isn’t forcing anything on offense and is holding his own against non-all-star SG is so enjoyable to witness.

* It’s always great to see a Raptors box score when Bargnani has more rebounds than 3PA.

* It looked like we stole and implemented entire the Orlando Magic playbook taking 29 three’s.

* The Raptors shot 50% from the field and 48% from beyond the arch.

* Since they happen to be playing again tonight against a talented Dallas team, it’ll be tough for them to pull out another victory, but it may not be as surprising as it may seem if they do.

Live blog tells the whole story…

They started it…

Bosh: 8 Took him a while to figure out that Okafor can be had for cheap. Took care of the “robot” in the third by owning him on the boards and the block. The three in the face was nice but the part about hustling for boards and inspiring his teammates with his effort was better. I get a feeling Chandler would’ve done a better job, never understood that trade. 8-11 FT again, he’s not just getting calls, he’s earning them.

Bargnani: 7 Huge third quarter with three threes. Was invisible before that passing up good shots for bad ones. Went inside early but when he didn’t find success, drifted to the perimeter, good thing it paid off in the third. I suppose when a shooter’s misfiring, he should keep on shooting and he followed that rule tonight. Sometimes it blows in your face, sometimes you get a 7 in the RRR. 14/9 overall, his defense suffered early but picked it up as the game went long. Chased a few rebounds, so not everything fell in his lap, helped others as best he could.

Calderon: 8 And you thought Paul was going to burn him? He did, in the second Paul was unstoppable but after that Jose asserted himself, took some ballsy shots and made them. Demanded it for a deep three and knocked it down. Ran the pick ‘n roll with Bosh and made the right pass at the right time. Snuck to the wing when Hedo had the ball and made the clean look. Paul got the better of him early but Jose stuck it to him in the third, causing a key turnover which made the NO fans be like WTF. Easily his best game this season. My favorite was the drive to find Jack in the corner and then another fourth quarter drive to find Wright at the wing – both for threes. 16/8 with zero turnovers and 6-11FG. Questions have been answered.

DeRozan: 6 Started off strong with two made hoops but then got mysteriously benched for no good reason. We saw him again in the third where he made good passes when trapped, one of them leading to a Calderon three. Good, expected game by the rook. He’s predictably decent.

Turkoglu: 7 A shooter shoots, doesn’t matter how much he’s been missing which is what he was doing early. Was a huge part of the charge in the third where the Raptors outscored them 34-14. Ran some great PNRs with Bosh and had two step-back threes that reminded you of the Orlando days. Both our playmakers were on tonight and we were hitting our threes, there were the Raptors as dangerous as they could be. 16/4/4.

Da Bench

Jack: 5 Pardon the low rating but his defense in the second was atrocious. I think the Hornets got all their points off of him in some sort of way in that frame. Missed some shots he needs to make, we’re not seeing any sort of consistency with that mid-range game. For once the lineup with Jose worked, but that was mostly because of Jose’s hot shooting. He gets credit for spreading the floor in the third quarter and going turnover free in 25 minutes.

Belinelli: 4 Came in early to not do much, then reappeared in garbage time to score some inconsequential hoops. Meh.

Johnson: 6 6 rebounds in 21 minutes and a key steal in that third quarter leading to a dunk. Very active on the boards and in boxing out, the 4 fouls is a concern but at least he’s trying. Give him that. Appears to be slowly coming out of his funk by, you know, trying.

Wright: 5 I thought we should’ve asked him to cover Paul and see what he could bring, maybe play off of him to concede the jumper while contesting it. Did a decent job on Peja/Wright but his night was easy since the Hornets don’t have a three who can do any damage in 1v1 situations.

Nesterovic: 1 Came in, missed a layup. Got benched.

O’Bryant: N/A Came in, played 2 minutes, picked up 2 fouls. Playa.

Weems: N/A His line 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -2 0.

Collecting da cheque

Everybody came to work.

The Payout

Pimp: Chris Bosh.

Ho: Rasho Nesterovic.

What we learned: Calderon has a pulse. Live blogging is hard. I should make a living betting on games.

The Verdict: When the jumper’s falling, life is good.

English named in tax probe – Toronto Sun

Raptors assistant coach Alex English reportedly owes more than $127,000 US in delinquent taxes, according to public records obtained by the Detroit News.

Under the headline Ex-NBA star owes giant nugget, the News reports that the IRS and the state of South Carolina claim English owes various tax monies, including a $88,071 tax lien against English and his wife in Richland County (S.C.).

The Raptors front office declined to comment on the situation and English was not available yesterday for comment, although the NBA Hall of Famer told the News: "It is in dispute so I have no other comment."

Calderon Starting slowly – Toronto Sun

Colangelo acquired the former Georgia Tech star (he played with Bosh during the 2002-03 season) because Jack gives the Raptors a second, quite able, ball-handler at the point, something extremely valuable if Jose Calderon is out or having an off day.

That was exactly the situation in Toronto's 110-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

Calderon struggled, managing nine points and just one assist in almost 32 minutes of play. But Jack, along with others on the bench, including Antoine Wright and Amir Johnson, gave the team a lift en route to the win.

Jack finished with nine points, six assists and three rebounds in 31 minutes and played hard on defence.

"That's one of the reasons we did what we did in the off-season — get some depth at that position," coach Jay Triano said. "And when guys aren't playing as well and are struggling a little bit, that's when we go to the bench and hope those guys pick it up. And so far they have."

Feschuk: Raptors face test in sizzling Paul – thestar.com

If the coach was shuddering as he spoke, forgive him. The Raptors have their weaknesses, perhaps none as glaring as their inability to defend against elite point guards – heck, half-decent point guards. And the three-game road trip that begins Friday against the Hornets will bring Toronto's hoopsters in contact with some specimens that lean toward elite.

If Saturday's visit with Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks is a holiday in comparison to chasing around Paul, consider that the Raptors round out the road trip with a former NBA final MVP named Tony Parker on Monday.

Paul Jones – The FAN 590 Toronto – Audio on Demand

The voice of the Raptors on THE FAN joins David to discuss his receiving of the York University “Redefine The Possible” Award at York’s Bryden Alumni Awards event. Paul and his brother Mark shared the award, which was handed out on Thursday night.

Toronto Raptors Top 10 All-Time Players | Bleacher Report

15 year anniversary of the Toronto Raptors. Counting down the top 10 players to ever wear the raptors uniform. Like most expansion teams, the Raptors struggled in their early years; but after the acquisition of Vince Carter through a draft day trade in 1998, the team set league attendance records and made the NBA Playoffs in 2000, 2001, and 2002. Carter was instrumental in leading the team to their first playoff series win in 2001, where they advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals. During the 2002–03 and 2003–04 seasons, they failed to make significant progress and he was traded in 2004. After Carter left, Chris Bosh emerged as the team leader, but they continued to struggle. However, with the appointment of Bryan Colangelo as General Manager and a revamp of the roster for the 2006–07 season, they qualified for their first playoff berth in five years and captured their first division title.

The Golden State Warriors Need To Be Fixed | EndScore

Warriors trade Monta Ellis to the New York Knicks for David Lee
Granted, this might not fly, and wouldn’t work as a one-for-one swap. Moreover, Lee can’t be traded until December 25, 2009. However, if the Knicks weren’t willing to sign him to an extension after last season’s performance, chances are they won’t want to sign him when his contract is up this summer. Lee is a hard working big man who can run with the fast guards of the Warriors, while bringing an interior toughness. The Knicks are wanting salary cap flexibility more than anything, so the Warriors might have to take someone like Jared Jeffries. Adding a proven big man like Lee would be just what the doctor ordered.

This deal is probably unrealistic, though it works in terms of salaries. If the Raptors don’t think they can keep Bosh, they might go for this kind of deal, especially if they’re trying to run the ball more. Claxton would be a lure for Toronto, as his contract expires after this season.

Triano likes Wright’s unselfish attitude – The Globe and Mail

So when Jay Triano heard forward Antoine Wright tell him during crunch time in the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s game against the Detroit Pistons that the team was better off with him remaining on the bench, the Toronto Raptors coach was surprised – and pleasantly so.

“We had a lot of guys saying a lot of unselfish things,” Triano said after practice yesterday afternoon. “Antoine, I thought about putting him in late in the game for defensive purposes and he said, ‘Coach, these guys are rolling, let them go, they’re doing fine.’ “That’s just a sign of a guy who’s willing to sacrifice minutes for the sake of our team staying on a roll. I think to a man that’s one of the things we have to try to maintain over 82 games.”

It’s not that the 6-foot-7 swingman is lacking in confidence.

It’s just that he felt the rotation already on the floor, one that included Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu, was Toronto’s best option at fending off a late Pistons run.

Ontario to investigate Raptors’ swine flu shots – USATODAY.com

Ontario health minister Deb Matthews vowed on Thursday to investigate whether Toronto's NBA and NHL players jumped the line for the swine flu shot while other groups are being forced to wait as the province's supply dwindles.

Matthews said she shares the outrage sparked by reports that Raptors and Maple Leafs players got the shot even though the province doesn't have enough yet to vaccinate school-age children.

"I don't care who you are, how rich you are, how famous you are," she said. "If you're not in the priority group, get out of the line and let the people who are in the priority groups get their vaccination."

Matthews expects Ontario to run out of the regular H1N1 vaccine at the end of the week due to Ottawa's dramatic supply slowdown.

Jose Calderon addresses the defense

Video and quotes from Jose Calderon about the way he's playing.

Raptors’ Calderon faces tough test on road trip

“I think I can get better on both ends of the floor. Offence and defence have got to be much better,” Calderon said Thursday. “It’s only four games into the season, I’ve given my best. It’s not going really good right now.”

That might be an understatement. Despite healing from a hamstring injury that limited him last year, he has been as slow as ever on the defensive end of the floor.

Offensively, he has been surprisingly off of his game, as he is still finding his way in an evolving system. He bottomed out against Detroit, managing just one assist, his lowest total in a full game’s work since he was battling T.J. Ford for minutes a few seasons back.

Writer, ex-Raptor team up to help boys shape a book – The Globe and Mail

The Toronto District School Board is enlisting the help of a new slam-dunk writer in residence and a Junkyard Dog to get boys excited about reading.

Eric Walters, a bestselling children's author, has collaborated before with former Toronto Raptor Jerome Williams and his brother Johnnie. For their latest book, Home Team, the three men will launch their largest collaboration ever when thousands of Grade 3 and Grade 6 boys act as their story editors.

The project is the latest evidence that the TDSB's new education director, Chris Spence, understands that to narrow the achievement gap between boys and girls, you need to close the enthusiasm gap first.

Hockey town falls for the Raptors – National Newspaper

The rot of the Maple Leafs goes back to the days when the club was owned by the late Harold Ballard, who cared not whether his team won or lost, but whether they made a profit.

The team eventually ended up in the hands of the provincial teachers’ pension fund, who also saw the club as a great revenue generator.

So the Leafs’ underlying philosophy is to make money, not give their fans the team they deserve.

Against this backdrop stands the Toronto Raptors basketball club. They are owned by Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), the parent company of the Maple Leafs hockey team.

Improbably then, the basketball team’s management is visibly trying to build a winner.

It doesn’t even seem possible, given the decades of ineptitude on the hockey side of operations.

The Raptors are a tremendous value proposition for sports fans in Toronto.

Bosh averaging an impressive 16 free-throw attempts per game – Posted Sports

Much has been made about Chris Bosh's off-season work that resulted in 25 extra pounds for the power forward. Well, the weight is already showing its worth.

Undoubtedly emboldened by his extra muscle mass, Bosh has gone to the free-throw line 65 times in the season's first four games — including a 20-trip night on Wednesday against the Pistons. According to the impressive skills of a barely-got-through-grade-11-math reporter, that equals an average of 16.25 free throws per night.

"I want more. I want to get to the line more," Bosh said on Thursday. "I'm pretty satisfied with the way I've been attacking the basket. I think I can do a better job of sustaining that energy throughout the game."

Timberwolves Add Darrick Martin To Basketball Staff – OurSports Central

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The Minnesota Timberwolves today announced that the team has named 13-year NBA veteran Darrick Martin as the team's Assistant Director of Player Development. Martin will aid Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development J.B. Bickerstaff with the all of the team's player development initiatives.

"I'm very excited to welcome Darrick to our staff," Timberwolves Head Coach Kurt Rambis said. "He's been around this league a long time and will be a tremendous resource for our players, both on and off the court."

Oakley did not want to come to Canada – Michael Grange

Seems Oak wasn’t very happy about coming to Canada. The Raptors were the NBA’s version of Siberia and coming off that epic 16-66 season, he was probably right. As the exiled toast of New York, Oak was sincerely grumpy when he pulled up to the border crossing on his way to training camp, driving up from his home in Cleveland. He’s rolling in a black BMW with tinted windows, stuffed to the gills to make the Royal York Hotel feel like home away from home.

The border guards are curious maybe even suspicious and Oak gets questioned. He tells them he’s on his way to play for the Raptors, but that doesn’t quite cut it. They want to see his work papers and documentation etc., but Oak doesn’t have it. They search the BMW. Tens of thousands of dollars of suits only Oak could wear are being rifled through, and who knows what else.

He’s mad. He calls his agent. “This is bull***, call (then Raptors GM) Glen Grunwald, F*** this! I’m not coming up there, I’m turning around right now.”

Remember the Gauntlet from the old American Gladiators show from the ’90’s? I think there was a newer version but I’m not sure it had it. Well, if you recall, it’s like a narrow alleyway that’s populated with about half a dozen menacing, juiced-up meatheads that competitors had to run through. That’s how this next stretch of games feels from the Raptors’ perspective. There’s really nowhere to run, you know it’s coming, and you just hope the gladiators have enough mercy on you to let you eventually crawl your way through. 7 of the next 8 games are against Western Conference opponents on the road, and all, I mean ALL of them are decent teams. Even the Clippers are dangerous this year. If the Raptors can somehow run the gauntlet with minimal damage, say 3 wins out of these 7, it would be considered a success.

It all starts with Chris Paul , far and away the best PG in league (sorry Rajon, Deron, Steve) licking his lips as Jose and Co. drop into town. Chris is a little jacked up from his recent run-in with the aforementioned Rondo, and who needs a punching bag or even a 2 dollar stress ball when you have the Spanish Sieve right in front of you to take out your frustrations on. Jose was asked at practice this morning about playing against the likes of Paul, Jason Kidd and Tony Parker. This is what he had to say:

Like I always say, it’s team defense. In the NBA nobody plays one-on-one, guys play pick ‘n roll or two man games, so the whole team’s got to rotate on shooters, it’s team defense every time. We have to keep working at that, I think we’re doing a better job. Sometimes they score 40 points because other guys didn’t get involved. Sometimes you got to give something like that up. [The defense against Detroit] was good in the last five minutes. Everybody was talking , helping each other, we were missing that in the first and some periods in the third quarter. We got to do it for 48 minutes. I don’t know but sometimes we make mistakes, we relax. But the last five minutes were good. You knew who you help was, it was good.

Sheet, nobody plays one-on-one in the NBA? Must have missed the memo. You can read more of what Jose had to say here.

Then there’s Jarret Jack, coming off his best game as a Raptor. Jack is starting to do some of the things that Raptor Nation wants Calderon to do. Let’s see how this plays out as Jack becomes more and more comfortable with his teammates. I still think, despite all politically correct answers and statement lurks a competitive individual who’s looking out for the starter’s job. He isn’t a prototypical starting PG in this league, but a few more games like this where Jack leads a charge with the second unit, and then you have a mini-controversy. This is good though, and probably one of the reasons as to why BC acquired a quality backup PG…to give Calderon that slightest nudge that he’s got to bring it every night otherwise there is someone perfectly capable of taking away some of his minutes.

Well, it will have to be about team defense now won’t it? Antoine Wright played more minutes than Demar Derozan did last game against Detroit, and you can bet that trend will continue. He’s just come from the Western Conference and had success defending against most of these teams, and defense is already looking to be an issue early on this season. So you plug him in for more minutes, and you know what you’re going to get from Turk, which is smart but not necessarily great defense. Then the last line of defense will be the Killer B’s, who earned that monicker on Wednesday.

Especially Andrea Bargnani, with a couple of emphatic blocks and a career high 12 rebounds, along with his usual offensive outburst. Really liked what I saw from Bargs. It feels like he knows he can score in this league, and now he wants to try to put it all together. The first couple games he was trying to get his rhythm back, and hopefully, Wednesday was the game he decided to turn it up a notch. Or it was just sheer mathematical coincidence and it will never happen again. I think it may be more of the former. Let’s hold hands and pray that it is. Emeka Okafor and David West are an effective tandem, much better than anything Detroit had to offer.

Offensively, Turk should mess with Julian Wright or Peja, who is on his last legs it seems. Let’s have him be the point of attack and have Antoine and Calderon free up for good looks. Let’s make good use of our effective second unit to wear out a team that isn’t terribly deep. There starters play a ton of minutes, so try to wear ‘em out. Lastly, don’t collapse every time in post-up situations, because this is a team that can stroke it. Easier said than done, of course.

For those who can’t wait for the real game, Visser’s simulation says we ended on a massive run to close things off. I know it’s just a sim but I already feel like we have a better chance. Seriously.

Raptors could use Oakley’s muscle – The Globe and Mail

As for those talented Toronto teams he played on, which included such players as Carter, Antonio Davis and Tracy McGrady, Oakley said each of those players understood their specific roles, the reason the team was able to enjoy some moderate success.

"We said, Vince, you're our lead singer," Oakley said, warming to the memory. "Tracy, you're our back singer. Everybody else is in the band. I'm playing drums, Tone [Antonio Davis] playing guitar. Somebody else is playing the flute."

After that, Oakley said the music just got better and better.

"I don't think our problem is going to be at the offensive end," Toronto coach Jay Triano said after the game. "This is a very good defensive team coming into this game and they did hold us to 43-per-cent shooting. But we still find a way to put 110 points up on the board.

"I think the one thing this team will be able to do is score. We've got to get better defensively."

The 5 NBA Rivalries I’d Like To See – Gallinari vs Bargnani – Dime Magazine

. Danilo Gallinari vs. Andrea Bargnani: This is just perfect. Both guys are from Italy, they play in the Atlantic Division, they’re nearly the same height (Gallinari is 6-10, Bargnani is 7-0), and they both play of the perimeter. While they are probably good friends and supportive of each other now, if there comes a time when both teams are good, expect that little Italian bond to get a little testy.

Slick Raptors trio makes Pistons misfire – thestar.com

"After four games, what we've been able to see is that if we have Jarrett, Jose, they can't really pick you up with one strong point guard and Hedo can handle the ball really well," Triano said after Toronto ended a two-game skid before a smallish crowd billed at 17,915.

"Then when we swing the ball and go side-to-side, not only are you dealing with three guys who can make plays, they can handle the ball and they can make free throws.

"Late in the game, I like the fact that they share the basketball and they know how to spread the floor."

Bench comes up big – Toronto Sun

As for Wright, who finished with a season-high 12 points, sacrificing minutes was no big deal.

"Because I want to win," Wright said. "My whole career, I've been on winning teams, and I know what it takes. I've been on teams with guys who have given themselves up. And when you've got a unit out there rolling, I said: 'Coach, keep them out there, and keep the momentum.' "

Jack finished with nine points and six assists and his contributions were big, considering that starting point guard Jose Calderon struggled early and finished with nine points and only one assist, his dime not coming until mid-way through the fourth.

The Rap’s Killer B’s Come Together For Another W – Hoop Heads North

Game 1 of the season: Bosh, Bargnani and the bench came up big for the W.
Game 4 of the season, after 2 straight losses, the B's did it again.

This time around, Bargnani came up with his first double double of the season with 22 and 12. Bosh chipped in with 25 and 8, and the bench keyed a huge 44-point 2nd quarter surge, finishing with 35 total points as the Raptors held on for a 110-99 win. The shorthanded Pistons who played without Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince managed to come back from 17 points down to take a 91-90 lead. But they ran out of steam and the Raptors turned it up a notch and never looked back.

Feschuk: Oak eyes planting roots in coaching ranks – thestar.com

Certainly there's still an appetite for Oakley's rare recipe of toughness and smarts in Toronto, where he signed pre-game autographs for a line of fans that stretched long down the concourse. He was paid respect, too, by the announced crowd of 17,915, most of whom stood and applauded when Oakley's presence was announced during a break in the first half, and by at least one current Raptor.

Jarrett Jack, 26, was all of two years old when Oakley made his NBA debut. But Jack has played pickup games with the old curmudgeon – "He still brings his forearms and flagrant fouls," Jack said – and believes Oakley could bring value to an NBA staff.

Raps put depth to the test – The Barrie Examiner

The Pistons fought to within four (86-82) early in the fourth quarter when starting centre Andrea Bargnani nailed a three, and, on Detroit's subsequent possession, blocked a Ben Gordon shot.

Unfortunately for the Raptors, Marco Belinelli missed two straight threes and Detroit e draw closer.

Detroit's Will Bynum hit a three and scored on a layup to give the visitors a 91-90 lead with just over seven minutes left — the Pistons first lead since early in the second quarter. But thanks largely to the efforts of Bargnani, the home side held on.

The win improved the Raptors to 2-2 on the season with Detroit dropping to 2-3. It was also the second win for Toronto against a team that was playing the second game of a back-to-back.

Bargnani finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Raptors break out against Pistons – The Globe and Mail

Triano opted for a big fourth-quarter rotation that included Chris Bosh, Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu all lined up in the front court, and their dominating presence down the stretch proved the difference.

After falling behind, the Raptors finished the game on a 20-8 run to close out Detroit with Turkoglu providing the telling blow – a 17-foot pull-up jumper with under four minutes to play that moved Toronto ahead by eight.

“Not only are you dealing with three guys who can make plays, they can handle the ball and they can make free throws,” Triano said. “Late in the game I like that.”

Raptors have plenty of O, not enough D – Charley Rosen, FOX Sports

Even minus the services of two key players — Tayshaun Prince and Rip Hamilton — the shorthanded Pistons put up a gutsy fight before succumbing to the home-standing Raptors. Not surprisingly, the game presented ample evidence as to what's right and what's wrong with Toronto.

Charley's NBA tour
Charley Rosen For the first half of the season, Charley Rosen will closely watch all 30 teams and provide a comprehensive scouting report for each.

* San Antonio Spurs
* Phoenix Suns
* New Orleans Hornets
* Toronto Raptors

On the positive side of the ledger:

# The muscle that Chris Bosh added during the offseason has made him a more forceful scoring threat both in the low post and along the baseline. Bosh also moved astutely without the ball.

# Hedo Turkoglu is still on target with his trademark pull-left-and-shoot move. Moreover, he made some nifty passes off his right-handed dribble.

Dino Nation Blog: Good, Bad and Ugly, But A Win

Jose Calderon is really just not getting it done defensively. But on a night full of strange stat lines Jose having just 1 assist might have been the oddest. It was pointed out in the broadcast for the majority of the game he had none. His shooting has been far from stellar of late as well. He did make a clutch 3 down the stretch. That was after getting blown by Stuckey and Bynum so much he should have whiplash. Jarrett Jack on this night was a lot better. He had 9 points and 6 assists with 3 boards. He had a couple bad moments defensively as well but on the whole was much better. If you checked out the Live Blog above Jose was one of the more popular issues on the night. Many feel it will only be a matter of time before Jack takes over at the starting point guard spot. Jack of course did that last year in Indiana with T. J Ford. It may be a case of De Ja Vu all over again. Fitting statement on a night when the Yankees win the World Series.

Triple threat carries Raptors past Pistons – thestar.com

Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack and Hedo Turkoglu, all capable ball-handers, good from the field and solid from the free throw line, are going to be given every chance to close out games, just like they did Wednesday night as the Raptors evened their record at 2-2 with a 110-99 win over the Detroit Pistons at the Air Canada Centre.

"After four games, what we've been able to see is that if we have Jarrett, Jose, they can't really pick you up with one strong point guard and Hedo can handle the ball really well," said Triano after Toronto won before a smallish crowd announced at 17,915.

Charles Oakley, on life and basketball, verbatim – Posted Sports

On that new generation: “These days with these guys I don’t know if you can say too much to them without them breaking down and crying, like a girl. It is what it is.”

"But I think in the league, when the fans come to the game, they're not getting their money's worth. That's all. And the talent level. You've got to put somebody on the court, but at least put somebody on the court who the fans can say, ‘O.K., I've got my money's worth.' Somebody who is knowing the plays, knowing this. I watched a couple games, guys are giving ‘em fast breaks. This guy will be in front of the guy with the ball, and just stop and let him go to the rim. You see a lot of that. I ain't saying you've got take someone out. Hey, at least make him make a free throw. And most of the guys now can't hit free throws."

Raps Slam Door On Detroit – Eric Smith

Stats that stood out:
- Jose Calderon with only 1 assist in 32 minutes of action
- Toronto turned the ball over only 6 times
- Lead changes: Toronto down 9 … Then up 17 … The down 1 … Then they win by 11. Strange.
- Tight on the Glass: 45-45 REB
- Toronto with 44 points in the 2ND QRT alone!
- 59 of Detroit’s 99 points came from Gordon, Rodney Stuckey, and Will Bynum
- Stuckey had a career-high 10 rebounds
- Bargnani’s career-high in REB too (12)

Calderon struggles despite Raptors success – Rotoworld.com

Jose Calderon had just nine points, two rebounds and one assist on 4-of-11 shooting in 32 minutes Wednesday.
Things are looking rock-bottom for Calderon, who just doesn't seem to be a fit for the offensive schemes Jay Triano is running. The Raptors became the first team to score 100 points against the Pistons this season, yet Calderon was basically a bystander. Maybe he will get it going at some point, but for now, you have to think twice before even starting him every night.

Jay Triano – The FAN 590 Toronto – Audio on Demand

Jay Triano – The FAN 590 Toronto – Audio on Demand

Pistons fall to Toronto | Need4Sheed.com

The Pistons did their best to try to pull out another game without Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, but the Raptors didn’t cooperate with Detroit’s plans. Detroit went down 99-110 in Toronto after another gutsy effort.

Key Points:

Pistons vs. Raptors – Box Score – ESPN

Pistons vs. Raptors – Box Score – ESPN

Bargnani, Bosh lead Raptors past Pistons – Detroit Free Press

Toronto became the first team this season to score more than 100 points against Detroit, which began the night second in the league behind Boston in points allowed at 85.3.

“Needless to say, you let anybody in the league score that many points and it’s going to be tough to counter that,” Gordon said of Toronto’s explosive second. “It seemed like every possession they got a good shot or got to the free throw line. It’s tough to win like that, when you’re not really stopping them at all. They’re either going to get a good look or get some free throws.”

Leafs, Raptors admit getting H1N1 shots, jump vaccine queue – thestar.com

According to the Maple Leafs and Raptors, some players and staff have received the H1N1 vaccine, but both teams deny jumping the line for shots.

Under considerable pressure to say whether their players have been vaccinated against the virus, the Leafs issued a statement saying they were only following medical protocol by having their players injected.

"Any vaccine supplies received were obtained through normal distribution and no preferential treatment was requested nor received," the statement from spokesman Pat Park said in part.

The Leafs' stablemates at the Air Canada Centre, the Toronto Raptors, made a similar statement in an email to the Star.

Raptors unconvincing, but still successful – National Post

"The one thing that this team will be able do is we'll be able to score," Raptors coach Jay Triano said. "But we've got to get better at the defensive end. You look at the numbers and [Detroit's 45% shooting], that's pretty decent. But we're just not pleased with where we are defensively."

Bargnani scored 22 points, while Chris Bosh led with 25 points on the strength of 20 trips to the free-throw line. (That makes an obscene 65 free throws attempted in four games.) But with Calderon continuing to struggle to start the year, the Pistons chipped away to take the lead. But the Raptors (2-2) took it back for good halfway through the fourth quarter.

10 Things That Marco Belinelli is not – Pete Marasmitch

Okay, I can forgive the local morning show guy for fumbling the name of Toronto Raptors guard Marco Belinelli. After all, he’s a relatively new non-hockey player. But, as a service to the public (and to Belinelli), I present a list of things that, while similar in some ways, are NOT Belinelli.

With 7 of the next 8 games on the road against the West, it was mucho important the Raptors get this one against the Pistons. A Pistons team that grounded out a huge win the night before against the Magic. A Pistons team who was missing Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. A Pistons team who we haven’t beat since March 2008. For the third game in a row, the Raptors came in with the cards stacked in their favour, but unlike the Magic and Grizzlies games, they were able to win. Hard to imagine that a game where the you put up 110 points could be ugly, but this bad boy had its moments.

You knew the Pistons were going to make a run to start the game. There only chance to steal this one was to come in guns blazing. Ben Gordon scored every time he wanted. DeRozan had his first real taste of what guarding an elite-level (Gordon scores like an elite SG, overall he isn’t) SG means. Ben dropped 12pts in the first 10 minutes of the 1st quarter all through the Raptors poor defense of the high pick-n-roll. Every-time he came off that screen, he had an equally good option to shoot or drive, and for fun, he mixed it up, keeping the Raptors on their toes. In one-on-one situations, he would blow by whoever had the misfortune of covering him. Everyone was bracing themselves for a 50pt night from Gordon; we even threw Belinelli at him and finally Antoine Wright checked in at the 2:40 mark of the 1st. The result: Gordon goes scoreless for the next 6 minutes. Amazing Triano didn’t bring Wright in earlier, but this was the first in a line of a few mistakes made during the course of the night.

On the offensive end, things weren’t much better. The Raptors looked out of sync, dropping passes and missing open shots. Turkoglu was the lone saving grace for much of the first. He was only person *cough* Jose *cough* creating scoring opportunities by attacking the paint, drawing the double and kicking out to an open jump shooter. Sadly, DeRozan and Calderon missed wide open shots, but he did find Bosh under the basket for a dunk. Calderon didn’t seem to be in the game. In fact, this was one of the worst games I have ever watched him play, including his rookie year. He didn’t create any opportunities for anyone, played horrible defense and had he not hit those two jumpers late (one a three), he would have incited a riot at the ACC.

The tide didn’t start to change until Jack entered the game with Wright at the 2:40 mark of the 1st. Where the Raptors were lethargic and sloppy, Jack came in and pushed the tempo. Stepping up to the challenge of stopping Stuckey/Bynum, and breathing life into the Raptors. Last night was a clear example as why the Raptors CAN’T start Jack: they need him coming off the bench breathing fire.

From the moment Jack, Wright and Belinelli stepped into the game, the Raptors went on a 24-8 run. Oakley even praised them saying how tough these guys are. On a side note, and I’m just putting this out there, but I wish Oakley stayed the night commentating. He talks, I listen, it’s simple, but I digress…These cats pushed the tempo, attacked the basket, hit their shots, and moved the ball around. Our boys got back into the game by attacking the basket. It’s simplistic to say so, but from the moment Jack got into the game, he took it to the rack and either finished, or found an open shooter for a great look. He even provided a highlight reel where he split he double team at the 3-point line, headed to the basket, and tossed a no-look-over-the-shoulder-pass to a cutting Bargnani for the dunk. Raptors head into the half up 68-56.

The 3rd quarter was tough to stomach. With Jack and Wright on the bench, the pace went back to brutal. Bosh carried the Raptors with his active play around the basket. Our boy grabbed a couple rebounds, but in a display of his maturity, attacked the basket and drew fouls instead of popping jumpers from 17ft. In a 7 min span from the last minute of the 1st quarter, he went to the line 10 times, and kept the Raptors in front. But the 3rd quarter belonged to Stuckey. Like a man possessed, he carried this team to within 8pts by the end of quarter by attacking. Three times, he split the double team at the 3-point and strolled in for the layup, once for an And-1. In three straight possessions, Stuckey dropped 7 points. Had it not been for Wright missing two free throws in the last 30 seconds of the quarter, the Raptors would have went into the 4th up 10.

The Pistons came out like gangbusters to start the 4th, going on a 15-5 run to take a 91-90 lead. At this point, I had the gun to my head and murmuring to anyone who would listen to me on twitter. Then Bosh fouled Maxiell, and put him on the line where he promptly missed both free throws, which would have been daggers. On the next possession, Bosh draws the double and kicks out to an open Calderon for a three. Bargnani scores the next 6 pts, and the Piston disappeared like a fart in the wind. It was more tense then that, but the important thing was that the Raptors were able to pull out a win after a total collapse.

The Four Factors to Winning

Shooting the Ball
The Raptors shot the ball well, but not great. You can attribute this to all the missed three point attempts – 16.
Raptors – 48.6%
Pistons – 49.3%

Taking Care of the Ball When you only turn the ball over 6 times in 92 possessions, good things will happen. Calderon and Jack protected the ball beautifully only turning it over once each.
Raptors – 6.5%
Pistons – 11.9%

Offensive Rebounding The Raptors grabbed 29.1% of all available offensive rebounds, giving them an extra 14 possessions.
Raptors – 29.1%
Pistons – 26.1%

Getting to the Free Throw Line The Raptors got to the free throw 47 times, converting 36. This is what won them the game.
Raptors – 61.8%
Pistons – 30.1%

Player Impact

Bargnani and Bosh led the charge, it’s tight, but Bargnani gets the edge.

They started it…

Bosh: 7 Kept that offense chugging along with his 20 FT attempts. Hardly a fluid or dominant performance but got his nose dirty and didn’t let his head hang when he got beat on defense. His play slowed this game down and allowed the Raps to catch their breath.

Bargnani: 8 Caught wind of the A-Dub hate and showed the pussy up with 12 rebounds, that’s to go with 22 points. Hit 4 big fourth quarter FTs, had 2 huge blocks which easily saved 4 points, and faked Charlie V out of his pants for a big jumper late. Defensively solid all night long and that was hard to do because the backcourt was porous. Take a bow son, take a bow.

Calderon: 3 It’s good to have guaranteed minutes. Stuckey lit him up early, Bynum lit him up late. You have to wonder just what he was doing on the floor with Jack in that fourth quarter. The corner three he conceded to Bynum in the fourth said it all about the way he thinks on defense – he doesn’t. Even Jack Armstrong said it, “Jose’s not right”. Thanks for that late three, though. Had one assist which was good because it meant he wasn’t handling the rock.

DeRozan: 3 Early baseline cut for a dunk but that was it. Couldn’t negotiate the screens set for his check (Gordon) and Triano once again didn’t bother using him for anything other than standing at the wing and waiting. For something. Got benched in favor of Wright after Gordon exploded early. There’ll be days like this…

Turkoglu: 8 Finally, we see what the Sultan of Turk can do when you give him the ball. 16/7/6. He should’ve had about 5 more assists if Belinelli or Jack could shoot as advertised. This guy should be our primary ball handler. No question about it, otherwise it’s a total waste. Move Calderon to off-guard on the condition that he doesn’t get burned and can knock down an open J. Hedo, find Bargnani and go take a bow..

Da Bench

Jack: 8 Led that second unit which gave this team the offensive spark it needed. Drove the ball every chance he got and made Gordon and Bynum defend. Earned the respect of Oak while doing so. He got torched later in the game by Bynum but overall, a solid performance which made a case for more minutes. If only he could knock that open jumper down, him and Turk could be deadly.

Belinelli: 3 Famine. Gordon’s hesitation shook him worse than an earthquake. Got beat one-on-one too often and didn’t knock down the open threes he was presented. Still finding his role on the team and it’s becoming more and more evident it’s not going to happen on the defensive end.

Johnson: 5 Easily his best game, still gave up too many offensive rebounds but the hustle and energy was there. Even scored a basket. 6/5 in 17 minutes while picking up 4 fouls. Yup, that’s considered a good game for him right now. Hopefully he can build on not screwing up.

Wright: 8 Slowed down Ben Gordon in that second or it was going to be a loooong night, hit two big threes set-up by Hedo which got the crowd and the Raptors back in it. If Jack was the offensive spark, he was the defensive one. He defended CV, Gordon, Bynum and Maxiell at different points in the game.

Collecting da cheque

Evans, Douby, O’Bryant, Weems, Banks, Nesterovic

The Payout

Pimp: Antoine Wright.

Ho: DeMar DeRozan

What we learned: Will Bynum can play.

The Verdict: We’re 2-0 when playing teams on a back-to-back.

Bosh sees – Toronto Sun

While the Raptors still are finding their legs as a team, Bosh certainly hasn’t been slow out of the blocks. The seven-year Raptor, who spent the off-season working unusually hard to build up his strength and endurance, is in the top three in the NBA in both points (31.3 per game) and rebounds (14.7) — with the idea of keeping it that way throughout the season. “I’m just trying to stay consistent,” he said. “That’s my main thing this year. Last year, I got off to a really good start, and I really, really digressed as the season went on. So I’m trying to keep it steady this year. Not only for the second half of the season, but the second half of games.”

Pistons-Raptors Preview – Nov. 3, 2009 – NBA – CBSSports.com

"We have to learn from these games, especially being a young team," Turkoglu told the Raptors' official Web site. Though the Raptors are allowing 110.3 points per game, they're playing well on the offensive end thanks to Bosh, who's averaging 31.0 points per contest. Also pulling down 14.7 boards per game, Bosh is averaging 23.1 points and 10.1 rebounds in his last seven contests versus Detroit.

Raptors will need defence against Detroit | The Toronto Observer

“We didn’t do the things defensively that we’ve been talking about since the preseason,” veteran forward Chris Bosh said after the loss to Orlando. “Have all contested shots and give them one rebound.” Toronto had only a total of two steals and six blocked shots against the Magic. Head coach Jay Triano will also want to emphasize rebounding, particularly on offence.

In their last game, Toronto was out-worked on the offensive boards by the Magic 14-9. They are currently ranked 21st in the National Basketball Association in recovering the ball.

Raptors Need To Stick With The Plan | Hoops Addict

You don’t scrap what you spent the past six weeks working on because of two frustrating losses. You regroup and tighten things up during practices. You continue to allow Antoine Wright and Hedo Turkoglu some time to get acquainted after missing most of October. You let Jose Calderon snap out of the early season funk he’s found himself trapped in.

Bosh bashing on offensive boards – The Globe and Mail

For a guy who is tied for third in NBA scoring heading into last night’s play (averaging 31 points in Toronto’s first three games) and is second overall in rebounding (14.7), Bosh is more concerned with the number 12 – the rebounds he has plucked off the offensive glass (an average of four per outing, ranking him fourth in the league). It represents a significant jump for a man who, last year, averaged 2.8 offensive rebounds over the course of the season.

He is not sold on Raptors all-star Chris Bosh – “They’re going to pay him $20 million to shoot jump shots?” – or on starting centre Andrea Bargnani. “You ain’t going nowhere with 7-footers shooting three-pointers.”

Strong start only a beginning for Bosh – thestar.com

"That's one of the things Jay (Triano) and I talked about over the summer, even if the play was designed a certain way, I was floating around the elbow and the wing a little bit too much," Bosh said. "So that was really a point of emphasis for me, to roll a lot more and get down closer to the basket a lot more, be a more traditional big."

Raptors Notebook – Toronto Sun

Former Raptor Charles Oakley will be honoured tonight as part of the team’s 15th anniversary. The Raptors play host to the Detroit Pistons, 7 p.m., at the Air Canada Centre. Oakley played 208 games for Toronto over three seasons, averaging 7.9 points and 7.9 rebounds and was part of two playoff teams, including the 2001 squad that defeated the New York Knicks to reach the second round.

Bosh toughens up for second halves – Posted Sports

“That was one of the major concerns coming into this summer was not only the second half of the season, but the second half of games and just being able to stay strong and keep it going, it’s easier said than done,” he said. “I’m just trying to stay consistent. That’s my main thing this year. I know last year I got off to a really good start and I really, really digressed as the season went on, so I’m trying to keep it steady this year.”

Bosh sees | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun

While the Raptors still are finding their legs as a team, Bosh certainly hasn't been slow out of the blocks. The seven-year Raptor, who spent the off-season working unusually hard to build up his strength and endurance, is in the top three in the NBA in both points (31.3 per game) and rebounds (14.7) — with the idea of keeping it that way throughout the season. "I'm just trying to stay consistent," he said. "That's my main thing this year. Last year, I got off to a really good start, and I really, really digressed as the season went on. So I'm trying to keep it steady this year. Not only for the second half of the season, but the second half of games."

Game Preview: Detroit Pistons vs Toronto Raptors « New Leisure Blog

Key to a Raptor win:
- Stop Gordon and Charlie V from scoring. Charlie V loves playing against his old team and he will be very motivated. Charlie V is currently having a bad start, he is not getting a lot of playing time and looks like he’s lost on defense.

- Calderon has to play better on both ends. He has to make shots on offense and contain Stuckey on defense.

- Attack, attack and attack. The Pistons are using Ben Wallace as their starting center, if it’s Ben Wallace 5 years ago, it may be relevant, but now he is no longer a defensive force. So the Raptors have to attack with their quickness. Jump on them early, it’s better to play with a lead.

Preview Raptors vs Pistons: The First Big Test! « Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog

During the off-season, the Detroit Pistons rebuilt the key components of their roster in an attempt to become relevant once again in the post season.

Not everyone is convinced that the Pistons have made all the right moves and Wednesday night’s tilt versus the Raptors is the first head-to-head meeting with one of the half-dozen teams that they will competing with for one of the last four playoff spots.

The Toronto Raptors have gotten off to a disappointing start to the season. From the high of beating Cleveland in their home opener. Then the low of losing two straight high scoring contests they could have won.

Turkoglu adjusting to new team, new city – Ottawa Citizen

The 30-year-old veteran of nine NBA seasons said he is still figuring out his new team and city, both on and off the court.

“It’s been an adjustment since I’ve been here, I still have to figure out the nice places, the nice areas, the people that are really good people that I can be friends with,” he said. “My teammates, they are going to be my good friends because we’re going to spend most of the year together. Everyday I learn more about either my team or about the city, that makes me feel more comfortable”

NBA affiliate runs tryout at Ryerson – The Eyeopener Online

A Toronto Raptors affiliate hosted a free agent tryout Saturday and Sunday at the upper gym in Kerr Hall.

The Erie Bay Hawks, Toronto and Cleveland’s developmental league affiliate, held the third of three tryouts looking for names to submit to the DLeague’s Nov. 5 draft.

The camps attract a wide range of talent, all looking for an opportunity to further a professional basketball career.

Paul Jones Fast Break: Gotta defend – sportsnet.ca

And why is this important looking at Sunday? Well Sunday was one of the rare times, and it happens about once a month (say 6-7 times a season) where Toronto holds an opponent under the magic number — no pun intended — and loses the game. The difference was Orlando’s three-point shooting which was great. But that is to be expected from a team that was 7th in the NBA last season in three-point shooting percentage and hoisted over a third of their field goal attempts last season from behind the arc. Orlando’s 17 three-point field goals was a record for the most treys made by a Raptor opponent in a single game. Heck, Toronto shot 54 per cent and put up 116 points and still lost. On Sunday afternoon, Orlando shot 43.9 per cent. So what happened and should the Raptors have modified their defensive game plan and coverage?

Tayshaun Prince’s streak of consecutive starts over – Detroit Free Press

The team just announced that small forward Tayshaun Prince will miss tonight's game against the Orlando Magic because of a lower back strain, ending his consecutive-start streak at 439 games.

Prince will not make the two-game trip to Toronto (Wednesday) and Orlando (Friday), either.

Bosh’s New Bulk A Welcome Addition – Mike Ulmer, raptors.com

When Chris Bosh grabbed Dwight Howard to ignite a skirmish of forbidden words in Sunday’s loss to the Magic, it wasn’t because Bosh was sending out a message.

November 3rd – Practice Videos – Raptors.com

November 3rd – Practice Videos

Must Have: Chris Bosh’s DVD First Ink – Dime Magazine

If and when Chris Bosh becomes a free agent, I wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up back home in Dallas. Not because he necessarily wants to play for the Mavericks, but because Mark Cuban could probably give him his own television station. On December 1st, CB4 has a DVD dropping called First Ink, and I’m already trying to get my hands on it.

First Ink features a documentary film which follows Bosh as he navigates one of the most important offseasons of his career, as well as a number of original comic films, exclusive interviews and never-before-seen high school footage.

World Series, Raptors Ratings – Chris Zelkovich, thestar.com

Relatively huge was the audience Rogers Sportsnet attracted for Sunday's World Series game: 840,000. That doesn't include all those who watched on Fox, which I'm guessing was at least another 800,000. That's not hockey huge, but it's huge.

Not so huge were the Toronto Raptors. They got off to a great start last week, drawing a record audience of 420,000 on The Score. But that fell to 240,000 Friday and only 190,000 on Sunday.

Here are the top English-Canadian sports ratings for the weekend, as supplied by BBM overnight calculations:

Placing blame on the wrong players – khandor’s sports blog

Although Dave Feschuk usually does a solid job of pointing out which things are working well in Raptorville, at any given point in time, and which things are in need of improvement, on occasion, even he can “swing and miss”, when it comes to solving the riddle that has now become,

“What is really at the heart of the Raptors defensive woes, when it comes to relentlessly conceding dribble penetration to opponent ball-handlers using a Pick from a Big?”

Practice Talk – November 3rd, 2009 – Court Surfing

Is it important to get a win before heading out on a road trip? "We talked about the importance of the game but nothing to do with the fact that we're getting ready to get on the road. It's one game and we're going to focus on that game. We have an opportunity to watch them tonight, we run through some of their sets today in practice and hopefully make some adjustments based on what we see tonight when they play against Orlando."

Don’t Panic, Toronto – Hoopsworld

It's amazing how quickly the sky starts to fall sometimes. The Toronto Raptors started the 2009-10 season with a bang, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers, but are 0-2 since then after losses to Orlando and Memphis. An early scapegoat seems to be rookie shooting guard DeMar DeRozan, who has been starting and is averaging just 7.3 points per game. Some wonder if the Raptors would be better off starting Antoine Wright, just back from an ankle injury, who was a regular starter for the Dallas Mavericks last season. Raptors head coach Jay Triano isn't ready to consider a lineup change.

2006 Draft Do-Over, Death of talent in ‘06 Draft makes Blazers clear winners – NBA.com

Monday, NBA teams gave their verdict. It was the deadline for contract extensions for the 2006 class, and well, let's just hope a bunch of those players got their degrees. They may need them soon. With a recession and a declining salary cap causing teams to turn thrifty, a majority of third-year players will wonder where their next paychecks will come from. Among the few who were extended were Roy, Aldridge, Rajon Rondo, Thabo Sefalosha and Andrea Bargnani. Most of the rest are destined to work year-to-year, especially with an upcoming labor negotiation adding even more employment uncertainty.

3. Andrea Bargnani, Toronto: As No. 1 picks go, he isn't exactly Olowokandi. But not a franchise player, either. He can shoot with range and he just turned 24, so the Raptors rolled the financial dice anyway.

Class of 2006 Score Only Six Extensions – ESPN TrueHoop

A week ago it began looking like just three first-rounders from the 2006 NBA Draft were going to get contract extensions from their teams.

Brandon Roy got a max deal. LaMarcus Aldridge landed a sweet $65 million extension. And Andrea Bargnani signed a deal worth $50 million.

However, over the course of the past few days there has been a flurry of negotiations and a few other players scored extensions.

The Pistons are in the same tier as the Raptors and are one of the teams that will try to make a playoff push at our expense. How do I know? Their blogger predicts 44 wins. They’re nothing like the feared teams of the mid-2000’s when Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and a fierce Ben Wallace made you regret even coming to the building. They’re replaced the old guard with Charlie Villanueva, Ben Gordon, Chris Wilcox and Kwame Brown, which is like replacing a sturdy reliable John Deere tractor with a shiny plastic lawnmower.

Investing 10 years and $85 million in Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva was a questionable move at best, and made me wonder if they’ll actually make a run at Chris Bosh since they’ve already got Villanueva locked up. They’ve got $40M tied up for next year which means they’d have to sign-and-trade for him which would mean they’d feed us good ‘ol Charlie V. Imagine that! I’m getting ahead of myself, let’s look at this contest a little closer.

Blogger’s Take

Let’s see what TrueHoop blogger, Piston Powered thinks:

How have Ben Gordon and CV looked so far?

Ben Gordon has been very good so far for Detroit. A knock on him has been games where he just can’t shoot, yet continues to do so anyway. That hasn’t happened yet, though. He’s scored at least 22 points every game this season. Villanueva, on the other hand, has just seemed off. He’s hit just 13-of-38 shots this season and struggled with foul trouble in a couple games. He missed most of the preseason because of an injury, so hopefully he just needs a few games to hit his stride.

Team Weaknesses – what would a scout say?

The Pistons don’t have anyone who can score in the low post (assuming Jason Maxiell is still out of the rotation). Ben Wallace and Kwame Brown are defense-first guys. And Charlie Villanueva is more of a slasher and perimeter shooter.

What’s your bread-and-butter set?

The Pistons are at their best when Rodney Stuckey is penetrating and making good decisions with the basketball. That opens up jumpers for Gordon and Rip Hamilton, space for Charlie Villanueva to drive and drop-offs for Ben Wallace dunks.

Injuries

Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince are out for the game. Prince’s iron man streak was broken in last night’s win against Orlando (Howard left the game early) after he came up with a back issue. Hamilton has a sprained ankle. Two of their main players are missing and on paper this should be a gettable W, but that’s what we said about Orlando. In addition to that, Ben Gordon and Rodney Stuckey played 43 and 41 minutes in that game which should help the Raptors.

For the Raptors, Sonny Weems and Reggie Evans are out. Antoine Wright practiced on Tuesday after missing Monday’s practice due to a tweaked ankle. He’s expected to play. Let’s check the five positions.

Matchups

The Point: Stuckey’s explosiveness versus Calderon’s…umm…craftiness?. Key is to go under and back around the screen to make sure you only give Stuckey the perimeter jumper and are in position to get in front of him if he decides to turn on the screen. Test his legs, he’s tired. My mind tells me Jack should be given Stuckey duties, his strength will do better to offset the Piston. Will Bynum had 20 in last night’s game and already showed last year that he’s a very capable backup, watch for him too.

The Skill: Even though DeRozan starts, Jack could be asked to cover Gordon who matches him in height at 6′ 3″ and also in center of gravity. Somebody tell Gordon that he already got the big contract and shouldn’t try so hard, he’s averaging in. 24+ for the 2-2 Pistons while shooting 49%. This is the matchup we envisioned when thinking of Jack on the defensive end, let’s test it out. This also could be a chance to see if DeRozan can put his height advantage to any use; many feel he’s been underutilized and this is a chance to have him get his against a weak defender.

The Swingman: With Tayshaun Prince out, they gave the start to Jonas Jerebko. I have no idea who he is except that he went 0-5 last night so I reckon we don’t have to worry too much about him. Hedo Turkoglu should have the green light to do whatever he wants since Prince is Detroit’s only true defensive wing. I can see the Pistons’ switching Charlie V on Hedo and having Gonzaga rookie Austin Daye check Bargnani, he impressed in summer league.

The Big: This isn’t the Ben Wallace of old, this version of Ben Wallace moves about as well as a fridge but is still managing to average 10 rebounds. Bargnani must do to him what he did to Shaq, except the Piston’s have other more agile big men in Wilcox, Maxiell and Kwame to counter what Bargnani has to throw at them. Detroit has always had a good big man core which generates positive rebounding differential but this year is a little different, actually it’s a lot different. They’re a league worst -6.7 in that department. We’ll still need Bargnani to hit the glass because Bosh alone can’t handle Maxiell and Wallace, even though the former suffered through a DNP-CD and is very close the doghouse. The Raps should inquire. Perhaps this could be a game where ex-Piston Amir Johnson shows us a reason to have faith in him.

The Strong: Villanueva averaged 16.2/6.7 last year and we all make fun of him for not playing defense and everybody has a good laugh. When somebody dares to make fun of Bargnani’s defense people get their panties in a knot. Somebody explain. Bosh is in for a tougher night as Wallace, Maxiell and a motivated Charlie V – who beats Bosh for quickness – have the tools to give him fits. Bosh is second in the league in rebounding with 14.7 (Howard 16.0) and is averaging 4+ offensive rebounds a game. We’ll need that.

Keys and Predictions

There’s nothing to worry about here, Visser’s sim says we blew the crap out of them.

The keys to winning this game is to not let their guards go off on you like Orlando’s did and to not concede offensive rebounds. You have to like the Raptors at home against a short-handed team playing a back-to-back. If we lose this it will be the worst loss of the season. After this is it’s away to New Orleans, Dallas and San Antonio, so this is the easiest game until we play the Clippers at home on the 13th.

–

Some boring practice scrums. Bosh on why he’s getting more offensive rebounds and what he thinks of where the team is.

I think we’re close as a team, I think we’re doing pretty good given the time we’ve had together.

I’m happy with getting offensive rebounds. I’m more inside in the offense, I’m in the right position. You have to get position early and be strong with guys. You have to be inside first and that’s a lot tougher. The point of emphasis for me was to roll to the basket more…be a more traditional big.

Triano on where the team is and whether he’s satisfied with what he’s seen so far.

I see signs where we share the ball real well and cover for each other. Then I see signs where we look like we don’t know each other. I think it’s going to be like that for a little bit and I think for the most part I’m pleased with where we are. Do I want it to get better? Absolutely, will it get better? Yes.

That all comes with him getting to understand and know his teammates a little better. It also comes with us understanding when and where to put him in situations, especially at the end of the game. I thought we scored the ball well [against Orlando] but we should probably have the ball in his hands more.

Amir Johnson was asked who helped him the most in Detroit.

Sheed was one of the guys, McDyess, Lindsay Hunter, Ben Wallace when he was there. There was a bunch of guys, a bunch of old vets. Dale Davis, Kelvin Cato, man. There were a bunch of guys who really helped my game. Really brought me a toughness, it was a battle every practice.

I’m sure all the guys he mentioned are cringing at his early season numbers.

Check the live chat and stream at 7PM. There’s also going to be a live blog for those who can’t watch the game but want meaningful updates.

Status quo suits Triano – Toronto Sun

While he admits Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack have to do a better job of fighting through and cutting off penetration, it's also up to the bigs to provide help in that case.

In any event, the approach is not going to change.

"I don't want to abandon what we are doing," he said. "In years past, we have had a defensive philosophy and we would get to this point and decide: 'This is hurting us. Let's abandon it and do something different.'

"We're not going to do that. We just have to it better and that's part of what (yesterday's practice) was."

Calderon, a guy who gets plenty of the blame for opposing point guards preying on the Raptors — not all of it deserved, according to both Triano and Chris Bosh — came into this season intent on being a better defender.

While the early results don't appear to be attractive — both Memphis' Mike Conley and Orlando's Jameer Nelson got into the lane at will in the past two games — Calderon feels his defence has improved.

Inconsistent Raptors desperate for consistency – thestar.com

Chris Bosh alluded to it in the aftermath of Sunday's 125-116 loss to Orlando, a passivity to start the game that got Toronto in a hole too deep to get out of.

It was part lack of effort, which was particularly galling to many because effort should be constant. But it was also, according to coach Jay Triano, a mental timidity that doesn't allow them to play freely.

"I think at the start of the game, we're so concerned about trying to do the right thing," he said. "We're not reacting, we're thinking our way through it. It's paralysis by analysis. We just thinking about everything. Finally when we started to play and we started to attack the basket, we became much better basketball team."

Feschuk: Solution to Raptors’ weak defence? Start Jack – thestar.com

Calderon, to this eye, has been getting beat for lay-ins too often, although he says his defence has been "better than (his) offence" this season, which gives you an idea of what he thinks about his shooting stroke.

So what are the Raptors to do? Junking it up might be an option. Jack Armstrong, the high-energy broadcaster, was on the radio show he co-hosts with Eric Smith on The Fan 590 on Monday making an argument for Toronto's occasional playing of multi-look zone defence. If you've got a glaring weakness, it makes some sense to be at least a little bit deceptive about where it is. But don't expect changes. The Raptors coaching staff, particularly Jay Triano and lead assistant Marc Iavaroni, has invested a lot of time and effort into developing its current system.

The winds of change blow hard; and the Best of Oak

This guy sucks? Make a change.

Team loses game? Make a change.

They’re pretty much exactly where a lot of people thought they’d be after three games? Make a change anyway dammit.

Trouble is, it’s never black and white, it’s always grey.

Take the whole “Jose can’t defend a lick, why is he playing, how in the world can they ever win a game with him out there?” stuff I’m getting floods of in the mail.

No, he’s not a great defender but the notion than anyone can defend anyone one-on-one is, as perhaps we’ve mentioned before, silly.

Yes, he will give up blow-bys just like every other point guard or wing man in the NBA.

Passing It Around : The Picket Fence

Now, I will admit that Calderon has not looked good so far this year. He’s only slightly better on defense than last season, and he’s shooting from the field, the 3 point line and the free throw line like Dick Cheaney shoots a shotgun (too dated?). Of course, since he’s missed more free throws in 3 games this year than he did ALL of last season, I think it’s safe to say that Calderon is not quite himself. Any bets on whether he regrets taking the entire summer off from basketball? Anyone think he’s not going to do the same thing next summer? Still, while it’s disturbing to watch, it’s also reassuring, because you know he’s going to come around sooner or later. He’s too good a player to continue playing the way he has.

Three Games In And We Should…… | The AltRaps Blog

Personally I’ve always hated the “it’s just preseason” excuse. This year we had a full roster. Nobody was in camp that was trying to make the team. From the get-go, what you saw is what we had. Sure, we were missing Hedo and Chris and the deeper bench players were playing more minutes than usual, but after seeing lethargic effort after lethargic effort, did you really expect that they would kick it up a notch on opening night and keep it going for a few weeks? If you are a Raptors follower, you can’t honestly tell me you did especially when looking at past history.

Jay Triano’s Plan for the Toronto Raptors: Almost Good Enough « Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog

For those who have watched Raptors’ head coach Jay Triano in the recent Raptors TV programming and in post game interviews it should have become clear that the team’s defensive game plan is to protect the paint first. And for the most part, the Raptors are doing that.

Court Surfing – The Score

There is no such thing as a must-win in the first week of November. But this is a game that will hurt the Raptors dearly if they don’t get it. A key to any Raptors success this season has to be protecting home court. The loss to Orlando is in the past, and if they can knock off the Pistons, a team expected to be in the bottom half of the Eastern playoff race with the Raptors, they can continue to build confidence at home. A sound defensive performance would assure fans that the Orlando game, not the Cleveland game, was an early blip on the radar. The key matchup will be the Raptors’ bench versus the Pistons’ bench. Detroit is not a deep team and may be without Richard Hamilton. It’s time for the revamped Raptors’ bench to make a statement.

Foul Ball: The Toronto Raptors’ Love Affair With The Whistle | Bleacher Report

In three games Toronto has averaged 29 fouls a game. Last season the Raps were only caught with their hands in the cookie jar 19.3 times a game. Toronto also held their opponents last season to only 21.5 free throw attempts, the third-least in the NBA. In any case, the '09-'10 Raptors have checked their inhibitions at the door. Due to their high volume of whistles, Toronto is paying for it at the charity stripe.

V.C. Mulling plan to be feted at ACC – Toronto Sun

"The thing about the free throws, that's a normal thing," Calderon said. "I'm going finish the year at 90%, but 98% is impossible. It happened once, forget about it, everyone has to be calm. It doesn't matter. If I miss, it's not the end of the world. We have to keep winning and working and making shots."

HIP HOOP JUNKIES – A Toronto Raptors/NBA Blog: Hip Hoop Junkies talks ball with Raptors radio analyst, Eric Smith

At this point, it's got to be about more than just making it to the playoffs. I think they've got to at least win a round for the year to be considered a true success. Although, retaining Chris Bosh – whether they win or lose in the playoffs – could make up for any other letdowns they may encounter.

Vince Carter to be honoured at the ACC on Nov 22nd? – Orlando Sentinel

Raptors fans with long memories didn't get the chance to boo Magic SG Vince Carter, who was scratched with an injury on Sunday.

But that opportunity might come Nov. 22 at Air Canada Centre when the player who demanded out of Toronto after six-plus seasons will be … honored by the franchise as part of their 15th anniversary celebration.

The Raptors say they will first ask Carter if he wants to go through with a ceremony, realizing the back-story.

"Everybody wants to know how we can do it, but Vince is part of the history here," Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo told the Sentinel. "Most of the people that he had problems with here are gone."

A Trade That Would Make the Denver Nuggets Champions – Bleacher Report

It would be a three team deal involving the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and the Toronto Raptors. In addition to simply making the Nuggets better, the moves would address concerns for both the Warriors and the Raptors as well.

In this deal, Golden State would receive Kenyon Martin, J.R. Smith, and Malik Allen from the Nuggets and would ship Stephen Jackson and Anthony Morrow to Denver and Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins to Toronto.

This would allow the Warriors to grant Jackson his trade demand and eliminate the possibility of that situation getting out of control.

Raptors need to be passionate about defence – Vancouver Sun

Three games into the season, all of that talk has yielded decidedly mixed results. The good: holding the discombobulated Cleveland Cavaliers to 35 per cent shooting on opening night. The bad: allowing the Memphis Grizzlies to shoot 51 per cent last Friday. The in-between: keeping the Orlando Magic to a reasonable 44 per cent clip on Sunday, but allowing 17 three-pointers on the way to a loss.

The common theme between the latter two was dribble penetration, perhaps the Raptors’ single biggest problem a year ago. Head coach Jay Triano called it the worst part of the loss to the Magic, and unproven Memphis guard Mike Conley beat point guard Jose Calderon often the game before.

Defensive breakdowns already costly for Raptors – The Globe and Mail

Jack said defensive breakdowns happen when a team is just getting to know each other.

“It’s kind of like you’re the new kid in a new school, and you know the answer to the question but you’re hesitant to raise your hand, that’s kind of like how we are,” said Jack, who was signed to a five year, $20-million (U.S.) free-agent contract. “We need to relax a bit and do what we’re all capable of doing.”

Jack said the Raptors are slowly adopting a defensive mind-set in practice – no mean feat considering the team is largely comprised of offensive-minded players. Much of yesterday’s practice was spent fine-tuning the adjustments needed to be made when the ball handler does gain an advantage at the point of attack.

Triano won’t hit the panic button – CANOE — SLAM! Sports

Triano was asked specifically yesterday if he had entertained any thoughts about getting Antoine Wright, who couldn’t practise because of a minor ankle sprain, into the starting lineup.

On Di Fence Over the Raps Defense. – Raptors Digest

The Raptors rank bottom 3 in the league in opponent 3PT% at a whopping 46%, this however should comes as no surprise as perimeter D, or the lack thereof, has been a problem for this basketball team for years. We are -2.4 threes a game.

The Raptors rank in the bottom 10 in opponents FT%; now while shots from the charity stripe cannot be defended, sending opponents to the line a league worst 37.7 times per game, can, and must be rectified (-4.4 a game).

The Raptors rank in the bottom 8 in opponent rebounding with 43.7 a game, interestingly however the Raptors are a top 6 in limiting opponents defensive rebounding (28.7), however they are the worst in the league at giving up offensive rebounds (15) and second chance points (-4.7 offensive rebounds a game).

Audio Blog – Raps D – Eric Smith

Alright … I planned on writing today … but life got busy. Then, before I knew it, show-time was approaching for “The Game Plan” and I didn’t have a chance to get the blog done.

But what better way to ‘make up’ for missing my written word … then chatting with THE COACH, Jack Armstrong.

Listen in on our 10-minute chat RE: the Raptors defensive deficiencies over the past two games — both losses (to Memphis and Orlando).

Dino Nation Blog: This Week In DNB Episode 1

I am going to do a podcast called This Week in the DNB every Monday that the Raptors are not in action. It will allow me to talk about it instead of write about for a day. Hope you enjoy it and if you have suggestions of what you would like to hear feel free to let me know. Even a portion of it where I answer your questions would be cool. But no questions today just my thoughts on the first week of the NBA season for the Raptors and a look ahead to a tough week for the Raps starting with Detroit on Wednesday.

Jose Calderon makes bold free-throw related prediction – Posted Sports

Last year, Calderon would have been the obvious choice, having hit 151 of his 154 free-throws, an NBA record for efficiency in a season. But at that point, he had already surpassed his total of misses from last year, having hit just eight of his first 12 free throws.

"I'm going to finish the season at 90%; 98% is impossible. It happened once. Forget about it," Calderon said Monday in mock seriousness. "Everybody has to be calm.

"Over 90, for sure. That's how I'll finish."

For the record, Calderon hit that free throw.

Ask Charles Oakley!

Got a question for former Raptors forward Charles Oakley? Submit it to raptorspace.com and we'll forward it to Oak this week!

Armstrong: Raptors need to focus on improving defence: TSN.ca

2. PICK & ROLL/SCREEN SEQUENCES: Need to communicate better and be more aggressive stringing out the coverage. The man guarding the ball is not getting enough talk or help behind him allowing the opposition to exploit the situation. Settle into how you're going to play it and get better at it.

As far as other screen scenarios go — have to do a better job of communication and being fundamentally sound on how to play each type of screen in an opponent's offensive arsenal. With nine new faces on the team and only three players (Bosh/Bargnani/Jose Calderon) that started last season with the team, it will take time to get everyone 'on a string' and function as ONE as a defensive team. Have to help each other and trust each other to help when needed.

It’s very early but anybody a bit shocked at our 28th place defensive rating? That’s points per 100 possessions allowed. The new poll begs for your opinion on whether the issue is chemistry, laziness, inability or strategy. So far I’d classify it as the inability to execute the strategy. This leads into the question whether the strategy is even suited for the players we have and whether they buy-in to what is being preached. Laziness is the least favorable of the options and only becomes a factor if players don’t believe in the system they’re being asked to play; although we’ve seen some questionable effort in stretches, I think it’s way too early to label this unit as lacking effort.

First up, could Vince Carter be welcomed back in Toronto? According to the Orlando Sentinel, it might happen on November 22nd when the Magic make their second and last trip to Toronto. The Raptors will first ask first ask Carter if he’s OK with it and if so, they will go ahead with it. This only makes bloody sense to me since he’s, you know, the greatest Raptor of all time.

A couple of small things came out of practice yesterday, Triano was asked whether he’s considering starting Antoine Wright over DeMar DeRozan to tighten the defense. He said:

“Not for a second. No. I think the rookie has been very good in limited minutes and we’re happy with where he is right now. I don’t think he’s hurt us at the beginning of games. Antoine is going to play minutes. I’d rather have Antoine playing at the end of the game, getting stops than at the beginning.”

It’s a dumb question to even pose to the coach at this point. DeRozan isn’t the reason we got beat by the Magic or Grizzlies, he’s been consistent in what he’s doing, granted, he doesn’t do much and tends to take baby-steps but that’s the right way of bringing along a rookie. Yanking him after three games would not only send the wrong message to the man, but also hurt the rhythm he’s in. If anything, we should be incorporating him more in the offense instead of running two-man games.

Triano was also asked to name the reason we lost the Magic game and he said…wait for it…dribble penetration:

“Dribble-penetration was our biggest problem last night. We showed them three clips, I think we had 12 we could’ve showed. This means guys have to help and that’s how they allowed to kick for threes. We worked on our close outs today. We have to get better as a team. We’re not a super-quick team so we have to get better at closing out. I think when they make a few shots, you close out a little bit more, your hands are up and you become susceptible to more blow-bys.”

There are two main ways you judge a coach, there’s the technical aspect where you evaluate what he is able to bring to the playbook, and then there’s what he can bring out of his players. In other words, is he able to get acceptable effort out of his players. Sam Mitchelll was fired for both these reasons and Triano will face the same challenges, although, he is better equipped in terms of personnel. Dribble penetration is caused when you either don’t have the ability to defend or you’re just not trying hard enough, too early to say where are current failures lie but I hope it’s a system thing. The podcast touches more on Calderon and Jack’s ’s effort and ability.

Jarrett Jack also talked about how annoying it is to get lit up by JJ Reddick and that we all need to see that something so disgraceful doesn’t happen ever again in our lifetime.

“You have an individual responsibility, but your team has a collective responsibility, so even if you don’t do your individual part to some degree, then that’s where the guys on the court with you have to pick you up where it’s needed,” Jack said. “It’s tough for anyone to do anything perfect all the time. You might not get beat for a basket, but you might get beat for a dribble so that someone may need to step up so we can force [the ball] to the weak side so we can force a contested jump shot.”

If I had to spend one whole practice on defense, I’d teach our guards how and when to fight through a screen, our bigs when to hedge and recover, and the rest of the guys their help responsibilities given matchups. Isn’t that what pre-game coaching is all about? Help off of Player A, don’t help off of Player B. If Player C has the ball in the post, the double (if we decide to) should come from Player D and so on. Most of the work on defense is spent on figuring out a game plan for how to help a beaten defender, and all through Mitchell’s reign we never managed to even slightly improve in that department. Our success this year will be dependent on whether he is able to convey what works perfectly in his mind to the players, and that is a great challenge.

Triano then touched on Bargnani’s rebounding which is always a contentious issue around these parts as most recently heard in the podcast:

“He needs to rebound the ball better. He knows that. He’s one of our five men and we expect that. He’s a scorer, we know that. This is a part of his game that he has to get better at. I think everybody got caught blowing him up after Game 1. The thing that keeps Andrea on the floor so that he can score is the way he rebounds and defends. It’s a work, not just for him, it’s for everybody. We all have to get better at it. I don’t think Chris is defending the way he should be defending yet, but we’ll get there.”

A-Dub believes that this team will always be poor defensively as long as Andrea Bargnani plays high minutes, unless of course he changes the way he plays. There’s merit in that argument and the case being made is that since we have a lot of offensive options, you’re better off having a defensively stronger player playing center while giving the 15-20 shots Bargnani would take to someone like, say, Turkoglu. You gain on defense while maintaining and/or improving offense. I try to counter but the argument is quite strong.

The argument that a player like him needs to produce extremely efficient offense for him to be an overall positive is also discussed and a similar theory is applied to Calderon. Bargnani’s man-defense is commended but fair caution is given that it need not be confused with overall defense, which is something very different. DeRozan, Triano, Belinelli, Turkoglu and Jack are also discussed with favorable reviews for three of them.

Anyway, have a listen if you got some time, he ends the podcast by pointing out to a play which speaks volumes about Bagnani’s mental state when it comes to rebounding. You can click the play button below or listen directly in iTunes. You may also download the file if you’re on a mobile device.

Short-handed Orlando Magic topple Toronto Raptors – Magic ESPN TrueHoopBlog

1. JJ Redick played like a starting-caliber shooting guard. Maybe Redick just isn’t comfortable being a role player. In relief of Carter, Redick played more than anyone else in the game (44:50) and showed flashes of the all-American player he was at Duke. Redick went 5-for-8 from 3-point range on his way to a career-high 27 points, but it was more than that. He posted six rebounds, five assists, a steal and only one turnover, finishing with the game’s best +/- of 12. Redick proved on Sunday — even to the most passionate skeptics — that he belongs in the NBA.

2. Hedo Turkoglu played well, but he was kept in check. Turk likely isn’t having any regrets about today’s game, scoring 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting. He looked thin and in-shape. It’s easy to forget how fluid he is coming off the pick-and-roll and hitting that mid-range jumper — at times in the second half he looked really, really good.

Orlando Magic 125, Toronto Raptors 116 – Third Quarter Collapse

With the game in the balance, it was the Magic newcomers hustling down rebounds to keep the Raptors away. The key sequence comes after Turkoglu's three-point play to bring Toronto within 7 with less than 2 minutes to play; a big deficit, but not insurmountable. Nelson runs the clock on Orlando's ensuing possession before uncorking an off-balance jump shot that hits the front rim and bounces back toward him. Both Anderson and Matt Barnes are in the area, and slap the ball away from a would-be Raptor rebounder and into the Magic's backcourt, where Nelson retrieves it and sets up the offense once more. Orlando works the ball inside to Howard, who goes up strong, but Bosh swats his shot out of bounds with 6 seconds to shoot. Nelson takes a long three-pointer, but misses short again. Howard's there for the rebound, and kicks the ball back out again. More time dwindles away, and the possession ends with Antoine Wright fouling Redick, who sinks 2 free throws to make the lead 123-114, Orlando.

Raps still waiting on Turkoglu – The Globe and Mail

The Raptors failed to put the ball in the hands of their new playmaker as Orlando hung on after the Raptors tried gamely to rally back from a 22-point hole they dug themselves in the second quarter.

Turkoglu was a significant factor as the Raptors surged back – he scored 12 of his 14 points after the Raptors hit rock bottom, including nine while going four-of-four in the third quarter, and he also tossed in four assists and a pair of blocked shots.

Plenty of Magic to go around – Toronto Sun

It says a lot about a team that advanced to last season's NBA final when it plays without Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis and Mickael Pietrus, is forced to start guys normally accustomed to coming off the bench, and never skips a beat.

Naturally, there were moments when the Magic looked vulnerable, but there were plenty of other occasions when the Magic looked invincible.

No one, at least no one with a clear conscious, is saying that Orlando will continue to remain unbeaten, but the team is 3-0 to begin the regular season and went 8-0 in the pre-season.

No one is questioning the defection of Hedo Turkoglu and there's no question Orlando will be a player this season.

A lot of the credit falls on the shoulders of GM Otis Smith, who got the green light from ownership to exceed the threshold, a forbidden territory for many clubs, Toronto included, but a necessary evil when a team is committed to winning a title.

Magic’s Howard wreaks havoc on Raptors – National Post

"This is what they do. They put shooters around Dwight Howard," Raptors coach Jay Triano said after the game. "If you take away the shooters as we tried later, then Dwight Howard goes crazy inside, or we fouled him like we did, which we thought was playing the odds the right way. "

"I'm disappointed with the loss, but I think we did every possibility coverage-wise that we could do."

Maybe. But if the Raptors shoot 54% from the field and 59% from three-point territory and still lose against a short-handed elite team, what chance do they have when such a team is healthy?

Magic three-pointers tell the tale – London Free Press

Raps coach Jay Triano wasn't pointing fingers at his players, although he could have. Instead, he opted to go the what-else-could-we-do route.

"They had 16 (threes) opening night, too," he said. "This is what they do. They put shooters around Dwight Howard. If you take away the shooters as we tried later, then Dwight Howard goes crazy inside or we foul him like we did and play the odds. He is a 50% free-throw shooter and he had a great night going 14-for-16 (from the line)."

Chris Bosh, with 72 points in back-to-back losses, wasn't as willing to give his club a pass.

Toronto Raptors: Alvin Williams, Toughness Coach – Brothersteve’s Blog

Towards the end of last season the still popular and once former Raptors player, Alvin Williams started showing up on the sidelines at Raptor games. This caused quite a bit of a stir as anyone who remembers Alvin’s last couple of seasons in Toronto will recall, Alvin Williams did not leave the Raptors bench willingly.

Williams career ended a couple of seasons after having micro-fracture surgery on his right knee when the team concluded he wasn’t going to be coming back and bought him out. But the competitive fires were still burning for Alvin and he gave it one last chance trying to catch on with the Clippers in January 2007 before finally surrendering to the inevitable.

Magic Spell Sinks Raps – Eric Smith

Stats that stood out:
- Matt Barnes had 6 steals
- Magic turned the ball over only 9 times
- Orlando led by as many as 22 points in first half
- Orlando’s 36-point 1st QRT iced the game … as Toronto outscored the Magic in the 3rd and 4th quarters and lost the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th combined by only 1 point (89-88)
- Tight on the Glass: 38-37 REBOUNDING advantage for the Raptors
- Andrea Bargnani had 4 points in the first half … 22 points in the 2nd half (26 total)
- The game was won from 3-point land: Orlando was 17/32 from distance (those 17 three-balls were an Raptors’ opponent record)

Raptors Replay – Toronto Sun

HIGH-THREES

The 17 three-pointers by the Magic yesterday matched an all-time Raptors opponent high.

It has been done three times previously, most recently by the New York Knicks last Feb. 20.

SONNY IS BACK

Marcus Banks joined the suit-wearing inactive set for the Raptors with Sonny Weems getting back into a uniform.

Weems had been out with a sore left foot. He did not get into the game as head coach Jay Triano went with a 10-man rotation.

J.J.’s Big Day, another J.J.’s big quarter, and Rondo gets paid | Dime Magazine (www.dimemag.com) : Daily NBA News, NBA Trades, NBA Rumors, Basketball Videos, Sneakers

So you can understand why nobody was ready for J.J. Redick to become the headliner. In his best game as a pro by far, Redick dropped 27 points (5-8 3PA), five boards and six assists in helping Orlando stay unbeaten. Remember that automatic limitless-range jumper J.J. used to have at Duke? It was back on Sunday … Bosh (35 pts, 16 rebs) got the better of Dwight (24 pts, 11 rebs), but he almost got his ass whupped in the process. Midway through the fourth, Dwight got the ball under the rim and was winding up for a Hulk-Smash when Bosh horse-collared him a little too aggressively. Players got between the two, however, so there were no blows and no coaches hanging on anybody’s leg … Even without Redick, the game tape would’ve made a good instructionaal video for the art of the jump shot. Jameer Nelson (30 pts) and Ryan Anderson knocked down five threes apiece, while Turkoglu (19 pts) hit his share, and Andrea Bargnani (26 pts, 4 threes) was shooting Brandon Bass and Anderson’s faces off

Orlando takes it outside – Toronto Sun

On an afternoon when the stats sheet — for the most part — read like a glowing endorsement of the Raptors, there was one number that sealed their fate. The Magic attempted 32 three-pointers and connected 17 times in a wild 125-116 win at the Air Canada Centre.

It didn't matter that the Raps themselves made good on 59% of their three-point attempts. Or that they outshot the Magic from the field 54% to 44%. Or that Andrea Bargnani, after a disappearing act in the first half, scored 22 in the final 24 minutes.

All of that was made irrelevant by the Magic's superior outside shooting, accomplished without Rashard Lewis (suspended), Vince Carter (sprained ankle) and Mickael Pietrus, who was put back on a plane to Orlando after coming down with the flu.

Raptors get touch of Punjabi spice – thestar.com

In the meantime, the two announcers have to come up with a proper lexicon to describe NBA action. They want their call to be colourful and fast-paced – just like the game – and are sure they can pull it off, with assists to NBA sportscasters like Chuck Swirsky.

Now the voice of the Chicago Bulls, Swirsky called Raptors games for a decade. A pet phrase was "Get out the salami and cheese mama, this ball game is over!"

Parminder will give this a Punjabi spin: "Bebe, bring out the dal and roti … this game's over." Dal is lentil and roti is flatbread, staples in an Indian meal. Bebe is a pet name for grandmothers in Punjabi. By weaving in Punjabi phrases and terms, the two want to make viewing their Raptors broadcasts a family event.

Raptors can’t turn talk into action on court – thestar.com

As he stood in front of his locker trying to explain how things went awry, Bosh repeated an old refrain.

"I think we came out flat defensively," he said. "We didn't do the things defensively that we've been talking about since the pre-season, which is have all contested shots and give them one rebound."

Facing an Orlando team missing three key pieces – an injured Vince Carter, a flu-stricken Mickeal Pietrus and a suspended Rashard Lewis – the Raptors figured they'd take a chance on stopping Dwight Howard and getting out to contest the shooters that surround him.

Post Game Thoughts « New Leisure Blog

So basically, again it’s our defense. Or lack of it. You can’t allow the Magic shooting three. If you leave them open, it’s like a layup for them. When the Raptors forced these guys to dribble and shoot, the percentage drop. Unfortunately, the Magic spaced the floor really well and shot ready for the most part.

I was at the game live today, and the first 2 quarters was just horrible to watch. It’s not a sold out crowd, which is surprising and worrisome at the same time. You can’t get a sell out against the team that went to the Finals or a Sunday afternoon? The upperbowl is packed, but there were plenty of seats down in the lower bowl.

Chisholm: Despite the loss, Raptors had a good game

One point of emphasis, for instance, is how Marco Belinelli seems to be a player that is better suited to playing minutes when his team is up rather than when they're down. Against Cleveland last week, Belinelli came in and helped balloon a lead by being relaxed and in attack-mode, mentally ensconced in the security of a five-point lead when he checked into the game. He was mixing up his offense, going both one-on-one while also allowing his teammates to set him up, and he seemed to generate confidence from the team's pre-existing advantage. Against Orlando, he entered the game down seven and looked far less composed in his court time. He got a turnover (traveling) trying to go one-on-one and he later missed a bad pull-up jumper, which led to substitution seven seconds later. He was not to return.

Raptors strategies fail to work their magic – thestar.com

"I think we came out flat defensively. We didn't do the things defensively that we've been talking about since the pre-season, which is have all contested shots and give them one rebound."

Facing an Orlando team missing three key pieces — an injured Vince Carter, a flu-stricken Mickeal Pietrus and a suspended Rashard Lewis — the Raptors figured they'd take a chance on stopping Dwight Howard and getting out to contest the shooters that surround him on the floor.

The first part of it worked like a charm — Howard was just 2-of-7 from the field in the first half.

Trouble was, the Raptors didn't do nearly as well contesting the shots they were willing to give up as Orlando drilled 10 first-half three-pointers and led by as many as 22.

"They had a lot of wide-open threes and that's what killed us. They made a few with our hands in their face, they were contested, and if they make them, that's fine. I think we can do a better job of just staying solid with our principles."

"They never should’ve booed Vince" – Alvin Williams

"I don't think they ever should have booed Vince," says Raptors assistant coach Alvin Williams, Carter's former teammate. "But it's routine, now."

Williams is in many ways Carter's opposite. When he was introduced before the home opener, the place roared for the guy who admits "to me, I was a mediocre player." But Williams maximized himself until his knee wore out, whereas Carter floated on the magic carpet of his talent until his patience with management wore out. Remember, he was upset that the Raptors hired Rob Babcock, a position with which no reasonable Raptors fan will disagree.

"It was just a bad thing all the way around," says Williams. "He wasn't appreciated [by teammates and coaches], and he wasn't used the correct way. It wasn't handled the right way, definitely."

Dino Nation Blog: Orlando Burning Down The House

Jay Triano in the inside look into training camp talks about this concept of a house and guarding it. Well that works well until people with grenade launcher they can still blow-up your house.

Our defense is missing something…

It was mentioned by Leo Rautins and that's passion. We need it on defense, badly. Our leaders need to be more vocal on the defensive end. Every good defensive team has those two or three players that react a certain way to help pump up the team. So far, I've only seen it from Bosh and Calderon on offense and I've seen a bit of it in Antoine Wright on the defensive end. When you look at the Celtics, Garnett and Pierce really stand out because they react to everything, they have a passion for their defense, they're proud of it.

Raps have no answer for Magic marksmen – sportsnet.ca

"I love it, good basketball," Bosh said after. "It's just a hard foul, there's no hard feelings or anything, I didn't want him to have a chance to make the basket so I wrapped him up. I'm trying to win basketball games, and if it takes a hard foul to do it, then so be it."

Jones: VC not the only ex-Raptor in town – sportsnet.ca

For you stat folks out there, here is a number I have been tracking since the start of the 2006-07 season, when Toronto overhauled its roster and won the Atlantic Division title. Going into this season, if the Raptors hold their opponent to 45 per cent or less from the field they have a .791 winning percentage, but if the opponent is 45 per cent or better, the success rate is .291.

Raptors fall to Magic | Basketball | Sports | Toronto Sun

Picture gallery.

Raptors vs Magic – Jay Triano Post-Game Video

Raptors vs Magic – Jay Triano Post-Game Video

Raptors vs Magic – Game in Six Video

Raptors vs Magic – Game in Six Video

Soooooooooo……….where’s that defense you been talking about?

Caught this one on the PVR knowing the Raptors had lost. Was expecting a total crap performance and true to rumour, they started out like they finished in Memphis – spreading the cheeks wide open for unproven perimeter players. This time it was JJ Reddick (he of the Duke persuasion) and Ryan Anderson who I got laughed at for picking in my fantasy league. Things got better from there mostly because they couldn’t get any worse. They made a game of it because Orlando – who were missing Lewis, Carter and Pietrus – cooled off and we started moving the ball a little bit better. In the end it was a relatively close game with failure to defensive rebound and knock down a key open jumper serving as the final nail in the proverbial coffin.

Defense is a 48 minute thing and despite the long pre-season video sessions, coaching retreats, hand-holding and camp fire talks, the Raptors haven’t figured that out. This Orlando starting backcourt went 16-34 for 57 points. Ours had 18 on 6-12, do I really need to continue with this post? Problem was two-folds, the guards getting beat, mostly Jose Calderon in 1on1 and high screen situations and failure to recognize who you’re supposed to check in help and double situations. Go ahead and pull out any old recap from last year and you’ll get the gist of what I’m trying to get at. Unnecessary help was also another issue in that miserable first quarter where we gave up 36 points, DeRozan leaving Reddick in the corner to help out on Nelson’s opposite-side drive when there was already help there was the pinnacle of the phenomenon. Or how about going under a screen for Nelson even though he burned you for a three for doing the exact same thing on the last possession. Same stuff as last year, disappointing part is, as I already said, Triano’s talk that this team was of a defensive nature. But hey, maybe they need more time to gel but god damned if I’m to believe that leaving a guy who has already hit 4 threes wide open is a chemistry issue, more like a “I’m too f***ing dumb to understand what I’m supposed to do” issue.

The only added twist today was Howard who I’ve always felt we should never double. Not because I’m a believer of the “let him get his but control the rest” theory but because there’s no reason to put our fragile defense through the test of close-outs, rotations and all that painful stuff if you don’t have to. I think our post-defenders are actually pretty solid, Bargnani and Rasho are competent enough to slow him down on their own, no reason to play right in their wheelhouse and test Howard’s passing ability, which by the way is pretty good. It’s bad enough that we’re forced to help on Howard and are leaving prime three point shooters open, it’s even worse when it’s Marcin Gortat who we’re helping on. I mean, Triano’s got to get a handle on his “help and recover” doctrine. The Magic shot 7-11 threes in the first quarter and had 17 for the game, that really was all there is to it.

Ryan Anderson was torching Andrea Bargnani early and was one of the main reasons for the Magic building up a lead that turned out to be insurmountable. Bargnani was leaving him wide freaking open; our man gets a lot of credit thrown his way in terms of man defense but that’s only true when it comes to the post. He’s a good defender against bigger matchups in the block, mostly because he doesn’t leave his feet, plays straight and isn’t very reactionary. Asking him to D-up a more mobile guy similar to him has always been an issue and Anderson gave him a taste of that early. He got some measure of vengeance in the second half by hitting four straight threes for 26/5 (Anderson had 20/6) but the numbers don’t tell the story. If you’re one of those people who like to use his jockstrap as a face-mask, I suggest you skip the next little section, I’m about to point out three great Bargnani fourth quarter plays which were nullified immediately on the ensuing possession because of his poor defensive play:

1. He hit a three to cut it to 7 at 10:17 but failed to get the rebound on the next possession leading to two FTs.
2. He hits another three at 8:49 to cut it to 6 but failed to fight through a weak screen leaving Anderson open for another three at 8:33.
3. Drives and lays it in against Anderson at 4:05 to cut it to 4 but completely forgets to box-out Anderson who glides in for the offensive rebound and the dunk. Bargnani flails his arms implying that it’s not his fault. No, it’s your fault.

I also hate it when a commentator (Leo) makes a comment like “Maybe that made basket will get him going on the defensive end as is the case for many offensive players”. That is not a ringing endorsement, in fact, it’s the exact opposite. If your offense if failing, you try to make up for it on defense, not become a non-factor. Bargnani might be the only NBA player who needs a working offensive game to be involved defensively. In a game where the Magic shot 44%, there were plenty of rebounds to be had, especially against Ryan Anderson, but he only managed to get 4. As the above three examples allude to, how good of an offensive game does he need to have in order for us to look past his defense?

Bosh later alluded to the the guards’ and Bargnani’s defense referring to the threes:

“I think we came out flat defensively. We didn’t do the things defensively that we’ve been talking about since the pre-season, which is have all contested shots and give them one rebound. They had a lot of wide-open threes and that’s what killed us”

We shot 54% and had 116 points in this game so you might think that our offense is functioning as efficiently as a Rexdale crackhouse, not so much the case. I’m noticing a LOT of isolation sets with four guys standing around. I know it’s a cliche analysis but that’s really what it was; Chris Bosh bailed us out again with a monster 35/16 game but other than three of those scores, they were all results of individual brilliance and great effort. We ran one fully successful instance of the pick ‘n roll in the first half which saw Calderon hook up Bosh for a layup but excluding that it was very flimsy stuff by the Raptors – 1on1 play, basic reads and play it by the ear type high screens..meh. Asking your players to “spread the floor” and “move the ball” is nice and all but lacks substance which is often needed to succeed late in games. The Magic are by no means defensive stalwarts, not without Lewis’ length and Pietrus’ lock-down defense; the Raptors had plenty of chances today to run some good stuff but instead chose again to give the ball to Jose and have him use pointless high screens that go nowhere and serve as a formality that lead into the “real” play. I wonder how much of this can be attributed to our coaching staff who don’t have any notable experience designing NBA-proven offensive sets.

Whatever the case, I don’t like quotes that explain a loss through sheer stats:

“It’s difficult when you lose and you shoot 54 per cent and you out-rebound them (38-37),” said Triano. “But they made three-point shots ….. It’s not like we didn’t, we shot 59 per cent from the three-point line (10-17) but they just took more of them.”

Turkoglu had a good offensive game with 19 points on 8-13 and we saw again why he was signed. Problem is that he goes without having a say in the game for far too long at a time and that’s because Triano doesn’t have a single play which isn’t either an isolation or a high screen by a big for Jose. Whenever Turkoglu has the ball in his hands at the start of the possession, good things happen. Period. That’s all the thinking and analysis required here and it should be enough for Triano to test him as the primary ball handler. Yes, it makes Jose a little less useful but what’s the sense in giving Calderon his seemingly guaranteed 30 minutes if he’s not producing consistent offense for his mates. Or did Colangelo write minutes played into Jose’s contract? It seems painfully obvious to me that Hedo’s the better playmaker so why not just stick with him.

Reason for that is that it would make Jose and Jack handle less of the ball, which means Triano would have to find more alternate uses for them. Jose needs to get his outside jumper going, we’re lacking three point shooting right now and are counting on him to spread the floor. In fact, we were hugely counting on him to cut the lead to 3 with 2:48 left to play but he clanged a wide open right wing jumper. That was a real killer. Jack had another bad game, four turnovers, not providing any sort of guidance to the offense and losing track of Barnes and Reddick on key threes. Problem with him is that he’s too short, at 6′3″ you’re never going to make an off guard think twice about shooting over you and unless you’re playing high-energy tight defense and have a system behind you that can provide help, he’ll be more of a liability than a strength on defense. Reddick blowing by him in two 1one1 situations had to make Colangelo swallow hard. His offensive game was inexcusable, I was expecting him to get past Nelson and bump into Orlando bigs all night long for fouls, you know, show that bull in you we were told you had.

While JJ Reddick was burning the ACC down with his shooting, not once did we test this bloke’s defense. He was checking DeMar DeRozan and Jarrett Jack, surely we could’ve made him defend and force Van Gundy into a sub? Belinelli only played 5 minutes whereas Jack played 20 and Jose 30, where is the sense in that. We keep hearing Colangelo tout Belinelli’s playmaking ability but haven’t seen it. We keep hearing (and I firmly believe this) his good defensive abilities but don’t call on them, and instead, for the second game in a row have him on the bench when a guard was hot. I don’t think Triano’s subs are planned or thought-out, he’s rolling dice.

That’s basically all I have to say. A terrible defensive start leading to a big Magic lead. Orlando cools off and we get back into the game but when we truly need a stop, we can’t get one or if we do get one, we concede the key offensive rebound. The hilarious part of the game for me was Devlin describing the “skirmish” between Bargnani and Barnes who were both calmer than two guys fishing on a Sunday afternoon. Devlin called it like this: UH OH…HERE’S BARGNANI!! AND HERE’S BARNES!! WATCH OUT NOW, BOSH GETTING IN THERE..WORDS BEING SAID…UH OH…HERE WE GO….OH SHIT..OH SHIT..OH SHIT..THAT’S WHAT YOU LIKE TO SEE!!!

I’m not giving up on this team and nor should you. There are some positives to be drawn from today, our floor spacing has been good, Bosh appears to be in contract-year form and Turkoglu is playing as advertised. If we can get a handle on what to do defensively to try and prevent guard abuse and install some sets that make players like Bargnani, Belinelli and Jack consistent threats in all four quarters, we’ll be okay. Yes, it’s painful to see questionable effort in the first quarter of a home game against the Eastern elite and that worries me more than anything, but let’s see how this team reacts to adversity. I’d say we’re right in the middle of our first test right now.

Chisholm has more positives to speak of.

Awkward meeting tipped off Hedo Turkoglu he was done with Orlando Magic — OrlandoSentinel.com

The way Hedo Turkoglu tells it, he knocked on the door.

The Orlando Magic didn't answer.

"I was knocking and knocking on the door, waiting for an answer," he said. "I couldn't stand in front of the door forever. It's business. I hated to go."

The Magic didn't tell Turkoglu what he wanted to hear this summer as a free agent, but the Toronto Raptors did.

Today, Turkoglu squares off against "all my friends" as the Magic come to Toronto for a matinee at Air Canada Centre.

He is still adjusting to playing with a rebuilt Raptors team, averaging 13.0 points, 2.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game in two outings.

Turkoglu was upset with the Magic after what he called an "awkward" meeting with the front office following the season.

Orlando Magic’s Vince Carter says ankle is OK, will attempt to play against Raptors – OrlandoSentinel.com

Carter was stretched out on a table, applying a flashing light of a laser device to the area he sprained Friday night while playing the Nets — his old team — in New Jersey.

"This thing is incredible," Carter said of the laser's healing powers.

Carter hopes modern science does the job. He said he's going to attempt to play today against the Toronto Raptors, the team he played with the first six-plus seasons of his NBA career.

"It's OK," he said of the ankle. "We'll see how it feels in the morning. I hate missing games. I hope to be back. It feels good walking on it."

Welcome to Loserville – Toronto Sun

So, maybe, if their home debut is some hint, the Raptors may yet paint a silver lining on this cloud.

"If you are enthusiastic about a situation, you are going to put your best foot forward," Wesch says. "If you have someone leading you who is really excited and has a really good vision, then you will put more energy and focus into things. That translates into success being more possible.

"By seeing other teams do well, there's that role model thing. It's 'we're from this city. We have the same support. We can do as well as they can.' "

The problem is, Toronto wouldn't know much about that. The last time it came close was in those early 1990s.

"When it seems like no matter what you try, you just can't win, people lose focus … they lose enthusiasm," Wesch says. "So even though you're not consciously trying to think about it that way, you're not putting everything you've got into (the game or practice)."

Vince Carter basks in Magic supporting role – thestar.com

That place in the spotlight belongs to Dwight Howard and Carter's just along for a ride that includes his debut with his new team against the Raptors on Sunday afternoon.

"He's played with other all-stars, but not a guy who's probably going to take a lot more of the attention away from him, where he can be – I wouldn't say a role player – but another co-star," Toronto coach Jay Triano said of Carter.

"A lot of times when we were playing him before, he was the focus of our defence. It's pretty tough to make him the focus of your defence now and when you don't do that, that's when he can explode on you."

At least Raps won’t underestimate Magic – Toronto Sun

From head coach Jay Triano to Chris Bosh, to Jarrett Jack, the consensus was that, for whatever reason, the Raps didn't bring the intensity necessary to beat any NBA team.

"Obviously when you play against guys the calibre of a LeBron and a Shaq, your focus might be a little more intense than say against a team like Memphis that does not have the same type of names that a Cleveland does," Jack said. "But there are a number of talented guys and teams in this league. They might not be Boston or Cleveland or the Lakers but they are still teams that are capable of winning. You have to respect everyone and the ultimate disrespect is to respect everybody the same if you catch my drift. You have to guard — and this is not to knock anyone else — but you have to guard Raja Bell like you're guarding Kobe and that's the ultimate disrespect."

Today’s game: Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors, 1 p.m. – Magic Daily

Who you're watching: All eyes will be on Carter and the health of his ankle. The Magic's offense stagnated with Carter out – and it's hard to blame them with two starters out – so his presence is undoubtedly important. He was enjoying his best game in a Magic uniform Friday before the injury, hitting 6-of-8 shots for 16 points in 14 minutes.

Why they'll win: Maybe it's because I'm around the team and I have blinders on, but at this point, if the Magic aren't playing Los Angeles, San Antonio, Cleveland or Boston, they can only beat themselves. If the Magic hit a respectable percentage of their shots, play team defense, limit the turnovers and control the defensive boards – yes, enlightening stuff here – they shouldn't have a problem. That said, Toronto always gives the Magic problems.

Three Raptors Thoughts – nbaroundtable

#1 Hedo Turkoglu

If Hedo Turkoglu isn’t allowed to control the basketball and run the offense then he’s only a role player. You’ll get the contribution we saw from him during his time in Sacramento, San Antonio and in Orlando pre-Stan Van Gundy.

Turkoglu is only a high end player when he’s given large amounts of time on the ball + a huge amount of freedom to do as he pleases + is a key playmaker (creator) for your team.

So far, Toronto isn’t giving him those opportunities. If the Raptors continue down this path then (1) The team is going to be significantly worse than it should be (2) his $50 million contract is going to become an albatross (3) The team won’t be able to trade him until the final two years of his contract and will stuck with his overpaid under-productive self.

The Raptors (coach + point guards) have done a very poor job of getting Hedo Turkoglu enough opportunities in the first two games.

Rafael "Baby" Araujo isn’t get paid and is upset about it – People’s Daily Online

"What Flamengo is missing is professionalism and respect for its players. The titles we won last year were as a team of professionals, however, the club did not act in the same manner," said Araujo, who played with the Toronto Raptors and the Utah Jazz while briefly in the NBA.

"The late payments of salary remain a problem at Flamengo. They still owe me, but my agent handling that. I left at the right time. Here at Paulistano, they know how to treat their players with respect.

"There is nothing like a professional player getting treated with respect."

Carter expects to play on Sunday – Covers.com

"I heal like a young guy so I'll be good (Saturday)," Carter told the Associated Press. "Hopefully, I'll be back Sunday. We're going to be smart about it. It's a long season. I'm feeling better now that I am walking on it."

Can The Toronto Raptors’ Jarrett Jack Play Shooting Guard? | Bleacher Report

In a game that could only be described as an ugly early season display of poor play and bad defense by the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies, everything came down to the last five minutes of the game and Toronto’s substitutions were found lacking.

Magic-Raptors Preview – Oct. 31, 2009 – NBA – CBSSports.com

Turkoglu's five-season stint in central Florida ended with a trip to the NBA Finals last season, but after the Magic traded for Carter in June, Turkoglu opted out of the final year of his contract and was soon sent to Toronto in a sign-and-trade.

Toronto Raptors Getting Inside 2009-10-31 News Toronto raptors

The Raptors have, for them, an abundance of backcourt riches this year, giving coach Jay Triano a chance to keep up with the rest of the NBA. With a legitimate backup in Jarrett Jack — Toronto had an unproven rookie Roko Ukic and overmatched journeyman Will Solomon as backup point guards a year ago — the Raptors are using Jack and starter Jose Calderon together at times this season.

Toronto Raptors Gameplan Lacks Structure, Creativity, and Discipline | Bleacher Report

Forget their win against Cleveland, where the hot-shooting Raptors caught a sleeping Cavaliers team and still managed to nearly lose a twenty-one point lead. On Friday night, Toronto headed into Memphis to face a depleted Memphis ball club which was missing Allen Iverson due to an injury. They lost.

Can The Toronto Raptors’ Jarrett Jack Play Shooting Guard? « Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog

In a game that could only be described as an ugly early season display of poor play and bad defense by the Toronto Raptors and the Memphis Grizzlies, everything came down to the last five minutes of the game and Toronto’s substitutions were found lacking.

A question for Jose Calderon – That’s what I’m saying, guy

My question for Jose Calderon: What exactly did you spend your off-season doing? Calderon had a horrible preseason, an uninspiring opener and one of the worst games I’ve ever seen him start tonight. Calderon finished with 15 points and three assists tonight, hitting one shot outside of 15 feet — an inconsequential three in the final two minutes. Jose added five fouls and three turnovers, the last of which led directly to a Memphis fast break hoop in the midst of the fourth quarter swing.

Orlando Magic @ Raptors – Howard the Dunk Preview

After tonight, Vince Carter will have hit three stops on what the Orlando Sentinel is calling the “Vinsanity Reunion Tour,” but it is unknown if Carter will play after suffering an ankle injury in the second quarter of Friday night’s win over the Nets.

The other major storyline of the night is that the Magic will face their former teammate, Raptors Forward Hedo Turkgolu. Turkoglu spent five seasons with the Magic before signing with the Raptors as a free agent in July.

The Orlando Magic (2-0) travel to the Air Canada Centre to take on the Toronto Raptors (1-1). The game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Florida. As always, if you can’t see the game, you can hear it locally on WDBO 580 AM and in Spanish on WONQ AM 1030. The game is set to tip off at 1:00 PM EST.

Substitution Charts can tell you a great deal about the game – khandor’s sports blog

There are many different ways to track the performance of an individual player, or specific combinations of players, in a NBA game.

When you do this work, what you find, somteimes, can be most revealing.

This is what the “Substitution Chart” looks like for Wednesday’s game between Toronto and Cleveland.

Wow, Friday against the Grizz didn’t work out at all. The Raptors looked like…the Raptors. They were getting burned from the perimeter, interior defense was suspect, team rebounding was non-existent, they weren’t sharing the ball, and weren’t hitting their shots. Perfect storm. Today, the Magic roll into town, and the unspoken rivalry is born again.

The advantage the Raptors had on opening night, quickness and conditioning, was a non-factor against the Grizzlies who have a young, athletic team. Bargnani was able to take Shaq/Big Z off the hop, but Gasol and Z-Bo were able to counter, and in some instances, nullify the Raptors front court. As big a night as Bosh had (37pts 12rebs), Randolph countered with a 30pt 7reb monster of his own.

I think they just had a little bit better conditioning than the Cavaliers.They were coming up a lot harder, their fast-break. I don’t think Cleveland did a very good job at fastbreaking against us and that put a lot of pressure on us.

That doesn’t sit right with me. We beat an Eastern Elite, and fell asleep behind the wheel playing a young – up ‘n coming one? One that draftee Thabeet 2nd overall? We didn’t know that a young team with some of the best young wings (Gay, Mayo, Carroll) wasn’t going to push and attack?

Orlando has come out the gates like a team that belonged in the Finals; sans Rashard Lewis. They have convincingly won their first two against Philly and Jersey by an average of 12pts. Howard has been a monster, averaging 20.5pts 18.5rebs. Yea, he has grabbed 37 rebounds in the first two games of the year. That’s ridiculous.

I wandered over to Orlando Magic Daily to see what our TrueHoop brethren had to say about their recent game against the Nets:

It’s not a win the Magic will look back on — surely, it’s one of those wins where you forget about it on the plane ride home — but it’s the type of win an elite team is supposed to win. It was ugly, but it gives you confidence knowing the Magic can take care of a team when they didn’t shoot well and were missing two key starters.

The tone in the things being said is jarring for me. Against the Cavs, the Raptors were able to withstand a run by an elite team while they wore down. Against the Grizz, they couldn’t. Athleticism and conditioning seem to be an issue for our guys. The Magic on the other hand were able to win ugly while missing two starters. The Magic are an athletic team. With Carter expected to come off the bench, the starting 5 will be tough to deal with.

Match-ups

Calderon vs Nelson
All I can think about is Swirsky saying that Calderon will own Nelson in those playoffs, and that backfiring. Nelson straight up owns Calderon. He is a tough cover: strong, quick, a bulldog. He had an off-game against Harris, so I am sure he will rebound.
The Edge: Magic

DeRozan vs Reddick
With SVG saying he wont be surprised if JJ starts, chances are good VC is coming off the bench if at all. Reddick is Mr. Fundamental. Bit of a disappointment after a solid college career, but he is carving out a niche for himself. I can see it now: DeRozan will be sent to Howard in the low post; the ball gets kicked out to Reddick who nails an open trey or swing it around the perimeter for somebody to nail an open shot. Kid Dynamite has been playing great so far. He should give Reddick fits chasing him around the court, but I suspect being the one sent to double Howard wont bode well for the kid.
The Edge: Magic

Turkoglu vs Pietrus
It upsets me that the Magic got Pietrus so cheap (5yr/$25mill-ish). I was pleading for the Raptors to sign him, as he brought all the things we needed (at the time) need: defense, take his man off the bounce, slashes to the rim, rebounds and hit some shots, but alas, we got HO…Turkoglu has been playing pretty decently. Dropping 13 a game, grabbing 4.5, but not the playmaker we had hoped (2ast). I was ripped for saying his matchup with Gay would be even (a draw would be a generous assessment of what went down Friday), but I’m saying it will be a draw this time around. Pietrus will be the beneficiary of some open space created by Howard in the post, but will have a hard time covering Turk in the paint on offense. This will be an even match, book it.
The Edge: Even

Bosh vs Anderson
Bosh has been a beast the first couple games. You have to figure that having him score 37 is bad for the team. 20-25 is the perfect range, where he is producing, but not at the expense of a fluid offense. Anderson, whom our very own PHD Steve said was NOT to be slept on this season, has been proving just that. He was a throw in as part of the Carter trade, but the kid can play, and is starting ahead of Brandon Bass, who was looked at as the starting PF when they snatched him from the Mavs in the summer. Just don’t see Bosh slowing down against this team, not even after a night of partying with Jay-Z.
The Edge: Raptors

Bargnani vs Howard
LOL, doesn’t look good for Bargnani at all. Forget the playing defense on Howard, but keeping him off the boards. Howard should have zero problems cleaning up the boards given VL’s lack of rebounding/boxing out grit. Seeing the trouble Andrea had with Gasol, I cringe to think about the possible 40/20 Howard can drop on our boy.
The Edge: Magic

Injury Report

Raptors
Reggie Evans
Sonny Weems

Magic
Rashard Lewis
Vince Carter*
Adonal Foyle

Simulation

Our boy Jeremy Visser from That’s What I’m Saying, Guy… checked in with his simulation. You can hit him up on twitter @jeremy_visser. We’re keeping track of the simulations here.

The Raptors couldn’t handle an Orlando team that was missing Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis, falling 96-91 Sunday at the ACC. Chris Bosh had 29 points and a career-high 23 boards, but had trouble handling Dwight Howard, who had 28 and 13 of his own.

Aside from Bosh, the only Raptor in double digits was Hedo Turkoglu, who had 17 in his first game against his former team. Like Bosh, Andrea Bargnani had his hands full with Howard and was limited to just 17 minutes, picking up five fouls and scoring just five points in the process. Jose Calderon had eight points and six assists.

Howard was one of five Orlando players in double digits — Matt Barnes, starting in place of Carter, had 16, while Jameer Nelson had 15 and Michael Pietrus and Brandon Bass added 10 apiece.

Surprisingly, Toronto out-rebounded Orlando and had almost three times as many trips to the free throw line, but it wasn’t enough to come out with a win.

Keys to Winning

• Keep Howard off the boards, both of them
• Don’t double Howard in the low post, let him score 40, but keep everyone else in check
• Bargnani should never rotate on defense, stay with Howard at all times
• Let Jason Williams shoot as many transition-pull-up threes as he wants, seriously

Prediction

This has the makings of a solid game: The Raptors are reeling from a tough loss on the road to a team they shouldn’t have lost too; The Magic are 2-0 to start the season, and looking to secure home-court throughout the playoffs aka they will be coming hard and fast. As much as I would like to think that the Raptors will avenge their Friday loss, they wont (unless Bargnani duplicates his effort form the home opener, which you will excuse me if I don’t hold my breath for). Magic by 6.

Catch us for live chat at 1pm here.

Crunch-time mistakes cost Raps mini-streak – St. Catharines Standard

The Raptors start DeRozan, but he isn't getting starter's minutes, which is both the right decision and the most appropriate course of action.

For the second consecutive game, the Raptors were without injured power forward Reggie Evans (foot) and swing-man Sonny Weems (foot), while combo guard Quincy Douby was again the odd-man out.

If Evans is unavailable for an extended stretch, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, it would potentially devastate a team that brought the veteran from Philadelphia in the off-season for Jason Kapono to provide interior defence and toughness.

Outworked Raptors fail to impress their coach – London Free Press

"We're a work in progress,'' began head coach Jay Triano. "What I don't like is when we get outworked by a team, which is exactly what happened (last night)."

Clearly the Raptors could have used Reggie Evans, whose troublesome left foot continues to keep him inactive. No way Evans would have tolerated the lack of passion and effort the Raptors showed. No way Evans would have allowed an opponent to outwork him in the paint.

Sluggish Raptors tarnish great start – thestar.com

With a couple of old bugaboos popping up again – porous coverage of the offensive boards and inconsistent work ethic – the Raptors suffered a 115-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies that took a lot of shine off that season-opening spanking of the Cavs.

"We still have to get out of letting our offence dictate what we do on the defensive end," said Chris Bosh, who had a 37-point, 12-rebound gem.

"They got a lot of easy stuff, they got some offensive rebounds that we need to clean up and we just didn't do some fundamental things."

Very fundamental, according to coach Jay Triano.

"I don't like getting outworked by teams and I thought we were," he said.

Out of sync Raptors lose 115-107 to Grizzlies – thestar.com

Playing lacklustre defence all night, reminiscent of some performances a year ago, the Raptors coughed up a 115-107 loss to the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum here.

Unable to match the opening night intensity at either end of the court, Toronto wasted a 37-point, 12-rebound effort from Chris Bosh as Memphis was led by 30 from Zach Randolph.

The Raptors were never really in sync at either end of the floor, with Andrea Bargnani struggling mightily before fouling out late in the fourth quarter and no one helping Bosh on offence.

Top 30 NBA Point Guards – Bleacher Report

12) Jose Calderon—Toronto Raptors

Calderon can run an offense with anyone. He’s a good pull-up jump shooter, and an extraordinary free throw shooter. He doesn’t do anything he shouldn’t and is a very efficient player. However, there is a certain degree of creativity a star point guard needs, and Calderon doesn’t have it.

Griz overpower Raptors – The Globe and Mail

“O.J. doesn't hit many shots throughout the game, but he hits a couple of big ones late,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said. “The whole game they just wore us out inside, and they had more energy.

“It was a very hungry basketball team.”

Memphis outrebounded the Raptors 45-36, including 18 off the offensive glass that led to 26 second-chance points.

Six unanswered points late in the half helped Memphis take a 53-49 lead at the break. Randolph already had 14 points.

Stuff that stood out – Eric Smith

Stats that stood out:

- 13 lead changes … And the game was tied 16 times

- Banged Up on the Glass: 45-36 REBOUNDING advantage for the Grizz

- Points in the Paint: Both clubs had 52

- Jose Calderon with a rare sight: 3 assists … 3 turnovers in the game

Raptors’ defence exposed – Toronto Sun

When one yields 39 points in the fourth quarter, one does not deserve to win.

"We're a work in progress,'' began head coach Jay Triano. "What I don't like is when we get outworked by a team, which is exactly what happened (last night)."

Clearly, the Raptors could have used the services of Reggie Evans, whose troublesome left foot continues to keep him inactive.

No way Evans would have tolerated the lack of passion and effort the Raptors showed.

No way Evans would have allowed an opponent to outwork him in the paint.

As good as Bosh was, his left-handed counterpart, Zach Randolph, who is a noted Raptors killer, couldn't be contained in the paint.

Raps Replay – Toronto Sun

It seems likely Rudy Gay is heading toward restricted free agency with today's deadline to extend deals looming. On Thursday, teammates O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur were extended, the same day Raptors extended Marco Belinelli's rookie deal. Raptors head coach Jay Triano oversaw an Olympic development camp in Las Vegas this past summer, a showcase that featured both Gay and Mayo. Gay has an outside chance of playing for the U.S. at next year's world championship in Turkey.

Triano post-game video

Triano post-game video

Game in six video – Memphis

Game in six

Triano post-game video

Triano post-game video

A Familiar Tune – Raptors HQ

This is why various metrics constantly penalize Andrea, while many fans and onlookers feel that these same stats are incorrect. They're seeing the scoring Bargnani, the wizard with the ball that can take over a game for stretches offensively, while the stats are capturing many of these defensive miscues, and penalizing him for that.

I believe the truth regarding Il Mago's worth lies somewhere in between but it's hard not to lean to the stats side after a game like this. There's only so many times you can watch Andrea lose post-position, or fail to keep his man off the glass. Even Jack Armstrong was calling Andrea out for "not wanting it as much as Gasol." Andrea's this team's biggest X Factor and if he's scoring and defending like he was against Cleveland, suddenly the Raptors are a pretty solid team. If he's not, then you get games like last night's.

And as follow-up to the rebounding issue, I fear that Reggie Evans is hardly the silver bullet here.

And Reality Comes Crashing In : The Picket Fence

After many Raptor fans pencilled him into the All-Star game, Andrea Bargnani showed once again why he’ll never be the player that some hope. He played horribly against Memphis. Horribly. And if he’s not hitting his shot, he’s almost useless. After playing good defense against Cleveland, he couldn’t seem to defend against Memphis and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was responsible for giving up half of those 18 offensive rebounds the Grizzlies grabbed. Time and time again, the man Bargnani should have been boxing out was able to secure the offensive rebound. If he hadn’t fouled out, if I was Triano, I would have sat him down for the final minutes, anyway.

Zach Randolph scores 30 as Grizzlies beat Raptors – The Commercial Appeal

"It was a good thing to watch," Griz coach Lionel Hollins said. "We competed and battled from the start. Toronto's got a lot of weapons. We had to battle all night. So it was a good team win."

Toronto entered the game after a confidence-building victory against Cleveland. The Raptors held the Cavs to 35-percent shooting. Toronto, however, found out the Griz also have weapons.

Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, and they shot 51 percent. Marc Gasol finished with 19 points, O.J. Mayo added 18 and Rudy Gay chipped in 17. Mike Conley had 10 of the Grizzlies' 24 assists. They had just 10 Wednesday night against Detroit.

Grizzlies Postgame, Iavaroni Returns » The Commercial Appeal

"Jay says he wants to play up-tempo but that it's a second priority to good defense," Iavaroni said. "That's what we have to work on. If you want to have an up-tempo and a fast pace, then there has to be a great emphasis on getting back and there has to be a great emphasis on defense."

Recap: Memphis vs. Toronto – Sacramento Sports

Rudy Gay turned in a solid effort with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Mike Conley chipped in with 10 points, 10 assists and six boards in the win.

Chris Bosh led all scorers with 37 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who earned a 101-91 home victory against Cleveland on Wednesday. Jose Calderon and Hedo Turkoglu went for 15 and 14 points, respectively, in defeat.

After Marco Belinelli's three-pointer put Toronto up 88-80 early in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies quickly responded with eight straight of their own to deadlock it. Then with things even at 91 with 6:20 to go, two free throws by DeMarre Carroll and Gasol's dunk gave the hosts a four-point advantage, a lead they would not relinquish.

That’s More Like It! GRIZZLIES WIN! – 3 Shades of Blue

-ZBO. He had three assists, and that still won't be enough for some people. 30 points. Is that enough for the naysayers? Sure, Chris Bosh lit it up too (he's just unreal, by the way), but Zbo played to his strengths as well as he possibly could tonight. He and Bosh, neither of whom is known for defense, roasted each other like…like…a couple of chestnuts over an open fire (yep, it's that time of year already..get prepared). It was nice to watch, especially since Randolph knew the team was going to ride him all the way into the lane tonight, and he did what he does so well within a team concept. Six of his seven rebounds were offensive, and a couple of those were from his own misses. I turned to Chip after one particularly sweet bullcharge-the-hoop-and-score-it move by Randolph and said "man, isn't it great to have a truly viable low-post threat back on the team?".

PopcornMachine’s GameFlows – Toronto vs Memphis

Out of sync Raptors lose 115-107 to Grizzlies – thestar.com

Playing lacklustre defence all night, reminiscent of some performances a year ago, the Raptors coughed up a 115-107 loss to the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum here.

Unable to match the opening night intensity at either end of the court, Toronto wasted a 37-point, 12-rebound effort from Chris Bosh as Memphis was led by 30 from Zach Randolph.

The Raptors were never really in sync at either end of the floor, with Andrea Bargnani struggling mightily before fouling out late in the fourth quarter and no one helping Bosh on offence.

Toronto led by eight early in the fourth quarter and it looked as if they might be able to steal a win but they allowed an immediate 8-0 run for an 88-88 tie and Memphis pulled away.

Raptors vs. Grizzlies – Box Score – October 30, 2009 – ESPN

Carter "hopes" he can play Sunday against the Raptors – Orlando Sentinel

X-rays on Carter's ankle were negative. He said he hopes he can play Sunday when the Magic face the team he began his career with — the Toronto Raptors.

Carter's mother, Michelle, was in attendance and said her son had a "mild sprain."

Memphis takes away the Raptors swagger – National Post

Any positive momentum the Toronto Raptors were feeling after an impressive win on opening night is now gone. Losses to the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies will do that.

After the Raptors started the year with a confidence-building win over Cleveland, the Raptors gave back all of that swagger, dropping a 115-107 decision in Memphis. The Grzzlies are the same team that lost their debut by 22 points on their home court.

Chris Bosh provided 37 points, but there was not enough help on this night.

Memphis shot better than 50% from the floor, with big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combining for 47 points. They feasted in the paint, and the Raptors wilted. With two finesse forwards, that is a concern with the Raptors.

The Raptors had a reasonable hold on the game heading into the final quarter, but fell apart down the stretch. In the middle part of the quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 15-3 run, turning what was once an eight-point deficit into an advantage.