Pacers open a bakery but does it help the Raptors

The Pacers open a big lead with a 22-8 run and it got all the way up to 48-28 and 20 point lead but then the Raptors scored 13 straight point and then the Raptors had a 10-3 run into the second half as the Raptors tied the game @ 51 but the Pacers fought back and took a 8 point lead again and the Raptors would make little runs but the Pacers keep them at a distance as they won 104-93 as Andrea Bargnani had another tough night going 3 for 15 from the floor the same as DeMar DeRozan tonight. The Pacers wanted to give the game away with 25 turnovers compared to the Raptors 16 so the Raptors had extra chances while 7 of the 8 Raptor players scoring double figures lead by Amir Johnson with 18 points and 8 boards while Ed Davis had 13 points and 7 boards. The Pacers destroyed the Raptors on the boards (56-38) and with assists (19-16) and the Pacers were lead by Roy Hibbert 24 points and 11 boards while Darren Collison (4 boards and 6 assists) and Paul George (4 boards and an assists) both had 16 points. The Raptors need to find a new coach because a new voice would maybe get through to them as they are not playing D as weak offenses are putting up triple digits scoring and if Bryan Colangelo is looking for a contract extension it will not be with the Raptors as the team is at the same point as when he got here.

Hawks Wednesday what fun

Tom Mehegan

The Raptors finish a soft part of the schedule with a soft offense and even softer defensive

Andrea Bargnani took twice as many shots (24) as the next closest Raptor player Jerryd Bayless (12) and he hit 5 shots from the floor and 5 shots from the free throw line but he did miss all 5 of 3-point shots which means he is sneaking into bad habits again as in trying to shoot more 3's which is not what you want your 7 foot center to do. Also when you shoot just a little over 20% from the floor you need to learn when you do not have your shoot on a night that you need to pass the ball and get the ball to a player who will have a better shot to get the ball in the net. He did lead the team with 15 points but so did Ed Davis (7 for 10 from the floor) and the Raptors shoot enough shots (101) but did not get very many into the basket (34) as the Timberwolves made 1 more basket on 21 less shots. The Raptors also got a good rebounding game from Ed Davis (11) while Jose Calderon had more rebounds (9) than assists (6) which is not good # for a point guard but it looks like just an off night for him and the Timberwolves got more rebounds (54-52) but the Raptors got more offensive boards (19-8). The Raptors did once again play D in the first quarter only given up 21 and being down 1 after 1 but they gave up 28 in the second and 31 in the third in what has been an extremely bad trend as they were down 21 going into the fourth where they outscored the Wolves by 5 (28-23). The Timberwolves were lead by Kevin Love with 21 points and 12 boards while Martell Webster had 15 points and 6 boards and Wes Johnson had 14 points. The Raptors just had games with the Timberwolves, the Sixers, the Bucks, and the Grizzlies in their last 4 games and did not win a single game when they should of won 3 or all 4 of those games if they were more than just a horrible team.

Is the season over yet

Tom Mehegan

Something for fan to appreciate

The thing that fan can appreciate is the performance of Amir Johnson who had 24 points and 12 rebounds and it is one of his best performances in his NBA career and if he can have more games like this one his future is bright but if his past performances are any glue to what he can be it maybe a while until another game like this one. The Bucks came out and took control of the game early going from a 2 point lead @ 13-11 and then going on a 19-11 run to lead by 10 @ 32-22 going into the second quarter and then the Raptors opened the quarter on a 10-0 run to tie the game @ 32-all and went into the last minute on a 11-2 run to take a 8 point lead @ 55-47 but the Bucks cut it to 2 by half @ 57-55. The Raptors bench outscored the Bucks bench 31-8 in the first half lead by Alexis Ajinca with 10 points while Sonny Weems had 8, Jerryd Bayless had 7, and Ed Davis had 6 points and Amir Johnson lead the starters with 9 points While he lead the Raptors in the third with 8 points and Andrea Bargnani had 9 points in the quarter. Things got bad especially late in the quarter as the Bucks scored 26 points and shoot 69 % from the floor in the quarter as they lead 81-78 going into the fourth quarter and the Bucks late in the fourth quarter lead 104-97 and then the Raptors scored 7 points in a roll to tie it @ 104 and Carlos Delfino lost the ball out of bounds and the Raptors had last shot with 2.8 seconds but Andrea missed a jumper so for the first time all season the Raptors played 5 extra minutes. Andrew Bogut scored the first 6 points to take a 110-104 lead and the Raptors got the next 6 points to tie it @ 110 but then the dagger was hit by Corey Maggette who hit a wide open 3 off a pass from Carlos Delfino to take 113-110 lead and then the Raptors went to the basket and did not get points and shoot jumpers and did not get points as the Bucks stretch the Raptors losing streak to 10 games as they won 116-110. The Raptors got a good second half from Bargnani 23 points but only had 4 boards and Jose Calderon who had 13 points and 10 points in the game but the Raptors had 4 bench points in the second half but Ed Davis had 9 boards in the game and both teams had 40 boards in the game and the Raptors lead in assists 27-24. The Bucks had 3 players @ 24 or more with Corey Maggette with 29 points along with 11 boards and 5 assists, Ersan Ilyasova with 25 points and 7 boards, and Andrew Bogut with 24 points and 7 boards to be too much for the Raptors in the end.

Timberwovles tomorrow another lose?

Tom Mehegan

Free tryout at the air canada centre on Friday for fan night at the next game

Once again the Raptors came out at the beginning of the game as they got a lot of timely defensive stops and after going 3 for their first 8 from the floor they hit 7 in a row and after the game being tied @ 12 the Raptors outscored the Sixers 13-4 to take a 25-16 and kept the 9 point lead going into the second as they lead 29-20. Then of course the Sixers went on a 17-4 run to open up a 37-33 lead and then the Raptors took a 40-39 lead with a 7-2 run and then the sixers went on a 8-2 run to open a 47-42 lead and the Raptors went on a 8-3 run to tie the game going into the second half @ 50. It was simple the team who decided to play defense in the second half would win the game and lets just say the Sixers opened the second half on a 10-2 run and never looked back the rest of the game as they scored 34 in the third and the Raptors scored 27 and in the fourth the Sixers scored 23 but the Raptors were only able to score 17 in the final quarter and won going away 107-94. The Sixers bench killed the Raptors bench 58-17 with all four Sixers of the bench in double figures with Marreese Speights (25 points), Louis Williams (15 points), and Thaddeus Young/Evan Turner (10 points each) and had something insane like 60 plus points in the paint and eat up the offensive boards 17-9 while they humiliated the Raptors on the glass 43-33. The Raptors had 13 assists from Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan lead in points with 29 but only 4 in the fourth while Amir Johnson lead with 6 boards while Marreese Speights had 9 boards and Elton Brand had 7 boards to go with his 14 points and Jrue Holiday had 11 assists to go with his 15 points. Andrea Bargnani was a very distant second with 17 points and the reality is that the Raptors can put up points with ease but after the first quarter of most games the Raptors D goes MIA the rest of the game and I do not know who the Raptors should keep maybe an Ed Davis because he can get good rebound in some games and if he can practice playing defense in practice he maybe able to set the tone on the defensive side of the court. While guys like Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan like shooting the ball and if their on they can put up big numbers but neither has any interest on the defensive side of the game so they need to try a bit on the D or they can get out of here while a guy like Jose Calderon is nice but has little time left in the NBA and it is time to see if Jerryd Bayless can distribute first and shoot second or he can leave too because point guard is to get everybody else involved more than getting yours. The rest of the team can be interchangeable as they can have good game but in the long term are not game changing players and if Jay Triano is not able to get the point of playing defense before playing offense through to the players the Raptors have no choice but to figure out what kind of coaches are on the staff before finding someone else in the off-season. At the end of the road is a lot of cap room to play with in free agency this July but I have no clue how to find a defensive minded player in the frenzy and it is the last chance for Brain to build a playoff team or he will be headed back the united states.

Hope their is a rainbow somewhere someone please help me find it please

Tom Mehegan

Raptors do something they have not all century

For the first time this century the Raptors did not hit a 3-ball which was a streak that the Raptors began February 26 1999 and it had lasted 986 games with at least one 3-ball made and it even came down to the last shot of the game when Sundiata Gaines tried a desperation 3-ball shoot on an in-bounds pass with .8 seconds as the Raptors were down 100-98 but Gaines shot was blocked and the Memphis Grizzlies won. The Grizzlies winning shot was taken by Rudy Gay who was one-on-one with Julian Wright as the clock wound down and he drove towards the paint and Wright could not keep up and Gay took a jumper that left only .8 second left in the game. The Raptors had stretches of good defense especially in the first quarter were the Grizzlies went 1 for 7 from the floor and the Raptors went 4 for 5 and took a 8-2 lead and Jerryd Bayless had an assist on the first 4 baskets of the game and would have a hand in 10 of the first 12 points as he had 4 points and 4 assists. Then the Grizzlies went cold later in the quarter as they went 0 for 6 from the floor and the Raptors took a 9 point 20-11 which was the biggest lead of the game for the Raptors as the Grizzlies went on a 21-6 run which got them a 25-24 lead going into the second quarter and would not end until the Grizzlies were up 32-26 but the Raptors would fight back to tie it at 49-all where the Grizzlies Zach Randolph hit a jumper to give the grizzlies a 51-49 lead go into the third quarter. The Grizzlies started 1 for 5 and the Raptors started 3 for 4 to take a 55-53 lead but the Grizzlies went on a 11-3 run to take a 64-58 lead and took a 80-74 lead into the fourth quarter and started on a 6-2 run to open open up a 10 point lead at 86-76 but the Raptors came back with a 11-2 run to cut it to 88-87 and then they went back and forth the rest of the game until Rudy Guy ended it. The Raptors were lead by Andrea Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan in the first half with 13 - points each while Bayless had 9 points and 5 assists and Julian Wright had 8 points and 5 assists and Bargnani had 29 points, 5 boards, 3 assists while DeRozan had 25 points, 9 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. While Jerryd Bayless was 2 boards away from a triple-double with 15 points, 11 assists, and 8 boards while Julian Wright had 11 points and 9 boards and Amir Johnson had 10 points and 6 boards to give all starters double figures in points but the bench had only 6 points. The Grizzlies were lead by Rudy Gay with 21 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists while Zach Randolph had the most boards in the game with 12 along with 17 points along with Marc Gasol who had 8 boards while O.J. Mayo had 15 points, 5 boards, and 2 assists off the bench to help the Grizzlies have way more bench points than the Raptors (32-8) in the game. The Grizzlies had the lead in boards (46-42) and the Raptors lead in assists (20-17) while also making more free throws (18-14) along with shooting better (47% - 44%) but still have lost 9 in a roll first time since the 2005-2006 the season they got Andrea Bargnani with the first overall pick. To finish I can only hope the end of the streak will help them somewhat think more defensive heres to hoping and the sooner the season over the better really.

Thanks

Tom Mehegan

Heat manly against a Raptors squad that did not fight in the first half but then fought in the second half

After taken a 12-10 lead the Heat ended the first quarter on a 20-7 run to go up on the Raptors by 15 (32-17) and then added to that run with a 12-4 run to make it 44-21 and ended the half with a 26 point lead of 66-40. The only good thing in the first half was their free throw shooting 14-16 from the line as the Heat took the glass 12-7 and assists 9-2 in the first quarter and 15-13 on the glass and 10-2 with assists in the second while being unconcess from 3 going 10 for 16 in the half but the Raptors a little from Amir Johnson had 10 points and Ed Davis had 8 boards while Bargnani struggled from the floor 3 for 12 with 9 points. While Bosh was laughing and having a good ol' time on the bench as he was not playing Mike Miller definently was with 24 points (5 for 9 with 3's), 8 boards, and 3 assists along with LBJ having 19 points, 4 boards, 3 assists as combined for more points and assists than the Raptors and then James Jones had 13 points to finish the Heat scoring basically as the rest of the team had 10 points. The second half was much different for the first 18 minutes as the Raptors shoot 66% from the floor and held the Heat to 26 in the third and 10 in the first half of the fourth while Bargnani had 19 points in the second half (28 in the game) and DeMar DeRozan found the smelling salts as he had 23 points in the second half (30 in the game) as the Raptors outscored the Heat 54-36 to make it a 8 point game @ 102-94 and the Heat continued hitting 3's to finish the Raptors runs and finished the game on a 18-9 run of their own to make the final 120-103. Jose Calderon had 11 assists in the second half (13 in the game) with 14 points while Johnson ended up with 14 points in the game and Ed Davis had 10 boards to lead the Raptors while LBJ lead in points and boards for the Heat with 38 points and 11 boards but Mike Miller was good with 32 and 10 respectably as they went harder on the glass (42-33) and shared better (22-21) had a huge advantage 17-2 in the second half. The Raptors continue not to be tough enough on the glass and let teams just score at will on them until it is to late so they need to show a lot more heart especially early in games and heart has nothing to do talent but at least their back home on Monday.

Thanks

Tom Mehegan

Magic humiliated the Raptors in the second half

The Magic took a 8 point lead after 1 quarter 26-18 and then the Raptors played their only 12 minutes of the game in the second quarter as they actually outscored the magic 23-21 and were down 6 at half 47-41. In the second half the Magics humiliated the Raptors with an 26-16 advantage in the third quarter and then the Raptors hit the showers before the beginning of the fourth quarter as the magic outscored the Raptors by 24 points as they scored 39 points and the Raptors only scored 15 points in the quarter. Dwight Howard (31 points and 19 boards with 9 offensive)and Ryan Anderson (21 points and 10 boards with 6 offensive) and the Magic had 60 boards (20 offensive) while the Raptors had 44 boards (14 offensive) which is just embarrassing because nobody could put a body on Howard or any of the other Magic player during the game. DeMar DeRozan was the only Raptor player to play 30 minutes (31) while he had 16 points and Julian Wright lead the team with 10 boards and Jose Calderon lead with 5 assists and because nobody played major minutes Triano decided in the third quarter to rest his starters for tonights game in Miami against the Heat before they get home to face the Grizzles.

Hopefully this is the worst but it looks like it may get even worst this season

Tom Mehegan

The Spurs went to sleep before capturing their sweet-sixteen @ home

The Spurs got the first 10 points of the game and then went to sleep for the rest as the Raptors outscored the Spurs 17-7 to tie the game @ 17 and the Raptors shoot 7 for 13 and the Spurs shoot 2 for 13 from the floor while DeMar had 7 points during this run. The Raptors took a 1 point lead into the second quarter as they shoot 39% and the Spurs shoot from the floor while the Spurs 16-13 on the glass so the Raptors played good defense after being down 10-0 and lead 23-22. The Raptors continued a first quarter run of 10-0 to give themselves a 29-22 lead and they ended the half on a 17-10 to take a 53-42 halftime lead as DeMar DeRozan had 11 points in the quarter and 20 points in the half while Bargnani had a very tough 10 points in the first half and Jose Calderon had 4 assists and no turnovers along with 8 points in the half. The Spurs after going 4 for 4 from the floor to start the game and finished the half 11 for 39 from the floor and were lead by Manu Ginobili (13 points and 5 assists) and Dejuan Blair (8 points and 6 boards) along with Tony Parker (8 points and 3 boards). The free throw lines were busy in the first half with the Raptors 11 for 15 and the Spurs 12 for 15 in the half and the Spurs had 13 turnovers and the Raptors got 17 points off these turnovers and had a very good first half.

The rolls were reversed in the second half as the Spurs had 63 % in the third and 57 % in the second half from the floor as they scored 63 points in the half while the Raptors scored 43 points but at the largest Spurs lead of 14 @ 91-77 the Spurs had outscored the Raptors 49-24 and outscored the Raptors 33-16 in the third. The Raptors made a run 14-6 to get it within 6 points @ 97-91 but ended up losing 104-95 and in the second and third quarter the Spurs outrebounded the Raptors 27-14 and outrounded the Raptors 49-38 in the game. Manu Ginobili had 23 points and 7 assists along with 4 boards while he was a perfect 14 for 14 from the line and Dejuan Blair had 22 points and 11 boards and Tony Parker had 17 points and 5 boards/assists even Tim Duncan had all his 10 points in the second half and had 12 boards and 4 assists was what drove the Spurs to the victory. The Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan 28 points, 4 steals, and 3 boards along with Bargnani 14 points (6 for 20 from the floor) and 7 boards while Ed Davis lead in boards with 11 and Calderon lead with 8 assists but the Raptors had 15 turnovers especially in the second half and DeMar had 5 of them while Bayless and Calderon both had 3 of them.

In the end the Raptors played a good first half but the Spurs got embressed during the first half and school the Raptors until the game was salted away and showed with they are one of the best teams in the NBA and how much work the Raptors need especially contesting shots on the D.

Thanks

Tom Mehegan

Oops Raptors did it again

The Raptors had a 7 points lead @ halftime 44-37 after being down 4 after 1 quarter as the Hornets
lead 20-16 and the Raptors were up 12 points in the third quarter as they lead 57-45 with 6:56
left in the quarter. The Hornets outscored the Raptors 40-24 the rest of the game and David West hit a 19 foot jumper to give the Hornets the lead and finished with 2 free throws to finish the game as they win 85-81 and ex-Raptors Jarrett Jack had 17 points while Emeka Okafor had 12 offensive boards and 16 total boards and 17 points in the game. David West lead with 23 points and 10 boards but CP3 was only 1 for 8 from the floor and 4 for 4 from the free throws and had 6 points but also had 11 boards and for the Raptors Jose Calderon was 0 for 5 with 0 points while he had 13 assists but also had 7 turnovers. The Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan who had 23 points and Ed Davis had 11 points and 12 boards while Amir Johnson had 17 points and 8 boards with 3 steals. The Hornets had more boards (47-42) while the Raptors had more assists (22-20) and the Raptors had 16 turnovers and the Hornets got 16 points off these turnovers and the Raptors have now lost 4 games in a row and have 3 more road games until they get home again and a lot games to struggle through to get to the end of the season.

Thanks

Tom Mehegan

Just another day in Raptor land as the Raptors started a long road trip with a loss again

The Raptors once again were go in the first quarter with the Wizards shooting 33 % in the quarter as the Raptors took a 25-19 lead into the second quarter and are lead by Jose Calderon with 8 points, 3 assists, and a board while Kleiza had 4 points,a board, and an assist. The Wizards had JaVale McGee with 6 points a board while John Wall had 4 points with a board but then in the second quarter the Wizards outscored the Raptors by 11 points and out rebounded the Raptors by 10 (15-5) with the Raptors not getting a single offensive board in the quarter. The Wizards were lead by Andray Blatche with 8 points and Nick Young and Al Thornton had 6 each while Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee had 4 boards each in the quarter while the Raptors were lead by Andrea Bargnani had 6 points and Ed Davis had 4 points while 2 assists in the quarter. But the trouble for the Raptors going into the second half down 47-42 is that Andrea is 3 for 11 and DeMar DeRozan is 2 for 9 from the floor and the Wizards put up 28 points up in the second quarter. In the third quarter is a real up and down quarter the Wizards shoot over 60 % (the same team that shoot 33 % in the first quarter) in the quarter and have a 10 point lead near the end of the quarter and the Raptors got almost 5 points in the last 5 seconds of the quarter with a Davis dunk. Then newcomer Sundiata Gaines hitting a 3 after a steal at the buzzer but video showed it was after the buzzer so it did not count and the Raptors are down 7 into the fourth. The Raptors were lead by Amir Johnson had 8 points while Jose Calderon had 7 points and 6 assists in the quarter to give him 17 points and 11 assists while for the Wizards Nick Young had 11 straight and 18 of the Wizards 28 third quarter points. The Raptors tried once again to come back in the fourth but just could not get the right stop and if they did they would throw the ball away or take an untimely shoot so the Wizards won 98-95 with Sundiata Gaines missing a long distance 3 to tie the game at the buzzer. The Raptors were lead by Andrea Bargnani who had 12 of his 25 in the quarter while Davis had 5 and Calderon had 4 points along with 4 assists while Wizards were lead by Nick Young with 7 points and Andray Blatche with 6 points. Like the Raptors are very good at is not play to their level in winnable games and looks like a wait for the seaon to be over kind of thing which is not fun at all and Nick Young was an one man wrecking crew (29 points, 6 boards, 4 assists) especially in the third quarter while Jose Calderon was all that (21 points, 15 assists, and 9 boards) only needing another board for thriple double. Andrea had 7 boards while Amir had 10 and Ed Davis had 8 in the game while he also had 15 points while Amir had 12 and the Wizards had to monsters on the glass JaVale McGee (22) and Andray Blatche (13).

See U later

Tom Mehegan

Pistons get a gift from the Raptors

The Raptors started out well being up 7-2 but then the anti-defense disease was in full effect as the Pistons outscored the Raptors 8-1 to take a 10-8 lead and then with the Pistons 25 and the Raptors 24 the Pistons score 4 straight to make it 29-24 and went into the second quarter up 31-26. The Pistons shoot 63 % from the floor in the quarter while the Raptors shoot 52 % and the Pistons were lead by T-Mac (Tracy Mcgrady) with 9 points as the Pistons eat the Raptors alive in the paint with a 20-12 advantage but the Raptors shared the ball (10-6) especially early (started 9 to 3) and the board were close (Raps 11 - Pistons 10). In the Second Quarter the Pistons with the score 38-33 Pistons they then went on a 11-2 run to get the score 49-35 but the Raptors faught back cuting the deficit to 7 (61-54) but Jay Triano wanted to do some fighting with the Refs as he got a tech because he did not like the whishle they were getting this after DeMar gets one after picking up a ticky-tak foul. The Pistons were still shooting 58 % from the floor so the Raptors did not play hard enough in the first half to deserve a favorable whishle but they did only turned the ball over 5 times and the Pistons 4 and Charlie V lead the Pistons at half with 16 points and T-Mac had 10. The Raptors were lead by Andrea Bargnani with 10 in the first quarter (started 5 of 7 from the floor) and 6 points in the second quarter (all from the line 6 of 6 but from the floor 0 of 6) and Ed Davis had 6 points and 8 boards while Calderon had 6 assists and Amir had 3. Jay Triano comes out at half for his interview and says the Raptors need pride in the second half like not give the Pistons iso and fight for rebounds. The first half of the third quarter the Pistons are a +6 in points and the lead is 13 points and would get up to 15 and on the boards 7-1 advantage but then the Raptors came to life a bit a 11-2 run to make it 81-74 but T-Mac hit a 3 to end the quarter as he had 10 in the quarter and the score was 84-74. The Raptors now have a 58 shooting% and the Pistons 56 and the Rebounds were tied at 33 and in the fourth quarter the Raptors held the Pistons to 3 for 8 from the floor to start the quarter but the Raptors also shoot 3 for 8 from the floor getting only down to 6. The Raptors played go "D" again like the rest of the second half except the beginning when they let the Pistons take 13 and 15 point leads as the Raptors held them to 17 fourth quarter points (101 in the game but the Raptors only scored 21 in the quarter (95 points in the game) as the Pistons walk onto the Raptors floor and get handed a win by a Raptors team who could of cared less until it was too late. Chris Wilcox had 12 of the Pistons 44 boards while Charlie V had 8 boards to go along with his 16 first half points and Tracy McGrady had 22 and Rodney Stuckey had 19 points and the Raptors were lead by Andrea Bargnani with 31 points (11 in the fourth) while DeRozan had a quiet 15 and Kleiza had 13. Andrea also had 9 boards along with Amir with 10 and Ed Davis with his 8 first half boards as the Raptors were a +1 on the glass and Jose Calderon had 13 of the Raptors 27 assists (only 15 for the Pistons) and now the Raptors go on the road for a long road trip (5-games) of what could be a long remainder of the regular season if they do not show the pride Triano was looking for.

See U tomorrow

Tom Mehegan

Hawks scoop down to win the game

The Raptors started the game slowly with the Hawks taking a 10-6 lead and that is when the Raptors went on a 12-6 run to take a 18-16 lead but the Hawks ended the quarter with a 11-3 run to take a 27-21 lead. Raptors some good defense but still need to fight for positioning for rebounds and Jamal Crawford was on with a 11-point quarter while Al Horford had 6 points and 5 boards while the Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan had 9 points while Jose Calderon had 3 assists in the quarter as the Raptors had 7 assists on 9 buckets but the Hawks had 5 more boards (14-9). The second quarter was all Jamal Crawford in the quarter with 14 points (25 in the half) while the Raptors were lead by Bargnani (13 points) and Barbosa (13 points) as the Raptors outscored the Hawks (34-33) and the Hawks were +2 on the glass (Raptors are lead by Amir Johnson (3) and Hawks are lead by Al Horford (7)). The team who plays the better "D" in the second half will win the game most likely and the third quarter was the Raptors "D" as the Hawks scored only 15 points in the quarter while the Raptors went on a 15-2 run and the Raptors took a 77-75 into the fourth quarter and Barbosa had 6 points and Bargnani had 4 points while the Hawks had 2 more boards with Horford had 11 boards after three quarters. The Hawks and the Raptors went back and forth until it came down to the last 1:20 which started with Al Horford getting a lay-up to give the Hawks a 96-95 lead and then Andrea Bargnani hit a 3 to give the Raptors a 98-96 lead and then DeMar fouled Jamal Crawford in the act of shooting a 3 and went 3 for 3 from the line to give the Hawks 99-98 lead. Amir Johnson got a lay-up and fouled by Al Horford and hit the free throw to make it 101-99 Raptors and then the Hawks go down and had a # of possessions but Bargnani got a defense rebound and the Raptors went down with 30 seconds left and Jose Calderon had the ball and running down the clock and when he made his move towards the paint to run the clock down and try to end the game with a basket Amir Johnson was called on an illegal screen. The Hawks have the ball with 10 seconds left and Mike Bibby drains a 3 on the in-bound pass so the Raptors have last shoot so Calderon tries to go towards the basket but the Hawk "D" played it well and he fell out of bounds and the ball hit his back on the way too so the Hawks get the ball with 2 seconds left and Joe Johnson made to free throws to give the Hawks a 3 point lead and win when Bargnani's wishes did not come true at the Buzzer.

I*n the end...

The Raptors played a nice D game in the second half but the Hawks were too good on the boards out rebounding the Raptors (40-33) especially Al Horford (13) and Joe Smith (9) while Amir lead the Raptors with 7 while they got to the line more (31 to 12) and made more (25 to 9) so the Raptors need to stand their gound better and go at the basket more to get rebounds and get to the line more. Jamal Crawford was the beat hawk with 36 points and Joe Johnson was the best Hawk in the second half because most of his 26 where in the second half especially the fourth when he had 9 points. Barbosa and Bargnani both had 26 points in the game but then Calderon was next with 11 points but after having 9 in the first quarter DeMar DeRozan had none in the last three quarters and the Raptors had 25 assists in the game which is good but they only had 5 in the fourth and Calderon had 9 while both Jerryd Bayless and Barbosa had 5. The Raptors now face the Pistons @ home on friday and the Wizards on Staurday which are diffently winnable games.

Thanks

Tom Mehegan

Raptors king the kings

King Starters

F - Jason Thompson F - Francisco Garcia C - DeMarcus Cousins
G - Jermaine Taylor G - Beno Udrih

Raptors Starters

F - Linas Kleiza F - Joey Dorsey C - Andrea Bargnani
PG - Jose Calderon SG - DeMar DeRozan

First Quarter

The Quarter for the Raptors was good (15 of 20 from the floor) and bad (the Kings 13 of 20 from the floor) and if the Raptors going to win this game they will need to place a good defense and they still could blow the Kings out of the water. The Raptors are lead by Andrea Bargnani (10 points and a steal) and Jose Calderon (8 points and 4 assists) while DeMar DeRozan (7 points) was having a great quarter too as the Raptors started the game 10 for 10 from the floor. The Kings are more active on the glass(7-5) and passing(6-4 in assists) while being lead by Francisco Garcia (7 points) while Jason Thompson (a board), Carl Landry (a board and a block) and Beno Udrih (2 assists aalong with a board and a steal) all had 6 points to help the Kings as they are down 3 (34-31).

Second Quarter

The quarter was more of a better defensive quarter (Raptors 23, Kings 19) as the shooting went down (kings 7 for 23 from the floor and the Raptors 9 for 21) so the rebounds went up(Raptors 15, Kings 10) while the Raptors out assisted the Kings(7-4). The Raptors go into the second half with a 7 point lead (57-50) and are lead by DeMar DeRozan (2 assists and a board) and Andrea Bargnani ( 4 boards and 2 assists) who had 6 points each while Jose Calderon had 2 assists and Amir Johnson had 5 boards in the quarter. The kings were lead by Carl Landry (7 points and 2 boards) and Beno Udrih (5 points with a board and a steal) while Jason Thompson had 2 assists and 3 boards.

Third Quarter

The quarter was the Kings as they had 19 points in the first 6 and a half minutes of the quarter while they had only 19 in the second quarter while the Raptors had only 11 points and the rest of the way in the quarter the Raprtors had 17 and the Kings had 15 and the game was tied @ 85 going into the fourth. The Kings went harder on the glass(14-9) lead by Jason Thompson and DeMarcus Cousins with 5 each and the Raptors passed the ball better(9-3) lead by Bayless with 3 assists. The Kings were lead by Beno Udrih (11 points with a board and a steal) along with Jason Thompson (8 points with a board and a steal) and Francisco Garcia (6 points, 2 assists, and a board) while the Raptors were lead by DeMar (11 points, a board, a steal, and an assist) and Bargnani (6 points, a board, and an assist) and the better defense will win in the fourth.

Fourth Quarter

The Raptors after a bit of back and forth and come up with some defensive stops to take a 8 points lead (108-100) but the Kings get it to 1 with a 9-2 run to make it 110-109 and then Barbosa hits a 3-ball and get it back to 4 (113-109) and the Raptors inch home with a win (116-112) who are lead in the quarter by Barbosa (13 points and a board) and Bargnani (8 points and 3 boards). The Kings are lead by DeMarcus Cousins (9 points, 3 boards, and a block) and Omari Casspi ( 7 points, 3 boards, and a stel) along with Carl Landry (6 points with a board and an assist). The Raptors had 1 more board (11-10) and both teams had 6 assists in the quarter but really the Raptors need the shutdown defense so they will be able to be more competitive.

Final Thought

The Raptors and Kings had a field day on offensive all day as both teams put up high 20 in every quarter except the second quarter which was the only strong defensive quarter (23-19) and the Raptors will need to play strong defense even when you are up against a weak defensive like the Kings as winning big and resting players sometimes is not a bad thing. DeMar (28 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists) and Bargnani (30 points, 8 boards, and 3 assists) were strong all game and will have teams to beat up on this week (Wizards and Pistons) and a battle on hands (Hawks). Calderon had 9 assists in the game which is strong but the better part is that the rest of the team got involved with Bayless having 3 and Amir, Davis, and Dorsey having 2 each and Dorsey was active on the glass with 6 boards but also had 5 fouls in 19 minutes. To finish Barbosa had 18 points (13 in the fourth) in 29 minutes and had no assists and even had a charge for running over a King Player on a fast break with team-mates close by so he may need to be taken to a passing clinic.

See U next week

Tom Mehegan

Knouck knouck whose there the Celtics and the Raptors are not home

Starts for Celtrics

F - Glen Davis F - Paul Pierce C - Shaq PG - Rajon Rando SG - Ray Allen

Starters for the Raptors
F - Linas Kleiza F - Amir Johnson C - Andrea Bargnani PG - Jose Calderon SG - DeMar DeRozan


The First Quarter

The Boston Celtics are men and the Raptors are boys as the Raptors start the first quarter down 16-8 and then they fight back to be down only 18-17 as they outscored the Celtics 9-2. Then the men came back to play while the boys sat in the corner sucking their thumbs as the Celtics went on a 16-5 run to take a 34-22 lead after the first quarter and then the men begain the second quarter as they ended the first quarter as they started on a 9-4 run to take a 43-26 lead. The men took a bit of a break before they schooled the boys again as they got it up to 22 points (65-43) near the end of the half as they lead 67-45 @ the half. The men were lead by Ray Allen (3 boards and a block), Paul Pierce (3 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals), and even Luke Harangody (4 boards) who all have 11 points while Nate Robinson (2 assists) has 10 points as well. The boys were lead by Kleiza (3 boards and a block) and DeRozan (a board) both with 10 points while Calderon has 8 of the team's 13 assists while he also has 2 of the team's 9 turnovers. The Celtics destroyed the Raptors on the glass (20-14) and was better passing the ball (20-13 in assists) while both teams have the same amount of turnovers (9) while it got so bad for the Raptors that Jay Triano called 3 time-outs in the half when usually he may call only 1. So even he knew they needed something and he looked on the bench and found not much as Wright was not as good as he was on Wednesday while Ed Davis had no boards while Dorsey had 2 boards and a foul with 4 points in 5 minutes.

Second Half

The boys became men for a bit as they cut the lead to 13 (84-71) as they figured out that if they do not turnover the ball they could put up points as they started the third quarter going 8 for 10 from the floor but then the dream was over and the real men showed up again as the Celtics ended the quarter on a 10-6 run to lead after three 94-77. The little Raptor men were lead by DeMar DeRozan (2 boards, 2 assists, and a block), Jose Calderon (only 1 assist), and Barbosa had 6 points each while Big Celtics men were lead by Paul Pierce (9 points, 2 boards, and an assist) and Glen "Big Baby" Davis (6 points and an assist). In the fourth quarter the Raptors tried to fight back from 17 down and started the quarter 9-4 to make it 12 but they had already started throwing bad passes and causing themselves bad turnovers and then the Celtics took their lumps again as the Celtics went onto a 13-1 run to take a 111-85 to take a 26 point lead. Then the Celtics played with the Raptors again and walked the 20-point win home (122-102) as the Celtics cleaned the glass better (12-6) in the third quarter and they tied with 11 boards in the fourth quarter. For the Raptors Barbosa was the good (9 points) and the bad (the really big 2 turnovers at bad times) in the quarter while Andrea Bargnani (7 points, 2 boards, and a block) woke up in the fourth quarter as he had 10 points during the first 3 quarters and Calderon had no assists in the fourth along with 1 in the second half. The Celtics were lead by Von Wafer (6 points along with a board and an assist) and Rando (5 points) as the Celtics spread it around with Marquis Daniels and Luke Harangody both had 4 points.

Final Thoughts

The Raptors were schooled tonight as the Celtics were 11 for 21 with 3's and had 31 assists in the game while Ray Allen showed you do not need to take a lot of shoots (6-8 from the floor, 3 for 4 with 3's, and 2 for 2 from the line for 17 points). The Raptors diffently did not play any big time defense and really it is surprising that Joey Dorsey lead the Raptors with 6 boards in only 9 minutes which means the rest of the team was not working hard enough on the glass especially when Luke Harangody shows your team up with 11 boards in 27 minutes when he had showed little coming into the game for the Celtics. Now the Raptors will need to turn the page and look at teaching the Kings that it is are court and beat them down on Sunday to get back on the winning track and show that nobody should just come into the acc and get an easy win. Jay Triano had some colorful language in his post game interview so hopefully the Raptors take Jay energy and get on a big roll.

Raptors Vs Cavilers

First Half

The Raptors looked like they played last night and of course they did and they played no defense and it got so bad that the Cavilers were leading 34-19 and the Cavilers made the Raptors pay by sinking 3-ball after 3-ball as they started 4 for 4. The biggest point of the game for the Raptors was with 2:17 when the Raptors called a time-out and Julian Wright was brought in and brought a lot of energy to the team which started with the defense and the Cavilers went into the second quarter with a 38-26 lead (up by 12). Wright with his energy helped Bargnani as his assists helped Bargnani who had 14 points in the quarter and Barbosa was also helping the Raptors in the quarter but it looked like the only way to get the ball out of his hands is with a crowbar as he took thee most shots in the half with 10. The Raptors with this energy from Wright went from being down 15 to have a 3 point lead at half (66-63) with Julian Wright (11 points, 5 boards, 4 assists, and a +18 when he was on the court), Barbosa ((a block, a steal, and an assist) and Bargnani (2 boards) both had 14 points while Jose Calderon (10 points, 8 assists, 2 steals and boards) having a great first half especially in the second quarter. The Cavilers were lead by Antawn Jaminson (19 points, 2 boards, and a steal), Ramon Sessions (10 points, 4 boards, and 2 assists), and Daniel Gibson (9 points, 6 assists, 2 boards and steals) especially with 3-balls (5 for 7) along with free throws (9-11). Also Anderson Varejao had 5 boards to lead them and the Cavilers went 8 of 12 with 3's and 11 of 14 from the free throw line to keep them in the game and more importantly taking the 15 point lead in the first quarter while the Raptors were 5 of 7 with 3's and 7 of 9 from the line in the first half.

Second Half

The Raptors and Cavilers were both taken a lot of jumpers in the quarter and it was a very even quarter with the Raptors winning it 24-21 and taken a 6 point (90-84) lead into the fourth quarter with Calderon with 7 points in the quarter and 10 points, 9 assists, and a rebound in the second half with Bargnani had 4 points in the third quarter and 7 points in the fourth to lead the team. Wright kept strong in the second half with 4 points, 4 boards, and an assist while Barbosa had 8 points with an assists and 2 steals in the second half. The four quarter was the DeMar DeRozan show as the Raptors figured a good way to win the game is to continue to score and it started with him going to the basket hard and then being taken down hard by a Caviler without a foul where he hits his head and is knocked for a loop and lies on the floor for quite a few minutes and then is helped to him feet. Then the rest of the quarter DeRozan goes hard to the basket and scores 9 of his 13 points in the quarter as the Raptors win the quarter 30-21 and win the game 120-105. The Cavilers were 2 of 7 from 3 in the second half and 16 of 19 from the line as they Antawn Jamison with 13 points (2 boards, 2 steals, and an assist), Ramon Sessions with 6 points (1 board and 2 assists), and Christian Eyenga 7 points (a board) as they could not care to play defense and just could not match the Raptors after the first quarter (96 - 69 in the last three quarters).

Final Thoughts

Both teams passed the ball well (cavs 28 assists and raps 35 assists) and the Raptors out rebounded the Cavilers (39-30) thanks in large part from Bargnani (8), Ed Davis (7), and Julian Wright (9). The Raptors really can not play this fall behind huge and try to come back to win because most nights it has not or will ever be a successful way to win games and if it was not for Julian Wright coming off the bench and lite a firecracker under the team they would of been imbrassed by one of the worst teams in the league even though the attendance does not show it as the Cavilers had an announced attendance of 20,562 which is a lot for any team. Jose Calderon was on fire passing the ball (17 assists) and the Raptors will need a lot of ball movement on Friday as they play the Celtics in Boston and will need a 48-minute defensive effort to keep the game close and if they want to have a chance to win they will did players like Bargnani and DeRozan to be going to the hoop and and to line and making the shoots while Boston can not make as many jumpers as they did this past Sunday night.

Thanks for reading this

Tom Mehegan

Raptors Vs Bulls

To start I would like to mention that Andrea Bargnani and Jerryd Bayless are back and Jose Calderon is not playing tonight.

First Half

The Raptors start the game well opening up a 11-5 lead before a Bulls time-out with lots of help from Andrea who had 10 points in the first quarter and the first 5 Raptors points of the game and then the Bulls outscored the Raptors 24-16 (Raptors 5 turnovers and Bulls none) to take a 29-27 lead into the second quarter. They are lead by Luoi Deng with 12 points and Derrick Rose had 11 points along with a board and 2 assists while Taj Gibson is controlling the glass (4 boards in the quarter). While the Raptors have balanced scoring and helping Andrea (3 boards) are Kleiza (6 points and 2 boards), Amir Johnson (5 points and 3 boards), and DeMar DeRozan (4 points with an assist and a board) which is directed by Jerryd Bayless (6 assists in the quarter). The Second quarter just like the first the Bulls scored at will (30 points) but the Bulls played some defense (Raptors ownly had 14 points in the quarter) and lead going into half 59-41 and were lead by Taj Gibson (8 boards with 5 offensive) and Ronnie Brewer (1 board) with 6 each of the bench while Boozer was another monster on the glass (7 boards) and Luoi Deng had 16 to lead the team at half. The Raptors were lead by Andrea (2 blocks and 2 boards) who had 6 of the Raptors 14 second quarter points and the Bulls out rebounded the Raptors (18-10) and lead Raptors by 18 points going into half-time.

Second Half

The Bulls score the first 6 points of the quarter and then the Raptors woke-up and outscored the Bulls 28-16 the rest of the quarter to make it a 12 point lead (81-69) and this charge came from DeMar DeRozan 8 points (2 boards) and Jerryd Bayless 9 points during this run but that was the closest the Raptors would get tonight. The Bulls were lead by Carlos Boozer with 8 points and 3 boards along with Derick Rose 6 points and an assist in the quarter and in the fourth quarter the Bulls outscore the Raptors 30-22 to end any chance of a close game. They were lead by Omer Asik (7 points, 4 boards, 4 blocks, and an assist), C.J. Wilson (5 points and 3 assists), and Ronnie Brewer (6 points, 4 boards, and an assist). The Raptors were lead by Barbosa with 7 points and Bargnani with 5 points in the quarter where Bargnani and Bayless were taken out midway through the quarter to hopefully save some of their energy for the Cavilers tomorrow night.

Final thoughts

Raptors were distroyed again in the second quarter and tried to make a comeback in the third quarter and just did not have enough in the fourth quarter and this sounds like most of the Raptors cames this season and tomorrow against the Cavilers is a winnable game and the Raptors will need to come out with the kind of ball movement that they had in the first. Then fight back in the second if the Cavilers try to break open the game and play with the kind of energy they usually have in the mid to late-third quarter and just close out the game in the fourth while having an effort of defense that is not shown enough. Andrea played well coming back from being off especially in the first half (16 points) but 23 points and 6 rebounds are good for like 3 and a half quarters while Barbosa was better than he has been with 15 points and 5 assists along with Bayless first quarter (6 assists) was good but 11 points and 2 assists in the second half not as strong for a point guard. DeMar had a better second half with 10 of his 18 points with most in the third quarter but in the end the Raptors got crushed on the glass (44-33) by Taj Gibson (14 boards) and Carlos Boozer (13 boards) and just did not have the fight and energy as they had when Dorsey (3 boards) and Ed Davis (2 boards) were getting better minutes.

See U Tomorrow

Tom Mehegan

First Quarter

The Raptors played hard defense and are ownly down 1 (24-23) and they are going hard to the basket and getting to the line but only problem is that they are 6 for 12 from the line. The Raptors kept control of the ball and did not turn it over (only 2) and the Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan (10 points along with a board and a steal) and Joey Dorsey (5 boards and 3 points along with 3 of 6 from the line) did a lot and will need to learn to finish on the offensive boards and take some extra free throws but he hopefully will learn. The Celtics were lead by Paul Pierce (8 points, 3 boards, and an assist) and Ray Allen (6 points along with a steal, a board, and an assists) but all in all the Raptors played a very good quarter Vs a very good team but second quarter up next.

Second Quarter

Raptors scored the first 6 points and took a 5 point lead but then they did not score a point in almost 4 minutes while the Celtics went on a 10-0 run but then the Raptors faught back with a 8-2 run. Finally the Raptors and Celtics went back and forth and the Celtics took a 43-42 lead into the second half. The Raptors were lead by Ed Davis (6 points, 5 boards, and an assist) and Joey Doris (4 points and 3 boards) while the Celtics were lead by Paul pierce (12 points, 3 boards, and an assist) and former Raptor Jermaine O'neal (4 boards and 2 points). The Raptors had only 4 turnovers in the quarter and 6 in the half which is a lot better than what had been happen and only given up 43 in a half and gave up 42 on Friday against the Rockets in the second quarter and the Raptors had 6 offensive boards and Celtics only 1 and out assisted the Celtics (7-5).

Third Quarter

The Raptors hung around for a bit but by the end of the quarter the Celtics had pulled away and took a 9 point lead into the fourth quarter (71-62) as the Celtics outscored the Raptors 28-20 in the quarter. The Celtics were lead by Glen Davis (9 points along with 2 assists and 2 boards) and Ray Allen (7 points, 2 boards, and an assist) along with Paul Pierce (6 points with a board and an assist) helped out. While the Raptors were lead by DeMar DeRozan (10 points, a board, and an assist) and Joey Dorsey (4 points, 3 boards, and 2 steals) along with Amir Johnson (4 points, 2 boards, and an assist) helped him out as well. The Raptors out rebounded the Celtics (11-8) along with offensive rebounds (6-1) and the Celtics out assisted the Raptors (10-6).

Fourth Quarter

The Raptors got stops early in the quarter and defense but then the Raptors could not get points on the other end with help from miss shots and turnovers but still got it to 5 and then the Celtics pulled away again winning 93-79 and outscored the Raptors 22-17 in the quarter with help from the Raptors 6 turnovers (only 7 turnovers in the first 3 quarter). The Celtics were lead by Ray Allen (10 points and a board) while Rando (3 assists) and Davis (2 assists and 4 points) helped by passing the ball as the Celtics out assisted the Raptors (9-3) in the quarter. The Raptors were lead by Barbosa (5 points and a steal) and Amir Johnson (5 boards), and DeMar DeRozan (3 boards) controlled the glass for the Raptors as they out rebounded the Celtics (15-8) along with offensive rebounds (7-0).

Final Thoughts

Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were too much too handle for the Raptors (combined for 53 of the Celtics 93 points) but the Raptors put up a very good effort in the game especially on the offensive glass (19 boards) and went to the line a lot (22 times) but could not make the shot (only 10 made). The Raptors need Bargnani back because he could help with the scoring because DeMar DeRozan had 27 points while a treo of Kleiza, Calderon, and Barbosa only had 21 points in the game which is not enough scoring out of them but atleast Calderon had 10 assists and Kleiza had 9 boards. Dorsey and Davis had a combined 19 points but were 3 for 9 from the line hurt and helped the team only go 10 for 22 from the line and that is too many points to leave on the table. In the end having Dorsey and Davis getting extended minutes and DeMar learning to go to the basker (still could pass up some shots and find easier baskets) will hopefully help the Raptors in the long run.

See U later

Tom Mehegan