Andrea bargnani booed back to Toronto

Andrea bargnani was booed when he was introduced as the first Knick in their opening lineup and every time he touched the ball and scored a point or even got a rebound. He was booed when he left the game or came back into the game and even when he picked up a foul he was booed. The only time he was laughed at / cheered is when he was dropped on his wallet or when he had a Raptor school him off the bounce. It is silly that booing guys who once wear a Toronto on his stomach gets booed especially in Bargnani's case where nobody would be brave enough to say they wanted wearing a Raptors Jersey it would be like a Nickelback fan as they would be hiding in the closet. The Raptors schooling Bargnani and the Knicks 115-100 was not about only booing Andrea it was also welcoming the Raptors back to the city after a shocking 3-1 road trip where they smacked the Mavs and OKC in the mouth and walked out the victor and the crowd was on fire and loved the D effort and loved the way the Raps shared the ball 23 times and were loud with lets go Raptors chants and D-fence chants all game long. Kyle Lowry fell 2 boards away from a triple-double (32 points, 11 assists, and 8 boards) while Terrance Ross put up 23 points including 7 of the 15 Raps from beyond the arc. DeMar DeRozan added 20 points as well even though he started slowly but ended up 6 of 7 from the line Jonas Valanciunas took control of the boards 10 helping the Raps out board the Knicks 45-37. The Raps swept the Knicks away as last night the Raptors went into MSG last night and were down 11 right after halftime and came back to win 95-83 with the Knicks being booed off the court at the end of the game and it was Jonas Valanciunas who took down 18 boards to go along with 16 points that bettered Bargnani's 12 boards but he did have a team leading 18 points. DeMar DeRozan put up 25 points on only 13 shot attempt and went 9 of 14 having trouble shaking off the Christmas hangover just like Kyle Lowry 5 of 8 from the line after only missing one free throw coming in and still had a double-double with 15 points and 11 of the Raptors 21 assists. The Raptors taught the Knicks in back-to-back nights as they had 95 boards to 79 for the Knicks and did not have anything early in the game at MSG and showed that they could battle through their problems and because of their strong D was able to hang around and beat the less defensive Knicks in the end which is not their style which is refreshing to see. The Raptors started the week in San Antonio and lost to the Spurs 112-99 and it was a tough battle and was decided by 13 turnover especially early in the game and the Spurs went into the offensive paint and took down 16 boards on the offensive board and took down 10 more boards (50-40) lead by Tim Duncan with 12 and Leonard with 10. Tony Parker lead with 25 point and Marc Ginobili who had 19 points. The Raps were in it down 6 (78-72) after three quarters but the Spurs controlled the fourth quarter 34-27 which is the worst fourth quarter since the Rudy Gay trade but Kyle Lowry and Terrance Ross put up 23 points each in a very tough loss. Raptors continued a great total game Tom Mehegan

Raptors beat Mavericks and Thunder on the road

The Raptors actually went on a road trip with the first two stops being Dallas to take on the Mavs and OKC to take on the defeated at home Thunder and one both games. The road trip did not start well on Friday as the Mavs just went to town inside against the Raptors getting out to a huge 41-22 lead only 3 and a half minutes into the second quarter. Then the Raptors got on the same page and went to work against the older but way more talented Mavs as they went on a 27-8 run that lasted almost eight minutes to tie it at 49 but the Mavericks Monta Ellis hit a bucket with just less than 24 seconds and was fouled and hit hiss free throw to put the Mavs up 3. Usually the Raptors fall asleep at halftime and do not recover but they shared the ball more in the third quarter as they had 5 assists in the quarter compared to 7 all the first half and broke even as the Mavs still lead by three (81-78) going into the fourth quarter. In the fourth the Raptors took a three point lead with 2 and a half minutes left in the game but the Mavs battled back with a 6-1 run to go up 101-99 and the Raptors had final shot DeMar DeRozan found an easy shot and took it early in the shot clock and hit it and left 16 seconds on the clock in a tie ball game for the veteran Mavs to win the game but Brandan Wright missed a buzzer beater. It went to overtime and the Raptors had a 109-108 lead with 11 seconds left in overtime and Monta Ellis took a game winning shot but missed and the Raptors chased after the Rebound and all fell on the baseline in celebration in their second win in Dallas in 15 tries. The Raptors were lead by Kyle Lowry who had 20 points and Jonas Valanciunas who had 18 points while Terrance Ross, Amir Johnson, and DeMar DeRozan had 15 each while Greivis Vasquez had 14 off the bench. DeMar DeRozan who had a tough night shooting (6 of 18) really showed maturity by getting 9 of the Raptors 17 assists and took down 7 boards and the Raps 32 defensive boards meant a lot of one and done for the Mavs. Sunday the Raptors went into OKC and took a 62-56 lead to halftime and did fall asleep as Durant and Westbrook outscored the Raptors 21-13 in the third and the Thunder went on a 28-13 third quarter to take a 9 lead to the fourth quarter (84-75). The Thunder and their perfect home record looked to be on ice as they traded baskets to start the fourth but the Raptors ended the last 10 and a half minutes on a 27-11 run lead by John Salmons who had of his 14 off the bench in the fourth quarter to take the game 104-98. Kyle Lowry had a big part of the lead in the first half with 17 of his team leading 22 points but it was the Thunder shooting less than 37% from the floor but they shot 35 of 36 from the line. Raptors shot just less 40% from the floor and had a lot less free throws (24 of 29) but did have more assists (22-17) and less turnovers (13-19). The Raptors beat mavs and OKC on the road after losing to the Bobcats at home Tom Mehegan

Raptors trusting each other after Rudy leaves

It took 5 days to get the new pieces into the city but when Greivis Vasquez, Patrick Patterson, and John Salmons finally dressed against the Sixers on Friday and the Raps set a season high in assists with 24 in a 108-100 victory. Terrene Ross feels comfortable in the starting lineup as he went 10 of 16 for 24 points included 4 of 7 from beyond the line while Amar Johnson is shooting over 70% from the floor since Tyler Hansbrough got injured and Amar got back into starting lineup and took higher % shots including 8 for 11 from the floor (17 points) to go with 10 boards. DeMar DeRozan lead the team with 27 points and Jonas Valanciunas ;ead the team with 13 boards and Kyle Lowery had more assists (11) than shots taken (9) to help even though he had a tough shooting night (2 of 9 from the floor). The Raptors set the pace by making 12 assists in the first 12 minutes and had 24 assists on 39 made field goals as the Raps really control the game as they shot 47.6% and when the Sixers got it close the Raps went on a run and it looked like they listened to Casey and stuck to the game plan. The next night the Raptors went to Chicago and took on the struggling Bulls and just continued the same game plan and just like against the Sixers the night before they bent but did not allow the Bulls to take over the game as every time they got it close the Raps pulled away and really kept the crowd quiet and won by 22 (99-77). They even set a new season high in assists with 26 and kept the turnover low (11) and Amar Johnson was not as hot as he had been (6 for 11) but still had 14 points and 8 boards and was one of the four Raps with double digits in points as did Jonas who had 15 points to go with 11 boards. Kyle Lowery lead the team with 16 points and was tied in assists with Greivis Vasquez (both had 6) while DeMar had 15 points and both went 7 of 14 from the floor. The Raps also set a season high in blocked shots with 11 and 13 Raptor players saw the floor and 9 of them played over 14 minutes and they are really playing like a team since Rudy Gay was sent to Sacramento and The Raps (9-13) again are in the mix in the Titanic division lead picture only a half game behind the Celtics (11-14). If the Raps stop putting up over 20 threes a game they would be even better Tom Mehegan

Rudy Gay Trade is a step in a better direction for the Raptors

Rudy Gay less than a year in Toronto had some great finishes but more hero ball forgetting about his teammates and created a culture of just looking to break down his opponent and not pass the ball which kept the Raps at the bottom of the league in assists and made it easy to stop them. The best part of the deal is that the Raps get flexibility under the cap and whatever Masai Ujiri does with the cap room will be make or breaks the deal. Grevis Vasquez who is coming to Toronto from Sacramento Kings is more a pass first and shoot second and will hopefully be a great backup to Kyle Lowery and if Lowery not able to find the ability to pass the ball to his teammates he will find his butt on the bench and Grevis Vasquez would become the starter. Chuck Hayes who is also coming will hopefully bring in more of the toughness that the injured Tyler Hansbrough has brought to the Raps when he finds the court. John Salmons was one of first contracts that Brian Colangelo in 06 when he came in and Salmons decided to refused the contract and went to the Kings and then bounced around the league and then there is Patrick Patterson who was a lottery pick in 2010 and Colangelo thought of picking him before Ed Davis fell into his lap. The Raps let go of Rudy Gay and his max contract along with Aaron Gray and Quincy Acy who do not have a full-time roll with Rapstors team. If the Raptors can bring the 72 paint points and 19-11 assist to turnovers that they used for their first win over Lakers in LA in 13 years this could help the raps in the TITANIC division but if they keep living and dying by the three ball nothing will change (26 three balls vs Lakers and it was more than that). I believe in Masai Tom Mehegan

Raptors need to play a lot harder at home

Toronto Raptors need to own their home court if these guys want to make the playoffs and a 0-3 week with all the games but if they want to win they diffidently could as the Atlantic division is now the titanic division. The Raptors on Tuesday with like four days off before hosting the injured Brooklyn Nets and lost 102-100 with Amir Johnson taken a three at the buzzer and missed it but there no excuse for the Raptors to be down 15 as late as 3 and a half minutes and outscored the Nets 14-1. They should of shown up a lot earlier in the game and would of won in a laugher and made it a bigger lead in the division and it was DeMar DeRozan (27 points, 9 of 15) and Kyle Lowery (24 points, 8 of 15) had 52 of the Raptors 100 points while taken 30 shots while the rest of the team took 48 shots to make the same 17 field goals. On Friday the Raptors faced the heat and they were completely out classed by the heat as they stepped in front of the Raptors and getting into the passing lane creating most of 17 turnovers and the 10 steals in the first three quarters of the game as they down 78-70 after three. They were down 20 (74-54) with 5 minutes left in the quarter and went on a 16-4 run to end the quarter down only 8 (78-70) and got it to two points (83-81) with 4:40 left and Lebron Raymond James outscored the Raptors 7-2 the rest of the game as the Raps did not make a field goal in the last 4:40 of the game as they lost 90-83. Kyle Lowery was shell shocked by facing the heat as he turnover the ball 7 times in the game and it showed on his face as DeMar had to take him aside and com him down in the third quarter as the heat were reading mail. On Sunday they faced the Denver Nuggets and got out to a huge lead 27-12 and DeMar DeRozan scored 11 points and the Raptors made 7 of their first 9 shots all with just less than 4 minutes left in the first quarter and then the Nuggets showed up and went on a 13-4 run to cut the lead to 6 (31-25) after the first quarter. The Nuggets outscored the Raptors by 20 points (87-67) in the last three quarters as their bench outscored the Raps bench 72-16 as the Raps shot 28 of 78 after starting 7 of 9. The downslide started when Dwayne Casey went to the bench as Terrance Ross (10 points) and Steve Novak (6 points) were the only scorers off the bench even Amir Johnson who came off the bench had only 3 boards in 14 minutes. Even when the starters came back in it was just was not the same as Jonas Valanciunas had moat efficient shooting day as he went 8 of 16 from the floor (18 points and 11 boards). The Nuggets off the bench Nate Robinson had 23 points, Timofey Mozgov had 14 points and 15 boards, and Darrell Arthur was perfect from the field (7 of 7 ) for 14 points. So the Raptors are 3 and 6 (.333) and they are need to punch the opponents in the mouth and early and often like the teams in the league Pacers (9-0), Bulls (5-0),Heat (9-1), Portland (6-1), Clippers (8-2), and OKC (9-0) and none of these team lie down and let teams come into their own building unlike the Raptors do on regular basis. Raptors head into the mile high city with Nuggets (6-2) as they go party all the way with the Nuggets as they complete in the second half of a home and home series Tom Mehegan