Terrene Ross break records as the D in defense was lost

The night before Vince Carter's 37Th birthday he received company at the top of the points in a game list for the Raptors as Terrence Ross matched VC's 51 points during last night's game VS the Clippers. During a game where the Raps fell into the Clippers trap as they played the Clips game of half court game of only offense and the Clips on 54% shooting from the floor laughed all the way to the bank and cashed in 126-118 48 minute victory. Terrence Ross like all ways goes the 3-ball and setting the Raptors record for threes with 10 of them on 17 attempts but he actually got to the line 10 times and made 9 of them while going 16 of 25 (64%) from the floor. He had to step up and take the game over as DeMar DeRozan had to leave the game in the third quarter after 21 and half minutes on the court and had put up 10 points on 2 of 6 shooting and 4 of 4 charity stripe. Kyle Lowry still did what has put him into position to go to New Orleans to be apart of the 2014 by getting 12 assists of the Raps 24 and with his 11 points he got another double-double It was Jamal Crawford (37) and Blake Griffen (30) both going for 30 or more in the same game which rare now but used to happen a lot more in the past and the Raps looked like they were in position to win tied at 93 after 3 quarters and one of the best point difference in the fourth quarter but another rare thing is that they lost the last quarter and not by a little but by 8 huge points as they put up an amazing 33 points in the final quarter. Going forward it will be very interesting to see if DeMar will be ready for the biggest game to this point VS the Nets who sit second in the division in Brooklyn on Monday and if DeMar is not able to compete how long will he be away from as Terrence is unlikely going to carry the team on his back. Hope the Raps have a ton of big games ahead Tom Mehegan

Vince Carter a black eye for the Raptors franchise

Vince Carter had to sides to his Raptors career and first side was 1998 til July 2001 where he was simply awesome as he took down a dunk contest along with the only playoff series victory and were a bucket away from playing Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA East conference final. He also Rookie of the year and he put up 18.3 points in his rookie season, sophomore season he averaged 25.7, and in his third season he had a career high 26.7 points and it was probably some of best Raptors basketball in franchise history. The second side was the embarrassing Vince Carter October 2001 - December 18,2004 and Vince Carter spent more time rolling around on the court and spending time in the training room getting massaged then he made big buckets and saw his games during a season go down playing 60 games in 01-02 and 43 during 02-03 season before playing 73 games in his last full season with the Raptors in 03-04 and his last 20 games @ the beginning of the 04-05 season was a wait and see approach as the fans waited for him to be traded. I really got sick and tired of the Vince act after signing his extension because after watch him rolling around on the court after a dozen repeats of said act. It was so bad by the end it did not matter what they got for him it was just better to have him no longer on the Toronto Raptors. If the organization honors him in anyway it will look really bad and they will be the laughing stalk of the league as they would be honoring a guy that had no interest in playing for the Raptors the 3 plus seasons he spent dogging it after the Raptors brought in the dream and resigned his teammates to fat contracts because Vince wanted it. This would tell players around the league that the organization does not care about themselves and it is also ok to half ass it and I can not believe that if they make it good with VC it will encourage better players to come to Toronto and better the team. Vince had three very good seasons and mailed in 3 plus more seasons Tom Mehegan

Toronto Raptors sloopy play returns

Toronto Raptors have fallen into odd habit as the Raps went 2-2 on the week and it ended on a soar note as the Raptors fell to the under talented Lakers 112-106. The Raptors hoisted up 30 three point shots which is 31% (30 of 98 shots taken) while getting to the line 11 (making 9). It was very up and down as they were up 19 in the first half (50-31) but they fell asleep late in the first half as the Lakers ended the half on a 23-8 run to close the Raps lead to 58-54. The Raptors scored the first 12 points in the third quarter to go up 70-54 but the Lakers ended the game on a 58-36 run. The Raptors could not help to settle for the 3-ball and when they needed to they could not figure out how to stop the Lakers (46.2%) as Pau Gasol had 22 points and Nick Young had 29 points while DeMar DeRozan had 23 points and Kyle Lowry 21 points. Kyle Lowry and Greivis Vasquez had 14 assists in the first half and only 2 in the second half. They also lost to Boston Celtics 88-83 as the Celtic's Jared Sullinger had 20 boards and 25 points and destroyed the Raptors as the C's out boarded the Raps 58-44. The Raptors lost the game at the line as they went 12 of 25 from the charity stripe as it felt like they had gotten free throw advise from Shaq while if Dwight Howard was given 25 shots from the line he may of hit more than 12 of them. In the end the Raptors are still much better than past Raptors team have done but I hope that the Raptors can get focused again and recharge their mind and bodies to be able to pile up the victories and get even more separation from the state of New York. The biggest challenge is up next as they are heading to Charlotte to face the Bobcats who have been a thorn in their side and will be a great challenge for the Raptors to prove that they are still the defensive and sharing/caring team. The Raptors have to get back to the basics Tom Mehegan

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are looking like All-Star

DeMar DeRozan has taken over after Rudy Gay packed his ball and moved to Sacramento Kings and he has averaged 21.4 points, 5 boards, 4.5 assists since December 8 against the Lakers. This week he put on Raptors on his back on Tuesday when he and the Raptors stepped on the court and battled the very tough Indiana Pacers in Indiana four hours after stepping off a plane from south beach and fell down 17 points and by the end of the Pacers game that the Pacers won 86-79. It was a lot closer than the score says and DeRozan's 28 points was the lead reason that the Raps were in a game against a pissed off Pacers that they could of folded the tents and took the first flight home. The next night back @ the ACC DeRozan could not hit a field goal to save his life (3 of 15) but when he struggles he has found different ways to contribute and against the Pistons he took 16 free throws and made 13 of them while taken down 6 boards and 4 assists in a 112-91 victory where they were asleep at the wheel in the first half down 4 (54-50) and tuned up and destroyed in the second half 62-37. Then Saturday for Drake night the team was flat but DeRozan record 7 boards in the first half and the team woke with 5 minutes left in the third quarter against the Brooklyn Nets down 62-52 and went on a 26-3 run over 10:45. DeRozan had 12 of the 26 points equaling his 12 points in the first 29 minutes of the game and ended the game with 26 points as the Raps won 96-80. DeMar DeRozan may not be selected but a lot more people have noticed him in the last 34 days at least and will be a huge reason if the Raps build on the 12-5 record post Rudy Gay and are a strong first round playoff team before they meet the class of the east (heat or Pacers). Kyle Lowry is a strong candidate @ the point but things smell fishy as I have wondered if his 8.2 assist a game in the past 17 games which is .8 better than his season average (7.4) is the real deal and it has clicked or is he playing the sharing game to make him look better and make it look like he can be a team player. Either way he can be a secondary scorer like he was in the loss to the Pacers with 16 points (7 of 16 from the field) or pass the ball like he did the next night with 9 of the Raps 25 assists and also lead the team in points with 21 (4 of 6 beyond the arc and 9 of 9 from the line). He has been getting to the line a lot in the last 17 games as he has taken 76 free throws and made 62 of them which is low as he missed only one before the holiday break but lost his touch since going 32 of 46. He should be in front of the pack to be selected and if he does he deserves it but long term I do not know if he is a keeper even though he is playing the right way, right now It is a lot of fun watching the Raps play the right way Tom Mehegan

Raptors playing best basketball in at least 7 years

The Toronto Raptors who are given a little respectability back to the Atlantic division @ 500 (16-16) and are something I have been look for a very long time with a two end game as they are being able to play hard on the defensive end. While on the offensive end being able to pass the ball around like pros because they are no longer afraid of a gaping hole on the offensive end meaning if they pass the ball they would not see it again. They are also raising some eyebrows around the league as they did have a five game win streak broken by the two-time raining defending champs of the NBA world the Miami Heat 102-97 but gave the Heat everything they could handle as they went blow for blow in the first half with the Heat up one point (52-51). In the third quarter was able to pounce on the Heat going up 9 (77-68) and when the Heat scored 9 straight points the Raps would fold up shop and pack it in but instead they answered back with a 5 point lead going into the fourth quarter (84-79). In with bad shot selection in the quarter and free throw jitters (12-21) all game long the Raps still down with 23 and 16 seconds and a few chances to tie up the game but it just did not happen. The game would been so much more exciting in the Raps 4 or 5 of those missed free throws and the game was extremely exciting anyways with DeMar DeRozan leading the team 26 points (11 for 19) to go with 7 assists. While Amar (8 boards) and Jonas (5 boards) both ended up with 17 points each while Kyle Lowry had 9 of the Raps 24 assists and 14 points but it was the real deal LBJ 30 points on 18 shots (12 of 18) along with a team high in assists (5) along with 4 boards while Chris Bosh took down 11 of them. The Raps Friday night put up a season 29 assists in a 101-88 win over the Washington Wizards after pasting them 36-16 in the third and had a 26 point lead and Kyle Lowry had 11 of the assists and 19 points while the Raps were lead by the 20 points from DeMar DeRozan while Patrick Patterson had 18 off the bench. The Raps started the Year of 2014 on a high being the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday 95-83 as Lyle Lowry lead with 14 of the 27 assets on the night and chipped in with 13 points on the night. While DeRozan had another 26 (9 of 21) to go with 9 boards and 3 assists and Terrance Ross had 18 (6 of 18) and Jonas 13 points and 9 boards as well. It was the Raptors draft pick Roy Hibbert who fouled out of the game and only played 21 minutes in the game and the strong Pacer team turned the ball or 5 more times (22-17) and it way only just their 6 in 31 games so Hibert was just thanking the Raps in his owm special way for trading him before he actually had to play a game as a Raptor. Raptors ended 2013 by beating the Chicago Bulls 85-79 in a very sloppy game and it was the fourth quarter that the Raptors erased a Bulls 62-57 lead with the best quarter of the games 28-17 and Derek Rose-less Bulls just was not able to match the Raps work ethics in the fourth quarter. Carlos Boozer mailed it in with a 1 for 8 night and inly 4 points and 5 boards and maybe heading elsewhere in the offseason but Joakim Noah did not pulling down 16 oards along with 6 assists and 7 points in the game. The Raptors struggled but pulled through like winners even on a less than perfect play with only 16 assists to 15 turnovers but making it count at the line going 31 times even if they only hit 23 of them. Jonas had 15 points and 9 boards to lead the team and was the one to step up when everybody else was preoccupied by New Years or the Pacers on New Year's day. Hope they stay on track because the Pacers will not be friendly hosts this up coming week Tom Mehegan