50 wins, I think not. You don’t win 50 games in a season when you lose to a Clippers team missing Brand and Cassel. You don’t win 50 games in a season losing to a Clippers team where Maggette drops an easy 35 points and grabs 9 rebounds. You don’t win 50 games in a season when your franchise player lets a rookie abuse him in the last 2 minutes with 6 points off the drive. You don’t win 50 games in a season when an NBDL player pretending to be a starting small forward in the NBA jacks a three pointer, and misses, with the Raptors trailing 3. To top off this ridiculous game, the TV feed was absolutely horrible. Audio and video was not synced up, making shit really annoying for me.

To be a good team in the NBA (and win in the playoffs), you need to be good at:

1. Defense
2. Rebounding
3. Interior Scoring

The Raptors are fucking horrible are fucking horrible (who am I kidding, that’s all I can muster) at all three:

Defense:
They gave up 102 points, allowing the Clippers to shoot 53% from the field and 71% from three - all on 68 shot attempts. Let me repeat that, the Clippers scored 102 points on 68 shots from the field. When the Clippers were shooting the ball, they had wide open looks, and when hey were laying the ball up, they weren’t being contested - with Bargnani registering the Raptors only block. If the Raptors didn’t protect the ball so well this game, surrendering only 4 offensive boards and turning the ball over 8 times, this game would have got out of hand.

Rebounding:
This one isn’t a surprise, and I am beyond sounding like a broken record, but it is worth mentioning. The Raptors suck at rebounding. The got out-rebounded 45-33. I mean for God’s sake, Brevin Knight had 5 rebounds. Bargnani was doing a pretty decent job battling on the boards, and did a decent job of boxing out Kaman. Kaman still grabbed 12 boards, but you’re not going to stop the guy. Bosh pulled down 12 boards of his own, but most of them were uncontested.

Interior Scoring:
You don’t shoot 41% from the field from the paint. I have been kicking and screaming about this all year, but it seems as though the Raptors can only win when they shoot better than 50% from the field. When the shots aren’t falling, there is no Plan B to get points on the board. Talk about offensive inefficiency, the Raptors mustered only 98 points on a about 90 possession (80 shots from the field, and about 10 trips to the line).

I don’t really care about breaking this down to the individual player, so here’s my game wrap-up:

1st Quarter:

• The Raptors start the game surrendering an offensive rebound on the first play.
• Moon makes up for it by pump faking and taking it to the rack for a dunk.
• Calderon casually lobs a pass over Kaman and Mobley to Bosh who casually lays it up, casually gets fouled, and casually hits the free throw.
• Bosh needs to attack Kaman more and get him in foul trouble. He does penetrate and kick it out to an open Calderon for a trey though. Still…
• Bosh does penetrate on Kaman, then fades and misses a jumper. That isn’t going to get it done.
• Calderon commits his second turnover, casually passing to Parker…Mobley steps in, steals and dunks in transition, 10-0 Clips run.
• Bargnani forces a turnover, and hits a pull up jumper in transition.
• Bosh elects to take another forced jumper over Kaman, after wasting 11 seconds on the shot clock…
• He follows that up by getting blocked on the next possession by Kaman on a weak layup, out of a timeout mind you…
• Clicppers hit two back-to-back treys.
• Bosh answers with a two handed dunk in the paint off a perfect pass by Parker.
• Calderon’s perimeter defense is upsettingly bad - Knight has beat him off the dribble twice rather easily.
• Parker steals the ball, and nails a trey on the break.
• Moon hits the first jumper I approved of. He was open for about 11 feet.
• Calderon is on fire from the perimeter.
• The Raptors did a bad job of stopping the Clippers penetration in the 1st - shockingly, all the Clips point came from the line or in the paint.

2nd Quarter:

• Ford gets a standing ovation as he starts the 2nd.
• Raptors offense has no flow in the first two possessions.
• Dickau hits a trey in transition, Clips 7-0 run…Raps need a timeout (they obviously don’t call one).
• Delfino drives to the rim, getting fouled, hits both from the stripe.
• Ford drops a dime to Bargnani in transition, who hits a loooong jumper.
• Ford shakes Dickau off, and takes it to the rack for a layup.
• Maggette hits a WIDE open three.
• Kapono strokes a sweet jumper from the corner, off a screen (TJ drops the dime).
• Kapono feeling it on the jumper, but forgets to cover Maggette in transition who nails a three.
• Ford gives up the ball on transition to Bargnani for the dunk.
• Moon hits 1 of 2 from the line from a questionable call on Ross.
• Bargnani is really doing a good job boxing out on the boards.
• Bosh checks in and takes it straight a Kaman with a right handed dunk.
• Maggette quickly answers with a jumper over Moon.
• True to form, Moon takes a jumper and misses - Calderon bails him out with a steal.
• Bargnani gets a bullshit offensive foul called on him.
• Maggette is giving Moon a diploma.
• Moon answers with a jumper, then steals the ball in back-to-back possession.
• Bosh attacking Kaman on the drive + 1 -> 7-0 Raptors run.
• Bosh lets Thornton blow by him on the baseline + 1 - he misses the free throw.
• Bosh takes it to Thornton on the next play, and gets the fouled - hits both.
• I don’t understand why Chuck is so amazed that Toronto/Canada have embraced the Raptors.
• Delfino gets fouled driving to the rim - hits both.
• Maggette is getting every single call, the latest a weak one on Calderon…Chuck isn’t helping any, his bobbing and weaving is at an all time high tonight - he hits both from the line.
• Ford penetrates on Knight, and drops a sick backdoor pass to Delfino who hits the layup + 1

3rd Quarter:

• I missed the first 4 minutes getting my dinner together. Lentil soup and a sammich. I make world class sammiches (the lentil soup came in a can, but it was also damn good).
• Glad to see the Raptors extended their lead to 10.
• As I typed the above line…Mobley hits a ridiculous shot from the corner over Parker.
• Moon is way too shot happy, jacking two in minute span.
• Moon also bites on a pump fake by Maggette behind the arc - he hits all three.
• Raptors timeout…I think I jinxed the Raps…crap…
• Delfino hits an acrobatic layup on the baseline.
• Maggette hits a wide open trey from the corner, he is really punishing the Raps.
• Mitchell needs to say something to these guys, they let the Clips back into the game.
• Delfino hits another acrobatic layup under the basket.
• Parker and Mobley are really going at each other.
• Delfino buries a tough trey from the elbow extended over Maggette.
• He goes to the well once too often on the next possession.
• Ford jacks a bad trey, after almost turning it over in the key.
• Mobley hots two from the line, cutting the Raptor lead to 2.
• Maggette comes back, and hits another WIDE open three, giving the Clippers a 1 point lead for the first time since the 1st.
• Ford misses a tear drop runner as time expires.
• Mitchell needs to work on his half-time speech to the Raptors, didn’t work today.

4th Quarter:

• Kaman puts back a Mobley jumper on the first possession.
• Bosh turns the ball over on the next possession on a weak drive.
• Mobley posts up TJ, getting fouled on the jumper - hits both.
• Bosh missess the dunk off a lob pass from TJ.
• The Raptors are playing terribly, they need at time out asap.
• Obviously they don’t call one, with Delfino turning the ball over in the post. 82-77 Clips.
• Delfino misses a ridiculous dunk in transition.
• Smitch still doesn’t call a timeout - Bosh fouls Kaman in transition, then Mobley hits a trey in the corner 85 -77 Clips -> finally Smitch calls a timeout, f*ck.
• Bosh misses a jumper on the play out of a timeout…this game is slipping through their hands.
• Calderon misses a jumper off of Bosh’s high screen, Thornton comes back and hits a floater over Bosh.
• Bosh stops the bleeding by going to the line and hitting both.
• Kaman hits a hook over Bosh and Bargnani in the paint, 89-79 Clips.
• Bosh comes back, gets fouled and hits both from the line.
• Parker steals the ball from Mobley, but Calderon turns the ball back over.
• Bargnani hits a hard shot at the top of the key - he pump fakes, takes a step, steps back and lets it fly.
• Kaman comes back quick, and hits another jumper.
• Moon answers with a trey from the corner.
• Bosh forces Thornton to travel - 91-87 Clips - timeout.
• Bosh gets fouled driving to the rim - hits one 91-88 Clips.
• Clips are unraveling after going up 10 with Powell missing a jumper from the foul line.
• Bosh forces a jumper, softly clanking it off the front of the rim.
• Thornton takes it to Calderon, getting a suspect continuation - he hits the foul shot 94-88 Clips.
• Bargnani has to stop shooting the trey, he has missed his last two.
• Bosh travels in the post.
• Bargnani tips the ball away from Kaman, doesn’t matter as Moon decided to shoot a three from the corner, he obviously missed. I lost my voice screaming obscenities at him. Fortunately, Bosh bailed him out with a steal on the subsequent Clippers possession.
• Thornton took it to Bosh’s mama with a sick dunk.
• Bargnani clanks another trey, disaster.
• Finally hitting on his 4th straight forced shot over Kaman, Bargnani cuts the Clippers lead to 3.
• Thornton took it to Bosh’s girlfriend with a sick drive to the rack over Bosh. 98-93 Clippers - timeout Raptors.
• Bosh converts a three point play to cut the lead to 2.
• Thornton abuses Bosh again, getting fouled on the drive - he misses both.
• Calderon misses he jumper off of Bosh’s screen - should have drove to the basket.
• Moon takes his sweet time fouling Maggette, forcing Bosh to foul out - he obviously hits both…
• …game over…

“our 50 win season just went that way”

Technorati Tags: Al Thornton, Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Brevin Knight, Chris Bosh, Chris Kaman, Corey Maggette, Cuttino Mobley, Dan Dickau, Jamario Moon, Jaosn Kapono, Jose Calderon, LA Clippers, TJ Ford