The Toronto Raptors (4-2) came into TD Banknorth Garden to play their divisional rivals, the 6-1 Boston Celtics. The question in Raptorland before the game was which Raptors team was going to show up in Boston, the high-intensity and defense-first team that won 3 games to start the season, or the team that has mailed it in before the opening tip and looks lost and hopeless. On this night, it was the former, as the Raptors jumped out on a 16-7 run. Jermaine O’Neal was on fire, as he went 5-7 for 10 of the Raps first 14 points. Boston came out slow, was pestered by the Raps tough D, starting the game 3-13 (23%). Boston then went on a 9-0 to tie the game, fuelled by some good Boston D and timely rebounding. Off the bench came Jason Kapono, who went 2-2 (1-1 from 3) for 5 points and the Raptors finished the quarter leading 23-18. The Raptors shot 43.5% for the quarter and held the Celtics to just 31.3% from the floor. The Raps out-rebounded Boston 13-10.

The Raps started the 2^nd with Solomon, Kapono, Bargnani, Graham, and Humphries. Although it looked like a questionable decision, they brought intense energy off the bench, and with the exception of Bargnani (who left with 3 quick fouls and was replaced by Chris Bosh), they provided a timely spark, gave the starters a rest, and held Boston at bay. The Raps came out with a 9-4 run to start the quarter, extending their lead to 10. Joey Graham had 8 pts and 5 rebs in 12 minutes of play and Hump had 4 pts and 2 rebs in 6 mins. Raps then extended their lead to as much as 16. JO was a man possessed in the half, shooting 7-12 for 19 pts, 8 rebs and 2 ast. Honourable mention goes to Kapono who shot 3-4 for 7 pts but it was his 4 asts that were key to the Raps big run. The score at the half was 48-36 Raptors, who shot 45% and out-rebounded the Celtics 25-18.

As hot as the Raps were, the Celtics were cold. The tenacious D played by the Raps held the Boston Celtics to 32.4%. Kevin Garnett (11 pts), Paul Pierce (9), and Ray Allen (8) were a combined 9-28 for 28 pts (Garnett 5-11, Pierce 2-10, Allen 2-7). Boston was 1-10 from 3-point land. Frustration started to show as Kendric Perkins and JO were tagged for Technical Fouls for jostling. They got into each others face and had to be separated by teammates. When Jermaine O’Neal was asked at the end of the half about the incident, he said, “(Perkins) knows, he’s known for quite some time that he cannot guard me!” The Raps held the Celtics to 18 pts in each of the opening quarters.

Boston came out of the break with some passion scoring the first 4 points, but the Raps matched that with a 7-0 run to lead 55-40. Boston started to play gritty ball to try to get back into the game, lessening Toronto’s lead to 11 with 5 to play in the quarter, but the Raps held strong, keeping the score double-digits (13). Boston then went on a 7-0 run to bring it within 6 with 2 to go in the 3^rd. The Raps shot 1-9 during that stretch. Raps up by 5 and Bosh takes a charge but has the call reversed and Boston cuts the lead to 4, on a 17-4 run. Kapono hits a big 3 to end the quarter leading 65-59. Boston was led by KG who had 19 pts, 9rebs after 3 frames. Pierce and Allen both had 14. Kapono had 10pts through 3.

The Raps came out gunning to start the 4^th as Kaps made a huge bank shot to bring the lead to 8. Pierce then took his Boston on his back and took control of the game, making an And1 to drop the lead to 3. Kapono then made a huge shot, but was negated by a Leon Powe dunk. Kapono misses a shot at the other end and Pierce comes back and sticks a J to drop it to one. Boston starts the quarter on an 11-6 run and the Boston D and intensity for the first time stifled the Raptors. And they did this without Garnett and Ray Allen, who were on the bench. Back-to-back offensive fouls called against Boston leads to a 3-pointer by Calderon, 74-70 with 6 to go.

Anthony Parker makes a big 3 pointer and then Boston hits back-to-back 3 pointers to take the lead 79-77, their first lead since 6-5 (4½ to go in the 4th). Parker then hits a big 3 and the Raps take the lead 82-81 and JO hits a hook-shot in the lane to extend the lead to 4 with 3 to play. Time out Boston leads to a Ray Allen 3 pointer to tie the game. JO gets blocked, which leads to a Pierce jumper in the face of Kapono, Botown up 86-84. Out of the time out by Toronto, the Raps turned the ball over and led to another Boston bucket and then the nail in the coffin was a Pierce lay-up through the whole Raptor team. Final score 94-87 Boston. Rebounds were tied at 39.

POG:

Toronto- Jermaine O’Neal took this team on his back for the first half, scoring 19 pts (7-12), 8 rebs and 2 asts. This was the All-Star that we were promised and what we traded so much for. The second half showed more of the JO we are used to, shot 1-5 and finished the game with 23 pts, 11 rebs, 5 ast (3 to).

Boston- Paul Pierce was unstoppable in the second half, scoring 27 pts on 8-12 (4-7 from 3) and finished the game with 36 pts, 9 rebs, 4ast (4to). When Boston needed a big shot or a big stop, he was there. That is why he was the Finals MVP.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared):

Chris Bosh was a non-factor in this game. Partly due to the emergence of JO and to the smothering D of Kevin Garnett, Bosh played 40 minutes and was 3-8 from the floor for 9 pts, 7 rebs and 1 ast. For a man that averages 26 and 11, he came up short. Boston’s game plan was to make the rest of the Raps not named Bosh or Calderon beat them (and they almost did) but it was a bad night for Bosh and Calderon to have an off night. Boston tough D also neutralized Calderon, who went 2-9 (1-4 from 3) for 7 pts. He did have 10 asts, but was missed a lay-up and 2 shots down the stretch when the Raps needed him most. And Will Solomon was terrible, playing 9 minutes where he didn’t score, had 2 rebs, 2 asts but turned it over 3 times.

Coaches Corner:

I counted 4 timeouts in the second half that Sam called and in each one the Raps had a bad shot (hand in the face and well contested) or a broken play. Phd Steve called it when he said the coaching of Sam Mitchell will cost this team 5-7 games. This is #1.

Someone needs to tell Sam Mitchell that Jason Kapono is a lights out shooter. He shoots 6-10 (2-3 from 3) for 14 pts, 4 rebs and 6 asts. With this type of option on the bench, he needs to tell Jamario Moon that he is not on the floor for 3-pointers. Moon was terrible on offence shooting 2-5 (1-4 from 3) for 5 points. I agree with Phd Steve; every time Moon shoots a 3-pointer, cut off a finger.

Need to Work On:

Closing out games. They had Boston by as much as 15 in the 3^rd quarter and then the wheels fell off. We all knew that Boston was going to come out strong to start the second half, and if the Raps came out with the same drive as they did in the first, this was their game. Hats off to Boston, they showed the poise and composure to get back into the game and take it away from the Raps. Offense was not the problem on this night, or any night this season. It’s the D that has killed them.

Surprise of the Night:

Do you remember all the hype, all the promise, all the talent, all the strength, all the ability of Joey Graham that we have been promised for years? It finally showed up tonight in Boston in the first half. Graham was everywhere and looked very impressive, scoring 8 pts and 5 rebs. Then the real Joey Graham showed up. The one that looks lost, gets beat on D, and does not score.

Report Card:

Offence: First Half –A, Second Half – B (The Raptors shot 43% against the leagues best defensive team last year and were leading by 4 with 2 ½ to play. It was a combination of bad play calling and cold shooting that killed them in the final minutes. That and Paul Pierce. Overall, they can score but tonight it was too little in the end.)

Defence: First Half – A, Second Half – C (They overpowered Boston in the 1^st half, causing them to look lost and disinterested and held them to 36 first half points. After 3 they were leading by 6 (Botown only had 59 points.) It was the 4^th that killed them. Boston scored 35 points in the 4^th, outscoring Toronto 58-39 in the second half. They were unstoppable.)

Coach: First Half – A, Second Half – D (The tale of Sam Mitchell, or any coach; he looks like a genius when they are leading by 16, but a jackass as they lose by 7. Bad play calling. Where were the plays called to Bosh? How can the team win when coming out of time outs they cannot score from a set play? Boston scored after each of their timeouts in the 4^th. The blame is not fully his. I commend him for getting his team fired up to start the game and oppressing Boston. But down the stretch he could not do nothing to weather the storm.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:

Even though they lost this game, the Raps proved that they could hang with the big teams in the Eastern Conference, as they almost beat Boston and were close against Detroit. As angry as it is to see them lose this game and drop to 4-3 on the season, they did take Boston to the brink. We must give them credit for that. It is a young season and they will have a chance for redemption. How good can this team be if they had a forward who could guard the 3 position? How bad do the Raps need a backup point guard? When will we see Moon come off the bench?

Reporting from my armchair at the end of the bench, this is the Hollywood Gino, waitin’ for the coach to point my way.

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