Toronto Raptors vs Philadelphia 76ers
November 12, 2008.

Which team are we going to get? The one that started 3-0, who could do no harm, heralding BryCo as genius’? Or the one that went 1-3 since, with calls for change from coaching and management? In a game that reaks of redemption for the Sixers, the Raptors host another underachieving team.

The Raptors are coming off a tough road loss to the Celtics. One where they were up 15 in the 3rd, and let slip through their fingers. One where their lack of perimeter defense was exposed; where Bosh was utterly shut down in the 4th quarter; where O’Neal showed up, and disappeared again; where Moon was finally called out by Smitch for taking so many 3’s.

Trade talk has gone into full force with rumours of Gerald Wallace and Al Harrington as targets. Maybe I am being short sighted, but I don’t see how a trade for either of those guys can go down without depleting our already depleted bench (I would love to trade Parker and Moon for either of them if we still had Delfino and Garbajosa on the bench - unless of course Bargnani is going to be bait, which opens up a whole different discussion).

The 76ers have been an utter disappointment, for me and all of Philly. There is still time for them to pull it together, as they have only played 6 games (2-4). Remember they started last season in the dumps before pulling it together and taking it to the Pistons in the 1st round.

Sadly, they added Brand (who I thought would push them to top 5 in the east) without the desired affect. Regardless of how they have been playing, they are still a formidable force. Remember they out-rebounded the entire Raptors team by 64 the first game of the year. Bosh and O’Neal have been doing a better job on the boards since, but it will be a dog fight in the paint.

Their young guns at the wing haven’t been playing very well either. Seems like a team missing some heart, which is surprising considering the make-up of their players and their coach. Not sure what the problem is here as I haven’t seen very much of these guys play aside from the first game.

Starting Lineup

Calderon / Miller
The Edge: Raptors - Calderon is coming off a somewhat sub-par game against the Celtics. His shot wasn’t there, but he dropped 10 dimes and is second in the league in assists (9.4/game). The key, as always, is to make Miller into a jump shooter. I can live with him hitting a few from the perimeter, but giving him an open lane will lead to a long night for Bosh/O’Neal. I’m feeling Calderon will look to shoot a bit more, and really take it to Miller.

Parker / Iguodala
The Edge: Raptors - Parker has been getting punished on defense the first few games. Defending against the likes of Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Jason Richardson and Michael Redd. He did a pretty decent job on Iggy their first time out, didn’t hurt that Iggy was having an off night. These guys have both been playing big minutes, but Iggy hasn’t shown up much this season, and considering this is the second of a back-to-back-on-the-road, Iggy will be pooped. I just like saying Iggy…Iggy, Iggy, Iggyyyyy.

Moon / Young
The Edge: 76ers - Young has been having a monster season. The kid is long, athletic and has developed his perimeter game…kids dangerous. Moon on the other hand has seemingly taken a step back this season. He falls for every pump fakes, doesn’t do enough to keep his man in front of him on defense, takes forces too many shots, takes forces too many threes, and doesn’t realize this is a contract year for some reason. As you can tell, I have lost total faith in Moon, anything out of him, and it will exceed my expectations.

Bosh / Brand
The Edge: Raptors - Aside from that 4th quarter debacle in Boston, and not having Calderons back when Garnett was mocking him, Bosh has been the man. 11th in the league in scoring and 10th in rebounding. Their first meeting, Brand dropped 14pts/13rebs, but I expect Bosh to answer in kind. I got nothing else to say about this match up.

O’Neal / Dalembert
The Edge: 76ers - Not sure which O’Neal will show up. He has the ability to keep Dalembert off the boards, but the question is will he? The second question is can he play a full game? Against Boston, he came out on fire, but disappeared in the second half. Dalembert on the other hand consistently battles on the board the whole time he is out there. I can live with him scoring a few points, but 17 rebounds is unacceptable, the dude isn’t Rodman.

The Line

Vegas.com has the game for Raptors -5, with the line at -110.

The Prediction

I have to go with the Raptors on this one. They will be pumped up to be back home after a mini-road swing, and looking to redeem themselves after the loss in Boston. Can’t give you a spread, but a loss at this point would be a step back, and drop these guys to .500 which is a place they don’t want to be, or should be with a $70mill freakin payroll.

5-2 on predictions so far this season.

Technorati Tags: Bryan Colangelo, Jermaine O’Neal, Boston Celtics, Sam Mitchell, Al Harrington, Gerald Wallace, Carlos Delfino, Jorge Garbajosa, Philadelphia 76ers, Jose Calderon, Andre Miller, Anthony Parker, Andre Iguodola, Jamario Moon, Thaddeus Young, Chris Bosh, Elton Brand, Samuel Dalembert, Kevin Garnett, Dennis Rodman