The Toronto Raptors (5-5) rolled into Miami to take on the Heat (6-5), just one night after a disappointing loss against the Orlando Magic. 24 hours removed from a game in which the Raptors turned the ball over 24 times against the Magic, the Raps wanted to take it to the undersized Heat. They were also given a bonus before the game: Jose Calderon was going to start the game.
Toronto came out firing with Bargnani starting the game with six straight points and the Raps came out to a 17-6 run (10 by Bargnani on 4-4 shooting). Michael Beasley started the game guarding Bargnani, but drew two quick fouls in one minute of play and sent to the bench. Miami started 3-16 from the field (0-4 from downtown 3). Calderon picked up 2 fouls and in came Solomon. Miami (more over Wade who had 10) then went on a 12-0 run to take the lead 18-17.
Kris Humphries stopped the run with an And 1 and scored the next 5 points to take the lead again 22-18. Dumb play of the quarter: Jamario Moon foul of a Mario Chalmers 3-pointer (he made all three free throws). The quarter ends with the score Raptors leading 25-23. Bargnani finished with 10 pts on 4-6 shooting, with 2 rebs and a blk and Jermaine O’Neal had 6 pts on 3-5 shooting and 3 rebs. Bosh was 0-3 but had 4 rebs. Dwayne Wade had 9 pts on 4-7 shooting. Heat shot 33% while the Raps shot 43% but only held a 3-point lead. Calderon only played 8 minutes due to foul trouble.
Raps started the 2nd on a 15-8run, 7 by Bosh and 4 by Jason Kapono to increase their lead 40-31 with 7 minutes to play. Beasley hit two straight shots during that time, but picked up his 3rd foul and sat the rest of the half. The Raps extended the lead 42-36 when Calderon picked up his 3rd foul and went to the bench. The Raps led 46-36 with 2 to play when Miami went on a 7-1 run to end the half trailing 47-43.
JO playing great, snatching his 5th straight double-double with 10 pts and 10 rebs at the half. Bargnani had 14 pts, 3 rebs, and a blk. The Rap as a team shooting 43% (19-44) with 3 turnovers leading to 9 Miami pts. The Heat were led by Wade who filled in 15 pts (6-11) with 2 rebs, 4 ast, 1 stl and 3 blks. The Heat increased their shooting % to 42% for the half (53% for the 2nd). The Raps out-rebounded the Heat 24-22.
The 3rd quarter started with a 4-0 run to tie the game at 47, but then the Raps took over, scoring a 24-8 run to lead 71-55 and their largest lead of the night at 16. They were 6-6 from 3-point land during that run, including 3 from Parker and 2 from Bargnani. Wade then led the Heat, who went on a 12-6 run to end the quarter down 77-67. Wade had 12 in the quarter and 27 for the game on 10-18, with 2 rebs, 7 asts, and 3 blks. Bargnani led the Raps with 23 pts, 4 rebs and 2 blks. Raps shooting 46% and the Heat 42% after 3. Bosh only played 24 minutes thus far with 9 pts and 9 rebs.
Wade started the 4th the way he ended the 3rd with a dunk and a steal, led the fast break to an alley-oop to Marion, dropping the Raptors lead to 6 pts. Bosh comes back in off the bench and knocks down a shot to bring the lead back to eight, but another 2 easy buckets by Marion, lead down to 4. Stupid play of the quarter: After trading baskets, Solomon gets hit with a technical and then the Heat drop a 3 on the ensuing possession to cut the lead to one. Then Solomon turns the ball over and the Raps call timeout. Out of the TO Wade drives through the entire Raptor team for a monster dunk and the lead 84-83. The Heat on a 25-10 run; a 17 pts lead squandered by the Raptors with 8 minutes to play. Anthony Parker hits a contested 3, his fourth of the game, to get the lead back 86-84. Parker and Bosh make baskets to get the lead back to 6. The Heat then got within one but some timely stops and two straight baskets by the Raps pushed the lead back to 5 with 1 minute to play, the Heat got as close as 4 but fell 101-95.
POG:
Toronto- Andrea Bargnani was the best Raptor on the Floor shooting 8-12 for 25 pts 4 rebs and 2 blks.
Miami- Dwayne Wade. Absolutely unstoppable. But in tonight’s game, unlike a few nights ago, he was getting his team involved. He ended the game with 40 (16-30) and 11 asts, 3 rebs and 5 blks.
Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): Will Solomon. I wish he would have disappeared. His play in the first and second half helped/was responsible for both of Miami’s runs. Absolutely terrible play on both sides. He finished playing 16 min with 1 pt (0-2) with 5 ast and 2 TO.
Coaches Corner: Smitch can be both praised for getting his team going, coming out strong and taking advantage of the height differential. Yet, he should also be scapegoated for not doubling Wade sooner in the 4th. What does Wade have to do before you double-team him? Score 36 pts according to Mitchell. Unacceptable. Lucky for him Anthony Parker found his horseshoe and shot 6-7 in the second half (including 5-5 from 3) or he would have been totally to blame for a 17 point lead going to waste.
Need to Work On: Perimeter defence. Wade went off for 40 and 11 asts. This team needs to find a way to stop opposing guards. Granted, Wade cannot be stopped(he’s the leagues 2nd leading scorer). Next up, Vince Carter. Gonna be a long night on Friday.
Surprise of the Night: Anthony Parker shooting 5-5 from 3 land in the second half. I hope you watched closely Raptor Fans, cause this kind of performance will not continue. Great recovery from Parker who started the game 0-5, yet finished 6-7 for 19 pts and 6 rebs.
Report Card:
Offence: A (Four starters in double figures [Bosh, JO, Bargs, and Parker. Were able to get the big baskets when needed and exploited their two biggest advantages: Height and 3’s)
Defence: C+ (When you relinquish 2 big leads, one in each half, and let Wade get 40 and Marion 20 and 14 rebs against you, defence wasn’t great. Miami still shot 44% from the floor. Yes, they made stops down the stretch to squeak out a win, but it should have never been that close to begin with. )
Coach: B- (They won. That’s what matters. He wasn’t a huge factor. He kept his team composed and ran the right plays when it mattered.)
Things That Make You Go Hmmm:
The addition of Calderon into the line-up was huge. The Raps only turned the ball over 7 times. Calderon also had 7 assts to go with 8 pts. The need for him in the line-up is apparent. Raise your hand high if you think Anthony Parker can continue this kind of shooting? JO has 5 straight double-doubles and is playing like an all-star, his defence in the key is fantastic. Was the trade worth it?
Looking Ahead:
Do you think this game was bad? Wait till the Raps play Jersey on Friday. As I have written in earlier posts, The Nets have beaten Atlanta twice and Detroit once, two teams that have dismantled the Raps. The Nets backcourt is gonna have a field day against the Raps, with Devin Harris and Carter, who combining for an average of 46 pts a game, will feast on the Raps guards unless they learn to play D. The difference between the Nets and the Heat: The Nets have 7-footers that clog the lane. Do I think they can stop Bosh or JO? Nope, cause no team can. But will they do a better job on the boards than Miami? Definitely.
Reporting from my armchair at the end of the bench, this is the Hollywood Gino, waitin’ for the coach to point my way.
Technorati Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Chris Bosh, Devin Harris, Dwayne Wade, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jermaine O’Neal, Jose Calderon, Kris Humphries, Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat, Michael Beasley, Orlando Magic, Sam Mitchell, Toronto Raptors, Vince Carter, Will Solomon
November 20th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Great Game!!!
Raps looked in control most of the game… Not worried about Dwayne Wade going off… The dude is unstoppable….
Flat out unstoppable…..MVP……
Andrea looked great….My blogging yesterday on trade Bargnani must have gotten to Il Mago and he brought it last night…… Shot the shit out of the ball looked, dirty…. Andrea goes off, and plays D; this team is ridiculously good…
I agree with Raps fan, that Parker is a decent two; and should remain on this team not be traded. He did a decent job gaurding the “flash” and hit some timely needed 3’s. Need a 3 still…. Jason Kapono and GRAHAM for one player on Golden State…. Need a 3….
Jamario Moon along with Will Solomon should announce their retirement midway through this season…
November 20th, 2008 at 11:25 am
gino: not sure smitch gets a B-. I thought he played solomon far too long, and humphries didn’t get enough burn.
not much he could have done on wade, but the raptors kept showing that weak/half double team that did not but make the rotation from bosh/o’neal come a bit too late.
November 20th, 2008 at 11:43 am
Raps fan, he played will so long because i still don’t think Jose is ready to play!
Last night in Miami, Dwyane Wade and the Heat were looking to take advantage of a weakened opponent and gain a sense of revenge for the loss on Sunday in Toronto. Jose Calderon started last night and Sam Mitchell put Andrea Bargnani on the floor again and was rewarded with probably the best quarter the young Italian has played as a Raptors player. A quick 10 points by Andrea got the Raptors off to a good start as they worked to shake off the bitter loss in Orlando to the Magic the night before. He ended up with 25 on the night, a Raptors game high. After giving up 44 turnovers in Sunday and Tuesday’s games, the Raptors looked to Jose to provide some stability to the stagnating offense as Will Solomon tried to step in with Roko Ukic to fill the huge void Jose left.
The game was a very exciting one with the ball flying all over the court. It was fun to watch Andrea run the floor with Anthony Parker who broke out of his slump dropping 19 points while grabbing 6 rebounds including 1 Offensive. Down the stretch he answered several D-Wade dunks with smooth 3’s from the corner. A very welcome sight as his check scored 40 on us while collecting 4 boards and hanging out 11 assists and adding 5 blocks to a very solid game. Shawn Marion added 20 points and 14 rebounds to the mix.
These teams played a very even game as the stats reflect very little between them that stands out as the main reason one team won and the other lost. The Raptors made 38 baskets, the Heat 39, the Raptors hit 9 from 3 point land which was refreshing after the debacle in Orlando, while the Heat were a bit out done here making only 7. The Raptors shot 62% from outside while the Heat began to settle for outside shots when they started getting down in the 3rd ending up at 30% on 3’s. As I have stated many times and will as long as I breath basketball, this game was won and lost at the Free Throw line. The Raptors made 16 of 20 while the Heat made 10 of 15. Those 6 baskets were the margin of victory.
Some other things that I enjoyed watching last night was the steady play of Jermaine O’Neal as he has become the inside force we lacked for many years now. The play of the game from my perspective was the late block on D-Wade from the wing. That play stopped his momentum enough for us to come back down the floor and drop another 3. Defense really does matter in the NBA. Chris Bosh took the night off and ended up with another double – double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Kris Humphries came off the bench and gave us some great play attacking the ball all over the floor and making 6 of 7 Free Throws – an interesting number, no? Jamario Moon and Jason Kapono were both very quiet again, but Jamario did hit a huge 3 for the team and did manage 2 huge steals in the 4th quarter as the Heat were edging back.
Over all, this was a very well played game by the starters who responded to Chris’ huge game Tuesday, as well as the return of Jose Calderon who gave us 8 points, 7 assists and only 1 turnover. Cutting the turnovers in half from the Magic game allowed us to keep the pressure on the smaller front of the Heat and was one of the huge keys to the victory. With 4 guys in double digits and another game with two double-double guys, this team returned to a balance offense with great ball movement. I am still concerned by how easily the Heat were able to find wide open guys, it’s a good thing they didn’t make a couple more shots.
We now prepare for the Nets, the Celtics and the Hawks with the Lakers soon to follow.
November 20th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
i agree totally with why there were so many minutes for the backup pg, i just think roko and parker should have got some of them.
i loved how bosh had an “off-night” but got 15/11, dude is elite this season. kapono needs to be utilized much more. it bothers me when he gives up a shot off a swing, and steps in. bothers me more when he steps out of bounds because of not taking the shot.
hump…he needs to be in the 15 minute a game range. he can give bosh some valuable rest if he is actually utilized.
jersey will be tough though. i hate that vc gets up to play the raptors…ass…
November 20th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
RonG-decent job on guarding Wade? I know the guy is awesome, but 40 points (16-30) and 11 assists, which means Wade was responsible for at least 62 heat points.
Wade is crazy, but dont give AP props for having a guy do whatever he wants, cause there were way too many blow buys in the 4th
Solomon looked terrible out there. no confidence is passing or shooting. i thought Roko was going to get a few minutes in at the end of the half. I would like to see Mitchell use his bench a little more in back to back games…dont want these guys tired out.
November 20th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
i hear you rapshater, but in all honesty, there are like 4 guys in the league who can check wade. he routinely drops 25-30 pts a night. would have been nice to limit his assists, but that is up to the defender of the other guy who makes a basket. comes down to weak rotational defense, bad double teams, and just plain old bad defense in general.
solomon sucks.
November 20th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Hey Rapshater and Raps Fan;
I’d like to emphasize Raps Fan point. Dwayne Wade is flat out ridiculous player.. He’s a top five player in this league. It’s like stopping Jordan, there are some nights you can have the whole team holding on to Jordan’s leg, and he’ll still drop 50. (Please don’t make this crazy deal about me making a comparison between Jordan and Wade; I know Wade doesn’t have the same achievements, yada,yada, but they are both unstoppable and that’s my point)
If Lebron goes off against the Celtics for 40-50 points, most people don’t say they’re a bad defensive team, they say Lebron James walks on water and can do whatever he wants…
That’s my point…. However, I agree with you completely that Parker, ain’t a lock down defender like Pierce… So we’re on the same page regarding that… I don’t think he was giving him the free lane either… It’s just Wade is ridiculous
November 20th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
Wade is nuts, but there are those defensive stoppers out there who are decent at shutting guys like him down. Bruce Bowen and Ron Artest are two guys who can shut down players.
AP isnt that type of player, but he does have to be if the defense can help out. too many times last night the d was late when Wade blew by AP and dunked it hard on the raptors
November 20th, 2008 at 11:09 pm
ron artest is a dpoy, and bowen is a multiple nba champion. they are clearly in a different league.
stoppers don’t need that help on a consistent basis, and they are few and far between.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:21 am
I wish to defend my B- for Smitch.
His decisions on playing time are bad, I agree, but the team did still win, and each time that Miami took the lead, the Raps resonded and took it back, a few times they even did that out of a timeout. Solomon is terrible, granted. but he is what he is.
I think he deserves no less than a B- because he was not the cause of the team losing (or winning for that matter). Hard to justify not playing Hump more. Would a C+ be the same as a B-?
November 21st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
what do you guys think about the Raptors trading for Stackhouse? he’s riding the pine in Dallas right now and could be looking for a home soon. I know the guy’s past his prime, but as a 6-7th man he would look good for the raptors. he can still get to the line and play decent off the dribble defense.
I think it is important for the Raptors to go to a 10 man rotation and they need an nba vet to do that and Stack could come cheap…maybe joey G going the other way
November 21st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
the Knicks just acquired Al harrington for Jamaal Crawford. I like this trade because Crawford lights up the Raps and with him in the west and the raptors already having played GS once, then we only have to see him one more time.
what i dont get is that the knicks would give up there leading scorer for an overrated player. i know that the knicks are looking at 2010 for the Lebron sweepstakes, but they do have a team right now that could make a run at the playoffs if everything came together under DAntoni. Duhon, Crawford, Richardson, Lee, Randolph is a decent starting 5 with Chandler and Robinson coming off the bench. but i guess it’s all about 2010.
there are still rumours about randolph heading to dallas for expiring contracts, which is good for both teams.
I remember when the Raptors were trying to trade VC and one of the possibilities was NY with Crawford and Nazr coming to TO, but the knicks refused to trade Nazr and we got a couple williams’s, Zo (who refused to play) and Joey G (1st rounder). Just food for thought
November 21st, 2008 at 10:32 pm
Rapshater,
I think Jerry Stackhouse would be difficult to acquire because of his contract. He’s earning $7mil which would be hard to match up with. If the Raptors used a bunch of small contracts (say 3-4 Raps players type of deal) they’d end up over the cap when they’re forced to replace those players. I think the Mavericks would want a rotation worthy player anyway, they don’t seem to be interested in helping Stackhouse find a better situation. So we’re probably talking about Parker or Kapono.
I think Parker is the better player so I wouldn’t be interested in that. I think Stackhouse is a better player than Kapono so I would be interested in that swap, doubly so because of Stack’s expiring contract.
Stackhouse still makes a little more money than Kapono. Finding a way to make the trade cap neutral looks difficult …. not sure the improvement of Stack over Kapono is worth the cost of the luxury tax to the Raptors. It would be fair enough if management turned that down based on the added cost.
I also wonder how much of an improvement Stackhouse would be over someone like Bonzi Wells who’s available as a free agent. I think it’s more different quality (the jumpshooting) than substantially better overall quality.