Technorati Tags: Raptors Video, Toronto Raptors, Jay Triano

Starting Line-Up For Toronto

PG- Jose Calderon

SG- Jason Kapono

SF – Jamario Moon

PF – Chris Bosh

C – Jermaine O’Neal

Starting Line-Up for Portland

PG-Brandon Roy

SG- Steve Blake

SF-Nicolas Batum

PF-LaMarcus Aldridge

C-Greg Oden

This game was another example of how to jump out to a big lead before halftime but lose it and the game down the stretch. After starting the game strong, as usual, they allowed an 11 point 1^st half lead disappear in the second half, when they scored just 10 3^rd quarter points. The Raps had 10 2^nd half turnovers. 1-11 from downtown as well in the 2^nd half. Toronto led by 8 going into the 2^nd but could not muster anything out of the break and trailed by 2 going into the final frame. The wind came out of the Raptors sails when Travis Outlaw banked a last second shot in for 3 to end the 1^st half.

Final Score Portland 102- Toronto 89

This game was another reminder of just how good Brandon Roy is. He was unstoppable, eating up any match up or double team thrown his way. He ended the game 14-19 for 32 pts, 9 asts and 1 blk, with 18 of his points in the 2^nd half, scoring 14 in the final frame. Triano on Roy: “We tried different guys, we tried double-teaming him, and he threw it out, we ran and we blitzed him. We had two different guys on him any time there was a screen.”

He had some help, with Greg Oden dropping 16 pts and 10 rebs and Aldridge ended with 21 pts, 9 rebs, 2 asts and 2 blks. The blazers shot 50% from the floor and only had 8 turnovers all game.

Toronto was led by their all-star Chris Bosh, who was 9-17 for 29 pts (11-11 from the ft line) and 9 rebs. JO was 8-17 for 17 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl and 3 blks. Bargnani off the bench had 13 on 5-12 with 3 rebs.

Toronto is now 2-3 on this road trip and finish their trip Monday in Oakland when they play Golden State praying they can get back to Toronto 3-3 on this western swing.

POG (Player/s of the Game):

Toronto- Chris Bosh was easily the best Raptor statistically, 29 pts and 9 rebs and made all 11 of his fts.

Portland- Brandon Roy. Wow. 32 pts and 9 asts and took his team on his back and willed them to win as he dismantled the Raps guards and defence.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): Jason Kapono was invisible. 0 pts on 0-5 shooting. He did grab 4 boards and 1 ast, but had 2 turnovers. This is the teams prized scorer and when he occasionally goes flat, there really is no other on this team to step up, and that hurt down the stretch.

Need to Work On: I said it before and Ill say it again: Maintaining leads and intensity. This team crumbles must games when an opponent makes a run in the second half and tonight was no different.

Surprise of the Night: that this team ,sworn on running more, ended the game with 0 fast break points.

Report Card:

Offense: B- (As usual, start strong and shoot well but cannot stop the other team. They did shoot 45% overall against Portland, but could not score in the third and the game slipped away.)

Defense: D (Cannot maintain defensive intensity for 48 minutes nor stop opposing guards from killing them offensively. )

Coach: C (Can’t even get technical’d properly. Could do nothing to stop Roy. Allowed his team to lose focus again after the 20 minute mark of the game.)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:

I like to see Chris Bosh get a big game offensively but I don’t like the stats that he had tonight. Or shall I say, lack of stats. 0 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks. In this game he didn’t make his team mates better, nor stand out defensively….

The Raps as a team and not including anyone named Bosh or JO, attempted 0 ft. Disgusting…..

Jamario Moon is 1-13 from 3-point land in his last 5 games. SOMEONE TELL ME WHY HE IS ALLOWED TO SHOOT 3’S. He is 6-26 in December (23%) and since their 3 game winning streak to start the season, he is 13-49 (26.5%). If we have one of the best 3 point shooters in the league in Kapono(though you wouldn’t know it tonight), why does it seem like rocket science to have Kapono on the same side that we try to give JO or Bosh in the post????

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: Brandon Roy, Chris Bosh, Greg Oden, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jay Triano, Jermaine O’Neal, Jose Calderon, LaMarcus Aldridge, Nicolas Batum, Steve Blake

After a big win over a depleted LA Clippers, the Toronto Raptors (11-17) continued their current western road swing on Boxing Day when they landed in Sacramento to challenge the Kings (7-22). The Kings, losers of 4 in a row and 14 of their last 16, settled in at home, hoping to upset the Raptors in the same fashion as the Oklahoma City Thunder did earlier in the week. History was also not I the Raps favour, since they have not won in Sactown in almost a decade.

Starting Line-Up For Toronto
PG- Jose Calderon
SG- Jason Kapono
SF – Jamario Moon
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Jermaine O’Neal

Starting Line-Up for Sacramento
PG-Beno Udrih
SG- Francisco Garcia
SF-John Salmons
PF-Spencer Hawes
C-Brad Miller

The Raps came out shooting a hot ball, going 61% in the first quarter, led by Bargnani off the bench with 7 and Jo with 8 pts, yet only led by 4 at the end of the quarter. The Raps boosted that lead to 6 but did not take advantage of their hot shooting. Not pouncing on the Kings in the beginning of the game came back to haunt them in the second quarter. Toronto could not keep a handle on the ball and had 13 turnovers in the half, leading to 8 Sacto points. This allowed Sacramento to jump out to a 7-point lead thanks to a 22-11 run in 10 minutes of the 2nd quarter, of which JO scored 8 of the Raps 11 points. Sacto’s biggest lead was 8, yet a late Raps run ends the half with Sacramento leading 56-51.

Sacto was led by Salmons (4-10) and Miller (4-7) who each had 13 points. Miller also had 4 rebs, 2 ast, 2 blks and 1 stl and Salmons had 3 asts and 2 rebs. Raptors were fuelled by Jermaine O’Neal who scored 16 points on 8-12 shooting to go with 6 rebs, 2 asts and 2 blks. Bosh was held to just 9 points on 3-5 with 4 rebs. Bosh was limited to just 15 minutes with 3 fouls.

Toronto shot 51% for the half but with turnovers and allowing Sacto to grab 10 offensive rebounds, the Kings took 11 more shots, in which they shot 44%. Toronto out rebounded Sacto 21-18, but gave up 10 on the off. boards.

After a Hawes 3 to start the half, Toronto went on a 14-2 run to recapture the lead 65-61 thanks in big part to tough D, and great shot selection on the offensive end. Toronto was able to weather the comeback from Sacto to end the quarter and led by 3, 84-81. JO was unstoppable with 27 pts thus far. Toronto held a +14 lead in points in the paint.

With all the starters on the bench, Toronto extended their lead to 9 to start the 4th, their biggest lead of the game thanks to a 7-1 bench run 92-83. But to typical Raptor ball of this season, Toronto let it almost slide away. Sacto came back within 2 thanks to a 7-0 run, capped by a Bobby Jackson 3 ball, Raps 92-90, before Graham made a sick reverse dunk. Yet, Sacto kept coming and tied the game at 95 with 4 to play. Toronto took a 4point lead into the last 2 minutes and didn’t look back. Final Score 107-101.

Toronto finished shooting 55% to Sacto’s 45% and for the second straight game out rebounded their opponent 39-34.

POG (Player/s of the Game):

Toronto- Jermaine O`Neal was unstoppable. 36 pts on 15-19 shooting, 9 rebs, 2 asts, 3 stls, and 2 blks. This was the 20 mil dollar man who played to his price tag. Made a big steal in the last 28 secs to kill Sacto’s last chance at a W.

Sacramento- Bobby Jackson off the bench kept Sacto in this one. He was a spark plug of offensive when his team needed a boost. He was 7-11 for 17 pts, 4 rebs and 3 asts.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): Jamario Moon was a non-entity in this game. 1-4 from the field and 0-3 from 3 land. Finished with 4 pts and 4 rebs. Also, this award must go to Anthony Parker off the bench, for his horrid shooting and defensive performance. He went 2-7 for 5 pts and 2 rebs and 2 asts.

Coaches Corner: Almost lost it in the end and allowed Sacto to get back into the game when he kept his second unit in too long in the 4th. But he used his timeouts effectively, scoring on set plays out of the timeouts when they needed to in the 4th.

Need to Work On: Keeping a lead. This is nothing new and lucky for Toronto they played a Sacramento team that could not burn them for their lack of D as others have.

Surprise of the Night: Bargnani off the bench was great. After a terrible month of play under Triano, he was solid. He went 4-5 from the floor and the free throw line, dropping 14 pts. Whats more surprising though, is he didn’t grab one rebound. Someone needs to tell him, preferably in Italian, that he is 7 feet tall and needs to improve this.

Report Card:

Offense: A (5 players in double figures and an awesome performance by JO. This was a game of attacking the basket by Toronto. With Bosh in foul trouble, JO took control of the team and give the team credit, they kept feeding the ball into the post for JO and he kept scoring.

Defense: B (Sacto should not have been in this game for as long as they were. Sloppy D at times and 11 extra shots, thanks to 16 offensive rebounds, allowed the Kings to stay close. But key stops when they needed them allowed Toronto to win.)

Coach: B (Scored off of timeout set plays, fed the ball to the hot hand, and pounded the ball into his 7 footers all night.)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:
Jermaine O’Neal. Its time for the haters to get off his back. Last 6 games, not including getting hurt in OKC, JO is 58-96 (60%) and is averaging 22 ppg, 8 rpg, and 2bpg. This is the player that we paid so much for during the summer. Am I suggesting that this will last the whole season? Nope. But is his contract the reason for their woes? Also nope. I think that he has been a rock of defence in the middle and its his guards that have let him down defensively.

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, Beno Udrih, Brad Miller, Chris Bosh, Francisco Garcia, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jermaine O’Neal, John Salmons, Jose Calderon, Sacramento Kings, Spencer Hawes

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Technorati Tags: Chris Bosh, Jay Triano, Jose Calderon, Nathan Jawai, Toronto Raptors

Starting Line-Up For Toronto

PG- Jose Calderon
SG- Jason Kapono
SF – Jamario Moon
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Jermaine O’Neal

Starting Line-Up for Dallas

PG-Jason Kidd
SG-Devean George
SF-Josh Howard
PF-Dirk Nowitzki
C-Erick Dampier

Toronto started strong, but could not contain Josh Howard, who scored the 1^st 9 points for the Mavs, to lead 9-7. The Raps went on a big run, sparked by Graham, who had 2 sick dunks in the quarter, 26-12 to finish the quarter. Graham had 8 pts on 4-5. Calderon was 3-3 for 6 pts and 5 asts. Toronto shooting 67% for 33 points to the Mavs 21 pts on 46%. Raps forcing 5 turnovers for 10 pts. Howard led the Mavs with 11 pts on 5-9. Nowitzki had 6 pts 2 rebs and 2 blks. Bosh had 4 pts and 3 rebs on 2-6.

Second quarter starts on a 6-0 run by the Mavs to cut the lead to 6, 33-27. Roko Ukic off the bench has realized that he needs to work on his outside shot, so in the mean time, he was driving in the first and made 3 driving lay-ups but missed his only jumper and had 7 pts halfway through the 2^nd. Andrea Bargnani had a big block on Jose Juan Barera, who had to leave the game after banging his shoulder on the court. That block fueled a fast break which Jo finished with a dunk, Raps up 10 39-29. The Raps had 19 pts from the bench at this point, including 8-2 fast break points. Bosh and Kapono got extended rest, coming in with 5:30 to play in the half. With starters back into the game, the Raps push their lead again to 13, 49-36, thanks to a couple of 3’s from Moon, and some great D by Toronto forcing Dallas to take shots out of the paint, switching efficiently, and not giving up second chance points ( only 3 thus far for Dallas). With a minute to play in the half, Bosh lines up from 3 and hits only the back board.

Jason Terry then comes down the floor and nails a 3, Dallas down by 7, 49-42. The Half ends with the Raps up 49-44. Raps held to 16 pts after scoring 33 in the first and their shooting percentage went down to 49%(22-45). The Mavs shot 43%(18-42) for the half, led by terry off the bench, who score 13 (5-8 and 2-5 from 3, all in the 2^nd quarter) and had 5 rebs and 2 asts. Nowitzki had 10 (3-9) for 10 pts, 3 rebs, 2 ast and 2 blks. Kidd had 0 pts but 2 asts. Toronto was fueled by JO who had 12 pts (5-8) 4 rebs and 3 blks. Moon was 3-4 (2-2 for 3) for 8 pts 5 rebs and a blk. Bosh held to 4 pts (2-8) but had 5 rebs. Bargnani was cold 0-4, 3 rebs and 3 pf. Raps did a great job on the glass, outrebounded by only on 23-22 and gave up only 5 offensive.

Dallas gets their first lead thanks to a 9-2 run, mostly by Howard. Triano then sits Bosh at the 8 minute mark for Bargnani, and sits and talks to Bosh to get a feel for him. Bosh only 2-11 for the game. Doesn’t seem to help them, as they shoot just 2-9 thus far, including 2 misses from Calderon, one an air-ball. Raps trailing 58-55. Bosh comes into the game again, and they still miss shots. Bosh even missed an open two-handed dunk and Calderon missed another shot, but the D of the Raps keeping them within 3. Nowitzki hits a couple of shots, and the Raps continue to struggle, shooting just 3-18 and 26% shooting since the 1^st. Raos down 67-59. 3rd quarter closes Mavs on top 69-63. Nowitzki came alive, hitting 4-6 for the quarter and 9 pts, to go with 7 rebs and 4 asts. Howard had 20 on 8-13. Mavs shooting 48% (28-58) and had 37 rebs to the Raps 29. The Raps shot 41% (27-66) led by JO 16 pts 5 rbs and 3 blks. Calderon 9 pts (4-10) with 7 ast and 5 rebs. Bosh was 2-13 for 4 pts and 8 rebs.

Raps scored 33 points in the first, but scored only 30 in the 2^nd and 3^rd combined. 4 straight misses by the Mavs allowed Bosh to finally hit 2 shots and the Raps trail by 2, 71-69. Could have been tied by Parker was blocked on a dunk. Back to back 3`s from Dallas jumps the lead back to 10, 79-69. Terry and Nowitzki hit J`s, Moon nails a 3, but still trail by 8, 85-77. Dallas 8-14 in the quarter, capped by a JKidd 2 to raise the lead back to 10, 89-79. After two missed ft from Bosh, he hits another, but Disco Dirk and terry hit shots to push the lead out of reach at 13, 94-81.

Final Score Mavs 96-86.

POG:

Toronto- JO was solid, 7-14 for 19 pts, 7 rebs and 3 blocks, but also took 3 Dallas charges.

Dallas-Jason Terry off the bench was a killer. 10-15 for 25 pts, 8 asts and 7 rebs. Add Dirk Nowitzki, who was 11-20 for 27 pts and 10 rebs and 4 asts.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): Chris Bosh was, again, not himself. Last 3 minutes Bosh gets a couple of ft, his only of the game, and missed them both. Finished 6-20 for 12 pts, 9 rebs and 2 asts.

Coaches Corner: Needs to find a way to get Bosh involved/light a fire under his ass. 6-20 fg. It happens, we all have bad games. But 31 for your last 76 (40%) in the last 5 games is KILLING this team(among other things).

Need to Work On: This game will be intensity. They start strong and jump out to big leads, often, but cannot maintain that drive. This tram feeds off Bosh and while he is struggling, really badly, they don’t have the same panache. They need their star to be that once again. This trend of losing games they should win by 30 has to stop

Surprise of the Night: The Raps force 12 turnovers for 17 points, only commit 6 turnovers for 8 Mavs points, yet lost this game by 10.

Report Card:

Offense: D-(Besides JO (19) and Moon (13), no one else was anywhere near what they should have been. Moon outscored Bosh. Terrible.)

Defense: D-(Dallas shot 50% and scored at will in the 4^th to stamp out any Raps run to get back into this. Could not get the stops/rebounds they needed down the stretch. Started great on Dirk, but let him back into this game and had no answer, at all for Terry. Dallas bench = 15 rebs. Raps bench = 6)

Coach: D (say what you will about the changes that have been made and the baby steps that have happened, etc. This team suffocates other teams in the 1^st, gets big leads, and then loses. Triano needs to adapt to the changes made by other teams as they adapt to the Raps. He so far cannot change the gears.

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:

Joey Graham in 10 minutes gets 8 pts and gives a much needed zap to the offense, yet plays no more in the half, even in the last 2 minutes of the half as the Raps scored no points on 0-7 shooting to end the 1^st half. Hmmm…….

Still think Bosh isn’t tanking it? Don’t get me started on Bargnani….

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

Starting Line-Up For Toronto

PG- Jose Calderon
SG- Jason Kapono
SF – Jamario Moon
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Jermaine O’Neal

Starting Line-Up for NJ

PG-Devin Harris
SG-Vince Carter
SF-Bobby Simmons
PF-Jianlian Yi
C-Brook Lopez

The Raps came out with some serious intensity, Bosh attacking Yi for 2, Kapono hitting a 3, and JO hitting 2 shots to give a 9-0 run which included a turnover by Carter and being blocked by JO. After the timeout, the Raps continued their dominance, outscoring NJ 7-2 to force another TO. NJ shooting just 1-5 to start this game and down 16-2. NJ finally woke up and scored on a 13-4 run, led by Carter who was 4-9 for the quarter. The Raps were up 11, 26-15, but could not score for a 3 minute stretch, and the quarter finished 28-20 Raptors.

Raptors shot 56% (9-16) to the Nets 44% (8-18). Toronto was led by JO with 8 pts (3-4), Moon had 4 pts and 4 rebs, and Calderon had 3pts and 3 ast. NJ leads pts in the paint 8-4 and rebs Toronto 8-6. NJ was led by Carter with 9 pts and Ryan Anderson had 7 pts off the bench. Carter was the only Nets starter to score in the 1^st.

A 6-0 run to start the quarter by Nj was negated by JO, who hit back to back shots, including a dunk from a Ukic drive and dish, to bring their lead to 4, 32-28 Raps. Then the real Joey Graham showed up. He had a sick dunk driving past 3 Nets to the bucket, and the next time down the floor, Joey drives and dishes to an open Kapono for 3 to lead by 7, 37-30. But the Raps started to lag on offense and D and the Nets brought the game back within 2 with a Yi 3 pointer to trail 39-37. Second chance point 12-0 for the Nets, who are also leading the offensive rebs department 9-1. Bosh misses a layup, when he should have been fouled, and then stripped by Carter in the paint and again no call. On the ensuing play for the Nets, Bosh doesn’t run the floor and his man gets an easy dunk to tie the game, followed by a technical foul to Bosh, to lose the lead 44-43. Bench points 25-10 Nets.

The Half ends with a Calderon 3, and the Raps tied 46-46. The Nets outscored the Raps 26-18 for the 2^nd quarter, and from the 6 minute mark of the 1^st, when the Raps led 16-2, they have been outscored 44-30. NJ shot 41% for the half (18-44) with 24 rebs(10 off). Toronto shot 48% (15-31) and had 61 rebs (1off). Toronto led by JO with 12 pts (5-7) with 2 rebs. Bosh was held to 6pts, all from the ft line (6-6) and 0-3 from the field. Bargnani had 6 off the bench (2-3) and Kapono was 3-5 for 8 pts and 1 reb and 1 asts. Carter was 4-12 for 10 pts, with 5 rebs and 3 ast and 1 blk. Ryan Anderson off the bench 13 pts on 4-8(2-6 from 3) 2 rebs and 1 ast. Devin Harris was 1-5 for 2 pts.

The first points scored in the 2^nd half came by a Brook Lopez bank shot at the 10 minute mark. Bosh misses his first 2 field goals, but finally made a shot with 9 to play, but the score was tied at 50 as Lopez received his 4^th foul. Devin Harris has started to drive and dish in this game, leading to back to back 3’s from Bobby Simmons (who missed a 3^rd one) but the ease at which Harris is getting by Calderon has become a problem. Raps push with some great D, mostly with Harris on the bench, on a 16-10 run thanks to a couple of big 3’s from Kapono and forcing the Nets to take bad shots, 66-60. Carter grabbed an offensive rebound, but was blocked by Graham, and on the ensuing scramble for the ball, a tangled Bargnani and Carter results in Bargnani throwing carter to the 3 point line. Trading baskets ends the quarter with the Raps leading 70-63. Carter had 17 pts on 7-21 shooting. The Nets shot 38% (25-65) while the Raps 48% (25-50).All Raps starters in double figures, with Kapono 14(5-8 and 4-6 from 3), Bosh 12 (3-10 and 6 rebs), JO 12 (5-11 and 3 rebs), Calderon 10 (4-7 and 6 asts) and Moon 10 (3-5 and 8 rebs and 2 stls.) Nets lead in Rebs 34 (13 off) to 27 (4 off).

The 4^th has both teams trading baskets until Harris decides to take over the game, scoring 7 straight points with Carter on the bench to trail by just 2, 72-70. Nets take the lead as the Raps are 0-12 from back into the 3^rd quarter, as the Nets take the lead 74-72. It was now the Nets turn for a 16-2 run, leading 79-72. The Nets pushed this lead to 10, thanks to a timely 3 from Anderson and a Devin Harris dismantling of the Raps D. The inability of the Raps to grab a rebound in the final few minutes kept the lead at 9 for the Nets. Lopez fouls out with a 1:30 to play trailing 8. Devin Harris draws a foul on Kapono, a good bit of acting, that had Triano blow a fuse and get technical’d. Bosh decided to shoot a 3, and somehow made it, to trail by 5, with :53 to go. Raps play good D on Carter, and on the other end of the floor, only needing a 2, have Calderon force a 3, and forced to foul trailing 5 with 18 secs to go. Nets make 1 /2 fts. Bosh gets fouled and misses 1 of 2. The rest is history. Nets win 94-87.

Nets finish shooting 38% (32-84) while the Raptors shoot 40% (28-70). 26-2 second chance points for the Nets and as well as 35-15 bench points. Nets out-rebound Toronto 54-38 (18-7 offensively). Nets had 14 turnovers for 10 Raptor pts while the Raps turned the ball over 12 times for 17 NJ points.

POG:

Toronto- Jason Kapono 6-13 (5-9) from 3 for 17 pts, 4 rebs and 2 asts and Jamario Moon 3-6 for 10 pts and 9 rebs, 1 ast, 2 stls and 1 blk.

NJ- Ryan Anderson, off the bench, scored 21 to lead the Nets on 6-11 (3-7 from 3) with 9 rebs (3 off) and 2 asts.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): 17 pts on 4-15 pts (thanks to 8-10 ft’s). Yes, he had 9 rebs and 4 asts but did not command the ball or carry the team when they needed him. If he can’t take over the game when it matters, whether that’s the coaches decision or his, then its time to find a player that will.

Coaches Corner: Raps went 0-12 between the 3^rd or the 4^th and called only 1 timeout. AND did not have a game plan over then end of the game, shied away from Bosh. Gets T’d in the 4^th

Need to Work On: Broken record time. Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding. No matter what anyone tells you, this can be improved AND practiced. When Vince Carter gets 10 on you, including 4 offensive, this signals an incredible weakness. Someone should tell Triano we have 3 seven-footers on this team.

Surprise of the Night: Raptors bench had just 14 pts on 4-14 (6 of those pts from ft line). No help form the bench, which was outscored by the Nets 35-14.

Report Card:

Offense: C (6 players in double figures by the end of the 3^rd, but an 0-12 slump between quarters killed any momentum. Bench deserted the team in game that needed them to show up. Calderon had 8 asts, but 5 turnovers.)

Defense: D- (Yeah NJ only shot 38%, but they had 14 more pts thanks to 18 offensive rebounds. When Harris started to drive and dish in the 2^nd half, the Raps had no answer. Too many easy baskets for the Nets. Carter (10)out-rebounded Toronto’s leading rebounders of Bosh (9) and Moon (9).)

Coach: C(I like him getting a technical to fight for his team. But he could not get his team into this game, could not find a way to stop Harris, did not call TO when down by 5, in which Calderon took a bad 3 when the team only needed 2.)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:

Bosh has decided two games in a row to jack up a 3 in last 2 minutes. Someone (Triano) needs to tell him that he is not a 3 point shooter and that taking this shot is not a good idea. (I know he made it, but the odds are not in his favour to make it).

Bargnani watch:

12 straight games shooting under 50%. In Dec, including the game with Denver, he is now collectively 17-61 (28%) and 3-19 from 3 (16%). 2 of the last 8 games have been over 10 pts (10 and 11 and that was because he went 6 for 6 from the ft line in both of those games). Remember you heard it here first….

In a game when rebounding was a problem and the Nets were shooting poorly, where was Hump and Voskuhl…

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: Bobby Simmons, Brook Lopez, Chris Bosh, Devin Harris, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jay Triano, Jermaine O’Neal, Joey Graham, Jose Calderon, Lawrence Frank, Roko Ukic, Ryan Anderson, Vince Carter, Yi Jianlin

Starting Line-Up For Toronto

PG- Jose Calderon
SG-Jason Kapono
SF – Jamario Moon
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Jermaine O’Neal

Starting Line-Up for New Jersey

PG-Devin Harris
SG-Vince Carter
SF-Bobby Simmons
PF-Yi Jianlian
C-Brook Lopez

The Nets started this game cold 0-5, a trend that continued the whole evening, but the Raps could not take advantage of this, and led only 6-4 in the first few minutes. Back to back steals from Moon leads to two fast breaks but two misses on lay ups and the Nets end up taking a 9-6 lead. Bosh then hit back to back shots ( Bosh had 8 of the Raps first 12 points) but the Raps still trailed 14-12.

Kapono hit Moon with an alley-oop for the tie and Calderon with a 3 for the lead 17-14, and the Raps did not look back ending the 1^st on a 17-9 run. Carter picked up 3 fouls with 3 minutes to play in the first quarter and scored no pts. Bosh had 11 pts (4-4) and 2 asts in the quarter. The Raps led 24-18. Toronto shot 43% but just 1-6 from 3land, while the Nets were ice cold, just 27% shooting. Rebounds were Nets 15-10 and the Nets had 8 t.o. to the Raps 5. Toronto had a 12-4 pts in the paint advantage.

Nets started the 2^nd on a 8-2 run to tie the game at 26. NJ took a four pts lead, but their cold shooting caught up with them. The Raps stepped up their D, went on a 10-0 run ,capped by a sick dunk by Joey Graham and two fast break dunks by Moon, who had 4 steals in the half. The Second quarter was an ugly display of shooting, both teams scoring just 16 pts apiece.

Score at the Half: Raptors 40- Nets 34

Chris Bosh led the Raps with 15 pts (6-7) and 2 rebs, 2 asts but 4 turnovers in 20 mins. Vince Carter scored no points in the Half. Harris had 11 pts, 3 rebs and 4 asts. The Raptors shot 42% while the Nets were held to just 28%. Nets up 30-18 in rebounds, and Raps 20-8 in pts in the paint. NJ had missed their last 10 shots to end the half.

Calderon set an NBA record by hitting 54 consecutive ft to start a season at the beginning of the half. The Nets cut the lead to 3 pts to start the half (43-40) but then the Raps started to play tough on both ends of the floor and put this game out of reach. A 13-2 run split the game open, giving Toronto a 14 pts lead they would not give up, capped by a Kapono 3 pointer. Kapono, who started the game 1-9, caught fire in the second half, shooting 5-6to finish with 16 pts (4-9 from 3). Carter and Harris combined for 11 pts (all Harris) and 3-17 shooting and just 7 assts.

The 3^rd ended with the Raps up 71-55. The fourth quarter saw the Raps balloon their lead to as much as 30, this with Bosh and Calderon on the bench for most of the fourth. Carter did not make one fg in this game, was 0-13 and only scored 3 points because of the charity stripe. And this did not happen until the 4^th quarter. The final frame became a garbage time affair.

Final Score Raps 101- Nets 79.

Toronto shot 44% for the game (32-73)and were 8-21 from 3 (38%). NJ was 26-83 for 31% and just 26% from 3 (6-23). Toronto had 6 players in double figures (Bosh 18, Kaps 16, graham 16, Calderon 13,Bargnani 11, and ukic 10). Nets were led by Jianlian and Harris both with 14, 4-10 and 4-11 respectively.

POG:

Toronto- Chris Bosh and Joey Graham. Bosh in the first half who had 15 of his 18 pts(6-8) to go with 5 rebs and 3 asts. Joey Graham was 5-8 for 16 pts 3 rebs and 2 asts.

New Jersey- No one to mention. They all played and shot poorly. In fact, the only player to shoot at a good percentage was Trent Hassell, so he can get POG honours. He was 5-7 for 10 pts, 7 rebs and 3 asts.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): Jermaine O’Neal was a non-factor. 30 minutes, but just 2-9 (7 pts) and had 2 rebs, 2 asts, and 2 blks.

Coaches Corner: His team is running and moving on offence, and playing, although at times, some stifling defence. Each game the screws get tightened a little more. I like where this is heading under Triano.

Need to Work On: Rebounding. It’s a misleading stat this evening. Jersey shot 31% for the game and got 20 offensive rebounds, mostly due to so many rebounds popping out from long shots. That being said, a better job protecting their glass can only help this team in the long-run. When Chris Bosh has as many rebounds as Jason Kapono, there’s work to be done. When Jo had less rebounds than Kapono, Calderon and Ukic, there’s work to be done.

Surprise of the Night: It should not have been a surprise, considering we saw it so many times in his stay in Toronto, but the mail0in job by Vince Carter was fantastic from this side. He killed his own momentum with 3 fouls in the 1^st quarter and never seemed to care or try after that, happy to just jack-up shots for the most part.

Report Card:

Offense: A (Scored 101 pts, balanced between 6 players, on 44% shooting. Only turned it over 11 times.)

Defense: A (Kept NJ to 31% shooting, Carter to just 3 pts and 0 made fgs and Harris, who has been tearing up the league lately, to a very quiet 14 pts and a total non-factor I this game. Forced 19 turnovers.)

Coach: A (Triano has this team playing great D and they are running and scoring. A blow out was what this team needed for confidence sake.)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:

The Raps became the 1^st team in NBA history to have hit a 3 pointer in 800 consecutive games. What difference does this make…..

I hate to mention it, because he played so well on D (7 rebs and 4 blks) but the offence of Bargnani was a problem again this night. 2-10 (1-5 from 3) for 11 pts, thanks to 6-6 from the ft line. At least he was active defensively, and attacked the basket more tonight. So will he be able to turn this funk around…

The Raps have won 2 in a row. They beat Indiana and NJ and in both games held their opponents to under 35% shooting, and poor shooting performances from Granger, Carter and Harris. So was it the Raps great defense that was the cause of this poor shooting and wins, or was it that they caught Indiana and NJ o off nights? Maybe the true test of this Toronto team will come Monday in the rematch vs. NJ in Toronto. One thing is for sure, Jersey won’t shoot 31% and Carter will not be held to 0 fgs….

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: Bobby Simmons, Brook Lopez, Chris Bosh, Devin Harris, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jay Triano, Jermaine O’Neal, Jose Calderon, New Jersey Nets, Roko Ukic, Trenton Hassell, Vince Carter, Yi Jianlin

Starting Line-Up For Toronto

PG- Jose Calderon
SG- Jason Kapono
SF – Jamario Moon
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Jermaine O’Neal

Starting Line-Up for Indiana

PG-T.J. Ford
SG-Marquis Daniels
SF-Danny Granger
PF-Troy Murphy
C-Rasho Nesterovic

This game saw two big changes to the starting line-up as Jay Triano wanted to shake up this team. With an injury to Anthony Parker(sprained right ankle), Jason Kapono takes his spot and the quicker Jamario Moon playing in place of Andrea Bargnani to guard Danny Granger.

JO starts the game by drawing an offensive foul on the opening possession of the game, but missed a shot on an iso at the other end. Then two straight fouls by JO, one on the offensive and one on the defensive, has him check out of the game at the 10:55 mark of the 1^st. Raps showed some intensity with two straight possessions of run and gun leading to a layup and a dunk. But this was ugly display of how not to shoot to start. Toronto shot 3-8, Indiana 2-10, yet the score was tied 8-8 at the 7-minute mark. Bargnani 0-3 from 3land and had 2 turnovers in 5 minutes of play.

Game Note: Stephen and Joey Graham on the floor. At the same time. Welcome to the twilight zone.

The Pacers were terrible offensively, shooting just 4-21 (19%) but somehow were down just 2, 16-14 with 2 to play. Jason Kapono has made 3 driving one-handed shots in the lane before checking out. The quarter ended with Solomon and Ukic on the floor.

End of 1^st Quarter: Raptors 20-Pacers 18. Despite shooting a dreadful 24% (6-24), the Pacers were still in this game, thanks to being 6-6 from the charity stripe. The Raps were 9-21 (43%). Neither team made a 3 pointer. The Pacers had 17 rebounds to Toronto’s 14. Points in the Paint 10-6 Raps. Kapono leading the Raps with 6 pts (3-5) with 3 rebs and 1 ast and Bosh with 6 pts and 3 rebs. Pacers led by Daniels 8 pts (2-4) with 3 rebs and Murphy 2 pts and 6 rebs.

The second quarter had Roko Ukic finally hit a 3 pointer. Bad possessions and sloppy D had Troy Murphy hit a 3 to take the lead on a 7-3 Pacer run to lead 25-23.

Game Note: Calderon hit his 52^nd (and 53^rd) straight ft to set a Raptors record. And to tie the game 27-27.

Jason Kapono caught fire, scoring 9 pts (15 so far) in the 2^nd quarter, including a 5 straight points to cap a 8-2 run for the Raps who took a 43-36 lead. After the timeout, the Raps continued their intensity, pushing the ball and increased their lead to 11(49-38), thanks to the energy of Joey Graham off the bench(3-4 for 6 pts). What worked for the raps to get their lead, stopped as they went cold, 0-4 while the Pacers went on a 7-0 run. 7Sec to play in the half, the same play drawn up that failed agaoinst Portland (Bosh gets ball at the 3 point line and tries to create a shot) was used again, as Bosh this time made his shot. But it was contested and Bosh had to fade away from the foul line. Tough shot to end the quarter but he made it.

End of the Half: Raptors 51- Pacers 45.

The Raptors shot 50% (22-44) for the half, including 2-7 from 3 (27%). Jason Kapono (7-9) and Chris Bosh(6-10) leading the Raps with 15 pts apiece. Kaps also leading the team in rebounds with 6. Calderon had 6 pts (2-5) with 9 asts and 3 rebs.

The Pacers shot a poor 35% (17-48) but 4-10 from 4 (40%). Indiana’s Marquis Daniels had 13 pts on 4-9 shooting with 4 rebs. Troy Murphy had 11 pts and 11 rebs with 4 asts. TJ Ford had just 4 pts (2-5) and 4 asts. Danny Granger was cold. The Pacers leading scorer (who avgs 23 pts and 5 rebs) shot just 4-14 for 9 pts, 2 rebs and 2 asts.

The Pacers led 27-23 in rebounds. All other stats were comparable. Despite shooting 50% and the Pacers shooting just 35%, the Raps only lead by 6 at the Half. Good teams would lead by double digits. The Raps have to start to close 2^nd quarters strong, having lost double-digit leads now in 5 games this season during the 2^nd quarter.

4 straight point to start by Granger, on two layups over Moon, to bring this game within 2. Kaps hits a big 3, but fouls Daniels and the lead down to one. But the cold shooting of the Pacers continued their cold shooting, allowing the Raps to go on a 13-0 run to lead by 14, 67-53. Jamario Moon was everywhere, grabbing rebounds, knocking down J’s, and giving a big spark in the second half. Yet, despite all the positives, they allowed the Pacers to continue to stay in this game, even though they were only shooting 35%. The Pacers went on a 10-2 run to trail by 6 with 2:30 to play in the quarter. Led by rookie Brandon Rush (3-3) with 6 pts in that stretch.

End of the 3^rd: Raptors 77-65. Raps shooting 48% (31-65) led by Kapono who had 20 pts (9-14) 8 rebs and 2 asts. Bosh had 17 with 5 rebs and Moon with 13 pts (5-10) 8 rebs, 2 stl and 2 blks. Pacers shot 33% (26-78), led by Murphy with 17 pts, 19 rebs (yes 19!) and 4 asts. Daniels had 17 (5-14) and Granger had 15 (7-21) with 5 rebs. Pacers up 6 in rebounds. Second chance points 18-7 for the Pacers. Both teams with 10 turnovers.

Pacers chip the lead to 9 start the quarter, but the Raps fight hard, something they have not done lately, to push the lead to 13 with 8 minutes to go. A 3 pointer by Kapono and a floater by Bosh pushed this lead to 18, as the Raps went on a 9-2 run. Despite back to back 3’s from Granger, the Raps matched the Pacers to keep the lead at 16 with 4 minutes to go. A 5-0 run capped by yet another Murphy 3 pointer brings the lead down to 11, 94-83, but this was as close as the Pacers would come. 2 offensive rebounds by Bosh, a 3 from Calderon and a Jumper by Bosh sealed the deal.

Final Score: Raptors 101- Pacers 88. Raps shoot 50% for the game 40-81, 6-16 from 3 (37%) with 47 rebs. The Pacers shot 35% (33-95) including 7-25 from 3 (28%) and had 52 rebs, with 18 offensive.

POG:

Toronto- Jason Kapono was J-Killa. 25 pts on 11-16 (3-7 from 3), 8 rebs, 2 asts and a block. He did what he does best: Score! (and at a high percentage)

Indiana- Troy Murphy was the only bright spot in this one for the Pacers. He flashed Dwight Howard numbers in this game, scoring 20 pts (7-15) with 20 rebs and 6 assists.

Magician of the Night (The Raptor that was so magic, he disappeared): On what I hope does not become a trend, Andrea Bargnani was terrible and disoriented all night. In 20 minutes off the bench, he was 0-4 (0-2 from 3) with 4 rebs, 1 ast but 3 turnovers. This team needs him to play at a much better level.

Coaches Corner: He won his first game and hopefully will use this win to inspire his team to turn things around. I will leave him alone this night. His team has shown great strides. Job well done, Jay Triano

Need to Work On: Boxing out on the defensive glass. Giving up 18 O-boards to the Pacers on this night did not kill them since the Pacers shot bricks all night. But, against any other team that could shoot the basketball, the Raps lose this game.

Surprise of the Night: That TJ Ford and Jose Calderon, amidst all the hype that this game appeared to have, were both flat. Ford shot 2-8 (4 pts) and Calderon was 3-9 (11pts) but had 13 asts to Fords 4. They were not the story of this game.

Report Card:

Offense: A (6 players and all starters in double figures, shot 50%, and most importantly, held the lead when the Pacers every time they made a run from the mid- 2^nd quarter onwards.)

Defense: B- (Held the Pacers to 35% shooting. Allowed 18 offensive rebounds and the Pacers took 14 more shots than the Raps. Had the Pacers shot 40%, they would have won this game. They did pester Granger and forced him to take long shots, including 11 3’s and was 9-25 for the night, but still had 22 pts.)

Coach: A (He got his first win, might as well give him his first A. Made a great decision to start Moon and Kapono, used his subs effectively, play calling was questionable, but had his team hold a lead from the 2^nd quarter on and snuffed any comebacks by the Pacers. Congrats Triano)

Things That Make You Go Hmmm:

All the players in the big trade from the summer were quiet on this night. Had you watched the game and were not updated on stats, you would have never known that Calderon had 13 asst. Or that Ford was even playing. This was a game of quiet. Jo had 10 pts, 9 rebs and 3 blks…Rasho had 0 pts and 4 rebs. So who really won the deal from the summertime???? Chris Bosh quietly scored 21 pts and had 10 rebs, but did not take over the game….

In a game where the Raps were down to 9 men (Parker, Hump, and Jawai injured, and Adams only plays when they are down 20 or up 15 as he played less than 1 minute this evening) they all stepped up and played a great game, less Bargnani. But they really should have won this game by 25-30 the way that the Pacers were shooting. We can only hope that the Nets are this ice cold on Friday….

I was very nervous the whole game, as this season has taught me that no lead is safe in Raptorland and I think that was what Triano was thinking as well. He had his starters in the game well within 2 minutes to make sure, even up by 15…..

What are the odds that Carter scores another 30+ points on Friday???

Can the Raps beat the Nets???

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, Chris Bosh, Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers, Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono, Jay Triano, Jermaine O’Neal, Joey Graham, Jose Calderon, Marquis Daniels, Rasho Nesterovic, Roko Ukic, TJ Ford, Troy Murphy, Will Solomon