The Week Ahead: November 28- December 4

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Nov 28, 2005 1:27 AM EST

Well the four game road swing didn't go so hot. Sure there are always positives but the fact remains that the only thing the Raptors are coming home with is a little sun, but no W's. This week the team has two home games and two road games, but due to the fact that venue and home cooking does not seem to matter it's hard to say this week is going to be any better. There is a titanic match-up this week however which will get an enormous amount of coverage.....

Monday, November 28 vs. Dallas on the SCORE

Nothing like coming back from an unsuccessful road swing only to bring in one of the West's best. Dirk, Terry and the boys have played some serious ball early beating some of the league's best teams (Detroit, etc.) while still fighting off injuries, a retirement, and the handicap of having Erick Dampier.

It doesn't look like this team misses Finley at all, and their young guns like Josh Howard and Devin Harris are looking great. It will be interesting to see if Hoffa can continue his improved play here at the ACC since no-one gets jeered at home as much as he does. I'll be watching to see if they run a play or two for him right off the bat to get his confidence up. It would be great to get Dampier off the floor early because everyone will be waiting in anticipation to see Hoffa display his WICKED arsenal of moves against the other All-Star center.....Dasagana Diop....expect a high number of fouls this game, mostly attributed to the 5 spot.

Wednesday, November 30 vs. Memphis on Sportsnet Ontario

If there is a team out there that looks much better than what I anticipated it would be the Grizz. Eddie Jones is filling up the stat lines, Stoudamire is proving to be a nice addition and Pau Gasol is taking his game to a whole new level. Going to be a wicked match-up between Gasol and Bosh, but when you look at this guy and his beard you have to wonder whether it is just a matter of time before he suddenly goes completely "Cast Away" on everyone's ass and simply refers to the ball as "Spalding".

Could be a good match-up between Shane Battier and MoP/Joey Graham. Battier always seems to step up against the Raps so keeping him off the glass and scoresheet could be crucial. Battier is shooting over 55% from the floor. Talk about knowing your role and selecting your shots.....should someone send Jalen a tape of Battier's game?

Friday, December 2 at Altanta on TSN

Clash of the Titans. This game would have received way more hype if either Altanta or the Raps were still winless. That being said while writing this I realize Atlanta has twice as many victories as the Raptors. This Atlanta team is undeniably run by a 6'7" Sf who wants to build a whole team in his image. This roster is like a group of Lemmings, they are all exactly the same, except for Zaza....I wonder if he parents looked at the alphabet and thought they would cover all bases by simply using the first and last letter. Look for Toronto's front court to have their best game of the year.

And how are Atlanta fans not furious that they passed on Chris Paul who looks more and more like a young J-Kidd everyday. Oh that's right....there are no Atlanta fans.

Please Raps, you HAVE to win this game.

Saturday, December 3 at New Jersey on the SCORE

Well now that New Jersey is starting to get a little flavor of the real VC (his poor back), and the real DNP- Coaches Decision Lamond Murray, Raptors fans are all breathing a collective sigh of relief. Here's a game the Raps can steal, go into the swamp and make a quick get away. They simply need to explode right from the get-go in the first Q and play with energy....something similar to your average American shopper on Thanksgiving weekend (the humanity!).

Another tough match-up for Joey Graham. Perhaps to the surprise of many he has not exploded onto the scene but the learning curve for Joey is a steep one. Expect Jalen to get exposed on numerous occassions. Another great chance for Hoffa to pound inside and make the stick Kristic pay everytime he enters the paint.

Prediction: All in all this week is a lot easier than last one. Let's see them put something together, 2-2.

HOWLAND

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Comments

Well the Raptor's "brain" trust has struck again! That decision to send Pape Sow down to Arkansas sure looks like a good one...Pape has proved he truly belongs in the D-League in his first two games avergaing a mere 30.5 points and 12.5 boards, with a few steals and a block and a half added for good measure. Seriously?? I know he was hurt early on, but shouldn't someone in the Raptor's organization have realized he would be more valuable than say Loren Woods? Look at all the close games the Raptors have dropped this year, you don't think Sow's energy and hustle alone would've won one or two of those games. Sure he isn't going to put up anywhere near the numbers he is getting in the D-League when he is called up, but would 5 and 5 be a stretch - certainly not. With the struggles the Raptors have had at the 5 spot all season and with low energy in general a spot needs to be opened on the roster for Pape now! If he is forced to languish (ie: dominant) in the D-League much longer someone in the organization deserves to get canned.

by Alex English on Nov 28, 2005 11:15 AM EST reply actions

just want to say for the record that Atlanta was my favourite team in the heydey of 'Nique et al. Then came our Canadian NBA franchise, then Steve Nash made Pheonix fun again. I've maintained a soft spot for Atlanta (part of my penchant for the underdog I guess), and have had little to cheer for this season.

by chris benjamin on Nov 28, 2005 11:21 AM EST reply actions

aw c'mon alex, you can't tell me you shed a tear when you first heard pape was going down. i'm pretty sure i could score 40 in D-league and no one's begging for my addition to the raps' roster.

by chris benjamin on Nov 28, 2005 2:54 PM EST reply actions

We all know that Pape Sow's offense is extremely raw. I don't imagine there were any NBA quality post moves being made. He probably over-powered everyone and looked like the NBDL's version of Shaq.

Now if he was grabbing 15 or so boards a game, and 3+ blocks a game, then I'd be on the bring Pape back bandwagon.

by RaferMadness on Nov 28, 2005 5:23 PM EST reply actions

Raps suck....but they should beat the Hawks this week for their second W of the season. Heck, I'd even take the Raps over the Hawks in a seven game series (in seven games naturally) but only IF the Raps had home-court advantage. Either trade Jalen and allow him to escape from this misery or give him the ball more to keep him happy....

by Raps Hata on Nov 28, 2005 7:22 PM EST reply actions

The Raptors are a lot better than their record suggests, and I think we are all aware of that. They've lost the last couple of tilts, save Saturday night's game in the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter. What does that suggest? That the Raptors should not have traded Vince Carter, a proven finisher. Better yet, they should have traded Vince Cater, but they also should have gotten a player in return. They should have traded Jalen Rose last year. Also they should have traded Donyell Marshall last year, instead of letting him go as a free agent. Did they really think he would resign? Why wouldn't you attempt to get someone in return for a proven shooter like Marshall. Lastly Rafael Araujo = GARBAGE!!! Am I the only person that watches Raptors' games, and cringes whenever the ball is passed or lands in his hands. He losses the ball (gets it stolen, swated, blocked, straight up misses) on about 4 out of every 5 times he touches the ball. He is crying to be in the D-League; meanwhile we have a raw, athletic, hustler Pape Sow, pulling down boards and actually scoring baskets in the D-League. The problem with the Toronto Raptors is not on the court, it's in the front office, in the likeness of one Rob Babcock. Someone fire this man, before Toronto losses a great organization.

by juelztheRaptorlover on Nov 28, 2005 11:10 PM EST reply actions

It is fact that Raptors haven't good begininig of this regular season, They have quite young team. I think that from match to match they will play better and maybe they will be in playoffs. I'm a big fan of Toronto and maybe myb comment is so optimistic.

by Mike on Nov 29, 2005 4:43 AM EST reply actions

Response to Mike ha ha ha, you are very funny. Thanks for the great laugh - the Raps suck, it's management - SUCKS, it's coach really REALLY SUCKS - even it's ownership SUCKS. Worst move ever was allowing a coach averaging 45 wins (mostly healthy players) to leave, why? Because he could only win 24 games with three CBAs starting for him. Geez, imagine a hall-of-fame coach/player with this much HEALTHY talent to work with - forget it, division leader and conference finals. Oh well, the great Raps just need to go 41 and 26 to reach 42 wins and a possible playoff berth. Fire them all and start from scratch!

by Kinn on Nov 29, 2005 3:44 PM EST reply actions

I think juelztheRaptorlover should become the new GM becuase his comments show he knows nothing about the realities of the NBA.

Should have traded Donyell? The most serious offered was Malik Rose and he is not good and has a terrible contract, so what good does that do?

Should have traded Rose last year? Do you realise he is making $15M-$16M per season and that makes it extremely difficult to trade him. His value to a contending team is as offense off the bench and no contenders are going to pay that kind of money. The only way he gets traded this year is if you can get young talent for him (not likely) or a contract that is expiring this year. He doesn't fit with the Bulls (Thomas); the best scenario is getting Penny from Zeke the Clueless but LB and Rose have had their beefs. He is here for at least this year.

by Poppa Vlazo on Nov 30, 2005 7:42 AM EST reply actions