3 In the Key – Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Spurs

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST in 3 in the Key

The holidays are over for many (not me thought!) and that includes the Toronto Raptors, who in case you forgot, are in the middle of a tough western road swing. Having a few days off to rest, relax and spend time with the fam, the Raps won’t be able to take anytime to get back into the swing of things as they face the defending NBA Champions, the San Antonio Spurs.

Heading into San Antonio, injuries remain the hot topic for both teams. For the Raps there is still no word on TJ Ford. As each additional day passes with no formal word from the franchise this becomes more and more concerning. The local paper is however reporting that he is back to about 90% but is still in no hurry t get back to the court. The report, and this s great news for Raps fans, is that apparently his spinal cord has not suffered damaged and he is no more susceptible to injury now then he was before Al Horford threw him to the court by his face.

Without an word on Ford, Calderon will continue to get the starting nod. The starting line-up will also feature Andrea Bargnani. As discussed here it looks like Bargs poor play as of late is the direct result of his knee injury. Colangelo has come out and said that Bargs has not healed as expected and as a result his level of play has fallen off. Sounds like the small break could not have come at a better time for the second year player. As a result, Rasho will again be delegated to bench duty but there is no question that he will get more burn than he did in the Suns game (zero minutes). In fact, despite his coming off the bench Rasho will undoubtedly play an important role in trying to stop his former teammate, Tim Duncan. A couple of points on this line-up change. First off, I like it. The Raps have to develop the chemistry between Bargs and Bosh and getting Andrea’s confidence up is imperative to the franchise long term. Second, it’s important to see that even if there are short term pains right now the Raps can afford them as there are a number of teams currently struggling. Last, if every player was as good a professional as Rasho the NBA would be the benchmark for professional sports. He has bounced back and forth from bench to starter and back and you never hear a peep out of this guy and he is always ready to contribute no matter what the capacity.

For San Antonio they have also been bitten by the injury bug as both Manu Ginobili and Brent Barry at this time are unlikely to play. Manu has played out of his mind this season and in his stead will be a Michael Finley who is in the twilight of his career. Short one of their big three (seriously there needs to be a better term for the three best players on a squad) the Raps need to try and take advantage….of course they still have Tony Parker and some guy named Tim Duncan.

Speaking of Tony Parker this guy is quietly becoming one of the elite PG’s in the West. He is never brought up in conversations about the fastest guys in the league yet he can get to the rim at will. His jump shot has also improved an enormous amount and he is becoming the complete package. In fact trying to contain Parker is the first key to the game.

1. Rotations – Parker is going to get to the rim. Calderon is not the best defender and will, like most in the NBA have trouble keeping him in front of him. As a result help D and rotations will be key. It is not so much the first pass after the penetration that worries me, it is the one after that. The perfect example was the Seattle game where the extra pass was killing the Raptors and giving the Sonics easy looks. The Raps have to prevent this from happening or there are going to be a lot of easy looks for Tim, 3’s for Bowen and lay-ups for some of the lesser known guys like Oberto.

2. Immediate Aggression – If there is one guy that needs to come out quick and establish his dominance early it is CB4. If the Spurs decided to put Bowen on him at times CB4 needs to attack, attack, attack. He cannot let the smaller defender prevent him from doing the things he does best and disrupt what he needs to do. He has had trouble with the smaller defenders in the past and this is something that CB4 needs to shake. On top of Bosh the Raps, along with hitting the long-range shots have to at least make some effort to get to the hoop. Getting Tim into foul trouble would be a big help in trying to steal this on.

3. Fast Start – Turkey, ham, sweet potatoes, you know players get their fill during the holidays just like the rest of us and rightfully so, but they have to come out and move the ball, get open looks and play solid ball right away. Against a team like the Spurs you cannot get off to a slow start, in particular on the road. An early lead, or even keeping this team within striking distance is key.

The Raps need to pull a couple of wins out of their hat before heading home. San Antonio would be a great place to start.

HOWLAND

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The San Antonio Big Three = The Texas Triad

by OneandDone on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

The latest on TJ. Got to be a tough decision.

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/289157

by axl on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

AXL thats really scary I don't think I would play again if it was Me!

by Davl on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

tony parker is going to kill calderon. I'm not looking forward to watching this game. I just hope some solid team d can keep him away from the rim...for at least a quarter. (or two.)

we'll see.

but yeah I agree, I expect rasho to get some serious burn, and hopefully bang duncan around.

the guy who you didn't mention was humps. no love? hopefully he can come out and put a hurt on the big fundamental. the raps need a big night from him.

by papa on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Apparently Keon CLark never played a game sober:

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2007/12/15/clarks_prison_term_tossed

by LAs Only Raptor Fan on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Keon Clark is one of my favourite all-time Raptors, that wouldn't change my opinion of him.. He told it like it was, that's why he didn't get along with VC.
Glad he might avoid jail (more jail?) Best wishes KC.

I'd rather have my kid turn out like Keon Clark than Vince Carter any day. (is that a weird statement?)

That was one of Grunwald's fatal errors, letting him walk, regardless of how Keon's carreer ultimately played out.(correct me if I'm wrong....maybe GG's hands were tied due to other contract obligations at the time.)

Tough one tonight, I just want to see some good ball, then start attacking the schedule in January.

Anybody wanna join me in the Keon Clark fanclub let me know...we can probably contact him, go down there and meet him, play some golf, puff the ganj, who knows?

by DayOner on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

the issue of the team's identity was raised as a serious concern lately, but i see another, more optimistic side: some nights this team plays serious D, some nights it shoots the lights out, some nights it runs and guns. maybe with maturity and a couple of decent additions this can be a team that is highly adaptable and can do a lot of different things well, and therefore give any opponent a tough night.

by benjibopper on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Well Marcia looking at the box scores I think JC got the better of Parker tonight

Good win for the Raptors

by Davl on Dec 28, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Hey, iam glad i have so many fans....one of my Favourite Raptor playas!!
I really hoped the raps would take advantage of the spurs last night..and that they did!
In spades!!
Wow!!
I mean, you guys can say whatever you want, but Bargs is gonna get his confidence back, and all that brandon roy and lamarcus crap is gonna have to stop!!
Did u see how he gaurded Duncun, mano o mano...sheesh!
They got frustrated, first loss to an eastern conf team, and they couldn't believe it.
Thats the only reason for the al th etechnicals..i mean come on..they went to the line alot more..aLot more..way lot more, then we did..yet they would bicker and fight and bytch with the refs about everything..i mean everytime they went on the offensive, they expected to get bailed out..no wonder no one respects spurs 4 championships...they're joke!!
Dallas scares me, San antonio is beatable and driven by manu..i mean..if manu suck..they suck..if manu is good..they're awesome..thank god we got an argentinian as well..huh?
I think every NBA team should get one.
Marcia is right..about one thing..with Jose..the dude is not risky enough..i know..taking care of the ball is a must..but to what detriment?
No backdoor cuts..no quick pass as a big is strolling over to the spot the opponent has reserved for him, so he could go for the quick first step explosion that catches the other team of gaurd..like chris paul does..it just seems..he reads his own stats and wants to continue that trend he got going..its so darn obvious...Bring TJ back

Peas&Luv

by keon Clark on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Davl .. Not really Parker went by Jose to count exactly 7 times Jose could not control Parker and that is because Jose is not fast enough, but he did a good job on scoring.

by Marcia on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Marcia

It seems like JC went by Parker on a number of occasions also.7 blowbys and 7 turnovers by parker difference in the game maybe?How many points were scored over parkers turn overs how many turnovers did JC and team defense cause? How many points scored over JC turnovers? JC less minutes 1 less point and assists abt the same.I think I will take JC game over parkers last night anytime.Not every point guard is fast so team defensive rotation must make up for this. Oh yea up one spot in the standings too. Good to here TJ say he is planning to come back.But I don't believe U can build a team around TJ being no 1 point guard when He gets hurt so often. 3 times at least in last 1 1/2 years

by Davl on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

One more thing 7 assists to 2 by parker also JC had 7 boards to parkers 1 did parker play to selfesh last night?Wine like the rest of the team did?

by Davl on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Nice win, rather unexpected. I thought Duncan would play out of his mind, but they held him in check. By the way, if the Spurs aren't the whiniest team in the NBA, they're in contention. Tim Duncan dribbles into a triple team and he wants a foul? They should be thanking their lucky stars that someone hasn't kicked the crap out of Bruce "how'd my foot get underneath yours as you were taking a shot" Bowen yet.

by Skywalker on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Possible players to trade stated by BC:

http://www.globesports.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20071227.wsptraptors27/GSStory/GlobeSportsBasketball/home

No mention of TJ as of yet.

by Better Looking Aaron on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Jose played good ball for us but he is not the Point Guard to take the Raptors and their fans to the promise land, he is a part of the journey but not the big picture, do think BC is going to take so much heat because he traded Charlie for TJ, in his mind just like when he got Nash everyone was not pleased because Nash had a lot of injuries, it is the same with TJ he will not trade TJ and have JC be the main point guard no way buddy

by Marcia on Dec 29, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions