3 in the Key – Toronto Raptors Game-Day Preview vs. Celtics

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST in 3 in the Key

I was so hyped for this game.

After the close-fought loss last month in which neither team played well, I couldn’t wait for Celtics/Raps II.

I envisioned these games as being the start of a great rivalry and with Boston drawing first blood, I was expecting Toronto to come back and even things up.

Now, with reports out of yesterday’s practice that Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani weren’t making the trip to Beantown, my excitement level has admittedly died down.

While Bargs has been inconsistent at best, I really think Toronto needs all hands on deck including these two, to get the job done tonight against a Celtics’ team that’s yet to lose a single game at home.

So let’s not waste any time and get right into it, starting with our three keys:

1) More Moonshine. Ok…yes, that was lame. But in all seriousness, without CB4 the team needs someone to start getting to the rim. TJ’s back so that should help in this area but Moon’s shown he has the athletic ability to be a factor here as well. In practice yesterday Sam Mitchell was joking that Moon is holding a rookie record – 123 minutes of game-time action without a free throw. It’s good to see Sam recognize this fact and it seems that Mitchell is taking the same "tough love" approach with Jamario as he did with a young Chris Bosh. This should be encouraging for Raptors fans considering how CB4 has turned out. As one of our readers pointed out yesterday, Moon is everywhere from being featured on Yahoo’s sports home-page to rising to number four in ESPN.com’s rookie rankings.(insider – may require account.)

Our associates at Celticsblog were asking about Moon as well and once again for this game, we went back and forth on a few topics. Here were our questions and their responses:

1. RaptorsHQ: The Celtics have only two losses this year so far and only a few games that have been close. Do you think this is due to the Celtics' play, or has it been a reflection of the relative weakness of their schedule?

CelticsBlog: The Celtics are the best team ever, why even play the games? Just hand us
the title now and we'll raise the banner and we can save ourselves all the hassle of the 82 game schedule and playoffs and all that. Works for me.

No? We have to play the games? Ok, if you insist.

The schedule has been pretty tame but when it has been tough, the team has come through (we swept all 3 of our back-to-backs). And yes, this team is really, really good. The bench has been better than advertised (though nothing to bank on), the health has been good so far (knock on wood), and there have been no issues with egos (not that I expected there to be, but
some threw that out there early on).

2. RaptorsHQ: How has the Rajon Rondo experiment been going? Do you still think this team needs to make a deal to get a more experienced player at the 1?

Celticsblog: Mostly good. He's still young, so there will be games when Doc will yank him for letting an opposing player get past him on dribble penetration (which is odd since his calling card has always been defense). Still, he's got all the tools and a lot of the smarts to be a very good to possibly great point guard. He just has to keep learning and growing. He's improved his mid range jump shot tremendously, but he still has to learn better when to use it. That will come.

Also, for the time being, the combo of Eddie House and Tony Allen playing combo guard minutes has given us a surprisingly good mix in the backcourt. They aren't point guards, but they get the ball across half-court and get it
in the hands of the big three and let them do their thing. Plus Eddie brings instant offense and Tony brings defense and relentless (if sometimes rudderless) dribble drives. So far it works.

3. RaptorsHQ: If Bosh and Bargnani can't go, do you think the Raptors can mount much
of a stand against the Big 3?

Celticsblog: No.

Ok, I guess you wanted more than that. Umm, lets just say that the Cavs didn't have LeBron and they made things interesting the other day. Anything can happen, especially if your three pointers are falling. Games like this
tend to be quirky and hard to gameplan for. It should be fun to see what happens.

We’re hoping that’s the case too...which brings us to HQ key number two...

2) Dictate the pace. As we saw against the Suns Wednesday night, Toronto can get out and run with the best of them (ie the Suns.) The Celtics can run, but are much more effective in an organized half-court game where they can play inside and out with their big 3. TJ Ford has shown in the past that he can exploit the inexperience Rajon Rondo so he may get the start tonight according to Sam Mitchell. I’m hoping Mitchell goes small actually all evening and gets his team to push the tempo, just like they did against Phoenix. This might be Toronto’s best chance as if Boston has a chance to set-up and run their offense, we could be in for a long night.

Will TJ Ford start tonight to try and exploit Rajon Rondo??

If they can’t, there’s a good chance Raptors fans will be looking forward to round three of this rivalry before tonight’s game concludes…

FRANCHISE

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Comments

Should be a tough one, wish Bosh was healthy.

by Tinman on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Like the Patriots, I think the Celts are due for a loss. Let's hope everybody concentrates on D and get to the foul line like Sam suggested.

by tfan on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

I agree 100%, Franchise. If Kapono, AP and Delfino can hit their shots, Raps can take this game. It great we will have 2 healthy points to keep up the pace of the game.

I suspect this Boston team will look past this game, just like this ignoramus from Celticsblog.

by Rubik on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

The "Jurassic Park" ridicule continues:

http://redsarmy.wordpress.com/2007/12/07/is-there-regret-in-toronto/

I'll take our chances tonight.
I'd say Raps want this one more, but will the effort be enough?

by DayOner on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Dayoner - Ridicule aside, it is an interesting question. If the Toronto franchise came into being right now, would another name have been chosen. I always assumed when the names first came out that "Raptors" meant a bird of prey, something I thought would be a good logo. So perhaps if the Dino schtick becomes a bit tired, they can switch it up. Regardless, funny to see a Celtics' fan going off on this...think when we were pounding their dismal team into the ground last year they would have written something like this? Oh how easily people forget...imagine if the Knicks ever turn things around!

Speaking of the Knicks, how sad is it that a Nets team, even without Kidd, couldn't get a win the other night considering New York was without Marbury or Curry. Love this quote from ESPN today:

"Kidd said the record and the lack of consistency are his responsibility and his alone since he is the captain (using almost the exact same words that Lawrence Frank habitually uses when he deflects blame onto himself as the Nets' coach), but the truth of the matter is that the player whose consistent underperformance is at the root of the problem is Carter.

Kidd has posted three triple-doubles and three other near triple-doubles, while Carter has averaged less than 19 points while shooting better than 50 percent from the field only five times this season. Carter's struggles were most pronounced during the fourth quarter vs. the Knicks, when he showed no appetite to drive the ball and missed every jumper he took over the first 11 ½ minutes of the quarter."

Wow...this sounds somewhat familiar...

by Franchise on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Not sure if any of you ahve seen this. But here's a variation of the "Where amazing happens" ad in Boston.

http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=47bc20a8

by LAs Only Raptor Fan on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

AS far as names go, I always hoped they would go with the Toronto Huskies, not sure if there were rights issues with the old team. But it would add a lot of history and weight (not to mention geographical plausibility) to the team. Given they went with something from a '92 movie, and what happened to the Vancouver Grizzlies, Toronto will have to deal with the idea that they are a passing fad, until their sustained play demands otherwise.

by LAs Only Raptor Fan on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

just when I thought "I'd hate to be a Knicks fan", the Nets come along and make it more interesting... nah, I still rather be a Knick hater.

by ustation on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

I've always been secretly embarrassed by our teams name. It was an obvious marketing ploy due to the timing of Jurassic Park and the inception of Toronto’s NBA team. Probably thought up or approved by that ass Richard Peddie. I’ve always thought the Toronto Huskies was the obvious and best name. What kind of idiot would ignore the fact that Toronto was actually the host of the first ever NBA game?!?!?! If anyone wants to start a petition I will definitely sign!

by MAS on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

MAS - That just became comment of the week on the home-page...can't stop laughing...

Only about an hour till tip-off...let's hope Sam get the troops pumped and he lets them loose on O tonight...might as well go for gusto.

by Franchise on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

FRANCHISE:::

I will write the post game for you....The Raptors Sucked!!

I actually tuned in to Wrestling lol

by Davl on Dec 7, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Guess F&H haven't recovered from the debacle that was last night.

by jjdynomite on Dec 8, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions

Here's what I posted on the Celts site...I'm not sure if I've stolen the Mitchell/ Rivers thoughts from someone else. I think they are my own, but I read a whole lot of Toronto basketball articles...
------------------

I’m a huge Toronto basketball fan and I can’t stand their name. They slowly seem to be getting rid of the dinosaur logo, but they still need to get the nickname off of their jerseys, team gear, etc. The claw symbol is cool and I think they’re starting to realize this. The jerseys need to say ‘Toronto’ and not the nickname (which I refuse to even type because it’s so ridiculous.)

As far as the Celts go - I was so bitter about everything they got that I completely lost sight of the fact that I would take any one of those guys (Pierce, Allen, Garnett) in a heartbeat. I’ve loved their games forever and I lost sight of this when Boston got sh*t lucky and ended up with all three. So, I’ve decided to stop being bitter and admit that they are a really good team. From now on, I’ll only hate them because they are division rivals.

One other thing - how funny is it that Toronto and the Celts are about to be in the same position as far as coaches are concerned? Think about it - Rivers is probably on his way to coach of the year honors mainly because his team got completely rebuilt. I would argue that he would have been fired by now without the roster changes and the resulting performance improvement. Now, he’ll be locked in long term even though many would argue that he’s, well, not a very good coach. This is exactly the same a Sam Mitchell (in my opinion, of course).

by dsl on Dec 19, 2007 12:00 AM EST reply actions