Game-Day Preview - Raptors vs. Wizards

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT in Media Watch

Some great discussion on the site yesterday concerning the "what if?" factor in regards to the Raptors’ past.

What if Alonzo Mourning had decided to come to Toronto?

What if the Raps had held onto Chauncey Billups?

What if Yogi Stewart played like he did in Sacramento and became the shot-blocking machine he was projected to be?

Ok, obviously I jest concerning Yogi but nevertheless this franchise has indeed seen its share of strange twists of fate in the past decade plus...

...I’m just hoping that the injury to Jorge Garbajosa doesn’t become one of them.

Minus Garbs on Wednesday night the Raptors cruised along, laying a beating on the Miami Heat. Tonight they face another crucial test in the Washington Wizards and hopefully the team is once again up to the challenge minus two of their best players. Raptor fans certainly don’t need the season to turn into a case of "what if Andrea Bargnani and Garbajosa were only healthy down the stretch..."

Bargnani was actually back at practice yesterday for some light shooting and spoke to the media concerning his return. It seems like doctors have given him the "thumbs up" to begin some light work and if things go as planned, he could be back in practice as early as next week.

Of course Il Mago wouldn’t entertain comparisons to his team-mate Garbajosa’s situation stating that he "was lucky...it was just an appendix." From the sounds of it, Jorge is still hoping to be back for this summer’s European Basketball Championship and already, various urban legends about his injury and recovery process have started to spread.

But turning away from injury talk and focussing on tonight’s game, I’m hoping to see a similar effort to that of Wednesday night this evening. A Toronto win would go a long way in determining their final seeding come playoff time (it would give the Raps a 3-1 series edge over the Wiz) and would put some more distance between themselves and the other teams looking for a top three spot.

Last night the Chicago Bulls edged the Detroit Pistons in what was a technical foul filled, closely contested affair (which was funny considering TNT's next game, Phoenix and Golden State, had the same score at half as the Bulls and Pistons did in the fourth quarter) and Chicago now finds itself only a few games back of Cleveland for second in the East. I for one am rooting for the Bulls as the season wears on as this would be the best-case scenario for the Raptors. If Chicago moves into second, the Cavs would drop all the way to fifth potentially and the two teams I least want Toronto to face in the first round, would thus be seated atop of Toronto in the standings and avoided as first round opponents.

Of course the Raptors can only control their own destiny in so far as winning as many of their remaining games as possible starting tonight against the Wiz. Washington, as we’ve seen on three occasions now, can put up point in a hurry but also are one of the league’s biggest sieves defensively. Last time these teams met Washington’s offence over-powered the Raptors and players like Antonio Daniels made huge unexpected contributions to lead the Wizards to victory. Washington also pounded Toronto inside and on the glass (49 to 27) and therefore key number 1 tonight – Kris Humphries and the Raptors’ rebounding.

Humphries had his best game of the year against Miami and I’m expecting a similar effort this evening. Even if Humpty Hump doesn’t grab seven offensive boards, I’m hoping to see him playing solid defence down low, hitting the glass and keeping the likes of Jamison and Haywood in check. In fact the Raptors as a collective need to rebound the ball just like they did against Miami and keep the Wizards from getting out on the break and second chance opportunities.

The second thing I’ll be watching for tonight is Chris Bosh. Bosh has been back to his All-Star level of play lately (with the exception of the brick-fest in Boston) and he’s going to be a huge key in tonight’s game. Last time these teams met his defense on Antawn Jamison was porous to say the least and as a result Jamison dropped 25 on the Raps to spur the Wiz. CB4 is going to need to tighten the screws on this side of the court and take the ball aggressively to the hole on the other this evening.

Last - bench play. Toronto’s bench has been noticeably shorter due to injury however needs to keep providing a boost for the Raptors’ starting crew. I’m still looking to see more from both Mo Pete and Joey Graham however it was nice to see both players on Wednesday night attempting to take the ball to the rim instead of settling for long-range shots. Washington’s bench isn’t deep but their big three of Arenas, Butler and Jamison more than make up for this and I’m looking for a balanced scoring attack once again from Toronto. The Raptors have done a relatively good job of keeping Arenas in check so far this season but even if he does have a classic "Agent Zero" type performance, that could easily be negated by superior bench play from Toronto.

Finally, lost in all of the injury and ranking talk is the fact that a win tonight would mark Toronto’s 40th this season. 40 WINS? When the season started who would have imagined this? In fact it’s almost impossible that Toronto won’t reach that mark and thinking back to last year’s 27 wins, this is a huge accomplishment that can’t be understated. The best Raptor team ever wins-wise was the 2000-2001 squad which won 47 games. Can this year’s squad approach that mark?

A win tonight will go a long way in terms of finding out...

FRANCHISE

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Comments

Once again the KEY to a win is TEAM defense and TEAM rebounding. It would also help if the jump shots (3's ) were falling in from AP, Dixon & MoPete.

by Johnn19 on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

your comment on 40 wins almost made me teary-eyed. what a turn around and what heart for these guys to come together like this in one season. this is one cynical long time raptors fan that is starting to believe.

by axl on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Nice to see my man Kris Humphries getting some respect in the blog.

by Davl on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

johnn19, any other keys you want to throw in there? like maybe scoring more points than them? just kidding. :)

but yeah you're right, a solid, consistent defensive effort against the wiz tonight would be nice to see.

and it is nice to see humps getting some pub, and hopefully he can keep it going.

on a side note, it's pretty much a lock now that BC is going to win EOY again. I mean humps for the brazilian? what a steal. seriously. dixon for ford? garbo? bargs? parker? and I bet you by the time luke gets off the court, (when he finally does get to play,) he'll be calling BC his daddy too....no star wars jokes here.

and if they even get close to to the franchise 47 wins, which is not out of the question, sam should be put at the top of the COY list too, for coaching through all of these injuries.

and alllllllllll of us haters will have to repent.

by papa on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

The biggest difference this game from last will be AP on "0"! Caron Butler just got back from being hurt (which was killing both my pools), and had a decent last game.

I think JD will light up the mid-game.

And someone.. please.. anyone.. put a hurt on 'Twan!

What if I invented the internet? Hmmmm...

by ustation on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

At the start of this season, I was figuring on the Raps getting a grand total of 36-38 wins. Wow, they're impressing me so far.

Once they started doing better and better, I altered my prediction to a new franchise record of 48 wins. Now with 11 games remaining, and only 4 of those against decent teams (Detroit x 2, Chicago, and Miami - although they lambasted them last time), it's entirely conceivable that they reach that mark.

I'd be happy with 46 too, just so you don't think I'm reaching to much.

And "papa" you're entirely right. Colangelo has shown he has an amazing talent at getting something for nothing, and he is a phenomenal judge of talent. Mitchell for CoY, and Colangelo for EoY: it's a lock (provided TOR wins around 46 games, I figure).

by Frank on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I voted for hump to be the guy who had to step it up the most in Garbo's absence because honestly, given Mo Pete's recent play, and Joey Graham, I figured he's the most likely guy to do it. One good game is nothing to go on, for sure, but it would be great to see how this all turns out.

I'm more pumped for Raps' playoff ball now than I was in '02, and I think the critical difference between last year's club and this year's club is the mentality. Sam's gotten better as a coach, and he's grown and continues to grow as much as the players have been.

The team seems to be truly a team of players, Sam's managed to instill that in everyone, and Colangelo found a cast that would actually fit that system. It's just a great time to be a Raps' fan.

Do you guys still have the results of that poll from the start of the season on how many games the Raps would win? I'd love to see that posted, because it's a good snapshot of how well we all thought the team would do, and I know in my mind they've eclipsed where I thought they'd be (ie: Nets territory).

by Shep on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Earlier in the season I predicted that the Raps would wine about 37-40 games. I think they're ahead of the pace and have exceeded my expectations.

They still need a slasher but I'm liking Kris Humphries as a rebounder. Could he be our version of Anderson Varejao? Maybe all he needed was the minutes. As long as he stays within his game I like what I have seen.

What little I have seen oo Uros I liked. He can bang on the boards and has a nice mid range shot. What happened to Pape? Gone next year?

by Todd on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Easy win for us tonight if we do just one thing. Keep Antwain Jamison off the boards and limit his points. He always kills us. Bosh is usually guarding him, and plays very poor defense against him.

Would like to see Luke J. play some minutes tonight, and not just token ones either.

by jay on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

We do have the results from the old question and will be posting them again shortly. It will be interesting to see how expectations have been exceeded even for the most hard core fan.

by HOWLAND on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Did anyone else notice Reggie Miller & Steve Kerr talking like it was a foregone conclusion that Mitchell would win COY last night? That was jarring, given that I still can't say whether I want him back next season... but then, a reigning COY being let go wouldn't be unprecedented. Didn't Carlisle win it with Detroit only to be replaced by Larry Brown?

by lightninghank on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

from here on in the only thing left to battle for is home court advantage. but i am not entirely convinced that having home court advantage is as important as people tend to think it is...

the 2-3-2 format is arguably just as advantageous for the away team. if the home team slips up in one of the first two games - which happens more often than not - the away team has everything in its favor. if the home team wins the first two games, the away team still has a good opportunity to go on a run and even have the series lead before returning to the other team's court.

the playoff format should be 2-2-1-1-1 , but that would cost both teams more $$$. or it should be 2-2-3 , but that would cost one team even more $$$. i don't expect the nba to make a change in the foreseeable future, but sooner or later something has to be done by the mlb to fix their format. maybe just dock the wildcard team.

by dkmo on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Why is it that people still don't want Smitch back? Is it the lack of emphasis on team play? The animosity btw the coach and players? The lack of communication with the GM? The stubbornness that leads the coach not to use his assistant? How about the lack of player development, inability to work through adversity, or unwillingness to instill a work ethic and insist on effort? How about poor results, lack of overall team improvement, or the failure to get the most out of bench players?

Please - open your eyes folks. If it ain't broke, don't break it.

by D on Mar 30, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions