3 in the Key - Toronto Raptors Game-Day Preview Against the Heat

If anyone has a stream, hook a fellow rogers customer up:

tphillips@philson.ca

Olympiacos is playing Maccabi on Raps TV. It's a good chance to see our boy Printezis in action and a little bit of Childress. Great way to pass your Saturday!!!

I'm actually curious to see if Chalmers (who has some pretty bad stats) or Roko/Solomon performs worse tomorrow.

Now I just have to figure out which Bell Store to loiter in tomorrow afternoon so that I can watch the game.

Make sure to let Chris Hebb (chebb@mapleleafsports.com) know what you think about TSN2 carrying Raptor games.

Oh - and I'm so glad to see that TSN1 is showing WTP MASTERS TENNIS FROM SHANGHAI at 1pm tomorrow instead of the Raptors game!!! That's some A-1 quality Canadian content for you. What a frickin joke.

Even though I love tennis, I'd rather watch the Raps live as the tennis is tape-delayed. TSN should show it live at 4am (I'll either get up or tape it myself) and repeat it on TSN2 later.

I'm expecting a Raptors win tomorrow, Calderone or no Calderone. I just think we match up really well with Miami. They are a middle of the road 3pt shooting team (good shooting has killed us) and they are 24th in the league in rebounding. Raptor's have the obvious advantage inside, so the key will be to control the tempo into a grind-it-out half court game and keep D wade out of the lane.

Vicous D, are you seriously making the argument in your post that Bargnani is a better defender out on the wings than Bosh is? Don't get me wrong, I've been very impressed with the progression that Bargs has shown on the defensive end, especially his post D and uncanny ability to block shots by just playing big and having his hands up. But he's looked look a lamp post on a couple of occasions... Tayshawn prince dribbling circles around him comes to mind.

While Bosh known for his ability to agressively "show" on pick and rolls because of his mobility, harrassing ball handlers. He received much cudos for doing just that at the Olympics this summer.

The Raptor is apparently day-to-day with an ankle sprain... SI actually interviewed the guy behind the costume to ask about injuries:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/ian_thomsen/11/13/weekly.countdown/index.html

Howland and I are going to try and get to the sportsbook early tomorrow to make sure we get the Heat game. Sounds like Jose's not going to be playing so it should be very interesting. The Heat don't exactly have great point guard play either so it'll be on Bosh and O'Neal to try and compensate in his absence.

Mild strain for Jose so hopefully he'll be back for Orlando. And as D says, we'll really see how this team goes now without him.

MAS - I'm suggesting the matchup works better with Bargnani chasing him all over the place rather than Bosh. Yes, he didn't do so well on that sequence against Prince, but that didn't make his whole night. Yes, Bosh is a better defender, but do you want him crazy exhausted? I'm not sure you want him to chase him all around the floor for the entire game. He'll have to play Marion when O'Neal is on the floor anyways, we'll at least see how Bargs does when he and O'Neal are on the floor at the same time.

At the very least, it's another test to see just how improved Bargnani's defense really is.

Great way to pass your Sunday

Too bad we didn't trade Moon for Anthony Morrow yesterday.

willing to give left nut for stream

tphillips@philson.ca

hey guys, got a link

e mail me at tphillips@philson.ca if u want it.

I think playin' bargs at the 3 is situational. he has been playing better defense, consistently even, and there are times when it could work having on the floor alongside bosh and o'neal.

detroit should not have been one of those times.

in any case, wonder if the scalpers are going to be raising the prices this afternoon knowing there's going to be a few extra fans looking to get in without the tv.

stupid rogers. stupid tsn. I really do want to ban both of them for eternity for this.

btw, anybody catching the game at a bar?

For the Rogers folks out there -- I found this link... don't know if it works, but it's worth a try:

http://www.myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=24291&part=sports

Howland/Franchise -- please remove that last post if there's any chance it affects raptorshq... I'm off to a neighbour's to watch ExpressVu now (and cancelling Rogers when I get back)

Will loose a lot of respect for Smitch this afternoon if Bargs does start at the three... Doug Smith sums it up best:
"I personally don’t think Bargnani is a small forward. Being defended by threes takes away most of the advantage he had going against fours, which is quickness and the ability to beat them off the dribble. Defending threes may lead him to the early foul trouble that takes him out of games. I’m not sure there’s enough space on the floor with Bosh and O’Neal to let Bargnani attack the basket, something he’s been doing more of this season. I think the kid was finally getting comfortable in a defined role and now it’s changed, at least for the start of the game."

In addition, the big man rotation of O'Niel, Bosh and Bargs was finally starting to take form and was one of the only good things going for Toronto recently.... Now in somewhat of a panic move, that's out the window. Also, do we really want to go down the road of jerkng Bargs position and rotation around again after what happened last year. They win this game today, but it won't be because of this move. In fact, this move hurts this team over the long run. Not a good look Smitch...

here you go folks:

http://www.calcion.altervista.org/live1.htm

catching the game on a live online feed and I swear to david hasselhoff if I have to hear that stupid NBA commercial with the 'where amazing happens' I will hurt someone.

andrea, dare I say, has turned the corner.

HAHA.. MAS...you for sure shot urself in the foot.. andrea was great starting at the three... you are so great at understanding the game arent u.. hahaha

Blanco,
Obviously you need to practise your reading comprehension. You missed the point of my post. My point was I don't think this move is good in the long run for the development of Bargs and the overall rotation of this team. Heck, I even predicted they would probably win this game... but it would be because they are a better team than Miami, and match up well against them.

By your post I can tell you aren't capable of entering a debate on the points I have raised and have to resort to great arguments like: "HAHA". Get back at me when you have something intelligent to say.

Ohhh Mas... poor old Mas... All the points stated were horrible... in ur quote from the article it has bargniani not being able to have enough room to drive (if u saw the game.. that was not the case)... bargniani cant defend three's? (did u see marions stats?)... and actually.. it will only work for a better development because he will need to challenge himself more inorder to be succesful at the three.. in turn, he will be a more diverse player.. and ultimatley better.... Bargniani is a much better starting three than jamario moon, and jamario moon is a great bench player to bring a different spark.. so overall.. ur wrong.. but i get what ur saying... And i still do think he is a true PF, but i just think he is a good fit at three instead of moon..however, i would prefer him a PF and have somebody like gerald wallace at three

OK Blanco much better, and good try little fella... But I’ve got a couple of issues with what you have said.
Yes, Bargs had room to move around and made some very good plays in the first quarter. However, Miami has one of the smallest frontcourts in the league. Haslem is their starting centre and is 6 foot 8. What will happen when they play teams with legitimate size and strength that will be able to clog up the lane?

Marion... So you are going to give Bargnani credit for shutting down Marion? Who has been ass all year anyways... Oh and Marion started at the PF spot. Nice try.

Hey I hear your argument about challenging Bargani to be more diversified, however he has a track record of not being able to adjust to changes very well. Did you watch any Raptors games last year? Bargs was in and out of the starting line-up, his role shifted around and he suffered for it. Anyways, he played well today and I hope he can keep it up...

While the duel between MAS and Blanco is kinda amusing, I think it's fair to say that: i) Bargs starting at the 3 is risky for the reasons described in the Doug Smith quote, but ii) he did darn well today and definitely deserves another shot in the Orlando game.

Extra debate points to MAS for avoiding the use of the juvenile "u," "ur."

In his first start I think Bargnani did excellent. Him and Bosh started strong providing an excellent 1-2 punch. His agressiveness is so encouraging. His defence continues to look better.
JO played the game we want from him. Third or fourth scoring option and a momster on the boards. Took a few too many shots but a lot were on rebounds.
Solomon played like a good backup, actually distributed the ball well. Ukic still looks green but check the boxscore, Raptors were a +10 when he was on the floor.
Humphries performance surprise no-one. Given the opportunity he performs.

Don't wanna gloat to much. Its a game we should of won, and I'll accept the closeness on the lack of Jose.

Wow, a nice win against a decent team with lots of positives to take home:

-Bargnani looking very good both on offense and defense, one of the best games I have seen him play in a Raps uniform.

-Both backup point guards doing a decent job, not getting too much in the way of the offense and even Solomon draining a couple important treys.

-Very solid 1-2 punch in the post from Bosh and JO, with Humphries also contributing there.

-Even Moon seemed to play a lot more intense and aggressive coming from the bench, just as Jack Armstrong noted.

By the way, thanks to the League Pass, this was the first time I could watch the live broadcast with Devlin and Armstrong and I loved it, lots of insightful commentary there. Can't compare it to the Chuck era because I never saw it, but I can better understand your praise now.

MAS said: My point was I don't think this move is good in the long run for the development of Bargs and the overall rotation of this team.

- Which is where I disagree with you. This was the perfect opportunity for Bargs to be experimented with at the 3 spot in a starting lineup. He presents a terrific matchup problem for the Heat, and by rolling with a big lineup the Raps get to experiment in real time with all three on the floor at once.

Even if the Raps lose, there is no harm in giving Bargs a carrot for his strong defensive play of late and letting him start against weak opposition - and especially weak opposition that is undersized.

It need not be corrosive to team chemistry because the reasons for giving it a shot are obvious. If it were Tim Duncan and the Donuts? Bargs is still #1 off the bench. But Haslem and Co.? Why not let Bargs beat up on someone for a change?

holy cow what a relief solomon's play was...

MAS - I hear you loud and clear, and would tend to agree with you. Looks like a desperation move from Smitch.

However, it worked tonight and it might be worth seeing if it continues to work. The glaring need at SF and the lack of tradable assets or cap space means that drastic measures might be required. If Bargs can hold down the fort, we can bring Hump in to back up the bigs. That means we are using our position of strength to hide a weakness. If nothing else, it might showcase Hump.

I still want to see more of Joey. I don't think Moon gives us anything that Joey can't do better.

I'm also surprised no one has commented on Soloman's game. Is it time for a little humble pie Vicious D?

RA - Nope. Still a shooting guard pretending to be a PG. And looking at Ukic, his defense is getting better.

Put it another way, assist numbers lie. I always argued against TJ's assist numbers last year for the same reason. Just because you can directly feed a guy doesn't mean that you control the offense correctly or properly. The speed of ball movement was completely different with Ukic on the floor and Solomon still was giving the ball to people out of position.

Watching the game tells everything.

test for that test