Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post-Game – Risky Business

Would just like to point out that Bosh struggling with his J's early on was perhaps because someone really wanted the raptors to lose against Atlanta that they decided to stall Bosh by tampering with his building's elevator. Bosh was stuck with three other strangers for fifty agonizing minutes.

The plan failed miserably. Bosh got out and arrived late at the ACC right before tipoff. He was playing cold not having the benefits of warming up.

Jose's hammy must still be bothering him, because he is really struggling with his jump shot. Before, when he shot you were almost certain it was going in and would be surprised when he missed. Now it seems like every time he gets it in, it's a mini victory.

I second that, Art, Jose doesn't seem to be playing 100% healthy yet.

Any news about JO's knee? Is he gonna be available for the tough games ahead?

Wow, Franchise (talking about your last post in pre-game section), I was thinking the exact same thing. Going back to Calderon and Bargs completely deflated our late game momentum. As much as Solomon is still Solomon, he is improving. Less shots, less complaining, and better defence. I really wanted him to be given a chance to close out that game, Jose is just not Jose. He was bordering on bad last night, and to be clear, I completely attribute this to the hammy. And Bargs, he just was not on last night on the offensive end. Pulled another one of his disappearing tricks. I don't even buy the argument of putting him in for his D, Hump could accomplish this and still offer that trademark hustle that had us running away with it in the middle of the 4th. I never thought I would be arguing for Solomon and Hump at the end of a game, but they were clicking and should have been left out. But that's my boy Sam, uggghhhh!

Efforts like the last two games from Joey G. give the Raps what we've all be saying we lack. Can we have this Joey for the rest of the year?
Would like to be able to rest Jose some, he's not 100%. Ukic got the quick hook and sat for the second half. Solomon didn;t hurt us but would like to see Sam give Roko more burn.
We beat a Hawks team that are no longer pushovers, a team ahead of us in the standings.
We are a game above 500(might be a while before we can say that again)with a difficult stretch ahead. I will be pleased if we can take 1 of our next 4, overjoyed if we win 2, yet still calm if we get swept. 15 games in we are still a work in progress, and I can see the positives.

yeah I'm with you tinman, these next four games are not 'should wins' but, except the lakers, entirely 'winnable' - I'll stay calm if they drop a few here.

on ukic though I thnk mitchell stayed with solomon just to control the tempo. Ukic is a run and gunner, don't want to get the hawks running

Branden
It sure is easy to call a game after its been played, eh?

I was really impressed with Solomon last night. Outside of his first shot attempt, I thought he provided some much needed energy off the bench and really changed the tempo of the game. His much needed defense seemed to provide an answer to Bibby killing us with the 3 ball. We would have run away with the game if Smitch would have kept him on the floor, but I understand if he was afraid of sending the wrong message to Calderon.

Nice to see Joey repeat his Wednesday performance. It would be a bonus if he could give them consistency the rest of the way, particularly on the defensive end. They just have to give him consistent minutes for a protracted period, and let him run with it, as opposed to pulling him when he makes a mistake.

Nice to have 2 consecutive wins however there were a few miscues on the defense in the final quarter that could have changed the outcome. Hopefully with the return of O’Neal the Raps will be better able to expand on a lead. It’s encouraging that the offense tacticians have finally found a way to include Kapono. If nothing else changes, that’s progress that definitely buoys my spirit for future games.

Lucked into fantastic seats for last nights game, right behind the Hawks bench and here are a couple of thoughts:

1. Mike Woodson is a lot bigger in person than he looks on TV. I think Woodson Vs. Mitchell in a MMA Celebrety death match would be hiarious! Hey they almost got into it over TJ last year...

2.Comment of the night from my wife: "Who's that little boy? Does he work for the team?"
This comment was directed at Roko Ukic as he checked in. When I told her "...no that's our back-up PG" she actually giggled. And you know what Ukic in person, on the court with NBBA vets, looks about twelve.

3. Bosh was absolutely running our defensive sets. Sure they had principles and schemes in place, but Bosh was calling audibles like John Elway. And importantly the team was totally keyed in. There were a few occasions where Bosh was calling out a few players (Kapono specifically) for missed assignments and there was no rolling of eys, no walking away. Guys would just nod in agreement and Bosh would pat-m on the back or says something encouraging. Brilliant to see.
4. The Joe-y Joe-y chants were fantastic. Completely spontaneous, genuine and a little tounge in cheek, in a good natured sort of way. Everyone in my section was chanting with big grins on their faces. I found myself thinking in a Feschukian manner - wow how low our expectations of our wing players have fallen if 11 points from Grahm elicits a "Joe-y" chant from the crowd... Oh well good for Joey, glad to see we have the wing position all sorted out now. Few.
5. As we were making our way out after the game had ended they were doing the post game interview with Bosh that was pumped through the loud speakers. As he begain to answer questions a building chant of MVP began, and most of the fans left in the areana begain to join in. What was great is Bosh stopped mid-sentance to raise his arms in appreciatoin. After seeing something like that I find it hard to believe that Bosh could go anywhere in 2010. The fans love him, he loves the fans, and the Raps can pay him 30 mil more than anyone else... Lets just hope that's enough because after watching him play live... and I can't emphasize this enough, he's an absolute GAME CHANGER. You have to construct your entire defense around him, and now it appears that may not be enough. Before, even last year he was a good player, but if he can sustain the level of performance he has had so far this season he's top five in the NBA and near unstoppable.

Doesn't Bosh becoming a top 5 game changing type player in this league put us on par talent wise with Cleveland? LeBron is the engine that drives that team and the talent around him is not spectacular by any means, and yet they know how to win, with each of his supporting cast doing the little things necessary. The question I guess is, does our supporting cast have a talent advantage over Cleveland's supporting cast such that it makes up for the talent gap between LeBron and Bosh. If the Raptors can come together as cohesively then it is at least plausible. I like that the offense was a bit more varied and I expect improved play (even if they end up losing) over the next four games.

When Andrea goes back to his more comfortable position at the 3, I think the rotation should work itself out in a way that makes use of the roster talent better.

Tinman, why the cheap shot? Seriously, weak man, weak. Can't say I'm surprised. I was saying those things as the game was going on last night to the people I watched it with. Does that mean that Franchise's previous comments, reflecting the exact same sentiments, are merely the ramblings ok a know-it-all arm chair quarterback too? Please tone down the weakness man.

Would have been a more interesting game is Zaza had came back in. The guy was killing the Raptors on the boards.

Bosh should finally get some rest as there will be a few blow out games....if Sam still plays him 40 minutes a night I'm going to jump off a bridge.

Regardless of what happened over the last couple games this team's weaknesses are still very glaring. JO can help in the rebounding department however we still have a major problem at the 2/3 spots.

This team as it stands still does not strike me as a second round team. I can't see them beating the Celtics, Pistons, Cavs or Magic in a 7 game series....perhaps they can take the Magic this year with JO helping out Bosh against Howard.

If the Raps can pick up 1 win in the next 4 games then they'll be ok. If they pick up 2 out of 4 I'll be thrilled. Wouldn't be suprised to see them drop 4 of 4 though.

Against the Lakers once they build up a big lead I sincerely hope Sam does not play Bosh or Calderon much so they can rest up. And JO certainly shouldn't risk playing against the Lakers.

I'm curious to see how the Raptors come out tonight. They're accustomed to early Sunday games so will the late start do them in early? Or will they be more energized considering the foe.

I don't see Toronto winning this game, the Lakers are just too deep and talented, but I'm hoping to see at least a continuation of the bench play from Friday night. That's still this team's X Factor and probably determines past Dec. 15 how much help BC looks to bring in.

JO practiced yesterday but who knows if he'll play tonight. Gonna be REALLY tough without him though thanks to Bynum, Gasol, Odom and co so Hump better be ready to bring his A game.

This is my post for Mr Joey Graham. For all those that feel like we have given JG too many chances already, I would actually disagree. We drafted him as a senior and expected him to learn a new position as a rookie. He was admittedly given plenty of chances in season one, but ultimately lost his job to ROY runner up Charlie V. He pretty much lost his job to Garbo in his sophomore season. Yet even that season, after Garbs went down, JG came in and did extremely well. The following season, JG couldn't buy any burn. He sat and watched some Sam's man-crush on undrafted rookie Moon grow. Still, he didn't complain, trained hard in the off season, played very well in the summer league and despite injuries, showed that he was more ready than ever this preseason. I still remember in the first game, after he dunked on someone, how pumped up CB4 came running over to congratulate him - I believe his teammates are pulling for him. And that with Joey starting he makes us a better team.

If we start games with Parker and Joey on the wings, that is at least average defensively. Plus Joey has been excellent offensively by only taking what is given to him and not forcing anything. With Joey starting he would be the fifth option, and he seems to know that. That said he can still hit open jumpers and can drive to the rim better than anyone else on the roster. It also means we can bring Bargs and Kapono off the bench, which would also upgrade a current roster flaw.

There must be something between Joey and Sam. Maybe it was the article a few years back by Marty York citing 'sources' complaining about Smitch and stating that players were tuning him out. At the time, most guessed it was MoPete, but maybe Sam figures JG was on that boat too. Regardless, I can't see why JG isn't getting more minutes. Even when he does get minutes (like last night), it seems Sam gives Moon just as many. I don't see why Moon is getting any minutes, I fail to see what he provides that JG isn't currently doing better.

With that I will end my rant and wait to see how well we do against the Lakers.

PS wtf - wtf is up with conceding to the Lakers before the game is even played? It isn't even the first of back to backs. I agree with not playing CB4 and JC 40+ minutes a night, but your tone makes it sound like it would be foolish to even go into Staples Centre trying to get a win.

Can't see the Raps doing much against the Lakers tonight; the Lakers are just too good, even if JO manages to play. They probably would have won it all last year if Bynum had been healthy. It'll be interesting to see who guards Bosh, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Odom get the lion's share of those minutes.

Sorry if the post sounded a bit more negative than I meant it to.

What I meant was that play the game as you would any other game however if we're down by 20 I don't want to see Bosh trying to take one 5 guys by himself which usually happens and I don't want to see Jose running around on a weak hamstring which is obviously limiting.

However if we're close then yes by all means play Bosh the 40 minutes if we can win.

However I just can't see it happening. The Raps biggest weaknesses are rebounding and perimter defence. We're going up against the best 2 guard in the world and probably the best rebounding big man combo in the league.

Here's the thing that I can't figure out about Joey and everything.

Two years ago, Mo Pete was kinda outta shape, making some odd defensive choices at times, and not really playing up to his usually standard because of the lack of minutes. What happened with his minutes? They went to the enigmatic Jorge Garbajosa and one Joey Graham. During that time, it felt as if management made a decision. I can't blame them at the time, because Garbajosa and Graham had a great year and a decent year respectively. Unfortunately, Garbajosa injured his leg, Mo Pete was discontent and decided to bolt for a starting position with the Hornets, and Graham got displaced by both Delfino and Moon.

So here's the thing. We basically tossed away Mo Pete for what? It's been a question that's been bothering me a lot lately. I mean, I've lamented a lot about back about how much we miss Garbajosa, but we also lost Mo Pete as well. If the Raptors had played their cards somewhat different, and distributed minutes better, Mo Pete could have still been a Raptor had they managed to free a little cap space. Since then, we have had major problems at the 3 because Delfino had a tendency to jack up shots, Kapono is a great shooter, but doesn't have the strength or mobility to guard most 3s in the league, Moon is doing his best VC impression as the most athletic 3 we have who doesn't use his athleticism, and so we're stuck with Joey Graham once again.

I just think about how we got ourselves into this position lately, and well... Facing the Lakers makes me think about how far the Raptors are from being a Championship contender at the moment.

Just some thoughts.

Vicious D, as much as we all love Mo Pete, he is not doing very well in New Orleans. The reason that they went after Posey is because Mo is declining fast. I would bet if we offered Kapono for Mo Pete, as they have identical contracts, New Orleans would do it in a heart beat.

Speaking of ex-raptors, our boy Charlie V is in the dog house of Scott Skilles in Milwaukee and his minutes are down each game. Maybe we can throw something to get him back.

Joey Graham has the athletic ability, to play offense and defense, like Moon to play the 2/3 positions.
But until now except for his spell when Garbo was hurt he has had the "Raptors Disease" of inconsistent play, from game to game, the same as Moon, Kapono, Humphries, and Parker so far this year, and Bargnani, until this year.
This is the main thing holding the team back from playing and winning more consistently, and will only improve with that consistent effort improving.

With all due respect, good joey bad joey is partly because of his inconsistent minutes. One mistake and he is banished to the bench for the rest of the game. He has a good game, the next one he is gone. Honestly, two good games in a row from Joey? I expect that he won't even see the floor tonite.

That kind of boenheaded player management would make anyone have a difficult time to adjust.

And, I think that Humps gets much the same treatment.

And I don't know why.

viscious - I'm with you (and a number of people on this site) on mo pete and I personally think mo pete should have finally gotten paid what he was worth and been kept as the starting sf. I always felt he really just wanted that respect and commitment and I thought his disgruntledness stemmed from that. I think losing him hurt the raps and really hurt AP because he suddenly had to play the defense of two.

Few things -

1. Mo Pete. Mo struggled last year in NO for sure - he wasn't in shape, took a while to figure out his role, and just couldn't seem to shoot. However he started this year off terrific and looked better than he had in years...until his recent injury. I think the Hornets are missing his D right now as their starters have not gotten the job done since he's gone down.

2. I think people are being a BIT too optimistic about Joey. I'm happy for the guy, but there are still moments that just show how bad his basketball IQ is. Best example - end of first half Friday night, Hawks ball, Joe Johnson at halfcourt...

FOR SOME REASON JOEY IS TRYING TO D HIM UP OUT THERE.

I couldn't believe it, and neither could Mitchell who immediately started to scream at him to get back to at least the 3 point line before looking to match up one-on-on. I had to shake my head. That's not something a player who's been around as long as Joey should have to be told as one quick move from Johnson and he would have been free to head towards the paint.

I've been watching a lot of ball courtesy of Raps TV and I've noticed something: we as fans have seen a litany of guards carve up the raps defense and we've talked and commented a lot about it. (mostly complained.)

but what's interesting to see is these same guards carving up everybody else too. devin harris, bibby, rondo, parker...nobody stops them from doing what they want to do.

in any case, I can only hope JO plays tonight. even if it's on only one leg. he's still the only guy who wouldn't stand for someone going off for 81 on him.

It'll also be interesting to watch bargs when he's on the floor with gasol. he generally plays well against other euro big men. tends to be more aggresive. we'll see.

yo yo yo, bosh rules

www.boshrules.com

Guys,
Where's the gameday preview? I'm jonesin' here!

The Nets have been playing scary good basketball lately...mother f#%kers... Harris and Carter are really clicking. I'm starting to hate League Pass!

It's halftime of the Lakers game--is the score correct? I think the Lakers got credit for an extra basket. Should be up eight but are instead up by ten. Can anyone confirm?

not a bad game necessarily by the raps, the lakers are just scary good. JO would have come in really handy to combat the bynum factor. it took its toll on bosh, having to deal with him all game long.

but bargs had a great game. really impressed with his defense. it's just getting better and better.

not feeling bad about this loss at all.

is that good??

as good as Bosh is He has done nothing against Boston and now LA I love His game but if He wants to be considered MVP He mush produce against elete teams. AB steady improvement!

Andrea Bargnani might end up being the best player on the team even if Bosh remains here after 2010. He is just getting it defensively which probably raises his ceiling that much more. If I were the organization, I would split Bargnani's upcoming summer program between continued work with post moves/midrange game and development of his ballhandling skills. I would also work at cutting some weight and replacing it with lean muscle for improved quickness, while continuing to make him physically stronger, all with the goal of allowing him to evolve into an exceptional small forward.

JO would have been mighty useful in this game and I think if we look closely we see what the blueprint is for taking this group of Raptors to an elite level competitiveness. A strong competent centre, Bargnani and Bosh at the 3/4, a lockdown two who can make the shots available to him and a point guard that can negate the opposing point guard's contribution. The Lakers are actually a good model of how to construct a really good Raptors team through a year more or so of shrewd drafting and resource reallocation.

An aside, could Jamario Moon, with a little guidance turn into a Bruce Bowen type player--capable of hitting the corner three and focusing his energy on the defensive end? Maybe that's what suits him.

I have to say it: Armstrong is an idiot. He just dissed our team during the post-up not mentioning we didn't have JO and we kept it relatively close with CB4 playing awful.
Man, if we play better defense and rebound better (I know, big if's) we are such a good team. I actually liked our team a lot today.
I said it before: starting January, if health, we'll be the best in the East together with Boston and Cleveland.

Interloper,

When the Lakers were up 32-27, L.A. made a basket, but the score keepers (or The Score) didn't register it on the scoreboard. Right at the beginning of the second quarter, I noticed the score suddenly going up from 32 to 34 for L.A., which was actually the correct score.