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

good people of the world, and raptors fans: please leave rogers now. go to bell. even if you don't like bell. (like me)

they cannot and should not be allowed to pull this kind of nonsense on us.

as for the game, in the name of all things good and right...memo to the raptors: do not let vince shoot a 3 with no seconds left on the clock. punch him in the face, knock his legs out, do what you must. but don't let him shoot it.

because it will go in.

Just some more blast from the past draft analysis from the sporting news in 2000:

1995 -- Ed O'Bannon: Everybody's 1995 College Player of the Year and the leader of the Bruins' championship squad, O'Bannon was picked as much for his squeaky-clean reputation as for his jump shot. He fell to ninth because of questions about a surgically-repaired knee, but the Nets figured he was worth the gamble. Boy, were they wrong. O'Bannon was a complete bust and was out of the NBA by last season. He had no true NBA position, being too slight to be a forward and too slow to be a tall shooting guard. Plus he couldn't shoot. GRADE: F.

1994 -- Yinka Dare: The word "bust" doesn't begin to describe it. Dare's impressive physique and Atlantic 10 rebounding titles as a freshman and a sophomore convinced Willis Reed that he could develop slowly behind two other Reed pet projects -- Benoit Benjamin and Dwayne Schintzius. Instead, Dare was forced into a starting role in 1995-96 -- which unfortunately for the foul-prone Dare convinced all observers that he had no future at all. Dare, too, is out of the NBA. GRADE: F.

1998 -- Paul Pierce: This was nothing short of a shocker. Pierce, projected to go as high as No. 2 in many mock drafts, fell to No. 10. The Celtics grabbed him and he was among the top three rookies last year and, for much of the season, the best, most complete player on the team. Grade: A

1996 -- Antoine Walker: He went sixth overall. If the draft were held again, he'd probably go seventh, with Kobe Bryant jumping over him. Walker hasn't made a whole lot of improvement, but he still has skills that cause coaches to salivate. Grade: A-minus.

Cmon Raps. If there is one thing that drives me nuts, it's VC getting the better of the Raps. It's unholy.

My guess is that Triano has been around long enough to know the mindset of Vince. If people get physical with Vince he fades away and starts taking jumper after jumper. So let's go after him early by putting Graham in the starting lineup and giving him one mission. No easy VC baskets (therefore hard fouls are totally acceptable). This should take Vince out of the flow early and set the tone for his playing style for the rest of the game.

I'm not saying try to intentionally hurt him....just send a message. And then back that message up by sending it again.... and again.

From the Globe:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081212.ROGERS12/TPStory/Sports

It looks like the TSN2 stalemate is approaching a resolution...

RIP Yinka Dare

Thanks for the link lessthanzero - I wonder if Smith and the Star crew are steamed because one of their lead stories early this morning was that there was no resolution in sight!

Really excited for tonight's match actually...think Toronto is going to put on another solid performance and notch their second straight win...

Article in Newsday today about Cat Mobley (sad story, BTW) and who the Knicks might bring in to replace him.

They mentioned Count Chocula himself, Carlos Delfino, as a possibility.

Think I remember reading in the comments a few days ago that we still held his rights.

Can someone shed light on that for me please?

Link: http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/knicks/ny-spknix125962039dec12,0,2040928.story

Alright, so my conspiracy theory of the day is...

With Bosh being all-of-a-sudden down in the mouth (he's reading 'Twilight'? That's got to be a personal low...) is it possible that he got wind of a potential trade involving he and Joey?

And with Gerald Wallace all of a sudden out of the lineup in Charlotte for mysterious reasons (personal reasons? more like personnel reasons!).

Is it possible that we are going to see a world shattering trade?

Here goes!

To Charlotte:

Bosh + Graham

To Toronto:

Gerald Wallace + Emeka Okafor

If its me, I make that trade. I hate to see bosh go, I really do. The guy is THE heart and soul of this team. But come on, we aren't winning a title with him here and we risk losing him in 2010. With Wallace and Okafor our defense gets immensly better. Okafor gets to play beside a real centre in O'Neal. Wallace is the slashing scorer/defender that we desperately need.

Charlotte gets a premiere scorer to slide into the lineup next to newly acquired Diaw and Bell.

This trade works for everyone!

Again, I don't want to see Bosh traded...but if we were going to trade him (or else risk losing him, and BC has no doubt spoken to him about this possibility) then I think this might be the best deal out there.

Just looking at that trade I just put up, our lineup looks ridiculous after that...

1st unit: O'Neal/Okafor/Kapono/Wallace/Calderon

2nd unit:
Bargs/Hump/Moon/Parker/Ukic

Not a ton of rebounding on that second unit, but Hump and Moon can do it when they put their minds to it and Ukic will have at two good shooters to kick to when he gets in the paint in Parker and Bargs.

Or, maybe I'm just a raving wanna-be GM Lunatic...could go either way...

Casey,
Okafor got humiliated by Bargnani twice and you would like to swap Bosh to get him and keep Andrea on the bench?

MJ, is that you?

Casey there is no way BC would trade Bosh but it would be nice to get Wallace I just don't see who we would send to Charlotte to offset Wallace salary without going over the cap...unless we send Kapono, Joey and Hump and that's 3 for 1 on a team that only have 12 players..so that doesn't add up......another thing Bosh is not going anywhere in 2010 I wish everyone would just stop talking about 2010 its 2 years away, we don't care..If Bosh goes I am sure we will have enough money to buy another good player if not better...so stop it ..everyone please....

Lets concentrate on the task at hand...VC and Harris...We should have beaten Jersey last time around and they know it ...Jersey is actually a better team on the Road than in their own building so advantage Raps, plus we owe them one, so all the Raps have to do is bring it tonight...one for the lost last game and 2 for the injury to JO by Williams...This should be a good game tonight.......Raps4Life

Casey, I know we like to keep the tone of the conversation at a certain level around here, but I am extremely tempted to disregard that. While I in no way want to discourage people from playing GM (after all, isn't that half the fun?), that trade is absurd, absolutely ridiculous. I'm tempted to explain why, but instead I'll just leave it at that.

I'll crawl back under my rock now...

HQ Associate,

I'm sure we still hold his rights so I'm not sure what this paper is speculating about. If they want him, they'd have to make a trade of some sort...not to mention the fact that his Russian team isn't gonna just let him walk, in all likelihood.

badgers????.....BADGERS????!!.... WE DON'T NEED NO STEEENKING BADGERS.....

This game will be the real test of Triano's new "clog the lane" defense... we saw that Devin Harris can blow by Calderon every time, but hopefully he's forced into tougher shots.

Question: Is the future still Bosh and Bargnani? We have JO for this year and next but what happens after that?

One guy I'd like to see the Raps make a run at this offseason is Paul Millsap. I think he could be great as the first pf/c off of the bench. Move Bargs for whatever you can get....possiby a late lottary 1st round pick.

I think he can still develop into a great player but I'm tired of seeing the Raps getting beat up downlow.

I think the best way to ensure that Bosh stays in 2010 is to bring in good talent in 09 so that the Raps have a good season and he doesn't see any reason to move.

Having a big man trio of Millsap, O'neal and Bosh would be the best combination of scoring, rebounding and toughness the Raps ever had.

The wing situation is also something that needs to be addressed. Moon wasn't good enough to be in the NBA for 7 years, AP wasn't good enough for 4 years....there is know way they should both be starting at the wing spots for our team.

As for tonights game....Rogers sucks...we miss the next 3 games which is absolutely insane....how can most people in Toronto not have access to Toronto raptors games.

I'm predicting a Raptors win tonight by a fair amount...I predict that they will come out hungry after last times major disappointment.

Casey - Respect the hustle on the trade thoughts but no way I'd pull the trigger on that for one simple reason - Okafor.

Hard worker but in my opinion possibly the most overpaid PLAYER (Marbury and Eddy Curry sitting on the bench doesn't count) in the league. I can't even imagine the frustration from Raptors' fans to have a PF who can't score. The guy gets to the line half as much as Bosh and when he gets there, shoots about 55 per cent.

No thanks.

I'll take a run at Milsapp and his much smaller expected contract any day though. Still burns me up that the Raptors took Tucker over him in the draft.

BC - Totally agree with you. This will be a real good test of Triano's defensive schemes. In fact, to simplify the game-day preview, you might just be able to say that whoever wins between the Raptors' front-court and the Nets' back-court wins the game.

wtf said:

"As for tonights game....Rogers sucks...we miss the next 3 games which is absolutely insane....how can most people in Toronto not have access to Toronto raptors games. "

I'm almost positive that tonight's game is on TSN...

But Rogers does suck...don't even get me started...

I gotta say I love how Triano has this team playing so far. The back door cut for the alley-oop to Moon is EXACTLY the type of plays that have been missing. Recognize the defense and react. Nice job.

1st half recap:

Triano is the man.
- Great substitutions.
- Great defensive scheme.
Poor defensive rebounding (as usual).
- Great recovery after a short let down in the 2nd.

So far, good overall effort despite the poor defensive rebounding.

honestly, anthony parker is now my new mo pete.

it's going to kill me when they move him.

the guy is just so solid. he's up on his feet, off the bench, cheering on his boys when they do good things. if he were to come back and have to play off the bench, you know he'll do it.

I doubt he'll be here next year, and he probably won't be remembered 5 years from now - but we should.

here here papa.... almost brings tears to your eyes.

Anyone else finding themselves wishing Kapono was on the floor every play? I see Jose bring it up the floor and I'm thinking.."find JK". Even when he's not on the floor.

Top tier defensive effort.
Play defence like this the rest of the way and Jay Triano is going to be hoisting the COY trophy. Guaranteed.

Wow wow wow wow. I missed the game due to coaching tonight but I did see the box score and my oh my what a difference a coaching change can make. 0-13 for VC. The Franchise my ass (no offence to you Franchise lol). One thing I am curious about is the tempo of the game, did the Raptors get out and run the floor or was it all primarily half court sets? As for COY to Triano, with all due respect it has to go to Jerry Sloan this year. They have yet to have a healthy roster this season yet they compete night in and out. Wow again.

like the possibility of Millsap coming here but guys you have to let go of Wallace -- story was he said he wouldn't report if traded to Toronto prior to the draft when BC was weighing up the TJ options...

As to tonight's game: great defensive effort forcing NJ's weaker players to step up -- they couldn't. Also got to see the Vince still has bad games in him. Great use of the payers available by Triano: win or loose, the Raptors are fun to watch again! Also, note the improved body language by Bosh, the whole Bench and between Bosh and JO.
Anyone still wishing we had Chris Douglas-Roberts?

don't have any time to watch games these days, but a couple of things jump out from the boxscore:
(1) nice line for Roko;
(2) another productuve night for Kaps;
(3) nice reduced time for our starters (less than 32); (4) FOUR blocks for Bargs? Nice!
5) JO still not in the offence, and Bosh not on full throttle yet either.

Nice little win streak, hope it keeps going and it becomes the base to work from.

Anytime you can trade Bosh to bring over the heart of a terrible Charlotte team that even Larry brown can't make not stink, you gotta do it. ;-)

I actually like the new streamlined rotation.

1. Jose / Roko
2/3. Kapono/Moon/Graham
4/5. Bosh / Oneal / Andy

That's 8 men, and Hump in case someone on the front line is in foul trouble.

Everybody knows what's expected of them (except maybe AB, who again looked like he was pulled out of bed and rushed to the game). Kapono shoots. Moon rebounds defends and runs the floor. Graham plays aggressive D and slashes on O.

Parker is a good guy and does a lot of things decently but nothing great. IMO he's superfluous. Plus since his salary is expiring he makes the most sense as a trade chip.

Howland on the recap in the AM but man, solid win. Best D I've seen in a while and big props to Jose for his job on Harris - not lockdown, but solid in terms of redirecting his attacks. In fact, Harris cracked me up a few times tonight. He's got great speed, but now that he's "the man" in Jersey, he takes some ridiculous liberties. I mean, what was with some of the Will Solomonesque whirling shots????

Thing that impressed me the most tonight? - Raptors sticking with the Triano system and forcing New Jersey to beat them from the perimeter. They still need to do a lot of work on the boards but making Simmons the primary offensive weapon from the perimeter was exactly what I envisioned. I love Triano's "pack it in" approach and hopefully it brings another W on Sunday.

Interview on Bargnani (in Italian) after the NJ Game:

Q: How did the game change with JT?
"He wants to play a more up tempo kind of game"

Q: How does the game change for you? You used to be on the bench, then a starter, at the three, now on the bench again.

"Well, I was playing the 3 just for the first 5 minutes then I was going to play either 4 or 5. Now it is the opposite, I play either 4 or 5 and I get moved to the 3 just sometimes, according to the mismatch. I am coming off a bad week offensively, now let's see how it proceeds"

Q:How was your relationship with Mitchell?

"Up and down, some times were better than others, but irrespectively I am sorry he was fired as after three years, you develop a personal relationship with people and I would like to separate the person from the coach"

Q:Some say having Mitchell as a coach has slowed down your growth as a NBA Basketball player, do you believe in that?

"The fact he was not the most technical coach (MY comment, he said it as an euphemism) I definitely believe it, in relation to your question I am not sure what to say, actually I do not feel like saying anything about that."

Q: How is it like being back on the bench?

"Our game style has changed, now let's see how it develops. At the end, you know, I am not a 3, I weight as much as O'Neil so, you do the math. Sometimes I can play it but it depends on who my opponent is."

Q: What about the rumor about Messina being the Next Raptors coach? and btw, do your team mates even know who Messina is?

"No, I have not heard anything about that rumor and my team mates have no clue who Messina is.

My take: classy on Mitchell, blunt as usual when he gets a chance to speak a language he commands better than English.
On the game: Possibly best defender, on a bad patch offensively, still no play specifically designed to take advantage of what he can do, which is not a surprise given they had just two training sessions with JT

Been away on business the past few days, but boy are things looking good!

Renato, excellent find! Totally agree that going forward, Bargs is a big not a wing. Now that he is back to a well defined role that suits him, he should grow into it. Even though he shot terribly last night, 7Rebs and 4 blocks is still solid for your back up.

I love that we are talking about Triano's schemes. We already know what the schemes are! He has schemes! What were Sam's schemes? We are so much better of now than we were under Smitch, the proof is in the pudding.

If we end up having Roko, Parker, Joey and Bargs coming off the bench, does it mean our bench is still crap? Suddenly it might even be a position of strength!

Things are looking sunny in Raptorland.