Tip-In, Toronto Raptors’ Post-Game: The Return of JO

wow, what happened there, guys? The site was really down for a few hours!

nice recap. Agreed, some rays of sunshine in this win. hope JO can keep it up.

BTW, I took a gander at Carefoot's blog while in rehab from your site being down; got the link at first from googling postings from two years ago. wow, they were pretty vicious detractions of this site back then. The recent postings are basically Carefoot trying to be cutesy (and foul-mouthed), writing off the season, and no recap/previews offered on anything like a consistent level.

all of that to say, I love how you guys keep it professional, and stay focused on what we here really want to hear: timely b-ball analysis.

Thanks guys, and happy holidays.

Thanks gerry - yeah, we'll have some minor site issues over the next while as we transition to the new site but hopefully none that will shut things down completely.

And yeah, we remember the old Raptorblog readers tearing into us back then - that sort of thing always happens when you're suddenly the new kid on the block in a space that was traditionally occupied by only one other person...

PS - To everyone - John Salmons would have looked pretty good at the 2 spot for this team wouldn't he?

A nice win, but I couldn't help noticing that Bargnani had precisely 0 rebounds in over 20 minutes of action. Graham had 4 boards with about the same amount of playing time, and Humphries had three in a little over five minutes of action.

Big men need to board!

dudes, is Bayless not the type of project our team needs>? Explosive scorer, rim rocker, he just needs minutes. We need to get a project, because we do not have a legit one right now. Bargs is what he is, a 15/6 guy max.

AND HES BURIED ON PORTLANDS BENCH!

Nice little win, seems lately we lose these type of games.
Great observation on Bargnani, appears more confident as obtion 1 or 1A. Triano must pick his spots wisely. Use him as a situational substitution. Fact is the chemistry between him and CB4 does not exist. Perhaps we saw glimpses of it in his rookie season, but not much since.

Tonight will be tough, no doubt about it.

Dikweed,
Bayless is an example of what some teams have to work with while Toronto has traded picks for veteran mediocrity. How about Frye. He has no court time either.

Ooops - spelled option wrong.

I thought that the big difference in O'Neal last night was that he showed great quickness in making his moves. He had a couple of wicked spin dribbles that left his guard wondering where O'Neal went. But what I really like about O'Neal that I'm noticing more and more is that he makes some really good passes and that is what gets everybody else moving. The Raptors offense gets in trouble when it's one on one in the post and 4 other guys stand and watch. If they can continue to develop good player and ball movement, they can play with anybody. Bosh looks to be having a bit of trouble adjusting to moving without the ball but when he and O'Neal start playing more off of each other, setting picks for each other, short passes from each other on cuts to the basket, they'll really make other teams sit up and take notice. Bargnani would make a nice point forward. A 7 ft passer at the top of the key, can see everything and then Bosh and O'Neal would be eating everybody up. I saw a sweet pick and roll going to the basket last night. More of the same boys, more of the same.

Now that was a complete game. The brought the effort the entire game and JO was a BEAST. Love his cockiness.
plays at the end by J.O.

Great high-low play call by Triano to help JO get the ball low in the block for a clutch basket after a time out.

Last nights effort helped me sleep like a baby for the first time this season. I realize it's not quite up to the standard of the Lakers or the Celtics, but for the Raps it was impressive.

Franchise,
what is your theory about Bargs? I do not remember you spelling one out laud.
My theory is Bosh does not mix well with Bargs, nor he does with Joe as he is not a good passer nor he is a top notch scorer at the highest level (meaning against top tier competition). Note that on the USA team team he was not used as a offense terminal. I disagree it is a proven fact Bargs is a 15/6 guy, the reality is we do not know and I believe we all find out when he will be in a different situation, either because of he being traded or because Bosh departure (because of Bosh not resigning). I believe the uncertainty about Chris is what is keeping them both in Toronto that is why the priority, for the well being of both parties (Raptors and Andrea) is to clarify Bosh's situation and then, in accordance, either part ways with Bargs or giving him a more substantial role into the offense, something he has never got in Toronto, irrespective of his production. Mind you, even when he got 25 points, he did that without a single play designed for him and out of "garbage points" out of plays mostly designed to let someone else score. He could have done better for the Raptors, they could have done much more to get something better out of him.

I like the picture of ZAZA and JO!

Franchise: Can we please start the 'SIGN ZAZA IN THE OFFSEASON' Telethon - All lines are open.

DikWeed: What in gods name makes a mother names her child DikWeed?! lol

I have to say I'm loving Triano -

-He had the bench in there extending the lead to 8 to start the fourth quarter. But got the starters in before they ran out of gas.

-when he did sub in, he gave hump some extended time and left bargs on the bench... it has to be done, hump earned it.

-called a time out when the raps had momentum, were UP by four with about two minutes, a phil jackson-like gamble that smitch never did. And it paid off, because triano had a nice play to run to get JO a good look.

-keeping AP on the bench as a glue guy is looking like an awesome move

-He's getting great minutes out of Joey G.

Conspiracy theory - Bosh's 5th foul seemed a little too convenient and there wasn't much risk in keeping him in - have to wonder if the game plan was to let some struggling players get some minutes against a weak team - and let bosh get some rest. If it's true he's fatigued, then good strategy. I sure hope it's not because he suddenly sucks at basketball... I expect a big game from him tonight or I'll be wondering

AXL: Triano's got plays like Jamaica got mangoes.

ahem!

mmmm... mangoes

Just to drop in some 2 cents material here.

Love the HQ, your commitment to regular postings and to a reasonable approach to the team (no panic, no bile) makes me come read every post.

Keep it up. And let's hope we can get a confidence building win over them blazers.

Christmas break on the East Coast is always funny for Howland and I in terms of posting but yes, we're trying our damndest to keep things rolling. The one hour time difference from TO wouldn't seem to be that big of a deal but for recaps after West Coast games, it's sometimes a killer so thanks for the props folks.

Hoping for a confidence-building win tonight as well here. It'll be tough, but if this team can get both Bosh ala the Clippers and O'Neal ala the Kings then that's a good start.

Renato - Theory on Bargs is that he needs to play without Bosh or O'Neal on the court to be effective offensively. He just seems to stand around, especially on the perimeter when one or the other is in the game and I thought his best work came with the smaller line-up and him as the focal point.

Even Jose made sure to get him the ball immediately and run the offense through him.

And even if he's not a 15 and 6 guy (although I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be able to sleepwalk to those numbers at this point), I agree that we may never know and when we do find out, it may be by watching him blow-up on another team.

For the present though, he needs to give the Raps a big lift tonight.

hold up, real quick - is anyone else getting this garbage feed on The Score? looks like a web feed.

LET TRADE BOSH OUR 24 years OLD ALL-STAR(not super-star)...

Wasn't that the chant a few games ago....!!!!!!

Just need to rub that in to all the CB4 haters who was saying it time to trade Bosh. I'm not a Bosh 'rider' but I always protected this guy from day one...because he is good player

looks like they gave the game away again (4:34 to go in 4th), settling for jumpers and little creativity on sets. Portland wanted this game more. Again, where's the toughness in TO, do they want to win?

and SEVEN free throws? That tells you how much contact the players were willing to make!

Sad game. Couldn't make a shot to save their life and when Roy takes over the game, they put Moon on him. Didn't even notice Kapono out there.

What makes me angrier is watching the Rockets/Jazz game and the beast at this Artest. Gimpy ankle and the guy still takes over the game on both sides of the floor in 2OT. Just ridiculous. The Raps would have definitely have had the pieces to land him, though perhaps BC has been following Doug Smith's blog a bit too closely.

The team, as presently constructed, is imbalanced. Too much talent and resources locked into the 4/5 and woefully deficient at the wings. We bemoan this team's performances against the better teams in the league but looking at it objectively, the other teams in the league have a better DISTRIBUTION of talent. The organization has failed to devise a scheme that would optimize having 3 multi-skilled seven footers on the floor, so they have had to rely on the same conventional basketball sets that most of the teams run and know how to defend. This team having to play a conventional brand of basketball will never be really competitive given how dramatic the fall off is from their best position(s) (the 4/5) to their second best position (the 1 when you consider the combination of Calderon and whomever his back up of the month is). AP and JK are solid bench contributors on decent teams but having them as starters, relied upon day in and day out for consistent production isn't feasible. Moon is a third string energy type on a competitive team. If they knew going in that the deficiency was such that they had to play an unconventional style then they should have mandated Andrea's summer program focus on developing him as a big small forward instead of a post player. If they anticipated JO rounding into form like he has then why not focus on turning Andrea into a 3 instead of a 5? The only way this makes sense is if Colangelo has always intended to trade JO when he proved to be good. Otherwise, you don't make that trade. It's the TJ/Jose situation playing itself out at a new position.

One more thing. The reason I am such a big supporter of Andrea Bargnani is that in his first year, he gave the impression of having an instinct for the game, and he played more like a natural than he does now. He was a better passer and better shooter and given how he's picked up more defensive insight then Bosh has in 5 or 6 years, one figures that he does "get it" in a way that few give him credit for. Many are now saying he's probably going to be very good on a different team, but why do we have to see that happen? I know we're all impressed with O' Neal's performance of late but, realistically, we have this year and next with him if he continues to be that good and in that timeframe are we championship calibre given the team deficiencies? I will stress it till the end of the year, it's about time this team figure out exactly what they have with Bosh and Bargnani as an on-court tandem for the long term benefit of team's development. The points and play from O'Neal are nice but the team isn't anywhere near elite. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a fan of the Utah Jazz. More often than not good enough for a playoff appearance and multi-round showings but never winning the big one, and never really in the conversation in the end. As a fan, in the end, I want something more from this team, and sometimes you have to give up success in a season for success over a generation that translates into legitimate championship aspirations. The organization has reached that crossroads now.

agreed with interloper's basic contention there. What it implies, to me, is that TO needs to have a strategy going forward, and I have never been clear on what BC's strategy is. This is an issue that has plagued MLSE in baseball, hockey and b-ball for the past, oh, 10 years or so, and the ship has not righted itself yet.

I had hoped that with BC, the strategy would become clear. Maybe Bargs enigmatic "development" has had a significant impact, more than we know, on BC's approach?

I mean, every business has performance metrics. If Bargs were dealt with in any way that suggested he was not part of the future, could BC find himself without a job? Flubbing a 1st overall pick would be a significant mistake for any GM, and dealing Bargs would be an obvious admission of that.

That said, you have to wonder why Riccardi on the Jays hasn't been given his walking papers, with the Jays' lacklustre performance. What is the impact of the MLSE CEO on the day-to-day management? For sure, we know that BC can't spend his out of this problem, (nor Riccardi either) because of the MLSE mandate.