Raptors' Rapid Recap - Toronto 99 - Chicago 89

by Adam Francis on Nov 11, 2009 11:42 PM EST in Game Day

Final Score - Toronto 99 - Chicago 89

-The Raptors looked like they were still on their road trip in the first half, jacking up as many 3's as possible and allowing the Bulls to get whatever they wanted offensively.

-The result? Bulls shooting over 50 per cent from the field at times and ending the half up by seven.

-Perhaps Triano tore into the troops before the 3rd quarter because suddenly the 3-point shooting stopped and the Raps looked to go inside first. The defence stepped up as well and Chicago scored only 18 in the Q.

-Things got worse for Chicago in the fourth as not only did their key threat on the glass Noah get in foul trouble, but the shots weren't falling for the Bulls and they scored only 11 points.

-The Bulls and Raps ended up shooting about 40 per cent each from the floor when all was said and done, and were almost even on the glass. The difference came down to Toronto's finish; while the Dinos made baskets and got stops at key times, Chicago came unglued.

-Huge kudos to Jay Triano (something we'll be talking about more tomorrow morning.) Ending the horrid Jack/Calderon crunch time experiment and using Wright on Derrick Rose was great, but Jay gets bonus points for yanking Bargs and going with the much more defensively active Amir Johnson in the clutch.

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“Jay gets bonus points for yanking Bargs and going with the much more defensively active Amir Johnson in the clutch.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Yes, Bargnani did get 16 points, but I’m sure he gave up more than that just on people driving on him to the basket. He was awful, and doesn’t seem to be improving on the defensive end. I just can’t believe how badly he guarded the pick and roll against Chicago. I think he may be even worse than Shaq, who at least can intimidate with his size and shot blocking. I’m starting to get really frustrated watching Bargnani, who had a rookie on him a lot of the night and still got outplayed. When I saw Noah was guarding Bosh (I had expected him on Bargnani), I figured Bargnani would have a big night. To make matters worse, Chicago plays a similar defense to what the Raptors try to do, so Bargnani SHOULD have been able to score at will from outside.

I find it funny, though, that people have moved their focus of criticism from Calderon, who they wanted to be replaced in the starting lineup by Jack, to Jack. I am constantly amazed by the lack of patience among Raptor fans. The guy will come around. Let him keep playing.

Here’s my game analysis…
http://www.wearingfilm.com/picketfence/2009/11/no-pizza-for-you/

Tim W.
The Picket Fence

by Tim W. on Nov 12, 2009 2:39 AM EST reply actions