Raptors Rapid Recap - Indiana 112 Toronto 123

by RaptorsHQ - Howland on Nov 24, 2009 9:37 PM EST Comment 11 comments

- Well there was no shortage of offense on this evening. The Raptors managed to put up 74 points in the first half and even as Indiana made their run the Raps never really let them back into the game. The team on a whole was lights-out shooting over 55% from the floor for the game.

- DeMar DeRozan with another tough night at the office, this time against Danny Granger who definitely was not shy shooting the rock (27 shots, 13 from beyond the arc). It's going to be a learning process for the rook. Trial by fire.

- Jarrett Jack is now catching the feeling and is starting to quiet the doubters. Tonight he was absolutely on fire from the floor and stuck it to his former squad. You can't expect this kind of shooting percentage every night but he is doing positive things on the court whether it is scoring or distributing the ball.

- It was a grind for CB4 on this night but he still managed another double-double. This game really tells you how lethal this offense can be even when the best player struggles. Even if the games leave a little to be desired defensively they are downright entertaining, unless of course you are a basketball purist.

- Kudos to the Raps bench who outplayed the Indiana bench. Every guy contributed to this win. Belinelli did his damage from the line, Rasho looked like he did 7 years ago, and Amir continued to do a lot when little is asked of him. All in all a big win for the Raps and one they needed.

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DD

It’s good that we have a deep team. this is his learning curve. In 2-3 years, when we need him to be a major contributor, he will be. For now, leave him as starter. Wright is our only backup SF, with all due respect to Weems’ potential, Beli is better as a bench player, and Jack can’t start unless we are magically going to get something out of Banks.

by PConn on Nov 24, 2009 9:48 PM EST reply actions

Beating the teams we have to beat

Wina against the Pistons, Bulls, Heat and now Pacers. We are beating the teams we will probably be competing against. I’ll take that as a positive.
Lets credit the hustle of Bargnani in that last quarter. Made his shots, got big rebounds, and kept the ball alive. His head was up his ass for the other three quarters but came up big in the clutch.

You know, we are 15 games in and sport a seven and eight record. Not to jump the gun, but I think we got a shot at two of the next five and that would put us at nine and eleven after twenty. That would of been the most optimistic prediction I read in the preseason.

by Tinmann on Nov 24, 2009 10:28 PM EST reply actions

There was something strangely appropriate about TJ Ford being outplayed by both Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack. Where have we seen that before? Oh, that’s right — 2007-08 in Toronto and last year in Indiana.

Chris Bosh’s four blocks were impressive. It was nice to see him attempting to defend the rim rather than giving up points in the paint. There’s no reason he shouldn’t be blocking 2-3 shots per game.

Tonight is one of the reasons why I love having a guy like Rasho on the bench. He’s a total professional who just gets it. He was taking what the defence gave him and putting up shots. Tomorrow night, you might see him log a DNP – Coach’s Decision.

Belinelli’s aggressiveness on offence and court vision are impressive. Love seeing him get into the lane and throw that little no-look pass to Amir.

Can we seriously just demote Antoine Wright now? Unfortunately, I think he’s this season’s recipient of the Anthony Parker “Everybody thinks I’m a defensive stopper when I really don’t play great defence” Award.

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 24, 2009 10:45 PM EST reply actions

One more thing...

I just thought I’d bring up the fact that we passed on Danny Granger TWICE in the same draft in favour of Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham. Rob Babcock shouldn’t be allowed to sell popcorn at an NBA game, let alone work in a front office capacity (good luck with that, Minnesota!).

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 24, 2009 10:48 PM EST reply actions

Common D.S.

A lot of people passed on Granger. We also passed on Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay when we picked Bargnani. Time to let it go.

“Rob Babcock shouldn’t be allowed to sell popcorn at an NBA game, let alone work in a front office capacity (good luck with that, Minnesota!).” -This damn near made me piss my pants though.

by Posterized on Nov 25, 2009 12:52 AM EST up reply actions

Not for Joey Graham, and I can understand you would prefer Roy, but Aldridge? let’s not even get started on Gay

by renato on Nov 25, 2009 2:40 AM EST up reply actions

You may be right

But there are people in the basketball community who would argue that those three would have been better picks. None of that matters now. It’s all in the past. Like I said, time to let it go.

by Posterized on Nov 25, 2009 4:45 AM EST up reply actions

I was half kidding when I posted my intial comment. After sitting through last night’s game at the ACC, I felt the need to make a Rob Babcock joke. Haha.

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Nov 25, 2009 9:44 AM EST up reply actions

We only passed once on Granger

But I remember watching that draft and silently pleading for us to take him. Joey’s inconsistency seemed to put Doug Smith at level 5 heart attack risk.

by Aaron Craig on Nov 25, 2009 3:13 AM EST reply actions

My bad, it was twice

That was a pretty crappy draft though. If that class were to be redrafted now, I think it would go:

1. Chris Paul
2. Danny Granger
3. Andrew Bynum
4. Deron Williams
5. Andrew Bogut
6. David Lee
7. Everyone else
8a. Roko Ukic
8b. Uros Slokar
9. Yaroslav Korolev (one of the alltime awful Clippers picks)

by Aaron Craig on Nov 25, 2009 3:19 AM EST up reply actions