Raptors Rapid Recap - Indiana 105 - Toronto 101

by Adam Francis on Jan 11, 2010 10:10 PM EST in Game Day

-On a night of disgraces, the Raptors perhaps managed to top Mark McGwire as they blew a 23 point lead eventually losing to the Indiana Pacers 105 to 101.

-Worst loss of the season? This one was right up there with the Hawks debacles as for some reason Toronto stopped playing defence to end the second quarter and then showed almost no signs of life in the second half en route to a SEVENTEEN PERCENT shooting performance from the field.

-The TSN turning point for this one probably came in the second quarter when Danny Granger and Sonny Weems both got T'd up for jawing at each other. Granger promptly went off after that and had 23 points to lead Indiana. The incident seemed to awaken his team as well and they outscored Toronto 53 to 36 in the second half. Suddenly players like Troy Murphy, AJ Price and Mike Dunleavy Jr. were hitting from downtown and the rest of the team started to dig in on D.

-For Toronto, Chris Bosh did the heavy lifting again and while Andrea Bargnani struggled offensively, he hit some big shots and hauled in 17 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.

-But that's about all that Raptors' fans can take from this game in terms of positives. Hedo Turkoglu was abysmal garnering a team high -18 rating while putting up 10 points on two of nine shooting. Even a DECENT game from Hedo would have been enough to swing the tide in Toronto's favour despite their poor play. However Turk again looked like he had just capped off a large Pizza Pizza and wings even hoisting up an airball during one play. And defensively...well...on one of the game's final key possessions, Bosh funneled Danny Granger to the interior only to have Granger blow right by Turk with no hesitation, laying the ball in.

-And let's not forget Jay Triano here. Again he trotted out the horrific line-up of Calderon, Jack and Hedo in crunch time and again their play was mired by the "too many cooks in the kitchen" syndrome; indecisiveness when running plays, bad shot selection...and of course very little defense. The players need to make the plays of course, but seeing the success of guys like Rasho in the first half, you have to ask yourself why they didn't make appearances again in the second. I mean, can Jay really explain why despite Hedo's struggles and obvious fatigue, he played MORE minutes than Chris Bosh? I know they want to rest Bosh but give me a break!

-This loss won't make or break the season in the grand scheme of things likely, but it's a tough one to swallow. If Toronto wants to think it's making strides towards the top teams in the league, losses like these simply can't happen. Suddenly I'm not so enthusiastic about Friday's match agains the Knicks...

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Jay Triano

I just don’t get this guy. After watching the highlights, I’m literally stunned at his continuous use of the Jack-Calderon combo, especially in crunch time. Does Jay ever learn from his mistakes, or is he too much of an idiot to figure out that 2+2 does not equal 5?

by Frag on Jan 11, 2010 10:34 PM EST reply actions

Caveat – didn’t watch the game until the very end, but if most of you are saying Triano’s rotation decisions were the reason the game wasn’t salvaged, I think it’s time to wonder if his stubbornness was part of the reason he lost the team Canada job. From all corners, anecdotal evidence and those provided by the fans who crunch numbers, the suggestion is that line-up doesn’t work. Strange and disappointing how insistent he is in running it out there. Did DeRozan or Bellineli play in the 2nd half? Was the 17% shooting poor jump shots from the outside and an absolute refusal to drive to the hoop? Anyway, I don’t bother to get to high or low on this team because they are simply inconsistent. Too bad they lost

by HQ Interloper on Jan 11, 2010 10:49 PM EST up reply actions

VERY interesting point here – perhaps we’re now seeing something that the Team Canada folks saw a long time ago.

Toronto outside of Bosh simply didn’t attack the rim in the second half. Hedo of course stood out in this regard but Triano has to be faulted too for not playing guys like DeRozan and Weems, who do get to the line, big minutes.

More frustrating though was Toronto’s lack of defensive intensity – WAY too many easy looks.

by Adam Francis on Jan 12, 2010 12:52 AM EST up reply actions

If Triano has any stones

He’ll man up and apologize for blowing this game. Then he’ll call a practice for tomorrow and run those guys ragged since they are inexplicably and woefully out of shape.

by Mistafitz on Jan 11, 2010 10:36 PM EST reply actions

Did you see his comments?

I just caught them briefly, but they went something like,“Tough loss, back to back, didn’t have it, thought we gave it our all, nothing to be ashamed of.” That’s paraphrasing, but I nearly puked when I heard him.

by RaptorsAddict on Jan 12, 2010 7:27 AM EST up reply actions

yeah, I actually stayed up to watch the postgame after the “game in an hour”. I almost threw my remote through the TV. He basically said that we needed to make mo shats.

by Mistafitz on Jan 12, 2010 10:42 AM EST up reply actions

Where to start ?

.Disgusted in what I saw last 30 minutes of game. Plenty of blame to spread. Starting with Jay. He has to find a way to spread the minutes between the 3. All 3 together simply does not work. Turk and either work, Turk and both has lost us games.
Speaking of Turk.His body language sucked tonight. Yeah, partly Triano for moving away from you, but make some shots will ya !
Jack, stop ignoring Andrea. He’s a shooter, let him work his way out of slump. Think he passed to him twice. How many turnovers? At key times. Your 2 man game with Bosh needs work. Jose had an offnight and still outplayed you.
Don’t remember what Demar did. Johnson has been playing like a guy thats been traded twice lately.
Belinelli, please sometimes its embarassing.. Andrea, your D is getting better, back to taking more shots in practice. Bosh,turnovers are your Achilles heal.
What the hell did you say, Sonny. Damn right, turning point.
Hey, Rasho showed up to play.

Want to use this game as a turning point. Three days off, play the Knicks on Friday. Huge test for Triano. Expect team to come back angry and motivated.

by Tinmann on Jan 11, 2010 10:41 PM EST reply actions

Devlin luvs Bargnani

Every rebound Bargnani grabbed was a work of art to our man Devlin. Made Chuck sound unbiased.

by Tinmann on Jan 11, 2010 10:44 PM EST reply actions

it sure is sickening Devlin on AB many of the early rebounds were uncontested but He is playing well.

by Davl on Jan 11, 2010 11:09 PM EST up reply actions

Rasho

Plays 4 minutes in the first half. His line: 3 of 3 from the field. 6 points, 3 rebs and 2 blocks. Does he get in the rest of the game? Of course not. Instead we leave our starters out there even though they’re clearly gassed.

by Mistafitz on Jan 11, 2010 10:54 PM EST reply actions

Check out AJ's stats

I am trying to make a case for additional floor time for Amir Johnson. I know AJ is not a big scorer but I think when he plays, he clears the board and is much more involved in the perimeter defense than some of the starters who are either tired or just going through the motion. The +/- score should be a great indicator for each player. Here are AJ’s +/- scores in the past fifteen games (in reverse order): +17, +6, +6, -4, +8, +7, 0, +1, +13, +1, +32, -6, -11, +11, -18. Average is +4.2. I don’t think you get that even from some starters.

by Richard L on Jan 11, 2010 11:36 PM EST reply actions

Wow, disappointing

After I pulled out the “I have supreme confidence in my team” banner prior to the Boston game yesterday, they not only lost to Boston, but then promptly layed an egg against the PACERS!?!?!? Sweet merciful crap.

I am probably Jay Triano’s biggest fan on this forum, but I have to say this game was a particularly condenming piece of evidence for his detractors. His refusal to make adjustments and reward solid play is starting to wear thin on even his most faithful of followers. Though I’m still convinced Colangelo has something to do with that.

Bargs struggled offensively, but you have to respect his work on the boards. Uncontested or not, he was there. Though listening to Devlin was a little sickening. It kind of trivialized Bargs’ hard work.

Hopefully we come out aggressive against the Knicks. And for the entire 48 minutes. They are not to be taken lightly.

by Posterized on Jan 12, 2010 12:51 AM EST reply actions

Pacers

I think Turk and Jack were just awful tonight and had some horrible mistakes that really made that W disappear. It was our game to be had, i just cant understand those two shots Turk took at the begnning of the 4th Q. Same goes to Mr. Jack for those TERRIBLE turnovers to Earl Watson that really killed us.

A point I’d like to bring forth is that the Pacers really got lucky though. While i agree fully with the points people have brought forth about Triano not rewarding good play from bench players, I still feel that the way the Pacers won happens once every 20 games if you’re lucky. Those 3s arent gonna fall every night. Tonight, just happened to be the night that they fell in the second half. Couple that with the combination of poor play by 2 of the starting 5 and Triano’s genius substitutions, you have the ingredients for an ugly addition to the L column.

by HDave on Jan 12, 2010 12:56 AM EST reply actions

So many great comments here

From Triano’s stubborness to Amir Johnson’s +/-, I think the readers would have done a better job orchestrating tonight’s match. Still super frustrated by the loss. You gotta feel for Bosh on nights like this – he puts up big numbers on a back-to-back, carries the load, and gets almost no help…

And listening to Devlin, as I’m sure Howland will discuss tomorrow morning, was indeed nauseating. It wasn’t like Andrea had a Ben Wallace-esque night! He did grab a few great rebounds in traffic, but the majority of his boards came in the first part of the game when the Pacers were chucking bricks and wouldn’t stop taking bad shots!

by Adam Francis on Jan 12, 2010 12:56 AM EST reply actions

re: Devlin on Bargs : Marketing 101…Bosh is gone, Bargnani the new face of the team, Devlin has his marching orders…

by Oldskewl on Jan 12, 2010 8:18 AM EST up reply actions

rebounds...in his lap

Palease !!!
Enough already about Bargs and not having to work for his majority of rebounds..I would have to say that a few boards land on Bosh’s lap as well,but again,better not go there.
I didn’t know we dont count those rebounds that fall on one’s lap..or just Bargs !!!!!

by d279 on Jan 12, 2010 7:08 PM EST up reply actions