3 in the Key - Raptors' Game-Day Preview vs Milwaukee - Media Edition
The HQ takes in tonight's game against the Bucks via media access and hopes that Toronto has a bit of R-E-V-E-N-G-E on its mind.
Tonight's game was supposed to be another brick in the wall for the Toronto Raptors.
It was supposed to represent another sub .500 team for the Dinos to beat up on as the TO squad continued to gel on their way towards locking down at least the fifth seed in the playoffs.
Unfortunately, a frustrating loss Wednesday night changed all that.
Now, Toronto is trying to prevent its fifth loss in its last 7 games, and suddenly this Milwaukee team, Jerry Stackhouse and all, represents a good test on many fronts.
-Can Toronto show the necessary gumption to avenge Wednesday's loss?
-Can Jay Triano and his staff make the necessary adjustments against a team that the Raptors simply don't match up well against?
-And can players like Andrea Bargnani and Hedo Turkoglu, step up to the plate after disappearing acts on Wednesday night?
In some ways to me, this game is a bit like a mini-playoffs in January.
The Raps dropped a winnable one on Milwaukee's home-court less than 48 hours ago, can they avenge that at home tonight and get back in the series? I'd argue that it's situations like these over the coming months where we'll really see what this team is made of.
That's why partly, despite reader voting preferring we take in Sunday's Laker game, or next week's Miami game via monthly media access, we switched things up and decided to roll down to the ACC tonight.
Oh...and of course our real jobs and an MF Doom/Mos Def concert may also have played a part...
Before we get into the keys then, be sure to hit up the comments section with any questions you'd like asked this evening, or any particular players you'd like us to speak with. We probably won't be able to get through them all, but we'll take a stab at as many as possible.
Personally I'm looking forward to asking Jay Triano a few questions pre-game in terms of changes he'll make for tonight based on Wednesday's final rotations, as well as a bit of one-on-one time with guys like Andrew Bogut, Carlos Delfino, DeMar DeRozan, Brandon Jennings, and maybe even Jerry Stackhouse. Antoine Wright is always good for a few interesting quotes, much like Shawn Marion was last season, and maybe I'll even work up the courgage to check-in with my buddy Hedo Turkoglu, despite the fact that it will likely take me 4 hours tonight to transcribe whatever he says...
Onto the keys.
1) Help for CB4.
This is the most obvious key tonight of course. Toronto got 44 and 12 from Mr. Bosh on Wednesday night and still came up short thanks to some pretty terrible offensive production from the rest of Toronto's starters. The game in many ways was the inverse of last Sunday's win over Dallas, where a complete team effort netted TO a big win.
Tonight there's no question that Hedo, Andrea and Jarrett need to step up, and a better game from the likes of DeMar DeRozan, as well as more minutes for Marco Belinelli and Sonny Weems, wouldn't hurt either.
2) Point Guard Play.
As one of our readers pointed out yesterday, while Jose Calderon's offence was fine, he didn't exactly do a great job of putting the clamps on Luke Ridnour defensively and Luke was a key to the Bucks' big third quarter surge. As well, while Brandon Jennings clanked a good many shots, his penetration gave too many open looks to players like Carlos Delfino on the perimeter and even Andrew Bogut inside.
Tonight a re-emergence of Toronto's two-headed point-guard, Jose CaldeJack would be great as well. We saw how tough the Raps can be as a match-up when both of these two are going strong, and against a Milwaukee team with a similar two-headed PG situation, it's even more essential they get the job done like Kane, both on O and D.
3) Intensity.
Outside of Bosh getting enough help, the other key reason I felt the Raps gave Wednesday's game up was their lack of intensity and execution when it counted. The Bucks showed more poise down the stretch, but from the game's tip they also brought a more ferocious energy to the match than the Dinos, as evidenced by the 17 offensive rebounds in the game.
This Milwaukee team is one that gives Toronto problems and part of the reason why is because they've done a nice job taking on their coach's demeanor and style of play; gritty, tough, clutch, all of those adjectives as well as various others describe the Bucks and tonight the Raptors need to match Milwaukee's level of intensity from the tip.
However aside from the players taking things to another level in this regard, Jay Triano and crew need to ensure the right players who can deliver these intangibles are playing at the right times. I'm hoping to see some Rasho Nesterovic tonight checking Bogut, as well as Sonny Weems and Marco Belinelli running wild just to name a few. This would be a perfect Reggie Evans type of game, but he's still got a another few weeks before we can even think about his return.
In the meantime, the rest of the team is going to have to harness his style of play (although not his dress code) to help gut out what will likely be another grind-it-out affair this evening.
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23 comments
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Comments
J & J backcourt
If you get a chance…and are feeling bold…come straight out and ask about that lovely 4th quarter combo that he loves. I mean hes kind of gone away from it, but its still there…I’ve heard you guys say it before but ask him about the whole ‘Too many cooks in the kitchen" idea. I mean if all of us avid raps fans can notice this, you’d have to expect that the head coach does too
Have fun tonight guys, hopefully this one is a much nicer outcome then the last one,
by dbonds on Jan 22, 2010 9:33 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Done and done. That’s one of the questions on the top of my list for sure, specifically referring to the “cooks in the kitchen” part.
Funny thing is I was at dinner last night and Triano ended up sitting right near me.
Was so tempted to ask the “cooks” question…
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 9:54 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
haha that would of been awesome….“so Jay how are you enjoying that meal? Do you think they had three cooks in the kitchen all working on that one meal of yours? Wouldn’t really make sense to do that would it?”
by dbonds on Jan 22, 2010 10:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
LOL
I never even thought of that but yeah, then the analogy would REALLY have hit home!
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 11:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
one on one
I like Carlos Delfino,but I wouldn’t be interested in an interview where I cant understand a word he is saying,no offence to Carlos but reality is…
I would love to hear a question directed to BC….what do you think of the transformation of the Bobcats,could it be coaching?,along with a combination of, players who can create their own shots at the wings?
by d279 on Jan 22, 2010 9:44 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
I’d love to grab BC too but he’s usually not around the locker rooms etc so tough to grab. I’ll keep my eyes open for sure though…
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 9:55 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
How about a question on Hedo’s minutes, ie why are they so high when he is so clearly not producing?
by benjibopper on Jan 22, 2010 10:37 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Hedo questions will be abundant for sure – especially if he keeps shooting 30% and like you said, getting so many minutes…
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 10:51 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Would JT consider giving Rasho some burn, considering he had a free day last time and why is Barg’s no longer playing inside lately like when we were successful
by Scores on Jan 22, 2010 11:01 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
re too mant cooks
Last 3 games it was Jack vs Milwaukee and Calderon vs Cleveland & Dallas, so maybe he has seen the light, that 2 pg’s and Turk is not working.
by Johnn19 on Jan 22, 2010 11:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
you’d hope so..but even against clevland right near the end…he sported the lovely J & J backcourt…so he was either giving up on that game or he actually thought that it would work to bring them back….but I am hoping you are right.
by dbonds on Jan 22, 2010 11:31 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Triano should have had Calderon in instead of Jack, for th last few mins, as he was at least scoring in support of Bosh, and when he came in for the last minute his first pass was to Bosh in the post for 2pts and 2nd to Bargnani for 3pts, too little too late.
by Johnn19 on Jan 22, 2010 11:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Going to ask that pre-game tonight, if he’s just looking at situations or if he really has ended that experiment.
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 11:56 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
re the PG's
I do not see a big difference between Calderon and Jack on defence, at this time, as Jennings, Williams, Kidd, Watson, Rondo etc have all had no trouble with Jack @ PG.
Calderon over the last 5 games playing with mostly bench plus some starters has clearly out played Jack, on offense.
Jack must improve his offensive game management as it appears to me that his favourite play is to pass to Turkoglu and wait for him to create.
Jack is the leader of the offense starting the 3rd quarter that is struggling and giving away the leads that are created or consolidated by the bench in the 2nd qtr, he clearly must do a better job.
by Johnn19 on Jan 22, 2010 11:39 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Noticed
Both times this team has played Milwaukee have been 2nd game of a back to back @ Milwaukee. Schedule simply hasn’t worked in their favour against the Bucks so this should be a truer test of how the teams match up. At this point I am comfortable with the notion that this team will make the playoffs (barring injury), so the games I will pay attention to are against the established upper tier so as to gauge how far the Raptors are from joining those ranks.
Question for Triano (if you get the chance):
Having reached the midway point of the year, how does he think he has done in this year as a coach, in particular what is he willing to acknowledge as his weaknesses and his strengths and what does he intend to do over the remainder of the year to improve in those areas. Additionally, where would he rank himself amongst head coaches at this point.
Don’t know if he’d answer, but it would be interesting to hear his self-assessment
by HQ Interloper on Jan 22, 2010 11:50 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Ooooh…another good one, making a note to get his take on his own growth and development.
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 11:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
good questions
Good questions HQI. You might want to try a more softball type of approach like “what have you learned in your first full season as head coach”, or “what do you plan to do differently next year”. Although, Jay is a pretty frank guy, so he will probably give a pretty honest assessment of himself regardless of how you formulate the question.
I would also like to know if Jay has any ideas in mind for improving the players’ conditioning and mental focus in the second half of the season. And if so, what are they?
by DW19 on Jan 22, 2010 12:07 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
More good stuff – Jay’s going to HATE ME by the time the night is over ha ha!
Yes, I’ll be finessing the Q’s a bit for sure, just to make sure we can go back the rest of the season, but at their base, these are all great questions that should be asked.
by RaptorsHQ - Franchise on Jan 22, 2010 12:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Hi
I was counting on the last game to be a loss (so much that I went to sleep). I believe tis evening will be a blowout or at least a comfortable win.
by renato on Jan 22, 2010 12:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
Totally unrelated
But why is Chris Bosh the only one of the big free agents most likely to be moved as most U.S. media outlets would have you believe? Consider the teams with these free agents, Miami & Cleveland, would be in worse shape than Toronto, if their franchise players just left. Why wouldn’t Miami think of moving Wade to get something back before he bolts? Does his having his championship already make it less likely for him to leave because I could see him having to carry that team on his own for years if they don’t draw another top notch talent, and at 28/29..it’s not as if there are a ton of miles left on a body that has taken a beating. Of the teams with these prized free agents to be, one could argue we have the better GM, the better fanbase, and the more stable ownership (because it’s not restricted to one individual).
End of rant.
by HQ Interloper on Jan 22, 2010 2:06 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
weather and hometown
Miami = weather and “the scene” of south beach
Cleveland = Lebron’s hometown
Toronto+Bosh = a Texan in the snow of Europe
by B.C. on Jan 22, 2010 2:18 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
IN GAME BLOG
I guess I’ll use this for in-game blogging. Anyone and everyone are welcome to join
by Aaron Craig on Jan 22, 2010 7:05 PM EST reply actions 0 recs



















