Raptors Rapid Recap: Toronto 108 Orlando 103
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 6, 2010 10:09 PM EST
16 comments
How many ways can Jay Triano blow a game?
Crunch time minutes for Antoine Wright? Check.
Extended stretches featuring the horrific Jarrett Jack-Jose Calderon backcourt pairing? Check.
Calderon on the floor as part of the "defensive" lineup? Check.
But despite all of these head-scratching coaching decisions, the Raptors avoided a fourth quarter collapse to escape the Amway Arena with a 108-103 victory over the Orlando Magic.
Player of the Game honours go to Andrea Bargnani. Sure, he fouled out thanks to some questionable calls. But prior to his ejection, he put up 18 and eight with a couple of huge three pointers.
Calderon and Jack combined for 15 of the Raptors’ 31 assists. They’re a terrific one-two punch at the point guard position. It would just be nice if they didn’t play so many minutes together.
It was also very satisfying to see Vince Carter’s shooting woes continue. VC shot a miserable 2-7 from the field and was never a factor.
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gooooooooo raaaaaaaaaaaaaaps!!!!!!!!!
good win by the raptors against a tought magic team i hope we can pull of an easy win agains the 76ers and beat the celtics n then win or next game to go 3 over .500
by raptors_run_the_show on Jan 6, 2010 10:14 PM EST reply actions
JT aarggg!!!
JT almost drove me nuts today during that barren spell, and he left our energy guys on the bench! Lord have mercy
REFS?????
that 4th quarter was a joke i guess dwight’s whinnin got the refs to call some real retarded fouls, they were pretty much trying to give orlando the game..what a joke, thats 2 solid wins against upper elite teams in the league, keep it going
Hope Jay learned something
The Jack/ Calderon and even Turk combo just doesn’t work. Jay gotta figure out how to spread the minutes. They cannot be on together. Throw in Antoine Wright! WTF was Triano thinking.
Was reviewing the game thread comments. Christ you have Jose under the microscope. I thought our offence looked much smoother and team defence was better. All this criticism and calls for trading him are so misguided. Raptors are a better team with Jose running the point. Starting or off the bench, don’t matter.
About the game – well nice to get the tight win. We nearly gave it away but still came away with it. Credit the boys for that. With questionable line-ups and a ridculous time-out with 8 seconds, seems Jay did all he could to hand it to the Magic.
Don’t know what was up with the refs in 4th quarter. Bargnani got screwed. Speaking of Barg’s. He’s looking good with that chip on his shoulder.
Vince sulking on the bench sure looked familiar. With D12, the Magic sure have some sulkers.
the line-ups i can understand a lil bit of both as to why to put them in and not..he had jack and calderon togerther alot cause the magic went very small too..but in the 4th they both struggled to run the offence and missing shots so at times it worked and at times it didnt..the timeout with 8 seconds was good cause you can advance the ball that way, plus he wanted his best free throw shooters on the court thats why he did it. once again the REFS need to be fined or something cause the calls they were giving out were just a sick joke
Wrong
As Frag states below – that line-up hasn’t worked once all season.
Calling a time-out when you have possession, up by three, with 8 seconds left was a mistake. Why risk a turnover on an in-bound play. The ball was in Bosh’s hands. One made free throw makes it a four point game. Bad call.
Jay Triano
His coaching is really worrying me. I wonder whether he actually learns from his mistakes. He should, at the very least, realize by now that the Jack-Calderon combo has failed all season long. When I saw him use that combo, and CONTINUE using them even when it got tight, my friend and I were scratching our heads. He was especially silly in the 4th quarter. Nonetheless, a win is a win, and it’s great to be back at .500!
As for the reffing… it was terrible all game long. Especially in the 4th quarter when the Raptors didn’t get a single call going their way until the final 3 minutes. I honestly couldn’t believe how crappy the refs were!
Refs and Hedo
In retrospect, I think the play of the game was Hedo getting to the line with the lead having been cut all the way to 2 (I think it was 101-99 or 103-101). If we’d settled for another tough contested jumper there, I think the game ends in very different fashion.
Not sure if he recognized that we were owed a few calls, or what, but I liked the decision and the execution.
Game story
Yes, the 4th quarter was scary and frustrating, but I think the post game wrap up story comes across as overly negative. A win on the road against a top 5 team deserves a positive spin, especially since the rap on this team has been an inability to do exactly that. The story could mention the good game by Demar; the solid defense by Demar, Weems, Belli, Jack, Bargs and Wright.
If you want to go negative, mention Bosh pulling his best Karl Malone immitation and hiding during the last 8 minutes (with the exception of some defensive boards and FTs), as well as an over-reliance on jump shooting.
Not trying to bash the overworked and underpaid moderators. I love this site and the coverage. The writing and the analysis are both top notch. I hope that I can add a little something to it from all the way out here in Laker-Clipper land. Thanks and keep up the good work.
Hey, I’ll be the first to admit I was a little negative after watching that fourth quarter. But it’s frustrating to see the Raptors (almost) give away a game like that… especially when it’s the result of horrible lineup combinations that even the fans know don’t work (I have no clue why the coaching staff doesn’t realize these things).
But all things considered, it’s nice to see them put together back-to-back wins against elite teams.
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 7, 2010 1:27 AM EST up reply actions
Raps 1/2 a game out of 5th!
Miami just lost to the Celtics (although, on a RIDICULOUS play at the end of regulation that makes me feel bad for them). I believe that they are sitting at 17-16 now vs. the Raps at 18-18.
Sixers game could either be icing on the cake for this road trip, or a giant dissapointment.
Hey B.C.,
For me, I’d rather stay in 6th place and play either Orlando or Cleveland than to move up 5th and play Atlantic. For some odd reason, Atlantic with their athleticism has our number. We cannot keep up with Atlantic for some apparent reason. So I’d rather play the Cavs or Magics in the first round UNLESS we can for SURE get the 4th seed. If we can’t, i’d rather stay in 6th.
Be careful what you wish for
I seem to recall that the last time the Raptors got their “dream” opponent in the playoffs, they got drilled.
Just because Orlando’s playing poorly now doesn’t mean they will be when the playoffs come around. I say just get into the playoffs and play as hard and as good as you can when you get there and see where it takes you.
Agreed.
Atlanta should be tough in the playoffs this year, but as we’ve seen with Boston recently, injuries can change everything. If Al Horford, Mike Bibby, or Joe Johnson happened to get injured, Hawks could be ripe for an upset.
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