Tip-In: Raptors' Crush Suns in First Pre-Season Match

new NBA rule. You slap some ass, they send you to the showers.

Last nights game reminded me how much of a huge asset it is to be able to put an above average point guard on the floor for the entire game.

this is a 50 WIN season!
(for our opponents vs raps…)

Some interesting Raptors stats, 55 FTA’s from 14 diff players, 37 PTs off 30 Phoenix turnovers, 12 steals by 10 diff players, 21 ast by 9 diff players, 11 of 15 who played with a minimum of at least 6 points, 12 of 15 with at least 1 rebound. The game score is not important, what was is the TEAMWORK and aggressive effort on offense and defense from start to finish.

Will be interesting to see if the same effort is maintained in Boston and Chicago in the next 2 games coming up.

but I loved what I saw last night. Looking forward to the rest of pre season to see if we keep it up. Fantastic performances on both ends from a team perspective. Dorsey has my vote for a spot in the rotation; his demeanour reminds me of a young Charles Oakley. All of our players look in above average shape. Jack looked leaner and more agile. Barbosa and Weems on the Wing at the same time should be fun to watch. Kleiza will be broken down when the opposing SF penetrates and he is slow getting back when running back to defend in transition against a natural SF BUT offensively he is going to be a total mismatch at SF and he can play inside or out. He looked great offensively but got exposed defending the SF position last night. Alabi hasn’t made a fan of me; I predict he will be out of the league in 5yrs if not sooner (a bit harsh but honest opinion. Anderson looked good offensively as we all predicted but his defence is horrible. I’m still a fan of banks and think we should resign him for 1mil or less to be a 3rd pg for injuries and practice.
Looking forward to next game for sure.

Phoenix was playing alot of what I would call… bad players who didn’t know what they were doing. Letting Derozan cut backdoor for the alley reminded me of summer league competition. If Phoenix keeps playing this badly, we are most assuredly not going to be the worst defensive team in the league this go-round!

Remember that the T’Wolves kicked the crap out of the Lakers in their opening game a few days ago.

Pre-season means less than nothing. In fact, bad teams often do so well because they’re trying too hard, while the good squads yawn their way through the game and wait for the lights to turn on.

1st overall pick is still a high chance (thank god)

> Recognizing that this was the 1ST preseason game, and competition certainly was lacking – especially in the 4th Quarter – I think there are positives to be taken from this game.

• Kleiza – obviously he’s out to prove the doubters wrong. Of course it’ll be season play that truly demonstrates his “comeback” (or however one wants to define it)
• Evans – he looks fitter this year. Still has no offensive game, and I cringe when he’s at the free throw line. It’s his spirit & attitude that I think is great, and if he can understand that he’s not in Raptorland for his Post play, I think things could work out. Upside is, he impresses enough to enhance his trade value (besides being an expiring contract)
• Bargs – despite how the haters are waiting with baited breath for excuses, this was the 1st damn game. Personally, I think Jay matching Reggie up with Andrea, was not for the rebounding issue (that makes no sense – you want AB to get more, not have someone take them away). What I think JT might have been thinking (with Reggie and Andrea together), is in giving Bargs a crash course in double teams & opposition focus. Let’s face it, if you’re Phoenix, who do you guard. I thought Andrea played good defense, and if he spends the entire preseason working on that, while his offense makes a slow rise, I’m very happy with that.
• DeMar – He was off to a slower start, and most of his scoring came in the mid-3rd Quarter, a point in the game when someone like Swirsky would have started unpacking the salami & cheese. Never-the-less, I think he’ll make the next step when it really counts.
• Jose – Sluggish start, but we know what to expect from him. Still concerned about his hammy, and whether he’ll be healthy for the season.
• Jack – Played a steady game, with some nice play-making. Nothing special, but I think we understand JJ can enhance the Secondary.
• Amir – 5 fouls might cause some anxiety (especially with Budda), but I thought a number of those fouls were reach-ins, that AJ will hopefully resolve when the season starts. Seeing some of the other Bigs performance last night, I’m not as concerned (for now).
• Barbosa – Have to say, I like his game. If he stays healthy, Barbie will help.
• Weems – Hoping good things. Not a bad game … 12 pts & +20 in 18 minutes.
• Alabi – soft touch with the ball. Is this CB lite?
• Anderson – Only 1 game, but at least he brought the energy.
• Dorsey – pleasant surprise. He just might be that cheap version of Noah (not quite the same of course). Could work well with Bargs.

Energy was great. Defense was great. Lots of positives.
But still just 1 game.

Given that the team missed the playoffs by one game? Taking that approach throughout pre-season will be useful in setting the appropriate tone going forward that the effort should be there ALWAYS. We as fans can say, yeah it’s only one game but the team has to think every game is meaningful. No turning on switches for this unit.

I wonder how much of a rotation would be required to pull this off on a consistent basis. Given the limited talent disparity between the 8th and 12th best player on this team, why not go with an 11 or 12 man rotation to allow for this level of pressure to be maintained throughout games and the season. Quick rotations, short burst of high intensity, should it not work against a lot of the league or have I dipped my lenses in rose colour too soon?

man was the defense sweet, kleiza is very impressive were are all the kleiza haters now?

Often overlooked is how poorly Jay adjusted to his role as coach last season. There were the constant end of quarter plays that he did not push for 2 for 1s with 35-40 seconds left, there were the rotation issues and his poor handling of the refs and his inability to lead. A lot of those things were not his fault and some were, but I see a much better year for Jay this season. He doesn’t have a Bosh free agency issue looming over his head, he doesn’t have to please Hedo and give him huge minutes and he doesn’t have a to worry about pleasing any of his players, he now can become a leader and demand 100% effort from his guys, which for me, is a better position for Jay to be in than he was last year.

I think the Raps will be better than last year for 4 reasons,
1. Jay will be better
2. Linas is much better than Hedo
3. Leandro Barbosa along with a more experienced Demar and Weems are a big upgrade from last year at the two and should run the fast break well with either Jose or Jack. I expect to see Weems and Demar keep improving, and Barbosa was injured last year, and hopefully is back to his career numbers now that he is healthy. This is where they can get back some of Bosh’s scoring.
4. Defense, not just because Hedo is gone, but also because the team is full of hungry guys who really want to play…eg. Evans, Dorsey, Amir, Weems, and the team culture will be hungrier than last year. Jack Armstrong might be able to say at some point this season, “The Raptors play a punishing physical style where they run ten or eleven guys hard at you for 48 minutes and maintain defensive intensity throughout. They are tough on the boards on both ends of the floor and they get back on defence with desperate urgency.” Wouldn’t that be a change worth noting.

If you are an analyst, than do your thing with stats and if you think the Raps will be terrible this year, then so be it. If you are a Raps fan, don’t write them off before the season begins. We don’t know what to expect and there is hope, there is potential and that’s why they play the games.

Go Raps.