Raptors Rapid Recap: Toronto 111 Detroit 97

by RaptorsHQ - Howland on Apr 12, 2010 10:06 PM EDT in Raptors Rapid Recap

- Just when you thought the Raps were all but dead they come out and play one of their better games in weeks against the Detroit Pistons. After completely failing to get-up for the match-up against the Bulls at home the Raptors come out firing on all cylinders in the second half of a back-to-back on the road. It's impossible to explain or predict what this team will do next.

- The Raps will simply on fire on the offensive end. The team had 35 assists on 45 field goals. That is quite the accomplishment. The team shared the ball, got open looks and diced and sliced the little resistence the Pistons put up.

- Easily the best game in a LONG TIME for Andrea Bargnani who was in an offensive groove all night. He had 33 points on 22 shots to go along with 7 rebounds. The Pistons had no answer for Il Mago who on this evening did not perform a disappearing act.

- Another big night for Amit Johnson who stuck it to his former team. Amir had a couple of massive dunks and a great all around game. Although not his greatest rebounding performance he had 26 points.

- If you think the Raptors long term prospects look somewhat bleak you can take solace in the fact that you are not a Pistons fan. Think they want to go back and pretend the Gordon and Villaneuva signings didn't happen?

- So what now for the Raps? They wait to see what Chicago does tomorrow night. A Bulls loss and these two teams are once again tied for the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference.

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26 Is A Career High For BC15

He was also a team leading +25

BC15 tries to do what is needed to win. Clearly tonight they didn’t need him rebounding.

by Buddahfan on Apr 12, 2010 10:18 PM EDT reply actions

things could get interesting

i really dont know what to make of this team..they come out flat against the bulls but come out the next game and on fire against the pistons who won 3 of their last 4 games i believe.now they have to hope the celtics play but if not the bobcats will for sure play all their guys cause with the hawks beating the bucks the cats can still pass the bucks in the standings.so for sure they gonna play hard against the bulls…maybe the bulls celebrating too early yesterday after the game making it sound like they made the playoffs may come back and bite them in the ass..we’ll see

by sherwin316 on Apr 12, 2010 10:22 PM EDT reply actions

problem with this team is they depend so much on their offense clicking and it should be the other way. we get what we get when the shots don’t drop

by Scores on Apr 13, 2010 8:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Tiebreakers

Cats have nothing to play for. They are locked into 7th.

Celtics do have the tie breaker as division champs and therefore could catch Atlanta still. Tomorrow night is our best hope. In either case, the meaningless game on Wednesday I was going to watch has huge implications regardless of what Boston does tomorrow!

Hope the Raps beat the Knicks on Wednesday to clinch the 8th seed.

by Zona. on Apr 12, 2010 10:56 PM EDT reply actions

We've got press access...

…unfortunately had a feeling it was going to come down to this so should make for some interesting content Thursday and beyond.

Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com

by Adam Francis on Apr 13, 2010 12:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Wow

I didn’t know that the division title trumped the win/loss record… good to know the Celtics have something to play for.

I’m hoping Larry Brown keeps the Bobcats focused for that last game.

by B.C. on Apr 13, 2010 7:58 AM EDT up reply actions

It doesn’t trump the win/loss record, it’s a tie break for when the records are the same. It takes precedence over head to head.

by HDave on Apr 13, 2010 8:45 AM EDT up reply actions

I think it does trump the win/loss in certain situations

I think the division leaders have to be in the top 4 in the conference regardless if one division had three teams with top records. One of those teams would rank 5th and the top 4 would be the division leaders plus the team with the next highest record.

by PNUTZ on Apr 13, 2010 8:51 AM EDT up reply actions

Here's a question

Does Jordan influence the Bobcats game by instructing his team to go easy on the bulls to get the team that made him legend into the playoffs? Or does their owner’s legendary competitive fire push his team to make an interesting point. Worth the watch if the Raptors do their part. Hey, maybe Colangelo calls in a favour with D’ Antoni to ensure a Raptors victory? Ah..the politics

by HQ Interloper on Apr 12, 2010 11:01 PM EDT reply actions