Tip-In: Ju-Ju to the Rescue; Raptors Dump Cavs 120 - 105
by Adam Francis on Jan 6, 2011 8:35 AM EST
in Tip-In (Post Game Reports)
Email
Print
On a night where the Canadian World Junior Hockey Team held a relatively safe lead, and squandered it to the Russians, it was the Raptors who were doing the exact opposite; as they battled back from an early deficit to comfortably win on the road in Cleveland
The Raptors came into the latter half of a back to back on the heels of a rough loss in Chicago. They were in need of a win and were boosted by the recent returns of Amir Johnson and Andrea Bargnani to the starting lineup.
If there was any team that they could have picked to play during such a tough stretch, it would probably have been Cleveland. The Cavs are one of the few teams worse than the Raptors and came into Wednesday's game with their win column still in single digits. Though not quite with the swagger of Rasheed Wallace, Matt Devlin called a victory before tipoff.
However, all did not go to plan early in the game, as the Cavs clearly hadn't read the script. They raced out to an early lead and were up by 12 at the end of the 1st quarter. It looked like the Raptors' season was going to hit a new low, as uncontested three's were dropping like its hot from all angles.
Like the hockey game, the lead that the Cavs held was eventually overturned in emphatic fashion. The Raptors started the 2nd quarter on fire as Bargnani and Barbosa each took turns going on scoring runs to get them level by the half.
The decision which turned the tide in this game had to be Triano putting Julian Wright in the game, and then surprisingly sticking with him for the rest of it. Wright was playing like a man possesed as he defended Jamison well, initiated the fast break with some great outlet passes, and finished around the rim when given his chances on offense.
It perplexes many Raptors fans as to why Triano continually gives heavy minutes to Linas Kleiza. While one can argue that he is more talented offensively than Wright, his skill set is eerily reminiscent of Andrea Bargnani, except he is 4 inches shorter. Tonight's game showed the balance that Wright can bring when given an opportunity to contribute, and Kleiza's best role may be that of a bench scorer alongside Barbosa.
Midway through the 4th quarter DeMar DeRozan's head landed on the hardwood after a midair collision with Ryan Hollins, which was (surprise) a no-call. He lay on the ground for a couple of minutes before getting up and staying in the game. What is even more impressive, is that he scored 9 straight points immediately afterwards.
The game would end 120-105, as we were all treated to a Solomon Alabi appearance in its closing moments. The Raptors continue their road trip on Friday in Boston, as they look to split the season series with the Celtics.
Random Observations
- Add Anderson Varejao to the list of Leo Rautins' man-crushes right next to Jared Dudley.
- Yes Wright, Calderon and Barbosa had big games but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Great result but remember who we were playing.
- Bill and Andy, traveling Raptors fans, received a solid minute of attention from our amazing commentators
- Why did Matt Devlin make such a big deal about the fact that Toronto hadn't won in Cleveland since 2004 when we won. This team and those previous teams are totally different.
- The Rajon Rondo the Toronto Raptors will see on Friday night is not the same Rondo we saw on Sunday, check his stat line from Wednesday's game.
Sasha Kalra
57 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Alabi et al
Anyone have any sense of Alabi’s potential at this point? I remember him looking decent in pre-season; or was it just summer league? Anyway he seems to be the only guy on the current roster with the body to be a defensive center, a 5 to Andrea’s 4-ish offensive skills. But since he never plays, there’s no way to tell – other than what the coaches see in practice. Seems like a waste, given that wins this year are mostly irrelevant (and possibly harmful in the long-run).
Why not throw out a starting lineup of Bayless, DD, Wright, Davis and Alabi and see what happens? They ain’t making the playoffs, Triano’s never going to be head coach of another NBA team, so why not run some fun experiments?
Just a thought.
At this point Alabi has shown nothing to indicate that he’s going to be more than Sharone Wright, Alex Radojevic, Nathan Jawai, Uros Slokar, etc. I’d like to see him get more minutes – especially in blowouts – in order to get a better sense of what they have.
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 6, 2011 10:28 AM EST up reply actions
They are going to let him go play in the d-league again for now.
by JumpShootersRUS on Jan 6, 2011 10:50 AM EST up reply actions
Why not throw out a starting lineup of Bayless, DD, Wright, Davis and Alabi and see what happens?
The only problem I foresee is that it means that the Raptors will be stuck with Bargs until he becomes an expiring contract. As a starter, he has some potential value another team might want to gamble on. As a backup, he has far lesser value because of his contract.
Come the trading deadline, we might actually get to see your lineup. It all depends on which players BC manages to move (and he should be trying to move everyone else if possible).
Alabi’s back to the D League as of this morning…Raptors moves of late have been a bit random to say the least.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
by Adam Francis on Jan 6, 2011 11:06 AM EST up reply actions
re Trade deadline
Colangelo is not trying to move any one, he is trying to add talent that will improve the team ongoing, and the last player to trade is Bargnani, his # 1 pick.
Huh?
First off, since the NBA roster is capped at 15 players and the Raptors have 14 under contract right now, if they add two players they will have to move at least one.
Second, BC would be an absolute fool not to try and move some players (and even his most extreme critics don’t call him an absolute fool). As a GM, you have to explore trading every player on your roster to see if moves are available that helps this team in its plan. Sure, there are players on this team you’d rather keep but if the right offer comes along, you have to consider it.
Third, this team has a lot of similar players: DD-Weems, Bayless-Barbosa, Evans-Dorsey. In all three cases, you could trade one of the pairs to bring in a player that does something unique on the team (for example, a 3pt shooter who can make 3s consistently)
Fourth, I think that BC will trade Bargs if he gets a decent offer. BC’s consistently shown the willingness to correct a mistake in the past. I don’t see why he wouldn’t here. I think he views this year as the evaluation of Bargnani as an ongoing asset. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bargs wasn’t gone by the beginning of next year.
Good luck
.
Although you do redeem yourself with Point #3 …. on that 4th thing – Vegas is giving better odds you won’t be posting then, versus AB gone by next year.
.
by RapthoseLeafs on Jan 6, 2011 12:37 PM EST up reply actions
Yup
I wouldn’t hold my breath on BC trading the golden cow.
MAS11, please dont say that. Have faith that BC will convert Bargnani into a useful center. I really hope Bargnani isn’t untouchable because I believe he has a lot of value to some GM’s who only look at “points” on the stat sheet.
by untouchable_21 on Jan 6, 2011 2:21 PM EST up reply actions
by convert into a useful center, I mean trade*
by untouchable_21 on Jan 6, 2011 2:22 PM EST up reply actions
"a lot of value to some GM’s who only look at "points" on the stat sheet"
Ummm… BC is chairman of that club.
BC trades Bargnani
What would you guys/gals have to talk about then?
.
by RapthoseLeafs on Jan 6, 2011 3:54 PM EST up reply actions
Solid point – if Bargs goes it might be crickets on here ha ha.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
If Kleiza is still on the team, it should be a no brainer.
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 6, 2011 4:18 PM EST up reply actions
oh lord lets not start that "first" stuff now lol
After last night Wright does deserve more minutes. But your right it was agaisnt the cavs, could Wright do this against better players that still remains to be seen. And what bout when weems comes back? I’m starting to see why jay has been very upset with the lack of calls his team (specially derozan) are getting. That was clearly a foul on hollins with DD smashing his head on the ground and no foul was called!! That’s retarded, I’m glad DD responded by scoring 9 straight points, even posting up players that was impressive. All and all nice to have a win.
by sherwin316 on Jan 6, 2011 9:17 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Check out Wright’s minutes played from road wins in Dallas and Orlando earlier this season. This team plays better with Wright on the floor.
Someone brought up the Keith Bogans comparison during last night’s chat. Is Bogans one of the top five players on the Bulls? No. Is Bogans in the starting lineup? Yes. Why is that? Because he provides the balance they need.
If you’re going to start defensively-challenged players like Bargnani, Calderon and DeRozan, you need to balance the rest of the starting lineup… or you can continue to start another poor defender like Kleiza who duplicates the skillset of your supposed franchise player.
by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Jan 6, 2011 10:04 AM EST up reply actions
I’d add some other guys in the league to a “Bogans” type list, including Thabo in OKC, Pietrus at points in his career and Afflalo. Not all great O types, but they do the little things to help balance out starting units.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
by Adam Francis on Jan 6, 2011 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
raja bell, ronnie brewer, even guys like joe smith and juwan howard for the cavs and blazers last year, they are great role players who deserve recognition
Exactly. I know it’s only January but do fans really have to wait till March again before we see Triano and co. realize that guys like Wright have way more value on the court then on the pine?
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
I think it is Colangelo that deserves heat for this too
I’m positive he has influence over playing time (i.e. I just signe this guy to a $20 mil deal so Kleiza’s playing over JuJu). I just fault Triano for having the testicular fortitude of a field mouse and not standing up to him.
considering he saw
what happened to Sam Mitchell, and how rare it is to get a head coaching job in the NBA could you blame him?
by Not so Friendly Stranger on Jan 6, 2011 5:11 PM EST up reply actions
Regarding JuJu: His play in this game was not an aberration or a one-off based on the level of talent of the opponent. He has done it pretty much every time he gets minutes (at least defensively for sure). Take the Dallas game for instance, where he was instrumental in that win.
Yes, good on DeRozan shaking it off and coming back strong after the non-call. He has shown me something over the last couple of games, a new level of tenacity in taking it to the rim, good for him. He’s obviously not getting the calls yet and is still physically immature. When he get’s a bit stronger he will be better at absorbing contact and finishing through it, and be more confident taking it in.
Disclaimer – I know he has a ways to go both offensively and defensively, but this year is about finding out who is worthy of a commitment of time and resources for development and DeRozan (still 20/21 right?) is starting to make the case.
juju?
whos juju? ive been reading it here all the time now.
im guessing its julian wright, if so when did he get a nickname? i was thinking of a corny saying Matt devlin should use when julian wright plays stunningly like last night. “Its alllllll Wright.” – fantastic isn’t it? lol :)
Yes, juju is Julian Wright.
And yes that would be pretty corny : )
Not sure where JuJu came from, but he was referred to by that nickname in New Orleans too.
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
Commas
Sasha there’s nothing wrong with the article basketballwise. You just have to place your commas properly. There’s no need for them if they are going to be followed by “as” or “and” or “but” and especially “except” or unless you are writing a list. Every other to e you used It seemed fine. Lol. I’ve been meaning to say this since your first article…yea I know grammar po-po
I didn’t see the game as I was watching the hockey game but was
by teedotaj on Jan 6, 2011 9:19 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Lol I was cut off!
Didn’t get to see the game but was curious because Jose was back with huge assist number. Was the offence better facilitated because of this or were most of the assists happen to be open looks to begin with or were on fastbreak?
by teedotaj on Jan 6, 2011 9:22 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Oh the irony lol
“to e” is supposed to say “time” lol stupid iPhone
by teedotaj on Jan 6, 2011 9:29 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
That string, was just a mess... LOL
The irony is you tried to correct a simple grammer issue and took three posts to do it. : )
actually...
Just once. Lol. The last post was to corrwct myself. There’s actually another spelling error on my post lol.
But yea simple grammatical errors get annoying if they are reoccuring. Lol
by teedotaj on Jan 6, 2011 10:52 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Comment
There’s no need for them if they are going to be followed by "as" or "and" or "but"
True, but sometimes I use them to slow the reader down to emphasize the following phrase. It really depends on what you intend.
FWIW, I did notice a few misplaced or extra commas but only after going back and specifically looking for them. To me, the fact that I made it through the article the first time without lifting the virtual red pen means it wasn’t too bad from a grammar or punctuation POV. YMMV.
No you’re right. I never said it was so bad. It was just the use of commas really.
by teedotaj on Jan 6, 2011 5:52 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Fantasy...
This does not belong in this thread, but I love talking fantasy and I am inviting people to come talk anything related to fantasy bball in my latest fan post.
by JumpShootersRUS on Jan 6, 2011 11:14 AM EST reply actions
Didn't get to watch much of the game
it made me realize 2 things:
1) I wish the Raps could play Cleveland once a week.
2) How god damn amazing is/was Lebron, considering an almost identical team for the past few years had the best record in the league and was a perrenial contender.
by Not so Friendly Stranger on Jan 6, 2011 2:43 PM EST reply actions
Yes, there should be NO argument that LBJ deserved his MVP awards. Imagine taking one player away from a team and going from 60+ wins to less than 30.
sure that team was have been worse
but they were never as good as the Cavs were.
Kobe is one of the greatest…. Lebron may be the greatest.
by Not so Friendly Stranger on Jan 6, 2011 3:47 PM EST up reply actions
HUGE point on LeBron – D Stance and I were just talking about this. I think this year could really be a huge proof point for a stat like Wages of Wins. LeBron year after year had a wins produced number of like 30 or something, and if the Cavs win about 30 this year without him, with the EXACT same team…
Adam Francis - Publisher - RaptorsHQ.com
Might just prove the limitations of wages of wins
None of the of the other players wow scores benefited from Lebron when clearly he carried the team?
Woh, woh, woh woh!
Stop the train right there! Greatest? There is nothing you can say to me that will talk me out of MJ being the greatest. It’s not even close at this point. If James and the Heat win 6 ’chips MAYBE we can have a discussion.
Chips....
I don’t care who you are you still need a team to win a championship (whether you be Jordan, Lebron, Kobe, Shaq etc)… besides himself Jordan had the 2nd best player in the league in Pippen, and one of the greatest rebounders/defenders in Rodman (for a bunch of them). Now I will say its not like he had “stacked” teams like Kobe did (not try to hate on Kobe either here)… but I would take Jordan’s Bulls without Jordan over Lebron’s Cavs without Lebron any day of the week.
I don’t want to down play Jordan by any means, but I don’t think greatest player ever and # of Championships necessarily go hand in hand. At the same time I don’t think you can ignore it either. But you can easily make an argument for Derek Fisher, or Robert Horry…
Anyways, I will say Jordan used to hold that title….
by Not so Friendly Stranger on Jan 6, 2011 5:19 PM EST up reply actions
Fair points
Jordan did indeed have the quintisential runningmate in Pippen and had other good players for teammates. Although, I don’t think at any point Pippen was the second best player in the league (Barkley, Robinson, Olajuan, Malone, Drexler and others would all take umbridge to that remark). But Jordan’s resume absolutely DOMINATES LeBron’s. I don’t think its even close (MVPs, All Defensive teams, All NBA teams, Championships, Scoring tittles, Wins, Playoff wins, winning baskets, and the list goes on, and on and on).
You will get no argument from me that James is the best player alive right now, but he still has a ways to go to be in the same conversation as Jordan.
Talentwise, I think lebron is the greatest. But in terms of being the greatest basketball player, he doesn’t get ahead of kobe. And if he doesn’t get ahead of kobe, he is nowhere near mj.
Its like how mayweather is the most skilled boxer right now. He’s more skilled than pac but pacquiao kicks his ass in terms of the greatness department.
by teedotaj on Jan 6, 2011 5:57 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Bargs
Had a pretty good game and I’d like to congratulate him on a job well done.
Reggie Evans, DD and hard fouls
How far off is his return?
if Demar gets hit hard, or even really hard, on the way to the basket and does not get a call but whenever we play Lebron or Kobe they get even the slightest touches called as fouls, how can the Raptors compete with these teams? Why can’t the refs let the players decide the games? (eg. last years final game, the refs pulled that one out for the lakers and it was obvious and sad from the fans perspective.)
if the refs are going to call us for every foul and not give us the benefit of the doubt, should we foul completely and make them count? Amir should stop reaching in and instead put the guy on his ass every time he goes in the lane. Reggie, Davis and boy would I love to see Andrea take that approach. Imagine if teams were scared to drive the lane because they knew we had tough, physical bigs that would put you on your ass everytime. Not block the shot all the time, but certainly not allow any easy layups, ala Celtics philosophy.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
Related FanPosts on Raptors HQ
Related FanShots on Raptors HQ
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Shaquille O’Neal is in a Chinese beer commercial, too (VIDEO)
- ‘Deep Thoughts’ and Cheap Thoughts: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
- C-a-C: This is probably as close to LeBron James working with John Waters as we’ll ever get
- Dwyane Wade’s hot pink pants: The kind of thing you can get away with when you drop 41
- Lamar Odom to New York? Dwight Howard on the move? For now, it’s all talk
