Raptors HQ Rapid Recap - Toronto Raptors 104 - Cleveland Cavaliers 96

by Adam Francis on Dec 26, 2011 9:39 PM EST in Raptors Rapid Recap - 2010/11

-How about a win to start the NBA season for the Toronto Raptors? Yes, the win came against the Cleveland Cavaliers, hardly the Miami Heat, but if you watched this one, you probably came away pretty happy with the end result, and a lot of what you saw on the court.

-For starters, it was a balanced offensive attack by the Dinos. Toronto had SEVEN players in double figures, and did a great job moving the ball for the bulk of the match, something 35 assists on 79 shots is a testament to. Jose Calderon led the flow with 11 (to go with six rebounds and 15 points), but others like James Johnson and Ed Davis (7 assists!) also got in on the action.

-Speaking of Ed, both he and Amir Johnson were awesome all night, banging in the paint, blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and simply being extremely active down low, causing havoc for the Cavs. They combined for 27 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks, and were huge factors in this win. Jamaal Magloire also gave the Raps some quality time off the bench, and his 15 minutes of meaningful action was probably more than he's played in quite some time.

-The game wasn't without some trouble though. Jerryd Bayless didn't do much to show he's a viable point guard option, and at times the Raps settled for far too many J's. The team also shot only 13 free throws to Cleveland's 28 and had the Cavs hit more than 6 of the 20 long-range bombs they attempted, this might have been a different story.

-In the end though the Raptors held the Cavaliers to under 100 points, and just over 40 per cent shooting from the field, something that fans can hope is a common theme this season. There are still 65 games to go but there's no question there was a lot to like in win number 1.

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FIRST!!!

Nice game sirs… Good start…Raptors undefeated season it’s in tact!!!

"the Truth"

by Mikthaniel on Dec 26, 2011 9:40 PM EST via Android app reply actions

hope Bayless improves

I like the guy’s spunk and aggression. Hopefully he improves but right now he def doesn’t look like a starting PG or even close to one. We may be in the market for a PG if he doesn’t start running the team better.

Apparently Jonny Flynn is available, any takers?

by Member29 on Dec 26, 2011 9:56 PM EST reply actions

bayless > Flynn

sad, sad, sad fact of life

by Not so Friendly Stranger on Dec 26, 2011 9:58 PM EST up reply actions

Is Dallas the worst defending champion team ever?

Currently down 73 to 47 against Denver…

"the Truth"

by Mikthaniel on Dec 26, 2011 10:02 PM EST via Android app reply actions

They were down by about 40 against the Heat for a while last game…

"the Truth"

by Mikthaniel on Dec 26, 2011 10:03 PM EST via Android app up reply actions

If you have Jose on your fantasy team you did well tonight

by Buddahfan on Dec 26, 2011 10:03 PM EST reply actions

I didn’t get to watch all the game. Did amir playing a lot of C? How did he look at it if he did?

by Barflies on Dec 26, 2011 10:04 PM EST reply actions

yes he did

and he looked sexy

by Not so Friendly Stranger on Dec 26, 2011 10:13 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Thanks, If he were two or three inches taller, he’d be the bomb

by Barflies on Dec 26, 2011 10:27 PM EST up reply actions

Game Quotes: Cavaliers vs. Raptors

HEAD COACH BYRON SCOTT

(On Tristan Thompson): "The one thing (with Tristan) is we don’t have to run a ton of plays for him because he’s so athletic and he plays with so much energy that he’s going to be around the bucket and he’s going to be able to get some paint scores for us. I wasn’t really surprised. That’s the type of kid we thought we were getting: A guy that can go in there and play hard, play with a lot of energy, and play with athleticism. I thought he did a wonderful job tonight."

TRISTAN THOMPSON

(On his performance tonight): "I did some good things on the defensive ends, but I’m not satisfied unless we get the W, so we’ve got things to work on and we’re going to continue to work."

(On if there was any miscommunication on defense tonight): "We had some times where we missed some defensive rotations and communication wasn’t there, so coach was right about our defensive breakdowns. We’ve got to go look at tape, see what we did wrong and improve upon that in practice."

Irving sounds like a real jerk to me

KYRIE IRVING

(On what he learned from tonight’s game): "Well it’s just on to the next game.

(On whether the pace of tonight’s game was different): "The first couple of times up and down the floor were, but after you get used to it, it’s easy breeze.

by Buddahfan on Dec 27, 2011 12:21 AM EST reply actions

OFF WITH HIS HEAD. Maybe he is a jerk but his quotes get lost in text translation.

by McGateway on Dec 28, 2011 1:17 AM EST up reply actions

So are the Raptors going to be content to watch Ed Davis put up some of the best per-minute numbers in the league while playing behind a less talented player? Because based on tonight and the preseason, it certainly looks like they’re headed for something in the neighbourhood of the 30-18 split for Bargs and Davis.

If you were in a job where you constantly outperformed the person ahead of you and never got the recognition or advancement, how long would it take for you to look for the opportunity to exit?

by RaptorsHQ - Defensive Stance on Dec 27, 2011 12:23 AM EST reply actions

I'd imagine/hope

that the Raps see Davis as a potential building block, which isn’t the case with Bargs. hopefully, they’re playing Bargs for trade value right now. with Valanciunas, Davis, Amir, and probably a 2012 draftee (heavy on bigs IIRC) there’s no place for Bargs, so hopefully we could get some sort of a return for him.

I tweet.

by benk on Dec 27, 2011 12:27 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

Im hoping one of Calderon/Bargnani

plays well enough to earn a lorry pick back. I’d hate to see Calderon go, but if Bargnani doesn’t I wouldn’t mind amnestying him.

by SD37 on Dec 27, 2011 1:35 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs

yeah, that would be awesome

really, I’d be happy to trade anyone outside of Valanciunas for good lottery picks. that includes DeMar and Davis, though they’d command a serious return

I tweet.

by benk on Dec 27, 2011 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe wait a bit longer than a single game to start talking about conflicts and discontent that don’t exist?

by dchoubak on Dec 27, 2011 3:54 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs

Actually, if Davis continues to play well and more efficiently than Bargs without being rewarded

with a starting spot I can totally see him taking his talent elswhere. I certainly would.

by Member29 on Dec 27, 2011 8:28 AM EST up reply actions

He Will Probably Leave Anyway

He is not a T-Dot guy.

He was born in Washington D.C. (poor kid) and hangs out on Tobacco Road with all the UNC snobs.

Davis is too hoity-toity for T-Dot.

TT torched him last night for 13 points in 17 minutes. I know TT was the #4 pick but giving up 13 points in just 17 minutes to TT in TT’s first NBA game ain’t going to cut it. Come on Ed, ain’t you got no pride in your defense.

by Buddahfan on Dec 27, 2011 9:26 AM EST up reply actions

the very fact

that you found a way to use hoity-toity in a sentence impresses me beyond belief.

as for the rest…I don’t agree. Ed played well defensively. Thompson got one or two easier buckets at first and then had to work real hard for anything else.

What Tristan did last night should be a credit to Thompsons hard work and should in no way be attributed to what Ed didn’t do. Its only 1 game in, but as of now TT is in the lead for ROY honours.

by Not so Friendly Stranger on Dec 27, 2011 9:39 AM EST up reply actions