SB Nation - Marco Belinelli

3 In The Key - Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. New Orleans

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:30:13 -0000

Chris Paul almost got a well deserved triple double. Heck, he almost finished with a 30 and 20 night against the Nuggets. Will CP3 get that elusive triple double against the Raptors today?

Browse more photos »

In a rematch where Chris Paul will play the team that injured him, the Raptors will face one of the league's most dynamic point guards. Of course, Mo Pete will be the talk of the town as Vicious D takes a look at the Hornets.

This is all Morris Peterson's fault.

Well, not really, but let's look at how Mo Pete left.

Back in the wonderous 2006-2007 season, the Raptors decided to start benching Mo Pete after years of loyal service. The Raptors had a new guy in Jorge Garbajosa who was a tough Spaniard who wasn't going to take guff from anyone. He was going to be our defensive stopper who just played hard in every game and who could defend bigger people while using his crafty mind to take out the smaller small forwards in the league. Mo Pete was benched and his minutes severely reduced. When Garbajosa went down with his Raptors Career-ending injury, the team picked Joey Graham to start over Mo Pete.

Thus ended Mo Pete's career in Toronto.

Getting snubbed once for a veteran player like Garbajosa was nothing to be ashamed about, but getting snubbed for the likes of Joey Graham was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. Since then, we have been without any real stoppers at the small forward position in Toronto. And yes, that includes the recently end-of-bencher Antoine Wright.

But good news:

Mo Pete is back in Toronto.

With the Hornets.

Doing not much of anything.

As part of their 15 years anniversary, the Raptors will be celebrating Mo Pete's service to the Raptors and the Raptors' community. Without a doubt, Peterson was a man who just got to become Mr. Raptor by being a subtle part of some very good teams. He was the Ironman of the Raptors and gave us some very important years with some good defense, some better shooting, and some miraculous plays.

He'll be a Raptor whom I'll definitely stand up and applaud from my condo.

Up next though, the Raptors still have a game to play and against the New Orleans Hornets, they will have it out a lot tougher than the Nets. That's why today's game will be a much better measuring stick for this Raptors team:

1) Protect Your "Glass Jaw"
The Raptors are simply bad when they have to do anything tough, but more than that, it seems as though whenever teams start trading baskets with the Raptors, they will fold. In boxing, a glass jaw boxer is a guy with a weak chin who will go down for the count whenever their opposition tags them on the chin. With these Raptors, their "chin" seems to be their paint and the Raptors get hit there way too often. It all eventually changes the game to their opposition's favour. It happened in the Nets game, albeit only in the second half after they built a sizable lead, and it's happened in just about every game where they've been blown out. We're going to keep mentioning it until the Raptors change their ways, but the fact is, this team's best defensive unit is probably Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Sonny Weems, Chris Bosh, and Amir Johnson.

That's four bench players with Chris Bosh. With Chris Paul almost dropping a triple double the last game against the Nuggets, the Raptors have to keep protecting their paint otherwise this game will get ugly real quick.

2) Stick and Jab
The Raptors on the other hand, have to keep going inside against the Hornets. New Orleans just doesn't have a very strong front court despite having one of the most overrated centers in the league in Emeka Okafor. Chris Paul as well, has a propensity to being exposed by opposing point guards, so the Raptors should keep slashing and slashing in the paint like there's no tomorrow. Attacking them with two points here and there will keep New Orleans on their toes until you find yourself for open threes. Which leads us to...

3) Power Punches
The Raptors have not been shooting the 3-pointer very well lately. However, a lot of that has to do with who is taking those threes. DeMar DeRozan, Antoine Wright, and the recently cold Italian Duo are all people that should be careful about shooting too many threes. But if the Raptors start by hitting the Hornets with lots of jabs, they'll expose them for open looks on the perimeter. The Raptors are a team that needs those open looks and they'll have to stick them as it's a major part of what makes the Raptors a dangerous offensive team. It's how the Raptors pulled out a win in New Orleans earlier this year after all. However it's all got to start from the inside out. The best boxers establish themselves with their jab and then unleashes hooks and uppercuts when need be. The Raptors will need to do the same.

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - Easy Breezy

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:30:14 -0000

More photos » by Nathan Denette - AP

When Bargnani is out-hustling you for plays, you know that something is wrong with your team

Browse more photos »

In what might have been the easiest Raptors win of the year, the New Jersey Nets showed why they set the NBA record for worst start to a season. Vicious D, however, takes a pessimistic look at an easy win

You know, a recap like this should be easy.

It would go something like "Raptors beat a lousy team 118-95. It wasn't even close. Notch one for the good guys."

It's easy to look at this game and say "Ok, this team is now going to play five teams that they should clobber because this Raptors team can at least beat bad teams."

It's easy to go look at the Raptors record after this next stretch and say "Oh, they're only a couple games below .500"

It's easy to say that this team can play defense to win games because they can hold teams under 90 points and that they're doing better because they're doing it more often.

All of that is easy because the Raptors beat the Nets so badly in the first half that they didn't even need to try in the second half.

But all of that is the problem with this Raptors team. This team often takes the easy way out and looks at itself with rose-coloured glasses when things go well. This team is the one that features players who forget to go into the paint when they did it so well in the first quarter. This team will take the easy way out because being behind by 10 points means that it's really hard for the team to come back. It requires determination, and when this team requires determination, they seem to just implode and say "Ok, let's let our opponents keep scoring so we can get out of here ASAP."

I'm refusing to take the easy way out in this recap.

Fact of the matter is, the Raptors came out of this with a win because New Jersey is a pretty bad team that played a pretty bad game. Should the Raptors hang their laurels on this game? I'm sure that they aren't, but there are some disturbing signs from even this game.

For instance, discounting the first half for a moment, in the second half, the Nets outscored the Raptors 63-48. In those quarters, the Raptors did play a lot of bench players. Nevertheless, the effort in these quarters was largely lacking. In the third quarter, it was particularly disturbing to see the Raptors starters jack up shots from the field. When they went cold, the starters seemed to forget about what got them the lead in the first place. They stopped going to the paint and stopped deferring to DeMar DeRozan; the one player on the starters who was absolutely committed to continue going to the basket.

Then, the Nets started to take the Raptors to task in the paint. Devin Harris and Brook Lopez kept scoring on the inside and the same lackadaisical Raptors defense was there for everyone to see. Most of the Nets baskets came from blow-bys, interior passing, and just an unwillingness to protect the paint. How many times did we see the Nets finish off in a run? How many other times did we see the Nets cut through Jack, Turkoglu, and Bosh all in one play to the rim? Heck, how did Brook Lopez not pick up any more fouls for the entire second half after getting three limiting fouls in the first?

Meanwhile, Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong were busy talking about how the Raptors had played good defense by holding the Nets to just 33 points at the half.

But let's not just stay negative.

There are positives coming from today's game, and those largely have to do with that "hustle group" that we've seen on the floor. I'm talking of course about the close knit group of Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli, Sonny Weems, and DeMar DeRozan. All of these players gave some kind of hustle on the floor that kept extending the lead throughout the game. It's these players that seem to have developed a chemistry that even the starters haven't been able to find. It's not surprising either that they're the hardest working bunch, night in, night out. And even Belinelli, who had a pretty horrendous shooting night still kept his hands active and managed to grab two steals and multiple deflections.

Oh, and the Toronto crowd loves them too because if there's one thing Torontonians love, it's a hard worker.

A long time ago, I was told a simple truth about life. The truth was that the right decision and the right thing to do is often the hard path, while the easy path is often the one most treaded and the one that never produces growth. For 29 games now, this Raptors team has shown a propensity to take the easy path far too often. When faced with the need to dig deep, to attack and keep a game close, or to get that one stop, this team just doesn't seem to have it. The only wins this team seems to be interested in are blowouts and that's not the mark of any championship competitor. Problem is, we may very well have four blowouts in the next four games.

In the next few games, the Raptors should display some ability to put away some teams and pad the stats of some of their players. These games will allow the Raptors to showcase some pieces and hopefully entice other general managers. The fact is, the Raptors will have a window of opportunity to showcase players and make changes before things get desperate.

I just wonder if anyone in this organization has the fortitude to take the hard path.

Q&A: Marcus Thompson - Contra Costa Times / InsideBayArea.com (Part 1 of 3)- Warriors bright spots, the next to be traded, Robert Rowell and basketball decisions

Atma Brother ONE — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 02:00:35 -0000

We recently mic'ed up Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times/ InsideBayArea.com to get his thoughts on the Golden State Warriors.

Click and roll to MT's Dubs blog

Jump for some positives about the Warriors season, who will be the next players the team ships out, and Robert Rowell's future in making Warriors hoops decisions.

Golden State of Mind: We're in the midst of some seemingly endless "Dubs Drama" (again). Let's hit the pause button on the dysfunction for a second though. You cover the Warriors extremely closely, so you're the best person to ask this. What are some of the bright spots for this organization either on or off the court that aren't getting enough ink across the hoops world?

Marcus Thompson: The bright spots are obvious: Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow, Anthony Randolph, Stephen Curry and I will even throw Kelenna Azubuike in there.

The brightest is no doubt Monta Ellis. Say what you want about him, the kid is showing he is special. He hasn't done anything yet. But the prospects look good. He will benefit the Warriors extremely down the road, whether as a player or as trade bait.

Morrow is right behind Ellis. He may not have the superstar power Ellis has, but Morrow at the very least could be just a solid starter for years to come. That is nothing to sneeze at.

Randolph, though he is up and down, I think is still promising. His fate may be more in the hands of his coaches, who have to figure out a way to help him progress. But that is what organizations have to do sometimes. Sure, the onus is on the player. But he didn't invest in himself, the Warriors invested in him. It is on them to do everything they can to maximize that investment. Because if Randolph turns out to be a bust, it's the franchise's fault for drafting him.

The cap flexibility is also pretty good. As it is now, they have the flexibility to add a big contract for a player they really want. The chance is there to really get someone good. If they don't take advantage, that is on them.

Golden State of Mind: Within his first few months on the job as the GM of the Warriors Larry Riley has already given the roster a shake-up. Jamal Crawford, Marco Belinelli, and recently Stephen Jackson have all been shipped out. This still isn't a contender to say the least, so more moves seem likely. Considering the big money deals still on the books, expiring contracts, young and raw talent, and lingering in-house drama, who do you think will be the next player(s) headed out? Does Monta Ellis "got next"?

Marcus Thompson: Ideally, it would be Corey Maggette. They aren't getting the bang for his buck, and he certainly would like to play more. But everyone knows it's tough to trade his contract. With that said, I think it has to be either Monta Ellis or Andris Biedrins. I don't see how they can land a difference maker without giving up one of those two. Those are the two big money guys, so if the Warriors want to give someone $15 a year, they will probably need to move one of those two (unless they can get rid of Maggette's contract). But mainly, those two guys I think are the only commodities the Warriors have that will make another team give up a stud.

If you're Phoenix, who would you want in return for Stoudemire? If you're Toronto, who would you want in exchange for Bosh? Sure, they want young talent, but for the money the Warriors will have to shell out, young talent won't be enough. Maybe if they decided to package Curry and Randolph with Maggette, they might get another team to bite. But I really don't think they'd do that.

Curry and Randolph are among the untouchables currently, but I wouldn't be surprise if their status changed between February and August. Especially in the case of Randolph, the Warriors may be more willing to include him in a deal down the line than they are right now.

Golden State of Mind: Golden State Warriors president Robert Rowell has had his fair share of critics for personally inking Stephen Jackson to that questionable early 3 year extension, among other recent front office decisions. With Larry Riley and Don Nelson firmly entrenched as the Warriors GM head coach is this the last we'll see Rowell making basketball decisions such as negotiating player deals and extensions? How safe is his job with the Warriors?

Marcus Thompson: I think it's the last he'll be taking or given credit publicly. There was a time when the Warriors wanted his name mentioned for the good things the Warriors did. Of course, with that comes your name being mentioned when bad things happen.

I think everyone in the organization, even Rowell, realizes that he needs to either become the GM or let the GM run the show. I don't think that means he is out of the loop on decision making, though. In the end, he's still got to approve all financial moves, and sell them to owner Chris Cohan. So he's in the room, and at the very least in the loop. But Riley will get all the credit and the blame when it comes to basketball decisions.

**********

Stay tuned for the rest of our Q&A with Marcus! In the mean time make sure to check out Inside the Warriors

Raptors Rapid Recap - Toronto 110 - Chicago 78

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 03:38:32 -0000

-The big question going into tonight's match against the Bulls was if the zeal from last night's OT win over the Wiz would carry over. Considering the 32 point win, you could say that it did just a little bit.

-The Raptors came out guns blazing out scoring the Bulls 37 to 16 in the first quarter and never looked back. Chris Bosh led the way with 25 points and 12 rebounds in only 22 minutes of play but he had help from all angles tonight. Five players in double figures, including much-needed games from Antoine Wright (10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists) and Marco Belinelli (15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.)

-Toronto completely outplayed Chicago shooting 48 per cent from the field and outrebounding the Bulls, a ridiculous 53 to 32. It was great to see the Dinos so relentless in the latter department, especially on the offensive end, and their 18 offensive boards sunk Chicago's spirirts.

-On the other side of the ball, it didn't help that the Bulls ace rebounder Joakim Noah was tossed in the second half with his second technical foul and so after that, the slaughter was on. Chicago though was horrid offensively all night, shooting only 39 per cent and really didn't show a sign of life after the first few minutes of this one.

-It was about as complete a game as you could ask for from Toronto, which makes two straight A+ efforts since Jay Triano had a little chat with his club. The lone concern was that Jose Calderon left the game with a strained hip flexor in the second half. Sounds like only a minor tweak though and with a few days off, he should be good to go Tuesday.

-A great time to get these two wins as Toronto faces Minnesota and Milwaukee next, two more quite winnable games which could ensure a nice pre-Christmas run considering the Nets are looming as well.

From Man to Dog: The Kevin Garnett Story

aramnath — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:10:18 -0000

Kevin Garnett showed some signs in Minnesota of the transformation into man's four legged best friend that has happened during his time in Boston.

View full size photo »

Ever since winning the 2007-2008 NBA Championship Kevin Garnett has become a dirty, insane jackass mimicking as a canine. It's gotten to the point where everybody has forgotten how sympathetic a figure he was in Minnesota just three years ago. As soon as he came to the Celtics though he seems to have really embraced the aura of what it means to be an arrogant, pompous douchebag.

There was his unforgettable game against the Blazers where he managed to do things that will never be seen on a basketball court again. He started by making aptly named teammate, Glen "Big Baby" Davis cry during a timeout and followed that up by coming out of the timeout, crawling on all fours and barking at guard Jerryd Bayless.

He had previously started his decline into the realm of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest when in a game against Toronto he felt the need to begin clapping, pointing at Jose Calderon and probably barking in the middle of a play while guarding him the length of the floor.

KG found a way to top both of these in a matchup against the Warriors later in the season when he hit Marco Belinelli with this dirty elbow to his chest.

I only bring this up because late in the fourth quarter against the Knicks, Garnett committed a blatant tripping foul on Wilson Chandler late in the fourth quarter. The similarity between all these plays is that he wasn't whistled for a technical, flagrant or even a personal foul on any of them.

Ok NBA referees it's time to reach down in your pants and check if you're man enough to actually control a game rather than be intimidated by a lunatic that is clearly a gigantic wuss. You doubt that? Look at the tale of the tape. Garnett's targets have all been players on the smaller side of things. Belinelli, Calderon, Bayless and Chandler wouldn't stand a chance. I also doubt whether his own teammate, "Big Baby", would be able to considering that he actually started crying on the bench.

I know we aren't going to sign anybody who's crazy enough to imitate man's best friend during a game and picks on guys half his size. Congratulations, you've transformed yourself from being a player most of the NBA viewing public liked to joining the Celtic tradition and being loathed by all. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE and you proved it.

3 In The Key - Toronto Raptors Game Day Preview vs. Indiana

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:32:05 -0000

More photos » by Michael Conroy - AP

Can the Raps slow down Danny Granger and the fast-paced Indiana attack tonight?

Browse more photos »

RaptorsHQ makes its monthly media appearance at the Air Canada Center, this time to see Jarrett Jack's former club, the Indiana Pacers come for a visit.

When we started looking at the November schedule, tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers seemed to jump out a bit.

Why?

Well for starters, there weren't a lot of home games to choose from of course.

More importantly though, considering the tough schedule the Dinos had been involved with early on, this match seemed to mark the first of a somewhat easier stretch for Toronto.

Of course in the NBA, "easier" is a relative term.

The Knicks can get thumped one night, then take the Celtics to overtime another.

But on paper, the Raps' next bunch doesn't have the same "oh no" factor as did their previous Western Conference road trip, or even games against the likes of Orlando. Yes, they still need to close out the month against Phoenix and Boston, but apart from those two, things finally start to ease up a bit.

And talk about perfect timing.

The Raps come in a banged up bunch, already minus Reggie Evans of course, but with a gaggle of swingmen suddenly suffering from various issues. Antoine Wright, Hedo Turkoglu and Marco Belinelli have each missed time recently, and now, Amir Johnson has a tweaked knee as well.

Yesterday's reports out of practice however made it sound like Belinelli was going to be good to go, with Wright and Johnson likely as well provided no flare-ups occured overnight. It would be great to have a full staff on board for an important one tonight vs. Indiana.

The Pacers come in with a 5 and 6 record, having lost three in a row. Among those losses, some disappointing ones to New York and Charlotte. Danny Granger has been his usual phenomenal self, but he's struggled to get consistent help from teammates, especially with Troy Murphy being on the DL. Toronto will have to lock in on Granger tonight, the Pacers' main weapon, and that kicks off the first of our three keys:

1) Keep Granger in check.

Longtime readers know my affinity for Granger. He was my favourite college player in 2005 and I prayed that the Raps would grab him with their top pick. We all know how that story turned out and now he's one of the most lethal all-around players in the league. On the season, he's averaging 24 points, nearly 7 rebounds and 3 assists. He's Indiana's unquestioned stud, and a player that can easily heat up and drop 50 on you if you're not careful.

This evening then I'm hoping that Toronto limit his opportunities. While the Pacers under coach Jim O'Brien have traditionally seemed like an "all-offense/no-defense" group, this year the inverse is true. The Pacers rank 24th in offensive efficiency and 11th in defensive efficiency. Put it this way, this club struggles to score if Granger is kept under control.

Easier said than done obviously but as a first key tonight, I'll be looking to see the Raps get the ball out of Danny's hands so as to force the likes of TJ Ford and Brandon Rush into scorers.

2) Rebound the ball.

This is an area Toronto has struggled with all year but so have their foes tonight. Indiana and Toronto are neck-and-neck in terms of many of the rebounding stats (including rebounding rate) so whoever does a better job cleaning the glass should be able to tip the ball in their favour. While the Pacers likely won't have Murphy or the services of the tenacious Jeff Foster, both Roy Hibbert and rookie Tyler Hansbrough do a great job getting second chance opportunities for their club and wingmen like Granger and Dahntay Jones can cause dificulties as well.

3) Transition Defence.

The Raptors' defence has of course been much-maligned so far this year so perhaps having "defence" as a third key is again no surprise. However with an Indiana team that loves to get up and down the floor (they play at the league's second-fastest pace behind only Golden State), I'm really going to be honed in tonight on Toronto's ability to stop Indiana from getting easy looks in transition. I felt that against the Magic on Sunday, the Raps did a better job defending the paint and the perimeter, but far too often still were getting either beat down the floor, or were unable to slow down the charging Magic attack.

The Pacers have the ability to blow things wide open early based on this style so Toronto's back-court, Jose Calderon in particular, need to ensure that they lock things down as best as they can. As well, this point links to the previous one as if Toronto can't control the boards, this will likely lead to quick outlets by Indiana's "bigs," leading to quick transition points.

This one isn't quite a must-win game, but I think it's safe to say that should Toronto lose, this is one the club could look back on come April and having some serious regrets about not getting. I actually think a healthy Pacers' club makes the playoffs this year so again, it's quite likely that this is one of those teams the Raps will be competing with for playoff seeding.

Tonight's match could therefore go a long way in deciding future outcomes.

As well, Howland and I have media access to tonight's game so we'll be live-blogging from the ACC. Be sure to send us any questions you'd like us to ask the Raps post-game, and we'll have a full recap along with game photos tomorrow morning.

IC Cold Links: Jack Greets Pacers, Foster Hopes To Fix Defense

Tom Lewis — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:37:42 -0000

The Toronto Raptors made Jarrett Jack an offer he couldn't refuse this past summer, and when the Pacers were unwilling to match, Jack had to leave Indiana.

It was really tough to see a Jack go since he was a guy who bought into what the Pacers were doing and spilled his guts everyday on the court. But in hindsight, the move has been beneficial to both sides. Jack earned a real nice contract, especially considering the relatively little amount of cash NBA owners were throwing around last summer.

As for the Pacers, the spent half the money to sign Dahntay Jones and Jones has produced every bit as much, if not more than Jack did last year. The one thing Jack brought last year was, well, himself. He played all 82 games and though his production wasn't always consistent, the effort and intensity was. Hopefully, Dahntay keeps up his current pace for the rest of the season.

After the jump, a few links of interest including stories on Jack greeting the Pacers upon their arrival at the Air Canada Centre yesterday as well as more on Jim O'Brien's lineup change.

Pacers still reeling from loss at Charlotte
Mike Wells reports on Jim O'Brien's disdain for the defensive deficiencies in Charlotte prompting the Pacers' coach to try a different lineup. "We can't play Roy much unless they play Amir Johnsonor (Rasho) Nesterovic," O'Brien said. "We'll start Jeff at center because we're quicker and able to guard their pick-and-rolls."
NBA Toronto: Jack hopes his struggles are over
Mike Ganter has a cool story about Jarrett Jack greeting the Pacers after wrapping up his workout yesterday.
Nothing doin' for Nets - Vecsey
Peter Vecsey slips in a shot at Jim O'Brien's job security after the recent losses to the Knicks and Bobcats.
Jack trying to earn his keep
Michael Grange reports on Jarrett Jack trying to play up to his contract for the Raptors.
Raptors’ Jack wants to prove he deserved big contract
Eric Koreen reports on Jack greeting the Pacers and working his way into a groove for the Raps.
Showtime for Raptors' Calderon
Doug Smith reports on Raptors' PG, Jose Calderon developing a connection with rookie DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems. Calderon seems to scald the Pacers at least once a season, hopefully that won't be tonight.
Belinelli, Wright to return for Raptors; Evans still a mystery
Marco Belinelli and Antoine Wright will be available for the Raptors off the bench tonight.

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - Shattered Game-Plan

Raptors HQ - Vicious D — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:05:17 -0000

by Darren Calabrese - AP

DeRozan meets one of his childhood heroes up close and personal. It would be one of many common looks for DeRozan for the afternoon. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Darren Calabrese)

View full size photo »

The Raptors hung with the Magic for the majority of the the game, but just couldn't close the gap between the two teams talent-wise or on the scoreboard. With players like Marco Belinelli banged up, the Raptors were particular short at the wing positions. Vicious D takes a look at a loss that many probably expected...

I was waiting for it.

Jay Triano cracked a clipboard over his leg in the fourth quarter after yet another blown defensive assignment and no movement on the offense.

While some may be of the opinion that a 104-96 loss to the Magic is nothing to sneeze at, I'm very disappointed in the Raptors today, and quite possibly Jay Triano is too. It shouldn't be that surprising that the Raptors scored under 100 points for this game as they were without Marco Belinelli thanks to a pulled groin.

However, there are some things that we should all acknowledge about this team. Here's just a few of them, but the Raptors are continually making the same mistakes over and over again with no change in sight and it is driving.me.up.the.wall.

Jarrett Jack can score from the corners shooting 3s, he can drive to the basket for a layup. He should not ever take a 3-pointer from any other position and he should definitely not take a single shot off the bounce. If he hasn't figured it out, someone better sit him down.
Jose Calderon should not ever be guarding his man for shot. He should always be setting up to guard his man for dribble penetration. We see the blow-bys and it's because he stays close to his man and bites on every move back and forth that the Raptors end up with a point guard near the basket.
The Raptors should not be afraid of using their energy bench players down the stretch. If the starters insist on taking lazy jumpers and sitting back on defense, then Triano should play the players who will be aggressive. For this game, it happened because some players were in foul trouble, but Toronto has to use players that have gotten them back into games. It sends a message to the team.

At the end of the day, yes the more talented and deeper team won this game.

Nonetheless, the Raptors could have had this one and it's a repetition of errors that has cost them yet another W. Oh yeah and the refs once again didn't do the Raptors any favours either with momentum-changing blown calls down the stretch, but there is little that can be done about that.

The game started off well enough with the Raptors attacking Dwight Howard and getting two quick fouls on him. Toronto though, refused to continue to try and attack Howard and rack up more fouls on him. Bosh stayed to the outside in the 2nd quarter allowing Howard to conserve his fouls. And although Dwight picked up four personal foulss by the third quarter, the Rap just couldn't manage to take advantage. The team simply shied away from attacking the paint at the end of the game and therefore wasted a big opportunity to take out a big part of Orlando's game.

DeMar DeRozan also didn't do himself any favours with his horrible pick-and-roll work for the afternoon. He had the tough assignment of guarding Vince Carter, but if the Dinos are going to continue insisting on starting the rookie, I'm not going to pull many punches. Granted, part of his horrible game has to be shared with the Raptors' big man he was working with. Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani would often end up sticking to Dwight Howard on the pick rather than following Carter down or hedging to slow down Carter. DeRozan would then get hung up on the top of the screen, giving Carter little resistance to the basket or to pull up for an open jumper. In the second half Toronto started to do the switch, but only when Sonny Weems was on the floor. And just to illustrate that it wasn't all DeRozan, there was a particular play early in the 4th where Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack were defending the pick and roll and ended up bumping each other, leaving Marcin Gortat with a wide open look in the paint and an easy basket.

Speaking of Jack, while I'd love to hate on the Jack and Calderon combination as is en vogue right now, Triano was left with little choice. Weems and DeRozan showed some questionable shot selection and their defense... well, I've covered that already. With both Marco Belinelli and Antoine Wright out with injuries, I'm going to give the Raptors a pass on the Jack and Calderon experiment for yesterday. However, it's something that this team has to stay away from once they're back to full strength.

Raptors with a fairly good afternoon?

Bargnani's work was pretty good despite being sick. The Italian fouled out of the game but he did try to post up several Magic players, grabbed some good rebounds, and did what he could despite feeling under the weather. Sonny Weems gave us another great dunk in the first half, but insisted on shooting from the outside for the majority of the game, only managing to make a few of these. We just did not see much of the aggressive Weems, especially with regards to dribble penetration and being active in the passing lanes.

No, the player of the game had to be Amir Johnson.

Asked to take on the role of being the Raptors' energy "big" off the bench, Johnson has quickly become one of the more aggressive Raptors night in and night out. His continued work on both ends of the floor as far as being an energetic presence on the interior has been a wonderful discovery. He was everywhere on the court; taking position away from Howard, drawing fouls on bigs, and even making the correct decision to come down into the paint from the perimeter to assist Weems with defensive mismatches on switches. Here's hoping that his banged leg at the end of the game was only a minor thing as it was tough watching him gingerly running down the floor towards the end of the game.

It's been argued that the Dinos will need to hang their hat on defense night in and night out to win games, and that even a MEDIUM level of D will go a long ways for this club. Defense is where Toronto has had the most trouble this year and Jack Armstrong has repeatedly called for the Raptors to pay more attention to it. It's been nearly a month of basketball now, and the conclusions have been there for all to see. Our starting and finishing units have a propensity to rely on jump shots down the stretch which has also led to a certain laziness on the defensive end. It is possible to win games like this, but even a small change of Marco Belinelli into the lineup has changed the make up of the unit at times. As Charles Oakley had pointed out on a broadcast several weeks ago, the Raptors have a good collection of players, but the balance is off because some of the Raptors most aggressive defenders are in the second unit and the Raps softest personnel are in the starting unit. It is a fairly big indictment against the starting and finishing units that Belinelli, a player not known for his defense, has been the most aggressive player on both ends of the floor at the end of games.

The question is, will one change be enough?

On a Raptors team that has had a month of good grace from me, I'm still not sure if this unit will be able to gut out those wins and not merely rely on the jump shots falling. More concerning is whether this group has the aggression and communication required to close out games with something more than a token defense.

If they don't, I'm bracing myself for many more broken clipboards this season...

Tip-In: Toronto Raptors Post Game Report - A Reoccurring Theme

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:44:48 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

All Triano could do was gaze in horror at the scoreboard in the fourth quarter of last night's affair.

Browse more photos »

Toronto came out flat last night against the Utah Jazz and as Franchise notes in his recap, he's seen this movie a few times too many already this season...

8 and 4.

Should that be the Toronto Raptors' record right now?

With last night's 104 to 91 loss to the Utah Jazz, Toronto fell to 5 and 7 this young season, however as a fan, it's hard not to look back at a number of games already and say "what if?"

For instance, shouldn't the loss to Memphis been avoidable?

What about the letdown against an under-manned Spurs team?

And maybe the Phoenix loss was one you'd place in the "anyone's game" column and therefore not a "shouldahadit," but last night's loss to the Jazz was one in my books that definitely should not have ended with the L.

For those who missed it, Toronto again took nearly an entire first half to get into game-mode, and then even though they managed to nearly pull even with Utah after being down by as many as 18, they ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.

However I don't think you can hang this one simply on "running out of gas," or "being tired on a back-to-back, and the final game of a Western conference road swing." Pure and simple, players aren't playing up to par on offense, and this team still is borderline atrocious defensively. Last night the Dinos had no answer for the small-ball back-court of Deron Williams and rookie Eric Maynor and while these two caused havoc for Toronto defensively, at the other end, the Raps didn't exactly do themselves any favours in terms of their own shot selection and strategy.

No need for panic, I was after all expecting a 5 and 13 start, but we're 12 games in, and it's time for some call-outs and early observations.

1) The Jarrett Jack signing isn't looking so hot.

Here are the facts. Jack is shooting 36 per cent from the field so far this season, 32 per cent from long-range, averaging less than 7 points, and most telling, went into last night's game with an almost even assist to turnover ratio.

I'm pretty sure that's not what fans or management expected when they invested their mid-level exception in him this past summer.

So, as one poster put it last night in our live game-chat, "is Jack the new Fred Jones?"

It's only 12 games in so again, I'm not ready to jump ship yet, but it's certainly a concern. Outside of his statistical follies, he just hasn't looked like the aggressive defender I expected, nor has he attacked the rim with even the same zeal as he did in pre-season.

And worst of all in my books? His ball-handling and decision making. I threw this out there during the game-blog last night and I will again; it scares me to say this but I felt more comfortable with Roko Ukic handling the ball last year than I do with Jack.

2) Bosh needs more help.

Bosh is putting up MVP-type numbers so far this season. Last night he dropped 32 points and 17 rebounds on the Jazz, but didn't get much help outside of Marco Belinelli in terms of offence.

While Hedo Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani at times have given him a boost on O, both of them, along with Jose Calderon have hardly been consistent. If this team is going to struggle as much as it has on D, then it needs a full spread of offense each and every night. This is particularly true if the team wants to keep trotting out DeMar DeRozan as a starter. I like that they're trying to ensure minutes for his development, but he's really not a factor the majority of the time on O. This is backed up by 82games.com which lists Toronto's best starting line-up in terms of percentage of time on the court ahead on the scoreboard (80%) as the Calderon-Belinelli-Turkoglu-Bosh-Bargs combination.

TSN.ca's Tim Chisholm noted this on Twitter last night and I completely agree; if this team wants to keep Bosh around, the players BC has brought in or held onto as starters need to start playing like ones each and every night.

3) The defense needs to improve.

I don't think anyone expected this club to be a lock-down type. However this is getting a bit ridiculous. Toronto now is allowing opponents on average to score almost 108 points per game this season, and is last in the league in terms of defensive efficiency. They're actually last by a good shot too, a full 3 points per game worse than both Memphis and Golden State.

Yes the Dinos rank atop the league in offensive efficiency, but considering their record, it speaks volumes as to how woeful their defense is.

4) Shot selection and offensive strategy need work.

Additionally, the team's offense is still far too reliant on hitting jump shots and 3-pointers. When things go cold, the club isn't attacking the rim, and of course defensively they aren't able to keep things close. This means that quarters like last night's fourth occur, something that's extremely frustrating to watch as a fan. No one goes to the basket yet the jump shots keep going up, and without a solid defensive scheme, the other team takes advantage and blows the game wide open.

It happened against Denver the previous night. It happened early against the Clippers, and Bulls, late against the Spurs, and for stretches against the Suns and Pistons. Last night the Dinos were 5 for 19 in the fourth and if you look back at the type of shots taken, you'll see that Toronto just kept jacking them up, attempting only four foul shots.

I understand that this team's strength is in shooting the J, but if they're not going down, TO desperately needs a plan B.

5) Where would this team be without Amir Johnson and Marco Belinelli?

I cringe to think of what would have happened had the Raps' front office not figured out that sign-and-trade option enabling them to grab Hedo AND the likes of Antoine Wright, Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli and Sonny Weems.

Remember, BC wanted to sign Hedo outright regardless!

Johnson and Belinelli in particular have been huge for this club so far with Belinelli playing a mini-Ben Gordon role and Johnson giving Toronto a much-needed boost of defense, rebounding and shot-blocking off the pine. Wright has also been a nice piece and even Sonny Weems has looked good in limited minutes. The bench is making up for some of the starters' flaws at the moment and as mentioned earlier, this needs to be corrected.

After this weekend's matches against Miami and Orlando at home, the schedule eases up a bit so we may get a more true indication of this team's abilities during that time. The club still is a long way from gelling, especially at the defensive end of the court, but there have been some positives to take from most games.

The team desperately needs to build on those over the next while to avoid falling too far behind in the standings so early in the season.

Raptors' Rapid Recap - Utah 104 - Toronto 91

RaptorsHQ - Franchise — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:49:55 -0000

-Toronto ends its four-game Western Conference road trip with a 104 to 91 loss to the Utah Jazz tonight.

-Much like earlier in the week against the Clippers, the Raps got in a big hole early with some extremely lazy play at both ends. However again like the LA game, after being down big (18 points), Toronto charged back, getting as close as 3 points in the fourth quarter.

-Unfortunately that's as close as things got. The Dinos shooting went ice cold in the fourth quarter and they had no match for Utah's small back-court of Deron Williams and Eric Maynor.

-Bosh led the Raps with 32 and 17, and Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson made huge contributions off the bench.

-For Utah, Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 18 rebounds, while Andrei Kirilenko pitched in a quiet 20 off the bench.

-Again, this game was another prime example of what happens when TO's jump-shots stop falling. The team shot only 37 per cent from the field, 24 per cent from long-range, and yet kept heaving them up.

-The club therefore finishes the roadie with a 1 and 3 record and drops two games under .500. And even though Toronto's next game is back at home, it's against a hot Miami team, and that's followed up by another tough home match against Orlando.