In this episode of LCN, our host Colin Alschotz hooks up with hardcore Raptors fan-addict at the final Raps game before the 2010 All-Star break and celebrates the official Raptors debut of Reggie Evans against his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.

To honour Reggie “Ball Grabber” Evans’ first regular season game as a Raptor, we question whether he would play more minutes than former Raptor Jason Kapono. In preparation for the All-Star Dunk Contest, we find out whether Raps fan-addicts think Demar DeRozan is a better dunker than Andre Iguodala. We also ask fans to give us their rating of the job Raps President/GM Bryan Colangelo has done in building this team. Finally, our mystery question relates to the craziness that happens at the annual mid-season spectacle that is NBA All-Star weekend!

We want to give huge shout-outs to everyone that contributed to the making of this series, especially: Colin Alschotz for the on-screen presence; Birdman for the directing and editing; D&L Productions for the original music; LyNx for the graphics; BigMac (Rexdale) for the game footage, and MLSE for putting the product on the court.

Raps fans get ready cuz we’re making LOUD CROWD NOISE!!!

In this second episode of LCN, we join Colin Alschotz at the Feb. 3/10 Raptors home game against the pathetic New Jersey Nets as he hangs out with some true Raps fan-addicts and gets their take on a bunch of pertinent topics surrounding the team such as: Who’s been the best player other than Bosh so far this season and who should start in place of DD? We also asked fans how they would have reacted had the Raps lost to the Nets and pose a surprise question relating to the all-time greatest halftime show in Raptors team history!

Mad props go out to everyone that contributed to the making of this series, especially: Colin Alschotz for the on-screen presence; Birdman for the directing and editing; D&L Productions for the original music; LyNx for the graphics; BigMac (Rexdale) for the game footage, and MLSE for putting the product on the court.

Raps fans get ready cuz we’re making LOUD CROWD NOISE!!!

With the glitz and glamour surrounding NBA All-Star weekend, we thought we’d use this moment to drop some fresh extra flavour to ‘the game’ by releasing the premiere episode of our new RRTV original weekly series called LOUD CROWD NOISE!!!

Because we’re all passionate Raptors fans here in the Republic, so much so that that the blood in our veins is Raptor-red, it just isn’t enough for us to simply stand proud knowing that everyone in the basketball media community knows full well that Raptors fans are a savvy and crazy bunch when it comes to covering the team online. So we felt it was necessary to exercise our creative and innovative spirit to literally show everyone in the league that the Raptors have the strongest, loudest, craziest and most passionate fan base in the NBA! It’s our love for the Raptors that brings us together and LOUD CROWD NOISE!!! is a testament to our passion and dedication for the Toronto Raptors.

In this premiere episode, we captured the excitement and energy of the Raps season opener against the Cavs as our host Colin Alschotz interacted with fellow Raps fan-addicts and got their thoughts about all things Raptors.

Finally, we want to express our huge thanks to everyone that contributed to the making of this series, especially: Colin Alschotz for the on-screen presence; Birdman for the directing and editing; D&L Productions for the original music; LyNx for the graphics; BigMac (Rexdale) and TheScore for the game footage, and MLSE for putting the product on the court.

Whether the Raps are playing at home or on the road on Friday nights, RFF will be uniting the Raptors fan community and bringing together fellow hardcore “fan-addicts” like ourselves to create a rowdy ACC upper-bowl type crowd at SCC! And like we always do, we’ll be featuring our specialty Raptors Republic bar games and contests, while giving away drinks and prizes and having a whole lotta fun causing a Raptors fan-style ruckus!

This week the Raptors are playing their only Friday night West coast game of the season going up against the hard-luck Blake Griffin-less, the Baron Davis shot-chucking-mad, your good ol’ granddaddy’s ineptly dysfunctional… Los Angeles Clippers! (Sincerely, our hearts go out to our friends at ClipperBlog). So to go get things started for tonight’s game party, the first RFF challenge of the season is as follows: The first person who tells me to “Make Some Goddamn M*tha F***king LOUD CROWD NOISE!!!” will get a pitcher of my favorite beer! (BOH!)

Fun times with goood friends is what Raptor Fan Fridays is all about.

LET’S GO RAPS!! (BEAT THE CLIPS!!)

With their resounding 107-90 win over the Hornets last night, the Raptors showed that they are now staring to gel as a team and are developing the kind of chemistry to begin achieving their expectations this season. With all of the veteran players seemingly in the prime of their careers, they came together as a team tonight in the first game of their first road trip of the season. The timing of this win was ideal.

Overall, the Raptors played what could be considered a perfect 48 minute game – a rare feat for this franchise, but not particularly this team – that had everything to do with great coaching and great shooting. There was a definite game plan in terms of neutralizing Chris Paul in making him a non-factor, which was most evident during an 8:30 minute stretch in the 3rd quarter when the Raptors went on a spectacular 27-4 run that broke what was a very close back-and-forth game completely wide open.

The strategy of the coaching staff to frequently send a second defender on Paul as soon as he would get the ball at the three-point line took away his ability to beat his primary guard off the dribble to get into paint and pick apart our help defense, or to even take a shot. This forced Paul to pass the ball early in the shot clock. But because no other Hornets player is able to effectively create their own shot, it made the job of our help defense less difficult and made our defensive rotations look good. After forcing Paul to pass the ball, what resulted was another Hornets player trying to get the ball to West or Okafor in the post. But when that wasn’t made easy with our bigs fronting their bigs, it usually led to either some posturing dribbling and a low-percentage shot, or an eventual pass-back to Paul. But even when Paul did get into the paint forcing the Raptors interior help defence to collapse on him to take away the lay-up option leaving Paul with having to kick-it back to his open teammates on the perimeter, the glaring problem with this Hornets team is the fact that they don’t have any really good shooters surrounding Paul. Adding to the Hornets flawed roster is that they aren’t all that athletic and aren’t a great rebounding team. Altogether, Jay Triano and the assistant coaches demonstrated that the Hornets aren’t as good as they once were, while the players executed to perfections a game plan that had opposing team scouts eager to communicate it back to their bosses.

As for the players, the highest of praise has to be bestowed on Chris Bosh. Scoring 27 points in 30 minutes on a measly 9 shots, and making every one of them including a 3-pointer, is downright incredible. He got to the line 11 times by being ultra-aggressive in going and getting to the rim. Plus, he also got some close fouls called his way – Dick Bevetta has been a ref in the league for nearly a century because he’s as old (and smart) as David Stern and because he knows how to treat “superstar” players. What I’m seeing from Bosh so far this season is a max-money player.

Quick Game Notes:

* I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the consecutive bricks Calderon threw up before he took a seat and called it a night. But his on-ball defence against Paul was pretty good and the charge he created and took by stepping into Paul’s way when Paul had his back turned to receive an in-bounds pass was great!

* Chris Paul had 17 points and 10 assists at halftime, but only 4 points and 8 assists in the 2nd half.

* Did anyone else notice the message Byron Scott sent by keeping Paul, West, Okafur and Wright on the court for 5 last minutes of garbage time?

* Bosh’s two-handed, turn-around, monster dunk in the 2nd quarter was an awesome display of his power, and his over the head, backwards tip-in on a missed Jack shot was an unbelievable display of his soft hands and athletic coordination.

* Morris Peterson is done as an NBA player. He’s had a nice career, but he’s no longer effective.

* Peja Stojakovic is done too.

* How many alley-oops is Paul thowing Okafur? Do you think the Hornets fans are going to start regretting that trade pretty soon?

* The fact DeRozan is starting as a rookie and isn’t forcing anything on offense and is holding his own against non-all-star SG is so enjoyable to witness.

* It’s always great to see a Raptors box score when Bargnani has more rebounds than 3PA.

* It looked like we stole and implemented entire the Orlando Magic playbook taking 29 three’s.

* The Raptors shot 50% from the field and 48% from beyond the arch.

* Since they happen to be playing again tonight against a talented Dallas team, it’ll be tough for them to pull out another victory, but it may not be as surprising as it may seem if they do.

As you can see, the boys from the home office in Athabasca, Alberta are super excited about Reggie Evans joining the Raptors and they have prepared this list in his humble honour. The category is Top Ten Goals For Reggie Evans Next Season.

        10. Bring his grandfather’s “whooping belt” to the first day of training camp to make damn sure the Raptors understand that making it into the playoffs is better than getting an ol’ fashion whooping from a bygone era

          9. Gain a lasting psychological advantage over opposing players by leaking a story that he’s a practicing voodoo worshipper capable of casting curses on their souls. 

          8. Help Bryan Colangelo negotiate a new contract with the agent representing Shawn Marion by suggesting that his client will be spending considerable time on the injured list if doesn’t agree to re-sign with the Raps for 3 years/$22M.   

          7. Challenge Roko Ukic for “scariest farm animal face” on the team.

          6. Teach Nathan Jawai how to avoid getting boxed out by reaching down and pulling a player’s testicles.

          5. Become Kris Humphries’ nightclub caddy so he can pick up the throwaway hussy’s from Hump’s expansive female entourage. And in exchange…

          4. Become a locker-room mentor to Humphries and get him to follow in his footsteps by becoming a rugged, dependable energy player specializing in rebounding and post defence.

          3. Get an off-season boost of confidence by partnerng with Raptor Assistant Coaches Alex English and Alvin Williams and beating up the competition at this summer’s NBA 3-on-3 tournament. 

          2. Show the NBA why he’s the best undersized rebounder since Dennis Rodman by winning the league rebounding title.

…And finally, the #1 Goal for Reggie Evans Next Season is…

          1. Help turn the Raptors into the most focused, harden, tenacious and fearless team in the Eastern Conference!

Last week Chris Bosh was in Toronto attending one of his off-season publicity obligations. When confronted by a scrum of local media reporters he made two official announcements that came to no surprise to the Raptors fan republic or the greater NBA community. First, he announced that he would not be signing a contract extension with the Raptors this summer (even though Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo had previously expressed his intention to offer him one) and that he would be exercising his contractual opt-out clause next summer to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career.

“I’m thinking I just want to stick to my goal, stick to what I was doing. That’s a part of the plan. I just want to address things (after) next season. There’s a reason why I did things the way I did them back then.”

When asked whether he would consider giving the Raptors a hometown discount next summer – the Raptors ownership group is infamous for running a very frugal yet highly profitable operation – his second announcement was that he fully expects to receive a maximum-salary contract from whichever team he decides to sign with.

“Without a doubt. I really don’t see any negotiation about that part.”

These informal announcements have been heavily discussed and subjectively interpreted by fans and media alike. The most popular topic of discussion was his maximum salary expectation. The Republic masses have long debated whether Bosh is in fact worth an equal salary as his more accomplished contemporaries such as LeBron James and Dwayne Wade, both of whom are undisputedly two of the league’s rarest breed of superstar players. While Bosh isn’t viewed as an NBA superstar, he has in is own right proven himself to be a perennial all-star player by his peers, as well as by the league’s echelon of coaches and executives.

Taking a quick survey of the league’s current talent pool, the present NBA reality is that there are only, arguably, 5 superstar players and approximately 15 perennial all-star players (established and soon-to-be). Given the fact that there are 30 teams in the league, these top-20 players are all categorized as being “franchise players” since any one team would be fortunate to have one of them under contract. (Observing the Los Angeles Lakers who have two of these top-20 players, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, it’s no surprise that they are making their second consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals and are two wins away from being crowned this season’s league champions). With only 20 franchise players in a 30 team league, simple economics dictates that the market value to acquire any one of these players is a maximum salary, regardless of the observed and accepted talent disparity between the league’s few all-stars and fewer superstars. Since Bosh is indeed a top-20 player it’s easy to understand why he expects to be offered a maximum-salary contact by a number of teams who’ll be capable of doing so, since nearly all of them are expected to aggressively recruit him. In short, the NBA’s free agent free-market forces dictates that perennial all-stars like Bosh be paid the same salary as superstars like James.

4-Time All-Star

Knowing and accepting what Bosh’s market value realistically is, it’s interesting to review what course of action would be the most lucrative for him from a financial standpoint. Money has and always will be a key motivator for professional athletes. If money is Bosh’s primary motivation, in terms of maximizing his career earning potential, it would have been in his best financial interests to have accepted the Raptors contact extension this summer. Instead, he is risking the fate of his fortune against the odds of suffering a career-ending injury next season. Even though he has decided not to re-sign with the Raptors this summer, Bosh could still agree to re-sign with the Raptors next summer, and the team is capable of offering him a “full max contract” (valued at $133M/6 years) which would be worth more money and run an additional year longer than any other team’s max offer. However, the commonly used argument to justify leaving the Raptors for a lesser max contract is that he could make up the salary difference through his increased endorsement earning potential if he were with an American team for the remainder of his career. But this argument falls flat because Bosh’s endorsement earning potential likely wouldn’t amount to the approximately $16M difference between the Raptors full max contract and any other team’s max contract. (Let alone the $100M+ should he suffer a critical injury next season). By rejecting a guaranteed maximum-salary contract, it’s evident that money isn’t the primary motivation in Bosh’s playing career.

Perhaps the reason he’s chosen to reject a contract extension is to use the pressure of entering into a “contract year” season to work as hard as he ever has during this off-season to increase his talent potential and improve his athletic abilities in order become the very best player he can possibly be.

“I want to be like … LeBron. He’s fast. He’s quick and he’s one of the biggest guys on the court. I look at him and I’m, like, `Man, that’s what I want.’”

His desire to prove to the league and to himself that he is a “cusp superstar” and is legitimately worth another max-contract (instead of just being considered an all-star player who’ll get paid a max-contract only because the league’s free agent market will dictate it) is highly commendable and exhibits the leadership qualities expected from a franchise player. By making every effort to be the very best player he can be, it shows that he has the same mental motivation and willful determination as all the best and greatest professional athletes, past and present.

In addition to reaching his self-assessed player-potential and getting paid his full market value, another key motivational factor Bosh has that’s ingrained in every professional athlete is the goal of winning a championship. A divisive quote Bosh also made last week actually revealed the true perspective regarding his decision not to sign Toronto’s extension offer.

“An old school guy told me: ‘Take advantage. You can’t play this game forever. Make sure you maximize your potential.’”

By only skimming the surface of this quote’s meaning, the popular opinion expressed by both fans and media regarded it as an indicator that Bosh’s primary motivation is solely financial. However, it is my opinion that the true significance of this quote is much deeper and that its true meaning actually yields a clear revelation that Bosh’s definitive motivation is to win a championship. I formed my opinion by breaking the quote down for analysis. First, the principal meaning of “maximize your potential” isn’t just about money; if it were Bosh would have accepted the Raptors extension offer in order to guarantee his career earning potential, which he didn’t. Therefore this quote must have meant that he was advised to “maximize your [talent] potential” in terms of using your talent to achieve the highest level of success that reflects your talent. Now, when re-reading the first portion of the quote “Take advantage. You can’t play this game forever“, the essential meaning behind it was that as a professional athlete you might only have one chance in your career to win a title. That’s a powerful and lasting statement given the fact that he aspires to be remembered as one of the great players of his generation. Finally, who do you think was the “old school guy” who gave Bosh this advice? Elgin Baylor? George Gervin? Charles Barkley? Dominic Wilkins? Patrick Ewing? Karl Malone? It could literally be any number of people. But personally, I’m guessing it was Raptors Assistant Coach, Alex English.

Redeem Team

What is enlightening about the possibility that Bosh was given this quote by any one of the above mentioned players is the fact that all of them, including English, are Hall-of-Fame players who never won an NBA championship title. That’s a shame because every hall-of fame player that never got to win a championship title never achieved the highest level of success that reflected their talent and their dedication to their craft. There are countless numbers of such players in every sports hall-of-fame. Ask anyone of these players if they would have changed anything about their careers and they would certainly all say the same thing: That they wish they had won a league championship and experienced the ecstasy of celebrating the sweetest of all victories with their teammates, their family, the organization and all of the fans along the parade route through their team’s city.

Having completely analyzed and re-assessed Bosh’s series of quotes last week in reference to his announcements, we now have a better understanding of Chris Bosh and his motivations as a player. In actuality, Bosh simply reiterated last week what he has consistently said over-and-over again since last summer: He will do everything he feels he must to reach his full potential as a player and wants to give himself the best chance of winning a championship during his career by becoming an unrestricted free agent at the very peak of his career. The only opportunity a player ever gets to choose a team to play for is when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Of course in Bosh’s case, the team he’ll choose to play for will have to have both the cap space to sign him to a max-contract and a legitimate chance to win a title with his addition.

There should be absolutely no doubt that Chris Bosh’s principal motivation is to become the best player he can be, to win an NBA championship and to get paid the princely sum he’s worth. Even though these motivations aren’t at all unique, what differentiates Bosh from many other NBA players is the strength of his character and the level of his intelligence.

Because Chris Bosh has treated the Raptors organization and the city of Toronto with nothing but the up-most class and respect since the day he was drafted, I sincerely hope he achieves his dream of winning a least one NBA Championship in his career, whether it be as a member of the Toronto Raptors or not.

From the middle of the third quarter to the final 30 seconds of the game I kept expecting something wacky to happen and sure enough, the Raptors and Wizards gave us some high drama for the third consecutive year in Washington. Although Chris Bosh’s game winning 3-pointer wasn’t as circus a shot as Morris Peterson’s last second one-handed heave to tie the game in 2007 or Anthony Parker’s patented off-balance 360 corner fade-away off a full court pass with no time remaining last season (watch), it did add to the lore of this growing rivalry.

Bosh’s 3-pointer left 9 seconds on the clock which gave Caron Butler a chance to reprise his role as team-hero from his performance on Friday in Toronto but he came up whack. Butler again accepted the inbounds pass in the final seconds and was immediately checked by Marion. Instead of shaking off Marion with a crisp pull-up jumper that worked for him on Friday, Butler chose to try to beat Marion off the dribble and drive to the basket. However, he failed and when he got into the paint he was met by a perfectly positioned Bosh. With no time to think and no passing lanes in sight, Butler was forced to attempt an acrobatic reverse layup that ‘wackedly’ clanked off the bottom of the backboard. The result was a 97-96 Raptors win.

As far as wackiness goes, last night’s game contained enough evidence to confirm its existence. Let’s start at the end with Bosh’s three. Coming out of a 20-second timeout, as Bosh himself confirmed in his post-game interview, they called for him to pop-out off his screen for Calderon. Now Bosh popping-out to the elbow is the customary play but in this case he fooled the Wizards by popping-out and positioning himself behind the three-point line. When no Wizard player rotated to find him, Calderon’s sharp pass found him completely wide open. Upon receiving the pass, Bosh quickly surveyed the defense and when no one ran up to check him (the Wizards literally dared him to take the shot by falling back and positioning themselves for a rebound), Bosh was forced to take the completely wide open shot. And like any stone-cold clutch player, he drilled it. (After seeing Antawn Jamison make a three earlier in the game – he was 1-6 from behind the arc – I joked that Bosh now had “Jamison range”. Bosh, by the way, was 1-2 from downtown.)

Another wacky element was Jamison limping off the court and leaving the game at the 10:38 mark of the fourth quarter with an ankle sprain in the middle of an all-out monster performance. (When I noticed Jamison sitting next to Gilbert Arenas, I knew he wasn’t going to return). Jamison started the game off slow like the rest of his teammates, he stepped-up in the 2nd quarter and decimated the Raptors who started the quarter with as wack a line-up all season: Douby, Kapono, Graham, Bosh, Voskhul. After being down by as many as 14 halfway through the first, the Wiz went on a 25-10 run to take 39-40 lead by the halfway point of the second. During this run, Jamison’s presence in the offensive paint was dominating. Ripping down boards, scoring on put-backs and drives while fluidly running the floor and making smooth outside jumpers, he exhibited the exact same style of play as Bosh. To reinforce the comparison, both Jamison and Bosh have almost identical season statistics. I though that once Jamison was out, they were going to fold. They didn’t. With both Jamison and Butler on the bench, the Wizards maintained an 11-point lead, when Butler entered the fourth at the 6:45 mark, he immediate drew a foul and hit both is free throws to increase their lead to 80-93. But from that point on, the Raptors took over and ended the game with a 17-3 run of their own. A large part of this win is thanks to Jamison not playing the majority of the fourth quarter.

The Raptors made their game-ending run with Douby and O’Bryant on the court. Down the stretch, Douby hit Marion with a great pass that led him to the rim for a basket and hit Bosh with a great alley-oop; while O’Bryant (who got the start for Bargnani) knocked down a baseline jumper, slammed downed a big dunk and made two huge blocks. Even though both their impact was statistically minimal their contributions were considerable.

As for our third D-Leaguer, Pops, I liked the way he and Marion complimented each other by effectively crashing the boards together. Pops showed the kind of energy and hustle we saw in his first 10 games. Wearing a wrist/thumb guard, he’s obviously playing through an injury that affected his hand strength seeing that he was stripped of the ball in the offensive paint as he was going up for dunks. His hand injury is the main reason why he’s been so susceptible to getting stripped lately.

Looking forward to next season, a front-court rotation of Pops, O’Bryant and Humphries off the bench would look good to me. They’re all young, athletic and salary-cap cheap. In limited minutes behind Bosh and Bargnani, I think they could all be serviceable in making positive contributions. Consistency will be the issue, but I think they could all have distinct roles on this team and be successful in them. Look for them to be on the active roster in November.

Their was still more wackiness and we needed not look any further than good ol’ Roko “Cocoa” Ukic. Before I get into his shortcomings I have to point out that any comparison to him and Douby is really unjust. Ukic is a euro rookie who was realistically expected to be under whelm this season, whereas Douby is a 4-year NBA professional who got cut during the season and decided to play in the D-League, so of course he’s going to play better than Ukic – he’s got 4 years on him. After 80 games in Ukic’s first NBA season, his first year living in North America, he has definitely hit the proverbial rookie wall. And last night, Ukic couldn’t do anything good or right. When he got the ball, he couldn’t create anything for himself or his teammates. When he looked to pass he hesitated to make one because he couldn’t find anyone open, except Bosh (but that’s because he immediately looked for him as soon has the caught the ball as if it was a grenade to be handled by our best player). And than when he drove to the basket he got blocked on both occasions. Not to mention that he was playing with Bosh, Marion, Pops and Kapono, one of our better lineups. All in all, Ukic’s completely worn-out which was to be expected at this point in the season.

However, when discussing the merits of Douby and Ukic neither them compare of Juan Dixon. All three players are 3rd string combo guards but it was apparent that Dixon is head, shoulders, eyebrows and hairstyles above Douby and Ukic. Sure it’s possible both Douby and Ukic improve to the point of surpassing Dixon on the depth chart in a couple of years. But right now and next season, I’d take Dixon over either of them as the team’s 11th man. (I know Ukic is our back-up PG, but he’s not deserving or prepared for that role.)

Another thing I have to mention about our two recent tilts against the Wizards is the comparison between Butler and Marion. They both have the same long and strong body-type and are great talents. Both can run the floor, fight for rebounds and finish hard. But what separates Butler as being the better player is his ability to create his own shot and breakdown defenders. Throughout his career, Butler’s never had the opportunity to play with a top-tier, pass-first PG. Since arriving in Washington, he’s excelled playing for lesser quality point guards like Crittenton, Dixon, Mike James, Gilbert Areans, etc. If Butler ever gets the chance to play with a PG the likes of Steve Nash and Calderon, he’ll prove to be better player than Marion ever was. That’s no disrespect to Marion, it’s just that Butler has everything Marion has, plus the ball-handling skills and the shot-creation.

All of last night’s game wackiness aside, when looking at the final team stats, it was telling that the Raptors won despite the fact they shot only 40% from the field because they took 17 more shots, out-rebounded the Wiz, scored almost twice as many assist and committed 9 less turnovers.

Liners:

• If Jamison doesn’t get hurt, the Raptors don’t win this game.
• The Raptors do look like their trying not to lose their 50th game of the season. (One more to go and one more to play).
• The Wizards already have a great combination of solid veterans and good young players. Add a healthy Agent O and a top-pick and they suddenly look deadly.
• I was really impressed by what I saw from JaVale McGee. He’s a beast.
• The Wiz really need a to draft a PG if they don’t get the #1 pick.
• Seriously, Kapono should be forced to only take 3-point shots.
• Both Bosh and Marion scored 25 points and 15 rebounds respectively.
• With a starting core of Calderon, Bosh, Marion and Bargnani, and a bench comprised of Parker, Graham Douby, Ukic, Pops, O’Bryant and Hump, this team is just starting-caliber SG away from being a really good playoff team next season.
• Flip Saunders is going to look good behind the Wizards bench next season.
• Today’s Raptors Republic post-game theme song is dedicated to all the Wizard fans that remember this classic hype/wack track from 1992! (Boo-ya!)
• Fact: If Gilbert Arenas was healthy this season, the Raptors would have been the worst team in the Eastern Conference.
• TSN was kind enough to broadcast this game.
• Next season, I think Raps fans should watch more games using the high-quality live feeds that are now on the net. (Cable TV is now obsolete).

What was interesting about the game was the fact that neither team chose to tank. Check out the box score. The Wizards went with Caron Butler for 43 minutes and Jamison for 37 minutes, while the Raptors had Bosh and Marion on the court for 39 minutes apiece and Calderon for 34 min. There was no sight of Douby and a very short sighting of O’Bryant and Pops.

The biggest question before the game was whether Gilbert “Agent 0” Arenas was going to grace our court. Unfortunately for the 18,000+ fans, Agent 0 got 0 minutes in order to rest his sore knee. (Gilbert, the knee’s still sore? For real?) He had played 30 min in the 2 games since coming back, so it’s understandable that he not push the knee too hard. It wasn’t like his team needed him to win this game. Having missed the past two consecutive seasons, I’m hoping Arenas can regain his health to play next year.

Another interesting tit-bit was that it seemed like the Wizards beat us in the paint since throughout the 2nd half, it seemed like Haywood and Jamison were working our guys down and getting lay-up’s at will. Their 50% field goal percentage also seemed to indicate that. The Raps also took an obscene number of three’s (22), which is indicative of the hot shooting night enjoyed by Jason Kapono who went a blistering 6-9 from downtown. He was the only reason we were tied in the final 16 seconds left in the game.

In the final 1:51 minutes, the Wiz were up by six, 94-88, and had enough chances to stick the dagger in us. In one sequence, they committed two straight turnovers and Haywood than missed two free throws. After Calderon hit a pair of FT, Juan Dixon ran as fast as I’ve ever seen him to beat every Raptor except Bosh down the court and scored an easy yet important driving layup. Calderon’s defense on the play was atrocious as usual. Still down by six, Kapono than hit two three’s in front of the Raptors bench, which sent the crowd into a really nice frenzy. Jamison was mugged by Bosh at the half-court line which caused the turnover leading to Kapono’s second three. After Dixon hit another 12-footer against Calderon and Jose responded with a driving layup off a high-screen play called out of a timeout, the game was tied 98-98. Washington than took advantage of having the ball to take and make the final shot of the game.

On the last play of the game, Butler received the inbound pass and was immediately checked by Shawn Marion. As our best perimeter defender guarded the Wizards best perimeter scorer, Butler held the ball at the top of key and winded down the clock and then made his move. He drove to his right, stopped on a dime, pushed away Marion with his left hand (which was reminiscent of Jordan on Russell) and swished-in the game winner with no time remaining. It was somewhat surprising how Butler got open so easily, but it was attributable to him making a great offensive move to lose a great defender. Marion was unable to recover after overplaying the drive and the Raptors suffered their fourth straight loss as the disappointing 2008/09 comes closer to the end.

It’s very disappointing that even when we play our starters their normal minutes we’re not good enough to beat the worst team in the East at home. I would have settled for this being an audition game with Douby, Roko and O’Bryant playing 30 minutes each, at least if we lose that way we could attribute it to trying out players.

Liners:

• Marion’s off and on play scares me.
• Last night was the final Raptor Fan Friday game party of the season. We want to thank the hundreds of people who joined us in cheering for the Raps. RFF will be back next season.
• Alvin Williams is a great person. He may not have the statistics or the legacy worthy of having his jersey retired, but he’ll always be remembered by Raptor fans.
• Arenas has become the worst contract in the league.
• I hope the Wizards don’t get either the 1st or 2nd pick in the draft.
• Bosh recorded another efficient 20-10 game.

Our RR game-theme (season-theme) song:

3… 2… 1… (Snap!)

You okay? Did we win? Did we kill the Knicks with a starting line-up full of Gerald Wallace basketball samurai’s?

After that enjoyable hypnotic trance, remembering what the current reality is surrounding these next two games, they just don’t offer the kind of anticipated excitement that’ll make us want to eagerly stay indoors and frantically watch them both unfold. However, if it happens to rain all day where we live, I guess fate will have us all tuning in. Since it just so happens that the weather forecast for tomorrow afternoon is calling for rain in Toronto, which is where I live, than I may as well accept the fact that my fate/my destiny may include a rare Saturday afternoon Raptors game.

As a certifiable Toronto Raptors fan-addict, I’m compelled to cheer for them to win every game. I really don’t care about pre-planning draft lottery percentages by staking claims on a specific non-playoff position in the overall league standing with 8-12 games still left to be played. I don’t believe in or care to participate in what many fans refer to as “tanking” (i.e. losing on purpose). The idea, the concept of a sports team purposefully developing a strategy to try to not win is philosophically, morally and culturally wrong IF a team values winning, especially for teams who’s players are not injured. Anyone that plays or lives to lose will never win or achieve anything. It’s pathetic.

(Tanking: Losing on purpose with a healthy roster).

I’ll always cheer for the Raps to try their best to win every game. And when they lose, at least we know what needs to be improved.

Straight up, those of you who argue that the team should tank are tankers. Do you know what a tanker is? A tanker gives up/quits and hopes to win the lottery. Those of us who want their team to continue coaching, practicing and playing as hard as possible to win every game regardless of past outcomes are gamers. And a gamer never gives up, never quits and wants to win a championship.

Are you a tanker or a gamer?

At the present junction, the Raptors are 22nd in the overall league standings, and Knicks are 23rd overall. (In draft speak, the Raps are 9th and the Knicks are 8th). If we happen to beat the Knicks in both games this weekend, it will help solidify our current positions in the standings. Which means, again in draft speak, that the Knicks might end up drafting the player before we do. If that ends up being the case, I’m wondering which player the Knicks might want to take off the draft board before we get to pick.

Looking at the Knicks current roster, they are seriously lacking size in their front-court. David Lee has been their starting Center for most if not the entire the season. At 6’-9”, 240 lbs, he’s playing out of position. Al Harrington is their starting PF. He’s also 6’9”, 250 lbs, but his rebounding numbers (6.2 rpg) are below average for his position. Off the bench, they have Eddy “Whopper” Curry (who’s played in a total of 3 games all season), Chris “Inconsistent” Wilcox; than there’s Courtney “2 yrs/13 min of burn” Sims and Jared “I Got No Jimmy” Jefferies.

We all know that Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t want his players to play defence and that his “seven seconds or less” system is predicated on getting up shats. So here’s a “D’Antoni riddle” about the 29-46, lottery-bound Knicks: they are the 4th highest scoring team in the league, but they are 27th in rebounding differential and last in BPG. Do you think they’re losing because they aren’t scoring enough points, or, because they’re giving up too many points? (The answer to the riddle… is found in the blocks and boards.) Rebounding allows teams to control pace, create fast break scoring opportunities and eliminate your opponent’s 2nd chance scoring opportunities. It’s evident that they could use better rebounders off the bench. Shot blocking makes opponents take less shots in the painted area, which reduces the number of high percentage shots taken, thus leading to more difficult perimeter jump, and missed jump shots lead to long rebounds. Without a shot blocking presence whatsoever, the Knicks allow teams to score at will in the paint.

The Knicks also need to improve their starting point guard. Nate Robinson has been starting at SG since the all-star break and he’s been an incredible scoring run. That’s left Chris Duhon as their only PG, forcing him start. Duhon is undersized at 6’1” and his FG% is a lousy 41%. Where he earns his playing time is in his ball distribution. He’s a capable backup who’s forced to start and it’s evident that the Knicks need an upgrade at the 1.

Come June, would anyone be surprised if the Knicks drafted the best available big with the 8th pick? Or do you expect the Knicks will draft the best available PG? Either way, the Raptors will have one less player to choose from should they finish the season ahead of the Knicks.

But does that matter? If the Raptors have to pick after the Knicks, will it affect ours selection? Right now, there’s no point worrying about that. Our draft selection will depend entirely on whether we keep Bosh or not. (Whether he wants the full-max or whether we want to pay him the full-max. We shall see what happens). Personally, if we don’t get a top-3 pick and keep our 9-10th pick, the thought of packaging the pick with Kapono or Banks and using some of our cap space to make an uneven salary trade to get a starting-caliber SG looks as promising as any of our other 100+ roster options. I don’t see us getting a starting SG one via FA. We’ve got roster holes we want to fill just like every team, just like the Knicks. Which brings us back to our weekend double-header.

The Raps are looking for their 6th win in row, whereas the Knicks lost 3 in a row and are 1-9 in their last ten. If both teams continue to play like they have, we’ll see a repeat of our 111-100 revenge win against them on Feb. 22, as opposed to the 97-127 massacre at MGS we witnessed on Feb. 20.

Beating the Knicks is always a wonderful feeling no matter what the record or lottery aspirations.

You might disagree about being a gamer or a tanker, but we’re on the same page when it comes to the Knick City Dancers (only dance team to have their own subdomain in the URL).

The Vegas Line has the Knicks -2. I’m taking the Raps and the points on the road.

Finally, for small but strong contingent of hype Raptors Republic junglists massive, today’s RR pre-game theme track is for all y’all! (BOH!)

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Welcome to the neighborhood.