Game #1: Boston Celtics 87 - Toronto Raptors 93 (F)

[akashsingh]

-hansbrough was player of the game, wouldn't have won without him.
- When we mix the starters with the bench. The dilution of talent makes me believe we can very well end up in the dreaded 9th,10th spot, I did not see it before tonight. We need to tank like a mother.

[KazanTheMan]

It's one game, so i'll reserve my judgment for a little later on in the season. We didn't look great, but a win is a win. Teams play shitty sometimes (Clips losing to Lakers, Miami losing to PHILLY), so whatever.

[akashsingh]

lol someone posted the whole first quarter.

[Chr1s1anL]

It's one game, so i'll reserve my judgment for a little later on in the season. We didn't look great, but a win is a win. Teams play shitty sometimes (Clips losing to Lakers, Miami losing to PHILLY), so whatever.

+1,000,000

[isaacthompson]

lol someone posted the whole first quarter.

His whole channel is just the 1st quarter of every pre-season/regular season game so far. lmfao

[GoingBig]

His whole channel is just the 1st quarter of every pre-season/regular season game so far. lmfao

We west-coasters thank him

[KazanTheMan]

[Rapstor4Life]

Everyone is over looking with a broken finger Lowry almost had a double double. CONTRACT YEAR!

[CalgaryRapsFan]

I was so eager for the new and improved DeRozan, but was extremely disappointed by how many iso's were run for he and Gay. DeRozan was awful tonight: 6/19 shooting (32%), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, but 5 turnovers... I hope it's just first game jitters. I really liked what I saw from Fields and Ross was solid in limited minutes.

[GoingBig]

Toronto - 2nd in East; 1st in Atlantic

[white men can't jump]

I was so eager for the new and improved DeRozan, but was extremely disappointed by how many iso's were run for he and Gay. DeRozan was awful tonight: 6/19 shooting (32%), 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, but 5 turnovers... I hope it's just first game jitters. I really liked what I saw from Fields and Ross was solid in limited minutes.

I'm not trying to make excuses, because DeRozan did play bad. In the first half, he made better choices despite not hitting his shots. In the 2nd he was just chucking. The only part of his game I was pleased with was his D. I made a point of trying to track him a lot when he was on. Not nearly as many mistakes or missed assignments as in the past. Pretty solid all around, and even managed to pick up a couple of steals and a charge.

The isos were extremely disappointing. Especially since they always ran them from the outside, and almost never had DeMar or Rudy in the post. And they also didn't use JV much in the post (who struggled tonight with turnovers as well). The O was just as ugly as the worst parts of last year.

A pretty ugly game all around. The good part is that they won. The bad part is everything else about it.

[white men can't jump]

The actual 'good parts' for me:

-After Faverani scored a couple of times early, Jonas started picking up his D all around. It just makes such a big difference having his size in the paint.

-Ross played fairly well. Still a bit sloppy as a young player, but was generally sharper than most games he played last year.

-Lowry had good energy, but really needs to work on finding some chemistry with his teammates. His passes were always a bit off.

-Augustin was the least awful he's been so far.

-The trio of JV, Tyler and Amir really will be a pretty good big rotation. They did a good job controlling the glass and having an impact in the paint.

[Rapstor4Life]

o btw despite the sloppiness thats win #1 with opponents held to 88 points.

[The Great One]

A few thoughts:

Rudy Gay - I thought he played well. Took a couple of unnecessary shots in the first, he was forcing things a little bit. But he settled down in the 2nd half and hit some clutch shots in the 4th.

DeRozan - What the hell happened? he was so good, so smooth in the preseason. Tonight, he played like the DeRozan of last year. Also, DD in my opinion is the Raps best low post player. And he was scoring most of his points in the preseason in the post. Tonight, he was on iso mode all game.

JV - Good game. I would love to see them run some plays for him in the post.

Amir - Typical Amir game. Solid.

Lowry - My opinion hasn't changed. Raptors MAIN need is a starting PG. Lowry's decision making is brutal, his passes are always off it seems. Very reckless with the ball(still). Really not a fan of this guy.

Fields - One of Landry's better game as a Rap.

Hansbrough - Most impressive Raptor tonight. Played with a lot of energy, physical on both ends of the floor. Love how he plays.

Ross - Hit a corner 3 to end the 2nd quarter but that's about it. Invisible all game.

[Puffer]

If last night is any accurate indication, then Hansbrough and Fields may wind up being the stories of the year. The difference between the 2012/2013 Fields and the 2013/2014 Fields is tremendous. He was playing with confidence and was hitting shots he would have missed. I don't have to say anything about Tyler. The play of those two represents a significant upgrade over the bench, if it holds.

As for DD, I am not worried. He obvioulsy has set high standards for himself and I thought he played a little tight. He was able to get his shots in the first quarter, he just didn't hit them. that is just opening night nerve I am guessing. It lead him to force the issue which didn't help his game. He played decent D. Didn't get many rebounds, but there weren't a lot to be had with JV, Tyler and Ruddy gobbling them up.