The Cavs are 3-2, and the Raptors should be 3-2; this is going to be an interesting season to say the least. The other night I had a thought that really made me uncomfortable; what if the Raptors win more games than they should? There are already lots of interesting themes developing (insider required). Couple that with the number of absolutely brutal teams there are in the east, and the solid effort being turned in so far game after game, and you could make the case that the Raptors could surprise and over achieve this season; jeopardizing their lottery status in the summer.

I know there are positives to both sides of this coin, but I’d rather grab at least one more solid draft pick, then try to make a run at things; need as many horses as you can get.

The Cavs frontcourt kept them in the game against the Raptors on opening night, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds, but an even attack from the Raptors spurred by ball movement (35 assists) and solid defensive rotations were more than they could handle.

Match-ups

Point Guard
Irving showed signs of promise, but he’s just not ready to be handed the reigns just yet. Sessions hurt the Raptors with his dribble penetration and three point shooting; nothing from mid-range. Calderon needs to close-out on him faster, and force him into a waiting defender. Same thing with Gibson, except I’d he’s less of a threat to get to the rack. Bayless will be a game-time decision, but the Raptors could use some of his off the bounce attack to mix things up and keep the Cavs defense guessing. Anthony Carter will be counted on to provide spurts of solid relief. I’m the first to admit I was wrong about his effectiveness; a couple minutes here and there is doable for the guy.
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
Every Time DeRozan took the ball to the rim, he either scored or got put on the line. The Cavs don’t have the shot blocking ability to challenge DeMar when he gets to the rim. He has to keep on attacking Anthony Parker, who just doesn’t have  the foot speed to keep up. Barbosa will do the same to Gibson, who I can’t recall doing anything of value in the first game.
Edge: Raptors

Small Forward
Butler and Johnson did a good job of keeping Casspi off the board, and he hasn’t done much this season since, but  some guy named Alonzo Gee stepped up for the Cavs. With the performances that Butler has turned in the last games, the small forward spot is stabilizing some. As long as whoever is manning the 3-spot puts defense first, and tries to avoid taking retarded shots, the Raptors should do well.
Edge: Even

Power Forward
A repeat performance from Jamison would go a long way tonight; Bargnani and Davis kept Antawn to 6-20 shooting from the field. Bargnani couldn’t find his shot last week against the Cavs, but has since remedied that. With him going to the rack as often as he’s popping jumpers, he will be putting a lot of pressure on the Cavs frontcourt to step-up. The Raptors would have the frontcourt locked if Ed Davis would just come back. Since his solid performance against the Cavs last week, the sophomore has all but vanished. He could find his game tonight against the only team he’s played well against this season; I hope anyways. It was great to see Tristan Thompson play well, and he’s done a pretty good job so far considering, but the Cavs overstepped in taking him 4th with Valanciunas and Vesely on the board.
Edge: Raptors

Center
I foolishly didn’t give the Cavs the edge at center last game, and was proved wrong. Varejao still has a great deal to offer, putting up 14pts 10rebs (7 offensive) almost single handedly keeping the Cavs hanging around and in the game. Things have looked downhill for Amir since the first two games of the season, and there wasn’t much there for Magloire to begin with. Varejao will do his best to keep them in the game, but the Cavs have less talent than the Raptors.
Edge: Cavaliers

The Line

The gamblers have the Raptors as 4 point favourites, with an over/under of 190. The Cavs and Raptors have found themselves to be in an interesting situation so far this season. Both are doing better than expected, and playing hard. The Cavs took advantage of an easier schedule, beating the Pistons, Nets and Bobcats. The Raptors on the other hand should be 3-2 heading into tonight’s game. Bet the line; Raptors win 92-86.

Can’t knock the hustle, as long as they keep playing hard that is. This is the 1st game in a season of opportunities at changing this teams culture, perception and attitude. From the rise of Bargnani, to tight(ish) defensive rotations, to Calderon giving a rest to the clapping hands-defense, things are on the up-and-up. This season wont be defined by wins or losses; it’s all about step one, and that tone will need to be set against the Cavs tonight.

(I’m still stunned that two pre-season games and a handful of interviews with Casey have changed my view of this team for the better)

Match-ups

Point Guard
As bad as Calderon was defensively, there were always guys who made him look like Gary Payton; Ramon Sessions is one of those guys. The guy can’t move laterally (zero pick-and-roll defense), is not much of an athlete, but manages to do most of his offensive damage in the paint. His jumper isn’t great, so Calderon can afford to play off of him a bit, and force him to beat the Raps with a jumper; I can live with that strategy even if he drops 20 in the process. Keeping him off the pick-n-roll, where he can do more damage, is paramount.
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
Anthony Parker is still the starter for the Cavs, but they are pretty deep at the 2 (Boobie off the bench). DeMar should have no problem’s whatsoever with anyone the Cavs throw at him. I’m cutting this short, between DeRozan, Barbosa and Butler, the Raptors have the depth and the ability to throw enough different looks at the Cavs to keep them off balance the whole night.
Edge: Raptors

Small Forward
Omri Casspi is someone I would have loved the Raptors to pick up in the off-season, and it didn’t cost the Cavs much; JJ Hickson. We could have easily have made a similar offer of Amir Johnson had we known Aaron Gray was in the play fo us. Regardless, he will give James Johnson a hell of a time on the floor. He is a solid rebounder, and makes his jumpers; keeping Johnson out on the perimeter and a step further from swatting his weak-side blocked shots.
Edge: Cavs

Power Forward
Don’t know enough about Thompson and Harangody to really give my two cents here, but Jamison will drop his 18pts/7reb tonight, I have no doubt. That said, he will surrender 24pts/8rebs on the other end, take that how you will. The 36 year old will hit a couple annoying off-balance floaters that somehow hit the bottom of the mesh, but will provide little value other than being a mentor for Tristan. I like Bargnani and Davis in the match-up as they both will give a little flavour on the perimeter and in the paint.
Edge: Raptors

Center
Varejao has the ability to do nothing the entire game, then grab an offensive rebound and put it back for the win with less than a second left on the clock. I would love to have him play for the Raptors. I think he would be fantastic to lineup with Bargnani in the front court as he can make a lot of hustle plays and win small battles all over the floor. I don’t see this game being won by Cavs at the 5, at best, they draw even with the Raptors centers…that’s just me (Varejao missed most of last season with an injury)
Edge: Raptors

The Line

I was stunned to see it, but Vegas has the Cavs as 3.5 point favourites with an over/under of 197. It’s super unlikely that this game will be in the mid-to high 90s, so go with the under. I personally think the Raptors take this by 5 in an ugly win. Of the first 10 games we play this year, 3 of them are winnable (two against the Cavs), while this team probably wont win 30% of their games this year, 3-7 in the early going is doable.

Hopefully league pass broadband works tonight, Arse has the post-game.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

Through the 90s, the Knicks were my favourite team, and if you liked a tough, bruising team oozing with heart, then they were the team for you. When the Raptors and Knicks were battling in the playoffs, I was never more torn; ultimately I cheered the Raptors, but had the Knicks got through….

While they don’t have great talent to surround LeBron and Bosh (for sake of argument), the team does provide the lure of being a God in New York if someone can deliver a championship. For the record, regardless of what they offer, I’m against any deal with the Knicks since they are a division rival. The last time we did that, we got BURNED in the playoffs; not looking for a repeat.

I spoke to Dan L. from The Knicks Fan Blog about the state of the Knicks, and got some interesting tidbits from him:

Sam Holako: There isn’t much to talk about the Knicks during the regular season since the last couple years has all been about making a run at two max free-agents this summer. Where do you realistically put the Knicks chances of landing LeBron this summer? A sign and trade with the Cavs will prove difficult (what kind of deal do you put together for the MVP?). Also talk about the LeBrostimistic graph you have on your site, I love that thing.

Dan L.: I think it’s impossible to say what the Knicks’ chances are to get LeBron without being part of the “inner circle”. But I think the Knicks have a couple of things working in their favor. One is obviously that the Cavs got spanked so hard by the Celtics. They clearly aren’t a championship caliber team and they’re also ham-strung by salary commitments with the likes of Jamison, Gibson, Varejao, and Mo Williams. They won’t be signing any meaningful free agents.

It is hard to see the Knicks and Cavs pulling off a sign and trade, but it could happen if LeBron told them he’s going to the Knicks anyway and unless they deal they won’t get anything in return. For example the Knicks can offer the Cavs a massive salary cap exception and future picks for LeBron. With that exception the Cavs could hypothetically trade for Elton Brand and the second pick (Evan Turner). Maybe they could even convince the Knicks to part with Wilson Chandler. Mo Williams, Turner, Chandler, Jamison, Brand. I could think of worse teams.

Ha. The LeBroptimism meter right now is at 0 because honestly, I just don’t have any kind of bearing of what LeBron is going to do. He and his team have done a masterful job of keeping everyone in the dark, and there are a lot of teams that have positioned themselves to get LeBron. I think the only realistic options for LeBron if he leaves are the Knicks and Bulls because I’d be shocked if he went somewhere that didn’t have a major media presence. I’d add the Nets to the mix but I think their young talent is vastly overstated. The Knicks’ young talent was better than 12 wins. Also LeBron won’t want to play in Newark, I don’t think.

If I was being completely honest with my own gut, I’d put that LeBroptimism meter somewhat higher than 0.

SH: That would be Step 1; Step 2 would be find a running mate for him. Chris Bosh recently put the Knicks on his wishlist. Make me an offer for him.

DL: he only offer really is David Lee. Not sure what Raptors fans think about Lee but you could do much worse. He’s a terrific rebounder (though he doesn’t get the tough ones) and due to his terrific work ethic he transformed himself into one of the best shooting bigs in the league. He’s also an elite finisher. He can get his shot off in the paint and make it with such frequency that it never ceases to amaze me. You’ll be losing out by trading Bosh but maybe not by as much as you’d think.

The downside for the Raptors is that their biggest weakness is also Lee’s, in that he couldn’t guard a lamp post. A lot of that has to do with the fact that he’s a PF and the Knicks had him at center all year. Still, I’d think that the Raptors want to address their D this summer, and Lee isn’t going to do that.

Financially, Lee is going to make less than Bosh because under the collective bargaining agreement, his max is about $13.5 million. The Raptors would therefore get a trade exception in the deal of about $4 million.

Another option the Raptors could consider is adding Calderon or Turk to the mix and taking back Eddy Curry. This would get the Raptors out from under the cap predicament they put themselves in by next year.

It’s all dependent on what Lee wants though. If he just wants money and the Raptors offer him his max I think he would agree to go to Toronto because he would get bigger raises in a sign and trade. If other factors are more important to him, like staying in the New York area, and the money is similar, I could see him signing with the Nets.

SH: Not sure how Raptor fans would feel about paying Lee $13.5; even though double-double machines are hard to come by, I was thinking a 5yr/$50mill deal. A front court of Bargnani and Lee would be the worse defensive unit in the league, potentially, but Lee is one of the better players we could hope for in a sign-and-trade.

Interesting you bring up a Calderon/Turkoglu swap for Curry. What is Curry’s status? Can he be looked too to play 20minutes a night? He’s still pretty young, and has great size/athleticism (well he did). I’m assuming with the financial problems he’s said to be having, that he will at least be motivated to play harder for the next contract.

DL: I’d think that Lee is going to get more than $10 million on the market this summer. But I guess that remains to be seen.

You’re right about the raptors defense. They’d have to slide Bargs over to the 3 and find a way to get a defensive 5.

That’s not Eddy Curry, even if healthy. The potential Curry deal would be solely a salary dump for the Raptors. Knicks fans have been waiting for the old Curry to come back for over 2 years. The fact is that he’s played only a handful of games in each of the last two seasons and just doesn’t seem interested in playing basketball.

You’re right that Curry SHOULD be motivated in a contract year. But I’d be shocked if he had the desire to. And even if he did, I’d be doubly shocked if he stayed healthy.

SH: I want to examine something you said about Calderon or Turkoglu for Curry. Even if the Knicks somehow manage to get LeBron and Bosh, they would still need to have people around them to you know, play basketball at an NBA level. In the worse case scenario that they don’t land anyone in the summer to line up beside those two, what will this team look like?

DL: Honestly I think that’s an issue that the national media has drummed up in their echo chamber because they are biased against New York (true New York perspective here, huh?).

The team WILL have players on it. Obviously Turkoglu or Calderon could be one of those other players. If not, the Knicks should try to move Curry for another team’s expensive mistake, like Ben Gordon, Rip Hamilton or Corey Maggette.

But let’s look at who is on the team right now. Danilo Gallinari played essentially his rookie year last year since he missed most of his first season with a back injury. He only finished second in the NBA in three pointers made. Folks in the national media have called him a “one-trick pony” but those of us who watch the Knicks every game know that he’s much more than that. Even the most negative tabloid beat writers like the New York Post’s Marc Berman jumped on the Gallinari bandwagon by the end of the year. He’s a terrific passer, and has a great basketball IQ, and most surprisingly, was probably the Knicks best defender last year other than Jarred Jeffries, both on the ball and in help.

Wilson Chandler is another player that most people who don’t follow the Knicks tend to ignore. It’s because he’s very quiet and unassuming. My opinion is that he doesn’t have star potential like Gallinari does, but there are observers who disagree. At the very least though he plays D, has a great mid-range game, and is a superb finisher.

Toney Douglas inexplicably failed to get off of Mike D’Antoni’s bench for most of the year but when D’Antoni finally let him play the Knicks what I like to say resembled a young Gary Payton. Douglas is very disruptive on the defensive end, is a very good shooter from distance, and LOVES the ball at the end of games. He’s very clutch.

These were 3 very young and/or inexperienced players but all of them have a world of potential. Importantly, they’re all very good fits with LeBron. Gallinari will can countless open jumpers off LeBron drives, and Wilson will get plenty of open looks slashing off of those same drives. Douglas will also knock down open shots and defend the perimeter, but more importantly, both he and Gallinari will take the pressure off LeBron at the end of games, which seems to be an issue for the King. It’s a good starting 5.

Aside from those 3 the Knicks have Bill Walker, who, after the trade deadline really came into his own for the Knicks. He has great range and shoots a high percentage. He’s also extremely athletic and can jump out of the gym. Finally, where Chandler doesn’t really read the defense, instead focusing on just making one on one moves to get open, Walker knows where to be on the court to space the floor and get open looks for himself both inside and out.

The Knicks also have 2 second round draft picks.

Finally, if the Knicks are able to land the big stars, look for some veteran players to sign on for cheap for a chance at the title. For example, PJ Brown signed with Boston for the minimum to win a ring. Same with Michael Finley.

I expect the Knicks to be able to round out their roster in a similar way.

SH: I’m actually pretty high on Chandler. I’ve seen quite a few Knicks games, and the kid is nice (Gallinari too). If LeBosh doesn’t pan out for the Knicks, would a Joe Johnson/Boozer/Stoudemire combination satisfy Knicks fans? The team obviously wouldn’t be a championship contender (the best they could hope for is the Hawks), but they would be in the high 40s in terms of wins and MAYBE a second round appearance.

DL: hose guys obviously represent the second tier of free agents. They’d improve the Knicks vastly but I wouldn’t be too thrilled about it. That’s particularly true because I assume those guys would be getting the max (or something close) and I don’t think they’re worth it.

It’s not the first choice and there are some fans who go by the mantra “LeBron or bust”. Not me though. I think Donnie Walsh had to take his best shot at building a dynasty. It might not work out that way but the idea was the right idea. Either way the Knicks will be much improved, even if they don’t get LeBron.

Since I have nothing better to do than think up scenarios, I’ve previously written that there are other options available besides just free agents. The Knicks could look at Tony Parker, for example. A trade of Chandler, Curry and Douglas for Parker, RJ and McDyess would make some sense if the Knicks also landed Amare. Parker, RJ (who plays better in an open system), Gallinari, McDyess, Amare, with enough flexibility to sign Melo in ’11.

Another example is a trade of Curry for Biedrins or Maggette and Anthony Randolph, while re-signing Lee and signing Joe Johnson. You’d have Tony Douglas, Johnson, Gallinari, Lee and Randolph/Biedrins. Not too shabby in my opinion, and a team that can grow better over the next few years. Not a title contender though, and you’d lose your ’11 flexibility, which I’d like to see the Knicks keep if they lose out on the big names.

Apparently, Bosh’s injury is worse than what Bosh himself suspected, and the team is just being careful with him. There wasn’t a lot of swelling, but he needs more movement. Heading into the stretch run, it is paramount that he is healthy and 100%. If that means sitting out a game against the best team in the league, then I can live with it. The fact of the matter is that even with Bosh, this game would be very challenging, no need to risk further injury.

On Wednesday, Portland forced the Raptors into their style of play: slow pace, keep folks out of the paint, and contest shots. Watching a team execute a plan like that to perfection was very frustrating. To make matters worse, the Raptors played far to loose with the ball, allowing 17 points off of 16 turnovers, not to mention allowing 20 fast break points. What a brutal game to watch, seriously.

Tonight the Raptors host the Cavs, who may have made the biggest splash at the trade deadline by shipping out Ilgauskas (who just got bought out and will be rejoining the Cavs in a couple weeks) for the stretch power foward they have always coveted to play beside LeBron aka Antawn Jamison; all without giving up JJ Hickson. This is a scary team from top to bottom:

PG – Mo Williams; Daniel Gibson; Sebastian Telfair
SG – Anthony Parker, Delonte West
SF – LeBron James, Jamario Moon, Daniel Green
PF – Antawn Jamison, JJ Hickson, Jawad Williams, Darnell Jackson, Leon Powe
C – Shaquille O’Neal, Anderson Varejao, Zadrunaus Ilgauskas (after the 1 month waiting period)

That my friends is a deep team.

This is the third game of the season against the Cavs, and the first with Jamison in the lineup. The season opener saw Bosh and Bargnani have monster games as the Raptors stopped the Cavs dead in their tracks a night after Boston did the same. The second game was a different beast, as Turkoglu registered one of his many no shows. The Cavs didn’t blow the Raptors out of the water, which was positive; but the Raptors were never really a threat to pull out a win.

Tonight has potential to be a rough one, especially if Bosh is out of the lineup again. Rasho has had a pretty solid three game run, but I don’t want to see him start the game. Bargnani is due to break out of his little funk (not really a funk, but with Bosh being out we expected a bit more). The benefit of starting Bargs at center is having Amir start at power forward, which is a better matchup with Jamison.

This front court tandem gives us a mobile, athletic duo that will force Cleveland to think about making adjustments.

You then counter Hickson and Varajeo off the bench with Evans, Rasho and some creative line juggling of Bargnani and Johnson. Whatever happens, Bargnani needs to give us 36 minutes of Dirk-level production or it all falls apart.

Hedo gets LeBron, and this isn’t a Hedo knock, but good luck. I say let him shoot all he wants, but don’t let him penetrate and create for others. At a minimum, if Hedo can be the scoring threat he was against the Blazers, LeBron will have to pay him special attention on defense splitting his focus. Wright has been getting more minutes as of late, and will be called on to provide relief off the bench.

DeRozan’s star has been fading a bit of late. The rook is by all accounts a gym rat who works hard and is hungry to improve, but has been seeing less and less action through the course of the game over the last couple weeks. For some reason, those minutes are going to Belinelli and not Weems, which I have absolutely no answer for. Of the two, Weems has clearly been the better, more consistent performer over the season.

I just want Jack to clothes-line Mo Williams at some point tonight. Mo hasn’t actually done anything for me to not like him, I just don’t. I’m also looking forward to Jamario Moon clanking a couple jumpers that breaks Cleveland’s offensive flow.

With Bosh playing, this would be an interesting game, with the Raptors having enough depth up front to give the Cavs some problems. Without him, I don’t like our chances. As long as we play tough and not fold, the Raptors can give themselves a chance to pull one out. The passing will need to be crisp, the ball needs to be protected, rebounds need to be grabbed and jumpers need to fall. Not so tall an order, huh?

The ACC will probably be dead seeing as the Canadian Mens Olympic hockey team is in the semi’s against Slovakia. Fortunately, we know a bar that is carrying the Raptors game tonight: come join us for Raptor Fan Friday at the Sports Centre Cafe tonight.

RFF UPDATE:

We sincerely appreciate everyone’s understanding given tonight’s circumstances.

Toronto Sun

They’re a tough matchup at the best of times, but catching the Cleveland Cavaliers now with the franchise — Chris Bosh — hobbled by a sore ankle and not expected to play, takes nightmare to another level entirely.

Say this for the Raps though: They sound eager for the opportunity.

“He’s a huge part of this organization and he has been carrying the load for us the whole year,” Raptors forward Hedo Turkoglu said of Bosh. “I know it’s going to be tough especially against good teams when you’re missing your best player, but it will be a good opportunity for other guys to step up. Hopefully as a group we step up.”

Whether it was Bosh himself suggesting “a miraculous feeling overnight” would be required or head coach Jay Triano hoping that “something happens overnight to make him available”, no one was holding out much hope that Bosh would be back in uniform for Friday’s game against the Cavaliers.

Bosh did some stationary shooting and a few movement drills but certainly no running on the ankle he sprained a week ago Wednesday.

“It’s feeling better, getting better day by day," Bosh said. “I did a little movement. We’ll see how it goes. I’m still not sure about (playing Friday) unless I have a miraculous feeling over night … which is possible. I’ve been here before and re-injuring things over again, you just don’t want to be in that position.“

Toronto Star

"We really didn’t get into any kind of rhythm," Antoine Wright said of the 87-point outing Wednesday. "Normally, with our team, we play inside and out and we never really established ourselves in the paint. In games like that, we tend to take more jump shots and we really couldn’t get our shots to fall.

"He’s the focal point of our offence but we have to figure out a way to stay in games when he’s not out there."

Bosh did a little bit more on his sore left ankle Thursday than he has since injuring it a week ago but not enough to pronounce himself ready to return, suggesting it would take "miraculous healing overnight" for him to dress against Cleveland.

And he’s not about to go out on the court unless it’s a full-blown miracle.

"I’m not going to force anything, that’s how you get in trouble and things don’t go your way for the long run," he said. "As good as (the Cavs) are, it’s only one game, we still have a lot of basketball to play and we play them again.

"I’ll look forward to it; if I miss this time, there’s always the next time."

Globe and Mail

“The triple double is a sign he’s an all-round player,” Raptors head coach Jay Triano conceded yesterday. “He defends, he boxes out, he rebounds, he can lock guys up when he has to.”

What is an opponent to do and remain within the bounds of the laws of the land?

“I don’t think there is a key to try and restrict him from getting 10 rebounds or 10 assists,” Triano said. “He is just a great player. You have to stay in front of him, make him give [the ball] up and you’ve got to make sure you close out when he does.

“He has a great group of players surrounding him and he’ll have the ball the majority of the time.”

If there is a glimmer of hope for the 31-25 Raptors, who sat four spots behind the Cavaliers in fifth place in the Eastern Conference before last night’s games, it is that the Cavaliers have stumbled a little since trading for Jamison nine days ago. They lost three games in a row after he arrived before beating the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday.

Also, the Cavaliers will arrive for tonight’s game having played the previous night in Boston – although the Trailblazers did likewise on Wednesday and still had little trouble with the Raptors.

Stepien Rules

James kept the Cavaliers in it for three quarters on a night they lost Shaquille O’Neal to a first-half thumb injury. After the game, Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said O’Neal will not play Friday’s game in Toronto against the Raptors.

National Post

"When you have Chris Bosh in the lineup, a lot of times you give it to him and he either creates or holds the ball and makes a play," Raptors head coach Jay Triano said. "Right now, we’re having to make more passes each possession down the floor to find ways to score. When you do that, there’s a better chance that guys turn it over."

Without Bosh, the Raptors’ margin for errors becomes slimmer. Turnovers must be limited. Against an elite team like Cleveland, the margin shrinks even more.

These are not the Cavaliers that the Raptors beat on opening night, a team that was struggling with working Shaquille O’Neal into the lineup. Yes, Cleveland is adjusting to life with another star, as Antawn Jamison was acquired at the trade deadline. But for the Cavaliers, Jamison, a multitalented forward, seems a more-natural fit to play with LeBron James than O’Neal. The get-to-know-each-other process is simpler.

"It took them a while to use Shaq the right way," Triano said. "They obviously have. Jamison’s a good player with very high basketball intelligence. He’ll find a way to fit in with that team."

Bleacher Report

Depending on where the cap falls, there could be eight teams with enough money to sign two players to maximum contracts. But Wade and James have both spoken of their desire to contend and not just cash in with new contracts.

So naturally Bosh has entered the equation. Will Wade and James take a pay-cut to try and include the 24-year-old All-Star in their plans?

We have a long way to go before we’ll know anything substantial about where the three superstars will go from here, but now is as good a time as any to break down their chances of joining forces for 2010.

CBS Sports

Even if Shaquille O’Neal’s thumb injury keeps the big center out for any length of time, the Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t take long to prove they can dominate without him.

The Toronto Raptors could have trouble doing the same without Chris Bosh.

The NBA’s best team will be without O’Neal on Friday night at Toronto, but a bigger hole will likely remain in the Raptors’ lineup as the Cavs go for a third straight victory.

O’Neal scored 20 points in consecutive games for the first time all season before Thursday’s game, but he sprained his right thumb during the second quarter of a 108-88 win at Boston and did not return, with the team calling the injury "significant."

His absence didn’t slow down the Cavs, who trailed by eight at the half but outscored the Celtics 60-32 after the break, led by 14 fourth-quarter points from Mo Williams.

Canton Repository

James averages 27.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 23 career games versus Toronto. James scored his career high of 56 points at Toronto on March 20, 2005. O’Neal averages 25.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 26 career games against the Raptors. His 65.9 percent shooting against them from the floor is his best mark against any opponent. Antawn Jamison averages 22.2 points and 9.3 rebounds in 28 games versus Toronto, with the rebounding figure being his best against another team.

Everything Basketball

If the appeal is supposed to be getting a pair of individual superstars to come together and pool their talents on the same team, then the logical extension — and the biggest splash — is to make the same pitch to all three.

In Miami and New York, the appeal would be for the threesome to remember the bonds they forged while playing for USA Basketball, where D’Antoni served as an assistant coach, and the dominance that went into winning the Olympic gold medal at Beijing in 2008.  If that experience was fun, wouldn’t grabbing the entire NBA by the throat for the foreseeable future be a giddy delight?

Surely, they’d be able to do that even if every other player on the roster were a minimum salary player. And they would be.

The impediment, of course, is the money. Each of them would have to leave something on the table. And, so far, no maximum level free agent in the NBA has ever done that.

New Leisure Blog

Bargnani currently ranks 97th in usage rate, 10th as a center. He is 90th in shooting percentage in the league, but 27th overall as a center.
He has a turnover ratio of 8.2, which ranks 6th as a center.

What do these numbers mean?

Let’s look at the good things first. It’s definitely easier for a guard to have a higher usage rate, since they have the ball more and if they can’t pass the ball to the bigs, the bigs would never get a chance to create. So as a center, you are more dependent on a teammate to getting you the ball. Bargnani ranks 10th in terms of usage rate as a center.

I’m not a pre-season kind of guy: on the one hand, I don’t get excited when the Raptors win a game – it’s pre-season, means nothing; but on the other hand, when they lose…WTF! Irrational, I know. Fortunately, Triano doesn’t care either way, it’s how the boys on the 2nd and 3rd units are gonna do. So far, what we’ve seen has been a mixed bag of results:

Jack – looks to make things happen, the guy is a proven commodity in the league, so we know what we were in for when we got him.

Wright – been injured, but should be ready to go when the games mean something.

Banks – he can play, but he wont be doing much of anything for the Raptors, doesn’t matter what it isn’t regular season. My candidate for worst player in the league.

Weems – when he gets the call to enter the game, folks wont be groaning and actually hoping he gets a clear look at the rim with some steam behind him.

Belinelli – Lots of game, no consistency.

Johnson – Gets at it, but no consistency.

O’Bryant – if he picks it up, we will start a shrine at RR for the guy, swear to God.

Nesterovic – giving us exactly what we thought he would.

Keys to the Game

Rebounding
The Wizard have always given the Raptors problems. How many times have you felt violently towards the career games Brendan Haywood would have against us? Jamison, Oberto, Young and Blatche will all be tough to contain. Bargnani needs to crash the boards harder, 3rebs in 23mins is unacceptable. I don’t care how efficiently he is scoring. Luckily, Bosh should be getting more then 11mins.

Arenas
For a guy who has been PAID, and hasn’t really done anything, it is amazing he kept yapping up until this year. He has been playing a little gun shy, but with happy-clapper covering him to start things off, the stage is set for him to come out of his early funk.

3-Point Shooting
The Raptors were 47.4% (9-19) from beyond the arc against the Timberwolves. If they can keep that up against a Wizards team that doesn’t play great defense, they will be tough to stop.

Quick Hits

• Whatever happened to that playbook? Looks like the high pick n roll is still standing tall with one or two newbies
• DeMar needs to step up his rebounding a bit. He could be devastating at the SG spot with his size and athleticism.
• It’s only pre-season, but so far, I have been wrong about Weems – the guy isn’t a write off
• If Johnson could stay out of foul trouble, he may not be that bad

We will be running a live-chat during the game, so come back and drop some knowledge.