Ryan Degama, from Celtics Hub, James Herbert and AltRaps answered three of my burning questions:

Read an interesting trade scenario on ESPN (Insider required) with Garnett going to Denver for Afflalo, Miller and Mozgov; good trade personally. Why hasn’t Ainge began breaking up the big three, and getting picks/prospects for them while he can?

Ryan: There are a few reasons nothing has happened yet. Part of it is that teams are still evaluating what they need and part of it is that you nail the expected return: picks and prospects. That’s a serious bounty and Boston’s early performance has done little to strengthen Ainge’s negotiating position. Now that Paul Pierce has returned to all-star form, Ainge has more to work with, but there’s no guarantee he’ll get an offer he considers palatable. It’s possible Boston will ride out the season as is.

Alt: I’ve hated Ainge my whole life. Hated him as a Blue Jay and as soon as he became a Celtic, well, it was all over. So, in short, he hasn’t moved on anything because he can’t cross a street without calling someone for help. Much like when we traded Carter, Danny knows that what he gets in return for any of these guys will show what kind of a gunslinger he is. The fact he was willing to part with Rondo before any of these guys tells you something. He will make a move closer to the deadline, especially as the Sixers get further and further ahead of them. You’ll see a desperate perennial playoff team give up some good picks and current talent for one of the two. Pierce is untouchable.

James: Ainge has directly said that he would break this team up if he received a good enough offer. Who’s going after these guys, though? You’re only taking one of them if you’re a contender, and what contender has spare young players that would actually help the Celtics? Maybe some team would like to shed salary for Garnett’s $21 million expiring contract, but would Boston want a bunch of overpaid guys? Would Ainge want Joe Johnson? I doubt it.

Can the Celtics, as presently constructed, still win a championship?

Ryan: Their offense is on the wrong side of mediocre and their rebounding is bottom third in the league. Those two factors guarantee an early round exit come playoff time. Add the team’s collective age and inclination to injury and it’s all over unless you really want to delve deep into “everything goes right” scenarios. Those haven’t been hallmarks of the last few years in Boston.

Alt: If they were able to pull out series wins in 4-5 games, yes. They would get a breather between sets (presumably) and it gives their coaching staff time to get them working on the possible next opponent. Give that time to an Allen, a Garnett, a Rondo, then you have a shot. The real hitch is beating the West in the final. Good luck with that.

James: Can they? Yeah. In the same way that Portland or Denver can if a lot of things go their way. The Celtics are not contenders, barring a major injury elsewhere. They’ll be better come playoff time and we shouldn’t forget how bad they looked during some parts of 2009-2010 before making it to the Finals, but as constructed they are not in the same class as Miami, Chicago, and Oklahoma City.

Will it be a bar fight tonight?

Ryan: Feels like it could be a rough one after Kleiza smacked down Rondo last time. But I don’t think it will be a close one if the Celtics are interested in playing defense (sometimes they’re not) and moving the ball on offense, like they did against the Cavs last night.

Alt: Casey has these guys playing scrappy. You throw Scarborough out there to lay some shoulders and I envision some chippiness. If it’s a close game you know they will zero in on Jose’s touchiness and, especially without Andrea playing cold hand Luke, he could fall for it. That’s okay, though…we have Kleiza who has taken the role of the NBA’s version of a viper.

James: I just watched the Raptors get blown out by the Hawks at home and it wasn’t for a lack of effort. They’ll fight, but without Bargnani they’re going to struggle to put points up against this Boston defense. It all depends on if Toronto can contain Pierce, the Celtics’ primary creator in the absence of Rajon Rondo — if it’s a blowout, it’s not a bar fight.

Injuries

Toronto
Bargnani – Calf, out indefinitely

Boston
Rondo – Wrist, day-to-day
Dooling – Hip, day-to-day
O’Neal – Knee, day-to-day

Match-ups

Point Guard
I’m really liking the effort Bayless has been putting up since his return from injury; what helps most is he’s protecting the ball much better. Calderon’s been consistent. I realize he’s been starting at the 2 the last two games, but I just don’t see DeRozan covering Paul Pierce and James Johnson taking on Kevin Garnett. So with Rondo out (probably out), Bayless will be backing up Calderon and playing some shooting guard in relief of DeRozan while Colangelo sorts out a trade for Barbosa.
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
I took a lot of heat when I said DeRozan’s game against the Nets wasn’t that great (especially getting to the foul line 16 times against a D-league level team). When you such dramatic swings from game-to-game, you don’t get love from this corner of the interwebs when you make a pretty against a weak-ass team. Head-to-head against Ray Allen, DeRozan’s been mediocre for a few seasons, I’m not saying Ray-Ray is going to drop 30, but he will do 15-20; mix that with DeRozan’s love affair with the jumper and Boston’s defensive resurgence (4th in defensive efficiency)…it’s going to be a long night for the prodigal son.
Edge: Celtics

Small Forward
Paul Pierce may be old, but his game was never dependant on his athleticism; it’s that slow-motion first step that’s killer. JJ and Kleiza have been playing nice, but if their combined production matches Pierce’s, I’ll be surprised.
Edge: Celtics

Power Forward
I’d like to see Amir or Magloire nail Garnett in the face with an elbow tonight, then have Calderon bark in his ear about it. This would be a win for me.
Edge: Celtics

Center
All my match-up assumptions were based on the Raptors not going small ball because of the bad mis-matches at the 2 and 3 if they do. Maybe they go that route, in which case half of what I’ll be watching the Chicago/Philly game (I’ll be watching that game anyways, Love D-Rose), but maybe they try and match-up a bit smarter, and not let Allen and Pierce take it easy on the bench in the 2nd half because they built up a 20 point 1st half lead.
Edge: Even, but who really cares

Keys to the Game

• Ball movement: the Celtics are a damn good defensive team, but they are old. The Raptors need to make them work on the defensive end of the court and really attack the paint; Garnett and O’Neal aren’t what they used to be. Don’t settle for jumpers!
• Tight defensive rotations: with Rondo out, the Celtics don’t have a guy who can consistently break down the defense and create for the rest of the team. Can’t give Allen and Pierce open looks from the perimeter (the Raptors have done a great job of allowing this this season) or they will kill us; I can’t stress this enough.
• Get into Garnett’s head: this wont win us the game, but I want to see someone mess the SOB a bit…hate him…

The Line

There’s no line at time of publishing, but I’ll go ahead and put a line in the sand: Celtics  by 13.

Are there going to be mistakes? Yes, but I want them to be hard mistakes – Dwayne Casey

Even though Casey was treating this game as a practice of sorts, he still couldn’t help but spit fire throughout the game. My favourite moment was in the 3rd quarter when Rondo and Daniels burned Davis and Bayless on the give-and-go; Casey jumped to his feet and called a timeout before the ball hit the ground, and Davis was sitting on the bench after the timeout. Haven’t seen that in so long, it brought tears to my eyes. I was paying attention to a few things this game: 1) defense 2) Bargnani 3) the new guys.

Defense really is a focus of the team this year. While Triano paid a lot of lip service over the last couple seasons, Casey was able to do more in one week than Jay ever was. This actually really angers me. I mean, at the end of the day you are paid fat stacks to do your job, and nothing. He was as effective in getting this team to play defense as Leo is as a commentator. I question having Triano serve on this team in any capacity at all.

How did Casey get people to play hard you may ask? Hold them accountable; simple is as simple does. Let me ask you this, have you ever seen Bargnani play so hard on defense in 6 years? I’m the first person to piss on the guy, and I counted exactly two defensive mistakes he made all game; only one of which resulted in a basket. We are witness to a new epoch; the Bargnani era. I’m serious, and not being facetious at all. This is what I saw him do defensively in crunch time:

• With the Raptors on a 16-5 run, Bargnani defended the pick-n-roll like a champ jumping out on Avery Bradley, recovering and blocking Brandon Bass at the rim. On the ensuing break, DeRozan hit a layup cutting the Celtics lead to 70-69 with 4 minutes left in the game
• After cutting the Celtics lead to 1 with 40 seconds left in the game, Bargnani hedges defending the pick-n-roll, forcing Bradley to throw the ball to Johnson who took an absolute brutal shot (brick off the front of the rim)

These were two of a few solid defensive decisions he made on the floor. I can’t express how excited I am this happened in a pre-season game. Effort people; Casey got Bargnani to give a shit and play as hard as possible. You have to take what happened with a grain of salt, and he’ll need to repeat this effort throughout the season to shake his reputation, but it’s very encouraging to see hustle in a game that meant nothing.

…Impressed with him; he hit the boards and gave effort on the boards…he competed and got out and impacted the ball – Dwayne Casey on Andrea Bargnani

As far as the new kids on the team, Forbes and Butler really grew on me. Forbes in particular really stood out and could be a key reserve for us going forward. He showed nice flex on defense, hit his open shots and generally hustled. He’s a James Johnson with offensive touch; have to like that. Magloire is really a donut, at this point he’s big body for DeRozan to practice tea bagging on in practice; a turnover and a foul in 8 minutes of pre-season action against a teams B-squad is nothing to write home about. Looks like the center spot will be split between Amir and Gray with Magloire being used sparingly when either of those guys are injured or out of pity.

I’m going to finish with one thought: as bad as Calderon is defensively, and as much as he get called out for it, Bayless is equally brutal. I counted three times he looked lost and out of place defending the high pick-and-roll (the third time he actually didn’t do anything at all – just stood there and prayed the shot would clank off the front of the rim; luckily it did). I expect that will change, but just an observation I wanted to put out there especially since Calderon had a pretty good defensive effort today.

TL;DR – Bargnani the defensive anchor in a 1-point loss to the Celtics; Casey already leaving his mark on this team.

Alabi: dispatched.

Barbosa: I love him as the distributer. Let him be that or have him go the hole, nothing else. He has a great mind for the game, but his body is starting to fight back.

Bargnani: I think Bam Bam Bigelow would have had more airtime than Andy tonight. I’m surprised by the effort given the day of rest yesterday and can only hope he can grab some z’s on the short flight back.

Bayless: still on the sidelines comparing size of bubblegum bubbles with Peja.

Calderon: not often this will be said: He and Rondo pretty much played to a draw tonight. Rondo seemed out of sorts, but Jose also didn’t let him get into a groove. On the other side, it was an average Jose night..which is acceptable when playing the likes of Rondo.

Davis: some nice flashes going up against a powerhouse. He showed no sign of backing down and, admirably, was pushing bodies around out there. Hope for the future.

DeRozan: wasn’t as aggressive as we would have liked him to be (4 trips to the free throw line isn’t nearly enough) but he was the main part of the offense tonight. Great stretch of the season for him.

Dorsey: 6 rebounds in 9 minutes. Hungry much?

Evans: do you think his teeth rattle when he drives over railway tracks?

Johnson: not gonna lie, I barely even remembered him being on the floor. I shouldn’t be able to say that about anybody playing ex NBA champions. Everybody needs to bring their A game, especially when shorthanded. Amir had trouble getting it to C.

Kleiza: a couple of trick shots, some great hustle, some questionable D, and a face that would stop a locomotive. Linas Kleiza is back and should remain a starter.

Stojakovic: Me + Anvil + Peja tied to the ground = heaven.

Weems: should we really be thinking of Weems as part of our future? Hate to kick a guy when he is down, but no way is he worthy of higher than 8th or 9th man, even on a weak squad.

Wright: well, he screamed more tonight than Liston at a stats convention. It was like he was told volume would earn him more attention and minutes. He continued his fine play, but not sure channelling Tarzan will endear him to Jay.

Driving The Bus: Linas Kleiza

Under The Bus: Julian Wright

Game Theme:

Alabi: you know when you are trying to get cellophane off something and it frustrates the hell out of you. There ya go.

Barbosa: save that one steal and lay-in, he was pretty quiet. If it’s possible to play basketball in a timid fashion, he did so tonight.

Bargnani: if I had a girlfriend like that, I’d be fine with kicking back midseason and taking my time too.

Bayless: don’t worry, a little fairy dust, a kiss from Tinkerbell and a foot rub from the Raptor and all will be as good as new.

Calderon: he knew he had to come in and face a revved up Rondo and he did a great job matching up against him. Could have used a bit more of a shooting touch, but that’s been MIA off and on all season.

Davis: love the passion he showed early, but it tailed off faster than Rob Ford at a Weight Watchers seminar. It was a good test for the rook, though. He saw more meat in the paint than lunchtime at McDonalds.

DeRozan: man alive, did someone tell this guy the season started? Two great games in a row….I expected this like I expected consistency from my girls cycle. He’s been doing what Vince used to do: drive, look for contact, be aggressive. That one sequence where he drove and didn’t back down from Shaq almost made me weep a little.

Dorsey: he’s like the Christmas blend at Starbucks. You see it, you wonder if it will be any good, you spend your $4 and BANG it knocks you on your ass. Also called the Glen Davis affect. Joey had another solid game, didn’t back down from Shaq, and did a great job of hanging around the bucket looking for the ball.

Dupree: can easily pay his rent.

Evans: Evans vs Shaq in a MMA fight would be awesome to see. Winner gets to play a full NBA season.

Johnson: pretty quiet double double. Beginning to wonder if there is something to my Amir-is-better-without-Sonny theory. I love this Amir Johnson, though. He seems much more focussed and willing to bang bodies.

Kleiza: Alex English needs to get his hands on Linas and get his shooting back. It’s disappeared like turned up polo shirt collars. If Joey was smart, he’d head to the bucket everytime Linas cocks a shot because you know it’s coming off the rim.

Stojakovic: bitch.

Weems: he doesn’t know how his back got that way. Right. Maybe you turned to get your laptop to Tweet about how hot your posse is and twisted your back. Or, maybe you hurt it chucking up shots rather than passing. Either way, waah waah waah.

Wright: shortchanged by Jay again. I saw more defensive intensity in 7 minutes from him than I have in 7 months from Andrea. Just sayin.

Driving The Bus: DeMar DeRozan

Under The Bus: Linas Kleiza

Game Theme:

Alabi: Currently more valuable than Sonny Weems

Barbosa: put on an undershirt so it looks like the injury that had him out for an extended period was actually legit. Maybe it’s only when he flies. The model of consistency tonight in that his shots were dropping and he looked locked in.

Bargnani: y’all think he’s ever gonna wash his face again after getting to dance with KG cheek-to-cheek? Garnett tested him all night by trying to get under his skin but hats off to Andrea: he stood up and took it, even giving Jack Armstrong the opportunity to take an easy shot against Bosh. 11 and 8 isn’t good, but when you have some tall lanky guy trying to make your momma jealous, well, kudos.

Bayless: looked like he had the mindset to get to the line but one of his knocks coming here was his shot. That showed tonight in spades. Patience is the key here and lets hope with playing time (coupled with help from Alex English) he starts knocking some stuff down.

Calderon: where has this guy been? Showing disgust at his teammates for missing defensive assignments, engaged the whole game, dishing out 15 dimes……I could cry.

Davis: help us soon, ‘k?

DeRozan: if ever there was a game tape to show people how to get punked by a future HOFer, it would be this. To only muster 3 shots in 17 minutes to go along with one board is embarrassing.

Dorsey: DNP-SUCKS

Evans: Leafs Nation garnered a collective inhale when they saw Reggie be taken to the locker room. The Raptors version of a Hoover (unlike Sonny, this is actually good) still showed effort in the limited minutes he played, but was clearly outworked by his opponents all night.

Johnson: whatever he was using in the first half should be bottled and hung in his locker for constant use. Follow up dunks, great D on Garnett, looking like he was having fun and, dare I say it, productivity. Great first half.

Kleiza: statistically another poor night, but his old self was back. Stoic and effective, Linas found a way to impact the game, something that wasn’t there for a few days.

Stojakovic: Sadly, Rent-A-Shot was one of the lone bright spots. 75% from 3, banged bodies a few times and looked like he played he for years.  All I kept thinking was “increased trade value”. You?

Weems: my own personal Keon Clark. Some fools see value in this guy but I see a waste of a starters spot and as much worth as buying pre-chewed gum. 0 of 9 with 2 boards is pathetic. Beyond words.

Wright: canary in a coalmine: the only way you know he’s alive is if you can hear him breathing.

Driving The Bus: Jose Calderon

Under The Bus: Sonny Weems

Game Theme :

The ovation Peja received when he checked into the game on Wednesday was legendary, the crowd may have been sparse, but boy do we love us some Peja; and to his credit, he didn’t disappoint in very limited minutes. Wednesday against the Sixers, the Raptors rolled off their 4th win in a row, in pretty good fashion. They got out to an early lead, Philly started to chip into it, came close, then the Raptors closed out the game after a scare. Good, done deal.

The fact that we’re heading into Boston on a 4 game winning streak, one of them came against Boston, shouldn’t be discounted. Look, we all know that this team isn’t a very good one, but they hustle, are active, and are fun to watch, but the Raptors just don’t have the horses. That being said, the East is an interesting situationt: 5 games separates 5th and 15th, so going 4-6 in their last 10 games has the Raptors half a game out of the playoffs.

Yes yes, I know it’s far too early to talk about the playoffs, but you need to consider that only a week ago this team was in a race for last pace in the East/League. Took a 4-game winning streak to climb 6 spots in the standings. Don’t think that this has gone unnoticed in the upper ranks either. All the moves BryCo has made have been both tactical and strategic. There are made with the intention of making the playoffs that year, but also providing flexibility should they not work out, and the Raptors are once again in that position to either blow it up and get as many balls in as possible to get a top 3 pick, or add a couple guys who can push them to the playoffs, and possibly not as bright a future since we wouldn’t be getting a lottery pick.

I’m straddling both sides of the moment: I’m always for going to the playoffs, but it would be nice to get a nice young stud in the draft to mold into a major part of this teams future. I have the luxury of flip-flopping back and forth though, BC doesn’t.

We get the Celtics for the 2nd time in a week, and normally I’d be saying this game is going to be messy. It still might, but the things that won the game for us at home last week, haven’t changed: namely Rondo’s injury and Toronto’s athleticism. The Celtics did take the Raptors lightly, but they lots of trouble running with us and keeping up. Two things happened last game that really made my day: 1) Garnett sat on the bench with a lost look on his face. He’s owned Bosh over the years, but Bargnani abused last week 2) Watching Glenn Davis roll around on the floor clutching his face in pain after getting a shot to the head, loved it.

Injuries

Toronto
Ed Davis – Wearing his warmup suit at least
Leandro Barbosa – Achilles, should play

Boston
Rajon Rondo – Hamstring, Out
Delonte West – Wrist, Out
Jermaine O’Neal – Out
Kendrick Perkins – Out

Match-ups

Point Guard
This match-up couldn’t be any better for the Raptors: Rondo/West are replaced by Nate Robinson/Avery Bradley, Bradley of the DNP-CD variety. Robinson put in a pretty good performance last week, but most of it came in the 1st quarter. While his shooting was hot, he wasn’t moving the ball around, and the offense became dependant as a result of him going one-on-one and hitting the shot. I’ll take that any day of the week since his shooting went downhill after the 1st quarter, and the rest of the Celtics were left holding the bag. It took a game, but Calderon found his rhythm after the Jack trade, dropping 16pts 9ast Wednesday against the Sixers. Bayless came out like gangbusters in his first game with the Raps, but I don’t expect to see him go 3-for-3 from behind the arc, and finish the game with 13pts. Keeping Robinson out of the paint, and chucking shots from the perimeter is the move tonight, I’d go with that.
Edge: Toronto

Shooting Guard
Ray Allen should be who DeMar DeRozan looks too for a role-model in this league. The guy doesn’t yap, keeps in primo shape, and shoots like an angel (he also moves and plays defense like one as well). So go down to the AV room, and get as many DVD’s of Ray-Ray doing his thing over the years, get into the gym and shoot 500 jumpers a day, and stay in shape. DeMar’s contribution during this winning streak has been negligible at best; averaging 7.5pts 2.8rebs a game. It’s actually very troubling considering he’s being counted on for so much. Based on recent history, I don’t see DeRozan contributing his due share tonight, but he can play hard, and get back on the right track with a strong defensive performance highlighted with with attacking the basket off the bounce (no jumpers, just drives).
Edge: Boston

Small Forward
Paul Pierce has a knack for killing you in slow motion. It must be such a treat for Celtics fan to watch dudes play ball with their heads like they are playing Risk. Pierce is one of those guys who kills you in the right way at the right time; last time against the Raptors, he got to the line 13 times hitting 9. Weems and Kleiza mint have some success defending him off the dribble, but keeping him off the line will prove tough. Staying in front of him, not falling for head fakes and making him take are what’s necessary to attempt to stop him, and even en he can kill you. At the end of the game, if we keep Pierce out of the paint and off the free throw line, I’ll be a happy camper.
Edge: Boston

Power Forward
Reggie is seriously playing himself out of town; come February, some playoff team is going to come calling for his rebounding and expiring contract. While he’s here, his work on the glass is protecting Bargnani far more than many of us would want to believe. Last week, Reggie out rebounded both Shaq and the big fat baby (the highlight of the win over Boston for me was Davis getting chopped in the face and rolling around the ground in pain; hate that guy) quite handedly. What would have changed in a week, especially after Evans pulled down 22 against the Sixers two-nights ago? Nothing, that’s what. I like Reggie to dominate the boards and hopefully catch Davis in that fat nose of his with an errant elbow or something equally unfortunate.

Amir’s athleticism and rebounding will be crucial off the bench. He’s had some foul troubles the last few games (even fouled out against the Sixers), but has been uber productive otherwise. Davis does a lot for a fat bastard, and Reggie will have trouble guarding him. I like Amir on Davis much better as a match-up. Shaq I’m not too worried about either way; he’s going to have a couple possessions where he’s unguardable, then he’s going to stink.
Edge: Toronto

Center
it’s not that Bargnani is a better player than Bosh for handling Garnett as he did last week, it’s that he handled Garnett like a little girl last week on-route to win over an elite team that’s the important thing to take away from that game. Il Mago is the perfect player to shut Garnett up: he’s long, athletic, shoots the crap out of the ball and pulls KG away from the paint and glass where he is most needed by the Celtics.

That said, I’m worried about this match-up tonight since KG can just decide to stick to Bargs like sauce on pasta, and not let him get going at all. This would absolutely change Boston’s defensive rotations and rebounding assignments, but could also prove the right recipe to shutting down the Raptor offense by stopping the one guy who can carry this team on his back; when he feels like it of course.
Edge: Even

Keys to the Game

Rebounding
A key to the win against the Celtics was grabbing 10 offensive rebounds, resulting in 5 more possessions. Without Perkins/O’Neal and Garnett out on the perimeter defending Bargnani, the Raptors need to crash the boards and clean up some of the missed shots. The Raptors scored two-thirds of their points on the perimeter, and need a couple of those cheap put-backs to compensate for the offensive execution the Celtics are going to ram down their throats.

Stay Active
The Celtics really had a hard time with the Raptors athleticism all over the court. Without Rondo, they don’t a very key part of their team who can run the court, as well as play the half-court. Another problem with Rondo being out for the Celtics is that he was the first line of defense. Without him, and West, Nate Robinson is helpless against the Raptor offense. Toronto needs to attack every single possession, and just wear this team down, especially with no elite perimeter defender to stop the ball, and their defensive anchor getting schooled on the perimeter by Bargnani.

Dig a Little Deeper
You know what’s better than 4-wins in a row? 5-wins in a row. With the Hawks and Thunder both coming up in the next week, would be nice to have a little cushion, especially since we get the Wizards on Wednesday, and can extract some revenge after a brutally listless showing the last time they played.

The Line

The Celtics are 10 point favourites, which is absurd considering their injury situation and the fact that we already beat them…however…and I say this with conviction: this game can go terribly wrong for the Raptors quickly. If Garnett and Pierce are motivated tonight, it will get ugly. The Raptors don’t have an answer for the type of fire these guys can spit.

If I were Triano, I would look to Bargnani early to keep Garnett out of the paint, and hope the shots fall. A lot will rest on Calderon leading the break, and owning Nate off the dribble in the half-court, which he definitely can do. That said, I am not very optimistic about tonight’s game.

Photo Credit: Ron Turenne/NBAE via Getty Images

Barbosa: Tasmanian Devil. A welcomed return, especially given the depleted ranks. Played well, too. Anybody else wonder why his “really bad” injury wasn’t really bandaged up?

Bargnani: Foghorn Leghorn. Big, proud and sometimes difficult to understand. Face it, coming in you thought KG would bend Bargs over, draw a smiley face on his ass, and toss him on a parade float. Instead, for the times they were matched up, Andrea played Garnett better than Bosh ever did. That said, a disappointing game until the 4th. He had the shots, they just weren’t falling early, but they did late. He found his aggressiveness and used it.

Calderon: Porky Pig. Tries hard to get his point across, always feels slighted, rarely wins the battle. I’m torn on his game today. I want to like him (especially now since he’s our last hope) but some bad turnovers, and he didn’t show the initiative to really engage his teammates. Also felt he looked for his own shot way too much. It looked good today since the team seemed to click, but I don’t credit Caldy for that.

Davis: Daffy Duck. Still not ready for primetime and nobody knows what to expect.

DeRozan: Sylvester the Cat. Shows a lot of pride in himself, almost getting cocky. Didn’t play aggressively, didn’t get to the foul line, was mediocre on defence. If Jose is supposed to be a better fit for the Young Gunz, DeMar’s performance today didn’t show it.

Dorsey: Cecil Turtle. Never heard of him? Perfect.

Evans: Elmer Fudd. I live to hear either one of them talk and also live to watch either one of them stick their enemy on their ass. His energy was infectious in the second quarter and rallied this team back from an expected slow start. He took on all comers, hit a jumper or two, and pulled down boards like he was renovating a house.

Johnson: Henery Hawk. A diminutive, naïve troublemaker that is no real threat. Most of the time. Today, however, he took full advantage of knowing he’d be out there and earned a solid 2% of his yearly salary. He took DeMar’s absence at the FT line to heart and got there himself, knocking them down like they were nothing. Especially at the end.

Kleiza: Yosemite Sam. He has the firepower and isn’t afraid to use it. An off game for him statistically and on the floor. As well as we played, if we had the usual effort from Linas, we would have run away with the game.

Weems: Road Runner. Sometimes teases, sometimes just rips your heart out. Like Linas, an off game (again making me question the Jose-is-better-for-these-guys argument) but he did what some say he should do: try to shoot yourself out of your funk. The legend died a little today though.

Wright: Sam Sheepdog. Rarely is active and tends to be sedentary.

Driving The Bus: Andrea Bargnani

Under The Bus: Linas Kleiza

Game Theme :

Arse has been up since 7am doing laps, push-ups and cursing at the mirror in preparation for the Celtics today. You hate, them, I hate them, everyone hates this team accept people who live in Massachusetts. I actually don’t hate them anymore, I just hate Garnett. Everyone else is a classy player who acts like a man; Garnett is a bully who’s drunk on his championship.

Lots of action the last couple days in Toronto huh? Unavailable for tonight’s game are Jack, Banks and Andersen; hopefully Stojakovic and Bayless available. 77% of you think this was a good trade for the Raptors, and I have to agree. In one swoop, the Raptors got younger, saved some money, and have a big asset that should come into play as the trade deadline gets closer. Gotta give Colangelo some credit, this could have been the best trade he’s made in a while since we will still have Reggies expiring in play as well.

Just a quick recap of some assets as the trade deadline approaches:

Peja Stojakovic – $14.75mil
Reggie Evans – $5mil
TPE – $14mil’ish

That’s a lot of toys to be playing with, and with a lot of broke teams, and teams looking to add a dead-eye(ish) shooters, it’s very possible something good/big can happen by February. The only thing not acceptable for me is buying out Peja’s contract right now. I guarantee you Riley is whispering sweet nothings in BryCo’s ear to try to make that happen.

We have a game to get too…Raptors host the Celtics today. I had a chance to speak with Brendan Jakcson from Celtics Hub, and he had some really good things to say about this team:

He’s the man on the one of the three best teams in the league; at what point does the list of best point guards begin with Rondo and not Paul, Williams, Westbrook or Rose?
Many people believe that Rajon Rondo will not fully ascend to the upper echelon of premir point guards until he develops a consistent jump shot. I disagree. Friday marked the first time this season Rondo failed to record double digit assists (finishing the game with 7) and he say out for much of the fourth quarter with a hamstring issue. Ranking the league’s best point guards is usually problematic on the outset because no one really agrees on the criteria. Should they be the best passer? Best basketball player? Best decision-maker? Should they be better offensively? Should they be better defensively? At this point, if Rondo is not ebing mentioned within that group of aforementioned points, than the person doing the talking has not been paying much attention.

Are the Celtics more worried about the Heat or the Magic?
First and foremost, the Celtics are most worried about themselves. If healthy and focused, the Celtics feel they can beat any team on any night. However, those are two huge “ifs”. So far this season, the Celtics have handily beaten the Heat twice. At this point the Celtics cannot really say they are worried about the Heat. As for the Magic, the Celtics have yet to play the new-look Magic (Quentin Richardson has replaced Matt Barnes and Stan Van Gundy is actually playing Brandon Bass) but even the Magic do not stroke fear in the hearts of the Celtics. Kendrick Perkins is probably the best at defending Dwight Howard one on one which gives the Cs so much more leeway on the defensive end. Less cheating/helping begets better close-outs on shooters. Despite handily beating the Magic in last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics have yet to play them this year. The easy answer is the fear of the unknown.

The Celtics lost a couple key guys (Tony Allen for one), added another couple (West and Wafer) and added two O’Neal’s who might be limping into the playoffs. Were these moves enough to even get out of the East, much less beat the Lakers?
The Celtics came out of the East last year with a far less complete team. As for the Lakers, the Celtics lacked the necessary size and length in the middle to compete with Los Angeles on the glass. The additions of Shaquille O’Neal and Jermaine O’Neal will likely change that. The Celtics may still lose the battle of the boards but now they are more well-equipped to battle other players for rebounds.
Delonte West may end up being the most underrated move of any team this offseason. I do not blame teams for taking a pass on West but also totally understand why the Celtics did not. The Celtics’ bench lacked a necessary glue-guy last year as evident by how much burn Ray Allen got with the bench warmers. West changes that. He can play the one, two, or even the three if the Celtics go small.
Losing Tony Allen was a definite blow for the Celtics wing defense off the bench. Luckily for the Cs, Marquis Daniels appears to be hitting his stride (well, hitting it enough, anyway) to be a serviceable replacement for TA. Daniels is not a “lock-down” guy like Allen was for the Cs, but he’s still capable of spelling Pierce when necessary.

Speaking of Lakers, if the Celtics don’t win it all this season, how much sleep does Danny Ainge lose before breaking things up?
Danny Ainge actually did a brilliant thing last offseason by only singing players for two years. This way, whether or not the Celtics win this year they are poised to either go into battle with largely the same team intact or use the plethora of expiring contracts as trade bait. Win or lose, Ainge has options and with options a man can sleep easy.

What will the Raptors have to do to beat the Celtics tonight?
Catch them on an off night? No, but in all seriousness, the Celtics biggest weakness is athleticism. If Toronto can use their athletics wings (Sonny Weems, DeMarr DeRozan) to out run and jump the Cs, than it could be a long night for the men in green. Andrea Bargnani should also try to draw Kevin Garnett out of the paint for as long as possible to clear driving lanes for the Raptor’s more athletics players. If Garnett sags down to help, Bargnani can make him pay by hitting open jumper after open jumper.

Injuries

Toronto
Ed Davis – Out
Leandro Barbosa – Shoulder, Should Play
Linas Kleiza – Achilles, Should Play

Boston
Rajon Rondo – Hamstring, Game time decision
Kevin Garnett – Elbow to the head (LOL), Game time decision
Jermaine O’Neal – Knee, Out
Kendrick Perkins – Out

Match-ups

PG – Calderon vs Rondo
His first case as the undisputed leader of this team, and he gets Rondo; it’s almost funny actually. If you haven’t been paying attenion, Rondo is the best point guard in the league right now, averaging 11.2pts 14.3ast 4.8reb 2.5blk in about 40min. Jose isn’t. To make matters worse for Calderon, Rondo’s defense is probably better than his offense. On offense, Rondo likes the paint/elbows. Jose can expect to be attacked a lot off the dribble.

Rondo also gets a chance to welcome Jerryd to the Raptors, should be fun.
Edge: Rondo

SG – DeRozan vs Allen
DeMar has played very well the last week or so, and seems to have taken things up a notch in his game. This afternoon against Allen, he will have to leverage more than his athleticism to be effective. He’s going to have to take notes and do what Allen does. It will be fun to watch him chase Ray-Ray around, but he needs to return that favour in kind on offense.

Repeat after me: Don’t. Leave. Allen. On. The. Perimeter. For. Any. Reason. He will stick ‘em from the perimeter, and can finish at the rim. Good luck.
Edge: Allen

SF – Weems vs Pierce
I get that feeling that Weems athleticism wont be helping him as much as usual. Unlike Ray Allen who is able to run around, Pierce doesn’t, and for some reason, he seemingly doesn’t need too. To have any success, Weems will need to get out and make him run in transition. Run up the court, run around screens, run into the corner, fake rolling and pop out…just keep running. If Pierce is tired enough, he wont punish you on offense with that slow first step that has raped and pillaged defenses across the league.

Pierce likes to play in the paint, but his perimeter game needs to be respected. I feel like I should be putting more here, but I’m super tired.
Edge: Pierce

PF – Evans vs Garnett
I suspect there will be a switcharoo on defense were Shaq covers Evans and Garnett jumps out on Bargnani, but whatever. The only thing I’m hoping for today is when KG starts jawing at Calderon, Evans grabs him by the nuts and head butts him. That would make me very happy.

Edge: Garnett

C – Bargnani vs Shaq
The only match-up where the Raptors have an advantage, and I suspect that it will be mitigated with Doc switching Garnett to Bargnani for defensive purposes. Shaq has zero chance of keeping up with Andrea on the perimeter, we all know that. It’s not a secret weapon or anything. Garnett though…he can do it. Bargnani should be able to hang with Shaq defensively, but there will be moments where Shaq gets good position and puts it down. The one area where the Raptors have an advantage, and it’s an easy fix to get around it. Sucks is all…

Edge: Bargnani

Keys to the Game

Rebounding
The Celtics are the 2nd worse rebounding team in the league. Even though they a size advantage against almost every team, they can’t grab a rebound; which really baffles me. Regardless, the Raps need to get out in transition and get the Celtics running back on their heels, as well as keeping possessions going with an offensive rebound. The only way to do that is to have the ball, which means grabbing rebounds. Make sense?

Be Athletic?
I guess you are either or you aren’t. The Raptors are, the Celtics aren’t. The Raptors need to get the geriatrics running up and down the court pleading for the Bengay. The Raptors have to get them tripping over their knee braces and such to have a chance.

Hit your shots
This is more a plea than a strategy, but the Raptors have an advantage in this area, and they need to use it to enhance the other aspects of their game. If this boils down to a slow-paced halfcourt game, it’s over. But if speeds up and gets into an up-and-down match, the Raptors will give themselves a chance. That’s all we’re asking for, a chance.

The Line

The gamblers have the Celtics as 5.5 point favourites, which isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The Raptors just lost one of their most important players in a trade, and with the roster shaken up a bit, it could provide the fire to get after it a bit more than they have been to start the season.

So I guess it wasn’t all BS rhetoric coming out of the Raptors camp during the pre-season. Things like intense practices and commitment to defense were all being pushed down our throat in an effort to appease us after a mediocre offseason (it wasn’t a great offseason, admit it), and I wasn’t buying any of it. Now don’t get me wrong, you can’t read much into a pre-season game where your opponent played the night before; but what I saw from the players, and the brand of ball they are playing now…all I’m saying is that I can watch this team play ball this season, win or lose, and not pull my hair out because they will be trying.

This game was more about assessing what he has more than anything, with Triano fielding a starting crew of Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, Linas Kleiza, Reggie Evans and Andrea Bargnani. Reggie Evans’ being the lone WTF of the bunch. Triano has seven more games to get a sense of what he really has, and a rotation for the start of the season, so we can expect some interesting lineups over the next couple weeks.

I’m not going to get into a detailed recap of the entire game since I missed the entire 4th quarter, and this was a pre-season game, but there were a few interesting themes that developed:

Linas Kleiza’s star is shining
So that’s what it’s like to have a point forward who can create, facilitate and hit the open jumper in the corner. It’s not so much that I expect him to average 20pts (7-9 FG / 4-4 3FG / 2-2 FT) and 5rebs every-night, cause he wont. It’s just that the way he played, seemed sustainable. He didn’t over extend himself, played within his minutes, and knocked down good shots. Would have been nice to see him get his teammates more involved, but we’re one game into the pre-season. Looking forward to seeing more of him. He played exactly how the Kool-Aid drinking fans said he would, and you know what? While he isn’t the saviour everyone’s made him out to be, I’m all in.

Andrea Bargnani…sigh…
There were folks who said that Bargnani would step up and fill the offensive void that Bosh left. Not only did he not do that, he didn’t do much of anything other than grab 3 offensive rebounds; 1 less than all of last season. He seriously didn’t look interested in playing, and turned in a terrible effort. I’m not trying to rip him here, it is what it is. He will probably do 17-20 a night, and 6-8 boards, which is pretty good. However, when Triano says that Bargnani probably is the only one who has a guaranteed starting spot, there are expectations (from me) that come with it. Namely putting in a solid effort, which he didn’t. Something that Bargnani really misses is the space Bosh used to create for him. Going to be interesting to see him have to work to get himself open, then work to create his own shot.

Swarming Defense
If the Raptors hope to have any chance at winning games this season, it will be because of the defense, and NOT their offense. There will be games where they score 129 points, but this team isn’t as offensively gifted as they have been in the last couple seasons. Like last pre-season, the Raptors came out possessed, and actually maintained that pace for the whole game. Trapping in the half-court, full-court, out of bounds plays, inbounds, what have you; the guards/wings didn’t let up, and our bigs aggressively doubled the ball handler. Defensive rotations were another thing: Reggie Evans got hung out to dry a couple times when no one rotated out to cover his guy when he doubled on the perimeter, that pissed me off. Transition defense, early in the going was pretty rough, but even that picked up. Holding the Suns to 79 points on 37.8% shooting is impressive, regardless of the situation.

More of the same from Amir
15min 9pts (3-4 FG 3-4 FT) 6rebs (4OFF) 1blk…FIVE FOULS! So with Amir, it isn’t so much that he isn’t an effective player when he plays, it’s just that he doesn’t play as much as he should because he averages a foul every 6 minutes he’s on the court. There was a recent thread in the forums where the value of Amir’s contract was validated by the massive one Joakim Noah got recently (5yrs/$60mil or so). So while his productivity is off the charts (ESPN Insider required, but the stats are solid), we need to be reserved in the notion that his effectiveness is also the reason he is so prone to fouling. I really believe you can’t have one without the other, and we need to be ok with the fact that we paid a guy who can really only give us 19-23min every night, and pay him $35mil over the next 7 years for the privilege.

DeMar DeRozan needs to do more than score
He really does. He shot the ball well, attacked the paint, and put up 16pts (6-10 FG / 1-1 3FG / 3-3 FT), but otherwise contributed 2rebs 1ast 1stl. He’s been handed the keys, and needs to realize that there is more to this game than scoring. Weems on the other hand shot the ball too much, leading the team in attempts, but at least he gets after it on the boards and plays better defense. At the end of the day, they both compliment each other well, with no real drop off when you swap one out for the other, but they still need to raise both their games a bit more. For me, the honeymoon is over with DeRozan (more so than Weems since we passed on Jennings for him) and I’m expecting more from him this season.

I missed the 4th quarter, but the Raptors were able to extend their lead, while producing a ridiculous boxscore that had them besting the Suns in every single statistical category except blocked shots. One thing to note: Joey Dorsey – where have you been all my life??? Let me temper myself by saying this is pre-season, but if he keeps this up (13pts 10rebs), it’s going to be very hard not to give him minutes that were supposed to go to Davis and Evans, especially with Davis injured and our boy shining in his place.

I’d like to thank the 55 or so folks who came by our live chat at 10pm for a pre-season game; you guys are seriously boss, and from what Arse says there was great vibe and great convo. Next up, we got the Celtics in Boston.

I’m on Twitter.

Image Credit: Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2010 NBAE (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NBAE via Getty Images)

Q. How did the Knicks do this off-season? Talk about drafts, trades and free agent signings as well as ownership/management changes.

Kevin McElroy: The answer to this question is necessarily relative to expectations. By any normal measure, this was the Knicks best summer since the mid-90’s. Their failed pursuit for LeWyane Bosh aside, the Knicks brought in Amare Stoudemire, a five-time all-star with three top-ten scoring seasons who also happens to be the active career leader in true shooting percentage. While concerns about the riskiness of the acquisition (especially those relating to Stoudemire’s injury history) are understandable, the rarity with which players of Stoudemire’s caliber can be had without forfeiting any tradeable assets makes the signing a worthwhile gamble. The David Lee trade — in which the Knicks gave up a player that they had already made redundant and received two valuable role players and a freakish athlete with world-class upside in return — was the best player for player(s) swap the Knicks have made since they brought in Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby; if Anthony Randolph develops, it will go down as even better than those trades.

I worry about Raymond Felton eating up valuable cap space, but I get the feeling that his signing was about keeping Amare happy enough to keep telling his buddies how great things were in New York — Felton’s contract should be moveable if he becomes the final obstacle to bringing in another star. I hated the Knicks’ play-it-safe strategy on draft night, but based upon the summers that Landry Fields and Lance Stephenson have had, my opinion on the matter has softened. Fields will hang around for 10 years and be a useful role player for the Knicks in the near term.

Q. Who came out the bigger winner AND loser in the Atlantic Division?

KM: I’ll exclude the Knicks from the conversation here since I’ve already discussed their offseason. I think the Celtics are the winners by default, mostly because they were the only Atlantic Division team good enough to focus their off-season on filling their remaining needs rather than blindly overhauling the team and hoping it would work out. I’m not crazy about their Shaquisition for the same reason I wasn’t crazy about it when he was Shaquired by Phoenix or Cleveland, but at the veteran minimum it’s a low risk move and they can always tell him to go away if he becomes a problem.

As for the biggest losers, the Nets’ mind-bendingly bizarre assortment of free agent signings gets the nod even in a division where Toronto lost their franchise leader in scoring and rebounding just as he was entering his prime. Better build that arena, Brooklyn, or Johan Petro will be plying his trade elsewhere!

Q. Last season we saw a dog fight from 5-9 in the East for a playoff appearance (the Raptors dropped from 5th to 9th rapidly at the tail-end of the season). What are your predictions for this upcoming season? Who are your dark horses to watch out for?

KM: Obviously the Heat jump out of that dog fight and into the top 3, arguably the top 1. I think this will be another season in which the Eastern Conference can be separated into pretty well-defined tiers. The Tier 1 teams — Miami, Orlando, Boston — seem fairly insurmountable at the top of the pyramid, although if the Celtics all get old at the same time, they could feasibly drop into Tier 2. For now, Tier 2 is Atlanta, Chicago, and probably Milwaukee, all of whom should qualify for the postseason comfortably and will be primarily concerned with finishing 5th or better and thus avoiding the Tier 1 teams in the first round. Tier 3 is where it gets a bit hairy: Charlotte has to be viewed as the 7th best team going into the year, but New York has much greater upside and is the only team outside of Tiers 1 and 2 with a chance to vault into the top 6 if everything goes right.

If things implode for the Knicks — and, let’s face it, why shouldn’t they — The Pacers, Sixers, and Cavs are all in the picture for one of the last two playoff spots. One more quick point that nobody is talking about: I will not be surprised if strength of schedule becomes a decisive factor in the Eastern Conference this year. The Bobcats have to play a whopping 15 games against the Heat, Magic, and Hawks, while the Knicks and Sixers will play each other five times and have 10 games each against the Nets and Raps. Could be enough to bump the Bobcats down to ninth in a tight East.

Q. Is what happened in Miami bad for the league? On the one hand, players are taking control of their own futures (as best as possible); but on the other, the rich just seem to get richer.

KM: I swore a lifelong oath of hatred against the Miami Heat the day that Pat Riley hopped the fence back in 1995, but the answer to this question is still “no.” In the long-term, this has to be viewed as good for the league, and not just because it will allow us to see something we’ve never seen before (which it will) and give other fan bases a unifying enemy (which it also will). The reason I’m glad it happened, and happened when it did, is that it has placed everything from cap rules to player tampering to the merits of “Superteams” at the forefront of the conversation, just before a watershed CBA renegotiation. This is the best way for basketball fans and writers to have any kind of a voice about the future of the league. Maybe I’m dreaming on that but, at a time when the NBA seems desperate to drum up demand for its product, it will have an unprecedented opportunity to gauge public opinion on nearly every issue that is likely to come up this summer. We may all be thanking LeWyane Bosh before this is over.

(Was that convincing? No? Darn it. I really hate the Heat.)

Q. Do you share the view that playing in Toronto is similar to playing in Europe, and not very appealing to American born players? What’s your take on the Raptors and Toronto as a destination for the NBA elite?

KM: I think there are five or six “destination cities” in the League right now — LA, Miami, New York, Chicago, maybe one or two of the Texas cities — and I don’t think Toronto is one of them. But I think it’s still a long way up from playing in Europe and doubt the Canadian border has much of a practical effect on players’ decisions. Most NBA cities become appealing destinations if and only if their resident teams employ players and executives that are appealing to NBA free agents, which the post-Bosh Raptors probably don’t. The problem is that Toronto’s previous attempts at building around a franchise player were based upon guys whose personalities were not conducive to being the first major building block on a team in a non-destination city. It only takes one super-talented, super-loyal star — think Tim Duncan, Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard — to attract top players to a place that once seemed to be on the NBA periphery. The problem, of course, is finding that guy. Clearly, Vince Carter and Chris Bosh didn’t fit the description.

Q. What’s your take on Bryan Colangelo and the job he’s done for the Raptors? Could he have held on to Bosh had he made other choices? Did he make a huge mistake by not trading him earlier? What about the type of team he is trying to build in Toronto?

KM: I think Bosh was always leaving — he’s a very good second option alongside an elite scoring wing with good court vision; now he gets to play with two of them. It’s interesting to think about how things would have played out for Toronto if Bosh and T-Mac had come along at about the same time — they would have complemented each other brilliantly, maybe well enough that they both would have wanted to stay. As for Colangelo, I think he was probably doomed from the start. His mandate was to focus singularly on the retention of a player who was 1) probably always going to leave and 2) probably not good enough to be the best player on a great team anyway. To the extent that this strategy has failed (in the departure of Bosh) or set the franchise back (due to the shortsightedness of some of Toronto’s acquisitions), that failure is more associated with the flaws of the mandate (which fall at the feet of ownership) than with any flaws in execution (which would fall at the feet of Colangelo). That said, Toronto clearly needs to dive head-first into overhaul mode and that necessarily involves a conversation regarding whether Colangelo remains the right man for what is now a very different job.