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.

Alabi: 3 minutes seems to be his limit. His rebounding PER if off the chain, though.

Barbosa: passion and hustle made a return tonight. Concerted effort to move with the ball, including some nice slices indeed.

Bargnani: the big puff pastry played well tonight while wearing the bottom half of Leandro’s body armour. Certainly seemed more comfortable, but winded late. Bella.

Bayless: sat in the back seat of the Jose/Jerryd mobile tonight. Well deserved rest.

Calderon: I love when he is hurt or hurting because you know for at least his first game or two back he is going to play well above his capabilities. Kind of like Hugh Hefner. 20pts, 17 assists, some absolutely beautiful setups and, for once, pinpoint shooting. Great night for him.

Davis: getting excited for him again. Yes, his fouls are an issue, but rather than mope about his performance last night, he tried to redeem himself. Love the kids quiet business like attitude and am holding out hope that the Young Foolz don’t sink their claws into him.

DeRozan: not going to dance on his corpse because he’s earned a day of reprieve. Problem is, this average game of his tonight used to be a good one for him. He has raised expectations now….can he deliver?

Dorsey: a quick in and out for him. With Andrea and Ed playing well, Joey just needs to remember where Brickbreaker is on his Blackberry.

Evans: Dupree is gone……replacement/addition for Reggie coming soon?

Johnson: spirit is a good thing and Amir is showing it in spades lately. Something has happened to Amir and DeMar and it’s good. Earlier this season no way was Amir as active as he was tonight. Satisfying to see.

Kleiza: his game tonight was like that pair of plaid socks your grandmother gives you for Christmas: ugly and unwanted.

Stojakovic: one more roster spot open..tick tick tick!!

Weems: nobody is looking forward to Sunday more than this guy. Backs are tricky, but hopefully this extended cautious time off has helped him prepare.

Wright: game changer indeed. What a way to demonstrate how to put a team on your defensive back and fight hard to come back and steal a victory. If you could type it out, it would be the ideal textbook.

Driving The Bus: Julian Wright

Under The Bus: Linas Kleiza

Game Theme:

Alabi: I say NB, you say DL…NB…DL…NB…DL…

Andersen: something that hasn’t been seen in years in a backup center/PF slot for us: 75% FG 5 Reb 0 PF. It’s like Primoz never happened. Oh glorious day.

Banks: 3 minutes…either the perfect amount of time for Banks to play in garbage minutes or the amount of time it would take for Sam’s wife to leave him for me. 

Barbosa: bit more himself tonight. Even keeled, blew by a couple of his defenders, appeared to talk a bit more on the floor and went to the bench often for clarification of play calls. I think we have this years silent leader right here.

Bargnani: 30minutes of playing time and never seemed to be pulling on his shorts. A nice solid effort tonight which also featured the return of a move that drives me nuts: his patented stutter step when he goes to drive that invariably includes as many steps as a dancer in Fosse. Makes me want to throw fluffy cats against a wall. Hard.

Calderon: hit as many shots as I hit rave clubs. That would be none. He did distribute the ball well (7 assists) but against a shorthanded Cavs team, Jose should be able to earn some of those big bucks he is getting paid. Not helping his trade value…and maybe that’s the point.

Davis: this guy comes off as cool as ice. Strikes me as the kind of guy that you’d want to hang with at a sorority party just because you know he can’t handle all the women hitting him up.

DeRozan: Chiclets was aggressive tonight but seemed to shy away from contact. Can’t do it. For a team that I still think will struggle for points against average defences, we need DeMar to provide points in any way possible. Carter-esque pull ups or fadeaways won’t always cut it.

Dorsey: inactive. Don’t fret, though…if Amir continues playing like he is, Dorsey could be 7th man of the year by the AllStar break.

Evans: he is either the front runner of the “play well enough to get yourself out of Canada” derby or he is just jacked up about not being injured. As originally advertised, Reggie is putting on a clinic on how to win fans in a hockey market. The ovation for him tonight was only bested by the one for free pizza, which is saying something in this town. 14 rebounds, again few shot attempts, and a hustle that I thought had left his body forever.

Jack: saw flashes of disinterest tonight, something that scares me 2 games in. Shot was off, he didn’t push the ball with any consistency and even appeared lacklustre in setting up his teammates. Off night.

Johnson: took 19minutes to get 4 fouls tonight. Stellar. As frustrating as going to a door and getting a trick instead of a treat.

Kleiza: what I like is that he didn’t blow me away tonight either, but you can see the talent bubbling under. Seems to force the odd shot and I’m not sure if he is adjusting to the consistent starting role, but he seems a little out of sorts.

Weems: where is the fun? Where is the looseness? We were playing the Cavs, who were shorthanded and afforded the Young Onez the opportunity to run wild. Sadly, it didn’t happen. Sonny needs to break out of his early shell.

Wright: rocking the Pops throwback headband, Jules gave us 4 minutes of his best non-bowling work. The result? As memorable as your fourth date with Clarissa in grade 9.

Driving The Bus: Reggie Evans

Under The Bus: Jarrett Jack

Game Theme :

Game Thread on the RR Forums

Very little can be gathered about a team based on their pre-season and early season performances. If you remember, the Raptors quite convincingly beat the Cavs on opening night last season, only to finish the month 7-11. That game was impressive until you started to poke at the it a bit with a stick and realize they were on the second night of a back-t0-back where they had already played the Celtics and were integrating Shaq into an already cohesive unit. The Raptors exploited the Bargnani/Shaq matchup, and the rest was history.

The Cavs are fresh off of their opening night game over the Celtics, which raised a few eyebrows, namely mine. They were able to beat the Celtics with JJ Hickson attacking the basket and hitting enough jumpers to keep the defense honest, while Ramon Sessions and Boobie Gibson attacked off the dribble and made some plays (sound like a certain team we just played?). A wins-a-win, and they convincingly took down the Celtics.

A word on the Cavs before going any further…I F*****G hate them; always have since the John “Hot Rod” Williams and Brad Dougherty days against the Bulls (made me happy Craig Ehlo amounted to squat). The team just always bugged me. The fact that they wasted LeBrons youth makes me hate them even more. Real random tangent, but if you’re Pat Riley, and New Orleans calls you up offering you Chris Paul and David West for LeBron, do you take it? Not trying to hate on LeBron, but a Paul/Wade/ Miller/West/Bosh starting lineup is works better in my world. Seriously, I want to know if I’m on crack with this one, hit up the comments with what you think.

So I was planning to do a Q&A with a Cavs blogger, but he shafted me; yea. In case you’re interested, here are the questions I wanted answered:

• Byron Scott seems to have maintained this squads defensive philosophy from years past (85.4 points on 39.6% shooting in the pre-season with a 6-2 record). Is defensive intensity going to be the Cavs calling card?
• Antawn Jamison seems to be unhappy with his role coming off the bench. Does it make sense to keep him on the books now that everythings changed? Will he get traded this season?
• Will the Cavs be buyers with their $16mil TPE from the LeBron S&T?
• I’ve always thought that Cavs management wasted LeBron’s youth by not making certain deals (Wally Szcerbiak’s expiring deal for a scorer – Vince Carter maybe; passing on Amare Stoudemire for Antawn Jamison because of the Suns insistance on getting JJ Hickson. I hate asking what could have been…but what could have been?
• How does Dan Gilberts reaction in comic sans affect the organizations ability to attract talent in the future?
• As a fan of the franchise, what will it be like to go from a 60 win contender, to the bottom of the Eastern Conference in less than a month?

Injury Report

Raptors
Leandro Barbosa – Wrist (day-to-day)

Cavaliers
Mo Williams – Not sure what the problem is, but he missed the Celtics game with it
Anderson Varejao – Attending to his sick father

Match-ups

PG – Jack vs Sessions
Sessions is going to give us headaches like Felton did on Wednesday. Just look at his shot chart against the Celtics (who are a far superior perimeter defenders than the Raptors) almost all his shots are in the paint.

Sure, when he got to the paint he missed an obscene number, but that’s because one of Garnett, Big Baby or Jermaine O’Neal was running at him. The Raptors have no such luxury. Jack needs to keep this kid in front of him, and out of the key. On the defensive side, he needs to make him work and run around. The Cavs are thin (status was injured at time of publishing) without Mo Williams in the lineup, Boobie is their only backup, and he’s easy to go at.
Edge: Even

SG – DeRozan vs Parker
To this day, the only Raptor jersey/t-shirt I’ve ever owned was an Anthony Parker one; wearing it right now in fact. The guy is super classy, plays within himself, and is just a good guy. He’s not easy to defend, but when you look at his shot chart against the Celtics, not one shot came in the paint.

With that Knowledge in hand Mr. DeRozan, what are you going to do?

a) Play off him, then challenge his shot
Play him tight and force him into the help defense

I’m going with ‘B’ Bob; it’s quite easy, the guy is 34, doesn’t have the legs he used to have, and if you make him work for his shots, it puts that much more pressure on him to perform defensively. DeRozan is due; if he can get up and down the court a few times quick, he might be able to exploit Parker’s age a bit. However, Parker is crafty, and is playing at a pretty high level at 34, so I don’t put anything past him.
Edge: Even

SF – Kleiza vs Moon
One of the things that made me happy last year was watching Moon shoot a jumper he shouldn’t have when we played the Cavs. For all the other great things he did on the court (rebounding and defense), like clockwork, he would ruin every single one of the games I watched when he jacked up a shot, and grinned like an idiot afterwards. Much like Parker, he doesn’t get into the lane much, but when he does, his athleticism helps him finish.

At this point, Kleiza needs to be handling guys like Moon. Nuff said.
Edge: Kleiza

PF – Evans vs Hickson
Part II of Evans vs Stoudemire. Evans grabs 16 rebs and Hickson drops 20 pts sound about right to you? I mean, there’s a reason they stupidly didn’t make the Amare trade by including this kid, right? Right? Still, to not make that trade then go out and get an aging Jamison is bloody ridiculous. Frankly, what can you expect when the organization is owned by a guy who writes fierce open letters in comic sans, but I digress. We need the Reggie of the 1st half from the Knicks game where he frustrated Stoudemire and forced him to take contested shots. It wont be easy since Hickson was able to score 21 pts on 11 possession, against a Celtics defense, with most of his points coming in the paint. Yea, it was an impressive performance. Reggie wins on the boards, JJ scores a ton of points, we call it a night.

Edge: Even

C – Bargnani vs Hollins
Our prayers are out to Varejao who’s attending to his sick father. I literally know nothing about Hollins, but I do know he shouldn’t be someone who gives Bargnani a great deal of trouble. Looking a few games worth of shot charts (Boston only below), seems like he tends to play off the left block (or is right right?), he plays off the top block in the shot chart.

Edge: Bargnani

I can’t see the Raptors losing their first two games in a row, at home, to lower end competition. Vegas has the Raptors as 2.5 point favourites, with an over/under of 194. It’s going to be a slower paced game, and it will probably be ugly, but I’ll take an ugly win anyday. Raps by 4.

Check us for live chat, twitter and facebook updates during the game.

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.

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.

So with a 1:21 left in the Bulls/Cavs game, Noah hits the go ahead basket, and neither side is able to score for the rest of the game; Bulls win and draw even (in win/loss) to the Raptors. They’re still 9th in the east, but when if the Raptors lose to the Hawks tonight, they will be in 8th place by half a game. So it goes in Raptorland…

The Raptors are the walking wounded, what terrible luck that Bosh and possibly Turkoglu are out when things are coming down to the wire. From the beginning of the season, even though a few of us talked about the Raptors being a .500 team, and the 5th to 8th spots in the East not being decided until the last couple games of the season, it doesn’t mean we’re not nervous about the last week of the season.

Including tonight, both the Raptors and Bulls have four games to go, and their schedules look like:

Toronto
@ Atlanta
vs Chicago
@ Detroit
vs New York

Chicago
@ New Jersey
@ Toronto
vs Boston
vs Charlotte

The Chicago game is a must win, there is no question, but the Raptors have owned Detroit and New York all year, if they can win 2 of those three games, I think the Raptors sneak into the playoffs. You have to remember that Boston can’t rest their guys much coming down the stretch since they are dead-locked with Atlanta for the 3rd seed (no one wants Cleveland in the 2nd round). I don’t know, I think the playoffs are on the horizon, and with Bosh rumoured to possibly return for the playoffs….could be a boon.

First things first though, the Hawks. I checked in with Bret LaGree of Hoopinion about the Hawks:

Q. With Boston holding the tie breaker, I took a look at both your schedules, and it looks like both you guys could go 3-1 over the next four games. Milwaukee might be a better first round match-up given they lost Bogut with the broken finger, but do you really want Cleveland in the 2nd round?
A. The Hawks are going to be a decent-sized favorite in the first-round and a big underdog in the second-round regardless of the particular match-ups. I do think Milwaukee (without Bogut) is a slightly better match-up for the Hawks than Miami. For selfish reasons, I’d like to avoid another first-round series with the Heat. I’m not sure I have anything interesting left to say about those two teams playing each other. Even though the Hawks finally beat Orlando, they still match-up terribly against the Magic. The Hawks are probably no more likely to trouble Cleveland but all their games tend to be competitive until the Hawks stop scoring in the fourth quarter.

Q. Can you rate the Hawks this season? From an outsider looking in, I would say they are having a great season, comments?
A. It’s a been good season. They’ve taken another small step forward. It’s hard to see how they get from 50 wins to contending for a championship (I suspect it involves putting good defensive guards in front of Smith and Horford but I don’t have a practical and plausible scenario for making that happen.) but the Hawks were so bad (and boring-bad) for so long that competence hasn’t grown stale.

Q. I know people are talking about Jamal Crawford as a replacement for Joe Johnson, but give me a break! Shouldn’t the Hawks be doing everything possible to keep Johnson in a Hawks uniform going forward? (I have a man crush on Joe Johnson btw)
A. I was open to the idea of trading Joe Johnson and building around Smith and Horford (and Josh Childress but that ship has sort of sailed) two summers ago. Johnson’s the team’s best player but not good enough to take up such a large share of the cap on a team whose owner’s aren’t going to pay the luxury tax. Plus, they gave up too much (Diaw and 2 first-round picks) to acquire him and wasted so many resources (several draft picks, the rights to Childress) that they’ve never been in a position to acquire a true franchise player to play alongside Johnson via trade. The best they can do with their disposable assets is acquire an over-paid Bibby or Crawford. Then they keep those shot-happy defensive liabilities and further limit their options with regard to the cap. I’m not sure Johnson will re-sign but I suspect the Hawks will aggressively try and keep him. They’ll have to make more than one major trade to replace Johnson if he leaves and the organization is terribly resistant to change.

Q. Josh Smith; gush about him a bit.
A. It’s nice to have him healthy again. He really struggled to move last season after he sprained his ankle against the Raptors in the fourth game of the season. He’s back to his normal rates on the offensive glass, blocking shots, and getting steals and now that he’s (mostly but not enough) playing inside of 15-feet where defenses have to pay attention to him the passing lanes have opened up and he can take advantage of that skill, too. If he ever stops taking jump shots (three a game this year, and he makes the long twos no more frequently than he made the three-pointers he’s abstained from this season) and gets back to being a 70% free throw shooter, he’ll be a legit All-NBA candidate.

Q. I’ve hated Al Horford since he raped TJ Ford a couple years ago, but the guy has been huge for me in my fantasy league, would you consider trading him for Andrea Bargnani, straight up?
A. If there’s a precise amount of alcohol I could consume that would significantly impair my judgment but not kill me, I might consider Bargnani for Horford. Marvin Williams for Bargnani better represents my interest in Andrea in a non-altered state.

There are only a few games left this season, I had to throw a jab at Bargnani…

The last time these guys played was that epic Bosh game winner with 2 seconds left in the game. The Raptors played hard and gave themselves a chance to win the game at the end (which is all we want from this team). The Hawks are in a bit of funk heading into the playoffs; they have dropped 3 of their last 4, including their most recent loss to the Pistons. In their defense, they were missing Joe Johnson, who is expected to return tonight (great!).

Regardless of Johnson’s status tonight, the Hawks have enough weapons to really give the Raptors problems. Starting Reggie Evans may not be the way to go tonight. Josh Smith is just too athletic for Evans, who wont be giving him much trouble on either end of the floor. If the Raptors want any shot at winning, Amir Johnson needs to start, and play heavy minutes alongside Bargnani against the Smith/Horford front line. I can’t see it any other way, just saying.

Bargnani bounced-back in the game against the Celtics with 17pts 5rebs after playing TERRIBLY against the Cavs (horrible). Although he hasn’t been shooting very well from the field lately, he has to figure out a way to get some shots when that double comes. With Bosh out, room to operate is sparse. His play will be crucial tonight. If all he does tonight is elbow Horford in the face, that would make me really happy.

I’m mostly just afraid of Jamal Crawford; the guy has been killing us for years, and is averaging 21pts a game against us this season – there are really no words…hate maybe…

If Turkoglu is out tonight, this game could be over as quickly as it starts. Move the ball around, rebound and tempt Josh Smith to shoot three’s, that’s the only way I see this ending well for the Raptors.

It’s the last Raptor Fan Friday tonight at the SCC, and we’ve had a great year with your support, and really appreciate y’all showing up in the snow/cold when the team wasn’t doing very well. So come on down and join us tonight. One love baby.

If this is any indication of how a first round playoff series might play out, count me in as part of the crowd wanting to play the lottery. There have been many degrading moments in my life as a Raptors fan but losing handily to a team that’s not even trying to win the game has to be a first.

You know when you’re playing with your kid in the backyard just passing some time till dinner’s served, you’re taking it easy, keeping the game close, laughing around, having a good time, but as soon as the game gets a little close your competitive nature kicks in and you try a little harder and ice the game. At the end of the day the kid feels good about keeping it close but really, it was all about you not wanting to break a sweat.

That’s what this game felt like, they even got my hopes up midway through the fourth when we had “cut” the lead to 7 and LeBron was still on the bench, but just as I had popped my champagne I saw Mike Brown signal to LeBron that he didn’t feel like losing to the Raptors at home. We’re easy pickings as it is, but without Chris Bosh we’re like a limp trying to climb a mountain. Bosh went down early in the first quarter when Antawn Jamison inadvertently elbowed him in the face, it looked like a fairly standard elbow but it was deemed to need a CAT Scan by the Cleveland doctor who sent Bosh to the clinic. Seriously, we’re listening to the CLEVELAND doctor? Of course he wants you to go the clinic, you’re our best player, if it was upto him he’d insist on giving any decent player we have a physical midway through the game.

Seriously though, tests revealed that Bosh has a “maxilla and nasal fracture to the right side of his face” and will not travel with the team but will be kept overnight for “observation”, which if I recall correctly from breaking my hand at Karma Club years back, is basically staring at the coughing and wheezing 90 year old beside you wondering if they’re going to die on your watch. Now I know what you’re thinking: WHY DIDN’T BOSH PLAY THROUGH THE PAIN?!? HE’S A PUSSY!! I’ve never had a broken face so I can’t comment; as nice as it would’ve been to see your franchise player defy all odds and come out with a face-mask made out of nothing but twisted coat hangers, it’s highly unrealistic to expect that given what the injury turned out to be (BROKEN FACE!) and Bosh’s history with injuries. I’m sure when you have a BROKEN FACE you feel some sort of discomfort which would probably not let you continue in physical activity such as an NBA game. In closing, yes, I love the Willis Reed stuff as much as the next guy, but let’s get serious, even Iverson wouldn’t play the day he BROKE HIS FACE!

With Bosh out, we stuck to the team concept and had some success here and there. Jose Calderon tried to step in for Bosh by shooting his way into the game but it didn’t work out and he went back to acting like a sieve for Mo Williams’ points. Jarrett Jack picked up where he had left off against Golden State, running the offense well, hitting a jumper whenever he was open, but keep in mind that this is all happening with the Cavs playing like the Harlem Globetrotters so any Raptor performance should be taken well below face value. Every time we “sliced” the lead down to around 7, the Cavs would make a couple sweet passes and take it back upto 11; that was the trend of this game from tipoff to final whistle.

Still, let’s put our serious faces on for a second and examine what option #2 and option #3 on this team did with option #1 out:

Bargnani: 35min, 5-14FG, 0-43FG, 5reb, 2ast, 2to, -23, 11pts
Turkoglu: 29min, 3-10FG, 2-63FG, 3reb, 5ast, 1to, -20, 10pts

Simply. @*&^%$#. Pathetic. I’m not one to read too much into the +/- stat but for what it’s worth, those are both game worst. When you get polio-ridden performances from the two highest paid players on the court (once Bosh was out), is it even fair to expect miracles from guys like Antoine Wright (lost to an ankle injury) and Sonny Weems? Those guys have limited games and can perform a task reasonably well as long as their limited to performing that task. Asking Wright to be a perimeter threat or Weems and Jack to carry you is not fair, that job belongs to Bargnani and Turkoglu and both are about as hit-and-miss as a Craigslist personal ad. Bargnani’s reaction to the events on the court is nothing short of apathetic. If he fails to provide help on a drive and Mo Williams lays the ball in, he’ll never raise his hand saying ‘my bad’ or be visibly upset about it, he just carries on to the next possession as if all went swell.

Turkoglu’s main weapon used to be his deadly mid-range game but that is non-existent, he’s shooting 32% from 16-23 feet and 36% from 10-15 feet, both these percentages were 6% higher last year. His drives to the rims aren’t punctuated by hard finishes but heaves that border on prayers which result in shots that are too hard for the backboard. What was considered craftiness and patience in Orlando is now revealed to be sluggishness and disinterest. You look at him and you wonder where that playmaking ability from last year went, until of course you realize that Orlando had Dwight Howard, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson, and Turkoglu was perhaps the third or fourth option on the floor. As for this game, let’s just say he got torched by Anthony Parker who had 18pts, 8rebs and 6asts on him. Enough said.

The two guys that looked like they were ready to play were Amir Johnson and Jarrett Jack. Well, Johnson’s always ready to play and took upon the challenge of facing the active Hickson and Varejao nicely. Jack’s direction and assertiveness on offense were welcome but there weren’t enough players on the Raptors that were willing to sweat this one out. What’s that I hear…are those the “Start Jack” chants? Funny part about those chants is that they’re coming from the same people who that giving Jose the job back was a good idea. And these are the same people that thought starting Jack instead of Jose way back when was also a good idea. Here’s a fact: it hardly matters who starts, we are a fundamentally flawed defensive team and until we fix that we could have 8 guys starting and it wouldn’t make a difference.

The defense, ah yes, the defense. Where do we begin with that? How about with the Cavs shooting 56%! Yes, they shot 56% without even trying. They had 15 assists on 15 field goals in the third quarter (38 on 47 overall which I could swear is some sort of NBA record), they had two 35 point quarters, and they had 62 points in the paint while only having 2 fastbreak points! Try to comprehend that, they scored 60 points on us just by cutting to the rim in a half-court set over and over and over again. Our defense is so impotent that we let the other team execute their plays better than they do it in practice; I’ve never seen a team get beat so consistently by back-screens and down-screens as consistently as the Raptors did last night. I’m not sure the concept of bumping somebody on a screen even exists in Triano’s basketball brain because I sure haven’t seen it all season long. In fact, any concept relating to defense is foreign to most Raptors players and even if you were a good defender on a team before this (Evans, Wright maybe), by playing in our system, you’ll actually lose what you had as bad defensive habits are highly, highly contagious.

Now, the silver-lining in this *&^%fest of a season is that we might be the best crappy team in the East. The Bulls managed to blow a 13 point lead in losing to the Bucks at home and remain a game back. Maybe it’s our “destiny” to make the playoffs?

We’ll close with a very delusional quote made by Sonny Weems before the game:

“Every game we’ve played them, it’s been real close. I don’t think they want that in the first round of the playoffs. We’re going to come to play.”

Is he joking? I think he’s joking because I sure didn’t see LeBron or any of the Cavs tremble at any point today. Usually when teams that are about to face each other in the playoffs meet in the late regular season, they tend to hide plays and tendencies from each other, I don’t think that even crossed Mike Brown’s mind at any point today. This was not a close game, just because we only lost by 12 does not make this a good performance, especially in the light of the opposing coach dubbing this a “high-level practice”? I’d rather see the Raptors players get their own house in order and not worry about what other teams think of them.

So where do we go from here? We gather whatever pride we have, miraculously motivate ourselves, and show up tonight without Bosh at home against the C**tics who we have lost 10 of 11 to.

The argument that Chris Bosh is not a “max player” has died down considerably this year, but this game jogged some old memories and reminded us that there are tiers in the class of 2003 and Bosh isn’t in the top one. Unexpected bench performances from Wright and Belinelli had made up for Turkoglu and Bosh being ineffective, but when the fourth quarter comes calling your big guns need to respond. It didn’t happen, there was no structure or scheme to the Raptors offense as the “big 3″ of Bosh, Turkoglu and Bargnani combined for a total of four fourth quarter points as the Raptors wasted a pretty good effort on the road.

This was going to be a tough game with Cleveland seeking revenge so the Raptors needed to ride some hot hands. One of those hot hands was DeMar DeRozan who I backed big time on the podcast yesterday, he had 10 first quarter points and all of them came on drives. The rookie has played with great focus and has brought early intensity to practically every game, you’d think after such bursts of offense and athleticism he’d warrant a greater role come the fourth quarter. Instead, Jay Triano once again took him out at the 2:41 mark of the third and brought him back (for some arcane reason) with 35 seconds left in the game. What. The. F**k. Somebody explain this to me because that makes about as much sense as the dream I had last night where I was riding a polar bear on Yonge St. while being tailgated by a ’67 Camero driven by a Zebra yelling profanities in a Gaelic language.

After the whole RuPaul fiasco you’d hope Chris Bosh comes out with some fire and maybe thinks about dunking one on Shaq and talking some mild smack afterwards. No such luck, if anything it was Shaq who came out and looked to establish the inside game. I can’t blame him from thinking that we’re a soft team because he barely broke a sweat all night along in getting post-position, which was compounded by our single-coverage. Shaq had 7 field-goals, he hasn’t had that many baskets since December 15th when the Nets and their win-less rotting carcasses came to town. If Bargnani hadn’t picked up two fouls (one on a drive, one on a perimeter cross-over) on him in the first quarter I’d say Shaq would’ve got around 35 tonight. Speaking of fouls, Lebron took out Turkoglu in less than two minutes as the latter picked up two cheap fouls. 1-6 FG for 3 points on the night and a HUGE miss of a wide open shot at 9:51 of the fourth which would’ve tied the game at 93 and iced a 10-0 run. Here’s what he said about his fouls and the technical he picked up later for complaining:

I was afraid to walk by them, you know, they might call a foul. I tried to sit next to the coach so I don’t pick up a foul. It’s part of the job you know, you have to deal with it. It still affects your game, you try to get yourself going but stupid fouls in the first minute of the game…it kind of cools you off. I tried to come back again but it’s hard. I have to put this behind and try to do better stuff tomorrow.

Once Turkoglu was wheeled off the court, Antonie Wright came on and you’re thinking this game might get ugly. But old Wrighty did us proud with 5 points in the first (10 in the half) and some passable defense on LeBron. The Raptors defense did force Cleveland into six first quarter turnovers which were mostly the result of their big men’s inability to make a simple pass. Still, the effort was there. Bargnani was missing some very clean looks in the 15-20 foot range and that right there is the main difference between Nowitzki and Bargnani – Nowitzki’s game is polished, compact and fluid. Bargnani is still figuring out his “go to” moves and you’d think a wide open mid-range J should be automatic (like it is for Dirk) but it’s clearly not the case. I also don’t agree with the belief that he’s somehow more athletic than Dirk, that’s just not true. In 37 minutes he collected 6 rebounds and when the team is -11 in that category, people will point fingers at you.

Bosh started off the game by hitting the backboard on a jumper whilst facing up Shaq. That told me he was nervous as hell and he played like it the whole game, not once making a defensive stand against the aging Shaq whose bones can be clearly heard creaking as he lumbers his way up the floor. The second was his best quarter because he was matched up against another relic, Zydrunas Ilgauskas. A couple step-back fades and a drive against the Lithuanian amounted to 12 points in the quarter, Shaq got him back for 8 in the same stretch. I felt that we didn’t exploit Shaq’s weaknesses via Bosh/Bargnani as much as he utilized his advantage over us. In other words, not enough PnRs involving Shaq or Big Z.

The slight edge in that big-man scoring was negated by the Raptors leaving Cleveland shooters open in the corner, the Cavs hit three threes in the frame and the half ended with the Raptors down 2, thanks to a Wright three on our last possession. I’d also be amiss not to mention Marco Belinelli’s 8 points in the quarter, he ran two great leak-outs which led to points (one off a beautiful Turkoglu pass, his only contribution on the night). Jose Calderon didn’t have the same impact off the bench like he’s had of late, but Wright and Belinelli’s work didn’t make it seem like he needed to.

The overall defense was great all night, but the transition kind was fairly poor. we had no answer to Lebron running at us in transition, not many teams do. Still, I would’ve liked to see the Raptors expend a little effort and get the ball out of his hands through a trap or two. The 62-60 halftime scoreline told you that no team was having great defensive success, the difference was that they have a superstar who can score/create when it matters the most and we have Hedo Turkoglu. As our creator struggled, one of theirs excelled. Mo Williams was having his way with Jack and Calderon using high/baseline screens, and even managed to juke them using the old “fake the post-up but spin to the rim” move. He set his own offense up nicely and even dished out 10 times. An overall solid playmaking/scoring game from the guard (22/3/10).

The third quarter was a fairly boring affair with neither team wanting to stamp their authority on the contest. Jarrett Jack made some great plays on the pick ‘n pop to set up clean looks for Bargnani and DeRozan, he even hit a three of his own as Mo Williams D’d him up on the side. Cleveland increased their defensive pressure in the third but the Raptors had adequately responded, Jack and DeRozan leading the charge. Both drove right at Shaq to pick up fouls as the big guy headed to the bench. The tide perhaps changed when tied at 77, Amir Johnson was brought into match up against Anderson Varejao and failed the assignment, the next time a big man was needed Triano opted for Rasho. Ouch. The Brazilian had five points in a quick stretch against the Raptors garbageman which really hurt, he had a chance to make a degree of amends by knocking a couple FTs down but clanked them both. The fault wasn’t all his, Bosh and Belinelli missed jumpers and we blew another coverage on a Mo Williams three. Big Z took Bargnani outside and nailed a J on him as the Raptors entered the fourth down 8. Things weren’t looking good, Bosh in this quarter had 3 points and if it weren’t for Jarrett Jack being aggressive against West and Williams with 9, this game would’ve reached blowout territory.

Cleveland extended the lead to 10 early in the before Marco Belinelli did his best ‘microwave’ impression and gunned the Raptors to within 5 with a three and a great drive for two, the Italian showing no fear in either shot. Jose Calderon hunted down a jumper for himself and we were within 3, that’s when Turkoglu missed that W I D E open three after a Bosh double which would’ve leveled the game. The only thing more annoying than looking at Turkoglu’s face was hearing the ‘defense’ chant in the arena, seriously, is their PA guy 90 years old? Cleveland’s offense became very Lebron specific, their movement died down and they just waited for Lebron to cap the game for them. It didn’t happen, he missed several questionable jumpers (0-7 3FG) leaving he door ajar for the Raptors, but alas, we couldn’t capitalize. We had a few chances to bite into the lead but Bargnani, Belinelli, Turkoglu and Calderon missed reasonable looks which would’ve tightened the screws. It was a one-point game with 5:43 left which is right before Mo Williams drained a three.

I thought we had played a very good game so far but needed an timeout right at that point. Cleveland wasn’t making us pay for blowing our perimeter defensive coverages because of switch-confusion but Williams’ three served as a reminder of the threat. It was also evident at the time that the offense was struggling, we had come up empty on three of our previous four possessions and things were a mess. Jay Triano chose to let them play on and it resulted in an 0-3 from Belinelli, Bosh and Bargnani. The timeout finally came at 4:24 in an 8 point game. It was too late. I’m not saying the timeout would’ve saved the game, but it would’ve hopefully settled us down and maybe given us a chance to regroup on offense. As mentioned in yesterday’s podcast, Triano’s instincts of sensing and anticipating a shift in momentum are very poor.

His decision to play a struggling Jose Calderon late fourth quarter minutes was also questionable, his jumper had been off the whole game and even Jack Armstrong hinted at Jose having “one of those nights”. By contrast, Jarrett Jack had picked himself up after a sluggish start and had had a great third quarter as mentioned already. Triano over-engineered the situation and made it unnecessarily complex, he should’ve simply gone with what’s been working the last few games.

Belinelli had brought us back in the game and made a game of it once again, but the late fourth quarter can be summarized in two words: terrible offense. I’m not sure the Raptors had any idea of just about where they were going to get their points heading into the final frame. So far in the game the offense had come from sources like Wright, Jack and Belinelli, and we expected that to continue and it didn’t. Bosh’s touches were limited, but they had a lot to do with him shying away from the ball and less to do with his teammates looking him off (as Jack Armstrong would have you believe). If you’re a big max-money player, you can’t take 3 out of 4 quarters off. Just can’t.

Bosh’s defense was terrible, he was getting out-muscled by Shaq and allowing post-position too easily, and wasn’t playing any help defense on the driving guards. You’d think with his athleticism and reach, he’d at least pick up one block for the game but not even that. These were the quietest 21/10 he can possibly get. Hedo Turkoglu didn’t play between the 3:21 and 0:35 second mark of the quarter which is odd since he’s supposed to handle the rock in the clutch, no? Our offense was run by Belinelli and Wright in the late fourth which is Jay Triano’s fault, he’s got to recognize that Cleveland is clamping down their defense and go to what has proven to work for us – Bosh at the FT line. He’s got to settle this team down and run some proven plays for Bosh or put the ball in Turkoglu’s hand with a plan in his mind. And that “play” he drew up coming out of a timeout late in the game? I doubt a contested Bargnani 25-footer was the way to go there.

There were some good things about this game, Wright, Belinelli filled in nicely for the injured Weems and our energy was good for the full 48. Sad to say that we wasted a pretty good effort because of our big guns coming up short. The aggressors usually get the W and Cleveland was the aggressor, they had a 21-7 FT edge at the half; although I disagreed with a lot of the calls, their style of play is conducive to the ref’s whistle and they got the calls. This was a tough road game against an elite opponent, we had a chance to win it. That’s all you can ask.

Briefly, I’d like to point out my disgust with the Raptors television production team. THEY ARE BRUTAL. Words cannot describe how awful they are. I’ve complained about this over the years but they need to fire that entire unit and get some fresh young grads in there who don’t need a full five minutes to cue up an important replay. They missed at least three live plays, they don’t show the 50-50 calls, don’t have enough player specific cameras, and simply don’t show enough replays. The advent of PVR has helped but that only works when you’re watching at home, if you’re in a shady Thornhill bar with a 350lb man leaning over you as he’s telling racist jokes to a morbid looking woman sitting on the other side of you, it’s very hard to focus. Very.

Wanna trade Hedo? Check out the trade forum.

The Raptors are back on a roll after beating both the Knicks and the Mavericks in convincing fashion on the weekend. Tonight they are in Cleveland on the first night of a back-to-back against the Mavs. I always thought that the win we had over the Cavs was a disservice to this team because it made a lot of people think the Raptors were better than they actually were. The fact of the matter is that Cleveland was playing the second game of a back-to-back, the first of which was an intense season opener to the Celtics.

While it was a quality win against an elite team, it by no means meant that the Raptors were destined for 50 wins and such. All it meant was that we were able to take advantage of a tired/oldish team who were playing their second game in two nights while trying to integrate a new piece (Shaq) into a team that didn’t know what to do with him. Since that game, the Cavs have gone 30-10, and are sitting pretty at the top of the East.

Don’t think they’ve forgotten about the beating we laid down on them earlier in the season. When asked about tonight’s game, Mo Williams said:

We’re playing at a different level. So are [the Raptors] — 10 of their last 13, they’ve won. They’re playing well. But, at the same time, we feel like we owe them. They handed us a loss, and you always want to use that as motivation. That’s what we’re doing.

A motivated Cavs team scares me, really. This will be a redemption game for the Cavs who are playing some great basketball, 7-3 over their last 10 and 31-11 on the year. Of their 11 losses, 5 of them are on the road to .500+ Western Conference teams; and 2 of them are against the Bobcats who seem to have their number for some reason.

You might remember the Saturday loss to Utah where some dude named Sundiata Gaines hit the games winning three with no time left on the clock.

Tonight, the Raptors need to bring a lot of what they had in the first game, namely an aggressive Bargnani. With Bargnani playing the way he has been, the Raptors front line has a big advantage in terms of speed, quickness and outside shooting. Shaq/Ilgauskas have no chance in hell of covering whoever Varajeo isn’t. If the Cavs send the double, the Raptors will kick it out and share the ball like they did against the Mavs.

The high pick-and-roll becomes even more important in this scenario since neither has a chance in hell of doing anything but getting called for a foul. Varajeo is the only person on that front line who makes me nervous, and he has been having a great stretch over the last 10 games, posting 9.7pts and 9.2rebs on 36-71 shooting, all those shots coming inside 8 feet.

When it comes to LeBron, you just hope you can keep him on the perimeter and let him shoot the Cavs out of the game. While he had a triple-double that last game against the Raptors, he was 7-19 from the field (1-5 3pt) and 8-14 from the line. Hardly the kind of the line that would force you to defend the shot. I say let him shoot all he wants, bait him to shoot but provide heavy coverage on drives, this way he wont be able to get into the lane then Hit Parker/Williams/West with a kick out for an open jumper. Easier said than done of course.

As far as Hedo goes, 8pts 4rebs 6ast on 2-9 shooting isn’t going to cut it. While those are decent numbers and got us a win over the Mavs, a guy making $10mil should be providing more, and with LeBron probably notching another triple-double, Turkoglu needs to really step up. We can only hope he doesn’t have pizza for lunch today.

I’m looking for DeRozan to continue his strong play from the Dallas outing where his shot was popping. I’d liked to see him take it to Parker and try get the old mans legs weary. Run through the lane and around some low pics for a catch-and-shoot around the elbow.

The Cavs are -9.5 favourites with an over/under of 203. This is another test for the Raptors, but not a must win. We can only hope that if the game is out of hand by the 2nd half, that Triano will rest the starters (and Jose) in hopes of being as fresh as possible tomorrow against Milwaukee.

Oh, I can’t wait to see Jamario Moon jack a couple bad jumpers when he should have swung the ball. That really makes me happy.