The Raptors finally broke out of their 0-for-showing with Bargnani injured this season, and got a win with the franchise on the sidelines. Individual plays and levels of effort aside, you have to appreciate this one; the Raptors never lost a quarter, and dictated the flow and tempo throughout. In fact, had it not been for early solid free-throw shooting in the first half, and some above average offensive rebounding by the Nets, this would have been one of those games where a Nets blogger’s post-game would have been a picture of tightly curled turd on the Nets logo.

An aside to the win, the Raptors managed 94 points without Bargnani and Barbosa. Granted some of that has to do with Jersey’s lack of…everything, but the Raptors did as good a good as job as possible with defensive rotations and assignments that you could expect. I mean, Deron Williams dropped 24 points, but it took him 20 shots (3-10 3FG), and some heroic off the ball movement to get good looks at the rim.

Case in point, in the 2nd quarter, Williams started at the top of the arc, ran around the low block, brushed past two low screens, came around to the top of the arc, caught and shot the ball with Bayless on his ass. He hit the three (without as much space as you’d think), but the point is he wasn’t blowing by pylons to get his baskets. He’s the type of player that can make those kind of plays happen, the rest of the team couldn’t and caved to the Raptor defense.

I like Calderon and Bayless starting in the back-court together. As much as Bayless offends me with his decision making, when he doesn’t have to be the floor general, he makes things happen. He also takes pressure off Jose to cover the likes of Deron Williams. I’d like to explore a lineup of Calderon, Bayless, JJ, Bargnani and Amir with DeRozan, Kleiza and Davis as the first three off the bench for a few games. Bayless attacks the paint off the bounce as much as possible, something DeRozan and his new-found love for the jumper should be doing. It gives a bit more balance, which takes me to DeMar…

…I wasn’t that impressed with DeRozan’s game last night. Sure, 27pts on 8-12FG 11-16FT looks great on the boxscore, but it didn’t sit right with me. Three times in the first half, DeRozan pulled up on the break and popped (missed) a jumper when he could have made a move to the basket and either converted or drew a foul. His 27 should have been at least 30. The second problem I had was 17 of 27 came in the second half with the Nets thinking about dinner and watching Californication.

The saving grace of his second half “dominance” was that he got to the line 12 times and hit 9 of them. Had they all been jumpers, I guarantee we would have been watching him shoot jumpers at an even more alarming rate for the rest of the season. Not sure if it’s just me or is his development looking a bit like VC’s? He doesn’t have the same finish Carter had at this stage of his career, but we watched VC go from a guy who wanted to break the backboard, to the POS jump shooter he became. I’m way to lazy to pull stats on this (maybe Liston can put something for statophile), but I’ve noticed myself sighing with more regularity that he’s shooting instead of driving. I can live with the shooting if it continues to improve, but only if he gets to the line more; 4 times a game is half of what of what he should be doing.

Photo Credit: James Herbert via Twitter

When the NBA scheduled the Nets and Raptors to play two regular season games in London, England, they weren’t expecting either team to have a superstar among their ranks. Not anymore, the Nets scooped up Deron Williams, the biggest coup since the Lakers landed Gasol. Even though they are 0-3 in the D-Will era, the Nets are relevant again.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but since the All-Star break, the Raptors are 2-3; well above their season winning percentage. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it made me take another look at things:

• The Raptors have a half place lead over the Nets for more ping-pong balls in the lottery
• With Johnson in lineup, the Raptors are playing a totally better brand of basketball that wont help them get more ping-pong balls
• I’m really liking James Johnson, the kid has a lot of the tools and toughness I look for in guys who would play for my team. I’m very interested to see how he does after a couple weeks of big minutes and reduced excitement of a fresh start
• Still not a fan of Weems, and he’s playing a lot better, but he didn’t do enough with the opportunity he had and it cost him a couple million on his next contract; he can thank Johnson for that

I had a chance to have a chat with Mark Ginocchio of Nets are Scorching about Deron and the Nets:

First of all, I hate you and your team. There couldn’t have been a better result for the Nets than landing a top 3 point guard in the league. Do you have any background on how this deal came about?
Let me start by thanking you for the hatred. It’s been a long time since anyone hated Nets fans for anything other than wearing bags on our heads to games. With that said, the Deron Williams trade came out of left field for everyone, media, bloggers, fans, everyone. I don’t think it was any coincidence that Al Iannazzone, the beat writer for the Bergen Record who was doing a super job during the Carmelo Anthony nonsense, got the leak first and not any of the national guys like Wojnarowski, Broussard, Spears, etc. who have been just beating the Nets to a pulp for the past two months in their attempts to attract a start to the organization. If you believe Nets GM Billy King, he called up Kevin O’Connor, Utah’s GM, first to talk about some peripheral deals, most likely involving Devin Harris and maybe Mikahil Prokhorov favorite Andrei Kirilenko. King mentioned, half-joking about DWill’s availability and a deal was hammered out in 24 hours. It’s funny what can happen when team’s don’t have to deal with a bunch of
juvenile children like ‘Melo and Masai Ujiri, Denver’s GM, who had been holding the Nets hostage knowing ‘Melo only wanted the Knicks, this whole time.

I’ve read that the organization is going to do a great deal to cater to him (who to trade for, what amenities the practice court should feature, etc); do you guys run the same risk that Cleveland ran with catering to LeBron’s every whim, or is Deron a different beast?
In a recent write-up, Woj made a great point about Deron. He’s not ‘Melo, he’s not LeBron – he’s not looking to be the center of some marketing campaign. He just wants to win, period. And I think the only way the Nets will keep him here is if they demonstrate a commitment to put pieces around him. The thing is, Prokhorov has proven very early that money is no object, so I believe that this will happen. Plus, Deron will be owed a sizable amount (more than $17M) on his option year headed into Brooklyn in 2012 and with the new CBA likely lowering the cap, it may not be fiscally prudent for him to opt-out in 18 months as many are reporting he might do.

I was very interested to see how Deron and Avery would mesh together, but so far on the surface they seem to compliment each other. What are your thoughts on this pairing?
I was nervous too, but Avery apparently “threw out half the playbook” when Deron came on board, which is a good thing because the Nets offensive playbook stunk. I know AJ is a micromanager with his point guards, but this his first “star” PG he’s dealt with, someone who tends to focus on all aspects of his game unlike Devin Harris, who was a professional, but seemed to suffer from tunnel vision where he would only look to score some games, pass in others, and defend, every once in a while.

So Dwight is next? …I hate you…
That’s the rumor, but who knows. My guess is it would have to be a sign and trade, and the Nets would have to blow Orlando away with an offer, because otherwise Howard would probably go to the Lakers. The Nets have Brook Lopez and a nice complimentary piece in Anthony Morrow, but they gave away their lottery picks to Utah and given Lopez’s rebounding and defensive issues, I wonder if Orlando would be more interested in Bynum as the centerpiece of a LA deal.

What are you thoughts on the games this weekend in London? How do the Nets match-up with the Raptors? Is Deron going to be playing (injuries and all)?
Oh yeah, this season. Well, the Nets are 0-3 in the Deron Williams era, so there are obviously some kinks, especially on the defensive end, which bodes well for the Raptors. Williams says he’s going to play, and Jordan Farmar is supposedly back to back him up, but I’m hoping for a split here.

Injury Report

Toronto
Reggie Evans – Out
Linas Kleiza – Out

New Jersey
Deron Williams – Day to day, should play
Jordan Farmar – Day to day, should play
Quinton Ross – Day to day

Player Report

Jose Calderon
If Jose can recreate the game he had against Paul, even a healthy Deron wont be able to do much. As it stands now, Deron is supposed to play, but he’s hurting. This is a great opportunity for Jose to attack the hell out of him since he doesn’t have a great deal of support behind him defensively. I’ve been calling for it for a while now, but when Jose is going off efficiently from the field, he is such a deadly point of attack for the offense. Defenses can’t cheat, and have to consider him. As always, defense is a concern, but if you’re matching output, then it gives DeMar/Bargnani the chance to take matters into their hands.
Box: 13pts 11ast 3rebs

DeMar DeRozan
16 trips to the line over the last five games (four if you consider he didn’t get to the line at all against the Bobcats); sure he’s hit all 16, but it’s not enough. Not enough when you consider he’s contributing 1.6 assists and 2.6 rebounds over the same five-game stretch. If he gets to the line more, it means he’s attacking off he dribble more, which means his defender is back-pedalling more, which means a help defender is rotating, which means the defensive is that much more vulnerable. That said, the British are gonna love this high-flyer, hopefully he gives them a couple things to cheer about. Against Morrow, he will have to deal with an outside-in player, who can stroke the three at a high percentage; 44% on the year. Morrow has been a nice pickup for this team with his efficient scoring, but his defense is brutal, and is exactly where DeRozan can put his mark on the game.
Box: 21pts 3rebs 1ast

James Johnson
Yea…I’m really liking him a lot. I tried tempering any enthusiasm for him the last pre-game, but as long as he remembers the things that make him successful on the court, and doesn’t forget what it’s like to log 30 minutes for the whole season, I think he’ll do fine. We could see a dip in his energy as the excitement of getting a second chance begins to fade, but as long as he’s still hustling, things will work themselves out. Truth be told, his inclusion in the starting lineup has this team playing a better brand of basketball that could really hurt their draft position come July. That’s probably the best compliment I’ve given any Raptor this season: that they make the team better. So I know very little about Damion Jones, who’s been getting the start since the trade went down. The guy is a big, active player who rebounds well and is starting to develop a perimeter game. Seems like the two of Johnson and Jones are somewhat similar in what they bring to the game.
Box: 8pts 9rebs 3ast 2blk

Amir Johnson
I did a double-take after glancing at Amir’s line after the Hornets game: 8pts 10rebs 2ast 7blk

It really should come as no surprise given how involved he was in every aspect of the game, not too mention he had to deal with West and Okafor all night. What has the smile on my face is the six swats he had. Given how close the score was, with the Hornets cutting the lead to 4 with time ticking down, Amir’s defense was huge in maintaining the Raptor lead, and eventually pulling out the win. Recreating that production will be tough, but the Nets front court consists of Humphries and Lopez and..yea, Amir/Ed/Andrea should take this.

Humphries will shoot the ball enough to remind us that even though he’s close to averaging a double-double on the season, his scoring aspirations disrupt the offense too much for him to be a starter. He does hustle, and give it his all, so he can’t be overlooked.
Box: 14pts 9rebs 3blk

Andrea Bargnani
Im just going to put this out there, but I think I’d rather have Bargnani than Lopez. Over the course of this season, both teams have equally stunk, but Andrea has done more with his playing time than Brook. It wasn’t always the case, and Lopez is a nice player,but he’s definitely had a disappointing season. Check the comparison:

Lopez: 34.6m 19.5pts 5.9rebs 1.5ast 1.5blk
Bargnani: 35.9m 21.8pts 5.5rebs 1.7ast 0.6blk

While Bargnani isn’t blowing Lopez away, and Brook has a higher PER (18.43 to 16.41), Bargnani is a better defender in the low post, and his rebounding is about the same. Lopez can step out and hit a jumper, but his range is stretched to the limit at 18 feet, and his post game isn’t as refined.
Box: 26pts 7rebs 1blk

The Line

The gamblers have the Nets as 3 point favourites with an over/under of 202.5. I’m expecting a nice pace to this game, and it should be close. I’m hoping the Nets win both these games weekend (to solidify the Raptors draft position), but I’m guessing the teams will split the games. Raptors pull out a tough win tonight, Nets storm back and win tomorrow.

Today’s game is at 3pm EST; if you’re stuck at the office, then come check out our live blog by Arsenalist.

The 2nd game of this Western swing, and things couldn’t be tougher. The Raptors very well could have been 3-0 heading into Utah tonight, but dems da breaks. On Monday, the Raptors lost a heart breaker to Sacramento where they played a pretty solid game, but lost composure at the end. That doesn’t set a good precedent for the Jazz game; a team that has been nothing but composed for as long as I can remember.

I got a chance to chat in with Spencer Hall from Salt City Hoops about the Jazz and some of the changes the team has made in the last year:

We always knew that Millsap would be a beast when given a chance. What does it mean for the Jazz that they will get similar production as Boozer without the shortened seasons because of injury? You guys were able to pick up Al Jefferson for a song. How is the pairing with Millsap working out? Does this make Okur a trade candidate (he’s expensive for someone playing limited minutes off the bench)?
The Millsap Corollary has been a favorite topic for the stat-head community. When Boozer left for Chicago, it was exciting to finally have a chance to see if Millsap could maintain his high PER with starter minutes or if his true genius was only effective as an energy guy matched up against then opposing second unit.

The arrival of Al Jefferson, however, threw a wrench in the test. With Jefferson playing the traditional center spot and doing work on the low block (rather than playing alongside Mehmet Okur, who floats out to 3-point territory), Millsap has been free to pick up scraps and show off a midrange game. He still gets to play the role of energy guy without the burden of being the focus of the offense.

So, instead of replacing Boozer with Millsap, the Jazz have countered with the two-headed monster of Jeffer-sap. It took a few games to figure out, but if the nearly flawless performance against the OKC Thunder on Sunday is any indication, the Jazz will be an offensive force to be reckoned with.

The Jazz now have the luxury to allow Okur to ease back in when he returns from a devastating ruptured achilles tendon last season. He won’t be back until December at the earliest, and probably not until January, but his unique offensive game won’t require him to do much work inside to be effective. All that to say, I don’t see Okur becoming trade bait upon his return. He’ll be an important weapon for the Jazz down the stretch.

The Jazz lost two sharp shooters in Korver and Matthews; what’s the plan to replace that production from the perimeter?
The Kyle Korver era in Utah only happened on paper. Jazz assistant Phil Johnson once commented that they could roll Korver out on the floor in a wheelchair and people would still respect his ability to shoot. His mere presence spread the floor. But that’s just the problem. The Jazz only used him as a decoy (and jersey salesman) and never really let him unleash his crazy shooting ability.

In the first two games of the season, opponents packed the lane and dared the Jazz to shoot. We’ve seen what it looks like when Raja Bell and CJ Miles are bricking shot after shot and it isn’t pretty. On the other hand, it’s beautiful thing when everything is falling, like it was in OKC. Unfortunately, that’s how I see the season going: Live by the midrange game, die by the midrange game.

Even more important than the 3-point shooting of Matthews and Korver, though, was their ability to finish layups. The Jazz offense is designed to get players open looks at the rim. The only teams that have struggled in the Jerry Sloan era have been the ones that couldn’t hit their layups and short runners. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of this weakness.

Sloan’s been coaching the Jazz as long as I’ve been watching NBA. A big part of playing for the Jazz is being in his system; what happens when he finally hangs it up?
Speaking of Sloan, it’s hard to imagine the Jazz sideline without him there. He’s healthy, he’s sharp, he has the unwavering support of the ownership and the front office, and the players all seem to love playing for him. I think he stays at least another five years, and I’ve said before that I won’t be surprised to see him stay for ten more. It’s his job as long as he wants it.

That being said, owner Greg Miller has echoed what his father said about succession; that long-time assistant (and former NBA Coach of the Year) Phil Johnson will have the chance to take over if he chooses to do so. Most people think, however, that when Sloan hangs it up, Johnson will follow.

I’d rank Deron Williams as the best point guard in the league, if for no other reason than he is much more durable than Chris Paul; thoughts?
I’m honestly completely bored by the DWill-CP3 comparisons. Deron Williams and Chris Paul both make me love the game, but it just seems like apples and oranges. And we may all be missing the point completely: Rajon Rondo is doing ridiculous things in Boston despite any semblance of a jump shot.

That being said, I love DWill for this Jazz team. His ability to pass or score, as well as the durability you mentioned, make him a very special player, and I definitely wouldn’t trade him for either CP3 or Rondo.

Injury Report

Toronto
Leandro Barbosa – Day-to-day [expected to play]

Utah
With Boozer no longer here they are good

Match-ups

PG – Jack vs Williams
So what’s the expectation here? Last game against the Thunder, the kid put up 16pts 15ast 6reb; ridiculous. Jack is coming off his worst game I’ve seen against the Kings. Jack can’t win this match-up, but what he can do is play Williams tough, stay in front of him and keep him the eff out of the lane.

The Jazz are all about getting open looks at the rim (see above), and the best way to do that is for someone to penetrate, get into the paint and draw defensive attention. D-Will is that somebody, and Jack/Calderon need to do there best not to hand the key over on a platter. I wont hold my breath.

Edge: Williams

SG – DeRozan vs Bell
Coming off a career game, DeRozan is starting to carve out his niche on this team. Whatever you may think of his progress, we can all agree that he has made nice strides. Heading into a weekend where he gets Kobe and Roy back-to-back, DeMar has the chance to make me a happy man, by pounding on Raja Bell tonight. I have hated Bell, as well as Aaron McKie, since the Toronto/Philly playoff series. He’s that player you loathe, but would love to have on your team; for me anyways.

Sadly, he’s not the player he used to be, but can still play some D, and spot-up from time to time. It won’t make up for the annoyance he’s caused me over the years, but I look forward to DeMar teabagging him.

Edge: DeRozan

SF – Kleiza vs Kirilenko
Full Disclosure: Kirilenko is one of my favorites in the league; something about his Russian sensibilities, and his wifes yearly pass to frolic. I also desperately tried to pick him up on waivers in my fantasy league, but had to settle on Wilson Chandler.

Kleiza has come as advertised. I never expected great offensive efficiency, but he delivers the goods. I was hoping for some more leadership from him, but there’s still quite a bit of ball to be played; I’m not too worried. He’s going to have his first real test in Kirilenko who is the jack of all trades, but king of none. He wont have to worry about getting beat off the dribble, but Kirilenko gets into the paint somehow and can knock down the open looks that Williams will be creating for him. I’m leaning to a give-and-take situation with these two. Neither will win or lose the game for their team; but I’ve been known to be wrong.

Edge: Even

PF – Evans vs Millsap
Fantasy owners rejoice, both these cats finally got their chance to shine. Playing behind Boozer all these years, Millsap’s only teased folks with his steeze when Carlos has gone down with whatever weird injury he was afflicted with. The kid is legit though, and a beast like Evans with more offensive touch. As Spencer said, he gets to float around the perimeter, hit some jumpers and crash the boards. Evans can control him on the rebounding front, but he wont match him in the scoring department. Regardless, I’m ok with Millsap taking jumper after jumper if it means Evans keeps him out of the paint and off the glass. Still, it will be tough given Deron’s (how nice is it to have a cat who can make every player on the team better) ability to create nice scoring opportunities for his mates.

Edge: Millsap

C – Bargnani vs Jefferson
I gave Cousins the edge last game, and aside from scoring 16 points in 17 minutes, and conceding two key rebounds down the stretch, Bargnani came out on top. Jefferson is a different animal on his own: he plays tough in the paint, takes good shots and crashes the boards. Interestingly enough, Bargnani’s strength on defense is man-to-man in the low blocks, and since he has some height on Big Al, he will give him a run for his money on defense. The glass is a totally different story; and Bargnani needs to pull his weight in the sense that he needs to make a much more serious effort boxing out his man. I’m good with him scoring 23+ points and Evans grabbing 14+ rebounds, but he has to keep Jefferson off the glass on the defensive end; end of story.

Edge: Jefferson

Would you believe me if I told you the Raptors were 9th (96.7) in defense and 7th (44.3) in rebounding in the league? Yea, I was a bit surprised until I remembered the effort they are bringing to the floor every game. It’s truly been a pleasure getting that kind of effort considering what we’ve had to put up with over the years. Colangelo has definitely shifted gears in his team building philosophy; sure these guys can still score 13th in the association (100.7), but they are getting at it.

Vegas has the Jazz as 10.5 favourites, with an over/under of 209.5…yea…if I see some fight and effort tonight, I can take a loss. The schedule wont be letting up for a while, so we will get a good sense of how committed these guys are to this whole/weird/alien team thing they’ve been doing.

All things considered, the Raptors aren’t doing that bad recenty. They are 6-11 since the All-Star game, but 3-1 in their last 4 games, with two of those coming on the road. Those two wins were against the two worst teams in the NBA, but a win is a win is a win, and they got em. What got lost is that win over the Hawks that has these guys looking to make a bit of a run heading into the playoffs. Triano echoed that sentiment after practice:

We’re not playing well and we think we’re starting to turn the corner a little bit where we have better focus. I don’t think we’re playing great basketball, but we’re starting to share it a little better.

He is on to something there; in the last 3 wins, the Raptors are averaging 23ast while shooting 48.4% from the field, both higher than their season averages, and both indicative of the team moving the ball around looking for the right shots. Take that with a grain of salt though, two of those three wins have come against poor teams…man I’m jaded…

The Jazz on the other hand are just rolling along quite well. They sit 4th in the West, and are 7-3 in their last 10 games. This is a team we all want the Raptors to be: solid ownership/management, Hall of Fame coach, elite point guard surrounded by above average talent. In fact, the Raptors are winless against the Jazz dating back to 2006 (9 losses in a row). This is a franchise that proves players will go anywhere as long as the program is a winning one because let’s face it, there’s nothing cool about Salt Lake City Utah (no offence Spencer).

The last time these guys played, the Jazz got the better of the Raptors in a game that was over rather early. The Raptors made a go of it, but it was already written. Kirilenko had a beast of a game with 20pts 7rebs 3stl 2blk off the bench, and Boozer and D-Will basically did what they wanted 22pts 18reb and 20pts 6rebs 9ast respectively. There is no reason to think they can’t replicate that effort again tonight.

I checked in with Spencer Hall from Salt City Hoops to get a bit of insight into this Jazz team:

Is Carlos Boozer staying or leaving? What would you look like without him? Can Millsap do it full-time?
I’m more and more convinced that Carlos Boozer will re-sign with the Jazz this summer — a scenario that would have been absolutely unbelievable just a few months ago. All things considered, I have to give both the Jazz and Boozer credit for putting aside the nonsense from last summer and having a great year. It is a contract year, but he’s been nothing but professional. Don’t be surprised to see Booze back in SLC next year. I don’t think we’re even going to have to see if MIllsap can do it full time. It looks more and more like the Jazz paid a lot of money to get exactly what they paid for: Paul Millsap, not the next Carlos Boozer.

Without Boozer the Jazz definitely become a different team, and not always a bad one. There have been stretches over the last few years when he’s been out with injuries that the Jazz have played very well. But there’s no way this team contends without contributions from Boozer, Okur, AK, and Deron Williams. It’s definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of the parts.

Can the Jazz hold on to 4th? Who do you guys want to play in the 1st round?
The Jazz will definitely hold onto fourth, and might steal the division title, considering the way Denver is stumbling. Anyone is going to be tough in the first round, but the Jazz have somehow had the Spurs’ number this year. If we were picking the opponent, D-league style, the Jazz would go with San Antonio.

At what point does Jerry Sloan get Coach of the Year? If he gets it for a season he may not have deserved to (like Denzel Washington winning for Training Day when he was gold in Hurricane and Malcolm X), will that make it any less sweet?
I think you’re right, he’ll get it some year when the Jazz win 48 games with a boring roster and no one cares. He makes a good point that COY is kind of a kiss of death. The list of coaches who have been fired the next year is almost shocking. That being said, there is nothing I enjoy more than hanging around Sloan’s postgame remarks. It’s like going to a book reading with Hemingway.

Is Fesenko enough to carry the Jazz into the playoffs?
Are you forgetting Kosta Koufos? The Jazz have the feared Ukrainian-Greek combo ready to carry the team to new heights. Honestly though, Fesenko really is an X-factor. He’s a huge guy with sneaky athleticism. He’s been solid filling in for Memo down the stretch but his mysterious “stomach virus” keeps acting up and keeping him out of games. He’ll win a game or two for the Jazz in the playoffs.

Has Andre Kirilenko cashed in his once a year infidelity chip? Is he worth anything in a trade?
Apparently AK traded in his pass to get permission to grow out his hair (made up), a decision that has been rewarded with a reverse-Samson effect: He’s playing his best basketball in years but his injured back keeps flaring up and keeping him out of games. He’s also been seen in a walking cast lately. He’s probably not a great value at $84 million, but he’s absolutely been the glue for the Jazz for most of the year, especially early.

So the Jazz tonight and Denver on Friday, it wont be easy, but one of these needs to be a win; I’m liking the Denver game a bit more for some stupid reason – we owe them. It’s going to take a full 48 minutes of effort and execution from the Raptors. Bargnani and Turkoglu have been violently inconsistent the last few games, but really need to lead the way, and not be lazy. Not saying it’s going to happen, but I have a good feeling (the gamblers have the line at Utah -3.0 with an over/under of 214, not exactly a ringing endorsement for the home team).

You can plan for a game all year, but this isn’t football, and you don’t know how the ball bounces until you step on the court and play it out. This Raptor team has won some huge games (Cleveland, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Orlando), but also dropped a couple gawd-awful ones (Sacramento, Golden State).

A few weeks ago I talked a couple times about every game being a must win until the end of the year. Unfortunately, that level of effort hasn’t been there each game, fortunately the Bulls have been utterly plagued with injury, and on a 9 game losing streak of their own. So while they aren’t out of the playoffs, there is a way to go to maintain a playoff seed (and hopefully move up), as well as building some positive momentum heading into the playoffs. The last thing this team needs is to stumble backwards into the first round and get rolled over by whoever we end up play (it looks like Cleveland for now).

That process was started Wednesday against the Hawks, where the Raptors hung around until the last 2 minutes of the game, then grabbed the bull by the horns and won it on a Chris Bosh jumper with 2 seconds left. With 16 games left (8 on the road and 4 back-to-backs), that game could be a turning point for the Raptors; they just need to build on the positives that came out of it, and apply it to the rest.

They can start tonight against the Thunder, who dropped a tough game to the Bobcats on Wednesday. I checked in with Royce Young from Daily Thunder about his team:

Russell Westbrook has had some MONSTER games the last month. While Kevin Durant is the franchise, would it be fair to say that as Westrbook goes, so do the Thunder? Is it overshooting to put him in the same league as Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Derick Rose?
It’s absolutely fair to say as Westbrook goes, so do the Thunder. When he dishes out 10 or more assists, the Thunder plays over .700 basketball. Since he’s made his big progression starting in the middle of December, OKC is 28-11. Durant is the best player on the team and obviously the most valuable, but Westbrook is a close second. A lot of the opportunities to score Durant gets are created by Westbrook. As for putting him in the upper tier of point guards, I don’t think we’re there yet. Though you could make a strong case he’s outperformed Rose to this point in their careers.

Given how the Thunder have owned the Jazz all year, and are a game and a half out of 8th, how important is it to maintain the 5th seed? Is Utah the desired match-up?
Utah is absolutely the desired matchup. The things Utah struggles with – length, athleticism, speed, youth – Oklahoma City has. I think the 3-0 record is a little misleading in the sense that people think OKC owns Utah, but if there’s one team the Thunder wants matchup-wise, it’s the Jazz.

One of the rumours I’ve heard as a possible destination for Chris Bosh is Oklahoma City, would he be a good fit? How does Durant at PF and Bosh at C sound to you (match-up hell)?
Yeah that’s something Thunder fans talk about a lot. While I don’t see it happening, it is fun to think about. Bosh could definitely start at center, giving OKC a front line of Durant, Jeff Green and Bosh with the super-athletic Serge Ibaka and gritty Nick Collison coming off the bench. I’d say the Thunder would be a 60-win caliber team. But again, the chances of Bosh coming to OKC are pretty slim.

I always thought Toronto Raptor fans were crazy-obsessed…until I stumbled on your blog earlier in the year and just fell in love with the discussion you guys get. All I can say is wow! Talk about OKC fans and their passion for the game.
I can’t say how unbelievably impressive it is how dedicated Thunder fans are. It’s a true passion right now. Maybe a little bit of it is still infatuation with the new girl in town, but I think Thunder fans are some of the best. A game never has fewer than 17,000 at it (capacity 18,206). This state is college football crazed, but with the Thunder being the only pro sport in town, I think a good comparison for what OKC will be is what Green Bay is with the Packers. I feel incredibly fortunate to get to root for these guys in this city. The team is fun, management is wonderful and the fan base is excited and passionate. It’s really a perfect combination.

With Calderon starting, he will have his hands absolutely full with Westbrook, who is fast becoming one of my favourite players in the league. Over the last 10, Westbrook is averaging 17.2pts 4.9ast 9.7ast while shooting 50.8% from the field. Don’t fool yourselves, the Raptors beat the Hawks because Bargnani and Turkoglu stepped up, not because of Jose’s insertion into the starting 5 (Bibby is an old man). Tonight, it probably will get a bit ugly for Jose. I almost don’t even mind if Westbrook drops 30 from the perimeter if Calderon stays in front of him and keeps him out of the paint (limiting penetration and distribution).

The Thunder have missed Hardens perimeter scoring recently, so his expected return to the lineup tonight (as of publishing this piece) is a big boon for OKC. Kyle Weaver has contributed exactly zero in his absence, something we’ve come to expect from far too many of our own; sadly.

For this team to have any hope of going into the post-season on a positive note, they will need both Bargnani and Turkoglu to give that same level of effort and production they got from the the Hawks game.

Bargnani won’t have his hands as full as he did with Smith, and whatever Hedo hives up on defense, he should be able to get back on offense. Hedo especially needs to keep Durant out of the paint, and by extension, off the foul line where he wreaks most of his havoc.

All said and done, this game comes back to the point, and how well a job Calderon and Jack do at keeping Westbrook in check. The Thunder are 1.5 point favourites with an over/under of 209; not exactly a big endorsement for them, especially since they are on the road. This is anyones game, so expect a high scoring affair with big swings.

Come join us at Sports Centre Cafe tonight for Raptor Fans Friday.

For all our Persian readers, happy Naw Ruz (New Year)!

At least it’s over. This killer road trip that everyone said would be the first true test for the Raptors has finally run its course. After dropping two tough ones in Phoenix and Denver, the hope was that the ‘moral’ victories and lessons learned would help the Raptors steal a game from an injured 4-6 Utah Jazz team. Didn’t work out that way, but the Raptors did learn a lesson on what it takes to be  a top level team.

The Raptors have played more road games in the West then any Eastern conference team, having gone 2-6 (Memphis before this trip). We can be thankful that this trial by fire is over with. It wont be until February, where the Raptors play 7 of 10 at home, that we can expect to make up some ground from this early scheduling fiasco.

The game started ugly with Bosh and Calderon each fumbling the ball, leading to four quick Utah points off the fast break. This seem to be the trend the entire game: the Jazz being able to push on the break, creating very easy scoring opportunities for each other. The Raptors laboured on each and every possession and could score only in contested one-on-one situations.

In fact, the first quarter was probably the worst quarter the Raptors have played all season. D-Will and rookie Wes Mathews got the best of the Raptors back court. If it wasn’t Deron punishing the Raptors for each and every turnover, pushing the ball and making the right play each and every time, it was this dude Mathews, who I’ve never heard, getting into a nice rhythm and making the Raptors pay for some weak defense on the perimeter. Not much else to report about the 1st quarter. I could have been out on the court and things wouldn’t have gotten any worse.

In the early second quarter things went from bad to worse. Where the Raptors were going one-and-done on offense, taking bad jumpers with our rebounders nowhere to be found, the Jazz were working the ball into the paint, getting great looks from inside 15ft. The Jazz were executing so well that they had 13 uncontested shots on their first 26 attempts, the pick ‘n roll working magic for them and our bigs unable to cope. They literally scored 26 points with no one between them and the basket.

Seemed like Bosh was all alone in this quarter. My game notes literally either had Bosh losing someone on defense (4pts off layups), Bosh rotating to help with no one picking up his man (2pts off layups), or Bosh finding his game in the latter half of the quarter being active on the boards, contesting shots, and scoring.

It was Bosh who put the Raptors on his back and scored 11pts in the last three and a half minutes of the half to pace a 16-6 run. In fact, this was the problem the entire night. The Raptors were just running around trying to make things happen but not playing basketball. Every single point Bosh scored was because he created for himself. They were unassisted and weren’t the result of any ball movement. Bosh got the ball, and everyone else stood around watching him do his thing. Whatever, it cut a 17 point lead to 9 with momentum building for the Raptors slowly. You’d hope at some point either our vaunted offense or a semblance of defense would make an appearance.

The 3rd started the way the 2nd ended, with the Raptors scoring off of one-on-plays. Only one of the shots (a high-lo feed from Bargnani to Bosh) was the result of someone creating for another Raptor. This 10-4 run to start the 3rd was paced by some really good defense. Jose was up on Deron, staying with him on the penetration and forcing a contested layup (missed). Bosh contested a Boozer jumper, DeRozan stole the outlet pass from Boozer to Deron.

Then it happened, the Raptors hit the wall, going scoreless for 4 minutes. Brick after brick rained down. Every single one a jumper that was forced. With Bosh on the bench, the Jazz pushed their lead to 9, then he entered:

MARCO BELINELLI TIME

(sung to the tune of peanut butter jelly time)

In a span of 2:30, Belinelli either scored or assisted on every made basket. The Raptors closed the 3rd on a 9-3 run, capped with an off-balance buzzer beating three by our boy. On a side note, Belinelli is going to be the end of me this season. I like him, but the dude is just plain nuts. He cut the lead the lead to 1, with a layup in traffic (assisted by Hedo), but then the Raptors reverted back to first-option jumpers. One-and-done. Catch-and-shoot. Watch as your check blows by you for 5 minutes. Literally; the Raptors were scoreless for 5:19.

This time it was another unrecognized rookie, Eric Maynor, anchoring the Jazz as they slowly but surely pulled away. This Raptors had no answer for him. He was quick, crafty and did what he wanted. 11pts and 2ast in the 4th. The Raptors as a team scored 16 and had 2 assists just to put it in perspective.

Four Factors to Losing

Shooting the Ball Well
They did not shoot the ball well for one reason: Calderon/Hedo/Jack did a poor job of creating for the rest of the team. 14 assists on the night, seriously? The Raptors scored on great individual playmaking, not as a team. When you can’t hit your jumpers, you usually move it in, try to get a couple easy layups and build some confidence. No, the Raptors kept shooting and missing. To put it in perspective, the Raptors grabbed more offensive rebounds then they dished out assists.
Raptors – 40.6%
Jazz – 50.5%

Taking Care of the Ball
Both teams took care of the ball well here, which is no surprise given Calderon’s and Williams’ track record. Sadly, Calderon had 2tos to 2ast. That hurt.
Raptors – 11.5%
Jazz – 10.5%

Offensive Rebounding
This was the sole reason the Raptors were able to weather going scoreless for 4 minutes in the 3rd quarter: they grabbed  offensive rebounds. With Okur out, the Raptors were able to use their size advantage to crash the boards and grab 16 offensive boards. The Raptors did a great job of crashing the boards, grabbing 50.
Raptors – 30.7%
Jazz – 27.6%

Getting to the Free Throw Line
Not gonna get to the line when you’re shooting jumpers, but Bosh managed 9 trips on his own to ensure  that all was not lost in this department.
Raptors – 24.1%
Jazz – 34.5%

Player Impact

Not surprising that Bosh led the way, again: 32pts 17rebs – ridiculous. I shudder to think where this team will be if we run him out of town.

One the thing the Raptors have done really well is shown resiliency when the chips are down. This is a tough team that has some fight in them. It takes its toll though, you can’t keep getting into double digit deficits and expect to grind your way back every single game. Oh, I freaking hate Jarrett Jack. Hate him. He is my new Jamario Moon with that garbage jumper of his. I’d rather Rasho pop J’s from 17.

Arse has more of the grizzly details as they happened.

Unfortunately for Bosh you can’t take 85% of the game off on the offensive end, show up in the last three minutes and expect to win the game. As for Bargnani, when you’re strictly a jump shooter it’s only natural that there are nights where your jumper isn’t working. Combine Bosh and Bargnani’s struggles, mix-in a little bit of Jose Calderon sleepwalking, throw in some TJ Ford erraticism and finally add some out-of-timeout Sloan on Sam ownage and you have yourself a home loss where you shoot 38% and submit to playing the Jazz style of half-court basketball where only they can succeed. We can’t just accept this defeat and say, “Oh well, we lost to a good team, better luck next time”. We need a more consistent rotation and our best players need to be put in positions where they can succeed and not be anonymous for quarters at a time, like tonight.

Let’s fast-forward to the key play of the game where Jamario Moon has forced Kirilenko to mess up his drive and the Jazz have the ball out-of-bounds with 6 seconds left. Jazz get a quick play from the bench which ends up with the Raptors falling asleep and Deron William laying the ball in. Instead of a chance to tie, we’re looking at a four point deficit. If that wasn’t bad enough, we get the ball back at the end of the game with enough time left to call a timeout, organize a play and attempt a shot. Instead we choose to wing it and TJ and Humphries end up playing hot-potato with TJ launching a shot prayer that God will only too happily decline. Now the flip side of the coin is that calling a timeout would’ve allowed the Jazz defense to set but we’re at home and with the crowd behind you, you call a timeout and setup a proper play for one of your shooters like Parker, Bargnani, Calderon or Kapono, anything but a TJ Ford fadeaway behind Kris Humphries!

We can analyze Sam’s substitution “pattern” to death and not get anywhere because he doesn’t have a pattern, he has random thoughts at random times which result in random substitutions with random players. What sin did Juan Dixon and Jorge Garbajosa commit that they were glued to the bench? To me this was an ideal game for Garbajosa, his pass defense and grittiness would’ve been valuable in a game which looked like going down to the wire from the beginning and was decided by a defensive breakdown. Why did it take Bosh 3 1/2 quarters to finally assert himself in any way? Do you blame this on Bosh or Sam not using the resources at his disposal properly? Did it really take that long to figure out that his jumper wasn’t working? Coming out of the half Bosh had one good move going to the rim where he got fouled but after that the Raps just didn’t look to exploit his quickness down low until late in the fourth. What gives? These are questions that beg answers. Parker had the hot hand and should’ve played 10 minutes in the fourth quarter. No reason why on a night when our offense is struggling we limit the PT of the one player that’s doing well. It just doesn’t make any sense, it’s not like he can’t handle it, he’s one of the most durable players we have.

There’s no point analyzing Andrea Bargnani and his 1-11FG and 3 rebounds, he was simply brutal in all areas of the game including following up his own misses. When he shoots he tends to admire his shot instead of anticipating a miss and potentially getting the rebound. That shit works great in NBA Live but against the Jazz every possession counts and remember, the Jazz WANT you to shoot jumpers, they get off on that because they love to grab the defensive rebound. Bargs was brutal and it’s sad to see him be so one-dimensional that he can’t help the team in any other way if his shot isn’t working. If I’m Bargs I use as much Valium and painkiller to completely erase this game from memory and come back strong against the Pacers.

Naturally, after every such game there are always the “Bosh sucks” and “Boozer >> Bosh” chant but as I’ve always said, one needs to take a step back and see Bosh for what he is: A good player who can help this team win given proper coaching and instruction. He is NOT a franchise player but a good forward who can thrive in the right situation. If you’re expecting too much of Bosh, it’s your own fault, you’ve just bought into the media hype. So where do we go from here, 4-4 with a bad home record and two wins against the worst team in our division and one against a team that’s struggling worse than Damon Huard (KC Chiefs reference). If the season so far is a microcosm of things to come, we should prepare to fight for the eighth spot and suspend any talk of this being the nucleus of a contender. At best we’re the poor, AIDS-inflicted, homeless man’s Phoenix Suns except we can’t score when we need to and shoot about as consistently as Bruce Bowen hits FTs.

Observations from the game which warrant more discussion:

Deron Williams ball pressure: He was killing us all game yet we did not make ANY effort to get the ball out of his hand. We allowed him to do whatever he wanted in short-clock situations and he always burned us.

D on Mehmet Okur: Bosh should not be guarding him and Sam should ensure this. Just like teams have trouble guarding Bargnani at the 3-pt line, we had trouble guarding him. Bargs should’ve been on him for defensive purposes, Okur hit a couple threes on Bosh that really hurt us.

Jose Calderon on All-Star ballot: Chuck picked a nice game to moan about Jose Calderon not being on the All-Star ballot. 3-7 FG, 6 points, 3 TOs and 0 assists. God hates Chuck. Terrible game by Calderon, all his TOs came on the break when we should’ve scored on a 3 on 1.

Jamario Moon keeping us in the game: Another good game by Moon, his late fluky 3 probably prolonged this game longer than it should have. He can cause havoc on D and is making me forget about Joey Graham.

Kris Humphries effort unmatched: Since he got his contract he’s playing like a man-possessed. He held his own against Boozer/Collins/Kirilenko and was a real force for us. I love his heart and desire.

Thanks for reading. Grab the feed and let’s hope the Raptors get better and that Sam figures out how to coach.