I can’t believe I predicted the Raptors covering the spread last night; I apologize.

Injury Report

Toronto
Reggie Evans – Out
Linas Kleiza – Out

Chicago
When Boozers healthy, you know the God’s are conspiring against you.

Player Report

Jose Calderon
Bayless played fairly well last night considering he couldn’t hit a field goal and turned the ball over 4 times in 21 minutes. It’s kind of maddening for your point guard to play so callously, but he made up for it by getting to the line and getting folks involved, albeit he left it till the fourth quarter when it didn’t matter. Calderon was no better. If the two of them, Calderon mostly, had trouble with Augustin in transition last night,  tonight against Rose will be much worse. Derrick is lightning fast, elite finisher at the rim, a stud in the paint with that sweet floater, shoots the ball well, athletic, sees the floor well and has that look in his eye (the exact opposite look that Bargnani has). In short, the guy is an MVP candidate; good luck.
Box: 8pts 12ast 3rebs

DeMar DeRozan
DeRozan needs to bounce back from a lame-duck performance last night against the Cats. Took him 15 shots to total 14 points, but zero trips to the line; last night he was up against elite-defenders so I’ll give him a pass, but tonight should be better. Luckily he gets Bogans again, who hasn’t had much success defending him in the past. I’d like to see 6 trips to the line tonight for DeMar; enough is enough.
Box: 18pts 4rebs 3ast

Sonny Weems
Best game of the year for Sonny last night. Dude was getting in the paint, attacking the rim, taking good jumpers, and doing a fairly good job on Wallace considering Gerald did end up with 20pts, but only pulled down 6 rebounds, that counts for something, no? I guess not.

Deng, he’s a solid mid-ranger shooter, and his length (6″9) makes it that much harder to block his shot. If there’s a weakness, it’s shooting threes but asking the Raptors defense to play intelligently is like asking A-Dub to write a post sans the Bargnani-hate – ain’t gonna happen.
Box: 13pts 7rebs 3ast

Amir Johnson
As much as I can’t stand Boozer, I have to respect the guy. He’s been a beast since returning from injury and held the fort during Noah’s absence over the last month. He shoots the ball very well, plays big in the post, rebounds very well, and can be a nuisance on defense with those long arms and quick movements. Amir is going to have his hands full between trying to keep a body on Boozer, and having to deal with Noah on the glass.  I don’t know; this has the potential to get really messy, Amir can’t do it alone; and really needs a motivated Bargnani to battle in the paint with him.
Box: 8pts 10rebs 2blk

Andrea Bargnani
Bargnani is going to justify why I would trade him in a heartbeat for Joakim Noah. Last night against Nazr Mohammed he let the guy grab 14 rebounds. Had it not been for the 8 rebounds that Andrea pulled down (I use pulled down loosely), I might have broken my television…hate Nazr. He’s not the kind of hustle player who can outplay anyone, but did just that. Against Noah, tonight, he wont fair any better. I’m not saying Bargnani won’t hit a few shots, he’s good for at least 20 points; but he wont be able to match Noah’s energy and his overall impact on the game is likely to be minimal. Joakim is coming off a month sitting out and the little hustle/heart things that make him such a valuable player will be on display, the Raptors are hoping that he’ll be rusty and have his minutes limited. He may not be able to go 100% for 35min, but he will be a force.
Box: 21pts 2reb

Keys to the Game

Second Game of a Back-to-Back
The Raptors are on the second night of the back-to-back, thankfully it’s a home game. This season, Toronto is 4-8 on the second night of a back-to-back, with all but one of those wins (Dallas) coming against teams who are playing under .500.

Defense/Rebounding
The Bulls are a solid defensive team; 9th in points allowed and 2nd in rebounding. BARGNANI NEEDS TO GRAB SOME BOARDS. Since shutting down Rose will be next to impossible, I’m advocating the Raptors not double anyone. I don’t want to see any drives and kicks for a wide open look at the rim. Also, BARGNANI NEEDS TO BOX NOAH OUT EVERY TIME A BALL GOES UP, NO MATTER WHAT END OF THE FLOOR HE’S ON.

The Line

The Bulls are 8.5 point favourites with an over/under of 196; seems about the right; the Raptors will flap around like a fish out of water, only to piece together a solid run at the end of the game just to mess with us. This game does have potential to get out of control, though.

I can’t believe I predicted a 30/10 game for Bargnani against a half-assed front court of Nazr Mohammed and Kwame Brown, who both came out looking like all-stars. I was fully expecting another roll-call laden with profanity…whatever, the Raptors are on the second night of a back-to-back against the Bulls, and it’s going to get ugly (my enthusiasm has been tempered quite a bit).

Injury Report

Toronto
Reggie Evans – Out
Jose Calderon – Out
Peja Stojakovic – Out

Chicago
Joakim Noah – Sprained thumb, should play
Derrick Rose – Sprained hand, should play
Carlos Boozer – Healthy, but could randomly keel over at any moment

Match-ups

Point Guards
Bayless has been filling in for the injured Calderon nicely. If there was any knock on him, it’s his ball control; the guy dropped 9 dimes last night, but picked up 4 turnovers. I’m sure that will improve with time, so I’m not too worried. He did much better against Augustin then I thought he would, and took the match-up. Tonight against Rose will be a different story. Derrick is lightning fast, elite finisher at the rim, a stud in the paint with that sweet floater, shoots the ball well, athletic, sees the floor well and has that look in his eye (the exact opposite look that Bargnani has). So lets not talk about how to stop him, cause he can only stop himself. Bayless can make him work on defense…and that’s about it. Will be a great learning experience for the kid, playing major minutes against an elite point guard. I like Barbosa
Edge: Chicago

Shooting Guard
I’m pretty sure my expectations for DeRozan are too high. He’s a 15pt 5reb type of player, and I’m good with that. His jumper needs work, like 500 shots a day-everday, but he needs to drive every time he touches the ball. That dunk he put down last night was sick; dunk of the year material for sure. Tonight against Bogans, more aggressiveness will be the recipe to success. Bogans is a solid defender who likes to spot up in the corner for threes. Although he doesn’t convert at a high clip, there are only so many open looks you can give a guy until he starts to hurt you. With Rose’s ability to get to any spot on the floor he wants too, DeMar will have to be careful on leaving Bogans on help defense. On the flip side, Bogans doesn’t get to the rack much, and isn’t a great finisher, so playing up on him and forcing him to put the ball on the ground into some traffic should shut him down. It’s easy to forget about Korver coming off the bench, dude can hit threes.
Edge: Even

Small Forward
I’ve lost all faith in Weems and Kleiza. I’m very open to a trade for Igoudala at this point to improve this team. Not saying AI9 is the answer the Raptors are looking for, but the guy plays hard and is better than both Weems and Kleiza combined. I’m sure I’ll get an earful, but the Raptors need a small forward who can create for himself, play defense and be intense on a consistent basis.

Back to Deng, he’s a solid mid-ranger shooter, and his length (6″9) makes it that much harder to both his shot. If there’s a weakness, it’s shooting threes, but he converts at a 40% clip, which is pretty good. He’s a solid defender and rebounder, which only makes the problem with Weems/Kleiza that much more serious. I’m not saying that Sonny and Linas wont have a good game; just that it doesn’t matter because they need to have a series of good games to become a dependable part of the roation. As it stands now, neither of them should be playing more than 12-14 minutes a game.

Julian Wright would be ideal in this match-up. He is long and can affect Deng’s shot off the dribble; too bad Triano doesn’t know who the guy is.
Edge: Chicago

Power Forward
As much as I can’t stand Boozer, I have to respect the guy. When he’s healthy, he’s a beast. The shoots the ball very well, plays big in the post, rebounds very well, and can be a nuisance on defense with those long arms and quick movements. Amir is going to have his hands full between trying to keep a body on Boozer, and having to deal with Noah on the glass. It doesn’t get any easier when Taj Gibson plays off the bench; the kid’s been a star filling in for the injured Boozer to start the season. I don’t know, this has the potential to get really messy, Amir can’t do it alone; Ed Davis is still too raw to really go at a polished big like Boozer, and….
Edge: Chicago

Center
…Bargnani is going to justify why I would trade him in a heartbeat for Joakim Noah. Last night against Nazr Mohammed and Kwame Brown, Andrea was somewhere else. Those two are not the kind of hustle players who can outplay anyone, but did just that. Imagine what the hustle, tenacity and competitive ferociousness that Noah plays with will do? I’m getting nervous thinking about all the loose balls, offensive rebounds-put backs, blocked shots, etc that Noah is going to inflict on Bargnani. I’m not saying Bargnani wont hit a few shots, and he might just score 20; but he wont be able to match Noah’s energy, and wont be able to battle him in the paint. Noah can keep up with Andrea on the perimeter, in the post, and off the dribble. ..I can breathe now.
Edge: Chicago

Keys to the Game

Fleeting Line About Pride
After that second half sh*t-show, something needs to give…Bayless, Barbosa and Johnson can’t be the only ones who consistently show up and give a full serving of effort when they hit the floor.

Clichéd Line About the Second Game of a Back-to-Back
The Raptors are on the second night of the back-to-back, thankfully it’s at home game. This season, Toronto is 2-3 (I thought it was worse for some reason) on the second night of a back-to-back, with both wins coming against teams who are playing under .400 ball; Philly and Detroit.

Standard Line About Defense/Rebounding
The Bulls are a solid defensive team; 9th in points allowed and 2nd in rebounding. BARGNANI NEEDS TO GRAB SOME BOARDS. Since shutting down Rose will be next to impossible, I’m advocating the Raptors not double anyone. I don’t want to see any drives and kicks for a wide open look at the rim. Also, BARGNANI NEEDS TO BOX NOAH OUT EVERY TIME A BALL GOES UP, NO MATTER WHAT END OF THE FLOOR HE’S ON.

Desperate Line About Calling Timeouts in a Timely/Effective/Efficient Manner in the Hopes of Actually Coaching and Instructing This Team on Some In-Game Strategy
The 3rd quarter last night saw the Raptors extend their lead by 2, then go down 1 in a two-and-a-half minute run where the Bobcats scored 9 straight points. Not once did it occur to Triano to call a freaking timeout and correct the players, nothing. YOU ARE NOT PHIL JACKSON, AND THE RAPTORS AREN’T THE LAKERS, THEY CAN’T PLAY THROUGH 9-0 RUNS. Not once have I seen this happen this season, not once. So bloody frustrating.

The Line

The Bulls are 5.5 point favourites with an over/under of 202, seems about the right; the Raptors will flap around like a fish out of water, only to piece together a solid run at the end of the game to give people false hopes about how good this team is.

Thank God the game finished. The only thing worse than watching a pre-season game, is watching a pre-season game go into overtime, then double overtime. It was worth it though; the Raptors pulled out a gritty win in a game that resembled what the regular season vibe will be. The Suns game couldn’t be taken seriously; the Celtics and Bulls are top-four in the East; but the Sixers are on about the same level as the Raptors.

There were a couple goals heading into the game:

• Settle on the starting lineup that everyone has already picked out (Jack, DeRozan, Kleiza, Johnson & Bargnani)
• Get Bargnani out of his early slump
• Manufacture some trade value for Evans
• Win a bloody game

So with our expectations tempered, this game provided a nice glimpse into what we can expect for the season, pardon me while I kick it a bit roll-call:

David Anderson – while he was a good pickup in the offseason, the fact that he jacks shots every single time he touches the ball makes me nuts. Even though Bargnani played heavy minutes last night on the second night of a back-to-back, I was floored when Anderson was inserted in OT. He did make up for the poor shooting night with some nifty rebounding though.

Leandro Barbosa – anyone else get the feeling that our 6th man is going to be our leading scorer? As Arse said, he comes as advertised. I haven’t been used to seeing a Raptor break down his defender off the dribble and take it to the rack with any semblance of consistency, but Barbosa has given us a few games of that. He chipped in 19pts (8-16FG) and 6rebs last night, which is about what I expect from him on the season. An added bonus is his ability to get off a pretty good look at the basket in pressure situations, which gives Triano another option (Bargs) in crunch time.

Andrea Bargnani – Best game of the pre-season hands down. While I don’t think he will be a 22+ point scorer a game this season (18-20 range), I wasn’t too worried about him finding his range. Bargnani misses all that space Bosh created for him to operate:

It’s just a matter of him trying to acclimatize himself with the new guys, a completely different offence than we’ve had in the past, which has been put in place for a specific reason. – Jay Triano

Early in the game his contribution was on the defensive end; switching between keeping Brand (12pts on 13 shots) and Thaddeus Young (8pts 5rebs) under control. When he was needed to hit a couple shots to close out the game, he flipped that switch (it’s so obvious when he’s motivated) and almost won the game on an offensive put-back off of DeRozan’s missed free throw at the end of the first overtime. It’s not all rosey for Bargs, but the Raptors pulled one out with a decent contribution from him.

Jose Calderon – I’m not sure what happened to the Calderon from the 2008-2009 season, but I want him back. This incarnation of the kid is painful. He threw three really sloppy (and uncharacteristic) passes to Johnson and Anderson that overshadowed (for me anyways) his 8 assists on the night. Look, he won the Forderon situation, but only because TJ went ape-shit. Looks like Jack should get the starting nod because Calderon’s talents are best suited on the second unit, where no-one not named Barbosa can score of his own volition. I’d really like to see him shoot the ball more, 5 shots in 26 minutes, when the ball is constantly in your hands, is almost not even trying.

DeMar DeRozan – Look, I like the kid, but we may have to be reserved to the fact that this might be the most to expect form him. He can help his own cause out by putting up 500 shots a day, everyday, for the rest of his life. 5-15 from the floor and 6-11 from the line? He’s a shooting guard, you don’t expect those sorts of numbers from a starting shooting guard in the NBA. What I did appreciate from him was that he was aggressive in take it to the rack and drawing contact. He cooly (?) hit the game tying free throw, but was off on the go-ahead basket. My biggest criticism for him was that his contributions were mostly scoring, but last night he chipped in 5rebs 2ast 2stl and a block, a pretty good all-around game.

Ronald Dupree – Got T’d up for showing emotion after he got called for a blocking foul (looked like he drew a charge to me). Terrible rule…errr…Dupree shouldn’t have played in OT, but whatever.

Reggie Evans – It’s no secret I don’t think highly of the guy, but he had a good game…still could have done without seeing him shoot those three shots, but I’ll let it slide.

Jarrett Jack – If the first four games of the pre-season were an audition for the rotation, then Jack has secured starting PG duties in my book. He got into the paint and took good shots (shot chart below), got people involved protected the ball, grabbed as many rebounds as Bargnani and hit a massive three in OT to give the Raptors a 2 point lead with 40 seconds to go. Seriously couldn’t ask for anything else.

Amir Johnson – While he had 4 fouls in 27 minutes, the rate at which he picked them up didn’t affect how he played very much. 11pts 9rebs is a solid performance (considering Joakim Noah averaged 10.7pts 11rebs last season), but I’m always left wanting more. I want this kid to play more minutes, so he can score more efficiently and grab more rebounds. The Raptors might need to invest in bringing in a mentor for him, could be a thought.

Linas Kleiza – Foul trouble kept him out of the game, but frankly, I’m a bit disappointed. There was no reason he couldn’t leave his mark on this game, and looking through my notes, he wasn’t mention worthy in them at all.

Sonny Weems – Had a balanced game in my books, didn’t shoot too much, but attempted good ones. Like Kleiza, nothing really stood out for me though.

We got Boston again on Friday.

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Photo Credit: AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Nathan Denette

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Any combination of a Raptors loss or Bulls win will end in Jerome Williams representing the Raptors at the draft lottery in a couple months. It’s sad, but things are on coming together like many of us said at the beginning of the season: that the 5th through 9th places in the East will be a dogfight, and the Raptors are not head and shoulders above the rest of the teams in the East.

In games that Bosh has been injured, the Raptors are 3-7 this season; with those three wins coming against the Nets, Wolves and Knicks. See a theme? They can beat the gawdawful teams without Bosh, but they can’t beat anyone else (they’ve also not been able to beat bad teams with Bosh in the lineup, but I digress). We actually have a good sample size of what life without Bosh is going to be like, and I’ll tell you, it’s not going to be good.

I actually have very little to say about the game. Contrary to the mood at the ACC, I didn’t boo the team, I wasn’t disgusted with the performance, and I’m not upset that we’re currently 9th in the East. I’m not saying I’m happy with the outcome, (that was as much basketball as rubbing up against a woman on the subway is sex) but I am sending bad vibes towards Colangelo and Triano. This team is where it is because of the personnel decisions Colangelo has made, and coaching decisions Triano insists on continually making.

Time has run out on the Raptors, and everything that should have been done yesterday to get the win…should have been done, and it wasn’t:

• Triano did the right thing by starting Weems on Rose and Calderon on Hinrich, what he didn’t do was take it a step further. We have a guy on the bench called Marcus Banks, who is easily our best defender at the point. He showed late in the 4th that he can keep up with Rose and was disruptive. Triano went to him in garbage time in order to rest the guys for tonights game against the Pistons. Rose is prone to turn the ball over if pressured. Weems, Calderon, Jack are all not capable of defensive pressure like that, Banks is.
• Noah and Gibson combined for 25 rebounds. Bargnani and Johnson combined for a pathetic 7. Now, Turkoglu was an animal and pulled down 19, but when your forwards aren’t crashing the offensive glass, well…forget it. All I’m saying is that Turkoglu had the same amount of offensive rebounds as Bargnani and Johnson combined and that can’t happen. Rasho would have been a nice choice to get a few more minutes early to stabilize the play in the paint. Especially with Amir picking up so many early fouls on stupid/lazy reach ins.
• Jack and Calderon again? AGAIN? SERIOUSLY? I feel like it’s groundhog day. With all the statistics against pairing the two, all of us moaning and complaining that they don’t play well together, wtf is Triano trying to prove? Is there something going on with that pairing that all of us are missing? I just don’t get it.

The most disappointing thing about the game was the booing. We need to be like the Thunder fans, who cheer their team, even when they are down and out, and will them back into the bloody game. Fans at the ACC need to be the 6th man, not the spoiled Torontonians the rest of Canada hates us for being. You want to show your displeasure with the team, don’t buy a ticket to the game. That sends the loudest message to MLSE in terms of lost revenue. Just wait till those fat cats don’t get that playoff cash, folks will get sodomized.

There is some good news: if the Raptors win tonight, then the Bulls MUST beat the Celtics (a team who is fighting for 3rd in the East and a chance to avoid the Cavs until the conference finals) AND beat the Bobcats on the road (Bobcats are 31-9 at home). The pressure is on Chicago, but only if the Raptors hold it down tonight. Yea, that’s about all I got.

Brilliant game by the Raptors. Totally and utterly outclassed the Bulls from the opening tip. This was about the closest to playing a perfect game the Raptors have ever had. So sitting there the whole night and watching the game, I had this surreal feeling where I realized that this is what Laker/Celtic/Spurs fans feel like every single game. Not once did I have that pit in my stomach where I knew it was all going to fall apart at any minute, which kind of made the game boring because I wasn’t on the edge of my seat.

You know what though? I’ll take it. Those anxious moments have taken years off my life.

This game was won in the first quarter, masterfully. It all started with attacking Noah in the paint. The guy is their heart and soul, there is no question. Rose is the future, but Noah is the guy who comes to work and does all the things necessary to win. His stat line in the first 4 minutes: 4pts 2rebs (2orb) 1ast. Neither Bargnani or Bosh was able to do anything about him. The Raptors had a 5 point lead when he got pulled after his 2nd foul, but I worry how he would have worn down Bargnani over the course of the game if he didn’t pick up those fouls. How did they get him into foul trouble? DeRozan and Bargnani attacking the rim. Not from getting nicked on the wrist during a shot, even though most of the Raptors points came on the perimeter, it was play in the paint that won us the game. *mental note*

It was all DeRozan in the 1st, Heir Canada reminded us how valuable a shooting guard who can attack off the wing is. 3-7 in the frame, but 3 ridiculous dunks that cost me my sandwich as it flew out of my hand while I was cheering (my dog quickly grabbed the schnitzel from between the buns, fml).

Back to DeRozan, 11pts in the 1st but nothing for the rest of the game. With all those free looks at the basket, I would have liked if he got more. We literally moved away from him after his good work to start the game. If the commitment is to develop him, last nights game was a perfect opportunity to teach and let him make some mistakes and succeed in a game situation.

The second quarter saw a surge by the Bulls. They attacked and attacked and attacked, relentlessly. Pargo was the spark-plug that lit the Bulls offense early, what a solid piece this kid is. They seemed to score at will, but the Raptors matched point for point. The difference was that a lot of the Bulls points were the result of one-on-one play, but the Raptors moved the ball around and got someone a great shot. The Bulls got 6 assists in the frame, but they were more a case of the shooter hitting a tough shot then a playmaker creating a good scoring opportunity. The Raptors did the latter, it was nice

Highlights:

Defense
Yes, they are talking, and it’s a beautiful thing. The Raptors helped each other on precision rotations; every time a Bull would get close to the paint, people would collapse and rotate forcing tough shots.  The Raptors forced the Bulls to beat them on the perimeter, and they couldn’t.

Offensive Rebounding
18 for the night, wow. Rebounding as a whole was perfect (53), but when you get 18 more possessions, you put yourself into a situation where you can win. Bosh pulled down 7 himself. To put that into perspective, Noah led the Bulls with 7 total rebounds, just saying (Max Player).

Bench Play
The bench did nothing the night before, but after the starters logged massive minutes against the Wizards, you knew these guys would get the call. And they answered. The bench combined for 48pts 24rebs 17ast 5st 2blk. With no starter playing more then 29 minutes, the bench drove this game for us. You know things are going well when Jack stops in the middle of the game to tie his shoe laces, and the Bulls just watch, epic.

Coaching
Great substitutions, perfect minute allocations, the right people got the ball at the right times. Hot hands were fed. Aside from DeRozan not getting enough burn, Triano was at his finest.

Heart
A night after winning a tight one in overtime, and the starters logging big minutes, no one would could have blamed the Raptors if they folded the second game of a back-to-back on the road. But these guys had different plans. They played aggressive, got out to a lead, and played as a team to withstand the run that never gained any steam.

I think pride is a good word here. I am super proud of the Raptors performance the last two games. They solidified a big road win with a statement win the next night. Let’s make these team meetings a weekly occurrence.

All that was last night was a W. It wasn’t a moral victory; it wasn’t a matter of clamping down in the second half; the Raptors just had more gas in the tank. In what was the hardest game to watch so far this season, the Raptors stopped the bleeding from going 1-2 on the first half of the West coast swing, with a W over a Bulls team that had nothing left. In fact, the Bulls needed to be individually showered, changed and carried to the bus after the game.

Seems like the schedule has been our best weapon early in the season, as 3 of the 4 wins can be directly attributed to our opponent playing on the 2nd night of a back-to-back:

• The Cavs lost to the C**tics
• The Pistons upset the Magic at home
• The Bulls were millimeters away from beating the Nuggets

It was actually amazing for me that the Bulls had any fight in them at all last night. I thought for sure that when Brad Miller’s shot at the buzzer was waived off, that they would be a shell of a team last night, but playing the Raptors seems to fix what ails every team.

True to form, it was a wild 1st quarter. Taj Gibson, a steal as the 26th pick in the draft this year, started fast by taking it right at Bosh early. Scoring 6 of the teams first 8 points, he was active on both ends of the floor. In fact, he was the story of the 1st quarter, finishing with 8pts 2rebs and an assist (he also ended up having a career game with 18pts 5rebs, another career game against the Raptors…sigh).

It wasn’t so much that Bosh wasn’t hustling in this match-up, he was battling in the paint and getting good position in the post; Bosh was just missing the shots he should have made. It didn’t hurt that he had his hands full on the glass, battling for rebounds, seemingly alone, against Gibson/Noah since Bargnani was nowhere to be found.

The haters were out in full force on Twitter ripping Chris a new one, but Bargnani literally did nothing until the 2:46 mark of the 1st quarter when a rebound landed in his lap (he didn’t grab it, it came right to him, he didn’t even jump or extend his arms to get it either), and hit a layup on the next possession. I don’t understand why Bosh gets ripped constantly while having an MVP calibre year, and Bargnani gets nothing.

The saving grace of the first quarter was the play of DeRozan and Calderon. Both of whom kept the Raptors in this one single-handedly. Our Rook was a beast around the rim, grabbing offensive boards, slashing to the hoop, hitting a three and finishing off the hop. His defense on Salmons was also pretty solid, since Salmons is one of those guys who has always given the Raptors a headache.

Calderon is improving incrementally. In fact, I had no problems with him last night. He pushed the ball hard, quickly answering made baskets by the Bulls with a layup on the other end. He did that twice on two straight possessions. Our boy has been pushing more this season then in previous ones, but still not that guy who attacks constantly.

The 2nd and 3rd quarter were just absolutely brutal. The second quarter was bad because the Raptors kept leaving someone open, and that someone would hit the shot. In fact, the Bulls took and made almost every single shot they wanted. They aren’t that type of team that runs you into the ground. This is a blue collar team that gets rebounds, and runs play for a good look at a jumper. So the 2nd quarter was all about the Bulls doing just that. They dropped 35 of them in fact, and headed into half with a 60-53 team.

The 3rd was brutal because the Bulls were getting the exact same shots, but not making them, and the Raptors couldn’t capitalize fast enough. They traded baskets for most of the quarter, but the Bulls had two stretches of 2+ minutes where they didn’t score a basket, letting the Raptors back in it. Calderon did a great job of pacing the offense, coming off screens, penetrating and kicking to open players, dropping 4 of his 6 dimes in this frame.

By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, the Bulls had nothing, absolutely zero. In fact, they were almost in danger of not scoring for the last 6 minutes of the 4th until Calderon fouled Hinrich with 10 seconds left in the game, and Kirk hit one of his free throws. How bad was it? 11pts…yea. Triano knew it:

“I think they wore down a little bit, too. Shots they were making earlier, they started missing. Whether it was the result of a back-to-back, or Jose and Jarrett (Jack) doing a nice job of picking up full court and making them work to get the ball up the court … they just seemed to run out of juice.”

That isn’t a glowing endorsement of your team after  a win. Lets just put this to rest right now before folks start getting excited about the 89 points surrendered: THE RAPTORS ARE NOT A GOOD DEFENSIVE TEAM. Nothing positive can be taken from this win. They did not make any incremental improvements from the last game. How can I say this? Well, you can’t surrender 108.6pts a game, and be accused of improving, especially when the last two contests you gave up 129 and 131 points in regulation play.

Four Factors to Winning

Shooting the Ball well
The Raptors shot 40.9% from the field, and the Bulls were 39.8%. Wasn’t a matter of shooting well from the field, it was a mater of marginally shooting better then a poor shooting opponent.
Raptors – 43.7%
Bulls – 40.9%

Taking Care of the Ball
Both teams had 99 possessions, but the Bulls turned the ball over less then the Raptors: Bulls – 13 Raptors 15. Most of the Bulls turnovers came in the 2nd half where they committed 9 of their 15 turnovers.
Raptors – 15.1%
Bulls – 13.1%

Offensive Rebounding
The Bulls grabbed 15 to the Raptors 11.  This didn’t give the Bulls more possessions as the Raptors (as they both had 99), but it did give the Bulls some cheap put-backs early in the game that paced their half-time lead.
Raptors – 26.1%
Bulls – 29.4%

Getting to the Free Throw Line
Like the other three Factors, this was a close one too, but the Raptors got to the line 2 more lines, going 22/23 on the game. Bosh was a solid 10/10 on the night.
Raptors – 26.1%
Bulls – 23.8%

What the Four Factors tell us is that this was a very close one. Had the Bulls not gone scoreless in the last 6 minutes of the game, this may not have ended positively for the Raptors as the Bulls missed 11 shots and 2 free throws in that stretch. Putting it into perspective, the Raptors only shot the ball better than Bulls by 2.8%.

Player Impact

Bosh was the man again, no surprise. Our boy plays like an MVP candidate, and gets ripped.

The Raptors head out west for a four game swing starting Friday in Los Angeles, fortunately it’s the Clippers, I’m calling it now (a Raptor win that is).

Chris Denker: The Toronto Raptors have the #9 pick in the upcoming NBA Draft and the passionate Raps Fans have some strong feelings about who they would take. Which I think is great! Bryan Colangelo and his group have a big decision to make, do they have their sites set on one guy? Will they trade up? Take my earlier recommendation and trade down? Who knows, we do know that in recent years the #9 pick has produced some great players and some flops.

Dirk Nowitzki, Tracy McGrady, Shawn Marion (Colangelo), Amare Stoudemire (Colangelo), are stars and even Joakim Noah has performed well for Chicago. Others are Patrick O’Bryant, Ike Diogu, Rodney White, and who knows how D.J. Augustin will pan out from last years draft. But that is just the point here isn’t it? Do the Raps want to get a guy to help them win now or get an Augustin who is an unknown talent and wait for his development over time?

Some of the names that pop up most on the Raptors Republic are listed below and if you’ve been following our Position Rankings over at NetScouts Basketball you’ll see some similarities.

A quick look at some of the kids that could be available at 9, and some of the kids that can fill the gaps for the Raptors:

James Harden – 6?5 215 SG – Arizona St.: Lefty, can score in a variety of ways. Strong guard with good size, can play through contact. Winner – led Arizona St. from predicted 9th place finish to top half of Pac-10 and the post-season NIT. Was all league as frosh when Pac-10 was tougher with Kevin Love, OJ Mayo, et al. Good guard rebounder.

DeMar DeRozan- 6’6 211 SF/SG – USC: Good looking stroke although streaky throughout freshman season. Decent footwork as well and really improved, playing best games at the end of the year in Trojans tourney run. Disappeared at times. Great max vertical leap, weak physically, but for a guy who’s touted as an elite level athlete why did test out slower than 11 of 12 SF’s in Chicago Draft Camp? Not to mention slower than all 16 SG’s!

Stephen Curry – 6’3 180 CG – Davidson: Best shooter at the position and in the draft. Great range. Ever heard “it’s a shot makers league”? He’s a combo guard who can flat out stroke it with range. Good handle & passer, enough to play either G spot. Uses picks & creates space well, crafty finishes off bounce. Good hoops IQ, poised, & sneaky quick. If all else fails, he has a career as a spot up 3-pt. shooter. Dad had lengthy NBA career, brother at Duke. His ability to shoot will keep him in league for a long time.

Although he is from Duke, kid is b*d*sssssssss….

Gerald Henderson- 6’5 215 SG – Duke: Very athletic. Runs floor & good leaper, finishes break well. Gets to the rim. Much prefers to shoot of dribble & good mid-range game but needs some work from NBA 3. Has size & strength to be a solid individual defender as well. Father played in league.

Sam Young- 6’6 223 SF/SG – Pitt: I’m a huge fan, let’s make that clear now. Got hurt working out for Raptors – impaled his arm on a testing device, literally had to have it surgically removed yet appeared in Chicago ready to play shortly after. Tough & competitive, defends & rebounds, good scorer & finisher on the break, improved as a shooter over career. Won a lot of games against Big East competition which I think translates. Solid shooter, very good lift fake move to set up drive. Strong & athletic although not as big as some.

Jonny Flynn- 6’0 194 PG – Syracuse: Strong, quick, & explosive PG, best off the bounce. Good in Pick & Roll, needs to become consistent from distance. Smart kid, good personality, solid leadership skills. Has climbed in my view after Big East tourney, NCAA’s, and recent work.

Dajuan Blair- 6’7 262 PF – Pitt: You don’t look at him and think long but he is (7’2 wingspan)! Very strong, physical, great hands. Bangs boards & regularly hammered bigger guys (Thabeet). Smart & crafty post moves, uses R/L, & draws fouls. Co-MVP of Big East. Needs improved stroke.

Dante Cunningham – 6’8 230 PF/SF – Villanova: Steady, smart. Strong guy, good defender and position rebounder. Good medium range shooter who could develop into valuable spot up shooter.

Taj Gibson – 6’9 210 PF – USC: Very long arms which is why he’s a shot blocker because he’s not a leaper. Narrow frame could get bounced around & not skilled enough to play SF. 2nd Round, needs NBADL work.

Marcus Thornton – 6’3 195 SG – LSU: One of the top shooters in the draft, especially in catch & shoot situations. Not going to create too much off the bounce in the NBA. Tested pretty well in Chicago athletic testing but not as big as some other SG’s in this draft. Has worked out well for several teams so far.

Danny Green – 6’6 208 SF/SG – North Carolina: Very good defender. Versatile guy who played 4 positions for Heels. Good leader & winner, competitive. Could find a home on a quality team as a role-player/defender off the bench.

Nando De Colo – 6’5 185 PG/SG – Cholet (France): Lanky thin guard, decent athlete. Very good offensive skills, good off the dribble & pull-up jump shooter. Pretty creative passer in Pick/Roll situations. Has become good scorer in France. Plays with Rodrique Beaubois in France.

Rodrique Beaubois – 6’2 182 PG – Cholet (France): Freakishly long arms (6’10 wingspan) and tremendous athleticism. Max vertical jump (39″) second to Flynn (40″). Also boasted some of the best speed & quickness measures of those tested. Plays with Nando De Colo 6’5 G on Cholet.

Jrue Holiday – 6’4 199 CG – UCLA: Up, down, up, down. Crazy talent coming out of HS but inconsistency isn’t good. Has size and athletic ability but not a pure PG & would be a smallish average shooting SG. Needs a position & time.

Brandon Jennings- 6’1 170 PG – Lottomatica Roma: Based entirely off potential, basically did nothing in Europe. Not a reliable shooter at the moment, everything is off the dribble. Lanky & very athletic but you may need to wait a bit for development & maturity (strength). Definitely has flash & a flair for the game.

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