I want to start things off by extending my condolences to Scott and his family for their loss. I actually met Scott via blogging, and over the last few years, he has become one of my closest friends and confidants.  I speak on behalf of everyone at RR, the writers and the community at large, in sending our love and support during this difficult time. God bless brother.

…so the Raptors, different game, different night, different team, same problems. These guys are going through the motions, and are playing the least inspired brand of basketball I have seen in a very long time. I’m actually forced to stop and take stock of my own life, and really question the level of commitment I am giving in covering a team that is seemingly better than the performances they are giving. You know how hard it is to say the exact same things over and over about why the Raptors loss, changing the team name and switching out which Raptor player stepped up to be the #2 after Bosh?

I don’t have the stomach to cover this quarter by quarter and really break it down because frankly I don’t care. The formula for this team used to be that if they shot the ball well, they won more games then they lost. Now, it seems that in-spite of shooting well, they lose them. The problem lies in stopping the ball, we can’t do it to save our life. This team has kept their opponent under 100 points – 14 times all year. In contrast, they gave up more than a 110 points – 23 times, and more than 120 points – five times.

First things first, Bargnani can’t cover power forwards who have size and range. He does a good job on the Dwights and Shaqs, because those guys are not threats outside of 7 feet, and he can thump with them on the block; but a guy like LaMarcus Aldridge, who can post-up and shoot from the perimeter will abuse him, and he did.

I need to know what the hell happened to Bargnani. Where the hell did your rebounding go? Two bloody rebounds in 32 minutes, seriously? At least grab a few defensive ones since you were covering Aldridge for most of the night in the block…oh yea, Aldridge grabbed 8 offensive boards, there was nothing for you to do. Might have helped if you boxed out, jumped, put your hands up, broke a sweat…but at least you can shoot the ball very well for a center. Too bad you were 5-11 from the field (0-3 from behind the arc) and only had 11 points. At least if you were scoring…jesus…

Hedo sucks. I said I wouldn’t talk about him anymore, but he does. Sure he put up 14 points, but they were inconsequential. Yea he shot the ball well, and grabbed a few boards, but 2 assists? It’s not like he was making good passes and the Raptors were missing shots, they shot 54.9% from the field, he just wasn’t making plays. No ball son, you suck.

You know who else sucks? Triano sucks. He is the worst coach in the entire NBA. I don’t give a rats ass what anyone says, the guy has no business being a head coach in this league. Early in the second quarter, with the Blazers starting to gain some momentum and on a mini 5pt run, he should have called a timeout to stem the tide, but no, he didn’t. In the subsequent plays, Rudy Fernandez threw two ridiculous alley-oops to Aldridge, and the Raptors answer by taking and missing two shots that were so bad…they were horrible shots ok? Horrible. I threw up in my mouth a bit.

So he finally calls the timeout after the second ridiculous alley-oop and the entire crowd is out of their seats going nuts. What happens on the play-out of the timeout? Raptors hold the ball till there was 1 second left on the clock, and miss a deep three. Brilliant. That was the point the Raptors lost this game. Early in the 2nd quarter, sure they came back and gave it a go, but it was written.

On the other hand, in the 3rd quarter with the Blazers up 10, DeRozan gets out in the open court and puts down a ridiculous dunk, cutting the lead to 10. McMillan QUICKLY calls a timeout to kill momentum, Andre Miller hits a jumper out of the timeout, and any threat of a run was thwarted. That my friend is bloody coaching. Next time I see you at the Starbucks at Brookfield place, I’m cursing your ass out. I might even throw a lemon poppy seed loaf at you. God I hate you.

The Blazers grabbed 43.1% of available offensive rebounds (almost every other rebound) that led to 20 second chance points. Factor in that they got to the line 27.7% of the time and hit 21 of 23, that’s 41 points from sheer effort and determination. They shot a great percentage from the field from all those open looks, it’s no wonder they won. The game wasn’t handed to them, but they won easily.

The only people who have been playing well over the last few games are Bosh, Calderon and Johnson. These were the only three people who seem to be constantly fighting without letting up. Short comings aside, when only three folks are giving it their all, good things can’t happen.

Say what you will about Bosh, but he is not to blame for our perimeter woes. He isn’t the guy who gave Batum and Roy and Fernandez open/uncontested/easy looks from beyond the arc. He isn’t the guy not scoring efficiently, not getting to the line, not grabbing rebounds, not assisting. Yea, he is turnover prone, but he does everything else. The guy has zero support. I wouldn’t blame him for up and leaving; I’m seriously considering doing the same thing myself.

These are my game notes if you are interested, I’m done with this post. Hate this team…

1st quarter
- Hedo nails a 3 off the tip
- Bosh rotates to help bargnani on aldridge on a dunk attempt, no dunk
- Bargnani leaves aldridge wide open from 17
- Bargnani aggressive in the paint early
- Bargnani steps in and hits a hit jumper
- Aldridge giving bargnani big time problems
- Bargnani with the dunk in transition
- Bargnani literally lost track of aldridge and didn’t even attempt to box him out
- Bosh with the great find, drops a dime to DeRozan in the paint
- Bargnani threads the needle to Bosh for a dunk, beautiful play
- Amir with a jumper at the top of the key
- Camby penetrates, draws a double, then dishes to Aldridge for a dunk, terrible
- Calderon looking for his shot when he got into the game, 1-2 quickly
- Calderon ball fakes on the run, creates some space, and hits the reverse layup

2nd quarter
- start the quarter on a 9-0 run (2 big alleyoops to get the crowd into it fernandez to aldridge)
- triano calls a timeout two possessions too late (should have been called after 5 straight points, he lets it go for 4 more – 2 alleyoop dunks)
- out of the timeout, the raptors ran a terrible play and jacked a deep 3 with 1 second on the shot clock
- Jack hits a three from the corner, nice
- Batum left open for some reason, obviously he hits a three
- Amir with a put back layup off of caldrons missed shot
- roy with a three, 8-11 from behind the arc
- Batum with another three, he was open again
- Calderon to the rack off the dribble and in traffic
- Caldron still competing, gotta appreciate it

3rd quarter
- DeRozan turnover leads to a Miller layup on the break
- Calderon throws the ball away, on a bad alley-oop attempt to Bosh
- MIller feeling it
- DeRozan finishes on the break
- Bargnani didn’t box Camby out, result: put back off the missed jumper
- how many open threes can a team give up?
- DeRozan puts it down on a break, cuts the deficit to 10, and the Blazers call a quick timeout. Take note Triano, that’s coaching
- Miller hits a layup out of the timeout
- Calderon throws the ball away
- Hedo with a dagger from behind the err, 7 point deficit
- Amir with a putback layup

4th quarter
- Bargnani gets open, and cuts the deficit to 5, sticking the jumper
- Jack should be on the bench.
- Batum with another open 3…I feel like it’s groundhogs day
- DeRozan with a terrible shot out of a timeout
- DeRozan goes baseline and finds Andrea in the corner for a jumper; Raptors down 7 with 9min to go
- Batum with a tough/contested jumper, that one hurt
- Jack splits the defense and feeds a cutting DeRozan for a layup; Raptors are 5 points back now
- Millers layup contested by Bosh, missed it
- Bargnani with a big rebound off the Aldridge miss
- Weems with a mid-range jumper cuts lead to 2
- Camby strips Bosh again
- Roy gets in the paint, and hits a layup in traffic
- Jack forces a three, obviously misses, where’s Calderon?
- Bosh with a jumper from the elbow, Raptors down 4
- Roy lucks out as the ball falls in his hand in the paint for an easy putback
- Camby blocks Calderon under the rim, and Batum draws a foul on the break, hits both from the line
- Bosh gets in the paint and draws a foul, hits both from the line
- Miller draws the triple team in the paint, and finds Camby for a dunk; nail meet coffin
- Bosh misses a three, and i turn off the tv

How bad is this ankle injury Bosh suffered last week against the Grizzlies? Frankly, I thought he was good to play, but the powers-that-be took advantage of a light schedule (although the Wizards ended up being anything but light) to rest the franchise before a stretch that sees us play 4 very good teams in a row.

Heading into tonights game, I’ve realized that I have slept on some of the Raptors recent achievements:

• 8-2 in their last 10 games; hottest team in the East.
• They have reduced their point differential to 0, mostly by improving their offense (109.3 over the stretch), but over their last 10, they have have actually tightened their defense up a bit surrendering 103.7 a game (a full point less than their current season average).
• 4 games out of 4th, and 5 games out of 3rd place in the East.
• On pace for 46 wins.
• 24-11 since December when everything turned around on a dime somehow.

Looking back now, the 7-13 start wasn’t horrible, but was the difference between a team fighting for 3rd or 4th in the East and a team that is barely holding on to 5th place in the standings. It is also the difference between beating the Lakers and Cavs on some nights, then dropping 2 games to the Pacers on others.

Tonight they host the Blazers at the ACC at 7pm, so I checked in with Ezra from The Portland Roundball Society, and asked the newest member of the TrueHoop Network a couple questions about this team:

Q. Talk about the Camby trade; will he be around next year when Oden/Pryzbilla return from injury?
A. It was a bit of a coup for Portland to pick up Marcus Camby for the expiring contracts of two players who had little (Steve Blake) to no (Travis Outlaw) role in the team’s future. The basketball culture is strong for the Blazers, and Camby seems stunned by the attention he received from the fans here—few defensive-minded centers who score less than eight points a night get standing ovations before even stepping onto the floor (like Camby did his first night in town). But, of course, that doesn’t mean he re-signs with the team either.

This team is hellbent on having two quality centers after it was exposed that Greg Oden’s knees are made of paper mache and Chinese drywall, and I think Camby’s future will be determined by Joel Przybilla’s comeback (which will take more time than Oden’s) and how the free-agent market shapes the Western Conference. Portland will want him back, but they don’t need him back.

Q. Does Bayless have what it takes to replace Blake?
A. Blake, yes. Miller, no. The problem with Bayless is that his potential is sky high, but he is not a “traditional” point guard and doesn’t mesh well with Brandon Roy’s style of play. But the franchise absolutely adores him, and he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.

Q. Couldn’t you guys have gotten more for Outlaw?
A. Had he not been injured, absolutely. But once Outlaw went down with that foot injury, his trade value went with him. Plus the only team that really wanted him (Memphis) has a poor relationship with Portland that stretches back to last year’s Darius Miles incident (where Portland was fined by the league for sending a letter that more or less threatened any team that signed him with the intention of hurting Portland’s books). I think Outlaw is going to win a Sixth Man of the Year award sometime soon, and is a fantastic personality as well. Portland might try to re-sign him during the offseason, since I doubt he stays a Clipper once the season ends.

Q. New Orleans/Memphis/Houston are hot on your heals, are the Blazers a playoff team?
A. Thanks for reminding me. The problem—and I use that term loosely—is that the Blazers really overachieved this year. The fact that they are still in the playoff hunt after losing Oden, Przybilla, Outlaw, Nicolas Batum, Rudy Fernandez, and Brandon Roy for extended stretches of the year is shocking. After losing four of their last five (tonight’s Nets game not included in that equation), it seems like this team is running on fumes. Roy’s hamstring is clearly not healthy and he even briefly considered sitting out for the remainder of the season following last week’s game against the Clippers.

Thankfully the schedule is a bit more favorable for the Blazers in the second half, and most people think this team can limp into the playoffs as the eight seed. There, they will play the Lakers, who if I am not mistaken, are a team with limited talent, zero playoff experience, and no history of defeating Portland in the postseason whatsoever. That should work out just fine.

Q. Still wish you had Hedo Turkoglu over Andre Milelr? What would Portland fans think if the Blazers took Turkoglu back in a trade?
A. God no. I’ll always remember the day that deal fell through because it happened minutes after Sarah Palin resigned from the governor’s seat of Alaska. Without a doubt the news of Turkoglu rejecting Portland overshadowed the Palin story, which means a lot when you consider in how shamelessly liberal and progressive this city is (Google: “Little Beirut”). In a matter of a few short days Hedo was more hated in Portland than Palin. That’s saying a lot.

Hedo was just a poor fit for this team and fans were baffled that this franchise—which at that time had yet to renew the deals of Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge—would spend around $60 million on a player whose best days are most likely behind him. Hedo isn’t the devil, but he just wasn’t the right fit for what the Blazers are trying to build. Andre Miller, on the other hand, hasn’t been a perfect fit either, but after a few tough months he has eased himself into the roll the team requires of him.

I should have asked him how he feels about Oden being taken advantage of by some girl, and sending her some revealing pics of himself (NOT SAFE FOR WORK), but I gave him a pass. I mean, I would be proud too, but really?

If Bosh is a no go tonight, I have a few very serious concerns, and they revolve around the things Bosh does very well: scoring and rebounding. Sure Rasho had that breakthrough game, but you can’t look past the fact that they came against the Nets (16pts 7rebs 4ast), especially since against a young/mobile Wizards front court, he didn’t bring as much (10pts 1 reb).

This Portland team was very good defensively before Camby got there, and are even better now. Rasho needs to find the touch he displayed against the Nets, but more importantly, Amir and Reggie need to step up and score some points. During the last two games, the two have only contributed 19pts and 18rebs, not bad, but not quite enough. Rasho has done an admirable job the last two games, but realistically, he can’t be expected to carry the load in the middle. If Bosh plays, than all this moot.

Roy is on his 4th game back, and it only took two games for him to work the cobwebs and kinks out. Last night against the Nets he dropped 28pts 4rebs 4ast; we’re no Nets, but you have to think he can do the same. Since the all-star break, I have really appreciated DeRozan’s commitment to attacking the rim. Roy is definitely not 100% yet, and if DeRozan can run him around early, with Weems (Belinelli shouldn’t be taking any of Weems’ minutes away at this point) picking up where Kid Compton leaves off, we should see some favourable results.

What concerns me the most is what Ezra said about the Blazers over achieving – the sum of the whole being greater than the parts. That speaks to solid coaching, and players knowing their role. The Raptors best bet is to speed up the tempo and make the Blazers run; the Blazers are last in the league in pace averaging 89.9 possessions per game. They do have athletes, and get good shots (offensive efficiency of 107.3 is 6th best in the league), but if we make them run, and get them out of their comfort zone, good things will happen.

Today’s recap:

Pistons

• Signed Ben Gordon to a 5r/$55mil contract.
• Signed Charlie Villanueva to a 5yr/$35-$40mil contract.

Dumars saved face with the whole Michael Curry situation by making a massive splash on Day 1 of free agency. Did he pay too much for Gordon? Probably, but he got himself a youngin who can score in buckets, is tough as nails, and clutch. Also, he scooped up our boy CV31, and signed him to a GREAT deal. Are the Pistons championship contenders? No, but they have a nice young core of Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, Jason Maxiel, Aaron Afflalo, Amir Johnson with the likes of Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince. Not too bad.

Grade: B+ – Retooling quick, but at a price.

Grizzlies/Clippers

• Clipps exile Zach Randolph to the Grizz for Quentin Richardson and calmer nerves.

Can’t believe they actually found someone who will take Zach and that nasty attitude/contract off their hands, but they did. Clipps get rid of a cancer, save some money, and clear space for Griffin to become the #1 guy on the right block, all in one move. Memphis on the other hand just made Thabeet’s life much tougher protecting the paint.

Clippers Grade: A – Franchise moving in the right direction…finally.
Grizzlies Grade: D – WTF????

Lakers

• Ariza wants more then mid-level, I’d give it to him.

Is he worth it? Maybe. Is he going to walk? Probably. The Lakers need to keep Odom before giving Ariza the big bucks. One of the guys I would target if I were BC, a younger Marion.

Grade: D – You keep this guy, no questions.

Blazers

• Flirting with Hedu, I like the guy, but not for $60mil.

Not a good move, could just be smoke/mirrors. Khandor breaks this move down better then I could. On the bright side, this whole thing has Fernandez pissed off, giving most of us something to talk about, even though some other GM will probably pluck him out of the air if he becomes available.

Grade: D – I’d rather keep Rudy and bring in a Richard Hamilton type, that’s just me.

Some of the comments your readers had after our first set of questions were great and I feel they deserve a proper response. I wish I could respond to everyone but you have such a great following on Raptors Republic that I think I’d be writing until well after the draft

Keep in mind I was trying to issue a relatively short answer to a specific question regarding the Raptors drafting a SG or SF at the #9 spot in the draft. Perhaps I should have started the conversation by saying the first thing that needs to be done is a compilation of the pre-draft assets the Raps have to work with this year. For example, the Portland Trail Blazers have these tools to work with: 5 draft picks (24, 32, 38, 55, and 56), approximately $6.5 Million under the salary cap (which is a number that won’t be exact until the NBA calculates the exact cap figure based on this year’s revenue), a $3 Million Trade Exception (from a trade at the deadline), plus they own the rights to a couple young guys playing in Europe right now.

Secondly, the Raptors need to decide what they’ll do in Free-Agency, how much money they have to work with and who they’ll try to resign off their current roster. Finally, a decision should be made (and probably has been) as to the direction of the team. One of your readers commented that he wanted to take DeMar DeRozan because in the long run he’d be the best player and one argument I had made was to trade down and take a more mature player who could contribute now (Sam Young, Terrance Williams, Gerald Henderson). There are a few things to consider here, first, rookie contracts usually only last 3-4 years so to wait for a guy to come along means the direction you are taking is ‘player development and cost saving’ in that you most likely won’t spend a lot in free agency trying to make a run for the playoffs. If you are like the Blazers coming off 50 plus wins, you are seeing your window of opportunity now and thus feel spending money gives you a chance to win. Aiming for the achievement of your goals now rather than player development for future success. Veteran FA’s worth any considerable value are not going to sign with a club that is developing a young roster. Look at Memphis and Oklahoma City, young talent that is not winning regularly versus the Boston Celtics who went out and got veteran FA’s by working the cap and draft picks to come up with assets to win now.

Finally, another reader mentioned the idea of trading up. I also mentioned this with respect to James Harden if he is your guy. I don’t have any problems with this either IF you feel strongly that Harden is your guy and you have the ability (assets) to make it happen such as multiple 2nd Rd. picks to unload. There have been considerable rumors that 2, 3, 4 could move because after Blake Griffin it is somewhat wide open. Perhaps the Raps see that window and make a move. However, until we know what assets the Raptors have to work with and the direction they want to take the franchise then it’s going to be difficult to get a good gauge on what they will do.

A few random notes from the combine and recent team workouts:

• One Raptor fan liked Tyreke Evans for his length and thus his ‘potential defensive ability’, which is outstanding. But potential is a scary word sometimes and it should be noted that he had the slowest feet in the agility test which is a good measurable for defensive potential as well. Can you see now why I’m not a huge fan of these ‘combine stats’?
• A lot has been made of DeRozan’s superior athleticism but if you look at those infamous ‘combine stats’ you’ll see that he has one great mark when compared to the Small Forwards, his max vertical leap (with steps = 38.5″ the same as Chase Budinger). However, because he has short arms he falls to 9th of 11 SF’s in jump reach nearly 5 inches below James Johnson or Damion James. Worse yet, the only player he beat in the footwork and speed tests was 6’11 Austin Daye. And if he had been compared to the SG group, DeRozan would have been dead last in both categories out of 16 guys. His 11.88 agility score would have been .3 tenths of a second slower than 15 other SG’s and 1.4 seconds slower than the fastest SG. Short arms and slow feet, who will he be guarding? Just some food for thought.
• Sam Young participated in a recent NBA group workout and dominated according to sources.
• Another guy I mentioned in the last post was Ohio State big man BJ Mullens. Apparently both he and Austin Daye (Gonzaga) looked great in ‘camp drills’ in Chicago because they didn’t have to play 5-on-5, but both have struggled in workouts against physical defense. Mullens just played in Minnesota and was abused by Luke Neville (an Aussie from the University of Utah) who many say won’t be drafted. And yet Mullens is coming out of school early and a projected lottery pick? On a positive note, the 7’1 260 big man did post a ‘quicker’ time than DeRozan in the agility drill.

Q. Are there any differences from scouting via Video/TV as opposed to live?
A. Pro’s and con’s to both I’m sure. In live situations you definitely get a good feel for the guy physically, what his body is like, his true height and so forth. You can also see his attitude and leadership abilities up close. How he reacts to calls, opposing fans, his coaches, and his teammates. On film, such as Synergy Video, you can see so much footage that you can really get a feel for what the guy does best, what his favorite moves are, and also what some of his weaknesses are because you could potentially watch every shot he took this season. One thing you always have to be careful of, especially in a combine style workout or a closed workout session is falling in love with a prospect based on that one day. See him live as much as possible and then study as much video as you can.

Q. Who will be available at 9? Who will be the best available player at 9?
A. It’s still too early to tell at this point but I think there will be some good players available at this spot. Keep in mind, last year some guys made very late surges into the lottery such as Russell Westbrook climbing to the 4th spot (OKC), Joe Alexander went 8th (Bucks), and Jason Thompson from Rider 12th (Kings). Anthony Randolph went 14th to the Warriors after being rumored in the top 5 then slipping on some boards to late-first. The point being, decisions are still being made and there are a lot of young guys on the draft board as well as the possibility of guys returning to school. We’ll also learn more about the international guys after the upcoming Euro Camp in Treviso, Italy. Remember that Danilo Gallinari shot up to 6th last year to the NY Knicks. This is something we’ll cover more in the coming weeks.

Q. Is Blake Griffin more a Beasley or Duncan?
A. I don’t think he’s like either one to be honest. He’s 2 inches and 12 pounds bigger than Beasley but not as long or skilled (at least now) as Tim Duncan. He is a true Power Forward in the ‘power’ sense. He is strong, explosive, aggressive, and very quick for his size. He is much more athletic than Duncan but will he develop the head for the game that Duncan has? Beasley is more of a face-up guy and I think Griffin will be a solid post-up option as well as a good pick & roll guy and he can run the floor well also. I’m not putting him in the Hall of Fame just yet but he does have some Karl Malone like features.

Hijo de puta!

Q. Who is the next best player in the Draft?
A. The million dollar question, literally. Again, based on results or potential? I like Ricky Rubio and James Harden a lot. I get why people like Hasheem Thabeet with his obvious size and length, but I’m not a huge fan. So if you are the Memphis Grizzlies and you have Mike Conley and OJ Mayo, do you pick Rubio or Harden or trade down? Perhaps they like Thabeet and go that route. I’m a proponent of picking a guy if you feel strongly about him at that spot, if not, trade down and stockpile players and picks. This may the year to do just that.

Q. Who’s your favorite (sentimental) player in the Draft?
A. As you know, I like international players and REALLY like what the Colangelo’s did in Phoenix bringing in Mike D’Antoni, Steve Nash, and that style of play. So needless to say I’m a Rubio fan and look forward to seeing how that situation plays out. You’ve probably read some of the latest rumblings that he’s willing to stay another year in Spain if he’s not a top 3 pick and I think a lot of that is the negotiations taking place with his Agent and Club (Joventut).

From a basketball standpoint I like his leadership skills for such a young guy, he’s very competitive, has good hand skills and vision and is better athletically than he gets credit for. He is a very good defender and has long arms. He does need to work on his shooting and range, but that should develop with time. A lot of guys from that Spanish team have come to the NBA and done well so I see no reason why he wouldn’t do the same.

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The biggest gaffe of this game wasn’t Jamario Moon fouling Travis Outlaw on a four point play which tied the game. It was the Raptors NOT fouling Brandon Roy when he rebounded the ball in the first overtime inside the arc with the clock ticking down and the Raptors saving their foul for yet unknown reasons. Roy’s three which sent the game to double overtime where the Raptors eventually prevailed should’ve never have happened and is a prime example of the players being unaware of the situation at hand. But let’s put the break on the negativity and praise the Raptors for hanging in there against a tough, tough (the repetition is warranted) Portland team that refused to die and crashed the offensive boards to stay in the game.

Now this is a quality win. There’s no reason to jump up and down when you beat Philadelphia or New York but downing the NBA’s hottest team after being deflated twice by deep bombs deserves a lot of praise. Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon and Anthony Parker were huge on the offensive end for us and Carlos Delfino chipped in with 16 increasing the bench production which has been missing of late in big games. It was good to see Bosh attack the rim in the overtime periods when it mattered the most and to nobody’s surprise he had success. Aside from having 38 points and 14 rebounds, he had 3 huge blocks and changed many Portland shots saving the Raptors at least 10-12 points. He was the reason we won and Nate McMillan acknowledged that:

“We didn’t have an answer for Bosh”

Give credit for Jamario Moon for atoning for his end of regulation error by coming up with blocks on Roy and Jack which spawned fast break opportunities. He had to be the happiest guy on the team because even if nobody would say it, this game was on him if things had gone south in OT. This might be the place to mention a site dedicated entirely to Jamario Moon where we learn that Moon is going to the slam dunk contest. Reminds me a little of the obsolete rickbrunson.com.

How about Sam Mitchell putting out bosh Bosh and Calderon in the game at the start of the fourth? Was that refreshing or what? I guess he learned his lesson after Darrick Martin had handed the Blazers the game on the west coast and took no chances putting his two best offensive options in the game facing a six point deficit. It’s a no-brainer really but for Sam, it’s an improvement. It wasn’t a fluke that the Raps went on a 7-0 run with Roy on the bench at the start of the quarter turning this into a game that was going to be decided by the slimmest of margins.

Anthony Parker who many want traded for crazy rebuilding reasons poured in 25 to singlehandedly keep the Raptors in this game early when Roy was having his way with us. The Raptors who’ve been guilty of helping off the wrong perimeter player so many times were making the same mistake in this game by leaving Roy open by having Parker help on the player driving into the rim from the weak side! Roy lit us up early when Parker was on him blowing by him at will on a few occasions, it was then that we put Jose on him with specific instructions to NOT provide help under any circumstance. The move worked to some extent because Roy didn’t get open looks from the perimeter and was forced to score and create by driving, something we can live with. On the other end the Blazers chief defensive strategy is to to switch on every screen and they can afford to do that with the personnel they have. The Raptors did excellent in exploiting the resulting matchups like Calderon/Outlaw, Bosh/Outlaw, Calderon/Przybilla, Parker/Aldridge and all kinds of G/PF switches where Portland offered the Raptors to contend with.

Bosh comes under fire for taking too many jumpers and if you listen to Chuck and Leo and also look at Sam’s reactions to him shooting springers, I’m inclined to think that Sam is of the same mind as the fans when it comes to Bosh settling for jumpers. Bosh had success literally every time he drove the ball early and even then he was shooting 18 footers, it boggled my mind because that was playing right into Portland’s hands. The one horrendous side effect of him shooting jumpers is that when he was missing, there was nobody to rebound the ball for us because Portland’s rebounding positioning was intact. When he drives and misses, Moon, Delfino, Humphries have an opportunity to grab the offensive board against a Portland defense that’s busy trying to contend with an aggressive Bosh.

It’s become apparent that defensive rebounding is our Achilles heel, this is a long standing problem that requires an immediate solution, hopefully before the trading deadline. Quite simply put, Bosh needs some help and Humphries, Moon and Rasho aren’t enough to contend with the tall trees that teams put out against us. Don’t believe me, check out the rebounding distribution in this game for the Blazers and compare it with the Raptors’. I for one am ecstatic when the ball just bounces behind the backboard to give us possession – no chance of an offensive rebound there! Seriously though, I think Bosh is doing a phenomenal job rebounding the ball and boxing out considering how much energy he’s been exerting on offense. Bargnani, God bless his soul, is a good man with a good heart but his development as a rebounder is too slow for us to expect anything on the boards for him. I fear a Bosh injury if he has to keep playing like this because right now he’s playing every possession with his heart on his sleeve.

Channing Frye and Travis Outlaw’s points hurt us because they all seem to come when we were in the business of trading possessions with them in late regulation and overtime, both are two players that I would love to see on the Raptors. I was one of those who thought that Portland won the Randolph deal by acquiring Frye who still hasn’t reached his potential and needs more minutes to show just how productive he can be. As for Outlaw, he’s improved his outside shooting to the point where you have to be cognisant of it when guarding him, same for Martell Webster who possesses the combination of athleticism, ability and skill that’s a coach’s dream. But hey, we got Jamario Moon who held his own against Outlaw for the most part of the game, yeah he got scored on a few times but the rookie never lost focus.

An awesome and hard-fought win for the Raptors where Bosh led the way and Parker provided key scoring early, Calderon pitched in late and Moon played good defense in overtime redeeming himself for his 4-point play foul. Let’s not forget Carlos Delfino who when he decides to be more than jump shooter can be real asset to us. Coming up next is Detroit which by all accounts and Las Vegas predictions should be an L, let’s see what the Raptors learned last week when they handed it to us at the ACC.

One-Liners:

* Outside shooting is such an important part of the Raptors that unless we don’t hit our outside jumpers at a minimum 45% clip, we’ll have trouble staying in the game.

* This game came down to who will step up defensively first and the Raptors did that through Bosh and Moon in OT. Calderon’s key steal on Aldridge iced the game.

* Charles Barkley things Portland will miss the playoffs. That’s just crazy talk.

* You must check out Darrick Murray Martin and his “big balls” dance.

* It’s hard to find a weakness in Brandon Roy’s game but if you look really hard you’ll notice that if you force him to drive, help if he beats his man and rotate properly, you can contain him.

* We need to get Kapono some looks, he’s being wasted right now and is given zero space on the perimeter. It’s a tough situation for the Raps. Maybe we need to put him on the same side as a Bosh post-up so his man is the one that’s helping on the Bosh doubles.

* Bargnani wasn’t awful today, he had a couple hoops but got bit by foul trouble. It’s almost like he doesn’t know the rules in the NBA about hand-checking and what constitues a foul. When he does get called for fouls, he’s got that look which says, “That’s a foul?!?!??”. He should’ve taken Roy to the rim on the post-up, instead he shot the ball like it was a time-bomb.

* Jarret Jack helped us out by going 4-16, Aldridge was 5-17 but Bosh had a lot to do with that.

* Raps get out-manned 52-44 on the boards but make up for it at FT line 18-23.

* Best game of the year so far.

* Podcast #2 tomorrow. If you missed the first one, click here.

Later.

This one hurt real bad. It hurt bad because we had a chance to win it and should have won it. We shot ourselves in the foot by playing bad fourth quarter defense and not putting our best players on the court at the right time. The momentum of this game completely shifted at the start of the fourth when the Raptors led by Darrick Martin scored 4 points for the first 7 1/2 minutes of the quarter. Two ill-advised shots by Martin and some very poor spacing and execution during this stretch turned a 7 point Raptors lead into a 3 point deficit. This was where the game was lost: not having Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon on the floor early enough in the fourth and completely ignoring Rasho Nesterovic.

It makes my stomach turn every time I see Darrick Martin on the floor and watching him run the Raptors into the ground in the final quarter was exasperating. Leo threw a stat out saying that when Portland was trailing at home to start the fourth, they’d won more than they’d lost. Did Sam Mitchell expect the lineup of Murray/Kapono/Bargnani/Delfino/Humphries to withstand a Portland run? You need at least one guy on the floor who can create his own shot otherwise you’re just begging to get run on, and that’s what happened, they made a run and we stood silent. By the time Bosh and Calderon were injected Portland had the momentum and despite us trying to shoot ourselves back in the game it was too little too late as a bad foul by Jamario Moon and a Travis Outlaw offensive rebound put Portland further ahead and the Calderon turnover on the break iced the game. Throw a couple phantom foul calls on us in there and you have a 1-1 road trip when it should’ve been 2-0.

I’ve mentioned Chris Bosh’s infatuation with the jumper in almost every post but I have to mention it again. He was far too passive for the better part of the game and the frustrating part about it was that just about every time he drove to the rim he had success. It’s a very simple formula: go with what’s been working and don’t settle. Now a line of 18/11, 6-13FG, 6-6FT isn’t that bad but if you saw the game you know it should’ve been 26/11, 6-13FG, 14-16FT. That’s the difference between winning and losing; But it’s not fair to dwell on Bosh’s performance because even though he could’ve done more he did enough for the rest of his team and coaching staff to carry us through.

Do you think Brandon Roy made this shot?

We’re getting nothing from Bargnani, nothing at all. How does 2 points and 2 fouls sound for a #1 pick? He was supposed to be a big part of this offense and a big part of this team this year but when you’re getting Mamadou Njdiaye like performances from Bargnani it’s left up to the likes of Kris Humphries to carry the offensive load, and no matter how well he plays (13pts/5rebs) it’s evident that we’re being stretched. Watching Brandon Roy tear it up on offense as he climbs the ladder to super-stardom gives me a slight respiratory problem, I would have to not be human to not wonder what could’ve been if David Stern had called out his name instead of the Italian Stallion’s Pony’s. Even Bargnani’s defense deserted him in this game as he looked clueless when boxing out his man or even switching on the pick ‘n roll. On one pick ‘n roll he ended up guarding Humphries’ man for no reason other than laziness during that crucial stretch in the fourth. It’s nobody but his fault that he’s struggling. I’m a Sam Mitchell critic but he has given him a more than fair shot of getting significant playing time, Bargnani was awful on defense today and just as bad on the other end. You can’t just stand behind the 3pt line and “demand” the ball, defenses have shown that all they need to do is crowd him and that’ll be the end of his perimeter game. He needs to find other ways to score like fight for good post-position, run the break, roll instead of pop on the screen, try to take advantage of his height by sealing his man etc. Right now he’s just waiting for something to happen that’ll get him open shots but that’s not how the NBA works, not once teams have gotten a chance to see you for a year. Completely unrelated but here’s what Rudy Gay did tonight.

I have to question the playing time of Rasho Nesterovic. Rasho was playing very well early on grabbing offensive rebounds, scoring on putbacks and jumpers. In other words, Portland had trouble dealing with the weight he was throwing around the rim. However he was taken out in the first quarter and returned in the third to play a few meaningless minutes and that was it. No sign of Rasho in the crucial fourth period where Portland got a couple huge offensive rebounds that put this game away, I can’t help but think Rasho could’ve helped. It was sad to see Anthony Parker’s solid all-around game completely wasted because of some bad substitutions and bone-headed plays down the stretch.

From the positive of Rasho Nesterovic let’s celebrate the end of Jamario Moon’s honeymoon which happened precisely at 2:27 of the fourth quarter when he fouled Travis Outlaw who was attempting a Jordanesque fadeaway from the edge of the three point line, a shot that you want him to take. But it’s not just this indiscretion that’s inexcusable, it’s his shot selection which varies between painful and gruesome. A pull-up jumper from 19 feet? Are you kidding me man, how can you not get pulled for that? Sam Mitchell’s been showing a little too much faith in Jamario Moon of late and it’s highly questionable when you have Joey Graham sitting right there begging for playing time. What happened to competition between players driving the Raptors? Moon’s unneeded aggressive help defense early in the shot clock has allowed his man to score on more than a few occasions and this isn’t a case of blaming the rotations either.

I’ve failed to mention our perimeter defense which led us down yet again. It’s fair to say that Calderon’s defense on Steve Blake was very poor to start the game and never got much better. On a night where defense would win the game the Raptors failed to play any and let their guard down in the fourth quarter by conceding open layups and critical offensive rebounds. This was a great game to watch with some end-to-end action for the first three quarters and the Raptors were right there till the end. They needed their big guns to play more in the fourth quarter, Thursday is an off day and there would’ve been plenty of time to rest.

One-Liners:

* Krish Humphries is a warrior. The work ethic, the competitiveness and the desire to get better are all there. I love the guy.

* Jose Calderon should’ve been more selfish and exploited his matchup against Blake and Rodriguez.

* Delfino was a complete non-factor, I think he should be playing more point instead of Darrick Martin (even typing his name is painful). Or how about Dixon running the point, a weird DNPCD for him tonight.

* The communication on defense in the fourth quarter wasn’t there at all, before or after Bosh and Calderon came in.

* Kapono is playing very well especially considering nobody runs any plays for him.

* I could write a long paragraph just tearing Bargnani to shreds but it’s not going to help anything. He simply needs to get his confidence back, figure out how to drive to the rim so that his game opens up for him. It’s painful to watch him and it hurts me.

* Provided Portland can keep Roy and Aldridge together and add a couple veterans, their window for a run at the WC finals isn’t far away.

It’s bed time. Check the feed.