Alabi: proof you should never verbalize something you hate…because it’s gonna come get ya.

Barbosa: I swear there are times where he looks like he is going to whip out some ninja stars and slice & dice.  Really enjoyed his game today, well balanced, was VERY vocal and appeared to be a prime motivator today even during his slow start. Don’t always see it in him, but love it when I do.

Bargnani: he’s about as easy and comforting as grilled cheese & chili on a cold January day. Did you even have a doubt that shot late in the fourth was money? He didn’t have swagger, but he brought the cocky. Good to be home, huh?

Bayless: didn’t get out there much but he made the Kings pay when he did. They didn’t really contain him and had he been 100%, I have no doubt this would have been an easy double double night for him.

Calderon: in the competition of European generals today, Jose came up as big as Klinger from M*A*S*H. Pin The Tail On The Donkey now has a new subject for the next print run for their game. The handclap defence, the turnstile one-on-one D, the only looking for one guy to pass the ball to…all evident today and completely sickening. Beno Udrih for crying out loud. Have some pride, Jose.

Davis: not gonna lie, I thought playing a young team my stir up some deep desire in Ed, but he looked like he wanted to get home and fire up the NFL game. As always, some flashes, but definitely disappointing on the whole.

DeRozan: and on the other end of the spectrum…DeMar could have baked a cake on someones head tonight and they wouldn’t have stopped him. There were times in the fourth that I thought I was watching the training camp special on NBATV. I have no doubt DeMar called his peeps in Compton after the game and said “did you SEE that??”. Can’t even really knock is lack of getting to the line since the Kings seemed to thing DeMar was covered in poisonous material.

Dorsey: evidently Joey thought the promotion was 100 fouls and fans get pizza, not 100 points. I shall nickname him Windmill.

Evans: nice threads.

Johnson: heck of an effort off the bench again. He still looks pretty winded, but that could be carry over from all the home cooking over the holidays. It’s a shame we are so weak up front because the Barbosa/Johnson tandem off the bench is a nice one.

Kleiza: evidently Linas thought he was in an advent calendar and somebody forgot to pull the door back and tell him there was a game today. He was as helpful as a crossing guard at 4am.

Stojakovic: f_ker. I’d live to buy a vowel.

Weems: thanks for the tip of the brow at halftime. Good to know your arms still work. Rub-A535, a massage, some chiro, and a work ethic would come in handy.

Wright: ouch. His game today was Celine Dion type horrifying. Just not a good effort at all. I’m sure PJ has him tied to a pole and is whipping him with Nike branded shoelaces as we speak.

Driving The Bus: DeMar DeRozan

Under The Bus: Joey Dorsey

Game Theme:

Alabi: The majority of ballers want to play in the U.S. and Alabi will be doing just that soon…but he’ll also be riding a yellow school bus and staying at a motel in middle America.

Andersen: Devlin whipped out the fitting nickname “DA” for our new POB-esque hero. Andersen hustled, shot perfect from the field and flailed enough to pick up 3 fouls in 15minutes. Sean Marks mixed with Matt Bonner. I’m telling ya.

Banks: Know what I liked? Appreciated seeing him sitting near the coaches and not at the end of the bench. He may not have above-average talent, but he knows basketball.

Barbosa: that offbalance three-pointer that hit absolutely nothing seemed to take the wind out of the Raptors sails. 1 of 6, 3 TOs in 12 minutes just is not going to get it done. Simple as that.

Bargnani: he was a beast for most of the game. He was as advertised on the offensive end, playing all over the floor, looking comfortable. Late in the game and throughout the game on the defensive end, he seemed out of touch. No presence on the glass, little effort. Half empty, half full.

Calderon: better game for Jose tonight. He had the outside touch, found his teammates and let the game come to him. Been in a deeper funk than George Clinton, so here’s to hoping he’s snapped out of it.

Davis: will the year be a write-off?

DeRozan: maybe he is all Snoop-Dogg and only peforms well on the West Coast. Great effort to get to the line (14 attempts) and a strong 7/12 from the field. Early fouls slowed him down and prevented him from a stellar night, but still performed the best he has since being deemed part of the future.

Dorsey: the second coming of Primoz Brezec. Local fans think he’s the second coming. Realists know he’s as likely to be a major piece to the puzzle as a screwdriver in a gun fight.

Evans: rebounding better than Drew Barrymore, he pulled down 10 rebounds in the first quarter alone, finishing with 19, 10 of which were offensive. Continued to keep his shots down, attempting only 6 and for a while looked like he was having more fun than Matt Devlin at a hairspray convention.

Jack: second night in a row where he couldn’t hold up his end of the PG tandem bargain. 23 minutes, made 1 shot and a lukewarm 5 assists. We have to get him going early, otherwise he just seems to fall back a step, both mentally and physically. Road trip isn’t going to get easier for him.

Johnson: really earning his contract, eh? Rob Ford will be more worthy of public support than Amir ever will be. Breaking it down: 11 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 3 fouls, –11. Worst signing in years.

Kleiza: quite the second half. Peanuts didn’t shy away from the long bomb, putting up 8 (hitting 3) and hustled enough to try and keep his team from giving away the farm. Also, let it be said, his steel-like gaze when he is “wronged” would make a kick ass poster for this team. Screw the Young Onez stuff. Show some mean ass mofos that look like they will kick your butt. Kleiza and Evans, hands on hips, staring into the camera? Personal bowel movement right there.

Weems: 3 of 10 and the on-court personality of a scared puppy. Sir, this is the NBA and you have a mediocre ad campaign behind your 9th-man-anywhere-else-butt. Make something happen.

Wright: know what’s better than a DNP-CD? A DNP and we don’t care.

Driving The Bus: DeMar DeRozan

Under The Bus: Sonny Weems

Game Theme :

This year, Christmas has come early for the Raptors. The dreaded road trip from hell is here: 8 of the next 10 games are on the road; 6 against playoff teams; 4 against teams being much improved from last season. The Raptors could very easily go 2-8 or 3-7 in this stretch. The good news is that we will get a good sense of exactly how this team plays under some duress. They have been showing a really aggressive/defensive/running game that is tough to sustain, but if you get through this stretch (win or lose) playing with energy, the fans will really have their backs. For the record, put me in the camp that thinks these guys will play this hard for most of the season.

The Kings are an interesting team. They are the only team in the league I don’t watch, unless they are playing the Raptors. It’s a combination of them being on the left coast, getting as much national TV coverage as the Raptors (zero), and not having  a team I want to follow; although they have a nice group of youngin’s that are definitely on my radar; if that made any sense at all.

I checked in with ESPN badboy Zach Harper, who runs Cowbell Kingdom, to chat about the Kings:

The Kings have a really nice core of young players (Casspi, Cousins, Evans, Green and Whiteside) that could rival what Presti & Co are doing in OKC in a couple years. I guess that wasn’t a question, but what could the upside of this bunch?
The Kings have a lot going for them so far but the key is going to be how much these guys work to improve themselves as they build toward being a contender again. Tyreke Evans is a bully on the court who needs to keep improving his jumper (three-point shot looks great so far but pull-up jumper is still bad). DeMarcus Cousins has all of the talent and size you’d want in a big man but he has to learn how to play defense intelligently and keep his conditioning under control. Omri Casspi has to do a better job of pacing himself through the year and get better handling the ball. Donté Greene improved so much heading into last year but needs to find a way to score efficiently. Hassan Whiteside … well, he’s a nice kid who needs every bit of awareness he can soak up on the court.

This team has a ton of talent but they can’t just be satisfied with how good they are early on. They need to learn how to defend as a team and continue to get continuity on the court offensively. The upside is a contender for the Western Conference but that is a few years down the road. They need to realize what it takes to get down that road.

I have a vested interest in Samuel Dalembert (betting big he will average a double-double for my fantasy league). His expiring contract heading into the possible lockout is one the most valuable assets in the lague; for a team that’s rebuilding with nice young talent, I don’t see them not trading him for some complimentary assets. What would the Kings be looking for in a trade?
Here’s the thing about Dalembert’s contract. I don’t think they’ll trade him. If they were to deal him, they’d be looking for a good combo guard that can shoot with high efficiency. But I think the Kings are all about fiscal responsibility heading into the lockout. Nobody knows what the CBA is going to be like and what restrictions it will impose on teams. The Kings want to be prepared for everything with the way they’re building for the future. And being a small market team that is struggling to sell tickets and get a new arena, it’s actually more advantageous for them to let it expire, keep the cap space and use their intelligent drafting. They have a lot of good players on rookie contracts. Don’t take on potentially bad long-term deals just because you have an expiring contract on your hands.

Now that I’ve said that, he’ll probably be dealt by the time this is published.

Will the Maloofs move this team to Las Vegas?
I really don’t see the Maloofs moving this team to Vegas. That doesn’t mean they won’t move at all though. This franchise has to have a new arena deal and the Maloofs want it to be in Sacramento above anywhere else. But they also are still running a business and if the city of Sacramento won’t give them a new arena then they’d be financially irresponsible to not explore other cities. San Jose is pining for a team but they probably won’t be allowed with the territory rights of Oakland so close. Anaheim will probably have the same issues with the Lakers and Clippers. Seattle still doesn’t have an arena and Las Vegas has too much red tape to take seriously. But cities like St. Louis and Kansas City need to be taken seriously. Those cities have a real chance to steal a NBA team sometime soon. Maloofs don’t want to leave this city. They’re legitimately committed. But they can only wait so long.

For the record, I see this team moving out of Sacramento before the city helps with a new arena. We saw the Sonics get ripped out of Seattle when their stadium deal didn’t happen, depriving fans of watching Kevin Durant on a day-to-day basis. The Kings have similar young talent. Would be a shame…

Injury Report

Toronto
Leandro Barbosa – Wrist (expected to play)

Sacramento
Samuel Dalembert – Thigh (might play, played last game)
Francisco Garcia – Ankle (might play, played last game)

Match-ups

**Sorry I don’t have any shot charts up today, but the ESPN decided to crap out on me this morning, and everyones charts were off**

PG – Jack vs Udrih
To his credit, Jack has been playing pretty good as a starter, averaging 11pts 4.5rebs 5ast a game, but tonight he will have his hands full with Udrih, who has also been surprisingly good out the gate, and if I didn’t take Mike Conley Jr in my fantasy team, I would have tried to pick Beno up on waivers. For some reason though, Udrih has always been one of those players that I’ve always hated, I don’t know why (might have been during the time Calderon was coming up and Udrih was getting similar praise because he’s a Euro, but he really isn’t as good – petty I know). Udrih doesn’t get into the lane much, but he’s picks his spots, and doesn’t play outside his comfort zone, which is definitely something of a rarity.

This is one of those match-ups where slow and steady wins the race. Jack needs to protect the ball much better than he has been so far this season: 8 turnovers in the first two games, brutal.
Edge: Even

SG – DeRozan vs Evans
In a nutshell, Tyreke is what we want DeRozan to be: a head strong guy who attacks the paint and wreaks havoc. To Derozan’s credit, he has been doing a good job of getting to the rack off the bounce and drawing contact; getting to the line about 4 times a night. While that is an improvement, he’s one of a couple cats on this team who has the ability to get to the hoop consistently, so more is needed. Defensively, he will have his hands full with Evans who does a great job of getting into the paint and to the line. This is going to be one of those nights for DeRozan.
Edge: Evans

SF – Kleiza vs Casspi
I like Casspi a lot. His game is sweet. Tall, lanky small forward who shoots the three and has handles: a prototypical Colangelo player. Not trying to start any rumours, but doesn’t he seem like the type of guy that could end up on the Raptors at some point? The kid just looks to score (doesn’t rebound, pass or get to the line well), but does so from the perimeter. Not trying to discount anything, but this will be one of Kleiza’s easier nights this season since Casspi’s backups are Antoine Wright and Donte Green; both of whome are a step down from Omri offensively.
Edge: Kleiza

SF – Evans vs Landry
**Disclaimer:** I’m almost biased to a fault on folks who played significant roles in Houston over the last few seasons. Yes they are part of a solid system that plays to their strengths, while hiding their weaknesses, but I don’t care. It’s the same blind idiocy that has fueled my support of the Raptors all these years.

Great, now that I look a tribal honking Rockets fan…

Landry is a nice player: not flashy, not overly talented, but he comes to work (think Reggie Evans with more offensive game and minus the freakish rebounding we’ve been treated too). He was part of the Kevin Martin trade last year that made you realize how desperate Morey was for a scorer (he sacrificed a key forward with Yao out for the season). I’m looking for Evans to rebound and be active on defense, basically what he’s been doing so far, but we can’t be expecting him to keep up this Rodmanesque rate for much longer, which has been making up for Bargnani’s 3.5rebs a game.
Edge: Even

C – Bargnani vs Cousins
I know nothing of Cousins other than the highlights I’ve seen/read, and by all accounts, the kid is the real deal. He’s big, athletic, strong, agile, co-ordinated, smart, and putting up nice numbers. The Kings front court is not a traditional one, which should make tonights game interesting to say the least. Normally, you’d have Evans on someone like Cousins, but Bargnani will struggle to defend Landry on the perimeter, so here we are. If you were one of the folks who were concerned about Bargnani’s scoring, you haven’t been paying close enough attention. All he needed was a couple games to adjust to life without Bosh, then he seemingly flipped the switch. His defense is better than years past, but his rebounding is worse (for now, should improve). This is one of those games that Bargnani needs to step up and protect the paint against a rookie who seems to be out for blood.
Edge: Cousins (only because I expect a better all around performance)

I don’t want to say this is a must win 3 games into the year, but if the Raptors don’t win tonight (10:30p EST start btw on Sportsnet One), they could easily be 1-9 (2-8 if they steal against the Bobcats) when they roll into Washington on November 17; this stretch of games is that tough. Wins are wins, and you want to be confident and positive when heading into a tough road swing.

Vegas has the Kings as 4.5 point favourites with an over/under of 192.5. Slower pace, with lots of opportunity. I got the Raptors by 2.

As always, live chat will be bumping tonight.

The Raptors just signed Joey Dorsey for the remainder of the season. The first thing that came to mind was if I’m going to explain Joey Dorsey to the Raptors fans who aren’t familiar with him, it’s going to feel like one of those overly friendly, happy and annoying training videos you have to watch when you start working retail in a clothing store or some kind of restaurant. Here goes:

Hey, there! So you’ve decided to sign Joey Dorsey to be a part of your professional basketball team; that’s awesome! Joey’s a monster of a man and he’s sure to kill it on the boards. You should be super-psyched to have him as a part of your organization. He’s a huge guy – 6’8” and around 270 pounds (sorry but like most Americans, your metric system confuses me and I can’t do the math to tell you how many meters and grams he is).

Just how big is 6’8” and 270 pounds? That’s big enough to fit three and a half Earl Boykins inside and still have room for a reading lamp. Joey Dorsey has been somewhat of a D-league champion, getting groomed for the smaller stage with competition that he can learn against. But you’re probably asking yourself, “Just what is Joey Dorsey going to bring to MY Raptors?”

Super question and thanks for asking!

Here’s what you need to know about Joey Dorsey:

• He’s already your second best post defender behind Reggie Evans. He’s a big, quick and agile big man who can’t be bullied inside.
• He’s a very apt rebounder. He won’t ever play big minutes for your team nor should he. But when he’s in, you’re unlikely to lose the rebounding battle for those few minutes. He rebounded around 12 per 36 minutes with the Kings. Before that he was close to 17 per 36 minutes with the Rockets.
• He’s a very likable person. He’ll talk to you and be quite engaging. He just seems to like to have a good time.

But here are some things to remember with Joey that you’ll want to put in the back of your brain in case it ever comes up.

• Don’t ever let him make a basketball decision outside of rebound and outlet pass.
• Make sure the clocks in his apartment and vehicles are set to the correct time. The Kings released him with just a couple of weeks left in the season because they were worried about his character. It’s not that he’s a bad guy at all. But apparently, rumors are that he didn’t show up to some practices and workouts on time. The Kings were worried about this kind of laissez-faire attitude rubbing off on the young Kings core so they decided to release him. I’m guessing a non-playoff team releasing a young, defensive-minded big man with not much time remaining in the regular season when it isn’t an attempt to save money or open up a roster spot can be a little alarming for some people.
• Because of this issue with not taking things seriously (like showing up on time), you probably shouldn’t let him near guys like Sonny Weems or DeMar DeRozan.
• He’s going to foul and foul a lot. If you thought Greg Oden had fouling issues, just wait until you get a hold of Joey Dorsey.
• Be sure not to feed him after midnight.

And that’s about it! Now you should be armed with the knowledge and tools for rooting for Joey Dorsey. You’re going to love the way he jokes around with guys on the bench. If you have any further questions or concerns about this or any of your team rooting needs, please feel free to ask your local general manager.

Always been wary of Sunday games for the exact reason they’re talked about as an advantage for us. Instead of being an extra step quick, we’re usually a step slow and leave it for the second half to make up for our first half indolence. In that sense, this game wasn’t much different from the Indiana game last Sunday where the Raptors found late gears to avoid what would’ve been a rather humbling home defeat. Solid team play in key stretches, a boost off the bench from Antoine Wright, and steadfast offensive resolve from Chris Bosh were the keys to taking care of business as the Raptors continued their plunder through the soft part of the schedule.

Transition play and offensive rebounding is the only reason the Kings stayed in this game. Those are two of our weaknesses and they were went about exploiting it in a consistent manner. As well as the Raptors were playing early, everything they did on offense was negated by those two shortcomings. The good news is that both our weaknesses have more to do with effort than personnel so when we were only up 3 at the half despite shooting 60%, you knew it wasn’t going to be this way as long as we just picked it up.

Our strengths lie in the interior play of Bosh, the playmaking ability of our wings and in the sanctity of team basketball. Bosh was a beast on offense tonight (36/11/5) and operated very close to the basket for most of the night, he executed a few drop-steps for dunks and always made the drive his first priority. Bosh’s scoring is only half of his post-game, the other half is getting others open shots and our management of how to handle Sacramento double teams was impeccable. Bosh’s reads of the help was good and his passing out of it led to swing sequences and more (his 5 assists proof of that). There were many plays today where Jack, Turkoglu and Bargnani demonstrated great unselfishness which always led to a better shot. Sometimes we make extra passes out of the Bosh-double which end up being a detriment for the possession, but not tonight, Sacramento was left chasing the ball and our 28 assists reflect that.

Turkoglu was back wearing a mask, DeRozan was back after his ankle injuries and Calderon surprised everyone by returning from his ankle sprain. As expected, Jack went right at Tyreke Evans from the get-go which surprised the rookie; Jack had 9 assists on the night, most of which came off drive and kicks – the best assist for a PG. Turkoglu was aggressive on the high screen and set the tone early by driving for a couple and then knocking down two open jumpers after clever fakes. 7 points in 7 minutes is a lot of production for him and hopefully he climbs his way out of the rut he’s been in. With Bosh operating inside, Turkoglu and Jack on their games, it was going to be a question of whether the defense would get up to the level of our offense.

For most of the game it didn’t, Sacramento had a 26-6 fastbreak point edge in the first half as our already poor transition defense was made to look worse because of 9 turnovers. It’s like adding fuel to fire. There was little doubt the Kings weren’t going to come back after the Raptors went up by 13 early; they were excellent at running back our missed jumpers for points and as already mentioned, the turnovers hurt us. Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin and Donte Greene’s agenda was to challenge the Raptors in transition and since all three are excellent open-floor players, had success. This is where the Raptors looked their worst on Sunday – matched up in the open floor against athletic wings who are running at them. The offensive rebounding was a problem as we finished -9 in the department, Spencer Hawes being the main thorn in our side. Bargnani’s rebounding numbers are decent (8 rebs) but some of his play in help situations was deplorable. Triano tried to insert Johnson to match the Kings’ energy but he was overmatched against Sean May, who is looking less like a blimp these days but still pretty fat.

I had a keen eye on Calderon in the first half and was expecting him to take it a little easy and work himself back in the game. To my surprise he started hunting for his own shot which was good to see. An aggressive Jose is a good Jose and even though he was only 3-7 with 2 assists in 21 minutes, he got an excellent run in which should help him in his next game.

With Belinelli out, the job of checking Evans fell to Jack and Wright, as DeRozan/Weems were handling Kevin Martin. We held him to 3-8FG for 11 points and he was more or less a non-factor, you could also argue that the game-high 18 shots launched by Martin did well to take their best player out of the game. Wright’s defense on Evans was invaluable, especially in a couple key fourth quarter possessions when the game was rocking back and forth. DeRozan couldn’t get a handle on Martin’s trickery early, the rookie has trouble guarding SGs who use screens well and Martin’s one of them. The way he got burned on that out-of-bounds play with 5 seconds left in the first half was not good. Not good at all. DeRozan played 24 minutes, also got a good run in but didn’t play the fourth quarter as Wright’s play left Triano no choice. Later Triano spoke about the adjustment of switching Wright on Evans:

We wanted Antoine on the floor and we wanted him guarding Tyreke at the end as much as we could…We didn’t want to get too sucked into the paint trying to help on him and have him kick for threes.

The early third quarter followed a similar pattern as the first half with the Raptors giving back what they scored, Andrea Bargnani had 8 in the frame and worked well off of Chris Bosh. The constant Bosh double-teaming was providing everybody with looks and the Raptors did a solid team job of making them pay. With the Raptors up 6 with 3:39 left to play, Triano decided to give Chris Bosh a breather and inserted Amir Johnson into the game. We almost lost the game. With Bosh out, our offense hit the wall as we were forced to create from the top rather than going inside-out and our rebounding also took a hit. The Kings went on a quick-fire 11-0 run sparked by three Donte Green threes which changed the face of the game.

I want to give special attention to the drive and And1 Jarrett Jack had at the end of the third, we’ve seen him try to carry the team in times of adversity a lot this year and that play was another one of those occasions. On the ensuing possession the Kings’ Ime Udoka clearly goaltend the ball but the refs blew the call. Jack picked up the technical and seemed very upset, he actually threw the ball into the 10th row while making it look like he was attempting a 3/4 court three as time expired. The hotheadedness might’ve cost him fourth quarter playing time as Calderon was the guy Triano went with. Triano’s shown a tendency to alternate PGs per quarter so maybe Calderon would’ve played the fourth all along, especially since he didn’t play a second in the third.

The fourth didn’t start promisingly as Udrih burned Calderon twice to setup May for clean looks as Johnson was sucked into the paint. Staring a 7-point deficit and the momentum squarely on the Kings’ side, it didn’t look great. Enter Sonny Weems’ defense. Two steals, one leading to an Antoine Wright three and the other to his own dunk. All in all, an 8-0 run in 48 seconds. That’s all it took, 48 seconds to turn this game around. The defense was sparked and the confidence to run the offense was back. Later on Wright hit two more jumpers, both assisted meaning that they weren’t taken out of rhythm and didn’t come out of one-on-one play. Of his six field goals, five were assisted and his ability to spread out the floor was key in Calderon being able to operate freely in the fourth. That quarter was a shining example of the Raptors at their best: sharing the rock and patiently passing the ball till we find the late rotation to get the clean look.

A finishing touch was supplied by an Andrea Bargnani three, once again made out of excellent ball movement. The Kings had no answer, after the Raptors had tightened their defense (read: increased their effort), Sacramento couldn’t get the easy break points they lived off of in the first half and were forced to score out of the half-court. They only had 10 fastbreak points in the second half after netting 26 in the first, Wright’s defense on their main gun was very influential in taking away their half-court scoring and credit needs to be given to Bosh and Bargnani, who both improved their help defense in the second half.

Raptors win. Remember that 10-game stretch that was mentioned in the podcast a couple weeks ago, well, we’re on pace to go 9-1.

First up we have the Kings. I’ll be honest, apart from their Über rookie Tyerke Evans, Kevin Martin and Jason Thompson, I know nothing about this team. So I decided to check in with one of the best NBA bloggers out there, Zach Harper from Talk Hoops, Cowbell Kingdom and Hardwood Paroxysm, if you haven’t been following him, now is time…do it:

The Kings started the season on a tear of sorts, what slowed them down?
Reality didn’t help them keep their early season pace, that’s for sure. With the Kings, everything was so new and Jason Thompson was playing extremely well to begin the year. In fact, you could have even made the case for JT to challenge for the All-Star game after the first month in just his second year. But ever since they choked away back to back games against the Cavs and Lakers in late December, the team has been on a free fall. The defense has been nonexistent (just four opponents held under 100 in the last 22 games) and they’re getting nothing inside in terms of consistent offensive production. Their best post defender the past month has been Jon Brockman, who is 6’7″ with lifts in his shoes. Combine all of that with the fact that they can’t win on the road and their inability to close out games and it’s amazing they’ve held up this well as of late.

Looks like you have a player in Tyreke Evans; how good is he? What’s his ceiling? ROY?
The Kings franchise hasn’t had a young player this good with this high of a ceiling since Oscar Robertson and that’s not an exaggeration. Tyreke Evans is going to be a star in this league. He can dominate the game by driving to the basket and playing defense. And oh boy, his defense. He’s a really good defender and not just for a rookie. He can defend three positions. Now, if he learns how to knock down the three then we’re approaching dangerous territory. Rookie of the Year has all but been wrapped up for him for about a month now. He’s the only one putting together a full season so far. Jennings faded and Curry took too long to come on strong. Assuming he stays healthy, he should be unanimous for the ROY awartd.

Kevin Martin looks to be on the outs with Sac, and also a rumoured target of the Raptors, what happens to him in the next two weeks?
I doubt he’s going anywhere in the next two weeks. Kings want to see what they have with him and Tyreke in the backcourt. I think they can work perfectly together but they can’t freeze out the rest of the team while playing together (which has unfortunately happened since his return). They’ll give Martin at least the end of the season to see what they have with him and Evans. And if they can prove to be a 50-point backcourt that helps bring wins then there’s no way he goes anywhere.

Will Kenny Thomas finally prove to be useful for the Kings and bring someone back, or does he walk at the end of the year?
K9 had a couple of productive games sometime in late November or early December. And since then he’s disappeared. That might be because he sits behind Sean May and we can’t see him now because of it. I’m not sure. I don’t think the Kings will make any moves at the trade deadline. Martin would be traded for someone like Al Jefferson but that’s not going to happen. The Kings are better off doing a trade around the draft than this trade deadline. They’ll let K9 expire and unless a contender wants to take Nocioni, Garcia or Beno for cap relief, I doubt Sacramento does anything this season.

Anything you want to add?
I’m not sure what Chris Bosh’s career high is but against this Kings interior defense, I can almost guarantee he’ll break it. From what I’ve heard, Omri Casspi should have a big fan base at the arena on Sunday. I recommend watching him play. He’s very competitive, fiery and finds a way to contribute without ever getting a play called for him. He’s very fun to watch and easy to root for.

A lot of nice pieces on this Sacramento team. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes have been heaven-sent for me in two of my leagues, Tyreke Evans is the reason I’m in second in one of my drafts, and I picked up Martin a week before he returned from injury, and am starting to reap the rewards (those 30 point games really help me keep distance with the folks behind me). Now all that needs to happen for me is for these guys to perform well, give me my points, but for the Raptors to win.

Jack and DeRozan will have their hands full with Evans and Martin, although they will be able to return the favour on defense. Udrih is their version of Banks, and as the first point guard of the bench…well, I laugh at that – HAH! I always liked Francisco Garcia, but he will be facing the three headed 2-by-committee who have been playing pretty good over the last few games.

What has me excited is that if the Kings have no one to cover Bosh, that also means they have no one to cover Bargnani; it will be up to them to take advantage and capitalize. I’m guessing in the vicinity of 50pts and 23reb between the two…that seems reasonable.

What worries me is that the Raptors haven’t played since Wednesday, and they usually come lethargic and sloppy in these situations. A young, athletic team like the Kings can get up and down if you sleep on them, and with the Raptors history of playing down…I just don’t want to go through one of those games where the Raptors spot a 10 point lead, and claw their way back to eventually win by 7 or 8.

Turkoglu may or may not go, and either way, I think we can expect the same production form him – just saying…

The gamblers have the Raptors as 8.5 point favourites with an over/under of 215.5.

1. Sacramento
2. Washington
3. LA Clippers

I’m predicting Sacramento gets screwed, and the Knicks win the Lottery – taking take home Blake Griffin, stay tuned…

• BC representing, let’s hope he brings some luck (last time we got the #1 pick)
• Joel Litvin shouldn’t be allowed in front of a camera
• Hopefully Hoiberg isn’t there for Sota, he got screwed last year, that look on his face was priceless, lol.
• Reggie Jackson in the house…the Knicks win the draft, no doubt
• Kevin Love for Sota, they should be in better shape then last year
• C-Web reppin Sac? WTF?
• Raptors pick 9th, I’ve lost interest…
• Kings get F*CKED! So did the Wizards…
• Clippers get the #1 pick…hopefully Griffin is no Olowakandi

I have to admit, for once, I had no doubt about the outcome of the game. Even with the Kings sporting a 4 point lead in the first half, I was relaxed and firm in my resolve that the Raptors would pull this one out. The Kings just don’t match up well, talent is thin up front, their wings don’t have Wade-like ability, and Udrih is just not very good.

For the second game in a row, the Raptors didn’t get out to an early double-digit lead, and you know what? I’m good with that. Clearly that strategy wasn’t working out, so I applaud the Raptors for not going that route for the 43rd time this season. This monstrous winning streak has coincided with the return of Calderon, who had another great game manning the point, and O’Neal who has been getting better coming off the bench.

Since his return, Calderon has been looking for his offense more then we saw earlier in the season. When his check runs under the high pick, he pulls up for an un-contested J, and when his check runs through the high pick, he attacks the paint opening up court for a layup or kick out to someone for an open J. Thing of beauty. The clincher for me is that his assists haven’t fallen off with his increased offensive production. I’m of that school of thought that likes his point guards to score – opens up a lot more options.

Both teams got whatever shot they wanted, and made it to start the game. The Kings however, got their scores by breaking down the Raptors perimeter defense and hitting their open jumpers. Dribble-penetration, how many times have we said this about the Raps? They let anyone who has any inkling of handles into the paint, they collapse on him, they let him kick out to a shooter, who hits an uncontested jumper. How bad was it? Let’s just say that Brad Miller took and made TWO uncontested treys.

Salmons was punishing the Raptors Moon off the bounce, in fact, Moon didn’t look like he wanted to be out there, dude was Alabama Dreamin’. I wanted to slap that stupid smile off his face. Salmons would blow by him time after time, and he would just grin. WTF man? It wasn’t until Triano got sick of him in the 3rd quarter that he replaced him permanently with Graham, that things got better. In fact, that was the turning point in the game, as the Raptors/Kings were trading buckets up until that point. WIth Joey’s ferocious ways, the Raptors not only etched out a 13 point lead heading into the 4th, they also showed some balls when Garcia pushed Bargnani from Behind, and BOTH Graham and O’Neal came to his aid in the tussle.

For me, that was the highlight of the game. As the play was developing, I was thinking that this will be another one of those situations that Bargnani will be left to fend for himself against some border-line thug, but no! Joey came in bumping Garcia and pushing him away, then O’Neal got in the mix. This team is soft, there is no doubt about it, but O’Neal, Graham, Joey, Calderon…these guys will get in your face, and need to do it more to help this team out. Imagine if these guys actually had each others back last season when TJ got mugged, he might not have developed that complex when he returned…just putting it out there.

The PR machine was in full effect again hoping Riley was watching/listening, but in all fairness, HO had a good game. I must say, I appreciate how he battles in the block. If he continues to contribute from the bench at the levels he was before he got injured, may not be a total loss if we don’t trade him for Marion. I’m not saying he is the answer or anything to that extent, but if the guy can come off the bench, put up 15/8, and not cause any ruckus, it will go a long way to improving this team because VL has clearly locked up the starting 5 spot.

Speaking of VL, what is this…the 18th solid game in a row? It is actually a question I want answered: how/what/why/where were you able to turn this around? I mean, playing at 3 wasn’t woking, any idiot who saw you try and keep up there knew that you need to play 4/5. But the fact of the matter is that you made same sort of interal decision  and this is the result. My question to you is why now? Why not last year? Imagine if we get something more useful for Ford and Rasho? We would be a force in the East.

Mine the ball is.

Parker chipped in with another great game: 11pts 7rebs 7ast. The guy just needed some love. He has been the Raps unsung hero for 2.5 seasons now. All he wanted was some love to re-energize the batteries. I’m kind of torn right now about Parker:he is one of a few Raps who has any trade value that isn’t untouchable, but we desperately need him, so unless he is outgoing part of a trade for a solid 2, I’m not sure I trade him. On the other hand, I am totally biased in his favour as he is my favourite Raptor. I just don’t want to see him dumped for cap space, I want a young kid in return, who can ball, at a minimum.

No post-game would be complete without talking about Bosh. Yea…he’s good. lol. I wish he would have taken it to the rack more, as Mikki Moore is a shell of his former self, Miller never really moved and Thompson is still wet behind the ears. That said, 12-22 from the field and 7-8 from the line is good enough for me. There was a moment, after Miller hit his second trey, that I thought for sure Bosh was going to jack one up…but he didn’t, and I thought it impressive he wasn’t goated into it. It’s good to see him smiling again, they have been few and far between this season.

The next two games are somewhat ‘gettable’. Gettable in the sense that the Nets and Bucks are marginally better then we are, and are due to lose a heartbreaker at our hands. We need the next two because we have a very tough 4 game stretch coming up that will be just nasty (Magic, Cavs, Lakers and Hornets).

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Free Ukic!

It’s natural to blame the big men when trying to explain the league-worst -5.50 rebounding differential but closer examination points the fingers at the guards. Jose Calderon is 32nd amongst guards with 3.3 RPG and Anthony Parker, our starting shooting guard for the majority of the season, is 46th amongst the same group with 2.9. Contrast this with Bosh being 3rd amongst forwards with 9.9 and Jermaine O’Neal 18th among centers with 7.5 and you see that the problem is much more severe in the backcourt than the front. A few days ago I went over the impact Triano’s system has had on our rebounding and defense and although his philosophy works on paper, you can’t help but think we don’t have the personnel in our backcourt to sustain the activeness on defense required to see Triano’s scampering defense through. Triano however believes in the current squad’s ability to play his defensive style – we’ll see if that’s true in the next couple of weeks.

The Knicks could sign Carlos Delfino to an offersheet which would give the Raptors a chance to match, that right there could test whether Colangelo is serious about going over the luxury tax but then again do you really want him going over to sign someone like Delfino? The reason Delfino is an attractive proposition is because he brings two things we need: perimeter defense that doesn’t entirely suck and an ability to handle point-guard duties for 5-8 minutes a game. If Will Solomon or Roko Ukic aren’t doing a satisfactory job the natural reaction shouldn’t be to sign another player, but to see how Anthony Parker handles the role in limited minutes. If he doesn’t get exploited by the quicker PGs then we just might’ve found a role for him here (if Colangelo decides not to trade his expiring contract).

The Raptors are in Sacramento tonight (live blog at 10:00 PM EST) to finish off the second half of their 6-game roadtrip. After the OKC humiliation, an expected result in San Antonio and an equally expected result in Los Angeles, the Raptors face a Kings team that has lost 4 straight, 8 of their last 10 and 16 of their last 19. They’re also without Kevin Martin for tonight’s game – he is out indefinitely with a sore left ankle. Technically speaking this is a winnable game but the Kings probably have had this one circled for a while. The Raptors haven’t won in Sacramento for more than a decade and just like how OKC only appeared to be a seemingly easy opponent, so are the Kings. If we can pull this win off we’ll have to beat one of Golden State (lost 7 of 8) or Portland to come back 3-3, that wouldn’t be too shabby.

Jamario Moon will not be in this year’s dunk-off in Phoenix. It’s between Dwight Howard, Rudy Gay, Nate Robinson (wtf?) and one of Rudy Fernandez, Russell Westbrook and Joe Alexander. I thought Moon got robbed last year because he clearly had better stuff than Gerald Green and his material was on par with Rudy Gay, he just screwed himself with the whole tape thing. At the same time it’s very understandable why he’s not in it this year – he’s just not that great. However, why Nate Robinson is allowed to be within 500 miles of a dunk-off is unexplainable.

From Eric Smiths’ blog as he’s talking about miscellaneous NBA stuff:

Minnesota – The ghost of Brandon Roy will always haunt you.

Is he joking? Should we really be making fun of Minnesota for trading Brandon Roy? At least they got Randy Foye out of the transaction, we got VL.

There really isn’t that much going on, here’s a chance to win some tickets to the Magic game. Be sure to grab our RSS feed and follow us on Twitter for in-game updates, latest web articles and other news as it happens.

AltRaps has scourged Yahoo for some very nice pics from the game. A game where Joey Graham was very impressive until you realize who the competition really was. Either way, you can’t take away 24/8 and 12-15 FT from Joey, nights like these only happens in dreams for the guy. Fast forward to the final two minutes of the game and you’ll instantly recognize the fourth quarter famine that was so evident of the big club last year. The Raptors failed to score when it mattered most going Turnover, Missed Jumpshot, Missed Horrible Jumpshot for the last three possessions of the game.

Jaycee Carrol showed us a little something something with a few nice floaters and a couple jumpers and went 6-9 FG for 14 points. Unfortunately he happened to take a very ill-advised late three which spattered mockingly against the backboard. It is summer league, if you’re not going to try stuff like that here where will you try it? Very unimpressive night for our PGs, John Lucas going 3-13 FG with a very, very bad pass in those crucial final two minutes. How Daniel Ewing managed to pick up 5 fouls and 2 turnovers in less than 9 minutes was a thing of beauty, the man sure makes the most of his time on the floor. He was my outside pick to make the team, egg on my face indeed.

Before the game Joey Graham talked about the struggles of trying to stay in the NBA:

“It’s just rekindling the flame that I had missed throughout the season. It’s just a matter of me coming out here, playing hard and doing the same stuff I’ve been doing while I’ve been in the Toronto Raptors organization…..When Jermaine or Chris is tired, I can definitely come in and play that position. When Jamario, Parker or Jason Kapono are tired I can play that position, too. Me being able to play multiple positions is an advantage for this team.”

He’s desperate for consistent minutes and begging Sam Mitchell to let him play through his mistakes. Graham’s got the physical ability to be in the NBA but I just don’t think he has enough time to show the Raptors organization that he’s worthy of it. My guess is he’ll end up being without a contract for next season, have a good year somewhere else and get back in the NBA – just like Hassan Adams.

Raptors summer league coach Eric Hughes chimed in post-game and pointed out to the Kings having a few first round picks on their roster as being the difference:

“I thought we played really hard – it was a physical game. They have four first round draft picks on their team and I think that showed a little bit with the way they were physical. Not that we weren’t ready for it and not that we didn’t compete, but ultimately that caught up to us at the end.”

Uber-blogger Rod Benson and Chris Bosh’s brother did not play and Hassan Adams chipped in with 9/3/4. That concludes the formality of covering a meaningless game.

Anthony Parker and Jermaine O’Neal are working out hard at Joe Abunassar’s Impact Basketball in Las Vegas. Jermaine’s giving his usual “reborn” speech but Anthony Parker chose to talk some technicalities:

“He brings toughness, a defensive presence in the paint, and he’s a great rebounder. All of those things are things we struggled with last year…He’s going to open things up and you’ve got to honor him and maybe send two people at him, same way with Chris. And that opens things up for guys like me and Jason Kapono on the outside.”

The man is obviously talking great sense here, O’Neal’s acquisition is designed to get the likes of him and Kapono open looks and we know they can knock them down. On paper it really is a great idea and if Sam Mitchell can utilize two double team threats and two great outside shooters properly, there’s little reason to believe that we can’t be a very good offensive team. On the other end of the court you know that Bosh and O’Neal will do their part, it’ll be upto our perimeter guys (including Moon) to lock down the perimeter. Another benefit of having a healthy Jermaine O’Neal is that we won’t need to constantly double team the likes of Dwight Howard as much as we did last year, thus easing the pressure off our defense.

Some bloke in the Miami Herald is proclaiming that the Raptors tried to acquire Shawn Marion but the Heat didn’t show great interest in T.J Ford. Then the writer goes on to say that Miami would rather have Larry Hughes. I personally loathe Shawn Marion’s game, he’s a product of a Phoenix system which suited him perfectly and not a superstar. If really hope Colangelo didn’t actually try to acquire him.

Raptors play Denver on Monday. Have a nice day and as John Stewart says, here’s your moment of zen.