This is the first game since opening night that I’ve legitimately been excited to watch. While I’m not sure what Colangelo’s plans for this team are over the next 9 months or so, but he pulled off the best trade of his Raptor tenure. While Jack may have been the best player in the deal, he turned Jack/Banks/Andersen into an asset (Peja’s expiring) that was greater than the parts it was traded for, and Bayless who should be giving us a couple years of frustration. If nothing else, we have a couple months of trade machine until the deadline.

Tonight, the Raptors host the Sixers at the ACC, and hope to extend the winning streak to 4-games for the first time since January of last season. Without even getting into it, I expect a win tonight for a couple reasons:

1. Sixers suck
2. Sixers suck on the road
3. Sixers sucked last night in Washington (back-to-back)
4. We’ve already beaten them

This the second time these teams have played in a week (it was the Sixers who got the Raptors started on this mini-winning streak), where the Raptors were able to keep the game close, then pull it out in the 4th. Bargnani came out the games gangbusters, but did a solid job of maintaining his effectiveness for the game. Arsenalist described the game the best:

“This game was a war of attrition between a poor Philly offense and a bad Raptors defense. Something had to give and it ended up being the Philly defense as a very motivated Andrea Bargnani kept demanding the ball right up until the end and delivered when he got it.”

Injury Report

Toronto
Ed Davis – On the mend

Philadelphia
Andre Iguodala – Achilles, Played last night
Elton Brand – May be suspended

Match-ups

PG – Calderon vs Holiday
Holiday is coming off a rough game against the Wizards last night where he went 4-12 from the field, but grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 dimes. I like this kid, but he’s too up and down, and considering he threw in a bad performance last night, and the three days rest Jose got, this could be a long night for the kid. I ugh…don’t have a whole lot for this one, other than the bench could have a big impact on this one. Lou Williams stunk last week, but had a big night last night, and Bayless is coming in pretty wet behind the ears. I expect Calderon to play 32+ minutes tonight, and with his ability to manage the offense, he should have a strong game if he keeps active on offense, and doesn’t give Holiday anything easy.
Edge: Calderon

SG – DeRozan vs Turner
Triano will be experimenting with minutes to get the right mix, but if DeRozan is having another bad game, you can expect to see Barbosa (and Weems in certain match-ups) play some here. Turner hasn’t been shooting well, and his offense has suffered, but he was able to pull down 12 rebounds last week against the Raps. I don’t expect to see that again, but the Raptors will need to stay alert and not let the Philly backcourt catch their second wind tonight and lead their offense since their front line players struggle to create shots for themselves. If Lou Williams gets going like he did last night against the Bucks, it could open up some cracks in the paint for folks to go to work. After a few pretty games, and a couple days off, DeRozan looks good to come correct tonight. He needs to stay active and get to the line, otherwise I don’t see it working out well for him-again.
Edge: DeRozan

SF – Weems vs Igoudala
After being out a few games with an injured Achilles, Andre played 50 minutes last night and had a solid game (23pts 11rebs 8ast). He’s going to be tired and is still injured (achilles injuries take a bit more time to heal). Nocioni is playing hurt, and Weems is playing well. That’s all there is to this. Expect Thaddeus Young to get some burn after posting a couple solid performances against the Bucks and Wizards, but he’s logged quite a few minutes the last two games, so he wont be 100%. I’m liking Weems a lot lately, seems like he’s ‘gotten’ it, and is doing the right things on the court. Either way, he will be playing folks who aren’t at their best, and should have a a good go of it. I’m excited to see what Peja brings to the table tonight. I expect he should play 20+ minutes as Carlesimo Triano figures things out; this should be a nice game for him to showcase what he has left in the tank.
Edge: Weems

PF – Evans vs Brand
Brand might be suspended for this game, after being ejected last night for a flagarant. Evans will need to do a better job defending him as he had his way last week (27pts 9reb) and was really the only reason the Sixers were in the game for as long as they were. If he’s suspended, then the offense will sputter, since no one else commands enough attention in the paint to give the perimeter players room to operate; hopefully we get to see Songaila airball a couple more shots. Either way, the Raptors have the horses to win this battle.
Edge: Evans

C – Bargnani vs Hawes
Greatest. Raptor. Player. Ever.
Edge: Bargnani

**NOTE** I think this is the first time I have the Raptors winning at all five positions, without the bench needing to pick up the slack. Could be a nice game for Amir to get at it without the pressure of being a focal point with so much going on with the new players and the fact that Philly sucks.

Keys to the Game

Show up
Philly is going to be tired after going to the wire agains the Wizards, and we’re a better/deeper team than they are. Yea…

Protect the perimeter
The Sixers don’t have the horses to hurt us in the key, or the glass, so our wings will need to pay attention to their shooting. If they get going, get the adrenaline pumping early, and hit their shots, it could be a long-frustrating night. I can live with that if they protect the paint and contest shots. Communication will be huge.

Give Bargnani the ball
Il Mago is hot, lets keep feeding him and let him go to work. Philly’s got nothing to stop him, or counter him. With Jack carrying CP3′s bags now, there’s no one to look away from him when he’s got it going.

The Line

The gamblers have the Raptors as 6.5 point favourites with an over/under of 205.5 points. I’m thinking bigger things tonight; Raptors by 11.

Sorry this pre-game isn’t as good as it should be, I was super rushed this morning.

Fortunately for my sanity, I missed the game. However, there was a point last night where I glanced up at the TV, saw the Wizards up 79-59, did a double take, then proceeded to drink myself blind while some suit at the bar was shouting the most obscene things at the TV I’ve ever heard; turns out he was watching the Leafs, but whatever. How the f&@% do you lose to a Wizards team missing their best player? How the f&@% do you get out-rebounded by the worst rebounding team in the league?

I don’t have any answers to questions about the Raptors, seriously. This team beats Orlando on Friday, competes hard against Miami on Saturday, then they get thumped by Washington on Tuesday. Indulge me for a second: so I design software at work for a living. After interviewing clients to get what their pain points are, one of the reoccurring themes was predictability of cost. They want to know what they will be paying, for a certain amount of product over the course of the year.

I want the exact same thing from the Raptors, I want to know what I’m getting out of them every night; right now I don’t. We don’t know which incarnation of this team will show up from night to night. Really makes it hard to put other aspects of my life on hold to watch games where we lose to bad teams because of questionable things. On the flip-side, it does us a huge disservice when they beat a team like the Magic on the road, since achieving that usually means that everyone is carrying their own weight, and making the right decisions on every play. This team obviously isn’t in that vicinity, so it gets our hopes up.

One positive from last night is that, and I’m just putting this out there, but I think Weems has moved into the starting role. Kleiza did well off the bench, and I think his offense is better suited coming off the bench, and frankly, with Barbosa out, it is needed there more. A wing Jack/DeRozan/Weems makes me much more excited.

Sigh…

I had a chance to speak with Carey Smith, of Philadunkia.com about the Sixers and the matchup tonight:

Andre Iguadala hasn’t started the season as expected, with his numbers pretty much down across the board. This hasn’t stopped teams from expressing interest in him. If he gets moved, what will the Sixers look for him in return?
Thorn and Stefanski are going to ask for the world in return for AI9, because in my opinion they highly over rate his potential. Iguodala is a very athletic, very well rounded and overall very good player, but he’s a second or some believe a third banana on a title contending team. He is not, nor will he ever be a star as the Sixers front office believed he could become. If they deal him (which I don’t want the Sixers to do), I hope they go after cap space and a young big who can grab some boards.

It took a couple seasons, but Elton Brand seems to be getting back on track. He was having trouble meshing with the athletic wings on the team, what has changed?
What has changed about Brand is that he lighter, moving better and is in much better shape. This past summer was the first time since Brand has been in a Sixers uniform that he didn’t spend the off season rehabbing from a serious injury. He was able to concentrate on getting ready for the season from a conditioning stand point and work on his actual basketball skills. All that work seems to be paying off.

I was super high on Jrue Holliday coming into the season, and it seems as though he worked on his game quite a bit this summer. What is the kid doing right?
To be honest, Jrue is having a wildly inconsistent year so far in 2010-11. There have been some All-Star caliber games from him and some flat out bombs like the one against SAS the other night. You can read more about in a post by Tom Sunnegren.

How do you match-up with the Raptors? What will be the strategy for dealing with Bargnani and DeRozan?
Outside of our usual interior weaknesses, I believe the Sixers matchup well against the Raptors. I don’t see DeRozan, Kleiza or the Jack/Calderon PG combo as much of an issue for the Sixers to handle. As is typical of the Sixers this season, they’re going to get killed in the paint vs. the Raptors. Former Sixers Reggie Evans may have a career night vs. our weak frontline and Andrea Bargnani will do whatever he wants against the Sixers bigs. If we can slow Bargnani down, even just a little (he averaged 18 ppg. & 5.8 rpg vs. PHl last season) we should win this game.

Injuries

Toronto
Ed Davis – Out
Leandro Barbosa – Shoulder, Out
Linas Kleiza – Achilles, Should Play

Philadelphia
Andre Iguodala – Achilles, Should Play

Match-ups

PG – Jack vs Holiday
Jrue just turned 20 this summer, so he obviously has the experience to take it to Jack/Calderon all night. He’s also a mediocre shooter, who’s quick enough to get into the paint; so expect him to go 8-13 from the perimeter tonight, and 6-9 at the rim. He’s bigger, stronger, and faster then Jack and plays better defense. The Sixers are 11th in the league in assists, meaning they do a great job of moving the ball around; doesn’t bode well for a Raptor defense that doesn’t rotate or play good defense. At the head of the beast is Holiday who may not have great court vision, but does a good job of finding the right guy for the shot (if that made any sense at all). Call me out on this, but on the second night of a back-to-back, I have zero expectations tonight…zero. Jrue has a career game…fml
Edge: Holiday

SG – DeRozan vs Turner
It wasn’t that he had a bad night per say, but he took 9 shots. To put that in perspective, Jack took 14 and Kleiza took 11 off the bench. The kids doing a great job the last couple games, and you can’t get him the ball? Seriously? DeMar needs to keep Turner on the perimeter and tempt him with open-ish shots. Turner doesn’t have the athleticism to beat DeRozan off the dribble, or through the air, so he will pick his spots since he sees the floor so well. Honestly, DeRozan should win this match-up, the kid is still finding his way, and is in the zonew. I wont accept any other result.
Edge: DeRozan

SF – Weems vs Iguodala
AI is injured, and was only able to muster 19 minutes against the Spurs on the weekend (he still managed to put up 10pts 8rebs though). Achilles injuries affect movement, movement affects ability to do stuff, and if you can’t do stuff, the guy on the other side of the court should win the match-up. If Andre can’t go, expect to see more of Young and Nocioni. If Andre does go, and is injured, Money better drop 20pts, that’s all I got.
Edge: Weems

PF – Evans vs Brand
I’m totally biased towards Brand, he’s been one of my favourites since Duke (actually, I think he’s the only Duke player I’ve ever really liked). He’s made some nice progress since that ridiculous injury he suffered when he signed with Philly, but hasn’t regained his explosiveness that he lost as a result. Evans isn’t an explosive guy either, but has been playing smart, and controlling the boards the best he can without much support. One thing to note is that Brand doesn’t play big in the paint anymore, he’s a mid-ranger who doesn’t shoot a very high percentage. Evans can get at him and make him work hard on the glass, and for his points. Wont be an exciting match-up.
Edge: Even

C – Bargnani vs Hawes
Last night in Washington was Bargnani’s worse game of the season, which happens. I seriously don’t think I need to say too much about this match-up. Hawes doesn’t like to initiate contact in the paint, has some nice post moves but prefers to jack shots from the perimeter. After an embarassing performance against McGee and Blatche, Il Mago needs to throw down tonight.
Edge: Bargnani

Keys to the Game

How about some defense?
109, 109, 110, 101, 109, 97, 108, 125, 111, 81, 98
The Raptors have kept an appointment to under 100 points three times this season, it’s a bloody shame. Hustle and defense are distinctly different things; actually, that describes Calderon to a T. The Sixers aren’t a high scoring team, so hopefully we don’t make them look like stars.

Bench Performance
The Sixers have a nice mix of crafty players and athletes on their bench, that could really be a thorn in the Raptors side. Thaddeus Young seems to always come out to play against us, and always makes me nervous he’s going to have a big night. I’d like to see Calderon regain some composure after last night’s shit show, and lead this squad. I also look forward to Kleiza’s scoring from the bench, which is a perfect spot for the guy.

Show some pride
You lost a rough one last night, and have a chance to split this four-game road swing 2-2 with a win tonight against an equally brutal Sixers team. What’s at stake tonight is being the worst team in the East; but who knows, maybe having the most ping-pong balls is a good thing.

The Line

The gamblers have the Sixers as 4 point favourites with an over/under of 207.5.

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

There were a couple goals heading into the game:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

We got Boston again on Friday.

We’re on Facebook.

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

Toronto Sun

As Antoine Wright correctly pointed out in the aftermath of Toronto’s 114-101 loss to the visiting Philadelphia 76ers, there’s a chance a team that once looked to be a lock for post-season play may no longer be a playoff player.

“If we don’t change this, we’ll be looking in from the outside,” Wright said. “We can’t afford to be losing games like this. Our margin for error is so slim.

“We have to figure it out. We just can’t expect to win games by just showing up. We have to somehow find a way to channel our energy in the right place.”

It was felt the return of Chris Bosh would help solve some of the issues that plagued the Raptors heading into their matinee tip against the 76ers.

Bosh, as expected, was rusty and passive.

For whatever reason, the Raptors approached the game as some Sunday stroll against an opponent that was vulnerable, having lost eight of its past 10 games and five in succession.

Instead of a walk in the proverbial park, the Raptors got spanked.

Toronto Sun

Bosh wasn’t demanding the ball and neither was he drawing defenders like he normally does when healthy.

For only the second time this season, he didn’t make a single trip to the charity stripe.

Bosh played nearly 33 minutes and recorded his 40th double-double of the season.

“It was a little rough,” Raptors head coach Jay Triano said of Bosh’s game. “But we’ve got to play him. We have to play him through this and get him back to 100%.

“I think his timing is off a little bit. Being away for as long as he has, it’s going to take a couple of games for him to get back into a good smooth routine.”

The last time Bosh didn’t make a trip to the foul line was against the Lakers, the team the Raptors play next, in late January.

Toronto Star

"I don’t think I can fault the energy or the effort, but maybe the focus," coach Jay Triano said. "We just didn’t seem to be as locked in on this team as we should be."

Wright, who was an awful 2-for-10 from the floor in a five-point, four-rebound effort, couldn’t argue.

"I agree with him," he said. "Our energy wasn’t channelled in the right place. I guess we thought we had an easy game and we were going to catch a team in here early and just beat them.

"You can’t expect to win games just coming into them like that."

The Sixers, stumbling along at 23-39, took advantage of everything Toronto handed them. A group of fine individual talent that hasn’t yet coalesced into a good team, the Sixers took it to the Raptors one-on-one and won every battle.

Thaddeus Young, a tough matchup for Andrea Bargnani because of his quickness, went off for a career-high 32 points, Jrue Holiday had 16 and every Philadelphia starter was in double figures.

"You really have to be active help-side because they are such good one-on-one players; we got caught looking at our own guy instead of providing help," Triano said.

"It’s communication. When you don’t communicate and you’re not on the help side, I think that’s a lack of focus."

Globe and Mail

Health had been an issue all weekend. Amir Johnson, who started in Bosh’s place Friday night, was not feeling 100 per cent on Sunday, compounding Triano’s roster troubles.

Hedo Turkoglu played in Friday night’s win, but was clearly labouring on his ankle and was held out of Sunday’s matinee.

“It’s sore again today,” Triano said. “We’ve got yesterday, today and tomorrow to hopefully have him get better so that it’s something that is not going to linger for the rest of the year.”

DelcoTimes

Brand came out aggressively against Toronto’s long, gifted All-Star and set the tone by grabbing seven first-quarter rebounds.
Bosh finished with 12 points and 12 boards, but looked spaced-out at times and never really helped Toronto a great deal at either end of the court.
“Playing (center) was a little different, so I wanted to get some rebounds and push (Bosh) him out a little bit,” Brand said.
“I got in some foul trouble, but when I was out there it was fun to play with the guys who were running, rebounding and going.”
It was a lineup that, against the Raptors, who have no classic center and are the worst defensive team in the NBA, worked nicely — even if it wasn’t intentional.

Philadelphia Inquirer

"I think the team needs somebody else to step up," Holiday said. "And I’m out there, so why not me?"

The Sixers, who got a career-high 32 points from Thaddeus Young, improved to 23-39. The Raptors, paced by Jarrett Jack’s 20 points, dropped to 32-29.

Yesterday, for all of Holiday’s forehead-slapping turnovers – and there were four of them – he countered with at least three or four head-nodding plays.

Not a bad ratio.

The most noticeable of Holiday’s mistakes came with 6 minutes, 32 seconds left in the game and the Raptors trying desperately to cut into the Sixers’ double-digit lead. Holiday’s mistake was a backcourt faux pas: heroically attempting to be a one-man press breaker against three defenders. The ball, knocked loose from Holiday, was scooped up by Jack and immediately dished to teammate Jose Calderon, whose three-pointer made the score 94-87.

Gulp.

Sixers coach Eddie Jordan immediately called a time-out and looked at Holiday as if the rookie had crashed his car.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Toronto power forward Reggie Evans, traded last summer by the Sixers to the Raptors for forward Jason Kapono, offered a little perspective on his old team before yesterday’s game.

"From a friendship standpoint, knowing those are my homeboys and stuff, and knowing we had a good on-the-court, off-the-court there, it’s kind of like, ‘Damn, what the hell they got going there?’ " Evans said of the Sixers, who improved to 23-39 yesterday. "But it’s different: They have to learn a whole new system, a whole new coaching staff, and everything is different there now."

Evans scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds.

Philadelphia Daily News

Former Sixer forward Reggie Evans was traded to the Raptors in the offseason for Jason Kapono but still keeps an eye on is former team.

"I think me and Andre Miller were a big help to the team," he said. "They’ve got a lot of new faces now – from the coaching staff to the players. Things just look different over there now. They’re really offensive-minded, they’re not really disciplined right now. There was a balance on defense and offense. We were poised. We knew at any time we could get things rolling. But now, everything is just different over there."

Evans has become a fan favorite among the Toronto base. Oftentimes during games, the crowd will bellow "We want Reggie,” although he missed the first 51 games of the season with a left midfoot sprain.

"It wasn’t surprising at all," Evans said of becoming so beloved. "I come out there real aggressive. It just shows that hard work pays off. A lot of these fans work 9-to-5. They work their jobs, get their salary and they’re working hard. They spend their extra dollars to get a ticket, they at least want to see some hard work out there. They appreciate hard work."

Philadelphia Daily News

The Sixers extended the lead to as much as 13 points in the first quarter, aided by their good shooting and some bad aim by the Raptors, who missed eight of their first 11 shots. But Toronto has made a living of performing huge comebacks, as they’ve won nine games this season after trailing by double figures. Sure enough, it was 24-24 after the first.

But in the middle two quarters, the Sixers shot 24-for-37 (65 percent) and outscored the Raptors by a 65-51 margin. And then they relied on Holiday and Young to close things out.

"I think he’s doing a good job of understanding his game within the NBA game," Iguodala said of Holiday. "He had a problem with coming down and taking a shot with his toes on the line a lot with 20 seconds on the shot clock. I think he has a great understanding about that, he’s really changed it up. Instead of shooting those shots he now shoots open shots after a few passes and getting the whole team within the offense. He’s grown tremendously throughout this year. Hopefully he continues to grow."

Iguodala finished with 16 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. Lou Williams also hit double figures with 12.

Globe and Mail

“I’m not talking about the west coast trip,” Wright said, when asked whether the Raptors non-competitive approach to a game at the Air Canada Centre bode ill for a four-game trip that begins tomorrow night against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Milwaukee’s playing great,” Wright continued. “Chicago’s playing great. There’s really not much room for error. You can find yourself going from fifth to seventh quick. You don’t want to be in a position where you have to fight your way in.” After missing six games with a sprained left ankle and another one due to dehydration, Chris Bosh played 32 minutes and 52 seconds and was 6-for-14 without making a trip to the line – although that latter statistic can be chalked up to post-injury lack of rhythm and some understandable tentativeness. Andrea Bargnani had another sleepy day in another one of those insipid noon starts and with Hedo Turkoglu (sore ankle) actually absent in body and not just in mind, the 76ers’ raw physical skills were too much for the Raptors.

“Long and active,” as head coach Jay Triano described them, the 76ers had 30 fast-break points. As for his own team? “I can’t fault their energy and effort,” said Triano, “but maybe their focus.” Inexcusable, that.

Amy Clark’s Blog

Something about the Toronto Raptors attracts you to them, but once you see them play it might turn you off. Although they once had a good streak going at one time, now it’s as though something has changed inside them. Losing five games in a row is something big to happen; even when Bosh is back you still need to carry your own weight as well.

Each player needs to be able to contribute even if you may be benched you still need to have the faith and compassion to take home the win. You need to put everything you have into it all the time, or what is the point in trying to win. With not coming out on top for five games, you would think they would take this as a sign.

But instead they keep throwing in towel while walking into each game thinking they don’t need to try that they will just win. The team has to be able to pull together as one, and show that they are team not individual players. ¬

JoseManuelCalderon.com

We’re three-quarters of the way through the 2009-2010 schedule AND the Academy Awards were held last night. So, using the world-famous awards show as the premise for this blog, it’s time for another edition of "8 Questions for Number 8" .

The Score

Now in Los Angeles, the Raptors will face the Lakers, Sacramento, Golden State and Portland before heading back home to the ACC. That’s a tough road trip when you’re playing well and they’ll have to face the teams as they try to re-integrate Chris Bosh into the offence while Bosh himself tries to work himself back into shape.

- While he’s only missed seven games, the last date he had played before yesterday was February 17th. That’s a chunk of time to be out of game action. It’ll take him a couple of days/games to get his wind back and legs underneath him.

The Raptors are 1-0 during this must win stretch, which goes till the last game of the season against the Knicks. When I said that every game is a must win from here on in, I meant that each game must be approached as if they are. With Toronto and Milwaukee currently tied for 5th, and the Raptors ahead of of Charlotte (9th place) by 2.5 games, there is no “you just have to let this game go and concentrate on the next.”

They did just that against the Knicks on Friday, sans Bosh, who was out with a stomach flu or something (he did practice yesterday and is expected to play today, which is crucial.). Triano went with Amir in the starting lineup, and Sonny Weems had a career game. Bosh did practice yesterday and is expected to play today, which is crucial.

Sonny is our new Jamario Moon, except that he’s good. He is averaging 13.3pts over the last four games. It’s great to see a young/hungry player get an opportunity to contribute, and actually sieze the moment. The best part is that his $850k option for next season will be picked up.

The Raptors are 2-0 against the Sixers this season, and even if Turkoglu doesn’t play (since he is a game-time decision) they should take this with Bosh in the lineup, injured and all. The Sixers are just not very good, and when Eddie Jordan is saying things like “Iguadala is not the kind of player who can carry a team,” how good can things be?

A positive note for the Sixers is that Iverson is done for the season, who has done nothing but shatter my love for him. His absence means more burn for Jrue Holiday, which is also positive news for the Raptors, who can take it to the rookie. Calderon had a solid game Friday against the Knicks, with 16pts 3rebs 6ast; there is no reason to expect otherwise today.

Amir will be playing another big role today, regardless of Bosh’s status. The kid played 31minutes of inspired/controlled ball on Friday, in a starting role. Johnson matches up well with Dalembert, Speights and Young who may be a bit too quick for Evans.

After today, the schedule get’s very difficult for the Raptors. 8 of their next 12 are on the road: the next 4 is a Western swing; 6 are against teams with 35 or more wins…can you say another must win?

They got Cheese Steaks and clean up after our drafting messes, but they don’t have any damn pirates, which the Raptors can be thankful for. I was half wrong about Philly at the start of the year; I pegged them for a 50 win team ahead of the Raps (who I thought would be hovering a few games over .500). With their young wings, Dalembert and Evans up front; I really thought the addition of Brand would put them over the top. At the end of the day I’m just happy it wasn’t BC giving someone a massive contract, coming off an injury plagued season who was supposed to make this the best team ever assembled. Oh wait…

These guys have split the first two games of the season, each trading double-digit wins. Unlike, say…a pirate who TAKES what he wants when that proverbial well of his comes up dry, without giving anything in return. That first game was rather frustrating, if you remember, as Brand and Dalembert combined for 30 rebounds, almost out-rebounding the entire Raptor team. Rebounding is still an issue with the Raps, even though Marion was brought in to partly address our rebounding at the wing position (he was also supposed to score and play defense on the opposing teams best wing, but none of those is really happening either).

Philly is in the midst of a 5 game stretch of winnable games (they’ve already lost to the Thunder, but we share that same shame), before they embark on a 5 game Western swing. Surprisingly, they are 12-12 against the West (a distinction we don’t share). Over the last 10, they have been an upsetting 3-7. However, they are 30-31, good for 7th in the East (their fans don’t have to bow their heads in shame). Reggie Evans chimed in with a gem:

Every game is a must-win, if you ask me, It’s March now, so you can start to see people dialing it up a little bit.

Wish the Raptors would dial it up. It’s quotes like that which have made Evans a favourite here at RR, Arse was screaming for him before last season. Seems like the 7 games that separate the Raptors and 76ers is much greater when role-players are saying these sorts of things, and our franchise player doesn’t care to define losses.

Bada-boom, bada-bing.

Winning for the Raptors has literally degenerated to something that merely halts 5, 6 or 7 game losing streaks. Pirates use the same tactics when surrounded by authority, they steal, cheat, annoy, and do anything to get things going in their favour.

Our beloved The Raptors are in the middle of a stretch of interesting games themselves: one crushing defeat after the other. Each worse then the previous one. Each one forcing our franchise player out the door inch-by-inch. They are 3-7 in their last 10, on a 5 game losing streak, 23-41 overall, but the really upsetting part is that they don’t even have a top 5 pick in the lottery. This is similar to what one feels when they have created a piece of art, free for all to use and enjoy; then a bloody pirate steals it, generates 25,000 hits from it, and makes $2.50 in ad revenue.

Needless to say, they will be jockeying for playoff position (no one wants Boston/Cleveland 1st round), so expect the wings to attack from all angles, the bigs to bang hard in the blocks and the PGs to be aggressive off the hop. Should be a hoot.

Checking in with the Sixers dancers, nice bunch, not skanky hot, but a “I’ve peeked through your bedroom window everyday” hot. My pick is Diedre, a first year dancer who is studying to become a lawyer at Villanova (I’m a huge Big East fan). Once again, just because you’re a lawyer doesn’t mean you’re smart: for some reason Diedre thinks fans wouldn’t expect her to be a cheer leading squad coach, much like a pirate who may have his own blog, and it’s updated regularly, doesn’t mean he has something interesting to say (unless he plunders other folks wares and pawns them off). Down to business, or as a pirate would say, ARRR MATEY…

Injury Report

Raptors
Kris Humphries  (doesn’t matter since Pops is killing it)

76ers
Elton Brand (doesn’t hurt as much as one would think)
Jason Smith (hurts much more then losing Brand)

Matchups

Calderon vs Miller
The Edge: Miller - Easily. It has nothing to do with Jose being injured, or that he sucks…Miller has been on a rampage the last 10 games, averaging 20.3pts and 5.9ast. Jose on the other hand has been producing 10.7pts and 8.7ast a game, not bad, but not great either.

Q: What does Calderon have in common with a Pirate?
A: Spanish fishermen have been plundering St. John’s fishing industry for years now…respecting international water borders my *ss.

Parker vs Green
The Edge: Parker - Green seems like a younger Parker if you ask me. Talented, but not capable of bringing it every single-day. Green lit us up for 17 last time, but has been wildly inconsistent all season. The Thunder kept him to 2 points, so you know he will be motivated. Parker on the other hand has been playing really well. If you don’t considering the Houston game, he is averaging 17.8pts and 6ast a game over the last 6.

Q: What does Parker have in common with a Pirate?
A: He has a hot wench of  a sister.

Marion vs Iguodala
The Edge: Even - Marion has to be over his flu by now, and Iggy played like doo-doo against the Thunder. I’m really looking forward to this battle as both these guys like to run, take it off the hop and attack the basket. Should be an exciting match-up.

Q: What does Marion have in common with a Pirate?
A: You can’t understand either when they speak.

Bosh vs Young
The Edge: Bosh - CB4 has dropped 30 in two straight games, playing some of his best ball all season. He has scored in the lane, from the perimeter, at the line and even dropped a trey. Young has always been a tough player for the Raptors to handle. Wont be an easy cover for Bosh, but Young will have more then his hands full on the defensive end.

Q: What does Bosh have in common with a Pirate?
A: He’s the Black Jack Sparrow.

Bargnani vs Dalembert
The Edge: VL - Why not…Dalembert wont have his fan boy cheering him on, and he’s not much of an offensive force, but he will be a beast on the boards and on the defensive end. VL hasn’t been utilized properly in the 4th quarter the last few games, but that’s more an organizational problem then something he has to deal with (although it would be nice if he demanded the ball mroe).

Q: What does Bargnani have in common with a Pirate?
A: Christopher Columbus, the original gangster – he raped and pillaged the American Indians.

The Line

VegasInsider.com has a spread of Philly -6.5 to -7.

Prediction

I’m going against the grain on this one. The Raptors have lost 5 games in a row, Philly thinks this is a winnable game, expectations are low, and that is where the Raptors excel: when they are lower on the totem pole then a pirate. Raps by 4.

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(often imitated, but never duplicated)

We don’t care for pirates here at RR, we may not have stirred the pot, be we will settle the score, bet the federation on it.

1. Bosh/O’Neal/Bargnani to outplay Brand/Dalembert/Evans
2. How many times Rautins mentions Dalembert, and what he says when he does mention him
3. The Raptor wings play tough defense on Iguadala, Speights and Young
4. Calderon to turn Miller into a jump shooter
5. Moon TO toke it to the rack more then he pops jumpers
6. For Kapono to be used correctly
7. Bosh to set the offensive tone by driving and not shooting his jumper
8. If Joey Graham sees the floor, I want to him to pretend he’s a professional basketball player
9. Mitchell to call a timeout to squash a potential run, not when the run has already been made
10. See more from the raptors then what I saw in the pre-season

Tune in next time when I list my Top 10 things I want to see Colangelo dress up as for Halloween.