From a performance analysis perspective, the most problematic part of being a fan probably stems from expectations. Expectations greatly skew our perception of reality, separating us from objectivity. This can quickly muddy the water when looking at sports, where almost everything but the final score lies in subjectivity. Rarely do we watch a game and see what actually happens. Rudy Gay might go 8 for 27 from the field, but if he hits that clutch winning shot we expect him to, all we remember is his 22 points and the 3 that won the game. People watch Amir Johnson and long for a power forward who can shoot, not seeing how the Raptors defense is 8 points per 100 possessions better when he plays. Most people don’t know what good defence looks like because we’ve stopped expecting it from our stars. We filter each player’s performance through the lens of expectation that we’ve set for them in our mind. Speaking liberally for a group of basketball fan(atic)s whose day to day relationship with rationality is a little too Senor Changesque, this can be a problem.

To better explain the point, let’s look at a player who is more in the international media spotlight and use Rajon Rondo as an example. The expectations on Rondo coming in to this year had never been higher. Some were heralding him as a potential MVP candidate, while still more were saying that Rondo had to make this year’s Celtics his team. When he went down with a torn ACL, Rondo’s season was largely viewed as a disappointment. But why? Rondo’s numbers were actually up—almost unilaterally—with notable improvements in rebounds and points scored, and an increase in his shooting percentages from 3, the free throw line and the field. This improved efficiency comes while taking career highs in attempts as well. Rondo improved statistically in almost every single category, especially shooting, which had been his biggest weakness. How then, can the perception of Rondo this year be that he regressed, which ESPN’s recent NBA player rankings say he did, falling ten spots from #12 all the way down to #22, when his numbers improved across the board?

As I see it, there are two reasons for this.

1)   Because the Celtics underperformed when Rondo was playing, and the whole team has notably stepped up their game in his absence. I find it hard to blame Rondo for this. He is not responsible for Jason Terry’s bad defense, Courtney Lee’s cold shooting to start the season or the general lack of urgency and interest that the team was playing with. A veteran leader can try to motivate his team, sure, but on a veteran team to begin with this shouldn’t be a problem. As I see it, the problem was that the Celtics team as a whole was expecting Rondo to do everything for them and be an MVP too. When he went down, the team buckled down, with players like Avery Bradley and Jeff Green stepping up to fill the void and everyone now accepting that without Rondo, they really have to try.

2)   Because we expected Rondo to make a leap, and be a top 5 NBA player and MVP candidate. That’s asking for an awful lot, and Rondo didn’t quite make it there.

Rondo did not have an MVP level season, but he was a better player this year than he was last year by the statistical standards we look to for objectivity. So if he was the 12^th best player in the league last year, how could he have fallen to 22^nd best a year later? It’s possible that ten other players in the league made a giant leap. It’s also possible that Rondo wasn’t really the 12^th best player in the league last year, but we bumped him up a few spots because of who we expected he could/would really be. But what I think is most likely is that despite his improvement, he did not prove himself to meet our expectations of challenging to be the best or near best player in the entire league. As a result of these disappointed expectations, we’re unable to objectively judge the season that he had, and we unfairly punish him as a result.

I’ve found myself guilty of the same impact of expectation in judging players this year when looking at the Raptors. Particularly when giving letter grades to each player to quite literally judge their performances for the post-game quick reactions. It’s unfair, but I acknowledge that I’ve been grading them on a curve based on what my expectations are for them. For example, I’m more than willing to cut an immense amount of slack to Terrence Ross. In part this is because he’s a rookie, but if I’m being perfectly honest with myself, it’s just as much because of the expectations of who I want Terrence Ross to become as a player. So I’m more than willing to go along with anything that will better enable me to believe that Ross is going to be something special. That isn’t to say that I objectively think he will or won’t be a very good NBA player, just that I subconsciously boost what I see from him so I can continue to carry a lofty expectation. On the flip side of that, someone like Kyle Lowry gets the short end of the stick. Instead of getting slack, Lowry gets criticized— and sometimes to a fault. No matter how well he plays, if he isn’t the best player on the floor, which is who we expect him to be, then he is simply a disappointment. That’s not fair. I’m not saying we shouldn’t hold our players with all-star potential to all-star expectations, but let’s at least acknowledge that it isn’t really fair, and that the truth gets lost somewhere in the noise.

Let’s take a look at the core Raptors who have been most affected by our expectations and see if that’s caused a gulf to form between our perception and reality.

Kyle Lowry

Lowry came to the team this summer as the big offseason acquisition that was supposed to solve the franchise-long search for an answer at point guard. That’s not an unreasonable expectation given Lowry’s skill-set and on-ball defensive prowess. It would have been worth noting at the time that Lowry was moved from Memphis to Houston because Mike Conley beat him out for the starting job, and that he wanted out of Houston after Goran Dragic beat him out for his starting job for the Rockets. Both of those things would warrant tempered expectations for a player who, despite his potential, has only been a good starting point guard for a couple of brief stretches in his career. The problem is that Bryan Colangelo traded a lottery pick in this year’s draft for Lowry, and since lottery picks have the potential to be star players, that’s who we expected Lowry to be.

Absent the first two weeks of the year, Lowry has not been a consistent star-level player. But then again, Lowry hasn’t really ever been a consistent star-level player. The perception of Lowry this season, which ballooned hyperbolically after the first two games of the season to MVP candidacy for Torontonians, has been disappointment. There are ways in which this perception has been justified.

Lowry’s numbers are either the same or slightly down from his career best numbers a year ago. Lowry has regressed defensively this season, as his gambling for steals and often unnecessary double-teaming has resulted in wide-open spot-up opportunities and cuts to the basket for his man. The kind of freelancing defense he has played pays dividends for some players in the form of steals and fast breaks. But Lowry’s steals per game are the lowest that they’ve ever been for him as a starter.

Offensively, Lowry’s points per game numbers are slightly down from last year, from 14.3 to 11.8. Now, that decline is attributable in part due to his reduced minutes after losing his starting job when Jose Calderon proved a worthy replacement after Lowry went down with injury. But Lowry has scored 20 or points 10 times this season and has single-handedly taken over individual quarters of a game at least as many times. The question is whether these games are outliers when Lowry exceeds his ability, or if they are the instances in which his focus and effort fall in line and reflect who he could be all of the time.

The conclusion with Lowry is that he has proved with his occasional performance that he is capable of playing up to the expectations we have for him. The lack of patience that we as Raptors fans have for him to meet those expectations is the result of the trade that brought him here and our long standing desire for a quality starting point guard and potential all star. While that might not be fair, the reality is that Lowry is going to have accept that those expectations will not go away as long as he is here in Toronto.

DeMar DeRozan

I’ve been harsh on DeMar over the years. My reasoning has been simple: I expect a starting NBA shooting guard to be better than 22% from 3. My expectations aside, the real problem for DeMar is that absent of a real star, the team has billed him as their franchise player and organized their offence around him pretty much ever since the departure of Chris Bosh. I can’t imagine that DeMar ever requested that. During that time span, DeMar’s numbers have not been efficient and have not even approached franchise player level. With DeMar getting top line billing, his limitations were under a magnifying glass. DeMar is a pure slasher with a career assist rate that’s identical to Michael Beasley’s—a player who goes in to anaphylactic shock upon passing the ball. As long as DeMar was expected to wear the mantle of franchise player, which fairly or unfairly is inherited by whomever the best player on a team is, he was going to disappoint. Even more importantly, that pressure really looked like it was wearing on him.

Expectations changed in a hurry for DeMar this season. What began with the addition of Kyle Lowry to start the season was completed with the Rudy Gay trade. With Lowry, Gay and two promising rookie players, the weight of the franchise’s future and their nightly scoring has been removed from DeRozan’s shoulders. The benefit of these reduced expectations has been two-fold for DeMar. On the court, he’s played a lot looser. Without the expectation of having to be the one to create a shot or carry the load, he’s settled for his shaky jump shot a lot less, either moving the ball along or forcing his way to the rim, where he has shot an efficient 64% and gotten to the line at a top 5 rate over the last two months.

In terms of expectations, DeRozan’s numbers were a let down when we expected him to lead the team. But, when he is the third or even fourth (given Valanciunas’ development) most important player on the team, his 4 rebounds and 17 points a game are all of a sudden exceeding expectations and casting a complacent shadow over the blights in his game. Perhaps the route to happiness really is through lowered expectations.

Expectations play a huge role in how we interpret the performances and value of who we watch on the court. It doesn’t matter whether you’re Aaron Gray or Lebron James. The narrative of Lebron’s entire career has been dominated by the impact of expectations. We’ve always acknowledged his ability. We’ve been in awe of his physical size, power and speed and we’ve watched his highlights over and over again in amazement. But this is the first year when both we as the sports media and we as basketball fans as a whole have stepped back and celebrated Lebron James. For the first time in his entire basketball career, Lebron is no longer saddled by expectations. We don’t argue about whether he chokes in crunch time, whether he’s an alpha dog or whether or not he’s in the same class as Jordan, Magic and Kareem. We just ask each other if you’ve seen his numbers or demand to rewind and re-watch what he just did. Instead of expecting, we simply appreciate. Lebron has gone from this, to this.

Over the next little while, I’ll continue to run down the Raptors roster and talk about how expectations have affected our feelings about their game, and where that may have led us astray. Expectations are bound to be a thorn in Kyle Lowry’s side for some time to come. Hopefully that drives him towards greatness. For DeMar DeRozan, the burden of expectations has taken a quick turn from archenemy to staunch ally. And for us fans, expectations will turn in to argument and obsession all summer long as we diagnose the season that was and prognosticate the upcoming season that should be.

-Andrew Thompson

@Marmaladejacko

The Rudy Gay trade was as tough to support as it was to criticize. Watching Ed Davis finally begin to blossom with consistent minutes had been one of the few bright spots of the season, and losing him was a sentimental loss. Before even mentioning my feelings on Gay, let it be known that I have no interest in being a part of the Rudy Gay defenders vs. haters comment section turf war. To that end, I’ll avoid getting into salary cap realities or the ‘nerdery’ of efficiency arguments. I think that Gay is a really good player; he’s a borderline all-star, makes his team better defensively and has been tremendous in the clutch. What I can’t get past is how Memphis was willing to trade him because he was the third best player on a team that still wasn’t championship calibre. How can that possibly be the description of a franchise player? I’ve been a Toronto Maple Leafs fan for far too long to celebrate rationalizing a very good player as a great one. That’s how mediocre teams are made. The goal should be higher than just good enough to make the playoffs.

So what do Raptor’s fans have to be happy about this season? Terrence Ross’ dunk contest victory was fun to watch. But, for a fan-base that hasn’t been to the playoffs in five years, another dunk contest victory feels too much like getting a participant ribbon while watching the winning teams get their trophies. Am I happy for Terrence Ross? Absolutely. But am I happy? Not so much.
I don’t believe that the 2012-2013 season has been lost though. There are feel-good stories nestled inside that 26-44 record. And chief among them for me has been Amir Johnson.

When Amir Johnson was resigned to a five year, $30 million dollar contract in July of 2010, the response of Raptor fans was a collectively long and drawn out, sarcastic ‘Greeeaaaaaaaaaaaat.’ It wasn’t that we had any ill will towards Amir, but in a week when Chris Bosh had just dumped us on national TV, the third star player to spurn the franchise, we weren’t really in the best of moods. Amir Johnson demonstrated upside, but it was impossible to tell if that upside would ever be realized by a player who acted like a walking personal foul. Amir’s per 36 minutes stats suggested that he could be a double-double player, but he had averaged over 6 fouls in those per 36-minute stats for every year of his career up to that point. If it seemed to you like Amir Johnson was always in foul trouble when you watched on TV, it’s because he was. This explained why he had never averaged more 24 minutes a game, chaining his potential.

The 2010-2011 season seemed to validate both the investment and the trepidation over Amir Johnson. He bumped his per game numbers in minutes, rebounds and points up, demonstrating both improvement and potential. But fouls continued to contain him. Johnson played 24 minutes a game most nights because he had to be sat down with fouls, not because he didn’t belong out there. He also played the same position as the Raptors highest paid player, Andrea Bargnani, and their new first round draft pick, Ed Davis. The only national attention Amir got this season was a mention in Bill Simmons worst contracts in the league column as the punch line of a Bryan Colangelo joke. The optimism remained more in potential than reality.

Between the lockout and the 23-43 record, last season seemed like a lost season for the Raptors. What was noteworthy to see though was how much better they did with Amir Johnson getting more minutes when Andrea Bargnani went down. The advanced stats backed up the eye test, as the Raptors were more than 7 points per 100 possessions better when Amir was on the floor compared to when he was on the bench. That very quietly made Johnson one of the most valuable players on the team, and reason to look forward to his 2012-2013 season.

During this past 2012-2013 season, Amir Johnson has not disappointed. Johnson has been a defensive rock for the Raptors. The Raptors have a defensive efficiency rating of 104.9 (that’s 104.9 points per 100 possessions) when Johnson is on the floor, which would be good for 12th place overall, between Philadelphia and Miami. However, when Johnson sits, the Raptors defense gives up a defensive rating of 111.3, which is only a fraction better than the league worst and historically bad Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats. Johnson’s defense is largely the product of effort, as he is willing to play the grunt work of fighting for defensive rebounds and moving opposing big men off the spots where they want the ball. This kind of effort was on display when the Raptors beat the visiting Clippers back on February 1st. Without Chris Paul, the Clippers had still been winning with Blake Griffin scoring and facilitating from the low post. Amir Johnson had the task of stopping Griffin, one of the strongest power forwards in the league. He did so by bullying Griffin off the low block before he could get the ball, and then not allowing him to back his way down once he got it. The Raptors would double with their second big man and Griffin would be forced to pass the ball back out. This kind of defense is a lot more work than it sounds like, and the patience it requires is uncommon, especially against someone as strong and talented as Griffin. By the end of the 3rd quarter, Griffin was visibly frustrated by Johnson, and spent most of the 4th quarter on the bench.

It’s not just defense out of the post for Johnson, who is leading the team in blocks despite being an undersized centre. His improved timing on defensive rotations from the weak side has his blocks up to 1.3 per game. The fact that he’s putting up more blocks and less fouls while playing more minutes is evidence of a new found patience. Johnson has always been an energetic player willing to play his heart out, but defense requires staying on your feet for pump fakes, moving your feet instead of reaching and challenging shots instead of trying to block them every time. Johnson’s energy is a great gift, but the enthusiasm that came with it got him in to foul trouble, removing him from the game. As he has learned when to rotate, improved his footwork and, perhaps most importantly, his patience, he has seen his fouls finally start to go down. This has improved his defense, and let him spend more time on the court to reveal a developing offensive game.

Amir Johnson has also been a pleasant surprise on the offensive side of the court this season. The Raptors are a better offensive team than the Lakers when Johnson plays, with an offensive efficiency rating of 109.7, which is good enough to crack the top 10 in the league. However, with Johnson on the bench, the Raptors offence ranks even with that of the Orlando Magic and Minnesota Timberwolves, uncomfortably close to the bottom dregs of the league. Besides being the best offensive rebounder on the team, Amir Johnson brings his real value to the game away from the basket. The NBA is dominated by the pick and roll and plays that utilize screens to get wing players open looks from outside or lanes to drive to the basket. Finding a big man who can thrive in this environment is more difficult than you might think. This kind of offensive system means less touches down low for the big man, and ego is always a factor in the NBA (just ask Dwight Howard how he feels about it). But more than that, it requires an exceptional amount of effort from those big men, who have to work a lot harder than most to lug their 6’10, 270 lbs. bodies all over the court. When the ball changes possession, a team’s centre is almost always standing right underneath his team’s net, either rebounding or inbounding the ball. He has to sprint up the floor all the way to the same spot on the other end of the court while the offence sets. Then he has to run up to the top of the 3-point arc to plant his feet and set a screen for a teammate that results in his defender running into him. It’s a lot of work, and to do it well requires speed and enthusiasm, or proves ineffective (again, just ask Dwight Howard, who hasn’t met a screen he actually wanted to set this entire season). Johnson does this tirelessly, and it is often what frees up the middle of the court for DeRozan or Gay to drive, or frees up Lowry, and especially Calderon before him, to take a shot at the elbow or hit a cutting teammate going to the basket. Johnson is a crucial part of setting the whole team’s offence in this way, but he gets to be a part of it in the high-low pick and roll.

Amir Johnson pick and roll

Johnson has proven to be an absolute beast in setting a high pick for the point guard, sealing his own man and rolling hard to the basket. Squint your eyes a little, and you might think he’s Amare Stoudemire or Tyson Chandler as he takes an easy pass for Tomahawk dunk after Tomahawk dunk. This offence comes in part from an improving skill set and touch around the basket, but it is much more the result of a tireless effort and willingness to play a team role.

As impressive as the efficiency numbers are, it’s that last point that has endeared Amir Johnson the most to Toronto fans. Toronto is a hockey crazed market, where we celebrate a grinder who works hard in the corners, drops his gloves and gets stitched up on the bench as much or more than a flashy goal scorer. Raptors fans can see Amir Johnson playing this role for the Raptors, and he has found himself adored as a result. Playing with this haircut and showing up at a Leafs game like this has endeared him even more to a city that is longing for an emotional attachment to a basketball player who actually wants to play here too. Don’t get me wrong; Amir Johnson is not going to be Hakeem Olajuwon. But when you hear the roar of the Air Canada Centre crowd whenever Amir subs in for Andrea Bargnani, it certainly sounds as if they think he is by comparison. While his style of play has endeared Amir Johnson to Toronto fans, his improvement has had an even bigger impact on the play of the team. And when that comes from a 25 year old who is under contract and happy to be in Toronto, it’s reason enough to look forward to next winter.

Andrew Thompson
@MarmaladeJacko

Certain events make you perk up and take notice at the goings-on of a winning team. New York, a team flush with talent, who found a gem keeping the pine warm, with quality talent from 1 through 10, who only needed to change the voice on the bench to get back to playing basketball worthy of a playoff team are relevant for the second time in the same season.

After running D’Antoni out of town, Carmelo has decided (or rather was forced) to play with pride and conviction; not taking any possessions off. Not a great deal has changed with Woodson taking the helm, except the prima-donna winning the power struggle and realizing there are no more excuses; ladies and gentlemen, I present you the Knicks.

After getting their assess handed to them on Wednesday, the Raptors have a chance at restitution on their home-court to bring the season series even at two a piece.

Areas of focus:

• Need to be aggressive defending that high pick-and-roll against Lin and Stoudemire. Calderon, who played a staggering 40 minutes on his first game back from injury, is going to have a hell of a time keeping Lin under wraps. With Bayless potentially out (or playing injured), he’s going to be called on for heavy minutes again, and needs to really make Lin work for everything. He’s going to need to fight through screens aggressively, and hope he gets some help on the hedge from Bargnani or Gray (or Amir or Davis). He can get some back on offense, by forcing boy wonder to contend and play on his heals.
• Defensive rotations need to be tight, and smooth. Far too often, when Stoudemire went at Bargnani, the other big would rotate, and no one would pick up Chandler who licked his lips at being open under the rim.
• The Knicks are 10 deep, meaning they have 5-guys who can come in, and change the complexion of the game; especially on the wing where the Raptors haven’t been so weak in recent memory. Again, if Bayless is playing, it changes things for the Raptors, but a bench rotation of Forbes, Kleiza and Butler makes me hate basketball something fierce.
• Q: You know what I loved about DeRozan on Wednesday against the Bulls? A: He curled off that high screen, caught the pass, and kept going to the rack; on multiple plays. This is the kind of Rip Hamilton basketball I love seeing from shooting guards. His 17 against the Knicks was so utterly ineffectual, it has Arse dropping giving his life-sized DeRozan blowup doll the camel clutch in rage. Lets see him attack the Knick defense in the paint more than five-times tonight.
• Protect the glass; I mean seriously. We have four forwards, who are tall, mobile and athletic (Gray not so much), and the Knicks dominated the offensive glass 16-4. For those who were counting, that translated in exactly 12 more possession…Raptors lost by 19, you do the math.
• Where the hell is Bargnani? I realize he missed a ton of games via injury, but in the eight games since his return, he’s averaging 12.5pts 4.8rebs 2.1ast on 33.7% from the field and 14.3% from beyond the arc. This is unacceptable, and leads me to believe that he’s either not fully recovered from his injury, or has reverted to his limp noodle ways.

The Knicks are 5.5 point favourites tonight, and if Bayless isn’t ready to go, it’s going to take a full-team, full-48 effort to defend home court. Since those types of efforts have been few and far between, my monies on New York to put this away by the 4th; Knicks by 13.

Photo Credit: Chris Chambers/Getty Images

Ryan Degama, from Celtics Hub, James Herbert and AltRaps answered three of my burning questions:

Read an interesting trade scenario on ESPN (Insider required) with Garnett going to Denver for Afflalo, Miller and Mozgov; good trade personally. Why hasn’t Ainge began breaking up the big three, and getting picks/prospects for them while he can?

Ryan: There are a few reasons nothing has happened yet. Part of it is that teams are still evaluating what they need and part of it is that you nail the expected return: picks and prospects. That’s a serious bounty and Boston’s early performance has done little to strengthen Ainge’s negotiating position. Now that Paul Pierce has returned to all-star form, Ainge has more to work with, but there’s no guarantee he’ll get an offer he considers palatable. It’s possible Boston will ride out the season as is.

Alt: I’ve hated Ainge my whole life. Hated him as a Blue Jay and as soon as he became a Celtic, well, it was all over. So, in short, he hasn’t moved on anything because he can’t cross a street without calling someone for help. Much like when we traded Carter, Danny knows that what he gets in return for any of these guys will show what kind of a gunslinger he is. The fact he was willing to part with Rondo before any of these guys tells you something. He will make a move closer to the deadline, especially as the Sixers get further and further ahead of them. You’ll see a desperate perennial playoff team give up some good picks and current talent for one of the two. Pierce is untouchable.

James: Ainge has directly said that he would break this team up if he received a good enough offer. Who’s going after these guys, though? You’re only taking one of them if you’re a contender, and what contender has spare young players that would actually help the Celtics? Maybe some team would like to shed salary for Garnett’s $21 million expiring contract, but would Boston want a bunch of overpaid guys? Would Ainge want Joe Johnson? I doubt it.

Can the Celtics, as presently constructed, still win a championship?

Ryan: Their offense is on the wrong side of mediocre and their rebounding is bottom third in the league. Those two factors guarantee an early round exit come playoff time. Add the team’s collective age and inclination to injury and it’s all over unless you really want to delve deep into “everything goes right” scenarios. Those haven’t been hallmarks of the last few years in Boston.

Alt: If they were able to pull out series wins in 4-5 games, yes. They would get a breather between sets (presumably) and it gives their coaching staff time to get them working on the possible next opponent. Give that time to an Allen, a Garnett, a Rondo, then you have a shot. The real hitch is beating the West in the final. Good luck with that.

James: Can they? Yeah. In the same way that Portland or Denver can if a lot of things go their way. The Celtics are not contenders, barring a major injury elsewhere. They’ll be better come playoff time and we shouldn’t forget how bad they looked during some parts of 2009-2010 before making it to the Finals, but as constructed they are not in the same class as Miami, Chicago, and Oklahoma City.

Will it be a bar fight tonight?

Ryan: Feels like it could be a rough one after Kleiza smacked down Rondo last time. But I don’t think it will be a close one if the Celtics are interested in playing defense (sometimes they’re not) and moving the ball on offense, like they did against the Cavs last night.

Alt: Casey has these guys playing scrappy. You throw Scarborough out there to lay some shoulders and I envision some chippiness. If it’s a close game you know they will zero in on Jose’s touchiness and, especially without Andrea playing cold hand Luke, he could fall for it. That’s okay, though…we have Kleiza who has taken the role of the NBA’s version of a viper.

James: I just watched the Raptors get blown out by the Hawks at home and it wasn’t for a lack of effort. They’ll fight, but without Bargnani they’re going to struggle to put points up against this Boston defense. It all depends on if Toronto can contain Pierce, the Celtics’ primary creator in the absence of Rajon Rondo — if it’s a blowout, it’s not a bar fight.

Injuries

Toronto
Bargnani – Calf, out indefinitely

Boston
Rondo – Wrist, day-to-day
Dooling – Hip, day-to-day
O’Neal – Knee, day-to-day

Match-ups

Point Guard
I’m really liking the effort Bayless has been putting up since his return from injury; what helps most is he’s protecting the ball much better. Calderon’s been consistent. I realize he’s been starting at the 2 the last two games, but I just don’t see DeRozan covering Paul Pierce and James Johnson taking on Kevin Garnett. So with Rondo out (probably out), Bayless will be backing up Calderon and playing some shooting guard in relief of DeRozan while Colangelo sorts out a trade for Barbosa.
Edge: Raptors

Shooting Guard
I took a lot of heat when I said DeRozan’s game against the Nets wasn’t that great (especially getting to the foul line 16 times against a D-league level team). When you such dramatic swings from game-to-game, you don’t get love from this corner of the interwebs when you make a pretty against a weak-ass team. Head-to-head against Ray Allen, DeRozan’s been mediocre for a few seasons, I’m not saying Ray-Ray is going to drop 30, but he will do 15-20; mix that with DeRozan’s love affair with the jumper and Boston’s defensive resurgence (4th in defensive efficiency)…it’s going to be a long night for the prodigal son.
Edge: Celtics

Small Forward
Paul Pierce may be old, but his game was never dependant on his athleticism; it’s that slow-motion first step that’s killer. JJ and Kleiza have been playing nice, but if their combined production matches Pierce’s, I’ll be surprised.
Edge: Celtics

Power Forward
I’d like to see Amir or Magloire nail Garnett in the face with an elbow tonight, then have Calderon bark in his ear about it. This would be a win for me.
Edge: Celtics

Center
All my match-up assumptions were based on the Raptors not going small ball because of the bad mis-matches at the 2 and 3 if they do. Maybe they go that route, in which case half of what I’ll be watching the Chicago/Philly game (I’ll be watching that game anyways, Love D-Rose), but maybe they try and match-up a bit smarter, and not let Allen and Pierce take it easy on the bench in the 2nd half because they built up a 20 point 1st half lead.
Edge: Even, but who really cares

Keys to the Game

• Ball movement: the Celtics are a damn good defensive team, but they are old. The Raptors need to make them work on the defensive end of the court and really attack the paint; Garnett and O’Neal aren’t what they used to be. Don’t settle for jumpers!
• Tight defensive rotations: with Rondo out, the Celtics don’t have a guy who can consistently break down the defense and create for the rest of the team. Can’t give Allen and Pierce open looks from the perimeter (the Raptors have done a great job of allowing this this season) or they will kill us; I can’t stress this enough.
• Get into Garnett’s head: this wont win us the game, but I want to see someone mess the SOB a bit…hate him…

The Line

There’s no line at time of publishing, but I’ll go ahead and put a line in the sand: Celtics  by 13.

Obviously others chipped in and contributed…just that the headline was perfect and I didn’t want to change it: Calderon moved the ball around aside from a couple retarded passes, but the defense wasn’t there; Barbosa did DeRozan’s job and scored the ball; Kleiza did Amir’s and Davis’ job and grabbed rebounds off the bench; and James Johnson’s double-double was so natural it makes you want to choke him out on nights he puts up crap.

I have nothing positive to say about this game. It took 42 minutes from Bargnani, after missing six games, to win this one. 42 MINUTES! You have to assume he still isn’t 100% since that’s how the pro’s work. Amir and Ed played so terrible that Casey couldn’t spare more than 6 minutes at the power forward. Think about what that means for a minute; guys that were considered core members of the future could only give an injured man, who missed six straight games with injury, 6 minutes of relief against the one of the few teams in the league I wouldn’t trade the Raptors straight up for.

That last notion is a conversation I’ve been having with a lot of folks over the last few days: if you were to compare the Raptors to every other team in the league as currently constructed, you’d be hard-pressed not to like the other squad*. In this instance, the Suns have the best player of the two teams, Steve Nash, but he’s old and dreaming of finishing his career in New York. If he still had a year or two left on his contract, you could make the case that it would be better to rebuild around him…I really want to know what people think of this, put it in the comments.

As for Arse’s predictions:

Margin after first: -8 -> 10
Margin at halftime: -4 -> 4
Margin at end of third: -16 -> 8
Final score margin: -9 -> 3
Best Raptor: James Johnson -> Would have been if Bargnani wasn’t there
Worst Raptor: Ed Davis -> Yup, see Roll Call
Shots of Suns cheerleaders: 6 -> I counted 7 on LPBB
DeMar DeRozan three attempts: 4 -> 0, thank jah
Amir Johnson fouls: 5 -> 3, but didn’t play enough to get there
Barbosa final point tally: 18 -> 19
Rasual Butler moments of retardedness: 3 -> 2
Dwayne Casey yelling “go go go”: 2 -> No idea, I wont lie and say 6+
Jose Calderon assists: 8 -> 11

One thing I did like was the starting lineup, not that they played very long together, but Gray and Bargnani lining up together is more formidable than anything else we can muster. Next step is to insert Barbosa into the starting five, and make DeRozan the first wing off the bench; could be what he needs…in Utah tonight, pre-game up soon.

* Of the ten worst teams in the league, a case could be made that only Charlotte and Detroit are worse off than the Raptors

Photo Credit: Barry Gossage/NBAE via Getty Images

I’ve always hated winning and losing in bunches; change needs to be balanced with consistency. Just like that, the team is 4-9 with 8 of the next 10 coming on the road. This team needs Bargnani and Bayless back at full capacity as soon as possible before it gets offensively ugly.

Bret Lagree from Hoopinion gave me his thoughts on a couple questions I had:

After that solid playoff run, and the hot start to the year, does losing Horford write-off the rest of the year; even if he gets back for the playoffs? Also, what’s the plan now, Zaza/trade?
Even without Horford, the Hawks should make the playoffs. His absence definitely diminishes the team’s chances of advancing in the post-season, but the team’s upside with Horford was the probably the second-round, yet again, anyway. His injury would have a had greater impact for a more ambitious, less risk-averse team.

I expect Zaza Pachulia will start (except when the Hawks play the Magic) and primarily split time at center with the undersized Ivan Johnson. Josh Smith might get some time as a nominal five in small lineups. It might work since Marvin Williams and Tracy McGrady (when healthy) are good rebounders for small forwards. If there’s a trade to be made, say Kirk Hinrich for a big man, the Hawks will surely consider it, but they might just as well off keeping Hinrich and doubling-down on perimeter defense.

McGrady’s renaissance has been a pleasant surprise after being brought in to replace some of the lost production from Crawford’s departure. He’s injured now, but can you see him being an important contributor to a team that can make deep playoff appearances?
McGrady was great for most of the first seven games but he’s already missed or been unable to contribute in six straight games since then. The Hawks can’t count on him every night, but he’s a difference-maker when healthy. They should do everything possible to have him available for the playoffs, regular season results be damned.

Are you guys regretting giving Joe Johnson that contract? Seems to me $20m should be able to buy you more than 18pts 4reb 4ast 16PER; is he an amnesty candidate if the Hawks aren’t contenders by next season?
Unfortunately, the only people who didn’t feel anticipatory regret for the Joe Johnson contract were those with the power to hand it to him. The organization has always overrated him on both ends of the floor and compounded that by assuming he’s not going to age. On the other hand, the amount the team has invested in Johnson ($75 million contract, $124 million contract, two first-round picks, Boris Diaw) has, at times, obscured that he’s been a pretty good player with the Hawks, even if he’ll do well to be an above-average player over the length of his current contract.

Injuries

Toronto
Aaron Gray
Jerryd Bayless
James Johnson
Andrea Bargnani

Atlanta
Al Horford
Tracy McGrady
Marvin Williams

Match-ups

Point Guard
You might be able to excuse Calderon’s performance against Rose all things considered. At least he somehow managed 8 assists. The Hawks don’t have the firepower at the point the Bulls do, but they are fairly deep; Kirk Hinrich is their 4th string quarterback. There is nothing about Jeff Teague, Jannero Pargo, some guy named Donald Sloan and Hinrich can do to scare me, but the Raptors are thin at the one. That said, the Hawks are great at sharing the ball, even with Josh Smith in the lineup, and that starts with the point.
Edge: Even

Shooting Guard
Joe Johnson is one of my man-crushes in the league, and even though he’s not producing anywhere close to what a $20m/year guy should be producing, he’s heads and shoulders better than DeRozan. He’s one of those guys who’s good at everything really. He defends, scores from all over the floor, rebounds, shares the ball and plays heavy minutes. To make matters worse for DeMar, who didn’t get to the foul line against the Bulls on Saturday, is that JJ wont be bailing him out with cheap fouls, since he has a low foul rate.
Edge: Atl

Small Forward
With Kleiza in the lineup, and if guys play within themselves, there’s no reason why the Raptors can’t be ok-to-good at the small forward. It all comes down to Butler and Johnson listening to me and not shooting the ball just because they have the room to let loose. The Hawks are great at the 3 either, but they are fairly deep with veteran savvy. Stackhouse is still alive and reasonably useful, while Radmanovic has found a home…doesn’t matter really…
Edge: Even

Power Forward
Looks like Bargnani is still out, which basically writes the game off. I find myself hoping the Raptors go small ball, and give Kleiza and Johnson (can’t believe I’m saying this) the bulk of the minutes at the four if Andrea can’t go. Davis needs Anthony Robbins or something…not sure, but what I do know is that Josh Smith will make him humble if he doesn’t come correct.
Edge: Atl

Center
The only exciting aspect of this match-up is being able to say Zaza with some flare. Amir/Magloire can probably keep their heads up in this one, but it doesn’t matter. The Raptors caught a break with Horford going down for 3-4 months with an injury, otherwise this would have gotten ugly, fast.
Edge: Even

Keys to the Game

• Get to the foul line; as a team on Saturday against the Bulls, the Raptors went to the foul line seven times (made 1 of them); no wonder they were only able to muster 64 points. The Hawks have a few good defenders, so you have to get as many easy/cheap points as possible
• Perimeter defense; the Hawks like to throw the ball around and stick jumpers. It kills them in the playoffs, but wins them games in the regular season. The Raptors have done a great job of giving teams nice looks from the perimeter; seems like a match made in heaven. need to tighten things up
• Let Josh Smith shoot as much as he wants

The Line

The Hawks are at home and haven’t lost to the Raptors in over two years; there’s a reason they are 11 point favourites.

I caught my first Wolves game of the Rubio era yesterday; liked what I saw. They are a nice team, with some real solid pieces to build around: young point guard with all-star potential; elite power forward who does everything; and a young talented supporting cast. Even without their 2012 1st round pick, you could argue they are better positioned than the Raptors going forward; especially considering no one on the roster makes more than $6.5m (no bad contract imho).

I spoke with Benjamin Polk of A Wolf Among Wolves:

The Wolves seem like a nice, young, deep team in-spite of Khan’s best efforts; am I wrong?

You are not wrong. A few qualifiers on that though. First, although Kahn certainly has his fair share of bewildering moves (drafting Jonny Flynn chief among them), I don’t think he’s quite as terrible as he’s made out to be. When he replaced Kevin McHale, the team’s roster was a hot mess. Untangling it all would have driven the best of us to drink. Second, while people are feeling pretty good about them right now, they are still a wing scorer/defender and an actual (not Darko-holographic) big man away from being for real. If can can make that happen (without a ’12 first-round pick and without giving up anything serious) then you can color me impressed.

True or False: Rubio is the real deal.

That is true. Nobody passes like that by accident; the kid is seriously gifted. But: I’m still not convinced that his solid shooting isn’t an anomaly. If he regresses back down into the sub-40% range (where he was projected), he’ll be a lot easier to defend. Also, right now he has the second-worst turnover rate of any point guard in the top 30 (Mario Chalmers is worst). That’ll take some fixing.

Call the game.

Well, since both the Raptors and the Wolves are working on new identities under new coaches it’s still really hard for me to know who they are. Statistically, they’re pretty even so far–the Wolves have been a bit better defensively, while the Raps have been a bit better on O. But because I’m a blatant homer I’m gonna go with the Wolves, let’s say by five.

Match-ups

Point Guard
Both Ridnour and Rubio have been doing their damage from the perimeter this season. Yesterday against the Wizards, they took three shots inside of 9 feet between the two of them.  Now that we know how these guys score/operate, Calderon and Carter should be prepared, right? We may see some remnants of fatigue tonight with Calderon, and if the Raptors get into an early hole, don’t expect to see heavy minutes from him. Barbosa may even see some time at the point since Carter really can’t put in much more than 10 minutes himself. I’m just hoping Ridnour doesn’t have another career night against the Raptors; he always gets up to play us. Barea might see action tonight, but the guys been injured to start the season, so he wont be a huge factor given he wont be logging heavy minutes.
Edge: Even

Shooting Guard
DeMar hasn’t been helping himself at all the last couple games. I still stand by my assessment of him needing to get to the line more; three trips in the last two games is unacceptable. Both Ellington and Johnson are perimeter players who will make DeRozan pay if he gives them too much room to shoot. He needs to set the tone early, test the Wolves defense early, and be engaged from the onset, otherwise another 8pt 2reb performance is all we can hope for.
Edge: Even

Small Forward
By all rights, Beasley should be playing for the Raptors; why we passed on taking him back from Miami is beyond me. I’m asking because I’m interested to know what people think: would you rather have Beasley and Norris Cole or James Johnson and a trade exception that wont get used? Fortunately, Michael is injured and wont be dropping 31 on us tonight. Leaves a combination of Derrick Williams and Wesley Johnson for JJ, Butler and Forbes to deal with. Wont be quite as bad as it could have been, but with three games in three nights, we’re going to bear witness a lot of ugly.
Edge: Wolves

Power Forward
You’d be hard-pressed to name a better power forward than Kevin Love right now. Bargnani could actually do worse than look to him for some pointers on rebounding and putting himself in the right spots at the right time. Otherwise, I am really looking forward to this match-up. Love will have a hard time defending Bargnani off the bounce, but will give him more than a handful on the glass. Love should win the match-up and post somin’ nasty on the box score, but Bargnani will take back his. Whatever happens, I have a feeling that this game will be won on the wing.
Edge: Wolves

Center
Darko doesn’t play heavy minutes, and when he does, he doesnt leave much of a mark on the game. The guy will block a couple shots, grab a couple rebounds and score a couple from 3 feet; that’s it. The Wolves will go small ball whenever they can, making Magloire less useful than he already is. Amir should benefit against a smaller front court, but he still needs to show up and make things happen. This will be the least interesting match-up tonight.
Edge: Even

Injuries

Raptors
Linas Kleiza – Knee, Game-Time Decision

Timberwolves
MIchael Beasely – Foot; Out
Jose Juan Barea – Hamstring, Out
Malcolm Lee – Knee, Out

Keys to the Game

1. Limit Kevin Love’s effectiveness on the boards: the Wolves are 2nd in the league in rebounds/game; have to box the guy out make him work for everything
2. Control the pace: Raptors do much well when they slow the pace, and walk the ball up on offense. Getting into an up-and-down will do nothing but create space on the perimeter for the Wolves to shoot uncontested jumpers which they are good at hitting.
3. Attack the paint: the Raptors went to the foul line 12 times against the Sixers; this is utterly unacceptable. You need to be able to get easy points on the board; have to take advantage of the athleticism our key-players have, and attack the defense off the bounce.
4. No open looks: I’m not sure how much more of this I can take, but the Raptors do a great job of giving opposing teams clean looks at the rim from the perimeter. How many open shots did the Nets hit on Friday? …makes me crazy…

The Line

The gamblers have the Raptors as 3.5 point favourites with an over/under of 188. If the Raptors are to win a game over the next three, it will be tonight (we’ve never seen the Raptors play three games back-to-back-to-back, but it’s going to get very ugly come Wednesday). I hate to say it, but I’d bet against the line right now, and take the Wolves by 4. This is a team that walked into the Wizards house shorthanded, and beat them like they stole something.

Barbosa: so is buddy auditioning to be a Sleep-eze spokesman or what? It’s like his pregame meal now is turkey and milk. No spark, no excitement, no point being on the floor.

Bargnani: still not as active on the boards as Casey had hoped but for a guy who used to take 3 pointers about as often as a 15 year old looks at porn on the internet (or RapsFan, lets be honest) he continues to put it away and zip it up when it comes from launching the long ball. Only 1 attempt tonight in a game that last year would have seen him take no less that…hmmm….42.

Butler: another night where my television can breathe easy and not feel the wrath of my collection of Scotch bottles. The human groan was one of only 4 Raptors to score in double digits, he dug his heels in defensively, and he didn’t feel the yank of Casey’s cane. Pop some bottles.

Calderon: one has to question why Jose takes the most shots on the floor during any game, but the answer is easily found by looking at the final score…and the stat line of the man he covers. Williams came back to the floor tonight and wiped it with Jose’s jersey that he ripped from him as he spun him around like a dradle.  In fairness, Jose did his best to keep up and match him, but that’s like saying Kris Humphries was suitable competition for Reggie Bush in the bed of Kim.

Carter: speaking of Hump, Anthony almost found himself as a tattoo on Kris’ elbow at one point and had Magloire come to his aid. Still don’t mind this guy. Love how he spreads the floor and runs plays as opposed to flashing signs for a Burkie Dog and a soda like Jose does. 4 points, 4 boards, 3 assists in 12 minutes.

Davis: I’m gonna have Liston run the numbers, but I’m sure Eddy has the lowest shooting percentage from within 1.5 feet of the hoop.  On a shot chart that is to scale, you can’t see his misses because the dots are covered by the damn hoop. It’s a shame too, because you could basically see the confidence coming back tonight. He did everything except let out a roar that shook Brampton. 11pts, 8 rebs and finally a night he can call home and not feel like he needs a hug.

DeRozan: his game tonight reminded me of the time where it took me 90 minutes to go from Yonge and Sheppard to Union Station on public transit. You swipe your metropass, you get on the subway, you are happy after downing a few pints and wings with your buddies, then the great spirit above decides that another game of Grand Theft Auto just isn’t fun, so he decides to reach down and mess with your aura.  If the Raptor mascot was standing on a ladder above the rim waiting to guide the ball in, DeMar would have hit the shot clock tonight. Just an off night for TMZ.

G. Forbes: I feel for Casey. Forbes is far enough down the bench that you look at him and you second guess yourself. Example: you had a lovely evening with your lover. You both get a few hours sleep, but you wake up and you feel some…stirring.  Your lover wakes and it’s on. Then it hits you. You only had one condom and it’s lying on the floor next to the bed, used in your jump off earlier. Do you reach down and cover your Gary with the Forbes or……??

A. Johnson: I’m a believer. He has completely changed my opinion of him in a short period of time. That block in the first half, his hustle all night, his continuing ability to keep his fouls in check, all impressive to his ultimate doubter. I think the faith that he has been shown by the coaching staff this year has gone a long way to improve his game and bring him to the floor as a professional as opposed to a wannabe twitter celebrity. Kudos.

J.Johnson: another enjoyable game. He was finding teammates with crisp passes, he was in the ears of the Nets, he was seen salting popcorn at halftime.As much as Rasual is as worthy as being in the starting five as much as I’m worthy of being featured in a swimsuit calendar, I’ve come to enjoy watching James come out as the leader of the second unit.

Magloire: he picked up 2 fouls so quickly I automatically blurted out “WTF PRIMOZ????”.  When my acid reflux settled down (great commercial space timing, using that product as a sponsor for Raptors games) I comforted myself by realizing I wouldn’t have to see Big Mouse for most of the game tonight. I do applaud him for backing up AC, though. That was some true gangsta stuff right thurr.

Driving the bus: Andrea Bargnani

Under the bus: Leandro Barbosa

Theme of the Game:

How well is Bargnani playing this season — for the first time ever and the first time since Chris Bosh was in town, a smattering of possibly well-lubricated fans were chanting M-V-P when Bargnani went to the line.

MVP? Let’s not get crazy, people, but Bargnani certainly has played at an elite level so far.

Casey agrees.

The coach singled out Bargnani for — of all things — his defence, particularly his ability to cover enough ground to make the defence effective.

He’s playing at an all-star level,” Casey said.

“I’ve been around some great players: Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, Dirk (Nowitzki), he’s playing at that level offensively and defensively.”

Bargnani has averaged 27.5 points per game over his past four games.

The Raptors were also buoyed by the play of DeRozan, who continues to emerge as a completely different player.

DeRozan hit two ridiculous three-pointers in the first half, including one in the final seconds from a few steps past halfcourt, to help the Raptors claim a seven point advantage heading into the break.

DeRozan has now nailed 10 three-pointers on the season after hitting only nine – total – over his first two NBA campaigns.

With officials thus far refusing to give DeRozan the benefit of many calls for his forays to the hoop, the shooting guard has taken matters into his own hands, drilling shots from all over the court.

Toronto Sun

From Magloire, there has been nothing but reluctance for Canadian basketball, where he has played the part of Dr. No. It hasn’t mattered how or when he was asked to play for Canada — the answer was always no. The question was asked in different ways and at different times, but it was never really answered satisfactorily.

Do you want to play for Canada, he was asked again and again. The answer, if he bothered giving one that wasn’t convoluted, always came up being no. Twelve years in the NBA and there was always a reason. A contract situation. An injury. His dog ate his homework. There was always a story, just never one that was articulated to anyone in any way meaningful way. In a sport in which Kobe Bryant plays for his country, Manu Ginobili plays for his, Tony Parker plays for his, Dirk Nowitzki and Pao Gasol and Andrea Bargnani, play for theirs, you get the picture.

On Wednesday, almost comically, Magloire was talking about his legacy. His legacy, to me, is nothing but unwillingness.

Toronto Sun

Solomon Alabi is heading back to the NBA Development League.

The 7-foot-1 centre was assigned to the Bakersfield Jam of the NBADL on Wednesday. He will still be included on Toronto’s roster, but will be placed on the inactive list.

Alabi made three trips to the D-League last season, totalling 22 games, where he averaged 7.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 bloocks per game in 18.5 minutes.

Alabi has only managed to get off of the Raptors’ bench once this season and played 12 games for the club last season.

Head coach Dwane Casey recently told the Toronto Sun that Alabi desperately needed playing time in order to develop.

“Really, Solo needs to play more than anything else to learn the NBA game and adjust to the speed,” Casey said.

"A summer league would have been great for him. All the workout drills don’t really help him (as much as game situations).”

Toronto Star

“We did a decent job of closing out, tagging (cutting down open space),” Casey said afterward, in that blasé way he sometimes favours. “It was a solid defensive effort.”

This is Casey’s pattern — under praise the group; over praise the individual.

He had a lot of candidates last night after drubbing the Cavs 92-77 in a game the Raptors controlled from start to finish.

First and foremost, Andrea Bargnani, who has finally become ‘big’ figuratively as well as literally.

Bargnani scored 31, his best statistical night in more than a calendar year, snagged seven rebounds and was generally surly in the paint on both ends.

After one scrappy basket underneath to push the Raptors lead to 12 in the fourth quarter, a few in the crowd launched into M-V-P chants.

That’s happened before. This time it wasn’t sarcastic.

A few days ago, Casey compared Bargnani to his old charge, Dirk Nowitzki. He’s brought several plays designed for Nowitzki to Toronto and placed Bargnani in the German’s spot. Some figured that was the basis for the comparison.

Last night, Casey expanded the analogy so that there wouldn’t be any confusion.

“I’ve been around some great players – Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton, Kevin Garnett, Dirk. (Bargnani’s) playing at that level offensively and defensively. He’s playing at a big-time level,” Casey said.

That isn’t heady praise. It’s praise that encompasses the whole body.

It’s also probably an exaggeration, but we must now adjust ourselves to the idea that after six lost years in Toronto, maybe Bargnani has been found by Casey.

Toronto Star

Less than two weeks after the regular season began, and less than eight weeks before the actually game, the league unveiled the ballot Wednesday afternoon and there were no Toronto surprises.

Guards Jose Calderon and DeMar DeRozan and forward Andrea Bargnani were named to the ballot for the Feb. 26 all-star game in Orlando.

Globe and Mail

The Raptors took a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter but learned in their games earlier this season that a big lead was no guarantee of a win.

The Cavaliers scored the first five points of the fourth but Leandro Barbosa responded by hitting a 34-footer for three points that brought a gasp from the crowd.

DeRozan hit his fourth three-pointer of the game with 8:52 to play in the third quarter to put Toronto into a 10-point lead. Led by Bargnani’s 11 third-quarter points, the Raptors opened up a 66-51 lead going into the final quarter.

The Raptors beat the Cavs 104-96 in the opening game of the season for both teams on Dec. 26 in Cleveland. But Cleveland (3-3) won three of their next four games before Wednesday’s game as Toronto (3-3) lost three in a row before beating the New York Knicks 90-85 on Monday.

Bargnani scored eight points and DeRozan had seven as Toronto led 21-18 after the first quarter.

Toronto built the lead to nine points late in the second quarter but Cleveland cut it to four before DeRozan hit a three-pointer with the last shot of the half, a 28-foot, pull-up jumper, to make the half-time score 46-39.

DeRozan finished the first half with 15 points that included going 3 for 3 on three-pointers. Bargnani added 10 for Toronto while Jamison led all first-half scorers with 17 points for the Cavs.

National Post

“I think Jose is definitely one of the most underrated point guards in this league,” DeRozan said. “He can do a lot for us on both ends. He’s definitely stepping up his defence this year. That’s big. He’s carrying us. He’s getting us going. He’s getting us going from the start.

“I love seeing him when he’s playing like this. He’s a big part of the offence. He’s a reason why we get easy buckets.”

It would be easy to say Calderon is defiant in not talking about himself, preferring to speak of the team over the individual, except that there is very little defiant about the habitually pleasant Calderon.

The closest he comes to explaining his productive start — he is shooting 53% from the floor and averaging 10 assists per game — is a return to full health and a clear break from the awful seasons that came before this one.

“I think we needed a change for sure after what happened the last two seasons and after what happened last year,” Calderon said.

“It was a tough year last year. It was really tough.

“You don’t forget how to play basketball.”

Most expected this would be another in a long line of tough years, and two wins over the similarly expectation-less Cavaliers should not alter that vision too much. But if Calderon plays at this level, the Raptors will have a chance to avoid the dreary depths that past seasons have sunk to.

Canada.com

Pick-and-Roll:

The Raptors were 6-of-1 1 overall in pick-and roll-situations. Jose Calderon was very effective scoring the ball in the pick-and-roll, going 4-of-4 in this scenario. The team’s ball handlers, in this case mainly Jose, generated 1.14 points per possession in that play.

Their pick-and-roll roll men, Andrea Bargnani and Ed Davis, scored 62.5 percent of the time and generated 1.13 points per possession. The pick-and-roll took up 16.5 percent of the Raptors overall plays.

Franchise cornerstones stepping up:

Toronto’s dynamic duo, Bargnani and DeMar DeRozan, combined to score 56 of the Raptors 92 points. Bargnani has been on a tear this season, scoring at least 20 points in each of his last five games.

Like Bargnani’s improved play this season, DeRozan’s three-point shooting has been a welcome sight for Raptor fans. He has worked on his shot this summer and it is paying major dividends.  The duo of Bargnani and DeRozan are now the fourth highest scoring duo in the NBA.

CBS Cleveland

No one on the Cavaliers had an answer for Raptors big man Andrea Bargnani, who went off for 31 points on 11-for-16 shooting. Guard DeMar DeRozan scored 25 for Toronto in 25 minutes.

After winning their last two games at home, the Cavs fell back into poor shooting early, and rookie Kyrie Irving had another rough overall game against Toronto.

The #1 overall pick scored 12 points, but was just 3-for-13 from the field. He had four assists, three rebounds, and a pair of turnovers as well.

Antwan Jamison led the Cavaliers with 19 points. Coming back to his hometown, rookie Tristan Thompson had his worst night of the season, scoring just one point.

“Every game you don’t win is disappointing whether it’s in Toronto, or whether it’s in L.A. or whether it was in Phoenix,” Thompson said. “Not being able to get the win is definitely disappointing but it’s a long season and we’ve got to go back to the drawing board.”

The team as a whole had their worst night of the year shooting, hitting just 29 percent, shooting 24-for-81 from the field.

The Cavs also had a tough night from three-point land, hitting just 7-for-23.

“I thought they played great basketball on both ends of the floor. We couldn’t throw it into the ocean.” Scott said “Every time we made a little bit of a run they hit some miracle three to kind of break our backs. We’ll just have to pick ourselves up and get ready for the next one.”

Rant Sports

Positives

Andrea Bargnani lead the slaughter, pacing the Raps with 31 points. Bargnani has been an absolute monster offensively this year, and shows no signs of slowing down. DeMar DeRozan shined with 25 points and nailed a career high 5 three pointers. Jose Calderon was also outstanding with 13 points, 11 assists, and 6 rebounds. The defense was also phenomenal, allowing the Cavs to shoot an awful 29% from the field. Also, Kyrie Irving was shut down once again, as Jose Calderon held Irving to 3-13 shooting.

Negatives

The Cavs out-rebounded the Raps 45-43. If the Raps dominated the glass, the Cavs might not have cracked 50 points.

Overall, a very solid game for the Raptors. They will look to keep the momentum going in another winnable game Friday vs the New Jersey Nets.

The Plain Dealer

“There’s no possible way anyone can put into words how a back-to-back is going to feel on your body,” Irving said. “It wasn’t even a physical tired, but more mental.”

Irving finished with 12 points on 3-of-13 shooting. Thompson contributed one point and three rebounds while playing in his hometown.
"(Thompson) didn’t play well at all, but he wasn’t the only one," coach Byron Scott said.
The Cavaliers (3-3) had lots of passengers on a night they shot 29.6 percent from the floor and had no answer for the Toronto troika of Andrea Bargnani (31 points), DeMar DeRozan (25 points) and Jose Calderon (13 points, 11 assists). What kind of night was it? DeRozan was 5-of-8 behind the 3-point arc after shooting 5-of-52 last season. Leanardo Barbosa drilled one from nearly half court. Bargnani converted a rare four-point play in the third quarter as he was fouled by Anderson Varejao.
Other than Antawn Jamison nobody could find a rhythm, particularly early when the Raptors (3-3) were also sloppy. Irving is now 5-of-25 in two games against Calderon and the Raptors. Toronto is an improved team under coach Dwane Casey and the Cavs can testify to it.
Scott has said recently the team hasn’t faced any adversity in achieving a decent start. Here it comes. The Cavs have six more on the road before they return to The Q. A big part of development is learning how to deal with nights like these. They didn’t handle it well a season ago which gave them the opportunity to draft Irving and Thompson.

Beacon Journal

The night was even worse for Thompson, who was playing in front of more than 200 friends and family. Thompson, who grew up just outside Toronto, missed all five of his shots and disappeared for most of his 17 minutes.

“There was no pressure at all,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately we didn’t get the win, but there was definitely no distraction.”

Veteran Antawn Jamison, who has played many games in front of hometown fans in Charlotte, N.C., disagrees.

“I know how it is to go home,” Jamison said. “You want to see your family and it takes you out of your routine. It definitely makes a difference.”

Andrea Bargnani had 31 points and seven rebounds for the Raptors and DeMar DeRozan added 25 points. DeRozan had five 3-pointers, including a couple of deep ones, after shooting 5-of-52 on 3-pointers last season.

The Cavs had no answer for either of the Raptors’ top scorers. The Cavs rolled different defenders at Bargnani most of the night, but he kept finding himself open all over the floor. He completed a rare four-point play in the fourth quarter when he came open off a pick-and-roll and knocked down a 3-pointer as Anderson Varejao fouled him.

That put the Raptors ahead by nine midway through the third quarter, and the Cavs never challenged them again. Leandro Barbosa added a 34-foot 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, leaving Scott to just chuckle and shake his head.

Fear The Sword

The Cavaliers shot 29.6% from the field Wednesday night in Toronto. What else do you want me to say when that happens? When you can’t make a single shot, it doesn’t really matter what else happens. I’ve got to give props to the Raptors; they did a phenomenal job protecting the paint. Ed Davis and Amir Johnson, along with virtually every other Toronto player, do a great job collapsing in on the lane when they see penetration. This keeps the Cavs from getting any easy buckets. It was obvious that Cleveland was laboring all night for every single point that they got.

Cavs: The Blog

– Andrea Bargnani isn’t this good, except when he is. He was unstoppable tonight: hitting threes, going hard to the basket, and playing something resembling defense. It’s near-impossible to defend a seven-footer when he’s on fire like Bargs was.

– Luke “The Decatur Decapitator” Harangody straight killed it in garbage time. 5 points on 2-2 shooting. You cannot stop him, you can only hope that it’s a close game because he will certainly not be playing in that scenario.

– I can’t pull up the stat right now, but did the Cavs score a single second-chance point? They had 13 offensive rebounds, but squandered most, if not all, of those additional opportunities, which is emblematic of what a miserable offensive performance they turned in tonight.

The Cavs got whooped because they couldn’t score while their opponents did so with alacrity. It’s going to happen from time-to-time this season. The boys travel to Minnesota for a game against Catalan heartthrob Ricky Rubio and the T-Wolves on Friday. In the meantime, it’s time for TT and Kyrie Irving to do what rookies do best: get yelled at, get better.

Hoops Addict

Last season DeRozan went 5-52 from beyond the arc. Tonight against Cleveland, DeRozan made five three-pointers while going an impressive 5-8 from beyond the arc.

You read that right: DeRozan made more 3′s against Cleveland tonight than he made all of last season.

“He has really improved his three-point shooting,” Dwane Casey raved to me following the win against Cleveland. “Now he opens up the floor for everybody else because now you have to honour him with spacing. He doesn’t necessarily have to have the ball, but they have to honour him and that opens up the roll. It opens up the weak side for 3-point shooting. Just his improvement on his three-point shooting is going to help us out a lot offensively.”

Don’t think for a moment that DeRozan isn’t aware the impact his perimeter shooting has on his game as well as that of his teammates.

“I definitely noticed that,” DeRozan admitted to HOOPSADDICT.com. “That’s one of the things I wanted to be able to do coming into this season and being able to do that, not just for myself, but for my teammates, so that we get easy buckets.”

Last season DeRozan relied on his athleticism to score as he would attack the rim and try to draw a foul. When that wasn’t working, DeRozan would settle for a mid-range jumper. However, that meant opposing defenses could back off of him and jam the lane, preventing him from attacking the rim like he wanted to.

Besides taking away his offense, it also jammed up his teammates and it created havoc in Toronto’s spacing on offense.

The Score

One thing I’ve noticed in two home games this season that I didn’t see much of in the last few seasons was intense, vocal coaching coming from the Raptors bench. And I’m not just talking about Dwane Casey himself. At various points in the games against the Pacers and Cavs, I could see four Raptors coaches either standing up and hollering something at their players or gesturing instructions. The only times I saw guys doing that last season, Reggie Evans or P.J. Carlesimo were doing it. Does it automatically mean that the coaching this year is better? No, but from a fan’s vantage point, it definitely looks like the entire coaching staff is more into the game.

Zan Tabak Herald

Jose Calderon continues to fill the stat sheet adding another double-double to his resume tonight.  He runs the offense with confidence, but what has been less noted is his defensive improvement.

Calderon is never going to be a candidate for defensive player of the year, but he has shown improvement in Dwane Casey’s system.  He is learning to take charges, blocked a shot this year and is clearly working on that aspect of his game.

This guy is a lot better than anyone gives him credit for and is showing himself to be a solid point guard to lead this young team