I’m sick as a dog, so this will be a short one…

Tonights game will mark the second time this season the Raptors and Rockets throw down. The first time around, Bargnani came up huge, and the bench had his back as the team played as close to a perfect game as the Raptors possibly could against a Rockets team that has been playing rather well considering they were missing Yao and Aaron Brooks.

I spoke with Jacob from Red94 about the Rockets:

So the Yao Ming era is over for the Rockets huh? Given his history of injuries (and the potential of never playing again), and all the expiring contracts out there, what is a realistic trade scenario you see happening?
While it warms my heart to know the Rockets’ marriage to Yao has been one of basketball-related devotion (and not commercial), the opportunities out there for Yao’s contract to be dealt sit somewhere between slim and none. The most attractive part of his deal will be the $8 million of the $17 million he’s owed that will be covered by insurance (though the entire contract will still count against the salary cap any team in possession of it) thanks to his most recent season-ending injury, an almost-panacea for this league’s poorer millionaire owners. The problem with dealing such relief remains that it’s hard to find a team so broke that it will simply give up $17 million worth of assets, expiring contracts or not, for some money and a broken icon who will likely never play a game for said team. Rockets fans will bring up Andre Iguodala (because doesn’t everybody at this point?), but unless Morey suddenly takes an interest in Rashard Lewis or Brandon Roy or Elton Brand, that large man and his large expiring deal will likely run out in Houston.

Kyle Lowry has been pretty solid this season (I own him in my fantasy league); with Aaron Brooks coming back from injury, can the two of them play together in the back-court, or will we see Kyle’s minutes slashed?
There had been a pretty healthy debate over who would be the ideal starter among the two before the season began, so after Lowry’s success as the primary point man, the discussion has only gotten more heated. Brooks seems so perfectly suited to the role of the 6th man, an offensive sparkplug who could ideally share the court with Lowry to close out games (although that would likely invite a three-guard-lineup featuring Martin that would mirror Dallas’, except for the whole not-having-Tyson-Chandler thing), but Aaron Brooks has earned his role as the starter. He’s the team’s best offensive option in crunch time and bid his time while watching Rafer Alston fling up errant threes his first couple of years, making any transition back to the bench after the work he’s put in seem like punishment for success. I expect the two point men who have shared the backcourt quite ably over the last two years to do quite well together given the added confidence on Lowry’s part from his successful run starting, but if you’re a fantasy owner of Lowry, I hope your league is Sarlaac-Pit-deep because Brooks will likely be starting by the end of January, especially if the Rockets hit any kind of rough patch.

So how’s that Ariza/Lee trade working out for you?
Well… the moves for both prove Daryl Morey may not be infallible, but the deal sure seems quite prescient on a financial level at least. Lee’s shown promise as a defensive stopper/energy player (and his three-point shot off of the catch is gravy, a lot more than I can say for Ariza), but that deal looks more and more like the salary dump every pundit claimed it was when the deal was made as the days go by.

Scola is having a career year, after signing a massive contract, at 30 no less. He has been improving year over year, but this is a dramatic jump; what’s changed? Will he still be contributing at a high level?
My opinion diverges from the majority of the Rockets fanbase here, but I think Luis Scola has always been this good (his numbers after Carl Landry was dealt last year are equally impressive). And by this good, I mean perfectly fine and the exact kind of player that a team like the Rockets cannot afford to have on contract for three years after this (the last year of his deal is partially guaranteed, ensuring his trade bait status in 2014-15). His production comes from abusing mismatches and finding his spots on the court, excellent skills to have if the player in question is one of a team’s lesser options; unfortunately, he has been the Rockets’ second-best player in 2010, a big reason for the team’s mediocrity. Scola himself has done nothing but produce at full-tilt all year, but his age already raises concerns (and his defense can only get more excruciating) while four years remain on his chunky contract. He exemplifies the all-world role player, and the Rockets should be glad if they find the all-world team that needs to add one of those and seems willing to send back some youth, draft picks and/or cap flexibility in return.

Other than Yao potentially getting traded, what else is in the cards for the Rockets?
Aaron Brooks looks to be the most likely Rocket to be traded, well before Yao or Scola. His contract expires after this year as he thinks extension, meaning Houston will be looking to get some kind of value for his contract before the deadline. There has also been a lot of talk including Anthony Randolph as the Knicks vehemently try and stock up draft picks (even their old ones that Morey took from them as recently as last year) in order to bring Carmelo to the Mecca; let’s just say that I would be more than enthused to try and let Randolph develop his superhuman skillset in the H. Otherwise, um, we’re getting Chris Paul and Melo, and watch out in 2012, suckas (I figure Bill Simmons and Peter Vescey try to will such trades via nonsensical rumors; I am no better).

Injury Report

Toronto
Andrea Bargnani – Out
Reggie Evans – Out
Peja Stojakovic – Out
Jose Calderon – Day-to-day
Sonny Weems – Day-to-day

Houston
Yao Ming – Done
Chuck Hayes – Out
Kevin Martin – Day-to-day

Match-ups

Point Guard
The Rockets are currently 2nd in the league in assists per game, this starts with the PG’s and Kyle Lowry has been solid in Aaron Brooks’ absence. Between the two of them, they average about 12 dimes a match, with the everyone else on the team chipping a couple a game. Brooks will be coming off the bench for a few more games, so his energy and scoring from a 6th man role. With Calderon potentially out for tonight, Bayless needs to do better than the 2-10 performance he turned in against the Mavs. I’d feel a lot better if Jose was around to bring some stability to the point, but Barbosa’s speed and aggressiveness will go a long way in countering Brooks off the bench.
Edge: Rockets

Shooting Guard
DeMar’s been playing really well over the last 5 games, averaging 16.2pts a match; but he needs to get to the line much more than 5 a game he’s averaging. He can take some notes from Kevin Martin tonight (if he plays, he should), who gets to the line almost 9 times a game – easy/cheap points. So since both these guys don’t play much defense, it’s going to come down to who scores more, and my money is on Martin. Although his shot is ugly, it’s deadly, and he does a great job of getting to the line and getting folks into foul trouble.
Edge: Rockets

Small Forward
I’m not sure which has been my saving grace: Weems being injured or Kleiza playing up to potential? Regardless, the venom I’ve been spewing at the both of them has dropped considerably. With Weems out of the picture, I’m liking Kleiza’s Yin to Wrights Yang; lame I know, but it’s a nice 1-2 combo that covers a lot of angles. Battier and Budinger are basically the same player, but one is younger. They can knock down open threes, play solid defense and smart basketball. Gotta go with Kleiza/Wright on this one, since neither have the size/strength to defend Linas in the paint.
Edge: Toronto

Power Forward
Ed Davis is coming off a ridiculous career game that has let him crack the Top 10 rookie ladder for the first time. While he wont be averaging 17pts 12rebs 3stl 3blks for the rest of the season, we can expect a significant contribution from out boy; at least while he gets increased minutes while Bargnani’s out. As for Amir, AltRaps said it best:

Playing hurt, he turned in 42 minutes of simply inspired play. Hard nosed off the ball, attacking on both ends of the floor, playing with smarts. You simply couldn’t have asked for a better game from a wounded soldier.

We will need both these guys playing a high level against Scola, who’s playing huge. The last time around, the Raptors had the luxury of great performances from Bargnani, Evans, Johnson and Andersen (the latter two off the bench). Even with wave-after-wave of Raptor big man coming at him, Scola still put up a solid 19pts 6rebs 3ast. Tonight, the depth isn’t there, so Amir/Davis will have to dig in tight.
Edge: Even

Center
Neither Dorsey or Hayes are real centers in the league, but they’ve been thrust into this position. Both these guys are brutes in the paint. Expect one of them to die by halftime.
Edge: Even

The Line

Houston is 8.5 point favourites with an over/under of 212.5. Expect a fast paced, up and down match.

Happy New Years Eve.

Not sure if you realized, but 8 of the last 10 games the Raptors played were on the road. They only won 2 of them, but if you’re an optimist, they’re 2-2 in their last four; that’s something right? It’s definitely been a trial by fire to start the year, and from some of the rumours I’ve been hearing, Triano is a dead man walking. I personally don’t think it’s the right move to fire him, not that I think he’s a good coach, but it really wasn’t fair to hand him this team and expect much out of the situation. We’re good at the mob mentality in Toronto, so if people scream bloody murder loud enough, it might force BryCo’s hand in the matter.

Had a really good discussion with Jacob Mustafa from Red94, about the rough start to the year the Rockets are having, as well as a bold claim:

I’m actually stunned how poorly the Rockets have started the season; yes they played 7 of their first 10 on the road, but this was supposed to be a team that went into the playoffs and could have made some noise. Defense, which used to be a staple, has fallen off the map. What happened?
If you’re stunned by this year’s start, you can’t imagine the jaws agape among Rockets fans. I know the notion might seem crazy, but plenty of Rockets followers had gotten attached to the idea that this team might be the only answer to the Lakers in this conference thanks to years of tough matchups with them (that almost always ended in defeat except for one glorious seven game series… in which four of them ended in defeat). To see the team flailing along and struggling to get its head above water just feels incongruous, and I think most Rockets fans are still dealing with the shock of cheering for a below-average team. As for defense, the answer is simple; this team built its defensive mindset with a certain roster and with a certain coach, and now only three of those players remain on the roster, while the coach bickers with Mark Jackson to make ends meet. The defensive powerhouse that was the Houston Rockets simply dissipated, too far removed from its source to be its own entity.

You essentially traded Ariza for Lee, and he’s been a huge disappointment. This is a two part questions: 1) why did you make that trade 2) why isn’t Lee performing?
Money was saved, and an asset was gained. Observers have flippantly written that move off as a straight salary dump, and while I do think the Rockets were prudent to cut their losses (Ariza fit on the Rockets like the glove fit OJ), Lee simply fit in better with what Rockets management thought its team would be. As for Lee’s performance, he’s simply seemed out of it, though he is being saddled with the responsibility of a ballhandler at times, a role for which he’s almost cartoonishly ill-suited.

I heard some grumblings that the Rockets are still in the market to land Chris Bosh after an unsuccessful summer courtship. Can you shed any light on this subject?
After Wednesday’s rise from the grave, I doubt Bosh will be mentioned in trade talks for a while (like 4 years), but I’m pretty sure that was all based on a Jason Whitlock article where he got his Peter Vescey on and just started spouting ridiculous trade scenarios for Bosh. The Rockets’ chances at Bosh range somewhere between snowball in hell and long-term viability of Disney pop stars.

Yao Ming…I feel bad for the guy. At what point do you say “enoughs-enough” and try to salvage something for him?
Through consistent under-performance, the Houston Rockets have been one of the NBA’s more profitable franchises; that is mostly thanks to the giant one, Yao Ming. This team obviously needs a new building block, but the Rockets’ attachment to Yao runs much deeper than who the offense should be run through. This will likely be the major conflict of the Rockets’ season if playoffs keep looking less and less possible.

How do the Rockets match-up against the Raptors?
The Rockets have been decimated by super-athletic perimeter players in recent weeks, especially stud point guards; though Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon are fine game managers, they don’t exactly strike the same fear in me as names like Paul, Rose and Westbrook. If Demar Derozan can be contained and Reggie Evans doesn’t decide to eat our faces and collect 752 rebounds, I think the Rockets’ “depth” will be a little too much for the Raptors. I also think Houston’s big man who plays no defense but can pour in buckets, Luis Scola, is better at this point in his career than the Raps’, Andrea Bargnani.

Injuries

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

Houston
Aaron Brooks – Ankle, Out
Yao Ming – Leg, Out
Chase Budinger – Ankle, Day-to-day

Match-ups

PG – Jack vs Lowry
One of my favourite parts the season so far has been how we’ve flip-flopped between Jack and Calderon depending on who had the better. Overall, we each have a favourite, but going between them is funny; even if you’re doing it in your head. That said, we can all agree when one (or both) of them is playing like doodoo, and Jack has been playing like doodoo of late: 7pts 3reb 3reb over the last 3 games. The good news tonight is that Brooks is out, and his lightning quick speed and scoring ability will not have us face-palming for large stretches of the game. Lowry is an energetic player, who runs the break well, but doesn’t make the best decisions. His jumper is poor, so there is no reason we should see Jack play him tight right? Let the guy shoot, and keep him away from the glass since he rebounds so well for a 6″ guard. The kids got a knack for getting to the line, so like I said again…let him shoot all he wants.
Edge: Jack

SG – DeRozan vs Martin
So we can all agree that DeMar isn’t a 26pt/game scorer, but he’s also not a 6pt/game guy either. He needs to consistently be dropping 14-17 points every single night if this team wants to be in games for the rest of the year. Martin is an excellent scorer who can get his from anywhere, and most alarmingly, from the line. The kid is great at getting to the line, and great at hitting his free throws. His shot is ugly, but it’s deadly. He gets to the rim, has nice head fakes, and will score an obscene amount of points tonight. The only chance DeRozan has is to go back at him, since he’s such a terrible defender and either get him into foul trouble, or go tit-for-tat on offense. I’m feeling positive on this one for DeMar after a brutal performance against the Sixers, he should be back, but beating Martin in this match-up will be challenging, especially if the pace of the game picks up.
Edge: Martin

SF – Weems vs Battier
Shane Battier is like Anthony Parker to me: a classy, hard working guy who makes good decisions, plays defense and makes their shots; all with a good attitude. He’s a solid cat, and would play for my team anytime. Weems is going to have to play a smart game tonight, since that’s how Shane rolls. He isn’t very athletic, but his length and high basketball IQ make him a solid defender. Weems wont have to worry about him attacking off the dribble, but if he floats a little too much on help, Battier will stick shots from the corner. Weems can use his athleticism to attack Battier off the dribble, but he should avoid over dribble and make his move quick; which he’s been doing a good job of recently. Sonny can get out on the break, and has the advantage if this gets into an up-and-down/running game. I’m looking forward to seeing this match-up play out.
Edge: Even

PF – Evans vs Scola
You have to give Evans his due: he’s playing within himself during games, and being a vocal leader of this team in the locker room. Before the Sixers game, he got the guys together to get everyone on the same page, and they won. I hope he did the same thing tonight, since this Rockets team isn’t as bad as their record says they are. He absolutely will have his hands full with Scola, as the Argentine is having a ridiculous start to the season. Luis is a crafty scorer in the post who can hit the mid-range jumper; he’s deadly from 15ft in where he’s shooting 54% this season. The one knock is that he isn’t the best defender, which wont hurt him much tonight against Evans who isn’t looking to score when he touches the ball as a first option. Scola’s rebounding has come down some since the first four games, but he is more than capable of battling on the glass if the Raptors front court lets up. This is going to be a 1-2 attack with Reggie and Amir giving Scola different looks at different points of the game. Given Johnson’s propensity to foul, Scola might get the nod in that match-up too unless Amir uses his head before trying to out muscle Luis.
Edge: Scola

C – Bargnani vs Miller
It’s amazing Miller is able to move. At this point in his career, he’s really just filler until Yao can play major minutes. Bargnani has an advantage in every facet of the game tonight, and needs to establish himself from the tip (hopefully winning it tonight). I know I’m glossing over this rather quickly, but if Andrea doesn’t dominate this match-up, there is really something wrong with him.
Edge: Bargnani

Keys to the Game

Rebounding
The Rockets are the 4th best rebounding team in The Association. Everyone crashes the boards, and makes an effort on the glass. The Raptors aren’t slouches either, even though they are 16th in the league, they only grab 2.5 less rebounds a game than the Rockets. Controlling the glass will be critical since Houston is also 4th in the league in offense (next point), and if you control the glass, you control the tempo of the game, and force them to play a different style; all on the road.

Defense
The Rockets are 4th in scoring, with a Pace Factor of 100 (# of possessions used in a game). This also ties back to rebounding since the Raptors are the 4th best team in Offensive Rebounding Rate, if they can grab a few more rebounds, the Rockets will get a few less possessions. Regardless of that, with Aaron Brooks out, Kevin Martin and Scola are the focus on offense, and need to be respected as such. DeRozan can’t be taking tonight off, and playing passively. Scola gets the room to operate in the mid-range because K-Mart attracts so much attention on the perimeter. One of these two need to be shut down, and since Evans is a weaker defender than I’d like, it will be tasked to DeRozan (and Weems in certain match-ups) to play Martin tough. I’m not so confidant in this, so rebounding will be crucial to control the flow…ok I’m rambling, but you see where I’m going.

Pick-up where they left in Philly
It’s not like we haven’t played well before. The energy, assertiveness and will to win on our homecourt need to be there from the tip. Like I said earlier, the Rockets are a lot better than they have shown, and need to be respected as such. Can’t get down early, can’t take bad shots, the ball needs to be moved around, and every needs to be vocal on defense.

The Line

This game is even, and that’s exactly how I see it. The Raptors can win it, but they have to take it; the Rockets wont be laying down. This is an important game since we got the Celtics on Sunday.

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One love.

We have about a month until the NBA Draft and free agency kicks in, so I decided to talk to some of the teams around the NBA that have been linked to Chris Bosh and the Raptors in one way or another to get a feel for their franchise, and what we could expect back in a sign and trade.

While the early offers for CB4 have not been very exciting (you’ll see when we get to them), they do paint a picture of why trades are so difficult, especially when you have your back to the wall. While I don’t think the picture is so bleak in regards to Bosh (I still think he resigns; there is no sane reason why he would either), I concede that we wont even get 40 cents on the dollar for our franchise player.

First stop, I check in with Rahat Huq from The Houston Rockets TrueHoop blog Red94. Overall, he’s a good guy, a bit delusional, but he knows his stuff (I can’t wait till we resign Bosh so I get my face on his website banner for a week or so):

Sam Holako: Are you guys regretting replacing Artest with Ariza? Maybe I’m just being biased, but Artest took pretty much the same team to game 7 against the Lakers last year, and Ariza couldn’t even get them into the playoffs.

Rahat Huq: Not at all. I fully appreciate the contributions Ron made to this team last season, and it was definitely a surreal ride. But let’s be clear – he didn’t take this team anywhere against the Lakers and in fact, was a complete liability offensively.

For the series, Ron shot just 38% from the floor (28% from 3) in averaging his 15.6 points per game and was even more dreadful when we needed him most upon the injury to Yao, averaging just 9.5ppg in the last 4 games, on 28% shooting (and a terrifying 15% on his 26 3-point attempts.)

Ariza wasn’t brought here to get the team anywhere; Trevor was signed to be a complementary piece. He struggled early due to being forced into a high usage role out of necessity, but settled in very nicely after the arrival of Kevin Martin.

SH: Let’s not beat around the bush; make me an offer for Chris Bosh.

RH: These are my two offers:

1) Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, Jared Jeffries, Dave Andersen, Jermaine Taylor, one Knick draft pick
2) Jordan Hill, Shane Battier, Dave Andersen, Jermaine Taylor, one Knick draft pick.

Andersen and Taylor included to make the numbers match – I could be slightly off on the figures.

SH: That offer makes me sad…very very sad. While Hill and the Knicks pick could have big value, I think I can speak for the rest of The Republic when I say that we expected more of an offer. I honestly haven’t even heard of Dave Andersen and Jermaine Taylor. The problem with your offer is that you think the Raptors have no leverage in this, but they do. Everyone knows that Chris Bosh wont leave the franchise high-and-dry for no other reason than if he does, he’s out 1 year and $30mill. Just for being insolent, Colangelo can use this S&T as a means to get rid of some dead weight in the form of either Calderon or Turkoglu. Let’s figure Jose since Brooks isn’t really a point guard, and you guys will need someone who knows how a pick-n-roll works.

RH: The inclusion of Andersen and Taylor would simply be for salary matching purposes. As far as our offer, I think you are coming in with unrealistic expectations. Look at the history of sign&trades for max players. From Chucky Atkins and Ben Wallace (when he was a nobody), to draft picks for Rashard Lewis and Kenyon Martin, you won’t find a package even approaching the attractiveness of Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and a lightly protected probable lottery pick.

SH: I have a feeling we might get into a fist-fight…so lets talk about Yao. The guy misses a whole season, is largely forgotten around the league, but should make a full recovery and be Über effective next season. The prospect of playing against a Bosh/Yao front court is scary; what are the plans for him going forward?

RH: He’s resumed workouts and is on schedule with his recovery.

I think the organization plans to limit his minutes and usage next season, and that shouldn’t be too great a concern considering some of the other parts that are in place. Still, Yao’s greatest value to the team is on the defensive end where, while he is not the best of shotblockers, he is as good as just about anyone at protecting the paint.

Yao/Bosh would indeed be scary simply because their skillsets mesh so perfectly. I’ve long felt that Yao was a finisher rather than an initiator. With Bosh’s high post abilities, he would provide the team a focal point from which to start its offense.

SH: Suppose in a bizzarro NBA world the Raptors sign-and-trade Bosh for Jordan Hill and spare parts, how do the Rockets matchup against the rest of the Western Conference? What can we expect from them?

RH: They won 42 games without Yao and Bosh and with a major personnel change midway through the season. If they can add what would have to be the best power forward – center duo in basketball in Yao – Bosh to the quintet of Scola-Lowry-Brooks-Martin-Ariza, along with a lottery pick, you would have to expect a significant increase in wins. Will they contend immediately? The talent is certainly there, but I think it could take a while and at least some growing pains to reach that level.

Based on your indignation over my proposal, I think you’re really suffering from delusions of grandeur. If a package of Jordan Hill, Chase Budinger, and a future lottery pick would not suffice, in light of what has been bartered in past sign & trades of this type (Atkins/Wallace, only picks), I must ask, what exactly are you hoping for? It’s true that the Raptors hold leverage, but to a certain degree. They’ll pick the destination, but they won’t exactly be able to extract a king’s ransom, nor will they be able to offload their garbage (Calderon, Turkoglu.)

Normally, RuPaul would respond to being called Bosh “sashay shante“, but he’s in Bush country and you can’t blame him for looking over his shoulder. We know how dem rednecks like dem der colored transvestites…they don’t. The Mavs rolled out the welcome wagon with a 109-98 spanking. Bosh put up a lady-like 28pts and 10rebs, all from the out-side, best part – he didn’t break a nail.

Normally, when a cornerstone of your franchise goes down for the year, the team packs it up. This season, we have seen the Bucks and Rockets play arguably better. I have watched a few Rockets games over the last couple seasons, and always found that they play a better brand of ball with T-Mac out of the lineup. Call it Iverson-syndrome, or the fact that karma is a b*tch, but since McGrady shafted the Raptors, his career has been nothing but cashing pay-checks ever two weeks.

This Rockets team is loads better without McGrady IMHO. If I were Daryl Morey, I would be trying to move McGrady for a couple pieces that would solidify the bench. Over the last 10 games, the Rockets are 8-2, with their two losses coming against the Bucks (what I tell you?) and the Bulls (a furious rally in the 4th). Their most recent game came at the hands of the Timberwolves, which doesn’t really count seeing as Jefferson is out for the season.

Backshot girl.

The Raptors on the other hand is 4-6, in the  middle of a 2 game losing streak that could stretch to 7. Marion is out with a flu, Bosh is the laughing stock of the league and each day we realize that this team is damned if they do, and damned if they don’t with their current management team in place. The last time these guys met earlier in the season, the Raptors managed to spank these guys 94-73.You might remember that game, the Rockets played some of the ugliest basketball, going 7-27 from the 3pt line.

They aren’t as well endowed as the Mavs cheerleaders, but we have ourselves a winner (and not by default). Her name is Julie, she takes pride in how far she has cum, and lists ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’ as the greatest movie ever. There’s no accounting for taste, but she’s damn hot.

Injury Report

Raptors
Kris Humphries
Shawn Marion – questionable

Rockets
Tracy McGrady

Match-ups

Calderon vs Brooks
The Edge: Brooks - Calderon sucks. Brooks was a non-factor the first time they played this season, but with Rafers exile to Orlando, and Head being waved, he has been thrust into the starting role: 22pts 10asts? Raise of hands, who thought Calderon would put those numbers up this year? LOL

Parker vs Artest
The Edge: Artest - Ron-Ron will be having a big night for the Rockets, unless Marion is healthy enough to go, which wont change the outcome, but could keep Artest in check…to a degree. There is a possibility that Parker will cover Battier and Graham on Artest, that would a better match-up for the Raptors, still don’t like for either of them though.

Graham vs Battier
The Edge: Battier - How big a contract will Joey Graham get this off-season? I suspect a 3yr/$10mill type deal. I say this because we really don’t know what we have in this guy. Is he playing for a contract, or did Smitch really have it in for the guy? I’m leaning to the former, but who knows. Battier is easily the best player in the match-up, and easily will win this match-up for one reason: he does what he needs too. If he needs to play defense for the Rockets to win, he will and they will. If he needs to hit treys for the Rockets to win, he will and they will. The guy is a pro, he can play for my team any day.

Bosh vs Scola
The Edge: Scola - Does dropping 28pts 10rebs while losing mean you won the match-up? Statistically yes, but not where it matters, in the W column. I suspect RuPaul will put up solid numbers, but Scola will do 15pts 10rebs and the Rockets will win. He gets the nod.

Bargnani vs Yao
The Edge: Yao - It’s a sweep. Yao will dominate in the block, Bargnani should dominate on the perimeter. Yao will win the battle on the boards, Bargnani will hit more treys. Yao will win the game, Bargnani wont.

Note - Von Wafer is someone to watch out for. He lit us up for 18pts the last time around, and is averaging 17 a game over the last 5 games (since McGrady has gone down I believe, I wonder how he feels that every time he goes down, the team plays better?).

The Line

VegasInsider.com has the line at Rockets -8.5

Prediction

Go with the line, Raptor suck and the Rockets are jockeying for 2nd round home court advantage.

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And resign Bosh to a max deal or this team is in dire straits (or just ship RuPaul out for a few young QUALITY pieces).

I’m sitting here wanting to talk about tonight’s game against he Bucks, but all I can think about is how Parker/Bosh/Calderon each played over 40 minutes, in back-to-back nights. In a game where the bench should have got some burn, they didn’t…and why you ask? Cause the bench isn’t very good.Conundrum isn’t…isn’t this team suppose to go the second round? At this point of the season, it isn’t that Mitchell has lost trust in the bench, it’s that he didn’t have any to begin with. How else can you explain the lack of burn these guys have been getting? It’s not like they are a secret atomic weapon waiting to be unleashed at the right time. It’s Solomon, Adams, Graham and Humphries. They do a damn good job of keeping the bench warm, the towels dry and the gatorade cool for the starters, but ballers they aren’t. Humphries isn’t bad. He should have seen more then 4 minutes, he can rebound and bang in the paint. You need that in a tight game like this.

It’s all slowly coming together. All the time the non-starters got during the pre-season was Mitchell hoping they give him something he can use. Solomon had that one good game, but very little afterwards…that’s about it. Jawai has done nothing since his arrival but import a container of vegemite. Adams quite literally hasn’t even broken a sweat.

Another slow start to the game for the Raptors. Bosh didn’t even touch the ball after the tip until the 840 mark, then didn’t attempt his first shot until the 520 mark. During the 6.5 minutes, Moon, the offensive juggernaut that he is, attempted 4 shots, forcing 2 rather badly, and hitting the other two. Needless to say I lost my voice. I don’t understand why a guy who shoots 38% from beyond the arc attempts more three pointers then Kapono and Parker combined (he did hit 3 of them, but it’s not his shot, he wont shoot 50% from beyond the arc again).

On top of that, he only grabbed 2 rebounds. So in three games, he has 3 rebounds.  Just the kind of numbers you want to see out of your starting small forward. He grabbed 6 a game last season. This is a contract year. What the hell is he doing? Does he realize that this is probably going to be his last contract in the league? It wont even be a very long one, maybe 4 years if he’s lucky, and that is pushing it. I wouldn’t give him more then 3 (32 year old small forwards start to lose a step. fortunately for him, he’s not the kamikaze type).

O’Neal had another…bad meh game. No, it was bad. In 28 minutes, he managed 11pts, 8rebs, 4 to, a block and yea…he fouled out. It’s not like he was playing a Shaq, Howard, Yao…he had Bogut (who has the tendency to be invisible for stretches).  For some reason, Mitchell decided to play Moon at 4 when O’Neal fouled out, which led to Bosh being abused  in the post by Bogut and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, for like 4 possessions. Finally, he brings in Bargnani, but that didn’t change the tide of the game, it was just too late, and Milwaukee doesn’t have the coaching or players to come back from being down.

Bosh was a stud again. 20pts, 10reb, 6ast in 41.5 minutes. Primo. The only knock on him was how he got abused late in the 4th by Bogut and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. But after over 120 minutes in 3 days of carrying this team on his back, he gets a pass.

So yea, the Bucks game. All I really have to say is that the Raptors are a better team, and had no business losing this one. Had this not been the second night of a back-to-back, it wouldn’t have been so close. By the way, I am 3-0 in predictions so far this season. I even called the spread, 4 (although I predicted a 97-93 score).

A solid win triggered by the defense and headlined by Chris Bosh’s gritty return. When we were down 16-2 to start the game it felt like the Boston game hadn’t ended with Shane Battier draining open threes after mild penetration. Houston’s domination didn’t last long as the Raptors stepped it up on the defensive end congested the area around Yao Ming forcing him to take hook shots and jumpers that we could take our chances with. Anthony Parker’s defense on the perimeter has been poor of late and was the same early on but Parker, Delfino and Moon kept McGrady on the perimeter and forced a bad shooting night out of him. We never let the likes of Mike James, Stevie Francis or Chuck Hayes get off and that was the key to success.

Every win has a spark and in this one it was undoubtedly the play of Carlos Delfino who ignited a third quarter rally where we converted an 11 point deficit into a 6 point lead. After the ineffective and surprisingly shot-happy Jamario Moon was pulled, Delfino came in to score two key baskets to start the run and the Raps never looked back. Tracy McGrady did not have a good game and could’ve done a lot more for his team through rebounding and shot-creation for others but chose to take a back-seat. With Yao already struggling it signaled the end of the Rockets resistance. Every time I look at him, I go back 7 years and start thinking what could’ve been if Darrell Walker and Isaiah Thomas has shown a little respect and appreciation for him early on, it still hurts.

Chris Bosh’s (21/10/4 blocks) presence was felt in this game. Bosh struggled early in this game but continued doing what he does best: drive to the rim and get fouled or take a relatively high percentage shot. As long as he keeps doing that and doesn’t force his game towards the perimeter, he will be the core reason why the Raptors will win games. He made T-Mac play defense in the critical third quarter and had a few huge blocks which either ended Houston fast breaks or started ours. This was a typical hard-nosed performance by Bosh where he wasn’t seduced by that slutty jumper and kept going into the paint and getting what he can there. I love it when he plays like this. I’m critical of Bosh when he plays bad and doesn’t apply himself as best as he can and all that is well deserved but it’s game like these where someone watching the game thinks, “Man this guy really knows how to help this team”. Let’s hope it continues, CB4 led by example today and then reflected on his time out.

“I want everybody to play with confidence, that’s the major thing that I saw was missing when I was out. It’s not about what I bring to the table, it’s about us feeding off of each other and making each other play hard.”

Sam Mitchell’s halftime interview where he mentioned “shats” at least five times was a little aggravating, he cited the reason for us being down 11 to entirely “not making shots” but that was hardly the case. We significantly tightened up our defense, made a considerable effort to run the ball and hit the offensive glass hard. And yeah, we also made our shots. Although our offense is predictable as can be, it’s still sweet when the individual brilliance of some of our offensive players pulls us through. Give The Sam credit for doing whatever he did at halftime. Kris “The Hustler” Humphries has one great game every week, he gets his jumper going, the offensive rebounding is there, he’s out on the break finishing and playing excellent help defense. Today was that game prompting Chuck Swirsky to exaggerate the trade of Hoffa for him as “one of the best steals in the NBA”. Riiight.

The one thing that I just don’t understand is why we can’t replicate our defensive intensity on a nightly basis, I can see the shots not falling every night but I just don’t understand how our rotation and perimeter defense can be so bad in one game and be brilliant (for three quarters at least) in the next. This was our first really good win of the season. Up until now we’ve only been beating teams we’re supposed to beat and losing to better teams or teams that are on par with us. Tuesday in Atlanta will be tough and we expect Bargnani to be back, should be a great game. A winnable won too.

One-Liners:

* Delfino’s rebounds are always in-traffic and contested, not of the cheap kind that just roll out to you.

* Bring back the ’95 jerseys for a few games this year.

* Chuck: Why is it called a “backdoor” Leo?

* Jerry Colangelo is really an Assistant GM for the Raptors.

* The over/under on the next Juan Dixon sighting is mid-January. Same for Maceo Baston.

* Does T-Mac look a little overweight?

* Yao Ming is an 87% FT shooter? When did this happen?

* At one point during this game I felt sorry for Steve Francis.

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