2008 means the Raptors can finally return to the snow-covered tundra that is Toronto after a grueling seventeen day road trip. Overall, I’d have to classify it as a relative success, though there were some nasty moments that could have tipped the scales in the other direction. To recap:
W against LAC (One big goofy white player away from being the Minnesota Timberwolves)
L against Sonics (will get this one erased from my memory when they invent the proper lasers)
L against Portland (even the sun shines on a dog’s ass some days – and they’ve been tanning their backsides for 13 games now)
L against Phx (Bosh went off, but they’re the Suns, man!)
W against Spurs (Quality win against a quality team)
L against Houston (The One That Slipped Away, V.2)
W against Hornets (Stolen from under their New Year’s noses.)
Going 3-4 when you could/should have won both contests in Portland and Houston isn’t half bad. Seattle was the only unwatchable game, the Trailblazers the only eye-gouging loss. It wasn’t pretty, but we weathered the storm. Now we’re back two games over .500 to face a home-friendly Eastern Conference schedule in January. We’ve got Philly twice, Washington twice, the Knicks, Portland (now back to earth), the Kings, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and the Cavs, who don’t match up well against us. That’s ten winnable games, of which we should take AT LEAST eight.
But back to last night’s contest, or whatever part TSN chose to broadcast. For some reason, the nitwits over at The Sports Network (Canada’s wannabe ESPN) chose to broadcast the end of the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, aka the “Who Cares” Bowl, instead of the first quarter of the Raptors game. Yes, because Canadian sports fans are much more interested in watching Kentucky/Florida State grind it out in a fifth-tier bowl game than watch the Raptors take the court against MoPete. Good thinking guys! No wonder you’re regarded by most as the senile, bed-wetting grandfather of Canadian sports. You’re out of touch with the 2008 sports fan, trailing The Score and Sportsnet despite having much deeper pockets. So congratulations, you’ve just pissed off another former viewer. Cocksuckers. President’s Choice should pull their sponsorship if they want me to continue lining my fridge with Blue Menu (um, yum!).
So after the ‘thrilling’ conclusion of the fucking Gaylord Hotel (not that there’s anything wrong with that) Music City Bowl, they finally brought us to the Raptors game with 3 minutes left in the first. And apparently I missed the coming of the Messiah, as there’s no other explanation for the Raptors shooting 80% in Q1.
Steady contributions all around. Instead of the usual post-game analysis, I figured I’d try something new tonight. We’ll call it, appropriately,
The Game In Pictures:
This is what happens once you realize you’re not a jump shooter.
Jose’s numbers aren’t far off from Chris Paul’s, and he showed why.
Double team, triple team, doesn’t matter. When Bosh makes up his mind to get to the hole, he’s getting there.
Watching David West and Chris Paul was a treat (sweet not sour due to the victory). Those two are pretty much unstoppable. I was particularly impressed with West – if he and CP can grow together, they’ll compete with Deron and Booze for best PG/PF combination not in San Antonio. They almost single doublehandedly won the game, if Chris Paul hadn’t uncharacteristically clanged two free throws with less than a minute left.
This is what New Orleans looks like after you cough up a home win…
And this is what Toronto looks like after you will your way to a victory…
Next up is Detroit, back at the ACC on Friday. Speaking of Detroit, let’s say goodbye with a stat:
Best Win Percentage, 2007 Calendar Year
Dallas 63-19 (.768%)
Phoenix 62-22 (.738%)
Pistons 59-25 (.702%)
Spurs 56-24 (.700%)
Raptors 50-32 (.610%)
That officially puts us in the top five, up there with some pretty good company. Just thought it was an uplifting stat.
