Fan Duel Toronto Raptors

23-19 (Dinosty 1, Boston 0)

  I know! I couldn’t believe it either!  I’ll take credit for this one. In my game day post I all but guaranteed a Boston victory. Of course, it was just a little inverse motivation (I don’t think reverse psychology is the correct term). Lo and behold, it worked! So while the ‘media’ and the…

 

I know! I couldn’t believe it either! 

I’ll take credit for this one. In my game day post I all but guaranteed a Boston victory. Of course, it was just a little inverse motivation (I don’t think reverse psychology is the correct term). Lo and behold, it worked! So while the ‘media’ and the ‘experts’ credit Bargnani’s inspired aggression, Jose’s All-Star evidence, and AP’s deadly stroke, we, the readers of the Dinosty, know who REALLY won this game.

WOOOOHOOOOO! How ’bout that “feeling” you had yesterday, fellas? Talk about intuition – we got a couple of Lady Cleos wearing the DinoClaw.

Forgive me if this post is prone to grand and biased assertions, but right now I’m more pumped than a Chevron station. What a game! Half heaven, half hell, for 48 minutes I flip-flopped between elation and frustration more often than Anne Heche does her sexuality.

It was far from perfect. 18 turnovers*nearly killed Sam Mitchell, doing his best MJ impression from the sidelines. At one point I actually thought he was going to rip Jamario’s jersey off his back, throw it on over his Italian suit, and match up against Pierce. Not a good game for the Moonman, who might be too preoccupied with perfecting new dunks to remember not to take flight on every goddamn head fake.

Now’s not the time for hot steppin’, Jamario. 

And then there was the offensive rebounds, which were without a doubt the most offensive part of the game. Boston had a 16-4 advantage in that department, including 9 in the 4th quarter! We had another one of those games where we end up boxing each other out, keeping our backs to our assignments so they can follow their shot and keep the possession alive.

*29 points off those turnovers is totally unacceptable. The TO’s were set to be the noose to hang us, yet our shooting rescued us at the gallows in the nick of time.

 

But forget about all that, cause we WON! Against Mr. Big Green “We’re 33-7, na na na na na naaaa!” jerkface. What’cha got to say now, Eddie? Cat got your tongue, Paul? Victory! VICTORY! Who’s going Sizzla? WE going Sizzla!

The Raptors shot the ball in this game like I’ve never seen. The rim looked wider than Lindsay Lohan’s forehead*.

*What did you think I was going to say?

58% FG

71.4% 3PT

100% (19-19) FT

4 starters with over 20ppg.

Those numbers make Phoenix look like Miami (I’m sorry Nash and Co., that was harsh. You didn’t deserve that.)

 

I’m running out of English adjectives for Jose Calderon, so I’m going to have to turn to Spanish. He was absolutely poseído tonight, singlehandedly stealing momentum from Boston each time they started to pull away. A clutch jumper, a perfect pass, a gritty drive to the lane – Spanish Fly did it all*. And when he’s shooting 8-10 for the game, it’s easy to take those wide open looks…but not Jose. Each time he made the unselfish pass, the RIGHT pass. 24, 13, and 3 steals? You’ll be seeing him in New Orleans – and anything less is a travesty. And he’s doing it all by himself (really, I can’t wait to never see Juan Dixon again. Damon can’t get here soon enough.)

* Can he really ever go back to the bench? I mean, REALLY? I don’t care if he says he’s “okay” with it (he’s not), he’s our best POINT GUARD, as I’ve been saying all season.

So who’s naked netherregions am I going to kneel before next? Andrea Bargnani, the Big Sorpresa of the night. I’ve been hard on Andrea lately (and I’m far from the only one), and it’s because we expect more from him. After his impressive rookie season, we all KNOW he can play the way he did tonight: 20 points, 7 boards (leading the team!), 7 assists, 50% FG. This game made it crystal clear that it was all a matter of confidence. Instead of a quick pump fake into the travel call, tonight he pumped and waited for the defence to react before making his move. Instead of worrying about how bad he’s sucking, he focused on the details of performing like boxing out, staying on his feet defensively, and making the extra pass. Instead of fading away from his defender, he took it hard to the rack. He played far and away his best game of the season, and quite possibly the best game of his career.

 

Next up on the Love Train* is Carlos Delfino, who hit some BIG shots to keep the game close. On the defensive end, he was the one Raptor who didn’t bite on Paul Pierce’s obvious fakes, and he was the only one of the game’s key contributors without a single turnover. Solid, efficient. Games like this will be referred to as “Vintage Carlos” long after he’s moved on in his career.

* Choo-Choo!

Lose to Philly and Seattle, win against San Antonio and Boston. And so it goes, Raptors fans. And so it goes. Sure, it’s only one game, and sure, nothing matters until the playoffs…

You all can do what you want…but I’m going to let this one linger just a little bit.

 

(DiNote: If you haven’t already done so for the final round…vote vote vote vote vote vote vote vote!)