Crunch-time mistakes cost Raps mini-streak – St. Catharines Standard
The Raptors start DeRozan, but he isn't getting starter's minutes, which is both the right decision and the most appropriate course of action.
For the second consecutive game, the Raptors were without injured power forward Reggie Evans (foot) and swing-man Sonny Weems (foot), while combo guard Quincy Douby was again the odd-man out.
If Evans is unavailable for an extended stretch, which isn't out of the realm of possibility, it would potentially devastate a team that brought the veteran from Philadelphia in the off-season for Jason Kapono to provide interior defence and toughness.
Outworked Raptors fail to impress their coach – London Free Press
"We're a work in progress,'' began head coach Jay Triano. "What I don't like is when we get outworked by a team, which is exactly what happened (last night)."
Clearly the Raptors could have used Reggie Evans, whose troublesome left foot continues to keep him inactive. No way Evans would have tolerated the lack of passion and effort the Raptors showed. No way Evans would have allowed an opponent to outwork him in the paint.
Sluggish Raptors tarnish great start – thestar.com
With a couple of old bugaboos popping up again – porous coverage of the offensive boards and inconsistent work ethic – the Raptors suffered a 115-107 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies that took a lot of shine off that season-opening spanking of the Cavs.
"We still have to get out of letting our offence dictate what we do on the defensive end," said Chris Bosh, who had a 37-point, 12-rebound gem.
"They got a lot of easy stuff, they got some offensive rebounds that we need to clean up and we just didn't do some fundamental things."
Very fundamental, according to coach Jay Triano.
"I don't like getting outworked by teams and I thought we were," he said.
Out of sync Raptors lose 115-107 to Grizzlies – thestar.com
Playing lacklustre defence all night, reminiscent of some performances a year ago, the Raptors coughed up a 115-107 loss to the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum here.
Unable to match the opening night intensity at either end of the court, Toronto wasted a 37-point, 12-rebound effort from Chris Bosh as Memphis was led by 30 from Zach Randolph.
The Raptors were never really in sync at either end of the floor, with Andrea Bargnani struggling mightily before fouling out late in the fourth quarter and no one helping Bosh on offence.
Top 30 NBA Point Guards – Bleacher Report
12) Jose Calderon—Toronto Raptors
Calderon can run an offense with anyone. He’s a good pull-up jump shooter, and an extraordinary free throw shooter. He doesn’t do anything he shouldn’t and is a very efficient player. However, there is a certain degree of creativity a star point guard needs, and Calderon doesn’t have it.
Griz overpower Raptors – The Globe and Mail
“O.J. doesn't hit many shots throughout the game, but he hits a couple of big ones late,” Toronto coach Jay Triano said. “The whole game they just wore us out inside, and they had more energy.
“It was a very hungry basketball team.”
Memphis outrebounded the Raptors 45-36, including 18 off the offensive glass that led to 26 second-chance points.
Six unanswered points late in the half helped Memphis take a 53-49 lead at the break. Randolph already had 14 points.
Stuff that stood out – Eric Smith
Stats that stood out:
– 13 lead changes … And the game was tied 16 times
– Banged Up on the Glass: 45-36 REBOUNDING advantage for the Grizz
– Points in the Paint: Both clubs had 52
– Jose Calderon with a rare sight: 3 assists … 3 turnovers in the game
Raptors’ defence exposed – Toronto Sun
When one yields 39 points in the fourth quarter, one does not deserve to win.
"We're a work in progress,'' began head coach Jay Triano. "What I don't like is when we get outworked by a team, which is exactly what happened (last night)."
Clearly, the Raptors could have used the services of Reggie Evans, whose troublesome left foot continues to keep him inactive.
No way Evans would have tolerated the lack of passion and effort the Raptors showed.
No way Evans would have allowed an opponent to outwork him in the paint.
As good as Bosh was, his left-handed counterpart, Zach Randolph, who is a noted Raptors killer, couldn't be contained in the paint.
It seems likely Rudy Gay is heading toward restricted free agency with today's deadline to extend deals looming. On Thursday, teammates O.J. Mayo, Mike Conley and Darrell Arthur were extended, the same day Raptors extended Marco Belinelli's rookie deal. Raptors head coach Jay Triano oversaw an Olympic development camp in Las Vegas this past summer, a showcase that featured both Gay and Mayo. Gay has an outside chance of playing for the U.S. at next year's world championship in Turkey.
Triano post-game video
Game in six
Triano post-game video
This is why various metrics constantly penalize Andrea, while many fans and onlookers feel that these same stats are incorrect. They're seeing the scoring Bargnani, the wizard with the ball that can take over a game for stretches offensively, while the stats are capturing many of these defensive miscues, and penalizing him for that.
I believe the truth regarding Il Mago's worth lies somewhere in between but it's hard not to lean to the stats side after a game like this. There's only so many times you can watch Andrea lose post-position, or fail to keep his man off the glass. Even Jack Armstrong was calling Andrea out for "not wanting it as much as Gasol." Andrea's this team's biggest X Factor and if he's scoring and defending like he was against Cleveland, suddenly the Raptors are a pretty solid team. If he's not, then you get games like last night's.
And as follow-up to the rebounding issue, I fear that Reggie Evans is hardly the silver bullet here.
And Reality Comes Crashing In : The Picket Fence
After many Raptor fans pencilled him into the All-Star game, Andrea Bargnani showed once again why he’ll never be the player that some hope. He played horribly against Memphis. Horribly. And if he’s not hitting his shot, he’s almost useless. After playing good defense against Cleveland, he couldn’t seem to defend against Memphis and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was responsible for giving up half of those 18 offensive rebounds the Grizzlies grabbed. Time and time again, the man Bargnani should have been boxing out was able to secure the offensive rebound. If he hadn’t fouled out, if I was Triano, I would have sat him down for the final minutes, anyway.
Zach Randolph scores 30 as Grizzlies beat Raptors – The Commercial Appeal
"It was a good thing to watch," Griz coach Lionel Hollins said. "We competed and battled from the start. Toronto's got a lot of weapons. We had to battle all night. So it was a good team win."
Toronto entered the game after a confidence-building victory against Cleveland. The Raptors held the Cavs to 35-percent shooting. Toronto, however, found out the Griz also have weapons.
Six Grizzlies scored in double figures, and they shot 51 percent. Marc Gasol finished with 19 points, O.J. Mayo added 18 and Rudy Gay chipped in 17. Mike Conley had 10 of the Grizzlies' 24 assists. They had just 10 Wednesday night against Detroit.
Grizzlies Postgame, Iavaroni Returns » The Commercial Appeal
"Jay says he wants to play up-tempo but that it's a second priority to good defense," Iavaroni said. "That's what we have to work on. If you want to have an up-tempo and a fast pace, then there has to be a great emphasis on getting back and there has to be a great emphasis on defense."
Recap: Memphis vs. Toronto – Sacramento Sports
Rudy Gay turned in a solid effort with 17 points and nine rebounds, and Mike Conley chipped in with 10 points, 10 assists and six boards in the win.
Chris Bosh led all scorers with 37 points and added a game-high 12 rebounds for the Raptors, who earned a 101-91 home victory against Cleveland on Wednesday. Jose Calderon and Hedo Turkoglu went for 15 and 14 points, respectively, in defeat.
After Marco Belinelli's three-pointer put Toronto up 88-80 early in the fourth quarter, the Grizzlies quickly responded with eight straight of their own to deadlock it. Then with things even at 91 with 6:20 to go, two free throws by DeMarre Carroll and Gasol's dunk gave the hosts a four-point advantage, a lead they would not relinquish.
That’s More Like It! GRIZZLIES WIN! – 3 Shades of Blue
-ZBO. He had three assists, and that still won't be enough for some people. 30 points. Is that enough for the naysayers? Sure, Chris Bosh lit it up too (he's just unreal, by the way), but Zbo played to his strengths as well as he possibly could tonight. He and Bosh, neither of whom is known for defense, roasted each other like…like…a couple of chestnuts over an open fire (yep, it's that time of year already..get prepared). It was nice to watch, especially since Randolph knew the team was going to ride him all the way into the lane tonight, and he did what he does so well within a team concept. Six of his seven rebounds were offensive, and a couple of those were from his own misses. I turned to Chip after one particularly sweet bullcharge-the-hoop-and-score-it move by Randolph and said "man, isn't it great to have a truly viable low-post threat back on the team?".
PopcornMachine’s GameFlows – Toronto vs Memphis
Out of sync Raptors lose 115-107 to Grizzlies – thestar.com
Playing lacklustre defence all night, reminiscent of some performances a year ago, the Raptors coughed up a 115-107 loss to the Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum here.
Unable to match the opening night intensity at either end of the court, Toronto wasted a 37-point, 12-rebound effort from Chris Bosh as Memphis was led by 30 from Zach Randolph.
The Raptors were never really in sync at either end of the floor, with Andrea Bargnani struggling mightily before fouling out late in the fourth quarter and no one helping Bosh on offence.
Toronto led by eight early in the fourth quarter and it looked as if they might be able to steal a win but they allowed an immediate 8-0 run for an 88-88 tie and Memphis pulled away.
Raptors vs. Grizzlies – Box Score – October 30, 2009 – ESPN
Carter "hopes" he can play Sunday against the Raptors – Orlando Sentinel
X-rays on Carter's ankle were negative. He said he hopes he can play Sunday when the Magic face the team he began his career with — the Toronto Raptors.
Carter's mother, Michelle, was in attendance and said her son had a "mild sprain."
Memphis takes away the Raptors swagger – National Post
Any positive momentum the Toronto Raptors were feeling after an impressive win on opening night is now gone. Losses to the likes of the Memphis Grizzlies will do that.
After the Raptors started the year with a confidence-building win over Cleveland, the Raptors gave back all of that swagger, dropping a 115-107 decision in Memphis. The Grzzlies are the same team that lost their debut by 22 points on their home court.
Chris Bosh provided 37 points, but there was not enough help on this night.
Memphis shot better than 50% from the floor, with big men Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol combining for 47 points. They feasted in the paint, and the Raptors wilted. With two finesse forwards, that is a concern with the Raptors.
The Raptors had a reasonable hold on the game heading into the final quarter, but fell apart down the stretch. In the middle part of the quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 15-3 run, turning what was once an eight-point deficit into an advantage.
