Imagine that - two quality wins in a row! First time that’s happened all year. I’m serious, that’s the first time they’ve won two in a row against +.500 teams. Hard to believe, isn’t it?

Yesterday was an interesting game. The Raps didn’t play great defense - the Magic shot 46 percent, had 36 in the paint and Dwight Howard scored 39. They were 15-34 from downtown, even better than their 2nd-best in the east 38 per cent. Yet the Raps won. How?

The Raptors on offense were much better than what we’ve seen recently (outside of first quarters anyway). What’s key here is that they shot only 12 threes - and hit only three of them - meaning on their two-point field goals they were 38-64. They had 42 points in the paint themselves! And they went to the line 24 times. For a team that almost always settles for jumpers (a lot of them fadeaways), there was a lot more movement towards the basket last night, including several back-door cuts and point guard penetration. All this against the league’s leading shot blocker, who despite two early fouls, still played 37 minutes.

Meanwhile, in addition to the PiP win, the Raps won the rebounding battle (39-31), the turnover battle (12-9) and the fast-break battle (8-4).

Finally, the Raps were 23-24 from the line while the Magic were 17-24.

Add it all up, and what does it tell you - that for once, the Raptors actually executed in a close basketball game against a quality opponent. They rebounded. They didn’t make boneheaded turnovers. They scored going to the hoop. They made their free throws.

That’s a recipe for a win.

Think this’ll help the Raps realize that good things happen when you go the rack? That penetration, that defenders playing off to prevent cutters, leads to more open looks on the perimeter? God, I hope so.

Even more impressive is that the Raptors did all this without Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon. Missing two starters is tough against any team, especially a team that’s 12-4 on the road. But Bargnani played well against Howard - especially on offense, taking him away from the hoop - and Bosh, Voskuhl and even Joey “The Incredible Hulk” Graham did their best on the big man. Yes, he scored 39, but what was more important to me was that he wasn’t allowed to dominate the glass - “only” 8 boards. Considering he averaged 18 against us in the playoffs, I’ll take that any day.

Story of the day was clearly Anthony Parker - 13-16 for 26 points, including some easy ones off the aforementioned backdoor cuts. Unfortunately, this only makes the Raptors one glaring weakness that much more obvious - if they could get 20+ points consistently from the wing, they’d be winning a lot more games. Much as I love Parker, he’s just been too inconsistent this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 2-9 game from him tonight.

Second biggest story, Mr. Roko Ukic. Played the entire fourth quarter, with only one turnover in the frame. That is HUGE for a rookie point guard. Had five assists in the frame, and most impressive of all, the TSN Turning Point - the runner to give the Raps the three-point lead with a minute to go.

He mentioned after the game that he’s been working on that shot because so many of his drives were getting blocked. I would LOVE to see him develop that shot - so many point guards use it to such great effect, it’s a great shot for smaller players. Tony Parker is the master currently, though the all-time great has to be one-time Raptor Mark Jackson. But Chris Paul and Deron Williams use it, Jason Kidd uses it, Steve Blake nailed it against us earlier this year… it’s a really effective way for smaller players to score, to get the ball up before they hit the tall trees in the paint.

Moon had a decent day, including a key block on a Hedo Turkoglu three after Roko’s Runner. Of course, if Hedo had simply up-faked he’d be shooting three free throws and I’d have thrown a temper tantrum, but hey. The guy jumps at everything, law of averages says he’ll eventually block a jump shot, right?

Most observers are calling this the biggest win of the season, and while at first I thought “That’s more than a little hyperbole,” after I thought about it… I have to agree. The Magic are a great team that had won eight of nine and were only two games behind Boston going in to this one. And you also have to factor in that they haven’t had very many wins, and even fewer against good opponents (and I don’t think the Houston game even counts, they rolled over so easily). So yeah… that was the biggest win of the year.

Of course, the real question is, is it the start of something good, or just an aberration? Let’s hope it’s the former!

Another tough loss last night. How many times have I written that this year? Probably a lot more to come, too. As usual, I didn’t expect a victory, but at least the Raptors stayed in it. Had a chance at the end, too!

But man… Kapono had two great looks from downtown when the Raptors were down two with a minute left. You just can’t ask for more than that. Well, you can ask for them to go down, but they didn’t and the Raps were forced to foul and couldn’t climb out of the two-possession hole.

I’m glad they fought back from the 13-point hole they were in, at least, although the Warriors are of course infamous for letting teams back in the game. For once, the Raptors’ rebounding wasn’t awful (although they did give up a couple of late offensive boards that hurt) but once again, the perimeter defense was atrocious. Way too many open looks for the Warriors from downtown. I know the Raps under Triano like the “pack the paint” and all that, but don’t you have to adjust your defense a little for the opposition? When the Warriors bust out a lineup of Ronny Turiaf and four shooting guards, chances are, they ain’t pounding it inside, and honestly, having Ronny Turiaf go one on one against Chris Bosh from 8 feet is better in my mind than a wide open Steven Jackson or Marco Belinelli three ball. But, what the hell do I know.

I do know that not having Jermaine O’Neal for most of the game hurt. Even when he was in there you could tell the flu was affecting him - he was moving in slow-motion and shot 1-4 before sitting for good in the second quarter. But with a healthy O’Neal, there’s no way the Warriors can run that 4-guard lineup. Well, actually, they probably still would, but O’Neal and Bosh would have been able to dominate it on the other end. Andrea “Colangelo’s Bane” Bargnani wasn’t terrible in replacing O’Neal (7 points and 6 boards) but he’s just not the inside presence JO is. Alas, the Warriors used a 32-point second quarter to take the lead and the Raps would never take it back.

So, it’s 12-19 and with a likely home loss to Denver tomorrow night, we’re looking at 12-20 heading into 2009. That’s not good folks. I really don’t see the Raps climbing out of it any time soon; yes there have been good signs, but that’s not enough any more. The good signs need to start translating into wins.

Do you realize that in the 2008 calendar year, including playoffs, the Raptors have gone 37-49? 12 games under .500. Wow. That’s brutal for a team that was supposed to be improving (they were 53-36, including playoffs, in the 2007 calendar year). I mean they need to go 29-22 just to get back to .500 by the end of the season. That means a couple winning streaks and no more stretches of three losses in a row. And what signs have pointed to the Raptors being able to do that?

Even with a trade or two, then you’ve got your adjustment period, and chemistry realigning, and by the time that’s done, well… eventually it all just becomes too little, too late, you know?

Anything is possible - after all, no one expected the 06-07 team to go 34-17 once the calendar turned - but the chances of such a run seem less and less likely every day, regardless of any sort of trade or change. Yeah, the schedule eases up a bit; there are no more Pacific trips (although there’s still two Texas road games to come) and the Raps have 28 home games left against 23 road games, but the Raptors haven’t exactly been stellar at home (5-8), have they? No, it’s still a very tough road to travel if the Raps want to make the playoffs, and all the signs so far indicate they won’t be able to do it.

You know, it’s hard to get too upset about a loss to a good team like the Trail Blazers. They’re stacked, and in fact, I feel like they’re better than their record - even though it’s pretty good at 19-12 after beating the Raptors.

Unfortunately, it is frustrating, because once again, the Raps had a big lead - 11 points before a miracle three a the halftime buzzer by Travis Outlaw cut it to eight. It’s also frustrating to think that, heading into the season, our expectations were set high enough to make us think we were in the same class as the Blazers.

But, in the past two months reality has set in and we’ve come to expect that the Raptors don’t have much of a chance against good teams, because, well, they’re not a good team themselves. And although you can clearly say there’ve been improvements - three weeks ago the Raptors were getting blown out of games completely, now at least they’re in them in the first half - it’s not enough to get them back into the race.

So we’re stuck with another middling team in another mediocre season. In other words, it’s hard to get excited or upset about anything at all - they only beat teams worse than them and never beat teams better than them, so where’s the drama?

Of course, we all know the most frustrating thing about the loss was seeing Brandon Roy dominate the fourth quarter like that. 18 points, and most of them very difficult jump shots, the kind of “give me the ball and let me create something from nothing” mindset that none of the Raptors have. And he could have been a Raptor. Sigh. That one play, where he drove left, stumbled, lost the ball, got on his feet, recovered it, and hit a fade-away? No one on the Raptors even has the balls to take that shot. Sigh. That one mistake is haunting us every time we play the Blazers.

(A bit of a tradition for me is watching Lord of the Rings; you know how Boromir and the men of Gondor call the one ring “Isildur’s Bane?” I think I’m going to start calling Bargnani “Colangelo’s Bane.”)

Actually Andrea had his best game in recent memory last night. Slump buster? I’m not holding my breath, but at least he hit some jump shots.

Oh well. The Raps roll into San Fran tonight to take on the Warriors and they’ve got a chance to finish up 3-3 on the trip. That’d be nice since I expected a 1-5 trip. Of course, I expected that “1″ to be against the “Thunder” and losing to them still hurts. A lot. They could have already guaranteed a 3-3 trip by beating the worst team in the league. Alas.

However, I don’t really think 3-3 is going to happen. I’m sure you’ve all noticed, Golden State is virtually impossible to defend - they just run up and shoot. Given the Raptors are one of the worst transition defensive teams I’ve every actually seen play professional basketball, that can be trouble. I mean on most nights you can be assured the Warriors won’t hit a high enough percentage to win, but they’ll get enough layups and open looks tonight to outscore the Raptors.

And even if they don’t shoot that well, the Raptors’ offense isn’t good enough to keep up. I know Golden State is a terrible defensive team but if you’ve seen the Raptors struggle to even get open shots, let alone hit them, then you have to fear that that will continue tonight.

Of course, it is completely possible the Warriors will stink. You never know with this Golden State team. But I don’t believe the Raps have it in them to really step up, and play aggressively enough to take the Warriors out of what they want to do. I just think Golden State will simply run them off the floor and will take it by 19.

Now, one last thing, it’s been brought to my attention in the comments that there will be a protest at Rogers headquarters regarding the TSN2 issue tomorrow, December 30. Now, it’s planned to last all day, which seems a little extreme in this weather, but if you can make it down there and support the guys who’ve put it together, that would be great. Anything to bring some sort of attention to this ridiculous impasse.

I do hope that there is a future protest planned for those morons at MLSE since this is more their fault than anyone else’s (what team signs a television contract where the games are shown on a station that’s not available on cable in their home market?).

Anyway, hopefully tomorrow goes well for these guys, they get some support and maybe some attention. It’s probably a good time to do it, you know this is usually a pretty slow news week so a station like CityTV would likely be able to send a camera crew over. Anything to get some attention and pressure on the parties involved can only help.

Here’s the details:
Tuesday December 30th, 2008
Rogers Building
333 Bloor St. East, Toronto
8 am to 5 pm

There’s a dedicated Facebook group and if you need any more info, you can email Drew at spuddaz@yahoo.com. Good luck to everyone heading down there.

Sorry for missing a couple days, it’s the holidays, time is tight. Besides, what can you say after the Raptors lose to the “Thunder?” One of the biggest embarrassments in the history of this franchise (and, um, there’s been more than a few). Everyone who even remotely follows the NBA knows what an embarrassment that is, so there’s not much point discussing it. And since it wasn’t on TV, well, I don’t have any analysis to offer anyway.

As for the Spurs game, even though it was actually televised I was away all weekend and knew I wouldn’t have time to catch it on the PVR. Looks like the Raps played a little bit better than the previous night, and of course you don’t expect to beat the Spurs in San Antonio, but a loss is still a loss, and when it’s your fifth in a row, well…

But, finally, mercifully, the Raps snapped the skid last night in LA. Thank God for the Clippers! But when you think about it, it makes the “Thunder” game that much more important. How much better would the Raps have felt, going into Christmas, having won 2 of 3 on the road, with the only loss being in San Antonio, a game that they kept close the whole way? This team’s confidence is so shaky, even something like two wins against two of the league’s worst teams would have helped. But I don’t think beating the Clippers can erase the embarrassment of that loss to the “Thunder.”

Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they’re happy to get the win, but what a wasted opportunity that “Thunder” game was.

As for last night, well, hard to put too much stock into it. I didn’t see it since it wasn’t on TV, but the Clippers were without Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman - two guys who have given the Raps trouble in the past - and Zach Randolph missed the fourth quarter with an injury. Naturally Bosh and O’Neal are gonna have good games - or at least, they damn well better - when those guys are out.

Al Thornton struggled after killing the Raps last year. Don’t know if he had a bad game, or the Raps D was responsible, but either way, a bonus for us. Of course, he’s on my fantasy team, but still… I’ll gladly take the hit for a Raps win.

Don’t quite understand why Solomon got the backup minutes over Roko last night. Guess maybe Roko’s struggled in the games I’ve missed? But I’d still rather let him play through his mistakes then have Solomon out there. I’m probably sounding like a broken record saying that. On the surface, at least, he seemed to play OK last night.

Then there’s the two dark spots amongst the brightness. Or, um, more dark spots among the darkness. Whatever. First up, Jason Kapono. Stats in the past six:

21-61 FG (34.4%); 9-23 3FG (39.1%); 1.5 R; 2.1 A; 8.8 PPG

Now, we all know Kapono has some defensive issues, and lots of people love to rip him for it, but I don’t care about that. All I want from Kapono is offense - take shots and make 48%, preferably with about half of those attempts from downtown. Previously, when Sam Mitchell was running the show, we all complained that he wasn’t getting enough shots. Well, now he’s averaging more than 10 a game since the coaching change, which is pretty good for a fourth option on the floor. But his percentages have plummeted in the past six. So what is to blame? Is it just a slump? Well, Mr. J-Killah, time to break out of it because when you’re a shooter, and your shot’s not falling, you’re not bringing much else to the table, my friend.

And finally, we come to the perpetrator of the most heinous Raptor-related crimes recently, Andrea Bargnani. Something has come to the surface recently regarding Andrea.

He stinks.

Like, bad. Really bad. He’s terrible. From all reports - again, not having seen most of the games - he looks like he’s never even played basketball before. I’m not even going to write down the stats.

It’s over. I’ve officially given up on him. It seems everyone else has too, after he got booed at home last week. Shades of Hoffa, anyone?

I think he needs to get buried on the bench. I think Voskuhl and Humphries deserve the backup minutes.

And I think Colangelo needs to trade him, like, right now, because his value is going down every day. Cut the cord, Bryan. Just do it.

As for the rest of the team, I hope last night broke Bosh out of his slump. O’Neal’s really been coming around and if both he and Bosh can get it going at the same time, well, that can only mean more success is coming, right?

Jose has been average, I suppose. I’ve said this a dozen times now, I really wish he’d be a little more aggressive on offense. Overall, I’d have to say he’s been a slight disappointment this year. He hasn’t done anything wrong or bad, but hasn’t done anything exceptionally well, either.

Moon has been a little better lately, although the stats indicate there are still too many threes being launched. Joey Graham threw up a goose-egg last night but overall has played well off the bench.

Anthony Parker continues to struggle, and that’s really disappointing because he’s still one of my favourite players on the team. But it’s not just his shooting, he seems to be making more mistakes with the ball - dribbles out of bounds, bad passes - than I’ve seen from him since he’s been here. He was always the guy who never made mistakes, now he’s just making too many. I hope he turns his season around.

Anyway, it’s Christmas, and I’m happy with last night’s win, regardless of the opponent. I’d love to see them go 2-2 or better to close out the year, and I think it’s possible. And Let’s be honest, if they don’t turn it around now, it’s never gonna happen - being eight or nine games under .500 in January is too deep a hole to climb out of. I hope they get that, and I hope they respond.

Happy Holidays!

Well, what can you say about that one? How about the same thing we said about the one before? It’s like a script, early double-digit lead, give it all back, trail in the fourth, give up key offensive rebounds on stops, and never give yourself a chance to close the gap.

I don’t know what else to say. It’s all going downhill, fast, and now they’re going on a 6-game west coast trip? When they’re 1-6 against the west… and 0-3 on the road. And then we get Denver here at the ACC on December 31. Can you say 10-game losing streak?

If there is any silver lining, it’s that four of these road games feature teams with worse records than ours (the Clippers, Kings, and Warriors each have 7 wins, while the “Thunder” have 2), and the Raps are 9-2 against teams that are currently .500 or worse.

(Yes, sadly, that means we are 1-13 against winning teams. Is that an unbelievable stat or what?)

Given those numbers, 3-3 or even 4-2 on the trip isn’t out of the realm of possibility. But given the way the team has actually played in the past two - according to reports, since the games weren’t televised!!! - doesn’t give me much confidence that they’ll be able to beat even bad teams. Especially on the west coast, where the Raps have not had much success in the past. 0-6 seems like a definite possibility.

It’s shocking to me how easily the Raps have given up these leads. One minute it’s 10; less than 3 minutes later, it’s -2. I mean it’s one thing if a team grinds you down, maybe you miss a couple shots but you make a few, they just make a few more, and gradually, over the course of a quarter, they whittle it down and put themselves in a position to win. No, these Raps give it all back at once and before you know it, we’re the ones who need to grind it out and, well, this team doesn’t have the mental make-up (not to mention the physical players) to do that.

I don’t even know what to think. I mean, it can’t be all bad, right? They must be doing something right if they are getting these double-digit leads in the first place? The rebounding remains a key issue, no surprise there, and although the defense has been better under Triano, we know it can be better yet. I think the most perplexing question of the past few games has to be, why can’t they score in the second half? 41 points against the Nets, 37 against the Mavs. Other teams buckle down in the second half, why don’t we?

As for the other issues from last night… I can’t figure out what the heck is going on with Bosh, the guy is settling for jumpers and when they’re not dropping, he’s not adjusting. Just two foul shots? On a 6-20 night? Geez, even Carter took four free throws on his 0-13 night, and that game was over at halftime - last night’s game was still 71-69 with 10 minutes to go! That’s the time great players start going to the hoop. And for the love of God, Chris… please, let Jose, Jason and AP take the threes, will you? It’s just not working for you, brother.

And with the booing, well, I don’t personally believe in booing the home team except in extreme circumstances, and I don’t think last night qualified as extreme. Yeah, they blew another lead and that’s disappointing, but I don’t think anyone is saying they didn’t show up to play. By all accounts, they played hard, just missed a lot of shots and didn’t execute particularly well on offense. I don’t think it justified a booing, but again, I didn’t see it, so it’s hard to judge.

So what does all that mean? Does it mean they’re simply not good enough, that there’s just not enough talent on the roster? If so, then Colangelo has got to stop sitting on his hands and make something happen. Or is the talent so thin that he can’t even make a deal?

I don’t know anymore. All I know is these are tough times for my team, but as always, I’ll support them through thick and thin. I’ll be realistic about it - as in, I don’t think they’re gonna make the playoffs - but I’ll still support them! Go Raps!

You know, it’s nice to have a team to support, to cheer them on, to believe in them. But sometimes - all too often in these parts - it’s incredibly difficult.

Last night’s game, unseen by the masses of course (hence this less-than-detailed analysis, which really, is more of rant…), was just the latest in a series of bitter disappointments.

Toronto Raptors basketball… where no double digit lead is safe happens.

Of course, it’s the Goddamn Nets again, so it’s even worse. But how in the world does a professional basketball team - any team, I don’t care if you’re the Celtics or the Grizzlies - give up a 23-4 run to start the fourth quarter? At home!? That’s almost inconceivable. How is it even possible to go for more than nine minutes of the fourth quarter without scoring a field goal? What the hell were they doing out there?

I really believed the improved play we’d seen over the past three games was indicative of overall improvements. I had faith that they were finally on the right track. But they betrayed me by choking down the stretch of last night’s game.

It doesn’t help that we have a team of cowards afraid to take shots and make plays in the fourth quarter. And when your knees are wobbling, it’s that much harder to play defense.

Playing not to lose is no way to win, that’s for sure.

Sigh. They did so many things right in that three-game stretch - even in the Hornets game - that I’d really believed they were at a turning point. I thought that confidence would transfer over to exactly the kinds of situations you had last night - a fourth quarter lead with the opposing team making a run - and that confidence would enable them to keep their cool, to execute, to raise their play.

I was wrong. The played exactly like they played through the first 20 games. Scared. Playing not to lose is no way to win, that’s for sure.

Of course, it’s not all their fault. It’s pretty clear now that Colangelo’s failure to get a decent wing player, who can score when needed and can defend his own position, is going to be the death mark stamped on this season’s back.

If we had one guy who could stop some dribble penetration, and not leave our bigs on an island, they might be able to stay home and rebound. And if we had a guy who could create his own shot, when the team struggles on offense, we might have someone to kick-start everyone else by creating something from nothing and getting to the line.

Is Corey Maggette really the answer? Of course not. He’s not much of a defender and he’s not known for swinging the ball or kicking out on drives. And he’s got a bad attitude to boot. But… isn’t he better than what we’ve got? Don’t you think Jermaine and Bosh can keep him in line? Don’t you think it’s possible that, playing in Golden State without a PG, is killing his game? And don’t you think getting ANYTHING for Bargnani would be a bonus?

Sigh. I’m sure BC’s going to make a deal in the near future, but I don’t think it’s going to be for anyone of substance. No one’s giving us something for nothing - and nothing is all we have to offer. So, let’s enjoy the rest of this mediocre season with our mediocre team. Because remember, we’re all fans in the end - and we support our team through thick and thin.

Hard to be too disappointed in yesterday’s loss to the Hornets. They are, obviously, a much better team than the Raptors, and losing to them is expected.

But in a way, you have to feel a little like the Raptors let an opportunity slip away. After all, they kept it close all day, were only one or two shots away from changing the game. And when you consider that the Hornets were without Tyson Chandler, one of those high-energy defensive hustlers who’s a killer on the offensive glass - you know, the exact type of players who gives the Raptors fits - this was probably as good a chance as any for the Raptors to steal a win over a good Western Conference team.

Alas, the Raps got virtually nothing from the wing position on the offensive end, and it killed them in the end. Hardly a shocking story if you’ve watched the Raptors all year long, but considering that they’d gotten good contributions from Moon, Graham and Kapono the past two, and considering Anthony Parker was back in the mix, you had to figure things were finally on the right track. Not just yet it seems.

Moon played well defensively, pulling in another 8 rebounds - great to see him getting back on the glass - and blocking two shots, but he proved his jumper is still as erratic as ever, going just 2-7 and 1-4 from downtown. Still, he helped out a lot on Chris Paul and when the Raps needed a stop with 35 seconds left, he forced Paul into an incredibly tough driving layup that missed. (Naturally, Moon’s teammates didn’t back him and David West got the rebound and that sealed the game. Sigh).

Kapono got a lot of nice looks on the day, but simply couldn’t bury them. I’m not too concerned about this either way - he got two contested-but-good looks in the fourth quarter that would have brought the Raps within three I believe, and there’s not a soul on this team I’d rather have taking the shots. But, he couldn’t get them to drop; it just happens that way sometimes. Of course, unlike Moon, he didn’t do much else on the floor, notching just one board and three assists. And he was consistenly late on defensive rotations - though he wasn’t the only one - and James Posey and Rasual Butler droped in a combined 10 triples.

Rasual Butler… I mean, really. Rasual Butler is beating us with two late fourth-quarter threes and 16 points? Sigh. Good for him, and good on the Hornets for getting a contribution out of him. Naturally, the Raps can’t find quality second-tier players like him, and are forced to recycle duds like Jake Voskhul. Sigh.

As for the other wings, Graham and Parker just couldn’t find a groove and didn’t contribute anything.

Up front, Jermaine O’Neal was solid, with 7-10 shooting for 19 points, along with 7 boards. He was aggressive, which he needed to be; with Chandler out, JO had a big advantage against Hilton Armstrong and he worked it effectively.

But Chris Bosh struggled mightily from the field, going just 6-17, with most of them in the 17-foot range. He was working the drive effectively - he got the line 15 times and finished with 25 points - but when the jumper isn’t falling, he needs to be driving every time. And I know David West is a big, strong presence, but he doesn’t have great defensive footwork and I think with a couple more drives Bosh could have gotten him into some foul trouble, and gotten him out of the game. Alas. I just hope Bosh is keeping notes for next time.

And geez, Chris, if you’re gonna shoot threes - which I wish you wouldn’t, but if you are - at least get your feet set, man. No one’s coming to guard you out there, so you don’t need to rush it.

And our only big off the bench is Andrea Bargnani, and I’m probably beginning to sound like a broken record, but he struggled from the field. 2-7, four points. One board, only 11 minutes played. I wonder if Triano’s patience is wearing out? Those numbers are Jake Voskuh-esque!

Just kidding. Don’t wanna disrespect Jake, he’s been a professional his whole career and having another big on the bench never hurts. And since we’re up to 14 bodies a 2-for-1 style trade is a possibility, so I can’t complain about that.

Anyway, back to yesterday… at the end of the day, you gotta give the Hornets credit. We took away Paul’s ability to get to the hoop very effectively, but every time he kicked out, his teammates hit their shots. The Raptors struggled from the field, and the Hornets didn’t let them get back into it. I thought both teams played OK, but the Hornets were just a bit better, and they got a well-deserved win.

Now, tonight, it’s Vince’s second and final appearance at the ACC this season as the Nets are back in town. Nets played a back-to-back Friday-Saturday, this is a back-to-back for us, so both teams are probably a little tired. Luckily it’s a rare home back-to-back so the Raps got to sleep in their own beds; we’ll see if homecourt advantage has an impact.

Vince bounced back from his 0-13 game with a 33-point game against the Bulls Saturday night in Chicago, but the Nets still lost; they’re on a three-game skid. Raps of course have won two of three and the chance to take three of four is right there. Time to start winning consistently and not just trade wins and losses.

With two games under their belts, these two teams know each other pretty well. Raptors have to stop Harris and Carter and hope the bigs don’t dominate the glass; Nets have to stop Bosh and O’Neal and hope the wings stay cold. I always gave the Nets the big edge in coaching before, as Lawrence Frank always seemed to confuse the Raps with something, but with Triano at the helm, we’ve closed the gaps. I expect the Nets have made adjustments from Friday; previously, I’d expect the Raps to do the same old thing but now, under Jay, I expect some adjustments of our own.

I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw some more of Carter creating from the top, with Harris at a wing spot. That would allow the defense to react to Carter - and, knowing the Raptors, scrambling somewhat - and if he can kick out to Harris, Harris will have a much easier time creating against a defense that isn’t set.

Anyway, that’s just my idea. For the Raps, well, they need to find a way to get Bosh and O’Neal deeper post position; that’ll open the floor up for the shooters and for them. And we need Moon to continue to bring the same energy off the defensive end that he did early Friday.

By all accounts, no one was frustrated or upset after yesterday’s loss, no one was hanging their heads. The Raptors appear to have bought into the new coach and are playing with some renewed confidence. They’ve made some good steps the past week or so. I’m not ready to declare they’re back, but tonight would be another big step forward.

I think the Raps will pull it out at home: Toronto by 11.

Of course, I won’t be able to see the game, thanks to those bungling idiots at MLSE and the greedy bloodsuckers at TSN and Rogers. Fuck you, all of you. You’re a bunch of assholes. I can’t believe you fucking idiots haven’t solved this problem yet. I hope all of your advertisers love the 1800 viewers you get for tonight’s game. Fucking morons.

Well, the Raptors are inching back closer to respectability thanks to two straight wins. No, neither opponent was a world-beater, so it doesn’t make sense to get too excited, but the Nets are above us in the standings, and as I said the other day, wins are wins!

And, as we all know, there was a little extra motivation for last night’s game.

It sure seemed to pay off, as the Raps earned their first blowout win of the year - Chris Bosh and and Jose Calderon got the fourth quarter off! I didn’t see that coming.

As for Vince, you’ve all heard the story by now - 0-13, only 3 pts on 3-4 foul shooting. Hate to blow my own horn, but didn’t I just say he was due for a bad game? Now, maybe, can we stop the “he plays so great against the Raptors!” comments.

To be honest, I was more worried about Devin Harris going into the game than Vince. Harris has been playing so well, and our perimeter defense - especially that of Jose Calderon - had been so weak, I thought Harris would go off. But, credit Jay Triano for giving Harris a multitude of looks - Calderon, the strong Joey Graham and the long Jamario Moon - to keep Harris off-balance. He finished 4-10 for 14 points.

The first half sure was a sloppy affair, with only Bosh really finding a groove; both sides missed a ton of open looks and the combined 74 points at halftime wasn’t pretty.

But Jason Kapono found his groove in the third with three threes and the Raptors sealed the deal early.

For the second straight game the Raptors held an opponent under 35% shooting. Crappy opponents, or good defense? I’d like to think it was a combo of both. I mean, you look at the Pacers and Nets; both were averaging just over 100 points per game going into their contests with the Raps (on 45% shooting) and the Raps held them to 88 and 79 respectively, on 35% and 31% shooting, respectively. So you gotta give the defense some credit.

Credit the Raptors bench, too, for playing well, and not just holding the lead but building it. Raps won every quarter except the ugly third, where each team scored 16. Ukic, Graham and Bargnani all scored in double figures off the pine.

Unfortunately, Bargnani’s 11 came on 10 shots and he only hit two of them (got the rest of his points at the line). He was fine defensively - 11 boards and 4 blocks - but man, he has got to get that jump shot falling. Like last year, he’s rushing everything and nothing he shoots even looks like it has a chance to go in.

Jermaine O’Neal was also a non-factor; 2-9, 2 boards, 2 blocks. Bosh made up for the scoring, at least, going 6-8. But he only had 5 boards as the Raps were once again outrebounded 50-37.

Now, once again - as with the Indy game - the Nets’ low shooting percentage contributes to that number. You miss 57 shots, there’s a lot of offensive boards to be had - and the Nets got 20 offensive boards. At the end of the day, though, a 13-rebound differential is way too high, regardless of the shooting percentages.

So, once again, a quality win. Raps led most of the way, held every Nets run in check, and won going away. A much, much tougher test comes to town tomorrow with the Hornets, but at least these wins should give the Raps some confidence going into that one.

And yes… revenge is indeed, sweet. Thanks for another memorable one, Vince! See ya Monday!

That feels a little better, doesn’t it? I’d almost forgotten what it was like to see the Raptors win.

Now, obviously, you can’t put too much stock into beating the 7-win, last-place Pacers. But when you’re coming off five straight losses, any win will do and besides, beating the teams you’re “supposed to beat” is the first step to becoming a good team.

So I’d hardly call it a great win, but it’s a start.

Most important thing the Raptors did last night, in my mind, was hold the lead. We’ve seen them blow enough double-digit leads this year to never feel safe, but the Raptors actually won every quarter - first time all year they’ve done that. The Pacers made a few small runs but the Raptors never let anything get out of hand.

Coach Jay Triano - picking up his first win, congrats - has said that a defensive priority would be to pack in the middle, taking away drives and easy baskets and making opponents beat them from the outside. That strategy seemed to work last night; the Raptors tried to take away the paint any time Marquis Daniels and TJ Ford drove the lane, and the Pacers shooters couldn’t connect from long range on the kick-outs. Of course, the Pacers still scored 34 points in the paint, so there’s still some work to be done; and you can’t expect all teams to shoot as poorly from range as the Pacers did (7-25 from three). But, it appears there is a system in place, and it appears that the Raptors might be starting to “get it.” Let’s see if it carries over to the Jersey game…

Rebounding was again an issue last night; the Pacers pulled down 18 offensive boards, and outrebounded the Raps 52-47. Now, give that an asterisk because the Pacers only shot 35% and missed 62 shots - a lot more opportunities for offensive boards than the Raptors, who only missed 41 of their 81 shots. But Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster - as expected - were dominant on the glass, with a combined 32. The Raptors simply need to box out better. And that’s on everybody - I saw Bosh fail to box out, and I saw Ukic leak out too soon. Top to bottom, every single player on this team needs to improve their rebounding efforts. As they’ve proven already this season - all too often - you won’t get many wins if you don’t hit the glass.

While Murphy and Foster were bringing their usual scrappiness, I have to say, I was particularly unimpressed with Danny Granger last night. This is a guy I thought was making “the leap” this year. I thought he had taken his game to the next level with a nice mix of inside and outside stuff. But he started out settling for long jumpers, and when they weren’t dropping… he continued settling for long jumpers. I thought he’d mix it up, find another way to get into the groove, but he didn’t look at all interested in the game. In fact, he looked like Bosh has looked for the past two weeks - disinterested and unmotivated. If he’d bother to read a scouting report, he’d know Jamario Moon jumps on every head fake he sees, but only once did I see him use one. He still led the Pacers with 22, but he was only 9-25 from the field - and 3-11 from downtown - and had just two foul shots, and no assists or steals. Just an energy-less performance.

As for Bosh, well, he coasted a bit last night as he’s been doing, but I’m pretty sure I also saw some pick and rolls with him and Jose, where he got the ball at the elbow, face-up - that’s where I like to see him get it. I also saw a number of times where he fought for good post position but the Raptors didn’t get him the ball. Is it just me, or is this team terrible at making entry passes to the post? Still, when he did have the ball, Bosh had some drives and some jumpers (most straight-up, not fadeaways), and thankfully, no three-point attempts. All in all, a decent game, and hopefully, one that gets him back on track.

Now, obviously, the big story last night - aside from the win - was actual, real, tangible wing play. Don’t laugh, I’m serious! The Raptors got production from the 2 and 3 spots!

Moon started in place of Bargnani - I for one didn’t see that coming - and he played his best game of the season. 17 points on 7-12 shooting, with 8 rebounds and that monster put-back dunk that was probably a goaltend. I can’t believe how high Moon was on that play. Meanwhile, although Granger coasted most of the game, Moon deserves a little credit for Granger’s 9-25 - he was getting a hand up and not making the shots easy ones.

Now, it wasn’t all great; while Moon had a couple of drives, I did feel like he settled for too many jumpers on the night. For once they were going in but until he starts hitting the 15-20 footer consistently, I’ll be cringing every time he rises up.

Kapono, meanwhile, started for an injured Anthony Parker, and played HIS best game of the season. 11-16, 3-7 from downtown, and he really mixed it up with some runners and floaters. He also pulled down eight rebounds! Yes, Marquis Daniels beat him to the rack on several occasions (finishing with 21) but Kapono was… adequate on defense. Hey, as long as he’s outscoring his counterpart, he’s doing his job!

Finally, our man Joey Graham proved yet again who is the superior Graham, with 12 points and a number of aggressive drives to the hoop. Stephen, meanwhile, didn’t score and picked up two offensive fouls in 8 minutes of play. I’d like to see Joey get more rebounds - only 2 in 25 minutes - but he played smart, under control, aggressive ball, which is exactly what we need from him.

Finally, we come to the men of the hour, Jose Calderon and TJ Ford. Ford was a non-factor; really, there just isn’t much to say. 2-8, 4 points, 4 assists. Calderon wasn’t at his best either, but he was solid - 11 points, 14 assists, and the dagger three to seal the victory.

As for the other tradees, Jermaine O’Neal and Rasho Nesterovic, Jermaine had a quiet 10-9 while Rasho had an even quieter goose egg (with 3 boards).

On the night it looks like the Raptors won the trade but really, none of the four was a big factor in the outcome. It was mainly decided by the wings. Graham, Kapono and Moon finished 22-35 for 55 points, while Granger, Daniels and Brandon Rush combined were 19-50 for 49. It’s been a long, long time since our wings outplayed anyone else’s. Lots of room for improvement, but good job, fellas.

Of course, not every Raptor got lifted by the good vibes. Andrea Bargnani had possibly his worst game of the season, notching a big fat zero in the points column. Four shots, four rebounds, four fouls, three turnovers. Looked completely lost on offense, like he had no idea where to go or what to do. Some of it’s on the coaches, no doubt; please, somebody, define this kid’s role and find some way for him to contribute! I note that he didn’t get much an opportunity to showcase his improved D last night, as he was playing against Rasho and Foster who don’t look to score much. But four fouls and four boards indicate he wasn’t exactly at the top of his game. Just really, really, disappointed in him the past couple of weeks. I really thought his improved play earlier in the year meant he was going to start finally reaching that elusive potential. Well, shame on me for believing. He fooled us all again.

Thankfully, the Raps didn’t need him last night. But overall they do need him. If he keeps having games like that, the Raptors aren’t going to win many.

So, anyway, not a great win, but a win nonetheless. The Raptors needed it. Is it the start of something special? Has “The Turnaround” begun? We’ll find out on Friday. A road win - they haven’t had a quality road win since… well, I guess maybe since the very first game of the year, at Philly? They’ve also beaten Charlotte on the road, but it’s Charlotte, and Miami, but they came thisclose to blowing that one.

Anyway, a road win in Jersey - a measure of revenge - would go a long way to restoring a little more of my faith in this team.

It was to be expected, I suppose, the floundering Raptors getting blown out by the undefeated-at-home Cavs. But still… there’s a part of you that hopes your team will at least make a game of it. I guess that was foolish of me. Like Eomer said in The Two Towers, “Do not trust to hope… it has forsaken these lands.”

Much has been said of Bosh in all the post-game reports, so I don’t need to go into the details. Besides, you’d have to be blind not to see it: He’s just not bringing it right now. I don’t know what the problem is, and I don’t really care - it simply needs to be solved. This team is absolutely nothing if Chris Bosh is not involved. He needs to get his head on straight, the coaches and guards need to get him the ball in spots where he can succeed, and he needs to get back to averaging 25 and 10. Anything less and this team won’t win another game for a long, long time.

It would appear Bargnani has fully regressed to his 2007-08 form on offense. He can barely get involved (only seven shots) and can’t hit what he takes (3 makes, and of the four misses, “not even close” would be generous). He couldn’t even get it going in garbage time! And only three rebounds? Not acceptable. Not only that, but as I mentioned yesterday, playing at the SF spot is taking away some of his defensive improvements. Of course he can’t guard SFs. Get him back to coming off the bench and playing against bigs. Joey Graham (leading scorer last night) deserves to start.

Incidentally, and nothing against Joey Graham, but when he’s your leading scorer you know your team is in trouble. And if Joey being high man doesn’t tell you something, how about this stat: only one - one! - Raptors starter scored in double figures, and that was Jose’s 14. 48 points combined from five starters… that’s just brutal. Especially considering how crappy the bench is. Not gonna win many games like that.

Jermaine O’Neal, six turnovers… that’s not right. Some of the blame to the guards for not getting him the ball in the right spots, but geez… gotta take care of the rock, guys.

I really like Jack Armstrong, but he was giving the Cavs too much credit for their “defensive intensity” in the third quarter. They weren’t “playing the passing lanes to perfection” - they were just playing the basic deny man-to-man defense that you learn in high school. It was simply that the Raptors threw about four straight incredibly lazy passes. A ninth-grade team could have intercepted those passes. It was a disgusting display.

Ukic played some good ball, though shame on Delonte West and Mo Williams for being all up in his grill; I realize there probably isn’t much of a scouting report on him yet, but the one thing the report should say is “can’t shoot.” So why crowd him? Even marginal NBA players can score a layup. Ah well, I won’t complain, a game like that, even if it is garbage time, can only help his confidence.

While I’m still making up my mind on Triano as a head coach, he’s losing a lot of respect every time he puts Will Solomon in the game. He can’t play. It’s as simple as that. He’s a shorter Hassan Adams, and if Adams can’t get off the bench, Solomon shouldn’t either.

Triano’s now had three games and the Raptors have played a total of three good quarters (the second last night, and the first and fourth on Sunday). I know that’s an incredibly small sample size, and it’s against good teams… but of the remaining nine quarters, I’d say about three were average or slightly below, and two were garbage time. The other four? First and third last night, first and second against Utah? Some of the most pathetic efforts I’ve ever seen. I can accept average, but I can’t accept that piss-poor lack of effort.

A few more quarters like that, and it’s going to be apparent that a lot of people - myself included - were wrong, and Sam Mitchell had nothing to do with the team’s lack of effort this year. It’s going to start falling on the players, and on the GM who brought them here (and who, thanks to his own short-sightedness, can’t get them out)

It should at least be clear now - Sunday’s game was not the start of something good, it was catching a good team when they were tired. And they still beat us.

It’s not looking good. I thought the Raps would go 7-9 this month, leaving them at 15-17 on January 1 - still in the thick of things, with time to get better. But that’s looking far-fetched, isn’t it? 4-12 seems more likely at this point…

A 12-20 mark heading into January? The playoffs are getting farther and farther away. I mentioned it on November 25 - the Raptors were in danger of missing the playoffs - and that feeling has only gotten worse in the past two weeks. I’m now wondering if they’ll win 30 games.

I keep footnoting those statements with disclaimers like “they can still turn it around, it’s sports, anything can happen, it’s why we watch,” etc. But if that turnaround doesn’t come soon, I fear I’m going to have to stop putting those disclaimers on.