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!

Tonight, the Raptors welcome the Dallas Mavericks to town. You may note the Mavs have won 7 of their last 10; meanwhile the Raps have lost 7 of their last 10, and they boast a stellar 1-5 record against Western Conference teams.

Oh, wait, one more stat: Mavs are second in the league in rebounding. Raptors are second last.

Let’s just say: I’d take the road team tonight if I were you.

I’m curious to see this Mavericks team. Nowitzki has apparently been playing great of late, they’ve got a promising youngster in Jose Barea, Jason Terry’s playing solid, and I really want to see if Kidd looks more comfortable than he did last season.

Oh, wait, I don’t get to watch this game? It’s not on TV? Right, I forgot, the Toronto Raptors don’t show all their games IN TORONTO. Have I mentioned what kind of morons they have working at MLSE? That’s right, fucking morons. That’s the kind.

Anyway, I’m not going to waste too much time on this one. If one thing is clear this season, it’s that the Raptors can’t beat teams that are “better” than them, and I don’t think anyone is disputing the Mavs are better. In fact, the Raps don’t even usually show up against teams that are better than them. So it’ll be a Raptors loss, probably by about 23 points or so.

On much more interesting topics, how about those trade rumours? Good times, huh? As if Shawn Marion is the answer this team needs… give me a break. Oh, how about the Antoine Walker rumour? The guy lost his game about three years ago, for God’s sake! And he wasn’t that great to begin with! How, in what conceivable way, would Antoine Walker help this team!?

Marion, you could at least make an argument for. He rebounds, which we need, he defends, and he runs the floor, which we’re trying to do. I just don’t know if he fits in, or if he’ll ever get back to the level he was in Phoenix - Nash makes a lot of guys look better than they are. Still, what do the Raps have that the Heat want? I don’t think I’m ready to give up on Jermaine O’Neal, and outside of him, the Raps would have to give up half their roster (which I’m not opposed to, by the way, but our roster is pretty thin as it is) to match salaries with Marion. I don’t see that one happening.

I anticipated a trade would happen this week, and I’m a little disappointed it hasn’t. I guess it still could, but I assumed it would happen on the 15th or 16th. As I said before, I didn’t think anything major was going down, but I thought SOMETHING was gonna happen. Oh well. As long as it isn’t signing Antoine Walker…!

Well, it looks like the Raptors are reverting back to the good old days! Except it wasn’t that long ago - a mere two seasons - and there was nothing good about them.

Those halcyon days saw the Raptors regularly play a great half or even three quarters, and routinely squander games late by settling for jump shots and not getting back on defense. In fact, I remember one game in which they blew a 24-point lead in Dallas, watched Jason Terry stroll down the lane for a game-tying jumper, then sat idly by as Dirk Nowitzki destroyed them in overtime.

Yesterday’s game was a little different… the Raps didn’t bother waiting until the fourth to give Dallas the game. They decided in the third that they didn’t need to play defense anymore, and let The Diggler score 12 points in what seemed like 12 seconds to close out the quarter (it was actually more like 2 minutes, but still). The Raptors yielded 38 points in the frame - 38!! - and were down 7 going into the fourth, after leading by 14 at the half. Rather than fight back, they rolled over and didn’t show a single ounce of fight the entire rest of the game. I could barely watch.

The sad thing is that Dallas didn’t play a great defensive game and - much like the Warriors game - it seemed right there for the taking in the fourth. With just a little more determination, one or two more hustle plays or trips to the line, the Raptors could have won this game! But it seems any time a team makes a run on them, the Raptors don’t know how to respond.

Meanwhile Sam Mitchell continues to tinker with his lineup and rotation, a move that frustrates both fans and players alike! Fantastic. Why can’t he just stick to a rotation, like every other good NBA team? Why is Bargnani suddenly starting… I mean, I thought he should have been starting since Rasho has been out, but Mitchell went with Baston. Baston played OK in those two games… but didn’t play at all last night. Jamario Moon, who’s been playing OK, nothing special, played 35. 35!? He’s 6-19 from the floor the last three games! Carlos Delfino, meanwhile, the Raps best bench player all season (I don’t really consider Jose Calderon a bench player since I consider he and Ford interchangeable) played a mere 13 minutes. Dixon didn’t play at all. And Bargnani started out on fire, then sat for WAY too long… yet was left in when struggling in the second half. Why isn’t there a consistent rotation? No one was in foul trouble last night, no one played poorly on offense and everyone was equally inept on defense in the third. I don’t get it. NBA players need to know their roles. They need to know when their minutes are coming.

Anyway, I don’t know what else there is to say. It was a blown opportunity, just like Sunday against Golden State. You just can’t squander late leads like that.

The Raps need a win tonight in Memphis. The Grizz are off to an even slower start than the Raps, but it’s not like the Raps ever play well against them, having lost 8 of the last nine and not having won in Memphis since 2002. Good times.

At least it looked - for a little while - last night like the Raptors might be breaking out of their offensive slump. If they can keep that up for 48 minutes (heck, even 36 might do it) and if they play good transition defense against Memphis’ young athletes, they should be OK. Raps by 10.