Hey, a win! A big one, too. And against that dreaded two-headed TJ Ford/Rasho Nesterovic monster!

How annoying is it that the last Raptors game, even though it was a loss, was a fantastic basketball game against a good team – but not on TV, and this game, a win, but a thoroughly boring blowout win over another underachieving team – was on CBC and probably seen by the most people? Figures, right?

Oh well. Always nice to see your team win, and even though it was a blowout, there were some exciting moments, courtesy Shawn Marion and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Fast forward to the third quarter, Raps leading but the game is still pretty back and forth. Then Bargnani hauls in a rebound, takes one dribble, and throws a lead pass (it’s true, it happened!) to a streaking Marion. I’m assuming we’ve all seen Danny Granger get destroyed by the Matrix by now; if not, youtube it, and agree with me that it was the most sensational dunk the Raps have seen since Air Canada was patrolling the skies. I know Joey’s had a couple nice slams and even Bosh has posterized a couple guys, but man, that was an absolutely sick display of hops from Marion. He simply obliterated Granger on the play; I actually felt embarrassed for the guy.

Marion had an alley-oop on the next play and PMB kept things jumpin’ with more hustle than we’ve seen from the anyone on this team in the last 22 months, and the rout was on. All in all, the Raps outscored Indy 37-19 in the period and never looked back.

Doug Smith mentioned this morning that Pops’ play might actually be driving up his price – out of the Raptors’ pay range. He might be right. Five games, 18.6 minutes, 7.6 points, 8.6 boards? Granted, his team has a 1-4 record, he’s missed 18 of 30 shots and has notched a total of one assist. But he’s also taken charges, played hard on defense, and hustled after every ball. Naturally, you say “you can’t make a judgment on five games!” but you know how this league works. Show even an ounce of potential, and someone will offer you a million dollars. If he averages 6 and 8 the rest of the way, and keeps hustling like that, this summer someone will offer him a two-year, $5 million deal. They’ll say, “if he can develop any sort of offensive game besides cleaning up misses, and can stay out of foul trouble, he could average a double-double!” And they may be right.

Hopefully, playing for the Raps will keep his success obscure, and the economy will keep his value down. I would love for him to be here next year – he is bringing everything this team has been missing – but I really don’t want to overpay for him!

As for the rest of the team, Bosh was frustrating to watch yesterday, as he went through the motions on offense. He settled for jumper after jumper, watching each one clang off the rim; he finally went inside, got a dunk and a short jump hook… then went back to clanging jumpers. What the hell, man? Indy’s got no one that can guard you! Take it to them, especially when the J is off! Sigh. Luckily Bargnani (27, on 9-11) took up the slack. Great game from Il Mago, still recovering from the flu.

Meanwhile, Jose Calderon had his second great game in a row, leading everyone to cry, “if only he’d been healthy all year, this team would be so much better!” Who knows if that’s true, and besides, I still see no reason why that hamstring hasn’t healed. Oh wait, I know the reason: we have the worst medical staff in the league. (I notice Jermaine O’Neal, who could barely stay on the floor for us, hasn’t missed a game and is playing 31 minutes a night for the Heat. I rest my case). If any changes are made this summer, I hope “new medical staff” is at the top of the list. Anyway. I really do enjoy watching Calderon play when he’s mixing up the drives and the jumpers. He’s so much more effective, and even if his defense is weak, he at least makes the opposing PG pay on the other end. I hope he keeps it up.

Anyway. It’s back to action tonight against the suddenly-superior Charlotte Bobcats. Larry Brown is turning that team around folks; they’re a game-and-a-half out of the playoffs and will likely break the franchise record for wins (a dubious 33). We could put a serious dent in those playoff hopes with wins tonight and Friday; but the Bobcats have strengths at many of our weakest spots. They penetrate and kick, they have some rebounders, they hustle. We don’t do those things, not often anyway, and we don’t stop other people from doing them to us.

Still, talent wise, these teams are on even ground. This could actually be an entertaining game, and lo and behold, it’s actually on TV! Prediction, hmm… well, I think the teams will split these two meetings, and Charlotte will take it tonight, by 9.

Tags: Charlotte Bobcats, Indiana Pacers, Toronto Raptors

Well, last night’s lacklustre effort hardly seems worth writing about. Yeah, they teased us with a fun comeback before Jason “Travelin’ Man” Kapono walked away with it, but to get down 24 after three quarters? Pathetic.

As the Raptors have struggled this season, I’ve wrestled with one question in my mind. Actually, there’ve been many questions, but one key one is this:

When does “there’s still time to turn it around” become “it’s too late to turn it around?”

You can never say never in pro sports, that’s for sure. Plenty of strange things have happened.

But barring something miraculous, unexpected, divine, whatever you want to call it, I think this moment, right now - the halfway point of the season, with the Raptors nine games under .500 - we have officially reached the “it’s too late” point.

It’s over.

Think about it. 16-25, with 41 games to go. That means a 24-17 record just to get to 40 wins, which is probably what will be required of the 8th playoff seed.

Given the Raptors’ play this season, do you - does anyone - think that is possible? Again, “anything is possible” but don’t forget another saying: “you are what your record says you are.” The Raps are a sub-par eastern conference team. They have one three-game winning streak all season, and four streaks of three or more losses. There’s simply zero evidence to suggest that this team can go on the sort of winning streak it requires to climb out of a nine-game hole. The team is too inconsistent, doesn’t defend or rebound well enough, to string wins together.

The Raptors won’t win 40 games and they won’t make the playoffs. Heck, even if they do win 40 and sneak in, by all accounts this season is an abject failure. The expectations, I believe, were 48 wins and a playoff round victory. So 40 wins and a playoff loss are still a failure.

For whatever reason - whether it was his own stubbornness or the lack of a good offer - Bryan Colangelo did not make a deal that could push the team to the next level. It was clear after Triano lost 8 of his first 10 games that Sam Mitchell wasn’t the issue - it was the talent on the roster. Yet Colangelo didn’t make a move to fix it. You can claim “patience” if you like, but you’d think a “basketball genius” like Colangelo would realize that a roster whose four best players are three power forwards and a point guard - along with the worst collection of wing players in the NBA - wasn’t going to win many games.

I know, hindsight is 20/20. Nevertheless, it shouldn’t take 40 games to realize the roster isn’t good enough - after 24 it was clear, and a move should have been made right away.

Now, it’s too late. Even a JO for Shawn Marion trade - which, even though I don’t like Marion in general, looks it would be perfect for both teams - would be too little too late.

Nine games under .500! I still can’t believe it’s gotten this bad. And the thing is, the schedule doesn’t really get better until after the all-star break. Before then, the Raps play Phoenix, Altanta, Detroit, Chicago, Sacramento, Jersey, Milwaukee, Orlando, Cleveland, the Lakers, New Orleans, Memphis, Minnesota, and San Antonio. That stretch encompasses two three-game road trips. How many of those are realisitically winnable? Four, maybe five? Even if we go 6-8 that leaves us a record of 22-33. 11 games under at the all-star break? Yeah, this thing just isn’t happening.

It’s a shame because all of this only makes Chris Bosh’s decision in 2010 a lot easier. In fact, he basically gets off scott-free - he may decide to bolt but no one will blame him, as the team didn’t add any talent around him. This isn’t a McGrady situation, where he leaves just as the team is getting good because he wants to get his own. This isn’t a Carter situation, where the team signed all the guys he wanted and then he complained it wasn’t good enough. This is Colangelo’s team, and Bosh signed his last extension with the understanding Colangelo would improve the roster. He hasn’t; all he’s done is add players that play the same position! So who can blame Bosh for leaving? Not me.

So, we get to struggle through, will miss the playoffs and end up picking, what, 10th, in a weak draft? A no-impact player who’s gonna sit on our roster taking up cap space. Great.

Meanwhile, without an O’Neal trade, we’ll still be over the cap in the summer, with a huge hole at shooting guard (Parker, Graham and Moon will all be free agents, although Graham has a team option). There’ll be about an 8-million dollar gap between the payroll level (about $64 mil) and the luxury tax (probably around $72 million), so the Raptors can use their MLE on someone, but are they going to get a starting two-guard for that, and fill out the bench (Solomon and Voskuhl will also be gone). Now, I believe we can bring Delfino back (as a restricted free agent, we can sign him to whatever and still have the full MLE) but either way, the team won’t go over the cap level, so… replace Parker with Delfino, the minimum salary scrubs with other minimum salary scrubs… and essentially, you’ve got the same team next year that you have this year.

Here’s some Report Cards on how they’ve done and what we can hope to see going forward:

Andrea Bargnani: C
Has been awesome this month. But, was completely awful in December, after being average in November. So, overall, just average. Big question is, can he stay on track and improve and not backslide? Right now, he looks like the starting center of the future, no doubt about it. Please, Andrea, keep it up.

Chris Bosh: C+
Unbelievable first month, underwhelming second month, great third month. Regardless of play, not producing wins, and that’s what franchise players do. Needs to develop some sort of go-to move if we’re going to keep giving him the ball down by 2 with 10 seconds left.

Jose Calderon: C
Still takes care of the ball exceptionally well and gives it to guys in good position to succeed. But overall, has not performed at the same level he was at last year. His shooting percentages are down and he is not as aggressive, doesn’t turn the corner on the PNR the way he did last year. Hopefully that’s due to his injury problems, and it’ll come around. He’s potentially the second-best offensive player on the team, he needs to assert himself more on that end - especially if he continues to be a liability on the defensive end.

Jermaine O’Neal: B
When he’s been out there, Jermaine has been pretty solid. Other than a few instances where he’s forced his offense unnecessarily, his shots have been decent, and defensively, he’s done, well, about as well as anyone can when the perimeter is a giant sieve. You certainly can’t question his effort or passion when he’s on the floor. If only he could STAY on the floor! Mr. Glass just gets injured way too easily. If it’s true that he’s been helping Andrea out in practice, and that he’ll come off the bench (for now) as was reported this week, then I have even more respect for him. Still don’t understand why he can’t sit with the team on the bench, though.

Jamario Moon, Joey Graham, Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono: F
Collectively, the worst corps of swingmen in the NBA. Moon is a slasher who settles for jumpers, Kapono is a shooter who tries to slash. Joey has had good flashes, but still makes too many mistakes. Parker gives his all but has clearly lost a step; he’d be a great sixth or seventh man, the James Posey type role, only he’s the only capable guy in the whole group so he’s got to start, and is asked to do more than what is reasonable for a player his age and caliber. Thankfully, only Kapono is under contract next year, but can they find anyone decent to replace the rest? This has been the Raptors’ Achilles heel the past two-and-a-half years.

Kris Humphries, Jake Voskuhl: D
Everyone keeps expecting Hump to embrace his role as board-crasher / body banger, but he seems insistent that he’s got more offensive game than he really does. Hopefully, Voskuhl is teaching him that effort and scrappiness will get you the PT. Hump will be back next year; will he get it by then? Until he does, he’ll be 10th man. If he embraces the role, and plays within himself, he could be a solid contributor. Voskuhl has committed some hard fouls, and, um, well… that’s about it. But, that’s his role, he knows it, and plays it well.

Roko Ukic: A
The most (only?) pleasant surprise on the team. I expected very little from him this season, but he’s exceeded those expectations 100-fold. He still can’t shoot and he’s gotta learn some tricks for finishing at the rim. But he’s fast, tall, has good defensive fundamentals, and, most important for a young PG, has confidence in himself and his abilities - he’s not intimidated and doesn’t back down from anyone. He’s the only Raptor who consistently takes the ball strong to the hoop - even though the only scouting report out there on him is “lay off and make him shoot,” he still finds a way to get there. Another thing that’s impressed me, he doesn’t pick up his dribble under pressure and he never stops moving, which are two regular rookie PG mistakes - they get pushed into traps when they slow up. If he develops that jumper, he’ll be, at the least, a very good backup PG in the NBA. If he develops range, puts on strength to finish at the hoop, and continues to develop his court sense? Well then the sky’s the limit.

Will Solomon: D
Has been marginally better the past three games, which amounts to “not making me want to stick my head in the oven,” but hey, progress is progress. The problem is that he regularly makes the wrong decision - drives when he should shoot, shoots when he should pass, picks up his dribble, misses the open man, waits too long for the entry, passes to the wrong man… etc. Even that ridiculous haircut is a terrible decision. Hey, for about the same price we could have had the original NBA fauxhawk, Damon Jones, and he would have been much better. Alas.

Hassan Adams: F
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. He won’t be missed.

Nathan Jawai: N/A
Obviously, you can never expect too much from a second-round pick, but it would be nice to see him play. Also, would have been nice for the Raptors to give him a physical before signing him to a two-year contract… sigh. But that’s not his fault, and he gets credit for being with the team every day (unlike say, Jermaine O’Neal) and, from all accounts, working hard to get into shape. Here’s hoping he gets some garbage time minutes in the final two months of the season.

Overall, those grades are low and maybe the individual performances aren’t that bad. But this is a team and the only thing that really matters is winning, and this team isn’t doing that so everyone has to be held accountable.

So, yes, I’m very disappointed in the team’s play this season and not too optimistic about the future. The next 41 games might be a real drag, at least without a trade to spice things up.

But, at the end of the day, as always, I’ll support the team through thick and thin! And I’ll never support tanking; winning is the only thing that matters. So, let’s go Raps! Get out there and win some more games!

Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Indiana Pacers, Jermaine O'Neal, Toronto Raptors

Tonight the Raptors take their first trip to Indiana to take on TJ Ford and the Pacers. As I indicated the last time these two met, it’s pretty clear to say the trade has been a bit of a wash; neither team is better than they were before the trade. You could argue that, although the Pacers have the worse record, the Raptors had the higher expectations and thus appear to be worse… but either way, both teams have struggled.

Not that I’m saying the new players are to blame. It’s not O’Neal’s fault that the Raptors don’t have a wing player and it’s not TJ’s fault the Pacers can’t defend the paint. But both players have missed time due to injuries (big surprise) and probably haven’t had the impact their teams hoped they would.

But all that aside, these are a couple of teams that need to go on winning streaks, starting now, if they have any dream of getting back into the playoff race. The Raptors remain 3 full games back of Philly - who has won five straight - for the oh-so-coveted eighth playoff spot, and Indy is a game-and-a-half behind the Raps.

Suffice to say, these teams are running out of time.

Injury-wise, Toronto still doesn’t have Jose Calderon, and O’Neal, if he plays, is likely to come off the bench in limited minutes. Meanwhile, while Indiana finally appears to be healthy. Indiana got Mike Dunleavy back last week and he looks to be starting again; he’s averaged 15/5 since his return from a knee injury. TJ Ford is back after a back and a groin injury, and in a somewhat familiar turn of events… is no longer starting. Jarrett Jack has been getting the nod. How long will TJ sit still for this? Really, I wish I had been paying closer attention because I’d love to see if this plays out like it did last year with TJ and Jose.

With all their bodies, the Pacers are a fairly deep team and as we know, the Raps are thin when completely healthy. Give the Pacers a huge depth advantage here.

Up front, Bosh and Bargnani (and O’Neal, if he’s not too rusty) should still have an advantage over the Pacers front line. I love Rasho, obviously, but Troy Murphy is not a great defender and even though Jeff Foster always has great games against us, he shouldn’t be able to hang with our faster bigs. The key is gonna be for our guys to keep the Pacers off the glass. Murphy cleaned more glass than a maid in a house of mirrors last time these two teams played; we need to win that battle to stay in it.

I think Danny Granger had a terrible outing in the teams’ last meeting but I expect that to change tonight. His scoring is now over 26 a game. Who’s going to slow him down? No one but himself and the Raps can’t expect him to have another off day… but hoping he’ll toss up another dud is basically all we’ve got.

Frankly, I’m not looking forward to this game at all. I think the Pacers are gonna blow the Raptors away. Now that they’re healthy, their strengths - wing scoring from Granger and Dunleavy, scrappy rebounding from Murphy and Foster - are our exact weaknesses. We can’t guard the wing and we can’t rebound. That’s a regular disaster right there.

Pacers by 15.

Tags: Indiana Pacers, Jermaine O'Neal, TJ Ford, Toronto Raptors

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.

Tags: Chris Bosh, Indiana Pacers, Jermaine O'Neal, TJ Ford, Toronto Raptors

TJ Ford, Jermaine O’Neal, big trade, first game, Ford-Jose, blah blah blah. We know all about that and I blogged about the reception I expect TJ will get before (a likely mixture of boos and cheers, when it should be, in my opinion, all cheers) and while it makes for nice drama, it doesn’t matter one damn bit tonight.

If both teams were playing well and in the thick of it, I’d love the added drama. But both teams need a win in a big way so I really don’t give a crap about the rest. Winning is all that matters.

And besides, we all know the real matchup we want to see is Stephen Graham vs. Joey Graham!!

Seriously, looking at these two teams, you have to think that realistically the Pacers are actually better on paper than the Raptors. They’ve got a good point guard (obviously), but also a solid back-up in Jarrett Jack. There’s Danny Granger, who’s blossoming into an all-star. They’ve got Troy Murphy and Jeff Foster, who are pests around the glass (and Murphy can shoot, too). They’ve got our old friend Rasho Nesterovic, still solid in the middle, with 10 points and 5.4 boards in 25 minutes. Somehow, Marquis Daniels has resurrected his career, to the tune of 16 points and 6 boards a game as the starting 2-guard. And, they’re still missing Mike Dunleavy with some kind of knee trouble.

In other words, they’ve surrounding their budding star, Granger - who is capable of creating his own shot - with actual NBA talent. Actual NBA talent that has beaten both the Lakers and Celtics, and took the Celts to overtime last game before losing on Sunday.

Meanwhile we’ve got three quality NBA players in Bosh, O’Neal, and Calderon, and they’re all struggling. None of them can create their own shot. And the rest of our roster is a mess. We’re on a five-game losing streak with a point differential of minus-20.

All right, all right, I’ll stop taking shots at the roster, it’s getting tired. It’s not good. We all know it.

No word yet on whether or not Jay Triano switches Bargnani out of the starting lineup; I wasn’t sure yesterday if this was the right move, but today - after watching Bargnani struggle to do anything productive even in garbage time - I’m pretty damn close to calling Joey Graham’s number. In fact I may have down so this morning but I was still kinda fuming from the game and not really in my right mind. Look at the numbers it seems clear that Joey’s earned it… But I still hesitate because we’ve all seen enough “bad Joey” to know this might be a huge mistake.

Still, anyone can see that Bargnani can’t guard threes. At least it’s Graham’s natural position. No one knows what the hell Bargnani is, but it’s becoming clear, it’s not a three.

And with Humphries still sidelined, doesn’t it make sense to keep Bargnani on the bench to back up JO and Bosh? I dunno… I fully understand the “play your best five guys” mindset… but it doesn’t appear to be working right now. How long do you stick with it?

Now, I know Triano is installing his new offense, and I like a lot of the movement that we see out of guys like Parker and Kapono. But you can’t forget the pick and roll. It shouldn’t be used every play, obviously, as it was earlier this year, but you can’t deny that Chris and Jose are effective out of it. So even though we need new things on offense, I’d still like to see those two in the pick and roll a few times a game. We need to get Chris going and the pick and roll is a way to do that. The play itself was never bad, but the amount we were using it was. So don’t throw the play away “just because.”

And when you consider that Murphy isn’t a great defender, Bosh should have an advantage there.

Rebounding continues to be an issue for the Raptors. I just don’t understand why they don’t box out. I know it’s “easy to say, harder to do” but come on… this is basic basketball, and you know, basic common sense - as Jack pointed out yesterday, a long shot from the left corner is likely going to bounce long right. So be prepared on that side! (Joey wasn’t in this case yesterday). And it’s not like we’re running a small lineup out there! Box out, for fuck’s sake.

I spoke earlier of “The Turnaround.” I’m capitalizing it now because it’s that important. We need something to swing our way, and we need it to last for a decent stretch, and we need it soon. Even a four wins/two losses stretch over the next six games would do, just to give the team - and its fans - some confidence.

If The Turnaround started against TJ and the Pacers, well, that would be just a little sweeter, wouldn’t it?

You know what, fuck the negativity. We may be down, but we’re not out, right? I still have faith in my team. Not much - I’m digging down low to get it - but it’s there. I believe in the Raptors. I believe they’ll come out fired up, because it’s the Pacers, and because they need a win and they know it. I believe they’re tired of losing. I believe they’re getting Triano’s system down and that it’s gonna start coming together.

I believe! The Turnaround starts tonight!

Raptors by 10.

Tags: Chris Bosh, Indiana Pacers, Jermaine O'Neal, Jose Calderon, TJ Ford, Toronto Raptors

I don’t have a whole lot to say about tonight’s game. I don’t know that much about the Pacers and haven’t had time this week to do my research.I know they have a new coach, Jim O’Brien; Who’s to say if he’s better than the departed Rick Carlisle, but certainly the players seem to prefer his style over Carlisle’s dictatorship.

Their “cornerstone” pieces, Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O’Neal, are still there. O’Neal has always been overrated, a decent scorer and shot blocker who doesn’t make his teammates better or come through in the clutch. Tinsley has been showcasing his “potential” for the last five years… when’s it ever gonna be fully realized?

Then there’s the castoffs from Golden State, Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Murphy’s killed us over the years, for some reason… though he’s been hurt (not sure if he’s playing tonight or not).

Finally there’s Danny Granger, “he who could have been Joey Graham” (or is that the other way around?). Whatever, these two were picked back to back by the Raptors - Graham at 16 - and Pacers - Granger at 17. Debate has ensued over whether or not the Raptors made the right choice.

Seriously… let’s look at the college stats. Both stayed in school four years although interestingly enough, both of them switched schools after their sophomore years.

Graham: 13 ppg, 52.7%FG, 38% 3FG, 80.9%FT, 7.1 RPG, 1.6AST, 27 MPG
Granger: 16.7 ppg, 49.6%FG, 36% 3FG, 75.3%FT, 8.8 RPG, 1.6 AST, 31 MPG

(Note: The rebounds and minutes are from their last two years… couldn’t find those stats from their first two seasons).

The differences: Granger played 33 fewer games due to knee injuries; and though he averaged 3 more points and almost 2 more rebounds per game than Joey, it took him 2.5 more shots, in 4 more minutes, per game to do so.

Today… well, Granger showed steady improvement his first two years, has stayed healthy, and is an integral part of the Pacers, averaging 18 points and six boards so far this year. And Graham, after being the model of inconsistency his first two seasons, is currently on the inactive last, contributing exactly nothing to this Raptors team.

So yeah, if they did it all over again, knowing what they know now… of course Granger would go first. Hindsight’s 20/20 of course. But at the time? How could anyone say one or the other was the better choice? Once you’re out of the lottery - heck, out of the top 6 - in the NBA draft, it’s a crapshoot. And really, I think a team’s gonna take the “healthy athletic swingman with decent stats” over the “athletic swingman with decent stats… and knee problems” almost every time.

Back to tonight’s game… well, normally I’d say Granger’s the type of guy that gives the Raps fits, but with Jamario Moon playing as well as he has, maybe we finally have a guy that can D up on athletic wing players.

Even so, at every other position, it’s pretty clear to me that the Raptors are a far superior team to this Pacers squad. That doesn’t include the bench, which… um… actually I don’t think I know anyone who’s on the Pacers bench. Let me look it up.

Oh, man… Kareem Rush? David Harrison? Marquis Daniels!? Pretty weak, Milhouse. Ike Diogu is probably their best option, but he’s hurt. Jeff Foster is another Raptor killer, and he’s been starting in place of Murphy. Raps’ll have to keep him off the glass.

And wait! There’s one more curious name on this Pacers bench! Why, it’s… can it be… it is! It’s Stephen Graham!! Joey’s twin brother! How’s that for irony. I bet Danny likes having Stephen in practice just to rub it in that though Joey got picked first, Granger’s clearly the better player…

Well, I’m officially babbling. Look, the Raptors are the better team, if they shoot the ball even halfway decent and play half as well on defense as they did against Utah, they’ll be fine.

If Bosh and Bargnani stink the joint out again, well… ah, let’s just not talk about that.

Raptors by 13.

Tags: Chris Bosh, Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers, Jamaal Tinsley, Jermaine O’Neal, Jim O’Brien, Toronto Raptors