Well, those were a couple of disappointing losses. I know it’s early and I’m not panicking or anything. But, as others have said all around the web, there are always going to be losses, sometimes in games you should win, and you accept that. But poor effort is much, much harder to accept.

We all knew coming in that this team was not going to be a defensive juggernaut. We knew they’d struggle on the glass. But man… I don’t think anyone expected the Raptors to make THAT many mistakes on the defensive end. Why are we sending double-teams from the strong side? Why aren’t helpers rotating? Why can’t we box out? Why are going under screens on shooters? Why didn’t we adjust the “protect the house” strategy against Orlando, a team with only one inside threat (Howard) and four 3-point shooters? Anyone with a wit of basketball sense knew that wasn’t going to work, yet there we are, four Raptors collapsing into the paint when such offensive juggernauts as Marcin Gortat and Brandon Bass get the ball on the block.

Offensively, you can see this team is still gelling. We all expected that, and despite that, they’re still scoring in bunches. But defensively, what is the excuse? There is absolutely none. ESPECIALLY for the rebounding. When Zach Randolph took a 15-footer, beat FOUR Raptors to the offensive rebound and laid it in, I nearly turned off the TV I was so disgusted.

The effort was better in the second half against Orlando (other than Calderon’s retarded insistence at going under screens) and we just have to hope and pray that that was a sign things are moving in the right direction.

Individual thoughts…

Bosh – hey, he’s been fantastic. No complaints. But if his teammates don’t start backing him up, he’s not gonna wanna wait till summer to leave.

Bargnani – not sure what happened in the Memphis game or the first half against Orlando; also not sure why the rest of the team seemed to go away from him in the fourth Q of the Orlando game when he was burning up the nets. Defensively, well, he’s been OK in man-to-man down low, but he didn’t step out fast enough on several three-point rotations against Orlando, and as usual, his rebounding his been atrocious. It’s not that he doesn’t get enough (which he doesn’t), it’s just that he never bodies anyone on the other team up to prevent them from getting the board. Turn around, stick out your ass and spread your arms wide, man.

Calderon – needs to find his shooting stroke. I can overlook his defensive deficiencies when he’s playing well on the other end, but he’s stinking it up two ways so far.

Turkoglu – much like Bargnani, he was on fire in the second half against Orlando but didn’t get enough looks. As alluded to above, the offense is still getting in sync, but it shouldn’t be hard to recognize a hot hand.

DeRozan – exactly what I expected from the rookie so far. Occasional good shots/drives, occasional mistakes on defense, occasional spectacular play. Happy with what I’ve seen.

Jack – has been fine defensively, but hasn’t found his groove offensively. I wouldn’t be too worried about him if Calderon were playing better, but when both of them are bricklayers on offense, it hurts. Especially when Triano plays them both at the same time, which I don’t understand. Why not get Bellinelli in there some more? Why not let Turk run the offense more? There are too many ballhandling options to keep going with the two PGs, when it very clearly is not working.

Rasho – he’s been solid, and I love the guy, but I do look forward to Reggie Evans taking some of his minutes. I believe Evans is faster, more aggressive, will get to a couple more balls that Rasho just can’t. not a knock on Rasho – he’s done everything expected – but we need the different look Evans can provide.

Wright – has been great on defense, and has hit a couple big shots, but has occasionally forced his offense a little more than I’d like. I don’t mind rewarding guys who give great efforts on D with some shots, I just wish they were slightly better shots.

Bellinelli – Why so few minutes? He was great against Cleveland, solid in limited minutes against Memphis, and pine-riding against the Magic. Even though he matched up well with their guard-heavy rotation, is (supposedly) a decent defender and even though Calderon and Jack were having a shared bowel movement on the floor. He should be playing more.

Triano – needs to call more timely timeouts when teams make runs. Don’t wait for the TV timeout – especially in the first half. Jay, you don’t get to carry those timeouts over to the second half, man. Also, put the ball in Turkoglu’s hands more in the fourth. That’s what we brought him here for, after all.

Well. I’m disappointed but not upset. If, after 10 games, we’re still seeing the same mistakes, then I’ll be upset. I just want to see a little more effort on D and the boards, especially early in games. Let’s go, Raptors.

Well, that was a nice win. Not without its ups and downs, but it’s always nice to win your first game, at home, against a good team.

Of course, I thought the Raptors were gonna blow it in the second half and the refs sure didn’t help, but they toughed it out. A 21-point lead evaporated midway through the third quarter, but after settling for jumper after jumper the Raps finally settled down, rebuilt a 7-point lead by the end of third and built on it in the fourth. The Cavs kept it close down the stretch before Jose Calderon sealed it on his only bucket of the night, and and-1 layup with less than a minute to go.

Biggest thing to note on the box score is the Cavs’ 35% shooting. I don’t want to say the defense was great, since the Cavs were on the second night of a back-to-back (and hey, they let the Cavs score 32 in the third), but it was definitely a better effort than they gave at any time last year. Other than a raft of open threes in the third and the occasional slow rotation, the defense was generally where it needed to be.

Offensively, during the second quarter the draw-and-kick was working really well, and the pick-and-roll worked well, and the high-low with Bosh and Bargnani worked well. But way too much settling for Js in the second half – in the third, I don’t think they pick-and-rolled once! Still. It appears there are plenty of scorers on this team, and I liked the way Jay mixed in the starters and subs ensuring there was always some firepower on the floor.

And while the rebounds were ultimately pretty even (Cavs won the battle 49-48) the 13 offensive boards the Cavs pulled down are disappointingly familiar. I know it’s expected that a team that misses 65% of their shots has more opportunities to get offensive boards, but nevertheless, there were a few that the Cavs simply outworked the Raps on.

I have to say, I hate watching the Cavs. Honestly, there is nothing at all enjoyable about watching LeBron barrel to the hoop and get foul calls as soon as he’s breathed on (that offensive foul call on Bosh was just unbelievable. I half-expected people to start throwing beers on the court – and frankly I would have encouraged it). But seriously, that’s their go-to offense? Didn’t they learn from the Orlando series that they need a few more options? I mean in the third they went small and started swinging the ball on the perimeter, and got back into the game… but then it was back to LeBron-on-five. Bo-ring.

Other thoughts…

Bargnani was amazing. I know we won’t see that every night, but he looked so smooth on everything he did. Some awful foul calls “limited” him too… but inside, outside, mid-range, solid D, 28 points on 15 shots in less than 30 minutes. Only five boards (and he got seriously outplayed on a couple that he should have had) but I think we’re just going to have to accept that that’s who he is.

Bosh was OK. Still with that awful habit of standing there thinking about it, then settling for fade-aways instead of using his quickness. When he catches it and goes, no big man outside of KG has the quickness to stay with him… still, the 16 boards were nice, and he, Bargnani and Rasho outscored/outrebounded Shaq, Z and Varejao 48/23 to 26/14.

Calderon: Actually got out and ran on the break! So used to seeing him take it slow, it was nice to see. Last year I got annoyed that he didn’t shoot/score enough, maybe this year he won’t have to. Though I couldn’t believe he missed two free throws!

Turk: Wanted him to have the ball a little more in the fourth, given his “clutchness,” but ultimately it didn’t matter. He didn’t have a great game, stats-wise, but overall I liked what I saw from him. He moves well, knows where he should be and where the ball should go. The “high basketball IQ” we heard about all summer is evident. And he managed to stay in front of LeBron when called upon.

DeRozan: Really liked what I saw from the rookie. LOVED that he blocked Shaq’s shot, and buried the jumper on LeBron… good confidence builders. Got lost on D a couple times, but that’s to be expected. Great start for the kid. Didn’t try to do too much, and performed when needed.

Bellinelli: Surprisingly effective! Wasn’t expecting that, to be honest. He’s like the anti-Kapono - he can actually handle the ball when he puts it on the floor, and he’s not afraid to jack it when he’s open.

Jack: Only real disappointment on the night. Missed way too many shots, and lost his man on D too many times. Then pulled the Anthony Parker “make one of two free throws when we really need both” routine at the end…

Wright: Didn’t particularly think that 3 he took in the fourth was a good shot, but hey. It went in. What’d he take, 3 charges? That’s about as many as the whole team took last year. Picked up 5 fouls but at least one of them was a bad call; he certainly gave 100 per cent on the defensive end. If he can develop the three as a weapon he should have a good future in the league.

Overall, nice to see a win against a quality opponent, nice to see them weather a run and hang on. Overall it’s just great to have basketball back again (well, other than the same old brutally bad officiating. Sigh. Some things never change…).

Well, training “officially” opens today on the Raptors 2009-2010 season. I’m excited. Are you excited? I’m excited.

It’s a very different Raptors team, as we all know. If you want to see these guys’ stats, who they are what they’ve done, etc., there’s plenty of that info on the Web - I’m just gonna throw out some general thoughts on the team, because, well, I have thoughts and I have to put them somewhere.

On Chris Bosh: Huge disappointment that he’s missing the start of camp with a hamstring injury. It’s not so much the “training” portion I’m worried about - I’m confident he’s in good enough shape - but it’s working with his teammates. Nine new faces, and none of them get to practice with the team’s best player for their first two weeks with the Raptors? That is a huge blow. This isn’t San Antonio where you’re three best guys have been together forever and everyone else revolves around them. This team has no identity right now, and it won’t have one for as long as Bosh isn’t practicing with his teammates.

On Andrea Bargnani: I think the $50 million contact extension was… a little much. That’s a lot of money - and a long time (five years) - based on 1.5 years of solid play (his rookie year and the second half of last year, and 1.5 years of brutally awful play (everything in between). Yes, I know it’s a bargain if second half Andrea is what we get from here on. But that is one VERY large “IF.”

Don’t get me wrong, I hope he does prove to be worth it. Obviously I want the guy to succeed, and I’d much rather it happen here, than he goes elsewhere and develops. But five more years after this one…

On the starting 2-guard: So this is the only spot up for grabs coming in to camp. Some think DeMar Derozan is a lock; others think it should be Antoine Wright; still others, Jarret Jack.

Personally, I think giving it to Wright makes for the best overall starting lineup, but I’m OK with Derozan in there, for the most part (and Jack should not even be in the discussion; I want him backing Jose). I like that there will be little pressure on DeMar on the offensive end, what with four other scorers out there. He won’t need to do too much, and he’ll get a good feel for the game playing with his team’s best, against the other team’s best.

But, on the other hand, those four scorers are terrible defenders. And he’ll be playing against a lot of top-teir two-guards. He might get overwhelmed, and then painted as a scapegoat, when the Raps can’t stop anyone. Meanwhile Wright is probably the best defender on the team.

Really, this is the first test for the coaching staff: who makes the best starter? I’ll leave it up to them to decide, but I hope they make the right call.

On Hedo Turkoglu: Comes in a little banged up from his international play, but I’m not too worried about that; it’s not like he relies on his athleticism. I’m a little concerned about the lack of PT with Bosh, as mentioned; after playing with low-post threat Dwight Howard for three years, it’s going to be a huge adjustment for him to play pick-n-roll with two guys in Bosh and Bargnani who are allergic to the “roll” part of the equation. It’s something the staff needs to train Bosh and Bargnani to do more of, even if they don’t want the ball in that situation, because it keeps the defense honest. The pick-n-roll is useless if the defender know the picker isn’t going anywhere.

That aside, I’m obviously looking forward to seeing a guy in a Raptors uniform who actually knows what to do with the ball when the clock goes under 10 seconds. Thank God, we never have to see Chris Bosh iso’ed with the ball and the clock winding down again! (And if we do, I promise you I will be calling for Triano’s head the very next day.) That’s why we brought Hedo here. Chris Bosh should never, ever be anything more than a rebounder in those situations. You hear me, Jay? NEVER. EVER.

On Jose Calderon: Big year for Jose. He’s never had as many weapons around him, and he should be healthy after not playing internationally this summer. He’s still one of the best value-for-dollar players in the league… but there’s still the feeling that he could be even better. Probably not gonna happen at age 28; most players have reached their potential and plateaued by then (and please, no Steve Nash comparisons).

One good thing is that, with Turkoglu and potentially DeRozan around to score, not to mention Bosh and a hopefully consistent Andrea, my biggest complaint against Jose - that he’s not aggressive/doesn’t look to score enough - should be nullified. Last year, given Bosh’s struggles after December and lack of trust in Bargnani, I felt Jose was the team’s best offensive option - but he didn’t shoot enough; this year, there should be plenty of options.

And you read that right, my biggest concern was Jose’s offence, not his defense. Yep, Jose sucks on D. Deal with it - it is what it is.

On Marco Belinelli: Totally have no idea what to expect from this guy. Seems to have lots of offensive potential, seems to have a rep as a poor work ethic guy… but honestly, I have no idea if those are accurate. He’s never gotten consistent minutes. Maybe he’s our best bench player… maybe he can’t even crack the 10-man rotation? I don’t know. But we gave up nothing (Devean George) for him so anything we get from him will be a bonus.

On Reggie Evans: Might only play a few minutes a game, but Bryan Colangelo told The Star that he’s already upped the intensity level of “informal” practices. Hooray for that. Hopefully it translates into games because the Raptors have been shockingly lackadaisical when it comes to getting after boards and loose balls over the past two years.

All right, that’s it for today, we’ll be back with more throughout camp!

All right, it’s been a busy couple weeks in the personal life, but things are rolling for the Raptors. Five straight wins? Two of them against playoff teams? Outrebounding the opponent in every single one? Not bad, not bad at all!

Of course, it’s ultimately meaningless since the playoffs are a practical impossibility and other than Orlando, none of these teams are particularly talented; Oklahoma City, the Clippers, Chicago and Milwaukee are all under-.500 teams, and only Chicago is playing meaningful games. And let’s not forget that right before this little streak, this team lost nine of 10, including two absolutely disgusting stink-bombs to the Bobcats.

But, there is something to be said for finishing on a positive note, especially for a guy like Jose Calderon, who’s playing extremely well after playing poorly for 60 games. If he can play like the Calderon of last year for the final few weeks games and get his confidence up for next year, that’s huge; it’s never a good thing to have a bad year and then have nothing but negatives to think about for a whole summer.

Same can be said about Bosh, and even Marion; both are playing well after having bad stretches. Meanwhile you’ve got guys like Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu playing for contracts, their play of late has probably ensured they’ll at least be in the league next year.

Then there’s Andrea Bargnani. Has any one Raptor ever had such a big turnaround in a single season? I mean, the home crowd was booing this guy in December when he missed free throws! Now he’s become one of their most effective all-around players and a go-to guy? Unbelievable, but true. Check out these stats:

December: 24 MPG, .346 FG%, .273 3PT%, 3.4 RPG, 8.6 PPG
Jan-Feb: 36 MPG, .454 FG%, .420 3PT%, 6.5 RPG. 18.9 PPG
March: 33 MPG, .518 FG%, .519 3PT%, 5.9 RPG, 20.3 PPG

And the numbers don’t even tell the whole tale. For one thing, he’s added (or if not added, is suddenly using) things we haven’t seen before – pump-fakes, crossovers, pull-ups – and the latter is most significant since it’s helped him avoid all those charges he used to get called for.

On defense, he’s not picking up as many cheap fouls (except for the Orlando game, where he was brutalized by the referees) and his defensive improvements that we saw earlier in the year, in terms of moving his feet and boxing out, have remained solid.

He’s certainly not perfect – he’s still averaging 1.75 turnovers to only 1.1 assist, and he could definitely get those rebounding totals a bit higher – but the improvement in only a few short months is remarkable. I remember back at the end of January, when the improvement first became evident, we all said, “let’s wait to see him do consistently for a while before we say he’s back on track.” Well, it’s been almost three full months of solid, consistent play, so I’m saying it. He’s here, he’s on track, he’s doing what we need, at the position he is best suited for, on a regular basis.

Of course, for most of those three months, the Raptors were routinely terrible so it’s hard to say his improved play has had any impact. But once again, it’s a huge positive going forward, and as we all know, Bargnani is probably the only player that is guaranteed to be here next year, so his improvement is a definite positive.

As for what this team might look like… who knows? It’s pretty much all up in the air. Bargnani will be back; I think Calderon will be too. Ukic, Humphries, yes; maybe Pops. But Bosh? I think Colangelo will talk to him and unless he’s convinced that Bosh will re-sign, I think BC will quietly try and move him. If he goes, Colangelo had damn well ensure that one or both of Marcus Banks and Jason Kapono are packaged with him.

I suspect Graham will be gone; I like Joey, but let’s be honest, he hasn’t really worked out here. I think he deserves a chance to give it a try somewhere else.

Parker is a big mystery. I love the guy, you know that. But he can’t be the starting two guard on this team, he can’t be playing 35 minutes a night. He’d be a great steadying influence off the bench… you know, provided there are actually quality starters ahead of him. If you can bring him back for two years at 1.5 per year? I’m OK with that.

Marion? Well, what’s his value? Who knows? Anyone have any interest in him? I still think he thinks he’s worth a lot more than anyone else does. I have no interest in him at anything more than 6 million a year. And even then, that interest is tempered by what else is out there; in other words, if there’s anyone better to throw that money at, we need to be aware and not just give it to Marion.

There’s also Carlos Delfino to consider. The Raps still have his rights. I like Delfino; I didn’t think he was utilized well last year. Mitchell jerked his minutes around too much, and he never had the opportunity to initiate the offense, something he’s proven in international play that he can do. I think with consistent minutes and a better defined role, he’ll be much more effective, and he won’t feel the need to jack up threes. But how much is that worth? 4 mil, maybe 5… anything above that, I’m not biting. Not in this economy.

Anyway, there’s only a couple of weeks left, then we can forget about the Raps for a while we watch what should be an exciting 2009 playoffs. Come June we can start to think about what’s gonna happen this summer.

For the next few games, let’s just hope they’re as exciting as the past few!

… and it wasn’t even that close.

Sigh. Another disappointing, yet not at all surprising effort. Sigh again.

I guess getting solid effort from everyone involved would be too much to ask. How is it that Bargnani, who had the flu, was the team’s best player? He started out strong and slowed down (11 in the first, 10 the rest of the way), but I think you could expect that from a guy who’s sick. What you’d also expect is for everyone else to pick it up for him. But no one did, the Raps were outscored by 15 in the second and it was over.

Man, our defense stinks. How do you shoot 53%, have all five starters in double figures, and still lose - and not even be close?  Raps were outscored 92-74 through three quarters, and were still down 17 with 2:30 to go, which is when garbage time started. And how does Sam Dalembert - who, from published reports, Philly was about to throw in the doghouse, then padlock the doghouse shut for eternity - go for 19 and 13, with 3 blocks? The guy is a human foul machine with terrible footwork, yet he only had two PFs against us. Way to take it to him, guys! Argh.

Bright spots for the Raps, other than Bargnani’s hot start? Well, there were some transition opportunities, and Marion took advantage, scoring 18 on 7-12. Also questioned the team’s effort after the game, which is becoming a regular post-game staple. He’s definitely not wrong, but is anyone listening?

Hey, does anyone else think Marion is having a positive effect on Bargnani? I haven’t actually seen enough of the games (thanks, TSNFU!) but in the 10 since the trade, Bargnani’s averaging 21/6 on 51% shooting. Of course, they’re 2-8 in those games, but those are good numbers; he was averaging 16/6 on 38% shooting in the 10 pre-Marion games.

Of course, it’s just as likely that it’s plain old inconsistency that’s caused the spike. On the season, Bargnani’s still only averaging 16/5.4/44%. I guess I’ll take that, though I’ll note this: his per-36 stats are only marginally better than his rookie season - when the team was winning. Improvement? It’s a start, but I need more, especially in the W department.

Anyway, back to last night; it’s official, I am becoming a fan of Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Guy’s averaging 8 boards a night in 14 minutes! Of course, that’s in three losses, but still, I like the hustle. He pulled a post-game Marion himself, wondering about effort; not sure he’s in any place to do that, as the new guy who’s bounced around the league (and world) in the past year…

Still, the fact that the two newest guys are questioning other guys’ effort is pretty telling.

It’s not hard to guess who they’re talking about. I don’t know what is up with Chris Bosh this year. Only 4 rebounds, in 34 minutes? Really? Even last year when things weren’t going well I always thought he played hard. This year, he doesn’t seem to be into the games at all. And he’s clearly not stepping into the leadership role, otherwise guys wouldn’t be saying stuff like that.

It’s disappointing because I know Bosh is better than that. I know he’s got talent, and I know he’s got fire. Where is it? I want the Bosh from the past two years back! Where’s the guy that started the season out averaging 30 and 12, with 10 trips to the line a night? Bring him back!

Calderon is also bearing the brunt of a lot of frustration, and if I hear about that hamstring one more time, I’m sending him to Rocco Baldelli’s doctor. Seriously. I mean, we all knew he was a bad defender, but he’s been unbelievably awful this year; is that hamstring really to blame? And hey, what happened to the guy who would turn the corner off a screen every few times, to keep the D honest? I know he still shoots it well and I know he takes care of the ball - I love those traits about him. But we need more than that. We need a little fire, a little scrap, a little aggressiveness!

Still, I think the biggest disappointment has to be Jason Kapono. (Is that ’cause I said aloud, often, in the pre-season that he should be the starting 3, and he’s made me look like an ass? Absolutely. Nobody makes a fool of me!!)

Seriously, though, I always knew he was overpaid, but I had to assume a great pure shooter like that had a place on a team - especially a team of shooters like the Raps. And he seemed like he knew what he was doing out there, despite his physical limitations. Last year, I thought maybe Mitchell just didn’t know how to use him, and that with the tighter rotation (i.e., more minutes) and new big man (O’Neal), he’d find his niche.

That didn’t happen. Then Mitchell got axed and I thought, maybe Triano knows how to get him involved. Well, he had a couple good shooting nights in December, but has since regressed even more! Not only can’t Triano find a way to get him into the offense, the guy’s shooting is worse in all three categories than last year, despite averaging 6 more minutes!

If he was overpaid as a shooter - and now he can’t even do that - then he is utterly worthless. I mean, he does nothing else well. Nothing. I can’t believe we’re paying him $6 a year for the next two. How did BC not see that his success in 06-07 was purely due to Shaq and Wade drawing the defense all game long? I know that’s easy for me to say, and hindsight is 20/20, but as GM, isn’t it BC’s job to see these things?

Well, it’s officially the Raptors’ first sub-.500 season of BC’s Raptors career. I hope it hurts. It should. I hope it motivates him to clean house, to try extra hard this summer to turn it around.

Well, I think we can all agree the Raptors got lucky last night.

Surging to a 12-point lead with 4:47 to go and getting just about anything they wanted on offense, the Raptors looked poised to cruise. But they continued to give up open 3-pointers - the Nets took 32 of them and I’m willing to wager 30 were taken without a defender in reach - and the Nets got right back in it, going on an 11-2 run in two minutes to cut the lead to 104-101.

After a solid possession that led to two Bosh free throws and a silly foul by Bobby Simmons that gave Parker a pair (though naturally, he went 1-2) the Raps stretched it back to six with 1:59 to go. Bobby Simmons then missed a three, the “crowd” quieted, and I started to feel comfortable again… silly me.

At the end of an absolutely abysmal Raptors possession that saw Bosh get the ball 20 feet from the hoop on the right wing, stand there for five seconds- literally, not even dribbling - and then pass the ball back to Jose with four seconds on the clock, Jose was forced to take a long three pointer (short, naturally), the Nets raced back and Vince Carter drained a triple. Three point game.

Bosh then pulled a weak-ass reverse move on Lopez on the baseline; there was contact, yes, and I guarantee had he taken it straight up strong he would have gotten the call - but the refs don’t (usually) reward players for going away from contact, so no call was made, and Harris walked right through the non-existent Toronto transition D to cut the lead to 1.

The next Raptors possession was virtually identical to the one two plays before - only Bosh was maybe a foot closer and the ensuing Calderon jumper was only a two. Another miss. Sigh. Nets ball.

What happened next deserves some scrutiny. First, one has to wonder why New Jersey didn’t call time out; with 19 or so seconds to go, and Lawrence Frank pretty good at drawing up end-of-game plays (alley-oop dunk to win, anyone?), you’d think they’d set something specific. Still, Frank obviously has confidence in his guys to do the right thing, and Harris’ crossover on Graham to create space was a thing of beauty. Luckily for the Raps, he simply missed the shot. There were about three seconds left when he released, it took a high rebound, Parker hauled it in and the clock expired. Game over (although according to reports, Matt Devlin thought it was going to OT - I was watching the Nets’ feed so I’m not sure, but we might have to start calling him Chris Childs).

So, the other oddity - combined with not calling a timeout - was why Harris waited so long - he didn’t really give his team a chance at a tip-in or second chance, or, if the Raps’ rebounded it, to foul right away and get the ball back after the Raptors’ free throws, down 1 or 2 with a chance at a last-second shot. Also, consider this; my memory (might be wrong) is that the Nets only had one timeout left, so when Harris didn’t call it, maybe the thought was, “we’ll save it for that last-second shot if we miss and they get the free throws, and we need to draw up a play.”

So he wasted the time AND the timeout. Clearly not the best clock management ever seen, but still… that unstoppable step-back crossover is a great move, and I’m willing to bet if he did that 10 more times, he’d hit eight of them. And of course, you can make the argument that if you make the shot, you don’t want to give the other team the chance for a last-second winner (though if you’ve watched the Raps in a close game this year, you can be pretty confident they won’t even get a shot off, let alone score.)

So yeah, the Raptors were lucky. But you know what, every team needs a break now and then. The Raptors have had a few bounces go the wrong way (like a Steve Blake three off an offensive rebound) so they deserved to have one go their way. And, I believe that good teams need a few breaks, and that such things can snowball into more good things. If I recall, the 06-07 team that made that huge run got a bunch of breaks too (like MoPete’s hail mary against Washington, or AP banking in a long jumper to seal a victory in Detroit) so maybe it’s a sign that this team is on the right track.

Still, three straight wins against sub-.500 opponents does not a season turnaround make - even if two of them are technically ahead of the Raptors. They still need to beat Milwaukee tomorrow night - and I really believe the Bucks have some Ewing Theory Potential with Redd out - and then the real test begins: Magic, Cavs in Cleveland, Lakers, Hornets in New Orleans. Can the Raps steal a couple of those? Until they prove they can beat some good teams, this team is still lottery bound in my eyes. Give me 5-3 in the remaining eight games before the all-star break and I’ll re-evaluate their chances.

Back to the game, well, I was dead wrong in my Bargnani prediction; he picked up three early fouls (at least two of them really chintzy calls) and another early in the third and never got into a rhythm. I felt like Triano left him sitting too long after he picked up #4 (I would have put him back in at the start of the fourth), but Jay said afterward the team on the floor (a smallball team of Calderon, Parker, Graham, one of Moon/Kapono and one of Bosh/O’Neal) was in a good rhythm, and he was right - when Andrea came out, with 7:38 left in the third, the Raptors were down by two, but by the end of three, were up 7, so why not stick with what was working. Hopefully Bargnani’s psyche isn’t so fragile that one game bad game will send him back into a funk like he was in earlier this year.

Bosh didn’t have a great game either, and he must have had a big bag of movie popcorn before the game - with extra butter. Four turnovers, only six boards? Sheesh. Why can’t he hang on to the ball all of a sudden? O’Neal had a decent contribution of 8 and 4, though I don’t know how he picked up 5 fouls in 20 minutes.

The Raptors got most of their production from the 1-2-3 spots. Shocking, I know. Calderon’s shooting finally cooled off and he committed two turnovers, but he still scored 17 and added 11 assists. Anthony Parker continued his great all-around play, scoring 21 with 7 boards and 6 assists. Kapono wasn’t completely awful - he even took a couple of threes! - and Graham and Moon each made their presence felt (combined 25 on 8-11 shooting, 9 boards, 3 blocks).

In fact I have to give Joey extra props here. In the fourth quarter as the Nets made a run, you had to be feeling that the Raps would sink back into their habit of shooting long jumpers. But not Joey - he was aggressive and attacking every chance he got, getting to the line nine times.

For the Nets, Harris is definitely the engine powering that team. The Raptors could not stop his penetration and he kicked it out for open threes from Vince, Dooling and Simmons, multiple times. He finished with 25 and 10 (though naturally, all anyone will remember is the miss) and he impacts the game whenever he has the ball. The entire defense has to react to him, he is that fast and that slippery in the lane. I have no doubt that he’s an all-star this season, and I suspect the coaches see that too.

Carter looked like he was gonna have one of “those” games - you know, the ones where he scores 40 - early on. He hit four threes in the first four minutes of the game! He ended up with 27, 10 and 5, on 9-21 shooting (I predicted 26, 7 and 5 on 10-18. I think I got this science down!). Simmons and Dooling hit 8-14 from downtown. 8-14! That’s crazy. Ryan Anderson was a non-factor as the Nets went small most of the night, but Brook Lopez made the most of his 35 minutes, going 7-10 and playing some decent D. Only four boards, though, and the Raptors - despite only getting 7 total boards from the “killer B’s” - outrebounded the Nets by 3.

It’s still a little hard to believe the Raptors have won three in a row. First time since the first week of the season… that’s insane. It’s nice to see though. Even if it doesn’t last, it was nice to get a couple quality wins and catch a break down the stretch of one. Let’s hope they can keep it up!

Missed yesterday’s game, unfortunately, but two wins in a row is very nice. What’s even better is that the Raps won going away both times, so they were able to avoid the late-game collapses that have plagued them recently.

Does it mean anything in the greater scheme of things? Probably not. The Raps are in New Jersey Wednesday night, and are 1-2 against the Nets this year. Even if they steal that one and beat the now Michael-Redd-Less Bucks at home on Friday, look at the next four: three of the league’s best - Orlando, Cleveland, LA Lakers - in four nights, followed by the Hornets in New Orleans. Following that: Memphis and Minnesota on the road, then the Spurs at home in Toronto. Best case scenario there is 4-4, and knowing the Raptors 2-6 is more likely.

You can’t count out the Bucks; sometimes I think Redd was a bit of a ball-hog, and this should open things up for Richard Jefferson to shine as a Buck. Either way they’re still ahead of the Raps in the standings so beating them and Jersey is key. And shockingly, Minnesota has played well under Kevin McHale. So those two aren’t the easy wins they might look like on paper.

Not only that, it’s starting to look like 40 wins might not be enough to secure that playoff spot. Don’t look now but Charlotte’s heating up - won 6 of 10 to vault ahead of the Raptors. Philly’s won 8 of 10, New York and Chicago are still ahead of us, and Indiana’s right behind. Even if they do get on a roll, it seems like everyone Toronto’s chasing are also about to go on a roll. Raps have their work cut out for them.

36 games to go? 18-28? They need to go 24-12 in my mind…

Oh well, as I’ve said before, let’s just enjoy the games for what they are and wherever they end up is where they end up.

Other notes of interest:

• Check out Jose’s stats from his first two games back: 57 total minutes, 15-19 shooting (2-3 from downtown) for 39 points. Perfect 7-7 from the line, 18 assists, and not a single turnover. Oh, yeah… they missed this guy.
• Jermaine O’Neal had a solid 10-point (4-6 shooting), 11 rebound night, in a mere 22 minutes. Sure, the Kings frontline can’t stop anybody, but hey… as an audition for Miami, it works for me, and if it helps his conditioning and confidence for as long as he’s here, that works too.
• I suspect I’m not the only one who was worried Bargnani’s numbers might suffer with Jose back (who always seems to look to Bosh before Andrea) but in the past two games, he’s 15-27, 4-8 from downtown and has scored 22 and 24. This is a solid month of strong play from Bargnani? Is it time to stop calling this another tease and declare that he’s “arrived?” I’m not there yet, but I’m getting there. He sure is fun to watch when the shot is dropping and he’s got confidence like that - he really is a deadly weapon from anywhere when his shot is on. And I absolutely love that pull-up jumper he’s been rocking lately. Very Dirk-like, and very effective.
• Anthony Parker has been superb of late, taking good shots when available and getting guys involved when he’s been the point guard. He’s also been hitting the boards which is really nice to see (5.8 over the past five games).
• Unfortunately, we’re not getting much in the way of contribution from the 3-spot. You just can’t count on Moon, Graham or Kapono on any given night. Joey played well against the Bulls, and Kapono was all right, but none of them did much last night (although I read that Joey had a good game on D and rebounding, so at least the effort was there). How does Kapono only have two total three-point attempts the past three games? And it’s not like the Bulls and Kings are known for their defense! Argh.

Anyway, a couple days off before heading to New Jersey to see Vince for the last time this year. The Raps have gotten big leads on the Nets three times, and blown it twice. Oddly enough the only one they held on to was in Jersey, so that should give them confidence for Wednesday night. Will they finally get their first three-game win streak since the first week of the year!?

Finally, Jose Calderon is back. Finally, the Raptors showed that they can, indeed finish a ball game.

After all the recent late-game collapses, I’m still having trouble believing this, but the Raptors - clinging to a 94-92 lead with five minutes to go - slammed the door shut on the Bulls with a 20-2 run to close the game. When was the last time you saw something like that?

To be honest, I don’t know what the heck is going on with Chicago; Vinnie Del Negro threw out some pretty wild substitutions last night. Rose never got anything going because he was jerked on and off the floor all night. And why’d he go back to Noah (5 fouls) in the fourth? It’s not like played well (zero field goals, three boards). That team appears to be in disarray.

All told though, I think it’s pretty clear that with a healthy Jose Calderon, the Raptors are a different team. He was much more aggressive on offense last night (10 shots) and his steady hand was key to the team’s late game surge. He led all scorers with 23, had 10 assists, and made all 4 of his free throws.

Chris Bosh struggled shooting the ball, but Andrea Bargnani picked up the slack (23 points). Parker had another solid game, and Graham played well also. Moon, well, he didn’t do much and Roko struggled in his few minutes.

Unfortunately for Jermaine O’Neal, the only thing he did was let himself be posterized by Tyrus Thomas. JO is still struggling to get his legs, but at least he’s healthy.

Overall, though, it was a solid effort all-around. As I said yesterday, this team is much more interesting to watch when it’s at full strength. It was definitely an enjoyable Friday night game.

Word up: Jose is in, according to Matt Devlin.

I really, really, really hope he’s healthy and is back for good. I can’t handle any more 20-turnover games. If he comes back too soon and aggravates it again… well then it’ll be time to fire the training staff. Seriously.

Still, looking at the lineup tonight… Calderon, Parker, Moon, Bosh and Bargnani… backed up by O’Neal, Graham, Kapono, Voskuhl and Ukic… well, that’s the most complete lineup the Raptors have had since their west coast trip.

Does it translate to a win tonight, or any more wins in the coming weeks? Probably not.

First of all, Calderon and O’Neal gotta shake the rust off, and everybody’s gotta get used to playing with them again.

Then, you gotta deal with the O’Neal vs. Bargnani starting situation. Once O’Neal is back in the groove, how long is he gonna be happy sitting on the bench? How will Bargnani play, looking over his shoulder at O’Neal. His shot has already faltered a little lately…

Of course, of O’Neal gets traded first, then that doesn’t matter, but bringing in a new guy also creates an issue of guys needing time to adapt and gel with each other… and anyway, until that happens, the trade rumours surrounding the team right now have gotta be weighing on them.

Distractions, rust, playing time… not good issues for a struggling team to be dealing with.

But, as I’ve been saying, I don’t believe any of it ultimately matters for this season. Still, I’ll be happy to have the full team back (well, minus Hump) and hopefully healthy and gelling. That should at the least make the games more fun to watch.

I don’t have much of a preview to write here. The Raps just played the Bulls last week, and lost at home, so I don’t imagine they have much hope of winning in Chi-town.

As I wrote last week, Derrick Rose is better than any player on the Raptors (and he’s just a rookie), the Bulls winning simply depends on how much support he gets from his teammates. The Bulls have a lot of shooters, and if they’re on, they’re tough to beat; They’re also athletic so when they get out on the break, look out.

Since the Raptors give up more open looks than any team in the league and offer up some of the worst transition D you’ll ever see, it’d be pretty easy for the Bulls to run them off the floor.

The Raps were in last week’s game because Andrea Bargnani caught fire and they fed him the rock for three quarters (and proceeded to ignore him down the stretch). They also hit the glass when Gordon, Deng and Hinrich were missing shots.

That’ll be tougher tonight because the Bulls will have Drew Gooden back; their best rebounder missed the last game and although the Raps were without Jermaine O’Neal, his contribution is expected to be pretty minor.

Early word is that Jose Calderon is gonna try and play tonight. Not sure if this is a good thing or not; if he’s not 100 per cent then what’s the point? Heck, 100 per cent or not, he’s going to get destroyed by Rose.

As for the rest, well, the deal is still the same. The Bulls offer the sort of shooters and athletes that that give the Raptors trouble. If their shots are dropping and they’re getting out on the break, the Raps are in trouble. But because jump-shooting teams are always vulnerable, the Raps can steal this one - they get a few misses, hit the glass well, keep the bigs involved, slow things down some, and get solid contributions from Parker and Calderon… well, I guess there’s a chance.

But not much of one.

Bulls by 11.

Moving on, the All-Star Starters were announced last night, nothing too crazy happened (like T-Mac making it ahead of Chris Paul or even worse, Yi making it ahead of Kevin Garnett). I agree that Allen Iverson isn’t having a great year but he’s always been a fan favourite, and he’s still a very good player; remember the starters should be a combo of player talent and popularity. Devin Harris and Jameer Nelson are having good years but they haven’t reached their ceilings and they’re not that popular… yet. Let them join the team as bench players this year, pay their dues that way, and in the next year or two - assuming they continue to get better - they’ll get the votes.

I assume Chris Bosh will get selected by the coaches, and although the team sucks and Bosh has been up and down, I definitely believe he’s one of the best forwards in the east. And, although I was hoping he’d make it this year, I have no doubt that Jose Calderon will miss the cut. He’s missed too much time and, either because of the injury or some other reason, hasn’t played quite as well this year as last year. He just doesn’t deserve it, not with Harris and Nelson having the seasons they are. Even Derrick Rose is more deserving right now. Calderon’s turn is going to have to wait until next year - assuming he ever gets healthy.

Anyway, that’s about all I have to say for today. It’s an unfortunate time to be a Raptor fan, our team sucks and there’s a chance we won’t even have an all-star. Sigh. Hopefully we’ll get a couple of good, exciting games this weekend to keep us entertained.