Monday December 15 2008 - 10:20pm Eastern
Nets @ Raptors
Final Score:
94-87, Nets
“Alice Fazoolis” Player of the Game:
- BROOK LOPEZ
10 points
7 rebounds
3 blocks
“Smith and Jones” Player of the Game:
- DEVIN HARRIS
20 points
7 rebounds
5 assists
2 steals
(* 16 of Harris’ 20 points came in the 4TH quarter)
Shout-out to the Raptors:
- JAMARIO MOON
10 points
9 rebounds
2 steals
Stats that stood out:
- REBOUNDING! 54-38 Nets
- OFFENSIVE REBOUNDING! 18-7 Nets
- SECOND-CHANCE POINTS! 26-2 Nets
- Chris Bosh: 0 for 5 FG in the first half
- Ryan Anderson (Who?) torched the Raptors with a career-high 21 points and 9 rebounds.
Thumbs Up:
- The hot start. Toronto led 9-0 and 16-2. They jumped on NJ early and SEEMED to be set to deliver the early knock-out punch
Thumbs Down:
- Toronto coughed-up that lead and trailed by 14 points in the 4th. Plus, the Raps were held WITHOUT A FIELD GOAL for the first NINE AND A HALF MINUTES of the 4th quarter! Ugggh.
Smith says:
- “It’s mental now. It’s got to be. How else can you explain all of these double-digit leads being blown? How else can you explain the change in this tea (and their style (and effectiveness)) on a quarter by quarter basis. It’s gotta be mental. Get out the smelling salts.”
Jones Says:
“A bad combination of poor offence and the inability to control Devin Harris led to Toronto’s undoing in the 4TH.”
“V-Tech” 3-In-To-Win Give-Away:
The Raptors were 9 of 21 from 3PT range
Next game:
- Mavericks @ Raptors
– Wednesday December 17 - Tune in at 7:00pm for the “Pizza Pizza” starting line ups
E. Smith
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Ughh - this wasn’t fun to watch. I hate reading in the paper that we’re probably only making minor moves at this point, when I’d perfectly happy if BIG changes are made. We have no youth on this team - no draft choices with upside at all. Colangelo has to PROVE himself now and deliver.
- JamalThese one’s always hurt…We had no answer for Devin who brought them back into the game in the fourth with VC on the bench. Rebounding remains an issue…its easy to say lets make a trade to stir things up but in all honesty, unless their giving up on Bargnani (which I doubt BC is ready to do) or unless they package parker/kapono/draft pick/humphries (atleast 3 of the four mentioned) they’re not going to get a decent return back. This team is either barely going to make/miss the playoffs or is one injury away to anyone of the big three from the lottery!!
Double digit leads…double digit leads….double digit leads…its time we hold ALL players accountable, we can’t keep blaming the coach!
- Mr. TI’m tired of hearing about potential. When does potential become disappointment? The longer we wait on Bargnani, the lower his value will become. Let’s just hope he gets on a tear before the deadline, so we can get a young slasher with a decent jumper to compliment Bosh. Colangelo is known as a good GM, but let’s face facts, he hasn’t got a team to the championship, he has built teams that are soft and always among the league lows in opposing FG%, and team rebounding, a key reason why his teams have faltered in the playoffs. He had a slashing scoring SG in Joe Johnson and sent him away. His philosophy is wrong. For as long as we don’t have a legitmate 2-guard threat to keep teams honest in jump shot contests, we will be in big trouble. I know an athletic SG isn’t the solution to all problems, but we’ve tried everything else, why not give this one a shot? The Raps are regressing simply because we have too many jump shooters who can’t create their own shot, get to the free throw line and put pressure on other wing players. It’s worth the risk to give up a few guys to get a 15-20 PPG, 5-6 RPG Shooting guard. If we don’t get one, say goodbye to Bosh.
- SlimI could not watch this game and I wanna see a roster change with big NBA names instead of these outcast players. Like enough is enough. There is no time. Once the All-Star weekend comes then it’s that time for the playoff push. And right now I ain’t seeing any results that are positive. Something has got to give. Mostly likely with the bench. And bring guys that can form chemistry for a winning note. No more international team look-a-like. Bring some proper players with ruthless aggression.
- StevenIt’s a no brainer. When your two and three are Parker, Kapono, Moon and Graham, you are bound to lose a lot of ballgames. All four of them have huge weaknesses in their games. Granted that they have some skills too but their weaknesses easily overshadow their strengths. I think it’s time for BC to make a big move. We need a guy at 2 who can score 15 at nightly basis and is young and can play some defence, Parker is very old and should be get rid of immediately. He has got to be one of the worst starting shooting guards in the history of NBA.
- BeburgMaybe Raps should have kept Sam Mitchell and bought out Colangelo ?
Sam was a solid coach but also a personality fans were interested in ..
- Chas CalzSam’s personality (act?) was growing tiresome and the players were tuning him out. Let’s move on from that.
I like Steven’s wording above, wanting players to show “ruthless agression”.
I’m a Bargnani defender but I go back to what I asked on a previous day: why does he look so sleepy and passive still? Someone has to teach him to growl which is why I liked the foul and subsequent jawing with VC last night.
On a team wide note, you shoot a Q that cold against any NBA team, and you lose.
I hope it doesn’t take a major shake up to get this team going but if they lose 4 or 5 of the next six including that brutal west coast trip and Coangelo’s patience will vanish.
- GaryNext draft, Raptor management should just GO FISHING. That’s right. Bryan & the boys should just get out of town, come back on the morning of the draft, open up a newspaper, see what the conventional thinking is, and just go with that choice. Let’s face it fans, what’s sad about the current situation, is that this team SHOULD BE much better. The Raps have had a great rebuilding opportunity over the last several years with a #1 pick, a #4 pick in a very strong draft year (Bosh), a #7, a #8, and a #15. That’s a window of opportunity that this franchise won’t see for a long time. What happened? Instead of building a contender, we’ve only managed to put together a mediocre team at best. Questionable, poor, and downright awful decisions by Colangelo and Babcock have pretty much killed this cycle of rebuilding. Had the Raptor brass only gone with the conventional, popular choice with each of it’s draft picks, this team would be in much better shape. (And let’s not get started on the Carter trade).
- jimPlayers were not tuning Sam out . He had 2 successful seasons - ie in playoffs back-to-back .
- Chas CalzRaps were adjusting to 2 new starters .. ONeal and Calderon ..and were 8-9 when Colangelo made Sam the scapegoat . That was premature and foolish imo.It’s harder to coach than be GM . look at winless McHale with Minny
Jamario, AP, JK, Joey, and Jose need to penetrate and create easy buckets.
- D12how come no one is talking about - why Jason Kapono for the last three games is taking more shooots than CHRIS BOSH ?????? Does that make any sense ???? JK is off and on …he should be shooting the ball more than the so called franchise player. JK is a good 3 point shooter but shouldnt be the 1st, 2nd or even the 3rd option on offence. CB4 needs to wake up and demand the ball like the leading scorers in the NBA….if he wants to be considered one of the MVP candidates he needs to shoot the ball more than 20 times a night. Wake up CB4!!!
- NeilTake it to the rim, take it to the rim, and take it to the rim!
Feed these Raptors some maple syrup for Pete’s sake! They need some CANADIAN GRIT taking it to the rim and attacking the glass! I must admit that I did enjoy Bargnani putting VC to the floor.
Dump some of the soft wings and get some bangers!
- *Sigh*Colangelo needs to stop getting a free ride in this city as the “savior of basketball”. Anyone can see that this team cant rebound or play Defence. He needs to earn his huge paycheck and signing Jake Voskuhl isnt enough!!!!
- NeilJose for steve nash. We don;t knew to worry about a point guard of the future. Ukic is already a better defender than jose is, and if we remember, jose couldn’t make a jumper in his first year either. Roko is already more aggressive than jose. Its a fit if phonix would do it
- Jeff CarterCHAS, you are a cmomplete baffoon
just stop writing here you moron
- MazD12 …it’s the same old song! Joey’s been trying to drive more; Jamario, even though he’s been making more shots than he’s missing (I find my self always screaming ‘nooooo’ to the tv everytime he seems like he’s going to shoot)needs to take it to the rim STRONG, without the double-pumps…you’re right…I think they know (or should know) that they need to take it to the hole…why they are not doing it on a consistent basis (or at all) is beyond my knowledge…If you noticed how NJ made the come back last night, it was all due to their players taking it strong to the basket…Why the Raptors aren’t getting any penetration from their wings…I don’t know??? …maybe their not capable of driving to the basket???
- Mr. TWhat if this is how it is supposed to be? Colangelo sent here to mess things up. Bosh Leaves for New York to join Lebron. Colangelo becomes New Yorks GM and has his coach in Mike DiAntoni. I smell another NBA conspiracy!
- unknownSee the rumors of Steve Nash possibly joining D’Antoni with Knicks , but it may just be internet buffonery
- Chas CalzI’m not sure what Raps are even capable of driving hard to the tin. Bosh WAS doing it but last year, EVERY time he went up, it was with hs arms and legs flying everywhere while he yelled, got stripped and just glared at the refs looking for fouls.
Similarly, Bargnani seems to be totally out of control when he takes three steps to the rim.
JO is an under the basket guy who doesn’t put it on the floor too often.
And if I see Calderone run perfectly around a defender and under the basket WITHOUT talking it up for the easy two on the reverse instead of kicking it back out, I’m going to scream…
It’s like they are all afraid of contact instead of WANTING it for the foul. Don’t get me started on Jamario.
Maybe Joey Graham needs to show them how to go hard to the hole…he does it well once or twice a game :-)
There are winnable games coming even on the west coast trip.
We have to start by beating Dallas at home.
- GaryHey, the Raptors in my option should get Nash with a draft pick and something else for Jose and Roko is very good and QUICK in defense and he is just a rookie and I see him in the future and Jose maybe not IF if he does not make get his act together and try to find Bosh even more. Baranani NEEDS to step up because JO is GONE in 2010 and Wade should come to the Raptors or a different player and I still think Baranani is the next Dirk or Even better but, he needs to TRY. And if I am BC I would look for a player like a MIKE MILLER because he would be a good fit and take out Kapono and Graham. OR even a Drew Gooden because he can get a lot of offensive rebounds!!!!
- RAPS FANPain-Ful.
- AndreaI shudder when I read Troiano admired Kevin O’Neal as coach ‘ O”Neal used to call almost every play .. Raps struggled to score 60 pts and put everyone to sleep ..
- Chas CalzLove to see Raps adopt D’Antoni’s system , at least partially .. Knicks almost beat Suns and Lakers and was it exciting BB too
jose for nash…… please
- Jeff Carter