Raptors Rewind- O.J Rock Bottom Edition

1st Quarter

I am fashionable in my late arrival. But we have not missed a lot. Grizzlies are up 8-6 as I settle in coming off my college live blog duties. UConn beat my Wolverines. Memphis scores as I was telling you where I was. Joey G now a starter and he scores looking to bounce back from a bad night last night. Darko lives and he is at the line. J.O that was his second foul and he checked out. O.J Mayo with drive and score. No Bosh for Raps so the J.O foul issues are big. Bargnani drives and is fouled. Makes a pair and Raps trail 12-10. Bargnani draws another foul on Darko that is 2 for him. Bargnani missed the first at the line. Rudy Gay is on the bench for this one he picked up a hip injury. Bargnani makes the second and Raptors trail it 12-11. Calderon is fouled and heads to the line. He makes two but the second almost popped out. Marc Gasol picked up his second foul on a moving screen. Raptors lead 13-12. Graham missed a fading jumper off the post up. Marc Gasol remaining in the game with his 2 fouls scores for the Grizz. They now lead 14-13. Kapono is in and missing he may get embarrassed badly in the 3 point shoot out. Calderon would get the drive and score after a Grizzlies miss. Conley is fouled and heading to the line for a pair. He missed his first and the second. Raptors still lead 15-14.

This is one ugly basketball game. Joey G would look to make it bit more pretty with a nice slamajama. Raptors have a 17-14 lead it a very lack luster affair in Memphis where their new promotion of bring an empty seat night is working well. Ex-Raptor Damon Stoudamire is an assistant now with the Grizzlies. He said in chatting with Matt Devlin he was hoping to remain playing and hoped Toronto would call him. So why the heck didn't they? A.P missed bad on a 3 pointer. Portland's favourite player Darius Miles with the score. Raps still up in this painful to watch basketball game. Jamario Moon makes a pair from the line. Raptors would be winning this ugly game 21-18 not that they care about style points as losers of 5 straight.

2nd Quarter

Raptors shot 22% in the quarter and lead by 3? You got to be kidding me? This is really bad. Roko Ukic would help that percentage with drive and score the Grizzlies would answer. Gasol picked up a foul which should be his 3rd and he checked. Raps get 2 and Juric 3 for the Grizz. Jason Kapono misses it for 3. Brutal but J.O would draw a charge. Kapono jacks another 3 ball and missed it 0-4 start for the guy that Scott Carefoot calls J-Nilla and he is earning that name as he missed another to go Nilla for 5. O'Neal gets a basket but Ross answers for Grizz with a 3 pointer and we are tied at 27.

Former Syracuse star Hakim Warrick with a Jam. J.O gets a tech and Grizz make it and are up 3 with score 30-27. Calderon miss for 3. Raptors get called for illegal defence. Raps and Grizz swap baskets. Kapono meanwhile is 0-7 and what the hell is he out there? Joey G draws a foul and he when things are bad is at his best. However Joey is far from my concern in watching this mess at least he is trying. Some other folks don't seem to be performing well. Starting with the guy that is 0-7. Jose another miss and Joey gets called for a foul fighting for the board. O.J Mayo with the score he has had a quiet 4 so far. Bargnani answers and Grizz lead 35-31. Moon takes a jump shot...No really he did...and predictable in the result a miss. Mike Conley a drive and score on the other end. Amazing the Raptors convert a 3 on 1 chance on the break as Calderon lays it in and draws the foul. Apparently the official stats man felt for Jason Kapono he is 0-6 for the record. Beyond Joey Graham the entire Raptor team was shooting awful. Calderon made the and 1. Grizzlies lead it 37-34. Parker misses a easy lay-up. Raptors got the rebound and are rewarded with defensive 3 second call and Calderon makes the tech. Bargnani missed a 3 pointer after that and Jake Voskhul hammers someone trying to get the rebound. Ross hits a open 3 pointer and he was so open he could have taken a nap and made it. Grizzlies up 40-35. Jake Voskhul called for defensive 3 second call and Grizz make the tech and lead by a half dozen. Conley missed a runner but Grizz clean it up with score on offensive glass and they lead it by 8 points with score 43-35. Raptors get misses from Kapono and Moon and this half is over and I wish it was the game. Pathetic does nor begin to describe it.

3rd Quarter

Since day one I have seen almost ever Raptor game that has been played I thought it over during halftime and I can not remember a more pathetic performance in this team's history. They shot 25% for the half. I mean give me a break. Bargnani opens the quarter with a miss and J.O a foul that is great. J.O chucks it out of bounds and it was tipped by the Grizz. A.P is the latest contestant on let's miss a jump shot and he does. Andrea Bargnani an offensive foul. Grizzlies had chances to kill this team but the to suck. But lead it by 8 points. Grizzlies break it open with a Ross 3 pointer and the Memphis Grizzlies lead by 11 points.

J.O makes a step back jumper and after 3 minutes plus the Raptors had a basket so you can start the parade. A steal after that and Grizzlies take it the other way and get fouled. Warrick has been fouled and at the line makes a pair. Memphis is up 48-37. This is so bad it is growing comical. Memphis makes another basket and it is 50-37. Jose Calderon gets a basket. Joey G makes it rare back to back scores but Marc Gasol score to push Grizz lead back to 11. Bargnani jacks and misses a 3 pointer. They are 0-13 and I may get some joy out of this night as that stupid 3 point streak could die right here in Memphis. That may make some folks sad but not me. I think it serves as a reminder of what has been wrong with this team over the years. To many shooters and not enough drivers. I want to see more and 1 scores instead of 3 pointers.

Jamario Moon makes a jump shot for 2. Conley answers and he has 11 points for the Grizzlies. Joey G the lone Raptor that you can give a pass to on this night with 14 points himself. He would pick up his 4th foul though and if he fouled out this game could get even worse if that is possible. Calderon makes a jumper but trading baskets was not cutting into this 9 point lead. A Darko slam says more than any words I could type. Jose Calderon screws up my dream of the stupid 3 ball streak ending. He makes a 3 and Raptors as Jack Armstrong likes to say were stuck 8. A tech foul on Jaric and Raptors were down 7. Kapono misses throw staying consistent as he has not made a shot and is 0-8. Makes you wonder why he is out there. Sam Mitchell is coach there is no way he would be. Raptors would cut it down to 5 points and Buckner would make a jumper at the Buzzer. They will review it so I'll start the 4th telling you if Raps are down by 5 or 7 for those of you that still care?

4th Quarter

So basket does not count and Raptor had increased their shooting percentage to 30%. I mean break out the good stuff. A.P open to quarter with a miss and he is a pathetic 1-7. Andrea Bargnani drives and draws a foul. He is 1-9 from the filed but 5 of 6 from the line. But he splits a pair. Jason Kapono made a 3 pointer stop the presses. Raptors were down 1 point even though they had no business at all being this close. Roko drives but can't finish to give the Raptors the lead. Kapono a second 3 pointer and shockingly they lead by 2 with score 62-60. Kapono hit wave ends as he missed on his chance to make 3 in a row. A travel and turnover and the Raptors have not been able to extend the lead. Defensive 3 second call on Roko. Mayo makes the tech. Raptors up one in one of the collective worst basketball games I have watched on both sides.

Darko gets blocked by Moon. O.J Mayo ends the stretch of no one scoring with a basket and Grizz back in front 63-62. Mayo would get a basket plus a foul and could make it a 4 point lead which in this classic would be like 12 point lead in a regular game. He would make Grizz lead 66-62. Mayo is on fire now makes a 3 pointer and the Memphis lead was 7 with the score 69-62. Parker presses and shoots an ill advised 3 pointer that he of course missed. J.O miss lead to an easy score for Gasol. Kapono would make a 3 pointer and Raptors were down 6 with score 71-65. Calderon is called for a charge and turns it over.

Kapono with honestly a pretty cool spin move only throw it out of bounds. An airball 3 point attempt for the Grizzlies both these teams stink. But someone would win this with under a minute to play and Grizzlies up 6. Jason Kapono from out of no where has got hot makes a 3 pointer. Raptors were down 3. Now win or lose how bad is this that you have to struggle to beat the Grizzlies. Sure no Bosh but they had no Gay. An open 3 from O.J Mayo would end any of those thoughts of winning a basketball game. So make it another loss and Raptors have dropped 6 in a row. Make the final Memphis 78 and Raptor 70. They shot 29% in this game and this is truly as bad as it gets.

Raptors/Grizzlies Boxscore

I have to apologize if you did not like the sarcastic tone of this Raptor Rewind. However truthful the ones that owe the apologies is the guys in the red uniforms cause they were pathetic and an embarrassment to everyone that calls themselves a fan of this team.