Philadelphia's Finest

Many felt the Eagles would be on their bye week waiting to see who they would play in the playoffs. The "Dream Team" of football was a flop. The Phillies never made it to the World Series. For the purposes of research I am told the Flyers are in 4th in NHL's Eastern Conference. The team on top of their Division and the best team in Philadelphia with no Allen Iverson required is the Philadelphia 76ers. Perhaps they are not that. However it is true that Sixers lead the Atlantic Division thanks in part to slow starts from the Knicks and Celtics. But Doug Collins after a very rough start in Philly last season has not looked back since.

Sixers started the season with a very long road trip that covered a lot of miles. They managed to survive it and come out of it with a 3-2 record. They just had their home opener last night if you can believe that and took care of business whacking the Pistons 96-73. The recipe for wins is one of a team philosophy. The Sixers have 6 players averaging 10 points or more through 6 games played. A major reason for there success has been the development of Jrue Holiday. He had a rough night scoring last night vs the Pistons with just 5 points but he dropped 9 dimes to keep the offence humming along.

So here are 3 points to consider for tonight's game vs Sixers.

Rebound, Rebound, Rebound: The Raptors would have had an easy win over the Nets last night if they just did their job on the glass. Any defence even the schemes used by Dwane Casey can be exposed if you fail to finish off defensive possessions with rebounds. Nets got on the offensive glass and did a solid job. Sixers have the people on the roster to do the same.

Work on Holiday: Deron Williams did damage last night to the Raptors defensive effort. He made Jose Calderon a weak link in the chain. Jrue Holiday is capable of doing the same. The Raptors must do a better job of stopping him at the point of attack. If they do not it will be a race to recover the rest of the possession.

Bounce Back For Raptors Duo: Demar DeRozan was MIA last night. Andrea Bargnani looked a lot like the Andrea Bargnani from the last 6 years and not the 6 games of this season. Bottom line is the Raptors need to have both of these guys to perform if they are going to have a chance to beat anyone. There is a drop off once you get past these two in terms of scoring. Both need to step up and do their share on offence while doing there part of the other end of the floor.

This will be a big game not in terms of if the Raptors win or loss but how they respond after what was by all accounts their worst effort of the season last night.

About This Retooling...

So I thought it was about time I gave my opinion about the current state of the Raptors and what should be done. As we all know by now the team in now in the rebuilding stage, or "retooling" as Colangelo would put it. It was also pretty obvious that with the departure of Bosh, and the team not really getting much back in return that they'll be pretty bad this season, but who could have predicted it would have been this bad other than those ESPN guys, who immediately wrote the Raptors off as soon as Bosh left. Maybe they were right and this team is really going to be a lottery team for the next few years. So where did it all go wrong?

After starting the season off 8-11 it seemed like this team really wasn't as bad as people had made them out to be, but never could we have expected that they would go 5-24 over their next 29 games and currently be in the midst of a 12 game losing streak. I get that they aren't the best defensive team, and have been hit by the injury bug a ton this season, but the makeup of this team is just wrong and if it remains this way for a while, then Raptors fans should get used to the annual trip to the Draft Lottery.

First and foremost, this whole building around Bargnani thing has got to end, because he just isn't suited to be a franchise player. How can this team be successful if they're building around a guy who is 7 feet tall and can't play defense or grab a rebound to save his life (has only recorded 1 double-double on the season). Even if you look around the NBA, there aren't much teams who are building around bigs anymore, as it has now become a league primarily dominated by elite and all-star caliber guards/wings. Those few teams that do build around a big, like Dallas and Orlando has surrounded that player with suitable teammates who won't obstruct that players game. Bargnani on the other hand plays more like a wing player, since he prefers to be on the perimeter and thus the other wing players have to adjust to that and adjust their play to suit his game. So going forward Bargnani should be moved to more of a third fiddle type role and allow the guards to control the flow of the offense. But even that would have to take some time to implement since DeMar isn't quite ready to be the franchise guy, but he's almost there.

Another issue with this team is there are way too many PF's and no true C. For some reason Colangelo chose to resign Amir long-term, draft a PF in Ed Davis and with Reggie and Bargnani the team has 4 PF, all of whom aren't cut out to play that C position. Even with the newly signed Ajinca, the team still lacks an intimidating presence in the post since, Ajinca is, as it turn out, another jump-shooting big. Not sure if Colangelo really like shooters or something, but there has to be a limit with all these perimeter bigs he keeps bringing in. With the trade deadline approaching you'll think he'll probably go out and acquire a big, but giving the state of the team currently, opposing GM's will know he's desperate and thus ask for more in return. If he's unsuccessful then, the other options to get a true center would be the draft and free agency.

If the Raptors do get a top 5 pick in this year draft it seems like they'll most likely select the Turkish big man, Enes Kanter, who seems like a really solid player. To see for yourself check him out here when he dominated the 2010 Nike Hoops Summit. Though he may be undersized at 6'10", he seems like a pretty tough player, who will be able to do the dirty work in the post and actually fight for rebounds. And seeing as he is the top ranked big in the draft it'll be best for the Raptors to select him if other team hasn't done so already. But with a possible NBA lockout looming, some players may choose not to declare for the draft, so you never know how things may change. You can check out the ESPN NBA Mock Draft Lottery game here, to see other possible selecting for the Raptors.

Yet another issue with this team seems to be stability. Each summer there's always like 5 or 6 new players and with that the team really hasn't had a consistent group of players with have played together for a long period of time other than Jose and Andrea. Though Colangelo has said that this year is a retooling year, it seems like he's been retooling every year with the number of players he gets rid off and signs each offseason. This then proves to be a disadvantage to the coaches since they now have to get used to the way these new players play and implement them into the offense. Not to mention that the players now have to develop chemistry on the court with each other all over again. Then there's the whole thing with Colangelo giving players huge contracts which they aren't even worth.

Now I can write a novel about all the things that need to be addressed with this team right now, but lets end with some positives here. The main positive for this team seems to be the play and continued development of DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis. DeMar showed flashes of what he could do at various times last season, but with Bosh and Bargnani both demanding their touches he never really got the opportunity he really needed. Now with Bosh gone, DeMar is not the teams second option and looks like he'll eventually be the first option as soon as next season, but for him to be the go-to guy he needs to make better decisions with the ball at times, get his teammates involved when he's having an off night, grab a few more rebounds and most importantly play good defense. He would also need to deal with the pressure of having opposing defenses focus primarily on him, which i doubt he'll have much problem with once he gets the experience. Ed on the other hand has shown that he can be a great defender and rebounder in limited minutes of play. He's even averaging more rebounds than Bargnani in 14 less minutes of playtime. Once he can improve his offensive game and decision making he'll be a solid player for this team, and may be the starting PF in a few years.

So what needs to be done to turn this team around, does there need to be a coaching change, do the Raptors need to acquire a star player or does the mastermind behind this catastrophe need to be shown the door? There's a saying that goes something like this, "to kill the snake you need to take out its head" and in this case the head of the snake is the one and only Bryan Colangelo. Colangelo is a great GM and always will be, but he has failed to really make this franchise successful and thus he needs to be shown the door. This is the final year of his contract anyways, so he may not be back next season, but if MLSE still thinks he can turn this team around and offers him a new contract, it'll be best if he ups his game, because he may be on a very short leash. Hopefulyy he and Triano can get their acts together or they both will be packing their bags in May. Well thats enough of that for now, since there is quite a while before the season ends, but we'll revisit this issue in the offseason.

Raptors vs South Beach Heat

So there was a rumour going around The Basketball Jones Party that Raptors lost by 40. Really that happened? I wish that I could say I was drinking to much and misremembered that. But sadly it did happen and tonight another sad note for some will be no Chris Bosh. He remains out do to over hustle by the Chicago Bulls causing him to suffer a turned ankle. Raptors had Kleiza back and now he is back out. Joey Dorsey also is a game time decision as he was banged up. I mean the Raptors resemble a M.A.S.H unit these days. It is hard to figure this team out. They were as healthy as they have been in terms of active bodies and lose by 40 points.

Wonder if Lebron is aware this is the day Kobe lite up the Raptors for 81 points. I believe that I referenced it as yesterday but it was in fact on this day in Raptor history. Lebron himself has had some 50+ nights against the Raptors. Jay Triano was driven to swear after last night's performance. Honestly who can blame him at this point. I am sure if I had stayed home and watched I would have swore too. So Lebron and we think D-Wade in this one. Why we think? D-Wade missed shoot around due to migraines as you may have read in our preview. Thanks to Ryan for filling in as I was am operating on little sleep today. But it was worth it, I had a great time last night and clearly the Raptors did not. Late word so make no D-Wade so the South Beach Cavs it is.

Andrea has been struggling but gets a bucket and LBJ has an answer. The Heat would take control early and take a 9-4 advantage. Raptors were not doing a good job guarding the perimeter and an open 3 by Chalmers makes it 12-6 Heat. Raps fought back to 12-10 and then Heat get another open look at a 3 and stick it. Raptor were struggling to keep up with the scoring punch of the Heat led by King James and Heat lead 23-15. Heat were pretty much getting what they wanted and extended the lead to 28-15. Raptors were being dominated and this was not a good sign for the present or the future (As in Feb 16th ) with score 32-17 South Beach.

Back to back Miller 3's to start the 2nd Quarter. It was raining 3's and Jay Triano called time out to bust out some umbrellas as Raptors were down 41-21. Good news is Mike Miller was forced to drive....Bad news he scores and is fouled for the and 1 and makes it. Raptors down 49-26 and this is real ugly. To be honest I just glazed over at some point. Mike Miller was looking like he was one of the Big 3. when the pain stopped it was 66-40.

The Raptors were standing around on D and looking like a defeated team. Their pointless 3 point streak would continue thanks to Jose. Yeah I loved that on both counts. It would actually spark a bit of a run for the Dinos and Heat needed a time out to but an end to that with a 75-56 lead. The time out would do what it was intended to do in stopping the bleeding. It was a pretty ho hum effort by both sides be the Raps did cut 11 points off that lead thanks to pushing ball in transition and getting some easy scores.

Some where along the line the Heat decided to stop playing and the Raptors decided to start playing early in the 4th Raptors had the lead down to 10 with score 93-83. Raptors seemingly have reversed their trend of late they had a horrible first have and a pretty good effort in the 2nd half but sadly time nor Lebron James was on their side. Lebron was shifting the Ferrari into 2nd gear and despite solid efforts scoring wise from Demar and Andrea it did not look like it was going to be enough down 110-96. In the end to much Lebron 38 Points and 11 boards with 6 assists and earlier way to much Mike Miller with 32 points and 10 boards..The Raptors lose 120-103.

Raps road trip is finally over and they limp home a disappointing 0-5 on the trip and 13-32 on the season. Raptors will attempt to stop the bleeding facing the Grizzlies at home on a Monday. Kept it on the brief side after a road trip like that think it is doing us all a favour.

Sixers and Raps in Another Basement Bowl

Welcome to Basement Bowl II . In the first Basement Bowl it was the Raptors vs the Bobcats and the Raptors found a way to lose. Now another contender for worst team in the East and in the NBA is here in the Philadelphia 76ers. Doug Collins was going to fix Philly and turn them into a playoff contender. Um...not so much. The Sixers are still terrible and Evan Turner has not exactly set the world on fire. Oh yes, not since Rocky fought Thunder Lips has there been this much excitement in Philadelphia.

The Basics: Sixers 2-9 (4 Gm Losing Streak) Raptors 2-9 (1-6 on the Road)

When Last We Saw Them: Raptors were embarrassed and humiliated in Washington more then the Democrats in the recent elections in the U.S. Least they held the Senate while the Raptors lost everything in this one. Weems was one of few Raptors that bothered to show up for work on this night. In the end it was a 109-94 final that was flattering to the Raptors.

Key Match Ups: Jrue Holiday has been improving and Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon have been having a rough year in general. If Holiday is left to do his thing could lead to some easy baskets for him and his team mates.If Andrea Bargnani can not take it to Spenser Hawes then I give up. Seriously just give up and pray for Demar to surpass him. In fact the Sixers really have no good answer to match up with Bargnani. Which is the same for a lot of teams. But Andrea needs to show up and perform. I wonder if we have ever seen a full 48 minutes from Andrea?

In Case You Missed It: We announced the 2nd chance to win a pair of tickets for the Best Seats in the House vs Denver on December 10th. While tonight I will be down at Real Sports Bar as NBA T.V Canada will be in the House with Akil and Kat should be fun. Normally I prefer being home watching games or out covering them but Real Sports is just to nice to say no. So that is where I will be for Raptors and Sixers.

The Champs Are Here!!!

So your the Raptors, you have lost 3 of your first 4 games, and you face the 2 time defending Champs. Not exactly great timing for the Toronto Raptors. But that is what they face in L.A, then off to Portland tomorrow who lost to OKC in overtime. Which was a great game if you happened to catch it. But as the saying goes you take them one at a time

The Basics: Lakers 5-0 (They are 3-0 at Staples) Raptors 1-3 ( 0-2 vs the West )

When We Last Saw Them: Do we really need to do this? In case you some how missed it the Raptors got man handled by the Jazz. It was pretty ugly throughout. Deron Williams was so good it caused Jay Triano to drop an F-Bomb like K.G. Aside from a rally in the 3rd quarter the Raptors showed few signs of life. Sonny Weems was one of them and Andrea Bargnani had 9 rebounds and 26 points in a game the Raptors fell behind 41-22 after the first quarter.

The Key Match Ups: I will give you 80 + 1 reasons for who it is? Kobe Bryant and whoever is guarding him. Which I expect will be a number of people before the night is done. First to try his luck will likely be Demar DeRozan who is making his return to L.A. Not exactly a fun way to make a homecoming trying to stop 24 in gold and purple all night. The other match up of note with be Gasol and Bargnani. Andrea tends to do well when matched up with fellow Euros, but Gasol is one of, if not the best. Other guys to keep an eye on will be Lamar Odom who is off to a great start. Also Steve Blake could be that guy that sticks a number of big 3 pointers if not accounted for.

Other Things of Note: This is a really late start at 10:30 pm (Toronto Time) and shifts over to TSN 2 from Sportsnet 1. Which begs the question that my mother asks, will the Raptors ever be on a channel that I can get? Not till November 13th when Chris Bosh will suit up against the Raptors for the first time in his NBA career. Lakers have won 8 straight games vs the Raptors at home. The Raptors did manage to defeat L.A at the A.C.C last season and Bargnani had 22 in that win. Kobe Bryant is averaging 25 points a game and Gasol 23.2 points a game. Lakers also rank first in the league in points with a shade over 113 PPG and lead the league in 3PT % shooting it at 46.8% on the young season. Two ugly signs for a Raptor D that was taken to task vs the Jazz.

Overtime Extra Point: The Raptors chances as the old expression goes are slim and none and slim left town. It might be important for the Raptors to accept their fate sooner rather then later with facing the Blazers on a back to back. How Jay Triano manages minutes in this game might be the most important thing once a victory is out of the equation.