Raptors Play Big Role In Philly's Playoff Destiny

The Raptors are as close as we could say to on a roll this season. That is the opposite of the team they face tonight. The Sixers for most of this season have sat on top on the Atlantic Division after a great start to this shortened schedule this year. Until just recently when that team of old guys in Boston started playing good basketball. It is as predictable as the leaves budding on the trees at this time of of year. The Sixers have won just four of their last 10 games. That said they still have an impressive home record of 19-10. The price of the Celtics passing the Sixers is high. Sixers went from a winnable first round match-up with Orlando to having to face Miami. They are a game and half back of both the Celtics and Hawks to avoid that first round trip to South Beach.

So the Raptors get to be in the roll of spoiler. The Sixers and Hawks both have two games left with the Raptors and if the Raptors were to surprise either team it could have a major impact on their playoff outlooks. Raptors will play the Sixers again a week from tonight at the ACC. They will play the Hawks in a home and home and back to back on April 15th and 16th. In those reverse standing the Raptors moved past the Nets and out of the basement of the Atlantic Division last night with their win over the Bobcats. It could lead to a very interesting final game of the season with the Raptors and Nets with both teams not exactly motivated to win.

Games in which both Andrea Bargnani and Demar DeRozan have been firing on all cylinders have been rare in the three years since DeRozan has been here but we did get to see that last night. In terms of the Sixers Jrue Holiday and Andre Iguodala have traditionally played well against the Raptors in their career. Another name you might want to add to that list is Thaddeus Young. The Raptors are in the midst of playing 5 games in 7 days so it is only going get tougher as it goes along.

3 Keys: 

Stop Penetration: Jrue Holiday will look to attack the paint. keep him out of their and play strong in the post. Sixers have only a few options to make the long ball so even the use of zone makes sense tonight for the Raptors.

Transition Offense: Both of these teams like to get out and run in transition. The team that does the best in this regard should have a big leg up in winning the game.

D is Key: Raptors D has not been spectacular despite two wins. It will need to be good tonight to beat this team. 

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.

Playing Out String In Philly

Raptors road woes are well documented (6-33 on the Road) that being said this is one of the few places on the NBA map the Raptors have won. But that was early in the season (94-86 Win on Nov 17 2010), and that was a much different Sixers team. After a very slow start to the season Doug Collins has turned this thing around. Some even say he deserves to win the Coach of the Year Award. I am not one of those. But he has done a solid job turning the Sixers into a playoff team once again. Raptors have been without Andrea Bargnani 4 of the last 6 games and when he has been in there it really hasn't done anything. If it was my call I would just shut him down for rest of season. Let Ed Davis play and gobble up the extra minutes. Jose Calderon returned the last game and again I would rather see Jerryd Bayless at this point. Raptors should just play the kids and honestly should have been doing it for a long time. This team could easily make it to 60 losses on the season. They play Philly tonight, Nets on Sunday, Bucks on Monday and close it out with Heat on Wednesday. It stopped being about winning a long time ago.

The Basics: Raptors 21-57 (Lost 6 straight on Road) Philadelphia 40-39 (1/2 game behind Knicks for 6th in East)

When Last We Saw Them: The Raptors lost to the worst team in the NBA in the Cavs and trailed by as many as 22 the less we say about this game the better.

The Key Match Ups: Jrue Holiday is the key match-up for the Raptors to figure out. His improvement has been a big part of this Sixers turnaround. In a new system this season he has been able to shine. The Eddie Jordan Princeton offence was not a good fit for him or the Sixers. Be it Calderon or Bayless there needs to be an improvement on defensive end. Jodie Meeks can be a deadly 3 point shooter at times he is averaging 41% on the season. Raptors defence of the three point line has been a joke for most of the season. When ever you see Toronto vs Philly the name Andre Iguodala comes to the forefront. He still remembers Rob Babcock for passing on him in the draft and often is very motivated to come out and show Raptor fans what they missed out on.

Other Things Of Note: Your Ping Pong Ball Standings down the stretch:

• 1. Minnesota 17-62 --
• 2. Cleveland 17-61 (1/2 Game Back)
• 3.Washington/Toronto 21-57 (4 1\2 Games back)
• 5. New Jersey 24-54 ( 7 1/2 Games Back)

So with a loss the or a Nets win the Raptors would enter the Draft Lottery no worse than 4th and meaning the lowest they could pick is 7th. By winning the season series with Cleveland it would put 2nd out of reach. So really if you want to scoreboard watch you are looking for Washington wins down the stretch. Basically Raptors will enter the lottery 3rd or 4th it looks like.

Where Is It On? Sportsnet 1 (Stick around after to watch the Jays a team that is WINNING)

8 is MORE THAN ENOUGH!!!

After awhile you just forget what it was like when your team wins a game. If this happens you are in the middle of a long season. In case you forgot last time it happened it was against the Sacramento Kings on January 9th 2011. Since then the Raptors have not made it to the winner's circle. Although they have had some great efforts in attempting to do so. Tonight's opponent can relate to how the Raptors feel. The Sixers limped out of the gate but have battled there way to a playoff spot in the pitiful Eastern Conference. Doug Collins has been known as a guy that can make teams instantly better. He has never been a guy that has been able to lead a team to ultimate success though. But if you want a good coach to change the culture of your organization he has an excellent track record. The Raptors roster for tonight will be a bit of mystery and that is not new. Alexis Ajinca the latest Raptor did not practice with his new team yet and then you have you long list of injured, sick and recovering Raptors. Toronto does have a 2-0 series lead on the season. But those games came early in the year and roster is much different both in terms of health and the Raptors roster moves since.

The Basics: Philadelphia 19-25 (5-18 on Road) Raptors 13-32 (1-9 in Last 10)

When Last We Saw Them: This Happened (Be Advised Language in This Clip)....

Some how that makes this loss sting a little less. As you saw Rudy Gay hit a game winner and sunk the Raptors. It was the 8th straight loss and 3rd straight at home. Normally I will not post things with profanity but that was just to funny not too post f-bombs or not.

Key Match-Ups: Thankfully for the guy in that clip...no Rudy Gay to worry about. But there will be Jrue Holiday to deal with for Bayless or Jose depending on the status of Calderon. I admit I am surprised and how Holiday has developed. I remember he was one of the guys that got a lot of talk for the Raptors to select in his draft year. I was not a fan of the idea of him as Raptor. But he has proven me wrong. He may not be Russell Westbrook but he is pretty good to decent in his own right. Andre Iguodala has had a down year by his standards but he always seems to show up when he sees those Raptor Jerseys on the other end of the floor. Again depending on who is healthy they will have a tough time with him passed on his history against the Raptors alone. Also beware of Lou Williams coming off the bench he gets hot shooting and he could go off like a Mike Miller did to the Raptors.

Other Things Of Note: Sixers come in off wins over the Suns and Jazz after dropping a contest to Bobcats who sit just behind them is the Eastern Conference Playoff race. Sixers unlike the Raptors have had the good fortune of health having only 29 man games lost due to injury or suspension. After a 3-13 start the Sixers are 16-12 since.

I will be Liveblogging this game for The Score.com and ScoreMobile and you can join me by clicking this link as we will get rolling just about 10 minutes before 7pm. At that time will have all the roster news for this one.

Where Is It On? TSN 2 (Wayne Gretzky's Birthday is a National Holiday for TSN so this is understandable....Happy B-Day Wayne)

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.

B.C Speaks, We Listen And Trades Happen

Why wait for tomorrow when you can do it tonight? Right? So 1,2 and 3 trades go down. But first this is the Dino Nation Blog and Bryan Colangelo was front and center for the media today. Colangelo has always been a pretty straight shooter and today was no exception. So what did we learn? From the mouth of B.C barring something totally unforeseen the next Raptor will be one of 5 guys.

Jrue Holiday (UCLA) - Expected back for a second look prior to Thursday. Just my take they are trying to convince themselves he is better than Jonny Flynn. But I am here to say no way. Size may matter but heart matters more. That being said Eric Smith in his chat today was high on him and thinks Raps are as well.

Demar DeRozan (USC)- Let's call him the people's choice. I remember another people's choice. Ed O'Bannon. Not saying Demar DeRozan is going to have that awful a career. Let's all hope so if the Raps to take him. But I am not digging this private workout against no one. I am just not digging when people say Vince Carter and this guy in the same sentence. They mean in potential talent not in attitude. I have been told and read he is a tremendous kid and I have no doubt of that. But 19 with upside is not making me get as excited as everyone else. But he could indeed be the top guy on the board for the Raps at 9.

Gearld Henderson (Duke)- Love the player hate the school. I have seen him play and I like what he can do. If I am endorsing anyone that played for Duke they have to be good. Henderson just seems to me a guy that I can trust is going to be good. I am more confident in what I am getting in him than I am convinced in what exactly I get in DeRozan. Here is something to chew on. Henderson is more ready now to play in NBA. Where have I heard that before? Brandon Roy was the most draft ready and some guy named Bargnani was drafted for his upside. Just something to think about when you compare DeRozan and Henderson. The gap in Mock drafts may make it look like these players are not close at all. But reality is that I think they are.

James Johnson (Wake Forest)- B .C likes this guy. At least he keeps saying his name. But I am not sold on this guy. He does have a black belt so please don't hurt me. He does seem like a guy that would help on defensive side of the ball. But I just don't see it even though draft express has replaced him as the Raptors pick instead of DeRozan. Seems I am not the only one not as high on DeRozan as he has be on a steady decline and now sits at #11 on their draft board going to play with the Nets and if he is V.C like he would get to see the real V.C or what is left of him.

Jonny Flynn (Syracuse)- I am putting my one year streak of being right on the Raptors draft choice on the line with Jonny Flynn. If you read this blog on a regular basis you know how much I think of the point guard position and it's importance. I also like small scrappy guys like T.J Ford, Rajon Rondo, D.J Augustine and my new fav Aaron Brooks. Jonny Flynn is an athletic freak of nature despite his lack of size. The only thing bigger might be this kid's heart. To but that type of player in a gym with Alvin Williams...OH I LIKE IT AND I LIKE IT A LOT. Jonny Flynn is going to be not just good but great. In a point guard heavy draft I am convinced that he will be in the debate for the best in this class at the point. I am more willing to bet on Jonny than Roko and after last season I am not willing to go into another season without a legit back-up. Jonny Flynn is more than legit and if Roko does turn out ok...can you say trade Jose? It could happen. But regardless of that Flynn is a guy I trust if Calderon goes down like last year. The kid flat out wants to win and he showed you that in the NCAA post season at the Big East Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. There was a tiny point guard named Damon Stoudamire that Raptors fans booed. He turned out to be rookie of the year. Don't make the mistake of booing Jonny Flynn. He will make you sorry for doing it. Trust me.

More on what Bryan had to say tomorrow. But on to the deals....

On To the Trades

To The Spurs- Richard Jefferson

Can't stand the guy and trust me this is not the answer to save the Spurs. Jefferson has done NOTHING since Jason Kidd left Jersey. I admit that I have never liked R.J even before he insulted Toronto fans in the playoff series with the Nets. I think he has been an under achiever for the majority of his career. Over hyped and not as good as everyone says he is.

To The Bucks- Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto (For a few hours)

Said to be a cap move for the Bucks. But they add some toughness and I actually like this deal for the Bucks. At least I did when they were keeping Oberto. But as you will see he was not a Buck for long.

To The Pistons- Fabricio Oberto

Minor move but I like it for Pistons.

To The Bucks- Amir Johnson

saving money seems to be a theme for the Bucks.

To The Wizards- Randy Foye and Mike Miller

Interesting not sure what to make of it but Miller could be a nice fit and add some 3 point shooting pop. Foye will never be Roy and a fresh start can only do him good.

To The T-Wolves- Etan Thomas, Oleksiy Pecherov and Darius Songaila and the fifth overall pick in Thursday’s NBA draft

Why main question is why did the T-Wolves feel the need to move up. What does this mean for their other picks in the draft? All solid questions. On the players they take back minus the draft choice I don't like the trade but add the pick and we will see.

So it is almost Midnight do you know where your favourite NBA Star is? He might not be there in the morning. The moves and trades are starting to heat up getting ready for Thursday. So hope you enjoyed this special late edition of the blog.

3 More Sleeps To Draft Night.

So much talk and speculation in the air. The NBA draft goes down this Thursday and all those Mock Drafts can be thrown out and the REAL DRAFT BOARD takes center stage. Shockingly last night no one on the MMVA's asked Bosh about his thoughts on the draft. O.K maybe it isn't so shocking. If George Stroumboulopoulos still worked for Much he would have asked. I could go on and on about how much that the MMVA's left me feeling old and less than entertained. I liked Kelly Clarkson and they should have cancelled the show American Idol once she won the first show. But this is a basketball blog not some gossip rag like Perez Hilton does. How does a guy like that get popular and tell others what is cool? If that is what determines if you are cool the Dino Blogger will pass on being cool. Although the NBA Draft process is not full of rumours and gossip. But if people expect Chris Bosh to have his name mentioned on draft night as part of a trade you will be sad and disappointed much like a little girl who did not get to touch her favourite Jonas Brother. Bosh is not getting traded on draft night. I will gladly but my streak of predicting things correct on the line.

Also, when you consider all the promotional work Bosh has being doing lately in Toronto. Can anyone seriously say that Bosh hates the city? He could stay home in Texas and not come back to Toronto until training camp for the most part. In fact lots of NBA players really do like the city. Playing for the Raptors and how folks feel about the city are not as connected as people like to believe. Demar DeRozan has been the latest who had been tagged with this anti Toronto and anti Canada label. DeRozan when he did finally workout for the Raptors said he loved the city. What concerns me far more from his thoughts on Toronto is the fact he worked out solo. I would much rather have seen him do a traditional workout against others. Unfortunately that did not happen. That likely has more to do with DeRozan's agent and not the kid himself. Agents have a lot to gain or lose on draft night just as much as the players they represent. In the way that NBA is set up the lower the player goes the less money they make. So some agents go out of their way to protect their clients from being exposed. But just in trying to avoid that sometimes that costs them just the same.

Jonny Flynn on the other hand is on the rise with most people as DeRozan and his stock for some is dropping. It is hard to find anything bad to say about Jonny Flynn. He is a small point guard that can jump out of a gym. He is a much better defender than he is given credit for. You can blame the school he played college ball for that. Syracuse using the zone as the primary defense has left many an NBA scout wonder what kind of defenders players from Syracuse can be on the next level. Joey Graham was thought to be a good defender coming out of college but playing in mostly zone at Oklahoma State perhaps helped that reputation live. The obvious issue for Flynn would be his size. However there have been a number of smaller guards to hit the league that have made that risk seem a lot less.

There has also been talk that Flynn could end up replacing what the Raptors traded away last year in T.J Ford. In terms of defense Jack Armstrong said Flynn in his opinion will be better defender than Ford. I think it is pretty common knowledge that I am a T.J Ford fan. However I agree that T.J could be a much better defender than he shows. I would also agree that Flynn is going to be more Rajon Rondo like in terms on defense. If both Flynn and DeRozan are on the board I am taking Jonny Flynn. But would Bryan Colangelo is the real question.

The worst case for the Raptors would be if both Flynn and DeRozan were gone. What happens if that is the case? Well if it is that may mean that a couple of guys have fallen down the draft board. Who are they? Could be Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry. Long before a lot of Raptor fans knew who Demar DeRozan was, Curry was the people's choice. His dad Dell a former Raptor and it seemed like a logical fit. To the best of my knowledge Curry has not worked out for the Raptors and I would expect at this late hour is not going to be. I think the major concern for Curry is defense. The two most likely teams that could hide that weakness would be the Warriors and the Knicks. Now take it for what it is worth because believe it or not people tend to lie as the draft gets closer. I know that is shocking isn't it. However the talk is the Knicks have not been in love with Curry as much as they once were. Evans has been the name I would hear tied to Derozan. Some were for Evans and others were for DeRozan. Evans is a combo guard out of Memphis and if the Raptors drafted him he most likely plays the 2. This may not be fair but when you consider all the questions the surround the Memphis program you might have some concerns about Evans. Draft Express also lists in terms of weak points his decision making and 3 point shooting.

Aside from those two player you have Jrue Holiday out of UCLA. Another combo guard that the Raptors would likely be looking to play at the 2. I personally watched a few UCLA games this year and to be honest was not blown away by him. He is said to have good defensive skills. However when I read not ready to contribute right away and limited upside that scares the heck out of me. The Pac-10 had a pretty down year overall. Which is something to consider not just with Holiday but DeRozan as well.

If you want to throw a complete wild card into the mix how about DeJaun Blair from Pitt. He much like Glen "Big Baby" Davis has lost a ton of weight since we last saw him on the floor. Davis when I first saw him in summer league for the Celtics I was truly shocked. Same reaction will be when some people see Blair. However being so undersized in terms of height I do not know if he can be effective on the next level. I can not see him ever playing at 3 and he is to small to play 4. In today's NBA I think you would need to be the second coming of Charles Barkley to be effective at the size. I don't see Blair as that. He does have a good sense of humour like Barkley though.

There is also the whole idea of teams trading up and down. That will make some Mock drafts not worth the page they are printed on. Oh the fun of it all. Bottom line is no matter how much you read or study you still will have to show up on Thursday night to know what truly is going to happen. That is what makes the draft so great. About the only thing we think he know is that Blake Griffin will be picked first by the Clippers. But maybe that is not even a lock. So as the title says 3 more sleeps to answers.

Tuesday Timbits

Happy Tuesday. The Orlando Magic hope it will be a lucky Tuesday for them. Can they bounce back on their home floor and make this a series? If they do not the Finals are pretty much done. They always say a series has never really gets started till a team loses on their home floor. However the way the Magic lost game 2 it had to feel like they let one slip away. Magic seem to be re-acting to the Lakers and that is not really going to work. I hear Sam Mitchell saying the Magic just have to make shots!!! But it seems that the addition of Jameer Nelson has been a distraction rather than a boost.

I think the Magic would have been better served to wait till this game to have brought back Nelson. If the Magic were going to be in the same spot of down 2-0 it may have been used as something to rally behind. The Fans in Orlando would no doubt be excited to see him return. It just seems like it might have made sense.

It has to be hard for Jeff Van Gundy to be calling the series that his brother is coaching in. I have never had a brother or sister but it would seem obvious that would be difficult. He is on Twitter if you want to read J.V.G tweets.... @Notorious_J_v_G. If Jeff ever decides to put down his headset and pick up a clipboard again I will be truly sad.

Holly Mackenzie had a good write up on Jonny Flynn who recently made his way through Toronto. She is really a talented writer and one of my favourite people to talk basketball with. I have been trying to get her to come be a guest in the Dino Nation Blog for a long time. Hopefully at some point we can put it together. But till that happens you can check her out writing for the Score Court Surfing and for Slam. She loves her ball and it shows in everything she writes. I also did a write up myself called View form the North . It is over on The Hoops Doctors site. It has in there a link up from Hoops Addict to Jonny Flynn talking to the Toronto media after his workout. They also have video of Jrue Holliday talking to the gathered media. Ryan McNeill from Hoops Addict will be my guest later in the week to talk about Draft and other basketball things as he has been covering the workouts in T.O. Look for that late Wednesday or Thursday.

I had mentioned that the Orlando Sentinal was letting fans blog for the finals. They actually have someone from Canada doing one. Check it out. In the first one Alicia Bell the writer of that complains about not being able to find a bar in Vancouver with the NBA Finals on. I think all of us in Canada can relate to that one. I remember when I dated someone who worked at a bar that was my in to getting the Raptors game put on one of the several T.V's in the place. But I don't think people should have to resort to those levels.

It is not a bar but the live blogs they put on a score can give you that bar type feel from your home or if you are out on the go and have an Iphone. That is likely where you will find me for Game 3 and beyond be it working or just as a fan. The NBA Draft is fast approaching and hopefully I have some exciting news on that as it gets closer. June 25th is the date and it is always a fun time to see what will go down in N.Y.C that has become the home of the Draft in the NBA just as it is in the NFL.

Aside from the obvious interest in Chris Bosh it seems that Anthony Parker may be on the Cavs Radar. If Cavs fans think they are landing Bosh they are nuts. I was reading something on a Cleveland site that suggested that Anderson Varejao, Delonte West and trade fodder. They also suggest they may need to add a first pick. Really you think? This is what my summer is going to be? Oh man. But Parker signing with the Cavs might be a more realistic option. Parker has always said he likes Toronto and is happy here with his family but to play with Lebron James? That might be to good to pass on. But it is just a rumour and one of about 10,000 we will hear over what has the makings of a very long summer.