The Raptors with a healthy Andrea Bargnani scoring 21 points were not able to beat the Pacers in their home opener losing 90-85. Now After Dwane Casey has proclaimed Andrea is unlikely to go and is listed as day to day the chances of a Raptor win tonight seem bleak. It is also a safe bet you will have a much smaller crowd than you did on opening night. Demar DeRozan did actually lead the Raptors scoring in that game with a flurry late in the 4th quarter. But as we discussed in an interview with Jack Armstrong last night here on the blog Demar has been struggling. The fact he will become the number one scoring option and even more of a focus of the defence is not likely to help that.
The Raptors will have Linas Kleiza who was not around for the first game. Given the lack of production they have had from the small forward position that can only help. In that game with the Pacers it was a typical night of failure on offence for Butler and Johnson combining to go 4-11 with just 9 points. Where the Raptors can make up the 22 points that Andrea Bargnani averages will be the major problem for how ever long he is out. Barry Davis a reporter for Sportsnet speculated that Andrea missed 4 games with a similar injury last year. Bargnani did go for an MRI yesterday on the injured calf. Strange as it sounds the Raptors will miss Bargnani's presence on the defence as well. The Raptors defence without Bargnani in the 4th vs the Kings was clearly not the same.
3 Keys To Game
By George You Better Stop Him- Paul George is one of the most unique covers at his position in the NBA. After all there are not to many giant shooting guards in the league. Listed at 6 foot 8 but likely is closer to 6 foot 9 or 10 the guy is a match up headache. He was a big factor is the Pacers win on opening night with 18 points. Demar DeRozan will not only have to try to find the hoop more on offence he will have to try to stop this guy on defence.
Center of Attention- We often joke in the DNB and call him a former Raptor. Which technically Roy Hibbert is. But the loss of Bargnani gives the Raptors one less big in the rotation that is already missing Aaron Gray. Could be a big night for the former Georgetown star in the place that he should have called home.
Point Guard Battle- Last time around Darren Collison owned this match-up doubling up Calderon in assists and being the straw the stirred the drink for the Pacers. Tonight Calderon like some others may feel more pressure to score and depending on his shooting could do just that. But on that defensive side of things, Collison is the prototype of the new, young and fast point guard entering into the league that have exposed Jose Calderon.
Let's face facts if Bargnani can't play tonight or tomorrow in Chicago it is very unlikely we see anything but 2 more losses added to the tally. This once .500 surprising team would be a not so surprising 4-9 if that were to take place. So as the snow finally falls in Southern Ontario so to do the Raptors. One is just a lot prettier than the other.
Showing posts with label Paul George. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paul George. Show all posts
12/28/11
Inconsistent Raptors Fail To Rally In Home Opener
Raptors had a full house for their home opener. For those that question basketball in Toronto they need to wake up. After being told basically your team has no chance at doing much of anything this year the Raptors still packed the house. That full house was not treated to much entertainment in the first quarter. They did see some rare events like Andrea Bargnani taking a charge. But by and large both teams struggled in the first but the Raptors really did shooting sub 30% from the field and had just 11 points and trailed 18-11 after one.
The Raptors would slowly start to get the locks off the offence that had been a one man operation in the first with Bargnani largely being their only true effective player on offence. On the other side of things Paul George was showing you why many are excited about his future. He was part of the key match-up I mentioned in the set-up for this one. The other side of that match-up was DeRozan and he failed to score in the 1st half. Raptors could not stop the lead for the Pacers would take the lead into half at 38-34. Not exactly an offensive classic in fact there was a lot of offensive things. But Andrea Bargnani was not one of them. He was perhaps the only reason the Raptors were hanging around.
In the second half the Pacers got back to work and took control of things out battling the Raptors in the 3rd and getting some breaks in terms of the officials for most of the night. Demar DeRozan did start to make himself known on the offensive end but like in Cleveland he has a pretty forgettable first 3 quarters. It reminds you of the whole Tim Tebow phenomenon. Tebow Time at least for 2 games has a Raptor equal and it is DeRozan Time. He again exploded late in the 4th and finished with 22 points(Which led the Raps). But the Raptors had let the Pacers get to far in front to catch. The Raptors would make a strong push aided by the sold out crowd but the Pacers were able to take the body blows and close the deal for the 90-85 win.
The Good: Bargnani despite the typical rebounding struggles The Raptors would be no where close if not for Bargnani. Defence was still good enough holding the Pacers to 39.5% shooting.
The Bad: DeRozan's first 3 quarters. Bayless at times took the Raptors out of their offence and went rogue despite his 5-9 shooting and 13 points. Calderon struggled as well so let's just say general point guard play was poor for very different reasons.
The Ugly: 19 Turnovers. The Raptors are not good enough to have those kind of mistakes and win basketball games.
Now it really gets tough with games vs The Mavs, Magic and Knicks. This will truly test this new Defence to the next level. Especially against the Mavs who should know how to beat this D better than anyone for obvious reasons and they are a desperate team early in this season after an ugly 0-2 start.
The Raptors would slowly start to get the locks off the offence that had been a one man operation in the first with Bargnani largely being their only true effective player on offence. On the other side of things Paul George was showing you why many are excited about his future. He was part of the key match-up I mentioned in the set-up for this one. The other side of that match-up was DeRozan and he failed to score in the 1st half. Raptors could not stop the lead for the Pacers would take the lead into half at 38-34. Not exactly an offensive classic in fact there was a lot of offensive things. But Andrea Bargnani was not one of them. He was perhaps the only reason the Raptors were hanging around.
In the second half the Pacers got back to work and took control of things out battling the Raptors in the 3rd and getting some breaks in terms of the officials for most of the night. Demar DeRozan did start to make himself known on the offensive end but like in Cleveland he has a pretty forgettable first 3 quarters. It reminds you of the whole Tim Tebow phenomenon. Tebow Time at least for 2 games has a Raptor equal and it is DeRozan Time. He again exploded late in the 4th and finished with 22 points(Which led the Raps). But the Raptors had let the Pacers get to far in front to catch. The Raptors would make a strong push aided by the sold out crowd but the Pacers were able to take the body blows and close the deal for the 90-85 win.
The Good: Bargnani despite the typical rebounding struggles The Raptors would be no where close if not for Bargnani. Defence was still good enough holding the Pacers to 39.5% shooting.
The Bad: DeRozan's first 3 quarters. Bayless at times took the Raptors out of their offence and went rogue despite his 5-9 shooting and 13 points. Calderon struggled as well so let's just say general point guard play was poor for very different reasons.
The Ugly: 19 Turnovers. The Raptors are not good enough to have those kind of mistakes and win basketball games.
Now it really gets tough with games vs The Mavs, Magic and Knicks. This will truly test this new Defence to the next level. Especially against the Mavs who should know how to beat this D better than anyone for obvious reasons and they are a desperate team early in this season after an ugly 0-2 start.
Can The Raptors Keep Up The Pace In The Home Opener?
It is the Home Opener a little later than originally advertised:
Kardinal Offishall will be in the house for halftime as well. Not to mention prior to the game there is going to be a tail gate party that is free for everyone tickets to the game or not at Maple Leaf Square. All this because the Raptors are of course 1-0. Well not exactly but once all the hype that goes with the home opener is finished the Raptors have a tougher task in front of them than they did in Ohio.
See the Pacers actually signed good players instead of punchlines for a TNT Segment with Charles Barkley and Shaq. On a side note Shaq is going to be huge hit on TNT. But between the trade the Pacers made with Spurs and signing David West it has made them a sexy pick to be one of the improved teams in the East.
While the Raptors were making short work of the Cavs, The Pacers were doing much the same to one of the East's other bottom feeders in Detroit. Roy Hibbert the Raptors draft choice for the Pacers as part of the J.O deal got off to a nice start to the year with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He will be a load to deal with for the Raptors tonight. Pacers had 3 players with double doubles in that win and 5 were in double figures as they beat Detroit 91-79.
Key Match-Up: Could go with Roy Hibbert vs Amir Johnson but instead let's go with Paul George and Demar DeRozan. Two young rising stars in the league doing battle at the shooting guard. DeRozan did not look his best in Cleveland till near the end of the game. Tonight he will have a legit test on both ends of the floor.
Other Things of Note: Pacers got to the line 25 times vs Detroit making 20 of those. They also shot 46.7% from beyond the 3 point line. They also feature a deadly duo of point guards with Darren Collison and George Hill. Lou formally Louis Amundson was also added to the Pacers and did not play in the opener.
Raptors are 10-6 in home openers last year snapping a streak of 4 straight wins in their home opener with a loss to the Knicks. It is hard to find any stat in Raptor history where they have a winning record but this is one of them. It is just the rest of the season that has been the problem. Those other 81 games or in the case of this season 65.
So the atmosphere should be off the hook to start. Will it be by the time this one is over becomes the big question. If the Raptors can hang with Pacers that would open a lot more eyes than beating the Cavs. But it will not be easy. Pacers look to have a very talented team that I predicted in this blog should be one of the 8 teams left standing for the playoffs in the East. Early Start time for this game of 6pm? Why that is I have no clue. But it is on once again as basketball officially has returned to Toronto.
Kardinal Offishall will be in the house for halftime as well. Not to mention prior to the game there is going to be a tail gate party that is free for everyone tickets to the game or not at Maple Leaf Square. All this because the Raptors are of course 1-0. Well not exactly but once all the hype that goes with the home opener is finished the Raptors have a tougher task in front of them than they did in Ohio.
See the Pacers actually signed good players instead of punchlines for a TNT Segment with Charles Barkley and Shaq. On a side note Shaq is going to be huge hit on TNT. But between the trade the Pacers made with Spurs and signing David West it has made them a sexy pick to be one of the improved teams in the East.
While the Raptors were making short work of the Cavs, The Pacers were doing much the same to one of the East's other bottom feeders in Detroit. Roy Hibbert the Raptors draft choice for the Pacers as part of the J.O deal got off to a nice start to the year with 16 points and 14 rebounds. He will be a load to deal with for the Raptors tonight. Pacers had 3 players with double doubles in that win and 5 were in double figures as they beat Detroit 91-79.
Key Match-Up: Could go with Roy Hibbert vs Amir Johnson but instead let's go with Paul George and Demar DeRozan. Two young rising stars in the league doing battle at the shooting guard. DeRozan did not look his best in Cleveland till near the end of the game. Tonight he will have a legit test on both ends of the floor.
Other Things of Note: Pacers got to the line 25 times vs Detroit making 20 of those. They also shot 46.7% from beyond the 3 point line. They also feature a deadly duo of point guards with Darren Collison and George Hill. Lou formally Louis Amundson was also added to the Pacers and did not play in the opener.
Raptors are 10-6 in home openers last year snapping a streak of 4 straight wins in their home opener with a loss to the Knicks. It is hard to find any stat in Raptor history where they have a winning record but this is one of them. It is just the rest of the season that has been the problem. Those other 81 games or in the case of this season 65.
So the atmosphere should be off the hook to start. Will it be by the time this one is over becomes the big question. If the Raptors can hang with Pacers that would open a lot more eyes than beating the Cavs. But it will not be easy. Pacers look to have a very talented team that I predicted in this blog should be one of the 8 teams left standing for the playoffs in the East. Early Start time for this game of 6pm? Why that is I have no clue. But it is on once again as basketball officially has returned to Toronto.
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