Triano Is Starting To Show His Stuff

Well the Toronto Raptors played their best basketball game of the season last night. It was thanks in part to a great game plan that Jay Triano and his staff put together. Devin Harris and Vince Carter were the reasons that the Nets were able to steal a win in Toronto. They were highly ineffective in the re-match in New Jersey. Triano decided to match athletic people on Harris like Joey Graham and Jamario Moon. He was able to hide Jose Calderon on defense and not allow a faster point guard to take advantage of him. Meanwhile Vince Carter struggled and did not make a field goal in this basketball game. Even late in the game he went to go in for a dunk only to find Jermaine O'Neal who would foul him and not allow him to get a dunk. A little thing but an important thing that was more of a statement than it was meaningful to the outcome.

Even for the average fan this was an example that they could see the difference between the Sam Mitchell lead Raptors and the Jay Triano lead Raptors. Toronto was making a better overall defensive effort and it was creating turnovers and easy chances to score out of the fast break transition. The Raptors have started to look like a different basketball team and seem to have a much better defensive scheme that they are going out and executing. Granted they have only beat the Pacers and the Nets. But the signs of change are there for this team and it has been easy to see. A much tougher task will lie ahead on Sunday against the Hornets but the Raptors will come into that game with a lot of confidence and momentum.

I Believe In Joey?

The player that most has loved the Jay Triano era is Joey Graham. 6 straight double figure games for Joey Graham has that ever happened? I am not going to look it up but I will guess no. Joey Graham has a new found confidence and is getting it done. Joey is not playing with the fear of if he makes a mistake he will be back on the bench. Under Sam Mitchell his growing frustration with Joey and his mistakes had made the hook for Joey a very short one. Triano has not been so fast to get the hook for Graham and is being rewarded. I can't believe it but I am starting to have faith in Joey Graham. I have been sucked in again by what Joey Graham can do. He does show you some skill and highlight making ability. Joey Graham has had more highlight dunks this season than Jamario Moon. Joey Graham could be saving his NBA career and is increasing his trade value on a daily basis. But now some people may not want to trade Joey with the way he is playing. But whatever the case maybe it is all good signs for Joey Graham and his loyal fans. I will say that Joey Graham does have a small loyal fan base. Well that fan base is growing and they will all say they always knew Joey could do it. I will be honest in saying that I didn't.

Still A Tough Road Ahead

Despite all of this good feeling the schedule that is in front of the Raptors is a tough one. But if they can keep their heads above water good times lie ahead for them. This team is on a similar course as the team that won a division title a few years ago. That team that won a division title had it's struggles early, but when the schedule turned and they saw easier opposition, they took advantage. Will this team do the same thing? It is yet to be determined but the early signs may be showing that they can. The Raptors are just 5-10 against teams that are over .500, but when those teams pop up on the schedule below that mark they must take advantage.The Raptors will also need to find a way to steal the odd win from some good teams as well. The Raptors have yet to have that big unexpected win over a good team. There will be lots of chances to do that on the rest of the December schedule.

Couple Things Of Note For Record Books

Jose Calderon is in the NBA Record book as he has made his first 55 free throws of the NBA season. That is the best start ever from the line in the history of league. The Raptors also extended that much talked about 3 pointer streak to 800 games and counting. These are nice things but in the end it is about the W and L's and Jose Calderon would be the first to point out that fact.

Future For A.P?

Anthony Parker has be sidelined with an ankle injury for this 2 game winning streak. There has been a lot of talk even coming into the season on if he would remain with the Raptors. Jason Kapono has looked alright in the starting line-up. It all makes you wonder what will happen once A.P is declared healthy. Could he find himself on the bench? Is he a guy that Bryan Colangelo is shopping around to make a move? These are questions that will be answered moving forward. Some have noticed that A.P seems to have perhaps just lost a step and is not at the same level he was when he first arrived in Toronto. It is not likely he can bring back a significant player on his own. But in this mad world of creating cap space he does make a decent amount of money and that may be more important for a team that would look to acquire him. A.P has always been a stand up guy in his time in Toronto and be it getting put on the bench or part of trade rumours I have confidence he will remain the professional he has always been. He is a great person and done a lot in his time in Toronto for the community. A good person that you wish nothing but the best for Raptor or not. It would not be a shock if A.P is not on this squad when the trade deadline has passed in February 2009.

December 15th Is Coming

There has been some movement in the league with a few more trades and move earlier than the norm this year. But come December 15th everyone on all the NBA rosters in theory becomes available. Bryan Colangelo has not been hiding the fact he is working the phones. If only we had a wire tap on his cell phone. It would be very interesting I am sure. So next week we can expect to see some teams looking to make a move. Will the Raptors be in that mix? Bryan Colangelo seems to be suggesting that at the very least they will be in the conversations going on. One thing is for sure that all eyes will be looking to see who is going to make a move. That will mean a big week for the people in the rumour business. So get ready for a week of lots of speculation from around the league.

That's A Rap For Today

I was up early on the radio in Montreal making another appearance on off the bench on CJLO 1690 AM. If I get a copy of it or a link I will post it and you can hear what we were talking about. So thanks to Gerry for the invite to be back on the show. I have a radio background so being on the radio is a lot of fun for me. I hope that I can do this in more places around the country. I love talking basketball and it is a lot of fun. Dino Blogger is always willing to come on and talk ball be it big show or small show it does not matter to me. I put in a lot of time doing college radio and it was a blast. So I am always willing to talk with anyone that wants to have me.

Speaking of Radio Paul Jones the Radio Play by Play voice of the Raptors is hopefully going to be dropping by to visit here next week. So that is something to look forward to as well.

If you need to get in touch with me for any reason be it you have a question, comment or maybe you want me to ask Paul something? It all goes to the same place.

dinonationblog@sourcecable.net

You can also find the Dino Nation Blog on Facbook with the NEW fan page, our group, We are on Twitter to and a whole bunch of other places. It is all about growing a nation of readers to share in the love that we all have for the Raptors and Basketball. Thanks to all of you for taking the time to read the Dino Nation Blog. Enjoy your Saturday Dino Nation.

Raptors Rewind- From Depths Of IZOD Center

The Raptor team bus got into a fender bender on route to the arena. It has been that type of year. But everyone was o.k and they did make it to the arena in one piece and on time. So with everyone aside from the bus driver accounted for it was time to play some basketball.

1st Quarter

Nets had an empty trip after winning the tip. Raptors were able to score on their first chance of the night. Same starting line-up as it was versus the Pacers. No Parker or Hump as well. Parker an Ankle and Hump a knee. Chris Bosh made a basket over Yi. Raps had an early 4-0 lead till Devin Harris turned on the jets going past Calderon for the score. Bosh would respond with a Jam. Jamario Moon and Jose Calderon missed wide open lay-ups. Nets would make a 3-ball and were 3-3 after a 0-5 shooting start. This game was not looking like an NBA classic to this point. Carter triend to hook up Yi Jianlian for ally opp that turned into an opps as Yi would miss fire and fall to the floor.

Bosh would be fouled and sent to the line and he would put the Raptors in front agin 10-9. He would later hit a jumper and it was now 12-9 for the men in red. The Nets would fire back and it was Yi for three to give the Nets a 14-12 lead. Yi would later leave as he picked up his second foul going over the back of Bosh. Jason Kapono would hook up Jamario Moon with the alley opp. Jose Calderon followed that up with a 3 pointer. Raptors had a 17-14 lead. Joey Graham had checked in for Toronto and got to the line. It was 19-14 and the Raptors had a 7-0 run. But even better news would come moments later. Vince Carter was left in the game with 2 fouls and he would get tagged with a charge giving him 3 fouls in the first quarter and he would now have to sit. A couple blocks for Andrea Bargnani would lead to a net shot clock violation. Chris Bosh would take that next offensive chance and score the bucket and plus the foul. Raptors had a 22-14 lead. Jamario Moon showing the things we liked from last year with a steal. He would turn that into an easy chance to score for Joey G which he would cash in on. Nets would manufacture 4 points to close out the quarter. Raptors still had a 24-18 lead after 1 quarter of play.

2nd Quarter

The Nets only shot 27% in the first quarter but only trailed by 6 points. Devin Harris found a mis-match with Joey Graham guarding him he would blow by and get fouled. But he could only hit 1 of 2 from the line. Keyon Dooling would make it a 6-0 run to start the quarter and the score was tied at 24. J.O would get to the line and bust up the Nets run. Raptors had missed a lot of easy looks in this game. You had to wonder if they would regret that later on in the evening.

Jay Triano had a game plan to deal with Devin Harris. He was matching up the more athletic wings to draw that assignment. It has having some impact as the Nets only had 6 points in the paint to this point. But the offence had gone cold for Toronto and the Nets thanks to work on offensive glass had a 30-28 lead. Lawerence Frank decided to roll the dice and sent V.C back in the game with 3 fouls. But there was some debate about that as the offical score sheet had him with 2 fouls. If I didn't know better I'd say we were in Atlanta. The crowd is about the same size and energy level. The foul is dispute was given to Brook Lopez and not V.C. So with that matter put to bed the Nets had a 34-30 lead with Vince on the floor. Chris Bosh would get a basket and cut that lead in half. He blew by Yi who leads him in all star voting as I talked about in the morning blog. Bosh must have heard about the voting as well. He scored again and he had 15 making a statement. Jamario Moon would score off a turnover not once but twice and the Raptors had a 38-34 lead. Joey Graham broke out with the highlight reel dunk and the Raptors were rolling they were on a 10-0 run. Nets would get one last chance to break the Raptor run but could not. So the Raptors took a 40-34 lead into the halftime break.

3rd Quarter

Under Jay Triano the Raptors looked much different against the Nets. They held New Jersey to 27% shooting and Vince Carter was 0-6 from the field. Chris Bosh was continuing his effort to get to the basket and was heading back to the line. He would only make 1-2. Bobby Simmons on the other end would hit a 3 pointer. The lead was cut to just 3 points but Jamario Moon would score to extend that to 5 with a basket. Jason Kapono after a great night against the Pacers. He was only 1-9 on the night. He need some of luck that Jose Calderon. He fired up a 3-ball that would take it's time before passing through the hoop.

Vince Carter continued to struggle as he was now 0-9 on the night from the field. Jermaine O'Neal would get a basket plus a foul and the Raptors had a 9 point advantage up 51-42. Raptors were making things happen on defense as that was the starting point for the more running attack the Triano has wanted to see. Joey Graham would get to the line off on off those turnovers and make a pair. Another turnover and the cold Jason Kapono would get a little heat going with a huge 3 pointer and the Raptors had their largest lead of the night of 14 points. Devin Harris was the focus of the Raptor defense and he was frustrated. He would pick up a tech and the would add to the lead making it 15 with the score 57-42.

The Nets would run off 5 straight points and cut the lead down to 10. Andrea Bargnani who had been good on defense but not on offense. He was able to get to the line. He would make the shots. On the next trip he would get on the offensive glass and score. Jason Kapono another 3-ball he would make that was two in a row for him. The Raptors were looking impressive with a 64-50 lead in the late stages of the third quarter. Vince continued to struggle as he was 0-10 from the field. Make that 0-11 for Carter. He would also pick up his 4th foul. He and his Nets were down 16 with the score 66-50 for the Raptors. Raptors would build on that and make it an 18 point advantage. Jamario Moon who had a career high 5 steals was getting looked at on the bench. He seemed to have some issue with his ribs. But meanwhilt the Raptors had a 71-52 lead. The Nets would add a free throw but it was still a massive 18 point lead heading into the 4th quarter.

4th Quarter

Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon were on the bench and were not going to be needed. Why you ask? Because Jason Kapono had found his shot and he would start the fire in the quarter. Along with that shooting they were playing tough defense. The Raptors had built up an 88- 60 lead. They refused to let Devin Harris and Vince Carter beat them. Vince still was without a field goal. He was looking for a dunk and instead he would get sent to the line by J.O. Even a person who is not a big basketball fan could see the difference in the Triano game plan as opposed to the Mitchell game plan against these same Nets just about 3 weeks earlier. I had talked about not seeing the Raptors play a complete 48 minute thus far this season. But tonight with 6 minutes to go we were on the way to doing just that.

Only one negative for the Raptors was that it looked like Jamario Moon was injured to what extent is not clear. But they had wrap put on him just below his arm pit. He had been playing well prior to the injury. We will have to wait and see. The Raptors meantime had a 92-62 lead on the floor with over 4 minutes to play. Joey Graham was enjoying the Jay Triano era as he had double figures now in 6 straight games.Graham would end this game with an explanation point dunk as the Raptors win 101-79

Raptors held Nets to just 31% shooting highlighted by an 0-13 shooting night for Vince Carter. After one of his better games in his career in Toronto last time this was one of Vince's worst of his 11 years in the NBA. So the Raptors have now won 2 in a row under Jay Triano.

Nets/Raps Boxscore

Nets And Raps With Thoughts Of All Star Weekend

All-Star Voting Is A Joke

Some may remember last year I started a campaign to get votes for T.J Ford for the All-Star Game. I thought it was a nice gesture seeing as Ford's career was in question. His goal at the beginning of the season was to become an all-star. Well I did manage to get a huge amount of people to get on board with my idea. There was even an article written about it in a San Antonio newspaper. I had no idea it had been written till months after. I feel that it was something I was doing for a good cause. Why am I making mention of this? T.J ended up fine and is healthy and playing for the Pacers. All of that is true. But I was just reviewing how one person can impact or try to impact all-star voting. Gilbert Arenas who is of far more influence than the Dino Blogger. In fact I am told he writes a blog, I am also told he still is under contract to a NBA team. I think it is the Wizards. Joking aside, Arenas appealed to fans to vote for him last year saying that he would be healthy in time to play in the game and he encouraged fans to vote for him. In the end both efforts failed and T.J and Gilbert were not voted into the All-Star Game.

But what if an entire nation of billions got behind a player. It happened with a young Yao Ming. He beat out Shaq to gain starting honours for the Western Conference back when Shaq was clearly the better player of the two. But now here in 2008 it is happening again. Yi is currently beating Chris Bosh and is trailing K.G and Lebron James for a starting spot on the All-Star roster for the East. I say with all due respect to the people of China and Yi, he has no business being in an All-Star game let alone being voted into the starting line-up. Chris Bosh until recently was having an M.V.P like season for the Raptors. But yet he stills 4th in All-Star voting. Bosh last year had some fun with his fate of losing to Lebron James and K.G. We all saw the fun Texas car salesman ad that Bosh made for You Tube and spread like wild fire. It really helped put CB4 on the map in mainstream American media.

But in the end all of this stuff makes me wonder what the heck All Star voting has become. As it suggests in the at the start it is becoming a joke. But not in the funny way that Bosh video was. In the way it can't be taken seriously anymore. Bias and numbers of people voting from all around the world as turned this into nothing more then a global popularity contest. I mean it all has a real high school like feel to it. The NBA will say that the All Star Game is for the fans and that is why they are given the ability to vote. But that is a lie too. The NBA All Star Game has become a corporate event to market the NBA. The real fans at that game are luck to be able to fine a ticket in the cheap seats for the game and the various events connected to All-Star Weekend. Which is in Phoenix if you didn't know that already.

Give me the best players and leave all the bias out of it. If that means fans don't get to vote so be it. I mean it is sad it has to come to that. But if you can't find a fair and objective way to conduct the voting what other choice are you left with? I mean no disrespect to Yi. He could turn out to be a good NBA player. If he really is fortunate and develops to an even higher level than most expect maybe even an All-Star. But that is not this year and he has no business being in a conversation with James,K.G and Bosh. It just is not even a debate to be had by anyone.

Vince Carter Plays The Role Of The Grinch That Stole A Win

Seems fitting to be talking about Vince Carter after a rant about All-Star Voting. Vince was the guy who use to cash in on the popularity contest on a yearly basis. He was always ready to perform for All Star Weekend. Some would make the claim that the All Star Game was the NBA Finals for Vince Carter in his mind. I am not going to dispute that point. I think Vince was always far to focused on what amounts to being a meaningless exhibition game. I think unless something dramatic was to happen in the late stages of Vince's career. The highlight of that career will be that dunk contest in Oakland.

But there have been a few highlights of note for Vince Carter against the Raptors. The most recent two unreal plays that gave the Nets a pretty impossible win. That win would be one of the nails in Sam Mitchell's coffin as Raptor Coach we would learn later on. At the time it was just heart breaking for Raptor fans. The guy that had quit on them and left had come back to haunt them one more time. I am shocked at how well the Nets have played to this point. I thought we would already be seeing signs of a struggling and rebuilding team. But thanks in big part to Devin Harris and the coaching of Lawrence Frank the Nets have been a surprise and as a result they have kept Vince Carter engaged in the process.

The Raptors can not take it for granted that the Nets will fade back to earth and not keep this up. These next two games could be very important. The Nets have the 1-0 lead in the season series if they win this game tonight they guarantee at least a split in the season series. That could mean something come playoff time for both the Nets and Raptors. Playoffs and Nets? Yeah it could be the case and if it is so they will need to win games like this. Raptors just need wins period at this point.

Notes On Tonight's Match-Up.

The Nets do have one thing in common with the Raptors. They are not exactly tearing it up on the home floor. Although the crowds at the IZod (they still call it that right?) and the ACC are not the same at all in numbers or volume. The Nets are just 4-6 at home and come into this game off a loss despite being 7-3 in their last 10. The Raptor on the road are a not so impressive 4-7 coming of the win on Wednesday against the Pacers. They in their last 10 are just 3-7. But the Raptors are preaching patience as Jay Triano is trying to change some aspects of the Raptor battle plan. It was refreshing to see how truly happy this team was when Triano got his first win as the head coach. Technically it was his second as he did coach one NBA game as head man while Sam Mitchell had been given a couple games off to deal with a death in his family. In fact one of the players made sure to get the ball from the win over the Pacers and it was presented to Triano.

Triano is starting to make adjustments to the line-up. Anthony Parker who is said to be dealing with an ankle injury and Andrea Bargnani were out of the starting 5. Jason Kapono and Jamario Moon were in. Parker is rumoured to be in trade talks and some wondered out loud if he could be on the move very soon. Jason Kapono and his offensive outburst sure made it seem like he could handle the role of starting. When he scores like that his lack of defensive ability tends to fade away for a lot of folks. Many NBA experts outside of Toronto figure if the Raptors are to make a major move it would have to include Andrea Bargnani. That is something that to this point Bryan Colangelo has not been willing to do. He has been on the record saying that he gets a lot of chances to do so though. He has stated he has taken many calls on the availability of Bargnani.

But the Raptors can not afford to be worried about the trade rumour mill. They need to get wins and they have few realistic opportunities to do that in a very tough December schedule. So leave the wheeling and dealing to Bryan Colangelo. It is not likely that Colangelo, if he is going to make a major move he will be able to do it prior to December 15th when NBA Rosters become opened up. All signings and players traded for become available.

I want to close with some stats on Bosh and Yi to illustrate the point of how silly this All-Star stuff is.

• Chris Bosh 24.7 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists
• Yi Jianlian 11.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists

Nets rookie Brook Lopez has been averaging more rebounds than Yi and only a couple less points( 9.5 Pts, 7.5 Rebs ) it just drives home the point that Yi Jianlian is no All-Star. I will make one final point on this match-up actually. The Raptors defense has been taken to task and picked a part. It is with just cause that it is. But as far as average points given up the Nets are actually worse than the Raptors. It proves that old theory the team that scores the most points will win the game. So if you can score more you win the game. But how you can get away with being a bad defensive team and have a winning record like the Nets? Simple things key rebounds and key stops. These are things that have been few and far between for the Raptors.

Become A Fan Of Us On Facebook

I decided to start a fan group for the Dino Nation Blog on facebook. So if you enjoy the blog and want to become a fan of it. Here is a link to the Fan Page on Facebook. It will keep you in the loop on what is going on with the Dino Nation Blog and get to know other readers like you. It is another way to try and build a community for the readers of the Dino Nation Blog to come together. So if you have facebook you are welcomed and encouraged to be a part of this.

Thanks for reading and I am back at my usual post for the Raptor Rewind tonight vs Nets.

Finally The Dino Blogger was Back in Toronto.

Dino Blogger In Toronto

I do not get to Toronto very often so I always try to make the most of it. I had a chance to get over and see the Score new set up on King St. I got to spend some time with Scott from Raptor Blog and talk some Raptors and basketball stuff. Scott is really a bright guy and I enjoy my conversations with him. He has been great to work with in making this transition to the Score Sports Federation. Hopefully it works out to be the success that we both would like it to be. Time will tell and I look forward to whatever chances may come from that.

But my real reason for being in Toronto. First and foremost it was to go to a game with the blog's contest winner Brett. I was able to meet up with Brett and he was able to find me with no troubles. From there we headed in to the game and I had the great thrill of introducing him to a few folks that you all will know. Jack Armstrong, Matt Devlin and Paul Jones were all kind enough to take a few minutes out of the crazy rush that is pre-game to say hello and meet Brett. I am grateful they were willing to make the time. I hope Brett knows now why I have nothing but praise for these guys as they truly are great people and always willing to lend a hand. So thanks to them for doing that.

At halftime of the game we got to hook up with Steve AkA Raptorman. He also was nice enough to not only provide the tickets but also gave both Brett and myself T.J Ford bobbleheads and a T.J Ford trading card. There was a photo of us taken. I am sure Steve will get that to me and I'll include it in a blog in the future. I was going to take some photos with the other folks but honestly it was so busy prior to the game I just thought I'd rather let them spend a minute or two talking with Brett.

The seats were great and if you ever are looking to get some tickets to check out a game yourself go see Steve at Raptorman.ca. I have been grateful to be his guest twice and can say he is a great person and really at the core is a Raptor fan first and does a great job at getting other fans matched up with seats to see a game. If anyone ever asks me about where to look for tickets for a game I send them his way.

So thanks to Brett for being a very happy and easy to get along with contest winner. He made the experience of doing the contest be a positive one for me and it was cool to get to meet a reader and thank them personally. I hope in the future to be able to get to know more readers in what ever ways I can come up with. I do my best to get to know as many of you as I can. It is because of the kind nature of people towards me that has made me want this to always be a goal of mine. So with that we can say it was a successful venture for the Dino Nation Blog. I thank everyone that played a role in making that so. So the game itself. T.J Ford's big return to Toronto.

Calderon shines in the Match-Up with T.J

If this was a boxing match last night and round 1 of a scheduled 3 rounds, Jose Calderon won round 1 by a 10-8 margin. I am willing to give credit where it is due. Calderon was at his best and had a solid night at the office running the Raptors. Calderon had 11 points, 14 assists and only 2 turnovers. Meanwhile Ford had just 4 points, 4 assists and was just 2-8 shooting. T.J for whatever reason just did not have a good night at the office. Calderon made it clear why many feel he was the right choice to be the starting point guard on this team. I even saw a much better effort on defense from Jose. It seemed clear that he even though he likely will not say it understood that this was more than just another game. So give Jose all the praise and all the credit he deserves it.

I was pleased to see that the majority of fan cheered T.J and it was nice to see. I was convinced that I may be the only on at the A.C.C that would cheer. But to my great thrill I saw a lot of Ford jerseys in the house last night. Some with the old Raptor colours and the number 11 and some with the Pacers Blue and Yellow and his new number 5. As great a person as Jose Calderon truly is, T.J Ford was never the evil to that good that Jose represents. T.J is a good person to and he does many good things as well. They both are guys that want to play and want to win. They just have very different ideas in how you accomplish that goal.

Big 3 Era Over?

After all the drama of what the crowd would do about T.J Ford. There were some changes to the Raptor Line-Up. Andrea Bargnani returned to the bench and Jamario Moon was back in the starting line up. Jason Kapono would replace Anthony Parker who is said to have been out with an ankle injury. But there was some buzz that it was thought he might have been traded. But to this point nothing to say on that topic. There were 2 trades in the NBA yesterday but Parker nor the Raptors were involved. This will likely be an ongoing dance as we move forward. Parker and his expiring deal are definitely a chip for Bryan Colangelo to use if he sees fit.

After the performance of Jason Kapono in the starting line-up it sure did not hurt the idea of moving A.P. Kapono is always going to be a defensive problem in the sense he just will never be that good a defender. But if he can score like he did last night I think people will be more forgiving of his defensive short comings. 25 points and 11-16 shooting will make people forget a lot. Kapono did get a block too. So there is your defense.

Jay Triano is going to be looking to see how this roster can be used to it's best advantage. So what we can expect as far as the roster goes going forward is up to debate. I would suggest that Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh and J.O will all be in the starting line-up. But the other 2 spots are clearly up for grabs. That may not be the worst thing in the world. Joey Graham and Jamario Moon have seemed to get the message from the coaching change. We have seen both at least attempt to improve in their effort and results since Sam Mitchell was let go. Joey with the more positive results to this point.

A Much Needed Win

Some will say that the Pacers are not a good team and the fact the Raptors won this game is not really a big deal. I can see that point of view. Both teams at times looked pretty bad last night. But given all that has gone on it was a win this team badly needed and I think it will help them focus on what is still a very challenging rest of December ahead. We can always find good and bad in every win and loss. It is just a matter of looking for it. After 5 straight loses I am happy to just accept the good for today and move on to the next game in New Jersey.

As For The Nation Speaks... Not So Much.

Well I tried but not enough mail to make it happen. I had a poll and the majority wanted to have a mailbag feature. But the response was not there to make it happen. I still will respond to the comments and do what I can to make the readers a part of the Dino Nation Blog. I think it is important and will do my best to give you chances to have your say. I had a comment that I did not post suggesting that I was doing this feature as some form of an ego boost for me? I totally disagree with that. I mean by wanting others to share their thoughts and make it a part of what I am doing speaks to the fact I am willing to hear other points of view and give them a forum to express it.

I have done my best to build relationships with a lot of folks. I do that because I want everyone to feel a part of the Dino Nation Blog. I take the time to read a lot of the forums I mentioned in asking for you to send in your thoughts to me.

When it comes to ego and all of that. I think we all have an ego and pride. But at the end of the day I am always grateful for people that read the Dino Nation Blog and always will be. Sometimes I try things to make people feel more a part of this blog and that is done for the benefit of you the readers not me. I am just doing the best I can to take advantage of the chances that come my way to not just benefit myself but everyone connected to the Dino Nation Blog. That is why I came up with a contest to have a reader join me for a game. It is why I am always willing to help others in any way that I can. It is why I reach out to folks to come and do interviews here. So if that suggests that I have an ego and think to much of myself. I would think that my actions have always pointed to the opposite of that. I think that I have done the best I can to make everyone feel a part of the Dino Nation Blog and feel welcome. I am always going to do my best to keep to that mission. There will always be people that look to be negative and sit back and make judgements about you when you put yourself on a public stage. I am aware of that and accept that fact. No one is going to be able to please everyone. Not the Dino Blogger not any of my guests or the folks that make up the Raptors as well.

So I will always remain focused on doing the best I can for folks. I will always be grateful for everything be it big or small that comes my way. I will always do a job with this blog that allows be to look in the mirror and say I have done my best to do something good with the stage I have. No matter how big or small it is or may become. I think I have done a good job in just over a year of doing this and am happy that over that time the majority of folks that read seem to agree. As for this idea of the Nation Speaks. It is as I have always said up to you folks if you want it to happen. If you are willing to contribute to making it happen. I am happy to provide the chance for it to happen. I am always willing to hear from you with your thoughts on anything to do with this blog.

dinonationblog@sourcecable.net

So that is about it for today. I thank all of you for reading. It is always great feeling to have people enjoy what you do and rewarding for all the time and effort that goes into it.

T.J Ford Is Back In T.O

When we last saw T.J Ford in Toronto

That was the last time we would see T.J Ford as a Raptor. Many people have anger for T.J Ford and blame him for what went wrong last season. But a new season and still problems in Raptorland. I respectfully say to you T.J was not the problem. It is just that he was deemed to be not as good as Jose Calderon. I dispute that, and I am willing to bet T.J Ford does as well. If not for his injury in Atlanta the entire story could be very different. Ford prior to that injury, what often gets forgotten is that he was playing some of the best basketball of his NBA Career.

I am heading down to the A.C.C to welcome back T.J Ford. I will cheer when his name gets announced. I think T.J Ford put his body on the line for this team. The strength of T.J Ford to come back from 2 injuries that many felt could have ended his career should tell you all you need to know about T.J Ford. He is not some evil figure like Vince Carter. He never asked to leave Toronto. He wanted to play in Toronto the problem was he wanted to play as the starter. He felt it was his job and that he never did anything beyond getting injured in trying hard to win. Jose Calderon was able to take the injury of Ford and turn it into a huge step for him in his NBA Career. Calderon made the same feeling be known that he wanted to be the starter.

So Bryan Colangelo made a choice and Ford would end up in Indiana as a Pacer.Many point to the fact Jose is more of a team player than Ford. But T.J is a team player as well he just goes about it in a very different way. He feels he can be a team player by doing what he can on the floor to help his team win. He is not getting Gatorade for his team mates and in a comparison of who is the better guy he could never win. That is not to say T.J is not a great person as well. He is and just head down to Charlotte and find D.J Augustin he will tell you. Ford worked with Augustin and got him ready for the NBA draft which would see the fellow Texas point guard end up in Charlotte. He has had a great start to his rookie year and T.J is part of that through his help and work with D.J.

Looking at the game tonight. T.J Ford will no doubt be fired up and take this a personal challenge. The danger for Ford will be to play under control and not forget about his team. If Calderon is smart he will try to get Ford to get engaged in a battle between the two. But the key problem for Calderon will be very simple. Ford is to many the fastest point guard in the NBA and I think will have a huge advantage in a match-up with Calderon. So Jose may be in trouble like he has been against Rajon Rondo and Devin Harris recently. They were not motivated to kick his butt on any personal level. Ford will be.

In the end T.J Ford was a huge part of this team's only every division title and he did nothing but try as hard as he could to be the best player he could be in his time hear. He almost gave his basketball life for the Toronto Raptors. I respect that and respect him. Anyone that even puts T.J Ford and Vince Carter in the same sentence is dead wrong. Ford is not a guy who never gave all he had. Would he get frustrated and moody. Yeah he would. But he never quit on Toronto. Vince Carter did. That is why people boo Vince Carter. It is also why you should cheer T.J and Rasho as well. Both guys gave a good effort in the time they spent here and gave all they had. So I am going to cheer T.J when he returns and any time in the future I will do the same. You can have your say in the poll.

Speaking of your say. I want your question and comments for the Nation Speaks. It is your chance to ask questions of me or just let us know your 2 cents on any issue. It is all good to me. Just make sure it is something I can publish. PG-13 level language please. Beyond that it is all good. So seen an e-mail titled NATION SPEAKS to me at the blog's email address.

dinonationblog@sourcecable.net

That is it for me till tomorrow. No Raptor Rewind but lots of thoughts on what should be an interesting night at the A.C.C. I am going to be hosting are contest winner Brett and making sure he has a great time. Hopefully will have some photo to share from the experience for you all to check out. Last time I was at A.C.C my camera was not being good. But I figured out the problem so I will try to take some photos of the experience.

Raptor Rewind- Mission Impossible Edition

Yeah that is not a very optimistic title I know. But the Cleveland Cavs as I mentioned this morning have won 7 straight against the Raptors in Cleveland. The also have won the first 11 home dates on their schedule. It will be a very tough task for the Raptors to leave Ohio with a win. That being said nothing is impossible in reality but it would take a performance from the Raptors that we have not seen to this point this season. So let's see what happens. Chris Bosh will not want to lay down and bow to the King I do know that much.

1st Quarter

So it is showtime in Cleveland as the Raptors and Cavs are on T.V in Canada and in U.S on NBA TV. Raptors won the tip only to turn it over and Lebron James had the easy jam. Almost like an instant replay the same thing happened a steal and a jam for James. Andrea Bargnani would hit a 3 pointer on the 3rd attempt to score for the Raptors. The Cavs called a time out to acknowledge the fact that Lebron James is now the all time leader in steals for the Cavs. O.K great, big deal, is this the kind of sucking up to Lebron we can expect for the next 2 years? A bad miss inside for Bargnani and that would give the ball back to Cleveland. After an offensive rebound and getting possession of a block Mo Williams would score. Chris Bosh got his 1000th offensive rebound of his career. After the game versus Portland he had two stitches and a bandage as well. But Cleveland had an early 10-3 lead and the Raptors made their 3rd turnover in just the first four minutes. Cavs would turn them all into points including the most recent one.

Things were looking ugly again for the Raptors down 16-5 early on and they were not shooting well. Jose Calderon would make a much needed basket. Calderon on the next trip would take an ill advised 3 point shoot and missed it. Anthony Parker would show him how it's done the next time the Raptors had the ball but it was still 18-10 for the Cavs. James would drive and kick to Daniel Gibson who would nail the 3 point shoot. Gibson would find Lebron of the bounce and hook him up with an easy jam for 2. The Cavs were making it look very easy up 23-12. Jose Calderon would find his long range shot and hit a 3 pointer but it was still 25-15 for the Cavs. Raptors had 5 turnovers and were shooting just 29%. Chris Bosh would look to change that percentage with his first basket on the night. But Lebron James had an answer for that. Chris Bosh would look to attack and get rewarded and sent to the line. He would only convert 1 of 2 and his Raptors were still down by 10 late in the first quarter. Lebron James had a rare miss so lead would stay at 10 with the score 29-19.

2nd Quarter

The Cavs start the quarter in positive way with a Wally-Z 2-ball followed up but a Daniel Gibson 3-ball after a failed Raptor trip. The Cavs started the quarter on a 7-1 run to start the quarter. This had the look of a long night at the office for the Raptors a Wally-Z 3 ball and it was 41-24. The Cavs were laying a beating on the Raptors that looked much like the games the Raptors played on the west coast. It was now a 45-26 lead with lots of time to play in the 2nd quarter.

Nothing was coming easy for the Raptors. Bosh would take a tough leaner and miss. A much needed offensive rebound and would draw a foul and head to the line making both. O'Neal would then find a cutting Kapono for a basket. On the next trip J.O would find Bosh. He was point his best job at being a 6 foot 11 point guard. Lebron James had seen enough of the J.O show and he put on his own show with a highlight worthy dunk. After that Lebron James would get called for a foul and got a technical foul. Calderon would make it and Anthony Parker who had been fouled by James would get a 3 pointer. Bosh would find Parker again for 3 more.

The Raptors had climbed back to a 49-40 lead for the Cavs. Jermaine O'Neal would get to the line looking to cut into the lead more but he would miss both free throws. The Cavs would wake up and started trading baskets with the Raptors. A nice alley opp play to Bosh would be answered by another Lebron James dunk that he makes look far to easy. Raptors still trailed 53-44. Cleveland despite leading through out had accumulated 3 technical fouls the 3rd going to Ben Wallace. Jose Calderon had made them all. In fact Jose would go on to tie a Raptor record with 51 straight free throws made. The record is tied with Chancey Billups who spent some time with Raps. the Cavs once 19 point lead had been chopped down to just 6 points. Jermaine O'Neal with a rebound off a Bosh miss would jam it home and the lead was now just 4 for the Cavs. Jose Calderon would hit a basket but there was just enough time for Lebron James to hit a buzzer beater 3-ball and the Cavs double their lead late to be up 59-51 at the half.

3rd Quarter

A positive start to the the 3rd with Andrea Bargnani making the first Raptor shot of the half. But after that the Raptors would go cold and Cleveland would heat up. The Cavs would highlight that fact with a steal and jam for Lebron James to make lead 14 points with the score 67-53. Lebron would later steal it again and the same result. Cleveland was making the Raptors look bad. The Cavs were back on track and rolling. the lead that had been cut to 4 points late in the second was back to 19 with the score 74-55.

Another James jumper and the Cavs had the largest lead of the night at 22 with the score 77-55. This looked like one of those miss matches in the NCAA. You know where UNC plays like Northeastern Michigan Tech. I mean this was totally brutal. Bosh taking an ill advised 3-ball was not going to make this any better. The score was an embarrassing 82-55.

Joey Graham with a jam and one but it was at a time when it meant nothing. Joey had 5 straight points but the game was really not in doubt with the score still 82- 60. Roko Ukic was getting some minutes at least and taking advantage with a drive to the hoop and score. Nice play for Roko and drawing praise from Jack Armstrong on the broadcast. This was a very easy night at the office for Lebron James. Roko would continue to show signs of having some skills with another drive and score plus one. But aside from that this was a Cleveland party and the Raptors were the unhappy guests looking for it to end. The score was 90-67. The Cavs blitzed the Raptors out scoring them 31-16 in the 3rd quarter.

4th Quarter

Another bad night of basketball for the Raptors. Bosh was back on the floor but with another game tomorrow night why was he in there? Looks like Jay Triano heard me cause Bosh was out after playing only a couple minutes in the 4th. Roko Ukic was about the only highlight for Raptor fans tonight if any were still watching. The Raptors were down 24 points with the score 95-71. Meanwhile Indiana was likely already in Toronto just kicking back and watching. T.J Ford will be highly motivated to build the Raptor losing streak to 6 games. Jermaine O'Neal would like to end it at the hands of his old team. But to do that it is going to take a much better effort than we have seen tonight.

A cast of reserves was on the floor the Raptors. The same could be said for the Cavs as well. Joey Graham and Roko Ukic were taking advantage of the garbage time to do some good things. But it hardly seemed to matter as the Cavs reserves were scoring just as easy as the starters. This had the feel of the exhibition game the Raptors played here to start the season way back in September. On that night it was the Raptors with a big lead and coasting to victory. A lot has changed since then. A lot of high expectations have coming crashing down for most in the two months since leading up to this game. Lebron Jame was comfortable on the bench with his 31 points in 30 minutes on the night. Kris Humphries was once again out for the Raptors as he continues to sit with knee pain. But for everyone else they should have headaches.

Jay Triano was using these last few minutes as coaching time and calling time outs. Why can't he just let the pain end... please. But I do understand the point of it despite the fact it is not exactly a fan friendly move. The score if you were wondering is 112-94. Cleveland takes this one in a walk 114-94.

Cavs/Raps Boxscore

King James And CB4 Lead Teams In To Battle

Time For The Nation To Speak

Before I get to talking about tonight's game against the Cavs. I am calling on you folks to send me your mail. Think of it as a form of therapy. The Nation Speaks will be your chance to have your say and be part of the Dino Nation Blog. I will take your question and comments and offer my thoughts. I do not claim to have all the answers but I will give it my best shot. It is important to me for you folks to have a voice here at the Dino Nation Blog. So please help make this a success by sending in your emails. I want to hear from you. Depending on the response we will do this every Thursday or every second Thursday. Starting with this Thursday. Will see how it goes. I contribute to a lot of great forums out there. Raptors Forum, Real G.M, Raptors Fan App on Facebook, The Official Toronto Raptors Fan Club also on Facebook. I love all of these groups. I see lots of great points made in all of them. I also see some pretty crazy ones. So I am calling out for all of you to bring some of those ideas and questions to the Dino Nation Blog. In these tough times people always seem to have a lot to say so this is your chance. So get on your thinking caps and send your comments and questions in to me.

Title the E-mail: Nation Speaks...and send it to:

dinonationblog@sourcecable.net

I want this to be a success but that can only happen with your support. You deserve a chance to have your say and I am happy to give you the chance to do it. I will do my best to answer and include everything that comes in as long as you make sure I can publish it. Which means keep the language PG-13. I know that can be hard lately but try your best.

King vs Court Jester?

I have went into great length at what a great season Chris Bosh has had to this point. However, the miss down the stretch of the last game, and a work load that saw him lead the league in minutes has taken a toll on Bosh. Despite the fact that Chris Bosh loves to make funny videos in his spare time he does not want to look like a court jester in comparison to King James. At this point James is the front runner for the award that Chris Bosh made no secret he desires to win.

There is of course all of that talk about the two players becoming team mates in 2010. But both will be focused on beating the other on this night. Bosh will have a huge task in front of him as the Cavs are undefeated on their home floor to this point. The Raptors actually started the pre-season in Cleveland and they were easy winners in a game that Lebron James did not play very much in at all. But this is the one that matters obviously.

This is the first of a back to back for the Raptors as they will return home to face the Indiana Pacers for the first time since the major trade between the two teams this past summer. T.J Ford and Rasho Nesterovic will be in town to take on their former team. If the Raptors do not get a win tonight they will be heading into that game on a 5 game losing streak.

If you are hoping for a win in Cleveland it will not be easy. The Raptors All-Time are 10-15 in the home of the rock and roll hall of fame. But in more recent times have lost 7 straight games which nicely ties into the fact that the Cavs have had that guy Lebron James for that run. Cleveland also took last year's season series 3-1.

B.C Hits The Airwaves

Bryan Colangelo gave very long answers but didn't really say a lot in his interview with the Fan 590. Colangelo basically echoed a lot of what he had said in the past on the issue of Sam Mitchell being fired. He did seem to suggest that Jay Triano is going to be given every chance to make himself a candidate to keep the job of head coach. He spoke about knowing about Triano before coming to Toronto through conversations with Steve Nash. He said Nash spoke extremely highly of Jay.

Bryan Colangelo on Prime Time Sports on Fan 590

Nathan Jawai's Former Team In Trouble

Things have not been going well for Nathan Jawai with his NBA career in Limbo. His heart troubles at the root of that. Bryan Colangelo when he joined in on the commentary in Utah said we may hear some news on Nathan soon. What that means in terms of time he did not say. But something else that will not do well for the big man's heart on a personal level. The Cairns Taipans the team he played for in Australia has some serious money problems and is in danger of folding. Aaron Fearne who has been a guest in this blog on a couple of occasions had taken a leave of absence from that team as an assistant coach. The news back home would directly impact on him. But it is obviously a personal issue for both. To read about it check out the story from down under.

Cairns Taipans Franchise In NBL In Trouble

Raptor Rewind tonight will recap all that went down. Just a note that I am off to Toronto tomorrow to host our contest winner and take in the Pacers and Raptors. So there will be no Raptor Rewind for that game. I will dash off a quick blog entry before I take off for Toronto with some thoughts on the return of T.J Ford to Toronto. So look for that tomorrow while I am going to be taking the Go Train down for the game. So that is it for now. See you all later tonight with you re-cap of the game from Cleveland.