Raptors Try To Avoid Unlucky 13

The Raptors finally got to Atlanta this late this morning and now have the tough task of beating the Hawks. Bargnani has struggled and has shown zero effort on D. Yet Jay Triano believes his team is improving on defence? If you don't get that you are not alone. Hawks have beat the Raptors twice already. A close loss back in Toronto but the Raps got torched here in Atlanta earlier in the season.

Al Horford an easy basket as Bargnani was out to lunch attempting to help on defence. Raps would get 2 straight scores and then allow the Hawks to do the same to them and it was 6-4 Hawks in the early going. But the Hawks run was not done it would stretch to an 8-0 run where Triano called a time out to praise his team for that improved defence. Maybe not. Demar DeRozan ended the run and then Al Horford schools Bargnani and it was a 10-2 run and a 12-6 Hawks lead. Raptors would claw back to 14-11 as Weems made a jumper....then on the break CABOOM the back is O.K and Raptors were down 1. But the Hawks would score a two then find Joe Johnson in the corner for a wide open 3. But the Weems show was kicking into gear another bucket and 3-4 shooting start and Raptors were behind 19-17. Demar DeRozan got banged up for the 2nd game in a row....and the Raptors were fighting on with out him for now but a Johnson 3 at the buzzer and Hawks led 28-24 after 1.

Crawford gets rolling now to start the second.The Hawks have a lot of Raptor Killers on their roster. Demar DeRozan checked back in that was good news. He had 2 fouls so that was more the reason he was out then injury perhaps. Hawks led 34-30 with Calderon and Johnson getting a breather. Bayless was in did the right thing and took a charge but paid the price and got up favouring his right knee a bit. Josh Smith meanwhile had back to back scores the latest a slam on the break and Hawks led 38-30. Demar's rough night continued picks up his 3rd foul and Jay Triano gets a rare tech on DeRozan foul call. Raptors were down 41-34. Calderon trying to create a spark with the drive and score and 1 to make it a 4 point game. But a Joe Johnson 3 and it was 48-41 Hawks. The Hawks were closing the half strong building the lead to 9. Raptors would be fortunate it would remain at 9 as Mike Bibby had 2 chances at three pointers and missed on both he was 0-5 on night a rare occurrence vs Toronto. But the rest of the Hawks were doing more than enough to take a 54-45 lead to the half.

Demar DeRozan back in with his 3 fouls and has instant impact with a drive and score. Raps got rolling off to a 6-0 start and a smart time out from Drew as his Hawks still lead 54-51. Make that a 10-0 run and Raptors lead 55-54. Cue Mike Bibby for 3 and he makes it this time. A slam off the steal and Hawks were back in charge. A bad 3 from Bargnani and another slam and the 1 point lead was a 6 point depict in the blink of an eye. Raptors were giving up 3's on D and Bargnani missed 2 shots inside of 3 feet. Hawks led 69-61. Raptors were hanging around but not really doing much that gave you the hope they could climb the mountain down 6 heading to the 4 with the score 75-69.

I mentioned earlier that Bayless had hurt his knee. He left the game and is not coming back with a sprained right knee. As for the Raptors coming back I am not optimistic with Hawks leading 84-77 with 7:45 to play. A Josh Smith slam after a Weems miss on a pull up mid range jumper and it was Hawks up 88-78 with 6 and change to play. Back to Back 3's and Bibby as he has in the past he nails the daggers to seal the Raptors fate. In the end the Hawks sweep the season series with a 100-87 win.

I could say a bunch of things but you have heard them all before. I am officially out of ways to describe losses. It is not like the story changes much. The Raptors have turned in to the real life version of the movie Groundhog Day.

About This Retooling...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Raptors Have Landed In Home Of The Hawks

In case you missed it the Raptors have been stuck in Indiana since Monday, a saga that lasted all yesterday and into this morning. The team was stuck on a plane for about 5 hours by most Twitter accounts of it from media and players. That likely did no favours to a guy like Sonny Weems who has been dealing with a bad back. He seemed the least thrilled of anyone that they were stuck in as he put it on twitter "Whack Indiana". So you can scratch the Pacers off his list of teams he would sign with next season. I am sure everyone connected with the Raptors will be happy not to return to Indy till next season given what they went through. But it may not be as bad as the 12 game losing streak we all have had to endure. Given all the nonsense the Raptors went through to get to Atlanta it is anyones guess what it will mean on the floor tonight. Under normal circumstances the Hawks are a team that has always had the Raptors number. Maybe the Raptors will be pissed off enough to come out and bring it. Maybe this time stuck together has helped them work out some issues. Maybe it will be just more of the same.

The Basics: Toronto 13-36 (WIN PLEASE) Atlanta 30-18 (15-7 @ Home)

When Last We Saw Them: More of the same in Indiana. Andrea Bargnani got taken to school by Roy Hibbert. Ed Davis tried to spark a rally but to get a spark in icy Indy was just not possible as the Raptor went down to defeat for the 12th time in a row. Then as we mentioned could not escape Indiana.

Key Match-Ups: I am begging someone, anyone to make sure there is someone guarding Mike Bibby on three point line. I have watched Mike Bibby torch (Not the Blackberry) the Raptors far to many times to have to endure it again. I would rather see Josh Smith have 6 dunks on Andrea Bargnani's head then watch Bibby nail 3's on the Raptors all night. Basic math is a beautiful thing and 3 > 2 is always going to be true. Obviously Al Horford is a beast inside and you much look to account for him. Really at this point it is not about match-ups or anything other than getting a win for this Raptors team. They just have to find a way, any way, to get a win. How that is going to happen is being more aggressive on offence with more drives and less jumpers and a better overall effort on defence. Anything other than that is just based on luck and if you have been paying attention the Raptors luck is all bad.

Other Things of Note: The Raptors are 4-12 vs the East on the road. That is not good at all but better in comparison to their overall road record of 5-21. The Raptor losing streak watch would hit 13 tonight should they lose. Last time that happened was Feb 12th -March 7th 2002 and it happened once more back in Mar/Apr of 1998. The next stop after this would be the all-time record losing streak of 17 games that lasted from November 7 to December 9th of 1997. Case you missed it yesterday Demar DeRozan will suit up for All-Star Friday night as part of the Sophomore squad. Ed Davis did not make it on the Rookie side. Last time the Raptors were in the ATL they got smacked 96-78 but did battle the Hawks in a close contest at the ACC a couple weeks back on January 12th losing 104-101 at the ACC. All time the Raptors are 12-17 in Atlanta and 26-33 overall and are currently in a 5 game losing skid vs Hawks.

Where Is It On? TSN 2 ( Normally a joke would go here about TSN but given the way Raptors have played they may deserve to play on TSN 3)

DNB Top Ten: No.1 Draft Picks Since 2000

So in the past decade we have seen many great players, several underachieving players and a few major busts drafted with the No. 1 pick. Some of these players will eventually go on to win an NBA title, since now of the have won one yet, while others may end up in the "Where Are They Now?" files. So where do these guys rank in their overall success thus far? Let's find out shall we.

1. Lebron James, 2003, Cleveland Cavaliers

No surprise here right? This guy came into the league and immediately became a superstar, and he has the stats and accomplishment to prove it. With career averages of 28 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds, this guy does it all out there on the court. Not to mention that he is the reigning 2-time MVP and has led the Cavs to the NBA Finals and the best record in the league several times. Though he may have taken his talents to South Beach now, his game hasn't changed and he's still brought up in MVP discussions, and maybe he'll eventually win that NBA title with the help of D-Wade and Bosh.

2. Derrick Rose, 2008, Chicago Bulls

Currently in his 3rd season Rose has taken his game to new heights and is leading the Bulls to perhaps their best record since the days of MJ. Though there was this whole debate of whether he'll go first of if Michael Beasley would be the one selected first, the Bulls can't regret the decision they made as they currently have one of the top 5 PG's in the league. Averaging 20 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists over his career, he will only get better and be a superstar in this league for years to come.

3. Dwight Howard, 2004, Orlando Magic

The player formerly known as superman, or is he still called that? Either way this guy is a beast down low in the post. He can throw down with authority, send shots flying into the 20th row and even hit a jumper once in a while, his one drawback is his inability to consistently hit his FT's. Other than that one flaw this guy is almost a guaranteed 20-20 each night, and as he continues to grow (not that he can do much more growing) and improve he'll only get better.

4. Blake Griffin, 2009, Los Angeles Clippers

This kid has become the most interesting player to watch since Lebron came into the league some 8 years ago. After missing his original rookie season with an injury this guy has shown that he was worth the wait. With his athleticism and rebounding ability he's a guaranteed double-double on a nightly basis and will also make a poster or two per game. Now if he can just work on that facial expression he has when dunking.

5. Yao Ming, 2002, Housten Rockets

Though he has been hampered by injuries in the last few years, Yao still remains one of the best 1st pick selections. He's averaged 19 and 9 in his 8 year career, and is probably the only guy who can be voted into the All-Star game for many years if he hasn't even played much games. Now entering the final years of his career, he'll never be as dominate as he once was, but if you're that tall, you'll still be a threat in the post.

6. John Wall, 2010, Washington Wizards

There was a lot of hype surrounding this guy when he came into the league this season, but injuries and inconsistent play has seemed to slow all that momentum. Once healthy and with a year or two of experience, we will be able to see the full potential this guy has. Though he may not be leading the Wizards to an NBA championship anytime soon, he's going to be an All-Star caliber player and one of the leagues top PG's.

7. Andrew Bogut, 2005, Milwaukee Bucks

He has not had the most successful career offensively averaging only 13 points over his career, but the things he does on the boards and on defense make up for that. It's because of those abilities that has made him one of the top 10 centers in the league. Currently the top shot-blocker in the league, Bogut is a intimidating force for all players looking to attack the rim for easy buckets. Injuries have been an issue for him in the last few years, but once healthy he's a threat for all opposing teams.

8. Andrea Bargnani, 2006, Toronto Raptors

Love him or hate him, Bargnani has shown that he wasn't a bust when he was selected 1st overall ahead of Brandon Roy. He has the ability to score in many ways, though he seems to fear the paint, but that trait alone makes him one of the top scoring centers in the league. Now if only he can play defense and grab some rebounds.

9. Kenyon Martin, 2000, New Jersey Nets

The original K-Mart before Kevin Martin came into the league. He has had a pretty solid career over his 11 years in the league, though injuries have hampered him on almost a yearly basis. He still remains a very serviceable player today and still remains a good defender and rebounder.

10. Kwame Brown, 2001, Washington Wizards

Not sure what to write about this guy other than he is probably the biggest bust in NBA history. He has career averages of 6.7 points, 5.5 boards (at least he's a better rebounder than Bargnani) and 0.6 blocks. Somehow he's still earning a paycheck in the NBA, which for him is pretty good luck, considering how bad he turned out to be.

Not Enough Data:

Greg Oden, 2007, Portland Trailblazers

I felt it was best to not included Oden since he has only played 11 games in his NBA career and has been bitter by a huge injury bug. In those 11 games though he has averaged 13 points, 9 boards and 1 block. It's a shame we haven;t been able to witness him play more because it seem like he could have been a really solid player in this league. Hopefully he overcome these injuries and prove that he's one of the better player to be selected 1st overall.

If They Could Do It Again:

If the Wizards had a time machine or hired Miss Cleo to predict the future of Kwame Brown to see how he would have turned out, I'm pretty sure they would have selected one of the following guys instead.

Pau Gasol:

Gasol has grown to become of of the best power forwards in the league and is now a 2-time NBA champion. Doubt he would have led the Wizards to a title, but he surely would have been a better player than Kwame turned out to be.

Tyson Chandler:

Though he has been bitten by the injury bug over his career, Chandler is amongst the top centers in the league and can get you a double-double on a nightly basis.

So that concludes another edition of the DNB's Top Ten. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment of the DNB chat.

Demar DeRozan Gets A Friday Night Invite

There is not a lot to smile about with the Raptors right now. The team is currently stranded in Indy after their lose to the Pacers. In the midst of a 12 game losing streak. But good news late this afternoon for one Raptor in Demar DeRoazan. First he got into the dunk contest through the back door as an injury replacement for his good friend Brandon Jennings. But this time, he walks in through the front door to the Rookie/Sophomore game. He will go up against a rookie squad lead by his main competition in the Dunk Contest the next night in Blake Griffin. Here is a list of all the other Rookies and Sophomores that will be heading to L.A with those 2.

Rookies

• Eric Bledsoe L.A. Clippers G 6-1 195 Kentucky
• DeMarcus Cousins Sacramento C 6-11 270 Kentucky
• Derrick Favors New Jersey F 6-10 246 Georgia Tech
• Landry Fields New York G 6-7 210 Stanford
• Wesley Johnson Minnesota G 6-7 205 Syracuse
  
• Greg Monroe Detroit C 6-11 250 Georgetown
  
• Gary Neal San Antonio G 6-4 210 Towson State
• John Wall Washington G 6-4 195 Kentucky
• Blake Griffin L.A. Clippers F 6-10 251Oklahoma

Sophomores

• DeJuan Blair San Antonio C 6-7 265 Pittsburgh
• DeMar DeRozan Toronto G 6-7 220 USC
• Stephen Curry Golden State G 6-3 185 Davidson
• Tyreke Evans Sacramento G 6-6 220 Memphis
• Taj Gibson Chicago F 6-9 225 USC
• Jrue Holiday Philadelphia G 6-4 180 UCLA
• Serge Ibaka Oklahoma City F-C 6-10 235 Brazzaville, Rep. of Congo
• Brandon Jennings Milwaukee G 6-1 169 Lottomatica Virtus Roma
• Wesley Matthews Portland G 6-5 220 Marquette

There was some talk that Ed Davis may also get a chance to represent the Raptors as well, but missing the amount of time he did likely hurt his chances. However, if he keeps on the same path he may like Demar miss out on being selected as rookie and get in the game next year as a sophomore. He has really been playing well of late and was a big spark in the last game vs the Pacers.

Really happy for Demar who has stepped up his game in his 2nd year and is very deserving of this honour. In talking with him before he had been added to the dunk contest he really wanted to be a part of All-Star Weekend given it is taking place in his home town of L.A. Well now his friends and family will need tickets for Friday and Saturday as Demar will be front and center on both nights. In a season that has not been good for the Raptors this is a nice reward for a guy that despite that has been pretty good all season and is slowly growing into a consistent scorer for this team.

So now Raptor fans have more reason to pay attention to All-Star Weekend and have someone to root for. The Rookie Challenge will air here in Canada on TSN 2 on Friday February 18th at 9pm.

So congratulation to Demar DeRozan from us here at the Dino Nation Blog.

Jack Armstrong Checks Into Starting 5 From Indy

Not snow, ice, wind or freezing rain can keep Jack Armstrong out of the Starting 5. Our interview scheduled for today was suppose to take place with Jack in Atlanta where the Raptors will play tomorrow. But the Raptors got stuck in Indy and are trying to make their way to Atlanta. But through all the delays we were still able to hook up with Jack. That photo is from when Jack met up with our MGD Contest winners earlier in the season. Those were happier times but clearly with the Raptors now losers of a dozen straight these are not. So we have a good conversation with Jack about some of the issues facing the Raptors as well as the few positives we could find. Talk about Andrea Bargnani and his lack of defence, Demar DeRozan and his continued development despite the losing, the warrior like effort of Amir Johnson and a lot more. It is always a pleasure talking with Jack and for the first time we did it on Jack's blackberry phone. Yes it is true our Jack Armstrong is jumping into the 21st century just like I have. Some fun about that at the end of the interview.





These are tough times in Raptorland. But in good times or bad times Jack always makes time for us in the Dino Nation Blog and it is much appreciated. Also because our interviews with Jack always draw us some attention wanted to take advantage of that to promote our (Un) Welcome Back Bosh Event on Feb 16th at St.Louis Wings. Obviously Jack Armstrong won't be there as he will be down the street at the ACC. But if you can't snag tickets come up the street and join us for a party at 595 Bay St. Details on this can be found here in Dino Nation Blog and we also have a facebook event page set up where you can RSVP and invite your friends to come. Jack likes a good party and so do we at the Dino Nation Blog. So come join us and hopefully by that time the Raptors are playing a lot better than they are currently. Once again thanks to Jack for always being a good friend to us at the Dino Nation Blog and he may never get on Twitter, but it will not stop us from having a ton of respect and love for him.

"NBAz in 7Dayz"

Get some sun. Go for a run. Watch Charles Barkley coach another Rookie game of H.O.R.S.E. and laugh. All are things I've heard beat the proverbial February blahs. It's officially February and many in the NBA are putting on a happy face to beat their own blahs. Just look at the Cleveland Cavaliers. As of Monday, they have been on a 21 game loosing streak and nowhere near winning a title before their South Beach adversary. Speaking before the Heat faced the Cavaliers on Monday Night, LeBron James said he had no reason to enjoy Cleveland's epic struggles. He left Cleveland to further his own career he says, and the fact Cleveland is falling on hard times doesn't make the decision any better or worse. Well, for better or worse, this is the NBA and so unfolds the drama. I think a lot of times things get taken out of context and with February also being Black History month, allow me to quote from the late great Martin Luther King:

"The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort and convenience, but where they stand in times of challenge and controversy".

On this note, we build today's discussion: achieving greatness after pushing past adversity. Blake Griffin? - did it. The Los Angeles Lakers? Hope to do it. Current and past NBA greats? Are famous for it. Let's begin.

Knee? What Knee?

Meet Blake Griffin. A young basketball phenom hailing from the University of Oklahoma, Griffin was selected first overall by the Clippers in the 2009 NBA Draft. Impressive? Gets better. He played for the Clippers' summer League Team and was named Summer League MVP. Taking notice if you didn't already? We all were. Then the day before the 2009-2010 season started, Griffin got a stress fracture (from landing a dunk, no less) that would put him out for weeks. When the healing wasn't going as well as expected, he had surgery on the broken kneecap and was out for the rest of the season. Not a good way for a kid with a lot of fire power to start his professional career. Still considered a rookie, he starts the 2010-2011 season on a team losing 13 of their first 14 games. Clippers looked like normal but how Blake Griffin rose to the occasion, was not. On November 10th, 2010, he single-handedly performed CPR on the Clippers by posting the most points scored by a rookie with 44 in a home loss to the Knicks.

I know this is all common knowledge but the weight of what he accomplished bears the merit of repeating. I think a lot of veterans in this league can learn from him, especially Andrew Bynum. This summer, Bynum decided to use his summer to vacation and take a step away from the game. Everyone is entitled to a little of that. But when you have a bum knee that needs surgery and you are on a team looking to defend its championship throne, do you put off the surgery so your recovery time is paid for during the regular season? Most Championship contenders would answer no but Bynum chose to miss part of this season and now still expects to be an NBA All-Star. Not cool in my books. Not cool at all. In the off season during his knee injury, Griffin spent a great deal of time working out with a San Francisco-based trainer, hungry to get back to the game he loves. Big difference. Now, as a result of this drive, he fills the Staples Center with Clippers fans just waiting to see what he does next. The Clippers' Marketing team no longer has to put Kobe or LeBron's face on advertising in an attempt to sell the team to wayward basketball fans. Now all they have to do is say Blake Griffin and people go bananas. Pure bananas. Only way to describe what he has done for his club, the league and the game. And oh yeah, his dunks.

Will L.A. make the playoffs? Do they deserve to?

This depends on which L.A. based team we are talking about. With the NBA All-Star game just around the corner, I like to look to the previous year's NBA Final. And what better time to do this then a few days after a finals rematch between the Lakers and Celtics. The Lakers got beat Sunday not as a result of complacency or lack of consistency like I have heard some people say. This time the Celtics were just he better team. Plain and simple. What usually happens when a team is playing disjointed and inconsistent going into the month of February? You got it - a trade. But Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak swears up and down they have not even looked into it. Really? The Lakers have dropped two straight as of Tuesday morning: one to the Sacramento Kings (of all teams? It should've been a cake walk) and the other to the Celtics. Well Mr. Kupchak, if you decide to 'look into it', read the previous paragraph of this article mentioning one of your veterans. Rhymes with 'hide 'em'.

We all need a 'pick me up'

Not just because it's February and the 'blah' factor associated with it, but we all need a little pick me up - Raptor fan or not. So I dug deep in to my archives to find my top ten favourite basketball quotations of all time. What could be more inspiring than the game of basketball, right? Here we go (in no particular order):

John Wooden - "What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player".

Robert Horry - "Pressure can burst a pipe or pressure can make a diamond".

Michael Jordan - "I have never been afraid to fail".

Tim Duncan - "Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best".

Phil Jackson - "Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We".

Larry Bird - "A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals".

Magic Johnson - "Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates".

Jim Valvano - "How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal and you have to be willing to work for it."

Mike Krzyzewski - "If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you haven't done much today".

Elmer G. Letterman - "Personality can open doors, but only character can keep them open".

The last one wasn't necessarily basketball related - I just love that one.

Thank-you so much for joining me this week. As always keep your comments and suggestions coming by following me on Twitter (@ddegraauw) or on Facebook (Danielle de Graauw). See you on Thursday for more Raptor oponent analysis in "Behind Enemy Lines" right here on the DNB.