So if the fact the Raptors went to overtime was not enough, they also were not able to fly to Memphis till today. Getting to the arena just after 4:45 pm for a 7pm tip. Still more drama as the arena was evacuated for a fire alarm at 5:30pm. So to say this is a bizarre set of circumstances heading into this game would be an understatement. No Jose Calderon in this one as the Raptors look to Tuesday as a possible return date for him. Andrea Bargnani might be used sparingly today as well given the added minutes and issues in getting to Charlotte. The Raptors under much more friendlier circumstances dropped a contest earlier in the season to the Bobcats. So will see what happens today.
Aaron Gray gets the scoring started after the Raptors open the game with a stop on defense. Raptors had a couple chances to add to that but both DeRozan and James Johnson could not make it happen. Bayless looked to be keeping things rolling after last night, he nailed a big 3 and opened up a 9-4 advantage. Gerald Henderson shows why people have been waiting for him to explode into a superstar with a great dunk. In much less athletic fashion Aaron Gray replies and it was 13-8 Raptors. After Charlotte rattled off 4 points another Bayless three pointer made it a 16-12 contest. It wouldn't be Bayless without some head shaking moments, with a clean lane for a lay up he decided to kick the ball out and it would end up out of bound Charlotte basketball. Bobcats would take advantage and get this game tied at 16 with under 5 to play in the 3rd. Bayless was on fire from behind the arc though as he cashed in a Kleiza pass for his 3rd three in as many tries. He would press is luck an attempt a 4th in transition and that was not a good idea. Raptors offense was humming shooting 60% and Linas Kleiza would add to that with a nice mid range jumper that goes swish. Raptors were up 23-18 and looking good early. DeRozan had a chance to add to it and missed a pair of free throws at the line. DeRozan would make up for that with his own highlight reel dunk. Raptors had built a 9 point lead and needed a stop to head to end of the first with that lead. Which they would get. A Kleiza buzz heave would not fall so make it 29-20 after one.
Bobcats shot 27.8% in the first, part of that is them and the fact they stink but give Raptor credit for some good defense as well. Kemba Walker was taking abuse from Leo Rautin for his green and yellow kicks but more importantly he was struggling on the floor. Raptors were not messing around building a 35-20 lead and given the situation they might need that big lead later. However the way the Bobcats were playing they might not. D.J White would try to fire up his troops and crowd that would be luck if it was 5,000 with a big jam. Hard to believe this city once led the NBA in attendance back in the days when Hornets were buzzing in hive. Kleiza hit a step back 3 pointer after the Bobcats showed some signs of life. Linas was lighting it up he had 11 and Raptors were up 42-28 midway through the 2nd quarter. Raptors weathered to little Bobcat uprising pretty well and still led 49-37 with just over 3 to play. I might have spoke to soon some sloppy turnovers and Bobcats were back to single digits down 51-43. Bayless again passed on scoring and left an ugly drop off that works as Aaron Gray finished it off. Raptors lead 53-43 at the halftime break.
Bismack with the big smacking slam to get things rolling in the 2nd half. Then Cory Maggette on his 12th NBA team (Exaggeration for effect) with a big three and the Raptors lead was cut in half like that. Bayless with a crazy floater over Biyombo you can mambo if you want too. Bargnani would mambo he would just dunk on the Bobcats rookie. Gerald Henderson with a silky smooth jumper made it just a 5 point lead again at 57-52. Bismack Biyombo would draw the Cats even closer with a bucket. D.J Augustin would complete the comeback with a 3 and the Bobcats led for first time all night 59-57. A Kleiza airball on the baseline jumper was not going to help. Jaamal Magloire was an all-star 8 years ago in this city. Today he was playing because Aaron Gray was in foul trouble and actually had a dunk. While the parade for that was rolling through the Bobcats kept rolling and now had a 9 point advantage up 70-61. Things were not getting any better for the Raptors as they were making to many mistakes and the Bobcats lead was growing. Raptors would face an 81-67 scoreline to overcome heading to the 4th quarter.
Bobcats were now shooting above 50% after being below 30% after one. Bayless was frustrated but was at least one guy on the floor not ready to give up. But you forgive me if I have as the Raptors looked tired and lethargic and were turning the ball over faster than bar selling green beers. But this was the Bobcats and they can turn it over better than anyone and were proving it. Still they had a 10 point lead and it was really going to take some effort for them to blow this one. Like I said Bayless was not giving up as he hits a three and this was a Peyton Manning touchdown from being tied. Sorry think NFL Network cut in on the re-cap their. Bobcats got the lead back to 11 and this game was looking like it was going to be win lucky win number seven for the Bobcats and two of those coming at the hands of the Raptors. The first on was inexcusable this one today had some legit excuses. Still it doesn't make the fact the Raptors were on the way to 0-2 vs Bobcats feel any better. This was all but done except for the final score.
Some how, some way the Raptors after being down as many as 14 found their way back to down just 5 with 45 seconds left. Bobcats are bad granted but how this happened is a bit of a mystery. Bobcats would make a couple free throws and make it is 7 point lead. But a silly foul after a DeRozan missed three allowed Amir Johnson to get it to 5 point game with clock stopped. Raptors got a steal jacked a couple threes and missed both. That should just about do it or not..Raptors kept possession and Bayless nailed a three with 11.7 seconds left. Bayless was forced to foul out and had 29 points and seat for the final 9.9 seconds left in this one with Raptors down just 105-103. D.J Augustin made both free throws so now this was over right? It was as DeRozan missed a 3 badly and that would do it as Charlotte got the ball and whipped it down court. Make the final 107-103 Bobcats.
Showing posts with label Bismack Biyombo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bismack Biyombo. Show all posts
2/18/12
Did We Really Lose To The Bobkittens? No Really?
So I had this dream that I some how ended up having to cover the Bobcats vs Raptors, on the same night host a party for readers of the DNB, and get this the Raptors lost. Wait, I am being informed this actually happened. The Raptors and deservedly so, have been praised for their effort in the last four games, despite the fact they have been 1-3 in those games. But based on their performance last night it made those 3 losses become pretty irrelevant. While it was great to see them raise their game to a level to compete with the Lakers, Knicks and Spurs, it should have carried over to a winnable game vs the struggling Bobcats. They had lost 16 in a row and brought a 1-15 road record with them to Toronto and just 3 wins on the season overall. This game was lost almost before it started by the Raptors. Dwane Casey in the post game was very honest and stated off the top he was disappointed in his team's performance. The Raptors approach to this game was the problem according to Casey. He clearly felt his team over looked the Bobcats.
This was a close game throughout never seeing one team lead by more than 8 points in it. When you consider the Bobcats who had lost their last 10 games on the road by an average of over 16 points, this was a clear sign the Raptors were in trouble. It was a lacklustre performance almost from the opening bell. The one thing that you have to do against a struggling team the Raptors failed to do. They let the Bobcats build hope and feel like they had a chance to win. Despite getting off to decent 10-4 advantage by the end of the 1st quarter the Raptors lead was just a single point 23-22. DeRozan had a good start on offence but an equally poor one on defence. His assignment on the night was Reggie Williams. Mr. Williams heading into this game averaged just over 10 points a game. He would end up on the night with 22 points shooting 9-13 from field and 4-6 from behind the arc.
Not only was Demar struggling on defence he was on top of it getting himself into foul trouble. If not for those facts, he could have had perhaps an even better night on offence which was pretty good with 24 points going 8-15 from the field. On top of that, he also had a nasty coming together with a Bobcat in the 4th Quarter that left him down on the floor for a bit. After the game he was fine and said the coming together just made him a bit dizzy, but was o.k eventually and he did comeback later. The only thing that was hurt was his pride at the end of the night.
The Raptor would trail by 2 at the half. The fans would get treated to Naughty By Nature at halftime. The Raptors likely to a verbal assault from Dwane Casey. Whatever was said didn't take long as the Raptors had wondered out before Naughty By Nature was done performing. Jerryd Bayless did return in this game but Casey said post game he felt that Bayless wasn't right in his view and did not play him at all in the 2nd half. Bayless only played a shade under 5 minutes and was 0-2 from the field making 2 free throws for his 2 points on the night.
The Raptors did respond in the 3rd to some degree but they had already made the mistake of giving a desperate team hope. The Raptors won the third quarter though out scoring the Bobcats 24-21 and took a slim one point advantage to the 4th quarter. However in that 4th the Bobcats had the hope and smelled blood and a rare chance at win and took advantage of that. They started to build a lead and would be able to hang on to it out scoring the Raptors 30-22 in final quarter and walking out of the ACC with a 98-91 win.
A couple of guys that were considered options for the Raptors in the draft were on display in this game. Kemba Walker was a lot of the people's choice for the Raptors in the draft. He had 14 points and 8 assists on the night. But the 5-15 shooting is the problem with Kemba he is struggling to shot a good percentage on the next level here in the NBA. Until Jonas Valanciunas fell into their lap the Raptors were strongly considering Bismack Biyombo from the Congo. He on the other hand looked like something the Raptors could use. Bismack laid the smack down in the form of 7 blocks to go with 8 points and 13 rebounds a strong showing for him. Still all the reports and things you keep hearing suggest that Jonas will be far better than both when all is said and done. Given how this season has gone the pressure on him to perform like it will be here from the moment he arrives and not a second later.
Jose Calderon who has been coming back to earth in terms of scoring had 14 points and 8 assists in over 41 minutes on the floor. He seemed frustrated from the losing in general in the post game. It makes you wonder if the rumours and rumblings that he wants to move on to somewhere else have some merit. How ironic would that be? A guy that has frustrated a portion of this fan base leaves out of his frustration in the franchise. Jose will never be a guy that will say he wants out publicly. He never once uttered that he wanted to be the starter in North America. If he were to survive the season as a Raptor it would not shock me if we heard news from Spain that Calderon is unhappy and wants to move to another NBA team. That is how he does things. It is also part of why I have never been thrilled with Calderon over the years.
Despite this recap of the game itself, I had a fantastic time being both media member, than host, than media member again. Our MGDDNBVIP night was a success in every way except for the one thing that is out of our hands the game on the floor itself. Thanks to all that came out and to Forest Kenney and the folks at MGD for working with us on a big event for the 2nd season in a row now. It is becoming a great tradition for us in Dino Nation Blog. They do a wonderful job in making these events a success. Will have some pictures and photos from the night over the weekend.
This was a close game throughout never seeing one team lead by more than 8 points in it. When you consider the Bobcats who had lost their last 10 games on the road by an average of over 16 points, this was a clear sign the Raptors were in trouble. It was a lacklustre performance almost from the opening bell. The one thing that you have to do against a struggling team the Raptors failed to do. They let the Bobcats build hope and feel like they had a chance to win. Despite getting off to decent 10-4 advantage by the end of the 1st quarter the Raptors lead was just a single point 23-22. DeRozan had a good start on offence but an equally poor one on defence. His assignment on the night was Reggie Williams. Mr. Williams heading into this game averaged just over 10 points a game. He would end up on the night with 22 points shooting 9-13 from field and 4-6 from behind the arc.
Not only was Demar struggling on defence he was on top of it getting himself into foul trouble. If not for those facts, he could have had perhaps an even better night on offence which was pretty good with 24 points going 8-15 from the field. On top of that, he also had a nasty coming together with a Bobcat in the 4th Quarter that left him down on the floor for a bit. After the game he was fine and said the coming together just made him a bit dizzy, but was o.k eventually and he did comeback later. The only thing that was hurt was his pride at the end of the night.
The Raptor would trail by 2 at the half. The fans would get treated to Naughty By Nature at halftime. The Raptors likely to a verbal assault from Dwane Casey. Whatever was said didn't take long as the Raptors had wondered out before Naughty By Nature was done performing. Jerryd Bayless did return in this game but Casey said post game he felt that Bayless wasn't right in his view and did not play him at all in the 2nd half. Bayless only played a shade under 5 minutes and was 0-2 from the field making 2 free throws for his 2 points on the night.
The Raptors did respond in the 3rd to some degree but they had already made the mistake of giving a desperate team hope. The Raptors won the third quarter though out scoring the Bobcats 24-21 and took a slim one point advantage to the 4th quarter. However in that 4th the Bobcats had the hope and smelled blood and a rare chance at win and took advantage of that. They started to build a lead and would be able to hang on to it out scoring the Raptors 30-22 in final quarter and walking out of the ACC with a 98-91 win.
A couple of guys that were considered options for the Raptors in the draft were on display in this game. Kemba Walker was a lot of the people's choice for the Raptors in the draft. He had 14 points and 8 assists on the night. But the 5-15 shooting is the problem with Kemba he is struggling to shot a good percentage on the next level here in the NBA. Until Jonas Valanciunas fell into their lap the Raptors were strongly considering Bismack Biyombo from the Congo. He on the other hand looked like something the Raptors could use. Bismack laid the smack down in the form of 7 blocks to go with 8 points and 13 rebounds a strong showing for him. Still all the reports and things you keep hearing suggest that Jonas will be far better than both when all is said and done. Given how this season has gone the pressure on him to perform like it will be here from the moment he arrives and not a second later.
Jose Calderon who has been coming back to earth in terms of scoring had 14 points and 8 assists in over 41 minutes on the floor. He seemed frustrated from the losing in general in the post game. It makes you wonder if the rumours and rumblings that he wants to move on to somewhere else have some merit. How ironic would that be? A guy that has frustrated a portion of this fan base leaves out of his frustration in the franchise. Jose will never be a guy that will say he wants out publicly. He never once uttered that he wanted to be the starter in North America. If he were to survive the season as a Raptor it would not shock me if we heard news from Spain that Calderon is unhappy and wants to move to another NBA team. That is how he does things. It is also part of why I have never been thrilled with Calderon over the years.
Despite this recap of the game itself, I had a fantastic time being both media member, than host, than media member again. Our MGDDNBVIP night was a success in every way except for the one thing that is out of our hands the game on the floor itself. Thanks to all that came out and to Forest Kenney and the folks at MGD for working with us on a big event for the 2nd season in a row now. It is becoming a great tradition for us in Dino Nation Blog. They do a wonderful job in making these events a success. Will have some pictures and photos from the night over the weekend.
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