Raptors Rewind- Welcome To Second Half Edition

The Raptors ironically start the second half of season begins for the Raptors the same as the first vs the Cleveland Cavs. This time on the road in the home of the Rock and Roll hall of fame....Cleveland Ohio. Shaq with just 1 basket will reach 28,000 points in his career that has spanned 4 teams and many awards both team and individually along the way. Raptors have as I mentioned this morning lost 9 straight games at the Cleveland. Both teams are 7-3 in their last 10 games and the eyes of America will be watching on NBA-TV as this is just 1 of 2 games in the NBA after a busy schedule on the MLK day holiday in the United States. Big challenge for the Raptors so let's see how they make out.

1st Quarter

Raptors win the tip but fail to score and LBJ drives to the basket scores and draws an early foul on Hedo Turkoglu. Cavs would make it 2 straight baskets and Shaq had his milestone. A second quick foul on Hedo and he did not last 2 minutes in the first quarter. Demar Derozan finally got Raps on the board with a jumper to break a 6-0 Cavs run to start the game. Bosh would find DD to make it back to back buckets for the rookie from USC. Bargnani scored and was fouled but could not make the and 1. But the run would not stop as Demar an early 6 points. Shaq and Bosh trade baskets Raps had an early 10-8 edge. Mo Williams and Cris Bosh trade 2 point efforts and the Raps after a slow beginning trading blow for blow with the Cavs.

J.J Hickson missed on an alley oop earlier but drove to the basket and scored with Bargs on him. Jack would score to restore the 2 point lead. Mo Williams would even it up at 16 all. Call off the shooting guard search as Demar DeRozan on fire with 8 early with another basket this one in the paint. Mo Williams hit a corner 3 and Wright answered with a quick 2 as he was seeing early time thanks to Hedo's quick two fouls. Raptors looking solid up 20-19. Am I crazy to think the Cavs might be the best match-up for the Raptors come April? A win tonight and maybe not.

Big Z in the game and hit a jumper to give the Cavs the lead 21-20. Lebron draws contact and gets to the line extends the lead to 3 at the line. Wright obvious upset about his F grade in the DNB midterm ratings score and is fouled and ties it up at 23. Heir Canada lives and keep the game tied after a Cleveland score to make it 25 all we are under 2 to go in an entertaining first quarter. Andrea Bargnani for 3 and it goes...Raps on top 28-25. But Lebron James would drive score draw the foul and make the and 1....After 1 and it was even at 28.

2nd Quarter

Cavs shooting 61% but only tied with the Raptors. D needs to pick it up but Raps are hanging with the Cavs. Teams trade buckets to make it 30 all. Delonte West hit a 3 off a broken play and Hedo off the bench with an answer for 3. Raptors lead 35-34. Marco Belinelli back from the flu a long 2 would make it a 3 point lead. Raps are having some issues as Mo Williams the latest to nail a 3 from corner and Cavs on top 39-37. Jose Calderon a nice jumper for 2 and Shaq puts the Cavs back on top with the 2 and was fouled but it's Shaq no and 1.

Marco Belinelli appears to be healthy as he slams one down to to give Raps a 42-41. Raptors were battling hard with the Cavs and Shaq gave Chris Bosh a love tap let's call it. CB4 answers with his jumper and Raps lead 46-45. He would get to the line later and again give Raps lead back at 48-47. Bosh is the Raptors answer with 10 in the corner and for 3 rd straight time giving the Raps the lead back. Then back to back baskets would make it a 3 point lead 52-49 Raps. Hedo gets his 3rd foul and teched up and good bye Hedo at least for rest of the half. Cavs would make the Tech and would go on to take the lead 53-52. James was getting the benefit of some calls and the Raptors were getting frustrated and now Wright would get teched up. The Cavs as result had built a 5 point advantage with score 57-52. Andrea a big 3 late has cut lead to just 2 with score 59-57. Ex-Raptor A.P answers with 3. However Wright would answer that with 3. Defense not on the menu as Cavs lead 62-60.

3rd Quarter

Raps are putting on a solid show for the folks south of the border but could they shock the folks tuning in on NBA-TV? Shaq and Jack trade buckets and were off and running in the 3rd. Bosh a score he has 18 already and Mo Williams answers with a long 2. G-Tech team up as Jack answers with a 3 ball and Raptors buzzing down just 1 with score 68-67. LBJ was dropping dimes as well as buckets his 7th dime of the night a great pass to Hickson for a dunk. Demar DeRozan show NO FEAR as he drives it at Shaq and gets whacked and head to line and drains a pair. But some vintage A.P with Parkerville Court in Cleveland now as he dials up a 3. Later though Anrea Bargnani would answer with a 3 and we were tied at 73.

Jarrett Jack is fearless as well as he also drives and get walloped by the Big Shaq Diesel. This was a heck of a battle going on. Demar DeRozan would give the Raps the lead. But Anderson Varejao would score and draw a foul to tie the game at 77 with his free throw to come after a time out. Varejao would make the and 1 and Raps a quick miss and James score. James miss and Varejao put back lead climbs to 5. Bargnani breaks up the run only to have Williams hook up James for the easy score. Jack and Parker trade baskets and Cavs lead 86-81. Amir Johnson in the game and making an impact with a block on Varejao. Raptors were is a battle trailing 86-83 to the Cavs.

Mo Williams another corner 3 as he must have a rental agreement with Parker on Parkervillie court...Hit a big 3 and Cavs have a 6 point lead. Moments later Williams would check out of game clutching his shoulder. Raptors were struggling to close out the 3rd as the lead had expanded to 8. A Lebron James turnaround 3.....NO....Whew...Raps escape quarter still down 8.

4th Quarter

Raptors will need a strong push if they want to stay in the running to win the game. Raps went the last 3:52 of the 3rd without a field goal. Marco Belinelli starting the quarter strong with 2 then later a 3 ball and Calderon would score and Raptors had cut lead to just 3.Cleveland call a time out and turnover the basketball out of time out. Hedo tries for 3 to tie and his struggles continue as he missed. Bargnani the big block and the long 2 Raptors on a 9-0 run and down just 1. A costly turnover for CB4 and Cavs score in transition to end the run.

Marco Belinelli making and impact in his return to the line up as he makes the pretty reverse lay up as he leaked out on the break. Bosh another turnover on let's just say a suspect offensive 3 second call. Raptors sitll down just 1 with score 95-94. Mo Williams back in the game and shoulder must be ok as he nails a 3. Hedo a miss and Cavs make them pay. 100-94 Cavs a Lebron James slam makes it 102-94 and Cavs answering the bell with a 7-0 run.

Raptors had been fought hard the whole night long but down the stretch Cavs looking like the Eastern Conference leaders that they are. Still over 3 minute to play but Cavs looking well in control of things. However Raps refusing to go away as they trail 104-100. Jose Calderon does to one thing well on D at times and that is drawing charges and he draws a key one down the stretch in this one. Bosh has been muted by the Cavs with just 3 points in the half and he attempted a jumper and missed it. James draws a foul and that is 5 on Andrea and James makes the free throws and the lead is 6. In the final moments Demar Derozan getting minutes worth noting. Bosh another costly turnover late and that will likely seal it.

Raptors will not find the winners circle on this night but it was a good effort overall with some glaring exceptions but overall this team hung with the best team in the East. Raptors fall 108-100 and are 21-21 but they did show they can hang with just about anyone. If you are honest with yourself did you actually think the Raptors would win tonight? The answer is likely know. But they did play a good competitive game for 4 quarters and that is something to build from. People will take Hedo and Bosh to task no doubt. However Raptors got great contributions from Bellinelli and Wright with a combined 26 points which made up for some of that. There is really not much folks can say to defend Hedo with just 3 points in a big game. He was in part brought in for his ability to perform in the clutch and in big games. As a Raptor we have seen little of that. In terms of Bosh he had a really bad second half after getting off to a great start and looked on pace to have a great night through 2.

When you take who you were cheering for out of the equation that was a very entertaining basketball game and folks on NBA TV in the U.S got to see a solid performance from Canada's NBA team.

Hello America Meet The Toronto Raptors

A little later than expected but people in the United States will get their first chance to see the Raptors nationally. The Raptors recent game vs Knicks was suppose to be broadcast on ESPN, but it got the booted based on the Raptors and Knicks poor starts to the season. So on a smaller stage against a tougher opponent the Raptors will make their debut nationally in the U.S. Tonight's Raptors game vs the Cavs in Cleveland will be broadcast in the U.S nationally on NBA TV. The Raptors 1st half of their season began with an impressive win over the Cavs. Some were already writing the Cavs off for dead after an 0-2 start. While I personally was sweating buckets as I picked the Cavs to win it all. After that start the Cavs have got on track and are battling among the elite in east. While the Raptors after that impressive win would go on the road and lose to the Grizzlies. Just one of many high to low moments in this first 41 games of the Raptors season.

What happens tonight will only count for 1 game in the standings but for a lot of folks that are not hardcore b-ball fans in the states this will be their one impression of the Raptors. Will it be a good one or a bad one? Playing the Cavs at the Q is a much different task than beating them at the ACC. Cavs are an impressive 14-3 at home and 31-11 overall. Not to mention they have that Lebron James guy. He has had his career high in scoring vs the Raptors and in the past has had a ton of success vs Toronto.

Oh and in case you missed it with MLK day south of the border the Charlotte Bobcats had a win and leapfrogged the Raptors and Heat and now sit in 5th in the Eastern Conference. I know a few people like laughed when I said the Bobcats would make the playoffs in the East. Not looking so funny anymore is it. What makes it all the more impressive or depressing, depending on how you look at it is the fact Charlotte is a dreadful 3-15 on the road. That makes the Raptors 8-14 record away from the ACC look impressive.

The Raptors head into this one of the impressive win over the Mavericks and are 10-3 since December 18th. If this was another team you would say wow that is mighty impressive. However with all the talk in Raptor land at times you sometimes lose sight of that fact. It is much easier to see a point guard controversy on the horizon or the fact that Hedo Turkoglu continues to underwhelm us all. However the positive tip has been the play of for lack of a better nickname the killer B's. Bosh and Bargnani are making the impressive duo. The Raptors had made a trade for Jermaine O'Neal to have a form of twin towers like the Spurs. If they only had waited they had one in the making already.

Both the Cavs and Raptors head in winners of 7 of their last 10 basketball games. I seem to be on a role at figuring out some X-Factors for games of late. If you have been checking out the Live Blogs on the Score you can vouch for me. Tonight for me the guy is Mo Williams who I admit is not much of an X-Factor. However he is a solid 3 point threat and if he gets hot from behind the 3 point line that could cause problems. For the Raptors I will go with the guy that has is popularity on the rise on Twitter even though he isn't on it. Amir Johnson. He can be a big factor on the glass and help the Raptors out. Shaq, Big Z and Varejao are not exactly world beaters on the glass. Fear Amir and hope he can stay out of foul trouble and contribute his max minutes available.

If I take away my Raptor pom poms for this game it would appear this should be an easy home win for the Cavs. That being said I fully expected Cleveland to come in and trash the Raptors of an opening night loss the the Celtics. Win or lose though this is yet another test against a "elite" NBA team and the Raptors of late have done a good job in these match-ups. However the Raptors are just 10-17 all time vs Cleveland and have lost 9 straight there. What has happened in the last 4 or 5 years to cause that I wonder? Oh yeah that Lebron James guy.

To expect a Raptors win would be a bit foolish. However to expect a hard fought close contest is not. The Raptors have earned enough respect for that have they not? Whatever the case this is there big moment to shine south of the border. Well as much as anyone can shine on NBA-TV. I wonder if Sam Mitchell will be in studio. If he was that would make hunting down the NBA-TV feed of the game worthwhile. Win, Lose or Draw the Raptor Rewind makes it's return as unless I get late word I am not doing this game for The Score.


Just A Final Thing

Just wanted to say I finally got to watch the 500th Episode of The Basketball Jones. This show broadcast via the internet has become part of my daily routine. J.E Skeets , Tas Melas and the crew that put that together Monday through Friday do a great job and are highly entertaining. If you are a fan of the NBA beyond the Raptors and have never checked them out...you should. So you missed the first 500 episodes who cares. It is well worth it from whatever episode you start watching you will keep watching it from that number on. Congrats to them on 4 years of hard work and it sounds like the party they had in Toronto on Friday was quite the event. If there is a party for show 1000 I will be first in line to be there.

Raptors Rewind- King James Court Edition

You may have heard Cleveland is undefeated at home. So if I were to say anything to suggest the Raptors can win this game who would believe me? I would not even believe me. It is safe to the Raptors are desperate want some proof? How bout a return of the big 3 line-up to start the game. HELLO and I am not talking Jack Armstrong. This line-up has had little to no success and Bargnani is being moved to the 3 spot. What in the name of hell is going on with this team. It is not that I am upset Jamario Moon has been put to the bench. That part should happen and should have happened already. This is a big moment in the history of the Dino Nation Blog right here. JOEY GRAHAM should start. That is right I said, The Dino Blogger, James Borbath, that Joey should start. That is not to say I have changed my mind about Joey. I still will be happy to see him go at the end of the season. However that being said he has shown effort when many others have not. He has been active and we see more Good Joey than Bad Joey lately. It also speaks to how bad I think Jamario Moon has been and how much I hate the big 3 line-up. It is not effective and it just basically screws up about the only thing that has been a minor success about this season. That is the development of Andrea Bargnani and moving him to the 3 spot to allow J.O back in the starting line-up serves no purpose. J.O is not part of the long term future of this team and Bargnani clearly is. So why do this? It makes on sense and that is about par for the course this season. wonder if Lebron tries to top Kobe and his 61 points the other night. Sad to say but I think it is possible. Anything under 61 would be a minor victory. Do I sound upset? Sarcastic? yeah maybe but I have so little expectations for this team now it really is not funny.

1st Quarter

Away we go and victory 23 for the Cavs on their home floor unless something totally unexpected happens. We will all be witnesses or victims as the case maybe. There is a flu bug that is going around the Cavs locker room but King James is healthy and ready to go in the throw back yellow and red uniforms and Raptors are in the white and red. Cavs win the tip. A three ball for Wally world and that is the start you sure did not want to see as Raptor fan. Bosh turnover on Raps first possession and a ditto on that not wanting to see point. Another Wally Z make from 3 pointland. Oh yeah this big 3 line-up was a great idea. Mo Williams scores and Cavs are off to an 8-0 start. Chris Bosh makes a jumper and Lebron James as an answer with a nice set up from Mo Williams. Bosh makes another basket after a turnover early he is 2-2. But the defense is non existent with this horrible line-up. Raptors playing zone in this set up. James cuts through the zone with ease and Cavs making it look easy. Bargnani and Parker get back to back baskets to pull the lead to 14-8.

Chris Bosh makes another jump shot and he scores his third basket again. Lebron James scores plus a foul on Calderon and lead is back up to 17-10. Bargnani fires up an air ball and this has all the elements of the long night at the office I expected it to be. Lebron James makes a 3 pointer and can we please end the insanity of this stupid gimmick line-up already? Cavs are up 10. Raptors respond with 2 points. King James answers running through J.O and scoring and a foul. Lebron would make the foul shoot and he had another 3 pointer next time down the floor. He has 16 now by the way. That 61 comment of the top is not looking so crazy or sarcastic now is it? James is human though as he missed a fading jumper for 3. But no worries for Cavs the Raptors miss and Gibson and Mo Williams have back to back 3 pointers. The score is 32-14 with 2:26 remaining still in the first. Make it 3 straight, 3 pointers for the Cavs as Gibson hits another. Moon had checked in and fires up an airball. Hickson the Cavs rookie gets a score and it was only a 2 pointer. Cavs up 37-14. Raptors can't make a shot and this is flat out awful. Wow Jamario Moon drove the basketball amazing. He is fouled and heads to the line. He splits a pair. Can we trade him to the globetrotters? While I look up if that is legal under the CBA. Your score after 1 is Cavs 37 and Raptors 14. Bad just is not nearly good enough for what I was witness to in that first quarter.

2nd Quarter

Cleveland shot 60% and Raptors shot 33% need I say much more? Bosh back in and gets a score. Wally Z turns Jamario Moon into a statue as he drove to the hoop for a score. Bosh scores again but he was the lone Raptor going good. Jason Kapono with a rare 3 pointer for him. Raptors still down a ton with the score 39-22. The winner of the Carlito look a like contest for 3 years running Anderson Varejao with a basket. A.P gets to the line and makes a pair. The body language of the Raptors is speaking volumes. I feel for Matt Devlin and Jack Armstrong because it is pretty clear they have a long night in the booth ahead of them. Bosh with a nice move to the basket. He is 6-7 and playing very well. The truth is not many others are joining the party. Cavs are scoring at a high level and have built a massive lead. J.O makes a jump shot and Cavs lead is cut to 15 points. James is chilling on the bench for all of this though it should be noted. Kapono fouls Gibson behind the arc. That is not good. Gibson made 2 of 3 at the line.

Bosh another basket but Mo Williams hits a 3 pointer to answer. The bad math of Raps scoring 2 and the Cavs scoring 3 is not going to work. J.O makes a jump and it was 48-34 Cavs. Joey G gets a basket working the glass and draws the foul. Raptors actually were back to within 11 points. But Big Z gets a bucket on the inside. Bargnani found his way to his line but only splits a pair. J.O with a terrible miss but apparently big Z caught a piece of him as the shot went off the side of the back board. J.O would get the call the next time and miss his first free throw and the second. Raptors complain a lot about not getting calls but when you are a bad basketball team you don't get calls. It just doesn't happen. Invest the energy in playing better. Lebron James scores a basket. Jack Armstrong is laying the wood to Steven A Smith. That is why I love Jack Armstrong. Preach on coach. Meanwhile Bosh was doing his part on the floor getting to the line. He makes a pair. Calderon another miss and he is 0-5 and looks awful again. If you are injured don't play Jose it really is that simple. James meanwhile a score and 1 and Cavs lead is back up 17. King James would make that 19 with another basket over Jose Calderon. At the Half the Cavs cooled off a bit but still have a huge 59-40 halftime lead.

3rd Quarter

You know is it asking to much to start a second half with some hope you can win? I mean that has not happened a lot lately let alone getting into the 4th quarter with a chance. I am pulling for Nathan Jawai to get some time but I would rather it be in more positive situations. Raps are up to a blazing 38% take away Bosh I would not even want to see the number. Cleveland has cooled to a 53% level. Nice play to start as Jose hooks up J.O for the easy score. Bosh missed a contested jumper that would have given Raps back to back scores. But a slow Cavs start and J.o would get another score. Bargnani missed a 3 pointer as the Raptors went away from what was working. Bosh is called for goaltending as he swatted away a Big Z attempt on it;s down word flight. Bosh makes up for it with a jumper. Big Z answers with a hook shot in the paint. James denys Bosh on a drive as he just stole the ball out of the air and took it the other way for a score. Calderon meanwhile remains scoreless and he really should not be in there because he is not healthy enough to be.
Mo Willams gets a drive and score and after a sleepy start the Cavs lead was back to 19 with the score 67-46.

Bargnani has had a rough night at the office as well. James and Graham went to the deck and James came up gimpy. That is not good news for the Cavs. Not saying it will cost them tonight but the Lakers who will be in Toronto tomorrow night make their way to Cleveland on Sunday. It has been rough times in NBA with Andrew Bynum and Jameer Nelson both suffering major injuries. James is back in though and Cleveland can breath a sigh of major relief. Credit to Andrea Bargnani as his jump shot was mia so he drove it to the whole and scored and got the and 1 foul. Joey Graham would make his way to the line and Raptors have chipped into the lead slightly. Cavs lead was 67-53 with 4:20 to go in the 3rd quarter. Joey Graham making a dunk and Raptors were down 13. Bosh would get a score in the paint. He and Graham were the only 2 guys bringing it on this night. Cavs still were up 11 points and it was not like you had any feeling they could not just flip the switch and step it up if need be. That being said the Raptors were at least getting effort from a couple guys that had not given up. I have always been hard on Joey but give him his due I will. He has been a different guy since Sam Mitchell has left. He is giving the best he has. Bargnani gets to the line and despite a terrible shooting night he had 9 boards and 10 points. Raptors were slowly getting back in it. Graham would score and the lead was down to 9 points. Think we will find out if I was right about Cavs having another gear they can shift too. J.O also had a quiet 15 point night going. Raptors back court of Calderon and Parker had struggled. A bizarre moment. J.O was fouled and at the line he made his shots but the refs said it should have been Parker shooting. Parker would miss both. That is weird. Raptors with a J.O jumper and the Raptors had cut the lead to 8. They almost made it 6 with a tap in at the buzzer.

4th Quarter

Impressive 3rd quarter but I am finding it really hard to believe the Raptors have a chance down 8 to the Cavs. The problem when you dig a big whole like the Raptors did the climb to get back to even is only half the job. Once you get there it is another issue to take and keep a lead. However Raptors still have not even completed the climb part. Gibson with a runner in the lane to start the 4th. J.O doing a good job getting to the line battling inside. he makes a pair at the line. Williams had a basket. But J.O scores in the paint he had 20 points wow he has now not so quietly had a nice game. Chris Bosh gets to the line with a chane to cut the lead to 6. But Bosh could only split a pair as James checked back in.

Cavs lead was 78-71. Raptors perimeter defense had been better but Gibson would find an open look behind the arc and make a big shot for Cavs. Bosh and Hickson trade baskets and Raptors still were behind with score 83-73. J.O would draw a charge on James and the Raptors were kind of hanging around but not really. Joey Graham had been doing good job on both ends and had match-up well on Lebron James. Bosh got a score on the inside. Joey would lay the wood on King James and it would send James to the line. James after 16 in the in first had 14 points since. Bosh tried to rip the rim down but would come up gimpy. He would remain in the game. For all those people wanting to throw Bosh under the Bus. Here is some food for thought. Do you think Bosh has had bumps and injuries. I bet he has but he has been out their going after it ever night.

James started to heat up and helped the Cavs build the lead back up to 15 points with the score 90-75. The Raptors in the end were burned by a bad coaching move to go with that big 3 line up and just could not over come the damage done. They did not give up and had a lot of fight. Which against the Bucks might have helped but the against the Cavs it wasn't going to matter. Also little to no production from the back court. Calderon would finally make a shot as he was 1-9. Parker and Kapono were also pretty awful. Calderon is clearly not right and not to beat a dead horse but with no legit back-up Raptors are forced to leave him out there when their is no reason he should be. Raptors remained down 15 points as Bosh would get hammered by his redeem team buddy Lebron James. Bosh would make both but time was clearly not on the Raptors side and a Wally World three ball would make it a 16 point lead with under 3 to play. After getting as close as 78-71 the Raptors had just 8 point since and the Cavs lead 95-79. We were playing this one out at the Q as the Cavs were going to remain undefeated at home. The Cavs take this one and they took care of business early and the Raptors could never recover. Cavs 101 and Raptors 83.

Raps/Cavs Boxscore

So that does it for another disappointing night of Raptors Basketball. Kobe Bryant coming off scoring 61 that should be ugly. Oh well talk with you tomorrow when I am likely less emotional.

Raptors Mission Impossible

Well after a day of putting out fires off the court the Raptors get back at it on the court. Yesterday we saw firm denials from both Bryan Colangelo and Chris Bosh of the Stephen A Smith story. Mr. Smith meanwhile could not be reached for comment as he was sick in bed with the flu. I think it is safe to say he will not be getting any get well soon cards from anyone connected to the Raptors. The focus now shifts to a near impossible task of playing Lebron James and Kobe Bryant on back to back nights. In case you missed in Kobe set an MSG record scoring 61 points the last night. I am sure some Raptor fans will fear the worst when he hits the ACC floor to take on the Raptors tomorrow. But before you worry about that the concern is the current front runner for M.V.P Lebron James. The King has had a season for the ages and has really been dominate on both ends of the floor. The addition of Mo Williams has been a pretty nice one for Cleveland. So nice a lot of folks were giving him high consideration for the All Star Game. The Cavs have battled through some injury issues to a few players and have not missed a beat. You might say that this mission impossible title of this blog was unfair. Well when you consider Cleveland is perfect on their home floor this season I think impossible is the exact right term. Even if the Raptors were on a roll, I would not like their chances. They are not though and have struggled the last two games. Some folks have questioned the teams heart and desire and think they have quit. To say a team has quit is a serious charge to make. I'm not sure if quit is the right way to put what we have seen the last 2 games. I watched the Kings play last week and that is a team that has quit clearly. The Raptors show some signs of that but are not to that point in my view. They just seem to reach points in games where through their own choices on offense they get discouraged. It will lead to a bad quarter or section of a game that the Raptors can not recover from. This game could be one that could get away early if the Raptors do not make the jump shots that they will not doubt fire up. Cleveland has an advantage on the glass and is aggressive at challenging passing lanes. The last time the Raps played Cleveland early on it was a steal and dunk a thon for the Cavs.

Mathematically Alive But Logically Dead

Let's face the reality here. The Raptors are 1n 14th place in the East and there are only 8 teams that make the playoffs. So 14-8= 6, as in 6 teams that have to out perform down the last 3 months of season. If the groundhog was in the playoff prediction business, I think it would mean if he saw his shadow a long off season is ahead. Happy belated Groundhog Day by the way. I hope you had a special one. So with out factoring in games behind just the challenge of out performing 6 teams seems highly unlikely. The Raptors favourable schedule that lies ahead in March and April is not going to be enough. Besides you need to be able to take advantage of that schedule as well. The Raptors have not proved to be that great of a home team this season. The growing anger and booing at the ACC is not likely to do much to change that. When players from the other team comment about it you know it is bad. I support people in their right to boo when the team does not perform. However here is something to consider. If other players are making note of that maybe that is not exactly a selling point when the Raptors look to bring in free agents. Getting booed by 19,000 plus Canadians may not make the most attractive sales pitch for free agents. Sorry, I got side tracked but that was a point worth making. So, when you combine the Raptors lack of home court success with a lack of ability to string wins together. It makes the reality pretty clear for this basketball team. I am not convinced a Bryan Colangelo trade can suddenly change this team to a level that the identity of it dramatically changes. The motivation to make the playoffs and only face a next to impossible task of beating a Boston, Cleveland or Orlando is not exactly motivating for most. I try my best to be positive about the Raptors but I refuse to be unrealistic about them. Reality is screaming that this team has a far more realistic path to the NBA Lottery and not the NBA Playoffs.

Fans Turning On CB4

I am really kind of disgusted at how little it has taken for some fans to turn their backs on Chris Bosh. I had one person leave a comment that was not fit for print. I am sure many sites had the same type of comments. You would think that Bosh himself had said that he talked with Colangelo and requested a trade. That is not what happened though. A guy with a spot willed resume of being right and wrong made a claim. Have you bothered to notice that Stephen A Smith's career is not exactly on the rise? The fact that he may just need all the attention that he got from the comments he made? I did not. In addition I have not forgot all that Chris Bosh has done in his collective time here. Even this season it is not like he has been a horrible player by any means. He was voted to the All Star game by the rest of the coaches in the Eastern Conference if you need proof. People have once again jumped the gun and started to hate a guy that really has not done anything wrong. Last year T.J Ford became the target of fan anger and rage. Maybe enough is enough. There are guys on this roster that deserve to be held to task. I am not saying Bosh should not be accountable. However to judge a guy who has done little wrong in his time in Toronto both on and off the floor so harsh in a time that he will be thinking about his future staying here is wrong and honestly pretty dumb. If Bosh leaves he will catch all of the blame. He may replace Vince Carter as the most hated Ex-Raptor. However the way fans have acted is part of the choice. It may be a small one. However it is part of it. I am not turning on Chris Bosh when he has not turned on me. If he does down the line I will deal with that when and if it happens. The posts I have read in various places quite frankly disappoint me greatly. I can not imagine what it would feel like for Bosh or someone close to him. Sure he makes a ton of money he has a great life and all of that. It does not change the fact he is human and that to have people saying those kind of things about you can not do much good for you. Chris once said he wanted to be part of the making things work in Toronto. Maybe it is time for fans to try and do the same. But when you factor in the TSN 2 stuff and the failure to meet expectations and the entire make up of this season, that may be a even greater mission impossible as opposed to a win over the Cavs or Lakers.

So when all is said and done this is going to be a Raptor season to forget. However maybe it should not be. I think everyone from Bryan Colangelo to the media to fans should learn something from all that has gone on. This is not something that anyone cares to repeat. A good start to getting things set right would be to get this TSN 2 mess behind us. Granted the way the team is playing it is going to make the people in suits that say no one watches look right. But even they are smarter enough to know they will have played a role as long as the teams lack of performance. That me be to optimistic cause this are the same people that have seen a hockey team that has been terrible for years draw ratings consistently. However the Raptor fan deserves and wants more from the franchise they support. I dig that about Raptor Fans. I just sometimes do not agree with the method some go about it. Still if you care about the Raptors and basketball you will always be welcome here.