Over 22,000 people in a packed Bell Centre it had all the energy of a Habs game or a UFC event. No Hab Jersey or GSP to be found. While sanity has come to Raptorland with Jarrett Jack playing as a starter tonight. There were some scary moments along the way with Demar DeRozan injuring his finger. It would turn out to be just a dislocation and he would return. Then a few minutes after the exit of DeRozan it was Barbosa crashing to the ground with a thud that reminded me of when T.J Ford was injured. But the result for Barbosa was not nearly as bad as he was able to pop back to his feet. Through out it all, the fans were loud and into it. There is a lesson in that for Raptors fans here at the ACC. Maybe 16 years of having basketball has made folks forget what it is like not to have it. Cheering for pizza is silly and stupid. This Raptor team is what many people have said they wanted in some ways. This team is going to fight hard and have to scrap for everything they get. The attendance at the ACC for the pre-season was pretty sad. When the season starts will see what it looks like. But if this team struggles will the people still come. I think we learned that people in both Vancouver and Montreal would love to have that option.
As for the Raptors the talk has been all about team effort and that is what Raptors gave with 7 players in double figures. One of those the recently benched Jose Calderon with 11 points and 7 assists. Jack as the starter only 7 and 5. Will we ever get this to work in Toronto? 16 years and only years we had a clear number 1 point guard it was in the beginning with Damon Stoudamire. But still the overall battle was clearly won by Jack and he deserves to hear his name on Wednesday.
Andrea the good....15 points 6/13 and 3/4 from 3 point range. The Bad...1 Rebound in 23 minutes. Reggie Evans in 3 less minutes had 10 more rebounds with 11. As a team some good and bad as well. The good....12 Steals lead by your new starting point guard Jarrett Jack with 4. That is the biggest reason Jack deserves the starters minutes. Jack can make the overall team D better and Jose is a massive liability. The bad....just 1 block for the entire Raptors team. I know you are wondering who got the block? Joey Dorsey but the bad news in Dorsey is suspended so make that 0 blocks for the team that will play the Knicks on Wednesday.
Now as with all pre-season games it is not always just about who plays. It is about who doesn't and how much some people play. The Knicks did leave one of their weapons in the holster in Danilo Gallinari. They also sat Toney Douglas. While everyone in a Raptor uniform saw the floor at some point.
In the end the Raptors leave Montreal with a 108-103 win over the Knicks. Finishing the pre-season at an even 4-4. But the true winners on this night were the people of Montreal. I put this on Twitter and if you happen to be on twitter give this hashtag a tweet- #NBAINMTL . On a day when the NBA was talking tough and making a lockout seem almost unavoidable. Even throwing out the word contraction. When cities like Montreal, Vancouver and Seattle don't have teams with all due respect to Commissioner Stern there is no need for contraction more like re-location.
Pre-Season is over. Come Wednesday will see how much it actually meant.
Showing posts with label Montreal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montreal. Show all posts
10/22/10
Raptors Dit Bonjour Knicks, Bon Au revoir la Saison de Pre
I figured if Amir Johnson can try French so can we here at the Dino Nation Blog. So what was that in English you are wondering? Raptors say hello Knicks, good bye pre-season. Least that is what my French to English translation program says. I am not sure what Amir said in French but here is his attempt at it, rocking a Habs hat which will play well in Montreal. I know the first line is hello I am Amir Johnson after that I got no clue:
I am thinking battling Amare Stoudemire will be tougher then tackling the French language. I am also not sure how hard these teams will play given the fact they will meet again 5 days later to start the season. Safe to say there might be a little game playing by both teams. The Knicks unlike the Raptors have a lot of expectations and they did land Amare and some others. But Amare is not James, Wade or even Bosh. Raymond Felton another addition is not Steve Nash ether.
If the Raptors are going to shock the world or at least North America and contend for the playoffs in the East, this is one of the teams that they will need to beat to make that happen. I think the Knicks are a team that can be good enough to sneak in the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. What happens tonight does not matter nearly as much as what happens in 5 days. You only need to look to the NFL for examples of this. It has happened many times where teams meet up in the final week of season knowing they will face each other the next week in the playoffs. The result in that final game seldom means much. This is much the same. Whatever the result tonight I will almost guarantee the game next Wednesday will have a very different result in many aspects.
Still it will be a full house in Montreal and temptation to put on a show for both teams will be there. Also given the way these teams want to play it should have a fast pace to it and be up and down the floor. After all there is 5 days to rest after tonight so why not run. But obviously run carefully because the one thing both of these teams do not want is an injury at this late stage of the pre-season.
The real work for the Raptors starts tomorrow as they will kick things into high gear to prepare for the season. Practice may not be Allen Iverson's thing but for Raptors and all NBA Teams these last few days are pretty vital to put the finishing touches on their game plans for the upcoming season.
I think tonight will be a way to judge individuals and how they match up but not convinced we see much in terms of overall scheme from the Knicks or the Raptors. Still the best thing of all....PRE-SEASON IS OVER...after tonight.
I am thinking battling Amare Stoudemire will be tougher then tackling the French language. I am also not sure how hard these teams will play given the fact they will meet again 5 days later to start the season. Safe to say there might be a little game playing by both teams. The Knicks unlike the Raptors have a lot of expectations and they did land Amare and some others. But Amare is not James, Wade or even Bosh. Raymond Felton another addition is not Steve Nash ether.
If the Raptors are going to shock the world or at least North America and contend for the playoffs in the East, this is one of the teams that they will need to beat to make that happen. I think the Knicks are a team that can be good enough to sneak in the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff picture. What happens tonight does not matter nearly as much as what happens in 5 days. You only need to look to the NFL for examples of this. It has happened many times where teams meet up in the final week of season knowing they will face each other the next week in the playoffs. The result in that final game seldom means much. This is much the same. Whatever the result tonight I will almost guarantee the game next Wednesday will have a very different result in many aspects.
Still it will be a full house in Montreal and temptation to put on a show for both teams will be there. Also given the way these teams want to play it should have a fast pace to it and be up and down the floor. After all there is 5 days to rest after tonight so why not run. But obviously run carefully because the one thing both of these teams do not want is an injury at this late stage of the pre-season.
The real work for the Raptors starts tomorrow as they will kick things into high gear to prepare for the season. Practice may not be Allen Iverson's thing but for Raptors and all NBA Teams these last few days are pretty vital to put the finishing touches on their game plans for the upcoming season.
I think tonight will be a way to judge individuals and how they match up but not convinced we see much in terms of overall scheme from the Knicks or the Raptors. Still the best thing of all....PRE-SEASON IS OVER...after tonight.
8/9/10
Dog Days Of Summer.
The Raptors world tour making stops in Vancouver, London and Montreal. All stops should be profitable for the Raptors. But it is kind of like a world tour of a band without a lead singer. The league and Raptors confirmed that Toronto will play the two dates in March in London, as previously mentioned here in the DNB. Raptors will also be playing the Suns in Vancouver which has been confirmed in pre-season and the word on street is Raps will take on the Knicks in Montreal also in pre season. Where was this stuff when the Raptors were a viable playoff team? Why shouldn't Montreal and Vancouver be the ones getting regular season games? Obviously the league agenda to grow the game globally takes precedence. However how is the NBA doing at growing the game in the nation they actually put teams in? The Grizzlies are long gone and Raptors can't keep star players.
TSN and Sportsnet the NBA's broadcast partners continue to bury the product of both Raptors and NBA on secondary networks (TSN 2 and soon to launch Sportsnet 1) . It is a real mixed message as the growth of basketball on the youth level is good in this country. The real fruit of having the NBA is starting to grow and you only need to check out the under 18 Canadian National teams (Both Men and Women) and the amount of players in NCAA basketball and AAU basketball down in the states. Basketball since 1994 has seen an up swing in participation and level of players this country is producing.
It is important that the ball keeps rolling in the right direction. There is passion and love for basketball across this country. It just takes that spark to set it off. I am not a huge MMA or UFC fan. However I have always been impressed by it's fan base. They constantly get on the media and demand coverage of their sport. Basketball fans can learn something from that. It takes people constantly pounding on doors and writing e-mails, calling in on radio and other ways you can make your voices heard. UFC has broken into the main stream and it is in part due to the fans.
Do we as basketball fans just get frustrated after years of being ignored? Possible. Things have gotten better from when I was growing up. The idea of having the ability to watch games on T.V every night from anywhere across the NBA was not even possible at any price. But still the lack of coverage of basketball is really an issue and far more so in other parts of this country. So the Raptors going to Vancouver and likely Montreal is a good thing. But it is just a couple days of buzz and they go away. It takes constant effort to be heard in those markets and other markets across this country.
A larger problem for all fans of the NBA looms next summer. The labour stoppages in both Hockey and Baseball that resulted in lost championships have forever changed my view of these sports. I pray that basketball does not head that route. If it does I am going to be the biggest hypocrite on the earth. I love basketball to much to give it up. In terms of baseball and hockey my interest levels in those sports has never returned to the level it was prior to those labour disputes. Basketball has always manged to crown a champion and give it's fans a champion. I deeply respect that and it means something. Even if it is a token gesture it shows the league cares about it's fans and not just the bottom line. It may not be real but it is a nice delusion to buy into. I pray my delusion is not shattered in a million pieces next season.
TSN and Sportsnet the NBA's broadcast partners continue to bury the product of both Raptors and NBA on secondary networks (TSN 2 and soon to launch Sportsnet 1) . It is a real mixed message as the growth of basketball on the youth level is good in this country. The real fruit of having the NBA is starting to grow and you only need to check out the under 18 Canadian National teams (Both Men and Women) and the amount of players in NCAA basketball and AAU basketball down in the states. Basketball since 1994 has seen an up swing in participation and level of players this country is producing.
It is important that the ball keeps rolling in the right direction. There is passion and love for basketball across this country. It just takes that spark to set it off. I am not a huge MMA or UFC fan. However I have always been impressed by it's fan base. They constantly get on the media and demand coverage of their sport. Basketball fans can learn something from that. It takes people constantly pounding on doors and writing e-mails, calling in on radio and other ways you can make your voices heard. UFC has broken into the main stream and it is in part due to the fans.
Do we as basketball fans just get frustrated after years of being ignored? Possible. Things have gotten better from when I was growing up. The idea of having the ability to watch games on T.V every night from anywhere across the NBA was not even possible at any price. But still the lack of coverage of basketball is really an issue and far more so in other parts of this country. So the Raptors going to Vancouver and likely Montreal is a good thing. But it is just a couple days of buzz and they go away. It takes constant effort to be heard in those markets and other markets across this country.
A larger problem for all fans of the NBA looms next summer. The labour stoppages in both Hockey and Baseball that resulted in lost championships have forever changed my view of these sports. I pray that basketball does not head that route. If it does I am going to be the biggest hypocrite on the earth. I love basketball to much to give it up. In terms of baseball and hockey my interest levels in those sports has never returned to the level it was prior to those labour disputes. Basketball has always manged to crown a champion and give it's fans a champion. I deeply respect that and it means something. Even if it is a token gesture it shows the league cares about it's fans and not just the bottom line. It may not be real but it is a nice delusion to buy into. I pray my delusion is not shattered in a million pieces next season.
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