Toronto Raptors vs. Sacramento Kings – “What The..”

DeMar DeRozan kept it close and played real hard.. the whole team did! They unfortunately ended up short against SAC last night with a 111-108 loss.

Surprised? Not really.

Yesterday night, the Toronto Raptors lost once again to the Kings 111-108. The funny thing was actually we were winning by double digits because of our great offense, decent defense, rebounds, etc.

The other funny thing was the Kings came back from behind to win on BOTH of their games so far. They came back as well to New Jersey.

DeMar played great. Reggie was rebounding like a beast once again. Everybody was on point. Until the second half.

You see, I only watched the first half. The first half was great. Up double digits, aggressive Raptors ball, what else could go wrong? (guess there was a LOT).

Sacramento just played basketball. Raptors just missed a few shots. No biggie.

BUT.. we have seen the previous Raps and these “new” Raptors. It always seems like I don’t have the 100% confidence in the team to win a game like this. All the contenders should be able to beat these games. We are definitely not showing it so far. I still believe, just turn it up guys.

Get ready guys.. Jazz and Lakers (and Portland) are up next.

Reggie Evans – A Better Rebounder than Superman?

Reggie Evans is a BEAST when it comes to grabbing rebounds. Is he better than Dwight Howard?

Fact: Reggie Evans has 30 rebounds in two games this regular season already.

Fact: Dwight Howard has 17 rebounds in two games this regular season.

Fact: Reggie Evans is only 6″8.

Fact: Dwight Howard 6″11 or 7 feet.

Fact: Reggie Evans is 3rd in the league in rebounding. (1st is Joakim Noah with 19 and Luis in 2nd with 16)

Fact: Dwight Howard.. is 26th in the league in rebounding.

Yeah, I know.  Dwight Howard isn’t doing as well in rebounding than he did in the previous years. Not to worry though, because he’s currently outside of the box out area trying to get his perimeter game going on. He’ll have to get used to running to the basket to follow up his own “shots” now and stay hungry for them.

As for Reggie, he’s always a scrambler. Despite his size, he uses his mentality and grittiness to get on the boards and grab them down like a hawk grabbing a falling worm (cartoons, man!). Fifteen rebounds per is insane, having the fact that he’s the same size as LeBron but only bigger and more tougher.

Without Reggie, we’d have less possessions, less passion for the game, the fans won’t be as excited and interactive and it just won’t be the same without him.

He’s not an offensive liability though which actually a good thing because it leads others to do more and create more plays for themselves/prove something to the world.

Dwight is a presence on both ends, and without him there is a BIG hole in the middle for Orlando. Less rebounds means a loss for them against Miami and more shooting around the perimeter means more running opportunities for Miami. This is why they lost by twenty six to them.

So for reality to speak, I just believe Reggie is a perfect piece for Toronto. Everybody goes after the boards anyways. It’s just that passionate rebounder in Reggie that makes him different.

Isn’t Toronto all about being different?

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Toronto Raptors – Post-Game Assessment

A 20 point blow out by the Raptors against the Cavs. What better way to celebrate your 27th birthday, huh Jarrett?

After a close, down-to-the-last-shot game with New York, the Raps looked to climb back with a win against the Cavs.

The outcome? Blowout. (No pun intended or anything sexual in that regard haha!)

The Toronto Raptors finally showed their youth, athleticism and raw talent they have on this team. Rebounding, scoring and defense were all positives in this regard.

From the get go, the Raps were out fast leading 16-8 until the Cavs made a little mini run of their own. This was the type of games where you really don’t know the outcome!

The Raptors had a great second quarter, quiet but not as good as the Cavs who made it a close game at halftime. However, after the half, it was all Raptors. Deflections, steals, blocks, key rebounds and shots, movement, defense, you name it! The Raptors showed that hard work truly pays off in the long run.

The game ended off pretty well, easy buckets and good chemistry from the team. I liked the vibe and way to go Dinos for giving the fans their free pizza! It was actually fun basketball I saw and I’m really looking forward to the game against the Kings. Great game there, cool action and fast paced scoring on both sides.

Andrea Bargnani and Linas Kleiza showed their offensive game, while the whole team showed their willingness to help and rotate on defense! I liked the HUSTLE there as well! Great passion. Oh and for the Young Gunz.. great :p

This was a great way to celebrate Jarrett Jack’s 27th birthday. Happy Birthday, Jarrett, Happy Birthday. (well not today)

 

New York Knicks vs. Toronto Raptors – Post-Game Assessment

Andrea played a monster game for the Raps - but still ended up with a lost, 98-93.

First game. New team. New season. Same result?

As you may (or may not) already know, the Toronto Raptors lost against the New York Knicks 98-93. Five points. There are many good things in this game, however the bad things can be easily fixed.

The good things I saw were good transition offense, great comebacks after New York scored, and pretty good defense.. but not all the defense was good. Rotation’s were weak, they seemed out of shape and other things came in play but I still believe the Dinos played a decent game.

Overall, I believed they played a good game to start off the season. As Jarrett said, it wasn’t a great outcome but the effort and mentality was there. It showed in the next game which will be feature next.

Andrea Bargnani: An Early Bust?

Andrea blows by Dwight cause of his speed. He did that with Chris? Can he be successful without him?

I know, I know.. it’s too early to assess player’s talent levels.

I have to add though that Andrea isn’t really playing well. This could play off of different reasons. It’s understandable, but Raptor fans like you should be in the know on why this is.

First of all, he has been the biggest threat other than Linas and Leandro as scoring options. He basically replaced Chris from the past years as the main scoring threat. Therefore, more double teams will be appearing in his way.  He still needs to improve his awareness of them and how to react.

Another problem could be that he doesn’t really play well in designated “plays”. It shows as well. Even last year, he could break down his man in isolation’s and playing off of  mismatches or assists from players. I haven’t watched that much ball footage of him this year, so I could be wrong because he could’ve improved them over the past years.

To be honest, Andrea is a better secondary option than being a focal point of a team. He doesn’t seem to like being pressured to do big things and I hope this team can turn around as soon as possible cause by the looks of the pre-season, we’re toast.

Assessment: Toronto Raptors vs. Phoenix Suns (Pre-Season)

Phoenix sucked. Period.

Why?

Well, this was their second game on a back-to-back. So obviously they’re tired.

Basically this game was a kick ass game for Toronto.. and Vancouver. I felt happy for Vancouver because it brought back memories for both Steve Nash and Jay Triano. I still believe Vancouver should get the Grizzlies back and Seattle should bring back the Supersonics.

Anyways, this game was a dunking, shooting and easy game for Toronto. Highlight plays for many players like Sonny Weems, Demar DeRozan, Jarrett Jack, Amir Johnson, etc! It was pretty much not a contest. The Raptors took over from the get go.

Toronto showcased their young legs and it’s a great scenery. It’ll take more development, but I liked the potential!

Raptors won by 51. End of story.

 

Assessment: Toronto Raptors vs. Boston Celtics (Pre-Season)

I would just like to apologize once again for being dormant. To be quite frank, I have been busy with so many other things!

Anyways, enough about the sorry’s, let’s get straight to the assessment (or recap for you noobs).

Unfortunately, I haven’t watched the pre-season game and I apologize if I didn’t assess it with my full knowledge of the game! I saw the highlights and recap on NBA.com.

So the first thing I saw was a bit of over aggressiveness among the whole team, The Raps.  I’ve seen a play with Jarrett overplaying a Rajon Rondo on defense and he got schooled because obviously Jarrett isn’t as quick as he was. That’s the thing with being over aggressive. You get too close to a guy that’s quicker than you, say buh-bye.

Another play I saw was DeMar playing tight D on Delonte West on a pick and roll.  This play bothered me for two reasons. I didn’t see DeMar call out the guy that was supposed to switch on Delonte to give help to him. I respect for DeMar for at least getting back, but if he had more bodies to help, Delonte would’ve had to make a circus shot and earn it at the stripe, or he’d have to kick out if there were enough bodies. The second reason is because DeMar seemed to run INTO the pick-er.  He didn’t go around or under the screen.. he went into the picker.

Offense was pretty good from what I saw. I like our transition offense and our fast breaks. I haven’t seen much half-court from this team. We’ll see. Good dunk for Sonny “Money” Weems btw!

Overall, I think we played pretty good offense. A few defensive breakdowns here and there, but we played pretty good. I just would like to tell all your encouraged fans that this is just the PRE-SEASON. The real season starts in about three weeks. Get prepared guys!

 

Update

Just to update you guys.. I haven’t been making posts lately, right?

Well the reason being is that I have been busy with school stuff and that there hasn’t been really any major Raptors moves lately. I’ve promised you guys Demar DeRozan vs. Leandro Barbosa but that will come at a later point.

Don’t worry I am STILL Here. I will be posting content whenever I know of something big!

Thanks!

Who Should Start: Linas Kleiza Or Sonny Weems?

Linas Kleiza is a great player and wants to prove something; so does Sonny. Who takes the starting job?

Welcome to the new segment of Toronto Raptor’s Daily! This is where we find out who can potentially start or not start. The first post is whether or not Sonny Weems or Linas Kleiza should start this year.

We all know both players can play the game of basketball. The Raptors should have good discussion on who to choose, but I think some factors will play in.

First of all, Linas Kleiza is a BEAST. Just take in what he did for his team, Lithuania! He scores very well, plays aggressively, is above average on defense and he’s a good player. I believe Linas does want something to prove, and he is already showing it.

As for Sonny Weems, he’s an ATHLETIC FREAK. He can run and jump out of the gym on any given time! He also has a very consistent mid range jumper, which showed in the Summer League. His three point presence has also improved and that’s a bad thing for opposing defenders. He’s also quite aggressive and able to create his own shot. Plus, he has good chemistry with Demar DeRozan so that is a good duo to have. I’m pretty sure both players will play at the same time.

So who should start? Linas Kleiza should. No offense to Sonny Weems, but I think Linas – and the WHOLE Toronto team – wants to prove something to the NBA that they can compete and play ball with the best. Sonny Weems has a drive himself to prove he belongs in this league, but with Linas’ great talent, there’s no reason for him to be on the bench.

That’s all folks! Catch our next segment – Leandro Barbosa Or Demar DeRozan!

Who Takes The Game Winner For The Toronto Raptors?

Before anybody tries to really answer this, the real question should be “Is anybody in the Toronto Raptors clutch?”. That is a very good question. However, I don’t think the Toronto Raptors had ever had a clutch moment.. without Chris. To me, I can see Andrea Bargnani taking over games, as well as Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan, Barbosa, Weems, and Kleiza.

The Toronto Raptors have potential. This team is a great young and upcoming squad that can surprise the league. Not only the league, but even themselves.

However, I don’t believe the Raptors can put themselves in a position of a game winner possibility night in and night out. They can either win big, just plain win, lose or lose big. The win or lose is really decided on short plays before a game winner.

Personally, I love game winners. Game winners change teams, give leaders their time to shine and build more chemistry with one another. The Raptors have lacked that kind of motivation.

Here are my top choices:

Andrea would isolate his man and win big by creating his own shot. If Jay doesn’t use that, I would think a shot from DeMar DeRozan, Sonny Weems, Leandro Barbosa or Linas Kleiza will happen. They can all create their own shot and be able to open up for the likes of unnoticed players.

There is still no “Kobe” type game winner here in Toronto. Kobe built a repertoire of hitting clutch shots in games. Toronto has yet to start that. Chris was good for his time here. Who will come up big next?