The Apocalypse Is Averted!!

Posted on | November 5, 2009 | 1 Comment

Superman Saving Humanity, Just Like The RaptorsWell, the Raptors “finally” won another game, thus averting a clearly disastrous season ahead, Bosh leaving Toronto and Triano being fired. It’s amazing that the Raptors could have been so close to armageddon so early into the season, but that’s just the reality that Raptor fans were faced with before last night’s game.

Strangely, however, even after such a horrible start to the season, that one win has them now tied for 6th in the Eastern Conference and only 3 games behind the 6-0 Boston Celtics. This is the NBA, though, where fortunes are made and lost every single game and `the future’ is a term reserved for the upcoming playoffs.

THE GOOD

Bosh Blocks StuckeyBargnani had one of the best games of the season, posting 22 points and a jaw-dropping (for him) 12 rebounds. Sure, most of those rebounds dropped into his lap when no one was around, but he did grab a few that could have gone to Piston players. I figured he’d have a good game, since Detroit really doesn’t have anyone that can guard him. Well, except for Jason Maxiell, who I predicted would play 25 minutes a game. He played 10, and played pretty well in those limited minutes, guarding Bargnani pretty much the entire time.

Bosh had another great game, but failed to reach 30 points. This would have been the first time in his career to have three 30 point games back to back. I’m guessing he’s not sulking over it. He did get to the line an astounding 20 times. Anyone who thinks that Bargnani should be the main scorer for the Raptors just doesn’t understand the significance of Bosh living on the line like he does. When the Raptors were going through their scoring drought (which all teams do), Bosh kept scoring because he kept getting to the line.

Lost in the shuffle, but no less spectacular or important, was Turkoglu getting 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. The stats don’t jump out at you, but if Turkoglu consistently gets those type of numbers, and he can, then he’ll have earned his contract. On top of that, he hit some key baskets and made some big plays down the stretch, living up to his reputation.

Gordon Gets By BargnaniJarrett Jack also played very well, including making a nifty over the shoulder to a following Bargnani who made a nice dunk, in the first half. His play wasn’t perfect, however, as he missed a couple of wide open three pointers late which could have sealed the game. In the end they meant nothing, but had the game been closer, those misses might have cost the Raptors the game.

Jarrett Jack wasn’t the only bench player who played well. Both Wright and Johnson played well, and, in fact, it was the bench who sparked the team to it’s amazing 44 point 2nd quarter. Keep in mind that Detroit had not even given up 44 points in a half before last night. As I stated in my preview, the Raptors can definitely score.

My question for the preview was whether or not the Raptors could score enough to win. The obviously did, racking up 110 points on one of the NBA’s stingiest defenses.

THE BAD

Of course, there’s also the other end of the court. In all the hoopla over their win, little is being mentioned about the fact the Raptors gave up 99 points to a team whose previous high was 96, against Memphis, a team not known for it’s defense, and not considered even a dark horse to make the playoffs.

Calderon Finds The Basket, FinallyYes, the Raptors defense, again, was not good. Except in the fourth quarter. Before then, no one could seemingly stop the Detroit guards from penetrating. And this was not entirely Calderon’s fault, as his critics might have you believe. Even Jack was being beat off the dribble, and neither Bosh nor Bargnani stopped anyone from getting to the hoop. Of course, they did the same to Orlando, as well. Detroit’s guards are incredibly quick. I was actually astounded by their quickness, and can pretty much guarantee that they’ll be able to beat most defenders in the NBA off the dribble. It’s team defense that is going to stop them and the Raptors, for the most part, didn’t have that.

And while Calderon can’t be blamed for the Detroit guards getting to the hoop, he still struggled. I have seen little improvement in him in the last few games. What I think is the silliest thing, however, is any call to bench him. Fans seem to forget that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Benching Calderon while he’s struggling might win them a game or two, but the Raptors NEED Calderon to play as well as he can, and he’s not going to improve sitting on the bench. He needs real game time to settle back into his groove. The easiest thing for Triano to do would be to replace Calderon in the starting lineup, with Jack. It woudn’t be the best thing for the team, however.

NOTES:

I was expecting to hear how great Stuckey was by Raptor fans, but haven’t. Thank goodness. Yes, he drove relentlessly and got a very nice 10 boards, but on any of his drives did you see him pass? Even once?

And while the Jack to Bargnani pass and dunk was nice, the most spectacular play I saw was the drive by DeRozan in, I think, the third quarter. He cocked the ball back, over his head and out of reach of the defender and tried to tomahawk it, but was fouled. A glimpse of what’s to come from him and if he made it, the roof might have come off the Air Canada Centre.

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Category: Pistons, Raptors

One Response to “The Apocalypse Is Averted!!”

  1. Vic De ZenNo Gravatar
    November 6th, 2009 @ 7:58 AM

    Great analysis. I wholeheartedly agree on Calderon – yeah, he’s sucked, but he’s too good to keep playing like this forever.

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