tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66262778644595224732024-03-13T18:36:27.448-07:00The Rap UpAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17606316729307840417noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626277864459522473.post-47102005683157371532012-12-19T19:02:00.000-08:002012-12-19T19:02:42.468-08:00Raptors win 97-91; Calderon notches 19 assists<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp2cV5pRHldGg7LjTdh4eyWhYx6jB1yIcjvdckvgqtOd4Ul-wyIfFCNdaje8_hcl8xW_3Wye65UGUOs2AgN2yTskT-mSrFSkZ1KHAm0wkyNkJANAaEo6uy69rdovLG6QbYsQH2AYGUkI/s1600/201212191910690397010-p2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVp2cV5pRHldGg7LjTdh4eyWhYx6jB1yIcjvdckvgqtOd4Ul-wyIfFCNdaje8_hcl8xW_3Wye65UGUOs2AgN2yTskT-mSrFSkZ1KHAm0wkyNkJANAaEo6uy69rdovLG6QbYsQH2AYGUkI/s400/201212191910690397010-p2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jose Calderon attempts to find Jonas Valanciunas off the pick and roll. Raptors won 97-91<br />(Photo courtesy of AP)</td></tr>
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The Toronto Raptors continued to roll, with a 97-91 victory over the Detroit Pistons. Jose Calderon tied his record (and the team record) with 19 assists. He had nine in the first quarter, just two shy of Doug Christie's record of 11. Demar DeRozan had the team high of 23 points, including two three pointers. For the Pistons, Greg Monroe had a monster of a game, scoring a career high of 35 points.<br />
<br />
The big story of the night for Detroit was not their young center's great game, but free throws. The Piston's missed 12 shots from the charity stripe. The Raptors probably had a bit of luck on their side as far as free throws are concerned because it would have been a whole other ball game if they weren't off from the line. Rookie Andre Drummond missed five free throws and that has been an issue with him all season as he has shot just 41% from the line.<br />
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The Raptors did have some issues in this game though. One thing that stood out to me was their shot selection down the line. In the final five or six minutes when they were up by 10, they chose to start shooting three pointers to increase the lead. Not a bad move if you're hitting them, but in this case, they were not. They needed to work the ball inside and try and get the higher percentage shot. Had they done this, the game would not have been as close as it was. Hopefully Dwane Casey will mention this to the players as it might end up hurting them in the future.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: red;">Post Game Thoughts</span></h3>
<div>
- Another great game by Jose Calderon. Making it harder on Casey when Lowry returns</div>
<div>
- Valanciunas had a good game, scoring 12 and grabbing 7 boards. He's starting to come around.</div>
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- No Landry Fields again tonight. Gotta think Casey just doesn't want to ruin a good thing. As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17606316729307840417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626277864459522473.post-20998986743138155402012-12-19T14:21:00.001-08:002012-12-19T14:21:20.275-08:00Raptors VS Pistons Pre-Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxQ7_PpyBq34Lm5lsef2UYEEItqUoOqgumU9cyL9XYtQCs4Ikq4wHDK8nQ9nL_becpuhrlg9YlarR2fec2m_9vgp-7QhIbic7mTLxZz-dnDBMMcLfOkFFoaUrmBKYCibdIpQmLrmTryE/s1600/jvvv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpxQ7_PpyBq34Lm5lsef2UYEEItqUoOqgumU9cyL9XYtQCs4Ikq4wHDK8nQ9nL_becpuhrlg9YlarR2fec2m_9vgp-7QhIbic7mTLxZz-dnDBMMcLfOkFFoaUrmBKYCibdIpQmLrmTryE/s1600/jvvv.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Red-hot Raps look for fourth straight win</span></h3>
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The Toronto Raptors take the court at the ACC against the Detroit Pistons tonight in the second night of a back to back for the Raptors.The Raptors, who were down on their luck and looked well onto their way to a top three pick in the upcoming draft, surprised the league by picking up three consecutive wins after losing two of their top players. The Raptors have held opponents to just 89.6 PPG and have scored 103.6 PGG over the stretch. It seems as if something as clicked in this Dwane Casey coached team, a coach who stresses defence. The key for them will be a healthy Kyle Lowry, who is a very good defender when healthy, and somehow incorporating Andrea Bargnani.</div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Pistons having rough December</span></h3>
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The Pistons had started out the season 5-12, which is not impressive(unless your the Raptors), but certainly was par for the course for them. They have a young team and will probably take another season or two to really form into a playoff team. With two future all-stars in Greg Monroe and Brandon Knight, and a player with huge potential in Andre Drummond, the future is bright for the Pistons. Unfortunately, the Pistons have slid down in the standings, only winning two of their last ten. Of those ten, one-hundred points has only been reached three times by the Pistons. The Raptors will need to play the defence we've seen from them recently to get a win. The Pistons aren't to be taken lightly, despite their poor record.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Drummond vs Ross?</span></h3>
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Tonight we see round two of the eighth and ninth overall picks of the past draft. Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo caught a lot of heat for the questionable choosing of Terrence Ross, a jump shooting guard, over Andre Drummond, who was slated to be the number one pick in that draft before he had a lackluster season at UConn. Many people felt that the Raptors didn't need another jump shooter and would have preferred to take the chance with Drummond. At this point that argument is still up in the air but Drummond has looked impressive. Averaging 6.5 points per game, 6.4 rebounds per game and over a block a game in just eighteen and a half minutes. Ross has shown bright spots, but his shot has been hot and cold. If he can raise those shooting percentages (39% from the field and 28% from downtown) he should be able to carve out a nice spot in the rotation. I will give him credit for his defence and athleticism, both have been spectacular so far.</div>
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<h3>
<span style="color: purple;">Raptors bench getting it done</span></h3>
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The Raptors bench has been coming up when it counts during the winning streak. They've scored 161 points of the 311 scored by the team. That's an excellent average of 50 points a game for the bench. The Raptors need that production to continue winning given that two of their big scorers are out for the next little while. Alan Anderson has led the way, averaging 14.6 points off the bench during the stretch, despite going 0-8 in the win over the Mavs.</div>
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<span style="color: red;">Game notes of interest</span></h3>
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- This is the second meeting between these two teams this season. The Pistons won the first game 91-90.</div>
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- After not playing last game despite being dressed, I'd expect to see Landry Fields tonight.</div>
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- The Raptors haven't won four in a row since last November.</div>
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<span style="color: purple;">Projected Starting Lineups</span></h3>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">Toronto Raptors</span> Detroit Pistons</span></h4>
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<b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">PG- Jose Calderon</span> <span style="color: white;">PG- Brandon Knight</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">SG- Demar DeRozan </span> <span style="color: white;">SG- Kyle Singler</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">SF- Mickael Pietrus </span> <span style="color: white;">SF- Tayshaun Prince </span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">PF- Ed Davis</span> <span style="color: white;"> PF- Jason Maxiell</span></b></div>
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<b style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: red;">C- Jonas Valanciunas </span> <span style="color: white;">C- Greg Monroe</span></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17606316729307840417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626277864459522473.post-2850752003101889002012-12-19T08:38:00.004-08:002012-12-19T08:40:27.785-08:00Another PG Controversy in Toronto?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjpBpl2yioLWB3hfQcCPjOsSVV4bwZ_itnTjCw11bOLNoqTMf0u04FN-VwR_sWfegsp3Ati64KPv3DklTnGkhBF0GPGTsA6lOK5JTIiALN5nc8344k5Y4waVs9K2MIs0ton3tmYyBPOA/s1600/vs.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVjpBpl2yioLWB3hfQcCPjOsSVV4bwZ_itnTjCw11bOLNoqTMf0u04FN-VwR_sWfegsp3Ati64KPv3DklTnGkhBF0GPGTsA6lOK5JTIiALN5nc8344k5Y4waVs9K2MIs0ton3tmYyBPOA/s400/vs.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Recently there's been some chatter on the topic of the Raptor's
starting point guard. Kyle Lowry suffered a tricep injury last week against the
Trailblazers and for the second time this season, Calderon has been given a shot
at the starting spot. He's made about as good of a case for himself as one can.
But it might not be enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Jose has been involved in a lot of trade rumours as of late, and
quite frankly he is the Raptors biggest trade piece. There are a few teams out
there(mainly the Lakers) who could use his services (though with Steve Nash
coming back, that could possibly be the worst defending PG combo in the NBA).
If Bryan Colangelo wants to acquire that long
awaited legitimate stating SF he'll likely need to deal
Calderon/Bargnani together to get that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When you compare the two players from a numbers perspective, the
two aren't that far off. Jose is averaging 10.1 points per game, 7.1
assists, 2.4 rebounds, and 42% FG. Lowry is averaging 15.8 points per
game, 5.8 assists, 5.6 assists, with a slightly worse 40% FG. When the
Raptors acquired Lowry, he was advertised as a guy who was going to
be a bulldog on the court, rebound the ball exceptionally(for a 6'0 tall
guard), and score the ball. He's been almost exactly what fans have
wanted as a PG, minus a few poor games where he has seemed almost disconnected. When he was 100% healthy, he was by far
the best player on the court for the Raptors. Jose has had some huge games, but
has been inconsistent off the bench. When starting, he is averaging a
double-double and has looked amazing. He's been hot during the Raptor's three game winning streak, averaging 18.3 points and 7.6 assists during the stretch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Even Dwane Casey has now come out and said "We'll cross that bridge when we get there", when asked about Lowry's return. It's unfortunate that both players need
to start to be effective, because Lowry and Calderon could be a great 1-2
punch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">No matter how you look at it, it seems we have yet another point
guard tussle here in Toronto. Calderon has beaten T.J. Ford,
beaten Jarrett Jack, and beaten Jarryd Bayless. Time(and Dwayne
Casey) will tell if he can take down Kyle Lowry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17606316729307840417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626277864459522473.post-39461905837443167512012-12-18T19:19:00.002-08:002012-12-18T19:19:57.053-08:00Raptors Continue their winning ways 113-99; Calderon has another big game<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<u><span style="color: red;">The Raptor Rap Up</span></u></h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWhx3JcF2W6BriS7qaGQEo1ad-uL0Zz2N441_qn1Lna4O2QZPHcarWB2sFH-QmCaLoaTXQBvzrOpWiNchcOuh9kutYp9uxTS8W1h75krGdsdVqr39OgEMbvq1lP6FJ3VjRTc6kd6A238/s1600/CDA101_Raptors_Cavaliers_Basketball.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMWhx3JcF2W6BriS7qaGQEo1ad-uL0Zz2N441_qn1Lna4O2QZPHcarWB2sFH-QmCaLoaTXQBvzrOpWiNchcOuh9kutYp9uxTS8W1h75krGdsdVqr39OgEMbvq1lP6FJ3VjRTc6kd6A238/s400/CDA101_Raptors_Cavaliers_Basketball.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Canadian Tristan Thompson defends Jose Calderon. The Raptors pulled out their 3rd straight win, 113-99.<br />(Photo Courtesy of Mark Duncan/AP)</td></tr>
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Going into Tuesday nights game, a lot of Raptor fans felt their team had a good shot at a win. They were right. The Raptors cruised to a 113-99 victory over the Cavaliers, led by Jose Calderon's 23 points. Calderon, who has been coming up big since the injury of starting point guard Kyle Lowry, led the way from the get go with 11 first quarter points. He's doing his absolute best to take over the reigns as starting point guard when Lowry returns. Calderon was rumoured to have requested a trade last week, but recently was quoted saying<span style="color: #333333; font-family: verdana, geneva, lucida, lucida grande, arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">, </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">"I made up my mind, I want to be the guy, I'm here, this is my team". He also added that it doesn't matter the amount of minutes he gets, he just wants to be here. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The Raptors started slow, being down 6-1 less then three minutes in, but picked up the pace. They started trading buckets with the Cavaliers in the second quarter, and were looking for that spark to come along and give them the edge. They found it in Alan Anderson, who had two early threes (Anderson finished with 18 points along with five three points on seven tries). The Raptors went on a 14-9 run to end the 3rd quarter to give them the lead. After having some trouble keeping leads in the 4th quarter, the Raptors actually managed to hold off Cleveland, outscoring them 35-23 in the final frame. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall, a great team game by the Raptors. They had a total of 25 assists in the game, which is what is needed to win games. The whole team got </span>involved<span style="font-family: inherit;">, and it turned into a win. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<h3>
<span style="color: purple;"><u>After the buzzer thoughts</u></span></h3>
<div>
- Near perfect game for the Raptors, did everything required to win.</div>
<div>
- Defence looked good, especially in the 4th quarter. Needs to remain that way if the Raptors want to gain ground.</div>
<div>
- Anderson is turning into a great bench player. A pleasant surprise.</div>
<div>
- Good game from John Lucas III. He is realizing that he needs to make the most of these situations and is playing very well for a third stringer.</div>
<div>
- Valanciunas only played 18 minutes, but had 8 points and 7 rebounds along with only the one foul. Deserves more minutes against Orlando</div>
<div>
- No Landry Fields, although he was available. Surprised he didn't get a few minutes when the game was out of reach.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17606316729307840417noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6626277864459522473.post-51604546679086745412012-12-18T12:57:00.000-08:002012-12-18T12:58:25.572-08:00Raptors @ Cavaliers Pre-Game <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><h4 style="font-size: medium; text-align: justify;">
Kyrie Irving as the next Batman?</h4>
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<h3>
<u><span style="color: purple;">Stop that man!</span></u></h3>
Tonight we get to witness a battle of the bottom-feeders, as the Raptors(6-19) take on the Cleveland Cavaliers(5-20). The Raptors look to win three games in a row for the first time since early April of last season. It won't be a walk in the park for the Raps, as Kyrie Irving has been on fire so far in December, averaging 26 points a game(note, he's only played in four due to the broken index finger he suffered last month), including a 41 point effort in a 103-102 loss against the Knicks on Saturday. The match-up of Jose Calderon and Irving will be key. If Calderon plays his usual lackadaisical defence, and Irving is on like he was at MSG, we could see another 40 point night from Irving. He's averaged about 11 points on 23% in his career against the Raptors but that is unlikely to hold up forever.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: red;"><u>Valanciunas going through the motions</u></span></h3>
After a promising start to his NBA career, Jonas Valanciunas has hit the metaphorical "rookie wall" as of late. He has only managed to score more than five points three times in December, after doing so eleven times in November. Although it probably isn't much to lose sleep over, one thing that is troubling is his lack of involvement on the offensive end. It seems that the guards on the team will sometimes just flat out ignore him when he's open, usually after he comes and attempts to set up the pick and roll. I don't know if it's just a coincidence, or maybe some of the players just aren't accustomed to having a big man like Jonas who can run this play, but something needs to be mended so he can get more looks. Regardless, his future in this league looks very bright.<br />
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<h3>
<span style="color: purple;"><u>Game notes of interest</u></span></h3>
<div>
- The Cavs are the NBA's second worst home team this season, only winning three of ten. </div>
<div>
- Then again, the Raptors are the leagues WORST road team, taking a dismal one win in fifteen tries. That may or may not cancel out the above note..</div>
- Landry Fields will dress for the Raptors tonight for the first time in over a month. Fields had a nerve issue in his hand, which is apparently to blame for his .208% from the field. We'll see tonight if he's any better. At the very least, this means more Elaine Alden sightings at games.<br />
- Dion Waiters is back for the Cavs tonight. The rookie of the year candidate has been incontinent with his scoring, but has managed to have some big games for the Cavaliers and can light it up from downtown.<br />
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</h3>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="color: red;"><u>Projected Starting Lineup</u></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">Toronto Raptors </span><span style="color: yellow;">Cleveland Cavaliers</span></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><span style="color: red;">C- Jonas Valanciunas </span><span style="color: yellow;">C- Anderson Varejao</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">PF- Ed Davis </span><span style="color: yellow;">PF- Tristan Thompson</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">SF- Mickael Pietrus </span><span style="color: yellow;">SF- Alonzo Gee</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">SG- Demar DeRozan </span><span style="color: yellow;">SG- Dion Waiters</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: red;">PG- Jose Calderon </span><span style="color: yellow;"> PG- Kyrie Irving</span></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17606316729307840417noreply@blogger.com0