Tuesday, December 9, 2008

5th Straight Loss, 4th Blowout in the Stretch: 114-94 Cavs

Good news: the Raptors are in the record books!
Bad news: they are in the record books because LeBron James became the leader in career steals for the Cavs and Zydrunas Ilgauskas became the leader in career rebounds for the Cavs.

The Raptors once again showed a lack of intensity and the defense has not yet shown up. The Raps have now fallen to 8-12, and look to snap their 5 game losing streak tomorrow against Indiana.

Player of the game:
Joey Graham - 17 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist. Used garbage minutes at the end of the game effectively. The Raptors' leading scorer tonight.

Notables:
Roko Ukic - 10 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist. We may be biased because we love Roko, but 10 points, 0 turnovers, and overall +7 when he was on the floor makes for a pretty good night for Roko.
Jose Calderon - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists. Tried to get a stagnant offense going tonight...
Chris Bosh - 9 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists. Bosh's numbers have become less and less amazing during this losing streak. Fatigue anyone?

Stat of the game:
The Cavs beat out the Raptors in every category possible:
- Rebounds: 45 - 33 Cavs
- Assists: 29 - 18 Cavs
- Turnovers: 11 - 19 Cavs
- Steals: 11 - 5 Cavs
- Points in the paint: 48 - 36 Cavs
- Fast break points: 17 - 10 Cavs

I am a believer that the Raptors have the skill to compete with the Cavs and other above .500 teams. However, it looks as if the Raps just don't have the intensity nor the effort to play in these games as of late. Very heartbreaking to any Raptor fan.

1 comment:

Mintz... said...

you missed a record that was made while playing the raptors... it turns out that the Cavs are the only team in the history of the NBA to win 9 games in a row by 12 points or more. hard to believe.

now I shall criticize the Raptors...
- Lebron scored 31 points in 30 minutes. I dont care if youre the king or not... no one should be scoring 31 points in 30 minutes on us.
- J.O. ...More turnovers than rebounds.... SERIOUSLY??? I'm surprised Humphries didn't outrebound you just by sitting on the bench in his suit.
- you know you're going to lose when.... Joey Graham outscores every starter in less time than any of them...
- In SIX minutes how does Boobie shoot and score more 3-pointers than Kapono in 22 minutes?

I am sickened.