The Raptors put together a nice little 2 game win streak. However, along came Kobe and his band of 14-1 Lakers. The Raptors were simply outpaced, outrebounded, and outplayed. The Lakers controlled the pace and the paint, making it evident what Jermaine O'Neal brings on a nightly basis. Jermaine, its time to come back. The Raptors are now back to .500 at 8-8. This was the first game of the Raptors' three game road trip. Sadly, the opponents don't get easier, as the remaining games are at Denver and Utah.
NBA.com Recap
Player of the game:
Jose Calderon - 12 points, 6 rebounds, 12 assists. Jose looks like he's getting healthier since his hamstring pull. Jose only took 9 shots, he was probably too busy selflessly passing to his teammates.
Notables:
Andrea Bargnani - 14 points, 11 rebounds, 4 blocked shots. Yes, you did read correctly, Andrea had 4 blocks. Even more amazingly he only had 1 foul! Talk about maturing...
Anthony Parker - 19 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. He was 4-6 from three point land, pretty much the only reason why we could marginally keep pace with the Lakers.
Stat of the game:
Question: What do you get when you combine the fourth letter of the alphabet with a freestanding structure designed to restrict or prevent movement across a boundary?
Answer: You get defense!
Question: What have the Raptors lacked all season?
Answer: Defense!
The Raptors continued their imitation of a sixth grade basketball team's defense against the Lakers. The Lakers hit the 100 point mark with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter! They shot 51% from the field. Furthermore: the Raptors were minus-18 on the glass, minus-26 in points in the paint, and minus-11 in fast break points. If I didn't know better, I would think that Sam Mitchell is resorting to wishing for the ghost of Nate Huffman to somehow appear and keep the basketball out of their net (a la Antoine Tyler in The Sixth Man).
The one positive the Raptors can take out of this game is the balanced scoring. 6 Raptors were in double figs, as well as solid bench production.
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2 comments:
I donno about that Bargnani maturing comment... He's been super streaky all season. I havent put my faith in him just yet...
and Smitch will be gone soon. mark my words.
My Sam Mitchell prediction came true two days later... EERIE
I'm somewhat afraid.
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