Raptors well rested as Pistons come to town

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Kiyan Sobhani

After a plethora of back-to-backs – and on occasion even a back-to-back-to-back; the Raptors finally have a bit of breathing room.

With just one game on the schedule this week, the Raptors have a chance to enjoy an extended break just before all-star weekend.

And perhaps that’s good timing for Andrea Bargnani; who will be granted some extra recovery time without added pressure.

The Raptors will be hosting a Pistons team that is playing the 2nd night of a back-to-back. However, they can’t be taken lightly; and the Raptors certainly can’t afford to be complacent as they did against Charlotte.

Despite blowing a 17-point lead and losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, the Pistons are in relatively good form winning 7 of their last 10 games – including two victories against the Boston Celtics in the past week.

Will the Raptors be well rested, or will they be rusty after a few nights off?

One thing’s for certain – rest is never a bad thing in such a gruesome and truncated season.

The Raps have had three practices in four days, and to ensure that the team doesn’t get sloppy, Dwane Casey has opted to emphasize on in-game situations during scrimmage to keep the players in check.

Injury updates

  • Jerryd Bayless trained with the team, and is expected to play.
  • Linas Kleiza is still nursing an injury, and will most likely be a game-time decision.
  • Former Raptor Charlie Vilanueva has played a total of six minutes all season. He’s still nursing an ankle injury and will not play against the Raptors.

Kay match-up

DeMar DeRozan vs. Rodney Stuckey

DeRozan will need to bring his ‘A’ game on defense and keep Stuckey in check. Stuckey has been on fire as of late – averaging 23.5 points in his past four games, and scoring a season-high 36 points in the Pistons’ win over the Kings on Friday.

Tip-off is at 7 pm Eastern, Wednesday night.


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Draft Prospects: Andre Drummond

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Joshua Howe

Like I mentioned earlier when doing the article on Anthony Davis, this is a draft full of strong big men and perhaps none more daunting than Andre Drummond, who reminds some (since he’s wearing number 12) of none other than Superman himself.

Although Drummond is not yet a powerhouse like Dwight Howard, the kid is remarkably good. He is a freshman out of the University of Connecticut and stands at 6’11”. The center weighs 275lbs; a wall of muscle.

Drummond is looking good for a top 5 pick

Drummond is a favourite for the top pick in the 2012 NBA draft and rightly so. He has impressive natural instincts and already has the size, athleticism, length and shooting touch to be a force down low in the NBA.

He looks like a typical center, with a 7’5” wingspan and great natural strength. He is super mobile and incredibly quick. Add to that his superb jumping ability and you can understand why some people are giving him comparisons to Dwight Howard or Amar’e Stoudemire.

For the Raptors, his presence in the paint is a key factor and he is a good post defender and shot blocker. His instincts are fantastic and he is an exceptional rebounder due to his strength and length. He gets quite a few put backs and cleans the offensive glass – something else the Raptors are looking for.

Other than that, he’s a skilled center. He can handle the ball reasonably well, is working on his back to the basket game, can nail face up jumpers, and is an excellent finisher through contact when going to the rim. Andre has decent court vision and looks to transition into an elite big man in the NBA; likely a franchise player.

Drummond needs to work on his post play and footwork. He also tends to rush a bit and doesn’t really attempt to use fakes yet. He has only had to rely on his natural talent up to this point. He can be inconsistent (something the Raps don’t need more of) and sometimes appears lazy. He doesn’t dominate all games like he could and needs to improve his basketball IQ overall. He is still a raw talent for sure and needs to build a bit more muscle for the NBA level. Drummond also needs to add more strength than just what he gets naturally and must mature a bit to realize his full potential in the pros.

Yet, Andre Drummond still looks to be one of the best picks in the draft if only because he already has the ingredients of many current NBA centers. He is incredibly young, (still only 19) and that’s partly where the maturity aspect comes in. But as Drummond progresses in his career I’m almost certain he will settle down and gain more focus.

For Bryan Colangelo, Drummond would be an excellent pick. He adds immediate defense, post scoring and rebounding – something the Raptors have been missing for a long time. And once again, Dwane Casey would be an excellent coach for the young man because of his defensive tactics.

Although it would be great to see an Andre-Jonas combo, it is likely that Drummond will be picked before the Raps get a chance.

Final Thoughts:

At his best: Amar’e Stoudemire/Chris Bosh (if he improves his shot a little)

At his worst: Andre Blatche (without the attitude)


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Raptor of the Week: Feb. 12-19

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Joshua Howe

Calderon had a stellar week and added a new career high

Over the course of the past week, the Raptors played 4 games on their home floor. All of which consisted without their leading scorer, Andrea Bargnani. And with him out of the picture, who was going to step up?

This time, it was Jose Calderon.

Jose is averaging 11.2ppg and 8.8apg this season and has been by far the team’s most consistent player while lugging around extra minutes due to injuries. But he went off this week.

Jose began his attack against the Lakers when he scored a career high 30 points on 13-18 shooting; including 4-4 from deep. He also had 6 dimes. The Raptors lost by 2 points 94-92 to a team supposedly far out of their league.

Calderon then netted 25, dished out 9 assists, grabbed 7 boards, had 3 steals and a block against New York when Linsanity came to town. He shot 3-5 from downtown in that game and the Raps lost another close one 90-87 on a Lin game-winner.

The Spurs (who have now won 10 straight) got a surprise fight from the Raps as Jose scored 16 on 8-14 from the field and had 11 assists. The Raps lost 113-106; not too bad against another title contender.

The worst game of the week for Continue reading →

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Jack Armstrong Interview

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Kiyan Sobhani

My favorite Raptor commentator ever. Love this guy, love this interview.


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DeMar DeRozan: Future Is Still Bright

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Kiyan Sobhani

Keep the faith.


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Bobcats claw their way to victory in TO.

Posted on February 18, 2012 by Danny McLeod

February 17, 2012 was Michael Jordan’s 49th birthday, and the Charlotte Bobcats gave him a rare present – a win against the Toronto Raptors. The Bobcats, losers of 16 straight games coming into Toronto last night, came out ready to roll; scoring the first bucket of the game and giving the Raptors a run for their money the entire game.

Demar DeRozen had it going, scoring 13 points in the opening frame, but missing two free throws with 30 seconds left in the first. Countering Demar’s good start was Reggie Williams, who had 14 first quarter points for the ‘Cats. In the closing seconds of the quarter there was a mad scramble for a loose ball which found its way to Williams and he calmly drained a 3.

At the beginning of the second the Raptors lead the Bobcats 23-22, and it looked as though the Raptors were about to make a run. However, they weren’t showing the same effort on defense as they were on offense – allowing as many as 11 fast break points in the first half.

Jose Calderon stripped Reggie Williams of the ball with 4:36 left in the second, allowing a fast break slam by DeRozan to give the Raptors a 3 point edge 39-36. Stretching the lead to 5 at 43-38, the Raptors looked to be fishing the quarter strong. However a tip in by Bismack Biyombo (who also had a career high 7 blocks), with 2:49 left in the second sparked a 9-2 Charlotte run, giving the ‘Cats the a 2 point lead, 47-45 heading into the locker room.

In the third it was more of the same, with each team trading baskets. DeRozan tried to give his team a push, but picked up his 4th foul with a little more than 6 minutes left in the quarter which took him out of action. Another steal by Calderon with 2:54 to go in the quarter allowed James Johnson a fast break slam to give Toronto a 65-63 lead; but it was Kemba Walker, the rookie from UConn, who ended up being the catalyst for his team. Toronto led 69-66 in the closing seconds of the third when Walker crossed up Continue reading →

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Raptors look to rebound against Bobcats.

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Danny McLeod

The Raptors will look to pick up a much needed win Friday night against the Charlotte Bobcats. It will be the first of three meetings this season between the two clubs, with Charlotte beating Toronto in their final meeting of last year’s season 95-90.

The Bobcats, fresh off a 102-90 loss to the Timberwolves Wednesday night, have the worst record in the NBA (3-26), have lost 16 straight games and, dare I say, may in fact be the second best basketball team in Charlotte.

The Raptors (9-22), have lost six of their last seven games, with four of the last five losses being at home. On Wednesday night they fell to the Spurs 113 – 106 and were without 51% of their offense, having lost Andrea Bargnani (calf), Jarryd Bayless (ankle), and Linas Kleiza (knee) to injury.

In short, look for one of these two clubs to snap out of their prospective funks.

Key Match ups

Kemba Walker – Jose Calderon

Walker, who worked out for Toronto prior to last June’s draft, is having a strong rookie campaign. Having assumed the staring PG role due to the injury to DJ Augustin, Kemba in the last 6 games is averaging 18.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 3.7 apg and boasts a 3.14 assist-to-turnover ratio during that time. Jose, in his last 3 games, is averaging 23.6 points, 8.6 assists 3.6 rebounds and only 2.3 turnovers per game. Look for one of these two point guards to be the catalyst for their teams.

Corey Maggette – James Johnson

Maggette posted a season high 22 points against Philly on Monday, 18 against the T-Wolves and is averaging 12.9 ppg on the season. The Cats will need him to step up against Toronto if they are to get the W. On the flip side, James Johnson has been the most hard-nosed and consistent Raptor of the season; leading the team in both blocks (1.47) and steals (1.30) this year. James will need to contain his man whether he’s playing at the three or four spot Friday night in order for TO to break out of their three game skid.

Food for thought:

In the last five losses for Toronto, the Raps have remained Continue reading →

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Draft Prospects: Austin Rivers

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Joshua Howe

Honestly, I knew the kid was alright. I mean, I never saw anything spectacular in him. He is averaging 14.9ppg and plays 32.1mpg, but anyone who saw the game where Austin Rivers stole the show and took over in the final minutes against UNC missed a treat. He burned them for 29 points and shot a scorching 6-10 from downtown. Not to mention he hit the game winning shot and caused the crowd to go into shock.

Yes, Rivers is a baller. And a good one at that. He is a 6’4” guard hailing from Duke University. He is also a freshman and weighs 200lbs. Not to mention Rivers has an “in your face” style of play.

"Sub-Zero" has a killer instinct the Raps lack

Dubbed “Sub-Zero”, Rivers is a pure shooter with seemingly unlimited range. He gets his nickname from his ice cold scoring mentality and has dribble moves that will break your ankles quick if you aren’t careful. His killer instinct drives him to be a clutch performer on the offensive end and can knock down big time shots and free throws when needed.

He already has the build of an NBA level scoring guard with a filled in frame. He has an explosive first step, solid body control, good leaping ability and is unfathomably agile. He has it all with dribble moves: a killer crossover, slick hesitation moves, spin moves and an amazing step back. His shooting range is unbelievable, already at the NBA three point level. Watch out if he gets in his zone, because once he does, he will find a way to crush you. If you take away his shot, he’s equally as dangerous off the dribble.

Again, why would the Raps want another guard player? Well, if a trade goes through and Bayless, Jose or Bargnani leaves (or two, or all three of them), then another scoring option is critical to come across. And Rivers has it. He has the confidence and is a “go-to” player in the clutch, a place where the Raptors need help. How many games have we lost now down the stretch? Right. And Rivers is a prime iso-weapon.

He does; however, need to work on a few things. He can be a little bit selfish and needs to try to get his teammates more involved by distributing the ball. Rivers uses his right hand all the time and almost always goes right so he must work on going left and finishing with that hand. He sometimes tries to do a little too much and has some poor Continue reading →

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Sights & Sounds: Spurs Beat Raptors 113-106

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Kiyan Sobhani

Even Anthony Carter at his best couldn't stop Tony on this night.

A hard fought, tight loss.

Another winnable game, lost down the stretch.

A double-dribble says a thousand words – Gary Forbes will attest to that as he made that error on a break during the fourth. And seemingly, only the Raptors would lose a game due to a double-dribble.

The Raptors started the game off slow, trailing by 8 points in the 1st quarter, and were stuck 10 at half-time, allowing San Antonio to shoot 56.8% from the floor.

Although, the Raptors came out surging in the third, led by DeMar’s alley-oop reverse dunk. DeRozan had a team-high 29 points, and the Raptors found themselves going toe-to-toe with the NBA’s hottest team.

Cruelly enough though, every time the Raptors seemed like they might have a chance of taking over the game, the experienced Spurs simply closed the door shut.

They’ve been there, done that.

The San Antonio Spurs have seen it all. How can a team that’s so good never be the center of attention? No one talks about these guys, and they just go about their business every season a level above the rest.

And while Tim Duncan (8 points) and Manu Ginobili (11 points) weren’t their all-star selves; Tony Parker was a beast.

Parker scored a game-high 34 points and dished out 14 assists.

“He’s so slithery and so quick and now he’s gotten a little strength with it,” said Dwane Casey.

Casey though, was relatively happy with the effort the Raps put out there. We have a tendency to elevate our game against the big boys (See LA, Boston), and even though it may not show up in the win column – the Raptors build character in these moments.

“My hat is off to our guys because I think they competed and any basketball person … in seeing who we have in the floor, talked about how we competed (in the past four close losses),” Casey said. “That’s important to me, to the organization going forward. It’s going to help us once we get our program on the right spot. We want to continue this culture of playing hard, competing and putting yourself in position to win. What we have to do is execute.”

When you put everything in perspective, considering that the Raptors were already one of the least Continue reading →

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Pre-Game Notes: Spurs @ Raptors

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Kiyan Sobhani

DeMar needs to step up.

The Raptors are playing at home tonight – and hopefully it will actually feel like a home game this time after last night’s Lin-love fest at the ACC.

Yes, the Raptors are currently recovering from straight up getting ‘Linned’ last night, and what better way to do it than by welcoming the hottest team in the NBA on the second night of a back-to-back.

And to think that they have to do it without Andrea Bargnani still – and possibly Jerryd Bayless.

This will be the only time this season that the Raptors will face-off against the Spurs and the great Tim Duncan; and sadly enough, the attendance of this game will undoubtedly be much lower than it was last night.

The Raptors are now into their fifth game of a season-high seven game home stand. So far they’re only 1-3.

The Spurs meanwhile, will be playing their fifth game of road trip – and they’ve won all four so far.

They’re also on an eight-game winning streak; and are a coming off a 99-95 win in Detroit on Tuesday night.

Manu Ginobili is back for the Spurs after missing 22 games with a broken bone in his left hand.  The Spurs are hoping that he will return to his all-star form soon.

While the ‘big 3′ aren’t getting any younger, they are still a wise bunch. They may not have the same flair that they used to have; but you can’t write the Spurs off – ever.

“We’ve got three veteran players out there in Tim, Manu and Tony, and they made plays down the stretch when we needed them,” coach Gregg Popovich said.

DeMar DeRozan needs to step up his game tonight. He averaged 25 points in two games against the Spurs last season; but has a total of  just 22 points in his last two games.

Once again Jose Calderon will be involved in a key match-up against opposing point guard Tony Parker. Calderon has been solid so far this season and has Continue reading →

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