Nets beat sluggish Raptors 98-84

And the tank rolls on.

That’s right – not even a New Jersey Nets team playing without its two best players could stop this incredible and effervescent tank that the Raptors are driving.

Kris Humphries and Gerald Green.

All the Raptors had to do was stop those two.

But they both had beastly performances. Humphries scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds – completely destroying the Raptors’ frontcourt.

Gerald Green meanwhile, went off. Having just signed with the Nets from the D-league; Green scored 26 points in 24 minutes on 9-of-13 shooting. Everytime he drove to the rim it was a guaranteed foul or basket.

He got to the line 9 times – scoring 7 of them.

“It’s not just me,” Humphries said. “Gerald has come in on a 10-day and, look it up, I don’t know if anybody has played that well ever. He is playing great.”

That’s right. No one has ever played that well.

Ever.

The Raptors were lackadaisical on all fronts. Their most efficient players were Jerryd Bayless and James Johnson. Bayless scored 16 points and dished out 10 assists; while JJ also put up 16 points.

Barbosa scored 11 off the bench.

Bargnani – who we had predicted to have the ‘perfect bounce back game’ – struggled with 2 rebounds and 10 points on 4-of-13 shooting.

We had also predicted that the Raptors would struggle in this game despite being the favorites - and they did.

That’s what the Raptors do – struggle in the games they should win.

While the Raptors went into half-time with a 5 point lead, it was the all too familiar 3rd quarter woes that dusted the Raptors for good.

The Raptors shot just 5-of-19 from the floor in the 3rd.

The Nets’ are undoubtedly happy with the victory, but the win over Toronto is completely overshadowed by today’s 3pm trade deadline.

Their future depends on the potential acquisition of superstar Dwight Howard. D12 still can’t seem to make up his mind on whether he’s staying or leaving. If the Nets can acquire him, they will have one of the most promising teams in the league for years to come with Deron Williams and Dwight Howard.

If they don’t get him, they just may lose Deron Williams to free agency in the off-season.

Next up for the Raptors: @ Memphis on Friday.