Toronto Raptors - Two in a row!
The Raptors are doing more with less, seems to be the theme through last couple of games. With their starting point-guard Jose Calderon and center Jermaine O'Neal out (day-to-day) it was the Raptors trade baits that stepped up to close the win against the Orlando Magic this past Sunday. Andrea Bargnani is slowly, but surely proving that he could be a sufficient center. Given starters minutes Bargnani has displayed his offensive skills (scoring in double-figures 5 out of his last 6). Bargnani also provides a rare combination of blocks (1.3 per game) and threes (1.2). Anthony Parker is the Raptors premier defender and can be relied on to shoot a high percentage. Parker silenced his critics with a 26 point effort (13-16) against the Magic. The Raptors have now consecutively beat two prominent teams in the NBA (Houston Rockets and Orlando Magic). The Magic are the NBAs best road team and still couldn’t manage to bring down the crippled Raptors. These past couple of wins could indicate a few things.
1) "IT’S ALL MENTAL." The Raptors might NOT have to make a drastic change after all. What is needed is a change of mentality. Why should they look to make drastic changes each time they loose a game? They shouldn't its more so the pressure of the fans and the critics that suggest something so imminent. Any drastic change will ruin any form of chemistry that existed. To prevent this, the Raptors would have to continue developing their winning mentality. A major problem for the Raptors is rebounding. The Raptors have two All Star Bigs in Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal. It’s not like they don’t have the body to rebound. Bosh and O'Neal should try to transfer the rebounding mentality to the rest of the team so that guys like Bargnani, Jamario Moon and Parker get more involved. This is where coaching comes in and Jay Triano has to enforce rebounding not just by talking about it but running rebounding drills and building that fearless “the ball is mine” mentality. Again we come back to a change of mentality. The Raptors have the talent, they have the acclaimed players and now it’s just a matter of having the right mentality.
2) Point Guard DEVELOPMENT. Roko Ukic is starting to look more confident on the floor as he’s been able to get minutes and develop due to Calderon’s injury. This in turn can be beneficial for the Raptors down the stretch when the season starts to tear into the starter’s physique. Will Solomon also received a solid run against the Magic and managed to control his turnovers! Sure the Magic back-court is nothing to rave about but the rookie PGs should be credited for stepping up and making the right plays to win the game.
3) FIVE in a ROW? The Raptors have won their last two games and have shown a promising start to 2009. Can they make it five in a row? Next the Raptors play the Milwaukee Bucks, Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies. Tonight they will face a resilient scoring Bucks team that is currently holding on to the 8th seed in the East. If Andrew Bogut remains out due to back spasms then the Raptors have a good chance of abusing the Bucks inside and coming away with a win; granted they contain Michael Redd. Then the Raptors play a Wizards team that is starting to show some life with a recent win over LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. From there the Raptors take on the Memphis Grizzlies who are also coming off a convincing win against the Dallas Mavericks. After the Grizzlies Raptors face the NBA champs Boston Celtics (back to back). The next three games should give us an indication if the Raptors are starting to turn things around! The Celtics have been struggling and since anything is possible in the NBA, maybe the Raptors can notch SIX in a row! But lets not get ahead of ourselves and focus on the next three first. Although we seem to do better against stronger teams and loose against Oklahoma City in what should be an obvious win.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
Chris Bosh talks about trade talks
From Doug Smith's blog
"The only cloud is this losing streak. I don’t think it’s the GM thinking about it as much as everybody else is. He’s always looking to get better, that’s whether you’re doing well or you’re doing poorly. It’s more outside people saying we need change.
We traded this summer, and now we have a new coach, how much change do we need? The only thing that has to change is our mentality coming into the games. I think we can work on that first because I think obviously we know new players don’t necessarily guarantee you success.
You can look around the league, I think everybody that’s made trades this summer is still trying to find themselves as a team. You just have to work with what you have.
You just have to change the mentality. If you continue to do that, you can really turn things around."
RUMOR OF THE DAY
Raptors interested in re-signing Carlos Delfino
from rotoworld.com
“The Raptors are interested in re-signing swingman Carlos Delfino, who is currently playing in Russia. Delfino signed a three-year deal this past summer, but could follow Nenas Kristic’s lead and defect to the NBA. Signing Delfino would be an easy way to shore up their weak perimeter game, though a trade or two is still likely.”
PICTURES OF THE DAY
New Years Eve @ GOSSIP
Wheres Waldo? Andrea Bargnani (Toronto Raptors)
Chris Bosh (Toronto Raptors)
J.R. Smith and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
Dahntay Jones and Carmelo Anthony (Denver Nuggets)
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