A Toronto Raptors Association - Discontinued. See Inside

[kibaxx7]

Great 4th against Minnesota.

It was assists I think, Martti... look in the Game Leaders table.

[Martti.]

thierryhenry50, that's what I thought. Noticed the game leaders and figured the argument from there.

[kibaxx7]

thierryhenry50, that's what I thought. Noticed the game leaders and figured the argument from there.

Oh Didn't say anything then.

[john26]

it was assists, edited it.

[Its_asdf]

Poor T.J. He went from being the Pacers' starting point with the potential to be an all-star playmaker to being traded for scrubs like Dragic and Stoudamire.

I think I was actually one of the few Raptor fans who actually enjoyed Ford when he played here.

[Martti.]

Wow, nice way to pull out a win!

[john26]

Its_asdf, me too, i actually think we shouldn't have traded him last season because of injuries to calderon plus ukic is one of the worst if not the worst, backup pg's in the league (there is potential) and solomon is locker room cancer / turnover machine

Martti., thanks man

[hova-]

Sweet recap style. How come I havent been following this one?? Tough loss against the Mavs.
Bosh had an off night. Kidd was awesome. 62 FTs for the Mavs is bah. You have to step up on D.

Keep it up

[kibaxx7]

Nice win over the Suns. As hova said, 62 free throw attempts is a little too much! 4 players fouled out!

[Martti.]

What the f***? Was there a foul on every possession?

Anyway, it sucks they ended your win streak, but hey, it always means that you can start another one.

[Dee.]

Wow, 62 FT Attempts for Dallas,that's something you won't see everyday.
I Just need to follow this.

[john26]

Thanks for the comments everyone. In the game vs Dallas, Bosh and Kirilenko each picked up their 4th foul on the second quarter. I had 10 team fouls on the fourth, trying to devise a comeback

[Its_asdf]

All three games were very impressive wins. It seems like you play your best ball when you have a fairly spread out point production from your players, which is something I envision that the Raptors will need to do if they plan to build around Bosh (let's face it, the Raptors can't exactly rely on Bosh to do most of the scoring because he's simply not that good of a player to command that much attention from opposing defenses).

[john26]

Its_asdf, the trades that got the team overloaded obviously improved the roster but the cost is some players complaining for minutes like Bargs, Parker and Kirilenko

[kibaxx7]

Again, I love your starting 5. Great wins!

[john26]

thierryhenry50, thanks man.

[Martti.]

Bosh is a beast.

[Its_asdf]

Sucks to see you go down to a division rival like the Sixers, but you made up for it by absolutely walloping the Pistons.

[kibaxx7]

Yeah, Bosh is playing really well, your best player so far.

[john26]

Martti., he is, games below prove it (all played)
Its_asdf, Pistons are struggling in the conference, they are like 14th spot in my association. Maybe because of the AI effect.
thierryhenry50, He is, but i think my best all around player is Kirilenko

[Martti.]

Nice job picking up 2 wins. Both games were pretty much must wins as they're not contending teams.

[kibaxx7]

Yeah very important wins for the playoffs. Bosh is a double-double machine!

[john26]

dblpost

[john26]

Martti., thierryhenry50, thanks guys. Bosh is really playing well.

[john26]

john26's Raptors Blog - Awake
21 March 2009, 3:11 pm

It's finally here! The Raptors that we expected to play have finally arrived. Even without starting point guard Jose Calderon for a few games, Toronto was able to pull some upsets, two of them over Eastern Conference leader/powerhouse Charlotte Bobcats. We are seeing a more diversified game on most of our players.

1. Caron Butler's midrange game is fun to watch. That blowout on the Bobcats was the perfect game to describe it. He missed only 2 of his 9 shots (one of them a 3-pointer) and took most of his shots between 15-20 feet, never attempting a layup. We see if he's not driving to the basket at will, he's also an excellent mid-range shooter.
2. Anthony Parker is still an underrated player even if his game took a step back this year. He isolates himself so quick against his defender and his release is fast he can be a threat from the perimeter through the game.
3. He may be a bad shooter, but Nicolas Batum is at best when he's slashing to the basket or going for a dunk. He also rebounds above average for his position. He's like another Tracy McGrady, except that his shot needs more refinement.

The Raptors won 15 of their last 17 games and its a good sign of a strong push for a high postseason spot. Sitting at the fourth spot of the Eastern Conference at 39-31, they almost inversely matched the Trail Blazers' 1-15 run this year when they lost Steve Blake and LaMarcus Aldridge for the rest of the season. Chris Bosh is being a reliable double-double machine for our team, averaging 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in his last 15 games. And when his teammates defend, Bosh defends too, as he averaged 1.2 steals per game and 1.5 blocks per game in that last 15 outings.

The only downside is Andrei Kirilenko, he's been inconsistent lately as a result of his coach being inconsistent with him, but is still the Raptors' best defensive player. He needs to be in the right system in order to be effective. It sucks when you have 15 million squatting on the bench.



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