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7 Mar 2010 09:43 PM
The Houston Rockets have been struggling and find themselves battling for a playoff position in the extremely challenging Western Conference. Nonetheless, they have weapons such as Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola, as well as big scorer Kevin Martin, who came over from Sacramento at the trade deadline. The Rockets looked to score an easy home victory against a reeling Toronto Raptors team, who were on the tail end of a back-to-back and without franchise player Chris Bosh and point guard Jose Calderon.
Houston came out firing, and ran out to a 13-point lead less than 4 minutes into the contest. By the end of the first, behind Martin’s 14 points, the home team held a 9 point advantage. This game got out of hand for the Raptors in the second, which translated into a 68-47 deficit at halftime. The game was all but sealed at that point and the...
1 Mar 2010 12:23 PM
After a lengthy break, many thought Chris Bosh would be active for a home game against the Portland Trailblazers, but that was not the case. In the first quarter, the Blazers were unable to put a substantial point differential between themselves and their Canadian counterparts until the final minutes of the period when they led by 8. Heading into halftime, the lead had shrunk to six, and it appeared as if the Raptors could steal a win. Jarrett Jack took over in the third quarter, scoring, or setting someone else up to score the first 7 Raptors baskets of the second half. Jose Calderon was substituted in and the Blazers closed the quarter on a 9-2 run. At the end of the day, Portland cruised to a 101-87 victory.
Turnovers were the story, as the Raptors gave up 16 of them, leading to 17 points for the visitors. This...
21 Feb 2010 11:26 PM
Since their move from Vancouver to Memphis, the Grizzlies have been the laughing stock of the league. When a team is bad for so long, they begin to stockpile lottery draft picks, which eventually translates into a talented group of young players developing together. The Grizzlies, led by youngsters Rudy Gay, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol and OJ Mayo, along with veteran all-star Zach Randolph are finally starting to come together. They are one of the teams in the Western Conference vying for the 8th playoff seed.
On Wednesday night at the Air Canada Centre, Memphis ran out to an early lead, and were in front by as many as 16 points, but Toronto answered in the second quarter and only trailed 49-47 at recess. In his second game of the season, gritty forward Reggie Evans contributed “4 minutes of fury” for the Raptors, accumulating 4 points and 4 rebounds in...
14 Feb 2010 04:04 PM
The only game on the schedule for the Raptors this week was a game at home against the Philadelphia 76ers Wedensday night. Andre Iguodala and company are one of the lowest ranked teams in the Eastern Conference, but they entered the ACC on a five game winning streak. The Raptors looked to end that and head into the all-star break on a winning note. Hedo Turkoglu was unable to play because of a family illness, but for the first time this season, gritty big man Reggie Evans, who happens to be a former 76er, suited up for the Raps. The first quarter was evenly played with the teams exchanging baskets until Jose Calderon entered the game with 2 minutes to play. In that time, the Spaniard dished out four assists, all of which led to dunks for teammates.
In the second quarter, Evans checked in for the first time, drawing...
13 Feb 2010 11:34 PM
I can't believe I am saying this but I miss Vince Carter.
I just finished watching the NBA dunk contest and needless to say I was left feeling underwhelmed. That was by far the worst slam dunk contest ever and one of the most boring sporting events I have ever watched. It was so bad that I found myself changing over to the Canadian women's hockey game and not caring if I missed a dunk.
The only thing that made that even remotely interesting was Charles Barkley. I was killing myself laughing at some of the comments he was making and it reinforced my argument that Barkley should do commentary on a regular basis.
Here are some of his better comments:
"You ever notice Gatorade don't work on guys that suck"
"Man the Knicks got a lot of people here considering how awful they are"
"It would be impressive if...
8 Feb 2010 11:31 AM
The Pacers aimed to exact some revenge against the Raptors in Indianapolis on Tuesday night. Already missing DeMar DeRozan, Hedo Turkoglu was out of commission for the game. Marco Belinelli started his first game of the season in place of Hedo. After the first quarter, the Raptors held a small 34-32 lead. In the second, Toronto’s shooting percentage nosedived as they struggled mightily to put the ball in the basket for the majority of the frame. With a couple minutes remaining in the half, Chris Bosh and company returned to their abundant scoring ways and trailed by a mere five points. CB4 had 20 points and 11 rebounds at the break. In the third quarter, the team checked out of the game when their leader picked up his fourth foul. The Pacers cruised to a 130-115 win.
With DeRozan, Turkoglu, and Jose Calderon all injured, as well as Jarrett Jack...
7 Feb 2010 12:53 PM
One of the biggest ongoing stories in sports right now is “what will LeBron James do at the end of the season?” Will he stay in Cleveland and sign a long-term deal with the Cavs or will he become a free agent and sign with a different team?
As of right now LeBron has yet to make any sort of concrete comment as to what he plans to do which only fuels the debate even more. One day someone will see him in a Yankee hat and assume he is going to become a Knick and the next he will be seen with Dwyane Wade and rumours fly that he will go to Miami to join the Heat.
I obviously have no ties to LBJ but if I had to bet I would bet that he isn’t going anywhere and here is why:
LeBron’s Relationship with the Fans and his...
1 Feb 2010 12:54 PM
The Miami Heat were in Toronto on Wednesday night for the third meeting of four with the Raptors. Both teams were coming off memorable games, with the Raptors riding high after a one-point victory over the Western Conference leading L.A. Lakers, while the Heat had just suffered a one-point loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers - the top team in the Eastern Conference. If the Raptors hope to lock into the 5th seed in the East, they will ultimately have to get through Dwyane Wade and the Heat.
The first quarter was disastrous for the home team, once again wearing their Huskies jerseys. Thanks to Miami’s hot shooting and Toronto’s abundance of turnovers (7), Jay Triano could do little but watch his team fall into a 34-23 rut after 12 minutes. The deficit would have been larger if it weren’t for Andrea Bargnani and Sonny Weems (who was filling in for...
27 Jan 2010 02:12 PM
Over the past few years the NBA has been going through a bit of a statistical revolution. Owners and GMs have been looking for better ways of evaluating talent and have turned to nerds with computers to try and help them determine who has value and who doesn’t. As a direct result of this developing trend a bunch of new stats have been created for the sole purpose of player evaluation. One of those stats is plus/minus.
It works just like in hockey. If a player is on the floor when his team scores a basket then he receives a +2. If he is on the floor when the opponents score a basket then he goes -2.
The +/- is a telling stat for a number of reasons as it exposes guys for being awful defenders and can also help coaches figure out which combinations of players work. Basically you...
25 Jan 2010 06:26 PM
Gilbert Arenas has always been a gunslinger. From his days as an under-the radar point guard at the University of Arizona to the moment he stepped on an NBA court, Arenas has never been afraid to attack the opposition. Drafted in the second round by the Golden State Warriors, Gilbert was accustomed to going unnoticed, he wore the number zero on his jersey as a testament to this. At the start of his rookie season he was viewed as a shaky ball handler with a streaky jump shot. Not a pure point guard but too small to be a shooting guard, inconsistent and unconventional. His rise to prominence has been a slow and gradual climb, Arenas has always held the potential to be an exceptional player but it seems his eccentric personality has operated as a hindrance to his abilities.
As one of the most outspoken athletes in professional sports,...
24 Jan 2010 11:31 PM
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a monarchy in the NBA, with LeBron James ruling as King. The Raptors opened a tough, action packed week Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. In the season opener on October 28, Toronto overthrew James and company and they hoped to do it again.
The first quarter ended in a 28-28 tie, thanks to the heroics of DeMar DeRozan, who scored more points (10) in the opening 12 minutes than he averages for entire games (around 8). In the second quarter, the teams put on an offensive clinic and Cleveland led 62-60 going into the second half. With Hedo Turkoglu in early foul trouble, Antoine Wright stepped up and chipped in 10 points in his early playing time. The third quarter picked up in the same spot the game left off, but the Cavs’ late run gave them a bit of a cushion as...
19 Jan 2010 11:30 PM
With the Raptors’ season officially halfway into the books, I thought it would be interesting to write a report card for each of the players:
Marcus Banks:
Grade: B
When the team is fully healthy, Banks doesn’t get much playing time, but when Jose Calderon got injured, the 6th year pro out of UNLV provided excellent minutes in relief of Jarrett Jack. He is a pesky defender who can make good decisions with the ball in his hands. Praise should be given for him staying in game-shape and being ready when his number gets called.
Andrea Bargnani:
Grade: A-
Andrea has had a wonderful season so far. His numbers speak for themselves: 17.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Those stats are up from last year and he is a candidate for Most Improved Player. Andrea has become more comfortable in the post and is definitely more active on the...
17 Jan 2010 06:30 PM
The second game of a back-to-back is never easy, especially when playing on the road. If the Raptors could take any comfort in having to play in Indiana against the Pacers on a Monday night, it would be that the last time these two teams played, Toronto scored 74 points in the first half, en route to an easy win.
The first half was the same story on this night as the Raps poured in 65 points through the first 2 quarters, dominating their counterparts from Indiana. It was the second unit for the Raptors that fueled their impressive first half with Sonny Weems, Marco Belinelli, Rasho Nesterovic and Jose Calderon all providing a scoring lift off the pine. If not for a late run to end the second quarter, Toronto would have been up by at least 20 points, but instead led by only 13 going into the break....
12 Jan 2010 01:05 AM
In our era of insistence for specialized services, the professional athlete is often considered to exist purely as an extension of voyeuristic servitude, vapid of human emotion. Their task is to perform an athletic feat with a refined level of skill and prowess, to falter from this objective is to disappoint and be deemed valueless. The commodifcation of the modern athlete can result in steep profit margins for those that fit the pattern, but for those on the outside the harsh realities of being bought and sold can result in a career marked by unfulfilled promise.
In 2004, the Seattle Supersonics used the 12th overall pick in the NBA draft to select Robert Swift, a skinny 18 year old kid from Bakersfield High School. Swift had helped transform Bakersfield to a reputable prep basketball program and earned the notoriety of several national rankings but the highest value was placed in...
11 Jan 2010 01:23 AM
The Orlando Magic had already disposed of the Toronto Raptors three times this season, and had done it rather easily. The Raptors are a much different team now than they were then, as they were riding high, winning 7 of their last 8, including a victory over the Spurs in their last time out. The Magic, on the other hand were going in the opposite direction after back to back losses to Bulls and Pacers. As a boost, the Raptors welcomed back point guard Jose Calderon to the rotation. The Spaniard came off the bench, contributing 5 points and 8 assists in 24 minutes of action. In my opinion, Jose is better coming off the bench, with Jarrett Jack handling starting duties at the point. Team chemistry is at an all-time high and you don’t want to throw that off.
After a first quarter in which the Magic shot 62%...
