What the hell just happened?
Did we just witness the Raps play a flawless game? Did they just exhibit a high powered offense and a relentless defense for a full 4 quarters? And in the 2nd game of the year no less! Against a supposedly half-decent opponent!! I watched the game, and I’m reading the box score as we speak, but I’m still not sure I believe it.
I know I seem rather negative, and I may not have been as high on the team coming in as others around the city, but I don’t think anyone could’ve expected a start like this. Two games is two games, but I can safely say I’ve never been this excited about a Raptors team, and I can also say that this performance against the Nets may be the best I’ve seen them look. Ever.
Let’s start with the offense: Jason Kapono is fitting in very nicely, not trying to do too much but still making his shots as expected. Bosh was still a non-factor early on, but he did look a little more comfortable than in game #1. Parker doesn’t seem to have the offensive pizzaz he had last year yet, but it’s coming back too.
And then there’s Andrea. The kid is flat-out exceeding his game from last year in every single aspect. Everyone was high on this kid coming in, and I doubted. I was wrong. So far. Do I still think Nesterovic is a better fit to start the game? Well, that’s a mighty tough thing to say at this point. Bargnani may struggle defensively, but he’s putting points up at such a rate that it easily compensates for it. His stroke looks rock-solid and it’s incredible how confident and relaxed he looks. He’s still at the point where he’d prefer to be taking a jumper, but he’s driving the lane 95% of the time that they’re giving it to him. Last year, it seemed more like 50%. That being said, I’m still torn because Rasho played such an outstanding game as well. In fact, though this certainly wouldn’t be popular opinion, you could make a case for Rasho being the most important single piece in the 2nd quarter when the Raps made their run. Him and Bosh were simply taking EVERYTHING away inside. They were locking down the key like I’ve rarely seen the Raptors do. Bosh was using nice technique, and if they weren’t blocking shots(They combined for 5 in the game, a very nice total), they were redirecting them. It forced the Nets into a situation where all they had was the outside shot… and the outside shot simply wasn’t falling.
I was very glad to see Mitchell use the entire bench again. A lot can be said of the way he kept the Bosh, Bargnani, Delfino, Dixon, Calderon group on the court for so long in that 3rd quarter, but he was clearly just going with what was working and was enjoying throwing the smack down. Nothing wrong with that every now and then. If it becomes a habit, that may be a problem because he’s got the players to spread the minutes with, but he even admitted after the game not realizing that it was so out-of-hand. Anyways, as long as no one’s eclipsing 35 minutes and all 12 guys see the floor, it’s pretty much impossible to argue he’s pushing anyone too hard.
The Raptors are shooting a ridiculous percentage through two games, especially from three-point range. But here’s the thing: There’s no reason they can’t keep it up. Well, 58% from long-distance obviously isn’t going to happen, but when you look at the movement they’re getting and the shooters they have, it’s not a stretch to see this team easily leading the league in 3-point percentage. The only thing that hurts them is that they take more of them than a lot of teams, but either way, no harm taking them if you’re making them.
What I liked tonight, and I mean Chuck Swirsky:
I’m going to try and stick this into every ‘Game Thoughts’. In Raptors wins, or maybe even in losses, I’ll save the most impressive aspect for last. In last night’s game, this was what took the cake: (I don’t even like Peter King. But I love his Tony Kornheiser joke. So be it.)
The Raptors tenacity on defense despite already owning an insurmountable lead. After the Philly game, I complained that they didn’t really show that lock down defense, a defense that can really gut it out and get stops when the opponent’s are grinding down each and every possession. Well, it didn’t take long for them to answer my cry. The previously mentioned group of Bosh, Bargnani, Delfino, Dixon, and Calderon gave everything they had on each defensive possession in that 3rd quarter. I wrote how rare it was for teams to maintain a 20+ point lead without the other team making some kind of a push. Well, I may be mistaken but I’m fairly certain the Raptors maintained a THIRTY-plus point lead without the other team making a push. And you can talk about how poor the Nets offense was all you want, but they had their stages where they were hitting contested shots. If the Raptors had given them uncontested ones, I’m sure they would’ve made a lot more. The Raptors fed off each other and off of their lead, trying and trying to push it as high as they could. It almost became a little bit of a game in itself – The “Let’s see how bad we can murder these guys” game. But it’s games like these, games where you play that game, that you can build your defensive confidence and get into that zone that every team so desperately needs. So next time the Raptors are playing the Pistons with a 3 point lead with 5 minutes left in the game, they can look back on this game and realize they have it in them. It’s indescribable how important that is to a team.
Other bullets:
- Watching the highlights from last year’s playoff series is just plain painful. Sometimes you see those pre-game highlights with the music blaring and it jacks you up. Highlights of your franchise’s toughest playoff defeat ever just makes you want to throw up.
- You have to be somewhat impressed by Bargnani’s English. He barely misses a beat when being questioned in somewhat-speedily spoken english, though he still has slight problems expressing himself. If he’s going to be the star we all want him to be, rising up to Chris Bosh level, the language side of things is going to be very important. Hopefully he keeps improving. And hey, it can’t hurt on the court either.
- Is it just me or do announcers thinking they know what goes on in every on-court conversation piss you off too? When a player and a coach are standing on the sidelines talking, it DOES NOT necessarily mean the coach is emphasizing the point that the announcer just made in the god damn booth. All the analysts out there make a point, and then assume the coach is making the same one just to make themselves look good. Unless you’re reading lips and it’s clear what he’s saying, please don’t try and tell us what it is. You have no better idea than we do.
- Andrew Bogut not only looks a million times cooler with his head shaved… But I also have actual confidence in him as a basketball player now. He actually looks like he belongs on the court. Hate to judge guys like this… but I can’t shake the truth
- Not many had the Pacers as the team that was really going to gel as a group and come out of nowhere in the East, but they’re looking pretty darn good. Any road win is a good one.
The Raptors have it in tough against the Celtics tomorrow. The talking-heads can question the Celtics point-guard and bench til they’re blue in the face, but the fact of the matter is that these guys LOOK GOOD together. I did not think that Garnett, Pierce, and Allen would mesh so quickly, but they are. They certainly have a long way to go to winning a title, but if the pre-season and the first game of the year are any indicator, these guys are going to continue to get better and better. The Raptors were unable to slow down Garnett at all in their first pre-season game, and that has to be priority number one. Allen and Pierce can take all the jump-shots they want, but letting Garnett get the ball in the post creates a dangerous situation.
Back on Monday morning with another edition of Game Thoughts.
