10/31/09
by: Scott
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Just label last night with a giant "EPIC FAIL" stamp. My pre-game thread was a failure when I screwed up the intro and then belittled Zach Randolph right before he went off for 30 points and seven rebounds (six offensive). And the Raptors' team defence failed by allowing the Grizzlies to shoot 51.2 percent from the field.
No Raptor experienced more of a drop-off from the dizzying heights of the win on opening night than Andrea Bargnani. He was held scoreless in the first half, then proceeded to score all 12 of his points in a six-minute span at the beginning of the second half. Compare his production in 36 minutes (12 Pts, 4-12 FG, 6 Reb, 2 Ast, 0 Blk, minus-14) to what Rasho Nesterovic accomplished in 14 minutes (8 Pts, 4-8 FG, 6 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, plus-8) and you can make the case that the Raptors might have won this game if Jay Triano had benched Bargnani for Rasho when he sensed he just didn't "have it" last night.
But ohhhhh nooooo... you can't do that, can you? No, we don't want to ruffle the delicate sensibilities of our golden boy, no matter how crappy he plays. Look, there's only one player on this team that has earned a free pass on this team when he gets off to a horrific start in a game, and that's Chris Bosh. He's the team leader and even when he's not scoring, he brings effort and production to rebounding and (sometimes) defence. Last night, he joined Rasho and Jarrett Jack as the only Raptors who didn't deserve the "FAIL" stamp as he gave the Raptors 37 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Randolph definitely gave Bosh fits, but Chris gave it even better than he took it.
Speaking of Randolph, there was a moment with four minutes left in the first quarter when I knew the Raptors probably didn't have what it took to win last night. Randolph took a running shot at the top of the key with four Toronto Raptors between him and the basket, and the shot rebounded off the back of the rim. While the four Raptors stood and watched, Zach ran right up the middle of the lane, leapt and scored on the putback.
Look, I know Randolph is a load, but if four professional basketball players can't box him out, that's pathetic. Unsurprisingly, the Raptors were outrebounded 45-36 by the Grizzlies last night. You're undoubtedly going to get sick of me harping on this team's rebounding — but don't be mad at me. I'll stop complaining if they can at least break even on the boards.
I'll wrap this up with a Tweet that made me both laugh and cringe by @LloydtheBarber from the excellent Blue Jays blog Ghostrunner on First: "Jose must be in pain. That much OJ in your eye would sting like crazy. #citrus #baddefenders". Yep, that's the kind of night it was. 
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