Raps vs Knicks - Raptirs Win (Efman 12-10), New Life! Fri 7 pm Options

[Efman]

Nothing like the Knicks to right our ship.

[Mr. Coffee]

Give me two teams - one led by David Lee and the other by Andrea Bargnani - and I'm taking Lee's teams 9 times out of 10.

Bosh better be back. And when he does come back, I'm not saying one critical word about him the rest of the season.

Seriously, his agent must already be planning a long vacation in June and July - his case has already been made far too easily for him

[forsakenMarz]

Give me two teams - one led by David Lee and the other by Andrea Bargnani - and I'm taking Lee's teams 9 times out of 10.

Bosh better be back. And when he does come back, I'm not saying one critical word about him the rest of the season.

Seriously, his agent must already be planning a long vacation in June and July - his case has already been made far too easily for him

If he is back, I'll be keeping a close eye at the defense. Jarret Jack stated that Bosh was the "vocal defensive leader" on the team. It makes sense that they'd look a little (okay a lot) lost on defense because of him. If the defense improves over the next few games then Bosh may actually be developing the "Garnett" effect... which would be fantastic! If our defense still sucks though...

[waterboy619]

If he is back, I'll be keeping a close eye at the defense. Jarret Jack stated that Bosh was the "vocal defensive leader" on the team. It makes sense that they'd look a little (okay a lot) lost on defense because of him. If the defense improves over the next few games then Bosh may actually be developing the "Garnett" effect... which would be fantastic! If our defense still sucks though...

Vocal defensive leader or not... the two players on this team that bring a combination of composure and determination every night are Bosh and Jack. We played with composure and determination against Cleveland, and came far closer to pulling off the upset than we should have. Since then, we've lost both, and I think this is affecting Derozan's game at this point as well.

Reggie brings the D, and to some degree the determination, but he hasn't been bringing the amounts of composure and determination that either Bosh or Jack do.

On the other hand number, the one problem I have with Hedo is that he doesn't bring a lot of composure, and he seems to bring almost zero determination. I don't mind too much if doesn't shoot well, as long as he doesn't dominate the offense when it happens; Bosh/Bargs/Calderjack can bring the scoring, not to mention the fact that we've got additional scoring punch on the bench. But Hedo needs to be doing the little things (handle the ball, move on offense) and one big thing (rebound on the plays where bargs is away from the basket), and he hasn't seemed to.

[Mr. Coffee]

http://www.thestar.com/sports/basketball/n...nothing-to-lose

I hate articles like this. Point is they have nothing to play for - and played like it against Cleveland, who were up by almost 50 points at one point. You go out with hustle and heart, and a team like the Knicks will fold immediately. You move your feet and you'll be fine, because they are all out there to get theirs.

D Smith - the Patrick O'Bryant of Raptor media coverage

[PBI]

Bosh is reportedly curled up in the back of the Raptors' locker room with those stomach issues, according to Knicks beat writer Alan Hahn.

You can't help but laugh.

[CV31]

Man there is alot more activity around here when the Raptors lose. Wonder why that is?

[Dellwell]

Knicks in town, Raps get the win without Bosh due to better energy (3days rest will do that!), much better movement/passing on offense & a very nice effort by Weems scoring the ball and on the boards! Calderon catches flack for his lack of D but it could always be worse, Calderon could play D like Sergio Rodriguez...

Knicks are in such a mess, Tmac has been out for several months yet he gets traded to the Knicks & he is now the starting PG!?! Here's a funny thought for everyone other then Knicks fans: What happens if not ONE major Free Agent signs with the Knicks this summer??? HA! i'd love to see that. Be sweet if the Knicks could somehow infect the Yankees with whatever it is the Knicks have. HA! I'd love to see that crap to!

[nathan]

whee

(Bargnani, this was your chance to show us what a Bosh-less Raptors could be like)

(yay Weems and Amir)

[CV31]

whee

(Bargnani, this was your chance to show us what a Bosh-less Raptors could be like)

(yay Weems and Amir)

Yes of course we should just write Bargs off. He played a decent game just didnt have his shot tonight.

I was just happy that Rasho didnt play 20 minutes tonight

[PBI]

Yes of course we should just write Bargs off.

I'm in.

What an atrocious rebounder.

[CV31]

I'm in.

What an atrocious rebounder.

I dont think hes that bad. He does have his problems on defence. Mostly off the ball, help defence he seems to be a step slow on rotations. That said I think his on the ball defence is above average. This guys just gonna keep getting better. The Raptors defence is gonna struggle because there a run and gun team. They take alot of shots and alot of quick shots.

I know alot of people like stats on here soDefensive stats from NBA.com(looks at rebounds,blocks and steals per game)

Amazing that Boston is in last place.

[PBI]

What does any of that have to do with his rebounding? That automated response was just weird.

[nathan]

Yes of course we should just write Bargs off. He played a decent game just didnt have his shot tonight.

I was just happy that Rasho didnt play 20 minutes tonight

Easy dude, we're all Raptors fans here. I know it's the internet and standard operating procedure is to misunderstand people and get uppity, but nowhere did I say we should write Bargs off. I happen to like Bargs, and want him to succeed for many reasons, including: justifying his first-overal selection, because his size + skillset is intriguing and I find it interesting to watch, and mostly, he's a Raptor and I want the Raptors to win more games than they lose (a place we're perilously close to falling from).

My comment was meant to address this whole stretch of games with Bosh out. Clearly CB4 is going to resign, but in the realm where one day he isn't a Raptor, we hear a lot of conjecture about Bargs sliding to the 4 and really unleashing his best game at his natural position. Bargnani was handed a pretty good opportunity to showcase what he can be when he's not deferring to Bosh, and he pretty much just kept on doing his thing. Small sample size, granted, and his teammates don't look to get him involved as much as they should (particularly when he's got a size advantage in the post after a pick and roll switch), but I was underwhelmed.

As for your Rasho comment .. I can only say that I wish more of the Raps had Rasho's basketball IQ. Despite his age and molasses-like speed he brings so much to the table as far as reading the game, setting proper picks, holding the lane open, hitting open shots, and boxing out for rebounds .. wish we could bottle that. RASHO 4 MVP :-)