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11/20/08
by: Scott
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Score Media Inc. Launches theScore.com Sports Federation
Launch of network directs fans to the most influential blogs in sports
TORONTO, Nov. 20, 2008 – Score Media Inc. (TSX: SCR) today announced the launch of theScore.com Sports Federation, a network of independent sports websites that empowers fans with a compelling voice to reach a larger audience with the support of a national multi-platform sports network. The Score has selected some of the most influential blogs in sports to be a part of this initiative that puts the hardcore fan front and centre. Score Media is also pleased to announce Bacardi Canada as the official launch partner of the blog network.
Member sites include:
Managed by RaptorBlog.com publisher Scott Carefoot, theScore.com Sports Federation gives readers an in-depth look at sports from the true experts themselves, hardcore fans. With a goal of empowering bloggers with the opportunity to have their voice heard by a national audience, the Federation is the first sports-focused network in Canada.
"When I started RaptorBlog.com in 2002, most people didn't know what a blog was," says Scott Carefoot, Business Development Manager, Digital Media, Score Media Inc. "With theScore.com Sports Federation, we're acknowledging the growing influence sports blogs have in reaching people who want an unfiltered medium to express their views and interact with other diehard fans."
Now taking the lead at bringing a network of blogs to hardcore fans, The Score is helping to generate increased awareness of these influential blogs.
"Our goal with this network is to empower the most compelling, well-informed and entertaining independent voices in sports commentary," says Jonathan Savage, Vice President, Digital Media, Score Media Inc. "In leading this charge, we are maintaining our focus on being the destination for the hardcore sports fan while giving the sports community a broader medium in which to be heard."
ABOUT SCORE MEDIA INC.
Score Media is a media company committed to delivering interactive and authentic sports entertainment. Created in 1997 in response to the growing desire for increased participation in the consumption of sports, the Company has now established itself as the home for hardcore sports fans. Score Media's primary asset, The Score Television Network ("The Score"), is a national specialty television service providing sports news, information, highlights and live event programming in more than 6.4 million homes across Canada. Score Media also operates Hardcore Sports Radio, a satellite radio network available across North America on Sirius Satellite Radio, and other interactive assets including theScore.com, Score Mobile, and Score Poker. Growing from a team of 60 in 1997 to over 220 employees in 2008, Score Media is a revolutionizing interactive media company.
For more information, please contact:
Scott Carefoot
Business Development Manager, Digital Media
Score Media Inc.
scott dot carefoot at thescore dot com
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11/19/08
by: Scott
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When Dwyane Wade sliced through the middle of the lane at 8:38 of the fourth quarter like a knife on the arm of a goth kid with low self-esteem, he threw down a devastating dunk that gave Miami a 84-83 lead after they were down by 16 just five minutes earlier. Collectively, Raptors fans sagged in their couches in anticipation of another winnable game getting away.
What actually transpired was that Anthony Parker responded with his fourth of five three-pointers on the night to give the Raptors a lead they never lost again. On this night, the Raptors didn't turn the other cheek when alpha male D-Wade started asserting his will — they fought back with skill and resolve to beat the Heat 101-95.
There's no point in singling out a single Toronto performance because all five starters played well and made big plays when they were called upon. This was the first game of the season where both Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani were in the starting lineup with Parker, Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal. They each played at least 30 minutes and combined for 83 points on the night. But the most telling statistic: after averaging 19 turnovers over the previous two games, the Raptors had only 10 turnovers tonight. Welcome back, Jose.
Let's be completely frank about this. The Raptors' starting five all need to stay healthy if this team has any chance to break into the top four in the East. The bench is like Buc Nasty's suit — bombed out and depleted.
As for tonight, this team looked pretty solid. If they can make it out of this tough November schedule with a record over .500, some of those clouds over the heads of perenially gloomy Raptors fans might start to dissipate.
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11/19/08
by: Scott
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Pardon my absence, but I've been working around the clock on that thing you see at the top of the site. There will be a press release sent out about this tomorrow morning which I'll publish here. In the meantime, here's my brief take on last night's loss to the Magic.
It would be easy to criticize Will Solomon for his performance (10 points, four assists, seven turnovers) but it's important to remember that he hasn't been in the NBA since '01-02 and we all knew there was going to be a dropoff at backup point guard now that T.J. Ford is gone. Rather than give Solomon a hard time, I'd rather take the opportunity to show appreciation for Jose Calderon — who the Raptors clearly missed last night.
The comparison between point guards and quarterbacks really came to mind last night as I thought about how both positions have a range of styles and ways to win or lose a game. Some quarterbacks are gunslingers and take lots of chances — throwing deep and into coverage without any apparent fear of interceptions. Brett Favre is this type of QB. Other quarterbacks are more athletes than throwers and can be more likely to beat you on the ground than in the air. Michael Vick is a classic example of this type. Then you have your "game managers", who don't take a lot of unnecessary chances and aren't extraordinary athletes but they do what needs to be done to keep you in the game and give you a chance to win. Kerry Collins is one of those guys.
What do Jason Kidd, Gilbert Arenas and Jose Calderon have in common, besides their position? Not much, but they can help their teams win in their own way, with their own style. Our man, Jose, is a game manager. He's not flashy and he doesn't take a lot of high-risk, high-reward chances — but he runs a steady, low-mistake offense and you're not likely to see him turn the ball over seven times in a game. Sometimes we'd like him to make riskier, more exciting plays, but he happens to be surrounded with a bunch of good shooters and Jose realizes he just needs to get them the ball in the right place and time for the Raptors to put up points. His style works for this team and, once again, he leads the NBA in assist/turnover ratio at 5.14.
Needless to say, we're all hoping he's back soon although he's unlikely to play tonight in Miami. Solomon and Roko Ukic put on a clinic of how not to manage an offense last night and I'm not looking forward to many more games like that.
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11/18/08
by: Scott
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The Raptors take on the 7-3 Orlando Magic tonight and it will be an interesting test to see if they've learned anything from being disposed of by the Magic in five games in the 2008 playoffs. Dwight Howard is second in the NBA with 14 rebounds per game and first in the league with 4.2 blocks per game — so you know he's going to be a significant inside presence unless the Raptors can get him in foul trouble early. The Magic are currently fourth in Defensive Efficiency with 100.3 points allowed per 100 possessions, and Howard's increasing dominance has a lot to do with that.
On the offensive end, Howard is averaging 21.3 points per game on 60 percent shooting, and 82games.com reveals that 86 percent of his shots have been on the inside, and he's only made 33 percent of his jumpshots. So the trick is obviously to try to keep him away from the basket. Easier said than done, of course, but let's see if Jermaine O'Neal, Andrea Bargnani and Kris Humprhies can make a decent effort on that front.
The other thing to expect from the Magic is lots of long bombs. They're second in the NBA with 25 three-point attempts per game — even though they've only made 31.3 percent of those shots because Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson are all off to poor shooting starts this season. I can't say I feel comfortable with expecting them to continue to miss those shots, but if the alternative is to play them tight and leave Howard solo-covered in the post... well, pick your poison, Sam.
The Links
Dino Nation catches up with Matt Devlin in Orlando.
No word yet on whether or not Jose Calderon is playing tonight. Seems like it will probably be a game-time decision.
Jermaine O'Neal continues to be delusional about his offensive potency: "What eliminates great offense is making them play defense. I'll try to run (Dwight Howard) a little bit, make him guard me." What do you figure for the over-under on the number of times Dwight stuffs J.O. tonight? Six, maybe? I'd better have a light dinner tonight.
More about the Howard-O'Neal matchup. Props to Eric Koreen for referencing Hollinger in this piece. The new guard of savvy basketball analysts continues to infiltrate Toronto sports media.
It didn't take long for George Karl to throw Allen Iverson under the bus.
Adrian Wojnarowski has a good column about shady owners in the NBA.
Forum Blue and Gold eulogizes Pete Newell.
T-Mac is hurt again.
Good interview with Sam Cassell where he talks about being a veteran and mentoring younger players. Sam will make a good coach one day.
Ladies and gentlemen, the leading scorer of the Philadelphia 76ers: Thaddeus Young
I'll write up a post-game report for your consumption tonight.
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11/17/08
by: Scott
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We'll start off today's links with this fine shout-out to the Raptors Internet massive. We run tings!
Here's a nice piece on Will Solomon stepping up in Jose's absence. I love the picture in this article. It looks like Will fell and hurt his head and big brother Bosh is rubbing his boo-boo.
There's a weird comment from Dave Perkins at the end of this column: "(Joey) Graham was buried this game and one thing about Sam: when he buries a guy, he runs up and parks on top of the grave, too." Hey, I criticize a lot of Sam's methods but I don't think he buries players without justification. Joey Graham is a lost cause. Nice guy, but he's not an NBA-quality basketball player. — and no amount of consistent playing time is going to change that.
More bad news on Nathan Jawai: an Australian newspaper reports that he has an enlarged heart and he might never get to play in the NBA.
Interesting statement from Doug Smith in his blog: "Sam's job? Safe. Very safe. Safer than many wish. Sorry to disappoint." Really, Doug? Safe enough that Sam will still be coaching this team if they don't make it to the second round of the playoffs this season? I doubt it. And that's not my definition of "very safe". Doug: You've been in this business long enough to know that you shouldn't ever take a GM's word at face value when it comes to players getting traded or coaches getting fired.
Mark Cuban is being charged for insider trading. From what I can tell, everybody does this but you don't get charged for it until you piss off somebody powerful or somebody in the SEC decides to go Celebrity Headhunting.
John Hollinger talks about the growing trend of bigger lineups like the one the Raptors sent out yesterday.
Channing Frye lists the six sweatiest players in the NBA. If they ever create a "sweaty basketball player Hall of Fame", Patrick Ewing would be the charter inductee.
Charlie Villanueva won a rather strange award.
Gourmet Spud delivers the NBA-related funny once again with a suggested scenario of what would happen if Starbury was traded to the Spurs.
Nate Robinson busts some moves before a game.
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11/17/08
by: Scott
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Credit where credit's due. I didn't think Sam Mitchell would make the smart move of swapping Jamario Moon for Andrea Bargnani in the starting lineup, but he did it and it worked out. Andrea was ballin' in the first quarter but his final stats were so-so: 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. More importantly, the Raptors' starting forwards thoroughly outplayed their Heat counterparts — which is the whole point in starting Bargnani and Chris Bosh together. They can hold their own against most forwards on defense, and present significant match-up problems against most forward tandems on offense.
While we're handing out unexpected daps, I have to give respect to Will Solomon for doing an admirable job filling in for an injured Jose Calderon. Let's make it official and state that I was wrong to say in pre-season that Roko Ukic should be Calderon's main backup. Solomon doesn't have Calderon's court vision, but he ran the Raptors' offense with aplomb and finished with 15 points, 11 assists and four turnovers in 34 minutes. Kudos to Bryan Colangelo for signing this guy — he's better than I thought.
As shallow as the Raptors are, it's nothing compared to the Heat's D-League-quality bench. Miami will probably finish .500 and squeak into the playoffs this season, but that's entirely because of Dwyane Wade — who was the best player on the floor yesterday. When I look back on the 2003 draft, I have a tendency to fool myself that if we were to rank the picks now, Bosh would go second after LeBron. Y'all know I loves me some CB4, but D-Wade is unquestionably the second-best player to come out of that draft class. He was a force of nature yesterday and the only reason the Heat were even in the game.
An unexpected side effect of sending Jamario Moon to the bench was that he played his best game of the season. He hustled, didn't force shots, and contributed eight points, five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal in 19 minutes. That's the stat-stuffing Jamario I knew and loved from last season.
Moon wasn't even the best performer off the Raptors' bench yesterday. Kris Humphries busted out of everyone's doghouse with a monster game on Sunday: 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists in only 16 minutes. In the Raptors' eight previous games, Hump played for a grand total of 18 minutes and had exactly zero assists. If there's a lesson here, it's that Big Sexy might consider passing the ball once in a rare while if you give him more than a couple of minutes per game out there. While he might be the most unpopular Raptor among fans I've talked to, there's no denying his productivity when he actually gets some burn.
There really isn't anything negative to say about this game from the Raptors' perspective. They out-rebounded the Heat 52-35, dished out 31 assists to Miami's 21 dimes, and seven Toronto players scored in double figures. It's just one game, but when you consider that the Raptors' opponents for the rest of the month include the Celtics, Lakers, Hawks and Magic — every win counts. Let's finish this month at .500 or better and look forward to feasting on some weaker competition in December.
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11/14/08
by: Scott
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I didn't have a lot of time to look up links today and there doesn't seem to be much going on anyway, so I figured I'd focus on this Toronto Star piece on the Raptors/TSN2 situation.
It looks like Sunday's Raptors-Heat game — barring a last-minute deal — will not be shown on any other channel besides TSN2 and over two million Rogers Cable customers won't be able to watch the game. I've been watching from the sidelines with interest to see who will blink first. Will Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment find a way to move the games to another channel? Will TSN move the games to their main channel? Will Rogers finally cave in and add TSN2? Or will thousands of Raptors fans in Southern Ontario be unable to watch the 25 games scheduled on TSN2 this season?
Obviously, part of the reason I haven't gotten riled up about this is that I'm a Cogeco Cable subscriber so I have TSN2. There's also the fact that there's enough blame to go around here that it's hard to figure out who deserves the most scorn here. Is it TSN for their obvious power play with Rogers as they show the final of the ATP Masters Shanghai tennis tournament on their main channel during Sunday's game? Is it Rogers for refusing to pony up and add the channel? It seems like Rogers is taking the brunt of the criticism and I'm reading a lot of blog comments and message board posts from people claiming they're switching TV services because of this.
I've decided that MLSE is the party that you should really be angry at if you're unable to watch Sunday's game. I don't know if TSN exploited a loophole in their agreement with MLSE to move 25 games to their secondary channel or if MLSE knew that there was a possibility that this situation could occur and they signed the deal anyway. If it's the first situation, they screwed up royally. If it's the second situation, they're just greedy and short-sighted — and don't appear to care all that much about the fans.
The quote from MLSE's executive vice-president and chief operating officer Tom Anselmi at the end of the Star article was what clinched it for me: "If we missed one game I suppose that wouldn't be the end of the world but for a long period of time it's not the place where any of us want to be, TSN, Rogers or us."
I suppose he's technically right that it's not "the end of the world", but that quote doesn't make me feel like MLSE feels all that bad about the situation. It seems to me that if they really cared, they would say to TSN, "Until you get TSN2 on Rogers Cable, move our games to your main channel or we won't deal with you at all next season." Of course, they probably won't do that because they don't want to lose that sweet CTVGlobeMedia cash.
It sucks to constantly be reminded that professional sports is a business first and foremost and most team owners don't seem to really care all that much about their fans — except as revenue generators. I just think it's a shame that this game of Corporate Chicken between TSN and Rogers had to happen at all.
Come off the bench and hit a buzzer beater for the fans, MLSE — either simulcast Sunday's game on Raptors NBA TV, move it to another channel (The Score would certainly be happy to have it) or convince TSN to show the game on their primary channel. Show Raptors fans in Southern Ontario that you give a crap about them. After all, don't you think some of these fans buy tickets and merchandise? Think about it.
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11/13/08
by: Scott
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There might not be much that Raptors fans can have a consensus on these days, but I can make one statement that I doubt any of you will refute: Jamario Moon and Jason Kapono have both been pretty awful at small forward so far this season. Moon isn't rebounding like he did last season and he's taking too many jumpshots early in the shot clock. Kapono can't dribble or guard anyone and he still doesn't shoot often enough. Hey, J-Nilla™: Shooting is the one thing you're good at. You remind me of Jenna Jameson after she retired from porn — only less "crack-whorey". If you're not shooting (or being "shot on" in Jenna's case), you're completely worthless.
(Side note: I got to sit fourth row at a UFC event in Vegas last year. Jenna was ringside with her boyfriend, MMA fighter Tito Ortiz. Tito has the hugest cranium I've ever seen in my life. I have a big head but Tito's skull is epic. As for Jenna, she looked emaciated and not even remotely sexy. I was devastated. A couple of seats down from them were Kobe and his wife — who is absolutely one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen. Simply breathtaking in person. I digress.)
Anyway, I think it's time to mix things up and insert Andrea Bargnani into the Raptors' starting lineup — not at small forward, but at power forward. Chris Bosh should start at the three and he'll cover small forwards on defense, and the two of them will switch roles on offense.
Can Bosh cover most small forwards adequately? I think so. And in the most surprising element of the Raptors' first eight games, Bargnani has proven to be quite an asset on post defense. In only 22.5 minutes per game, he's averaging 1.6 blocks — tied with O'Neal for the team lead. He seems to have miraculously learned a watered-down version of Tim Duncan's defense — where you use your height and positioning to effectively contest shots so you don't get out of position. I should also mention that Bargnani is averaging more points and rebounds per game than Moon and Kapono — who are both getting more minutes.
Here's how I'd break it down. O'Neal continues to get 30 minutes at center (I'd give him more but there's the whole "foul trouble" thing) and the remaining 18 minutes at the pivot go to Bargnani. Andrea and Bosh each get 20 minutes at power forward and I'd toss the other eight minutes to Kris Humphries. At small forward, Bosh plays for 20 minutes while Moon and Kapono split the other 28.
You might have noticed that my plan has Bargnani playing 38 minutes per game. Well, I say he's earned it. I was really down on him going into '08-09 but he's really shown me something this season . I could see him giving us 17 points, seven rebounds and two blocks per game with that much burn. Compare that to the 15.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and one block per game we're getting from "Kapoon"™ in 52.4 combined minutes. I'd call that an upgrade, wouldn't you?
Of course, this is dependent on Bargnani continuing his surprisingly solid and occasionally downright impressive play of late. Well, damn it, he's a first overall pick and he's finally starting to play like somebody who maybe deserved to be picked somewhere in the single digits of a weak draft class. Let's really find out what this floppy-jawed Italian is made of. Throw him a frickin' bone here, Sam!
(Please note that I have no actual expectation that Sam will execute this plan because it makes too much fucking sense.)
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11/13/08
by: Scott
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We got to see what it would be like for the Raptors to have to play without Jose Calderon for parts of last night's game — and it wasn't pretty.
Regarding Calderon's injury, Jose doesn't think it will keep him out of Sunday's game against the Heat.
Sam Mitchell thinks the Raptors biggest problem is that the backup point guards don't know how and where to pass to Andrea Bargnani.
Steve Rosenbloom wants the Bulls to ship out one or both of Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas. I think the problem is that they're kinda redundant. You probably know I'm a big Noah fan, but I couldn't understand that draft pick for the Bulls and it makes even less sense now.
Remember when everyone thought LeBron and Carmelo would have this intense rivalry that would last their entire careers? That hasn't really panned out.
Nice little fracas between the Suns and Rockets last night. I like when Shaq comes in and starts rag-dolling people like The Big Show in a battle royale.
Speaking of Shaq, he passed John Havlicek for 10th all-time in the NBA scoring ranks. Shaq's take: "It's good for a juvenile delinquent from north New Jersey."
Greg Oden quietly returned to the Blazers lineup last night, playing 16 minutes, scoring three points and grabbing two rebounds.
Antoine Walker: the Starbury of the South.
And finally, just because, here's a fantastic Youtube clip I found last night: Zaza Pachulia hyping up the Atlanta Hawks crowd after Game Six of last season's playoff series against the Celtics. NOTHING EASYYYYY!
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11/12/08
by: Scott
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That was ugly. The Raptors got way behind early, Jose Calderon hurt himself at the end of the first quarter, and Toronto never fully recovered.
Up until tonight, it seemed like the Raptors won every game they should have won and lost every game they should have lost (since it turns out that the Hawks are actually really good). The Raptors should have won this game but they came out of the gate ice cold and the Sixers won this game with their superior athleticism. In particular, Elton Brand shook off his early season rust to put up 25 points, eight rebounds and three blocks for the Sixers. ELTON BRAND IS WHO WE THOUGHT HE WAS!
For the most part, the Raptors looked completely disorganized on offense — and with Bryan Colangelo watching, you have to wonder how patient he'll be in waiting for this team to start showing they can be one one of the top teams in the East.
Here's something fun I noticed tonight. Every time Jason Kapono gets burned by someone (which is a frequent occurrence), one of the Raptors announcers will say: "That's a tough guard for Kapono." Can we just agree at this point that everyone's a tough guard for Kapono? He can't cover anyone. Just ask Paul Pierce.
There were some good signs. Chris Bosh got his groove back with 30 points and 12 rebounds. Jermaine O'Neal was a beast on the offensive boards with nine rebounds at that end. Andrea Bargnani had a couple of highlight-reel dunks and finished with solid numbers of 15 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes.
This is all empty praise because the Raptors lost a winnable game, their starting point guard is hurt — and after losing three of the last four games, any pre-season optimism about this team finally getting to the next level is starting to evaporate.
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11/12/08
by: Scott
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The most disappointing team so far this season could be the Philadelphia 76ers. They bring a 2-5 record into the Air Canada Centre tonight and Andre Iguodala, Elton Brand and Sammy Dalembert are all performing below expectations. This is a good opportunity for the Raptors to kick a team when they're down and add another notch to the win column. Hopefully, the Raptors won't get murdered on the glass this time.
The Links
In his Raptors-Sixers preview, Dino Nation points out that the teams have split their 50 previous meetings.
Doug Smith reports that the Garnett/Calderon taunting incident "has been pointed out to poobahs at the NBA home office. Not that there’s anything they can, or will do about it."
We're all familiar with Dave Feschuk's tendency towards negativity, but I doubt any of us will disagree with how he took Sam Mitchell out to the proverbial woodshed with his latest column. The media vulture — they be circlin'.
Chris Bosh and Baron Davis have posted the first round of videos in their Ultimate Comedy Skit Challenge. I know I'm biased, but I think that CB4's is definitely funnier. Pay attention for the cameo appearance by Cabbie.
Liberty Ballers asks: "Is Elton a Bust?" Brand is averaging 14.4 points and 10.9 rebounds so far. Hey, I'd take those numbers from Jermaine O'Neal with a smile.
T.J. Ford continues to impress in Indiana. Here we go! 
There are two undefeated teams remaining in the NBA: the Los Angeles Lakers and... the Atlanta Hawks? Yes, indeed, kiddies. The Hawks got to 6-0 last night — in spite of the fact that Josh Smith is out at least two weeks with an ankle injury — thanks to a monster game by Al Horford against the Bulls: 27 points, 17 rebounds, six blocks and 3 assists. Atlanta's shocking start inspired me to seek out a good Hawks blog to add to my blogroll, so here's Peachtree Hoops.
The New Jersey Nets are offering free tickets to unemployed people. This means a whole new batch of people will ask, "Did somebody just shoot Number 15 in the leg? Then why is he rolling around and crying like that?"
3 Shades of Blue points out that while OJ Mayo has been an offensive force recently (28 PPG over his last four games), he's also getting lit up on defence.
Ever wondered what what kind of snack and refreshment Eddy Curry prefers at the movies? Well, now you know: nachos and a slushie.
Ryan from Hoops Addict emailed me about my earlier post about MLSE employees visiting this blog: "It doesn't mean the team is reading your blog, it just means people with wireless access at the arena are checking out the site before the game or during halftime." Thanks a lot, buzzkill!
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11/11/08
by: Scott
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Have we recovered from last night yet? No? Then you probably won't want to read Sam Mitchell gushing about how great Kevin Garnett is.
To my utter amazement, a few commenters on CelticsBlog agree that KG should have received a technical for taunting Calderon.
Speaking of Smitch, prepare for a shock because Doug Smith defends his decision to have Kapono cover Pierce down the stretch.
Kendrick Perkins talks about his ongoing beef with Jermaine O'Neal. I don't know if you caught this during halftime, but when Sherman Hamilton asked about his confrontation with Perk, J.O. said, "He knows he can't guard me. He's never been able to guard me." I'm not sure if that kind of bravado is good or bad, but it's definitely something new on this team.
Regarding Toronto's intensity deficit, I made a not-particularly-original suggestion on the Court Surfing blog.
Chris Bosh doesn't really "slam" Sam Mitchell as Dave Feschuk suggests, but he certainly calls some of his strategies into question — and this isn't the first time.
Can't say I disagree with Arsenalist's assessment of our beleaguered coach on Raptors Republic: "Sam Mitchell's playbook is thinner than a menu at a hot dog stand."
Antonio McDyess is officially a free agent.
Food Court Lunch has Jose Calderon facing his biggest fear: dancing?
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11/10/08
by: Scott
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The Toronto Raptors have one of the most dedicated fanbases in the NBA. You only have to see the number of blogs and message boards dedicated to and dominated by Raptors fans to realize that. If you check out one of those blogs or forums after the Raptors' 94-87 loss to the Celtics, you're sure to see a variety of messages similar to these actual posts:
"I literally blame the refs and no one else."
"I hate sam...period"
"Seriously! How hard is it to get the ball to Bosh?"
These are fans who have a hard time understanding how the Raptors could be up 57-42 midway through the third quarter and yet still find a way to lose 94-87 to the defending NBA champs. One would assume that these same fans witnessed their beloved Raptors come back from 10 points down in the third quarter against Charlotte to win by 10 points the day before. Allow me to provide some perspective: The score in the middle of the third quarter doesn't mean shit.
The Boston Celtics are the defending champs and a superior team and they should beat the Raptors on their own court. If the Celtics had a 22-point lead in the third quarter and the Raptors shaved that lead down to the final score we saw tonight, Toronto fans wouldn't be as outraged as they are now.
We want to point fingers at the refs and Sam Mitchell and various other scapegoats, but the fact of the matter is that these Celtics are battle-tested and they perform best when the game is on the line. I was as frustrated as any of you that Chris Bosh was limited to eight shots and nine points in 40 minutes. But I also saw that the reason why that happened was that Kevin Garnett made it his personal mission to deny Bosh the ball all night. The Raptors had no choice but to look to other options because KG was not going to let CB4 beat the Celtics tonight.
When I watch a game like this where there is no expectation for my team to win, my only wish is to be entertained and this game did not disappoint on that front. You couldn't have realistically expected the Raptors to win this and if you thought the 15-point lead in the third quarter meant anything — you're letting your fan pride cloud your better judgment.
Jermaine O'Neal showed some real fire and he clearly wasn't intimidated by the "Celtics Mystique" at any point. The Raptors played with more guts and hustle than they've shown in any of their previous six games and there is no shame in losing to the defending champs on their court by seven points. At the same time, how the Raptors use this loss as motivation for their re-match in Toronto on the 23rd will speak volumes about this team.
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11/10/08
by: Scott
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My colleague, Andrew, just tipped me off to something I didn't know about in Google Analytics, my website stats software — you can see what networks people use to access your site. Ordinarily, I wouldn't find this information all that interesting. Who cares how many people use Rogers vs. Bell to read my stuff? (It's two-to-one in favor of Rogers, by the way.)
Well, something caught my eye as I scrolled down the list and I thought some of you might be as amused by this as I was...
I'm not really sure what to say now that I know Big Brother is keeping an eye on me. So I guess I'll let my ol' buddy, Sloth, give a warm RaptorBlog welcome to our esteemed Raptors overlords.
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11/10/08
by: Scott
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Sunday's win over Charlotte was big. Facing a likely loss against Boston Monday night, losing to the Bobcats yesterday could have started a downward spiral with five tough games upcoming on the Raptors' schedule (Boston, Philly, Miami, Orlando, Miami). Luckily, Chris Bosh decided to take over the game when the Raptors were down 10 midway through the third quarter. He scored 19 of his 30 points from that point on — outscoring the entire Bobcats team by one — with 13 of those points coming from dunks, layups or free throws. It's a good thing he figured out that the Bobcats' D couldn't stop him from getting to the rim whenever he wanted.
With all the hand-wringing of Jermaine O'Neal's slow start, Bargnani's development and the Raptors' putrid bench, it seems like Bosh's play so far this season has been overlooked by Raptors fans. I think it's safe to say we take him for granted, because nobody really seems to be discussing the strong case you can make for finally putting Bosh in the list of Top 10 players in the NBA.
Who's on the list? Glad you asked. The way I see it, these eight players make the list without question: LeBron James, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Amare Stoudemire. So who are the other two guys? And can you honestly make the case that Chris Bosh shouldn't be one of them?
Bosh is third in the league with a 26.7 PPG scoring average (at a .537 FG%) and seventh in rebounding with 11 boards per game. He's putting up these numbers consistently and in clutch situations. If he hadn't raised his game this season the way he has, the close wins against Milwaukee and Golden State could have gone the other way. It's not ridiculous to suggest that, without Bosh, this team could be 1-5 right now. It's only six games in, but Bosh takes a backseat only to LeBron right now if you want to talk MVP. Not too shabby.
The Links
In his blog, Michael Grange asks: "Why does Boston add a respected interior defender and become one of the best defensive teams ever, and the Raptors add one — and we're not saying Jermaine O'Neal is Kevin Garnett, but he's supposed to be an elite defender — and the needle doesn't really move?" The Raptors are 17th in defensive efficiency so far this season with 105 points allowed per 100 possessions — they finished 12th in that category last season with 107 points allowed per 100 possessions. You read that correctly — they're lower in defensive rankings even though they're allowing fewer points this season. I would attribute that to early-season offensive rust, but let's check back on this later in the season.
Here's a fun anecdote about life on the road from Doug Smith's blog: "Jack Armstrong, M. Grange and I found ourselves with a Sunday evening to kill and, whaddya know, there's this Irish pub between the arena and our hotel. We're sitting there and all of a sudden a group of about 10 musicians, with fiddles and guitars and flutes and I think there was a set of bagpipes in there, shows up and starts playing, without any amplification, and give us about three hours of excellent Irish music." Apparently Doug is unaware that's just Jack Armstrong's entourage.
Kirk Hinrich is out for three months with a torn ligament in his thumb. I guess Derrick Rose won't have any shortage of playing time this season.
Knickerblogger points out that the Knicks' 4-2 record puts them at two games over .500 for the first time since January 2005. Mike D'Antoni is a coaching genius.
The Pistons have lost their first two games in The Iverson Era, and Blazer's Edge has a pretty good analogy for the trade: "I think it smacks of desperation on Detroit's part...a classic attempt to jam a crowbar in the window when you feel it closing."
Interesting Dwyane Wade trivia: "Saturday's game against the Hornets marked the sixth time over the past two seasons he has finished with at least 30 points and 10 assists in a loss. According to Elias Sports Bureau, all other NBA players have combined for only nine such losing 30/10s over the same span."
The Basketball Jones got Wikied! I'm a little disappointed that the listing excludes Skeets' passion for Renaissance Faires. I understand he looks quite dashing in a jerkin.
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