The Goods On The Game, Vol. 10

Hello, again.
Black uniforms tonight? Those are becoming the norm, rather than the exception. There is a limit on the number of times they can wear them, I've been told it's 12, so we'll likely see lots of red late in the season.
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The key to the game: If O'Neal can guard Howard one-on-one, the Raptors have a better than average chance to win.
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Bad JJ Redick stat: With that miss early in the first, he's now missed all night shots he's taken and three of them have been airballs.
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I take all that Redick stuff back, he just made one in the corner.
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Will Solomon cannot venture into the paint very often. He's going to get caught either in Howard's grasp or up in the air and looking for someone to throw a desperation pass to. Keeping it simple would be a good idea.
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Couple of quick Solomon turnovers sort of makes my point, no?
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Have you noticed Bosh in the last two games has pump faked and driven to the rim much more often? He should be able to exploit that advantage every night.
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Do you think Redick's trying to shoot himself into the rotation? He keeps going like this, he'll shoot himself into Stan Van Gundy's doghouse.
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Two quick fouls on Bargnani, both trying to get physical with Howard. Bad decisions.
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Interesting that they go to Kapono first off the bench, no? Might have expected to see Moon.
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Raptors 11, Magic 8 with 6 1-2 left.
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Five Raptor turnovers in the first six minutes tonight, 20 turnovers against the Heat on Sunday? Unacceptable.
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You think O'Neal isn't pumped for this one? Eight points already.
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Strikes me that JJ Redick is a poor man's -- a very, very poor man's -- wannabe Jason Kapono.
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You know, there aren't too many guys in the NBA who shoot the fadeaway in the lane better than Anthony Parker.
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Bad thing about not being in Orlando? Not having a chance to chat with Brendan Malone before the game. He's one of the all-time good guys and always has a story to share. And a year ago in the playoffs, he introduced me to Stan and Jeff Van Gundy's dad and that was pretty cool.
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Here comes Hump and the fun should begin. Say what you will about him, the pace always seems to go up whenever he gets on the court.
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This has not been Will Solomon's best quarter.
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Toronto 26, Orlando 21 after one.
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I don't know how Sam thinks all the time but I guarantee you he's thinking, 'okay, let JJ Redick shoot, don't let Turkoglu and Lewis get off.'
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Good thing about not being in Orlando. It's got the worst pre-game meal in the NBA. Seriously, ask anyone. We pay for dinner in about 90 per cent of the arenas, the meal's free in Orlando and not worth the price.
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I don't have the stats but I guarantee you Bosh is scoring a greater percentage of his baskets in the paint in this 10-game stretch than maybe in any other in years.
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Marcin Gortat story (he's the odd-looking big who just got in the game): Kid's a helluva good athlete and won a bet with Hedo Turkoglu earlier this season by dunking after taking off from the foul line.
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Kris Humphries, isolate on Marcin Gortat, is like a kid at Christmas. He can't wait to go.
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Ukic just turned the corner on Bosh screen and got to the rim. That's going to earn him kudos on the bench.
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Okay, I take back that good stuff about Ukic after a bad entry pass and a ridiculous drive.
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Raps 39, Magic 29 halfway through the second.
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Howard gets his first bucket with 5:23 left in the second? The Raptors can live with that. And they haven't had to blow a lot of fouls on Howard, either.
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It's certainly been a bonus for Toronto that Hedo Turkoglu hasn't made a basket yet.
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That second foul on O'Neal was costly. And it's because Solomon set him up to take it. The PG dribbled the big into a moving screen.
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Sam's going to finish the half with Bargnani and his two fouls rather than O'Neal and his two fouls. That makes entire sense. Which one to do you want available in the fourth to guard Howard?
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Man, these guys have committed 11 turnovers already? It's amazing they're ahead. Barely.
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Oh, so now they're not ahead on the 12th turnover.
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Toronto should be almost home and cooled out, not hanging on for dear life. This game could have been won in the second quarter if not for the silly turnovers.
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Toronto 45, Orlando 45 at the half.
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Raptors have 14 turnovers and five assists in the first half. That bites. Huge.
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Somewhat infuriating watching the odd pause in the TV transmission from Orlando, no?
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Hmm, two misses by Bargnani from the perimeter and a missed O'Neal jumper? Heckuva start to the half."
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To the guy who asked earlier today whether Will Solomon is eligible for the rookie-sophomore game? Um, why?
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Could this be the night the three-point streak ends? Toronto's 0-for-8 at the moment. It's at 787 games at the moment.
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This one's getting out of hand. And it all started in that second quarter.
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Orlando 60, Toronto 50 midway in the third.
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Quick third-quarter hook, entirely justified, for Solomon. But a raw rookie trying to engineer a comeback? Dicey at best.
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Jermaine O'Neal's a relatively smart basketball player. Committing a three-shot foul on Rashard Lewis for his fourth personal is not smart. At any level.
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Oh my. Joey. Time to try something, I guess. But it leaves Bosh on Howard and that can't be good for Bosh's health.
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That shot Bosh just made, with about 3:05 left in the third, would have won Game 2 of the playoffs last year. Remember?
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Okay, so this is certainly not Kapono's night. Four points, three turnovers so far.
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That the Raptors are still even close to being in this game is somewhat mind-boggling given how bad they've played.
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If I'm Sam, I'm leaving Ukic in.
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Magic 73, Raptors 67 after three.
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I'm told by folks at the game that the Raptors had a police escort to the arena becuase they went through some "dodgy neighbourhoods." Are you like me and envisioning a collection of drug-addled Donalds and meth-crazed Goofys lining the streets?
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Okay, how good is Chris Bosh? Dude's got 33 and 12 already.
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Oh, the free throws Roko shot at the end of the third? His first two of the season. I know he hasn't played much but, really, you've got to get to the rim more than that.
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Finishing with the five starters makes entire sense, you've got to ride them because the bench has provided nothing tonight.
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But I figure it doesn't really matter, the Raptors simply aren't playing well enough to win a game they should have had a great chance to win.
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Sam's timeout with 6:09 left is, as much as everything, a chance to get his guys a breather.
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Magic 85, Raptors 77 with half a quarter remaining.
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You know, of course, that the Chicken down here is known as Stuff The Magic Dragon, right? Well, now you do.
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You know what, this one is over. All that's left now is to see if they make a three-pointer.
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Just in case you were wondering, the team record for turnovers in a game is 32, set at Seattle in January, 1997. Ah, Seattle. Man, I miss that city.
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Imagine taking O'Neal out with about four minutes left ends his night, they need some outside shooting.
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Remember how I've mentioned they should have a member of the training staff living with Jose? Doesn't tonight prove that need?
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Starring in the role of Darrick Martin: Jason Kapono. That three with just under four minutes left ends an 0-for-11 team drought and the streak's at 788.
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There's the dagger. Turkoglu a semi-contested three with about 1:45 left. It's done, folks.
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Orlando 103, Toronto 90 and it's over.
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Comments

[Kevin]

I'll take Barg's 2 fouls of aggression... in the past they would have come because he was lazy.. at least now hes trying to bang inside.

Now he just needs to learn when to bang and when not to...

[JeffH]

Maybe it's just me, but I find it funny how everyone in the press seems fixated on how Howard "owned" Bosh & the Raps in their playoff meeting last season.

Yes he had a really great series, but if I recall their histories before that, Bosh had outperformed Howard in a number of regular season head-to-head match-ups. (Howard's inability to make free throws or make crisp passes when faced with a double-team contrasted with Bosh's excellence in those areas.)

Yes, the playoffs are far more important, so it should outweigh the other meetings a bit, but it seems odd to act like it's just "understood" that he's a major match-up problem. But I guess that presumption better sets up the "How does O'Neal change things?" question, right?

(And yes, I know Howard is an athletic freak-of-nature. I'm not trying to dispute that!)

[Shockwave]

Is anyone else concerned with the number of shots that Will Solomon is taking? Granted he is a completely different type of point guard than Jose, but at the time of this posting he is leading the Raptors in shots taken, and has committed most of Toronto's turnovers. As a team, they have 11 turnovers before the end of the 2nd quarter. Something needs to happen fast.

[Scott S.]

Raps need a back-up PG badly. Soloman isn't going to cut it turning over the ball like he's been doing tonight.

[papa]

- huge difference with o'neal on the bench. (not in a good way)
- will and roko are playing like back ups!!! oh wait, they are.
- andrea let howard spin off him for a dunk and the earth started to spin again.
- I swear, parker does the jordan fade away better than anybody in the league not named kobe. and he has massive hands. even through the TV. which is scary.

[Derik]

Get Solomon on the bench already!!!!

[Mark F]

Watching Solomon play point makes my head hurt... Lets trade him for Mike James! Just joking, sort of.

[Mike - California]

Kapono 19 minutes 1 FG 2 points 2 rebounds a steal 2 turnovers and 0 defense

i dont know what you people have against Moon sure hes not a starter and last year expectations for him got a bit high but he plays a decnt ballgame for a guy who came into the league at 27

[Ryan]

These Orlando play-by-play guys are infuriating

[Ryan M]

Will someone please, PLEASE teach the Raps how to defend Jameer Nelson off a pick and roll?

[Stephen]

Doug, how you gonna swing this positive? Cmon admit it, it's time for BC to pull the trigger on one (or both) of the following:

1. Replace Sam Mitchell
2. Trade for a starting SF

[Ian]

What is Mitchell doing putting the scrubs on with 1:07 left down 7?? Get a stop, hit a 3, and it's 4 points with 45 seconds left. That is completely inexcusable, Bosh has been an absolute beast and he gives up when a win is still possible. Absolutely ridiculous.

[Scott S.]

God help this team if Jose is out for any real period of time. CB4 plays his heart out for a cr^p effort like that from the rest of the team, save O'Neil who played well. For a team who use to lead the league in not turing over the ball they have really gone to heck in a hand bag. Roko I can live with because he's learning, but Soloman is inexcusable turning it over 7 times on your own. Raps let another get away.

[Kevin]

I don't have the Score so I followed the game with Smith and Jones, ESPN's gamecast and Doug's comments (while watching the hockey game on TSN). Sam needs to get these guys to play all 48 minutes (or get someone to clone Bosh).

[Shockwave]

We are officially in trouble. Does anyone possibly have an update on Jose's condition and when his return will be. Turnovers lost us that game, and our two "point guards" have 9 turnovers to only 4 assists and went 7 for 21 from the field combined, simply atrocious. Will Solomon with 13 shots attempted and made only 5, can someone please teach him what a point guard is suppose to do.

Blogger's note: Jose's day-to-day, he'll try it again tomorrow afternoon in Miami and see if the hamstring is healthy enough to go.

[Andrew Gregg]

I refuse to dwell on the negative. I like to be a positive guy. For example, I'm now positive I know why Parker stayed in Europe for so long. But I want to talk about Matt Devlin. I feel like we've got a grown-up doing the announcing now. Two things stand out--first, Leo no longer feels the need to correct his sidekick, because Devlin is concentrating on the game and not his latest desperate catch-phrase (except a "Tim Horton's" is pretty good). Second, Devlin actually called out all Raptors players not named Bosh and O'Neal for playing like crap. Refreshing after years of Chuckleheaded cheerleading. Now if only they could do something about Galen Weston...

AG Toronto

[Andrew Gregg]

One more thing--if it's a choice between keeping Mitchell on as coach or having to listen to Avery Johnson elocute at post game pressers, I choose Mitchell.

AG (again), Toronto

[Tom]

The PG position was the issue this game, not the starting SF. Solomon was way playing much faster than he is capable of, hence the 7 turnovers, all avoidable. This should come as no surprise, we all knew if Jose went down there would be trouble. Was it 16 first half turnovers? Thats 8-10 too many.

And the Raptors perimeter defense was horrid, as usual. Too many easy open 3's by players that are MORE than capable of drilling them. Reminded me of last years playoffs.

[David]

How about a video blog from your couch when you are missing those road games. Talk about some great reality TV!

[Poppa Vlazo]

Ok, I'm going to try and stay off the roller-coaster of emotions and not overreact after every game. It is tough, very tough, to see the Raps lose by 13 when Bosh goes for 40 and 18. Of course, that will happen when your "starting" point guard turns the ball over 7 times and your starting 2 and 3 combine for 9 points. The only thing consistent about this team, other than Bosh of course, is their inconsistency, and there is very little that Sam can do about it.

[papa]

this had nothing to do with the SF's and everything to do with 24 turnovers. though, having a 3 (or 2) that aren't completely reliant upon having their PG set them up for scores every time down the floor, would be nice.

[idossul]

It was extremely frustrating watching the game, especially with the video feed the way it was. What was even more frustrating however was watching all those turnovers. I admit I'm as bipolar a raptors fan as can be, but I figure with the peformance from the point my frustrations are not unwarranted; Please Jose, come back soon!

The raps are 5-5, the streak of 1 game won snapped (again) and more cries for some drastic measures to be taken. With tonights performance I really can't blame the fans for their mercurial natures; more production from the wing is needed!

Oh well, heres to hoping that tomorrow nights game is better. Hoping.

[Geoff]

This team is getting worse as time goes on. If Toronto doesn't get Bosh some players to help him I don't see him sticking around. They will be lucky if they make the playoffs this year, as opposed to wondering if they can win a round.

[Jordan]

Only 3 months left until spring training...

[RD]

AG, I agree about Matt. The broadcasts have come a long way from the horrible nicknames and post game sandwiches.

I dunno if it's in my head, but I feel like sometimes CB is going to the hoop with the sole purpose of drawing the foul and not finishing his shot. He feels a little bit of contact and it's like his move falls apart and he puts up a weak shot. Not too often, but I've noticed. And it's usually earlier in the game rather than later.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.