The Goods On The Game, Vol. 19, the Blazers visit

Plenty of seats available in anyone wants to come down to see the finish. If this isn't the smallest crowd of the year, it's pretty close.
-
Chris Bosh made sure he went down before the game began to say hello to Portland coach Nate McMillan, who was on the staff of the American 2008 Beijing Olympic team.
-
Yes, the stats say Greg Oden is 20 years old. No, I don't believe it, either.
-
There's something you don't see every day. A banked lob pass. Jose just rifled a lob intended for Bosh off the backboard, where it was eventually caught by O'Neal for a dunk.
-
Oden has blocked one shot and just altered -- and may have got a piece of -- a Parker fast-break layup.
-
Jose just finished at the rim. Haven't written those words often this year.
-
It's way, way early but AP's doing an excellent job defending Brandon Roy.
-
Bosh hits a three, just his fourth in 10 attempts so far this season.
-
With his team shooting 1-for-7 from the field, and 0-3 from three-point range, McMillan needs a time out. Looking at how tired some the Raptors look, they could use the break, too.
-
Raptors 11, Blazers 3 with 6:36 left in the first.
-
Okay, they've got those rich-people seats between the bench and the scorer's table, right? Well, I'm not sure they want the people sitting in them to wander 20 feet down the court to take a picture of the missus sitting there. In fact, judging by the reaction of the security staff, I'm sure they don't.
-
Yes, the Nicolas Batum who starts for Portland is the same Nicolas Batum the Raptors wouldn't let work out before the draft after he had some medical issues.
-
Kapono for O'Neal's the first sub, same early-game rotation as the other night in Utah.
-
Two fouls on Bargnani, who now has to guard Oden with O'Neal out.
-
Calderon turns the corner again and hits a reverse layup over Oden. Again, not something we've seen a lot of.
-
Joey Graham, all 6-7 of him, is now guarding 7-1 Joel Przybilla. This should be interesting.
-
I'm putting the over-and-under number on e-mails I get on Bargani-Roy at 25.
-
Graham has now beaten Przybilla down the floor in transition twice. Once he gets fouled, once he dunks.
-
An open Kapono three? He took it? He made it? Are we in some strange new universe?
-
Like I'd know for sure, but The First Lady Of The Beat, who doubles as a football scribbler in the summer, reports that Danny Dichio is here somewhere.
-
Today it's Will Solomon as the backup PG. And as soon as he gets in, the Blazers press. Scouting reports travel fast.
-
I'm shaking my head here because I think I just saw Jason Kapono hit a running sky hook in the lane.
-
That was a helluva quarter. They look good.
-
Toronto 31, Portland 20 after one.
-
Joey put up eight points in five minutes in the first quarter. I think I might have said the other night he'd thrive if he gets the chance.
-
The O'Neal post-up on the first possession was called in the huddle at the end of the quarter. I know this because today I've got a front row seat and we find out these things up here.
-
Rudy Fernandez is the real deal. You can just see it in the way he knows how to play.
-
O'Neal is killing Przybilla.
-
They've got to get AP back in there to guard Roy.
-
Imagine that, there's AP back in the game.
-
Toronto's forced nine Blazer turnovers in 17 minutes.
-
Yes, they want Moon to drive the ball. No, they don't want Moon to drive the ball and try some behind-the-back pass on the baseline.
-
Toronto 42, Portland 30 with 6 1-2 'til halftime.
-
Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez and Jose Calderon on the court. It's like a Spanish team workout.
-
The Raptors just missed a chance to post up Bargnani on Roy. Still scored on the possession but the should have seen it earlier.
-
Jamario Moon's scored two baskets. Both at the rim. Somewhere, I swear Sam Mitchell is shaking his head.
-
The strap on O'Neal's brace seems to be coming undone again, it's frustrating but I guarantee he doesn't take it off.
-
Bosh has a wee cut on his head, trainer Scott McCullough, acting like a cut man in a boxer's corner, can't get it stopped in 30 seconds, Bosh has to come out of the game.
-
Steve Blake benefits greatly from Brandon Roy's dribble penetration, all five of his shot shots have been open ones.
-
What'd I tell ya about Rudy Fernandez, he's got 14 points in 11 minutes.
-
Say this about Bargnani: Twice he's been iso'd on Oden and twice he's driven on him.
-
Brandon Roy on Kapono is a bad matchup. If you're a Raptor, that is. As a Blazer, it's quite a good one.
-
Entertaining half.
-
Raptors 50, Blazers 48 at the half.
-
There goes the modelling career for now. Two stitches in the middle of Bosh's forehead.
-
The thing the Raptors have to get used to doing? Running on opponents baskets. Still too much of a tendency to walk the ball up the floor.
-
A Blake three -- his fourth -- puts Portland up and there goes a 16-point Toronto lead.
-
Blazers have made seven threes, Raptors have made three.
-
Yes, those are boos. Well-deserved as Blazers finish a 10-2 run in the first three minutes of the third.
-
Brandon Roy's in the game now, just spun baseline off Parker and took a great lob from Blake for a dunk.
-
Jay is working the refs pretty hard. To no avail.
-
The Nicolas Batum-Andrea Bargnani matchup is hardly rivetting. Batum's scoreless, Bargnani's got two points.
-
Blazers 68, Raptors 59 with 6 1-2 'til the third's over
-
Bosh is like Chuck Wepner today.
(I bet a lot of you have to look that one up).
-
There is much consternation among the Raptors over whether Greg Oden travels every time he gets the ball in the post. They believe he does. The officiating crew -- a very good one of Bill Spooner, Scott Wall and Zach Zarba -- believes he doesn't. Their opinion counts more.
-
Wow. The Raptors just got to a loose ball. Really. I saw it.
-
Bosh was just so wide open on the post he was surprised when he got the ball and it took him a second to score.
-
Kapono's coming in, a bit later this quarter than he came in during the first.
-
Holy smokes. Joey just dunked on Przybilla that was nasty. Evil nasty.
-
Blazers 78, Raptors 75 after three.
-
Just lost the internet for a bit here. Sorry
-
O'Neal's been a beast, he's got 22 and that's one off his career high.
-
Bosh is watching, and I think it might have to do with a rushed shot one possession and bad box out of Joel Przybilla on the next one. But he's getting ready to get back in.
-
Okay, a Kapono three puts Toronto ahead and I think we're in for a doozy.
-
Blazers 90, Raptors 89 with five minutes go to.
-
Jose's been at the rim more times today than he has in the last two weeks.
-
The charge O'Neal just took on Outlaw with Toronto up one might be the most important defensive play of the game.
-
Everybody on the Raptor bench is standing. I can't say I've seen that at all this year.
-
Bosh just had Steve Blake on him, about a foot height advantage and shot a turnaround jumper on the block. Bad, bad shot.
-
I'm not sure but Roxanne by The Police is not the kind of pump-up-the-crowd music they should be playing with 2 1-2 minutes left in a three-point game. But I guess it easy to dance to. Or something.
-
Remember when they were booing here? Now they're standing and cheering. Ya gotta love fans.
-
Jose just missed a three that would have been the dagger.
-
The bigger, quicker Blazers just got two offensive rebounds after two good Toronto defensive stands. That's gotta be heartbreaking.
-
Joey's in for Kapono with Portland having the ball, I see offence-defence coming. For once.
-
Brandon Roy just makes it look easy. Can you believe FIVE TEAMS DIDN'T DRAFT HIM!!!!!
-
By their own good luck, Raps get a final shot no matter what, they're up two with 27.4 left.
-
Did Blake push off on Jose for that three-pointer? Probably. But that's a tough call to make.
-
Ouch. That one has to hurt.
-
Portland 98, Toronto 97

 

Comments

[Jonathan]

@bballer:

Yeah, you gotta love games like this where you can see what you have and what you could have had playing in the same game. I was hoping that Bargnani would put up a decent outing to show he wasn't an all bad choice, but this wasn't one of his best games for sure.

That said, I hope people remember that hindsight is 20/20. There was no sure bet for the #1 pick, and at times, Tyrus Thomas was the favorite to go #1. Gay was arguably the most talented, but his motivation was questioned so much that most people projected him to not be picked in the first 4 or 5; Aldridge was a Bosh clone, soft, and not exactly a great rebounder either for his height; Roy was the safest bet, the most ready to play right away, but he was also a "what you see is what you'll get" kind of player who had already reached his ceiling. Aside from being called soft and not being a good rebounder, Bargnani's next biggest criticisms were that he was relatively unknown and that he was European a la all the recent European busts. Colangelo felt Bargnani had the most upside, with the potential to give the Raptors an advantage over other teams, whereas players like Gay, Roy, and Aldridge, while all good prospects, weren't as likely to be a game changer.

As each game goes by, the chance that Bargnani will be the game changer Colangelo hoped for grows dim, and while the choice may turn out to have not been the best one down the road, can you really fault the man for aiming high? Get rid of hindsight -- what would you say the day of the draft if he had picked Brandon Roy and kept Charlie? He went after the safest pick and the team will go nowhere if it constantly settles for mediocrity? That Tyrus Thomas would have been a defensive stalwart for years to come? There would be complaints that Charlie wasn't the answer at the 3, and we have no center. Calderon may not have developed the way he did had Roy shown he could take up serious starter minutes and stayed healthy unlike Ford. There are so many ifs that nobody can say how the team would be now, but one thing is for certain, Colangelo aimed high for better or for worse, and I'm okay with that. Now if only he hadn't signed Kapono...

[sean]

Doug: I am intrigue by the plays of Rudy F. from Spain. In general, I believe Portland is a great team (even now), with a young nucleus that allows flexibility to their management to perhaps bring in a veteran or two to help them push for a playoff position in the west and perhaps more...your thoughts?

As for Toronto, the season is young and there are alot of bright spots: Emergence of Joey (recently) and Bargnani (his D), your thoughts? Thx.

Blogger's note: Think my thoughts have been pretty well expressed, Portland's good and young, Fernandez has a chance to be great, Joey should play more and Bargnani's defence is shockingly improved.