The Goods On The Game, Vol. 31, a Warrior night

Hey everybody? All in your places with bright, shiny faces? Thought so.

Wish there was some news or something to report from here but except for a delayed arrival of one of the team's buses thanks to Bay Bridge traffic (think 401 gridlock only suspended in the sky over the water and you'll have it nailed) there's nothing going on.

Warriors will have Jamal Crawford and Stephen Jackson in the lineup but no Corey Maggette. And the usual suspects for Your Raptors.

So, that's about it for now. I'll be back. (It's Arnold's state, I gotta throw that in, I guess.)
-
And away we go
-
I'm told by a person who'd know this kind of thing that the Raptors are a point and a half favourites tonight., That strikes me as odd. Luckily, gambling's illegal and I'm sure no one has wagered a bob or two on either of these teams. Right
-
Touching moment at midcourt as the teams warmed up. Andrea Bargnani and Marco Belinelli having a word and a nice hug.
-
Maybe in honour of his countryman, Marco Belinelli committed a foul 10 seconds into the game.
-
Bosh is being guarded by the rookie Brandan Wright, they've really got to attack him. And avoid the Biedrins-O'Neal matchup because Biedrins is a bit too quick for O'Neal to go at him.
-
Here's the thing about the Warriors. They are going to make you look very bad at times; but they are also going to make you look very good. The frenetic pace they like to play at lends itself to easy baskets at both ends.
-
Very odd crowd. It's big but very quiet. Polite applause more than anything.
-
Welcome to the NBA. Brandan Wright just had his shot blocked by Bosh and O'Neal on the same possession.
-
Warriors 13, Raptors 9 with 6:11 left.
-
The Raptors just scored a textbook basket. Bosh rebounded a Warrior miss, outlet to Jose at about the hash mark, dribbles to the other elbow, Kapono trails, one pass, one three-pointer.
-
O'Neal's just left the game to head to the locker room. Seemed to be favouring his back. Didn't look like he did anything to get hurt. We'll wait for Media Guru J. LaBumbard to fill us in.
-
Joey's in a bit earlier than usual and he's got Stephen Jackson, who immediately posts up and misses about a seven footer.
-
Told you we'd tell you: Seems JO has "flu-like symptoms" and his return is questionable. Bad chowder in a bread bowl?
-
No O'Neal means only one thing: More Jake. Here's Voskuhl to replace Bosh in the first quarter. Jake seems to have usurped Hump as the fourth big.
-
Jose's quietly having an excellent offensive night. Nine points on only five shots. The Warriors are giving him open looks, like the give everybody, actually.
-
Very good foul there by Joey on a Jackson break. Wrapped him up early and emphatically, not allowing Jackson to dunk or even get off a layup. Sure, Jackson made both free throws but it didn't get the crowd in the game or get him pumped up.
-
Raptors 29, Warriors 28 after one.
-
Perhaps in homage to his teammate, Will Solomon checks in to star the quarter and commits a foul 10 seconds into his stint.
-
I'm not entirely sure about the Jake Voskuhl headband thing.
-
And I'm sure not entirely sure about the Jake-throwing-a-lob-to-Parker play I just saw.
-
Yes, that really was an Andrea Bargnani offensive rebound and putback jam. Saw it with my own eyes.
-
Jake: Four fouls in five minutes.
-
Oh oh. Bosh makes a three-pointer. Does that mean he'll shoot more of them?
-
Bosh dribbling the ball up the court is never going to end well. And seeing him stripped when he tried to go behind his back proves that point.
-
Some dude just proposed to his intended, whose name is Samie apparently, and the lovely lady said yes. Just thought you should know.
-
This is a unique Toronto lineup: Jose, Kapono, Parker, Moon and Bosh. Lets them switch everything on defence 'cause the Warriors are equally small.
-
O'Neal's back and about to check back in the game.
-
Toronto 43, Warriors 41 with 6:12 'til halftime.
-
JO's back for about 30 seconds, takes a tumble at midcourt trying to corral a loose ball and banged himself up. He's out of the game again.
-
Jason and Joey have already scored. Won't be another night of shutouts like it was up in Portland on Saturday.
-
Media row here is up at the top of the lower bow and it's a pretty good vantage point. Plus, there's a concession stand right behind us and Zic and I are sampling some good popcorn at the moment. If they've got nachos at halftime, this might be a very good seat.
-
Yes Bargnani is playing well tonight.
-
Rony Turiaf just flat-out blocked a Bosh jumper that led to a Warrior three in transition, Turiaf had a steal on Jose that led to a Warrior three in transition. Momentum? Gone all to Golden State right now.
-
Belinelli drills a three and takes a charge on Bargnani at the other end.
-
You'd think this one's almost getting out of hand but I think the Warriors are always going to let teams get back in games.
-
Warriors 60, Raptors 52 at halftime.
-
Jermaine's done for the night 'cause of the flu. Survived the fall okay but the bug got him.
-
A start for Bargnani, wonder how he'll react.
-
Bosh has two quick fouls, three for the game and if he's got to sit down, these guys have no chance whatsoever. And I'm not sure they've got a chance anyway.
-
Raptors are trying a little zone defence. Given that their man-to-man play has been rather suspect, it's probably worth a shot.
-
The Warriors are playing small and they've got Stephen Jackson guarding Bosh. An immediate double-team comes every time he catches the ball.
-
This Belinelli kid is very impressive. Not sure how much that has to do with the opposition but he looks really good.
-
Warriors 77, Raptors 67 with 5 1-2 left.
-
Hump's going to get some burn. Guess Jay doesn't want Jake to foul out quite yet.
-
Had dinner with old friend Larry Riley, who's now Golden State's general manager after years of coaching alongside Nellie. He said Belinelli has come on strong simply because he got a chance to play; he'd been buried on the bench early in the year. Riley's been a friend since he worked for the Grizzlies in Vancouver years ago.
-
Hump's giving them something, like a jump shot he just made.
-
Don't look now, but somehow the Raptors have got themselves back in the game, down seven with more than two minutes left in the quarter. One thing about the Warriors, they don't seem to be able to handle prosperity.
-
The Raptors are trying to junk up the game with some full court pressure and a zone defence. Gotta give 'em credit for trying something.
-
This is one scrambling quarter we're watching. All kinds of loose balls and crazy passes. I love it.
-
Golden State 86, Toronto 79 after three.
-
Any of you still up?
-
I'm telling ya, Hump with hair is way better than Hump without. As a player, that is.
-
I don't think they can afford to give Jose a break this quarter until the game is decided. That may be with a couple of minutes left.
-
Jose's now made two free throws in the game, both on Golden State technicals. That gives Calderon 71 in a row, 68 straight this season.
-
So, they have this group of kids who bring out the tramp and dunk during the timeout they just had. And guess what song's playing? Yup. None other than Flo-Rida. How do I know this? 'Cause I pay attention at home games. It's far more effective in the dunk show than as a pre-game thing.
-
The five threes that Belinelli's got? Most he's had in a game in his career. Or so the Warrior PR people tell us.
-
Stephen Jackson is thisclose to getting a second technical and thrown out of hte game.
-
Warriors 100, Raptors 90 with seven minutes to go.
-
Well, this one certainly turned interesting, didn't it?
-
Bosh's second three-pointer was a big shot. Not a particularly good one, but a big one.
-
I'm pretty sure there haven't been too many instances with Parker, Kapono and Calderon have all missed wide open three-pointers one after the other after the other. Any of them would have put Toronto up and that's just tough shooting luck.
-
Toronto's just 2-for-9 from beyond the arc in this quarter by my calculation.
-
I've seen more offence-defence substitutions in the last 11 games than I have in the last four seasons.
-
Well, it turned into an entertaining one but still a loss nonetheless and I imagine Bryan Colangelo will be on the phone more than ever on Tuesday seeing if he can get something going on a trade that seems inevitable.
-
Warriors 117, Raptors 111.
-
Talk to you from back home on Tuesday. Thanks for hanging around.

Comments

[aditya]

bosh gets a turnover and commits a foul on the other end.....wow

[aditya]

kapono better be replaced in the starting lineup by parker.. i know, i know, even parker hasn`t made shots, but he is far more effective as a starter so far....that kapono miss from the corner which would have given us the lead was bad.....should have made that.....

tell you something, kapono might be a great shooter in practice, but he certainly cannot make shots in the game....can we have marco bellinelli instead with 6 assists and getting to the line 6 times....

[aditya]

hey doug, got a question for you...who is a better interviewer in your opinion, lebron james, kobe bryant, or dwayne wade

Blogger's note: In my experience, it'd go Kobe, Wade, LeBron

[LS]

Kris Humphries must be dogging it in practice or something because he is the 3rd most productive big man on the Raptors and yet is seemingly 5th in the rotation. Whatever he is doing wrong behind the scenes, he needs to fix it so he can get on the floor more often in games.

Obviously Bargnani will still get minutes ahead of him because of his draft position and not because he deserves it but Humphries should at least be cutting into those minutes a bit. And certainly be ahead of Voskuhl.

[Jonathan]

I'm sorry, but some nights, you just need to make your shots, no excuses. It's a real shame when (and I know C.J. Watson has been pretty solid this season) "no-names" are nailing dagger after dagger, and the supposed best shooter in the league misses three after three when it matters. The team shouldn't be relying on Bosh and Moon to make those shots; if Kapono can't make threes on demand, then what is he being paid for? The Raps had THREE big breaks (three offensive fouls on the Warriors) toward the new and couldn't capitalize on a single one, not even with all the open looks. Sigh...

[Poppa Vlazo]

I think that we can pretty much call it a season after tonight; nothing short of a miracle trade can save this season. When you can't beat the Sonics and the Warriors, and you barely beat the Kings, you are a very bad team. Just being a realist is all, and anyone that thinks otherwise is fooling themselves.

[aditya]

Jackson and Ronny Turiaf both got technical fouls in the second half. Turiaf got hit with a quick whistle for nothing more than clapping his hands and screaming in excitement after a dunk.

wow, read the above part, that is what it says in the summary of the TOR-GSW game on NBA.COM..... they don`t even know that turiaf got hit for a technical for clapping his hands and screaming at the referee pleading for a foul call because he certainly got hit on the arms

[Tim W.]

About three weeks ago, I remember figuring out trade scenarios to get Belinelli, since he wasn't getting minutes in Golden State and his agent was apparently seeking a trade. The one I came up with was Joey Graham, who was starting to play well at the time, for Belinelli and Marcus Williams. I figured Nelson would like Graham, who is the type of player that could play well for Nelson- he could play PF in his system and would flourish in an uptempo game. You think GS would do that trade now. AT that time, Belinelli was averaging about 3 minutes a game and almost went to New Jersey for Sean Williams, who just was sent down to the D-league. RIght after that, Belinelli's minutes shot up until he averaged 30 mpg and 15 ppg for the month of December. I'm guessing Golden State is happy they held onto him.