That was a big Opening Night hit, wasn't it?

Hands up anyone who saw that coming?

Didn’t think there’d be many of you.

Anyway, the caution is that it’s one game and you can’t draw too many inferences from one regular season game.

But, still, there were moments, weren’t there?

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

Talk may not be cheap

I know there had to be a few eyes rolled with each quote from pre-season about the dedication to defence and defence wins games and defence is the key to playoff success and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I know mine did because you hear that every year from every team and it’s mind-numbingly boring and trite, isn’t it?

Well, maybe they were, you know, telling the truth.

I know Cleveland’s offence was atrocious and they looked like five guys who’d never seen each other at times but if you hold any NBA team to 35 per cent shooting, you must have done something right.

They did shrink the court and take away the lane, they never doubled too aggressively in the post that would leave them vulnerable to outside shooting and I swear I heard more communication on defence in that one game than I have in one in quite some time.

Yes, there will be nights when they revert to form and are quite bad defensively but I think there’s a chance they might be pretty good, too.

Bosh had this to say:

“That is all we talk about. Defence, defence, defence. We are not going to work on it for no reason. You have to work on it if you want to win a lot of basketball games and that’s what we’re going to do. Nobody is expecting us to actually play defence so it’s good to come in the back door sometimes.”

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Be ready, do something

Marcus Banks gets a lot of grief around here mostly for signing a contract that was offered to him.

But last night, he showed me a little something. And so did Jay.

Less than 30 seconds to go in the first quarter, dead ball, Jay wants to give his guards a break so he calls on Banks to play one possession. Bit of a gutsy move because who knows what kind of effort you’re going to get, right?

Well – and this tells me something about Marcus – Banks comes in, defends like crazy and forces a wild miss by Daniel (I refuse to call a grown man Boobie) Gibson to end the quarter.’

Banks then goes back to his seat on the bench, never to be seen again during the game.

Not a big play in the whole scheme of things and, yes, that’s what pro athletes are supposed to do, work hard when they’re called on. But sometimes they don’t and it was good to see Banks did.

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More defence?

I don’t have a video clip of it, and I don’t know that one exists, but there was a play, with about three minutes left in the second, that perfectly exemplifies what Toronto wants to do on defence.

Ball’s at the top on the right, can’t remember who drives right into the lane and Antoine Wright, in perfect position protecting the paint and the “house” slides over two steps and draws a charge.

It’s really very simply weakside help defence but last year, and even in this pre-season, the slide would have come late, the lane would have parted like the Red Sea and whoever was driving probably would have dunked.

Again, not a huge play but one we don’t see a lot around the Raptors, who have to be among the worst team for drawing charges by off-the-ball defenders.

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Now, with apologies to Paul Harvey, here’s the rest of the story:

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This, apparently, was pretty cool.

Jay’s old Simon Fraser coach, Stan Stewardson, made the trip along with a handful of others to check out the first game of the season.

Well, I’m told Jay’s going to meet them in this little bistro after the game and when he walks and wanders through the place looking for them, spontaneous applause breaks out and one, um, exuberant Raptor fan gives him a big old hug.

Not sure the same thing happens to Ron Wilson.

Of course, the last time something like that happened to a Raptors coach was back in ’04 when the gathered boozers in the same bistro gave a rousing round of applause to Kevin O’Neill after one game.

No one hugged KO lest they get smacked in the face.

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Hmm, Memphis tonight.

Blues City Café or B.B. King’s barbecue joint?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

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In Cleveland, where I’m sure they’ll be calling for Mike Brown’s head any day after that display of KO-inspired offence (lots of KO shots today, no?), here’s what they woke up to read.

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Nice commemorative ball they gave Jose right before the game to honour him for that 151-154 free-throw year last year, which set a single-season NBA record for free-throw accuracy.

Then he bricks two in a row and I’m sure I saw Bryan asking for the ball back.

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Good line from AP before the game. We’re chatting with a bunch of people and it’s brought up that he and Jamario, who used to have these goofy singing contests when they were teammates here, might be doing the same thing in Cleveland.

“There’s really no competition. He’s background, he does a lot of background for me, he’s good.”

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Fifty-seven fouls. Seventy-four free throws.

Where were The Replacements when you needed ‘em?

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Oh yeah, told you that whole Drake intro music thing was a ruse, didn’t I?

Yep, that’s me, on the cutting edge of modern music information.

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Best thing about going to Memphis?

You can’t fly there directly, you have to go through Chicago, and you have to leave in the middle of the afternoon so you don’t have to go to practice.

Cool, eh?

More time to build a set for tomorrow’s episode of GruntTV.

See ya.

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Comments

[niagarahoops]

Doug,
After one game, I don't want to be the one to say all those predictions were wrong and the raptors are going to win 60 games this year and finish on top of the Eastern Conference, but one thing for sure, the Raptors are a lot better than they have been credit for in all the pre-season talk.

But as for Cleveland, can you really say they will be considered one of the top 3 teams in the East? Even though Lebron can play 5 characters in a commercial, he can't play all 5 spots on the court.

With all due respect to AP, Jamario and Shaq and the other supporting cast, I just don't see how Cleveland is going to be in the top 3 at the end of the year.

I guess that is why predictions mean nothing!

[Yezzir]

Hey Doug,

Parker was the player that was called for the charge. I think that is the play you're referring to.

[Peter]

I noticed GruntTV has a logo now! I hope you negotiated the rights to the name and logo!

[graham]

long season and the Raps caught Cleveland at a good time: early and on a back to back. That said, how they won was important: building a big lead, Bargnani asserting himself, Wright showing he is a good player, Derozan's energy and rebounding from the wing, ball movement, role players especially Bellinelli and Rasho doing what was needed (11 guys scoring) and to go out and re-establish the lead after the Cavs had caught up -- mental toughness? Nice observation on Banks and Jay's point: if you are on the bench be prepared.
Now lets see them carry it over and avoind last year's melt down's against "weak" teams.

[Chris]

It was incredible to see Andrea and Chris play together last night. Prime example of the problems these two bigs give other teams. This isnt even factoring Hedo who when comes into form, will provide a nice triangle of big men. With Rasho being a solid backup, I dont see many teams matching the size the raps have. Coach Brown did a nice job throwing a small lineup at the Raps last night. It was nice to see the bigs keeping up in quickness! Not to mention Bargnani making the King look foolish on a few plays...wow that $50 contract is looking like a steal...after one game :)

[Tony]

C'mon Doug--eat like a local. For bbq downtown memphis go to the Rendezvous:

http://www.hogsfly.com/VisitUs.php

[CalgaryFan]

I spent three weeks in Memphis this summer and while everybody has their fave BBQ place (you obviously have yours) do yourself a favour and check out Payne's. It's in a bad neighbourhood so you've got to go during the day and most cab drivers won't leave you there but man is it good.

[Steve]

Hey Doug,

I saw that play as well. I believe it was Mo Williams driving in for the charge. All in all, the game was really impressive.

[Curious]

Based on the "fresh" new haircut, I think Daniel Gibson should heretofore be known as 'Super Boobie'.
BTW- How much do you think you would have had to raise for E. Koreen to sport that 'do?

[Steph]

Three things I learned.
1) Even "official" officials make bad cals.
2) Commemoratives events should never be on game day
3) Jamairo still doesn't get it.

[C-Mac]

Doug - are you onsite for all road games this year?

Blogger's note: Not all, no; but Memphis, New Orleans, Dallas, San Antonio, L.A., Phoenix, Denver and Utah right off the bat. Rest of schedule TBD

[Oscar Fellini]

I found it interesting that in post game the line from some of the Cavs was that they needed time to become a more cohesive unit... with no mention of the fact their opponent has added 9 new faces to its roster and seemed to have gelled quite nicely. Speaks to the personalities, and coaching, of each team. If last night is any indication, it is a long season obviously, the Raps may have not only the talent but the attitude that will make for a good year.

[Shawn L]

It was great to see that sense of entitlement wiped off the smug mug of Lebron James. I can't wait until he leaves Cleveland and has that negative karma following him the rest of his career (think vc15 times a million).

Also, that ref who called the foul on Bosh when it should have been a charge, should be seriously investigated for every decision he made all game. How hard was he trying to get the Cavs back into the game? Borderline scandalous...

[Josh]

Hey Doug, I'm sure you didn't notice as you weren't watching on TV but "the guys in the truck" were terrible last night. At least twice they showed the wrong clips during stoppages while Leo was talking about a specific play that he was watching on his little screen (he says things like "what you see here is an example of blah blah blah") . One time they kept showing highlights so long that the viewers missed a Raptor fastbreak. Terrible!

[eni]

hiya Doug,

So, no more Newton's third law (action reaction) this year? I see you're sticking with "three things I learned" format. I kinda miss the old format.
Have a great one in Memphis.

GO RAPS!

[Shaun]

Doug,

When in Memphis, if you like dry ribs, check out the Rendezvous, and if you like them with sauce, go with Corky's - either way you can't go wrong (Rendezvous is a few minutes walk from FedEx Forum, but Corky's is out in the burbs a bit).

[sk]

I was in Memphis a couple of years ago and ate at a place called Gus's Fried Chicken. It was the best fried chicken I've ever had. They're at 310 Front St. S.

[Manale]

Wow. I did NOT see that coming at all. --Either way. The Raps were far better than I could have dreamed, and the Cavs are a mess. Cleveland's offense is brutal.

I had been making dire predictions about this Raptors squad since it was assembled.

And I'm sure I'll go back to making them as soon as we lose a game.

But until then...

[Travis S]

Hey Douger,

Everything looked great last night... but did you see any warning signs? Things the Raptors will need to improve on if they expect to beat an elite team that is on their game?

Blogger's note: They can improve in every facet of the game

[Taylor]

I missed the pregame introductions last night, any idea where I might find them on the worldwide web?

[dw]

Happy about yesterday for sure. Just one game, but the best result.
I know Bosh is some kind of powerlifter now, but I still saw him yesterday as often the only guy getting after it on the glass and consistently taking it to the hole. I worry about his ability to withstand kind of abuse.
Speaking of putbacks...someone should teach Demar how to read shots (with all the shooters we have) and slide into the fray for putbacks with his length and athleticism.

[James]

It was nice to see Parker and Moon on the other team standing around confused while OUR wing players consistanly blow by them. Was I the only one who saw this? Parker and Moon have no to little defense - all summer "the experts" were saying that the Cavs with these two players have sealed up thier exterior defense - I was like "o.k!" but these experts obviously did not watch Moon and Parker at all in Toronto. Parker is a classy vetern, he does have a high basketball IQ, good player offensivley when he wants too but no defense at all - he is a great bench player not a starter. All night lastnight our wings made it to the net easily - and there was Moon and Parker watching helplessly under the net while thier defensive responability scored. Reminded me of last year - only this time we wern't suffering from thier lack of plays.

[Nadeem]

The Cavs have tried five different defenders on Andrea Bargnani and he's scored on them all, including LeBron. He's been great...

- Brian Windhorst (of The Plain Dealer)

I hope this continues throughout the season. Go Raps!!

[Nelson]

Was at the game last night, and the officials definitely seemed paid off by the Cavs, they got so many calls in their favor and the crowd just got fed up, hence the obscene chants haha. Raptors look good over all, esp Bargnani (too bade he didn't get too many touches in the 2nd half). Bosh and J Jack settled down in the 2nd half to help the Raps weather the storm. The Cavs look slow and out of sync last night. Good way to start the season

[Paul]

Bargs was a beast... like, dominant. Making BC look like an absoute genius, and a lot of "experts" look like maroons, to borrow a phrase from just one of those experts (McGowan).