The Goods On The Game, Orlando at Toronto

A quiet day here, what with no Vince Carter and all. Have fun, folks.

Comments

[Striker77]

Hey Doug,

What was up with Belinelli? He only played 4 and a half minutes... I know his stats were pretty much goose eggs across the board, but, why did he not play anymore?

Cheers,

[Aditya]

Notes: Bosh got a technical foul for arguing a non-call on a blocked shot in the first, and Barnes got one after tangling with Bargnani as they went for a rebound in the third. ... Van Gundy said Pietrus could rejoin the team in Detroit for Wednesday's game against the Pistons if his symptoms improve. ... Howard went 14 for 16 at the line.
(Courtesy: NBA.com)

i thought raptors are playing detroit on wednesday!!!?

[Aditya]

another theme from last season: an opposition player gets a career high in points, rebounds, assists or something....today, jj reddick was the main with a career high in points

[Aditya]

gotta give belinelli more pt

[LeeZ]

For all the Belinelli lovers, in the short time he was in there, he did nothing, apart from turning the ball over once and then, early in the shot clock, with the Raps having nothing really going right at all on offence, he hoists a long fade-away (well, all his jumpers are fade-aways, so I guess that's redundant), early in the shot clock. After which he was promptly (and deservedly) benched. And then, in the second half, they desperately needed d, not o, and for my (and no doubt Jay's) money, Jack and Wright are better defenders. Belinelli needs to show more discipline on offence.

[LeeZ]

Again, Calderon is missing everything short. Which is a good thing (relatively speaking), because it means his aim and mechanics are fine, it's just that he's still not getting his legs under his shots, so more of a conditioning issue. And Bosh's struggles from the line so far: could they be that he's not used to those new pipes of his, and he has to adjust his stroke to take into account the added strength in his arms? Or is that just kooky? Final observation: DD's three today was BY FAR the best jumper I've seen from him yet. He didn't pull a Charles Barkley and hold onto the ball too long before releasing, he didn't have his hands too far back or high up, he just elevated and released IN SYNCH for a change. A tiny sign, but maybe the tutelage is starting to sink in.

[Kate Condon]

Hey Doug - do you have any further insight regarding the seats blocked off at the west end? Especially the red seats, with the white sleeves on the top. I noticed the same thing on Wednesday night (big section of seats with white sleeves), but failed to look back later that night. Today, I noticed that later in the game most of those same seats had the white sleeves removed later on in the game. And the seats seemed to fill up. Was that just people moving down into the seats? Were the "sleeves" removed to allow people to move down, so it didn't look so empty? I'm curious how it all works...

Blogger's note: I didn't notice the seats filling up; but I did notice them taking the sleeves off them. I'll see what I can find out

[Sorena]

I've been watching the Raps since day one and from my perspective we are definitely moving towards the right direction. However, it seems as if something is missing. Don't get me wrong...we have a world class basketball team that has been assembled by one of the greatest GM's in the business.

We have lots of talent on the team and our guys can definitely play. Toughness and attitude is what our team is missing. If we look back at some of the greats that have stepped onto the court, we see that they took the game personally. It was like they were going to war each and every time! They wanted to win so bad that they were willing to do anything and everything to win. Gary Payton, for example, he wanted to win so bad and he had so much attitude that he sometimes even trash talked his own teammates. Kevin Garnett asks his teammates to trash talk him, so by the time he steps out on the court he is mad and ready to take on the opposition. That's what's missing. That's what we need.

[Eric]

LOL! I feel........ dirty! I feel...... used! Ehhh.... the odor of familarity.I actually heard Leo use the excuse 10 times that Jose is not used to taking the summer off and will need time now to get up to speed, and I wonder: WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END? Lol. Last season, it's ok that he stinks because he played in the summer. This season its' ok that he stinks because he didn't play in the summer. Lol. Where are the bandwagon riders now? Left town with Vince I guess (some things never change). Go raps. Keep in mind, Bargnani and Derozan are neck and neck in terms of # Rebounds. Find all the excuses you need to explain that one but it won't change the fact that Derozan and Bargnani are neck and neck in # rebounds. A 19 year old rook sg who plays scant mins and a starting centre who some believe deserves an Allstar nod. Bargnani should be getting 4 rpg from FT's alone. When will the madness end.

[A]

What a disappointment! I know it has only been 3 games but it seems to me that the cle win was a complete fluke! Gosh, i think better decisions need to be made by TRIANO! The raptors shot very well but DID NOT DEFEND AT ALL, i would think a coach would put his best defenders out there..NO bargnani and absolutely no calderon! Wright needed to be inserted in the last several minutes and nesterovich over bargnani! They got outrebounded when the lead was already small and gave up a few easy baskets after all that work to cut the lead! I wish someone would tell triano to always have wright and jack playing at thd end of the game since cald and barg cant defend! BTW, BOSH HAS BEEN SENSATIONAL! I hope reggie comes back soon! Johnson needs mord practice!