View from Above the Tunnel: Game 1

I must say tonight was unexpected.

Well, I'll be the first to admit that I was totally expecting a double
digit blowout loss to the Cavs tonight. The Raps completely surprised
me on multiple fronts.

1) Andrea scoring 21 in the first half, and was well on his way to 30 plus if the refs had not nailed him with multiple dubious fouls on the "Big Fossil". His willingness to attack the rim, and taking full advantage of his mid range shot was very Dirk-esque. I was very impressed by Andrea's work on Shaq as well. He gave up a lot of bulk, but he was still able to control Shaq without much double team help. If Bargnani plays like this every night, I'll elated.

2) Relatively solid FG% defense, and they protected the paint fairly well. The Cavs got hot from behind the arc in their 3rd quarter run, but overall they were able to do a good enough job on LeBron to keep him from penetrating at will, and setting up the Cleveland shooters. Let's hope that the Raps will keep working hard on the defensive end, and keep this up.

3) They DIDN'T FOLD when the cavs made their run. I was totally expecting the Raps to pack it in when the Cavs got it to 69-69. Instead they go on a 21-6 run. What the hell? Who are these guys? That run after the Cavs tied it up was HUGE. I had mentioned to a friend the other night that the Raps big problem the last couple of years was their inability to bust a game open with a big run. I think a big reason for that was the horrific defense, but I think another major component was the fact that none of the Raps really seized the moment. Hedo (more on this below) and Jarret Jack definitely stepped up and attacked the basket to extend the runs offensively, Wright was excellent on the perimeter defense, and Bosh hedged every pick and roll extremely well and hovered up every defensive board he could get his hands on.

4) I didn't think Hedo did much, but he hit some very big shots down the stretch. His left handed layup to get the Raps back to an 8 pt lead was huge. I definitely thought the Raps were still in the danger zone, but Hedo settled the team down with that bucket. I think this might be indicative of what we will see out of Hedo this year. Not
huge numbers, but when the game is on the line, he will know what to do with the ball.

5) Bosh took his game down on the low block tonight, which was vital to the Raps victory. In fact, the Cavs made their run right when Bosh decided to be a jump shooter again. I don't think CB4 can keep this up because his body will breakdown, but if he does, the Raps are legit.

6) I am TBD on Antonie Wright, but there is definitely man crush potential.

So its game 1 of 82, so I am going to keep it all in perspective, but I think the Raps definitely showed me something tonight, especially when I fully expected the King to spank them coming off his loss to Boston. I think the key for the Raptors is to build on this win by keeping up their intensity. Friday is a big night, the Griz are terrible, the Raps need to come out and rip their hearts out in the first half.

Pre-Game Meal

Uh oh, LeBron dropped 38 and lost to Boston at HOME! Tonight is going to end badly for the Raptors. My hope is for them to keep LeBron under 50 and the game within 5 at the end of the 4th quarter. I have a feeling I might be setting my expectations too high.

Things I will be watching for tonight:

1. Shaq is a borderline statue at this point, so the biggest thing I'll be looking for is how Andrea will take advantage of his speed and quickness over the "Big Fossil".

2. Hedo is going to have to guard LeBron, and I think this is going to end very very badly. However, if the Raptors are serious about playing a total team concept on defense, Bosh should be able to rotate off Sideshow Bob or Big Z fast enough to prevent LeBron from breaking the defense down completely. Tonight is going to be a very interesting game to see just how committed Bosh is to stepping up his game, especially on defense.

3. Will Demar Derozan be able to take AP off the dribble. Demar has shown a very welcome willingness to attack the rim off the dribble when the ball swings to him. AP is old and slow, and it will be a HUGE bonus for the Raps if Derozan can get to the rack and start drawing some fouls on the Cavs.

Finally, I would like to point out that Danny Ferry is probably the worst GM in all of the NBA. Watching the Cavs play the Celts last night, I realized that former Raptor's senior citizen, AP, and former Raptors migraine, Jamario Moon, are in the Cavs top 7. In fact, AP is a starter because Delonte West is bat shit crazy, and Jamario Moon is the 2nd guy off the Cleveland bench. Danny, are you seriously telling me that in the season before LeBron can bolt for LA or NJ, your biggest signings to get you to the Finals are 2 guys that weren't good enough for the Raptors to keep? REALLY? Jamario Moon? I know Toronto is in Canada, but there is still game tape of Moon chucking ill advised jumpers at critical moments of EVERY SINGE GAME HE HAS EVER PLAYED IN. I can't disrespect AP, I loved the guy in TO, but you do realize that he is 35 right? Just so you know, if he gets more than 25-30 mins a night at the beginning of the season, he will be totally useless by April. By the way, you coach is still Mike Brown, and after coaching LeBron for the past 4 years, his best 4th quarter offense is still, give the ball to LeBron will I bury my head in my hands and hope LBJ can bail me out.

Season starts tonight fellow Raptors fans, I am looking forward to it, even if its going to start on a low note.

View from above the Tunnel will be back after tonight's game!

Random Musing

Looks like Rondo didn't sign an extension with the Celtics! Apparently he wants top 5 PG money. Can we all dream of a Rondo S&T for Jose this summer?

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nba/news/story?id=4598072

Before you call me crazy, a Jose S&T isn't completely out of the question. The Celtics have a ridiculous about of money committed to Paul Peirce, KG, and Ray Ray. Since Rondo knows that he is one of the best up and coming PGs in the league (and he's already got a ring) why is he going to take a hometown discount just cause old man KG has to rack up close over $200 million in career earnings. If I am Rondo (or Rondo's agent), the only words that the Celtics would hear out of my mouth is, PAY ME! PAY ME LIKE YOU PAY THE SENIOR CITIZENS ON THIS TEAM! What is Danny Ainge going to do? He has no leverage on Rondo whatsoever, worst case for Rajon is for him to sign a 1 year qualifer and hit the open market (when the Celtics may not get anything at all for him).

So here is where I think BC could make yet another bold move. If he steps up after the season, assuming that Bosh gets traded or walks, and offers to sign Rajon to a max deal, why wouldn't the Celtics be willing to take Jose (or Jarret Jack) back instead of losing Rondo for nothing. Now to execute this type of coup, BC would have to offer Rondo Brandon Roy-type money, which means something in the ranage of 5 years for $66 million. I would do it because Rondo is the type of PG that would completely change the makeup of the Raptors. He would be able to prevent unchallenged lane penetration that our beloved Matador Jose likes to to give up, and if you pair a drive and kick PG like Rondo with Andrea and Hedo, the Raptors half court gets very dangerous. As an addeded bonus, Rondo and Derozan would be monsters on the break.

I know, I know, Rajon Rondo as a Raptors is a completely ridiculous thought, but next off season (if Bosh doesn't re-sgin) is a one that is full of possibilities for the Raptors. Let's all try to look at all of the angles.

180!!

Let me preface this post by saying I know little to nothing about basketball. I'm pretty much a pylon when I play, and when I watch, I get angry that guys don’t use the backboard as much as they should. That being said, I haven’t been to a Raptors game for a few years, so I was jacked when I got two tickets to last night’s game against the Mavs. I don’t know if it was the two hour notice I gave people or a sign of the Raps’ current appeal (or, indeed, the prospect of two hours with me asking why every free-throw deserves a round of high fives), but I couldn’t find anyone to come along. Rather than go solo, I opted to stay at home and watch the game from the comfort of my couch (leather).

As I said earlier, I’m not exactly Spike Lee in terms of being able to watch basketball, so before long I was channel surfing and came across Darts on Sportsnet.

Now, I’m not sure if it’s because I have just recently started playing darts and appreciate the game, or because the cast of characters is like the WWF in its heyday, with the crowd going fucking mental with each personalized introduction, but I got hooked. Finely tuned athletes like Andy “The Viking” Fordham (pictured), Phil “The Power” Taylor, and current world champion –gunning to defend his title this weekend at the World Darts Championship in the UK – is Canadian John “Darth Maple” Part (seriously). The commentators treat every throw like over time of game seven and the crowd seems to be on a non-stop supply of high-octane lager. Classic stuff. And while I’m all about darts at the moment, my lack of math skills really hampers my dream of becoming the announcer that gets to yell “Ooooone hundred and EIGHTY!!!” and send the crowd into a hops-fueled frenzy.

Anyway, after I calmed down a little, I went back to the Raptors game to see their early lead completely squandered and the crowd getting negative.

Bosh came out after saying that if he wanted to get booed, he’d play away from home, as if he’d never had his own fans get down on him before. This coming soon after the discussion of home support was brought up in soccer with Arsenal’s Emmanuel Eboue being mercilessly booed off the pitch by 50000 home fans.

I know it doesn’t help a team that’s already off their game to have their own supporters give them shit, but I’m not in favour of blindly cheering a poor, substandard effort. In my opinion, singling out one of your own players during the game and booing or even screaming, “Just pass!” every time he touches the ball is over the line. Coaches and teammates know a whole lot more than fans about what's behind a guy’s performance, and if he warrants it, you know the guy will get what’s coming to him. However, for me, booing is totally acceptable after a game when the team’s performance as a whole –players and coach - simply hasn’t been good enough. What does anyone else think about booing your own team?

Quick Musing on Sam Mitchell

So after yesterday's fiasco in Boston where Bosh didn't get one shot in the 4th quarter, I have been quite interested in some of the rumblings coming out of Camp Dino. According to Feschuk , it sounds like CB4 is definitely voicing his displeasure at Sam Mitchell for not letting him attack the juvenile and childish KG. Of course, Grange does an important point that Mitchell isn't the one on the court . I used to be a pretty big supporter of continuity, and I thought Sam was coming around as a coach. Well you know what? He isn't. How do you keep Jason Kapono in the game to cover Paul Pierce, and do NOTHING, while Pierce torches Kapono for 22 in the 4th, and something like 10 in a row to close it out. I say get rid of Sam Mitchell now, and bring in Jeff Van Gundy. JVG always seems to have a boner for the Raps on the ESPN telecasts, so I say to Colangelo, grant his wish, bring him in for the next couple of seasons (while hiring a potential Euro replacement to be his assistant next season).

Also, EVERYONE in the Boston is a douchebag (yeah, that's "FAWK YOU" BOSTON)

Rant over, the Raps better beat Philly at home tomorrow.

View From Above the Tunnel: Pasta Boy to Pasta Man?

Hot off the presses right after the game because the Raps are playing again tomorrow. I am so happy the NBA is back, and baseball is over. Onto the triple double:

3 thinks I liked:

1. Andrea: What a game from the Italian big man. Taking it to the hoop, and playing the kind of inside game that none of us thought possible. Yes, he did it against Rony Turriaf, but I give the effort a standing ovation. Il Busto, no more? We shall see, hopefully he can abuse the Bucks tomorrow night.

2. Crunch Time Chris Bosh: CB4 delivering the goods. He is getting the job done in crunch time. Nothing more needs to be said. He looks like he is going to lead us to the promise land (As an aside, for those of you who believe in the D Wade resurrection, why is it so hard to picture Bosh rising that that level as well?).

3. Over time defense: Actually this applies to late in the 4th quarter defense as well. Congrats to Jamario and AP who were able to shut down Corey Maggette in the 4th quarter. The aggressiveness they showed, definitely showed up on the stat sheet through forced turnovers and points of TO. If the Raps keep this up they will be tough to beat.

3 things that made me go hmmmm:

1. Ah, Jason. Just when I thought you turned the corner, there you are trying to drive again. He was ice cold tonight because Golden State sold out on his 3. Give the Warriors credit, they locked down on the Raptors perimeter. Still, why not just hoist a couple up, its not that much worse than eating it from Biendris.

2. Adjusting to the officials. Personally, I thought the officiating was horrendous, but I still think the Raps should have adjusted to it, and started to flop around on defense. This one is on Smitch, he has a team full of Euros, he needs to take advantage of their soccer training.

3. Jermaine O'Neal's focus. Man, JO needs to keep his shit together. He was too thrown off his games by Tim Donaghy (wait, he's in prison? who was that on the court then?). Still JO came back to provide the Raps with some much needed muscle late in the 4th, and Andrea took them home in OT.

All that said, what a game from Andrea. Let's hope he can keep this up.

View From Above the Tunnel: Rain Delayed

So I missed the first quarter of the game because the officials in Philly decided to move the game up because of the World Series. You figure after a 46 hour rain delay, they could wait another hour. Anyway onto the very first regular season edition of 6 things. Sorry for the late review, but my job got in the way. Without further ado, 3 things I liked, 3 things I don't:

3 things I liked:

1. 4th quarter Jason Kapono: What's this Kapono decided to just catch it and let'er rip? He also scored 10 pts in the 4th on 3/4 shooting from long distance? This is why the Raps are paying you $6 million dollars. Nice way to close out the game.

2. Defensive Energy: I loved that the Raps put the clamps on Philly whenever they decided to make any attempt at a run. Moon and Parker were extremely aggressive in their perimeter defense, and Bosh and O'Neal protected the rim with abandon. Now, the blocked shots total wasn't that high, but it was clear that Bosh and JO altered plenty of Sixer attempts (36%, damn Philly can't shoot!). Plus the Raptors forced the Sixers into a ton of turnovers, which I think is the key measure of a great defensive basketball team (rather than shooting %)

3. Chris Bosh: Wow, what a start to the year. He had the eye of the Tiger going on last night. Just attacking the rim on offense and he was a beast on the glass and in his own end. You couldn't have asked Bosh to do more, and yet it seemed like he had plenty more to give if the Raps weren't up by 10 with a couple mins left. People have been worried about the Raptors lack of a one on one, drive the lane type scorer. Well, I have a feeling Bosh is going to be that guy for us. His first step looks devastating, in fact, I don't think I can think of one big man in the entire NBA that will be able to take away Bosh's drive.


3 things that made my go hmmmmm:

1. Quarters 1 through 3 Jason Kapono: What the hell Kapono?? 2 travels and a blocked shot!!!! Way to take advantage of the new found space with JO and Bosh. Whenever I see Kapono dribble, I go into a blind rage. Why does JK insist on doing anything except shoot 3 pointers. Sam Mitchell needs to start using a cattle prod on him during practice. Everytime the ball is in his hands, and he takes a dribble and a step forward, he should get tasered. Period.

2. The rebounding disparity: First, I must say that watching quarters 2-4, it didn't seem like the Raptors were being out rebounded. However, after the game the Raps were a steller -14 (or something like that). What the hell? That big of a rebounding differential will get you killed most nights. Now, I have been told that the first quarter was an absolute shit show, but from what I saw, I think that number might be misleading.

3. Total offensive stagnation without Jose: I know, it was Roko's first NBA game, and I should expect too much out of him. I actually thought he did okay, he minimized his turnovers, and he wasn't playing total OLE defense. However, the Sixers felt confident enough to put a full court press on him, which just shows you that they don't think he can play. While he did break the press efficiently (thank God), in the Raps half court sets, there was a lot of aimless dribbling by Roko Ono. Keep your head, son! Hopefully, he keeps improving.

Thoughts On the Raptors Before Training Camp

The new NBA season is almost here, so I thought I'd share some initial thoughts I had about the Raptors with all of you. Keep in mind, all of these feelings will probably change by the time the first pre-season game rolls around, but that's just because loving the Raptors is a roller coaster of pain.

The Bosh and JO tandem is going to be money. Bosh is coming off a stellar Olympics where he emerged as one of the best defensive players for the US, and led them in rebounding. While this doesn't sound like much, I honestly believe that excelling in the Olympics does carryover to the NBA (Manu wasn't central to the Spurs until he made the leap with Argentina).

I think JO is about to pull a Randy Moss-esque resurgence. Personally, I think he may have shut it down the last couple of seasons when he realized that Jamal Tinsley and Marquis Daniels were better at handling firearms then they were at ball handling. Whlie that sounds like as shocking lack of heart on JO's part, its okay as the Raptors are Bosh's team, and JO just needs to come here and do his job (shotblocking, helpside D, rebounding).

JO needs to hold up, his presence let's the Raptors start the Pylon known as Kapono. Now, Kapono can at least play slow white guy body up defense because he knows that he has a ton of weakside and frontside help in either JO or Bosh. If Smitch can get his defensive rotations down, then the Raps will be one of the best defensive teams in the East.

I can't make a prediction on where they could finish because I honestly think they could end up anywhere between 2 and 6 for sure, and if Boston gets nicked up, I would say 1 through 6 is a possibilitiy. For now, I am looking forward to them being a one of the elite teams in the East, and that's my expectation.

Here is my BOLD prediction for the season. The Raptors are going to start incorporating a lot of fast break elements into their offense. I make this prediction based on 3 major factors. 1) By having Bosh and JO, the Raptors should dominate their own boards, freeing Jose, AP, Moon, Kapono, etc to take off once the the rebound has been corralled. 2) Great defensive teams ALWAYS fast break, look at Boston last year and some of the previous Spurs teams. Being great at defense means that you want to be on defense more often, which means that you want to push your own offensive pace (while slowing down the other team). 3) If the Raptors are serious about keeping JO healthy, they can't let him get pounded on in the half court on offense. JO has a certain number of miles left, they can't be wasted on offense.