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.

View from Above the Tunnel: Last Pre-Season Game, and I Feel Worried

So I attended the Wolves - Raptors game last night, and I am offically worried, yet somewhat hopeful, about the season. Here's a quick 3 things I like, 3 things I don't:

Things I liked:

1. Raptors Team Defense: An impressive performance once again from the starters. The offense took a while to get going in the 1st half (a painful 19 pts were scored by Toronto in the 1st quarter), but they completely shut down the Wolves as well (who scored an even more painful 17 pts). Also, when the bench allowed Minnesota to score 13 unanswered (more on this later) to close out the 2nd quarter, the starters were able to erase this deficit in short order at the start of the 3rd. Chris Bosh showed Craig Smith no respect whatsoever, and blitzed/trapped every Wolves pick and roll with Gold Medal winning fervor. The result? The Raptors forced a ridiculous amount of Wolves turnovers and rushed shots, and as an added bonus JO and Moon/Joey shut down the defensive glass. You think KG was intense playing the pick and roll last year? Bosh is gonna show him how its done in the new school.

2. Joey Graham: So Good Joey was alloed to START yesterday, and I must say I was very impressed with what I saw. The Raptors kept running this nifty baseline screen with Joey and JO, while Jose and Bosh intiated the high screen roll at the elbow. Corey Brewer kept getting stuck on the JO pick, and Joey ended up with 3 uncontested throwdowns, and had a couple of good post opportunities against the smaller Brewer. Of course, every time Joey took the ball to the hoop, he looked like he was committing an offensive foul, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. Defensively, Joey positioned himself well, and didn't give his man any open looks (although, Corey Brewer barely hit the backboard, even when he was WIDE OPEN!). Of course with Joey, you never know, so I am not too hopeful.

3. Defensive Rebounding: When the starters were on the court, the defensive glass was locked down. The entire team crashed the glass, and Minny didn't get many second chance points or even attempts. Considering the stress levels that the Raps caused me last year when they would give up 15+ offensive rebounds a game, mark me down as thrilled.

Things that I didn't like

1. The Bench: HORRIBLE. Will Solomon is not an adequate backup. He is probably just good enough not to turn the ball over, so I guess that's a plus. Roko is NOT ready to run the second unit. Sam used him as the main backup to Jose yesterday, and the results were disastrous. He does have a good handle, and he likes to attack the basket, so I definitely feel like his role should be the back up 2 guard right now. I'll give them more time to develop some cohesion, but I am terrified of injuries at this point.

2. Jason Kapono: He is still refusing to shoot treys. Is this because he feels compelled to spite the Toronto fans because I think he was 3/4 from beyond the arc, with many many other 3 opportunities that he passed up. I am angry, and he needs to grow a pair, and let it fly every time he catches the ball beyond the arc, and his defender isn't touching him.

3. Anthony Parker: Man, AP is cold as ice right now. I am sure he'll come around like last year, but his shot isn't falling. Let's just say if AP's shot was a woman, it'd be the frostiest bitch in the bar.

I won't be attending another game until game 3 of the regular season, but I'll probably do a round up of the rest of the pre-season next week. Until then, let's all pray for good Raptor health this year.