Bargnani – I agreed with Leo when he said for the Raptors to have any hope in the playoffs, Bargs would have to play like he did in this game. While pretty much playing his typical pylon defence, he brought the funk on the offensive end. It was almost like watching a guy who was worthy of a #1 pick. I’m usually defending Sam’s moves, but why he didn’t use more Tomato Sauce in the second half is beyond me.
Bosh – sounds strange to say about a 24pt performance, but this seemed like a very ho-hum Bosh performance. I’m going out on a limb to say something is personally bothering him, if just for today. Even in the postgame interview he seemed off. On the court he made some lame moves, some bad and costly turnovers, and did a poor job of giving up the ball when trapped or at a disadvantage.
Calderon – hard to wonder what he was thinking as he found himself nailed to the bench even after dishing out assist after assist in the second quarter. He finished with 10 assists, but only 3 points on a night when Sam stuck with his #1.
Delfino – no denying he hustled tonight, which I have no problem with. In a way, it was like he had a little of Kris’ heart in him. 11 boards, 2 of them big, in 33 minutes gets a thumbs up.
Ford – his second great game in a row. I was waiting to see if he would go “TJ” when that bucket was called off, but he didn’t and deserves credit for it. 23 and 13 is something he should be proud of and respected by his critics. That said, his lack of contest of Bibby’s shot at the end of the fourth is just a big a reason for this loss as 1/10th of a second on a shot clock.
Kapono – while not on the level of the Leo lovefest, I did think Kapono did a good job of moving the ball and avoiding bad shots (well, except that shotput at the end of the quarter). Not a great team for him to match up against, but it’s the NBA and you should be able to provide a good effort night in and night out.
Moon – yeah, pretty dunk and a pretty good game, but once again a horrible horrible off and on display of defence from a position that is constantly shown as our biggest weakness. Nice to hear he is always smiling…I just wish he was smiling while working on D.
Nesterovic – that 3pt play and the way he walked off the court after hitting it in the John Wayne style of walk he has will be forever etched in my mind. It was Jordanesque and should be played upon his retirement. Screw that lame Bosh dunk, this was the highlight of the night.
Parker – another performance his sister will be proud of. That step on the sideline hurt, but he is allowed the odd mistake in my opinion. I think the one facet of his game that would make him a better player would be if he got in his teammates faces a bit more. A little grabbing of a jersey and spitting of diatribe would be welcome.
Driving the Bus: TJ Ford
Under the Bus: nobody, but if I was forced: Jason Kapono
Theme Song: [audio:121-the_rolling_stones-out_of_time.mp3]
Related posts:
Bargs didn’t play a good game offensively… he played a GREAT 2nd quarter… while his time was more limited in the other quarters, he played like his usual self in those quarters, which isn’t a good thing. Argh!
Where has our team’s D gone? sigh… no lead is safe.
A great second quarter moves his play into the “good” category, in my opinion. Compared to his typical floating-style game filled with non-agressiveness, this was a good game for him.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – April 3
Point taken… now you’re the optimistic one! He’s got all the tools to be so good, and yet… he’s not.
A significant number of NBA games are decided by the decision a single player makes on the defense side of the ball and/or a single offensive player’s ability to take and make a jump-shot.
Such was the case last night.
Ford messed up on Bibby’s 3FG that tied the game (107-107) … when he lost Bibby on the pop-out to the Wing/Corner and then didn’t foul Bibby on the the initial catch.
Bibby made good on 1 of the 2 clean looks he got during that final possession sequence.
The mix-up on the loop to Ford was a total defensive screw-up by the Hawks.
khandor’s last blog post..Raptors @ Hawks … post mortem
Optimistic is a stretch. We need him to play like that, but will he? I honestly feel that what we see now (flashes of great, but mostly mediocre-good) is what we will get with Bargs.
I also wonder if he maybe isn’t a posterchild for the type of player that would thrive in a different environment. Here he has the pressure of being #1 and so much is expected of him. We have the tendency to eat our young here.
Scott’s last blog post..Linkage – April 3
There are a lot of guys that do feel that pressure and go on somewhere else to become… pretty average. I think that’s more common — it’s just that they were seen as so disappointing that a few years of generally consistent play seems to be impressive. People are even talking about Darko coming around — and Darko’s still playing like crap in my eyes.
If Bargnani goes on to become a star, it’s obviously a bad move to get rid of him on the cheap. OTOH, what if he becomes a Pervis Ellison? a Reggie Williams? They had mediocre-to-average careers after being cut loose by the teams that drafted them.
I am with you on Darko. He may be playing marginally better, at best.
With Bargs, I’m just not sure it isn’t mental. He always has that deer-like look, granted, but I do wonder if he was in a spot where he wasn’t expected to be all things to all people (ie a place with a stable front court) and was able to hang out on the perimeter, if he wouldn’t be like a Dirk Jr at least offensively. That possibility to happen is still here, but unfortunately we may not have the chips.
Scott’s last blog post..10thofasecondgate