If there is any excitement surrounding the Raptors’ first-round series against the Orlando Magic, which begins tomorrow afternoon at the Amway Arena, the players are doing a good job hiding it. This is a team that looks beaten down and doesn’t look like a team champing at the bit to get at its first-round opponent.
Making the playoffs this season was expected. And, to their credit, the Raptors have done that. But beyond that, it has been a forgettable season, particularly at the back end, and the mood heading into the playoffs reflects that. They were average all year and finished on a downer.
Mitchell was asked yesterday if he would lose faith in this team if it lost in the first round. Normally, he would chafe at such a question and let the reporter know it.
"You live in the moment," he said with a shrug. "When the dust settles and it’s all over … that’s when it’s time for the powers-to-be to sit down and analyze the team. Right now, it’s not time to do that.
"Right now, we’re in the playoffs. Right now, we’re going to play Game 1 (tomorrow) at 12:30," he said. "For me to entertain a thought like that, I would be crazy. I believe if we go out and play well and play the way we’re capable (we can win)."
"We wanted to make sure they understand that we — as coaches and the organization — have confidence in them, that we’re proud of what they’ve accomplished the last two years," he said.
"Do we wish we would have won a few more games? Yeah. Do we think we could have? Yes. But the reality of it is, over the next few weeks, we’ve got an opportunity to (advance); whatever happened in the regular season, you go into the playoffs and play well, nobody thinks about that."
That’s true. A first-round victory over the Magic would eradicate any negative vibes around the team. And, despite the fact the Raptors went 1-2 against the Magic this season, this is a series the Raptors can win, based on the matchups, and the fact the Raptors have more depth off the bench.
But first, the players have to believe they can win.
Nesterovic believes Turkoglu is just taking advantage of an opportunity he never has had presented to him before.
"I think he’s just comfortable with his role now," Nesterovic said. "For me he has been one of their two best players all year and that makes him a leader. It also takes away the pressure that if you make a mistake, he’s going to go out like before. I think the coach must have done a good job of explaining to him what is expected of him and no matter what happens he’s going to be staying in the game."
"He’s so tall and good under the rim and then he’s such a great shooter, one of the best three-point shooters in the league," Nesterovic said. "You can’t relax on him. He knows how to play the game. He’s not one way. He doesn’t just shoot or post up he knows how to play the whole game."
Raptors guard Anthony Parker says the arrival of Rashard Lewis via free agency, another big forward, probably has contributed to Turkoglu’s breakout season.
"He’s playing aggressive," Parker said. "With the addition of Rashard, it puts one of them in the four spot so they have an advantage that way because last year I don’t think that was the case so much."
Carlos Delfino, the ultimate quiet talker, may wind up being one of the Raptors’ noise makers coming off the bench if this playoff series unfolds as expected.
"You can put Carlos on some different guys," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said of his versatile Argentine. "He can guard some point guards, too."
But in a series fraught with matchup problems for the Raps — many of them with Hedo Turkoglu in the role of chief headache maker — Delfino’s versatility may wind up earning him a lot more playing time than a guy coming off the bench would normally get.
Mitchell says it is up to him to make sure he has the right guys in the game.
"Hey, if it’s not working, I have a lot of room to my right," Mitchell said gesturing to an imaginary bench.
"I think with the addition of Lewis they want to shoot the ball more, but they still have the big guy (Dwight Howard) in the middle and we have to figure out a way to defend him. It’s almost the same team but with a little more (outside) shooting," Delfino said.
There was a lot of talk about the Magic’s ability to hurt a team with the three-point shot, but Delfino said it still starts with Howard and that’s where the Raptors will have to attack defensively.
"They make a lot of threes, but the thing that generates all those threes is the big guy in the middle," Delfino said.
Raptors coach Sam Mitchell called his bench players, particularly Andrea Bargnani, the X Factor heading into the Eastern Conference playoffs against the Orlando Magic.
"We had a long talk (yesterday), Andrea’s key for us in the playoffs," Mitchell said. "He’s one of our more talented players."
"Andrea can play three positions for us (small forward, power forward and centre). He can guard smaller guys, he can guard bigger guys. He had a good playoffs for us last year and it seems like he’s feeling better than he has in a while — he has been sick a little bit. But he had a really good practice (yesterday)."
Mitchell said the coaching staff has been working with Bargnani on his three-point shot, which has been inconsistent of late (he shot 2-for-14 in the past three games).
"We feel comfortable Andrea’s going to shoot the ball well," Mitchell said.
"No. I always work on my shooting. I always take a lot of threes at the end of the practice. I didn’t do nothing special, no," he said.
He also waved aside suggestions that he has anything to prove in the playoffs, given his average season.
"No, I don’t think I have to redeem nothing," he said. "I play my best. I played a little bit less than last year."
The second-year NBA player did admit, however, that he has to get more aggressive under the basket and rebound more.
During its first season broadcasting Raptors games, President’s Choice Raptors Basketball on the CBC averaged 188,000 viewers. The CBC showed seven games during the 2007-08 season.
TORONTO WINS IF:
- Bosh continues to play out of his mind against the Magic. In five previous meetings, Bosh averaged 33.8 points and 9.8 rebounds. The franchise player struggled in his first taste of playoff action last season and must rebound against one of his favourite opponents.
- Point guard duo of T.J. Ford/Jose Calderon exploits its considerable skill advantage over Jameer Nelson, Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling. Dooling is a solid defender, but Nelson and Arroyo aren’t quick enough to keep up with Ford or Calderon.
Deeper bench led by Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and Carlos Delfino steps up.
PREDICTION: Raptors in six. Point-guard play the difference.
How did Calderon go from tentative foreigner to excitable leader?
"He’s having a lot more fun, he’s a lot more loose now," said teammate Chris Bosh, who has watched from down the bench and across the locker room as Calderon’s emerged as one of the Raptors’ leaders, a role much in need as the club opens its first-round NBA playoff series tomorrow against the Magic in Orlando.
"He jokes around, he actually makes jokes now and they’re funny so that’s a plus for him," added Bosh. "He’s gotten a lot better with his English and you can tell he’s getting a lot more confident.
"At first, he wouldn’t say much. So now I think he gets it more, so his personality is coming out more."
Calderon’s wife of almost five years, Ana, takes a few seconds to digest the request for something "special" about her husband.
"He’s like, I think, a good guy," she said. "He’s a really good person, he’s a friend of his friends.
"He’s so, I don’t know the word, transparent, open. You can see what he is, you talk to him and you know what he is."
Normal. And comfortable.
"Even if you’re not knocking down shots, he’s going to tell you, `Good shot.’ He reiterates that it’s a good shot even if you did miss three in a row. He just gives guys that confidence when they’re shooting the ball," said Bosh.
"He’s a positive guy, he’s very enthusiastic. When some things aren’t going the way we want them to, he’s the main guy saying, `Let’s go, that’s a good shot, get back on defence.’ Sometimes you just need that."
If there is one thing that has been constant with Calderon, it’s his belief of putting the team first. There’s nothing fake when he says it doesn’t matter how much he plays or whether he starts – he’s been repeating the same statement since the day he arrived.
"He likes being with his parents, friends from Spain," said Ana. "You should see him when we are in Spain, he is so normal. He likes doing normal things, like walking with our dogs, being with his family."
"Some people are going to put you on a pedestal so many times and a lot of people change under those circumstances," said Bosh. "He’s been a good guy throughout the whole time and he’s never let the fame and success get to him."
So, why would the team’s fate in the best-of-seven first round against Orlando perhaps rest on his substantial shoulders? Because as they cling to hope that some miraculous turnaround in recent fortunes arrives before tomorrow’s 12:30 p.m. Game 1 start in Orlando, the Raptors know what Bargnani can be.
And need him to be that again.
"He had a good playoff for us last year and he seems like he’s feeling better than he’s felt in a while, he’s been sick a little bit," was how coach Sam Mitchell put it yesterday.
"I had a long talk with Andrea. I told him he’s key for us in the playoffs. He’s one of more talented players and he played well in the playoffs and we don’t have a lot of guys who’ve played in the playoffs."
On paper, the Magic should be heavy favourites in this series. Orlando has the better record (52 wins) and won the season series. But if you were shopping for an upset, you might find it here.
The Magic’s record is bolstered by the fact that its top three players — Howard, Turkoglu and Lewis — missed a total of only one game among them. Conversely, the Raptors were without Bosh for 15 games and without him at his best for many more, as he struggled mightily in the early part of the season after missing most of training camp with a knee problem and then again after missing 10 games in March.
That’s the team the Raptors think they are — better than their record.
Bargnani’s situation is similar. After a solid rookie season, he’s flat-lined, if not regressed. Wide-open shots are an adventure, defensive focus occasional, competitive hunger not always apparent.
There are, of course, explanations. A knee injury in December, off-season surgery awaiting him after he was drilled in the face in March. There’s an Achilles problem, apparently, and the always handy umbrella: He’s 22, just a baby in NBA terms.
Taken as whole, it all sounds so reasonable, so understandable.
Which makes these playoffs — and particularly this playoff series — so perfect, so ideal.
Bosh is fit, and Ford is healthy. Jose Calderon is running the second unit. In the Magic, they drew the playoff matchup they’d been hoping for privately all season.
Now they have a chance to prove that all the variables that made them a 41-win team and not a 50-win team were reasons, not excuses.
Can you call someone a good shooter if they make only 38.6 per cent of his shots, or if they don’t know why they’re in a three-month slump?
Similarly, is a team good if they don’t win games?
Publicly, club president and general manager Bryan Colangelo has been unwavering in his opinion that circumstances have held his hand-picked club back, that a team built on sharp point-guard play, skilled shooting, steady production from Bosh and the heady potential of Bargnani is just some additional time and talent short of being one that dot’s their i’s and crosses their t’s.
Just because they haven’t yet this season doesn’t mean they won’t, the thinking goes.
And now they have seven games against the Magic to prove themselves capable of their own signature moment.
What the Raptors are at their core is what we’re about to find out against the third-seeded Orlando Magic. As they have tumbled to the end of the season, the Raptors have maintained that they are a good team in a season gone bad due to injury, to circumstance. Now that the season is done, they believe they can win this first-round series. But the evidence for those beliefs are either absent, or they are precariously slim.
"Why should you pick us? I mean, I can preach to you all day," says Chris Bosh, the team’s star. "But unless you see it, it’s a different story."
And that is why it is hard for the rest of us to believe Toronto can win this series. Since Bosh hurt his knee in the second quarter of a loss to Indiana Feb. 29, the Raptors are 9-17. The teams they beat included losers like Miami (three times), Seattle, the Knicks, Charlotte, Milwaukee, New Jersey, and one good Detroit team that emphatically returned the favour last week, using its bench.
The only other playoff-bound team the Raptors have beaten since Feb. 1 was Orlando, which played well all season. If the Raptors are a good team, we haven’t seen it lately.
"The playoffs bring something different out of you, and we have a good matchup against this team," says Bosh, who torched Orlando for 66 points in two games. "Even when I wasn’t playing, we were still in the game. We have a different scheme for ‘em – we’re going to make their bigs guard. And as far as matchups are concerned, we have a really good matchup."
As ESPN.com statistical guru John Hollinger notes, Orlando had a victory margin of 10.0 points in the final quarter of the season, which is Boston territory. The Raptors were 7-13 over the same span.
"We don’t have to be the same team from November and December – we just have to be a good team," says Jose Calderon, whose work at point guard will be critical. "I don’t know how we’re going to play, if we’re going to play good basketball, bad basketball. The only thing I know is … if we win, it doesn’t matter."
The Raptors will have to defend, and they will have to make shots. It sounds simple, but it hasn’t been for a while.
"At the end of the day, it’s going to come down to who executes on defence, who rebounds the ball, who sets the best picks, who cuts the hardest, and who makes the open shots and gets the easiest opportunities," says Mitchell.
"We’re not trying to change the core of who we are – we’re just trying to be better at who we are. That’s all."
"Am I amped up? You know what, T.J. [Ford] has been talking about it ever since about two weeks ago," Moon said yesterday. "He was like, ‘Man, this is on a different level. The fans in the [Air Canada Centre] are going to be crazy. It’s going to be like the arena is shaking.’ So he’s got me hungry."
"I don’t want to see tapes [of last year's playoff games]," Moon said. "I just want to be surprised when I get in there."
Moon will draw the most crucial defensive assignment of the series. He will have to guard Hedo Turkoglu, the Orlando small forward coming off a career year.
Turkoglu is the type of player that has routinely dismantled the Raptors this year – a swingman who can hit from the outside (he connected on 40% of his three-point attempts this year) and can slash to the paint with ease.
It is the latter that is most concerning. With Howard occupying space on the post, the Raptors cannot allow Orlando to score many more points near the bucket.
Guarding prolific, athletic forwards is nothing new for Moon.
"Eighty-two games man, we’ve been guarding a lot of people. Turkoglu is a good player, but we had matchups like LeBron James, Kobe Bryant. We don’t look at Turkoglu and try to say that he’s going to be an easier matchup," Moon said, before stopping himself. "But it’s better for us."
Moon has a fairly uncomplicated three-pronged plan to shut down Turkoglu, or Rashard Lewis, should he have to guard him. First, make the player catch the ball away from the basket, as far off the three-point-line as possible. Second, make the player dribble, not allowing him to take a set shot. And third, make the player go away from his dominant hand.
"Basically, we just want to force him to go left, force him back to where all our help is going to be," Moon said. "That’s the main thing. That’s basically what we wanted to do in the past, but we’re really emphasizing it now. Get on his right hand, and make him go left. Don’t let him get back to the right."
It is a challenge. But it all seems like a bonus to Moon.
"Of course I’m looking forward to it. I know that first playoff game, I’m probably going to have chills."
No. 3 Magic vs. No. 6 Raptors: Too much uncertainty in Orlando. Will Dwight Howard have enough left in the tank on offense after defending Chris Bosh? Hedo Turkoglu was the Magic’s go-to guy in the regular season — but is he good enough to play the same role in the playoffs? The Raptors’ significant edge at point guard could be decisive.
Prediction: Raptors in seven.
Pistons vs. Raptors: Great matchups in this series. Rasheed Wallace vs. Chris Bosh. Chauncey Billups vs. Jose Calderon/T.J. Ford. Take the experience.
Prediction: Pistons in six.
Is this a playoff series or the first postseason three-point shooting contest? The Magic was No. 1 in threes this season and No. 4 in accuracy. The Raptors were No. 12 in makes and No. 2 in accuracy. The difference, aside from 11 games in the standings, is their post players, Toronto’s lithe Chris Bosh and Orlando’s scary-even-if-he’s-still-learning-the-game Dwight Howard. Howard’s 14.2 rebound average was the NBA’s best in five seasons and almost as much as Toronto’s top two, Bosh (8.7) and Jamario Moon (6.2), together. The Magic is on the rise, up from last season’s 40 wins. The Raptors are not, down from last season’s 47 wins, having lost 17 of their last 26.
Van Gundy is so maniacal, possessed and totally consumed by the game and winning that he concedes it scares him at times. He takes losing or a player’s poor performance personally, saying, "I always take it as I haven’t prepared them well enough. That stuff eats me up."
For two-plus hours each game, Van Gundy is utterly miserable, a tortured soul who expends all his energy — whether the game is lopsided or not. "I’m aware; I know what I look like on the bench. I do," he said.
Van Gundy is no fool. While he’s trying to get the best out of his players, he knows how far a coach can push in a players’ league.
"Chuck Daly said it best: ‘Players in this league allow you to coach them.’ I can hold them accountable because Dwight Howard wants to be held accountable. He has high goals. Some rebel — and I’m sure some here did," he said.
"They might not like [the criticism] when it’s coming. . . . but they want it because they want to be good."
This should be a high-scoring series — both teams averaged more than 100 points against each other, both like to run and fire up a barrage of 3-pointers. One difference is, when the game slows down, the Magic have Dwight Howard in the middle and the Raptors don’t have an answer. … One of the Raptors’ best assets might be their bench, in particular PG Jose Calderon . He presents a serious matchup problem for Jameer Nelson .
• Key matchup : How will the Raptors deal with the Rashard Lewis -Hedo Turkoglu combination? Chris Bosh would have a hard time guarding either, and he might foul out guarding Howard. That leaves Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon — not good for Toronto.
To get in the spirit, the Magic are urging fans to wear blue and white to the games to go along with their theme — and to show support for the players.
To help fans get involved, 9,000 blue and 9,000 white "Blue & White Ignite" T-shirts and 18,000 rally rackets will be given away at Game 1 of the best-of-seven series against the Toronto Raptors, which starts Sunday at Amway Arena. Another 9,000 blue and 9,000 white "Blue & White Ignite" T-shirts and 18,000 thundersticks will be provided to fans at Game 2.
Before each home game, a Fan Fest will allow people to gather early for a tailgate-style party on the north side of Amway Arena, starting two hours before each game.
‘What I said when they got him should stand alone — that the most important acquisition they made last year was getting Stan Van Gundy,” said Heat coach Pat Riley, who pried a second-round pick from the Magic in exchange for releasing Van Gundy from his contract as a consultant. “I really would not want to play them in the playoffs. Not with Dwight and what I think Stan can do from a game-planning standpoint.”
‘We’re motivated,” Howard said. “But it’s like Coach said: We have to stay focused. Nobody is giving us a shot, but we have a chance to show the world the type of team we have and what we can do.”
This has the makings of a Western Conference-style series where either team has a shot at winning and it’s likely to go seven games. Unfortunately, it could also be a four-game sweep. Either way, it’s up to the Magic.
The Wildcard: Chris Bosh. If he can carry the team like he did through last year’s regular season while still having the supporting cast handle their roles, the Raptors can take this one home.
The Reality: The Orlando Magic are (sometimes) a very scary team. It’s just a matter of them putting it together. I do see Dwight Howard and company doing that, considering it’s the playoffs.
Something to Watch For: The point guard matchup between T.J. Ford and Jameer Nelson. Both very good, yet, underrated point guards.
My Prediction: The second best series in the East is won by Magic in six.
Orlando simply has more playmakers than Toronto, and Howard alone is a house of horrors for opposing teams. If he can get help from Turkoglu and Lewis to take some pressure of his game, then the Raptors are going to be in a world of hurt. Van Gundy has the knowledge to guide the Magic deep into the playoffs, and he doesn’t have to worry about any team presidents or executives breathing down his back for a taste of glory (i.e. Pat Riley).
Bosh and Nesterovic will play to the best of their abilities to stop Howard, but it won’t happen this season. Howard, a.k.a. Superman for his winning performance in the 2008 Slam Dunk contest, will see his offseason conditioning pay off since it’s going to be a long playoffs. Orlando went 2-1 against Toronto during the regular season, while Howard averaged 24.3 points and 12.6 rebounds per contest.
MAGIC IN SIX
As far as predictions, I am having a hard time predicting it. Truth be told, my heart says Orlando in 5, but the idiot in me has the Raptors in 7 for some reason. The match-up is interesting as they are pretty similar. The winner of this series will be the team that can make stops when they count. Both teams aren’t a defensive juggernaut, and try to outscore opponents to win.
It wont be easy, I’m not on the bandwagon, but here’s hoping for some solid playoff ball, the Raptors have a chance to steal because all the pressure is on Orlando, and they may not be up to the task (although they finished the season like champs).
NBA Playoffs Preview (2007-2008)
What could possibly lie ahead in the post-season?
1st Round match-ups begin later today … Where Amazing Happens!
Final prediction: this goes the full seven, with the Magic winning it on a controversial call. That’s the only way they can beat the Raptors, right?
After a gruelling 82-game season, 30 teams have been cut to 16, and the playoffs are set to begin Saturday.
The panel, in an hour-long podcast this week, discuss their picks for each series, as well as deciding on MVP, Sixth Man, Most-Improved Player and Coach of the Year.
Therefore, a series that looked prior to the season to be a stepping-stone to greater things, suddenly has become an evaluation session.
If the Raptors get by the Magic, perhaps all is not “for naught,” and management will simply keep building towards the free-agent frenzy summer of 2009.
Should Toronto fail miserably against Orlando to cap off what was at best an inconsistent season, then all of a sudden it might be time for Bryan Colangelo and his crew to re-examine their original blueprints.
So with this in mind, we here at RaptorsHQ have six questions we’d like to see answered as the first round unfolds:
I just want to break down the series looking at the these two teams meetings in the regular season.
These two teams met three times during the regular season, with the Magic winning the season series 2-1, taking the two teams only meeting in Orlando while splitting the two games in Toronto.
ORLANDO (3) vs TORONTO (6)
Jack – Toronto
Paul – Toronto
Eric – Toronto
Mitchell won’t talk at all about what he plans to do, just in case Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy is paying attention. "I keep informing you guys, the first thing we do every morning is we read the Internet, the papers in Orlando to see if they’re going to tell us anything that they’re thinking about doing," Mitchell told the Toronto Star.
For what it’s worth, the Star and the Toronto Sun published matchup boxes. The Star predicts that the Magic will win in seven games, and the Sun forecasts a Raptors victory in six games — saying "Point-guard play the difference.” A factor that will contribute to a Raptors win, according to the Sun, is if the Raptors’ "deeper bench led by [Jose] Calderon, Andrea Bargnani and Carlos Delfino steps up.”
Toronto is a rare city that has THREE newspapers. What a treat! So I checked out the Toronto Globe and Mail, too. I had a little more trouble than in the other newspapers finding the NBA coverage hiding among all the NHL coverage, but I finally was successful.
For whatever reason Chris Bosh drinks Dwight Howard’s milkshake, and despite the presence of TJ Ford, Calderon should sodomize terrible Jameer Nelson™ adequately to give the Raptors a surprising series win. Raptors in 6.
Underrated, underrated potential series. While I do love what Toronto could potentially bring to the table, they just don’t have the perimeter scoring option to bring enough wood to Detroit to take the series, though they will put a charge into them and make the Celtics’ fans almost unbearable before Celtics/Pistons. Pistons in 7.
Biggest Liability: Toronto’s depth. Bosh is awesome, and T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon are far superior to any point guard the Magic have on their roster, but the fact of the matter is that Orlando has much more firepower with Howard, Hedo and Lewis each capable of popping off for 20 at any given time. The Raps, on the other hand, just don’t have a guy you know will get them points if Bosh isn’t on top of his game.
FanHouse Prediction: The Raptors will win a couple of games at home, but that’s it. Magic in six.
There are many factors which will determine who wins this match up: Dwight Howard vs. Chris Bosh, Toronto’s PGs vs. Orlando’s PGs and the Coaches success in getting the players to perform at their highest level.
Which team will come out victorious? If the Magic players can play to their full potential, then they should sweep the Raptors, winning the series in four games. However, if they struggle, this match up could easily go to the maximum seven games.
The key for this series offensively for the Raptors will be shooting percentage. Who shot near .475 in January but in April a horrible .307. The key defensively will be shutting down Hedo and Rashard. Howard is going to get his points and Rasho will do a great job on him. Nelson and Arroyo will be held pretty well by Jose and TJ. Bosh cancels Howards points and does his own damage. Inconsistencies from Carlos Delfino and Andrea Bargnani will not be acceptable. Both of them need to step up and do what they do best. Il Mago has had a rough time and has done well offensively attacking the basket which he should continue. Delfino and Moon fell in love with their perimeter game here in Toronto. They must realize they gotta attack the rim. For Moon, it’s simply about taking those two steps up and then taking the shot, which he has done with a good percentage. Raptors will be out-coached by Stan Van Gundy who is miles ahead of Sam Mitchell but as long as the players hold their own this effect will be minimal. If Raptors continue their shooting woes, expect a quick series. If they step up and shoot well this could be a big one. I heard it all night from my buddy Harm and I couldn’t agree more, Raptors need at least one in Orlando. Sounds obvious but it has to be one of the first two there.
Raptors in 7
Raptors over Magic
Raptors over Pistons
Celtics over Raptors
I hosted that March game in Orlando on Sun Sports, and asked head coach Sam Mitchell about the matchup between Howard and Bosh. He responded, in tones reserved for the very slow, that it was of no interest to him to discuss players who weren’t on the floor that night.
Well, coach, you’re gonna have to talk about it now.
Let me go on record as saying I don’t think Bosh vs. Howard will decide this series. If we’ve learned anything from their regular season meetings, it’s that the two counteract each other. It’s worth noting that on the February night when Howard went for 35 and 17 against the Raptors, the Magic lost; back in November, when Bosh recorded his 26 points and 10 rebounds in 38 minutes against Orlando, the Raptors lost — and Howard scored only 17. Punch, counterpunch.
The Magic should win this series. Note that I write "should." I may as well write "need," seeing as how the team has not advanced past the first round since 1996. If we are to believe that the Orlando Magic are all the way back, that the presence of Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu and Stan Van Gundy has truly, inexorably, honestly vanquished the ghosts of seasons past, they must get past Toronto. After that, it’s probably Detroit, and we’ll start all over again.
I dunno, for me this is kind of the ultimate who-gives-a-shit series. The Dwight Howard-Chris Bosh storyline will be kind of fun but it’d be a lot more fun if they didn’t play for the Magic and Raptors. The main point is that either of these teams will probably get completely demolished in the second round. For now I’ll respect Orlando’s regular season proficiency and give it to the Magic in six.
There’s a reason the Magic won 52 games and the Raptors were just .500 at 41-41. Orlando is better. Magic in five.
Although the NBA experts have been ripping the Eastern Conference first round match-ups, I have to say that this series and the Cleveland-Washington series could be very interesting.
-Prediction: Toronto in 6. In such a close series, I’m tempted to go with the home-court. However, in this case I’m going with the relative experience of the Raptors to win a couple of the close games and close out the series in Toronto.
#2 Detroit vs. #6 Detroit: Detroit in 6.
3) Orlando over 6) Toronto in six. On paper the Raptors are just as talented but they underachieved terribly all year and Bargnani was a big disappointment. They’re playing Ford too much again and Calderon not enough. I almost get the sense that they know they’re not good enough to do anything, so you might as well showcase Ford as much as possible to deal him in the offseason. Also, there is a massive coaching edge to Orlando. The one chance the Raps have is if both Rashard Lewis and Hedo both choke in the playoffs, and both have feeble postseason resumes thus far.
Wild Card
Muscles, as in the lack of them on Toronto’s roster and the abundance of them for Orlando. While many predictions I’ve seen so far see a hard-fought, six- or seven-game series, I think that it could be shorter if the Magic make up their minds to be physical with Bosh, Ford, etc.. If they do, Toronto could wilt rather quickly, especially if/when they drop Games 1 and 2 in Orlando. This physicality may or may not be manifested in Dwight Howard picking up T.J. Ford, snapping him in half over his knee, then sucking out his bone marrow.
Predictions
Andrew: Orlando Magic in six.
Brian: Orlando Magic in five.
I can’t find anything good with this Raptors team outside of Chris Bosh and Andrea Bargnani. Jason Kapono, the TWO time winner of the three point shootout is so underused that it is not even funny. They had a great run last season before falling to the New Jersey Nets in the first round… I’m not sure they will win 1 in this series.
Magic in 4.
Enter Rasho Nesterovic, the veteran center who’s having a career renaissance in April, averaging 16 points, 6 rebounds, and 60% shooting from the field. But the focus of this piece is defense, so let’s get to it. 82games shows us that he held opposing centers to a PER of 13.8 this season. That’s all well and good, but how did he and Dwight do against one another in the regular season? Let’s take a look:
Toronto will win if…the Raptors show toughness on the glass and at the defensive end of the court.
Orlando will win because…Dwight Howard will wear out Toronto’s bigs in the paint.
Other things to consider: Hedo Turkoglu has emerged this season as one of the best fourth quarter players in the NBA–not that he is too shabby in the first three quarters.
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Did you see Bosh’s post about Stephen A. Smith? What did the dude say? I don’t get espn.
I’m surprised how many people are writing off Nesterovic, saying he can’t guard Howard. I think he’ll do alright… but I still think we’ll win in the end.
Great work here, by the way.
me ethier but when here that name I automatically believe the other side being Bosh in this case. my blog talks about this issue a little.
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Bosh/Smith: I saw it and it meant nothing. Smith was joking around and Bosh didn’t see the humour. Jalen Rose did, but Bosh couldn’t. That is shocking in itself.
In case you missed it Smith did apologize: http://stephenablog.typepad.com/stephen_a_smith/2008/04/april-19-though.html
Ben: Thanks for the compliment. As a long time Rasho, um, non-fan (?) I also side with you. I’m amazed that people discount his ability to guard Howard, especially given Rasho’s play of late. Howard is powerful, but he isn’t necessarily quick and as long as Rasho can shuffle his feet, he can guard him.
I was expecting something juicer than that. I’m surprised he called him out over it, but everyone has their blind sides. Look at how many people rag on Shaq for his appearance … or that Eddie Curry dude.
The problem has NEVER been Rasho Nesterovic. The problem has always been the lack of help for Rasho Nesterovic. Rasho is a great one on one defender, but since he seems to be the only player that defends in the paint (besides Humphries), he constantly looks like he is getting beat. Usually it’s someone else’s man.
Rasho takes a lot of heat, but he’s one of the best defenders on our team… he is a tremendously smart post player which more than compensates for his lack of athletic ability.
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I am L-O-L-ing. Chris Bosh has spent WAY too long in the friendly city of Toronto to go off like that.
“What bothered me is that he made certain personal comments towards me. His remarks were not funny and I don’t understand why he would say something like that about me. My friends that watched it thought that I had done something to him or said something about him in the past. The thing that bothers me most is that every time I see him, I say hello and shake his hand. The comments he made had nothing to do with basketball and I feel that he has something agaisnt me and that really makes me upset.”
For the record, Stephen A. compared Bosh to “Manute Bol with short dreads” in response to a comment that he needed to toughen up.
Bosh to Granville Translation: WAHHHHH.
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Agreed, Granville. I am amazed/ashamed that Bosh has come out like that…and today it’s the lead story in 2 papers on the opening day of their playoff series. Mindblowing.
How many times have we heard our own on-air guys comment on a guys appearance or their lack or speed or hops? It’s hardly a new thing. Charles Barkley could have been rich if he sued every time someone commented on his physical appearance. Oliver Miller could own an island.
Bosh is bush.
Where this series will be decided …
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A – Nesterovic speaking about Turkoglu
“He’s so tall and good under the rim and then he’s such a great shooter, one of the best three-point shooters in the league,” Nesterovic said. “You can’t relax on him. He knows how to play the game. He’s not one way. He doesn’t just shoot or post up he knows how to play the whole game.”
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B
Raptors guard Anthony Parker says the arrival of Rashard Lewis via free agency, another big forward, probably has contributed to Turkoglu’s breakout season.
“He’s playing aggressive,” Parker said. “With the addition of Rashard, it puts one of them in the four spot so they have an advantage that way because last year I don’t think that was the case so much.”
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C
Sam Mitchell & Co vs Stan Van Gundy & Co.
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Orlando in 7.
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