OK, admit it. You panicked. It’s OK to put up your hand and confess that when the Raptors went from 21 up to a tied game, you had flashbacks. I know I did. We’ve been burned too often by this often tantalising team to expect any different.
Sometimes a complete shock isn’t a bad thing. The Raptors bent but did not break, they weathered the storm (albeit a storm that had hit Boston a night before and played itself out) and they came back firing. Although I’m not ready to anoint this team as a championship contender just yet, I think we saw some good signs last night.
The Good
This is a team still working on that elusive “chemistry” thing. That said, it didn’t show all that much last night. One play in particular sticks out, in the last part of the second quarter. Calderon, Belinelli, Turkoglu and one other (I think it was Wright) skipped the ball all around, each time getting into a slightly better position, until finally Turkoglu get a 15-foot runner to drop. The ball movement was great, but we’d seen it before. What encouraged me was that the passing had a reason behind it, and nobody settled for the 3 because they knew they could get it at any point in the clock. The players all supported each other, and when the crowd keyed into that it get THEM psyched up in turn, making a loud and hostile environment for a tired Cleveland team. This seems like a group of guys who like each other, and although there were times last night where you could see misunderstandings, the level they are at so early is a cause for optimism.
As are some of last night’s stat lines. 16 rebounds for Bosh. 3 blocked shots for Turkoglu. 11 assists for Calderon. DeRozan getting 5 boards. Antoine Wright drawing charges and making himself a nuisance. With the exception of Turk’s blocks, these players are capable of putting out these numbers most nights, and we need to see it. As a team the Raptors were only out-rebounded by 1, which is promising for a team that has its woes in that department. You can’t judge the quality of a performance by the stats alone, but these numbers are promising.
Also promising was the way in which Bosh and Bargnani especially reacted to the game. Quite frankly, the officials did everything in their power to give this game to Cleveland, and made some HORRIBLE calls on the starting bigs for Toronto. Both men avoided technicals and buckled down to the business at hand. Bosh worked hard, got to the offensive glass and got to the line, while Bargnani scored in every way he could.
Although Bosh and Bargs had the two biggest games in terms of points, almost everyone who saw the court had an impact. Calderon’s 3-point play in the fourth iced the game for the Raptors, and he seemed more inclined to takes risks with the ball knowing that both Jack and Turkoglu could take the pressure off if needed. His 11 assists actually felt like 11, whereas normally I find myself wondering how Jose’s numbers got so high. Both Antoine Wright and DeMar DeRozan did good jobs on King James, although they got burnt a few times. You cannot expect to guard a player of that calibre and shut them down totally. Rasho saw limited minutes but also had a key offensive rebound and putback during one of Cleveland’s runs that got the crowd on their feet. Belinelli was everywhere and I could have sworn he had at least 15 (he finished with 10). No sign of his itchy trigger finger from the preseason.
The Bad
Quite apart from Cleveland’s big run, which you would expect from a team of Cleveland’s quality, there were things in this game of which Jay Triano and company need to be aware. No game is perfect and after such a big win it may seem cruel to pick on a few shortcomings, but it would feel wrong writing a post-game report without finding SOMETHING to complain about.
I didn’t have to look too hard. As a team we are still porous on defence. Although the dribble-penetration wasn’t as effective as normal against us, the back cuts were. DeRozan in particular lost his man a few times and when we play the Spurs, that will be death. Against a team that can drag Bosh or Bargs outside the paint, it will be worse. Someone like Okur or Troy Murphy will make even bigger holes in the defence, allowing Deron Williams and TJ Ford to have their wicked way with us. Nothing new (hell, last year we were nice enough to give Ramon FREAKING Sessions a career night), but cause for concern.
The help defence also needs tuning. The first man was coming over fine all night, but one glaring example saw Bargnani leave Shaq to double-team LeBron, and nobody rotated. You can guess the result of that play. This is something that will (hopefully) come with chemistry.
Finally, once the Cavaliers started putting on some pressure and mounting a comeback, too many Raptors started settling for 20-footers. If memory serves it was DeRozan driving to the hoop that gave the Raps a collective slap in the face, fortunately just in time to stem the tide. THIS CANNOT HAPPEN. I have spoken before about Raptoritis, that disease which seems to afflict anyone who puts on the dino print. No matter how much they used to drive and dish, post up or slash, in Toronto they become jump or 3-point shooters. Jason Kapono was some kind of Bizarro World version of that. As long as DeRozan can keep being that antithesis to Raptoritis, and he brings a couple of people with him (Turkoglu and Belinelli both made some nice drives last night), this SHOULD resolve itself. However in the past, the one holdout has been assimilated.
The Ugly
The Ugly is where I’ll nominate one Raptors play for the worst of the game. This is a no-brainer here. Andrea Bargnani makes a steal, breaks down the court all alone…and MISSES THE DUNK. If the Raptors had lost by 1 or 2, this would have been a BIG moment.
I’ll be back with the Grizzlies game late Friday.
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Great commentary. I actually didn't panic for a second, only because I expected to lose. Even up 20 I expected us to lose by 15. So.. yea.
I was a bit disappointed with Jarret Jack. Thought he would bring a little more.. maybe with time.