The Good, the Bad, and the Turkoglu

The Good: Bosh and Jose

The Bad: Bargs

The Turkoglu: Hidayet "the idiot" Turkoglu

The Raptors welcomed the Memphis Uglies tonight who are coming in on the 2nd half of a back to back as they just lost the night before while the Raps have had some more time to rest and practice. This should have been an advantage but typical Raptor fashion, they come out flat. The Raps were a team that looked like they were half asleep in the first quarter. They were hesitant, made bad choices on the offensive end, and almost seemed like they were forcing shots up. The Raps were a lot better in the second quarter and made a game of it but alas, with 37 seconds to go they somehow blow a 5 point lead and get reamed in overtime. Oh, and Turkoglu reeked. If there is some definition of a player who tanks, and plays like shit after signing a big contract, I hope there is a picture of Turkoglu beside it cause whoever reads that definition wouldn't need to read the text. They'd just look at his face and instantly understand the concept.

Turk's Line: 1 pt, 3 turnovers, 2 asst, 3 fouls, 27 mins.

Insults I'd like to sling at Turk:

How's it feel like to be a walking joke?

Maybe you should skip the mask and go straight for a bag over your head.

You're human garbage, actually I'm not entirely sure you're human.

I would like a refund, here is the receipt for a $53 million dollar player. Reason for return: goods not received.

Turkoglu was back to his low standards, turning the ball over, and throwing up bricks with reckless abandon. I know he has had a few good games here and there but like my buddy Steve says, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn eventually. I guess tonight, his acorn was the 1 point he managed to get. How the heck are you a $53 million player who manages to score 1 point in 27 mins of play? I think recruiting one fat dude out of the crowd per game could get you that amount of production and it'd be service that's free of charge. In the fourth quarter, I was praying that they kept Turkoglu out of the game. He snaked in there after Antoine took a Rudy Gay elbow to the face. So I was actually yelling at my TV for Triano to take him out. For the benefit of everyone involved, please trade his ass. He's like a black hole on the court. I blame the loss on his wasted time on the court, his wasted possessions, and the oxygen he wastes that keeps him alive.

It wasn't all bad:
Jose Calderon acted like the spark plug off the bench that the team needs him to be. He and Amir were their usual selves scoring and pushing the ball up the floor. It's like Jose provides a sort of offensive creativity and unpredictability that the other team can't handle. His quick crisp passes swing the ball to the weak side so quickly, it's hard to adjust to and that's what we need more out of Jack. Jack seemed a bit hesitant. The bench seem full of energy and really contrasted the slow stagnant offense of the starters. Teams still seem to be underestimating Sonny as they keep sleeping on him. He does a good job coming off screens and possesses a good smooth jump shot.

The MVP:
Christopher was a beast as usual. Scoring the majority of the team's points. And without the secondary scoring that is usually provided by Bargs, Chris was doing it with more double teams in his face than usually cause they know they can back off the other B. He's proving to me that he's the greatest Raptor of all time. I wasn't sure before... but he's taken his game to another level, to another stratosphere...

The Animal:
Reggie played his second game and he played well. What I worry about is that he becomes some kind of sideshow that is used almost completely out of sequence and off of the flow of the team's game. I don't think they should run too much offensive through him but so far he has done nothing but good when he gets his hands on the ball. However, I suspect he'll look more in tune with the team when he gets some more games under his belt. Maybe I am wrong but I see Reggie more like a Rodman type player who clearly excels at defense and rebounding but not an option on the offense whatsoever.

The Italian Big-Man:
Let's not kid ourselves, Bargs was off tonight. He had 10 boards but he was shaky on defense. He left his man open several times, just long enough for the Raptor's defense to get exposed. He was like the first domino that leads to the Griz knocking down the Raptor's defense. Another indication is his shooting %. It's not good and he kept jacking up those threes. He had a few decent stretches, had a few blocks but he didn't have a complete game by anyone's standard. He has a game like this every once in a while this season and I am hoping he bounces back like he usually has. I chalk it up to him being rusty from the break. He needs to practice that 3 pointer more... not much arc on it and it's lookin really flat.

The Naismith Cup recipients:
The Griz came in with a game plan and have to be given credit. They leaned on their all star,Randolph who had his way with the Raptor's D. Not to mention the hustle and hardnosed play of Pau...*cough cough* I mean Marc Gasol. I wonder what it was like in the Gasol household growing up. I imagine a lot of broken furniture and windows. I just picture these two huge 7 foot guys trying to squeeze into a tiny house in Spain. Almost like carrying around a ladder and swinging it around with no regard for your surroundings. Another Griz that torched them was Rudy. He was making his way into the lane and into the paint more often than any opposing coach would like to see but then again it is Rudy Gay and he has to be considered a star player.

Oh well, onto the next game I guess. Didn't expect this game to be easy but I also didn't expect the Raptors to lay a big stinky rotten egg for this one. I am tired of saying it, but the Turkoglu idea was bad. Said it when they did it, and been saying it since. I am guessing I will say it till his 5 year contract is up. Where's Rob Babcock when you need him?