Holy Shit!! The Raptors walked into the Rogers Arena in BC last night and trounced the Phoenix Suns like they were playin' against the Vancouver Grizzlies. The defense was noticeably better than the last 3 seasons and they held Hedouche to 6 points. Damn right it's embarrassing to lose by 50 points and that's what the Raptors are going to do to the rest of the league. Smash in skulls and wreck rims.
Ok now that the high i got from last night has worn off everyone knows not to get too excited. Especially in this city. With that in mind it was still a good start, nothing more nothing less. That is unless you're Il Mago who played like Il Crapo but hey that's what the preseason's for. It's for ironing out wrinkles like having a double team on you every time you touch the ball or even look like you might get a ball passed to you. They double teamed him and he bumbled the ball, rushed shots and looked pretty rickety.
Like I've said many times, I am not an expert but I thought running an iso for him would have been nice. Clear out the side for him and have Jose or Jarrett feed him in the post. If the PG drops down to double, swing it back out for an open jumper. If not, back in and try for a hook or fade-away or whatever. I'm probably not reading into it right but that's just what I thought would've helped.
Kleiza was as good as advertised but I would be surprised to see him do this well for an extended period. He was one of the positives as well the defensively alert and hardworking David Andersen. That guy showed me something. He showed me that if Bargnani had his Il Mago skills and half of Andersen's heart and hustle we would have ourselves a franchise player... but alas we don't. Joey Dorsey and Reggie were all hustle as well but Joey was a beast.
The defense for once was present. I haven't seen defense like that by Toronto since 2001. Or maybe ever. Where the hell was this kind of hustle last season? It's like they didn't feed the team for a week, then sprayed pork chop sent on the Suns players before the game. Then you got Grant Hill and Reggie getting tossed for touching each others bums. What on earth is going on here? I'll believe this impartial no-nonsense officiating when I see the Raptors play a team like the Lakers and the refs don't cater to Kobe's every wish or sniff Kevin Garnett's rare end. I give this impartial officiating 2 weeks of regular season. Then it's going the way of the dodo.
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