I really want to tell myself to relax.
I really want to tell myself "This is game 1 of 82. Last year they started 3-0 and look how that turned out. Just cool your jets."
I really want to, believe me - but that just ain't happening. Not when I witnessed what I just witnessed. We ran roughshod over one of the elite teams in the NBA, with only a few bewilderingly bad referee calls preventing this thing from being a blowout.
Like Hulk Hogan making his Wrestlemania VII entrance, each Raptors starter came into the ACC one by one through a black curtain (seriously, I felt like I was watching the Royal Rumble. It looked like Bosh was going to run into the ring to break up Jose being beaten on by Varajao and Shaq). And after getting a few laughs and nostalgic sighs in seeing Alvin Williams and his ill-fitting tie, we finally got to see what these new Raptors were all about.
I'm so happy that I really get to loud and clear say what I've been trying to holler to anyone that could hear me for the last month: Pre-season means NOTHING. They are over-glorified scrimmages with guys running at 75% and trying not to get injured in a fake game. So I'm genuinely not that shocked to see this team come out and play rather then the lame duck that got spanked by Minnesota.
I'm not going to do a full game recap, but some things that really stood out:
Bosh went 0-3 to start, and with our offense already looking stagnant, the young rookie Demar DeRozan slashes in and draws the foul. It seems like this should be run of the mill, but any Raptors fan knows this was a sight we haven't seen in years. Instead of settling for jumpers for the next 8 minutes, we actually had an athletic wing who just crashed inside. This young dude is going to be the future of the franchise, just you wait and see. He did everything we could have wanted from him and then some. He will be our franchise in four years. Bank on it.
But that's the future, and right now the present seems to be unfolding something we've all hoped and prayed for: A raw, powerful, quick and hungry Andrea Bargnani. He was easily the best man on the floor tonight, and probably could have jacked his stats up even more if not for the absolutely abominable refereeing tonight. Bosh is still our #1 (even if the boxscore doesn't show it, his grit and tenacity to get to the line when we needed him to and making the plays when they count is textbook franchise player) but Bargnani is emerging as a contender to that throne.
And that leaves everyone else - and I really do mean EVERYONE else. I cannot think of one guy who laid an egg tonight. Sure Jarrett Jack may have needed to reign in his three point shooting, but his change of pace from Jose (who was in beautiful A/TO ratio form tonight) is one of the reason the Cavaliers were never able to get a defensive handle on us. Belinelli made a statement to Don Nelson that he is much better then the Warriors ever gave him credit for. Antoine Wright was a monster on defense, Amir Johnson crashed the boards with solid minutes, and our old pal Nesterovic gave me my favorite play of the night. After Bargs got sent to the pine with yet another ticky-tack foul, Rasho came in at a very crucial moment in the game making the ACC collectively cringe as he set up on the defensive block. What happens next? Huge block by Nesto, who runs down the board and gets the pass and the 2 points to finish the play. Let's not forget that it was a scant two years ago that he was consistently getting this team out of jams down the stretch and he did it once again for us tonight.
And then of course, our star acquisition, Hedo Turkoglu. One thing I've been saying since he went down in that tragic, jaw-dropping heap, is the biggest blow to the Raptors in recent history was the loss of Jorge Garbajosa. he didn't put up huge numbers or lead the team in any stats, but his impact on games were unquestionable. Hustle plays, and smart passes, and good positioning and just all around smart basketball. His effects weren't on paper, but the team was winning because of him. And I think we found just that in Hedo. If you paid attention, you'd see his subtle touches on every good play run by Toronto. His basketball IQ is off the charts, and coupled with the fact that he once again proved himself to be "Mr. 4th Quarter" by closing out the Cavs, he looks to be fitting on this team like a glove.
I don't want to talk about this too much, but I feel it has to be said: How long until Mike Brown starts updating his workopolis profile? This Cavs team is going nowhere fast, and all signs point to the walking corpse known as Shaquille O'Neal as the culprit. In the annals of Cavalier folklore, when the book is written on the team (tentatively called "The Rise and Fall of the King") his arrival will be the pinpoint people make when deciding when the team spiraled out of control and moved to London, England. What stuck out most for me with them though is their opening antics looked VERY contrived. Shaq hitting people on the butt with a tube, Lebron's funky handshakes, it looked like they really wanted to act like "The Team That Loves Each Other" but came off more like Don and Betty Draper at a dinner party - all show with nothing behind it. Except this sub-plot to deepen as the season wears on.
Back to the Red and White: again, this is just one game, and for all I know, the Raptors could get smoked in Memphis and I'll be sitting here writing "Good ol Raps! Playing up to the good teams and down to the bad. Don't you ever change you sons of bitches."
But for now, the Raptors just opened their season by beating one of the best teams in basketball. And not by squeeking one out, but by solidly defeating them.
Relax?
Not fucking likely.
I really want to tell myself "This is game 1 of 82. Last year they started 3-0 and look how that turned out. Just cool your jets."
I really want to, believe me - but that just ain't happening. Not when I witnessed what I just witnessed. We ran roughshod over one of the elite teams in the NBA, with only a few bewilderingly bad referee calls preventing this thing from being a blowout.
Like Hulk Hogan making his Wrestlemania VII entrance, each Raptors starter came into the ACC one by one through a black curtain (seriously, I felt like I was watching the Royal Rumble. It looked like Bosh was going to run into the ring to break up Jose being beaten on by Varajao and Shaq). And after getting a few laughs and nostalgic sighs in seeing Alvin Williams and his ill-fitting tie, we finally got to see what these new Raptors were all about.
I'm so happy that I really get to loud and clear say what I've been trying to holler to anyone that could hear me for the last month: Pre-season means NOTHING. They are over-glorified scrimmages with guys running at 75% and trying not to get injured in a fake game. So I'm genuinely not that shocked to see this team come out and play rather then the lame duck that got spanked by Minnesota.
I'm not going to do a full game recap, but some things that really stood out:
Bosh went 0-3 to start, and with our offense already looking stagnant, the young rookie Demar DeRozan slashes in and draws the foul. It seems like this should be run of the mill, but any Raptors fan knows this was a sight we haven't seen in years. Instead of settling for jumpers for the next 8 minutes, we actually had an athletic wing who just crashed inside. This young dude is going to be the future of the franchise, just you wait and see. He did everything we could have wanted from him and then some. He will be our franchise in four years. Bank on it.
But that's the future, and right now the present seems to be unfolding something we've all hoped and prayed for: A raw, powerful, quick and hungry Andrea Bargnani. He was easily the best man on the floor tonight, and probably could have jacked his stats up even more if not for the absolutely abominable refereeing tonight. Bosh is still our #1 (even if the boxscore doesn't show it, his grit and tenacity to get to the line when we needed him to and making the plays when they count is textbook franchise player) but Bargnani is emerging as a contender to that throne.
And that leaves everyone else - and I really do mean EVERYONE else. I cannot think of one guy who laid an egg tonight. Sure Jarrett Jack may have needed to reign in his three point shooting, but his change of pace from Jose (who was in beautiful A/TO ratio form tonight) is one of the reason the Cavaliers were never able to get a defensive handle on us. Belinelli made a statement to Don Nelson that he is much better then the Warriors ever gave him credit for. Antoine Wright was a monster on defense, Amir Johnson crashed the boards with solid minutes, and our old pal Nesterovic gave me my favorite play of the night. After Bargs got sent to the pine with yet another ticky-tack foul, Rasho came in at a very crucial moment in the game making the ACC collectively cringe as he set up on the defensive block. What happens next? Huge block by Nesto, who runs down the board and gets the pass and the 2 points to finish the play. Let's not forget that it was a scant two years ago that he was consistently getting this team out of jams down the stretch and he did it once again for us tonight.
And then of course, our star acquisition, Hedo Turkoglu. One thing I've been saying since he went down in that tragic, jaw-dropping heap, is the biggest blow to the Raptors in recent history was the loss of Jorge Garbajosa. he didn't put up huge numbers or lead the team in any stats, but his impact on games were unquestionable. Hustle plays, and smart passes, and good positioning and just all around smart basketball. His effects weren't on paper, but the team was winning because of him. And I think we found just that in Hedo. If you paid attention, you'd see his subtle touches on every good play run by Toronto. His basketball IQ is off the charts, and coupled with the fact that he once again proved himself to be "Mr. 4th Quarter" by closing out the Cavs, he looks to be fitting on this team like a glove.
I don't want to talk about this too much, but I feel it has to be said: How long until Mike Brown starts updating his workopolis profile? This Cavs team is going nowhere fast, and all signs point to the walking corpse known as Shaquille O'Neal as the culprit. In the annals of Cavalier folklore, when the book is written on the team (tentatively called "The Rise and Fall of the King") his arrival will be the pinpoint people make when deciding when the team spiraled out of control and moved to London, England. What stuck out most for me with them though is their opening antics looked VERY contrived. Shaq hitting people on the butt with a tube, Lebron's funky handshakes, it looked like they really wanted to act like "The Team That Loves Each Other" but came off more like Don and Betty Draper at a dinner party - all show with nothing behind it. Except this sub-plot to deepen as the season wears on.
Back to the Red and White: again, this is just one game, and for all I know, the Raptors could get smoked in Memphis and I'll be sitting here writing "Good ol Raps! Playing up to the good teams and down to the bad. Don't you ever change you sons of bitches."
But for now, the Raptors just opened their season by beating one of the best teams in basketball. And not by squeeking one out, but by solidly defeating them.
Relax?
Not fucking likely.
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