Tuesday January 27th, 2009 - This is your Raptor Rant
First off, my apologies for missing last week's Rant, I was away. Now, is it just me or is anyone else feeling a little lethargic when it comes to the Raptors? That is until we got an injection of Jose! Thank goodness he is back and playing well, like Jose. The Raptors are 3 and a half games out of the final playoff spot in the East, which isn't really that far back. This week the Raps have an opportunity to gain some ground with games against New Jersey and Milwaukee. After that though, they are in tough! The Raps have 3 of the top teams in the NBA to deal with. Orlando, Cleveland and L.A. Lakers are all phenomenal teams with bonafide superstars. This will be a true test for the Raps to see if they really are a team that is playoff bound.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Are They Getting Better??
Tuesday January 13, 2009 - This is your Raptor Rant!
Well you’ve scratched another week off your NBA calendar and yet you didn’t see any progress from the Toronto Raptors, or did you? After two close losses to the reigning champ Boston Celtics, many fans feel the Raps have made steps in the right direction. I’m not sure I agree with this. I have heard terms like this over the last few days, ‘they gave it their all’, ‘what a great effort’, ‘they worked really hard and almost had it’. I won’t lie all of those are factual statements, but I’m not digging them. A great effort?? Ok, so you want me to sit here as a fan and say, my team did what they are capable of doing and still aren’t winning – but you want me to be happy about it? I will admit, I have seen a lot of growth in players like Andrea Bargnani, Joey Graham and Roko Ukic – congrats to those dudes, keep it up. However, I didn’t learn this one in math class but this equation isn’t doing it for me, youth + effort = not winning.
I will still cheer as loud, if not louder than most fans and support my team, but I now truly understand the frustration of fans. I urge you to continue to support your home team and help encourage their strong play with your cheers and not bring down their confidence with jeers.
This upcoming week provides a few tests for the Raps. Wednesday night at the ACC the youthful and rebuilding Chicago Bulls, with rookie sensation Derrick Rose, try and knock off the Raptors. Rose, is one of the quickest guards in the league and with the troubles the Raptors showed with Rajan Rondo, it will be interesting to see how they match up against him. The Indiana Pacers are next and are playing better as of late, however I think the Raps got this one. Steve Nash, Amare, Shaq, and the Suns hit the ACC on Sunday and as I type this, I feel nervous for the Raptors. The Suns are a smart versatile team and the Raps need to be absolutely perfect to stop them, I think the Suns got this one. Monday, Toronto travels to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. This is a must win for the Raptors as they have already lost to this team earlier in the season and it’s crucial for a potential tie - breaker situation.
Again, I encourage you to support your home team, even if you are a little discouraged. Any questions, comments or concerns – devo@flow935.com
Well you’ve scratched another week off your NBA calendar and yet you didn’t see any progress from the Toronto Raptors, or did you? After two close losses to the reigning champ Boston Celtics, many fans feel the Raps have made steps in the right direction. I’m not sure I agree with this. I have heard terms like this over the last few days, ‘they gave it their all’, ‘what a great effort’, ‘they worked really hard and almost had it’. I won’t lie all of those are factual statements, but I’m not digging them. A great effort?? Ok, so you want me to sit here as a fan and say, my team did what they are capable of doing and still aren’t winning – but you want me to be happy about it? I will admit, I have seen a lot of growth in players like Andrea Bargnani, Joey Graham and Roko Ukic – congrats to those dudes, keep it up. However, I didn’t learn this one in math class but this equation isn’t doing it for me, youth + effort = not winning.
I will still cheer as loud, if not louder than most fans and support my team, but I now truly understand the frustration of fans. I urge you to continue to support your home team and help encourage their strong play with your cheers and not bring down their confidence with jeers.
This upcoming week provides a few tests for the Raps. Wednesday night at the ACC the youthful and rebuilding Chicago Bulls, with rookie sensation Derrick Rose, try and knock off the Raptors. Rose, is one of the quickest guards in the league and with the troubles the Raptors showed with Rajan Rondo, it will be interesting to see how they match up against him. The Indiana Pacers are next and are playing better as of late, however I think the Raps got this one. Steve Nash, Amare, Shaq, and the Suns hit the ACC on Sunday and as I type this, I feel nervous for the Raptors. The Suns are a smart versatile team and the Raps need to be absolutely perfect to stop them, I think the Suns got this one. Monday, Toronto travels to Atlanta to take on the Hawks. This is a must win for the Raptors as they have already lost to this team earlier in the season and it’s crucial for a potential tie - breaker situation.
Again, I encourage you to support your home team, even if you are a little discouraged. Any questions, comments or concerns – devo@flow935.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Happy New Year!!!
First of all, Happy New Year to everyone! The start of 2009 hasn’t been terrible for the Toronto Raptors but, it could be much better.
I have to be honest, over the holidays I was away and didn’t really get a chance to see most of the final games of 08, just highlights-if you could call them that. The start of 09 was pretty sweet. An absolute crushing of the Houston Rockets was something the Raps needed, help them with some confidence. Two days later ‘Superman’ (Dwight Howard) and the Orlando Magic were in town to face the Raptors. The Raps were shorthanded as Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon are both out with injuries, I’ll speak more on that in a minute. Despite a super performance by Howard, the Raptors came out on top 108-102 and got a clutch performance from young Roko Ukic. The following night the Raptors were in Milwaukee to take on a surging Bucks squad. You would think after defeating to 20-plus win teams, they could take out the 16-19 Bucks. However, this is the NBA and things don’t always work out the way they should. After squandering an 11 point lead at the end of the 1st half, the Raptors and Bucks went back and forth through the 2nd. It was the play of Michael Redd and Charlie V that eventually overcame the mediocre Raptors defense and Milwaukee went on a 13-0 run to end the game and win by 10, handing the Raps their first loss of 2009.
As for the injuries I mentioned earlier, Jermaine O’Neal has an uncertain return date, his knee is acting up again. Jose Calderon’s earliest game would be Sunday at home vs. the Boston Celtics. In the 4th quarter against Orlando, rookie point guard, Roko Ukic really turned a corner. His confidence was there as he made several great plays in a tight game to help his team win. I hope Jay Triano recognizes this and continues to give Roko opportunities to succeed. As for this week, the Raptors should win the next 2 before getting in tough. In Washington on Wednesday night, then back home on Friday to take on an athletic Memphis team. Sunday and Monday brings a home and home matchup with the Celtics…yikes! If everyone is healthy then the Raptors have a good shot against Boston, who as of recently have shown they aren’t invincible.
Questions, comments or concerns – devo@flow935.com or listen to the podcast at www.devobrown.ca
I have to be honest, over the holidays I was away and didn’t really get a chance to see most of the final games of 08, just highlights-if you could call them that. The start of 09 was pretty sweet. An absolute crushing of the Houston Rockets was something the Raps needed, help them with some confidence. Two days later ‘Superman’ (Dwight Howard) and the Orlando Magic were in town to face the Raptors. The Raps were shorthanded as Jermaine O’Neal and Jose Calderon are both out with injuries, I’ll speak more on that in a minute. Despite a super performance by Howard, the Raptors came out on top 108-102 and got a clutch performance from young Roko Ukic. The following night the Raptors were in Milwaukee to take on a surging Bucks squad. You would think after defeating to 20-plus win teams, they could take out the 16-19 Bucks. However, this is the NBA and things don’t always work out the way they should. After squandering an 11 point lead at the end of the 1st half, the Raptors and Bucks went back and forth through the 2nd. It was the play of Michael Redd and Charlie V that eventually overcame the mediocre Raptors defense and Milwaukee went on a 13-0 run to end the game and win by 10, handing the Raps their first loss of 2009.
As for the injuries I mentioned earlier, Jermaine O’Neal has an uncertain return date, his knee is acting up again. Jose Calderon’s earliest game would be Sunday at home vs. the Boston Celtics. In the 4th quarter against Orlando, rookie point guard, Roko Ukic really turned a corner. His confidence was there as he made several great plays in a tight game to help his team win. I hope Jay Triano recognizes this and continues to give Roko opportunities to succeed. As for this week, the Raptors should win the next 2 before getting in tough. In Washington on Wednesday night, then back home on Friday to take on an athletic Memphis team. Sunday and Monday brings a home and home matchup with the Celtics…yikes! If everyone is healthy then the Raptors have a good shot against Boston, who as of recently have shown they aren’t invincible.
Questions, comments or concerns – devo@flow935.com or listen to the podcast at www.devobrown.ca
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