Raptors destroy the Kings!

What a game last night!! The Raptors played great ball excluding the first quarter where we had too many turnovers but the other three quarters we played extremely well! The Raptors finally played their game! They had great ball movement which produced open looks, reminiscent of last years Raptors that gave them much success. It was a game that we finally destroyed a team! There was no lapses at the end of the game or a huge run by the other team. We played great defense and our offense was just as good.

Chris Bosh had an unbelievable game! He was so efficient. Chris shot 11 for 12 field goals missing only one shot! He also went to the line 10 times missing only once! When Bosh drives to the basket only good things happen. We just hope that Bosh continues to do that and not settle for just jump shots. Jose Calderon also played great with 14 dimes. The bench also produced with Delfino and Kapono chipping in significantly. We just hope this becomes a consistent contribution. We need our wing players to score on a consistent basis to help Chris Bosh out. Consistency has been the issue this year and we pray to God that this continues.

Jose has been playing unbelievable in the absence of TJ Ford. He may even be selected to be an all-star reserve! However, with TJ out we need a capable back up for Calderon. Jose has been logging a lot of minutes without getting too much rest. This is caused by the incompetency of Juan Dixon and Darrick Marting to run the point. I truly believe its time for Martin to retire. Though, he is a good dressing room presence and good teacher- he is a liability on the court. He continues to shoot at a rapid pace- missing most of his shots mind you. It is very frustrating watching him. As for Juan, I don't think point guard is a good fit for him and he is playing out of position. So we need to get a third point guard. There are many possibilities out there like Damon Stoudamire, Luke Ridnaur, Dan Dickau- but the question is will they like being the third point guard when TJ returns? So I do expect that Brian Colangelo will trade or sign a third point guard but I'm sure that it won't be a star point guard let alone a backup point guard that we've heard of- I think it will be someone from the D-League or perhaps and unsigned rookie.

Kris Humphries gives us great energy and is great rebounder. He is a great asset to the team when he plays within himself. It gets frustrating seeing him jack up every shot when he gets the chance. And when he can't catch those passes from Jose! But if he plays within himself, blocking and rebounding- then that is when Kris is at his best. Also he is only 21, so he a lot of time to learn.

Jamario Moon has been the feel good story of the year for the Toronto Raptors. A undrafted rookie with crazy jumping ability. What a great find! The guy soars when he gets rebounds and he is a blocking machine! He just needs to drive to the basket more- he takes too many shots. He has proven that he can drive and jump over people. He just needs to do it more. When his offensive awareness gets better- he can become a really good player.

Andrea Bargnani has been struggling this whole season. It's been frustrating watching him this year. He continues to rush shots, take stupid fouls, and unable to bang away and get rebounds! The most frustrating part is seeing Brandon Roy tearing up the league. He could have been ours! A wing player that we sorely need. But I'm willing to be patient with Andrea! He has shown glimpses of what he can be. He just needs to do it and regain that magic all over again. There were boos in the building for Andrea last night. Hopefully he can prove us wrong that he indeed is worthy to be the number one pick.

I truly believe that the Raptors sorely miss TJ Ford and Jorge Garbajosa. Jorge had such great basketball iq. I miss his swift passes when we create ball movement. I believe that the reason we don't see that much ball movement this year is because we are missing Garbajosa. He was great at moving the ball! This year, the ball movement has been lacking because the passes haven't been as swift and fast as last year. They have been so slow- so slow that defense catches up with it.

Overall the Raptors are 3 games above 500- they could be better. They need to develop consistency and a killer instinct before we become a elite team. We also need a banger in the post to get rebounds- Andrea has not shown yet that he is capable of doing this. Chris can't be the only one getting rebounds. Our wing players need to develop consistency for us to be successful. Well I'll be back for the next game on Friday! See you then!

David