# April 6th Grizzlies @ Raptors



## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

<center>
















*Memphis Grizzlies* (41-31) @ *Toronto Raptors* (30-43) 
April 6th, 2005, 7:00PM EST
Rogers Sportsnet






































*Rafer Alston, Morris Peterson, Jalen Rose, Chris Bosh, Rafael Araujo*





































*Jason Williams, Mike Miller, Shane Battier, Pau Gasol, Lorenzen Wright*</center>


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## adhir1 (Dec 28, 2004)

lets go grizzlies...lets go...and watch out..Pape Sow will break you....


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Let's go Grizz... but keep it close Raps.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Oh and get some damn assists Rafer. And everyone else, stop making him look so bad - make your shots!


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Containing Battier will be important. He burned us last time, scoring a career-high in points.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

speedythief said:


> Containing Battier will be important. He burned us last time, scoring a career-high in points.


 That's the thing about Memphis though... they have so many options, and you never know who might burn you next. We just have to play solid team defense, period.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

speedythief said:


> Containing Battier will be important. He burned us last time, scoring a career-high in points.


 That's the thing about Memphis though... they have so many options, and you never know who might burn you next. We just have to play solid team defense, period.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

I agree Bud Boy, I guess winning this one wouldn't really be to our advantage. In a way I want to win a few more games, so we can surpass our total of 33 from last year, but at the same time, that won't do us any good come draft day.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Post your predictions for this game guys..
Winner gets 1000 points from me.

Memphis 94
Raptors 98


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## sKiP~2~mY~BLUTH (Aug 11, 2004)

raps - 97
grizz - 94

i wanna win this one!
hate those grizzlies...


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

By the way guys, it seems like in the last game we had too many short posts. Let's try to have longer posts for this game thread, try typing more than just the score or "Rose For Three!". I'm not going to single anyone out, in fact, I had a lot of short posts of my own, which I will reduce for Wednesday's game.
All I'm saying is let's make the posts a little longer. Elaborate!


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## BBB (Jan 19, 2005)

Even though Memphis will be playing Denver (a fast paced team) the night before this game, I still don't fancy our chances. Deep team, therefore less effects of fatigue. 

Memphis 92-87 Raptors


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

Another Game i will be going to 

Memphis 95
Toronto 93


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

madman said:


> Another Game i will be going to
> 
> Memphis 95
> Toronto 93


Aren't you going to three straight Raptors games?


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

Turkish Delight said:


> Aren't you going to three straight Raptors games?


no this one and then the nets game and maybe the finale


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

madman said:


> no this one and then the nets game and maybe the finale


How about the Pacers game?


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

Turkish Delight said:


> How about the Pacers game?


i doubt i can go to that and the Jays game


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Hey Guests don't be afraid to register and take part in Wednesday's Game Thread with us. Click here and get your free account today.


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## onecooljew (Apr 24, 2003)

Im sayin...

Grizz-105
Raps-99

I hate to bet aginst the Raps, but the Grizz jus have too many weapons at their disposal. And with Sam's new plan to get all the young guys in (not that i disagree with it), it might come along with a loss. 

Hopefully Bosh will be able to work his way around the oft-injured Pau, and get another ncie 20 & 10. CB4 and Pau are pretty similarly built players, so he wont be able to use his usual edge in athletisicm as much as usual. But hopefully with his ever growing aresenal of fade-away's and double pumps, he can work some magic.

Rafer needs his team mates help. Hands down. Yes hes only had 6 dimes in the past 3 games, but that doesnt mean hes only made 6 great passes in that time. When the Raps hit shots, Skip's assist total goes up. Simple as that.

Its at the ACC, so Mo-P should be good for 18-22pts and a good 3 or 4 treys. We all know he only knows how to play at home.

Jalen might not be able to post up as he usually does if he gets matched up with the bigger Battier. But he should still be able to have an effective game if he stop Shane from goin off as he did March 4th. 

Hoffa will hopefully get to play past the 8:00 mark of the 1st Q with Sam's newly implemented plan to play the young'ins. As long as he doesnt pick up a few quick fouls, he might get to play more than garbage time. I personally wouldnt mind seeing him his a few more 15 footers as he did last game, an do his usual and grind out in the low blocks.

Donyell will hopefully wake up from his recent case of stone hands. Raps need his bench scoring to start runs/get out of slumps. His shots always seem to bring the ACC faithful to thier feet.

Pape should be able to pitch in another solid 10-15min performance. He has to take advantage of his opps. at the line and not go 1-4 again. Its a great sign to see his hustle out there and show off some of his athleticism, but he just cant be so tentative when he gets the ball in the blocks amongst the towers.

It would also be a welcome sight to see the Red Rocket start hitting a few more shots as we has a month ago. He hasnt made double digits since the loss to the Bulls, even though the Raps are only 8-15 when he breaks double digits. The win and loss column is not what matters at this point in the year. Its developing the future.

Milt has been better as of late. Hitting the good majority of his open shots and even managing to pass the ball a few times a game. Even though he won't be around next year, its still nice to develop players. 




Long enough for you Turk...? :biggrin:


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## swurv (Feb 26, 2005)

ONECOOLJEW's prolly right, but hey, if the 'young' guys can manage to actually win, rememeber it shows room for more positive growth on their part in teh future....


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## Marshall_42 (Dec 6, 2004)

Grizz 109
Raps 95

I hope Rafer tries to pass the ball to his teammates this game.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

onecooljew said:


> Long enough for you Turk...? :biggrin:


Yes, but I was referring to our posts during the game.
Hope to see you then.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Grizzlies 106
Raptors 101


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## onecooljew (Apr 24, 2003)

Turkish Delight said:


> Yes, but I was referring to our posts during the game.
> Hope to see you then.


Well during the actual game..im downstairs watchin the game. Not up here. But i will make sure to drop in an give my :twocents: after the game


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## MonkeyBallZJr (May 7, 2004)

I just hope that we can break our 32 games win season from last year... with about 9? games remaining I am sure we can do that.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

We won 33 last year, not 32.


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

Grizz 97
Raps 105
heh finnally a raps game lol


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Budweiser_Boy said:


> We won 33 last year, not 32.


That's right.
That mini two game winning streak to end the season saved us from two consecutive 50 loss seasons.


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Bryant Reeves - 99
Damon Stoudamire - 91


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

rawse said:


> Bryant Reeves - 99
> Damon Stoudamire - 91


 This is 2005 man. If we're turning back the clock, the Raptors would easily win.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Well the Grizzlies just played tonight, losing to Denver by 3 points. Tomorrow's game will be the second of a back to back for them, and it's something that the Raptors will definately look to take advantage of.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Man, a little off topic here, but the Nuggets are killin it. It's great watching all the Melo haters quiet down. 

If I'm not mistaken, the Nuggs are now in 7th place in the West standings all alone, while the Grizz are holding on to the last playoff spot. The Raptors might not know it right now, but we might be playing the role of spoiler in this game. The way Denver and Minnesota have been playing, every game from here on out is important for Memphis.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Budweiser_Boy said:


> Man, a little off topic here, but the Nuggets are killin it. It's great watching all the Melo haters quiet down.
> 
> If I'm not mistaken, the Nuggs are now in 7th place in the West standings all alone, while the Grizz are holding on to the last playoff spot. The Raptors might not know it right now, but we might be playing the role of spoiler in this game. The way Denver and Minnesota have been playing, every game from here on out is important for Memphis.



Yeah that would be one of the only reasons why I'd want to win tonight's game.
I really want to see Minnesoda get into the playoffs, and if we can pull off a win tonight, it'll really increase their chances.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Grizzlies 109
Raptors 99


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Come and check out the Memphis game thread when you guys get a chance.

Took me a while to get the new format together, so feel free to contribute. :bsmile:

Link


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

rawse said:


> Come and check out the Memphis game thread when you guys get a chance.
> 
> Took me a while to get the new format together, so feel free to contribute. :bsmile:
> 
> Link


Yeah I'll probably be there a couple of times during the game to see what's going on.
It's a sick layout you got going though, I really like it.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Grizzlies 110
Raptors 103


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Budweiser_Boy said:


> Grizzlies 110
> Raptors 103


It's three minutes late, but I'll accept it.
This is a warning to the rest of you.
:biggrin:


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Bosh throws up an air ball early.
Pau Gasol takes it down the floor and slams it home.
2-0 Memphis.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Donyell Marshall starting?
So Bosh is starting at center tonight?
Hmm...
Donyell misses a three, and Memphis takes it down the floor and scores... 
4-0


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Mo Pete drives, gets the bucket and the foul.
That's Mo Pete at his best ladies and gentlemen.
Mo Pete gets the freebie.
4-3 Memphis


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Even though this is Memphis' second game on a back to back, they are playing with all the energy.
Raptors look flat out there.
It's one of those games that you know the Raptors aren't motivated for.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Jalen Rose already gets his second foul of the game, he's going to sit.
Matt Bonner checks in.
Still 7:18 left in the game. 
Raptors losing 15-9


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## vi3t_boi11 (Aug 14, 2004)

Bosh missed all of his jumpshots 1-5 fg


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

32-19 at the end of 1.
This game is getting ugly in a hurry.

Come on guys, we need more people involved in these game threads.
Everyone who participates gets rep points from me.
Guests don't be afraid to get in on the action as well.
Click here  to sign up.


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## macro6 (Jul 23, 2002)

Nice.. we're losing.

If the Raptors really want to tank it, Mitchell should put in Araujo, Pope, Jalen, Rafer and Lamond Murry.

I wonder how much points we would give up playing with that unit.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

macro6 said:


> Nice.. we're losing.
> 
> If the Raptors really want to tank it, Mitchell should put in Araujo, Pope, Jalen, Rafer and Lamond Murry.
> 
> I wonder how much points we would give up playing with that unit.


We'll be losing a lot of games no matter who is playing right now. No one looks motivated out there, it's just dissapointed.
Grizzlies have 26 points in the paint already.
This is just sad.


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## vi3t_boi11 (Aug 14, 2004)

So far it looks like it's gonna be a blowout 46-24 Memphis


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## macro6 (Jul 23, 2002)

Hoffa already has 1 foul 1 min into the game.


On another note, Chuck said Hoffa is gonna work his butt off this off-season.

I really hope Hoffa proves me wrong... I really do... I hate to see a lottery pick to go to waste.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

48-24 Grizzlies.
Raptors have no energy whatsoever right now.
The Grizzlies have come out strong after that heartbreaking loss last night.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Jalen drives, hits but he is called for a charge.
That really looked like the defender was inside the restricted area. 
Donyell Marshall is down, he looks in some pain.
50-24 Grizzlies.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Wow, what a crappy game.


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

wow losing by 30 can u say owned


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

As I said before, we have no motivation, no energy out there. I'm really curious what Sam is going to see to the team during half time, he seemed really frustrated out there.
All the credit goes to the Grizzlies though, they knew they were going to play a disgruntled team tonight, and they've fully taken advantage of it.


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

the raps are are shooting real bad today 30% while memphis is shooting 57% and the raps only went to the line 6 times...


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Truly awful first half. Sam should tear them a new one in the locker room.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

How's CB4's statline looking?


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

Budweiser_Boy said:


> How's CB4's statline looking?


11 pts 6 boards 5/15 shooting


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## laydee-bawla22 (Jul 15, 2003)

I know these guys are just trying to play out the rest of the season...but c'mon, have some dignity. They're embarassing themselves out there.


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

Score now is 75-42 in the 3rd Q... man this is real embarassing for the raps


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## adhir1 (Dec 28, 2004)

WOW....when i saw that boxscore i started laughing....Rafer has 5 pts and 1 assists....how does our PG put together 3 quarters of that ----....this team is horribble...well i guess its goood...we get a better pick...and why is donyll startnig at center....


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## adhir1 (Dec 28, 2004)

and hoffa with 5 fouls in 8 minutes thats hilarious...hahhahaha


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

Why the hell is Bosh still in the game?


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

99 - 62... wow


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## macro6 (Jul 23, 2002)

adhir1 said:


> and hoffa with 5 fouls in 8 minutes thats hilarious...hahhahaha


LOL


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Cb4 = 5-19. Wow.


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## adhir1 (Dec 28, 2004)

Budweiser_Boy said:


> Cb4 = 5-19. Wow.


yah he sucking it up good..i still cant get over Rafers stat line....7 point and 1 freaking assists...and we have 10 assists on 23 made shots....23!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Jalen Rose is 7/12 with 19 points.
:biggrin:


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## adhir1 (Dec 28, 2004)

can some one tell me what a team rebound is???? ive wondered this for the longest time..just never asked it....


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

heh the raps should just forget about this game and just play some decent ball against the hawks..and try not to embarass themselves again..


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

74 points in a game?
Is Kevin O'Niell coaching?

I really don't understand why Rafer Alston is playing the way he is. Does he not understand that he's not on this team to take jump shots?


I hope Madman had a fun time, he was at the game.


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## adhir1 (Dec 28, 2004)

team rebound anybody?????


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

adhir1 said:


> can some one tell me what a team rebound is???? ive wondered this for the longest time..just never asked it....


Im not sure but i thinks its if the other team goes out of bounds or so something then the other team get the ball?..team rebound?not totally sure lol


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

Raps lose 104-74


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## vi3t_boi11 (Aug 14, 2004)

Bosh played 47 mins


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## BaLLiStiX17 (Mar 27, 2005)

anyone else have an idea wuts team rebound?


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## vi3t_boi11 (Aug 14, 2004)

So the Raps lost 14 games by 5 pts or less, man if they won like half of that they'd be in the playoffs rite now


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

It's strange that with the record we have, and the team we have, losing like this is still rare. We're not the kind of team that rolls over so early and then doesn't try to mount a come-back. This game reminded me of last season. I think that the team has taken steps in the right direction this year, and it's odd that a loss like this would make me think that.

I'm certain that this game will bring a lot of dark souls out of the woodwork. Somebody has to be blamed for tonight's loss, and I'm sure a scapegoat will be found. I'm guessing it's going to be Rafer, who's averaging less than two assists a game in the last four contests. We'll see a lot of "listless" and "lackadasical" in the newspaper as well.

It's hard to believe that the Grizzlies aren't as good as last year. You really have to think that the injures have slowed them down considerably. If they have everyone healthy for the playoffs they'll be a team nobody will want to face. Very well-rounded and deep, as always. Fratello hasn't proven that he can return to an offensive style of basketball since his Cleveland days, though.

Good to see Mitchell follow-through on his promise of playing the young guys some more. Sow, Bonner, and Bosh all got minutes tonight. Mitchell looked more than willing to give Hoffa minutes, but Hackael showed-up instead, and we had no choice but to keep benching him, I suppose. I don't know why it would be a big deal if he fouled out.

One thing we should be able to look forward to is that this team rebounds well after a loss or a controversy. We'll see Friday if that's still the case.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

This was a very dissapointing game to watch. As speedy said, this team hasn't just given up too often, but tonight was definately one of those nights. The Grizzlies took clear control of the game early, moving the ball inside and getting those easy buckets in the paint, and the Raptors just couldn't respond. The Grizzlies got the Raptors out of the game early, and never looked back.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

What's even more dissapointing is the fact that barely anyone was participating in the play by play. This has been our lowest post total for a game thread in quite awhile, I'm pretty upset with what I've seen. I'm really hoping that for the next game, more people will actually contribute.


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## bigbabyjesus (Mar 1, 2003)

What I don't understand is why Bosh played 47 minutes? That's ridiculous IMO.

We have 5 games in the next 7 days, so unless Mitchell is thinking of resting Bosh a lot in those games, him playing almost the full game when we never even mounted a comeback is beyond me.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Final Score: Memphis 104 Raptors 74

BaLLiStiX17 38 but DQd
Budweiser_Boy 35
Turkish Delight 34 but DQd
sKiP~2~mY~BLUTH 33 but DQd
vigilante 29
speedytheif 29
Madman 28
Marshall_42 26
onecooljew 26
BBB 25 
rawse 22

Winner: rawse 

:clap: 
You win 1000 points!


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

vigilante said:


> What I don't understand is why Bosh played 47 minutes? That's ridiculous IMO.
> 
> We have 5 games in the next 7 days, so unless Mitchell is thinking of resting Bosh a lot in those games, him playing almost the full game when we never even mounted a comeback is beyond me.


Yeah it's pretty odd why he would do that, but Bosh seemed to be one of the only ones who had any desire to play, especially in the 2nd quarter. I just can't wait till this season is over so we can move on to the lottery.


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## TOballer (Aug 29, 2003)

E. Williams didnt play tonight...This guy cant get consistent minutes, i feel srry for him


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

TOballer said:


> E. Williams didnt play tonight...This guy cant get consistent minutes, i feel srry for him


I feel sorry for the Raptors front office, because his trade value is dropping like a rock.
There's going to be a lot of questions marks surrounding this team heading into the off-season. Babcock will have a tough task ahead of him, that's for sure.


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## Vinsanity (May 28, 2002)

this game was disgusting


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## GNG (Aug 17, 2002)

Turkish Delight said:


> Final Score: Memphis 104 Raptors 74
> 
> BaLLiStiX17 38 but DQd
> Budweiser_Boy 35
> ...


:jam:

Also, a team rebound, I believe, is when the ball is not rebounded by any player, but a rebound must be assigned.

Example: Team A is shooting a free throw, which misses off the rim and goes out of bounds without anyone touching it. Team B gets the ball, but there technically _must_ be a rebound after every miss. Hence, team rebound - a general rebound that is not assigned to any particular player.

Another example: Team A shoots a 60-foot shot as time expires. The ball strikes off the backboard after the clock has run out. Since the quarter is over, a rebound or any statistic cannot be given to an individual player. Team rebound.


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## onecooljew (Apr 24, 2003)

Hey sorry i wasnt around to post during the actual game. Had soccer then bball.

Didnt get to see the game, but from the looks of the box score...it didnt go very well for anyone.

Bosh playing almost the whole game?? Sam i know you want to play the young guys more..but we dont need Chris goin out there an hurtin himself

Milt went back to his old ways of having no idea how to shoot. Even managing to miss his FT attempts...cant wait til we draft a new PG

Alston kept up his lack of passing from the looks of it with 1 ast in 23mins...our overall PG situation isnt looking great rite now..

Mo-P was not his usual self at home. He usually cant hit a shot on the road..guess he brough it home and gave it to the rest of the Raps tonite

The only positive that i can take from the night..is Pape got some more useful minutes, and manged to get 5pts and 2 boards.

Thats a rap..on a horrible game.
:curse:


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

One thing's for certain, if we can't draft a solid point guard this summer, we're going to be in a lot of trouble next season.


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

**** **** Crap 


all words to describe how the raptors played today, being there it was only worse


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

madman said:


> **** **** Crap
> 
> 
> all words to describe how the raptors played today, being there it was only worse


Please tell me you lungs are sore from booing them.


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## laydee-bawla22 (Jul 15, 2003)

This what Mitchell said about keeping Bosh in the game. 



> Despite the fact the outcome was decided early in the game, a clearly frustrated Bosh played 47 minutes, Mitchell keeping the talented sophomore forward in the game until the bitter end, calling it a ''learning experience.''
> ''It's part of him maturing, I'm not going to take him out because the game wasn't going right,'' said Mitchell. ''I'm not going to take him out to keep him from feeling embarrassed, he needs to feel that.
> ''The only way you learn sometimes is getting your butt handed to you, and we got our butt handed to us.''


http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story.asp?id=120679


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

Turkish Delight said:


> Please tell me you lungs are sore from booing them.


no boos would have been a compliment


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

madman said:


> no boos would have been a compliment


Who did you go to the game with anyways?


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Any word on Donyell's injury?
Hopefully it's not too serious.


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

wow. there are some games that lead to overreactions, whether they're good or bad, but this isn't one of those (imo). tonight's game (if that's what you'd call it) has me feeling very uncomfortable about the future of this franchise. it's just one game, true, but then again it isn't. this was an embarrassment in every sense of the word, and it's made that much more difficult to bear when i consider that we not only got embarrassed by the grizzlies, we embarrassed ourselves. quite frankly, i think we embarrassed ourselves more than we got embarrassed by memphis. it was a tough game to watch from every angle.

sam mitchell has lost my support. i've been willing to jump onto his side of the fence for some time now, indeed, but tonight was inexcusable. hearing his comments pertaining to chris in the post-game locker room almost had me in tears. this man is not fit to coach an nba basketball team. he speaks like a player, still, and he acts like one. these are wrinkles that need to be ironed out in the assistant ranks, not as the head man in the nba. he is not ready for the professional level, imo.

to play chris for 47 minutes is one thing. to play him the way he was played is something entirely different. the offense tonight was called "give it to chris and stand". that's it. watch the game tape. if i were chris bosh i'd feel more than tired, i'd feel offended. our offense is ridiculously simple with its strong-side motion tactics, and i've never been comfortable with it, but it hasn't evolved in the slightest. in fact, i'd suggest that it's more stationary now on the weak side than i can remember it having _ever_ been. i don't throw these terms around loosely but i think it's pathetic. fratello was, in my opinion, surprised at how easily it could be stopped. 

again, look at the game tape. the ball goes into chris, the remaining four (no matter who- pape could have been the exception from time to time) would get out of the way and *watch* around the perimeter. the grizzlies would cheat off their checks, slide into a defacto 2-3 and, i kid you not, chris would be driving into the arms of 5 defenders! all 5! so many times! no cutters- four raptors just waiting. the grizzlies would collapse around chris so he couldn't pass out of the... well, quintuple-team, and even if chris were successful at finding an open teammate, that player would hardly ever be able to attack. the grizzlies would just rotate successfully and be ready to defense our childish scheme before we could even get ready to punish them for theirs.

it could have been bonner, alston, palacio, rose, whoever- they weren't ready. we were confused. 

and this was game 74, people. 

watching bosh go down in the third was more torture for the fans. sam was just sitting, afraid to make a move. yeah, go on and play him for 47, sam. we're down by 35 points, he's struggling, you're doing nothing to help him in the offensive sets, he just hit the floor harder than you ever hit the floor in your mediocre career, and you just watch. 

to endure this man's head coaching learning curve is something i didn't foresee. aside from exceptional circumstances, coaching is vastly different from playing: you're more effective if you don't command the attention, if you're consistent. no highs and no lows, just a journey. instead, sam came to toronto, issued a must-win challenge in the fourth game of the season--- the *fourth*--- did not research the market to understand how and why people reacted the way they did, was all over the walls for three months and now decides to play it quiet, attempting to deflect the blame for such a serious debacle towards his best players. 

just inconsistent, painfully so. and chris is paying for it as sam learns how to act and how to be successful in this league. he may yet turn out to be a great coach, who knows, everyone has to start somewhere, but the growing pains we now see are (imo) seriously jeopardizing the careers of our few young assets. araujo looks worse now than he did on his foray into the starting lineup in december (on the WC), bonner is finding it difficult to stay focused, sow is all over the place (but promising) and bosh is really the only asset of current substance who seems to be enduring failure the likes of which he has heretofore never seen. 

in my opinion, sam is going through serious myopia and i believe he should be released. to have eric and aaron sit on the bench forever makes it even more frustrating. what, was he just playing the guys who "earned" the PT tonight? garbage. this man's relationship with the horrendous media is dysfunctional, his relationship with the fans appears starving for some candour, his relationship with management appears in conflict, and his various relationships with players have not at all improved over the course of the season. for instance, i still blame hoffa's tortoise-like development on the coaching staff; i don't need the man to become a dominant force, just learn how to play _some_ defense. what we're seeing now is unacceptable, plain and simple.

it's just that i don't think he's ready to coach a team in the pros. tonight's event was disgraceful, really, and few teams (if any) on championship paths ever experience such lows. i think fratello felt sorry for us tonight- i read his lips once in the second Q and i swear he said "this is too easy". we probably weren't going to be a playoff team anyway this season but i am not at all confident in the leaders on the bench anymore.

you say "chris has got to learn" and it makes me want to throw up. maybe a cutter flashing to the ball would help? maybe the "defense" for which you were so well-reputed as a player can be taught to some current raptors? and by the way, who said sam mitchell was ever a good defender in the league anyway? christ, i don't remember that at all. that's just more garbage we've been fed by the awful toronto media (imo).

now, i don't want to get personal with sam, that might just be emotion, but i think he needs to be released. tonight left me exhausted. we can read all we want about rafer's 7 & 1 line, hoffa's 5 PF's, chris' 6/~20, etc, but this is so much more complicated than that. why was palacio, for example, on the court throughout the fourth? i mean, wasn't this the same milt who watched a rebound roll out of bounds in the second quarter to see possession transferred to memphis? or the same milt who watched another rebound skip right by him and into the hands of mike miller on the sideline? or the same milt who played ~30 minutes and didn't score a single point, didn't collect a single rebound and missed both free throws he attempted? 

sam mitchell should have had a heart attack tonight. he should've been yammering at the zebras all night long because that is what we have come to _expect_ from him. *consistency* is paramount in professional coaching. if he didn't want what he's become known for, he should've realized what he was doing beforehand, before utah in november, before he expensed the team with his peaks and valleys. instead he sits there like a high school coach tonight, giving his players the silent treatment while they're getting butchered on the floor. 

i don't want to overreact but tonight was significant. i don't think i'm blowing things out of proportion here: it's time for sam to go.

peace


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## Numbed One (Jun 8, 2003)

I didn't get to see the game tonight. Good thing.

And after reading ballocks' post... wow.

I'm feeling sick to my stomach.


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

Turkish Delight said:


> Who did you go to the game with anyways?


sasha


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