# Magic @ Raptors, Feb. 7th



## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

*Game #49, 7 February 2007
Orlando Magic [25-24] @ Toronto Raptors [25-23]
7:00 PM EST, The Score, Fan590.com
Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON*

<img border="2" height="35" width="522" src="http://images.tsn.ca/images/e/headers/nba-magic-775x50.gif">

<img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0951.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0919.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0376.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0026.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0999.gif">
<img border="1" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/speedythief/headtohead.jpg"> <img border="1" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/speedythief/headtohead.jpg"> <img border="1" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/speedythief/headtohead.jpg"> <img border="1" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/speedythief/headtohead.jpg"> <img border="1" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/speedythief/headtohead.jpg">
<img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/1306.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v129/speedythief/parkerbig1.jpg"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/1719.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0924.gif"> <img border="1" src="http://pics.forecaster.ca/nba-player/0268.gif">

<img border="2" height="35" width="522" src="http://images.tsn.ca/images/e/headers/nba-raptors-775x50.gif">

*
The Orlando Magic lost to the Milwaukee Bucks last night, dropping them 
below Toronto in the Eastern Conference standings by one-half game.
For a team that began the season 12-4, the slide they are currently on is
among the worst in recent memory. At this rate the Magic will play them- 
selves out of the playoffs altogether. The Raptors, on the other hand, 
are arguably the hottest team in the NBA since New Years, discounting 
Phoenix and Dallas, who were already on fire. The Raps have knocked-out 
12 wins in the last 16 games and have taken a commanding 3.5-game lead
in the Atlantic Division, aptly paced by the Player of the Month Chris Bosh. 
The Raptors head into Wednesday's game against the Magic having beaten 
them once already this season, a 91-84 victory in December. Bosh wasn't
playing at the time but the Raptors' newest star big man, number one 
draft pick Andrea Bargnani, had his biggest career game at the time to 
help the Raps to the win, scoring 23 points, including five three-point
shots, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Magic franchise big
man Dwight Howard was limited to 17 points on 6-17 shooting in that game
thanks in no small part to the stalwart defense of Rasho Nesterovic, who
paced the Raptors with a season-high five blocks and ten rebounds. The 
Raptors will show no sympathy for the Magic if they are gassed from last
nights game. Tip-off is at 7:00 PM on The Score and on the Fan590.com.*​</td></tr>​


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

How many games have the MAgic lost in the past 10 games? They don't seem to be so hot anymore. I wonder what happened, all magic homers of BBF aside. I find it weird that they just sudenly cooled off, its not like they were plagued of injuries recently? I thought I saw the usual line up in the scoreboard today (Big game by CV btw, I think he had a 20/10 game). I guess this really prooves that Magics were really overachieving earlier this season?


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## Timbaland (Nov 18, 2005)

I honestly didn't see the tools needed for them to keep up such a torrid pace throughout the season. Outside of Dwight, their lineup isn't great, and even Dwight is a liability on offense. Hopefully the Raptors can keep up their strong play and keep the tempo up with the Magic coming off a loss last night. I predict a Raptors win.


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

Magic still being in playoff position is a mirage, it is due to their hot start in nov (12-4) and the weak east. I just looked at their record, they lost 10 of their last 13 games!!!

Get this

in dec: 6-10
Jan: 6-8
feb: 1-2

They have been having losing months since november.

Cleveland and GS are the only teams above .500 that they beat since then. They had a great nov, but I think it is because the good teams were struggleling, remember Mavs and suns? Rockets?

Magic are all hype!!!

Don't let their record fool you.


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

Big game tonight, and we should take it since Orlando played yesterday. I've expected them to fall out of the playoff picture for awhile now, but with the way the Nets are playing, who knows.


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## Flush (Jul 25, 2005)

Regardless of when they got their wins, they got them.

They will likely end up somewhere in the same vicinity as the raptors come playoff time and a win is important.

The team has some pretty young talent that can blow up for a huge night at any point. The raptors are just the kind of team that DH can abuse offensively and that can't be allowed to happen.


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Orlando can't be taken lightly. They are coming off of a tough game last night, but they will be hungry to get back to winning ways.

They have two bigs up front that have the length to give Bosh trouble. Not to mention Darko off the bench. Darko has been a disapointment this season, he played well over the summer for his national team. He is capable of having a solid game though, block some shots and score 10-12 points. Arroyo may take some bad shots, but he can get hot, as can Hedo.

The Raps can't look past this game. Take care of business and put a "W" in collum!


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## JuniorNoboa (Jan 27, 2003)

I don't think we are in a position to bash teams with nearly the same record as us**.. I think were about equals... but we have home court and are hotter right now... advantage Raptors


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

i don't know why it feels like this but the magic seem almost like a foreign team to me, as in we don't play them _enough_. i think it's always felt like that, too, which is weird. i'm sure it has something to do with my psychotic brain.

if we had to play this game on paper, i'd say a few things: first, i would expect rasho to have a strong game and/or dwight to have a lousy one. for whatever reason, dwight seems like a good matchup for rasho, imo, particularly since rasho doesn't have to do anything but neutralize him. dwight's consistent impact on the defensive end would have to come _away_ from his check tonight, as well, since rasho doesn't exactly command the ball. too bad rasho plays about 15 mins/game.

grant hill is still, in my world, one of the biggest busts of recent times. that is not to suggest that he can't play, only to reiterate that he _doesn't_ play. he could be michael jordan 2 and it wouldn't change a thing. and further, this year, i think his damage to team psyche could be even more pronounced since he _is_ playing games but, like tonight, not all of them. he's thus more unreliable than usual (at least you could rely on him missing games in previous years) and i've never valued that kind of a roster piece in any sport. i don't know how it's possible to build championship teams around that. don't get me wrong, i like grant, i think he's a nice human, but that doesn't change anything- his injury troubles not only limit his effectiveness, i'd say they actually hurt his team over the mid- and long-terms but, for some reason, he manages to avoid that perception.

speaking of perception, this team is full of players' images i don't understand. i've long been struggling with darko milicic supporters arguing against _his_ 'bust' tag- if hoffa can get it for being selected ahead of andre iguodala, i think darko deserves a lot of it for being picked ahead of carmelo anthony, chris bosh and dwyane wade. he's not hoffa, no, but the perceived distance between hoffa and hoffa's 'peer', and darko and darko's 'peers', is similar. but he doesn't really get the hammer. people are still waiting for him. imo, more patience has been afforded darko milicic than any recent player in the same category. i can't explain it. it's been four years. even if he starts producing soon, he's _four_ years behind everyone else. it'd be nearly impossible for him to catch up.

finally, good ol' jj. again, i don't mind these guys as people, but i occasionally feel the need to point out the obvious. redick hasn't been a pro for too long, no, but he hasn't exactly lit the camp afire in orlando. in my time of watching the draft over the years, i reckon it still occurs too often: bobby hurley, corliss williamson, felipe lopez, damon bailey, mateen cleaves, billy mccaffrey, lawrence moten, now jj redick - i guess you could throw ed and/or even charles o'bannon in the same lump, too. there are a million others. these are fan favourites who flop as pros (at least in relation to the way they're perceived as college players). there are some who do make it, this isn't a 100% rule, but the exceptions come few and far between. and yet you would think otherwise if you listened strictly to the voices in the crowd come draft time. i just sort of wish (but don't really care) that we remembered it for once and for all come june in new york city. but we won't. after all, it's fun to ride our bandwagons into the ground- and slag our favourite teams mercilessly for not following the same order.

i heard there's some game versus the magic tonight. what's that all about.

peace


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## JuniorNoboa (Jan 27, 2003)

ballocks said:


> finally, good ol' jj. again, i don't mind these guys as people, but i occasionally feel the need to point out the obvious. redick hasn't been a pro for too long, no, but he hasn't exactly lit the camp afire in orlando. in my time of watching the draft over the years, i reckon it still occurs too often: bobby hurley, corliss williamson, felipe lopez, damon bailey, mateen cleaves, billy mccaffrey, lawrence moten, now jj redick - i guess you could throw ed and/or even charles o'bannon in the same lump, too. there are a million others. these are fan favourites who flop as pros (at least in relation to the way they're perceived as college players). there are some who do make it, this isn't a 100% rule, but the exceptions come few and far between. and yet you would think otherwise if you listened strictly to the voices in the crowd come draft time. i just sort of wish (but don't really care) that we remembered it for once and for all come june in new york city. but we won't. after all, it's fun to ride our bandwagons into the ground- and slag our favourite teams mercilessly for not following the same order.
> 
> i heard there's some game versus the magic tonight. what's that all about.
> 
> peace




JJ Redick was a superstar in college compared to most of those that you noted, and is a much better prospect then most if not all of those you mentioned.

Bobby Hurley... no disagreement in context of your argument/

Corliss Williamson.. he's actually had a fairly solid career, not a huge bust relative to where he was drafted 

Felipe Lopez??????? - he flopped at college - he had the hype in high school. He was hardly a college superstar. Where are you getting this assessment from. He was seen as a mega failure while he was in the NCAA.

Damon Bailey????? - See Felipe Lopez above.

Mateen Cleaves - see Hurley comment, I agree.

Billy McCaffrey - Billy was never seen as an NBA prospect, no one expected anything of him. While he was good at Vandy, he never performed to the level that JJ did last year. And while Vandy did get a 3 seed in his junior year, Vandy was not the powerhouse of Duke, UCLA, Michigan St...

Lawrence Moten - Never an all-american, nowhere close to POY, and never seen as an NBA prospect. Not a flop because no one had expectations.

Charles O'bannon - Charles was never anywhere close to being one of the top players in America during his entire stay at UCLA, so he should not be included (although I know you hinted at it with "Even"

Ed O'bannon - Yep

I think Hurley, Cleaves, O'Bannon comps made sense (lots of sense) They were elite players on elite or Championship teams for the three above, which certainly led people to givr too much credit to them



But you should have stopped before mentioning but Moten, Bailey, Lopez, Charles, Billy Mc.

Anyway, not picking at you, just love seeing those names in the perspective of "NCAA" as that was my heyday as an NCAA fan, and I love discussing them.


However, there are severak counter examples of elite players on elite teams that have made it far, that were hyped because of it and lived up to it:

Deron Williams
Carmelo Anthony
Richard Hamilton


BTW, Ballocks I think we might be the only two here who remember Damon Bailey and Billy McCaffrey.


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Raptors Should Take This One.. Magic Played Last Night, And The Raps Had A Pretty Good Rest.

Take Over Time!


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## Victor Page (Nov 1, 2006)

I recall Damon Bailey (Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana I believe) but not Billy McAffrey.

Unlike any of those guys you mentioned, except for Corliss (low post scoring), JJ has an NBA calibre skill that he is extremely good at (shooting the 3, with a quick trigger). 

Unlike Scotty Thurman from Arkansas (I know you guys remember him!), who was a deadly 3 point shooter but with a slow trigger, JJ's hairpin release makes him a solid pro prospect. It's only a matter of time before he at least becomes a solid rotation guy.

In the NBA, it's better to do one thing really well than 5 things pretty good (that's why Mike Dunleavy will never amount to much, there's nothing he's really good at). JJ's got a future...

I don't even remember where I was going with this post so I hope some of it makes sense and if not, I hope it was mildly amusing in some way.

Oh ya, I like the Raptors matchups tonight so I think they win big.


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## TJ Ford (Dec 16, 2006)

I hope they win tonight because I'm going to the game. GO RAPS!


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## CrookedJ (May 8, 2003)

Tony Battie out indefinitely



> TORONTO -- The Orlando Magic's injury list continued to grow today after starting power forward Tony Battie was diagnosed with a bone chip in his right hand that could put him out indefinitely.
> 
> Battie apparently injured his hand during the Magic's loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night.
> 
> ...


So Darko gets the start ... should be interesting


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

CrookedJ said:


> Tony Battie out indefinitely
> 
> 
> 
> So Darko gets the start ... should be interesting


Ohhh... too bad we didn't still have Hoff.

Hurts the Magic, now they don't have much offense up front.


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

let's get it on. 

two oops for bosh.

the jose train keeps on rollin along.


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## Mr_B (Mar 6, 2004)

Raps are looking sloppy out there


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## pmac34 (Feb 10, 2006)

that bargnani dunk was DIRTY DIRT


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## shookem (Nov 1, 2005)

Fluke shot by Howard that thing was ugly.


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## shookem (Nov 1, 2005)

Nice Jose just keeps hooking us up on the perimeter, nice rebound and pass to Garbo.


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Weird flow to this game.


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## JNice (Jul 13, 2002)

Nice games by both Bosh and Dwight so far. Raps have really improved since the beginning of the year.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

Time to close this thing out. I don't think Magic has what it takes to hang with Toronto's scoring for 48 minutes.


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## chocolove (Apr 4, 2006)

So was that just Bosh bailing TJ out or a nice pass by TJ?


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

Probably the former.


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## chocolove (Apr 4, 2006)

Man I know Chuck is the play by play guy for the raps but seriously, he put so much emphasis on Bosh's weak dunk of milicic and hardly anything on Howard's monster dunk on Bosh. I dont expect him to start cheering for the opposition but its kinda annoying.


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## RC06 (Jan 30, 2007)

Damn, Bosh has 41 pts and 8 boards! His new career high in points.


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## seifer0406 (Jun 8, 2003)

The salami and cheese is out for this one. Let's all root for the Hawks.


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## ss03 (May 31, 2006)

Bosh with another dominant game offensive, Tj and Jose both 10+ assists... But this game still didn't look like we were dominant. 

Anyone else think our rebounding has been a little weak starting the new year... Oddly, we've been playing really well since then.


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## conkeso (Sep 7, 2003)

That damned Bosh, he's so hot right now!


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## RC06 (Jan 30, 2007)

Raptors win! Raptors win! Raptors win!

The Raps were sloppy out of the gates but we got the win nonetheless and that's all that matters right? 

Go Raptors!

BTW, the Nets also won by one against ATL, so the division lead stays put at 3 1/2 games...


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## speedythief (Jul 16, 2003)

Pretty stoked about this win. Its getting to the point now where we really don't have to play our best, we just have to put in the effort, and the win will happen.

Bosh was _mostly_ outstanding. I thought his post defense was, at points in the game, terrible. But I know why he is getting a free pass from our play-by-play guys and really, it is just too hard to complain about him right now. New career high in points and feasting at the charity stripe. The "MVP" chants are more of an homage to him than a genuine belief that he is a contender, I think, but I'm sure they must boost his confidence even more--if that is possible.

Is this team great to watch or what?!


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## Mr_B (Mar 6, 2004)

good win for the Raps Magic killed themselves with all those turnovers but what a game for Bosh he did it all tonight


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## SkywalkerAC (Sep 20, 2002)

What a great win. 

Man I love this team.


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

****ing score, can't TSN buy more raps game
:curse:


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## frank_white (Apr 20, 2005)

Damn it feels good to be a Raptor (...fan). I'm lovin this ****! Jose and TJ have morphed into one, Nash-esque, uber PG who averages 20+ assists per game


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## NeoSamurai (Jan 16, 2003)

great game...

props to TJ's defense in the 4th and grabbing the 2 or 3 turnovers that helped to swing the momentum completely in our favor...

this team is firing on all cylinders...this weekend will be a true test of the character and ability of this team...

but its definitely a great time to be a Raptor fan...hang your heads up high


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## TJ Ford (Dec 16, 2006)

I didn't even notice how many points Bosh had, until I looked up at the last minute and saw 41!!! That was incredible. Atmosphere at ACC was great. 

Another excellent offensive night. :biggrin:


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## Q8i (Oct 23, 2004)

Chea, Chea Raptors Win!
That Dunk By Bargani Was Sick.. Was A Good Way To Start 2nd Quarter..

CB4 Was Killin It - Same As Dwight (..He Only Missed On Shot) < Thas Crazy!


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## Who-C (Nov 21, 2005)

It would be nice if we make the playoffs to see the atmosphere in the ACC, the place was pumping tonight. Howard absolutely killed us but Bosh did the same to them so its all good. Nice to see Garbo have two solid games in a row. Last point Bargnani posterized Bo Outlaw lol gotta love Il Mago


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## Timbaland (Nov 18, 2005)

Haha that crowd was hilarious chanting MVP for Bosh when he was at the line. Maybe a little premature, but still awesome none the less. Great win for the Raps, Bosh was lights out in the second half. I love seeing our two headed beast of a point guard do it like this every night. 

One thing that scares me though is that whenever the opposing team has a good big man, they will always shoot about 80% from the field and absolutely destroy us. Either Bosh needs to buckle down defensively, or we need to pick up a defensive stopper inside. Someone who is long and can keep up with the quicker bigs, and someone who can bang with the big guys. They don't even need to be good offensively, just someone to play good d.


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## narrator (Feb 11, 2006)

This makes me happy. Very happy.


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## chocolove (Apr 4, 2006)

Timbaland said:


> Haha that crowd was hilarious chanting MVP for Bosh when he was at the line. Maybe a little premature, but still awesome none the less. Great win for the Raps, Bosh was lights out in the second half. I love seeing our two headed beast of a point guard do it like this every night.
> 
> One thing that scares me though is that whenever the opposing team has a good big man, they will always shoot about 80% from the field and absolutely destroy us. Either Bosh needs to buckle down defensively, or we need to pick up a defensive stopper inside. Someone who is long and can keep up with the quicker bigs, and someone who can bang with the big guys. They don't even need to be good offensively, just someone to play good d.


I thought Rasho is supposed to be the guy that bangs with the big guys. Hes kinda on and off (tonight was an off game) but I think hes good enough.


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## madman (Oct 20, 2003)

ugly ugly game for 2 1/2 quarters, bosh just took over, which is good cause we will need him to do that down the stretch.


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## Chan Ho Nam (Jan 9, 2007)

dwight just murdered our frontcourt, it's sad, ive only seen duncan and amare stop this kid

w/e hes lazy to get in Bosh's face when he's shooting

thank god Bosh has shooting capability or we would be dead in these kinda games


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

i thought we were asleep for a lot of the game, took us a while to find our gears, but we managed.

i thought jorge was excellent- and it wasn't just that his shot was dropping, i think the points in the game at which he _made_ his shots were just as important. i think the three off the offensive rebound by jose was key. risky shot but he made it so i'll sweep it under the rug.

our depth at the moment really seems to help. it's not like we play the entire bench but when our subs do come in, like chuck and leo would say, "there's no slippage." it's like we've been playing 9 v 5 the last few games, which always helps.

i'd still take darko ahead of bosh if i had the #2 overall pick in 2003. darko will produce, just give him some time. it's no coincidence that the toronto crowd- the toronto crowd, not the orlando crowd- was decorating milicic with "m-v-p" chants throughout the fourth quarter.

love how our bigs have been running the floor. orlando seemed gassed all night, probably had something to do with their back-to-back. chris was galloping like a colt, too. seems like his knees/legs/feet have recovered well. he beat darko on the break twice in a row early on, and we found him under the basket for easy points on both. there's something to be said for our point guards' improving ability to get the ball to the right players at the right times; those would have been two of them. tj's really catching on in that regard _on the break_, while jose might be doing a better job of it in the half-court set (imo).

and someone answer me this: how did tj _see_ andrea down the court after he picked up the elusive loose ball? either tj has some ridiculous vision while he dribbles two inches off the ground in traffic, or andrea was calling for it (which would've meant he'd be _screaming_ for it at that distance) because tj wasted no time in launching the pass once he picked up his dribble. if he saw him down the court out of the corner of his eye while he was fighting both the sideline and carlos arroyo, that's impressive. if andrea was yelling for it to let him know, that's exciting- i'd love for it to be the latter because it would signal a comfort level on the part of andrea bargnani that we haven't seen enough of this season.

peace


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## billfindlay10 (Jan 24, 2003)

Timbaland said:


> Haha that crowd was hilarious chanting MVP for Bosh when he was at the line. Maybe a little premature, but still awesome none the less. Great win for the Raps, Bosh was lights out in the second half. I love seeing our two headed beast of a point guard do it like this every night.
> 
> *One thing that scares me though is that whenever the opposing team has a good big man, they will always shoot about 80% from the field and absolutely destroy us.* Either Bosh needs to buckle down defensively, or we need to pick up a defensive stopper inside. Someone who is long and can keep up with the quicker bigs, and someone who can bang with the big guys. They don't even need to be good offensively, just someone to play good d.


Howard shot 6 for 17 in a game vs. Toronto this year....he had it going on last night. Not every big man rips us a new one....it just seems that way at times. If our starting center put up 18 and 10 then it would not look so lopsided.


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## Flush (Jul 25, 2005)

billfindlay10 said:


> Howard shot 6 for 17 in a game vs. Toronto this year....he had it going on last night. Not every big man rips us a new one....it just seems that way at times. If our starting center put up 18 and 10 then it would not look so lopsided.


Lets be real here, it's the biggest weakness of this team. Sure not EVERY big man always tears us up but the raptors are weak defensively upfront. Rasho isn't as productive in this regard as I had hoped.

And this doesn't only refer to scoring, but rebounding too. 

If the raptors are able to defend the post and rebound more productively they are a MUCH better team. That is a fact. 

Of all the potential problems this team faces with regards to reaching it's full potential (Retaining Jose and TJ, Andrea's development etc) this is my biggest concern.


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## shookem (Nov 1, 2005)

ballocks said:


> i'd still take darko ahead of bosh if i had the #2 overall pick in 2003. darko will produce, just give him some time.


And I'd take your job as GM when you got fired for passing on Wade, Bosh and Melo.

The guy would have to explode and become a super force in the league for me to take him over ... I can't even say it, it's that crazy.

The only guy you can maybe take ahead of the three guys I mentioned is Lebron.

Darko will never be an all-star, something the other four of the top five will be for many years.


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## streetballa (Dec 5, 2006)

This is great, we are now 3 games above .500 and lead the atlantic by about 3 games. My only concern was that we let Orlando shoot the ball way to well, im not sure about the 4th but the first 3 quarters they were above 50%. This could become a problem.


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## ballocks (May 15, 2003)

shookem said:


> And I'd take your job as GM when you got fired for passing on Wade, Bosh and Melo.


dumars is still riding high, though, isn't he? i wonder. i still think about that. 20-25 gm's in this league would've been crucified by now; not only has joey d been spared, people don't really associate him with the draft pick _at all_.

i'm sure babs is muttering somewhere under his breath, "they changed my name to hoffa babcock... and you're still joe dumars... luckysonofa-----..."

peace


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## shookem (Nov 1, 2005)

ballocks said:


> i'm sure babs is muttering somewhere under his breath, "they changed my name to hoffa babcock... and you're still joe dumars... luckysonofa-----..."


Yeah, I guess the Raps just needed that pick to pan out more than the Pistons did at the time I guess. I agree though, picking Hoffa 8th is no where near as bad as taking Darko over Bosh, Wade and Melo.


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## Dee-Zy (Jan 12, 2006)

yet but in retrospect, the drafts class are completely lopsided.


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