# Game 1 Preview - Washington At Toronto



## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

C-mon Raptors fans fire up!!!

Game 1 is almost apon us. We need to win this game and get the season on a roll. The Wizards are on our home court, so we have the pshychological advantage here. Can they come to our arena and beat us??

We can get by with a relatively smaller lineup, as none of the Wizards big guys really scares me. Yeah, Brown has showed some signs, but pre season is preseason after all.The Wizards will rotate their big men alot against us, without getting any real contribution from them.

I expect the Wizards to line up with:

Haywood
Brown
Stackhouse
Jordan
Hughes

Yeah, I expect Jordan to start in this game. In my opinion, it just might be a smokescreen, to use him as a sixth man. For the Wizards, their way of thinking, is that no team has three backcourt defenders, to guard the likes of Stackhouse, Jordan and Hughes, at the same time. For Jordan starting, one, to get the confidence of the Wizards up to an optimum. Secondly, to stretch the Raptors defense, to ensure we do not go for double teams on Stackhouse, or Jordan.They will look at spreading us out over the floor, to create space for their backcourt to operate and penetrate.

The questions here, is do we have enough backcourt defenders to counter the Wizards backcourt of Hughes, Jordan and Stackhouse?? Remember they can also bring on Whitney, Russell and Lue to hit a three pointer when needed.

We need to cut out all the drives and the amount of cuts that these guys are going to get. Let us make sure, that they are going to shoot primarily jump shots. Stackhouse, Jordan, Russell, Whitney and Hughes, are coming off horrible shooting seasons, Hughes particularly in the past. Stackhouse struggled with his shot, in todays game against the Nuggets. So, we need to make them shoot jump shots.

Hughes and Stackhouse are turnover machines, so when they get the ball, we need to pressure them. I expect Lenny Wilkins to instigate half court traps and look for the ball to be turned over here. Remember, Hughes has not proven that he is even a decent point guard yet. On the turnovers, we need to make them pay and just run our guts out and score on transition.When we have a chance to dunk it, lets go for it and show them that we are an aggressive team and want to dominate our opponent.

Once again, I cannot see their big men hurting us, so I believe that we can get by, playing a smaller lineup. I would be surprised, if they run alot of plays, for their big men. We can also hang off their big men and look to double team their ball handlers, because their big men are not offensive threats yet, in my opinion.

Starting Line Up:

Davis
Junk Yard Dog
Peterson
Carter
Williams

Why, do I have Jerome Williams starting ahead of Bradley?? Well, it is opening night and we need to do everything in our power to get the win. We need to get out running with lots of energy.Dive for loose balls, defend, steal the ball, etc. We can get by, with Junk Yard Dog, being a smaller power forward.

Peterson, Carter and Williams, need to defend against the backcourt of the Wizards. I expect the Wizards to run alot of screens for Jordan, Hughes and Stackhouse, so our guys better be prepared to go hard and chase at all costs. If Peterson, or Carter is getting lit up, we can alter the lineup and insert Bradley at the 4 and shift Junk Yard Dog to the three, to lock down the hot hand, if required.

Our big men need to cut off the drives and the key. The Wizards, will no doubt look at creating space in the lanes, for their guards to wheel to the rim, so we need to counter that plan. If they are going to lay it up, we need to be aggressive and make them earn every drive to the hole, to deter them in the future.

On offense, we need to get as many easy looks for Carter,Peterson and Murray as we can. Our big men need to post some hard screens and we need to free up the key, so our guys can drive, and draw some fouls. 

I would, on offense, look at drawing up some plays for both Davis and Bradley. These guys can hit the 15 footer. What this play will do, is force the Wizards big men out of the key to defend our big guys. This will also reduce their chances of getting the rebound, so we have more chances to score.

I believe that the Wizards are a suspect defensive team. So I back the likes of Carter, Murray, Hunter, Williams, etc to be able to score enough for us to win. Like I said, we cannot get into a shootout with these guys. Because, their guys can score in bunches, when hot. We need to get aggressive and force them to shoot jump shots and make them eat up alot of shot clock in their offense. We need to make them panic and I believe that we will get the win on opening night and fire up our season!!!

Comments on our first game of the season??


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## RollWithEm (Jul 16, 2002)

I like the Raps chances in this one. Vince shuts MJ down. Last year, Vince played the mose intense defense of his career against Jordan. There will be no need to double team. Jordan cannot do his thing against Vince. Mo Pete will play well against Stackhouse. Jerry can post him up, so if Peterson prevents penetration, Stack will be forced to make jumper. He won't. Also, I think Toronto has the small advantage up front (even though Kwame Brown is probably the best 4 or 5 on either team).


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## Psubs (Jul 11, 2002)

We've got enough defenders to matchup.

Alvin, Hunter, Jackson, Carter, Peterson and JYD. No worries on this end.:vbanana:


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

The Wizards are much improved this season from last season. VC has everyone's number so that shouldn't be a problem. I expect Jordan to not start but finish.

Starters:

Hughes
Stack
Russell
Brown
Haywood

Expect this lineup at the finish of the game:

Hughes
MJ
Stack
Oakely
Brown

I think the Wizards will win this one. VC will more than likely get his, but with very little in the middle, the Raptors can't take advantage of the relative youth of Washington's frontline. Davis primarily being an outside/in post player. VC played well in early quarters against the Wizards but didn't finish it out. However, the Raptors really have no answer to the Wizards backcourt trio.

Getting them to shoot Jumpers is good in theory but can they really stop Stack, MJ, and Hughes from getting to the basket? Doubtful.

As for the Wizards defense, that should be looked at. They were not bad last season, and have gotten bigger and more physical this year with the additions they have made.

Good luck to the Raptors.


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## Shadows (Jun 8, 2002)

Great post Kingofkings as usual.

MOP dominated Stack in last years playoffs (exspecially the last 3 games) Carter has allways faired well against Jordan and I expect VC to start out the season with a bang (although not the 50 points he predicted)

I like how the Raps match up against the Wiz so I'm predicting a Raps win. Although I feel the wiz will have the better record when the season is said and done.

GO RAPS GO


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## bluudclatt (Oct 22, 2002)

i cant wait to see oak chop vince drivin the lane with a forearm across the head.


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

*Like I said...*

I back our backcourt to be able to cover the Wizards guns. We proved that we could handle Jerry Stackhouse in the playoffs last year. In the 5 game series, he scored only 16 points per game and shot 30% from the field and 25% from three point land. We also made sure that he only went to the free throw stripe only 7 times per game, which is still reasonable for Stack. We doubled him, intensley and made him give up the ball and forced the Pistons to look at other areas to score.

We blocked up the lanes and covered the possibility, that he could just drive the lane whenever he wanted. So, I back our team to cover the impact that Stackhouse will have for the Wizards.

I also have no doubt that the Wizards are going to target Davis and try and get him into foul trouble.One, as he is our best big man and best interior defender. So I expect that the Wizards guards, just might look at driving hard at Davis and forcing him to give up some cheap fouls, in the process.

As I said before, the Wizards big men will not have any impact on this game and I stand by that. One, the backcourt of the Wizards all need to have the ball in their hands to be good players for the Wizards. I always stress this point. They are all going to want to get their looks and want to create. This is why the Wizards big men, will not have any impact on this game. I mean, the Wizards will have to start an offensive attack from the perimeter ,as their big men are not developed enough to have plays drawn up for them, as yet. I just see them scoring off put backs and offensive rebounds, which we need to counter and be wary of.

If we make this game a grind, we will win. Just like we matched it with the Pistons in the 5 game series last year, without our best player and number 1 offensive option, in Carter. Making sure that we reduce the number of shots the Wizards get, I back us to be able to hold them down and score enough for us to win.

I mean, I will be very surprised if both Stackhouse, Jordan, Hughes and Russell are able to coincide at the same time. Stackhouse is going to jack up alot of shots, in this effectively being a contract year for him. You might not think that this is an issue, but it just might be at the back of his mind. Sure, some people say he changed his game last year, but he had both Cliff Robinson and Williamson, to take some scoring load off him, last year.

The Wizards back court, all need the ball to have an impact on the game, as I have said before. As long as we can force them outside and to hit jumpshots, their poor shooting percentages will come into play and we will win!!

Is anyone going to this game, or going to watch it with some friends?? I am throwing a party in my dorm with a few friends, to watch us open our account against the Wizards!!


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

I think you are underestimating the frontline of the Wizards.

Haywood is a legit 7 footer and Kwame is 6'11". If you look back to last year, you will see the Wizards pretty much held the inside game. Oakley will have some incentive to put some hurting on the Raps as well.

Hughes, Stack, and Jordan are all going to the basket. You are right that they are perimeter players by position but MJ will play in the pinch post. Hughes and Stack will penetrate. As the fouls mount, they will either get easy baskets or dish off to the Bigs. The Wizards will get an impact performance from a big either offensively, defensively, or on the boards.

I don't believe the raptors have the size, defense, or depth to stop the Wizards. Just my opinion.


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

*Wizards front line*

I think we will hold our own here. Antonio Davis has been fighting out of his weight division all his career. He is one of the strongest big guys in the league, pound for pound, for a 6'9 power forward centre. Your big man core of Haywood/Brown are both second year players, who really have not shown much. Granted Haywood, did show some signs last year.

If we need to go bigger, we can also start McCoy at centre and Davis at power forward. Then, with Davis on Brown, I back him all the way. Davis will just out body him and get him out of position. He will make sure that he is out of the play and a non factor. This is what he does best.

McCoy is a 6'11 centre with sound shotblocking skills. He is just the athletic, big body that we need. All we need from him is rebounding, solid defense, boxing out and post some hard screens. Nothing more. Can he stop Haywood?? Not an issue, because, once again the ball will rarely be in the big men's hands.

Stackhouse does not give up the ball very easily. When he gets the ball, he just does not shoot instantly. He like to get his man off the dribble, assess his options and get to the rim, or if not, fire up the jumper. Will Jordan, Stackhouse and Hughes, pass to their big men, once everything goes on the line on opening night??

You also talk about post up plays for Stackhouse and Jordan, if so, where will your big guys be?? They will be out in the high post, because Stack and Jordan need room in the post, to score and operate from post up plays.They will be non factors.We will use alot of switching, if these plays start to be a problem.

No-one fears Oakley anymore. As a Raptor fan, we want him playing plenty of minutes. He has hardly played much preseason games, so he might be a little rusty. This guy has lost alot of steps in his game. He had a disaster in Chicago. Say what you want about Tim Floyd, etc but Oakley is too slow now and the players that he will be defending, are just too athletic and faster than him. Sure he still has some strength and I would be surprised if he did not give up some hard fouls in the process.

Anyway, the big men will not be deciding this game, I can assure you of that. Lenny does not coach that way. The big men of the Raptors are complimentary to our backcourt. Whoever can contain each respective backcourt, will win. I ask you guys this, who on the Wizards can stop Carter, Peterson and Williams from getting to the hole?? Alvin Williams loves to drive and penetrate and he will do alot of this in this game. Once again, I back our guys in. I back our scorers to put some numbers on Stackhouse, Hughes and Jordan, no doubt!


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

The big guys have their roles in the offense. You are correct that when MJ is in the post, you will probably see kwame in the High post and Haywood on the opposite block, hence a triple-post/pinch post offense that the Wizards run.

I can't comment on Jelani other than to chuckle a little if you think he is going to match up.


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

*Michael Bradley...*

I forgot about this guy. He has been our best player so far in the preseason. He has been by far, our best rebounder and post player so far. I see him being a factor in this game. He is 6"11 and can score from most positions. In the game against the Bulls, he posted 12 rebounds in the first quarter and 16 for the game. 

He is a guy that the Wizards will need to guard against. Because if you choose to double against Vince, or Mo Pete, he will shoot, if open. But, I see him as being a decoy on offense. Lenny will have him up high, leaving space in the lanes for Carter and Peterson to drive to the hole and operate on offense.

Bradley just needs more confidence and he will have a great year.We also have Junk Yard Dog, one of the best defenders in the game. He can guard anyone from the point, to the power forward position.

Our big men have more playoff and big game experience in Davis and Junk Yard Dog, to Haywood and Brown. Down the stretch in a tight game, which I will predict, our guys will play the percentages and just do what they know is right. They will just play the basics. Can your young big guys do the same??

Also, McCoy is just there to block the middle and prevent penetration, that will no doubt happen. Hopefully, he gives up his 6 fouls in the process, stopping the Wizards backcourt from wheeling to the rim.This guy is very strong and fearless. He never really got a chance on the Sonics and the Lakers, as they had Baker and Shaq, but he seems to be very determined.

I really think that Haywood and Brown are lazy players. Haywood, especially was in College. All we need to do, to make them non factors is to keep needling them, out bodying them, out positioning them and just going at them hard and with everything we have. Their NBA inexperience will be in our favour.Do they both have enough fire in the belly to take it to us?? How many times did I read last season about Brown not giving 100% to the Wizards?? Has this changed, or will it flare up again?

All in all, we can post 1 million theories about this game. But so what, the season is starting soon!!


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## bluudclatt (Oct 22, 2002)

i completely agree with your assertion of michael bradley.he appears to be a confidence player lacking confidence and let me tell ya,the difference between hitting your shot and missing is confidence.he was married in the off season and i think he realises that once his rookie contract is up he may not have gainful employment in this league, if he doesnt step up.so the options are simple, work his azz of and make an impression or go play in europe.defending and being a rebound junkie can only lead to spotting up and finding his mid range game,which is always the last part of the puzzle,example, keon clark.he found his mid range game late last season and thats when he was at his most valuable.lets hope bradley can put it together and be our sleeper off the bench,we need him.


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

I fully expect the Raptors to remain the one dimensional team the Wizards beat last year especially with Antonio Davis' horrible summer, plus he is a year older, and the fact that the Raps best big man was let go without so much as a fight.


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## bluudclatt (Oct 22, 2002)

one dimensional in what respect, all vince all the time.not this year son.vince being out last year for all that time made the raptors realize that ball is truely a 5 man sport.vince is gonna dunk on jordens dome and jelani is gonna clothesline old man oak and make kwame look silly,jyds gonna shut down jerrie,mo petes gonna make nelly wish hughes wasnt in his video and ad has to atone for his stellar play this summer.im going off.


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

Seriouly, outside of VC, who do the Raps really have? JYD? Please. You are hyping McCoy and Bradley? You sure you want to do that? Mo Pete? Antonio Davis showed the type of player he was at the World Championships.

Just a one man team, and that man showed lsat year that Jordan owned him. Maybe VC can hold off the laughter until after the final buzzer in a loss this time.


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

*Who do we have??*

One guy who is going to go off is Morris Peterson. As I keep saying, all we need to do is to make this game into a scrap and your shooters will just keep clanging shots like they usually do.Peterson killed Stackhouse in the playoffs last season and will run your defenders ragged on offense. Our guys just do not stand back and watch on offense, so we will target and hone in, on your suspect defensive players.

Just check out the shooting percentages of Stackhouse, Hughes, Russell and Jordan last year. Like I said, we kept Stackhouse to 30% shooting in the first round playoffs last season and to 16 points per game. We are going to force your shooters to shoot jumpshots and see if they have even improved their shot this year.

All respect to Jordan, but I am encouraged in the fact that he is going to have to jack up 25 shots per game, just to get 20 points,as he did numerous times last season.Jordan needs to be judged on the player that he is today. We will run at him.

Lenny has talked about upping the ante on defense in this game and we will play this game on our terms. The Wizards are coming to our home court and no way are they going to just come in to our arena and blow us off the court. Who is going to stop Carter and Peterson?? Stackhouse, Hughes?? Please.Carter is fit and firing and ready to go. Can Bryon Russell stop Carter?? No

When the heat is on, like it was in the playoffs last year, Stackhouse gets found wanting, in games whereby the intensity and the pressure builds. We are going to play tight tough man on man defense. Stackhouse is your #1 player and will be all season. We are going to target him, becasue he is a suspect player.He will shoot you out of games and will turn the ball over at crucial and critical times. Yeah, thanks Jerry for the win!!


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## bluudclatt (Oct 22, 2002)

BCH.yer dreamin.face it.michael jordan is a parody of his old self.stackhouse is gonna have flashbacks of his miserable performance in the playoffs against the raptors last year.hughes is blinded by the bling bling and is still playing embarrased from his pitiful performance at the slam dunk comp 3 yrs ago,he couldnt handle the pressure of a dunk comp,hugh sucks.old man russell and oak>retire pls...vince is healthy,and hes pissed,hes got the same attitude as when he was on the olympic team,and does evryone forget who the best player on that team was,yup VINCE CARTER.washington isnt going anywhere this year except for the michael jordans 5th time retirement party.go preach how well the wiz are gonna do to washington fans theyre the ones who need convincing.RAPTORS BLOW OUT WIZ -read the headlines.


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## bluudclatt (Oct 22, 2002)

i find it amusing.everyone outside of toronto and being fans of the raptors think vince fell the fuk off.he played far to long on one knee last season.and people think his skills have diminshed?wtf.these are people who have never had ligaments torn or muscle strains or physical ailments.basketball is the hardest sport on the joints and playing injured you never really have focus other than that twinging accompanying pain.been there done that.i spent the whole summer getting smoked by my good friend whom id owned on the playgroung my whole life.why?i snapped my ankle dunkin on him 14months earlier.and it hasnt healed.so to all you haters hatin on vince when your watching him on the highlites and the victories start piling up stay off the band wagon we dont need any of u.


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## NorthEast Wiz (Jul 16, 2002)

I'm backing BCH is this dabate. Not just because I am a Wizards fan but because of the improvement we have made to the overall team:

Haywood - a year more experience and also this is early in the year. Last year he peaked early and faded. This year he should have made the adjustment. Good weak side defender.

Brown - Much more confidence, has gotten stronger and has worked on his footwork. Good weak side defender

Etan Thomas - He will be one of the sleepers this year. Workhorse type player that does not try to do too much.

Hughes - Tremendous upgrade over C Whit is almost every category

Stack - improvement offensively (Rip not a #1 guy). Defense is better than Rip also. Gets to the line. We will deal with the turnovers.

MJ - won't have to carry the entire load like he did last year which is a tremedous positive. He will not start to begin the season.

Russell - upgrade from T. Nesby

Oak - if you want to get rough

Our only set-back was losing Popeye Jones.

Forgive any typos as I am typing fast.


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

NEW,

You forgot though. The Raps have the might Jelani McCoy.


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## Shadows (Jun 8, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>BCH</b>!
> NEW,
> 
> You forgot though. The Raps have the might Jelani McCoy.


Indeed we do



> Brown - Much more confidence, has gotten stronger and has worked on his footwork. Good weak side defender


Brown has proven nothing since being in the NBA. He's still a lost pup in the league. 



> Oak - if you want to get rough


We had Oak in Toronto for 3 years. He's more then washed up. He hardly got 10 MPG with the Bulls in the 2nd half of the season. If you guys feel he's gonna do anything productive this year then
it shows the quality of your frontcourt.



> Etan Thomas - He will be one of the sleepers this year. Workhorse type player that does not try to do too much


WHO? 

I'm sure Etan Thomas will have a HUGE infulence on this game's outcome.



> Stack - improvement offensively (Rip not a #1 guy). Defense is better than Rip also. Gets to the line. We will deal with the turnovers.


One name Morris Peterson, Watch last years playoffs.

Put your money on VC having the better game then MJ. It's his comming out party and he's allways had the better numbers whn the 2 go head to head.



> Antonio Davis showed the type of player he was at the World Championships.


I guess we can say we've also seen what type of players Baron Davis, Ben Wallace, Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce, Andre Miller are going to be?


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

Brown and Etan have both proven more than McCoy and Bradley.

I will be interested in seeing how the Raps play now that their "best" player is back. They obviously had chemistry problems last year, hence the run without him.


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## NorthEast Wiz (Jul 16, 2002)

Shadows,

Oak will not be a major part of our team. We wont ask him to do much more than rebound, defend and hustle.

You will be surprised at both Etan and Kwame this year.

I'm not claiming that Stack is better than VC only that our team is much improved mainly because MJ is not our number 1 guy anymore.


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## Shadows (Jun 8, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>NorthEast Wiz</b>!
> Shadows,
> 
> Oak will not be a major part of our team. We wont ask him to do much more than rebound, defend and hustle.
> ...


No question you guys improved in the off-season, and reading my post over I sound like a big jerk.

I guess we will just wait and see for the outcome. Raps are winning it tho  

GO RAPS GO


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## NorthEast Wiz (Jul 16, 2002)

We need to figure out how to place a friendly wager on these boards. If I think about it before the game I will propose something.


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

Did anyone take any notice of the Wizards against Detroit game a few days ago?? Yeah, see what happens when their shooters are off?? They only score 66 points for the game.

I have said it before and I will still say it, the Wizards shooters are all suspect shooters. I know that the Pistons defense is cranked to the max at times, but remember we matched them last season and locked up Stackhouse by crowding his space to move and operate with and without the ball.

We just need to clog up the lanes and make you guys shoot jump shots. Russell, Hughes, Stackhouse, Jordan are all coming off horrible shooting seasons, for highly rated and supposedly high caliber NBA players. When they attempt to post us up, we will instantly switch and put bigger and more physical players on your guys and stop them in their tracks.

We have underated defenders on our team, who never get any respect, because they play in a relatively smaller market. Carter, Peterson, Hunter, Davis and JYD are above average defenders. If you think that Carter is not a good defensive player, you do not know his game that well. He is athletic and gets a hand to a lot of ball, through steals and blocks. Peterson locked up Stackhouse last season in the playoffs, making him shoot 30% from the field and only 16 points per game.

I see the Wizards game plan not functioning well this season. Why, because they have too many players that need to have the ball in their hands to have an impact on the game. Hughes and Stackhouse are going to demand the ball too often, rupturing the offense and taking ill times shots at crucial times in the game.

The Wizards have three new starters in Hughes, Stackhouse and Russell and as a result, they have too many new players learning about a new system. Expect even more turnovers from mistakes,from these guys, due to them learning a new system of plays.They have not had enough time to gel. We, have the same roster, mostly from last season. Jordan is also rusty.

Why do you think that the Warriors and the Pistons got rid of these guys. Because they are another teams problem now. They are freelancing players. My former college roommate, who was at St Louis at the time of Larry Hughes, informed me of numerous instances of run ins between Hughes and the St Louis coaching staff over his inability to carry out the coaches instructions on both offense and defense. He likes to do his own thing and this is taken from a guy that was close to the scene, during Hughes' college career.

They are also turnover machines and we will capitalise on this. We are going to trap and trap some more at half court. We are going to pressure the ballhandlers and force them to give up the ball and commit turnovers. Once the pressure and heat go on, Stackhouse goes missing. Check the playoff stats of Stackhouse, for a clearer view on this. We have the best guys to capitalise on turnovers in Peterson, Williams, Junk Yard Dog and Carter, guys who run like greyhounds on offense and on the break.

When all is said and done, all you Wizards fans will no doubt come up with numerous excuses, when we defeat you. We are going to make it a scrap and take the game out of the Wizards hands. Once we up the ante on defense, no doubt the Wizards will dissappear. Deal with that and move on!!

Oh and another thing Wizards fans, you have 24 fouls to give up on Vince Carter, between Stackhouse, Hughes, Jordan and Russell. I suggest you will use them all up, because you will need to, to even put a check on him!!

And another thing, we ARE a playoff team and have been since the 1999/2000 season, so we have big game experience under our belts. We have won a playoff series and almost made it to the Eastern Conference Finals 2 seasons ago. Our roster has not really changed that much since then. We still have our key players.


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## GlenGrunwald (Oct 26, 2002)

Are long, analytical posts the norm in this forum? The ESPN boards is the opposite with short, useless posts.

Anyway, I have extra tickets to the sold-out season opener that I am willing to sell at cost. They are in the Platinum section 121. They will go to the lucky person that is willing to pick them up before the Wednesday game. If you are interested, send me a private email.

One Team. Let's Go Raptors!


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

kingofkings,

VC is going to be busy trying to get Stackhouse's new phone number to win the game for the Raps.

I also predict McCoy _goes off_ for 5 points and 3 boards.

And I would say for the most part, the posts in these forums are analytical, even when the person is arguing incorrectly that the Raptors beat the Wiz tonight.


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

Only 35 minutes left!!!


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

*@ the half...*

Raptors up 44-36, Vince with 13 and 3.

Some notes - I really liked what Vince said at the halftime interview. He's back guys, it appears.

McCoy has 2 points, 7 rebounds. How's crow taste, BCH? 

And Kwame's actually looking like a number one pick. 11 points, 12 rebounds. WOW!


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

Slow the pace of the game down, clog up the lanes, etc. Isn't that exactly what I was saying in my previous posts in this thread?? See what happens when we expose the Wizards suspect shooters?? I predicted exactly what was going to happen in this game.

We made them shoot jumpshots. Our perimeter defense deserves credit in this game, we forced their shooters to struggle, not the other way round. This is how we are going to get wins this year. Slow the pace down to a grind, capitalise on turnovers, through our traps and we will get some great wins. Our big men were solid tonight. Once again, they do not need to dominate, just let them play the percentages and make sure that the driving and cutting lanes are blocked. This will force the opposition to shoot jumpshots, which is the weakness in most players games, today.

We do not need anyone to score 30 for us to win, if we slow down the pace of the game. So, where are all the Wizards fans now?? They all said that I was stupid and my ideas of how we were going to win this game were flawed. This was exactly how I said that this game was going to pan out. Don't believe me, read the thread again!!

And to the guy that bashed on our big men, McCoy and Davis have almost 30 rebounds combined in this game. They do not need to have the ball in their hands to be good players. Just let them do their job, which is to defend, guard the lanes and stopping easy layups. It does not matter that they are not big named players, they just need to get the job done. Has anyone seen Stackhouse,Hughes, Jordan and Russell, or are they all missing in action, yet again!!


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## Crossword (Jun 7, 2002)

*Good*

All I have to say is, GOOD. Those Wiz fans... talked No masking TBF on our board and theirs, but the Raps... they're not half bad, eh?

Kwame played great, but MJ was just awful. Vince didn't play that good either.. but hey - we're winning, and a big part of it is due to Vince's contributions.


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

Yeah, my guess is that we never hear from them again in this thread. Tough game to watch though, but we still got the job done. Damn Peterson looked aggressive tonight. He wanted the ball and actually did some good things off some hard screens that were set for him. I am glad to reinforce that we do not need Carter to score 30 every night, for us to win and Iam really pleased about that.

It is only one win, but it will build up confidence within our team. We can win with defense. We have to play like this every game, for us to be a factor this year. We have shown that we can up the ante on defense and do all the little things required to enable us to win close games. Lenard did some great things for us off the bench and can hold that bench slot down before Murray gets back, healthy.

Damn, Wizards looked awful tonight. It was due to what we did. We forced the issue, slowed down the shotclock for them and made them struggle. So, we can with with great defense. Our big men can compete and this is what give me confidence.

It will be a long season for the Wizards, especially if the trend of their backcourt shooters in Stackhouse, Hughes, Russell, Lue, Jordan, etc struggle like they did tonight. They will lose alot of games, because of this. As for the Raptors we will move on!!!


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

The Wizards problems tonight were hardly due to what the Raptors did to them. What happened was something that was a concern coming into the season and it is something that will fix itself as the season goes on.

I am not pleased with what the Wizards did, but if I were a Raptors fan, I would hardly feel like I had earned the right to say anything definitive about what they accomplished tonight.

The perimeter guys were off, Kwame played better than any Raps big man, and the Wizards were hardly a turnover machine. Congrats on the win though, it wasn't luck, but I wouldn't say it was likely to happen again.


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## Shadows (Jun 8, 2002)

A win is a win, You predicted wrong we predicted right.

The Raps may look bad but the Wiz look worse.

I've been hearing alot about the Wiz team from all of there fans here and boy were you all wrong.

Only the first game of the season but that was pathetic, I'm still trying to figure out how we got this W.

GO RAPS G0

1-0

edited by shadows.. Can I still use this colour lol.... I seem pretty pissed in this post, We played like crap but I'm super excited about the win.

McCoy with 12 boards....Who was it that laughed at us for having him... cough BCH cough lol


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## kingofkings (Jun 9, 2002)

At the end of the day if you want to bag and put down our team and say that we are a one man team, you have to be prepared to back up those statements.If you are going to say that we need Carter to score on every possession for us to win, you need to rethink all your points.We can win on defense and this was just an example.

Sure, both teams struggled but we beat them fair and square. Enough of all the excuses etc, we played the Wizards on our terms and played them in the way that I said that we would, according to what Lenny Wilkins had been implying in the lead up to the season and the way the Wizards team is structured. At the end of the day, if you cannot hit jumpshots, you will struggle to compete with any NBA teams. The Wizards learned that today and will learn that all season.

Our big men stood out tonight, but we could not really counter Brown. That is one area that really concerns me. Can we hold out the big athletic guys around the league?? We just might struggle on this aspect of the game. But remember, Carter and Peterson will always be factors for us in the game, whether they score big or not.

We played this game on our terms and won. There is no need to debate this point. We will go forward!! Remember we were also hit by injuries and a lack of depth on our roster. It took guts tonight and it will take guts all season long. I back our guys!!

There can be no excuses, for anyone that predicted that the Wizards would win this game easily. Their weakness was our gain. Tough, but the truth hurts sometimes. Deal with it!!


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## raptors32 (May 19, 2002)

Leonard looks like a great addition of what looks like a really nice bench player. Mccoy and Hunter looked good as the new additions. 

Hunter and Leonard add something to our back court that are starting pg lacks. The ability to head man the ball and giving up the ball on the break.

Good to get a win, even if it was a very ugly game.

Oh yeah, I don't think I can watch a game with commentary like that again. Horrible.


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## Shadows (Jun 8, 2002)

> There can be no excuses, for anyone that predicted that the Wizards would win this game easily. Their weakness was our gain. Tough, but the truth hurts sometimes. Deal with it!!


I agree 100% with this KOK

While I'm not going to pee my pants over this win because we did not play good, we definetly did hold down Washington offensively in every which way. The starting 5 played tight perimeter D and to Washington's credit they missed alot of easy shots.

Plenty of negatives spots as a team today but there were alot of bright spots. 

Morris Peterson- Leading scorer of the game, He rushed a couple of shots, and really should not relly on his 3 so much but he looked terrifc out there. Holding Jordan to 8 points on 4-14 shooting is great. Also 10 boards and 3 steals MOP. 

Jelani McCoy- We have been getting alot of slack for starting McCoy at C. 6 points, 12 boards 2 blocks is exactly what this team needs, he's a horse on the boards and I really liked him on the floor tonight.

Voshon Lenard- How good does he look, he just came into camp a week ago and seems to have alll the defensive plays figured out. Very under-rated defender, 10 points in 18 minutes


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## Shadows (Jun 8, 2002)

> Oh yeah, I don't think I can watch a game with commentary like that again. Horrible.


I was considering watching the game on mute after the 1st quarter. Elliot was not bad but that other guy was TERRIBLE.


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## NorthEast Wiz (Jul 16, 2002)

Whoa is me!

Terrible game but you guys won. As BCH said, you should not feel good. We actually almost came back while shooting 30%. MJ's weak play tonight was predictable with the pre-season he had, just as his strong play early last year was predictable.

A win is a win. 

Overall I am not that disappointed.

We will get you in DC.


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## BCH (Jun 25, 2002)

McCoy'[s rebounding probably had more to do with the number of bricks than his ability.

Mo Pete did look good though and he has a nice stroke. I was not impressed with Williams personally. Kendra did what I expected.


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## Psubs (Jul 11, 2002)

Too bad Vince didn't drop 50 like he said he wanted. But I would rather him score 20 and win every game than be like Kobe average 26 ppg and be 0-2.

Jordan should've stayed retired. I'm glad Carter sealed the victory with that defensive play.

Oh Ya!:vbanana: 

Lakers 0-2.:vbanana:


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