There was an NBA game played in Toronto tonight. Before I get to breaking it down, I want to introduce a new category here at Heels on Hardwood. As a season seat holder, I have the opportunity to bring bits and pieces from the game that may not have been captured by the cameras. Also since I sit close to the Raptor bench there is a good chance to catch some player interaction and the always present entertainment during blowouts – no matter which team is on the losing end of it. The plan is to use “Heels at the Game” as a section to bring you as close to the game as possible. There will be in game tweeting (no NBA rules against me doing that as of yet, so follow me @Nat77 ), photos, and some live blogging coming in the near future. Hopefully I can get creative with this and bring you guys different things throughout the season to add to the experience of being a Raptor fan. And might I add, it is one of the best fan bases I have ever been a part of.

As will be the case for future Heels at the Game posts, today’s title was inspired by a game day tweet from @scottcarefoot. I am going to be a little experimental during the pre-season with the format of these things so any feedback is much appreciated.

The Game in 10 Photos

It’s kind of surreal looking down the Raptors bench and having to scan 5 faces until you find a familiar one. With so many new faces, team chemistry is going to be a common phrase thrown around for the early part of the season. Tonight, even with this being a meaningless game, it was nice to see the team stand up to cheer for the big plays. This was not a team just going through the motions, they were focused all the way down to the men in suits.
The rookie had a better start in this one but he is clearly not near game shape. He seemed to be a lazier on D and winded at times. I am going to blame that on this being the 2nd game of a back to back. DeMar is working with a lot of hype around him and from the first two games it’s clear that he is far from ready to be thrown to the wolves. I would prefer he focus on the little things and just take in all the advice he is given. Jay Triano made it clear he wasn’t going to stand for back to back rookie mistakes and yanked him out after an ill-advised shot. I think he will get a chance to start but his leash may be shorter than the fans are expecting.
Reggie Evans is what you call the good, the bad and the ugly, all in one. The good is his energy that is felt even before the ball is tipped. He can teach Bosh and Bargnani a thing or two for sure. The bad is his FT shooting that will be at 50% on a good night. The ugly is him trying to bring up the ball – something apparently NO ONE has told him he is horrible at. He was better on the glass today but I still cringe when he tries to do anything on offense. I can’t wait for Bosh to be back so we are subjected to less of Reggie attempting reverse layups.
Bargnani close enough to the basket to fit both into one picture is exactly how I like it. He has shown he is willing to be aggressive and has mixed up his offense for a second night in a row. Picking up where he left off last season, its nice to see him moving in the right direction. He did play sparingly tonight but when he was on the floor his impact was felt on both ends. He ended up being one of only 2 Raptors who finished the game with a + rating.
The 76′ers have gone back to their original look and I love it. The road look is nicer on the eyes than the home whites and I may need to cop myself some of that gear. Looking good in red was Elton Brand coming off two miserable seasons. He played a total of 20 minutes but his presence was felt for all 20 of them. He is a lot closer to game shape than I had expected and that can only bode well for the team this season.
He was better, but a ways from where he needs to be. Jose took a lot of slack for coming out the gates slow in the first game and he already improved 10 folds in game 2. People need to remember that he has not played a real game in over 5 months and in that time he underwent surgery. I expect him to return to the steady player he is known to be. The clap defense was rarely used tonight but he still struggled to keep players in front of him. Coach Ivaroni has a tall task ahead of him, but Jose is very committed and should keep improving that aspect of his game.
Chris Bosh decided to skimp on the dry cleaning to have his suit pressed and chose to dress in uniform? Fans looking at the bench may have been confused as he was not expected to play. He may not have contributed anything on the stat sheet but I was looking at the bench from time to time checking to see if he was being vocal. Everyone has been questioning Bosh’s ability to be a leader ever since he took on the role. On this night, he was encouraging his teammates, high-fiving them and looked very excited to be back. As a fan, if he can’t play, that has to be the next best thing you want to see him doing.
Amir is still a very intriguing player. The Sixers are a good team to test him out at the SF spot since they have a bunch of guys who are interchangeable as PF/SF’s. I was determined to focus on him when he was on the court and came away with more of less what I expected. I think he is going to struggle if he is forced to play the SF for any significant stretches but can be used at that spot defensively from time to time.
I think if you put Iguodala’s upper body on DeMar’s lower half you could create the perfect body for an NBA wing player. Iggy’s legs are matchsticks compared to DeMar’s but when you put them side by side, it’s evident there is room to work on with the rook. People love comparing DeMar to Vince (and the newest one in Raptorland are T-Mac references) but I would love if he could become more like Iguodala.
Ref #117 was public enemy number one at the ACC last night. The whistle happy crew was atrocious and even for a pre-season game some of the calls were ludicrous. Each time a referee blew his whistle he would look at his counterparts to check if he did the right thing. This is going to be a major issue if the Ref’s lock out isn’t sorted soon. For the sake of good basketball I hope it is…

Sonny Weems Can Fly!!! – H/T to @TasMelas for the video.

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