Tag Archive for Andrea Bargnani

Heels at the Game – Raptors Get Rained On!

March 27, 2012 Nat Heels at the Game

Eight was the magic number for Coach Casey as far as the game plan goes. He felt if the Raptors could limit Orlando to eight or fewer three-pointers, they would give themselves a good chance to grab the win. Unfortunately, Ryan Anderson put together a career night and hit that number all by himself. The Raptors did a lot of standing around (as seen in the photo), and watched as the Magic walked out with the 117-101 win.

It took three minutes for the Raptors to record their first points of the game and by that time they were already stuck 10. As well as they have played of late, the Raptors came out the gates slow and dug themselves a deep hole early, allowing the Magic to set the tone. A furious comeback in the first quarter was the only real one they were able to muster up as the Magic went about their business and showed why they are regarded as a top-tier team in the east.

“We just got to take this one as a bad one,” said Calderon post game. Unfortunately the bad ones keep piling up for the Raptors who at 16-34 have won as many at home as they have on the road. It doesn’t get any easier with just a month left in the regular season… they still have three more to play before the week is up.

The Night In Numbers

16 point lead for the Magic just 7 minutes into the game. The Raptors struggled to get going and committed 6 turnovers in the 1st quarter.

“We came out as flat as a pancake against one of the top teams in the league, and it’s disappointing.” – Dwane Casey.

12 man roster for the Raptors who were without DeRozan. That included the recently signed Alan Anderson who saw 7:33 of playing time, despite coming to the arena straight from the airport, due to the lack of available bodies after Bayless left the game.

It doesn’t matter how many guys we’ve got, we just have to show every night what we can do and that we can compete. We didn’t tonight.” – Jose Calderon.

21 points for Gary Forbes. One of the lone bright spots for the Raptors, Forbes followed up his career high in rebounds vs. the Bulls with a career high in points against the Magic.

46 points in the paint, the Magic almost doubled up the Raptors in that category. They also were +11 in fast break points and +9 in second chance points, completely dominating all the hustle stats.

54% shooting from the field for the Magic. The Raptors have not won a game this season when allowing their opponent to shoot over 50%. The 117 points given up were also a season high.

11 Three pointers made by the Raptors. They tried to keep pace with the Magic since they couldn’t stop them, but still ended up -12 points in the category.

23 Minutes for Andrea Bargnani who struggled with foul trouble early and then the inability to make a shot. Just when he looked to be finding his groove, a night like tonight makes you think that calf is not all the way back yet.

101 points for the Raptors which meant the fans went wild for the worst promotion in pro sports…

“Really, we got a standing ovation for a slice? They told me they got a free pizza. A slice, you’ve got to sit in your seat and clap you can’t stand up on a slice, I’m sorry that’s bad etiquette.” – Stan Van Gundy.

Up Next: Nuggets @ Raptors. Wednesday, 28th March, 2012.
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Raptors Report: Mid-Season Grades

February 28, 2012 Nat Raptors Report

Andrea Bargnani: A-
The best and worst moment from Andrea came in the game against Utah last month. It sucked that he got injured but the emotion he showed right after was the first signs of how much he actually cared. No one was ever doubting this guy could score but he seems to be in a zone this season, a zone that shows he wants to be great, wants to lead this team to wins and wants to live up to that #1 draft pick pressure. I have no doubt that he would have represented the Raptors at all-star weekend if he was healthy but there will be more in years to come. The question is, does he return with the same fire he had before he went down?

Jose Calderon: A
This is the Jose Calderon that earned the fat contract a few years back. The swagger is back and he has abandoned the clap defense for the most part. Sure he still gets burned by his opposing counterparts but he has been trying harder than ever on D. The offense was always there but Jose has been a coaches dream so far. He brings so much stability to the team and with them being young, he is the perfect PG to make sure they are getting the ball in the right spots and he bails them out with his shot when needed. Right now Jose is playing like an elite PG on a rebuilding team and might just be a victim of the upcoming trade deadline.

DeMar DeRozan: B-
It’s safe to say DeMar hasn’t made the jump most expected him to. Seems that in the process of extending his shooting range this past offseason, DeMar lost some of that athletic ability fans had become accustomed to. I don’t want to start throwing out Vince Carters name and the whole love for the jump shot but things were a little shaky to start the season. He remains an enigma but this last home stretch showed the aggressive DeRozan the team needs. He is still one of the younger guys on the roster with a boat load of talent, give him another 33 games to bring that out.

James Johnson: B+
Probably the biggest surprise so far this season considering how much of a question mark he was coming in. James Johnson has brought a defensive mentality that fans have not seen here since the days of Oakley and Christie. He has yet to figure out the offensive side of his game but that can be worked on. The natural instincts he has shown has ensured him a spot in the starting rotation and if he continues on the path he is on, he becomes one of those un-tradeables at the end of the year.

Amir Johnson: C+
There was the off-season surgery and the in-season personal issues but Amir has yet to put together a stretch of games where he is consistently producing for the team. For the first time in his career, foul trouble is not at the forefront, but with inconsistant production comes inconsistant playing time. Andrea’s injury left an opening for Amir to establish himself as an essential part of the team but he failed to take full advantage of that. His energy is still a big asset but it’s a matter of how long it will take for him to figure out how to use it more effectively.
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Raptor Rant – This Offense is Offensive

January 22, 2012 Nat Raptor Rants

The Raptors have dropped seven in a row and things can get a lot worse as they kick off their longest road trip of the season today. While the team has been markedly improved on the defensive end, bottom line is, you still need to score points in this league to win. The condensed schedule has left little time to practice and with Andrea Bargnani out of the lineup, offensive production has become the biggest issue for the Raptors during this stretch.

Blake Kennedy, wrote a great post on RaptorBlog pointing out the offensive struggles we have seen this season but unlike him, I saw it coming. A new coach who preaches defense first, the minimal practice time to implement a new offense and above all, the lack of guys who can create for themselves.

Andrea Bargnani was playing at an All-Star level before he was sidelined with the calf injury and this team just doesn’t have the personnel to make up for the 20+ PPG they lose with him out. Jose Calderon has been playing like the guy who was rewarded with that fat contract but he rather stay in his comfort zone of being the distributer, a bit of a problem when he is one of the better spot up shooters on this team. The Rasual Butler experiment seems to have finally come to an end as he continues to struggle with the one thing he was brought in to do but his replacement James Johnson is not someone the team can rely on offensively.

Probably the biggest disappointment so far has been the inconsistency from DeMar DeRozan. James Herbert wrote in his defense, but no matter how you slice it, DeRozan has regressed. After the most recent loss to the Blazers, DeMar admitted he is aware of the issues — “The last couple of games I have not gotten to the line. I have to be aggressive. Just going to the contact and not trying to avoid it, that’s my main issue.” He is taking more jumpers and they each look too strong and too flat. Maybe it is the adjustment he made in order to hit the long range shot but it has hindered his mid-range game a lot. Last season DeMar developed a spin move in the lane as his go to move, he has gone away from that and his resistance to contact has led to his numbers going down in almost every offensive category.

You know that phrase, basketball is a game of runs? Well the Raptors have yet to find  a way to avoid 5 minute offensive dry spells to make their runs count. Until they can get consistant production from guys not named Andrea Bargnani, they are going to be a tough team to watch. Hellloooo (Jack Armstrong voice) Kevin O’Neill era revisited!

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Raptors Play Big, Silence The Wolves

January 10, 2012 Nat Heels at the Game

Photo Credit: APNot gonna lie. I walked into the Air Canada Centre tonight looking forward to watching the Kevin Love – Ricky Rubio show, and walked away with a new found appreciation for the heart and hustle of Amir Johnson. Postgame, coach Casey revealed that Amir was dealing with the flu but it sure didn’t affect his game. Aside from putting up 19 points and 11 rebounds, Amir had Kevin Love on lockdown. He made sure Love earned everything — that ended up being a poor, 3-16 from the field.

Amir wasn’t the only Raptor to impress, Andrea Bargnani continued to silence his critics, putting together his third 30 point game of the season. The Timberwolves bit on Andrea’s fake at the 3 point line all night and he rarely settled for the jumper. He put that quick first step to use and went to the hoop early and often. Tallying 31 points to go with 9 rebounds, one has to think this new version of Bargnani is here to stay. While the Raptor bigs carried the load offensively, the play of James Johnson cannot be overlooked. He made use of his five fouls and showed again why he should soon get that starting SF spot over Rasual Butler who has surely left his jump shot south of the border.

For most of the night it felt like the Raptors were dominating but the scoreboard told a different story. They had managed to contain Rubio & Co. for the most part but the additional free throws and three’s kept the Timberwolves in the game. The Raptors upped the ante on defense in the 4th, and Minny managed just six made field goals in the frame. There were moments where Rubio dazzled but his counterpart and mentor Calderon, held his own. The Raptors’ starters logged major minutes in order to close this one out but may be running on fumes as they hop on a plane and prepare to face the Wizards in less than 24 hours.

The Night in Numbers

9 blocks for the Raptors as a team. James Johnson, who was in the zone all night tied a career high with 4.
75-37 the Raptors starters outscored the Timberwolves’ starting five. 50 of the 75 coming from Bargnani and A. Johnson.
34% FG for the Wolves. The revamped Raptors D was in full effect tonight. This is the fifth time in nine games the Raptors have held an opponent to under 40% from the floor. They only pulled that off five times all of last season. They shot 44% on the night.
3 made three’s for the Raptors. The team struggled from deep going just 3 of 19. Minnesota made 5 of their 8 three’s in the first quarter.
9 points for DeMar Derozan who is struggling to find consistency on the offensive end. He did attack the basket more once that jumper wasn’t falling.
20 second chance points for the Raptors who crashed the offensive boards hard tonight. Amir Johnson had 8 ORB’s and the Raptors had 14 as a team.
45 minutes of playing time for Bargnani. He made the most of them but it is to be seen how the legs hold up in he second and third games of the back to back to back.
26 FT’s made by the Raptors. The team stayed aggressive when the 3 ball was not falling and got to the line 28 times. Barbosa was perfect from the line going 9-9.

Top 10 tweets from the #RTZ chat on twitter (LINK)

Up Next: Raptors @ Wizards. Tuesday, 10th Jan. 2012. 7PM
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Raptors Clamp Down On D, Dominate The Cavs

January 5, 2012 Nat Heels at the Game

andrea Primo Pregame, the story was all about Tristan Thompson’s homecoming. The highest drafted Canuck was preparing to suit up for the first time in front of family and friends, in an arena where not too long ago, he sat in the nosebleed’s to cheer on the same team he was about to face. The Toronto Raptors couldn’t care less, they were preparing to win. And win they did. It took them a while to get going offensively but another big night from Bargnani and DeRozan gave the Raptors(3-3) the 92-77 victory over the Cavs last night.

Defensively this was the best effort put forth by the team so far in this young season. The Raptors are making it hard for their opponents to get the easy buckets they were knowing for giving up. They held the Cavs to under 30% from the floor and it is starting to become a pattern. Casey has made these guys, essentially the same core from last season, do a 180. The bad habits show up from time to time but its hard to miss all the talking going on, the improved defensive rotations and the shot contests. While the Cavs are hardly a benchmark to judge against, the Raps have been showing this new look for 6 games now. It suits them. Offensively they still have a ways to go because DeMar isn’t going to give them 5 three’s a night and Andrea is going to start facing a double team soon. If there was a weakness in this one it has to be the lack of production from the small forward spot once again. Butler is just a black hole right now, and James Johnson needs to find a jumper.

Once the team starts putting things together on both ends of the floor, which I believe they will, expect there to be lots of empty room on the “TankNation” bandwagon.

The Night in Numbers

29.6% from the field were the Cavs who were stifled by the Raptors D all night. The Raptors are currently the only team holding opponents to an average of under 40% from the floor. Impressive for anyone, more so for a team never mentioned when talking defence.

3 double-doubles for Jose Calderon after he put up 13 and 11 against the Cavs last night. Jose is playing some of the best ball of his career right now and has built a chemistry with both Andrea and Amir on that pick ‘n roll or pick ‘n pop.

“He is much better than people give him credit for as far as his solid play, running the team, shooting the basketball.” – Dwane Casey on Calderon’s play early in the season.

31 points from Andrea Bargnani and they all came within the flow of the offense. He is averaging 24 points on the season (7th best in the league) and doing it efficiently. Even more surprising, he is fully committed on the defensive end of the floor and it hasn’t taken away from what everyone knew he could do, which is score.

“He is playing at an all-star level. I am totally impressed with his approach, defensively and offensively.” — Dwane Casey on Andrea

5 made 3′s for DeRozan. He made 5 all of last season. DeMar put in a lot of work on that jumper this offseason, he was in the gym making 300 three pointers a day. Against the Cavs he picked his spots but that hard work is already paying off. The percentages are off the charts right now compared to last year but even if they come down to earth, its nice that he has this as an arsenal to use.

“He opens up the floor for everybody else. Now you have to honour him. It’s going to help us a lot offensively, especially on the pick and roll” — Dwane Casey on DeMar’s extended range

11 Turnovers, a category the team is still a little up and down with. They were much better handling the ball against the Cavs and sit around the middle of the pack in terms of coughing the ball up. Having the leader in AST-TO ratio in Jose, the Raptors should be fine over the course of the season. On the other end of the spectrum, the Raps are last in opponent turnovers per game. (source)

-13 in the FT category. The Raptors are near the bottom of the league when it comes to getting to the line. Most of that has to do with the fact that Andrea, and for the most part this season, DeMar have been playing outside the paint. The positive from last night, the Raptors gave nothing easy. Opponents are made to earn it at the line in coach Casey’s new system.

4 fast break points. Though coach Casey has stated he wants the team to get out and run it’s not happening. The Raptors are very much half court team right now, a lot has to do with the style of play from Calderon and Bargnani. As @Liston pointed out in his stats breakdown on Raptors Republic – Toronto has the fifth slowest pace factor in the league at 88.8.

Up Next: Nets @ Raptors. 7PM on Friday, 6th Jan. 2012.
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