Nothing really surprising
Nobody expected the Raptors to win at Staples Friday, although when you’re close — and even temporarily leading — most of the night, you might want to call it a moral victory. But that’s a crock. The Raps lost the game because they turned the ball over 21 times. You knew Pau Gasol would own Andrea Bargnani, but when you don’t play a great game overall and are still that close, it burns when you lose.
The Raptors’ deficiencies this season are many, but part two of the back-to-back in Portland Saturday displayed more than Friday’s game. While shooting 1-for-17 from three is indicative of nothing but a bad team shooting night (36.8%), the reality stands that there is no consistent go-to scorer on this team. You can pump up Bargnani in team marketing all you want, he can’t be relied upon.
The guy who is Mike James, 2010 edition — Leandro Barbosa — is banged up. DeMar DeRozan is going to have his share of non-factor games like Saturday’s — shooting 1 of 10 with foul problems. One bright spot is Reggie Evans, who is putting up numbers like a 2003 Ben Wallace — 13 rebounds a game on less than three points per. Great trade bait. And Jose Calderon deserves credit for playing well despite an atrocious pre-season.
I always liked the Nets’ Terrence Williams — could be because he went to Louisville or because he was a decent pickup on my fantasy team last season — but I like him even more after he bodychecked LeBron James into the stands in Miami Saturday night. Williams picked up a flagrant 1 while the Heat broadcasters overreacted. Miami did trounce New Jersey on 20-point efforts from each of the young guns, but I swear there’s still something not right about that team. On the topic, gotta love Cleveland’s response to LeBron’s Nike commercial:
That is the first time I have thought of Mike James since he was with me at the all-star game. Great reference man