Posting up the Preseason volume I- London calling

Philadelphia 76ers- 107
Toronto Raptors- 98

First word the comes to mind?

Sloppy.

Second?

Expected.

Many things happened Tuesday night that we thought would probably happen for a group on their first preseason game. Especially when you consider their are 12 new faces from last year and the line-ups were... well... lets keep it clean and say juggled. 25 turnovers for the Toronto Raptors will be an aberration, you can also bet that shooting percentages of 41.0 and 35.3 respectively for field goal percentage and 3 point field goal percentage will go up.

Less encouraging is the field goal percentage aloud on both field goal (50.7%) and 3 point field goals (64.3%). These numbers are inflated but the concern is that the defense is predicated on keeping the offensive players 'out of the house' and limiting the opposition to tough outside shots. Well 50.7% percent from the field tells you that Phili didn't just slip through a window, they kicked down the front door and there has to be more then just token pressure on perimeter shots or opposing 3 point percentage in the 60's may continue.

But all that said, its preseason, the Raptors two best players were out of the line up and its all just fun and games. Here are a couple observations:

A sign of things to come...

First defensive possession of the game Lou Williams blows by Jose Calderon at the top of the key and gets fouled by the spaniard.

First offensive possession of the game missed shot by Marco Belinelli, Reggie Evans battles two players for the offensive rebound.

Learning curves...

To give you an idea of the little things Demar has to learn to become an effective player I present you this:

First quarter both he and Marco Belinelli start under the basket long the baseline. There is a double screen by the bigs and the two guards are supposed to come off of the screens along the baseline to opposite ends of the court. Demar slowly drifts off the screen with no real purpose or move, Belinelli uses a change of speed and a quick misdirection look and jets off the screen sharply, receives a pass from Jose Calderon and makes a mid-range jumper.

Keeping the dribble alive...

Jarrett Jacks ability to keep the dribble alive out of double teams and create is outstanding. On a few occasions he managed to keep his dribble, split or dribble out of the double team, get into the heart of the defense and pass off for an open look. It sounds simple because it is, but it's something the Raptors have lacked even with Calderon and it will huge as the season progresses.
New Offense?

Last year the primary offense, and secondary offense for that matter, was a high pick and roll. It's a great play because if it is run properly it can't be defended, either way the defender goes, he makes a mistake and there is an open shot. A little diversity can never hurt though right? On multiple occasions last night the Raptors were running some new sets that were predicated on screens away from the ball on the wings, a quick read and react, and the point guard makes his decision.

It didn't work very well, but it will be interesting to see how it develops as the season does.

The Son is shining?

I don't know if Sonny Weems can play a lick in the NBA and if he will ever stick, but the cat can run, jump and has a great frame for an NBA player. There was a fast break where Marcus Banks had Demar Derozen and Sonny Weems on either side of him and on a team usually starved for athleticism, it was nice to see.

The Good

Reggie Evans

Overall, the Joker as they call him, was not the best player on the floor last night but if the first 3 minutes of the game are any indication of what kind of energy Evans will bring off the bench this year, our bench will be our strength. Evans had 6 points, 3 rebounds and 4 steals in 19 minutes. If you just check the box score in the morning, it's entirely unimpressive. If you watched the game, it was outstanding. Within the first 2 minutes of the game he had 3 of those steals, 2 of the rebounds and 5 points and the crowd was already chanting RE-GGIE! RE-GIE!

Jerome Williams may have found a rival for most popular energy player or junk yard dog, thats if Evans can stay on the court, he was limited by foul trouble.

Which brings us too...

Amir Johnson

Johnson was easily the second best player on the court last night. Physically he looks like he is in great shape and a little bigger and more chiseled than in years past. He had 8 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks in 21 minutes, brought the energy, intensity and hustle the coach's want out of him. This will earn Amir minutes. The 2 blocks on the score sheet don't do him justice, he looked like he was all over the court.

On one particular play, he pinned an opposing player from the help side, grabbed the ball off the backboard, dribbled (yes dribbled) coast to coast and got fouled on the lay-up. Triano has given his forwards and centers plenty of lee-way to start the break and Johnson has obviously taken that to heart.

Andrea Bargnani

Andrea was clearly the best player on the court last night from either side. The numbers are impressive 22 points on 9-14 shooting from the field and 2-3 from the 3 point line in 22 mintes but most impressive is his demeanor and physicality.

Last year much was made about Andrea putting on extra muscle and coming back physically ready to take on centers in the East. Last year though he still didn't look the part. This year he has come back and looks like he is in great shape and has the muscle definition of a kid that has grown into his body. This has helped his confidence clearly, because he is unwavering on the court.

Andrea showed that he can, and is willing to score anywhere on the court and go to the basket with aggression and thats a great sign.

The Bad

Jose Calderon

I will preface this by saying that I am a Jose Calderon fan and think that he is an above average point guard in this league with the ability to be an elite point guard in the NBA.

Blame on rust or blame it on the a-a-a-a-a-alchohol but Jose was uncharacteristically sloppy last night. He had two or three turnovers within the first 3 minutes and ended the night with 4 turnovers to only 3 assists in 16 minutes of action. This is not typical for Jose and will not be as the season unfolds but he just looked out of sync last night.

Calderon did shoot the ball well as one would expect and combine the new offensive sets with new teammates this is not neccesarily unexpected but for the second game (the intrasqaud scrimmage and the game last night) Jack looked more comfortable and effective on the court. The interesting thing to look out for is how Calderon adapts to the new offense. Jose is perfectly suited for the high pick and roll offense and if he cannot adapt this could become a problem.

Demar Derozen... in the first half

Derozen did not do anything particularily bad so this is a bit misleading. He seemed to be getting the defensive concepts pretty well and did not loose his man to the point where he got beaten on a back door or even off the bounce which is encouraging.

However, he was a non-factor for the entire first half. Demar scored all of his points in the second half when he was playing with second line and sometimes third line players which does and has concerned me. The coaching staff would like him in the starting line so that their isn't pressure to do too much. The problem with that theory is that it takes away from his strengths on the basketball court which is creating his own offense, and to do that he needs his hands on the ball.

In the second half we saw more encouraging signs when he got some fast break opportunities and it was particularily encouraging to see him take and demand the ball down the stretch of a relativley close game but to be effective in the role he has been put in, he needs to find away to score without the ball.

Marcus Banks

The dudes not very good... Seems disinerested at times even though his career is on the line and his play is usually out of control.

Patrick O'Bryant

The dudes not very good... Seems disinterested at times even though his career is on the line and his play is usually lazy.

- J.Moore