Cleveland Cavaliers- 91
Toronto Raptors- 101
Over the last few years Argo fans, Leaf fans, Reds fans, Jays fans and Raptors fans have had nothing to watch, or nothing to read once the playoffs in their respective sport because the local heroes were sitting at home or practicing the slice on the golf course.
Hope in the form of wins or success has not come easy and often in this market, but for one night at least Toronto fans were rewarded with a prize they could show off to their inter-provincial neighbors; the Toronto Raptors.
There is always a feeling of eternal optimism coming into opening night of the season when the club is undefeated and tied for first especially with the relatively naive Raptors fan base, but last night the realists (or pessimists) would have told you that by 10:00 pm Wednesday night the feeling of doom and despair hovering over the Toronto sports landscape would be solidified by a Raptors loss to a very good, hungry team expected to win a championship from Cleveland.
For at least one more night though, the eternal optimism will prevail and Toronto fans can breath a sigh of relief. It was not easy however, the script was written and the plot was unfolding like it had so many times in the past. Part comedy and part tragedy, the Raptors as expected scored the ball, road the emotion of opening night and the raging fans in the Air Canada Center to a 18 point lead at halftime.
This though, is when the tragedy hits. Some will chalk it up to poor defense, when really it is just the obligatory run that a team of the calibre of Cleveland with the best player in the world will/must make. So halfway through the third quarter when fans looked up at the scoreboard and saw the 18 point lead had evaporated and the score was tied, they must have known what was coming next. Like so many times over the last few years, the Raptors would not have the mental toughness, fortitude or defensive commitment to throw a counter punch, and they would fold like a cheap suit.
Not on this night though, whether it is a one night only aberration or a trend that will set this city on fire, the Raptors counter punched with the force of Foreman and road out the night with an impressive win. What is more impressive is that the team won it with defense capped with a Turkoglu steal on an Anthony Parker 3 point attempt that would have cut the lead to 3 points with less then a minute to play and LeBron James looming.
On a night that could have sent the collective masses into a tailspin, it pleasantly surprised with a win that will spring hope until at least Friday night in Memphis.
The Good
Andrea Bargnani
If the night could belong to one man, he would be a 7 foot Italian. The number 1 pick in the 2006 draft did well to quiet the still lingering nay-sayers and continued his maturation with one of his all around best games as a Raptor. Setting the tone right from the opening possession with a punk fake, followed by a dunk on Anderson Varejao, Bargnani was near unstoppable for most of the night going 11-15 from the field and made Shaq look like the semi-retired disinterested player he is most nights.
More impressive was the way that he scored and the effort and discipline he showed on defense. We have seen big scoring nights before from the Italian usually due to hot shooting from the outside but on this night he had more free throw attempts (4) then 3 point attempts (3). Picking his spots from all over the floor Bargnani used his face up, post and jump shooting game all effectively to confuse who ever was guarding him. At one point he had LeBron James on him, who is one of the best defensive players in the league, and made him look goofy by posting him up, used two shot fakes and ended the play with a nice up and under layup to score on James.
On defense he competed hard against Shaq, trying to be as physical as possible without fouling out of the game. While he did get in foul trouble early he used his discipline on defense to keep him in the game where the Raptors utilized his stellar offensive output.
Defense/Mental Toughness
The most important development that revealed itself last night was when the Raptors' collective metal was tested. As stated above, most nights in the past when an opposing team gained momentum and made a run at the lead, the Raptors would wilt and go meekly into the night. Last night, they responded emphatically and claimed the game back.
The Raptors held Cleveland to 34.9% shooting and more importantly LeBron James to 23 points on 19 shot attempts (7-19). While most would chalk up the poor Cleveland offense more to do with unfamiliarity rather then anything the Raptors did defensively the point still remains that the Raptors made key stops when they needed too. For a team that on most nights is going to be better offensively then their opponent, defensive timing may be the key.
Marco Belinelli
If the most important thing to come out of last night was the timely defense, a close second would have to be the production of Marco Belinelli. After a preseason where many thought he played himself out of the rotation, coach Jay Triano showed confidence in Belinelli giving him second quarter minutes and Belinelli rewarded the coach by tallying 10 points in the quarter and sparking a run that would extend the lead to over 20 points.
Belinelli also showed great offensive awareness with a few glowing passes that should have been converted for assists and plucky defense that will keep him in games when his shot is not falling.
One of the main keys to this season will be whether the first unit can play defense and whether the second unit can score. Seeing that Jarrett Jack is still trying to find his way to fit in on offense, the emergence of Belinelli as a scorer off the bench is paramount.
Chris Bosh/Weight Gain
Bosh never really got his offensive game going but still managed to score 21 points due mostly to 12 free throw attempts (9-12), his biggest impact came on the glass. The 25 pounds of muscle he added in the offseason showed itself to be an asset last night when he repeatedly battled one or two opposing big men for rebounds. You could credit much of the defense to the fact that Bosh did not allow second shots by gobbling up rebound after defensive rebound.
The Coach
Coach's generally get too much credit and too much blame, but Triano did a very nice job last night pulling the right strings at the right times to give his team the competitive advantage. Defensively he did not just limit one man to guard LeBron James and one man to guard Shaq. DeRozen, Turkoglu, Wright and Belinelli all has a turn guarding James changing the defensive looks LeBron saw and spreading the fouls out amongst the wing players. Shaq saw Bargnani, Bosh, Johnson and Nesterovic and a few times midway through the game Triano based his substitution pattern on Shaq, send Nesterovic to guard him limiting Bargnani's opportunity to foul and letting him be fresh on offense.
At one point in the third quarter Triano realized that the game was being dictated by Mike Brown when the Cleveland coach sent out a small line up that was they key to their offensive outburst. Once this was realized Triano quickly changed to a big line up, exposed LeBron in the post and few times, and all of a sudden it was Triano dictating not being dictated to.
Jay has also done a nice job of carefully mapping out his substitution pattern so that one of his key offensive big three (Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu) was on the floor at all times. Too many times coach's will just throw on the back ups and hope they can keep the score close. Last night the coach spaced out his substitutions so that one of those men were on the floor at all times.
The Bad
Not Much
The offense was fluid and efficient, the best players played like the best players, the bench stepped up when they needed to, and the Raptors even played defense too. Yes, the Cavaliers did score 32 points in the 3rd quarter and tied the game and many will tell you the defense was not good enough during that stretch. The bottom line is, good teams make runs. Cleveland is a very good team, made their run, and most importantly the Raptors responded with timely defense and a run of their own.
Jarrett Jack has still shot the ball poorly and does not look like he knows yet where his shots will come from, but he did enough to affect the game positively in other ways.
Amir Johnson didn't show the energy and tenacity he needs too when he comes in the game. He was invisible for the 5 minutes and 45 seconds he was in the game, but it was in a short period of time against match up that were not favorable to the athletic big man.
The Outlook
The Raptors are going to win most nights if they play the way they played last night. The preseason did not necessarily live up to the optimism the offseason facilitated but last nights performance did a lot to re-warrant optimism around the team.
Memphis will be a good test for this team. From a talent standpoint there is no contest, the Raptors should win handily. The test will be from a mental perspective, a lot of talk has been about not putting the preverbal cart before the horse. Coming off an emotional high opening night win, we will see if the Raptors come out focused and take care of business.
Coming into Sundays contest 2-0 with momentum and confidence would be a great asset against a very talented Orlando team.
Oh ya, and it would be good to beat that Vince something-or-other guy.
- J.Moore
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