RAPTORS’ DEFENSIVE WOES CONTINUE

For the Raptors, this was their second of a four game leg that involves facing four of the top tier teams in the Association. Following a trouncing at the hands of the Orlando Magic 113-90 at Toronto on Sunday, the Raptors were up against the second best team record wise versus the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Once again, it was another trouncing at the hands of King James and his now worthy cavalry. Unlike the game versus the Magic, the Raptors actually played good quarters, and did show signs of some good solid basketball. But still, it wasn’t enough as the Cavs beat the Raptors 101-83, with a standout performance, as per usual from LeBron James with a game high 33 points.

With those 33 points, LeBron broke another record, because coming into the game, all he needed was thirty points to become the youngest player ever to score 12 000 points. He achieved that mark with ease, as he began the night with 25 first half points. What he did in the first quarter was good enough for a game, for the average NBAer.

James racked up 16 points, by throwing down two dunks, had three continuation calls and made the free throws, and had a three pointer.

By the time the first quarter wrapped up, the Raptors were already down by 22 points at 37-15, on 7/21 shooting. This game looked to be in the bag for the Cavs, but the Raptors picked up their game and made a run in the second and third quarters.

They began the second on a 7-2 run, running most of their plays through Chris Bosh, who at one point had 14 of the thirty Raptor points. Overall, the Raptors did a better job of getting to the rim, and somewhat shut down the Cavs. That was due to LeBron sitting on the bench for the first 6.30 of the second quarter. When he came back, the Cavs went back to their original game plan, but were still outscored 25-22 in the quarter, and the Raptors were only down 59-40.

In the third quarter the Raptors really turned things around and held the Cavs to just 22% shooting, and held James to just 2 points. You can thank Joey Grahame for that excellent defence on James, and he wasn’t too bad offensively either, as Grahame picked up 11 points in thirty solid minutes.

Toronto even cut the lead down to as many as 9 points, and that was the closest they were since the first quarter when it was 22-12 Cleveland. By the end of the quarter the Raptors were just down eight points at 74-66, and had outscored the Cavs 51-37 in the second and third quarters combined.

The inconsistent play of the Raptors showed up though, and haunted them, and got pummeled in the final frame 27-17. Things looked good for the Raptors as they had only five turnovers through the first three quarters and ended with just seven, compared to 19 when the teams first met this season. The Raptors even had the score at a 78-71 deficit, but couldn’t get any closer. And the Cavs proved why they are one of the best teams in the league and defensively, as they showed and played with more intensity. The Raptors couldn’t match it, and it showed as there offensive flow was stopped completely.

For instance, the Raptors had the Cavs pinned at four fouls four minutes into the quarter and just one foul away for getting into a bonus situation. The Raptors shied away from going to the basket and didn’t get into the bonus. The score was 83-73 four minutes in, and that quickly turned into a 15 point lead at 92-77 with about three and a half minutes to play. From there, the rest was history, and it was another ugly loss for the Raptors, and their third straight following a three game win streak.

The Cavs remain perfect at home, pushing their record to a perfect 23-0, and average a 105-89 margin of victory and stayed on suit with the final score.

There were so many problems with the Raptors, from their lack of defensive intensity to point production from certain players.

The Cavs completely shredded the Raptors from the three point line, and with just those points, the Cavs outscored Toronto 33-3. The Cavs shot 11/24 from behind the arc for 45%. Overall, the Cavs shot 46%, compared to the Raptors who shot just 39%.

Speaking of the perimeter, how about the porous effort the Raptor wing players put up against the Cavs. The starting duo of Anthony Parker and Jose Calderon only had 7 points and just 4 points at the half. Looking at the Cavs’ backcourt of Mo Williams and Wally Szczerbiak they had 31 points, and 18 at the half. You could even throw in Daniel Gibson’s 18 points off the bench, which makes the total a ridiculous 49 points.

If the Raptors wing players were remotely in the game, the score would’ve been much closer. Even the bench play from Jason Kapono and Jamario Moon with their point totals of 3 and 1 added to the 7 fall way short of the 31 put up by the Cavs’ starting backcourt. Moon, who has had a horrible season so far, actually went to the free throw line for the first time in eight games. What do you know he split the shots, and that was it for him and his spectacular five minutes of play.
If you look at the frontcourts, both teams were tied at 29 points at the half. The totals for each of the teams’ starting frontcourts were 59 points for the Raptors (Chris Bosh 29, Jermaine O’Neal 20, and Andrea Bargnani 10) and 42 for the Cavs (James 33, Zydrunas Igauskas 6, and Ben Wallace 3).

The Raptors really need their backcourt to step up and make some shots, and have big games. Tonight was a prime example of that.


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