What a horrible season the Toronto Raptors and their fans have to put up with, and there’s still more to go. The Raptors hit rock bottom many games ago, but with each loss, it’s just another blow to what was supposed to be a promising season with a 3-0 start.
Now, the Raptors are again twenty games below five hundred (24-44) following another loss, this time at the hands of the surging Charlotte Bobcats who completely re-tooled their roster the last time these two teams met with eight new faces in the line-up. The Raptors are also mired in another losing funk, now having lost eight of their last ten games. Sandwiched in that ugly streak was a seven game losing streak, but that was snapped yesterday with a dominating win over the Indiana Pacers.
Back to back games are always tough, but this is the NBA, and you have to withstand the schedule no matter how awkward it maybe. On the second game to complete the back to back, the Raptors looked out of it, very fatigued and probably played ten good minutes. That’s hardly enough to get a win in this league, or even stay in a game. The Bobcats walked all over the Raptors, who were decked out in green jersey’s for the second straight game to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, 112-86.
It was as if the Raptors had picked up where they left off when they beat the Pacers at the Air Canada Centre and started off tonight’s game real strong. The first seven minutes of this game were real good for the Raptors, but then took a break until the half.
Jose Calderon who said before the game that he was finally at one hundred percent, played like it, and really set the tempo the Raptors would play at- fast up-tempo game-and it worked. Trouble a brewed when Calderon and Chris Bosh got into foul trouble as they picked up two early fouls and sat the rest of the quarter. Chris Bosh also picked up a technical foul after his second foul, as he was fed up with some bad officiating early in the game. In the fourth quarter, Calderon also earned a technical, as he let out his frustration towards the referee’s. With those two out, the Raptors faltered and lost control of the game.
The Raptors did it all, they drove to the bucket, got good looks and nailed them, and most important of all, they defended the paint. Again, all that happened with Bosh and Calderon on the floor, and the Raptors built a strong 10-6 lead, but that vanished as rookie Roko Ukic came into the game, and clearly showed that he can’t be trusted just yet. The Bobcats trapped Ukic whenever they could, which led to turnovers, and that led to a 21-12 run for Charlotte to close out the quarter with Anthony Parker running the point.
After the first quarter the Bobcats were up 27-22 and kept adding to that lead.
To start the second, Bosh and Calderon played and there was a slight improvement but they were still in foul trouble and the Bobcats attacked Bosh down low and easily scored, as Bosh didn’t want to pick up a third foul. With the strength of Gerald Wallace driving to the basket when given the chance, and some strong defence by the Bobcats, Charlotte led at the half, 57-43, and built an even bigger lead.
The Raptors only shot 4/17 from the floor in the quarter, and had a great opportunity to climb back in the game as they were in the bonus situation from the stripe, but shied away from driving the ball.
Just like the first quarter, the Raptors started off strong on a 7-0 run, to shave the Charlotte lead to seven points at 57-50, but Toronto couldn’t play any defence. The Bobcats went on a run of their own to close out another quarter strong, and outscored the Raptors 32-22 in nine minutes.
The game was pretty much over and the Raptors were down 89-72, and most of the starters were glued to the bench. The Bobcats did a nice job of continuing to run their offence, and play defense.
The Raptors did a lot of good things in this game, such as get to the line and attempted 36 shots, making good on 29 of them. They had spurts of good defensive coverage, but couldn’t hold it down for the whole game and lost their offensive rhythm. Every time the Raptors got hit with a bad play, they wouldn’t rise up, but instead get even worse.
For the Bobcats, Gerald Wallace was the real story and led his team with 25 points, which was also a game high, and added nine rebounds, and five assists. DJ Augustin off the bench in the second quarter provided a real spark and propelled the Bobcats to play at a higher level, and he finished with fifteen points and six assists. Four of the Charlotte starters finished in double figures, and had five overall.
As for the Raptors, no player scored more than twenty points, and Bosh led the team with 18, and fourteen rebounds. In two games versus the Bobcats, Bosh has averaged 34 points. The Raptors did have four players in double figure scoring, but they all struggled to reach that mark with horrible shooting percentages.
In a so far horrible season, the Raptors can at least give their loyal fans something to cheer about as they begin a five game home stand starting this Friday against these same Charlotte Bobcats.
The opinions and thoughts expressed in this or any other article written by 12nadnuk are of his thinking and what he thinks is correct or close to it in the sporting world. If there are any problems by anyone, 12nadnuk is open for rebuttal and what not, and honest criticism. There is also a comments section, so feel free to post what is on your mind about the article. Thank you for reading.
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