Altanta Hands Toronto a Loss, as the Raptors Cling to the 8th Spot.

Amir with the throw down. He's been one of the few bright spots for the Raptors this year.

Another game against Atlanta, another loss. That team is too athletic and too talented for us to beat at the best of times, even with Chris Bosh playing. The good news is, Chicago lost to New Jersey. God knows how that happened. But it should set up an interesting game against the Bulls on Sunday. A game that more or less decides who plays in the post season and who doesn’t.

The not so curious case of Hedo

Hedo Turkoglu has had a terrible year. No question. But let me paint you a picture.

Last year, with the Magic, he had 29 games where he scored over 20 points. This year? 7. That’s a big time drop off.

But here’s what’s interesting. With the Magic he took over 1000 shots. With the Raptors, only 600. Jay Triano has got to find a way to get Hedo more involved in a game. If not this year, then next year. His scoring average is the lowest it’s been since 2005. And I’m not sure it’s totally his fault.

Does any body care?

Looking around during the fourth quarter, the Raptors were all smiles. Laughing and joking and talking it up with the Hawks. If the Chicago Bulls managed to win their game last night we’d be one game out of the playoffs. We need to show some passion. Our team was down by two possessions, their season is on the line, and no one seemed keen on forcing the action. It’s furriating. Just because Chris Bosh is gone doesn’t mean the season is over. Let’s show some fight.

Basketball Gods, what did we do?

Why have you forsaken us? Every single year, something goes wrong. Our best players continually leave our team. The high risk signings we pick up, rarely turn out. And the one year, the one year, we get the first pick in the draft, is one of the weakest years in draft history. (The year before we could have has Chris Paul. The year after, Kevin Durrant)

Show us some mercy Basketball Gods. And now we’re clinging on to the final spot in the East, we lose Chris Bosh with a….broken face? Hedo is totally banged up. And now Antoine Wright seems like he’s gone for a few games. What’s it going to take to turn this franchise around? A little good fortune would be appreciated. Please for the love of god, show us some mercy. We could use a little.

Zan of the Night

Josh Smith

The guy’s a monster. When it comes to people talking about the best players in the game, he rarely gets a mention. But he most certainly should. He’s Mr. Consistency – bringing it every night

Not Zan of the Night

Andrea Bargnani

It’s not that he had a bad game. Although it struck me as odd when he didn’t play the end of the forth… It’s just that he needs to step it up a notch. He hasn’t developed that killer instinct that Dirk has and here’s hoping he can take a step towards.

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Jeremiah McNama

The Zan Tabak Herald