After a rough Western Road trip, where the Raptors found every which way to lose, they returned home to once again come up just short. I am encouraged by the fight in this team. Most young teams give up down the stretch allowing their opponent to finish off with a flurry, but the Raptors kept fighting. There is something to be said for a team that goes down swinging. If you’re gonna lose, don’t make it easy. Then again this is something Raptor fans will probably be saying a lot this year.
The Raptors fell behind early to Golden State and just couldn’t claw their way back. The Raptors are going to have to stop allowing their opponents explosive starts. Toronto has found themselves down early a lot recently and cannot seem to get themselves back into it. This is not a good habit to get into.
Some decent play from the bench, minus Jose Calderon, inspired the team with new life in the second half, but once again, it wasn’t enough to overcome their early deficit. Jay Triano has got to find a way to get all cylinders firing. This team could win games if everyone gets on the same page at the same time.
Zan For Three
Dynamic Duo
The NBA has made a really big deal about the Big Three is Miami and the Big Three in Boston. People talk about the young stars on the Thunder and Hawks. Why is nobody talking about the talent on the Golden State Warriors? Curry and Ellis are as dynamic a duo as you’ll find in the NBA. If this team can use the talents of Biedrins and Dorell Wright to their fullest extent, I think this team might be playoff contenders and a tough match up for any playoff opponent. The talent is there, no doubt, they, like the Raptors, just have to find a way to deliver the goods.
Monta Ellis wasnt letting Leandro Barbosa or anyone, for that matter, get to the rim.
Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry are absolute beasts. They both have the potential to win games all by themselves. The fact they play on the same team is down right scary. Coach Smart has got to get more use out of the rest of his team to maximize the potential power the Warriors have.
This team is a solid inside presence away from contending in the Western Conference. Playing Monta and Curry is a tough assignment for any defender in the league and tonight the Raptors couldn’t either of them.
Good Sonny, Bad Sonny
Dave Feschuk suggested today in the Star that Sonny Weems was shooting a bit too much. He is welcome to take shots, especially mid range ones, but only within the flow of the offense. Weems has been a bit of a “chucker” early on in the season. Tonight he showed restraint at times and at others he took his chances. Five of Nine from the field isn’t a bad night t the office.
Weems was a strong presence last season and if the Raptors are to have any kind of success this year they need him to be solid and efficient on both ends of the floor. That doesn’t mean throwing up bricks in the hopes of padding your stats. Weems needs to be much more confident and smart out there on the offensive end. If he doesn’t fix his issues out there, he will wind up being more Joey Graham than Morris Peterson.
I like Sonny, but he needs to find his role within the flow of the game.
Resigning Thyself
Look, I’m a Raptor fan. I’m almost 100% sure that if you cut me open I would bleed red, white and black and occasionally purple for nostalgia sake. I love this team and will watch no matter the outcome, but let’s get serious here, we are going to lose a lot of games. The Raptors had a rough road trip, the kind a playoff team doesn’t have and cannot have, if it wants to be taken seriously. Hell, the Raptors found ways of losing out West that I didn’t even know were possible.
Do they fight it out? Absolutely. Is there some talent on this roster that Toronto fans can get excited about? For sure. But are we going to lose a hell of a lot of games? Damn Straight. In the long run that might be the best thing for us. The again, Golden State have been losing for a long time and they haven’t got much better over the years. So losing doesn’t always lead to winning down the road.
The Raptors are going to lose a lot of games. Heartbreakers, overtime losses, hard-fought losses, blow outs, games they should have one, games they had no right to win. This team is going to be a roller coaster of disappointment this season. I no longer feel like this is in question. The first step in admittance.
What Raptor fans have to learn to do is see the positive. Today Kleiza and Weems showed some life. Jack was a leader in the truest sense of the word tonight and Amir looks like he can blossom into something more. More importantly, with every loss the Raptors get closer to something they are going to need very badly: a top flight draft pick. Golden State has sucked for years and with Ellis and Curry they look to be potentially changing their fortunes.
Our turn is next.
Zan of the Night
Monta Ellis
Easily could have been Stephen Curry. Lord knows I love that kid’s game, but Monta had the heart of a warrior tonight. he played smart, took smart shots and was able to walk away from his nasty spill late in the game. This is the kind of player a team and coach can look to for leadership and guidance. Monta Ellis is a great player and showed all facets fo his game tonight.
Not Zan of the Night
Jose Calderon
Every Raptor out there showed guts and heart even in the face of defeat. Jose looked lost and was rendered completely useless. Jack played most of the game and was responsible for the Raps late run in the game. If the Raptors are going to have any success this guy needs to step up. The Marcus Banks bandwagon is getting revved up.
*** Kristoffer Pedlar The Zan Tabak Herald *** Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @Zantabakherald
