See You in Orlando???

Air Jamario Set Course For Florida

 

By the end of this night the Toronto Raptors could have their playoff outlook secured. It will take 2 things for that to happen. The first is a win over Miami and then hope for Cleveland to win on the road vs the Sixers. Cleveland would have the King in the line-up. The Raptors had their King of Canada Chris Bosh and he was big yesterday in a lose to Detroit. But regardless of the out of town scoreboard the Raptors had there fate in their own hands which is all you can ask for at this time of year. That being said If Sam Mitchell could rest some people on Wednesday in Chicago he would not complain one bit. Bosh has been playing heavy minutes down the stretch and if things work out having him not needed to play that much in Chicago would be good news.

 

If you can name 5 players on the current Miami roster you are far more a basketball nut then you Dino Nation Blogger. No Marion and No Wade and a cast of No Names. No offence to Ricky Davis but when he is the best player on the floor for your team you have issues. Pat Riley is going to the Hall of Fame this summer but it had zero to do with the 07-08 Miami Heat basketball team. All this being said the Miami Heat started the game on a 7-2 run. It was Fan Appreciation night at the Air Canada Centre but were not feeling very much of that with the Raptors early effort. But the Raptors would settle down and start getting after it. Raptors were back to a 10-10 score and they were coming off a back to back but still this was the Miami Heat. A team that the Raptors flat out embarrassed on a couple of occasions this season. But this collection of Heat players were hanging in and actually had a lead. Jose Calderon would check in for a frustrated T.J Ford. The Raptors would take their first lead since 2-0 with just over 2 minutes to play in the 1st quarter. A defensive blunder would give the Heat a 3 point lead at the end of the first quarter. Sam Mitchell wanted his team to foul with the foul they had to give. But It ended in a basket and foul shot for Jason Williams and a heat 28-25 lead after one.

 

The easy win the Raptor fans were hoping for was turning out not to be so easy. The Raptors were playing down to the level of competition that was on the floor against them and that needed to change and the sooner the better. Raptors were making some defensive plays with 6 blocks in less then a quarter and a half of play. But the negative was the shots they were not blocking were uncontested open looks. T.J Ford would return and looked to one of his new favourite targets in Rasho Nesterovic. An easy two for Rasho but the defence as on many nights was the major concern. Still where would the Raptors be without Rasho. I am not being funny with that he has become a big part of what this Raptor team is all about. The lack of purpose and direction would continue as the Heat had a 7 point advantage late in the half. Raps would cut the lead down to 4 points but this was an awful first half performance. 

If you were expecting the Raptors to storm out of halftime break and take over you were not alone. But that is not what happened.  the Heat would extend the lead to 7 points T.J Ford had seen enough and decided to do it himself. Sometimes not a wise choice by Ford but he was a big reason in what got the Raptors back in this game. T.J was even able to nail a three point shot at the end of the shot clock. Raps finally were back in front. Ricky Davis a guy of questionable character at times in his NBA career (When with the Cavs he took a shot at the wrong basket to get a rebound to get a Triple Double on the Night) was playing hard for the Heat. refusing to let the Raptors run away and hide with the lead.  As for that other game the Cavs Davis’ former team were leading the Sixers by 6.  Meanwhile the Raptors had their largest lead of the game at 5 points. Raptors had a chance to take an 8 point lead into the final quarter but Bargnani would misfire and they would have to settle for a 70-64 lead after 3 quarters.  

Raptors were not doing anything to impress anyone so far but they were in the position they needed to be and that is all that matters. There was just not any point you could feel confident in the Toronto Raptors on this night. They had a 10 point lead only to watch Miami to close to 5 points. But the Raptor would extend that lead on back to back scores by Jason Kapono. He had a three pointer and a jumper for 2 points and the Raptors had a 12 point lead with under 6 minutes to play. Kapono has his struggles recently but had 11 points so far on this night. It would be nice to think he could find his game as he could be a key weapon in the playoffs for Toronto. If Orlando was going to be the Raptors first round Match-up it may be even more important to have Kapono firing on all cylinders. Orlando can shot the 3 point shot very well just like Toronto. Jose Calderon would convert a steal into a fast break lay-up off the Delfino theft. The Raptors now were up 14 points and I finally could feel a little safer in thinking the Raptors would win this basketball game. The attention now would turn to Philly and the Cavs. The Raptors would walk away with a victory and looked to be minutes away from facing the Orlando Magic as Cleveland was looking to clinch home court advantage over Washington for the playoffs. Raptors Final Score was 91-76. Drama down the stretch in Philly. But in the end the Cavs pull out a last second 91-90 win and the Raptors are heading to Orlando by way of Chicago. Cleveland orginally thought they lost but a foul on Canadian Sameul Dalembert would be what would give Cleveland the 2 free throws that they made to win. Canada thanks you Sam even if people is Philly don’t. Thoughts on Orlando series tomorrow but the Raptors end up again with the people’s choice in a first round match-up.  Last year didn’t work out to well but this year just might.

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Tags: Cavs, Jason Kapono, Orlando Magic, Rasho Nesterovic, Ricky Davis, Sixers, T.J Ford