I got to say that I was impressed by what I saw last night. Well not the start of the game. It was like the Raptors had missed the memo that the game was starting at 6pm. But all of what happened after that rocky start was good. We saw some things we have not seen in a long time for the Toronto Raptors. Jermaine O’Neal only had 1 blocked shot but was challenging a lot of others. Chris Bosh looked like the player he always has been. That was the best season opening performance of his NBA Career. The Raptors have a true dynamic duo that is going to be a force to deal with for teams. When you consider that Philly has one of the better big man duos in Sam Dalembert and Elton Brand. It makes you think that other teams in the east with less skilled duos have to be afraid of what they can do to stop this.
This also adds to the value of guys shooting it like Parker, Calderon and Kapono. The looks that Jason Kapono was getting were very good. Paul Jones in the post game scrum asked Jason if he had been getting looks like he did back in his days in Miami with Shaq. Kapono said it was like that and if that is true we should see a big year Jason Kapono.
Don’t get me wrong it was not perfect yet. There were some breakdowns and bad perimeter defense. Rebounding needs to be better too. But it was a good first effort. Even Andrea Bargnani, who scored 0 points did at least get on the glass and get 5 rebounds which for him is news. Another person that sometimes catches my wrath is Joey Graham. But I have nothing but love for Joey today. That is what I want to see from Joey Graham. Go out there and bang and hustle and grind. I will forgive the mistakes if I am seeing that kind of effort. So that is 1 good Joey night with 81 to go.
We also saw the Raptors playing a lot more zone defense than we ever had in the past. It is something the Raptors may continue with to cover up some defensive players that are not exactly up to speed. It will not work for all teams but the way the Sixers were shooting last night it made sense and it worked. Oh and for all you Sam Mitchell Lovers and Haters…J.O has something for you. You may not think Sam Mitchell is a good play caller or knows his X’s and O’s. But J.O said that it was the genius of Sam Mitchell and his plays on offense that allowed Bosh and himself to score out of certain sets. He talked about the variations in those sets that were able to confuse the Sixers. So for the next person that wants to run Sam Mitchell into the ground, go tell J.O what you think. I dare you.
Basically it was a very good start to a long journey for the Toronto Raptors. People had doubt heading into this game. I won’t lie about it even I had my questions. They may not have answered them all but they did enough to restore my confidence. It is only one game out of 82 in season. But as I said yesterday prior to this game it was a bit more important than your average opening game based on the team they facing. It was important to get a leg up on the Sixers. If the Raptors can do it again in a few weeks they will already have at worst a season series split with the Sixers. That could be very important when all is said and done.
So Raptor fans after a pre-season that caused them to have doubts can feel better after the performance they saw last night. It was something that Raptor fans needed to feel good about this team and their chances for success in this upcoming season.
The Raptors now look to start the season on a positive note at home taking on the Golden State Warriors who offer a much different challenge than that of the Sixers. But the Warriors are a team that has lost Baron Davis and Monte Ellis to injury and have a lot of question marks. But they did add Corey Maggette and are a team that plays a high up tempo style that could be something that will be a challenge for the Raptors. It will be interesting to see how they handle it. What will be equally interesting is how the Warriors try to deal with the Bosh and O’Neal combo.
Around The League
Among the highlights around the rest of the league. The Knicks actually won the debut game for Mike D’Antoni over the Miami Heat. The Hawks also suprised the Magic and Nets were able to beat the Wizards. T.J Ford and the Pacers lost to the Pistons who the Raptors will be facing early next week. Out west it was the Suns getting the win over the Spurs. The Warriors who will be trick or treating here in Toronto lost to New Orleans. Lakers are 2-0 after taking care of the other L.A team the Clippers making it look very easy.
Some Things Of Note For Dino Nation Blog:
Some things are being done behind the scenes and it may call for making some technical changes as we move forward. They are all part of what is coming up very soon for Dino Nation Blog on November 19th. That will be a big day so if you don’t read the blog everyday make a note to check it out on that day. Not just to get ready for the Heat and Raptors but to hear the exciting news about the Dino Nation blog. But until that date we will be making some changes and it will include a transition from wordpress to another blog platform provider. So if you are having trouble getting the blog be sure to check here for info on what has gone on. But if you use www.dinonationblog.com it will bring you to the new site home. This is not going to happen tomorrow or anything but it will happen before November 19th as part of the news that will be announced on that day. So I thank you for your patience in this time of transition. The Dino Nation Blog is not going anywhere don’t worry about that. We are just making chances to make things better for the Blog and hopefully you it readers. If you have the site linked to wordpress or have an a feed you use it may require changing that to keep up to date on things. I am sorry to cause anyone any inconvenience in this transition but it will be for the better in the long run.
Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Jason Kapono, Jermaine O'Neal, Joey Graham, Raptors, Sam Mtichell, Sixers, Warriors
