YaoMan, Balkman Hand Raptors Succesive Losses
Last Friday, the Raptors played lackadaisically in the 1st quarter against the Houston 
Rockets and paid dearly for it with a 100 - 114 loss. Former Raptors Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston started hot forcing Toronto to play catch up all night. ' I felt I let the team down the last time so I just came playing hard tonight from the start ' said TMac who scored 24 points to offset Chris Bosh's 16 points and 19 big rebounds. But it was huge Yao Ming who inflicted the Raptors the most damage with 23 points and 12 rebounds to the delight of the many TO Chinese in the ACC crowd . ' Standing next to Yao, Bargnani is a midget ' said Raptors TV 's Leo Rautins. Oh yeah . Then , don't let your TV partner Chuck Swirsky stand near Yao. ...''coz the folks might think that Yao has 3 balls !
This Sunday afternoon , Toronto faced and was pummeled this time by the New York Knicks , 74 - 92. The Raptors were caught sleeping in the 3rd quarter of the game when the Knicks pulled away from a tight 1st half with fastbreak after fastbreak. Chris Bosh attempted just 2 times in the 2nd half and finished the game with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani was a non factor while T.J. Ford , the hero of their last encounter with the Gotham City dribblers scored 14 points and assisted 3 times only, a far cry from the 18 helpers in their last game . On the victorious team , unheralded Ronaldo Balkman was fantastic earning a thunderous applause from the appreciative Garden crowd when he was taken out. Balkman had 15 points,12 rebound and 3 steals. Asked what's the 1st thing
he looked at the scoresheet after the game today , Balkman replied ' I looked at the rebounds and steal , man. I don't care about the points, man . I'm Mr. Hustle , man ' . Ronaldo , you are the Man , man !
Balkman: I'm from Jamaica like Bob Marley man .Jamaica,Queens man !
Rockets and paid dearly for it with a 100 - 114 loss. Former Raptors Tracy McGrady and Rafer Alston started hot forcing Toronto to play catch up all night. ' I felt I let the team down the last time so I just came playing hard tonight from the start ' said TMac who scored 24 points to offset Chris Bosh's 16 points and 19 big rebounds. But it was huge Yao Ming who inflicted the Raptors the most damage with 23 points and 12 rebounds to the delight of the many TO Chinese in the ACC crowd . ' Standing next to Yao, Bargnani is a midget ' said Raptors TV 's Leo Rautins. Oh yeah . Then , don't let your TV partner Chuck Swirsky stand near Yao. ...''coz the folks might think that Yao has 3 balls !This Sunday afternoon , Toronto faced and was pummeled this time by the New York Knicks , 74 - 92. The Raptors were caught sleeping in the 3rd quarter of the game when the Knicks pulled away from a tight 1st half with fastbreak after fastbreak. Chris Bosh attempted just 2 times in the 2nd half and finished the game with 21 points and 7 rebounds. Andrea Bargnani was a non factor while T.J. Ford , the hero of their last encounter with the Gotham City dribblers scored 14 points and assisted 3 times only, a far cry from the 18 helpers in their last game . On the victorious team , unheralded Ronaldo Balkman was fantastic earning a thunderous applause from the appreciative Garden crowd when he was taken out. Balkman had 15 points,12 rebound and 3 steals. Asked what's the 1st thing
he looked at the scoresheet after the game today , Balkman replied ' I looked at the rebounds and steal , man. I don't care about the points, man . I'm Mr. Hustle , man ' . Ronaldo , you are the Man , man !Balkman: I'm from Jamaica like Bob Marley man .Jamaica,Queens man !
posted by coach at
Sunday, March 18, 2007
6 Comments:
I am still waiting for Swirsky to pick the x-factor. He had Darrick Martin as his choice last year, but since then, it has been a year of bad picks.
These types of games are the reasons the Mitchell wont get resigned. His in-game strategy adjustments are non-existent. To come out that flat in the third is inexcusable.
Bosh also pissed me off. He needs to call for the ball, demand it, like all elite/all-stars do.
Calderon and Parker need to come back healthy, and soon. Don't force them back to quick, we need them healthy for the playoffs.
Have a great week Coach!
In my opinion there is more going on than meets the eye... Mopete is sulking and is making that clear with his lackluster play in limited minutes ... what mitchell doesn't get is that it's not about him right now, its about the team, how they work together. I can see it in the way they talk, walk and play... not as cohesive as we think they are and this will come out in the last few weeks of the season...
The Knicks played well but the Raptors were sleepwalking in the 2nd half.It looked like they spent all night out in Broadway.They lost the hustle plays.
i agree michael, at this point, it is about building teamwork, getting them to focus and ready for the playoffs. not making big scenes in the media about how dissapointed and shocked he was with the game. seems like the guys are tired, and mentally not there. maybe running less intensive practices would help at this point.
sam- a lot of times chuck picks his x factor from the starting 5 .wrong. the first 5 are always expected to contribute.
agree . jose and AP must be in tip top shape for the raps to make some noise in the playoffs.
nuts - sam is constantly in the drawing board . his tenure is not secure at all.same w/ coach frank right ?
lee ann - you bet .
michael- yes you're right. it's impossible to keep 'em all happy w/ limited p.t. i sensed the 'friction' bet. jose and t.j. as well . as long as they continue winning , it's a non issue .
john- you caught us on a bad night. i don't know what happened to bargnani et. al. shd. had been a sure win . imagine , no crawford, no j rich and a foul ridden curry .
your knicks were lucky to steal that win.
sam- now coach sam must keep his boys motivated . mo pete may be a lost cause. sam needs his buddy , darrick martin to maintain peace in the locker room .
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home