Indiana Pacers: Wednesday, December 28

[NoPropsneeded]

[RaptorsFan4Life]

[NoPropsneeded]

there was no point in posting that. I have the full highlights posted up

[RaptorsFan4Life]

there was no point in posting that. I have the full highlights posted up

For people who want to source a specific play or watch a specific play and not the whole highlights...

[mcHAPPY]

I'd like to see more Ed as well. But as soon as Bargs and Amir left in the first Q with 2 early fouls each that was a bad sign of things to come.

I was happy with Andrea's effort overall, even though it didn't show in his stats. He was battling for the most part on the boards.

DeRozan looked great again in the fourth, but I'd love to see him bring it from the beginning which I know will come.

Paul George looked great from the beginning(I let you have him in that draft Matt!), and Granger had too many open looks.

If we play like this throughout the season I'll be satisfied at the end of the day I think. Not that I like losing but at least they showed heart to climb back in it.

hee hee hee

[mcHAPPY]

Bargs did some things well and played with more fire but he still doesn't rebound or have a clue what to do when it comes to rotating defensively or where to be. I'd like to see them start Ed and swap their minutes and see what kind of outcome there'd be.

I'm not totally in agreement on the rotations. I thought he did alright - he certainly did not stand out.

Rebounding I agree. He needs to practice catching and squeezing above his head. There were at least 2 rebounds he coulda/shoulda had if he just held tight.

[Mack North]

hee hee hee

$3 you got him for! lol I left the draft with $10 in my bank...

[mcHAPPY]

To anyone who has followed the Raptors the last few years the idea of Casey winning coach of the year is not so absurd (at least to me) anymore.

There is no doubt this is still a work in progress but the progress is definitely showing. There were plenty of hiccups and mistakes along the way but there were a few sequences, especially in the first half, when the Raptors defense was a thing of beauty.

Bargnani had 5 assists (I know, and just 4 rebounds).

I don't care Bayless shot 5/9, he didn't play how I would like my PG to play and I am not sure he has it in him to do so. 64 games to prove me wrong, Jerryd.

James Johnson: 6 points, 8 rebs, 6 stls, 2 blks, 1 to, 5 fouls, 29 minutes. I hope he stays a part of the Raptors as long as possible. He and eventually Amir will be great coming off the bench.

I admit I was 100% wrong on Jamaal Magloire. He has added toughness and a presence I'm not sure the Raptors have had since Oakley.... too bad his bball skills are on life support.

It would be nice for ED to get more minutes but, honestly, he didn't deserve them in this game given his play in the time he got.

[RaptorsFan4Life]

[mcHAPPY]

Bargs did some things well and played with more fire but he still doesn't rebound or have a clue what to do when it comes to rotating defensively or where to be. I'd like to see them start Ed and swap their minutes and see what kind of outcome there'd be.

Actually thinking about the game more I can think of 3 situations where Bargnani could have done a much better job on D:

1) he rotated to cover the baseline and did a half-assed, tip-toed, arm up contest on a short baseline jumper - West I believe.
2) good hedge of the screen but lazy recover for Hansbrough to nail the jumper.
3) decent hedge, much better recovery on Hansbrough, but he put his arm down and Hansbrough nailed a 2nd jumper from same spot, back-to-back.

[mcHAPPY]

Dwane Casey post game interview

He holds players accountable but he is also constructive and positive with the criticism. He appears to be not only a good coach but a good teacher which is what this team needs.

[Puffer]

Actually thinking about the game more I can think of 3 situations where Bargnani could have done a much better job on D:

Actually, thinking about the game more you can probably think or 3 situations where every one of the Raptors could have done a better job on D. :-) But that's okay. Last year it would have been 6 or 7 situations each. Bargs was a little lite on rebounds last night, but this year he is under the basket battling way more than he was at any time in the last few years. He was putting up a good effort against guys who are used to grabbing rb's and have seen it as their role for years. Raps picked up 39 rebounds to Indiana's 41. I'll take that. And I will take Bargs effort under the glass even on nights when he doesn't post the numbers. If he is boxing out and fighting for rebounds, maybe he keeps his man from grabbing them and another Raptor has a shot at getting them.

[mcHAPPY]

Actually, thinking about the game more you can probably think or 3 situations where every one of the Raptors could have done a better job on D. :-) But that's okay. Last year it would have been 6 or 7 situations each. Bargs was a little lite on rebounds last night, but this year he is under the basket battling way more than he was at any time in the last few years. He was putting up a good effort against guys who are used to grabbing rb's and have seen it as their role for years. Raps picked up 39 rebounds to Indiana's 41. I'll take that. And I will take Bargs effort under the glass even on nights when he doesn't post the numbers. If he is boxing out and fighting for rebounds, maybe he keeps his man from grabbing them and another Raptor has a shot at getting them.

Great points.

I was just updating an earlier comment to ceez.

[mcHAPPY]

$3 you got him for! lol I left the draft with $10 in my bank...

I can't remember how much I had at the time but I would have gone max amount left on him.

[Red and White]

What I saw:

Defence - Nothing more I could have asked for. People need to understand that to run sets like these with only 2 preseason games, and a shortened training camp, it is really quite amazing. You can tell that is what they worked on. There was excellent switching. There was solid rotation (aside from a few missed rotations which eventually sunk the team, but that happens with little practice). Great defensive game. Something else I loved from this team was the hustle. Maybe 4 times the pacers forced a turnover, in which Toronto responded with forcing another turnover leading to a basket.

Coaching - I think what Casey has done with the Raptors is amazing. He has changed the philosophy of the team. I think as a coach, he is the best the Raptors have had in a while (mind you,this is an opinion based off of 2 games), but I don't agree with some things that were going on. Dwane Casey said that in the first half, their scoring problems were rooted from missing easy shots, and turnovers. Both of this is true, but the turnovers were caused by a lack flow which lead to many forced shots and bad passes (two would be the Jose drive to the basket with no one to pass to, and another would be Bayless doing the same thing). Dwane Casey needs to get a few more offensive options and use Butler.

Offence - It felt like we did the same things multiple times. We did not attack the basket enough (13 free throws) and did not capitalize on some good looks. The Raptors need to hit their free throws. Can not go 7-13 from the free throw line and win a close game. Rasual Butler needs to get more involved on offence. I was really shocked and confused when I saw him walking around the three point line. What Toronto did do was spread the floor nicely. Bargnani and DeRozan did a great job sucking in attention, which lead to great plays (Bargs to Johnson) and sparked the Raptors run.

The game today was a game of momentum. When Toronto had momentum (both defensive and offensive) Indiana was stunted. When Indiana went on their run, Toronto could not buy a bucket. The Raptors are a young team that needs to get mentally tougher to get through stretches like the ones in this game.

All my opinion.