BOS wrap-up

[Buddahfan]

The score was *EDIT* NOT *EDIT* indicative of the game. The C's only put it away with 3 minutes left.

Calderon started the game nursing some New Year cheer it appeared while Barbosa must have left the club and come straight to the ACC after his 48 hour New Year's bash.

Essentially the Raps played hard but got out duelled by 2 future HOF's in Pierce and Allen.

Personally, I would have thought, after the stinker of games by Barbosa and Kleiza, Wright would have been given more of a chance to shut down the Pierce & Allen Show.

WRight and Dorsey are showing why hopefully they can be brought back to fill out the roster next season on VERY cheap salaries i.e. the 11th-14th players on the team i.e. third stringers. No team is going to win relying on them but they seem like great teammates and good players to have around to step up when injuries or fouls occur or intensity is needed.

DeRozan played very well again. If he adds deep range to his jumper, his ceiling might go up a few floors. He got totally raped by not only the C's but the refs as well.

Davis continues to impress. Only 21 minutes tonight but 9 rebounds and I was surpised to see no blocks. He certainly changed a lot of shots. He showed a nice little post up and pass to Wright for a dunk. Unfortunately after the foul line jumper, he needs to be reminded his ranged is currently 12 inches. A summer of work with Alex English would do wonders or just get on the Amir Johnson Plan.

Ultimately the Raps have only themselves to blame after missing 12 FT's and shooting 38% for the game.

No doubt English has helped Johnson's shooting but the improvement is not as great as most would think.

For example he is shooting about 80% at the free throw line. In the D-League in 2006-07 in about 32 games with about 200 free throw attempts he shot 75%.

Yes Johnson's mechanics have improved on his mid-range jump shot but its also as much a case of having confidence, the game slowing down for him on both offense and defense as he gets more experience and having the green light to shoot the jump shots.

He has never been that bad a shooter from mid-range. This is a misperception by those not familiar with his game going back to his days in the D-League.

In fact to tell the truth I haven't been that impressed with his offense yet.

1. He is still too tentative
2. He still has no post up jump shot
3. He is still almost entirely a right handed only shooter around the basket.
4. Other than driving to the basket and backing his defender down he still isn't showing much when it comes to creating off of the dribble.

His offense has a long way to go.

Will it get better in the future?

Most likely.

How much?

Stay tuned.

[RaptorDan]

Oh yeah, just once I would like to see Calderon flatten Allen with a hard CLEAN foul on one of his uncontested layups. If the roles were reversed you can guarantee Jose is hitting the floor.

Also, it was nice to see a Raptor foul a guy hard (Kleiza on Rondo), not help him up, and step on his already injured ankle for good measure. There is a mean streak in that guy that I wish some of the other Raptors had.

I was thinking the exact same thing when watching the game. Has Calderon ever given anyone a hard foul? I can remember a dozen times when Calderon was knocked on his ass hard, but never the opposite. Kleiza does seem to have some Psycho DNA.

[Deadallus]

Any chance Derozan reads RR. Since someone posted the Davis or Derozan thread, in which the majority were supporting Davis, he has had probably his two best games as a Raptor.

[mcHAPPY]

Oh yeah, just once I would like to see Calderon flatten Allen with a hard CLEAN foul on one of his uncontested layups. If the roles were reversed you can guarantee Jose is hitting the floor.

Also, it was nice to see a Raptor foul a guy hard (Kleiza on Rondo), not help him up, and step on his already injured ankle for good measure. There is a mean streak in that guy that I wish some of the other Raptors had.

[mcHAPPY]

The score was *EDIT* NOT *EDIT* indicative of the game. The C's only put it away with 3 minutes left.

Calderon started the game nursing some New Year cheer it appeared while Barbosa must have left the club and come straight to the ACC after his 48 hour New Year's bash.

Essentially the Raps played hard but got out duelled by 2 future HOF's in Pierce and Allen.

Personally, I would have thought, after the stinker of games by Barbosa and Kleiza, Wright would have been given more of a chance to shut down the Pierce & Allen Show.

WRight and Dorsey are showing why hopefully they can be brought back to fill out the roster next season on VERY cheap salaries i.e. the 11th-14th players on the team i.e. third stringers. No team is going to win relying on them but they seem like great teammates and good players to have around to step up when injuries or fouls occur or intensity is needed.

DeRozan played very well again. If he adds deep range to his jumper, his ceiling might go up a few floors. He got totally raped by not only the C's but the refs as well.

Davis continues to impress. Only 21 minutes tonight but 9 rebounds and I was surpised to see no blocks. He certainly changed a lot of shots. He showed a nice little post up and pass to Wright for a dunk. Unfortunately after the foul line jumper, he needs to be reminded his ranged is currently 12 inches. A summer of work with Alex English would do wonders or just get on the Amir Johnson Plan.

Ultimately the Raps have only themselves to blame after missing 12 FT's and shooting 38% for the game.