Raptors Season Opener Recap
Nice game last night between the Raptors and Philly. Raps lead most of the way and won 106-97 behind some very balanced scoring from Bargnani, Bosh, Ford, Parker and Calderon. I was really impressed at how athletic and quick the 76ers were. They’re one or two vets (or years) away from making some noise in the East.
Here’s my first impressions of the 07-08 Raps:
- Raptors still can’t handle the zone
- TJ Ford is still a gamble: When he plays in the offense he’s unstoppable, when he goes to get his shot off he compromises the offense and it usually leads to fast-break points for the opponent (should note he finished with 12 assists and 2stls though)
- Speaking of fast-break points, the Raptors looked anemic on transition defense, a serious concern considering at least 3 other division rivals can run for 48 minutes
- Interior defense is still a concern, though Bargnani came up with a couple stellar blocks
- Delfino is the poor-mans Parker, great on the ball defender, takes charges, can knock down a set 3 but can also drive and kick or take contact and get to the line which is awesome since…
- Parker is the true anchor of this team - I’m sure his +/- by the end of the year will be around 8 - when he’s out there opponents can’t use their swingman to penetrate and he’s the first one out on the break or the one grabbing the rebound on every missed shot
- Chris Bosh is still a superstar, he gave his all and should have had a 20pt game if some calls were made (the refs really let them play out there) and he only played about 20 minutes
- The Raptors may break the NBA record for 3s in a season: 12 players were used in last nights game and at least 6 of them attempted a 3 (Parker, Bargnani, Kapono, Calderon, Ford and Juan Dixon) more than once
Update: Added a horribly blurry pic of the tip-off.
