Hawks - Raptors

[lethalweapon3]

First, the magic number is down to one, so the next Hawks win will have them back in the playoffs for the fifth straight year! Only Boston, Orlando, the Lakers, San Antonio, and (maybe) Dallas and Denver can say the same. John Hollinger, your thoughts???

Second, your satirical sports article of the week:

http://www.theonion.com/articles/toronto-raptors-think-of-really-good-comeback-10-m,27916/

Toronto Raptors Think Of Really Good Comeback 10 Minutes After Losing Game

TORONTO—Despite losing their home matchup against Philadelphia 75-93 Wednesday, the Toronto Raptors told reporters later they had an easy path to a victory, but their "really good" idea for a comeback only came to them 10 minutes after the final buzzer.

"We're kicking ourselves now, because it's so simple when you think about it," said Raptors center Aaron Gray, who, along with his teammates, came to the sudden realization when standing in the locker room showers.

"Man, I could have just jumped up and stole the ball when Jrue Holiday made that pass to Elton Brand with 6:54 on the clock and dished it ahead to Andrea [bargnani] for an easy dunk. Then one of us could have stolen the inbounds, no-looked it to Jerryd [bayless] in the corner for an open three, forced them to take a contested jumper on the next possession at the buzzer for an air ball, taken it down and set up DeMar [DeRozan] for a backdoor cut off my screen, and boom, we're going into timeout with a one-possession game. I guess it's easy when you think about it now."

Despite the incredibly lucid realization, the Raptors admitted they had "absolutely no idea" how the team has won any of its 20 victories this season.

All levity aside, despite playoff extinction, the Raptors have not even begun to tank. Coming off a four-game skid, they pulled off arguably their biggest victory of the season on Friday, winning against the smug division-leading Boston Celtics for a second straight time at Air Canada Centre. With sadly few opposing Europeans around to menace, Kevin Garnett struggled to keep Aaron Gray, Amir Johnson, Linas Kleiza, and Ed Davis off the boards.

Simply, the Raps aren’t taking their lotto destiny lying down. Toronto’s abbreviated losing streak included a five-point loss at red-hot Indiana, one night after playing Oklahoma City. That streak followed a three-game string of wins this month, blowing out the Sixers in Philly in the second half. Three weeks ago, they started strong but fell by one point in overtime at the United Center against the Bulls, who needed a buzzer-beating layup by Luol Deng.

Against playoff contenders, Dwane Casey’s crew has found their groove lately by throttling opponents defensively over the course of a quarter or two, including the Knicks (16 in the 1st quarter and 17 in the 3rd quarter), the Nuggets (11 in the 4th quarter), the Sixers (15 in the 3rd quarter and 7 in the 4th quarter), and the Celtics (16 in the 2nd quarter and 11 in the 3rd quarter).

Ben Uzoh and Justin Dentmon will get some burn at point guard when the Raptors roll into the Highlight Factory. Both are on 10-day contracts (Uzoh on his second one), and it looks like at least one will be extended based largely on how they perform today. Assist-master Jose Calderon didn’t make the trip after injuring an eye in a collision with Thaddeus Young last week, and Jerryd Bayless may get wrapped up for the year after tearing his left oblique muscle a couple weeks ago. Local Kirkwood native and longtime NBA vet Anthony Carter was waived at the trading deadline, the same day gunner Leandro Barbosa was shipped to Indiana. In his only two starts, including the last Boston game, Uzoh has gone 8-for-17, averaging 8.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 turnovers.

Also getting major audition time is Alan Anderson. On his second 10-day contract after not playing in the league since 2007 with the Bobcats, the wing player has moved into the starting lineup the last six games. As a starter, he’s shooting just 42% overall, but a whopping 52% from three-point range (how bad is he shooting twos???). Those threes will come in handy against the Hawks. In their last six consecutive losses against Atlanta, Toronto has shot just 19.7% on three-pointers.

Their leading healthy scorer, DeMar DeRozan, has yet to gain any traction against the Hawks. Over his short career, he’s managed just 11.7 PPG and 1.0 APG on 41.1 FG% against Atlanta, the lowest numbers against any Eastern Conference team. This season hasn’t been much better, with 9.5 PPG and 1.5 APG on 30.8% shooting in the two January games. He only shot 4-for-14 on Friday versus Boston, but got his 22 points courtesy of a 13-for-13 effort at the free throw line.

With the Hawks missing their top two centers, look for a frontcourt offensive blitz from Toronto. Linas Kleiza, James Johnson, Amir Johnson, Ed Davis, and upcoming free agent Aaron Gray continue to cannibalize each others’ minutes with mostly interchangeable production. All are playing with next season in mind -- with Andrea Bargnani returning healthy in 2012-13 alongside Jonas Valanciunas, several of these guys will be moved or not re-signed.

Davis has upped his rebounding of late, with 12 on Friday against Boston and averaging nine per game this month. A martial arts aficionado, Jeff Teague’s old Wake teammate James Johnson kicks butt on defense when he’s focused (leading the team with 1.2 SPG and 1.4 BPG), but falls into Hero-Ball mode on offense frequently and plays right into the opponent’s hands. He’s only gone 6-for-31 shooting (19.4%) in the last four games.

Much like the late Big Pun, Toronto’s still not a player, but they hack a LOT. Their 23.3 personal fouls per game lead the league and would be the most by a team in the last three NBA seasons. Atlanta staying focused at the line will go a long way toward keeping the Raptors at bay.

Go Hawks!

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

One more pile-on defensive note. The Raptors' opponents shoot just 43.8% on the season, ninth lowest in the league and the lowest among all non-playoff contenders. And they're not letting up at all (43.5 FG% for Raps foes in April).~lw3

[Gray Mule]

PITIFUL!!

[Hawks27]

Yeah, that was rough. Hope this lights a fire under the team...

[lethalweapon3]

Welp, it sure looks like the Hawks want someone else to do the clinching for them. Go Wizards on Wednesday!~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

We just really missed Zaza. Vlad and JaCo getting those minutes was a big negative. Kirk has got to plug the dam better against the guards he's sticking to. And Joe has to find his All-Star offense no matter how good the defensive players are covering him. And whether Joe does that or not, Jeff needs to find more than 4 shots to take in the whole doggone game.It's always so awkward to see the Arena crew trying to keep us entertained in listless blowouts against no-name competition like this. It's like karaoke night in a stuck elevator.~lw3

[BrazilianHawk]

oh well... Get well soon, Zaza...

[Plainview1981]

Joe is a lousy piece of s___.That's about all I have to add to the thread.

[Sothron]

Joe was putrid tonight on offense. Just putrid.

[Plainview1981]

Joe was putrid tonight on offense. Just putrid.

That's because he sucks.

[thecampster]

Joe was putrid tonight on offense. Just putrid.

You know I love to pound on Joe but the truth of it is the whole team was lethargic. They did everything in slow motion. Joe's missed jump shots/bad offense was a reflection of an entire team not showing to play.By far Josh had the best game but in the 3rd quarter he had a play that explained the whole night. He blocked a shot at the basket, grabbed the ball and turned to drive the ball upcourt and dribbled it off the back of his own leg and the ball went out of bounds. Everyone played sloppy, dirty.

[benhillboy]

I didn't see the game, but saw the score when checking highlights and said to myself "oh well, you can't win them all. It was one of those nights and Toronto has an up-and-coming team". But when I checked the box score and saw that the Raptors only played nine guys, none of them named Barngani, Bayless, or Calderon, I realized that missing this game was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Geesh. Besides Josh and Ivan, looks like everyone else took the Sunday Sabbath off. Their high man was Derozan with 21 and we get beat by 16? At home? Embarrassing. Looks like one of those signature blowout losses from last season. Worst loss of the year maybe?

Edited April 16, 2012 by benhillboy

[Plainview1981]

I didn't see the game, but saw the score when checking highlights and said to myself "oh well, you can't win them all. It was one of those nights and Toronto has an up-and-coming team". But when I checked the box score and saw that the Raptors only played nine guys, none of them named Barngani, Bayless, or Calderon, I realized that missing this game was one of the best things that has ever happened to me. Geesh. Besides Josh and Ivan, looks like everyone else took the Sunday Sabbath off. Their high man was Derozan with 21 and we get beat by 16? At home? Embarrassing. Looks like one of those signature blowout losses from last season. Early candidate for worst loss of the year maybe?

This teams 19-10 home record is hardly impressive. So losing at home isn't a surprise for these people. But damn... This team has ZERO pride. If they did, they wouldn't have lost this game tonight.

[Seano]

"This teams 19-10 home record is hardly impressive. So losing at home isn't a surprise for these people. But damn... This team has ZERO pride. If they did, they wouldn't have lost this game tonight."Well, every single team in the NBA will have unexplainable and unfathomable losses like this over the course of a season, and that's just simply how it is. So that much is a given, but it's the maddeningly frustrating details that will drive you crazy, such as the facts that we were at home, and rested, and yet still somehow managed to get ourselves blown right out the home building by a team that's even worse than shitty, has clearly given up and is now merely carefully tanking so as not to be too obvious about it, in preparation for draft seeding in 2012 NBA draft.. Now *that's* frustration, the fact we could, would and did lose to a team like that (and not only lost, but got fricken rolled), and so it is to be a fan of the Atlanta Hawks. It seems the frustration never ends and never stops.The positive if any, we've got a chance to go to their house and return the exact same favor to them tomorrow night (tonight), so let's see how this bunch responds to having their collective nose' rubbed right in it.

[Seano]

Pride is measured not in losses, because everyone loses, but rather in how one responds to that. You take one on the chin as we did last night, hey, it happens, inexplicable and unacceptable or not.I've accepted that loss, and am now far more interested in seeing how they respond to that, and feel lucky as hell to see that happen the very next day. Their response to that is wherein lies the pride, the heart, and the balls. I wouldn't be surprised to see these Hawks come out and roll the Raps by 20 points on the road tonight, and they should. Hopefully the fire of their embarrassment and humiliation at the hands of that same team will be enough to inspire them. If not, then I don't even know what to say.

[frankthetank966]

Do the Hawks have a chance tonight?