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| Julian Wright was fantastic in college, but needs to realize he's not 'the guy' for the Raptors. |
This was arguably the worst week of the season for the Raptors, and many problems were risen in the locker room.
Julian Wright complained to Jay Triano when he was given playing time in the garbage minutes, and refused to enter the game. After the game Wright, or “Ju-Ju” as Reggie Evans would say, apologized and realized that his actions were wrong. The chemistry in the locker room still appears strong as the season comes to the end, and this will be a key to the teams success next season.
There has also been a report that the Raptors are now willing to trade Andrea Bargnani, and are looking to build the team around DeMar DeRozan and Ed Davis.
Bargnani apparently has very large market value, and if the Raptors can get a nice piece for him and pick of a true center, it could be time to part ways with Bargnani in the offseason.
Anyway, onto the report:
Record: 0-4
Performance on a scale of 1-10: 4
Here is a recap of the four games:
Raptors @ Denver, L 90-123
Positives
Just a bad game in general for the Raps in this one. Andrea Bargnani scored 20, but was also a -26 so I don’t even know if that’s considered a positive.
Negatives
Defensively, the team was awful. Offensively, nobody seemed to shoot the ball well. Rebounding, the Raps got hammered. The Raptors just did not seem hungry enough to win this one.
Raptors @ Suns, L 106-114
Positives
For most of the game, the Raps played well and controlled the tempo of the game. The offense was very balanced and DeMar DeRozan was solid scoring the basketball as well as rebounding it.
Negatives
The Raps just had a late, fourth quarter collapse defensively and gave the game away. Tank nation fans must have been ecstatic after this one.
Raptors @ Warriors, L 100-138
Positives
Ed Davis came up with a double double. That’s all I got.
Negatives
Here comes the essay. You can’t allow 84 first half points and expect to have a chance to win. Ever. Sure, Golden state was playing their tempo, and was running an offensive en-slaughter, but if you can’t match them, take a time-out and fix it. Jay Triano really did not use good judgment of taking time-outs in this one, and the Warriors just laughed at the Raptors all the way through this one.
Raptors @ Clippers, L 90-94
Positives
This was a much better effort by the Raps. On a back to back, without their best player, the Raps could taste the win, but at the end of the game just flat out blew it. Ed Davis was great as a starter, and recorded another double double of 21-11. Davis is really showing his potential when given minutes, and should only get better.
Negatives
Just another late collapse by the team. Everything was going right. Defensively, the Raps were solid and held the Clips under 100 points, and for most of the game, the offense wasn’t bad considering Andrea Bargnani was out. If you can’t close out games, you won’t win many.
Overall, this was a pretty awful week for the team, and the late collapses bring up the question whether they are trying to lose or not. They very well could be considering the fact that they are mathematically eliminated, but Jay Triano isn’t the type of coach that would encourage this.
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