Man another huge loss. I'm on the verge of getting a heart-attack after all those close losses. However, I liked what Sam did putting Palacio at the end of the 4th Q. You might question why he's running the offence (I would rather have the ball in Skip's hands), but he did an incredible job on Billups. With Skip chasing Hamilton offscreen, since he's the quickest player on our team, Sam had to go with Milt on Billups, he matches his quickness and size. Otherwise you'd have seen Chauncey posting the hell out of Alston down the stretch. Unfortunatley, it turned out to be a typical Raptor game, get close then lead by 2 or 3 points, and in the dying seconds, a call, offensive rebound, or just bad luck hands us the loss.
The Raptors might be incosistent, but their entertainment sure is not. Not only do the raptors on a daily basis give fans exciting games that pretty much come down to the final mintues of the 4th quarter but they got drama off the court too. If Toronto wasn't looked at as a small market within the NBA, and if this sorta stuff was takin place in LA, i think it would cause even bigger hooplas then the kobe and shaq situation last year. I just feel the Raps are right there to take it in the atlantic and at least become a 3rd, 4th team in the east, we just need that extra somethin somethin to push us over the top.
i agree with the heart attack games...it makes for great ball, but honestly raptor fans just want some blow out wins at this point... looking ahead the raps can and will bounce back...they have displayed that the can compete with any calibour team, it's just that the good teams find a way to close out down the stretch... i'm not sure if the raptors have adopted this stratagy yet...but despite all the media rumblings, they must focus as a team and concentrate winning ball games...each player needs to show thier commitment to toronto and towards team play...only then will you see them gelling on the court, rafer will be able to read his players and find the best plays when pushing the ball up...we will see some VC ally-throw downs (barring a healthy VC)... and some home games should also do the trick...
Hey, that's a good point, Purple Fever... I never even realized who Alston was covering. For me, I was just focused on how Palacio was dribbling too much! I totally agree with king94 and spinz... these are definitely exciting games. I mean, after the third quarter you might be thinking the Raptors are going to be blown out, but they somehow manage to claw themselves back into it, and you're forced to watch 'til the end. I don't know about you guys, but I feel emotionally drained just watching them lose those close games... I can only wonder what the actual players feel!
