<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="color:#c8362d"><span style="font-family:Impact">Toronto</span> </span></span><span style="color:#c8362d">(16-28)</span> vs. <span style="color:#EE1C24"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact">Chicago</span></span></span> <span style="color:#EE1C24">(18-25)</span> </div> <div align="center"> When: Friday January 23rd, 2009 @ 8:30PM EST Where: United Center, Chicago, IL TV/Radio: TSN, FAN 590 </div> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Impact"><u>THOUGHTS ON THE GAME</u></span></div></span> There's quite a few things happening in this game. I'm warning you all right now that the starting lineups I've listed may be wholly inaccurate come tip-off. There are rumours that Jose's ready to return to action, and what that means for our starting backcourt, I don't think anyone truly knows right now. Additionally, Chicago's had their fair share of injuries lately and Drew Gooden is listed as questionable. I put him up there because he's still listed as a starter by Yahoo!, but he could very easily be missing tonight (which would benefit Toronto tremendously). Our last game against the Bulls, with its atrocious pick-and-roll D, Boshian unclutchness, and all-around choking, was depressing to watch. Nevertheless, some of us might remember this matchup as that which brought up Andrea Bargnani's best performance of the season. Over the past 13 games, the kid's been impressive and promising. I actually like to think of this game as the point where Bargnani stopped shooting a ridiculously good percentage and started to earn his points. If you look at his statlines, you might notice that Andrea's shooting has dipped back to earth of late, despite the fact that he continues to put up excellent totals. That's truly the mark of a legit player, IMO. Anyone can ride a 5-6 game hot streak, but players you want in your foreseeable future should be able to produce even when the opposite's the case. <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Impact"><u>STARTING LINEUPS</u></span></div></span> <div align="center"> <span style="color:#c8362d">Anthony Parker - Joey Graham - Dipshit - Chris Bosh - Andrea Bargnani</span> <span style="color:#EE1C24">Derrick Rose - Ben Gordon - Luol Deng - Tyrus Thomas - Drew Gooden</span></div> <span style="font-family:Impact"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"><u>KEY MATCHUP</u></div></span></span> <div align="center"> <span style="color:#c8362d">Jose Calderon</span> vs. <span style="color:#c8362d">His Hamstring</span></div> We just have to face facts. Despite Anthony Parker's impressive play of late, as a makeshift point guard, we absolutely depend on Jose Calderon guiding our offense. If not, we're just a poor defensive team who tries to get into offensive shootouts, with an inconsistent offense. The Raps are 4-8 without Jose, but those have included some of our worst losses and the team has been terrible to watch in that span. So our ability to break this 7 game losing streak will depend heavily on Jose's availability. Triano's given up on Will Solomon and, while he has shown great flashes, Roko Ukic is still consistently inconsistent. We need our floor general directing the offense once more. Obviously you don't want to throw Jose into the starting lineup after so much time out. The team unwisely tried to do that against Boston, and Rajon Rondo made a mockery of him. Anybody have any doubts that Derrick Rose could do worse? If Jose's off the bench, suddenly we're looking at a more cohesive, dependable offensive unit all game long. <div align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact"><u>MARTY YORK'S INSIDE INFORMATION OF THE DAY</u></span></span></div>
Nice preview, Chutney. I'm pulling for the Raptors since a Chicago loss and puts the Knicks higher in the standings. If the interior D is strong, it's gonna put more pressure on guys like Rose and Tyrus to hit their jumpers. It's also favorable for the Raptors since mostly everyone can stretch the defense. Bosh is gonna keep Tyrus on the perimeter all day with that 'jab step and then the midrange jumper move'. So Bargnani plays center these days?
The problem I see is that, under Triano, the Raptors have been switching a lot more and it creates a bunch of mismatches when our defenders don't realize what matchups they're creating. Last time we faced them, Rose absolutely abused that weakness and led his team back from a big deficit. Bargnani's natural position might be center after all. His ability to play great defense against that position has definitely made it a possibility.
It bothers me that Bosh isnt coming into this game with the mindset of destroying Joakim Noah for making him look bad last game. Ive only watched the second quarter but ive seen Bosh take a couple of turnaround jumpers againist him already.
Holy crap, Andrea is all man! That three point shot was unnecessary, but how about fighting for those rebounds?
