CB, where did you go? You’ve seem to have disappeared, please come home.
Chris Bosh struggled last night going 6-20 as he finished with 12 points. He’s starting to become non-apparent on the floor and doesn’t look like the leader he once was at the beginning of this season. I don’t know if it’s fatigue, new systems or adjusting to change of a new coach but Chris has to become the energy that the Raps should be feeding off of. Lately, he just seems to look frustrated.
Last night, the Toronto Raptors did it again. They played one good quarter of basketball. In fairness to the Raps, this was the Dallas Mavericks. Their 13-10 record looks deceiving as their losses were to top tier teams like the Lakers (twice), Denver, Cleveland and San Antonio.
The Word of the Day:
Lead-blowing: to blow a lead in a basketball contest; to build up a lead and then watch it fizzle as the game progresses
Unfortunately, just like the last game against Jersey and the game against New Orleans, the Raps struggled to maintain their lead. They played an excellent first quarter and I mean it was great basketball by Toronto. Toronto shot 66% from the field, Toronto’s D shut down Dirk and Toronto scored 33 points in the first quarter. Raptors couldn’t have played any better and finished with a 33-21 lead after 1 quarter. Joey Graham played well in the first half as he’s been the energy off of the bench.
Toronto continued to maintain their lead in the second as they defended Dirk as best as they could. And then with a few minutes left in the second, that was it……show was over. This was a moment that we’ve seen too many times over and over, Raps were controlling the game (with a lead as large as 13 pts) when the Mavs made a run to pull within 5 at the half. Chris Bosh was non-existent with 4 points at halftime.
Dirk continued to struggle in the third as he was 3 for 10. With 9 minutes left in the quarter, Jason Kidd hit a three to pull within 1. Chris Bosh, where did you go? He looked miserable this game. He started to miss more shots, never made it to the line and there was a moment where he got an offensive board and completely missed a slam he would normally make. And as Bosh struggled, Dirk get hot. Raps continued to get outrebounded, and may need to starting thinking about bringing out the secret weapon, Jake Voskuhl, to hustle for some boards as they looked horrible. Raptors scored 33 in the first quarter but then scored a combined 30 points in the second and third quarter. Dirk and Mavericks closed out the Raps 96-86 as the Raps go 0-3 on their 3 game homestand.
Key Notes:
Dallas outrebounded the Raps 47-37
Jermaine O’Neal led Toronto with 19 pts, 7 boards
Jose Calderon continued his free throw streak as he hit his lone free throw
Josh Howard returned to the Dallas lineup after missing 11 games, he scored 20 pts in 22 minutes
Dirk Nowitzki had 27 points, 10 boards
Jason Terry had 27 pts, 7 reb, 8 assists
Toronto begins their six game road trip in Oklahoma City on Friday.
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