Built Ford Tough

Seriously, I'm actually happy about this. With the Raptors getting that BS win against Boston on Firday, they really couldn't afford to have come out of this BOS/LA/NY/stretch at 2-1, especially with Detroit, Sacramento, Washington and Phoenix all going to pick up losses tonight. Oh yeah, this was pretty good, too:

I'm so proud of Toronto, though. Their tanking to finish the game was top notch. DeRozan, Barbosa and Calderon were all brilliant.

The Lin hype is going to be out of control after this game.

Meh, looked to me like Amir was straight up, but I only saw it once as I flipped to the Leaf game before they showed the replay. Looked like it should've been a no call if you ask me. I'm not complaining, though, especially if it means the Knicks end up winning this game.

He isn't the only one. I love the guy too. Amir with his 3rd block on Amar'e in the last 2 minutes or so.

I don't think I've ever seen a team who give up more offensive rebounds off of missed free throws than the Raptors do.

Shumpert has completely shut Calderon down in the 4th quarter, but Barbosa is abusing Lin without Shump on him.

Oh DeMar. <_<

Lin gets more of an applause than any Raptor player.

I don't know about the specific play you were talking about since I had to put my dog out, but he does look like he travels when catching the ball almost all the time, but if you look closely or are able to see a replay, he actually doesnt travel most of the time. He is just awkward and always looks like he is travelling. Speaking of Kleiza, he is taking it to the Knicks right now. 5 points in a row earlier and 2 straight offensive boards just now. DeRozan looked like he wanted to hurdle Novak there. I don't think I've ever seen him try to elevate over a guy like that in a game before. He almost always tries to avoid the defender.

Calderon's going to go for a career high for the 2nd game in a row. 23 points for him already.

I really wish Butler was still the starting small forward for the Raptors. How epic would a Butler/Walker matchup be?

Well, at least vintage "pound the rock, completely stagnating the offense" Calderon showed up at the end of the half. It looked like Toronto was going to have a 20 point halftime lead but the Knicks cut it down to 11 after the Raptors offense completely stagnated due to Calderon's over dribbling. If the Knicks come out energized in the 3rd and the Raptors offense continues to sputter, I can defintiely see them taking this game and saving the Raptors tank.

As much as I loathe the Lin/Nash comparisions, even I have to admit that last player of Lin's looked eerily similar to Nash. Getting into the paint, keeps his dribble alive, draws a big on him, retreats back to the 3 point line and then dribbles into an in rythym 3 over the outstrecthed arm of the bigger defender. Looked identical to what Nash does so often.

Calderon with a huge flop to draw that offensive foul on Chandler. He definitely sold that one as it looked like Chandler's arm barely even touched Calderon's face and yet Calderon went down like he was shot.

Did Shumpert just blow a wide open dunk? Ouch.

Make that 17 points off 8 Knick turnovers after Barbosa scores after another Lin turnover. Knicks look really lethargic out there. Poor ball movement, sloppy execution, not getting back on defense and just being out worked by the Raptors. This lead could easily be 20 for the Raptors if Kleiza hits these open jumpers he keeps on missing.

Raptors have 15 points off of 7 Knick turnovers so far. They are doing a great job of making the Knicks pay for their sloppy offensive execution. Lin has also turned it over on 3 straight possessions, all of which led to Raptor baskets (a DeRozan layup, a Davis dunk and a DeRozan dunk). He also had a turnover in the 1st that led to a Calderon 3.

Kleiza should really stick to spot up shooting and posting up. He is a disaster waiting to happen when he tries to drive and that charge was a perfect example of that.

What the hell has gotten into Calderon over the past 3 games? I can't even remember the last time he has played this well for a single game, let alone 3. He already has 12 points and has taken 7 shots. I like aggressive Jose, although I probably won't like him as much if he ends up winning the Raptors the game.

Nice to see Casey getting his championship ring from Chandler. I didn't realize they were doing that tonight.

I think there are more Lin fans at the ACC than Raptor ones and the Raptors pregame is more about Lin than the actual Raptors. Also, looks like Bayless isn't playing like originally thought, so Lin will be able to light up Calderon.

Simple, really. - He is a huge flopper - He constantly complains - He isn't as good as many make him out to be - He has an absurd hype train around him that overblow pretty much everything he does - He was shoved down our throats all of last season The guy is a good player and has a huge career ahead of him, is an exciting player, is very good but there are plenty of reasons why people may dislike Griffin. On the court, LeBron is more likeable than Griffin if you ask me. LeBron's trouble is some of the off the court stuff he does rubs people the wrong way.

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/218996/Shannon_Brown_Frustrated_By_Lack_Of_Playing_Time#ixzz1mNB6EV52 I'm curious, what exactly does Brown want? The Suns are playing him 21 minutes a game and he is shooting out the lights with a sparkling 47 TS% and an 11 PER. You aren't really helping the team by launching brick after brick.

Lol, you know the Linsanity hype is out of control when he is able to get the Toronto Raptors on ESPN. Well... ESPN2 and it is only for the 4th quarter. After all, they are still the Toronto Raptors.