Detroit at Toronto

[Real Deal]

TIME: 7:00 PM ET

TV: NBALP

[Built Ford Tough]

Monroe is picking Toronto's defense apart with his high post passing. He got Knight an open layup and then two possessions later he got Prince an open dunk.

 

If Detroit gets some talent around him he is going to put up some really nice assist numbers.

 

 

Valanciunas has looked good offensively so far. I really like the foot work he is showing and he is using the usual pump fakes to set himself up underneath. He's struggling with Monroe on the other end, though.

 

EDIT: And as I type that Valanciunas blocks a Monroe hook shot.

[Built Ford Tough]

Calderon with what would've been his 10th assist of the 1st quarter had Valanciunas not gotten fould there (it looked to be a fairly wide open dunk).

 

I've probably been one of Calderon's biggest critics, but he is playing some awesome basketball as of late. Very impressed by his play.

[DunkinDerozan]

Derozan and Jonas kicking ass

[DunkinDerozan]

Amir playing like an absolute [expletive]ing scrub right now [expletive]

Edited December 20, 2012 by DunkinDerozan

[Built Ford Tough]

Amir with a very rough start to the game. Gave up an offensive rebound to Drummond, got out worked by Charlie Villanueva of all people for another offensive board and then just committed a lazy turnover on the inbounds to Dummond who then converted an And 1.

[Built Ford Tough]

I'll never understand why horrible shooters like Pietrus continue to chuck long range shots. He should never take a 3 other than the corner 3 ball off of a kick out.

 

What made that play even more infuriating is that he had a wide open Ross in the corner.

[Built Ford Tough]

Prince sure has lost a step or two on the defensive end. He's been completely blown by on multiple occasions in this game and the Raptors 2/3 rotation doesn't exactly possess a lot of blow by ability.

[DunkinDerozan]

Monroe doesnt get talked about enough in the conversation of the leafues best centres. I think hes probably already top-5

[Built Ford Tough]

Monroe doesnt get talked about enough in the conversation of the leafues best centres. I think hes probably already top-5

 

Duncan

Dwight

Gasol

Chandler

Varejao

Noah

Horford

 

I'd take all 7 of them and then you also have guys like Brook Lopez and Al Jefferson maybe even DeMarcus Cousins who you can argue for.

 

Throw in Andrew Bynum and Andrew Bogut when they are healthy as well.

 

Don't get me wrong, I really like Monroe's game but he is not top 5. An argument can be made for top 10, but not 5.

[Built Ford Tough]

I really don't understand why Toronto gets so trigger happy when they have a lead late in games. This is 3 games in a row where they've built up a decent lead (between 8-12 points) and then just start launching quick jumpers allowing the other team to get back into the game.

[DunkinDerozan]

I was thinking the same thing. They juat start settling for perimeter jumpers ad they get cold. Still, pulled of the victory. Now at 4 straight and we've got Orlando next.

 

I dont want to get my hopes up, but looking at our schedule, i think we MAY possibly have a shot at a playoff spot. Again, dont want to get my hopes up, but its not impossible. One can dream i guess

[Check my Stats]

-painful game to watch in terms of Jonas, I counted at least 2 rolls where he couldn't secure the ball (mind you they WERE high passes).. he needs to catch the ball if he wants Jose to hit him when he rolls, those are the same passes Amir makes a living on. he just had a rough go from pretty much all facets besides his touch around the rim, which is pretty awesome. he is almost automatic once he gets his feet set near the rim, so much length

 

-Ed with another outstanding game. I honestly think I might stop watching if he loses that starting spot to Bargnani. despite Jonas' rough outing, the numbers from our starting front court are still rock solid.

 

-JL3 is garbage. like actual garbage.

 

-I've always loathed Jose, and not even so much for his shortcomings, but because we blatantly ignore them. you can almost live with his deficiencies when Bargnani isn't on the floor with him (almost). I, like BFT, have to admit how well he has played. the way he has transformed our offense without Bargnani is nothing short of amazing. I hope Kyle is watching film. I still think benching Lowry is a bad move, since we aren't making the playoffs this year, and the last thing we need is for him to come off the bench thinking he needs to prove something and play out of control (ala Jerryd Bayless), and piss him off going into a contract year. you've gotta think D'Antoni is watching saying 'hmmmm' right now.

 

-I know it kind of went under the rug since we won, but am I the only one who felt like we were on the bad end of the refs again? honestly, Demar has his flaws, but the fact he is shooting less FT's despite attacking more says it all. its appalling honestly, and don't even get me started on Jonas. I just don't get it, its not like Demar is even trying to get fouled like earlier in the year, he is getting wacked and no call, and its not LBJ syndrome where you can't see it because he is a beast, his body is getting hit mid air and changing direction at times lol.

[Built Ford Tough]

-I know it kind of went under the rug since we won, but am I the only one who felt like we were on the bad end of the refs again? honestly, Demar has his flaws, but the fact he is shooting less FT's despite attacking more says it all. its appalling honestly, and don't even get me started on Jonas. I just don't get it, its not like Demar is even trying to get fouled like earlier in the year, he is getting wacked and no call, and its not LBJ syndrome where you can't see it because he is a beast, his body is getting hit mid air and changing direction at times lol.

 

I think Detroit got away with a lot of over the back tonight, but you can give them the benefit of the doubt because of just how hard they were attacking the glass. If you are going hard after every missed shot you are eventually going to make the refs put away their whistle.

 

Overall, yeah, I'd say the officiating was leaning to the Pistons side, but not nearly as bad as it was earlier in the year or in the first meeting between these teams. I also think that the Pistons just played a lot harder than the Raptors and when that happens you usually get some calls that you otherwise wouldn't get. Might not be fair, but that is usually how things go.

 

 

As far as DeRozan goes, I agree with you but it is worth pointing out that he is starting to drift to the perimeter more often now. When the season began he was always looking to get into the paint but over the past week or two he hasn't been looking to slash as much. I don't know if it is because he is just getting fed up with not getting the calls, teams sending a 2nd defender when posting up or if it is because his mid range jumper is starting to get back to where it was 2 seasons ago (he is shooting 44% from 10-15 feet compared to 40% last year), but he is definitely attacking less than he was earlier in the year.

 

It is still pretty pathetic how little respect he gets from the refs, though. He isn't flailing or recklessly throwing his body at defenders like he was earlier in the year either, so that argument isn't a valid one anymore. I'm really not sure why he doesn't get calls.