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Philadelphia @ Toronto


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  • 6 months later...

I'm guessing that the Raptors drop this game. They have been playing really well as of late (aside from that game in Indy) and with this being the last game that they play before the All-Star break, I have a gut feeling that we are going to see the Raptors have a bit of a let down today.

 

The Sixers have also been playing really well as of late and I don't really like the way that the Raptors match up with them. The Raptors don't really seem to play all that well against teams with athleticisim (which is why the Hawks have completely dominated them all season long) who are capable of getting out and running.

 

The Raptors are playing at home where they are one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, so that helps matters. If they were on the road I would fully expect a Sixers win, but since it is at home I see it more as 50/50.

 

One thing is for sure though, the Raptors can't afford to fall behind early and be forced to play catchup like they have been doing lately. The Raptors needs to come out and set the tone early if they want to win this game.

 

Should be fun.

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I just woke up from taking a nap, but the last 2 minutes from Calderon has been outstanding. He was absolutely picking the Sixers defense apart and dropping some very nice dimes. You also have to give credit to Johnson, DeRozan and Weems for making some nice cuts off of the ball to get into the position where Calderon can find them with the lob pass. Very impressive 2 minutes from Calderon.

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Evans is absolutely gassed right now. Dude is sucking air BAD.

 

Great hustle from him though. He has drawn a loose ball foul on Dalembert, has been diving after loose balls, drew a charge and done exactly what you would expect of him.

 

Just don't like to see Evans try to create his own offense like he did right there, lol. Please Reggie, no spinning hook shots from you. :lol:

 

EDIT: Reggie heading back to the lockroom. Probably needs to get some oxygen or some [expletive], lol.

Edited by Built Ford Tough
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LOL at Reggie, seemed like he was trying too hard and anxious to score, but great to see the hustle nonetheless.

 

Haven't been watching closely, nice to see us up handily so far, hopefully we can keep our foot on the gas and head into all-star weekend with another W at home.

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Brutal collapse during the 4th quarter. Williams has absolutely picked the Raptors apart this quarter. Guy has been lights out from the field.

 

That 4 point play from Calderon was huge though.

 

EDIT: Great defensive stand by Wright causing the turnover on Williams. Huge shot by Bargs though. That 3 completely bailed out Jack's ineptitude on that possession. Bargs ices the game at the free throw line.

Edited by Built Ford Tough
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Raptors tied the franchise record for the most wins heading into the All-Star break with 29. They had 29 during the 01 season and the 06 season.

 

The 8 game home winning streak matches the longest home winning streak since 2006 and is only one game off of the franchise record of 9 straight wins at home.

 

Raptors also have the 2nd best record in the NBA since December 18th at 18-6.

 

You can't complain at all with how the Raptors have played heading into the All-Star break.

 

The Raptors are starting to cement theirselves as the clear cut 5th best team in the East. They are clearly not on the same level as the top 4 teams in the East but if they continue to play how they have been over the past month and a half, I think it is safe to say that they are undoubtedly better than the bottom tier of the East.

 

Thank God we were able to hold on, I might have lost my mind if we blew this game. Heading into the all-star break with our best record in history at this point (I think?).

 

Tied franchise high for most wins, like I said above, but this isn't the best winning percentage that they have ever had going into the All-Star break. I the best winning percentage they have had was back in 01 when they went 29-21. I'm not 100% sure, but I think that was their record.

Edited by Built Ford Tough
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This city already loves Reggie. It seemed to pump up Amir too. The only negative of how we are playing now is Belinelli, who somewhat seems to have found himself maybe on the outside looking in in the rotation.

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This city already loves Reggie. It seemed to pump up Amir too. The only negative of how we are playing now is Belinelli, who somewhat seems to have found himself maybe on the outside looking in in the rotation.

 

I don't really think that you can call that a negative. There is only so many minutes to go around at the 2/3 spots and with how well Wright and Weems have been playing as of late, along wtih DeRozan getting his 20 minutes or so, somebody is going to be the odd man out. With Belinelli's inconsistent and erratic play, he has been the odd man out as of late, just like Weems was at the beginning of the year and like Wright was about a month and a half ago.

 

I am sure that eventually Belinelli will play himself back into the rotation sooner or later, just like I am sure that one of Wright or Weems will probably play theirselves out of the rotation.

 

The bottom line is that Belinelli needs to develop some consistency and I don't think that he will do that if he is being handed minutes. Maybe him falling out of the rotation during stretches of the season will show him that he needs to develop that consistency if he is going to see a set amount of minutes each game. The way I see it, internal competition is hardly ever a bad thing.

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