Post-Game: Raptors 112 vs. Timberwolves 97 Oct 9th, 2009

Having not watched a TV or radio broadcast nor having been in Minnesota to casually attend last nights game, I will try and put together from whatever evidence I can gather an idea of what the heck happened last night! How bout some pros and cons?

The Positives:

-hot off the presses we won the game!! The season is not lost and all that jazz....

-Bosh according to Doug Smith looked strong, agile and gave much needed presence in the post. He also gassed after 8minutes which is not surprising as it was his first run around with semi-real opponents.

-Bargnani had another dominant scoring game with 21points.

-5 players were in double digits for points. Much more support on the offensive end for sure.

-Evans with limited minutes coming off the bench still produced 11points and 5rebounds

The Negatives:

-another bad night at the free throw line with 61.8% made free throws

-according to Doug Smith, Belinelli is a streaky shooter. It also seems he may be a turnover machine.

-we won the game but lost the rebounding war with 36 total rebounds against 45 for the T-Wolves.

The Timberwolves have young talented players but I don't see them giving us too much trouble(barring injuries of course) in the regular season. They just don't have a deep enough bench to be competitive. I think Ramon Sessions was a much needed pick-up this off season and it will take a lot of pressure off of Flynn and fill the void of a certain Spanish point guard not named Jose Calderon.

Chris Bosh at this time is the face of this Franchise. The success we will attain this season rests sorely on his shoulders. Sure, there are other factors that may impede that success, but I think they were taken care of this off season. There is ease with a much deeper bench. The toughness factor has been addressed (which I will get to further on) and the athleticism on the wings may not be an issue anymore. But it all still boils down to the 4 time all star, Olympic gold medalist and 20/10 contributor having another successful all-star caliber season.


I think both Bosh and Jay Triano have a good working relationship. They have worked together during the coaching tenures of Kevin O'Neil and Sam Mitchell. Now that Jay is in charge, it will be interesting to see how Bosh thrives and grows under his system. They both seem to have a calm and collected demeanor mirrored by a fire and intensity that breaks through in tense situations. Sam Mitchell had a very dominating personality and from reports I've read he was an in your face kind of guy(which in some cases isn't a bad thing). Jay seems to be the type of coach that is a strong listener and communicator. Through interviews and articles one can easily determine that he is a man with deep knowledge of the game. I think having those qualities will make it easier for a strong respectful working relationship.

I'm not sure if I can run out of good things to say about Reggie Evans. This game was more an example of how he will be used this season. He is our go to big man off the bench. He is an intimidating presence on and off the court. For example, during a moment in the game Flynn being covered by Douby, you could hear Reggie on the bench dogging Flynn for trying to do too much and taking the intensity away from him(via Doug Smith).

Amir Johnson may not need a mask this Halloween anymore. That's 2 cuts out of 3 games that have have required stitches. He never had much of an impact last night and received 4 fouls in 12 minutes of play.

Triano gave Calderon a break tonight and primarily used Jarret Jack at the point. He was not impressive on the stat line for 28 minutes. According to the podcast from Raptors Republic he looked more like a back-up point guard than the other two nights. So, no starting point guard drama yet.

I have no problem with Marco Belinelli struggling a little in preseason. If he doesn't turn out to be a solid contributor there is nothing we have lost. We gave up Devaen George to get him. Now, I may lose my membership card to the Devaen George fan club but we acquired potential for absolutely nothing. He has to be more controlled on offense and play a little more conservative on defense from what I have seen so far. I think factoring in his limited playing time with Golden State and the lack of support he received from Don Nelson, the guy deserves another chance. It definitely came at the right time in his career. He is 23 years old and knows the opportunity ahead of him. It really comes down to consistency and showing up to play each and every game.

Next game is at the ACC on Sunday @ 3pm Raptors take on the Wizard. Look for the pregame post in the morning.

Cool Hand Luke