Not Enough To Finish The Job

Both teams in this game can point to reasons why they should have won and also why they could have lost. In the end after overtime the Wizards claim a huge 110-106 win. This gives them a 3-1 win of the season series and leaves them just 3 games behind Toronto in the standings. The Raptors shot a disappointing 40.2% from the field. They also fell in love with the 3 point shot late and in the end they died by the the 3 ball in this one. The Raptors were allowed to stay in the game by being able to cash in on 21 Washington turnovers making them pay with 28 points as a result of them.

Andrea Bargnani may have seen a few stars after his crash to the floor in Miami but tonight he played like a star. He had 28 points in 48 minutes of floor time. He actually scored the Raptors first 8 points and clearly was a different Andrea and not just because of his swelled up  face. He did fill in for the scoring of Chris Bosh who continues to be day to day with knee but is not expected back soon by sounds of it.  But the rebounding is what the Raps miss most and on this night more so. Antawn Jamison had 16 rebounds leading the Wizards to an advantage of 48-36 on the glass.  He also had 25 points but had lots of help from his bench in scoring. Mason,Young and Blatche combined for 44 points. What did Toronto do to Roger Mason Jr. he since leaving Toronto has been a Raptor killer he had 18 of that 44 and just always seems to get up for match-ups with Toronto.

The cloud that hangs over T.J Ford continues and may be getting larger. He played just 14 minutes and only had 2 point and was 1-5 with a steal and a dime. He came in at start of 4th with 6 point lead and left with his team trailing by 6. Rumors he is unhappy about playing time and the loss of his starting job will not go away. The team has said he has some personal issues right now but whatever the case T.J really just didn't have it at all on this night. 

Jose Calderon did though with 20 points and 9 assists and really seemed to have extra motivation in this game. That could be due to the fact that Gilbert Arenas was in the building. He was less than kind in his blog to Jose. He also had said he would be healthy in time for the all-star game. But in reality, a place that Gilbert may no be a resident he is not expected back till the end of this month. No Caron Butler for Wizards either but they are finding a way to get it done regardless. 

The Toronto Raptors faced a lot of adversity early in the season last year. This season it appears to be happening now. There were lots of good things to take away from this game and they will face a Seattle team that was getting blasted by the Sixers on this night. A long weather delayed trip to Toronto will not exactly make the Sonics in any kind of a fighting mood on Sunday. If the Raps match what they did in this game on Sunday they will get a win before hitting the West Coast. There is even talk on if Bosh will be going on the trip that is really not a good sign at all. The injury actually happened when he had an awkward fall in the the first Indiana game. At the time I thought it looked bad but when he return to the game I thought nothing of it. Now I can't stop thinking about it. 

But the silver lining of this night was the play of Andrea Bargnani. Some Raptor fans wanted to give him a smack earlier in this season and maybe they should have because if Andrea plays like that every game after this than it would have been worth it. He will be very key if Bosh is out a long time. The other key after that will be to maintain his play when Bosh comes back.  I am going to now do a podcast with post game thoughts. Not sure how long it will take seeing as it is new. So if you don't find it tonight look for it Tomorrow and as I said with it being new please share your feedback on it and if you have any trouble accessing it. Thanks in advance for your help in that regard. It is all about giving all of you more bang for your time seeing as it is free can't say bang for your buck.

Update: Your Link to The Podcast Post Game

http://dinoblogger.podbean.com/2008/03/08/raptor-rewind-raps-vs-wiz-03-07-08/