Watched whole game
My hand quivered over the L key when typing the above boxscore for this game. Really, it had been a long time since the Raptors have induced a W keystroke from me. Back home it was time to take care of business and just get a win. Even though the Raps have a 13-game losing skid, the Cavaliers are the ones suffering with an NBA record 24-game losing streak.
Sonny Weems is back and rounding into shape, just in time to replace Kleiza who’s out for the season officially with knee surgery. With Weems and DeRozan flying down the wings, the Raptors should be more potent on offense, but if the two of them can crash the glass and pick up crucial rebounds, the Raptors defense will be immensely bolstered. Bayless and Barbosa are also on the mend and may be back at any time. When Bargnani is playing well, he can change the Raptors fortunes and he does with 30 points and 6 rebounds. Amir Johnson counterbalances the frontcourt grabbing 12 rebounds to go along with 19 points and plenty of hustle. DeRozan was solid with 20 points and Calderon was spectacular with a career-high 19 assists.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward Kevin Love was snubbed of an All-Star position, but was graced by one in place of a lame Yao Ming. He discovered this immediately before the game, and the ‘rebounding king’ padded his NBA-leading 15.4 rebounds per game, finishing with 15 and 20 points for his 35th consecutive double-double. As Charles Barkley says, you can fake being a big scorer on a bad team, but you can’t fake rebounding. Love’s Wolves fall and the Raptors pick up a desperately needed win. They can now take a deep sigh of relief and move on with the season, with this ugly losing-streak behind them.
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| "See you at All-Star Weekend" |
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