March 15, 2007
18 and Life…
Jay wrote this today:
Sorry for the Skid Row reference, but after TJ dropped 18s on both sides of the stat sheet, it pretty much sucked the life out of the Knicks hoping to make a chase for the Atlantic.
So while watching the game, you would have thought that TJ was doing some dynamic stuff out there, that he was pulling off an assorted of amazing plays, that he was using all of the creative juices he had…but um…was it just me or did anyone else notice the Raptors were running a high pick and roll over and over and over? Hey, I’m all for it. If a team (like the Knicks) show they can’t defend it, then just keep running it. It’s sort of like in football, if a team can’t stop the run up the middle, then keep running it up the middle and when they overcompensate, then you can go to something else.
But good on TJ (and Sam) for noticing that, even though you would have had to have been blind not to. TJ was creating good looks for Garbo, Andrea and Bosh because that pick and roll was lethal. The great thing about it is that when you have a PG as quick as Ford, if you get hooked on the pick and nobody shifts, you’re going to be in a world of trouble, especially if the team has good outside shooting as the Raptors do.
Once again, I like the fact that TJ is taking it to the rack when he sees the mismatch, but more importantly, he is taking the open jumper when it is there. He isn’t forcing the jumper, he’s just taking it if they give it to him. That makes him that much more dangerous.
Did anyone notice how many times guys slipped on the court last night? The Knicks were falling all over the place and a couple of Raptors slipped too. I’ve heard before that usually around this time, when the weather fluctuates a lot, the court will sometimes get some moisture on it. Not sure about that whole scenario, but it did seem odd that so many guys were wiping out.
Tough on Jose’s ankle last night. No matter how well TJ is playing, the Raptors are more dangerous with two starting point guards available. It didn’t look that serious, so I can’t see him missing a lot of games. Tell me you didn’t cringe when you saw AP go down. The way he way slamming the court, I thought he had torn something, but after seeing the replay, I figured he might be out for a game or two. Under no circumstance did I ever expect to see him come back out of the tunnel and play. Nice work by the ACC crew to play the Rocky theme when AP made his return, pretty funny.
So back to the x’s and o’s. The Knicks had some serious problems on defense last night. I mean, SERIOUS. If you want to see two guys who have no clue what to do on defense, check out the tape from last night and watch Curry and Marbury. As good as Marbury was on offense, he was a gaping hole on D. Slow feet, ran into picks, head swiveling…not good. And it was almost comical watching Curry trying to defend Bargnani. He couldn’t move with Il Mago. Not even close. It looked like Curry was wearing ski boots on the court. If anybody remembers the Kids in the Hall Skit, he looked like M. Piedlourd (Mr. Heavyfoot).
Have I mentioned at all how much I hate Leo? Just wanted to reiterate. So many reasons last night, I won’t drag you through all of them. Just can’t stand him. Okay, I have to point out one thing from last night. TJ was driving to the basket and threw a hard pass to Rasho, who bobbled it and it went the other way for 2. Leo kept saying that he thought the pass wasn’t intended for Rasho, that is was going to Garbo in the corner. Um…no it wasn’t. It was meant for Rasho, it was a no-look, it was a bad pass because a) two Knicks were there and b) it was too hard, especially for Rasho. Even after the replay showed Leo was wrong, he still stood by it.
One more Leo bit from last night. He kept talking about this little move that Garbo made before hitting a three. He said Garbo made a little shift that sent the Knick defender into the corner, then he spotted up and hit the 3. Not so. Garbo received the pass and the Knick defender ran to the corner trying to defend a pass into the spot formerly known as MoPete’s office. The Knick defender (sorry, can’t remember who) thought he was going to get help up top. Garbo saw the open look, set his feet and took the shot. There was no fake, no little shimmy, nothing. Leo just made it up, trying to create some insight. I seriously can’t stand this guy.
Alright, it will be interesting to see what happens tomorrow night. I won’t be able to watch the game, will have to listen on radio (heading back home for a bit), but let’s hope Yao has some of the shooting woes that have occasionally plagued him.
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March 15th, 2007 at 11:53 am
Leo Rautins is the bane of my existence…seriously, he irritates the hell out of me and you’re right his commentary is mostly BS and double-talk remixed with a little condescension towards Chuck who takes it meekly and defers to Leo BS - Rautin’s is like an arrogant know-it-all who’s really just an ignorant fool.
March 15th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I swear to god Leo beats off under the media desk that he and Chuck sit at during the game when he talks about any player in the league that isn’t American.
March 15th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
Hey Leo, give us an update on how it’s going getting Nash and Magloire out for Team Canada.
Another thing I hate? When he actually gets the X-Factor right on a night, he keeps bringing it up. Leo, the odds are actually pretty good dude. If you’re working with a 9 man rotation and can eliminate Bosh, Bargnani and AP from the equation (and maybe even TJ), then you have a pretty short list to work with. He keeps shouting it out like he picked the winning lottery numbers. “Hey Chuck, how about we check out that x-Factor? Huh? Huh?”
I’m such a laid back person, I can’t believe one dude can aggravate me so much…
March 15th, 2007 at 5:40 pm
i avoid watching raptors games on local channels because of leo . i watch the games on fsn .
if the aps game is not on fsn and i have no choice but to watch the game on she score/tsn/raptors tv , i use the mute button.
March 16th, 2007 at 8:37 am
Yeah, I was thinking of using the radio for the commentary, but then I would have to listen to Paul Jones (yikes!). I don’t have access to FSN, but good God, it might be worth the investment.