Toronto Raptors Fanclub

[Livaso 0]

The bench is looking ridiculous. Its just pre-season so I won't put too much weight into the performance of some at the very far end of the bench but I have to admit I'm impressed with the way they played against the Bulls. The strategy from last year of 2nd string slaughtering looks like it'll work again this year.Bargnani looks devastating so far. I thought maybe because they were playing against smaller players in the Euro club games but he really is driving more and is still effortless from 25 feet. Did anybody see him leading the fast break in the other game? Match-up hell.I hope Bosh gets over this injury bug.

[Livaso 0]

Bumping to keep hockey from killing the thread.The Raptors picked up Joey Graham's option which is nice. He's very talented and reminds me of McGrady back when he was around. Young and very athletic and just waiting to explode. He's not going to get any minutes at all this year but they can't let him walk.

[defy 0]

I'm so pumped about this season for the raptors! Especially as i see the leafs playing worse each and every game..lol. Really excited to see how Kapono fits in with the team during the regular season! Im looking into buying some tickets for a game later this season..anyone have suggestions on where i should sit if i don't wanna be paying more than 150?

[FCP Bob 1,312]

I'm so pumped about this season for the raptors! Especially as i see the leafs playing worse each and every game..lol. Really excited to see how Kapono fits in with the team during the regular season! Im looking into buying some tickets for a game later this season..anyone have suggestions on where i should sit if i don't wanna be paying more than 150?

The absolute best bang for your buck is the first row in the upper bowl. I'm paying $1200 for a pair for 15 games this year.I'll be at the opener tomorrow vs the Sixers. Anybody else going ?

[Livaso 0]

Everything they did wrong during the first half they fixed in the third quarter. Perfect rotation and great ball movement. It fell apart after they got a 20 point lead. I was hoping they were more mature than that this year and they'd get a lead and hold it and limit runs. I guess that's something they'll be working on all year.Dalembert clogged the lane and Bosh wasn't 100% especially in the fourth. He was taking too long to make his move and was just throwing himself at the basket. Bargnani was great. Blew some rebounds but he was always going after it. The disrespect he gets is mind boggling both by officials and by basketball pundits.I'll leave it at that. I missed basketball.

[ghoti 0]

Good to see Bargnani start the season strong and TJ Calderon have a great game. The Raps may still be a mediocre rebounding team but their T.O. - steals stats have been very good and hopefully under control guards will make that even better. Now if Bosh can just keeps his legs healthy they can go a long way.

[Gigalow 2000 0]

Pumped to watch every Raps game this year...sick! Great only having one team in the Canadian market.Hope Vince gets lit up tonight...need some revenge for playoffs last year

[Livaso 0]

that was the most dominant performance I've ever watched by the Raptors. Wow.I want to add that I watched this game on the YES New Jersey feed and right from the beginning the announcers gave the Raptors a lot of respect. More than I've heard from lesser teams while watching rival feeds.Where to start. TJ Ford + Jose Calderon is unstoppable. They actually should have taken Calderon out in garbage time but Martin wasn't dressed. As soon as the Kidd and Ford left the game, the second string goes on to outscore the Nets bench something like 22 to 3 in the second quarter alone. This strategy I'd say picked up 60% of the Raptor wins last year. It'll play an even bigger part this year.Bosh's 55 foot shot at the half was very nice. identical to his one last year. Bargnani is averaging 20 and 6 so far in 2 games. He's officially the Raptors C and will put up numbers like that all year. Book it.

[Livaso 0]

Celtics-Raptors on CBC in an hour.This is a good barometer for Toronto. Bosh may be the only person athletic enough to play Garnett one on one and vice versa. Hopefully they take each other out of the game and Toronto's depth can nudge its way through.If the Raptors lose nobody would be surprised but if they win they'll have to be taken very seriously in the East.

[Jadaki 0]

Celtics-Raptors on CBC in an hour.This is a good barometer for Toronto. Bosh may be the only person athletic enough to play Garnett one on one and vice versa. Hopefully they take each other out of the game and Toronto's depth can nudge its way through.If the Raptors lose nobody would be surprised but if they win they'll have to be taken very seriously in the East.

Garnett is still to experienced for Bosh, and no one in the league can stop KG from getting his jumper off. Not to mention he is the most unselfish big man in the game, if Bosh plays him well he will use his teammates effectively. Should be a good game though.

[Livaso 0]

Ray Allen just hit the three to win it in OT as I type this.It was a messy game and Celtics defense was incredible on the Raps. Considering they were able to do what they did with nothing falling for them is impressive.The Raptors stood toe to toe with the team who was supposed to win the east before their first game and pushed it to the last shot. Hopefully the basket looks a mile wide after this game and they go on a nice run of wins

[Livaso 0]

Bargnani is averaging 20 and 6 so far in 2 games. He's officially the Raptors C and will put up numbers like that all year. Book it.

Well now don't I feel silly.He put up good numbers against the magic once he got going but he started the game a little slow.He's officially coming off the bench again. They're just starting out sooo slow and that's what's hurting them. 3 games in a row now where they've shot under 30% in the first quarter. that's got to change and having the bigger Nesterovic on the block to start the game will at least open up some inside-outside movement even if he doesn't put up any numbers

[Gigalow 2000 0]

Common Raps...get hungry

[Livaso 0]

Jamario Moon is all of a sudden a fan favourite in Toronto. He's a former globetrotter so I hope they put him in the slam dunk contest. I imagine ex-globetrotters have a significant advantage in that department.Also everybody watch this, its pretty funny:http://youtube.com/watch?v=ECV0N19xRaA

[defy 0]

and the raptors blow another game... Played good all the way up to the fourth quarter where they went like 4 for 20..ridiculous.

[defy 0]

another 25 point lead blown..what else is new?..

[Livaso 0]

A pulled groin kind of sucks but I'm optimistic that he'll still be a useful body for this weekend. If LeBron doesn't play against us on Friday, I'd give him the day off or limited minutes. As for Bargnani's knee on knee, that's a pisser but if it were the playoffs and a close game he'd have come back. I might be overly optimistic but it doesn't seem like huge big time injuries. Plus Ford will be back and probably in the second string. I'd love to watch Eric Snow try to stay in front of TJ. I was away so couldn't comment on Moon's 15(?)pt, 9 rb, 3 steal and 6 block game.Its fathomable for him to get a 5 by 5 this year. He had 2 blocks in the first 3 minutes against Memphis. Has a rookie ever done a 5 by 5?

[Ottawa_Biatch 288]

Calderon is amazing. I think he should be the starter before Ford. He gets more people involved.

[Ottawa_Biatch 288]

Nice win by the Raptors last night but the injuries are starting to pile up

[defy 0]

after a sloppy win over the #1 team in the west..i think this thread needs a revival!

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

The all noshow team: http://tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=229106&hubname=I became a Raptors fan after the Grizzles left Vancouver (stop laughing). The Grizzlies had a few of these as well, except even bench warmers refused to come here.

[Pokerroad 0]

Kapono Wins the 3pt shootout!Something to hand your hat on when getting knocked outin the second round.

[fleung22 1]

I take total blame for the demise of this thread but let it be known I still support the Raps 100%.I've actually been following closely but haven't been around FCP.Every game is obviously important but the performance with Bosh back this week will really set the confidence metre leading up to the playoffs (assuming they make it of course)GO RAPS GO!

[Ottawa_Biatch 288]

Raps are inserted Rasho and Ford into the starting line-up tonight..Let's go Raps.All though in the off-season I really hope, they sign Calderon to a long-term deal. Maybe even trade Ford for some presence up front?

[fleung22 1]

Raps are inserted Rasho and Ford into the starting line-up tonight..Let's go Raps.All though in the off-season I really hope, they sign Calderon to a long-term deal. Maybe even trade Ford for some presence up front?

nono...that's just panic talking. colangelo has already stated that they will match any offer in order to keep calderon.I have no problem adding more size to the team but I haven't given up on bargnani. this team is still young...people forget how much they sucked just 16 months ago.the raps leader is not even in his mid-late 20s (prime time) and he's one of the older players on the team. I have confidence that colangelo will give the raps the right combination of patience and upgrade over the next 2-3 years. we're not looking at a championship team no matter how you roll the dice so focusing on proper development is key for the future.mean while, the wins are fun and the losses are just experience.