Two days after being shocked by New York in the home/season opener, Toronto hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the past, this would have been a nightmare for the Raptors because of one man: LeBron James. However, LeBron is playing now for the Miami Heat because of his betrayal of the Cavs. These Raptors came out to play last night and pummelled them 101-81. This game was a close matchup for most of the way, with Toronto leading up until the 3rd quarter when the Raps found their offensive game and starting blowing the opposition out. When the score was 56-48 in favour of the Raptors, the team went on a 21-7 run for the rest of the quarter (7 minutes) to boost their lead to 20 points. After that, the game was Toronto's the rest of the way. Heroes for the Raptors were newcomer Lithuanian starting small forward Linas Kleiza and starting power forward Reggie Evans. Kleiza was most notable in the 3rd quarter Raptors run, where he scored 13 of his 19 points. He repeatedly posted up former Raptor forward Jamario Moon and showed his strength and size advantage. Reggie meanwhile didn't put up great offensive numbers, but he did pull down 14 rebounds for the team, giving him 30 overall through the two games. These numbers are encouraging for a team weaker in the forward spot as a result of Chris Bosh bolting for Miami. Time for some key statistics from the game:
- Andrea Bargnani's points-per-game average so far: 21.0
- double-digit rebounding games in a row for Reggie Evans: 2
- Raptors 26-16 in fast break points
- Raptors 46-33 in rebounds
- 19 turnovers for both teams
Here is the recap for the first victory: The Dinos Feast on the Cavs in Win
Toronto is now 1-1 on the season and will wait until Monday to play against the Sacramento Kings on the road as they begin a 4-game Western Conference swing. The game starts at 10 PM and if you have the new Rogers Sportsnet One channel, you can watch it on there. Otherwise just listen to the game on the radio (AM 590) or wait until the scores and recaps are officially posted on media outlets.
In other news...I'm sorry that I haven't been blogging about the Knights lately; I've been following the Raptors and how LeBron has been treated around the league whenever Miami's played on the road. The team did win last night vs the Guelph Storm 3-1. Daniel Erlich lead the way with 2 goals with teammate Steven Sanza chipping in with one of his own. Peter Holland scored for Guelph's only goal .Shots on goal favoured the Knights 47-42, indicating a high-flying goaltender-testing contest. London now plays tonight at home vs the Saginaw Spirit. Game time is 7:30 PM. Catch you all later.
P.S.: Chris Bosh did an interview yesterday to clarify his "being on TV" statement. He stated that his reason for this is the perception of players brought on by fans and the media in sports: if you're not on the big TV highlight reels, people don't know about you and they think that you are not good. While I understand and respect Chris's reason for the statement and him for wanting to talk to Toronto directly about the matter, this was still an unwise move to make. You shouldn't even think about TV, just think about your game. This should also slap fans and media gurus in the face because we have helped to create this mess. Shame on all of us! The fact that he had to defend this shows the character of Bosh (bothered by popular opinion) and the poor sportsmanship of the Raptors fans. I should apologize to Chris here because I MYSELF have been involved in this awful behaviour. We should leave his life alone and wish him all the best even though the manner in which he left Toronto was immature. Also in the interview, Bosh talked about being distracted by the free agency talk because of the media questioning. The media should just cool it and leave Chris alone. Sure he acted immaturely and treated the Raptors as a secondary option, but he doesn't need you to make it worse. A word of advice to Chris is in order however: don't focus on distractions, even if it's extremely difficult. I'm sure you know, Chris but I just wanted to remind you of this as it helped lead to your exit from our wonderful team. Anyways, I hope you do well in your career; I just don't want a Heat championship. I'm sorry, but I dislike your teammate (LeBron James) for what he did to Cleveland via his ESPN special. If you ever want to play for the Raptors again, you know where we are. I would love it if you ever decide to come back to us. For now though, you take care!
For the rest of us: here's the link to the Bosh interview: Bosh Clarifies his "TV" Statement Later!
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