Early in the season, the Raptors were known for helping break other team's losing slumps. Now, they're snapping their own. In back to back games, the Raptors ended a 14-game losing streak to the Phoenix Suns and a 12-game losing streak to the Utah Jazz with a 111-106 win in double OT.

Yet again, the Raptors fell down early, trailing by as many as 18 before using a 9-0 run to trail 32-23 after one quarter. However, the tempo of the game changed when Dwane Casey provided a different look defensively, playing a zone defense, and the Raptors managed to draw even at 50-50 going into the second half.

Andrea Bargnani helped keep the Raptors close with his 25 points, James Johnson chipped in on the defensive end with a career-high 6 blocks and Jose Calderon forced OT with a 3 to tie it at the end of regulation.

One negative coming out of the game was that Andrea reaggravated his left calf strain and had to sit out in the first OT. He will be reevaluated tomorrow. However, Linas Kleiza provided the offensive spark once Bargnani went down. He finished with 25 points including 4-9 from 3. Calderon provided the dagger down the stretch, hitting a long, shot-clock beating 3 to push the Raptors lead to 6 with 1:26 left in 2OT.

Rejoice Raps fans, a 2-game WINNING streak!

Hey Raptors faithful, how's that W taste? The answer is simply delicious! Andrea Bargnani brought his Primo game with 36 points, Leandro Barbosa added 19 against his former team and James Johnson chipped in with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Raptors snapped their 8-game losing streak with a 99-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center.

Dwane Casey inserted Aaron Gray into the starting lineup and with the return of Andrea Bargnani, the Raptors hoped to prevent a slow start, a problem that has plagued them on their 8-game losing streak. Casey also went to the bench early to try and maintain the energy level. However, despite their best efforts, the Toronto still trailed by 10 after one.

In the second quarter, the Raptors managed to chip into the Suns lead with solid defensive effort, enabling them to push the ball more and get into their offense quicker. Barbosa had three 3 pointers in Toronto's 31-point quarter, trailing 52-48 at the half.

The Raptors scored another 31 points in the third as Bargnani got it going, hitting 4-5 from 3. They seized control with their hot shooting which in turn, energized their defense, holding the Suns scoreless over a 4-minute stretch. The Suns rallied late in the fourth quarter behind Steve Nash (17 points and 14 assists) but came up short.

It's been rough start for the Toronto Raptors, who are currently on an 8 game losing streak, most recently losing their latest game at the Staples Center vs. the Clippers. Things aren't looking much better for the rest of January, as they continue their road trip for 4 more games facing the Suns, Jazz, Nuggets, and Nets until they return home against the soar Atlanta Hawks on January 31st.

One bright spot is that Andrea Bargnani will be back in the lineup for tonight's game against the Phoenix Suns, after missing the previous 6 games with a strained left calf.

Our own Payal Doshi offers her thoughts on the Raptors' play during this current 8 game slide:



Here's to hoping the Raptors can start a fresh streak in the win column tonight against the Phoenix Suns!

With the NBA back in session, and this season's 66 game schedule announced, players & team officials alike are getting back to work in anticipation of being able to officially practice and have team meetings to get ready for a condensed 2011-2012 season that will prove to be quite the physical & mental grind.

Akil Augustine & Sherman Hamilton of NBA TV Canada spoke with several Toronto Raptors players who were at the Air Canada Centre practice facility today getting workouts in and meeting with strength & conditioning coaches in preparation of what will be a whirlwind training camp & pre-season.

DeMar DeRozan, Ed Davis, Jose Calderon, Jerryd Bayless, and James Johnson were on hand and spoke with Akil & Sherman about their offseason and what they expect for this upcoming NBA season that will officially soon be underway.

All of the player interviews can be seen here via Raptors.com.

Raptors GM & President, Bryan Colaneglo, stated today that a 3rd point guard, a small forward (with Linas Kleiza still 1-2 months away from being able to return), and a back up center will be 3 of the positions that the Raptors will be targeting in free agency. The Raptors want to maintain as much financial flexibility as possible going into the summer of 2012 - therefore re-signing players like Reggie Evans and Julian Wright are not an immediate priority for Raptors management, according to Colangelo. It is expected that the Raptors will have anywhere from $10M to $20M in available salary cap space to try and recruit and sign players once 2012 free agency begins this coming summer.

**It was announced this evening via TSN.ca that the Raptors have signed veteran center and Canadian, Jamaal Magloire to a one year contract.

Canadian basketball & Steve Nash fans:

Are you looking for ways to fill the void that the NBA is currently leaving? Well, we have something to help you forget about the lockout blues, at least for a 'minute'!

The fine people at vitaminwater Canada have set up a contest where you submit a minute long video about why you believe you deserve to meet and co-star with Steve Nash in his next online vitaminwater commercial! As an added incentive for your minute long video, vitaminwater Canada are also giving away an 'Are You Nash Enough' prize pack including an assortment of vitaminwater products AND an autographed Steve Nash basketball!



Here are the contest details, requirements, and how to enter:

The “Nash Enough?” Prize Pack - Heads up all Steve Nash fans! glacéau vitaminwater is offering a Nash Enough prize pack including glacéau vitaminwater, an autographed Steve Nash mini-basketball and a chance to meet the basketball superstar AND co-star with him in his next online video!  From now until November 30, Steve Nash and glacéau vitaminwater are teaming up for the “Nash Enough” contest – to enter, visit www.vitaminwatercanada.ca/nash and submit a 1 minute video about why you think you’re “Nash Enough” to win! (Canadian entries only)

How to Tweet your prize pack ballot:

For your chance to win the “are you nash enough” prize pack, tweet the following to either @seanfrancois or @romyaquino: 

@seanfrancois i want to win the “i am nash enough?” prize pack @vitaminwater_ca

or

@romyaquino i want to win the “i am nash enough?” prize pack @vitaminwater_ca

The overall contest runs until November 30th, but you have until end of day November 27th to tweet us for a chance to win the 'Are You Nash Enough' prize pack.

Don't forget to submit your minute long video entry at www.vitaminwatercanada.ca/nash for a chance to meet and co-star with Steve Nash in his next online vitaminwater video!

Good Luck everyone!

When Chris Bosh left town last summer, it was clear that the season would be a serious struggle. And struggle the Raptors did, all the way to the third worst record in the Association. However the ping pong balls did not fall how everyone wished, and Canada's team was left with the fifth overall pick in last night's draft. 

There were a lot of names that were being mentioned as potential targets for the Raps in this draft class, many of them being guards. Kemba Walker, the NCAA champion from UConn and Brandon Knight from the University of Kentucky were amongst the fan favourites for that fifth pick. Both are guards on an already guard heavy team, so it was curious as to why so many devout followers of the team were interested in adding another ball handler so the squad. Barbosa, Bayless & Calderon all play the one or the two, and there simply would not be any playing time for another one in the mix.

So if it was not to be one of the college guards, then it had to be Bismack Biyombo, right? The massive Congolese player had burst onto the scene in the past few months and had worked his way into the top end of the lottery. His defensive intensity and ceiling made him one of the most mysterious players in the draft. It seemed as if he would be able to fit in perfectly in new head coach Dwane Casey's system to a T.

But then something else happened. David Stern walked up to the podium and announced that the Toronto Raptors had selected Jonas Valanciunas, a seven-footer from Lithuania with a serious unresolved buyout situation. You could hear the groans across the country loud and clear. Many Raptors faithful have become fed up with the European experiment that Colangelo and Gheradini have taken us for in the past five years. When they were winning, it was okay, but as soon as the team started losing, it was easy to point the finger at the outsiders.

 

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Much to the dismay of Raptors fans, the Draft Lottery did not go as planned, and they ended up with the fifth overall selection. In the final month of the season, a few Raptors fans, myself included, were cheering against the team and in favour the the T-Wolves, Cavaliers, Kings and the rest of the teams in the basement of the league.

But the ping-pong balls did not fall in order, and after ending the season with the third worst record in the league, they ended up with a worse pick then they expected in one of the worst drafts in recent memory. So where do they go from here?

The Raptors are a team in flux. After losing their franchise player Chris Bosh to free agency last year, they endured a rough season to say the least. A few young players rose to the occasion, including sophomore DeMar DeRozan and rookie Ed Davis. Newly acquired Jerryd Bayless finally got a chance to play major minutes, and showed why he was worthy of such a high draft pick a few years back.

So what does this team need to take the next step? Well a war of words has erupted between supposed franchise player Andrea Bargnani and newly extended GM Bryan Colangelo, and many Raptors faithful are in favour of pulling the plug on the former first overall selection, and shipping him out of town. Bargnani was described by Colangelo as the “enigma of enigmas” in his post-season news conference, and it is clear that the love affair is over.

The Raptors wrapped up a disappointing season last night as they fell to the Miami Heat sans the Big Three. They ended the season with a 22-60 record, and it was about as ugly as you can imagine in their first season since Bosh headed to South Beach. But amidst the losing record and the pile of injuries that stacked up over the course of the year, there are some positives that can be taken away from this season for Canada’s lone franchise.

The biggest highlight of the season was the play of DeMar DeRozan. The sophomore avoided anything resembling a second year slump, as he raised his scoring average from 8.6ppg to 17.2ppg, and on top of that he managed to play every single game this season. The two-guard out of Compton has put himself on the map as a legit scorer in the Association, and should only continue to improve his game. DeMar is just 21 years old, so he has plenty of time to grow into his skills and continue to develop his body.

DeMar & Ed

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The Colangelo regime and the Bargnani era go hand in hand. BC and Gheradini made Andrea the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, and he has blossomed into a rather impressive spot up offensive shooter, but his overall game ends up bringing the rest of the team down. His rebounding troubles have been well documented, as he continues to only average in the neighborhood of five rebounds per while standing seven feet tall.

When he is on the floor, Jay is forced to run sets for him on the offensive end in an attempt to get him involved in the action. Constant pick and rolls from the top of the key which lead to him flailing in the air while trying to draw a foul. He is half decent at drawing fouls, but watching him do so is seriously painful.

He sat out the Raptors most recent game, an impressive win over the Magic, and the Raps looked better off without him. They were able to run non-stop and let their guards take the lead. Jerryd and DeRo both had huge games as the athletic bigs were able to get them the ball and keep it alive. Ed had a big game on both ends of the floor, including a thunderous dunk over Brandon Bass. James Johnson was running on the wing and distributing the ball to everyone, not just the big tower in the middle.

In a twist on the weekly links posting we used to do, I've compiled some Toronto Raptors and Canadian basketball related links you may have missed in the past week or two that I found particularly noteworthy, insightful, interesting, and/or well written.

Without anymore build up, let's get to the links shall we? I hope you enjoy:

"James Johnson: The NBA first round pick with quite a kick" - Cagewriter (a Yahoo! Sports blog) (via @Tim_Micallef)

"Egos & Icons: Chris Bosh Gets Booed" - Toro Magazine (via @skittlebrau78)

"KABONGO, WILTJER & BIRCH NAMED MCDONALD'S ALL AMERICANS" - Canada Basketball (via Ray Bala (@CanBallReport) of 'Canadian Content' on RaptorsHQ)

"CIS men's basketball Wednesday roundup: Saint Mary's Haywood sets AUS single season point record" - Canadian Interuniversity Sport (@CIS_SIC)

"CIS Final 8: Despite Dominating In Halifax, Ravens & ScotiaBank Place Fail In Ottawa" - Basketball Buzz (@basketballbuzz)

"Starting 5- Be Like Myck (Interview with Myck Kabango)" - Dino Nation Blog (via James Borbath @dinonationblog)