Raptors Reaction: Nov 28 @ Memphis Grizzlies

Another ugly game for the Raptors. Andrea Bargnani was out of the line-up, which intruiged me since his name is in the middle of all sorts of trade rumors. I viewed this as a chance to see what the Raptors offense would look like if Bargs gets shipped out of town. My optimism quickly eroded, though, as it was announced Linas Kleiza would be in the starting lineup. Essesntially, the Raptors replaced one offensive black-hole (Bargnani) with another (Kleiza). I hate Linas Kleiza, and last night was a shining example of why. But I'll touch on that a little more in the good and the bad from last night (last night was heavy on the bad).

The Good:

• The Raps' first half (especially the first quarter) was actually quite good. They were competitive on both ends, and actually had a lead at the end of the first quarter.
• Ed Davis looked pretty good starting in place of Bargnani. He had a really bad charge early, but his offensive game has looked pretty good all year and last night was no exception. He struggles a bit defensively, but he's definitely an upgrade over Bargs on that end of the floor (though it would literally be impossible to be a worse defender than Andrea).
• Ever since I crushed DeMar DeRozan's new deal he's played well. Tony Allen, one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, was on DeRozan for most of the night and yet DeMar still managed16 points on 5-for-10 shooting. He got to the rim early, and hit a couple threes late.
• Quincy Acy played only 4 minutes, but managed to get a flagrant foul for wrestling Rudy Gay to the floor. Talk about making an impact in limited minutes.

The Bad:

• Linas Kleiza. He started the game hot, making his first couple shots and getting an early assist and I started to worry that he was going to make me look bad for hating on him after the Houston game. But then he pulled a classic Kleiza, posting-up from the wing and shooting over and over again. Somehow, this dude has it in his head that the long-range post-up is his best weapon, and it is just painful. The next time I see him slowly back into the middle of the key, and shoot an out-of-control turn-around jumper I'm going to lose it. By halftime, he had more shot attempts (13) than the rest of the starters combined (12).The guy finished 5-of-15 from the floor. Oh, that assist he got in the first couple minutes? It was his only one of the night. Talk about a black-hole...
• Just one night after having his best game as a pro, Terrence Ross struggled against Memphis. He just couldn't find his shot, though I'm encouraged that he was looking to score. I genuinely think that only 1 of his 13 field goal attempts was a bad shot, a definite good sign.
• Valanciunas had a really tough night, going for just 2 points and 2 rebounds. To be fair, he was going against the best front court in the league.
• Third quarters are killing the Raptors this year. Yet again, this reared its head as the Raps were outscored 33-14 in the 3rd. That was pretty much the ball game right there.
• Again, Memphis' front-court is stellar. That's still no excuse for getting out rebounded 46-33. You can't win many games like that.
• I can't stress enough how painful Linas Kleiza was last night.

The Raptors have Thursday night off and then play Phoenix on Friday at home. The Raptors should win this game, but they have played really poorly of late, so who knows? It remains to be seen if Andrea Bargnani will be back in the lineup Friday, but if he isn't available let's all hope Kleiza doesn't get the start.