Game 33: Raps vs. Rockets - Post-game
A few things we talked about in the pre-game actually happened (T-Mac pulling a disappearing act as he occasionally does, Artest shooting bricks, Rafer not being able to move properly), which all contributed to the Raptors win tonight, but the real factor was Andrea being able to shut down Yao. With JO out, I was a little worried about Andrea being able to handle Yao, because while Andrea has made defensive strides this season compared to last, guarding Yao is a completely different story.
Andrea played Yao tough, getting up on him and just generally making life uncomfortable for him. There was always a hand in his face and when you combine that with Jake “All 6″ Voskuhl coming in to rough Yao up a bit more, it just wasn’t something that Yao looked like he wanted any part of.
The general mood and mindset of the Rockets coming into this game wasn’t good. When you have all of your stars making comments in the paper about how poorly your team is playing, that doesn’t bode well for upcoming games. You could almost hear the defeat in their voices and read it in their words. Like Chris Bosh said, The only thing that has to change is our mentality coming into the games. The Rockets didnèt have the right mindset coming into this game and were pretty much done before the tipoff. A lot of the time, it does not matter who you have on the court or how you have been playing of late, what matters is how you prepare for and attack the game at hand.
The Raptors are going to have to do something about their backup guard situation. While Wil Solomon had a nice game tonight, I just cannot see him as a long term solution for Jose Calderon, whose hamstring problems are most likely going to continue throughout the season. Once you have a strain, it is likely to come up again and again during the season, because you just do not have the time to a) get the proper therapy; b) get the right muscle strength ratio between the hamstring and quadricep; c) get the right workout in place, which would need to include a lot of Yoga. Yeah, I said it. Yoga. For hamstring injuries, it is an essential part of rehab.
There have been constant reports that BC is open and available for trades and at this point, if he is looking to do something to make the team better for this season, I might avoid looking at dealing a ton of talent in something big, instead looking for a deal that could get the Raptors a seasoned vet who can keep things running smoothly while Jose is out. If the Raptors were more comfortable with their PG situation, they would be able to take more time with Jose and get him back into action completely healthy.
Anyway, a nice win for the Raptors. As we mentioned in the pre-game, the Rockets were ripe for the picking and the Raptors capitalized. Hopefully this will be the injection of confidence they needed.
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