Ouch, that Stung...

November 22, 2:20 p.m. I just got done watching “The Game” again. How do you explain another double digit lead loss? For the third time this season our Raptors have lost a sizeable lead. The first time was in Boston, up 16 in the third, we explained it away with the brilliance of Paul Pierce, the wagging finger and defence of KG and the timely shooting of Ray Allen. Last Tuesday the Raptors held a 10-point advantage in the second quarter. Dwight Howard was quiet until JO picked up another foul with 3:58 remaining in the half and then Jameer Nelson played like he did in the playoffs against the Raptors and he teamed with Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu for 66 points. Last night Bosh was brilliant, tying his career high with 42 points. But after the game he said it was a tough loss because “we didn’t do everything right and we made a lot of mistakes.” Andrea Bargnani produced a career night in his fourth-straight start at the three-sport with 29 points. Jose in his second game back after missing two straight and not close to 100 percent put up a double double with 26 points and 15 assists. The Raptors were rolling, up 18 and then... it wasn’t just one thing… It wasn’t just VC’s shot at the end to tie it, as Chris said, there were quite a few things…. The Raptors struggled against the Nets zone. The Raps were outrebounded in the third quarter, as the Bigs were left to help on dribble penetration. Devin Harris, after throwing up and spending time in the locker room came back, Brooke Lopez was efficient, Jarvis Hayes hit big shots in the corner... The Raptors turned it over 10 times in the fourth quarter and overtime! JO left with a strained knee with the Raptors up nine and 11:37 left in the fourth...Up seven with less than 1:30 left in regulation; turnover, missed shot… Up seven with 24 seconds left; turnover… Up two; missed free throw with 3.2 seconds left… Made free throw…Up three…then Vince… Getting caught on the switch for the Vince dunk to win in overtime… The Nets had 60 points in the paint and were plus 14 in second-chance points…Harris and Carter combined for 69 points...(you think Dallas wants Devin back?).. So many things…it was the perfect storm. Two questions… How is JO? Just received word from the Raptors PR staff… After tests last night, he has a strained knee as originally reported and he’s listed as day-to-day. The other question… How will they respond tomorrow with Boston in town? Will it be a repeat of how they responded after the Boston loss, when they shot 6 of 22 in the first quarter against Philly, or will they be resilient like they were in Miami on Wednesday after losing in Orlando the previous night? Game time is 12:30 pm on CBC. In other NBA news… PJ Carlesimo was fired by OKC last night after his team’s 10th straight loss… The Thunder have the league’s worst record. Assistant coach Scott Brooks takes over tonight in New Orleans. I wish PJ all the best. He’s a good man and a good coach. I’m sure he’ll find himself on an NBA bench soon as an assistant. Donnie Walsh is open for business… Yesterday he reshaped his New York roster by trading Zach Randolph to the Clippers and Jamal Crawford to Golden State. Both moves were made to clear financial space for… you guessed it… 2010. All the players Walsh received in the trade’s contracts expire in or before 2010. The Clippers with all their injuries made a good move to bring in Randolph. Zach, with a healthy Baron Davis and healthy Marcus Camby, should work wonders for the struggling Clips. Jamal Crawford was made for Nellie’s system, he’ll love his time in The Bay. I always enjoy hearing from you at mdevlin@raptors.com