Raptors Post Game Report Card: Andrea Bargnani Returns, Scores Season-High 36 as Raptors Halt Skid vs Phoenix Suns
Welcome back, Andrea. What a difference one player can make. The Raptors finally snapped their awful 8 game losing streak with a win against the Phoenix Suns, defeating them for the first time since Feb. 10th, 2004, winning 99-96.
The Raps looked shaky off the bat, but as Andrea Bargnani found his rhythm, the Raptors fed off of his energy and never looked back.
Aaron Gray was inserted into the starting line-up today instead of Amir Johnson. I will analyse that closely on Thursday in my weekly mailbag.
Let’s get to the report card:
Offence- B
Positives
Andrea Bargnani showed signs of rust in the first quarter, but after that was absolutely on fire. Bargnani scored a season high 36, and was virtually unguardable.
James Johnson’s offensive spurt also continued, as he scored 18. Leandro Barbosa put up 19 against his former team.
Negatives
Once again, the Raptors had another slow start. It’s hard to win games when you are trying to cut into leads throughout the entire contest.
DeMar DeRozan was a non-factor, as he just can’t seem to shake his slump. He managed a mere 4 points in 22 minutes.
Defence- C
Positives
After half time, the Raptors took over the game, and locked up the Suns. Andrea Bargnani was solid defensively.
Negatives
Not a very good defensive game overall. Throughout the game there were many plays where the Raptors just didn’t give enough effort, giving the Suns easy buckets.
Rebounding- A-
Positives
The small forwards carried the Raptors on the glass today. James Johnson and Linas Kleiza both contributed 10 boards each.
Negatives
Marcin Gortat was abusing the Raptor big men in the paint, and nobody seemed to be able to box out the Polish hammer.
Overall, it was a solid effort by the Raps. It was nice to see Bargnani return, and he was spectacular in this one. The Raps won’t have much time to rest as they head to Utah tomorrow night.
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