Raptors Win Despite Adversity

And no one saw this one coming...

Well, the Raptors have started off their regular season on a very good foot, beating the Cavaliers 101-91. I tried to tell people that the preseason is pretty much meaningless, but no one would believe me. Maybe they will now.

Anyway, the win against the Cavs did not come easy and really, did anyone really expect it would? Frankly, I don't think anyone thought they had a chance at all. Heck, I am optimist and I figured that at best they would play competitively with the Cavs but still lose. I have never been happier to be wrong!

First things first, the reffing was hideous. There were some VERY questionable calls in that game, especially against Andrea. If he hadn't been forced out by fouls they probably would have won by considerably more. There was also a non-existent blocking foul on Bosh near the end of the game. He set up perfectly to take the charge on LeBron on that one and I guarantee you he got called ONLY because it LeBron! Calls like that piss me off so much, but thats an article for another time.

The Raptors dominated in that game in every way, most impressively on the defensive end. If they play like that throughout the season it should do wonders to correct their reputation as soft and lacking in defensive capabilities. However, I am going to continue to hold my breath for now. Another telling stat is they got out-rebounded by only 1 board and I'd say overall the Cavs have a better board grabbing team. THANK YOU BOSH! Bargnani was also terrific, as were several of the bench players like Wright. Finally, DeRozan, while he didn't put up great numbers, showed maturity, defensive toughness and lots of hustle, all good signs. Calderon also seems to have recovered from his injury issues from last year, which is good.

I will end this by pointing out one key thing that I think is more telling as to who the Raptors are and will be this season. During the game they built up several large leads and then lost them. In the past, such comebacks by the opponents would have spelled disaster and a loss for the Raptors. However, this time around, they held together, played well defensively and recovered their leads each and every time and they did it against the Cavs no less! Their depth definitely helped and losing Andrea to questionable foul calls did not.

Colangelo is already looking like a genius (again).

The Raptors are 1-0...Lets go Raptors!

Cheerio!