Toronto Delivers A Knockout Punch

By Ryan McNeill
for HOOPSADDICT.com

Published: November 5, 2009

After racing out to a 17-point lead midway through the game, Toronto allowed Detroit to scrap and claw back in the fourth quarter.

What was once a sizeable lead turned into a one point advantage for Detroit at 91-90.

In years past the team would have faded and conceded a loss. Not these Raptors. They endured a punch in the gut from a feisty Detroit squad and responded with a thunderous knockout punch courtesy of a 20-8 run to close the game.

Earlier this week Antoine Wright talked with the media about the need to punch teams early and often so it was refreshing to see the team follow through and actually do this.

“It basically comes down to if you want to win the game or not,” Bosh explained to Hoops Addict after the game. “Guys who don’t want to win the game? They probably would have just let that bother them too much and there would have problems after that. We probably would have lost the game. But we’re going to defend our home court. We were really hungry for the win. Yeah, they had a run. It happens. But we did a good job of tightening up the defense and we responded well.”

The key isn’t just wanting to win these games, it’s wanting to earn or keep their playing time. As Doug Smith has said on his blog today, playing time is like oxygen to NBA players. Because of this you’ll see players refuse to give up whenever they are on the court this season because every game basically translate into a player begging Triano for more minutes.

Unlike last season when the coaching staff would look down the bench to see Joey Graham, Patrick O’Bryant, Jake Voskuhl, Will Solomon, Roko Ukci or Pops Mensah-Bonsu praying for minutes, the coaching staff now has a deep bench to turn to when players aren’t getting things done.

So far this season the Raptors have been given a spark from Amir Johnson providing help with full court pressure while also helping on the glass. Jack has played at such a high level that some members of the media have wondered if at some point this season he’ll wrestle the starting spot from Jose Calderon. And Antoine Wright has checked his ego at the door while providing the kind of gritty defensive presence the team has been sorely lacking the past season. Throw in the scoring spark Marco Belinelli provides and it’s a deep bench that rivals any in the NBA.

It’s largely due to this new depth that the team is now fighting a little harder and digging in their heels when adversity hits.

And, as a fan, that’s all you can ask for because it’s that the kind of attitude which will result in the team picking up some gritty wins like Wednesday’s win over Detroit.

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Toronto Delivers A Knockout Punch

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