Toronto Raptors at Utah Jazz

Well it has been an interesting last few days eh? Finally a game to watch and not have to listen to 1400 opinions on what happened, why it happened and what is ahead. It will be a great test to see what kind of team this is with the killer sked of games coming up. Will they man up and take the firing of SMitch as a wake up call or was it not Sam at all and the team just sucks?

I am hoping for the first option of course but I am not sold yet. The potential and talent is there but from what I have seen of the Raptors compared to other teams on their level, is they don’t compete for 48 minutes. Indiana has beaten the Celtics and Lakers and they are not a more talented team. They work hard and take every night as a challenge.

Raptors nation is interested to see what goes down tonight in Salt Lake and hopefully it does not look anything like what happened in Denver. Buckle up Jay, it is going to be a bumpy ride.

Here is everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

The goods

  • The Raptors are ranked last in the NBA in fast-break points (6.6 per game).
  • The Raptors have dropped four of five on the road, including the first two on this trip, and Chris Bosh needs to improve his play away from Toronto. He is averaging 17.0 points on 40.0 percent shooting in his last three road games compared to 33.8 points on 56.3 percent shooting in his last four home games.
  • In his only game against Utah (12-8) last season, Bosh had 14 points and seven rebounds in Toronto’s 92-88 loss.
  • The Raptors have had little luck against the Jazz lately, dropping six straight to them since a 98-86 victory on Dec. 22, 2004. Toronto has also lost its last three trips to EnergySolutions Arena, and is 3-9 all-time in Utah.
  • Carlos Boozer is expected to miss his ninth straight game with a strained tendon in his left thigh, and Andrei Kirilenko (ankle soreness) and Matt Harpring (strained back) might also miss this contest.
  • Utah, which was a league-best 37-4 at home in 2007-08, is 8-3 there this season. The Jazz have averaged just 88.5 points in losing their last two home games after averaging 106.3 points in their first nine in Utah. They have not dropped three straight home games since April 7-14, 2007.

For bettors

  • Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings.
  • Over is 5-2 in the last 7 meetings in Utah.
  • Favorite is 5-2 ATS in the last 7 meetings.
  • Raptors are 1-5 ATS in the last 6 meetings.

Prediction

This one is impossible to predict. Utah is injured and the Raps are in chaos. Normally I would say this seems like an ideal situation to steal one on the road but to be honest I will be happy if the team just tries for the whole game. Utah wins 95-90.

Other links

Raptors Republic - Exciting times for an 8-9 team.
Hoop Head North - Bye bye Sam.
Raptorblog - Was Bargnani partially to blame for Sam getting canned?

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