GT: Raptors vs Bobcats Wed Nov 6 7:00PM EST

[Liver_Pooty]

Should win this game. Biyombo should see plenty of time vs Valenciunas.

[Liver_Pooty]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/397956000981860352[/tweet]

[lmcguir5]

Is it a sprained ankle or something worse? I can't believe a sprained ankle would actually keep him out this long, Im starting to wonder if its a ligament issue.

[Radu_Hornets]

Is it a sprained ankle or something worse? I can't believe a sprained ankle would actually keep him out this long, Im starting to wonder if its a ligament issue.

A twisted ankle can keep out a couple of month...

I know it's NBA and they usually can rehab more quickly but still...

[mrknowitall215]

Is it a sprained ankle or something worse? I can't believe a sprained ankle would actually keep him out this long, Im starting to wonder if its a ligament issue.

I'm sure it's just a sprained ankle. Jefferson could be playing right now, but he'd still be a little gimpy trying to play on it before it properly heals. The Bobcats is just being cautious not to rush him out there. I'm surprised that they even let him play the 1st game against the Rockets to possibly risk re-injuring it. I got a feeling that Jefferson may return on Friday against the Knicks

[MPM]

Is it a sprained ankle or something worse? I can't believe a sprained ankle would actually keep him out this long, Im starting to wonder if its a ligament issue.

I'm sure it's just a sprained ankle. Jefferson could be playing right now, but he'd still be a little gimpy trying to play on it before it properly heals. The Bobcats is just being cautious not to rush him out there. I'm surprised that they even let him play the 1st game against the Rockets to possibly risk re-injuring it. I got a feeling that Jefferson may return on Friday against the Knicks

I REALLY want to see Bargs or Amare on Big Al.

[mrknowitall215]

I REALLY want to see Bargs or Amare on Big Al.

Ditto. Jefferson should be able to have his way with both Bargnani & Stoudemire, KMart included

I'm really looking forward to tonight's matchups of Kemba vs Lowry, Henderson vs DeRozan, MKG vs Gay, McRoberts vs Amir, and Biyombo vs Valancunias

Both teams are coming off a back-to-back so there's really no excuse for the Bobcats to have a major letdown at home anywhere near similar to that game against the Pelicans. I wonder if there are any updates on Kemba's shoulder if necessary. I just hope it's not swollen & sore to the point where he might have to sit tonight. That'll damper my night of basketball even though I'll probably be watching the Bulls-Pacers game primarily with the Bobcats-Raptors game on pre-channel

[mrknowitall215]

Game #5: Bobcats vs. Raptors 3-on-3 Preview

1- STATS. Toronto leads the NBA in rebounding rate, yanking down 58.1% of all rebounds available. Charlotte, on the other hand is in the bottom 3 in the league at 45.3. What has the Raptors owning the glass against their opponents and will it continue tonight in Charlotte?

Spencer: The Bobcats showed some major progression last night in the rebounding department – it was definitely a team effort as the team’s SG + SF (Hendo & MKG) combined for 16 rebounds. Jeff Adrien has proved to be a problem down low for just about every team as well. Adrien is currently 2nd in the entire league in rebounding rate, pulling down 23.9% of all boards when he’s on the floor – that’s 2nd to only Dwight Howard.

As far as I can tell, Rudy Gay has asserted himself on the glass so far in the season and is carrying the load for Toronto in this category. I’d expect this to drop as the season continues due to the belief that Gay won’t consistently get 9.3 RPG and Valanciunas + Amir Johnson are going to have to bolster the rebounding effort for the Raptors.

Dakota: One of the main factors behind Toronto’s climb up the rebounding leader boards can be pointed to the addition of Tyler Hansbrough and continued performance by Jonas Valanciunas and Rudy Gay. While I am impressed by the way Toronto has been controlling the boards, I think that may change tonight as they face off against a Bobcats team that absolutely destroyed the Knicks the previous night because of their rebounding ability.

Doug Branson: Rudy Gay has to do something to hide the fact that he is in the worst shooting slump in his career and can’t protect the basketball. He decided all of a sudden that he would become an elite rebounder, averaging just under 10 a game. Hansborough off the bench has been able to come in, throw some elbows, make some questionable decisions with his stare downs and grab some boards. The Bobcats are not a great offensive rebounding team and can’t afford to miss a lot of open jump shots. This being the back-end of another back-to-back they probably will do just that. Advantage: Toronto.

2- OVER/UNDER. Much to my surprise, Demar is averaging 20.3 PPG and Rudy Gay is leading the Raptors rebounding party with 9.3 RPG. Over or under on these numbers tonight for this duo?

Spencer: UNDER. We’ll see how Hendo’s legs are after the thriller last night in MSG. On the other hand, DeMar is coming off a loss to Miami last night where he continued the hot start with 21 points. DeMar has the upper hand in this matchup because of his height – 6’7 vs. Hendo’s 6’5. It’ll be a battle of attrition.

UNDER. Gay vs. MKG is going to be real fun tonight. I have a feeling that Gay will settle for tons of jumpers tonight. For a few reasons: 1) MKG’s intensity and unwillingness to get beat off the dribble, and 2) this game is one the heels of back-to-back for both teams. Heavy legs.

Dakota: Over on DeMar and under on Rudy Gay. Now in his 5th season in the league, it looks like DeRozan is finally turning the corner as an overall offensive threat. While it’s still a small sample size, DeRozan is looking to be even more aggressive in terms of penetrating to the rim while continuing to develop his mid-range game. Outside of Gay, DeRozan is one of Toronto’s only big offensive threats so I think it’s pretty much guaranteed for him to match his season average in tonight’s game.

Doug Branson: There are some individuals who were born to score the basketball and do little else. DeRozan is one of those individuals. DeRozan can be very dependent on his jumper and MKG, Hendo and Taylor have shown an ability to close out on guards who don’t care to drive. I’ll take the under. Rudy continues to board well getting 10 against the Heat, another smaller team, last night. The Raptors have played him at the four for stretches to exploit matchups and his athleticism allows him to beat some traditional fours to the offensive boards. I’ll take the over on Rudy’s rebounds.

3- PICK IT. Toronto hasn’t won in Charlotte since 2010. Just saying. Who you got?

Spencer: Bobcats. Toronto hasn’t won in Charlotte since 2010 and I can’t imagine that this young Charlotte squad doesn’t smell blood to get above .500 tonight at home. Even on the heels of a back-to-back.

Dakota: Coming off that fantastic performance against the Knicks, I’m extremely optimistic about the Bobcats which would lead them to be my personal pick against Toronto.

Doug Branson: Damn (darn, I don’t know how you roll at the QCH (Brett’s edit: Left this in for fun – we’d even accept shoot or shucks) you NBA and your 22 back-to-backs for the ‘Cats. If the Bobcats can hold the Raptors to under 30 looks underneath the basket and can turn DeRozan and Gay’s early shot clock misses into transition buckets then the Bobcats win. That’s too many ifs. Raptors win on a second half surge, 95-90. Half-off pizza to drown your sorrows.

http://queencityhoops.com/blog/2013/11/ ... 3-preview/

[fatlever]

gotta give the guys at queencityhoops some credit. they are churning out some very good previews this year. thanks for posting these mrknowitall.

[fatlever]

"the ben gordon's body language watch" enters week two. last night he sat at the very end of the bench with a towel over his head like he was hiding from his friends in the stands because he was ashamed of being seen. there were times when i swear it looked like he was playing candy crush on a phone he had hidden in his lap. he barely could muster up enough energy to walk over to the huddles during timeouts. tyrus may have been a massive disappointment on the court, but at least he was a great cheerleader when he was benched.

lets see how gordon does tonight.

[mrknowitall215]

"the ben gordon's body language watch" enters week two. last night he sat at the very end of the bench with a towel over his head like he was hiding from his friends in the stands because he was ashamed of being seen. there were times when i swear it looked like he was playing candy crush on a phone he had hidden in his lap. he barely could muster up enough energy to walk over to the huddles during timeouts. tyrus may have been a massive disappointment on the court, but at least he was a great cheerleader when he was benched.

lets see how gordon does tonight.

He was a visible cheerleader after Kemba hit the game-deciding shot over KMart

[Snidely FC]

Always happy to beat TOR.

Good luck Cats, sponsored by Canadien actress Grace Park:

Spoiler:

[lmcguir5]

"the ben gordon's body language watch" enters week two. last night he sat at the very end of the bench with a towel over his head like he was hiding from his friends in the stands because he was ashamed of being seen. there were times when i swear it looked like he was playing candy crush on a phone he had hidden in his lap. he barely could muster up enough energy to walk over to the huddles during timeouts. tyrus may have been a massive disappointment on the court, but at least he was a great cheerleader when he was benched.

lets see how gordon does tonight.

He was a visible cheerleader after Kemba hit the game-deciding shot over KMart

I have no sympathy for Gordon. He is the one who decided to exercise his option for $13.2M instead of going elsewhere where he was going to play. It's not Clifford's responsiblity to play the contracts, his job is to develop the young talent. I could care less if Gordon came in and scored 50 points, he has no place on the future of this team and I can't get excited even if he does well. I like the fact that BRD is playing JT more, and apparently force feeding him is the right way to go, he played a lot better last night

[fatlever]

Always happy to beat TOR.

Good luck Cats, sponsored by Canadien actress Grace Park:

Spoiler:

excellent choice snidley. always a big fan of hers from battlestar. she was my favorite character on the show. however, i was flipping channels the other night and stopped to see her on hawaii five-0. she looked too skinny. girl needs to eat more spam while she is in hawaii.

[fatlever]

more grace park

Spoiler:

[fatlever]

hansbrough has historically given us fits. he will be jacked to be playing in NC again. last night we got punched in the face (figuratively and literally) by kenyon martin and we didnt exactly respond to that level of physicality until adrien and MKG came back in the game. hansbrough could change the game if we dont match him physically.

i am not as worried about their wings. we have plenty of defenders to throw at gay and derozan.

biz also has to match jonas. we dont have anyone else available that can guard that much height.

i know we love to bitch at sessions for his tunnel vision and selfish iso play, but we also need to appreciate what he brings to the team. there are very few players in the league that are as good (and willing) at attacking the rim off the dribble. hard to believe he is the same guy who once had 24 assists in a game. sessions has an elite skill - getting into the paint and drawing fouls. appreciate it. mcbob seems like a good fit with sessions because mcbob can help keep the ball moving allowing sessions do focus on scoring. perhaps once zeller is starting we will see that dynamic start to click.

[catch20two]

I can't wait for Biz to do this again to the Raptors tonight.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFHIZDF0Z2k[/youtube]

[JDR720]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bobcats/status/398213234786041856[/tweet]

[lmcguir5]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/bobcats/status/398213234786041856[/tweet]

He had better play or we can expect a 20 point loss with the Sessions-Pargo 1 guard situation

[KembaWalker]

man I didn't think Kemba not playing was even something to consider after coming back last night. We need him for sure.