Back Over .500

Here's the pattern: When the Raptors play the Philadelphia 76ers, or when the Raptors play Eastern Conference teams who made the playoffs last year on the road... they win. BUT, when the Raptors play Eastern Conference teams who made the playoffs last year at home, or when they play teams who didn't make the playoffs last year and who are not named Philadelphia... they lose. Simple as that, now go and make money betting on that pattern.
But seriously, that was a big win. Yes, it was against a team that is playing pretty terrible basketball, but it was a victory to get them over .500, and it was on the road against a team that still has had their number over the last many seasons. The win was a team effort in every sense of the phrase. Starting Jamario Moon was a surprise to say the least, but it makes sense given the matchup against the long and athletic Luol Deng. The great thing about the depth of the Raptors, is not just playing everyone to keep players fresh, but to capitalize on matchups. Sometimes it will make the most sense to have Moon or Graham start at the 3, sometimes Garbo, sometimes Kapono, and sometimes even Bargnani. Moon, in his first career start, had 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals in 23 minutes. The point guard play was outstanding, as Ford and Calderon took a combined 3 shots, but had 23 assists and only 3 turnovers. Delfino continued to impress, scoring 16 points off the bench and adding 7 rebounds, while making 4 three pointers on 7 attempts. The other Raptor sharpshooters - Kapono, Parker, and Bargnani - combined for 5 three pointers on 9 attempts, finishing with 37 points. Not to be forgotten was the work on the boards done by Rasho, grabbing 8. In fact, only one Raptors failed to grab a rebound against Chicago - Bargnani. Furthermore, of the 12 Raptors who played, only 2 failed to collect a point [Dixon and Calderon] and 3 who failed to get an assist [Moon, Hump, Garbo]. As a team, the Raptors shot a staggering 54% for the game from the field, 50% from three, while holding the Bulls to only 33% shooting.

Tomorrow will be the updated Power Rankings for the week, and after the Raptors play their 10th game, there will be a post breaking down their first 10 games, including statistics about their strength of schedule, their statistical ranking in a range of categories against the rest of the league, and which individuals have been playing the best, and worst, thus far.