Raptors @ Warriors [Fantasy Basketball At Its Finest]

For those who are playing fantasy basketball this year, a good portion of your fantasy leagues are playing out its final season week. With Saturday and Sunday being the last two days before playoffs, it's do or die for some of us struggling to grab the seed we're aiming for.

Thankfully - the Raptors and Warriors are playing each other tonight.

Need points? There's sure to be plenty of that.

Assists? Jack, Jose, Turkoglu, Curry, Ellis, Watson will surely provide the load.

Rebounds? Tons of shots will be put up, and more than a fair share will hit rim.

Steals? Well let's just say both the Raptors and Warriors have been TO prone lately.

If all plays out like it's expected to, basketball fans will be treated to some fantasy basketball gems in the form of stat lines. Both the Raptors and Warriors are in top 5 of the NBA in points scored and points given up per game. The two teams are also in the top 10 in regards to field goal percentage and and opponents' field goal percentage.

To say this game will be a defensive showcasing would be an understatement; so on that note - you're going to need to look elsewhere if you're trailing in the "blocks" category.

What I CAN guarantee however is the abundance of 3pt shots taken, and most likely 3pt shots made. After all - we are pitting a team that currently has the longest streak of games with at least one 3-pointer made; against a team who just happens to have the son of a 3-point specialist Raptors fans may be familiar with:



Prediction?

Raptors 114 - 104 Warriors

It's bound to be a high scoring game. Being this late into the season, teams aren't going to significantly deviate from what the stats say they are. If the Raptors end up finding a way to somewhat fix their broken defense, it'll be back in Toronto where they'll be able to work on their schemes in the comfort of their own practice court. Still, I think the Raps come away with this. The sense of urgency will be there, and this is a must win before they take on a tough Portland team tomorrow.

Catch the game tonight at 10:30 pm EST on TSN.

Adrian Sutil F1 Sport

Adrian Sutil

Adrian Sutil (born January 11, 1983 in Starnberg, West Germany) is a German Formula One racing driver.Sutil is the son of professional musicians Monika, a German, and Jorge, a Uruguayan. He has two brothers named Daniel and Raphael. He weighs 165 pounds (75 kilograms) and is 6 feet (183 centimeters) tall. A talented pianist, Sutil started karting at 14 before moving up to Swiss Formula Ford 1800 in 2002. He won all ten rounds of the season from pole and added five wins in the Formula Masters Austria championship. Sutil speaks fluent German, English, Spanish and a little Italian. He is close friends with Lewis Hamilton and is friends with fellow German driver Nico Rosberg.

Source : Wikipedia.com

With A Side Of Red - Mar.12/10

Do Raptors fans remember this guy? If not, here's a better picture of him in all his glory...



Yup. Same dude. Same guy that beat Jose for a 50-50 loose ball. Well, it seems as though he has succumbed to the wrath of Raptors fans. Recently, Lapo Elkann released an apology to Raptors fans, and even more specifically, to Italian Raptors fans.

"“Having two Italians on the team and being Italian, I wished for them to win,” Elkann told ESPN, referring to Raptors’ duo Marco Belinelli and Andrea Bargnani."

Check out the rest of the article here:

Juventus Patron Lapo Elkann Apologetic Over LA Lakers Mishap

Next up to the plate, DeMar DeRozan. Why? Because we're touring Cali - duh. Raptors fans will be the first to admit - our rookie has struggled recently. But who can honestly blame him? He's only 20 years old and as raw as they get. Patience is the key here. But if we stick with this guy, it'll turn out to be well worth the wait.

Forgetting the fact that we're 0-2 after games against LA and Sacramento, DeRozan is starting to show glimpses of what he did so well earlier in the season. Hopefully, the prolonged stay in California will rejuvenate him for the rest of the year.

Here's one of the better mixes I've seen of DeMar DeRozan as a Toronto Raptor.



Lastly, I want give out a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has helped me reach the finals of the Raptors Pros Vs. Joes Debate Tournament hosted by Whotheman.com

Without my family members, friends, and readers of the blog, I wouldn't have been able to get to this point in the contest. Now I get to take on the winning Pro in "Phdsteve" of RaptorsRepublic.

He's been an absolute juggernaut in this competition. Even James Borbath of DinoNation couldn't get by him (and he's the author of - hands down - the most popular Raptors blog). So though it's pretty much a guarantee that I'll end up losing this last debate, I still can't wait to get it going just for the lone fact that it'll be a great experience.

Feel free to check out some of the highlights from the tournament!

Raptors Debate Tournament Highlights

And there you guys have it. Before I leave, I also wanted to let everyone know that a future audio and video podcast is in the works. The show will basically go into mainly Raptors related topics, as well as a few NBA tidbits. With that said, I'm also looking for a co-host. Whether you have your own Raptors blog, or simply a hardcore fan of the team, hit me up via email if interested!

Whatever you happen to be doing Raptors fans, I hope you enjoyed it With A Side of Red!

Dementieva Tennis Sport Gallery

Elena Dementieva

Elena Viatcheslavovna Dementieva (Russian: born 15 October 1981) is a Russian professional tennis player. She has won two Olympic medals in singles, including the gold medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. She has also reached the finals of two Grand Slam events. Her career high ranking was World No. 3 which she achieved on April 6, 2009. As of 22 February 2010, she is ranked World No. 7.

Source : Wikipedia.com

One Step Forward; Two Steps Back

Make no mistake about it, we let that one get away. And no offense to Sacramento, but that was a game we should have won. Unfortunately, in the world of sports, you don't win games you should win, you win games you do win. And on a Wednesday night in Sacramento, the Toronto Raptors didn't even come close to getting to that W.

This was a tough one to swallow. Especially after the game against the Lakers. You show all that courage, heart, and determination one night, only to follow it up with disgusting performance the next night? That's unacceptable - and downright anti-climatic. It was like watching Jerry Stackhouse dunk after Vince in the dunk-off all over again.

And talk about embarrassing...

This was a Kings team that had only won 21 games before their dismantling of Toronto. And this was a Raptors squad that was fighting for their playoff lives, and coming off a very gritty performance against the defending champions. How did this happen?

My shot in the dark guess? Overconfidence.

Yes, I'm still talking about the same Toronto Raptors team who's reeling right now. But perhaps their showing against L.A. caused them to maybe overlook Sacramento as an easy win. Case in point - When a fan asked Bosh if he was coming to Sacramento next year, CB4 replied with a resounding "Hell No!" Later that game, Jack went on to tell the fan "Ain't nobody coming here...nobody even knows it's in California."

Clearly, our Raptors squad felt like they were above Sacramento; you don't say stuff like that if you weren't confident about it. But in all honesty, we're in no position to be feeling that way. No - I'm not echoing Lamar Odom's words, because I have no problem with the Raptors showing confidence. In fact, every night, I think the Raptors should play like they know they can hang with every single team. What I don't think we can do right now is something that only elite teams do, and that's act like they're above anybody. We can't take anyone lightly nor can we feel like there's absolutely no way we can lose, especially with our defense regressing again. The Raptors can play on anyone's level if they don't ease up on the pedal, and when they realize that, this team will easily get back their 5th seed.

But at least for one night, that Sacramento Kings fan was the one that felt good after watching the game - and he didn't even have to switch time zones.

This Post Was Decided Before I Even Wrote It...

Like in many forms of entertainment - movies, professional wrestling, plays - the outcome is already decided before it even begins. Without being bluntly direct, let's just say that last night, Toronto Raptors fans were left scratching their heads. In a unison stream of thought, they wondered whether or not they were watching a competition, or a scripted reality show...

Many basketball experts, analysts, and those who follow the team close, openly admitted that last night's Raptors-Lakers game had suspect officiating. Time after time again, the Lakers were gift wrapped opportunities to win this game. Twitter, facebook, and basketball forums throughout the world ended up discussing how the Raptors got punked on national TV.

The Raptors ended up losing on a very difficult (yet classic) Kobe fadeaway with time ticking down. Yet in my opinion, it shouldn't have even come down to that. What I'll forever remember about this game were all the questionable calls - or no calls. Here's some that instantly come to mind:

- Chris Bosh's foul on Kobe as he attempted a lay-up
- Amir Johnson's weak offensive foul/scuffle
- Antoine Wright being called for a foul for putting his hands straight up
- Fan interference with Jose Calderon


Sigh.

In other news from that game (which I'll be expecting a YouTube mix of eventually), Lamar Odom came out with a gem of a quote:

"They ain't done s***. You know what I mean? As a team, as individuals."

Seriously Lamar? What have you done individually? Thank God you've got Kobe to fall back on. Without him, you'd be messing up all over the place. Oh wait -



Lastly, here's a quote from Chris Bosh regarding last night's game and Turk's overall play:

"I think we want to see that," Bosh said. "I think he's still trying to figure out how he can do that. We just have to let him know that he has the opportunity and the chance to be aggressive. He's can do that. He's going to have the ball in his hands a lot. Anytime he wants to make a play, the opportunity is going to be there."

You hear that Turk? It's there. The "Ball" is there. Now go and make the play. We need you bud. We need you right now.

Ready to see if Turk steps up to the plate? Well, tonight will be your chance when the Raptors take on the Kings tonight on TheScore @ 10pm EST.


NOTE: I appreciate the increase of support and readers the GamePointBlog has been getting as of late. Thanks to everyone who's linked back here, means a lot. Keep a look out for a future podcast/video blog we have in store for the future!

Raptors @ Lakers [Big Stage, Big Names, Big Game]

Wow, these lights are bright. As if we needed anymore pressure...

Tonight, the Toronto Raptors find themselves in the City of Angels, where they will be guests to Kobe Bryant and his Lakers. Most people are expecting a loss. And who can blame them? After all, the Raptors currently find themselves playing some very uninspiring basketball. On top of that, Chris Bosh is still shaking off some of that rust. Combined the the fact that the Lakers will be hungry after their 3rd straight loss, and it doesn't look good right now.

HOWEVER - do any of you remember this?



Beautiful game. And probably still my favorite yet this season. Sure, the win was at home. The crowd and atmosphere probably helped a lot as well. But when it comes down to it, the Raptors still won, and the Lakers still lost.

With that said, I'm gonna predict that the Raptors either win tonight or at least go down fighting. I'm sure most Raptors fans are aware of the fact that we struggle against athletic and fast teams (especially when they use undersized bigs).

Think of:

ATL, Philly, OKC

These teams kills us by being more athletic and running it down our throats. Think about it. Hasn't it ever crossed your mind how odd it is that we are able to beat teams like Dallas, Cleveland, and LA? Heck, we even took Cleveland to overtime without Chris Bosh. We're a better half court team than we are at running and gunning.

So remember, even while some of your friends have checked out or jumped off the Raptors bandwagon, don't be surprised if you end up watching a competitive Raptors team out in LA tonight. Besides, that's what this city appreciates most. You don't have to win every game, but you do have to try and show you care. Tonight, the Raptors do just that.