In a game against the supposedly inferior Washington Wizards during the Air Canada Center’s traditional Toronto Maple Leafs time slot, the Toronto Raptors were saved from an embarrassing home loss by the defensive heroics of their offensive-minded center, Andrea Bargnani.
In a brief two-minute stretch during the closing moments of the game, the Raptors former No. 1 overall pick rejected three lay up attempts and was the pivotal defensive force shutting out the Wizards for over four minutes with the game on the line. Raptors-Wizards: Bargnani Headlines
And those supposedly inferior Washington Wizards are now 3-1 post All-Star break because of it.
On most nights, Bargnani’s defensive contributions go unnoticed.
Either overshadowed by his offensive prowess or just lost behind yet another amazing game played by the Raptors All-Star, CB4.
But the oft maligned defense from the Raptors center didn’t just suddenly appear on the eve of an NBA invasion into hockey’s most sacred time slot.
One could argue Bargnani has been contributing defensively since he was dr ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Stephen Brotherston
Andrea Bargnani: Toronto Raptors “New” Defensive Stopper
February 25th, 2010 by Stephen Brotherston Leave a reply »
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