David West #30 of the New Orleans Hornets shoots the ball over Drew Gooden #0 and Andrew Bogut #6 of the Milwaukee Bucks at the New Orleans Arena on October 27, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Raptors sending Andersen, Banks and Jack to New Orleans in exchange for Stojakovic and Bayless?

Nathan Denette - AP

Jose Calderon strikes a well deserved guts pose!

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The Raptors couldn't distance themselves from the Rockets until the fourth when they finally were able to click in both their offense and defense together.  Pulling out a win in the final minutes, the Raptors took control and didn't let it go. But it wasn't easy and Vicious D tells us why

I'll tell you folks.

Those Raptors made me eat crow.

After asking whether the Raptors should consider playing more of their youthful end-of-benchers, the Raptors came out and got extremely productive minutes from their bench.  Guys like David Andersen and Linas Kleiza were both positive in +/- stats by a large margin.  Kleiza in particular completely dominated the Rockets when he decided to go inside.  Over and over again, he took Chase Budinger on the post.

There were a lot of games within the overall larger score and at times, it wasn't pretty for our hometown heroes.

To start off, the Raptors got themselves in trouble in the first half by entering into the game with the aspiration to merely out-shoot Houston.  Truth be told, it actually worked for the most part.  The team kept shooting a high percentage and seemed to be firing on all cylinders, except for DeMar DeRozan.  DeRozan seemed to get into a sort of funk and just couldn't get any calls to go his way.  However, his teammates, mainly Andrea Bargnani and Sonny Weems simply couldn't miss and led the Raptors in scoring going into the half and gave the Raptors the lead.

Nevertheless, I was extremely nervous about how the Raptors played for the first two quarters.

Interior defense was extremely lacking for one.  The Rockets seemed to be able to get to the rim at will and guys like Kevin Martin and Luis Scola attempted to break the Raptors' interior.  Guys like Andrea Bargnani were having trouble keeping their man in front of them, and this issue extended out to Jarrett Jack who just couldn't slow down Kyle Lowry all day.

On the other hand, the Raptors themselves were quite anemic in getting to the line.  A lot of it had to do with the refs who simply refused to give the Raptors any kinds of trips to the foul line.

It's why by the half, I was convinced that guys like Kevin Martin and Kyle Lowry would chew up the Raptors from the inside out in the second half.

And with several turnovers in the third quarter, the Rockets ended up taking the lead thanks to a barrage of 3-pointers and a parade to the free throw line.  Initiated by Kyle Lowry, the Rockets managed to draw the Raptors defenders into the paint before he kicked the ball back out to wide open perimeter shooters.  It was looking like the Raptors wouldn't be able to figure out how to crack the Rockets, but I have to give them credit, they fought back with some key moves and decisions by their coach.

Jay Triano's decision to use Jose Calderon was a great move because while Jarrett Jack was having a decent night with his eight assists and one turnover, his defense was abysmal.  Calderon had the hot hand and seemed to be able to get all of his teammates involved in the offense and defensively, he was having more luck slowing down Lowry than Jack was.  Another lucky move was that Weems went out in the 3rd quarter with a slight injury which brought in Linas Kleiza.  Kleiza stepped up and continued his work attack the middle in the first half. 

But even more essential was that DeMar DeRozan was given the time to play through his slump.

By being an aggressive force, DeRozan eventually found his game.  Going to the charity stripe 12 times was just what our Raptors needed as every point scored also meant the Raptors had enough time to set up their defense properly.  In addition, DeRozan did a pretty admirable job down the stretch in limiting Kevin Martin's opportunities. 

As DeRozan started getting to the foul line, the rest of the team followed and the Raptors managed to set up an aggressive defense and find ample scoring opportunities for all their players down the stretch.  Players like Amir Johnson stayed out of foul trouble and provided an inside presence against players such as Luis Scola.  Jose Calderon continued through most of the fourth except for a little bit of a rest, but was quickly reinserted when the Rockets caught up with the Raptors again. Andrea Bargnani continued his aggressiveness, and Kleiza provided some key rebounds.

So all in all, the Raptors played one quarter of inspired basketball and took over the game.

It's now the start of the Raptors home stand and I'm glad that they started things off with a win.  It didn't come easy and it came against a team which is currently struggling to find any holding in the West.  The fact that the Raptors kept a lead for most of the game before putting things away in the fourth is a start for this team, and something that I hope to see them build upon as this home stand continues.  The foundation seems to be there, it's just a matter of building on it day by day.

And yes, I still have a smile from the win.

Michael Paulsen - AP

By the end of the night, I hope the Raptors make sure that Kevin Martin has nothing to smile about

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Home sweet home.  The Raptors make it back from their recent string of back-to-backs with a 2-2 record, which bodes well as the Raptors will now come into a nice little home stand over the next few weeks.  First up are the Houston Rockets who are also beginning the season with a paltry three wins.

I'm pretty torn about this recent road trip.

On the one hand, the Raptors came out and played their butts off against the Magic and Heat and came out with a split.  Yet, in their second back to back, the Raptors were stagnant, lethargic and were able to barely come out with a split on the tail end.

As a Raptor fan, it's gotta leave you scratching your head.

However, maybe it's not too confusing.  It was back at a Jack Astor's a couple weekends ago where we had our Raptors HQ meeting, and both Ray Bala and Howland both asked me at various times of the night what I thought was needed to improve this Raptors team.

Without hesitation, I said a few key injuries.

There's been a tendency in the Colangelo era to hesitate to play certain younger energy role players, especially since Jay Triano took over.  Remember, it was last year that Sonny Weems finally got the burn we were asking for after Hedo Turkoglu went down with an injury.

And lo and behold, a couple injuries/illnesses later, Jay Triano was forced to change up his lineup and we got a little more youth and explosiveness in exchange for methodical and experienced players.  Guys like Julian Wright and Joey Dorsey came in and played up to the competition in Florida.  They also brought in a hunger to show off what they were capable of.

Maybe even more importantly, Jay Triano was forced to move Weems into the starting lineup in place of an injured Linas Kleiza. 

A couple days later, some people recover from sickness and injuries and the Raptors start losing some of their edge and aggressiveness against Washington and the 76ers.

Now granted, we had a pretty small sample size to work with, but at the same time, it has got to give you pause for thought.

When the Raptors played guys like Wright and Dorsey, the Dinos really reminded me of the Hawks of several years ago; raw to a fault at times, but still working hard and creating excitement by forcing the play to their opponents.  Young and exuberant, our team was full of energy throughout the entire playing roster with our point guards providing the steady hand to guide everyone.

And to me, it's giving me pause and causing me to revisit a question I posed earlier in the season.

After all, what's the overall goal of this year's Raptors?

If it's to secure wins, I'm not sure the Raptors would have won against the Magic had both David Andersen and Linas Kleiza.  I certainly am not sure they really added anything to the Wizards or 76ers games.

If it's for player development, then the Raptors certainly aren't doing that since Julian Wright and Joey Dorsey are the younger, more untapped resources of talent who have a larger upside.

If it's to play with aggression and a chip on their shoulder, I think this Raptors team was far more aggressive with Wright and Dorsey in the lineup than without.

Once again though, the sample size is just too small for me to fully advocate a change.  Nevertheless, there has to be some thought that goes into the notion of player development in a rebuilding phase like we've having in Toronto.  There has to be at least a little consideration for what the Raptors did without Andersen and Kleiza in the lineup because heck, it was entertaining basketball.  If Triano is going to be true to his pre-season words that he wants this team to be known as a fighter, I'm sure he's considering lineup changes if things continue to be stagnant.

Against Houston though, the Raptors have an opponent that matches them with their need to play "team ball". 

Without Yao Ming or Aaron Brooks, and Chase Budinger listed as a possible return for tonight's game, the Raptors will be facing a Rockets team that has struggled of late and started off with a 3-8 record coming off a tough loss against the Thunder on Wednesday.  The Rockets therefore are hungry for a win having lost their last two games and still trying to get their team firing on all cylinders.  Here are the keys to a Raptors victory:

1) Win the Possession Battle - The Raptors are not exactly a top percentage shooting team.  Currently, they sit 24th in the NBA with a 44.5% shooting percentage while they have allowed their opponents to shoot at a 47.9% shooting percentage.  Houston isn't fairing that much better at 19th but they are holding their opponents to a lower shooting percentage (45.2%). 

For our Raptors to come out on top, it's going to mean that they need more possessions and it's going to come in a few ways.  First, they have to take care of the ball.  It's been pretty ugly as the worst three turnover culprits are Jarrett Jack, Andrea Bargnani, and a surprising Linas Kleiza.  All three players touch the ball a lot and end up wasting valuable possessions that that have been fought for with tenacious defense and key rebounding.  The Rockets are a more experienced team than the 76ers and the Raptors cannot expect the Rockets to bail out our home team with sloppy play on their end.

2) Key in on Kevin Martin - I know Luis Scola is going to get his points for the Rockets having shot over 50% from the field so far in the season.  However, Kevin Martin has been pretty inconsistent over his career.  As a volume shooter and a person with a tendency to cough up the ball (2nd on the team with 2.8 TOs per game this year) the Raptors need to stick to him. 

Sagging off of Kevin Martin can't be allowed as he's a fairly effective 3-point shooter and the Raptors definitely need to keep Martin from chewing them up from the charity stripe.  It's therefore going to be extremely important to get DeMar DeRozan to buy into keeping a tight hold on Martin and Jay Triano should not be gun shy about putting Weems or Julian Wright in for DeRozan if he allows Martin to get away with murder.

3) Team Play vs Team Play - Let's face it.  We shouldn't be expecting a heck of a lot of nights where Sonny Weems and Andrea Bargnani combine for over half of the Raptors points.  It'd be sheer folly to expect that kind of production on a nightly basis.  The Raptors really need consistent production from about 4-5 players in order to win most games and it's basically the same on Houston's side. 

The key therefore has to be how both teams establish their rhythms and how each team can disrupt the other team's rhythm by forcing turnovers and contesting shots.  With essential glue guys like Shane Battier and Luis Scola, the Raptors may have their hands full as Houston's been at it a lot longer than they have. 

However, the Raptors themselves have managed to surprise a lot of teams by being the hungry fighter looking to prove something.    They've been better than Houston in rebounding differential and steals differential which can bode well for them if they remain aggressive.  At home, I'm expecting no less than a complete team effort, the likes of which we haven't seen since Saturday's loss in Miami.

While Houston isn't a top tiered team in the NBA without Yao Ming, they are still a dangerous team which has the potential to surprise people.  Thing is, the Raptors are also trying to forge a similar identity. 

This upcoming home stand is going tell us a lot about the Raptors as we'll see if they can continue to build an identity and if they can continue to show the same energy that was displayed for the majority of this season.  Otherwise, I fully expect wholesale changes to be coming. 

Because while Toronto fans hate losing, they really can't stand a team that doesn't show any fight in them.