<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Clippers, Raptors Look to Continue Strong Play By KATE HEDLIN, STATS Writer Posted Feb 4 2007 8:49AM When the Los Angeles Clippers and Toronto Raptors met more than a month ago, both teams were well under .500. Impressive turnarounds have both squads above the break-even mark heading into the rematch on Sunday in Toronto. The Raptors (24-23) were five games below .500 going into their game at Los Angeles on Dec. 20, and they beat the Clippers 98-96 on T.J. Ford's buzzer-beater. Toronto remained well under the break-even mark into last month, but is 11-4 since Jan. 3 and goes into this game having won five of six to climb above .500 for the first time in more than two years. The Raptors led for nearly the entire game Friday as they beat the Atlanta Hawks 103-91. Chris Bosh had 24 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, while Morris Peterson scored 21 points off the bench. The victory gave Toronto a two-game lead over second-place New Jersey in the Atlantic Division. The Raptors play six of their next eight games at home, where they have won four straight, but only one contest during that stretch is against a team that currently has a losing record and that's against the Nets. "Now that we're in first place, we're not going to be the hunter, we're going to be the hunted," said Peterson, who was 5-for-7 from 3-point range Friday. "We've got to play harder." This is the first time since 2001-02 that Toronto has been over .500 this late in the season. "It's getting unbelievable," said Bosh, averaging 29.0 points over the last five games. "We trust each other, no matter what happens. We're moving the ball well, Everybody's playing unselfish basketball, and that's what's helping us out a lot." Bosh did not play in the first matchup with the Clippers (24-22) because of a bruised knee, but the Raptors won for just the second time in the past six meetings. Los Angeles had a 10-14 record after that loss, but comes into this contest having won three straight and seven of eight. "Two weeks ago we were out of the playoffs and now we are in the seventh seed," Clippers star Elton Brand said. "We are peaking right now." Brand had 26 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks on Friday as the Clippers began a seven-game road trip with a 100-89 win over the Boston Celtics. Tim Thomas scored 12 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter. "I thought down the stretch we finished well," said coach Mike Dunleavy. "We got to the free throw line, attacked the rim at the right times, got some offensive boards. ... Defensively, we tightened up." The Clippers, whose road trip continues on Tuesday in New York, have won two straight and four of five away from home. The team won only three times in its first 16 road games of the season. </div> Preview
12 noon start threw me off too .. imagine what it did to the clippers! I dunno about you guys but after watching Calderon play PG last couple of games and then watch TJ here in the 4th Q really hurts. Ya the guy is making his shots and were still holding the lead with 8 minutes left but no one is in a flow on offense, guys are kind of sitting around waiting for Ford to give them the ball and he's forcing his shot too much. TJ Ford may have more "potential" but right now Jose Calderon is the better player because he's more intelligent. And is Sam Mitchell asleep on the bench? Livingston and Mobley have absolutely destroyed TJ Ford on defense for 5 possessions straight!! And Swirsky wants to talk about Livingston being a liability on defense? you gotta be kidding me!
<div class="quote_poster">Drunkballer Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I thought TJ played great today. MP3 downloads all over the place in 4th Q.</div> Well I did only see the 4th Q, so maybe seeing the whole game would give me a different perspective. I can't claim to have seen everything. Peterson's 3 point shooting at the end was just awsome. Having Parker and Peterson on the floor at the same time is the combination that seems to work the best because they spread the floor really well. Garbajosa had a nice game. It's good to see that he's bouncing back from his extremely terrible shooting performances.
Bosh sucked offensively versus Brand and Clippers, in the 2nd half mostly, despite what the numbers say. The two points played great today, and jumpshots did it for us today.
The Raptors always get shafted when it comes to the day of the Super Bowl. The 12 o'clock start time was a trip. I didn't get to see the game, but I heard most of the 2nd half on the radio. Seemed like we kept bailing ourselves out of crappy offensive sets, with great shooting. Good news is that Atlanta beat NJ in overtime, so we have a 3 game lead now.
Rofl has anyone noticed our "Last 10" ? We are 8-2 in our last 10 games, which is, surprisingly, second only to the Mavs...
<div class="quote_poster">kingjames23_84 Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Rofl has anyone noticed our "Last 10" ? We are 8-2 in our last 10 games, which is, surprisingly, second only to the Mavs...</div> the next 3 games will be a good test
<div class="quote_poster">Epidemik Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">^^ Yepp the early Noon start caught everybody off gaurd.</div> i was ready for it
<div class="quote_poster">Chutney Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The Raptors always get shafted when it comes to the day of the Super Bowl. The 12 o'clock start time was a trip. I didn't get to see the game, but I heard most of the 2nd half on the radio. Seemed like we kept bailing ourselves out of crappy offensive sets, with great shooting. Good news is that Atlanta beat NJ in overtime, so we have a 3 game lead now.</div> That's pretty much exactly what I saw from watching. Teams new strategy against us seems to be playing physical defense against our smaller guards, it works somewhat. The offensive sets i saw in the 2nd half were pretty bad.
