<div align="center"> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="color:#00A7C4"><span style="font-family:Impact">New Orleans</span> </span></span><span style="color:#00A7C4">(49-22)</span> vs. <span style="color:#c8362d"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact">Toronto</span></span></span> <span style="color:#c8362d">(37-35)</span> </div> <div align="center"> When: Sunday March 30th, 2008 @ 6:00PM EST Where: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON TV/Radio: TSN, FAN 590 </div> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Impact"><u>GAME PREVIEW</u></span></div></span> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Chris Paul is earning MVP consideration as he?€™s led the New Orleans Hornets to the best record in the their conference. Chris Bosh?€™s Toronto Raptors can?€™t make the same claim, but when he?€™s been healthy, he?€™s certainly proven his worth. Bosh will look to help the Raptors win three straight for the first time in more than a month Sunday against Paul?€™s Hornets, who are coming off one of their worst losses of the season. Toronto (37-35) was in position to earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs when Bosh left the team?€™s Feb. 29 game at Indiana with a swollen knee. The Raptors, though, went 2-8 in 10 games without their All-Star. Bosh returned on March 19, and Toronto has shown signs of turning things around. The Raptors are 3-2 since his return, and followed up a Wednesday win over Central Division-leading Detroit with a 93-85 victory over New York on Friday. ?€œI?€™ve been working hard in practice trying to get my legs back,?€? Bosh said after having 29 points and 10 rebounds against the Knicks. ?€œI feel that I can really help this team out and I?€™ll be 100 percent when it counts.?€? Bosh has missed 15 games this season, and the difference in Toronto?€™s play with him in the lineup is especially overwhelming defensively. In the 57 games Bosh has played, the Raptors have allowed 94.4 points per game. In the 15 he?€™s missed, they?€™ve given up an average of 106.3. In the five games since he?€™s returned, the Raptors are only surrendering 86.0 points per game. ?€œWe had a tough couple of weeks and we are trying to get things turned around,?€? point guard T.J. Ford said. ?€œThe only way you can do that is to play hard and just continue to play the right way and play team basketball.?€? Ford is averaging 11.5 points and 9.0 assists since returning to the starting lineup over the last two games. He has only one turnover in his last four contests. The Hornets (49-22) are percentage points ahead of San Antonio for the Western Conference?€™s best record, but they didn?€™t play like an NBA title contender in their most recent game. They let Boston make 59.5 percent of its shots on Friday, the highest field-goal percentage New Orleans had allowed since Dec. 23, 2006. Despite the poor defense, the Hornets led 60-56 at halftime, but scored only 32 in the second half en route to a 112-92 loss, which snapped a five-game winning streak. ?€œWe feel like it got away from us in the third quarter, but that?€™s our fault,?€? said Paul, who had 22 points and 10 assists. ?€œWe feel like we let one get away.?€? Paul has made his case as the league?€™s most valuable player all season, but he?€™s been especially good in the past 12 games, averaging 24.8 points and 13.9 assists. He has 44 assists against only three turnovers in his last three games. After Paul had 20 assists in a 100-99 win at Cleveland on Wednesday, Cavaliers star LeBron James called Paul ?€œthe best point guard in the league.?€? The Hornets?€™ other All-Star, forward David West, has also played well lately. He?€™s averaging 25.8 points over his last five games. Both Paul and West had big games in New Orleans?€™ first meeting with Toronto - Paul had 23 points and 16 assists while West had 33 points and 11 rebounds - but Bosh?€™s 29 points led the Raptors to a 97-92 win on Dec. 31.</div> <div align="center">Source: Yahoo!Sports</div> <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"><span style="font-family:Impact"><u>STARTING LINEUPS</u></span></div></span> <div align="center"> <span style="color:#00A7C4">Chris Paul - Morris Peterson - Peja Stojakovic - David West - Tyson Chandler</span> <span style="color:#c8362d">TJ Ford - Anthony Parker - Jamario Moon - Chris Bosh - Rasho Nesterovic</span></div> <span style="font-family:Impact"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><div align="center"><u>KEY MATCHUP</u></div></span></span> <div align="center"> <span style="color:#00A7C4">Tyson Chandler</span> vs. <span style="color:#c8362d">Rasho Nesterovic</span></div> This is a matchup that could've been ugly before changes to the starting lineup were made. However, Rasho's played some solid, underrated ball for the past month and he's only taken advantage of the extra playing time (averaging 16.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg in the last two games). He's been a solid defensive presence and a much-needed source of point in the paint. However, today's matchup will really put him to the test. There are few players in the league who can handle Chandler's length and athleticism. If Toronto hopes to come out with a win against a much better Hornets team, they'll need Rasho to clamp down on the defensive boards and limit second chances. He'll also need to do what he always does defensively, by fronting his man early and preventing him from establishing position near the basket. <div align="center"><span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact"><u>PREDICTION</u></span></span></div> <div align="center">This Hornets team has been on a roll for the second half of the season and I just don't see the Raps pulling off the upset.</div>
<span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%"><span style="font-family:Impact"><div align="center"><u>Something to look at while you wait for the game...</u></span></span></div> <div align="center"></div>
this is a game Ford has to be unbelievable for the Raptors to win, thing is, if they win this game, they might lose tomorrow vs Charlotte so i'm a little torn
Welcome back Mo Pete, I have a lot of respect for you. You are a true professional and are one of my favorite Raptors of all time. This is a must win game for the Raptors, really. They need to win to stay ahead of the 76ers so they don't have to play Detroit and to stay close to the Wizards. The Raptors have held the Hornets to 86.0 PPG in the last 3 games (going 3-0), so I can see us winning.
they gotta win this game and beat the bobcats (just to prove things have changed since the andrea bargnani and Jose benching)
We're playing great offensively, but this Hornets team is just so tough to guard. At this point, we're simply trading buckets and moving laterally. Did Kapono start? I missed the tip-off (nap), but yahoo lists him as a starter on their box score.
Jason Kapono did start, which is weird. David West is killing us and Paul is using his dribble drive easily. However, I like what we're getting inside but we need to step up on defense.
wat a game, the loss isnt a big deal considering none of our starters played in da end of 4th and raps came out on fire then, 34 point lead converted to a 7 point pretty impressive for the raps
Disappointing loss but that attempted comeback was pretty exciting. Linton Johnson showed a lot energy hustling up and down the court. Made a couple shots, got a rebound and a nice assist. It's only one game with limited minutes but I liked what I've seen. We should sign him for another 10-day contract.
There's no shame in losing to a team that much better than you. The Hornets have been a tad inconsistent with their outside shooting this season, and we just got the bad luck of having to deal with one of their better shooting nights. I thought we played great offensively, but our perimeter D was lacking (we really had nobody to put on Peja). That run at the end was encouraging.
