<font size="5">For Starters: </font> <u><font color="Purple">Raptors: </font> </u> <div align="center"> <font color="Purple">PG:Rafer Alston SG:Vince Carter SF:Jalen Rose PF:Chris Bosh C:Loren Woods</font></div> <u><font color="MediumTurquoise">Magic:</font></u> <div align="center"> <font color="MediumTurquoise">PG:Steve Francis SG: DeShawn Stevenson SF:Grant Hill PF: Dwight Howard C:Kelvin Cato</font></div> The Raptors are coming off another surprising win over the Heat and Shaq'. However, this is another day and another challenging game awaits them. Steve Francis is literally livin' large in Orlando averaging 20-7-6, Grant Hill is having a great comeback season averaging 20-5-4 while playing heaviest minutes on Magic roster with 35.8 mpg. Dwight Howard is having a solid rookie season averaging 9 ppg and 10 rpg. The Magic misses the outside shooting presence of Cuttino Mobley but they have another great shooter in Hedo Turkoglu averaging 15.8 ppg off the bench for the Magic. <font color="Red">Interesting Matchups:</font> <div align="center">Rafer Alston vs. Steve Francis </div> Can Skip to M' Lou contain the Franchise? <div align="center">Jalen Rose vs. Grant Hill </div> Matchup of the two competitive veterans. Both should be ought to prove they still have a lot of game left in them. <div align="center">Chris Bosh vs. Dwight Howard </div> Bosh had some rough offensive nights as of late and Howard is having a decent rookie season. Is Bosh ready to be the Boss and show off the rookie? <font size="3"><font color="Blue">The X-Factor:</font></font> <div align="center"><font color="Red">Vince Carter</font> </div> Vince had a rough shooting night in Miami, but nevertheless played solid defence against D-Wade and the company. This game will depend on how Vince performs offensively, also whether or not he will be able to keep up the defensive intensity of yesterday's game.
i think the x factor is our bench cause i think we are deeper than they are. they probably have more balance in their starting lineup, but we have a deeper team. i really think the magic have been overachieving and are prone to lopsided defeats cause hill and francis have horrible shooting nights from time to time.
True, the bench is crucial too but the bench players for Raps (dubbed the 'Zoo Crew') have always come to play and that's why I didn't put the bench as the X-Factor. Carter should be able to take Stevenson anytime he wants, so I expect a big night from him.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinKanaddy:</div><div class="quote_post">True, the bench is crucial too but the bench players for Raps (dubbed the 'Zoo Crew') have always come to play and that's why I didn't put the bench as the X-Factor. Carter should be able to take Stevenson anytime he wants, so I expect a big night from him.</div> all true, but i thought he could take derek anderson, and we know how that turned out. i don't expect anything from vince anymore and plus as starberry said he isn't the focal point of our team anymore, thats a blessing cause that means he's expendable.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting VinKanaddy:</div><div class="quote_post">All the more reason to put Carter as X-Factor. We don't know what we can expect from him!</div> cool, thanks for putting together the preview btw.
nice preview bro should be an interesting game...as usual, im at work and have to tape the game. i cant wait though raps are riding an emotional high after a big win last night...im gonna say vince has a huge game and raps win by 6
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting deception:</div><div class="quote_post">cool, thanks for putting together the preview btw.</div> No problem. Make sure you catch the game Thanks for the comments dj! Just make sure you don't come online first because that'll spoil your game-watching experience
yea...thats what i usually do...i stay off this site and nba.com so i dont know the outcome of the game...i like to go home and watch it as if its live
nice preview, i expect a much better game from vince as well as alston. After a win yesterday i think the raps are gonna come up with another victory, raps win by 8.
lol about the nick guys...i think CB4 is alrite...the boss...lol it seems pretty weird... btw...i think raptors should take this one...104-101...carter with 28 points and 7 assists...alston 16 points and 13 assists... -BTW im also new here this is my first post...i love the raps...especially carter!
Well the second unit was doing pretty bad, weren't playing offfense, and Bonner was the only offense, MoPete just doesn't know what finishing around the basket means, man..
Horrible defense by both teams. 68-60 at halftime for the Magic. If the Raps lose, I don't think Mitchell is going to be pleased with the defensive effort.
This is a 360 from last season where we played no offense to us playing no defense now, we should think like the Suns or Spurs where we have a balance in O and D, a well... The second unit is normally the D line, but they were even worse on D.
i am disgusted seeing this game. I just not sure if Sam was the best choice for our coach. We could have got somebody like Byronn Scott
