<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="Green">Celtics:</font></u> <div align="center"> <font color="Green">PG:Gary Payton SG: Paul Pierce SF:Jiri Welsch PF:Raef Lafrentz C:Mark Blount</font></div> So far the Raps are 1-1 on the 6 game road trip. They had an encouraging win over Shaq' and the Heat but came out with a lethargic effort on Wednesday night against the Magic, losing 129 - 108 and getting outrebounded 61 to 32. Sam Mitchell ripped Jerome Moiso and the team for their inconsistent effort and we will be witnesses to see if the constructive criticism worked on his players. Araujo looks a bit more comfortable on the floor but he's nowhere near capable of being a contributing factor just yet. Celtics are a team that plays next to no defence, much like the Magic but can the Raps take advantage of that and come out pissed off? Or will they play like they did the other night? <font color="Red">Interesting Matchups:</font> <div align="center">Rafer Alston vs. Gary Payton </div> Alston should have no problem blowing by G.P., but he will need to keep the ball close in order to avoid quick hands of The Glove. <div align="center">Vince Carter vs. Paul Pierce </div> Both are capable of putting up huge numbers, but Carter should be playing with a chip on his shoulder after he watched his team get blown out by the Magic. <font size="3"><font color="Blue">The X-Factor:</font></font> <font color="Red">Consistency</font> This has been an issue since last season. The Raps would look so good one night that it made average fans dream about Raps having a winning streak too long and then they would just collapse right through the hardwood the night after. To win tonight's game, the Raps better bring out their 'A' game on both ends of the court.
oh yeah...im feelin some big numbers by carter...after raps got blown by magics...carter will take care of evrything...i say 105-97...carter with 39 points and 8 assists...alston 18 points 13 assists...
Ok... I Think thats just over estimating him... most he will probably get tonight is 28 pts and 5 boards 6 ast
This one can go either way really, but we'll see what happens, I'll say the Raptors win it 97-95 in another nail biting game. Chris Bosh - 16 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block Vince Carter - 19 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals Rafer Alston - 14 points, 2 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 turnover Gary Payton - 15 points, 7 assists, 1 turnover Ricky Davis - 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists Paul Pierce - 21 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 turnovers I don't see a big man domination today at least from their starting big men as they aren't Bulls, but Kendrick Perkins could be able to do damage with enough PT, and maybe Al Jefferson.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Celtics are a team that plays next to no defence</div>What are you basing that on? EDIT-I'm still curious as to why you would say that in the game preview. Here's how they stack up in all the major defensive catergories. I've included Toronto's stats for comparison. Opponent FG% Bos- 43.5% (12th in the league) Tor- 15.8% (26th) Opponent Points per Game Bos- 95.64 (13th) Tor- 100.64 (29th) Opponents 3P% Bos- 31.9 % (7th) Tor- 34.5% (16th) Blocks per Game Bos- 15th in League Tor- 22nd in League Steals per Game Bos- 9th in League Tor- 16th in League
Yup, Bonner is having a great homecoming (he's from New Hampshire). I think the Celtics are playing terrible so far. I think they'll definitely close the gap, but I'm not so sure that they'll win.
damn, raps lose 91-89. big play for gary payton to strip the ball from jalen rose. we play the cavs tomorrow, its our 7th back to back so this isnt to great.
Damn..... The Celtics won, Gary Payton with a huge defensive play with 5 seconds left. Jalen was going up for the shot and guess what? STRIPPED. I knew Gary would do something big but I didnt think it would be that big. Loren Woods and Rafer Alston are now in Sam Mitchell's doghouse, they got benched after racking up a technical foul each and never came back. Bonner had a huge game, if he keeps this up I think we should try starting him and seeing how he does.
Jalen... raptors got plenty of breaks but didnt captalize on them... 4 cons. missed free throws at the end and we lost... 91-89
We just collapsed. Oh well, good game, nice esupport for Bonner @ the Fleet. We could ahad that, we just didnt pull it off. Damn.
Ahhh we lost! 4 games below 500. I don't get it with this team. We can beat the best teams like Miami and San Antonio but then we have so much trouble beating the other teams that are not that good. Its so frustrating to see. I hate to say it but I think its time for a trade. Its inevitable, i think Babcock is just waiting for the best deal. Its very unfortunate but i think its time for Raptors to get some new blood.
TRADE VINCE!!!! RAPS KEEP LOSING!!! why dont they give the ball to carter more?? he just stands there and lets rose do everything.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MaxaMillion711:</div><div class="quote_post">TRADE VINCE!!!! RAPS KEEP LOSING!!! why dont they give the ball to carter more?? he just stands there and lets rose do everything.</div> Maybe because he missed 12 shots tonight.
did u guys hear whats going on with mitchell and skip? mitchell benching skip and woods for tomorrow games for their actions tonight when they got teed up, then skip saying that he thinks he doesnt fit in with the team any more
Who cares if he missed a lot. You get the ball to your best player. Vince is the best in the clutch, he had a spectacular move with about 2 minutes left that brought the raptors within 2 (i think). Forget stats, get the ball to vince!!!!
