Raptors @ Celtics @ Toronto Raptors (25-32) at Boston Celtics (23-36) Friday February 27, 2004 7:00 p.m. EST Venue: Fleet Center Probable Starting Lineups PG: Milt Palacio* (TOR)/Chucky Atkins (BOS) SG: Roger Mason* (TOR)/Paul Pierce (BOS) SF: Morris Peterson* (TOR)/Jiri Welsch (BOS) PF: Donyell Marshall (TOR)/Brandon Hunter (BOS) C: Chris Bosh (TOR)/Mark Blount (BOS) *in for an injured player. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">BOSTON (Ticker) -- Someone will have to prevail on Friday night when two teams on seven-game losing streaks meet as the Boston Celtics host the Toronto Raptors. Boston and Toronto are in a jumble near the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff chase. Both teams have struggled recently, but the Raptors currently hold the seventh slot and the Celtics are just 2 1/2 games out of the eighth spot. </div> Click here for the complete NBA.com Preview Injury Report <u>Toronto</u> Lonny Baxter - Knee Vince Carter - Ankle Jalen Rose - Hand Alvin Williams - Knee <u>Boston</u> Raef LaFrentz - Knee Michael Stewart - Throat Keys to the Game From a Raptors Perspective <ul> [*]Get the Ball in the post: The Raptors need to take advantage of the Celtics weak front court and score some points in the paint. Donyell Marshall and Chris Bosh need to get the ball early for some easier points. [*]Make Pierce Shoot, not drive: It will be important for the Raptor defense to make Paul Pierce shoot the ball more instead of driving. By this I still mean to play tough defense, but anyone else would rather have him shoot from the outside for lower-percentage shots rather than get to the line. [*]Limit turnovers: The Raptors need to be smart with the ball and try to limit turnovers to limit the Celtics fast break chances. Limiting fast break points has been a key for a long time, mainly because they continue to lose games with either a lot of turnovers or too many fast break points given up. [/list] <font color="red">thefranchise3's Prediction:</font> This game is another winnable one, hopefully they won't blow it like they did against Washington on Wednesday. The Raptors are 11-18 on the road, and the Celtics are only 11-18 at home. For the second consecutive time in as many games, I'm picking the Raptors to win (by 3 or more).
Yep. Raps get beat by the Celts quite easily 88-75. However, although we lost, there's one thing i want to point out to anyone who thinks that the Raps are underachieving in any way w/o Vince, Jalen, and Alvin. Game after game, the Raps have been showing something that i'm so pleased to see...effort and willpower. The past couple of games (including today's) from start to finish, for the most part, they've been a passionate, high-energy team with a desire to do nothing less than give it all they've got. Today, the Raps found themselves down by 26 at a point in the 2nd half...but they still didn't give up. They kept battling back no matter how convincing the Celts lead might have been and showed a lot of heart. Another thing that should be pointed out was that a lot of times, the Raps had open looks & pretty simple lay-ups that they just couldn't knock down. The shot selection was good for the Raps today...but if you don't have many CONSISTENT scorers & shooters on your team, what else can you do? K.O. has done a great job on his part to organize the team's offense but unfortuantely...it's all up to the players to finish the plays.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Boston 88, Toronto 75 Celtics Roll Over Raptors BOSTON, Feb. 27 (Ticker) -- The Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors both were riding season-high seven-game losing streaks. Paul Pierce made sure Boston's ride came to an end. Pierce scored 21 points to lead the Celtics to an easy 88-75 victory over the shorthanded Raptors. Boston won for just the second time under interim coach JohnCarroll, improving to 2-12 since the resignation of Jim O'Brien on January 27. Toronto has not won since superstar Vince Carter sprained his ankle in a 101-94 victory over Phoenix on February 10. The Raptors have lost eight straight overall and four in a row in Boston. </div> Click here for the complete NBA.com Recap Box Score Donyell Marshall grabs a double-double in another Raptor loss. This just shows how valuable Vince is to this team. They said on ESPN that he may be back on Tuesday at Miami. Next game is at home against the Celtics on Sunday, tip off at 1:00. Check back to the Raptors forum for another preview!
w <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Streetball2k3:</div><div class="quote_post">Raptors break the 7 game losing streak and win by 5.</div> That's a great sig man. :thumbsup:
