<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>If ever a basketball team needed a couple of days away from the game, each other and the grind, it's the Raptors. And a break that began yesterday couldn't have come quick enough.Staggering home dragging a three-game losing streak along with them, trying to work a new starting centre into the mix, still unsure when their starting point guard will play or practise again, and seemingly unable to grasp the mechanics of defensive principles, the Raptors welcome a hiatus. "The break's coming at the right time for us," coach Sam Mitchell said after the Raptors were whacked 122-103 in Phoenix on Saturday night. "We've been through a lot as a basketball team with the injuries, emotionally with some of the types of injuries that we have. "We're getting the break at the right time to get away, let our bodies and our minds rest for a few days." But after two days of rest ?€“ the Raptors will practise in San Antonio on Boxing Day to get ready for the Dec. 28 resumption of the schedule ?€“ there is much work to do. Andrea Bargnani is now a starter and that presents several issues that have to be dealt with, the continued absence of T.J. Ford now seems to mean Juan Dixon must become more adept at running the team and, quite simply, the Raptors need to win. Dropping to 15-14 after the three most recent losses, they aren't only creating a separation from the lower echelon of the Eastern Conference, they are taking steps backwards. "Everybody would like their record to be better, but I'm pleased with where we are 29 games into the season," said Mitchell. "We're 15-14 and with the injuries we've had it could have been worse."</div> The Toronto Star
