Hard to fathom, but Crystal all around for the Rap
stars of Canada
Opponent File
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors play in the Air Canada Centre
in Toronto. Their 2004 - 2005 record was 33- 49 (fifth in the Atlantic).
Here's the Toronto
Raptors Roster.
Local Papers:
Toronto
Star
Toronto
Sun | Raptors
Team Pages:
CNNSI.com
| Raptors
ESPN.com
| Raptors
FoxSports
| Raptors
NBA.com | Raptors
Sportsline.com
| Raptors
Streaming Audio
The FAN 590
AM | Raptors
Head Coach:
Sam Mitchell.
2005 Draft:
F Charlie Villanueva (#7), UConn; F Joey Graham (#16), OK State; G Roko
Ujic (#41),Croatia; F Uros Slokar (#58), Slovenia.
New Players:
G Mike James (Trade with
Rockets); G Jose Calderon (Free Agent).
Season Goal: Overcome dumb-ass comments of GM Rob Babcock, and
try to make it work in a hockey town. A playoff berth would be something
of a Canadian miracle.
Record vs. Nets: 1 - 1
G2: Nets
102, Raptors 92
G16: Raptors
95, Nets 82
Toronto Raptors (11 - 22) – Sunday, January
8, 2006, 1:00PM EST – Air Canada Centre
Rap Stars
What the devil is going on in Toronto?
The Raptors have suddenly become stars, winning five straight for the
second longest winning streak in the league (behind, ahem, the Nets nine
game streak, I might add). As the Nets face their first of four straight
road games, this was supposed to be the easy one. But with the dinotopic
play of F Chris Bosh, plus strong support from both vets (Mo Peterson,
Mike James) and rookies (the much maligned Charlie Villanueva, Joey Graham,
Jose Calerdon until he got hurt), the Rapts have taken it to the likes
of Atlanta (twice), Indiana, Orlando and
Houston to build their current streak.
The Nets? Well, hoping to make it 10 straight before things really get
tough, with San Antonio, Memphis, and Dallas games 2, 3, and 4 of the
road trip. Vince Carter returns to Canada once again, playing at a much
higher level than in the Nets' atrocious 96 - 82 loss back on December
3 and hoping to leave his mark all over Toronto. Can the Nets DJ their
way to a funky fresh 10 game win streak? Or will the Rappers from Toronto
bring the beat to New Jersey and rock their house?
- Joe
Toronto Raptors Cheat Sheet
The Story From Toronto: Oh,
that often-used NBA staple: Trust. The Raptors are using it as their reason
for the sudden surge of wins. Here's PG Mike James' take: "We're starting
to trust each other on the court," James said. "I think that's one of
the main differences that wasn't there at the beginning of the season.
We didn't know each other and if you don't know someone, you don't know
if you can trust them or not."
"The biggest thing we're doing right now is trusting each other on the
basketball court," echoed Toronto's Morris Peterson. "We're talking on
defence. I know if I get beat somebody's going to be there to help."
Pain Game: C Aaron Williams (stomach virus
) is day to day. G Alvin Williams (right knee surgery) is out.
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