Raps Perform Magic Trick - 99-95 Raptors

In a stunning spoiler, the Raptors have pulled off a fifth straight win, this one over a team that is actually good. Led by spectacular showings by Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion and Jose Calderon, the Raps withstood the Magic's four-man attack of Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, Rashard Lewis and Jameer Nelson Rafer Alston, who combined for 83% (79 points) of the Magic's overall scoring. The game had 21 lead changes.

NBA.com Recap

Player of the Game:
Shawn Marion grabbed his first PH PotG nod with a nicely rounded box score of 17 points (8-13 FG, sickening 1-4 FT), 15 rebounds, 6 assists and one steal. He's been getting high-percentage shots, been active on the glass and is a very effective point-forward, and he's adapted well to the Raptors' system.

Notables:
Chris Bosh - 24 points (10-20 FG, 4-4 FT), 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks, 5 turnovers. Tough to resist giving Bosh the PotG nod, but 5 turnovers is even uglier than 25% free throw shooting. The two bigs brilliantly anchored the frontcourt with Andrea Bargnani's foul trouble.
Jose Calderon - 21 points (8-13 FG, 2-3 3FG, 3-3 FT), 8 assists, 3 rebounds. Brutally efficient. What else is there to say?
Andrea Bargnani - 16 points (7-12 FG, 0-2 3FG, 2-2 FT), 2 rebounds, 6 fouls in 25 minutes. Was scoring like he usually does, but was very hampered by foul trouble, having to deal with Superman and the Turkish Il Mago, Turkoglu. At least this isn't happening every day like last season, am I right?

Full box score

Stat of the Game:
The Raptors, helped along by Orlando's dismal (40.8%, 31-76) shooting, managed to outrebound the Magic by fourteen, and held Howard to just nine rebounds - though four of those were offensive, the team was boxed-out respectably by the Raptors, and the Magic recorded nine offensive boards to the Raps' ten.

Side Note:
Just to let you all in on a little secret, the +/- statistic in basketball is by far the stupidest stat ever. Jake Voskuhl, namesake of the act of "recording a Voskuhl", posted a horrific line of 0 points on 0-2 shooting (1 block against), 3 fouls and 2 rebounds in 6:37, yet he was +7. Someone please explain to me how he actually helped the Raptors. I will give you a chocolate bar nothing.

Raptors Fly to Orlando

Wednesday night at 7:00 the Raptors fly in to Orlando to play the Magic.
For view: TSN 2 TSN 666, channelsurfing.net
For listen: The Fan 590

The Magic have a lot of things going for them this season. They sit atop the Southeast Division with a healthy 55-18 record, they are winners of their last 6 straight, and have not lost a home game in the month of March.

Well here's the bad news, Orlando, the month of March is over! You opened up February with a loss at home, prepare to crumble under the awesome power of the Raptors!

The Raptors have won 4 games in a row, their longest streak of the year, and effectively dropping the 'C' (for now) that preceded their name. They are coming off of a glorious overtime win over Los Bulls, due in large part to the play of Jose Calderon and Chris Bosh, coupled with the energy of Pops Mensah-Bonsu Possum's Phone Ban.

The Raptors will try to split the season series tonight. The Magic are currently up 2-1.

W2W4:
- Dwight Howard grabbed 18 rebounds on Monday night, making him the youngest player in NBA history to record 5,000 career rebounds. If he didn't do it Monday night, he will do it Wednesday night. Dwight Howard owns the Raptor key.
- On another Dwight related note, this season vs. the Raps Howard has averaged 29 points and 10 rebounds per contest. HOWEVER, Dwight Howard has not yet met Pops Mensah-Bonsu Possum's Phone Ban KryptoDwight.
- Ex-Raptor Rafer Alston is the newest member of the Magic. He will most likely try to get revenge on the Raps and try too hard, resulting in embarrassing himself.

Raptors Remain Undefeated in the New Year - 108-102 Toronto

The Raptors couldn't silence Superman today, who put up 39 and 8, but in the end the Raps came out with a victory to stay undefeated in 2009. The injury-riddled Raptors (missing Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon) played great team defense and kept the offense flowing for all four quarters, controlling the pace and the flow of the game as they tied up the season series 1-1.

NBA.com Recap

Player of the Game:
Anthony Parker - 26 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists. A red hot 13-16 from the floor, Anthony hit some key shots late in the clock and late in the game. Another typical do-it-all game, doing the intangibles and the little things that he's been known to do. Tonight Parker was just 1 point off of his career high, who would have thought this on a night where he didn't even attempt a three ball?

Notables:
Chris Bosh - 23 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists. Perhaps most importantly, Chris went 13-14 from the free throw line. Some of these free throws came late in the fourth when the Raptors needed a cushion.
Andrea Bargnani - 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists. Redefining streaky, it appears that Andrea is out of his cold streak.
Roko Ukic - 12 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds. Roko for sure opened some eyes today, as he played the entire fourth quarter and set up some key buckets.

Full Box Score

Stat of the Game:
Late in the fourth quarter, it came down to who could make their foul shots. Both teams shot 24 foul shots tonight; the Raptors hit 23 of their 24, the Magic hit just 17. They can thank Dwight Howard for those misses as he shot 11-18 and missed many free throws when the Magic were trying to mount their comeback. After the game, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy commented on this, saying “That’s about what he shoots, but it’s not good enough. Sixty percent at the free throw line makes it tough. We’ve got a tremendous advantage down there. They couldn’t guard him at all, but they get to the fourth quarter and they just foul and it’s one for two every time. Then you’re coming to the other end and it’s two for two. That’s a big difference.” Howard must be used to this by now, as his only reaction was “I’m going to miss free throws". Maybe its time to hit the gym, Dwight.

Toronto Visits Orlando, Tuesday 7:00

Tuesday night the Raptors fly to Orlando to face the team that eliminated them from the 2008 playoffs. The game is available for view on the Score, and for listening on the Fan 590. You can also watch online with channelsurfing.net.

What to watch for:
- In the Raptors vs. Magic series in the postseason of 2008, the Raptors could not find any way to contain Dwight Howard. With the addition of Jermaine O'Neal, how will the Raptors fare in keeping Dwight off of the boards?
- Last game Bosh and O'Neal were huge, posting a combined 38 points and 25 rebounds. Hopefully we can see this production again.
- Jose Calderon's official status is "day-to-day". He will be a game-time decision in Orlando.
- Against the Heat, Sam Mitchell elected to add Andrea Bargnani to the starting lineup. He played well, and allowed Kris Humphries to greatly contribute in limited minutes. Will Sam keep Bargs in the starting 5?

The Magic currently sit atop the Southeast division with a record of 7-3. This game can give the Raptors the statement win they have been looking for all season.