Raps Squeak Out a W - 107-106 Raptors

Yay! Three-game winning streak! For the first time since the opening stretch of the season, the Toronto Raptors have won three straight games. After Devin Harris missed an open elbow jumper that could have won the game for New Jersey, the Raptors look to extend their winning streak to four games when they visit the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. Jose Calderon, Joey Graham and Anthony Parker combined to form a very effective trio, together going for 53 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds. Harris and Vince Carter led New Jersey in scoring with 25 and 27, respectively.

NBA.com recap

Player of the Game
Anthony Parker has been spectacular playing back-up point guard recently, and last night was no exception. Parker finished with 21 points, 6 assists and 7 rebounds in assuming the role of primary wing scorer. While it's not reasonable to expect AP to keep it up for the remainder of the season, it's great to ride his hot streak.

Notables:
Jose Calderon - 17 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals. Jose was again magnificent, orchestrating the Raptors offense and even playing some pretty solid defense. When Jose is at the point, this Raptor attack just rolls along.
Joey Graham - 15 points, 5 rebounds. Joey did not have eye-popping numbers, but his contribution didn't show up in the box score. He used his athleticism and provided energy to a sometimes lethargic Raptors squad, and was instrumental in the win.
Chris Bosh - 18 points, 6 rebounds, 1 steal. Bosh, Andrea Bargnani (8 points, 1 rebound, 5 fouls) and Jermaine O'Neal (8 points, 4 rebounds, 5 fouls) were all held in check well by the Nets' Brook Lopez and double-teams by Harris and Keyon Dooling. Bosh showed why he's a three-time All-Star, however, by fighting through and finishing with impressive numbers. It would be nice to see him get on the boards a little harder though.

Full box score

Stat of the Game:
The Raptors were on fire last night, knocking down eleven three-pointers and going for 55.7% (39-70) overall and 11-22 (50%) from the Land Beyond the Arc. This helped offset a 11-14 New Jersey advantage in turnovers and the Nets' 15 made threes.

Next Game: Friday, January 30th, 7:00 PM at Milwaukee Bucks

Raptors Set to Visit Nets

Tonight at 7:30 we have the Raptors paying the New Jersey Nets a visit. The game is on TSN2 (booo), the Fan590 and www.channelsurfing.net. The Raptors have won two straight and look forward to their third straight game against a sub-.500 team. A game against (shudder) former Raptor Vince Carter is always important, and hopefully the Dinos will bring their A-game to continue along their road to .500.

NBA.com preview

W2W4:
- Eric Smith points out that over Andrea Bargnani's last 15 games, he has put up 21.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 37 minutes per game while shooting 49.7% from the field and an even 50% from three. He's been dominant in 2009, and it's getting to be a given that he'll have 15+ and more than three boards - it seems the days of 4 points, 0 boards, 5 fouls and 3 turnovers are gone.
- Anthony Parker, as well, has put up some impressive numbers recently. In his last five games, he's averaged almost 15 points, over 7 assists and 6 rebounds, while shooting 50% from the floor. Jay Triano's plan to have him play point guard with Jose Calderon playing limited minutes has been ingenious.
- Against the Thunder in the Nets' last game, VC15 and Devin Harris combined for just 18 points on 6-of-29 shooting. Hopefully AP and Jose can keep them both in check and off balance.

Nets Revisit Toronto

Tonight Vince Carter and the Nets return to Toronto. The game starts at 7, and can be seen on TSN 2 (booooo!), channelsurfing.net, and heard on the Fan 590. With Toronto's tough loss to New Orleans, the Raptors fell to 5-6 on home court. "We just have to put something together, get some confidence at home,” said Chris Bosh. Last game against the Nets, the Raptors came out on top with a stunning defensive effort. They limited the Nets to just 79 points, and Vince Carter was 0-13 from the field. The season series between the rivals is now 1-1.

What to Watch For:
- Vince returns yet again. He will be booed. Mercilessly and deservingly.
- Yesterday's game saw the manipulation of the Raptors defense by the Hornets. The Hornets shot 48% (36-75) from the field and 36.4% (12-33) from three. Hopefully the newly defensive-minded Raptors can come back.
- The latest Raptor, Jake Voskuhl, may dress tonight. Let's see what he can bring to the Raptors down low.

Raps Learn to Love Karma - 101-79 Raptors

In a game that most likely had every single Toronto Raptors fan in the world smiling, the Raps pulled out another big win for their second in a row in their journey back to .500. Vince Carter had the first game in his career in which he did not make a field goal while playing at least 10 minutes. He spent 29 minutes bricking shot after shot, finishing with a line of 3 points on 0-13 from the floor including two missed threes and 3-4 from the line, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 fouls, 3 turnovers and a +/- rating of a Stephon Marbury-esque -32. Remember Vince's 39 points last meeting? Raise your hand if you like justice, Raptors fans.

NBA.com recap

Player of the Game:
Jamario Moon gets his first Player of the Game nod with a very strong all-around game. He finished with 8 points (4-10 FG), just shy of being the seventh Toronto player in double figures, to go with a team-leading 9 rebounds, 5 steals and a block. Excellent defensive game to help shut down Vince and the Nets.

Notables:
Jason Kapono - 16 points (6-15 FG, 4-9 3FG), 5 rebounds. Had another big scoring night as a starter. Didn't shoot as well as last game, but Kapono taking shots and missing is still better than Will Solomon taking them in the first place.
Joey Graham - 16 points (5-8 FG, 0-1 3FG, 6-6 FT), 3 assists, 2 rebounds. It appears that Joey "OM" G has finally found his niche. He's consistently bringing energy on both sides of the ball and is playing with great confidence. It's also nice to see a thunderous dunk nearly every game to get his teammates pumped.
Roko Ukic - 10 points (2-2 FG, 1-1 3FG, 5-6 FT), 5 assists, 4 rebounds, one turnover. Led the team in assists, contributed on both sides of the ball and had his most efficient scoring night of the season. PH bias, you say? Perhaps, but it looks like Hot Cocoa Roko is learning a thing or two from Jose.

Full box score

Stat of the Game:
Well, this one is easy. The Raptors played great defence for the second straight game (and second straight win - pattern anyone?) in holding the Nets to just 31.3% shooting (26-83) and 26.1% (6-23) from three-point land. The great defence helped counteract a fairly unimpressive shooting performance from the Raptors, in which they shot a mediocre 43.8% (32-73) themselves.

Raptors Go To Jersey

Tonight the Raptors fly to New Jersey to take on the game's greatest Raptor killer, Vince Carter, and the New Jersey Nets. The game is at 7:30 and can be viewed on TSN or at channelsurfing.net, and can be heard on the Fan 590. The Nets currently sit 2nd in the Atlantic Division at 11-9, due largely in part to the best scoring tandem in the association, Carter and Devin Harris. In addition, the Nets' Yi Jianlian currently sits 3rd in Eastern Conference forward voting and is above Chris Bosh who is in 4th. Nobody is quite sure why Yi's 11 points per game and 6 rebounds per game are better than Chris' 24.7 and 10.1, but hey, if life didn't have mysteries, no one would have anything to ponder.

What To Watch For:
- For the first time since November 28, the Raptors are going into a game coming off of a win. Lets see if they remember how to ride the momentum after a win.
- The Pacers game saw the return of Jamario Moon to the lineup, and he responded with 17 points and 8 boards. A great way to counterbalance Andrea Bargnani's recent struggles.
- Joey Graham has scored in double digits in his last 5 games, and in 7 out of the last 8. Credit his aggressiveness and explosiveness. Have we mentioned the irony that he has his pilots license?
- Anthony Parker sat out last game with a sprained ankle. Will he play today? In his place last game Jason Kapono started and responded going 11-16 for 25 points and 8 rebounds.

VC and the Nets Visit the ACC

Tonight is Raptors vs. Nets, 7:00 PM tipoff. The game is available on TSN, the Fan590, and at channelsurfing.net. It's Vince Carter's first return to Toronto this season, and of course he will be booed mercilessly. As he deserves.

What to Watch For:
- The Nets traded Jason Kidd last season for up-and-coming guard Devin Harris as well as scrub DeSagana Diop. Harris has been scoring at a solid clip, around 23 points per game, but he's been fairly ineffective as a distributor, with under six assists per game.
- New Jersey relies heavily on its two big guns to score, with only three players averaging double figures in points: Harris, Vince Carter at 22.6 per game, and Keyon Dooling at 10 even. This means that if Calderon and Parker can lock down their men, the Raps should have a good chance to win.
- The Nets are also giving up over 101 points per game this season. If the Raptors can establish Bosh, O'Neal, and a secondary scorer or two early, they should be able to score at will. This team has very poor big men, with Brook Lopez's non-existent D and Josh Boone's non-existent O, Bosh and O'Neal should have their way down low.
- In a match-up of soft foreign 7-footers, Andrea Bargnani (assuming he plays the 3) will be matched up with Yi Jianlian. Both are averaging around 10 points per game, but Chairman Yi has been a force on the boards, going for a little over seven per game. Andrea will need to think back to the definiton of "box-out" to keep Yi from being a game-changer.