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Not since the days Air Canada days of Vince Carter have Raptors
fans been so excited about their team. Despite a pre-season
in which the Raptors went undefeated and had many fans buzzing,
they started off with a very slow start to the season starting
2-8 and finishing the month of November off at a dismal 5-10.
Even with the poor month of November, fans around Toronto
are very excited with their team as they have come on to win
2 straight and have gone 5-2 since their first ten games.
More importantly, since the Raptors play in the NBA?s equivalence
of the welfare system- awarding the poor for not doing much
of anything to help themselves, their 7-10 record places them
a ? game behind the New Jersey Nets for 1st place in the Atlantic
Division and 9th in the Eastern Conference where they also
sit a ? game behind the Miami Heat. Not lost in the shuffle
of the Raptors streak has been the emergence of the talent
of #1 draft pick Andrea Bargnani, who is finally getting the
chance to prove to Coach Sam Mitchell and General Manager
Bryan Collangelo his importance to this Toronto Raptors Squad.
At the insistence of Collangelo, Bargnani has come on strong
lately to be a strong compliment to established Toronto stars
Chris Bosh (21.1 PPG, 12.2 RPG) and TJ Ford (14.7 PPG, 7.8
APG) and has not disappointed the man who drafted him, averaging
12.0 PPG, 3.6 Boards, 1 block in his last 8 games in which
he has received at least 23 minutes of playing time per game.
He is beginning to show the silky smooth release that the
Raptors saw when drafting him, and has dazzled the Raptors
faithful lately with some strong takes to the basket and highlight
reel dunks.
"The good thing is his teammates have confidence in
him," Mitchell said. "They know he can shoot the
ball so they look for him ... he makes some good passes. Those
are the things that endear you to your teammates ? the little
things you do that make your teammates rally around you."
And in a season where the Raptors will have played over half
of their road games by the New Year, his improved play and
those of the fellow Raptors around him can be nothing but
great news in the 'Leastern' Conference. They are playing
well against their Eastern Conference Rivals, extremely well
at the Air Canada Center and with Morris Peterson coming back
from injury soon a run towards the Eastern Conference playoffs
certainly seems amongst their grasps, and with an improving
Bargnani, who knows what can happen once they get there.
Other Raptors Notes: 3 Toronto Raptors are on this year?s
NBA All-Star Ballot (Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, and Morris Peterson).
Another Raptor enjoying a great start to the season is the
inconsistent Joey Graham, who has played well in the absence
of Morris Peterson and is playing solid basketball on both
ends of the floor, using his athleticism to get to the rim
repeatedly while often checking the opposing teams top player.
His improved play of late could lead to the phone lines burning
up for a player that could be used in many places around the
league (Cleveland?)in Morris Peterson, where his veteran presence
and solid defense and 3 point shooting would be greatly desired.
By StrikeThree
Basketball
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