Dear Chuck,

What a year. Seriously, I haven’t been through so many ups and downs in a single season following the Raptors. Every year, for the most part, you knew what kind of team we had heading into the season. You set your expectations, and away you go. Continue Reading

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The Toronto Raptors (39-39) will be looking for a little revenge when they host the New Jersey Nets (32-46) tonight. Not that the Raptors need any incentive to beat their Atlantic Division rivals, but with a Raptor win tonight, Vince Carter and the Nets will be officially eliminated from playoff contention. Continue Reading

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The Boo birds will be out in full force tonight at the ACC when the Toronto Raptors (27-23) host the New Jersey Nets (23-29) in the last game before the NBA All-star break. As every Raptor fan knows, there is a strong rivalry between these two clubs. The Nets knocked off the Raptors in the first round of the playoffs last year and it’s never pretty when “Toronto’s Public Enemy #1″ Vince Carter comes to town. Continue Reading

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In what can only be described as a bad collapse, the Bulls had everything to play for, but couldn’t deliver. In a game I would have bet a lot of money on that they would win, the Bulls didn’t even show up. They went from facing the Wizards then Toronto (at home) to get the Eastern finals, to being on road against Miami and Detroit.

I imagine it is a testament to the Nets. They have coasted for most of the season, suffering injury after injury, and when the iron was hot, they struck, and secured an easier road in the playoffs.
So the circus begins. Carter, the steward of Bosh’s throne, returns to the ACC for first round series that has everyone in T-Dot buzzing. I wonder how much those blood sucking scalpers are going to get for their tickets now? Would I rather have had faced the Wizards? Yes. Can the Raptors beat Jersey? Yes. Will they beat them? Hopefully.

The Nets have put it together down the stretch, short of Krstic, they have everyone in the line up healthy, and ready to go. Mikki Moore has been a handful for the Raptors all season, and now with Josh Boone back in the lineup, things only get a bit tougher in the front court. My key to this series is how we defend Kidd, Carter and Jefferson. My tentative matchups look as so:

PG:
Toronto – TJ Ford, Jose Calderon, Juan Dixon
Jersey – Jason Kidd

SG:
Toronto - Anthony Parker, Morris Peterson
Jersey – Vince Carter

SF:
Toronto – Joey Graham, Anderea Bargnani, Morris Peterson
Jersey – Richard Jefferson

PF:
Toronto – Chris Bosh, Kris Humphries
Jersey – Bostjan Nachbar

C:
Toronto – Rasho Nesterovic, Kris Humphries
Jersey – Mikki Moore

Bench:
Toronto – Jose Calderon, Juan Dixon, Morris Peterson, Kris Humphries
Jersey – Clifford Robinson, Jason Collins, Eddie House, Josh Boone, Marcus Williams, Antoine Wright

I don’t like how we match up at the point. Kidd will be abusing Ford, Calderon and Dixon in the low post. They are dangerous on the wings, but we can keep up. The Raptors shine in the front court, but guys like Mikki Moore (Renaldo Balkman) have been a scourge on our house all season…as Big John McCarthy would say “LET’S GET IT ON!”

Technorati Tags: Chris Bosh, TJ Ford, Jose Calderon, Juan Dixon, Anthony Parker, Morris Peterson, Joey Graham, Andrea Bargnani, Kris Humphries, Rasho Nesterovic, Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, Richard Jefferson, Bostjan Nachbar, Mikki Moore, Clifford Robinson, Jason Collins, Eddie House, Josh Boone, Marcus Williams, Antoine Wright, New Jersey Nets

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