TSN on the Toronto Raptors

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

The Celts play the 10-6 Toronto Raptors on Sunday at 3pm. It is a second 
straight revenge opportunity, following the Nets game tonight. The last 
time, Keon Clark beat the crap out of us in the fourth quarter, so let's 
start with what TSN has to say on that score. This is not a scouting report 
but a cut&paste job.


http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/teams/raptors/
"For the many good things that Clark does, the 7-footer's habit of coming 
off his man to block shots has as many bad results as good. One thing the 
Raptors are trying to hammer into the third-year center's head is to pick 
his spots better. He's a great shot-blocker straight up or catching his man 
from behind if he gets beat. If Clark leaves his man and doesn't get the 
ball, the guy he's watching can usually be found grabbing and easy 
offensive rebound and scoring a ridiculously easy basket. That's one of the 
habits the Raptors would love to have Clark break."


POSITIONAL ANALYSIS

Point guard: Williams is only 27, but with all the beatings he is taking he 
looked like a 45-year-old man after one game this week. Williams' strain is 
showing with a sore back and creaky legs. Still, his assist-to-turnover 
ratio is about 6:1, and that's more than acceptable. Grade: C

Shooting guard: Defense has never been Carter's strongest suit; Charles 
Oakley used to rip him all the time about it. But Carter's play lately has 
been well above average, and that makes him even more valuable. His 
three-point shooting is streaky as always, but he's trying to get to the 
basket more often if his shot isn't dropping. Grade: B

Small forward: If he was still a rookie, we'd suggest Peterson had hit the 
proverbial rookie wall. But this is his second season, and there seems to 
be no clear answer for his shooting woes. He has had a good game here and 
there, but his inconsistency from 3-point range is troubling. As is his 
penchant for waiting for plays to happen instead of trying to create 
something. Grade: D

Power forward: Davis continues to adjust to a shift in position and the 
presence of Hakeem Olajuwon on the low block. Davis looks at times like 
he's fighting the ball offensively, which turns him rather static and 
uninvolved in what the team is trying to do. However, he's the team's 
hardest working and best overall rebounder so he contributes in other ways. 
Grade: C

Center: It didn't take Olajuwon too long to get himself into the Raptors 
record book, gobbling up 20 rebounds in a game against Detroit to set a 
franchise record for boards in a 48-minute game (Popeye Jones had 21 in an 
overtime contest). But after playing 43 minutes in that game, he was 
ineffective the next two nights, showing that his minutes will have to be 
closely watched. Grade: C

Coaching: Wilkens continues to mix and match his rotation to suit whatever 
matchups he wants to exploit and so far it's worked pretty well. Some 
nights he'll go for the athleticism of Keon Clark and Jerome Williams, some 
nights the veteran savvy of Dell Curry and Chris Childs. However, the 
offence is still too predictable and the Raptors don't get nearly enough in 
transition. Grade: C

Bench: Some nights it's very good, but the results are varied. Keon Clark 
has many more good nights than bad. Jerome Williams is fully recovered from 
a knee injury, and Chris Childs is around to make sure the defense gets 
paid some attention. And with Dell Curry and Tracy Murray on the bench, 
there's always going to be some veteran shooter to use. Grade: B

----------

The team has done it with defense. Vince Carter, in particular, has been 
excellent in the fourth quarters of road games, helping shut down Antawn 
Jamison, Corey Maggette, Shawn Marion and Paul Pierce. None of them scored 
significant points in the final periods of those games, primarily because 
Carter was able to deny them the ball where they most like it.

If Carter can become a consistently solid defender -- he doesn't have to be 
great, just above average -- it's going to make the Raptors even tougher 
because a team that plays good defense is often a team that enjoys good 
success on the road. ...

The glaring weakness, and the one that might grow to be hugely costly in 
the playoffs, is the team's reliance on outside shooting. And if Antonio 
Davis, Morris Peterson and Alvin Williams continue to be as cold as they've 
been, serious trouble looms. In a loss to Milwaukee the team held the Bucks 
to 78 points, which should be enough to win. But the four starters not 
named Carter went a combined 8-for-41 from the field -- a stat that just 
jumps off the page.