Asdf's RaptorsDynasty: A dynasty no more

[Its_asdf]

Bosh and Maggette Bring Down the Mavs (127-119 OT Raptors*)

Raptor Boxscore
Mavericks Boxscore

The Dallas duo of Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finely helped bring back the Mavericks after a huge deficit, but Toronto's own duo of Chris Bosh and Corey Maggette were even better. Toronto went to the line 29 times and shot 50% from the field as Bosh and Maggette both flirted with triple doubles and led six players in double figure scoring as Bosh scored 21 points, grabbed 8 rebounds and dished out a career-high 7 assists. Corey Maggette led the Raptors in scoring with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Kerry Kittles provided a much needed lift off the bench yet again, pouring in 17 points this time. Rafer Alston racked up 17 points as well and this is his second straight game with 8 assists. J.R. Smith was the only other player to score in double figures with 14 points. Toronto nearly broke their franchise high in points scored in a single game which was 128.

Maverick's leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki notched 27 points and 9 rebounds, and Michael Finely also put up 30 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Rafer Alston played great defence on point guard Jason Terry and made him commit 5 turnovers, but Terry managed to score 29 points on 4 of 8 three pointers.

"We had the game under control and we let them back into it," said Kittles. "We let Nowitzki, Finely and Terry get hot and we could have won the game by 20 points. Coach told us to relax and we didn't panic and Bosh and Maggette helped us make a run in overtime."

The first half saw Toronto dominating the Mavericks, and after the second quarter, the Raptors orchestrated a 12-0 run led by Maggette and were up 64-20 by halftime. Dallas did not have a single assist in the first quarter and were outmuscled by Chris Wilcox and Chris Bosh. Bosh had 6 points and 6 rebounds in the first quarter alone and Wilcox had 12 points by halftime. DeShawn Stevenson injured his back during the middle of the second quarter after he drove to the basket and tried to draw the foul on Dirk Nowitzki. Stevenson fell to the floor extremely hard in an improper position and had to be carried off the floor by teamates.

Chris Wilcox played great post defence on Nowitzki and also create problems on offence, but Wilcox also banged up his arm in the third quarter, but he was eligible for play. Sam Mitchell decided not to risk it and left Wilcox out for the whole game. After the injury, Toronto looked tired, especially Kerry Kittles and Battie, who had to log extra minutes in the absence of both key bench players. The Mavericks began to inch closer and closer, narrowing the gap to 85-75 after the third quarter. The Raps only shot 36% while the Mavericks were red hot this quarter, scoring 35 points on 70% shooting. Michael Finely had a monster quarter scoring 15 of his 30 points in this quarter.

The Mavericks outscored Toronto 31-21 yet again, and Dallas took a one point lead after Jason Terry hit a three pointer, stole the ball, and went up for an uncontested layup. Dallas led 106-101 with a minute remaining, and Corey Maggette a cruicial pass to Matt Bonner for a short jumper and Maggette raced down the court for a huge slam after a Terry miss. Nowitzki missed another jumper and Bosh was fouled and made only one freethrow to tie the game at 106-106. Alan Henderson missed a wild shot at the corner and for the second straight game, the Raptors were going to overtime!

The extra session started out with Chris Bosh burying a jumper and slamming home a dunk right in Keith Van Horn's face. Bosh came up with a steal at the other end and fed Corey Maggette for another dunk. Michael Finely answered back with 5 straight points to narrow the lead back to a 112-110 lead. Tony Battie managed to get an offensive putback and Chris Bosh had two nasty blocks on Jason Terry which led to another fast break dunk, but this time Tony Battie was the recipient of the dunk. Jason Terry and Kerry Kittles exchanged three pointers and the score was 119-113. Van Horn split a pair of free throws and Corey Maggette hit a rainbow fadaway jumper before the shot clock expired to give the Raptors a 124-114 buldge with less than a minute remaining. J.R. Smith was intentionally fouled twice and made 4 free throws and Terry and Nowitzki both made jumpers. Kerry Kittles made a final free throw to seal the game and the Raptors walked away with consecutive overtime wins.

"Chris did a fabulous job on defence and he looked like a point guard out there with the way he was passing the ball," said head coach Sam Mitchell. "He had that very big steal and those 2 blocks that were cruicial for us in overtime."

"I realized that I missed the free throw to win the game," said Bosh, who is a 72% free throw shooter. "I just tried to play the best defence that I possibly could and make up for it in overtime."

Picture of the Game

Bosh had some big defensive plays in overtime.

Other Pictures
Keith Van Horn struggled on offense in his first start, but provided a game-high 13 rebounds.
Chris Wilcox was on the verge of a fantastic game until he was injured.
Michael Finely made some pretty tough shots when he caught fire in the third quarter.
DeShawn Stevenson took a nasty fall on his back.

Player of the Game
C. Maggette

Min - 33
Pts - 27
Rebs - 7
Asts - 8
Stls - 1
Blks - 0
TOs - 3
PFs - 3
FG - 10/17
3ptFG - 1/3
FTs - 6/6

[Its_asdf]

It was a good game! LOve OT Games! I never get into any though...

That's too bad, overtime games are always really frutrating or really rewarding.... But hey, at least I won another one

Yo dude, how were u able to make an 8 player trade? The max is 6 players!

I'm guessing he did either two 2-for-2 trades, or a combo of trades that resulted in essentially a 4-for-4 trade....

wouldn't mind knowing what the trades were though It's Pape

X hit it right on the nail there, I just made Wilcox for Araujo then Rose, Marshall and Brown for Maggette Wilcox and Baker.

Nice update and good win too. Maggette had a very good 2nd game for your team, he really filled the stat sheet and shot pretty efficient as well.
By beating the Clippers in such an exciting game, do you feel like you got the better of the trade? Rose had 32 but still they weren't traded for each other straight up.

Did I get the better trade? Hell yeah I did! All the Clippers got were some old dudes in Donyell and Rose (who has an untradeable monster contract next season), and Kedrick Brown hopefully won't resign with the Clips (so I can get him again) and Araujo is just another useless white guy like Shawn Bradley.

Maggette is also making like 7 million a year for like 5 years, which is pretty good for a 20-6-3 guy, and I'll have positive 13 million in cap space during the offseason!

Sorry I havent posted in here much at all. But this is really good, I like your write ups and your player report cards are great, they give me a chance to catch up on how you players are going when I dont have time to check all the game recaps. I look foward to hwo you go for the rest of the season.

Are you going to NLSC rookies??

Good Luck.

Hey, thanks for the support Mark, it's always good to hear from someone new once in a while. I think I'll just stick to the generated rookie bums, since I'm too lazy and I don't have any clue on how to use that "DBF" stuff and all that.

[Its_asdf]

Toronto Star's Interview With Sam Mitchell



In a season filled with change, the Toronto Raptors were expected to be one of the teams at the bottom of the barrell. Suprisingly, Toronto has caught many teams off guard with their impressive play and after their predicted sluggish 1-3 start, the Raptors have turned it around and are now one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference; sitting at the top of the Atlantic Division with a 13-7 record after going 8-2 in their previous ten games. Someone or something had to be responsible for turning things around so quickly in Raptorland after going several seasons of being deprived of post-season play. One of the names that have come up are the Raptors' head coach Sam Mitchell.

===============================================

STAR: Well Sam, you've had a pretty good career as a ball player and now you have recently started coaching. How is it different from playing?

Mitchell: Well, coaching is completely different from playing first of all. Coaching, I'd have to say it's a lot more stressful (laughs). But I knew what I was getting into. I'm just trying to focus on the positives and use that as a guiding light for the future.

STAR: There have been many changes this season. What do you think has been the largest shake up in this organization?

Mitchell: The Carter trade was obviously a huge one. We had some really good veterans and it's a shame that I couldn't keep guys like Eric Williams and Alonzo Mourning here for that long. The trade that we made with the Clippers also gave a more larger impact on the team than the trade involving Orlando and New Orleans, but those trades also were pretty big. We finally got a true centre in Battie and an athletic monster in Stevenson, and we also somehow got an extremely talented J.R. Smith from the Hornets.

STAR: Rob Babcock took some heat in some of those trades and he also drafted Rafael Araujo, which also caused some uneasiness. Is it finally paying off now?

Mitchell: Definitely! We are winning more games now aren't we? (laughs) Rob always tried to make aquisitions that benefit the team and the future, and I'm always behind him 100%.

STAR: Speaking of trades and aquisitions, what do you see in Corey Maggette, Chris Wilcox and Kerry Kittles after you traded for them at the trade deadline?

Mitchell: All three of them are competitors. They play hard every night and that's all I can ask for. Corey has obviously gotten that slow start off of his back and is playing like the superstar he's supposed to be. Kerry is just playing fabulously as our sixth man, he's one of the older guys on our team and I think he's really trying to set the tone for our younger guys. I really like Wilcox too. He's just so young and so talented, I'd like to play him a little more if time permits.

STAR: Vince Carter wanted out this season and he is now playing at an MVP candidate level. He also admitted that he never gave everything into the game. Any comments?

Mitchell: I think he was just taken out of context. Obviously injuries and things like that have hurt his reputation, but I don't think Vince is that type of guy. It hurt pretty badly to have to trade him away, but we can't dwell on that and we've got a bright future ahead of us with players like Bosh, Maggette, Smith, Alston and Stevenson.

STAR: You got into a little squabble with J.R. Smith about him not starting earlier this season. Could you elaborate on that?

Mitchell: There's nothing to elaborate. He just wanted to start, and I said he'd have to work his butt off to get that spot. I don't think J.R. took it in any wrong way or whatever, he was just frustrated I guess.

STAR: Is his future with the Raptors important?

Mitchell: Why of course! He's 19 and he can put up some impressive numbers. Sure he'll lose concentration once in a while, it always happens. You just have to keep pushing him in the right way and eventually he'll be able to get himself going. He's showing that he is a maturing player and he can keep up with the rest of them.

STAR: How would you elvaluate Chris Bosh's game right now? His strengths? His weaknesses?

Mitchell: Bosh has what it takes to be a good player. He works hard in practice and in games, and you're beginning to see that Bosh is a little more versatile and has worked on his overall game. He's very mature for his age and we are definitely trying to make our team compliment him and make him the leader of this team. Your team plays with the confidence and the heart your star player does, so that's what has really impressed me.

STAR: People have compared him to Kevin Garnett, one of the most best players in the league right now. Now you've played with Garnett back in Minnesota. Do you agree?

Mitchell: It's a very big compliment for him and it's a big comparison to live up to. It's hard to tell since Bosh is just scratching the surface and Garnett is already a proven veteran and MVP for his team. Hopefully Bosh will develop into that kind of player, and Bosh has the work ethic and heart to do so.

STAR: Can you describe to us what was the difference between being an assistant coach back in Milwaukee and a head coach now? What is the style and philosphy that you are trying to instill into this team?

Mitchell: As an assistant coach you didn't take any blame for a loss (laughs). The assistant job was helping me get acquainted with coaching and sort of help me get an easier understanding of it. Now as a head coach, I have to apply those understandings and take more responsibility for my actions. I'm trying to get my guys to work hard and play at 100% every night. I can accept mistakes and losses, but if you're not giving it your all than you're basically just giving up on the team.

STAR: Well that's all the time we have for today, good luck on making the post season and thank you for your time.

Mitchell: Thank you.

[Anthony15]

nice interview

Do u think i should trade Prince and Araujo for Magette?

[Mark.]

Yeah I liked that interview, sounded very real. Looks like you've created a very strong roster, not only good for the future but also right now. Good Luck for the rest of the season.

[Its_asdf]

Phoenix Suns (9-11) vs Toronto Raptors (13-7) Preview

In is what is expected to be one of the most entertaining games this season, the Toronto Raptors are hoping to get another three game winning streak going as they host the Phoenix Suns at the ACC. Toronto has three three game winning streaks this season, which is their season high. Toronto nearly let up a 24 point lead against the Dallas Mavericks last week, but Corey Maggette made some big shots and Chris Bosh had some monster defensive plays to win it in overtime. Maggette finished with 27 points, 7 rebounds and assists in his third Raptor outing and Chris Bosh also poured in 21 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. That was the Raptors' second straight overtime game and also won the previous overtime against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Phoenix Suns are currently in tenth place in the Western conference and are battling with Denver and New Orleans for the eighth playoff spot. With a win here, Phoenix could move to ninth place. Phoenix made two key free-agent signings during the off-season, acquiring two of the biggest free-agents in Quentin Richardson and Steve Nash. The Phoenix Suns run a very similar up-tempo pace like the Raptors, and are always looking to score and run on the fast break. This should be a very high-energy game with a lot of running involved, which is sure to please the home crowd.

"We both are looking to run and score in transition," said Corey Maggette. "We both have very quick guards that are very good passers (Alston and Nash), and I have a feeling that it is definitely going to be a close game and a very good game for the fans to enjoy."

Notes to Know
-Corey Maggette and Quentin Richardson were teamates for four seasons in L.A. Maggette was also teamates with power foward Bo Outlaw for his rookie season in Orlando, and Outlaw was also a Clipper earlier on in his career.
-Tony Battie was teamates with Walter McCarty from the '98-99 season to the '03-04 season with the Boston Celtics.
-All of the Atlantic division teams have eleven losses except for the Toronto Raptors.
-Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion are both ranked sixth in the league in rebounds per game with 10.9.
-Canadian Steve Nash is second in the league in assists per game with 7.9.

Starting 5

C - T. Battie(6ppg, 6.8rpg) vs A. Stoudemire(17.3ppg, 10.9rpg)

PF - C. Bosh(18.4ppg, 8.8rpg) vs S. Marion(17.3ppg, 10.9rpg)

SF - C. Maggette(19.5ppg, 4.3rpg) vs Q. Richardson(15.1ppg, 6.6rpg)

SG - J.R. Smith(13.1ppg, 2.7rpg) vs J. Johnson(16.2ppg, 4apg)

PG - R. Alston(10.4ppg, 6.1apg) vs S. Nash(16.6ppg, 7.3apg)

Key Matchup
PF - C. Bosh(18.4ppg, 8.8rpg) vs S. Marion(17.3ppg, 10.9rpg)

Bosh will be basically guarding a small foward for most of the game today. Marion is 6-7 foward who was moved into the power foward position this season because of the Sun's transition offense. Marion is an extremely good rebounder for his size and he has great leaping skills. Marion should have trouble guarding against Bosh's 6-10 frame, but this should be a fairly entertaining matchup.

[Its_asdf]

nice interview

Do u think i should trade Prince and Araujo for Magette?

Thanks, and I think think that Maggette isn't worth both Prince AND Araujo. If I remember correctly, Araujo is pretty good in your dynasty is he not? Besides, you'd be short on big men if you had to trade Araujo anyway. Prince is also a way better defender than Maggette, but Maggette is a much better scorer. A Maggette/McGrady combo could be very interesting though.............

Yeah I liked that interview, sounded very real. Looks like you've created a very strong roster, not only good for the future but also right now. Good Luck for the rest of the season.

Thanks a lot Mark, I just wanted to try something new, and not to plagiarize as much as possible, since I knew the articles that I wrote before weren't too good. Whatever I try to do I try to put my best effort into it and NOT plagiarize, so I guess it paid off.

[thaKEAF]

This dynasty is tight, love the end of the month report.

[John WB]

Phoenix's record sucks!

[Captain Chris]

this is pretty awesome man

[Its_asdf]

Suns Stomp the Raptors (99-87 Suns*)

Raptors Boxscore
Suns Boxscore

In what was expected to be a high-scoring, exciting and intense game, the Toronto Raptors did not perform up to par and the Phoenix Suns took advantage. Phoenix went 11 of 21 from beyond the arc for an impressive 12 point win. The Suns now move to ninth place and within striking distance for the eighth and final playoff spot. Canadian point guard Steve Nash led the Suns against a terrible Raptor defence with 24 points and 6 assists. Back-up point guard Leandro Barbosa also surprisingly gave the Suns a much needed scoring punch off the bench, scoring 15 points in just 10 minutes.

Toronto lost it's first game of the month and had their two game winning streak snapped. The Raptors are first in the league in field goal percentage, and even though Phoenix is not considered a very good defensive team, the Raptors only shot a terrible 38% from the field. Chris Bosh's strong play during this month has continued, this time putting up 17 points 14 rebounds, 7 assists to go with 4 blocks. Corey Maggette led the team in scoring, with 19 points, but Maggette and Bosh combined to shoot only 14 of 37 from the field. J.R. Smith also scored 16 points and Tony Battie added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

"We didn't come in prepared, we thought we could just waltz in here with a win," said Maggette. "We let our fans down and we let ourselves down. We have to watch some tape, see what we did wrong, and practice harder for the next game."

Toronto outrebounded the Suns 16-9 in the first quarter, with Bosh, Battie and Chris Wilcox grabbing a total of 14 rebounds. The Raptors got 6 offensive rebounds, three coming from both Bosh and Wilcox, who had 6 rebounds this quarter to zero by the Suns. This translated into an 8 point 24-16 lead even though both teams shot just below 40% from the field.

Toronto let the Suns back into the game in the second quarter after Toronto got into some early foul trouble and was over the team foul limit extremely early. This led to 14 free throws attemped by the Suns. Both teams began to pick up the pace and started playing the high-paced game that they were supposed to play. The Suns were ahead 48-46 in the second quarter, but DeShawn Stevenson, who was playing with a sore back, slammed down a powerful dunk to end the first half at a 48 tie.

The Raptors continued to let the game slip away, missing their first four shots of the third quarter. The Suns shot only 40% this quarter, but the Raptors were even worse from the field, scoring only 13 points on a horrendous 4 of 20 shooting. Phoenix Suns' starting center Amare Stoudemire was plagued with foul trouble all game long and quickly picked up his fourth foul this quarter and had to sit out for the majority of the game. The score was 69-61 for the Suns.

After a terrible third quarter and a lot of screaming from Sam Mitchell, the Raptors came back to life and scored the first 5 points of the fourth quarter, which led to an 8-2 run fueled by a three pointer by Kerry Kittles and a three-point play also courtesy of Kerry Kittles. The Raptors faced only a one point 76-75 Phoenix lead after Tony Battie made a three point play and a Chris Bosh putback slam tied the game 78-78. Quentin Richardson answered right back with a few jumpers and Steve Nash also hit some free throws to re-create a 5 point lead. At the waning seconds of the game, Steve Nash hit a big three pointer, which was followed immediately by two more three-pointers by Joe Johnson and Jimmy Jackson to seal the game. Toronto was hot from the field shooting 50%, but the Suns equaled their offesive effort with 53% of their own.

"I think we played like a really good team in the first quarter," said Sam Mitchell. "But god knows why we just stopped playing defence and got lazy on offence. We can forget about the playoffs if our team comes mentally prepared like this. It's disgusting."

Picture of the Game

Nash made it look easy out there, shooting 9 of 17 from the field and handed out 6 assists.

Other Pictures
Ex-Clippers Quentin Richardson and Corey Maggette both forced each other into bad games with their defence.
Chris Wilcox grabbing one of his 8 rebounds off the bench.
Joe Johnson hit this three point dagger to put the Raptors away for good.
Corey Maggette's eyes lit up and hit some shots when he saw that Paul Shirely was gaurding him.

Player of the Game
S. Nash
Min - 27
Pts - 24
Rebs - 4
Asts - 6
Stls - 0
Blks - 0
TOs - 4
PFs - 3
FG - 9/17
3ptFG - 2/3
FTs - 4/4

[Its_asdf]

This dynasty is tight, love the end of the month report.

Thanks thaKEAF, your dynasty ain't half that bad either.

Phoenix's record sucks!

I don't know why but Phoenix was rated 91 overall in the game too... Very wierd stuff.

this is pretty awesome man

Thanks man.

[John WB]

Tough loss, but hey, you're the Raptors afterall..

[Micchy_boy]

Nice read about Sam's interview...

Well it seems you ding great in rebuiding the Raps with few great player... it's a competetive team right now but will do wonder more in the future...

[The X]

Tough loss, but hey, you're the Raptors afterall..

gotta luv the one-liners

13-9 is a pretty nice record....let's see if you can get the Raptors to the post-season

[Its_asdf]

Toronto Raptors(13-8) vs Philadelphia 76ers Preview(11-11)

The Toronto Raptors are hoping to regain their focus against a lowly division rival as they play the Philadelphia 76ers. The Raptors came off an ugly loss against the Phoenix Suns two weeks ago, and Sam Mitchell blasted his team saying that his team was "very unprepared mentally" and that the Raptors "can forget about the playoffs" if their sloppy play continued this game. Although it was a disappointing loss, the Raptors did get a solid 17 point, 14 rebound and 7 assist effort from Chris Bosh, but Bosh only shot 38% from the field.

"Those words definitely hurt," said Raptor swingman Corey Maggette. "But we have to take his words and consider that he is trying to get a point through. I do understand that he is asking us to step it up, because when it comes to the playoffs, we can't mess up."

The Sixers, like Phoenix, are in tenth place and are struggling to reach the playoffs, and only have 7 games left. The Sixers pulled off some trades and re-built most of their roster as well. Philadelphia sent Kenny Thomas, Brian Skinner and Corliss Williamson to Sacramento for superstar foward Chris Webber, who was taken over as the leading scorer and rebounder on the team. The Sixers have also exchanged large expiring contracts with the New Orleans Hornets, sending Glenn Robinson in exchange for Jamal Mashburn and Rodney Rogers. The Sixers have also shaken up their starting lineup quite a bit, moving Webber to the center position and Rogers at the power foward. The Sixers have also moved Kevin Ollie to the starting lineup and Allen Iverson back to shooting guard.

Notes to Know
-Toronto is first in the Atlantic division while the 76ers are in the last place.
-Ahead of the Sixers in the race for the final playoff spot are also another Atlantic rival, the Boston Celtics.
-Jamal Mashburn and Allen Iverson are averaging career lows in points per game, (Mash averages 7.4, and A.I. averages 17.5), but Jamal has only played 2 games while Iverson has played all 22.
-Iverson and Vince Carter exchanged 50 point games in a thrilling 2001 conference semi-finals that went down to Vince Carter missing the final shot in game seven to lose to the Sixers.
-Many Raptor fans are furious at Rob Babcock because did not use their 8th overall pick to select rookie Andre Iguodala, who was picked up by the Sixers right after the Raptors selected Rafael Araujo.

Starting 5

C - T. Battie(6.1ppg, 7rpg) vs C. Webber(21.2ppg, 10.2rpg)

PF - C. Bosh(18.3ppg, 9rpg) vs R. Rogers(5.1ppg, 3.4rpg)

SF - C. Maggette(19.4ppg, 4.3rpg) vs J. Mashburn(7.4ppg, 2.6rpg)

SG - J.R. Smith(13.1ppg, 2.7rpg) vs A. Iverson(17.2ppg, 6.5apg)

PG - R. Alston(10.1ppg, 6.1apg) vs K. Ollie(1.2ppg, 0.7apg)

Key Matchup

SF - C. Maggette(19.4ppg, 4.3rpg) vs J. Mashburn(7.4ppg, 2.6rpg)

Although Mashburn was expected to be out for the whole season and retire, Mashburn has come back and is hoping to help his team in a final playoff run. Mashburn's health was always a concern throughout his career and he still looks uncomfortable on the floor. Maggette has to take advantage of that both offensively and defensively, and Maggette should have no trouble blowing by the older, more slower Mashburn.

[Its_asdf]

Tough loss, but hey, you're the Raptors afterall..

Gah.....

13-9 is a pretty nice record....let's see if you can get the Raptors to the post-season

I'm pretty sure that I can make it, because im third in the East right now and the schedule for my last month doesn't look too hard.... So hopefully I can rack up some wins and head into the playoffs on a good note.

Nice read about Sam's interview...

Well it seems you ding great in rebuiding the Raps with few great player... it's a competetive team right now but will do wonder more in the future...

Thank you Micchy, I was hoping one day you'll reply.

[Its_asdf]

Sixers Stumble Against Raptors (107-90 Toronto*)

Raptors Boxscore
Sixers Boxscore

Toronto seemed to finally get Sam Mitchell's point across in the third quarter. The Raptors were bashed by their head coach after the Raptors mentally collapsed against the Phoenix Suns last game. Luckily, the Raptors bounced back for a phenomenal effort, with five players scoring in double figures. Corey Maggette once again led a versatile attack with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists. Bosh also gave the Raptors yet another solid double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Rafer Alston also went 6 of 8 from the field for 16 points and 7 assists.

"We played some tough, hard-nosed basketball," said Chris Bosh. "We wanted to prove to the coach and ourselves that we were ready for the playoffs. We managed to beat the Sixers in almost every way, whether it was assists or rebounds, and we really took it to them and we got some positive results."

With this loss, the Sixers have slipped even lower from playoff contention and are not looking to good with only 7 games remaining in their schedule. Allen Iverson played some fantastic ball for the Sixers, but it seemed like he was the only one trying. The Sixers got 32 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists off of Iverson, and Jamal Mashburn played only his third game of the season but gave a pretty good offensive input of 16 points. Leading scorer Chris Webber looked terrible on both ends of the floor, as he only scored 6 points on 1 for 6 shooting. The Sixers were outrebounded 43-30 and also only had 13 assists to Toronto's 23.

"I feel like I am the only one who wants to make the playoffs," said a frustrated and angry Iverson. "Sometimes our players just stand there like they have nothing to do. This is bull."

Toronto got some early production out of Rafer Alston, who had 7 points and 3 assists already in the first quarter. This led to a solid 31-18 lead for the Toronto Raptors at one point, but Allen Iverson got hot in the second quarter, scoring 20 points in the quarter alone on mid-range jumpers. Iverson had 26 points by halftime to lead all scorers, and the Sixers scored 37 points on 65% shooting in the second quarter to gain a 55-54 advantage after the first half.

Kerry Kittles was defending Iverson at the time, and Sam Mitchell was furious and benched Kittles for the whole game. Kittles played 6 minutes and had 2 points. "Coach got a little tough on me because he knew I was one of the best defenders on the team," said Kittles. "Hopefully it won't happen again. I gambled on some plays and you should never gamble against Iverson or he'll burn you. I guess I had to learn that the hard way."

Chris Wilcox was injured again, but this time he injured his back during the first few minutes of the third quarter as he ran into Chris Webber while trying to get to the basket. Wilcox was out for the whole game and his status is currently unknown. With Wilcox out, Toronto picked up the slack, going on a 11-2 run to give the Raptors a sizeable 81-70 lead heading into the fourth. Corey Maggette, J.R. Smith and Rafer Alston supplied most of the Raptors' offence, scoring 20 of the Raptors' 27 points while also keeping Allen Iverson scoreless and limiting the Sixers to only 15 points.

It was a good old fourth quarter shootout to end the game, and Corey Maggette and Chris Bosh each chipped in 8 points for the Raptors. The Raptors shot 60% from the field while continuing their hard-nosed defence, allowing the Sixers to shoot only 38%. Alvin Williams managed to hit two three pointers in the final seconds of the game to finish things off.


J.R. Smith shows fellow rookie Andre Iguodala his crossover has he had 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Pictures
Jamal Mashburn shows that he still has some good legs and finishes the dunk strong.
Corey Maggette just plain outjumped Kyle Korver for this incredible putback slam.
Chris Wilcox got injured for the second time in three games
Iverson had a huge second quarter against the Raptors.

Player of the Game
C. Maggette
Min - 29
Pts - 26
Rebs - 6
Asts - 6
Stls - 0
Blks - 0
TOs - 1
PFs - 1
FG - 11/20
3ptFG - 2/5
FTs - 2/2

[John WB]

Nice win.

I still can't see how anyone could play with the lights off.

[Its_asdf]

Nice win.

I still can't see how anyone could play with the lights off.

Well you won't have to worry about that anymore, because this dynasty is officially


OVER

My brother re-formatted the computer without telling me, so I didn't get any chance to save my files. I wish I could have continued, but I was planning on going on a short hiatus on my dynasty because of exams anyway.

Hopefully I will make a new dynasty, (for those of you who actually care), if I somehow get the time. Thanks for all of the support that kept this thing rolling.

[Fresh8]

Hey man... I see where ur getting at before in my dynasty... maybe I will take over Toronto!

[The X]

gutted about your bro formatting the computer

hey Sit, I've already started a Raptors dynasty

[John WB]

That sucks. He should have told you, so you could save it before he did that.

[cklitsie]

for those of you who actually care

I do, this sucks for you man...

[Mark.]

Yeah bummer man thats sucks, this was a great dynasty.

But its always fun starting a new one.