.:|ReViViNg ThE RaPtOrS |:. ||9-5|| @ GSW Recap

Pre-Game Washington @ Toronto



Key Matchup

vs.
Chris Bosh vs. Antawn Jamison

Scott: Welcome back to EA News. NBA got rolling yesterday night and we saw a thrilling game yesterday at San Antonio.

Smith: Oh definitiely. Some great NBA ball last night. Reminds me of my NBA days, especially the years I won my two championships with Houston.

Scott: Man do times past by fast. Now Kenny, let's look at our first game. Washington and Raptors.

Smith: One thing I'll tell you right now. The Wizards aren't the same team without Larry Hughes. This guy put up 22 pts 6 boards 4 assists and 2.89 steals which lead the NBA. They got pretty good replacements in Caron Butler, Chucky Atkins and Antonio Daniels, but they will miss the defense and services of Larry Hughes.

Scott: Your thoughts on the Raptors?

Smith: Well, if there's a few things I learned from the preseason, it's the fact that Chris Bosh ready to take the load of being the franchaise guy. this guy put up monster numbers in the preseason, almost 28 points and 8 boards. Another thing is the Raptors rookies. I've been really impressed with both of them. From the athletisim of Joey Graham to the versatile skills of Charlie Villanueva, I'm impressed.

Scott: You think that their going to finish last in the league like the guys on ESPN said?

Smith: Definitely not. This team has potential. They may struggle on some nights because their a young team. They made a great trade with Houston. They got rid of a guy, and with no disrespect to Rafer Alston, who clashed repeatedly with his head coach last season. The Raptors got rid of some cap space and improved team chemistry with Mike James running the point. They were 3-4 in the preseason. Let's see if they can carry that type of effort to the regular season, where the real games begins.

Scott: The Key Matchup is Antawn Jamison vs. Chris Bosh. Your thoughts?

Smith: I have to go with Jamison on this one. Jamison is more experienced, and is very crafty on the floor. He puts up alot of floaters and off-balanced shots that makes the defense very difficult to guard him. He also has an outside game. You leave him alone on the perimeter and he'll burn you with a 3 pointer straight ahead. Bosh is going to have to play real strong defense and move quick on his feet to keep up with Jamison. Don't be surprised if Sam Mitchell throws Joey Graham on Jamison.

Scott: Now, off to the Lakers and the Nuggets....

Projected Starters:

Raptors:
C - Loren Woods #3
PF - Chris Bosh #4
SF - Joey Graham #14
SG - Jalen Rose #5
PG - Mike James #13

Wizards:
C - Brenden Haywood #33
PF - Antawn Jamison #4
SF - Jared Jefferies #1
SG - Antonio Daniels #6
PG - Gilbert Arenas #0

Good luck in ur season opener my man.

And ur trainer is pretty damn good... if VC were still around, he'd have no excuses for being injured!

You betcha. If Vince was still around, he's playing all 82 games with or without tendinitis

good luck man

thx, i'll need it for the wizards

pretty good staffs you've hired.... you leaned very much on defense w/c is great......

yah..last year, the actual club finished like pretty much last in every defensive statistical category, and we played lousy D..so I have to focus on that

Good luck for the season, my favorite staff member is the Assistant Coach, but I love how they took away dynasty points and put in staff members.

I spent the most money on him, so I was real high on my assistant coach, and I lk how they took away dynasty points too. It's much more realistic now

Good luck man, you got tough games ahead of you so do good and good luck again.

I'll need the luck..how great is this..opening the season with 4 playoff bound teams, when we're taking control of a rebuilding team.. hey tough loss btw..that Vince buzzer beater was the definition of a dagger..

Finally! Time to start the season, good luck in the season opener and nice article too

thx..and good luck on ur tridynasty with seraph and mark I liked the exhibition games and the NLSC team and jerseys

Wow! One of the rare and few dynasties that's going to take it all the way through 82 games! I pray for your endurance man...that's a tough one.

But hey you're doing 9 minute quarters so that'll ease up on the elongated schedule...Good luck with the Dynasty and keep those pics rolling. Make sure Bosh leads the lead in rebounds

...and of course, please send me your pstat file after you play your 21st game...plug baby plug...

thx..hope my school work doesn't get in the way of this. Yah..I hope Bosh will lead in rebounding, but somehow, I have to adjust my rebounding sliders. They just aren't co-operating

and yah..for sure bro..I'll send you my pstat file after my 21 games

Raptors Open Strong

- 116

- 125


Chris Bosh Opens up with 30 points and 5 Blocks

Toronto (CP) - The Raptors showed everyone that they could score like the Phoenix Suns.

The Raptors took a victory against the Washington Wizards on Wenesday night in a thrilling 125-116 win. Chris Bosh lead the Raptors with 30 points and 5 boards, but only had 2 rebounds, as both teams rebounded poorly, unable to pass the 30 rebound mark.

The Raptors looked were down by 7 after the first half. Everything seemed to be going Washington's way. The Raptors turned the rock over on several key possessions that could've trimmed the lead to 3, but let it slid to 7 by half time. The Wizards were lead by Jamison, who had a brilliant first half with 16 points and 7 boards. He finished with a double double, with 24 points and 11 boards.

The Raptors traded baskets with the Wizards throughout the first 5 minutes of the third quarter. At that point, the score was 91-82. Sam Mitchell took a timeout and got into his guys heads that this was their game. They have to play decent defense. That's when they held the Wizards scoreless for the rest of the third. Jalen Rose and Mo Pete both hit clutch 3 pointers to trim the lead down to 3 heading into the fourth quarter. A reverse layup by Rose, who had 20 on the night, gave the Raptors the lead, and they never looked back.

One key factor in the outcome of this game for Toronto was the Raptor's chemistry. The Raptors had 37 assists on 54 field goals, including 11-22 from downtown. Mike Jame lead the way with 12 assists for the Raptors. Rookie Jose Calderon came off the bench and in 12 minutes, he had 7 assists. Rookies Joey Graham and Charlie Villanueva did extremely well. Villanueva had 16 points and 5 boards and Joey Graham excited the crowd with 2 incredible dunks.

As for the Washington Wizards, Antonio Daniels lead the way with 31 points. Jamison had a double double with 24 points and 11 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas had a quiet night with only 14 points and 7 assists.

Toronto hosts New Jersey on Friday Nov. 4th.

In Game Photos
Alvin had 8 points after not playing a regular season game for a year
Graham opens up with spectacular fashion
Hoffa starts of the season with 4 points and a rebound
Bosh had 5 blocks tonight
Calderon had 4 points and 7 assists
Graham posterizes Jefferies
Jamison with a tough layup
Mike James had 11 points and 12 assists
Rose opens the season with 20 points and 6 assists
Villanueva with a HUGE statement
Villanueva gets by 3 Wizards for the slam
Woods gets by Jamison for 2

Wow, 30 points from Bosh, although I would have liked it a bit more if he had a few more rebounds. Oh well, the great games by Villaneuva, Rose and Peterson as well.

hm.. wow great win there, bosh is a monster. go charlie!
and boo png files, they take time to load !

great win to kick-off the season....... awesome game by bosh..... yeah a few more rebounds and he'll be an all-star......

Great start, 1-0! Such a good start for your confidence to win your season-opener, keep it up man.

Wow, 30 points from Bosh, although I would have liked it a bit more if he had a few more rebounds. Oh well, the great games by Villaneuva, Rose and Peterson as well.

yah..I just somehow couldn't rebound with Bosh. Wizards seem to get like every offensive board Have to fix the rebounding sliders..

hm.. wow great win there, bosh is a monster. go charlie!
and boo png files, they take time to load !

Are .jpegs better 4 u??
Yah..bosh's been a monster. Really like his options..and Charlie's great, rebounding and scoring

great win to kick-off the season....... awesome game by bosh..... yeah a few more rebounds and he'll be an all-star......

definitely. Bosh is an allstar. He's a rising PF in this league
as for the rebounding, I couldn't get anything with the Raptors..I'll have to fix the rebounding sliders..

Great start, 1-0! Such a good start for your confidence to win your season-opener, keep it up man.

yah..it's always good to get ur first win..even though the score got a little unrealistic..but it was fun

haha, png's take like 2 more secs to load then jpgs for some reason. but dont worry dude, i was just joking around. great stuff.

Pre-Game Nets @ Raptors



Key Matchup
vs.

Scott: Now looking at the Raptors and Nets. Kenny, your thoughts. How do you think Vince is going to react to the crowd?

Smith: It's Vince Carter's third trip back to Toronto. People will still boo him, but I don't think this will be nearly as bad as the first time he went back. He's gotten over it. To him, it's nothing really but another road game. Most importantly, the Raptors have gotten over it. There's ready to move forward now with Bosh as their star.

Scott: Your comments on the teams..let's start with the Nets.

Smith: There's not question thats a talented team right there. They could very well run off with that Atlantic Division title. They have a trio of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson. Many question their ability to play with each other, but they don't seem to have a problem. They all share the ball. Each of them get so much attention that it's so easy for atleast 1 of the three stars are open when a double team is drawn. Well, everything looks good for Jersey so far. They won their season opener. Let's see if they could beat the Raptors.

Scott: Well, with the talent that New Jersey has, to you, does it seem like this is automatic win night for Jersey?

Smith: Absolutely not. You can not turn you back on any NBA team in this league. You could be the San Antonio Spurs, and next thing you know, you loose against the Atlanta Hawks because you've underestimated them. The Wizards did that on Wednesday. They were leading all the way till the fourth quarter by 8 and next thing you know, with 5 minutes game time gone by, the Raptors are up by 1. They have some scary young talent with Villanueva, Graham and Calderon.

Scott: What's you key matchup tonight?

Smith: I think it's the battle of the small forwards. Graham and Jefferson. I don't think that Graham will be able to beat Jefferson in terms of point scoring, but he will definitely impact RJ's game, especially in the first half. At crunch time, I think Mitchell will go to his veteran guys like Rose and Peterson to play it out, but look for Graham to set the tone defensively on RJ in the first half.

Scott: Now..Detroit and Boston. Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups have...

Projected Starters

haha, png's take like 2 more secs to load then jpgs for some reason. but dont worry dude, i was just joking around. great stuff.

haha..good to know. I saved everything in .png format

Nice win man. Bosh and company played well.

Good luck against the "Triple Trouble" ( Kidd, Jefferson and Carter). It's gon be tough but u'll hang in there. Nice write up as well.

good luck against the nets dude.... let's see how graham performs against rj.... and if vince is gonna give air canada something to remember, just like what happened in illuzionz game against them.......

[b]Raptors Add Staff

I know im kinda late on this, but DAMN man, how did you get enough of a budget to get high rated staff members? and also, good luck for the rest of the season. and remember, you still owe me a dunk on carter by chris bosh or graham

Nice win man. Bosh and company played well.

Good luck against the "Triple Trouble" ( Kidd, Jefferson and Carter). It's gon be tough but u'll hang in there. Nice write up as well.

yah...It's always tough playing against the Nets. So many options on offense. Hope Carter doesn't pull another 30 footer game winning shot like he did in ur game..

good luck against the nets dude.... let's see how graham performs against rj.... and if vince is gonna give air canada something to remember, just like what happened in illuzionz game against them.......

Lets hope Vince wont do that..That'll be a heart shattering dagger. I'm really not looking for Graham to score against Jefferson, I'm looking to see how well he defends Jefferson.

[b]Raptors Add Staff

I know im kinda late on this, but DAMN man, how did you get enough of a budget to get high rated staff members? and also, good luck for the rest of the season. and remember, you still owe me a dunk on carter by chris bosh or graham

dunt worry about "late" on an issue. Comments and support is always welcome and appreciated. I had about 2.3 million. Got my coach for 1.05 mill. Got my trainer for 900 K and signed my scout for 425K. I really like my staff

Raptors overcame New Jersey's "Triple Threat"

- 88

- 97


Charlie had 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 blocks, including an imphatic one against Kidd

Toronto (CP) - Toronto finally got their first win against Vince at home since the trade with a well deserved 97-88 victory. Late game defense of Mo Peterson, Chris Bosh and Charlie Villanueva helped the Raptors pull this one out. Chris and Charlie combined for 6 blocks in the game.

It seems as the hiring of their new staff members showed them something as all of their staff members stressed defense, especially scout Remus Quinton. He scouts for defense especially, and was able to help out Sam in giving him tips for the opponent and how to deal with him.

The Big Three still had awesome games individually, with Jefferson leading the Nets with 27 points, 7 boards, Vince with a well rounded game with 24 points, 4 boards and 6 assists, and J-Kidd finished with 24 points, but only had 3 assists in the ball game. In the first half, It was the Jefferson and Carter Airshow, as they flew high for 8 dunks in the first half, but the rest of the Nets were almost non-existant, as they were only able to muster up 13 points combined. Kidd was 6.6 assists away from his career avg with the Nets.

The Raptors fought hard against their division rivals. They looked lost in the first half, as they scored only 44 points, and were trailing by 5. Their bench couldn't muster a point for a span for nearly 2 and a half minutes. Bosh was in foul trouble, with 3 personal fouls and was forced to sit through the entire 2 quarter. The Raptors woke up in the second half and defended really well, as Coach Williamson had a half time speech to remind them that they were playing for the fans. "The fans want a W @ home against Vince. We have to play for the fans and get them energized."

Bosh lead Toronto with 28 points and 13 boards, but the real star tonight was Charlie Villanueva. Off the bench, he had 19 points, 8 boards and 4 blocked shots.

Sam Mitchell was avaliable for comment, and he said " The key to winning this game was really containing Kidd. Kidd can do the scoring, but you can't allow Kidd to do what he does best: Finding other guys for the easy hoop. I think we did a real nice job of that in the second half, and that's why we came out with the win."

Toronto now improves to 2-0 and take to the road against the Detroit Pistons.

In Game photos
Bosh with a hook in the lane
Carter shows the Raptors he's got plenty of air left
Charlie catches the alley and sends it home
You're not welcome here Lamond
Graham had 4 points and 5 boards
Rose 14 points, 5 assists and 4 steals
The Jefferson Airshow part 1
Mike for 3
Kidd answers
Mo Pete was a spark off the bench
Bosh blocks one for the fans
Jefferson Airshow part 2
Rose got hacked by Carter

[b]Raptors Add Staff

I know im kinda late on this, but DAMN man, how did you get enough of a budget to get high rated staff members? and also, good luck for the rest of the season. and remember, you still owe me a dunk on carter by chris bosh or graham

was the block good enuf for u?

I like the staff you hired, thats probably what I would have done when I would hire my staff . Nice win, 2-0 start, this would be great for the Raptors in real life, youre doig a great job with the Raptors, keep it up.

[b]Raptors Add Staff

I know im kinda late on this, but DAMN man, how did you get enough of a budget to get high rated staff members? and also, good luck for the rest of the season. and remember, you still owe me a dunk on carter by chris bosh or graham

was the block good enuf for u?

deffinately, after combining with the win, deffinately good enough for me

lol. good win dude. nice pics, and the good staff, cant even remember mine.

A good game by Bosh and it looks like Villaneuva and Peterson might become sixth man of the year candidates.

I like the staff you hired, thats probably what I would have done when I would hire my staff . Nice win, 2-0 start, this would be great for the Raptors in real life, youre doig a great job with the Raptors, keep it up.

yah..i'd be great the Raps in real life was like that too..

lol. good win dude. nice pics, and the good staff, cant even remember mine.

lol..I'm getting the impression u realli dont train ur guys much..lol

A good game by Bosh and it looks like Villaneuva and Peterson might become sixth man of the year candidates.

Yah..itz possible. I really like Villanueva's inside game. Peterson's just been a spark off the bench, along with Jose. He's really quick. Jose doesn't score much..but he gets me assists.

nice win dude.... it's great that bosh's rebounds are getting better.... awesome block by villanueva on the pic..... keep it up man.....

Pre Game Toronto (2-0) vs. Detroit (2-0)



Key Matchup

vs.
Chris Bosh vs. Rasheed Wallace

Scott: Welcome to Monday Afternoon's edition of EA News. Alongside 2 time NBA Champion Kenny Smith. We'll take you through tonight's games and give our thoughts on them. Let's start with Toronto and Detroit. Kenny, this may actually be a good game.

Smith: Definitely. Whe you look at the collection of characters in the Raptors, you really just see a standout guy in Chris Bosh. He's been averaging 29 pts and 7.5 boards so far in the season. He's really their answer for why their doing so well, but you also have to give the rest of the players credit. They have great chemistry, maybe the best in the league. They're averaging a league leading 33 assists per contest. That shows you how much they trust each other and that's key. Though Bosh has been looking spectacular in the first two games of the season, team basketball and defense wins you games, and so far, the Raptors are doing a good job in both of those departments.

Scott: Given that, do you think they can beat the Pistons? We're talking two trips to the Finals these past two years.

Smith: Anything is possible in the NBA, but given that, Detroit is obviously a very very good basketball club. As you said, 2 trips to the Finals in the past two years. They have arguably the best starting 5 in the league, and all of them are good defenders. They've given their coaching job to Flip Saunders. He's a great basketball coach and he may be a better fit for Detroit than Larry Brown. He's not going to change the overall approach of this team, but I think the young guys like Milicic and Maxiell will excel under Flip's style.

Scott: Who's your key matcup tonight?

Smith: My key matchup tonight is Chris Bosh and Rasheed Wallace. Bosh has been averaging 29pts and 7.5 boards per contest so far. We'll see if Wallace is able to contain him. At the same time, Wallace is a tough matchup for any defender. He has the ability to take you inside and outside, so Chris will have to guard him real good. This will be a good test for Bosh to guard versatile forwards that can shoot the ball.

Scott: Now..onto Sixers and Pacers. Jermaine O'neal's been on fire these two games..

Projected Starters

nice win dude.... it's great that bosh's rebounds are getting better.... awesome block by villanueva on the pic..... keep it up man.....

thx man..Yah Bosh's rebounds are getting better. I've actually been quite surprised @ Villanueva's blocking ability. He's seriously got great length and versatility