In a game that evoked memories of an era of purple pinstriped uniforms and horrid Grizzlies' draft picks, at least one team showed the savvy, if not the skill, of an experienced crew last night.
Clearly not operating anywhere near peak efficiency, the Toronto Raptors nonetheless managed to steal a 91-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies before a sold-out crowd at the Air Canada Centre.
But for most of the game, it could have been Toronto-Vancouver circa 1996 with a combined 40 turnovers, a litany of blown opportunities and all the tempo of a sprint through a swamp.
"We didn't make great plays but we made enough plays," said Toronto coach Lenny Wilkens. "So you just have to be thankful for the win."
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Toronto Raptors, Memphis Grizzlies
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YOU'D HAVE thought a moment of silence would have been mandatory.
Being the Grizzlies and Raptors, though, and therefore old hands at delivering stupefying moments, that particular hush and an accompanying round of slack jaws was held in escrow all the way until the second quarter.
Hey, same spit, different day. Anyone who's followed the Raptors' Team Sybil act over these long years know this is the way it goes. They refuse to put an opponent away early when they had the chance — who'd have thought that? Vince Carter and Morris Peterson prefer to put some extra mustard on their hot dogs, and Hakeem Olajuwon looks 38 going on social security — there'll be nights like this, because we've seen them before. And how about a stretch in the fourth quarter when they combined for four turnovers in eight seconds — among 17 giveaways in the fourth quarter alone, and 40 for the night?
As for Vancouver, Memphis, wherever, they'll be fine once they figure out that making shots is the name of the game. The way they were going early on, they couldn't have found a basket if you put `em on a ladder underneath it and spotted 'em three rungs. It's like that old saying goes. You can take Big Country out of the country, but you can't take the pooch out of the Griz (at least, not until his contract runs out).
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Antonio Davis, in a performance reminiscent of last season, took on all comers in the Air Canada Centre paint last night and emerged with another double-double statistical evening.
And to the surprise of no one, it also meant the Toronto Raptors won a game.
"We have to find a way to soften the other team's defence and one way to do that is to attack the middle," said Davis, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds in Toronto's too-close 91-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies last night.
"I think I'm going to force the issue some more, I'm maybe going to demand things a little more and I also think it'll just come with time."
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Raptors Nov 2001 Archive
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| Nov 30, 2001
This is how it's going to go.
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| Nov 29, 2001
This is one of those bad news-bad news situations.
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| Nov 29, 2001
Born on the same date as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, soon Keon Clark may be looking like him.
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| Nov 29, 2001
They've worked on their defensive assignments, foul shooting and added a few offensive plays.
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| Nov 29, 2001
Seems this lot is just as grisly whether it says Memphis or Vancouver on the front of the jersey.
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| Nov 28, 2001
Carlos Arroyo's chance to shine may be coming sooner than anyone expected.
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| Nov 28, 2001
With Jerome Williams and Keon Clark becoming a 1-2 punch off the Raptors bench, the latter will need a nickname.
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| Nov 27, 2001
In the Lenny Wilkens rhythm method, this week presents too much rest for the busiest team in the NBA's Eastern Conference.
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| Nov 27, 2001
Vince Carter has something he wants to catch up on this week.
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| Nov 26, 2001
Lanky Raptors power forward Keon Clark is asserting himself as a second-string player that's more than capable of first-rate basketball.
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| Nov 26, 2001
NOW THIS was different.
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| Nov 26, 2001
The veteran Raptor swingman, in another performance that inspires appreciation of his still-formidable talents, rewarded his head coach with an 18-point performance yesterday that helped spearhead Toronto's emphatic 107-88 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
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| Nov 26, 2001
Everything the Raptors aspired to be, everything you might have dreamed they could be, was showcased in a 48-minute performance that was at times hard-nosed, often creative and always entertaining.
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| Nov 26, 2001
Did the Raptors send the Philadelphia 76ers a message yesterday?
"If there was a message, I didn't get it," defiant Sixers centre Dikembe Mutombo said.
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| Nov 26, 2001
For one memorable afternoon, the Raptors lived up to the pre-season hype.
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| Nov 25, 2001
Allen Iverson, the NBA's reigning most valuable player and scoring champion, brings his Sixers to the Air Canada Centre today for the first time since that post-season series.
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| Nov 25, 2001
Listen to any of the Toronto Raptors long enough and it will be pointed out that the team has great chemistry, the players get along, cover each other's back, defend each other against the disparaging comments of outsiders.
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| Nov 25, 2001
The shot, the Answer, the missed opportunity of advancing to the conference final.
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| Nov 25, 2001
Indeed, in the span of 30 days last spring, the Raptors created a new image for themselves and presented it to the world.
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| Nov 24, 2001
Vince Carter stood in front of his locker last night, accepting accolades with a shrug of modesty as he does after almost every Toronto Raptor victory.
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| Nov 24, 2001
In all of Michael Bradley's dreams about his first NBA game in his native Massachusetts, he never was wearing a suit.
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| Nov 23, 2001
Glenn Robinson scored 19 points and Sam Cassell had four in the final 30 seconds as the Milwaukee Bucks beat the host Toronto Raptors 78-75 on Thursday night.
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| Nov 23, 2001
You want an early reading on the Raptors? Get out your blue pencils, because this is the time.
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| Nov 23, 2001
Jerome Williams brings a unique brand of energy to the basketball court, histrionics that can wear a little thin every now and then.
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| Nov 23, 2001
If the Raptors are going to try to protect their home court by making only 35.
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| Nov 22, 2001
Defenders are coming at Antonio Davis from everywhere these days — from the baseline and the wing and outside the three-point line.
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| Nov 22, 2001
Jerome (Junk Yard Dog) Williams has been gnawing at his leash for five games.
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| Nov 21, 2001
There's more to that list of sure things in life than just death and taxes.
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| Nov 21, 2001
It wasn't quite a flashback to the brilliance of the mid-1990s but Hakeem Olajuwon showed he's still got some great games left in his 37-year-old body.
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| Nov 21, 2001
The Raptors always knew that Zelijko Rebraca could play.
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| Nov 21, 2001
Last night, Rebraca, a 29-year-old NBA rookie, spent an evening with Hakeem Olajuwon and while his Detroit Pistons beat the Raptors 88-84, it was a night Rebraca will not soon forget.
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| Nov 20, 2001
Vince Carter called it a survival test, but the truth is the Raptors aren't finished with this grind just yet.
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| Nov 20, 2001
with Grunwald, what works is consistency, trust and quiet competence.
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| Nov 20, 2001
The Raptors survived some ugly stretches of play and moments when the only thing to drop was their heads and not their shots.
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| Nov 19, 2001
AT THEIR WORST — and they have shown that side on this trip more than once — these Raptors appear to have all the ingredients of a very good .
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| Nov 19, 2001
The temptation might be to just pack it in, take comfort from a decent trip and prepare for the comforts of home.
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| Nov 17, 2001
Hakeem Olajuwon is 7 feet tall, with a distinctive gait, an accent that combines a Nigerian boyhood with more than two decades in Texas and fame that stretches from basketball courts to mosques.
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| Nov 17, 2001
SPORTS IS ABOUT more than just numbers, right? More than money, more than making column A agree with column B?
Take yesterday's three-way NBA trade as one argument, or a Raptors' record that wasn't as another.
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| Nov 17, 2001
Chris Childs has replaced Charles Oakley in ways that go beyond making the occasional fashion statement.
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| Nov 16, 2001
There are tests all the time during the protracted NBA regular season, tests that are big or small, of major or lesser importance.
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| Nov 16, 2001
A familiar face was back on the court in his familiar spot on the perimeter.
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| Nov 15, 2001
He is both useful and useless.
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| Nov 14, 2001
The Toronto Raptors put forward Jerome Williams on the injured list with a bruised right knee Tuesday and activated guard Dell Curry.
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| Nov 14, 2001
Antonio Davis says he has to start demanding the basketball.
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| Nov 11, 2001
It's still hard to visualize Hakeem Olajuwon in a different uniform.
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| Nov 9, 2001
Well the NBA has handed out its first suspension for season 2001/02.
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| Nov 9, 2001
Hakeem Olajuwon, who played the biggest part in breaking the NBA record for blocked shots in a game, was surprised the Toronto Raptors did it.
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| Nov 8, 2001
TORONTO -- It would be only natural to think the worst upon seeing the final score from the Air Canada Centre on Wednesday night: Raptors 109, Warriors 92.
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| Nov 7, 2001
Toronto -- That old line about why folks shouldn't assume clearly applies to Vince Carter.
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| Nov 6, 2001
The fans may not pay to see Vince Carter double his assist totals, but coach Lenny Wilkens thinks it's great.
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| Nov 5, 2001
Giving up 67 first-half points and hitting just 38 percent of their field goal attempts, the Pacers reached the inevitable conclusion of a 113-100 defeat to Toronto at Air Canada Centre.
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| Nov 4, 2001
This may come as a shock, but Charles Oakley has some opinions to share.
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| Nov 4, 2001
Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors didn't let their first two losses of the season spoil their home opener.
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| Nov 3, 2001
Review of how well Mo Peterson is playing as he starts his second NBA season.
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| Nov 2, 2001
Raptors veteran guard Chris Childs knows how it feels to be undrafted and unappreciated.
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| Nov 1, 2001
Heat coach Pat Riley wants a new stopper on the perimeter.
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