Raptors Feb 2002 Archive

• Magic's 'D' stuffs Raptors

  | Feb 28, 2002

  This long road trip — longest in franchise history — suddenly doesn't look so long or tough anymore.

• Clark finds the dream spot

  | Feb 28, 2002

  What was a hotly debated topic early in the season has turned into an afterthought as Keon Clark continues to prove his worth as a starter for the Toronto Raptors.

• Meltdown No. 9 for Raps

  | Feb 28, 2002

  Vince Carter was shaking his head, looking at the box score like it was written in a foreign language.

• Dismal finish for Raptors

  | Feb 28, 2002

  With the stage set for drama, the Toronto Raptors played out a farce.

• Raptors Watch

  | Feb 28, 2002

  Another deadline looms in the NBA and the Raptors aren't expected to be very active.

• Raptors lost in dark ages

  | Feb 28, 2002

  The Raptors are running a special Bring Back The Past promotion.

• Streak has nine lives

  | Feb 28, 2002

  The misery, mental lapses and boneheaded mistakes continue for these free-falling Raptors.

• Raps try to regain focus

  | Feb 27, 2002

• Raps try to regain focus

  | Feb 27, 2002

  After an ignominious three-week stint in the shadows of the Winter Olympics and following two days of much-needed rehearsing and regrouping, the Raptors step back into the spotlight tonight under the glare of U.

• The Dream is still alive

  | Feb 27, 2002

  By his own admission, Hakeem Olajuwon was brought to Toronto to take the Raptors to basketball's next level -- not to a level of mediocrity.

• Wilkens says Raptors need to get tough

  | Feb 27, 2002

  Vince Carter couldn't bear to watch, so he hid behind Alvin Williams, his eyes squeezed shut.

• Magic take on Carter, Raptors

  | Feb 27, 2002

  Magic at Raptors Who: Orlando Magic at Toronto Raptors.

• Wilkens says Raptors need to get tough

  | Feb 27, 2002

• Gruelling workout for Raps

  | Feb 26, 2002

  Only three short weeks ago, after the Raptors had beaten the 76ers in Philadelphia and moved eight games above .

• It's just like bad old days

  | Feb 26, 2002

  They have lost an alarming amount of games in succession, lost confidence, and have lost ground in the standings.

• Vince returns, but result is the same

  | Feb 25, 2002

  Guess it wasn't the injuries after all.

• Williams isn't impressed

  | Feb 25, 2002

  This should have been a day for celebrating, but Alvin Williams couldn't justify it.

• The Last Word

  | Feb 25, 2002

  Somebody from the Raptors brain trust has got to lose patience soon.

• Behind the 8-ball

  | Feb 25, 2002

  Vince Carter's return to the Raptors lineup made an immediate impact.

• Don't look back, Raptors, almost everyone's gaining

  | Feb 24, 2002

  This was supposed to be the easy time for the Toronto Raptors, a time to assert themselves as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, to build a nice cushion for a tough road ahead.

• No pain, no gain

  | Feb 24, 2002

  Jerome Williams admits he really shouldn't be playing.

• No lucky 7 for Raps

  | Feb 23, 2002

  With no words, Antonio Davis spoke volumes.

• Cause for concern

  | Feb 23, 2002

  With each and every painful loss, the Raptors find new ways to shoot themselves in the foot.

• We must step up, Curry tells mates

  | Feb 23, 2002

  Dell Curry spoke the unspeakable.

• Raptors in Olympic daze

  | Feb 23, 2002

  Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment must be one swell place to work.

• Carter may be out for a 7th game

  | Feb 22, 2002

  One of these days Vince Carter will come riding into the Air Canada Centre on a white steed — and it gets whiter as the losses mount — ready to right all that's wrong with the snake-bitten Raptors.

• Diligent Williams gets bad rap

  | Feb 22, 2002

  In the demanding and unforgiving world of what-have-you-done-for-me-lately professional sports, Alvin Williams has done a great deal.

• Trade deadline passes, Raptors stand pat

  | Feb 22, 2002

  Resisting an urge he gets every year about this time, Glen Grunwald decided to stick with what he's got on the Toronto Raptors.

• Raptors took a run at Penny

  | Feb 21, 2002

  Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports that just because the Toronto Raptors aren't expected to do anything substantial before today's NBA trade deadline passes doesn't mean they didn't consider a big move.

• Raptors lose sixth consecutive game

  | Feb 21, 2002

  The Raptors, it seems, have turned into a lost cause.

• Deadline time for Raps GM

  | Feb 21, 2002

  Glen Grunwald says there's nothing going on, but his past actions make it tough to trust him.

• Salaries, injuries hurt deal dreams

  | Feb 21, 2002

  Unless somebody out there has a spare faith healer or maybe a medicine man with that magic touch, then Glen Grunwald isn't likely to be interested.

• Vince not ready to go

  | Feb 20, 2002

  The Raptors had good news for their faithful yesterday, but as anyone who's followed the club's fortunes closely this season knows, there's a caveat pertaining to anything of a positive nature with this outfit.

• A long way to the NBA

  | Feb 20, 2002

  It looks more like a place for the lunar module to touch down than it does a basketball court.

• Trade winds howl

  | Feb 20, 2002

  But coach Wilkens and his Raptors hope they don't blow through Toronto Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald doesn't feel the urgency to make a trade as tomorrow's deadline approaches.

• Home game for Magloire

  | Feb 20, 2002

  Jamaal Magloire has heard the trade rumours.

• Raps can't stop woes

  | Feb 19, 2002

  They don't have the guns and in their hearts they know it.

• Undermanned Raps lose fifth in a row

  | Feb 19, 2002

  Ugly.

• Carter wins Ontario's outstanding athlete award

  | Feb 19, 2002

  Vince Carter of the Toronto Raptors won Ontario's outstanding athlete of 2001 award.

• Raptors GM feels no need for trade talk

  | Feb 18, 2002

  The time of year has arrived when there is usually some swift and decisive action from Toronto Raptors general manager Glen Grunwald, a week where he has historically tinkered with or entirely blown up his club's roster.

• Clark lambastes injured mates after latest loss

  | Feb 18, 2002

  The frustration is mounting, some cracks in the team cohesion are showing and the Toronto Raptors are now simply trying to survive without a total breakdown until some of their walking wounded return.

• Raptors on a slow boil

  | Feb 18, 2002

  The frustration is beginning to mount as the Raptors continue to find ways to lose games.

• Raps trying to tread water

  | Feb 17, 2002

  Without making him sound like Methuselah, Lenny Wilkens has been around the NBA a long time.

• Raps feel the pain

  | Feb 17, 2002

  With their margin for error reduced to practically nothing, the Raptors can ill afford to turn the ball over, miss foul shots or miss defensive assignments.

• Ailing Raps rocked by Jazz

  | Feb 16, 2002

  Another 20 turnovers, another opponent shooting better than 50 per cent and a bench that provided as many points in the first three quarters of the game as the Dance Pak did.

• Raptor rookie sitting, waiting

  | Feb 16, 2002

  It is a rather strange world that Michael Bradley inhabits these days: He's an NBA player who doesn't get to play in many NBA games, a first-round draft pick who sees guys chosen far behind him get many more opportunities.

• Road work all part of the game for Malone

  | Feb 16, 2002

  MUCH ADO has been made about this mother of all road trips that brought the Utah Jazz into the Air Canada Centre last night.

• Like a broken record

  | Feb 16, 2002

  No Vinsanity, no bench, no hope.

• Alvin dumps his slump

  | Feb 16, 2002

  Alvin Williams took 11 shots from the field last night.

• Road work all part of the game for Malone

  | Feb 16, 2002

  MUCH ADO has been made about this mother of all road trips that brought the Utah Jazz into the Air Canada Centre last night.

• Ailing Raps rocked by Jazz

  | Feb 16, 2002

  cent and a bench that provided as many points in the first three quarters of the game as the Dance Pak did.

• Injured Raptors need medic

  | Feb 16, 2002

  It started in the fourth quarter with Karl Malone, the Utah veteran, firing a seeing-eye pass down the middle to a grateful Byron Russell, who was lurking beneath the Jazz basket, for the easy bucket.

• New lease on life

  | Feb 16, 2002

  The All-Star break provided Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz with some much-needed rest.

• No Surprise, Missing 4 players: Raptors no match for streaking Jazz

  | Feb 16, 2002

  Unlike the national hockey team, Canada's only entry in the the NBA had a good excuse.

• Jazz Report

  | Feb 16, 2002

  HIGH POINT John Stockton and Karl Malone continued to play some of their best basketball of the season.

• Jazz mosey past Raptors

  | Feb 16, 2002

  There's something about shorthanded teams that puts the Utah Jazz back on their heels.

• Raps true homebodies

  | Feb 15, 2002

  At a time when players are dropping at an alarming rate, the Raptors are hoping to parlay their home comforts into a few wins.

• Vince hates role as an armchair shooting guard

  | Feb 15, 2002

  Vince Carter spent his all-star weekend doing laundry and then watched helplessly as his Raptors dropped two consecutive road games.

• Raptors hike playoff ticket prices

  | Feb 14, 2002

  The Toronto Raptors announced their playoff ticket prices for season seat-holders Thursday, with price increases over regular-season costs averaging about three per cent in the first round to 230 per cent in the NBA finals.

• Raps wilt without big guns

  | Feb 14, 2002

  Welcome to Lenny Wilkens' dilemma: His shooters can't shoot and he's got precious little to fall back on and it's all adding up to a rather ugly start to the drive to the post-season.

• Knicks and Raptors are going to the dogs

  | Feb 14, 2002

  FOR A COUPLE of days before last night, this place has been the centre of the dog universe.

• Raps shoot blanks

  | Feb 14, 2002

  Club Medical is 0-for-2.

• Mo Pete back on the attack

  | Feb 14, 2002

  It's been such a long time that it's easy to forget that the Morris Peterson who played with such abandon after coming back from 19 games off was just continuing what he did before he got hurt.

• Are relaxed Raptors sitting too pretty?

  | Feb 13, 2002

  FOR THE RAPTORS, it's no longer a question of whether the glass is half full or half empty.

• Raptors fail to take care of ball

  | Feb 13, 2002

  Apparently no one told the Raptors the all-star break was over.

• Carter, JYD put on the injured list

  | Feb 13, 2002

  Vince Carter achieved another career-first yesterday.

• Without Wilkens, era ended

  | Feb 13, 2002

  How did this happen? Seeing Lenny Wilkens sitting on the visitors bench at Gund Arena last night makes you ask that question.

• Miller, Cavs take advantage of Raptors, end losing slide

  | Feb 13, 2002

  Andre Miller entered this season ranked as one of the best young point guards in the NBA.

• Team unity boosts Raptors

  | Feb 12, 2002

  Way back in the day when the calls were out for the head of Lenny Wilkens and everybody was going to get traded and the boos rang down from the Air Canada Centre rafters, the Toronto Raptors found some hidden inner resolve and turned themselves around.

• Raptors eyeing Nugget, Magic looking at Oakley

  | Feb 12, 2002

  Frank Zicarelli of the Toronto Sun reports that with the Feb.

• Showtime is now for Raptors

  | Feb 12, 2002

  Right here, right now.

• Injury has Carter on sidelines

  | Feb 12, 2002

  The Cavaliers catch a break when they attempt to snap a 10-game losing streak to the Toronto Raptors tonight at Gund Arena.

• Little Knicky?

  | Feb 11, 2002

  NY Times Reports that Talks are Serious

• Nash enjoys `the time of my life'

  | Feb 11, 2002

  It figures Steve Nash would thrive in an all-star game.

• Raptors get ready for life minus Vince

  | Feb 9, 2002

  Vince Carter is out; Morris Peterson may soon be back in.

• Toronto won't see stars any time soon

  | Feb 9, 2002

  Raptors president Richard Peddie said some big changes will have to occur before Toronto bids for an NBA all-star game.

• Star-crossed: Carter hurt

  | Feb 8, 2002

  One of the most amazing victories in Toronto Raptors history may have come at a tremendous cost.

• Raptors limp past Spurs

  | Feb 8, 2002

  The game plan called for rebounding, to push the ball upcourt, for execution.

• Nash nurtures his basketball roots

  | Feb 8, 2002

  Four buses full of pint-sized, wide-eyed Steve Nash fans will make the three-hour trip from Vancouver to Seattle next Tuesday to see the SuperSonics play Nash's Dallas Mavericks.

• Vince Carter to miss all-star game after straining quad muscle

  | Feb 8, 2002

  Toronto Raptors star Vince Carter strained his left quad muscle in a game Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs and will miss the all-star game this weekend in Philadelphia.

• Magnificent seven

  | Feb 8, 2002

  The Raptors have won games when the stakes were considerably higher and have stepped up against some of the NBA's elite teams.

• Wilkens happy heading to all-star break, then Carter injury

  | Feb 8, 2002

  Lenny Wilkens was counting his blessings earlier Thursday.

• Spurs Set Record of Futility in Toronto

  | Feb 8, 2002

  The Spurs made history Thursday night, though not exactly the kind they want to brag about.

• Carter Out, Baron In All-Star Classic

  | Feb 8, 2002

  Baron joins Brand in Philly

• Wilkens cracks — a smile

  | Feb 7, 2002

  Despite recent losses on the court and on the roster sheet, Lenny Wilkens has reason to smile.

• Carter preps for hectic all-star weekend

  | Feb 7, 2002

  Part of Vince Carter would like nothing better than to stretch out his long tired body on the couch this weekend and catch up on some much-needed rest.

• Tired Raps hit a Wizard wall

  | Feb 6, 2002

  The numbers fairly leap off the page.

• Jordan slays weary Raptors

  | Feb 6, 2002

  The Raptors ended their three-game trip with two losses and just as many lost players.

• Battered Raps upset Sixers

  | Feb 5, 2002

  A lot of those questions about the heart of the Toronto Raptors were answered here last night in as delightful an NBA regular season game as you'll see in a long, long time.

• Finished business

  | Feb 5, 2002

  In the City of Brotherly Love, there was no love lost between the Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers.

• Raps juggle lineup again

  | Feb 4, 2002

  Another game, another new starting lineup for the Toronto Raptors.

• Vince: Kidd just `amazing'

  | Feb 4, 2002

  As the fans chanted M-V-P, M-V-P, Jason Kidd showed them they could very well be correct.

• Raptors block out the past

  | Feb 4, 2002

  The Raptors return tonight to the scene of last spring's memorable Game 7, when Vince Carter's game-winning shot hit back iron.

• Not Kidd-ing around

  | Feb 3, 2002

  The Raptors yesterday tried to overcome some questionable officiating, some dubious decision making and some bad stretches of play.

• Injuries keep dogging Raps

  | Feb 2, 2002

  With relentless defence, a no-quit attitude and two starters on the bench in suits, the Raptors have strung together a modest but nonetheless impressive three-game win streak.

• Raps pack for rough road

  | Feb 2, 2002

  Just another road trip? Hardly.

• Jerome Williams questionable for Saturday

  | Feb 2, 2002

  Toronto Raptors forward Jerome Williams is questionable for Saturday's game against the New Jersey Nets because of a sprained right ankle.

• Three Quarters Good

  | Feb 1, 2002

  TORONTO - The Celtics spent three periods rapping the Raptors from pillar to Air Canada Centre post last night.

• Raps roar, Celtics sink

  | Feb 1, 2002

  There was a Chris Childs strip and a Keon Clark dunk; an Antonio Davis putback and an Alvin Williams steal.

• Tough matchup for Davis

  | Feb 1, 2002

  This was not a matchup made in heaven.

• Clark steps up strongly to fill the Dream void

  | Feb 1, 2002

  THROUGH THREE quarters of the Raptors' very physical 97-92 win over the Celtics last night, it looked as if the home team was going to be missing Hakeem Olajuwon more than coach Lenny Wilkens or anyone else was willing to admit.

• Childs play saves the day

  | Feb 1, 2002

  So who was the most surprised player on the court when Chris Childs stole the ball? None other than Chris Childs.

• Vince has plans for his dream home

  | Feb 1, 2002

  Vince Carter's dreams just keep coming true.