| Raptors Get Past Sour Vince Authored by Barak Falkovitz - February 15, 2007 - 11:56 am
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As much love as Toronto fans gave Vince Carter during his tenure as a Raptor, MVP chants were never part of the affection. Last night when the Raptors took on Carter’s Nets, those same fans showered Chris Bosh with an early dosage of “M-V-P, M-V-P”, much to the chagrin of an incredulous Carter.
“C’mon, M.V.P.? Wow.”
In the past, Carter has claimed that the jeering Toronto crowd has had no effect on him. His reactions, however, easily disprove that statement. In Carter’s two visits to Toronto this season, he has only averaged 14.5 points (10.3 less than average), and shot only 9-32.
Bosh was more of the same against New Jersey, as he put up 25 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and tied a season high with 6 assists. He was a large component of a Toronto team firing on all cylinders. Seven Raptors had double-digit scoring games and the team shot a staggering 58.9% from the field, on their way to a 120-109 win.
“We’re just moving the basketball,” said Sam Mitchell. “I think Jose and TJ are doing just an unbelievable job of distributing the ball. I think Chris -- when he’s trapped -- he’s moving the basketball and it becomes contagious.”
But thanks to the exceptional shooting from reserves Bostjan Nachbar and Eddie House, New Jersey kept the score close for much of the first half. The two combined for 45 points on 16-27 from the floor. Nachbar -- 26 points -- knocked down six of his nine three point attempts.
“For the most part,” added Mitchell, “we did a decent job rotating out to their shooters. This is the NBA. (Tuesday) night (New Jersey) couldn’t make a shot. (Last night), they couldn’t miss one.”
New Jersey’s light bench was even lighter last night, as Jason Kidd sat out his second consecutive game with a strained lower back, which was the main cause for Eddie
House’s extended minutes.
As for Carter, he was shut down by Morris Peterson and Anthony Parker, and managed to put up only 4 first half points. He was able to shake loose and finish with 17, but it was not enough to fill the void left by Kidd, Richard Jefferson, and Nenad Krstic.
Carter wasn’t interested in talking about the Raptors recent turnaround after last night’s contest. The fact that he didn’t want to say anything spoke volumes about his bitterness towards the treatment that Bosh is receiving.
“I don’t think there’s any hard feelings,” said Bosh. “It probably came as a surprise, it’s been a while since he’s been here and a lot of things have changed, but I don’t think he’s that type of person. It just kind of caught him by shock.”
The Raptors are now 6-1 in February, and with the win, they now possess a 4.5 game lead over the second place Nets going into this weekend’s All-Star break. With all of this recent success, there is an ever-growing sense of excitement in Raptorland.
“I can’t put it into words,” said Peterson, who scored 18 points on 7-9 from the floor. “But when you’re out there on the floor, you can just sense it. The crowd gets us going. When we’re at home, you can just feel it. When Andrea (Bargnani) took one of those three point shots, you could hear the crowd just kind of pause right before he made the shot. It’s just little things like that give us the confidence to come out there and want to win.” |
