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TORONTO — Good teams have good starts. And good teams get good play from their point guards.
The Raptors are a good team and have internal expectations of being a very good NBA team. The expectations are shared by their loud fans — a sold-out crowd of 19,800 was at the Air Canada Centre last night — looking for their team to build on last season's 47-win breakout success.
Toronto's 106-97 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers was a start — sparked by some remarkable point guard play — marred only by the frittering away of a large second-half lead.
"We hit a wall and we weren't scoring," said Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell, explaining how Philadelphia cut Toronto's 22-point lead late in the third quarter to a point with less than five minutes left thanks to a 15-0 run by the 76ers. "They were hitting some tough shots, but our guys made plays when we needed to make plays."
Toronto's Chris Bosh slam dunks as Philadelphia 76ers' Samuel Dalembert watches on. (Fred Thornhill/Reuters)
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- Boston Celtics
- Miami Heat
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Toronto Raptors
- Andrea Bargnani
- Chris Bosh
- Jose Calderon
- Samuel Dalembert
- T.J. Ford
- Andre Iguodala
- Jason Kapono
- Kyle Korver
- Anthony Parker
Chief among them was a four-point play by second-year player Andrea Bargnani, who drained a triple with Samuel Dalembert falling on him and made the free-throw to go with it.
"I didn't know it was going to go in," said Bargnani, who scored eight of his Raptors-high 20 points in the game's final five minutes while Chris Bosh was on the bench. "I was very happy. It didn't seal the victory, but it was a very important play."
But, on the whole, the Raptors could credit a respectable curtain raiser to what they hope will be an inspired run this season to T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon, their point-guard tandem.
In a starring role, Ford counted 12 assists against only one turnover, while adding 14 points. After Bargnani's big play Ford slashed by Dalembert, the Canadian national team member, paused to throw the big centre of balance and draw the foul after which Ford converted a pair of free throws.
He was merely picking up where Calderon left off, as his partner finished the night with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting while counting four assists and one turnover.
"That's how it has to be all year, that's how it was last year," Ford said. "When we [the point guards] play well the other guys are able to get open and other guys can continue to have their confidence. We just try to do our part."
It was even more crucial on a night when Bosh was not his best. He received a plaque in recognition of last year's second-team all-NBA honours in a pregame ceremony, which also recognized all-rookie team members Bargnani and Jorge Garbajosa and Mitchell as NBA coach of the year.
But Bosh struggled at times as he tries to regain his timing and fitness after missing three weeks of the exhibition season with a knee injury. His shooting stroke was sound and he helped spark the Raptors to a 10-point lead late in the second quarter with a nine-point burst, but he tired visibly in the fourth quarter, particularly on plays when he tried to slash to the basket.
"We have so many good passers I really don't have to shoot on the move," said Bosh, who finished with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. "But when I'm moving around a little bit, that's when I have to get my legs back."
Bargnani came on in his place, with help from Ford, who had six points and a pair of assists in the fourth quarter to lock down a win that was sealed when newcomer Jason Kapono hit a three-pointer from the corner with a minute to play, putting the Raptors up by nine.
"We have stuff we want to prove to ourselves," Ford said of his team's effort. "We want to prove we're a good basketball team. We are the division champions and we're still going to carry ourselves that way."
Note: Toronto has signed forward Kris Humphries to a contract extension through the 2010-11 season. Humphries was acquired by the Raptors from the Utah Jazz in the 2006 off-season.
