No Bosh Or Ford Means No Win For Raptors In Memphis
Posted December 30, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s hard to say with any sense of authority, but the Toronto Raptors might be the worst first-place team in the history of the NBA.
Not that they looked horrible against the Memphis Grizzlies Saturday night, but considering their opponents had the worst record in the league coming in and just fired their head coach, the 110-104 loss they handed the Raptors really doesn’t flatter anyone in Toronto.
Without all-star forward and leading scorer Chris Bosh and floor general and leading assist man T.J. Ford, the Raptors did well just to stay in the game, but the Grizzlies, in their first game under interim coach Tony Barone, simply wanted a win a little more.
Barone was named coach for the rest of the season after Mike Fratello was fired Friday.
Pau Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds in a reunion for three of the key players in Spain’s World Championship last summer. Raptors Jose Calderon and Jorge Garbajosa also played on the Spanish squad.
Mike Miller led the Griz in scoring with 27 and his team spent most of the night well in front of Toronto, at one point leading by 24 points. Chucky Atkins scored 16 for Memphis, while Stromile Swift had 15 points and 14 rebounds.
A late run made things respectable for the Dinos, a big part of which was Morris Peterson, who scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. The Raps actually shaved the spread to two late, but would never tie or take the lead.
The Raptors next game is January 3, when they return to the Air Canada Centre to host two-time MVP Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns.
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