Well the battle of the Graham brothers did not turn out to be huge or anything pay-per-view worthy but it was a proud moment for that family and Steven even got on the score sheet. The Raptors took the contest 94-81 over the injury depleted Rockets.
Morris Peterson continued his excellent play locking down Rockets' star Tracy McGrady allowing the former Raptor only 7 points. It was however a well rounded effort as six Raptors scored in double figures, including Mike James in his debut vs. his former club who was doing a lot of talking on the floor but backing it up. Rafer played well too....oh no, he didn't play at all...sorta like TMac tonight...what was with that effort? Back to the Orlando ways? Or maybe, just maybe it was some tough Raptor team defence! The supporting cast in Houston....yikes. Bosh's shot to Stromile Swift's nether regions...double yikes...
Wow, two wins in a row! They should cancel the season now! If we were to get to 10-20 I would feel pretty good. That being said, San Antonio is not Houston or Orlando and a 3-0 week is unlikely. The question is whether we can bring these winning ways back to the ACC? With the Hawks in town when the team gets back after Christmas, that could be the perfect launching point for getting the home side of things together.
Here's the problem though with winning two in a row however. Sure confidence is up but don't think for a second that the doubters will disappear. There will be plenty of "they only beat a weakened Rockets team" talk . Well that is exactly what they were supposed to do. You are supposed to win these types of games and the Raps did just that. So in the end, the doubters will continue to doubt...but had the Raps lostthis matchup there would have been more "off with their heads" discussion and coverage. The fact remains, the Raps can't "win" even when they do.
HOWLAND