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Raptors fans have become notorious amongst American media circles for continually pining for more coverage of their team. It looks as if this hot start, combined with the futility of the New York Knicks has answered fans' calls, as two nationally televised games have been added to ESPN's schedule.
To summarize:
February 6 at 8 PM EST.
Clippers at Raptors replacing Knicks at Nets.
March 25 at 7 PM EST.
Bulls at Raptors replacing Clippers at Knicks.
It's interesting that both games added are home games. While a lot of the reasoning behind that is just scheduling, there's definitely some credit that needs to go to the raucous crowd at the ACC that has caught a lot of eyeballs down south. The Raptors have split their two ESPN/TNT games so far this season -- a disappointing 100-93 loss to the Bulls, and a 105-89 win on the road against Brooklyn.
The Raptors have struggled against the Bulls for much of this season, and will look to flip the script this time around. The two remaining national TV games after these two are against the woeful Hornets, so this might be the Raptors' big chance to generate even more buzz (no pun intended) in the US.