Getting Better: Raptors Season In Review

The final record for the Raptors and their position in the Eastern Conference standings is very similar to last year, but the team is very different.

Last year, Toronto made its first-ever run to the playoffs and appeared to be a real threat to its first-round opponent, the New York Knicks, a team that had lost soundly to Toronto in three of four regular season meetings.

The Raptors fell just short each time in the three-game playoff series and look for a much different finish this year. It should be. After all, it is a much different team.

Carter

Last summer saw the departure of Butch Carter and the arrival of Lenny Wilkens to the head coaching spot. Starters Tracy McGrady and Doug Christie left town to be replaced by Mark Jackson and Corliss Williamson. The new lineup was to be, perhaps, less athletic but more prepared for the grind of the Eastern Conference chase and postseason style of play.

The 2000-01 schedule unfolded in disappointing fashion as the Raptors dropped their first three games of the year, which actually became the team's longest losing streak of the season. Toronto responded with four straight wins, the first of which saw Alvin Williams come off the bench to score 18 points in the fourth quarter of a 103-96 win over the Wizards on November 4, a sign of things to come for the fourth-year guard.

One of the season highlights, a 48-point performance by Vince Carter in a November 18 win over the Bucks, was followed immediately by the season lowlight, a 100-64 homecourt loss to Charlotte two nights later. That point total and the corresponding field goal percentage of .270 set franchise lows.

A. Williams

In a late November game versus Chicago, Carter injured his left knee, later diagnosed as "jumper's knee". He was forced to miss a handful of games on the year and it affected him for remainder of the schedule.

After a winning month of November to open the year, the Raptors slumped to 7-8 in December, highlighted by victories over Indiana and New York.

In early January, Wilkens inserted rookie Morris Peterson into the starting rotation in place of Williamson. That move provided more spark to the lineup and the Raptors proceeded to win seven of the first nine games with Peterson as a starter. That streak included wins over eventual conference champions San Antonio and Philadelphia. The win over the 76ers came in dramatic fashion with a 110-106 overtime win that saw Toronto come back from a 20-point halftime deficit.

Clark

The spark in that game came in the lean form of newcomer Keon Clark, who was the key element of a six-player swap with Denver that saw Kevin Willis head to the Nuggets. Clark provided an athletic frontcourt presence, a player who could block shots, run the floor and sky for rebounds.

Rejuvenated by the addition of Clark and the insertion of Peterson into the starting lineup, the Raptors headed into the All-Star break with a 26-23 record.

Several Raptors participated in All-Star Weekend in Washington, D.C. For the second straight year, Carter led all NBA players in voting and was a starting forward for the Eastern Conference. Teammate Antonio Davis was selected for his first All-Star Game and was named the starter as an injury replacement, while Peterson played in the Rookie Challenge.

Things in Raptorland changed even more dramatically a few weeks later. General Manager Glen Grunwald caught everyone by surprise by swinging two unexpected trades just before the deadline on February 22.

Davis

With one eye towards making the team better defensively and one eye glancing to future salary cap positioning, he dealt Jackson and Muggsy Bogues to the Knicks for Chris Childs and a future first-round pick. The maturation of Williams and the perimeter defence that would be provided by Childs provided the impetus for this deal.

At the same time, Toronto also sent the unhappy Williamson, along with spare parts, to the Pistons for Jerome Williams and Eric Montross in another move to improve the club's efficiency at the defensive end of the court.

The first game after those trades was a thrilling triple-overtime loss to Sacramento, 119-118, when the Raptors played with a shorthanded roster.

Following that loss, however, the Raptors won 19 of their last 27 games to close the season. And with that spurt, Toronto jumped from a team that was looking over its shoulder at teams battling for the eighth and ninth spots to a team that almost stole homecourt advantage for the first round of the playoffs by the last game of the season.

Peterson

In that stretch of games, Toronto fashioned a five-game winning streak and two four-game streaks. There was still some inconsistent play, but there were also big wins over conference powers Philadelphia and Miami.

The biggest game of all and the one everyone was waiting for was McGrady's return to Toronto on April 1. The Magic won that game, 104-101, in front of an electrified crowd, but the Raptors had the last laugh by finishing ahead of Orlando in the standings.

On April 3, the Sixers came to town again and Toronto engineered one of the most remarkable sequences in team history by going on a 44-9 scoring burst from the second quarter and into the third. The final score of 100-85 did not reflect the extent to which the Raptors dominated the conference leaders and a playoff spot was secured that night.

Positioning in the standings became the next goal and the team eventually settled into the fifth spot in the East, one place higher than last year after finishing with two more wins.

It seems that the midseason moves made by the club put the Raptors in a better position to threaten the big boys in the playoffs. Toronto is a better defensive club and more athletic. Consequently, it is capable of playing a number of different styles and that bodes well for the playoffs that are on the horizon.