Toronto Raptors vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Wednesday, October 31, 2007 – Air Canada Centre

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Mitchell

How do you think Andrea (Bargnani) played?
He played great. He got 20 points in 22 minutes and he got some key rebounds. Chris Bosh got tired and ran out of gas. I had Andrea come back in the game and anchor our defence and score some baskets for us. In that situation, we really couldn’t put Andrea and Chris Bosh on the court, especially in the fourth quarter because they were just too small.

Thoughts on the game…
T.J Ford and Jose Calderon did great. If you look at their stat line, it was unbelievable. They had 2 turnovers and 16 assists between them, and 27 points. Carlos Delfino’s defence, and (Jason)Kapono and Anthony Parker. We hit a wall and we weren’t scoring. They were hitting some tough shots. But our guys made plays when we needed to make plays.

Did you think, at one point, your guys were going to put it away?
Well, when we thought we had a chance to put it away they got offensive rebounds or got to the basket or the three point line. We just couldn’t get around it. Every time we would come back, they would make a play. We knew before the game that was going to be a tough team for us because they are so athletic. And when they rebounded they made it difficult for us. Andre Iguodala had a way, he made it hard for us. First game, good win, and there’s no easy wins.

Bargnani

ANDREA BARGNANI

Talk about the importance of the four point play…
They were an important four points, because we were almost tied. I don’t remember what the score was, I think we were three or four points up so it was a very important play. He(Dalembert) didn’t hit me hard. I received a very nice pass, I was hoping it would come to me and I was a little lucky.

Thoughts on getting into early foul trouble…
I have to improve a lot on that aspect of the game because I took two stupid fouls in the beginning of the game so I have to be more focused. I can’t get into foul trouble that early and I have to work on this.

Bosh

CHRIS BOSH

Thoughts on first game of the year…
I think we played pretty well, with the exception of the loss of the 20 point lead. They are a scrappy basketball team. They went on a run and that’s understandable but there are just a few things we have to tighten up. We just ran into a road block and we couldn’t make any shots and most importantly, we gave them a couple of second chance points and that kind of got them into a rhythm. Next time we are going to have to get those rebounds, get those loose balls and play better defence.

How did you feel tonight?
It felt good to be back out there but I’m not to 30 minutes a game yet so I just have to be patient with the whole situation. I’m going to keep playing and stay motivated and make sure I motivate this team. I’m going to make sure I get in shape so I can play better.

Cheeks

I know you didn’t win but you have got to be pleased with the way your guys kind of hung together especially in the fourth quarter…
Yeah we put ourselves in such a hole down twenty-two points. Toronto is a good basketball team the way they spread the floor and kick the ball to different players, they are a good team. The fact that we were able to get back into the game, we were down one with the ball when T.J. Ford tipped the ball from behind and (Andrea) Bargnani hits a four point play. Yeah I’m pleased the way we came back but we put ourselves in such a whole, and we can’t do that against a team like Toronto.

What made a greater impression on you, that you fell down twenty-two points or that you came back to within one?
The fact that we were able to come back I think was a big impression for me. The way they spread the floor is big for them they play a very open game and if you can guard the screen and roll with different guys then you have a chance, and that’s what put us into such a whole, we didn’t rebound the ball and we had some turnovers that led to them getting some easy baskets. In order for us to get back into the game, I thought Reggie Evans got us back into the game the way he offensively rebounded the ball, defensive rebounds, we got some defensive stops and we got up the floor and got some easy baskets. Sometimes when team’s get up twenty-two points you relax a little bit but we made some shots and we got back into the game and that’s what we are looking for, that we are able to fight and fight and fight and we didn’t give up. We were able to stay within arms shot and we had a chance to get back into the game and win the game.

Iguodala

Thoughts on the game…
We had one bad stretch, were we took a fall, a deep fall and they took advantage of it. They ran a lot of plays, and they had rebounds and T.J. Ford played a great game.

How tough is it playing a team the spreads the court and shoots like that?
It is tough, we made some adjustments and we got better. We didn’t give ourselves a chance in the third quarter. We came out a little to stiff, to lax and then we got out on our toes the way we should have been.

Do you take anything positive out of this game?
If we can put a 48 minute game together we are an okay team, we are not bad at all. We just have to go out and play hard for all 48 minutes.

Miller

Andre Iguodala mentioned that the team looked stiff in the third quarter?
For a second, but we still got back into it. They made some tough shots and we didn’t get into a rhythm and that happens sometimes. It was a good game overall

You were able to get back in the game after being down 20 points?
We fought our way back into it and they knew that we were going to keep fighting, but they made the plays down the stretch.