One To Play, Looking to Magic...

April 16, 9:42 a.m. Raps-Bulls #82. Play hard, play to win but please no injuries! 8:30 tonight on The Score. I have a great deal of admiration for veteran coach Brendan Malone who guided the Raptors through their inagural season of 95-96. He is a basketball lifer but I'm not sure I agree with him regarding the state of hoops in Toronto as he told the Orlando Sentinel: It was exciting for Torontonians," Malone said. "They adopted the Raptors." He remembers having to give a basketball clinic to the media on the game's rules and nuances. Despite being fired after the first season because of philosophical differences with management, he said, "I look back with a lot of good memories. We put 36,000 people in SkyDome for our first game. It wasn't the No. 1 sport — that's what always ticked off Vince Carter. Malone is certainly entitled to his opinion. But.......I think Carter's interest level dropped when he became frustrated with the instability of the franchise. The last thing the Raps can afford is a player to go down with injury. Ask Cleveland. Sasha Pavlovic sprained an ankle two days ago and is out two-three weeks. If the Pistons win the East they get home court advantage over any team in the West by virtue of their win over Minnesota. The Lakers won the West. A ton of candidates for Coach of the Year…how about Hall of Famer Phil Jackson? Orlando now has 51 wins with a victory over the Hawks. Mo Evans with a career high 27. The Bucks suffered a dismal season on the court and at the gate. They finished 22nd in the NBA in attendance averaging just under 16-thousand per game. Rafer Alston will miss at least the first two games of the playoffs with a hamstring injury. Credit Rafer for having a rebirth in Houston and saving his career. Congrats to veteran ref Jack Nies who officiated his two thousandth career game. Here in Chicago and I love this city. Caught the Cubs-Reds at Wrigley Field. I had the pleasure of anchoring pre/post on the Cubs network for many, many years and never got tired of going to the ballpark. Saw some old friends including Marty and Thom Brennaman of the Reds TV and radio network. Two of the finest people I have ever met. Marty is in the Hall of Fame and Thom will be there. The Bulls are on the back burner. Fans are actually excited about the future of the Blackhawks. New President John McDonough has done a tremendous job in a short time. You better believe I'll be at the Rogers Centre not once but twice for NFL Bills football. Knee injuries happen to golfers as well. Tiger will be a couch potato like the rest of us for the next 4-6 weeks. So much for my theory that John Calipari would leave Memphis for the NBA. ESPN is reporting Calipari is staying in college. CCI asked our great readers to toss out their thoughts on the upcoming Raps-Magic series..... Have some thoughts here on the Raptors/Magic. Definitely the bigs and the PG's will be the key to any Raptor success. Another key aspect in my opinion is guarding that 3-point line. With Rasho out there being his savvy-veteran self, hopefully they won't need to double up on Howard too much. So the Raptors NEED to make sure they have their man covered and no open looks from 3, because with Hedo and Rashard that could be lethal. Especially from the very beginning of the game, because we've all seen this year what happens when the Raps give wing players open looks to start the game. Hey Chuck, I feel that the series between the Raptors and the Magic will come down to the point guard play, getting to the foul line and the team that plays aggressive every possession. The point guard match-up in this series is lopsided in the Raptors favour. I think Nelson, Arroyo, or Dooling for some possessions, can’t handle the Raptors tandem of Ford and Calderon in a playoff series. But although the Raps have an advantage in that situation, in order to beat the Magic they are going to have to get to the foul line often. They are going to have to take it into the paint at Howard as much as possible and get him in foul trouble early. Also, Rasho has done an exceptional job guarding Howard one-on-one. With that said, I’m taking Raps in 6 games. Craig Cunningham Who? I think the Raptors will take the series, not dominate it, but I think they'll win it, probably a 4-2 or 4-3 series. Why? I think the raptors will take it because: 1. I don’t think anyone on the Orlando roster can defend Bosh. 2. The Raptors have shot well against the Magic this year. 3. The Jose/T.J. combo is much stronger than the Jameer/Arroyo combo. 4. Though Hedo and Howard are having outstanding seasons, they combine for almost seven turnovers per game, and if the Raptors can force these mistakes they should be able to pull of a win (Hedo and Dwight have combined for 18 turnovers in three games against the Raps). 5. Last year we were missing Garbo and our defence wasn’t as strong in the playoffs without him, this year we have Jamario who can help defend Hedo and Rashard Lewis. 6. The depth of the Raptors is better than Orlando's and the Magic starters will gradually be tired out, although I know Dwight Howard will probably be a playoff monster. 7. The main reason why...I BELIEVE IN MY RAPTORS!!! Gupz Kainth Birmingham, United Kingdom Let's go Raptors!!!! Thanks, Amanda, Barrie. Hey Chuck, I think the Raps can take Orlando in six, but only if we get superb point guard play. TJ and Calderon have to be huge…period. Bosh and Howard cancel each other out. Do you see Turkolou playing the two? If so, neither Parker or Delfino can guard him and that will be a problem. Avi J Hey Chuck, It pains me to even think this, let alone write it, but I do not see Raptors winning this series. We have been playing extremely poor for the last two months and I see no improvement. It is so frustrating to see the team with enough talent to be a premier team in the East, struggle and lose to the likes of the Bobcats (twice, now that deserves an ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) and the Pacers. Maybe I'm being too pessimistic but I'm calling this Magic in five. Book it! E-mailer Boris: Hey Chuck, wake up and smell the salami & cheese! The Raps are done in the first round. Thanks, Bill P. Hey Chuck, Down here in Waterloo, you, jack and Leo are amazing. The entire presentation of Raptor basketball is top notch... good job! Raptors in six? I agree that they have the talent but they have not been playing well the second half of the season. Can they turn the switch? I hope so. Their defensive rotation worries me. However, I remember an Indianapolis Colts team a few years back who couldn’t play a lick of defence in the regular season and turned it on in the playoffs. Defence and rebounding is all about heart, desire and effort. If the Raps are to win, they need to set the tempo early. If they can do this defensively, they have enough offence to not just beat the Magic, but challenge any team in the east. We will have to wait and see how they respond. Chris Onions for Devin Brown on Monday night. I probably would not have enjoyed the Raps playoff series as much against Detroit as I'm going to enjoy this series win against the Magic. This is perfect for the Raps. 1) Bosh is a monster against the Magic. 2) The point gaurds have the clear advantage. 3) Rasho will shut down D12. 4) We can bring out the SEA OF RED because the Magic uniforms are blue unlike the Nets last year and the Pistons' who's are red. Have fun in the playoffs Chuck, Chris More to come in tomorrow's CCI. Questions/comments about the Raps/NBA? E-mail me at cswirsky@torontoraptors.com or call me at 416-815-6189. Always a pleasure.