Back To Toronto

April 23, 10:09 a.m. Tough game for the Raps as they fell to the Magic 104-103. Chris Bosh's 19 footer with seconds left wouldn't drop giving Orlando a hard fought 2-0 series lead. Jose Calderon was terrific in the fourth quarter and inspired the Raps down the stretch. Bosh looked tired in the fourth quarter after playing all but three minutes of the game. Bosh finished with 29 but only 2 for 7 in the second half and tallied six points. The positive news for Bosh: he's gone to the line 24 times in two games. I'll take that anytime. Another positive note for the Raps has been the play of Jason Kapono. He's nailed eight treys in the past two games. His release is wicked. The combination of Calderon-Delfino and Kapono off the bench combined for 54 points. T.J. Ford is struggling in the series going 2-17 in the first two games. After a 24 point performance in game 1, Anthony Parker went scoreless in 39 minuets. When it was all said and done the Raps just couldn't get the last play of the game to go down. On a previous play late in the quarter it certainly appeared Bosh was fouled by Dwight Howard. Dwight Howard was sensational. A back to back 20-20 game put him in rare company. He became the first player to perform such a feat since Nate Thurmond of the Warriors back in 1969. His put-back dunks killed the Raps on the glass. If you're Stan Van Gundy you have to be pleased with an advantage but concerned with his team's outside shooting. After the first quarter of Sunday's game, the Magic are 13-49 behind the arc, 27%. Raps- Magic Thursday night at Air Canada Centre. For those of you who are lucky enough to have a playoff ticket the Raps will be handing out 19,000 "Are-You- Red-y " t-shirts. A tailgate party is set for Saturday prior to the game...details later. The crowds in Orlando were good but believe me, the ACC crowd is ten times louder. Not hype - just fact. Bring it Thursday night. Many thanks to all the Raptors' fans who made their way to Orlando to catch a game or two. It was a pleasure meeting you over the past few days around the Orlando area. Game 3 - on The Score Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. Sam Mitchell has promised changes so we'll see what develops. Time is running out and the Raps must be proactive. The Raps must play better at the beginning of games. It's very difficult to battle back from double-digit deficits. Where do you stand on the series? Send your thoughts to me and I'll publish as many as I can in Thursday's CCI. cswirsky@torontoraptors.com If Avery Johnson wasn't feeling heat before the series he is now. His Mavs gave up 127 points last night. Spurs go up 2-0 on Phoenix. How good was Tony Parker? KG is the Defensive Player of the Year. Great call. Camby and Battier were in the top three and had fine seasons as well. Am I surprised Brendan Haywood wasn't suspended for his cheap shot hit on LeBron James? Yes. Mark Jackson will probably get the call to be the next head coach of the Knicks but the right man for the job is Jeff Van Gundy. Congrats to ESPN. They were all over the Jake Long to the Dolphins story. Had Long come out last year he would have been a mid-range first round selection. In'08 he gets a guaranteed 30 million before he plays one down in the NFL. Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis is in a good old fashion stare down with Chad Johnson. How quickly the mighty have fallen. Shaun Alexander cut by the Seahawks. Jared Allen is a stud. Love the acquisition by the Vikings. John Smoltz is headed to the Hall of Fame. He picked up strikeout number 3,000. The Cubs are off to their best start since 1975. My concerns about the Jays are growing. Question, comments about the Raps-Magic series? E-mail me at cswirsky@torontoraptors.com or call me at 416-815-6189. Always a pleasure.