Paul Jones has been covering the Raptors since day one. You can catch Jonesy's analysis every game on the FAN590 as well as Raptors NBA TV’s Double Dribble with Eric Smith. Paul will bring you the inside scoop all season long on raptors.com.

by Paul Jones
--raptors.commentator
February 28, 2005

(TORONTO) -- “You still have to go play the games,” said head Coach Sam Mitchell.

This was his response to the widely held perception that two division rivals, the Boston Celtics and the Philadelphia 76ers, made significant improvements to their respective teams.

The Raptors came together with big win over the Lakers Sunday night. (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)

It’s all about the chemistry when you pull off a deal at the trade deadline and turn the corner for the stretch run to the playoffs. Trades on paper may look good, but then again, so does a boxer working out in the gym with a punching bag. The heavy bag doesn’t hit back. When you take the court, regardless of what’s on paper, it's usually a different story.

The Celtics reacquired Antoine Walker while the Sixers upgraded their front line with deals that brought in Chris Webber and Rodney Rogers. With Toronto standing pat and not making any moves, the trades made by Boston and Philly look to give them a decided advantage in the Atlantic.

But don’t start fitting anyone who made deals for championship rings just yet. In the last 10 seasons, only the 1995 Houston Rockets and the 2004 Detroit Pistons picked up major pieces at the trade deadline that led directly to a championship that season and in each case, it happened to be only one player. The only trade that fits the bill this year is the Spurs deal for Nazr Mohammed. It gives them some front-court insurance in case Rasho Neterovic goes in the tank.

Back in 1995, the Houston Rockets traded for Clyde Drexler while the Pistons acquired Rasheed Wallace last season. Hey, do the Atlanta Hawks get some kind of kickback in these deals? What, are they middle men that get a percentage? They sent Walker to Boston this year and facilitated the Wallace deal last year as Rasheed was in Atlanta for all of, oh, one game.

But I digress.

The real question is once a swap is made, is there enough time to mesh all the talent?

“Most teams have 28, or 29 games to make all this stuff fit,” said Mitchell in reference to the building of team cohesion after a trade.

In observation to the short timeline in trying to fit it all together, Mitchell remarked, “It took Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming over half the season to figure it out. Guys have to learn new systems, they have to learn to play with different people.”

Morale seemed to be a bit lower than usual last Thursday in Milwaukee when the trade deadline passed and the Raptors walked off the airplane and saw no changes. They would never admit it, but you could feel a sense disappointment. Some players wanted to be moved, others were expecting to be moved and others were just expecting to see new faces. But rather than feel like they have just been let down, some Raptors are turning this into a source of motivation.

No trade is also better than a bad trade. This is no doubt the way Rob Babcock looked at it since he probably didn’t get the right offer. Mitchell concurred.

“Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make,” said Mitchell. “It remains to be seen. We got our team.”

Time to come together. (Ron Turenne/NBAE/Getty Images)

A day later, as he lay on the training table in the locker room in Milwaukee an hour before the game with the Bucks and head coach Sam Mitchell just a few yards away reading a stat sheet, Donyell Marshall was asked by a reporter about auditioning for other teams over the remainder of the season and his pending free agency this summer.

“Hey, I’m trying to make the playoffs,” was Marshall’s sharp retort.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout,” responded Sam Mitchell acknowledging Marshall’s response as he peered over his glasses at him.

We might see this team play more together during the last 28 games. With veterans on the team, they are now feeling more of a sense of urgency since no further personnel moves can be made.

“We just got to buckle down harder,” said Jalen Rose. “(Just) because we didn’t make any moves around the deadline doesn’t mean we don’t have the guys that can get it done.”

You can say, it’s just the players and the coach putting their usual spin on things with the same old trite phrases about playing the games on the court, moves looking good on paper blah, blah, blah. But one thing you can’t argue with is the way they have played since the break. Critics will point to the quality of the opponents saying they haven’t beaten upper-echelon teams, but wins are wins. Imagine the howls had they lost these three games after the All-Star break.

Like it or not, this is the team that will be here for the rest of the year. With an attitude that says we have nothing to lose and people aren’t looking for us to accomplish anything, this Raptor bunch will no doubt catch some opponents sleeping.

The playoffs? Well, yours truly says possible, but not probable. Its tough to argue with the last three gritty and determined victories.

This team is making the effort, unlike a heavy bag in the gym, to hit back. Will they win the fight? Who knows, but it sounds like they're going to keep throwing punches until the final bell sounds.