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Raptors on the attack Toronto gets aggressive about playoff stretch
Updated: Friday March 02, 2001 4:35 PM
A lot has been said about the Sixers getting Dikembe Mutombo and the Mavs picking up Juwan Howard, but the Raptors helped themselves on deadline day as well. Toronto changed the attitude of its team by bringing in Chris Childs and Jerome Williams. These guys are two very defensive-minded, tough players. They'll give Toronto a more aggressive look defensively, and they'll bring a lot of emotion to a team that was very low-key, outside of Charles Oakley. The Raptors needed to do something, because they've struggled a bit this season; they're five games out of the Central lead and only four games over .500. That's mainly because they lost a great player and didn't get anything in return. When a team loses a player the caliber of Tracy McGrady, it's going to have an effect. But this trade is a step in the right direction, which will help them down the stretch.
Keep fighting the good fightWith about six weeks left in the regular season, it's very difficult for teams that have no chance to make the postseason to keep up morale. "At this point in the season, a lot of guys just want to get it over with," Golden State's Antawn Jamison said after his team's loss to Milwaukee on Sunday.
The players become a little selfish and try to go for individual numbers. This is particularly true of Golden State, because of the injuries that team has suffered, but the Clippers and Bulls are a little different. The Clippers are very young, and they have some great talent. They're playing with more effort and more willingness to win games than Golden State. And the Bulls play pretty hard in most games; they're just not very good. That willingness to play is something coaches like to see. If a coach can keep his team motivated when it's at the bottom of the standings, and if it continues to play with a lot of energy and hustle, it's a sign of a team that will eventually -- if it stays together -- improve. But if the players give up on the season and give up on one another, they've given up on the team, and it's not a good sign for the future. So these are important games, even for teams that are out of the playoff picture.
Rockets trying to blast into playoffsPhoenix and Minnesota, currently in the seventh and eighth spots, respectively, in the West, have looked a bit vulnerable, and three teams are circling, waiting for their chance to take advantage of any weakness. If Houston, Seattle and Denver were in the Eastern Conference, they'd be in the playoffs. Unfortunately, the West is a different story. If one of those teams were to sneak into the playoffs, though, it would be Houston. Denver can't win on the road, and Seattle is really starting to go down. The Sonics have lost six of their past seven games, two of those to Boston and one to Atlanta, so they're heading out of the playoff picture. But the Rockets have a few things going for them. Hakeem Olajuwon has really played well lately, and Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Maurice Taylor have been solid. Taylor has the ability to score in a halfcourt game, which becomes more prevalent toward the playoffs, and lately he's performed better. In fact, he's been the team's high scorer in three of the past five games. Kevin Loughery is a former NBA player and head coach. He appears each Sunday on CNN's This Week in the NBA.
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