Toronto Raptors

Toronto Raptors

James wishy-washy about dunk contest … again (Yahoo! Sports)

As he tends to do annually at this time of year, LeBron James is dropping subtle hints that he might participate in the dunk contest during All-Star Weekend, even though he has yet to do so during his NBA career. “I don’t know.

Raptors Team Report (Yahoo! Sports)

This was always going to be a season of ups and downs for the Raptors.

They are a young team with no real experience in winning, being guided by a new coach who didn’t have a training camp to implement a shift in focus from offense to defense.

So far, it hasn’t been as bad as some expected. There have been some significant improvements in areas like defense, and coach Dwane Casey is fine with where they are in many respects.

“I am not losing sight of the big picture,” Casey said after a couple of the uglier losses of the season, 24- and 34-point shellackings administered this week by the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics. “I am more surprised that we have not had more valleys than we’ve had.

Friday’s National Basketball Association Capsules (PA SportsTicker)

Andrew Bynum scored 22 points, Kobe Bryant added 20 and the Los Angeles Lakers opened a season-high six-game trip with a 93-89 win over the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.

Amir Johnson leads Raptors past Wizards (The Canadian Press)

TORONTO – Shame, illness and trouble at home were among the baggage the Toronto Raptors carried onto the court with them.

Barbosa, Johnson lead Raptors past Wizards 106-89 (AP)

Any signs of progress Wizards coach Randy Wittman had seen in recent games were entirely absent Friday night. Leandro Barbosa shook off flulike symptoms to score 19 points, Amir Johnson had 18 points and 13 rebounds, and the Toronto Raptors beat Washington 106-89, handing the Wizards their third straight defeat.

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo returns against Knicks (PA SportsTicker)

Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo returned to the lineup for Friday night’s game against the New York Knicks after missing the previous eight games with a right wrist injury.

Toronto still boos Tracy McGrady for some reason (Yahoo! Sports)

In the summer of 2000, after three successful seasons with the Toronto Raptors, free-agent forward Tracy McGrady signed a max-level contract. It was an unfortunate turn of events for the Raptors, but also a reasonable one. While McGrady was considered … Continue reading →