Nobody beats the Wiz......actually most teams do, they're freaking 7-27

Final score: Raptors 99, Wiz 93

Ok, first off Hassan Adams was traded yesterday. He was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers along with cash for a future second round draft pick. He was then immediately waived by the Clippers as the headlines read "Clippers acquire, waive Hassan Adams" I'm sure there's a logical explanation but I'm not exactly sure what it is.

Anyhow, Raptors were shorthanded for the night. No Jose, no J.O., no Jamario (attending the birth of mini-Jamario) and no Hassan Adams. So the Raps were short 3 starters and 1 cheerleader. Joey Graham, Will Solomon and Andrea Bargnani got the start. Jake Voskuhl replaced Hassan Adams as the bench cheerleader.

So the Raps were down to nine players but they were facing the lowly 7-26 Wizards. If the Raps could pull off a win, it would have to be against the Wizards who were on the end of a back to back. And the Raps lucked out, the Wiz looked flat from the start. Andrea Bargnani got another start at centre and showed more of his Dirk-side and not hit Darko-side last night. The Raps quickly got off to a hot start getting up 10-2 on the Wizards from the start. The Raps could barely miss a shot in the first quarter, Will Solomon was hitting shots, Bargs was hitting shots and the Raps as a team shot freaking 70% in the first quarter. They were had a lead up as big as 21-8 and finished the first quarter 27-16.

In the second, Andrea & Anthony Parker got the Raps up to 46-25 after hitting back to back threes with 4 minutes left in the quarter. That's when I thought, "OK, this is where the Raps will begin to blow the lead" And it happened, the Wiz went on a 9-0 run to knock the lead down to 12. Antwawn Jamison led the way to the second half as the Wiz trailed the Raps 50-38 at the half.

The third quarter got a little sloppy for the Raps. Andray Blatche hit a jumper to get within 8 as the Raps turned the ball over too many times. And then Bosh, Will Solomon and Andrea Bargnani got the Raps offense going again to get the lead back up 73-60. I was sure that this quarter was going to be the one that the Raps were going to blow but they held their ground and built their lead again. Andrea Bargnani had 15 points at this point going 6/7 from the field.

The fourth quarter was all Jamison as he was hitting jumpers to lead the Wiz back into the game. Five minutes into the fourth, the Wiz were only down five as the Raps continued to turn the ball over. But from that point on, Raps kept their compsure as Andrea Bargnani was "on" in the 4th hitting his shots down the stretch.

Key notes:
Bargs had a nice game, 25 pts, 4 rebounds
Antawn Jamison had 32 pts, 7 rebounds for the Wiz
Raps actually outrebounded a team beating the Wiz 39-28 on the boards
Toronto had a horrible 20 turnovers
The Wizards never had a lead during this game

For a Wiz perspective check out Bullets Forever

Raps beat the Wiz and the take on the Grizz on Friday.


Photo credit: (Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

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SUCKA FREE 3: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

Who DIDN'T suck in the NBA last week?


Marcus Camby of the LA Clippers didn't suck
Last Week: 16.5 pts, 19 boards, 2.8 blocks
He had a couple of 20 board games against the Detroit Pistons and the Phoenix Suns. The Clippers still suck but Camby has been a beast on the boards.

Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers didn't suck
Last Week: 35.5 pts, 5reb, 4assts, 3 stls
Kobe had 40 against the Jazz as the Lakers have been rolling over opponents.

Shaquille O'Neal of the Phoenix Suns didn't suck
Last Week: 23 pts, 11 reb, 2.3 blocks
The 52-year old is still chugging along and still putting up all-starish numbers as the Suns have won three in row.

Troy Murphy/Danny Granger of the Indian Pacers didn't suck
Last Week: Granger 26 pts, 5 assts, 4 reb and 1.8 steals, Murphy 13pts & 15 rebounds
The Pacers combo combined for an average of 39pts and 19 rebounds for the young Pacers squad.

Detroit Pistons didn't suck
The Pistons have won 7 in a row knocking off some bad teams last week in the Sacramento Kings and LA Clippers. Rodney Stuckey was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week including a 39 point performance against the Kings.


LA Lakers didn't suck
The Lakers have won 5 in a row and were 8-2 in their last 10. With the Celtics slumping, the Lakers moved up to be the best team in the NBA. That Phil Jackson is one smart cookie. Check out this silky smooth pass by Pau Gasol last week against the Jazz:

Photo credit: (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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Merry Chris-Mas!

Cue up "Celebration" by Kool & The Gang and let the streamers fly from the rafters, the Raps have broken their 5 game losing skid!

Boy did those Raps ever catch a break. They caught a fatigued Clippers team without former Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Camby. The Clippers who normally have three bigs in Kaman, Camby and Randolph were without Kaman (foot injury) and Camby (death in the family.) The Clippers were fresh off of a blowout against Milwaukee and this was a great opportunity for Bosh and J.O. to take dominate down low.

The Raps were able to get it going early, getting up 21-10 on the Clips in the first. The Bosh/J.O. combo were able to take advantage of the depleted Clippers lineup. This was a game that looked over quite early as the Raps built a 19 pt lead, up 51-32 at the half. The Clippers' fans were frustrated and booed their Clips. Why? Because the Raps were taking care of their home team and the Raps actually played two consecutive good quarters! That's right, two consecutive good quarters. Bosh and O'neal combined for 22 at the half and the Raps shot 46% while the Clippers shot a miserable 30% from the field.

In true Raptor fashion, the Clips made a run in the third quarter outscoring the Raps 28-18 as they blew their lead again. The Clips got as close as 6 points in the third. Zach Randolph left early in the 4th with a knee injury and that's when CB4 went off. Bosh scored 18 points in the 4th to cap off the Clips. Raps won it handily 97-75. Bosh looked like his old self scoring 31 pts and 7 boards.

Check out the Raptors roll call at Raptors Republic

For a Clippers perspective, check Clips Nation

Photo Credit: (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)

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SUCKA FREE: Who didn't suck in the NBA last week

With the Raptors just being the Raptors, we all need some straight up positivity, just some straight up "not sucking" news. So here are the guys who DIDN'T suck last week:

Devin Harris, New Jersey Nets
Devin averaged 26 pts 9 assists and 2.5 steals last week. He took it to his former team, the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday, going off for 41 pts and 13 assists.

With Devin Harris as the new big baller in New Jersey, the crowd gave their thanks to Mark Cuban.



Brandon Roy, Portland Trailblazers
Averaged 40.5 ppg last week, including a careeer high Fitty Two against the Suns. Fitty Two!

Zach Randolph & Marcus Camby, LA Clippers
These two are the new Elton Brands of LA. Z-Bo averaged 29pts and 12reb and Marcus Camby averaged 16pts, 16boards and almost 3 blocks last week. The Clippers seem to have gotten their act together and have won 5 of their last 7.

Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz
Averaged 22pts and 12rebounds last week filling in for Carlos Boozer who had recently told ESPN.com that he plans on opting out of his contract. Paul Millsap has had 14 straight double doubles.

Danny Granger
Last week, he averaged 27 pts, 7 boards, 4 assists and 2 steals. At his game against the "No D" Golden State Warriors, Danny went for a career high 41 pts, 11reb and 6 assists. His game isn't throwing down big dunks or shooting threes, he's known for knocking down that mid range J.

Rajon Rondo
Big Three? More like the Big Four. Rajon Rondo has had an amazing season averaging 16 pts, 6 reb and 10 assists along with almost 4 steals a game last week. This triple double threat has made big time contributions with the Celtics 17 game winning streak.

Boston Celtics
They've won 17 in a row. Do I really need to explain more?

New Orleans Hornets
Led by CP3, the Hornets are on a 3 game winning streak knocking off Toronto, Memphis and most recently, the San Antonio Spurs.

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