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Looking for three in a row in big 'D' - Raps head to Dallas
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Antoine Wright (left) will be looking to show his former team what they are missing.
Gameday: Toronto @ Dallas (The Score, Saturday - 8:30 pm)
Probable Starters:
Raptors
PG - Jose Calderon
SG – DeMar DeRozan
SF – Hedo Turkoglu
PF – Chris Bosh
C – Andrea Bargnani
Mavericks
PG – Jason Kidd
SG – Rodrigue Beaubois
SF – Shawn Marion
PF – Dirk Nowitzki
C – Erick Dampier
Match-up to Watch: Turkoglu / Marion
I suppose I could have gone with Calderon / Kidd or Bosh / Nowitzki here, but the small forward battle should be particularly interesting to Raptors fans. In a complex eight-player, four-team, double sign-and-trade deal (yes, it was as convoluted as it sounds), the Raps effectively sent Marion and Kris Humphries to Dallas for Hedo and Antoine Wright. So this will be the first opportunity for the two main elements of that trade to go head-to-head and see which team got the best of the swap.
Notes:
Tonight’s match-up pits a rested Mavs squad that hasn’t played since Wednesday night at home against the Raps, who are on the back end of back-to-back contests ... That being said, Toronto starters should benefit from receiving some much-needed rest towards the end of last night’s impressive 107-90 victory over New Orleans … Tonight’s promotional giveaway at the American Airlines Center: dancin’ Dirk … Wright on facing his former mates: "I've already told everybody, when we play Dallas I don't want to come off" … The Mavs are one of the league’s toughest defensive teams, with NBA blocks leader Dampier (2.8 bpg) and the savvy veteran Kidd leading the way ... The teams appear to match up quite well with steady point guards (Calderon and Kidd), unproven two-guards (DeRozan and Beaubois), franchise power forwards (Bosh and Nowitzki), newcomers at the ‘three’ being counted upon for offence (Turkoglu and Marion), and some scoring depth on the bench (Jarrett Jack and Marco Belinelli for Toronto, Jason Terry and JJ Barea for Dallas … Former Raps on the Mavs: Marion, Hump.
The Numbers:
- Raps are 3-2; Mavericks are 3-2
- The Raptors must beat Dallas tonight in order to avoid going winless for the decade when they visit the Mavs. The team has lost in each of its last nine visits to big ‘D’, with their most recent win coming almost exactly 10 years ago on December 30, 1999.
- Toronto set a new franchise record last night, hitting on eight three-pointers in the third quarter against the Hornets, the most the team has ever scored in any single quarter.
- Dallas completed the “Staples Center sweep” earlier this season, earning back-to-back road wins against the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers. In doing so, they became the first team to achieve the feat since the Denver Nuggets won in a pair of visits in April, 2007.
- Dallas swept last year’s season series between the teams, winning both games.
Recommended Reading:
- TSN sets the stage for tonight’s tilt.
- Doug Smith draws attention to the fiery intensity that Jose Calderon showed last night.
- On the other side of the court, Fort Worth Star-Telegram scribe Brandon George talks offensive struggles and injuries amongst the Mavs.
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