10 Below and No Sign of Marion

The Raptors won their second game in a row on Sunday against the struggling Sacramento Kings. With that win, the Raps sweep the season series for the first time in years. Of course, all of the other seasons the Kings were contenders not at the bottom of the league.

Anyway, here we are, once again at 10 below .500 but the mood has changed slightly. Instead of dropping to 10 games below they are actually improving to 10 below. Another thing that has changed is the return of Jose Calderon. He has made a big difference for his squad that 2-0 since his return. He is playing so well that in these past two games his assist-to-turnover ratio is 18-0.
Another difference for the Raptors is A.P as the back-up point guard. He has posted a 14.8 PPG, 6.8 APG & 5.8 RPG as a point guard this season. The major difference is the lack of trade talk about J.O and Marion. I am actually pleasantly surprised that Colangelo has shown patience with O'Neal. It's unfortunate that he didn't have any patience with Sam Mitchell early.

Even though the Raps have won a couple in a row they still don't have much momentum. If they can beat the Nets and Bucks they might have enough to split their next four games agianst Orlando, Cleveland, L.A Lakers and New Orleans.


CLOSING COMMENTS
I would like to hear your opinion about the Raptors. Do you think they can salvage the season and make the playoffs? Is moving O'Neal a good idea? What should the Raps do about the lack of depth? I personally believe that a) The Raptors will steal the 8th seed. b) I think the Raps should deal O'Neal to Miami for Marion but closer to the trade deadline. c) I think that they should sign some well-rounded players during the offseason with their new found cap room.

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar