Tonight's Game: Orlando Magic vs. Toronto Raptors - Open Thread

by Evan Dunlap on Nov 7, 2007 11:42 AM EST in 2007/2008 Previews

	vs.
2-2		3-1
Air Canada Centre
7:00 PM
FSN Florida
Probable starters:
T.J. Ford	PG	Carlos Arroyo
Anthony Parker	SG	Keith Bogans
Jason Kapono	SF	Hedo Turkoglu
Chris Bosh	PF	Rashard Lewis
Andrea Bargnani	C	Dwight Howard

25 words or fewer: Two teams expected to contend for division championships square off in the second half of back-to-back games.

Know your enemy: The Raptors got crushed by the Bucks last night, but that shouldn't make us feel any better. Toronto was one of two teams to beat us four times in the regular season in 2006/2007.

Useless information: Toronto center Andrea Bargnani, the first overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, has eligibility at small forward, power forward, and center in Yahoo! Sports fantasy leagues.

Bullet points:

Despite the fact that both teams played last night, the Raptors should still be favored. Why? Because they got blown out, only one of their starters, T.J. Ford, played more than 20 minutes. Their starting lineup should be well-rested, not to mention motivated.
Contrast the Raptors' situation with that of the Magic, who played all their starters at least 31 minutes last night. Considering the Magic bench's ineptitude so far, we fans should be worried.
No word yet on if Jameer Nelson is feeling well enough to start tonight. He'll be re-evaluated later today.
Considering the Raptors' abundance of international players, shouldn't Carlos Arroyo start anyway? He loves international competition. He absolutely shredded the Chinese National Team while getting starters' minutes in an exhibition game last month.
The Orlando Sentinel's game preview notes the Magic have not won a game in Canada since 2003. Juwan Howard and Drew Gooden posted double-doubles in that game for Orlando, and Tracy McGrady scored 29 points.
Chris Bosh is, like Chauncey Billups and Jannero Pargo, a Magic Killer. In 11 career games against the Magic, CB4 has averaged 20.8 points. The only team against which he has averaged more points is Charlotte.