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At Last, Raptors Find Success

The Toronto Raptors are over .500, quite a record for any Eastern Conference team this season and especially noteworthy when talking about a team that was almost entirely reassembled this past off-season. Winning five of its last six games, the Raptors are 24-23 for the season so far and lead the Atlantic Division. It is not only the first time the Raptors have had a winning record this year, but actually the first time since seven games into the 2004-2005 season when it was a mere 4-3.

But the Raptors have not lost the heads in the clouds, as Morris Peterson, the team?s guard-forward said ?We`ve got to play harder.? And harder is what team star player Chris Bosh is playing. Bosh has led all Toronto players in points and rebounds in four consecutive games. Averaging 22.7 point per game and 10.8 rebounds, Bosh is among the few players in the league to achieve such a record, usually reached by a handful of forwards and centers around the NBA.

But it is more than a single player that has brought the team to its leading position. Its starting lineup over the past six games, in which Toronto was 5-1, proves the point: Bosh, Jorge Garbajosa, Rasho Nesterovic, Anthony Parker and Jose Calderon ? new to the team and new to the United States, the raptors project is coming together. ?We trust each other, no matter what happens? Everybody`s playing unselfish basketball, and that`s what` helping us out a lot,? Bosh said.