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Raptors in a giving mood

Too often this season, the Toronto Raptors have proved generous opponents to the NBA's brightest stars. And with Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in town, last night promised to be little better. All involved -- including the season's largest home crowd of 18,821 -- seemed to expect as much.

"He's going to score points and he's going to do what he does," Raptors coach Sam Mitchell predicted. "We've just got to try to hold everybody else in check."

In other words, let Bryant have his points. For all the gaudy numbers, it's not Kobe who kills you. It's Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and Smush Parker.

It certainly was last night. The Raptors limited Bryant to 11 points, but they held almost no one else in check, as Los Angeles walked away with a 102-91 win.

Afforded a chance to watch most of the fourth quarter, Bryant finished with his lowest-scoring effort of the season on 12 shots, another low. Odom led the Lakers with a mere 19 points.

"He was content to just do what had to be done tonight to get this game into a position where we could win it," Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant, who entered play averaging 28.4 shots and 32.2 points per game.

Only twice before had Toronto kept an opponent's high-scorer to less than 25 points. The likes of Allen Iverson, Rashard Lewis, Richard Jefferson and Dwyane Wade have torched the Raptors for 42, 41, 37 and 33 points respectively. And on Tuesday night, Washington's Gilbert Arenas scored 37 in an overtime effort.

Bryant didn't need to do likewise. Instead he dished out a season-high nine assists, while his teammates, a mixed bag of role players, came to the fore.

Five Lakers finished in double figures, with Parker adding 15. Even when Jackson emptied the bench he found solid contributors, getting 13 points and six rebounds from Luke Walton and another 14 points from Laron Profit.

"This is the NBA," Mitchell observed, "everybody gets a cheque on the first and 15th. So when other guys get an opportunity to play, they're trying to prove that they should make a little bit more than what they're making."

That sort of depth, at least on this night for the .500 Lakers, turned what was a close if sloppy contest in L.A.'s favour.

Tied after one quarter, the Lakers opened the second with a 10-0 run. Including the closing moments of the first frame, the Raptors went nearly six minutes without a field goal until Charlie Villanueva made an inside jumper to bring Toronto back within seven.

The Raptors trailed by just six at the midway point, but would fall only further behind after intermission.

With the Lakers leading by 14 late in the third, Chris Bosh, who finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists, missed back-to-back dunk opportunities. Walton then came back the other way to draw a foul on a tough layup. The three-point play gave Los Angeles a 17-point advantage, a gap that would eventually grow to 22.

"We talk about the same thing after every game all the time. I guess you guys see the same thing, the fans see the same thing I'm seeing," Bosh said, after the Raptors shot just 41% and were out-rebounded 48-33.

"It gets old. And once it starts getting old with us, we'll start playing better. Once we get tired of the fans booing, once we get tired of being down by 20 at home, once we get tired of those things -- that's when I think things will really kick in for us."

posted by: mwiley at 14:27 | link | comments |

Blue Jays foolishly throw around big money

I know I shouldn't care. It's not my money. If Universal Studios thinks $160,000,000 is an appropriate budget for Van Helsing, well, bombs away, fellas. If Ben Affleck wants to blow $1.2 million on a shiny pink engagement ring for Jennifer Lopez, well, you can't put a price on love. But thanks to the Toronto Blue Jays, you can put a price on a pair of pitchers with a combined career record of 65-69. And that price is $102 million. Yesterday, the Blue Jays signed free-agent pitcher A.J. Burnett to a five-year, $55 million contract. The deal is believed to be the longest for a free-agent starting pitcher since Chan Ho Park got $65 million over five years from the Rangers in 2001. Maybe Burnett will turn out to be worth it. He's 28, with a fastball in the high 90s. Then again, Burnett is a 49-50 lifetime pitcher who has never won more than 12 games in a season and lost his last six decisions in 2005.

Burnett's signing follows the equally shocking purchase of free-agent reliever B.J. Ryan, who signed with the Jays last week for $47 million for five years. Burnett and Ryan are the biggest winners in a thin free-agent market. The losers are sanity. Smarter baseball minds than I tell me Ryan (16-19 lifetime, 42 career saves) could be worth the investment. Writing in this week's magazine, SI's Daniel G. Habib cited Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA (which evaluates a players' past performance as well as his historical comparables and returns a range of probable outcomes) as being optimistic that Ryan would justify his contractual outlay. We'll see. Ryan converted 36 saves in 41 opportunities in his first year as a fulltime closer. Very impressive, for sure. But 14 of his saves came after Aug. 1, when the Orioles were out of the race, and half of his 36 saves last season came against three teams (Kansas City, Seattle and Tampa Bay). Sure, it's not my money. But that's a lot of money for a pitcher who has yet to save a game in the middle of a pennant race.

posted by: mwiley at 14:26 | link | comments |

Blue Jays moves

The Toronto Blue Jays signed pitchers A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan this offseason for a total of over $100 million.
We asked readers what they thought of the moves. Here's what you had to say:

Whether these two pitchers are the answer, you have to give the Jays credit for getting back onto the front page again. I saw a game late in the season at Rogers Centre, and the team was exciting, as was the atmosphere at the R.C. Really looking forward to 2006, and more trips to Toronto to watch the Jays.
Paul Smith, Delta, B.C., Dec. 7

I think the new pichers will be very useful because of Roy Halladay's injury.
Jeffrey Leung, Markham, Dec. 7

Finally, the Toronto Blue Jays have given their fans something to get excited about. With the recent additions of pitchers B.J. Ryan and A.J. Burnett, it appears as though the team may have a legitimate shot at making the playoffs this upcoming season.
In doing so, GM J.P. Ricciardi was successful where other of the city’s franchises have failed: attracting big-name free agents and generating a buzz south of the border....
Even if the Blue Jays fail in their efforts to make the playoffs next season, they will undoubtedly be more competitive than in previous years. More importantly, J.P. Ricciardi has successfully rejuvenated the franchise, and regenerated interest in the team. Thanks are due not only to Ricciardi, but also to Ted Rogers for committing the money to make these moves possible.
John Andersen, Burlington, Dec. 7

posted by: mwiley at 14:25 | link | comments |

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