Apologies in advance.
The Raptors Rehab company Christmas party was Tuesday night and as our co-workers can smell tell today, we’re operating at a little less than 100 per cent.
Thankfully, our pals at the Associated Press have compiled a thorough preview for Wednesday’s game against the New York Knicks at MSG.
We love watching the Raps play at MSG, but it could be another ugly one with Amare Stoudemire playing some of the best basketball of his career.
You may recall Amare had 31 points during Sunday's 116-99 win over us, and during New York’s current five-game win streak, he’s averaging a terrifying 34.2 points and 11.0 rebounds.
The once-crappy Knicks franchise also appears to have turned a corner, having won 10 of their past 11 and ranking among the NBA's highest-scoring teams with an average of 107.7 points.
Conversely, our Raptors limp into Gotham coming off their latest terrible effort, a124-100 loss at Indiana.
The Knicks, like the Pacers, love the three-ball so there’s a good chance we get lit up again Wednesday like a Raptors blogger Christmas tree.
The key man for us -- as is the case most nights -- is Andrea Bargnani, and he has been brutal of late.
How brutal? How about going 1-for-18 from 3-point range in his past six games while averaging just 16.2 points.
"We have to come with more energy," the Big Italian said following his disappearance Monday in Indiana. "We have to come more prepared, especially in the first and second quarters. It seems like we are just watching the other team play and we are doing nothing."
Hope he said that while looking into a mirror.
But as painful as Monday was -- and tonight might be -- we must remind ourselves that the biggest Achilles’ heel with most young teams is their consistency. There will be nights like past Friday against Oklahoma and there will be nights like Monday in Indiana.
Tonight, we’d be thrilled with a solid effort while we lounge on the couch and recount our CLMs (career-limiting-moves) from Tuesday night.
Peja update: The Serb is averaging 20.8 points at MSG in his career, but his status is again unknown with a buyout negotiation knee injury.
Beers with Raptors
Raptors reporter extraordinaire Doug Smith has dipped into his mail bag for a special list edition.
One of the questions was the standard, "If you could have dinner with three people from history alive or deceased, who would they be?"
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ...
But it got us thinking ... A far more interesting query would have been: "If you could have beers with three Raptors, current or former, who would they be?"
Our list:
Charles Oakley - Fantastic tales from the 'hood and he'll provide the muscle and the dice for the evening.
Sam Mitchell - Our favourite Raptors coach and Hall of Fame smack talker.
Vince Carter - Might be my only chance to pour a beer over his head.
Anonymous co-worker's list:
Vince Carter - After we slapped him, he explained that all his best memories are VC-related. Fair enough, sorry about the mark.
Damon Stoudamire - Co-worker says he wants to pick his brain on why he regrets punking us back in '98.
Carlos Rogers - Co-worker says he always seemed like a fun dude.
*Doug Christie - Co-worker says he would like to invite him, but his wife probably wouldn't let him come.
Who'd you invite?
