Trends and streaks are always interesting to look at in this game. Sometimes there are viable explanations and there are other times you just scratch your head and say "what…..really?"
The Raptors rolled into Denver the other night and had a couple of bad streaks that pointed either to a win because of the law of averages, or another loss because of continuing trends. We all know what the result was, and you have the same deal in the match-up with the Suns in Phoenix.
Denver was 9-0 (now 10-0 this season) when playing a team coming into the Pepsi Centre on the second night of a back-to-back. To boot, the Raptors were 0-5 (now 0-6) on the second night of a back-to-back over their most recent trips to the Mile High City.
So you want to know about the streak regarding Phoenix?
Well it's simple, maybe a Canadian curse or something, but the Raptors haven't beaten the Suns since they reacquired "Captain Canada" Steve Nash in the 2004-05 season. Toronto's last win over Phoenix was February 10, 2004. But the Nash thing goes a bit further, as he has a 17-game personal win streak against the Raptors dating back to his tenure in Dallas. The last time the Raptors beat a team with Nash in the line-up was on November 2, 2001.
So what happens in Phoenix? Is it a continuing trend or the law of averages?
The Raptor fans in the Eastern Time Zone who stayed up to watch the Suns play a triple overtime thriller against the Lakers, hope it's the latter when Phoenix travels home to play Toronto at the US Airways Centre. If you watched it, all I can say is, "Whoa! What a ball game."
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With the labour situation in flux, there's an added bit of bad news for the Sacramento Kings. The city's mayor and former NBA all-star guard Kevin Johnson feels like it's only a matter of time before the Kings pick up and leave for Anaheim California. It's always sad to see a city lose its team. Is it me or does it seem like it was only a short while ago the Kings were challenging the Lakers for Western Conference supremacy in one of the noisiest buildings in the NBA?
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The Memphis Grizzlies are hanging on to a playoff spot but they will have to go the rest of the way without Rudy Gay, as he will undergo season ending surgery on an ailing left shoulder. And speaking of streaks, the "Grizz" will try to get into the post season and bust something that doesn't look good on their resume. They haven't won a first round series, sitting at 0-12 all-time in playoff games. But as an eight seed, I'm not so sure.
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Alright, I'm sure some of you have seen this but how about the ending in this Spanish League contest between Unicaja Malaga and Real Madrid a few days ago. Yes Raptor fans, it's the same Jorge Garbajosa.
