Bayless helping to spark hope in Raptorland
It's been a surprising week for fans of the Toronto Raptors. Not only are they riding a four game win streak including a surprise victory over the Celtics on Sunday, they also have some new players courtesy of the five player deal they swung on the weekend with the New Orleans Hornets, jettisoning Jarret Jack, Marcus Banks (well, not so much) and David Andersen to Louisiana.
Veteran three-point specialist Peja Stojakovic and guard Jerryd Bayless came to town and made their debuts last night against Philadelphia and were definitely among the many promising storylines of the night. (Nods to Andrea Bargnani and Reggie Evans). Bayless drained a three to end the first quarter and finished with 13 points while Stojakovic showed some willingness to post up and exploit matchup deficiencies as well as hitting his long-range shot in his limited minutes in the 106-90 win.
Many eyes and microphones were on Bayless at the end of the game and the number of links he has already in the organization from a young age (Colangelo, DeRozan, Barbosa), not to mention a familiarity with Raptors coach Jay Triano bodes well.
A date against the Celtics could bring this surprising run to end, but seeing as they have already beaten Boston last weekend, the team would have to do more than lose that game for panic to set in, despite their 6-9 record.
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