Lowly Clippers set to tangle with Raptors
Last Updated: Sunday, March 22, 2009 | 10:35 AM ET
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Raptors forward Chris Bosh has averaged 27.1 points and 10.0 rebounds in his last seven games against the Clippers. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)The Toronto Raptors are clearly in a rut. The good news is that the Los Angeles Clippers are struggling even more.
The Raptors will try to pull out of their latest slump when they host the lowly Clippers on Sunday afternoon (CBC, 3:30 p.m. ET).
With a 24-45 record, the Raptors sit in second-last place in the NBA Eastern Conference and haven't been able to buy a victory as of late — Toronto has lost nine of its last 10 games since Feb. 25.
Fortunately for the Raptors, the Clippers have been just as bad.
Weak on the road
Los Angeles (17-52) is the second-worst team in the Western Conference and has won just two of its last 11 contests.
On top of that, it's been six weeks since the Clippers posted a win on the road — more good news for the Raptors.
The Clippers limp into Toronto following a 108-90 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Friday night, a game that saw Los Angeles squander a big lead in the second quarter.
"At one point when we had a 10-point lead, we should have had a 20-point lead," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "Our [big guys] didn't control the paint like they should have and gave up too many easy buckets around the basket."
As for the Raptors, they took one step forward last week, only to immediately take two backward steps.
After earning a home win over the Indiana Pacers last Sunday that ended a seven-game losing skid, Toronto dropped both games of a home-and-home series with the Charlotte Bobcats, losing 112-86 on Monday and 102-89 on Friday.
The Raptors' locker-room reeks of desperation these days.
"We've been talking about turning points all year and, to be honest, there's no turning points. We have to win a game first," forward Chris Bosh said. "Then we have to put a string of wins together before we have anything turn around."
Toronto hosts the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night before wrapping up its five-game homestand against the Oklahoma City Thunder (March 27) and Chicago Bulls (March 29).
With files from the Associated PressShare Tools
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