| The bad news is that our starters were out-scored 79 to 36. The non-Vince Carter starters shot a combined 5 for 19 for 13 points. That is embarrassing folks. What's worse is that this group did not include Alvin Williams for the first time this year as Milt Palacio got the start.
Yes, the same Milt Palacio who everybody said wasn't good enough to be a starter but would be a good energy guy off the bench. This is what
the Raptors have come to: their starting point guard is one they got from one of the two teams that had a worse record than the Raptors last year. Palacio responded to his new starting assignment by shooting 1 for 9 and turning the ball over 5 times.
Putting Palacio in the starting line-up wasn't the only thing Coach O'Neill tried to shake up the team. Mengke Bateer was the first man off the bench. Within seconds it became clear that he would not be the man to stop Shaq Diesel as the Lakers repeatedly went right to Shaq as soon as Bateer got in the game. Bateer responded by fouling as often as possible. At least Bateer knows how to share the ball, he had more assists than Murray and Peterson combined.
In the locker-room after the game Kobe Bryant was pretty dismissive of the Raptors. He used the phrases "we just got a big lead and sat on it" and "we were never in any trouble" and "it gave us a chance to get everybody involved in the offence." Although he never came out and said it directly you could tell that the Lakers treated this game as an extended practice. Perhaps the Raptors can look back and feel as if they were a part of the Lakers championship run by providing this great practice opportunity. It's kind of like being a champion boxer's sparring partner. You feel somehow good knowing that getting the shit knocked out of you helped another guy win.
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