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Nets-Raptors Preview

Dec 17, 2009 - 9:53 PM By MATT BECKER STATS Senior Writer

New Jersey (2-24) at Toronto (11-17), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Most of the Toronto Raptors' problems have stemmed from poor play on the defensive end. They might have a good chance to fix some of those miscues for at least one night.

In the first meeting between these Atlantic Division rivals, the Raptors hope to shore up some defensive woes Friday when they host a lowly New Jersey Nets team that struggles to score.

Toronto (11-17) had high hopes for 2009-10 after defeating Cleveland 101-91 in its opener, but has struggled to shut down opponents since.

The Raptors, already 11 games back of division-leading Boston, rank 29th in scoring defense, allowing an average of 108.6 points. They're defense has been especially bad lately.

In Wednesday's 118-99 loss to Orlando, Toronto allowed the Magic to shoot 57.3 percent and make 14 3-pointers. The Raptors fell for the fourth time in five games, allowing an average of 115.3 points on 53.2 percent shooting in those defeats.

"We are all over the place (defensively) right now," forward Chris Bosh said. "When that usually happens, when we lose a game it is because guys don't know what they are doing. We are not talking on defense and all the things we can do to help ourselves out we just are not doing."

Toronto's offense wasn't any better against the Magic.

The Raptors had 14 shots blocked and Hedo Turkoglu finished with 14 points on 2-of-7 shooting in his first game against his former team.

Although a lack of defense has been an on-going problem for the Raptors, there's reason to believe they can come up with a better effort against New Jersey.

The Nets (2-24) are last in the league in scoring, averaging 89.3 points, and have topped the 100-point mark four times. The Raptors are 8-0 when holding opponents to less than 100.

New Jersey arrives in Toronto following Wednesday's 108-92 loss to Utah, its fifth straight defeat.

"It just fell apart on us at the end again," said Brook Lopez, who finished with 23 points and 10 rebounds. "I don't think you can fault our effort."

The 7-foot Lopez has been one of the few bright spots for New Jersey. He has recorded six straight double-doubles and is the NBA's highest-scoring center at 19.7 points per game.

Lopez could match up with one of the league's premier post players in Bosh.

The 6-10 Bosh is among the NBA leaders with 24.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. He matched a career high with 42 points in a 129-127 overtime loss to the Nets on Nov. 21, 2008.

The Raptors and Nets split four games last season, with each team winning twice on the road.