Sporting Chance

For the Toronto Raptors, the consolation is they lost by only four to the New York Knicks in their National Basketball Association (NBA) best-of-5 playoff series opener at Madison Square Garden last Sunday despite Vince Carter's mysterious disappearing act.

Carter had a bad case of jitters as he hit only 3-of-20 from the floor and scored 16 points, way below his 25.7 clip. He was so nervous in his baptism of playoff fire that he flubbed his first 12 shots. To make things worse, Toronto as a team missed 17 of its first 19 attempts. The Knicks rode on the Raptors' early power failure to erect a 27-8 lead. New York never trailed in hacking out a 92-88 decision.

Still, Raptors coach Butch Carter has reason to be optimistic. The Knicks scrambled to preserve their lead down the stretch. It would've been touch-and-go in the final seconds if only Carter didn't clang a free throw with 40 ticks left and the Raptors down by just three.

Besides, Toronto beat New York in three of four duels in the regular season. Carter averaged 33 points and shot 60.2 percent from the field in the four-game series. So coach Carter can't be too crestfallen. If Toronto steals Game 2 this morning (Manila time), the Raptors will be in excellent shape as they host Games 3 and 4. But if the Knicks open a 2-0 lead, the probability is coach Jeff Van Gundy's boys will take one on the road to seal it.

Toronto's fate is in Carter's hands. If he's as good as Michael Jordan was, the league's No. 1 slam dunker has a chance to prove it against New York.

Latrell Sprewell did a number on Carter on Game 1. In his prime, Jordan never let anyone intimidate him. He made it a habit to burn double and triple teams. Jordan himself said Carter has the potential to become better than he ever was. That remains to be seen.

If New York survives Toronto, the Knicks will face Miami in the next round for sure. The Heat are a win away from ousting Detroit and without a healthy Grant Hill, the Pistons look like they're ready for a wash, grease and spray.

Although Toronto's a playoff first-timer, the Raptors roster lists a lot of veterans like Kevin Willis, Muggsy Bogues, Dee Brown, Antonio Davis, Doug Christie and ex-Knick Charles Oakley. The problem is coach Carter plays favorites -- he'd rather live and die with Carter and cousin Tracy McGrady, a pair of young 'uns.

Oakley, who's as outspoken as Charles Barkley, said: "Our offense is stagnant. Everything we do is at the three-point line. When the two younger guys get the ball in their hands, they have to create for us and get everyone else shots." Davis added: "I feel a big majority of our offense is being run through two guys. It's putting a lot of pressure on them and until we realize and understand there are other guys on the team who are willing to help take some of the scoring load, we're going to be a jump-shooting team. That's not going to get us very far."

In Game 1, only three Raptors scored in twin digits, compared to five Knicks. New York's defense did the trick as Toronto shot a lowly 37 percent from the field. The Knicks hit 48.6 percent. So it didn't matter that the Raptors had more rebounds, 47-34, more assists, 23-14, and less turnovers, 15-17.

The stats proved Oakley and Davis right. Toronto's offense must involve the five players on the floor. Carter and McGrady can't do it all by themselves. Oakley, Davis, Christie, and Bogues must share in the attack, too.

To inject some sideline drama, coach Carter filed a $5 million suit against Knicks frontliner Marcus Camby for derogatory comments before the playoffs. No wonder Camby had some choiced words for Carter during Game 1. That's probably Carter's way of tilting the psychological balance.

If Carter wakes up from Sunday's rude welcome and plays like Jordan in Game 2, the Knicks will be in trouble. If he doesn't, it'll be a short series.