CANADIAN CONTENT: How the Canadian flavour of the NBA performed last week

(Photo: Canadian Press)

Toronto Raptors

Record: 11W-15L (Last week: 2W-2L)
Not a bad week for the Raps, pulling out two wins last week as they hover just below that .500 mark.  First up, they put away the 3-17 Timberwolves in Toronto, in their first throwback jersey night of the season.  The Raps sported the Toronto Huskies jerseys which paid hommage to one of the first professional basketball teams in Toronto dating back to the 1940's. The Raptors followed that win with a loss to rookie of the year candidate, Brandon Jennings, and his Milwaukee Bucks the next night.

The Raptors then had a rematch against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.  It was an opportunity to redeem themselves against the Hawks after their embarrassing loss from the week before, but they were no match to the young and athletic Hawks squad, losing 111-89.  On Sunday, the Raptors put together one of their best efforts all season defeating the Houston Rockets 101-88.  Hedo Turkoglu had his best game as a Raptor putting up 23 pts on 9-18 shooting along with 2 threes, 6 boards and 5 dimes.

Highlights:

• Jarret Jack has filled in nicely for the injured Jose Caleron (left hip) and not only has he proven to be a leader on this team, he had one of his best games as Raptor on Sunday (17 pts, 8 rebounds, 8 assists)
• Sonny Weems has seen an increase in minutes last week and has been a bright spot off of the Raptors' bench as he put together three double digit scoring games last week.
• The Raptors are 8-0 when holding opponents to under 100 pts
• There were two great block highlights last week: 
• One at the Raptors' expense, where the rookie DeMar DeRozan got stuffed by former Raptor, Carlos Delfino
• And then one from Raptors fan favourite, Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who blocks David Andersen of the Rockets

Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns (Victoria, BC)
18 PPG, 11.1 APG, 2.8 RPG
(Last week: 25 PPG, 11.0 APG, 3.7 RPG)
The Suns have lost two of their last three last week including a loss against the Denver Nuggets where there was a questionable non-call on Steve Nash from the officials.  It was a tough week for Nash's Suns as they faced off against three of the toughest teams in the league: Denver, Dallas and Orlando.  Nash remains the league leader in assists and had an 18-assist game against the Magic.

The Suns still maintain a 16-8 record and have played a whopping 16 road games (the most road games played in the league so far)

Joel Anthony, Miami Heat (Montreal, QC)
2.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.3 BLKS
(Last week: 5.0 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.0 BLK)
Joel Anthony and the Heat had a light week last week, playing only two games against the Mavs and Grizzlies.  Joel got the start in place of Jermaine O'Neal in the Heat-Mavs matchup.  Anthony played 31 minutes, and had 6 pts, 4 boards and 4 blocks.  Eric Dampier got the best of Anthony though, as Dampier had 20 pts-17 rebounds in the Mavs win.

Jamaal Magloire, Miami Heat (Toronto, ON)
2.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG
(Last week: 0.0 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 1.0 STL)
Jamaal didn't get much clock last week, playing only 5 minutes against the Grizzlies.  He continues to make the news though, as he and Matt Bonner continue to be rumoured as possible additions to the Canadian senior men's team for next year's World Championships.

Samuel Dalembert, Philadelphia 76ers (Montreal, QC)
6.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 2.0 BLK 
(Last week: 12.0 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 2.0 BLK)
Dalembert's numbers have increased since the addition of Allen Iverson, as he put together three double digit rebounding games last week.  The Sixers continue their losing skid though, dropping their 12th straight loss last Friday against the Rockets.

Romy Aquino covers the pro basketball game (the Canadian Flavour of the NBA, the PBL's Halifax Rainmen) from a fan's perspective.  He also can be found at NBA hoops blogs, Hip Hoop Junkies (A Member of TheScore.com's Sports Federation) and Hoop Heads North.