The night of Dec. 12, 2007 will be one that T.J. Ford will always remember, and he'll get chance to relive those memories Wednesday night.
That's the night that Ford was violently knocked to the floor by Al Horford of the Atlanta Hawks in the final seconds of what was an easy Toronto victory. Ford, who missed a season and a half earlier in his career because of neck and spinal cord injuries, was carted off the floor on a stretcher that night and missed 24 games with the resulting back and neck injuries. The slight point guard -- generously listed as 6-0, 165 -- makes his return to Philips Arena on Wednesday, and it will be interesting to see how he plays.
Ford's game is built on his speed and fearlessness, and for him to pull back even a step will lessen his effectiveness. And while he and Horford have no issues -- the Hawks rookie spent a couple of hours at the hospital with Ford the night of the injury -- you can be sure Ford will be mindful every time he attacks the basket.
Ford has shown no long-term effects from the injury, so that would indicate he will go right at the Hawks from the start.
The undercurrent to the game is its playoff significance -- for both teams. Toronto is in a fight with Washington and Philadelphia for fifth, sixth and seventh in the East, and the Hawks are trying to hold off New Jersey and Indiana for the last playoff berth.
RAPTORS 104, BOBCATS 100: All five Toronto starters were in double figures -- a much needed contribution considering the deficiencies of the bench for one night -- as Toronto inched closer to clinching a playoff berth for the second consecutive year.
Chris Bosh had 32 points while playing 46 minutes as the Raptors reduced their magic number to two over the idle New Jersey Nets.
The Raptors needed all the production from the starters because the bench, which had combined for 61 points on Sunday in a loss to New Orleans, scored only seven points.
