Slowly but surely, the Raptors' health seems to be improving.
Morris Peterson (partial tear of tendon in left elbow) said yesterday he feels he is a couple days away from playing, while Chris Bosh (sore right knee) said he expects to take off the brace he is playing with in a week or two.
Peterson, who has missed the past three games, took some shots yesterday in practice for the first time since becoming inactive last Wednesday.
"It's feeling better, but still a little sore," Peterson said. "I have to work that soreness out."
Bosh, who hasn't had the same explosiveness with the brace the past two games, said it has been an adjustment.
"Wearing that brace kind of slows me down," Bosh said. "It kind of messes with me mentally. I just have to get around it. It's just part of the game, I have to be smarter, make better plays and just get used to it."
Along with those two, point guard T.J. Ford was not at 100% yesterday because of a sore big toe. Ford and Bosh both are expected to play tonight in Oklahoma City against the Hornets.
COULD BE BETTER
Bosh made a slight adjustment to his shot this summer, but he is not thrilled with the results so far.
While he has no plans to return to his old shooting form, Bosh's shooting percentage is down to 47.2% from 50.5% last year. His free throw percentage also is down -- to 71.9 from 81.6
"I want to shoot 55-60%, honestly," Bosh said. "I know that's real tough. But I don't see myself missing much. That's how I think ... I've just got to get more confident and more comfortable with it until it starts falling."
ROAD WOES
The Raptors enter a back-to-back road set in Oklahoma City and Dallas at 0-7 on the road this season. They're on a 14-game road losing streak, dating back to last season.
"We've just got to finish the games, put in 48 minutes," coach Sam Mitchell said. "The last four, five games on the road, we've been in them."
It's worth noting that five of the Raptors' seven road games have been against teams from the powerful Western Conference, just like these two games coming up.
