When Vince Carter went down last season, Toronto's fortunes went up. Now he's healthy -- and he'll take the fall if this team fails

By L. Jon Wertheim

Despite his star status, Carter enters the season eager to reestablish his value to the team.  Bill Frakes

The Raptors opened their training camp in Waterloo, Ont., but it may as well have been Elba. A somnolent town halfway between Toronto and Buffalo, Waterloo offers little in the way of diversions like nightlife. Following two-a-day practices at the municipal gym, the players retreated to their austere quarters at the Waterloo Inn and ... "Uh, there's gonna be a lot of roaming charges on the cell bill," predicted swingman Morris (Mo Pete) Peterson. "Coach decided to get all boot camp on us this year."

Lenny Wilkens has never stood accused of being an intense taskmaster, but tough love may be precisely what his enigmatic, phlegmatic team needs. Picked by many to reach the Finals last season, Vince Carter hobbled through many games, and on March 22, with the team seven games under .500, he shut it down for the season, then underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The Raptors regrouped, winning 12 of their final 14 games to make the playoffs before falling to the Pistons. "It showed that basketball is still a team sport," says general manager Glen Grunwald. "Plus it showed that we have some good players besides Vince."

A cynic might say that Carter's value to the team is questionable, but, to a man, the players have a more charitable spin. "We took away a lot of confidence from the end of last season," says center Antonio Davis. "Now we're thinking, If we continue to play hard, imagine how good we can be with Vince. The sky's the limit, man."

One player crucial to these great expectations is the 25-year-old Peterson, who flourished in Carter's absence. Over the summer Wilkens informed Peterson that he would be spending most of his time on the blocks at small forward. Forewarned, Peterson forearmed himself, adding seven pounds of muscle to his 6'7" frame as well as some low-post moves. "I don't want to give away too much," he says, "but think spin move."

His 42-inch vertical leap notwithstanding, the other Raptor being asked to elevate his game is Carter. Notoriously sensitive to criticism, he is well aware that he has slipped a few notches on the Next-Jordan-o-Meter and that a growing legion of fans and peers questions his desire. He came to camp talking tough, promising to exact revenge on opposing players who took advantage of his gimpy knee and vowing that the nights "when I don't come to play" are over. "Now," he says, "I'm turning it up from the jump ball and turning it off when I'm in the ice bath."

Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Raptors "Vince Carter doesn't have to score 30 to prove that he's back, because everyone knows he can do that. What's going to define Carter in a positive way is if he works to play defense and deny every pass, improve his shot selection, dive for the loose ball, fight for the offensive rebound -- and do all the things that will lead his team to win games. Your best player has to be your leader, but I don't think Carter has it in him to do those things. ... We try to play Carter physically, give him a little pop every time we can, and he shies away from it. That's why you see him taking a turnaround, fallaway 20-footer when he could pump fake and drive into the lane. ... Carter is their only guy who causes matchup problems. Their bench is weaker than last year, and it's thinnest at his position. ... To win, they're going to have to run for easy transition baskets, and that's Mo Peterson's strength: He'll get three or four layups a game by outhustling you downcourt. Peterson has range out to 22 feet, but he likes to set his feet and measure the shot, so you make him put the ball on the floor and shoot off the dribble. ... If Hakeem Olajuwon retires as expected, Antonio Davis is the best at creating his own shot among their big men, and that's a problem. He doesn't have the greatest hands. If you can get on Davis early, he will lose confidence in his shot, and it can affect him for the rest of the game. ... Lamond Murray has a reputation for being a cancer, but they need his scoring. Until they traded for him in September they had only 75 points per game based on last year's production. ... Alvin Williams looks healthier and stronger after being bothered by a leg injury during the final quarter of last season. He isn't the prototypical point guard, but he has a lot of confidence. He's the type who will miss five in a row then make the shot to win the game."

Issue date: October 28, 2002