If there is anything for Raptor fans to hang their hopes on in the final nine days of the regular season, it's that the team knows how to get itself out of a funk.

Remember 2-8? Ended up 47-35.

They were 1-15 one season and didn't set a record for all-time futility.

They were among the statistically worst defensive teams in the last couple of years and got to No. 11 at one time this season.

They've blown winnable games only to win ones from out of the blue.

They've been awful and then good; couldn't make a shot one night and couldn't miss one the next.

They know ups and downs like few teams do so a little downer at the moment isn't anything to get too stressed about.

"We know, we have to be positive and look at the good things," coach Sam Mitchell said yesterday. "Since I've been here we've had tough stretches. My coaching career has never been one you can look back on and say it's easy. We've had tough stretches and you learn how to deal with it.

"All of us are p--ed off that we haven't played as well as we'd like to. ... The only way you're going to get better is come in and practise hard. I was proud of them, the way they practised today. It was good."

With just five games left in the regular season, the Raptors are trying to get out of a funk that's had them lose 15 of their last 21 games including three in a row and drop a game below .500 and into seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

There are myriad technical reasons for losing some games ' slow rotations, bad shot selection, ill-timed turnovers. It's time, they say, to take a deep breath, put in some hard work and simply play better. They have used the same players, the same defensive schemes this season when they've had success; it's a matter of getting back to that mindset.

"Every team goes through a period in the season where they're battling that, no matter how good or how great the season has been," said Anthony Parker. "It's not the best that it happens near the end but it's the same way you have to overcome it as if it was in the middle of the season. I think what we're doing now is getting back to the basics defensively, rebounding and executing.

"But (it's) not putting so much pressure on yourself ... it's about doing the right things to put yourself in a position to win. When you concentrate on those things as opposed to the scoreboard, the scoreboard takes care of itself."

With two days of practice before facing Milwaukee here tomorrow, Mitchell said there were few specifics his team could work on.

"Everything is still there in front of us," he said. "It doesn't matter who you play ... it's how you're playing. We just have to get back to playing. We haven't made shots, we've had breakdowns defensively but all the mistakes we've made are correctable.''The players and the coaches know what's at stake in the final five games of the regular season and however many playoff outings there are. They also know they haven't lived up to their expectations, never mind those of their supporters. But Mitchell says the worst thing they can do is feel that all is lost.

"None of y'all's expectations are higher than ours. Y'all act like you've got a higher standard for our basketball team than we have," he said.

"I think the fans and people think they hurt more. We live with this every day. This is what we do. We don't sleep well, the food don't taste the same but I do know this, you have to keep a positive attitude and a positive frame of mind or you don't have a chance."

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