Vince Carter was asked yesterday whether the needle on the Raptors' frustration meter was about to fly off the charts.

"We're fine, we're fine," Carter said.

Well, there are some who would dispute that. Fans are obviously frustrated and some players other than Vinsanity are frustrated. His coach, Lenny Wilkens, is frustrated, to be sure.

Taking a 20-17 record into Auburn Hills, Mich., tonight to face Detroit, the Raptors have become virtually impossible to handicap. They're actually 1 1/2-point underdogs against a Pistons squad with a 17-18 record and three wins in their last 10 games, which perhaps reflects Toronto's inconsistent ways of late. If this was a Raptors team living up to its advance billing, it would likely be favoured by 10.

"It's frustrating because we're capable of being better," Wilkens said yesterday after a two-hour practice, the first 90 minutes of which was spent in the film room reviewing Sunday's ugly 79-72 loss to the L.A. Clippers.

"There were high expectations (from the fans) and we had high expectations, too, even though I knew it would take us time to get there."