It's been such a long time that it's easy to forget that the Morris Peterson who played with such abandon after coming back from 19 games off was just continuing what he did before he got hurt.

He also proved that he spent his idle time watching and learning.

The Raptor swingman, back after a month-long stretch on the injured list after breaking his right index finger, is picking up right where he left off in the aggression department.

Peterson got to the foul line a team-high nine times against Cleveland on Tuesday night thanks to an attack-oriented offensive style that can only suit him and his teammates well.

But it wasn't new. It only seemed that way.

"He was like that, if you think back before he got hurt," coach Lenny Wilkens said before the Raptors faced the Knicks here last night. "He was cutting to the basket, getting into the lane and making things happen instead of hanging back and waiting for things to happen."

And it didn't take Wilkens long to try to get the most out of Peterson, inserting him in the starting lineup against the New York Knicks.