In short I think this will be a tougher team next year both mentally and physically (an important differentiation) and while they’re not at the Oakley level yet, I think provided O’Neal stays healthy, this will be the toughest team fans have seen in years. Most importantly, I think that J.O.’s mentality and play will have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the group.

This would be huge in changing the team’s mindset and as we saw with Kevin Garnett and the Celtics last season, good things happen when players take on the habits and attitude of their stars.

- RaptorsHQ

Another area of concern is whether or not third-year F Andrea Bargnani is going to come out of his shell and emerge into the player everyone expects him to be. This seems to be very unlikely, given that the acquisition of O’Neal means reduced playing time for Il Mago.

The question concerning Jose Calderon, while not a big one, regards the belief that he may not be able to run this offense full-time. This can be regarded as an illegitimate concern, as he arguably could have been put among the league’s top ten point guards last year, given his play when T.J. Ford was out.

The Raptors are a very iffy team this year, and I still do not believe they are ready to contend for the NBA title.

- Bleacher Report

Walkers chose between 3km or 5km strolls with former Cairns Taipans star and now NBA recruit Nathan Jawai a surprise as one of the eager participants.

Jawai is home in the Far North for a quick holiday before returning to Canada to take up a contract with the Toronto Raptors.

- cairns.com.au

The levels of sneaker-interest varied from player to player. Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani, for example, didn’t open up too much on what he likes. “These,” he said to me, sticking out his white on white Air Force 1’s when I asked him what his favorite shoe was. “I have many colors of the Air Force 1,” he said.

- SLAM

Related posts:

1. Linkage – August 5