As I look at the schedule, it’s hard to say just how many wins the Raptors will have this coming season. Injuries can come up, chemistry could be an issue, and we haven’t even seen the team play one game together yet. However, I’m going to make a prediction right now that it would surprise me if the Raptors did not to win 50 games this coming season if things fall into place. My preliminary prediction until the preseason is over is 52-30. I think that would be good for at least 3rd place in the East. We’ll see what happens.
The local television schedule will be released at a later date but all 82 Raptors games will be aired nationally here in Canada. On the down side, the Raptors have only two nationally televised games in the Us at present; one on ESPN on December 5th against Utah and one on ESPN2 on Friday, April 10th versus Washington.
Of course, as we saw last year, if certain teams that are expected to be top draws fade (like Miami and Chicago last season), or if Toronto takes off, that could change.
For me, the matches I’m already looking forward to are against Philly and Boston obviously, but I’m also anxious for a little “how do you like them apples?” against Orlando and a few good tests against Detroit. Toronto needs to get off to a good start if they aspire to grab home-court advantage early in the playoffs and games against Milwaukee, Atlanta and Charlotte through their first six matches could put them right on track towards this goal.
Yes, there’s still not a lot of US exposure…but come February if the Raptors are sitting near the top of the conference I expect that to change.
Armstrong, who assimilated to broadcasting after working as head coach of the Niagara University men’s basketball program for nine years, will now have an even heavier workload.
The 45-year old is not only staying on Raptors broadcasts on TSN – the Canadian equivalent of ESPN in the United States – calling 47 games per season as well as TV studio work but, as of Aug. 18, he’ll be heard weekday afternoons as a talk-show host on CJCL-AM, branded as The Fan 590. He will be on the air from 2 to 4 p.m., partnered with Doug MacLean, most recently general manager of the NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets. The show is billed as “The Game Plan.”
“I laughed when they came up with that because I’ve drawn up enough bad game plans in my coaching life, which is why I’m in broadcasting,” said Armstrong.
The time slot was formerly filled by Chuck Swirsky, the Raptors’ play-by-play caller who left for a similar post in Chicago. Armstrong was focused on renewing his basketball duties when Nelson Millman, the radio station’s program director, caught him off-guard with the proposition.
“In June, Nelson called from Niagara-on-the-Lake and I thought he wanted to visit,” recalled Armstrong, knowing Millman was just across the Niagara River. “But he said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ Then he asked if I ever thought of hosting a show.”
Armstrong ran the offer by his wife, Dena, and decided to give it a one-year trial.
“Basketball is the way I make my living but if we were sitting in a bar having a pint, we wouldn’t be just talking basketball. We’d be talking hockey and football and baseball – sports in general,” he said. “I have a great deal of respect for coaches, executives and players that make up the excitement of what we follow as fans.”
The already-familiar commute across the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge and along the QEW will multiply but the midafternoon time slot will still have Armstrong home in the morning and at night, allowing him to keep up with his three growing boys – Kevin (11), Brian (10), and Timothy (9).
“The reality is that there are very strict NBA limitations on how many players can be on the court at one time with our coaching staff. It’s almost as bad as the NCAA,” Cuban wrote in an e-mail. “For the basketball part of their workout, they may be able to accomplish more away from our facilities.”
And they do it in a relaxed atmosphere with their peers. Most attendees put in full-day workouts five or six days a week, and then many go out to dinner together.
“It’s a cool atmosphere to talk basketball and talk life,” says new Toronto Raptors forward Jermaine O’Neal, who has spent the summer working out in Vegas while recovering from the knee injury that limited him to 42 games last season. “It’s helpful for the workplace to be able to get along with guys and create a bond, even if they aren’t on your (NBA) team.”
The bond means they don’t shy from trash-talking or playing pranks on each other — the Cavs’ Damon Jones leads in that department, O’Neal says — but the mood gets serious when it’s time to work.
O’Neal — who said his “soul was dying a little bit in Indiana” — has benefited by playing with some Raptors in Vegas, such as Anthony Parker and Andrea Bargnani, and developing team chemistry.
“We played on the same team and then played against each other,” O’Neal said of the 7-foot Bargnani. “It gave me a great feel about what he can do and his skill level. I didn’t realize how quick he was.”
The level of competition, which O’Neal says is “by far” the best this side of Beijing, can’t be duplicated in a team’s practice facility. And although the games won’t show up in the next day’s standings, don’t tell the players they don’t count.
“There’s a lot of talking and it’s competitive,” O’Neal says. “If you lose, you’re off the court.”
The Raptors needed another rebounder and got one of the most proven big men in the league. If he can stay healthy, the duo of Jermaine O’Neal and Chris Bosh could be one of the most dominating frontcourt duos in the East. Jose Calderon also gives the Raptors consistency (and impeccable ball handling) as their only starting point guard. They may not be the most experienced group as a whole, but this tandem of talent should be enough to get the Raptors out of the first round of the playoffs.
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