Speaking of Jose, he’s to have an MRI late today here (or just a while ago depending on when I get this blog posted) and I’m told by Someone Who’d Know that he won’t step on the court for Friday’s semifinal against Argentina unless he’s 100 per cent. He’s given his word to the Raptor bosses and there’s no reason to think he’d go back on it.
Early in the second quarter of the men’s quarter-final basketball game between Spain and Croatia on Wednesday, a scene played out that is sure to be duplicated this coming NBA season on the Toronto Raptors’ practice court.
There was Toronto’s starting point guard, Jose Calderon of Spain, at the top of the key. Playing defence against him was Roko Ukic of Croatia, the Raptors’ new backup point guard, set to join the team from the European professional ranks next month.
Calderon dribbled left, pulled up and sank a three-point shot over Ukic, one of several easy baskets for the world champions, who dispatched Croatia 72-59 to move into a semi-final game against Lithuania on Thursday.
“I’ve played against Jose many times,” said Ukic, who was Calderon’s backup at Tau Ceramica in Spain’s professional league in 2005. “He’s a great player and I hope he helps me a lot in the transition to the NBA.”
“For me, that would be perfect [filling Calderon's old role],” Ukic said. “I’ll be a rookie and I’ll take some time to adapt to the new game and a new team. For the first time last year, I had a pretty good season, and the Raptors, for the first time, they particularly wanted me. It wasn’t just talk, it was really action.
“So I decided it was good for me because I had an opportunity to play, and not just be part of the team. I’m 23 years old. I don’t have time to wait any more.”
“We need [Ukic] to play this year, and I think that’s what made it enticing for him to come,” said Raptors assistant coach Jay Triano, who is in Beijing as the CBC’s basketball analyst. “You look back at Jose’s first year and it wasn’t anything really exciting. But he learned the league, and that’s the most important for [Ukic]: learn the NBA.”
Both Triano and Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo, who is also in Beijing, said Ukic had a good, but not great, Olympic tournament. He struggled with his shot and began passing up shots after his confidence waned.
“I’ve had several unsolicited, favourable reports from people here who have been watching the whole tournament,” Colangelo said. “If there is one weakness, it’s his shot, but I don’t think it is broken.”
Jose Calderon says he is fine but will still undergo a precautionary magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan later Thursday for his strained adductor muscle.
Toronto Raptors president and general manager Bryan Colangelo said he spoke with Calderon, who plays for Spain in the Olympic men’s basketball tournament, Wednesday night. The Raptors point guard told Colangelo that his strained muscle, located in the thigh, felt fine and that his NBA employer should not be worried.
“He also assured me that he would not put himself in a situation that would jeopardize his injury situation,” Colangelo said.
Colangelo said he expected to receive results of the MRI some time after 5 p.m. local time on Thursday.
At these Olympics Raps fans will be watching to see how each member of the team is performing. Franchise looked carefully at CB4 earlier this week. Here’s what has gone down in the round-robin (the elimination round started today) for the other members of the Raps.
José Manuel Calderón’s next game with the Spanish National Team will celebrate his 100th game with the team. He made his debut with Spain on the 2002 World Championship in Indianapolis and since then he has competed uninterruptedly all of the tournaments in which Spain has classified: European, world and Olympics. José Manuel has been a prominint player for the attainment of two silver medals in European Championships and a World Championship in Japan.
With respect to myself, my only concern is the small pull that I felt in the groin almost at the end of the game. I feel a little soreness in the affected area, but until tomorrow I will not know the extent of the possible injury. We will have to wait a few hours to see how is the injury evolving, and depending on the results, we will know if I can play or not. In any case, with Ricky and Raul, the PG position is well covered and the team is prepared for any absence.
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