If there were five I’d suggest as ‘should-sees’ they’d be Philly on Nov. 12, New Orleans on Dec. 5, Portland on Dec. 7, Indy on Dec. 10 and probably the Lakers on Feb. 4.
I know that’s three of them jammed into one week, but what you gonna do?
To avoid? I know Detroit’s talented and all that, but there games are never, ever really exciting; same with Utah. I think the Clippers and Warriors are going to blow so I wouldn’t spend too much money seeing them.
Dark horses? I have no idea what to make of the Knicks, or the Heat so that might be two to check out.
Hope you’re draft went all right.
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Here’s one for you?
You see that game against Indy on Dec. 10 listed above, what do you think the reaction to TJ is going to be?
Raucous cheers? Boos? Ambivalence?
If I had to guess, knowing you like I do, I’d say it’d be a mixed reaction with more cheers than boos
In Chris Bosh’s latest video dispatch, he discusses the awesomeness of appearing on the Oprah Winfrey show (in an episode which will air today) with his fellow Olympians.
Other than this six-game road trip, Toronto has it fairly easy this season, as their longest road trip other than that is only three games. But here are a couple of other tough road trips that Toronto will have to face:
-Nov 30-Dec 5: @ Lakers, @ Nuggets, and @ Jazz: These are three Western Conference playoff teams from last year and there really isn’t a weak link in there, also of note is the fact that the game in Utah on Dec 5 will be televised on ESPN (one of only two nationally televised games for Toronto this season).
-Feb 27-March 3: @Phoenix, @Dallas, @Houston: This is another tough three game stretch against three Western Conference playoff teams, only this trip is in the second half of the season and will be the last true road test for Toronto.
Looking at the full canvas, it’s easy to make the leap from Calderon to Steve Nash, circa 2001. That’s not quite right. Toronto plays slow, while Nash excels in the open court. Calderon can play fast, and might be in a similarly good situation had Bryan Colangelo’s “100 FGAs or bust” plot worked two years ago. But the guards exhibit different types of incision. Nash cuts with spontaneous, freelanced beauty — there are options X, Y, Z on any given play, and Nash can pull off any of them flawlessly, with no questions of indecision at all. There’s an overarching philosophy about the action, but no real rules for this possession or that.
Calderon’s method is more sure, a boulder to Nash’s sand. Jose still sews magnificent thread, delivering spot-on surprises for the Toronto teammate and the viewer. But it’s all part of a larger plan … there’s an order, a structure to the work. The play goes A-B-C. Again, it’s not boring or predictable. It’s safe. Calderon’s style is safe. It also happens to be as valuable as that of almost any other PG in the league.
Projected record for ‘08-’09: 47-35
Comments: Delfino and Brezec signed to play overseas. The Raptors locked up the underrated Jose Calderon to be their franchise point guard this summer. They traded T.J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and the 17th pick in the draft to the Indiana Pacers for Jermaine O’Neal, giving Chris Bosh a legit presence in the middle. Hassan Adams was signed to replace Delfino. Whether O’Neal returns to his All-Star form will determine just how good the Raptors can be this year. They underachieved last season and look to get back to their form from two years ago.
But perhaps the best rivalry for the Raptors was the short lived one they had with the Philadelphia 76ers. They both did battle in one of the best 7 game series in the NBA in recent memory. Allen Iverson and Vince Carter had a personal war on the floor. Both scoring in the 50’s at various points in the series. You had the entire back story that some fans knew in that the year Iverson was drafted number 1 that pick should have been the Raptors. But due to the expansion agreement the Raptors signed they would pick #2 and take Marcus Camby. It seemed that Iverson would always be at his very best vs. the Raptors and it only seemed to rub salt in the fact he could have been a Raptor if not for that agreement. Isiah Thomas the Raptors G.M at the time claims he would have selected Camby with #1 pick regardless but we will never know. But it was just another little sub plot of a great short rivalry.
Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon & Jason Kapono … as a threesome … are not physically tough enough to play the wing position, exclusively, for an elite team, in the NBA.
For the Raptors to take this next step … with their current roster … they NEED to develop and insert Joey Graham into the mix at this spot AND still go with a tighter rotation, in comparison to last season.
In part, this is the reason this corner has advocated [for quite some time now 
] that Anthony Parker actually be shifted DOWN into the PG and then OG spots … even though, at first glance, these do not appear to be his best/most natural positions, at this level of competition.
In Chicago, Oprah welcomed the gold medal winners like heroes, but back home in Dallas the Toronto Raptors star is just Chris.
He wears the polo shirt he was given the day Team USA left for China.
“Who knew I would have a gold medal now?” says Bosh.
Like all the NBA players on the Olympic team, Bosh is a multi-millionaire, so to him winning the gold medal is worth more than money.
“Words can not describe it,” he says. “We worked so hard and waited so long.”
As he puts it, it’s the first time he’s been a winner since 2002.
“State championship,” he says, “that was the only thing I won before that.”
Dallas’ Lincoln Tigers won 40 straight without a single loss
The media named his team the nation’s best, but even that doesn’t compare to winning for the USA.
“You are playing for something bigger than basketball,” Bosh says. “You walk around and people say thank you, thanks a lot we appreciate it.”
The very first Concord Champion is Bryan Colangelo, President of the basketball team, the ‘Toronto Raptors’. This very strong personality
and trend-setter of the Canadian scene entirely embraces Concord’s philosophy and vision. He shares its uncompromising quest for performance, capitalizing on skill and expertise.
The Toronto Raptors will also improve their record next season but until Jermaine O’Neal proves he can stay healthy, it is too soon to put them on this list. Any of these five teams could make deep postseason runs and pose serious problems for the defending NBA champions. Given this talent, don’t be shocked if a new team emerges from the East.
Will Solomon and Lorenzen Wright signed with the Raptors and Cavs, respectively, for the minimum. They’re both overpaid. Solomon washed out of the league five years ago and his numbers from Europe have been unimpressive since, while Wright was such a horrific bust with the Hawks that he didn’t play even though they were desperate for frontcourt help. There’s little evidence that either player belongs in the league.
Toronto inked Croatian guard Roko Ukic to back up Calderon; his European stats suggest he’s a marginal backup at best and might not be up to the challenge.
Hassan Adams in Toronto, and the Raptors could really use a guy like this
Related posts:
“Isiah Thomas the Raptors G.M at the time claims he would have selected Camby with #1 pick regardless but we will never know. But it was just another little sub plot of a great short rivalry.”
I thought Isiah was quoted as saying that he was hoping Iverson fell to him at two, saying that he wanted him all along?
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Vancouver was interested in trading their first pick, the third overall, for the first pick, but Croce said the 76ers didn’t trust Toronto, which picked second.
“We were afraid (Toronto general manager Isiah) Thomas would steal our pick if we did something with Vancouver,” he said. “We were afraid Isiah Thomas would do something sneaky.”
Scott,
Who was Vancouver going to pick at #1?
Khandor,
Note that Joey Graham playing AT ALL is a really horrible suggestion.
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Don’t know if it was ever said. They didn’t need a centre, so I would think AI or Camby and use him at the PF slot.
Interesting though, that as a “new team” you can’t win the lottery…but you can trade to get the #1 pick.
I remember reading it, but I don’t have it archived.
Agreed on the lotto point.
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