Toronto Raptors, Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Chris Bosh, National Basketball Association

Toronto Raptors, Andrea Bargnani, Anthony Parker, Chris Bosh, National Basketball Association – CBSSports.com
Andrea Bargnani added 13 points and seven rebounds to help the Raptors win in his hometown. Danish forward Christian Drejer led Roma with 23 points.

With only two players taller than 6-foot-7, Roma struggled inside where the 6-10 Bosh was able to operate relatively uncontested.

Iceland guard Jon Stefansson hit a 3-pointer to put Roma in front 34-33 and Bargnani replied from beyond the arc a few minutes later as the lead swung back and forth in the second quarter. Christian Drejer was fouled by Joey Graham while shooting a 3-pointer, converting a four-point play that gave Roma a 45-44 lead at halftime.

Drejer and former Celtics guard Allan Ray continued their shooting streak to start the second half and Roma opened up a 65-58 lead toward the end of the third quarter.

Jason Kapono hit four straight free throws to put Toronto back in front 67-66 at the end of the third.

After Ray tied the game at 71 with another 3, Kapono and Anthony Parker

Il Mago’s stoic, but he can play

TheStar.com | Sports | Il Mago’s stoic, but he can play
As bad as he looked on defence now and then, he played with more abandon than he’s usually shown. And he confirmed why he’s going to be employed in the world’s best league for a long time, making a couple of three-pointers when the defence gave him the slightest space.

At one point Garnett glared at him – Garnett’s lips moving in rapid staccato that suggested the ongoing delivery of trash talk in Bargnani’s direction – and the young Italian didn’t shrink. He didn’t talk back. He didn’t change his expression from the usual blank. He did, on the contrary, look stronger than ever, convincingly holding off Garnett in the post more than once. Most important, when he touched the ball on his favoured end of the floor, he pulled Garnett out to the three-point line. He stretched the defence. He either created holes or filled one. He had 13 points on six shots.

NBA Blog

NBA Blog
* The game was in Rome, so Toronto started Italian Andrea Bargnani at power forward. Fair enough. However, I appreciate Jorge Garbajosa’s blue-collar game. I’m not sure if the Raptors are better with Bargnani or Garbajosa at the four-spot.

* Jason Kapono, Toronto’s big free agent signing, started at small-forward. His range will spread the floor and keep defenses from doubling Chris Bosh in the post.

* T.J. Ford or Jose Calderon? This question comes up each time I watch the Raptors. And I debated it again this afternoon. I like Ford’s pace. But I really like Calderon’s feel for the game. Eventually, the club will have to make a decision on who starts long-term at the one-spot.

Garnett’s double-double kicks off Europe Live

ESPN – Garnett’s double-double kicks off Europe Live – NBA
The Italians have been won over by both sets of players during the week-long training camp stint and, despite suggestions that hometown boy Andrea Bargnani might be afforded an awkward welcome because of an uneasy relationship with the local press and some subpar showings for the national team, he was welcomed like a long lost son.

More importantly, for the Raptors and their hopes of defending the Atlantic Division title, the few minutes Bargnani then put in before his home crowd were of the highest quality.

After Garnett had beaten the young Italian with an early, devastating baseline move and dunk, drawing a foul and sinking the and-one in the process, Bargnani came straight back at his tormentor on the next possession and drained a long two pointer.

Raptors, Celtics Entertain Rome in Preseason Opener

RAPTORS: Raptors, Celtics Entertain Rome in Preseason Opener
Bargnani, last year’s top overall draft pick by Toronto, played his first game in his hometown in an NBA jersey and scored 13 points in less than 15 minutes.

“Andrea was pretty good. I probably could have done a better job at getting him back in, but I wanted to keep him fresh for tomorrow,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said. “I know where Andrea’s at.”

T.J. Ford, who started at point guard for Toronto, led the Raptors with 15 points. Anthony Parker, Chris Bosh, Jason Kapono, and Bargnani rounded out the Raptors starting lineup.

The sold-out crowd of 11,118 at the Palalottomatica gave Bargnani a standing ovation when he came out for warmups and grew even louder when he scored six of the Raptors’ first eight points, including a three-pointer on his first attempt from the field.

The Andrea Bargnani lovefest was over before it started. It may be a homecoming, but it certainly hasn’t been a heartwarming one

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – The Andrea Bargnani lovefest was over before it started. It may be a homecoming, but it certainly hasn’t been a heartwarming one
Bargnani may be one of the best athletes out of Italy, but it is painfully obvious that he is not one of the most popular.

And that’s quite a surprise, as Bargnani’s handlers have sold the second-year Raptor as being a big star in his home country, and especially here in his hometown.

But there is a definite air of indifference surrounding Bargnani’s monumental return to The Eternal City. Most basketball fans here seem more excited about the presence of the big three from the Boston Celtics — Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett — than about Bargnani or the Raptors, and that’s why tonight’s pre-season game between the two NBA sides at Pala Lottomatica is sold out.

It seems that Bargnani is not Italian enough for Italians.

Almost famous

Almost famous
“He didn’t speak all that much, even when he was young,” Bargnani’s mother, Luisella Balducci says, laughing. “And he was always very short in his writing for school.

“He is very focused. He doesn’t read the newspapers very much. He is focused on the game, and he likes playing it so very much, and the rest of it isn’t very important to him. “He just loves to play.”

Bargnani uneasy being home

TheStar.com | NBA | Bargnani uneasy being home
In a nation whose stereotypical citizen is a fast-talking, hand-talking extrovert, Bargnani, the stone-faced speaker of few-word sentences, is the national antithesis. As a player, perhaps that counts as a strength. And there is no reason to believe that Bargnani, who was tendered an expected extension of his rookie contract yesterday that will keep him in Toronto through the 2008-09 season, won’t continue his ascent. He’s expected to be the club’s full-time starting centre this season. He’s got the skills and the size to be an NBA stats factory.

Bosh & Bargnani Photo from City Hall

ESPN – Olympics Photo Wire

Bargnani making strides on and off the court

globesports.com: Bargnani making strides on and off the court
There is the case to be made that if Toronto is to build on its surprising 47-35 season a year ago, Bargnani is the primary variable.

If he continues the nearly monthly improvements he made during his rookie season, the Raptors will have a player befitting of the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft and a potent running mate for Chris Bosh.

A slower pace of growth will likely slow the Raptors, as the multitalented seven-footer is projected as the starting centre on a team whose glaring deficiency was toughness and rebounding last season.

Raptors exercise option on Bargnani

globesports.com: Raptors exercise option on Bargnani
The Toronto Raptors exercised the third-year team option on forward Andrea Bargnani’s rookie contract Friday.

The move, made during a press conference in the office of Rome mayor Walter Veltroni, locks up the seven-foot Italian through the 2008-09 season. The team retains a fourth-year option on Bargnani for 2009-10.

“Andrea has more than lived up to the enormous expectations thrust on him last season as the top pick of the draft,” Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo said in a release. “Exercising the option while in Andrea’s hometown of Rome could not be more fitting.”

Nesterovic not rocking the boat

TheStar.com | Sports | Nesterovic not rocking the boat
The veteran Raptors centre knows he’ll eventually cede his starting role to the emerging Andrea Bargnani, as early as the first game of this season. As an unselfish player he realizes that inevitability and what it will do to improve the team.

Publicly, he says he’s accepting of that role – “whatever Sam (Mitchell) thinks I can help the team with, I’m happy with,” he said – as a competitor he knows he has more to offer. It’s not his style to make waves or be disappointed.

“Every player has his ego and pride and tries to prove to everybody else that he can still play or that he can play,” the 31-year-old Nesterovic said. “I definitely want to prove that I’m still capable of playing at a high level.”

But where another player might show that desire with public ministrations, Nesterovic calmly gets himself going.

“Everybody shows it in a different way, it’s personal,” he said of the ego most athletes have to have. “Not everybody shows it by screaming, yelling, getting frustrated.

“Me? I don’t know how (it manifests itself). Probably just keeping to myself, concentrating on getting better, prove it quietly, not by words, but by actions.”

D the key for uptempo Raps

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – D the key for uptempo Raps
But head coach Sam Mitchell insisted that his main priority thus far at camp, which switches to Rome today after five days in Treviso, has been defence.

Toronto finished 16th overall in the NBA last season in opponent scoring, which was a huge improvement from the 2005-’06 campaign, when they finished second.

But Mitchell said his team will have to continue to improve if it hopes to advance past the first round of the playoffs this season.

Top-10 Most Popular NBA Jerseys in Europe

Raptors’ Bargnani to be centre of attention in Rome against revamped Celtics – Yahoo! Canada News
The top-10 most popular NBA jerseys in Europe based on sales from retail locations across Europe during the 2006-07 NBA season:

1. Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat

2. Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets

3. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs

4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

5. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers

6. Boris Diaw, Phoenix Suns

7. Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies

8. Andrea Bargnani, Toronto Raptors

9. Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets

10. Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets

Revamped Celtics take on Raptors in Rome

Revamped Celtics take on Raptors in Rome – International Herald Tribune
The Celtics take on the Toronto Raptors on Saturday to open the NBA Europe Live preseason tour.

Bargnani was selected by the Raptors with the No. 1 pick in last year’s NBA draft and will be playing his first game in his hometown in an NBA jersey. The Celtics have added two all-stars to their roster — former MVP Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen — and have nine other new players as well.

“It’s a brand new team, brand new players. We’re still finding out about each other,” said Celtics veteran Paul Pierce, another all-star. “The game vs. Toronto is going to be a good game for the people to come out and see two of the better teams in the NBA.”

Rome’s 10,500-seat Palalottomatica arena is sold out for the game.

Raptors Notebook

Raptors Notebook
And last night, almost 2,000 of them came to the Palaverde arena to watch the show, and they stood several times before the tip-off to applaud for Andrea Bargnani, Jorge Garbajosa and Raptors assistant general manager — and former Benetton chief — Maurizio Gherardini. Coach Sam Mitchell, tipping the hand he is expected to play at the start of the regular season, had Chris Bosh, Bargnani, T.J. Ford, Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker start for the “home” team.

Kapono has shot to make Raptors better

Kapono has shot to make Raptors better
But that is not what is keeping the Toronto Raptors’ Jason Kapono up at night. His mild case of training camp insomnia has a human face. In fact, it has several human faces, and they look a lot like Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon and the rest of the Raptors that run through his mind when he closes his eyes at night.

“I get home, and I think about it, I think about the spacing around Chris Bosh, where he likes to catch (the ball) out,” Kapono said after Toronto’s morning practice in Treviso. “It’s different than (Shaquille O’Neal). Shaq was a post-up, power guy.”

From Deep

globeandmail.com: From Deep
1. Andrea Bargnani is definitely trying to be more physical. He had four dunks; he laid out Graham on a blind screen and went hard enough to the glass to get a couple of offensive fouls.

2. There is some tightness at the bottom of the rotation: Juan Dixon and Luke Jackson are playing for jobs and they look it.

3. Bosh looks like he’s not game sharp, which backed up his talk that his emphasis was on resting and re-habbing his foot rather than getting a lot of runs in this summer.

4. I barely noticed Ford, which is good. Less is usually more with him.

5. Kapono is not merely a standstill shooter. His understanding of spacing and his overall floor game is pretty impressive. With him and Parker on the floor together, the ball just flies around.

6. Garbajosa didn’t look like he was favouring his leg necessarily, but he missed a lot, turned the ball over some and generally looked rusty.

7. My guess is Kris Humphries worked hard on his shooting this summer and was eager to prove it every chance he got. There is more work to be done.

All hail Bargnani, ruler of Rome

TheStar.com | Sports | All hail Bargnani, ruler of Rome
As much as this trip is about the Raptors spreading the Raptor brand in Italy and next in Spain, the second leg of the three-city journey should be all about Bargnani. Maurizio Gherardini’s role as the overseer was exponentially harder here, in his former hometown, than it should be in Rome and Jorge Garbajosa and Jose Calderon will get their moment next week in Madrid.

Tomorrow, it’s Bargnani.

The atmosphere in the 11,000-seat PalaLottomatica for the games on the weekend should be electric, perhaps even enough to move Bargnani to a public display of emotion he’s seldom shown before.

When in Rome, the legend of Bargnani grows

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – When in Rome, the legend of Bargnani grows
In fact, tomorrow, the mayor of Rome, Walter Veltroni, will present Bargnani with a gift at City Hall. According to his longtime agent, Antonio Ricciotti, Bargnani and Veltroni, who also is a key member of Italy’s Democrats of the Left political party, are very good friends. Ricciotti said the presentation will mean a lot to the normally reserved Bargnani.