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Archive for the 'basketball' Category
08
Oct
07
We’ve moved!
08
Oct
07
A $24-million bench-warmer
TorontoSun.com – Basketball – A $24-million bench-warmer
Raptors coach Sam Mitchell went on the defensive yesterday when asked if he would be disappointed if Kapono, the club’s most expensive, most heralded, off-season signing, did not turn out to be a regular starter at the small forward position — the lone starting spot still up for grabs.
Mitchell has said the last couple of days that Kapono may not be his starter at the three spot, that the job may go to another newcomer, Carlos Delfino, or the wildly inconsistent Joey Graham, or even to Jorge Garbajosa, whom Mitchell would prefer to play at power forward.
Raptors fall to Celtics but let’s read between the lines « Arsenalist
As with anything Raptors, it starts off with Bosh who had a pretty miserable game which had a lot to do with who he was playing against – Garnett. They weren’t matched up on every possession but when they were, KG clearly had the upper hand. The Bosh we saw today looked way too similar to the Bosh of the New Jersey series who looked uneasy with both his role and his game on the floor. Now settling for second-thought jumpers from 20ft is bad enough but it’s more the way he looked on the court, almost confused where to start his offensive moves. Of course anytime you give him the ball at the top of the key you’re just asking for trouble because, see, he’s a PF and has no business handling the ball over there. But we’ll attribute the dismal performance to mostly preseason legs, an injury plagued summer and a lot of Kevin Garnett.
07
Oct
07
The Italian Job
Dime » Blog Archive » The Italian Job
The Europe Live opener saw the Celtics beat the Raptors in front of Andrea Bargnani’s home crowd. Two of Boston’s Big Three looked good; Paul Pierce and his new baldie dropped 21 points and Kevin Garnett posted a 19-16 line, but Ray Allen was throwing up a lot of bricks … Garnett played like he was possessed. On one tip dunk he got so high he could have climbed into the rim … Boston’s X-factor this year, Rajon Rondo, didn’t look bad but didn’t look great either. He handed out 6 assists and made just one turnover, but his 2-for-7 shooting isn’t what the C’s need. And there was a couple times when Rondo over-dribbled and got caught in a trap. Still, consider this is the first preseason game of his second NBA season, played in a strange arena, and he was facing a good Toronto backcourt. We’ll cut Rajon a break for now … The Celtics starters played a lot of minutes for a preseason game — KG, Pierce and Ray each played 30-plus — but that makes sense considering they need to get used to playing with each other … On the other side, Jason Kapono looks like he’s been playing with the Raps for years. He stuck a couple jumpers and blended right in …
2007-08 NBA Season Team Preview – Toronto Raptors
The big problem was the wings not being able to slash to the cup. I’m certain this team realizes that defenses will collapse on Chris Bosh, forcing the boys on the perimeter to make something happen. There aren’t too many players on the roster that are capable of this. Anthony Parker must get better, Delfino must be aggressive, and the point guard duo of T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon must penetrate.
07
Oct
07
Celts impress in opening act
Celts impress in opening act – BostonHerald.com
“It was interesting because they wanted to double Kevin down on the post, and I had a lot of open shots – shots that I haven’t had open in a long time,” said Allen, who was off the mark a bit, shooting 4-for-13. “Paul kept his man occupied, so it was definitely a different look. You can tell that they had to respect each one of us on each play.”
07
Oct
07
Raptors take notice
Raptors take notice – BostonHerald.com
Toronto won the Atlantic Division by six games over New Jersey last season, finishing 23 games ahead of the Celtics. But Ainge’s changes have put some pressure on the Raptors.
“Different teams are at different stages in their overall life cycle, and people were anxious for us to do something in reaction to Boston’s changes because we’re in the same division,” Colangelo said. “We just took the (approach) that we’re going to be patient with what we’ve done. We made some great strides last year, and as we look at tweaking our team and improving our team, we want to keep these young guys together. Last year we had one of the younger, better teams, and we wanted to get better from within more than anything.”
globesports.com: Raptors, Celtics put on more than just an exhibition game
But where the Raptors’ visions of defending their Atlantic Division title looked most promising was when the second units were on the floor.
The Raptors put out Jose Calderon, Carlos Delfino, Joey Graham, Jorge Garbajosa and Rasho Nesterovic and benefitted against a Boston group that was still learning each other’s names.
“You pretty much know what Rasho and Garbo and Jose and those guys are going to give you,” said head coach Sam Mitchell. “I think we went up 10 or 12 with that group.”
Toronto pushed it’s advantage to 37-27 on the strength of a Delfino triple, but as the Celtics went back to their stars — all three played at least 19:30 in the first half, reflecting perhaps Boston’s desire to get them acclimated as quickly as possible — they managed to take a 43-40 lead into the half.
07
Oct
07
Sam has issues
TheStar.com | Sports | Sam has issues
Toronto faces Lottomatica Roma today, plays Real Madrid in Spain on Thursday and hosts Zalgiris Kaunas of Lithuania in Toronto on Oct. 17, giving them three of seven pre-season games against teams they very likely will never see again.
European teams tend to play different styles than NBA teams and the rules are a hybrid of NBA and FIBA, which rankles Mitchell.
“I would prefer to play against other NBA teams just so our guys can see other NBA personnel, but the schedule is what it is.”
The Raptors have played exhibition games against European teams for more than five years, although this is their first foray to Europe.
TheStar.com | Sports | GM still believes Ukic will be Raptor some day
“There is an awareness of him around the league,” said Colangelo, admitting he’s had at least one team call to enquire about obtaining him. “There is debate about a whether he’s going to fit in the NBA.
“I still think his game is more suited for the NBA.”
Ukic is known now more as a creator on the court than a scorer and there are deficiencies in his game and his body. He’s not a good enough shooter right now, he admits, and he needs to put some muscle on a slight frame.
But the Raptors remain in the forefront of his mind, too.
“They have to tell you what they plan to do with me,” he said. “For me, I just need to … make them to want me more and more. Get more mature in the game and see what happens next year, or in two years or in five years, I don’t know.”
TheStar.com | Sports | Bosh takes it one step at a time as foot heals
“Last year, I think with me not participating in training camp as much I didn’t get to start the season off the way that I wanted to. I started off kind of slow, my jumper wasn’t falling, my defence wasn’t good, I wasn’t able to practice.
“This year, I took my time in the summer, came into camp in decent shape, getting in better shape every day and I’ll be able to start the season off right.”
07
Oct
07
Euro invasion wearing thin
TorontoSun.com – Basketball – Euro invasion wearing thin
The players are starting to look weary and Raptors coach Sam Mitchell is getting grumpier by the day, although, being the good solider that he is, insists he has no regrets about coming to Europe, nor does he wish he and his team were heading home after tonight’s game against local pro side Roma Lottomatica, instead of jetting off to Madrid for four more days.
While his words say one thing, his demeanor suggests something completely different. He lashed out at a Toronto reporter (in his unique, semi-serious way) when asked yesterday if he secretly wished the team’s Europe Live 2007 was coming to an end.
“I know why you asked me that, and it’s low-down and devious and underhanded, because you wanted me to say: ‘Yeah’, so you can write: ‘Mitchell’s tired of the trip,’” he said.
TorontoSun.com – Basketball – K.G. steals spotlight in Celtics win
All-star forward Chirs Bosh finished the game with 12 points and nine rebounds.
More importantly, his left foot, which bothered him most of last year, was fine.
“I’m going to try to play in all the pre-season games, so when the season comes, I’ll be full swing, unlike last year when I was forced to take some time off when I hurt my foot,” Bosh said.
“I feel like I’m going in the right direction.”
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