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

Raptors fall to Celtics but let’s read between the lines « Arsenalist

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.

2007-08 NBA Season Team Preview – Toronto Raptors

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.

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.

Bosh takes it one step at a time as foot heals

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.”

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.

Celtics embark on rebuilding phase

globesports.com: Celtics embark on rebuilding phase
The Raptors were in the Celtics’ shoes last season — less the three big stars — and after handing out the name tags in training camp, they started the season 7-14.

Staying largely the same has been welcomed. “It makes a big difference, we know we have a really good thing going here and we’re trying to improve and continue the whole thing,” Bosh said. “I think it’s very good. You have to have chemistry on offence and defence.

“Boston might come in and have great chemistry off the bat, but you can’t rush it. Sometimes it’s not going to be the best situations and people get frustrated with that and tend to ask, ‘What’s going on?’ It happened with us. If they don’t come out and start the season spectacularly, people are going to wonder why.”

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.

Trans-Atlantic rep battle

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – Trans-Atlantic rep battle
“We’re always going to be under the radar, to a certain extent, because we’re in Toronto,” Raptors coach Sam Mitchell said yesterday. “I can’t remember the last time we played on a TNT game or an ABC game, so what’s new?”

Bosh & Bargnani Photo from City Hall

ESPN – Olympics Photo Wire

Foot Work • Dime Magazine’s Blog – FOX Sports Blogs

Foot Work • Dime Magazine’s Blog – FOX Sports Blogs
One guy we’ll probably have to look at for the HOF some day is Chris Bosh. Word out of Toronto is the plantar fasciitis that bugged Bosh last year is still there, but CB4 says he can handle it. “I’m not going to lie and say it’s 100 percent, but it’s a lot better than last year, and I’m looking forward to it going away and leaving me alone,” Bosh told reporters from Raptors camp in Italy. It’s the same injury that forced him to miss the FIBA Americas tourney, but he can still be the 20-10 guy you know, ideally if he gets some rest during the season.

Even In 2005, Chris Bosh Better Leader For Toronto Raptors Than Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, & Damon Stoudamire.

NBA Blog
Even In 2005, Chris Bosh Better Leader For Toronto Raptors Than Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, & Damon Stoudamire.

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.

Toronto Raptors put on a show for Italy troops

Stars and Stripes: Toronto Raptors put on a show for Italy troops
Five buses full of U.S. troops took in a preseason scrimmage Wednesday night by the Toronto Raptors at Palaverde — home of the Benetton Treviso basketball club.

Sgt. Olasupo Sobomehin wore a Raptors jersey … and not just in an attempt to get some face time with the players.

“I grew up in Toronto,” said the soldier from the 386th Movement Control Team assigned to Caserma Ederle.

“I’m a Raptors fan,” he said, even though he hadn’t attended an NBA game in more than 10 years.

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.

Playoff success or bust

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – Playoff success or bust
when it comes to matters of the team, Bosh’s opinion carries the most weight by far. And the two-time NBA all-star said yesterday that the goal of this year’s edition of the Raptors is to make it past the first round of the playoffs. Anything less, he said, will be a major disappointment.

“We’ve set (the bar) that high and we have to keep going up,” he said.

Raptors notes

TheStar.com | NBA | Raptors notes
“I think for the past two summers I was really concentrating on gaining weight and after I stayed the same weight, I just concentrated on getting stronger,” he said here after a training camp practice. “As long as I stay in the weight room, continue to lift … if I get stronger, I’ll be good.”

Bosh’s game isn’t predicated on muscle, he’s more of a finesse big man so adding dozens of pounds isn’t a prerequisite. He’s still able to defend other power forwards without being tossed around like a rag doll, a very big rag doll. “I think I’m just going to weigh what I weigh,” he said. And that’s about 230 pounds.