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.

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

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 …

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.

SportingNews.com – NBA – Raptors preview: International house of hoops

SportingNews.com – NBA – Raptors preview: International house of hoops
After the season, Colangelo didn’t sit by idly. He made some critical moves that he hopes will keep this franchise’s momentum going.

Toronto surrendered two second-round draft choices to Detroit for Argentinean swingman Carlos Delfino, who got lost in the talent shuffle with the Pistons. A member of Argentina’s 2004 Olympic gold-medal team, Delfino is not a pure shooter, but he’s fearless going to the basket like his Olympic teammate, San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili. He will likely take advantage of the extended minutes offered north of the border.

And while Morris Peterson has left for New Orleans, Toronto upgraded its perimeter game by signing Miami free agent Jason Kapono, who is coming off a year in which he led the NBA in three-point percentage (.514).

“Kapono is considered one of the best shooters — or arguably is the best shooter — and will complement our driveand- kick game,” Colangelo says.

Last season, Toronto was fifth in field-goal percentage (.463) and ninth in three-point accuracy (.363), and now the Raptors appear to be improved in both areas.

Photo of Jason Kapono of the Toronto Raptors with wife

VENICE, ITALY – OCTOBER 2: Jason Kapono of the Toronto Raptors with wife As… – NBA – Yahoo! Sports

Altraps.com Blog: Puffers Posts – Three Pointers in Raptors Future?

Altraps.com Blog: Puffers Posts – Three Pointers in Raptors Future?

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.

Notes

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – Garbo recovering nicely
Most of the Raptors players and coaching staff toured Venice yesterday, located just south of Treviso, including a visit to historic St. Mark’s Basilica and St. Mark’s Square, where forward Jason Kapono allowed a rather large flock of pigeons to climb all over him. His wife, Ashley, was not impressed … The Raptors will hold an open scrimmage this evening at the Benetton Treviso training facility for Benetton seasons tickets holders and members of the U.S. military.

Validation a motivation for shooting star Kapono

TorontoSun.com – Basketball – Validation a motivation for shooting star Kapono
“On this team I just want to prove that I can do more than just be a spot-up three-point shooter, that I’m not a guy who has to play off of Shaq on the wing, that I can fit in on any other team,” Kapono, who averaged a career-high 10.9 points, said.

The four-year veteran admitted that he was anxious to get out of a situation where two players (Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade) dominate, and get to a place where everyone in the court is expected to do more than just offer a supporting role to a couple of superstars.

Raps in punishing practice schedule

TheStar.com | Sports | Raps in punishing practice schedule
That explains the repetitive nature of yesterday morning’s defence-oriented workout, which preceded a scrimmage last night. All indications are that the Raptors are still going to possess a high-powered offence; the improvement necessary to move from mere playoff participants to conference title contenders is going to come on the defensive end of the floor.