Linkage - Jan 28
The concept of trash talking is lost on Jose Calderon.
He doesn’t do it himself and when it is directed at him, which is happening more frequently, rarely does he realize it.
Calderon’s first experience with this predominantly North American practice was in his rookie season.
"The only guy I remember doing it was in my first few games (with the Raptors)," Calderon said.
"It was Gary Payton. He was talking to me for the whole game. After one whistle I said, "Look, the only thing I can say in English is I don’t understand what you are saying."
Knowing that, if you’re Bryan Colangelo, wouldn’t the move
be to act quickly and decisively and bid up Stoudamire? I think so. That way you might just get a point guard that would be a huge upgrade on Juan Dixon or Darrick Martin, providing proper insurance in case Calderon gets hurt or Ford doesn’t get better. At the very least you force a potential playoff opponent (Boston) to pay more than they might have otherwise and perhaps settle for their second choice. If Mighty Mouse ends up with the Suns in the end, you might also take some satisfaction knowing that you’ve cost Suns owner Robert Sarver some extra cash.
"Canadians? Humble and humility," Mitchell said. "I think y’all really feel that y’all are the best in the world at that.
"That’s not a bad thing to want to be the best at. Humility? That’s not a bad thing."
So onward with your noble pursuit, humble Canadians. Sam Mitchell approves.
Honesty might help explain why O’Neill is working in Tucson instead of Canada. The Raptors only won 33 of their 82 games in his only season as an NBA head coach, four years ago, but their record only provides a half-truth to the way his time in Toronto came to a close.
The franchise was adrift. Vince Carter was on his way to being known for spending more of his time writhing on the floor than actually playing on it, and the front office had dissolved into a poisonous pool of dysfunction and back-stabbing.
One example arrived following a February stay in Phoenix, when someone within the organization leaked word to a beat reporter that O’Neill had exploded inside his hotel room. A $300 lamp was destroyed in the outburst, but only after the coach had received a telephone call explaining that swingman Jalen Rose had broken his left hand.
The Raptors missed the playoffs and fired general manager Glen Grunwald on April 1, amid speculation he and the coach were no longer even on speaking terms. O’Neill was dismissed two weeks later, but not before holding a memorable news conference, in which he said Toronto’s "focus is not on winning here all the way through the organization, all the time."
"I broke the lamp in Phoenix, I told everybody," O’Neill said with a chuckle over the weekend. "I don’t know who was upset, or who instigated the whole article, nor does it matter. That’s OK. Every organization, college or pro, has the wherewithal to hire and fire whoever they want and to go in whatever direction they want.
"It’s just the way it is. I ended up getting fired. No hard feelings. I took my money and went on my way."
Kapono spent a good half hour after practice yesterday working on his stroke as he went station to station firing three-pointers on the clock just like he will be in New Orleans on Feb. 16.
But this was much more than just one guy working on his three-point shooting.
The Raptors did their best to imitate the all-star atmosphere complete with blaring music for the UCLA alumnus. Marc Eversley, the Raptors’ director of basketball operations, was mimicking a cameraman just off Kapono’s elbow shooting the event. General manager Bryan Colangelo (in sweats, no less) provided additional distraction while acting as head official and waving off that last shot Kapono let fly just after the buzzer went off.
Raptors assistant coach Jay Triano even had the foresight to suggest building ball-ready racks for the practice with equipment manager Kevin DiPietro putting the racks together out of PVC piping.
"I think Jay is the most creative guy I every met," Moon said in reference to assistant coach Jay Triano, who along with reserve guard Juan Dixon has been helping Moon out with some new dunks. "He has come up with some crazy ideas.
"I think the ideas we are taking into the dunk contest are going to be the most creative," Moon said
To Mitchell’s eye, there appears to be a blind spot for their spot in the standings.
"It’s like there’s one, two, three, four and then six, seven, eight, nine, 10, all the way down. People forget we’re the fifth team," said the coach. "People forget we beat Boston in Boston, and they beat us in overtime at home. … People forget we beat San Antonio in San Antonio. People forget we beat New Orleans."
Here’s a stat for you:
In games after three days rest, Andrea Bargnani averages 15.7 points per game and shoots 44 per cent from the field.
In games with one days rest, he averages 7.9 points per game and shoots 37 per cent.
As a comparison, Chris Bosh averages 20 points a game with three days rest and 23.3 with one day off.
It’s going to be a good test of their defence, too. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are precisely the kind of multi-talented forwards these guys have a hard time guarding.
It’s not often you get really jazzed about regular season games at this time of year but these two are special.
Raptors coach Sam Mitchell wants young forward Andrea Bargnani to toughen up, physically and mentally, and he thinks he knows a way to do it. Mitchell hopes to encourage Bargnani to attend the summer camp run by John Lucas in Houston.
Last year, Mitchell went down to watch T.J. Ford compete in the camp and was, to say the least, impressed.
"They beat the (crap) out of each other," he said. A perfect way for Bargnani to grow some, um, feistiness.
Toronto is good enough to secure perhaps a home-court playoff series in the first round, but they aren’t good enough, or deep enough, to be a serious title contender. Do they stay patient and content to take baby steps while the likes of Andrea Bargnani grow, or do they do something more aggressive?
Raptors coach Sam Mitchell, roasting the media after being asked if he was contemplating any lineup changes: "We’re 3-1 in our last four games. The last time I checked the best you can be is 4-0. Unless you guys have some ideas how you can get better than that, I’m open to suggestion. (Silence) Do you all hear that? I actually know something that you all don’t know. I have to savor this moment. What time is it? Six minutes to six on January 16 that I actually know something the media doesn’t know. I’m amazed. I should just get on my mule and ride off into the sunset because I know something you all don’t."
In preparation for Tuesday’s game against Washington, the Toronto Raptors participated in a drill on Sunday in which they had to run wind sprints every time they missed a free throw.
Even the coaches got involved. Sam Mitchell, Alex English, Jay Triano, Mike Evans and Eric Hughes combined to hit nine of their 15 shots, meaning they had a lot of distance to cover.
How did they handle it?
"You see where Sam is sitting, don’t you?," Chris Bosh said, pointing at the coach, slumped on a chair to the side of the practice court. "He hasn’t moved."
Mitchell said he was hurting after the sprints. "I can get over my feelings a lot better than picking up my body," he said.
Bosh added the drill will likely not become routine. "They can only do that once a year. Today was that day. So they’re done."
When it comes to luring big free agents, the Toronto Raptors and Utah Jazz are at a disadvantage for several reasons, from local taxes to weather to the demographics of their fans. But recently, both teams have found success going getting European names into their jerseys. Andrea Bargnani is just one of several Euros on Toronto’s roster, with Mehmet Okur part of the Jazz.
Some NBA free agents can afford to be picky. With general managers falling over themselves, pen and contract in hand, it’s natural for a player to pick a team in a large market or a warm climate.
Toronto and Utah offer neither.
Playing for the Raptors will also result in a higher tax bill, and it’s impossible for an African-American to ignore Salt Lake’s demographics when deciding whether to sign a contract. Both teams have overcome this with solid drafting and a willingness, perhaps even a preference in Toronto’s case, to sign players with European experience.
The Raptors have aggressively harvested high-quality Euro talent since Bryan Colangelo assumed the titles of President and GM in 2006. Under his watch, Toronto has acquired Anthony Parker, Jorge Garbajosa, Andrea Bargnani, Rasho Nesterovic and Carlos Delfino to join Jose Calderon in the Euro brigade. They may not be household names in the United States, but their talent level has contributed heavily to the bankrolls of Raptors supporters.
Milwaukee Bucks (versus Toronto): Scoring 11 points in the third quarter (compared to 32 points for the mighty dinos) pretty much decided the game. During that third quarter, the Bucks were eating popcorn while the Raptors went on a 19-0 run. Milwaukee only managed three field goals during the period, by the way. Said Raptors coach Sam Mitchell: "When you only give up three field goals in a quarter, you are going to win a lot of basketball games." Now that Sam Mitchell has given up the key to winning "a lot of basketball games," expect other teams to make it point to hold opponents to only three field goals in the third quarter.
Jason Kapono (versus Milwaukee): The Raptors’ sniper showed up with an empty clip, shooting 1-for-7. He didn’t even attempt a three-pointer.
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