toronto raptors linkage – sept 24
We know that most of the players show up early and work the kinks out before training camp officially begins.
The coaches? Well, they do, too. And then they retreat.
I’m told the whole enlarged staff headed off to the Niagara area on the weekend for a couple of days of fun and frivolity and, yes, some work.
Like? Like meetings each morning to go over such things as how they’ll defend the screen and roll, for instance, what kind of offensive sets they think will get the most of out of their personnel and how they’ll set up training camp practices to maximize the time they’ve got.
They talked and brainstormed and, probably, did a little bonding, too.
Oh, and I’m sure there was some recreational opportunities, given their proximity to golf courses and games of chance.
Noticeable by his absence so far at the de-facto first week of training camp in the Air Canada Centre is Jamario Moon.
I know he doesn’t have to be here, but he has to be here, if you get my drift.
Here’s Baron Davis (very quietly) providing commentary behind the scenes whileChris Bosh is on camera filming an upcoming commercial for ESPN. I don’t know about you, but things seem awfully serious.
Even if Roko excels there’s still the issue of bench depth. I don’t mind a shorter rotation with “concentrated” talent but that’s only a feasible strategy for the playoffs, not a 82 game regular season. It’s actually quite startling when you think about it, two years ago our bench used to outscore the opponents on a nightly basis and this year it looks like it’ll never happen. If Kapono starts instead of Jamario Moon it’ll mean that we won’t have a single legitimate offensive player coming off the bench. Say what you will about Carlos Delfino but he was likely to catch fire once in a while and score his fair share, right now you’re looking at Hassan Adams and Willie Solomon - 6′ 4″ and 6′ 1″ respectively - to bring in the offense. Roko’s going to need somebody to pass to you know.
The Toronto Raptors sent out a press release informing the media of a press conference on Thursday where the team will unveil a new third uniform.
No further details were released about the uniforms, the only other news was that Chris Bosh and Jose Calderon will be in attendance to talk about their recent Olympic experiences.
Toronto’s front court just got a little more menacing with the addition of Jermaine O’Neal. He’s no longer offensive option #1… which means he can focus more on being a defender and rebounder. It also means he doesn’t have to work as hard on one end of the floor… which can preserve him as he gets older and more injury-prone.
Aside from that, bench is somewhat of an unknown, two of the major reserves Nathan Jawai and Roko Ukic being rookies from overseas. Jawai is a 6-10 center from the Australian NBL, and was a fairly proficient low-post threat and rebounder, averaging 17.7 pts, 9.6 rbds, and 1 blk per game on 57.5% FG percentage. Not a lot is really known about him and no one’s really sure how he’ll transition into the NBA, however, looking at some of his highlights, he looks to be like a scrappy, hustler, someone who works for every play. I think he can grow to be a very solid player, epsecially with O’Neal and Bosh to help him with his game. Draft Express lists him as best case being like Erick Dampier (not a great best case scenario) and worst case being like David Harrison (oh boy). We’ll have to trust Toronto and their usually proficient foriegn scouting. While Andrea Bargnani looks like he could be a bust, he’s shown signs of having major potential too, they do say it took Dirk a couple of years to adjust, and Yao took a while too if I recall correctly. Roko Ukic is a Croatian point guard, again not very well known, plays for the FIBA club Lottomatica Roma. At 6-5 he’s a taller point guard, which isn’t a bad thing. Watching his highlights against the Raptors when Lottomatica Roma faced them in an exhibition game summer of ‘07 I actually really liked what I saw. He’s explosive, and fairly quick, able to easily cut into the lane and find his shooters around the perimeter, he also has a pretty good shot (apparently led the league in 3pt % before). His passing is pretty good, but some analysts say that he puts the ball on the floor too much and takes too much time bringing the ball up, apparently his off the ball game isn’t great either. However, I think that playing behind a guy who sees and runs the floor as well as Jose Calderon, he’ll be able to grow into it, he (Ukic) is only 24, so he’s got a couple of years to grow into it, he could be another free agency steal (much like Calderon himself).
The Toronto Raptors picked up six-time all-star Jermaine O’Neal in a trade with the Indian Pacers.
With the emergence of Jose Calderon at the point, it made sense to move budding star PG T.J. Ford and acquire a big man to play alongside Chris Bosh.
O’Neal may be in decline and coming off injury-plagued years, but the Raptors can still rely on him to provide a presence in the middle on both sides of the floor.
The starting five of C O’Neal, PF Bosh, PG Calderon, SG Anthony Parker and SF Jamario Moon can compete with the best of the NBA and will give the Celtics a run for their money at the top of the Atlantic.
(AUDIO) Anthony Parker
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