Back To Normal With Something Abnormal

The Raptors get back to some sense of normal life after their London adventure. They return to the ACC facing the Utah Jazz that no longer have Jerry Sloan on the sidelines. Also no Deron Williams as the Raptors are aware from their last two games in England. I have to be honest for myself it is hard to get back in the normal groove. The Raptors might have a little ring rust with all this time off. Practice is great, but it is not a game, just ask Allen Iverson. Raptors road losing streak has reached a team record level, so to be home at the ACC is a beautiful thing. Not that their 12-20 home record is any great accomplishment. Surprisingly though the Raptors are 6-8 at ACC vs West. Andrea Bargnani has the flu or is it flu like symptoms again? I wonder what Amir Johnson thinks about that? He has played trough a lot more than the flu or flu like symptoms this year. Reggie Evans should be back. I have been wrong on this before so I am just going to say I HOPE we see #30 in white tonight.

The Basics: Jazz 33-30 (Since Sloan Left 2-8) Raptors 17-46 ( 2-4 in James Johnson Era)

When Last We Saw Them: It took 3 overtimes in England for the Raptors to fade into the London fog. Bargnani not once but twice had chances to be the hero and win it. DeRozan had one shot as well and failed. Better effort than 1st game in England but the same result in the end an L.

Key Match Ups: Raja Bell hates Kobe Bryant and Demar DeRozan doesn't. Bell and Bryant had got into it on several occasions back in the day. My point is Raja Bell at one time was thought of as a solid defender and it should be a nice challenge for Demar to see how he stacks up against the one time "Kobe Stopper". Devin Harris is no Deron Williams and as such Jose Calderon should have an easier time of it with Harris. Least you would hope that is the case. Paul Millsap is a beast and Amir Johnson, Ed Davis and maybe a returning Reggie Evans, will all get a chance to battle with him. You also have Big Al Jefferson to match up with Bargnani assuming he had his "Chicken Soup" this morning. A huge contrast there and makes for an odd match-up. I could see Jazz using someone else on Bargnani maybe AK-47 might actually makes sense.

Other Things of Note: Dave Feschuk confirms that Sonny Weems is not happy in his article the other day. This is hardly earth shattering news. I had said after the James Johnson trade was done this would happen. I also have noted how Sonny has looked pissed after the first couple games when Johnson first arrived. I feel bad for Sonny who is a good guy. The irony in all this is the game before Johnson came, Weems led the Raptors in scoring with 19. But as the article suggests it is about the other end of the floor as to why Weems finds himself in this spot. Weems does make the point this team has not been good on defence and it is not all on him. Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon not mentioned but we can all imply. Sonny is a good guy and if this is the end of his run with Raptors I hope he is able to find a new home with what he has done in Toronto. By the way after his big comet like debut James Johnson has come back down to earth if you have noticed. In other news, the Raptors sent Solomon Alabi back to the Bayhawks for the 107th time this season. O.K it is actually the 3rd time this year. I am left to wonder now how am I suppose to know when the Raptors have given up. Alabi entering a game has become the Raptors international sign for a white flag. I don't understand the logic in shipping him back and forth between Erie and Toronto. It can't be doing anything good for his mental outlook. Ask Ed Davis about his time in Erie. He will likely have about as positive a response as he did about the prospect for playing for an NBA Team in London.

Where Is It On: Sportsnet 1 (Sportsnet announced a deal to be the Home of the UFC another reason to bump the Raptors to this network in the future)

Ed Davis Makes His DNB Debut

I will be the first to admit that I was not sure what to realistically expect from Ed Davis. When you consider he missed a chunk of his final college season at UNC and just prior to start of training camp he injured his knee requiring surgery. Davis would have to re-hab and fight to get back to make his NBA debut. He would have to make a stop in the D-League with the BayHawks. In just 2 games down there he averaged 10 points 5 rebounds and 3 blocks in just 17.5 minutes. We have no idea how long Davis was suppose to stay with the Bayhawks. The reason for that was the injury to Reggie Evans that Bryan Colangelo admits changed the plans for Davis. Since getting the call up from the D-League Davis has played 10 games he has averaged 5.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in an average of 18.9 minutes per game. He just had his first start and used it to record his first double double with 10 points and 10 boards exactly. So that is where we started this brief chat with his impressions of his first NBA start.

Terry Davis was not a lottery pick like his son. He didn't come from a big college program like his son as well. He signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat long before they had the superstars they do today. As you will see if you check his career stats he bounced around the NBA. Dad made a total of 632,000 dollars in his first 2 years in the NBA compared to 1.5 million and change that his son will bank in his first year in the NBA as the 13th pick in the draft. It sure seems that Ed has learned a lot from his father. Jay Triano said in a recent interview on the Fan 590 that Davis has done anything that coaches have asked him to do. He suggested that it was just a matter of the coaches making the demands of him. That Ed has not got to the point that he will do it on his own. But if he is asked to do anything he will. Davis clearly seems like a coachable type of player and has a background that offers him a realistic view of the life in the NBA.

While comparisons to Chris Bosh are not really accurate, Davis other then being a left handed guy out of the ACC does not remind me of Bosh at all. Well he is a little skinny like a Bosh was as well. However the comparison stops there. I feel he can be a better defender than Bosh ever was or will be. I also feel that he will never match what Bosh was on the offensive side of the ball. But the fact he missed so much time and has made the jump to the NBA without looking out of place speaks to his skill and in house knowledge. Not to say that he will be better than any of these guys, but Evan Turner, Derrick Favors and DeMarcus Cousins have all had a lot rougher transitions to the NBA than Davis has had. All 3 picked higher than Davis and you could say have struggled to fit in on the NBA level. That clearly does not seem to be the case for Davis.

Ed is one of a number of guys I asked a question for a special Christmas feature I am going whip together. I could use your help as well with it. The question is simple enough. What is the best basketball related gift you received as a kid? If you got an answer for that leave it in the comments or tweet it to me @Dinonationblog. Some of the better ones I am going to use in this feature as well. We still have interviews with Jerryd Bayless and former Raptor Kris Humphries to come for you as well in the coming days.

Alabi Re-Called To Toronto

Just a brief little news item from the Raptors today:

Solomon Alabi is back with Toronto Raptors. He is expected to return today and practice with the team. While in the D-League Alabi averaged 8.6 points 6.7 rebounds and 3 blocks with the Bawkhawks in 7 games. He is coming off a double double vs the Utah Flash were he had 12 points and 11 boards in a 20 point Bayhawks win. That was his first double double in D-League. No word on if he would be in the active roster against Denver. But with both Peja and Reggie out it would seem possible he could be. Alabi appeared briefly in 1 game vs Miami so far this season with the Raptors.