This has nothing to do about the recent trade between the Raptors and Sixers. However last year I remember Ed Stefanski held a conference call for bloggers that cover the Sixers. I thought this was a cutting edge type move on the part of the Sixers. To allow people who blog about their team to give them a chance to ask questions of their G.M. Today I was on Twitter and noticed that Sixers were having a live interactive chat with Ed Stefanski for Sixer fans. It was done on Cover it Live which is a company based out of Toronto. I have used it for the Dino Nation Blog and it has been used on The Score and by many other media outlets.
The Raptors have one of the larger online fan bases you will find. There are a ton of great blogs on the Raptors hopefully including this one. Not to mention the fan posting boards like on Real G.M and Raptors forum. Why don't the Raptors try these type of things to embrace that Internet. They did create Raptorspace but I have not been that impressed with it. Raps are also on facebook and Twitter. But to me the Sixers have taken it to the next level in terms of being interactive with their fans. I pulled some stuff from the live chat that might must interest Raps fan.
Fan Question-
Hey Ed thanks for taking the time to listen. How to you think Jason Kapono will affect out offense?
ES-Jason's ability to shoot from distance will make our spacing that much better and allow Elton, Thad and Andre Iguodala to operate with more freedom.
Fan Question-
Did Reggie not fit into your picture of this upcoming season...and why....(he will be a huge loss...he brought a spark to the team
ES-Drew, no doubt we will miss his energy. In every trade the other team is looking for an asset and in this case, Toronto got one. But we fulfilled a big need as well and we were able to address what would have been a logjam at the 4 spot.
Fan Question-
Do you think you will be able to trade Sammy d?
E.S-Sammy is an asset for what he can bring to the table on defense, with his rebounding and shot blocking abilities. As a big he runs the floor as well as anyone and we have been successful when he does those things. However, we're always talking to teams around the league and if anything ever came up that I felt would make this team better, it would be considered.
Fan Question-
So is Elton 100% at this moment?
Ed Stefanski: Nigel, yes Elton is 100% and he is currently in California working out.
So will the Raptors ever get to this point and embrace the online community? It is something they should think about and consider. I know that personally I work hard at this and would be grateful to have the odd chance to have some access and interactivity with Raptors as an organization. I have done my best to do that on my own but to have some help from them would always be welcomed. I am sure folks on other Raptor based blogs would agree. Will it ever happen? I do not know but I give the Sixers great credit for embracing their fans and online community in this way. Also credit to Ed Stefanski as well.
Showing posts with label Live Blogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Live Blogs. Show all posts
3/1/09
Finally...Chris Bosh Comes Back To Dallas
Given the season it has been for Chris Bosh and the Raptors a trip back to Texas should be a welcome thing for Bosh personally. Professionally it offers a great challenge with the Mavericks and Rockets both in the mix of the playoff race. It was not a great night for the Raptors against the Suns. Bosh was unhappy after the game and suggested that Shaq basically camped out in the lane and was never called for a 3 second violation. He has a point, but when you become a superstar the level of Shaq let's just say you catch breaks. Just like Jordan was given an extra step and the odd push off. Shaq is allowed some extra time in the lane. Ultimately Bosh may have been right, but he knows the way the league is and I think had the Raptors won the game he never mentions this fact. However I can understand his frustration it is hard to stop Shaq when he is motivated. He clearly was in that game.
The Raptors will see no such force in the middle today. Eric Dampier is nothing like Shaq and that is a major understatement. The Mavs have guys that can shoot the basketball and have a team that in the past has been a challenge for the Raptors. Andrea Bargnani will see the guy that everyone compares him too. Jose Calderon will see the guy that out played both him and T.J Ford in the playoffs a few years ago. Chris Bosh will see a lot of friends and family. It will be interesting if anyone asks the obvious question to Bosh. Chris have you ever considered coming home to play for the Mavericks? The answer to the question would get taken in many ways and even if Bosh said the perfect answer it would only add fuel to the fire about his future in Toronto.
Even though the Raptor remain mathematically in it after this next stretch of games they could likely be done math or no math. In fact have a look for yourself:
@ Dallas
@ Houston
vs Miami
vs Utah
@ Philadelphia
If the Raptors can not find a way to have a winning record maybe everyone will turn their attention to next season which should be the focus for this team. In fact the way the Marion deal was structured I believe that Bryan Colangelo was already thinking that way. There is no way he would trade his first round pick in the draft away. That is what he would be doing if the Raptors made the playoffs.
I am live blogging some college ball today. I am excited for March Madness. I am going to set up a March Madness pool here on the blog. I will just be for pride and fun. Well the winner would get a mention in the blog. If that is worth anything I am not sure. I will set something up and let you folks know. If you want to come hang out and be part of the live blog for Marquette and Louisville you are welcome.Tip time is Noon Eastern Time Zone.
Seeing as I am live Blogging college today anyway I am going to keep on that hat and live blog the Raptors and Mavs here on the Dino Nation Blog. So watch along on The Score and come online and join the fun here at Dino Nation Blog. I will be getting thing rolling at 8:45. All you have to do is come back to the blog at 8:45 and enter the Live Blog Below:
So hope you come back and join me for Raptors and Mavericks tonight. Obviously the Live Blog will take the place of Raptors Rewind. If things go well we might do these more often as games become less important and the focus changes to next year. So be it here or on The Score I will be live blogging away. Hope to see you there.
The Raptors will see no such force in the middle today. Eric Dampier is nothing like Shaq and that is a major understatement. The Mavs have guys that can shoot the basketball and have a team that in the past has been a challenge for the Raptors. Andrea Bargnani will see the guy that everyone compares him too. Jose Calderon will see the guy that out played both him and T.J Ford in the playoffs a few years ago. Chris Bosh will see a lot of friends and family. It will be interesting if anyone asks the obvious question to Bosh. Chris have you ever considered coming home to play for the Mavericks? The answer to the question would get taken in many ways and even if Bosh said the perfect answer it would only add fuel to the fire about his future in Toronto.
Even though the Raptor remain mathematically in it after this next stretch of games they could likely be done math or no math. In fact have a look for yourself:
@ Dallas
@ Houston
vs Miami
vs Utah
@ Philadelphia
If the Raptors can not find a way to have a winning record maybe everyone will turn their attention to next season which should be the focus for this team. In fact the way the Marion deal was structured I believe that Bryan Colangelo was already thinking that way. There is no way he would trade his first round pick in the draft away. That is what he would be doing if the Raptors made the playoffs.
I am live blogging some college ball today. I am excited for March Madness. I am going to set up a March Madness pool here on the blog. I will just be for pride and fun. Well the winner would get a mention in the blog. If that is worth anything I am not sure. I will set something up and let you folks know. If you want to come hang out and be part of the live blog for Marquette and Louisville you are welcome.Tip time is Noon Eastern Time Zone.
Seeing as I am live Blogging college today anyway I am going to keep on that hat and live blog the Raptors and Mavs here on the Dino Nation Blog. So watch along on The Score and come online and join the fun here at Dino Nation Blog. I will be getting thing rolling at 8:45. All you have to do is come back to the blog at 8:45 and enter the Live Blog Below:
So hope you come back and join me for Raptors and Mavericks tonight. Obviously the Live Blog will take the place of Raptors Rewind. If things go well we might do these more often as games become less important and the focus changes to next year. So be it here or on The Score I will be live blogging away. Hope to see you there.
1/8/09
Raptors Turning The Corner?
Chris Bosh felt on top of the World last night. At least that is what he was telling the folks on Twitter and Face book. In fact here is what was posted exactly.
That sure sounds encouraging doesn't it. I mean he has reason to think that way as well. The Raptors have won 3 out of 4 games and are starting to figure out how to hold leads and get wins. Sure the Wizards are a bad team but they did the same against the Magic and Rockets. At this point it really isn't as much about who the Raptors are playing as much as it is about if they are winning or losing. A brilliant football coach once said " You Play To Win The Game" now Herm Edwards may not have been able to get his Chiefs to do that very often but he is right. It is what it is all about when you cut through all the stuff that is written and said. It is about getting wins. When the season is over they don't ask you who you beat or how you beat them. They just ask how many times did you win. But it does seem clear the Raptors are starting to see the path back to the playoffs.
Andrea Has Figured It Out?
One of the biggest changes has been with Andrea Bargnani. I really was in the camp of the folks that wanted to trade him and move on. But he has shown some things that we have not scene from him in his two plus years in the NBA. The guy we have seen in the last 5 games is much more the one Bryan Colangelo had in mind when he drafted Bargnani with the first overall pick. A confident shooter that has ice water in his veins and makes and takes big shots at key points in games. When Andrea displays these kind of skills it makes the Raptors a much different team. The Wizards last night did all they could to make sure that Chris Bosh did not beat them last night. They succeed for the most part. What they did not count on was that Andrea Bargnani would.
The fear and concern is what happens when Jermaine O'Neal becomes healthy? Jay Triano when asked about if O'Neal would start when he returned ducked the question altogether. He said he had not even thought about it. I am not sure if that is true but eventually he will have to think about it. Bargnani when asked about if it matters if he started or not claims it does not. He seemed to suggest that it was more about the amount of time he gets on the floor and not if his name got called in the starting line-up. The biggest test of Triano as a coach will be when all three (Bosh, Bargnani and O'Neal) are healthy and able to play. The Raptors tried unsuccessfully for the most part to play all three together. Bargnani as an over sized small forward was a failure. So can Triano come up with a rotation that allows Andrea to get his floor time that he thinks he needs and based on his play of late as earned. It may be possible to make it work as you can try to keep O'Neal healthy by reducing his minutes and same for Bosh. You can use Andrea to fill the bulk of those minutes. It will take Triano to be able to convince all 3 players that it will be the best thing for the group as a whole. Based on the recent developments he can make a strong argument for it. The one problem will be when it comes to those last 6 minutes of games. I think it is clear that all 3 players want to be on the floor for those. Bosh as the franchise player is going to be 99.9% of the time. So it becomes a choice between O'Neal and Bargnani for those minutes. O'Neal is the better defender but not by as great a gap as you would have thought heading into the season. Bargnani is the better offensive weapon when he is on his game and going well. Just with the range he has he becomes a match-up problem for any team. I have no doubt Jay Triano wants to be the coach of this team going forward. No one likes to be interim anything. How he handles this issue will define him as a coaching candidate and will impact on what Bryan Colangelo might do in terms of moves for this roster. If Triano can show a way that Bosh, O'Neal and Bargnani can all play together and be productive it may allow Colangelo to feel he must hang on to all 3 players. Despite all of that this team still badly needs a slashing and scoring wing player. I am not convinced that player on a night to night basis is on this roster. So it will be interesting to see what happens. But some new questions have started to become part of figuring this all out.
Bosh From Twitter
That sure sounds encouraging doesn't it. I mean he has reason to think that way as well. The Raptors have won 3 out of 4 games and are starting to figure out how to hold leads and get wins. Sure the Wizards are a bad team but they did the same against the Magic and Rockets. At this point it really isn't as much about who the Raptors are playing as much as it is about if they are winning or losing. A brilliant football coach once said " You Play To Win The Game" now Herm Edwards may not have been able to get his Chiefs to do that very often but he is right. It is what it is all about when you cut through all the stuff that is written and said. It is about getting wins. When the season is over they don't ask you who you beat or how you beat them. They just ask how many times did you win. But it does seem clear the Raptors are starting to see the path back to the playoffs.
Andrea Has Figured It Out?
One of the biggest changes has been with Andrea Bargnani. I really was in the camp of the folks that wanted to trade him and move on. But he has shown some things that we have not scene from him in his two plus years in the NBA. The guy we have seen in the last 5 games is much more the one Bryan Colangelo had in mind when he drafted Bargnani with the first overall pick. A confident shooter that has ice water in his veins and makes and takes big shots at key points in games. When Andrea displays these kind of skills it makes the Raptors a much different team. The Wizards last night did all they could to make sure that Chris Bosh did not beat them last night. They succeed for the most part. What they did not count on was that Andrea Bargnani would.
The fear and concern is what happens when Jermaine O'Neal becomes healthy? Jay Triano when asked about if O'Neal would start when he returned ducked the question altogether. He said he had not even thought about it. I am not sure if that is true but eventually he will have to think about it. Bargnani when asked about if it matters if he started or not claims it does not. He seemed to suggest that it was more about the amount of time he gets on the floor and not if his name got called in the starting line-up. The biggest test of Triano as a coach will be when all three (Bosh, Bargnani and O'Neal) are healthy and able to play. The Raptors tried unsuccessfully for the most part to play all three together. Bargnani as an over sized small forward was a failure. So can Triano come up with a rotation that allows Andrea to get his floor time that he thinks he needs and based on his play of late as earned. It may be possible to make it work as you can try to keep O'Neal healthy by reducing his minutes and same for Bosh. You can use Andrea to fill the bulk of those minutes. It will take Triano to be able to convince all 3 players that it will be the best thing for the group as a whole. Based on the recent developments he can make a strong argument for it. The one problem will be when it comes to those last 6 minutes of games. I think it is clear that all 3 players want to be on the floor for those. Bosh as the franchise player is going to be 99.9% of the time. So it becomes a choice between O'Neal and Bargnani for those minutes. O'Neal is the better defender but not by as great a gap as you would have thought heading into the season. Bargnani is the better offensive weapon when he is on his game and going well. Just with the range he has he becomes a match-up problem for any team. I have no doubt Jay Triano wants to be the coach of this team going forward. No one likes to be interim anything. How he handles this issue will define him as a coaching candidate and will impact on what Bryan Colangelo might do in terms of moves for this roster. If Triano can show a way that Bosh, O'Neal and Bargnani can all play together and be productive it may allow Colangelo to feel he must hang on to all 3 players. Despite all of that this team still badly needs a slashing and scoring wing player. I am not convinced that player on a night to night basis is on this roster. So it will be interesting to see what happens. But some new questions have started to become part of figuring this all out.
Jose When He Returns Will That Help Or Hurt
Seems a bit silly of a question on the surface. But if you have been playing close attention some things have improved with no Jose. Those improvements are mostly on the defensive end of the floor. Jose Calderon when he returns must answer the challenge and work as hard on defense as he does on offense. It has to happen or this house of cards of improvement will all come crashing down. I am not saying he needs to be an all world defender. He needs to take a man blowing by him as personally as he takes it when he makes a rare turnover.
That will be what Jose will help with and improve on what has been happening of late. He is very good at protecting the ball and getting his team to play with less mistakes on the offensive end. He will need to take the odd chance as well to not break the momentum that has been built in his time away that was being established. But he was starting to show signs of starting to make those king of plays and choices. Jay Triano is slowly getting Jose to understand the benefits of taking chances and making it work at times in a game. I will give you an example from last night's game made by Will Solomon. He looked way up the floor and hit Anthony Parker( I think ) with a long pass and it lead to an easy score as Parker was ahead of the play. In the past if Jose was in the game he likely sees that same pass to make but views it as to much of a risk and just sets the team up in the half court. Transition points and easier chances can make life much more easy for any basketball team.
I have always said that Jose Calderon was a very good point guard. But he is not a great point guard. However if Jay Triano get work with Jose and tweak his game in some ways along with a true commitment to defensive improvement by Jose he could grow into being a great point guard. Jay Triano worked with Steve Nash on team Canada and Nash credits Triano with helping him a lot. It is not that Jose will become a Steve Nash like point guard. They are very different in a lot of ways. But can Triano give Jose the direction to make improvements in his game as he did for Steve Nash with his game. I was hopeful that he could and was starting to see signs that he was. Calderon is a great guy and people rush to his defense at times based on that. I like Jose but I just expect and want more from him. That is what signing that contract in the summer meant. To be the starting point guard in the city has always been a focus from day one with Damon Stoudamire and it continues to be to this day with Jose.
Matt Devlin last night suggested we may see a Jose return as soon as tomorrow against the Grizzlies. So it will be really interesting to see what the impact will be on the Raptors on both ends of the floor when he does. No one is saying Will Solomon and or Roko Ukic is going to steal his job. But maybe they could see more minutes if Calderon is not as effective in some aspects. Ultimately maybe it should happen any way as Calderon is really showing signs of wear this season. Sam Mitchell had no confidence it Solomon or Ukic and really over played Jose through the early part of the season much like he did with Chris Bosh.
Live Blogging on Monday
Just a note for all of you and an invitation. I am going to be working doing live blogs for The Score from time to time. Most of the time it will be for Raptor games. On these nights I will not being doing Raptor Rewinds as you have become use too. But I will provide you links and access to the live blog instead. The first of these is going to be on Monday for the Raptors and Celtics and as soon as I have the details of how you can take part I will provide you a link. These live blogs are great for those of you who are on the go and have the tech toys like Iphones or Blackberrys. If you want to keep up with what is going on with the game. If you are out on a date or visiting family and have to miss a game. Now you won't have to on these nights. Even if your watching the game it is a cool way to have interaction with your fellow fans. I will when I live blog try to show up a bit early and have a bit or an open pre game chat like portion and same for halftime and post game. You are all welcome to be a part.
So that is about it for today unless we have any breaking news to pass a long. I will be doing my usual Thursday thing in taking in the "Hoops" show on Fan 590 and Raps TV. Show has been gone last bit for holidays. I am not sure if Eric, Paul and Jack will be hosting but I will tune in regardless and likely call and have my view. So have a great day and take care. Tomorrow the O.J Mayo show hits Canada that should be fun.
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