It has been a crazy week with all that has been going on. Tuesday I had Matt Devlin by to talk about the Magic vs Raptors. That was all in audio form. But as with all the Interviews there was a second part. There was a lot to do this week so I planned ahead and asked Matt a few questions that would still make sense a few days later. Matt is of course new to the Raptors and he has not been here for the rise and fall of Vince Carter. So having that fresh perspective I asked him if he understood why some Raptor Fans still hate Vince Carter and was it time to move on for fans?
Matt Devlin- "Listen, I understand why fans take exception to Vince. From a stand point of they feel burned by him. I understand why people feel a certain way towards him, and it is understandable. Should you move on? Well that is up to the individual who am i to say. I don't know from a specific standpoint, each individual has their own feelings about Vince and what he has said and what he has done. But I do know that a lot of people feel burned by it. If they feel that they got burned and they never want to cheer for Vince Carter, so be it. If the feel that time has passed enough that there o.k with Vince and moved on from it, so be it as well.
But from a fan perspective, that is what makes it fun, that whole love and hate relationship. That is what builds rivalries and that is what keeps people passionate about the game. There are guys that you want to see and guys that you don't want to see. There are guys that you want to see because you don't like them. That is part of every sport not just basketball."
Vince Carter or not this is a key point in time for the Toronto Raptors. The Eastern Conference is all bunched up. The Raptors have ideas of being an elite team in this conference so is now the time to make a move in the standings for the Raptors?
Matt Devlin- "Number one, you take a look at the Raptors and the majority of their games have been on road. Their first extended home stand starts on Friday(Today). You look at the next 6 games and 4 of those are at home and that is an opportunity. In fact it is 4 in a row at home starting with New Jersey so you do want to take advantage of that. I think everyone (in the NBA) looks at that. Everyone is looking at the moves they have made in the off-season and trying to figure out where they are at. Changes have been made in organizations and people are asking how good are they at this point. Do they need to make a move to improve. But there are always opportunities in the schedule to take advantage of in the season and move forward."
There has been lots of talk of if the Raptors will make a move. If they do will that include going over the tax threshold. What is Matt Devlin's take on what Bryan Colangelo will do?
Matt Devlin- I think the first thing is Bryan Colangelo wants to win. Not just win in the regular season, he wants to win in the playoffs, he wants to win it all. When you have that as your base or starting point, then you take a look at everything. If he feels there are opportunities out there that can get the team over the hump and win for a long period of time he is going to do it.
The other aspect of it is that Raptors have just started using this big three line-up. So I think you have to play it out and give it time. The other thing that you always have to remember when making deals...I mean I was getting a lot of e-mails, when things heated up about Al Harrington and Gerald Wallace and all the different trade possibilities. You always have to look at it from the stand point of what would the other team want that you have. That could be a player or a contract or a combination of both. So, are you willing to lose other assets that you have in order to get something in return. So you always need to be mindful of that when you are looking at a deal.
This is something I have always talked about. Trade Checkers do not have any common sense to them. Just because the math works out does not mean it makes sense. I talked with Matt about the guys who have been under the gun. The Raptors wing players. Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker. Matt had some things to say about all of them.
His thoughts on Jamario Moon- "Know who you are and consistency is the key at that position. I think Jamario Moon needs to be an energizer and he knows that. So, that he needs to provide consistent energy especially now that he is coming off the bench."
As an example of that he pointed back to Sunday's game vs the Bobcats- "He had 8 points and 5 rebounds with 4 assists and a couple of blocks in 19 minutes. That is perfect. The thing i liked best about what he did in that game was he only took one three pointer and got to the line five times."
His take on Jason Kapono( On topic of shot selection ) -" You look at his numbers from three point range and he has never been a volume shooter. He is not a guy that just shoot to take a shot. He takes shots with in the flow of the game. He is not going to force a shot. I have seen him play for a long time and I have never seen him take a forced shot unless it was in a late clock situation that he has no other option. He is going to work the ball and work it with in the system and work for open looks. He took 4 shoots from three on Sunday and I don't how many more you really would want him to take. There might be a game where he take more shots from 3-point range depending on the flow of the game. For whatever reason there are times in which he will he will only take like one or two shots and it has got to be more than that. But I think he is a guy that likes to work the offense and he is not going to force up a shot."
His thought on A.P(If age is catch up to him) - " He is 33 years of age and every night you are asking him to guard the best players in the game on a nightly basis. So if you get anything from him offensively I think it is a bonus, because he has to expend so much energy on the defensive side of things."
That does not answer to me why A.P has started shooting the ball so poorly. maybe that is a factor of getting a bit older as well. I am really not sure. He should have his most energy at the start of a game. Matt's point of guarding the best players in the game is valid. They are also for the most part a lot younger than A.P. But in the last game for the Raptors it was Parker getting hot later in the game and was a big factor in the Miami win. If Anthony can play well defensively that is how he helps the Raptors the most and is his primary role.
Matt has had a chance to get use to his new role here with the Raptors and I just asked him for his thought on how things were going for him in his new job. For his thoughts on how he has felt about his new job as the Raptors play by play man.
Matt Devlin-" Just a first class organization. I am amazed on a daily basis with level of the people that they have in the organization. As well as in the broadcasting department, because I have worked for two other organizations and at the league level with NBA-TV. I just think they have so many great things going for them. It is the same thing with the fan base. Were about 3 weeks into the season and haven't had many home games but the crowds have been fantastic. Sunday in Charlotte ( Where Matt Was Last Year ) there were only 8,000 people in the building. From my stand point (Toronto) is just a fantastic place to be. From the fans and their reception and the organization as a whole. Toronto as a city and an organization has just so many good thing going for it. From all aspects it has just been fantastic for me."
There has been an adjustment for a lot of folks to Matt. Some fans have really been enjoying him. Some fans still miss Chuck Swirsky. But I can only say based on my deals with Matt. He has always been willing to talk with me for the Dino Nation Blog. He has really wanted to reach out to the fans from the first time we had spoke. I think i mentioned this before but the first time we spoke he took a huge amount of time to get to know me personally and get my thoughts on Raptor fans and everything to do with the Raptors. It is not like I am an expert or anything. But I think he was aware that I had a good idea of the fan base from my unique perspective. He is a great person and is a much different style of broadcaster from Chuck. Some have enjoyed that and others not so much. That being said I have nothing but good things to say about Matt. He is a good person just as Chuck was and both care very much about the fan base. That is a great thing.
Some Thoughts From The Desk Of Dino Blogger
Last night on the show "Hoops" there was a couple things of note. Jack Armstrong was really stressing the idea of not only Chris Bosh staying in Toronto is 2010 but the idea of perhaps bringing in another star to play along with him. That player he was strongly suggesting was Dwyane Wade. There has been a lot of talk about this. Wade and Bosh do have the same agent and Wade in his post game comments made some suggestions he liked the direction that Bryan Colangelo was taking the Raptor Franchise. So let the rumours begin as 2010 talk seems to dominate the NBA conversation lately. I have said that it could all be a lot of hype for nothing but I can't fight a forest fire with a garden hose so if people are talking about it would be wrong not to mention it.
Matt Bonner on Team Canada?- We all remember the red rocket. He was a beloved character in Raptor history. He lives in Toronto in the off-season. He married a girl from Canada and the wedding was in the summer in Canada. He also has a Canadian grandfather. All of this is leading to the idea of Bonner playing for Canada internationally. In an interview last night he confirmed that this is something he wants to happen. So Canada may have a red rocket to play for them in the future. I would love to see it. Matt Bonner may not be a superstar and is just a role player. But he is a guy that just seemed to touch Raptor fans in a special way that few have.
Will V.C STILL SUCK? Yes the Nets roll into the A.C.C tonight and it will be interesting to see if Raptor Fans still have all of that "LOVE" for V.C. Some fans have been saying it is time to move on. I would agree in might be but not on nights like tonight. Vince Carter has showed in the past that the people in the A.C.C (that he once claimed was still his house) those fans get in his head. So I say bring the noise and bring the hate. Till Vince Carter can prove it doesn't matter I have no problem with fans going nuts. It is not like the case with Tracy McGrady because when the fans booed him he loved it and played better from it.
Today in the Starting 5 we catch up with Matt Devlin on the road with the Raptors in Denver, after some extra work last night in calling a double OT win for the Dinos in Utah. We start with conversation on that game and the unfortunate injury to Andrea Bargnani. Also look back a bit at the win in Phoenix. We also talk about the major step up Bargnani has made on the floor and Matt says who he thinks deserves the credit for it. In addition thoughts on the struggles of Ed Davis, Amir Johnson and Demar DeRozan. We also get into some discussion as well about James Johnson. Matt shares his thoughts on how Johnson reminds him of a player he covered prior to coming to Toronto still playing in the league today. All this and some talk of Jack Armstrong and Tebowing in Denver. It is a informative and hopefully fun conversation for your listening pleasure. We also make reference to Matt's road segment that appears on Raptors.com "Life on the 2nd Bus". Matt references the latest episode so I wanted to give you folks a link to it. Someone apparently Tebow's in it given the fact the Raptors are in Denver. As for the picture that comes from the Raptor press room from a game I covered last season. You might remember it as with Matt's blessing I posted it on Twitter. So with out further adieu here is the latest episode of The Starting 5.
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