Your Kids Laker vs Celtics

The NBA Finals start tonight and like in 2009 I was able to predict The Finals match up. In 2009 it was Lakers vs the Magic, picking a winner in that series was fairly simple to predict. The Lakers were a clear favourite. No one expected the Magic to make it to the NBA Finals let alone win it. Perhaps at the start some doubted if OKC could win an NBA Title. After going through a list of former Champions in the Spurs, Lakers and last year's Champions the Dallas Mavericks it has changed some minds. In meantime the Heat who were formed to win not just a title but many titles enter the Finals as an unlikely underdog. It was a much tougher road to the Finals for Miami this year as they had to play both the Conference Semis and most of the Conference Final without Chris Bosh. The Heat struggled to get by a Boston team trying to make one last stand with their older version of what Miami has. This is the NBA Final that most NBA fans wanted at the end of the day and now you have it.

If you grew up in the 80's every NBA Season it was expected that the Celtics and Lakers would face each other in June. It was a massive surprise if any other team would make it to the NBA Finals. We may be on the verge of a similar situation with the Thunder and Heat. If you think about it, the Thunder are still young and are likely only to get better. If they can find a way to keep James Harden and Serge Ibaka they are pretty much set for a long run as the kings of the Western Conference. Kevin Durant is making a case to be considered in the debate as the best player in the game. He was the runner up to Lebron James for MVP and these two might just play the roles of Bird and Magic in this rivalry for the ages. Not that you can compare the players games to those Hall of Famers. However, in their own right both should one day also be a part of the Hall of Fame when their careers are over. Just like the Lakers and Celtics swapped turns with the NBA Title so did Bird and Magic with the MVP Award.

The Heat have a tremendous amount of pressure to win not just a title but many titles. The biggest road block to that might well be the Thunder. It calls to mind another era of the Celtics and Lakers rivalry. In the 60's it was Bill Russell and the Celtics that dominated the Lakers with Chamberlian and Jerry West. This was a one sided rivalry that saw Russell and the Celtics find a way to win every year and leave the Lakers as The Finals runner-up. The Celtics set a record that likely will never be broken running off 8 straight championships. Four of those Championships came at the hands of the Lakers. The Celtics and Lakers would hook up two more times and both times the Celtics won making the Lakers 6 time losers. It would not be until till 71-72 when they would finally get their title. Could the Heat end up like that Laker squad that was never able to truly find a way to beat Boston.

Nothing would please Heat haters more than to see them become the Buffalo Bills of the NBA making the finals each year only to have it end in epic failure and Chris Bosh tears. This could be the start of an epic rivalry for the ages and a true changing of the guard for the NBA. Will kids today talk about the glory days of the Thunder and Heat rivalry. Tell stories of Lebron James, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Dwyane Wade and that often misunderstood Chris Bosh. Only time will tell, but the ingredients for a long rivalry that we rarely see in modern pro sports is all there. Fans of 28 other NBA Teams would prefer this not be the case. However for those who are fans of not just a team but the NBA this could be the first chapter of a magical story.

Thunder and Heat could be your children's Lakers vs Celtics. 

10 Things On Last Night, Tonight and Beyond

So it is late in the season. I am tired and need to combine a re-cap and a preview into one. Thanks to folks at St Louis Wings for hosting me for the night for the game with the Thunder. I learned that the Easter Bunny is bigger than the Dino Blogger in two ways. Still, the folks at St Louis Wings have always been great to me and it is a great place to catch a game. Any restaurant/bar that puts basketball first in Canada is a rare gem to find. That said back to business, here are 10 thoughts on what we saw last night and what to expect tonight against the Pacers and beyond.

1. The Result Was Obvious- There was not a doubt in my mind last night's Raptor game would end up with the result it did. The Thunder were in bad need of a win coming in and the Raptors provided that perfect springboard to do just that. OKC had sat a top the Western Conference for the majority of this season and getting passed by the Spurs made losing to the Raptors not an option.

2. Thunder Fans- There is a lesson to be learned for Raptor fans from the people in the stands in OKC. It has become the best home court advantage in the NBA. Be it crazy fat guys with bunnies painted on them with masks or just your average OKC Fan they all get it. I am pretty confident they are never worried if they are treated to a slice of pizza. I am also confident that even when they sucked, which wasn't that long ago, they were not rooting for their team to lose (Tank). They are people that are just passionate to have the NBA in their city. That passion has died down in Toronto. While Raptor fans are a loyal group they also have become jaded and divided at times. I understand why that is, but still when you watch a game in OKC you see what being a fan by it's true definition is all about. They are more than just the example of how to build a team they are an example of how to build a fanbase. I miss the days when Raptors fans were like this.

3. Bargnani Tough?- I really am starting to have serious doubts about the future of Andrea Bargnani. Again this calf injury becomes an issue and he sits the 2nd half. No the Raptors were not tanking, as I mentioned earlier this result was an obvious one. I am left to question what kind of pain threshold Bargnani truly has. This is aside from the debate on if he has truly turned the corner as player. Even if I am to believe that, which I remain unconvinced, it becomes a moot point if he is not healthy in the long term. I don't mean to diminish a calf injury but this has become rather ridiculous on some level.

4. James Johnson Saga- I have no idea what James Johnson did. I don't care what he did to be blunt. I do support what Casey has done in sending a message. That said enough already. It was pretty hilarious watching the Raptors try and guard Kevin Durant with James Johnson on the bench. Matching the potential MVP of league on a 10 day contract player is not just punishing Johnson, it is punishing the team as a whole. Casey was quick to get him in there. Let's all move on now though and give Johnson his spot back. Credit to both Casey and Johnson, along with team for keeping whatever happened on the down low. Sure we all would like to know what happened but honestly we really don't need to know.

5. Jaamal's Impact- If I hear one more time this year about the impact of Jaamal Magloire, I swear that I am going to puke. Tell me has there ever been a player in the history of this team praised for doing so little? I mean seriously. I guess it is a situation not unlike the one with Jay Triano, in which because he is Canadian people are wanting to give him the benefit of the doubt. Here is what he has been in reality. A trash talking tough guy that still knows how to commit a foul in the NBA and can occasionally show you he use to be a good to great player 10 years ago. That is all. He likely isn't coming back and I would seriously wonder if the Raptors had not come along, if he is even in the league at all. Sadly this is the guy that will go in the history books as the first ever Canadian Raptor. It makes me sad for all the young up and coming talent we have in this country that could have been that. The only old Canadian I would want to have that honour played basketball for his country and is a two time NBA MVP.

6. Barbosa Is Back- If you are not at least a little happy for Leandro Barbosa getting a chance to play for a playoff team you may have no soul. This is a guy that game here and never once complained and went out and did his job for the past couple seasons. Given this crazy NBA Sked, I confess I have not seen much of Barbosa since leaving. But based on the boxscores and random comments I see on Twitter he is doing what he does in Indiana and I am happy for him.

7. Roy Hibbert- I have said this consistently for awhile, it pains me to watch this guy play and know he will go down as a draft pick of the Toronto Raptors. Now it should be noted if not for the trade with the Pacers he would have never been picked by the Raptors. They felt he was too slow for their up tempo style of basketball at the time. That said, I at the time thought he was a great answer for the Raptors at center. He is never going to blow you away but he does all the things that you would hope that a center would do. On top of that having met him once he is a pretty great young man. Georgetown has not produced to many stiffs at the Center position over the years. It is one of the safest bets in the NBA draft when you take a center out of Georgetown. When you look back on that trade that brought J.O to Toronto the biggest loss in it was Roy Hibbert.

8. Raptors Can Be Spoilers- When you look at the Schedule remaining the Raptors could have a impact on the playoff race. Starting tonight with Pacers two games ahead of Boston for 3rd in the East, followed with games vs Sixers, Celtics, Hawks twice, Heat and Bucks. It gives you some motivation to go out there and try and win games. It is also the reason that people hate tanking in general. Tanking has an impact on the teams that are actually in the playoff race. This is why David Stern needs to step in and do something dramatic to the NBA Lottery System. It was designed to prevent this sort of thing. Still if you look around the league it isn't working. The concept of tanking is talked about far more than it ever was back in 1985 when there was legit concern teams would tank to land Patrick Ewing one of those Georgetown centers we mentioned earlier. I say this with all due respect to Anthony Davis, if he has half the career the Patrick Ewing had, he would be a fortunate young man. However, with all the hype surrounding him you would think he was better than that and going to project to be the next superstar of the NBA. I would venture to say that is vastly optimistic. He could turn into a fine NBA player and likely should. That said is he going to be better than a hall of famer or some great recent top picks? I don't see that. Don't believe me it is ok. I will rest easy knowing that I also never was impressed with this guy named Greg Oden and said Kevin Durant would be better. I am sure that I was laughed at for that and I will use the obvious line of who is laughing now?

9. Reality Math- What we knew before this season even started is now fact. The Raptors based on their loss in OKC and some other things last night have officially been eliminated from the playoffs. Still with nine games left which for fans feel pretty pointless, it is still important for some folks on this team. No matter what happens in these final games it will not change the fact this summer is going to be a huge off-season for the Raptors. What guys do down the stretch of the season may help shape/decide if they are going to be a part of this team moving forward. If for no other reason than that, this is ultimately why the concept of tanking is stupid. Players fighting for jobs and their place in the food chain are not going out to try and lose or even think of losing. Especially when you look at guys on 10 day contracts. They are fighting for their very NBA lives every night and day they step on the floor.

10. Time Flies Even When Your Losing- At some points this season has been very painful to endure. The losing combined with this crazy schedule can make your head spin. At least it has seemed to go by fairly quickly and the fact this NBA Season was only 66 games and not 82 games was a blessing given the state of this franchise. There has been so much blind hope for the future this year, it has bordered on the insane. While I do think the Raptors are heading in the right direction, the speed in which some think things will change is likely not going to be the reality. As bad as this season has been the Raptors ultimately did improve as hard as that is to believe at times. It speaks to how bad they were last season and how much it was needed to make a coaching change. I was one of the few that had been saying that long before it was cool. Funny how the people that weren't in favour all love Dwane Casey now and the change in direction of this franchise. I think one of the things I find most frustrating is how people change with the wind and are never truly brought to task for it. Yet when I go out of the box of and say something that ends up being right, I take abuse at the time for it and no one other than me says that I was right. Maybe people just have got use to the fact that I will tell them that I was. Whatever the case, I am proud of my track record on things and do take comfort in the fact that it must mean I know what the hell I am talking about at the end of the day. That is in many ways it's own reward.

So I decided to do this instead of a preview and it ends up being twice as long. Oh well the off-season and a bit of a break will be here soon enough. Happy Monday all and hope you had a pleasant holiday weekend.

DNB 2011-12 Season Predictions

So it has reached that time of the year where I must become a educated guesser on what will happen in this NBA Season. So if you are ready we will begin with the guess work.

Your Playoff Teams in the East:

1. Miami

2.Chicago

3. New York

4. Atlanta

5.Boston

6. Indiana

7. Philadelphia

8. New Jersey

Obviously a Dwight Howard move to New Jersey could mess up the order of this quite a bit. But think these are the 8 teams you see in the playoffs the order I could see changing based on moves and injuries could make it tough on teams the biggest of those could be Boston.

As for the Raptors they will not be in the Playoffs yet again but no one is expecting them to be. The big question for most is will they be the 15th team in the East and likely 30th in the NBA. That answer is no. Detroit will be worse than the Raptors. Think the Wizards will be as well. Also the Bobcats will not be up to snuff. So that would leave the Raptors finishing 12th with more wins than expected at 20-46. I think the Raptors will hang around in enough games to steal a few here and there. They also have the advantage of some young players that will be able to handle the grind of this crushing schedule.

Now on to the West:

1. OKC

2. Dallas

3. Portland

4. L.A Clippers

5.L.A Lakers

6. Denver

7. San Antonio

8. Memphis

The West is a lot tougher to figure out. I am convinced that OKC is the class of this conference now. Dallas got worse, Lakers got worse and the Thunder stayed the same for the most part but have a Kendrick Perkins that looks in fantastic shape and a year of experience at playing as an elite team. The Clippers are the real wild card with Chris Paul. Think 4th is a conservative approach as to where they will end up.

What Raptor Fans really care about is your Lottery Top 5

1. Detroit

2. Washington

3. Charlotte

4.Utah

5. Toronto

Now on we go to the Awards:

Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Paul

Dwight Howard has owned this award for years but with the issues of getting out of Orlando and how long that takes think it will be a Destraction and a less focused Howard. Chris Paul will rack up a ton of steals and get the Clippers running. I thought about going with Dwayne Wade or Lebron James but decided to go with Chris Paul and I am sure David Stern will be on hand to give him his award. Tyson Chandler in New York would have been a more conventional pick to make.

Rookie of the Year: Kyrie Irving

I wanted to say Tristan Thompson but that would be my Canadian Pride talking. You may say that picking Irving is going the easy route but it is not a lock the number one pick always gets the award. Irving has the opportunity and the ability to cash in and win the award. He is starting from day one and has little challenge for minutes in Cleveland.

Coach of the Year: Scott Brooks

The first time I picked him people thought I was nuts. He ended up winning the award. This time my pick will be viewed in a lot different light. Eric Spoelstra will not get the credit for the Heat dominating. While same will be true for Vinny Del Negro with the Clippers. Want a long shot? Frank Vogel will have a nice group with Pacers and they should be much improved.

6th Man of the Year- Taj Gibson

Boozer has been losing favour in Chicago and in a season that has injury issues at the forefront given the schedule it is not looking good for Boozer given his history. All this says to be big things for Taj Gibson. Think that is a good a guess as any. Want a total shot in the dark. Norris Cole the rookie in Miami. They love him and getting to play with the Big 3 in Miami can only help him wrack up some impressive numbers off the pine backing up Chalmers.

M.V.P- Lebron James

People have started to hate him a little less and he has had a extended off-season to get upset how we were all mean to him and his friends. So Game On. Kevin Durant, Rose the defending M.V.P will be in the conversation. Chris Paul could also get a serious look if he is able to make the Clippers the better team in L.A

So what is left to do? Oh right who is going to win it all? Last year I picked this and it almost happened so this year I will pick it again with the same two teams and a different winner.

The OKC Thunder will defeat the Miami Heat in 6 games.

Your Finals MVP : Kevin Durant.

You can bet that I will brag about everything I get right and hope that you all forget everything I get wrong but those are my educated guesses for this season. If you want to share yours feel free to leave them in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Dinonationblog.

DNB Top 10- Lockout Edition

Hello all. The DNB Top 10 will make a lockout appearance. James Borbath your Dino Blogger at the controls. So if there wasn't a lockout what would we be talking about? That is the focus of this DNB Top 10.

10. Mama can that man Coach? Yes Mark Jackson finally will be a coach in the NBA. It seems almost fitting the lockout is preventing him from getting his chance. But can he actually be a good coach in the NBA? How can he help or hurt the development of Steph Curry. Can he actually make the Warriors more than lottery regulars?

9. I thought we had a G.M Already? The Raptors are searching for Bryan Colangelo's replacement as G.M. The team leading up the search is Bryan Colangelo. What all this will mean for the Raptors and how this will impact on newly hired coach Dwane Casey. Don't you hire the coach first and then a G.M?

8. Hang Up Your Spurs. Have we seen the end of an era in San Antonio? After a first round exit to the Grizzlies who had never won a playoff game let alone a series prior to that. Is this the end for Timmy and the rest in San Antonio?

7. What will Mark Cuban Do For An Encore? Mavs are champs and Mark Cuban said the might not even get rings? Championship Belts? Who knows but could you see the Commissioner David Stern being happy about this? More important then all of that was this a flash in the pan or are the Mavs legit contenders to repeat in the West?

6. OKC now legit contenders for an NBA Title? Step one make the playoffs....check. Step 2 make it all the way to the Conference Finals...check. Step 3 Go to the NBA Finals ??? It sure seems that Kevin Durant has a team on the verge of greatness in one of the NBA's smaller markets. Can the Thunder be considered the best in the West and the guys to challenge the folks in Miami for years to come in the NBA Finals? Can Russell Westbrook be part of that winning formula?

5. Got Mello Now What? Oh yes the Knicks have Carmelo Anthony and Amare too. They finally returned to the playoffs. But the have no G.M in place after Donnie Walsh was forced out. Rumours that Isiah Thomas could be back. Oh it is a mess in New York City. If and when this lockout ends will the Knicks have the power to build on what they have? A new CBA might just high jack there plans of building there own super team to compete with the Heat.

4. Boston Is to old to win? We talked about the Spurs might be done. How about the original Big 3 in Boston. Has the window shut on their chance to call themselves contenders in the East? Sure they still are likely the best team in the Atlantic Division but that is not saying a lot when you look at the Sixers, Nets, Raptors. Aside from the aforementioned Knicks there is not a lot in the division. But in the East with Bulls and Heat looking far better than Boston is this the end for them. Rajon Rondo would have to be super human for it not to be.

3. Coming Soon...Superman Has Left Orlando Again. Oh yes we all remember when the original Superman Shaq took his cape and flew off to La La Land. Now Dwight Howard is already making noise he will do the same. Well if Orlando does not contend for a title. Which is a pretty safe bet they won't. So will Otis Smith get the drop on Dwight and trade him like The Nuggets and Jazz did? Or will he ride it out and face the possibility of getting screwed over like the Cavs and Raptors. But cheer up Magic fans you still have 4 more years of Gilbert Arenas the former agent 0 to look forward too.

2. Miami Heat How Do They Improve? They still have there 3 mega stars. But they lack some serious depth in South Beach. If the new CBA is not a friendly one how will the Heat get better to start winning all those rings Lebron James promised? If they can't add depth beyond the 3 big names how long before we start hearing Chris Bosh trade rumours? The newlyweds would not like to be relocated to some awful place like Milwaukee or worse Sacramento. While some Raptor fans would take pure joy in even the possibility.

1. Lakeshow Drama In Full Effect. We have heard very little from Kobe Bryant. He was not in the loop on the hiring of Phil Jackson's replacement. He might have to call Lebron James and get the low down on why Mike Brown is a terrible coach. Oh and we have Ron Artest who has changed his name like Chad Johnson did in the NFL. Lamar still married to a Kardashian. Mike Brown's over under on being Laker Coach is perhaps 2 years at best. It is never easy to replace a coaching legend in sports. Jimmy Johnson did a good job replacing Tom Landry with the Cowboys. But those things are rare. How long before Phil Jackson gets a call from Pat Riley to ask to take his talents to South Beach? Will it take longer than it will for Kobe to get Brown fired or demand a trade out of L.A? Things are not looking up for the Lakers. It is scary to think the Clippers might have a brighter future than the Lakers. Well it might not be that bad but things sure are set up for a Lakers implosion.

So those are things we should be talking about. Instead we are talking about the lack of progress in labour talks. Here is a story from Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo Sports on where things stand with the Lockout after unsuccessful talks on Monday. But it is summer time and he weather is hot so enjoy it. The NBA Lockout will be still there waiting for you in the fall.

Oh Oh...OKC

The last time the Raptors won back to back games was December 1st and 3rd. That second win ironically enough was against Oklahoma City who at the time was without Kevin Durant. The will have him today and they will also have their big trade deadline pick up in Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder sit in 4th in the West with a five game lead over 5th for home court advantage. They enter the day two and half games out of 3rd. While the Raptors are fifth in the ping pong ball standings. There win over Washington left them two and half games ahead of the Wizards and Kings. Which in the ping pong ball standing is being behind. This starts a 5 game Western trip that will see the Raptors log some serious miles. After the game today it is a trip to Denver for a back to back tomorrow, then Wednesday visit to Phoenix, and another back to back in Oakland and L.A against the Warriors and Clippers on Friday and Saturday. After travelling to England earlier in the month they now face this road trip. It is just another difficult task in what has been a difficult season.

The Basics: Raptors 14-49 (3-5 in March) OKC 45-23 (6 Game Winning Streak)

When Last We Saw Them: Bargnani and DeRozan combined for 63 points. That was enough to power the Raptors past the Wizards at the ACC. Jose Calderon also played well and hit the shot that ended any doubt in the victory. While Reggie Evans is a rebounding machine and had 15 boards doing his thing as he has since returning to the line-up.

Key Match Ups: Westbrook the last time he played the Raptors had to be Superman. Today being the side kick or tag team partner of Kevin Durant for this one. Jose Calderon will have his hands full and this is a match-up he should lose 99 times out of 100. James Johnson who the Raptors have made it not secret is in their to play defence has one of the toughest assignments in the game today in guarding Kevin Durant. Then you have this new defensive duo of Ibaka and Perkins. This is without mentioning Thabo Sefolosha who could make life difficult for Demar DeRozan. Also without mentioning James Harden who since the trade at the deadline has an increased roll in the offence with Jeff Green off to Boston. Yeah there is a reason I picked the Thunder to make the NBA Finals. The reason is they are pretty good.

Other Things Of Note: Nate Robinson is out with a knee injury according to the Thunder's Game Notes. For people that have read the blog or heard me on the radio you will know how "disappointed" I am by this. Thunder/Sonics all time are 18-11 vs the Raptors. We all go on about Andrea Bargnani's lack of rebounding ability/effort, well he had 12 against the Thunder on December 3rd in the Raptors 111-99 win. Three things will be different today though, Kendrick Perkins was a Celtic when that happened, Kevin Durant was eating Pizza in locker room and was out with a sore knee and Reggie Evans is now back going after every rebound.

Where is it on? TSN (Wait aren't they suppose to be doing March Madness ??)

Holly MacKenzie In The DNB's Starting 5

Holly MacKenzie has been mentioned in this blog on many occasions. I consider her not just a talented writer and very knowledgeable about basketball but also a friend. It has always been a goal to get Holly to come be in The Starting 5. It has almost happened a bunch of times. But something always would come along and it would never happen. So FINALLY it has happened and it was well worth the wait. We talk about a variety of topics from how she got to where she is now, to the Raptors future, and a number of NBA Topics including her thoughts on the upcoming off-season with a lockout looming. Holly truly loves basketball more than almost anyone I have ever met, and I am including myself in that. Her passion and love for sport shines through in her writing and it does in this interview as well. We also came to discover something that we both did not know until this interview. It was one of the more fun interviews I have done in the Starting 5 and I think you will enjoy it. Her picks for MVP, Coach of the Year and a whole lot more Stackmack has invaded the DNB.

Holly is just a super person and knowing her these past few years has been a real joy for me personally. If you ever met Holly and do not walk away from that encounter with a smile on your face, and love of basketball in your heart... something is wrong with you. She really is just as talented as she is as a good human being. I think the world of her and always am as thrilled for all the success she has had and will have. I am fortunate to know her and am very happy I was finally able to have her come be a part of our world here in the Dino Nation Blog. She knows her stuff and combines that with a love and passion for the sport of basketball that is near impossible to match. I respect her so much and am not ever surprised by anything she achieves. She works hard and has done more in a few years than some people have done in a career. I won't get into what I was doing at her age. But needless to say I was nowhere close to what she has accomplished. I am sure you like me already follow her on Twitter but for the record is it @stackmack and it is well worth the follow.

Which Raptors Show Up Today?

Inconsistency... definition - See Toronto Raptors. They say that all young teams are inconsistent but the Toronto Raptors took it to the extreme in their last two games. They beat the Chicago Bulls that were good enough to beat the Miami Heat the next day. Only to lose to Steve Nash and former Raptor Vince Carter in a game that was a blowout after the first four minutes if not sooner. Trade deadline is in the rear view mirror and the only help/hope the Raptors brought in was James Johnson. While the Knicks landed Carmelo and Nets who the Raptors will see in London England next weekend landed Deron Williams. You add all this together with a struggling Calderon that has lost his confidence to score. While Andrea Bargnani can score like Dirk, but he sure can't defend like him, or rebound like him most nights. Demar DeRozan continues to trend upwards but has the odd set back like he did on Friday as he got into foul trouble. Jay Triano post game blamed that on him being a step slow on defence. Something he said the entire team was. But as bad as this season has been the Raptors have shown flashes of brilliance. One of those flashes happen in Dallas taking care of the Mavericks in Dallas, something they had struggled to do for the better part of the decade. That was good news then but it probably will mean bad things today. Mavericks likely will be reminded of 84-76 loss heading into this one. When was the last time Raptors played defence anywhere close to that? It was a trick question the answer is that was the lowest point point total for an opponent this season vs Toronto.

The Basics: Dallas 42-16 (20-8 on Road) (2nd in NBA) Raptors 16-43 (5-22 in 2011)

When Last We Saw Them: We learned that V.C still sucks for most Raptor fans. But he also wins be it with the Suns, Magic or Nets and he did just that again in returning to Toronto. The Raptors as mentioned earlier were out of this one from almost the start. The only lead they had all night was 2-0. That says it all doesn't it?

The Match-Ups: When you play the Mavs it begins with Dirk and can you stop him. Remember the Peja Stojakovic era if you blinked you missed it. How about the Tyson Chandler Era? Oh wait that never happened did it. Jokes aside why are we mentioning them? The Mavs starting front court has Chandler at 7 foot 1, Dirk at even 7 feet and Peja at 6 foot 10 that offers a significant challenge to the Raptors who will need to deal with all that height. We have not even mentioned Jason Kidd who given how the Raptors point guards have played of late it, would not be surprising to see him turn back the clock. But the one true advantage the Raptors will have is DeRozan vs Beabois. DeRozan can win this match up without to much trouble if he is on his game.

Other Things of Note: It is #RTZ night at the game. What is that? Ryan explains to you for any of you that may not be familiar with it. It was nice to see a almost full house on Friday for Steve Nash. Attendance has been down and you only need to look at 43 losses as the reason why. Mavericks enter today on a 5 game winning streak and are trying to hold off the Lakers for 2nd place in the West entering play today. Lakers will be in action earlier in the day and I will be live blogging it for The Score Mobile and .com if you want to see a playoff re-match with the Thunder at 2:30 pm. Regardless of what the Lakers do it will be an important game the Mavs. Catching the Spurs might be out of the question as they sit 6 games behind them for first in the West. Raptors are in Ping Pong Ball standings and for those that follow that Raptors are a half game better than the Wizards. If the lottery was held today the Raptor would have the 5th best chance to win it behind the Wizards, Cavs, Kings and T-Wolves in not particular order.

Where is it on? Sportsnet 1 (Come on now, tomorrow is Hockey Stupid Day In Canada or as you may know it The NHL Trade Deadline Day did you real expect the Raptors on a main network? The Pre-Trade Deadline show is already on now I think so not a chance)

Bonus Note: It would appear Reggie Evans may just be back. Reggie just tweeted the following:

ReggieEvans30

2day is a big day LET'S GET ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

Could that mean anything other than a Reggie Return? It would fall in line with what he told us in the DNB as he said he needed a few practices with team to be ready to return. Raptors can sure take any help they can get. So you might hear some REGGIE REGGIE...Today at the ACC.

Quick Chat With Morris Peterson

There has been a lot of talk recently about the players we love to hate. But one of them we love to love was back in Toronto. He is in the record books at the top of 2 lists. Most games played as a Raptor with 546 and most 3 pointers made with 801. He wore #24 proudly for 7 seasons. He is also as I told him, the only person that went to Michigan State that I like. Which he found very funny. He won a National Championship at the school as well. He is of course Morris Peterson.

In pre-game shoot around I watched him talking with so many folks. From his former team mate in Alvin Williams, members of the media like Paul Jones and Doug Smith to a security guard that obviously has been at the ACC back to his playing days as a Raptor. They all greeted him with smiles and the same was offered in return. There is just something about Morris Peterson that makes him so easy to like.

Peterson was traded from New Orleans to Oklahoma City. This is a Thunder team with little in terms of veteran experience. While some where hopeful or being optimistic the change might see Mo get some more PT it just hasn't worked out. Last night in Toronto was only the 3rd game he has seen minutes this season. The last time, before last night, was on November 19th when the KDless Thunder surprised the Celtics. In fact until last night Peterson had not recorded a point.

Still no matter what the rest of his days in the NBA hold, he will always be loved here just as much as Vince Carter is not.

I asked him if it is still fun coming back to Toronto even now after more than a couple years have passed.

Morris Peterson " It is always special to come back to Toronto. I have a lot of friends here. Playing here 7 years I had a chance to develop relationships. It is always nice to see familiar faces."

It has to feel good knowing that you are one of the guys that has left and is still loved unlike some others on the other side of the coin. It must be nice to come back knowing that people still have warm feelings towards you?

Morris Peterson "It's good to be accepted. To be recognized....I have been getting a lot of tweets and messages thanking me for all the years I had here. You develop relationships not just with people but with the fans as well. I always love coming back here"

I asked him his thoughts on his new team in OKC and if there were any similarities to any of the Raptor teams he played on?

"I think this team... we got a lot of potential. These guys work hard. Each team is different that I have been on. We have some great young players. Some guys that have bright futures. I'm just trying to do what I can to help these guys be the best players that they can be."

Some of those young guys came and gave Mo-P a hard time (not really) pretending to be reporters asking some funny questions on what he does to help these young guys. D.J White and Byron Mullens were among the 3 players playing reporter. It was pretty funny. It just shows that whatever locker room Morris Peterson is in you can know 2 things. He is always going to be loved by his team members and their is always going to be humour.

We also before the interview started were almost taken out by a Gatorade bottle, but I am happy to report that both myself and Morris Peterson were not harmed in the conducting of this interview. But it was close. After we were done talking we got talking about a few things. The fact that I am from Hamilton and he is from Flint. Which means nothing to people out side of those towns. But if you live in them and are involved in sports at all the 2 cities are tied by a sporting event called the Canus games. It is like a little mini-Olympics of all different sports. I remember back when Mo was a Raptor he had mentioned he took part in them as a kid. I never did was not that great an athlete. He may be a Spartan but even as a Wolverine fan there is no possible way on earth I can not like Morris Peterson. The other scary thing is he looks almost the same as the guy I interviewed back at those V.C Charity games a long time ago.

He was probably one of the first NBA guys that I ever interviewed and he is still one of my favourites. Andrea Bargnani will likely beat his 3 point mark some day but record book or not you will always remember Morris Peterson as Raptor we love. No list is complete with out him