Sioux Falls, Memphis and Raptors...Oh My!!!

Today given the location of the Raps last pre-season game I thought it would be fun to get to know a bit about Sioux Falls, South Dakota. So are you ready to know all you wanted to about Sioux Falls than you every thought you would in life?

For starters the population of Sioux Falls is approximately 154, 997. It was founded way back in 1856 long before the game of basketball was invented. It is about 15 miles from the Minnesota border. The crime rate in Sioux Falls is about half the national average in the U.S. The Cities Motto is "The Heart of America". It is in the Central Time Zone. It is also the home to the D-League Sioux Falls Skyforce. Amir Johnson has you may have heard spend some time there. Here is what Amir had to say about Sioux Falls from his media scrum yesterday. If this is not enough info on Sioux Falls for you here is a link to the Wikipedia on Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

No matter if this game is played in Sioux Falls or Kalamazoo Michigan the goals for the Raptors are pretty much the same in their final pre season contest

1. STAY HEALTHY...Above all else that is the most important thing. The Raps have already seen Reggie Evans go down and do not need to see anyone else get hurt as the Regular Season is now under a week away. So for goodness sake be careful out there.

2. Improvement On Defensive End. It has to happen in this final tune up because the Raptors will be playing several teams that are no joke early on. So they need to show they are at least heading in the right direction on that side of the floor.

3. Extend those minutes and set some rotations for the season. Bosh and Turkoglu especially have yet to get to a point where they can handle the normal work load they will have in terms of minutes thus far. Bosh and Turkoglu I would expect will be called on to log heavy minutes during the season despite the depth that most feel this team has.

If you still believe the shoot guard starting spot is up for grabs than that is something that needs to be decided. However I think that this was always Demar DeRozan's spot to lose and he has not done anything that would make you think he can not play in the role of starter. The hope is that DeRozan can be similar to Lee in Orlando last season. I think it is the right call and should give Demar the confidence and allow him the thrill to here his name called.

The Raptors at least record wise have not had a pre-season to remember. As much as it really doesn't matter it would be nice to see them finish strong with a win. The talk out of practices this week has been how hard and intense they have been. So let's hope that is illustrated on the defensive end of the floor in Sioux Falls.

Also my my radio appearance out in B.C has changed from Monday to Wednesday. I am going to be pre-taping it as that of course is the debut for the Raptors that night. The ESPN Keeper League is set to draft today and is still not full so if you can get an e-mail to me by no later than 3pm TODAY. I will try to get an invite to you. All invites must be excepted by no later than 5pm. As I need to finalize things for the draft.

One last not one the power of Twitter. It seems Eric Smith who covers the Raps on radio for the Fan 590 will not be elected mayor of Memphis anytime soon. Eric tweeted a blog he wrote on Vancouver for Memphis being the worst trade in NBA history. Well a re-tweet from J.E Skeets of Yahoo and the Basketball Jones and another from someone working for a New York Newspaper and word got to Memphis. I have offered my services to Eric as a personal bodyguard as I want all my guests for the DNB to be safe. The Raps first road game is of course in Memphis if you did not know.

Thursday DNB Grab Bag

So the NBA Season is fast approaching and I still have yet to make my fearless predictions for the season. I will don't worry. I think it is required by some obscure law that if you right a blog or cover a team in anyway you must make them. Maybe I am holding out to finally see the debut of Antonie Wright. Well seeing might have been the wrong term. For the second time this preseason the Raps will take on the T-Wolves and to the best of my knowledge again it will not be broadcast. This will hopefully be the last time I have to say that this year.

I would say the number of times Patrick O'Bryant has been mentioned in this blog are few and far between. It is not that he is disliked or not appreciated. Just never someone that makes it into the topics of conversation. But there is good reasons to mention him today. He is trying to increase his Twitter followers. I know who isn't right? However if POB hits 2000 he is going to give away tickets to the Raps Home Opener. Not only that both POB and some fellow Blogger's, Scott from AltRaps @altraps and Nat from Heels on Hardwood @nat77 along with @Liston loyal raps fan, are all giving cash the Raptors Foundation as well. There may be others doing this but those were the ones I knew about. I would consider doing it to but I am flat broke from paying my way to Ottawa at the start of the month. The Charity part is if he reaches 2500 by Halloween but avoid the rush and follow the guy today. For about 1 minute or 2 out of your life you can help people out. So here is the link to POB on Twitter. Raptors Foundation for the most part does a lot of work with charities for kids. POB currently sits at about 1300 hundred and change as this is being written about half way to the goal.

No charity in this. But it will be fun and that is our ESPN Keeper Draft. Ironically all of those folks with the exception of Patrick O'Bryant are taking part in this league. We have 8 or 9 spots open for the draft tomorrow at 6:30 pm. So if you want in you need to send me an e-mail marked ESPN DRAFT INVITE to me @ Dinoblogger@gmail.com . It is first come first serve so don't wait to do it. I need to have the draft all full by an hour prior for it to happen. So if you are in are PASPN League or Yahoo League you are welcome to join. If you are not in those leagues this is YOUR LAST CHANCE to get in a DNB Fantasy league.

You may have heard last week the Leafs played dodge ball at practice last week. Well this week the Raptors went bowling. It was done as one of those team bonding things and happy to report it appears no one dropped a ball on their foot. It does seem that everyone had a good time with it though as the Raptors were not aware that they were going to be doing this. They showed up for practice and found out they were going bowling. I don't think any of them will be leaving the NBA for the PBA ( Professional Bowlers Association) any time soon but least the guys had some fun. Let's just hope they get off to a better start than the guys playing dodge ball who have still yet to win a game. I would bet the Raps have a win before they do. The Leafs were talking about being a playoff team which was a joke in my view. The Raptors talk of playoffs is a much more realistic one.

I am going to be doing some additional radio stuff this coming Monday. Going to be on Jacked In with Jessica out in B.C. I have appeared on the show a number of times and I will hit you up Monday with all the info as I am going on to talk NBA and Raptors and preview the season. It should be a blast. I will be making my regular visit to Off The Bench show in Montreal on Friday or early Saturday depending on where you live. We are scheduled to preview the Eastern Conference. They have been having some issues with the website for that station but you can try CJLO.com at 12:15am and give me a listen. I am always happy to come on any show or blog as a guest. I have been told I make a decent one. I do not doing weddings or birthdays though. But if you are getting married...Good Luck or if it is you Birthday...Happy Birthday.

This was a historic DNB as it was the first written on my new wireless Internet connection. After 10 months I finally got the stupid thing to work. I am slowly growing in technical ability...REAL SLOWLY. So that is all for today as the Raps continue to prepare for the final pre-season game tomorrow than it all gets going for REAL on the 28th.

From Summer Of Optimism To Fall Of Fear?

I think everyone was feeling hopeful this summer. Every time you thought Bryan Colangelo was done with this over haul of the Raptors roster he would have another trick up his sleeve. You could not help but be impressed. It helped wash a way what was a painful and forgettable season in Raptors history. It was an impressive list of new Raptors lead by Hedo Turkoglu and Jarrett Jack along with 7 other new faces. Chris Bosh was coming back for perhaps the most important season of his NBA Career. There was even some talk to be optimistic that he may stay in 2010. It was a much better summer than anyone expected or hoped for.

When the schedule was released some form of reality kicked in for me. The start of the Raptors Season is no joke at all. Here is the first 10 games of it to illustrate the point.

Oct 28th Cleveland

Oct 30th @Memphis

Nov 1st Orlando

Nov 4th Detroit

Nov 6th @New Orleans

Nov 7th @Dallas

Nov 9th @ San Antonio

Nov 11th Chicago

Nov 13th @ L.A Clippers

Nov 15th @ Phoenix

7 playoff teams last season and a Suns team that had they been in the East would have been one as well. If you can find 5 wins out of those 10 games you truly are someone the sees the glass half full. If you expand this to the first dozen games Raps have a road back to back with Utah and Denver. If the Raptors have a winning record after those first dozen there may be reason to start the parade.

Also I know it is just the pre-season and we are all programmed to say that it is only the pre-season and it doesn't matter. However even though it may not matter the Raps are 0-4 vs Atlantic Division and 2-5 overall. In contrast the Sixers under Eddie Jordan are 5-2 losing by just one to the Wizards last night. That you may be able to say so what it is just the pre-season. The Raptors have played half the games without Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu. But the defense has been a major concern and guarding the perimeter most of all. Jay Triano says that Raps are focused right now on guarding the paint and not to worry as the D will be addressed on the outside. To late for me as I am already in a panic over this as it has been a theme for years now. I would rather give up the odd dunk than an open 3 any day. The basic math supports me in this as 3>2 will always be true.

The fact Hedo has had a very slow start also is of great concern. Unlike some I was not doing back flips (O.K your right not that I could) over the signing. The contract greatly concerns me. But I did think at least in the short term it would be o.k. Well maybe not so much. Hedo has looked like a guy who needs so gas put in his tank. His extended rest in training camp and into the pre-season was needed but hurt in the development of this team as a whole. Riding a bike and being in meetings is great but it is not getting out there. This could be a case of De Ja Vu all over again next year as well with the World Championships in Turkey and Hedo being front and center in that. You have heard my rants on international basketball many times if you read this blog on a regular basis, so I will just assume you know I am not a fan of NBA players playing internationally in the summers in most cases.

We still have yet to see Antonie Wright this pre-season as he was expected to be one of the guys that was going to help on that defensive side of the ball. Reggie Evans going down in the pre-season was also something you could have done without seeing. It is encouraging to see Andrea showing signs of improvement in his defense. In terms of Chris you have to hope that we start to see the Bosh that we saw in China playing hard on D in the Olympics. I did briefly talk with Chris as he was exiting the Raps locker room on Sunday. He said that he is only concerned about getting W's this year and is not concerned with his own personal stats. If Chris is going to get those W's that he wants it is going to take finding that defense he played in China to help make it happen. He is trying to get back up to speed as a bad hamstring coming into training camp has had him playing catch up a little bit. He is bigger and hopefully that will mean better on the defensive end of the floor.

Based on what we have seen to this point the start of the season could prove to be very challenging for this Raptor team. Many comparisons have been made to the last time Bryan Colangelo over hauled this roster and the Raptors won their only Division Title in franchise history. The difference is that the East in the time since as become a much better conference in that time. The Atlantic Division itself has change in a major way with the make over the Celtics made with the big 3 and now they have a ever improving Rajon Rondo and vet in Rasheed Wallace to compliment that. I already mentioned the Sixers who look good but will be challenged with a huge whole at point guard. The Knicks are still not there and the Nets may struggle in major ways.

I still despite my concerns and fears think the Raptors are a playoff team this year. However I am not sold on them battling for a 4th seed and a home playoff series. Everything is of course subject to change but as of right now I am not prepared to say the Raptors are that good. Eventually I will do a season preview and tell you where exactly I see the Raps fit in the mix in the East. I am leaving to the end as I always do. Last season I was able to predict that NBA Finals so why break a system that works. But I did also think the Raptors would win a playoff series over Cleveland. So it was not a perfect prognostication on my part. I will say this no 49 wins for the Raptors will be coming from me this season.

But safe to say all the warm fuzzy feelings of the summer have been replaced by a real nervous feeling as we head in to the fall and the start of the season. At least I won't be complaining about how bad replacement Refs are as it looks like they will be back on the job when we throw it up on the 27th as a league and the 28th hear in Toronto. I heard the happy news watching a Knicks and Celtics game on NBA League pass VIA MSG. Confirmed by this post on NBA.com this morning. So welcome back soon Dick Bavetta I have missed you.

The Raptor New Number 15 In DNB

There is no mistaking Amir Johnson for Vince Carter. They don't look alike and they play the game of basketball in a totally different way. Had a chance to have a brief conversation with Amir prior to the game on Sunday. Never did ask him about wearing the infamous number 15 for the Raptors. He seems to be enjoying his new situation here in Toronto though. I asked him how things were going in terms of getting to know all his new teammates?

Amir Johnson- " It's going good. We are getting better and better every game. It's just a learning process with a whole new team. I think were looking good right now. "

I also asked how things were going for him personally.

Amir Johnson- " Pretty good, I think I have done a lot of positive things and a few wrong things and I am working on it, learning the plays. I am learning coach Triano's style of play. I think that I am doing pretty good."

Amir of course spent the bulk of his career in Detroit with the Pistons and on Sunday got to match up against former teammate Rasheed Wallace who is getting use to a new team as well in the Boston Celtics. I asked Amir if he was looking forward to going up against him.

Amir Johnson- " It is going fun playing against him talking smack. It's going be pretty cool playing against Sheed."

In terms of them both being on new squads.

Amir Johnson- " He has done this for what 15, 20 or 30 years. So he is probably use to it. It's no big thing for him. It will be fun to go against him. We use to always go at each other in practice. So it will be fun to go at it in games on different teams. It will be pretty exciting."

It has been well documented the concerns about the Raptors defense. When I asked Amir about what were some of the things the team and himself were working on in this last stretch before the season starts that is what came up in his answer.

Amir Johnson- " As a team we really need to work on our defense . That is basically it, defense wins games. For myself a little bit more hustle go a little bit harder. There were some plays were I could got the ball or could boxed out a little bit more. So those little things I need to do. As a team we just need to work on our defense a little bit more on the defensive end. "

Everyone to a man seems to understand the D needs to get better for the Raps. There is just a bit more calm and optimistic outlook in the Raptor locker room than in the fan base. However a lot of fans were excited when Amir was acquired to come to the Raptors and have been since. I asked Amir what he thought of all of you crazy, passionate Raptor fans.

Amir Johnson-" They are awesome. Everywhere I go people really notice me. That doesn't usually happen. It's kind showing a little bit more love, I wouldn't say than Detroit but just right away they are showing me love. So the fans are great and I really appreciate them. "

If Amir can bring it on the defensive end of the floor, like Reggie Evans has, both are going to develop more and more fans as the season rolls along. We had a nice conversation about the passion of the fans here and he is truly impressed by the love and passion for the Raptors in Toronto. Here is hoping Amir is able to impress all of you in return. Oh and the match up with Wallace? 8 points for Rasheed and 4 for Amir but Johnson did win on the glass with 5 rebounds to just 3 for Rasheed in more minutes than Amir. As for the smack talk battle I was way to far from the floor to know who won that battle.

Double D Back In The DNB.

Yesterday when I was down at the ACC, the first person I went looking for was Demar DeRozan. I enjoyed meeting him up in Ottawa. I wanted to check in with the Raptors rookie and see how the learning process was going for him. I started by asking him what he feels he has improved on from the start of training camp.

Demar DeRozan " I think every game I have been getting better with defense on that end of floor. Just trying to establish myself there. Just trying to get a lot of easy points running up and down the court from the defensive end of the floor."

One of the things that I had heard Demar mention in an other interview that I had read was the differences in rotations from college and the NBA. He said that was the biggest difference. So I asked how that was coming along in terms of learning that aspect and if he was starting to get it now.

Demar DeRozan" Yeah, a lot of stuff is different from college. Understanding there are longer games, a longer season. Just trying to get use to it."

No question there was a lot of learning being done chasing around Ray Allen at times yesterday. Allen is no joke to defend for anyone. It has still to be determined if Demar is going to be starting but it is looking like that will be the case. So every night he is going to have some great players to match up against on a nightly basis if that does in fact become the reality. In terms of the offensive side of things it would seem that if Demar is going to get points a lot of that is going to come from the transition game. Demar seems to see that as well.

Demar DeRozan " I love running and getting up and down the court. Ready to get a lot of fast break points and get fouled and get to the line. A lot of hustle stuff like that. "

That is something that is interesting. Demar has really been driving it to the basket and getting a lot of calls going his way in the pre-season. There has been the issue of replacement refs through out this pre-season for all of the NBA. When the regular officials come back to the floor can Demar still get all of these calls is a question without an answer to this point. I have been impressed with the way he can get up and throw it down. I told Demar how I had been impressed with his hops and a couple of his dunks in this pre-season.

Demar DeRozan " Thank you. I try to go out there and bring excitement to the floor. Really get my team going. Really get some rhythm off fast breaks. That's the type of stuff I like doing."

There has been a natural progression in Demar throughout the preseason with the odd bump a long the way. But for the most part it has been positive for him as he gets ready for the regular season. I asked him how he is feeling about his progress in general and how things have been going for him.

Demar DeRozan- " It feels great. I have been going out there learning everyday. Just trying to add more to my game and mature at this level."

The regular season is just around the corner and I asked Demar if he was excited for the season to get started for real on the 28th.

Demar DeRozan- " Yeah, I am really excited. I can wait to get out there. Really get out there, when every night matters. "

That being said Demar still is happy there is just over a week left to learn more and get prepared for his NBA debut. Demar is always talking about learning and growing. Talking about it is one thing but he puts the words to action as you can see little things each game as he goes along improving. But even if you are a rookie getting ready for your NBA debut you still got to make time to watch your school play some football. I asked Demar if he caught USC game vs Notre Dame on Saturday.

Demar DeRozan-" I watched the whole game. That was a really good game. I miss going to the USC football games they are really exciting."



Demar is a proud former Trojan and thinks his football team is the best. But he is clearly focused on doing the best he can to represent the Trojans and himself well in the NBA. In having the chance to meet him now a couple of times I am hopeful he can do just that. I don't think he will make me a Trojans fan anytime soon, but a fan of a former Trojan wearing number 10 for the Raptors is a safe bet. Demar ended up with 7 point in 26 minutes yesterday and got to the line 7 times. Taking steps forward and learning as much as he can along the way.

Where Is That New Improved D?

To paraphrase the "Rock" Dwayne Johnson...What in the blue hell was that last night? I know it is just pre-season and if you allow 75 points or 124 ultimately it means the same. But still, I can't help but be disappointed from the fact the Houston Rockets played pinball with the A.C.C scoreboard. This team was suppose to be better on the defensive end. The Rockets scored 30+ in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters on route to a 124-112 win at the ACC. The best quarter of defense produced the result of giving up 28. So how do you manage to give up 124 points? Giving up a ton of 3 pointers will help, Shane Battier was 8 of 9 behind that arc and Ariza was 3 for 5, in total the Rockets were 13 of 23 for 56.5%.

Now I admit that I did not to get to see this whole nightmare from beginning to end. I was covering Bearcats and Bulls for The Score in college football. However I saw most of the first quarter and most of the second half. It was more than enough time to access that the Raptors D was not getting the job done. I know that it was a second night of a back to back. I know that Hedo is just getting up to speed. He left the game after 22 minutes to head to the locker room for treatment. All of the resting and treatment stuff makes my stomach turn when I think about that 5 year 53 million dollar contract. But hopefully it all pays off when it counts on the 28th. When you project out though the deal it just does not give you confidence. Hedo will be playing at the World Championships next summer you would have to bet as they are being hosted in Turkey. So will we have to go through this all again next season? I sure hope not.

I don't want to get to deep into thing not having seen the entire game. That being said it seem clear the issues in this one and they were same old issues. Teams make 3 pointers and the defense failing. These things have to change and change quickly, if the Raptors have ideas of being a higher seed in the playoff mix. I know it is only the pre-season but that was eye opening and awful last night. When Antonie Wright gets back in that will help but he is just one guy and is not going to have that big an impact to correct that mess from last night.

I will move on to happier things now. First happy things is I will be going to the ACC to cover the game between the Raptors and the Celtics. It has been great to start building a relationship with the Raptors. I understand what a privilege it is to cover any pro sports team. I am excited to have another opportunity. It should be a very interesting game to see how the Raptors adjust after playing the Celtics on just Wednesday.

I am also happy to be taking part in our annual Yahoo Fantasy draft. It starts at 6:30pm and good luck to all of you that are taking part in that. 20 teams strong and it should be lots of fun. Not like the Leafs playing dodgeball fun...but fun none the less.

Raps Starting 5 Debuts In Hartford

So... it has taken about a half a month but last night we all got are first look at what most feel will be the Raptors starting 5 on opening night on the 28th. Why not start against one of the best in the Boston Celtics. The result was far from ideal as the Celtics won the game 106-90. Bosh had 21 but just 6 for Hedo and Andrea. Demar DeRozan had a rough shooting night going 2 for 8 but did get to the line 7 times and landed an elbow on K.G. That got me out of my chair. But what was a big concern was Reggie Evans turning his ankle. There is no update on his status but safe to say you will not see Reggie at the ACC in a uniform tonight vs the Houston Rockets.

Bosh had his longest run of the pre-season of just over 27 minutes. He struggled picking up 5 fouls on the defensive end of the court. You could see the frustration in Bosh with the calls going against him. In general with the replacement officials I have found there are far to many whistles and there is a lack of flow as a result. Let's hope for all fans of basketball that the real refs are back in time for the start of the season. If every b-ball fan could chip in a dollar to make this situation go away it would be well worth it. This situation is a regrettable one to say the least. If the true motivation of the league is to just hang tough to send a message to players, who's CBA expiration is just around the corner, then it is wrong simple as that.

I did not take away a lot from last night's debut for the starting 5. Bosh is just starting to get up to speed in terms of playing an amount of minutes close to his normal workload. Hedo is just getting started. What was a bit disappointing was Andrea Bargnani. I had mentioned that when there is no Bosh on the floor Andrea really seems to just play and play well. Bosh returns and Andrea slides into the background. Andrea needs to go get his and be an impact player with or without Bosh out there.

Happy to see a point guard getting to the hoop and drawing fouls. Jarrett Jack was given a lot of praise on the Boston broadcast. They stopped short of saying Jack may have made a nice pick up for the Celtics. No question Jack is an upgrade from Eddie House is there? It seems clear that Jack is going to be a big piece to the puzzle the only question for me is just how big. How much will we see him and Jose on the floor together. Will we see Jack in to close games for his defense? All still up for debate.

I will be interested to see how the Raps play on Sunday when they face the Celtics again. It seemed that Boston was aware that the Raptors may be the biggest challenger to them winning the Atlantic. We did see a lot of the starters for both sides last night. At times it felt a bit like a regular season game. So will see if the Raptors look better on Sunday. After all the pre-season is about improvement. A good way to measure that improvement is to face the same team. When the Raps opened the season against the Sixers you could easily see the improvement from game one to game two. But before that one they will take on a Houston Rockets team that looks a lot different as well. Yao is out for the year and Ron Artest is in L.A, while Trevor Ariza is on the team from L.A and T-Mac claims he is back. Will see I am still not taking T-Mac in my fantasy league. He is still a bad back away from being on the shelf for weeks at a time. Believe it or not we are under 2 weeks from the start of the season. The Pre-Season is flying by fast. After watching a few exhibition games of Raptors and other teams, I am glad for that fact. Pre-season basketball just doesn't do it for me. I just don't have the same level of interest in the outcome. But that all changes October 28th. Till then a few more exhibition games to endure.

The Starting 5 With Jack Armstrong

Today is the birthday of legendary coach John Wooden who coach UCLA to many championships. He is 99 years old today. So happy birthday to coach Wooden. Jack Armstrong is a long way from 99 but is a coach that Raptor fans love and learn from. Jack points out there is a big difference in the wins and losses between the two. However both are loved by fans of basketball and we love to have Jack visit. We talk about a number of topics. Jack gives his thoughts on Chris Bosh entering a huge season for him. We talk about Jose Calderon and if he has to look over his shoulder if his defense does not improve? The star of the pre-season Sonny Weems and what he means to this basketball team. Also talk about Demar Derozan, Jarrett Jack, Reggie Evans, Hedo Turkoglu and a number of others. It is as always a great conversation that you hopeful can learn a lot from. I personally always enjoy listening to Jack's opinions and knowledge of the game of basketball. He is always a very humble individual. But the truth is he has done a lot to help a lot of fans know more about this great game of basketball in his coverage of the Toronto Raptors over the years. It is always true pleasure to have a chance to talk with him and it never gets old for me.

Hope you enjoyed that, working on getting some other interviews set up as well so stay tuned. Also make sure you check Jack and Eric Smith out on The Game Plan on the Fan 590 2-4 Monday to Friday as I do as often as possible. Which for me is 95% of the time. You can shout at the Game Plan on Twitter between those hours at Eric Smith's Twitter account with is @Eric__Smith and maybe you can join the list that started with me and be the 2:25 Tweet of the Day. Thanks to Jack as always and I am already looking forward to the next time we have him back on the Dino Nation Blog's Starting 5.

Starting 5 With Matt Devlin On Pre-Season

It was been just over a year that Matt Devlin has been with the Toronto Raptors. I am happy to say he has been a guest with us here at the Dino Nation Blog almost from day one. I do not keep stats on it but I think Matt is one of our most frequent guests. In our conversation we talk about Sonny Weems and his quick rise in the pre-season. In addition we talk about the development of Raptors first round pick. Demar DeRozan. Some thoughts on Amir Johnson, Marco Belinelli, Reggie Evans and the questions about Calderon's defense. In addition some thoughts on Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu as well. We also talk about Matt joining up with Twitter which had been something we have been pushing Matt to get on. He now is on there @RaptorsDevlin . It is always fun catching up with Matt. He was on route to pick up one of 3 boys from school and with the new laws for cellphones it was done on speaker phone so there are a few minor audio issues. Hopefully nothing that ruins your enjoyment of our interview.




Matt has done a special with Jay Triano the Raptors head coach that was taped in his home town of Niagara Falls which you can catch on Raps T.V on October 23rd. Matt assures me it is well worth watching and I have seem a few of the previews and I would agree. Raps-T.V also did an inside look at training camp up in Ottawa where both Matt and I were in attendance. I am not in the Raps-T.V stuff but I am sure Matt might be. It looks interesting and you can go to Raptors.com and get a sneak peak at that. Matt did not know the date that will air just yet but safe to say it will be on Raps-TV prior to the season starting at the end of the month. Thanks to Matt for doing this interview. He is always willing to come on and talk with us and it is greatly appreciated by me. He also was true to his word in the interview and did tweet that he talked with me today. Good stuff as the Raptors have a strong presence on Twitter.



A man who is not on Twitter but we still love him anyway is our guest tomorrow. The one and only Jack Armstrong will be paying a visit to the Dino Nation Blog after his radio show The Game Plan that he now hosts with Eric Smith on the Fan 590. Always great talking with the coach. Look for that in the evening hours tomorrow. Great to be back after a crazy weekend of sports working for The Score. I did see the Raps and Wiz but at this point doing a recap at this point seemed pointless. Although kudos to Demar who looked good and as mentioned in the interview with Matt that dunk in the 4th was off the hook. Do kids still say that?

CB Returns and Raptors Win

It's rare in this modern age when a game is played and there is not a broadcast to be found, even in exhibition, but that was the case last night in Minny. The Raptors welcomed back Chris Bosh to the line-up for the first time this season and in limited action. He played just 11 minutes had 9 point and 7 rebounds along with a block. Andrea Bargnani mean time score 21 and looked good doing it (At Least In The Highlights) in just under 23 minutes of action. Demar DeRozan made the hi-light reel thanks to a hook up from Sonny Weems on an alley-oop. Both had 11 points and Weems who has been making an impression had 5 other assists on the night as well.

As for the game it self the Raptors lead through out and had no trouble taking out the T-Wolves in their pre-season home opener with a 112-97 win. That is the first win of the pre-season for the Raptors. Toronto out scored Minnesota 37-14 in the first quarter and never looked back. Raptors next action will be at the ACC for a Sunday afternoon tilt against the Wizards. That one will be broadcast on Raptors T.V. The tip time is 3pm.

Hedo Turlkoglu and Antonie Wright did not travel with the team to Minny and no word yet on when we will see Turkoglu or Wright as of yet. But it was nice to see number 4 get out there for the first time this year. We are just 18 days away from opening day and the Raptors hosting the Cavs. The season will be here before you know it.

2nd and 6

So we went from no games to two in the blink of an eye. Reggie Evans is quickly climbing the charts as one of the most popular Raptors of all time. Seriously the guy is bigger than Matt Bonner, Pops Mensah-Bonsu and the JYD combined. O.K perhaps not, but it is clear that Reggie has become the answer for a lot of Raptor fans. The way he plays the game is flat of aggressive. Keep in mind he does this all the time. He did it in the scrimmage in Ottawa vs his team. He did it the last 2 nights vs his old team. I hate to see what happens when he plays someone he doesn't like. I tweeted last night that he is like a Bull on the basketball court and that is no reference to Chicago or Chuck Swirsky there. Everything is just done in an aggressive manner and he stands out because of it. If this attitude can rub off on a few other look out.

Toronto also has it lovable underdog for this season as well. If I had told you that Sonny Weems would be one of the best players on the floor after 2 exhibition games...what would you have said? I am sure a lot of the answers would not be fit for print. People did not know a lot about him and it was Amir Johnson that got all the attention when the trade was made. Well we now know this much. Sonny can jump and dunk and get people off there feet. Comparisons to both Joey Graham(On non-guaranteed contract with Denver) and Jamario Moon (Cleveland Cavs) have been tossed out there. But let's just wait and see. Weems is proof of at least this, the Raptors are indeed a lot deeper. If Sonny Weems is this good that can only be a good thing. I will push the other 13 guys in front of him on the depth chart to play well.

If you are concerned about the Raptors offense...don't be. Jay Triano even admitted that the team has not even come close to having the entire offense in place. It is also missing perhaps it's 2 biggest weapons in Hedo Turkoglu and Chris Bosh. As for the other side of the ball there are flashes of better play and still some of the same old issues. I dream of a day when the Raptors can play solid perimeter defense. It still is something that to this point seems to be an issue. However there is still lots of time and the Sixers are trying to bring in the Princeton offense that does use that aspect as a weapon.

I also am to the point of complete frustration with the defense of Jose Calderon. No more injuries and no more excuses it is time to man up and play some defense. It seems that new fellow Jarrett Jack can do it and if Jose can not it may not be long before we see two starters from Georgia Tech in the Raptors starting 5. Any defense worth anything needs good on the ball pressure and that comes from your point guard more often than not. Jose must improve in this area if the Raptors are truly going to get to the next level as a defense. If he can not eventually a choice is going to have to be made. Jose also for whatever reason looks tired out there. He did not play for Spain this summer but I don't think the message was not to play basketball at all. Calderon needs to pick it up. He has a legit option behind him this year. So be you a Calderon fan or not it seems clear that Jose needs to pick it up. That being said I am happy to see the ball being pushed and the team getting out and running with Jose in there as well. Jose Calderon may not lead the league in assist to turnover ratio this year and the Raptors may be better for it.

Demar Derozan has 2 games under his belt and I think the second was better than the first. That is all we are asking for from Demar is to be just a bit better every game and everyday. He even made a few shots from 3 point range which is nice to see. Demar needs to show he can make that shot because it is safe to say that early teams are going to play him to drive the ball. He also has shown some good skills in passing the ball. He has held his own on the defensive end and that is great to see. He was matched-up against Andre Iguodala and did not look out of place at all. It is going to be a process for Demar but it seems everyone with the organization seems happy with his progress and I have no reason to disagree.

Special shout out to Amir Johnson who had his lip split and came back to play after that in a pre-season game. Marco Belinelli had a nice night at the office as well as he scored a dozen. Andrea Bargnani had yet another jaw dropping drive and dunk. Offensively Andrea is showing signs of taking his game to a new level. Still looking to see consistency and will he keep this up when Bosh returns. I have always noticed that Bargnani seems to pick his game up when Bosh is not in the line-up. He needs to play the same way be there a Bosh out there or not.

So those are some thoughts throw 2 games and there are 6 more to go.

Demar DeRozan Talks with DNB

27 minutes and 22 seconds and 9 points going 3-7 and he had 4 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal. That is how "Heir Canada" Demar DeRozan started his NBA journey in his first pre-season game. I had a chance to sit down with Demar and talk with him. He is a very nice young man and you can't help but like him and hope he succeeds. He is humble in the sense he realizes that there is lots left to learn. At the top of that list seems to be the rotations on defense in the NBA. You could also tell that he had the nerves flowing last night in his pre-season debut. But the one thing about Demar is that he will learn from it. I asked him Friday night on what he took away from his first training camp in the NBA.

Demar DeRozan- " Just a learning process. Trying to get better everyday and learn. Get experience from the vets and my teammates that have been in the league. Just trying to make myself better every time that I get out here."

Seems one of those guys that has taken Demar under their wing is Jarrett Jack. Jack was giving him a hard time on media day when he was talking with the Fan 590. It was all in good fun though. However Jack is also offering the young rookie advice as well. The one thing that you hear about Demar is how willing he is to learn and get better. I follow Demar on Twitter @Demar_DeRozan and one of the things you will notice is he is always working. He has a great work ethic in my opinion and I was curious to know where that came from for Demar. What makes him work so hard?

Demar DeRozan- " Just wanting to be great. Just wanting to separate myself from everybody that plays basketball. Just try to be more than just the average basketball player and be able to do it all."

It is not a matter of arrogance in Demar saying that. He says it in a very matter of fact way. He understands there is a ton to learn and work on to be great. He even use to go train at UCLA which for Trojan player may not be easy. Demar said he liked that though. He would have people yell at him to get off their campus you Trojan. He never paid it any mind and used it as motivation. He continues to work towards his first season in the NBA. Last night was a step in that direction. I asked him what were his goals as he gets prepared for opening night vs Cleveland.

Demar DeRozan-" Just to mature. Especially on this level. Learn as much as I can about the game. It is more mental than anything. So I am just trying to get knowledge every time I come out here and play."

Demar is already a pretty mature as a person. In talking with him, it never crossed my mind that this was a 19 year old kid that I was talking too. He has already took steps in maturing physically as well adding a few pounds since summer league. Still it has to be a really life changing experience no matter what age you happen to be when you get drafted into the NBA. I asked him what had changed since Demar heard his name called on draft night.

Demar DeRozan-" It's crazy.... Like night to day. It has been a tremendous change. I am not a regular person anymore like I was like a year or two ago. I'm a professional athlete and I take that serious now. I just try go out there and be an example."

One of the motivations to make the jump to the NBA for Demar was to get the best care for his mother who suffers from Lupus. If you have read this blog for any amount of time you may be aware that I look after my mother who is disabled. So when I became aware that Demar was in part looking to do this for his mother it really touched me. So I thought I would ask how his mother and his family feels about all of this.

Demar DeRozan-" She feels great and my whole family feels great. I had a opportunity to put my family in a great position. To help my mother out especially and at the same time do what I love doing."

That is something that I can understand and relate to. Not the money part but the part about being able to care for your mom and still do what you love to do. It is probably why I am pulling personally for Demar to be a success. Jay Triano had some thoughts on Demar progress after the scrimmage in Ottawa on how he had done. When asked if he was happy about the progression of his first round pick here is what he had to say.

Jay Triano-" Yup, he had some rough days but I think that is natural for anybody in their first NBA training camp. The ability that he has to get to the basket at times was taken away in a lot of our practices. But he seemed to find his way to the basket today which is good. He is going to learn. Consistency is going to be the big thing with him, consistent work ethic and consistent effort on the floor every time he is out there."

It is going to be a process for sure. One of the things that people liked about Demar is that at USC he continued to improve to the point he was the MVP of the Pac-10 tournament. It is clear that he wants to learn and has high goals of to not just be good but great. Jack Armstrong likes the expression crawl, walk and run. That is going to be the process for Demar to reach the levels he desires. He is a real student of the game of basketball.

I like the nickname "Heir Canada" that someone suggested for Demar back in the summer. He has a chance to be that next one and has skills that remind you of "Air Canada" aka Vince Carter. However he seems much more humble and grounded in the quest to get there. DeRozan for me is much more like a Chris Bosh when he started his NBA Career. Chris was very low key when he first came on the scene. He like Demar had just one year of college and came to the NBA with a lot of expectations. If Demar can have any kind of success to be compared to Bosh and Carter moving forward he will be doing very well for himself.

Saturday was his first experience in front of a bunch of crazy Raptor fans. I asked after the game in the post game scrum what he thought about all of the crazy passionate fans in Ottawa and the experience of playing in front of them for the first time.

Demar DeRozan- " It's great, it is fun. That is what makes me love basketball so much. How you can effect so many people who just want to go out and see you play...you can't beat that. "

Here is hoping there is a lot of fun, learning and growing ahead for Demar Derozan. He has the tools and the right attitude it would seem to be a success. Each day he will try and take steps to claim the crown of NBA stardom. It is what makes the whole "Heir Canada" thing seem to fit for me. However whatever nickname he ends up with it is all going to be about improving and growing on his quest to be a great player in the NBA. I know I personally wish him all the best and good luck in that quest. If you ever have the chance to meet him I hope you will walk away as impressed by him as I was. He is a great young man that wants to do great things.