"It is far more important to understand than to be understood" (Red and Me by Bill Russell with Alan Steinberg). This sums up who Red Auerbach was as a person, as a coach and as a friend. He didn't care what you thought of him. If you had the opportunity to play for him and had the honour of his friendship, he would walk through fire for you. Red and Me is the fourth book written by Bill Russell, this time with the help of Alan Steinberg, and is by far and large, the best book we've discussed all summer. I took this book personally and it's not too often books do this. As you know from following "Jiggly Bits" and "Basketball Beyond the Floor" here on the DNB, even if I decide a book is unworthy of revisiting, I know there is knowledge gained from spending time with it. This is what makes reading so worthwhile and very important. It helps you think outside the box. Even if you are not a Celtics fan, you need to read this book. It found me through doing this feature and I will be forever grateful. Let's dig in.
Apples and Oranges
When Red Auerbach coached and Bill Russell played for the Boston Celtics, it was a different era in professional basketball. For one thing, Red Auerbach was white and Bill Russell was black. In today's day and age, it's not a big deal if there are friendships between whites, blacks, indians, chinese and the list goes on. But in 1956 when Bill Russell joined the Boston Celtics, he was still dealing with segregation and racism. As Russell describes in the book, he came from the deep south of the 1930s and 1940s, so he grew up in an environment where being friendly to whites was not cool. And all his life he dealt with 'unfriendly coaches', as he puts it. So when he was teamed up with Auerbach, he wasn't expecting much. But how quickly that changed. In the book, he describes the team travelling to Lexington, Kentucky in the early 60s. Russell and some of the other black players on the team tried to get food at the hotel restaurant and as it turned out, the restaurant didn't serve blacks. Red Auerbach called the owner and got them a private suite to eat in. When that wasn't good enough, he called again and convinced the owner to change his ways and the restaurant no longer segregated the establishment. This was huge. This was just a fraction of who he was off the court. After reading this, it makes you glad you didn't meet him on the court. A pretty close comparison? A volcano waiting to erupt.
Go to War with Me
Red Auerbach shows his coaching prowess when he talks about NBA referees: "I can't expect my players to fight for me if I don't fight for them. Besides that, if every time they make a tough call against us I raise holy hell, they might think twice and change their call because they'll know I'll be right up their ass". I don't necessarily agree with this line of thinking regarding referees but the part about fighting for his players, I do. The one thing Red Auerbach had going for him was his sense of respect above anything else. Bill Russell describes in the book what he calls a turning point in his career. It came in the 12th game of his rookie year. Bob Cousy was asked what play to call by Coach Auerbach during some point in the game. Cousy called a play that would get everyone out of position. So during the next huddle, a similar play was called and Russell sat down (Everyone stood in the huddles back then - so this was a way of silently protesting). When someone asked why he was sitting, Bill Russell replies "I play center. Everybody else is playing center tonight. I don't need to be in the huddle to know how to get out of their way". Auerbach then says, "Okay, nobody plays center but Russell". And that was that. This is not to say Russell threw a hissy fit and got his way. He was not feeling like he was a part of the team and voiced his concerns. As a rookie in his 12th game back then, to do that took guts. If that were today, you would get chewed out and sent to the locker room.
Be Careful Where you Tread
"All of us have this dark place inside us where we don't allow anyone else to go. Yet all our lives, we seek to let someone get a glimpse of that place and maybe reach inside and touch us. Just a touch - anymore than that would be too much to bear. The closer the friendship, the more often they get a glimpse, but it always remains our private sanctuary" (Bill Russell in Red and Me). Red Auerbach died on October 28, 2006. Bill Russell describes in the book, first hearing the news and later attending the funeral. He really had an interesting way of looking at life and death, I think. In Russell's eyes, a funeral is meant to celebrate the deceased person's life. He says he tried to be strong for Red Auerbach's children but when you loose someone that close to you, it's hard to prevent the tears from falling. In the days after, Bill Russell played golf and tried to do everything that he normally would have. I need remember this philosophy for next funeral I need to attend. My defense mechanism is joking around. I was at a funeral once and made a comment about someone who should clearly not be wearing leather pants (sorry, not a fan of them). I was quiet and the ceremony hadn't started yet, but a family member felt the need to remind me it was a funeral and I need to show respect. True. But it's not as if I took the microphone from the priest during the ceremony and called out Miss Leather Pants. My sister defended me by saying everyone deals with death in different ways. So there. I took a page out of the Bill Russell book of philosophy and showed you a glimpse of the dark side. If you wear leather pants, my apologies and I hope I didn't offend. I was grasping at straws then, in more ways than one.
What Bill Russell and Red Auerbach accomplished as colleagues and friends, transcended basketball. I don't think I will ever see another tandem like this in professional sports in my lifetime.
Flick Pick of the Week
This weekend, look up "Amazing Grace and Chuck". It's a movie about a boy quitting little league to protest nuclear weapons. NBA star Alex English who plays a fictional Boston Celtics Star, Amazing Grace Smith, joins him in protest by quitting basketball. I picked this one because of the Celtics connection and Red Auerbach makes a cameo.
Next Thursday, we will be discussing The Gold Standard: Building a World-Class Team By Mike Krzyzewski with Jamie K. Spatola. Some inspiring words from another great coach? I hope so. See you on Tuesday for another serving of "Jiggly Bits" and until then, happy reading.
Showing posts with label Red Auerbach. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Red Auerbach. Show all posts
8/26/10
"Basketball Beyond the Floor"
"I came into the league making $5, 200 and left making $15,000 - that's after 10 years. I was afraid to hold out and ask for a real raise...If I ask for too much, they might just tell me to stay home" Al Bianchi, a former guard turned NBA Scout on money and having no agent. Things were different back then. Tall Tales: the Glory Years of the NBA, in the Words of the Men Who Played, Coached and Built Pro Basketball by Terry Pluto touches on the very real and important events which have shaped the pro game we know today. I will have to admit, I was a little skeptical going into this one because the market is so saturated with basketball history books claiming the last one missed something. Plus, I bought this book in the same bargain bin as A View From Above by Wilt Chamberlain as discussed last week. Since that book was a colossal disappointment, I was a little hesitant about Tall Tales but as always, kept an open mind. It is by far the best historical account of the pro game in its infancy to the creation of the National Basketball Association. It comes from the same author as Loose Balls about the ABA (American Basketball Association). Each section begins with the background of each stage in history (including why the pro game was created - believe it or not, it came from hockey roots) and ends with commentary from the players, coaches, scouts, owners and even referees of the that time period. Let's dive in and look at the book's main highlights: where the game came from (not the James Naismith connection), the rule change which revolutionized the game and the trade which changed the course of the NBA.
We're going to shove it down their throats
The book starts off by explaining the NBA was formed for three reasons: (1) Young men were making money from hockey and owning arenas. But hockey couldn't fill every gap in the schedule, so they needed something else; (2) College ball was super popular at the time and (3) World War Two was over, the men were home and had money to spend on sports. They weren't exactly demonstrating in the streets to bring in a pro basketball league "but they were going to give it to them whether they liked it or not". So really, it was all about making some more money from the owner's standpoint. And since some of these players were former soldiers or rough-housers, fighting was huge for the game in the late 40s, early fifties until they created the 'fouling out' rules, according to the book. In 1953-1954, players were allowed only two fouls in a quarter. Anymore and they were turfed from the game. I think it was funny because of all the fighting, the league actually considered creating a penalty box like in hockey and make them play 4 on 5 or whatever the situation called for. This never happened. After reading this book, I really wish I had a basketball time machine so I could go back and see players like Jerry West, George Mikan and especially Bill Russell because before he came into the game, nobody was really blocking shots. And it's interesting to watch some of the old tape because you wouldn't see a Steve Nash bringing the ball down court and conducting the play by going in 1-on-1, trying to drive it up the middle to one of your teammates. They spread out all over the place and ran.
Canadian Roots but an Italian Influence
This part I loved. Before the invention of the 24 second clock, if a team was up, they would just hang onto the ball until their opponent fouled them in an attempt to gain possession. They actually played for 9 whole seasons without a shot clock until Danny Biasone's idea changed the game. I think this is the most important rule considering where the game started and how it changed the game: "The amazing thing about the 24 second clock is that it started at 24 seconds and is still 24 seconds today. No one has seriously considered changing it" (Play-by-Play guy Chick Hearn). It was all so simple, too. Danny Biasone had owned a semi-pro football team before World War Two and since there were not enough players after the war, he decided to get into pro basketball. He owned a pro basketball team from 1946-1947 and according to the book, became frustrated with the game and the number of fouls. So get this. Danny Biasone figured out each team took 60 shots, totalling 120 over the course of the game. He divided the length of the game which was 48 minutes at the time (2, 880 seconds) by 120 shots to get 24 seconds per shot. Before this rule was created, there was actually a score of 19-18 between Fort Wayne and the Minneapolis Lakers. Unbelievable.
Trading for draft rights..what?
"Before the start of the [1965-1966] season, I said I was quitting. I told the Lakers, The Sixers and anyone else that this was their last shot at me. I didn't want to be accused of going out while I was still ahead. They had one more chance to knock me off" (Red Auerbach in his last year of coaching the Celtics). Red Auerbach wanted to win and so did everyone else. Trades were made all over the map but the one that changed how things were done in the NBA, according to the book, was when St. Louis agreed to trade the draft rights of Bill Russell to Boston for Cliff Hagan and Ed McCauley. No one had a clue the impact Bill Russell would have on the Celtics but they took a chance. Some people in NHL circles think the Toronto Maple Leafs don't have a clue for this reason because of making trades and taking a chance on the wrong people. (Let's hope that this year is different because Toronto sports fans need to get excited about something). But the Boston Celtics had a history of making good decisions. I still can't even imagine one single team winning 8 consecutive championships - the longest championship streak in North American sports. But that is was the Celtics did under Auerbach as their coach. My god, that guy was brilliant both on and off the court. Breaking down colour barriers and the opposition with defence and fast breaks - this book made me really appreciate Red Auerbach and Bill Russell a little more and what they did for the game.
Flick Pick of the Week
I know you are going to think I am outside my mind with this pick because I know some of you have told me this before with previous picks. I guess I should be used to it. I love Whoopi Goldberg so I want you to watch 'EDDIE' starring Miss Whoopi. This flick also includes other appearances by Rick Fox, Greg Ostertag, John Salley, Mark Jackson and Marv Albert as himself. Whoopi plays the newest coach of the New York Knicks. I think it's funny and entertaining. Apparently, home games were actually filmed at the Charlotte Coliseum, home to the Charlotte Hornets at the time the movie was made.
For next week, I picked up an interesting read from my local library: Can I Keep My Jersey? 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond by Paul Shirley. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a friend who played in the NBA? This book attempts to answer this question. Unbelievable really, how he did it. I will see you on Tuesday for another serving of Jiggly Bits. So until then, happy reading.
We're going to shove it down their throats
The book starts off by explaining the NBA was formed for three reasons: (1) Young men were making money from hockey and owning arenas. But hockey couldn't fill every gap in the schedule, so they needed something else; (2) College ball was super popular at the time and (3) World War Two was over, the men were home and had money to spend on sports. They weren't exactly demonstrating in the streets to bring in a pro basketball league "but they were going to give it to them whether they liked it or not". So really, it was all about making some more money from the owner's standpoint. And since some of these players were former soldiers or rough-housers, fighting was huge for the game in the late 40s, early fifties until they created the 'fouling out' rules, according to the book. In 1953-1954, players were allowed only two fouls in a quarter. Anymore and they were turfed from the game. I think it was funny because of all the fighting, the league actually considered creating a penalty box like in hockey and make them play 4 on 5 or whatever the situation called for. This never happened. After reading this book, I really wish I had a basketball time machine so I could go back and see players like Jerry West, George Mikan and especially Bill Russell because before he came into the game, nobody was really blocking shots. And it's interesting to watch some of the old tape because you wouldn't see a Steve Nash bringing the ball down court and conducting the play by going in 1-on-1, trying to drive it up the middle to one of your teammates. They spread out all over the place and ran.
Canadian Roots but an Italian Influence
This part I loved. Before the invention of the 24 second clock, if a team was up, they would just hang onto the ball until their opponent fouled them in an attempt to gain possession. They actually played for 9 whole seasons without a shot clock until Danny Biasone's idea changed the game. I think this is the most important rule considering where the game started and how it changed the game: "The amazing thing about the 24 second clock is that it started at 24 seconds and is still 24 seconds today. No one has seriously considered changing it" (Play-by-Play guy Chick Hearn). It was all so simple, too. Danny Biasone had owned a semi-pro football team before World War Two and since there were not enough players after the war, he decided to get into pro basketball. He owned a pro basketball team from 1946-1947 and according to the book, became frustrated with the game and the number of fouls. So get this. Danny Biasone figured out each team took 60 shots, totalling 120 over the course of the game. He divided the length of the game which was 48 minutes at the time (2, 880 seconds) by 120 shots to get 24 seconds per shot. Before this rule was created, there was actually a score of 19-18 between Fort Wayne and the Minneapolis Lakers. Unbelievable.
Trading for draft rights..what?
"Before the start of the [1965-1966] season, I said I was quitting. I told the Lakers, The Sixers and anyone else that this was their last shot at me. I didn't want to be accused of going out while I was still ahead. They had one more chance to knock me off" (Red Auerbach in his last year of coaching the Celtics). Red Auerbach wanted to win and so did everyone else. Trades were made all over the map but the one that changed how things were done in the NBA, according to the book, was when St. Louis agreed to trade the draft rights of Bill Russell to Boston for Cliff Hagan and Ed McCauley. No one had a clue the impact Bill Russell would have on the Celtics but they took a chance. Some people in NHL circles think the Toronto Maple Leafs don't have a clue for this reason because of making trades and taking a chance on the wrong people. (Let's hope that this year is different because Toronto sports fans need to get excited about something). But the Boston Celtics had a history of making good decisions. I still can't even imagine one single team winning 8 consecutive championships - the longest championship streak in North American sports. But that is was the Celtics did under Auerbach as their coach. My god, that guy was brilliant both on and off the court. Breaking down colour barriers and the opposition with defence and fast breaks - this book made me really appreciate Red Auerbach and Bill Russell a little more and what they did for the game.
Flick Pick of the Week
I know you are going to think I am outside my mind with this pick because I know some of you have told me this before with previous picks. I guess I should be used to it. I love Whoopi Goldberg so I want you to watch 'EDDIE' starring Miss Whoopi. This flick also includes other appearances by Rick Fox, Greg Ostertag, John Salley, Mark Jackson and Marv Albert as himself. Whoopi plays the newest coach of the New York Knicks. I think it's funny and entertaining. Apparently, home games were actually filmed at the Charlotte Coliseum, home to the Charlotte Hornets at the time the movie was made.
For next week, I picked up an interesting read from my local library: Can I Keep My Jersey? 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond by Paul Shirley. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have a friend who played in the NBA? This book attempts to answer this question. Unbelievable really, how he did it. I will see you on Tuesday for another serving of Jiggly Bits. So until then, happy reading.
6/14/09
Lakers Are Defending Champs...Let Off-Season Begin
So the L.A Lakers have won the NBA finals in 5 games over the Orlando Magic. Kobe Bryant has his Championship on his own with no Shaq. Who may be going to team up with Lebron in Cleveland? Oh yes the season of rumours and nonsense is here. Chris Bosh will be front and center in all of the nonsense that is the NBA off-season. Some love the rumours and all the talk and buzz. I personally am not a fan of it. If I could hit a fast forward button to the Draft and then to next season I would. Trevor Ariza on the now Championship Lakers would be a dream catch for the Raptors in the off-season if you ask me. Rumours have already started that Toronto may be a landing spot for Hedo Turkoglu. This is just scratching the surface of the many rumours that most of which will never come through. ESPN actually makes money off the Rumour mill having folks pay cash to be ESPN Insiders. I will pass and save my money.
I want to say just a few thoughts on NBA Finals.
Kobe deserved this title and anyone that thinks otherwise was not watching how hard this guy was pushing and how bad he wanted this.
Phil Jackson may have ten rings but I still think Red Aeurbach is the best there was and likely will ever be. Congrats to Phil on the accomplishment and that hat with the X reminded me of a younger Spike Lee rocking a Malcolm X hat. But 10 titles is impressive. It takes talent to manage star players and not everyone can do that.
Magic deserve respect. I hear people saying what an awful Finals this was. I could not disagree more. You had 2 games go to Overtime and the Magic showed that a bounce here or a bounce there and they could have made this a much different series. They will learn and hopefully grow from this experience.
SVG is a good coach too. He may not be a Zen Master in his life but Stan Van Gundy did a hell of a coaching job to get his team to this point. SVG deserves respect for all he has done.
Orlando has a Jose and T.J situation to deal with. Hopefully they handle it better than we did in Toronto. Rafer and Jameer can make a great 1-2 punch if everyone let's it happen. Question will be will they?
This series made Trevor Ariza a very rich young man no matter where he signs.
That is my quick take on things post finals. I am sure with a night's sleep I will have more thoughts tomorrow.
I want to say just a few thoughts on NBA Finals.
Kobe deserved this title and anyone that thinks otherwise was not watching how hard this guy was pushing and how bad he wanted this.
Phil Jackson may have ten rings but I still think Red Aeurbach is the best there was and likely will ever be. Congrats to Phil on the accomplishment and that hat with the X reminded me of a younger Spike Lee rocking a Malcolm X hat. But 10 titles is impressive. It takes talent to manage star players and not everyone can do that.
Magic deserve respect. I hear people saying what an awful Finals this was. I could not disagree more. You had 2 games go to Overtime and the Magic showed that a bounce here or a bounce there and they could have made this a much different series. They will learn and hopefully grow from this experience.
SVG is a good coach too. He may not be a Zen Master in his life but Stan Van Gundy did a hell of a coaching job to get his team to this point. SVG deserves respect for all he has done.
Orlando has a Jose and T.J situation to deal with. Hopefully they handle it better than we did in Toronto. Rafer and Jameer can make a great 1-2 punch if everyone let's it happen. Question will be will they?
This series made Trevor Ariza a very rich young man no matter where he signs.
That is my quick take on things post finals. I am sure with a night's sleep I will have more thoughts tomorrow.
6/4/09
Finally the Finals
Took the day off from the blog yesterday. But I did do a little Radio out in B.C. I posted something on the blogs Twitter account. I know at least one of my followers on Twitter checked it out. I was told I did a solid job in talking about the NBA and a bit about the story about the Pacers and the story about them being moved to Vancouver. Hopeful at some point that happens for the people in Vancouver. It would be great to see basketball come back to the west coast. So thanks to Jessica Samuels for having me on her show. Apparently there is not much buzz for basketball out there. Although I do get some readers from B.C and all across this country. I am always willing to do my part to spread the word about basketball in all parts of this country. It is the old chicken and egg debate in the rest of the country. Our people not interested in basketball or does the media not cover it enough and hence the lack of interest from the casual sports fan. There are hardcore basketball fans all across this land though. It is up to you to contact your local media and say you want more coverage of basketball. One person doing that may not have an impact but if enough do maybe it changes. I also do the show off the bench on a weekly basis in Montreal. If there is a station in this country that wants someone to talk ball in this country I will do it. No matter if it is small or large. I think it is important not just for myself but to give all basketball fans what they want be it from me or anyone else.
Magic Fans Blog The Finals In Orlando Paper
South of the border some are disappointed that the puppet show is now over. No Kobe and Lebron Finals in the NBA. That is except for the people in Orlando Florida. I was made aware of a pretty cool thing they are doing in the Orlando Sentinel. They are letting Fans blog on their website for the finals. I was made aware of this because I actually know one of the fans. Last season when the Raptors played the Magic I became friends with a young man named Greg in Florida. He is one of the folks that was selected to do this. Pretty cool. Some how I can't see the Toronto Star doing the same. The closest a Raptor fan may get is to have Doug Smith answer your question in his many mail bag editions. In Greg's first entry he went after Shaq who as many will recall did not have nice things to say about Stan Van Gundy earlier in the season. Here is what Greg wrote in the link below:
Magic Fan Blog From Orlando Sentinel
They also have a Magic Fan V-Blogging showing her Magic fandum:
Hello!!!...Oh sorry Jack was in the blog yesterday. You can follow are V-Blogging Magic fan on Twitter @os_MagicBabe, Anyway best of Luck to the Magic fan bloggers. I do this on a daily basis it is not as easy as it looks. But if my team was in the NBA finals it likely would be very easy to do. I kind of feel the same way as Jack about this series. Jack would like for his friend Stan Van Gundy to win an NBA title. But using his basketball logic he thinks the Lakers will win. I for my young friend Greg would like to see his team that he cheers for win as well. However like Jack logic suggests to me the Lakers will win in 6. I still am stunned at the fact I called this final on October 26th. I doubt that I ever pull that off again in life so I am going to enjoy it.
Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson could careless about any of these warm fuzzy feelings for the Magic. Kobe wants that ring without Shaq and Phil Jackson wants one foe the second thumb to be the first coach in history to win 10 NBA Titles. If he does he would pass Celtic Legend Red Auerbach who shares the Record with Jackson of 9 NBA titles as a coach. This will be the 3rd shot at Jackson trying to beat Red. Jackson failed to beat the Pistons and than last year lost to Red's Celtics. Maybe there is Celtic curse on the Zen Master. People in Boston are big believers in those kind of things.
Bottom line of it all is while Lebron James gets a lecture from David Stern on Sportsmanship it will be the Lakers and Magic looking to win an NBA Title and that is going to be fun. It is no Nike Puppet show but it could prove to be a very interesting basketball series. Which may be made even more interesting show Jameer Nelson return for the Magic. The Magic played the Lakers both time prior to Nelson being injured and he was a huge factor. But can a guy that has been on the sidelines step in to basketball at the highest level possible and be effective? We may just find out.
Meanwhile the guys at Hoops Doctors landed a chat with Rashard Lewis of the Magic. Check out the interview
Staff Announcement Next Week?
A little Raptor news to close. Jay Triano is hopefully that he will be able to have an announcement about his coaching staff next week. There was talk that the Memphis Grizzlies are looking for some cash if the Raptors want to sign Mark Ivaroni to the staff. Ivaroni is still under contract to the Grizzlies despite getting the boot as head coach. Just like MLSE is still sending cash to Sam Mitchell. Also as was mentioned in my interviews with Chuck Swirsky and Jack Armstrong, Alvin Williams is said to be joining the staff as well.
Magic Fans Blog The Finals In Orlando Paper
South of the border some are disappointed that the puppet show is now over. No Kobe and Lebron Finals in the NBA. That is except for the people in Orlando Florida. I was made aware of a pretty cool thing they are doing in the Orlando Sentinel. They are letting Fans blog on their website for the finals. I was made aware of this because I actually know one of the fans. Last season when the Raptors played the Magic I became friends with a young man named Greg in Florida. He is one of the folks that was selected to do this. Pretty cool. Some how I can't see the Toronto Star doing the same. The closest a Raptor fan may get is to have Doug Smith answer your question in his many mail bag editions. In Greg's first entry he went after Shaq who as many will recall did not have nice things to say about Stan Van Gundy earlier in the season. Here is what Greg wrote in the link below:
Magic Fan Blog From Orlando Sentinel
They also have a Magic Fan V-Blogging showing her Magic fandum:
Hello!!!...Oh sorry Jack was in the blog yesterday. You can follow are V-Blogging Magic fan on Twitter @os_MagicBabe, Anyway best of Luck to the Magic fan bloggers. I do this on a daily basis it is not as easy as it looks. But if my team was in the NBA finals it likely would be very easy to do. I kind of feel the same way as Jack about this series. Jack would like for his friend Stan Van Gundy to win an NBA title. But using his basketball logic he thinks the Lakers will win. I for my young friend Greg would like to see his team that he cheers for win as well. However like Jack logic suggests to me the Lakers will win in 6. I still am stunned at the fact I called this final on October 26th. I doubt that I ever pull that off again in life so I am going to enjoy it.
Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson could careless about any of these warm fuzzy feelings for the Magic. Kobe wants that ring without Shaq and Phil Jackson wants one foe the second thumb to be the first coach in history to win 10 NBA Titles. If he does he would pass Celtic Legend Red Auerbach who shares the Record with Jackson of 9 NBA titles as a coach. This will be the 3rd shot at Jackson trying to beat Red. Jackson failed to beat the Pistons and than last year lost to Red's Celtics. Maybe there is Celtic curse on the Zen Master. People in Boston are big believers in those kind of things.
Bottom line of it all is while Lebron James gets a lecture from David Stern on Sportsmanship it will be the Lakers and Magic looking to win an NBA Title and that is going to be fun. It is no Nike Puppet show but it could prove to be a very interesting basketball series. Which may be made even more interesting show Jameer Nelson return for the Magic. The Magic played the Lakers both time prior to Nelson being injured and he was a huge factor. But can a guy that has been on the sidelines step in to basketball at the highest level possible and be effective? We may just find out.
Meanwhile the guys at Hoops Doctors landed a chat with Rashard Lewis of the Magic. Check out the interview
Staff Announcement Next Week?
A little Raptor news to close. Jay Triano is hopefully that he will be able to have an announcement about his coaching staff next week. There was talk that the Memphis Grizzlies are looking for some cash if the Raptors want to sign Mark Ivaroni to the staff. Ivaroni is still under contract to the Grizzlies despite getting the boot as head coach. Just like MLSE is still sending cash to Sam Mitchell. Also as was mentioned in my interviews with Chuck Swirsky and Jack Armstrong, Alvin Williams is said to be joining the staff as well.
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