B.C Doing WORK!!!

So when you went to bed last night depending on when you did. You went to bed with A.P, Hump, Quincy Douby and Shawn Marion were Raps or FA's. Well Not anymore. There are new Raptors too but let's explain where the old ones are going. A.P is the easiest as he just signed on his own with the Cavs. One of the classy players in the history of this organization best of luck to him. Now the trade that was 3 teams that became 4 teams. The Raptors have traded for Hedo Turkoglu. What? Yeah that's right Hedo comes via sign and trade. Shawn Marion goes to Dallas Via sign and trade. Quincy Douby and Jerry Stackhouse go to Memphis. Also Hump goes to Dallas as well. Raptors get back Wright and George from Dallas and yes the all important MLE is back which means so to could be Carlos Delfino. Have you got all of that? If not perhaps ESPN explains it better than me.

Marc Stein on Marion Deal - ESPN

In short Bryan Colangelo is pretty amazing. I had said that you could not truly judge a half painted picture a few days ago. Well Colangelo as truly added some masterful Michaelangelo type strokes to his Raptors canvas. The Raptors have gone from DeRozan and Douby. To Wright, Delfino, DeRozan and George. That addresses the wing spot. About the only thing he could not manage to do in unload Marcus Banks. Had he done that as well there may well have been a Bryan Colangelo parade today in Toronto.

Suddenly, Chris Bosh wakes up to having a team build around him that is pretty good and has some options at pretty much every position. Hey the roll B.C is on maybe Bosh will sign and extension as well.That is not likely to happen but the odds on Chris Bosh coming back have greatly increased in the last 48 hours. The combination of the info on the cap, The Raptors making massive change. The future of Chris Bosh has become a lot brighter to stay in Toronto.

In the end that is what matters the most. That is why all of this has happened in a lot of ways. However even if Bosh were to walk the Raptors are much better prepared for that as well. I still have concern over some of the contracts in terms of Andrea and Hedo. Having a team with some depth makes me a little less worried about that.

People had said B.C was not done. I was sure that he was not done trying. But I wondered if he could pull anything off. Well B.C did that no doubt about this. Even with all of this the Raptors still at best are the 4th team in the East. Still who was thinking that or saying that as a best case even a week ago?

I still have a wait and see approach to all of this. However the big difference is I can't wait to see instead of dreading the rest of this summer. Will this finally put an end to all of you that were thinking/hoping Chris Bosh would be traded this summer?

I am hopeful this will be enough to convince Chris Bosh to remain a Raptor. I truly hope that he can play his career as a Raptor and one day see a #4 hanging in the A.C.C. I feel like, as I am sure most Raptor fans do, that we have all watched Chris grow as a player and a man before our eyes. That is why I am a card carrying member of CB4 Nation. There are some guys that I will always root for their entire career. Bosh is on that list. I just would prefer I am doing it with him as a Raptor.

I want to close with some thoughts on Anthony Parker. He has been one of the most classy and professional people in his time with the Raptors. He finds himself in a situation where he should have an excellent chance at winning a championship. Can you think of a person more deserving of that then him? It would be a short list. So I am extremely happy for him. I also think we are all better off at getting to know someone of such high character and classy. So best of luck to A.P. Here is a list of truly nice guys from Raptors history. They all had varying degrees of talent but all were people that made me smile and hopefully you as well.

#5- Matt Bonner AkA The Red Rocket.

#4- Dell Curry

#3- Muggsy Bogues

#2- Anthony Parker

#1- Morris Peterson.

There were others that you could add to this list. If you have some you want to include or have your own list feel free to make a comment.

Yesterday I decided to do a live blog of the Andrea Bargnani Press Conference. The numbers and turn out for that was fantastic. So if you came out for that thanks a lot. It went so well that I will be doing another one for the Hedo News Conference and I am going to consider some form of a weekly Chat/Live Blog. I really love interacting with folks as you can probably notice if you follow the blog on Twitter (@dinonationblog). So if that presser happens today look for a live blog to be posted here on the site.

I suspect the majority of Raptor fans will be happy today and after last season you have earned that right to be so. Bryan Colangelo took a large step back towards the super genius that got a standing ovation when he came to town.

Different Actors But Same Movie For Raptors?

I can't help but sit back and wonder if this is a case of De Ja VU. But first let's clear some stuff up. To sign Hedo the Raptors have to give up rights (Renounce) Shawn Marion, Anthony Parker, Carlos Delfino and Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu by July 7th. Also in addition I have read and been told that the Raptors also will not have their MLE(Mid level exception) as a result of this signing. According to Doug Smith the only way the Raptors could get it back it to workout a sign and trade for Shawn Marion with Orlando. Given the fact they brought in V.C that seems unlikely. Perhaps some wacky 3 way deal could be worked out but I would not hold my breath. Basically the Raptors have given up the rights to 5 players and their mid level exception to sign Hedo. That seems like a heck of a lot does it not? Just like trading T.J Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Roy Hibbert for Jermaine O'Neal and Nathan Jawai. That deal became worse given the health issues of Jawai. J.O also would have his injury issues as well. Would anyone do a 6 asset deal to get 1 player in a trade? I mean this is for Hedo not Dwight Howard.

I hear and read all of this talk about how great this is that we landed a high end free agent. It is only great if it works, if it doesn't it really means nothing. In fact honestly I question if it even means anything at all in terms of North American players. Does the fact we signed Hedo make the next Trevor Ariza type free agent sign in Toronto. Ariza in case you forgot or did not hear was offered allegedly 9 million more to come to Toronto and passed. Does that change this from happening again? Not unless the Raptor become a consistent and winning team.

In fact, I think the success of Demar DeRozan could have more impact on getting North American free agents than a Hedo signing. If DeRozan lives up to his promise and becomes a star and remains in Toronto that will do more for attracting free agents than anything. If a kid who grew up in Compton California gives Toronto a stamp of approval that will speak louder than any Euro player signing in Toronto in terms of North American talent. There would be a certain street cred about that. It is not to say that Vince Carter or Chris Bosh don't have that. But it is different. Dallas and Florida are not anything close to where DeRozan comes from. I may have watched Boyz In The Hood one to many times. However I think it would be something that might change attitudes about players coming to Toronto. It just a theory but I think it might have some merit.

But signing a Euro based player beyond improving the on the court product will have little to no impact on free agency in the future. The Raptors in the end regardless of what it does for future free agency may have given up far to much to sign Hedo. They will need to hit some major league home runs in terms of signing guys to minimum deals. As I suggested perhaps a guy or maybe even 2 on the summer league roster would have to get signed and make an impact in some small way.

The depth of this team is truly lacking and I am not convinced this is something Bryan Colangelo has some magic answer for. A sign and trade for Marion is extremely unlikely with the Magic. If the Raptors have no mid level exception they are really screwed in terms of adding depth. This team to me would enter the season in the same position it did last year in terms of being just one injury away from certain doom. If any play 1-3 goes down the Raptors could be totally screwed.

The one thing I can bet you won't here from Bryan Colangelo that this is the best roster he has had since he has been here. I think he learned his lesson on that last year. But it seems he has not when it comes to building depth on this team. Honestly I don't like to come off as the voice of doom. In fact, unlike some writers and bloggers, I really hope that I am wrong. I want to see the Raptors do well and succeed. If that happens to make me wrong about some things I can live with that. But I never write anything that I don't believe to be true from my prospective. That was the lesson I learned from the Jermaine O'Neal trade. I hated it from the start and would allow myself to be swayed. Well not this time. This is a bad contract and it does not address enough to out weigh the problems it creates. All this being said I do think the Raps will be a playoff team. But as I said a few days ago the goal is suppose to be Championships not Playoff appearances.

Same Old Problem

In the light of day the kind of dark cloud I had over my head last night has remained this morning. The fact I am learning Ariza now of the Houston Rockets to be confirmed July 8th, left 9 Million Dollars on the table. Heck put 1 million on the table watch how fast I would jump at it even to blog about Memphis or the Clippers. It is frustrating to feel like some kind of second class citizen in the NBA. I just hate it with a passion. When I use to pay attention to hockey, I was a Buffalo Sabres fan so I understand this feeling all to well. On the other hand have been a life long Cowboys fan and know that just because you have money and a franchise that has a rich history does not guarantee you a title.

People outside of Canada do not always get why Raptor fans get so bent out of shape. The things like this latest episode with Ariza is why. People always say they love the City of Toronto in the NBA. Is it a case of it is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there/play there? I try my best to refuse to believe that but how many times to you need get smacked down before you start to believe it. John Salmons who is far from an All-Star snubbed the Raptors for the Sacramento Kings. Now this with Ariza. It is just two examples of a long list of people that have passed on Toronto. Kenny Anderson refused to come here for an old school example.

Toronto has first class fans and they deserve a first class team. If Bryan Colangelo can not get guys to come here, really can anyone ever do it? Colangelo is a well respect G.M and has won an award for being the best at what he does twice. Forget about if Chris Bosh leaves. What about if B.C leaves. I know if I was him I would be frustrated by all of this. I mean he has tried to make it work. But if he ultimately loses Chris Bosh could it be long before he himself is lost as well. Not saying he gets fired saying he may want to walk himself.

I have a really bad feeling about the season ahead. I do have one little bit of hope. More a selfish one. That is for Brent Petway, I had him as a guest in the Spring and being an Ex-Wolverine that was a big thrill. I am hoping he has a excellent summer league and some how can crack this Raptor Roster. While all these free agent misses are not good news for me. In terms of Brent it is good news as he could be a very inexpensive option for the Raptors to play at the wing. Brent has spent the last couple seasons with the Idaho Stampede and is still trying to find a way to break into the NBA. Demar Derozan vs Brent Petway will make for entertaining dunk contests in Raptor practices for sure.

Summer League Roster From Raps.com

So there is always a bright side for somebody. However, in the big picture for the Raptors I am very depressed and very concerned and with good reason to be so in the future for Raptors.

12:01 AM Preview

Off the top a big congratulations to Eric Smith who is now a Dad. He and his wife brought a new son into the world and all the best to the both of them. I have mentioned many times how helpful Eric has been to me. I have no doubt he will make a great father and I am very happy for him.

Turning to basketball now some news late yesterday that Raptors tendered a qualifying offer to Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Just to clear up any confusion all this means is they retain his rights as a restricted free agent. The Raptors have done the same with Carlos Delfino as well who they have made no secret about wanting to re-sign. As for Pops it may not be the same type of deal. I have no doubt the Raptors have a number in mind when it comes to Pops and they will not go over it to match an other offer. They also can later take back or rescind the qualifying offer at any point. Same goes in terms of Delfino. But it does at least show an interest on the part of the Raptors to bring him back.

The Milwaukee Bucks did not do the same for Charlie Villianueva. They did not offer him a qualifying offer and he will now become a free agent tomorrow. The Bucks decided to offer Ramon Sessions qualifying offer and not Charlie. It probably seems unlikely that Charlie could return to Toronto. However Raptor fans for the most part would welcome him back with open arms. I personally just wish him all the best as he is one of the better people in this league. He does a lot of great things for charity and kids. So all the best for him on what likely will be his 3rd NBA team.

Last year the blog title on this day was who will Bryan Colangelo be talking to at midnight tonight? If you dream big here are 3 options for you.

Ron Artest- There was a time that Ron seemed a lock to return to the Rockets. Does the recent news that Yao Ming will miss all of next season and his career is in some doubt change that? I would think it is worth a phone call to find out. Colangelo has talked about making this team tougher and Ron Artest would do more than his fair share in that regard. The idea of Artest as a Raptor has been kicked around by myself and others for a long time. This may be the final shot at making that a reality.

Trevor Ariza- If there is anyone that I would overpay for to get this is the guy. Ariza did nothing but up his value in the Lakers run to a championship. It is a real shot in the dark to think he would bolt north of the border. But there are only so many teams that have money to spend. So if the Raptors really wanted to make a strong pitch money wise to him it is possible. I think Ariza still has upside and can grow so that is why he appeals to me.

Lamar Odom- Also likely not very realistic. However the Lakers challenge is how do they re-sign both? It may be difficult for them to do. So that would open the door for other teams to make a run at the one the Lakers do not end up choosing. You can make the argument that Odom might be the one left out in the cold.

Some other Options for that first call:

Shawn Marion- Colangelo has made it pretty clear he would be more than happy to re-sign Shawn Marion. It will be a question of dollars for the Raptors. It will likely be for Shwan as well. Can the two get together on a number that makes both happy? The market may hold the answer to that. But it makes sense that Colangelo checks in first with Marion and his agent first to see where that is at before he goes shopping elsewhere.

Hedo Turkoglu- If this man gets the first call and says 5 years and 50 million do you hang up? Maybe not hang up but you sure don't say done deal see you in Toronto for the presser. I think if you over paid for Hedo it would be a mistake. One of the biggest blunders made by Glen Grundwald was over paying for Alvin William, Jeromoe Williams and Antonio Davis. At the time Grunwald was praised but as time rolled on it would be a big part of his demise as G.M of the Raptors. I think if Hedo was signed, at the terms I have listed, that is what is said to be asking price you have a similar result. Fans would cheer in the short term but end up booing long before the deal was done.

Who is not getting a call at all?

Joey Graham it seems pretty clear is done as a Raptor. There has been almost no talk at all about him. It is with good reason as well. In his time here there have been many chances for Joey to prove himself and he has failed to establish himself. Will be interesting to see who actually will pick up the phone and call Joey. I have always thought OKC is a nice fit but we will see.

Raptors might get a busy signal when they call Anthony Parker. Teams like Boston and Cavs seem to have some interest as having Parker as a bench player. Where would you rather come off the bench if you were him? Raptors have made it clear should he remain he will have a roll likely coming off the bench. For a pure competitive situation it is much more attractive to do that in Boston or Cleveland. Parker does love Toronto but I am not sure if it is enough to pass a chance at a title with the for mentioned teams.

Matt Devlin Post Draft In The Starting 5

It is just days away from Matt Devlin's 1st year with the Toronto Raptors. I have had the great pleasure to have him as a guest many times over that year. He is always willing to come on and talk with me here at the Dino Nation Blog and I am always happy to have him. I was hard at work on the Score.com and Matt was working just as hard at the ACC covering last night's NBA Draft. We talk about the newest Raptor Demar DeRozan selected at # 9 last night in NYC. We also talk about all the trades that went down in the last 48 hours or so. Along with some thoughts on Chris Bosh and Shawn Marion and their future with the Raptors. Matt Devlin was on route to the ACC for the Demar DeRozan press conference so he was on a cell so there is the odd issue audio wise. But it should not take away with your enjoyment of this interview hopefully. So with that said here is yours truly along with the T.V play by play voice of the Raptors Matt Devlin.





It is always great talking with Matt. I am not sure if I agree with him on the V.C Trade to Orlando. Here is my take on that over at The Hoop Doctors Website . Also as I am watching the press conference with Demar while posting this the talk of comparisons to Vince Carter were down played by both Colangelo and DeRozan. Demar also had much love to say about the city of Toronto really shooting down the stories that he may not have been happy coming here that surfaced in the build up to the draft. He also shot these down when he came to workout in Toronto. In closing I want to thank Matt once again and be probably the first to wish him a happy anniversary with the Raptors. He is always a welcome guest here at Dino Nation Blog.

Colangelo State Of Raptors Address

Bryan Colangelo had his year end session with the media. It was interesting but not sure if it provided any answers but it did give lots of lines to read between. A couple things that seem a little more clear than most were these:

Jay Triano is going to have every chance in the world to remain as the head coach of the Raptors. Colangelo would say that he has talked to no one about the coaching position and he did confirm that people have inquired. However he stated that he will sit down with Jay and talk about everything. He also suggested that he would like the coaching issue to be dealt with quickly. He said that he feels it is important to have a coach in place to be part of the process in moving forward and looking at the draft and trade options. It all seemed to point that unless Jay Triano were to show up with a lamp shade on his head in his underwear the job is likely his. The one thing Bryan would say is that the coaching staff is going to change regardless of if Jay is hired as head coach or not. That would make what everyone has been saying about Mark Ivaroni as the lead assistant to Triano seem likely as well. It could also mean the end of the line for Alex English and Mike Evans. We will have to see.

The other thing that you can almost guarantee is that Carlos Delfino will be bringing sexy back to Toronto next season. Colangelo almost talked about Carlos as a part of the existing member of the Raptor roster. Which technically he is as the Raptors still hold his restricted free agent rights. It seemed very clear that he will be returning. He even made reference to a conversation he had with Jose Calderon about what was missing without Delfino this season. He suggested that Delfino was part of the grit that he admitted was lacking in this roster.

In fact he said flat out that he felt this team as a whole was to nice. He said that he will address that in some way. Perhaps if Shawn Marion does not return Ron Artest would add that tough attitude that Colangelo is said to be searching for. I am saying that of course Bryan could not say anything close to that cause that would be tampering. He said of Marion that he would like for him to return but it will be a case of the market determining if that will be possible. However he suggested there is always the option of a sign and trade that can be explored with Shawn Marion and his agent.

As for the draft. Colangelo suggested that not only the Raptors will more than likely keep their pick he is in the market shopping for perhaps another first round pick. That is something that should make people happy who are looking for the Raptors to get some help. It seems Colangelo would not be opposed to looking at a point guard and a swing man on his draft wish list. He clearly stated that there is really only one sure thing in this draft which would mean Blake Griffin. However he pointed out that even if the Raptors remain at where they sit you can find some good players. He mentioned his own picks of Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudamire as well as the selection of Paul Pierce at 10 for the Celtics.

He kept saying a few things. That he feels the core of this team is solid with Bargnani Bosh and Calderon. However he would not go as far as to say the core will remain. But he said it was likely it would. He said that he could not publicly say that he opposed to Jose Calderon playing for Spain. However he did about everything but saying that it would not be is Jose's best interest to do so for him and his career. He also talked about Roko Ukic and how they were hopeful about his development but suggested that team may look to address the issue in the off-season. He compare the Raptors situation to that of Boston at the point guard position. Rajon Rondo if he went down they did not have many options. He failed to even mention Stephon Marbury in talking about it. That may speak to his feelings on Marbury or the lack of performance by him. But it seemed clear he would not be opposed to adding to the depth at the point guard position. He also failed to mention Marcus Banks at all. So that may suggest that a buy out of that contract could be in the mix for the Raps? It may be the case. It seems unlikely the Raptors would carry 4 point guards.

Steve Nash was also mentioned with out being mentioned. Colangelo would not rule out the option of a Nash. He of course did not refer to him by name but did say that a veteran to mentor Ukic was one way the Raptors could go. They were talking in 2010 in this conversation however I am convinced that the conversation about Nash may happen sooner than that. I have said it for along time. When you consider all the things in play it points to Nash. Triano set to return as the head coach, Shawn Marion an option the Raptors want to explore. It all points to Steve Nash. You also have the whole Bosh drama to deal with. Yes there was talk of that as well.

Chris Bosh is still the cornerstone of this franchise. That is what Colangelo said. He said that he is not looking to move Bosh. He said that Bosh and him had a good conversation but did not talk about the future. He seemed that he was not concerned in having to move Bosh. He flat out said that he was not going to be pressured into moving Bosh for the sake of moving him. He said the only way Bosh would move is if it was a deal that would make the team better. In referencing him as a top 10 player in the league it would seem that would have to be a heck of a deal. He pointed out the fact that Raptors have the advantages of being able to sign him to a max deal and even could do that as part of a sign and trade should Bosh decide to play out his current contract. There is a window in which Bosh could sign a 3 year extension but that seems very unlikely. The bottom line of it all is Colangelo did not seem in any hurry to be moving Chris Bosh. So while Stephen A Smith is looking to get back on T.V can someone please let him know that.

It was a Colangelo that was clearly frustrated by the team and it's performance. However he feels that the team is not as far away as everyone in the media and the fan base may think. He was as confident as ever. He was asked if it upset him that people were being very hard on his job performance. He said that it did and it fuels him to prove people wrong. I like to hear that. I have some issues with some of the things that he has done. However I still have faith in him and know that he is a guy that hates to lose and there is no way he will sit still. The Raptors will look different next year and Bryan Colangelo seems to think that the road back to the playoffs is going to be a challenge but it is not as far off as some may feel. I think if you like Bryan or you do not you hope that he is right. There is no doubt this will be the most important off-season of his time in Toronto.

Streak Over, Game Over and Season Over!!!

Well I took the weekend off from the blog because I just needed a break. It has been a long and painful season. The Raptors on Saturday would extend their winning streak to 6 games and eliminate the Knicks from the playoffs officially. The Knicks on Sunday would end the streak and return the favour. So on the day that Baseball season beings the basketball season is done in Toronto. Sure there is 6 games left but now people can all be on the same page and start to talk about what is wrong with this team and move forward. I have not let this 6 game win streak cloud my judgement of what happened the rest of this season. Jose Calderon was excellent during that streak but I am not convinced like some that this was proof that Calderon will be great and this season was a write off. I do understand this was the worst possible case of how thing could have went wrong this year. However a 6 game win streak that featured 2 quality wins out of 6 is not going to do it.

Perhaps you can see Calderon build off this next season and build off this in some way. Truthfully Calderon has had to change and adjust his game more than anyone with Jay Triano and the team changing it's direction drastically on offense. It is becoming clear that the system and likely Triano with it will be remaining. So Calderon is going to have to continue to grow and learn it. He is basically having to unlearn a lot of things he has grown up with in basketball. I think the most impressive thing to me in all of this in Calderon's play down the stretch is his defensive effort. It is absolutely key for Calderon to continue this effort and improve his defense. If he does not and remains the starting point guard of this team they will never improve on defense without that. I am not looking for Chris Paul defense out of Calderon. I will be happy with just average defense and an effort above average. Next season will tell us a lot about Jose Calderon one way or the other.

I think that Calderon and Bargnani can be safe in thinking they will return. Beyond that it is an open for debate question. The biggest question is the one of Bosh. If anyone out there thinks the Raptors are better off with no Chris Bosh that is just not true. Least in the short term it is not. It is a challenge to win a championship with a team build around a power forward. It is a position that needs help to succeed. Bosh and his success in a lot of ways gets tied to how well this team around him can play. That is really what will be the question that needs to be answered. Does Bosh have the faith in Colangelo to bring in the players around him to have the kind of success. Colangelo as far as this season goes seeing as it is opening day in baseball it seems fitting to say he struck out. Can he step up to the plate this off-season and deliver and does Bosh believe in that enough to say to Bryan that he will be here for the long term. It is going to be a hard thing to do. The temptation of playing with a James or a Wade may be to much to over come for Colangelo to convince Bosh. I think it is safe to say Lebron or Wade are not coming to Toronto in 2010. So can Colangelo paint a picture that does not include those 2 players that Bosh can believe will lead to him being successful. 30 million dollars to offer is something but if Bosh is the guy he has said he is that will not be the only factor. Bosh says he wants to win and the amount of money he can get would not factor into that if that is truly goal number 1 for him. Hard to say what will happen but it will be an off-season that will be defined by a meeting that Colangelo and Bosh have when this season officially ends. The outlook and direction of this off-season will be defined by that.

Shawn Marion time in Toronto may now be done. I would say the odds of him returning would seem unlikely to me. I have said it in the blog before. If you are going to take a huge pay cut are you not more likely to consider going to a team that is a contender? If Shawn Marion is going to end up with a deal at the mid level exception it seems hard to believe he does that in Toronto unless it was part of a sign and trade. The fact he has a relationship with Bryan Colangelo makes that a more likely thing.

Colangelo has a plan though make no mistake about that. The trade to get Marion was made to set up this off season ahead. Colangelo saw this day coming with his team not heading towards the playoffs. That is why he made the Marion deal. The Raptors could make a splash this off season in free agency if they want to as one of the few teams with money to spend that they are likely willing to spend. Marion is one of a number of names that will be out there. Ron Artest, Allen Iverson and Carlos Boozer among the list of names.

Lots of time to talk about all of this. I don't think I have mentioned this in the blog before. However prior to this season I had a sick feeling in my stomach about the Raps chances. I convinced myself that I was upset that T.J had been traded and I was not seeing things clearly as a result. If this season has taught me anything at all it is to go with my gut. Will that mean I am always right on everything? Likely not. It may mean that people disagree with me. That is o.k as well. However we can agree to disagree and still all have the same goal of wanting what is best for this team. Some of things that have been being said about a Triano return and Calderon now be back to an All Star level player are not things I am a believer in. But I always say it that I am happy to be wrong if it means the Raptors will be better for it. There may only be 6 games left to deal with Joey Graham. I always think it is funny that everyone talks about if the Raptors should bring Joey back. Joey will have some say in that as restricted free agent. Does he even want to be back? That is another question for another day. We have a long time to talk about it all. No Playoffs and ping pong balls are on the late April menu. Unlike a Wrestlemania you can not script an off-season. But for now in T.O it is truly NOT all about the Game. Least not for this year.

Excuses, Spin and Ping Pong Balls...Oh My

This might be a wet blanket on what was a great win for the Raptors against the Magic. However the Cavs lost to the Wizards last night. Is anyone saying that the Wizards have finally got it? Is there talk that their interim coach will return next year? That being said the Wizards actually have Gilbert Arenas back and he had 11 points and 10 assists. You have to wonder why the heck Arenas is playing in these games down the stretch for the Wizards. But the point is the Cavs should crush Wizards with or without Gilbert. So the Raptors win over the Magic could be considered a bump in the road and the fact the Raps actually split with the Magic on the season a strange thing. Not unlike how the Bobcats always seem to have the Lakers number. The Raptors winning 5 in a row is nothing to get that excited about though. It has just allowed people to try to put a positive spin on an ugly season but I am not buying in. Raptors are already starting drop in the lottery standings. They passed the Knicks who have been in a free fall of late. A few weeks ago the Knicks still have a outside shot at the playoffs. Those days are long gone. But if the Raptors keep winning there are other teams like the Pacers, Bucks and others they could pass and decrease their odds in the lottery. I am not a big fan of cheering for a team to lose. However when you consider that this team is more than likely going to get a huge overhaul in the off-season, it is not like the Raptors can build off this heading into next season really.

It is becoming increasing likely that Jay Triano will remain and that is shocking for most fans. When you listen lately though a lot of folks are drinking the Kool Aid about Triano. I am not among them. This win streak at the end of the year should not impact on how you feel about Jay. He took over a team that was 1 game below .500 and that would be likely good enough to make the playoffs. No need to list all the excuses as to why Triano has been let off the hook by most of the media and Bryan Colangelo. Injuries, a major trade and a new system. I get all of that. However despite all of that Jay Triano is part of the organization and has been part of the culture of this team. I think that is not a good thing. Raptors need someone that will have a new prospective and push this team to perform when it matters. I just think this team needs a new prospective from someone who is an outsider. Someone who is not committed to pushing that Jose Calderon is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Someone that has not watched Chris Bosh grow to the point he is at. Someone that can come in and shake up this team. Triano through no fault of his own can not offer any of that. If he had been successful I would not feel this is required. However he has not been. I am a huge supporter of anything Canadian and that includes Jay. However I am not willing to ignore his record and because he is Canadian just look the other way. I just can't do it as much as part of me would really like to do it. I hope if Jay remains he can prove me wrong. However I am not feeling optimistic that he can.

I would thing that part of the sell job in keeping Triano will be a re-tooling of the coaching staff. That could see both Alex English and Mike Evans shown the door. That would leave a spot open to bring in Mark Ivaroni as the lead assistant and perhaps coach in waiting if Triano fails. It has long been rumoured that Colangelo is a big supporter of Ivaroni and if Ivaroni is not able to find a head coaching job this would be the next best thing. Given what he did in Memphis I am guessing the people will not be pounding on his door to offer him a head coaching job. He was in town already under the guides of being a consultant. Ironically the Raptors started winning. I am not sure if that means anything at all other than it is ironic.

On of the things I admired about Sam Mitchell was he would never allow anyone on his clubs to use injuries as an excuse. Yet since his departure it has been excuses of injuries and lots of other ones that have been made to justify a horrible season. There is no excuses that I will accept. Jose Calderon has been playing through injury through out the season and people say now he is healthy and that is the real Jose we see now. Here is also the real Jose that he played through an injury that he should not have. It was a bad choice by him and this team. It made his injury worse and it cost this team. I can hear people screaming at me for that. However I am not blaming Jose totally for this in fact he is not the major person I blame on this issue. Bryan Colangelo is the one I blame. He failed to address the back-up point guard position and that leads to all the issues at least in part. Calderon was over used and coming off an Olympics that he was injured in as well. To enter this season expecting Will Solomon and Roko Ukic to be the back-up for a guy in his first year as a starter coming off an injury was a major blunder. In fact main will point to the Jermaine O'Neal trade as the biggest mistake Colangelo made this season. No doubt it was a bust of a move. However the lack of a true legit back-up point guard was just as big a mistake for this team. Jose Calderon despite how some view him is not immortal and not able to leap buildings in a single bound. He can dunk a basketball though...who knew? Colangelo gambled far to much on Calderon and it cost him greatly. People will pump up Jose as this all-star in waiting heading into next season and I remain unconvinced of that. He is a good to great point guard that has skills. That being said he is not a stand alone play 35-40 minutes guy. So is Roko ready next season to fill that role as back up? If not Colangelo needs to find a legit point guard to play behind Jose. That is assuming that Calderon is back which is likely a safe bet as well. That being said the Suns not making the playoffs could present an option to have Steve Nash be moved. Colangelo no doubt will have some interest in that. You would think. Jose Calderon is not as good as Steve Nash and likely never will be. But Nash only has a few years left in the tank. It would be an interesting choice if it ends up on Colangelo's desk.

You also have the future of Bosh that will be determined. If he is traded this team clearly will be totally different and likely not for the better in the short term. The fact Bosh made a comment on the future of Jay Triano is a bit of a sign that Bosh expects to be back next year perhaps. However if he is not in it for the long haul it would seem highly unlikely that he will remain. Colangelo without a long term agreement with Bosh at least in principal if not in writing it would not seem likely that Colangelo would not move him. In fact it would be insane for him to do that.

You also have lots of other questions on this roster. Shawn Marion at the top of that list. Do the Raptors want to keep him? But more importantly does he even want to stay at all. The pay cut for Marion is going to be large and you would think that if he is going to take that hit he would rather do that on a contender. However the Raptors will have money to spend. At the very least a sign and trade for Marion is a likely outcome that could happen. Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu as well as a returning Carlos Delfino(??) would all be restricted free agents as well. Pops seems a lock to be back if the Raptors can get him on a reasonable deal. Colangelo said he would be interested in bringing back Delfino as well. Joey Graham of the 3 is likely the odd man out. That will disappoint the Joey Graham fan base but it likely makes the best sense. Anthony Parker has expressed he is willing to stay in Toronto. However do the Raptors want him to remain? Should they? Great guy that A.P is the answer seems likely no. He is a free agent and could go where ever he likes. Unlike Marion he would not command the dollars that would make a sign and trade an option with him.

The worst case scenario for the Raptors is that they take to much from this late season push and think it means something. This team needs change. Colangelo is smart enough to know that and I hope will be at his best this off season. It is clear he will need to be. The returning of Jay Triano is far less of a concern the more new faces he would see at his first training camp. If he returns it could be a sign that major change to the roster is on the way. Even if the Raps roll off 6,7 and dare I say 8 wins in a row it will not change anything. It will just give fuel for supporters of a Triano return and offer excuses for the people that choose to make excuses for this team. There is not excuse that can explain this season away. There just isn't.

4 In A Row...Oh No!!!

The Raptors are playing basketball at a high level of late....kinda. They have won 4 in a row and 5 of last 7. The most impressive of that was the win yesterday versus the Bulls. It was a game that was much like a lot of others we have seen through out the season. The difference is after blowing a large lead and being pushed to overtime the Raptors did not fold. They won the game. Jose Calderon tied a record for assists in a single game. Shawn Marion has come to life in last few games as well. I admit because of work commitments for The Score I only caught the end of this game.

Recap- Bulls/Raps
Bulls/Raps Boxscore

That being said every win for the Raptors down this stretch run really means less ping pong balls and that is about all. I don't think anyone thinks the team we see on the floor will be back together next year. However it would seem that Jay Triano just might be and I don't know if I am cool with that. I understand that there are lots of reasons you can give for why Jay Triano can not be held responsible for things. He never had a training camp, the team made a major trade and had a major shift in the way they play. All that being said it really doesn't matter to me. Jay has been a loyal employee of the Raptors for years as an assistant. However this team needs someone that has not been around to shake this thing up. I just can't see how you as Bryan Colangelo can stand up there and say Jay Triano is the coach of the Toronto Raptors for 2009/2010. This latest winning streak is not reason to keep Jay around. When you look at the possibilities out there for coaches there are a lot of candidates that I would be interested in having a look at. The top of my list is Eddie Jordan. I find it hard to believe that if you conduct a full search and look for a new head coach at the end of that you say Jay Triano is the best candidate.

Every since that off court non-sense had hit the public Chris Bosh has been playing like the old CB4. Is that a shock? Not for me. The basketball court can be a place for Bosh to just focus on the game. The fact that people now understand what has been on Chris Bosh's head all year you can see why things have been the way they have for him. If Jose Calderon can get a pass from a lot of folks for being injured and not 100% physically. You would have to give Bosh that same pass for despite what anyone says not being 100% right mentally. Who can blame him.

When it comes to Calderon I really am not sure what to think anymore. I just do not know what the deal is with him. It was mentioned above the injuries. You could say that if you are a Calderon fan that he has just not been healthy all year and now you are seeing the true Jose Calderon. That could indeed be true. However I am just not sure if the answer is as simple as all of that. I guess when all is said and done the answer will be found next season. I can not imagine the Raptors will agree with me and decide to trade Calderon. However if they were going to and he finishes the season strong you could certainly get some value for him. That same sales pitch that is being made Calderon fans and the organization to trade him. Would Steve Kerr buy that? He was convinced that Shaq had life left in him so I am thinking selling a Jose Calderon would be a much easier sell. I still believe that Steve Nash even at his advanced age is a better option for the Raptors in the short term for the Raptors. I also think he can turn Roko Ukic into a solid option for the long term. You are already starting to see signs in Roko that he could be much better moving forward. But why waste time talking about it the Raptors are not going to do it. I just can't imagine it happening.

So down this stretch run it is hard to say what it is made of what happens. However not matter what does it does not change anything about this team other than where they could select in the draft. Less ping pong balls and all of that. The key for everyone from fans to Bryan Colangelo it is important to remember the 65 plus games that came before this little run at the end of the season. The Raptors will face two really good basketball teams down the stretch in the Magic and Hawks. Do not get fooled by what you see down the stretch. This team is the team there record says they are and that is a team that is not good enough.

Part of me wants to be excited and enjoy the Raptors finally playing well. But I just can't let myself do it. If this team was in a playoff run the entire blog would likely be written about the TSN2 mess. That is because 2 of the next 3 games wind up on the deuce. So even if you have got excited about this run by the Raptors you will be forced to find TSN 2 by any means necessary to continue to watch. It has been the other thing that has endured through this lousy season and it is annoying and frustrating. I have talked about it a ton of times and really have nothing new to add about it. However the reaction of Richard Peddie said it all to me. I wrote a whole blog about it and you can look it up if you missed it with the search engine over on the right. There just really is no way to create a happy ending to this lousy season.

Raptors Rewind- Same Old Song Game Notes.

I really did not have to watch this one and thanks to TSN 2 they made that pretty easy. I am tired of trying to do it while watching feeds off the net. So we will make this a Game Notes edition. Given the Results of this one it is not like we will find anything earth shaking in it. Here is the Coles Notes Version Raptors a strong start. They fade in the second. Come back in the 3rd and run out of gas in the 4th and lose but 10 point which was not reflective of the true score. But for those of you that crave details no problem I will do my bang up job in game notes fashion.

1st Quarter

• Bosh opens with a jumper at top of lane.
• 2 for 2 for Bosh from top of key
• Yao opens scoring for Rockets
• Andrea with the mid range jumper
• Bosh take a 3 pointer and he really needs to chill with that shot he missed it
• Yao missed an easy one 1-4 start
• Bargnani can make that 3 ball and he does
• Bargnani drive kick to open Bosh in corner nice play as Bosh nails jumper
• Steal and score for Rockets
• The Bosh and Bargnani show continues Bosh with a score Bargnani with a block
• Andrea not done drives for a score.
• Steal for Jose, 3 pointer for Bargnani but he picks up second foul
• Brooks draws foul on Parker
• Louis scores, Bosh answers
• Landry the jumper and he had all day.
• Joey G a couple misses
• Scola scores.
• Calderon makes a jumper.
  
• Combined 24 for Bosh and Bargnani in first.
• Raps lead after 1 with score 26-20

2nd Quarter

• Yao Ming opens second with a score.
  
• Kapono makes a runner
• Andrea picks up 3rd foul early in the second
• Houston closes gap to down 3
• Shawn Marion with a basket back from sick bay
• Yao offensive board and dunk Rockets lead 34-33
• Raps shooting gone cold 3-9 in quarter to this point
• No drives all jumpers and not falling.
• Houston abusing Raptors on inside and it has Houston on 14-2 run
• Von Wafer with a runner, Dunk after that and run is 18-4 (Houston leads 42-35)
• Marion kicks to Joey G and makes a corner jumper
• Graham drives and draws foul
• Bosh makes another jumper
• Offensive rebound leads to Artest 3 ball
• Bosh drive and Landry the block.
• Scola battles on glass and is rewarded with 2
• Landry takes a drop off for a dunk
• Joey G drives and misses but Marion cleans it up
• Bosh miss on fad away Marion Offensive board and score
• Ron Ron for 3
• Rockets 57 Raps 49 at the Half

3rd Quarter

• Deep 3 for Shane B and it missed everything
• Calderon a miss for 3.
• Marion the quirky runner in the lane
• Bosh a defensive stop
• Bosh finds Parker in the corner for 3
• Bargnani a 3 ball ties the score as Raps open on an 8-0 run
• Brooks makes a 3 pointer.
• Bargnani makes it back to back 3's
• Ron Artest the long 2 and me makes it
• Bosh loving his J and making more than he is missing.
• Yao Ming bit shaken but not stirred.
• Calderon another miss from 3 he is just 2-5 in the game but 11 dimes.
• Bosh a score and Raptors have a lead
• Bargnani great defense stand with 2 blocks
• Scola scores easy lay up of the break.
  
• Raptor rare second chance with Bosh Offensive Rebound leads To Marion Alley Opp Jam
• Scola with another score.
  
• Graham drive and a miss
• Parker missed on a pull up J
• Kapono finally hits a shot he is 1-5 on night
• Bargnani drive and goaltending is called as his shot was heading down
• But Houston is up 5 with score 77-72

4th Quarter

• Kapono a miss JK is awful
• Houston opens scoring and Roko answer the basket
• Offensive foul on Graham and turnover
• Return of Yao for first time in the quarter.
• Lowery with a sweet dunk and one
• Yao going off as part of a Houston run
• Kapono makes a 3 pointer...Seriously he did
• Calderon a long mid range jumper on Marion feed
• Marion on break off turnover misses and Calderon cleans it up.
• Bosh miss and Ming was on him challenging the shot.
• Bosh down and out and Houston takes advantage of 5 on 4 powerplay making a 3.
• Bosh hit the deck again. He was labouring
• Von Wafer makes it back to back 3's
• Raps get another second chance and Marion gets a bucket.
• Wafer with the drive and score.
  
• Bargnani the 2 point jumper
• Kapono is back to missing as he jacked a 3 pointer.
• Calderon makes a jumper on the move.
  
• Landry the basket plus the foul.
• Bargnani makes a jumper and Jose gets his 16th assist and Bargnani has 25.
• Marion a dunk but would not matter
• The Final Score is Houston 107 Raptors 97

So once again the Raptors are lack the D. Lacking the finish and just not good enough to win. The Stat sheet looks very nice for a lot of guys. But it did not translate into a win and that is all that matters in the end. It is beyond frustrating. However it is sadly what we have come to expect from this basketball team.

Box Score Raps/Rockets

Raps limp home to face Miami on Friday.

Raptors Rewind- High Speed Edition

You can take the title for however you like. Was it a comment on the pace this game is going to be played at? Maybe. It also could be a comment on how you would need to view it. Yes once again the game has been held hostage on TSN 2. I am really out of jokes, out of patience and convinced that no one in this stupid dispute cares about me and the feeling is mutual on my part. So we have a basketball game to cover. If I wanted to make a point I guess I could to a re-cap of the Stampede game which you can also see via the internet. However that is just me doing the same thing. So as always the Dino Nation Blog will do the best possible to cover the game for you. This has been such an awful season one of the worst I can remember. The fact Steve Nash will not play in this game gives me no confidence it will matter. It should but the way this team has been who knows. There have been good signs as both Bargnani and Bosh had great games. It still is laughable to me that Raptors are only 4.5 games back. I am not saying I have changed my mind about the playoffs. I have not but that being said the East really stinks at the bottom. Prior to this game starting I was watching the Wizards and the Bulls. The Bulls sit in 9th place. The President of the United States comes the cheer them on and they come out flat as a pancake on Tuesday. As for Obama he is great. Not in a private box. He was right down on the floor. They delayed the start to await his arrival. That is something. Anyway Suns and Raps heading your way I only have one prediction for this game. What is that? Defense will be a rumour because you will not find an evidence of it here.

1st Quarter

So the Suns win the tip and go to match-up of Bargnani on Shaq. Smart move and easy 2 points. Raps would get a score and Shaq would look to score again and fumble it. What looked to be a shot clock violation and it would end up a jump ball. It was won by Suns and lead to a Shaq dunk. Bosh would respond with a jumper. Barbosa and Bargnani exchange baskets. Shaq attack in full effect making another basket but could not make the foul shot. Raptors have no answer for the many with more nicknames than I can remember. He also has the best Twitter out there The Real Shaq. Shawn Marion and Jose Calderon are not on Twitter to the best of my knowledge but that had back to back baskets.

Raptors would take a 13-12 lead thanks to Bargnani. But Shaq would return after a short rest and he would take advantage again. This was a vintage performance by the big man and Jay Triano had not answer as Jake Voskhul was no better a match up than Bargnani was. The Suns had a 28-23 lead Shaq had 12 points already. Bosh was off to a good start with 8 points. However the storyline of this game seems to be how can the Raptors stop the Big Cactus. Shawn Marion would make a nice floater in the the lane. But Dudley would score. Dudley was acquired as part of the deal that brought Jason Richardson to the Suns. Matt Barnes would get a basket and was fouled by Jake Voskhul. That was Jake's 4th foul in 4 minutes. I mean that is just unreal. Andrea Bargnani got fouled and made a couple from the line. Jason Kapono would make a bucket. Patrick O'Bryant was in with Voskhul gone. He fouled Dudley who made a pair from the line. Bargnani missed one of two from the line. Suns would add a basket and lead by 7 with score 37-30 after one. Nothing looking good for the guys in the alternate blacks. Yes they were scoring but the defense was totally non existent unless you count fouling as defense. If that is true Jake Voskhul is playing GREAT D.

2nd Quarter

Parker opens the second with a 3 pointer from his sweet spot in the corner. Suns respond with an alley opp play for 2. Bosh made a pair from the line. Bargnani with the drive and some lucky gets the basket plus a foul. He would make that and The Raptors had cut the lead to just 1 point. Suns respond with a basket but Bosh would answer that score and the lead would remain at one. Bosh would be fouled and he would have a chance to tie it as Shaq was ready to check back in. Actually it was non shooting but no matter Bosh buries the jumper and were are tied at 42.

Jason Kapono would make a mid range jumper and Raptors were back in front. Raptors had started the quarter outscoring the Suns 14-5. We had a Suns feed of the game and a guy made a half court shot that he made under handed. He won $77,777. Shaq makes that per game I believe and he got a score after the excitement during the time out. Grant Hill beats Kapono and scores with an and 1 foul shot. Suns back in front 47-44. The Raptors would pull back to with in one. But Shaq would score and Bosh would foul him. Shaq would have the rare convert of a 3 point scoring chance. Suns were back in front and if Raptors couldn't stop Shaq it was a safe bet they could stay there. Shaq continued to abuse a defenseless Bosh with a slam. Bosh already had 2 fouls and did not want to pick up a 3rd. Marion has a score the other way and Raptors were hanging around down 2 points. However back to Shaq and he had 23. Jose Calderon would answer. Suns were diving all over the place including Shaq and they were doing the little things that team do that need a win. It was that hustle that would lead them on a 6-0 run to take an 8 point lead. Barbosa had a drive and score and Suns had largest lead of the night at 10 points with score 64-54. Suns would get it up to a dozen until Bargnani would hit a 3 pointer to cut the lead to 9. Shawn Marion a basket, a steal leading to a Parker basket. The Raptors would end up with an 11-0 run. Raptors defense was awful but the Suns were equally as defenseless. This was ABA like with score 68-67 Suns at the half.

3rd Quarter

Raptors would take the lead only to see more of what they saw in first half with Shaq scoring. Bargnani stepped inside and made a lone 2 pointer. Calderon would make a jumper and the Raptors lead 73-70. Grant Hill would score. Only to have Bosh answer at the other end. Raptors offense has been re-born. Bosh would split a pair a the line. Grant Hill would pass it into Shaq and he would score. Hill had 9 assists and Shaq had a massive total of points. Shawn Marion would give the Raptors lead back after Suns had tied it at 76. But more Shaq and it was tied at 78. The big man had 29. Marion had 18 for the Raptors and Bosh had 16 and Bargnani 18. Could the Raptors 3 be able to counter the Big Old School Superman? Well Bosh would pick up his 4th foul and that would not help things. Shaq would score again and head to the line. He made the free throw and had 32 and the Suns lead 81-80. Jason Kapono would respond with a 2 point jumper. Barbosa back the other way and the Suns lead was 83-82. Shawn Marion was having a night in front of his former fans. He would make another basket and had 22 points to lead the Raptors.

Raptors lead it 84-83. But Suns would score out of time out. But A.P would make a corner 3 pointer. Raptors lead it 87-85. Grant Hill ties it up at 87. A Marion miss in the lane lead to another Hill basket the other way and he was fouled by Jake Voskhul who had now 5 fouls in 6 minutes. So Hill's five straight gave the Suns a 90-87 lead. A steal would lead to a dunk for the Suns and a 5 point lead. A Bargnani travel and Raptors may have got into a fight that they can't win. Naturally Jason Kapono makes a 3 pointer to make me look bad. Suns would get a score and Grant Hill was looking for another and got called for the offensive push off. But Matt Barnes would eventual get to the line and make 2 shots. Ukic would drive and score the Raptors were down 4. The score after 3 was larger than a lot of final scores you'll see in the NBA. Suns 96 and Raptors 92. If you like offense this is the game for you.

4th Quarter

The Suns got a basket plus a foul from Amundson. But Andrea Bargnani answers with a 3 pointer and as it was stated off the top if you expected defense in this game you would be sad with this game. Suns were starting to pull away with a 7-0 run that would have a Jason Richardson 3 pointer have the Raptors looking for a time out. Bosh would find Marion out of the time out for a dunk. However Amundson would score again he was 7-7 and had 15 points. Marion was fouled but missed his first and made his second. Matt Barnes would score and the Suns were pulling away up by 12 with score 110-98.

Calderon would get fouled and head to the line where he has missed only twice all year. No logger jinx he made both and it was 110-100. Suns just give it to Shaq why not. The big man would score again and had 38 points his career high with the Suns. It was 116-110. Shaq would foul Calderon and that was an easy 2 points for Jose from the line. Shaq with a dunk and he has 40 points and the Suns were just to much for the Raptors. He scored again and he had 42 and the lead was 120-102. The Raptors tank was on empty and it was showing as it was 122-104 as Shaq was fouled and Bargnani had fouled out. Bargnani had 21 points and 6 rebounds on the night. Shaq meanwhile has 44 points with a rare 2-2 effort at the line. Shaq was looking for more with an ugly hook it would fall but Jason Richardson had a massive put back. Shaq would get 1 more point before leaving to massive and well deserved cheers with 45 points and 11 rebounds. The Suns would out run the Raptors 133-113. A boxscore with lots of great lines for a lot of folks but none bigger than the man who was the Star of "Blue Chips".

Suns/Raps Boxscore

So the Raptors fall in what may have bee the best chance they had for a win on this road trip. If you consider the Suns played the night before and had no Steve Nash. The Raptors now travel to the lone star state home of CB4 to his home town of Dallas to face the Maverick and a tilt with Yao and the Rockets after that. Given what we saw tonight good luck to the Raptors in stopping Yao. Meanwhile Nathan Jawai made his debut with the Iadho Stampede and 8 points 6 rebounds but had 6 fouls and 4 of them were offensive fouls. The Stampede lost to Utah. Idaho will play the same Utah team tomorrow. I will likely check it out and give you an update on Nathan's progress. Former Raptor Luke Jackson is also on the Idaho Stampede. But turning back to the Raptors it is not going to be easy to find a win on this road trip. The offense ran out of gas and the defense well there wasn't any.

The Run and Gun Raptors?

I have calmed down after yet another slap in the face to basketball fans. People are bit encouraged by the Raptors play of late. Shawn Marion in just a few games has had more of an impact than J.O had his brief time here. If Marion had the same term of contract as O'Neal it would really be reason to celebrate. Marion is a legit option on the wing and has helped this team in one of it's weakest areas. The Raptors have been a bad to horrible rebounding team and Marion has helped change that. He has also been part of the offensive make over that Raptors have been attempting to make. Unfortunately it all maybe to little and far to late. Imagine if when we first heard about this trade possibility and it happened at that time. It is logical to conclude the Raptors may have been able to change their short term fate. However, all of that being said, this team had to fight back and beat the T-Wolves and won a game in which the had been soundly embarrassed by the Knicks the game prior. The Suns are having there own issues and fired Terry Porter. The Suns had changed their identity and tried to be more of a half court team. Now they want to go back to the running roots they had under Bryan Colangelo. Based on these facts alone this should be a fun game to watch. Oh but wait where is it on? Well I said that I was not going to talk about that. But I think you can guess and if you need a clue here is one from wrestling. If you not down with that we have TWO words for ya. Suck it!!! Is exactly how I feel about things with that whole matter. What this game will tell us and this entire road trip is if there is any reason to be excited about that Raptors at all heading down the stretch. The Suns, Mavericks and Rockets are all decent Western Conference teams and provide a huge challenge for the Raptors.

To be honest the Raptors comeback was nice and lots of great things including the play of both Bargnani and Bosh. However once they got down a ton to the T-Wolves that was it for me. If the Raptors did that against a quality team there is no way they come back and no way they win. They come out with any kind of performance like that in the next 5 games they are toast. It is as simple as that. I guess if I had confidence that Shawn Marion was here for the long term I would be more optimistic about what I am seeing. Bryan Colangelo says or suggests that he is going to look long and hard and keeping Marion. It is not like Shawn does not like Toronto as well. I knew that heading into this deal. However is there not a team a lot closer to winning that will want Shawn Marion? Perhaps there is. I guess what it will come down to is money in the end. If Shawn Marion is interested in money the Raptors may have one of the more attractive offers he will find as a free agent. However if cash is not part of the choice and it is about winning I am not confident that Marion will remain. In a pie in the sky best case the Raptors would make the playoffs and lose in the first round. However more realistically they are a lottery team. For a guy that has less time left in his career than what he has played it does not look promising. Also there is the whole issue of Bosh. What is his future and is he going to be around. Marion would need to think that Bosh was going to be here in the long term as well. I don't think he or anyone can know the answer for that one. All the people that think they know say that Bosh is gone. Not exactly inspiring to sign on the dotted line.

That is an issue that Bryan Colangelo will face with everyone he attempts to bring in though. The Bosh question will be one for anyone that considers the Raptors. Irony is a funny thing. Bryan needs to build a team around Bosh to keep him. However the fact he may leave will make that job more difficult. This may all be solved if Bosh were to say he is not coming back. That makes the challenge even greater for Colangelo. For the people that want to push Bosh out the door you need to answer this question. Who comes here to this franchise without him? Andrea Bargnani is not going to have players lined up at your door to play with him. It is not a knock on Andrea it is just the reality. A guy that is just starting to bring his game to a level that is acceptable is not getting any free agents excited. The fact he is European isn't for any North American based players as well. Andrea Bargnani as the face of the Raptor Franchise is not something he is ready for. In fact, the heck with him it is not something I am ready for. Think back to when Bosh was handed the keys to the car from Carter. It took him time to grow into that role. Some who hate on Bosh still question his leadership to this day. Andrea Bargnani who has proven to have a fragile confidence is going to lead this team in a post Bosh Era? Not a chance in hell. At least not now.

Blogger MVP and ROY Rankings

I have missed voting two weeks in row. My bad. I was putting together interviews for you folks so I am sure you won't mind. But I will still post the rankings despite my lack of filling out my ballot. My mind remains unchanged, as I have Lebron James as my MVP and O.J Mayo as my rookie of the year. Here is what the collective group thinks.

MVP and ROY Rankings

So that is about all for today. I am going to be starting to work on a feature for the blog today. It is something I hope you will enjoy. More details on that to come. Hopefully it is something you will find interesting. But that is a wrap for this morning.

Dino Blogger Chats With Eric Smith

Eric Smith stops by for a visit here at the Dino Nation Blog. He has been a big help to the Dino Nation Blog in many ways. The one thing that is obvious is when he pops by to visit and talk with us here. It is always great to have Eric as a guest and I am always happy to have him visit. Today's chat was interesting. Thoughts on Raptors win this past Sunday, Chris Bosh, Shawn Marion, Jay Triano and some other good stuff for you listening pleasure.

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It is great to get Eric's take on things. He is a hard working guy that has done a lot of great work covering the Raptors over the years. I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for Eric. He is always willing to share his thoughts and interact with the fans. I hope he enjoys being a guest here as much as I enjoy having him as one.

Big Nate Speaks

One of the guys I have taken a great interest in on this Raptor Roster is Nathan Jawai. The Dino Nation Blog was one of the first places to tell you about his amazing story and that is something I am proud of. Ryan McNeill over at Hoops Addict had a chance to catch up with Big Nate for a chat. Here is a link to that interview.

Nathan Jawai Interview in Hoops Addict

Dino Blogger In Other Places

Some of you might be aware that I write for a couple magazines beyond just writing the Dino Nation Blog. Here is a link to my latest effort in T.O Sports Magazine. I talk about all that has been going on with the Raptors and it leads me to going back to one of my old dreams or wishes for the Raptors that I just can't seem to let die. I also have an article in the Industry Magazine that talks about Toronto as a future home for All Star Weekend. Eric and a number of others are quoted in that article. When it hits the website I will hook you up with that feature as well.

It maybe a day off on the Raptors schedule but the Dino Blogger is hard at work today. I am going to be doing another interview later today gathering some info on the newest Raptor Patrick O'Bryant. I am going to talk with Scott Roth who is the coach of the Bakersfield Jam in the D-League and coached Patrick there. Hopefully he can give us a look at what type of player he is and what he brings to the Raptors. We may also get into a little bit about the D-League itself and what life is like as coach in that league.

Raptors Rewind- Redemption Song

Bob Marley wrote the reggae classic that titles the rewind today and it talks about much higher level things from basketball. But that being said, the Raptors need to restore some pride and just play with energy and effort. No win will come without those elements being a part of it. Everyone had to feel the sting and pain of Friday's loss to the Knicks. It really requires little set-up from me for this game. If this team can not show up today it really will make a bold statement as to the direction of this team. Even the broadcasters for this team had little idea what to expect. It is the 10th anniversary of the ACC. In the very first game played there Vince Carter made on of those highlight dunks that were common place back then. I have a photo of that dunk that hangs in my bedroom on a plaque. The Knicks have not won at the ACC in 5 years not sure if that matters much. This is going to say a lot about this team today. This is not about getting back in the playoffs it is about who is part of the future and who is not. Late word that Marcus Banks will not be available today. Back trouble is the reason.

1st Quarter

Knicks win the tip and miss but get a second chance and Al Harrington makes a 3 pointer. A steal and Harrington has 5 points before the Raptors can respond. Bosh would get a basket and AP would follow that up with another basket. So it was 5-4 early and that is much better than 9-0. A.P got another and something we never saw at MSG, a Raptors lead. In fact the Raptors would answer the Knicks 5-0 run with an 13-0 run by the men in the white shirts. Everyone was getting in on the action. Chris Duhon would nail a 3 pointer and David Lee got a score plus a foul but he would miss that. Raptors lead trimmed quickly to 13-12.

Bargnani air balled a 3 pointer and that was not a good sign. An easy pass inside to Al Harrington and he scored in the paint. A.P would back it in on Chris Duhon and score it. Raptors were fighting at least early and that was already more from what we saw on Friday. Still the Knicks were getting scores almost as easy as on Friday and that was a concern. A.P had 9 points already and he had 0 in the entire game on Friday. Shawn Marion was having a tough start though. He attempted to back in and score and had two chances and could not. But the Raptors would get back to back baskets to take the lead back. Calderon would make it 3 straight scores with 2 of the last 3 being made by him. Raptors lead 21-16 and Bargnani was fouled and split a pair. Larry Hughes checked in and missed his first attempt as a Knick. Shawn Marion would get a score in transition Raptors had a 24-19 lead and this was a much better effort. It would have been hard to imagine a worse effort though right? Chris Wilcox the other new Knick checked in and he dunked it home right away. But Bargnani after the earlier air ball, he nailed a 3 pointer. Chandler who was big on Friday got things rolling for his Sunday with a spinning move in the lane to score. Nate Robinson gets that swat he had Friday returned to him as Bosh swatted him. But the Knicks would not be discouraged and would erase the Raptor 5 point lead and tie the score at 27 to close out the first quarter.

2nd Quarter

Joey Graham with a driving hook to score to open the quarter. Shawn Marion would follow that up with a score. Roko Ukic makes a 3 pointer and Kapono as well from long range. They storm out to a 10-0 run to start the second quarter. Chris Bosh still look rusty he missed an ally opp feed but Raps would keep possession and he would continue the run with a jumper. Chris Duhon would make a 3 pointer off a Knick offensive rebound to end the Raptors 12-0 run. Score was 39-30 for the Raptors with just under 9 minutes to play. J-Rich made it back to back 3 pointers. Knicks were looking to make it 3 straight from 3 pointland but Chandler would miss. Marion would get the basket on the offensive glass on the other end. Nate Robinson got his first basket of the afternoon. The Knicks had clawed back to down 41-38. Andrea Bargnani would make a big 3 pointer to double the Raptor lead to 6. Duhon would answer for Knicks with a 3 pointer. Raptors lead it 44-41 just past the mid point of the second.

Better ball movement leads to an A.P mid range jumper from the corner. Al Harrington answered that score. Steal for Knicks leads to a Harrington 3 ball in transition. Knicks had tied it up at 46. Andrea Bargnani from the feed by Jose get a basket to put Raptors back up by 2. David Lee is fouled by Bosh and makes 2 from the line and tied again at 48. Knicks missed an easy one and A.P would score in transition. However Al Harrington was hot and he made another 3 pointer to give the Knicks a 51-50 lead. Bargnani was fouled and missed one his first and made his second. All tied again at 51. Marion would toss a ball away and Raptors would turn it over. Larry Hughes an air ball was not exactly making the Raptors pay. Jose would hook up Bargnani for another score. Calderon with 7 dimes in the half to this point and that is a welcome sight on the stat sheet. Raptors lead was just 2 with the score 53-51. Chris Duhon with a drive and score out of a time out. Shawn Marion got an easy score in the paint off a Bargnani feed. Bargnani would keep it for himself the next time and score. Knicks shooting had gone cold. Al Harrington had a break away dunk at the end of the half. But he could not beat the buzzer. So the Raptors lead at the half 57-53 at the half.

3rd Quarter

Bargnani had 16 in the first half. Marion 8 points and 9 rebounds. Bargnani adds to that total to start the 3rd with two more. David Lee missed on 2 attempts on 2 possessions to start the Knicks offense. Marion fired up an air ball. Al Harrington barely caught rim on 3 pointer but Chris Duhon would hit a 3 pointer on a second chance opportunity. Shawn Marion would drive and score. Chris Bosh would hit a jumper and The Raptors lead the Knicks 63-58. Al Harrington just keeps shooting and this time he makes a 3 pointer. That is the way Mike D'Antoni wants his players to play and Harrington is taking full advantage. Calderon would find an open look off a Parker pass for 3 points. Raptors lead it 67-60. Al Harrington would get a drive and score for the Knicks. David Lee got his own rebound on his miss and put it home. Nate Robinson would get hammered by Bargnani and head to the line. He would make both and the Raptor lead of 7 had been reduced to just 1 in quick fashion.

Nate Robinson throws down an alley opp dunk that was more impressive than his entire dunk list at the All-Star game. Raptors finally would answer and take the lead back that they just lost. A.P would score another and he was playing much better today going 7-10 from the field. David Lee was fouled and sent to the line. He would split a pair. A.P was fouled and he also split a pair. Raptors lead is 72-69. Shawn Marion would earn a basket with hustle. Calderon missed a 3 pointer and Marion would get a pass from Bargnani. Joey Graham would make his way to the line. Raptors have built the lead to 6. Knicks would respond with a David Lee basket and he had a double double of 12 and 10. But Raptors got an answer and they would follow up with a Parker basket. He had 22 points and you wonder why A.P can't to this more consistently. However the Raptors will take it and not complain up 8 on the Knicks late in the 3rd quarter. Robinson forced a jumper and missed it. Bosh had his attempt blocked and he is still struggling to get back in the flow. However the Raptors had lots of help to make up for him on this day. A.P is on fire with another jumper. He is 11-14 and has 24 points. Al Harrington could not beat the clock at halftime but to close the 3rd he would making a long 2 point jumper. Raptors still had an 82-74 lead to take to the fourth quarter despite that.

4th Quarter

Knicks shooting only 40% from field. Raptors a solid 51%. Knicks were only in this game thanks to 10 of 19 shooting from behind the arc. Joey Graham with a nice drive and score to open scoring in the 4th. Robinson would rebound his own miss and score on the other end. Al Harrington would make it back to back scores for the Knicks and they were down a half dozen. Chris Wilcox one of the new Knicks had a slam to cut the lead to 4. Jason Kapono answered for the Raptors and they lead 86-80. Kapono would add 3 maore to that as he would find a look from behind the arc. Jefferies would get the score on the feed from the other new Knick Larry Hughes. Marion would hook up CB4 for the basket plus a foul after a timeout on the floor. Bosh despit having a though time scoring had a double double in this game. Bosh would make the free throw and Raptors had a 10 point lead up 92-82.

David Lee would have a reply for the Knicks on the other end. Nate Robinson would get fouled and look to cut more into the lead. He would make both and it was 92-86 for the Raptors. Roko Ukic would get a basket for the Raps. The Knicks had a quick answer. Raptors were still up 94-88 with 6:46 to play. Bargnani was fouled and at the line. He made both and the lead was back to 8 points. Nate Robinson would get a kind roll as his runner would eventually fall. Shawn Marion matched that with a basket for his side. Calderon would make it back to back baskets and deliver the pizza. It was 100-90 for the Raptors. Marion tried to make a steal or block and got poked in the eye. But it was the Knicked heading to the line on a Kapono foul. They would only manage to split a pair. Bargnani would drive and draw a foul and get to the line. He made both and was 7-10 from the line on the day. Nate Robinson would score and make the lead 9 points once again. Shawn Marion working the offensvie glass gets a basket and Raptors lead 104-93 with just 3:43 to go.

Nate Robinson would throw it away. However the Raptors would miss and Al Harrington would score in transition and was fouled and made the 3 point play. Raptors lead was 104-96. A.P would get called for an offensive foul and no one other than the Knicks liked that call despite it being the right call. If things were going better this season you would have confidence the Raptors could close this out. However they have not been so many Raptor fans will hold thier breath down down the stretch. Robinson would drive and score and Knicks were now down just 6 with 2:30 to play. Marion would miss and Chris Duhon had a chance to close it to 4 baut mised. Bosh the rebound and Bargnani would take and make a key 3 pointer. Raptors lead was 107-98 and they now should have this on sealed up. Bargnani would get a big block after a Bosh miss on the other end. Big game for Andrea in this one. Andrea was fouled and at the line making both and that was pretty much it. Couple more free throws and a Robinson lay up would mean nothing. Raptors take it 111-100.

Raptors had 4 players with double doubles. Marion, Bargnani, Bosh and Calderon. Parker the other start had 24 points. This is much more of what fans want to see. I know that I have been saying it and a lot others as well about Shawn Marion being only here for a short time. However watching him play in a few games now I am starting to hope I am wrong just a bit. He has been a lot of what the Raptors need in a lot of areas. I still say the chances of him staying are slim but it sure won't be based on his play. Andrea Bargnani lead the Raptors in scoring with 28 points he had 10 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocks as well. That is the kind of line worth of a former # 1 pick. Does this fix all that went wrong on Friday? Well no it doesn't but does it give reason to hope this team can be fun to watch the rest of the way. That it just may do that. However the Raptors can take some small form of redemption in this boxscore below.

Raps/Knicks Boxscore

Raptors took a deserving beating from everyone after the loss in New York. However let us give them some credit for a great effort on this day. In a season of lots of disappointment the good games often get overshadowed by the doom and gloom of a season gone wrong. This was one of those good games. It may not change much and this team still has almost impossible odds to make the playoffs. However on this day in this individual game they were very good.