Demar Ain't Done

Demar DeRozan moved on to beat Eric Gordon Getting 61% of the vote and this is how he did if you happened to be watching the Olympics and missed it.

(Courtesy of Raptors.com/NBA.com)

As you can see Demar didn't really have to push himself that hard to advance. In those highlights it leaves out the many missed attempts by Eric Gordon. Basically This Dunk Contest was pretty much over after the first dunk. Demar did a V.C like between the legs dunk and honestly made it look easy. Gordon blew like 3 or 4 attempts and that was pretty much it. Demar played it conservative and threw down what for him is a basic dunk and he was off to tonight's dunk off. NBA.Com had the wrong picture above is name for online voting but it didn't matter.

So now we see what Demar truly has in his bag of tricks tonight. Rumour has it he has some sort of Michael Jackson gimmick cooked up. That should play well with a massive crowd at Cowboys Stadium. Demar has never lost a dunk contest on any level and he seems to love and embrace that concept. I have talked with him personally on a couple of occasions and he seems pretty matter a fact about it all. By the way did you notice last night he gave a chest bump to former Raptor Jerome Williams in the front row last night. Demar is in this thing to win it. His approach last night seemed to suggest that. He was not going to show the world his full bag of tricks just yet. Tonight he will bust out the whole package of tricks.

Heir Canada will be born tonight in Dallas. Go Demar Go. Make Raptor fans proud. If you would like to hear/read previous interviews with double d just use our search engine on the right. I have had the chance to talk with Demar 4 or 5 times since training camp in Ottawa when I first met him. He is a very nice young man that as a most times quiet confidence. Although ask him who will win a dunk off between him and Sonny Weems and that confidence will be loud. Both Weems and Jarrett Jack are rumoured to be part of the show tonight assisting Demar in his effort to be Dunk Champion. Unfortunately unless you have TSN2 you are out of luck in watching it. But don't worry video moves fast in this world and you can bet highlights will be up in an instant.

So best of luck to Demar DeRozan and here is hoping we are talking about the 2010 Slam Dunk Champion from your Toronto Raptors tomorrow in Dino Nation Blog.

Dino Blogger Goes To Battle

As I made brief mention of in the blog earlier in the week, I am taking part in a contest for Raptors fans being put on by WhotheMan.com. I talked with Peter Lee who is one of the people that is the founders of the website WhotheMan.com. We talk about what the site is and the contest that they are putting on. You can win Tickets to a Raps game, a signed copy of Chris Bosh's DVD "First Ink" as well as some other things. You can do it all based on being a knowledgeable Raptors fan and not having a case of being camera shy. Many of you are familiar with the T.V show Pros vs Joes on Spike T.V. This for lack of a better term is the sports fan equivalent. I am one of 8 pros that they have selected that will battle it out and on the other side of the bracket could be you. 8 fans will battle as well and at the end you will have 1 pro and 1 fan left standing to do battle. The great news is if you are that fan you will have already won the grand prize regardless of the out come in battling the professional. So it could turn out that I could face one of you in the final. I would be very proud if a reader of the Dino Nation Blog was able to win this thing and get to trade verbal jabs with me. So to talk about the website and the contest and a little basketball I chatted with Peter about his website and the contest.

Starting with Peter Lee (From WhoTheMan.com)

DNB Production

So if you think you have the stuff to Battle me or one of the other "pros" then go on whotheman.com and tell them why. Like I said if this thing ended in a ALL DNB FINAL I would be proud to see that happen. I am going to do my part to try and hold up my end of that. See if you can get in on the fan side and make it happen for you and for the Dino Nation. You will be the one with all the prizes and glory and I will be the guy most happy for you.

Also I am your Host with the Most for Raptors and Heat tonight on The Score.com and Score Mobile's Live Blog of Raptors vs Heat. Scheduled start time is 7pm but I will likely fire it up a little early for you folks. Raps have won 10 of last 11 at home. Should be fun as 5th in the East is up for grabs.

D.D is Out and Snubbed By All Star Weekend

The Toronto Raptors will be without Demar DeRozan tonight vs Miami and @ New York tomorrow at least. Jay Triano in an interview on the Fan 590 this morning confirmed that fact.He also brought to light that Demar already was dealing with a bad ankle and injured the other in practice yesterday. It is to bad because Demar seemed to be turning a corner averaging 10.8 points in his last 6 games. A return date is not known and you can say that Demar is for lack of a better term day to day going forward beyond Thursday.

Demar is set to be in a dunk off with Eric Gordon on All-Star Friday night at halftime of the Rookie vs Sophomore game as well. Hopefully these injuries will not impact on that. DeRozan will have something to prove as he was left of the roster for the Rookies in the game. Gordon will be playing in the game which sets up a rather odd dunk off at the half. Demar had started at the 2 spot for every game this season(Note For Idiots that picked Rookie Team ). I believe the only other player that has started every game at his position is Chris Bosh. Who will get the start at the 2 spot likely would be ether Marco Bellinelli who has been great off the bench. In fact so great you might want to leave him in that roll and start Antonie Wright who would be a better defensive option. Wright as well has been better ever since I slammed him in my mid-term grades here on the blog ironically.

Yesterday we already talked about the added importance of this game. If the Raptors win over the Heat tonight they will leapfrog them into 5th in Eastern Conference standings. It is the front half of a home/road back to back. The Raptors will take on the Knicks who lost by 50 at home to a team the Raptors beat in the Dallas Mavericks. The Knicks had a nice bounce back vs Minnesota to wipe that bad taste out of their mouth.

But back to this Demar DeRozan not being on the Rookie Team. I always thought Demar would win the dunk off with Eric Gordon. Now personally I don't want him to just win I want him to smash Gordon and make it VERY OBVIOUS. In fact to be honest I think Demar would have a decent shot to win the whole thing. If the NBA wanted to motivate the young fella by dissing him in not having him in the Rookie/Sophomore game on Friday night might just do it.

This also sets up a situation in which Gordon having played a half of basketball will not be on a level playing field for this dunk in contest. Making it even more of an odd event. However in Raptor terms they just want Demar to get healthy and continue to improve. He now has some added motivation to finish the season strong and make folks take notice.

The one thing I am confident in is that DeRozan will not be phased by it and will continue working hard at his craft. Kobe Bryant gave the young fella some props when the Lakers rolled through town. However Kobe was not picking the rosters for the teams in the game. All Star Weekend as a whole is becoming more and more of a problem with stupid things like this. Allen Iverson starting for the East isn't right. An Event that I use to love is starting to become a bit of a joke. Lebron James backing out of the Dunk Contest and all of it is just leaving me feeling flat. Chris Bosh you would expect will be added to the East roster when the reserves are announced tomorrow. I think that is about as much a lock as you can get. If he is left off I think Canada should demand an investigation on his behalf.

Update 11:50am- Eric Koreen (National Post) wins the Twtter race with the info that it will be Sonny Weems not Belinelli or Wright getting the start tonight against the Heat. I believe this is Weems first start in the NBA and it seems kind of fitting that he would replace Demar as the 2 players seem to be joined at the hip at times.

Double D Is Back In DNB.

Demar DeRozan has already had some eye popping dunks in his young NBA career. There is some buzz on the Internet to have him compete in the Dunk Contest on All Star Weekend in Dallas. Heck there is even a website with that has a lone mission to "Let Demar Dunk". Demar is one of the first people I got a chance to talk with when I went up to camp in Ottawa. I have tried every time since when I have had access to check in with him and see how things are going. I thought I would ask him if he was aware of all this Internet interest in him being part of the dunk contest in Dallas.

Demar DeRozan-" You know it's big. But lately I haven't paid much attention to it. Everybody keeps bringing it up to me. Just the thought about it is exciting. But I really haven't grasped about everybody wanting me to do it. Probably when it gets closer it will hit me more."

One of the guys Demar was playing with in summer League was Brent Petway, who is a college and D-league dunk champion. Brent was a guest in the Dino Nation Blog back in his time with the Idaho Stampede. He talked about being a student of the whole dunk contest. I asked Demar if he was the same way?

Demar DeRozan-" I was more in high school. Ever since college, I haven't paid as much attention to it. It is still exciting to go back and watch old school dunks. Just try and think of new stuff. I think I am not into as much as I was before."

As far as 2010 goes what are Demar's hopes for the coming year? They are pretty simple.

Demar DeRozan-" Just to come out and have a better second half to the season overall. Just try to come out and make this push for the playoffs."

Sonny Weems and Demar DeRozan have become close friends and the joking between the two can be funny. If you follow both of them on Twitter they spend a lot of time together off the floor. The two have talked smack in a friendly way on who actually is the better dunker of the two. So I asked Demar who would win if the two faced off. Demar was more than happy to offer his two cents on the topic.

Demar DeRozan-" I would punish Sonny Weems in a dunk contest. Quote me on that."

Which of course we have. When I asked Sonny for a reply he said the following.

Sonny Weems- " Ask anyone in this locker room they all know I would win"

Anyone except Demar I guess. Did not take a straw poll of Raptors Locker room to solve this. In talking seriously with Sonny he was happy to have the fans support. He has gone from a guy that few knew in a trade in summer to a part of this rotation. He said he feels blessed to have the opportunity he has had and that he can provide for his family. Demar and Sonny along with Amir Johnson have been tagged as the Young Guns and all 3 have made an impact in the 2009 half of the season. Looking to keep it rolling in 2010. Who knows if Demar will get in this Dunk Contest this year but in having had the chance to watch him in practice and games he has the hops that someday make you believe he will be there eventually.

These guys are having fun and loving life but also have learned to work hard and keep their eyes on the prize of helping get this team to the playoffs. They have all carved out fans in the larger group of Raptor fan base. Playing Hard and having fun as you do it seems to be the motto of this group. Demar has got praise from the beginning on how much work he is doing to make himself into the best possible player he can be. Some nights it does not go so well but there are moments and flashes that you see that make you smile when you think of what the future might be. I have always found Demar to be a nice young man and always focused on doing what he can to get better. He in some ways reminds me of a young Chris Bosh. A bit on the shy side but learning more and more and building confidence in front of a mic and on the floor.

All the best to Demar in 2010 on growing into the player he wants to be.