Raptors Show Some Fight But Lose On Points.

The Toronto Raptors had about as much chance of winning this game as Tim Tebow has in beating Tom Brady. But while Tebow is currently on the way to being crushed by Brady. The Raptors in Chicago had a lot more fight than one might have expected coming in. But in the end the Bulls would come out on top of things but it was an interesting ride to get there.

Demar DeRozan got off to a good start with 6 of the Raptors first 8 points. Amir Johnson did not as he was sitting on the bench just over 3 minutes into this one. He had a foul on the opening possession than picked up his second with 8:49 to go in the 1st. Bulls had a 12-8 lead after DeRozan's third score but would then go on a run and push the lead to 21-8. This prompted Dwane Casey to call a time out and change his approach on defence. The Raptors went zone and it worked really well. Derrick Rose could no longer pick apart Jose Calderon. The Bulls struggled to find any offence at all. James Johnson was having a solid two way performance against his former team. He along with Leandro Barbosa were leading a wave of scoring from the bench. The Bulls 24-13 lead after one, was being chipped away as they had empty possession after empty possession. In fact the Raptors were able to get the lead 35-33 with about 1:30 to play in the half. That was the first time they had led in the game since it was 4-2 Raps in the early moments. Toronto would reverse the 24-13 advantage in the 2nd as they outscored the Bulls by the exact same margin for a offensively challenged 37-37 halftime score.

Raptors came out in the 3rd and continued on with zone defence with a more traditional looking 2-3 zone. Bulls would nose out ahead by 5 points but a DeRozan 3 pointer would bring the Raptors back to level at 44 a piece. It was a scrappy 3rd quarter as both teams had their issues getting the ball in the basket. The Bulls would again push out to a five point bulge and would end up with just a 4 point lead after 3 with score just 56-52. Some more bad news on the injury front for Toronto as James Johnson was out with a twisted ankle and after reports he may return, as it ended up he would not. The Bulls came out of the blocks in the 4th and quickly built their advantage to 11 points. The Raptors made one finally push back but the Bulls responded and re-established the 11 point advantage and push it further with a Rose bucket to make it 71-58 Chicago. The Raptors were challenged to score, they had one possession where they had 3 or 4 attempts only to finally have Kleiza end up at the line. Which was a rare event. Raptors making a foul shot was even more rare. They went 1-7 from the line. Demar DeRozan did not get to the line even once in this game. Barbosa was the only Raptor to make a free throw in this game. The Bulls would close this game out and earn a hard fought 77-64 win moving to 5-0 at the United Center on the season and 12-2 overall.

Raptors fall 4-9 and have lost 4 straight. They next hit the floor at 4pm on Monday as it is the MLK Holiday in the U.S and they will take on the Hawks. DeRozan and Barbosa shared the team high in scoring with just 15 points. Raptors were able to hold Rose to just 18 points but he had 11 dimes to go along with it. The fact the Raptors were able to hang with one of the NBA's Elite teams was encouraging but in the end another loss and they lose a player as well with Johnson going out. Despite all of that you had to at least be a little impressed with how Dwane Casey schemed on defence to give the Raptors a fighting chance through 3 quarters. It was noted that Casey was even more active than usual on the sidelines in the broadcast.

So that is about all for the game. However I want to make mention of an interview conducted by Eric Smith that was part of the pre-game radio broadcast with former Raptor broadcaster Chuck Swirsky. Believe it or not this is the 4th season since Chuck left for Chicago. Time real does seem to fly by. Chuck since leaving Toronto has never explained why he left other than for "Family Reasons". He has been in this blog many times and out of respect to Chuck we have never pressed to have him explain. Eric Smith in this interview with Chuck, it finally is explained in depth what those reasons in fact were. So I encourage you to go have a listen.

I honestly never knew the reasons Chuck had left till today. I had heard bits and pieces of this story but never knew what was fact or fiction. I have always loved Chuck as person and I am sorry to hear of the reasons he had to leave a place that he did and still does love. Chuck and Eric both will always have a special place in my heart. I was just doing a college radio show locally here in Hamilton and emailed Chuck and later Eric about being guests on the show. Chuck would do that small radio show several times as would Eric. Chuck would also help me get to know a few people in an attempt to advance myself. He is a great human being and truly cares for people. I may have issues with his style of broadcasting at times. But never the man. The man is one of the best people I have had the chance to know. I have appreciated his wiliness to be a guest here in the DNB since leaving for Chicago. Now knowing what was going on for him personally I appreciate even more. Whatever you may think about Chuck, he gave a heck of a lot to helping sell this Raptor franchise in his time here. He should always be respected for all that he did to try and grow the Raptors and game here.

Tying A Bow On London

This will be the last report from Michael who was kind enough to share his thoughts with us in the Dino Nation Blog on his trip to London to see the Raptors. I just want to thank him for making us a part of his experience. I felt it would add something to the blog to experience these games through someone's eyes from Europe. They would have a much different view than us. I hope everyone has enjoyed Michael's contributions to the blog here is his final instalment:

After having caught up on my sleep, and getting thrown back into my work- and university-life, I want to summarize my experience: For those who don’t know, London is a beautiful city! Besides the underground and it’s weird first and last train hours, there is literally something to be done all day long. Now, for those who reside in bigger cities like Toronto, that might be the case all the time. Since I’ve been born and raised, and am still living, in the third biggest town of Austria, Linz, a steel-city just like Hamilton of roughly 200.000, I wouldn’t really know.

Having basically only two days with both nights planned out, I didn’t really do much sightseeing as it was my sixth trip to London, and like always, shopping was more important on my list. The number one items in my calendar were both NBA games at The O2 though, the reason I made the trip in the first place!

I had never been to The O2 nor any other indoor arena holding nearly twenty thousand people. I’ve been to a soccer game for the Portuguese cup game last February but that’s it as far as my live sports experience goes. The O2 is a modern venue and what impressed me was the short lines to the bathroom even during game breaks. I don’t know if that’s normal as I can’t compare it to other arenas but that stuck in my head.

Though having touched on it before in my last post about Saturday’s game, I have to bring it up once again: GBP 55 (circa EUR 65, CAD 90) for seats in the second to last row are just too expensive. The ones in the fifth or sixth row of the upper bowl for Friday’s game were okay but asking people to pay that much for sitting in the roof? Surprisingly, the view was better than expected. But just to give you an idea, even though I sat on the side where the Raptors TV crew shot their pre-game piece, I hardly recognized Paul Jones as the third member sitting in between Matt Devlin and Leo Rautins!

Since I am already bringing up points from the last post and speaking of Paul Jones, I had a blast meeting him and fellow Fan590’s Eric Smith! They took time less than an hour before the game for a nice talk and even though I never listen to their game broadcasts as I watch games on demand on NBA League Pass Broadband International, I try catching Fan590’s Hoops or its podcast as often as I can.

Besides what I already said about the Friday and Saturday game, I was really soaking everything in you normally don’t get to see on TV. Who knew the Raptor was so active in between game breaks? Okay, most of you probably did know but for those only getting to watch on TV didn’t! I also didn’t know how much time Jay Triano always takes talking to his assistants before going into the huddle during time outs. Compared to Avery Johnson, he burns more than half his time on checking with his staff.

What I also didn’t know and had saved for my last post: I didn’t know Jose Calderon could dunk! Unless I completely lost my mind or eye-sight, I swear he dunked during warm-ups! I mean yeah, smaller people like him have won the dunk contest before, but I never figured he was that athletic! I mean, he sure is athletic compared to me but dunking athletic, I didn’t know!

Anyways, if the NBA plans on doing this again, I hope they figure out a way to persuade The O2’s management to fix WiFi and to talk to Transport for London about their maintenance work schedule. But maybe they even decide to go to another city, The O2 is not the only venue in Europa that could handle NBA games! I’m sure the NBA office knows that from the pre-season games, though I never been to any of those as they are just public work outs to me. The regular season is what counts and I hope they bring back a few games next year! Even if it’s not the Raptors, which is very, very unlikely, I’ll sure look into going.

Thanks for reading my posts and I hope you enjoyed following my thoughts on my first ever NBA experience! If you did, maybe you’ll follow me on Twitter @Euro4Raps but only if you promise not to @ me with game spoilers (as I watch them a few hours later on demand)!

Thanks to Michael for all his efforts. One of the things when I started this blog that never crossed my mind is that people all over the world would read it. I have got to know readers from not just where Michael is from but in Spain, Poland, Italy, and even see hits on occasion for the Dino Nation Blog from places like Australia and China and many other nations to numerous to mention. The Raptors try to be Canada's team and we get hits from all across this country and North America as well. I do not ever see a day in my life time the NBA goes outside of North America but for fans of the NBA across this globe we live in I hope they do attempt to bring basketball to those places. The efforts those fans make to follow the game is tremendous. They deserve to be rewarded. A game with the Raptors and Nets in New Jersey or Toronto would have been just another game of the 41 that make up the schedule. But the games in London were something special for all those fans that do not have the fortune of having the NBA in their backyard.

The New World Of Media

I want to talk about something that Eric Smith wrote on his blog on Raptors.com. He talks about Holly Mackenzie from The Score who everything he said about Holly is the gospel truth. I met Holly not long before this blog signed up with The Score Sports Federation. Which is also mentioned in his blog. Holly works very hard and as I have told her in person and via a computer, I am so happy and proud of the success she has had. On Holly we both are in complete agreement. If you do not read Holly you have been missing out. She has a passion and love for the game of basketball, that is unmatched in my opinion. Eric, I also respect and admire for what he does. I have made it no secret that Eric has been helpful to me in getting guests to talk to here like Jack Armstrong and Paul Jones. In the time the Dino Nation Blog has been around, which is about 3 years, there have been many more Raptor blogs that have been born. In fact one of them credits me as their inspiration for starting their blog. Which is pretty humbling and great.

The focus of Eric's blog is this idea of mainstream media vs bloggers. He says that this Sports Federation, that The Dino Nation Blog is a part of walks a fine line. I can only speak for what goes on here with the Dino Nation Blog and a little to the other blogs that are part of our basketball line-up. Which would include Raptorblog written by Scott Carefoot, Nat who does Heels on Hardwood, Hip Hoop Junkies that is done by Romy and Hoops Addict done by Ryan McNeill. That is everyone and you can link to all of them from this site.

Ryan actually has access to the Raptors and has had for a couple of years. I also have started getting access to games this season, and will be back down again for the Raptors game vs the Bulls. Nat is a season ticket holder for Raps and is at every game. While Scott is recognized by Micheal Grange as the first blog on the Raptors to exist. I respect all of the people, that are in effect my colleagues here in the Sports Federation.

I can tell you that not just anyone off the street becomes a part of this Sports Federation. I feel if you have read and follow some or all of these blogs we are all talented and entertaining and hopefully informative. Also no doubt opinionated as well. I can only speak for myself when I say that by being a part of this group I do not feel it entitles me to anything other than opportunity to work hard and provide something worth reading everyday. In getting access to the Raptors I consider it a privilege and not a right. To be completely honest with you, in getting access as I have, it was a process to first get it, but then to feel comfortable to being there with it. Ryan and Holly have been very good in helping me feel that level of comfort. Along with others like Eric, Paul Jones, Jack Armstrong, Adnan Virk, Matt Devlin and others I could mention, but the list would be to long.

My background is in Radio and T.V and blogging was just something that I decided to do, that would allow me to care for my mother and still work in the media which I love and respect. Nothing Eric wrote today beyond the stuff about Holly was not something I personally had not heard from in conversations with him, or reading and listening to his work. At the end of the day, I agree with 95% of what Eric is saying on this topic. However to suggest that what is being done by myself or others in some how less valuable is wrong. It is not for Eric to say or for me to say what is of value. It is up to you who read, listen or watch. Eric is right that people in the main stream media have a ton more contacts then someone like me could have. However if you do not allow access to people that are hard working and shown some level of ability to write things that are thoughtful, interesting and factual. How on earth are they ever suppose to develop these contacts and get this experience? The simple answer is they can't or it would be next to impossible.

I have personally went out of my way, to appreciate people like Eric that have helped me and opened doors for me. I am not here to do anything except, try to build my own career and do it with the help and support of fans. While Eric is right that there is a lengthy process to go through in the mainstream media for something to see the light of day. Here there is not that process. But there is actually in the sense of, if I do not produce something that is good people will not read it, listen to it or watch it. You, in effect are the boss of the Dino Nation Blog and other blogs. While in the main stream media they have ratings that will eventually dictate someone's worth to a degree. Here in the Dino Nation Blog it is evaluated on a daily basis.

Eric has come a long way in his career with the Fan 590. I personally in knowing him on some small level over years am very happy for him. I have told him so. I respect him greatly and often will defend him on Twitter or in this blog. Not that he needs my help or support none the less he has it. However on this topic we do not completely see it the same way. The idea of the main stream media is some how in direct competition is pretty insane. Main stream media is always going to be Godzilla and bloggers will be Toyko. If any blogger or main stream media person, wants to suggest otherwise they are fooling themselves.

But the media is changing, and if some people are able to cross from being an educated smart fan, to getting chances in the media is that going to end the world? I am pretty sure The Score building has not blown up since starting the Sports Fed, or since hiring The Basketball Jones. Eric is right in saying that just because you start a blog, you some how should assume you deserve access, you don't. However, if over a period of time you have worked hard and have been recognized for it ( like being part of Sports Fed) and are capable of being professional, and following the rules that apply to media access, there is nothing wrong with that. The world is changing and not a lot of it is for the better. TMZ Sports exists and what exactly is that? Garbage... but is that main stream media?

At the end of the day I just feel Eric does a couple things that rub me the wrong way on this issue. I think even though he acknowledges that there are good blogs and bad blogs he ends up painting us all with the same brush, as being some how some lesser form of journalism. He also uses the fact of access as a way that sets the main stream media apart from blogs but does not feel that they should be given access. That is kind of having it both ways isn't it? There are people good enough that have worked hard for the opportunity and I like to think I am one of them. I am responsible for what I write and do my very best, to be factual and accurate in my work.

Eric will always be someone I consider a friend. I will also always support him for the fine work he does. In addition will give him the credit for the help he has given me. We can agree to disagree on this topic and I am cool with that, as I am sure he will be. I look forward to talking with him in this blog in the future. In the end nothing is perfect and the blogging community is no different. However there are folks in the main stream media that you could say the same. But I won't do the typical blogger thing which would be to rail on those folks.

In this new world of media, eventually the good from both sides of this issue will survive. The ones that are not won't. Eric is one of the good people at what he does. I hope that people feel the same way about myself.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Eric Smith Is The Guest In The Starting 5

It has been awhile since Eric Smith has been a guest with us here at the Dino Nation Blog. He had a acceptable reason though, as he recently has become a father. Family is always something that has been important to me as many of you know. I was able to catch up with Eric after co-hosting the Game Plan with Jack Armstrong. Eric will be doing the show next week when Jack is having some vacation time. So it was great to talk with Eric and get his thoughts on all that has gone on with the Raptors this off-season. We get into his thoughts on the job Bryan Colangelo has done. His thoughts on if Jarrett Jack impacts on the re-signing of Chris Bosh. This along with his thoughts on Bosh staying or going in general. Along with some thoughts on the Raptor draft choice DeMar DeRozan. He shares how he thinks the Raptors may use him. Along with talking about the fact the people need to manage expectations both good and bad. Also some thoughts on the schedule and the task that faces Jay Triano and the Raptors. In getting ready for DNB Radio tomorrow I had been making some music bumpers for that. So name that tune off the top and then it is Eric and myself. Hope you enjoy it.

Eric Smith in Starting 5

James B's Podcast

So thanks to Eric for his time and thoughts on the Raptors. Just a reminder to everyone about the start of DNB radio on the web tomorrow night at 10pm. The first show is going to be an hour long and I am looking forward to it. Going to have a guest in the first 30 minutes and you can call in and take part. Check the link for all the details.

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.

Good News For Some Folks I Know

I think it was Thursday last week when I first heard about this. When I heard it I was very excited because it involved someone who I know a little bit and has been a guest in the Dino Nation Blog. Adnan Virk is coming to Raps-TV. He will be replacing Paul Johnson who's contract was not renewed. I worked with Adnan in his time at TSN, long before he was "the baller" and before he was working in front of a camera, so I am thrilled for him and for all Raptors fans. Adnan is a very good broadcaster and has great knowledge and a tremendous sense of humour to go along with it. I contacted Adnan last week when I first heard this news to confirm it. He did confirm this was happening and said that it would be announced yesterday as it was. He also said that once he is done his vacation and begins his new role with Raps-TV. Which should be at the start of July. This would mark the 3rd time Adnan has been a guest in the Dino Nation Blog and given his new role it will definitely not be the last.

Also just yesterday I heard some great news for someone I know from Slam and Court Surfing on the web. Holly MacKenzie who is truly a great writer in my humble opinion is going to be going to cover the NBA Draft in NYC. She is a rising star at what she is doing and I am happy to know her. I had planned to finally bring her knowledge her to the Dino Nation Blog for an interview but given this latest news we both agreed it probably makes more sense to have her visit after she heads to NYC for the Draft. But till that time Holly did give her opinion on who the Raptors might select at #9 on the website Ridiculous Upside.

As for yours truly I hope to have an announcement on where I will be on draft night and how you can join me. Things are getting worked out and finalized but you can expect that I will be busy here online in some shape or form on draft night and you can join me. I also have wrote my latest view from the North that should be posted on Hoops Doctors sometime today. As well my article in the Industry Magazine for the June/July issue is out in magazine form in Toronto area and should be on the web soon if it is not already.

Also courtesy of Eric Smith in his blog "The Rap" a couple of news items. First here is a list of who is in town working out for the Raptors for the upcoming draft:

Toney Douglas - Guard - 6′1 - Florida State
Greg Gamble - Guard - 6′3 - Buffalo
Gerald Henderson - Forward - 6′4 - Duke
Jerel McNeal - Forward - 6′3 - Marquette
B.J. Mullen - Centre - 7′0 - Ohio State
Aron Baynes - Centre - 6′10 - Washington State

Second, the newest Raptor Reggie Evans is in town to meet with the media and Eric is hopeful that Evans can be a guest on Game Plan between 2-4 on the Fan 590. Eric is hosting with Jack Armstrong today as he fills in for Doug Maclean.

So even though it is the off-season there is still lots on the go as things quickly shift to the draft. If you want to submit a question or comment for my weekly view from the North for Hoops doctors drop me an dinonationblog@sourcecable.net

One late edition to the blog for you. Justin Walsh who just recently was a guest talked with Demar DeRozan when he declared for the draft. Given that he has been a big topic and the debate of if he will or won't workout for the Raps continues on felt people might want to check out this interview Justin did for Slam back in April.

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.

Paul Jones From NYC

Paul Jones has become a regular guest for us here at Dino Nation Blog. He always offers some great opinions on what is going on with the Raptors. I asked about a couple things to do indirectly with Chris Bosh. The first about if he and Danny Granger will be all-stars. Jeff Van Gundy was pretty clear he feels they are not. Also Jalen Rose is back on the Chris Bosh heading to the Knicks tip. In case you forgot what Jalen had to say here are both clips the old one and the new one.
(There was an issue with the interview audio that has been fixed- 11am)


And The Latest



Paul's broadcast partner Eric Smith had his take on the Jalen Rose comments. Paul gives his take on what Jalen has been saying. Also thoughts on Jamario Moon and if it is as much as it pains me to say this...time for Joey to start? Along with how the team is dealing with the whole J.O trade rumours. Also why his broadcast partner could have a new look if the Cavs keep winning at home. Van Gundy beyond his thinking Bosh and Granger are not all-stars had some other off the wall ideas for All Star Weekend.

So that gives you some context for the first two things I talk about with Paul in our interview

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I mentioned to Paul that I really enjoyed his comments about the election of Barack Obama. He was a guest on the Eric Smith Show talking about Obama. I am a huge fan of the Vlogs and The Eric Smith Show. You can find the world famous vlogs which are on Fan 590 version of Eric's Blog and The Eric Smith Show can be found on Raptors.com. Maybe someday I will be a guest on the Eric Smith show. But given it is taped on the road I don't like my chances. But the point to all of this aside from giving Eric some love. Which reminds me, our guest also writes for Sportsnet. But what I have been wondering lately is what impact people thought Obama may have on the NBA now that he is the White House. I am putting together an all star break feature with some of my recent guests from The Score. But here is what Paul thought about for lack of a better term the Obama Effect on the NBA.

Paul Jones " I think it does have an impact. Look at how many NBA players have come front and center now with a visible minority becoming President. They are all paying attention to politics. It is not "the same old system anymore" that it was before. They are hoping for change. If he can use some of these guys as being vehicles to the change that he wants then I see these guys being part of it. Hopefully they are thinking for themselves and not going into things blindly. I definitely see about him being a basketball fan and a sports fan in general, he has talked about fixing the BCS in college football, he is a big White Sox fan. I mean why not, people went ga-ga over other Presidents and their love of sports. JFK had the famous photos of him play touch football. I think it helps basketball. Not that the NBA needs his help but they sure won't turn away from it."

Just as a follow up to what Paul is saying. Jimmy Carter who was from Georgia was a big fan of Nascar and it added to that sport. Bill Clinton was a huge supporter of the Arkansas basketball program in the NCAA. It has also in an age of athletes not taking stands has awakened a spirit of getting involved in the process. Lebron James and many others were active in trying to get Obama elected. Many NBA players travelled to Washington to be at the inauguration. Many teams change travel schedules to watch the event. Now I don't think the NBA will be heading to Washington for a federal bailout. However they have been impacted by these tough times. I had asked Paul in a previous interview, when the economic issues of today were just coming to light for his thoughts on it. Now that we are half way through the NBA season I thought it might be a good time to revisit the topic again.

Paul Jones- " It's going pretty well I think. It would not surprise me down the line more and more cuts. The NBA did lay off some of their staff earlier in the year. The crunch is here and it is hitting everybody. That being said they are making adjustments. There are a lot of places that have cut ticket prices to draw people back to the arenas. To have them keep coming out and supporting their local team. It is what it is. The world is down economically. So you would expect that is going to trickle down to all things. Sports and other entertainment industries are going to take a hit as well. "

In the economy of wins and losses, Jose Calderon has been a huge market surge for the Raptors in that regard. I made mention that he seems a more willing shooter and scorer since his return. I suggest this to Paul and added that I felt part of why we were seeing it was the fact Jose was able to sit and watch. Here is what Paul had to say in response to those comments.

Paul Jones- " Absolutely, because the team needs that. Sometimes your team needs you to score. As much as you want to get people involved as the point guard sometimes you just have to be a scorer. All you have to do is watch Steve Nash. People are talking and saying well he is not an all star this year. He is doing different things in a different system. He is still averaging almost a double double with 14 points and close to 10 assists. It is not that he is not playing well it is just that he is in a different system and doing different thing. He doesn't have the numbers he use to have because he doesn't have to do some of the things he did before. So that doesn't mean he is not an all star. If he was voted in as an all star that would not be a problem. He to me is the perfect example of that. What do you want? He came into to Toronto and racked up a high assist total and took less than 5 shots and they won. He is the perfect guy for reading what his team needs and he can adjust within a game. I think for Jose that is the next phase in his learning.Realizing at time my team needs me to score and that is what I am going to do. "

I give Jose credit he has been very solid. The defense is still not to where I would want it to be. However in Paul's example of Nash, he is not going to win defensive player of the year anytime soon. In the audio portion of our conversation I asked about the J.O trade rumours and how the team was dealing with that. If not for the play of Andrea Bargnani recently the trade talk for J.O may not exist at all. In fact the talk may have been about Bargnani. However it would seem that finally he is breaking through. So I asked Paul if he felt Andrea had finally made it to the point that we now know what to expect from him moving forward?

Paul Jones-" He is certainly becoming more consistent isn't he. This is what everyone was going crazy about last season. I remember writing an article "Still Time For Bargnani" last December. When people want to throw him out the window and they wanted him traded. Colangelo had failed and his first pick was a bust. But I was saying give the kid time. He starting to develop his game. He has a great level of confidence in himself right now. It is showing through in his play. It is now about developing consistency. What are people after Chris Bosh about Consistency in his play at the end of games. He is still learning at that aspect of his game and he is accessing all of that and he will get better at that. People don't cry about his numbers anymore because he is consistent. Andrea has got to do the same thing. To be able to have your team depend on you to put up the kind of numbers he is now. 20 points and 7 or 8 rebounds. If he does that the complaining will stop. I just find it funny how people are so quick to judge right away. I won't mention people by name but i know people in our business the media that saying that he is Haffa Bargnani. Well give the kid a chance. Having coached at the university level and a played at a high level, you got to give people time. There may have been things in play last year that we do not know about that were going on away from the floor. We don't know."

Perhaps the most noticeable change I saw recently with Andrea was he showed a bit of toughness when he got shoved by Garcia. In fact the entire team has shown a bit of grit that we have not seen in a long time. I asked Paul Jones for his thoughts about that.

Paul Jones-" Maybe they are getting to the point that they have had enough. Maybe they are fed up and ticked off and they are going to play like that and that is something they should be doing regularly and constantly. Establishing themselves as a team that is not going to back down. It is nice to see and they have to do more off it "

I also talked with Paul about the move of Anthony Parker to the back-up point guard and was it an admission that they maybe should have brought in a NBA experienced back-up point guard. Although we both agree that Roko is showing signs of progression. The fact that A.P is now the back-up points to the failure of Will Solomon in my opinion. I even would go as far as saying that Jose Calderon and his injury problems can be linked to the lack of a true back-up. Paul was not in agreement about that. But did concede that Anthony Parker being the back-up was a bit of an admission that the Raptors might have benefited from getting an NBA experienced point guard.

Paul Jones-" Yeah maybe it is an admission by Bryan, Jay or the team. We thought that we were better off at the point then we are. It has not worked out having Will and Roko because of the adjustments that they have had to make and they haven't made them. But at the same time when you think back to last year when you had T.J and Jose they still used Delfino at the point at times. Maybe it is a case of finding the right line-ups. I think it is partially an admission. But at the same time they are trying to find a way to get your best players out on the floor."

It is great to have Paul pay us a visit and talk about a number of issues to do with Raptors. I always enjoy talking with Paul he is a extremely bright person that I always enjoy exchanging ideas with.

The Ming Dynasty On Display At The A.C.C

Things just don't get any easier for the Raptors as Yao Ming comes to town. That will be followed by a Sunday visit from Superman. It just is going to be hard to imagine a way the Raptors can stay in the hunt for those playoffs. I took some time yesterday and just looked through the schedule and tried to guess what the Raptors Record should be for January and February of 2009. Being realistic the best I got was they will go .500 and that is not good enough at this point. The Raptors schedule does shift for March and April but it would take a run of just total perfection or close to it to see the Raptors make the playoffs. That is the reality of right now. Could a trade change that reality? I am not sure it may take a couple moves to make a difference and I don't think the Raptors have a lot of assets to make that happen. The one thing they should not do is risk their first round draft pick in 2009 to make that happen. The Raptors really need to add a young player that can have an impact out of this years draft.

Making trades is not easy as well. I mean in a world of ESPN Trade Machine and Real G.M Trade checkers you can play G.M to your hearts content. Not to mention video games in which my version of the Raptors on NBA 2K9 is off the charts. Even though in today's world of video games and tech devices life may seem like a video game it is not. Bryan Colangelo has to deal with real people that have all the same concerns he does. They have fan bases and an organization to answer to for the moves they make. Colangelo has no doubt seen the desire of the fan base for change but it is not easy to make it happen. It is no different than wanting to go out with an attractive women that is great but it still takes her wanting and accepting to go with you.

Game Notes For Rockets And Raptors.

Houston has a few folks that Raptor Fans will remember. Tracy McGrady was the guy Toronto booed before they booed Vince Carter. We also saw Rafer Alston a couple of times make his way through Toronto. But the big news in the off-season in Houston was they went out and brought in Ron Artest. They have needed him even more than they realized as Shane Battier as had an injury plagued season. But Ron Artest has had some decent numbers with 16.1 points per game and 5.5 rebounds. He had a game right around that to close out 2008 with 15 points and 5 boards.

The Rockets have even called on the cookie monster for some help. Dikembe Mutombo does sound like the cookie monster. He may actually be older as he is in his 40's and just never seems to retire. He is like a throwback to Robert Parish, who stayed in the league well into his 40's and played in other places like Charlotte after his days in Boston winning championships. Also beyond basketball Mutombo is a great human being he built a hospital with his own money back in Africa. That is truly a fantastic thing and he deserves a lot of praise for that. Why and if he still can contribute on a basketball roster at this point is something I am not sure of at this point.

The Raptors meanwhile have minor injuries to both Jermaine O'Neal and Jason Kapono who both sat out against Denver. They are listed as game time decision at this point for tonight's game against Houston. Andrea Bargnani had a truly amazing performance in relief of O'Neal on New Years Eve. So if O'Neal is ready it will be interesting if Jay Triano just automatically inserts him back in the starting line-up. Maybe Andrea could have back to back performances with his name getting called? Jason Kapono and Anthony Parker have both struggled of late. But A.P did show signs late in that game. He had lost his spot in the starting line-up in part to an injury he had. So that will be another choice for Triano to make should Kapono be available tonight.

This is another game on TSN 2. If you are in the Toronto area and you are still shut out. Maybe make a plan to join the guys at Raptors Republic for their Raptors Party and Philthy McNasty's. It is a way to beat the TSN 2 blues on Friday nights anyway. I am going to get down to one of these Friday Night Events in the new year. It is one of my resolutions I hope to follow through on.

Eric Smith was at shoot around and had some thoughts from Triano, Bosh and Parker on tonight's Game.

The Rap- Update From Shoot Around

So that is it for today as the Raptors will try to shock us all and break a 3-game losing streak. It will be no easy task for sure. Find out how they did in the Raptor Rewind tonight.

What Everyone Else Is Saying.

I just thought I would do something that I rarely do. Shut up and read what everyone else is saying. Well not exactly but I have been running around and do not have a lot to say beyond my recap of last night's game for now. There is some good news. My Score B-Ball running mate is off the IR. For those who do not know Scott Carefoot has been in rough shape lately. But he was well enough to check in over at Raptor Blog. Maybe he has been watching a lot of movies cause he is talking Pulp Fiction and the Raptors. Scott always can take things that I would never put together with the Raptors and turn it into something interesting.

RaptorBlog- Pulp Fiction Raptors Remix

Scott introduced me to this next person on my recommended reading list. Well technically she introduced herself because Scott was running late. She is going to become a regular guest here at the Dino Nation Blog as well if she would stop working long enough to have time to do an interview. She talks about watching a whole lot of work fall into a puddle. Some stuff on the Raptors and a few other things. She is doing it all from back home in Nova Scotia. Holly writes for both Slam and The Score on Court Surfing. I love her work and she is one of the most positive uplifting writers I read on a regular basis. Girls can know basketball and Holly is living proof. So till she visits us hear check her out over on Court Surfing. When she does visit here we are going to take a look around at the rest of the NBA. Holly has had access at the ACC this year and talked to a ton of the guys from around the league that have visited the ACC.

Notes and Quotes From Nova Scotia

Over on Court Surfing Scott and Holly and a couple of the other Court Surfing crew members come up with an NCAA style ranking system for the NBA Teams. It is the " Sweet Sixteen " NBA style. The Number 1 and 2 teams held there rank from week 3 to week 4. The new number 3 team is a team I told you would be good this year and they are. They just are not getting the love that Cleveland, Celtics and Lakers have. But they are Super or they at least have a Super man.

Court Surfing NBA Sweet 16

The Score is like my new family and I am getting to know them bit by bit. The Dino Nation Blog had it's own little family of guests prior to that. Two of the members of that family are Eric Smith and Paul Jones. They both have blogs that you can find in find in the Dino Directory. This is the latest edition of the Vlog that are part of " The Rap " which is Eric's blog. This edition #14 was taped prior to the Raptors big win vs the Clippers. From a back alley in Beverly Hills. Jones and Smith will not get mistaken for cast members of 90210 but they do have fun as they bounce around the NBA. This is a good example of that. I am head of the Vlog fan club. I am such a fan I may be bringing the Vlog concept to the Dino Nation Blog and see if I can keep up with the guys. Not likely cause they are doing some quality stuff.

Smith and Jones Vlog 14

So that is a wrap with some good stuff from a bunch of people the Dino Blogger is high on. They I all hope respect me as much as I do them. Happy Holidays and drive safe out there. I'll be back tomorrow for Christmas Eve.

Second Half Of Jones Interview

Still trying to figure out what went wrong last night? Me too. Perhaps the second half of my interview with Paul Jones from yesterday prior to that lose will help find some answers. The second half of our talk begins with some thoughts on Jay Triano. Who after last night's game looked pretty dejected with his team's performance. I started by asking Paul for some of differences we can look for with Triano and his systems. Which one can safely assume we did not see much of last night.

Paul Jones-" Offensively he is really trying to get movement, and get the ball moving from side to side. That is where you get the majority of your scores. You force the defense to play for more then 8 to 10 seconds. If you don't get a quick hoop, it is o.k to work deep into the shot clock as long as your moving the ball. Forcing the defense to continue to move and eventually breaking them down. I think that is something that people should continue to look for."

Jay is a guy that as always had his team play hard. I think the fans can look forward to consistent hard and full out effort from his team. The little things he will do in terms of match-ups. Against New Jersey you saw Jamario Moon and Joey Graham all take a shot at guarding Devin Harris. They had used Moon to try to guard J.J Barea to try to disrupt things. The little things like Jay going for ( Substitutions ) offense to defense. Those little things that might make a difference Jay is not afraid to try them. "

Last night to fans dismay we did not see much of what Paul was talking about. At least in terms of it working and being effective. I also asked Paul if he thought Jay Triano had a serious shot to coach his way into being a candidate for the head coaching job after this year. This is a very tough challenge and some feel that Triano has no shot and is a stop gap to the next coach.

Paul Jones- " I think he has got a legit shot. Let's face it this is a performance and results based business and he has to get the results. He is coming in now when he took over on December 3rd they were 17 games in and almost at the quarter pole of the season. There is no time for him to institute a training camp and institute his systems and practice. They have had 3 or 4 practices since he has taken over the team. I think it is legit to think that he might get a chance to hold on to this job and get a chance to start from scratch next year. At the same time Bryan Colangelo has got to look at results, who might be available on the market in terms of a more experienced coach depending on the personnel. So I think there are a lot of factors at work there. At the same time I don't see Jay Triano being the interim and then he is done at the end of the year."

This was Paul's thoughts before last night. I will not speculate on if they have changed for him after last night. I will say that for fans a lot of things have changed after last night. One of the things I asked Paul Jones yesterday was about if he felt Bryan Colangelo would consider moving Andrea Bargnani and his general thoughts on Bargnani. Here is what he had to say.

Paul Jones-" I am sure Bryan gets a lot of call about Andrea because other teams see some potential in him that Toronto sees. I am sure he is fielding those calls. Hang on to him. He is not playing well right now. He is going through a tough time. It is something that I have been saying the whole time. He spends his summer bulking up and working on his inside game. He was on the court with Chris or Jermaine at the start of the year. He knows what his role is. Then his role definition is changed. He becomes a three man. He has to be out on the perimeter. He is trying to guard guys like Lebron James and use his length. He is on the perimeter so he is not rebounding as much. The perimeter mindset is back in his head about shooting the three and playing on the outside. I think it is tough because of that role definition change, because he is not an experienced player. This is not a guy that has been in the league for 8 or 9 years that can handle and be adaptive to that.

It is tough on him. He has to deal with going for a starter to the bench. I think Andrea as a young player still equates scoring and starting with success. The fact that he is not scoring and he is coming of the bench, which is what this team needs him to do to be part of the big man rotation. He may see that has him not being successful. You can see him out there playing very timidly. Very unsure of himself without a lot of confidence."

Depending on what is the deal with Jermaine O'Neal who left the game last night with what was being called a sore shoulder.Andrea Bargnani could find himself back in the starting line-up again. He did play a bit better as a starter for the second half of the game last night. However I agree with Paul in that the Toronto Raptors must at least share in the blame for Andrea and his struggles. That is me saying that. But in Paul's comments he was saying that Andrea has been asked to make a lot of changes and that may just not be something he can do at this point. Many people think that Andrea and his problems are in his head. In fact the entire Raptor team could use some therapy at this point. I asked Paul about if the Raptors have thought about bringing in a sports psychologist on staff?

Paul Jones-" I know that Jay Triano is big on that. That was one of the things that helped the 2000 Olympic basketball team. David Cox who is a world renowned sports psychologist based out of Simon Fraser where Jay went to school. I can admit first hand. I have my masters in sports psychology and boy it helped me as an athlete at the collegiate level. You spend all of this money on strength and conditioning coaches and nutritionists and guys have personal chefs. You have the best in terms of equipment, in travel and in hotels. Why wouldn't you nurture the mental side of the game as well. If it is good enough for Tiger Woods it should be good enough for ever other athlete in the world. I know Jay is considering it. I do not know where that are at with it right now. But it is something that I would not be surprised to see in the future here in Toronto. "

I always knew Paul was a smart guy. Never knew he had a masters degree. I guess that is why after talking with him I feel like I have learned something. I would agree that with all that is going on with this team it may be time to bring in an expert and help this team in between the ears. The link on David Cox's name is a short video of him I was able to find. In the spirit of positive thinking I asked Paul for his thoughts on Roko Ukic and Nathan Jawai who both will be factors for this team in the long term. In Roko's case he is learning on the job. While Nathan Jawai is just trying to get caught up.

Paul Jones-" I think Roko has done well. We talked about the confidence thing with Andrea earlier. There is the confidence for Roko in knowing that he is primary back-up. He is the guy that they want to develop. He is going to get out there and play. He knows when he is going to be put in the game. He is not looking over his shoulder wondering if it will be him or Will. Jay Triano is letting him play through some of his mistakes. I think that is good."

As for Nathan, I just think he has to get himself in basketball shape before he attempts to do anything. It would not surprise me down the road want he does that to get a few minutes here and there."

Paul confirmed what I had been told as relates to Nathan. All he has been able to do before this point is shoot free throws. It will be a long road for Nathan to catch up on the time that he has lost. But at least he is back on the path to doing that.

Jose Calderon had a lot of expectations from fans heading into this season. Fans have felt a bit let down about how Calderon has done. There are two points of his game that I have always pointed to as clear weak points. I asked Paul for his thoughts on those issues. First his lack of skill as a defender and his unwilling nature to take any kind of risks. Paul talks about both of those points.

Paul Jones on Calderon's Defense And How To Improve It: " One he has to work harder. He has to take the challenge on himself. Two and I think Jay Triano is doing this, he is putting in systems so if they are going to get beat he knows where they are going to get beat. People who are helping know where they have to be to help. That is on the first rotation, on the second rotation and the third while Jose is recovering. It was to be both of those things. But the bottom line is it comes down to effort and taking some pride in accepting the personal challenge of staying in front of your man. It is not just Jose. I mean it starts at the point but there is a lot of guys on the wing that are guilty of that right now and it is hurting the team. "

Paul Jones On Jose And His Lack Of Taking Risk On Offense: " I think Jay just has to convince Jose that it is o.k to take calculated risk. Go look at who the leaders are in turnovers in the league. I always say this, home run hitters in baseball strikeout because they swing for the fence. People always talk about the dunk in the face of shot blockers like an Alonzo Mourning well he is a shot blocker so he is going to try and go get it. So every so often a shot blocker is going to get one thrown down in his face. ( happened to Jermaine O'Neal last night ) If you are a point guard that is into pushing the ball and trying to get that part of the game down you are going to have turnovers.

People unfairly at times were all over T.J last year at times. But he still had if I am not mistaken one of the top 20 or 25 assist to turnover ratios in the league last year. He was very effective on the break. Sometimes you have to live with those turnovers. I played with big guys that were great rebounders and every so often they would take a 15 or 16 foot jumper. You would be like, God don't shoot that, but the guy is rebounding and is working his back side off and doing all of that grunt work. You got to live with that. You make a lot of money and your wife is going to spend some of it. You have to live with it. It is just something that comes with the territory. I think Jay has to convince Jose, that it is o.k once in awhile to take a calculated risk or make a quick evaluation of a situation and give something a try. If it doesn't work it is not the end of the world. You are certainly not going to do that at the end of game when possessions are important. You push the ball early and it forces teams to get back and maybe you get stuff from trailers on the play making a jumper. I think that is something for Jay to work out with Jose. "

I made notice of the fact that Jay Triano is getting to work with Jose Calderon at roughly the same time he got to work with Steve Nash on Team Canada. Nash give Triano a lot of credit for helping him get to where he is at. Which is a 2 time M.V.P and an NBA All Star. Hopefully Triano can have some kind of success with Calderon to get him heading in that direction. However there are many issues with the basketball team for Triano to address. I would say at the top of that list would be rebounding. I got into that topic with Paul. I asked if it was a case of the Raptors needed to out rebound teams or just know how to get those key rebounds?

Paul Jones-" I think they have to do both. When you look back at the Suns prior to Steve Kerr making major changes to that roster. That was one thing that they were able to do to get them as far as they went in the playoffs. Although they ran up and down and were not a great rebounding team. They seemed to be able to get those key rebounds and get a stop or two at key points. Maybe it was because of the style of play that the used, that it would force team to take shots, from the wrong people, in the wrong places at the wrong times. If Toronto can do that it will go a long way. You have to do that by getting in there all the time. Sometimes the key ones will come to you if you are trying to be in there all the time. Rebounding and Defense are like working out. You can't do it once in awhile and expect to be good at it and say that you are in shape. If you are going to be in shape you have to work out all of the time. "

I totally agree with that. I know by my photo it may not look like it. But there was a time when I made myself a gym rat. I was able to lose 90 pounds. Everyone asks you when you lose that kind of weight how you did it? I would explain that I would spend like 3 hours a day in a gym like 5 or 6 times a week. I would do a ton of cardio as part of that. People were hoping to hear I had some magic pill or fad diet that made it happen. However it was all about simple hard work. I think on a different topic that the panic and fear of Raptors fans that was growing and is now likely at record levels was based on something. Yes the Raptors have played poorly and there is lots of reasons and fears tied to that. However in the past in the Eastern Conference you could realistically expect to make the playoffs even with a record below .500. A far cry from the West, in which a team who had more wins than when Raptors won their division 2 years ago missed the playoffs. I asked Paul if he thought the improvement in the East was a factor in the panic and quick frustration from the fan base?

Paul Jones-" Yeah, that is a good point. Better than it was 2 years ago when Raptors won the division crown. I think that is part of the panic or issue that causes people to look so far ahead. But Toronto I still think has a decent team. We have scouts that are sitting on media row and they say this team should be better than this. Form an optimistic outlook as a fan you can say that the Raptors have good parts they just have to put it together."

If I asked Paul the same question today instead of yesterday would his answer change? I don't know But even those in the media and the organization had to take that loss last night harder than your average loss. Now the Raptors did not hold a lead for much time at all last night. But through this season they have had very large leads slip away. Paul talks about that whole idea of leads going away and getting a full 48 minutes of effort from this Raptor team.

Paul Jones-" Keep the effort up. It is one of the hardest things to do in professional sports is to play with a big lead. When you get up 13-15 points you can't come down and take a bad shot. You have to get back and get stops like it is a one point game. At the other end treat the ball with care and make sure you get quality shots. You are only like 4 or 5 possessions away from building that 13 point lead to a 20 point lead. It is a bigger whole for them and it gives you a little cushion should they other team push back a little. I think that is something this team just has to pay more attention too. "

I wanted to close to ask a question about what has become a stable of my following the Raptors on the road. In Eric Smith's blog "The Rap", Paul has joined Eric for what the call Vlogs. They started out with Paul and Eric sitting in the hotel room on the road and talking about the Raptors and sometimes about the cities they are in. I have become a huge fan of them. Paul tells me that this was Eric's idea and it was developed at the meetings to start the year down at the A.C.C. I have enjoyed them. Paul and Eric have taken the suggestions of his readers and tried to include them in what they are doing. Sometimes they have found some locations out and about from the hotel room. The main thing is they have been a lot of fun. Paul says both he and Eric have enjoyed doing them as well. It gives me a feeling of connection to the Raptors and what is going on while they are on the road. I will link you up to an example from yesterday prior to the Oklahoma City game.

Vlog 13 OKC

I am a big fan of these things and I am a big fan of both Eric and Paul. So thanks to Paul for this visits and all the ones he has made in the past. I wish Paul and Eric and their families all the best in this holiday season. I am happy that they make time for me and inturn you the readers of the Dino Nation Blog. I love having are guests and I am happy to say I have never asked a question that they have not been happy to answer. When times are tough like this it is not always a lot of fun talking about this team and it's struggles. But in good times or bad times my guests answer the question I ask that I feel you will want answers too.

I will be busy working as I mentioned testing the new live blog for The Score tonight. I welcome you to follow along be it online or via your favourite mobile toy. I am going to try to get started and have a bit of a pre game show where you can have a say on the Raps. During time outs and haftime and post game you can have your input. While the game is going on I will be giving you the blow by blow or play by play. I am looking forward to it despite the kind of lousy mood in Raptorland.

Raps vs Spurs Live Blog


Obviously there will be no Raptor Rewind as a result. This may become a regular thing for me so if it does on those nights Raptors Rewind will be replaced with your invitation to join the Live Blog fun. It is not a chat but I will take your input when I can. Pre, Half, Post and Time outs I will include as much of your comments as I can. All depends on how many folks show up and have something to say. Given the mood of things lately a reminder that all comments need to be PG-13 or Better.

J.O Injury Update.

This will not be a very long post but there is good news on the Jermaine O'Neal Injury front. It seems that big brace that J.O wears on his knee did it's job. The injury news is fairly good. After some Raptor fans were ready to call off the season. It seems you can get off the bridge and not jump off it. I give you the latest news from D.Smith and E.Smith. Doug of the Toronto Star and Eric of the Fan 590.

Doug Smith on J.O

And

Eric Smith Also On J.O

So everyone can now breath again. Things look about as good as you can expect after a pretty nasty fall. Sean Williams may not want to go anywhere near J.O the next time the two meet. It would seem unlikely J.O will play tomorrow against Boston. Which is understandable, but also to bad because the way he was playing of late, the Raptors could have used him for sure. So that is the latest. See you folks tomorrow to get ready for Celtics an Raptors.