Raptors Try To Avoid Being Footnote In History

George Karl is searching for his 1000th win of his coaching career(Would be only 7th in history to do it). He comes calling on the place where he won his 900th game in Toronto vs the Raptors. Karl has fought back from cancer to return to the bench. He is just a classy man worthy of joining this exclusive club. Karl has had stops in Cleveland, Seattle and Milwaukee before landing in Denver in 2004/05. Here is a breakdown of how he got to 999 in coaching career. Raptors would rather 1,000 was not against them as they have lost 3 straight returning home to the ACC tonight after an 0-2 road trip. There is also the question of if Carmelo Anthony will play. Not because of him being traded but because of an injury. He of course last season made a last second shot to bury the Raptors in the Nuggets only visit of the season to Toronto.

The Basics: Denver 13-8 (3-7 on Road) Toronto 8-14 (2-4 without Evans)

When Last We Saw Them: Raymond Felton got the horse shot of a life time 5 bounces and in for 3 and that was the dagger to kill the Raptors. A career high 41 by Andrea Bargnani was not enough in the end. A much better effort than the last 2 losses but still a loss all the same.

Key Match Ups: Billups vs Calderon should be a good one to watch. Carmelo Anthony is a game time decision in this one and if he is not in the line-up Billlups will be or should be looking to score more to make up for that loss. Demar DeRozan matches up with Afflalo and this is a match-up he needs to win. Finally what does Andrea do for an encore matched up with Nene on the opposite side of the ledger.

Other Things of Note: Denver has won 3 straight in this series at the ACC and hold an all time 18-10 edge overall. No Birdman or blue light specials for K-Mart shoppers as they are both out. We are also hosting are MGD Best Seats in the House contest and heading over to Real Sports Bar post game. So it should be a blast. Looking forward to it and one last congrats to all our winners. So no recap of this one as the DNB will be taking the night off to have some fun with our lucky readers that won.

"NBAz in 7 Dayz"

LeBron James is right. He is right to believe the Cleveland Cavaliers can learn a lesson from the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Here's why. Before Thursday night's game in Cleveland, the Miami Heat were preparing for LeBron's homecoming unlike anything they've seen before. Extra plain clothed and uniformed officers everywhere. The level of intensity surrounding this game was comparable to a game seven NBA final, yet we were only 20 games into the regular season. All this over him leaving Cleveland for Miami. Have whatever opinion you want about him leaving in the matter in which he did but at the end of the day, he did just that - he left. And to put it bluntly, jilted Cleveland fans need to get over it and move on. The anger and bravado towards LeBron is doing nothing for the cause. Go ahead and pursue legal action against him for leaving if you think it is warranted. But he is over it and the 38 points he put up Thursday night shows that. The Cleveland Cavaliers have the potential to be something great. If they don't get on the right path soon, the dream of winning an NBA championship before LeBron James does, won't even be on the radar. Many things on my radar today: the NBA making a historical purchase, Allen Iverson putting on a happy face and George Karl going for win number one thousand.

Shopping for a Bargain

Let's start with the facts. NBA Commissioner David Stern has officially announced the NBA is going through with the purchase of the New Orleans Hornets. The sale has to be approved by the NBA's Board of Governors by a vote which will likely take place next week. Minority Hornets owner Gary Chouest decided not to buy out majority Hornets owner George Shinn and in the absence of any viable purchaser, here we are. I have a real problem with this. While I feel for the City of New Orleans and Hornets fans, I don't understand how it has gotten this far. The outgoing owners are singing the praises of the organization and the Hornet's management team but it must not be all sunshine and roses if they are saying this on their way out the door. Realistically, how can the league afford to do this when they asking players to take a pay cut so the league can remain viable, as they put it. We are on the verge of a lockout and the source evidence of why is already being seen. There are many questions which need to be answered: How long will the NBA own controlling interest of the New Orleans Hornets? Will they remain owners once a buyer is found? What will happen the next time an NBA club dips into financial ruin? What does this say about the league and the amount of say or control of how NBA clubs are run? I really hope the NBA Board of Governors discuss these questions when making their decision next week.

All Smiles and Giggles for Allen Iverson

According to Allen Iverson, he is happy with his new career in Turkey. Knowing how much he wanted to be playing in the NBA just a few months ago, this is just as much about convincing himself as it is about convincing us just how happy he really is. He told his followers on Twitter: "I am very happy here in Istanbul. My family and I are making this our home". But let's pretend an NBA club comes knocking at his door. Don't think for one second he will ignore the doorbell. He is trying to make the best of a challenging situation. He is a talented player in a tough spot. His two year, 4 million-dollar contract with Besiktas came after no NBA team offered him a contract. That has got to hurt. To make matters even more challenging, Iverson's start in Turkey hasn't been all that impressive. After five games so far, He has averaged 9.6 points and 3.6 assists per game. In 2001, he was the NBA's Most Valuable Player. I hope he is really happy over there and is successful in whatever he defines as success. Let's pretend again there IS an NBA lockout and there is no basketball next season. Allen Iverson has one year left on his contract with Besiktas and is playing basketball when his competition isn't. Sound like a good time to start positioning for a spot on an NBA roster? Time will only tell.

George Karl Looking for Win Number 1, 000

The Toronto Raptors will be cheering for the Denver Nuggets tonight. I am sure they will be since they don't want to host a team this Friday whose Head Coach is on the verge of 1,000 career wins. The Denver Nuggets will be in Charlotte tonight taking on the Bobcats and chasing a dream for their Head Coach, George Karl. This is an important win on so many levels. The 'one thousand career wins' club is exclusive and has only a half a dozen members like Pat Riley, Phil Jackson, Jerry Sloan, Lenny Wilkens, Don Nelson and Charlotte Bobcats' Head Coach Larry Brown (a good friend of Karl's). George Karl has coached over 22 seasons in the NBA and wants this win for practical reasons so he can get out of the spotlight and back to the business of building his Denver Nuggets team. On a personal level, this win is important since just after a few years of battling prostate cancer, he underwent treatment for throat and neck cancer. He's been given a clean bill of health but continues to monitor his recovery. "He is a terrific coach. He's overcome a lot. I think we're all proud of what he's accomplished, and I think he is going to win a lot more before he hangs it up" (Charlotte Bobcats Head coach, Larry Brown). Before joining the Denver Nuggets in 2005, George Karl coached the Cavs (1984-86), Warriors (1986-88), Sonics (1991-98) and the Bucks (1998-03). In 1996, his Seattle Super Sonics won the Western Conference title but lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls in the NBA final. So imagine what a win tonight will mean with his good friend and rivals in opposition.

It will also make it easier for me to cheer for the Raptors on Friday when they host the Denver Nuggets. The DNB will be hosting some lucky fans of the blog to boxed seats at Friday's game - I am really looking forward to it.

Thanks for joining me today. See you on Thursday for more "Behind Enemy Lines".

"Jiggly Bits"

This should make you laugh. So it is Friday night and the Denver Nuggets are preparing for a pre-season match-up with the Portland Trail Blazers. Fifteen minutes before tip-off, Nuggets Head Coach George Karl realizes he has two right shoes. Poor guy. It is his first game back from going through throat cancer treatment and literally, starts off on the wrong foot. His team ends up taking this one from Portland 109-99, so the shoes really didn't matter. It's what he said about being back that stuck out for me, "...but there's a peacefulness to being back there and listening to the chatter and interacting with players and coaches and some fans". Sometimes this is better than the chemo or any other treatment the oncologist will throw at you. A friend of mine just told me his lung cancer has spread to his back and he will be in the hospital soon for more treatments. He thinks the same way Coach Karl does. Feeling the love and affection from those around you and choosing to be real (CHOOSE being the operative word) and living life in a positive way helps you fight this disease. For REAL. So if anyone out there is battling cancer or knows someone who is, realize it can be scary but it doesn't have to be. Sometimes you might feel like you have two right feet like Coach Karl but you are not alone. And hey, if basketball is your distraction, you are in good company, my friend. Let's talk Turkey, Raptors and something that disturbs me about the Denver Nuggets marketing strategy.

A Sad Turkey in Philly

It's a real shame when you take time away from your job and come back to realize you don't have one anymore. There has to more to it than to be "seemingly unwanted" by the NBA when it comes to Allen Iverson. Maybe rosters are full, clubs committed to other players or the dreaded and overused "going in a different direction". At the end of the day, Allen Iverson is still a great basketball player no matter what his problems were off the court. (As long as they don't become a distraction on the court). His heart is with the NBA but in the interest of playing the game he loves, is seriously considering a move to Turkey. I know we've talked about a move overseas for Iverson before but it just feels awkward for someone like him not to being playing in the NBA. Iverson had been negotiating a deal with China and those talks aren't dead yet but Turkey is looking like his best option since their season is starting soon. Remember, he's 35 years old and after he was drafted number one in 1996, spent 10 years in a Philadelphia uniform, is a 4-time scoring champion and it wasn't until a stint with Memphis and a return to Philly did Iverson really deal with on and off the court issues. Why wouldn't the Toronto Raptors be willing to take a one-year contract with him and roll the dice? They have nothing to loose. It's just pains me to see someone with his talent possibly leaving the NBA.

History Makes a Pattern

So the Toronto Raptors are in Chicago tonight ready to take on the Bulls. Barring a look at Carlos Boozer, Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah or Kyle Korver, the history of these two teams playing each other seems to land in the Raptors' favour. Think back to their last two games. On December 5, 2009, Toronto came out strong in the first quarter with over double the amounts of points Chicago had (37-16) and managed to hang onto an edge in quarters 3 and 4 to win the contest 110-78. This was done with Chris Bosh in the line-up and managing 25 points and 12 rebounds on the night - with 13 of those points coming in the first quarter alone. Now switch to April 11th, 2009 in Toronto. Now it's Derrick Rose with a game-high 26 points, leading his team to a 104-88 victory over the Raptors. Chicago was only up by five points in the first quarter (28-23) but took two of the three following quarters. What does this tell you? When these two clubs meet, the team who comes out strong and plays strong for 3 of 4 quarters will win the contest. Especially true for the Raptors who are trying to gain every bit of an edge they can. I don't know that Jarret Jack or Leandro Barbosa will put up the points they did against Boston Sunday night because that would mean the Raptors are becoming consistent and free of living under Bosh's shadow. Give them time. Before the play was "get it to Bosh". Now they seem to be playing the floor more and working together as a team. Let's be serious for a second. No one thought the Boston Celtics would have been in the 2010 NBA Final the way they played the regular season and look what they did. Maybe you would be pressed to find a Nate Robinson or a Rajon Rondo type of player on the Raptors roster or maybe I am having an extremely optimistic Tuesday. I am starting to think Chris Bosh leaving the Raptors was the best thing for the team as a whole. I enjoy Chris Bosh as a player and will support and watch him play for Miami but he needed to leave. Players like Sonny Weems, DeMar DeRozen, Jarret Jack are on highlight-of the-night packs and the first players people want to talk about now. This is good. The next thing the Raptors need to do is play with confidence and to be aggressive right out of the gate - no holding back. No casually jogging back to defend, no third or fourth quarter break-downs in transition. None of that. Stare the three Miami Kings in the face and plow through the rest of the NBA. Because really, they have nothing to loose.

Can't stand the Heat? Get out of Denver.

As much as I support LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh playing together, the novelty is starting to wear off. But apparently not in Denver. The Denver Nuggets marketing department needs to give their collective heads a shake. Instead promoting the product they have, to sell tickets they are promoting the Miami Heat: "10-Game Fan Plan - See The Miami Heat Free". Woulld you go into a job interview and say "Hire me because my neighbour is awesome?" No. This floors me. By including the Miami Heat in their marketing campaign they are essentially saying two things. One, the Miami Heat are more exciting to watch than us. Two, we have no confidence our product can sell itself. If I were the Miami Heat, I'd be asking for royalties.

Basketball Beyond the Floor

Remember to join me here on the DNB this Thursday for our last "Basketball Beyond the Floor" of the season. Starting next week, a new feature called "Behind Enemy Lines" will take it's place. This new feature will take at look at the Raptor's opponents for the coming week. Until this Thursday, happy reading.

"Jiggly Bits" - Danielle de Graauw

Olympics...what Olympics? As if that statement would get you very far these days. It's hard to talk NBA to the average person with all this excitement going on much less read about it in the paper - other than the NBA stats on the back page. Our athletes deserve all the accolades that four years and sometimes a lifetime of training will bring. Go Canada Go! Now that I have that out of my system, let's get down to business.



NBA Rookie of the Year - And the winner is...Tyreke Evans.

So I hope you all took my advice to think outside the box after last week's NBA trade deadline. Lots more to think about right? So here's what went down in a nutshell: Tracy McGrady and Sergio Rodriguez are now Knicks; the Rockets went shopping and came back with Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill, Jared Jeffries, Hilton Armstrong and a first round pick; the Kings crowned Carl Landry, Joey Dorsey and Larry Huges. Oh and Tyeke Evans got Rookie of the Year. Woohoo! I know, I know - you'd think my first pick would be Derrick Rose because I have been extolling his virtues as of late but in all seriousness, Tyreke has the whole package and his move with Dejuan Blair and the Rookie All Star MVP trophy really solidified it for me - a class act all the way. I think it would be in the NBA's best interest to attach Tyreke's image to the award, too - sending a message that this is the type of young player they want to attract. Plus with the trades Sacramento has made, the ball will be in his hands more often, hence more opportunities to shine. We can't forget about BBJ (Bucks' Brandon Jennings) but the only way he'd knock Tyreke off the rookie podium is if he starts racking up the points in Milwaukee, thus moving the Bucks up in the East. So really, the NBA Rookie of the Year award is for Tyreke to loose - he really deserves it in my opinion.

Don't mess with a "Bull" in transition

So all this talk about trades, transitions and titles really boil down to this: you call have all the skill and pizazz in the world but if you don't have a good supporting cast around you, you won't be invited to the final show. Now insert the Chicago Bulls just for fun to illustrate. All I have been reading about the Bulls lately is they are in a transition year. Ok, that's fair. So then does this mean that Coach Vinny Del Negro is in transition too? If I were Bulls' management, I would be saying this with my inside voice since they have tickets and merchandise to unload. But think about it - the Bulls make some trades and free up some spending money ($20 million) and Chicago fans have every right to get excited. This doesn't mean that a playoff spot will mean anything more than a time for Rose and the rest to develop and gain experience. I think their goal now should be to work hard and build themselves up to seem more attractive to a big ticket player or at least someone than can help them get over the transition hump.

Speaking of big ticket, do you want to know what I read about Chris Bosh and why he should leave the Raptors? Take into account this journalist is writing for an american publication. So Sam Smith of the Bulls.com says a good reason for Chris Bosh to leave the Raptors is he's in Canada without ESPN. Seriously? This is the best you've got? Do we think Bosh would leave to help someone else win? He's a player who needs a team and a city behind him and that's what he has here in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Mr. Smith. We stand behind our players and anytime you want to come north of the border to take in a game, you will see why.

This is why the trade deadline makes the offseason so interesting. Look at the free agency history in the NBA. Lebron James is really only approaching his prime years and can be compared to Michael Jordan. MJ was a free agent in 1996 but he wasn't expected to leave Chicago - like Lebron. In 2004, Kobe Bryant was also a free agent but quickly proved L.A. was where he needed to be. I've heard people talk about Lebron going to Chicago but he wouldn't be able to wear the number 23 so please, let's stop perpetuating that rumour.

I'm a new Denver Nuggets Fan

I think the best story coming out of all this wheeling and dealing, lies in Denver. God Bless George Karl for trying to battle the play-offs and cancer at the same time. Five years ago, he had prostate surgery and has been good ever since. Then doctors found a malignant lump in his throat six weeks ago and Karl keeps it to himself - only management knew. Imagine being in this position. You are in contract negotiations with your bosses and suddenly it doesn't matter how many millions you are making. So management supports a one-year contract extension for Karl and the rest of the Denver Nuggets family -the players- are told. I like how the NBA, friends and foes alike, have rallied around him. And how Denver Nuggets management got behind him. If I were him, I think the most difficult thing dealing with all this would be all the questions and pushes for updates on his condition in press conferences and daily dealings with the media. I don't know if I could deal with that and may have kept my mouth shut entirely. Or maybe not. I think the love and support of family and teammates will move mountains for Karl in the next few weeks. It's times like these that make you appreciate what's around you - my heart goes out to George and the rest of the Karl family - close and extended.