Steve Nash In Charge Of Canada's Basketball Future

In the past Canada Basketball has done a lot of things wrong it probably started with the firing of Jay Triano. This also led to the end of Steve Nash playing for Canada. He is now back not on the floor, but he is now back in the roll of G.M or basketball Czar whatever title you like to put on it. People have made the comparison to Wayne Gretzky running Team Canada in Hockey. This is different though as Nash has no plan to retire from the NBA anytime soon. He will have Rowan Barrett acting as the Assistant G.M while he continues his NBA Career. That said a phone call from Steve Nash to come play for Canada Basketball would carry a lot of weight with young stars that are coming up in Canada. That perhaps begins with Tristan Thompson and does not stop there.

Steve Nash coming back to the program would obviously open up the door for Jay Triano to return in some roll. It isn't clear if it would be in his same roll he once had at head coach. This is the first time in a long time that Canada Basketball has done something that is universally applauded. Canada Basketball has always had issues with money adding the face of Basketball in Canada should only help in bringing money into the fold.

In case you were wondering someone did ask the question Raptor fans might be interested in. Will Steve Nash consider coming to Toronto to play for the Raptors? He didn't say no. He said he has not even begun to consider his options in terms of the NBA. However, he said he would consider every situation presented to him. This press conference was held at the ACC and I am sure Steve would have talked to his old  friend Bryan Colangelo right? The idea of Nash playing for the Raptors does seem a long shot given the amount of time he has left in his career and his desire to still win a championship.

Nash said in this press conference that greatest accomplishment in basketball was playing for Team Canada. That might seem strange for a two time NBA MVP to say. That said, it likely does not surprise anyone that he said it. This will be a positive move for Canada Basketball and will or should get this ship that has been drifting along heading no where. Now Canada Basketball has a captain to guide the ship and it has a huge amount of talent that all grew up watching Steve Nash that he should be able to bring into the fold.

Finally Canada should have it's full amount of basketball talent at it's disposal to try and go out and compete with the rest of the world. Canada failed to qualify under Leo Rautins for the London Olympics and now the goal and challenge belongs to Steve Nash to get Canada to the World Championships in 2014 and the Olympics in Brazil in 2016. The roster for that team should be the best that Canada has every put together with the amount of talent out there and Steve Nash being the guy responsible for bringing it together.

Colangelo Does A 180 On Triano To Fans Delight

The fact that Jay Triano is out as Raptors Head Coach is welcome news to many fans. It should not be surprising news either except for the fact it sure seemed like he had the support of G.M Bryan Colangelo. Prior to Colangelo being brought back as G.M he even went as far as to say if he did not return as G.M he would endorse Triano to return as Head Coach to a new G.M. Well that new G.M was in fact him and we do not see Jay Triano as head coach. It is a bit of a head scratching moment. What exactly changed in that month or so? Jay Triano never won or lost a game in that time. Colangelo in a telephone conference with the media last night talked about Triano not reaching standards that were set. These performance standards were not based on wins and loses although Colangelo would not get into specifics of what these standards were. Here is what he said specifically on the subject.

Bryan Colangelo:

" Some of those performances standards were certain things that we put in place to measure our progress as a team and an organization. Again not necessarily being measured by wins and losses. That was something that we both acknowledged was not going to be an easy task last year. But it was more about environment and direction. As I said at the time (His End Of Season Press Conference) Jay fared well in a lot of areas. But at the end of the day in terms of a gut feeling about where this needs to go and how we need to get there and how quickly we want to get there. "

Colangelo went on to talk about his conversation with Jay and the conclusion of that conversation being the feeling that there was need for a new voice and a new leader to take this team to the next level. Colangelo went on to praise Triano and speak of his basketball knowledge and how he looks forward to working with him in his new role as his special assistant. What exactly that role could be is up for debate. According to Colangelo you might even see Jay back in his old job as an assistant coach if the man he hires would want Triano.

But reading between the lines of what Bryan Colangelo had to say it would appear that Triano's lack of ability to get his team to play defence ranks high in the reasons why he is no longer the head coach of the Raptors. That also may speak as to why P.J Carlesimo will not be considered for the job.

Bryan Colangelo

" I was not hiring P.J to be Jay's ultimate replacement. That was not the case. What we were looking to do was to amp up Jay's staff, amp up defensive focus and effort. That was the sole purpose of bringing in P.J last year."

Which clearly didn't happen. While P.J is still under contract it would be a surprise if he remained given that he is not even being considered for the head coaching position. In terms of the rest of the assistants they all are not under contract and would likely have to be selected by the new head coach to remain. Who that will be is up for debate. Bryan Colangelo made it clear he wants someone with experience and pedigree and a better defensive mindset combined with a free flowing offence. Ideally more balance in a approach leaning to defence. Here is how Colangelo defined it.

Bryan Colangelo

" Candidates that have a great deal of experience. I think that is something that is important in this regard, I think this young team that was obviously developing well under Jay need to see some that has a pedigree or resume that would indicate that this is some that has achieved success. Clearly someone that has somewhat of a defensive minded prospective. Someone that has had success putting solid defensive units out there. That have had success limiting points while still having some flow to the offence. Finding a perfect blend in someone that does have a good feel of the offensive side of the ball. But at the same time can really drill down on the defensive side of the ball which is something that we need to dramatically improve on. "

So it would seem that the lack of defence is ultimately what cost Jay his job. Some would point to the fact with Bargnani and Calderon as starters that might not have been possible for Jay to do. If both remain under this new coach we will find out. Given what Colangelo desires to have it makes for a very short list you would figure. Raptor fans have long mentioned the name of Jeff Van Gundy as a potential coach for the Toronto Raptors. Colangelo's description sure sounds like him. However it would appear he seems very content in his current role with ESPN as commentator. Other names that have been put out there include Rick Aldeman who also would fit the description Colangelo laid out. Lawrence Frank the former Nets coach now an assistant with the Celtics could also be considered. If you want a long shot how about Jerry Sloan who was the longest serving coach in NBA History until last season when he left the Jazz. But there is no indication that Sloan has any desire to get back into coaching.

This is going to be a huge move in terms of Colangelo's long term future and one he will not take lightly. After all Bryan only was given a short extension himself and really can not afford to get this wrong. You also wonder if the fact Colangelo was not able to make this move sooner has cost him a candidate he desired? Kevin McHale was just hired by the Rockets and Mike Brown surprisingly ended up with the Lakers job. Colangelo is under the gun time wise in terms of finding a coach prior to the draft. Something he says in a perfect world he would like to do. But with the draft fast approaching on June 23rd that seems unlikely. There also is that whole lockout thing coming too. I am not clear on how that would impact on things. If you go by the NFL example it would suggest that Colangelo would need to hire a coach prior to the lockout taking place. He was asked about this but declined to comment based on the NBA rules about talking about the "L" word and the fact he would likely be fined.

But make no mistake about the search for the next Raptors head coach has begun and it will be a huge step for this franchise one way or the other. Triano for my money was never going to be the guy to lead this team all the way to the end of the road in being a contender. So the fact the Raptors have cut bait with him makes total sense to me. It also is clear at least for me that this team never was buying into what he was selling on the defensive end of the floor. While everyone to a man likes Jay Triano he was not the guy to get the job done in the long term to me. He never seems to lose a job anyway so it is hard to feel to sorry for him. Just as he survived several coaching changes as an assistant. He has survived his own demise with this new job as some sort of assistant to Colangelo. Does this mean he will be getting Colangelo coffee? Likely not but it does keep him still a part of the organization which is much more than many coaches get on being fired. Colangelo himself thinks Jay was given more than a fair shake and I agree with him. Here is what Colangelo had to say on it.

Bryan Colangelo

" There are certain things that I felt we needed to address from a different point of view, with respect to a fair chance I think that by virtue of a couple things. Jay was here for a full 2 and 2/3rds seasons. There was a team that arguably had a lot more talent and a team that had arguably a lot less talent. Again not being measure by wins and losses being measured by overall performance. There was many things that go into that performance beyond wins and losses. It was determined that it was the right time to make a move. I would say by virtue of Jay having an oppurtunity to remain with the organization to continue to be part of this rebuilding plan and still have input into the on going process. I think Jay not only got a fair shake but he has an ongoing fair opportunity to be part of this."

I would agree with that one hundred percent. But it all seems very odd to me that Colangelo even though he gives no indication of it seems to have done a 180 degree turn on Triano. Anyone that walked away from his end of the season press conference that did not feel Jay Triano would be back if Bryan was didn't see same press conference I did. Yet that is not the case. It makes you wonder what exactly happened. I can only come up with two explanations. When Colangelo was brought back there was an understanding between himself and MLSE that he would make a move at the coaching position or he would not be back. Now who was the one pushing for that is unclear. If it was Colangelo it would seem odd that he would keep Jay Triano on as his assistant. If it was the MLSE Board that wanted Jay out that would seem odd as well given they have kept him around for so long in the organization. The only other thing that makes any sense is the meeting that Colangelo had with Triano changed his thinking on Triano's ability to coach this team going forward.

Still I am not going to complain as to why this has happened or how. I am just glad it did. I have expressed it many times how I feel in terms of Jay Triano and his future as coach of this team. I feel this was a positive step in the right direction. I am also encouraged by the type of coach Colangelo wants to bring in to replace him. Ultimately regardless of what you think of Jay Triano you have to respect him for all that he as done as man for Canadians in terms of coaching at the NBA level. He has and will remain a historic figure for others to follow. Give him credit for all that he has been able to accomplish. However that is not enough in my view to keep him on board coaching without having really proven anything to justify it. It will be very interesting to see who in fact Colangelo can land to replace him. When the Lakers are only getting Mike Brown to replace a coaching icon in Phil Jackson you have every right to be a little worried. But Bryan Colangelo has to get this right not only for the franchises future but his own.

Triano is Toast

In what would have to be considered a surprise the Toronto Raptors have announced that Jay Triano is out as head coach of the Raptors. Bryan Colangelo who recently was brought back as President/G.M seemed like he was pretty committed to keeping his head coach in place. However now just over a month later this announcement comes with option on his contract needing to be decided on by June 15th. Triano will remain with the organization as a special assistant to Colangelo. This is unexpected and shocking news to me. But what a number of Raptor fans have wanted has in fact happened as Triano is out. I have always felt this was the direction the organization should go but am still stunned they actually have. Here is quotes from both Colangelo and the now former Raptor Head Coach Jay Triano.

Bryan Colangelo on the Triano Firing:

“I have great respect for Jay Triano both as a person and as a basketball mind,” said Colangelo. Jay deserves tremendous credit for developing our young players this past season and our most recent win-loss record does not appropriately reflect his many positive contributions to this organization.This was a difficult decision to make, but after almost three full seasons of observation and evaluation I believe that bringing in a new voice as head coach will accelerate the progress we are looking to make in the coming years. I am very pleased that Jay has agreed to stay on and help see through the plan that we have designed and initiated together.”

Triano on his dismissal:

“I am grateful to the organization for the opportunity to be a head coach in the NBA," said Triano. “I am proud of the work that I and the coaching staff have done with our young players and feel confident we have laid the foundation for a team that will continue to improve. I look forward in assisting Bryan to deliver a championship team to Toronto.”

Triano was 87 -142 as head coach of the Toronto Raptors and Bryan Colangelo is expected to address the media(Via Conference Call) at 6:15pm Toronto Time.

Raptors Land at 5

Toronto Raptors unfortunately followed the form of our mock draft lottery simulation. When we ran the lotto 100 times the 5th pick was the most popular outcome and that is where the Raptors ended up. Thanks to Both the Jazz and Cavs moving up. The Cavs did not earn the pick with their own selection which ended up at 4. The first round pick they acquired in the Baron Davis trade from the Clippers landed them the first overall pick. The Jazz also moved up with one of their two picks to end up at 3rd. The only team in the top 3 at the start of the night that remained there with their own pick was the Minnesota Timberwolves who have never won the draft lottery and selected first overall. They wind up 2nd in the draft. So based on how things have shaken out it is likely the Raptors if the choose to remain and keep the pick they could select Kemba Walker or Brandon Knight at the 5th spot.

Bryan Colangelo in a conference call after the lottery admitted that if the Raptors had been at number 3 as of this moment he is not certain who they would have selected. He noted that the lack of a true center was the Raptors greatest need and does not really see a guy in the draft that addresses that need. He did point out the Raptors did save some money by moving down the 2 spots. Pointing out it added to the free agency money the team would have to spend. Colangelo noted about the great uncertainty of this draft class and he almost seemed relieved to have been dropped to five as opposed to staying at the 3rd spot. Colangelo said that if there was a year to move back from three to five this might have been the year to do it. Saying that there was a group of players after the top 2 in this draft class that Raptors could have considered at the 3rd spot.

There was also talk of the whole keeping his job thing. Bryan had this to say on remaining in Toronto and with the Raptors."I'm happy to be back and committed to this organization to the city and I am proud to call Toronto home and am glad to be not having to look for another house." In addition he pointed out with his position being secure the business of the Toronto Raptors in terms of basketball operations can move forward now. Trade calls and determining the future of Jay Triano. It seemed pretty clear although Colangelo has much to do in preparation for the draft he seemed like he was anxious to get the coaching situation dealt with. Based on his comments after the season it would be highly unlikely to see the Raptors not at least pick up the option on Jay Triano's contract which needs to be addressed by June 15th.

There was no talk of moving the pick but that was something Colangelo did not rule out in his post season remarks and with the Raptors dropping two spots that might be even more attractive an option in a draft that Colangelo even admits has a lot of uncertainty.

Here is a copy of the press release earlier in the day on the Colangelo extension.

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday the club has agreed to a multi-year contract extension with president and general manager Bryan Colangelo. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed. Colangelo was named to his current position February 28, 2006. He joined the franchise following 15 years in the Phoenix Suns organization, where he served 11 seasons as the club’s general manager including the last seven as team president.“Over the past few months Bryan has worked on a winning plan for the Raptors,” said Richard Peddie, President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. “Today I’m happy to report that he has everyone’s 100 per cent support of his plan and we look forward to seeing its success on the court.” “I’m very pleased to get this resolved and I look forward to following through on the next critical phase of rebuilding our basketball team,” said Colangelo. “I am deeply committed to the organization and our fans and I’m even more proud to call Toronto home.”Colangelo’s arrival in Toronto was marked by a series of trades and free agent acquisitions that resulted in nine new players on the roster at the start of 2006-07 training camp. In his first full season at the helm of the Raptors, the team improved an NBA-best 20 wins over the 2005-06 season to tie a franchise high with 47 victories. Toronto went on to win the 2006-07 Atlantic Division championship, securing home court in its return to the playoffs after missing the postseason the previous five seasons. For his efforts in leading the Raptors’ dramatic change of fortune, Colangelo was named 2006-07 Sporting News NBA Executive of the Year. It was his second such honour, having received the award in 2005 after guiding the Suns to the third-greatest turnaround in NBA history en route to winning the Pacific Division Championship. He is one of only three executives to win the award with two different franchises (Bob Bass, Jerry West).>During Colangelo’s career as a general manager, his teams have appeared in the NBA Playoffs 11 of 16 seasons, captured four division championships and posted an overall record of 665-612 (.521).

So the Raptors land B.C but no good luck from him at the draft lottery this time around. Although some might question how lucky he was in the first place considering the feelings of a lot of folks about his last number 1 pick of Andrea Bargnani. Colangelo did reference talking trades as part of his off-season work and he made it quite clear in his post season remarks that if he was running the show he was not afraid to look at moving Bargnani. Well time to see if he meant it. But it is nice to have him back as although I have not always agreed with his moves he has proven to have the ability to correct his mistakes and keep this team in a position to have a chance to make changes and correct it's course. Colangelo referenced the toughest part of this season had nothing to do with his personal contract situation it was having to endure the losing and that is something we can all agree on. Welcome back B.C you have a lot of work to do.

Starting 5 Season Wrap with Jack Armstrong

It is one of the great thrills I get from my job working on the Dino Nation Blog in talking with our guest today. Jack Armstrong is one of my favourite people to talk with for so many reasons. But first and foremost is because of his honesty in his evaluations of this team and franchise. I always have a great deal of respect for his frank and honest answers to the questions he is asked. Raptors have a lot of those questions at the moment and we try to tackle as many of them as possible. Jack weighs in on Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon's futures. The lack of a decision on the future on Bryan Colangelo. Some thoughts on the Raptors in terms of the draft. A look at where the future of Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis should be heading. As well as why he feels that Jay Triano is capable of being able to change is approach to demand more from his team. That and a lot more with Jack Armstrong in about a 30 minute conversation that has a lot of interesting points made by Jack. Really is well worth your time to have a listen.

I know that I got a lot from that conversation and I hope you all did as well. Jack made the point that the Raptors have gotten in their own way at times in their 16 year existence. Few can argue with that. The list of things would be long indeed. You would hope that with a new CBA in place the Raptors can use it to their advantage. But as Jack said regardless of the system it will take doing all the right things that are required to build a winner regardless of the system. I hope to have Jack back closer to the draft to talk about it in more depth. For those who are unaware Jack Armstrong still covers many games in the NCAA on a regular basis along with all his work with the Raptors on TSN and elsewhere. Including on Team 990 where he has taken over doing the basketball segment on the show that I have done for last 2 years. There is no one I would pick to replace me better than Jack. He is more than just someone I talk with I consider him a good friend to me and will always support him as he has done me.

Starting 5 Season Wrap with Ryan Wolstat.

The Dino Nation Blog will be trying to hook up with all of our regular guests and get their thoughts on the Raptors season and uncertain future. Today in the guest chair is Ryan Wolstat from the Toronto Sun. I had got to know Ryan through social media and then have met him a few times in covering games together. I enjoy his work and his honest approach in evaluating things. We look at the future of Bargnani, Triano, Colangelo, Calderon and others. Yes there are a lot of questions to be answered for sure. MLSE has certainly made this situation a lot more cloudy then we might have expected. Heading into an uncertain future in the NBA you have to question the wisdom of that. Hopefully you will find some actual wisdom in this conversation on the future of the Raptors in the short and long term. I always enjoy having are various guest share there opinions with me and thus with you. There is no shortage of opinions on the Raptors future and this franchise that is for sure.

If you do not already follow Ryan on Twitter, I would recommend you do. He can be found @WolstatSun offering solid takes on the Raptors and NBA in addition to his work for The Sun. Also knows his stuff in terms of college hoops as he referenced covering the Final Four this year and was also in Chicago covering the McDonald's All American Game with Myck Kabongo and a couple other Canadian kids in that game as well. In short he is a basketball junkie and knows his stuff.

Happy Locker Clean Out Day

Well I did not travel to Toronto for all the fun and festivities that is locker clean out day. Maybe one day I will. But got to see it all for myself and read up on what I missed. Zack Cooper did a nice summary with all the quotes and notes from Locker Clean Out Day that you can check out. I also give my thoughts and opinions on all that I saw and read in this lengthy podcast. I encourage you to give it a listen. I apologize that I could not sing or rap in between segments to make it a little more entertaining. But hopefully some straight basketball talk will be good enough to keep you interested.

We wanted to find footage of Mike James version of I Believe I Can Fly but it is far to rare. Still here it is (R.Kelly Version) and you have to wonder if you can believe in the Raptors moving forward.

Embarrassment Should Equal Change

I was going to do a re-cap of the Raptors latest humiliation but I decided to just give you a quick run down in the first paragraph. The Raptors were against the worst team in the league and a team that they had beaten twice, by 20 at the ACC in late October and by 15 in Cleveland in January. After an embarrassing performance in NYC the Raptors returned home to take the bar even lower as it turned out. To be down 22 to the worst team in the league is totally unacceptable and quite honestly a joke. You can say what you want about the talent on this roster but I think everyone would agree there is more here than in Cleveland. How anyone can not hold Jay Triano responsible for these constant embarrassments is beyond me. True the Raptors as they often do made a run, and made the game closer than it truly was. But when it started and when it mattered they were a train wreck. The effort was awful and obvious. I love Reggie Evans and he never is lacking effort. But when Reggie Evans is leading your team in scoring for most of the first half something is wrong. True when you talk about effort that points to the players. But at this level it is one of the main jobs of a coach in my opinion to motivated and extract effort from your team. Not just effort after you have shown none. Apologists be dammed, Jay Triano owns some of the responsibility for this. We have seen some of the most humiliating and embarrassing losses in Raptor history with him as the head coach.

Jose Calderon and Andrea Bargnani are also part of this problem. They are a defensive liability and when you play point guard in this league and can't stay with Baron Davis that says it all. In terms of Bargnani there has been zero improvement in his game defensively and if you are going to give Triano praise for the development of DeRozan and Davis, you would need to blame him for Bargnani as well. He himself has admitted to his lack of improvement. Has Bargnani ever missed a start? Has Calderon, if it was not for injury? Would Sam Mitchell have allowed this to go on without sending a message to them? Not likely as Sam Mitchell for what he might lack in offensive creativity or X's and O's he knew how to get a message across. Triano may know his O's very well but his X's are sorely lacking. This all becomes a question of not wins and loses but of a culture. If you are the young players that will be part of this team's future how are you going to react to all this? You have a player in Bargnani that seldom brings any effort at all on the defensive end of the floor but is never really impacted by it. Jose Calderon gets blown by on a consistent basis and if you can show me the last time he fought through a pick I would love to see it.

Talking about defence is wonderful. Jay Triano has talked about it a lot. But his actions do not reflect his words to any real degree as long as Bargnani and Calderon are able to exist with no fear of losing their role no matter how awful they play on that end of the floor. Yet Sonny Weems after leading the team in scoring the night before for sent to the bench in favour of newly acquired James Johnson. Weems is not setting the world on fire with his defence either. But is this a consistent message. Is this the culture you want to create? I don't know about you but it sure isn't one that I want any part of. You can talk defence till you blue in the face, until we see it have actual real consequences for everyone on this roster from 1-12 it means nothing. The reality is with and without Chris Bosh there has been on constant in that Jay Triano has coached this team to the bottom of the league in defence. How on earth their is a story floating around that Jay Trinao may stay and Colangelo could be the one that goes is a total joke to me.

Now I am the first to say Colangelo has not done a great job as well. I have felt that major moves he has made since coming to the Raptors have been failures. But I will give him this much he has been able to press the reset button a couple of times and re-position this team to rebuild itself. This with the bad contracts of both Bargnani and Calderon on the books. Colangelo has to come to grips with the fact that Andrea Bargnani is never going to grow into what he had hoped he would. He lacks the drive and desire to be anything beyond an above average scorer in this league. I would also question is true toughness. Amir Johnson has played through so many things that we know of and probably a few that we don't. To have that drastic contrast to Bargnani is something that makes it pretty obvious. I will go into battle with a guy like Amir Johnson and even if I am not going win the fight, I know that at the very least he is going give me all he has. The longer you keep Bargnani the less likely you are able to move him. You only need to look at Jose Calderon for proof of that. He is to the point he is unable to be moved. Colangelo almost pulled a rabbit out of his hat this summer moving him to the Bobcats. But nothing Calderon has done has made him any easier to get rid of now. It just confirms what everyone knows already. Calderon is a talented pass first point guard at times. His shot is on a steady decline. He can't defend a broom and can be taken out of a play with a pick easier than almost any player in the NBA. While he has proven to not be durable on top of all of that.

I am willing to believe in Bryan Colangelo one last time. But only if some things change. Triano needs to go and Bargnani needs to go. While Sam Mitchell and Bryan Colangelo was not the best marriage in the world. Sam had some good core values about basketball that Colangelo is lacking. Colangelo has never put a high priority on defence and this team needs a coach that does. Not just that will talk about it but act on it.

The one thing that is extremely clear to me is this. If Bryan Colangelo, Jay Trinao and Andrea Bargnani all remain when we start playing basketball again the Raptors are doomed to failure. If no changes happen at all to these 3 key positions in this franchise, how is anyone suppose to believe other wise. This team needs to have a culture of accountability, and it is clear with this group it is lacking that accountability. Why this is very important is you have a very young team that could easily fall apart if this does not change. Demar DeRozan and Ed Davis have still bright futures ahead. But if they grow frustrated with losing and nothing being done to change that, how on earth are they going to grow. People are human after all and if they are in an environment of losing after awhile it is going to have an impact on them.

Ever Raptor fan that was been on board with this franchise from day 1 can tell you all about it. For 16 years we have had to endure a team that has seldom performed to a level of a good team in the NBA. We have watched countless stars grow tired and frustrated and walk away from this franchise. The one theme between all of them is that they lost faith in this franchise to produce a winner. Fans don't have contracts or become free agents. Bloggers don't either to any degree. I have been both and still am both. I have endured 16 years of frustration and have had enough of this constant cycle of failure. The Raptors need to make bold aggressive changes if they are going to truly fix things. They need to look into the mirror and honestly look at where this franchise is at. Which is in a really bad place with people clinging to any small sign of hope they can find. Jay Triano is a great guy, he is and will be a real icon in the sport of basketball in this country. But he also is a guy that has shown no reason for people to have the blind faith they do in him. People always point to his job with Team U.S.A. That is not the NBA. Coach K that is the head coach of that program is smart enough to know what Jay brings to the table in that environment. He has a wealth of experience about the international game as a player and a coach. That doesn't make him an NBA head coach anymore than it does Coach K. Have you ever stopped to wonder why he stays at Duke? Simple answer is he is smart enough to know the NBA is a different, and while coaching an All-Star like roster for a couple of months can be successful, coaching even a great NBA franchise does not offer such guarantees

Change must happen for the Raptors and if it doesn't more embarrassing nights like last night are going to happen. Your future stars are going to develop in a losing culture and get frustrated and want out. Ask Chris Bosh, Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and so on they will all tell you. 16 years of this is more than enough and having some of lowest points in this franchises history only serve to drive that fact home. Change or fail. Simple as that.

Toronto Suns Coming in 2011/12?

No the Raptors are not being named after the Toronto newspaper. But ever since Bryan Colangelo came to Toronto there have always been comparisons and rumours tied to his time in Phoenix. Add this to the latest rumours as it seems B.C will be back according to a story by Mitch Lawrence from the New York Daily News. That is not big news as it has been widely thought he would be. What is news is his former coach is in trouble in New York. The story suggests that if D'Antoni is let go he will not have to look hard for a job. He would come to Toronto and Jay Triano would be out.

While Jay Triano should be out, the reasons he should be are not because this team lacks offence. This team can't defend and it is not like Mike D'Antoni is going to bring a system that will change that. Steve Nash is not walking through the door. Well at least we don't think so. But even at it's peak of excellence, the Suns Colangelo ran were not a team that could win a championship. In the playoffs you need to be able to play defence at some point.

This is all speculation at this point. D'Antoni is still the coach of the Knicks and has not been fired yet. If Colangelo is going to rebuild this team in the pattern of his old Suns teams that will make them entertaining to watch. Especially if you plug say Kemba Walker into that system. But people want a team that will defend. They want a team that can you know actually stop someone from scoring. Not to mention if D'Antoni comes here he will put Pizza Pizza out of business. Seriously all that free pizza is going to ruin them. 100 points for a free slice...better make that 120 points.

This also would suggest that Andrea Bargnani will be part of the mix. Why would I say that. Simple, D'Antoni played ball and coached ball in Italy and you would think can relate to Andrea Bargnani on a much different level in comparison to Sam Mitchell or Jay Triano. He also is not likely to be concerned if he plays plays defence.

While I have always felt there should be a change of the coach for the Raptors this is not what I had in mind. D'Antoni had his best success with the Suns. In fact maybe his only success. People forget that D'Antoni had a short run with the Nuggets going 14-36 in 1998-99. His record in New York has been 97-141. In 4 full season starting in 04-05 with the Suns and Colangelo (For most of it) and Nash he averaged 58 wins.

Also if you are going into full Suns mode who exactly is going to make all these 3 point shots in the system? Well Colangelo does have money to spend under a new CBA and if D'Antoni was brought in you would think the roster will be fine tuned to his style of play. If this all comes to pass the Raptors will be trying to use slight of hand to avoid their real problem. That they can't defend. First step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one. The Raptors if they did go in this direction would not be doing that.

Also can this system even work in the Eastern Conference? That remains to be seen. While the natural instinct is to say it can. After all the Western Conference is the better conference. Look at the playoff race in the East if you care to argue. But when you look at the teams at the top of this conference they are teams that can defend. Boston and Chicago are teams that both have a defence first approach.

For those who dream of a Jeff Van Gundy or someone like him coming to save the Raptors. It would appear he is not walking through that door. Even the Suns in the post Colangelo and D'Antoni era came to realize that you have to at least play some defence to win. There has never been a team that has been able to outscore a team to death in this league to ultimate success. Raptors Assistant Alex English was a part of a Denver Nuggets team that tried to do that. From 79-80 to 89-90 the Nuggets were in the playoffs more than they were not. They won a lot of basketball games and scored a ton of points. But only one time did they make the Conference Finals in 84-85 losing to the Lakers. In a sense the Nuggets were the Suns before the Suns were the Suns.

This team may improve and may become very entertaining if they go this route. They could grow into a consistent playoff team. But if you crave more than that this might not be the direction to go. History tells us that teams like the Nuggets and Suns can win in regular season and can even have some success in the post season. But to win a Championship is not in the cards. Defence wins Championships, not flashy offence and entertaining basketball. If you get that as well it is a bonus. But there is no way to win without being able to defend. Eventually it catches up with you no matter how many points you put on the scoreboard.

9 Games To Go, 9 Questions To Answer

With 9 games to go let's take a look at 9 questions about the Raptors future going forward:

1. Bryan Colangelo's future with the Raptors? It has been the question that has hung over this season all year long. It was always suppose to be a formality but it has yet to become a reality. You have to wonder now if we still will see Bryan Colangelo next season. It still seems likely we will. But with the ownership of MLSE very much up in the air with the teacher's pension fund looking to sell their stake in the team it makes things a little less certain. Do we even know if Bryan wants to come back? If there was another opportunity in the league would he take it? There had been thoughts he could go to New York but with Isiah Thomas surfacing again in New York in some unknown advisory roll pretty sure that keeps B.C far away from the Knicks. Before you can answer any other questions you need to answer this one.

2. Jay Triano stays or goes? So many people want to find reasons for Jay Triano not to be fired. You have to figure that if Colangelo were to be gone Jay would be right behind him. Any new G.M that is going to have any real impact would almost 100% want to bring in his own coaching staff. But even if Bryan remains can he afford to stay with Jay Triano? Whatever you want to say about Jay the fact can not be denied that this team has not bought into his defensive system or his system on defence simply doesn't work. You can point the the Raptors lack of talent on that end of the floor as the reason. But it is up to the coach to find a way to make this team at least some what competent in terms of defence. I have yet to find a person that believes Jay Triano is the long term answer for this team moving forward. It is my believe the longer you keep him the more you are just wasting time. In a year that everyone admits was about development, in terms of defence this team has shown none. It has regressed in fact to be one of the worst teams on the defensive end of the floor that this franchise has ever seen.

3. Andrea or Demar? Who is this team ultimately being built around. Is it Andrea Bargnani or Demar DeRozan. Given the lack of improvement of Bargnani as a defender and a rebounder it would be truly scary if it is him. The Raptors also have stayed with Bargnani at the center position which seems to not be a good fit. In DeRozan he has shown a lot of improvement this season. Maybe not as much as people would have hoped for. But enough that you can see a day where people consider him the best player on this team. If you look around the league a team build around a dynamic wing player that is athletic is a lot more common than build around a big man. Other than a few franchises this is the case. The exceptions to the rules are true dominant traditional centers that rebound and defend. Bargnani is not that is he. I said as the start of this year the development of DeRozan was the key to this season. His development was the biggest factor. He needs to take over this team and become it's young leader. Bargnani is just never going to be that for this franchise.

4. Young Onez are one and done? It sure looks that way. Amir Johnson and Demar DeRozan will still be around. But with James Johnson coming on board it would seem that Sonny Weems days as a Raptor are coming to a close. It is something I think will have impact beyond just him being gone. We just got through talking about how important Demar DeRozan is for this franchises future. To toss his best friend over the side will be something that is going to bother DeRozan even if he never admits it publicly. He will say it is a business and will miss Sonny and all of that. But the chemistry and the relationship these 3 players built with each other and fans was something pretty special. While the basketball arguments for why this is happening are obvious, still it is sad that the Young Guns turned to Young Onez appear to be dust in the wind.

5. Reggie Evans say good bye or hello again? It is a very tough choice on what to do about Reggie Evans. When he has been out there he has been a force and a presence. The one guy that when he puts on a jersey on this team you know exactly what you get every single night. But the injuries to his foot are a big concern. He is sitting out with pain in that surgically repaired foot. I love Reggie and I think he adds a tremendous amount of value to this team. But I am very worried about these foot troubles Reggie is having. I am not sure you can be confident he can remain healthy. I know he will work hard. But it may be out of his control. If he was willing to take a short term contract at a very small number I think it is worth it. But if Reggie wants more than that it will have to be elsewhere. Reggie is perhaps my favourite person on this team. I hope for his sake he can be healthy and successful where ever he is playing. I am just not sure it can be here in Toronto. If it is Raptors will have a player that is a guy that commands respect in the locker room and just by his effort challenges others to match it. But to do those things Reggie has to be out on the floor playing and last two seasons that has been a challenge.

6. Draft Who, Draft What? I am pretty certain on what the Raptors need to do here. Point guard is what you want to draft. Assuming the Raptors luck is the same as it was in the season which is bad. That point guard you can watch in Final Four in the form of Kemba Walker. If you can't get rid of Jose Calderon at this point. Walker maybe a better version of T.J Ford and at his best could provide the same one, two punch Raptors had in the Forderon days. Kembaron? Jerryd Bayless has not shown to be a true challenge for minutes or Calderon's job. Kemba Walker will challenge Calderon and has the talent to surpass him. Calderon is just not a starter in this league. Walker has shown to be a tremendous talent and is the darling of March Madness. If the Raptors were to be lucky enough to get the number one pick they would likely have the chance to draft Irving from Duke. The only other player that might interest the Raptors is Harrison Barnes. The dynamic young freshman had a rough start at UNC but took big strides at the end of the season. These 3 players are likely the biggest difference makes the Raptors could hope to acquire in this draft.

7. Trade Bargnani? Many think if Bryan Colangelo is still on board there is no way this happens. Still there was a rumour in a New York paper that Bargnani may in fact be in play for the Knicks. While I don't think the Knicks have a package that would interest the Raptors enough to get Bargnani. After all they gave up a lot to get Carmelo Anthony. But the fact it is out there that Bargnani could be in play is news. I am convinced that unloading him now would be the smart move for this team. If you can find a team that is desperate enough to over look his lack of rebounding and defence for his offence you need to consider it strongly. Other teams have given up on first overall picks before. If you can get some actual value for him before he bottoms out you need to do it. Bargnani has reached the point that it would seem unlikely he finds God and is able to defend and rebound all of the sudden on a consistent basis

8. Ed Davis a part of the solution? It sure seems like it. Now he is not the Chris Bosh replacement that some billed him as when he was drafted. But he offers a solid rebounding presence and can be a decent defender in a good system with other players contributing to that system. He also has the potential to be something that Raptors have not had in a long time. A shot blocking presence that can change shots and block his share of them. Not since maybe Antonio Davis and Keon Clark were putting on the purple have they had this. Davis is not going to be a superstar. But he can be an effective part of a winning formula. Davis has surprised me this season given the amount of time he has missed. But he to his credit jumped into an NBA season and on most nights has looked like he belongs. You hope his development can continue on the right path. With a lock out looming who knows what that would mean for the Vegas Summer League. But DeRozan gained a lot of confidence from his time in Vegas last summer. You hope Davis would get a chance to do the same.

9. How much will the new CBA help the Raptors? When there is a new CBA no matter how it turns out Bryan Colangelo has done a solid job setting the Raptors up to be prepared for it. The general answer to this question for me is pretty simple. The more the owners win the more the Raptors win in terms of the CBA. Here are just a couple examples. If we get a franchise tag added to the mix. This gives you more control to keep your stars here to grow. Demar DeRozan can get better without the fear that he will be leaving. It also would give the team time to prepare should a player want out. It also would provide teams another weapon to avoid situations like the ones we have seen with James, Bosh, Williams, Anthony and Paul. Also if they eliminated the MLE this would cause players to really have to choose between money and winning. Would a guy really take a minimum salary to go play for a contender. Perhaps some older veteran players would but it makes it a much tougher choice for players to turn their back on teams with money to spend. Raptors will have money to spend and if the new system makes it easier for them to spend it. Regardless of the CBA we end up with Raptors are positioned well for it and that credit goes to Bryan Colangelo.

Rock Bottom

No this is not another promo for Raptor Mania. This is a post about the Raptors season and where this season fits in terms it's overall suckage. After the Raptors latest loss they sit 17-47 and that regardless or how the rest of season plays out avoids the worst record in franchise history. That happened in the Raptors 3rd season where they were 16-66. It was so bad that G.M at the time Glen Grunwald took to the floor and promised fans that things were going to get better. It had became a strange Raptor tradition over the years when he was G.M. Ironically the next year would be a labour stoppage shorten year and the Raptors did indeed get better and went 23-27. That was also the first season that Vince Carter arrived in Toronto. Some how I don't see Bryan Colangelo addressing the fans after the Miami Heat play the Raptors in the final game. But let's see where this Raptor team fits in currently in terms of the worst of all time.

• 97-98 Raptors 16-66 (Winning Percentage .195)
• 95-96 Raptors 21-61 (Winning Percentage . 256)
• 10-11 Raptors 17-47 (Winning Percentage . 266)
• 02-03 Raptors 24-58 (Winning Percentage .293)
• 05-06 Raptors 27-55 (Winning Percentage . 329)

With now 18 games remaining it is hard imagining the Raptors winning 11 games. So at the end of the day they will finish anywhere from the 2nd worst record all time to the 5th. This team in it's 2nd season in the league did better than this current collection of Raptors. That is pretty sad isn't it. People do not want to blame Jay Triano and they use the roster as the excuse. The Raptor did give Sam Mitchell that out as well actually. Mitchell in his first season was 33-49 in comparison Triano was 25-40 in his first year replacing Mitchell in season. In year 3 after matching 33 wins in year 2 Mitchell fell to 27-55. So in reality there is not much difference when you compare the two.

Mitchell (Through 3 Years) 93-153 Winning Percentage .378

Triano (As of Today in Year 3) 82- 129 Winning Percentage .388

That is pretty close over the last 18 games you would expect Triano to fall maybe a little but it is almost a dead heat. Think back to after year three with Sam Mitchell were people not calling for his head? Pretty sure they were. But year four for Sam Mitchell would be the first full year with Bryan Colangelo as G.M and it was a magically year for Mitchell. He would get 47 wins and be named The Coach of the Year. Does anyone think Jay Triano is going to do that? No sorry I don't think so. However for those that make the argument that Jay has been kept around based on his passport alone this suggests their is not a lot of truth to that.

Going back to that worst ever season. Raptors had 24 players roll through Toronto that season. That sounds familiar doesn't it? Just for fun some names from that squad included Oliver Miller, Shawn Respert, Popeye Jones,Reggie Slater, Walt Williams, Gary Trent. Hardcore and older Raptor fans will remember those names. It also had future All-Star Chancey Billups and was rookie year for Tracy McGrady. But who remembers Tim Kempton, how about Ed Stokes? We even had Roy Rodgers. Not the guy from the old cowboys movies. I wonder how many of these Raptors we will remember in 10 or 15 years? Trey Johnson, Sundiata Gaines and Solomon Alabi will anyone remember them?

To be honest there is not a lot about this season anyone is going to want to remember. It might be looked back on as the year Demar DeRozan started the path to stardom. But honestly if we could all hit the fast forward button and erase it from our memories think that would be fine for most. Can Colangelo do what Grunwald was able to do after that worst season? That is going to be tough because I don't see a Vince Carter in this draft class. He was the biggest part of Grunwald's turnaround. The Raptors are in a very similar situation though with a terrible season that is expected to be followed by a labour stoppage shorten season. A whole new CBA and playbook to deal with. I have said all along that Colangelo has targeted the time after the new CBA is done as the point the Raptors start to do the heavy lifting in this turnaround in life after Bosh. The injures which continued last night as Reggie Evans returned and ironically checked in for an injured Amir Johnson. That was not something Colangelo banked on. He hoped this team could just get through this season and be bad but not nearly THIS BAD!!!

But you can spin this however you like this is one of the worst seasons in Franchise History. If you think the fanbase was upset with Glen Grunwald after that 16 win season, it is nothing in comparison to how they feel now. Sixteen years is a long time and the Raptors are almost back to square one where they started. That for anyone that has followed this team from when it started is a tough pill to swallow. MLSE has some serious work to do if they hope to keep this fan base engaged and interested moving forward. They must make steps to improve and do it fairly quickly.

This was not a very happy post. In the hopes of cheering you up slightly check out my appearance on Raps Talk podcast with the Hip Hoop Junkies. I rap in it. No really I do. So if that doesn't hook you the interview after it is really solid. Jay Satur who has been a guest here in the Dino Nation Blog's Starting 5 is also a guest on this podcast as well. So go check it out here.

Starting 5 With Ryan Wolstat

We have always from the very beginning of doing the Starting 5 tried to bring you many different opinions and viewpoints from the main stream media. While we have been successful in doing that to a large degree, there has been one omission to that. We have never had anyone from the traditional print media to be a guest here. You know newspapers, well that changes today as we welcome Ryan Wolstat from the Toronto Sun to join us in the Starting 5. As with many of the guests we have had got to know Ryan through twitter (@WolstatSun) and eventually we met in covering the Raptors. So it is great to have him aboard and talk a lot about the uncertain yet certain future of the Raptors. That seems confusing, but if you listen to the interview it will not be. We talk about the futures of Bryan Colangelo, Jay Triano and some of the players that make up this roster. If anything we accomplish showing that bloggers and newspaper writers may not in fact hate each other as many assume. It was an enjoyable conversation and hopefully one you will enjoy as well.



Thanks to Ryan for helping us break some new ground with the DNB's Starting 5 and who knows maybe it will open the flood gates to more people from his world coming into our world here in the Dino Nation Blog. One of the great things of having access to games beyond the obvious things you see in talking with players and covering games is being able to build relationships with people in the media. It is something I have worked hard to do, and am so happy that so many people when asked to come join me here, have been happy and willing to do so. Hope to have Ryan join us again and become one of the many regular folks will call on to talk with here in the Dino Nation Blog. Another Ryan in the blog tomorrow as Ryan Richard our DNB Intern makes his debut in audio form, as we start doing a weekly DNB Podcast with myself and one of the members of my loyal staff. That will become a regular weekly feature on Wednesdays unless we have a guest booked to talk with on that day.

You've Lost That Winning Feeling

Pacers have a new coach and the Raptors...yup Jay Triano is still here. Pacers new coach faces the Raptors tonight and the Cavs next. If he goes 0-2 during that he should be fired too. But in terms of the Raptors we could sure use a win. I am honestly forgetting what it is like to write about a win. Pacers smoked the Raptors in the teams only meeting this year as I mentioned this morning in our preview of this one. Weems remains in the starting line-up. All those e-mails Tom Liston sent did not work apparently.

Collison blows right by Jose after Pacers won the tap not a great early sign. But Andrea with a score plus an and one free throw was a good sign. DeRozan after some failed possession by both team got a score and it was early 5-2 lead. Collison again with a blow by and an easy bucket for former Raptor for a few weeks Roy Hibbert. Seems the new coach is well aware of the Raptors weak points on defence. But the Pacers D had it's own issues letting the Raptors come back and take a 13-10 lead. A bit of a worry as Demar DeRozan had a bit of a nasty landing but he was ok. Demar is not "some fake tough guy" he is the real deal playing ever game this year for the Raptors. But what was not ok was Mike Dunleavy then Collison connecting on 3's. Pacers built a 20-15 lead and it was time to call a time out for Jay Triano. Whatever Jay said didn't work because Pacers were up 27-17 not that long after. After 1 the Raptor D had been lit up for 32 points and Pacers lead was 11 with the score 32-21.

Tyler Hansbrough gets a put back dunk and the Pacer lead had grown to 14 and another time out from Jay Triano. The first one worked so well I am sure this one will be just as good.The second quarter is turning into a haze of terrible choices on offence and no defence at all. That combination has lead to a 43-26 Pacers lead. Raps had not yet bottomed out though as the Pacer lead would grow to 48-28 before the Raptors showed they indeed had a pulse. Raptors would get on a 7-0 run that was the good news. Bad news was that still left them down 13 points. Raptors kept rolling and were on a 13-0 run and now you were seeing why the Pacers had lost 7 of 8. Ed Davis was a big part of that run on both ends of the floor. Raptors clawed back to down 51-45 at the half.

The second half begins with a Bargnani missed jumper and Ed Davis sitting on the bench. But the Raptor roll continued with the Young Onez Amir then Sonny with buckets. Finally for the Young Onez trifector Derozan gets fouled and heads to the line with a chance to tie it at the line. But the tie would be short lived at 51-51 and soon the Pacers would have a 62-57 lead and Pacers had a bullseye on Andrea Bargnani and were exposing him on D. Finally Triano decided to place Bargnani's butt on the bench where it belonged in favour of Ed Davis. But it might have been to late will see. Amir Johnson is down and he has been battling through a lot, and you hope it is something he can battle through. Not since Alvin Williams have we seen the kind of toughness Amir Johnson has shown this season. Andrea Bargnani is back in with Amir out for the moment with a twisted ankle by the looks of it. Bargnani finally was showing signs off life on offence but the D was still non existent. Bayless with a how the heck did the go in drive and score. Raptors were down 5 when the smoke cleared after 3.

The Bargnani suck feast would continue stepping on the end line and turning it over. Good news was Amir Johnson returned back to the floor late in the 3rd. But Raptors were down 77-70 in early going of the 4th. Andrea would take a well earned seat as Bayless would score draw a foul and make the and 1 to make the lead 5 once again. Raptors just could not seem to get back to with in shouting distance. I have said this many times in this blog. But when you dig a big hole like the Raptors did in this game, getting it back to level is only half the battle. Raptors seemed to have not enough in the tank to pull off the other half. Pacers had a 84-76 lead with 8:30 to play. Nuce play by Demar to hook-up Sonny for a jumper but, the train wreck that is Andrea on D would take those good vibes away. Turnovers after that and Pacers lead thanks to 6-0 run was 93-82 with only 5:01 to play. In the end the Raptors had nothing left for the Pacers and it would be a 104-93 Pacers win. The Raptors have lost 12 straight and that has not happened since 2003 which is before many of us even knew who Chris Bosh was.

Jay Triano was made by a late 3 taken by the Pacers when they could have dribbled it out pretty much. But screw being made about that be made at your supposed star player that can't play defence. Be mad at yourself for playing him far more than he deserved. Also be embarrassed by the fact this team over has been a joke on the defensive side of floor.

Pacers Starting Fresh With The Raptors

The Indiana Pacers decided they had enough of their coach Jim O'Brien. It would appear the choice to send him packing was made by ownership according to the Indy Star. O'Brien was fired Sunday after posting a 121-169 in his 3 years plus. He has been around close to the same amount of time as Jay Triano so let's compare shall we? We Shall, Triano is 78-117 in his 3 years with the Raptors. O'Brien had a .417 winning percentage while Triano's works out to be .400 winning percentage. People make the excuse that Triano has not had a lot of talent to work with. Well did Jim O'Brien have a ton of talent? The Pacers best player was who Danny Granger? I know he is not "Mr Popular" these days but Chris Bosh was more talented than him. You can make the argument that the situations are fairly similar. Pacers have had there share of injuries over the last 3 years. Frank Vogel Pacers assistant becomes there interim coach. P.J has more head coaching experience than him. Just stating the facts. Raptors will try not to see there losing streak climb to a dozen. While the new era for the Pacers begins.

The Basics: Toronto 13-35 (4-11 on Road vs East) Pacers 17-27 (Lost 7 of 8)

When Last We Saw Them: The Raptors were in Minny and got utterly embarrassed by the T-Wolves. The less we say about this game the better so we will say no more other than it was the Raptors 11th straight loss. But you already knew that.

Key Match-Ups: Well it will be interesting to see what Frank Vogel does in his debut. One of the reasons for O'Brein's demise was said to be how he handled young players and specifically Roy Hibbert. Our former Raptor for a few weeks. Also on a couple of my fantasy teams not that anyone cares about that. Andrea Bargnani will have his hands full with Roy in the paint. It would not seem likely that the Pacers would play Hibbert on Bargnani on defence. Darren Collison has not exactly taken the Pacers by storm as many felt he might. He has 13.7 points a slight improvement on his numbers with the Hornets but his assists have dipped from 5.4 to 4.8 assists through 41 games played for the Pacers. You also have T.J Ford who is always motivated to play against Jose Calderon, and sometimes that is good news for the Raptors, and other times it is good news for T.J. Calderon and Bayless will need to be better than Collison and Ford for the Raptors to have a chance to win. But the biggest issue will be on the glass once again where the Pacers should have an advantage. They average 43.2 rebounds per game to the Raptors 40.7.

Other Things Of Note: The Pacers demolished the Raptors in their only meeting this season that was also in Indy winning the game going away 124-100, and it is on a growing list of games where the Raptors were embarrassed badly. In case you missed it, I wrote a piece yesterday taking a look at where this is all going for the Raptors in terms of the future. But nothing that I wrote can top what Kevin Durant had to say about our good old buddy Chris Bosh. Seems a good time to mention our event coming up in Toronto for the Bosh return on Feb 16th.

The (Un) Welcome Back Bosh Party @ St.Louis Wings

• Location: 595 Bay St (North of Dundas)
• When: Feb 16th 2011
• Time: Come early if you like. But will have game on with Heat and Raptors that tips @ 7PM
• Details: Were working on them but you can expect a good time, some giveaways and the best place to watch the game outside of the ACC itself. We are even going to try to set up a speakers corner where you can share your thoughts on Chris Bosh and his return. It is going to be a great time so if you can't get tickets for this game this is going to be the next best thing.

The guys at St. Louis Wings had been asking me to come and be a part of a Raptor game for awhile and I said if we are going to do this let's do it big. Looking forward to hosting this event and hope to see many DNB readers come out to have some fun. It is always a treat for me to meet the people that read the blog and Raptor fans in general so I am looking forward to this.

Where Is It On? Sportsnet ( The Rumours they tried to cancel covering this game for a Post All-Star Game Breakdown show are 100% false....Honest...No Really)

Raptors Make It Interesting But Lose 5th Straight

Ok so here is the story. I had a college game to do for The Score and was going to be late to this game. So decided to call on Ryan to give me a hand. The Raptors were fighting an uphill battle in this one you had to figure. Spurs were the surprise of the first half of the NBA season with racking up the NBA's best record. Bayless was back but Kleiza remained on the shelf. Ryan will get this recap rolling to see how things will go for the Raptors.

This game started out with the Spurs quickly gaining a 10-0 lead and it already looking like the Raps had already lost the game. Their jumpers weren’t falling, they weren’t getting rebounds and the spurs were getting out in transition for easy buckets. Just when it seemed like it was time to throw in the towel, the Raptors offensive switch was switched on and starting 0-5 from the field, they hit 7 of their next 13 and went on a 17-7 run to tie the game at 17 at the 3:46 mark, led by Bargnani and Jose with 5 points apiece and DeMar with 7. Just like that the Raps were back in the game and it didn’t seem so bad anymore. After a Spurs miss the Raps would take their first lead of the game off an Amir layup, but Gary Neal would tie the game not too long after. Manu would give the Spurs a 3-point lead off a pair of FT’s, but DeMar would cut that lead to 1 with 31 seconds left. Jerryd Bayless who already had 2 turnovers in the quarter would hit two FT’s with 2.9 seconds left to give the Raps a 1 point lead at the end of the quarter.

Dino Nation Blog making a substitution for the 2nd Quarter. James is back in and Ryan has been given the rest of the night off. Thanks to him for taking care of things in first quarter. I joined in on this game at 22-19 Spurs. All I asked was that it wouldn't be a blow out by time I was finished work. Mission accomplished have to say I am surprised.

Spurs pressing the Raptors and DeRozan ends up with a dunk and Raptors lead 25-22. Raptors have run going here after the Spurs started on a 10-0 run it is Raptors on 10-0 run and lead 29-22. Manu puts an end to that and drives to the hoop for a lay-up. More Manu and Spurs now trail just 29-26. Andrea gets a shooters bounce and scores to make it 32-26 with the 3 ball from up top. Blair the drive and score and Raptors were hanging on to a 4 point advantage. Manu and Andrea trade misses from 3 point land. Parker goes around Calderon with not much trouble and Spurs were just down 1 with score 33-32. But Gaines the drive and score and 1 back to a 4 point advantage. Julian Wright gets to the line and looks to extend the lead but misses both. Parker takes it the other way and from what would have been a 6 point lead to just 2. Parker again gets it up on the glass in hurry and goaltending on Johnson and were tied at 36.

Raptors would score then draw a charge on Richard Jefferson and he would have a seat with just under 4 to play. Demar the jumper and shooter's bounce and in. DeRozan had 13 in the game. After Hill makes it a 2 point game he sends Demar to the line for a pair and he makes both. Raptors leading 42-38. A steal and DeRozan on the break with the score and 1. Raptors were not done there building up an 11 point lead on a Johnson slam. DeRozan answered a Spurs score and has 11 in the 2nd and 20 in the game. Raptors leading 53-42 at the half just as everyone expected. Yeah right!!!

P.J Carlesimo spent many years as Spurs assistant maybe he knows all their tricks. Beyond that I have no clue how the Raptors were pulling this off. Duncan gets a score and the forces a Bargnani miss on the other end. That basket was Duncan's first of the game. Johnson a basket to answer but then Parker run Jose into a screen and that gives him open look and drains it. Then next possession a drop of for an easy Blair hoop. Blair would get another bucket and the lead was cut to 5 with the score 55-50. Time out Triano and he was hot and in the face of Andrea Bargnani.

Raptors would get a Julian Wright basket but Duncan would answer that and 1. Then he finds Blair with the pass and Raps lead was down to 2. Andrea a miss and Raptors lead was all gone as Spurs tied it up on the break 57-57. Raptors would fight back and get to buckets and re-take the lead. A steal and a Parker score answered by a DeRozan jumper his first 2 of the 2nd half. DeRozan on the very next play drives and draws contact. Screw Bargnani, start running plays for DeRozan he is the guy that is hot. Blair is getting it done for Spurs with help from his team. Hill a drive and Ed Davis the impressive block attempt but on the way down that is goaltending. A slam for McDyess is he really still in the league? Yes and the score is tied that 65. Spurs were not done and scored a couple more and led 69-65. A good time out by Jay Triano. Rarely get to say that. Blair was a beast and Raps had no answer he scores again and 17 point turn around in the 3rd and Spurs had a 6 point lead heading to the 4th.

A Neal 3 pointer after a score by the Raptors and this was not looking good. Spurs were taking control of this game and Bargnani was a brutal 4 for 18 in this game. Spurs had just slowly and methodically built a 12 point lead it was 89-77 with 7 minutes to play. A turnover and a slam on a 3 on 1 break for San Antonio and this game was starting to look like what many might have expected heading into it. Raptors were struggling to keep up with the Spurs down 96-83 with just 4:30 to play. A positive in this sea of sorrow was the play of Ed Davis one of only a few Raptors looking good during this meltdown portion of the evening. Raptors had fought back to down 9 but time was not on their side at the is point. Bargnani finally makes a shot his first of the half he was 1 for 8. Raptors were down 7. There was only 2:39 to play though and a silly turnover on an inbound play would end any thought of some miracle comeback. Raptors did have an 11-3 run going and lead was trimmed to 6 but a Spurs 3 pointer from Hill would basically turnout the lights with less than 2 to play. The final score would read 104-95
.

The Raptors had a good first half but fell apart in the 3rd and in the end the Spurs were like a shark that smelled blood and just tore them to pieces. Sorry for the gruesome imagery but if you watched the 2nd half you will agree it was warranted. Raps have lost 5 straight and now head to Florida and that does not promise to be much fun at all. Orlando and them Miami. This might be the toughest 3 game stretch you could have on you schedule in the NBA right now.

Scrappy But A Loss For Raptors

I covered this one for The Score so if you want a blow by blow account of this one head over to the link to the liveblog on The Score. It has been a rough weekend for me battling a cold and trying to stay healthy. Raptors have been battling to do the same in terms of getting people healthy. No Bayless, Weems or Bargnani today. I will just offer a few thoughts on this one that was a Celtics win 93-79.

First thing for me in this game was how would DeRozan do?

Coming off a career high going against a player in Ray Allen who has caused him fits in his young NBA career. The answer was pretty good scoring wise with 27. He should have had more in terms of he missed 3 free throws and should have got more calls then he did. He had 5 turnovers which is not good but he was looking for his team mates and not just focused on getting his. Celtics are very good on D and against a lesser team a few of those turnovers would be assists against bad teams. The defence has a long way to go. But even with some of the greatest stars in this game the last thing they developed was strong defence. He did have 3 steals in this game and as he learns can really be effective when he learns how jump the passing lanes when opportunities are there. I said at the beginning of this season the most important thing this Raptor season would be the development of DeRozan and I still believe it. The signs that he can become very good are growing and he is a guy that works very hard. I am confident that Demar can be very good in this league.

I am Sorry Jay Triano....

I admit that I am starting change my opinion of Jay Triano. This team with all it's injuries could just roll over and die and no one would be surprised. However this team is playing hard for Jay Triano. That is one of the things I respected the most about Sam Mitchell, he demanded his team play hard and if they didn't he would place your butt on the bench. Jay Triano's team is playing hard for him. This team did not do that with Chris Bosh. Is it Bosh's fault or Jay's for not being as demanding as he is now when Bosh was here. Jack Armstrong said to me when we were talking about Triano that you can't coach on egg shells. Well this year Triano isn't and the team as a whole is better for it. The difference in 3 games vs Boston has been eye opening from this season to last season. In the games last season Boston basically punked the Raptors and they knew they could go out and push them around. This season the Celtics have had to earn everything and no longer seems like a bully of the Raptors. Toronto is the only team in the Atlantic to beat Boston. I may never be the biggest Jay Triano supporter. I still have some issues. But if this team will give this effort then I will live with my issues about Jay. At the end of day the record is not good but if Triano carries on in this direction the Raptors can be a team that with better talent both through development and adding new players can be successful under him. I was not convinced of that in the past. Is he the answer to win an NBA title or coach this team when the day comes they are a legit contender? Not sure on that. But for the moment he is getting the most out of the team more often than he doesn't

Little Moves Work Well For B.C....

Joey Dorsey had 13 points and 13 boards and was a late season pick up for Colangelo. 30 NBA teams could have had him. Bryan took a shot and has found a decent player that will battle on the glass and fill a role for you. B.C kinda missed the boat on Marco Bellinelli but in true B.C fashion he did not take long to correct his mistake. Julian Wright got off to a bad start as a Raptor. But he is quickly gaining respect for his effort energy and hustle and many Raptor fans want to see Julian Wright get more minutes. B.C has always done a solid job at finding role players for the Raptors roster. It is the big moves that have been the problem. I am not sure Kleiza is considered a big move but I remain unimpressed with his play. Granted he has picked it up with Weems out. I still just think he forces his game at times and is not as good a 3 point shooter as he thinks he is or this team thinks he is. Barbosa struggled today but I liked that move much more as he unloaded another mistake in Hedo Turkoglu. B.C next big moves have to be right. This off-season once the CBA is sorted out is going to define the Raptors future for the next 5 years. If Colangelo misses after setting himself up with cap flexibility with the Peja contract and Bosh Trade exception that will be the final straw in terms of Colangelo.

Raptors Getting Some Warriors....

Amir Johnson and Jerryd Bayless have shown toughness that we have not seen since Alvin Williams wore a jersey and not a suit for the Toronto Raptors. Bayless could not go today likely because he pushed it to hard to try to play. While Amir with a bad back has played through the pain and played like a champ while doing it. Even Jose Calderon today I will give some credit for sticking with it and playing through pain. When you have guys willing to pay the price and play through pain it makes it hard for anyone else to not do the same. It can be a fine line between being hurt and injured and I would rather have a guy that pushes that line to the limit than a guy like Vince Carter.

This Team Can Rebound....

One of the many concerns I had heading into this season was could this team compete on the boards night in and night out. The answers appears to be yes they can. Andrea Bargnani still might not be rebounding it and being injured he really won't. But Johnson, Dorsey, Davis are all working hard on the glass. It is rubbing off on others too DeRozan had 6 today...Kleiza had 9. Raptors have becoming when they are playing at their best a scrappy team that will battle on the boards. They lost the game today but won the battle on boards. Also they are getting after it on the offensive glass and getting points out of it.

At the end of the day the Raptors will not be a playoff team. But they are showing more of the intangibles it takes to be one than a team that fell a game short of post season last year. It seems easy to stick the blame for that all on Bosh. But in reality it is also how others acted in relation to him that was part of the problem. Nothing was stopping people from stepping up and doing the right things. I will give you an example from the Raptors past. Vince Carter was injured and out for the rest of the season. The Raptors playoff chances looked bleak. But Antonio Davis would lead this group on an incredible run and make the post season. They were minus Chris Childs meltdown almost able to upset the Pistons winning in 5 games....back in the old days before 7 game first round series. No one stepped up when Bosh went down and did that for that Raptor team. Now with him out of the picture some guys are stepping up and some are expected and others are not.

Ok so that didn't have a lot to do with the game today. But they are some important observations sparked from watching today. Also you have to give it to Raptor fans with a sellout for a team that is 11-21 prior to today's tip. Granted I am sure a lot of Celtics fans helped make that happen, but still the Raptors continue to draw fans in what is a challenging season at best. Raptor fans are some of the best in the NBA and they deserve a winner.

Jack Armstrong Makes His First Visit This Season To The DNB

This will probably be our last guest in our 3rd year of doing the Dino Nation Blog. We enter year 4 a week from today. Jack Armstrong I am proud to say has been a regular guest here and I enjoy each and every time we have the honour to have him with us. It is also pretty cool that Raptors happen to make some news today, so we have Jack's thoughts on the potential trade between New Orleans and Toronto. Jack was kind enough to give us a bit more time then usual to fit that in, as well as get his thoughts on the start to this Raptor season. Thoughts on Jay Triano, Sonny Weems, Demar DeRozan and his take on something I wrote about the chance to finally have a Canadian Raptor. A lot of good info with the odd laugh along the way. So sit back and enjoy hearing from one of the most knowledgeable and honest people I know in terms of basketball. Jack always gives us his prospective in an open and direct way and it is why so many people both respect him and love him.




He may never be on Twitter but that will not matter a bit. People will always want to hear from Jack Armstrong where ever he is on. We are always grateful that one of those places is here. Still no confirmation on the trade. So we are having a De Ja Vu moment from the summer. Let's hope this one happens because Jack, as well as myself think this would be a good move for the future of the Raptor Organization's future going forward.

Dino Blogger's Sunday Thoughts

It is rare the Raptors do not play on Sunday so with that rare chance thought I would give some thoughts on The Raptors, who knows maybe even life itself. Before a day of football I sit with just my thoughts and a keyboard. So let's think deep thoughts. Or at least some quality thoughts.

Thought 1- This is not a new one. I have had this one since Summer League. Demar DeRozan and Sonny Weems need to be on the floor together. Even if Sonny doesn't agree with me. Klezia just doesn't do it for me like he does for others. If the Raptors are playing for the future that means Weems makes more sense. Despite the fact he is in a contract year. If you can get both Demar and Sonny out on the break...LOOK OUT BELOW!!! These two on the floor with each other will challenge each other, the same way they do when they go against each other in practice. Each will make the other better. Sonny can be the Robin to Demar's Batman and there will be no issue with it. Injuries have forced Jay Triano to go with this line-up and in my opinion it should remain. Do I expect it will happen? Nope. I also think it is only a matter of time before Amir steps in as the starting 4 on this team. I bet that happens before Sonny gets his shot. But ultimately all 3 former Young Gunz now Young Onez belong on the floor together. You market them together so play them together. It makes sense both basketball and marketing wise.

Thought 2- I see a future where Bargnani is passed by DeRozan and he is the best player on this roster. Bargnani is what he is and his upside is not as high as it is for Demar. Bargnani is just a frustrating player that lacks consistency within a game. If you can have a night like in Orlando, where Bargnani sets the the table and Demar starts to develop into a closer it could be a happy marriage of talent. But Bargnani is not, nor ever will be the guy. Demar has a chance to be a dynamic star in this league and by the end of this season that could be crystal clear. It really needs to be if the Raptors are going to be heading in the right direction. Bargnani is a scorer and will never be much more than that. A weak defender and not ever going to be a consistent rebounder. Demar has a chance to be a complete player. His defence has a long way to go as well. But I feel more confident based on his age and attitude he can improve on that. Bargnani is a lost cause he is what he is at this point. The first step in ending your frustration with Andrea is accepting that fact. He is never going to average a double double and at best he might not be a liability on defence.

Thought 3- Julian Wright it was said came into camp at less then ideal shape. Whatever it was this guy has been decent in every time we have seen him on the floor. He seems to be a good dude in the locker room as well. We have never heard him complain at all and he has waited for his chance and made the best of it. At first glance with Belinelli starting and playing well in New Orleans it looked like the Hornets won that trade hands down. They still may have won the trade but Marco was not working out here and Wright is at least starting to show some signs of doing that. So good for him. Also he changed his Twitter handle from DinoWright14. There is only room for on Dino in the Raptor Twitterverse and that is Dino Nation Blog. If people think that was serious give your head a shake.

BREAK- Time for DNB TRIVIA Question # 4:

3 Major events happen/have happened in November for the Dino Nation Blog in the month of November? What are they? Name 2 of the 3.

If you get all 3 will consider that a bonus and you get a lifeline if you get an answer wrong. Meaning if you get all 3 right and have answered another question wrong will give you credit for a right answer.

Thought 4- Can the Raptors keep this attitude going the whole season long as the loss total increases. The effort has been there with few exceptions and even with the recent adversity of injuries it has remained. It is very hard to keep playing that same way when the reality hits that you are not a playoff team. For the development of this team it is vital they continue to play hard for all 82 games. If that effort goes south it will be interesting to see what that means for Jay Triano. Keeping that effort and developing players are the keys to Triano's future. It appears that wins and losses don't matter in terms of Triano. As much as that pains me given this is his 3rd season with the head coaching job.

Thought 5- This is kind of an I told you so. Doug Smith broke a story that Alabi will be heading to the Erie BayHawks who are the Raptors D-League affiliate. Also it is likely the Ed Davis will spend some time there with him. Who said this to you going to happen back in the pre-season? That was me. So forgive me for giving myself a pat on the back. But do not let it confuse you. Sending both to the D-League is not only the right thing to do, it is going to help these guys in the long run. Alabi and Davis need to develop confidence and have playing time. Getting that on the Raptors at this time is likely not going to happen for Ed or Solomon. The D-League can be your friend if you use it correctly. The Raptors should eventually consider running their own D-League team just like they do on the Hockey side with the Marlies and Leafs. Hamilton or Buffalo would be good homes for such a franchise. They are close enough to be a car ride away and allow the Raptors to have total control and awareness of what is going on down there.

Ok I am tired from thinking so much. Not really. A reminder tomorrow we go 1 on 1 with Candice from your Raptors Dance Pak. Do not know your Dance Pak by name? Shame on you. This is Candice and she is here tomorrow: