Raptors Play Tough But Get Spurs In The End

Rather than do a re-cap will just give some thoughts on my evening at the ACC watching the Spurs and Raptors. I chatted with Demar DeRozan prior to this game. We got into how the team had performed recently. Will have more on this later today in a feature on Demar but in general he felt encouraged from the play of late. The Raptors would be even more short handed than expected as Linas Kleiza had to sit this one out. Bayless is coming along and did come out for shoot around. He seems to be alright but after injuring the same ankle he is playing it safe. Trying to get it back to full strength so he can avoid a third occurrence of this injury in the future.

This game looked like it was going to be an ugly loss for the Raptors in early going. The Spurs jumped out to an 8-0 advantage. Troublesome in how they did with a couple early 3's. The Raptors would dig a deep hole but as they have done of late they kept fighting. It would have been very easy for this team to roll over and die after the first half. But Demar DeRozan came out in the second half determined to be a difference maker. The Raptors would get this game tied eventually but the Spurs would answer every Raptor push with one of their own.

Jose Calderon still had a solid night on offence but came crashing down to earth on defence. It is not the first time Tony Parker has schooled Jose and it won't be the last. Jose had 16 points and 11 assists and a couple steals. But it paled in comparison to Parker's 34 points and 14 assists which included in that was a 12-12 performance at the line.

I have always seen Parker as a guy that gets lost in the shuffle in a galaxy of great NBA point guards. He had the very public break up of his marriage but he seems back on track this season. He is going to the All-Star Game in Orlando and people got to see why tonight at the ACC. A lot fewer than saw the Jeremy Lin show the night before. Tony Parker has been doing his thing for years and not days. He has championship rings and all you could want on your resume. For as much as Jeremy Lin has dominated the attention of the media. I think Parker flies consistently below the radar. I am not sure if he ever has got his full credit for being as good a player as he is. If Jeremy Lin has as good a career as Tony Parker he would be fortunate.

Same would apply for Cory Joesph. Will also be doing a feature on him and his return to Toronto. He has some pretty nice guys to help him adapt to the NBA in Tony Parker and someone that has already had an influence in T.J Ford. It is not bad to have guys like that to learn from, Tristan Thompson also has a pretty nice role model to learn from in Jamison. Joesph has had a much different path than Tristan, but also has the advantage of a solid proven organization to be part of. He has spent some time in the D-League with Austin. But he still has just as big a smile as he did when he was in town to workout for the Raptors in the spring. The same he had playing for the national team in summer when I caught up with him here in Hamilton. It might have been a little bigger on this night though. It was no lock he would see the floor but with T.J Ford out the odds went up a little. He would get his moment late in the 2nd. He entered the game to a nice ovation and had a pretty uneventful 2:50 on the court.

But it was an experience he will likely never forget. When Tristan came to town for the first time he talked about being a kid sitting in the Sprite Zone. Cory talked in an interview during the broadcast about watching Mighty Mouse Damon Stoudamire. The Raptors as an organization get a lot of grief for their lack of success in their history. It is deserved without question. However, they also deserve credit for the fact they have made the NBA something that is a real goal for a generation of kids like Tristan and Cory and countless others. You only need to look at the NCAA today to see the amount of Canadians on the rosters in Division 1 basketball. When the Raptors and Grizzlies entered the NBA it was a big event beyond just the NBA being in Canada and having two teams. It took the game invented by a Canadian and brought it home with the greatest league in the world. Kids no longer saw their basketball heroes on just a T.V set they got to see these giants live and in person. Next time you are at a Raptor game just look at all the kids you see and imagine how that inspires their young minds. Maybe some of those kids will be having their night coming back to their hometown some day. They might even play for their hometown team. The Raptors just by existing at all have done this. Not to mention the probably thousands of kids that have went through camps the Raptors have put on for young boys and girls over the years. In covering games into my 3rd season the fact I was there to see both Tristan and Cory's debuts is a personal highlight for me. Not because of anything they did in the games themselves, just what it represents in the larger picture.

As for the bigger picture for the Raptors, you have to give them and Dwane Casey a lot of credit. I have not heard anyone make excuses for being undermanned. The Raptors have fought with whatever and whoever they have had the last 4 games. Despite just the one win to show for it, they have shown a lot of fight and been pretty fun to watch. It has become contagious at this point. If I had said in my preview that Butler and Carter would combine for 20 points, people would have questioned my sanity. But that happened on this night. What also did was Demar DeRozan having a big night and showing a real determination. This has been a tough season for Demar but it has not stopped him from having that same desire inside to improve and grow. He is starting to show some signs he might be turning the corner and getting comfortable again.

In the end it was a 113-106 loss for the Raptors the 4th loss in 5 games in this home stand that has just 2 games left, Friday vs the Bobcats and Wednesday vs the Pistons. I am going to be there for both and I hope we see the progress the Raptors have made pay off with a couple wins. This team plays like it has the last 4 games they will crush the Bobcats and Pistons going away. Let's hope that is what we see.

After The Circus Here Comes The Rodeo

We did a live chat last night so I never did a re-cap of last night's game. Jeremy Lin was the star going in and he left that way, hitting a dagger three to complete the Knicks comeback. This season the Raptors have both battled back from some large holes and blown some large leads. Last night after one of their better first halves of the season they let it all get away from them in the 4th. Jose Calderon put together arguably his best to games back to back in his NBA career. At least from a scoring prospective. Lin who had his struggles in this game came alive in the 4th and started to find some chemistry with Amare Stoudemire, returning to the Knicks line-up after the death of his brother. Only the 2nd sellout crowd of the season at the ACC, many of whom came to see Linsanity, got to see what they paid for. The Raptors gave a good fight overall but let one slip away. Lin's 3 pointer left the Raptors just .5 seconds to respond and they could not, 90-87 Knicks and the Raptors face a back to back with the Spurs tonight.

San Antonio with little hype and fanfare has quietly made their way to 2nd in the Western Conference at 20-9. They are on their annual Rodeo Road Trip with Toronto being stop 5 of the 9 games away from home for the Spurs. They are a perfect 4-0 so far with the latest win coming at the hands of the Pistons. After an injury early in the season Manu is back and Spurs seem primed to make a push at getting first place in the West.

Canadian Cory Joesph makes his first appearance here in Canada and his home of Toronto. Joseph has seen some time in the D-League, while he has been hard pressed to see any action with Spurs because Tony Parker is having an All-Star season. Also his back-up being T.J Ford the former Raptor it has been hard to find time but has to be quite the learning experience. Ford never content to be the back-up in his time here is happy it would seem to accept the role and live close to his home of Houston. T.J after being traded from Toronto fell out of favour with the Pacers and signed with the Spurs as free agent once the NBA Season got started after the lockout.

Also, when the Spurs come town, that means the return of Toronto resident and former Raptor Matt Bonner. The Red Rocket married a girl from Toronto and makes it his off-season home. He has been trying to this point unsuccessfully become a Canadian to play for the national team. He is one of the more loved figures in Raptors history. The biggest highlight that made him so, might have been a game vs Minnesota, in which he got into a mix-up with Kevin Garnett still on the T-Wolves at the time. Bonner would get ejected and leave the floor to cheers from the ACC faithful. Since leaving Toronto in a trade that landed him with the Spurs, he has become a key role player for them and can be found a top the NBA in terms of 3 point percentage for the past few seasons. He has really developed into a legitimate NBA player. He was also in the front lines as a VP in Players Union during the NBA Lockout.

Raptors have had 3 impressive performances and only 1 win to show for it. They will need a 4th impressive performance if they hope to hang with San Antonio.

3 Keys:

Value Possessions: Last night how the Raptors let the game get to that dramatic moment with Lin nailing that three was very simple. The Raptors committed far to many turnovers and it cost them in the end.

Jose vs Tony: Jose Calderon has been playing out of his mind. Even at times on defence which is something I don't think we have ever said in the DNB. Tony Parker is playing at an All-Star level and will be heading to Orlando. It is going to be a tough challenge for Calderon to compete for a 3rd straight game. Jerryd Bayless is said to be a game time decision and might make the load on Calderon a little less.

Perimeter D: Manu leads a cast of characters that can make their shots behind the three point arc. Be aware and get after them or it could be a very long night at the office for the Raptors.

I am heading down to the ACC to cover the next 3 games. Looking forward too it. That and hosting our contest winners on Friday. I figured in this NBA Season I should pull a back to back to back. Although mine is over the span of a week. Raptors are just 1-3 on this 7 game home stand despite some great efforts of late. Making it 2-3 will be no easy task at all. What will be an easier task is trying to win our final set of tickets for our MGDDNBVIP Contest that with happen sometime Thursday before Noon.

C.B Looks For A Historic Night And A Win At The ACC

Chris Bosh is 15 points away from becoming the all time leading scorer in Raptor history and it should happen in the first home game of 2010. What the future is for CB4 has been much talked about but none of us know what will happen come the end of the year. Regardless of that he will go down in the history books as one of the best players in the history of this team if not the best. All of that being said it was poor efforts like last night that make you wonder if this team will be good enough for him to stay. The opposition is not joke in the Spurs. TIm Duncan for some reason will not start but is expected to play. No Hedo Turkoglu for the Raptors as he is out with a cold nothing to do with his bruised knee. Antonie Wright gets the start. Still no Jose although Raptors may have him back as soon as their next game in Orlando. 9,406 points for Bosh coming in and Vince Carter sits at 9.420. Getting the record should be the easy part the hard part is going to be the win as the Spurs come in winners of 5 straight. The Raptors have won 5 straight at home. So this will be a historic night but will it be a winning one? time to find out.

1st Quarter

Spurs win the tip and Bosh called for defensive 3 second call but Parker missed the tech. Spurs would also get called for 3 seconds of the offensive variety and turn it over. Parker would score on the next trip. Raptors would start 0-4 including a Bosh miss but Bargnani would get rebound and draw a foul and split a pair. Wright forces a shot a misses it and Spurs were off to an early 6-1 lead. Chris Bosh would get his first points on a dunk in transition. It would be first made field goal of the night. Bosh drops a dime for Andrea and he slams it down and Raps now down 6-5. Wright a drive and score and the Raptors on a 6-0 run take the lead but it was short lived as Parker drives and scores. DeRozan the drive and thrown down and he is fouled makes the and 1 and Raps on top 10-8. Jefferson the jumper for 2 ties it up. Bosh would answer and Raps lead 12-10.

Teams were trading buckets with Raps on the positive side leading 16-14. A Bosh jumper was not able to find the basket to extend the lead to 20-16. DeRozan would make that scoreline happen with a slam dunk and Bosh on the bench to check it out. Parker was getting anywhere he wanted on the floor and was fouled only made 1 of 2. Bargnani a long 2 and Raps lead was 22-17. Bargs did a nice job with a fake and drawing a foul on Theo Ratliff. Marcus Banks with a pretty reverse score that I did not realize was in his tool box. Raptors were looking solid and doing a decent job early on. Raptors held Spurs to just 37% shooting and lead 27-19 after one.

2nd Quarter

Marcus Banks makes a jumper and the lead is 10. Tim Duncan final mad an appearance and Bosh welcome him hitting a jumper on him. Raptors lead was 31-19. It boggles the mind that the same Raptors team that showed little life in Boston was playing like a different team on their home floor vs the Spurs who own teams under .500 on the season. Marcus Banks was driving and scoring and is 3 for 3 and I wonder if this is really happening. Raptors lead expanding to 35-19. Even Roger Mason jr. AKA Raptor Killer almost airballed a shot the barely scraped the rim.

The pace had slowed and Raptors needed to be careful as the way things were going that is what the Spurs needed. DeRozan missed an easy lay-up and the Spurs were on a 6-0 run and the lead was 10. Make that 8-0 and 4 straight points for Timmy!!! Jarrett Jack would end the run with a score plus an and 1 foul to make it 38-27. Jack would later go old school Georgia Tech on the Spurs with an Alley Opp to CB4. Jack would then take it to the west coast all the way to USC for another Alley Opp for the Highlight Reels. Bosh was closing in on breaking the record as he scored to reach 12 on the night. Just 3 from history. Andrea Bargnani dunks on Tim Duncan this was getting crazy. Raptors are making highlights and leading this game 48-32. Spurs would add 2 points but the Raptors with an impressive and bit shocking 48-34 lead.

3rd Quarter

Teams exchange misses to start the 2nd half. Both teams off to a sluggish start. Tony Parker would break the seal with a 3 ball and cut the lead to 11. Bosh would fumble a ball away in the paint and picked up a foul his 3rd. Antonie Wright would get back to back scores and the lead was back to 14 like it was at halftime 52-38 Raps. Jefferson would hit a jumper having a quite night to this point. Jarrett Jack with shot clock heading to 0 draws a foul on Tim Duncan and got to the line for 3 shots. He would hit all 3 and the Raptors lead 55-40.

No points yet for Bosh but getting on the glass and his latest board turns into 2 points for DeRozan in transition. Raptors were not shooting great but the Spurs were terrible. Raptors had a 15 point lead with the score 59-44. Raptor Killer Roger Mason Jr for 3....OH NO!!! Bosh would answer and tie V.C as all time leading score with a 2. Bosh would hit a jumper and down goes V.C and the Spurs were down 14 with the score 65-51 late in the 3rd. Banks again with that same little reverse lay-up and Raptors lead back to 14.They would end the quarter up a dozen with the score 67-55.

4th Quarter.

Now the history part was done could it be in a win for the Raptors? Raptors exploded out of the gate to a take a 72-57 lead capped off by an Amir Johnson Slam. Spurs would rattle off 5 straight to cut the lead to 10. Spurs would continue the run and Raps were coming a bit unglued another turnover making it back to back possession and a break in the action and it was needed for Toronto.

Bosh a huge block out of time out and it was needed. He goes to the other end and pads his lead on V.C with a jumper for 2. Raps were in a dog fight now as Richard Jefferson would make a pair at the line and the lead once that was 15 had been trimmed to 6. Bargnani hits a 3 and that blasted 3 point streak continues but the Raptors need it. Raptors were battling hard hanging on to a 77-70 lead and forget the 3 point streak I want Raps to remain undefeated holding teams under 100 on the year.

Jack, Belinelli, Wright and Bosh and Bargs on the floor for crunch time. Jack with a big basket to extend lead back to 9 at 81-72. This was getting to be a gritty game and Raptors were holding their own which in the past you would not have seen. Spurs cut even closer as Duncan scores and unlike the hard foul Bosh had put on Duncan earlier Bargnani allows Duncan to score and make the and 1....Raps lead 81-78. Jack and Parker trade baskets. Bosh a miss and Duncan the same then Bosh would make up for his miss with a score with 56 seconds left to make the lead 5....85-80 RAPTORS!!! Spurs go inside to Duncan and Bargnani fouls him again but this time Timmy can't make the shot and will shoot 2 at the line. Missed the first one and the second and Raps could ice this with a basket. Jack fires up a 3 but no. Bogans hits 3 with 12.4 seconds left and the lead was 2. Spurs foul Bosh but they had a foul to give. In to Bosh again and he is fouled and amazingly this is the first time Bosh has gone to the line tonight. Bosh makes the first and and the second the lead was 4 with 11.1 to go. Duncan gets a foul call on Bosh with 8.4 seconds left. Again he misses the first one and makes the second the lead is 3. Belinelli is fouled with 7 seconds left. He makes his first...lead is 4.....second as well and lead is 5 this game is likely over. Manu scores with just 3 seconds left and the lead was back to 3. Raps have to burn a couple time outs having a heck of a time trying to inbound the basketball. Wright fouled with 1.3 left on the clock. he just needs 1 and he gets it. makes the second and Raptors take it 91-86.

Chris Bosh is your new king and Raptors get a shocking win on their home court to make it 6 in a row at the ACC. Bosh had 22 points and 15 rebounds on route to going to the top of the Raptors record books. Raptors move to 13-0 when holding teams to under a hundred points and that is the streak I am jacked about.

Opportunity Is Knocking Will Raps Answer The Door?

When you think about the San Antonio Spurs you think Matt Bonner...well some Raps fans do, but to be serious you think Tim Duncan and you think Tony Parker. One of that dynamic twosome will be on the shelf for tonight's match up vs the Spurs. Parker suffered an injury on Friday and reports are he could be out a week and will not be in the line-up tonight for the Spurs. The Raps have been catching some breaks in this early season and have had mixed results in taking advantage of them. They faced a Magic team down 3 key players and got beat badly anyway. While they faced a Detroit team down a couple key players and got the win. Parker is a key part of what the Spurs do on the offensive end and would have given them an advantage based on his skill and speed. That being said the Spurs have added to their overall talent with the likes of Richard Jefferson and drafting Blair from Pittsburgh as well. They also have "Raptor Killer" Roger Mason Jr and a healthy Manu. George Hill will be replacing Parker in the starting line-up. The Spurs also come into this game on a rare for them 2 game losing streak and are below .500 at 2-3. So based on that alone the Raps should not take the Spurs for granted.

Not to mention the Raptors own awful performance in Dallas. It was the second half of a back to back for the Raps but that was an awful effort on the defensive end. The Spurs are a team that has a number of shooters and can take advantage of the Raptors lack of a perimeter defense. The Raptors are one of the best offensive teams in this league so far. While the Spurs traditionally have been one of the best on the defensive end of the floor. However like the Raps they are trying to get some new faces into the mix and gave up 113 and 96 points in loses to Utah and Portland.

Some Keys To the Game:

Rebounding- The Raps will need to fight and claw on the glass as the Spurs have only got better on the boards with the addition of Blair he has been averaging 7.6 boards in just 18 minutes on the floor and Duncan 11.8 but after that there is a drop off and Spurs have actually averaged on the season just 39 boards a game while giving up 42. Toronto needs to win the battle on the glass and help use defensive rebounds to launch transition offense. Also getting on the offensive glass and getting some second chances points as well.

Tempo- Raptors should look to push the pace on both ends of the floor. We have seen the Raps break out a press defense a few times this year. Might not be a bad idea tonight with no Tony Parker to handle the basketball. While on offense an easy basket via the transition is always welcomed, any easy score you can get on the Spurs is helpful. The less times you have to line up and play this team in the half court the better.

No 3's Please- The heck with the house, get those darn kids chucking rocks and breaking windows. Yes beware of Duncan on the inside but not at the expense of watching Manu, Roger Mason Jr and friends light it up from the outside. Basically if you are guarding a 3 point shooter your HELP is not required, leave it to the others on the floor to sort out. If you have ever seen the movie Top Gun, the Raptors need to stick with their wing man in the basketball sense. If Tim Duncan gets 40 and Raps lose I will say I was wrong, but pretty sure that is not happening. 3>2 and that is not changing anytime soon.

Some Key Players

Spurs: Roger Mason Jr. - He is shooting just 29.4 % from 3 point range. For whatever reason Mason has been a thorn in the Raptors side and always has had great games vs Toronto. What did we do Roger? I may never know but what I do know is this guy always brings it against the Raps

Raptors: Jose Calderon - No excuses with no Parker this is a game that Calderon must dominate and play like the Jose that some people see as a top 10 PG in the league. He has had to decent nights on this road trip he really needs to break out and have a good one tonight.

X-Factors

Spurs: DeJaun Blair- NBA scouts flat out dropped the ball on this kid. He can provide energy and effort and will be a load to deal with on the glass. He played his college ball in the rough and tumble Big East and the guy is a beast. Always need to know where he is when a shot goes up.

Raptors: Antonie Wright- He has been showing hustle and energy out on the floor and the Raps will need some of that. While many would like to see him in the starting 5...I remain happy with seeing him come off the bench and it is a role he has embraced. Manu, R.J and a few others are tough guys to guard and Wright can be a factor if he can help quiet on of them.

I just got word from The Score HQ that the Dino Blogger has once again been called to duty to cover this one for you on The Score.com and Score Mobile...this is a game on Raps T.V so if you don't have that you might want to come hang with us. Even if you do it is a great way to interact with a bunch of Raptor fans like yourself. Your own virtual Raptor Party if you will.

Raps and Spurs Live Blog Link

Also if you follow my Twitter @Dinonationblog you likely already know. However I am pleased to say tomorrow the Dino Nation Blog welcomes back Chuck Swirsky a day before his Bulls hit the T-Dot. The interview was taped today and I hope you will enjoy it. Chuck always is great to talk with and has some interesting thoughts about the Bulls, Raps and 2010. Look for links to that interview on Twitter as well as to tonight's game with Spurs and Raps. Following the Dino Nation Blog on Twitter is the best way to stay on top of what I am doing and things going on with the blog.

It's In The Game? No It's In The Dino Nation Blog!!!

It's looks almost like the real thing. Video games have come a long way in my lifetime. It has been amazing to me as much as some of the things I have seen in watching the game of basketball. I have always been interested in how they make these things happen. NBA Live 09 takes over 200 people to make and the process goes on for an entire year. I decided that I would find out how this game I played for years comes together. I mean when I am not writing a blog on basketball or reading about basketball, I am usually playing video games of basketball. What better way to get out your frustration of Bryan Colangelo not making a trade or Sam Mitchell not making the right call than to do it the right way in my opinion. So I reached out to the folks at E.A Sports and asked if I could talk with them about NBA Live 09 and find out how they make the game I have played for years. I was able to chat with Marcus Stephenson who is an assistant producer that works on the NBA Live franchise of games. He was great to talk with and tells me that the Raptors are actually pretty popular around the E.A Sports office. They do a lot of the work for making the game based out of Vancouver. Seems the right place to be making a basketball video game, after all it was a Canadian that started this whole game. I am not sure what Dr. Naismith would think about NBA Live but they work hard to make his game come to life on your T.V screen.



Among the topics I talk about with Marcus is the new Dynamic DNA feature that has been added to the NBA Live Game on the latest game platforms. The players in the NBA have said it almost is like the scouting reports they get to study to play the real games. There is a good reason for that. The data that is being used in basically coming from the same place. We will get into that in detail later. But first thing is what exactly is the role of Marcus in this process. In talking with him I would learn the role of producer and assistants is not that far removed from the concept of a producer of a T.V show. The basically creative the vision or the idea of what the game they are making is to look like. That idea is then passed on to the skilled computer and technically people to make that idea become reality. It is a lot more complex a process, but in plain english that is how it happens.

The one thing that I as a player of the game has always been most concerned with is the ratings. Marcus tells me not just I am but the guys in the league are too. I often wondered that and seems they do care. To offer some evidence of this fact Marcus told me about when "The Matrix" Shawn Marion visited the folks at E.A. Shawn is a cool guy as I know from meeting him at Vince Carter's Charity game back in like 2000 or 2001. But not so cool that he didn't want to know the scoop on his virtual counter parts ratings.

Marcus Stephenson " We had Shawn Marion in here last year. It was pre-trade so he was still with the Suns. The first thing he said when he shook hands was we need to talk about my ratings later in the day. It was really funny."

But Marcus tells me that almost all the NBA players are aware of the ratings they have in the game. So it is not just Shawn Marion that is interested in it the majority of the players are and I would suspect lobbying to get a bump. Players will call up EA and look for reasons for ratings they have. But if you are the folks at EA you have to love that your game matters to these guys. In fact the stars that enter the NBA have grown up on playing the NBA Live series. It has to be a great factor for them from a marketing standpoint. Marcus agreed and talks about that aspect of the players being fans of the game.

Marcus Stephenson " We love to be the game that the players play. They have grown up playing this game and in Canada it is NHL while in the states it's Madden. You hear from Canadians that they bought two games as a kid, NHL and NBA Live. In the states it is Madden and NBA Live. It is really funny to hear the athletes say that. They get so involved in it. They call us when there rating is down. It is so funny it is the first thing they want to talk about is their rating in the game. They are just really into it and it means something from a marketing stand point. The players grew up playing this game and this is the game that they have played since they were young. They love to speak about it and we really don't have to do anything, because they will talk about it all the time to the fans and the communities. So it is really good "

In fact being a fan of the game is part of what can make this happen:

The cover of the NBA LIVE game itself. In talking with Marcus I asked about what goes into getting on the cover of NBA Live. He said that it is not just the fact that you are a star in the league but also that you are some one that is a fan of video games. Tony Parker has been on the cover in France for a number of years. But this year the native of France in on the cover of the main edition here in North America. Parker is know to be a junkie for the video games. I remember him being featured on the show NBA XL here in Canada, and Tony Parker was as into winning at the video game as if he was playing for the Spurs. At the All Star Contest that EA put on in New Orleans he won the competition as the top NBA player at the game of the guys invited to compete. It was right around this time that he was being considered for the cover of NBA Live. Which is something he really wanted to happen. In him winning the contest it was a great selling point to have him be on the cover. Now Parker is having injury issues this season but it not to the point of a "Madden Curse" for the folks making NBA Live. In fact both EA and Spurs fans can be happy because Tony Parker was back after 3 weeks on sidelines with a bad wheel he was back "In the game" last night. Marcus tells us what EA is looking for in the guy that goes on the cover. About this year having Tony Parker as the cover guy for NBA 09 and being the first European player to be on the cover for North American gamers.

Marcus Stephenson " There is a lot that goes into are cover guy each year. But most importantly do they like video games? Do they play video games? Are people going to connect with who is on the cover? We want them to like the game so when they talk about the game they know what they are talking about. So Tony Parker, really wanted to be on the cover. We thought it would be great with him being an international player and that is becoming so popular in the NBA. What better player to represent that than Tony Parker. But it really has a lot to do with their passion for video games and there willingness to front our game."

Raptors Andrea Bargnani was on the cover in his homeland of Italy this year. EA is looking for a high profile player but also a guy that is a fan of video games as well. It is that combination that can get you a shot at being the next guy on the cover of NBA Live. But for the folks at EA that is a two way street. They are big fans of the NBA as well. I had seen a feature on the making of the NHL game that EA makes and they showed a lot of the folks that make that game would often play ball hockey in the down time they had. The folks that work on NBA live have their fun as well. A big event that goes on for the basketball folks is they get a net and lower it down and have a slam dunk competition. I will let Marcus tell you about this in detail. These guys are big fans of the NBA just like you folks that read this blog and likely a lot of you play their game.

Marcus Stephenson " They are complete nuts about it. We are actually having are annual dunk contest here. We lower the rim down and some of our software people or whoever wants to get in on it does like a big studio wide dunk contest. We all the studio come in and we have judges. It's really good we have a really good time "

That studio where they hold their dunk contest has also seen a ton of people from the NBA pass through it's doors. We have all seen the photos of the guys in those famous black suits with the grey dots on them. That is what we have all come to know as part of the motion capture process and it has been done right here in Canada in Vancouver. EA has the world's largest motion capture studio in the world. Even the Raptor own Andrea Bragnani was in the famous black suit. If Andrea continues to improve as he has so far this season. I ask EA to please invite him back every summer to play in the black suit. Here is a photo of some of the folks from this summer that were balling with Andrea including the cover boy Tony Parker and Raptor killer Andre Iguodala.


We all know the EA slogan if it is in the game it is in the game. Perhaps that slogan has never been more on the money as it is today. The biggest change to the NBA live game is this new feature called Dynamic DNA as part of NBA 365. I mentioned about how for me and it seems the NBA players it is all about those ratings. In the past EA would take the real NBA stats and through a formula they created it would relate those stats in the specific player rating for the players. But Dynamic DNA and NBA 365 have totally changed everything. I remember seeing a feature on T.V talking about this new feature and a few players said that the new feature was just like getting a scouting report of a player. That is actual pretty close to reality.That is because EA is getting the same data that 25 NBA teams get for the use of scouting. Synergy Sports Technology is the company and they provide all the data that make the DNA feature come to life. That data is what is driving the AI (Artificial Intelligence not Allen Iverson) in this edition of the game. Marcus tells us about a bunch of aspects about how Dynamic DNA and NBA 365 Features have changed the game. Starting with how the way the ratings for players have changed based on this new data and technology.

Marcus Stephenson " Up until this year we had a formula that people that are a lot smarter than us had put together. Based off of real life stats. Those real stats in the NBA would translate into our game and shot out a rating. We tried to keep out a lot of the manual thinking and ideas of what a player should be from the producers ideas in their heads. We basically didn't want it to be a crap shoot. Our software engineers came up a tool that would take each real life stat and apply it to an attribute for our players in the game. But now we have the data were get from Synergy Sports Technology that we have partner with this year. They track stats and tendencies for ever NBA team and player. We are able to take all that data and update are player ratings on a weekly basis."

As an example of what Marcus is saying. Jose Calderon was only a 64 rating overall but now with the updates is an 80. This DNA feature has been referenced as almost being able to be a scouting tool. So for players in the league that are playing the game they can say that they are studying up for the next game? That is how advanced this Dynamic DNA and NBA 365 can be? So what do the guys at EA sports think about that. Do they to think this can be applied to the actual NBA as a scouting tool?

Marcus Stephenson " We hope that people are thinking of it as a scouting tool. When the NBA teams that sign up with Synergy Sports Technology they are using it as a scouting tool. So that is the best thing that people can possibly say. We have this feature that we call Dynamic DNA as part of NBA 365 for the 09 game. Synergy Sports Technology tacks tendency data. So for example with the Raptors will take Chris Bosh. What is Bosh doing? What is he doing when he is the post. Is he using a drop step or is he turning around and spotting up to shoot. What is he going to be doing? Well they know what he is doing at every single point on the floor. We are able to take all of the data and have it drive the artificial intelligence of the game. So when you play as the Toronto Raptors they play like the Raptors."

Same goes for whatever NBA team you choose. This as I expressed to Marcus can be a good thing and a bad thing. Which he agreed. Basically if the Raptors are struggling it will be reflected in the game. Both as teams and individuals the data is happening in the real NBA and in about 24 hours it is in your game at home. I mean that is kind of crazy stuff. But they also have a feature called NBA Rewind that will allow you to replay a game from the day before. So if you think Sam Mitchell was not getting it done. EA is giving you a virtual example of what he had to work with on a night by night basis. Should Joey Graham have started over Moon? Well you could try that and both players would play based of their actual performance in that game. Every game played in the NBA you would be able to replay and see if you could change the reality based on what the players were doing on that night. This is pretty crazy stuff. What if a trade happens? Well you will be able to see how a players DNA has changed as soon as he suits up for his new team. compare his performance from old team to new team. From all aspects video games are getting to the point that they almost mirror reality. I asked Marcus based on all of this are we getting to a point that the game I watch on T.V and the game I play are almost getting to the point of being the same?

Marcus Stephenson " Yes, and that is where we think we are getting. With this NBA Live 365 and Dynamic DNA feature we feel like were getting to that point. You watch the Raptors vs Hawks maybe not then you can turn on your game, but by the next day we feel like you can play that game. However the Raptors played that is how they will play in the game."

There are so many aspects of video games these days. I could have got into conversations about the audio and way the game is called in play by play. Music that is on the games. For people in the music world to get on a video game is a huge break for them. Not to mention advertising. Virtual Ads on video games are now part of the mix. In the recent U.S Election Barack Obama had ads on several video games including the NBA Live 08 game. Where else would the President Elect want to advertise. Change in politics and the real world is not always easy to make happen or see. But in video games it may not be easy to make change but the results are easy to see in the games as they come out each year.

It is also a very competitive business. In the case of NBA Live they have other basketball games to go against head to head. It is not like the case with Madden in which they have an exclusive contract with the NFL to be the one and only NFL video game on the market. But for the folks at NBA Live they are aware of the competition out there. They welcome the challenge not just from other basketball video games but all games. They are as driven at what they do as the players that they put in the games. I asked Marcus about this aspect of competition.

Marcus Stephenson " I think competition drives us to succeed and be better. All of us in the office we read all the message boards, we read all the comments and we see all the commercials and we see all that is going on with the competition and it just drives us to make a better game. I think competition will drive you in anything you do. Same case here in making video games. But it is not just direct competition we are in competition with all video games. When are game was coming out Call Of Duty was coming up, Gears of War was coming up. That is heavy competition. So not just basketball related. But competition in general totally drives you. "

I am guessing those are big games Marcus referenced. I am totally a sports junkie so I would have no idea. All industries that have competition makes it better for the buying public. Just the same as sports franchises are in competition for folks entertainment dollar, folks in the gaming industry are also looking to have a product that you will want to have.

I mentioned that this is a year long process for the most part. it goes through many phases. The day you picked up NBA Live 09 in a store if you have already. The folks at EA have already started pre-production for the NBA Live 10. People in any business want to keep what they are working on kind of on the down low. I have a bit of experience in that with my recent partnership with The Score. But I asked Marcus for a little hint as to where the game would be heading for the NBA Live 10 version.

Marcus Stephenson " We have just scratched the surface on this whole Dynamic DNA and NBA 365 stuff. So you should definitely look for some innovations in that area. I can't get into to much detail about it. That is where we see ourselves going. Taking that info from Synergy Sports Technology and applying more of that to use to in the games artificial intelligence. Come up with cooler ways to get content out to users more often so that they can feel that what they are seeing in life is being reflected in the game "

How far can this go? All of this DNA stuff? Will Allen Iverson decide to skip practice? Could we see this same DNA be brought into the coaches? I think if there is anything I have learned in playing video games all of my life for the most part, is that anything is possible. This interview just gave me a brief look into what is a truly cool virtual world of the NBA. What they are doing is just as exciting in some respects. If you want to ever check out this game and are checking out the Raptors down at the ACC. They have a big display set up out front of the main gates. You can play a little NBA Live on the giant screen T.V before you check out the real thing. The way things are going the difference between one and the other is getting very small indeed.



I just want to thank the folks at EA for letting me jump into their world for a bit. They were great to work with and were happy to answer my questions and help me do my job. I hope I did a decent job at that. This was really one of the most fun things I have done in just over a year of doing this. If EA every wants to make a virtual blogger in the game I would be happy to help. That probably won't happen but truth be told the way games have become so close to reality who knows. I hope to have them come back and visit the Dino Nation Blog in the future. We have already talked about that and just like all are guests the door here is always open.