I just thought today I would do a list for today. I have a lot of things to get done as I will be off to Toronto tomorrow and going to be doing some stuff at The Score. You may even end up seeing me on Court Surfing will see. That is 7:30 tomorrow and no Raptors game to get in the way. Speaking of which before we get to our list. Raptors T.V is going to simulcast the 2 games on Raptors NBA TV. Gee Wiz what a great idea I wish i could have thought of that. Oh wait I did when all this mess started in the summer. Thanks for nothing. I mean I will be honest if not for the blog and work I am not sure if I would be a Raptors TV subscriber. That being said on with our list I am pretty sure the TSN 2 mess will make it on the list.
10 things that I did not expect to happen this Raptor Season.
10- Jose Calderon Gets Benched- I mean given all that was expected if you had told me in March that Jose Calderon would be benched down the stretch of a game I would have laughed. I know that I am not a Jose fan but this is the main guy and I never would have thought he would be benched for Anthony Parker to play the point.
9- J.O being Traded- I give Colangelo credit for correcting his error when it comes to O'Neal but to actually have traded you big off-season pick up is truly shocking.
8- Talking Draft and Not Playoffs in March- I really am shocked that the Raptors are totally out of it. March Madness is always something I love and watch. But to be watching wondering who would make a good lottery pick for the Raptors. Unreal.
7- Jay Triano as Coach of Raptors- I think Sam Mitchell getting fired was not a total shock. The timing of it likely was. I really was hopefully this day would come for Jay Triano. However the spot he has been put in has been awful. It all is a shame.
6- Joey Graham Being A Key Rotation Player- I know that I have always been the voice of anti-Joey things. But I give him credit for taking advantage of what has been an awful season for most. He has done enough to get himself another contract in the NBA. I just hope it is not here. That being said I am happy that Joey will likely get to remain in the league. Something heading into this season I think would have been questioned by a lot of folks.
5- Awful Defense- We made the trade in the summer to get better on defense. Bosh had a summer of playing great defense for team USA. The Raptor defense has never been great. But this season has been truly brutal. Be it Mitchell or Triano this team has failed to stop anybody for most of the season and it continues on.
4- Wing Woes- I knew that the Raptors were not going to be strong at the wing spots. But this has been awful. Part of how Joey has had the chances I mentioned in #6 was because Jason Kapono, Jamario Moon (Now in Miami) and Anthony Parker. Just a total meltdown failure. Jamario Moon went from Cinderella to an Ugly Step Sister in terms of his story. A.P looks older and slower and is more inconsistent than ever. Jason Kapono has just been awful. It all adds up to bad things for the Raptors and it has.
3- Andrea Bargnani- The one bright spot is a sea of woe. Andrea Bargnani has had a great 3rd season and has been a happy surprise. I was convinced he was mentally gone and not coming back. However through all the losing and all the problems the most consistent thing about this team may be Andrea Bargnani. If that does not shock a lot of people I am not sure what will.
2- In Honour of Total Disrespect Of Fans We Give You The TSN 2 Mess- O.K it is MARCH AND THIS IS STILL NOT SOLVED. GIVE ME A BREAK. I am stunned and saddened that this is still something we are talking about. I have said it all in the past and I am not going to bother repeating myself. The latest move by MLSE that I mentioned off the top does not erase this issue by a long shot. THIS IS WRONG WRONG WRONG and should be a total embarrassment for all involved.
1- CB4 and You The People- If someone had told me people would be demanding for Bosh to be traded in March back in November I think everyone would laugh. But that is where we are with a lot of fans wanting to get rid of Chris Bosh. I am not among them. But the fact that people are trying to make comparisons to Vince Carter and Chris Bosh although they are not true in my view still is amazing. It will be an interesting summer and I am hopeful that when all the smoke clears I will still see Chris Bosh in a number 4 jersey.
So that is my list what is yours? Feel free to share it in the comments. The great thing about lists is there really are no wrong answers.
I was busy working on The Score doing the Magic and Celtics which was a pretty crazy basketball game. Imagine this if you can. Fans cheering their team down 20 with 2 of their best players out of the line up. It made me think about all the booing and negative things that go on around the Raptors at times. Chris Bosh always talks about how fans can make a difference. Well today I saw it with my own eyes. The Celtics fought almost all the way back with no Rondo or K.G, they even lost Glen Davis with an ankle injury. However that did not cause the Celtics or their fans from giving up. Sure the Magic did end up winning that game but it gave me a moment of pause. Now it is a lot easier to have faith and believe in the Celtics. They are the defending champions and if they pretty much lost every game they have left they would be in the playoffs. The Raptors if they did the opposite would likely be on the outside looking in. I just found it interesting and thought maybe booing is not going to accomplish anything but a release of ones personal frustration. This has been a season of that for the Raptors and today would be no different.
I decided just to watch the game and not make game notes or anything like a Raptor Rewind. I figure if the Raptors are going to experiment and try new things why not me. So this is just some overall impressions I walked away with after watching this game.
Hustle is a 48 minute thing- In the last game Pops Mensah-Bonsu blew me away with his energy and effort. It was just something I really had forgot what that looks like. A guy that is hungry and will bust his tail just to stay on the floor. He reminded me a lot of a JYD type guy. Not saying there games are anything a like. Just the same feeling of energy and hustle and they do bring some of the same skills. In today's game the Raptors were pretty much in the basketball game for 48 minutes. The Jazz had won 10 in a row and were the hottest team in the NBA. I didn't see any level of excitement or energy in the Raptors. They were flashes of hustle and effort that is not what I am talking about. There was just no fire in peoples eyes. I looked down the stretch of that game and I looked at Williams and saw that fire. Raptors never seemed that excited or energetic about anything. The had the one moment where Bosh hit the deck and the crowd went crazy in the 4th. However for me, it seems this team is lacking some serious chemistry. That cloud has hung over this team from when T.J Ford returned from injury last season. T.J is no longer here and that cloud remains despite many changes along the way. I am not sure what the reason is and I am sure many will say it is Bosh's fault cause that is the cool thing to do these days. I am not sure if it is about Chris or what exactly it is. Just seems this team has never got on the same page. A lot of folks may have though it was Sam Mitchell but he is gone too. This team needs someone that can walk in the room and change things. That was not J.O and I don't think it is Marion. Something major has to happen to shake this team to the core. Jay Triano is trying to do that by benching Calderon the last game and making Pops Mensah-Bonsu the first sub off the bench. However with that interim title wrapped around his neck does any off it really matter? How many of you out there think Jay is going to be back next year? Players are just as smart as us, so really what can Jay really do.
Jose Calderon Is What I Thought He Was- I have stood firm in what I have said about Jose Calderon and now a lot more folks agree with me. However a year ago at this same time I was deemed as crazy and just another T.J fan hating on Jose. I always said that if Jose would be made the starter of this basketball team it would not be as easy as everyone seemed to expect it would be. Well this season has more than proven what I was saying. Really at the core of all this how much different was what Jose was saying and what T.J was saying. T.J said he wanted to start. Oh and he had the guts to say it here in North America. Calderon would pretty much duck the issue until he returned to Spain and than said the basic same thing. T.J was a greedy self-centered guy that only was thinking of himself. Basically that is how he was pegged. But not Jose he just wanted what was best for the team. Guess what Jose wanted what was best for Jose. He got a pretty nice contract out of it and he got the starting job and his main competition for that job was shipped out of town. That is a pretty nice deal where do I sign. That would be like me getting a huge pay raise and trading Raptors Republic and Raptorblog to other NBA Cities to cover other teams. But here is the thing. If there was no Raptors Republic or Raptorblog,Cuzzy, Hoopshead North, Raptors HQ and on and on. If all of those blogs did not exist would we all work as hard? You as a person with pride would like to think so but human nature suggests not. I like to use wrestling examples sometimes in the blog. I rarely watch wrestling anymore to be honest. WWE use to have WCW as it's rival but they crushed them and the product suffered. Well the Jose vs T.J war had a clear winner and the product has suffered. When you factor in this new running style it seem very clear to me that Jose Calderon no longer is what people thought he would be or could be. You can hit me with your numbers and all you stats you like. 10 points and 11 assists today. But I will respond with a letter and the is L. I don't care where Jose ranks in stats for assists or assist to turnover ratio. I care about W's and L's. Calderon in that respect has not got it done. He maybe a very nice guy and I don't doubt that but he is not the style of point guard that is designed for this new way of playing for the Raptors. Which honestly I am a fan of. So that being said he needs to go. I heard Eric and Paul talking about people changing there opinions based on expectations but I have always said these things go look it up. Go on the old Dino Nation Blog site on word press and you will find many of the things you read on posting boards and blogs in modern times. I have thought long and hard about this all year and looked deep inside myself and asked if it is about T.J to me or not. Ultimately it isn't. I just do not like the style of player Calderon is. I could live with it if he could play any kind of defense but when you add that fact in it is a land slide case against Jose.
Andrea is Good? I Think?- Ok I am starting to have some faith in Andrea Bargnani. I still have concerns and honestly Andrea can't do much about them. In my rants about Joey Graham (which we will get to later) I always go back to when it means nothing Joey G is your guy. Now I am not so cold that I am going to tag that on Andrea it is not his fault that is natural progression happens to come at the same time the Raptors have a terrible season. In the case of Joey there is a lot more evidence to judge from. So Andrea has become a decent defender not great but acceptable for sure. He is becoming a better rebounder. Still nothing like what you would expect from a traditional big. However a traditional big can not camp out behind the arc and drain 3 pointers. He is becoming a consistent driver of the basketball. It still look weird and strange and out of control but it is effective. A base of a post game to build on and expand. Lastly a consistent scorer. The issues? He fades away at times and late in games. Fouls are still an issue for this guy in year 3. However I can live with those and I think you can eventually fix them. I am not ready to hand the guy the keys to the franchise and tell Bosh to take a hike. Not a chance of that. However that brings up a good point, the chemistry that never seemed there with J.O and Bosh seems to be there with Bosh and Bargnani. I like what I see though and for now I give an I am sorry that is conditional and can be revoked should things change. However for now I am sorry Andrea keep doing what your doing. Not so much that he will ready that but it is a public acknowledgement on my behalf. Andrea was good today minus the things I said about fouls and down the stretch.
Thanks for Coming Out- So long A.P and Joey G best of luck to you in future endeavors. I refuse to be fooled by these guys and get stuck with a contract that I will hate. Not that I am the one handing them out. However I hope that Colangelo is not thinking that AP or Joey G belong on this team going forward. Both today were pretty good and I think that is why I make the point. What happens as this team plays down the stretch is not a true reflection. Joey G and A.P like any guys in there position would be. They want to get paid. So effort and energy regardless of record should be there for them. It is fool's gold and do not buy it.
Lastly Bosh Is Still Who I Think He Is Too- CB4 is a guy that is part of making this work. 30 and 10 today and honestly he did it pretty easily. I mean that is was not an obvious type thing. If anything Bargnani seemed to catch all the attention at least for me. But 30 and 10. You tell me the guy that gets 30 and 10 that is going to come here. I just do not have a name that I can think of. I believe in Chris Bosh and think he takes far to much blame for all that has gone wrong. Back at the start of the year there was talk about him getting help leading this team this season from J.O and Jose. Well guess what Bosh got 0 help and that speaks to why J.O is gone and maybe Jose should be as well. Bosh has had to grow into being a leader and it has not seemed to be something that comes to him naturally. He leads by an example and it takes people following that example for it to work. It takes a second guy to say hey look it how Chris is busting his butt why aren't you. Sadly this season the team has dragged Bosh down rather than him lifting them up. There are all different kinds of style of management and many ways to be successful. So Bosh is not a Kobe or Lebron type of leader. That does not mean he can't be an effective leader with help and support. Bosh is more a Tim Ducan kind of leader than he is a Lebron Kobe or Wade.
That really ended up being not much about the game which like the title suggested it was a same song with a terrible ending. It was a clear difference of need and want. The Raptors wanted to win and the Jazz needed to win. Simple as that. Boxscore- Jazz/Raps Recap
One of the things the Dino Nation Blog can take pride in is being one of the first places outside of Australia to tell you about the story of Nathan Jawai. In the past, we have had Aaron Fearne come talk with us about Nathan and his journey. However we are now pleased to talk with Nate himself. Nathan has recently made his way to Idaho to play with the Stampede in the D-league. It has been a season that has had a lot of bumps in the road but Nathan is now getting out on the floor and seeing time with the Stampede. I started there with Nathan asking him how it felt to be getting out there and playing significant minutes for the first time in a long while.
Nathan Jawai-" Yeah, it is exciting. It is great to be back out there playing some minutes. I'm just excited after 3 months I am able to be back out on the floor and being out there is great."
Nathan had been sidelined from the start of the year with a concern about his heart that came up from testing prior to training camp. So that kept him out of action. I had been told by Aaron and others that Nate had really just been frustrated and wanted to get back on the floor. Here is what he had to say about that.
Nathan Jawai-" I was worried about the condition I had but now that I am back I don't even think about it. Basically it was nothing anyway, and I was just worried if I would be able to play again. It has been frustrating for me and it has been hard but it is all behind me now and I am just looking forward to be back on the NBA court."
The road to that will go through Idaho with the Stampede. I asked Nathan what the Raptors and he were looking for him to work on while he was down with the Stampede.
Nathan Jawai-" Basically it is getting back into basketball shape that is the biggest thing for me while I am down here. Also to work on my rebounding and my defense and getting use to the speed of the game, because back home it is totally different."
Back home for Nathan is of course Australia and I asked him how it had been for him through all of this season as far as support from back home.
Nathan Jawai-" They have been great. I have a lot of friends that support me, I have my girlfriend that supports me, I got a lot of support. They have been great for me. If I didn't have them it would have been harder for me to return to the court. Right now they have all been great for me. I keep in contact with home a couple times a month. They are all happy to hear that I am back on the court and that I am all healthy."
It is important to realize that Nathan is fairly new to the sport of basketball this time for him on the court be it in Idaho or anywhere is valuable. Nathan talks about his quick path to this point he is at.
Nathan Jawai-" Yeah, this is my 5th year. Looking back on what I have done so far it is unbelievable. When I look back 5 years ago I wouldn't think it would take me this amount of time to get to the NBA. It is unbelievable and I can't believe that I am here. But I am blessed that it only took me 5 years to get here. Now that I am here, I just want to achieve and do the best that I can to get back on court and be a force in the NBA"
In making the choice to enter the NBA draft it cost Nathan a chance to play for Australia this summer in the Olympics in Beijing. I asked Nathan for his thoughts on having to make that choice.
Nathan Jawai-" It has hard but I had 2 options to come to the draft or stay and play for the national team. The rules for the draft if I was in college I would have had another year before I would have had to enter the draft. But because I played professionally in Australia I had to go in this year. So with the Australian team I will always have a chance to go back and play for my country. So, probably in the future I will be wearing that green and gold uniform and I am looking forward to that as well."
While Nathan was unable to play for the his nation. A good friend of his was. Pat Mills made an impact for Australia and people noticed. NBA scouts and high praise from NBA stars like Chris Paul. I asked Nathan how it felt to be watching his friend do so well on that stage.
Nathan Jawai-" I mean yeah it was a big surprise. He has come a long way himself. This year he may be entering (The Draft) I don't know but I hope that he does. To see him get on the court and compete against the Americans and other countries the way he carried himself and played was really amazing because when I was at the Institute ( The Australian Institute of Sport) I saw a different Patty."
Mills took that Olympic experience and translated to his play with St. Mary's this year in the NCAA. He had been having a great season until breaking his hand in a game in conference play. I asked Nathan if he had been following how he had been doing. He said he got a chance to see him play live in San Francisco and kept close tabs on him watching on T.V and he saw the game that he was injured has hand. He says he talks with him on a regular basis about once a week. Mills if you have not seen him is an under sized guard that for me is a lot like a Jameer Nelson. They even look a like a little bit. He has amazing speed and his highly skilled. Aaron Fearne in a past interview had glowing things to say about his play, his ability and his potential. His St. Mary's squad, thanks in part to his injury and not being able to play, sit on the bubble for getting in the NCAA Tournament.
As for Nathan what are his plans for the off-season to come. What will he be doing this summer?
Nathan Jawai-" Basically what I am down here for. To get in shape and get use to the speed of the game. Working on my shot and my skills. Try to get better so I can secure a long NBA contract after my season next year. That is what I am looking out for. So my summer will be a pretty hard one this year. I am looking forward to that and trying to get back to where I left off."
What has Nathan learned about the NBA game?
Nathan Jawai-" How to defend in the post is different from back home. Basically it is the speed for me that is what it is. It is basically the same but the tempo and the speed is a lot faster. The thing is the guys playing at this level everyone is good. There is no one on a team that is a bad player. That is why it's hard. You always have to be ready that is what I have learned from practicing and sitting on the sidelines."
Given the season that the Raptors have had some have lost patience with everything. However from all the basketball people I have talked with they all see great potential in Nathan and what he can become. Nathan I had been told by everyone that he is a great person and has a great attitude. The folks with the Stampede have been impressed with him and see that potential. It has been hard for Raptor fans to see that in the limited time they have got to see Nathan but if you get the chance fire up your computer and check out the Stampede and watch him and I think you will be impressed. I watched him play in the Las Vegas Summer league and he had an impressive game against Golden State. He has flashes of great plays and you can see why people were impressed by him. It was unfortunate, that his progression was halted for 3 months and there is work for him to do just to get back to the point he was at heading into his first NBA season. However, he is more than willing to put in that work. He also has come so far so fast it would be foolish to bet against him at this point. I know here at the Dino Nation Blog we are not going to do that. In fact we do the opposite and wish Nathan nothing but success in his future heading forward. I want to thank Nathan and also thank the Idaho Stampede Organization for helping set up this interview, and all the interviews we have been doing with the recently. They have been very willing to work with the Dino Nation Blog and that is a great thing.
Brent Petway was a star with the Michigan Wolverines and he can flat of sky. It was a great thrill as a fan of the Michigan Wolverines to get a chance to talk basketball and dunking with him. The Dino Blogger can only dream of what it is like to dunk a basketball. This guy does it very well. He also is trying make his way to the NBA with D-League Idaho Stampede. He is in his second year in Idaho and he talks with us about a number of things from dunking, his thoughts on how his old school is doing and thoughts on newest team mate Nathan Jawai. One of the things we talk about is a YouTube Video in which he throws down a challenge to "Superman" Dwight Howard. Check it out.
So what ever happened with that challenge? Did Dwight ever answer it?
Brent Petway-" Nah he never did. But I think next year we are going to actually be able to do that, the winner of the D-League contest against the winner of the NBA contest I think, I am not sure. But next year it might actually materialize."
If it did that could mean that Brent could end of facing Lebron James. James of course made it known that he plans on entering the contest next year in Dallas in front of what could be over 100,000 people according to what Mark Cuban the Mavs owner is said to be hoping for. I asked Brent about the chance of a James vs Petway dunk off.
Brent Petway-" Yeah, that would be really fun. Any of those guys really. It would be a good little show off."
Brent was in the Finals and lost in this year's D-League dunk off. He was the defending champion of the event. He had a chance to check out the NBA version and I asked him for his thoughts on that.
Brent Petway-" It was actually pretty good. We had are D-League dunk contest the night before and that was great. I watched the NBA one and Dwight came with some stuff and Nate Robinson I liked the nice little kryptonite thing he had. It was a nice little contest they had. It was fun to see Nate get up and jumper over Dwight that was a good little dunk right there."
I had my 2 cents on the dunk contest this year and I was not as big a fan of it. However Brent knowing what it takes to do all those things likely has a much different prospective. Speaking of which I asked him about who some of his idols were as far as dunking goes. Growing up in Georgia he was a big fan as a kid of the "Human Hi-Light Reel" Dominique Wilkins and remembers his battles with Michael Jordan. Brent earned his own nick name of "Air Georgia" and he was also a fan of "Air Canada" Vince Carter as one of the guys he liked to watch. He credits Carter with putting the dunk contest back on the map. Which as much as Raptors fans may hate Vince now is 100% correct. Vince Carter really brought life back to the dunk contest after it had been gone for a few years and gave it a new life for guys like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and guys like Brent.
I mentioned that Brent is a former member of the Michigan Wolverines here is a little visual reminder of him and his skills as a dunker back then.
Michigan is a huge sports school and part of the Big Ten of course. They have the crazy fans and basketball has always been a big deal at the U of M going back to Glen Rice and a National Title to the Fab Five era. So I wondered what the differences were from life as a Wolverine to life as a member of the Stampede. Here is what Brent had to say about that.
Brent Petway-" The Major difference is probably the fans definitely, because in college the fans are much more hardcore when it comes the fans. Alumni and students when you walk around the campus everyone pretty much knows you. As opposed to in the D-League people might not even know who you are unless you have a Stampede shirt on or something. Unless they were season ticket holders or something like that."
So which is better being known or having ability to go around with out getting noticed?
Brent Petway- "I don't know it goes both ways. When your known you have to sign a whole bunch of autographs and stuff when I was in the city when I was at Michigan. So sometimes when you are out you just want have fun and chill. Then there are other time when you are doing community relations and things where you are expecting to do those things. So it can go both ways."
One of the things that we in Canada do not have is the pride people have for the schools they attend. A lot of times here in Canada many of us will graduate from a college or university and may never set foot on campus again or follow the sports teams and programs. In United States it is a totally different story. If you are a Wolverine, Longhorn, Tarheel or whoever it is a lifetime thing. So I was pretty sure Brent would still be keeping tabs on the U of M. I asked him if had been following the Wolverines this year and what his thoughts were on how the program was doing and where it was heading.
Brent Petway-" It has been fun to watch. I have been keeping up with them as much as I can. On Sportscenter, catching there games when they come on and I still have a couple people in Detroit that I talk to now and then that are keeping me updated. They are fun to watch and they were ranked for a bit. Now they are on the bubble and hopefully they can get off that bubble and get in."
Toronto has a player on that U of M squad Jevohn Sheppard, and I asked Brent about how he got along with him?
Brent Petaway-" Yeah, Jevohn is a good guy I was there with him for 2 years. He has a little sky to his game as well, he can get up a little bit. He is a good guy to be around and he is having a good year as well"
Brent I am sure was happy to learn that the Wolverines were winners today on the road at Minnesota.Holding on for a hard fought come from behind victory 67-64. Still a week till we find out if it is the Tournament or the NIT for the Wolverines but this are going the right way. So, I think Brent would be cool with me saying Go Blue.
We have spent a lot of time talking about dunking which Brent is one of the best you will find at any level of basketball. However what else is he working on to take his game to that next level to get to the NBA?
Brent Petway- " I have just been working on what I can to get up there where big Nate(Jawai) is. Trying to be not just a dunker and I am trying to work on my outside game. There is a lot of stuff I am working on. Hoping that I get up there(To NBA ) and be one of those rotation players hopefully."
I asked Brent what his thoughts were about his new team mate from Australia in Nathan Jawai.
Brent Petway-" He is a good player. He came down here and he wanted play right away. He is a joy to be around and he always has a smile on his face. He loves to play the game, he likes to pass the ball, so he is always tell us to cut when he gets the ball. So I think he is going to be a great fit"
One of the things in the various things we having being doing about the D-League that I personally come back to is the challenge it must be for everyone to adapt to the ever changing rosters. There is constant player movement. I asked Brent about the challenge of that as a player.
Brent Petway-" Yeah it is really tough. Cause you have guys from the NBA coming down here. You'll have teammates leave and go overseas. So it is real tough just trying to keep the team chemistry. That is a big thing for the program to have a chemistry with your teammates. But it is just being a professional and you have to keep playing ball and let the chips fall where the may."
The Stampede are currently in a dog fight leading their Division and have Utah who they will play again on Monday and Bakersfield close to them in the standings. I asked Brent for his thoughts on what lies ahead for the Stampede?
Brent Petway-" It has been going well. I think we have like 14 games to go. We got a team right on our heels in Utah. They are playing good ball and we have them a couple more times. So hopefully we can keep doing what we have been doing and stay in first place and have some momentum heading into the playoffs."
Brent was really great to talk with. He also said that Pops Mensah-Bonsu is a good player and should help up here in Toronto. He is a guy who Bent said is very athletic. He knows a bit about him even back from his college days at George Washington. Brent had a friend from back home in Georgia who was his teammate on that squad at GW. Pops was pretty nice in his debut last night against the Heat. As for Brent he continues to work hard with the Stampede and is hopefully of making it to the NBA. He is also hopefully of doing what former Raptor Jamario Moon did and get a chance to shine on All Star Saturday night. He said to me he thinks if he ever gets that chance he will definitely try to turn some heads. Here is more evidence to why he could be right.
All the best to Brent with the rest of his season. Here is hoping he can make his way to the NBA. It was a great deal of fun to have him as a guest and I would welcome him back any time.
Well is it wrong of me that I am more interested in the debut of Pops Mensah-Bonsu than I am interested in the return of J.O and Moon. That is the truth for me. I said it this morning there return was a non event to me. So much so that when I was out this afternoon I had completely forgotten this game was happening tonight. Yeah it has got that bad. However I am here and in time for the tip of this classic. Well maybe not but D Wade should make this one fun to watch regardless. Bosh knows how good Wade is as he had a rebirth of sorts in the summer playing with Bosh for team USA. But Wade last year was just hurt. He is still the same old Wade. He is a serious contender for M.V.P of the league. That may have been conceded to Lebron James already but given the talent level Wade plays with and James you have to think Wade is a bit more impressive when you factor in the rosters they play with.
1st Quarter
The game is off to a slow start there was a lid on the rims at the ACC. Miami would bust it open with a 6-0 run. Jay Triano would call a time out and I will now repeat what he had to say this is a some what family blog. The Raps would respond and cut the lead down to 12-9. Pops Mansah-Bonsu checks in wearing number 44. He was making an impact rebounding a Jamario Moon miss from 3. We got to see a lot of those for the Raptors. Anderea Bargnani would fouled and the Raptors could cut the lead to just 1. Bargnani would make both and do just that. However D-Wade was doing what he does and already had 10 with his latest basket in response to the Bargnani free throws. The Raptors would continue to claw and fight and an AP dunk would tie it at 18 off a Miami turnover.
Wade would break the tie with another basket and Kapono would answer tied at 20. Pops was having an impact scrapping and battling on the boards this guy is doing some good thing early. One of his rebounds would lead to another Raptor basket to take the lead. Raptors were responding to Triano's rant early in the quarter. They would lead after one just a question of by how many. Chris Quinn would be fouled by Mansah-Bonsu. Quinn would make both at the line and a Parker buzzer beater would not fall but surprising the Raptors lead 24-22. Actually with a win the Raptors would sweep the season series with the Heat. Go figure.
2nd Quarter
The Heat would open the scoring in the second and tie it up. Bosh would draw a would foul and head to the line. He would make both and give Raps a 2 point lead. It would be short lived with a Quinn 3 to give lead back to Miami. However Joey G would get a score and Bargnani would follow and Raps had a slim 3 point lead. J.O and CB4 would exchange baskets. Quinn nails a 3 ball and we were all tied at 32 in a very entertaining 2nd chapter to this one.
Wright was fouled by Joey G and at the line for a pair. Miami ends up with a 1 point lead of 33-32. On defense the Heat switched to zone and it paid off. A stop and than a turnover for an easy score. But Chris Bosh would break the zone with a jumper. Wade was getting a long rest on the bench. Marcus Banks was in the game and how I know this is he was called for an offensive foul. Wade would return and hook up Haslem for the score plus a foul that he would make. Heat had a 38-34 lead at almost the mid point of 2nd quarter.
Raptor fans were finding out why Marcus Banks never say much time with the Heat as he chucked up an air ball. Bosh would fumble and bumble but draw a foul on J.O. It was non shooting but right away J.O would pick up a second also non shooting. Bosh would end up missing a shot after all that. However a turnover and a Jose drive but he would get called for offensive foul. ONeal would score at the other end. Bosh would answer with a basket. Bosh would get his 10th from 3 point range on the season and the Heat lead was down to 1 again. Haslem would score to extend lead to 3. Jose Calderon would drive score and draw the and 1 foul that he would make. Tied at 42. D-Wade would find an open look from 3 point range and make it. The Heat would continue to hold a slim 48-46 lead. Wade looked to make it a larger lead but had it tied up by Parker. Wade would control the tip and Moon would drive and score. Shawn Marion would answer with a drive of his own leading to points. Wade would score and get to the line. Heat had a 53-48 lead. Wade not know for hitting 3's but he was tonight as he made another 3. Marion would drive and score but it was the Heat leading on strength of Wade with a 56-50 lead.
3rd Quarter
Wade did not cool off from halftime break he opens the half with a basket. Parker would answer with a basket and he had 10. Jamario Moon would make a 3 pointer. Chris Bosh would answer with 2 for the Raptors and the Heat lead was 7. Jermaine O'Neal would miss on a jump shot on the move. Bosh would get the feed in the paint from Jose and turn it into two points. the lead was cut to just 5 points. Haslem was fouled and spilt a pair at the line. Wade would drive and kicked to J.O he just should have taken it himself. ONeal missed and he was a pitiful 3-11 on the night. But no worries a turnover would lead to an easy Wade score. Another basket would give the Heat their largest lead of the night.
Wade has 25 points and was 11-13 on the night that is just off the charts. He was far from done with another basket after a time out. Bargnani with a nice dunk in the mug of Canadian Joey Anthony. Shawn Marion would get a score as well and the lead was now just 8. The Kansas product Chalmers would make a 3 pointer and the Heat lead 71-60. Bosh would get fouled by Anthony and make a pair. Haslem with the score the other way. Roko Ukic and Pops Mansah-Bonsu had checked in. Mansah-Bonsu had an immediate impact tipping back in a basket. Bosh would get a score as well with a drive and score. Raptors had cut the lead down to 7 points.
A turnover would lead to a Pops Mansah-Bonsu slam. They were printing up 44 on Raptor uniforms up at Center Sports. However D Wade was having none of it as he would make another 3 pointer. Bosh would answer with a 2 pointer. He had a great night going too. But Wade was better. Pops has hops. However he could not convert the Marion attempted alley opp feed. Wade meanwhile was on his way to a 40 or maybe 50 point night. He had 35 as the 3rd quarter was coming to a close. Bosh had 30 himself. But beyond the individual show down the Heat still had a 84-76 lead. Wade had 36 and Heat had 86 while Bosh had 30 but his team only had 76. Imagine if someone got Bosh to go with Wade that would be a duo worth watching. They already share an agent.
4th Quarter
A miss to start the 4th for the Raps. Cook and Moon with back to misses. J.O would then get denied by Bargnani. Mansah-Bonsu is showing a hustle and an energy I am not use too. He has 10 rebounds in 12 minutes. Very JYD like is his hustle and rebounding. Toronto fans are going to like Pops if he continues to bring it like this. All that being said the Heat were still firmly in control with a 90-80 lead. Andrea Bargnani was playing well with 19. But the star of this show was D Wade and he now had 40 with a thunderous jam. Heat lead it 92-82.
Beasley the rookie had been quiet he was fouled and heading to the line. He would make both and the Miami lead was 94-82. Chalmers also a rookie was doing a bit better as he hit a 3 ball. The lead was 15 and the Raptors gas tank looked to be on E. There were flashes of defense for the Raptors but they were just that flashes. While The Flash AkA D Wade was killing them. Bosh was not giving up with out a fight. Hew would get a score pulling the Raptors to down by 9. However all knight long Miami has had the answer for every Raptor push. Cook the man that beat Jason Kapono for his 3 point corw drains a 3. Kapono answers with a 3. Heat are keeping control up 104-93. Bosh had 34 but it would go with out notice in comparison to the night put in by Wade. Kapono would make another 3 but it was to little to late with score 106-98 with under 2 to play. Bosh would get rejected not once but twice by the rookie Beasley. Almost as an explanation point to the night Wade made a terrific turn around that would quiet the crowd. He had 42 points in 40 minutes on the floor. It was a 108-102 final score.
Things will not be any easier in trying to get a win with Jazz who are healthy finally heading into a Sunday Matinee with the Raptors. If you are just a fan of basketball you can't help been impressed with the performance.
20 games left to go in a season that has been the most disappointing in Raptors history? I would say yes. When you consider all that has gone on it is hard to argue. Chris Bosh still says this team can make the playoffs. If that were to happen it would take a totally new Raptor team that we have just not seen all season. Even if that was to happen they would still need a ton of help. I have said for a longtime this team would not make the playoffs and every move including the trade seems to suggests that they would not. It is vital for the Raptors to hold the rights to the first round pick they have. Making the playoffs would turn that pick over to Miami. What would that accomplish for the long term improvement of this franchise. The answer is not a lot. While Chris Bosh as a player wants to hold out hope that this team can make it, seeing the bigger picture beyond this season it makes sense.
However what also makes no sense is thinking this team can be better without Bosh. I just can't see a deal that makes this team better if you move Bosh. People are so focused on the here and now but fail to see the past. Not just the past of Bosh but the past of this franchise. I have told you how I think all of this goes away. Get Steve Nash. If you do Marion maybe views the situation differently here in Toronto. Jose Calderon has to learn a running system and Nash is the master of a running system. Calderon is a square peg in a round whole for this running system the Raptors seem fully committed to playing. Bosh is a running system with Nash could thrive. Bargnani could also gain from it as well as Nash has made many a 3 point shooter look very good and made them very rich.
But why would the Suns do it? For the same reason that Raptors would look to move Bosh according to everyone. Why should the Suns feel any more confident that Nash would return? There is also the issue of his age and if they would even want to re-sign him. After all Bryan Colangelo brought Nash to the Suns not Steve Kerr.
People talk of Roko Ukic and his potential well who better to mentor that than Steve Nash? You want prove of his impact just check out D.J Augustin who got help from both Nash and T.J Ford. Instead of trying to blow up the Raptors why not try to fix them. Everyone says this team has talent. People were truly shocked by what has happened to the Raptors this season. Could making that one move I am suggesting change this team into a team that can be highly improved? It just might and if I am wrong you still could move Bosh and you have the cap room added by taking on Steve Nash. You can still rebuild and start over. However what does it hurt to not try one last time to get it right with Chris Bosh. Is it not worth one last shot?
The Miami Heat have much the same challenges as the Raptors when they look to the future. Wade could walk away from the Heat as well in 2010. However given the re-birth season he has had and the rise of the Heat from the ashes not to many people are focused on that. It is all about the Playoffs for Miami but in reality can they beat Cleveland, Boston or Orlando? I am thinking not. That being said the hope that they could makes all this 2010 talk go away. Here in Toronto that hope was long gone a long time ago.
As bad as it all seems for the Raptors you can look at the Heat last season and see a lot of the same things. They had a star in Wade that a lot of people wonder rather loudly if he could return to the player that was known as flash. Maybe think about that before you want to demolish the Raptors and start from scratch. If Wade were to declare he was leaving in 2010 how good would the Heat be? Not so good right?
Jamario Moon on the other hand has been much better of late for the Heat.
Shooting % with Raptors- 47.3%, With the Heat 52.5 %
3 Point % with Raptors- 34.5%, With the Heat 42.9%
In his last 3 games with the Heat he has averaged 15 points, 6-14 from 3 point range, 8.3 rebounds.
His defense has still been pretty bad and his blocks and steals have actually gone down with the Heat. He is play on average 27 minutes a slight bump from the 25 he was getting in Toronto. Why the change in performance on offense? Dwayne Wade and winning seems to be a simple answer. Even Jamario himself last night could not figure out what changed for him or the Raptors this season. He made an appearance on Hoops. Moon was also talking it up from almost the start in Miami declaring the Heat could make the conference finals. I mean what the heck? I like Jarmario he is a nice guy and I think his dedication to the sport is truly remarkable. However he seems to just be a guy that is dependent on others for any success he can have. He needs others to do things for him to be successful. In Toronto this season he was not getting the help in other performances and it exposed him.
As for Jermaine O'Neal his numbers do not show much difference. A slight improvement in is FG% and a dip in rebounding. However Miami made this trade to secure D-Wade and they can say whatever they like that is why they made this deal. If J.O can add to the Heat great but the bottom line of it all was to gain cap space and make a serious pitch to keep Wade.
As for tonight and the return of these 2 guys I am not sure what the reaction of fans will be. For me personally it ho hum. I mean Moon was only hear over just a year. As quickly as he gained the attention and love of the fan base he lost it just as fast this year. A nice guy and still a great story but in the end I don't feel much of anything about him going or returning. I guess if he can do well with the Heat he will get another NBA contract and based on him being a good person and his story I guess, I am happy about that. When he first was traded to Miami his staying in the league to me was in serious doubt. If he can continue his improvement with the Heat he should be able to remain in the league. That for Jamario Moon is a very good thing. He was just happy to have made it to the league and was grateful of what it means to be an NBA player. That is something that sometimes is not the norm for the NBA these days.
When it comes to J.O. If you read this blog back in the summer my original reaction to the Jermaine O'Neal trade was not positive. I allowed myself to have my mind changed. Guess that was a mistake. I did learn that J.O is not the bad guy that I had always thought he was. However from a basketball perspective he did pretty much what I had expected. His injury issues were still there and always will be. The days of him being an All-Star in this league are far removed. I am puzzled how so many people became so attached to this guy in his short time here. Seeing posts about keeping J.O and getting rid of Bosh were just comedy to me. I guess that J.O as Raptor is just some trivia question that 5 or 10 years from now that will stump people that do not pay that much attention to the Raptors. Beyond that J.O being here will not have many warm fuzzy memories. So his return is a pretty much a non event. It is not like I can boo someone for being pretty much everything that I expected basketball wise.
So that is about all I have to get you ready for this one. Stampede weekend continues on with the results of their game against Utah and interviews with Brent Petway on Saturday and Nathan Jawai on Sunday. Actually my bad the Stampede don't play till Monday.
The Dino Nation Blog has been hard at work and touching based with our friends in Idaho. Today we had a chance to talk with Joel Abelson assistant coach of Idaho Stampede. He has worked with such NBA stars as Jermaine O'Neal, Baron Davis, Paul Pierce, Al Harrington, and Chauncey Billups, in working with Joe Abunassar with Impact Basketball in Vegas. He has also worked with the Charlotte Bobcats as well. He is now working with Toronto second round pick Nathan Jawai who joined the Stampede last week. He also chips in with a scouting report on Pops Mensah-Bonsu. We also talk about the current and future of NBDL league and prospects for the defending champion Stampede.
That is the kick off to our Stampede weekend. By time Sunday rolls a round you will also hear from Brent Petway who is a member of the Stampede in his second year with the club and a former Michigan Wolverine. He is a guy that is one of the best dunkers you are going to find. He once challenged Dwight Howard to a D-League vs NBA dunk off. We talk about Wolverine, Dunking and his career. We also ask him about his new team member Nathan Jawai. That will be the cap off for Stampede weekend as the Dino Nation Blog talks with Nathan Jawai. Both guys were on cell phones and quality was a little bit off. So these will be it written form. Hopefully you will enjoy it all. The Stampede organization has been really great to work with and the Dino Nation Blog has been happy to form a relationship with the Raptors affiliate in the D-League. Stampede will not be in action till Monday night and will have an update on how the make out but the Raptors will be hosting that Heat and Jazz before that. Stampede are fighting for first place and are looking to defend their D-League title. That is a lot more exciting than waiting for the draft lottery.
If you ever have a question or concern or request. You can always contact the Dino Nation Blog @t Dinoblogger@gmail.com
I am always willing to talk with folks for interviews etc. I currently am doing 2 regular radio appearances weekly. But I am always willing to do more stuff large or small. Whatever it is you would like to discuss I will be happy to reply.
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