I’m a little embarrassed to say that my original plan for this post did
not work because the Raptors did not cooperate with my expectation for
them to drop three straight to the Nuggets, Rockets and Magic. Yes, I
had pegged the guys to lose all three. Before you jump down my throat,
how many of you saw our guys taking down both Houston and Orlando
without both JO and Jose? Yeah, I thought so.
I had planned on observing the energy, mood, quotes and focus of a
home team as they struggle to right the ship that has gone astray. I’m
happy to say this plan fell through as the Raptors have put in two
strong performances to take care of business at home.
As a result, rather than the standard game notes, I’m going to give you some
observations from the three games this past week.
Nuggets @ Raptors. December 31st, 2008.
It’s New Years Eve and the crowd is loud. I’m a little nervous that
they may decide to boo the guys, but so far it looks like we are okay
and people are still reveling in holiday peace, joy and love.
During the Raptors intro video, Kenyon watches with his hands on his
waist, looking confused. Chris Andersen is hanging on the lacing of the
basket.
It’s a big night for the Nuggets with Kenyon Martin celebrating his
birthday on the 30th, and he will be hosting a New Years Eve party
postgame. Coach Karl can also get his 900th career win this evening
with a victory.
Talking with one of the reporters sitting beside me, we lament about
the recent Raptors loss to the Warriors. It’s painful to see a guy like
Belinelli come out and tear apart Bargnani. He was a number one pick,
number one!
Balkman is sitting on an exercise ball rather than the bench during the
game. I saw strength and conditioning coach, Steve Hess backstage. If
you haven’t had the privilege of seeing this guy in action on one of
the NBATV specials with the Nuggets, check this out and take my word for it, he’s
amazing. Honestly. The man is jacked, jacked, jacked, jacked, jacked.
Like. Stack Jacked.
And, he’s the coolest trainer in the entire NBA. Really.
A match up of Soloman on Billups is not one that I want to see for any
extended period of time. Billups absolutely eats up my Raptors guy.
Voskuhl is like the perfect cheerleader on the bench. I’ll be expounding on this in detail very soon.
An outlet pass is thrown to Nene who slams the ball. Hard. It’s pretty damn beautiful to see him out there, playing ball and being the picture of perfect health.
JR and Chris Andersen on the floor at the same time makes me happy.
Fan sign of the night: “Raptors 2009 New Years Resolution: Start Winning”
Unfortunately, the Raps are unable to pull this one out, but the scene
postgame is a special one as Coach Karl has just recorded his 900th
career coaching victory.
In the locker room, Melo takes his sweet time getting dressed and has
on red sneakers to match his red scarf that’s wrapped haphazardly
around his neck, drawing jabs from teammates and members of the
coaching staff. Melo shakes it off quickly and makes postgame
arrangements for both his stuff and himself.
JR Smith busts out “Nice and Slow” by Usher as Melo bursts out in laughter.
When asked about his coach’s achievement, Melo has nothing but kind
words to say while also joking that he couldn’t quite remember seeing
the first victory, which happened in 1984, when he was just a baby.
Chauncey Billups had glowing words of praise for Karl saying to get to
900 wins, it’s clear that you are doing something right. The chemistry
between head coach and new point guard is evident for anyone to see and
the Nuggets organization is reaping the benefits.
Rockets @ Raptors – January 2nd, 2008
Observation number one: Yao Ming arrives on the early bus to every
game. This evening he was at the arena around 4:30, in order to get
some extra practice time in. Not too many superstars arrive early, so I
was impressed.
Observation number two: While going into the Rockets locker room for
the first time, I did a quick scan of the room pregame to see if anyone
I wanted to talk to was available. When my gaze settled on Yao who was
directly to my left sitting with one leg up, ipod in as he read a scouting
report, I audibly gasped. The man is huge. Not just huge, gigantic.
Not a hint of exaggeration in this statement: His thigh is the size of my torso. Honestly.
Rafer Alston was a popular guy pregame, conducting both a radio
interview and then a TV interview with RaptorsTV. He said he was happy
to be back in Toronto and enjoyed his time here. You can tell this is
true as he warmly greeted various media and Raptors staff members in
the locker room.
Pregame meal sitting on the bench in the locker room: Fries smothered
in gravy and ketchup. Seriously. These guys must have iron stomachs.
Jose Calderon and Luis Scola sit together on the Raptors bench while
the guys are shooting around, to catch up. Later, I would catch Scola
greeting Roko Ukic with a hug and some kind words. I love the ties that
international basketball brings with it.
ATTENTION RAPTORS FANS AND RESIDENTS OF TORONTO: WILL SOLOMAN IS NOT THE REASON WHY WE ARE 12-21. PLEASE STOP BOOING.
But really, one guy on your bench does not deserve the blame, okay thanks.
According to a post on SI.com, Jose has sprained his right hamstring
and will not return tonight. It’s Soloman time. As I write this, the
Raptors staff comes around and hands out an injury update saying that
Jose indeed, will not return. This is the same hamstring that he pulled
earlier in November, causing him to miss two games.
Ron Artest hits a corner three in the exact spot where he was draining them from in pregame. Practice pays off, kids.
Doug Flutie and Jesse Palmer (the latter I know from crappy reality TV
rather than the NFL, but I digress), are sitting courtside and they get
a louder ovation than the raptors.
Hassan Adams is getting some burn and we knowww its over. Raps up 21.
The fourth quarter of Soloman, Ukic and Voskuhl.. Ugly basketball has never been so beautiful.
Postgame, I elect to go Houston rather than Toronto because I’ve got an
interview I want to get done with Ron Artest. Despite having just lost
by 21, Ron is gracious, kind and gives great quotes. I’ll be posting my
one on one with him later this week while the guys are out of town.
Magic @ Raptors, January 4th, 2009
No JO or Jose today. It may be the Soloman show again. Haters best not boo.
Pregame, I get the privilege of watching Dwight head back into the
locker room where he is bombarded with kids asking for autographs and
photos. Being a kid himself, he bursts out smiling and starts signing
things only to have the sharpie slip from his hands and fall into the
cracks of the stands, never to be seen again. A look of heartbreak
appears on the face of a young fan, if I’ve ever seen one. Dwight
quickly reassures him it’s okay and then asks around to get a new pen.
Superman really is in the building.
Love to see stuff like that.
“Let’s Go Will!” No really, I actually hear a mini Soloman chant. How things can change in only one game.
Roko Ukic is in the game and he doesn’t wait long to score. And then
score again. 34-19 Raptors. Ukic is the easiest player to root for in
the league. He looks so young, wiry and all over the place, his
teammates love him and he works so hard. It’s always a pleasure to see
Ukic getting some burn.
Will with a pretty spin move and I get nervous like a mother who’s
watching her child in a school play. After loudly declaring him as my
guy during preseason, I’ve got not choice but to stick with him and
sometimes, that’s not the easiest thing in the world.
Airball from Will.
As I was saying….
While I was aware that Jameer has been playing great as of late, I was
not aware that he’s been shooting a blistering 58.2% from the field and
54.2% from beyond the arc in his last nine.
Moon battles for the rebound and then when Bargnani misses a layup, it
is Moon who again tracks down the offensive board, earning another
possession which leads to Bargnani three. The effort and hustle from
Moon needs to be addressed.
JJ Reddick comes into the game for Turkoglu. Seriously.
Didn’t expect to see him today.
There has been something going on with the Raptors bench and the Magic
shooters all afternoon. Countless times they have been chirping at the
bench after knocking down three-pointers while Voskuhl and Hassan Adams
shoot them daggers with their eyes.
And a three from JJ Reddick who decides to be relevant today of all days.
As we are on the verge of winning this one, we’re back to chanting MVP for Bosh again. Oh Canada.
Postgame, Patrick Ewing walks past me in the locker room on his way to the bus and I honestly lose my breathe. Seeing one of the greats decked out in a hat, scarf and long coat that is about the size of the duvet that I sleep with each night is startling. Having him look down and you and nod on his way out, well that really does make you freeze for a moment. Mr. Ewing is a big man and he definitely commands attention wherever he goes.
On my walk to the locker room, I was accosted in the hallway by Mickael Pietrus who stopped me to ask my name before grabbing my hand to shake it and ask if I spoke french. Turns out he was expecting Canadians to all be bilingual and he was visibly disappointed when I told him that my french was limited having not used it in the past six years of my life.
Pietrus then proceeded to crack up the media who were waiting for Coach Van Gundy. Funny guy, that Pietrus. Gracious as well, taking photos and engaging in convo with whoever wanted to talk with him.
In the Magic locker room the mood was somber as this was not a game they had anticipated losing. Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis gave all of the right answers about playing to win and we waited for what seemed like an eternity as Dwight came out of the shower, s-l-o-w-l-y got dressed, and lotioned his hands. He is so polite, even after tying a career-high in an unexpected loss that you don't get frustrated with him for making you wait.
For a big man, Dwight's got the softest deep voice I've ever heard. Struggling to get my recorder into the mix, he talks about free throws and says he's not disappointed with his 11-18 showing this evening, he knows he is not going to be 100% and even though Coach Van Gundy gets on him, he just needs to be confident when he's at the line.
In comparison, when Coach Van Gundy finally comes out to speak with us, he says that while 11-18 from the free throw line is what Dwight shoots it is not good enough.
Over on the Raptors side of things, the guys have cleared out quickly as they have to fly to Milwaukee to begin a two-game road trip that starts with the Bucks and then takes them to Washington before they head home to face OJ Mayo and the Grizzlies at the ACC on Friday night.
I'll be there Friday and I will have a normal set of game notes for you, asap. I'll leave my wonderful ideas of dissecting the anataomy of a homestand to myself so we don't get confused!