Raptors Gang Wars? Americans vs. Europeans?

[Dr. James Naismith]

So now all of a sudden this is becoming an issue. How convenient.

Among the topics on the agenda: The need for better communication between the players from North America and the ones from Europe.

"A lot of times we let the simple things – a guy being from Italy – make the decision on whether you want to talk to that guy, or to the next guy," said Antoine Wright, the California-born reserve swingman. "If we want to win, we need to talk to each other. (The meeting) did a good job in addressing that problem."

Asked if there was a split between the players from different sides of the Atlantic Ocean – and the Raptors employ six players born in Europe – Chris Bosh, the Texas-bred captain, said: "It wasn't a split, in my opinion. It was more so just not knowing how to relate to different guys. Sometimes you're going to want to call somebody out if they don't rotate (on defence). Instead of calling somebody out because they didn't do their job or they're not playing hard, we kind of just kept it quiet. The more quiet you are, sometimes things get divided ... We can't be afraid to challenge each other. It's for the better sake of this team."

This comment bothered me for some reason:

"I asked questions and I got answers from some of the guys I wanted answers from. I don't think I asked anything to Chris or Hedo," said Triano. "I had some things I had to address and I did ... What went on in there was our team stuff ... There was very little basketball stuff. It was more personal stuff in there."

As much as the majority of us commend Bosh on how well he's improved his game this season, why shouldn't he also take his share of the criticism of these current team issues? Because after all, he is the "leader".

And Hedo, this guy better start talking sooner or later because by not say anything and not showing by actions on the court, its no wonder why Raptors fans are quickly thinking he's one of the most overrated and overpriced players in the NBA. Be a veteran and step up man.

Source - Click here

[Apollo]

We don't see what goes on behind the scenes. Maybe Bosh has been really working hard to rally the troops but its been just too much to ask of one guy. In the Bulls dynasty era you didn't just have MJ leading the way, he had backup. If you dropped MJ down in a locker room where few people were backing him up 100% then he would have no real voice. I am really starting to think that Bosh has no strong "wing man" in the sense of someone backing what he says, someone on the team who is in a position of respect due to their abilities. Really it should be Hedo or Jose but neither of those guys can criticize because they themselves don't expend any energy in rebounding or defense. Trust me, drop anybody down in a room where he has no strong character backing him and he's going to have trouble turning the boat. In one against 14, my money is on the 14. A public hearing like this may help wake people up though.

The Spurs, Celtics, Lakers and other elite teams have more than one strong character helping lead the way.

[abstract]

We don't see what goes on behind the scenes. Maybe Bosh has been really working hard to rally the troops but its been just too much to ask of one guy. In the Bulls dynasty era you didn't just have MJ leading the way, he had backup. If you dropped MJ down in a locker room where few people were backing him up 100% then he would have no real voice. I am really starting to think that Bosh has no strong "wing man" in the sense of someone backing what he says, someone on the team who is in a position of respect due to their abilities. Really it should be Hedo or Jose but neither of those guys can criticize because they themselves don't expend any energy in rebounding or defense. Trust me, drop anybody down in a room where he has no strong character backing him and he's going to have trouble turning the boat. In one against 14, my money is on the 14. A public hearing like this may help wake people up though.

The Spurs, Celtics, Lakers and other elite teams have more than one strong character helping lead the way.

I agree...

The Raptors are missing Anthony Parker- not because of his game but simply because he was the one American player on the roster that probably got along better than any other with the Europeans because of his experience abroad, and I'm sure seeing his interaction carried a lot of weight especially for the younger guys.

Right now, it's 9 new faces-- most of whom are Americans and they don't have a 'role model' to see the tone and/or approach to use when speaking with people from different cultures.

[Apollo]

I think Colangelo needs to find a way to get a strong character player in the locker room. A guy like Shawn Battier. He's well spoken, tough as nails, high in talent, rebounds, defends and give 100% effort at all times. Good luck getting him off the Rockets though. Players like him are rare and teams don't exactly look to trade them.