yesterday took newcomer Hedo Turkoglu out of action for the remainder of the team’s stay in Ottawa.
"I don’t think it would help him at all to get him involved while we are here," Triano said. "I’m going to take the advice of our trainers and our strength and conditioning coaches and find out where he is physically, but I just don’t think it makes a lot of sense for he or Chris to participate this week at all."
Turkolglu is dealing with a strained quad in addition to some fatigue after a busy off-season and a long playoff run.
"I’m sure everyone wants to start and I’d by lying if I said I didn’t, but what matters is the impact you have on the game and how long you’re out there," Wright said.
Colangelo admits that he wasn’t really sure what he was getting when Wright was included in the summer deal that saw Shawn Marion head to Dallas while Wright and Devean George came to Toronto.
"The Antoine piece was a little bit of an addition to make the math work," Colangelo said. "In this case it was somewhat surprising that Antoine was that piece because here is a guy who started 53 games for the Mavs last year and we gladly took him.
"But I’m not sure even I realized what kind of perimeter defender he was, but it became very clear, very quickly after talking to Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle that (Antoine) is a tough kid, he’s a great defender and defends multiple positions."
"He’s more engaged now," Triano said. "I get a text from him now once a week, `Watching tape. I really clogged things up last year. How are we going to eliminate that this year?’ Or, `Coach, we need to move the ball a little bit better.’ He’s wanting to get better, (asking) `What can I do not to clog things up? What can I do defensively?’"
The coach, needless to say, is enamoured with Bosh’s contract-year commitment to both the barbells and the details and he is all too happy to offer suggestions for further advancement.
"I gave him three (things to improve) and he texts back, `Anything else?’ I said, `If the door’s open.’ And I gave him seven more. So now you have 10 things. And he was, like, `Thanks. Love constructive criticism.’"
The Toronto production company behind the film followed Bosh and shot footage in Toronto over a two-month period this summer. Bosh’s first tattoo – from inception to first sitting – is the jumping-off point for a look at the player who may well be heading into his final season in a Raptors uniform.
"It’s a little bit of comedy, and it has a documentary part," Bosh told the Star‘s Dave Feschuk Thursday at Raptors training camp in Ottawa. "It’s maybe a side of me nobody’s ever seen. It’s got that same skit feeling to it (as some of Bosh’s youtube videos). We’ve got some funny ones. There’s some good stuff in there. Hopefully it’ll be entertaining to people, and really interesting and artistic."
The Raptors have a plethora of players able to play point guard – Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Marco Belinelli, Marcus Banks and Quincy Douby – so coach Jay Triano is experimenting with different combinations.
For parts of some scrimmages and drills this week at training camp, he’s had both Calderon and Jack on the same team and on the court at the same time.
"We introduced a two-guard offence, we had them on the same team and it’s primarily because we want to have different sets and different looks and play to our strengths," he said.
"You’ve got two guys who can handle the ball, two guys who can set up an offence and two guys that can push the ball in transition. It makes it hard for defences to decide who they’re going to shade and who they’re going to pick up and contain."
"I’ma little bit more aggressive as far as getting in the paint. He’s a little bit better at stretching the defence and knocking down shots," Jack said. "It’s kind of like the best of both worlds."
It is far too early to say how often the Raptors will use the smaller lineup, as it will make them susceptible to bigger opposing shooting guards. But 15 minutes per night or more does not seem unreasonable, as long as the lineup shows some chemistry.
"Some of the teams have decided to go with the smaller lineups," Triano said. "We went against three point guards in New York last year. At the end of the season, they played three point guards all on the floor at once. So we’ll be ready for something like that."
Regardless of his role to start the season, I’m pumped to have a kid like this on the team. Just 20 and dubbed by many as the most athletic player in the draft, I’m surprised he dropped to ninth, considering how many teams draft on potential alone these days. Then again, he’ll have to live up to that “next Carter” title. Here’s hoping he does (and that he doesn’t turn into a baby, get hurt, stop trying, leave Toronto and proceed to destroy every other team he plays for. Have fun Orlando!).
Keeping It Real Sports Overtime
The Toronto Raptors will… I repeat… WILL underachieve once again this season. Jose Calderon will shoulder the load as the best guard on the team, unless you count Marcus Banks. The forward-heavy Raptors signed Hedo Turkoglu (forward), gave Andrea Bargnani (forward) a huge deal, and drafted, you guessed it… another forward in DeMar DeRozan. Bosh’s numbers won’t waver, and he’ll have some help in Hedo, whose value should stay the same because essentially, Bosh = Dwight. Sleeper – Marco Belinelli
"You really didn’t know what was wrong with him," teammate Chris Bosh said. "He’d practise and then he’d be out again. He kept saying, ‘My hamstring, something’s wrong, something’s wrong.’ It just kept lingering, and by the time he got it fixed, it was too late."
Not too late for the critics to make themselves heard.
"Yes, I read the stuff, I heard the critics," said Calderon, who will benefit this season from the presence of Jarrett Jack as a solid backup, a luxury the Raptors didn’t have last season. "I was the first one who was embarrassed out there, but I’m a professional and I wanted to be out there and help my team and I wanted to play."
Brother Steve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
This will be Alvin Williams first foray into coaching since he ended his NBA playing career. At the relatively young age of 35, fans still remember and appreciate his contributions as a player. Also, he should be able to relate well to the younger guys on the Raptors’ roster.
Alvin Williams brings toughness to the Toronto Raptors coaching staff. Williams played through pain and gave everything he had to his team. Many thought Alvin could have extended his personal playing days by backing off in his playing style and taking more time off when hurt. That wasn’t in Alvin Williams make-up. That is why many fans still respect and admire him as a player today.
This team has not had a first-rate shooting guard since they lost their Vansanity, and it continues to be a weak spot. They are also looking at a pretty soft rebounding core up front outside of reserve Evans. What they do have going for them is a ton of skilled scorers and one of the great classic distributing point guards in the league in Jose Calderon with an aggressive back-up Jarrett Jack. They will continue to be a very dangerous pick and roll team and now should have the ability to shoot their way into most games with the firepower of Hedo and Marco on the wings. They should be consistent enough to win in the low forties and make the playoffs.
While talking with the media this week Bryan Colangelo was asked which player he felt was ready to surprise fans this season. It’s the kind of question where usually a cliche is thrown back at the reporter, but Colangelo took the bait and gave the reporter a great answer about what players he’s expecting to step up this season due to having larger roles with this team than they did last season.
Not only that, but Colangelo provided some great insight into a play during a recent scrimmage that will be sure to get Raptors fans excited about the upcoming season.
