Toronto Star – Raptors’ Jay Triano sees good in the bad
It may seem entirely counter-intuitive to imagine Jay Triano would be pleased with what’s transpired with the Raptors of late but coaches are an odd lot and sometimes they don’t really think like regular folk. So in the wake of a 101-82 pasting at the hands of the Boston Celtics at the Air Canada Centre Sunday afternoon, Triano was thinking of the good that can come of it.
Toronto Sun – Raps foiled by fatigue
All yesterday’s game really proved is that Hedo Turkoglu’s conditioning is a far cry from where he or the Raptors need it to be. Turkoglu, who sat out the first three weeks of training camp, played just under the first six minutes of yesterday’s game before calling for a sub.
Yahoo! Sports – Garnett and Allen lead Celtics past Raptors 101-82 in NBA pre-season
If we win ugly right now what are we going to get from it? They’re going to come in feeling all good tomorrow, I don’t want them feeling good. I want them coming in ready to practice.
Globe and Mail – Starting five look good, when together
The Raptors have eight more practice days split by just one more exhibition game before they open the season at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“We just have to keep pounding away over the next 10 days and I kind of like it. I have their attention,” said Raptors head coach Jay Triano. “If we win ugly right now, what do we get from that? Guys are going to come in feeling all good tomorrow. I don’t want them feeling good. I want them ready to practise.”
There is some room for encouragement. Yesterday, Triano got some positive feedback on what he might have to work with at the top end of his rotation.
Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan and Hedo Turkoglu, for example, played the Celtics’ starters even or just a little bit better as the Raptors were up five points for an afternoon when they had their top unit on the floor.
Hoopsworld – Bosh Not Sold On Big Markets
Toronto has one core player that’s not under contract next year, All-Star forward Chris Bosh. While Bosh is ready to play out the season, he’s standing firm to his stance on free agency – next summer is next summer and he’s not overly concerned with anything other than his new teammates and winning games.
Bosh is pleased with how aggressive his club was in adding new talent and getting the business done, but said he tried to stay out of it and let GM Bryan Colangelo do his job.
“I just trust people who do that stuff are going to do their job,” explained Bosh to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. “Bryan doesn’t want to lose, he’s very competitive himself, he’s going to make the right move.
Globe and Mail – Who will win first – Raptors or Leafs?
You want a look-ahead? On Oct. 28, the Toronto Raptors open the NBA regular-season at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers while the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Dallas Stars. The Leafs have just two games before then (in Vancouver and Anaheim) so if they can continue losing and the Raptors can pull off an upset, there you’d go: Toronto’s NBA team has its first win before its NHL team. You don’t like the Raps’ chances against the Cavs? Neither do I, but not to worry: On Oct. 30 the Raps are in Memphis and the Leafs are in Buffalo. Lookahead? There’s your stinkin’ lookahead ..
National Post – New NBA officials the same as the old ones, apparently
Third quarter, we were on borrowed time,” Triano said. “This team, right now, due to the injuries and the late start of training camp, we’re just over a half-game ready.
TSN – GARNETT, ALLEN LEAD CELTICS PAST RAPTORS IN PRE-SEASON TILT
The Toronto Raptors still have one pre-season game and 10 days left left before opening the regular season on Oct. 28 — time coach Jay Triano says his team plans to maximize to the fullest.
Boston.com – Garnett, Allen help Celtics beat Raptors
I was like ‘This is a dress rehearsal but you’ve got to get it right,’ Allen said. “We want to get it right and we want be perfect in preseason games, regardless of who is on the floor and regardless of who we’re playing against. You don’t want to have to be trying to figure it out when the real stuff starts.
The Star – Raptors run out of gas against the Celtics
Still trying to coax as much as they can out of two key team members who are weeks behind their teammates in conditioning, the Raptors ran out of gas in a 101-82 loss to the Boston Celtics before 13,607 fans.
Sportsnet – Raps fall short vs. Celtics
I’m feeling much better every day,” said Turkoglu. “Today, I played a little bit more and I was feeling good after. We are getting close to the start of the season. We have 10 days and, hopefully, I will get myself in the best shape and ready to go.
Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog – Raptors vs Celtics: Preseason Rematch, Positives For Both Teams
For the first time this preseason, Turkoglu looked comfortable on the floor. He played better defense and struggled less on the offensive end. There remains lots of room to get back to in mid-season form, but Hedo Turkoglu looked like he could be the most valuable Raptor on the floor this season.
Dino Nation Blog – My Day at the ACC
I will get into the game itself tomorrow but I thought is might be cool to share my experience in covering the game today. It has been a long time between visits to the Raptors locker room. I have mentioned in the blog before that I covered the Charity games Vince Carter use to do in the summer time. I will never forget my first time interviewing Vince. It was not a great start for me in working with NBA Players. I asked what seemed to me like a fair question. Vince had ended the season injured and this was the first time anyone had seen him out on the floor in a long time. So I asked him if he felt that he had anything to prove going out there on the floor even though it was just a charity game. Vince did not exactly take kindly to the question and basically said he had nothing to prove to anyone and basically that he was Vince Carter. I have to say I kind of felt bad, as back in the days of Vinsanity I was a huge fan. So, I quickly asked him a funny question about golf and how he compared to Tiger Woods on the golf course and got the heck out of dodge. Vince had played in some charity golf thing the day before so I figured that question would make him laugh and it did.
