The list of those unable to practise yesterday included Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, Amir Johnson, Leandro Barbosa, Sonny Weems, Reggie Evans and Peja Stojakovic.
With the exception of Evans and Stojakovic, all have a very good chance of playing against the Lakers but were sufficiently nicked up on Saturday that it made no sense to subject them to any more potential harm.
Bargnani is dealing with left knee and right ankle problems and will be a game-time decision.
Watching Calderon make the walk from the weight room where he had been getting some cardio work done on the bike to the gym exit where the media awaited his arrival, Calderon moved remotely faster than the 84-year-old security guard who sat on the other side of that door.
Every step seemed to be more of a chore than the last, but Calderon made it sound like the prospect of missing Sunday’s game hadn’t even occurred to him.
“I feel better than I expected I would after Friday’s game,” Calderon said. “I twisted my ankle Friday as well and I was compensating a little bit because of the (sore left foot). It was just a little one in the second quarter but I woke up pretty good and we got some work in. We’ll see how it’s going to be Sunday but right now it looks pretty good.”
As much as we all enjoyed watching Jerryd Bayless attack the basket with impunity in Calderon’s absence, this team needs a veteran directing its offence to be most effective.
“You can’t take them for granted, I don’t care what anybody says,” said Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan, the Californian who grew up a Lakers fan.
“I think the Lakers, the first half of the season, start off slow but in the second half of the season they come around and playoffs, it’ll be a whole other Laker team.
“Just like with Kobe. They say he still doesn’t have his legs under him, he’s still trying to get his strength back and everything. (Andrew) Bynum’s just coming back, there’s no telling what they’re going to do.”
But there is a sense that the Lakers are flying under the radar early in this NBA season. The Heat have those three guys, the Spurs are a stunning 22-3 and Boston and Dallas have been rolling.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, eliminated by the Lakers in the playoffs last spring, are something of the flavour of the month and the Knicks have made basketball in New York somewhat relevant at the moment.
“I think with what the Lakers have done, winning championships and everything, people think they’re going to do it again but I think a lot of people now are paying attention to the younger teams like Oklahoma City, Miami, New York,” said DeRozan. “There’s a lot of young teams that people are excited to watch besides the Lakers.
“People don’t worry about the Lakers until the playoffs come, you know. That’s what matters and I think they know that as well. You can’t miss out on watching these young teams these days.”
Outlook
Kobe Bryant needs 18 points to pass Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon and leave only Utah’s Karl Malone and Chicago’s Michael Jordan ahead for most points scored with a single franchise. Bryant (sprained right pinky finger) will be guarded mostly by USC product DeMar DeRozan (12.4 ppg). DeRozan’s specialty on offense is drawing fouls. Pau Gasol (30 points) led the Lakers to a 108-103 victory over Toronto on Nov. 5. The Lakers lost in Toronto by a point last season, but that shouldn’t happen with these Raptors playing the second-worst field-goal defense in the NBA. Toronto just got Andrea Bargnani (21.4 ppg) and Jose Calderon (6.7 apg) back from injury. This is the last stop on the Lakers’ six-game trip.
The Lakers have beaten Toronto in 23 of their 29 all-time meetings, including 10-4 at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors won their last meeting in Toronto, a 106-105 decision on January 24, 2010, but the Lakers have won eight of the last 10 meetings between the clubs overall. The Raptors have lost six of their last eight games to fall to 10-17 on the season, including 7-7 at home.
The last two times I had some Sporcle quizzes for you, I was limited to the numbers that are currently on the Wins Produced Viewer that is Powered by Nerd Numbers. But Andres Alvarez, creator of the Wins Produced Viewer and Nerd Numbers, was nice enough to put together the all-time Toronto Raptors franchise stats for me, which, of course, means more Sporcle quizzes:
