A New (Interim) Era Begins...

It was supposed to be just another day at Raptors practice. But oh, how different it was. Let me begin with the night before.

After the horrid Raptors game against the Bulls (more on that a little later), I went back to the station, produced my post-game report and checked in with the rest of the fellas. It turns out some of them were going out for a bevy, so I decided “hey, what’s one drink?”

Anyone who’s ever had one drink knows… it’s never just one drink.
So one drink turned into a few… and a few turned into a 3:30am trip to Golden Griddle. No problem, all I’ve got is a short practice - The Raptors would be flying to Milwaukee.

By the time I got home I had an enlarged belly, a lighter wallet, and an alarm to set for 5 hours from then. Meh, 5 hours. I’ve done worse.

I wake up every 40 minutes – unintentionally – and chug a glass of water each time. When I finally arise for good, I recall the fact that there’s no hot water. Let’s rewind, and bring you into my home for a moment.

It’s Wednesday afternoon. My roommate decides his leaky bathtub faucet is simply too much to bear, so being Mr.Fix-It, he tightens a bolt, unscrews a thingamabobber, and SNAP, BAM, WHOOSH (no, Chuck Swirsky wasn’t in his bedroom) – a screw goes flying across the room, and now his leak is a steady, forceful stream of scolding hot water. Landlord gets contacted. Plumber gets contacted. See you tomorrow morning… in the meantime, shut off the hot water.

So right, no hot water. But you know what, it’s all good. I had a late shower the night before, and a couple hours of Raptors’ practice wouldn’t be much.

A quick recap: I’m not as fresh as I’d like to be. I’m tired as hell. And after doing a quick runaround of the online newspapers, I’m now running a little late.

I get to the ACC with about 15 minutes to spare, get some quality interviews, and I’m feeling pretty good. Soon I’d be done, I’d take a quick nap at my parents’ house, and then go play some basketball.

That plan changed in a hurry.

Just as I shut off my minidisc, after talking with Sam Mitchell, Jalen Rose, Charlie Villanueva, and Chris Bosh, the kind Media Relations folk handed out a piece of paper:

“MLSE President + CEO, Richard Peddie, to make special Press Conference at 2:00pm”

My boss calls – literally as the paper settles in my hand – “I Know. I’ll be there.”
Right now, it’s about 1:05. So we’ve got a solid 55 minutes to speculate on what this whole thing could be about. Everyone decides it’s the farewell to Rob Babcock.

No wonder Sam Mitchell was in the best mood I’ve ever seen him in.

It was true.

So by now, you’ve seen the snippets of the press conference (if you watched it all you likely saw the left side of my head, throughout the whole damn thing). I’ll spare you the quotes, because there were simply too many.

Rob Babcock is no more. I mean, he still exists, but in no capacity as an employee of the Raptors.

What’s up with the timing? Why now?

That’s a question that didn’t really get answered. But with the trade deadline less than a month away (Feb. 23), and the Raptors in a bit of a spiral the thinking apparently was: why not now?

It also gives the Raptors a jump on picking a replacement. Wayne Embry, who served two previous stints as a General Manager (with Milwaukee and Cleveland), will take over on an interim basis. He said he’d stick around as long as they’d need him – whether it be through the draft, the off-season, whatever. But he said he doesn’t want the job. He’s turning 69 in March.

I heard whispers (and this is by no means official) that the Raptors brass wanted to do it on January 1st, but the Raptors were in the midst of a 5-game winning streak, and just capped off a 7-7 December. So why not wait until after an ugly west-coast swing, and another brutal loss to the Bulls (I swear, I’ll get to that in a few minutes).

My thinking is that Babcock may have also wanted to pull the trigger on a deal, which was not a popular one. We’ll never know, now.

So yeah, the press conferences are over, Babcock’s said his farewells (I didn’t really get to speak to Rob all that much, but I have to say, he really seems like a classy, straight-up, guy) and I’m back at the station.

“Hey Zack, The Fan 960 in Calgary wants you on their show. Are you cool with that?”
“Shit yeah, I’m cool with that. When?”
“5 minutes.”
“Wow. Ummm… ok, I’ll be there in 2.”

I go back to the Bullpen, and await the call. I’m a bit nervous. I’d done live updates from a game, I’d done live hits from the press conferences, and I’d done updates nationally. But I’d never been interviewed as a guest for an entire segment.
I was definitely a little nervous.

I think it went pretty well: 10 minutes of going back and forth, talking about my bread and butter – the Raptors.

So that’s done. I’m happy. I’m sweaty. And I’ve got to write/record/produce my reports. I did two different takes on the firing/promotion, and one preview of the Raptors/Bucks for tomorrow.

Finally, at 5:45pm, I get to indulge in a little breakfast. Chicken Ranch Salad. Good times.

Instead of going into an in depth review of the greenery, I’ll lend my two cents on the whole Babcock tenure.

Personally, I think this man got an unfair shake. He gets hired one month before the Hoffa draft, to take over a cash-strapped, underachieving team. He also came from a Timberwolves team that didn’t even have a first round pick. He figures, what do the Raptors need? A big man! Let’s get the guy who dominated in the Mountain West Conference. A man who instilled fear in the opposition, and wasn’t afraid to fight. Fine, he thought he was addressing a need. Obviously, Araujo has yet to prove his worth.

Babcock also hired Sam Mitchell, a coach who I feel is a great leader, and a great motivator. Unlike the three previous Raptors’ coaches, the players actually listen to him.

...The Vince Carter trade.
Obviously very one-sided, talent-wise. But the Raptors’ do get some significant cap-relief after this year, along with an extra two draft picks. And it also gave the center-stage to Bosh – who, as we all know, has been flourishing.

You also can’t understate the importance of this year’s draft, and how well Babcock did. He got ravaged by the media (myself included) about drafting Charlie Villanueva so high, but saved a little face with getting Graham (who was projected as a top 10) at 16, and Roko Ukic (also projected as a possible lottery pick), early in the 2nd round.

Then Babcock dips into Spain, and signs Jose Calderon (who switched spots with Ukic on Tao Ceramica).

And of course, despite the fact that it was his fault for the lofty-deal, he still unloaded Rafer Alston onto the Rockets, in exchange for Mike “Huge-game” James.

So while Babcock did have his obvious faults and blemishes, he also made some good out of a rough situation. And why, if the Raptors can have so much patience in their rookie-players, do they give no leash to their sophomore GM?

I really find it tough to see how Richard Peddie can continuously cover his own ass, by firing his own hires.

Peddie said the search for Babcock – and Embry’s – replacement is already underway, and he’s prepared to offer the president’s position along with it.

==
I’m not sure that you’ve made it this far, so I’m going to keep the Bulls’ recap short.
It’s the 12th straight time Chicago beat the Raptors, and this one was just as ugly. The Raptors went a span of 9 minutes and 9 seconds without a field-goal in the first quarter, while the Bulls went on a 25-4 run. After that, their game of catch-up fell short.

Bulls 104, Raptors 88

Kirk Hinrich went down with a thigh-contusion, and left the role of Raptor-killer for Chris Duhon, who, when the Raptors pulled to within 4 late in the 3rd, fired off back-to-back 3’s. Duhon, who the Raptors signed to an offer-sheet in the summer, finished off with 26 points (6-of-8 from downtown) and 8 assists.

Chris Bosh had a team-high 20 points and 7 boards, while Mike James finished with 19 points (he had only 2 in the first half) and 7 helpers.

I have quotes, but this post is already too long, and so I will kindly leave them out.

==
In case you’re curious… I did make it to the gym, but I only played a couple of runs (I finished 0-for-3 from the field, probably a couple boards, and a few assists). I got a mouthful of someone’s shoulder, and decided a big bag of fatigue was enough to send me to Dominion to fetch some chicken and potatoes.

It was good. The day was great. And I will now go get some much-needed sleep.

==
Please let me know your thoughts on the firing, the thoughts on my post, and anything else that comes to mind.

I truly am curious who reads these posts, so please let me know.

Thanks for your time.

I Tried to Vote for Kobe...

The Raptors’ western road trip is over. They return home with little success, but much to remember.

We’ll start in Denver, where they wrapped up. Just one night after a monumental one, they look good in the first half, only to buckle in the 4th.

Nuggets 107, Raptors 101

Carmelo Anthony shot a sublime 81%, connecting on 13-of-16 from the field. But most of Denver’s comeback run actually came with Melo on the bench. With the Nuggets’ lead at only 4 points heading into the final frame, which ballooned to 12, before settling at 6 for the final buzzer. The fast-break absolutely killed the Raptors. Some say it was the altitude, others say it was fatigue. Some say both. Me, well, I’ll just put out the number and let you decide. It was 36-15 in favour of Denver, who just won their 6th straight. Andre Miller was throwing so many deep bombs, he would have been a suitable replacement for Jake Plummer the day before.

…Speaking of the day before…

Kob-I mean the Lakers 122, Raptors 104

You’ll remember last time the Lakers were in town, the Raptors held Kobe Bryant in check: 5-12 shooting, and a season-low 11 points. Maybe he was storing it all up, because my GOODNESS did he explode. The Raptors were running away in the first half up by as many as 18. They even had control for the first few minutes of the 3rd, but then Kobe decided to go crazy… and make history. After scoring 26 points in the opening half, Mr.Laker then scored 27 in the 3rd alone, and another 28 in the 4th – single-handedly outscoring the Raptors 55-41 in the 2nd half, en route to 81 points.

81 points.

81 points!!

The boo’s at the break, turned into chants of “M-V-P” by the end of the game…

That’s the second best individual effort ever in the NBA - and the first was never caught on tape. The mark to beat is a whopping 100, scored by Wilt Chamberlain back in 1962 against the Knicks. Sure, that may have been before the 3-point line (from where Kobe connected on 7-of-13), but keep in mind as well, back then there was no one who could physically contain “the Stilt.” Not even the best defender in the history of the game – Bill Russell. People just weren’t the athletic freaks that they are today.

Kobe got absolutely everything he wanted. Every time he touched the ball, you knew something good was going to happen. Despite the fact that it was against the Raptors, I wanted Kobe to keep scoring. So did the rest of the Lakers. He got the ball every single time down the court, and threw up flawless stroke after flawless stroke. If it weren’t against the Raptors, I probably would not have been able to see it. Sunday night… how many other games do they air on TV? Be thankful. I know I am. I got to watch NBA history.

Taking a look at some of the numbers:
Of the Lakers 88 shots, Kobe took 46 of them; he also hit 28 of those 46, for 61% shooting. He made 18 of his 20 free-throws, snapping his consecutive streak at 60 – I believe. Lost in the mayhem of all this was an incredible streak that no one cares about anymore.

The Raptors tried everything on defense, but none of it was working. Sure, they could have tried quadruple-teaming him, but that’s a little crazy – and I’m glad the Raptors didn’t. But the fact is, they’ve got no intimidating force. They need someone who can instill fear in someone in just one glare.

How about our new PM? Mr. Stephen Harper, please stand up – you frightening, frightening, man.

Mike James played well, hitting 6-of-8 from behind the arc, and 10-of-15 overall, for a team high 26 points and 10 helpers.

As much as I don’t want to… let’s move on.

==

The Raptors’ lone win on this 5-game swing came in Seattle, where it was two of the league’s worst defensive teams going against each other.
Like smooth sandpaper trying to create friction with smooth sandpaper.

Raptors 121, Sonics 113

Chris Bosh had 29 points and 13 boards – both team-highs, while Jalen Rose made 9-of-12 shots, to finish with 28 points and 7 assists. Rafael Araujo was injured, and did not start (in what has carried over into the last 2 games, as well). Granted, his shoulder is really injured – but how convenient is the timing, after Coach Sam Mitchell and GM Rob Babcock had different views with the call-up of Pape Sow.

No Minutes for Pape? We’ll see about that… I’ll just hire a shoulder hitman, and make minutes for him.

That’s what Babcock just said in my mind.

The win also happened to snap the Raptors’ 13-game slide against opponents two time-zones away (And no, that doesn’t include the pre-season loss to Maccabi – that was at the ACC).
==
So we’re back-tracking now to the beautiful city of Portland, where the thoughts of blossoming flowers and green acres come to mind. After all, they do play in the Rose Garden.

Zach Randolph had his way – not like Kobe did, but in way that the ninja turtle’s not used to – by passing the ball. Randolph averages 2.1 assists per game (after this contest), and dished out a whopping 7 against Toronto.

Blazers 96, Raptors 94

After storming back from an awful 3rd quarter, in which the Raptors got outscored 27-17, the lead interchanged a few times, but not when it mattered most… Chris Bosh missed a potential game-winning 3 pointer at the buzzer, leading to Portland’s season-high 4th straight win.

Bosh had 22 points and 9 rebounds, while Jalen scored a team-high 23 points. This performance, would eventually lead to his promotion, and inclusion into the starting line-up. Finally.

Zach “Leonardo” Randolph, capped off the night with 22 points, 8 rebounds, and 7 assists (one-shy of his career high).

==
The road-trip started in Utah, against a Jazz team that always seems to find a way to beat the Raptors. Of Course, along with Jerry Sloan, Andre Kirilenko is the man to blame/thank for that (depending on your viewpoint)

Jazz 111, Raptors 98

AK47 registered the Jazz’s first triple-double since John Stockton’s playoff outburst back in 2001. Kirilenko had 18 points, tying a career-high with 16 rebounds, and establishing a new personal-best with 11 assists. He also had 4 blocks and 3 steals. Mehmet Okur scored a game-high 29 points.

The loss was just the Raptors’ 3rd, in their last 10 games.

Chris Bosh had 27 points, and only 6 rebounds. In fact, the Raptors had only 7 boards in the entire 2nd half, which is a franchise-low.

==
So the Raptors are back home, for a game against the Bulls, before flying off to Milwaukee. We’ll probably speak after Sunday’s game against the Kings.

By the way, I tried to vote for Kobe, but his name wasn’t on the Ballot. Apparently minority governments have an average life-span of 18 months. See you at the ballot box in July 2007.

I Had a Dream...

It was 9:10 am when I awoke to the vibrating phone on my table top.
“Hello, Deb?” The voice said. Still seven-eighths sleep, I replied with what I hoped sounded like: “I’m sorry?”
“Is this Deb?”

I’ve heard of my voice being compared to many things… but a woman named Deb was not one of them.

“I think you’ve got the right number.”

Birds were chirping outside my window – In the middle of January - Martin Luther King Day.

I went back to bed, and finally arose exactly 22 hours after the Raptors tipped-off against the scorching hot Knicks - a team that hadn’t lost in 2006; a span of 6 straight impressive wins.

People had asked me if I thought the Raptors could pull this one out, and I honestly didn’t know what to tell them. Both teams had been playing their best basketball in a long time. But I also never bet against the home team – never.

But never would I have thought this contest would be as one-sided as it was…

Raptors 129, Knicks 103

Let’s run down the shopping list of Raptors’ records now:

- Largest margin of victory this season (previously 24).
- Most points scored in franchise history (previously 128, twice)
- First time the Raptors have scored 30+ points in every quarter
- Jalen Rose scored 18 in the 2nd, which is the most in any quarter by a Raptor this season (Mike James -who sat this one out with back spasms – previously had 17), and finished with a season-high 31.
- Morris Peterson finished with a season-high 28.

I sincerely hope I’m not forgetting any, but the list is pretty long, so hopefully you’ll excuse me if they blur together.

I got to sit courtside for this baby, and needless to say, I will never forget it… partially because of the unfortunate image of Eddy Curry (I didn’t realize he was that big) wearing tights will forever be stained in my brain.

Chris Bosh scored 23 points, while Jose Calderon ran the team to perfection, with 13 points and 10 assists (great article about Jose’s revenge against Brown and Starbury right here: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/story/383167p-325270c.html)

After the game it was off to the Raptors’ locker room, where we swarmed Jalen Rose… I tell you, basketball players are like the anti-strippers. With hordes and hordes of media surrounding them, they are forced to get dressed in front of all these people – let alone TV cameras and microphones. The only difference is, we’re not slipping singles in their boxers – they get enough of those from the league.

A lot of the talk with Rose was surrounding the fact that he had just torched the team that has been scouting him feverishly for the last couple of years. When one reporter asked him if it was a coincidence, he responded with this:

“No coincidence at all. I’ve just been practicing hard, playing hard, and today was a game when everything just fell into place. Obviously with Mike James being out, I knew that there would be more opportunities for me and other guys to step up, and I just tried to play my part.”

With that already being asked, I noted that his 31 points came in just 23 minutes – he had 21 at the half, in just 14 minutes of PT…

“Yeah, it was a quickie… Fortunately I was about to knock down shots, stay aggressive, and my teammates were doing a great job of pumping me up and telling me to attack the basket and knock down my shot when I get the opportunity to score. And God-willing, the shots were falling.”

After Rose was down, I literally did a “180,” and Mo Pete was good to go… Well, actually he was still putting up his dress shirt. I asked if he wanted us to wait until he buttoned up, and he said now was a good time. So I stepped in and asked the first question.

“It was a pretty big game for both you and Jalen… both season-highs.”

“Well we’ve been practicing the last couple of days, and I knew it was coming. Jalen had two great practices and you know, it’s good to see him playing well, and see him coming around.”

…”Mo, I don’t know if you know, but that was a franchise high, scoring 129 points… let alone shooting 59% against a team that had won 6 straight…”

“Oh wow, you know what? During the game, you don’t really think about it – you just take shots and today they did seem to fall more. I just gotta give credit to our team. You know, we’ve been working on our shooting, doing everything we can… but defensively, we’ve been getting at teams. And that’s where it started. If you look at – every time we have good games, we get a couple of steals, and couple of easy baskets, and Chris gets a couple blocks. That’s the kind of things we need, if we want to turn the corner.”
==

That ended up getting stretched out a bit. Which is good, I guess, seeing as how I covered practice the day before and nothing exciting came out of it.

All the talk was about Mitchell looking up to Larry Brown, and learning from the most recent member of the 1,000-win club (only Pat Riley, Lenny Wilkins, and Don Nelson had reached that milestone), while playing under him in Indiana.

==
A few days before that… Wednesday, if you’re keeping track… was the game against the Bobcats. I think you could call it a game, even though it was uglier than your third-cousin Geoffrey’s inbred puppy.

Raptors 95, Bobcats 86

The Raptors had 33 at the half, so considering that, post-break was much easier on the eyes… but that’s because Charlotte was without Brevin Knight for the final 24 minutes (back spasms).

Chris Bosh had 29 points (20 in the 2nd half) and 10 rebounds. Mo Pete chipped in with 18 and 11.

I was covering the Bobcats’ locker room in this one, and after talking to Coach Bernie Bickerstaff, I spoke to Gerald Wallace (15 points, 7 rebounds) about their depleted roster: (Charlotte was without: Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Kareem Rush, Brevin Knight, and Jake Voskuhl).

“Gerald, I think it’s safe to say you guys have been bitten pretty hard by the injury bug…”
“Oh man, we’re past being bit – I mean, we’re savaged now. We’re walking without legs right now.”

This is also a team that had just come off a huge double-overtime win against the Rockets. With that, and then this, he’d played 92 minutes in 2 nights.

“Did you feel the effects of fatigue at all?”
“Once you put the ball up, and the referee blows the whistle, then I’m ready to play. As long as I’m out on the court playing and running and sweating, then I’m feeling good. It’s just the after-part that hurts.”

==

The Raptors are now on the road, which gives me a week-off (I’ll call this my holiday period). I’ll do a quick re-cap after it’s all done, and then hopefully it’ll all be back to normal.
I leave you now with the closing words from the birthday boy - Dr. Martin Luther King – when he spoke at the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th, of 1963:


“When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

Back with a Fury... No Shame in that Game / JVG called me a smart-ass

Vince Carter returned to the house a boo’s yesterday afternoon, and it seemed to be louder than any of his previous visits (except for maybe the first trip back). Maybe that was because the Raptors had won 5 in a row… or maybe it’s because the Nets had won 9 straight, and Vince was playing like he had in his “prime.”

In the end, though, he found a way to silence his former stomping grounds. A game-winning 3 pointer with 0.1 seconds left.

Nets 105, Raptors 104

Vince went off for 24 points in the 4th alone – all but 4 of New Jersey’s final frame points were scored by VC (10 of which came in the final 1:01). But looking back, do you think he would have been able to go off like that, had Morris Peterson been guarding him?

I wasn’t the only one to think not, but we’ll get to that later… first, how Mo got ejected.
From my courtside view (and the countless replays afterward), it’s easy to say his second technical foul went unwarranted.

Mo had argued a non-call when he drove to the hoop in the final 30 seconds of the 2nd quarter. Referee Steve Javie didn’t appreciate that, and “T’d” him up. Vince missed the ensuing free-throw, and then gave Mo a little playful slap to the chin. Mo responded with a flick to the back of VC’s neck. Javie saw only that part, thought it was more malicious, and tossed him. Mo’s protest (which included a jersey-toss) might earn him a suspension, and effectively end his NBA-best ironman streak at 313 straight games played. However, the Javie later admitted he thought it was more serious than it was.

In my opinion, no further action will be taken (nor does it deserve to be).

After the game I went into the Raptors’ locker room, where Mo was dressed and ready to go. He gave us a few minutes to talk to him about the “incident.”

“I think the play was misunderstood. He didn’t see the whole thing. I’ve gotta put it behind me now, and get ready to play [tonight]… It wasn’t anything that I felt I should have got ejected for…it’s a bad break. There’s nothing I can do about it now. It’s out of my hands. I just gotta make sure that if I’m in that situation again, it doesn’t happen again.”

Mike James got called for a tech just before that eruption, and says it was all in good-fun:

“You’ve got to understand that nobody’s out to hurt no one. We’re just out there, trying to have an intensive game. Don’t jump to the conclusion that everyone’s going to fight. Not everyone is fighting in games. There are a lot of guys that are friends in this NBA. And if you see that even though there may be a hit – you’ve got see whether or not it’s harmless.”

In terms of changing the outcome of the game, I asked Chris Bosh that very question, to which he replied:


“You never know… I think so, because we wouldn’t be forced to play smaller, and you know he would have been a little more physical with Vince. And maybe, you know, force him outside, and force him to take more contested shots with a bigger guy with a hand in his face.”

On a personal note, this game was certainly the most entertaining game of the season. It also certainly made for the best reporting of my young career, as well… the live updates on 680 all had substance, and a plot-line that carried through, as opposed to just listing off the score, and a few runs.

==
As my luck would have it, I was not only covering that game, but also a practice the day before, and the game before that. So these are exciting times.

In practice, everything was loose. There were maybe 3 other reporters in attendance, which meant I wouldn’t need to fight for questioning.

Thankfully it got a whole lot easier when Sam let it rip on another reporter. He actually asked something I was thinking of, but didn’t want to lead with (I’ll tell you about my experience with the timing of questioning in a moment)… He had asked how Jose Calderon was doing, but also asked if he was ready to start. Mitchell’s reply:

“Ready to what? To start? What do you mean start? Has he started when we won 5 games in a row? Has he started since then? Well why would I do that?”

The reporter then said he wouldn’t do it, which just dug his hole a little deeper.

“So you’re saying you’re smarter than me? Or you’re saying I’m stupid? You’re saying one of the two...”

Now was my chance to get in what I wanted to ask… perfect timing. I asked what Mike James brings to the team as the starting point guard.

“I just think his ability to get into the paint, and his 3-point range. You know, we knew Mike was a good 3-point shooter… and I think he’s making his teammates better, because he’s making those extra passes, his turnovers are way down, and he’s just running the team as well as he can do it.”

I asked a few more questions along the same vein, and Sam was providing me with quality answers. I don’t think he can smell any fear on me anymore. When the third reporter tried to get some questions in, Sam said “you see, this is what I don’t like…you don’t have anything to ask me, he [me] asked me a few questions, and you try to piggy-back on it. Be original.”

I know I’ve dropped the "petty"-bomb here before… but anytime I can get some positive reinforcement about my ability, it helps. Confidence is everything. It makes your questions more valid, it gives you more credibility if you feel good about your delivery.

Moving on… after the scrum, Sam said he loves talking with us off the record, but mics and cameras piss him off…

When we put forth that notion to James, he said: “Well that’s because you guys cut out half the interview and y’all put in the part of the interview that y’all like to hear. Then somebody will look at it, and make you sound like you’re worse than what you really are, but it’s just half the interview.”

I told Mike I was going to cut that clip, and have him say “they’re worse than they really are.”

He laughed.

Mike is averaging 24 points, 4 rebounds and 8 assists through their 5-game winning streak. I asked him what he thought about people saying he was just playing for a contract.

“Everybody has their opinion about me. Until you get to know who I am as a person. One thing… I grew up poor. I grew up broke. I grew up with nothing. So to have a little bit more, is better than nothing. So I understand how it is to be on the bottom, and I know how it is to have [a lot]. But my love, my passion, and my drive doesn’t come from money. Money is not what makes me. It’s this game that makes me. It’s this game that I love. It’s this game that I’m passionate for. That’s what I play for. I don’t play for contracts, because those things come and go. You can tell why a person plays, by the way they play the game. Whether or not they’re playing for the love of the game, or if they’re just playing for a contract.”

Either way, his passion is translating into some serious game… and no doubt James will be seeing riches he never dreamed of.

==
I found out Thursday night that I’d be working the game on Friday, versus Houston. I was pumped.

The game itself was a blowout, but I’d learn a few things about myself on this night. I’d learn about what to say, and when to say it. And I’d also learned to let someone else ask a question to an angry 7-footer…

I’ll keep this more brief, since I went long on the previous portions.


Raptors 112, Rockets 92

Mike James lit up Rafer Alston for 30 points, 7 rebounds, and 8 assists. Chris Bosh had 22 points and 16 boards.

After the game I wanted to get my question to Houston coach, Jeff Van Gundy, first. Bad idea. Or maybe it was the question itself. You know what, it was definitely both.

“Coach, the point guard battle seemed a little one-sided...” I said.
“Are you going to ask a question, or just ask a smart-ass question?”
“Ok, do you think you could have gotten a better effort from Rafer, or maybe another one of your point guards?”
“…Next question.”

Good times. Jeff Van Gundy called me a smart-ass. I will have that for the rest of my career.

During the game, James and Juwan Howard got into a little spat. Mike made a nice-driving lay-up, midway through the 2nd, and got the foul, as well. He decided to talk a little trash, and Howard decided to introduce Mike to the basketball, face-first. The shove to the face was too much for the refs, so they served up double-techs when James tried to retaliate. He was held back, while Sam Mitchell ran onto the floor and tried to ensure nothing further happened. I was waiting for Van Gundy to come out and hang onto someone’s leg, ala Alonzo Mourning.

So after getting a lesson from the Rockets’ coach, I endeavored into their locker room. I spoke to Tracy McGrady (who had 37 points), Rafer (who had 2), and of course, Juwan Howard.

You knew what everyone wanted to ask, so why should I be the one to tick off the guy?

“Comment on the play there, with you and Mike James…”
“You saw what happened… I have no comment about it. You got anything to talk about the game?” Ask me questions about the game.”

A few boring questions and answers later… the same reporter brought it back, and brought forth a glare I never want to see again.

Juwan Howard stands 6’9” (so what if I said 7’ in the intro?), exactly ¾ of a foot taller than me. He glared at the reporter standing about 6 inches to my left and said with the most intense look ever:

“I have NO COMMENT about the situation. So DON’T ask me about it, ok??”

I wanted to just run, but alas, I had a job to do… and that’s defend myself. So I got into the crane position that the late Mr. Miyagi taught me, and… no wait. That was a different dream all together.

I left the locker room, and went upstairs to the post-game show station, and shared my new memories.

Good times.
==

Tonight, the Raps play the Bulls in Chicago, then it’s back home for Charlotte...

Big Red Corporate Machine

All that corporate drama [which has been edited out], let’s talk about the two games since the last meeting. Again, it will be brief, seeing as my couch-side view was just as close as yours.

Last night against the Magic things were looking great in every aspect. The rotations came quicker, the shots arched higher, and the rebounds started bouncing into the right hands – right from the get-go. The confidence that the Raptors had slowly been building, was really brimming through, and it’s nice for the home fans to finally get a taste of it.

Rafael Araujo came out with some fierce intensity, nailing a couple of put-backs and grabbing four 1st-quarter boards (en route to a season-high 9 in the game), all while Chris Bosh got called for 2 quick fouls in the first four minutes. Normally that would half spelt demise, but as seen in the last few games – the Raptors don’t need dominant performances from Bosh to find success; especially when Mike James, Mo Pete and Charlie Villanueva step up with big games.

Raptors 121, Magic 97

6 Raptors scored in double-figures, while Bosh contributed 10 points and 1 rebound. Charlie V hit 10 of his 13 shots, adding up to 24 points. The Raps shot 63% as a team, passing their previous best of 61% set back in 1996. Toronto also out-rebounded Orlando 34-21. Anyone seen Loren Woods in garbage time try to run a break, only to realize that he’s 7’2” and dribbles the ball higher than my head?? He also posed like a samurai for a solid 3 seconds after grabbing his first rebound since November 7th. Every Raptor played, every Raptor scored. Good times.

==
Before their 4th straight win, came a huge #3. Toronto went into Atlanta having beaten the Hawks twice already this season. The two teams obviously knew each other pretty well, and it showed. Matching each other nearly shot for shot in the first half, this seemed like just another boring game between two teams – although Josh Smith seemed like he was going to set a career-high in the first 24 minutes.

In the second half, the Raptors came out a little dreary, digging themselves into an 11-point hole. They responded in the 4th, outscoring the Hawks 35-17, in front of all 7 fans at Phillips Arena.

Raptors 108, Hawks 97

Mike James scored a game-high 28 points, while Chris Bosh scored 27, and grabbed all 12 of his rebounds in the 2nd half. Mo Pete scored 11 of his 13 in the 4th, as the Raptors won three-straight for the first time this season. Charlie V scored only 2 points (0-for-3 from the floor) on the night in which he became only the 4th Raptor in franchise history to be named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month.

==
The look-back started with a big emotional win over the Pacers in Indiana, right before the New Year (Happy New Year, by the way). Toronto came out French-crepe flat in the first, getting outscored 31-22 by a Pacers squad that had no Ron Artest, no Jamaal Tinsley, an injured Jermaine O’Neal. Everything stayed even from then-on until a huge momentum-push in the 4th. J-O got ticked for a tech as Indy’s frustration peaked with only a few minutes left in the final frame. A few huge steals from Mo Pete sealed the deal

Raptors 99, Pacers 97

The win capped off a .500 month for Toronto (7-7), after going 1-15 in November. The loss marked Indiana’s season-high 4th straight. Charlie V scored 25, chipping in 10 boards. Bosh had 22 and 12. Mike James controlled the flow with 19 points and 10 assists, while Mo Pete had a solid 16 points. The Raptors outscored Indy 50-38 in the paint (22 of those points came in the 4th), all while overcoming a 16-point deficit.

==
Things are looking good in Raptor-land. I still get bugged at work for calling 30 wins on this season – but if they can keep up a similar effort that they’re showing right now, I can say 30 with confidence.

And remember, we’ll get back to the ACC soon… don’t cry for me, Argentina.
Thanks for sticking with me.