Breakfast and an All-Star Bid

I’m staring at my plate, now covered in a few stray poppy-seeds, some left over cottage cheese, and at a glass that once had water in it. I’m thinking of what to write about, the day after Chris Bosh gets named an all-star for the first time. He joins Vince Carter and Antonio Davis as the only Raptors to represent the team for the mid-season classic.

It’s not as much Bosh that I want to talk about here, though, because we all see exactly what he does, and how much he means to the Toronto Raptors. What I want discuss on this space is Davis: the recently-arrived, expected-to-be-grumpy, once-a-beast, big-man that’s starting his second tenure as the Raptors’ starting center.

The only thing I was worried about with that recent trade is what mind-state Davis would be in upon his return. If yesterday’s practice, or Wednesday’s game, was any indication, things would be just fine.

The last time AD was sporting the Purple and White, the only thing I was reporting on was traffic (and sometimes weather). So I was never around the guy before. I'm glad things are different now.

After speaking to Coach Sam Mitchell and Bosh, himself, about what an honour it is to be named an all-star (you’ve seen/read/heard the clips – you know what he said), we spoke to Davis.

Before we got into the talk about Bosh, I wanted to know what he felt about his first game back (we’ll get to that in a moment), and about playing a solid 33 minutes.

“I was in here today, telling them: ‘you know, we didn’t practice like that in New York. We didn’t get up and down the floor, I didn’t play those type of minutes, I wasn’t in games late in the fourth quarter and things like that.’ It felt great. It felt good that, you know, they were looking for me to do some things, depending on me, and stuff like that. It just feels good to be part of a team like that. I hadn’t felt that in a while, so I’ll embrace it.”

You’ve seen Antonio. You know how big he his. Picture him smiling while saying this, with a grin as big as his shoulders. I’m not worried about how he’ll fit in anymore. You can tell, only one game in, he likes it here.

We also had to weigh in about his thought on Bosh, who he had helped mentor in Chris’ rookie year:

“I’m excited for him. I like the way that he’s matured, and I think he leads in a quiet kind of way. But you understand what he’s all about, and what you have to be about if you want to play on this team. I’m glad the Raptors drafted him, and gave him an opportunity to come here and be a special person.”

After that, he talked about all the things Bosh can do – pretty much everything. I asked Davis: “Bosh can obviously do a lot very well on the court. Do you see any holes, or voids, in which you feel you can help?”

He replied: “The only thing that I can help him do – hopefully – is get him to understand you have to work on your body, and it’s not to look good, not to be strong, but it’s just so that you’re not getting injured, and that you can bounce back off of a 48 minute game, and still come back and play the next night to that level.”

On that note, I asked him about something I saw the previous night, against San Antonio (I swear, we’ll get there). After the player introductions, AD was standing by himself, away from the ceremonial huddle. Then Joey Graham all of a sudden runs over and leaps onto Davis, hanging off his neck. I mentioned my observation to Antonio, and asked how they connected so quickly:

“First day, I came in here early for practice, and he was lifting weights and stuff. I just looked at him, and shook my head, like ‘there’s nobody that’s gonna stand in your way, it’s all about you. Whatever you want to do, you’re going to be able to do it, and it’s not going to be from a physical standpoint, it’s going to be all mental.’ So he will be one of the guys that I’ll try to embrace, and get him to understand ‘you don’t have to keep working in [the weight room], you need to get out on the floor, stay out in front of the coach, and do those types of things.”

All my worries could be locked away. I think Antonio’s final games (whether it be the season, or his career) will mean a great deal to a lot of people.

In terms of Bosh, obviously his hard work has paid off, and I feel fortunate to have seen his growth. It’s not hard to visualize Bosh as being a perennial all-star, and developing into being of the best in the league. Hopefully with the acquisition of Davis, Bosh can be locked up for the max, in the very near future.

==
Now back to the past: the night before. I told you we’d get there, and we have. The Spurs were in town. There were rumours running around that Tim Duncan wouldn’t play because of flu-like symptoms. Those rumours were true. Even without one of the league’s best big men, the Spurs would still pose a big problem for the Raptors.

They went exactly 4:11 without scoring a single point (from 8:59 to 4:48 in the 2nd), allowing San Antonio to go on an 11-0 run. One minute and five seconds after that, Bruce Bowen connected on a 3-pointer, which gave the Spurs their largest lead of the game – at 16. The Raptors would fight back to cut the deficit to 10 by the break.

Chris Bosh already notched his 22nd double-double of the season by that point, with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Raps came out with a 9-2 run to open the third, and kept pace from there on in. After the 3rd, the Raptors were down 6.

In the last 3:06 of the 4th, Mike James scored 10 straight Raptors points, and by scoring 18 in the final frame alone, he almost single-handedly took the game into overtime.

Everyone knows in basketball you stay with the hot-hand. Unfortunately, by this point, James’ hand was scorching and it must have actually forged a bond with the ball, because he never gave it up.

Davis could have given the Raptors their first lead, just 45 seconds into overtime, but missed two free-throws (finished 1-for-6 from the charity stripe). James also missed a pair, as the Raptors lost their second straight – both in overtime.

Spurs 125, Raptors 118

James finished with 36 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. He was also blocked twice in overtime while trying to force shots. Chris Bosh had 30 points, 4 assists (2 shy of his career-high) and 14 rebounds. He also made 11 of his 18 field goals, as opposed to James’ 13-of-28.

For stat-trackers, it was the first time since April 11th, 2004 that two Raptors scored 30+. Jalen Rose and Vince Carter had 32 and 30, respectively, in an overtime loss to the Bulls.

After the game, I was covering the away locker-room – and being a long-time Spurs fan – I couldn’t be happier.

The funniest anecdote came from Coach Greg Popovich, who had a nice sarcastic comment about the play of former-Raptor, Sean Marks, who shot 8-for-9 before fouling out in OT.

“Sean does that quite often,” [insert MSN emoticon of reporters busting out laughing] “Whenever Timmy’s out, we expect Sean to get those points.”

This was Duncan’s first missed game of the season.

Next we went into the locker room, shared some laughs with Marks, who spent the majority of 2 seasons in Toronto playing Yogi Stewart, before Yogi Stewart arrived.

A.K.A. Riding the pine in street clothes.

Tony Parker was a beast, though, and scored 32 points, to go along with his 13 assists. He talked about the battle of the guards:

“It was a good game, Mike James had a good game, and got hot, too… it was back-and-forth, and it was good. I just wanted to make sure we got the win, and not get caught up in a match-up with him.”

Before we split, I asked if he knew how to slow down… to which he replied:

“Me? No… I do everything fast.” [insert horrible pre-teen girl laughter that came from his mouth… HERE]

And with that, I leave you… I’m working at the station Sunday night, meaning no home games for this guy until March 1st. It’s going to be tough, but hopefully I’ll get through it.

Until then, I’ll provide brief recaps of the road-games… otherwise, stay tuned to the Olympics and GO CANADA.