Toronto Raptors Blog – Page 55 – NBA Blog

Chris Bosh sues ex-girlfriend over Basketball Wives reality show

The VH1 reality show Basketball Wives mostly features ex-wives and ex-girlfriends, but it’s as close as TV gets to showcasing some of the women that have managed to link up with former or current NBA players.

There’s lots of broken relationships, though, and the next season of the show involves yet another one. The AP reports the following:

Chris Bosh sues ex-girlfriend over Basketball Wives reality show

Miami Heat star Chris Bosh is suing the mother of his child for appearing on a reality TV show called “Basketball Wives,” which he said intrudes on his private life.

Bosh claims in a lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles federal court that Allison Mathis and Shed Media are trying to unjustly enrich themselves by using Bosh’s name and intruding into his private affairs.

He acknowledges he and Mathis have a child together.

The suit says Mathis was hired to appear in the third season of the VH1 reality show and wants to use it to become a TV star. Bosh seeks damages and an injunction to block her and the media company from trademark infringement by using his name and disclosing private facts about his life.

The show is a guilty pleasure that some basketball fans definitely are watching.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Chris Bosh watches games, not sports shows

Julian Benbow of the Boston Globe reports:

The first enemy was the television. Once Chris Bosh decided to come to Miami and team with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, they were on it every day.

“I turned the TV off,’’ Bosh said. “I don’t watch too much TV.’’

He said he has watched 90 percent of the playoff games, “but sports shows and stuff like that, I’ve learned not to watch.’’

He’s always a few clicks away from finding a pundit who needs a punching bag, and everyone has gotten in a few licks on the Heat this season.

The decision to pull the plug came pretty quickly.

“First week,’’ Bosh said.

Raptors rookie Ed Davis playing well

Doug Smith of the Toronto Star reports:

He had 12 points and 13 rebounds in Friday’s win over Indiana, he’s scored at least 12 points in five of his last seven games and in five of his last 12, he’s had at least 13 rebounds.

He leads all rookies in field goal percentage, shooting an impressive 60.5 per cent from the field, and his per-game rebound average of 6.9 would place him tied for fourth among all rookies had he played enough games to qualify for the league-leading list.

“He’s showing a lot of progress and the future is looking real good for him,” teammate Reggie Evans said of Davis.

And Evans plays a role.

“A lot of times on the defensive and offensive glass, they’re trying to box out Reggie and that leaves me open to get tip-ins and easy rebounds,” said Davis.

The most noticeable area of improvement has come in Davis’s offensive game.

He’s always shown an ability to gather offensive rebounds but he’s far more comfortable now stepping out and shooting jump shots. There is still a lot of work do on that aspect of his game but for the short time he’s been a regular in the rotation, the improvement has been alarming.

Raptors assign Solomon Alabi to D-League

The Toronto Raptors announced Wednesday rookie centre Solomon Alabi has been reassigned to the Erie BayHawks of the NBA Development League.

This will be Alabi’s third assignment to Erie. He has played a total of 11 games for the BayHawks where he has contributed averages of 8.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 22.1 minutes. Alabi has posted two double-doubles with Erie, his latest being January 9 versus the Maine Red Claws with 20 points (9-11 FG) and 11 rebounds in 31 minutes

Alabi has appeared in 10 games with the Raptors, totaling four points and nine rebounds in 40 minutes.

A native of Nigeria, Alabi, was named All-ACC Defensive Team in his two full seasons at FSU. He started all 67 games, leading the Seminoles to the NCAA Tournament twice and the ACC Tournament Championship Game as a redshirt freshman. He averaged a school record 2.1 blocked shots per game for his career. He also shot .534 per cent from the field in his two-plus seasons with the Seminoles.

The club acquired the draft rights to Alabi from the Dallas Mavericks on June 24. He was the 50th overall selection in the 2010 NBA Draft.

In London NBA game, Nets beat Raptors in 3OT

The AP reports:

Travis Outlaw and the New Jersey Nets were up to the challenge of providing excitement for the NBA’s European fans.

The Toronto Raptors more than did their part, too.

Outlaw scored the final eight points for New Jersey in a 137-136 triple overtime win Saturday night that gave the Nets a sweep of their two games in London.

The game featured four missed buzzer-beaters and provided exactly the kind of thrilling finish league officials were looking for when they decided to bring regular-season games to Europe for the first time… Brook Lopez had 34 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets but fouled out in the second overtime.

Deron Williams added 21 points and 18 assists for his fifth straight double-double since joining the Nets from Utah last week.

Sasha Vujacic had 25 points—including six 3-pointers—and Kris Humphries added 20 points and 17 rebounds for New Jersey. Outlaw finished with 14 points.

DeMar DeRozan finished with 30 points for Toronto (17-46) for the second straight night.

In first NBA regular season game in Europe, Nets beat Raptors

The AP reports:

The New Jersey Nets are still far away from their Russian owner’s goal of making the team a global brand and NBA champion. But for now, at least, they’re the league’s most successful team in games played in Europe.

Brook Lopez scored 25 points and New Jersey ended a six-game losing streak with a 116-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Friday in the first regular-season game on the continent.

Kris Humphries had 18 points and 17 rebounds and Deron Williams earned his first win since being acquired from the Utah Jazz last week, adding 16 points and 11 assists…

The Nets and Raptors will face each other again at the O2 on Saturday, as the NBA decided to bring regular-season games to Europe for the first time as part of its push to increase its fan base on the continent. The O2 has hosted preseason games for the last four years.

The attendance for Friday’s game was an announced sellout of 18,689, but there were some empty seats.

“I loved the crowd,” said Bargnani, who was the highest-scoring European player on the night. “I really felt the excitement. I was nervous in the first half. I think it’s going to be better tomorrow.”

The unusual venue meant the public announcer had to do some extra work, explaining some of the basic rules every now and then to the British crowd— like pointing out that a player fouled while shooting gets two free throws.

And with crowd support split between the two teams—despite the Nets being listed as the home team—players had the rare experience of being booed by rival fans before every free throw, and then cheered by their own supporters if the shot was good.

Editorial: Losing teams sent to represent NBA in London

By InsideHoops.com

On Friday, March 4 and Saturday, March 5 the New Jersey Nets and Toronto Raptors will play a pair of games in the O2 arena in London, England. It is the first time that regular season NBA games are being played overseas.

It is an unusual matchup to send overseas to represent the league to tens of thousands of sports enthusiasts, many of whom may not be full NBA fans just yet.

Many months ago, as the schedule was being set, it was clear that both squads were going to face difficult 2010-11 seasons. The Nets had just come off one of the worst years in the history of basketball and failed to land top stars in free agency. And the Raptors, already a lottery team, had just lost their best player, Chris Bosh, to the Miami heat in free agency.

While both the Nets and Raptors are perfectly fun to watch, it’s a shame London has to see a matchup of teams whose combined record this season is 34 wins and 87 losses.

One positive is the recent trade New Jersey made bringing Deron Williams onto their squad. He alone is often worth the price of admission.

Also, the teams match up nicely. The games should be competitive, which is always good.

Here’s hoping fans in London get the thrills they deserve.

Bulls trade James Johnson to Raptors

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday they have acquired forward James Johnson from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for a 2011 first-round draft pick. The Raptors received the pick from the Miami Heat this past July (Bosh sign and trade).

“James Johnson is a strong, athletic and versatile small forward that we have had our eye on dating back to the 2009 NBA Draft,” said Raptors President and General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

Johnson, 6-foot-9, 245 pounds was a first-round selection by the Bulls (16th overall) in the 2009 NBA Draft. He has appeared in 78 games (with 11 starts), averaging 3.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 11.3 minutes. He posted a career-best 20 points in a career-high 43 minutes at Miami on March 12, 2010.

Johnson saw action in eight games recently with the Iowa Energy in the NBA D-League. He averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 2.5 blocks in 32.1 minutes.

A product of Wake Forest, Johnson averaged 14.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 61 collegiate games with the Demon Deacons. He earned Freshman All-American honours and was runner-up for the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year in 2008.

The Raptors are in Charlotte tonight to face the Bobcats before returning home to play host to Chicago on Wednesday. Game time is 7 p.m. ET (Sportsnet One/Sportsnet Radio The FAN 590).

Johnson is expected to arrive in Toronto on Wednesday.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Babymomma of Chris Bosh to be on VH1 Basketball Wives

TMZ reports:

Miami Heat superstar Chris Bosh has a brand new reason to watch VH1 — TMZ has learned his baby mama Allison Mathis will be selected as a cast member on the next season of “Basketball Wives.”

Sources close to the production tell us … Allison completed three rounds of interviews with show execs recently and was so impressive … producers will be offering her a spot on Season 3.

Raptors sign Trey Johnson to second 10-day contract

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed guard Trey Johnson to a second 10-day contract.

Johnson was signed to his original 10-day contract on January 26. He has appeared in five games with Toronto averaging 4.0 points, 1.6 assists and 12.6 minutes. He totaled a high of 10 points in Friday’s victory versus Minnesota.

Johnson, 6-foot-5, 215 pounds is the leading scorer in the D-League this season averaging 25.8 points for the Bakersfield Jam. He has scored in double-digits in each of his 26 games, posting 20 or more points on 22 occasions and 30 or more in five games and a season-best 43 on December 15 at Austin. Johnson is also averaging 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists while shooting .510 percent from the field.

Johnson is in his fourth season with the Jam. He owns career D-League averages of 20.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 36.2 minutes. His head coach during the 2007-08 season was current Raptors assistant coach Scott Roth.

A product of Jackson State in Mississippi, Johnson played four games with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2008-09 campaign totaling four points and one rebound. In October he went to training camp with the Los Angeles Lakers.