Toronto Raptors Blog – Page 81 – NBA Blog

Quick East thoughts

The season is approaching, folks. Training camps open in around one week (I’m in Prague right now, haven’t looked at a calendar in a while. Tuesday I’m off to hang out in Berlin for a week, then about 8 days in Amsterdam. I’ll be back in New York City right around the start of preseason.)

In the east, the Celtics remain the best of the conference, though I wonder if Ray Allen will drop off a bit this season. They also need to improve their bench.

The Pistons bring back last year’s team, with Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups a year older.

The Magic still need to improve their backcourt.

The Cavaliers add scoring punch with the addition of point guard Mo Williams, but it’s still the LeBron James show with a supporting cast that will have to work very hard to carry their weight.

The Wizards must once again play without Gilbert Arenas for a while, though even with him they’re a lower-level playoff team.

The Raptors have to hope Jermaine O’Neal regains former All-Star form; it’ll be tough.

The 76ers added a star by signing power forward Elton Brand, and that should definitely raise them in conference standings.

The Hawks aren’t locks to return to the playoffs, but it’s good they kept Josh Smith.

The Bucks improved on paper, adding a pass-first point guard in Luke Ridnour, but more importantly, a legit good forward in SF Richard Jefferson.

The Knicks have the same talented yet flawed roster, but a new coach. Can Mike D’Antoni work miracles?

The Nets are rebuilding and aside from Vince Carter and young Devin Harris, everyone on the team who matters is young and in development.

The Bulls have the same team as the last few seasons, though Ben Gordon remains unsigned. Will they play like the good Bulls from two years ago, or the disappointing ones from last season? Flip a coin, because they’re capable of going either way.

The Bobcats have nice swingmen in Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace, plus Emeka Okafor, but everyone else is young and in development.

The Heat could make a leap in the standings now that Dwyane Wade is healthy, plus Shawn Marion needs a new contract, and Michael Beasley doesn’t like losing. The supporting cast is still extremely weak, though.

The Pacers always do a bit better than expected. The bad news is, almost nothing is ever expected. Danny Granger, Mike Dunleavey and TJ Ford are very nice players, though. They may surprise a little, but not a lot.

I’ll share quick West thoughts tomorrow. Right now I’m off to hike up to the Prague castle. I’ll be right here in about an hour.

–Jeff

Fan Poll Results: 8 East playoff teams

InsideHoops.com ran a poll for the last week asking fans to pick the eight Eastern conference teams they feel will make the playoffs in 2008-09.

The voting for the first four teams was pretty close, with the Celtics (592 votes), Cavaliers (588), Pistons (582) and Magic (578) taking the home-court seeds.

The Raptors (504) came in 5th, though from our experience Toronto fans, being very enthusiastic, tend to bump their team up slightly higher than tends to be expected. Though, if new Raptor Jermaine O’Neal can stay healthy and play anything like his old former All-Star self, this is a very reasonable prediction.

One vote later, coming in 6th, was the 76ers (503), who played better than expected last season and now add star power forward Elton Brand, who is returning from injury, to their mix.

The Wizards (459) came in 7th. They welcome a healthy Gilbert Arenas back.

And now, a dropoff.

Fans feel that last year’s #8 seed, the Hawks, won’t do as well in 2008-09. Rather than pick them to return to the playoffs, fans went with the Heat (294 votes). This is reasonable. Miami welcomes a healthy Dwayne Wade back, alongside Shawn Marion, who needs a contract, and superkid rookie Michael Beasley. The supporting cast is still weak, but slightly improved from last year.

The Bulls (195) finished 9th, just outside the playoff seedings. The Hawks (180) were 10th.

Here are the complete final results:

1) Celtics 592 votes
2) Cavs 588 votes
3) Pistons 582 votes
4) Magic 578 votes
5) Raptors 504 votes
6) Sixers 503 votes
7) Wizards 459 votes
8) Heat 294 votes
—
9) Bulls 195 votes
10) Hawks 180 votes
11) Bucks 83 votes
12) Nets 68 votes
13) Knicks 53 votes
14) Pacers 53 votes
15) Bobcats 43 votes

Raptors training camp in Ottawa

The Toronto Raptors announced Friday that Head Coach Sam Mitchell and his team will conduct training camp at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario from September 30 – October 4, and then back at Air Canada Centre from October 5-28. This will be the first time the team has held camp in the nation’s capital.

“We are very excited to hold training camp in our nation’s capital, symbolizing our identity as Canada’s team,” said Bryan Colangelo, Raptors President and General Manager. “Carleton University offers us state of the art facilities and a great working relationship with a highly successful basketball program.”

The Raptors will conduct two-a-day practices at the Ravens’ Nest Gymnasium on the campus of Carleton University. All practice sessions will be closed to the public. A specific practice schedule with days, times and media availability will be released later.

The team will host an open intrasquad game Saturday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. at the Ravens’ Nest Gymnasium. Admission information will be available in the near future.

The Raptors Basketball Development Department, in conjunction with Carleton University Men’s and Women’s Basketball, will conduct three clinics for ages 10-14 at the Ravens’ Nest Gymnasium. A co-ed clinic Thursday, October 2 from 6-7:30 p.m. will be open to the general public. There will be no fee to register for the clinic, however a waiver must be completed and brought by the participant to the clinic. Registration for the co-ed clinic may be done online by going to the Carleton University web site, www.carleton.ca/athletics, and clicking on the Raptors logo.

The Raptors open the 2008 preseason Tuesday, October 7 at Cleveland and return home to play host to the New York Knicks the following evening at 7 p.m. at Air Canada Centre. The club’s 2008-09 regular season opener is Wednesday, October 29 at Philadelphia. The home opener is set for Friday, October 31 versus the Golden State Warriors.

Web viewing of NBA games may soon exist

The Oklahoman (Mel Bracht) reports: Say you’re working late and can’t make it to the Ford Center to watch Oklahoma City’s new NBA team play its game that night. Instead, you log on to your computer and watch streaming video of the team’s game broadcast. Sound far-fetched? Not if the NBA has its way. The league is aggresively promoting three new Internet elements — video streaming in home markets, interactive TV and video-on-demand — for the upcoming season. Ed Desser, a media consultant for Oklahoma City’s team, said many details have yet to be worked out, and didn’t expect the team to offer the Internet elements anytime soon.

Four teams are without any Saturday home games

The Oklahoman (Darnell Mayberry) reports: Oklahoma City will be one of only four NBA teams without any Saturday home games. The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics, the runner-up Los Angeles Lakers and the Toronto Raptors are the only other NBA teams without any Saturday home games. “I don’t like it at all,” Hill said. “It’s hard to make it down to Oklahoma City to go to a game during the week.” The NBA compiled Oklahoma City’s schedule from a list of available Ford Center dates submitted to the league by arena management as agreed to by the team. Teams play 41 regular-season home games, but out of the 75 possible home dates submitted to the NBA, only one was a Saturday, according to schedule maker Matt Winick, NBA vice president of operations.

Three Euroleague teams to play NBA preseason games

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Euroleague Basketball have announced that three Euroleague teams will compete in five NBA preseason games from October 10-21, 2008. The five games, which are part of the Euroleague American Tour, will be played by 2008 Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow (Russia), FC Barcelona (Spain) and Lietuvos Rytas (Lithuania). The teams may face up to five NBA opponents including the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Orlando Magic, the Toronto Raptors and possibly the Los Angeles Clippers.

“These games continue our collaboration with Euroleague Basketball, as we work together to grow the game of basketball on a global basis,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern.

The Euroleague American Tour continues a tradition of friendly competition between the NBA and Euroleague Basketball, dating back to 1978 when Maccabi Tel Aviv played the Washington Bullets in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following the 2008 preseason schedule, 33 games will have been played between the two leagues since Euroleague Basketball was created in 2000, including 13 games during NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS™ in 2006 and 2007.

“We value the chance to partner with NBA teams in their own arenas,” Euroleague Basketball CEO Jordi Bertomeu said. “There are basketball fans of all types in North America whom we plan to entertain with our own distinct playing style. We are sure they will appreciate again that the international game has a lot to offer our sport.”

The Euroleague American Tour tips off on Oct. 10 in Orlando, Florida, when six-time Euroleague champion CSKA Moscow makes its North American debut against the Orlando Magic. CSKA’s second preseason game will take place in Toronto, Canada, when CSKA plays the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 14.

FC Barcelona play two games as part of the Preseason Shootout at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The 2008 NBA Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers will be Barcelona’s first opponent on Oct. 18, followed by the either Los Angeles Clippers or Toronto Raptors on Oct. 19. For Barcelona, founded in 1926, the games in Los Angeles will be their first played in the United States.

ORACLE Arena in Oakland, Calif. will be the final site of the Euroleague’s American Tour when the Golden State Warriors hosts Lietuvos Rytas on Oct. 21. Rytas is the 2005 ULEB Cup champion and hold five Lithuanian League crowns.

For the third consecutive year, NBA teams will participate in preseason games abroad. The Miami Heat, New Jersey Nets, New Orleans Hornets and Washington Wizards will play four games in Barcelona, Berlin, London and Paris as part of NBA Europe Live 2008.

Raptors keep their TV analysts

The Toronto Raptors announced Tuesday that Jack Armstrong and Leo Rautins will return as the colour analysts on the team’s television broadcasts for the 2008-09 season. They will join Matt Devlin, who was named July 9 as the team’s new television play-by-play announcer.

“These two broadcasters will bring Raptors fans the in-depth analysis that they have come to expect on all of our game broadcasts,” said Chris Hebb, senior vice-president of broadcast and content for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. “They have the experience and knowledge to deliver a compelling story every night and we are thrilled to have them returning to the fold.”

The upcoming season marks Armstrong’s 11th with the organization and the 14th for Rautins. Armstrong will serve as the analyst on all TSN games and appear regularly on SportsCentre as the network’s NBA Insider. Rautins will handle the duties for contests on CBC and The Score, while working alongside Rod Black as studio analyst on TSN’s NBA Studio shows. Both Armstrong and Rautins will continue to add their expertise to various programs on Raptors NBA TV, including pre- and post-game analysis.

Armstrong and Devlin have worked together in the past calling NCAA and WNBA games. Armstrong began his broadcasting career as a radio analyst for the Raptors following a successful 14-year coaching career at the collegiate level.

In addition to his duties with the Raptors, Armstrong is a regular NBA commentator in Canada and a television analyst for NCAA basketball on CSTV, Comcast, Empire Sports Network, Fox Sports, MASN TV, New York/MSG, ESPN’s regional coverage and the Atlantic 10 Conference TV Network. His commentating also extended to the WNBA where he worked for MSG on New York Liberty telecasts for two seasons.

Rautins has been on the Canadian basketball scene for almost 30 years as a player, broadcaster and ambassador of the game. In addition to his broadcasting portfolio, Rautins is the head coach of the Canadian Senior Men’s National Basketball Team.

A 23-year veteran of television, radio and newspaper journalism, Rautins has worked Syracuse University basketball games on both radio and TV and has also broadcast NCAA, NBA, and NBDL basketball for ESPN, ESPN 2, and ESPN Regional. Rautins covered the 1994 World Championships for CTV.

Rautins graduated with honours from the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse in 1983. His broadcasting career tipped off as radio analyst for Syracuse basketball and as a CBC radio broadcaster announcing games from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Sixers sign Kareem Rush

Philadelphia 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski announced today that the team has signed free agent guard Kareem Rush. Per team policy, terms of the agreement are not disclosed.

“As we continue to build our team, we’re fortunate that we were able to sign a player as talented as Kareem Rush,” Stefanski said. “We feel his abilities on both ends of the floor and his range as a three-point shooter will be assets to us this season.”

In five NBA seasons, Rush (6-6/215) has appeared in 314 games with 77 starts, averaging 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per game while shooting 40.2% from the floor, 36.0% from 3-point range and 69.8% from the line. Rush has also played a total of 31 playoff games, averaging 3.6 points while shooting 39.3% from 3-point range.

Last season, Rush saw action in 71 games with 15 starts for Indiana, averaging 8.3 points, a career-high 2.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.2 minutes per game. After not hitting more than 57 3-pointers in any of his first four NBA seasons, Rush drilled 102 3-pointers in 2007-08 on a career-high 38.9% shooting. He recorded at least two made three-pointers in 33 games, including three or more 13 times. Andre Iguodala led the Sixers in games with multiple three-pointers made last season with 30.

Rush was originally selected by Toronto with the 20th overall pick in the 2002 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. In his second season, the Lakers advanced to the NBA Finals with Rush averaging 14.3 minutes per game playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Shaquille O’Neal and Gary Payton. In the deciding Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals vs. Minnesota, Rush hit six three-pointers en route to scoring a playoff career-high 18 points.

In December of 2004, the Lakers traded Rush to the expansion Charlotte Bobcats, where he would average 10.7 points over the next season and a half. Rush signed as a free agent with Seattle in October of 2006, but was hindered by a groin injury and was waived before appearing in a game. In January, he joined Lietuvos Rytas of Vilnius, Lithuania was later named the ULEB Cup’s Import Player of the Year and All-ULEB Cup First Team by Eurobasket.com.

Rush played all three of his collegiate seasons at the University of Missouri, earning All-American Honorable Mention his sophomore and junior seasons. His older brother, JaRon, played basketball at UCLA and his younger brother, Brandon, won the NCAA Championship with Kansas back in April and was the 13th overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.

Raptors sign Will Solomon

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have signed free-agent guard Will Solomon. Per team policy, financial details were not disclosed.

Solomon, 30, has played the past two seasons in Istanbul, Turkey for Fenerbahce Ulker. He averaged 17.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 13 regular season games last season. In Euroleague Top 16 play, he contributed 20.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in six games. He had a high of 28 points in 32 minutes versus Tau Ceramica.

Solomon, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, was selected 33rd overall in the 2001 NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. He appeared in 62 games with the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2001-02 season, averaging 5.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 14.2 minutes.

Solomon has played overseas since 2002. He spent the 2002-03 season in Greece with Aris Thessaloniki. He moved to Israel and Hapoel Jerusalem in 2003-04. In 2004-05, he played in Turkey for Efes Pilsen Istanbul. He joined current Raptor Anthony Parker on Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2005-06 and in 2006 he signed with his current club, Fenerbahce Ulker.

The native of East Hartford, Connecticut averaged 15.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 94 career games in three seasons at Clemson University. He entered the NBA Draft following his junior season. He earned first-team All-ACC honours as a sophomore and second-team as a junior. He led the ACC in scoring as a sophomore at 20.9 points. He finished fourth in the conference in his junior campaign at 19.7 points. Solomon finished his career second all-time in school history in made three-point field goals (214).

How to determine schedule for any team

The Oklahoman (Mike Baldwin) reports on a team’s 82-game regular season schedule: “Four games against division opponents. Four games against six out-of-division conference opponents. Three games against the remaining four conference teams. Two games against teams in the opposing conference. A five-year rotation determines which out-of-division conference teams are played only three times.”