The AP reports: Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony kept Denver’s offense in high gear, but it was Kenyon Martin’s defense that had coach George Karl talking. Iverson had 36 points, Anthony added 33 and Martin shut down Toronto all-star Chris Bosh late as Denver rallied to beat the Toronto Raptors 109-100 on Sunday afternoon… J.R. Smith scored 14 points and Marcus Camby had 15 rebounds as Denver rallied from a 17-point first-quarter deficit to win for the fifth time in seven games… While he faded in the fourth, Chris Bosh shone through the first three quarters, finishing one assist shy of a triple-double. Bosh had 17 points, 12 rebounds and a career-high nine assists, but Toronto still lost for the seventh time in eight games.
Category: Toronto Raptors Blog
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Raptors file claim against Spanish league over Garbajosa injury
Statement from Toronto Raptors regarding claim filed against the Spanish Basketball Federation for non-payment of insurance proceeds related to Jorge Garbajosa’s injury:
“The Toronto Raptors issued a Statement of Claim on Friday against the Spanish Basketball Federation regarding the non-payment of insurance proceeds related to Jorge Garbajosa’s injury. It is unfortunate that we’ve reached this point. The matter is now before the courts. Therefore we will respect the court process and not comment further while the matter is on-going.”
Alexander Johnson suspended for nailing Bargnani
Alexander Johnson of the Miami Heat has been suspended one game without pay for throwing his body into Andrea Bargnani in mid-air and knocking him to the ground, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
In addition, the Flagrant Foul, Penalty One that was called against Johnson on the play has been upgraded to a Flagrant Foul, Penalty Two.
The incident occurred with 9:57 remaining in the third period of the Heat’s 108-83 loss to the Raptors on Wednesday, March 5 at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Johnson will serve his suspension tonight when the Heat hosts the Golden State Warriors at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Kapono forgot how to hit threes
The Toronto Sun (Steve Buffery) reports: Jason Kapono still is among the NBA leaders in three-point percentage, having nailed 50 threes in 99 attempts (51%). But in the past 19 games, he has been a complete non-factor from beyond the arc, and that has the Raptors faithful wondering why general manager Bryan Colangelo went out and signed the former UCLA star to such a long-term deal. Kapono has not made a basket from three-point range in 11 straight games. His last three-point shot made came on Feb. 4 in Miami, when he went 1-for-2.
Raptors hire John Lucas
The Toronto Raptors announced Friday they have hired John Lucas as a basketball development consultant for the remainder of the 2007-08 season. He will assist the coaching staff with the development of the players’ on-court skills.
Lucas, 54, was the first overall pick in the 1976 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. He played with six teams during his 14-year NBA career from 1976-90. He has also served as a head coach with San Antonio, Philadelphia and Cleveland, as well as an assistant coach with Denver.
T.J. Ford, Jose Calderon should play together
The Toronto Sun (Steve Buffery) reports: Jose Calderon has been saying it for months, and now T.J. Ford has emphatically jumped on the bandwagon. The two point guards want to stay together for as long as possible — even though they would have a lot more to gain from a personal standpoint if they split up. “Do I think it can continue to work? Yes I do,” said Ford this week, when asked about sharing duties with Calderon. “I think we both continue to make each other better. We set high expectations for one another (and) I think we do a good job supporting one another and I think our relationship is great.” Calderon is a restricted free agent at season’s end and GM Bryan Colangelo has made it known he will match all offers. But the question remains: Will Calderon be content to come off the bench once Ford is healthy? Or, for that matter, will Ford be happy coming off the bench?
T.J. Ford suffers setback
Little T.J. Ford, barely bigger than many of the young children in the stands at NBA games, has suffered another health setback. Hopefully a minor one that means nothing.
The Toronto Sun (Frank Zicarelli) reports: T.J. Ford’s year of frustration continued yesterday. Just as the lightning-quick point guard was adjusting to his new role as backup, Ford was forced to leave the team’s practice after suffering an abdominal strain. He’ll be re-evaluated today, but it’s unknown if Ford will dress for tomorrow’s tilt against the visiting Orlando Magic. Ford returned from a two-month absence (stinger) on Feb. 6 in Miami, providing a much-needed infusion with the second unit.
Chris Bosh mini-interview
Toronto Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh is in New Orleans for 2008 All-Star Weekend. Here’s what he had to say during media availability:
Q: Can you talk about the community effort here in New Orleans?
Chris Bosh: I think with the Day of Service they’re showing they are really committed to being serious about trying to help out rebuilding the city since a couple years back. I think it’s really showing commitment, because I know we have an opportunity to help out in a couple hours too, so we’ll see how it goes.
Q: With your video, were you just trying to connect with fans like how Gilbert Arenas does with his blog?
Chris Bosh: Yeah, I think connecting to the fans in this day and age with the internet and TV the way it is, I think it’s very important because you can connect to fans that are out there and probably didn’t know very much about you, and then you can gain fans, too. So, I think putting yourself out there in a positive way is good.
Q: Were you surprised at the reaction your video got?
Chris Bosh: I was surprised at the reaction. I was expecting a reaction, but not as big. I think it really exceeded my expectations. I was trying to do something pretty funny and the minute it got out, a lot of people got a hold of it and they really played it.
Bosh named East starter in Garnett’s place
SportsTicker reports: Toronto Raptors forward Chris Bosh will start in place of Kevin Garnett in Sunday’s All-Star Game. Bosh has averaged a team-high 22.7 points and 9.1 rebounds for the Raptors and is making his third consecutive All-Star appearance and second straight start.
The Toronto Sun (Mike Ganter) reports: Rivers was asked what made Bosh his choice. “Because of the Canadian dollar — you know, it’s grown in value, and so we figure we’d go with that,” Rivers said to much laughter. “No — I think he deserves it, I really do. I think he’s terrific, a terrific player, and I think he deserves more attention than he’s getting, so I think he should start.”
Dwight Howard wins Slam Dunk contest
By InsideHoops.com
It’s 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend, and the hottest Saturday night event is up: the Slam Dunk contest.
Jamario Moon went first, started from the right side, lobbed it high, lept, 360-jumped, caught it just as he was completing the 360, and slammed. Beautiful. He has huge extension and great hang-time. Judges gave him a 46 out of 50.
Rudy Gay is next. He started from the right side, ran at the rim without dribbling, rocked it back and forth, and missed. And then did it again, slamming with the left hand. It was sweet but not mind-boggling, and he got a 37.
Big Dwight Howard is third. And he’s starting from out of bounds, behind back of the right side of the basket. He bounced it off the back of the backboard, caught it, soared from behind the basket to the front side of it, and missed — but the attempt itself was awesome. And then did it again, this time putting it down, almost hitting his head on the rim. He caught it off the back of the backboard with two hands, swung it around, and put it down with the left hand. Absolutely beautiful. Judges gave him a perfect 50.
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Defending champion Gerald Green is last but not least. Assistant Rashad McCants is holding a cupcake with a candle in it, and using a ladder climbs up, puts the cupcake on the back of the rim, on the support that connects it to the backboard. McCants then lit the candle. Green is apparently going to dunk, while blowing the candle out! This seems both dangerous and impossible. Yet – bam! – he got it! Insane! He caught the lob, put it down with two hands dunking on the left side of the rim and successfully blew the candle out! Judges gave him a mere 46. I thought he got robbed.
And now, the second set of dunks.
First up is Rudy Gay, assisted by Kyle Lowry. They both started from the deep left corner, with Lowry dribbling, Gay following. Lowry then bounced the ball off the back of the basket support, and Gay caught it on his left side and wrapped it around to his right side, dunking it nicely. It was impressive and creative but not quite as awesome as what Dwight Howard did. Judges gave it a 48, which may have been a point or two high.
Next is Jamario Moon, assisted by Jason Kapono. They’re putting white tape on the ground, almost a foot behind the free throw line. It would be mind-boggling if he really takes off from there. And now it appears Kapono is going to be near the basket and bounce the ball high up in the paint. And misses the first attempt. Moon did hit the second, but the tape on the ground was pointless — Moon took off about a foot inside the free throw line, which is still absolutely incredible. Judges gave him a 48.
Gerald Green is third. A ladder is in the paint again, with MCants climbing it and sitting on the top. The ladder is positioned slightly to the right of the rim. McCants is holding the ball in one arm, which is extended so he’s holding the ball in front o the rim. Just as Green launched himself up, Mccants flipped it up so Green could grab it with two hands, windmill it and slam it down. Awesome. He got a 48.
And now, Dwight Howard, assisted by Jameer Nelson. More white tape. And then Nelson reveals a red Superman cape. Then Howard, smiling, pulls off his away magic jersey to reveal a sleeveless Superman top. Howard then puts the cape on (everyone who reads the InsideHoops.com nba rumors page knew he was going to do this). The crowd loves it. Howard then stands at the baseline, center-court, right side, runs in, catches a pass, leaps from the dotted circle, soars high in the air and is up so high that rather than dunk it, he literally throws it down. A throw-dunk. Like how you might throw a crumpled up piece of paper down into a garbage can. That is possibly the most awesome dunk I’ve ever seen, aside maybe from some stuff Vince Carter did years ago. He got another perfect 50.
Total points at the end of the first round: Howard 100, Green 91, Moon 90, Gay 85.
We’re in the second and final round, with Howard against defending champion Green.
Green is up first, starting from the left elbow in three-point range, McCants, standing behind the basket on the right, is lobbing it over the top of the backboard. After some imperfect passes, and then one miss, Green came in, caught with two hands, windmilled it through his legs and slammed it down with one hand. Awesome.
No scores are being reported. It’s just picking one of the finalists or the other, after the dunks are over. Each judge has one vote, and the collective fan world, voting on the league’s official site or through text message, combine to have one vote.
Howard is up. He started from the right side, halfcourt, lobbed it, so it bounced in the paint, ran, jumped, and in mid air tapped it with his left hand against the backboard, then caught it off the glass with his right hand and dunked it. That is one of the most amazing dunks ever, second only to stuff InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner does in secret gyms against NBA players during the off-season.
Green, trying to be creative, took his shoes off, autographed them, put them on the judges table, and did a through-the-legs windmill. It was a slightly lesser version of his earlier dunk, minus the shoes.
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For the final dunk, Howard’s assistant, Jameer Nelson, has put a little Nerf-looking mini-hoop on the lower right corner of the front of the backboard, and then rested a full-sized basketball on it. Howard is starting from the right side of the court, outside the three-point elbow. He runs in, jumps, takes the ball off the little rim and tires to slam, but misses. And then runs in, takes it off the little rim, windmills it and slams it in. It was the least impressive of his dunks tonight, and the only one he did that didn’t truly wow the crowd, but it was still very good.
And now, the voting.
The judges picked Dwight Howard. So, he’s going to win, regardless of what the fan voting says. That’s assuming I understand how the voting works this year. And the fan vote is in: 70% voted for Dwight Howard.
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