The Raptors finished off their exhibition schedule last night in Portland with a win, and Doug Smith reports that Morris Peterson looks to be coming from off the bench to start the season, rookie Joey Graham starting.
*Gulp*
Ready or not, here comes the season. That urgency, perhaps, provided some impetus for yesterday's Bucks-Hornets deal that has Jamaal Magloire and Desmond Mason trading places, and No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut going to the bench. At least, that was Milwaukee GM Larry Harris's explanation:
"We had not been rebounding well in the preseason and that was a concern. And then Joe (Smith) can't play until the seventh game of an eight-game schedule and Dan (Gadzuric) goes down . . . It showed how tenuous we were. As I started to look at things, Jamaal's name was out there and so I reached out to see if it could happen. He fills the bill of what we need."
We'll be coming at you next Tuesday and Wednesday with some preview-like stuff. For now, I'll just throw a few links at you I've been hoarding, setting up the theme that has settled around the Raps like low-lying fog: not just minimal expectations, but no expectations at all. And a sense that this is a franchise that has lost its way.
Couple of examples: ESPN's John Hollinger came out a while back with his player ratings and only three Raptors -- Bosh, Rose and newcomer Mike James -- scored above the league average. I know these things are kind of bogus, subjectivity disguised as numbers, but they do relate back to expectations.
CBS Sportsline's All-Poison team has all the usual suspects including Stephon, Kobe, Iverson -- and a couple of Raptors, including coach Sam Mitchell: "Who better to coach the most dysfunctional team we could dream up than a coach who reportedly regularly challenged his own players to fight him last season?" they ask.
Amid the gloom, a dispatch out of New Jersey from columnist/blogger Dave D'Alessandro to put the cherry on this custard pie-in-the-face:
It’s official: Vince Carter is a Jersey Guy. It has nothing to do with home ownership – any carpetbagger can buy a house. He has become embraced by the Candlewyck Diner (just off Rt. 17, on the East Rutherford/Carlstadt border), which has honored his frequent visits by naming a wrap for him. Grilled chicken, we’re told. Try not to share that last bit of information with sarcastic Ontarians.
Er, we just did, Dave.
(UPDATE: The wrap is in fact named for Lawrence Frank, the boy-coach of the Nets. According to DD's email correction that just arrived, this has nothing to do with Ricky Davis torching VC for 24 the other night.)
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