Raptors News

" This is by no means a dump Calderon campaign, but the fact remains that Calderon is more coveted around the NBA than Ford. Calderon is a piece the Raptors must explore in trade scenarios to fill the many holes exposed this past season. Calderon might even fetch that 20-point-a-night player to complement Bosh. One thing is certain -- Ford won't. "

"The push toward completely automated timing marches on. Thanks to the Precision Time System, invented by ex-NBA referee Mike Costabile and used around the world, from the NCAA to the international game, the NBA game clock isn't started by one fallible person. It is started by four possible controllers, the three referees, each of whom wears a belt pack with a switch, and the clock operator. It works like the game-show Jeopardy!; all four parties attempt to hit the button at the instant the ball is touched in bounds, and the first to do so triggers the clock."

" Raptors restricted free agent Jose Calderon has made things pretty clear. Though he took one for the team last year by returning to the bench when T.J. Ford struggled in the backup role, he does not want to do it again. On his blog, Calderon said if it came down to it, he would take less money to start rather then come off the bench. "As of today, the Raptors would like me to continue," Calderon wrote. "

"One position, two players who now have stated publicly they want it. Welcome to Bryan Colangelo's dilemma. Jose Calderon said on his personal website that he wants to be a starting NBA point guard, which is the same position coveted by T.J. Ford. Calderon's posting was his first public declaration that he wants the No.1 job. "I want to be a starter and be in a team that aspires to everything," he wrote. "I will not be on a team in which I cannot be an important contributor.""

" We're not kidding, Chuck Swirsky is leaving The Fan 590. The voice of the Toronto Raptors is heading to Chicago next autumn to replace Neil Funk as the radio play-by-play man for the Bulls alongside Bill Wennington. The married father of three made the unexpected move for family reasons, which is fine with Fan 590 program director Nelson Millman. "

"The salami and cheese doesn't taste quite as good today for a huge number of Raptors fans. Chuck Swirsky, who became as recognizable a figure as many of the players who've come and gone in a decade as the team's primary broadcaster, is leaving to take over the radio play-by-play duties of the Chicago Bulls."

"Toronto President Bryan Colangelo ran off to scout in Spain this weekend, insisting that Sam Mitchell will coach the Raptors next season. Mitchell has been mentioned as a candidate for the Knicks' coaching job because of his ties to team president Donnie Walsh. "

"Yesterday, Mitchell was asked about speculation about his job security and the possibility that if Phoenix Suns coach Mike D'Antoni, a Colangelo favourite, were to come available in the wake of a Suns first-round ouster, would the domino effect be felt in Toronto?"

"T.J. Ford made it clear he isn't happy to be job-sharing with Jose Calderon at point guard. He concedes Calderon “is probably a starting guard in the league,” but Ford wants the Toronto job."

" Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo gave his head coach, Sam Mitchell, a resounding endorsement yesterday. Sort of. Rumours have been blowing hard the past few weeks that if the Raptors lost in the first round of playoffs to the Orlando Magic -- which they did -- Mitchell would get fired in the off-season. "

" The Raptors are doomed to years of Leafesque mediocrity unless general manager Bryan Colangelo makes a daring move or two in the off-season. And one of those moves has to involve Andrea Bargnani. The Raptors either have to trade the big Italian and get something valuable in return, which would be difficult given his rather mediocre season."

" T.J. Ford made a point yesterday of wanting to start at the point. The point Jose Calderon hammered home was that he wants to play for a winner, regardless if he starts or is asked to come off the bench. "

"The Raptors aren't about to let Jorge Garbajosa endanger the 2008-09 season. GM Bryan Colangelo made it clear yesterday the team will go to the wall to ensure the Spaniard does not play for his country this summer."

"Andrea Bargnani, the Raptors' Italian 7-footer, summed up his season in a blink of Monday night's season-ender in Orlando. Two fouls in the first 20 seconds. Two misses in his first three shots. It was too much for him to weather, and he was done the way he'd been done so many nights this season."

"Ford, in essence, said he thought things were fine between the two men, that he "definitely" thinks he'll be back in Toronto and that the two can co-exist with the job-share – provided, of course, he is the starter and Calderon is the backup."

"President and general manager Bryan Colangelo finds it "absolutely ludicrous" that there would be suggestions he's going to fire Mitchell and replace him with Phoenix head coach Mike D'Antoni, who is still actually working for the Suns."

"There's also the possibility that D'Antoni might initiate the separation. Two team sources said D'Antoni has grown weary of the grind and the expectations and could take a year off or move to another team and get a fresh start. Say, for example, Toronto, where he would rejoin Bryan Colangelo."

"With two years and $8.5 million left on his contract, D'Antoni is unlikely to be fired. If he returns, it could be with concessions to change. But there is also the possibility that he leaves of his own accord, especially with a perceived lack of support - and interest from New York and Chicago, both of which have vacancies. There is also the chance Toronto President Bryan Colangelo fired Sam Mitchell to hire the coach he brought to Phoenix from Italy."

""They played a great series, they executed on offence and defence better than we did and when it came to the small things, they did a better job," Chris Bosh said after the Magic ended Toronto's season with a 102-92 Game 5 victory last night."

" But fight or not, the Raptors simply were overmatched by an Orlando Magic team this series that boasts a beast in the middle in Dwight Howard, two imposing complementary big men in Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis and a underrated point guard in Jameer Nelson. That quartet mainly was responsible for last night's 102-92 win that dispatched the Raptors in five games. "

"One game after delivering his best postseason performance, Chris Bosh gave one of his worst. It didn't matter, the results were the same. The team built around him, the Toronto Raptors, lost last night 102-92 to the Orlando Magic — and they also fell in their best-of-seven first-round NBA playoff series 4-1."

"Howard and the Magic finally cleared it Monday night at Amway Arena, beating the Toronto Raptors 102-92 in Game 5 to become the franchise's first team to advance in 12 long years."

"When the Magic beat the Toronto Raptors 102-92 and won the best-of-seven series 4-1, it allowed Orlando to prevail in a playoff series for the first time in 12 years."

"T.J. Ford watched the Raptor season end from a seat on the bench, the player once thought to be an integral part of the franchise's long-term future reduced to being a spectator. It may have been a moment of foreboding, or it may have been nothing more than a decision by coach Sam Mitchell to let Jose Calderon try to steal a victory."

"Was that T.J. Ford's last game in a Raptors uniform? Ford doesn't think it was, but he's not discounting the possibility either. Ford was the first Raptor to talk with the media when the Raptors dressing room opened following last night's season-ending loss to the Orlando Magic."

"The grand total of Andrea Bargnani's offensive contribution in the biggest game of the Raptor season was four points on four measly shots, a far cry from the role everyone envisioned for the former first overall draft pick."

" Despite the remaining two-year, $4M per obligation and the Raptors' second straight playoff appearance - and 41 wins despite the full-season absence of starting small forward Jorge Garbajosa, T.J. Ford missing half the year due to neck damage and Chris Bosh being unavailable for franchise-player duty for 15 games (another six to get back in shape) - Mitchell reportedly is in job jeopardy. Should Mike D'Antoni bear the brunt of the Suns' annual playoff eviction by the Spurs, the prevailing suspicion is Colangelo will pick up his faithful Phoenix companion on the short hop. "

"Wrestling is what he called it, he and his teammates' ultimately futile stabs at containing Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic 7-footer whose 21 points and 21 rebounds – Howard's third 20-20 game in four Orlando wins – helped put the Raptors out of their misery last night."

"Chris Bosh dressed slowly, bending over, deliberately tying his shoes looking anything but comfortable. This isn't what a first-round playoff loss does to a world-class athlete: This is what a first-round playoff series playing head-to-head with Dwight Howard does to the best of the Raptors. "

"Talk to any NBA player who doesn't play almost 40 minutes a night and the lament is generally about how much more productive they could be just given the opportunity. If Hedo Turkoglu makes that point, listen closely."

"So there's that. But the crux of the buzz, really, is this: If you asked Colangelo, in a fantasy-league hypothetical, who he'd pick to coach his dream team, Mike D'Antoni would be in the conversation, and probably at the top of it. And for the first time since Colangelo arrived in Toronto more than two years ago, D'Antoni, the Phoenix Suns coach, may well be available this off-season."

"While Mark Jackson is expected to talk to the Bulls Wednesday, Sam Mitchell may soon pose the largest threat to Jackson's lead candidacy for the Knicks' job."

" It's time for Sam Mitchell to try something drastic. He's got nothing to lose, except, perhaps, his job, which he may lose anyway. "

"Apollo 33 will not be grounded. Jamario Moon left Saturday's Game 4 loss midway through the third quarter when he suffered a right groin strain and did not return. Head coach Sam Mitchell confirmed yesterday, Moon is not done yet. "

"The experiments they conducted here about a week ago were an abysmal failure, part of the reason they find themselves facing the predicament they do. The Raptors continue to pin their miniscule hopes on their return to normalcy."

"They may not have to be perfect, but down 3-1 the Raptors' margin for error has dwindled to near non-existent. History is against them, and they're going to have a soldout Amway Center crowd against them as well when they take on the Orlando Magic tonight in Game 5."

"Originally, the Toronto Raptors were going to practise at home Sunday, but switched course. They left first thing in the morning and worked out in the air-conditioned comfort of Florida in advance of their fifth-game elimination date against the Orlando Magic on Monday."

"A 106-94 loss to the Orlando Magic, a game of give-and-take until the final 90 seconds, has the Raptors on the verge of playoff elimination and all that can be done between now and tomorrow's Game 5 is to talk tough."

" One more loss and it's all over as the Raptors, who now trail the best-of-seven, first- round NBA playoff series to the Orlando Magic, 3-1. "We've got to fight like the dickens," said Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell, following his club's 106-94 defeat yesterday at the Air Canada Centre. "

"After defeating the Toronto Raptors 106-94 on Saturday at Air Canada Centre to seize a commanding 3-1 playoff series lead, Dwight Howard and the Magic need one more victory to advance to the second round for the first time since the 1995-96 season."

"Nelson scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, Lewis and Turkoglu hit clutch 3-pointers and franchise center Dwight Howard made it all stand up with a franchise-record eight blocked shots as the Magic beat Toronto 106-94 in Game 4 of the best-of-seven series."

" For his part, Bosh did everything possible -- scoring 39 points, coming down with 15 rebounds -- to give his team a shot. That's what superstars are supposed to do in the biggest of games. He did what he needed to do. Who else can say the same? "

"In the end, the message was the same as it's been all season: Chris Bosh needs help. Not self-help, mind you, because the Raptors' franchise player gave you pretty much all you could ask for from a skinny 24-year-old yesterday, 39 points and 15 rebounds, nine and seven of which came in the final eight-some minutes."

"A mere 33 seconds into the frenzied game, Andrea Bargnani hoisted up a 25-foot jump shot, it went swish and the Raptors led the Orlando Magic 3-0."

" Jameer Nelson's Tylenol intake was up, his aggressiveness was down, and his coach was on his case. That was the story for the first three quarters of yesterday afternoon's game for the Orlando Magic point guard. "

"Reason No. 189 to like Orlando head coach Stan Van Gundy: Asked if he felt that Rashard Lewis' 27-point, 13-rebound performance yesterday validated the six-year, $118-million US contract the Magic forked over to him last summer, Van Gundy had the perfect answer."

"Let's connect the polka dots. No sooner does Larry Brown resign his vacuous vice president's job - or whatever title it was - with the 76ers than the 32-50 Bobcats turn Sam Vincent into Sam Vincent van Gone... If my conclusion-jumping is off target, the Grizzlies' presidency and coaching jobs are there for the scoop should Brown want them. Again, he was never in Bulls GM John Paxson's interviewing equation, which has expanded beyond Rick Carlisle... Yesterday's La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Mike D'Antoni could wind up in Toronto with former Suns exec Bryan Colangelo should Phoenix make him the designated scapegoat for its playoff failures and Sam Mitchell be fired by the Raptors."

"Knowing that the Raptors' first win of the post-season guaranteed a trip back to Orlando for Game 5, Jason Kapono, the Raptors long-range shooter and driving range junkie, was asked if he would find time to fit golf into the Florida jaunt."

"Back-to-back three-point shooting titles in the NBA, not to mention consecutive seasons of some pretty gaudy three-point numbers, are a testament to Jason Kapono's ability to shoot from long distances."

"Two games into this Eastern Conference quarter-final against the Orlando Magic, T.J. Ford knew he was struggling. But what amazed him was how quickly and how far his stock dropped."