Browse >
Home / Archive by category '
Sport / Basketball'
by Jeremy Visser… Philadelphia took Roy Halladay, so the least they could give us is the Sixers. Actually, we pretty much own them already. The Raps recovered from a rough start and held off a late rally, using a three-point play from Chris Bosh in the waning seconds to come away with a 108-106 road win.
Despite being down 13 early in the third, I had a feeling this one was coming our way in the long run. Sure enough, the Raptors capitalized on Andre Iguodala’s decision to unsuccessfully prove himself a jump shooter and some all-around ugly Sixer basketball in the quarter to swing the momentum going into the fourth, where Bosh and Andrea Bargnani had nice showings to help escape with the win. Bargnani, who finished with 23 points, made a handful of key shots in the quarter and had a clutch block in the final minute with Toronto up two and Philly in transition. Bosh had team-highs of 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
All five Philly starters finished in double digits, with LOOOOUU Williams (not to be mistaken with Lou Maxton Graham, producer of Scarsdale Surprise) leading the way with 23 and a washed-up Allen Iverson chipping in 22. Iguodala came up a dime short of a triple-double, finishing with 17 points, 11 boards and nine assists, and Thaddeus Young still managed 18 and 13 despite missing about 28 shots off the front of the rim alone.
It wasn’t easy, but I’ll take any win, especially on the road. After a bit of a defensive hiccup in the first half, the Raps settled down and made life a bit difficult in the final 24 — something they’ve been doing a lot of on this current streak, with was extended to eight wins in nine tonight. They’ll look to keep rolling Sunday at home against Boston in a game I just may be sitting courtside at. Check me out!
by Stephen Brotherston… 
Chris Bosh has been selected to the Eastern conference All-Star team the past four consecutive years mostly by NBA coaches but has had trouble being voted to start by the fans.
One of a handful of dominate players capable of averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds and one of a dozen players chosen to play for the 2008 gold medal winning USA Olympic basketball team, one might wonder why Chris Bosh has yet to obtain the same level of recognition as other players in the NBA.
And it has been suggested by some that Bosh is even under-appreciated in his home market of Toronto. Some fans and media types prefer to focus on what Bosh has been unable to accomplish in his six full seasons playing for the Raptors.
Chris Bosh was chosen fourth overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2003 NBA draft. The 6′-11.5″ 225 lb freshman from Georgia Tech was barely 19 years old and probably closer to 210 lbs than his pre-draft camp measurement when he came to the NBA that fall.
For some unknown reason, the NBA decided to list his height as 6′-10″ disregarding their own pre-draft camp measurement. Thus making Chris Bosh the tallest looking 6′-10″ power forward in the game today.
The Toronto Raptors got that fourth pick in 2003 because they were bad. A 24 wins and 58 losses bad!
But being bad meant that Chris Bosh started 63 games and averaged 33.5 minutes in his rookie season and the shinny 19-year-old kid averaged 11.5 points; 7.4 rebounds; and, 1.4 blocks.
The fact that the Toronto Raptors remained bad for Bosh’s first three seasons can hardly be blamed on him.
The team wasted high draft picks on busts like Rafael Araujo. Raptors All-Star Vince Carter demanded a trade at the start of the 2004 season and the subsequent deal crippled the team.
Later a failed experiment to bring in former All-Star Jermaine O’Neal to anchor the Raptors defense in 2008-09 returned the Raptors to the draft lottery in 2009.
But Bosh continued to develop his game through the team’s struggles becoming an All-Star in just his third season as a professional. Bosh was chosen by opposing teams’ coaches to be an All-Star despite being on a Raptors team that would finish the 2005-06 season with just 27 wins.
In his four seasons as an All-Star, Bosh has averaged a remarkable 22.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game—firmly establishing his position as a dominant power forward in the minds of opposing coaches.
The Toronto Raptors did win the Atlantic Division title in 2006-07 with 47 wins. But in two playoff appearances they were dismissed in the first round by New Jersey in 2007 and then Orlando in 2008.
Bosh’s Raptors Records
Now in his seventh Raptors season at the 35-game mark, Chris Bosh has finally surpassed the former All-Star who deserted the team in 2004 in points scored for the Toronto Raptors.
At 9,428 points, the next closest active Raptors player is Andrea Bargnani with 3,315. And with 47 games left in the 2009-10 regular season, Bosh is on track to be the first Raptor player to reach 10,000 points by sometime in early March.
But this wasn’t the first Raptors record that Bosh has affixed his name to.
Bosh passed Antonio Davis’ rebounding mark more than two years ago and currently leads the team in offensive boards with 1,279, defensive boards with 3,135, and total boards with 4,414.
The closest active Raptor to Bosh in total boards is Andrea Bargnani with 1,165.
Other Raptors records that have fallen to Chris Bosh in recent years without much fanfare include minutes played 17,516, free throws made 2,772, free throws attempted 3,942, and blocks 571.
Before the end of this season, Bosh will pass Vince Carter (3,541 FG) for the most field goals made.
Next year Bosh will finally surpass Morris Peterson (542 games) for the most games played as a Raptor and Vince Carter (7,944 FGA) for the most field goal attempts.
From an overall perspective, Chris Bosh leads the Raptors in win shares at 57.6, ahead of second place Vince Carter with 47.7 and fourth place Jose Calderon with 25.8. No other current Raptors make the team’s top 10 list for win shares.
Bosh’s Personal Bests
In his seventh NBA season, Chris Bosh came to camp 10-20 pounds heavier than at any point in his NBA career. An off-season regime designed to help him take his game to the next level.
Over the first 35 games, Chris Bosh is setting personal bests in points 23.7, offensive rebounding 3.3, defensive rebounding 8.1, total boards 11.3, free throws made 7.0, free throws attempted 9.0, field goals made 8.3, and field goal percentage of 51.8 percent.
Bosh currently ranks eighth in scoring and sixth in rebounding among all NBA players.
Bosh’s individual game personal best in points was 42 against Phoenix on December 12, 2007 where he also set personal bests with 22 free throws made and 24 free throws attempted.
Bosh reached 42 points again against the New Jersey Nets on November 21, 2008.
On two occasions Bosh has torn down 22 rebounds. Although this season’s best is only 17 so far.
In the playoffs, Bosh’s personal best game came against Orlando at the ACC on April 26, 2008 when he went off for 39 points and 15 rebounds in a game four loss.
NBA Comparisons
At just 25 years old Bosh has yet to make serious dents in the NBA record books.
But last season, Bosh was one of just four players who managed a 20-point, 10-rebound season. This was the second time in the past three years that Bosh has averaged 20 and 10.
And Bosh finished the 2008-09 season ninth in scoring, sixth in rebounding, and seventh in double-doubles. The second season in a row Bosh was a top 10 scorer.
There shouldn’t be any question that Bosh is an elite player within the NBA ranks in addition to holding many of the Raptors individual records.
Is Chris Bosh Underappreciated?
Bosh does receive a significant amount of criticism from the media and fans for the teams inability to advance past the first round of the playoffs and for last season’s collapse.
But perhaps this is just the burden of any star player whose team has not advanced as far as fans have hoped it would?
In the Toronto media, Chris Bosh is the focus for Raptors coverage by the numerous specialty sports TV and radio channels, the four major newspapers, and at least a dozen well read independent blogs.
And with the NBA’s focus on individual stars over its franchises, there are bound to be some stories written about players that do not have a positive spin. There just isn’t enough unique and interesting “news” to go around.
But if one advances a story that the Raptors should move their star player, the support for Chris Bosh to remain in Toronto becomes obvious.
Almost everyone in Toronto realizes that Chris Bosh cannot be replaced. Bosh is the team’s best player and one of the best players in the NBA.
And while Bosh may get overlooked in other NBA markets, he is only overlooked until someone runs a story that he might be coming to their team.
With Chris Bosh holding a player’s option to become a free agent at the end of this season, why are there references to Bosh attaining additional Raptors records next season?
Well, it’s because the Raptors All-Star Chris Bosh is not going anywhere!
Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
by Jeremy Visser… Okay, well maybe that title is an overstatement, but considering the way the Raptors played Orlando in their three previous meetings this season, I’ll file this one under improbable. Despite coming oh-so-close to blowing an 18-point lead, Toronto held on for a 108-103 win last night to get back to .500 for the first time since mid-November.
Jose Calderon returned from a hip flexor and reminded us that he can still be a pretty, pretty productive player in this league, particularly in a supporting role, as he so famously established himself a couple years ago when the Raptors were still dealing with the headache known as T.J. Ford. Calderon backed up Jarrett Jack for the first time, finishing with eight assists and just one turnover in 24 minutes. All five Toronto starters finished in double digits, with Andrea Bargnani leading a balanced effort with 18. Chris Bosh had a double-double with 16 and 11 and Hedo Turkoglu had his best game against his former team thus far, finishing with 17 on 6-0f-11 and 3-of-4 from deep.
Aside from the actual result, the most satisfying part of this one had to be watching baby boy Dwight Howard bicker all night with the refs. Is there a bigger whiner in the league? No, not if you ask me. Dwight: You’re a seven-foot tall freak with about 300 pounds of muscle — you should be able to dunk every time you touch the ball and block every shot that comes within a mile of you. Shut up and play the game. Oh yeah, and it was also a lot of fun watching #15 finish with a sparkling seven-point effort.
So, a surprise win in Orlando leaves the Raptors 18-18 with a pushover in Philly set for Friday. Time to get it cooking on the road? I think so, but I’ve been thinking that for awhile. To quote my pal Tim Bentum, “Let’s see what happens!”
by Sachin Arora… 
The Raptors had another good week, improving to 17-18. They have had many off days which has helped them quite a bit and have looked fresh out of the gate and have been keeping themselves in games.
This is the Raptors we have all been waiting for and things are only going to keep improving.
Record: 2-1
Performance on a scale of 1-10: 7
Positives: The strong defensive play of the Raptors is continuing and it seems like they can actually compete if they want to. Chris Bosh is becoming a physically monster. I would like to point out particularly in the game against the Spurs when Bosh stopped superstar Tim Duncan, then posted Duncan up for the score.
Negatives: Intensity on the road has been a huge problem, as the Raptors can’t seem to play well on the road. Hedo Turkoglu is injured, and there is still no status on Reggie Evans.
The Raptors lost to a beaten up Boston team, who didn’t have Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, or Rajon Rondo. That’s a game that they have to win, but they came out of the gate playing soft and taking jumpers despite the fact that they knew the Celtics were lacking inside presence.
The Raps came up huge against the Spurs at home, and that’s the type of game they will have to play consistently. Chris Bosh has officially passed Vince Carter to become the all time leading scorer of the Toronto Raptors franchise. Hopefully he will continue to build on that record for many more years.
Overall not a bad week, despite the tough loss to the Celtics, but look for the Dinos to keep improving.
GO RAPS!
Next Report: Sunday, January 10
by Stephen Brotherston… 
With only 48 games left for the Toronto Raptors, what New Years Resolutions will they be making (fans hope):
9) Be better than .500
The time for gelling is long past. Either the Raptors have gelled or they are Jello!
8) Bargnani bests eight boards per game in 2010.
The big “B” is averaging a career high in boards this season but the fans want more. Time for the beast in Bargnani to make his appearance.
7) Big Commitment from Bosh
Enough of this making everyone wait. Fans need to know if Bosh wants to stay or go!
6) Be on US National TV
Raptors have toiled for long enough in obscurity. Make TNT and NBA-TV bring a Raptors team back to the national scene. And make Rick Kamala learn how to pronounce Toronto.
5) Reggie Evans Plays
It’s time fans saw the Raptors toughest player on the floor. The return of the (Raptors) Joker!
4) Jose Calderon Returns to 07-08 form
An apparent minor injury has kept the Raptors starting point guard out for a month. It’s time to get the Raptors leading passer and best shooter back on the floor and playing at the level we all remember him playing at. And no Jackerons!
3) MLSE Agrees to Spend to Win.
Whether it’s offering Bosh a max contract or making the trade that puts the Raptors into luxury tax territory. Fans want MLSE to do what it takes to bring a winner to Toronto. And that’s no joke!
2) No More Injuries
Bosh, Turkoglu, Bargnani, Calderon, and Jack must resolve to play the rest of the way!
1) Make the Playoffs
In 2010, no resolution can be more important than making the playoffs this season. This ain’t no rebuilding year!
Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
by Stephen Brotherston… 
If you believe that Bryan Colangelo has been trying to recreate the 2006-07 version of the Toronto Raptors, then you will have noticed just how closely the 2009-10 Raptors have resembled that earlier version.
In 2006, Bryan Colangelo started the season with only six returning players and in 2009, he did it again. And with only four returning players destined to see much time in their team’s rotation, both of these reconstructed Raptors teams went through a very rough learning curve.
Players who didn’t know how to play together and coaches who didn’t know who to put on the floor conspired to produced a less than encouraging seven win, 13 loss start to the season each time.
But in 2006, the Raptors went 40-22 to finish out the season tying the Raptors record for wins in a season. Those 2006 Raptors “gelled” as a team and closed out the season winning 2/3rds of their games.
In reality, “gelling” in 2006 really meant Sam Mitchell figured out that playing Garbajosa at small forward turned a collection of players into a team. Sure there were other factors, but to “gel” requires coaches to figure things out at least as much as players “getting to know one another.”
This season the new small forward that the Raptors have tied their fortunes to is Hedo Turkoglu. And like Jorge Garbajosa, Turkoglu does not rely on his superior athleticism at either end of the floor but rather on sound positional play and basketball IQ.
Where Garbajosa is considered to be the more effective defender (although it was almost impossible to figure out how he managed to do it), Turkoglu is a vastly superior offensive player. And most people would consider Hedo a significant upgrade talent-wise from Garbajosa.
And anyone who has watched Turkoglu over the past few seasons or can even just remember how he played against LeBron, Pierce, and Bryant in last year’s playoffs, will realize Turkoglu can be as good as anybody against the elite wings in the NBA (and no, he isn’t winning any defensive awards).
Just check out the Orlando Magic’s top 10 plays from last season on NBA video (2008-09, Magic videos).
Of course the measure of how well Turkoglu is “gelling” with his Raptors teammates may be counted in his assist totals more than anything on the defensive end. And in the last five games, Turkoglu has been averaging 7 assists per game.
This season the Raptors have relied on rookie Head Coach Jay Triano whereas in 2006, the Raptors had the more experienced Sam Mitchell.
And Triano has shown his inexperience. Sticking with lineups that weren’t working and having to be “saved” by his GM and a players meeting after a five-game losing slide and the embarrassment in Atlanta.
This year’s Raptors should be considered as more talented than the 2006 version and may have actually won games despite some questionable coaching moves earlier this season (reverse also likely to be true).
But Jay Triano has the respect of some of the NBA’s top executives and Bryan Colangelo’s patience with his coach is likely to be rewarded (it would be nice if Triano could figure things out a little faster though).
However, finishing any season winning 65 percent of your games over even a modest stretch is no easy task and likely to be greeted with a measure of disbelief. And some people will look at the Raptors 15-17 record and not be convinced this team can do it.
But this season, the Raptors have gone 8-4 since that 7-13 start and are precisely on track to repeat that remarkable performance.
And with 10 teams in the East at under .500, the non-elite teams in the East are weak this year. The Raptors are currently in sixth place in the East with that 15-17 record.
Plus the 16-12 fiveth place Miami Heat have faced a soft opening schedule with 18 home games and just 10 road dates. Maybe the Raptors season split with the Magic is reflective of just how close these two teams really are?
There should be little doubt that Raptors opportunity for a strong finish to the 2009-10 season is there for the taking. And another 47 win season is still within grasp.
Like in 2006-07, Bryan Colangelo is likely to be looking at trades, different players will step up or not, and injury risk is out there!
It will not be a boring 2010 in Raptorland.
by Sachin Arora… The Raptors had a short week this week playing only two games, both against the Pistons, in a home and home series. The Dinos swept em away, extending their winning streak to a season high 4 games, and are looking better than ever.
The Raptors are finally starting to come together and honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the streak keeps going. This team is hot, finally playing some defense, showing some urgency and is actually winning.
Week 9 Record: 2-0
Performance on a scale of 1-10: 8.5
Positives: Defense, offense, and toughness. The Raptors are finally looking like they want to win, and even with injuries to Reggie Evans and Jose Calderon, the team is playing well. Sonny Weems has emerged as a solid role player and Hedo Turkoglu is starting to show some grit.
Negatives: Rebounding is the main one. Bosh and Bargnani have to show some toughness inside and show some presence. This isn’t really a negative, but the winning streak hasn’t exactly been against contenders, and at least they are taking advantage of the schedule.
Overall, when you go undefeated you know you have had a pretty good week. I’m going to keep this report short because of the two game week, and hopefully the Raptors can keep bringing out their game.
GO RAPS!
Next Report: Sunday, January 3rd
by Stephen Brotherston… 
The Toronto Raptors have had a wildly inconsistent start to the 2009-10 NBA season.
After going 5-5 in their first 10 games, the Raptors went 2-8 in their next 10, and finally 6-4 in the last 10.
Those kind of wild swings were bound to have ended in change, and change we got!
In the stretch between 20 and 30 games, Raptors fans witnessed some new faces in the starting lineup and in the regular rotation.
Jarrett Jack made his first starts of the season. Sonny Weems cracked the rotation on a regular basis. And Antoine Wright has found himself a spot on the end of the bench.
At the 30-game mark, here’s how the Raptors players are doing.
Jose Calderon
After a tough start to the season, Jose Calderon was putting up some decent numbers, not as good as last year, but very respectable none-the-less.
Currently, Jose is averaging 11.7 points on 51.5 percent shooting and 39.7 percent shooting from three. And while his 6.2 assists are tied for 11th in the NBA, it is well below his last season’s average.
But in game 22 of the season versus Chicago, Calderon injured his hip and is currently out of the Raptors rotation.
Jose has only played in three of the past 10 games. His return date is unknown.
DeMar DeRozan
After 20 games, the Raptors were on a five-game losing skid and had just surrendered a season league-high 146 points to the Atlanta Hawks. There were calls from the media to shake up the Raptors starting lineup and the player most mentioned was DeMar DeRozan.
Fortunately for DeRozan, Jay Triano didn’t believe the team started games poorly and saw no reason to make any changes.
After 30 starts in 30 games, DeRozan is averaging 7.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in just over 20 minutes per game. He is shooting 44 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. His 0.6 blocks and 0.5 steals illustrate his active defense.
DeMar DeRozan is developing into a solid young player who looks to have a good career ahead of him.
Hedo Turkoglu
Toronto’s big free agent acquisition appears to have been slowly working his way back into form as the season progresses.
Averaging 14 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 33.5 minutes, Turkoglu is playing over three minutes less per game than in his last two seasons in Orlando and getting about three fewer shots per game.
While Turkoglu’s productivity may be disappointing to some, he is averaging about the same as in his five seasons in Orlando and in recent games Triano does appear to have figured out how to use Turkoglu’s skills more effectively.
Special note: Turkoglu is averaging a career high 0.5 blocks per game with the Raptors.
Chris Bosh
CB4 continues to put up All-Star worthy numbers this season, but his productivity has not been consistent and the Raptors fortunes have followed it up and down.
In the first 10 games, Bosh averaged 27.7 points and the Raptors went a surprising 5-5 in a tough opening schedule.
Then he averaged 20.4 points in the second 10 games and the Raptors sunk to 2-8.
For the past 10, Bosh’s averaged bounced back to 23.3 points and the team was 6-4.
Interestingly, Bosh is averaging his lowest number of minutes played per game since his rookie year. At 34.6 minutes per game, Bosh is playing 3.4 minutes less than last season.
But his averages of 23.8 points and 11.1 rebounds are the highest of his career. Hopefully he can keep this up.
Maybe it’s the contract year effect?
Andrea Bargnani
The Big B is on track for his best season in the NBA. So far, Bargnani is averaging career highs in: points (16.2) rebounds (6.2) blocks (1.2), and shooting percentage (46.5).
Bargnani’s scorching start in his first 10 games has tapered off as Andrea’s shooting has gone a little cold recently. But as everyone should have noticed, his defense and rebounding have improved as the season has moved along.
Jarrett Jack
When a player changes teams, it can take some time for him to adjust to his new surroundings. And over the past 10 games, it can safely be concluded that Jack has made the adjustment.
Just in time too! Jarrett was thrust into a starting role for the Raptors eight games ago when Calderon went down with the hip injury.
On the season, Jack has averaged: 9.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 27.3 minutes per game.
As a starter, Jack has stepped up to provide: 12.4 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 33 minutes a night. And he has shot an efficient 52 percent.
Those are the type of numbers that generate discussions about who should start for the Raptors!
Antoine Wright
To start the season, Triano had nothing but positive comments about Wright’s abilities and most nights it was Wright who was first off the bench.
Then the highly touted defensive specialist appeared to have found himself a place in Triano’s doghouse in the Raptors 20th game in Atlanta.
But Jay Triano re-inserted the veteran back into the rotation for the next five games before re-nailing Wright’s butt to the bench.
On the season, Wright is averaging: 4.7 points, 2.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.2 steals, 0.1 blocks, and 0.8 turnovers in 17 minutes off the bench.
He is shooting just 33 percent from the field and most of his offensive plays feel like turnovers even if they aren’t officially listed as such.
One of the few veteran wing players on the Raptors, Wright has yet to find his game this season. Now Wright is going to have to fight for minutes with the “young guns” off the Raptors bench.
Marco Belinelli
We were warned! Marco Belinelli can be a very frustrating player. When his shooting is hot, it looks like he’ll never miss again. When his shooting is cold, nothing wants to drop!
Over the past 10 games Belinelli has gone cold, shooting just 31 percent from the field and averaging just 5.3 points.
But that’s nothing compared to his last five games where Belinelli has shot at just a 19.4 percent clip. And Marco hasn’t been taking bad shots, they just aren’t falling.
On the season, Marco is averaging 7.6 points in 18.7 minutes and is shooting at 39.7 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from three.
Belinelli will find the range again and it will likely be soon. He isn’t afraid to shoot and will likely average 40 percent from three at the end of the season.
But fans should expect a wild ride all year long.
Amir Johnson
Johnson’s play has been a very pleasant surprise for the Toronto Raptors.
Expected to be trapped behind Rasho Nesterovic and Reggie Evans on the depth chart, Johnson has made the most of his opportunities. Playing in all 30 games, Amir has averaged:
5.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 0.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks in 17.2 minutes.
Johnson at just 22 years young and only 210 pounds still faces challenges from the bigger post players in the NBA. But the heart, hustle, and potential has been evident all season.
Sonny Weems
In the past five games, Sonny Weems has found himself taking the pine-riding Antoine Wright’s minutes in the Raptors rotation.
Prior to this, Weems was finding himself mostly playing garbage time minutes in the Raptors all too frequent blow-out loses. And he wasn’t always doing himself any favors as his shot selection and his decision-making was too often reflective of the game he was playing in.
But things changed once Weems found himself playing when it mattered.
Over the past five games, Weems has averaged: 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.6 blocks while shooting 50 percent in 24 minutes per game.
Sonny has been effective and disciplined since inserted into the rotation.
And paired with DeRozan, the two have provided an exciting, up-tempo, athletic
Marcus Banks
No one really anticipated Marcus Banks to ever see serious floor time with the Raptors this season. Barring injury that is.
With Calderon unavailable and Jack starting, the Raptors needed a backup point guard and Banks has stepped in to provide effective minutes off the bench.
In seven games with Jack starting, Banks has averaged: 5.4 points on 47 percent shooting in 14.6 minutes per game. He hasn’t looked too bad on defense either.
Now no one expects Banks to remain in the rotation after Calderon returns from injury. But Banks has shown that he can be a very effective third string backup point guard and Colangelo made the right choice keeping him on the roster.
The Rest
Rasho Nesterovic continues to be used in spot duty and remains effective when called upon. He just isn’t seeing much playing time.
Pops Mensah Bonsu has played in 13 games for the Raptors. He is averaging 2.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, and half a block in 7.5 minutes per game.
While Jay Triano has given Pops some burn lately, it’s hard to see how the Raptors can justify guaranteeing his contract for the rest of the season.
Reggie Evans remains out with a foot injury. His return date still shrouded in mystery.
Patrick O’Bryant has played in four games this season and seems destined to watch from the bench.
Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
by Stephen Brotherston… 
When you hear the stories about how some people made it in their chosen careers, the formula for success is often the same. Never, ever, for any reason, give up on your dream.
Matt Devlin, Toronto Raptors TV play-by-play broadcaster, didn’t just luck into one of the handful of major league professional sports broadcasting jobs. He earned it with hard work, determination, and overcoming more than a few setbacks.
But Matt didn’t start out in life envisioning himself as the play-by-play guy for his favorite team. Like most kids, he loved to watch and play sports, and the Syracuse, NY native played baseball, football, and basketball well into his teenage years.
And when Devlin went to Boston College to pursue a communication major, it wasn’t the hands-on program one might expect from a future broadcaster but rather a media theory course. Matt still had no aims at a career before the TV cameras.
Surprisingly, for someone with such an easy-going manner when the lights come on, Matt Devlin had never participated in theater, calling high school games, or working for his college’s radio station.
But in his fourth year at Boston College, with no real idea of the challenges that lay ahead of him, Matt decided that he was going to be sports broadcaster.
Just about everywhere media outlets offer internships, and Matt was given his opportunity with an ABC affiliate, WCVB in Boston. But Matt wasn’t one to turn down opportunity, so he also interned with another ABC affiliate, KTRK in Houston, TX.
Just to be clear, intern equals unpaid laborer. But Matt used his internships to produce his first resume tapes and send them to every station he thought might have an opportunity. From Alaska to North Dakota, Matt Devlin was willing to go anywhere to get his first job in broadcasting.
After graduation in 1990, Matt started his first job at KRCB in Abilene, TX as a sports anchor reporter for $5 per hour. It was here that he decided he wanted to be a play-by-play announcer.
Matt remembers Vince Scully saying, “If you wanted to be a good sports broadcaster, you have to do some play-by-play.” And the best sport to practice play-by-play is baseball. Football is once a week and basketball has only 15 to 25 home dates, but baseball teams play almost every night.
So in the summer of 1992, Matt became the play-by-play announcer for the minor league baseball team, the Springfield Cardinals. A $3,000 summer job that saw him selling tickets, maintaining the field, acting as the janitor, and of course announcing games.
After this, Devlin kept after his dream alive by doing whatever broadcast jobs he could find, including announcing at college and high school games on a fee per game basis until he got job with the minor league affiliate of the Rockies, the New Haven Ravens, in 1995.
It was here Matt got his first big break. Sacred Heart University was a small Division I school nearby that didn’t have a radio package for their basketball games. Matt convinced his station to provide the equipment and talked the school into paying him $100 per game to provide the play-by-play.
The deal should have blown up when the school’s athletic director told Matt that he couldn’t pay him. But it was Matt’s wife Erin who reminded him that they were doing this to get the demo tapes of Matt doing live basketball. The money wasn’t that important.
It was these demo tapes that got Matt Devlin his next three jobs and his big breaks with ESPN, TNT, NBA-TV, and beyond.
But success didn’t arrive in a straight line from there. After the Scared Heart adventure, Devlin attempted this strategy again, bringing Yale and the local radio station together to broadcast Yale basketball games.
The strategy worked; Yale and the station came to terms. But when it came to picking the announcer, the Yale athletic director insisted the job go to one of his friends. Matt’s services were not required.
Anyone who works this hard at their profession is bound to be noticed. Matt’s continued efforts to self-promote and find progressively better situations were paying off. Some of the highlights:
In 1996, Matt Devlin announced the Double A All-Star game for ESPN.
In 1997, Matt filled in for the St. Louis Cardinals long-time announcer Jack Buck as Mark McGwire made his debut for the team.
In 1999, Matt worked for NBA-TV during its inaugural season.
Those Scared Heart tapes helped Matt get his first WNBA job calling Liberty games at MSG with the now familiar Jack Armstrong.
And since then Matt has been the play-by-play broadcaster for the Grizzlies (2001-04), the Bobcats (2004-07), and now the Raptors. Any available gaps being taken up by TNT and NBA-TV for regular season and playoff games.
And Matt’s talents have not gone unnoticed elsewhere. NBC has used Matt’s services at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, and Matt has covered the NFL for Fox and college football for the Big Ten Network.
Not bad for a communication major who had never seen a microphone close up before his fourth year of college.
Since arriving in Toronto for the 2008-09 season, Matt and his family have settled into their new surroundings quickly. For the first time in his career, Matt had friends and family living in the area before he got there.
Toronto also has many of the services the Devlin’s have not had access to in the smaller communities they have lived in as Matt moved to advance his career.
Matt’s three boys are now all playing hockey, and Erin has become the typical Canadian hockey Mom, getting up at 6 am to bundle the kids off to the rink.
And Matt appreciates having relatives in the area who can cheer on his sons at the rink while he is off on Raptors road trips.
It looks like the Devlins have adapted well to life in Toronto and our community is better off for their addition.
**************************************************************
A special thank you to Matt Devlin for granting an interview and providing stories from his exciting broadcast career.
Brothersteve’s Green & Red Raptor Blog
by Stephen Brotherston… 
During the preseason, it became apparent that last year’s forgotten rookie on the Denver Nuggets was an outstanding athlete. Sonny Weems is obviously faster than the typical NBA shooting guard, and he has leaping ability that rivals Raptors rookie DeMar DeRozan.
But last season, Weems couldn’t crack the deep Nuggets rotation and played just 55 minutes in the NBA.
“Weems spent most of last season in the NBADL with the Colorado 14ers where he played in 22 games and averaged 20.5 points on 48.8 percent shooting and collected 4.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 2.8 turnovers, and 3.0 personal fouls in 28.3 minutes.” Sonny Weems
For practical purposes, Sonny Weems is every bit as much of a “rookie” as DeMar DeRozan.
Throughout this past preseason, Jay Triano brought Weems off the bench and even started him at shooting guard beside DeRozan, creating an up tempo, high-flying duo that was exciting to watch.
In the preseason Fight for Minutes, Sonny Weems Impressed.
“Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Antoine Wright’s unfortunate incident in the Raven’s gym during training camp has been Sonny Weems. As Wright sits resting a bruised knee, Weems has been showing that he’s the most deserving shooting guard when it comes to minutes this preseason.”
But Jay Triano was more impressed with the fifth-year player Antoine Wright’s ability to pick up on the Raptors new defensive schemes in classroom settings and one preseason game. When the season started, it was Wright and not Weems who had the coach’s confidence.
For the first 25 games this season, Weems was only getting minutes in about half of the games. And, the only time Weems saw double-digit minutes was during blow-out losses.
Perhaps fortunately for Weems, double-digit losses were happening a lot more than expected this season.
The first real sign that Weems may have caught his coach’s attention was in the 146-point debacle in Atlanta. Weems played 29 minutes in that game and while his stat line might not have been outstanding, no one could say Weems wasn’t trying.
The public comments about the coaches and players from Jack and Wright that followed the Atlanta game and a “clear the air” players meeting seemed to spark a Raptors three-game winning streak. But in the two losses that followed that brief revival, Weems played 19 and 18 minutes, respectively.
Since then, it has been Weems who has had the coach’s confidence and Wright who can only get minutes in garbage time.
Weems has been in the Raptors rotation for five games now. Coming in early in the first quarter to be paired up with DeMar DeRozan while Hedo Turkoglu takes his first scheduled break.
And the change appears to be working. The Raptors have three home wins and two road losses in that stretch, which includes wins over Houston and New Orleans.
Weems has averaged 8.4 points while shooting 50 percent, and had 3.4 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.6 blocks, 1.4 turnovers, 2.6 fouls in 24 minutes over the past five games. A statistical line that towers over what Wright has been able to provide this season.
And Weems seems to be getting more effective the more he plays. As evidenced the game against New Orleans where he played 30 minutes. In part because of his energetic defense, but in part because when Weems and DeRozan were on the floor together, they ran the ball down the Hornets throats.
In the third quarter, it was Weems feeding DeRozan for the alley-oop dunk on the fast break and both players drove into the paint for easy scores off half-court sets. These guys were fun to watch.
Weems finished the New Orleans game with seven points, five boards, five assists, a block, and a steal. A good night off the bench.
The last time the Raptors had two exciting young “rookies” on the floor together were Charlie Villanueva and Joey Graham.
But right now, the show belongs to DeRozan and Weems. It’s looking like there is some excitement ahead for Raptors fans this season after all.
« Previous Page — Next Page »
Recent Comments