Hebrews 11:1

During the Raptors previous game against the Bobcats on Wednesday, Chris Bosh started the game shooting a sizzling 8-8 from the field and 4-4 from the charity stripe while scoring 20 of Toronto’s first 32 points.

He finished the game with a game high 39 points while shooting 15-20 from the field and 9-10 from the charity stripe.

“I thought down the stretch Emeka (Okafur) guarded him about as well as you can,” Charlotte head coach Larry Brown told reporters following the game. “He was having one of those games. He got a bounce in the first half after he made seven in a row. It looked like God took care of him. And then that lob play I thought the ball was almost thrown out of the gym and he just sort of guided it. I told my bench that I think I’ve seen him have a lot of great games but this was one of the special games.”

With NBA defenders unable to stop him the elevator at Bosh’s condo attempted to give it a try.

Yes, you read that right: Bosh was trapped in the elevator of his own condo for nearly 50 minutes tonight while on his way to the Air Canada Centre.

Despite Bosh being thrown off his pregame routine and not arriving at the arena until less than a hour before the opening tip, he still managed to flirt with a triple-double and finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.

“I got stuck in the elevator and that kind of threw me off for the whole game,” Bosh told the media between laughs. “Well, not for the whole game, just my little pregame routine I do. I was heading to the game, stopped, sat and reflected on life and then just chilled until they finally got us out of there.”

Hoops Addict joked with Bosh about whether getting stuck in an elevator could become a new routine after flirting with a triple-double tonight. He wasn’t having any of that idea.

“Get stuck in an elevator all the time? Naw, I’m good, I’ll stick with the usual things,” Bosh told me while grinning from ear-to-ear. “Today was just a good night and I’ll do without that from now on, hopefully. I know one thing, if that elevator opens again I’m not getting on.”

When asked to further expand on the ordeal, Bosh soaked up the moment while continuing to joke with reporters.

“You know how it’s cracked open a bit? I could see out a bit but my superhuman strength wasn’t working today. You’ve (just) got to take it in stride.”

There aren’t many people who would take getting caught in an elevator on the 28th  floor of a building in stride. Most people would suffer some anxiety and stress over being late for their 9-to-5 gig. Throw in the fact that nearly 20,000 fans in the arena and countless more watching on television were anticipating a big fame for the franchise player and most people would be overwhelmed with the situation.

Not Bosh, he was his normal relaxed self.

“I didn’t go down too long and then (the elevator) just stopped. It’s like the stuff you see in the movies and that you laugh at people with people about.”

Unfortunately for Atlanta it was Bosh who got the last laugh tonight as he scorched the Hawks while once again putting up MVP caliber numbers. At least the Hawks can take solace in the fact it’s nothing personal since Bosh is second in the NBA in scoring (27.7 points per game) and sixth in rebounding (10.6 rebounds per game).

With NBA defenders and now an elevator unable to stop Bosh, what’s next? It appears the only hope for the rest of the NBA could be a nasty Canadian snow storm which prevents Bosh from suiting up to play in a game.

Luckily for Raptors fans the team will be in sunny California this weekend when Toronto is predicted to get dumped with over 20 centimetres of snow.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

Devin Harris is often the smallest player on the court but there’s no doubt he has one of the largest hearts in the league.

This season the 6’3″ point guard has put the New Jersey Nets on his back by averaging 23.2 points and a team high 6.2 assists. While those numbers are impressive, the stat that jumps out at you are the 11.4 free throws per game he’s attempting which ranks him first in the NBA.

Despite being one of the smaller players in the NBA, he’s attacking the rim with reckless abandon and it appears his mental toughness is rubbing off on his teammates.

“It’s a constant attack mentality,” Harris told Hoops Addict. “If they see me attacking the basket like I’ve been doing then it shows the guys they can be aggressive as well. That’s the kind of mind set we need to have as a team. We need to always attack and not settle for jump shots as much.”

Friday night against the Toronto Raptors, the Nets floor general took mental toughness to another level as he returned in the third quarter after vomiting in the Nets locker room.

“I don’t know if you know this, but Devin (Harris) vomited in the third quarter,” Nets head coach Lawrence Frank admitted to the media after the game on Friday. “He vomited but came back and showed great grit.”

Great grit could be the understatement of the year.  I don’t know you about you, but after I’m sick to my stomach the last thing I’m thinking about is playing basketball in front of 20,000 fans and countless more watching the game at home.

Not Harris, as he scored 23 of his 30 points after vomiting. Instead of taking a seat on the bench or staying in the locker room he came back into the game and helped his team secure a huge win.

“I knew I was going to come back,” a smiling Harris told the media after the game. “I got those bad fluids up out of me and I felt great. No problem at all.”

With Harris may appear unwilling to soak up praise from the media for his leadership, Vince Carter, a man who is not new to the media limelight, eagerly sung the praise of his teammate.

“He’s playing off the charts,” Vince Carter boasted to Hoops Addict following the game against Toronto. “By him wanting to be the leader and help out with the leadership of the team has really taken him to another level. We trust in him, we believe in him and when he wasn’t playing as well earlier in the game (as he had been so far this season) I just pulled him aside and (reminded him) that ‘I’m in your corner. You are the catalyst of this team and if you don’t play well we don’t win.’ The next thing I know he went crazy. He’s going to be important for our season.”

When Harris was asked about the leadership role he’s taken on this season, the humble point guard shrugged off the role as something that’s just part of being a point guard.

“Point guards, we don’t really have a choice. We kind of fall into it.  I’m trying to embrace it as much as possible. I don’t really do to much of the vocal part – I let Vince (Carter) do that – but I just try to go out there and lead by example by playing hard, playing through injuries and doing those sorts of things to help the team.”

Just like Harris was thrust into a leadership role as a point guard, if you’re playing with him then you have no choice but to follow his example. When the smallest person on the court is attacking the rim and playing through an upset stomach you have no choice but to admire them and follow their example.

If the entire team continues to play with the heart and intensity of Harris then the Nets will enjoy a successful season to match that of their sensational point guard.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

Heading into the game against Boston this afternoon, Chris Bosh was posting monster numbers and was third in the league in scoring (26.9) and sixth in rebounding (10.8). Looking at his gaudy stats you would think it would be reason for celebration, however this couldn’t be further from the case as the only stat Bosh is worried about is Toronto’s shrinking winning percentage.

With the team struggling out of the gate to a sub-.500 record there hasn’t been too much joy surrounding Bosh in recent weeks. Things came to a head Sunday afternoon during the game against Boston when his emotions got the best of him and spilled out onto the court.

When asked after the game about being visibly frustrated on the court, a composed Bosh shrugged off the emotional outburst.

“It don’t matter, it’s over,” a calm and collected Bosh told the media huddled around his locker. “We just put it behind us and keep moving. It doesn’t matter what happened on the court. We tried, they kicked our butts and I look forward to Wednesday.”

With the team only being 13 games into the season head coach Sam Mitchell isn’t worried about a tough start to the season.  And why should he? The team started an abysmal 2-8 three season ago and still managed to win nearly 50 games while winning the Atlantic Division. Things looked so bleak that season some fans and members were calling for Sam Mitchell to be fired – despite the fact he would go on to be named Coach of the Year that season.

“Chris (Bosh) and I have been here together for a while and we have been through tough times,” Mitchell tried to explain to the media following the tough loss to Boston. “You still have to remember we are 6-and-7 and there is a lot of basketball to play. It’s not like 35 games into the season. It’s 13 games into the season and everyone is frustrated, especially coming off a tough loss to (New) Jersey and having a bad performance the way we did today. Chris and I have talked about it and he is frustrated, but we have been through tougher times than this.”

When the media poured into the Celtics dressing room after the game Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett were asked for their thoughts on what Bosh is going through. At first glance both players appear ideal to ask because they were on teams that failed to have success in the playoffs before being united in Boston where they won an NBA Championship last season.

What some members of the media seemed to have forgot is those players were on teams who didn’t have a chance at making the playoffs, while the Raptors have been pegged as a team that can make some noise in the playoffs.

Regardless, Allen was able to offer up some great advice to Bosh.

“I think everything you’re doing you just have to do harder,” Allen suggested when asked about what Bosh can do to lift up his team. “When you work harder you have to put the onus on your teammates to work just as hard or harder. Initially you start thinking trade or possible other scenarios, but if none of that is even in the question then you have to build upon what you have. That’s the team or 12 guys that you have. On practice days you need to start putting the pressure on them to get better.”

Kevin Garnett was then asked the same question and he provided a different answer. Instead of offering some advice to help Bosh on how to turn around the season, he leaned towards the idea of starting over with a new team.

“Chris Bosh’s situation is very similar to my own in Minnesota. At least from where I’m looking at it, and I’m only getting the face value. I think he has to assess his own situation and figure out what he wants and is best for himself. I tried to stay in a situation I thought was best for me and in the end I think management had a different outlook on what they wanted. I don’t know the situation here, but tonight he looked pretty frustrated.”

If that’s not enough to send chills through the spines of Raptors fans, Garnett also brought up fans worse fears: the idea Bosh could bolt in 2010 via free agency.

“If I’m not mistaken he has some options coming up and he has to make those decisions for himself if management is not going to put forth the effort to put around a better team around him. It’s heartfelt, it’s rough, it’s probably one of the hardest things business wise and basketball wise I’ve had to make but as you can see it’s worked out pretty well. I wish I had done it sooner, but it is what it is and you learn from everything. I just wish him the best and I hate that he’s going through it.”

Relax, Raptors fans.

Take a deep breath.

Breathe.

While it’s easy to get swept away with what Garnett suggested, Toronto general manager Bryan Colangelo has put the pieces in place to field a competitive team and he’s wiling to continue to do so.

Toronto hasn’t struggled because of a front office trying to cut costs, they’ve struggled because the team has been rocked by injuries. It would be hard for any team to gain momentum when their starting point guard is hobbled with a sore hamstring and a new focal part of the offense has seen limited minutes.

Fans knew the team would be in trouble if any of the big three – Bosh, Calderon and O’Neal – were to miss games this season. When you factor in that two of those players have missed time it’s easy to see why the team has struggled out of the gate.

Not only that, but most of the teams struggles come on the defensive end. They are near the top of the league in points scored, the problem is they haven’t been getting key defensive stops when they need them.

With shot blockers like Bosh and O’Neal in the paint it’s meant some players have let up mentally assuming those two players can erase their mistakes.

“It’s just effort,” Bosh vented to the media “Most of the time guys are breaking us down one-on-one and you can only motivate a guy. There is no x’s and o’s to one-on-one defense, you just have to square your guy up and make an effort. Tell him you’re not going to score and that’s what it is all about.”

With players slowly getting healthy combined with some tweaks to how players are approaching defense that may be all that’s needed to turn things around. With the team only 13 games into the season there’s still plenty of time to fix things so there’s no reason to panic.

There’s a saying that money can’t buy happiness and Bosh is a living example of that. Despite having a huge contract and personal success, until his team starts winning some games it doesn’t appear the face of the franchise will be sporting a smile.

Hopefully his teammates can get healthy and start playing some defense so Bosh can return to his normal jovial self.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

When training camp started, Philadelphia 76ers fans and some writers who covered the team were worried Thaddeus Young would suffer growing pains as a young player attempting to make the shift from playing power forward last season to small forward this season.

This wasn’t the case as Young averaged an impressive 13 points while snagging 3.8 boards during the preseason.

Things haven’t slowed down during the regular season because through his first 10 games Young is leading the team in scoring with 16.3 points per game while shooting a sizzling 39.4% from beyond the arc.

Those are some pretty impressive stats for a second year player who’s had to switch from being the teams starting power forward last season to having to play the wing this year to make room for Elton Brand.

It’s a switch Young anticipated and spent a lot of time this summer preparing for.

“I worked on my jump shot, my ball handling and a lot of agility work,” Young told Hoops Addict when asked about what his summer workouts entailed. “I was in the gym pretty much the whole offseason working on my three-point shot, pull-ups and doing a whole bunch of other shooting drills.”

With the addition of Brand this summer something the Sixers needed was a perimeter threat to drain three-pointers to keep opposing defenses from collapsing on their post players. Young has risen to this challenge and is shooting 39.4% from beyond the arc this season.

“He’s been shooting them pretty good because we’ve been swinging the ball and he’s been getting a lot of wide open three-point shots,” Cheeks explained to Hoops Addict. “I think that’s been good for him because we’ve been able to swing the ball and he hasn’t been shooting them on the move. He’s been a very good stand still three-point shooter.”

What can’t be understated is the role that Young is doing in keeping opposing defenses honest. While defenses are focusing on doubling Brand and Iguodala it’s allowing Young to get drives to the hoop and get open looks on the perimeter. As he continues to have success within Philadelphia’s offensive sets it will results on the attention of opposing defenses moving towards him which will then free up Brand and Iguodala for more open looks.

In the meantime, Young is doing what the team needs from him while posting gaudy stat lines. Some players would gladly accept this because it helps when it’s time to ink their next contract extension, however Young isn’t that kind of player and readily admits he’d trade in his personal success for some more wins.

“I was telling someone yesterday about this and how even if I were the last guy to score on this team and we were winning I’d be fine,” Young admitted to Hoops Addict. “I’m leading this team in scoring but I’m not happy because we aren’t winning. I’ll only be happy when we win.”

Talking with Young is a refreshing change of pace from most young players who seem to be worried about posting impressive stats or making flashy players that get them face time on ESPN, allow them to ink a big contract extension and add endorsement deals to their portfolio.

It’s an ironic twist that as Young tries to defer attention away from himself he’s helping the team succeed; by placing the needs of his team before his own gratification he’s able to enjoy personal and team success.

It’s a shame more younger players aren’t able to see the bigger picture like Young is able to.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

The big buzz surrounding the Toronto Raptors this weekend was the news of Andrea Bargnani being inserted into the teams starting line-up.

While the idea of rewarding Bargnani for his strong play this season isn’t surprising, what is was the news he would be starting at small forward. After nearly two years of heralding Bargnani as the teams future at centre and spending last summer working out at a big man camp in Las Vegas this is a significant change of plans for the franchise.

When asked about the change before the game, Sam Mitchell told the media Bargnani was inserted into the starting give the team a much needed boost.

“He’s (just) playing better than the other two guys at that spot in Jamario (Moon) and Joey (Graham). We just need to find a way to get more out of that position and Andrea gives us a viable option for scoring and he’s really made improvements defensively and rebounding.”

That justification for a change is great, but heading into this season there was no thought about Bargnani shifting back to small forward. Combined with his success this season coming off the bench to spell Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal, it seems like the coaching staff had become comfortable with the former top overall pick coming off the bench and providing the team with a scoring spark.

Something that might have started this shift in thinking was one play early in the season in a game against Milwaukee. Bargnani was stuck on the wing guarding Richard Jefferson straight up and Bargnani was able to force Jefferson to the baseline and into a committing a turnover. That’s just one play but it might be the motivation the coaching staff needed to see if Bargnani can earn some burn at small forward.

Besides, with the teams current small forwards struggling it’s understandable to see why Mitchell felt this was an experiment worth trying. With the team unable to guard opposing small forwards it became painfully clear a change was needed.

When asked about Bargnani’s improved ability to guard small forwards, Mitchell dropped some great insight when he told the media about how young players struggle playing defense when they come into the NBA.

“I think the hardest thing for most young players is not necessarily guarding their man, it’s recognizing when to help, when not to help and carrying out your defensive principles. We haven’t guarded the (small forward) position as well as we would have liked anyway. So, if you’re not going to be a lock down defender then you’ve got to be able to score the basketball. We think Andrea can do a good enough job defending his position (one-on-one). All young players struggle – and any coach will tell you this – guarding rotation and knowing when to help and when not to help because they get so locked in guarding their man.”

Hearing Mitchell talk about the change in his starting five before and after the game it’s hard to gauge if this move was based on a desire to provide Bargnani and O’Neal with some more burn or if the coaching staff is frustrated and are out of options at the small forward position.

Regardless of what Mitchell’s reasoning was, it became clear after watching things transpire Sunday afternoon this move was a stroke of genius as Bargnani, O’Neal and Humphries all responded with big individual games which contributed to the team picked up a much needed win.

While the personal stats are nice, what’s really impressive is the Raptors picked up a much needed win. If the team continues to win games then Bargnani will continue to find himself in Toronto’s starting five this season.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

When people think of the 76ers they generally think of well known names like Elton Brand, Andre Miller or Andre Igoudala. This season there’s a new name to add to that mix as Thaddeus Young is leading the team with 15.4 points per game while shooting a sizzling 44% from beyond the arc. Those are some pretty impressive stats for a player who’s had to switch from being the teams starting power forward last season to having to play the wing this year to make room for Elton Brand.

Before a recent game Young sat down to chat with Hoops Addict about what he worked on during the summer, his improved three-point shooting this season and why he values winning more than personal stats.

Ryan McNeill: You’re off to a great start this season while leading Philadelphia in scoring. What did you work on this summer so that you’d get off to a great start this year?
Thaddeus Young: Pretty much everything. I worked on my jump shot, my ball handling and (I did) a lot of agility work.

McNeill: Philadelphia doesn’t have a lot of guys who are known for shooting three-pointers and that’s something you’ve done a great job of so far this season. Is this something you focused on improving during the summer?
Young: Yeah, I was in the gym pretty much the whole offseason working on my three-point shot, pull-ups and doing a whole bunch of other shooting drills.

McNeill: You’re currently leading your team in scoring but Philadelphia is only 2-4 so far this season. Would you trade in your personal success for a couple more wins?
Young: Oh yeah, definitely! I was telling someone yesterday about this and how even if I were the last guy to score on this team and we were winning I’d be fine. I’m leading this team in scoring but I’m not happy because we aren’t winning. I’ll only be happy when we win.

McNeill: You talked about the importance of winning and you guys have some great pieces in place to do that this season. How are you guys going to jump start things and start piling up some more wins?
Young: I think we just have to go out there and focus in and play more Sixers basketball which is the style we played last year. Last year we pushed the ball down our opponents throats and just going out there and executing our game plan.

McNeill: Thanks for your time and good luck the rest of this season.
Young: Thank you.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media

After last season ended without a trip to the NBA Finals, Detroit Pistons president Joe Dumars promised there would be no “sacred cows” and that everyone on his roster would be available.

When no moves were made during the summer, Pistons fans and players breathed a collective sigh of relief that the main core of the team would return for their chance at a seventh straight trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Turns out this was a bit premature because two games into the 2008/98 season Dumars pulled the trigger on a blockbuster deal which will see Allen Iverson head to Detroit in exchange for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb.

This isn’t the first time Detroit has traded for Iverson as Dumars was close to obtaining Iverson back in 2000 when the deal fell through at the last moment. According to Detroit Bad Boys, the initial deal for Iverson was so close to being completed Dumars had already called Roundball One to warmup on the runway.

Speculation that something might be brewing regarding Iverson started when he was stripped of his captaincy at the end of the preseason and then only averaged 13 shots per game over the Nuggets first three games of the season.

Since Denver is looking to build around young players like Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, having those players sacrifice shots and playing time to Iverson didn’t make sense. By taking Iverson’s shot attempts out of the mix and replacing him with Billups in the backcourt, Denver will now be able to start Smith at shooting guard for the remainder of the season.

Denver will also have the benefit of an all-star caliber floor general which is something they’ve been lacking since they traded Andre Miller to Philadelphia.

Even if this gamble doesn’t work for the Pistons on the court, it may still pay dividends off the court because swapping Billups for Iverson provides Detroit with the financial flexibility it needed to pursue a youth based makeover next summer. The team has Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell as the focal point of any youth movement, but will also have Tayshaun Prince as an experienced veteran signed to a conservative contract through the 2010/11 season.

As Henry Abbot pointed out earlier today, with over $40 million in contracts coming off the books by the summer of 2010 it’s not too far of a stretch to consider two elite players inking max deals that summer in Detroit.

The duo Abbott floated out as possibilities for signing with Detroit was LeBron James and Chris Bosh. While that idea should send shivers down the spines of fans and opposing general managers around the NBA, keep in mind Toronto is currently paying Bosh close to a max contract and will have Jermaine O’Neal’s deal worth more than $22 million coming off the books as well. While he’ll be a free agent, it’s doubtful he looks to sign anywhere besides Toronto considering they locked up Jose Calderon this summer and will be able to use O’Neal’s contract to ink another prominent free agent in the summer of 2010.

While the idea of Dumars inking two prominent free agents is something to get Pistons fans excited, countless other teams around the NBA will find them in similar financial positions to that of Detroit and it’s unlikely they will be able to match what Orlando achieved during the summer of 2000.

Photo Credit: ICON Sports Media