Media Watch for August 17, 2007

by RaptorsHQ - Archives on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT in Media Watch

The last thing I wanted to start a Media Watch off with as we near summer’s end was Chris Bosh and injury worries.

However it appears that the plantar fasciitis that Bosh suffered from last season is still lingering and as a result Bosh is leaving the camp and will no longer be part of Team USA’s summer plans.

There are of course a few ways to look at this.

As one of our readers pointed out, there may be some pride involved as Amare Stoudamire is slated to be the starting 4/5 on the squad and perhaps the injury concern is being overblown to hide this rationale for leaving the camp.

And on the other side of things, perhaps Bosh is still injured and this is a precautionary measure to ensure he’s 100 per cent come regular season.

I tend to think it’s the latter and am concerned that perhaps he needs more than the suggested three weeks to fully heal. The last thing the Raptors need is for this condition to flare up at various points in the season and even if resting CB4 meant that the Raptors would start the season without him, I’d be fine with that. Bosh is just starting to touch on some of his potential and a nagging injury like that would put a serious damper on his development. The Raptors need Bosh at the top of his game to continue to help this team's growth and developement this coming season...especially as his job just got a bit tougher with the conference additions of Zach Randolph, Rashard Lewis oh...and Kevin Garnett.

On a more positive injury note, it sounds like Jorge Garbajosa is doing really well with his own rehabilitation. As our "foreign correspondent" Sergi P mentioned recently, Garbo intends to play for the Spanish National team however it’s yet to be seen whether he will in fact be able to go.

And as the Toronto Star’s Doug Smith mentioned a few days ago, it seems that the Raptors and the Spanish National team have differing views of how "ready" Garbajosa is.

The Spanish basketball federation announced that Jorge Garbajosa is set to join the national team. However Raptors brass have stated that "at this point no official determination has been made other than he (Garbajosa) has not yet been cleared by our medical team to participate in full basketball activity..."

Similarly to Chris Bosh, while I’d love for Jorge to be able to represent his country and defend their last international title, I also want what’s best for him long-term and the Raptors as well. Many fans remember all too well how Grant Hill decided to play through an ankle injury for the Pistons in the playoffs and how that eventually impacted his career.

And for an international comparison’s sake, what about David Beckham?

Beckham is no spring chicken and with his leg injury looking worse than advertised, it’s quite possible he may never have the sort of impact the LA Galaxy envisioned when they paid him so handsomely to come stateside. Beckham remains committed to playing for his own national program and if he’s not fully healed it may effectively put a quick end to his MLS aspirations.

The last thing Raptors’ fans want is a similar situation with Jorge Garbajosa.

On a final note, it looks like PJ Tucker has a job overseas next season. Tucker has signed with Hapoel Holon of the Israeli League and will look to hone his skills there in anticipation of a return to the NBA one day.

We never managed to nail down that interview with him but we wish him all the best.

FRANCHISE

UPDATE - Looks like more injury news unfortunately as Carlos Delfino has injured his knee and is no sure thing to play for Argentina. This is the risk with international play of course and the hope is that the knee problem is more a tweak than anything more serious.

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the way the eastern conference is shaping up I don't believe the Raptors can do another 6 and 6 without CB4
Raptors can ill afford to another start like last year or it may mean no playoffs

by Davl on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Davl, you are making an assumption that the recently overhauled teams would also stay injury free. Also, Bosh missed those 12 games due to knee injury, NOT his recurring plantar fasciitis.

As for FIBA, this is an excellent blog that is providing coverage of all the tournaments:

http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2007/08/2008-olympic-mens-basketball-qualifying.html

...and an update post from yesterday:

http://thepaintedarea.blogspot.com/2007/08/olympic-qualifying-updates.html

I'm happy Bosh is out given his Raptor commitments, and Garbo will probably play little, if any, given that Spain already qualified for the Olympics winning the WC last year.

But for Raptors fans it will be interesting to watch the Americas tournament to see Delfino's performance, and EuroBasket to see Jose and especially Bargs, who is the centerpiece for Italy. There's also Rasho with the Slovenians.

Here's the US TV schedule:

http://usabasketball.com/news.php?news_page=07_msnt_tvschedule

and the Canadian TV schedule:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2007/14/c6692.html

I look forward to see Dalembert playing well; maybe with him they can make it to the Top 5 for the Olympic qualifying next year, as only the first two are guaranteed berths, and I'd put the US, Argentina or Brazil as locks.

by jjdynomite on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Breathe easy guys - PF takes 6-18 months of rest so this is just a precautionary measure. Bosh wanted to rep his country but the docs are telling him to rest this so that he's healthy for the upcoming season.

Besides, even if it's still around he can play through it just as he did in the second half of the season.

JJ - Doug Smith mentioned the 13 games missed as being due to PF.

by Hoops Addict on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

jjdynomite, I don't know wether Garbo will play little or at all, but I can tell you for sure that the fact that Spain is already qualified won't be a factor in the decision at all. The Eurobasket is a very important tournament for european teams, winning it is a huge deal and specially for Spain who is hosting it this year. The olympic qualifier thing is really an afterthought for most european teams, and even for those who don't make it there's another chance next year in another pre-olympic tournament i think.

By the way, offtopic but yesterday's Spain-Lietuva friendly gave us an incredible full-court buzzer beater from Saras Jasikevicius, check it out!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Zkw9gekFF-g

by Sergi P on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Sergi, you're based in Europe so you obviously know more about EuroBasket than I do, but do you truly feel the players think "the olympic qualifier is really an afterthought"?

According to FIBA, there are only 2 tournament births that come out of Eurobasket and 4 qualifying spots. So, with Spain already in, Greece, Lithuania, France, Italy, Turkey, Serbia, Russia, Germany, Slovenia and Croatia are all teams with realistic chances to fight for the 2 berths, and then the 4 qualifying spots. 4 of those 10 teams won't even be able to go to the qualifying next summer. So isn't this tournament really important from that aspect?

---

Oh yeah, Hoops Addict, you are incorrect that Doug Smith wrote that Bosh missed time due to the PF. Here's his exact quote from today's mail bag (http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/247313):

"I know he needs to practice but don't forget he somehow he muddled through last year without missing a single game because of the foot (his December absence was due to a knee problem) so he does know how to handle it."

There you have it from the horse's mouth.

by jjdynomite on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

For whatever reason Bosh missed the 12 games last season (which I know the reason was the knee) I believed the Raptors were an unknown as far as team quality goes. I stand by my quote that if Bosh was gone for 12 games (or any length of time) and start like last year it will be a difficult year being the league has seen what the Raptors are about.

by Davl on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

jj: I see your point, my wording was probably not good enough. It is not that they don't care at all, what i mean is that the top teams first and foremost think about winning it or contending (semifinals). Then of course if they lose in the quarter-finals they begin to worry about at least getting an olympic qualifier berth, but seriously if a Spain, France or Greece finishes 5th and earns a qualifier spot, that means they avert a "total disaster" but it's still a very bad tournament for them. I mean, for most of those teams you said (also Lithuania, Italy, Serbia), the olympic qualifier berth is more of a consolation than a prize by itself.

by Sergi P on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

I'm thinking it's just a saving face measure. Raps don't want Bosh to play as he was wiped out after the World Championships last year plus led to the lingering injury. Bosh knew that. Just let's everyone breathe easier.

by Acie on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Nothing to do with your post but I just checked Aug 17 results for Tuto Marchand Cup (Fiba Americas tune up in Puerto Rico). Canada beat P.R. yesterday in OT despite poor shooting. Today, they beat Argentina while committing 28 TO's. Look like a well rounded team that could be pretty good if it can continue to find ways to win games. Oh yeah, Andy Rautins (who was gonna be the 10th man in the rotation) scored 12 in limited minutes. Carl English went off for 30 after a bad shooting performance yesterday against P.R. Start looking forward to the FIBA Americas tourney in Vegas. Top 5 is looking very likely and a miracle could deliver a Top 2.

by shawn on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Go Canada!!
Beat Dem Yankees!!

by Keon Clark on Aug 17, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

Keon... Canada did not beat an American team so what do you mean, I would love to see Canada beat an American team, but they beat Argentina not the US let's save it for when they beat the US team

by Marcia on Aug 18, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions

As an addition to this media watch, it looks like Hoffa's NBA career may be coming to a close. The Jazz have decided to re-sign Kyle Fesenko instead of Hoffa based on "potential" apparently and unless he latches on with another team in training camp, I'm guessing Araujo might be headed overseas next season:

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_6663979

by Franchise on Aug 19, 2007 12:00 AM EDT reply actions