If I were to ask you to name one basketball player who you could trade places with, who would you name?

Lebron James?

D-Wade?

Tim Duncan?

You could list a number of players but would you say Pau Gasol? What about Jorge Garbajosa?

As most of our readers know, I was recently vacationing in Spain and had the privilege of getting media access to the Raptors and Grizzlies respective matches in Madrid. However while the games themselves were quite enlightening, it was the basketball experience itself in Spain that really opened my eyes.

Pau Gasol was everywhere.

I went to get some money out at the bank and there was Pau smiling down at me.

I was at the bus stop or in the Metro (a huge upgrade over the TTC I might add) and there he was again posing for something.

And Jorge Garbajosa was in his fair share of billboards and the like as well.

Maybe I underestimated the popularity of basketball in Spain, but I guess I assumed that I’d notice a lot more soccer players on display than basketball.

And that was only reinforced at the actual games that night in Madrid. The fans showed their appreciation for the home sides but anytime the local boys Garbs, Jose, Gasol or Juan Carlos got touches, it was pandemonium.

(As an aside, it was also pandemonium when the refs made a call the fans didn’t like. Instead of the traditional booing however, the fans would start up with high pierced whistling and I’ll tell you, I’ve never heard anything more irritating at an arena in my life. I love it and propose we institute this immediately for all Nets games.)

At his press conference prior to the tip-off of the Memphis and Toronto games, David Stern spoke at length about the NBA’s commitment to growth overseas and from my brief time in Madrid, I’d say that his plans in the past few decades have been an overwhelming success. Walking around the stadium prior to the tip-off between Memphis and Estudiantes I would have sworn that I was in just about any NBA arena due to the jerseys represented. And with the exception of the lack of music during possessions, something that was actually a nice change, the in-game experience was almost identical to that of a regular season game in the L…

…well, except for the cheerleaders.

As the Globe and Mail’s Michael Grange correctly and quite humorously pointed out in his new blog:

"…I was surprised to look up at one point in Madrid and see all these dancers who weren’t the Dance Pak, though they were wearing Raptors Dance Pak-type gear. It was some kind of Euro-Pak exchange. They were tall, not very good dancers to my untrained eye, and all looked like they had a lot of nicotine in their diet."

I saw these same dancers practicing a routine to a Nelly Furtado song earlier that afternoon. The whole session was led by two or three of the Miami Heat Dance Pak and like Michael said, while all were rail thin, it was mostly arms and legs everywhere and not exactly something that the Heat dancers seemed to be ready to present to Pat Riley.

But one set of flamingo-ish ballerinas posing as a dance team does not a basketball culture make.

No, what really brought things home for me was just the general buzz in the air around the arena. I speak some Spanish (which after a week there improved much more than it ever did in the two years I took it through University. Wait…I guess you COULD argue that the rationale behind my lack of Spanish skills through University had nothing to do with my professor…but that’s another story) and I could hear young and old alike discussing players, talking plays or just enjoying the show. The whole spectacle must have brought a smile to David Stern’s face.

Much unlike FIBA.

During his press conference, David Stern had the floor open for questions from the media so this HQ’er just had to speak up…

"Yes, this is a question for Mr. Stern. Adam Francis from RaptorsHQ.com in Toronto…has there been any discussion about perhaps not participating in the Olympics but switching to more of a format like soccer’s Champions League where you’d have some of the top teams once every four years or so playing against caliber NBA teams?"

(I actually started my question with an acknowledgement that I remembered all too well that the Raptors had lost to Maccabi a few years ago in pre-season play, something Stern had alluded to in a previous response. I guess I was trying to garner a laugh from him so he would answer a question from a lowly blogger, rather than strike me down with a bolt of lightening, something I might add that seemed quite possible considering his reaction to some of the other questions posed.)

David Stern responded by saying that they hadn’t had any such discussions and that the idea of players going home to participate in tournaments was something futbol took for granted due to the proximity of the nations involved. Basically, it sounded like "hey, interesting idea, but we need FIBA more on board."

This was confirmed by the remainder of the press conference where Stern discussed the problems the League was having with FIBA. It seems that while the NBA is being staffed with more and more international players, FIBA is having a tough time changing with the times. And when it does change, it’s demanding a hefty dowry from the L.

A perfect example of this was the recent Euro Championship, a tournament that showcased a great many NBA players yet was unable to be seen on NBA TV in any fashion. The Toronto Star’s Doug Smith asked why this had been the case and apparently it was due to the egregious fees that FIBA demanded in return for the rights to broadcast the tourney. Stern then proceeded to put FIBA on blast for the next series of questions and it quickly became quite obvious that while the commissioner is pleased with the way things have gone in terms of international expansion of the game, there are many more mountains to climb.

I suppose at some point, the NBA, and the Euroleague for that matter, is going to have to decide just what role FIBA is going to play in their lives and make some decisions based on that. It’s tough to have a governing sports body that is constantly playing catch-up and the NBA (and now the Euroleague’s) success puts the sport of basketball in an interesting situation compared to other sports played world-wide.

And perhaps it will unfortunately come down to money and the NBA owners in terms of deciding if international play is of any benefit other than for the NBA’s own marketing.

If that’s the case, games like last night’s between the Raptors and Zalgiris Kaunas might become much more of a rarity than an annual pre-season event.

For those who attended the game, or saw it like myself in "Game in an Hour" on Raptors TV, it was a pretty sloppy affair. Toronto’s subs came away with the105-99 victory in the end but still had issues on the boards and getting stops. Even when the Raps did get to the rebounds first, they couldn’t hold onto them.

Ford and Calderon looked good, Kapono (even though he shot better) and Anthony Parker, not so much.

I’d love to see more of Jamario Moon and much more Carlos Delfino in terms of the way he played in the fourth quarter. That was the player I expected this season.

Above all else however, I’m really looking forward to Toronto facing some real NBA competition, like the ones profiled here, even for the remainder of the pre-season. I’m going to try to attend tomorrow night’s game and hopefully it will give us fans our first real look at just how the club will do against conference rivals. Sure it’s still pre-season, but tomorrow night I’ll be looking at a few things:

1) How Andrea does in the middle against the bigger Ben Wallace, and the more athletic Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah. Little one on one battles like this could go a long way in giving fans an idea of how Il Mago will fare in the middle this year.
2) How the Raptors’ wings match-up against the Bulls. Guys like Deng, Gordon and even Thabo gave Toronto fits last year offensively so let’s see if Graham, Kapono and Delfino can at least make them work at the other end of the court.
3) How the team plays without Chris Bosh. It sounds like CB4 will be sitting out another one as of now and with the interior strength of the Bulls, it will be a good litmus test as to how far the Dynos need to go in terms of rebounding and boxing out.

In addition, I’m just excited to have this pre-season finished. The regular season tip-off is less than two weeks away and I still think this team has a number of things to figure out on the court.

Off the court, I’m not concerned of course.

By all accounts an already close Raptors’ club became even closer thanks to their overseas excursion. In fact I think that the bonding trips like these provide is what really makes them important for the league. Sure it’s a way to market and showcase talent, but it’s also an excellent method for coaches to get to know their players better, and for the players in turn, to spend a large chunk of time and grow together as a team.

Playing everyday in Canada and the US, you may not have any idea about the backgrounds and customs of some of your team-mates. But spending some time in their own backyards, really opens up eyes.

Perhaps TJ Ford said it best earlier this week:

"You get to see how famous these guys are." "We have no idea. Being in the States, they can kind of float at their own will but just being here and in Italy, to see how much attention those guys get on and off the court is something good for us to see."

It was something extremely good for me to see as well...

...even if it meant looking up at Pau Gasol’s scraggly hair-do each time I went to an ATM.

FRANCHISE

"We're searching...we have to find guys who'll get in there and do the tough things.

"We've got guys who can shoot the basketball, we have guys who can pass the ball, we have to find guys who'll go in there and do the dirty work, play that physical role for us."

Hearing Raptors coach Sam Mitchell utter these words after last night’s 104 to 103 loss to Real Madrid has to be a bit disconcerting to Raptors fans.

Last year, one of the Raptors main weaknesses beside defensive lapses, was rebounding, particularly of the offensive variety, and well, last night’s effort on the glass was downright offensive indeed.

Toronto was out-rebounded by Real Madrid 52 to 38 and between the board work and Real Madrid’s 50 per cent shooting from beyond the arc, the Raptors just didn’t get the job done.

In the post-game press conference, I asked Mitchell why if the team was having trouble on the glass, he didn’t try Maceo Baston?

His answer?

"We’ve got 16 guys and you can’t play them all. That’s what the pre-season is for, trying different guys and lineups to get something that works."

Hmmm...not exactly what you’d call answering my question.

In fact, his answer scared me even more than if he had said something like "well, Maseo’s been hurt so we just didn’t have him available."

Because by saying that he and the staff are looking for a solution and didn’t even attempt to give Maceo some minutes, what does that say about their faith in Baston or how he’s played in practice? Was this signing a total waste of money?

And how about Toronto’s other signing this off-season, the bigger of the two, Jason Kapono? Through the first few games Kapono has looked decent at best and was borderline terrible last night. What worries me is that last night’s game is the sort he should excel in, not shoot three for 10 and foul out in! Kap-One is looking to be a large defensive liability and if he’s going to be detrimental to the Raptors at one end of the court, he’s gotta compensate by hitting his shots at the other.

As well, Anthony Parker looked a shadow of his former self last night and if Louis Bullock and Charles Smith are lighting him up like that, anyone else worried about facing Paul Pierce and Ray Allen?

Finally on the wings front, Carlos Delfino and Joey Graham weren’t much better than any of the other options but at least Joey looked like he was trying to take it to the rim. In fact, besides one big blown defensive assignment, Luke Jackson looked just as capable as any of Toronto’s other options.

And I guess this brings me to my main concern going into the season.

THIS TEAM REALLY NEEDS CHRIS BOSH AT 100 PER CENT.

That might seem like an obvious statement but watching the game last night up close, made me think about this team’s construction and just how integral to its success CB4 is.

In the transcript of Bryan Colangelo’s interview with the media, you’ll remember he talked about not upgrading on the rebounding and defensive ends this off-season, but getting the best shooters he could so that more shots made would mean less rebounds to corral. I know it’s only one game, and preseason at that, but without Bosh, the team with the exception of TJ Ford and occasionally Andrea Bargnani, relied purely on jump shots for their baskets.

Meanwhile, Real Madrid mixed it up and when their outside shots started hitting iron, they ran back-door cuts (something Toronto failed to defend all night) or got the ball down low to big men Hervelle, Sekulic and Papadopoulos who bullied their way to the cup. Without Bosh’s inside presence, the open looks just weren’t there and when Toronto did get open shots, they just couldn’t knock them down consistently leading to rebounds, which, yes, Real Madrid snapped up time and time again. Andrea Bargnani was the Dyno’s leading rebounder with seven, but his play last night at both ends was inconsistent and I still think he’s a good year away from being ready to take that next step as a player.

So you’ve gotta wonder, if Bosh misses too many games, how is Toronto going to be effective offensively? We just don’t have the athletes who can get to the rim unless Joey Graham finally figures things out or we see some more aggression out of Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker. The whole plan this year was to spread the court and allow Bosh to go to work. If he was double-teamed, he’d have plenty of options outside to pass to.

That’s great if Bosh is playing, or if the outside players are knocking down shots. Last night, neither happened and as a result, the offense just kind of stood around. Had it not been for some excellent play by TJ Ford in the first half (who does look very prepared for this season as an aside), the Raptors wouldn’t have been able to get out to the lead they did. I also believe this is why TJ forces the issue at times. Toronto had a chance to steal the lead back in the game’s closing seconds but TJ tried to do too much resulting in a Real steal and foul shots at the other end to essentially seal the deal. But can you blame TJ when he and Andrea seemed to be the only ones last night who could create anything off the dribble?

I can’t.

And I also can’t quite understand why Juan Dixon only got four minutes of playing time considering the ineffectiveness of the Raptors’ other guards. Having a lot of depth is never a bad thing, but just like last season, I think it’s going to take some time for Sam Mitchell to figure out his rotation and I’m not expecting a gangbuster start to the season until they figure out to do with all these bodies.

But last night’s game wasn’t all negative. The Raptor, who was on hand, was a huge hit (he even signed some autographs for kids) and the team concluded what was an overall very successful Euro-tour. Most importantly perhaps is the bonding this team must have undergone while overseas and this should pay dividends during the tough times this upcoming season.

For me personally, having media access to yesterday’s games was an amazing experience and a big thank you goes out to the Raptors organization from all of us here at the HQ.

It’s only pre-season, and the Raptors can now start to test their mettle against some NBA teams back in North America after this Wednesday’s game against Zalgiris Kaunas at the ACC. This should give the team a better feel for some of the opposition they’ll be facing as a week from today kicks off what promises to be some solid pre-season tests in the form of Chicago, Cleveland and Washington respectively.

I for one will be looking forward to the confines of the ACC although after taking in last night’s match, I’m praying that Herbie wasn’t watching for public announcer ideas.

Otherwise instead of "uno, dos, tres!" we may be hearing TRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPLE! after each three-pointer made...

FRANCHISE

I'm guessing John Holinger got a LITTLE hate mail from Raptors fans about his Eastern Conference predictions.

Because after having the Raptors seeded behind the Hawks and Bobcats in his pre-sesason team reports, Hollinger has updated things in his Conference Standings for the year and has the Raptors sitting in the final playoff spot.

Why the change? Well according to a note at the top of the article, the standings have been updated due to Sean May's impending knee surgery.

So let me get this straight.

Sean May, a bulking power forward for Charlotte who hasn't come close to living up to his Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA's a few years back, was what Hollinger was hanging his hat on in terms of the Bobcats leaping the Raptors for a playoff spot?

Hmmm...

Moving on, we finally have some Raptors action to talk about.

Yep, seems like eons ago when we were talking about Bosh and co. and their struggles with the Nets in the playoffs.

And therefore it's great to report on Toronto's first preseason game of the season, unfortunately an 89 to 85 loss to the Boston Celtics, but nonetheless, some NBA action.

There's no box score from the game yet (it's still pretty early in Toronto on Sunday morning) but KG lead the new-look C's with 19 points, 17 rebounds and five steals.

The game was played in Italy and while Andrea Bargnani was treated to a hero's welcome, so were KG, Pierce, Allen and co. Bargnani finished with 13 points on four of six shooting and after the game, Sam Mitchell stated that he wished he had left Il Mago in for longer, despite picking up four fouls.

He also mentioned several times that Chris Bosh seemed rusty, something that is obviously a concern for Raps fans despite CB4's claim that his foot is healing well.

Up next for the Raps is Lottomatica Rome later today and once again, it will be interesting to see how Toronto plays and the reception Andrea Bargnani receives. There was concern of course that after his and the National team's disappointing performance at Euro2007, he might not be met only with cheers, but also some jeers.

That wasn't the case yesterday and Raptors' fans can only hope his 13 performance in limited minutes was a sign of things to come this season.

FRANCHISE

Bye bye Tony Parker.

So long Dirk Nowitzki.

After losses yesterday to Russian and Spain respectively, France and Germany find themselves on the outside of the Final Four in Spain, looking in.

A surprising Russian club led by J.R. Holden and Victor Khryapa knocked off France 75 to 71 in a match that featured some ghastly free-throw shooting by the French. France shot 45 per cent (nine for 20) from the line in the game and this proved to be their undoing as Russia now moves on.

And as for Germany, after knocking off Andrea Bargnani and his Italian club, Dirk Diggler scored only 11 points and took only 10 shots in the loss. As Sergi P mentioned in his comments regarding the game, it seemed like Spain was honed-in on Nowitzki the entire match and without Dirk, Germany was overwhelmed in the 83-55 loss.

Today, Lithuania and Croatia meet while Greece plays Slovenia for a shot at the Final Four.

Turning back to Bargnani, there was some interesting discussion regarding his play and potential. His numbers definitely weren't staggering for Italy and his team disappointed many.

In addition, the areas which seemed to need the most improvement, statistically didn't seem to progress and from all acounts Il Mago just didn't seem to be on his A game.

This brings up a few points then.

Was his play more the product of the Italian system?

Is he still not 100 per cent?

Have expectations been too high and in fact he's no more than, as one of our readers mentioned, a slightly taller Vladamir Radmonovic? (If that's the case, better keep him away from Mont. Ste. Anne...)

The argument could be made that perhaps his game is more suited to the NBA style of play and that's why he's struggled for Italy...but the flip-side to that is Dirk Nowitzki, a similar player in many regards who's dominated both in the NBA and international competition.

I personally think we need to give the kid some more time however I remain concerned about using him at the 5 so soon next year. Here's a player who's had problems rebounding the ball considering his height and I'm just not convinced that he's ready yet to play 35 minutes a game at that position.

Unfortunately, a sub-par season from Bargnani will of course cause Raptors' fans all sorts of fits and naturally will beg the question "did Toronto make the right choice with the top draft pick?"

In year one it looked like they did but if we see Tyrus Thomas or LaMarcus Aldridge take another big step forward while Il Mago flounders in year two...

For the record I don't think that will occur, however right now in Portland we're seeing a nice example of what might happen if Andrea has a tough season.

It looks like the Trailblazers will be without the services of top pick Greg Oden for the entire 2007-08 season and naturally many are now pulling out the "what if's" and "I told you so's" considering Portland's selection of Oden over Kevin Durant.

And while I still think Durant was a better fit for Portland, there are some interesting things to think about now in this situation.

First of all, it could be the San Antonio Spurs all over again. With Oden hurt, the team will almost assuredly be guaranteed another high lottery pick in a draft potentially filled with stars at the position they need - point guard.

Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, Eric Gordon, Darren Collison, Ty Lawson...these are all names I expect to be bandied about come draft time and any would look great feeding Oden, Aldridge and Roy.

Like the Spurs, who suffered through an injury plagued 1996-97 season from David Robinson resulting in the top pick and Tim Duncan, the Blazers could end up being a powerhouse in a few years due to Oden's injury!

Blazers' fans are certainly having visions of Bowie and Walton flashing through their heads right now and this case once again emphasizes the importance of good scouting in the draft process. Sure there were no warnings about Oden's knee, but there were plenty of other injury concerns surrounding him. I just find it hard to believe that this whole situation came as a complete surprise and if it did, shame on the Blazers.

Raptors' fans have seen the result of not doing your homework before the draft (ahem, Hoffa) and just how much that can set a club back.

Let's hope Oden makes a speedy and successful recovery for Blazers fans' sake.

Otherwise there could be a good deal of hand-wringing and "did we draft the wrong guy" going around the Pacific North-West...

FRANCHISE

1. Heat: Dwyane Wade.
2. Hawks: Joe Johnson.
3. Nets: Vince Carter.
4. Bucks: Michael Redd.
5. Celtics: Ray Allen.
6. Pistons: Richard Hamilton.
7. Bobcats: Jason Richardson.
8. Bulls: Ben Gordon.
9. Knicks: Jamal Crawford.
10.Cavaliers: Larry Hughes.
11.Wizards: DeShawn Stevenson.
12.Pacers: Danny Granger.
13.76ers: Willie Green.
14.Magic: Trevor Ariza.
15.Raptors: Anthony Parker.

This was the ranking given to the Eastern Conference's starting shooting guards by Sun-Sentinel writer Ira Winderman.

And as one of our readers pointed out, Winderman sure seems to have gone to the "Marty York school of journalism."

Just looking at this list made me laugh, not only because Anthony Parker is somehow ranked last, but also because even at the top of the list the order seemed wrong. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't rank Joe Johnson above Michael Redd or Ray Allen.

Everyone is indeed entitled to their opinion but when someone who is being payed to discuss sports ranks a one-dimensional chucker like Willie Green above Parker, you've gotta scratch your head.

On my list, Parker would be ranked around the eighth spot. Is he better than Ben Gordon? That's tough to say. Gordon is definitely a more explosive offensive player, but Parker is the superior defender.

The other problem with a list like this is that it doesn't take situations into account. Maybe Jamal Crawford is a more talented player than Parker...but he'd be a terrible fit on the Raptors which makes A.P. that much more valuable to Toronto. In fact turning back to Gordon, there's a reason his name keeps popping up in trade rumours year after year...he's just not the best fit at that position for the Bulls. So if the Bulls were to look at this list, I'm pretty sure they'd value a player like Parker over Gordon at the 2-spot.

The list itself really tells more about the author than the seeded athletes themselves. Ranking Parker last stinks of ignorance towards the Raptors giving us here at the HQ yet another example of US media indifference. (I'm hoping that will change after the Raptors paste the Heat a few times this season...)

It also gives another example of the pros and cons of sportswriting in the world of Facebook and Myspace. Anyone and everyone with access to a computer can give their thoughts and while sometimes that's beneficial, it's also sometimes severely frustrating when the people speaking on these topics have been labeled as "authorities" despite their obvious lack of knowledge.

We've come up against this plenty of times on the site whether it be a local writer or someone from the US media and it's extremely refreshing to log onto the site each day and find our readers pointing out inaccuracies in their coverage.

On that note, let's turn to some coverage from overseas as Eurobasket 2007 is starting to wind down.

The top two teams Slovenia and Lithuania meet today in a battle for first. Both squads are 4-0 and the winner will sit atop Group F. Sarunas Jasikevicius has been playing like a man possessed for Lithuania while the Raptors own Rasho Nesterovic has been humming The Raconteurs so far in this tourney - "Steady As She Goes." He's averaging 11 points, seven rebounds and about a block a game for Slovenia.

Former Raptor and Rasho's team-mate Uros Slokar has fared a bit better in his last two games averaging about 10 points in about 11 minutes of action however he's still just not getting the touches taking only eight shots.

Italy will need a big lift from Andrea Bargnani today as they hope to get one of the remaining spots in the quarter finals by beating Germany today. This is a game I'd love to see as it will pit Bargnani versus his doppleganger, Dirk Nowitzki with the winner remaining alive in the tournament.

Italy's played better as of late and not surprisingly, so has Bargnani. Particularly encouraging has been Il Mago's rebounding as he's averaged 6.5 over the past two matches.

With a win, Italy will join Spain, Russia, Greece and Croatia in the next round as the other four clubs have already assured themselves of a quarter-final birth.

A final note from a Raptors fan point of view; Roko Leni has been decent statistically the past two games but hasn't blown anyone away. He scored only five points and had four turnovers to his two assists in Croatia's loss to Russia yesterday. He did score 10 in the previous game against Greece but was 0 for 3 from behind the arc.

FRANCHISE

Sergio Rodriguez didn’t even get into the game.

Yes, that’s how deep Spain is.

As our master overseas updater Sergi P has told us many a time, yes, this team is good.

It’s tough to even break things down when as Sergi mentioned, Spain took it to a Russian team that was starting to look like one of Spain’s main competition in this tourney.

Gasol had 13

Navarro had 15

Calderon had 17

Reyes had 11

Garbajosa had 11...and on and on.

I mean, Rudy Fernandez took only two shots all game!

This Spanish team is for real and it’s a shame that instead of seeing highlights of Calderon slashing to the rim, I was instead last night subjected to Britney Spears and her MTV awards comeback. If Calderon to the hoop for the basket and one is a thing of beauty, Spears’ physique, lip-synching and half-hearted attempts at dance choreography are surely the antithesis.

In fact, to dwell on this topic for another minute, was anyone else repulsed by this spectacle? Every one of Britney's dancers was in much better shape than her and each looked like they were at least putting their all into the dance moves.

Britney?

Well, let's just say you might as well have had Pavel Podkolzine in her place.

But I digress. Let's get back to the topic at hand.

The more I read about this tournament and the more the days drag on before the start of the NBA season, the more I fail to understand why RaptorsTV isn’t covering any of these games? I mean, half the cot-damn team is playing in the tournament!

Maybe we’re just due for a RaptorsTV bashing session...it seems like we haven’t had one in a while. But in all seriousness, I’d think that Raptors fans, especially at this point in the arid terrain that is late August-September of the NBA off-season, would be clamoring to see Garbajosa, Rasho, Il Mago, Calderon, Ukic and even Slokar in action!

So why not give it to them??

Obviously some of this comes down to cost, and the business of broadcasting much further away than Las Vegas. In addition, the sad reality is that if Team USA was playing in Spain right now, NBA TV, and therefore RaptorsTV would be there as well.

Yes, this tournament is really making me come to the grim conclusion that my love-affair with Team Canada probably wouldn’t have been as strong as it was had the US not been featured in the same tournament as them. Point being, RaptorsTV just wouldn’t have shown their games and who knows if The Score would still have kept up their coverage.

In any event, it’s been great the past week to follow some of next year’s crop of Raptors participating in meaningful competition and unlike Samuel Dalembert, let’s hope they all report to camp this fall injury-free. (And on the topic of Sammy D, how big of an impact does this injury have on the 76ers willingness to let him play again with Canada next summer?)

And yes, we’re still about a month away from the NBA season getting started so until then Sergi, on with the updates!

FRANCHISE

I’m presently writing this update from the airport in Thunder Bay as I’ve been traveling to some of Canada’s more remote areas the past few days.

However thanks to technology, I’m able to keep a finger on the basketball pulse so let’s get down to business.
?For the past four days, the 2007 Eurobasket tournament has been in full effect and while I was impressed with some of the games in the Tournament of the Americas, Eurobasket obviously is on another level. As one of our readers put it best, after looking at some of these clubs, it’s going to be very tough for Team Canada to get one of the remaining spots for next year’s Olympics without some more talent, and a bit of luck.

So far Eurobasket has already completed their first round of action and are into the next. (A big shout to Sergi P who has been doing double duty as reader and foreign correspondent as since we can’t see the games for the most part here, it’s great to get live updates and news.) So far the top teams through one and half rounds are Russia (who has yet to lose through five games and which boasts Andrei Kirilenko and Sergei Monya among other NBAers), Croatia, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Slovenia, Lithuania, France and of course Spain. All of these clubs would likely make short work of the present incarnation of Team Canada and even Israel, Portugal, Germany (with Dirk Nowitzki in tow) and Italy would be tough outs for team Canada.

Speaking of Dirk Diggler, Nowitzki is the tournament’s top scorer at about 29 points a game and is one of a number of NBA players standing out for their respective clubs.

This tournament of course has a number of Raptors past and present participating as current Toronto players Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, and Jorge Garbajosa are all involved as well as former prospects Uros Slokar and Roko Leni Ukic. So let’s take a look at how each is doing:

Roko Leni Ukic - Playing for the Croatian squad, Ukic has had an up and down tourney so far. He’s averaging eight points, and 1.7 assists and rebounds. No, not exactly stellar numbers. For a point guard, the assist numbers are especially discouraging, and made my worse by the fact that he’s averaging more turnovers (two a game!)

On the flip side, his team has been a powerhouse so far and due to its depth, Ukic has only been averaging only 18 minutes a game. As well, when he has gotten chances, he’s made the most of them shooting almost 60 per cent from the field and 50 per cent from beyond the arc. For Raptor fans, it’s these numbers that are most encouraging as when Roko was drafted, the biggest knock on him was his ability to shoot the ball.

Jose Calderon - Calderon’s play so far has been decent, but as our readers have been discussing, he’s just not having to do a lot yet in this tournament. He’s only averaging about 23 minutes a game in playing time and 8.3 points, three assists and three rebounds puts him in a similar statistical category as Roko above.

However Calderon should get more time as the game’s become more important starting with tonight’s tough match against Greece. From a Raptors’ perspective, his shooting percentages look good so we’ll see how he does as the tournament’s intensity heats up.

Jorge Garbajosa - Calderon’s team-mate has also played limited minutes but this is good news for us Raptors fans. In fact, as one of our readers mentioned, Garbs going through this tournament injury-free while playing limited minutes would be the best-case scenario for Toronto. It would help ease him back into competition and aid his confidence for training camp all the while allowing him to represent his country.
For the tournament Jorge is averaging eight points and about two rebounds a game playing about 18 minutes per. His three-point shooting has been scintillating however I’d rather see him do some more damage from the inside as Toronto should have lots of external firepower next year.

Andrea Bargnani - Il Mago has not exactly been his magician self so far in this tourney. His Italian squad has disappointed and barely squeaked into this next round of play. He’s averaging 13 points and 3.7 rebounds a game but he has yet to block a shot and I’m hoping to see his defensive numbers start to pick up.

It’s this area of his game that Toronto really needs help with and since he’s rumoured to have bulked up over the summer, let’s hope we see him put it to good use throughout the rest of the tourney.

On the positive side, after a tough first game in which he scored only four points, he’s been much better at shooting the ball in his subsequent games and hopefully Bargnani reclaims some of his Il Mago magic in Italy’s future games.

Rasho Nesterovic - Yep, same old same old for Rasho. A bit less than 10 points and about seven rebounds and a block a game tells you just about everything you need to know as a Raptors’ fan. Nesterovic has been anchoring the middle for Slovenia and his squad looks deep once again. His percentages from the field have been good and I’m expecting Rasho to be solid for the Raptors once again this season. He’s only got to the line once so far in the tournament so I’d like to see him improve on that but otherwise, Rasho has been Mr. Steady.

Uros Slokar - Slokar is no longer a Raptor but I felt we should include him in this break-down as well to see how his development is progressing.

Unfortunately, he’s only played on average 11 minutes a game so his five points a game and 2.3 rebounds don’t tell the average fan that much. Until some of Slovenia’s more senior players move on, it looks like Slokar just isn’t going to get that much burn.

It’s disappointing that these games aren’t being carried here in Canada but perhaps some of the later rounds will be picked up. Raptors’ insight aside, this tournament is packed with talent and teams like Spain are simply a joy to watch when in full flight.

Speaking of Spain, Carlos Navarro is back in tow with the club making the Eurobasket favourites seem even more dangerous. It will be interesting to see what effect his return has on the play of both Calderon and Garbajosa and we’ll keep our eyes peeled here at the HQ for some breakout games by either player.
And by break-out, we’re still crossing our fingers that that doesn’t mean either being helped off the court by team-mates or medical staff...

FRANCHISE

Carlos Delfino is happy right now.

Sure his team was just waxed yesterday in the FIBA Americas final by the US once again (118-81) but with their silver medal finish, his Argentinian squad guaranteed themselves a spot at the Beijing Olympics.

To top this off, Delfino’s club was playing this tournament missing at least five of their best players and still rolled through the tournament tearing through every team except the US. Yes, they’ll be ready in Beijing.

And finally, thanks to the absence of many of these players, this tournament allowed Delfino to take center stage. He scored only nine points against the US but for the tournament he averaged almost 14, along with six rebounds and three assists. As we discussed in earlier articles, he did a bit of everything.

He also played some solid defence whenever I had the privilege of watching him and was a regular feature on many of the highlight reels during the tournament thanks to his spastic drives to the basket.

In fact it was during one of his forays to the hoop against Team Canada that I started wondering just how much the Raptors will miss Morris Peterson next season. While Peterson is slightly bigger in stature, he and Delfino have similar games being able to contribute a bit at both ends of the court with Carlos perhaps being the more athletic of the two.

Let’s take a closer look at some numbers for argument’s sake.

Last year, Peterson averaged 8.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and less than an assist. He shot 43 per cent from the field and 36 per cent from beyond the arc in approximately 21 minutes of action a game.

Delfino for the tournament? – 13.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. He shot 36 per cent from the field and 33.3 per cent 3-point range. From the free throw line, Delfino shot 71.4 and this was all in approximately 31 minutes a game.

At first glance it looks like Peterson is the better marksmen, with Delfino being the superior scorer, rebounder and passer.

However put over 48 minutes, the two have much closer numbers than would first appear.

Peterson would average 20 points a game while Delfino would be at about 21 points. In the rebounding department, Delfino would average close to 10 boards while Peterson would average about 8.

And in the dime dropping area? This is the area with the greatest disparity as Delfino would average about 5 assists with Peterson clocking in at about 2.

So what does this all mean?

Well, maybe nothing.

It’s tough to compare two different players as it is, and that’s before you factor in the different levels of play (the NBA vs. International Competition) or the different styles of play used by the International clubs and the rules governing them.

But if nothing else, I think fans can look at these numbers and think "hey, good luck in New Orleans Mo, but we’re going to be fine over here!"

Yes, Peterson had a great year in 05-06, but that was on a bad team and last year, it was clear to all Raptors fans that he struggled even when given opportunities. I may be the biggest Mo Pete apologist of them all, but even I felt he came to camp out of shape and just didn’t get back into the groove until the last games of the playoffs when indeed, it was too little, too late.

Delfino already looks to be able to fill in for Peterson in many statistical areas and with more playing time than he had in Detroit, and fresh off a confidence-boosting Americas’ tournament, I fully expect him to be a perfect fit for the Raptors, especially in terms of rebounding. Delfino as mentioned is a smaller player than Peterson, but he looks to have a better knack for hitting the glass and without beating a dead horse here, this is always an area where Toronto could use help.

My one concern is with Delfino’s shooting as in this tournament, he seemed to suffer from some Mike Jamesitis at times.

He, along with Luis Scola, were Argentina’s main scoring options so he perhaps had more of a green light to shoot than others…but sometimes you had to wonder about how quickly he pulled the trigger. And to top this off, Delfino seems to be as streaky a shooter as they come as his percentages from game to game demonstrate.

Eight for 15 versus Panama? Not so bad.

Three for 12 versus Brazil? Hmmmm…

My hope is that as he gets familiar with Sam Mitchell’s play-book (yes, as elaborate as it appears to be) Delfino will pick and choose his shots and use his "get to the basket" skills to establish his longer-range game.

If he can do this, Raptors fans will once again be applauding another Bryan Colangelo move once again and images of Morris Peterson circus-shots and buzzer-beaters will probably fade off into the distance.

According to sources however, the Raptors have emphasized that they’d prefer if Garbajosa sat these out to complete the rehabilitation on his injured left leg, and that surgery would be the proper means of making sure he was ready to go this upcoming season for Toronto.

Garbajosa seems to disagree however and the Spanish doctors he’s been dealing with have apparently informed him that his injury can be treated by non-surgical means.

And with the help of reportedly one of "the most expensive premiums in the history of European basketball," it looks like insurance will be covering the Raptors’ investment in case of further injury.

This is a tough issue for sure.

On one hand, Garbajosa is proud player who wants badly to represent his national team, which is hosting this year’s tournament.

On the other, it’s disappointing to fans that a key player for the Raptors is risking further injury to play in a tournament that he doesn’t need to play in. Spain, by virtue of winning last summer’s World Championships, has already qualified for the Beijing Olympics.

From my perspective, I have some concerns. It would be one thing if having Garbajosa on the team was more of a token gesture due to his performance in last summer’s World’s which won his team the title, but based on Garbs’ nature, I doubt he’d go through all of this just to sit on the bench.

Therefore, I’m hoping Spain walks through these competitions thus allowing Garbajosa some much needed rest.

Because if Garbajosa ends up playing huge minutes or re-injures himself, the biggest insurance policy in the world isn’t going to conjure up another player who can duplicate what he does for Toronto.

And don’t tell me that Chris Webber is still out there…

FRANCHISE