Mo Pete, less meat
By MIKE KOREEN -- Toronto Sun
WATERLOO -- Mo Pipes is no more.
Mo Slim is the new way to describe Raptors swingman Morris Peterson, better known in these parts as Mo Pete.
The longest-serving Raptor, who had a career-best season last year, made a point of not trying to be a weightlifting champion this summer.
"I feel I'm in the best shape of my life right now," Peterson said.
"Plus, we're going to be winning more this year, so I had to slim down just a little bit and cut some of my body fat. It's looking good.
"(Assistant) coach (Jay) Triano got on me last year when I first got back he said my arms were too big so I couldn't shoot the ball like I wanted. I hope he's happy with it. I didn't get too big this summer."
WALKING WOUNDED
Guard Fred Jones and forward Uros Slokar limped off the court during the first day of training camp yesterday, but the injuries are not considered serious.
Jones jammed his big right toe, while Slokar hurt a knee after a collision with Jorge Garbajosa.
NO PASSPORTS REQUIRED
Now that Mitc knows where every player on his diverse team was born, he doesn't plan to keep harping on the international theme.
"Why does everybody got to break everything up to culture differences and stuff," Mitc said. "We're a basketball team and they are basketball players. I don't see these guys as being from different parts of the world. They're basketball players. The world has shrunk.
"They speak English, probably better than you. I know their English is better than mine."
Oh poor Slokar! Feel better soon.
What, nothing about Sho?
"Why does everybody got to break everything up to culture differences and stuff," Mitc said. "We're a basketball team and they are basketball players. I don't see these guys as being from different parts of the world. They're basketball players. The world has shrunk.
"They speak English, probably better than you. I know their English is better than mine."
Don't worry, Angel. The man who matters knows Rasho is there.
A compe ive training camp and practice situation are the inevitable byproduct of general manager Bryan Colangelo's plan to create a deeper team that can play at the high tempo he favours yet is versatile enough to counter other styles when necessary.
"Obviously, the depth will create compe ion," Colangelo said. "But there are nine new faces trying to make an impression.
"They all want to play, they all have something to prove. Kris Humphries probably feels he was under utilized in Utah. Nesterovic probably feels he was under utilized in San Antonio, certainly in the playoffs. . . . Everyone of the guys that come in wants to start. There is enough depth that it is going to be interesting to watch."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...TPStory/Sports
Thanks Ploto.
where i stopped reading
WATERLOO -- When the Raptors did not have the basketball last season, they had about as much success as a typical slot machine player.
The opposing team emulated the one-armed bandit and devastated the Raptors regularly.
With the harsh memories of last season in mind, coach Sam Mitc thought back to his school days to produce a strategy to battle defensive woes.
A defensive report card will be created for each player after each game, but it won't be sealed in an envelope. Instead, it will be posted in the dressing room, right in front of the eyes of the entire team.
"(There will be) a list of 10 things we're going to grade them out on every day," Mitc said on the second day of training camp yesterday. "It gives them an opportunity to see exactly where they are from game to game, what they're doing, the mistakes they're making. We're just going to put it up on the board so they all can see it.
"To make people more accountable, we've got to get better defensively. That way, if guys are not playing as many minutes as they think, it gives us the tool to say, 'Hey, you're not playing defence.' "
On previous teams for which he has coached and played, Mitc has seen a similar grading technique for offence. But considering the Raptors were fourth in the NBA in scoring last season and second-last in points against, defence clearly is the area that needs to be addressed.
"(In the games we lost last season), we were scoring just as many points," Raptors star Chris Bosh said. "But when it came down to crunch time, we weren't stopping anybody and that's what really hurt."
This season, the Raptors finally have a capable big man in ex-San Antonio Spurs centre Rasho Nesterovic, who gives the team a blocking presence in the middle.
"Rasho is experienced," Mitc said. "San Antonio has been one of the top defensive teams the past three or four years. He understands how to guard people and defensive concepts. We think his experience and his ability is going to help us."
RELIABLE
With wing players such as Morris Peterson -- a reliable defender -- Fred Jones, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham helping him out, Nesterovic feels he can make an impact.
"I don't know if I can make the difference, but I'm going to help on defence," he said. "If we play better defence, we can make up a lot of points."
And if they don't play better defence, they'll know about it.
"It's one thing to show them on tape," Mitc said. "It's another thing to walk in that locker room every day and the first thing that hits you in the face is how did you grade out the night before defensively."
http://torontosun.com/Sports/Basketb...56490-sun.html
Oh my gosh! I just came in here to post that article, Ploto.
Fear the Sho!With wing players such as Morris Peterson -- a reliable defender -- Fred Jones, Anthony Parker and Joey Graham helping him out, Nesterovic feels he can make an impact.
"I don't know if I can make the difference, but I'm going to help on defence," he said. "If we play better defence, we can make up a lot of points."
Newest Raptor feels at home in region
Slokar even came to Cambridge when visiting relatives
Bob Vrbanac, Cambridge
(Oct 6, 2006)
The Toronto Raptors training camp in Waterloo was all business this week, not leaving any time for the sightseeing that some of the players new to the team and new to the country might have wanted to do.
That was disappointing for at least one of the newest Raptors, Uros Slokar, who fell in love with the Waterloo Region when he visited his relatives here more than 10 years ago.
Slokar, one of the new international contingent on the Raptors from Slovenia, stayed with his uncle and aunt, Andre and Pia Brodnik, and their daughter Helene for a month and a half, doing all the typical touristy things people do when they come to this part of the country.
"They were at the universities (University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University) studying computers and music," said Slokar, who picked up some of his English on that trip. "It is and was my favourite place.
"That's why I'm so much happier that I'm here in Waterloo."
While other members of the Raptors had maps and guides to figure out where everything was, and the Toronto and national media worried that the site of the Saturday scrimmage was more than 20 minutes away (only if they took a horse and buggy), Slokar reminisced about all the sites he took in.
The six-foot-11 forward, who played with Benetton Treviso in the Euroleague last year and was the Raptors' second-round draft pick in 2005, said he saw the CN Tower, Niagara Falls and, of course, Canada's Wonderland. But it was the highways and byways of the Waterloo Region that he remembers the most.
"My aunt and my uncle took me everywhere," said Slokar. "They took me to Toronto and around Waterloo.
"My uncle even had some family in Cambridge, and we went to their house - it was a very nice place and the scenery is very beautiful."
Basketball has taken the 23-year-old rookie all over the world, but he said he was happy to learn that he was selected by Toronto and would once again get to visit southern Ontario.
"The nature in this area is very beautiful," said Slokar. "The fields, the trees, the rivers, the lake (Columbia Lake) with the geese inside.
"I forgot a lot of things, but as long as the training camp was in Waterloo I was OK with that. When I heard we were going to Waterloo I said 'Oh nice, I've heard of that place, I've been there and it's very nice'."
Slokar admitted that comfort level with the area has helped him settle into camp. Having seven other players on the Raptors camp who played basketball overseas also helped.
In fact, of the 15 players the Raptors have on their roster, eight of them have international experience, including NBAers like Rasho Nesterovic, the team's projected starter at centre, and second-year point guard Jose Calderon.
But Slokar knows there's a lot of work ahead for him. The team has its stars, with Chris Bosh and Morris Peterson expected to carry the offensive load of the team, but it also needs roleplayers. And he said he was ready to do whatever dirty work the team needed to help the Raptors get back to the playoffs.
"I don't expect nothing, but that doesn't mean I don't have a mission here," said Slokar. "I'm here to show what I can do if I get a chance.
"I'm here to help them win because the Raptors are in need to win the games."
Slokar knows the role he can fill on the team. It's a role he's filled on his other clubs since he turned pro as an 18-year-old.
"They don't need another scorer, or a big ego, or whatever," he said. "They just need to win, because when you win everybody on the team is good.
"I think that's currency in this league, and (winning) will be the main priority throughout the season."
The Raptors finished last season with a 27-55 record, finishing 12th overall in the Eastern Conference and out of the playoffs for the fifth straight year. But there is some optimism around this year's squad with new additions like T.J. Ford, Nesterovic and George Garbajosa, who won a World Basketball Championship this summer with the Spanish national team. The U.S. entry in the tournament, featuring a team made up of NBA all-stars, brought home the bronze from that tournament.
"We want to win as a team," said Slokar. "The European guys are raised in more of a team spirit.
"But the American guys have really helped out with the NBA game, and are a group of great guys."
That team-first philosophy wouldn't go anywhere without the Raptors' stars on board, and franchise player Chris Bosh fully endorsed that commitment to team goals.
The scoring will take care of itself, he said, after one of the last camp sessions at Waterloo's RIM Park. He was more focused on his defence and helping out his teammates.
"I'm at the point I know that I'm going to score," said Bosh. "That's not a factor. I have to improve my defence.
"I want to average two blocked shots and steals a game. Those are the numbers I'm really focused on."
Being the team's leading scorer and a perennial all-star will be a by-product of the Raptors' success as a team. And he likes the team's new additions.
"Last year we weren't as deep as we are this year," said Bosh. "We have talent at every position.
"When we have good guys like that, we push each other when we play five-on-five, and when the game comes we'll be ready. We'll keep coming.
"We know what it takes to get better. We don't want to go back to losing."
As for the international flavour of the teams, Bosh, a Dallas, Texas native, said he already knows a little Spanish and might pick up some Italian.
So communication won't be a problem?
"I know a little bit of Spanish but they're teaching me a couple more things," said Bosh. "It's cool just listening to the guys.
"There's not much of a language barrier - most of them speak English pretty well.
"It's a different experience for us and them, but in the end I think we're all going to enjoy each other's company."
And there is still one universal language they all understand - winning. That's the Raptors' main goal this season said the team's go-to-guy.
http://www.cambridgetimes.ca/cam/spo...ts_630478.html
Look at the smile. Somebody is happy!
I am really happy for Slokar too. Raptors are going to rock this year.
Thanks for posting, Ploto.
Rasho is looking lean and ready to go. Thanks to Raptors fans at realgm.
What's interesting about this picture below is that it shows how much Bargnani (7) has filled out in the past few months He is probably taller than Rasho now. Andrea is listed at 250 and Rasho is back to being listed at 255. Who claimed Bargnani would never play center in the NBA? He's 7'1" and 250 at the age of 20.
I agree with you Ploto, I think Bargnani is going to be a stud. I think it'll take 25-35 games before we see signs of it.
Sho and Slokar's first pre season game with Toronto tonight.
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/intr...th_100706.html
From Intrasquad scrimmage.
Team Black- which included Bosh, Sho, and Slokar- won. Whoosh!
There's pictures! I just scrolled up and saw.
How awesome! Yea!
Rasho will probably play very little. They want to get a good look at the rookies and young guys.Sho and Slokar's first pre season game with Toronto tonight.
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky
"Raptors win! Raptors win! Raptors win! "
http://www.nba.com/raptors/news/swirsky
88-88. 1:08 to go.
Jose Garbajosa... Onions baby with a 3!!!!! 91-88... 30 second left
Washington miss fires..lose ball foul Wizards.
Calderon at line drains two.... 93-88
Humphries takes a charge... That has to be at least five taken by the Raps tonight.
Get out the salami and cheese momma! This ballgame is OVER!
Raptors win! Raptors win! Raptors win!
93-88
The Raptors game is listed on the listen live page at nba.com , but so far no link.
Sometimes the link doesn't appear until the game starts. Don't know why.
As long as it appears.
Thank you, Ploto.
Almost tip off time.
You're a got damn disgrace to Spurs fans. The Raptors blow chunks and you're excited?
I knew you slovenians and stalkers were a bunch of spurs fan posers....
Begone
Why are you always so short with me? Oh wait!
you're a spursfan poser... how can you possibly watch a raptor game and post in the spurs forum?
Why are you always so short with me? Oh wait!
I think that is against the house rules.
You need to check yourself.
Don't try to play all tough. I know you really look up to me.
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