to move up and down
Amir Johnson has a new career? Great gem from USA Today Sports on how a photographer accidentally dropped his camera on the court — and the Raptors forward picked it up and took a few photos.
(Source: nationalpost.com)
Raptors forward Amir Johnson went to see the Leafs play the other night. (Photo via Amir Johnson/Instagram)
Toronto’s Amir Johnson threw his mouthpiece at an official and had to be restrained by teammates after he was ejected from the Raptors’ 92-74 loss to the Trail Blazers on Monday night.
Johnson and referee David Jones both tugged at the ball following a Portland free throw with 5:05 left in the third quarter. After Jones ejected him and started to walk away, Johnson threw his mouthpiece in Jones’ direction.
Fellow players had to restrain Johnson before he was escorted from the floor.
Johnson said he has a habit of rubbing the ball before handing it to the ref during free throws. While it appeared that the two had words, Johnson claimed nothing much was said.
The Dallas Mavericks have found an early groove without some key players.
O.J. Mayo and Chris Kaman each scored 22 points as the short-handed Mavericks won their third straight game, beating the Toronto Raptors 109-104 Wednesday night.
Andrea Bargnani scored 25 points and DeMar DeRozan added 24 for the Raptors, who are 3-14 in Dallas. Starting point guard Kyle Lowry, the team’s leading scorer, didn’t play after spraining his right ankle Tuesday night against Oklahoma City.
The Raptors trailed by double digits most of the game before narrowing the lead to five in the final minute.
“The group we had in there played with a purpose,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey said. “They really put us in position to win the game after having a slow start.”
His Name is Jonas: Here is rookie Jonas Valanciunas in a Toronto Raptors jersey for the first time on Monday for the team’s media day.
Well, they tried: Toronto was a little disappointed yesterday when Steve Nash ended up with the Lakers. The Post’s Bruce Arthur writes on why the Canadian star doesn’t owe Toronto anything:
Someone will call him a traitor. Some people already have. Steve Nash is a Los Angeles Laker today, as far from Toronto as he ever was; he will not come and save the Raptors, even though they asked. Someone will boo him when he comes to Canada to play, wearing purple and gold. Sadly, it’s inevitable.
And they will be wrong. Nash’s entire career is based on two overriding instincts: Smart decisions, and unselfishness. He has led the league in assists five times; he has been responsible for a higher percentage of his teams’ total assists over his career than Magic Johnson was for his. Nash has altered his passing technique in certain situations because he figured the ball would get there a tenth of a second faster. If Steve Nash is on your team, he’s here to help.
But he was never overly interested in helping the Toronto Raptors, even if he would have been handsomely paid to do so. The team’s three-year, US$36-or-so-million offer was plunked on the table on Sunday, and sat untouched and lonely as he negotiated with New York and then unexpectedly approved a sign-and-trade to the Lakers on Wednesday night, along with a reported three-year, US$25-million deal. He did this despite a reported plea from Wayne Gretzky to do what he could never do, which was come back to Canada. He left the Raptors, and general manager Bryan Colangelo, to fend for themselves.
And that’s OK. It really is. Lord knows there are those who have lashed out at him before — primarily for leaving the Canadian national team after a decade of year-in-year-out service, and after they fired his friend and mentor, Jay Triano. Because Nash didn’t sign with Toronto there are going to be some who will blast him for a lack of patriotism, even after he has accepted the job as GM of Canada Basketball.
Give the Raptors a hand … they beat Cleveland on Tuesday night, winning 96-88 on the road.
Toronto Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan goes to the basket against Detroit Pistons’ Rodney Stuckey (3) as teammate Jose Calderon (8) looks on during the first half of their NBA basketball game.
Eric Koreen writes from last night’s game: There is a compelling case that Calderon will be steering the ship next year once Valanciunas and another draft pick have arrived. It might not be what Raptors fans want, but it also might not be such a bad thing. If you are going to have some veterans, one of them might as well be playing point guard. And if Calderon is playing at this level while staying healthy, he is a palatable short-term answer. Photo: REUTERS/Mark Blinch
Tennis star Milos Raonic, the pride of Thornhill, Ontario, appears at the Toronto Raptors game on Tuesday night. He lost in the third round of the Australian Open last week to Lleyton Hewitt. Photo: Darren Calabrese/National Post
The new guy
Jamaal Magloire waits to speak to reporters during the Toronto Raptors’ annual media day at the Air Canada Centre. (Darren Calabrese/National Post)
