Tuesday September 30 2008 - 1:10pm Eastern
UPDATE ON JAWAI
Nathan Jawai says he’ll have further testing done at some point this week and find out exactly what is going on with his heart. He said the doctors told him they saw a “bump” and wanted to check it out.
He’s remaining positive right now and trying not to stress out about ‘what this could be’. The big man admitted that it’s tough to think about something being wrong with his heart, but at the same time he says he feels fine; his breathing is fine; and if he hadn’t been told about this issue he would have had no clue that anything was ‘wrong’.
Jawai also said he has no history of heart issues in his family – he called back to Australia to confirm all of that as well.
While nobody would say anything on the record, it seems like the Jamal Sampson move is an insurance plan for Jawai. If Nate turns out to be okay and his heart is fine for the season (and future years), I’m not certain that Sampson will still be on this team long-term. However, if Jawai is sidelined for any amount of time, Sampson will NOT be Training Camp fodder; he’ll make the club as a depth guy for the front court.
SAME ‘OL SAM
Sam was his usual self on Day 1 … already tired of people asking about camp after only 1 two-hour practice. He didn’t really want to talk about how the team looked or what his expectations for the club may be because he says you can’t really figure that out after two hours of drills and no real scrimmage (which will come during the second session tonight).
Sam was also frustrated with folks asking about Chris Bosh’s Olympic experience as well. He says Bosh’s performance in Beijing shouldn’t have been a big surprise because he’s always been this good. He’s tired of people acting like Bosh has suddenly just appeared out of nowhere - ignoring that the guy is a 3-time All Star.
He also chatted about having just 13 guys at camp and how that’s good for keeping the focus and attention … but … it also changes certain dynamics/drills that you can now do, or not do. He joked that there could be scrimmages where Team A or Team B doesn’t even have a sub!
THUMBS UP FROM J.O.
Jermaine O’Neal is impressed with what he’s seen so far – after the first day (well, first practice) of camp. He said he’s already doing stuff in this camp that he hasn’t done in Indy for years and he sees that the focus is there for this team to be a strong defensive club.
While the Raptors haven’t been slouches on “D” in recent years, they haven’t exactly been known for their defense either. So a focus on that end of the floor could be a huge plus for the Raps.
O’Neal also stressed the importance of rebounding for this team - but not just from the bigs. He said the guards have to chip-in as well and the opportunity is there for that to happen in Toronto with some of the bigger boys the Raptors have like Anthony Parker, Jamario Moon, Jose Calderon, and so on.
E. Smith
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There’s a great chance for the following to happen almost every night.
1. Bosh:23pts, 10 reb 2 blocks
2. O’Neal: 17pts, 12 reb, 4 blocks
3. Parker: 15 points
4. Jose: 10 points, 10 assists
5. Kapono:15 points
That’s almost guaranteed 80 points from only the starters. Since the defence will be a lot better this year, I am expecting Raps to blow out a lot of weaker teams and give a tough time to the Bostons and Magics of the world. This team, if healthy, is built to win 50-55 games. A little better bench would have made Raps a serious contender.
- BeburgThose numbers may be a bit inflated, but I do share your optimism RE: how good the team could be overall
- E. SmithFlagshipped!!
- Bill RoperI’m thinking the following:
Jose: 12 points, 9.5 assists
AP: 13 points
Kapono: 8 points
Bosh: 20 points, 8 rebounds
J.O.: 18 points, 10 rebounds
Bargnani: 15 points, 5 rebounds
Eric, how long will the Raps be doing 2-a-days for? Is it for the entire stay in Ottawa or just a few days?
- Mark R.man i am missing u “E”…jim o brien said i need to play more defence…lol…bring me back to toronto “E”
- TJ