Jermaine O'Neal will be a game-time decision Friday against the Indiana Pacers. Although he says it's just another game, you know deep down he would like to be ready and play well against his former team. As former Raptor coach Butch Carter once said, "It's always personal when you play your former team." O'Neal was working with the second unit in the walk-through during the morning shoot-around. Jose Calderon has made the trip but will not play.
As always, a little reflection is good to help improvement, right? So let's take a quick peek back at the Chicago game on Wednesday. Derrick Rose was spectacular. I would have voted for O.J. Mayo last week for Rookie of the Year; Now, I'm not so sure.
Chris Bosh had a chance on the last sequence but Joakim Noah made a good defensive play to seal the win for the Bulls. As has been discussed, this is where the lack of a good breakdown man with the ball hurts Toronto. It's tough when a power forward is given the ball and asked to make a play. It's not as if Bosh was on the block and attracted a double team. This was: here's the ball Chris, some 15 feet out, make a play and get it done. It’s very unusual for a power forward to be asked to do that from that spot on the court. I thought head coach Jay Triano might have run something where the two big men were involved with shooters stationed around the outside but as he pointed out, when the play was run during the course of the game, Chicago defended it well. Regardless, while some people want to look at the final play because it is the one that stands out in their mind, there were many chances to win the game that slipped though Toronto's hands.
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Yao Ming says reports that he and Tracy McGrady are not on speaking terms are totally inaccurate.
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The injury bug is something a team can never account for as health always factors into overall success. This past week in Boston, former Celtic great and current broadcaster Tom Heinson, pointed to Delonte West as one of the reasons for Cleveland's success. Unfortunately for the Cavs, West will be out at least 2-3 weeks after suffering a broken hand in Thursday's game against Chicago.
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The Philadelphia 76ers have won five straight and it looks like they're close to getting Elton Brand back in the lineup.
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If you're an NCAA fan you will know this name. Remember the phrase emanating from West Virginia a few years ago during the tournament when if you looked the wrong way John Beline's crew backdoored you. Then some big guy would step out and hit a three-point shot and you'd hear, "You've just been Pittsnogled?" Well, Kevin Pittsnogle is no longer in basketball but the former All-American is a middle school teacher back in West Virginia and contemplating one last shot at pro basketball.
