<font size=""4"">Raps all for one</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">One of the big differences between this year's Raptors and the versions that preceded it is a willingness to share the ball. Two or three passes are nice but four or five are better and that kind of ball movement, if done properly, ultimately leads to open shots. Open shots lead to high-percentage shooting and high- percentage shooting leads to higher scoring and more wins. It's a simple formula but one that demands a group of unselfish players worried less about personal scoring averages or minutes played than they are the final outcome. </div> <font size=""4"">I'm not an ogre: Mitchell</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"I still say the same things to the players, but I think I am better at picking and choosing when I say it," he said. "Maybe if a guy is a little upset, I'll wait until the next day (to bring it up). I'm not the mean ogre that you guys (in the media) think. I'm more like that with you guys because this here (media scrums) is not my comfort zone, doing this part of my job. But dealing with these guys I learned because at the end of the day it's managing people. I think I've gotten better." </div> <font size=""4"">Bargnani displays power post move</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"He put both (Clippers centre Chris) Kaman and Ross in the basket," said Sam Mitchell, the Raptors coach, chuckling at the memory. The dunk came after numerous practice-court urgings from the coaching staff for Bargnani, who has established himself as a dangerous long-range shooter, to expand his game to include the occasional move in the post, especially when teams assign smaller men to shadow him. Bargnani, 21, took the advice to heart. "That's the thing I like about Andrea. You can get on him about things and he responds," said Mitchell. "He'll get a little pissed off. ... Every time I get on him about something, he generally responds to it. "He's finding himself. He's starting to put the ball on the floor and get to the free-throw line."</div> <font size=""4"">Swish swami has Raptors pointing up</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Other than providing an awe-inspiring sideshow, it's difficult to say exactly what effect Hopla has had on the club since he joined the staff in November. The Raptors have increased their field-goal shooting percentage every month this season, from 44.2 per cent in November to 47.5 per cent in January. They've increased their three-point percentage every month, from 30 per cent in November to 40 per cent last month. And though there are obviously plenty of reasons for the improvements including the increasing familiarity of the group, an easing of the schedule, a bursting collective confidence more than a few players cite Hopla's presence as an important cog in the machine. That the club has shot 55.8 per cent from the field and made an average of 10 three-pointers a game during its current three-game win streak, which it will attempt to extend tonight against the visiting Orlando Magic, has only enhanced the good feelings surrounding the swami of swish.</div> <font size=""4"">Magic at Raptors</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">KEY MATCHUP Nesterovic vs. Howard The last time they met, Nesterovic more than held his own against the powerful young Howard as Toronto scored an impressive road victory. Watch for the Raptors to try to turn Howard to his left, where he's less comfortable.</div> <font size=""4"">NBA's Tragic Division: the Atlantic</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Toronto Raptors (25-23, first place) How they got here: The Raptors were decimated by injuries during 2002-03 after making the playoffs each of the previous three seasons and never have recovered. They didn't dress a full 12-man squad the entire '02-03 season and set an NBA record for most man-games lost from injury or illness with 519 en route to a 24-58 record. They fired coach Lenny Wilkens at the end of the season and accommodated All-Star Vince Carter's trade demand the next season as their downward spiral gained momentum. Assets: The Raptors have a core of young, talented players in All-Star forward Chris Bosh, third-year point guard T.J. Ford and rookie forward Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft. The team responds well to coach Sam Mitchell's demanding style and benefits from a strong front office of general manager Bryan Colangelo, assistant general manager Maurizio Gherardini and senior adviser and Hall of Famer Wayne Embry. Colangelo rebuilt the Phoenix Suns through a series of trades and created room under the salary cap. He has been with Toronto less than a year but has changed the look of the team, bringing in nine new players this season. Liabilities: Toronto's higher tax rate and location outside the USA have been issues in trying to attract players since the Raptors' inception in 1995. That seems to be less of a problem now. This season: The Raptors got off to a slow start (2-8) but have taken over first place after switching from an all-out running game to an opportunistic running game. Their inexperience is likely to keep them from winning the division. Long-term outlook: The Raptors are in good position to take charge for years; their core players are under contract for at least the next four years. They will have $30 million in committed salaries for 2009-10, which will allow them to extend contracts or be a big player in free agency. "It's an interesting mix, a talented mix, a very young mix," Colangelo says. "How they grow will determine just how successful we are." What they're saying: "We're a fledgling team, coming off a 27-win season with nine new faces," Colangelo says. "It's still anyone's guess what the result will be, but we like the direction we're headed."</div> <font size=""4"">Tonight's Game: Magic at Raptors, 7pm</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">WHAT TO WATCH FOR: These aren't your uncle's Raptors. The Magic have had trouble with big, versatile forwards, and they can't allow Bargnani to go off again. The Chris Bosh-Dwight Howard pre-all-star game matchup is intriguing. </div> <font size=""4"">BUZZ-KILLED</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The painful defeats keep mounting, the late-game execution keeps failing and the Raptors' lead in the Atlantic Division keeps growing. Yet the Nets insist they will get it right. And no, don't look for any major change in the immediate future in personnel or in the coaching box.</div> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">So don't look for the Nets to be active on the trade front before the Feb. 22 deadline even as the Raptors creep away in the Atlantic. They're over .500, at 25-23, making them seem like gods. Toronto is 3 1/2 games up on the 22-27 Nets. "Toronto has played great," said Thorn, who warned about the Raptors several months ago. "To me, they were the team to watch. They got through the most difficult part of their schedule." Unlike the Nets, who still have a murderous trip next month. And the Nets are halfway through a creampuff - on paper - stretch: Atlanta twice, Philadelphia and Boston.</div> <font size=""4"">Leading man</font> <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The hardest part of Chris Bosh's day is when the alarm clock nudges at his inner ear each morning in Toronto. He was probably up late the night before, unable to sleep whether his Raptors won or lost. Young athletes sleep as parents wish their babies would -- long, quiet and deep. They sleep on planes, in cars, on couches, during team meetings, on locker-room benches before games and especially when the check comes after dinner. But Bosh is 22, and he has a big day ahead. He has a division to win.</div> <div align="center"><font size=""5""><u>Sunshine Girl - 2/7/07</u></font> </div>
The USA today article is downright stupid. I wonder if this guy has even watched a raptors game this year. He should also follow up on his research, the tax thing he wrote isn't even true. For the record as long as the players only stay with in the country for x number of days (outside of work) they only pay the American rate of tax (or home country in other cases). This is why many of these guys jet in the offseason instead of stay in Toronto.
<div class="quote_poster">a13x Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">The USA today article is downright stupid. I wonder if this guy has even watched a raptors game this year. He should also follow up on his research, the tax thing he wrote isn't even true. For the record as long as the players only stay with in the country for x number of days (outside of work) they only pay the American rate of tax (or home country in other cases). This is why many of these guys jet in the offseason instead of stay in Toronto.</div> I don't know the details of the tax situation but it seems to me regardless it might affect players decision making. Even if players jet back to the states to avoid paying taxes it still makes it a hassle for them that they can't have permanent residents in the city they play for. I mean that fact that states like Miami and Dallas have no state taxes has to be more or less a positive. IMO the NBA collective bargaining agreement & salary cap should allow teams to compensate players if they are in a higher tax region.
Naismith, you do a really good job on these headlines. They are clean and have a nice format to see which articles are from where. and I don't know much about the tax situation between the players & Canada/US. I wonder if that has had anything to do with our difficulty in keeping players in the past.
