It was quite enjoyable for me to visit the Air Canada Centre, and see both Glen Grunwald, the former Raptors general manager, now an assistant general manager with the Knicks, and former Syracuse Orange guard, Andy Rautins, also on the Team Canada roster, making his regular season and professional debut. It would have been great to see Andy get some playing time, but as you would expect, he has a great attitude, and is looking forward to floor time, whenever coach Mike D’Antoni calls his number. I spoke with him before and after the game, and he told me that the most important advice he got from his father, former NBA player and Syracuse Orange star, Leo Rautins, as well as Jim Boeheim, the Hall Of Fame Syracuse coach, and assistant with Team U.S.A., was to never stop working hard, once you make the team, and to never doubt yourself as a player. The younger Rautins told me that, just as in college, when you are a 3 point shooter, even if you miss a few or several, you have to keep believing and shooting.
As for the Raptors, it is quite obvious that coach Jay Triano is going to make demands of his players, that they play defense, work hard, and follow directions. Now that there are no star players, like Chris Bosh, he doesn’t have to worry about bruised egos and super star contracts. If the players don’t perform to his liking, they will probably be sitting on the bench, or not staying in Toronto for very long.
Some fans may have been under the impression that Triano was soft on players, or not very smart in terms of strategy. When you consider that he works with the U.S. men’s Olympic team, and with coaches like Mike Krzyzewski, and Jim Boeheim, running the scout team,and providing scouting information on opposing teams, that should tell you everything you need to know about the respect they have for Triano.
The expectations for the Raptors are minimal, thus there is no pressure on Jay Triano to make the playoffs, so at the very least, if he can get the Raptors to work hard most of the time, then that will be a solid step forward for fans who have seen this team take more than a few nights off, in terms of total effort on offense and especially defense, in recent years.
As for the game itself, it is quite clear that both coaches could be in for a tough year with some frustrating nights. The Knicks had a 40-24 lead, with 8:48 to go in the second quarter. Within 5 minutes of that, the lead had withered down to a 1 point lead. The Knicks do not defend well, or at least they didn’t in this game. In addition, their shot selection in the second half, was very puzzling, especially in terms of launching three point shots, when there was a lot of time left on the shot clock. It seemed as though the Knicks weren’t even looking for other options. They only went to the free throw line 17 times in the game. You would think they would attempt to draw more fouls from a less experienced team like Toronto. The Raptors made 24 trips to the free throw line. The Knicks shot 29% from 3 point range, on 24 attempts, while the Raptors were similarly at 30% ,on only 10 shots from long distance.
Before l left the ACC, I wished Glen Grunwald well. There are very few executives in the history of Toronto sports, who have been as classy and down to earth as he was in Toronto, and still is now. He treats everyone like an equal. Unlike some executives, he doesn’t act as though he is a cut above everyone else. He talks to everyone the same way, with the same respect any person,no matter what their stature in the world, would like to be shown.