December 31, 2007 Throughout the 2007-08 regular season, Hornets.com will be chatting with writers from other NBA websites to obtain unique insights on the Hornets’ opposition, prior to home games at the New Orleans Arena. With the Hornets hosting Toronto at 7 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, we interviewed Raptors writer Kinnon Yee, who covers the team for the website HoopsAddict.com.
Hornets.com: The Raptors were probably the league’s biggest surprise in 2006-07, winning the Atlantic Division for the first time in franchise history. How have the increased expectations affected the team’s play in the early portion of this season?
Yee: There is obviously more pressure on the team to perform on a more consistent basis thanks to that success, but unfortunately for us fans and the Raptors’ management, it’s been hard to get a read on our team as they’ve been extremely inconsistent due to injuries sustained by several key pieces (Jorge Garbajosa and T.J. Ford in particular). Just to give you an example, this team has still been able to “surprise” some teams in the early going by taking over games against Dallas and Houston, but at the same time, they’ve also fallen badly to those same teams already in the season!

Fifth-year Toronto forward Chris Bosh was the fourth overall pick of the celebrated 2003 NBA Draft class, which also included LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade.

Hornets.com: The most well-known Raptors player is obviously Chris Bosh, who joined Chris Paul on the USA Basketball team in 2006. After making the All-Star team twice in his young career, what is the next step for him in his ascension to the next level of NBA stardom?
Yee: Chris Bosh is just such a unique individual within the NBA. He’s often the hardest worker on our team, and he’s already displayed suitable leadership skills that are sometimes quite rare in a star. Nevertheless, he’s never had an aura of being that dominant in the NBA. Part of the reason is that Bosh’s “clutch factor” is still fairly inconsistent.

Another reason is that he’s only made it to one playoff series in his career and was largely shut down for the majority of the series. As a result, he hasn’t figured out how to defeat that stifling defense that All-Star players see in the playoffs. Until he performs on that big stage, I don't believe he’ll be able to be in the elite of the NBA.

Hornets.com: Can you update us on the development of Andrea Bargnani, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2007 draft, with him now in his second season?
Yee: It’s been a tough sophomore year for the big man. For one thing, he’s being taught to play in an area that he hasn’t really been educated on for the majority of his life. As the Raptors want to develop his skills as a center, they’ve tried to position him in the key more consistently in the offense. Like Dirk Nowitzki in his rookie season, he’s struggled from within the post and it’s affected other parts of his game as well, as he hasn’t had the opportunity to take as many threes this year.

They’ve also tried to consistently have him at the center position defending centers instead of switching with Bosh against power forwards, and he’s also had to learn to play those guys differently as well.

Hornets.com: What’s the latest update on the status of T.J. Ford, who suffered a nasty fall during the Dec. 11 Atlanta game and has a history of spinal concerns?
Yee: The first misconception is that this injury is a result of his first injury when he had two spinal cord pieces fused together. His doctors have told him it’s more of a genetic condition that he has, called a “stinger” or Spinal Stenosis as it's known within the medical community. For T.J., the concern has become when he experiences a “jolt” to his spine which will cause the nerves within his cord to come under pressure. As a result, the nerves within his body are given a painful “tingling sensation” which is hard to overcome at times.

Unfortunately, it’ll be a lifetime condition for T.J., so he’s trying to gain as much information about the condition to help prevent it in the future.

Hornets.com: For the past two seasons, the Raptors have had one of the best backup point guards in the league, Jose Calderon. In my opinion, Calderon is also one of the NBA’s more underrated players. Why has he improved so significantly from his rookie NBA season?
Yee: Well, the first reason is that he suffered from plantar fasciitis during his rookie season. Before the injury, he was managing to run the team extremely efficiently from the bench, and showed signs of being a great point guard. After the injury, his confidence took a dive until he dressed with the international Spanish team and won the World Championships that summer. It’s just been a natural progression for him as he has great court vision, isn’t afraid to make the pass that leads to a series of passes, and always keeps a very consistent dribbling pattern that gives him great, if unspectacular, ballhandling skills.

Hornets.com: Other than Calderon, which players among the Raptors’ supporting cast do you think will be most critical in the team’s push to secure a top-four seed in the East and potentially advance in the playoffs?
Yee: Off the beaten path a little, but I think Rasho Nesterovic’s ability to contribute on a steady basis will be a huge factor. He’s largely a forgotten piece of the puzzle, but he’s also our most consistent player at the center position. Anthony Parker’s continued consistent play also shouldn’t be discounted, as he is one of the top three-point shooters and can defend the top players of each opposing team night in and night out.

Hornets.com: What don’t we know but should about the Raptors?
Yee: Two players that fans should look at are Kris Humphries and Carlos Delfino. Both have made a consistent impact in the Raptors’ defensive schemes, and both players have shown an ability to rebound, which is an area that the Raptors lack at times. The other thing is that Sam Mitchell is probably the most entertaining quote in the league. If you ever get to watch his full media scrum at a Raptors practice, there’s not a better quote package in the league as he often will rip apart reporters and go off on tangents. Here's an excerpt from November.