Dog Days Of Summer Almost Over

I am beat from the Olympics. Phelps, Bolt and Bosh it is all a blur at this point. The United States has marched through this Olympic Tournament with no problems at all. Heck summer is almost over soon kids will be back in school and NBA Training Camps will be opening. Raptors already have an injury concern and they haven’t even started camp. But if Jose sits out tomorrow which it seems clear by the post on his website he will, everything should be fine for the Raptors. Case you missed my update last night with the quote from Jose here it is:

Jose Calderon ( From Website Blog)-”As you all know, I did not play and I am not very optimistic about playing in the Final. It is a small injury that if I force any further, I run the risk to injure myself more seriously. Yesterday was a difficult day for me, I knew that I could not play today and I felt terrible. I imagine that you all can imagine the deception: nearly two months of practice, even more time thinking and preparing for this moment, and precisely when the big game comes, you cannot play. Today I am feeling much better and above all happy and proud for the achieved objective. In any case, I am sure as I told you the other day, we will play a good final game, and we will fight for the gold.”

Update 1pm- Spain Confirming Calderon Is Out: According to a Spanish website they are confirming that Calderon will not play for Spain in the Gold Medal Game vs Team U.S.A which here in Ontario will be tipping off at 2:30 am Local Time. Break Out the Red Bull and Coffee if you want to watch CB4 go for Gold. Thanks To Raptors Forum for the Info. The site link was in Spanish so I didn’t feel the need to post it. Calderon should be fine though as the expected time to heal is thought to be 2 to 3 weeks which is pleanty of time and should mean Jose would be 100% for the start of training camp.

Near the end of this Olympic tournament we saw a number of NBA guys go down. Bogut went out for Australia and Yesterday Manu Ginoibli for Argentina. Mark Cuban has in the past not been thrilled about his players going to play in the Olympics. I can’t say I blame him. If you are an owner of a team you must just pray that your players make it though injury free. But for every injury that might happen you also have the stories like the one Chris Bosh is writing. When this is all said and done I think two players have got the most out of this Olympic experience for Team U.S.A. Dwayne Wade has had the chance to show that he is back and healthy. Many folks had forgot about flash. But his participation has given all basketball fans a wake up call. Bosh meanwhile has shown everyone that he belongs on this roster with the NBA’s best. Opening the eyes of America to the fact that he is very good and very skilled. The skills on display the most have been defensive ones which should bring a smile to Sam Mitchell’s face. Raptor fans should also be happy to see it as well. A Gold Medal will go a long way in showing Chris Bosh that he belongs with the best in the NBA and that defense does matter a lot.

It is not to say that Bosh was a bad defender but on a team that struggled to play good defense it was not helpful to him growing on that end of the floor. The experience with Team U.S.A and coming back to have Jermaine O’Neal to push him to improve in this aspect of his game should serve both Bosh and the Raptors very well. Sam Mitchell from his arrival in Toronto has done a great job in pushing Chris Bosh to get the most out of his superstar. Mitchell takes his share of blame from fans and the media but his relationship with Bosh has always been a good one and that is so important for any coach to have his star player on board. Together Bosh and Mitchell have taken the Raptors from a laughing stock to a NBA playoff team. The next challenge is to turn this team into a legit contender in the Eastern Conference. Bryan Colangelo has given both resources to continue on the path to that.

Jose Calderon and his Olympic experience has been one that has not been successful. He will need to get healthy and than leave China behind him. After all this is the season that will truly define Jose Calderon and his career. No more T.J Ford to deal with and it is really truly is all about Jose. Roko Ukic as his back up has much to learn and even Ukic said as much after losing to Calderon and Spain in the Olympic Quarter Finals. You will not hear Ukic talking about how he thinks he should be the starting point guard at any time this season. He will have the challenge of just figuring out and learning the NBA game. Calderon should make an excellent mentor for Ukic as he went through the same experience just a few years ago.

There is lots of folks looking to get this season started. From a Jermaine O’Neal looking to restore his All Star Status to a young Nathan Jawai who is eager to learn how good he truly is and if he could one day get to that level himself. Jamario Moon has his story book first season behind him, but what can the second season of that story bring for him? Andrea Bargnani needs to prove to all why he was selected first overall by Bryan Colangelo. This season will go a long way in determining what the future of Bargnani will be.

Those are just some of the folks that all have things to prove this year. They as all of us are excited about season to come and start answering the questions. So once the Gold Medal game is said and done and the United States is back on top of Basketball, that is just a reminder that the real season is almost here. Can’t wait for it because there are a lot of questions that I have that I need answers too. I am sure you folks have some questions of your own as well.

Tags: Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Jamario Moon, Jermaine O'Neal, Jose Calderon, Nathan Jawai, Raptors 08/09, Roko Ukic, Sam Mitchell