Tucker, D’antoni pay their respects to Raptors A GREAT EXPERIENCE
Rockets forward, coach see progress in NBA champions NBA veteran P.J. Tucker couldn’t help but think about his time in Toronto when he watched the Raptors win the NBA championship in June.
Tucker was drafted by the team in the second round in 2006. Though he only lasted 21 games as a rookie before being cut, he would eventually return via trade a decade later, bringing toughness, defence and leadership to that squad, finally earning his first playoff berth.
Tucker was happy for his former teammates, but it seems like he might have thought about a what-if scenario, too. (Toronto lobbied hard to retain him in free agency, but Tucker elected to join the Rockets.)
“Wow. I was just there,” Tucker told Postmedia about his initial reaction, before breaking into a deep laugh. “I knew all those guys. (They) worked really hard — good players, they deserved it.”
Rockets head coach Mike D’antoni was also complimentary of the Raptors and head coach Nick Nurse, who spent time as the head coach of Houston’s G League (then the D -League) affiliate Rio Grande, winning a title there, too.
“For any coach, I don’t care how long he’s been there, to win a championship is not easy. So kudos to him,” said D’antoni. “But you know Nick has been around, it’s his first season as the head coach, ( but) he was with them for six years so his learning curve was already good. Nick’s a great coach and did a great job.”
The longtime NBA head coach doesn’t think the Raptors are done either, even though Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green left.
“I wasn’t surprised that they (won the title); they were a really good team. Any time you have the team that they had and then they added Marc Gasol halfway through the year, you know they’d be really good,” D’antoni said. “They’re one of the teams again, that even without Kawhi Leonard will be contending for a title.”
Asked why he thought that way, D’antoni mentioned Pascal Siakam, Fred Vanvleet and Kyle Lowry.
“They have a lot of players that can play,” D’antoni said.
“Now, will it be harder? Maybe. Kawhi is obviously Kawhi, but they’ll still be one of the top teams (in the NBA).”
It’s been 16 years since the NBA has had games in Japan, but Houston Rockets star point guard James Harden is eager to show basketball fans in Tokyo what the league is all about.
“I’m just happy to be here. Just giving them the opportunity to see NBA basketball,” Harden said.
“We look forward to putting on a show and giving them an experience of NBA basketball,” he said, pointing out how watching on television doesn’t do the live product justice.
Besides entertaining the populace, D’antoni also sees other advantages to the overseas experience.
“I’m always in favour of trips like this because I think it’s good for the team to bond,” he said.
“Japan’s a beautiful place to be, so it’s got to be enriching for the players on the court, off the court, playing in front of different crowds, so there’s a lot of benefits. We’ll get good basketball work, we’ll get bonding off (the court). For me, it’s a winwin.”
TUCKER TALKS SHOES
A lot of NBA players have vast shoe collections, but few can match Tucker’s shoe closet.
Tucker has hundreds of pairs, but right now is without a deal, making him a sneaker free agent. It’s a welcome change of pace for the forward, who has yet to make a call on who he will sign with.
“I’m just having fun right now. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do yet. No rush,” Tucker said.