Toronto is one big NBA love-in
It’s a ‘clean New York City without the dirt,’ says Kenny Smith
TORONTO — The NBA’s all-star weekend has unofficially kicked off and so far it’s a love-in.
While the players’ availability won’t start until Friday morning and there were still a few games Thursday night, much of the league has already assembled in Toronto.
“Well ... they should have had the game here sooner, but I just think the only negative thing about it is people aren’t going to get a chance to see the real Toronto because it’s going to be cold as hell,” Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said Thursday.
Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson were assembled to do a live taping of their popular and Emmy-winning Inside The NBA show.
When told it had recently been downright balmy and will be much better next week, Barkley quickly had a line ready:
“Yeah, I heard that bullshit, too. Every time you go to a place where it’s freezing, they’re like, ‘It was just (warm) last week,’ ” he said.
Still, New York was frigid last year as well and Barkley said Toronto is one of his favourite cities, one he has been visiting for a long time, originally to play a lot of golf. He could not remember an exhibition tilt at SkyDome while still a member of the Philadelphia 76ers against his future team, the Phoenix Suns, back in 1991.
“Hell no,” was the loquacious one’s response when queried if he remembered his first visit.
Smith also gave Toronto high marks, describing it as a “clean New York City without the dirt ... and I’m a New Yorker.
“It’s just an incredible area of the world to be in,” Smith said.
Barkley said he couldn’t believe the support for the Raptors in the playoffs the past two seasons and for the Blue Jays last season.
“That happened to be one of the craziest environments I’ve ever been to,” Barkley said.
“Teams do well here, they will support their teams.”
In a fine Canadian touch, the Inside the NBA/TNT people had credentials with a picture of SCTV’s classic Bob and Doug McKenzie characters.
A day after interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff called his Houston Rockets a “broken team,” came reports Dwight Howard is being shopped around — including to the Raptors, who smartly declined, according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe. Reports say Houston is working with Howard’s agent on a potential trade.
As the trade deadline nears, rumours have also swirled around Atlanta’s Al Horford and Jeff Teague. Teague was shopped a couple of years ago at the same time Kyle Lowry nearly became a member of the New York Knicks, but bounced back and became an all-star last season.
INJURY WOES
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist missed most of the season with a shoulder injury and has torn his labrum again, according to the Charlotte Hornets.
That’s brutal news for a team trying to stay in the playoff race.
Boston’s Kelly Olynyk and Cleveland’s Kevin Love were also recently injured.
Celtics boss Danny Ainge said Kamloops’ Olynyk should be ready to return after the all-star break.
All Cleveland has said about Love is it is not a major injury.
AROUND THE RIM
Kyle Lowry had an interesting piece on The Players’ Tribune about his growth over the years in terms of maturity. It was illuminating. Wish Lowry would open up a little more to us beat writers, though at times we can ask some dumb questions, which probably lowers his desire to talk freely.