This season one of the more frustrating aspects of watching the Toronto Raptors play has been their lack of a sense of urgency on the defensive end. Needless to say I was impressed when Marcus Banks talked with the media about good defense being about playing with heart.

When the NBA season started many people – myself included – felt that Amir Johnson would spent the majority of the season riding pine here in Toronto. How could a 6’9″ power forward who only weighed 210 pounds steal minutes from Andrea Bargnani, Chris Bosh, Rasho Nesterovic or Reggie Evans? It turns out Johnson has proven a lot of people wrong.

It’s been a quiet couple week’s in college basketball, as most schools and players have seen more time with their textbooks for final exams than time with their teammates on the court. But don’t worry, that’s about to change as we’re just a week away from conference play kicking off in full-swing.

This weekend I was able to speak with Muggsy Bogues about his favorite memories from his time here in Toronto, why he values his role as a basketball coach and which NBA players he enjoys watching.

Last night I had the chance to chat with Brook Lopez about his experience coaching at the adidas Nations camp this past summer, how the atmosphere in the Nets’ locker room is helping him deal with all the losing he’s enduring this season and his goals for the remainder of the season.

Last week while his team was in Toronto life seemed to be pretty good for rookie Jonny Flynn. A bus full of friends and family make the trek from Niagara Falls to Toronto to see him play and when a group of over 10 media members surrounded him before the game he had his trademark smile stretch from ear-to-ear.

His rookie season hasn’t all smiles as he’s endured a lot of growing pains.

We promised you last week that these College Basketball Power Rankings would fluctuate all season long, and that’s exactly what happened over the past seven days, as we welcome in four new teams.

In this fourth edition of the Hoops Addict podcast, Rashad and Ryan discuss Rashad’s interview with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Greg Oden and how his injury affects Portland, LeBron James dancing and some NBA players’ lack of respect for the game.

After Trevor Ariza took a swing at DeMar DeRozan in the third quarter, it was veteran Jarrett Jack who stepped into the situation by showing Houston that Toronto wouldn’t put up with this kid of bullying. Personally, I say it’s about time someone from Toronto stood up for a teammate.

When both the game and Coach Saunders’ post game press conference were over, the media went into the locker room, and in his customary corner spot, was a completely downtrodden Arenas. He was draped in towels, his shoulders were slumped, his eyes barely made contact with anyone asking him questions, and he spoke in a low, Antawn Jamison-like tone the entire time he was interviewed. Clearly, the events of the last two games weighed heavily on his mind.