One local beat writer hinted at the need for a change while message boards have been nothing short of ruthless.

Has Calderon gotten of the kind of start fans envision? No, but a large part of that is due to the complete roster overhaul this summer. When a point guard enters camp with only two other familiar faces from the previous season, there are bound to be some growing pains.

Throw in the fact that three players poised to see heavy minutes — Chris Bosh, Hedo Turkoglu and Antoine Wright — missed significant stretches of the preseason, and it makes it extra tough for a point guard to gain chemistry with his new teammates.

“I think he’s just trying to adjust to their style of play as well as fit himself into the equation as well,” Jarrett Jack explained to the media this week. “I keep telling him to relax and shoot the ball when he’s open. To just be aggressive and make his normal plays. It’s going to come with time.”

The face of the franchise, Chris Bosh, isn’t worried about Calderon’s start to the season. Instead, he chalks up his relatively slow start to being caught in a slump at a time when the media will unfortunately dwell on it.

“He’s only human,” explained Bosh, when asked about Calderon only dishing out one assist on Wednesday. “We’re all going to go through slumps whether it’s at the beginning, middle or end of the season. He just has to keep his head up and keep working to get out of it. Slumps happen. I know he wants to play well every game but it’s not going to happen every game.”

Which is why fans — and sometimes even media members — need to look at Calderon’s entire body of work. Far too often they tend to forget that Calderon led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio the past two seasons while setting an NBA record for free throw shooting last season. When it comes to consistency and being able to hand the ball to your point guard and trust to him to make the right decisions, there aren’t many better in the NBA.

Can his defense use some improvement? Sure, but the entire team is struggling on the defensive end so far this season. Hence the reason why the team why they spent the majority of this week working on cutting off dribble penetration at the point of attack.

Besides, even if the team was looking to make a move,  the problem with this kind of thinking is Calderon’s backup, Jack, is more comfortable coming off the bench. So even if there was a case to be made for Jack starting, there won’t be the kind of controversy or drama attached to the team like when TJ Ford was demanding to start a couple seasons backs.

“I love coming off the bench,” Jack boasted earlier this week. “I think that role suits me and I think it also suits the team. I think we have more than enough fire power in our first five and Jose [Calderon], Hedo [Turkoglo] and Chris [Bosh] can score. And with the way Andrea [Bargnani] is playing? Good gracious! Just to keep it going I think it’s beneficial for guys like myself and Antoine [Wright] to keep coming off the bench.”

So all this talk swirling around about a point guard controversy in Toronto? Please, give it a rest. Calderon is firmly entrenched as Toronto’s starting point guard for the foreseeable future.

I know it’s a Friday night, but I hope to “see” all of you there.

What was once a sizeable lead turned into a one point advantage for Detroit at 91-90.

In years past the team would have faded and conceded a loss. Not these Raptors. They endured a punch in the gut from a feisty Detroit squad and responded with a thunderous knockout punch courtesy of a 20-8 run to close the game.

Earlier this week Antoine Wright talked with the media about the need to punch teams early and often so it was refreshing to see the team follow through and actually do this.

“It basically comes down to if you want to win the game or not,” Bosh explained to Hoops Addict after the game. “Guys who don’t want to win the game? They probably would have just let that bother them too much and there would have problems after that. We probably would have lost the game. But we’re going to defend our home court. We were really hungry for the win. Yeah, they had a run. It happens. But we did a good job of tightening up the defense and we responded well.”

The key isn’t just wanting to win these games, it’s wanting to earn or keep their playing time. As Doug Smith has said on his blog today, playing time is like oxygen to NBA players. Because of this you’ll see players refuse to give up whenever they are on the court this season because every game basically translate into a player begging Triano for more minutes.

Unlike last season when the coaching staff would look down the bench to see Joey Graham, Patrick O’Bryant, Jake Voskuhl, Will Solomon, Roko Ukci or Pops Mensah-Bonsu praying for minutes, the coaching staff now has a deep bench to turn to when players aren’t getting things done.

So far this season the Raptors have been given a spark from Amir Johnson providing help with full court pressure while also helping on the glass. Jack has played at such a high level that some members of the media have wondered if at some point this season he’ll wrestle the starting spot from Jose Calderon. And Antoine Wright has checked his ego at the door while providing the kind of gritty defensive presence the team has been sorely lacking the past season. Throw in the scoring spark Marco Belinelli provides and it’s a deep bench that rivals any in the NBA.

It’s largely due to this new depth that the team is now fighting a little harder and digging in their heels when adversity hits.

And, as a fan, that’s all you can ask for because it’s that the kind of attitude which will result in the team picking up some gritty wins like Wednesday’s win over Detroit.

-I walked into the Verizon Center at 5:25pm, and Antawn Jamison was on the court.  At that point, he was shooting three-point shots while the ball boys fed him him ball after ball.  Then he moved down to the post,, and started shooting mini jump-hooks with both hands over assistant coach Sam Cassell.  He then did some minor dribbling exercises, before picking up the pace a bit by shooting shots from everywhere on the court.  At no point did this look like a man who is suffering any ill effects from a subluxation of the shoulder.  There is still no official word on when he is to return, but I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him back on the court next week.

-I briefly talked to Michael Beasley before the game, as he ran off the court and towards the locker room.  Initially it was my intent to get an interview, but he told he had to get back to the locker room.  But before he ran off, he made absolutely sure that I heard one thing he had to say.  “Its going to be a good night baby,” Beasley said  before running off.  I asked him what that meant, and he said, “Just remember I told you before the game, that it’s going to be a good night for me.”  Beasley’s prediction was slightly off, as he only scored 10 points in 24 minutes.

-During last night’s game against the Phoenix Suns, the Heat had great difficulty against the zone defense.  Through the first three quarters, the Heat scored 81 points, and during that last quarter they only were able to muster 15 points.  When someone brought this to the attention of Wizards’ Coach Flip Saunders prior to the game, Saunders simply laughed and succinctly said, “Yeah we really don’t play any zone.”

-According to Michael Lee of the Washington Post, the NBA is looking into whether to upgrade Shaquille O’Neal’s foul on Wizards guard, DeShawn Stevenson last night, to a flagrant one.

-During Tuesday night’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Wizards got off to a blistering start, and they led 31-17.  Tonight was the complete opposite.  The Wizards committed 8 turnovers in the first quarter, shot 29% from the field, and they found themselves down by the very score they led the Cavs by before, 31-17.  Meanwhile the Heat played the blistering role after one quarter by shooting 68% from the field and 67% from beyond the arc.  Like Cleveland did against them the night before, the Wizards fought back and took the lead at different points in both the third and fourth quarters against the Heat.  But unlike Cleveland, the Wizards were not able to overcome the large deficit.

-Earlier in the day, my editor sent me an email inquiring as to why JaVale McGee did not play more minutes.  Here is the answer:  With about seven minutes left in the second quarter, Randy Foye and Mike Miller hit back to back three-pointers to cut the Heat lead to 8 points.  The next offensive possession, McGee seemingly broke the offensive play that had been called, drove the lane from the three-point line, and missed a finger roll.  Coach Saunders immediately called Brendan Haywood to sub for McGee, but the Heat called timeout before Haywood could get in the game.  Before McGee ran off the court, Haywood ran up to him, offered some words of encouragement, and then patted him on the back, before they both rejoined their teammates.  McGee did not play another minute after that.  I asked Haywood after the game what he said to McGee, and he said, “I was just telling him, you’re coming out of the game because [you were] driving the ball from the top of the key.  I was like listen, do what you do, play within yourself, but don’t give the coach a reason to take you out of the game. You made a mistake, live with it and work through it for the next game.”

-I’d be remiss if I did not mention the greatness of one Dwyane Wade.  In the second quarter, the Wizards were in the midst of making  a run, and they had Miami’s lead to one Caron Butler’s runner.  On the next trip down the court, Wade took the ball and calmly hit a three pointer.  Just a minute later, he hit yet another three, and not only did that thwart the Wizards run, but Coach Saunders was forced to call a timeout.  Late in the second half, right after DeShawn Stevenson missed two free throws that would have given the Wizards the lead, Wade took the ball coast to coast and hit a jumper that gave the Heat the lead instead.  The Heat never lost the lead after that.  Whether it was hitting the open jumper or finding the open man, Wade was in total control all night.  His final numbers?  40 points, five assists and four rebounds.

-About midway through the third quarter, Arenas seemed to get tired of trying to set his teammates up, especially when no one else besides Haywood was able to get score consistently.   He took nine shots and scored 11 points. Even though the Wizards were able to tie the game in the quarter after being down by nine, Arenas missed Caron Butler and Mike Miller on the perimeter several times.  In fact the entire game, Arenas was as aggressive offensively as I’ve seen him since before the knee surgery.  He shot 9-for-27 and scored 32 points, with just three assists.   I can’t imagine that was the type of point guard play Coach Saunders envisioned out of Arenas.  In fairness to Arenas, every one of his teammates seemed to be suffering the effects from Cleveland game the previous night, and he was the only source of energy.  Still, it seems like a balance between point and scoring guard could have been found.  One has to wonder if he was trying to match Wade point for point as well.

-Mike Miller  injured his shoulder early in the third quarter, and had to go back in the locker room.  While he was in there, the trainers taped his shoulder, gave him a shot, and he checked back in the game later that quarter.  With 9:11 left in the fourth quarter, Miller drove hard to the basket, scored on a crucial drive to cut the lead to three, but fell down hard on that same injured shoulder.  Despite the fact that he was noticeably dragging that left shoulder, he hit it a free throw for a three point play, then made a pinpoint pass to a cutting Andray Blatche, which led to a dunk, and a Miami timeout.  Miller then promptly ran back to the locker room for a second time to a rousing applause from the crowd and did not return.  Coach Saunders said after the game that Miller will be out 7-10 days with a sprained shoulder.  “It felt like it kind of came out of place, and it went numb, so that scared me a little more than anything, and it was painful, but I’ll be alright, ” Miller said after the game.  Miller went on to add that had this been later in the season, he would have tried to come back in the game yet again.  That type of toughness speaks volumes about Miller.

- Caron Butler was very hard on himself after the game.  He put up decent number of 13 points and 10 rebounds, but he had five turnovers and his presence was virtually  non-existent in the clutch.  “It was rather frustrating..me personally making mental mistakes..I got caught watching the show, instead of being part of it a little bit more, and you know deferring too much, so I look forward to playing the next game.”  To his credit, Butler made no mention of his bruised knee cap or Arenas not looking for him as often.

-During the last 44 seconds of the game, the Wizards had two missed free throws (DeShawn Stevenson) and three turnovers.  When asked about that after his team’s finish after the game, Saunders chose to focus on how the game started instead.  “What always happens in these situations is that when I go out and talk, they[the media] are going to ask about the last minute, because that’s the thing that they remember, but I remember the first minute and falling behing by 19, and not coming out with the energy…the basketball Gods will get you, and you can’t really cheat the game in those situations.”

Final score:   Miami 93 Washington 89

*    *    *

Do you know what’s frustrating? Having an idea that I think sounds great in concept but then when it comes to implementing that idea things fall apart.

Heading into the game I chatted with Rashad Mobley about starting a new feature here on Hoops Addict where players would talk about what the game means to them when they’re 5, 10, 15 and 20-years-old. Rashad and I both felt this would give players a chance to break free from the normal monotonous question they face while talking about the game they love.

Turns out getting players to open up is going to be tougher than I thought. I was able to chat with Marco Belinelli and Quincy Douby before the game about this, and while bother players talked, neither seemed overly enthused about this topic.

Rashad, meanwhile, was able to chat with Jermaine O’Neal before Washington’s game against Miami and ended up having a great chat that will be up on Hoops Addict at some over the next week.

I’m going to give the audio clips with Belinelli and Douby another listen and then decide if I’ll post the clips on Hoops Addict early next week.

*    *    *

Something that did work out well before the game was chatting with Ben Gordon about the new documentary that’s in the works chronicling his last few months as a Chicago Bull. This afternoon I had the chance to chat with Matt Watson about story ideas surrounding the Pistons and he mentioned this gem.

Make sure you read Watson’s chat with the director on FanHouse and listen to my chat with Gordon about his documentary and what he’s learning from Rip Hamilton that will be posted on Hoops Addict early next week.

*    *    *

I can’t express how jealous I am of guys like Doug Smith who had the chance to chat with Charles Oakley on a daily basis. Before the game Oakley took 10 minutes to chat with the media about a wide range of topics from the way the game is currently played, how the Cavs could better utilize LeBron James and the movie he recently produced. I have to admit I had a tough time not cracking a smile due to Oakley’s brilliant sense of humour combined with his brutal honesty about the sport he loves.

Here’s a quick snippet of Oakley talking about if he’ll ever coach in the NBA, current players being too nice to each other on the court and his thoughts on how the Cavaliers aren’t utilizing LeBron James properly:

*    *    *

The story of the game for the Raptors was the strong play from their bench. At the end of the first quarter the team went on a 24-8 run once Jarrett Jack and Antoine Wright came into the game.

After the game I chatted with Wright about the spark he gave the team on the defensive end and he talked about the selfless act he had while on the bench in the second half:

I was also able to chat with Jack about what he and Wright saw while sitting on the bench in the first quarter:

*    *    *

The other big story was the 20-8 run the Raptors went on to finish the game. Why is this a big deal? Because after enjoying a 17 point lead, Toronto allowed Detroit to take a 91-90 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Normally in years past a punch to the gut like this would have seen the team pack it in and the end result would have been another tough to swallow loss.

Not this year. Turns out this team is a little more resiliency and too much pride to let that happen.

After the game when I asked Chris Bosh about the strong finish he told me the teams strong finish came down to the team wanting to defend home court:

*    *    *

While this was a big win in general for the Raptors, it was even bigger for Amir Johnson as it came against his former team. Normally players will throw out a bunch of cliches about it being another game. Not Amir. After the game my buddy Robin from Raptors TV and I took some time to chat with Amir and he was more than happy to gloat after the win.

Here’s the video clip of us chatting after the game:

To me that’s comparable to dating someone for a month, having a great date that raises your expectations and then after having two mediocre dates ending things. It just defies logic.

Could the team get better on the defensive end? Sure, especially after allowing Orlando to shoot better than 50 per cent on Sunday and letting the Grizzlies shoot 51.2% from the floor.

Throw in the fact the team has allowed a combined 240 points over their past two games and it’s clear defense will be a point of emphasis this week in practice.

Which, as Michael Grange pointed out yesterday in his column, the team spent a lot of time fine-tuning the adjustments needed to be made when the ball handler does gain an advantage at the point of attack.

But you don’t scrap what you spent the past six weeks working on because of two frustrating losses. You regroup and tighten things up during practices. You continue to allow Antoine Wright and Hedo Turkoglu some time to get acquainted after missing most of October. You let Jose Calderon snap out of the early season funk he’s found himself trapped in.

All while you allow the team to feel comfortable using the defensive principles the coaching staff has been preaching for the past month.

Luckily new head coach Jay Triano is willing to show patience to see how things shake out rather than making a quick change to a philosophy the team has started to adopt.

“In year’s past we had a defensive philosophy and we’d get to this point and something would be hurting us and we’d abandon it,” Triano explained to the media earlier this week. “We’re not going to do that. We just have to do some things better, that’s what today was.”

And, as Chris Bosh astutely pointed out,  three games into the season isn’t the time to panic.

“It’s three games,” the face of the franchise told the media. “We’ll look at this and I’m going to forget this day by January and February and March when we’re doing well on down the road, no one is going to remember we were 1-2. We win one more game and we’re .500.”

While the results from the past two games aren’t what the players, coaching staff or fans want, this isn’t the time to be hitting the panic button. There’s plenty of basketball to be played and now is the time to rally together instead of pointing fingers.

Instead, as Wright so eloquently told the media, it’s time to dig in their heels and make a stand on the defensive end.

“It’s all about hitting first,” Wright explained to the media on Monday. “We have to hit teams first and not be on our heels.”

Clearly this point in the season isn’t the time to start yanking key players in and out of the teams starting five. It’s about getting an attitude on defense where you expect to make key stops.

They need to put a body on opponents and make life miserable for them in the paint and the entire team - not just their bigs - need to focus on taking away offensive rebounds and limiting teams to one possession each time down the court.

Basically, it’s about getting a nasty streak which doesn’t lend itself to being pushed around on the defensive end.

And, if the team wants to show a bit of an edge and hits Detroit early and often, all the better.

For some reason, however, something clicked with Howard on Sunday during a game against Toronto. Instead of his coach gritting his teeth with each miss, Howard surprised everyone in the building by shooting an impressive 14-16 from the free throw line.

Everyone, it seems, except for Howard and his coach.

“I think with him and his free throw shooting it’s simply a matter of transference,” Stan Van Gundy explained to the media after the game against Toronto. “There is no question to anyone on our staff, or to Dwight himself, that his free throw shooting and his mechanics have improved. We watch it in practice every day and he shoots it better now than he did last year in practice. For whatever reason, through seven preseason games and two regular season games, it just had not transferred.”

On Sunday afternoon things transferred and it seemed as if Howard couldn’t miss.

Late in the game, with the Raptors pulling within striking distance, the crowd at the Air Canada Centre were on their feet stomping and yelling. Even the Raptors mascot did his best to distract Howard by standing on a garbage bin while wearing a suggestive bikini.

Howard calmly went to the line and hit both free throws to help Orlando pull ahead 113-107.

After the game Howard chalked his success at the free throw line to feeling comfortable and finally trusting his mechanics.

“I was just free,” a relaxed Howard told Hoops Addict after the game. “Everybody is trying to tell me what to do when I’m at the free throw line instead of just letting me go up there and shoot it. If I make it, I make it. If I miss it, I miss it. Nobody is going to be perfect. I think tonight I didn’t care too much about the result as long as I did what I had been doing every day in practice.

“I just felt real proud of myself for stepping up and not allowing anything to frustrate me at the line or get in my way of going out there and knocking those free throws down.”

And that has been the problem with his free throw shooting the past few years: if he missed his first few free throws he would become frustrated and would ditch what he had been doing in practice. Hardly the kind of way to establish consistency or find a rhythm shooting free throws.

Van Gundy is aware of this and was pleased to see Howard stick with what he had been doing in practice and see some positive results.

“I think part of it is a mental thing when he misses the first one or two free throws and he doesn’t stay with his technique,” Van Gundy explained. “Today he made the first couple and he stayed with his technique and I think that’s the key. If he’ll just stay with his technique he’s like anyone else - he’ll miss some free throws but he won’t go into these slumps if he can just trust himself and his technique.”

Sticking with his free throw technique is easy when things are going well, the key is if Howard can stick with things when he clangs a couple of free throws.

If Howard can be consistent with what he’s been working on in with the coaching stuff in practices then it looks as if he may be able to ditch his rep as one of the worst free throw shooters in the NBA.

While Foye was not the kind of player who would complain about his situation, he clearly was affected by the experience.

“When you’re on a bad team, sometimes you feel like you have to score, and you try to do too much,” Foye observed.  “Even when I played point guard, and I knew I was supposed to pass, I felt pressure to score too, especially when Big Al [Jefferson] was out.  I probably shot the ball too much.  It was just hard to get comfortable.”

Foye also mentioned that he was the type of player who would have no problem at all sacrificing his game for the larger team goal, and that was something he was looking forward to doing with the Wizards.

“That’s the type of player I am– I’m willing to sacrifice my game for the team,” Foye said with a great deal of sincerity. “I sacrificed my game for a losing team before, but when you sacrifice for a winning team, it brings much more joy.”

Although it’s tough to draw conclusions after just three games, there definitely seems to be a trend in Foye’s games with the Wizards.  He seems to have not only found that previously elusive balance between scoring and passing, but he’s reaped joyful benefits of playing for a winning team.

So far this season, Foye is averaging 15 points, five assists, and just one turnover in 32 minutes a game.  In his first start as a Washington Wizard against the New Jersey Nets last Saturday, he scored 17 points and dished out eight assists.

His play as well as his mental approach to the game has caught the attention of head coach Flip Saunders.

“Randy’s strong, he’s extremely strong as far as his ability to go to the hoop, but he can get shoot those perimeter shots,” Flip observed.  “He’s picked things up really well.  One thing about Randy, he wants to be good.  When he makes mistakes, he comes over and wants to learn what he did, what he can do better and not too many times does he makes the same mistake twice.”

Even DeShawn Stevenson, whose playing time is diminished because of Foye’s emergence, noticed Foye’s on court exploits, and found time to heap some high praise on the fourth-year guard from Villanova.

“He’s just another player like Gilbert, he’s the same caliber,” Stevenson told Hoops Addict in front of his locker after the Nets’ game.  “When he’s out there, the other team still has to play him like they’d play Gilbert, that’s how good I think he is and can be.  Plus, it’s a wonderful thing for the rest of the guards because we know we’ll get open shots.”

Speaking of Gilbert Arenas, the emergence of Foye (and Miller) in the backcourt has taken tremendous pressure off of Arenas during this young season.  Even though Arenas has declared himself 100%  healthy coming into the season, there is still a concern about pushing his surgically repaired knee too hard, too early in the season.

Having Foye as a viable ball-handling option gives the Wizards another look and Coach Saunders appreciates the “rest” Foye gives Arenas.

“It helps that we have Randy on the floor..he can handle the ball, so it takes the pressure of him[Arenas] and he can almost rest a little bit as far as off the ball.”

Even Foye himself notices the match-up problems caused by he, Arenas and Miller on the floor.

“It’s like pick your poison and most of the time, they’re going to try and stop Arenas, so that leaves me and Mike open,” Foye observed.  “It spreads the floor, and you can’t leave us[open].  All three of us spend hours and hours on our shots. We trust that guy that he’s going to make the shot when we kick it out.”

The other player who seems to have benefited greatly from Foye’s presence is backup center JaVale McGee.  Several times this season, Foye and McGee have made eye contact, and then combined for some eye-popping, crowd pleasing alley-oops.

“Man, JaVale and I are going to start a little connection,” Foye said while breaking into a full smile.  “I’ve seen him jump everyday, I’ve seen him jump in the layup line, and I know if I throw it up high enough where the defense can’t get it, he’s going to get it.”

When Hoops Addict asked starting center Brendan Haywood if he was jealous that only McGee seemed to be on the receiving end of those lobs, he had some “harsh” words for Foye.

“Man, JaVale jumps so high, and I can’t get those passes like he can.  But I CAN catch some entry passes, so when you go talk to Randy, tell him to shoot less,  throw less lobs and more entry passes in the paint,” Haywood joked.

Foye will need the full services of Haywood, McGee and the rest of Wizards teammates for the Tuesday night match-up against their most hated rivals:  LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Once I started covering the NBA for Hoops Addict, I had to check my love and fascination with the “star” aspect of the game at the door, and focus on getting a good story.  So when I walked by Dominique Wilkins prior to a Hawks game, or when I had to interview Patrick Ewing before a Magic game, or when I had a chance to talk to Jalen Rose via phone interview, I checked my fandom at the door, and it was all about being the best journalist I could be.  That’s how I had always seen Bryant Gumbel do it, so that’s how I thought it was done.

But when my editor, Ryan McNeill, sent me an email asking me if I wanted to be a part of a Larry Bird/Magic Johnson media conference call, I’m not ashamed to say that I regressed to being starstruck.  Gone was the journalistic integrity that had become such an integral part of me over the last  year or so.  In my mind, I was talking to Larry Legend and Magic, and it was time to get excited.

Luckily for me, I didn’t embarrass myself, and I was able to reel in those emotions a bit.  Just a bit.

In preparation for the book they did with Jackie MacMullan entitled, “When the Game was Ours” , Magic Johnson and Larry Bird conducted an hour long conference with the media.  The book discusses their individual accomplishments and struggles, the fierce rivalries they endured in both college and the pros, and their current friendship they both describe as lifelong.

Some of the topics Magic and Larry covered during this hour long conference call include:

• What made them want to write this book?
• Why Magic Johnson feel it was necessary to discuss his relationship with Isiah Thomas now?
• How the game has changed, and how they both would fare under the current NBA rules
• The leadership abilities of Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant
• How they, much like LeBron at the end of the 2009 playoffs, rarely shook hands after playing one another in the playoffs
• Who the unsung heroes of their championship runs were
• How much respect they both had for the Detroit Pistons championship teams

Because I write and work for Hoops Addict, I would be remiss if I didn’t at least mention when I appear on this conference call (the 50:25 mark).

Enjoy this audio, and go buy the book when it comes out on November 4th.

That all changed when Orlando and New Jersey made a deal involving Vince Carter that the Magic demanded Anderson be part of.

Despite being disappointed when he first heard about the trade, things have worked out great for Anderson as he’s still part of a team that values him. He’s not only valued but his minutes (24.0) and production (16.0 points per game) are all up this season.

Before the game I was able to chat with Ryan Anderson for a bit about how he felt when he heard he was traded and his role with Orlando this season.

Hoops Addict: From what I’ve heard you really enjoyed your rookie season in New Jersey. Were you disappointed when you heard you were traded to Orlando?
Ryan Anderson: Yeah, because I really had no clue. From what I’d heard I thought I was in there future plans for the team and they were building from a young squad last year so I expected to come into train with the coaching staff that weekend. To get the call to hear I was getting traded was a little weird, especially not knowing where I was going to go. At first I heard I was getting traded and then I thought, “Where am I going to get traded?” It was just a weird feeling. There was a lot of different emotions that go through your head.

Once I heard it was Orlando I was excited. Everything has gone smoothly and I don’t have any hard feelings towards the Nets.

Hoops Addict: You mentioned that you thought New Jersey was going to be your home for awhile, but it came out on ESPN a couple of days ago that one of Orlando’s stipulations on  the deal was that you were included. How does it make you feel that you’re thought of so highly that the team would have passed on obtaining Vince Carter if you weren’t included in the deal?
Ryan Anderson: It’s an honor to be that highly regarded by a great team, but how can you not say it’s a Vince Carter trade? I have no problem with being in a trade like that. He’s one of the best players of all-time and a great teammate. A great leader. And this team really needs him. To be able to continue to play alongside him is great. I don’t need any acknowledgment, I just want to play and help the team. With Rashard (Lewis) being out I want to make this team better and make my mark as a player for the Orlando Magic.

Hoops Addict: You mentioned wanting to leave your mark.  You’re a player that is 6′10 who can hit the outside shot and bring other big guys outside the key to guard your shot.  Talk a bit about how your perimeter shooting opens up things for your teammates.
Ryan Anderson: Especially on this team there are so many guys who demand attention it’s hard to guard a team like us because rather than having forward who are down low by the bucket, Dwight (Howard) can work and do his thing near the basket. But if they double down on him then we’re wide open on the wing. It creates a lot of matchup problems but we have so many guys who can do that, even on this team, we have multiple guys who can shoot the ball. We even have a lot of big guys like Rashard who can step out and shoot the ball. That’s just the way this team is built and it’s great to be a part of an offense like this.