Trying times for the 'Dog
By STEVE BUFFERY -- Toronto Sun
Raptors coach Kevin O'Neill insists the Junk Yard Dog is not in the dog house nor has he done anything wrong.
But clearly something is going on with veteran forward Jerome Williams.
Last season, Williams either started for the injury-depleted team or was the first man off the bench.
Thus far this pre-season, the 6-foot-9 forward has spent much of the time watching his teammates roll to a 3-0 record under the direction of first-year coach O'Neill.
In Sunday's 88-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons, Williams' time of the floor could be counted in seconds, not minutes. In the two previous games, the Washington, D.C., native, who started in 63 games last season, averaged only 10 minutes.
"Right now, we're still evaluating our rotation," O'Neill said, when asked about Williams' lack of playing time.
O'Neill said it's simply a numbers game.
"We're very pleased with the way (rookie) Chris Bosh is playing, we're very pleased with Jerome Moiso, (Mengke) Bateer gives us size ... the important thing for Jerome is to be ready to play when we need him."
O'Neill brushed aside suggestions that a personality conflict exists between himself, the defensive taskmaster and the exuberant Williams, who tends to gamble at both ends of the court.
"I make (playing) decisions on who will help us win, not based on personality," O'Neill said.
"Every decision I ever make -- and I told the team this at our first meeting -- is based on helping us win. Here is the bottom line: Everybody has to keep in mind there are 15 players on the team, and they're not all going to play all of the time."
On the other side of the coin, O'Neill had nothing but praise for the way his captains, Vince Carter and Antonio Davis, have responded to his arrival.
There was much talk that Davis wanted (or still wants) to be traded and he would spend the season pouting until he got his wish. O'Neill said that has been the furthest thing from the truth.
"I have not seen one bit of that," the coach said. "We have not talked about that (a trade). He has been extremely professional."
O'Neill, who gave his team the day off yesterday after Sunday's tough pre-season against the Pistons in Grand Rapids, Mich., acknowledged Carter and Davis have made his life in Toronto easier than it could be. If key veterans do not buy into what a new coach is trying to do, the coach is in trouble. Carter and Davis have embraced O'Neill's system.
"I can't say enough of how much I appreciate that," O'Neill said. "What they have done is set the tone at our practices by giving it everything they have and they have pushed the other guys by example.
BY EXAMPLE
"Any coach would want their two best players to stand up and lead by example, but it doesn't always happen that way. That says something about them as individuals."
The Raptors travel to Moline, Ill., tomorrow for a pre-season game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
