Bargnani's first double-double of season helps Toronto back to the .500 mark with rare victory over Detroit
In the good, bad-old days of the Toronto Raptors franchise, Charles Oakley was a constant on-court reminder that opposing ball handlers were to be considered fair game when trying to venture toward the basket.
A well-placed derrière here, perhaps a forearm shiver there, and the message was delivered loud and clear. Approach the rim at your own peril, trespassers will be violated.
The garrulous Oakley dined out on his no-nonsense reputation during a 19-year NBA career.
He played three of those seasons in Toronto and was a key component of the 2001 Raptors squad that extended the Philadelphia 76ers to seven games before a missed Vince Carter jump shot prevented the Raptors from reaching the Eastern Conference final.
The next season Oakley was gone, shipped out to the Chicago Bulls, and many believe the franchise has never been the same since without the grit of the 6-foot-8, 240-pound forward lurking in the paint.
The quotable one was on hand at the Air Canada Centre last night to be fêted by the franchise as part of its 15th anniversary celebrations, and the Raptors could have used some of his hard-nosed defensive presence in the lineup against the Detroit Pistons.
The Raptors (2-2) still managed to prevail – barely – despite having their 17-point third-quarter lead evaporate in the fourth. They regained just enough composure late to emerge with a 110-99 victory over the Pistons (2-3), snapping a two-game losing skid.
The Pistons were coming off a big victory the night before when they handed defending Eastern Conference champion Orlando Magic their first loss of the season at The Palace in Auburn Hills, Mich.
But this was a hurting team that the Raptors should have been able to better exploit, as the Pistons came to town without Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, two of their starters, both sidelined by injuries.
Oakley flew in from Atlanta where he makes his home these days and was pressed by the Raptors media relations staff to make sure he arrived on time for a pregame chat with members of the media.
“I ain’t been late a couple times," Oakley told a Raptors official in typical Oak-speak, feigning indignation.
Oakley still arrived more than 15 minutes late for the media session, but it was worth the wait as he quickly warmed to a favourite topic – the audacity of today’s young NBA players.
“These days with these guys I don’t know if you can say too much to them without them breaking down and crying, like a girl," Oakley said. “It is what it is."
As for those talented Toronto teams he played on, which included such players as Carter, Antonio Davis and Tracy McGrady, Oakley said each of those players understood their specific roles, the reason the team was able to enjoy some moderate success.
“We said, Vince, you’re our lead singer," Oakley said, warming to the memory. “Tracy, you’re our back singer. Everybody else is in the band. I’m playing drums, Tone [Antonio Davis] playing guitar. Somebody else is playing the flute."
After that, Oakley said the music just got better and better.
Last night, with Oakley taking in much of the game from his courtside seat, the notes were often sour sounding for Raptors, who played with just enough defensive indifference to allow the Pistons to hang around.
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