Like a volatile marriage filled with passionate highs and rock-bottom lows, the wacky love-hate dysfunction that is the Toronto Raptors seems to be back on the love side of the margin again, after the players and brass held a private meeting yesterday before practice at the Air Canada Centre.
The roughly 45-minute fence-mending exercise headed by general manager Rob Babcock, senior adviser Wayne Embry and coach Sam Mitchell was called to sort out what seemed to be a smouldering dispute between point guard Rafer Alston and teammate Jalen Rose.
After a loss to Orlando on Wednesday, Rose slammed his teammates for being selfish at times and not playing "winning basketball" — comments construed as a veiled shot at Alston, who Friday was referring to Rose as simply "that man," chiding him for airing his beefs through the media rather than directly to the team.
Rose replied — through the media — that he wasn't targeting any specific player, and if his comments were taken personally, "I guess if the shoe fits you have to wear it."
But it was all sweetness and light again after yesterday's meeting. Though no one would get into specifics of what was discussed, the general theme seemed to be: put the individual differences aside and focus on playing as a team; leave the media out when it comes to airing beefs with teammates; and even though playoff chances look grim, play hard to the end.
