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His teammates were all filtering out of the practice court, one by one, but T.J. Ford remained.
For a while, he amused himself by resuming his role as the chief trash-talker in a spirited round-robin one-on-one tournament the Toronto Raptors play under the watchful eye of assistant coach Mike Evans.
And any concern that Ford might be shying away from contact as he returns to the basketball court after missing 24 games with a neck injury this season were quickly put aside as Ford kept hurling himself into the likes of Joey Graham or Jamario Moon, bouncing off and counting the basket and the foul more often than not.
Later, he spent time putting up the midrange jumpers he favours to punish defenders who fall off too far, worried about being embarrassed by the speedsters' ability to penetrate.
In all likelihood the Raptors will stick with Jose Calderon as the starting point guard, allowing T.J. Ford to regain his game readiness with the second unit. (Marc Serota/Reuters)
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- Los Angeles Clippers
- Toronto Raptors
- Andrea Bargnani
- Chris Bosh
- Jose Calderon
- T.J. Ford
- Joey Graham
- Kris Humphries
- Jason Kapono
- Jamario Moon
- Jamario Moon
- Shaquille O'Neal
- Anthony Parker
While the NBA was still buzzing about the news that Shaquille O'Neal had been traded to the Phoenix Suns, Ford wasn't giving it a second thought.
“We played the Suns twice already, haven't we?” he said.
Ford's focus is on regaining the chops he was demonstrating before he was hurt late in a Raptors loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 11.
He was a surprise addition to the lineup in Monday night's blowout win over the Miami Heat and showed some glimpses of his old form as he managed four points, four assists and two steals in 17 minutes of floor time.
He'll get another chance Friday when the Raptors play host to the Los Angeles Clippers, the first of a stretch of nine games in their next 11 against teams with losing records.
Ford will be playing a new role, however. Head coach Sam Mitchell said when Ford was still out that in all likelihood the team would stick with Jose Calderon as the starting point guard, allowing Ford to regain his game readiness with the second unit.
Those who expect to share the court with Ford in that capacity can't wait.
“He's a guy that can penetrate, and we're a pick-and-roll team and a spot-up shooting team,” said Jason Kapono, who Ford set up for a layup against the Miami Heat, his first assist in two months. “Any time he can draw the defence and I can make shots, it's a benefit.”
There is a school of thought that the relative talents of the Raptors' two point guards might be best utilized with Calderon starting and Ford coming off the bench.
Playing with the likes of Chris Bosh, Anthony Parker and a suddenly rejuvenated Andrea Bargnani gives Calderon a number of teammates adept at creating their own shots and are thus less dependant on a penetrating guard to scramble the floor.
On the second unit, the likes of Kapono thrive when the defence has to struggle to find him. Similarly, Kris Humphries does his best work picking up offensive rebounds left over after the defence rotates or simply sprinting to fill the lane, as he did against Miami and was rewarded with an alley-oop pass from Ford.
“Him coming back is definitely going to help us,” Humphries said. “For a guy like me, I like a game that's up-and-down, kind of like we're just playing. He definitely helps our team and me. Jose is a good structure guard, T.J., when it comes down to the last four or five seconds of the shot clock, that's when he's most comfortable. He gets on top of the basket and creates opportunities for other guys, that will help.”
Ford is also more capable at creating his own shot than Calderon and would likely have more freedom to look for it playing on the second unit without the responsibility of making sure Bosh gets the ball in his hands on nearly every possession.
Ford expresses no preference for his role at this stage, pleased just to be playing after being taken off the floor on a spinal board and having to weigh the possibility of retiring at 24.
“I just love playing the game, I just want to go out and have fun and hope that everyone in the arena, no matter where we at, is getting their money's worth and enjoying the game,” he said.
Doubtless his new peers on what should be a potent second unit for the Raptors will be among them.
