After a tight intra-division game in Brooklyn last night between the Nets and Knicks, the Nets head to Toronto for a matchup with the Raptors tonight. The Air Canada Centre won't have the same energy the Barclays Center did, but at least one team will snap a long losing streak tonight — both Brooklyn and Toronto have dropped five straight games. Here are a few afternoon notes out of the Atlantic:
- Tyson Chandler tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that he called former Mavericks teammate Jason Kidd a few times over the summer in an attempt to recruit him to the Knicks. "I told him, 'We have some other guys that we may get in free agency, so this could be a really deep roster and we need a guy like you.'" Chandler said. "I felt like he could be the key to put us over the hump."
- Kidd also said on the radio that Amare Stoudemire could be back by the end of the month, according to ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley (via Twitter).
- Andrea Bargnani has been ruled out indefinitely with an elbow injury, tweets Ryan Wolstat of the Toronto Sun. The injury will likely curb the Bargnani trade rumors and speculation at least temporarily.
- There are some within the Raptors organization who say that Dwane Casey's job status has been discussed, but president Bryan Colangelo flatly denies it, says Bruce Arthur of the National Post.
- Colangelo's tenures with the Suns and Raptors have been polar opposites, writes Eric Koreen of the National Post.
- Dei Lynam of CSNPhilly.com points out that even without Andrew Bynum, the Sixers have the most wins of the four teams involved in the Dwight Howard trade this summer, a point of pride for coach Doug Collins.
- Tom Moore of PhillyBurbs.com tweets that Collins is no longer planning to send rookie Arnett Moultrie to the D-League.
Finally some good Bargnani news; he’s out of the lineup.