Raptors riled about Butch Carter's comments Associated Press
TORONTO -- Butch Carter has been blaming officials and
contract problems for his Toronto Raptors' two losses in New York.
Now his players are blaming him.
"One thing you don't do is take the focus away from what the
real objective is, and that's to win games," guard Dee Brown said
Friday. "If you bring the outside stuff to the team you're going
to have splinters."
| | Raptors coach Butch Carter can't seem to help stepping in it. |
On Thursday, Carter blamed contract issues for his team's 2-0
playoff deficit against the New York Knicks.
"The biggest advantage the Knicks have over us is that their
top eight guys are all under contract and focused on winning,"
Carter said. "Winning is the only thing they think about. It's not
the case here."
Guard Doug Christie was angered by Carter's comments.
"For him to say that is ludicrous and to be expected,"
Christie said. "You say dumb stuff when you're in a position where
you can't point the finger at anybody else."
Butch Carter as much as Vince Carter, the team's star, has been
the focus of this best-of-five series, which resumes with Game 3 Sunday in
Toronto.
In a book he wrote with his brother, Minnesota Vikings wide
receiver Cris Carter, Carter accused his former college coach,
Indiana's Bobby Knight, of calling a player a racist name. He also
endured criticism from his veteran players for calling so many
plays for Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady.
Last Friday, just before the start of the series, Butch Carter
sued Knicks forward Marcus Camby after the ex-Raptor called Carter a "liar" and said many players don't like him. Camby noted that
he was traded to the Knicks just days after Carter promised to
build the Raptors around him.
The suit was dropped earlier this week.
Then, on Thursday, the coach said that the Raptors don't have a
vocal leader on their team.
"That's a bailout saying there's no leaders on the team. I
think everyone is trying to win," Brown said. "We came up short
on two games, and to say there is not a leader, I just really think
is a cop-out."
Antonio Davis, who has an opt-out clause after next season,
didn't know what to make of Carter's comments.
"I hope he wasn't talking about me because now is not the time
to be thinking about my contract situation," Davis. "I don't
think there are too many guys who are worried about their
contracts."
Three of the nine players Carter uses in his rotation will be
free agents this year: McGrady, Brown and Muggsy Bogues. The other
six are signed through at least 2001-02.
"TMac has been a free agent all year, that hasn't been a
distraction," Brown said of McGrady.
"I've been a free agent all year, that hasn't been a
distraction. Why should it be a distraction now because it's
playoff time. Timing has hasn't been something this organization
has been good at."
Carter said he wasn't feeling the pressure of coaching a team in
the playoffs for the first time.
"This is a joke," Carter said. "You ever grow up the oldest
of seven kids and all you have for dinner to eat is oatmeal? When
you grow up like that, that's pressure. When you go off to college
and your mom has seven kids at home and can't send you any money,
if she calls you crying, saying 'I can't help you,' that's
pressure."
"This is not pressure. This is a business, it's a mean
business, but it's not pressure. Every day I wake up I feel blessed
that I have this job. The biggest problem is that it's our first
time in the dance, so everybody is a little more sensitive."
Meanwhile, the team has to refocus for Sunday's game, which
could send the Raptors home.
"We can't let this all interfere with the team," Vince Carter
said. "We have to come focused every night, because if you don't
you can easily get blown away." |