- At the end of practice today, DeMar DeRozan put on a show for the kids sitting on the sidelines as part of a Raptors basketball clinic. He threw down some dunks and looked as happy as the kids did. He also dunked over an unsuspecting Patrick O’Bryant, drawing lots of ohh’s from the crowd, then quickly went over to let O’Bryant know it was all love.

- It was Antoine Wright’s birthday, and the rookie had to sing Happy Birthday to him. He enlisted the help of the kids that were watching, but Jarrett Jack quickly stepped in to tell DeMar he had to dance as well. After the birthday wishes and a couple of dance moves, the guys grabbed Antoine, took him to the ground and wrapped his arms and legs in athletic tape. I guess that’s how they are doing birthdays in Raptorsland this season.

- Unless Eric Gordon has been keeping some serious tricks hidden up his sleeve, I’m not sure how he is going to compete with DeRozan, because the Raptors rookie, he can get up. And up. And then, up a little more. It’s got to be nice to be 20 and be able to fly despite barely being over an ankle sprain.

- Jose Calderon participated fully in practice today and is expected to be good to go tomorrow, as long as there is no swelling overnight in his ankle.

- Hedo Turkoglu practiced today, wearing the mask. He’s still not thrilled about it, but understands its necessary and said his friends told him to hear the mask and “don’t be stupid”. When Jay Triano was asked about Hedo wearing the mask, he joked that if it would make his player more comfortable, he’d wear a mask as well. Looks like Colangelo spoke and the situation has been resolved.

Triano

- The Kings team the Raptors will be facing tomorrow: “I think at the beginning of the year they were playing very well. They are a team who is going to play very hard. They are just starting to get guys back. Jason Thompson is back. Evans is a beast. Tough to guard, unique at his position and what he can do. He causes problems. Kevin Martin is back, a guy who can flat out score, bigs who can step out… They’re a tough team to play.”

- Does the game plan shift from the norm of focusing on Martin to focusing on Evans?: “Well you better not forget about him. Tyreke is a very strong with the basketball. Finds ways to score, gets where he wants to go. That poses problems for a lot of point guards. We’re going to have to find different ways to guard him.”

- On the start that Turkoglu had missing training camp and having to work his way into shape:  “I wouldn’t say he came into camp out of shape. He came into camp fatigued just from playing in the finals and then playing in the European championships. We just thought at the time it was better to give him the training camp portion and a little bit of the preseason off so that we didn’t hit a part of the season now where he’s completely fatigued, that was part of the plan.”

Turkoglu

-  On wearing the mask:  “I really appreciate their concern.  In the end I have to be smarter, too. Not think about the short-term, think about the long-term. If any case, I get hit again without the mask, it will cost me a lot time to heal it. I will also leave the team, so I really don’t want that. I tried today for the first time with the mask practising and… We’ll see. It’s going to be fun tomorrow.”

- What makes it uncomfortable: “The pressure, you have to keep it tight, the sweating, it moves. You have to fix it all the time. Quick movements it [shifts] a little bit. Like I said, it’s going to be fun tomorrow, I’m excited. I can’t wait to see. I’m going to watch the film tomorrow after the game.”

- How the mask affects his vision: “When I look straight, it’s nothing, but during the game you really don’t run a whole lot of straight, you are running back and forth… The strap, sweat behind the mask, it’s kind of slippery. It moves so I have to keep fixing it again, putting it the right way so I can see.”

- Is it still a distraction?: “A little bit. A few days, a few games until I get adjusted and get used to it. Tomorrow for the first time, I’m going to be wearing a mask after two years, when I got hit by Dwight.”

- About the game: “Looking forward to not mess up too much. I have to really be careful. No long passes, no crazy passes. I’ve got to be sure and stuff, that I’m looking and passing, but it’s part of the game, too. I can’t really be too worried about it. If it happens, it happens. I’m not trying to make any excuses either. I just try to do my best in certain situations and try to play like that for a few games.”

- After he was adamantly against the mask yesterday, what has changed today?: “Yesterday we all talked about it. Like I said, they were all behind me then I talked to a couple others, doctor, a couple other friends and they kinda told me the same stuff that these guys told me. It’s not that I didn’t believe them. They [his friends] called me because they heard that I wasn’t going to wear the mask, so my friends, they were like, ‘don’t be stupid’.”

- On how anxious he is to get rid of the mask: “Maybe after All-Star break, hopefully it will heal close to 100%, I will check it out again and the doctor will tell me I’m good to go and I will burn it.”

Bosh

- On the article saying he had committed to Team USA for the World Championships this summer:  “I don’t know where that came from really. Well, maybe some words got mixed up but I haven’t fully committed. Ive got a whole bunch of stuff going on this summer. I feel I have to deal with that first and then we’ll talk about (playing for the US) after that is done.”

- Would he like to play in Turkey if he gets his other “stuff” taken care of: “It depends on how fast it all gets done. That’s a quick turnaround. Negotiations start July 1st, there’s a mini-camp in mid-July and then a month later if (it’s all taken care of)  you know … it’s a very short window of time. So I just want to take care of my business matters first and there’s no telling how long that will take.”

Follow “Nothing Easy” on Twitter @Nothing_Easy.