Morris Peterson feels lack of veteran presence hurt the Raptors

Morris Peterson was an active participant in the best times for the Toronto Raptors.

It was during his rookie season in 2001 that the franchise won a playoff series for the first time, downing the New York Knicks in five games, and then pushed the Philadelphia 76ers to seven games in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Peterson, better known in basketball circles as “Mo Pete”, recently reflected on that Raptors playoff run nearly 15 years ago. The former NBA swingman turned TV broadcaster was quick to point out players like Charles Oakley and Dell Curry as being key to the team’s success that season.

“They brought a sense of calm,” Peterson said in a phone interview while promoting Kraft Project Play. “You know a lot of times as young players we think it’s the end of the world when things go wrong and those guys always spoke up to keep things in perspective.”

In Peterson’s eyes the 2014-2015 version of the Raptors lacked that veteran presence in the locker room and ultimately he feels that played a big part in their first-round sweep by the Washington Wizards. The Wizards have been given a big boost by long-time NBAer and future Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, who has been instrumental in knocking the Raptors in the playoffs the last two years and playing the Evil Villain role while doing so.

“Before the all-star break when I was just looking at the team and the prospect of them having a long playoff run, I just asked myself, ‘What are they missing? They had talent, they played hard, [and] they like each other and play well together. What’s going to get them over the top?’

“I looked at what they were missing [and it was] a guy like Kevin Garnett or a Kendrick Perkins. A guy who has some experience winning championships, who’s going to help in terms of keeping the winning mentality in the locker room.”

He also feels, on the defensive end, the team failed to play with the “chip on their shoulder” that they had a year ago.

“Last season, they played with a lot of heart and a lot of fire,” he said. “They were playing with their backs against the wall and it was different this year. They started off playing well and then they ended up having a target on their back because of their success. It’s hard to adjust to playing with a target on your back with every team gunning for you.”

This past season represented a homecoming of sorts for the 37-year-old Peterson, who spent seven seasons with the Raptors and currently sits as the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (542) and is fifth all-time in points scored (6,498).

In January he was hired by TSN to join the network’s broadcast team and says he’s learned a lot from industry veterans like Rod Black, Leo Rautins and Jack Armstrong.

“They were just always making sure they were taking care of their rookie and they didn’t do much hazing either,” Peterson said. “Television is different. You hear it takes two or three years for guys to really get comfortable [and] really understand what it is they’re doing. But again, having those guys it kind of helped me get ahead of the curve . . . I’m excited about my broadcasting.”