By Cindy Garcia-Bennett
Special to PA SportsTicker

MADRID, Spain (Ticker) - Jorge Garbajosa's minutes with the
Toronto Raptors are down so far this season and his insistence
on playing for Spain at EuroBasket 2007 may have something to do
with it.

That's the view of Garbajosa's international teammate Pau Gasol.

"It's surprising and unexpected, (Garbajosa's) situation," the
Memphis Grizzlies forward wrote in his weekly column in Spanish
newspaper Marca.

"There's something strange going on because Jorge says that he
feels fine. I think that for all the things he did in the summer
and his desire to play in the national team at the EuroBasket,
the Raptors have a bit of a grudge."

Garbajosa was a vital part of Toronto's Atlantic
Division-winning team last season, but missed the playoffs after
suffering a gruesome ankle injury.

The Raptors did not want him to play at the EuroBasket as he
continued his rehabilitation, but with the tournament in his
native Spain and the national side having won gold at the FIBA
World Championship the year before, Garbajosa persisted and
eventually acquired a special insurance policy that covered the
injury.

After a preseason game in which Garbajosa played 18 minutes,
signs of a disagreement between Garbajosa and the team were
evident.

Coach Sam Mitchell said the forward "just (has) to get his
confidence back and his timing back."

However, Garbajosa hit back.

"That's his opinion," he said. "He is the coach ... physically
I'm great. I have all the confidence in myself. So what can I
do?"

Through six games so far, the 6-9 Garbajosa has played an
average of less than seven minutes.

In Friday's 105-103 win over Philadelphia, Mitchell elected not
to play Garbajosa at all.