The Morning After The Night Before, XXI

Three straight wins. Two over pretty good teams. A solid road win against a good young club? Sense something happening?

Not sure, because if there’s one thing this team is, it’s inconsistent but seeing how the schedule shapes up over the next couple of weeks, three victories in a row is huge. Gives ‘em a cushion to take out west.

If Bargnani gets going and T.J.’s back in 10 days or so, this team might do something special in January, when the schedule eases.

Anyway, here we go …

Three Things I Learned

What’s in a name?

The Hump’s a cute name and all, goes with his real one but, really, can’t we come up with something better for Kris Humphries?

The dude known as Grunt, who gets into the comment section here every now and then, suggests Not-Haffa Bad would be a good moniker. What do you think? Drop ‘em in the comment section and we’ll pick out a few of the best and let you see ‘em.

The kid’s playing well, isn’t he? Now, I’m not about to put him in the Hall of Fame after two good games in the last three, and I still think his tendency to do too much will re-surface any minute now, but there’s no denying he gets the crowd fired up.

Pretty funny guy, too.

He was asked if Wednesday was the first time he’d heard his name chanted in an NBA game and showed the kind of self-assured nature that stands him apart from many others.

"Come on man, I’m not some bum," he said, apparently missing the ‘NBA game’ part of the question because a Humphries name chant isn’t like ‘Fire Isiah’ coming out of the mouths of NBA fans these days.

"Come on, dude. Who is this guy over here?" he wondered.

Dude was Big Game Eric, new beat grunt from Conrad’s Paper, and the brother of Quag.

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Some plane ride

The jet goes to Atlanta, picks up T.J. and two Raptor officials who spent the night with him at hospital and then stops in Baltimore to grab up Garbo, a day after he goes under the surgeon’s knife.

Must have been a fun ride, right? Couple of injured teammates telling stories and hanging out? Not so much, it seems.

"I don’t think we talked at all,” Ford said after Wednesday’s game. "We gave each other a hug and he went back to sleep and I went back to sleep."

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Another game, another position

Carlos Delfino plays a little two, a little three and Sam’ll use him to guard some fours.

Now, he’s a point guard, too?

He was running a few sets early in the second quarter against Dallas, with DMart playing the role of shooting guard and there may not be a more appropriate position for Martin, is there?

Delfino was amazing against the Mavs. It might have been the best 3-for-12 night I ever saw. Toss in six assists, seven rebounds and a steal and it was a tour de force. The pass to Kapono on the baseline for a three at the halftime buzzer might have been the best assist of the night.

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Three Things You Wondered

Q: I love the depth of the Raps team - if anyone wants to know the Raps don't have a player in the top 70 in minutes per game - but my question is, do you think the starters and bench will stay as it is right now? Ford, AP, Bosh, Rasho, and Moon vs Kapono, Jose, Carlos, Hump, and Bargs.

Looks balanced to me. And who wins best 2 out of 3?

Ollie H, Toronto

A: I can't see any changes to the starting lineup at the moment because they all seem to be fitting right into their roles. If there's anything on the horizon, and it's way far off in the distance, maybe Delfino pushes AP out of a job? But even that's a very, very long shot.

Who wins? The team with Bosh on it.p> -

Q: Just wondering about travel schedules when the Raptors play games on the road, then back at home the next night. For example, when they are in Atlanta one night and scheduled to play back at home the following night, do they fly back after the game or usually wait until the following morning? Thanks!

David H, Toronto

A: They fly back through the night, all the time on back-to-backs and generally all the time anyway. Only time they might stay is when they’re out west or south when they can’t get back before 2 a.m. because an arrival later than that means they have to fly into Hamilton ‘cause Pearson doesn’t let planes land after that time.

It's just us poor saps who travel commercial who have to stay in the city, get the 4:30 a.m. wakeup call for the 9 a.m. flight and travel with the masses.

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Q: I can't believe you left Popeye Jones out of your Top 5 Raptors charge takers. They created that stupid semi-circle for him.

Jon Cook, Toronto

A: You got me. You and about a billion others. He was the one I inexplicably forgot because he was the first and the best.

Saw him Wednesday night, as a matter of fact, in his new role as an assistant to Dallas’s Avery Johnson. Looks great, like he could still get out there and take a charge.

To all the Popeye fans out there, and those who loved Olive Oil and Wimpy, too, my abject apologies.

Comments

[Howard Wong]

Here's a suggestion for a nickname/moniker for Kris Humphries
A group of us hardcore raptor fans always call Humphries "Humpty Hump". Cheers

[MW]

What a great game. I've never seen KH play like that. And so good to see TJ up and smiling after that horrific fall.

[norm mcminn]

Two things:
First, re the Humphrey nickname -- many years ago, there was a kid's song called "Hump-free the Camel" -- I'm thinking the nickname "Camel" for Hump would be perfect -- especially now that he so often is carrying the Raptors through the rebounding desert!

Second, in regards to Delfino's assists -- Yes, the pass to Kapono was great, but what about that awesome bounce pass to Hump for the dunk late in the game -- I don't think I've ever seen a tougher/better pass -- and kudos to Hump for even getting it, never mind also getting the score.

[Paul, Thunder Bay]

Since Humphries collects rebounds like a human dumpster, why not call him The Humpster?

[Dav]

i'm gonna go half a creative step above 'KH43' and suggest some anagrams...

'Sire Humph Irks' and 'Huskier Shrimp' are probably the best ones available.

[GM]

The Camel? I like it! Go with that one.

Is there anything wrong with TJ's right arm? I just noticed that he kept it straight down. I only ever saw him move his left. Is there anything to that or was it just fluke that the times I saw him, he wasn't moving it?

I agree that Hump... er, I mean, the Camel... shoots too much, but I think he might be getting it. If you're going to always excuse TJ for being young, well, the Camel is even younger. I think he's beginning to see that the best way for him to get his beloved points is to go out and get the ball off the glass and on the floor.

[The critic]

These nicknames are too cliche and corny. Plus, isn't "Hump" already a nickname?

[wallace]

well in the upper bowl, a group of us season seaters have taken to calling him "The Difference-Maker"... because you never know what kind of difference he'll make, positive or negative.

This nickname is actually catching on in the nosebleeds. Try it out -- when he makes a predictable ill-advised shot, you can roll your eyes and say "Difference Maker...". But when he turns into a beast on the boards like last night, you can cheer "Difference Maker!"

Last night while watching him tear it up against the mavs, i got a text from a friend mid-game that just said "Difference Maker". It's official...

All credit to "Paul" in section 318 for coming up with the name, which at first I scorned, but now, can't stop it, it's spreading.

(though I LOVE that his teammates call him Baby Huey)

[jrules]

big sexy

[Sadiq]

We could call him "Hump and Grind"

[Dinosty]

I've been calling Kris "The Big Sexy"...but does every NBA player need a nickname these days?

[Zack]

Wasn't Humphries an offensive force in college? Not saying that always translates to the big leagues but maybe he is finding his stroke...

[Jacob L]

I thought of the camel too, but it's too obvious. My wife and I have been calling him Alice (as in "alice the camel has...2 humps...")

[GM]

Camel's not obvious at all. But maybe I think that because I never thought of it. So how about Quasimodo? Or would that be politically incorrect? Would be even more perfect had he played at Notre Dame!

[Matthew Carter]

I'm thinking "Kris Kross"...make ya Jump! Jump!

[Nuke LaLoosh]

Humphries nickname? "Meat".

[Karlis J]

Alice the camel has...2 dunks

[Lino]

I would think "The Big Freeze" cuz when he's out there and there's a rebound its like everyone else is frozen 'cept him.

[Steve Gosse]

Not too sure Hump would like being called "Alice" haha.. maybe it's just me though

[Edgar]

these are all 10 times more terrible than Hump. Here are some randoms:

Huffy (maybe to close to wreched Hoffa)
The Big "Phries" (props to Karlis J - by far my favorite)

or anything related to Minnisota (his home and college) or gophers (mascot)