The Morning After The Night Before, XXXIV

How 'bout that one? Best one in the arena so far this year? Yeah, I think so, too.

Gotta give 'em credit for taking those gut shots at the end of the fourth and the first overtime and hanging in there.

Anyway, here's today's offerings.

Three Things I Learned

Tough day for Moon

Sure, the four-point play was the biggest gaffe of the afternoon by Jamario but he hadn't been having a good one to that point anyway. In the middle of the first quarter, he's slow to rotate to an open man and I don't recall Sam chewing him out quite as hard and everyone in the arena knew it.

But you gotta give the coach credit. Mitchell didn't take him out of the game immediately, he waited on possession so he didn't show Moon up too much. That's a good, solid coaching move; so, too, was sticking with him through the overtime.

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How much is too much?

This backup point guard thing is getting out of hand.

Calderon had to play the entire second half and both the overtimes because Sam didnt have confidence in either Martin or Dixon to let 'em get even two minutes at the end of the third quarter.

And, have you noticed in the last three games -- notwithstanding the final four seconds of the first quarter yesterday -- that Mitchell has stayed with Calderon until after the second quarter starts, and after the fourth starts, to help them finish quarters better.

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Bargnani's summer vacation

Asked Sam on the weekend about the kind of coaching Bargnani's getting and what they can do to help him out. Mitchell did suggest they might send Bargs to a big man's camp this summer, the one run by the legendary Pete Newell, I imagine, so he can learn the intricacies of being an NBA centre.

Pretty good idea.

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Let's get right to the mailbag for one:

Q: I honestly can't believe you. Maybe you were in the rush to answer as many mailbag entries as you could your were a little cloudy in the noggin.

How can you put 'Sheed above Bosh on the World vs. USA All-Star team? I'll just assume that was an oversight on your part, or maybe you were just enjoying a few extra adult beverages on Saturday night...most of us grown-ups like to imbibe in the spirits over the weekend, I can't imagine you're any different form the rest of us.

A quick note on this afternoon's game, thought it was a nice move by Sam to put out a smaller aggressive defensive lineup in the OT periods to limit Roy's effectiveness, looks like it paid off in the 2nd OT period. What did you think of Bosh with the 4 smalls out on the court to finish the game?

Kristian P, Waterloo

A: Right now, I think Rasheed's probably a better player than Bosh. Maybe that's not the case next week or next month but today? It is.

The four smalls and Bosh was a very good lineup and, in most cases, it'll work well. It's matchup driven but athletic and probably as good as they can get defensively. But most coaches don't want to make any substitutions during an overtime -- don't want to interrupt flow that's on the court -- so the fact the same five guys played those 10 minutes wasn't out of the ordinary in an overtime game.

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You check out the Portland bench? Yes, that is Maurice Lucas working as an assistant and he still looks likes he could, and would, kick anyone's butt if he got back on the court.

He was, to many people, one of the toughest guys to ever play the game.

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Here's how the game looked from the Portland point of view, thanks to Jason Quick.

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Okay, we can do Brandon Roy vs. Andrea Bargnani 'til the cows come home (and we do) but how in the world did Minnesota actually take Roy and trade him for Randy Foye?

That's ridiculous.

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A week or so ago, had a mailbag query on why teams foul at the end of games? Well, I present yesterday as evidence why. Raptors have the ball out of bounds with 25.5 seconds left and instead of defending a possession and allowing the Raptors to run the clock down (like New Orleans did on New Year's Eve), the Blazers foul Bosh immediately and it gives then a chance to eventually tie on the Outlaw four-point play.

That's why you extend games.

Comments

[Andy C]

common Doug, that's like saying why did golden state take carter then flip him to toronto for jamison so may drafts ago.

[Jacques LeBlanc]

Do you think Jason Kapono will be on the trading block since Jose has moved into the starting rotation. It seems that no one can find except Jose.

Blogger's note: I don't think they're ready to give up on Kapono yet but if the right deal came along, I'm sure Colangelo would listen.

[Kevin]

Here's my thing with Bargnani right now. He keeps getting pulled due to foul trouble, but he's never in at the end of games anyway so why pull him when he gets his second foul? The only way he's going to be a better defender is by playing through his difficulties in actual game situations since Mitchell doesn't like him at the end of games why not let him get a few more fouls and see if he'll learn anything from the increased playing time.

I know I'd be pretty gunshy about defending when it seems every time I try I get called for a foul and then I'm out of the game. I think he needs to be able to figure out where that fine line between defending and fouling is. Maybe I'm just overly optimistic.

[Mike]

I read Jason Quick's Article. Really, the two calls he mentions were the only questionable calls in that game? How about Outlaw clearly fouling Delfino on a 3 from the corner or the charge call on Calderon when he threw the alley-oop to Moon when the replay showed that the defender moved under Calderon after he left his feet. Both of those calls would have meant that the game never even made it to overtime. I guess he wasn't watching the game too objectively.

[Richard P.]

Hey Doug,
I've been to MSG a few times to catch the Knicks in action and once to see the Liberty play a playoff game. Always a lively crowd. And from a fan point-of-view anywhere you sit you get a great view.
Friday night I'm at one of my watering holes here in T.O. catching the Raps vs the Knicks. And everyone once in a while I caught you typing away in a seat what is somewhere at the end of the court kind of behind the basket. Basically in obscurity in what I would descible as one of the worst media seats you've had to sit in. So, for all the history and lore of MSG am I correct is assuming that? Could there possible be a worse place than MSG to be a hard working beat grunt like yourself?

Blogger's note: Yeah, it's not the greatest seat but there are worse. In some arenas -- Cleveland, Portland, Washington, Utah come quickly to mind -- we're up in a corner on a scaffold among the fans.

[Dagomar Degroot]

Rasheed is more talented than Bosh - he might even be the most talented PF in the league. That said, he doesn't show up every game, even in the playoffs. He's one of the most inconsistent players in the league, and often shoots his team in the foot with his childish temper tantrums and all-advised predictions. That is why Bosh will be an all-star this year - not Rasheed. And that's why you probably should have had Bosh on your team!

[Walid]

To go along with your comment on why you foul to extend the game, fouling could also be used to protect a lead. For example, the play where Roy grabbed the offenisve rebound, dribbled out behind the arc and hit the miracle three pointer with Calderon all over him could have been avoided if Jose fouls Roy before he takes the shot. Result: Roy goes to the line to shoot two and the Raps get the ball back with at least a 1 point lead.

Blogger's note: That's exactly what they wanted to do, but Jose didn't get to him in time.

[Jim K]

We really miss TJ right now. TJ just wouldn't relieve Jose of minutes, but he would also would be the needed leader our "depth" needs to be successful on the second unit. Lastly, this team is in desperate need of a play to break people off the bounce and create late in the clock. TJ is the only other guy outside of Bosh that can do that.

Without TJ, or a suitable replacement, this team is a pretender.

[leigh]

A day late I know, but talking of most improved candidates, what about our man Jose ? He has grown & matured so much this season. Rudy Gay is also worthy of consideration. While it's probably unlikely, you could even make a case for Brandon Roy because he has improved hugely on his awesome first season.

[PK]

"Okay, we can do Brandon Roy vs. Andrea Bargnani 'til the cows come home (and we do) but how in the world did Minnesota actually take Roy and trade him for Randy Foye?"

It's amazing that Kevin McHale has been able to retain his post w/ the Timberwolves for as long as he has - he doesn't possess a great eye for talent (which Isiah Thomas boasts) and has very little clue about assembling a team from the ground up for a sustained run... Most of his peers have been mediocre to average for the most part though (including the aforementioned Thomas in every capacity save for scouting in the draft) w/ the exception of Joe Dumars: Larry Bird, John Paxson, etc.

As I've mentioned on Grange's blog, maybe Bargnani will turn out to be his draft's Sam Bowie. Bryan Colangelo ought to be lauded for much of the maneuvering that he's undertaken since assuming the stewardship of the Raptors, but his track record in Phoenix wasn't unequivocally stellar either (importing Starbury from the Nets and then shipping him right back out - an implicit if not uttered acknowledgment of a mistake). IF Bargnani fails to pan out as projected and remains a serviceable journeyman big man, what sort of assets will he be able to provide vis-a-vis a trade?

Blogger's note: Not even going to guess at that, it's years away and who knows what's up then. Sorry

[Bryden]

A lesser Raptor team would have collapsed after the 4-pointer or 3-ball by Roy in OT, but we are better and stronger team than our record shows. I would still trade a 48-50 win team with a bad Bargnani for a 41-44 win team with an experienced Il Mago.

[Chi of Steel]

We all can agree that Roy stands for "Rookie of the Year". But what does Bargnani represent? How about "Banging And Rebounding Game (is) North American, Not Italian".

Blogger's note: Man, you took some time to work on that one, didn't you?

[David]

I wonder if Minnesota opted to pass on Roy because of the uncertainty surrounding the long-term durability of his knee? There's no question he was the most NBA-ready player in the draft. Didn't Danny Granger fall in the previous year's draft for exactly the same reason?

Blogger's note: That could be the case with Roy, yes; but still, the Portland doctors got the same info as they did in Minnesota. And yeah, part of Granger's fall was due to health concerns but there was also some question of which NBA position he would play.

[HC]

With Mitchell not having any confidence in Dixon or Martin at the back-up point position (and rightfully so), when will he start giving Delfino time there????? He's played the point before and having Calderon playing the whole game is a recipe for disaster. Colangelo is either going to have to pull the trigger soon on a back-up point guard or Sam is going to have trust other players on his bench to back-up Calderon.

[GM]

To further Mike's post about bad calls, wasn't there a blatant up-and-down on Aldridge? Or was it Outlaw? Whoever it was, a Blazer went up with the ball, left his feet, then came down with the ball with nary a whistle to be heard. Quick forgot that one, too.

[AK]

I was going to ask the same question as Kevin regarding Bargs being pulled after 2 fouls. He's foul prone, and the only way to correct that is to have him play in foul trouble. It would be a great lesson for him to foul out in the 4th Q of a game in which he scores 15+. Big men need to know how to play when they have too many fouls -- it makes them better. And if he's not on the floor in the 4th Q anyway, why not give him 3 or 4 fouls in the first half, even if it's against conventional wisdom.

I also agree that he needs a big man coach. Look at what Ewing has done with D-Howard in Orlando. Raw big men need help learning their craft. Wouldn't Oak make a good coach for him. He could bring out the attitude that we all know is buried inside Bargs. Oak had a bit of a shot as well, albeit not as much range.

On Frye's up and down, Moon blocked the shot attempt, I believe and Portland didn't score on the play. But it was a clear up and down.

Blogger's note: If you're to ask Bargnani to score on the block, Oak's not the guy for the job. Defensively, he might be able to teach him a few tricks, t hough.

[Mark Fortes]

Hi Doug,

I read your blog on January 19th and was shocked to actually find out something was on the works regarding a possible 3 jersey. Before the beginning of the season, I came up with a black jersey design with red side panels and "TORONTO" in front like the 1999-2000 away unis.
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj153/markfortes/?action=view¤t=RapsAltJerseycopy.jpg

But then it progressed to a somewhat similar look to your descriptions. Do you think this one comes close? Thanks!
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj153/markfortes/?action=view¤t=MOON.jpg
http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj153/markfortes/?action=view¤t=chris-bosh.jpg