The Morning After The Night Before, Whatever 40 is in Roman numerals

If it’s not Mo Pete, it’s Anthony Parker. Someone, it seems, is going to cause a beat grunt’s stress level to rise substantially whenever we’re in Washington.

JOE GIZA/REUTERS

This one's dedicated to Mo Pete.

Oh, and getting the midnight call from Air Canada that the 9 a.m.' s been cancelled is a real treat, too; but I digress.

Of course, unlike Mo’s circus shot last season, AP’s heave didn’t end up in raucous celebration after an overtime win. But after the way they played, it was probably a just and fair result last night.

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Three Things I Learned

It’s Damon Day

Juan Dixon looked more like a point guard last night than he has in a long time. Great dish to Hump for one dunk and a nifty lead pass in transition to Bosh for another.

But it’s not enough. Today’s the day Damon Stoudamire can sign somewhere and I’m told by Someone Who Knows that Boston may no longer in the mix.

Not sure what that means in the big picture but Toronto’s still in the race. Of course, with Devin Harris hurt in Dallas and Tony Parker on the limp in San Antonio, there are a couple of other big-time teams in the hunt for a point guard.

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Which one is this?

Seven minutes, four missed shots, two rebounds, a foul. Hello, Bad Joey.

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Hold off on the Bargs love

Seventeen minutes, 1-for-6. Maybe that game a week ago in Boston was the aberration. But, Bargnani did have six rebounds – two offensive – so there’s something to build on. But it’s the ones he didn’t get, by forgetting to find the man he was supposed to block out, or by forgetting to actually go after a ball, that was the reason he didn’t play in the second half after getting his fourth foul.

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Quickly to the mail bag:

Q: Tough loss but the 3rd quarter was hideous; Raps did not deserve to win. Just a quick question about the Raptors' chemistry.

When Parker shot went in the bench seemed... well, sorta ho hum glum (especially compared to the mayhem that ensued after Mo Pete's Hail Mary last year).

Between Rasho, Kapono, Barnani, Delfino and Baston, they’re not exactly the spunkiest dinosaurs i've ever seen.

Maybe the guys on the bench aren’t having as much fun because they aren’t playing? (Kapono after the Boston win looked borderline bored). Short version of the question: is there a chemistry problem, or are they just a low key bunch?

John L, Thornhill

A: Bang-on observation. It didn’t look like jubilation at the time and seeing Parker’s shot on TV (it was No. 1 on the ESPN Top 10 this morning), there was happiness but no one seemed over-joyed.

I don’t think there’s a chemistry problem, these guys do genuinely like each other, but they are certainly not the most, um, excitable bunch.

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Now a little public service:

Check out my friends at Canada Basketball here to find out about a significant wheelchair basketball tournament around our parts this weekend.

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More mail and an update:

Q: Just read your comment on the Black Stars taking on Nigeria. I would be willing to make a bet with you if that ever takes place, after growing up in Nigeria, I will live and die by their team.

On to basketball, other than the Mighty Mouse, are there any other veteran point guards out there that the Raptors are looking at? Maybe some that are looking for a contract

Thierry M, Sudbury

A: Fine Sir, unless it’s sanctioned by our government, which apparently has nothing better to do like fix our schools or roads or social ills, gambling is illegal. As I may have mentioned before.

Anyway, on to the guards thing. The only other ones out there are the currently unemployed teeny-tiny Earl Boykins, 30-something Randy Livingston, who’s tearing up the D League and, Earl Watson would like out of Seattle but not sure what Toronto could give to get him.

Of course, Portland’s got about four PGs – Steve Blake, Jarrett Jack, Sergio Rodriguez and the rookie Taurean Green (not to mention Brandon Roy who actually runs the team) – so maybe that’s a place Bryan Colangelo’s looking.

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We beat grunts love the Kiss Cam in various arenas. Stumpy, in particular, has been known to heckle those surprised couples who don’t want to kiss.

But even Stumpy would have given the dude in Washington a break last night. Camera catches two 20-somethings in the crowd and wants them to canoodle or something, growing increasingly hostile when they don’t kiss. Dude turns to the camera and mouths: “She’s my sister.”

Guy got a pass.

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Here’s how the Washington Post played last night’s déjà vu game.

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Another dip into the mail:

Q: I have to say I was surprised, if not shocked, to hear say that it would be 'very cool' to see Darrell Walker sitting next to Byron Scott at the ASG. Now while at the time, we didn't have Chuck, Grange (TM) and yourself giving as much insight into Walker as we get about Sam Mitchell these days via your daily blogs, but I always pictured him as a villain in Toronto for his treatment of McGrady during his early years.

Now, I'm convinced T-Mac would have left Toronto regardless, but i'm sure Walker's seemingly personal vendetta against him (benching him after a windmill drunk, not playing him while having a 16 win roster, etc.) probably didn't have Tracy eager to do the organization any favors, like for starters, letting Grunwald know that he had no interest in signing an extension so he could be traded instead of being lost for nothing (like he did with Orlando).

So putting that blip aside then, got any stories that would make us happy to see Walker by Byron Scott's side?

Marino F, Richmond Hill

A: Well, not sure how old you are or how long you’ve been around these parts but D Walk did coach ‘em to 30 wins in Year 2 and that did give the folks a few things to be happy about.

Oh, and he finally got Benoit Benjamin out of the NBA. Great end to Ben’s career. He’s loafing through a drill, Darrell’s all over him and finally Ben snaps, says something along the lines of “bleep you, you bleep-bleeped, bleeper.”

That’s about 1:10 one afternoon, by 1:30, after Darrell runs him out of the gym, Isiah’s got him on waivers.

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So, I asked Sam after shootaround when, and why, he decides to play zone defence every now and then.

His answer:

"It’s just a game-by-game decision, who’s on the floor and how we’re doing. If I look out there and see matchups I’m not crazy about, I may play some zone.”

My thought:

Oh, you mean when Jason Kapono’s out there.

Comments

[Dan]

Watching the Raptors lose to a shorthanded Washington team is very frustrating. Hopefully Bryan can pull off some sort of trade. The Raptors are desperate for rebounding, and a back up pg. It's too bad the roster is full cause it would be worth trying out a couple of D league point guards on 10 day contracts. That could help buy some time untill Ford returns.

[Aaron Campbell]

Hello

That rebound put-back by Jameson was the back breaker last night.

Funny thing nobody mentions Bosh when we talk about all these other teams out-offensive-rebounding the Raps.

I've noticed Bosh is usually ther standing under the basket while the other team makes the put-back.

Now Bosh is spectacular in so many ways, but getting tough defensive rebounds might not be his best attribute.

The Raps don't look like they match up well with the wiz, just like they didn't match up well with Cleveland earlier this year.

[Zack]

BC needs to put together some sort of package that sends Earl Watson and Kurt Thomas our way. Those two won't get us to a championship this year but both are huge upgrades to our defence.

Seattle is one of the worst teams in the league right now so I can't see them not taking Delfino (or Kapono), Dixon, Joey G, or some other mix of our medicore guys when Thomas is only getting about 20 a night and Earl Watson doesn't play half the time.

Blogger's note: I'm sure 29 teams are trying to pick over the bones of the carcass in Seattle, Toronto included. But if you think the Sonics are taking "mediocre" guys for two veterans, I believe you're mistaken. And if you're Seattle, you're going to try to dump Wally Szczerkiak's $13 million deal in any trade.

[dinosty]

Is Baston that far out of favor that Smitch doesn't even consider injecting his big, thick frame in to clog up the lane and contest boards by Jamison, Blatche, McGuirre, and Haywood?

A game we had no right winning though we should have dominated got just close enough to tease - but from the disgusting 3-pt foul on Jamison at the beginning of OT, I knew we weren't out to win.

p.s. For the record, our Toronto Raptors got whooped by a lineup of

PG Roger Mason Jr.
SG DeShawn Stevenson
SF Dominic McGuirre
PF Antawn Jamison
C Andre Blatche

And yes, there's only ONE legit starter in that lineup.

Blogger's note: One? You're waaaaaay off the mark on that one, I'm afraid. Stevenson's a starter, so is Jamison and on some teams, Blatche might start.
But to the Baston point. Do you think if he had shown even a modicum of talent in practice they wouldn't use him? There's a reason guys don't play and it's often because of what they show, or don't show, in practice.

[Pete Z]

Tough way to lose last night. Gotta hope the quick turnaround will let the Raps forget about the OT loss and just concentrate on winning tonight at home.

Anyways, got a question about all this trade talk concerning the Raps. We all know the team's needs - a 2nd/3rd PG and a low-post rebounding presence - but what can the Raptors offer in exchange? It's rather funny seeing that 95% of the trade proposals on your blog, Grange's blog, Real GM, etc. invariably include Dixon and (Bad) Joey. But come on now, being realistic & with all due respect, what could we hope to get for those 2 guys?! Do draft picks enter the equation then? I just don't know what BC could realistically get in return for a SG in a PG's body & a physical freak with tons of talent who is one of the most frustratingly inconsistent Raptors in recent memory...

Blogger's note: You're not going to get an all-star for them, that's been pretty well established in blogs like this and Grange's (TM).

[K.Wright]

I've got say that last nights game was an absolute embarassment. Between the non-existant defence and the lackadaisical rebounding I think it shows that this team is in desparate need of a rebounder. My question is, why is does Sam continue to go with these small lineups when we are being out-rebounded? It just doesn't make sense. Why is Joey Graham in the game before Chris Humphries? I know sometimes we get the good Hump & bad Hump but I'll take a bad Hump over a bad Joey any day of the week.

Blogger's note: Good question. Probably because the bigs were bad? That makes sense, given Bargnani losing his man repeatedly on defence and Rasho not quick enough to guard guys last night.
Bad Hump = Bad Joey. There's very little difference if any at all.

[Tim Amor]

why was jason kapono out there? was he hitting magical shots that i didn't see go in? how was he out there ahead of moon and delfino for so long?

Blogger's note: Because he's a 50 per cent shooter from three, Delfino couldn't make a shot and Moon takes too many? How's that sound?

[Paul]

40 is XL in Roman numerals. L is 50.

Blogger's note: I coulda looked that up but it was too early and I had to catch a flight. Thanks.

[GM]

Oh Lord, please don't bring Earl Watson to Toronto. He's good defensively, but man does he overhandle the ball, and has done so every year he's been in the league. He's a slightly better version of Milt Palacio. Yeah, he'd be an upgrade of sorts over Dixon but still.

Blogger's note: Spoken like a guy who sees a lot of Sonic games. And who holds the same opinion of Waston as a couple of scouts I talked to last night do

[KG]

40 in roman numerals: XL

Blogger's note: Another public service performed. Thanks

[Andrew R]

What do you think of this trade:

Baston and Humphries for Joakim Noah?

You give the Bulls some size, plus a decent guy in Humphries and we get back a young tenacious rebounder-type guy with Noah. Noah's had is personality conflicts in Chi-town, but the T.O. squad might be a good fit. You could even throw in draft pick if necessary.

Blogger's note: I think, like sooooooooo many people out there, you highly under-estimate the intelligence of every other general manager in league. I presume if John Paxson suffered some mental hiccup at precisely the same Bryan Colangelo proposed that trade he might say 'yes' not knowing what he was agreeing to. But I also don't imagine BC would insult his intelligence by proposing it in the first place.

[sevenduffs]

L=50
XL=40

Blogger's note: Third (or IIIrd) time lucky, thanks.

[Jeff]

Earl Watson might not be a good option. But what about Delonte West. He would be decent as a third string point guard and has better size to play the two once Ford comes back. He is a decent defender as well

[yertu damkule]

coupla things - was that bargnani playing horrific D & allowing rebounds to the wiz in the 4th Q & OT? yeah, didn't think so. i know it's easier to point out his shortcomings, but how 'bout you take a journalistic leap & tell it like it actually is: that while bargs' D in the 1st half wasn't lockdown, it wasn't any worse than the D provided by his replacement, the raps so-called 'banger' (hump). and 4 rebounds in 24 minutes...4!!! and how 'bout mentioning somewhere that bosh sleepwalked his way through the 1st 20-odd minutes of the 2nd half, putting on his best bad-bargs impersonation (y'know, not hustling on D, losing his man on the blocks, settling for jumpers - the stuff we crucify bargs for)? i guess it isn't wise to criticize the teams star, but completely omitting his sour play? onions, baby, onions.

here's a little nugget - in 17 minutes, bargs was plus-3 (even though he put up a whopping 3 points). despite his 16-pt outburst, hump was minus-3 in 24 minutes. and in case anyone missed it, kapono was plus-19 in 24 minutes. i know plus/minus is something of a fool's gold stat...it may not tell anything close to the whole story, but still.

Blogger's note: Chris Bosh had, what? 37 and 12 and was a minus-8? Don't bring that meaningless stat around here.
Why would I make mention of all those things when you do?
I suppose Bargnani could have made eight of nine shots in the second half like Hump did. I presume he would have all of a sudden turned into a demon on the boards, face-guarding and blocking out his guy like he should. I presume he would have hit a series of three-pointers to render the rebounding woes moot?
Look, I think the kid's gonna be good, he wasn't last night and the guy who replaced him had 16 points in the second half.
Bosh? Sleep-walked? Now you're just not making sense.
But thanks, as always for the input.

[C.M.]

Man ur responses to these comments are great! Thanks for the afternoon entertaiment.

Question: Other then making a trade(which leads to stupid trade proposals), what can the raptors do with their current lineup to increase rebounding(at least on the defensive end). Anything practice can be done? or will it just take time?

thanks
Chris

Blogger's note: They practice it every single day; they just have to be better in games. if there's no trade, that is.

[Sameer P]

Hey doug, this is my second time writing in but i have just a thought for you, all of this talk about the raptors acquiring a point guard got me thinking about Chris Duhon. We tried to get him a couple years ago but chicago matched the offer, and right now he is a free agent at the end of the season as well and he's not making that much, only 3.2 million. And i also know that chicago wants the cap space to sign gordon and deng in the off season to long term contracts, but is there a chance that BC should go after him and chicago letting him go??

Blogger's note: With the injuries in Chicago now, Duhon isn't going anywhere at the moment, I wouldn't think.

[Liam]

Okay, I'm growing increasingly frustrated with Kapono.

I welcomed the signing with an open mind at first, but with Delfino's emergence and Toronto's anaemic rebounding, and abundance of guys who can huck a threepointer, it looks like he's disposable (since he can't really do anything else at a high level).

Whether he's marketable or not is tougher to say, but just for curiosity's sake I checked out Kapono and Graham to the Clips for Maggette and it actually works out on paper. Any chance it makes any sense in the real world?

Blogger's note: I don't know, I like Maggette but there are those in the organization here who don't think he'd be a good fit. Perhaps they think he's too selfish, too much of a defensive liability and maybe a guy who wouldn't be good on a good team.

[Travis]

I thoroughly agree with that last comment. How could you watch that game and not see Bosh sleep-walking through the first 20 minutes of the 2nd half. I wonder how Smitch didn't see it either. I guess nobody else was doing anything, but I would have given Bosh a rest early in the 4th quarter when he was doing nothing, and threw in Bargnani at the very least to give Bosh a much-needed rest. Bargs was far from perfect last night, but at least he was trying to battle for some rebounds, which is progress compared to the past 2 months.

[yertu damkule]

'Why would I make mention of all those things when you do?'

well, one would presume that it's your job to do so.

'Chris Bosh had, what? 37 and 12 and was a minus-8? Don't bring that meaningless stat around here.'

i said it was a fool's-gold stat, but it's not entirely useless. 37 & 12. that's impressive. especially if you didn't watch the game. just curious - how many of those points & rebounds came between the start of the 3rd Q & the 5-minute mark of the 4th (y'know, when the raps fell behind)? i'm not saying he didn't have a good overall game, but his play in that critical stretch was, um, not good. for sure, he picked it up late in the 4th & OT, scored some points, had a couple steals, and pulled down a few boards...but in the grand scheme of things, that bad stretch (& it was by everyone, not just bosh, but he's 'the guy,' right?), is what doomed them. of course, silly me, i watched the game. i should have just read the stat line, that would have given me a much better perspective of what happened.

Blogger's note: To me, individual plus-minus is a universally meaningless stat that has little bearing on reality.
But thanks, again, for writing.