We're halfway done

Halfway home. Feels good.

Generally hate those Mid-Season Report Cards but what the heck, why not stir up the zanies and let ‘em chew on these.

(C is the baseline; if you’re having an average year for your skills, that’s what you get)

Jose Calderon: A

I don’t know where they’d be without him, either.

Anthony Parker: C

Been okay, better lately but an average year so far.

Jamario Moon: B

Best story of the year. Maybe best story of ever around these parts.

Chris Bosh: A

You don’t read a whole lot of ‘Trade Bosh’ talk now, do you?

Andrea Bargnani: D

Some good games early, a disappearing act of late.

Juan Dixon: C

Asked to do something he’s not ready for. Is that his fault?

Rasho Nesterovic: C

He’s gonna be valuable around playoff time.

Carlos Delfino: B

Best addition of the off-season.

Jason Kapono: C

Shooting percentage down, but so is playing time.

Kris Humphries: C

Lots of flaws but energy and hustle count.

Joey Graham: C

Average year from average player.

Darrick Martin: C

He is what he is.

T.J. Ford: Incomplete

They miss him more than you think.

Jorge Garbajosa: Incomplete.

If he’s back this year, it’s a huge bonus.

Maceo Baston: Incomplete.

Unfair to mark a guy who never plays.

Sam Mitchell: B

Three games over .500 isn’t bad for all this team’s gone through.

-

Here’s one from the mailbag

Q: Whatever happened to the fast-break in the NBA off the defensive rebound?

I remember Russell would grab the rebound for the Celts, outlet pass would almost reach halfcourt, the ball would move up the SIDE of the court and result in incredible layups or bank shots from near lane. How come we never see this anymore? What has changed over the years?

Charles N, Mexico/Toronto

A: Coaching happened.

More correctly: Micro-managing coaching happened.

Way back the day, guards would collect outlet passes and look up for an open teammates. Today, they collect outlet passes and look to the bench to see which play the coach wants called. Once they get that stop sign, things slow to the pace of sludge too often and it’s dribble, dribble, dribble, entry pass into the post, a couple of weak side screens, maybe a jump hook or a pass back out for a three.

That’s why Phoenix is such an aberration, and a delight. They run like teams used to run. But until coaches start trusting their players a little more, things aren’t likely to change.

-

It’s Martin Luther King Day today and while it doesn’t resonate as much as it should up here in the general population, it does with the guys I’m around all the time.

Here’s Sam on the great man:

"He was just truly a remarkable individual to do what he did under the circumstances in which he did it, knowing how his life was probably going to turn out and understanding how important life is to all of us … To still have the courage to say the things he said and stand up for the things that he stood up for, it’s just remarkable.”

Sam was just a wee lad when Dr. King was assassinated – the little pup was born in ’63 – but he soon learned how dark those days were.

"I remember my mom, as I got older, my mom and dad talking about when he was assassinated and how things were and how you just felt like it was someone close in your family had just died. People were just devastated.

My mom said for weeks, you just didn’t know what to do with yourself. How to feel, how to think. You just felt like you were fighting for all this progress and it was, ‘where do we go now?’

He had an unbelievable mark on our future. I say to our guys all the time, I’ve said it before, I probably wouldn’t be standing here today if it wasn’t for some of the things he stood for.”

Not to go all serious on you and the world is far from a perfect place when it comes to race relations but it also a far, far better place for having Dr. King in it, even if for far too short a time.

-

Yet another trip to the mailbag:

Q: Does Jose carrying around a pink Dora The Explorer backpack in his rookie year ring a bell?  If my memory serves me correctly that was Jose taking part in the Raptors' rookie initiation.  Can you fill us in on any initiation Jamario might be participating in as this year's rookie?

Luka M, Toronto

A: I can’t get my props straight but I believe Jose did carry a Dora backpack (Swiper being my personal fave Dora character) and Garbo spent last season carrying around one that was Spongebob (the best kids cartoon ever, in one man’s opinion. He lives in a pineapple under the sea for goodness sake!).

Moon’s not immune. He’s carrying a nice pink High School Musical backpack around this year.

We gotta figure out what to have Quag 2.0 (the new kid from the Post) carry.

-

So, I’m flipping back and forth between the NFL game and the Nets-Suns last night and it seems every time I click to the hoops I get the same commercial, the one for Adidas to win the trip to the all-star weekend.

Quite aside from the apparent lack of commercial inventory at RaptorsTV (the same one was on at every break), don’t you think that if someone’s trying to sell you something they should try to spell words correctly?

Now, I make the odd typo and it pains me every time I see one here or in the paper, but surely in the name of marketing and sales, someone has to realize that the word’s spelled ‘accommodate.’

That’d be two Ms.

-

Gotta switch sports now and it’s time to branch out with the absence of Dancing With The Stars. Ghana’s most fervent Raptor fan reports the nation’s Black Stars opened the MTN Nation’s Cup with a 2-1 win over Guinea yesterday.

Check out this lede to the story from the state-owned Daily Graphic:

Sometimes one is tempted to believe that God is a Ghanaian, particularly for the way the Black Stars got their MTN Africa Cup of Nations campaign to a flying start with a late match winner by Sulley Muntari, the most celebrated hero of yesterday's 2-1 victory by the Stars.

I’m pretty sure I couldn’t get away with such, um, descriptive writing. Read the whole story here.

Why, you ask, am I promoting the Black Stars? Well, a guy’s gotta have a team to cheer for, doesn’t he?

Comments

[Zack]

Good report card Doug. Although I think I would have given the Hammer a B just because he has shown progress this year and definitely proved that he has it in him to be a good player.

[Jason Cruickshank]

This is actually more to do with yesterday's post, but in regards to the Oden question, I remember reading the following:

"We've (Marc Stein, ESPN) been assured Greg Oden will be eligible to win Rookie of the Year in the 2008-09 season if he sits out all of this season." http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/powerranking?season=2008&week=-1

He doesn't state his sources, and this was written back in November, so perhaps the ruling has changed since then.

Blogger's note: It could very well be right, I'll find the people who would know for sure and let everyone know.
Thanks

[Tigo]

Black Stars flag proudly pinned on my office wall, go Smitty!

[Kevin Murray]

Hi Doug,

I'm really enjoying the blog. I like your grades and I really can't argue with any of them. I think Parker was in the B's for the past few weeks but would get a "does not consistently" on his report.
Two questions for you.
Would Sam agree with your rankings?
Does he start to go with a rotation or will he continue to try to play everyone and hope someone steps up to join Calderon and Bosh in the top group? (I'd love to add Moon but I see jump shooting Moon more than I see driving Moon.)

The Raptors are a playoff team and I can't see this many guys playing in the playoffs.

Blogger's note: By habit, Sam will disagree. Then I will explain my rationale and he will reluctantly see I have a point or two.
He's trying to find an eight- or nine-man rotation, it's that none of the swingmen have really separated themselves from the others.

[Joe T.]

Hi Doug,

Love your columns and blog! And I think I can beat your spelling error story. There was a "commercial" running during Raps games early this year (and I think late last year) for NBA Cares. It featured a few NBA players as talking heads and had their names and teams onscreen as they talked. Well, when Dikembe Motumbo came on, his team was the "HOUTSON Rockets"! I kid you not. The first time I saw it, I thought my eyes were deceiving me. Since they showed it every game, I paid closer attention to it the next time. Sure enough, they spelled "Houston" wrong. I immediately sent an e-mail through NBA.com to let them know. I never got a reply but I also never saw that "ad" again...

[DougG]

bIdeally BC will be able to get an A level, starting swingman, a ferociously hard working center man, to fill in until Bargs figures out how to be one, and a legitimate second or third point guard. If we can only get one or two of the above I'm not sure what we need more. Some more rebounds on the offensive end would look good and Jose needs help. Maybe we can get a swingman who is a slasher and a ferocious rebounder.

I was only in my early teens when MLK was giving his dramatic speeches and as a Canadian could only imagine the battle gong on. The world seemed to be in constant chaos in those days, with the war, the assassinations, the drugs and rebellion. Now almost every city in America has a road or expressway named in his honor and Barak Obama can win an election in an almost totally white state. Times have really changed, except for the chaos.

[MP]

More report card grades.

Chuck A: Always entertaining and passionate and now a Canadian!

Leo D: Always condescending and egotistical and rude to Chuck.

Jack B: Would be higher if we seen more of him.

[Kevin]

Hey! I'm Ghana's most fervent Raptors fan!
(Although technically I'm not Ghanaian, which may disqualify me)

Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana is ablaze with the holy terror that are the days of judgment called CAN2008! People are heading to the twin cities from all over West Africa to worship at this temporary temple of God's great game.

Every day now starts with a prayer for the Black Stars. Every match is opportunity for fans to get closer to heaven. Every win by the host nation is God's way of blessing the great people living in the centre of the earth.

Go Black Stars!

[Sorin]

Well...I know/assume how much you "love" Parker...but getting him a "C" and more than that - in the same "class" with Joey, Darrick and Kris....is just laughable.

Blogger's note: Perhaps you missed the sentence that said 'C is the baseline, you’re having an average year for your skills, that’s what you get.'
All Cs are not created equal

[Elle]

Got to agree with Sorin on your grade for AP. I respect the effort Hump's making this year, but AP outclasses him in every way.

[Sanders]

Im not sure whether Smitch really deserves a B, i think he has been fairly average as a coach. The drop off from Ford to Calderon is seen to be almost nil. It doesn't take great coaching to make that decision. the growth of young players is often an important aspect of coaching, we have a mixed bag in this section, with hump playing fairly well and Bargnani playing like a spectator. I am dissappointed with the offense this year thus far, the ball movement isn't as crisp as it was last year. I would have thought that sam would have been able to get more out of kapono than he has. Why would our offensive numbers be down with better shooters??

Its a C for Mitchell in my books.

[Doug's biggest fan]

In response to MP;

I completely agree with you about Leo and Jack, but to be honest, Chuck's play-by-play has gone downhill since he got his show on the FAN590. To me it sounds like he's got an inflated ego and seems to think his opinion is gold (ie. saying "book it" - as if anyone cares what he thinks). Also, he's become too much of a fan and can't be objective anymore, which becomes obvious when he gloats too much about the Raps positive performance, plays down their bad performances will side with the Raps for almost every call the refs make. My point is further evidenced by the Swirsk being the only one with a vote, who chose Bargnani over Roy for rookie of the year.

Having said all this. I admire Chuck's passion and enthusiasm. I just wish we had the Chuck from 3 or 4 year's ago.

We need less Leo, more Jack and a new play-by-play guy. I'd love to see Eric Smith and Jack together. Then maybe we'd get to hear about basketball and not salami, cheese, onions, 18 parkerville court, horrible nicknames and over-rated opinions.

[Joy Mannette]

Doug: the blog is wonderful! Please, do a column on Martin's Day and Mitchell's comments. With what is happening with Black youth in this city, we all need it. Maybe the "news" folks could check out what's in your blog. However, it must be you to write it. Why? Well, you respect the players, the coaches and the game. After all, the reason why there are so many players with the last name "Williams" (or whatever) is that, in many cases, these are slave names

[Susi]

Hey Doug given that there are no BC players in your top ranks and given the play of VC this year, do we need to reassess the performance of Babcock?

Blogger's note: Um, of four players who got grades over average, one (Chris Bosh) was drafted by Glen Grunwald, one (Jose Calderon) was signed by Rob Babcock and two (Jamario Moon and Carlos Delfino) were signed or obtained by Bryan Colangelo.
I think you might have misread or something.

[Tim Amor]

How in the world did Bargs get a D? An E would have been too high. I like the kid, but so far he's putting out an F.

Blogger's note: You, and others, may have forgotten he was averaging 12.4 points a game and had four games of 20-plus in the first 18 games of the season. It's not like he's been horrible the whole year.

[ro]

Doug, did you see that fans will be voting in the last round of the dunk contest? I wonder how many "Moon-ies" will be voting...

[Mikey]

Doug how soon can we bring Ukic over?

Is there any way to grab him now?

Thanks

Blogger's note: When his season's finished in Europe they can start talking but that's not for a while yet.

[John P.]

You mentioned the Raptors were 19-22 at the midway point last season. That means they went 28-13 afterwards.

Now, I have a question. Do you think the Raps can make similar record from now? That would make them 50-32. I know you would say "No", but I would say they have more than 50% chance if Sam finds a way to use Kapono efficiently and TJ returns ASAP.

One more question. How did you mark "C" for both AP and Juan Dixon? I wouldn't even compare both, and if I do "B" for AP and "C" for Dixon. Dixon scored 18, maybe, but he made a lot of turnovers and considering his defense I would mark him "D". Same for Hump. He is just good at rebounding, not shooting and passing.

Blogger's note: If you know what I'm going to say, why ask the question? And if you're giving a C to Dixon, how would you mark him a D? Thanks for writing, though.

[John P]

Like the grades. Coach has done well with what he has to work with. BC hinted they may bring in a coach for Bargnani so I ask the following

Compared to other NBA teams does Toronto have a small coaching staff?

Blogger's note: No, they have three assistants and a coaching basketball development consultant, which is about average.

[HC]

Agree on the grades for the most part, although I would have given a much lower one to Dixon. Seeing him dribble the ball makes my stomach turn...

This is a completely hypothetical and a never-going to happen scenario, but if you had the choice to trade Bargnani for Dwight Howard would you (imagining that both are playing at their highest potential)? So in other words, what type of centre do you think would be best for the Raps? A banger/rebounder/shot blocker who will score easy buckets in the paint or a more finesse player who can step back and stroke the three?

Thanks!

Blogger's note: Dwight Howard for Bargnani! Duh!
I think the way the game's evolving, you need a centre with shooting range, maybe not 22-feet but at least 15 feet.

[Jeff]

What is amazing is that you are essentially copying what the best Raptor Blogs do. It the mainstream media feeling so much pressure that they feel obliged to follow suit? Doug your writing doesn't give any indication of passion regarding this team which essentially negates the value of blogging.

Blogger's note: I believe you're missing the point. I'm not here as a "fan" with "passion." I'm here to offer our readers another way to stay connected to someone who's around the team every day and can provide some context to news and opinion. I believe this provides great value for many. Apparently, you don't and while I respect your opinion, I disagree with it.