Home, sweet home

Ah, the comforts of home. Super Dog wanting walks every six minutes, snowbanks lining the driveway waiting for the rain to melt them away and Super Son convinces me last night that UCLA wins the Final Four over North Carolina with Kansas and Pittsburgh rounding out the field.

On with the fun and games.

One thing to learn

Bosh is coming back – and not a moment too soon to lessen the angst among some of you – and one big question lingers:

What do to with Rasho?

Dude’s been playing great. Giving them around 15 points and nine boards a night in the last 10. Solid defensively.

Does he still start? Do you put Bargnani back on the bench?

If I know Sam, and this is mere speculation ‘cause I didn’t get a chance to ask him out west, Rasho’s going to come off the bench now and the big man rotation, like I’ve been suggesting for weeks, will be down to three.

Of course, he’ll use Hump just to prove me wrong but I’m not sure that’s the best deployment of personnel.

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One of the all-time good mailbag questions gets us started (and, don’t forget to check back, there’s a bonus mailbag in the works for later this afternoon to clean up some of the mess left from the trip):

Q: A list question for you. If you could go back in time and see any 5 specific games live, which would you pick and why? Could be NBA, NCAA, Olympics, etc.

Jon M, Leeds, UK

A: Wow, excellent question. I’ve been lucky enough to see a lot of great ones like the first Dream Team game ever and the Olympic gold medal game in ’92, a brilliant world championship between then-Yugoslavia and Russia in ’98, Jordan’s last championship game in Salt Lake.

But here are five I would have like to have seen:

The 1972 Olympic gold medal game between the United States and Russia

Any Bill Russell-Wilt Chamberlain NBA finals game.

Any game played by Arvydas Sabonis when he was in his 20s and perhaps the greatest player in the world

Canada’s win over the United States at the ’83 World University Games in Edmonton

And one you may never have heard of: The so-called Secret Game between North Carolina College, coached by the one and only John McLendon, and the Duke Medical School intramural team in 1944. It was the first game between blacks and whites, played in front of no spectators because of the tenor of the times. McLendon’s team won 88-44.

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AARON HARRIS/CANADIAN PRESS FILE PHOTO

Uh, could this have been the source of Rafer Alston's unhappiness in Toronto? Rafer gets an earful from then-teammate Jalen Rose, centre, as Vince Carter looks on.

Presume a bunch of you watched Celtics-Rockets last night and saw the emotional Rafer Alston get into it a bit with Rajon Rondo early.

Have had lots of questions about Rafer and his play of late and if he could have become that player here.

Quick answer: No.

But Skip was the topic of more than a couple conversations during the trip, especially after his game against the Lakers and I learned a couple of things.

Rafer’s biggest problem here wasn’t Sam, it was his teammates, including one J. Rose, who used to make little subtle cracks about players being in new roles here and wondering whether they could handle them, and one V. Carter, whose on-again, off-again effort caused Alston much grief because, I’m told, Skip was as competitive as they come and he couldn’t handle half-baked effort.

Of course, Alston wasn’t nearly mature enough to handle either of those situations, which led to a couple of memorable meltdowns. He bristled at coaching sometimes, another sign of immaturity, but to his ever-lasting credit, he’s grown up a lot. The fits of anger and petulance are few and far between these days.

I know Sam’s impressed with the way he’s turned things around.

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Riding a streak of one victory in a row (which is something when you’ve only got 12 on the entire season), the Heat come in even more short-handed than usual. Check out Ira in the Sun-Sentinel today.

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I hate to say I told you so on the whole ‘Jason Kidd to Dallas but I don’t think the Mavs are all that much better’ thing but Dallas hasn’t beaten a team with a .500 or better record since the trade.

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I know you’ve all read our story on Chris Bosh coming back tonight. Here’s the news straight from the horse’s mouth.

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Let’s do a couple more letters:

Q: Crazy times in Raptorland these days. I'm hoping to delve into your deep knowledge of the NBA collective bargaining agreement :) I remember earlier you mentioned that TJ was basically untradeable due to his being a BYC player. Is he still a base year player for next year? I thought I'd give all the TJ-haters a little more ammo.

Brad C, Port Coquitlam, B.C.

A: Ford’s base-year compensation comes off June 30.

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Q: Just a general basketball question: how come when a defensive player exaggerates a bit in order to take a charge it is called a "flop" and an "aberration" but when a shooter jumps directly into a defender to get the foul call the announcers say it is "a smart play"? Is this another symptom of our patriarchal society? Why is the aggressive penetrative act seen as good, while the passive role is seen as threatening the sanctity of the game?

Eric B, Toronto

A: Perception. People see a passive flop as fakery, borderline cheating maybe. Pump-faking and jumping into someone is an aggressive play that needs to be rewarded. That may be rationalization but it makes sense to me. One's action, one's reaction and action always is seen as a good thing.

Comments

[Floyd Johnson]

Rasho should start instead of that bust bargnani, the heat beat the bucks yesterday so anything can happen, because you know if Bargs starts you can expect a 3 for 12 or 2 for 9 game like always.

[Joshua]

Doug,

I'm a junkie for your column, and thought I'd pass something along in light of your respect for John McLendon. My father-in-law wrote a biography of McLendon, 'Breaking Through', which was published in autumn. It is an interesting read, as he had exclusive access to McLendon's personal journals and papers. It was referenced in ESPN's 'Black Magic' television special.

Keep up the great work.

Blogger's note: I'm sure it's a fascinating read, such a great, great subject and an outstanding man.
And I haven't had a chance to see 'Black Magic' yet because of the games out west, but I'm sure it's excellent.

[Randy N]

If I remember correctly, was there not games in which Rafer would completely ignore Rose on the court? No passes... pretty much wouldn't even look his way?

[voislav]

Sabonis was really good when he was younger, for a classic match I would recomend 1986 European Cup final between Zalgiris and Cibona Zagreb. It featured what turned out to be two of the best players ever to come from Europe, Sabonis and Drazen Petrovic and it has a "Zidane" moment from Sabonis when he's ejected in the second half.

Blogger's note: Now that would have been something to see. Thanks

[TMF]

Re: Eric B.'s question about the "fake and jump into someone" move... aka the best question Doug's received in a long time...

The NBA has to do something about this. It's the worst thing going on in the league today. It's one thing to make a good fake and get fouled as you go up to shoot normally, but more often than not in these situations, we see the offensive player practically jumping sideways into people. It's ridiculous. Much like a charge, if the offensive player is initiating all the contact, it should not be a defensive foul.

I don't think it should necessarily be an offensive foul, though... perhaps the league should pass a rule where refs are allowed to call a "play on" in those situations.

[jk]

Wow...Bosh returns in time to take on the big powerful Miami Heat...As long as we only face the likes of Miami, Minnesota or Memphis (we have already lost to Seattle WITH Bosh) in the playoffs, we should be golden....
Bosh's lack of ability to come through in the clutch against tough competition remains obscured...
The play of the Rockets over their 22 game winning streak proves you don't have to have superstars to win or be competitive and the sloppy, unprepared arrogance of the Raptors, from top to bottom, this year has been a real let down.
Raptors TV really should stop with those relentless promos for "the best point guard tandem in Raptors history" and the "amazing story of Jamario Moon"...they are starting to look ridiculous!

[yertu damkule]

TMF - the refs don't have to make a call (either a charge or block), it's just become expected that if someone on the court is flailing away, then a foul should be called. i agree that for situations in which the defender has position & the offensive player initiates the contact, it should be a no-call (or charge), but it's difficult to put into practice. it drives me crazy too...just because a defender bites on a fake, doesn't mean he necessarily is giving up his defensive position. i'm guessing that if the defender jumps straight up on the fake, and the shooter jumps into his space (initiating contact), 90% of the time it'll be a foul on the defender, 7% it'll be a no-call, and 3% will be a charge. it's infuriating to watch the NBA if you pay too close attention to this sorta crap...just have to accept it for what it is.

doug, a question, and i can't be bothered to put it into a mailbag so it can go unnoticed - does AP get fewer calls when driving the lane than most 2's? it seems he has to really take a solid whack to get a call, while some (cough, kobe, cough cough, lebron, cough, wade) seem to get a ridiculous amount of phantom calls...i mean, i've seen drives of theirs in which there was NO CONTACT WHATSOEVER - i mean, no one really in the vicinity, and they'll get the call (don't get me started on the travelling they get away with). does the obvious preferential treatment the stars get rub the non-stars on the raps (i.e. everyone but bosh, who's only now starting to get the benefit of the doubt) negatively? i mean, they must know what's going on...it's gotta be frustrating.

Blogger's note: I don't think he gets fewer calls, no. I think if he went more often, he might get more whistles but it's not like he's Corey Maggette initiating contact on all of his drives.

[shawn]

If you watched the last Raptor game in Utah you would have seen that the referees actually did something about this rule for once when they called a "foul" on Kapono for leaning in on his shot to try to draw contact. This was probably the worst call of the game as Kapono had barely moved forward and barely made contact with the defender, but was ruled as "initiating contact". Many players have gotten away with much worse on a regular basis (Billups, Kobe, Manu). It was just another example of the poor officiating in Utah once again.

[Naz I.]

JK, you need to take a chill pill, man...and I thought I was critical of the Raptors.

To tackle your points one by one:

- Bosh has played well against excellent opposition when healthy (battles against KG and TD come to mind). He cannot be blamed for being so much better than the next best big man on the team, Rasho so it is understandable that they struggle in his absence.

- The Rockets did have a "superstar" during their run, unless T-Mac is no longer considered one. If he isn't, then neither is Bosh. They also have some VERY talented role players.

- The best point guard tandem...you may have a point in the last 2 weeks, but let's face it, over the course of that tandem, no other one compares. Not even close.

- Even if Jamario Moon is waived today, and he's by no means close to the worst player on the team (and cheap, too), his story is still amazing...at least until an every day guy like you, JK, makes the starting lineup of a pro team.

[Eric]

It's too bad the Raps have a game vs Miami so soon. I think the way they feel today is actually a good thing, I would rather they feel like this for a little while longer so that it stings and really leaves a mark. As it stands, the Raptors will probably blow out the Heat tonight and go back to being complacent and sitting on their hands. I hope it doesn't happen but it probably will. It has every time before.

[DanH]

Eric - As much as I appreciate the sentiment (the Raps desperately need to learn some lessons), I think its too late in the season...

They need wins, and they need them now. With a weak schedule ahead (only 5 games against tough teams; Detroit twice, Hornets, Cavs, Nuggets), they should be gaining confidence as they go. Those last 9 games should do a world of good for the momentum heading into the playoffs.

As much as I fear the complacency you speak of, it is probably unavoidable whenever they start winning, judging on past results, so I think the sooner they start on a good streak, the better. Plus a better seed never (or rarely) hurts. Honestly I would rather the Raps played well heading into the playoffs and face the Cavs than play badly and face the Magic.

[Ricahrd Y]

A team I wish I could have seen would be the Edmonton Grads. Their record was 502-20 over 25 years. Naismith called them the best team to ever play the game.

Blogger's note: An excellent, excellent choice. If you haven't heard of them, go read about them. Now. Well, after the game, maybe