Good morning from the sunny, warm left coast (tee-hee! Sunny. Warm!)

Sorry I’m late. Damn time zones. You miss me? Didn’t think so.

Haven’t seen a starlet or a thespian yet, guess they don’t stay at airport hotels. What a drag. Did see campus of UCLA yesterday when the lads practiced there, not one street or building named after Darrick Martin, Jason Kapono or even Tracy Murray, for that matter. Maybe I just didn’t look hard enough. Or maybe not.

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So, what’s a realistic expectation for this trip?

How about a win. One. That’s it. If they get two, it’s a huge surprise.

LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS

Is there a worse way to kick off a road trip than this?

Don’t get all crazed back home, either; one win brings ‘em back over .500 to face a tough stretch (at Cleveland, Denver and Detroit) and that’s no picnic. But one’s better than none and you take away 22 points (not to mention the defensive contribution Bosh makes as you all read in today’s paper, right?) and winning gets exponentially harder.

Last season, Toronto came out west without Bosh and T.J. Ford won them two games, a buzzer-beater against the Clippers and a pass to Bargnani up in Portland at an overtime buzzer. Don’t see that happening.

Right now, without a guy who can truly, truly create his own shot in a one-possession game, I don’t see these guys winning at the buzzer by making plays. Maybe by having an opponent miss, yes; but doing it themselves? I don’t think so.

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It’s folly to guess at wins and losses the rest of the way but there are times I’m all about folly so I’m guessing they get 12 wins the rest of the way.

That leaves ‘em with, what, 46? Not a bad season given they lost T.J. for eight weeks, Bosh for what will be almost three, probably; and Garbo for the whole year.

And 46 gets ‘em fifth, I’m thinking.

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Not sure what to make of this Dwyane Wade thing, guess it makes sense for him to shut it down, glad I hadn’t bought tickets to watch the Heat play at home or in Toronto either of the times.

If they laid down before, imagine how bad it’ll be now?

One thing about Wade. Watching him a few times this season, maybe he can use the next few months to get on a diet; he looked a bit, um, chunky, didn’t he?

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We’re standing there talking to Sam after practice yesterday and, shockingly, the conversation gets around to Kobe and 81

"I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he jokes.

Off we go to chat with Chris Bosh about it and he says he was a spectator. I’m pretty sure he played so we ask, ‘huh?’

"I mean, everybody was a spectator on the court, we weren’t playing any defence,” he said. “You do have to give it to him, he hit a lot of tough shots but I mean maybe he could have hit 50 not 80, we gave him a lot of easy baskets, too.”

Is that what it’s come too? You hope you can hold him to 50?

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Let’s get into the mail for one:

Q: Something I've wondered for a while: You're a professional journalist, and covering this team is your job, but do you also consider yourself a fan? Do you get excited when the team is doing well? Are you disappointed when they lose? Or do you have to maintain an emotional distance in order to do your job properly?

Ken H, Toronto

A: You can’t be a fan, it clouds your judgement and impartiality and that can’t happen.

I can say I’m a fan of the game, there’s nothing better than a close game well played and it’s always more entertaining to watch than a blowout but as for being a fan of a team, even one you don’t cover? Can’t happen. Not saying it doesn’t with some guys, but it shouldn’t.

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Seems the Lakers aren’t all that panicky after losing at home to the Kings but I still wouldn’t want to go out and face them tonight ‘cause they’re sure to be onery.

Here’s the offering in today’s local fishwrap.

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Regular reader Bo K out in Hazelville wonders:

In addition to your "Three Big Men" (Bargnani, Bosh & Nesterovic) would you make your 'Five Little Men' Moon, Parker, Calderon, Delfino & Ford come playoff time?

You know, maybe it’s just me but I see a Six-Pack in the post-season. Toss Kapono in there but I’m sure Sam’s not going to abide by any defensive screw ups and after the first couple of times they leave three-point shooters (Szczerbiak, Turkoglu) they’ll end up on the bench.

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Agent Zero’s back at it; an interesting take on point guards in here.

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Another regular from the mail (and the rest of you letter writers don’t worry, all your stuff from Sunday and Monday is still in the hopper and I’ll get most of it answered in the next day or two)

Q: Doug, competing with big fellas re who gets through airport security first?! Sounds to me like it is time for a sabbatical.

Rasho gets 6 assists. Bargnani had a few the other night. Many have commented on the predictability of high screen and roll when Bosh is in the lineup. Are we starting to see some new arrays that Coach Mitchell may use come playoff time:

- TJ for making plays

- Point centres making assists to cutters.

In this way the opposition has to prepare for three different Raptor offences - not an easy task. Do other teams have such different offensive sets?

Charles N, Toronto

A: Not sure how ‘new’ they are but there have been some tweaks and some sets used we haven’t seen in a while. The one for Rasho was interesting. They post the ball to him about mid-post, Bargnani comes up from the corner to set a screen for the point guard and that gets to the top of the circle where he sets another one for the forward on the other side of the court. Somehow, somewhere, some defender is going to switch when he should, not switch when he should and someone’s going to get open.

I asked Magic, er, Rasho, about it after Sunday’s game and he said “it’s getting movement, getting the defence running around so they get lost.”

You know, sort of what every team does to Toronto?

Lots of teams put new stuff in, or wrinkles on existing sets, for the playoffs. That’s why the post-season is a game of mid-series adjustments, seeing what teams have done to change things and finding ways to adapt to it.

The Night After The Day Before?

Okay, it's 3:45 a.m. where I live, 12:45 a.m. where I am, I think the game was yesterday or maybe it was today. Anyway, don't get used to this, had some time on the plane to write. No idea how these goofy time zones out here will have an impact on the daily stuff, guess I'll do it whenever I wake up. Or maybe before I go to sleep. Which will be either this morning or last night or some other day.

Have fun reading.

Score one for the little fella. After standing in an interminable customs line at Pearson yesterday and watching the charter-bound boys head to their private line, it did my heart proud that I actually beat a few of ‘em to security and through. Of course, they immediately boarded a bus back to their charter plane and I went to the lounge to wait for a couple of hours but for a minute there …

Anyway, here we go

Three Things I Learned

The Three Big Men

I know the Hump went crazy with six shots made in a row but if the last five games have shown anything, it’s that the frontcourt rotation in the playoffs should only include Bosh, Bargnani and Nesterovic. No one else. Not for a minute. There are no back-to-backs, no arduous travel, the matchups with both Orlando and Cleveland would seem to favour a guy of Rasho’s size and experience. Regular readers will know I’ve been a Rasho fan for a good long while and watching him go for 16 points at least in three of the last five games while acting as a pretty good defensive anchor only hammer that point home more.

I know Sam will find himself calling for the Hump when he thinks there’s a need for some energetic rebounding but he should ignore that little voice in his head and stick with the three big men only.

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The Three Point Shots

Hey, Jason Kapono can hit three-pointers, I saw him do it twice Sunday afternoon. Didn’t even have to check a video after, they were legit threes, the first two he’s made in more than a month. But here’s the funny thing: Neither of them came off “plays.”

The second came off a Hump offensive rebound, the first was on a good old T.J. drive and dish, nothing specific to Kapono, nothing drawn up with a three-pointer in mind. And that’s the way he’s going to get them most often, as he did living off Dwyane Wade’s drive and kicks a year ago, double-teams on Shaq and open looks in transition. Because Toronto needs him on the boards defensively – like they need everyone – he’s not going to get many in transition; because they don’t have Wade or Shaq, he’s not going to get them off guard penetration or many double-teams. He’s going to get them like he did yesterday, in the flow of the game.

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A Foul-Free Zone, For Now

Have you noticed that in his last four games, Andrea’s committed only four fouls in total? And it’s not like he hasn’t been in the fray, he’s had 17 rebounds in those four games – some of them even in traffic – so he’s actually hanging around the basket on defence. I’m not saying he’s “got it” entirely but even the big detractors out there have to admit he’s playing pretty well of late.

Even Sunday’s grotesque shooting line – 6-for-21, 0-for-7 from three – can be shrugged off as a bad night from the floor. You’d have to look pretty long and pretty hard to find one of those shots that was “bad.”

Kid’s piling up the minutes, too. More than 47 against Seattle, more than 48 against Washington, which makes those foul totals even more impressive.

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As usual, let’s get into the mailbag right away

Q: Watching the Raptors the past few games with Bosh out has been painful. It seems to me that the Raps still have enough to win most of the games they lost. Am I right in thinking that it just takes for the team to adjust when the focal point of their offence and rebounding is gone? I actually think that this absence of Bosh is good for the team's growth in the long run. They'll learn more, and just like Yao Ming, every time Bosh comes back from an injury, he comes back a better player, which shows that he uses his injury time wisely watching the team. What do you think?

Kennedy W, Markham

A: I don’t think it’s ever good to have a team’s best player injured, no matter who steps up to play well during that time. And, don’t forget, it takes time to make an adjustment to not having Bosh and it’s going to take a few games to adjust to having him back, too. For both him and the team.

That said, I think they should give Bosh as much time as he needs – and then another week – to come back from this injury.

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A couple of travel-weary Seattle writers didn’t make it in from Friday’s game in Philly under after Sunday’s game had begun because of the stinky weather (have I mentioned how tired I am of snow?) but here’s how Percy Allen chronicled the events with he finally got around to seeing them.

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Here’s one for you to digest with your coffee this morning.

The combined home records of five team Toronto will play over the next seven days is 114-38.

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As one music fan among the travel party points out, it’d be waaaaay better for Toronto to face Orlando rather than Cleveland in the first round.

If it’s the Magic, the playoffs couldn’t start until Sunday, April 20 because Bruce Springsteen’s in the Orlando arena on the 19^th and then we, um, some people could head over to St. Pete’s on the off-day April 21 because he’s playing there that night.

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Oh, that zany Primoz.

Some guys change jerseys at halftime, he changes hairstyles.

Not sure if you all caught it but he came out to start Sunday’s game with some wacky ‘faux-hawk’ (at least that’s what the young kids on press row were calling, I just thought it looked silly. Then halftime comes and he’s back out looking his normal self.

I guess that’s what five minutes of 0-for-3, two rebound, one turnover, one foul play will force you to do.

It did allow Quag 2.0 to come up with the day’s best question: “What,” he asks, “was your favourite moment of the ‘faux-hawk era?” None of us could come up with one aside from Brezec putting his headband on the PA announcer’s head. Guess it wouldn’t fit on the chicken.

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The Lakers, a mere 16-3 since they acquired Pau Gasol (and that includes that rather impressive win over Toronto that started it) suffered a wee blip Sunday night. That oughta get 'em nice and riled up for Tuesday. Here’s how it played in the pages of the L.A. Times.

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A couple from the mail to finish it off? Sure, why not

Q: Hey Doug, I've been enjoying the blog for so long, decided to finally send in a question or two:

I noticed Ex-Rap Michael Curry behind the bench with the Pistons as an assistant coach, any other ex-Raps also working in a coaching (or scouting) capacity in the NBA? Also do you see a future in the organization for Darrick Martin in a coaching capacity, given his mentor status on the team right now?

I've been a Raptors fan for since the beginning, and the only thing approaching a rivalry we've had in our storied history was that thing with the 76ers. With the Nets not really in the rivalry picture anymore, which other team in the East do you see as us having a REAL competitive rivalry with for the next few years? (My money is on Orlando)

Roman D, Toronto

A: This is like list time. We’re limiting it to ex-players, right?

Okay, we’ve got Popeye Jones working in Dallas, Dell Curry was an assistant in Charlotte at the start of the year but he moved back into the front office, and there are two more that are going to take you waaaaay back. Herb Williams, a Raptor for a whole game, remains an assistant in New York and Tyrone Corbin, who played 15 games in 2000-01, is on Jerry Sloan’s staff in Utah. Not sure about college scouting or European scouting because I don’t see many of those guys around.

And I think there’s a place for Darrick Martin on the staff if he wants it, and I know coaching is something he’s quite interested in. Not sure, though, whether a guy wants to move from the bench to the staff with the same team right away, he might want to go away for a year or so and come back. But I haven’t spoken about this with him so that’s just speculation.

As for the rivalry? They had a pretty good one with the Knicks, don’t forget, back when they were annual playoff opponents. Orlando might be the one that emerges but I think Boston might be one that develops over the next couple of years.

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Q: I was a fan of Carlos Rogers back in the day (Lesser half of "twin-towers" with Marcus Camby), and I remember he gave one of his kidneys to his sister in order to rescue her from a life-threatening disease. I feel it was the best feel good story provided by any Raptor.

Mr. Smith please let me if there are any feel good Raptor episodes you can share with us.

Ken H, Toronto

A: Actually, Carlos never got a chance to donate that kidney before his sister passed away. Tragic story, one of the saddest around this team ever. (A Carlos where-are-they-now update: He's still living in the Detroit area and every now and then we see him wandering the sidelines at Pistons games in the Palace.

Other feel good stories? You know what was maybe he best feel-good story of the past 10 years? Seeing Charlie Villanueva in almost every city on the road, meeting with kids who have Alopecia Areata and letting them know it was okay to be themselves. Chuck V was a hero to a lot of those kids and, I swear, seeing them smile when he hung with them made even a bitter cynical old grunt feel good.

Sunday's delivery, package 2

Oh, about that winter? Had enough? I have.

But I LOVE mail.

Q: I am the delightful fella that was badgering you a month ago about acquiring some veteran toughness and edge.

Well I have been thinking lately which I know sounds dangerous and I came up with quite the query. I had always been of the opinion that in order for this team to win Bosh would have to be Bosh, Bargnani would have to develop into a near all-star with modest to good rebounding skills and the final piece of the frontline would have to be a borderline starting power player like Reggie Evans that could come into the game and just rebound the you know what out of the ball.

All this being said, I am now starting to question the philosophy of our frontline future. With the end goal of winning a championship I think we would be better served to have a starting centre capable of doing the dirty work for this finesse based team. Someone such as Emeka Okafor. A player who can do the dirty work but isn't an offensive liability. Would a deal with Bargnani and Okafor as the central pieces make sense in the long run from a philosophical standpoint?  While I believe Bargnani will be a good player can this team eventually win a championship with this as our starting frontcourt?

Jef M, St. Catharines

A: There’s a lot of love for Emeka Okafor around here. Unfounded, in my humble opinion. The dude is going to want like $50 million on his next contract and, as a 60 per cent career free throw shooter, you can’t have him on the court in the final minutes of a close game. He may be a pretty good rebounder – and has been on a very bad team – but if you’re looking to spend that kind of money, there’s better places to spend it.

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Q: What's up with that facemask Rip Hamilton always wears? Is it some kind of Andrew Lloyd Webber tribute or what?

Jim W, Victoria

A: He’s had a bunch of broken bones and one more could be career-threatening. So it’s look like that and play; or not look like that, get hit and not play again. Pretty simple to me.

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Q: You know what would be even better then putting the link to submit questions under your pic... Put it right on the Stars main sports page with the link to your blog. ;-)  I keed, I keed...

To relieve yourself of some of the repeated questions it'd be nice if there was a link for player info (free agent status, salaries, length of contract) and budget related issues (current budget, cap, tax) stuff. Maybe even create a wikki for nba/raptor terms/info. Might even find a techi among your readers to format the content for you.

CJ L, London

A: Not a bad idea but, dude, I’d need more help than I can get. Took me weeks to figure out how to do links and embed video, this whole ‘wikki’ thing is just making my head hurt.

Besides, if it’s all laid out in one spot, what would 60 per cent of the letter-writers write about?

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Q: Man BC should have signed Magloire. Fire Mitchell. Trade Ford.  Brezec is great. Let's trade Calderon for a superstar wing player and get rid of our insurance policy in case Ford has one more career-threatening fall. Ukic can back up Ford/Calderon or for that matter start next season. Colangelo has done nothing here. Do I sound familiar? Okay, onto my question.  On one hand you can look at the Raptors injuries and Bargnani's struggles and justify their win-loss record. On the other hand you can look at their poor record in close games which I think is something like 5-15 and also look at the many games they have lost to bottom feeding teams and say they should have at least five more wins and be 15+ games over .500!  I know shoulda woulda coulda. What are your thoughts on this and why is their record in close games so bad compared to last season?

Derek H, Markham

A: I think, and I’ve said this often, they are not mentally tough enough yet and tend to take teams with worse records lightly. That might explain the inexplicable losses.

As for the close games? Last year they were 13-8 in games decided by four points or fewer, they are 4-10 this year. I don’t think there’s one reason, sometimes it’s a mental breakdown, sometimes it’s a missed shot. And, if they’d caught a few breaks, their record would be three or four games better and a lot of the angst around these parts would not exist.

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Q: Hey Doug, I would like to know why the Raptors don't play any games on Thursday? Is it like the floor 13 for buildings?

Jack W, Brampton

A: Except for the odd occasion, Thursday’s are the sole domain of TNT and that national broadcaster has shown no interest in putting a Raptor game on. Maybe next year. Back in the day, broadcast rules said each team has to appear on Turner at least once a season but the broadcaster got that changed.

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Q: What kind of mental homework do the Rap players do regarding rebounding? Can they learn something from a guy like Jerry Lucas, 15.6 boards per game career, only 6-8 and NO vertical jump.

"I broke a lot of rules in rebounding. Boxing out wasn't important to me because I was going to get there first anyway.As a rule, I never boxed out. I just went out and got the ball.” Unbelievable!

Luke M, Toronto

A: If this was the 60s and early-70s, I’d suggest they could probably get away without boxing out. You’ll have to admit that the athleticism of players is somewhat, um, enhanced since Lucas’s day. He was a marvel, though, but comparing what he did against that era of player to what transpires today is unfair.

Sunday's delivery, package 1

Did I mention how much I hate winter? Or shovelling? Or snow? Or drivers who all of a sudden can’t drive? Or winter? And shovelling? And snow?

But I luuuuuuuv mail

Q: Chris Duhon is a free agent this summer, do you see the Raps acquiring him because, I don't see Chicago trying to keep him, seeing as he hasn't played, since the Gooden/Hughes trade.

But overall do you think Duhon would be a good piece for the Raps

Tim L, London

A: No, I don’t think he’s a good fit at all and if the Raptors go into the free agent market and come back with Chris Duhon it’s been a failure of a summer

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Q: The Rockets recently waived Gerald Green. Maybe you could coax Bryan Colangelo into giving him an opportunity in Toronto before someone else signs him to a contract. He's got tons of talent and played pretty well for the Celtics last year. It's beyond me why the Wolves and Rockets gave up on him, but he's exactly the sort of athletic and skilled wingman the Raps need.

Jas M, Zurich

A: Perhaps the fact three teams gave up on him (and he was very, very average on a 21-win Boston team) would be an indication that maybe he’s not quite as talented as you think. He’s a marginal NBAer, if that. Although dunking in stocking feet’s pretty cool.

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Q: Maybe I should ask this of Chuck Swirsky and Leo Rautins as they are the guilty ones:  Why don't broadcasters/stats-keepers factor turnovers into the Shooting percentage?

(Friday) night Leo and Chuck were knocking the Raps for "letting" the Wizards shoot 50% (41/82). The Wiz had 21 turnovers; in my book that means they only scored on 41 of 103 attempts or a much more pedestrian 40% or so. I would assume any team would be thrilled to keep their opponent to 40% shooting. Sure, some turnovers are unforced, but some shots are ridiculously stupid (or 3/4 court heaves) but they still count as attempts. In my mind, a shot that is blocked has the same result as a shot with doesn't get off because it is stripped and stolen (ie: zero points). Shouldn't the raps have been pleased to keep the Whiz to 40%? Of course, my logic means they only shot 36% (39/108) but no one is saying they shot well as a team...

Brook N, Toronto

A: I think you should find a nice number-crunching stat site and pitch this to them. But to get the entire league to change the way it figures out shooting percentage? Not going to happen. As it says, it’s “shooting percentage” not “possession percentage.”

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Q: Wasn't there a clause in Bryan Colangelo's contract stating he couldn't bring anyone from the Suns organization to Toronto within two years of him signing his initial deal?
Since it’s going to be two years this summer, do you see any changes coming to the front office staff this summer?

Justin Z, Toronto

A: Ah, the famous Marc Iavoroni clause? (How’d that work out, anyway?)

Actually, I think Bryan’s pretty pleased with the basketball braintrust he’s put together – and justifiably so – so I don’t anticipate any front office changes this summer.

And, actually, it’s been two years now, his anniversary was at the end of February. We missed it, unfortunately, but a belated Happy Anniversary.

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Q: Hi Doug, seems you are right on track with BC aka Noah...natural order would dictate he must acquire Nocioni to round out his pair of Argentinians. My question, what is Nocioni's status regarding a sign or a trade to bring him here?

Alex L, Sudbury

A: Nocioni’s got an interesting contract. He’ll get $8 million next year, $7.5 million in ’09-10, $6.85 million in ’10-11 and $6.65 in ’11-12. There’s a team option for 2012-13 but I’m not sure of its value.

So, it’d have to be a trade.

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Q: The Grange is stirring up rumors about TJ apparently being unhappy being a bench player. I haven't noticed any comments on the subject on your blog which I read regularly. While you say that the minutes from last night (39-14 split) worked, something tells me they didn't work for TJ.

If TJ really is unhappy, how do you see this shaking out?  Come on Doug, speculate here for us!

Fergal M, Kingston

A: M. Grange ™ isn’t stirring up rumours, he’s reporting what he finds out.

How do I see it shaking out? I see T.J. finally accepting his role for the rest of this season. I’m sure he’s ticked, and a bit hurt and a bit confused but he’ll get over it.

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Q: Isn't (Andre) Igoudala a free agent this summer? Apparently he turned down a big time contract so what are the chances we can acquire him?

Samir E, Scarborough

A: Iguodala’s a restricted free agent and I can’t see a scenario by which Toronto has any chance to get him.

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Q: Doug In (Friday’s) overtime Jose lobs the ball to Jamario who is fouled as he tries to dunk. Why was that not a shooting foul? He definitely got his hand on the ball to try and dunk it.

Jim B, Bedford, N.S.

A: The officials rule, correctly if you look closely at the replay, that it was a loose-ball foul that occurred before Moon had control of the ball.

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Q: Doug, can you explain why Sam went with Delfino instead of Rasho late in the fourth period and in overtime? I can't see any advantage for the Raptors in putting Delfino over Rasho in the final minutes when they need to get rebounds and stops.

John H, Toronto

A: He probably should have substituted offence-defence with Rasho and Delfino, rather than just putting Rasho in to rebound free throws. But he needed Delfino’s offence, or the threat of it, on the court when Toronto had the ball. And it might have bitten them the bum when Stevenson got that tip of Jamison’s miss that put Washington up by 20 with 21 seconds left in the fourth.

The Morning After The Night Before, LVII

The wave? You people in the stands were doing the wave? What was it, ‘80s night? Yeesh. Helluva game, though, wasn’t it? Close, pretty well played, in doubt to the final seconds. You got your money’s worth. And I presume lots of people who need it are thanking the nice ones among you for the free slice of pizza they’ll have this afternoon.

And away we go

Three Things I Learned

Head you off at the pass

No, T.J. Ford did not lose them the game; no Sam Mitchell did not lose them the game. Ford has to play, Calderon isn’t going to go 48 minutes and a 39-14 split was about right. Ford’s start of the fourth quarter – two missed layups and a turnover – weren’t great but there were lots of instances after that at least contributed.

Bargnani’s foul on Jamison in the final 30 seconds was a mental blip; AP missing that shot (the same shot he makes with regularity) late in overtime hurt, so did Stevenson’s tip of Jamison’s miss at the end of regulation.

I killed both Ford and Mitchell after Orlando, they don’t get the same treatment today.

Last night was just a game where one team won by making more plays down the stretch. That team wasn’t Toronto.

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A pet peeve

Regular readers, and irregular ones, know that I’m generally okay with refs, who have the hardest job in all pro sports, in my opinion. You’ve got big, fast guys colliding on every possession in a very small area and they could probably call a foul on every play.

But there’s one call that irks me no end and we saw it last night.

Parker’s going to basket a bit off balance, tosses up a shot while he’s bumped by DeShawn Stevenson with about three minutes left in the third. The shot misses and about a second and a half later, the whistle blows and a foul is called.

It was one of those “if the ball goes in, they don’t blow the whistle” deals and I hate ‘em.

End of rant.

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Still on ugly shots

For last night’s entry, I give you Andrea’s ‘lean-in-try-to-draw-a-foul’ attempt in the first quarter that hit the side of the backboard.

Of course, when he finally gets it right, leaning into Darius Songalia and getting the call, he ends up missing both free throws.

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Adam out in Walla Walla, Washington’s been pestering for a couple of days with this kind of good stuff:

In reference to the email I sent you last night, I understand it may have been a bit wordy--feel free to edit it or this one.
But my main point still stands: I want to see 1,000 Raptors fans on Sunday waving "Save the Sonics" signs. It can happen, right?

I don’t think it can happen, unless someone gets 1,000 signs printed up today and hands ‘em out ‘cause even snowbound, I’m thinking Raptor fans aren’t all that emotional about Seattle.

They should be, though. It’s one of the great cities and storied franchises in the league. Losing it for Oklahoma City (no disrespect to Oklahomans) would suck.

Trouble is, I entirely understand not using public money to fund arenas for pro sports teams (although the folks in Washington did help out the Seahawks and Mariners, so why not the Sonics?) and that’s one of the sticking issues out there.

There were reports this week that a local group of the uber-rich may ride in at the last minute to save the day but that’s a longshot.

Maybe some folks at home can make some signs to show their distaste for the impending move, maybe a big ovation when they introduce the starters.

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Speaking of the Sonics, they were edged by 37 in Philly on Friday and it’s a full-on youth movement as Percy Allen explains here. And here's how last night's game played in the pages of the Washington Post.

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So, Alexander Johnson gets suspended for smacking Andrea – the only right thing to do.

Not sure what this says, but it does say something: There have been three guys suspended for hitting Raptors this season (Al Horford and Anthony Johnson of Atlanta, Miami’s Johnson) and not one single Raptor has even had a Flagrant Penalty I called all season.

But, as they say, it’s been forever thus.

In the long and not-so-storied history of the franchise only two players – Keon Clark for elbowing Troy Murphy in 2001 and Corliss Williamson for getting in a scrap with Tom Gugliotta – have ever been suspended for on-court acts of aggression.

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One more from the full mailbag and don’t forget to check back here tomorrow for the usual bonus instalment.

Q: A lot of talk of Andrea’s play of late and watching the last couple games I’ve noticed he’s coming up short and flat on quite a few of his jumpers (off front rim). I’ve often heard that this can be attributed to fatigue, is this true, or do you feel he is just plain struggling?
Also, it seems that Andrea too easily allows poor offensive nights (which are often) spill over into other parts of his game.  For example, on nights he goes 2-11 from the field it’s as if he forgets to rebound or help on the weak side D. On nights that he has it going, such as versus the Knicks, he goes 9-17 from the field with seven boards and does his best impersonation of Forderon with five dimes. Is this mental? What can Sam/teammates do to remind Bargnani that he is capable of contributing to the team when his shot is not falling?

Rohit D, Brampton

A: What can they do? Do just what they do every single day of the season. Remind of the other things he has to do, rebound, play defence, pass up shots if his isn’t falling. It’s up to him to listen.

As for the flat jumper? They have this shot-retrieval contraption in the practice gym and we’ve seen him working with it often. At first glance, it looks like simply a machine that gets funnels balls down to kind of gun that shoots ‘em back out at the shooter. We figured it was an unnecessary luxury since they’ve got about a billion staffers who could rebound for him.

And then Jay Triano pointed out to us that the sides of the thing extend up above the rim, forcing the shooter to put extra arc on his shot.

Ingenious. And something Bargnani needs to work more on.

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And finally, we’d be remiss without some props to travel guy/equipment guru Kevin DiPietro, who was apparently named Most Valuable Player or Employee Of The Month or somesuch by the MLSEL folks the other day.

Kevvy’s biggest contribution? Besides answering questions about practice times, gym availability and whatever else we need to know was that he manufactured the ball racks Jason Kapono used to practice before the three-point shot contest this year.

Not sure what untold riches he got for the victory but I’m sure it’ll be enough to take and his backroom partner Paul Elliott (not to mention a beat grunt or two) out for a cocktail sometime.

The mail, at least the first part, is in

Oh yeah, that permanent link to the mail bag on the blog was a greeeeaaat idea! I swear none of you work, do you? Just sit at home or at the desk and come up with questions, don’t you? (I keed, I keed, of course).
But, seriously folks, I’ve got a billion or so here, another zillion or so answered and a kabillion or two to get at. And I will over the course of the weekend so don’t despair if you’re not in here, you’ll probably be in tomorrow or Sunday.

And my fingers hurt from typing.

Q: Just wondering if you've ever been to a Harlem Globetrotters game. They'll be coming to Kingston in a few weeks and I'm just curious to see what I can expect from them.

Sam C, Kingston

A: You’re a regular in these parts, aren’t you?

I saw the Globetrotters eons ago, with Meadowlark Lemon and Curly Neal and I remember checking with ABC’s Wide World of Sports each Saturday to see if they were on from some aircraft carrier or something.

I haven’t seen them in years and years and years so I don’t know what you’d get. I have a feeling they’ve fallen off a bit over the past little while. You’ll see shenanigans (like a fake bucket of water they throw in the face of fan or a ref) but as for basketball? I’m not sure how entertaining it’ll be.

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Q: It is early to talk about the draft, but I think there are two philosophies when drafting. Either drafting for what your team needs (this philosophy got us Araujo, since the team needed a centre); or, drafting the best player available (which got Charlie V, when we had a power forward named Bosh, but who got us a great asset in a trade later).

Do you know which philosophy the Raptors are leaning towards this year in the draft? I know there is a crying need for a slashing guard/forward, but I submit it is still better just to take the best player available.

Sohail G, Kelowna

A: A draft philosophy question I’ll answer. A question about a specific player? Not yet.

I was talking to a high-ranking team official on the weekend and he told me this draft is full of bigs so I’d presume that’s the way they’ll go. They’ll search out a veteran wing in free agency or via trade; they expect Roko Ukic here to be the third point guard so a centre will be their top priority.

But, if some stud small forward is there unexpectedly when they draft they won’t pass him up. They doubt that, though.

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Q: I get the sense you are negatively disposed towards Primoz Brezec. And while this first sentence is a bit of an understatement, I have to admit he isn't great. That said, I thought he played with more intensity (Sunday) than most of the Raps (excepting perhaps Parker) and you can't deny he is passionate -- angrily corralling at least RB away from Mohammad and drawing a foul at same time. And (whoop-dee-do) he outplayed Mohammed: Same points, fewer minutes, more rebounds, fewer turnovers. He did get four fouls in 11 minutes, but at least three of them were on wing players slashing to the basket.

Tell me though, isn't it nice (as a reporter) to be able to get quotable quotes off a new player that are like this: "I think we were soft tonight, very soft. We’ve got to man up a little bit. Our focus was not there."

I like hearing it as a fan -- because he is right: the rebounding can only get consistently better if they are willing to man-up a bit more. PB certainly isn't a Godsend, and he isn't even walking his own talk incredibly well. I think, however, he is pointed in the right direction -- and it is nice to have a player (however briefly) who won't easily fit into the category of "soft."

Brook N, Toronto

A: Good quotes carry a lot more weight if they come from someone who plays regularly. Brezec may indeed end up getting 10 minutes a night (especially now that Bosh is out and Hump’s regressed to his shoot-first-pass-as-only-a-last-resort self) but if he’s here in training camp, I will be absolutely shocked.

The Morning After The Night Before, LVI

Too bad so many of you decided after the Orlando game to quit watching, to start following hockey, to give away all your tickets and burn your Vincenzo Esposito replica jerseys.

Wasn’t too bad a game in Miami, they played pretty well and won easily. Pretty sure some of you might actually take another glance at them tomorrow.

But for the quitters, we’ll keep giving you stuff here to keep you up to date.

Like …

Three Things I Learned

Some toughness?

Lord knows my opinion of Bargnani’s “toughness” is quite low but I’ve got to give the kid credit. That was a helluva take down by Alexander Johnson. My immediate reaction was “career-threatening” but the dude shook it off, got up, spat out some blood and made free throws. Funny thing was, he’d been playing with more aggression than we’re used to, I’m wondering if there’s a trickle down effect and he avoids the paint now like it’s toxic.

Oh, and I’d think when the league gets a look at that hit, it’ll be upgraded to a Flagrant Penalty II and Mr. Johnson will get a night off. If they got Nowitzki for the takedown on Kirilenko, they’ll probably get Johnson, too.

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Issues?

So, T.J. huddles with his coach and his GM’s right hand man for a while before the game to go through some “personal issues.” What to make of it? Well, could be anything but it’s obvious something’s bothering him. The body language has sucked, his propensity to try and do too much was back again in Orlando and you should only hope he gets through it quickly. He wasn’t great in Miami but he wasn’t horrible. The easy thing to do is chalk it up to some simmering problem with Jose but, if you do, ask yourself, why now? Why not last weekend? Why not when he first came back? Maybe there are other life issues going on that are in his mind.

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The Heat suck

I don’t know how else to say it. No enthusiasm, no effort, no cohesion. And let me ask you something: Shouldn’t a team with all-star Dwyane Wade, all-star Shawn Marion, a serviceable big in Mark Blount, a streaky yet athletic Ricky Davis and a passable point guard in Jason Williams be better? That’s not a bad starting five, is it? So why do they suck? Maybe all those guys have talent but no heart because they gave up last night, early and completely. Pat Riley said after the gae he’d weed out the guys who didn’t care, I’m thinking nine or 10 new guys might be in order.

I’ll tell you one thing: If Marion opts out of a contract that pays him $17 million next season he should have his head examined. Him getting that salary in these times is stealing.

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Sorta from the mail:

Tim B. in Cambridge, along with several others, wonders:

Loved your take on what you would do if you were Bryan C. Could you elaborate a little as to why you put Nocioni first? I don't know as much about his game as the others. What do you see his benefits being over Kirilenko's.

Nocioni’s a tough defender, can stick the three-pointer, can defend multiple positions and is a good team player, that’s why I like him A lot. He doesn’t really need plays called for him to score and he’s got less money (about $28 million compared to about $48 million) left on his deal than Kirilenko does.

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It was brought to my attention for an old-time scribbler, a dude who was there in the dark days of the franchise’s existence with me, that the suggestion that Bargnani’s pump-fake-draw-a-foul escapade the other night might not automatically be the ugliest looking play ever.

He points to the existence of Acie Earl and a night against Houston when Zan Tabak missed the entire backboard with a wide open three-footer.

Those two are right there with Bargs.

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Saw highlights of that Boston-Detroit game last night and all I can say is the Eastern Final, if it’s those two teams, will be a war. Nice elbow by Ray Allen to Rip Hamilton I believe it was, lots of hard, hard screens and intensity unmatched in most regular season games.

Take a read of the Boston and Detroit papers and see what they were saying . Sounds like KG was a bit geeked for that game.

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Speaking of mail

Q: During the Miami game I noticed that Rasho tipped a lot of rebounds out to his teammates. Who gets credit for these rebounds? I thought it would be the player who grabs the ball, but I remember one play when Rasho tipped it out and Brags grabbed the ball. In the box score Bargs has zero rebounds. What up with that?

Alan S, St. John’s

A: If you “control” a tip, that is if you know where you’re hitting it, you get credit for a rebound. And I believe zero rebounds was on merit.

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And speaking of other papers, read Riley’s rant from my man Ira.

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No one’s sure if Agent Zero is going to travel here with the Wizards tomorrow night. Just in case, you might want to make some signs to, um, welcome him?

It will be interesting to see how Jose plays. The Jose I know loves challenges in his own little under-stated way and I’m pretty sure he’ll have a big game. Don’t let his relatively calm exterior fool you, that dude is a competitor, he takes losing maybe harder than anyone in the room not named Bosh and if he’s extra hyped to play the Wizards and show his stuff, he’s gonna go off.

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One thing I’m wondering is if Bosh will play. Read the reports today that says he’s still not running and if he’s not running and they’re not practicing today, I’ll be quite surprised if he’s in the lineup tomorrow. Of course, it now means mandatory attendance at shootaround in the morning to see what’s up.

The Morning After The Night Before, LV

Game starts about 7:10, maybe 7:12 and takes 2:12 so it’s over right around 9:24, maybe 9:26 and, I swear, there were 22 scathing e-mails in the inbox by 10 p.m. last night. You know what they were all about, T.J. and Sam, Sam and T.J., and the way last night’s fourth quarter unfolded.

I can’t run them all, most were simply rants and didn’t include questions but maybe what follows will help ease the considerable pain many of you feel.

But, no, no one’s getting fired and T.J. will be back in his regular role in Miami tonight. I know that’s not what a lot of you want to hear, but it’s the way it is.

On to the good stuff:

Three Things I Learned

Have at him

Lord knows there’s been enough unjustified criticism of T.J. Ford out there in the past, today, let ‘er rip.

The first nine shots of the fourth quarter in a close game? Man, that’s inexcusable. I had a feeling he was in one of his odd moods at the end of the second quarter when he dribbled in and out of traffic about three times, ignoring at least two open teammates behind the arc, and threw up that dopey prayer of a shot that went in.

Who knew that might be the high point of his night?

That fourth quarter was as odd a display of basketball as I’ve seen him ever put on. And I’m pretty sure even a diplomatic Sam (“We need him to score but he has to keep other guys involved, too.” Sam said as I typed watching TV post-game) is going to have a word with him about that kind of display.

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Where’s Rasho?

Fourth quarter, game’s getting out of hand, Howard’s going off and Sam leaves an absolutely over-matched Andrea Bargnani out there to guard him? That was a bad, bad gamble. It wasn’t like Bargnani was lighting it up at the other end or anything. And, early in the third quarter when Bargnani pump-faked and tried to draw the foul? That might have been the ugliest basketball move I’ve ever seen in an NBA game and I’ve watched this franchise of all 13 of its seasons, making me one of the world’s foremost experts on ugly basketball moves.

Talk about ‘stepping up’ in Bosh’s absence? Bargnani: 45 minutes, 4-19 from the field, 0-5 from three point range, 10 rebounds, no impact.

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What you didn’t see

And neither did I but a spy sitting courtside tells me during one timeout the Magaic mascot, a not particularly fearsome looking dragon, was goofing around near the Raptor bench.

Seems Primoz Brezec, for some reason known only to Primoz Brezec, took great umbrage at a stuffed animal having fun and slugged the thing. Then he tells him, ‘bleep you, I’ll bleep you up.’

Yeah, that’s ‘manning up’ like the best of ‘em, smacking a mascot

Bush league, if you ask me.

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Into the mailbag and let’s get this out of the way in a hurry

Q: Coach of the year calls a timeout to draw up a play for the last eight seconds of the half. Ends up in Humphries going 1 on 1 and putting up an air ball. Wow. Well at least they kept it close in the first halftime for them to get blown out, so I'll watch the Leafs. To think I was actually going to watch this game.

Grant C, Orangeville

A: This came in about two minutes into the second half, I wondered how long it would take. No, that’s not what the play was. Hump was supposed to hand the ball back off to Jose. Hope you enjoyed the Leaves.

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Now, for some good news.

If I’m Bryan Colangelo, and sadly I’m not, this summer is time to make the bold move. He’s got expiring contracts worth any combination of salary from about $2 million to $20 million and he can mix and match Rasho, Garbo, AP, Joey, Maceo and Moon however he sees fit.

I know a bit about how the GM thinks and he’s pouring over rosters finding an impact two or three from a team that might want to save some money long-term and he’s ready to wheel and deal.

So, here’s my list of guys he can, and should, go after. It’s not in any particular order.

Andres Nocioni, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Miller, Richard Jefferson, Boris Diaw, Andrei Kirilenko, Al Harrington, Jason Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith, Michael Redd.

What he’s got to do is find a team facing possible tax problems in a year or two – a team with a lot of young guys who’ll need to be paid at the same time – or a team that doesn’t quite work as it’s constructed.

Four situations jump out at me: Nocioni, Miller, Jefferson and Kirilenko.

Personally, of that group, I rank 'em Nocioni, Kirilenko, Jefferson Miller.

He can’t sell it as a purely present day basketball but if he tosses in a draft pick or two it might make it more palatable.

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Oh, right, here’s what they wrote in Orlando about the game last night and what they’ve written about the big contest in Miami this evening.

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It’s not just that they can’t defend twos and threes, they can’t score with them, either.

Did you know, and I’m sure some did, that on 14 occasions this year, a small forward or shooting guard has lit up the Raptors for 25 or more points in a game, eight times a guy’s gone off for 30-plus and one was over 40?

On the other hand, Toronto has never had a two or three get 30 in a game, only for times has anyone hit 25.

Brutal.

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We’ll end with two from the mail

Q: As a dedicated Raptors fan, I have a great deal of respect for Sam Mitchell as a coach.  However, there are aspects of his coaching philosophy that I do find fault in.  For example, I believe that he gives preference to certain players more, as in the situations with Bargnani and Moon.

I highly doubt that Bargnani would be starting on a consistent basis without the pointed push from the guys upstairs.  Bargnani seems to be constantly in Sam's perpetual "doghouse", along with the likes of Rasho and Joey.
So with this in mind I have two questions for you:

Is Sam more partial towards those players whose careers and work ethics mimic his own NBA experience as a player?

Do you think that Sam lets his personal player preferences dictate his sub choices in a negative way?

Stacey M, Winnipeg

A: I don’t think it’s a personal preference, although that comes into play subliminally with lots of coaches.

Bargnani gets a wee bit longer rope than most because they have so much invested in him, they have to give him time to get better and the only way that’s going to happen is to play.

Moon? I don’t get Moon these days, either. Unless Sam’s just got so little confidence in either Delfino or Kapono that he sees Moon as the lesser of two evils, it makes little sense to me that a starting lineup change hasn’t been made.

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Q: It seems to be etched in stone that the Raps won't get into a situation where they must pay the luxury tax. How many NBA teams are currently paying that tax? Is there a sound basketball basis for not signing players that force you to pay the tax or is it simply to save money for the paupers that run MLSE?

Eric E, Roslin

A: After checking my handy-dandy salary spreadsheet, I’ve got New York, Dallas, Denver, Cleveland, Miami, Boston, the Lakers, Portland and Phoenix paying tax this year.

The sound basketball reason is that if you look at that list, it doesn’t necessarily translate into success. Denver’s life and death to make the playoffs, so is Portland, New York and Miami are already thinking about next year, Cleveland’s hardly a world-beater and Phoenix has, um, issues. Dallas is old and not among the West favourites at the moment, that leaves the Lakers and Boston who could say they spent wisely.

It's called a slump, pure and simple

And a fine good morning to you all.

Had a whole bunch of “What’s wrong with Jose?” questions over the last couple of days, given his rather ordinary play this last week.

I think it’s a combination of fatigue and the expected lulls that all players hit at some time during the season.

I don’t for a second think it’s got anything to do with T.J. coming back, as more than a few of you suggested. Calderon has played well alongside Ford in the past, he will again in the future and I know his personality, he’s not one to worry about who else is on the roster or on the floor or on the bench waiting to take his place.

A lot of the turnovers he’s committed have been silly and unusual for him, dribbling the ball off his foot, throwing Oakley-esque passes into the front row. That, to me, is nothing more than mental fatigue rearing its ugly head and I’m certain he’ll snap out of it.

His shot’s been a bit off, too, and while I don’t expect him to shoot 60 per cent from the floor the rest of the year, it’ll come back.

It’s called a slump, ladies and gentlemen, he’ll get out of it. As a wise old sage around baseball once said, slump’s are like the common cold, everyone’s got a remedy but they still take two weeks to cure.

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Stan (hearts) Jose

Take a read of Brian Schmitz in the Orlando Sentinel today. He hits the nail on the head about the playoff ramifications of the big game and Stan Van Gundy reiterates his love for all things Calderon.

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Story time:

When you're watching the game tonight as I am (I hope we get a halftime infomericial on how great the Marlies and FCs are) check out the media seating, which is on the baseline stretching out from right next to the basket on the same end of the court as the Raptor bench. It's a good seat, if a bit crowded, but a tad dangerous, too.

Can't remember exactly who it was (maybe Mike Clarkson of our paper way back in Year 1 or 2) but someone was sittng there minding his own business when, lo and behold, Shaquille O'Neal (in the slimmer, quicker version of Shaq) came barrelling out of bounds chasing a loose ball, tried to vault the press table and stepped squarely on the beat grunt's laptop.

We live perilous lives, us beat grunts do.

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Yes, they rebound horribly. They give up way too many offensive rebounds and second chance points. Yes, it’s got as much to do with blow-bys on the perimeter scrambling the defence and getting the bigs out of position.

But here’s one for you: The Raptors have actually out-rebounded the opposition in 28 of their 58 games so far this season.

Can’t imagine it happening tonight.

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Kevin in Toronto wonders:

Doug, can you honestly see the Raps making it to the Finals within the next three years? Your honest opinion, please.

No, not a chance. With two or three new pieces? Like two wing players and another big? Yep. I can.

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From yesterday’s mail:

Q: I'm not sure if this has ever been done before, but what are the chances of a charity game between Raptors' management/coaches and Raptors' media?

On the media squad, you could have Leo Rautins in the middle, Michael Grange at the 4 and Sherman Hamilton play a very small SF. In the backcourt, you could have the tandem of Jones and Smith with Jonesy running the point. Of course, you could be the first guy off the bench to be the Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson on this team of (not-so) Bad Boys.

For the management/coaches, Jay Triano could run the point, Mike Evans could play the two, Alex English at small forward, Sam Mitchell at PF and Bryan Colangelo in the middle.

This could be a great addition to Raptors' Fanfest with all proceeds going to the Raptors' Foundation. I, for one, would donate some cash just to see Sam take out some of his frustration with the media guys on the court. And seeing Bryan C in something other than a designer suit with his signature collar would definitely be worth the price of admission.

Mike M, Ottawa

A: Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

Chances are nil but I’m sure lots of people would love to see it.

And while I appreciate the kind words, the only thing I’ve got to do with a Microwave is how to use it to heat up pizza.

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Speaking of the mail, you see the link for questions now under that scary picture? Well, it seems to work. Had about 55 yesterday alone and that’s an awful lot. Trouble is, there’s simply not enough time to answer them all. So we’re going to have to be a little more discerning here, I’ll sill do lots and probably get up a couple of mailbags a week but if you don’t see yours, don’t despair. It’s not that I hate you or you’re too negative or too positive or not from a unique foreign place like Accra or anything. There may be other questions on the same topic or your topic might just be a tad out of date.

End of rant.

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Did you notice …

Caught that Jazz-Mavericks game last night and saw the horse-collar takedown Nowitzki used on Kirilenko.

As soon as Kirilenko hit the floor and it looked like a ruckus might have ensued, did you see the Jazz assistants? They immediately went and stood in front of the bench to make sure no player took even a step on to the court.

Bet they wish they had that kind of discipline in Phoenix. If they’d done that last year in the playoffs, the Suns might have an NBA championship to their name.

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One more from the mail

Q: I read your blog (Monday) morning and figured I'd rephrase the question I asked last night to keep it from seeming like I was dumping on Mitchell. I'm not. I'm a huge Smitch fan.
Now, my memory is likely failing me but last year there were times that Garbajosa played small forward for the Raps. I was wondering what the difference between Garbo and, say, Humphries, playing the position. It would seem that Hump could help with some of the rebounding problems (esp. when playing with Bosh and Bargnani) and would give up anymore defensively then say, Jamario Moon.
Anyways, I'm sure there is a good reason, just not sure what is.

Matt M, Calgary

A: Had a couple of questions yesterday on this possibility. Here’s the answer for all of you:

If Humphries ever gets Garbo’s basketball experience, intelligence, ability to knock down a three-pointer when needed and overall ability, I’d say Hump can be a three. That, my friend, is never going to happen. Which is why you’ll never see Hump at that position.

The Morning After The Night Before, LIV

That was, in a word, despicable.

CHUCK BURTON/AP

Let's see. How can we sum up the loss to Charlotte with an image? Hmmm.

No defence, little effort, poor execution. It had nothing to do with no Chris Bosh, it had everything to do with the 12 guys who played. And the four who coached. It’s one game out of 82, sure; but it was ugly. I imagine more than a few of you want someone fired or benched or traded. Luckily, it only counts as one in the standings and there are a lot more to go.

Anyway …

Three Things I Learned

Time for change

Jamario Moon’s done a pretty good job as a rookie in the NBA but it’s time for him to watch a bit. Like the start of every game. I’ve been suggesting for a while that he’s become a liability on offence and not a huge difference-maker on defence to justify starting. So turn it over to Delfino now, give him a few weeks to see if he can stay up on shooters because the guy out there now can’t, or won’t.

Sam told us before the season that he thought it’d take Moon half a year or more to make a significant contribution. Think he might have had it backwards. They got the best out of the kid in the first three-quarters of the season, he’s leveled off incredibly.

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A little piling on but …

I don’t want to pick on Primoz Brezec because his Raptor career is over the day after the season ends but if he tries to leak out on the break one more time instead of staying on the glass, Sam should put a rope around his waist and the backboard for an hour at practice and make him stay at home. And I’m pretty sure him hugging every Bobcat in sight while the rest of his Toronto teammates slunk to the dressing room will go over well. Memo to Primoz: Say hi before the game.

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Small isn’t to blame

The screamers are out about going small and how stupid it is and how Sam should be fired and Bryan should draft six giants and why the heck doesn’t he play Rasho, Primoz and Andrea at the same time because when they go small, they get killed on the boards.

Jared Dudley is, what? 6-7? Jason Richardson’s what? 6-6. How about Matt Carroll and Ray Felton? Maybe 13 feet between them? Not even.

Okay, those guys combined for 28 rebounds playing, mainly, guys their same size, if not smaller. They out-rebounded Calderon, Parker, Moon and Delfino 28-16.

And the reason to go big is to pound the ball inside, right? Which of Nesterovic, Brezec or Bargnani, and toss in Hump if you want, presents a low-post threat that would demand a double-team? Now about none. How about their defensive deficiencies against smaller, quicker, more athletic fours and fives would far out-weigh any possible minute advantage they’d have at the other end.

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From the mailbag – well, sort of

Q: Picking up on the quotable players discussion in one of the previous mailbag threads, basketball players seem to be a lot more articulate than their hockey-playing counterparts (in this town, anyway). Is this because they lack a seminal interview to retool to whatever situation they find themselves in (ala the Canada-Russia series in the 70s) or because basketball attracts athletes with more articulate skill sets?

More specifically, it seems like AP gets thrown under the media bus each time the Raptors have a crappy game. I rarely see him interviewed in the post-up clips on raptors.com unless they've suffered a spectacular loss that he's doing his best to explain.

I like his sincerity -- he never takes the easy way out and avoids making excuses while being articulate -- and if I were a PR minion for Maple Leaf Sports I would want him to be my go-to quote guy for that kind of situation for exactly those reasons.

On the other hand, it sucks to see him taking it on the chin after every stinky game, particularly when, as in last Friday's game, he was one of the key guys making shots, rebounds and working his butt off to try and turn things around.

This might be my bias, but it seems like when they've had a great game, it's usually Bosh, Calderon, and whoever happens to turn in good percentages that night who get featured in the scrum.

My questions:

1) Does Parker go under the media bus because he's a co-captain?

2) Does he have better games when the Raptors are struggling?

3) Does his lack of "sexy quote" translate into getting passed over for quotes after better games?

Ellie, Toronto

A: Hi, Ellie. Sorry for the delay.

We do talk to him after big wins, usually, but I do agree he seems to get more quote time after big losses. And I think the reason for that is two-fold. He’s usually one of the more lucid quotes on the team and isn’t afraid to clearly and concisely explain what went on. That’s not to say the others don’t, just that he does it better, most nights. And the second one, and this is more anecdotal, is that he does seem to have big scoring nights when they lose big, like the last two games.

After better games for the team, it’s usually the high-scoring guys we go to, guys like Bosh and T.J. and every now and then Jose.

As you may know, I don’t do a lot of pucks, but it’s been my experience over many years that basketball players are generally more entertaining and insightful, than most other professional athletes. Maybe it’s because they’ve all had at least one year of college and get solid media training from their teams and the NBA; maybe it’s because they are more used to dealing with the media (there’s far more attention paid to college basketball than there is any minor hockey or minor baseball league).

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I don’t care what happens in the final seven weeks of the season, the MVP voting is over.

If Kobe Bryant doesn’t win, they ought to quit giving it out.

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Okay, as I said, I got/had to watch last night on TV.

I cannot believe there wasn’t a better halftime feature than an infomercial about some corporate party with the players? OH MY GOD.

That’s shameful

But at least I got caught up on some basketball when they ran down the afternoon games (Chicago-Cleveland and its repercussions for the Raptors and the brilliant Lakers-Mavs game) on their alleged sports update. Oh, wait! No, that was all pucks.

Shameful.

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Here’s how Rick Bonnell in Charlotte reported on that display of quasi-professional basketball on Sunday. And here’s how Brian Schmitz in Orlando is setting up tomorrow’s important game.

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Hey, Rikki, you can thank Chuck in Toronto for this:

As per Rikki C's request, here is a list of players I can think of, that got drafted by a team, traded away, and then traded back.
Vlade Divac (Lakers) Dale Davis (Pacers), Derek Fisher (Lakers), Al Harrington (Pacers), Lindsey Hunter (Pistons), Jason Kidd (Mavericks), Tony Massenburg (Spurs), Steve Nash (Suns), Antoine Walker (Celtics), Chris Webber (Warriors), Corliss Williamson (Kings), Kevin Willis (Hawks) and, an honorable mention, Steve Francis (Rockets).

I'm sure there's more that I missed. 4/12 played on the Raptors and one is Canadian so that makes this list very Raptor related. So go ahead and post it.

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We’ll get back to the mail, and my peeps tell me there’ll be a permanent link up there today sometime so you won’t have to do stuff like click here to send one in. Of course, that’s just going to fill the mailbag up more and create more work at this end but that’s something I guess I’ll have to live with.

Q: I've just watched the first three quarters of the Raps/Bobcats game, and I am really disappointed. When the Raps lost the last game to the Pacers and looked horrible in the process, I just chalked it up to the Raps having trouble adjusting to the sudden in-game loss of Bosh. Now it seems like this team can't do anything without Bosh. Suddenly our role players are lost, and without our shooters shooting (Kapono and Bargs have been in a prolonged funk, even before Bosh got hurt), our PGs aren't able to make anything happen cause suddenly everyone's playing like crap.

It's very very clear now that this team needs an additional scorer, like Pierce to Garnett, or Kobe to Pau. Is there something I'm missing or are the Raps really shallow without an all-star commanding the double-team, scoring at will, and doing all the big-man work.

Duane C, Toronto

A: Well, considering no one on the perimeter, except maybe AP every now and then, can create their own shot, it does make sense that without the big guy in the middle, they’ll struggle. That’s where the big, slashing, defending swingman comes into play. And it’s got to be priority No. 1 for the general manager in the off-season.