The Morning After The Night Before, LXXIV

Oh my goodness. Where to start? There’s almost too much.

But there’s this: This is why I love you people. Really. I’m being legit here (Well maybe ‘love’ is too strong a word). In the 40 minutes immediately following the game, there were about 15 e-mails and a dozen comments; I got on the machine here about 7:15 this morning and there were 21 more comments and 15 more e-mails. That’s some passion. Way to go.

Of course, it makes for a tad more work over here but what the heck, that’s what I get paid the mediocre bucks to deal with.

And away we go:

Three Things I Learned

What I’m Wondering Is …

How in the world did Mike Bibby get so open at the end of regulation? How could T.J. Ford simply lose one of two legitimate three-point shooters on the court? It wasn’t as if he ran into some Oakley-esque screen, he just lost the guy. And that token defence? Disgraceful. Not sure if there was enough time to foul but even if there wasn’t, half-turning away while waving an arm? Brutal. If Ford’s even close, he wraps Bibby up the minute he catches the ball. I know Sam Mitchell, I know how he coaches and I can absolutely assure you he wanted a foul. They had Moon and Delfino and Parker in the game with Bosh and Ford, not sure they’ve got five better guys to defend at that point. It just took more effort than they got from Ford.

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Then There’s The Overtime

Twenty points? 20! That’s more than a team has ever scored against a Raptor team in an overtime period. Considering 25 is the most scored ever by a team in an overtime, that’s another disgrace. Defence has never been this team’s strong suit but that’s an abomination by any standards.

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And One Other Thing

Remember how Chris Bosh stood in the locker room a couple of weeks ago and talked about being aggressive down the stretch and everyone nodded their heads and said, ‘yeah, that’s the what has to happen.’

Well, the Raptors were in the bonus with 7:30 to go in the fourth quarter. After Bosh made two free throws on that fifth team foul, they didn’t shoot a single foul shot the rest of the way. Not one.

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A familiar voice in the mailbag

Q: I heard you mention that Rasho and Darrick had "high basketball IQs". I've always wondered, what does that mean? Do they know alot about stats, the history of the game, how to successfully play a position, or how to make plays for themselves? Maybe all of the above?

Thanks again.

Sam C, Kingston

P.S.: I went to see the Globetrotters last night, and kept in mind what you had mentioned before. Not a lot of basketball being played, but needless to say, it was a night of entertainment and some good comedic moments, and I recommend to anyone of any age seeing them in the near future. Some very humble people as well.

A: Hey, long time no hear.

Well, at the risk of repeating myself from above, I’ll suggest that a “high basketball IQ” means knowing that if you’re team’s up three with 3.5 seconds left and the other team has the ball, you try to foul the guy who catches the inbounds pass the second he catches it, rather than wave a hand at him as he hits a game-winner. “Basketball IQ” is that and stuff like knowing who’s got the hot hand and riding him, seeing mismatches and exploiting them, talking on defence and helping at the right time. It’s knowing how to make the right split-second decision in the heat of a game.

Glad you enjoyed the ‘Trotters. Guess they dumped Oliver Miller?

-

Okay, on to the clock fiasco. Human error is human error. A ref, Cousin Sekou in Atlanta reports it was Eric Lewis, hit the little button on his belt a fraction of second – a very small fraction of a second – early and it cost the Raps a gamee-winning basket.

I imagine there will be calls and e-mails and tapes sent to the league, I also imagine nothing will be done about it. And, please, don’t bring anti-Canada or anti-Toronto into this, okay? That makes people look foolish.

Sometimes, crap happens. It sucks, but they’re human and humans make mistakes. You know, like losing Mike Bibby with the game on the line, giving up 20 points in five overtime minutes and forgetting to drive to the basket.

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Speaking of Cousin Sekou, here’s how he summed up the night.

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Here’s another mail thingy:

Q: The Raptors scored 17 shots in succession last game. It seams like that has to be close to a record. What's the highest number of shots in succession in a single NBA game?

CJ L, London

A: According to Elias Sports Bureau, via ESPN and to me from the crack Raptors media relations department:

"The Raptors made 17 consecutive field goals in the first half of their 104-100 win at Charlotte. The last NBA team to make that many shots in a row was the Trail Blazers, also against the Bobcats on February 22, 2006.”

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Lots of comments about the stuffed animal firing the t-shirts at James Posey and KG the other night in Chicago. Brought back some personal memories, too.

It’s 1999 and we’re in gawdforsaken Colorado Springs, sitting in some dumpy Air Force Academy college gym in what must be a pucks press box at the top of the stands. Head-down, diligently typing away, probably some ode to Butch Carter’s coaching ability, am rudely interrupted by some cloth object that hits me right in the corner of the eye. Hurt, too. Startling, as well.

Look down at the court and there’s the Denver mascot, whatever its scrawny self is, holding one of those goofy guns and looking at me.

Goof shot me. And all I got was a lousy medium sized t-shirt with that season’s Nugget schedule on the back.

I did not, though, have to go for treatment. I eventually did, however, have to go for new glasses.

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Oh yeah, that T.J. play that got waved off? How good was that. Both drawn up and executed. You folks can – and do – kill Sam over a lot of things, I didn’t get one e-mail overnight suggesting it was Xs and Os well done.

Didn’t expect any, really, but credit should be given where credit is due.

-

How up in arms do you think everyone will be if that loss last night is the difference between these guys playing Orlando or Detroit in the first round of the playoffs? Heads may explode.

Comments

[tino]

Maybe we should look closer to AP+JM 20 pts-8 rbs-4asts combined stats as a more urgent issue to resolve,rather than Tj/Jose'endless saga.The point guards are more productive, game in game out,than the competion. Defense and production at the 2' and 3',are really punishing the rest of the team.

[Connor]

dan p - Right on, totally agree. Its like they derive their own self-worth from the Raptors. Maybe the warmer weather will allow people to relax. Or maybe people just need a significant other or a hobby that will allow them to feel good about themselves. It takes a person with a lot of anger bottled up inside (from other things in their lives, not just the Raptors)to feel the need to let strangers know about their anger. But then again i'm a hypocrite since i'm angry about the angry people :)

[Luis]

Everybody´s talking about the last 2 plays (TJ not fouling and the mistake with the clock) and you forget the most important: Raps were leading by 20 in 3rd quarter, so I don´t think TJ or Calderon or any individual lost the game, the team, including the coach and the assistans did.

If a game is tied all the time, yeah, a single player can win or lose it with his actions, but when you have been outscoring your opponent and they finally tie the game then it´s group´s fault.

I see many people focusing the debate in TJ/Calderon but this team has other problems like Bosh shooting too much when he should go to the rim much more often and the same could apply to Bargnani and Moon. Or that seems like there are no coached plays for the best 3-point shooter on planet, Kapono.

And well, Rap´s defense in general is disgusting. They allowed precicious rebounds at the end of regular time. Something that a team that pretends to do anything at play-offs never should allow.

This team needs defense training badly.

[Ted S]

Last year (when we had chemistry) we won games like these, even when close plays didn't go our way (thinkin' Jorge in Portland). 17 pts! The missed rebounds! The looks that Johnson, Smith and Bibby kept getting!

Gutted last night. Some offensive gems coupled with perhaps our worst defensive effort in years. If defence wins championships, what are we going to win? I don't like the refs calls (slow stop on the Bibby make, fast start on the Ford shot) or how the NBA uses replay, but pin this loss on the whole team.

Great work today Doug. And I don't like Swirsk either, it's ok.

[bballer]

why don't people also mention that the offensive interference by delfino took away a calderon basket that would have extended the lead and the boneheaded mistake by ap stepping out of bounds on a jump shot for a turnover. those two plays were more damaging than tj ford not fouling bibby. i know bibby should have been fouled but the game shouldn't have come to that point.

as for why people keep asking for bargnani. if BOSH and RASHO is playing than him, why should he get on the court. rasho and bosh are the best big men combo the raps has. until bargnani plays better defense than the two of them then he deserves to play at crunch time. why do bargnani supporters only mention his offense. in addition, rasho and bosh has been playing better offensively than bargnani anyway.

finally,.i keep saying this. the problems with the raps are not the pg's, it is not bosh, rasho or bargnani and it is not mitchell. the problem are the wing players. moon, kapono, the inconsistent delfino and parker are a downgrade from garbo, mo pete et al. expecting this team with this roster being better than last year, coupled with an improved orlando and boston was foolhardy. the raps are who they are - a mediocre team. you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig. the team needs a talent infusion.

how many people think that the raps are more talented than atl. then i will show you a bunch of people that does not know basketball.

[Justin Edwards]

Wow, the knives are out. I have an idea! Maybe the Raps should trade both Jose & TJ!
P.S. My dad is better than your dad..

[Naz I.]

Blogger's note: I think you, and about a dozen others, are missing the entire point. T.J. did have a solid statistical game, I never suggested he didn't; I did suggest that he blew the defensive assignment on Bibby in the final 3.5 seconds. You cannot debate that. This isn't -- and wasn't -- a discussion of his overall play last night. It was a discussion of one play. And it's impossible for you or anyone to suggest that he made the right play in that situation.
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Doug, I think YOU missed Manny's point. He is suggesting that people are blaming TJ for a missed defensive assignment, yet that assignment alone should not have been critical to the win/loss (just as the last play shouldn't have been). Perhaps if Calderon had run the team better at the beginning of the 4th, the Euraptors wouldn't have been in that situation...

[Bana]

ya have you noticed the size differnce between tj and dwight howard! the blame should be put on Bosh. If he is the franchise player, he cant miss easy baskets

[petro]

Strike Three and your OUT... The third blunder in ATL in one calendar year. NBA Head Office should overturn this and hold these folks in Atlanta accountable. It's Bush League.

Although, TJ did some great things last night, he also got me in trouble... as I started cursing his weak defense with Bibby's last second shot. Wife was all over me to keep it down and get a life.

Sam needs to be a little more cut-throat with his subs in the last couple of minutes... hope Sam now sees that he needs to be ready to have Jose on for defensive purposes.

Just like Sam has toiled with Jose and TJ on the floor together... I would love to see Sam play Bosh, Bargs and Rasho together... could be a formidable match up zone defensive scheme... they would cover a lot of space and be more efficient on the boards.

[leigh]

GM....we do know what happened in Atlanta, the refs made a mistake. Simple.

[Erwin]

My first thought when TJ completed the buzzer beating alley oop was wow, that might be the best inbounds play i've ever seen the raps execute. Nice display of athleticism too to see how quickly TJ distanced himself from his defender.

[bballer]

why i think smitch is doing a good job with the raps. the following teams has more individual talent in the east than the raps, yet the raps will make the playoffs:
charlotte
indiana
new jersey
milwaukee
ny
atlanta
philly
orlando
boston
detroit
cleveland
and possibly chitown, but that team is young.
finally, if arenas wasn't injured, washington would have a more talented team than the raps.

my argument is and will always be that the raps has the least talented squad in the nba east. aside from bosh, ford and calderon, nobody knows this raptor team and nobody fears our players. rasho barely played in his last year in san antonio and the rest of the team are cast offs. the fact this team is making the playoffs with this roster should be applauded. the rap fans are like leaf fans, very myopic about their teams status. watch other nba games and then you rap fans can put things in perspective. it is time for colangelo to put a real club together next year instead of putting a team of scrubs around a couple of good players and calling it 'team' or 'euroleague' basketball. only a few are able to see through this trash.

[Mike]

Naz I. - To say the game should have never come down to the last few possessions is ridiculous. Teams make runs all the time in basketball. If the game was over once a team was up by 15-20 why would they play the rest of the game. (Did you see the Den./Phx. game from Monday?).

[Bob W.]

For all those who are killing Doug for not calling out every bad plays the Raptors made to let Atlanta catch up... the section's called "Three things I Learned", not "Thirty-Seven things I Learned." And it just so happened that TJ was the culprit on the basket that tied it up.

That's how it is. Is it unfair? Perhaps, but when the game's on the line you gotta make the stop. Doesn't matter how it got to that point (rebounders going AWOL and all), you just gotta stop the tying basket, period.

And Ford didn't.

[Caleb]

I understand the league has strict rules as to what can and can not be reviewed. The rule that they can not over-rule human error on a replay, like when they started the clock early, makes sense. If you allow all human error to be over ruled it opens up the flood gates for teams to want replays on fouls, if a toe was ahead of the 3 point line, lane violations, and basically every other call a ref has control over and would disrupt the flow of the game (which already is disrupted enough by time outs, tv time outs, etc). That being said, between the history of teams being robbed in Atlanta, the fact that everyone minus the Refs themselves were able to see that clock was started too fast, one must wonder why the league can not step in and say "One of our officials made a mistake, in a game that WILL have playoff seeding implications, and in the interest of fairness must reverse the decision and award the victory to the team that rightfully won in regulation". League official or Atlanta employee aside, does the league want this type of reputation to linger in future Atlanta Hawk home games? Now all other team officials are going to be looking for any possible miss treatment while playing the hawks, and have this precedent to work with, and that will become a huge headache for the NBA!

Oh, and Bargnani did play more than he should have in the second half, with Calderon, did nothing, lost a lead, which eventually prompted Sam to bring back TJ and Rasho ( a few minutes too late) into the line up, which was the only reason we even hung on to a tie by the end of regulation. Bargs has rarely strung together 2 consistent halves in a game, and his lack of hustle in the second was a perfect opportunity for Sam to bring Rasho back in.

[reuben b]

Arent we riding Bosh a bit too much these days? How long has he been back two weeks? last night he played 47 minutes.

I know we need him an awful lot but it would be nice if he could get some rest other than blowout games like the Hornets on on Sunday. Otherwise we're risking him being tired for the playoffs or getting injured again arent we.

[Zaddups]

There are at leaset two absolute idiots on this thread Doug. I can sense your frustration building as morons keep posting who have not played an inkling of high level basketball in their lives. They watch too much AND 1 and think dribbling out the shot clock until almost no time left on the shot clock is what a point guard is supposed to do. If you have played ball you can see exactly the type of player TJ Ford is. He is a me-first player and will have to change his attitude if he wants long-term success in the League.
#1 Manny who posted at 10:23AM.
Do you know anything about basketball Manny? You are getting on Doug for what you said he said about TJ. Look TJ doesn't get the ball with 2 seconds left fool. What Raptor games are you watching? He always has the ball and pounds it away and then with 2 seconds he throws it to a teammate to take a bail out shot at the buzzer. He doesn't look for his teammates nearly as much as he looks for his own "shine". He wants to be the man...always has been and always will be the same way. It doesn't matter if he finished 11-20 in the game. Those nine misses were horrendous shot attempts...Plain and simple. TJ blew the assignment on Bibby's three. If your coach tells you to foul...you foul. If you look at the play Bibby actually clutches a couple times before he even rises up to shoot then he is allowed by TJ to just shoot and uncontested shot. Maybe Sam should have put taller defenders on the court...who knows why he didn't.TJ was not the only one to blame in the game. At times he played pretty good. he made some nice passes. But he made some key blunders down the stretch. A game is 48 minutes and not 35.

[Zaddups]

Part 2 of my rant:

As for the other blogger LY at 11:09 AM. What are you smoking man? Doug I feel for you. From reading this blog Doug was actually a TJ Ford proponent for most of the past 2 years...TJ could really do no wrong but he can see now that Jose might be better served as a starter and TJ better to come off the bench.(TJ's attitude while he was coming off the bench was terrible) Ly you can't run out the clock for 3 straight minutes. You have to make plays and get to the basket. That's why the Raptors lost. They were in Bonus for 7 1/2 minutes of the 4th and didn't go to the line once. In the final 3 minutes...it was plain to see that TJ was not looking for anyone of his teammates. By their body language it's easy to tell that the team is struggling for cohesion and TJ's polarizing play is hurting the chemistry now. The are heading into the playoffs in a terrible funk as well. Bosh it's time to step up. Please dunk the ball at the end. Instead he goes for a weak layup and misses and kills any shot of the Raps tying it up.
I played University ball...and reading some of these comments makes me fall out of my chair and laugh out loud.
Doug keep up the good work and don't let these no-ball playing wanna-be's get under your skin.

P.s. one comment for Chuck Swirsky. Enough with the "guarantee that the Raps will beat Orlando in a 7 game series" please. What makes you think the Raptors can beat the 3rd place Magic when they can't beat the Hawks or Bobcats or Knicks thoroughly. I had alot of respect for Chuck...but Had is the key word. I've lost it in the last couple years. These proclamations he makes has to stop as he is losing alot of credibility and why give the other team bulletin board material if the two teams do meet in the playoffs? You're becoming a joke Swirsk. Also, Why don't he and Leo actually analyse the game? What's with all this non sensical banter back and forth. Call the game and critique the game guys. They never detail the game and give meaningful commentary. They continue to spew foolishness throughout the game.

[yertu damkule]

hey bballer - i get that the perception is that rasho & bosh are the best option for frontcourt D & rebounding. but, uh, bargs played in the 1st half, what, 15 minutes, putting up 14 pts, and the raps had a big lead. he plays 5 minutes of the 2nd (3 pts), and somehow, they blow an enormous lead...with bosh & rasho on the floor for most of that time. i'm confused...if rasho & bosh are so awesome, how, exactly, did that lead get whittled away? i'm going to have to guess that it wasn't entirely bargs' fault, since he seemed to be on the bench for 80% of the 2nd half & all of the OT. if rasho's such a better option, then shouldn't we expect, i dunno, BETTER RESULTS?

[GM]

Okay Ford defenders. You seem to want it both ways. When Ford's group loses a lead, you don't blame him. When Calderon's group loses a lead, you blame him. Maybe this is just in response to how you feel Calderon backers are. You can't just look at a player on the court and the lead/deficit, you have to look at the *play* of the person. Stats don't tell the story. Sometimes you can lay the blame on the PG, other times you can't.

Fact is, Ford had a 7-point lead when he came back in the game. But that doesn't tell the whole story. It's *how* he played after that that tells the story. He stopped doing what he was doing so successfully the whole game, i.e. getting his teammates involved. He went back to Bad TJ. He was good for most of the game, but reverted to his selfish ways at the end. So for that he deserves to be criticised.

And yeah, you could point to a dozen other stats that cost the game before Bibby's trey. But as one wise person wrote, each new possession is a new game. You have to forget what came before it. So the Raps had a 3-point lead with just over three seconds left. Play good defence and you've got the game. Play lousy defence and you go into OT. Simple as that. So that play stands out more than others.

[LY]

GM, I know the tendency is to assume that I think negatively about Calderon because I defended Ford. In fact, I want Calderon to remain in Toronto and I think he is also a superb pointguard talent (one I have been raving about since he joined the team).

Please note that I acknowledged that Ford missed that defensive assignment but also pointed to Bosh and Calderon's failings in the game. The purpose was not to imply "Jose vs. TJ" but to point out that Mr. Smith has repeatedly focused on the mistakes of one player that he has chosen to try to run out of town. It doesn't take much to spin a story to villify a player when you can state opinion as fact with no repercussions. Thousands of readers take as gospel Mr. Smith's comments about TJ's "attitude problem" and how the team is best served by trading him out of town.

Consider: reports from team insiders and the coach are that TJ and Jose genuinely like each other. They have BOTH publicly demonstrated a willingness to let the other start when they thought it best served the team. Both have had sublime games and truly attrocious ones throughout the season (as has every player in the league). Only one has been repeatedly villified on the basis of supposed body language that Mr. Smith emphasizes ad nauseum. Only one has been villified further on the basis of poor play after returning from injury when thrown into a backup role with the entire team playing poorly. Today's blog was the epitome of my frustration with Mr. Smith. Ford had a fantastic game (as did Calderon but for a short stretch in the 4th quarter). Ford made one obvious mistake and it is the focal point and opening comment to Mr. Smith's blog. The implication is clear - that Ford cost the team the game. When discussing the early 4th quarter collapse, Mr. Smith refers to the team as a whole and avoids singling out anyone.

To say Mr. Smith makes mountains of molehills to push a particular agenda is an understatement. He is revising history to run Ford out of town - players notice the media sentiment. The further gall of him to claim that I am a revisionist by stating that he has expressed a desire to rid the team of Ford is unbelievable when just two days before he names TJ as the first player he'd want to ship out of town. Meanwhile he has spent the last three weeks ripping him for every poor game and nit picking mistakes in every good one. According to Mr. Smith's recent blogging TJ is a high injury risk, poor defender with terrible court judgment, an attitude problem not worth his $8m salary. Also according to Mr. Smith - he is our most tradeable asset. This is not the level of basketball analysis I expect from our supposed resident expert.

[Mauro]

@Naz. People really see what want to see. Since TJ enter at 5.10 raptors scored 2 points. While Hawk hit 9.Kindly give a look to the tapes. So why blaming Josè for going from 91-80 to 105-98 ?. Be real!

[Luke]

Hey Doug, with all of the news stemming from the call last night, do you expect for there to be an official announcement from either the NBA or the Raptors as to whether or not there is an official challenge and the status of that challenge, etc?

Blogger's note: It's about 4 p.m. now and we're waiting for any official word. Once I get it, you will, too.

[Amanda]

Apparently now Horford is claiming he tipped the ball anyway: http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/04/03/horfordburst_0403.html

So, anyone hoping for a replay or having the Raps rewarded for a win, the chances are looking even more dim now.

[Thane]

Okay Doug, I get that human error happens - but isn't that what appeals and changes are for? To correct human error?

And wasn't it human error when they credited Shaq with an extra foul? It sure wasn't a machine that made that mistake.

The NBA opened the door to changing the facts after the game - even in the case of human error. This is even more clear cut than the Shaq situation.