The Hornets are a wonderful story, and so are the Spurs

Sorry I’m a couple of minutes later than usual, was waiting to see if T.J. got traded to New York, Phoenix, Chicago or Dallas. You know, teams with new coaches who want to change everything a franchise has done and are just dying to obtain T.J. Ford.

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Oh yeah, that story out of Chicago yesterday about the Suns denying Toronto permission to talk to Mike D’Antoni?

Never happened. Untrue. Not factual at all.

What happened, according to People Who’d Know in Toronto and Phoenix was that Suns owner Robert Sarver explicitly told D’Antoni that he could not talk to the Raptors when he was out searching for a new coaching gig in that pre-fired time in Phoenix.

It wasn’t that the Raptors asked and were denied.

This is the same Sarver, I’m told, who has an e-mail sent before every Raptor-Suns game reminding Phoenix broadcasters they are not allowed to mention, interview or make reference to Bryan Colangelo.

What a tool.

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I’m not sure there’s a better story in the NBA this season than the one provided by the New Orleans Hornets.

SEAN GARDNER/REUTERS

Contact buzz from New Orleans.

I’m sitting watching the game last night and to see that arena full of fans screaming and yelling was amazing; it used to be like a funeral home in there during regular season games and there was no way I thought the franchise could, or would, survive.

That’s a tough town, ravaged still by Katrina’s legacy, poor, disadvantaged and very much a football town when it comes to pro sports.

But because of the Hornets, you get a sense of more civic pride building and, I know this sounds a bit cliché, but it does demonstrate the power of sports to bring people together.

I have no idea if the Hornets can beat the Spurs and the Lakers or Jazz and play for an NBA title but it’s been sort of heart-warming to see what’s been going on down there.

When we were there for the all-star game, there was all kinds of talk about the rejuvenation of the city thanks to the Hornets and a lot of us wondered if it was just talk.

Seems that it wasn’t.

I’m pretty sure a lot of casual basketball fans have been won over by Chris Paul and David West and Byron Scott (not to mention that Peterson fellow) and the Hornets are the feel-good story of the post-season.

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On the other hand, this pops into the mailbag:

Q: Hi Doug! Well I hope I get a response this time around since my question isn't Raptor-trade related and also because I've tried a few times this past year and you have only responded once =(
Am I the only one hoping that the Spurs win this series?  Every time someone asks me about my favourite teams, after I talk about the Raptors I always say San Antonio and people give me a funny look.  When I ask why they don't like the team, they say that the Spurs are "boring".  What is it about the Spurs that doesn't make them appealing as other teams like New Orleans or Phoenix?  They play such good basketball that I can't understand why people don't like to watch them play.  Isn't good basketball what us Torontonians should be looking for when the Raps aren't around?

Melissa D, Toronto

A: No, you’re not the only one at all and I’m thinking the people who give you funny looks must not be solid basketball fans.

They may not think the Spurs are flashy or that they’re boring but I defy anyone to use those words after watching Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker play for more than a game or two. They are as exciting as any duo in the league most nights.

So, to all of Melissa’s dopey friends: Get with the program, appreciate the Spurs for what they are, a model of consistent excellence.

They remain, in my opinion, the gold standard of NBA franchises.

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Okay, so some of us are out last night celebrating the Media Relations Staff Of The Year Banquet and Buntoss (replete with food, fun, frivolity and a cocktail or two) and I swear I looked up at the television and saw Marcin Gortat and Walter Herrmann on the court at the same time in the Orlando-Detroit game.

I’m thinking if I could have seen Alex Radojevic guarding Mengke Bateer in a playoff game that might be the only better matchup. Maybe.

The NBA: Where You Never Know Happens.

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Jose speaks.

Or so we’re told.

Apparently, he’s having some kind of end-of-season news conference back in Spain today some time to let everyone at home know how his third season went.

I’m sure some news will trickle out, and we’ll dutifully report it, but I also imagine it’ll be more of what we’ve read on his blog and heard him say here at the end of the Raptor season.

I guess a post-season national news conference is a good way to fill in the folks in the homeland, I’m just glad not every Raptor does it because that’s far too many things to track for, usually, no good reason.

But I know there will be highly-accomplished stalke ... um, fans out there waiting to hear what Jose says so we'll have to pay attention.

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One quick question: Which NBA coach do you imagine left Kevin Durant off the first team all-rookie ballot?

That’s unconscionable.

Of course, as I know it, coaches have been known to pass off such chores as rookie team voting to other members of a staff so maybe it was some basketball operations intern who actually made that grievous error.

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Okay, gotta run. T.J. to Dallas done yet? Or Phoenix? How about New York?

Comments

[andy c]

Pistons and Spurs, two teams build very different ways. while the Spurs drafted the core of there team the Piston's core was aquired mostly via trades with only Prince, Maxiell and Stuckey drafted by Dumars. Amazing how not one important player on the Pistons came via free agent with the execption of McDyess and Billiups?

so which team is build more impressive doug? Spurs or Pistons?

Blogger's note: The Spurs, in my opinion; finding gems late in the draft, being willing to wait for European players to develop and, oh yeah, the championships they've won.

[Shawn]

Last time I checked, "like" and "appreciate" are two different things. One can dislike a team because they're boring (an utterly subjective word) but appreciate them at the same time - they're not binary. The writer doesn't say the style of play is boring, but the Spurs are boring. Constants usually get boring over time (see also Detroit). Doug, you may have been a bit off on typecasting people who dislike the Spurs as non-appreciating, unlearned sports fans. Just a quick note on that, if I may...

[Blaine Harrington]

Hey Doug, just wondering how you see the Chris Bosh and David West comparison? Not having seen West play all that much the last two years, I've been really impressed with what I've seen in the playoffs (minus a few duds). He seems to be a little smaller than CB but plays much bigger in the post and on D. Who's the better player right now?
Thanks

Blogger's note: Bosh

[GM]

Of course the Hornets are a wonderful story while they're dominating in the playoffs. Any good team winning in the postseason will draw bandwagon jumpers, witness Atlanta. Does that mean New Orleans can support a team during the long regular season? Well, maybe while they're one of the best teams in the league. But even that's not certain. When will the league realize that generally speaking, cities support winning teams? Seattle couldn't draw flies this season because the team is godawful. Simple. In their heyday, they were selling out regularly.

I don't get it, Doug. You say that the Raptors will try to trade Ford in the offseason. But are you saying he definitely won't go to the Knicks, Suns, Bulls or Mavs? If, as you say, he's going to be moved, why is it outside the realm of possibility that Colangelo might be speaking to those teams (or at least three of them)?

Blogger's note: I'm not saying that at all; what I'm saying is there are people, many, who believe those teams will be anxious to get him because they will have new coaches who will want to change the way they play. Colangelo will talk to every team in the league about Ford, but it's going to take a sales job for him to move him.

[Paul]

Floppers, whiners, [cheaters?] = Winners? No wonder nobody likes the Spurs. Like many other posters, I'm rooting for the Hornets, but I think it has more to do with my disdain for the Spurs more than my appreciation of the Suns (as they then were) or Chris Paul's Hornets.

Thanks, Mr. Smith. Love the blog.

[Zack]

Trade Bosh for Scola or Oberto??? Wow people are really getting stir crazy and it's not even June!

[Robert B]

The Spurs are the New Jersey Devils of the NBA.

[Luke]

My group of friends and I are HUGE basketball fans and in my opinion really know and follow the game. None of us are fans of the Spurs and it has nothing to do with not knowing the game but more because it is easy to hate them for two main reasons. The first reason is that Bruce Bowen is probably the dirtiest player in the league (I don't know if he even has competetion in that regard) and Bowen along with Duncan primarily and HUGE whiners. Watching Duncan's eyes bug out with absolute shock after he hacks someone or if he doesn't agree with a call is infuriating. The second reason that we don't like them is that because we don't like them in the first place for reason #1, it's that much more frustrating to see how tight their grip usually is on the game and how well they execute. It is very frustrating to root against a team only to watch them pick apart whoever you've chosen to root against instead. The second reason is more of a complement and also respects the efficiency and skill that they play with but it doesn't reduce the dislike any.

[NaSs]

Is it possible T.J Ford to be traded to New York Knicks for David Lee? I think David Lee is a good rebounder the Raptors need.......

Blogger's note: Did you ever stop to think David Lee might be a good rebounder the Knicks need? Oh, and the fact they have two point guards under contract might enter into the equation, too.

[Aaron]

The Spurs aren't boring, it's just boring to see them win over and over.

[Mark]

Is there any chance of getting an athletic 3 like Igoudala with guys like TJ and Kapono?
Or what about Calderon/ TJ, Kapono, and Bargnani for Igoudala and Dalembert?
This would give the Raps athleticism, rebounding, a legit centre, and a dominant swingman.

Blogger's note: Oh, and it'll give the Sixers another point guard who won't want to back up Andre Miller and it will take away their best shotblocker and rebounder. Yeah, like that's going to happen.
Oh, and you're talking about giving up somewhere in the neighbourhood of about $16 million in salary to take back somewhere north of $25 million.
Sorry, you have to do better than that in the reality department.

[wood]

Raptors fans? Wasn't it Tim Duncan crashed "The Knee" (be it accidental) that extinguished Raptors' run for conference title some years ago? Wasn't it Bruce Bowen slipped into "The Landing Pad" (of course he said it was accident) that ended Raptors' playoff run the other season?
Of course we can only blame the one whose name is not to be mentioned for his fragility, but a team that cannot defend a title (so far) really speaks something.

[Tim Amor]

I can't stand the Spurs.

They get some really easy calls and over respect from officials. They flop all the time. Plus, they have the dirtiest player in the league in their starting line up.

Are they good? Yes. They're very, very good.

But excuse this basketball fan for appreciating flop/whine/dirt free basketball.

[NOP]

Doug with the Bobcats having Morrison at SF do you think the Raps have enough, or well the right pieces to get a player like Gerald Wallace. And do you think he could be the type of player the Raps could use?

If you were BC would you rather find a 20 ppg SF with good D or a C like Camby or Jermaine O'Neil, the later who could also score 20 +ppg and give AB time to develop?

Blogger's note: Of course, the Raptors could use a player like Gerald Wallace, almost as much as the Charlotte Bobcats could use him. If Charlotte were to even enteraing conversations about Wallace -- especially because Morrison showed nothing during his rookie year and has missed a full season since -- I'd be stunned. So would 29 other general managers.
If they find a 20 ppg SF with good defence, I don't care who else is out there, they have to get him.

[bballer]

wow, i can't believe i missed all the reactions about my beloved spurs. now that so many people hate them, they have started to produce some really good tv numbers. it's funny, everyone wants nba players to be free of tattoos, play fundamental basketball and avoid the unnecessary dunking but when they get it in san antonio, people were turned off.

casual sports fans and fans growing up in the post-jordan era doesn't want to watch fundamental basketball, they want to be entertained - fast breaks, flashy plays, celebrity players and end to end action. it is style over substance and that is what people want. it is why they want home runs and strike outs as opposed to playing small ball and greg maddux type pitchers. d'antoni's team in ny may never win but they sure will be entertaining! just hand over the trophy to detroit and spurs and leave the entertaining styles to everyone else.