Memories of Edmonton, and Moon's tough week

Well, that was a bit of pleasant surprise, having RaptorsTV pick up the Laker game late last night, although it was hard to watch at times with tears welling in the eyes over the Red Sox demise. But, alas, there’s nothing more thrilling than a Tampa-Philly World Series, is there? Bet the networks are drooling over that one.

I digress, as usual.

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Hmm, let’s see:

Raptors vs. CSKA Moscow: Jamario Moon sits most of the second half.

Raptors vs. Minnesota: Joey Graham’s a starter over Moon.

Raptors vs. Clippers: So-so night for Moon coming off the bench again.

Rpators vs. Lakers: Moon, a sub again, plays just 14 minutes and misses eight straight shots as Hassan Adams get an extended run.

Promising sign for the second-year swingman? Not so much.

Haven’t had a chance to talk to anyone on the staff over the weekend but I’m thinking the patience with Mr. Moon is wearing pretty thin.

Sam said the other night after the Minnesota game that he might like Joey better with the second unit to provide some slashing offence and rebounding to go along with Bargnani and Kapono but he could very well be re-thinking that these days.

It’ll be interesting to see who starts in Edmonton.

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Speaking of Edmonton, Tuesday ends the pre-season for the lads and I have to say this might have been the worst pre-season schedule I can remember.

Starts with a back-to-back, which everyone hates in the exhibition season, ends with three games in four nights out west and there’s a whole week of inactivity before the opener.

Ugh.

And with only 13 guys – three of whom were injured for most, if not all of the games – I’m a bit surprised we haven’t heard much complaining, even privately.

I know these schedules are hard to put together with arena availability being an issue along with the reluctance of some teams to travel much for games that don’t count, but this has been a bad one.

What’s the optimum? I’d say game, two days off, game, two days off, game, two days off might work. And I’d have a game on Thursday this week just to cut the time before the start of the season.

But that’s just me.

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No doubt Hassan Adams was a disappointment, and a non-factor, over the first six pre-season games (he got a DNP-CD in one for goodness sakes) but 7-for-9 from the floor and some impressive defence against the Lakers may have earned him a longer look. Or got him some goodwill with the coaching staff. Or maybe cut him some slack with the inbox writers who wanted him waived in the middle of last week.

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Speaking, again, of Edmonton, and there’s some Raptor history in that fine city and it’s not at all good.

The last time they were there was in 1999 to meet the Grizzlies in one of those legendary Naismith Cup games.

Showed up at shootaround and there was only one basket available on the court, the other one wasn’t set up correctly, ticking off the coaches and teams no end.

Then we’re about in the middle of the second quarter and from in front of the bench you couldn’t see the top of the scoreboard with the score. A rather odd thing, yes.

The situation was made a bit worse because the auxiliary scoreboards were showing, of course, out of town hockey scores.

Butch Carter, diplomatic as he could be, turns to the scorer’s table and says something to the effect of:

“Can we get the score of the game being played here up on the board somewhere?”

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Here’s one that’s on a lot of minds:

Q: Any updates on the intro music for this year or will we have to wait for opening night? Thank you and I love your in game commentary!
Martin A, Thornhill

A: Sorry, it’s a state-held secret, apparently. Maybe someone whispers it to me this week but probably not. I will tell you it was some major league production. A year ago, they did it in the hallway outside the practice gym on media day; this year, they did it on the main court, with three separate stations set up in what looked like some Hollywood set. And they did it last week, long after practice had ended and grunts were gone.

It better be good. I pretty much expect it'll be unrecognizable to me, but it still better be good.

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Speaking of that Edmonton game (sense a trend here?), it did mark, I believe, the last appearance in a Raptor uniform of one Master P, a musician of some note, I’m told, and an NBA hopeful of marginal skill at best. But it was fun to watch him play because when he got the ball, you didn’t have to worry about looking to see who he’d pass to.

Oh, I also remember the great Alex Radojevic, all gangly 7-3 of him, leading a fast break and dribbling the ball about 6-6 off the floor. Hilarious.

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Hump was way better with hair, wasn’t he?

As many rebounds as a dead man and four straight missed shots against the Lakers? Hello, Bad Hump.

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A visit to the mail:

Q: Quick question: Do the Raps have any players coming off the books in 09? You mentioned that the current Raptors' roster may not be the same we'll see at the end of the regular season, but with limited bargaining chips (and a smaller roster), what on earth could they do?

Frank B, Ottawa

A: The contracts of Anthony Parker, Joey Graham and Will Solomon (and I forgot Jamario Moon, originally; now he's added) expire at the end of the season, so there may be the possibility of some movement at the trade deadline but that’s a long, long way away.

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If, as many seamheads I respect contend, the National League is far inferior to the American League, taking Tampa in five wouldn’t be a bad idea.

At least it wouldn’t be a bad idea if gambling was legal, which it’s not unless the provincial government is the bookie.

Comments

[Aaron Campbell]

After watching most of the games this preseason it looks t like the Raps will need to trade for that second or third guy off the bench following Barnagni and Kapono. Who that will be, I don't know. Any suggestions?

And it is so nice to see someone, anyone knocking players on their butt like J.O. did against the Lakers. This sort of practice is just what the doctor ordered for these finesse Raptors.

Blogger's note: No idea, no suggestions, let's let the season, you know, start before making deals

[blech]

I wasn't too impressed with the black hole that is Adams. There were a couple of occasions where it was a 2 on 1 fast break and the dude would never pass... Granted he did make the difficult looking baskets, but pass the rock dude. It's little things like that, that might make other teammates think twice before passing to him..
yay or nay?

Blogger's note: Um, nay. I don't think Adams ever really has the ball (and i will admit I have never, ever, heard anyone connected with the Raptors refer to it as the "rock") often enough to tick off his teammates by keeping it too long

[Dan]

You'd think that with many in the league ridiculing his jumpshot by not guarding him on the perimeter, he would have worked on it during the summer. Not the case. I speak for many Raptor fans who cringe whenever Jamario Moon hoists up ill advised jumper one after another. I'm glad Graham is getting more burn, since he's by far the best pure athlete on the roster. Moon's defense is passable at best, as he's gifted at what I've deemed "fake hustle". Taking chances by jumping passing lanes, continuously getting burned off dribble penetration by playing ultra tight on players that don't warrant such attention...the list goes on. It truly shows why he doesn't belong on this roster...He'd be a better fit on the OKC Thunder, his shortcomings wouldn't be exposed as badly as they are now.

[I Geeve]

Do you know if FanFest will occur this year? and will be this Sunday (the last Sunday before the season starts) like it usually is ever year?

Also, if you see a consistent Good Joey for at least 80% of the games he plays in and he plays in at least 60-70 or so games, would you resign him to a 3-year $10 mil deal?

It's roughly what he makes now and Bryan has been known to throw 3-year deals people's way that are not superstars just to keep his contract lengths easy to work with. I would certainly do it if Joey becomes the player I mentioned above.

Finally, if this is Joey > Moon season, would you trade Moon + Solomon for Jason Hart at the deadline (it might cost the Raps up to around $200,000 in tax for the remainder of the season)?

Blogger's note: No open practice, as has been mentioned a few times; that's probably not a bad deal and no, Jason Hart is not worth $200,000 in tax plus the money they woudn't get by being over the threshold.

[Dan]

You'd think that with many in the league ridiculing his jumpshot by not guarding him on the perimeter, he would have worked on it during the summer. Not the case. I speak for many Raptor fans who cringe whenever Jamario Moon hoists up ill advised jumper one after another. I'm glad that Graham is getting more burn at the 3 spot now, since he has a massive upside and appears to finally get it...for the time being. I can't remember the last time Moon dunked in a game when it wasn't a fast break or put back, the guy just doesnt like contact. He wouldn't even be a rotation player on many playoff teams, and his shortcomings are exposed whenever he has the ball on offense. Seems like the Raptor staff have finally jumped off the moonwagon and are realizing him for the offensively challenged hack that he is. He's an advocate of what I'd like to call "fake hustle". Taking chances by jumping passing lanes too often, picking up meaningless fouls by playing too tight on players that don't warrant such attention, and using his hands way more than his feet. Hopefully he can turn it around, but I highly doubt it.

[Jeff Steele]

Hey Doug,

I'm getting a little nervous with all this talk of the Raps being doomed if Calderon gets injured. In a worst case scenario where Calderon needs a month or two to heal from a serious injury, wouldn't Colangelo have some emergency back up plan up his sleeve? What do you think he'd do in that situation?

Keep up the good work, I'm completely hooked on your blog and I haven't missed a post since I started reading it this summer.

Jeff Steele
Victoria, BC

Blogger's note: A month or two? I'd presume he'd see what was available on the market and, no, I have no idea who that might be.

[kyle]

One comment: ewwwwwwwwwwwwww

The new blog layout gets an F

I know its preasason and all, but this new blog layout is B.A.D. bad. Worse than any of the preseason games this year, and that is saying allot.

Dougs writing is awesome, this new blog does not even come close to doing him justice.

[derek]

Thank Heavens we have a physocal presence down low. Just caught the laker/raps game and JO was doing some serious banging! As long as he can his fists down I can't see many eastern teams bigs being more agressive than the BOJO duo.

[graham]

I know it is only pre-season but I did read elsewhere that due to the numbers game, Ahearn, the same "non-athlete" who scored a ton against the Raps last week might not be retained at Minny -- should he slip through the cracks, do you feel he would be an upgrade as Jose's backup and allow Ukic time to grow into the role? Besides Moon not grabbing his chance, I'd have to say the biggest disappointment of training camp has been the inability of Adams and Solomon to seize their opportunities -- everyone hopes but is too scared to believe that good Joey may finally have lost bad Joey, and tight rotation or not, the roster is fragile because the back ups have not risen to the challenge.

Blogger's note: Not sure if he's an upgrade or not; but it doesn't matter, they have no interest, or room. The roster is what the roster is.

[kyle]

Blog is back to normal, thank goodness.

Was it just an anomaly yesterday, or were you guys trying out a new layout?

Blogger's note: Sorry, I didn't see what you saw. Don't think we did anything radical but they don't generally tell me stuff like that.