You wonder how low they can go

How’s everybody today? Not so good, right? Blow it up? Trade ‘em all? Fire someone?

Can’t really blame you.

But here’s something a wise old man once said (not even sure it was) and it might bear thinking about today: Don’t get too high after big wins or too low after bad losses.

Yes, that Thunder Thing was the low point in a season chalk full of them so far and it’s hard for anyone to see anything good to talk about or even think about at the moment but the truth is, there are still 56 games to go and there will be some highs and there will be some lows.

Is the season lost? No, it’s not. It’s at its lowest ebb, no question about it, and there are a series of troubling issues that have to be addressed. All it’s going to take is more hard work, more intelligence, more heart. Do they have that in them? I think they do. Not to the level of Boston, L.A. or Cleveland but there are 26 other teams besides Toronto in that same boat.

Maybe they do have to bottom out before things get turned around and this has to be the depths of a very hot and uncomfortable place.

But we must soldier on here and, we shall.

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Action: Collison hustles

Reaction: Raptors lose

If there was one play that not only summed up the game, it probably summed up the season, it came with about 90 seconds left in a two-point game when Nick Collison simply stole a rebound away from Bosh by getting on the floor and rolling it out to a teammate.

It was hustle and desire and strength. None of which Toronto’s had often enough this season.

That Russell Westbrook got the ball and hit a jumper to make it a four-point game only made the play worse. And more costly.

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I believe the number of e-mails was over 40 and the comments something north of 50 in the post-game period. That tells me there’s still some passion out there in fan-land but reading them tells me there’s far, far more anger.

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Action: Bryan’s livid

Reaction: What can he do?

The last time these guys laid a smelly egg like that one, the GM fired the coach. Well, we know that’s not an option at the moment so …

I don’t know specifically which GMs he’s been talking to most seriously – there were some discussions with Chicago, I’m told, and the interest in Marion is there but I’m not sure how far those talks have gone – but it’s really time for action.

Watching that relatively lifeless performance just affirms that this team needs an infusion of something like heart, hustle, consistent hard work that it’s not getting. And, as I mentioned, the season is still salvageable but sometimes a deal for a deal’s sake wakes up some people and gets things moving in the right direction.

Up until the loss to the Thunder, I thought Bryan would hold off on any trades to give Jay and these guys a chance to figure it out. But that one loss, and the way it was accomplished, should have had him on the phone in the wee hours of the morning getting serious about his discussions.

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I don’t imagine they’re planning parade routes in Oklahoma City (after all, they only beat the Raptors) but here’s how the big win played out in the papers.

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A question and answer:

Q: Doug, do you think Raptors fans are getting a bad reputation around the league. Down the stretch in the OKC game, the Oklahoma TV guys said that "if this game was in Toronto, the fans would be booing". Is that the perception around the league these days?

Andrew H, Washington DC

A: Yep. Thanks to the little “boo ‘em when they’re down three to Dallas in the fourth quarter and miss a free throw” story that’s out there, that’s exactly the perception at the moment. And I don’t know how soon it can get changed. I had a couple of friends write me from around North America in the last few days asking what was going on with the boos.

I told them it wasn’t like Vince Boos or Tracy Boos or Damon Stoudamire Boos (as much a smattering then a cacophony) but, still, that’s what people out there read and perceive to be reality.

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Action: Bosh rips Moon

Reaction: A meltdown may be coming.

Did you see Bosh killing Moon after that wacky three with, by my play-by-play sheet, 11 seconds left on the shotclock and Toronto down one with about five minutes to go? Yes, it’s nice to have passion and anger and all that. It’s bad form to publicly show up a teammate. Rip him in the huddle, get him on the bench, to do it in front of a dozen or so TV viewers (that’s about all I figure were left by then) is bad form.

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Some Okie info:

Q: Why does everyone stand in OKcity for the first few minutes?

Alex H, Toronto

A: It’s a quaint little tradition, started in American colleges, where the fans of the home team stand until the home team scores a basket. Very cute. Very college. Very tiring some nights watching the Thunder, I’d presume.

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Oh, and while we’re looking around, check out what they said in San Antonio today, where The Legendary Matt Bonner awaits.

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Action: More lack of hustle.

Reaction: Beating a dead horse? Sure

I can make the argument that the easiest thing to do in professional basketball is to rebound a missed free throw. You’ve got two guys on the block with position, the shooting team’s bigs are generally thinking of heading back up the floor and even of a modicum of effort gets the job done.

Why, then, did I see Nick Collison (there’s the name again) glide past a couple of Raptors to tip in a Jeff Green miss with just about five minutes to go that turned a two-point game into a four-point game.

Little things. Little effort things. Little effort and intelligence things that Toronto just doesn’t do. One in a vacuum you can live with; a series of them costs you games.

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And finally:

Q: High school game tonight, team A is up 26-22, other team goes on a 28-5 run. Comment, oh team A pulled a Raptor. I guess that wouldn't make the pros good to know that is what they saying about them.

Bruce M, Winnipeg.

A: Ding! Ding! Ding!

Comments

[gabriel]

Doug, im 27. Ive been a raptors fan from day 1. from the stoudemire, the tracy murray days, the VC and mcgrady days. Up until the colangelo era, the raptors were an exciting team to watch. Whether they won or lose, for the most part, they played fast paced ball and were entertaining. Today, colangelo has built a boring team. the wing players he brought in are slow and can't jump and have zero explosiveness. His point guard rarely runs and guns and his inherited superstar seems to suck when we need him to shine. Even JO seems like Olajuwon 2.0. I feel no more loyalty to this team or franchise. Its not a fun product. We missed out on aldridge or roy, iguodala and countless other players and have not brought in 1 free agent that has made a difference since, well ... antonio davis?

im out...no more raps for me....montreal boy is going back to the habs...

[petro]

After last night's loss... I just couldn't get my mind off a "mortadella" sandwich.

[GM]

I'd trade Parker for Watson. Watson's only a 16-minute guy but he was a starter up until not too long ago. He frustrates me as a player but plays hard-nosed defence and would be a good back-up. I wouldn't throw Joey in on that deal, though, unless they got someone else athletic and strong back.

Yeah, Gabriel, go back to your hockey team. Don't want to see your name here any more now that you say you're gone.

[adam m]

Doug, i have heard that there is a "fire sale" going on in golden state, where they are desprately trying to get rid of maggette's contract by dangling anthony randolph and brandan wright in terms of receive expirings back. Do you think this is a deal we should be looking at, and do we have the assets to reach such a deal outside of bosh, calderon, and o'neal. Heres the link to this "rumour" as all that i think it is for now.

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/12/19/panic-time-in-warriorsland-nelson-and-riley-are-desperately-seeking-a-trade/

Blogger's note: Maggette, over-rated in my opinion, has a contract that's an albatross; I can't imagine they have any interest.

[WildAce]

Doug,

Would you agree with me that the only untouchable Raptors should be Bosh, Calderon, Joey and maybe Bargs?

I would NEVER trade Joey unless you get an all-star back only because his efficency is extremely high when comparing it to his contract amount and length. I believe in bang for the buck and I'd say right now him amd he's definitely giving it to us now.

I would love to see someone make a chart of PER (player efficiency rating, kept on NBA.com) per million $ for each Raptor. I guarantee Joey would be high on that efficiency list, (when you exclude outliers like Adams and Solomon, Jawaii hasn't played yet).

Blogger's note: An all-star for Joey, who makes $2.5 million? You get that, you're the executive of the year. The way this team's going? I'm not sure anyone is "untouchable" in Bryan's mind. Me? I wouldn't trade any of those four.

[Bryan]

I'm not a young man anymore. Even if I was, life is too short to waste away, doing something that gives me no pleasure or enjoyment. Will catch a game on TV (or now streaming??!!); if the Raptors are getting blown out or stinkin' up the joint, I'll try to find something constructive to do for a while, then check back in, seeing if they've made a run and the game's worth watching at the end...

And now it's time to apply that policy to the season. I've seen enough for now. Will read you again in April, Doug, and check back in then. Merry Christmas. Happy Easter, for that matter.

[Russ]

wow, bosh is the last person who should be ripping into moon for a missed 3. hes definitely taken one too many ill advised threes this season.

if it was beacuse moon bit on a pump fake then fine, but do it in the locker room. he shuddnt be ripping into his teamates in front of everyone like that. and its not like hes a shinnig example defensively either.

[E.A.]

Our offense stinks. We're averaging 5 less ppg then we did last year. Has anyone noticed that they dont swing the ball anymore? Or am I missing that? I remember in the previous 2 seasons, a big part of our success offensively was moving the ball around, and specifically, swinging the ball. That seems to have disappeared.

I think its the lack of penetration. You can't kick the ball back out and swing it if you don't have penetration. And throwing the ball into JO or Bosh doesn't creat the same opportunity because the defense doesn't collapse like it would with someone driving. It attracts a second defender, and that's only if JO or Bosh are playing well.

There's just not enough going on offensively. This allows opposing teams to just shut us down for long periods of time. They have got to start driving. I want to see them do it at least every other possession. And it's got to start with Jose. He has got to make a concious effort night in and night out to drive and make something happen. This was my concern when they traded TJ. I thought we'd only see it in the playoffs though, when teams really step it up defensively. But we're already seeing it.

[mary]

Hey Doug,
Do you think the Raptors have any interest in Boris Diaw? He's been averaging 18 points and 7 rebounds since coming to Charlotte, but I'm sure they'd be willing to part with him (and his hefty contract) for the right price.

What do you think of him?

Blogger's note: He was a big disappointment on the last good team he played on and he's a bit of a tweener with three years and $27 million left on his deal. So, I'm not sure. Probably not

[Jon K.]

For the guy who wanted efficiency rating point per contract dollar (making the case for Joey being a good deal):

Bosh 573,898.09 per efficiency point
Calderon 391,474.63
O'Neal 1,425,501.34
Bargnani 492,057.03
Moon 69,348.64
Parker 503,318.58
Kapono 762,118.58
Graham 345,929.94
Humphries 609,523.81
Soloman 187,735.36
Ukic 376,506.02
Voskuhl 437,704.50

Obviously, lower is better (meaning you had to pay less per efficiency point). Salaries were from Hoops Hype, Efficiency rating was from NBA.com. It'd be interesting to see where a baseline average across the NBA is to judge how well executives price value (ie. contract dollars vs. efficiency on court).