Imagine that, another bad game

So, is the season over? Well, no, it’s not.

It’s barely salvageable after that dog’s breakfast in Indianapolis on Friday night but with 41 left, it’s not over.

Besides, if it’s over, what do they do? Not play the games? Run Hump and Voskuhl and Joey and Roko out there for 35 a night? No, they keep playing, try to win as many as they can and see where it takes them.

And yes, they can try to make a trade to shake things up and the general manager is trying to do exactly that.

But tanking the season is not an option – you can never tell players to lose, it’s stupid and goes against all that sports is about and you’d lose everyone’s respect doing it at this point in any season. Not going to happen so don’t suggest it, don’t hope for it, put it out of your mind.

So …

(Oh yeah, you’re getting this early ‘cause I’ve got an early flight home, a feature on Wayne Embry to finish off and I can’t be worried about this in the morning. Don’t, however, get used to it)

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Action: Some comeback.

Reaction: So what?

If they had someone managed to steal that one, I would have been quite okay with the league reviewing the video and changing the outcome to a loss.

Never mind the last quarter, remember the first three. They were far more indicative of the game.

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Action: Halfway done.

Reaction: Time for action.

I know Bryan Colangelo is working on deals – that’s his job – but I would also hope he was on the phone about 10 o’clock last night with whoever he’s talking most seriously too.

I also wonder if there are teams out there interested in Jermaine O’Neal, and I am assured that there are, if they weren’t just waiting to see him in action before pulling the trigger on some transaction.

O’Neal didn’t look bad, just rusty, and I think maybe a couple more games to show there are no lingering problems with his knee might be the correct amount of time before something goes down.

If it’s earlier, great.

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There’s nothing like a 57-foul, 70-free throw, 2:280game to sap the energy out of everyone in the building.

Refs Bill Kennedy, Haywoode Workman and Scott Foster must have loved the sound of their whistles because that was one of the most over-officiated games of the year.

It’s not that they did a terrible job and blew all sorts of calls, they just didn’t let enough incidental stuff go that would have perhaps given the game some more flow.

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Action: Andrea’s “record”

Reaction: What a load of hooey.

Seriously, the longest streak of consecutive games with two or more three-pointers by a centre? Come on.

As Kevin O’Neill once said when a reporter asked him on opening day what his favourite Halloween memory was:

“Will the ridiculousness never end?”

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Action: AP the PG

Reaction: Don't get used to it.

Yes, for a lot of the fourth quarter, Parker did a pretty good job running the offence, he got the ball and went, fed Bosh more than either Solomon or Ukic did and didn't hurt them much defensively.

But it was simply a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures and while we may see it for a couple of minutes every now and then, it's not something that's going to be permanent.

 

Speaking of Bargnani and threes.

Q: Doug, is there any way to petition the league to get Bargnani into the three point shootout? I'd love to contribute to this effort if something exists, and sure many others would too

Forest K, Toronto

A: Nah, there really isn’t and while he’s shooting the lights in the last eight games and would draw some TV interest and sell some t-shirts back home, Jason’s going to be back and there’s no way in the world they take two from the Raptors.

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How’d my man Mike Wells write it? Like this.

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Mail time (and there’ll be a full Sunday mailbag in the morning, I hope):

Q: Hi Doug

You mentioned that you think Bargnani is now the second best player on the Raptors (just behind Bosh). Do you think at any point that the coaching staff would/should make Bargnani the primary option on offence? As good as Bosh has been over the years, his repertoire seems to be somewhat limited compared to Bargnani's. It would be interesting to see how Bargnani fares in a late-game isolation vs. KG or Noah, no?

Nilanka L, Oakville

A: I don’t think Bargnani has the ball-handling skills or quickness to be put in isolation in any game-winning situation but I’d like to see them maybe run him off a couple of screens or put him on the block a time or two for the biggest play of the night.

I’m not sure how he’d handle it but they should find out because the more options you have, the better.

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Action: JO’s return

Reaction: As expected

Seventeen minutes, some offensive rust, seven rebounds, no damage to any of his joints or body parts and, all in all, pretty much what everyone expected.

Even him.

“I don’t even know how many minutes I played tonight but I feel pretty good. I told the guys when I came out at the end of the third quarter that I’d give myself a passing grade.”

-

In 5:24 seconds, Josh McRoberts of Indiana managed to:

Miss two shots.

Commit two turnovers.

Get assessed a technical foul.

AND COMMIT SIX PERSONAL FOULS!

I’m not saying that’s the worst single-game performance of all-time but when they get around to making that list, McRoberts has to be on it.

Astonishing. Simply astonishing.

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Action: Three bigs together.

Reaction: Please! No more.

Bosh, Bargnani and O’Neal played about three minutes together in the second quarter and the Pacers got, as I recall, four wide open perimeter shots and made two of them.

And when they were on the court, the three bigs scored exactly two points – a couple of free throws by Bargnani.

It doesn’t work. It never has. It never will.

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Here’s a stat you probably didn’t hear last night: Toronto did not block a single shot in the game. It was the first time this season the Raptors haven’t had at least one.

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A Nate question, and he missed attending Friday’s game because he had an intestinal issue and stayed back in Toronto.

Q: Just curious as I haven't heard much about Nathan Jawai since he was cleared to start playing. Any insight as to when or if we might see him dress for a game?

Derek B, Ottawa

A: He’s working on getting in shape, he did have almost three months of virtual inactivity to overcome and he did put on a pound or two in that time. Dress for a game? That’s weeks away, barring a rash of injuries to the five big men – Bosh, Bargnani, O’Neal, Voskuhl, Humphries – who are ahead of him.

Will they send him to the D League? I don’t know. Might be a good idea just to get him some game time but I also think he’d get better practicing at full speed against NBA players than playing against minor leaguers.

But he’s nowhere near playing in the NBA and some game action is better than none.

Comments

[rob]

hey doug,
you mentioned that BC should be more active with the trade talks,,,
now I m no GM but it seems to me that if he tried to push this deal on other GMs chances are we receive a bad contract (or two) in return... for example marcus banks from miami or nocioni from chicago..
now i think one of the bright spots for the raps is that they dont have any bad contracts (except for kapono's and his isn't so bad) so why mess with our summer plans when we can easily trade oneal in the offseason because of his expiring contract...
do you agree with my rant ?
thanx in advance for answering this...

[H to the Immo]

Doug,

How do you stay with these games? Is it as boring for you as the rest of the fanbase... or does your personal knowledge of the players and the intrigues keep you sane?

2 points of clarification:

1. Is this the most boring team in the NBA (otherwise currently in a renaissance).

2. Is this the most boring Raptors team of all time?

Blogger's note: There are several mind-numbing teams in the league, it's a rotating competition and Kevin O'Neill's somnabulent defence-first team and the one that went 16-66 for Butch and Darrell were way more boring than this one

[peter]

Wow, early post Doug, way more commitment than the raptors last night. Adrian Wojnaroski is reporting that the heat want to see if o'neal is healthy before trading marion for him. Do the raptors make this trade? Marion isnt a great shot creator and is more of a power foward. That said he can prevent dribble penetration. Is it still an upgrade over O'neal?

[Shawn]

Comment on this story from Adrian Wojnarowski...

http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=aw-onealheat011709&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

Have you heard anything similar from your sources? How valid is the story?

Blogger's note: I'm trying to find out exactly what's real

[Joe]

Hey doug, maybe it's the stats people in Indy trying to get back at JO, but I distinctly remember 2 blocks he had. One on McRoberts off a nice Dish from TJ and another on Diener just before the first half buzzer.

[JJ]

I don't think it's a matter of tanking and intentionally losing, but letting younger players like Roko get more experience, specifically playing experience. What's going to help the team more going forward? Roko playing 20 minutes a night? Or Will? Sure Roko's going to take his lumps and have terrible games, but at least it would be building towards something.

For those fans that want to start looking at 2009-10, you can get a good jump on the Draft today. Two of the top SG and SF prospects are playing today and both games can be seen in Canada.

3rd ranked Wake Forest and Al-Farouq Aminu (ranked 11th on Chad Ford's top 100) play against 9th ranked Clemson on ABC at 3:30pm EST. Plus, 15th ranked Arizona State and James Harden (ranked 3rd on Chad Ford's Top 100) play against 7th ranked UCLA at 3:45pm on CBS.

Watch the games, see what the players can do and then ask yourself, can either of these guys realistically help the Raptors next year? It'd be more productive than fiddling around on ESPN's Trade Machine for the afternoon.

Blogger's note: Roko is averaging more than 23 minutes a game.

[John]

Did not get to see the game but will take your word for it they were bad. Going to be a long year and they seem to be liking their role as the Toronto Generals.

Hope the GM stays the course and makes use of the high draft pick (top 10) that they are going to get.

Hard on the fans but maybe thru the draft they can turn this around in a few years. Recent trades have not made the team any better.

[Steve M]

Doug- does Kapono have a learning disability or something? I'm asking this in earnest. EVERY game it's the same story. The coaches have got to tell this guy he has only two options when the ball comes to him: shoot or pass. I can't take another dribble off the leg or travel call. Excuse me while I go throw myself in Lake Ontario.

[Erc]

Right on. The 'comeback' WAS a load of hooey. If you play that badly for three quarters who CARES how you play for the last one? Against the INDIANA PACERS, for crying out loud!
This team is used to their own pace, which is about 3/4-speed. When the jump shots fall it can work. They 'save' that extra effort for 'good' teams and the final two minutes when the game is on the line. And generally, the shots don't fall when that happens! Their 'muscle memory' is tuned to the pace they generally play and practice. When they go all-out, the shots don't fall. Watch them against the top teams and in crucial situations.
If this team played at a consistent tempo like the second Celtic game and a few others this year, they'd be a respectable NBA team, and not a bad joke. Defense and rebounding are effort. Good teams don't have 'off' nights in those categories. At least not many.
A trade is probably not going to help this team. People urging a trade as the solution should ask themselves -- 'who do you think Colangelo will be trading with -- Rob Babcock?' Motivate or eliminate players that don't put out. Draft a good young wing player. Change the losing culture of this team. The chances of a quick fix are slim and none.

[Mark M]

Hey Doug

Can you throw us a bone and give us a few rumors you have heard? I know 99% of the stuff we read is b.s so it would be nice to know what kind of stuff you are hearing.

Blogger's note: As soon as I can talk to people who know what's actually going on, I'll let you know. Promise.

[Pete]

I think Kapono is born for the NBA three poing shootout, not for the NBA game itself. How hard is it to hold your pivot foot once the dribble is picked up? Watching him travel like that in the crunch time made no sense. I used get frustrated watching him do that, but now it's more of 'Wow, it's amazing how he keeps doing that'.

[G-rav]

Hey Doug,

I've tried this about 4 times and still have not got a reply so it would be great if you can answer this. Chicago has so many guards and needs a center. Toronto needs that guard/swingman and has a center up on the block. I dont know about the numbers, but why hasn't any trade been made with Chicago or any other team for that matter. A trade, small or big, should have been made weeks ago. I know he doesn't want to pull the trigger fast, but anything we can get out of moon or graham at this point wouldn't be bad. Maybe moon to new york? I mean, there he can take lots of 3's and run the court, if i was new york, i would look at him. thanks

Blogger's note: It's all your speculation and opinion. Which is fine but I really have no "answer" for how you feel.

[Eric]

Didn't JO get a block in the first quarter? I think against either Murphy or Foster. I swear he did cuz it was the only time I jumped from my seat

Blogger's note: If he did, the scorers missed; no blocks in the boxscore I have

[Jack]

No, Doug.
I think the season is over.
Colangelo is planning for the next season where he can build the team the way he wants it. Jay will be gone. A new coach will be hired and probably a new coaching staff. As much as I like Jay since he's a Canadian, he's not an NBA calibre coach. Look for a Colangelo boy to take over here.
I think he's not going to make major moves until the season is over. Maybe get a lottery pick to go with the rebuilding.

[Zaki]

Did you know about this Doug. I think we could use Marion. He seems to feed off his PG and as we have a good PG this could actually work.

[Taylor]

I know last night was ugly but let's not write off the season yet. We're 3.5 games out of a playoff spot and have been playing without arguably, our second best player the past 2 weeks. Also, the O'Neal for Marion and spare parts rumour really seems to be picking up steam but how often does a rumoured trade actually happen? As much as fans love a good rumour don't most trades come out of the blue? Billups for Iverson, Richardson for Bell and Diaw, both Knick deals, are all deals from this season which had little to no build up. With that being said do you think BC will surprise us all or make a deal that seems to be out there now?

[Pete]

Doug, whats your reaction to the Marion - JO rumour out there right now?

Blogger's note: Until I find out how real it is, none.

[dcox]

BRUTAL:
1)effort
2)kapono's turnovers
3) kapono's shots
4)kapono's defence
5) play calls
6) team

[GM]

You say the three bigs lineup "doesn't work, never has, never will." Go back to when they debuted this year. I think you went on record saying that it did, in fact, work. At least for that game and maybe another one after it.

I distinctly remember one Pacer going in on a break on the left side and getting blocked by O'Neal. Does anyone else remember that? At the time I wondered why it didn't show up in the box score. The only other explanation is that the rim blocked the guy's shot.

(Hope my memory isn't 0-for-2.)

[Rob]

I agree with the statment that you NEVER tank a season. Someone should tell the Raptors players though.

This team as constuted is DONE! and the "physically challenged" woman as they say...is singing!

They played with absolutely zero urgency in the first 3 quarters and it appeared as though they didnt have an offensive strategy. Considering that the best 3 bigs on either team would be CB, Bargnani, and a rusty JO, they didnt expoit these match ups at all and AP at the point in the 4th speaks volumes about our PG situation.

Personally, outside of a trade I dont see how the current roster has the ability to turn things around.

So now what Doug??? Fans give up after every loss however the players always seem to have a different perspective. Having said this, it does appear as though for stretches in games even the players have stopped believing. Have you sensed a different mood from the team recently?

Blogger's note: I sense far more frustration than resignation.

[Ben]

I thought I saw O'Neal block someone in the first few minutes he was in, right up against the backboard?

Blogger's note: Not according to the official boxscore I have in my hand

[Jef Moore]

McRoberts! If only he was a lottery pick he could relieve some angst and take over Hoffa's title as biggest pylon!

[Anthony]

Don't want to continually bash Bosh as he showed heart in the 4th, but this game was again a microcosm of the season. Periods of lackadasical play, a chance to win the game with 1-2 plays or stops and we come up short. Have we come up big once and pulled out a close one this season (maybe Orlando and GS, but that is about it) Bosh didn't secure the rebound down 100-99 and then committed a foul on a 3 point shot....

Small point, but we had 2 technicals and first Bosh misses one (makes one of 3) and then Graham takes the technical (makes 2 of 3). Shouldn't in both cases their best shooter have been at the line (Parker, Kapono or Bargnani)? We were way down, but that 1 point would have been huge at 100-99. The 3 foul shots by Dunleavy was the dagger.

Also nice to see Bargnani have a bad/indifferent game and still put up 20.... He needs to improve in the post still, but he is getting there.

[Imran Pirani]

If BC were to pull the trigger on a J.O. to Chicago deal, what kind of return would the Raptors expect if Jermaine returs to his form prior to being injured? I've read that the Bulls are actively shopping Hughes and have plenty of wing players that could benifit the Raptors. Would a J.O. for Hughes and Nocioni deal make sense for both teams? What about the financial implcations?

[Rahulan]

I'm sure you probably have comments and emails about this already but Adrian Wojnarowski has a good article written about a JO trade to Miami which is similar to what you say about teams wanting to make sure there is nothing lingering with the knee. Other than Miami are there any other team that you know of waiting to see how his Knee is holding up?

P.S I expect JO to be gone by Friday, which would have given him four games to showcase that his knee is still stable.

Lastly I know you don't comment on trade scenarios but I think JO and Solomon for Marion and Banks works financially.