Of Bosh and obscure Raptors and a change in Detroit

Hello from beautiful Troy, Mich. (and I use ‘beautiful’ in the loosest possible term) where it’s like 14 F, grim and ugly. But other than that, it’s great to be alive.

Big day in this country yesterday, as you might have heard, and it really was fascinating to watch the people.

At the time the president took his oath, I was on a concourse at the Atlanta airport and the entire area went dead silent from the time the first showed Obama on the television screen until he was sworn in.

No chatter, not idle conversation, just 100 or so people (and that was in about a 50-metre long stretch of waiting room) pretty much awe-struck watching television.

It was pretty cool, as a matter of fact. As the last two days were in many regards. Martin Luther King Day in Atlanta and then the inauguration. Sometimes this job doesn’t suck.

Jermaine O’Neal sort of summed up the mood – and seeing a couple of million people well behaved on the mall in Washington, D.C. the mood was pretty joyous, when he said this to us the other day:

“It’s a real live, party atmosphere, a family atmosphere in Washington. When was the last time you’ve seen that?”

Now, let’s back to our regularly-scheduled drivel about this basketball team:

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One of the more interesting aspects of the last few weeks is the anger and disappointment being aimed at Chris Bosh.

It’s misguided, in my opinion, (23 and 10 a night, team’s best player, bonafide NBA all-star, 24 years old still to hit his prime) but it’s out there and that’s all cool.

The one thing that really gets me is the number of e-mails and comments that have come flooding in mocking Bosh for his early-season comment that he’d like to be the MVP of the league, to be among the true, true greats.

And people are upset about this? Honestly, they are. And there were a couple more yesterday.

Which makes me wonder, what would you have him say:

“I’d really like to be average. Maybe I can just be a guy. My goals are to be okay.”

What’s wrong with setting the bar high, especially when he was averaging about 27 and 12 at the time? Is it wrong to have great expectations?

Now, no, he’s not lived up to that level of play in the last couple of months. But to suggest it was wrong for him to make that statement in answer to a question? That’s just weird.

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Pretty big news here in Detroit as the one and only Chris McCosky reports today.

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They’re making a big to-do down here about Barack Obama being No. 44, running lists of great Nos. 44 in sports, lists that always start with Hank Aaron and always include Jerry West.

How about this list?

Martin Lewis, Hubert Davis, John Wallace, Derrick Dial, Greg Foster and Corie Blount.

No, I don’t imagine the Raptors getting all wistful about their No. 44 history.

I can’t figure out who’s the most obscure on that list? I guess it’d be Blount but Foster and Dial would be close.

One thing in Dial’s favour: He made a big shot to win a game in Chicago one night, allowing one of us to write: “The Raptors are glad they used Dial” which is a line a very, very, very small percentage of readers got.

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I mentioned this in response to a couple of comments yesterday but I assume not everyone reads all of them (and, trust me, that’s a wise, wise, wise stand to take) so …

Q: You mentioned that you wonder when it will be Bargnani's turn to take the big shot, and either you're forgetting, or I'm missing something. Didn't he hit the game-tying three against the Celts (I believe) last week? They ended up losing, but it was still one of those 'moments'. Was it a broken play?

Errol T, Toronto

A: Yes, it was.

If you recall, Bosh got an offensive rebound of a missed shot, kicked the ball back out and it was Kapono, if memory serves, who passed it to Bargnani.

At no time was Bargnani a top option on that play so, in my mind, that doesn’t count.

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Looking ahead in the schedule, trying to plan my days, couldn’t help but notice the odd 6 p.m. start time for Sunday’s home game.

Then it hit me: Here we go again.

The Sunday tips are all over the map from now until the end of the season – some 6 p.m., some noon, some 3:30 p.m. – thanks to our good friends at TV and ticket holders can just adapt.

With ABC doing Sunday games from now to the end of the year, they have an exclusive TV window on each day; if a team wants to play on Sunday at home and put that game on TV, they can’t play in the 2 1-2 hour-per-game window that exists for ABC.

So teams like the Raptors jerk around the times for three months or so.

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Seems Shawn Marion’s not all that thrilled about trade talk that centres around him.

A couple of post-practice comments from Tuesday, thanks to my man Ira at the Sun-Sentinel:

“I'm actually tired of it. I'm really tired of it. It's very distracting. I'm trying to focus on what I'm trying to do here and I keep getting bombarded with all this other stuff."

And there’s this, too:

“Of course it's going to have an affect on anybody because ya'll keep bringing it up and asking. If nobody brings it up and nobody talks about it, it's not going to be an issue. Think about it.”

Compare and contrast that to Jermaine O’Neal, who’s been openly talking since last Thursday about the possibility of a move and what it means and how it’s all part of the business.

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Last one from the mail for now:

Q: As I was procrastinating rather than studying for exams, I saw a video on YouTube and I believe it was from 1984 with high quality retired basketball players playing a game (maybe at all-star weekend). Some of the guys still had game (Pistol Pete and George Gervin). Anyways, I was wondering, why can't the NBA have another one of these games this year or in the future? I think as you say, it would be a "hoot". I'm not sure how they would regulate who can play and who can not, but I think the game would be very interesting. Also I'm sure the NBA doesn't want to be held responsible for injuries and such. Your thoughts?

Eric M, Toronto

A: It was indeed all-star weekend and they used to have “Legends Games” or something like that. Stopped them for a couple of reasons, actually.

One, there were always pulled muscles and busted joints and injuries that the seniors really didn’t want to deal with.

Two, the old guys are not exactly the target audience of all-star weekend. Having first-hand experience of how little some young ‘uns know about the past, it’s a surefire reason for kiddies to click off the TV on Saturday night of all-star weekend and that’s a bad thing.

But, having sat through nights watching such “great” events as Chris Andersen and Nate Robinson having a contest to see who could miss more dunks than the other guy, bringing back the Hall of Famers sounds like a great idea to me.

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Comments

[T i]

I find it ridiculous that people are getting mad at Chris Bosh for making statements of his intentions to be a MVP... in the words of the Swirsk - ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!? I loved the fact that Chris said those statements! Yes it's true he isn't playing at the same level he was early on in the season but he's still EASILY our best player on the roster. When players set goals and are genuinely serious about attaining them, it usually makes them a better player.. When a GREAT player sets very high goals - this is how they become even greater in my opinion - the idea of never being satisfied!

So what went wrong in respect to his supposed drop in play from the first month? I think he's just gassed.. Early in the season he was driving to the bucket with reckless abandon. It's tough to keep that up all year. Don't forget he is also coming off of the Olympics this summer.

In the end, any fan who is mad at Bosh has to start watching more basketball in general. Because the problem isn't (and has never been) Chris Bosh.. He doesn't have enough help! In fact, if Chris decides to leave in 2010 - it better not be these same uninformed raptors fans who will be doing all the whining and crying.. but I bet it will be.

[Gman]

Doug I agree the ripping Bosh thing is getting out of hand. As you've pointed out, without the ankle breaking handle guy he's often forced into doing things power forwards shouldn't do. A question though, he really defined himself this summer as a defensive stopper at the Olympics, in the last two months I've seen him miss bunches of defensive assignments. They talk about the truly great players not take possesions off, and I've seen Bosh's guy whoever it was get some blow by play. And I look for extenuating circumstances,(double teaming, screens) but it just seems like he's late or in the wrong place. I think I saw you almost comment on it on one of your in game blogs. After he had missed a play you made a comment about him seeming to have low energy.

[Bill W]

Legend's Game

Is Barkley going to be in it? Sober?

[Mo]

Doug,

what's going on with the TSN2 thing?

I think the raptors tanking this year is working out nicely for rogers and TSN, it's diverting attention away from the situtation. We were made to believe that they are working on it (BS), and that a deal would hopefully be reached by december (even bigger BS).

Is it safe to say that we will be screwed over for the entire year and there is nothing that any of us FANS who PAY to watch the team can do about it?

Where is that jackass who said "it's ok if the fans miss a game or two"? Can you get another quote from him now or write another article about this now that we're half way through the season?

[Jonathan]

Whether people like it or not, Bosh *is* our franchise player. Past years, everyone was afraid Bosh would leave; as soon as the team faces any kind of adversity, everyone turns into spoiled crybabies. And if Bosh decides to leave in 2010, hey, that's a season and a half away. If he does in fact leave, well then we start over *then* with a whole lot of cap space. There's no point in starting over now half-assed when we could just start over then.

I know a few of you have mentioned other bigs who take big shots in the final minutes; ignoring the fact that you failed at distinguishing between a final, game-tying/winning shot and scoring down the stretch (which wasn't in question), the bigs you mentioned (Duncan, Nowitzki, etc.) all have teammates who can create on their own. It doesn't take a genius to realize that when you only have one option on the team, the defense's job is much easier. Put someone on this team who can create, and you'll see how potent both Bosh and Bargnani can be.

As for Colangelo, those of you wanting him gone obviously have forgotten what it was like all the past years when the Raptors weren't treated as a legitimate team. Comparing him to Babcock via their acquisitions record is a joke. Not to bash Babcock, but he was a lot more risk adverse (hence Araujo). B.C. has shown that he has the guts to go for broke (O'Neal), for better or for worse. Which of Babcock and B.C. do you think would be more successful in attracting free agents to Toronto?

It's just funny how fans would bash Vince for not wanting more with his talent, and Babcock for saying the team sucks, then turn face with this Raptors squad and bash Bosh for aiming for MVP and B.C. for not saying the team sucks. I'm not sure those fans really want the best for the Raptors; more likely, they just want something to cry about.

[Jonathan]

Gman: I think Bosh is just really worn out mentally. Winning (the right way) supplies an energy boost, while losing does the opposite. Not to mention, he's in the unfortunate position of having to lead a bad team at the young age of 24. He should be learning from someone older how to cope with success and failure, how to get through slumps and bad times, but instead he's being asked to do the teaching from his non-vast life experience.

[Jesse Neary]

doug, you really can't bash the slam dunk contest...in all sports, the NBA all-star game is the best, not because of the game, but because of the day before...

[Alex]

How come you didnt post my question about Bargnani's minimum salary after next season? I guess it was a little off topic, oh well maybe it will end up on the mail bag?

Blogger's note: Sorry, it got knocked three pages back and I only looked to the last two. My mistake

Here we go
Doug is it true that the least the Raptors could resign Bargnani in 2010 would be for a contract starting at 8.5M

Blogger's note: No, he'll be a restricted free agent, they can offer him as much, or as little, as they like

[Mike M.]

I have a feeling, with absolutely no first hand evidence to back this up, that Bosh's right knee has been hurting him for some time now. He hasn't been finishing as strong off 1 leg like he did at the beginning of the year. I realise that can be attributed to general wear and tear and fatigue but I think it's more than that. The brace came out "for precaution" and I recall 1 game where he wasn't landing with both legs when rebounding.

It does seem better the last couple weeks though - that up and under dunk on Glen Davis confirmed it.

[Dan W]

I would have no problem with him saying that, had he kept up that same effort he had in November. If Andrea were to come out and claim he should be an all star based on these last 10 or 11 games i'm sure he would get ripped by plenty of people becuase he has only been playing this way for such a short period of time. Yeah Jamario Moon looks like he could give alot more effort but after watching Chris for the early part of the season we could say the same for him too. I know he gets to the free thorw line at a pretty high rate but he is not attacking the basket the same way he did to start the year. Now that Bosh's play has dropped form the begining of the season his words are speaking louder then his actions when it comes to his MVP statement and that's why he is coming across in a negative way from the fans when he rips on a teamate. MVP is for the whole season and he only gave MVP effort for the first month. He and Bryan both made statments that raised the expectations for themselves so of course the fans will be upset now that there being let down.

[Victor]

Didn't Bosh make those comments about winning the MVP in response to a reporter's question about his thoughts on the "MVP" chants that the ACC crowds were giving him early in the year? The same fans that were (prematurely and ignorantly) annoiting him the MVP 5 games into the year are now killing him for saying he has aspirations to win it. Unbelievable.

And someone earlier compared Bosh's comments to BC's comments regarding this team being the best Raptors team ever. There's a big difference. Colangelo's comment was a direct evaluation of his own work ("This is the best team I've put together"). Bosh's comment was statement of his aspirations. He said (I'm paraphrasing) "I want to be the MVP", not "I should be the MVP." If he said the latter, then the point would be reasonable. But he didn't, so you guys just need to chillax.

[James]

What is the most annoying thing heard at NBA games? As loud as the hosts can be in Toronto the worst has to be the Atlanta Hawks guy calling out every single "Threeeeeeeeeee..."

[GM]

In my mind one can be angry and frustrated at Chris Bosh without thinking he's a bum. And one of the media's jobs is to be critical (albeit constructively rather than with cheap shots) so it's fine for the fans to be, too. I still think he's a great player and the Raptors should do everything they can to keep him, but he shouldn't be exempt from criticism. It's just got to be balanced. No excuses.

I have no opinion on him saying he wanted to be MVP, but the way you present it is a bit of a false dichotomy. There are more than two choices other than "I want to be MVP" and "I want to be average". He could have no said anything. He could have said, "I want to improve every season." He could have said, "I want to be the best player I'm capable of being." So if one can draw a direct correlation between his statement and when his play started to drop off, I see no problem with saying that perhaps that wasn't the wisest thing to say.

And whether that game-tying basket by Bargnani came off a broken play or not is kinda beside the point. The point is that the coaches should design a play for him since he proved he can hit big shots. Or are you suggesting that if the play had been designed for him he would have missed? A plan doesn't mean he needs to create the shot. The Raptors seem to only want one person touching the ball with ten seconds or left. I know passing increases the chances of turnovers but it can't be any worse than the plays they're drawing up now. Jordan used to pass to Steve Kerr for game-winning shots. LeBron has passed to Damon Jones for game-winning shots. Surely Bosh could draw the defence and then pass to Bargnani or Parker or Calderon or Kapono for game-winning shots (or one of them could draw and pass to him).

I used to love the legends game. But it got out of hand. They really did have old guys in it. They could just amend the rule to say no one over, say, 50, could play. There are still great ex-players out there between 35 and 50 who the youngsters would know (or at least know of).

Any trade tidbits today?

[Bernad]

Funny thing - Last year Leo Rautins was very critical of Jermaine O'neal on a broadcast of an Indiana game saying he seemed to take plays off getting back and he did not go full speed for entire games. He sort of ripped his attitude but when the Raptors got him this year none of that was mentioned. Obviously there are chemistry issues with this team and he is really the only new addition. So I'm wondering do you think possibly his personality has affected the way the Raptors play?

Yes we know the wings are a problem but they haven't been great for the past 3 years either and those teams weren't this bad. I don't remember Garbajosa breaking guys down off the dribble too often. LOL I guess TJ Ford and Carlos Delfino meant a lot to this team?

On another note - digging deep into my memory bank I remember when BUTCH CARTER(good coach) was talking about a potential trade of Tracy McGrady for Larry Hughes when there were rumblings about loosing T-Mac as a free agent. He said something to the affect that Larry Hughes was "a VERY good player"(hinting that they should make the trade). - just thought I'd mention that since I know Larry Hughes is on the trading block. Oh - and we did loose T-Mac for nothing that year. :(

[Kelsie]

Hey Doug,

Bosh should have yelled at someone a long time ago including his GM to go get him some real help. I can't blame Moon for that loss cause we saw terrible errors by everyone that touched the court that night. I was disheartended by the fact that Atlanta was without Williams and Horford and yet we still let their big guys (Johnson, Bibby) go off.

I'm tired of hearing how they are so close to winning games but can't finish. I like Jay but its hard for a first time coach to come in a situation like this. It seems to me in games that he is almost too respectful to refs, and should prehaps try working them over like his predecessor did. I don't like to beat this point to death (actually I do) but Mitchell was fired with a record of 8-9 for not being able to "finish out games and blowing big leads".

If we don't make the playoffs Doug, do you think the chances of Bosh leaving increase or do you think he's patient enough to examine whats done in the off season and come in with a fresh outlook and not let this years events sour him?

Blogger's note: Whatever happens between now and the end of the 2009-10 season will all be taken into account by Bosh, I presume. But we are talking 16, 17 months from now

[Neil]

Blogger's note: Being the best player on a 16-27 team that doesn't have any other stars and has already fired its coach; he's the target

Bosh should be a target seeing that he is the "leader" of the team. CB4 could net a high quality wing, prospect and number one draft or 2 no? Trade Bosh and J.O. Man, you could build something with returns from those two. Next couple years will be a great time to rebuild a team.

Cheers!

[Jerry]

Doug

I cannot understand why you think Bosh getting in his teammates faces is a good thing. None of us likes someone getting in our face. It is not a team building move. Most work environments have figured that out by now. I don't see why it is any different for a sports team. It more than likely only builds resentment.

[AJ]

Of course the fans are on Bosh. What do you expect? This is Toronto, numbed by the Laffs for the past 41 years. For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of going to a Raptors game this year, here are the rules for the fans: 1 - if the Raptors ever let the other team have a lead in the game, BOO! 2 - if a Raptor ever commits a turnover, BOO! 3 - cheering is uncool and not recommended, just BOO!

[Steeebo]

Doug what is the latest on JO? Is he playing tonight? What have you heard?

Blogger's note: Yes, he's playing

[Louis]

I must ask, do you ever feel as if people aren't giving you the proper respect when they refer to you with nicknames or by your first name? In most other professional circles it would be considered impolite to refer to you as anything other than Mr. Smith without having a personal relationship with you or permission. I often wonder how you feel about those nicknames that people insist on calling you.

On an entirely different topic, do you know how many hits your blog gets on average? It seems that your work is receiving far more attention this season than last, which I'm sure must come with blessings and curses.

Blogger's note: Nah, if I let what people call me get to me, I'd be stark raving mad; and not sure about the hits, the bosses seem happy so I am

[Alex]

Thank you Doug, you are a true gentleman. I apologize but I must ask a follow up as you really are my only reputable NBA source.
I gotcha that Raptors can offer him any value contract, but if the minimum qualifying offer for Bargnani after '10 is 8.5M, what does that mean? Is that the least they could pay him on a one-year deal? Anything you can offer about this would be helpful.
Thanks

Blogger's note: The qualifying offer is a bookkeeping measure to make sure they retain the right to match any offer he gets as a restricted free agent; the same thing they've done with Delfino to retain rights to him.

[Mark L]

Doug, this is what Chicago thinks about the Raptors: "Half price tickets for this Friday's game". Is this common amongst the rest of the teams? For some reason I think it's more because they are north of the border and unknown versus their bad play as of late.

[DougG]

The Pippen comment helps me understand why so many of them take half a year off, to nurse their boo boos. I thought it was the confusing metric system, or the lack of TV channels, especially ESPN, that caused so many of them to refuse to come to Canada.

My sense is our best player, Chris Bosh, is not really our biggest problem. The problem is, in my mind, when he and Bargs are both going strong, it still isn't enough. That is where the problem really begins, especially with Calderon out. Even with Calderon in we are losing too many games. We still can't stop 2s and 3s, rebound the stupid ball, go inside, when the shots aren't dropping, bring consistent force from the small forward and shooting guard positions. Parker might be a better point guard than shooting guard.

Total frustration with losing is the thing that brings the Bosh hate out. Generally speaking, it isn't rational. We are still missing 2 or 3 pieces before we can compete with the good teams, no matter how well Bosh is going.

[Darko Dubajic]

Kinda dreading tonights game and having to watch another spanking that Weed is going to put on CB (like KG did). He just can not get over the fact that CB practically took his spot on All-Star team and he shows up for every Raptors game.
As for " well, CB still gets 20 odd pts and 10 reb's..." those 20 odd pts almost always come from 20 odd shots, and never on must score possesions .
Also, Detroit and Weed never double CB and that makes it harder on rest of the team to create decent shots.
As for MVP proclamation by CB, it is great that he has high goals, but when you say that you want to be a Billionare should you not strive to be a Millionare first.
GM (blogger, not BC) made a good point about it.

[Tristan]

Doug - do you know (or could you attempt to find out) if Bargnani does a routine (including work on the quads, core, use of those squatting machines, etc) to try and improve his vertical jump? I've read multiple reports of professional (or soon-to-be professional) athletes that have increased their verticals using a variety of machines and strength exercises. At this point, given Andrea's skill set, his poor leaping ability (and questionable reflexes) is (are) about the only thing(s) holding him back from future stardom. Think about how much easier it would be for him to finish inside, rebound and block shots? Do you know if he's working on (or has worked on) this sort of thing?