The Goods On The Game, Vol. 47, night of Nets

Comments

[steve m]

Hmm, I'm here on my blackberry- but not sure where I should be looking? Will keep cruising around trying to figure this out. In your next blog could you maybe have a techie give us bb readers a tutorial- or better yet just a link? Thanks!

[Mike Kovacs]

About time that we get a win like that!

[Lance Uppercut]

Hey Doug,

Not sure if it was just the TSN2 scoreboard or my eyes playing tricks on me, but I swear I saw 98-90 Raps when Joey scored and was fouled. Immediately after the basket, the score went to 101-90, then after he made the free throw, there was a 10 second pause, then 102-90.

If I'm the only one that asks you about this, I'll assume I'm wrong, but I believe the Raps may have finally got their point back from Atlanta.

[ice24]

The Raps got lucky on that one. That was a great move by Harris at the last possession, but Toronto's last play before that was just terrible. They'd better learn to excute the set plays when it counts the most. Sometimes you can get by with luck, but you often won't be able to do that. Good win, but should've been a easier win for sure.

[Claudio DiG.]

Hey Doug,
this win is big. Could have been huge and complete if:
1) if it hadn't come out of fate, or luck, or anything you can call an event that goes out of your control and doesn't turn your way as a direct consequence of your acts, but simply by case
2) if Bargs had really contributed; 8 points apart, the voice that goes "one rebound" make me fear the bad season's coming. I know it's too early, but knowing my guy.....
Regards

[WSG]

Watching Joey Graham being interviewed on RapsTV post-game shows these past months (those odd times that I’d catch him being interviewed), it struck me that the ‘Good Joey/Bad Joey’ thing had me (for no good reason that I can really come up with), underestimating his … intellect.

I admit this sheepishly … and I’m wanting to blame Sam … but that too, would be unfair. It wasn’t Sam’s fault, after all, that I jumped to incorrect conclusions, on hearing him occasionally, ‘diss’ this player or that, in his usual colourful manner. But ‘Good Joey/Bad Joey’ had a meaning for me that insinuated something that I won’t try to put too fine a point on here, but … see above.

Watching and hearing Joey (then) speak in those recent interviews, I began to understand that he was actually quite on-the-ball and … maybe much more so, as well as seeming to be a very nice person.

Then, last night, while watching the online broadcast (atdhe.net – thx to whoever once posted it – was a good feed last night), featuring the New Jersey Nets broadcasters (didn’t catch their names, but they were GOOD) they happened to mention that Joey has his FAA pilots license and that he also has a degree in Aviation Management. After hearing what I THOUGHT I heard (I was unsure if it was ‘our Joey’ they spoke of), I looked it up (after the game) and … sure enough, I found a Sports Illustrated article that tells of this very thing … and that his twin brother Stephen holds the very same degree and is also a licensed pilot! (Good article, Ready For Takeoff, December 20, 2004 – SI Vault.)

Now, having had a close friend take the similar course and instruction to obtain a pilot’s license several years ago, I have a pretty fair sense of what it takes to complete this serious endeavour to its successful conclusion … but all I’m qualified to really say or suggest is … it ain’t easy. Ever since seeing (just) bits of what it is that has to be learned … and mastered really, my hat is off to anyone who goes about getting this done.

I thought about this while considering how well Joey played last night (I’m doubting we would’ve had a chance to win without him), now having a better sense of how smart he really is or must be (the ability to FOCUS might be a more apt way to say it … but it can’t be done imo, without real ‘smarts’), and I have to say that I now have a whole new appreciation for what Joey Graham might be all about … and maybe, what he brings to the team.

I’m not sure I’ll go along with thinking of ‘Good Joey/Bad Joey’ ever again in quite the way that I once did … if I do so again, at all. But I’ll certainly be cheering for him to do well every time he plays even more so, because more than ever before, I’m a fan.

[D.Walker]

In response to lance uppercut you are wrong and the Raptors did not get an extra point. The score when the Joey play occured was 99-90---as the TSN score was wrong. They had a problem with their scoreboard all night which was very frustrating. As well Jack Devlin was out of touch because after the Harris miss he had the game going to overtime. You would think a TV network could keep these things straight but TSN at times seems to be lost. Many times they will be flashing a scene from the bench or crowd when guys are shooting free throws. Probably a lot of inexperience with their crew.

[Snowbound up north]

Luck was with them this time. Same as the Phillys when VCs shot rimmed out. But you can't ever hope for success in this league if you can't defend the final posession of a game. You cannot give up an open shot, and good teams don't do it.

[Ted]

Matt Devlin's "Overtime!.....I mean....Raptors win" call will go down as some of the worst Raptor play-by-play calls of all-time. He must be happy the game was on TSN2. The scoreboard was slow and jumped by plus 3s, then corrected seconds later with minus 1s.

All that being said, I'll take the odd gaff from Matt. I still prefer his presentation of the games when compared to that Chicago Bull radio announcer who shall not be named.

[Erc]

Coach Triano has gotten kudos for bringing Bargnani along. He should also get some for Joey's development. I said it before the season and I'll say it now -- Joey is what he is -- a young, athletic, not-terribly-confident player who isn't afraid to go the the hoop and can defend. He has also revealed a decent mid-range jumper, a very good foul shooting touch and a touch of agrression.
He was simply torched for the past couple years with the 'good Joey - bad Joey crap'. It had to start at or near the top of the Raptors organization and flowed downhill, like crap, to the writers and fans. He was blamed and ridiculed in vast disproportion to his contributions. There was plenty of blame to go around, like this year. Heaping so much of it on Graham was ridiculous.
Yes, he still gets lost on defensive assignments occasionally. 'Physical intelligence' like the Jordans and Bryants have is entirely different from intellect. Instead of harping on his weaknesses this season, at least we're able to appreciate some of his strengths -- just like everyone else on this flawed team.
Some of you might consider cutting Will Solomon a similar amount of slack. He went from being a star in Europe to a nobody here and didn't handle the transition well, but I'm sorry, our lousy season has had very little to do with Will, who has played much better as he went along.
This season has definitely been a 'team effort'. Last night, they allowed a zillion second-chance points in the first half; righted the ship and gained a forth-quarter lead, coasted like the Lakers and then screamed and fainted like school girls when the Nets came back in through the door they'd left open. Only a one-in-twenty miss by a very good young player saved them. That's Raptor basketball!!!!

[FVT]

RE:Good Joey/Bad Joey

Might be the most confusing comment of all time.

[Penny]

Here's hoping we're getting on a roll.

[Jacob L]

I thought the good joey/bad joey comment was good and interesting. Maybe FVT is just a confused person.

[WSG]

Re ‘confusing comment’: Ya. It might’ve been too early to try to write that one.

[WSG]

... but thanks, Jacob