For one night, at least, a feel-good story

Well, that was totally unexpected, wasn’t it?

STEVE RUSSELL/TORONTO STAR

Raptors snuck out the back door with a win after this one.

Down four to the Spurs with a minute left, three starters on the bench, their well-documented late-game failings fresh in everyone’s mind and they win? If you saw that coming, send me a note with some lottery numbers, please.

But it was a big win over a good team and certainly not something we see around these parts very often. In fact, both of the wins this week have included some good late-game play and while it’s not even remotely close to time to suggest they’ve turned any corner, it has made the last 48 hours or so much easier for many of you to take, I imagine.

So now they toddle off into the break feeling pretty good about themselves and we toddle off into the break wondering if the next 27 games might be worth watching closely.

But first …

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Action: Ukic’s threes.

Reaction: With some help from his friend.

Well, maybe not.

We give you Shecky Greene, er, Jason Kapono, on how he’s transforming Roko Ukic into a deadly three-point shooter with some veteran advice:

“His three-point tip is to pass the ball to me. But he always has the excuse that I’m covered, which I don’t think I am.”

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All hail the Hawks!!!

Now, not the Atlanta Hawks, no one cares about them.

The Hawthorn Hawks went to 2-1 on the season by beating the dastardly Greenglade Somethingorothers 28-23.

Super Son was held scoreless (I believe he was being guarded by a 12-year-old Gary Payton clone) but everyone had fun.

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Action: A play that works

Reaction: No, not the game-winner

I bet not many saw this and it’s an indictment of them that I even noticed it but …

With just about two minutes left in the third, Raps have the ball out of bounds under the Spurs basket. First Parker curls off a screen and cuts through the lane along the baseline, occupying the attention of a couple of defenders. Then Kapono takes the exact same path, there’s no one to guard him, he actually gets the ball and makes a layup.

Rudimentary basketball indeed, grade school stuff, but Jay yelled and pumped his fist, the players looked a bit surprised that something worked so well and it was one of those “why can’t they run that all the time” moments.

Of course, fast forward to the dying seconds of the fourth quarter when they can’t get the ball in at midcourt and have to blow what could have been a crucial timeout and you see that celebrating an easy basket off an out-of-bounds play might have been the right reaction.

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Gotta love Matt Bonner

He was wandering around the bowels of the Air Canada Centre last night, shaking hands and kissing babies and being Matt, and also toting the new Bonner shoe that’s being mass produced as we speak.

Looks like a normal, every day, run-of-the-mill shoe to me (a bit big, but that’s what you’d expect) except for one thing. Written along the side panel, large enough for everyone to see is:

Live Free Or Die.

You can take the boy out of New Hampshire, but you can’t take the New Hampshire out of the boy.

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The memory banks were working overtime for a few of you – and me, actually – for this kind of stuff:

Q: Doug, this game brought back memories of one years ago, when Wince got hurt and the Raps beat the Spurs right around the all star break helped by no other than Yogi Stewart. Do you recall the date for that historical event?

Parminder B, Brampton

A: Like it was yesterday. Well, not exactly, but I do vaguely recall it.

It was Feb. 7, 2002, the game before the all-star break, You Know Who did get hurt (and for once he didn’t cheat death and come back into the game; he actually had to blow off the all-star festivities in Philly that weekend because of “jumper’s knee”) and Toronto won 80-74 in overtime. Not sure Yogi had a huge night, he played 13 minutes with four points and two rebounds (those might have been single-game highs for his time in Toronto now that I think of it) but it was a pretty cool night.

Memo to Raps: Schedule Spurs the night before the break every year and hype it as Guaranteed Win Night.

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In San Antonio, they awoke to read this about the night.

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Action: Roko’s game-winner

Reaction: Great call?

I bring this up to further my point that it’s more players than coaches.

The lauding of Roko for making that final basket, the spin move on Parker and shot over the helping Duncan, is all well and good and the play worked great.

Except that wasn’t the play.

Said the coach:

“The play got busted and we couldn’t make the pass to where we wanted to and he just did a great job.”

So no matter how it turned out, it wasn’t designed, just like a lot of last second-plays tend to be improvised if a team defends well.

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You know what? If that was Jermaine O’Neal’s last game as a Raptor – and while I have nothing concrete to base it on, I believe it was – he went out giving them just what he was supposed to.

Rebounding, shot-blocking and defence.

He had 10 boards and six blocks and his help defence on the Ginobili drive that missed and set up Ukic’s game-winner was exceptional.

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A JO shooting question:

Q: Hey Doug, I know players don't like to use the backboard anymore (except Tim Duncan, what does that say?), but don't you think JO could average like 6 points a game higher if he'd just bank some in? All these straight on 5 footers left a foot short are painful to watch.

Matt S, Toronto

A: I couldn’t make a shot to save my soul for most of my (un)illustrious career but I do know one of the hardest shots to make is a dead-on bank shot. Now, I agree it’s a lost art and a great shot to perfect but I think O’Neal’s playing to his strength trying to make five-footers in the lane.

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Comments

[Darko]

My posts lately are on time like Raptord defensive rotations.
Someone mentioned PTS & Bob McCown. The amount of crankines that he dishes out, show should be renamed to PMS.
Just couldn't listen to his arrogance (it is my show... bye,bye) or ignorance ( few years back he called city of Prague
something like socialist dump) any more. One of the most beatiful cities in Europe, wow. Coming from a guy that was born in one Columbus ,Ohio if I am not mistaken.
Since it's my car and my time... Bye, Bye Bob.
Question to you Doug, has he mellowed any recently.

[Darko]

That New Orleans game did it for me. I had to find a way to reduce stress in my life. I will not watch any more, say Andrea go under the screen on Pedja who had 6 threes to that point, dumb or lazy or both. Or Jose overhelping twice on that right side even though help was not needed whatsoever, naturaly both times open 3 goes in. Just to name couple of their defensive gems.
From now, until further notice I rely on you Doug and your game story to determine if I watch the tape or not, for the simple reason I do not get in situation like you in Memphis "3 hours of my life that I will never get back".
See, this way to me game in Memphis did not happen , except in the standings.

[anthony.mackay@gmail.com]

THANK YOU ROGERS FOR NOT ALLOWING ME TO WATCH THE RAPTORS AGAIN... this little issue that you cannot or will not resolve has convinced me to switch over to another provider for my cable, internet and cell phone. Yes this may seem extreme, but you have had more then enough time to resolve this and your foot dragging is hurting an NBA franchise and helping to lose the casual fan.

I am loyal to business and corporations that at least give the appearance of working to satisfy their customer base... why this has dragged on so long is beyond me and doesn't seem to make any sense.

Go Raps... I'll be taking the $150+ I used to give to Rogers and spending at the bar with some real fans watching the raps play!!

[GM]

See what you've started, Doug? You mention Bargnani being a black hole now lots of your readers are "reaching" that conclusion as well. The guy has to be a volume shooter. The question, as it should be with all players, is whether the shot is a good one or a bad one. Most of his shots are good shots that he should take as one of the top scorers on the team. I agree the whole team should look to move the ball more, though. Maybe you could ask the coaches (on or off the record) on that aspect of his game.

Blogger's note: Off the record, they say they'd like him to pass more; which is what I said. The "black hole" is something others are coming up with. I have no problem with him being a "volume shooter" but there are times when he forces stuff instead of moving the ball side-to-side.

[Rob MacKay]

Hey Doug,
How high up is Kapono getting on your list of all time favorite Raptor qouters?

Blogger's note: He's making quantum leaps, especially this week.

[MikeT]

Down to essentially 7 men, and Will Solomon ends up with a DNP-CD, didn't even get a sniff! What's up with that? He was the starting PG at one point. Is he that far down the totem pole? Has the raps coaching staff lost that much confidence in him? Is he hurt?

And regarding Jermaine O'Neal, yeah, he plays hard (when healthy). Rebounds and does the dirty work underneath. He says the right things in the media. Seems to have the right attitude. But the problem is his salary. He is taking up 21M and 23M (next year) in cap space. That's too much. For that kind of money you expect monster performances from monster players, like a Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, etc.

[Kenny]

Why do you believe that was JO's last game?

Blogger's note: Because I believe Miami's kicked the tires of a couple of other bigs and will come back to the O'Neal trade to solve an acute lack of size

[Snas]

JO is the best. Bottom line. He's everything we need right now. Bosh can take his "I wanna be everyone's best friend" attitude somewhere else. You ever notice that he is always going to say "i love you" to the opposing team players after games. After you lose, you should go straight to the locker room. Don't be yapping about being up in the club, trying to increase your profile in the league. Bosh puts himself first, instead of his team. Any other team, however, he's not the main guy. He'll be an important part, but he's not the main guy.

[rob]

Bargnani Doesn't take as many bad shots as people think, and the good thing about him is that it doesn't matter how many shots he misses, he can still come up with some big ones down the stretch,,, it is like the kid has no memory, (good thing)... also i think raptor fans are soo moody, it is sickening: we love jose: we hate jose ,... roko is a hall of famer: roko cannot play in this league... we love bosh:trade bosh,,, bargnani is a bust: bargnani is soo good lets build around him,,,, jermaine is our toughest player:lets start calling him jer"pain".... and the list goes on and on...
please give it a rest we just need a wing scorer and this team will be rock solid... it has all the other pieces IMO.

[Rico]

Ok, so let me get this straight.

We praise Bosh when Carter leaves and now we're ripping Bosh a new one for wanting to win and playing through injury?

We are wanting to trade a 24 year old, ever improving, all star player and KEEP a 30 year old, weak kneed, wash up, never was really a franchise player?

Does any Raptor fan stating this actually use logic in that statement?

Bosh wants to WIN! And he wants a better team around him!

Get Moon to D up more instead of chucking shots up! Get Calderon better defensively! Get Graham to be consistent! Get Bargnani to focus on consecutive nights! Get Parker back to his natural position! But don't blame this situation on Bosh! He's doing the same thing he did last year so how is it that now he is a heel?

Get a grip, Raptor fans! Losing happens! Don't drive away another superstar! If we lose Bosh, we're in for 5-7 rough years before anything positive happens again! And while we're lying in the lottery gutter, Bosh will be playing for a contender, staying all-star caliber in on and off the court matters.

Get a grip!

[GM]

Back to Bargnani passing the ball, if I may, the culture of the team is me-first. Sometimes it's got to be, sometimes not. If swinging the ball means to pass over to Moon or Ukic or some less than stellar shooter, then I'd much rather have him shooting because Moon ain't passing it back. I remember once Ken Shields ripping a player in practice who passed it to a bricklayer who couldn't shoot. He didn't rip the guy shooting because he was a horrible shooter; he ripped the guy who gave it to him because he should have known better. That being said, if the ball moved around a lot more and players knew it wasn't going to go up on the first or second pass, players wouldn't be so reluctant to give it up. Kinda a Catch-22.

[Jonathan]

Jack: Nobody is masking the Raptors' flaws. It's as easy as simply looking at their record to see this is still not a solid team. What I don't understand is why some people have such a problem with others trying to look at the bright side of things. There are always so many complaints that other fans are blind or that Doug doesn't rip the Raptors enough. When the team is as bad as it has been, there's no point in harping on the negatives, but it's as if you'll never be satisfied unless everyone is miserable. Lighten up.

dc: I'd like to hear from the people advocating trading Bosh away, instead of always saying "trade him for a young superstar", name a possibility that you think would be fair and would work for you. It's easy to say someone else should do something, but what would you do exactly? Including a name would make you sound a wee bit more accountable.

[Jonathan]

GM: But hey, at least they're not complaining about Bargnani passing the ball away to avoid manning up. =P

[Ryan]

I just want to remind everyone angry about the Raptors TV situation... Bell is more to blame. They blatantly advertised (during the Super Bowl) that we are missing Raptor games. While neither side is entirely to blame, I certainly blame Bell more than I do Rogers.

But ultimately, hopefully MLSE will be smarter next time around; get the games on real TV or the fans won't care.

[Tim W.]

You know, I knew it would happen as I was watching the game. It's what is maddening about Raptor fans. Roko has a great game and suddenly people have him replacing Calderon next season. Maybe those same people might want to take a look at his other games, and the fact that despite having a great scoring game, he only racked up 3 assists in 30 minutes, which is about a quarter's worth of work for Calderon. I like Roko, but let's not get carried away, here. If he works hard and improves, he might become a good, full-time backup for Calderon next season. I think he compliments Calderon's game well, but he's not even even close to being in the same conversation as Calderon right now, if ever.

This is exactly what is wrong with so many fans. They have Calderon, who is a top ten PG, one of the best assist men in the league, shoots and incredibly high percentage from all over and is one of the best in the league at not turning the ball over. Yet, Ukic, despite his bad outside shooting, his inconsistency, his penchant for making bad decisions at times and his rather pedestrian assist averages, fans love him because he averages 12.4 mpg and has a good game. He does two thing better than Calderon. Get to the basket and play defense. And he doesn't do them that much better. Not as well as many think. Calderon his HEAVILY scouted, as is Bosh. Teams watch lots of tape, so they know their weaknesses. They prepare for them. They don't prepare at all for guys like Ukic.

Much of this is true for Bargnani, who is a fantastic shooter for a 7 footer. Quite frankly, though, there's not much else he does that jumps out at me. He's a fine defender, as long as his opponent isn't a beast down low. He is a below average rebounder. If he drives to the basket, there's just as much chance of an offensive foul as a shot attempt, and he's not scaring anyone in the post. As for his passing, it's not that he doesn't do it enough. It's that he doesn't seem to know when to shoot and when to pass. While he does have a good fake-shot-dribble-up move, I'd hate to see him as the center of the offense. So much of it comes from playing off his teammates. A massive percentage of his shots come from assists. In other words, kickouts or other passes that means his defender is otherwise occupied. If he's the center of the offense, those chances will be few and far between. You think defenders will sag off him enough for him too shoot f he's a team's leading scorer?

The win against the Spurs was great. I was thrilled they won. But it's one game (okay, two if you count the Minnesota game), and there are very few lessons the team learned in the game, other than that if they play hard defense all game long they have a chance to win. Well, maybe it was yet another game that underscored the need for someone like O'Neal to be on the team. If he was in Miami, the Raptors lose this game. The team needs Calderon and Bosh to compete on a nightly basis, and no one the team has, or probably can get in exchange for them, would be able to replace what they do on the court.

[Jeff]

Gotta love Cogeco as TSN2 is included! Classic Spurs basketball last night - Duncan and Parker complaininig every time there's a bit of contact around the basket or a missed shot.

[Joe]

The Raptors found a way to come from behind and with a short bench.... well, even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Oh... Hawthorn P.S. I should have know better (I used to live near Westdale Mall)... here I am thinking it's the Australian Football team.

[al]

Ryan:

It's TSN2 =P
and why do you blame Bell more than Rogers?
Smart advertising on Bell's part to get customers to switch

[A Lysets]

Hey Doug,
Wasn't The Gangster traded for Juan Dixon??? Also if the Stuffed Animals of the NBA were to have a dunk contest, do you think our beloved fowl would win???

Blogger's note: Got the Dixon faux pas fixed, thanks. And I'd take The Chicken or The Gorilla.

[Herman]

Hi Doug - ESPN has reported a trade has been done, O'Neil and Moon to Miami for Marion and Banks.

[Tony]

Doug

Marion's first game as a Raptor will be against LeBron on TSN2 - luckily I switched to Bell TV so I can actually see the Game...

Sorry Rogers - enough is enough....