Start planning the parade route

JIM MONE/AP

Can Jermaine O'Neal get some love after this game?

A quick question: At the end, when the buzzer goes and Toronto has more points than the other team, what’s that? A win? I think that’s what someone called it.

But seriously, folks, as a wise man once said, it couldn’t have rained in a drier place. Not a perfect game by any stretch of anyone’s imagination and no one’s going to mistake the Minnesota Timberwolves for a good team but the result sure beats the alternative, doesn’t it?

Here we go …

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Action: Kapono 7-for-10

Reaction: And then some Dangerfield

I think that was exactly the kind of game they want – and need – out of Jason. Ten shots in 22 minutes, a couple of them contested but I’d rather have him shooting with a guy draped all over him and off-balance that have some of his teammates fire up uncontested threes.

And then he drops this us on us in the locker room:

“I kinda semi-rolled it there on that shot but it should be fine. I’m just not going to be able to dunk any more; it’s going to affect my take-off and also I’m not going to try and jump as high on my jump shots.

“I’m only going to get two or three feet in the air so that’s probably something I’m going to have to worry about.”

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Action: Joey’s great game

Reaction: For most of it

I’m sure a lot of you have noticed that Graham has now set, or tied, his career best scoring night three times in about the last three weeks and he was white hot in the first quarter last night with 11 of his 24.

But then he had to sit down because he made more than a few mistakes on defence and the way to subtly remind him he has to play at both ends is to take him out and let him watch for a bit.

And the reason he stayed out for a while is because Jamario had one of his best games in weeks, not doing too much, hitting the boards and moving the ball on offence.

It was one of those games where they got good production out of both small forwards and there haven’t been many of those this season.

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I was going to talk about this guy anyway so why not do it in the form of a question, Alex:

Q: Please give your views as to the reason for the good play this year by Bonner of the Spurs. I missed seeing the Sunday game, but 23 points against the Celtics is quite an achievement. He always had a good 3 point shot but 7 of ll on his non 3 pointers on Sunday is exceptional. Is his improvement attributable to the coaching he has received over the last few years in S.A.?

Arnold E, Toronto

A: It’s really great to see Matt and Roger Mason Jr., both fine young men and among my favourite ex-Raptors, starting and contributing and doing well with a really good team.

Why? Why has it all of a sudden clicked for both of them?

Opportunity plus confidence plus the realization of what they are.

For Bonner, he’s finally learned that he should shoot when he gets a chance, he’s not tentative and looking over his shoulder and it sure helps to create open shooting space when you get to play next to a driving Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili and a stud like Tim Duncan.

For Mason, it’s pretty much the same thing. He was always confident but when he was in Toronto and even in Washington, he had a tendency to stop the ball and shoot it every time he touched it. Now, he knows what his role is, that of an excellent shooter and he takes his shots in the rhythm of the game and the offence.

It’s more a self-realization than coaching although you have to give Pop credit for staying patient with them both – I can imagine there were moments when he was exasperated as they learned their roles and perfected them.

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From the department of “Where are they now” we have:

Just watching Mike and Mike In The Morning on ESPN2 (sort of like TSN2 only all the big cable companies in the United States carry it) and on they’re promoting the stuff coming up in the next half hour.

And there’s a promo for Eric Montross! As a guest to discuss the Duke-North Carolina rivalry.

Did a pretty good job, too.

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And then there was this:

Q: Hey Doug, did you catch Jermaine's post game interview where he referred to Joey as Stephen Graham? What does that say about the Jermaine integrating into the team?

Elvin L, Seattle

A: You’re not thinking there’s anything sinister about it, are you?

He mis-spoke, called one brother the name of the other (who is a twin and former Indy teammate), that’s it.

Simple, understandable mistake. Was sort of funny, actually. Jonesy and I sort of laughed at it over the top of the scrum.

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Here’s one for all of you who write and suggest the Raptors lose so they get a higher draft pick.

I presume many of you are the same people who write to suggest the entire scouting staff be fired because they draft so poorly.

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A lot of people are asking similar questions to this, let’s nip it in the bud right now:

Q: Only a small question for you. You don't have to trade for Bonzi Wells, all he'll cost is money to sign. Is he of any value to this team?

Richard S, Lethbridge

A: No, no, no, a thousand times no. Not a bit of value, his NBA career is done, he’s an ex-player and should be thought of as thus.

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Was talking to the great Steve Aschburner over a social after the game and we came to this conclusion: Ryan Gomes might be one of the most under-rated players in the league.

Not flashy, plays on a bad team so he’s going to be mostly ignored but I bet 29 other GMs would like to have him on their team.

Can shoot, handle, defend and has a court awareness that makes him a leader on the floor.

Asch thinks he’d make a great Spur, or a key Celtic and I agree.

And he’s exactly the kind of player the Raptors don’t have. And need.

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Speaking of Minnesota, here’s what they were scribbling about in the newspapers there this morning. And the San Antonio readers got to check this out after the Spurs-Nets game last night.

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Holy smokes, it’s 7:40 and I’ve got to get cleaned up and out the airport. See you tonight.

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The Goods On The Game, Vol., 54, night of the wolves

Welcome to a very tiring week

I hate this week.

Rumour, innuendo, fabrication. You name it, you’ll read it. And separating wheat from chaff is the hard part and what makes the days far longer than they should be. It’s fun sometimes – I do get to chatting with beat grunts from all over the league more often in Deadline Week and that’s always enjoyable – but you’re not going to read anything here unless it has some legitimate substance.

Every rumour? Not a chance. Everything I hear in passing? Not a chance. Stuff that gets checked out a couple of different ways and has some legitimacy? Sure. But that kind of stuff is kept very, very secret and it’s sometimes hard to ferret it out.

Anyway …

TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO

How different would things be with two or three of these guys on the team right now? Read on to find out.

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I’ll say his now and I’ll probably have to say it again:

Every GM talks to every other GM almost daily these days, trying to see what the trade waters are churning. Most of it is blowing smoke, GMs doing their jobs knowing full well nothing of substance will come of it.

Take Bosh, for instance: You need to trust me on this, and if you don’t that’s fine with me, but until Bosh says he wants out – and he hasn’t – there is no way Bryan initiates talks or reacts to “offers.” I think he made it very clear last week, when he called Bosh the “cornerstone” of the franchise.

The Golden State stuff? I’m sure Larry Riley called Bryan, I’m sure Bryan blew him off. And I’m sure it hit the papers out there in large part so the struggling Warriors could be seen to be proactive. It’s the game and that’s how it’s played.

Did Bryan talk to Phoenix? Probably. Has he spoken to John Hammond in Milwaukee? Likely. I saw him chatting with Kiki Vandeweghe in the hallway of the Izod Centre last week. What’s that mean? Two old friends chatting, not that Vince is coming home.

GMs talk, it’s what they do. But it’s probably a ratio of, oh, I dunno, 1,000 conversations for every trade.

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The Timberwolves are all over the news right about now, after the David West hit on Mike Miller the other night in New Orleans.

For that West gets one game? What is this, the NHL?

That’s as bush league a shot as I can imagine; that NBA vice-president Stu Jackson didn’t suspend West for at least three games stuns me.

There’s no room for that kind of thuggery in the game.

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I presume you’ve all dutifully read the story in today’s print edition about Jason Kapono and his little chat with Jay about taking more shots, even if they aren’t “perfect” field goal attempts.

I think it’s pretty telling that Jason knew he wasn’t getting – or taking – enough shots because they were marginal attempts.

But there’s a flip side, too.

Jay told us yesterday, and Jason mentioned in our chat, that the ball is “sticking” a bit too much in the Raptor offence these days, a fact we point out at times pretty much every game.

But there’s sticking, and there’s sticking, and I’m quite all right with Kapono taking quick shots; far more all right with it than if it was someone else.

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As you’d expect, the only story in these parts is Al Jefferson.

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A mailbag question with only a mini-rant:

Q: Question number one: What with Magloire and Anthony constituting the two-headed Canadian centre in Miami, has there ever been another team that has had two Canadians playing on it at the same time? Question number two (also Miami-related): If Marion/Banks for JO fails to materialize, are there any other destinations that seem plausible, based on reputable sources? Hey, this asking-a-question-instead-of-just-ranting thing is kinda growing on me! Oh and by the way, the Raps SUCK! Your thoughts? (sorry, couldn't resist)

Lee Z, Ottawa

A: Yeah, as far as anyone can figure out, the Heat are unique in their Canadian content this season. Maybe it’s ‘cause they want to sell tickets to snowbirds?

On the trade stuff, I haven’t confirmed any legitimate chatter around Jermaine. Not to say people haven’t called but nothing’s progressed to the point the Miami talk has.

And thanks for the non-rant.

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So we’re in Minnesota and the Raptors are struggling so we’ll walk down memory lane. I remember it well.

It’s March 19, 2002 (I had to look that up, my memory’s not that good) and they get whacked here by about 30. They’re 30-38, Vince is hurt, Alvin’s hurt, Lenny’s semi-retired and the season’s in the toilet.

They stay the night before flying to Cleveland the next day and an abjectly disgruntled Antonio Davis and Dell Curry walked the six or seven blocks back to the hotel. Somewhere on that walk (and NBA players walking back to a hotel is a Hailey’s Comet kind of occurrence), Dell says to AD: “Enough of this crap, we’re making the playoffs.” And what do they do? Finish the season 11-2 and make it.

Now, the difference between then and now? They have no veteran presences like Dell and Davis. No one to really take a struggling team by scruff of the collective neck and drag it up.

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I bring this up only because I was asked about it in the mailbag the other day.

I’m quite okay with Alex Rodriguez going on ESPN and admitting he used performance-enhancing drugs. Now, I’m not sure I believe everything he said but he did stand up and say he took them, was contrite, offered an explanation and made his points.

Contrast his decision to go public to Mark McGuire, or Sammy Sosa, or Roger Clemens or even Barry Bonds did and have done. If they’d gone the same route I bet things would have been a wee bit easier on them.

I’m sure Rodriguez will get killed all season, he’s already vilified in every park in the majors – including Yankee Stadium sometimes – but I think some people will give him credit for coming at least a little bit clean. I know I will.

I’ll leave the intricacies of the issue to the people who cover the sport to digest but, to me, until I hear otherwise, I figure the number of players using steroids back then far out-numbers those who weren’t.

It was part of the culture.

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This sort of fits here:

Q: Given the news that A Rod has reportedly confessed to using steroids, I'm curious as to how drug testing works in the NBA. Is it a random testing or a predetermined time of the year? In your opinion, how many of the league's current players are on the juice? Former players? Just thought you'd like a question that wasn't Raptors related

Andy U, Kingston

A: Players are tested up to four times, randomly, during the regular season by an independent organization.

They are tested for three different levels: Drugs of abuse (things like opiates, LSD, heroin, etc), performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents and marijuana.

A positive test for a drug of abuse can result in dismissal from the league; there are 10 game suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs and masking agents and the like and three levels for positive marijuana positives – inclusion the league’s drug awareness program for the first offence, a fine for the second and a five-game suspension for a third.

My opinion? Very, very few players would tinker with steroids because I’m not sure they do much for a player in a game that relies on speed and agility. Are there some? Probably. But not as many as some would think.

Marijuana? Take 450 wealthy, young, mainly urban professionals from almost any walk of life and whatever the percentage of marijuana users is in that group would be about the same as in the NBA. What that is? I wouldn’t venture a guess because it’d be too much of a guess. <

It's Monday, so this must be the Sunday mail

Hey, how good was Sunday for these guys?

They didn’t lose but the Knicks, Nets, Pacers and Bobcats did.

And since there was no practice for them, and a long day of travel for me, it’s a special mail day:

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Q: It seems to be the prevailing wisdom that Bosh needs some better players around him for this team to get better. However, this team was better in 06-07 and he wasn't surrounded by any more "stars" than he is now. What is the difference?

Tannis T, Eastend

A: Maybe not “stars” in the strictest sense of the word but I would suggest the 2006-07 team had far more better players than this one does. It was deeper, it had more grit with guys like Garbo and Rasho and it had younger, better talent. No question in my mind.

It’s not about “stars” it’s about good players. As many as you can get.

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Q: Reflecting on BC's comment about this being the best team he's had here on paper got me thinking. Which Raptors roster (from any season since they entered the league) do you think has been the best on paper? The worst?

David S, Toronto

A: I’d have to say the 2000-01 team was the best, on paper, but you could certainly make the argument that the 1999-2000 team was awfully close but it was a year too young. The worst? Well, I guess you have to discount the very first team ‘cause it was what it was, a collection of cast-offs. So, the third year? The 16-66 season of 1997-98? That didn’t hold much promise from opening night.

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Q: Long time reader, first time writer. Your insightful blog posts are much appreciated. I was at the game against the Lakers (Wednesday) night and it was great. It kind of caught me by surprise to hear the crowd cheering for the Lakers a bit. I can understand the cheering if Kobe makes a nice play because we can all respect a great player like that, but it seemed like the crowd was supporting the Lakers even when Kobe wasn't involved in the play. Is it a common occurrence for a crowd to cheer for the away team, or is this a special case due to the popularity of Kobe? (I assume some other players might have this influence, e.g. LeBron James)

Albert C, Toronto

A: Not common and it speaks to two things: A large number of Laker fans who live here and a growing discontent with the locals.

And, from my experience, the Lakers are unique in the former and the second is more common than you’d think.

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Q: Hey Doug, sorry for the non-Raps related questions of late. There's just so much you can ask before it gets redundant. Instead, I know you're a baseball fan and was wondering what you thought of the recent report that Alex Rodriguez took steroids. He was supposedly the "saviour" of baseball and everyone dismissed Bonds' record saying that A-Rod will beat it anyways. What are your thoughts? Can MLB ever regain the trust of the fans?

Dave R, Markham

A: Nothing that comes out about any baseball star who did anything special in the 1990s and early 2000s surprises me at all. I’m jaded enough to think everyone of significance, and most who weren’t, were on some kind of “program” mostly because it wasn’t against the rules, which is the shame of it all.

Barry Bonds is easy to dislike, he’s a mean-spirited, unfriendly man generally loathed by the media; A Rod is a poster boy for a storied franchise and it will be interesting to see how vilified he is by the media and the fans.

Regain the trust? I think they might be on the way but it’s a journey that will take years and years.

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Q: With all this Bosh stuff in the last week, I read something about he may not like Toronto as a place. I don't know if you can answer a question about that as I would assume if Bosh didn't, no one in the press would know, so. In your time covering the Raps, who were the five players you think loved the place the most, and which five hated it the most?

Bruce M, Winnipeg

A: I certainly never heard it said Bosh doesn’t like Toronto as a city and I’ve never felt that way in dealing with him for six years now.

Five who didn’t like it: Off the top of my head, and without having asked every one of them, I’d put Tracy McGrady, Doug Christie, Antonio Davis (at the end of his first tenure), but other than that, no one really sticks out in my mind.

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Q: Would you agree that it is almost impossible to win a championship without a dominant big in the front court? My friends think you can win with having a superstar winger and an average big, but look no further than champs from the last 10 years. All teams had a dominant big man to help.

Chris B, Waterloo

A: Um, how about last year? I don’t think anyone would suggest Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett (in the final at least) were “dominant.” Nor, really, did the Pistons the year they won so, yes, it’s hard, but not impossible.

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Q: I've been meaning to ask this question for a while now: When the Raptors "traded" Hassan Adams to the Clippers, they sent some 'cash considerations', too. I was wondering where this money came from. If the MLSE supplied it, then why did they just not keep it and use that money at the end of the season for the luxury tax? The amount paid would have been the same, right?

Mohammed J, Mississauga

A: Yes, it came from the team and it was part of the deal; without it, there was no deal. So keeping it was not an option.

Never mind that "I'll be late" stuff; here we go

(The gods of wireless finally got working here in Memphis and the first flight’s a bit delayed so it’s your lucky day. Or something like that).

Man, how gruesome was that one Saturday night?

Dreadful atmosphere, dreadful shooting, dreadful teams. They should have been handing out refunds, or letters of apology, to fans when they were fleeing the building. And someone owes me about three hours of my life that I wasted, despite my princely salary.

But I guess you’re going to get some dogs over the course of 82 games in a season, you can only hope not to have as many homely mutts as that one in Memphis was.

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So what’s it all mean?

Nothing, really. Except another loss in a long list of them for the Raptors.

You know and I know and they know that 29.5 per cent shooting, and 5-for-23 from three-point range is not typical.

And it wasn’t as if the shots they missed were horrible. They got good looks in rhythm and just didn’t make them. I watched Jose miss five or six shots that he can make in his sleep, the same with AP.

One of those nights.

One of those painful, painful nights.

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Action: Jump shot after jump shot

Reaction: You expected otherwise?

Here’s a bulletin to answer all those ‘Why do they take all those jump shot?’ questions and comments.

Because that’s what they are.

They are jump shooting team first, foremost and last and to expect anything else is fantasy.

Jose? Shooter.

AP? Shooter

Andrea? Shooter.

Kapono? Shooter.

Hell, their best player – Bosh – is a shooter more than anything.

About the only guy with a consistent power game is JO and he was a step slow in Memphis. Joey’s got some post moves but I’d hardly call him a dominant inside threat.

This team will live by the jump shot, it’s been that way since opening night.

And some nights they will die by them.

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Tell me again that this team can survive without Chris Bosh?

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A matter of style:

Q: Don't you think that Jose always looks off of Joey while he is posting up?

Peter W, Toronto

A: Hmm, let’s see. In the first five or six possessions Saturday, Joey got the ball in the post three times.

So, no. I don’t. Not at all.

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Action: Desperate times

Reaction: Desperate measures

And that’s the only reason you saw Jose and Roko on the court at the same time late in the Memphis game; Jay was trying to find some sort of combination that would work.

It’s not something you’ll see regularly, at least not until Roko becomes even a marginal threat to make a jump shot.

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From the travelogue department:

Not sure if I’d take Bourbon Street or Beale Street in a competition but it certainly was a study in craziness over the last couple of nights.

Bourbon’s more debauchery, Beale’s got better music. Bourbon seems more fun and less threatening in some way; Beale’s got a bit harder edge.

Neither has a nice, relatively quiet Irish pub to relax in after a game. And that’s the shame.

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Don’t rub your eyes too much, that does indeed say 11 three-point attempts by Jason Kapono on Saturday night.

Yes, it was a season high; and the four he made were the most he’s made in a game since early December.

And, for the first time in a long, long time, he seemed more in tune with the game, trying to make something happen from beyond the arc.

I’m quite okay with that because, no matter what happened in the first three quarters on Saturday, he’s still a great shooter who has to shoot.

His coach feels the same way”

“I’ll take him shooting that many for sure. We need him to shoot and we need him to make them. It was his three-point shots that got us back in the game. I’ll take him shooting 11 three-point shots in a game.”

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Action: Andrea’s 11 shots

Reaction: You’ll never see 11 passes.

Okay, the next stage in Bargnani’s development? Passing the basketball.

Every now and then, he’s a black hole at the top of the arc and until he starts looking for cutters or teammates in the corner or post-up possibilities with Bosh or O’Neal, you will be subjected to too many shots.

We’ve seen his passing abilities – and they can be impressive – but they’re usually only present when he’s driving the ball into traffic.

The kid’s been much improved over the last six weeks or so, but there are stages still to go.

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Oh yeah, the Lakers-Bobcats trade. Morrison and Brown for Radmanovic.

My immediate reaction was no one won it. And that’s pretty much how I feel in the sober light of day.

Morrison’s a bust, can’t create his own shot, defends like you do and I can’t see where he gets minutes in Los Angeles even if he improves the zillion per cent he’ll need to improve to be able to help a legitimate title contender.

Radmanovic? He’s going to cost the Bobcats an extra $8 million over the course of his contract, Phil Jackson called him a “space cadet” earlier this year and it probably takes Larry Brown a month to come to loathe him.

Seriously, maybe Radmanovic can make some shots and help the Bobcats; maybe Morrison eases the financial pain in Los Angeles. Other than that, there’s nothing in this trade to make it very special at all.

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Way late today

A confluence of events -- wireless issues at the Memphis airport and a Lewis and Clark Travel Festival that includes a journey to Michigan for awhile -- is going to greatly delay the usual fun and frivolity around these parts today. Northwest Airlines-willing, the regular fare will be up much later this afternoon when I'm in the comfort of Casa Dougie.

Suffice it to say, when it does get up it won't be highly complimentary because my retinas are still burning from the sleep-inducing brickfest we were subjected to last night.

Have yourselves a wonderful day. I'm off to dealing with the Mensa folks who run airports and the Transportation Safety Administration. Wish me luck.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 53, a grisly night

Failing and falling and finding blame

You wish the all-star break was starting today? I’ve got a feeling the players, coaches and execs around the Raptors do.

Been a long time since I’ve seen a group as shellshocked as they were last night; it was if they were hit in the collective gut by a boulder. A lot of silence in the locker room (until the gregarious Mo Pete stopped by for a visit that is) and a lot – a lot – of questioning.

And precious few answers:

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Action: Another late-game meltdown.

Reaction: When they have fallen completely apart, and it happens with shocking regularity, there’s always been a measure of, not calmness, but togetherness in the locker room.

But when does that fall completely apart like the team does? When do they start turning on each for the brain cramps that kill them night after night after night?

There were a few sideways glances and rolled eyes at times in the New Orleans game and a few in the locker room after.

Maybe Bargnani could pass the ball a wee bit more.

Maybe Jamario could not take silly jumpers.

Maybe Jose could feed O’Neal more and not try to get everyone else involved, or ask them to get the ball in the post.

I’m not saying they’re at each other’s throats but with each blown game, I get a sense an explosion is closer to reality. That might not be a bad thing, mind you, but the danger is that they really start getting on each other and it’s counter-productive. Some creative differences are good, a meltdown of any semblance of team chemistry is not.

This losing is getting to them, I can just tell by the terse answers, or lack of answers, we’re getting to innocuous questions. Nerves are frayed and this is a dangerous, dangerous time.

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Trivia time:

Off to Memphis in a little while and it brings back memories of the great Memphis Tams.

(Well, great may be an over-statement, the ABA team didn't set the world on fire for the two years it carried that name).

Here’s the question: Where’s ‘Tams’ come from?

(A hint, it’s got nothing to do with headwear).

Answer a bit later.

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Action: Some weird lineups

Reaction: Get used to them.

I looked up from the machine at one point in the third quarter and the five guys on the court were: Anthony Parker, Jason Kapono, Jamario Moon, Joey Graham and Jake Voskuhl.

Never in my wildest imagination did I ever think I’d see that.

But with Bosh out and the confidence level in Roko Ukic and Will Solomon apparently at an all-time low, we might see that every now and then.

And we shall shudder.

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A question on everyone’s mind (and if I’m doing mail for Monday morning, and I think I might be, I need some good questions – not ones that say, ‘they suck, don’t they? Your thoughts? – so get cracking out there):

Q: Not full fledged "venom" per se, but a bit of a disappointment arises from the Hornets game-ending collapse was that the possessions did not go to or through O'Neal until the 17 point swing was over (Bargnani miss, Jose turnover on the Moon alley-oop, Bargnani charge, Bargnani travel, Bargnani miss). Brain fade from Jose? Shell shock? Symptomatic of the season? Do you have an explanation?

Geoff H, Toronto

A: Explanation? I wish. No, make that they wish.

I think the best, easiest, answer is that it’s symptomatic of what this team is: Not particularly mentally tough when faced with difficult times and a group that tries to do too much when things are going south.

Some of it was selfishness (Bargnani, who was otherwise good, could have looked inside rather than to shoot it), some of if was caving to pressure and the heat of the moment.

Here’s how Jay put it when we asked him about it:

“The last couple of plays we got a little bit desperate and we looked for jump shots instead of pounding it in but overall offensively, I can’t complain too much about what we did.”

And this from Jose:

“We were (trying to) keeping passing the ball to JO … we were trying to do the same thing and try to go inside and swing the ball if they doubled. It was working for the whole game, but we just couldn’t finish.”

But is anyone surprised? Dealing well with adversity is not a huge trademark of this group.

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Trivia answer:

It’s geography.

Stands for Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi.

How’s that for inconsequential information?

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Here’s what they were reading in New Orleans today.

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Talk about your mixed messages.

The entire visitor’s locker room at the New Orleans Arena (how’s that for a catchy name?) and the hallway outside the room are plastered with advertising for Harrah’s Casino here. “Get more playing time” says one sign; “Up for a game of 21?” asks another.

The signage is about 10 feet from the obligatory warning about the perils of gambling issued by the NBA.

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Oh, and up in Memphis, here’s the story from last night, when the Grizzlies were nipped by the Clippers. Speaking of Memphis, it’s much more a college town than a pro sports town and the university team, ranked 15th in the U.S., plays at Gonzaga tonight in a nationally-televised game.

If they draw a crowd of five figures for the Raptors, I’ll be stunned.

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Speaking of Memphis, how about Damon Stoudamire as an assistant coach? He was hired yesterday – along with the survivor Henry Bibby – to work on Lionel Hollins’ staff. I thought Mighty Mouse was a pretty heady player in his day but I never saw him as a coach. It’ll be interesting to talk to him tonight and see why he’s chosen this career path.

And, with that, I’ve got to get to an airport and starting thinking of lunch at B.B. King’s place on Beale Street or maybe the Blues City Café.

The Goods On The Game, Vol. 52, a beehive of activity

BlackBerry users: To get the live blog of tonight's game, you need to open this page on your BlackBerry, then click on the name of the event, e.g. "Toronto at New Jersey". This is a small link that should appear just below this message. The mobile version of the live blog is very similar to what you see on the website. You can turn the auto-scroll off if you're trying to get caught up, then turn it back on for automatic updates.

You can even send me a comment from your BB, but you may need to enable javascript first. If you're using a BB Curve, open your browser, click the menu button, click on Options and then on Browser Configuration. Tick the box "Support JavaScript" and you're ready to comment. Other BlackBerry models may require a slightly different procedure.

A report from the infirmary

No Chris Bosh, no Chris Paul, no Tyson Chandler for tonight's Raptors-Hornets game in New Orleans.

Lucky ticket holders.

Just got done Raptor shootaround the only good news from the report from sick bay is that Jose Calderon expects to be in his usual spot in Toronto’s starting lineup.

The rest?

Not so good.

Bosh certainly won’t play tonight and may not play tomorrow as he rests a sprained knee; a New Orleans spokesman said Paul’s strained right groin will keep him out of the game and Chandler will miss the contest with a sprained left ankle, robbing whatever fans show up of seeing three all-stars.

Bosh, along with Andrea Bargnani the only Raptor to have played in every game so far this season, said he didn’t do anything particular to his knee before he was forced to leave Wednesday’s game against the Lakers.

“I think it’s just wear and tear. I tried to do everything I could … trying to make sure I did the right exercises and everything. Unfortunate things happen and this is where we are right now.

“No, there wasn’t a particular movement or something where I was like, ‘something’s wrong.’ I was just running and it just didn’t feel right.”

In his absence, Jay told us he’ll start Calderon, Anthony Parker, Joey Graham, Bargnani and Jermaine O’Neal, putting Graham in the spot that had been Jamario Moon’s.

The Hornets shot around before Toronto and we didn’t get to see them but a team official said Paul’s a non-starter. He had been listed as “day-to-day” while Chandler was never expected to play.

And with that news, Triano had to alter his preparation.

“We scouted the last two games. Chris Paul plays in one and they’re 90 per cent pick and roll and 10 per cent other; he doesn’t play, they’re 10 per cent pick-and-roll and 90 per cent corner action, triangle game.”