As a one-time event, that one yesterday was a doozy

I know it’s impossible to take one game as a singular event in a sports season that always has to be thought of in the context of 82 games but for sheer entertainment value, that one yesterday was right up there with the best in a long time.

Enough mistakes to make it angst-filled, enough big plays to make jaws slacken. It wasn’t the perfect game but it was a great one and while it means nothing really in the big picture – Chicago’s likely going to the playoffs, the Raptor season was shot behind the ear years ago – don’t tell anyone in the arena that it meant nothing.

And that’s why sports is great.

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CARLOS OSORIO/TORONTO STAR

More rim destroying from Pops yesterday.

So The Legend grows.

That little performance by Pops yesterday – 13 points, four boards in 23 minutes – was vintage. Energy at both ends, a couple of minor blips (dribbling after grabbing an offensive rebound puts the ball in play for all the tiny guys in the paint to peck away at) but the kind of effort that’s become his trademark.

As regulars know, I’m all for keeping him – at a reasonable cost – next season and I found out last night that there’s another twist to his contract that might make that possible.

Among the more arcane parts of the CBA as it relates to the cap and impending free agents is a clause that says guys like Pops, signed until the end of this season, are restricted free agents as long as the Raptors make him a qualifying offer, which I’m sure they will.

So no matter what kind of sniffs he gets out there, and he will get more than a few, Bryan will have the chance to match an offer and keep the fan favourite.

And the more I think about it, a frontcourt rotation of Bosh, Bargnani, Pops and Hump sounds pretty good.

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Action: Ben Gordon shoots

Reaction: An awful lot

There has been, and there will be, much debate over whether the Raptors should try to make a legitimate and serious push for Chicago’s Gordon this summer and after he went off for 37 yesterday, the screams for him are going to be louder.

But, please, consider this:

He’s not really a slasher, he’s certainly not what anyone would consider a lock-down, or even above-average defender.

What he is is a relatively under-sized, volume-shooting combo guard. Make no mistake about it, he’s a good relatively under-sized, volume-shooting combo guard but that’s what he is.

If Bryan’s talking seriously to Chicago, I’m asking about Luol Deng and leaving Gordon right out of the conversation.

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Would have loved to have asked the “Hey, look at me! I’m the cool guy wearing shades in the arena” Terrell Owens what he thought of the game but, of course, he didn’t bother to stick around.

Could have given his ticket stub to someone on the way out to use the seat he occupied for, oh, I dunno, about half the game.

Good luck, Buffalo.

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Still in the digression mode, did anyone anywhere in the world really expect Tiger Woods to miss that putt?

This guy is a killer; no way that one wasn’t going right in the middle.

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So I’m in a place after the game being social and it’s got a lot of TVs playing all kinds of sports and I look over my shoulder and there’s San Antonio-New Orleans.

And I think, of all the old-time Raptors hanging around, especially the ones no one thought would amount to an awful lot, the one I’m most happy for has to be Sean Marks.

I know Matt Bonner and Roger Mason Jr. are good stories and all but I look up there and Marks is blocking a Manu three-pointer and scoring on the baseline and really contributing to a pretty good team.

And I tell ya, he’s one of the really good guys.

We’re in San Antonio at a finals one year, he’s playing for the Spurs. It’s an off-day and the last thing a gaggle of grunts wants to do for dinner is fight the crowds on the Riverwalk so I asked Sean for a recommendation and he tells us to go to the Quarry Market, sit outside at this one place and it’ll be great.

So, Toronto, Philly, Minneapolis and Jersey all head out there, we’re having a lovely dinner and here comes a round of cocktails, courtesy of Mr. Marks, who’s sitting at a table over there.

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Oh, in Chicago, my man K.C., who knows everything Bull, races from a marathon game to barely catch a flight home and he still manages to file this for the Trib readers.

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Action: One small step

Reaction: One big move by Bargnani

This is pretty much rudimentary Basketball 101 but the play Bargnani made with 58.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter last evening is another example of his maturation.

He gets the ball on the wing near the three-point arc, fakes, puts his head down and starts that ramble of his to the basket.

But, instead of going all the way to the rim – where he’d inevitably either run into someone and commit an offensive foul or be forced to put up one of those zany out-of-control, off-balance, underhand-scoop layups that are one of his trademarks, he pulls up quickly, stops entirely and hits a little eight-footer that puts Toronto up by three.

Lots of guys make that play, he seldom does but it was a very nice thing for the coach to see.

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You know I’m not a big stats geek at all, in fact I think the fact most of them can be bent to suit any purpose renders them a very insignificant part of most conversations but, still, 22 points and 19 assists is darn impressive.

I’m searching and searching and searching and over the last eight days, I cannot see a single “trade Jose” e-mail.

People must be having computer problems, right?

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A random question plucked from a near-empty mailbox:

Q: It seems apparent that the number of games played by Bosch and Calderone had some impact on this season. Do you know what the plans are this off-season such as the FIBA events?

Bill C, Oakville

A: When I see Bosch and Calderone, whoever they may be, I’ll ask them.

But Chris Bosh has no commitments whatsoever, it’s an off-year for the Americans, who don’t have to qualify for the worlds because of their Olympic triumph.

The last time I talked to Jose Calderon about it was about three weeks ago and he hadn’t made up his mind but made it sound like his tenure with the Spanish national team – a program he’s been with for about 13 years – is coming to an end. At the very least, nothing for him until August at the earliest, the European championships in Poland aren’t until September.

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Comments

[Anne MacKay]

I suggest that Eric, James C, Kelsie, Pharoah, Michael, Uncle Zeke et al go find another blog to make their comments on.
Or best, find another team/sport they can spew their negative vitriol on.

I agree totally with BOSH who says lets just take one game at a time. Yesterday's game was very exciting including the fact that the Bulls, made a run at the end (credit to them) and made the game a nail biter!

I agree with Doug completely about Calderon and the idiot who suggested that Calderone's injuries were Calderon's fault? I have never heard of anything so stupid!!!

Thanks to SMD for allowing me to finish reading the comment section on a positive note.

[aditya]

heya, so i saw that you wrote that you would call chicago about deng if you were BC....really, i believe he signed a 6 yr 71 mil contract....i know for a fact without looking at numbers on any site (because i dont look at numbers) that he is not a good three point shooter....avg, probably not, probably a below avg 3 pt shooter...OK...so now, i think gerald wallace is also a below avg. 3 pt shooter with a 3 yr 30 mil contract (10 years annually approximation.... depending whether his salary is going up or down in the final years of his contract, backloaded or frontloaded, but 10 mil a year annualy).....deng has a contract worth (sorry my math skills aint perfect) but around 12 mil a year, slightly less....so you know whats better....gerald wallace is better....i do not want to hear that he is injury prone etc....reckless driver (not car driving, but reckless slashing in basketball as people say).....
peace

[Kelsie]

Anne MacKay,

I will continue to post here as long as I please. Because I don't agree with your opinions doesn't dictate that I should go elsewhere. This is a healthy forum for basketball exchanges, insight and information.

Because I said that I didn't think the Calderon injury would have made a major difference to the teams w-l's is because I think the Raptors problems are deeper than him alone although I do believe that he is not a good defender and I have always been of the opinion that your pg has to put up some resistance to become a good defensive team.

If you don't like basketball dialogue that doesn't agree with your opinions, then it's you that needs to go elsewhere.

We're all adults here and occasionally adults will engage in debate. You should try it sometime instead of the playground finger pointing you're "spewing" now. Grow up.

[Bill Wong]

One thing I noticed about the game is the strategy employed by JT. He seems like he's freaking out a little too often by calling too many pre-mature timeouts. Did you see that one right before the final layup by Jose? The inbounder had the ball in Jose's hands when he blew the time out and I jumped out of my couch. Why was he the one to call the timeout? Shouldn't he left that to the inbounder, who may feel that he's unable to pass the ball? What if the final pass to jose was a bad one and then we would have had no timeouts left. I think JT is not quite competent as a head coach.

[Curious]

Hey Doug,
Always, appreciate your insights.
I was wondering what your thoughts would be on trying to pry Richard Jefferson from Milwaukee in the off-season. They're a small market team that has to decide on 2 of its restricted free agents (CV3 and Sessions, who they, apparently, intend to try to keep), and who are right against the tax threshold. Assuming they would prefer to keep Redd (who I wouldn't want), do you think RJ would be available?
It would seem that he could provide both the veteran/leadership presence and the slashing scorer that Toronto needs on the wings. As well, he seems to be of very high character - accountable and good in the locker room.
In your estimation, would he be worth the $13.2M?
Thanks,
C

Blogger's note: I like Jefferson's game and he's the kind of veteran with a winning history good teams need. But at $14 million next year and $15 million the year after? I don't know about that

[Doug]

your comment on Tiger's putt was right on, it's for that same reason I don't involve myself in discussions that compare LeBron to Jordan...Lebron may in fact go down as one of the best players of all time stat wise, but in terms of shear will to win, competitiveness Jordan was and always will be heads and shoulders above anyone else...he made so many clutch shots, when everyone on the floor, in the arena, the television audience all knew he was not only going to take that shot, but make it....no one compares to him, that intangible...

[petro]

If Ben Gordon is a starter... that team isn't going anywhere... but I do think he's a good piece to the puzzle coming off the bench for a team with true Championships aspirations.

Ben has done nothing to improve his game since he came to the NBA.

Unfortunately though, his ego tells him he is a starter and that he deserves above the mid level exception.

[James C.]

Anne Mackay,
Normally its best to read childish comments like yours and then take the high road by turning away. Eventually you'll get it that everyone in the world (especially the sports one) have a different view and different ways to express their passion. Unfortunately if you don't get it then we can only be further entertained by your childish comments ("its our blog and if you don't write nice things to Doug then go away"). Grow up.

[Steve]

You guys have fun with Whale Killer - that's Pops Mensah-Bonsu's nickname, which is what Mensah-Bonsu translates into. He was a star here at George Washington University and we're all so glad that he's finally caught on in the NBA. But remember, his nickname is Whale Killer. And he likes that nickname.

[Benny]

Given the Juggernaut Toronto has transformed itself into, I can't see Bosh leaving, unless he wants to make less money, play a subservient role to another star, and live in a crappy US city.

Doug can you explain why most of the local sports pundits seem to now assume, he is leaving?

Blogger's note: I don't assume he's leaving and I'm the only guy I can speak for. I assume he hasn't made a decision either way, because that's what I know to be true

[Jason]

Can you imagine the fan reaction if a Canadian-born, star point guard decided not to play for the national team just as he hit his prime? I wonder how the Spanish will react if Jose decides to rest.
Posted by: Pat | March 30, 2009 at 09:57 AM

Jose wasn't a starter on the Spainish team so don't look for any overturned cars or buildings set on fire in Villanueva de la Serena any time soon if he decides not to play.

Oh and I think its a little different to compare Nash, Canada's only true homegrown NBA star, to Spains team thats packed with stars from the NBA and Europe. When Nash doesn't play, thats the equal to the whole Spainish team leaving. In Spain, one guy doesn't mean much when theres 12 more ready to take his spot. In Canada there hoping Nash can play 12 spots at once. Sure it hurts Spain if Jose is out but not nearly as much.

[Uncle Zeke]

"Lindsay Hunter or Anthony Johnson? You've got to be kidding me...they're over the hill and wouldn't have made a lick of difference to the Raptors this year.
If that's what you're complaining about, maybe you should follow another sport."

yeah the Raptors definitely have no need for 15 minutes a night from a tough-defensive minded back-up point guard who also provide excellent veteran leadership in the locker room. I guess they already have that covered with Rocky Ukic and Will "the future" Solomon... plus Jose doesn't really need a back-up as he's not the type of player who wears down and gets injured with big minutes...

Oh by the way both of those "over the hill" guys are playing decent backup minutes for two teams who will be in the play-offs this year...

I'll start following another sport when Hassan Adams or Will Solomon plays another minute in the NBA...

Blogger's note: Okay, I'll give you Anthony Johnson, who backs up Rafer in Orlando. But I'm calling your expertise on Lindsey Hunter as playing "decent backup minutes" because you could not be more wrong. In Chicago's last 30 games, Hunter has only ONCE played more than FIVE MINUTES and that was a 12 minutes in a game they lost to Orlando by 28 points. So, please, do not bring that weak stuff around here. It diminishes an already weak arguement.
Yeah, Lindsey Hunter would have been the answer. Right.

[mary]

hey doug,
is iavaroni still hanging around? have you seen evidence of his influence? i had long wondered why the raps weren't utilizing shawn marion's versatility on D, and i loved seeing him guard rose yesterday.

do you think he sticks around as an assistant for triano next year?

Blogger's note: No, he was here a week and has been gone for about 10 days. Yes, I can see him being on Jay's staff next year without question. If that's the way Bryan wants to go.

[Tom L]

Dear Tanking fans,

I dislike it for so many reasons: disrespects the game, disrespects paying fans, breeds losing atmosphere, communicates to current players that the only thing that will save us is the draft and kills team unity. Lately, the atmosphere in the ACC - given the situation - has to be a positive to guys looking to sign somewhere (vs., say Charlotte where fighting for a playoff spot equals 5,000 supporters showing up!).

Is a higher draft pick better? Of course- in general. But look at what history tells us: http://www.82games.com/nbadraftpicks.htm

#6 through #10 picks - absolutely zero difference. Thus, by tanking / breeding a losing atmosphere / giving fans nothing / having players mope on the bench / having a few less fans renew gives you slightly higher pick which has made teams historically... not a bit better. (#Maybe# a different story if we were the third worst team perhaps... but it still disrespects the game). I like honour and effort.

Was this season disappointing? Absolutely. Should professionals play every last game/minute at the highest level? Absolutely.

[J. Mannette]

Hello Doug:
Did you hear - Seth Curry to Duke!!! my son played with 10 yr old Seth Curry during Dell's last yr - provincial champs. I actually think Seth may be better than Steph. Guys who played on that team think this is all very "sick".

Also, yr after was Myck Kabonga - now at a Jersey prep and being hailed as best US high school prospect for 2011.

thanks for yr good work.

Blogger's note: I did here that and could not be happier for him and the family.

[Dennis]

Great game yesterday! The free pizza for lunch today tastes so much better after a win!!

[Kevin]

I liked Tom L's comments about the evils of tanking. This team took enough nights off this year already. My biggest concern about bringing Jay Triano back is that his team did not work on too many nights. I think the team needs to always work hard.

[Tim W.]

I could have been reading my own thoughts on Ben Gordon. Sure, he made a lot of shots, but does anyone remember seeing him pass, well, at all? On a team that demands crisp ball movement, Gordon will kill the offense. He'd be fine as a Microwave-type guy off the bench, whose minutes can be limited, but if he's playing more than 20-25 mpg, he'll end up hurting you. And he hates coming off the bench, so that say a lot right there.

I was also surprised to hear about Pops being a restricted free agent. Certainly some well-needed good news. It does make me even more disappointed in Kris Humphries contract, though. I felt he was overpaid at the time and would rather see that money go towards someone like Pops. The biggest difference between the two, I think, is that Pops understands his role, an invaluable `skill' in the NBA. Humphries, I think, still sometimes believes he can be the player some expected him to be coming out of Minnesota.

It's amazing how obvious it is to some, and apparently incomprehensible it is to others, that the Jose Calderon we are seeing now is more like the real one. Personally, I never understood why so many questioned whether he could be a full-time starter. Nothing ever indicated he couldn't be. He played every single game last year, 31 of which, Ford was out, so he ended up playing lots of minutes.

Should we all wonder about whether Devin Harris will ever be able to be a full-time starter? He's never player a full season while playing anywhere close to 30 mpg. He'll miss close to 20 games this season. Calderon has been more durable than Harris.

Really, you could question any player's durability whose never been a full-time starter. Should we all question whether Bargnani can handle big minutes for 82 games next season?

And anyone who questions how the hamstring injury has affected Calderon this year has obviously a) not played sports and b) has not followed the NBA very long. Yes, believe it or not. an injury like Calderon had can effect play quite a bit for months. Of course, if you want to criticize Calderon, then you're going to find a way to do it. You can find a way to criticize any player. I don't have much patience for that, quite frankly.

And Doug is right. Before the Raptor's 4 game win streak the Raptors were in the 8th spot, draft-wise, without the lottery. After their 4 game win streak they are in the 8th spot. It doesn't matter how many games you win. It only matters how many teams finish below you. My guess is they'll finish with 7 teams below them, no matter what they do from now on. They might as well win as many as they can and finish with some pride.

[macaque]

WHALE KILLER! 'nuff said.