Better late than never. Or so they say

Okay, we’ve hit that day.

I’ve got nothing. Or at least very little.

Took a day off, no game, no real news.

In fact, I only stopped by practice to get some stuff for someone else and to make sure no one had bolted.

So this is as dry as it gets and, thanks to some machine and wireless issues, it’s late to boot. Great, eh? Lucky you.

-

Super Son and I are about to fill in the bracket – the winning bracket in the D. Sagat Invites His Buddies To Show How Smart They Are pool – and we’re thinking about this whole NCAA tournament thingy and what it might mean to the Raptors.

AP PHOTO

Tar Heels guard Ty Lawson is already familiar to the scouts.

The short answer: Not much.

Scouts have been scouring the college ranks since late last year and the body of work on the kids who might be draft picks has really already well established. Whatever happens over the next couple of weeks will be interesting but it can’t cloud opinions that have been formed over months.

It’ll be fun to watch guys like Griffin, Derozan, Henderson and Harden play and to see if they can last through the grind of three weeks of high intensity games but there’s really not a lot that will happen that will change the minds of too many scouts right now.

It’ll be things like private workouts and having dinner with prospects to get a feel for what they’re really like that might change things. What happens on various courts this week is not the most important thing.

Unless, of course, you’ve got a chance to win your pool.

-

Speaking of scouting, here’s a typical week for one of the big shot Raptor brainiacs.

They flew this morning to one city like Philly to see a couple of games today, are off to somewhere like Miami tomorrow to see another couple of games and then off to a couple of other cities on the weekend to see more games.

It’s all commercial travel – no charters, no five-star hotels – and I’ll be interested in hearing how they fared living like the common man when it’s all over.

-

A quick mail thing on one night, one line, no change

Q: Check out Gerald Wallace's linescore from last night vs. Sacramento: 25pts (on 13 shots!), 12reb (7 off rebs!), 2 blocks, 2 steals, 11 for 11 FTs. Is it safe to say now, in hindsight, that if the TJ-for-Wallace deal was really on the table, then the Raps should have gone for that instead of Jermaine? Or would you rather have Marion? To me, Shawn Marion is great as a complementary player, on a team where others can create. But, on this Raps team, he is not utilized to his full potential because no one can create opportunities for him. Gerald Wallace just gets the ball and goes.....

Don H, Lima, Peru

A: That’s an impressive line, indeed. For a whole game.

The only thing I’ve ever said about Wallace is that his contract – three years after this and almost $30 million – is an albatross so I’d rather have Marion and the financial flexibility his contract presents. I’m not entirely sure Wallace has a long-term position in the NBA and his deal is too constricting.

I’d love to go through his full season of boxscore lines and find one that’s not nearly that good but I don’t have the time. Or the inclination.-

-

One place you might want to look for the future is actually the NIT tournament, which is now the very poor cousin to the big dance.

Maybe it’s because we were in Charlotte earlier this week but there’s all kinds of interest in Stephen Curry and his NBA future.

A guy who’s opinion I respect thinks Dell’s kid might be one of the big sleepers in the draft.

He’s not overly quick, not overly big, but he simply knows how to play the game. He’s one of those high basketball IQ guys who overcome some physical limitations to just get the job done.

I’m not sure he fits exactly what the Raptors need – quick, defensive-minded shot creators – but there’s no doubt he’ll be on the board whenever it comes time for Toronto to draft.

And they’ll have to make a decision on him.

-

What’s the limit for Our Man Roko?

Q: Hey Doug, if I'm not mistaken, not too long ago you envisioned Roko Ukic as a backup even in his prime. But more recently you have said: "the kid, who I really think is going to be good one day". Have you changed your mind on him? or do you simply mean that you "really think" he will be a good NBA backup guard? Thank

Andrew R, Halifax

A: I’m not sure I ever said he’d be a lifelong backup, actually. And this is all guesswork because no one knows how he’s going to develop with any certainty but with his work ethic, skill level and desire to improve, there’s no reason he can’t be an NBA starter.

-

Yes, Marc Iavaroni was indeed at practice yesterday as an interested observer and that’s pretty much what he did.

He was acting as you’d think any “consultant” would, chatting privately with coaches and players and sitting back and getting the lay of the land. Not imposing himself on the work, or the people, just gathering information and forming opinions he’ll share with Bryan later on.

-

This is old but maybe someone missed it and I’ll catch them up right now.

In a shocking development, ESPN2 has dropped the Toronto-Washington game next week from its broadcast schedule.

Can you imagine if they hadn’t? Can you imagine someone tuning in looking for a really good Friday night basketball game and getting Raptors-Wizards in what could be one of the most insignificant games in the history of the league?

Yeah, that’d go a long way to enhance Toronto’s reputation around the league, wouldn’t it?

The bad news? They’re sticking with the silly 8 p.m. start time for the game ‘cause they don’t want to screw around with the fans any more than they already have.

-

Okay, Super Son’s got the brackets all printed out and we’re ready to roll.

I’m thinking North Carolina, aren’t you?

And I’m thinking it’s a nice day to spend on the couch watching a hoops marathon.

Will report back tomorrow on how we did.

Comments

[Ron]

Hey Doug,

I was listening to you put Doug Mclean in his place on The Game Plan yesterday, good for you for not taking crap from him and sticking up for your beliefs. I always appreciated you for that.

[Uncle Zeke]

hey Doug, Mike Toth called you and your brethern out today as being soft on the Raps coverage... I think he's right... Any response or are you still driving the BC bandwagon?

Blogger's note: And yet you still apparently read here and take time out of your busy life to write. Lucky me.

[jk]

Wallace is a great player but you never know when hes going to be injured though. There's a reason why he is nicknamed "crash".

[Tim W.]

Kelsie, you're probably right about Oklahoma. I have a very bad track record picking the NCAA winner. I either pick the favourite, and an underdog wins, or I pick an underdog that gets taken out in the third round. I've given up, quite frankly.

I'm on the fence about Wallace. Right now, his contract doesn't look horrible, but his is a tricky case. He's never put up any numbers on a playoff team, so it's hard to tell if his numbers are inflated because he's on a bad team (even if it's improved this season). He's not a good shooter or ball handler and doesn't have much of a post-up game, so he gets a lot of his points the same way Marion does. In fact, he brings a lot of the same things that Marion brings, but he's four years younger. My one problem with him is that he's been injury prone his entire career, which is due a lot to how he plays. This might be only the third season he's ever missed less than 20 games. And he's never missed less than 10. And while his contract isn't horrible, it's not good and contracts aren't going up. His strengths, rebounding, defense and athleticism, are what the Raptors need, though. If the Raptors can get a good, shot creating SG in the draft, they could certainly do worse than somehow getting Wallace this summer. How they would do that is another thing, though.

[D]

Dude, 6 & 6 is thr worst line you can find? I'll take that for %60% of SM's salary. Do we even have anyone who averages 6 boards besides our all-star PF? GW may not have been "the answer", but unlike JO he wouldn't have been "the $21 million bum-kneed elephant in the room".

Re: Iavaroni ... "just gathering information and forming opinions he’ll share with Bryan later on" sounds a lot like "checking things out to see if he actually wants the job". Clearly a tough spot for Triano. Imagine - "don't worry Doug, this writer from Chicago who wants your job is only here to critique your work and report to me,your boss. Keep up the good work."

[asasd]

Dear Mr. Smith,

A consultant from the Memphis sports page is in town this week to observe and comment on your work. He is friendly with the management of this paper and is looking for a basketball writing position. Please do not worry; although he is significantly more skilled and qualified than you and is desperate for a job, we may keep you on because your salary is significantly lower than the market rate. Sleep tight.

Best regards,

The Star

[Glo]

It's amazing how some of you fans are willing to take Gerald Wallace for 10 million a year.. yet don't want to pay Bosh the max money at the same time.

[Tim W.]

asasd: "...although he is significantly more skilled and qualified than you..."

Why is there such a opinion that Iavaroni is significantly more skilled and qualified than Triano? He's been a head coach in the NBA for all of one more season and has a worse overall record. Iavaroni has a couple more years as an assistant in the NBA, but Jay had been a head coach with team Canada. Before Iavaroni took over in Memphis, he had never been a head coach on any level, as far as I know.

As for Iavaroni's NBA head coaching experience, he won a disappointing 22 games his first season and despite adding OJ Mayo and Marc Gasol, was on the exact same pace in his second season before he was fired after coaching exactly half the season.

Now please explain how it is that Iavaroni is more skilled and qualified? Anyone?