That Shaq guy can really stir it up, no?

Boy, that was a nice quiet travel day, wasn’t it? No practice, no game, no news, no nothing.

Thanks, Shaq!

-

I’m not entirely sure but I would imagine the most-searched phrase on the entire internet yesterday was “RuPaul.”

A firestorm or what?

Over nothing or what?

Seriously, this is the most “much ado about nothing” thing I can recall in recent months.

It was a throwaway line – caustic, but a throwaway line – from a guy who makes ‘em all the time.

He saw Bosh’s comments after Friday as a whiny over-matched big man pointing out what hundreds have pointed out before (Shaq gets officiated differently than anyone in the league) and O’Neal lashed out.

Big whoop.

I don’t think there was lasting psychological impact or diminished thoughts of the Sacramento Kings when he called them the Sacramento Queens way back in the day; this is just the kind of thing guys say.

It was nothing. It will be nothing going forward.

It was, to borrow from the seamheads, Shaq Being Shaq.

Mildly entertaining but, really, nothing more than that.

Oh, I'd be willing to bet that if you lined up 450 NBA players, showed them the comment and asked them for a reaction, the winner would be: "Who's RuPaul?"

-

Let the arguments begin

If you thought it was tough to come up with a list of top five centres, try point guards. Seriously, it’s impossible. But we do impossible around here so what the heck:

First, what’s the criteria? Stats? Championships? Game-changing skills? Longevity?

How about a combination of all of them? Something like a “feel” for who’s best.

And there’s no shortage of candidates; it’d be easier to just throw out a Top 10 and let everyone else pick five in whatever order they like.

But after exhaustive thinking, here’s how it shakes out

Oscar Robertson

I have him near the top – like Top 3 – of best players ever, he’s got to be at the top of this list.

Magic Johnson

Okay, maybe it’s a tie with Oscar.

Bob Cousy

Every time anyone anywhere ever runs a fast-break, think of the Cooz.

Isiah Thomas

Heart? Determination? Championships? Forget the last five years, think of his career.

John Stockton.

Lethal pick-setter, he’d be the one that might come off the Top 5 with the right compelling argument for someone else.

But here are some questions that are legitimate:

Is Stockton really that much better than Jason Kidd or Steve Nash? Yes, he played on one team forever and was part of a dominant duo but was he that much a better player?

What about Walt Frazier? Or Tiny Archibald? The Logo? Or Lenny? Was Earl Monroe worthy of consideration or did he sacrifice too much for his team? Gary Payton, can he be in the conversation?

I think the consensus would be that the Top 5 there are pretty bang-on. But I imagine there’s an opinion or two floating around out there.

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Here in Houston, where there’s some big rodeo thing going on apparently, they found a few inches in the paper to run this.

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Speaking of Bosh, I will say it one more time, and I know many will disagree but so be it: The thing that’s keeping Bosh from getting his team to the vague “next level” is the team he’s been on. He’s a 20-10 guy, a four-time all-star (three times voted by the coaches, who know infinitely more basketball than you or I do) and he’s coveted by 29 other teams. Surround him with better players and that “next level” (which I presume is a second-round playoff berth, or perhaps a bit more) is more than attainable.

I guarantee a lot of you are going to miss him when he’s gone.

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A letter making a point:

Q: You've probably read this already, but thought it was a good bit of Raptor trivia about one of our most loved assistants.

In his big night on Friday, Shaq became the fourth player over 35 in NBA history to score at least 33 points in consecutive games; the others being Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and... Alex English.

Pretty good company Alex!

Ryan M, Kingston

A: Um, I think I'd put it: “pretty good company, Shaq.”

There is a growing feeling that not nearly enough Raptor fans, casual or so-called hard-core, have any idea of who good a player Alex English was.

And that’s a shame.

-

I believe this to be a story every young basketball player in Canada should read.

I also believe, as I have forever, that someone – anyone – has to be first concerned about the education of our teen prodigies because the chance of making a dime playing professional basketball anywhere in the world are miniscule.

And the chance of every putting on an NBA uniform are exponentially less than miniscule and the last thing I want to see is kid with a shattered dream and the inability to find significant work because education went by the boards in a futile journey fueled by unreal expectations and people looking out for their own interest rather that a kid’s.

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Things You See In An Airport, Vol. 1,340,873:

DFW, Gate 33, waiting for the flight to Houston when what comes walking by: Two little birds. Happily chirping, wandering like the owned the place and all I’m thinking is, “well, hope they stay inside ‘cause I don’t want ‘em anywhere near the engine of my plane.”

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I’d get to more mail but 95 per cent of it since late Sunday night has been about Shaq. There was, however, this:

Q: Hey Doug, any clue on when, if ever, we will expect Humphries back?

Dustin J, Minneapolis

A: Hmm, I smell some old Big Ten allegiances.

But I think it’s going to be at least 10 days before the Hump’s ready to go. He just off the crutches a while ago, and glancing at the schedule for practices and games, you’re looking at the start of the week after next.

Comments

[Bball]

Doug, while you're right that better players on the Raps team have something to do with the Raptors getting to the next level, but when you look at teams like Miami (Dwayne Wade) it is arguable that on paper the talent level in Miami is worse then that of Toronto yet Miami is a legitimate 4/5 team in the Eastern Conference. The same holds true to some degree for Cleveland which is not a very deep team when you exclude Lebron. My point is that it is up to Bosh, as the leader of this team, to make this team better.

[a]

hahaha, there was a ref named Dee Kanter? Pronounced decanter? As in a wine decanter?

[dallas]

Q: You've probably read this already, but thought it was a good bit of Raptor trivia about one of our most loved assistants.

In his big night on Friday, Shaq became the fourth player over 35 in NBA history to score at least 33 points in consecutive games; the others being Michael Jordan, Karl Malone and... Alex English.

Pretty good company Alex!

Ryan M, Kingston

A: Um, I think I'd put it: “pretty good company, Shaq.”

There is a growing feeling that not nearly enough Raptor fans, casual or so-called hard-core, have any idea of who good a player Alex English was.

And that’s a shame.

Hi Doug,

Why do you feel the need to talk down to tour readers? Maybe the Raps org could do a better job promoting him? Maybe you could write a piece? God forbid we wake up one morning and one paper is writing not writing the same thing as the others.
You try to belittle all Raptor fans, who have only had a team for 15 or so years, for not being so well versed on Nuggets history. I caught a game on Rapstv that pitted English against Evans, but other than that, what do we have, take a trip to Springfield. Let ma ask you, how come you haven't done a piece on him yet Doug? Is it so shocking that many of the current fans only know him as an assistant coach with Raptors. I wonder, if this wasn't your job how much of an "English" expert would you be Doug. Seem like the easy thing is to take shots at the shameful raptors fan you seem to have grown so much contempt for, why don't you write about it then.

Thanks

[dallas]

Hey Doug,

Would this issue be a noting story if Shaq had said this about say, Oakley? Similar hairstyles right? Both great Raptor forwards, I wonder what the difference is?

Blogger's note: It would be a nothing story if he said it about anyone in the league past or present.

[Darko]

GM , I am not ignoring D side of their system, rather they have no D and therefore you can not ignore something that does not exist. No coach will implement system with none emphasis on D if he can help it in any way. They figured since teams that they had, can not play conventional D, they will have offense as their defense. Nash and Amare (together) would be bad in any system because you might be able to hide one guy on D, and that to a point, but not both (see our combo of Bosh and Jose.
Watching and especialy reading what people from his own organisation say about Amare (uncoachable, does not play or care for D and defensive rotations), I am not sure Larry Brown would tolerate his lazy ass for too long.
As for HOF, obviously WE would not expel players you mention,
but I would. I am coming from an angle here that pro ball is about winning that ring or getting close to it (finals), and not about circus (Harlem G's) and entartaintment. For those I would go see a movie or watch Cirque the Solei.
Give me 80-76, with good D's, game any time over those travesties of a game like 136-120.
Naturaly HOF and NBA is mix of all of these, so that both you and me can have fun.

[Mike P.]

Moon was playing out of his mind yesterday no doubt. he guarded lebron for the whole game and had a sweet dime where he passed up a 3 (not kidding) and found wade down low for the dunk. supposedly there is tons of chemistry between the two right now (according the commentators). he also has been dunking much more because of collapse defenses.

but the reality is lebron still went for +35, dominated the entire game and was too much for moon and all the other perimeter guys. so i really don't know the value of moon is yet. it looks like the same stuff to me thus far.

[Darko]

Doug, any particular reason that guy no. 2 on all-time assist list does not even get honorary mention.

Blogger's note: Mark Jackson was a great player; but when discussion gets around to best point guards of all time, I don't have him on the list

[GM]

Alex English was a great player. But it's interesting that those Nugget players don't get knocked the way the Suns do when they were playing a similar high-octane system. Would English have scored so much on a more traditional team? Most likely not. But it's irrelevant. Just like it's irrelevant with the Suns.

I think the point with Moon is that so many Raptor fans who were down on him thought he was lucky to be in the league and that he wouldn't get much playing time on any decent team, let alone start. The fact that he's starting on a playoff-bound team, even if his stats are similar to his stats in Toronto, shows that he's a legitimate NBA player.

And Darko, I think I understood most of what you were trying to say. And I appreciate that English isn't your first language, so that's not a knock. Pro ball is about winning a championship, sure, but it's no knock on a player if he's not able to get there. There are too many variables. But we will just have to agree to disagree on what we prefer. Give me a 136-120 game any day over an 80-76 thugfest any day. Basketball is a beautiful sport and a fun sport.

[jimmie]

"Doug, while you're right that better players on the Raps team have something to do with the Raptors getting to the next level, but when you look at teams like Miami (Dwayne Wade) it is arguable that on paper the talent level in Miami is worse then that of Toronto yet Miami is a legitimate 4/5 team in the Eastern Conference. The same holds true to some degree for Cleveland which is not a very deep team when you exclude Lebron. My point is that it is up to Bosh, as the leader of this team, to make this team better."

This is crazy. Toronto sports fans are nutty, for sure, when it comes to evaluating their own teams in context with other teams. TO fans are notoriously fickle and harder on their own players than fans in other cities. This is well-noted outside Toronto, for anyone who thinks this is just one man's opinion.

First of all, it's never one player's responsibility to make an entire team better. That's certifiable nonsense. It's a nice cliche, but it's just not possible. You can make yourself better, you can set an example and encourage excellence in others, but at the end of the day, there are a million different factors that contribute to a team's performance and the performance of the individuals on that team. Coaching philosophy. Coaching acumen. Pressures from outside the game. Individuals' own desire to get better. Individuals' own dedication to acting on that desire. Understanding how to get better (which goes back to coaching...). Many, many variables. Putting all that on your single "star player" is ridiculous.

It's no wonder players get the hell out of here as soon as they can. New York is not even as critical of their own as Toronto.

[DougG]

"This is crazy. Toronto sports fans are nutty, for sure, when it comes to evaluating their own teams in context with other teams. TO fans are notoriously fickle and harder on their own players than fans in other cities. This is well-noted outside Toronto, for anyone who thinks this is just one man's opinion."

If you think this is true try going to a game at Madison Square Garden. Toronto fans are probably just tired of losing and Bosh is an easy target because he is our best player. Lebron James hasn't won anything yet either. I'd hate to see Bosh go but if he doesn't commit this summer I don't see what choice the organization would have but to move him. If we got nothing for him, like we did for Carter, they might as well start thinking of a new city, south of the border, to move the franchise to.

[Sean]

The RuPaul part of the comment was the least of it. It's like if a guy said, "Hey sissy, I'm sleeping with your wife" and got the response, "Who are you calling sissy?" I've been a Bosh fan since the start, but lately he's been quitting and the whine about three seconds is just his most recent form of quitting. For whatever reason, Bosh doesn't have it right now and Shaq tapped into that. Bosh's only response can be to bring it the next time he plays, and to keep bringing it. And no more talk about the refs being responsible for the Raps losing.

[dp]

O'Neal and Moon skills combined are essentially what Marion brings to the table on a nightly basis. I definitely miss them; the upside of Moon and O'Neal's balanced tenacity BUT Shawn's abilities make him the more unique and most impactful player of that trade. Commend Bryan Colangelo on this deal Toronto!

Soon as I heard Shaq's comment on Bosh it stills makes me giggle for a good 10-15 seconds. I Love Bosh though, and I know he's got to be crazy fumed about what Shaq said...but to me I'd let it slide and continue to work harder in practice which is exactly what Chris Bosh does and continues to do. For this reason he is worth so much more than we actually realize. Time to give Bosh some serious props people...let's ride with him to the playoffs!

[Pete W]

To Mo: thanks for the heads up about the full game being shown on Raps TV; I just set my pvr to record :)

[Scott]

I would argue that you bring Jordan into the conversation. He is the best player to play the game and did a lot of the ball handling making his team better. John Paxon was a two and Jordan paired with him in the backcourt, and B.J Armstrong was not much of a PG either.