Who did what, where and when; one division at a time

What to do when there’s nothing going on?

Sit back and marvel, my friends; sit back and marvel.

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Hey, why don’t we do this?

It’s Tuesday, we’ve got six days left until media day here when things get started for real. Or at least as real as the never-ending camp and pre-season season is.

(Oh, and trust me, it’s long. You may not remember exactly but nearly a month of practices and pretend games seems to take about eleventy months. They should cut the pre-season to four games, shorten the season by two weeks and we’d all be happy).

Anyway, we’ve got seven more mornings (including this one) and there’s been so much movement this summer that you can’t tell the players without a scorecard.

So, we’ll do scorecards.

One a day, with a weekend morning reserved for mail, so you’re ready to hit the ground running.

And I’ll find a way to do it rather painlessly for me, if that’s okay?

(Remember, this is for discussion purposes only, the mocking that comes with mindless predictions can begin when we get closer to the start of the regular season)

LUCY NICHOLSON/REUTERS

Only one thing's for sure in the Southwest: Spurs will be good.

Let us begin:

SOUTHWEST DIVISION

What happened?

A recap of the moves, thanks to our friends at nba.com.

Most significant switch

Has to be Trevor Ariza in and Ron Artest out in Houston. Yes, the Rockets won’t have Yao and McGrady’s still out for months but this is somewhat of a sea change for the Rockets, way more a long-term move than a quick fix solution.

Treading water, I

I don’t know that New Orleans with Emeka Okafor is much better than New Orleans with Tyson Chandler, to tell you the truth. One offensively-limited, shot-blocking youngster for another offensively-limited shot-blocking youngster.

Biggest impact

Richard Jefferson, San Antonio

Yes, he’s got a bit of a thumb problem now but he’s insurance against Manu if he gets hurt again and Jefferson would seem to be a perfect fit for the Spurs offence. And he defends every now and then, too.

Treading water, II

Dallas

Yes, they got Shawn Marion at rather little cost but, really, I don’t know that they are all that better, to tell you the truth. Especially given what some other teams did. Second? Third? We’ll have to see but I don’t know about legit contenders.

Oddest move

Okay, so Memphis goes and trades for Zach Randolph and signs Allen Iverson and lets Hakim Warrick walk? I can’t figure out what they’re trying to do. And the folks in Vancouver must be sighing.

Best under-the-radar move.

Antonio McDyess to the Spurs.

He’s a wee bit long in the tooth but his skills, his personality and his willingness to buy into a team concept make him a perfect fit for the Spurs, methinks.

What’s it all mean?

Well, San Antonio’s the power and the chalk, I’m not sure Dallas or New Orleans can win a playoff round (that’ll all be determined by matchups) and Houston will be life and death for the eighth seed. Or not.

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So, the consensus around Casa Doug?

Donny Osmond’s pretty good but if he faints during a live broadcast, it’ll be a hoot; Tom Delay dances better as a politician than he does and dancer and Michael Irvin’s got a lot of George Gervin in him.

But that was only from clicking through while watching other things.

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In the department of Heading ‘Em Off At The Pass, there’s still no official word on the ticketing process for the training camp opening scrimmage at Carleton.

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I’m sure you’ve all read, with breathless anticipation, this tiny tome about the women’s national team that’s in Brazil to start the worlds qualifier tomorrow.

One thing that interested me was coach Allison McNeil’s assessment of the makeup of her team.

“They’re pretty laid back off the floor and I really like that. And they’re also a really responsible group of athletes, they’ll never point a finger at the coaching staff or the system or the distractions. It’s ‘what can I do to be better’ and that’s a pretty neat group to be around.

“We’ve got good overall size, we’ve probably got more quickness than we’ve had in quite some time but they play with a certain intensity and confidence that I haven’t seen in a lot of our teams.

“You can’t go to these things and be timid, you have to have a little bit of brashness about you and they’ve got a little bit of that.”

I think a little grit, bellicosity and truculence is good for a team. (I know, stolen from the pucks but what the heck).

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Want some real basketball to pay attention to until the end of October?

I’ve been quite impressed that RaptorsTV has been picking up feeds of the WNBA playoffs and since our local fave Tammy Sutton-Brown’s got her Indiana Fever in the East final starting tomorrow night against Detroit, I think some of you should tune in and watch a little bit.

You might be surprised.

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Anyway, off to get the candles for the cake and figure out how to celebrate Super Wife turning another year over on the calendar. Being the romantic sap that I am, I bet I come up with something hugely special.

See ya.

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Comments

[Big Ken]

Doug: I enjoy your comments, but, (as you would say), why did you take a cheap shot at the Monster? There was no need to mention a defibrillator on the back of the net. We all hope that the young man gets healthy and has a chance to help the leafs. Now, lets get back to hoops!

Blogger's note: Yeah, maybe it was a bit much. Deleted. But I'm still busting on the pucks every now and then; it's what I do.

[Sam]

Hi Doug:

Any news from Joey Graham? He showed very little flashes last season and I do hope he gets signed somewhere. How about Memphis (since they collect overrated players like ai & zach and let Hakim walk)?

Blogger's note: No word, as I've mentioned a few times

[Michel G]

I watch the WNBA all the time. Last night's San Antonio/Phoenix game was excellent. What I love the most is the defensive intensity exhibited in most games and the fact that when a hard foul is committed, the girls just get back up and go back to work. There is rarely any posturing. A welcome change from the NBA where its almost a required response.

[Marc A]

Hey Doug,

have you heard anything about any potential raptors participating in the slam dunk competition this year?? (DeRozen,Weems)?
The first 20 games this season seems the most crucial to me in terms of position for the playoffs, can you give a prediction t our record through our first 20? what kind of line does Lebron put up opening night? Love the blog! Hope the super fam is well

Marc A

Blogger's note: No, there will be nothing on dunk stuff or any of the all-star weekend things for, well, maybe four or five months. No clue on predictions, I don't do 'em on things like that.

[anthony.mackay]

Agreed Spurs are looking ready to make another run, if Big Shot Rob makes a comeback just give them the crown.

The east has been top heavy for a few years now... do you see this slowly happening to the west with the Lakers, Spurs and TBD? I'm guessing no because the Spurs are getting older while PHX, NO and Utah either have taken a step backwards or will be shortly. The lakers are looking even better seeing how some teams got worse our west... you think the Blazers have a real chance at being the 3 seed out west?

East is still top heavy but starting to balance out at least a little bit in the middle (with the raps grabbing the 4-5 spot)!

[jim t]

hey doug a couple of thoughts if you can help,first are you as concerned as I am about the longevity of H.Turk this season?It seems that with playing all the way to the end of the Finals as well as the euros might wear on him come playoff time for the raps and second what is the raps strategy gonna be for defending the likes of shaq,howard,and all the bigs this season,it seems bargs,bosh,rasho and co are going to get steam rolled up front?
P.S Happy B-day to the Mrs.

Blogger's note: Not sure about wear and tear eight months from now and I presume it'll be the same strategy as it's been for, well, forever. Defend 'em as best you can. DIfferent looks, some double-teams, put 'em pick and roll at the other end to make 'em work.

[Johnn19]

Don't know the accuracy of the other teams by your friends @ nba.com, but if the Raptors are an example (failing to account for Belinelli, Douby, Nesterovic) is an example, take the article with a large grain of salt.

[Imran Pirani]

No mention of the planned rest for Hedo? Are you at all worried that the man is already exhausted and he hasn't even played a game in a Raptors uniform yet? 5 yr 50 million is a lot of money.

Blogger's note: Given that the first game of the regular season is more than two month away, no, I'm not particularly worried at all.

[Darko]

Petro:
which petro are you, Drazen or Aca trica.
"we all know how that nation ended up... and thank Bog for that"
For you to be thanking Bog (God, to all of you who do not speak the language) for all those killed inocent people on all sides so that few idiot politicians (Tudjman, Milosevic...) and criminals around them can get to power and money... is sad,
very sad. DO leave politics out of here, here being a bball forum.
As for counting medals and all. You are absolutely right about Croatian studs, from Kreso Cosic (arguably best European center,ever) to Petro, Kukoc, Radja...
Something to be said about succsession of the state thing.
Of their importance to the National team, what's that saying, you realize how important is someone, only after he/she is gone (from the team). That '90 World Champs and '91 Euros team split in half more or less, Croatia hasn't won a thing since 1995, and I posted yesterday what "smaller" Yugo, than Serbia and Montenegro did.
Tell you what, you do the count your way and I'll do it my way, and we are all good.
As I said to doug, athleticisam and all is fine and dandy, only thing that counts is if you know how to play or you don't. First step or no first step, Erazem knows how to play.

[RS]

I'm pretty sure October 28th is less than 2 months away (sorry to be difficult).

Not that I'm that worried about about Hedo, but its not a ton of rest.

[Tim W.]

I'll tell you that one person in Vancouver is sighing about the moves in Memphis. Well, actually laughing a little. I gather the evil michael Heisley has been trying to sell for years, now, and now the team seems to have given up trying to win and are simply trying to sell tickets, now.

I'm actually intrigued at what Dallas did, getting Marion. He should benefit playing with Kidd, and should fit in nicely with their style. Not sure it's going to make a difference for them, but I think barring a rebuild, I don't think they could have done much better.

San Antonio's moves still amaze me. When Richard Jefferson is your fourth best player, you know you've got a stacked team. And McDyess was a very nice pickup not only because of what he can do while on the court, but because he will allow the rookie, Dujuan Blair, to ease into the rotation.

I don't understand New Orleans at all. They go from trying to deal Chandler for expiring contracts, to dealing him for a longer one, then basically let their starting SG go for nothing in order to save money. You think Chris Paul is regretting signing the extension?

[Eric]

I've got a few mins today. Here's my unabashed opinion on the best moves Colangleo made this summer (in order):

1) Goodbye, AP. Great guy, class act- but horrible competitor! I wish him the best of luck in CLE but I would've lost my mind if he re-signed. this team had horrible leadership last year and was among the least respected teams in the league because they were unimaginabley soft. Dump the soft! Thank you, BC. Poehler's bricks from the FT line in the clutch will not be missed.

2) Re-sign JT. After almost 5 years of excuses, found a man willing to brainstorm solutions as opposed to complain about media and hope nobody notices that he's overmatched. JT's a good fit. MLSE likes his pennies salary too.

3) Amir Johnson. Tough dude, warrior-esq. If our interior softies- I use the term "interior" generously- can't learn from him, they can't learn period.

4) Marco Belinelli. Terrific trade for quality depth. Who knows how he'll effect Bargnani but why not? No thing to lose.

5) Derozan. Youth. This team hasn't had hopeful, "stupid" youth in some years. I hope DD's energy is contagious and he doesn't fall victim to TO's characteristic apathy and listlissness.

6) Turkoglu. If nothing else, this trade facilitated the add of Belinelli, Wright and Jack. And I think Turk himself is key because Tiny Chris loses his excuses. Put up or shut up time. One of these days Bosh, Bargnani and Calderon will realize that BC was just forced to spend $53 million on a player to perform in the clutch- a #4 scorer to take a #1's shots! Maybe Mr.'s $50, $50 and wannabe $100 million will realize that ain't right.

7) The Reg-uvenator (Evans). Not great but not bad. Sandpaper. This is not a fraternity, this is ball! Shedding Kapono was a +. The team didn't need 3-pt shooters.

8) Jarrett Jack. Another in the "No more excuses, Chris" catagory. You got your friend. Put up or shut up. I think Ukic will be a better point within a year or two but this had to be done to get Chris to look in the mirror and grow up.

9) Alvin. Good and bad: Guy's been on some of the worst teams in Raps histroy so it's bad karma, but he's a respected guy who can take D-Mart's role from a few years back. Tough too. Not a great move but not bad. Practices will improve.

10) Rasho. Josh McRoberts' backup returns for BBQs and suds with Doug Smith. Safety net in case Bosh and Bargnani flee the building when Rasheed says, "Boo." Only half-joking.

.....AND.....

A.#1) NOT signing CB to an ext! I read omsewhere else and I couldn't agree more: If he can't win with this team, he does not deserve a contract ext and should not only be allowed to leave, he should be ENCOURRAGED to do so! Amen. LOL. Give him a chance to earn his contract before rewarding him. Common sense, yes, but in recent years common sense has been the exception not the the norm around here.

This team can be great but they can also be terrible since they have histroically not made the sacrifices to become great. Raps Nation is back.

[Anthony kerr]

hey doug

is there any news, when jose calderon and turkglu, are coming in, because as of what i hear everyone is almost here..

Bloggers's note: Today or tomorrow. Not sure. But they'll be here for the start of camp.

[Lavi]

Hey Doug,
Looks like McGrady will be ready to go come Oct. 1.
http://espn.go.com/chicago/columns/blog?post=4479907&name=friedell

[Tim W.]

It's funny, I was reading the top ten list in the comments and I thought, "Wow, what a bad list. Losing Parker #1, adding Jack #8 etc.". Then I scrolled down to see who wrote it and everything was explained.

[anthony.mackay]

Nice post Eric!
Chris has to potential to be a Max contract player... he has had some bad luck with injuries that caused him to lose his rhythm, he's the type of guy that needs his practice and routine to play efficiently and at a high level.

He has finally had a summer off (No US Olympics) to give his body some rest and has been going a little heavier on the weights, I expect him to play almost every game this season and for the Raps to finish has a forth seed and a deep playoff push!

Go Raps!

[Rob.V]

Wow!!!

Eric, dude, I'm impressed!!! I haven't written in a while and you promted me to do so.. good stuff.

Have to disagree with your order at the top though.

#1 Turk - (he was one of the bigger FA signings this teams ever seen. That was a huge signing on many levels for Colangelo and the franchise. Other than VC I cant think of a bigger FA coming to town?. Oh, and as you astutely pointed out... his signing really facilitated all the added depth.

#2 Bargnani +5 (at a reasonanble cost) - not many big men that can do what he does. He meshes well with CB and if he ever get's a great handle on the defensive end we could have the makings of the leagues next (young) Rasheed Wallace.

#3 J. Jack - I had the McDeyss signing along with this one as 1 and 1A as far as most underrated off season aquisitions.

The rest are wildcards so I'll give you those in any order you want... they all help!!

[Aditya]

you know who i am really really realli eager to see this upcoming season (not from the raptors but anyone else in the nba).....guess?? the answer to that is jeff teague, the rookie drafted by atlanta....everyone's raving about him about him being a solid pg, and knowing how to play....i just don't think rookies can come into the nba and just play right away pretty solid....

[Aditya]

oh man this is so funny:

"All of which means ... in the grand tradition of celebrity couples, we in the sports department need to start coming up with nicknames for Odom and his bride-to-be. How about LOdashian?! Or Khlamar? Anyone for Odomashian? "
DAILY NEWS

[Aditya]

i wish players (specially superstars) would stop boasting after a big basket (like at the end of games), kinda like showboating..... i wish more players have the attitude of a brandon roy who has an awesome demeanour (love his game, but not necessarily his communication stuff as seen on tv, interaction with media etc...)

[Lawrs]

Did you forget Richard Jefferson also joined the spurs. Not much people have been talking about it so it couldda been part of the under the radar section too

Blogger's note: Um, yes, perhaps it could have been. Had it not been mentioned as Biggest Impact about four paragraphs earlier.

[petro]

"Tell you what, you do the count your way and I'll do it my way, and we are all good."

The price for freedom is costly... so your dang right we're all good... you count your few medals in basketball... I'll count my medals in basketball, football, handball, and waterpolo.

Hope Lorbek comes over and kicks butt... but doubt very much that he could or that he will venture this side of the pond... he may know how to play but the athletic studs will wear him down and quickly. Perhaps someone should introduce Lorbek to a track and a weight room. Why don't we follow how he does in the ACB league before labelling him as the chosen one.

[Clay]

Do you think this season we will see Dr.Jekyll Artest, or Mr.Hyde Artest? I wish him well, but to see the Lakers unravel would make for entertaining television.

Blogger's note: It's all about entertaining television.