That was a big Opening Night hit, wasn't it?

Hands up anyone who saw that coming?

Didn’t think there’d be many of you.

Anyway, the caution is that it’s one game and you can’t draw too many inferences from one regular season game.

But, still, there were moments, weren’t there?

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

Talk may not be cheap

I know there had to be a few eyes rolled with each quote from pre-season about the dedication to defence and defence wins games and defence is the key to playoff success and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I know mine did because you hear that every year from every team and it’s mind-numbingly boring and trite, isn’t it?

Well, maybe they were, you know, telling the truth.

I know Cleveland’s offence was atrocious and they looked like five guys who’d never seen each other at times but if you hold any NBA team to 35 per cent shooting, you must have done something right.

They did shrink the court and take away the lane, they never doubled too aggressively in the post that would leave them vulnerable to outside shooting and I swear I heard more communication on defence in that one game than I have in one in quite some time.

Yes, there will be nights when they revert to form and are quite bad defensively but I think there’s a chance they might be pretty good, too.

Bosh had this to say:

“That is all we talk about. Defence, defence, defence. We are not going to work on it for no reason. You have to work on it if you want to win a lot of basketball games and that’s what we’re going to do. Nobody is expecting us to actually play defence so it’s good to come in the back door sometimes.”

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Be ready, do something

Marcus Banks gets a lot of grief around here mostly for signing a contract that was offered to him.

But last night, he showed me a little something. And so did Jay.

Less than 30 seconds to go in the first quarter, dead ball, Jay wants to give his guards a break so he calls on Banks to play one possession. Bit of a gutsy move because who knows what kind of effort you’re going to get, right?

Well – and this tells me something about Marcus – Banks comes in, defends like crazy and forces a wild miss by Daniel (I refuse to call a grown man Boobie) Gibson to end the quarter.’

Banks then goes back to his seat on the bench, never to be seen again during the game.

Not a big play in the whole scheme of things and, yes, that’s what pro athletes are supposed to do, work hard when they’re called on. But sometimes they don’t and it was good to see Banks did.

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More defence?

I don’t have a video clip of it, and I don’t know that one exists, but there was a play, with about three minutes left in the second, that perfectly exemplifies what Toronto wants to do on defence.

Ball’s at the top on the right, can’t remember who drives right into the lane and Antoine Wright, in perfect position protecting the paint and the “house” slides over two steps and draws a charge.

It’s really very simply weakside help defence but last year, and even in this pre-season, the slide would have come late, the lane would have parted like the Red Sea and whoever was driving probably would have dunked.

Again, not a huge play but one we don’t see a lot around the Raptors, who have to be among the worst team for drawing charges by off-the-ball defenders.

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Now, with apologies to Paul Harvey, here’s the rest of the story:

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This, apparently, was pretty cool.

Jay’s old Simon Fraser coach, Stan Stewardson, made the trip along with a handful of others to check out the first game of the season.

Well, I’m told Jay’s going to meet them in this little bistro after the game and when he walks and wanders through the place looking for them, spontaneous applause breaks out and one, um, exuberant Raptor fan gives him a big old hug.

Not sure the same thing happens to Ron Wilson.

Of course, the last time something like that happened to a Raptors coach was back in ’04 when the gathered boozers in the same bistro gave a rousing round of applause to Kevin O’Neill after one game.

No one hugged KO lest they get smacked in the face.

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Hmm, Memphis tonight.

Blues City Café or B.B. King’s barbecue joint?

Decisions, decisions, decisions.

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In Cleveland, where I’m sure they’ll be calling for Mike Brown’s head any day after that display of KO-inspired offence (lots of KO shots today, no?), here’s what they woke up to read.

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Nice commemorative ball they gave Jose right before the game to honour him for that 151-154 free-throw year last year, which set a single-season NBA record for free-throw accuracy.

Then he bricks two in a row and I’m sure I saw Bryan asking for the ball back.

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Good line from AP before the game. We’re chatting with a bunch of people and it’s brought up that he and Jamario, who used to have these goofy singing contests when they were teammates here, might be doing the same thing in Cleveland.

“There’s really no competition. He’s background, he does a lot of background for me, he’s good.”

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Fifty-seven fouls. Seventy-four free throws.

Where were The Replacements when you needed ‘em?

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Oh yeah, told you that whole Drake intro music thing was a ruse, didn’t I?

Yep, that’s me, on the cutting edge of modern music information.

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Best thing about going to Memphis?

You can’t fly there directly, you have to go through Chicago, and you have to leave in the middle of the afternoon so you don’t have to go to practice.

Cool, eh?

More time to build a set for tomorrow’s episode of GruntTV.

See ya.

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Comments

[Zombywoof]

Raptors are undefeated when introduced by a symphony orchestra! Bring 'em back!!

[Mike]

Hey Doug,

Are they playing a practical joke on you or us?

1) On the basketball home page it no longer shows who wrote the article until you click on it. How am I supposed to avoid the rest of the writers and just read your columns like I normally do? This probably gives the rest of the writers page views they aren't earning...

2) I click on a link that says Doug Smiths Raptors Blog and it takes me to... another link for Doug Smiths Blog?
You're worth the extra click but how much free time do they think I have? (I keed, but not really)

[BiLL]

On pace for 82 wins...sweet

[Peter]

Doug,

During last night's telecast, either Matt or Leo (don't recall which one) alluded to Lebron casting a nasty look in Shaq's direction after a broken play. Unfortunately I don't think it was caught on camera. Did you happen to notice anything like that from your vantage point? If things don't improve quickly with Cleveland, how long do you think it'll be before the knives are out?

Blogger's note: Didn't really notice anything and I'm not around that team long enough to have anything close to an informed opinion yet

[Gary]

Doug, Any chance you can post episodes of Grunt TV on Youtube? I can't watch it through the "Star" site on my phone but I do have a youtube app and I'd love to view the updates on my train trip home.

Blogger's note: I think it's there somewhere, I'll see what they can do

[Aditya]

hey doug, just a couple of comments about questions being asked to the players...by you grunts (i definitely know you don't ask these type of questions, but here it goes) it's kind of like ask real questions when the audience hears it....

Reporter (asking Bosh after victory): So good way to start!!?? (TSN Reporter)
Bosh: (looks at the reporter like wtf) Noo, of course not...

Reporter (asking Bargnani): So you now have more confidence?
Bargnani: Yeah, I have confidence. The ball was going in tonight, you know, sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn't...(I believe it was the Hoops Addict reporter with the beard)

[Freddy]

Any particular reason why Jay decided to have Jose and Jarrett Jack on the floor at the same time?

Blogger's note: Good matchup against Williams and Gibson; you'll see it frequently when the other team goes small

[David]

Doug, you missed your chance to gloat! After all, not only did you insist—despite all the surrounding panic—that pre-season is meaningless, but you also suggested that the Cavs acquisition of Shaq would be the biggest blunder of the off-season. Kudos to you for 2/2!

[Aditya]

think it was mo williams who drove and wright took the charge....

[WSG]

"But they sure miss Pops". THAT was funny.

[Edward]

I agree with Josh , the guys on the truck or whoever it was did a horrible job yesterday. Missed a few plays because they never got it right....Hey the Raps has just as many wins as the Leafs(hockey is a joke)

[Mando]

Of the 3 first round draft picks playing last night, which one stood out the most?

Blogger's note: I only saw one game.

[Sasha]

I think you harp alot on Banks and I appreciate you finally taking the time to say something positive about this young man. The NBA is more than just who is a great player everyone in the NBA is there for a reason, now whether they play or not well that is mostly politics. Banks is a very skilled and hardworking player but they have to play the people they paid for and right now that is Jarrett Jack otherwise the GM's look bad and no one wants that right???

[CC]

doug, where's eric? miss him/her...

[Craig]

Does Antoine Wright remind anybody of a younger Mo Pete?

[Yasir]

Hey Doug,

long time reader from Newfoundland, I've flown up to catch the home opener (which was an incredible experience) and the game Sunday against the magic. I was wondering if you could recommend any establishments around the ACC for catching the Friday game on tv. Thanks

Yasir

Blogger's note: Harbour Sports Grille, one block south; mention my name, you'll get a good seat

[ashm]

Hey Doug
is it me or was that it seem everytime Shaq was in the game, Cav's offense really slowed down and gave away possesion after missing shots.

[Mark J]

Wow, Doug, I've never seen so much negativity from fans this early in those Cleveland blogs! It's 2 games into the season?! Doug, I know you were against the Shaq trade (I think I read it somewhere around here) but does Cleveland have any cause for concern and do you like their team's roster?

And I had a feeling we would win last night. Other than that blip in the 3rd, we were great. Also, as we're going into Memphis... Do you know when Iverson will be ready to go? A few days? A few weeks?

Blogger's note: Iverson's probably a week away

[Ryan]

Doug I don't know if you're the type to defend the NBA or it's refs no matter what, but the late calls in last night's game should be reviewed and the referee crew fined or suspended for absolute lack of ability.

I really hope those calls disgusted you (Lebron's charge, and the 3 point foul shot, if you're wondering).

[Hope Caper]

Hey Doug,
You are right any team can improve. There were flashes of brilliance on the Raps last nite and if I'm the coach I like what I see. It just amazes me to read the Moon and Parker bashers. Whatever you are seeing the rest of the NBA isn't seeing it. AP was one of the better players on the floor last nite both ways. BTW McGowan didn't coin the word maroon. First I heard it was from Bugs Bunny.

[Emile Leeanan]

I will now be calling Shaquille O'Neal who didn't show up last night Shaq Fu-Paul as he and his team caved and then gave up. The officials are the only thing that kept them in the game. Maybe his next Shaq Vs. should be against his EGO. The game itself was great to watch, I hope this was Bargnani's coming out party cuz when CB4 was out of sorts in the first half Bargnani picked up the slack. The new pieces looked good and I can't wait to see how Reggie Evans fits in. GO RAPS!!!!

[Les Popow]

Doug, I live in Memphis. The Ribs at Blues City are better, however there's better music at BBs.

Of course, if you're really looking for BBQ, try The Rendezvous located at 52 South Second Street. I little further from the Forum, but awesome ribs.

Go Raptors! (I'm a TO expat)

[amy]

GOOOOO RAPTORSSS!!!!!

The game was amazing.. though we had some nail-biting moments.. ahhaha...

I hope 50 wins won't be that far of a stretch..

there is enough TALENT on this team to go ALL THE WAY..
i just hope everyone can keep it up! especially the coaching staff

[Matt G]

Re: new format for webpage...count me among those who don't like it. Hard to tell who writes some articles. I have been reading the Star since I was a child and so this is nothing against the editorial content overall but I avoid some writers like the plague and I don't even want to waste a second on them. I could tead your stuff, along with Mr. Perkins and a select few others, all day. Oh yeah, the mobile page is even worse...impossible to find your blog without going through Twitter to find it.

[Andrew]

Shaq was -25 last night in only 24 mins, he should just retire. When the Raps pushed the ball last night they destroyed the Cavs especially in the 2nd quarter but to do that they must get the rebound first. I love our fans, the BS chants over that joke block call on Bosch were priceless. Guys behind me were even chanting overrated during Lebron's FTs in the 2nd Q.