Yay! No more pre-season games

Don’t get used to this being this early too many times; goofy flight situations made it necessary to work until the wee hours.

Luckily, Saturday’s an off-day for them. And me.

Mail on Sunday as usual, though, and we’re a bit light on the submissions.

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

They still can’t shoot well.

I don’t care what kind of defence you play or what kind of inside presence you have, if you shoot 2-for-20 from three-point range, you are not going to win a basketball game, no matter who the opposition is.

The three-point inefficiency was troubling last night – one of the two three-pointers was a heave from about 35 feet by Jack to beat the third quarter buzzer so it was a fluke – and it’s been a bit of a bubbling issue all camp.

Now, I think a team with Bargnani and Calderon and, to a degree, Turkoglu, is going to shoot threes well eventually but it certainly wasn’t part of the attack against Minnesota.

Bargnani was, for him, entirely out of sorts, missing all four of his attempts. He even fired up an airball on a relatively uncontested three and I can’t remember him ever doing that.

Will the shooting come around? The law of averages would seem to say it has to. But if 2-for-20 pops up again, they will lose again.

Bosh rounding into form?

That was by far Bosh’s best game, and he pulled off a statistical feat we need to pay closer attention to, I think.

An old hoops columnist, one C. Young, used to track this stat and it’s pretty cool.

He called it, and I shall call it, the Big Man’s Triple Double and it come about when a power forward or centre has double figures in points, rebounds and trips to the free throw line.

Bosh was 27. 14, and 11-for-12 last night which is damn good.

Most impressive was one bucket in the third quarter when he got a defensive rebound, outlet the ball to Jack, sprinted down the floor, beat his man to the paint, took a lovely lead pass over the shoulder from Jack and finished with an and-one.

That was probably his best play of the night.

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Do they have more?

The one thing that’s indisputable about pre-season basketball is that it’s played at a far lower level of intensity than the regular season.

And as I’ve watched these guys for the past six games, I’m wondering if they have that extra gear ready to kick in?

There were times of great lethargy in a couple of the most recent outings and I don’t know if the young guys – like DeRozan or Johnson primarily because they’re young ‘uns who are going to play – know how high they have to turn it up starting Wednesday.

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And now, for the rest of the story:

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Okay, this is weird.

I’m hanging out with a bunch of guys in this swinging Sioux Falls hotspot (okay, it was a Buffalo Wild Wings but it was across the parking lot from the hotel and it had good TVs) and I saw something I’ve never, ever, ever seen done before with beer.

(This may catch some of you by surprise, but I know my way around a pint so when I make a brash statement like that, it’s significant).

Anyway, I look down the bar and this dude’s got a glass of beer and there are olives in it.

I kid you not.

Green olives.

In beer.

On purpose.

So, being the intrepid reporter that I am, I ask the Comely Bar Wench what in tarnation is going on and she tells me it’s what they do in that part of the world and there’s nothing strange or quirky or off-putting or weird about it.

Green olives.

In beer.

On purpose.

Go figure.

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This is about the time in the proceedings when I point you in the direction of how the fishwraps in the other city covered the game.

Well, seeing how not one single reporter from Minneapolis – or St. Paul for that matter – made the trip, that linking stuff isn’t going to happen.

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Soupy Sales died and no one told me?

Shame on you.

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This is a good story. For a good cause.

If Patrick O’Bryant gets 2,500 followers on his twitter thingy, the Raptors foundation (which isn’t exactly the Raptors foundation any more; it’s now part of some conglomerate of foundations for the whole Maple Leaf Sports “family”) will get more than $5,000.

It’s kind of like the E. Koreen faux-hawk thing. Started small with some people deciding to raise money if that number of followers flocked to Patrick, it grew and then he decided to kick in a rather large chunk of cash himself if the goal was reached.

I’m told by a regular contributor T. Liston that if you go here, you’ll get some details.

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I spend all that time in Sioux Falls and not once did I see a shrine or a statue dedicated to our own Sherm Hamilton, who once got to spend two delightful weeks there after being drafted by the then-CBA franchise in town.

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Comments

[GM]

I was in New Brunswick a couple weeks ago and I saw a woman put salt in her beer. I don't know my way around a pint quite the way you do, but I'd never seen it before. Ever tried it?

Blogger's note: Never tried it but have seen it. Used to see it a lot in an old draught house when I was growing up and one of the Mighty Yankee Moms does it today.

[twitter.com/Liston]

Doug - thank you for mentioning the Patrick O'Bryant "drive" to 2,500 followers by October 31st.

Donations are up over $7,400 now for the Team Up Foundation (which the Raptors Foundation merged into I understand)
If your readers wish to get background on how this started (a $500 offer by Scott Phillips a few days ago QUICKLY grew to $7,400 as others piled on) they can get it here:
http://altraps.com/2009/10/22/follow-pob-for-a-good-cause/

[Chris]

It's looking to me like the raptors are going to struggle this year. Hopefully that is just at the start of the season, but my dreams of a drastically better team in the win column are starting to fade.

[Allan]

Doug

Is the Raptor defense any better than last year? I have watched a little bit of their preseason and it seems pretty easy to penetrate the paint on these guys.

[HG]

I believe signing Bargnani & Turkoglu, it was a big mistake.

[Nick]

I was reading around and came across a rumour about the Raptors intro song...are they really using Forever by Drake? What a terrible choice if they are.

[Mike Ulangot]

Bargnani and Turkoglu can NOT play at the same time. Yes, it's preseason. You might as well say 2/20 3pts in the preseaon means nothing at all, or that Orlando is not as dominant as they seem. The fact is (the facts are) the Raps can't shoot, Orlando IS dominant, and Andrea and Hedo can NOT play together. Amir, Bosh, and Turkoglu will work so much better together, would you agree?

I don't understand why you think Bargnani coming off the bench is a bad thing. Ginobili? Ben Gordon? Paul Millsap??

Blogger's note: No, I don't agree.

[sportschick]

This blog is educational about drinks. Last year I learned about red wine and cola, now I learned about a South Dakota martini. (or so says the information I found via google).

It's kind of odd for this team to be having trouble shooting threes. I guess that streak will come to an end.

[doug]

Jarrett jack has to pick up his game, his passing and running of the offense has been fine but his shot has been way off....Barg's to me is like a streak hitter in baseball, when he's cold he's cold, when he's hot he just gets on a roll....i see no problem with Barg's and Hedo playing together. Plus how can someone make a statement like that when they have played limited minutes together....this is what I feel the season rests on, this one simple question and answer...do the raptors run the offfense through Bosh and do the players buy into it..or does Jay disperse the ball on offense?....to me Bosh has no problem being the man but he struggles when he is not the focus ...he loses the edge ...so be interesting to see how not only the raps offensive deveops, but how the players in either case react...

[Johnn19]

A lethal combination, of which 2 of 3 must not be repeated if Rap's expect to win any games this season.

2/20 3 pt shooting

40 % FG shooting

22 turnovers, highlighted by 6 by Bosh, in an
otherwise very good effort, and 4 by Wright, hopefully
a first and last time.

[Tim W.]

As I've stated on my blog (which I will not link to) this is one of the youngest teams, inexperienced, with the most new players on the team in the leave, learning a new offensive AND defensive system from a relatively new coach. Who in their right mind thinks we'll see much of anything from them for at least a month? It doesn't mean it won't come. It just means fans need to be patient. Not much chance of that, either, is there? Anyone hoping for a good start from them might as well save some time and start panicking now.

[Lee]

Salt in the Beer is fairly common here In Newfoundland, when it comes to Draught Beer. It was shown to me by my father, and I used to do it a lot in my fraternity days. Add a little "kick" to the otherwise flat beer - serves as short-term carbonation. I'd recommend it to anyone who dislikes the flatness of draught beer! (A little pinch per glass will do)

[Fan]

"The Timberwolves – who are really, really, really bad, by the way – aren’t at all big and strong" so much for that i guess then that makes us really, really, really, really, really bad!

[J]

Mike Ulangot:

Comparing Bargnani to those 2 is pointless (I'm not going to include Millsap since he's a very different situation -- if he was so happy with his situation in Utah, he wouldn't have signed that offer sheet with Portland). Very simply, Bargnani has never, ever, excelled off the bench. He hasn't even put in a full season with his newly found confidence and you want to shake him up again?

[Thane]

Olives in beer sounds odd, but the strangest is out in the Prairies where they mix their beer with Clamato (I wish I was making that up).

So, being the ever intrepid reporter, did you try one??

Blogger's note: Have seen the Clamato, or tomato juice, thing often; tried a sip of the olive concoction, was an odd, yet unpleasant, taste

[culture of excuses]

' ``This is our third game in four nights and the guys are tired and we're travelling around and you can make every excuse you want,'' first-year Timberwolves coach Kurt Rambis said. ``But the great players and the great teams find a way to dig down deeper and find a way to win ballgames.

``Players have to understand that part of being a professional is being able to deliver night in and night out.'' '

Obviously, Rookie Rambis is making a bigger deal out of this 'great' victory than he should, but Doug, when the season starts, do you think Triano will stop making excuses and expect the players to 'deliver night in and night out' or do you think he'll remain a "players' coach" and demand patience from the fans? Where I work, and I make a fraction of what these guys do, I'd be fired if I told my boss that I needed a few more weeks for me to get my 'game legs' or if I told him, 'I need a few more weeks to really establish some chemistry with my co-workers'.

Just trying to understand Triano's coaching style. (If you think I deserve some snark, have at her. I'll still love the blog.)

Blogger's note: He will demand they play hard and smart and to the best of their abilities.

[Lorie]

Hi Doug,

I missed the news about Soupy dying also.

Well, good-bye, Soupy Sales, and your goofily infectious grin.

Those of us of a certain vintage might want to salute him in the most appropriately Soupy way - make mine banana cream, but on a plate, please.

[Dave]

To Fan:

You're right, we must be really really really bad. I guess the Spurs must be worse than the Pacers too, right? Who wouldn't want Jeff Foster on their team over Tim Duncan?

[JG]

I'm from Montreal and I am a big fan of a beer with tomato juice (Clamato must be good too), pepper AND olives. I don't know if its common among my people.

[Aditya]

ur favourite back up point guard? kyle lowry?

[Aditya]

raptors.com had "DeMar DeRozan's drive with 5:47 remaining gave Toronto its largest lead of the first half, 38-30." wrong eh?

pretty sure raptors had a 15-3 lead or something in the first half in the first quarter

[willy]

Pilsner Olives in beer sounds odd, but the strangest is out in the Prairies where they mix their beer with Clamato (I wish I was making that up).

theres not much better than a Pilsner mixed with clam

[Fan]

To Lorie:
well Lorie spurs did not say the pacers were really bad and lose to them while our friendly neighbourhood doug here did say "The Timberwolves – who are really, really, really bad, by the way – aren’t at all big and strong"... so i dont know what your trying to get at?

[Jamie]

I like the big man double double stat. And purely out of curiousity, when you say "trips to the line" so he was 11-12 shooting from the line? if so, I would be curious to know the number that doesnt include multiple shots in one "trip", as in not his free throw shooting, but how many times he was fouled or went to the line, eg maybe he went 6 times for 11-12 shooting. (I had a hard time wording this question, I hope you understand what Im asking)

Thanks

Blogger's note: I probably should have said "free throws" rather than "trips to the line" to be more clear. He actually had seven trips to the line (five to shoot two shots and twice as an and-one).

[Jamie]

*triple-double my bad