Slow day but a busy morning

Long, yet quiet, day yesterday of flights for them and me, no time in a gym and that means there’s a plethora of things to do here this morning, none developing from any significant Raptors news or events.

To wit:

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Vote early, vote often.

Well, as often as the rules allow and, let me tell you, the whole process of coming up with the 120 names on the NBA’s all-star ballot that was unveiled yesterday, isn’t as easy as you’d think.

An august panel of ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, Mike Breen of ABC, Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated, Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News and little old me (it’s a benefit of being president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association) had to come up with the names keeping in mind some tricky criteria.

We had to find 24 forwards, 24 guards and 12 centres from each conference and the one thing that made it hardest was the fact each team had to have three guys on the ballot. We also decided as a group that, outside of No. 1 pick Blake Griffin, we wouldn’t have any rookies on the ballot; in my opinion the right decision because they have to prove something before being considered. Griffin? An honour for being No. 1.

Sounds simple? Well, find us a third Minnesota Timberwolves rep, outside of Al Jefferson and Kevin Love. Or a Buck after Andrew Bogut and Michael Redd. That’s how guys like Ramon Sessions and Hakim Warrick end up on the ballot.

Adding to the difficulty was that we had to make our choices in October, for logistical reasons, which is why Marcus Camby got the nod over Chris Kaman, and why Brad Miller’s on the ballot and not Joakim Noah. I don’t think any of us, or many of you, saw the starts coming that Kaman and Noah have had.

The one that I wish we might have taken back is the decision to put Allen Iverson on the ballot. Yes, he probably deserves it for his body of work, and finding 24 Western Conference guards made him something of a default choice, but with what’s transpired in the last week, I sure wish we’d gone a different way.

The thing I kept thinking about as the process unfolded over a series of conference calls was that the choice of five starters probably comes down to picking from a group of about 15 in each conference and we got those right.

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We need to do something important here.

Christmas is all about the kids, no? Yes, it is.

And that’s why we’ve established the Jim Proudfoot Corner of the Star Santa Claus fund and if you click here, you can help out. Please do; it’s a very important thing.

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Some news about Kareem Abdul-Jabbar yesterday, wasn’t it?

A very private man taking a very big issue public in a very big way is something you don’t see every day.

I don’t know Kareem that well, I think I’ve spoken to him at length maybe four times over the years, but from what I understand about his nature, the decision to let the world know about his fight with cancer was probably a difficult one to come by. He was, by all accounts, quite prickly as a player and he’s still not one of the more “open” legends around the game.

Took guts to do what he did.

Just like it’s going to take guts to fight this fight and thoughts should be with him.

Sports figures, like actors I guess, are in a unique situation. Simply by virtue of who they are and what they do, the hold great sway with the masses. It’s a fact some find hard to come to grips with, it’s to be applauded when they step away from what they really are for the greater good.

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Wild one in Chicago last night, where it took an extended look at instant replay before the refs ruled a last-second basket by Brad Miller came too late in what was a Denver win.

Saw the end of the game on TV and the fact that the Bulls announcers took the call quite personally and may have altered the opinions of people watching on NBA team by virtue of their, um, enthusiasm, I think the overhead shot showed the ball handed left his hands in time.

It was close, though.

And here’s what my man KC Johnson had to say about it.

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Speaking of the Bulls, they’re here tonight and that means Chuck’s back and, yes, they will “honour” him in much the same manner they “honoured” Oak and Alvin a week ago.

Not sure what I think about this whole process of singling out guys for the 15th anniversary of the franchise.

Seems a rather arbitrary decision, it’s not like 15 is some magic plateau or anything and I can’t for the life of me think it’s going to sell even one extra ticket.

And the “honour” itself? A bit weak, no? A few seconds of clips, an intro, some applause. Good, I guess, but far from, you know, emotional.

Maybe it gets better as the season goes on but I somehow doubt it.

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A leftover quote from the other night, courtesy of Chris Bosh, that’s a bit interesting and goes to the heart of the matter with this team:

“A wise man once told me a long time ago, I wanted to know the secret and art to rebounding. He’s like ‘You know what is? Just go get the ball.’ That was it, three’s not much you can say, there’s no science. We can sit here and break it down all day and whatever, whatever but it just comes down to who wants the ball the most.”

Trouble is, on lots of nights, no one on the team wants the ball the most, which leads them to affairs like Monday in San Antonio.

And, no, Bosh is not blameless in this matter.

Although he’s rebounding better – especially on the offensive glass – than he has in years, there are still too many instances where he’s a spectator rather than a participant.

He knows it, too. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard him say he has to be better, he has to be more aggressive, he has to be more consistent.

He knows it, and it’s time to do something about it but if you look at raw numbers – and they never tell the whole story – he’s getting better.

Averaging 11.6 per game, and 3.4 per game on the offensive end, isn’t too shabby.

But it’s not like he thinks he’s above the situation and the reason you always read his quotes on the matter is that, post-game, he’s the guy on the team who generally offers the best insight into what went on.

But

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Oh yeah, remember this?

We’re getting closer to contest deadline and with such nifty prizes, I think we ought to make sure everyone knows how to enter.

So, enter.

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Don’t forget, it’s game day so we’ll do a little chat this afternoon. We’ll get back to our regular time of 4 p.m. to make my day a little bit easier and more free-flowing. It remains, of course, all about me!

See ya then.

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Comments

[Mathieu Yuill]

Hey Doug, thanks for sharing how players end up on the All Star ballot. That was pretty interesting. I always thought the NBA office just put the most marketable guys on there and printed them up.

[erc]

This team has traditionally been softer mentally than physically, if that's possible. They approach 'weaker' teams with condescending confidence and wind-up on one side or the other of a buzzer-beater.
Against 'better' teams they've been painfully timid. They try to put out that little bit of 'extra' effort and it's like there's a lid on the basket. They build substantial leads and don't have the toughness to close the deal.
This year's team has different players. Is it a different team? We'll see. It's early. Disturbing signs but not too late, by a long shot, to turn things around.
All the 'leadership' weight can't fall on Chris Bosh. He is what he is, and that's very, VERY good. I think you have to look at Hedo to share the responsibility of showing the way. Part of the huge salary was for a 'veteran presence'. He needs to step up.
Reggie is a tough physical guy. He needs to translate that desire to some of his team mates. Again, Evans has talent issues. He won't be on the floor all the time, but he needs to goad, cajole, threaten, whatever it takes, to get the rest to toughen up. When he isn't on the floor, others have to step up.
This team isn't the Lakers or the Celtics, but I believe it can be better than a sub-.500 bunch. It's all in their hands -- and heads.

[JC]

Re: Honouring former players. It did sell at least two extra tickets for the Pistons game. We go to 5-10 games a season, and the chance to see Oak and our all-time favourite Alvin get honoured pushed us to buy tickets to that particular game.

But then, as usual with this organization, it turned out to be a disappointing non-event. We expected, at every least, a small ceremony at half-court. Maybe at half-time. The pathetic video package and half-assed wave from courtside was borderline embarrassing.

And an extra note - they couldn't even find a better time to honour Alvin than during a timeout while he was in a huddle with the players? Seriously?

Even though it's way down the ladder of importance, the Raptors game-ops are just sad.

But hey, at least they kept 60 Seconds of Madness, eh? Sigh.

[SkyJ]

I've been reading you all this time and didn't know you were president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association? Shame on me. But more kudos to you, Doug. You, sir, are truly half man, half amazing.

[eni]

no GruntTV at noon Doug?

Blogger's note: Oh yeah, just slipped my cluttered mind

[Ted S]

Totally agree with the Bosh synopsis. The offensive numbers are excellent, but he was dominated in San Antonio by a couple of lesser talents on the defensive end. Mental lapses and half-plays really hurt when your leader is responsible. I wish we had someone to get in his cage, like he did to Bargnani during his early struggles. If he doesn't lead by example, his talk gets cheaper and cheaper. I am hoping Evans can bring that physical - at times brutal - edge to the "House".

I am looking forward to tonight. This team has a lot to prove. I expect some degree of desperation in their play.

[Marc. A]

Hey Doug,

I have one issue with the Toronto Raptors and it's not rebounding or toughness. I feel like every championship team is propelled by a tough and consistent point guard. My problem with Jose is that he is obviously slower and weaker than most p-guards in the league. It frustrates me how easily he is broken down. With our big three (bosh, bargnani and Hedo) we should have no problem winning games except that we don't have a point guard creating opportunities for them, instead they are constantly creating there own shots. Doug, can you weigh in on this and do you agree that the Raptors potential is infinitely limited by the weakenss at our 1 spot?

Love the blog and the Grunt.
Marc A

[Anthony R]

Hey Doug,

I had no idea how the All Star Ballots were created. Neither did I know you were the President of the PBWA. Not to mention the company you share with the respected panel. Its nice to know we have you in our backyard. The Star must consider themselves lucky. If not, you better remind them in your next blog.

[Kevin A.]

"He knows it, too. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard him say he has to be better, he has to be more aggressive, he has to be more consistent. "

Jack Armstrong had this gem of a quote regarding the Raps rebounding woes on the radio yesterday:

"Everyone wants to go to heaven, but no one wants to die to get there".

Pretty much says it all.

[kazbid]

hey doug..i think we have the best backup pg in the league with calderon but he doesn't play the style the coaching staff wants. He threatens to push the ball but hardly ever does it, and his defense has not gotten better.

I understand help needs to come and its early in the season and the box score makes calderon look good but I really prefer the style that belineli and jack bring when they are running the team.

i'm scared what d.rose is going to do to Calderon tonight.

Don't get me wrong..i'm not saying to bench him, trade him or anything. I just think either he needs to pick up the pace, play better D or we need to run more 2 PG rotations with belineli and jack playing with calderon.

p.s. i love we got marco, been saying for the last 2 seasons we should be trying to get him. GS knew he was good but they're too guard heavy.

[MC B-Rad]

Hey Doug, I just reread the contest rules for the first time. Can you explain what "Entries must be submitted from a valid e-mail account that may be identified by reverse domain name search" means? I just want to confirm an email like hotmail is acceptable.

Thanks,

Blogger's note: I'll have to check on that, I don't know

[Andre]

Entered the contest! That should be fun if i win.

Sorry, i know i asked yesterday, but my computer was acting up so im not sure if it got through. Whats the time line for Evans return? Thanks Doug

Blogger's note: There is none

[CC]

Hey doug, in your opinion is Calderon's D much worst this season compared to 2 seasons ago where every Raptor fan was considering him to be an Allstar? I don't think so, so why all the complains???

[DougG]

Not ready to give up on this team, or the GM, yet, but I am very disappointed, given the off season expectations. This team just doesn't have the will to win that the good teams have. The most frustrating part is their lack of consistency. I don't think anyone expects them to win every game, but they should at least be in them.

[Ali]

Hey Doug are you aware that the Raptors right now are simultaneously the best offensive team of all time and worst defensive team of all time. It's by Points Per 100 Possessions (which balances out for teams who play faster but not as efficiently eg GS). So they're worse than the 90's Nuggets defensively but better than the Showtime Lakers offensively.

[Kelsie]

While I would agree Bosh could be better on the boards (every plyer can improve in every area) at times, it would be of considerable help if the starting center and some of the wing players helped lift the load.

Good rebounding teams have multiple players that crash the boards and I can't count how mnay times I've seen Chris battling three guys on the blocks for rebounds with no teammate in sight. Where is Andrea? The only dude I see consistently hitting the boards with Chris is Amir.

[Chris]

Doug, the contest sounds great and I would love to enter, but the rules do not permit it.

What is with the 75 mile radius of the City of Toronto? Don't us fan (of the Raptors and your blog) that live in parts like Kingston deserve a crack at this prize?

And... Miles??? I though we live in Canada, no?

Blogger's note: It's a requirement of MLSEL, as per NBA rules. No idea why and it seems silly to me.

[Nick]

Amazing how things go eh? I recall two years ago people were hailing Jose as the best thing since sliced bread and that TJ Ford was the reason why the Raptor's weren't winning. What is it with you ridiculous fans? Whenever someone performs poorly you throw them under the bus. Give your head a shake already and give the guy some credit. He's getting better with each game. At least he knows how to take care of the basketball. He has committed 12 TO's and is averaging 1.7 a game. Gee not bad eh? It's easy to point the finger when you aren't on the court. How many of you even made it past high school basketball? I'm willing to bet it's a pretty low percentage. You people that scrutinize aren't real basketball fans. All you do is bicker when something isn't going the right way. Would you rather a ball stopper like Gilbert Arenas on the team? How would you like 20 chucked up shots a game and all those lovely turn overs? GIl has 38 TO's this year. Thats a far cry from Jose's 12. Yeah, doesn't sound too appealing now does it? Sorry Doug, this had to be said. I'm sick of all these half witted fans that know NOTHING about basketball.

[TMF]

The Brad Miller shot at the buzzer wasn't the only instance in that game where those Bulls commentators can be accused of blatant homerism. Earlier in the game, Derrick Rose swatted a Billups shot that blatantly hit the backboard first and should have been called goaltending. We saw about seven replays from four different angles, and in each one, it was extremely clear that the ball hit the backboard first. Yet after every replay, the announcers kept saying things like "that's just a clean block!" and "I don't know what Billups is complaining about!"

Sometimes I have to wonder what game these guys are watching.

[Matt M]

I'm sure that picking the names on the ballot is a difficult chore. Too bad you had to pick twelve centers though, as there are hardly twelve centers worthy of being on the ballot. I'd prefer breaking it up by 24 bigs, 24 swings, and 12 point guards. I'm sure it would be easier to think of twelve point guards worthy of the ballot. Maybe it doesn't really matter in the end as I never have been all that interested in the allstar game anyways.
As for the Miller shot I thought the over head showed that the ball was still touching the finger tips when time ran out. I do agree it was probably too close to overturn though. Oh well, I'm sure Denver is happy with the outcome.

[kazbid]

Hey Nick, you obviously don't watch the games because like I said, don't look at calderon's box score..look at how the team plays with him handling the ball versus anyone else (hedo, marco, jarret)

he's a great backup..he'll dominate second line guards..he's a solid half court PG
but defensively he is a liability (always has been..even moreso 2 years ago)
and offensively his handles are terrible (he's gotten better over the last 2 years..but he "crab dribbles" more than any other PG in the league)
and that alley oop he threw a couple games ago was the first on target alley oop i've seen from him in years..
he's not a good transition PG. never has been and probably never will

in my defense i've always thought calderon was over-rated. u need someone more dynamic to run the point. basically someone who doesnt have to run a set play every single time so maybe the other team's defense may think we're doing something besides a pick and roll for a change.

[Mike H]

I thought I would ask when Evans is coming back.. I see it hasn't been asked in the last 5 minutes..

[graham]

Raptors went and got Reggie Evans for a reason: rebounding and toughness -- his injury is really a great way to clarify his role and importance to the team. Meanwhile, it is up to players like Amir to step up: he has not done this on the defensive glass which is a major disappointment. He offensive play and forcing defence has been good, but not his rebounding. Sonny Weems is not the answer for what ails this team but he did send a message to both DeRosen and Wright the other night about what was needed in the hustle and attack the basket category from the 2 spot. Way too early to panic. Coaches can tell players what they need to do: sometimes a team has to see it to believe it.

[Kelsie]

'I'm sick of all these half witted fans that know NOTHING about basketball.'

In response to Nick.

I was actually and have always been a critic of Jose's defence and was actually one of the fans that liked TJ and what he brought to the team (although keeping Jose was a better decision for the team in hindsight). While I must admit that Calderon is a heady pg and understands shot distribution amongst his teammates, his defence has always been an issue and the fans that were loving Calderon now are realizing that to win consistently there must be some resistance at the 1 defensively. This game is more than assist-to-turnover ratios.

Opponent pg's getting into the lanes destroys any schemes or defensive consistentcy that the team is trying to build. The problem I have with Calderon is I think he can be a better defender but doesn't like to fight through screens and closes out on shooters with hand claps. Jose is not alone in his defensive liabilities and he rest of the squad is not performing well so far this season (Jack included).

I wouldn't prefer Arenas as I don't think Arenas is a real 1 to begin with but I would prefer better defence at the 1 and if you can't admit that this would help the Raps schemes and rotations and especially in the win column, you are the one that knows NOTHING about basketball.

Scrutiny is a fans responsiblilty, lol

[Kelsie]

By the way Doug,

When a situation arises when you are choosing between a Noah and Miller for the all star ballot are you solely relying upon last years stats or is there some speculation in the decision as well?(like who you think might play more minutes).

Blogger's note: No, not solely on stats, it's a combination of a lot of things; stats, projected role, history, etc.