Well, well, wasn't that something?

Hey, at least they made history!

Biggest margin of victory ever for the Bobcats.

Pretty cool, eh?

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

That’s what he means

A week or so ago, maybe a bit longer, the memory fades, Jay was talking about his team and it’s seeming inability to fight through tough times every now and then and he said:

“We’re a fair-weather team.”

Pretty good assessment right there after that dog’s breakfast Wednesday night.

What he meant, and what we’ve seen, is that if the team’s offence is working at a high level so is its defence, an inverse reaction to what normal teams do.

And as soon as they got stagnant last night and the turnovers piled up and the Bobcats had them forcing quick jumpers, the game was effectively over.

I don’t think it’s a fatal flaw over the season but it’s something that has to be corrected. And it gets corrected by the players realizing it and digging down deeper when they aren’t operating at full efficiency on offence.

I’ll say again, this team doesn’t need to be a great defence team, just a passable one, but passable has to be consistent, even when they’re not making shots.

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Stats misleading?

Yeah, I know, hard to believe isn’t it?

But if some Martian had landed this morning and the first thing it looked at was the Raptors boxscore (and why wouldn’t that be the first thing it looked at?) it’d notice a 74-44 edge in points in the paint for Charlotte and think, ‘man, those big guys really stink, don’t they? We’ve got better interior defence on The Red Planet?, which is not to be confused with the Planet Purple Orange (hi, Kat! Thanks), which is what Phoenix uses as a slogan.

Anyway, my point is that number has everything to do with scary bad transition defence, not a lack of muscle around the basket.

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Really, there’s not much else

Not sure what more there is to say.

They were bad at both ends, they were all bad (I’ll give Amir and Andrea average marks because they did pretty much what they usually do, the rest of ‘em were horrible) and there were no redeeming qualities whatsoever to that game.

So what to take away from it?

Not much. It doesn’t take Red Auerbach to realize that 18 turnovers leading to 29 points and no defence in transition will kill you. So will shooting 34.5 per cent.

But it’s one game, the worst one but only one, and I don’t think there’s reason quite yet for anyone to give up on the season.

Luckily, that’s months away.

If they play four or five games in a row like that, then we’ll talk.

For now? They stunk, it’s over, there’s another one tomorrow, one Sunday and three in four nights next week.

That gets ‘em a quarter of the way through the season when they come back from Chicago and then we’ll see where they are.

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And, now, the rest of the stories:

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Allen Iverson’s retired?

So he says but I’m going to believe it when I see it because just reading the quotes, I’m sure that if some injury-ravaged team calls in February or March, he’s back in a second.

But if no team calls, how’s Iverson to be remembered?

He’s a Hall of Famer, in my opinion, a guy who played every game hard, sometimes looking for his own to the detriment of his team but still a guy who seldom took a game off.

As little guys go, he’d be right there with Isiah Thomas and Tiny Archibald as the best who ever played the game.

But, still …

I agree he’s probably got a couple of years left but the simple fact he won’t accept what he is – a possibly outstanding guy coming off a good team’s bench – somehow diminishes his departure.

And may be that’s his legacy, given his anti-practice rants and style of play:

Maybe he’s a guy who was great but a guy who could maybe have been even greater. A guy who gave everything but could have given more.

I loved watching him play, I wish I could have seen him ease to the end rather than have the end come so abruptly.

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Before they get to the turkey and the football and the family, the folks in Charlotte read this one about that one.

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A wee digression:

Juan, over in the comments section yesterday, professed surprise at seeing Dave at the airport for a stupid early flight to Charlotte and wondered if there was a later flight that wouldn’t have been more convenient.

So, as a way of responding, here’s a Five Grunt Travel Musts

Go early

If you’re flying somewhere on the day of a game always take the first flight because if something screws up, you can scramble. If you take the last flight and something goes wrong, you’re screwed.

Pick the right time

Never, ever leave Pearson early Monday morning, the lineups are nuts; if you have to travel Monday, go mid-afternoon.

Know your connections

Avoid Chicago like the plague, if you can. I’ve got a trip to Milwaukee in a couple of weeks, Air Canada wanted crazy money to fly direct and instead of going through O’Hare, I’m going through Cleveland on Continental.

Stay on-sight

Only rent cars from agencies that are at the airport if it’s at all possible. Taking shuttles just adds to the time needed to travel.

Don’t let ‘em handle

If there is any way to only have carry-on luggage, do it. Saves money and saves that nasty need to fill out forms for lost bags and wait around hotels wearing traveling clothes.

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We could use some mail over here. And please, no “Why do they stink so bad?” questions or rants about the Charlotte game, okay? Thanks.

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How’d you all do on your mock MLS Expansion Drafts?

Can you believe no TFCer got taken? Not sure what that says but I have uber-confidence in Preki now that he hasn’t lost a player.

Really, Preki? We need to get a one-name hoops coach. Like Smitch.

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Speaking of the Charlottes, it’s impossible to really get a read on them after that game last night, isn’t it? I’d like to see them play a team that puts up a least token resistance before trying to assess where they are.

I will say this, they could use some better point guard play.

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Oh yeah, Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends. Not sure why you wait so long for the holiday, but have fun.

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Comments

[Tiger]

Nevermind that the lowly bobcats set some kind of irrelevant record.
That was some air show, the likes I can't ever remember seeing before, or at least since the days of Phi Slama Jama. White jerseys were flying at the bucket from every angle imaginable.
It would have been exciting, if the white jerseys were who you were rooting for. As it was, it was entertaining, if in a bizarro-masochist-train-wreck kind of way.
So.... **it happens, movin' on, here.

[Chuck Howitt]

After watching the debacle in Charlotte, I know offence is not at the top of everyone's minds. But a couple of observations from a previous game. Bosh almost never passes when he gets the ball. He needs to work on his passing game if he is going to become a more complete player. Opposing teams know he is going to shoot and adjust their defences accordingly. Secondly, Bargnani needs to develop a mid-range game, something in between the three-ball and his awkward drive to the basket. A pull-up jumper would help him big-time. One point about defence, does anybody on this team take a charge?

[Alan C]

Doug, at least at one point Thanksgiving was a harvest festival, a time for mostly agrarian nations to relax and celebrate when the harvest was in. Up here, that's early October. Down there, it's late November. It made sense then. Plus, back when people thought a month of Christmas was enough, it made a good starting point for the season.

[chris]

Doug - how is Felton a better defender than Calderon?

Blogger's note: I refused to do player-by-player the last time you asked today; not going to now. Please don't try a third time, I'm not interested.

[Mike]

Too Funny, I have the exact some rules for travelling.

[CC]

Bosh is no better defensively compared to the rest of his teamates. He has to improve his defence too. It does not matter if you have Parker, Moon, Kapono or Turk, Amir, DD, or Marco this team is defensively flawed just like the previous years because of its so called "leader" needs improvement too.. (not statistically)

[Victor]

Too depressed to post a Raps-related comment, so I'll just say that after reading the Top 5 Tips for Beat Grunts, Doug, you HAVE to watch the upcoming movie Up In The Air. I saw it at TIFF this year and there is a sequence relating to tips on air travel that is right in your wheelhouse. They must have based the movie on your grunt travel experiences, seeing as they got your lookaliek (George Clooney) to star in the flick.

[david998]

Perhaps it's time to talk about options.
Can they make a trade....even though I'm a bargnani and calderon fan it's clear that with hedo as well this team will never compete defensively well enough to be a premier team.
So what would be the market for their starters,,,,and I'm assuming they wouldn't consider trading hedo?

[GM]

The problem with losses like that against average or poor teams is it really puts pressure on you. They were probably looking ahead to Boston. Well, now instead of going into that game with two wins under their belt, they've got a loss. Odds aren't great they'll beat Boston, so that's two. And they really start digging themselves a hole. But they'll come out and really be on their game against the Celts... and lose a heartbreaker.

The Pacers won last night and they were on the second night of a back-to-back, granted at home.

[Paul Adams]

Do you find the Raptors are more appreciative of you after Feschuck joins them for a road trip and you stay behind?

Great work as always...

Paul

[The J]

You know, every time I read someone suggesting we should sign AI as our shooting-guard I usually just shake my head. But sometimes I can't help to think, wouldn't it be nice to have a player who can score at will, plays pretty solid D (at least steals), and most importantly NEVER takes a game off, and ALWAYS plays with heart?
Heck, if everything he has gone through has humbled him at all, he might even be willing to talk about practice.

[Steve]

Hope this rollercoaster season of great wins and huge losses stops soon cause I'm getting a little nauseous. We all knew November was going to be tough with two West Coast trips, tough teams and 9 new guys getting to know each other. I think we learned from 2007 that we probably wont know how good or bad this team is until the end of January but with the schedule in December being easier, I think we'll have a better idea by the end of this year. Until then, please pass the gravol.

[mando]

If Iverson really does retire, does Reggie Evans become The Answer? :-)

[Eric Michaels]

I think that people dont understand that this team has 9 new players and you can not expect them to be considered a good team. I mean its going to take years to build this team, they basically started all over this summer. Not everything is going to fit (Cough, cough 2010 team) and its up to Colangelo to make them fit eventually. Its basically an experiment right now. This team has a lot of young players (Amir, Beli, Bargs, Weems) and they are still unexperienced and just learning the game. The point the Raptors are going to need years to build a sucesfull team, you dont get good over night (unless your the Celtics).

[ttfox]

Chuck Howitt nailed it. Bosh doesn't pass the ball. As soon as he gets the ball, he positions himself to shoot, no matter how tight the shot is or how many people are guarding him. It's like he's got a blanket authority to shoot. I don't know if this is the play designed by the coaches or he's doing it to pad his stats since it's his contract year.
Maybe the coaches should emphasize the value of assists rather than points. He could play decoy on the low post, wait for a double team and pass the ball to the cutter.
Let's see. When the shots don't fall in, there has to be an alternative to just forcing shots. If you go 5 for 18, you need to find a way for the team to score.

[Steph]

I remember reading all the chicago newspapers say trade that bum Jordan when the expantion team in Toronto beat them.

[mando]

If Iverson acyually does retire, does reggie Evans become The Answer? :-)

[doug]

I really enjoy this blog as I read it daily...but it is fairly predictable after a loss the same people rant about the same things....after a win, people still rant not as profusely but they do....I remember one commnet from this blog awhile ago it stuck with me..a blogger mentioned how the Raps played a xmas day game one year, they lost and it ruined his day....people need to put it in perspective, its a game yes i want the raptors to win, yes i sometimes get frustrated an vent as well....but really in the big picture if they win or how they do has minimal to zero effect on my everyday life....I am a passionate fan, but its a game....I remember the scene from Fever Pitch the romantic baseball movie starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew barrymore...Fallon's character was this dead-hard Red Sox baseball fan, infatuated with them....well they lost a game and his friends and himself were sitting in a restaurant /bar commiserating, about a loss......they look over and there is Varitek, Damon(he was a red sox player then) and someone else that alludes me..the players were laughing and joking and seemed not concerned about the loss...a classic scene as fans blow things out of proportion whereas players, coaches, organizations look at the big picture and keep it in perspective for the most part...the season is not a sprint ....my opinion on this team won't be solidified until january was earlier but need to seee Evans in action...he is not a messiah but he is a part of the puzzle...but all this angst is entertaining..

[Michael Z]

Terrible game. I believe this was the first time I turned the tv off before the end of the game. Our Raps have talent coming out of their ears. And yes, they are a "fair weather team" right now but I think there is still more hope this year than previous couple. They just need to have a "Killer instinct" along with some "Nasty". Funny that when I was watching the Orlando game and Raps were making their run late in the game the turning point was when Magic missed their second free throw and Reggie Lewis got the rebound from the opposite side... I knew the game was lost. Same last night. Up by four, getting going really good, Bargnani gets the ball at low post in a miss-match and tries to score straight up instead of using the glass...!!! I knew then the game was changing. And really, what happened about knocking couple people on their back side when they are promenading through the key.? Please, no more excuses about back-to-backs. Unless of course we want to remain a mediocre team who just presents a chance for any team to come out of their slumps. We're not playing New Jersey next are we (grin)??

[Ellie]

I caught the end of the first quarter and the second. Fair weather indeed. Hope they don't do one of these on Sunday at the Phoenix game. It's the only one I'm going to this year since I want to be sure to see Nash play before he retires and haven't yet had the pleasure.

[John]

I know its early in the season.....and there are plenty of games left to pick this up but...
It is no fun playing for no-heart teams. It is agony, and even worse if it is in the public spotlight. The raps have so far this season not been able to overcome their problem with the "effort" parts of the game, and this has been the case for some time now. The reality is they are soft, and that is their rep.
To me Reggie Evans is about the only thing i can see turning this around. Other, that is, than a coaching change because i cannot believe this problem is unrelated to the values of the Head Coach.
If it doesn't get fixed, Bosh will walk. He must be so sick of this, and he cannot do it without consistent help.

[chris]

Doug - i was referring to your in-game blog from yesterday (it wasn't a random player to player comparison).