Some stuff to finish off the year

That was kind of a fun game, wasn’t it?

No, they didn’t beat the ’83-’84 Celtics or ’95-‘96 Bulls or anything but it was a good, tough win forged with some energy and effort.

All in all, a good end to the year.

So’s this:

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

This ought to keep some people a bit quiet

If they’re going to go down, they want to go down with a fight.

As part of some new defensive tenets, little tweaks that seem to be working all right, the Raptors want to get up into ball-handlers in the halfcourt, apply a little pressure and see what happens.

As Jay explained, it’s not always going to be pretty in general and specifically against the Bobcats:

“Last time we played these guys, we showed the tape and we were five feet off guys and let them do whatever they wanted to do. Even though we knew we were going to get blown by tonight a couple of times – and we did – we thought more pressure on the ball would create turnovers, would create deflections and that’s how we’ve been playing for the last 13 games.

“We just decided to not be positional players; if we’re going to get beat, let’s get beat aggressively.”

Nice.

That means the next time we get incessant complaints about guards getting killed by penetration (like the second Jose comes back), we can put it all on the coach and suggest it’s just all part of the strategy.

Thanks, Jay.

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Something to build on?

It was one game against a vertically-challenged opponent but it had to be at least a little heartening to see Andrea Bargnani work a bit more in the post last night than he has, isn’t it?

It’s not like he’s become Wilt or anything but they ran a set where he flashed from the baseline to the middle of the lane, sealed his man by making himself “big” (large target, arms spread, legs apart, looking for the ball) and either went to the rim or took a little turnaround eight-footer.

No idea if he’ll keep it up but it did show that he’s got some moves down there.

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An early sign

Okay, it was one basket early in a game that was close but there was one play about eight minutes into the game that kind of signaled what kind of night it was going to be.

Ball’s going out of bounds right in front of the Charlotte bench when Bosh dives on the floor after it to make the save and keep it alive.

He knocks it to Jarrett Jack who takes off on the break and hits Sonny Weems for about a 15-footer.

Weems misses but DeRozan’s at the rim for a put-back slam, the joint’s going crazy and everyone’s up off the bench.

It makes the score 18-13 and it’s hardly the turning point but it showed early that the locals had some oomph and energy to their game.

And was a very nice play to watch unfold.

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Oh, yeah, there’s this, too

REGGIE NEWS

REGGIE NEWS

REGGIE NEWS

I know very few of you are wondering but we chatted with Reggie Evans before the game and got this update, which I will mention once now and probably about 1,000 times over the next four or five days.

He’s better.

He had an MRI on Monday, it came back clean and he’s hoping to start some serious on-court work soon.

Given his level of conditioning and the fact he hasn’t played a minute of basketball for two months, he’s probably a month away from putting on a uniform and contributing.

As for his work during this hiatus, he told us he can work on the elliptical trainer now to keep his cardio up, he’s getting in some light, shooting, can dunk, make cuts on his sore foot without any discomfort and is generally in pretty good shape.

He also said he’s been getting some cardio work in at the University of Toronto pool and made it sound like it’s pretty comical to see.

“All the students are laughing at me because I can’t swim. They’ve got all kinds of safety people around.”

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I’m sitting there watching the fellas dance and hug and go through these elaborate rituals right before the game starts and all I can reall think of is this: If they paid as much attention to where they’re supposed to be on halfcourt sets and defensive possessions, maybe they’d really have a reason to hug and love each other.

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Dang. Forgot to mention this yesterday but thought you’d still like to know.

When we’re finally let into practice, one of the first thing we do (after counting the players to make sure they’re all there) is check out what hangers-on are in the gym.

It’s usually a small number – there seems to be fewer family and friends sitting around this year – but there were an extraordinary number of strangers the other day.

Pops had his high school coach and a billion members of his staff in there and there was one guy who looked remotely familiar sitting on a stool watching.

Then I see him talking to Micah and while they’re not actually squishing bugs or trying to hit one back up the middle, it comes to me:

Joey Votto.

Big league hitter, local product and, I’m thinking, maybe one degree of separation for the de facto hitting coach of The Mighty Yankees.

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My guy Rick sums up last night’s affair like this in the cyber pages of the Charlotte Observer.

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Oh yeah. More mail. Send it here, please.

It’ll give me something to do Saturday afternoon in Boston instead of going to Fenway and screaming about the desecration of such an historic site.

Or it’ll keep me out of a bar.

Or not.

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Fun Stat That Means Nothing Except I Have Too Much Time On My Hands And Was Looking Crap Up:

Remember when Chris Bosh was leading the NBA in three-point shooting and how odd that was?

Well, he hasn’t taken, or made, one in a month.

Guess that fad’s gone, right?

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New Year’s Eve, right?

(Or, as some of us know it, Amateur Hour)

Everyone got big plans?

Do me a favour, okay? Right now, make arrangements to get home with someone who isn’t imbibing.

Please.

Thanks.

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I don’t want to say it’s regression to the mean but as I’m watching the Raptor point guards struggle at times with the ball pressure applied by the Bobcats and how it’s taking about 14 or 15 seconds for Toronto to get into its halfcourt offence at times, I couldn’t help but think:

Couldn’t they use their best ball-handling guard right about now?

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You know that marathon took 2:35 to play, don’t you?

About 20 minutes longer than any basketball game should take, in part because of fouls and free throws, in part because of the incessant video reviews and I’ve got to say, as a deadline-stressed grunt, I’m not at all pleased.

Like you care.

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Anyway, big day of practice, working on a feature, radio gig at the dinner hour and then a wee celebration before an early flight to Boston.

Have a great New Year's, folks.

See you in 2010.

The Goods On The Game, Bobcats at Raptors

Hi

Wasn't there something about revenge being a dish best served cold or something?

As they say, we shall see

GruntTV is back on the air

Time for the regular chat

A rare game-day, it seems, but here we are. We'll get started at 1 p.m.

Of schedules and improvement and coaches as friends

Hey, there’s a game tonight.

Odd feeling, isn’t it?

They really need to get back the game-every-other-night schedule that allows some of us to get into a routine.

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The one thing I got from talking to a few people around practice yesterday about this whole Revenge On The Bobcats thing they’ve got going is this:

It’s got to be more about the Raptors proving something to themselves more than showing those Dastardly Charlottes what’s up.

Jarrett Jack, by far the most outspoken guy (and since he’s something of a go-to guy for quote-starved grunts we’re quite glad of that) even alluded to it when he said even if they play well and lose a close one, he’d be, not happy or satisfied, but not crushed.

It’s about playing with the same passion and aggression they’ve shown more often than not over the last 10 games; it’s about effort and rebounding and sharing the ball on offence.

It’s not like the Bobcats, 12-17 and a scary 1-13 on the road, are some great measuring stick for a team’s progress. They’re okay at best and can scuffle along like the worst of them.

This is about personal growth for the Raptors as a team, regardless of opposition or past indiscretions. Yes, being edged by 35 that dark night in Charlotte sucked and might have been the low point of the season as a matter of fact given all the circumstances but if Toronto plays well tonight and loses by five or on a last-second shot or because they got 1-for-21 from three-point range, if they play hard and compete, it’s a good step.

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Apparently there’s some pucks thing at noon today, which means the whole interweb will come to a crashing halt as people breathlessly await the news.

So because we are Proud Canadians – and because I could use the extra hour to go get new glasses and take care of some other errands – we’ll delay the usual in-game chat until 1 p.m.

See you then, right?

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To borrow a phrase from a great television thespian:

Holy Crap!

Do you people know that tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve? And I read somewhere that it’s the end of the decade, too, or something like that?

I better get cracking on some end-of-year, end-of-the-decade lists, don’t you think?

Luckily, there’s no game tomorrow so Friday morning’s a perfect time to sum stuff up, isn’t it?

And it’ll give you something extra to do while you’re watching the New Year’s Day parades and I’m standing in a three-hour security line at Pearson getting ready to fly to Boston.

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Speaking of summing up, here’s what Rick was up to down in Charlotte yesterday.

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You’re going to be reading and hearing an awful lot of about Chris Bosh over the next little while as he surpasses No. 15 to become Toronto’s all-time leading scorer.

Even with my crappy math skills, I see tell he’s 72 points shy of the number and I guess he gets to it Wednesday in Orlando. Unless, you know, he goes off for 35 in Boston on Saturday and we all know there’s not much chance of that.

Anyway, it’s a rather significant achievement, in my mind, even if the franchise is so relatively young.

And that seems to be the opinion he holds as well.

“Really, there are only 30 franchise leading scorers in the history of the NBA, just to be in that company is very cool. I’m pretty proud of it.”

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I remember the day pretty vividly last March when Charlotte came in to Toronto and drubbed the Raptors by about a dozen in a game that wasn’t that close.

It was the ninth loss in 10 games for Toronto, they were a blistering 24-45 on the season and no matter what anyone wanted or thought, it was going to be awfully hard for Bryan to keep Jay around.

I recall a day later talking to some people in the organization who were mightily impressed that Larry Brown, one of the icons of his industry, had made sure to stop by the Raptors locker room to offer support to a colleague in tough times.

Jay brought it up yesterday.

“They beat us here and he came into the locker room and talked to me and just said, ‘you’re doing the right things, keep it up.’”

The relationship between the two goes back more than a decade, actually.

(Did I mention that the year ends in like two days or something? Who knew?).

In 1999, when Canada shocked Puerto Rico in San Juan to earn a berth in the 2000 Sydney Games, Brown and Triano coached against each other and have remained friends ever since.

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Oh yeah, because it’s another holiday week, let’s put out an earlier-than-usual call to fill up the mail bag. Send all your goodies here and it’ll give me something to do New Year’s Day in Boston.

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As it gets crazier and crazier in Chicago, it seems (and reading this story from My Man K.C. makes it seen quite zany around the Bulls), I want to bring up one point.

And it is only for interest sake that I raise it because I know nothing and I’ve talked to no one but I bet it tweaks just a few of you. And that’s what I do, right?

Well, you know who Vinny Del Negro’s lead assistant is, right?

Bernie Bickerstaff.

Well, you know who Bernie Bickerstaff once hand-picked to groom as young coach, right?

Sam Mitchell.

Just sayin’ is all.

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I measure this out at about the usual length and want to point out that not once have I mentioned how utterly ridiculous I think it is that anyone would remotely think obtaining Tracy McGrady makes any sense whatsoever.

Yes, packaging up the four or five players you’d have to combine to get to McGrady’s salary, therefore gutting the team to get an old guy who’d play the same positions as a guy you gave a five-year contract to and a rookie you want to develop and then maybe – and in the arcane world of salary caps and free agent holds and the future of Chris Bosh it’s a maybe at best – having money to spend next summer is a great idea.

And by “great idea” I mean stupid idea.

Glad I didn’t have to mention that.

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Chemistry lessons without test tubes

I know. A bit late. Blame the Mighty Yankees Coaching Staff Off-Season Planning Session.

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It was kind of interesting to chat with Chris Bosh yesterday about the whole concept of “team chemistry” and how a group of very disparate personalities gets together.

Quite aside from shooting down the perception there was some Euro-North American rift (the “The Atlantic didn’t have anything to do with it” line was pretty good) he raised this point:

“If you don’t like the guy, you’re not going to pay attention to the message, you’re going to pay attention to how it’s delivered. It takes time for that.”

And I think that’s precisely what we’re seeing with this team.

It wasn’t that they didn’t like each other or that there were separate factions, it was that they hadn’t quite figured out what buttons to push or how to interact with one another.

It happens everywhere, I think.

Look at your work or school or whatever.

Put together 15 or 20 people from all walks of life, tell them to spend hours and hours together at the job, knowing that if one of them screws up slightly, the whole organization breaks down.

It’s not going to be a seamless process, is it? The whole dynamic of “team,” whether it’s in an office or a locker room, takes some time to unfold.

It took more time than many had hoped for or expected for this basketball team to figure it out but it seems like they finally have.

It doesn’t mean everything will be all sweetness and light from now until the end of the season, there are sure to be blips and losing streaks and other issues to deal with.

But it does seem like they’ve figured out who each other is and that’s a good step. After all, as Bosh pointed out:

“I think it’s very important to like guys. We spend a lot of time together, more time than we spend with our families.”

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Oh, can I just say I find it insulting or something that there’s a hockey rink at Fenway?

Seriously. Do it at Wrigley or Dodger Stadium or some other ball park.

The Fens?

Bad. Very bad.

I may have to stop by there on Saturday afternoon to lodge a personal protest.

Or just go to a restaurant and sit around.

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I don’t know much about 12 Step programs but one of them is admitting you’ve got a problem, right?

Well, Marco Belinelli seems on the way to recovery. Or at least he’s giving it a shot.

He was the last guy on the floor doing serious shooting drills after practice on Monday, working with Dave Hopla on catching and shooting.

And it was working on the same old stuff we’d seen for months.

“Maybe sometimes my balance is bad. Especially when I go off the screen or double (screen) action or something like that. I shoot too fast, I can take maybe more time to get my balance. It’s my shot and I have to be patient.”

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So Charlotte kills Milwaukee last night and here’s how Rick wrote it up.

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It’s been 45 minutes or so that I’ve been sitting at this machine and in that time no one’s suggest a Jose trade or that the Raptors go get the disgruntled, surgically-repaired Tracy McGrady.

Wait!!!!

Jose for Tracy in some package deal!!!

There you go. Kills two birds with one stone.

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You know last week, when it was pointed out it’d take 73 days for the Heroes Of The Hardcourt to play their next 30 games after playing their first in 53?

Remember when I said it sounded great and relaxing but that there’d be days when I’d welcome off-day story ideas?

Well, that point has arrived and we’re like a week into that stretch.

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As I’m sitting on a stool next to Marco after practice yesterday – and after he’d had that little shooting session under the auspices of Dave Hopla and Eric Hughes – the conversation got around to Sunday’s game.

And it was pointed out to him that it was the first time in his NBA career that he’d fouled out of a game.

True player that he is, he had an explanation.

“Really? I make six fouls but, really, I made three.”

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This is odd and I should remember it when I read the stories in April about the soaring cost of a season of snow removal and how my taxes may have to go up to pay for it.

A huge snow plow just came around the crescent for no other reason than the guy wanted to go for a drive, I think. The one-zillionth of a centimetre we got over night hardly calls for a plowing.

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A word of caution from Chris Bosh about all this great – and by great I mean passable – defence of the last couple of games:

“To be quite honest, against Detroit, they don’t shoot the ball well from the outside … and we gave up a lot of second chance points to them on both games so we probably got lucky on that one.”

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Some pap, some drivel and some wildly entertaining nuggets.

All right, four in a row. Everyone feeling somewhat better about the Heroes Of The Hardcourt?

I know, it’s not like they beat the Lakers, Magic, Celtics and Cavs but the schedule is what the schedule is and beating bad teams counts as much as beating good ones. And we all know that just because an opponent is allegedly weaker doesn’t mean a thing where these guys are concerned.

Anyway ….

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

One big play

The dagger came with just about a minute left on the Weems dunk but it was set up by one of the most under-stated plays of a big game from Chris Bosh.

It was simply effort – and I know it should be commonplace but we all know it isn’t – but when he reached around or over a defender to tip a missed shot back out to Andrea Bargnani, it was the kind of little play that decides close games.

It set into action a chain of events where Bargnani didn’t force anything and held the ball to make the right pass, Turkoglu did what he was supposed to do and drive the ball rather than shoot it and they got a huge basket out of it.

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Here’s why

There were all kinds of questions, and all kinds of angst, about why there was such a limited role for Sonny Weems early yesterday.

I had people wondering if he was sick, if Jay had lost his marbles, if he was hurt.

So, intrepid scribe that I am, I went to a pretty good source the first chance I got to find out why.

And I was told by someone who’d know that the coaching staff was upset that Weems was “hugging” his man on the weak side while defending, putting him out of position to box out on the defensive boards, allowing the Pistons free passage to the glass.

And it goes to prove a point oft-made that when teams are hammering the Raptors on the offensive glass, it’s not always the bigs who are missing assignments.

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Back to Bosh

Yes, he had a monster first half, 19 points and nine rebounds and it looked like a huge game was coming.

No, he didn’t score much in the second half but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

It was because the Pistons showed something defensively that few teams have tried this season.

On a handful of possessions, they had a small guy – Tayshaun Prince a lot of the times I was watching away from the ball closely –- wrestling with Bosh on the block while a big was behind him or cheating over on him not more than a yard or two away.

Made it all but impossible to quickly and efficiently enter the ball to him and that’s why he didn’t get many shots or touches in that stretch.

It’s also part of the reason the offence got so stagnant at times but, again, offence is not going to be an issue with this team and they eventually figured it out.

The swung the ball side-to-side and got good looks and even with their main offensive weapon somewhat neutralized, they got enough scoring.

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And now, more.

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Yes, it took 2:49 to play that marathon yesterday, TWO HOURS AND FORTY-NINE FREAKING MINUTES.

Longest non-overtime game they’ve ever played, beating by four minutes the very first regular season game in franchise history way back in 1995.

(Talk about your long-standing records? They don’t get any more long-standing that that, do they).

Anyway, as I’m sitting there two seats down from Paul Jones, I’m thinking, you know, there probably aren’t too many people who worked both of those games.

Lucky us.

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This is a little bit old but it’s also the first time we’ve been here in a few days so tardiness is allowed.

Stan Van Gundy was saying the other day in this story that the NBA should do entirely away with Christmas Day games, a radical proposal indeed and one with which I agree one kabillion per cent.

I didn’t watch a lot of games on Friday for two simple facts:

I’d rather hang with my family eating and drinking and having fun, and, just as important I guess, the games generally suck.

I understand completely that the TV networks call the scheduling show for almost the entire season and they like the live programming they can offer. Nothing is likely to change simply because Stan and I – and lots of others, I imagine – wish it to change.

If the NBA Cares, as it says it does, wouldn’t it be good to send a message to its players, coaches, fans and employees that there should be some time to spend with ones family around the holidays?

I do recall the one and only time the Raptors played on Christmas Day, back in 2001 against the Knicks.

Lots of anticipation, lots of logistical nightmares for a Grunt with a five-year-old and others connected to the team with young children and lots of bad, bad basketball.

Toronto got drilled, it was one of the most poorly played games of that year and only because a Benevolent Boss went an extra mile to make things easy on me and my family did I not hate it with red-hot intensity.

This idea of Stan’s will run counter to the thoughts of many who like to sit in front of a TV and watch endless holiday games for various reasons.

But if there were no games, don’t you think they could find something else do to?

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I’ve adapted this from a wisecrack I hear in the media room after the game but in the time it’s taken you to read this far, Bennie Adams, bob Delaney and Derek Richardson have called three personal fouls, two cheapies on Andrea Bargnani.

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This is how that game Sunday was chronicled down in Detroit.

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Let me get this straight:

Guy somehow manages to get explosives through security and on to an airplane. Tragedy is averted only by luck, it would seem.

And now the U.S. Transportation Administration and its Canadian counterpart have decided the thing to do is give more power and responsibility to same collective group of hourly-wage employees that let this happen?

Yeah, I’m feeling far more comfortable now about my flight to Boston on Friday.

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This is kind of interesting and not something I knew about until I just glanced at the post-game notes the crack PR staff of the Raptors put together.

I did realize that Toronto will finish December with a winning record regardless of what transpires on Wednesday against Charlotte.

The Raptors are now 8-6 this month and I imagine not many figured that would be happen after the ugliness of November.

But it’s also the first time since 2003 that they’ll be over .500 for December.

That strikes me as a bit surprising for some reason.

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What do you think?

Of the dozen or so readers who wrote into say they would never watch this sorry bunch of heartless losers again about three weeks ago and to call them around the lottery or when Bryan/Jay/Me/Everyone was fired, how many are back?

Just wondering.

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Am I a dope or what?

(You don’t have to answer, it’s rhetorical).

I file the first of many stories to the website about 6 p.m. last night and somehow type Antoine Walker instead of Antoine Wright, getting my slowish bad three-point shooting Antoines mixed up.

An alert reader points it out about 7 p.m. in a private e-mail and we get it fixed on the web then.

So, what had I done?

Well, I’d cut and pasted the same mistake into the second game story I wrote (this one with a fresher angle for those who get their news either in the paper or first thing in the morning) and it stays there until just now, when I was again reminded – not so gently – that I’m an idiot.

It’s a hazard of having many stories, containing some similar elements, about the same game.

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The Goods On The Game, Pistons at Raptors

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Too late for that?

Well, welcome back.

Put the cold drumstick down and read this

Hi everyone. Miss me?

Thought so.

Anyway, now that we’ve got the “I Love You, You Love Me, Kumbaya Moments” over for another Christmas season, can we get back to our usual cynical, snarky ways?

Thanks.

(Seriously, hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday).

Anyway, this mailbag’s good. Not as good as last week’s but I chalk that up to the distractions of the holidays.

We’ll be better next week.

For now …

(Oh yeah, don’t forget: in-game blog at 1 p.m., tell all your friends)

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Q: Hey Doug. Beer question: in your travels around the NBA, which region would you say has the best micro-breweries? I was in Boulder Colorado in October and was very impressed by the local beers. Follow up question: is there an NBAer who comes to mind as a real beer connoisseur?

Geoff R, London

A: Why not start with something quite divorced from basketball.

Colorado’s pretty good but the Pacific Northwest is where I’d start. That’s the shame of losing Seattle in such a bad trade. But, to be honest, you can find one good one almost anywhere.

I’m not sure if there’s an NBA player who knows his way around a craft brewery. Their tastes run a bit more high-falutin’ than that, I think. If I find one, I’ll let you know.

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Q: Doug: There had been some chatter about the possibility of Toronto getting it's own D-League team. Just wondering on what the status is on that, and would there be any chance that the D-League team end up in a city other than Toronto (like Halifax, etc).

Ryan K, Pictou County, NS

A: The economic times killed that idea, at least for the time being, where Maple Leaf Sports is concerned, and I’m not sure what it would take to resurrect it.

I don’t think these guys would own, or own a share of, a franchise outside of southern Ontario but I’m kind of surprised no one’s taken a long hard look at Halifax. With the D League firmly ensconced in Maine and that area, it’s a logical next step. That said, it’s not me investing money.

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Q: Hi, Doug. For a player like Reggie Evans who's been inactive for such a long time, what kind of conditioning program would they have him on to at least minimize his muscle and cardio loss. I suppose running would be out of the question but he can certainly lift. What would he do for cardio?

Edwin Y, Toronto

A: Definitely some weight work, some time in the pool, and maybe some light bike work for cardio. I’m not privy to their entire workout regiment but I do know they keep them pretty busy.

I’m sure there’s some other odd anaerobic or aerobic work that the trainers come up with but it’s not something I’m the least bit familiar with.

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Q: You might be tired of questions about the mechanics of your blog, but after reading a response from last week's mailbag, I thought I'd ask.

When a reader asked about fluctuation in readership due to the team's success, you said the blog was steady, but the in-game feed was up-and-down. As I generally watch the game at home (or through a pint glass at a place with a bunch of giant TVs), I don't read the in-game during the game, but rather afterward, to look for any insights that may differ from my own and those of the on-air personalities.

Do the numbers account for those of us (and I might be the only one) who read the in-game feed after the game? If not, please tell the counters to add 1 to the total.

J H, Toronto

A: Oh, I don’t get tired of them but I worry that the irregulars might. But, to heck with them at the moment.

I’m not sure who actually tracks what at our office, I know where to look to find out number of blog hits and number of participants or readers of the in-game blog. And there is a mechanism where I can see the number of people who “review” the in-game thing, and I do look on occasions. That’s where you’d be counted. But, again, I’m not sure which big shot at our place looks.

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Q: Hey Doug. Looooooooong time reader first time writer. This isn't a question about the 2010 free agency bonanza but it is a question about Bosh and the rumours surrounding it all. From what you know of him, does he take it as a major slight that nobody is talking about building a team around him next year outside of Toronto. Every single scenario I've read anywhere seems to assume he'll be deciding whether he'll be playing Pippen for Dirk, LeBron or Wade. He worked incredibly hard all summer to be considered in the same league as those players but despite the numbers he's putting up this season it would seem he's still considered second tier. Has all of that taken any kind of toll on his ability to stay mentally strong and focused.

Tim P, Toronto

A: Quite the contrary. I think it still drives him. But he also knows that another thing that sets those other guys apart from him is team success so Bosh is doing whatever he can to try and get the Raptors, as a team, into the consciousness of fans.

But taken its toll? I don’t think so at all.

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Q: Hi Doug. I have two questions for you.

First, when you record your Grunt TV, are you reading from a script? It looks like you aren't looking directly into the webcam. As well, do you get it right on the first take?

Second, When Reggie Evans comes back and is fully in the rotation, who do you think is going to be the odd man out?

Steven W, Thornhill

A: No, I don’t use a script, I kind of rehearse a bit beforehand and may have notes jotted down but I find it’s easier to just think I’m having a conversation with you people. Whether that works or not, I don’t know. And looking in the camera, which is a little pinhole at the top of my laptop screen, is something I need to get better at. All I’ll say in my defence is that it’s a work in progress. Takes? Anywhere from one to 10, depending on my level of fumble-mouthedness, if that’s even a word.

On Evans, I’ve said all along there’s not going to be an “odd man out.” There’s plenty of room for him, Amir, Bosh and Bargnani in a four-man bigs rotation and if it means cutting a couple of minutes from all three of them, that might be a good thing, keep them fresher for longer. Rasho is still going to have his limited role when the inevitable foul trouble and injuries pop up but to think Reggie will “take the place” of anyone is wrong.

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Q: Hello again, and here is my question: Do we know yet how many of the Raptors would be playing for their respective national teams this summer at the world championship?

As for your planned trip to Izmir next summer, I would be more than pleased to help in anyway I can. Would you be extending your stay to cover the above mentioned?

Petek C, Istanbul

A: We don’t know for sure about all of them for next summer except for Turkoglu, who is a lock to play for Turkey. Bosh has said he’d play for the U.S. again but he hasn’t signed anything and I know Jose will think about returning to the Spanish team. Other than that, Italy didn’t qualify and Rasho’s time with his national team is over.

At the two world championships I’ve been at – Athens in 1998 and Indianapolis in 2002 – Canada was done early and I stayed to cover the playoffs and medals; I would presume it’d be the same this time around.

SantaGrunt says Happy Holidays