A bunch of stuff and a two-week reprieve

Join Doug Smith for a live Q&A at noon today, as the Raptors prepare to take on the Detroit Pistons.

Man, it’s like 0 C here in gorgeous (and by gorgeous, I mean dreary) Troy, Mich., which makes it an okay morning.

No snow, no rain, no nothing.

For a guy facing a four-hour Smelly Ford Focus trek back to the Hazelville in the morning, I’m quite okay with that.

And I’m quite okay with this stuff.

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I am almost afraid to write the words “Marcus” and “Banks” any more because I cannot handle the immediate reaction:

Marcus looks good, trade Jose.

Seriously, it stuns me.

First off, I will tell you with absolute certainty no one in the organization, in the darkest recesses of their minds, thinks about a deal involving the team’s starting point guard. Ain’t happening, folks.

And there’s this:

This team is better with Calderon than without him. That’s not even a debating point.

He’s a better shooter than either of the two other point guards, he facilitates the offence better and, get your typing fingers ready:

He’s not nearly as a bad a defender as so many of you think.

No, he is not all-defensive team material; anyone knows that. But you’d like he was me out there the way people bust on him.

I don’t know where all this stuff comes from, it’s like some self-fulfilling prophecy or something. One guys says he’s no good and the avalanche starts. Incredible.

We all really need to rein in some of this crazy over-reaction stuff, okay?

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Here’s one for you. Jay drops this one on us:

“Our first 30 games happened in 53 days; our next 30 happen in 73 days. That’s 20 more days where we can do two things: No. 1, rest; and No. 2, practice.”

That’s pretty incredible isn’t it?

Now, there’s a three-day Christmas break and the all-star break tossed into that equation, but still.

That’s wild. Thirty in 53 and then 30 in 73?

What’s it mean, Jay?

“I’m hoping it means that we’re fresher for more games and instead of the number of back to backs you have, you can focus on getting better as a team in practice time."

What’s it mean, Grunt?

“I’m hoping it means that on at least a few of those many off-days that someone helps me come up with marginally interesting off-day stories because they’re hard to come by when games are coming fast and furious, let alone with a bunch of non-game days. Oh, and maybe I’ll be fresher, too.”

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So they went all Quincy Douby on Pops, extending his contract guarantee day to Jan. 5 from yesterday.

Three ways to see it, and all are being considered and thought about inside the organization, I’m hearing.

One, like Quincy, they’re trying to find him another job to help him out; Quincy found a gig in Turkey in the two weeks he was in Raptors limbo.

Two, they might be working on a deal – MIGHT, and I don’t know anything about anything specific – and a cheap contract may be ballast.

Three, there are people who wonder if he shouldn’t play a bit more, although that’s a big minority. There is no room for him in a 10-man rotation, as we all know.

Anyway, no idea how it’ll shake out, it’s certainly not the most significant thing to think about but there’s a large amount of interest in the young fellow, as we all know.

One thing that has nothing to do with anything, as I mentioned to a fellow over in the comments section, is Reggie Evans.

No way does this mean Reggie’s going to be ready the first week of January. He hasn’t done anything full speed on the court, he’s still got some work to do on the foot and you’re still looking at mid-January as a best guess.

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Oh, we’ll chat today, if you like. Right around noon as usual before the in-game bloggy thingy we do.

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This, my friends, is a sad story.

Way back in the day, I’d favour a Rolling Rock when I’d be out and it’d be available.

It was a nice little brewery from the rolling hills of Latrobe, Pa. (maybe not as famous as, say, Arnold Palmer but …) and it tasted pretty good.

Well, when the brewery got swallowed up by Budweiser, I was dead against it. I’m certainly not a big Bud guy.

“They’re going to start calling your beer Bud Green” was how the inimitable C. Sheridan put it in a phone call of condolence.

Well, we’re across the street from the hotel here last night and, while my friend Stella and I are being reacquainted, Stumpy orders up a Rolling Rock.

Time comes to order No. 2 and the young serving lass informs my boy there is no more Rolling Rock in the fridge. Then she drops the bombshell:

“We do have some Rolling Rock Light.”

ROLLING ROCK LIGHT!

I HATE the Budweiser brewing company.

(A late add, courtesy of Dan over in the comments: I had forgotten, or refused to believe, that the same people who brew Rolling Rock Light ultimately brew My Friend Stella. This, folks, puts me in a huge quandary. What to do, what to do?)

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Oh yeah, the Pistons.

Jay told us yesterday the Raptors are preparing as if Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon are all going to play.

No one’s sure if that’s going to happen – maybe it makes sense to get ‘em back one day before a nice break; maybe it makes as much sense to give ‘em another night to heal and a longer rest.

Here’s what they’re saying about that, and other things, in the local paper.

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Last call for mail, folks. You did a pretty good job yesterday which means my Saturday might be busy, but since I figure you’ve all got stuff to do tomorrow (like help me get shopping finished) and Friday (family, turkey, presents) let’s get some in today.

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Comments

[Dan]

Doug, you might want to reconsider your reacquaintance with Stella if you hate Budweiser that much. Both Budweiser and Stella are owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, and is probably why we started seeing Stella Light commercials in recent years haha.

Blogger's note: That is a very valid point I shall add now
Thanks

[GP]

Love the quote from the Grunt! As a loyal reader I'm expecting big things in 2010! Have a great holiday!

[DOW]

Yes trading Jose doesn't make sense, but I think Jose has proven that he doesn't have the durability to handle full-starter minutes. I think Jay should start Jose, but the minutes for JJ and Jose should be fairly close to being split down the middle, with Jay choosing who his closer is from game to game. I also agree with you that they shouldn't play together too much. Happy Holidays!!

[stephen]

great blog today.

[brennan]

you called it.
but i'll still say it because it needs to be said:
jose is one of the worst defenders in the league!
he is a terrific shooter and a total team player.
you can't keep making excuses for him - its pretty obvious.
anyways, there's a few teams that are better than their record and a few that are worse. the bulls have to be the latter! What does your writer-friend over in the windy city say?

Blogger's note: Haven't talked to him very much.

[Brewer]

Think global, drink local. Go for the micro-brews. Perhaps you could start a wikibeer for folks to submit their local favourite brews from each NBA city.

I am partial to Anchor Steam when in San Francisco.

[HopeCaper]

Hi Doug,
Raining and temp. at 1 by the bay in ole NB, snow--mainly ice at this point.
Doug your point is well taken on Evans and I would add Calderon as well. If the Raps keep winning both of these guys might not see as much time on the floor as they would have prior to injury. When everyone's healthy what do you think the staffing will look like? I can't see them going back to using Wright and Patrick so are they inactive?

Blogger's note: 10- or maybe 9-man rotation, Calderon, DeRozan, Turk, Bosh, Bargnani, Jack, Weems, Johnson, Evans and Belinelli

[Ryan W (Ottawa)]

hi Doug,

Thought you should know that Bud was bought by Stella, and not the other way around as stated in the first comment. Not sure that it matters overall, though.

Rolling Rock Light is a travesty.

Maybe you can try Yeungling.

Blogger's note: Yeungling is one of the all-time faves; tough to find in most NBA cities

[Chris]

in Texas you should try Shiner Bock if you have not - available in most states but brewed in Shinetr TX

Blogger's note: Have more than a few in Dallas, San Antonio and Houston

[dd10]

Why does your "Smelly Ford Focus" smell? And what does it smell like?

[Matt M]

I think Raptor fans have an unnatural attraction to their backup point guards. I first noticed it with the Ford-Calderon debate, which progressed to the Ukic-Calderon last year, then to the Calderon-Jack and finally to the Calderon-Banks debate. If I didn't know better I would say it was started by Banks himself. I'm pretty sure if Calderon was regulated to backup people would clamor to have him back in the starting lineup.
I think that the whole 'Calderon is the worst PG in the NBA' is fed by the media. Grange has at least one blog about Calderon's defensive shortcoming's, although I'm sure he did say Calderon competes yet is overmatched. Hollinger has said that a starting line up involving Bargnani, Turk, and Calderon would always be substandard defensively and has called Caderon the worst PG in the game defensively. In Hollinger's case I think he might rely on defensive metrics that isolate players while ignoring the whole 'defense is a team game', but I don't really know where he is coming from. Never mind the endless blogs from non-media members, and I haven't read a Feschuk article in a long time but remember him to be extremely negative about everything, but particularly the defensive shortcomings of the Raptors.
I don't know. I think some of the Raptors best games defensively have come with Calderon as the starter, particularly against the Cavs, Hornets, Pistons and more that I can't think of. They have had some pretty bad games with Calderon as a starter but it is pretty obvious that he is being made a scapegoat for the Raptors not competing in some games. The Raps should focus on the positive games and strive for that. If Raptor fans want to only see the negative then that is their prerogative. I'm not sure how they think complaining on message boards will help things out.

[Scott]

As Stella, and her little sister, Stella Lite, or acquantices of mine, the relationship with their cousin Bud, doesn't concern me. They are kissing cousins by marriage and that's about as close as they will get. The home family in Belgium would not allow any reduction in the quality of their beloved Stella. And yes there is a light version, with a little less weight, it still puts her cousin to shame.

I wouldn't be worried, just enjoy the lass!

[dino]

Doug,we all know you are a big calderon fan but how is it possible this team is better off with him as the starting point guard?yes he is a decent player but there comes a time when you have to change your core guys. Bosh, Bargnani, Calderon is not going to win championships.Moving Bargs is out of the question, Bosh may re-sign and with calderon here what will change next year? nothing really. eventually you have to look at this core and say it doesn't work.

[DS]

Doug I know as you continue to state your opinion about Calderon, your somewhere crossing your fingers hoping he doesn't come back and screw things up. I swear you make it quite obvious that you are a Jose fan only because you like high scoring, offensive dominated games cause "it's more entertaining". And yes you make a valid point that Jose does run the offence more smoothly, I mean shoot, I would run it smoothly if I had a bread and butter play that I run EVERYTIME and I've been doing it for the last 2 and a half years. I don't know how you call out a hand full and literally I mean a handful of games that Jose has played decent Defence and let that take precedence over the fact he is not good defensively. You don't state the fact that Jose has to consistently learn how to put pressure on the opposing point guard. If you notice those are they games that he has marginally good defensive success. Now yes I know Jack has lapses now and again but in no way is it as consistent as Jose. Give Jack the team for 10 more games and you'll see Jose is far too overrated. Especially in your eyes. Btw you said the same thing about Weems at the beginning of the year, he will be the end of the bench role player without giving the guy a chance and then he gets a chance and now look who is biggest supporter is, yep you! I'm not against you having an opinion but your constantly trying to convince the vast majority of us tht Jose is not bad defensively.....YES HE IS!!!

[Darko]

Morning Doug, just wanted to wish you and your family
all the very best in the New Year. Great health and everything
else will take care of itself.
Reading here every day but moved to that next step after
royaly peeved with Raptors play, indifference. It helps that I'm
having so much fun with my kids hockey. As one jurnalist put it
some time ago: " by far, the single most exciting play in all of
sports is watching your little one skating down the ice on
a breakaway". Hands down. Will he score or miss, your hart stops...
Merry Christmas.

[Steph]

Doug, I still think you should team up with the LCBO and promote different beverages for them, and for us. I'm sure you've tried it and I have several favorites but Burtons Porter is very good.

Anyway if I tried to reference players to beverages,

Bosh might well be the Anheuser Bush. Big, not bold and everywhere.

Calderon might be the Sleeman Cream Ale, friendly, smooth and the right choice on the right day.

Bargnani, he's a Heineken, quiet, smoother then Stella but sometime to tame.

Turkoglu is a Kilkenny, slow, smooth and complex.

DeRozan is the Corona, always exiting in large quick doses.

Jack is more manly, and in your face so he's a Pilsner Urquell. More flavorful and never dull.

Amir, Creemore Springs, young and capable of causing big headaches

Weems is Alexander Keith's, a great compliment to an up tempo game.

Doug, here’s hoping you and your super family have a great and safe holiday season.

[chris]

I think people are over-reacting if they prefer Marcus Banks but i don't think there's a coincidence that ever PG in the league seems to have his career night against us. Even the scrubs.

Jose may not have the best lateral quicks in the league, but he could at least TRY on defence.

[Kyron]

I'm not ready to jump on the trade Calderon bus yet (although it would be interesting to gauge his trade value) and no his defense isn't nearly as bad as we think it is...it's far worse. The only difference between Calderon's defense and Mike Bibby's is that Toronto isn't a good enough defensive team to hide their point guard on defense like Atlanta does.

[Michel G]

I don't think Triano will spend the next four years juggling his point guards, so I wish people would get off their Calderon-as-backup pleas. Ever since the 'Calderon-is-the-worst-point-guard-in-the-history-of-the-game' craze started after the team's bad start, I've made a point to watch point guard play around the league. Now I'm no expert, but most point guards I've seen get routinely beat while trying to guard other point guards one-on-one and that includes the likes of Rondo and Rose. Good lord, some teams like Atlanta and Dallas do all they can to hide their point guards, something Toronto does not. Gary Payton had the reputation of being an excellent defender. Doug, are there any point guards in the league right now that can defend on that level? If there are, I haven't seen any.

Blogger's note: No, there are not

[Lazaros O.]

I think the issue many fans have Calderon is that his contract starts looking really bad right now considering what the Raptors get out of Calderon. What is it like $10 M/yr for 3 more years? They can see that Jack is almost as good while being paid half of that. Given Caldie's contract, even if Toronto wanted to trade him they'd have a hard time finding any takers. Let's face it, Calderon is being overpaid. Speaking more broadly, the money that is tied in forthcoming years to Jose, Turk and Bargs does not appear at this point to be good investment if the production by these players stays at its current levels.

[Simon S-G]

I found one in NYC called Brooklyn Brown, from a microbrewery in Brooklyn. Next time you travel to NYC give that one a shot.

[Don W.]

Doug:
Thank you for hopefully putting an end to the trade Jose talk. Somewhere someone said that Jose can't defend and a few latched on to the idea. Jose defends as well as Nash, Rondo, Paul, Williams and so on. Much better I might add than Rose in Chicaqo. Put him on the market and watch how fast a defensive guru like Larry Brown jumps into the trade picture. There are very few point guards that are "defensive stoppers". After Steve Blake in Portland I have trouble coming up with one.
Now for your Christmas shopping and since you are an avid reader here are some suggestions:
For your wife: Going Rogue by Sarah Pallin
For you: Arguing With Idiots by Glen Beck
For the family: The Christmas Sweater by Glen Beck
Hope you and yours have a Merry Christmas

[Greatgarbo]

I was a Stella fan until I went to Belgium:
They don't have Stella there as it is a beer made for export, it's rare and expensive if you find it locally. They have an EXTREMELY similar brew called Jupiler and it's their "Canadian, Bud or Coors". Everybody I talked to generally despise this beer.
Other belgian beers we have here such as Leffe are equally detested; Once Inbev bought them out many people flat out stopped drinking it.
It's great to see how conscious people are about their beers and where they come from.
I wish we had more choices here in Canada, and less of a monopoly to allow smaller breweries to flourish

[kj]

To ease your quandry...Whenever I'm in the U S of A, I always ask first for a Yuengling (america's oldest brewery). It's mostly carried in northeastern states. If they have non, I go with Sierra Nevada. Lots of seasonal and specialty brews.

Great comment Steph.

[Chris Bizzle]

If we were to trade Calderon what would we be able to get back for him? Im not saying to trade him but just wondering what his value is. Thanks.