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

[Tiger]

Funny how a little time can completely reverse fan sentiment. Also interesting how things change within the Raps.
Right now the vibe seems to be that José will get his starting job back when he's ready. And that has fans in an uproar.
Two years ago, Sam moved TJ to the backup roll when he came back from his injury, and we all know how well that turned out. José seemed to have nothing but fans back then.
A baseball manager once said nobody would lose his starting job due to injury, which caused no end of venomous criticism. In the end, all he did was give this city 2 world series championships. Then got run out of town as a bum, brought back to a hero's welcome, and put back on the road to scornville.
This city can't live without something to gripe about.
,,,just sayin', is all... :)

[J]

Doug, welcome to my part of the woods (Auburn Hills). I'd give you my restaurant recommendations, but since I just moved here from NYC, maybe it's better you gave me some (if you know any). =D

Today is one of the rare days I'll get to watch my dear Raptors. Not the best seats, but in today's economy cheap is good. I'm a bit worried though, because it seems every time I watch the Raps from the stands instead of on TV, they lose big -- that NY debacle when Calderon was out and Ford committed turnover after turnover, and an even more forgettable drubbing at the beginning of the millenium by AI and the 76ers. Let me tell you, Philadelphia might be the worst place to cheer for the away team. Great restaurants though! Anyway, I know the Pistons are coming off a back-to-back, and they have a few injuries as well, but it seems that if there's a day for my beloved Raps to underwhelm, it'd be today. Here's hoping they manage to win despite my bad luck!

[Matt]

@Don W.
I can't believe your Xmas book suggestions for the basketball grunt reporter of a very liberal newspaper like the Star involve either of a) Sarah Pallin or b) Glen Beck, two ridiculously bad writers (if you can even call them that) who operate even further to the right than most American Republicans.

Surely you jest...?

[The Dizzle]

Doug could you please provide some kind of stats to backup that Jose isn't that bad of a defender. How is he ranked in the league? I'd like to believe you on this one, but Im gonna require some proof to help me along.

Blogger's note: There are no individual defensive stats that I feel are accurate; it's not how the game is played or defended. I will go with what I see and what I hear from people actually connected with the game and far, far smarter than I. They agree -- and I'm talking about people connected to other teams -- that while he is not a great defensive player, he is not horrible. I've said it a thousand times and am kind of done talking about it.

[J]

Oh, and regarding Calderon, that's unfortunately how Raptors fans are when the team is struggling. Once somebody -- anybody -- starts saying something that appears to be true, everyone hops onto the wagon after the least amount of analysis. It's either "Calderon is so bad, every opposing PG gets career highs against him" or "Calderon's contribution to the offense doesn't match his defensive deficiencies." I remember all the times Calderon was blamed for someone based on the box score alone, but if you watched the game, it wasn't even Calderon's mark. I could easily do the same and say Jack sucks -- just look at how he was torched by Milwaukee's PGs (54 points altogether)!

If we look back at the three seasons before this one (yes, even last year), the Raptors have been better with Calderon on the floor than without. In terms of Roland ratings, he was a 3.2 last year, 4.3 the year before, and 3.6 in 2006-2007. He gave more to the team than he gave up (+4.2, +6.1, +4.9, respectively). Yes, Jack is probably a better defender. In each of those years, excluding 2006-2007, he had a lower opposing player production score than Calderon. However, his own production has also been far lower than Calderon's as well. In fact, there hasn't been a year in his career where his production exceeded the opposing player's production (in 2007-2008, it was tied).

Looking around the league last season, the season when all the "Jose sucks" started, we see that guards like Kidd, Udrih, Telfair, Watson, Baron Davis, Devin Harris, Andre Miller, Foye, Fisher, Brooks, Bibby, Ridnour, Duhon, Conley, Nash, Billups, and Chalmers all did worse than Calderon defensively (Mo Williams and Tony Parker tied, but their two teams also had the lowest and 2nd lowest points against per game). Aside from Felton, who was almost 3 points better, the starting PGs that were better defensively were better by no more than 2 points per 48 minutes. The only PGs with a higher production differential last season were Chris Paul, Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Sessions, Rondo, Devin Harris and Jameer Nelson, with Billups slightly lower than Calderon. That's pretty elite company.

At this moment in time, yes, Calderon is struggling (-4.1 production differential), but I'm not going to judge until the end of the season when there's a large enough sample size. Only 15 games ago, Calderon's production and on-court value was better than Jack's -- now it's worse. Oddly, however, even Jack's defensive score this season is worse than Calderon's in 2006 through 2009, hinting at a poor defensive effort by the team as a whole.

[Ivan]

Doug,

Did you see this hilarious Basketball Jones Christmas NBA carols video? Highly recommended by Grange on his column.

http://video.thescore.com/watch/the-basketball-jones-bringin-the-cheer

[Jamie]

no matter where you are in the world or how much money you have, you will never go better than a good cold Blue. It is just unfortunate that Molson/Coors has the draft pub market totally taken over.

[Barry]

Ha, you know what I think some fans can't handle? Your infatigable support of Calderon over anyone not named Nash or Paul with nary a rational explanation. "This team is better with Calderon than without him" (why?) and "he facilitates the offence better" (how?) and "He’s not nearly as a bad a defender as so many of you think" (how bad do we think he is and why is he not that bad?).

It reminds me of the end of TJ's tenure when you wouldn't concede that Calderon was better than TJ- that is, not until Sam and the team conceded it themselves. It's like you have this subscription with the status quo and until someone else changes it, your support is steadfast. That's not good enough.

Many of your readers have as much (I'm guessing far more)experience on the basketball court than yourself, Doug, that's the unfortunate point. If you want to get into the X's and O's as to why you believe Calderon helps the team as much as you do, we're all ears. Until then, readers like myself will simply assume that your backing of Jose has more to do with his congeniality in the locker room than with his game itself. That's not good enough.

Just so you know, nobody questions Jose's value as a man: he's extraordinary. Let's get that point out of the way because most would argue it has nothing to do with basketball.

At the same time, I would agree with you concerning Marcus Banks. Not to say that Marcus has played poorly, only to suggest that Marcus may still be a flash in the pan. In other words, I have not seen enough of him to decide either way.

But with Jose, it's the opposite. We've seen more than enough. He's fallen in love with his jump shot. For a man who holds the NBA's FT% record, he knows not how to get to the line. He can't throw a lob like Banks or Jack. He makes fewer (if any) defensive plays. His blow-by % on defense might be the worst in the league. He's ultra-conservative with the ball to the point that he's forgotten how to run a break. Instead, he chooses to pull out and run the same offensive sets that, even when successful, do little to help the team's momentum. It often leaves many of us yelling at our TV sets as he protects his assists-to-turnovers reputation. To boot, he appears to be more injury-prone than ever, suffering from maladies that often characterize out-of-shape athletes.

So is that who you want to build around? I don't. Either he needs to get better or he needs to get moved. Most of his issues can thankfully be corrected with hard work and proper diagnosis of the problem. But I've grown tired of his inconsistencies and the team's excuses for them. They're good enough.

Happy Holidays

Blogger's note: I'm so tired of writing this, it's ridiculous. But what the heck: The team is better with him because he's a better player than Marcus Banks or any third point guard you can think of; he facilitates the offence because he can not only turn the corner on high screens and finish better than Jack, he's got a better pull up jump shot and the team gets more open three-point looks in the corner and on the perimeter when he gets around the corner and defences react. No single player in the NBA can stop a guy one-on-one, Calderon, and Jack, know where the help is supposed to be. If it's not, it's not on them. Jose does not fight through screens well enough, limiting the defensive schemes they can use.
I've written these points about a billion times since the TJ-Jose years and to suggest I've never backed up my opinion is, frankly, dead wrong. That you haven't seen them, or paid attention them, is not on me.
Oh, and one more just to call you out a bit:
You say:
"He's fallen in love with his jump shot. For a man who holds the NBA's FT% record, he knows not how to get to the line."
He is shooting as many free throws per game this year as last and more than he did in his first three years. So if you're going to make points, make 'em valid.
I'm done

[Don W.]

In reply to J:

Glen Beck is neither a Republican or Democrat and speaks the truth about the subjects he covers. As for being a bad writer only you could be so lucky---Number 1 on the New York Times best seller list for 8-12 weeks---thats really bad. Now as for Pallin given the bad situation in the US she could very well be the next president. At least the country would not be on the verge of going bankrupt if she were in charge. As well her book is setting records across the nation that will not be equalled for some time. This comment was meant for Doug and I did not ask for your pinhead comments.

[vc]

Doug, not sure if this comment will see light in your column but it's worth the try and I thought you'd be fair. Over the years of comparing you and Feshuck, I find you too soft on the Raps while Feshuck calls it as it is even it sounds harshly. I'd say I like Feshuck's style better but I'm stuck with you (and still reads your column despite) because Feshuck also writes about other sports. Anyway, I have a hunch that Reggie's situation (whether he plays or not this season) would be used by the Raps in trying to justify a disappointing season. Add to this JC's situation as well. Your article pretty much sides with JC but for now but I wouldn't be surprised if you make a turnaround later in the season or the next, just like during the TJ-JC debate when you sided with TJ at the start but have to go by JC in the end. There's a saying "The signs are on the wall." We're seeing it, you're holding off. Peace.

Blogger's note: Trust me, you don't need to be stuck. No skin off my nose

[james]

I watched the pistons game last nite and they SUUUUCK...big win tonite coming for the raps.

[Viktor]

A note to Don W:
I won't mention anything about your recommendation, but just how you backed up one of them. I don't know Glen Beck's writing, but being on a best seller list for 8-12 weeks does not mean it's written well. We can just look at the twilight series to see a horribly written book sell like crazy

[J]

Don W:

You're replying to the wrong person. Believe you me, I was very confused about why you were directing that at me after I gave some backup on the Calderon subject. =P

[mando]

"Glen Beck is neither a Republican or Democrat and speaks the truth about the subjects he covers. As for being a bad writer only you could be so lucky---Number 1 on the New York Times best seller list for 8-12 weeks---thats really "
So having a best seller makes you a great writer! So sad.

[GM]

Somebody here wrote (and others echoed): "i don't think there's a coincidence that ever PG in the league seems to have his career night against us"

I'm sure you have better stats, Doug, but I just did some digging based on the 22 games Jose has played this year. Just going by the other starting point guard (realizing full well that in the flow of a game, starters are often matched up against bench players and on switches everyone can guard just about anyone), I see that the sum total of starting point guards against the Calderon average 17 points, 7 assists and 3.5 rebounds. Jose averages 12, 6 and 2.

Okay, but let's dig deeper. Everyone has a career night against Calderon? In those 22 games, only 10 of the players scored over their season average. And in those same 22 games, Jose scored over his season average 12 times. Hmm.

What's more, in those 10 games where opponents scored over their season average, the opposing team won six times. You'd think, the way some people talk, that the Raps get run over and have no chance with him in the game.

Looking at assists in those 22 games, only 9 times has the opposing starting point guard handed out more than his season average. Conversely, Jose has handed out more than his season average 13 times.

Finally in rebounds in those 22 games, only 7 opposing starting point guards have grabbed more than their season average of boards, while Jose has grabbed more than his season average 9 times.

I know you can't just a player based solely on stats, but this nonsense about opposing guards going to town every time they play Calderon has got to stop. It's simply not true. Yes, his W-L record as a starter is only 9-13, but everyone knew the team would take time to gel this season.

Blogger's note: Thank you.

[Matt]

@Don W.
LOL! Beck is not a Republican?! He works for FOX News! Palin the next President? Only in our worst nightmares!

As for your talk about best seller lists, there are endless examples of public figures releasing terrible books that become best sellers simply because they are "written" by public figures.

Oh, and your comment was posted in a public forum on a newspaper website, so it's fair game. If you want to send love notes to just Doug, try e-mail.