Good from start to finish, go figure

That was sort of impressive, wasn’t it?

Start to finish, one of the best games they’ve played all year; maddening that they can do that and also look so bad at times but, what the heck, it must have been fun to watch.

Big week ahead: At Miami, at Orlando, home to Jersey and New Orleans. Three and one would be nice, don’t you think? Two and two’s probably more likely.

Anywho …

-

THREE THINGS I LEARNED

It’s like Where’s Waldo?

With a 6-11, 250-pound basketball player, that is.

Not sure how many noticed a very slight change in what the Raptors do offensively but as Chris Bosh was going nuts from the field (11-19 on a rather economical day), you can be sure the Rockets did.

The subtle shift in a new Toronto offensive set, which Jay mentioned in his post-game dissertation, moved Bosh to the elbow rather than on the low post or midway up the lane and it worked wonders.

The set, which they just put in, works two-fold.

The option of Jack delivering the ball to Bosh at the elbow, heading to the corner while Bosh made a dibble-handoff move with Turk worked wonders. It got Turk around the corner and in paint, where he made little fades or hit an open Jack in the corner.

But, just as importantly, it didn’t give the Rockets a chance to double Bosh, who was too far from the basket to make a double-team effective. It takes a lot longer for a second defender to come and double at the elbow in that time, Bosh would get the ball moving on the perimeter and someone would have got an open look.

It’s amazing that moving a guy two steps can have such an impact but it does. And it did. And it’s a pretty good coaching move, if you ask me.

-

Why him? Why then?

Yes, it was a somewhat surprisingly early appearance for Pops Mensah-Bonsu in Sunday’s game. He doesn’t get a lot of second-quarter minutes as a matter of course. Good matchups and a bit of history were behind it, according to the coach.

“For a couple of reasons we played Pops today. No. 1, we saw how he played against us when he was with them after he’d been with us. There’s something about guys when they go back, you saw the game Jarrett Jack had against Indiana. You play against your former teammates and you’re ready to go. We knew that he was going to be ready for this game.

“(And) he brings energy and we were looking for energy off the bench instead of the game getting slow or stagnant and he did bring that.”

Now, I don’t think it’s going to be a regular thing but it worked okay for a few minutes. A gamble well worth it.

-

One win, one loss

A couple of fouls-related gambles by Jay, both wise in my humble opinion, and they come with mixed results.

Andrea, who looked pretty good early, gets a second foul with about 2 1-2 minutes left in the first quarter and Jay takes him out. It’s about his usual rest time but I’m sure the second personal had a lot to do with the sub. He goes back to Bargnani with 8:49 left in the second, which is far early that usual, and Bargs makes a big three. Alas, he gets a third foul with 5:24 left and his half – nine points, two boards – is over.

In the fourth quarter, who might have had his best all-around game, gets a fifth personal with 5:08 left, Toronto’s up 11 and it would have surprised no one if Jay had taken him right out, just in case the game got close and they needed him in the final 90 seconds or something

But, no, Turk stays, the Rockets don’t make a run and he closes out the game.

-

And while that was going on, so was this …

-

We’re standing in the locker room before the game, right after the release came that the Knicks had signed Jonathan Bender and, besides wanting to call his cousin Mo Pete for reaction, it was interesting to hear what some Raptors were saying.

A couple, Pops and Marcus Banks, were surprised to say the least; both wondered if he’d been playing at all for three years.

But it was assistant coach Micah Nori, the only basketball guy on the staff who was here when Bender first came out, who made the most interesting observation.

According to him, Bender had the single best individual workout of any potential draft pick in the more than a decade that Micah’s been around.

Unbelievable shooting range. Great quickness and agility and the kind of all-around game that can’t be taught.

That kind of went ‘poof’ once Bender’s knees broke down but tells you why he was so highly thought of back in the day.

-

My Man Jonathan Feigen reports on Sunday’s game thusly in the pages of the Houston Chronicle.

-

Okay, so Jarrett Jack has a great game with 17, 8 and 8, he sits on a Rocket after the guy falls down and he’s the first Raptor to get up in Trevor Ariza’s face after the cheap shot at DeRozan.

None of those was My Favourite Jack Moment of the game though.

That came in the second quarter after ref Eric Lewis called a rather questionable foul on Jack right in front of the Houston bench and on a perfect angle for me to watch it unfold.

Jack stands there, stunned, and stares at Lewis like he wanted to burn a hole in him. Five seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds and Jack’s just staring, not saying a word.

Lewis’s back is to us so I’m not sure what he said but he said something, apparently, to Jarrett about the staredown.

Says Jack, with a bit of smirk and his eyes momentarily averted to the stands.

“I’m looking up there.”

Classic.

-

During garbage time in blowouts, I’m most deleting uncivil and knucklehead comments from the in-game blog thingy. Guess it’s time to start paying more attention; after all, the coaches do.

Sayeth Jay:

“We rank our guys every single possession. Every play of every game whether we’re up 20 or we’re down 20. That’s kind of what we tell guys at the end of the bench: ‘We’re still watching what you do. If you go 9-for-9 in your possessions defensively then we’re going to look at it a little more and think maybe we should play him a little more. That’s how you move up.’

“That’s how we keep guys honest and keep guys working hard when maybe they’re not playing much.”

-

Oh, do Rogers and I have issues or what?

First, there’s the whole TSN2 fiasco from a year ago. Then there’s the unseemly amount of money we pay them every month.

And now it’s the company in charge of the infernal Thunderstix that have suddenly made a re-appearance?

Ack!

--

Here’s the gig for the rest of the week, for the dozens of you who care deeply.

No, I am not in Florida, that’s a Dave trip.

But …

Tomorrow’s the draw for the world championships, sometime in the morning and Canada Basketball’s hooking us up on a conference call with coaches, players and grand poobahs to discuss it, pushing back our game day chat to 1 p.m. from noon. There’ll be the regular in-game blog that night, I expect, but there’s a soiree I don’t want to miss on Wednesday so I might have to sit out the Orlando contest.

I’ll let you know. Deal?

-

Comments

[kelsey]

Greetings, Its been nice to see Weems get more playing time with Belinelli struggling on both ends of the floor. Bargnani has made some key buckets, still needs to be more aggressive on the boards. Jack has been playing really well, love the fact attacks the rack and gets after the rebounds. If continues to play, it may make sense to have him start and Calderon off the bench (6th man) Finally I think Raptors are gone to far with 15 yr thing...Dee Brown the other night? Wow

Blogger's note: Dee's high profile considering some of the others coming up :)

[sara]

With Bosh and Hedo getting the most of touches I cannot understand why we have also Bargnani in the starting line. The Raptors should be the only Nba team where a talented shooter like Andrea is offensively considered at the same level as players like Weems,Jack, Amir.Unbelievable

[Mike kovacs]

I had a good view of that JJ 'foul' and he literally did not touch him. The Houston player literally slipped. I did perceive a few 'make-up' call later on....

[Manny]

Hey Doug,

With Raptors brass knowing the kind of player they signed in Hedo, why did it take until yesterday, over 20 games into the season, for them to finally adjust the offense to give Hedo more touches and free reign? Iam sure part of the change had to do with Jose's injury and taking pressure off Jarrett Jack but with such a big off season signing to a player they're relying upon heavily to help carry the load with Bosh, one would think adjustments would've been made at the start of the season.

[Reid]

Any news on whether Ariza's attempted elbow may warrant a suspension? Is the league going to review it

Blogger's note: Haven't heard, and review ejections as a matter of course

[Joachim]

Doug,

I really liked the effort of Weems and appreciate your article today pointing that out. I've said before on your blog that I think he's more athletically gifted than DeRozan (quicker, jumping higher, further, and having that special ability to hang in the air). I think he would be a heck of a player if he worked a bit of more on his shot and bulked up a bit. He really does look like a young Kobe in terms of his physique, the way he moves, and that ability to dribble drive with either hand. If only he could try and attack the basket whenever he gets the ball and has the mentality of trying to dunk over everyone (a la Vince Carter back in the day). This guy could be special.

[Andrew]

haha, If I were Eric Lewis and anyone starred me down for more than 9.9 seconds it's a technical.

[Niels]

It's good to see that the Raptors do indeed have a personality! Unfortunately, it's Joey Graham's...
Good Joey, bad Joey?
Good Raptors, bad Raptors!

[Chops]

It's most likely Ariza will get 1 game. But do you think its possible he could get more?

Blogger's note: One would be the max, in my opinion. And he may get none

[anthony.mackay]

Morning Doug,
I was lucky enough to get a FREE pair of tickets yesterday, row 3 almost center court! Best seats I've had yet... had a pretty good luck at Ariza's lame half-punch / half-chicken wing swing at DaRozen. Not sure what he was thinking there but it appeared to be a brain cramp + frustration.
Since no contact was made and it wasn't a "full punch" I don't think he will miss much time.
--
Do you think Ariza will ever be much more then a role player (very good role player)... I think the Rockets expectations were a bit too high on him. I mean put me on the floor with last years Lakers and I bet I make a few wide open 3's too!! (I will give some props for his well timed steals in the finals at least).

[Jack]

So the Pops thing is just a one-time gig, huh. Too bad. The guy plays with a lot of heart. There was a time in yesterday's game where Pops, Amir and Belinelli were in at the same time. They were just hustling, defending, blocking shots. Showing a lot of heart. Something you don't see from a 7-foot 260 pound center (or you call him the power forward now).
I hope Jay plays Pops more minutes. He's hungrier than anyone on the team because this team needs heart. Miles and miles of heart.

[Alex]

Doug you passed up Miami in December...craziness!

[fritz]

Hi Doug,
Two quick questions for you if you don't mind.
Where does Tracy McGrady get the 281,000+ votes (2nd in the balloting) on the All Star ballot? He hasn't played all year and is loathed by many Houston fans who can't wait to see the last of him.
Do the Raps have any interest in Canby if he is on the market as rumors say?

Blogger's note: I can't understand voters and I doubt it.

[Jim Rootham]

I thought Houston had a lot of misses on open look 3 pointers. They shoot their average in that game and it quickly becomes a lot tougher.

[Bodie]

Doug, is Antoine Wright's DNP an anomaly based on match-ups or a sign of things to come?

Blogger's note: I don't believe it was an anomaly

[O.J.]

Hey Doug,

Two questions, although I still have my reservations about this team, with Jack doing an admirable job at the point, & given his track record for durability, does he keep the position upon Jose's return?

I have been a big Weems supporter, as have you, & although he may take the occasional bad shot (after all he is only 23), don't you think it is worthwhile investment for him to get a CONSISTENT 15 - 20 minutes a game, given the energy he brings on D, boards & his athleticism on the offensive end, regardless of the mistakes he will inevitably make?

Blogger's note: Don't think so. And yes

[Forest]

Hey Doug - thanks for the JJ stare down insight.

Watching from the upper bowl it was interesting to see. The call was certainly bad, and Jack looked like he might explode. Good on him for not showing up the ref too terribly...

Any similar anecdotes on Ariza? From the bleachers you could see his frustration mounting throughout the game. Just curious if anything was evident from the floor before stupidity really kicked in...

Blogger's note: No, there really wasn't

[Steve]

Doug, I think for me the moment in the game where I was like maybe these guys get "toughness" now was in the second quarter when Lowry had a break and Turk knocked him on his butt instead of letting him have an easy layup or committing a touch foul. The team/Jack getting in Ariza's face was great but they've gone through that this season. The interior defence/blocks were great but Houston also isn't a big team. Knocking a guy on his butt is something we haven't seen enough of from this team and I liked it.

[Troy]

I am sure that most of McGrady's votes came from China. He is still fairly popular in China even though Yao is injured this year.

[Saransh Bhatt]

Dear Doug:

I love what you do on your blog.

I think it's so awesome how you give die hard fans the inside scoop on everything Raptors. You deserve an award, or a raise, or something. You rock!

Just want to show my appreciation,

Saransh B

[Pipit]

Excellent observation about the new play where Bosh receives the ball in the elbow. That is how respect is made knowing that sports columnists do know the game that deep. I agree that it's a better area on where Bosh will receive the ball because his strength on beating his defender off the dribble will be highly utilized. Not to mention the numerous passing angles available for him to take advantage to. Good thing the coaching staff is pretty much having a mix of play. I'm so bored on that never ending "horns-up" play.

I do have a question for you Doug. If Trevor Ariza's cheap shot connect and for sure by how he throw that shot, DeRozan will be pretty much lights out, do you think he will be suspended for the rest of the season or maybe even banned for playing indefinitely?

Blogger's note: Sorry, couldn't even take a guess

[GM]

I love Bosh at the elbow. The guy seemingly shoots 75 percent from there, which will set up drives beautifully... You say 2-2 is more likely than 3-1 in the next four games. Oh, I wish I could be that optimistic. It wouldn't surprise me if they went 1-3 or even 0-4. Hope I'm wrong but I've seen too many great performances followed by a bunch of stinkers.

[Paul]

More POPS! I would like to see one of reggie/amir/pops on the floor at all times. This team FEEDS off a good rebounder/hustler.

As for who to sub out, either Turk or Bargs, they shouldn't be on the floor at the same time.

[Some Guy]

Regarding Bender, I remember a quote from Larry Bird at the time, shortly after they acquired him from Toronto (as the 5th overall pick) in exchange for Antonio Davis, where he said (paraphrased): "Jonathan Bender is perhaps the most talented prospect I've ever seen". When you combine that with the fact that Bender used to beat Larry at shooting contests in practice, broke Jordan's points record in the McDonald's All American high school game and was highly coveted by multiple teams, it really is a shame that we never got a chance to see what kind of player he might have been, because of injuries. I hope he is legitimately healthy and gets a shot to show even just a touch of his potential, this go round. Overall though, I think things worked out pretty well in our favour in that trade. We should probably honour Bender as part of the 15th anniversary celebrations when the Knicks play in Toronto.

[Lorie]

Hi Doug,
I see the seedings have been announed for the 2010 Worlds. How does the draw of groups work? Or will all be revealed tomorrow? Thanks!

Blogger's note: All tomorrow. What they've done is set up six "pods" or "groups" and one team from each of them will comprise the six preliminary round groups. The actual draw is tomorrow