Harried, but here. And now for our regularly-scheduled stuff

All right!

Here. In Milwaukee.

Just an hour or so late and I’m sure there are people scarred for life after seeing a rather large, stressed gentleman running down the concourse in Cleveland to make a connection (only to sit on the plane for half an hour while we waited for maintenance workers to bring some parts we were bringing to Milwaukee for a busted plane that’s stranded here) but now in the cozy confines a room.

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I take it all back.

All that stuff about them never winning a game shooting 31 per cent?

Wrong.

All those times I’ve said they cannot win missing 19 of 21 three-pointers?

Sorry.

THREE THINGS I LEARNED

No way, Jose

Nope, Calderon did not make the flight to Milwaukee so he’s out tonight and that means Jarrett gets the start – and the chance to chase Brandon Jennings around for 35 or 40 minutes of action.

It also means Marcus Banks is going to get some burn as the backup and as he showed last night, he’s ready to give whatever he’s got.

And seeing how he’d played a whopping five minutes all season before last night – one possession for about 20 seconds in the opener against Cleveland five mopup minutes in Dallas – the fact he was ready to do what he could speaks to a pretty good level of professionalism.

But the fact does remain that the trickle-down effect of Calderon’s absence is significant.

The starters looked out of sync at times last night and while Banks was okay, there was a significant drop off in offensive production when he was on the court.

Jarrett did fine – 17, 8 and 7’s a pretty good line – but they can’t go too long without a resumption of normal point guard play.

I think, eventually, you’re going to see Turkoglu out there with Belinelli and DeRozan with the first two acting as kind of point-forwards and no true point guard the court.

I’m kind of surprised we didn’t see it a bit last night; I’m betting we get a look at it this evening.

Not sure how it’ll work, the out-of-sync factor will be just as big, but it’s something worth trying.

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Where was he? I’m sure a few of you were mystified that DeMar DeRozan, who had looked pretty good at times, was on the bench in the final four minutes and Antoine Wright was on the floor.

Me, too.

It’s not like Wright was going to give them something offensively – oh, except the dagger with 63 seconds left – and DeRozan hadn’t been getting killed defensively.

But Jay saw something.

“We had DeMar in the game for a while and they weren’t really sticking on him in the corner and he was having a hard time driving to the basket. Things were getting clogged up and we just went with a veteran guy more for defence than anything else.”

It worked out all right but I think the next time, maybe it’s time to give the kid some trial by fire.

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Some defensive props

Okay, the Antoine Wright three was a shocker, no question about it.

But a game turning on Andrea Bargnani’s one-on-one defence of Jonny Flynn?

That told me something strange and unusual was unfolding in front of our eyes.

I remember three times in the last five minutes, with the game absolutely in the balance, where Bargnani was iso’d on Flynn after switching on a screen.

Three times, Flynn tried to drive him right and get around the corner and all three times Bargnani kept Flynn in front of him and didn’t let him get to the rim.

We asked Jay about it and he said he’s quite okay with Bargnani, Chris or Amir getting switched on guards because they’ve got good footwork and can keep guys in front of them.

It was a rather charitable comment where Amir’s concerned and I don’t think Bosh ever wants to be out there on an island but Bargnani? Well, for one night and three huge possessions, he proved his coach right.

And surprised the heck out of a few of us who saw fouls, and-ones and free throws coming.

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And, now, the rest of the story

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Was very nice to see Dee Brown at the game, and as it turns out, it could have been extra special.

See, Dee was on the team back in February, 1999, which was the last time the Raptors had a game where they didn’t make a three-pointer.

So, the Dee story.

He was part of the single best play-call ever, in my opinion, a little ditty they used to call “Hot Soup” where he or Dell Curry would flare off a screen and get a quick three.

Hearing Butch standing on the sidelines hollering ‘hot soup’ was comical at times.

So I see Dee courtside before the game, he spies me, hand out-stretched to say hello and give him the old “Hot Soup’ hello.

He looks out at old teammate Alvin Williams, who’s working guys out on the court and says, “hey, Doug’s got ‘hot soup,’ you gotta be an oldtimer to remember that one.”

Alvin doesn’t miss a beat:

“Hot Soup? You mean ‘pass me the ball.’”

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Minnesota, home of one truly struggling professional men’s basketball team, got this report with their morning papers.

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Milwaukee stories? Oh, I’ve got Milwaukee stories. Not sure which one’s best so here are two:

It’s January, 2006 and we’re headed to Wisconsin for a one-game road trip and because I’m frugal (at the request of my company), I’m flying there through Chicago, which was Mistake No. 1. Anyway, sometime between me going to the airport and landing at O’Hare (about the same time the team is flying direct), the infinite wisdom of the powers-that-be decide that’s the time to fire Rob Babcock. I land to about a dozen frantic voicemail messages from the office.

Well, as I go to make my connection and meet the team in Milwaukee to get the story (no one’s spoken to Sam or a player to get reaction), some weather hits, my flight’s cancelled and no one can tell me when I might get another.

Irked, as you can imagine, I survey the options, go grab a rental car and drive to Milwaukee, getting in just in time to high-tail it to the team hotel (which, shockingly, is not my dumpy Marriott Courtyard) with then-Sun Grunt Quag, as I recall, and interview Sam and some players writing in their lobby before filing from there.

It’s April, 2004 and a rather tumultuous KO season comes to an end in Milwaukee. We all make arrangements to fly home early after the season’s final game because we’re pretty sure KO’s getting fired and if he doesn’t it’s even a bigger story.

Well, phone rings in the room about 4:30 a.m., it’s a disgruntled Super Wife calling to tell me the airline had just called the house to tell me my 8 a.m. flight was cancelled and they could get me home at 2. Well, I figure that’s not quite good enough so I drag my sorry self to the airport, groggy as you’d expect, and find out that, in fact, I could get a 7:30 flight to Chicago and be home by noon.

Get it, get home, get to hear KO tell us there are “people in the organization who don’t care about winning” and figure it’s hours before he’s fired. It was and I’m glad I was there to chronicle his last utterances as the team’s head coach.

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Speaking of Milwaukee, here’s what they read this morning in the Journal-Sentinel.

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I think maybe they found a new song.

Game’s close, crowd’s into it, the June Taylor Dancers come dancing out and they’re playing Cotton-Eyed Joe, which is a catchy tune you can dance to.

Fitting and something I think the game ops people should keep.

Reminded me of way back in the day when I believe it was Scotland The Brave they played to get the crowd going. It worked, too.

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In other fan matters, there really is a bone to pick and I’ll simply serve it up and duck.

No, they are not playing particularly well on offence – but look at the tape, the overwhelming majority of those shots were good ones – but the defensive effort was quite solid.

The game’s getting close, though, Minnesota goes ahead by one and there are boos. Seriously. Boos. I would suggest that in about two dozen other NBA cities, you would have heard some kind of urging on of the home team, rather than denigrating it. There was no issue with effort, especially defensively, and sometimes, as an old coach used to say, “you need to make shots.”

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All right, the plan is to have a regular game-day chat at noon Eastern time but I have no idea when, or if, weather clears and I end up in Milwaukee.

So I’ll either talk to you then.

Or I won’t.

Comments

[Pat]

The booing is a disgrace. It either indicates that the fans have some strange sense of entitlement or that they are comprised of thousands of bandwagon followers that do whatever the guy next to them is doing.

[Shawn L]

I love how a Minnesota reader thought the refs were biased towards Toronto on the Star Tribune site. Guess every fan base has the same complaints when their team loses. And even though the comments in number were a little low, they seem to have the same amount of trolls per-capita as here. Internets the same everywhere!

[Matt M]

Good to see the game won by defense, but it really could have gone either way. I'm sure the T-Wolves are privately lamenting the Refs bailed the Huskies out.
I've officially decided I like Bargnani as a player. He had so many holes in his game a couple of years ago it was hard to see what Colangelo saw in him when he was drafted. Considering many of those holes have been covered by hard work it isn't hard to imagine him eventually becoming a passable help defender by sometime next year. If Johnson puts as much work in to cut down his tendency to foul then maybe the Raps will even survive the loss of Bosh to Chicago or Miami this offseason.

[Michel G]

A quick question Doug. You mentioned in the game-day chat yesterday that Amir Johnson will be a restricted free agent next year, but the ESPN website lists him as an unrestricted free agent. Which one is it? Thanks.

Blogger's note: I'll check

[Joe]

Doug, forget all that music they play....if they want the crowd to get fired up they should play Dropkick murphys "shipping up to Boston"

[Rob]

Did you really just recommend Cotton Eye'd Joe? Doug, I think you need to stick to the basketball writin' and leave the song pickin' to the kids...

[Jojo]

Bargs has always struck me as a pretty good perimeter defender for his size. He did a good job on Nash in that Phoenix game but Nash hit a couple of very tough fadeaways over him. I've seen it in other games as well. That said, I don't want to see Bargs get iso'd too much on Jennings tonight. Flynn is quick, Jennings is lightning.

I've seen others say it, but Marco is really feast or famine. It's one thing that he's a streaky shooter, but I'd like to see him get some PG duties or have Jay run some more pick and rolls for him to see if he can create for others. He's a gifted passer and I wish we could see more of that and less of the off-balance fadeaways. He also has some games where he gets to the line and others where he just drifts on the perimeter. Odd...hopefully he steps up tonight.

[GM]

If the Raps were playing better teams last night and tonight, do you think Jose would play? I know some teams hold out starters against weaker teams if there's a hint of ache or sniffles, but they play against meaningful teams. Or is Jose's injury going to keep him out even longer?

If Jay's okay with Bargnani getting switched out to guard guards because his footwork is good enough to keep guys in front of him, why can't he play the three? The experiment with him at that position was another lifetime ago, considering how much he's improved since then. Is it time to revisit it?

As for the booing, what makes you think it's personal? They're not necessarily booing the players, just the fact that it looked like it might be another collapse. Booing the situation, dreading what's coming up because they've seen it all too often before. The players shouldn't take it personally.

[Marc]

Hi Doug, you mentioned a Reggie Evans update during the chat...I haven't seen anything, can you fill us in?

Blogger's note: I did. It was up there for the duration. No news

[Steve]

I had just finished my gripe to the person beside me about why Wright was out there at the end of the game when he took that three.
My head nearly exploded when he put up the shot! That's not even the worst part though, it went in and my head did explode. It was nasty Doug, section 303 will never be the same.

[Manny G]

Hey Doug...you just brang me memories of the old Damon/Skydome days mentioning the Scottish bagpipe tune they used to have. I remember it being aweseome and effecting in getting the crowd into it from the TV atleast...talk to some heads...get that back!

[Mr. Cook]

Hey Doug,

Been reading as long as the blog has existed and from time to time like to express appreciation, so here it is.

I would like to say thanks for being polite and cordial. Readers who are slightly less frequent seem to miss your humour sometimes, but reading the 'replay' of the pre-game chat today ending in a thank you to the readers was a nice, professional touch.

cheers.

[Tiger]

Can't knock anybody's effort last night, it was just a brutal day at the shooting office, and in the end their efforts were awarded with the key stops and makes they needed down the stretch.
Yes, there were some bad defensive coverages and moments of stagnant offense, particularly during Banks' stint to finish the 3rd quarter. But I don't think that can be blamed on him, he's probably had zero practice time working in the regular rotation, and by now we all know what lack of familiarity and trust looks like, don't we? Or should...
Jose's been taking a lot of heat this season, so wasn't it interesting how much he was missed last night?
And after that realization, I'll bet more than a few breaths were held when Jack got himself Love-squished.

[The J]

If they start playing Cotton Eyed Joe at every game, I'll stop going to the ACC. Oh who am I kidding, how can I stop going to a place where I can buy a poutine dog.

[CARLoS M.]

not Cotton Eyed Joe! Pleeease Noooooo!!!

[Richard]

Doug,

I do not understand the booing either (frankly, I never understand booing) but I do understand the frustration of watching them put up jumper after jumper. 20 or more shots from beyond the arc is too many for my liking. I would not dispute that they were open looks but that doesn't mean they have to be taken. As I've heard many times from multiple and more knowledgeable sources, "they can get those looks anytime." What I find frustrating - and I'm sure I'm not alone - is that when the shots aren't falling they don't instinctively (or strategically) opt for plan B and head to the rim looking for contact. This option only seems to be employed once the lead is lost or in jeopardy. Now that said, they indeed got to the line 48 times, but I've got to say watching the game it sure didn't look like the bulk of those fouls came from attacking the rim, especially in the 2nd and 3rd quarter when they went one and done on numerous possessions.
So I ask, is this an accurate view or has it been distorted by my fan-dom?

Blogger's note: It's your view; the coaches were fine with the shots and the free throw totals; and they can get a good shot almost any time so when they get it, they should take it.

[RyanC]

Doug Hollinger is saying we only have a 47% chance to make the playoffs- might as well pack up til next season..and oh apperantly a 47% os good enough to still be the 8th seed..sometimes numbers are so pointless.

[Nick]

Hot soup? Could you explain what that means? Thanks.

Blogger's note: As I mentioned, it's a play call, like Sam's 'horns down.'

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,Demar Derozen looks like a solid draft pick,But didn't Bryan Colangelo look out his window into the Toronto skyline and say to himself Brandon Jenning?Was he plan B?

Blogger's note: Nope