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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Comments

[MC_Brad]

Any guesses on who makes the pucks team or not concerned at all?

Blogger's note: No guesses and no real interest at all at the moment.

[JT29]

I really hope the Raptors win tonight because they really need to beat a team with Athletic wings and players in general. Turk is big but can't guard or can't create against an any athletic guards. DeRozan has the same issues, granted, he's a rook so he gets a bit of a pass.

And Doug, have you noticed the Raptors also can't beat teams who run a lot or almost exclusively plays a half court offense? The Raptors are very competitive and good against teams who are the in-betweeners, split the offenses fairly equally or are neither known as run and gun or half court set teams.

Blogger's note: No, hadn't noticed.

[jimt]

Regarding Del negro the Bulls hired him knowing he never coached before.In doing so it makes sense to give the man the courtesy of 3 years to develop both as a coach and his REbuilding team.And in reality the Bulls are not that good to begin with and theres only so much a coach can do.The media should also stop fueling this as there is better stories to pursue.

Doug Happy New Year, get this lol the Chinese year of the Tiger.
Happy Bday Mr Woods.
Happy Bday Lebron

[Derek]

Hi Doug,
Question on Tmac. I agree whole-heartedly that the Raps shouldn't be interested in any trade scenario's involving Tmac. That being said - "if" he ends up getting waived by the Rockets (if they can't find a trade partner), do you think it would be a good idea to pick him up if you could get him for the veteran minimum (or something close to that)? Obviously they'd be competing with lots of teams if it gets to that point, but just curious if you think he'd be a good fit in terms of the personnel?

Blogger's note: All things considered. Like the investment in Turkoglu and DeRozan's development, no.

[pooks]

Hey Doug, was that quote from a thespian of an animated variety, by chance?

If I don't make it to the blog tonight, all the best in 2010 for you and yours!

Blogger's note: As a matter of fact, no; it was the great Frank Barone. But I presume some animator may have stolen it. :)
And thanks

[Blake Kennedy]

Doug:

Trading for McGrady's expiring contract in fact makes a lot of sense if it means getting out from under the team's current bad contracts - like, for example, the guy they just gave a foolish five-year contract to. If the Raptors manage to unload, say, Calderon and Turkoglu and perhaps Evans or Wright (or both!) to clear out that much cap space, that would not be a foolish idea at all.

And belated Merry Christmas and I hope a healthy and safe 2010 for you, Super Wife, Super Son, Super Dog, et alia.

[Mike kovacs]

Try again:

I'm a purist - the decade does not end until the end of 2010 since there was no year '0'!

[JT29]

T-Mac Question.
If he's available at or near the veteran minimum, why don't you think he would make the Raptors better and more competitive? Sure you have Turk and DeRozan (needs time for development) there for the long term but T-Mac is still a significant upgrade over Weems, Belli, and Wright. That's his minutes right there.
T-Mac could provide the kick in the pants that Turk might need to start playing better.

[Penny]

Hi Doug

Any word on whether or not Jose will be back soon?

Blogger's note: Maybe Jan. 6

[HopeCaper]

Hey Doug,
Cold and wintery here in ole NB. I am sure there is no wind blowing anywhere else in North America as it is all here. Great articles in the Star. So nice to read about the team and not what can be done to the team to make it "better". As to Bosh he has done what the guy he is eclipsing had never done-- play for the team. He has become what his team needed instead of quitting and moving on. It is unfortunate that many who write here and in the public media have not bothered to acknowledge that. On top of that he has shown himself to be articulate, creative, and a community asset. I hope his situation for the future plays out here because, "you don't know what you got 'til its gone". This guy has done nothing but get better every year he has played not unlike another youong 7 footer on the team.

[chris]

I hate that we're talking about being satisfied with a loss against charlotte provided there's good effort.

Welcome to not accomplishing anything.

btw - Calderon would be a perfect PG for Houston, and i'd love to get out of his contract.

[Andre]

Hey Doug,

I understand why mcgrady WONT work with the raptors, can you explain it to ppl one more time, so that i can stop reading about it...

Happy New Years.

Thanks

[Matt M]

I agree with Jack. This game can provide a better read of where the Raps are right now. The Raps have proven repeatedly they can beat teams they match up well against. Charlotte is not a team that they match up well with because the Bobcats run the floor and have good length and athleticism at big and on the wing. They will need their A-game to win tonight or they will get smoked. I'm looking forward to watching it.

[Tiger]

Interesting how Wade and Bosh decided to let others speak during their respective clear-the-air meetings, while last week Gerald Wallace publicly called out his whole team and specifically the poor rebounding of "the 4 and the 5" (i.e. Boris Diaw and Tyson Chandler).
A foot injury kept Chandler out of the Bobcats' last game, a win at home, and all it tells me is that whether he was a problem or not, they can win with his backups.
Another interesting Bobcats story is Stephen Graham, the much travelled twin brother of we-know-who. Larry Brown seems to love the guy for what he is, a versatile sub who can give him effective minutes. Bobcats fans pillory Brown for giving those minutes to a no-future bum instead of to their young'uns.
I wonder what Raps fans would have thought of Joey with Stephen's salary?

[JHP]

I'm shocked and amazed you are actually delaying anything for a pucks event.

Working a contract 40 kilometers North of Chicago and have been to a couple Bulls games. One was against the Spurs (Red Rocket looked good) and the other was against that Kobe fellow. In both cases they did not show well. The local fans are out for blood and seem a new coach will fix all the issues. Bet you never heard that before.

By the way how many current/ex Raptors have a championship ring ?

Blogger's note: Quite a few. Rasho, Chauncey, Tabak, Olajuwon, Salley, Lindsey Hunter and I'm sure there are lot of others.

[Johnn19]

For all the non thinking idiots who want to trade Calderon, consider who is going to play PG if Jack or Turkoglu should step on someones foot, and turn an ankle and miss 10/12 games. Also let BC worry about the salaries, as he gets paid a lot of money to do so.

[Joe]

Interesting connection between Bickerstaff and Sam Mitchell. If Del Negro does get the boot, it would be nice to see Sam get another coaching opportunity. He may not have been the greatest technical X and O coach but there hasn't been anyone as colorful and charismatic as he was. He also played a role in developing Bosh and Calderon.

[Zombywoof]

Remember McGrady's first game back in TO? Holding out the letters on his jersey and mocking the fans? Yeah, we really need this guy. It says a lot about the state of the game when a player's contract is more important than what the player might bring to a team. McGrady has sucked for years. Somebody should run an over/under on the number of games he plays before he goes out with an injury.

[Jerry]

The payback against the Bobcats doesn't interest me in the least.
The payback that does is coming up against Celtics.....and I don't mean just payback in winning it's standing up against them and not cower in a corner!

[GP]

I find the stories like the one involving Jay and Larry Brown is what makes this blog as great as it is. It's not the type of thing you would normally read about in daily articles and I think that's what sets the blog apart. Love to see more of these types of stories!!

[TJ]

Happy holidays to all.
Now on to my thoughts on the Raps and such:
-no we should not trade for TMac!! We are young and talented, he's broken and talented.
-no we should not trade Jose! I am a big fan of him, but I do think having Jarret start is better for the team, bit Jose and Jarret splitting almost eaqul time at the PG spot bodes very well for this team. I believe they both are team 1st players and care about winning more then who starts.
-Hedo is playing the way I expected, doing a little bit of everything to help us have achance at winning. Defense needs to go up another notch, but I think that is for him and the play offs (patience, and you'll see).
-Andrea has quietly changes his style of play. He has been moving ever so closer to the rim, both on offense and defense, and it's helping evryone around him. I think this time next year we're going to see a more complete package. Last spring and his fall he has figured out that he can score almost any time he gets the ball, recently he's getting the other parts of his game to measure up to his scoring. We are slowly watching him become a complete player (not super star but valuable to the raps) .

-Player(s) to keep an eye on: Demar and Weems, once again patience is in order.
This team is play off worthy this year. But if we can all be patient we may just see at team that is being built and groomed for the next 4 years of play off series, and not just 1st round exits, but us being the favorite. Patience, we as fans want a quick fix now team, "show us the promise land today", and worry about next year, next year. BC has built a decent team for the future.