Some pap, some drivel and some wildly entertaining nuggets.

All right, four in a row. Everyone feeling somewhat better about the Heroes Of The Hardcourt?

I know, it’s not like they beat the Lakers, Magic, Celtics and Cavs but the schedule is what the schedule is and beating bad teams counts as much as beating good ones. And we all know that just because an opponent is allegedly weaker doesn’t mean a thing where these guys are concerned.

Anyway ….

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THREE THINGS I LEARNED

One big play

The dagger came with just about a minute left on the Weems dunk but it was set up by one of the most under-stated plays of a big game from Chris Bosh.

It was simply effort – and I know it should be commonplace but we all know it isn’t – but when he reached around or over a defender to tip a missed shot back out to Andrea Bargnani, it was the kind of little play that decides close games.

It set into action a chain of events where Bargnani didn’t force anything and held the ball to make the right pass, Turkoglu did what he was supposed to do and drive the ball rather than shoot it and they got a huge basket out of it.

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Here’s why

There were all kinds of questions, and all kinds of angst, about why there was such a limited role for Sonny Weems early yesterday.

I had people wondering if he was sick, if Jay had lost his marbles, if he was hurt.

So, intrepid scribe that I am, I went to a pretty good source the first chance I got to find out why.

And I was told by someone who’d know that the coaching staff was upset that Weems was “hugging” his man on the weak side while defending, putting him out of position to box out on the defensive boards, allowing the Pistons free passage to the glass.

And it goes to prove a point oft-made that when teams are hammering the Raptors on the offensive glass, it’s not always the bigs who are missing assignments.

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Back to Bosh

Yes, he had a monster first half, 19 points and nine rebounds and it looked like a huge game was coming.

No, he didn’t score much in the second half but it wasn’t for lack of trying.

It was because the Pistons showed something defensively that few teams have tried this season.

On a handful of possessions, they had a small guy – Tayshaun Prince a lot of the times I was watching away from the ball closely –- wrestling with Bosh on the block while a big was behind him or cheating over on him not more than a yard or two away.

Made it all but impossible to quickly and efficiently enter the ball to him and that’s why he didn’t get many shots or touches in that stretch.

It’s also part of the reason the offence got so stagnant at times but, again, offence is not going to be an issue with this team and they eventually figured it out.

The swung the ball side-to-side and got good looks and even with their main offensive weapon somewhat neutralized, they got enough scoring.

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And now, more.

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Yes, it took 2:49 to play that marathon yesterday, TWO HOURS AND FORTY-NINE FREAKING MINUTES.

Longest non-overtime game they’ve ever played, beating by four minutes the very first regular season game in franchise history way back in 1995.

(Talk about your long-standing records? They don’t get any more long-standing that that, do they).

Anyway, as I’m sitting there two seats down from Paul Jones, I’m thinking, you know, there probably aren’t too many people who worked both of those games.

Lucky us.

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This is a little bit old but it’s also the first time we’ve been here in a few days so tardiness is allowed.

Stan Van Gundy was saying the other day in this story that the NBA should do entirely away with Christmas Day games, a radical proposal indeed and one with which I agree one kabillion per cent.

I didn’t watch a lot of games on Friday for two simple facts:

I’d rather hang with my family eating and drinking and having fun, and, just as important I guess, the games generally suck.

I understand completely that the TV networks call the scheduling show for almost the entire season and they like the live programming they can offer. Nothing is likely to change simply because Stan and I – and lots of others, I imagine – wish it to change.

If the NBA Cares, as it says it does, wouldn’t it be good to send a message to its players, coaches, fans and employees that there should be some time to spend with ones family around the holidays?

I do recall the one and only time the Raptors played on Christmas Day, back in 2001 against the Knicks.

Lots of anticipation, lots of logistical nightmares for a Grunt with a five-year-old and others connected to the team with young children and lots of bad, bad basketball.

Toronto got drilled, it was one of the most poorly played games of that year and only because a Benevolent Boss went an extra mile to make things easy on me and my family did I not hate it with red-hot intensity.

This idea of Stan’s will run counter to the thoughts of many who like to sit in front of a TV and watch endless holiday games for various reasons.

But if there were no games, don’t you think they could find something else do to?

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I’ve adapted this from a wisecrack I hear in the media room after the game but in the time it’s taken you to read this far, Bennie Adams, bob Delaney and Derek Richardson have called three personal fouls, two cheapies on Andrea Bargnani.

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This is how that game Sunday was chronicled down in Detroit.

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Let me get this straight:

Guy somehow manages to get explosives through security and on to an airplane. Tragedy is averted only by luck, it would seem.

And now the U.S. Transportation Administration and its Canadian counterpart have decided the thing to do is give more power and responsibility to same collective group of hourly-wage employees that let this happen?

Yeah, I’m feeling far more comfortable now about my flight to Boston on Friday.

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This is kind of interesting and not something I knew about until I just glanced at the post-game notes the crack PR staff of the Raptors put together.

I did realize that Toronto will finish December with a winning record regardless of what transpires on Wednesday against Charlotte.

The Raptors are now 8-6 this month and I imagine not many figured that would be happen after the ugliness of November.

But it’s also the first time since 2003 that they’ll be over .500 for December.

That strikes me as a bit surprising for some reason.

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What do you think?

Of the dozen or so readers who wrote into say they would never watch this sorry bunch of heartless losers again about three weeks ago and to call them around the lottery or when Bryan/Jay/Me/Everyone was fired, how many are back?

Just wondering.

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Am I a dope or what?

(You don’t have to answer, it’s rhetorical).

I file the first of many stories to the website about 6 p.m. last night and somehow type Antoine Walker instead of Antoine Wright, getting my slowish bad three-point shooting Antoines mixed up.

An alert reader points it out about 7 p.m. in a private e-mail and we get it fixed on the web then.

So, what had I done?

Well, I’d cut and pasted the same mistake into the second game story I wrote (this one with a fresher angle for those who get their news either in the paper or first thing in the morning) and it stays there until just now, when I was again reminded – not so gently – that I’m an idiot.

It’s a hazard of having many stories, containing some similar elements, about the same game.

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Comments

[Aaron]

Doug

Was at the game yesterday and had no idea what was going on with the Pistons complaining to the refs and the refs repeatedly going to the scorekeeper to check on something. What was that about?

Blogger's note: Confirming the number of team fouls at one point, as I learned after the game. Not a huge issue and was resolved quickly

[James]

Hi Doug...

I would agree that Christms Day games should not be played, because I do think everyone should have the opportunity to be with families. However, not everyone has family, or if they do, a close family. Not everyone has kids to deal with on Christmas or if your like me (Dont like roasted Turkey)...so what is in this day for them? Basketball will not determine the outcome of these peoples day, but what if it brings a special element to them, becuase they are alone, or cannot get to thier families, or simply dont have families. When the Raptors played that game back in 2001 you mentioned you had a five year old at the time. I would have been annoyed personaly if I wasn't able to spend the day with them and give them my full attention. But back in 2001 for me I was 26 years old, no family inbetween g-friends and my handi-capped brother had taken very ill in the hospital. My father was snowed-in in Bobcaygeon and me and mother spent the whole day in the hospital waiting, wishing and hoping he would be o.k (and he was). I was never so happy - as a Raps fan - to get the chance to see that game, that day. It helped me get my mind off the situation and brought to me some "comfort and Joy". Point is, this is one of many reasons why Christmas day isn't always a "greeting crad" of love and family and togetherness, and I think sometimes you (in third person) have to think outside of you and your lifestyles way of living. Sometimes, circiumstances changes things that are uncontrolable, and sometimes (unfortunatley) for some people (family spending time) doesn't exist or if it does, no matter how hard they try, that just cannot seem to get together....work, travel constrictions, the want to be with your family. That NBA game can be a welcomed event (cause we all know, how sick of christmas movies we all are by the 25th! lol)
Just some input - thanks

[Aditya]

you calling me an idiot doug (for reminding you of the antoine walker thing)? all i said was:

You (in your article this morning): ...were quite average but Marco Belinelli and seldom-used Antoine Walker came up with good efforts.
Me: Wait, woooot.....Antoine Walker signed with the Raptors...(They sending a message to Turkoglu or something..?!??!)

Blogger's note: Actually, it was the idiot who called me a Cdn no nothing blog writer that I was calling an idiot.

[rob]

I couldn't agree with you more on the xmas games.. there were some good match ups that I wouldd love to watch if it was on a game time ,,(e.g. lakers-cavs.) but who is going to sit around the whole day watching game after game... needless to say I ,and many others I presume, didn't watch a minute of those games on the 25th. which is a shame really...

[Mike Ulangot]

A lot of flopping in this game Doug. Do you ever see the NBA making changes regarding obvious "flops" and how the refs deal with them? A technical foul maybe?

Blogger's note: They say they're going to crack down every year and don't so I don't imagine that's going to change

[erc]

You are right. They didn't beat the Lakers, Celts etc. on this gigantic four-game run. Anyone who expects them to put up a run like that against the league elite needs to buy more Northern Telecom stock.
The heartening aspect, as you point out, is that they beat FOUR not-so-good teams in a row. They didn't take a mini-vacation after a couple wins and get smoked by a team they should have beat. They also put a pretty good beat-down on a couple clubs. Their normal gait against the league's weak sisters has traditionally been to go three-quarters speed for most of the game and then put it to the floor in the final six or seven minutes and sometimes win.
The game yesterday slipped away a bit in the second half, but hey, Detroit with Prince, Gordon and the Masked Marvel back isn't the same team they clobbered in Mo-town. They withstood the run and won.
The Charlotte game should really tell us something. High-energy team that drubbed TO last game. Will they be out for revenge or highly-fatigued and unmotivated from winning four in a row Should go a long way to tell if they've truly turned the corner.

[Jheezy]

You seem to be quite fond of SVG Doug. I recall you using one of his quotes last year when asked about Kobe or Lebron, or Phil Jackson or Red Auerbach. You both said, "You take one, I'll take the other". I'm a long time reader and I know that wasn't a coincidence. Just curious, is there anything you don't like about Stan the Man? Personally, I like his "no Bull****" attitude. He gets to the point.

Blogger's note: I think Stan's a good coach and a good quote; but I'm not around him every day to have a real strong opinion about likes and dislikes.

[Kevin]

Hi Doug,

I seem to recall Christmas day having a game or two. I really don't see the need for five games on Christmas day.

[Matt M]

Yay a 0.500+ month. They had better come out strong against Charlotte because the Raps had tons of trouble with Wallace, Jackson, Chandler and company last go round. It would be nice to see them build off this streak and start consistently playing good basketball for the remainder of the season. Hopefully Weems gets the message Triano was trying to send. The Raps need his energy on the floor.

[Peter]

You're not a dope. Maybe I should have been a little more gentle in pointing out the error. I always enjoy your work Doug!

Blogger's note: Nah, you were cool; I appreciate it.

[JHP]

Happy New Year !!

I think being called a Canadian ia a good thing :-))

And of course I've been called a lot worse.

[HopeCaper]

Hey Doug,
Great game in the first half, ugly in the 2nd and it wasn't all on the Raps. Many of our community have from time to time commented on the reffing in the NBA.
I know you like to give the refs some slack for a difficult job but I would like to make a suggestion that might give the fan some relief from those blankety-blank guys with the whistles. The NHL while far from perfect does strive to have the game as the showcase and refs should be as much in the background as possible. To that end only a coach or player (with the C or A on his jersey) can speak with the ref. What a great idea! The Pistons showed that it isn't just their athletic skill which helps them win games. It is their ability to work the officials that really make the difference. While some of the calls (to me) seemed blatenly wrong even Leo was commenting on how Hamilton was working the refs to get some of those non-calls. The TV coverage was at times following this sub-plot more than the game. This is just too WWF for a supposedly professional league. It needs to be cleaned up.

[Steph R]

James, Regardless of ones individual situation a holiday is still a holiday. We may not always have something to celebrate, but we all need time to reflect. The Raptors are a distraction to real life, all too often distractions consume our lives and we don't take the time to ponder what really matters.
..
Any holiday, Thanks Giving, Christmas, New Years, Easter, Birthdays and all the other holidays I missed or are celebrated by others are time provided to us take some time for ourselves, regardless of what you do with that time. For a sports league to impose onto it's players to entertain us when the rest of society takes that day off to be with family and friends is just not right. In my opinion.

[Darren]

Doug, a suggestion for your flight - take Porter. They're reporting no lineups and they fly to Boston - and as someone who's flown that flight with Porter a few times, it's fast, efficient, and much better than going in and out of Pearson.

My $0.02.

Blogger's note: I booked a long time ago and seem to recall there being no Porter flights to Boston on Jan. 1.

[doug]

let's see 4 twelve minute quarters and ahalftime of say 15 minutes...takes 2 hours and 49 minutes thats absurd...that was the worse officiated game of the year, they weren't eve working as a crew together...they were all ove rthe place with their calls a sham....their should never,ever be games on xmas i never ever watch them and never wil just on principle...

[Tiger]

I remember someone remarking that this city wouldn't be happy if it had nothing to gripe about.
OK, so it was me... and to keep myself happy, I now gripe about the Raps' sparse schedule. At least this is somewhat consistent with griping about their stupidly crammed early schedule, because there will inevitably follow another ridiculously dense stretch.
Seriously, just as 4 games in 5 nights is too much basketball to follow, 2 games a week nearly puts them out of sight/out of mind. Those responsible for this nonsense are certainly proving that no rocket science goes into NBA scheduling. Thank the Grunt Gods for this blog to keep us filled in or filled out despite the vagaries of the schedule!
Gripe over, a 5-game win streak is there for the taking (when was the last time we could say that?), against a 1-for-13 road team, regardless of the embarassment in Charlotte. So long as they remember to take their medication to fight Bad Joey Syndrome, that is.

[Striker77]

Hey Doug,

I just hope that this string of 4 games, or the 8-6 record does not get raptors fans to jump on, only to jump off again when things do not go so well. I think its important to not get too excited in winning streaks, and not to upset during losing streaks. Of course, a fan wants their team to win... However, its a true fan that sticks with them, when things are not working, instead of just calling for rolling heads.

I think that Toronto fans need to chill, and enjoy the game a little more. My favorite game of the year? that 1 point loss to Phoenix, not any of the 15 wins were more entertaining to me over that 1 loss... But, its the basketball that counts, not always the wins and losses. Yes I want the team to win, but more importantly, I want the team to compete, and thats what theyve been doing, and it leads to more winning.

I hope that Calderon does not get axed, even though Jack and Banks have done a good job in his absence. Lets just keep real for a bit, and see how this back court does against the big tests coming up in the next few games (Boston, San Antonio etc.)

Happy New Year,

[Thane]

Doug, have you ever tried to do anything on Xmas? For those of us who are forced not to work (by the gov't pretending it's a secular holiday, just coincidentally on the biggest Xtian holiday around) there really isn't much to do - everything is closed.

It's the perfect time for a good game to be on. Not everybody is doing Xmas dinner with their families.

[dribbles]

I thought the refs were pretty bad both ways last night. Andrea gets called for more phantom offensive fouls when he's trying to post up than anyone I've ever seen. That one when Stuckey flopped was a classic garbage call against him. Even Leo, who usually takes it fairly easy on the refs, said Andrea gets called for more ticky-tack fouls than anyone else. At some point BC or Triano might want to consider calling the league out on this already. I know the guy isn't a star like Dwight Howard but that's part of the problem.

I'm sure a lot of the people who wrote this team off are still watching, but calling them out because this team is beating bad to mediocre teams strikes me as unnecessary, if I may say so. Until the Raps beat some good teams, they are a middling, mediocre team and I think fans have every right to be ticked off about that, especially if they're completely unable to stop anyone. Their D has looked better lately (caveat being the competition), so hopefully that continues. Historically bad defence has a way of upsetting fans, especially ones with Kobe's 81 still burned in their brains.

[WSG]

Good blog, today. Re Xmas day games – I certainly get why many would prefer they don’t happen, but for me on Saturday, being able to watch Celtics at Orlando and then Cavs at Lakers made it a HO-LI-DAY! Didn’t get to see much of the other games, but having those games to watch with family members (a couple of whom I think I converted) who also enjoyed having a room where the games were on, was a treat that we all seemed to feel, made the day that bit extra special. I’ll be curious to see what the ratings were like. I, for one, hope they were good.

[Mike Kovacs]

Hey Doug,

I agree with having NBA games on xmas, it is time for players to spend times with their families. What I dont get is why the NBA would have no games on xmas eve, and games on xmas day?

[O.J.]

Hey Doug,

The Detroit win was a good one; however, I am not convinced yet with this Raptors squad as it might be just fools gold. Detroit had 3 players coming back from injury. I think the real test will be the Charlotte and Boston games as those teams should present more difficult defensive assignments. Although they lost to the Spurs, I actually expect the Raps to win that game as I've been watching the Spurs last few games & they struggle defending the 3 point shot and their offense looks real sluggish. I still think the key is Bargs bringing the defensive intensity I've seen from him in helping, defending the paint & grabbing boards because what the other players bring has remained fairly consistent the last little while.

[jc]

Hey Doug,
sure, the player of the game award and a dime will still just leave you with 10 cents but why the love for AB yesterday? Bosh had more rebounds than Andrea had points. Was it just the weight of the scoring, in that AB rolled off five timely points at crunchtime? Or do we just have the bar so low for the ex-rook and so high for the ex-ex rook? I saw you said you were ok with it in your in game chat and i kind of was too, but why?

Blogger's note: Scored in a variety of ways, was more aggressive on offence than usual, which was a good step; and had a solid game.

[jc]

BTW,
Before any of the purists elsewhere get recharged after the antoine walker debacle.....double check where you've got the Raps positioned in the conference. You say 5th but i've still got the Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic, Hawks and Wade ahead of them leaving them at 6th

[chris]

Totally agree with no games on xmas. Everyone (players, season ticket holders, coaches, arena and broadcasting staff, even you guys) have other things they'd rather be doing.

Weems makes a boneheaded play or two but i love how he attacks the glass after shots. There were many times last night where he and bosh were the only ones doing it.

If Bargs EVER does it i'll actually start liking him as a player.