Wondering how tonight shakes out

Join Doug Smith for a live Q&A at noon Friday, as the Raptors prepare to take on the Atlanta Hawks.

I had to get this done a wee bit more quickly than usual this morning because it’s time to search the closets for parkas, gloves and hats.

Ack.

Best thing about first cold snap: Super Dog becomes Super Cranky Dog and the walks are much shorter than usual.

On that note …

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What’s this one mean tonight?

Not an awful lot in the big picture and as I mentioned, when I brought up the subject of redemption to a few folks the other night in Milwaukee, there were a lot of “just another game” replies.

I wonder if that’s true.

Now, the game in Atlanta last week (the Raptors were edged 146-115 in a thriller, if you don’t recall) was far, far more about Toronto’s lack of effort than anything the Hawks did, so it’s not as if Atlanta ran it up or anything.

But I suspect that deep in their heart of hearts, these fellows are thinking about putting up a bit more fight tonight, for no other reason than to show the world they can.

Of course, putting up more fight needs to be the nightly goal but I believe that this game will have a little bit more juice to it than another run-of-the-mill regular-season outing.

It won’t be the defining moment of the season and if they lose, they lose, but the manner in which they achieve the result will be something of a telling sign.

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Know what I’d like to see tonight against the Hawks, if Jose can’t play?

(And I am virtually sure all we’ll find out this morning at shootaround is that they’ll make the decision at game time, so it’ll be a non-news day).

I’d like to see Turkoglu, Belinelli and Wright out on the court with Bosh and either Bargnani (same scenario as Calderon’s, I think) or Johnson when Jack needs a blow.

Marcus Banks has been okay but if they want to get Turk going or Belinelli going (more on that later) giving them some extra time and a chance to share ball-handling skills might be a good move.

It’s a different look, one the Hawks wouldn’t have seen or had time to prepare for, and is probably worth a shot.

It’s not like Toronto’s been a well-oiled machine on offence the last two games.

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Oh yeah, we’ll be here to answer questions at noon so feel free to join in. Attendance has been pretty good – we haven’t cracked the 1,000 barrier yet but it’s growing – and I know there are probably a lot of you frustrated that your questions don’t get through.

Well, for the Bucks one, for instance, we were on the air for 66 minutes and got 248 questions. That’s a lot, I think. We were able to answer just over 70 (these are all figures I’m getting from the company software we use and trust they’re accurate) and that was among the busiest days we’ve had.

So, keep plugging away, we try to get to as many as we can.

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I get the boarding passes for the trips this week, Toronto to Cleveland, Cleveland to Milwaukee and back again, and I notice every one’s an ‘A’ seat, like 14A, 12A, 19A and 1A.

Shoot, I think. I’m much more an aisle guy than a window guy, but they’re short flights so I’ll be okay.

Well, turns out ‘A’ seats are both aisles and windows since there’s only one seat on that side of the aircraft.

Cozy? Oh yeah.

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Hawks won’t have Josh Joe Smith on Friday, he’s out with a dislocated thumb. At least what it says here in the AJC piece from the morning paper.

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Guess all those people who felt the need to be so critical of the group of us who left Chris Kaman off the all-star ballot don’t have the courage of their convictions.

If they felt so badly about the snub, they could write him in as a starter, but the first returns don’t show him anywhere in the top 12.

Maybe their pens ran out of ink.

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Speaking of Milwaukee, here’s a Did You Know.

Picking up this week’s New Yorker at a newsstand in the airport, I notice among the gum and candy and sundries that are for sale you can also buy cheese curds.

Don’t see that delicacy in too many airport shops, that’s for sure.

But seeing how the press room meal included spinach au gratin and mashed potatoes with cheddar, it’s not a surprise that the state’s greatest product – now that all the breweries are closed, that is – is available in many versions everywhere.

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Back to the all-star ballot for a second.

See that both Bosh as a forward and Bargnani as a centre are third in the first returns.

Makes sense, I guess. But as an irregular pointed out in the comments section, the gap between Bosh and leaders LeBron and Garnett is a lot larger than you’d think.

Now, I am convinced that, if things stay the way they are, there is no doubt in my mind that coaches put Bosh on the team and if they don’t they should have their voting privileges revoked.

The interesting thing to me is that Bosh is right now ahead of Paul Pierce in voting for forwards. Pierce is having a good year but Bosh is having a far, far better one. Guess fans notice that. Which is odd.

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This is a day or so old, but I hope a lot of you saw Jay’s quote from my early game story the other day about the handling of Belinelli as it affects his play right now.

"The way I play him, it’s my fault. If I don’t get him in early enough, I just don’t feel like he gets into a flow. I think we’re starting to find that out with a couple of guys. We have to get them a little bit earlier and get them a feel for the game. When that happens, they seem to play better.

“When I leave him (Belinelli) on the bench for a little bit because DeMar’s going well or I put a different sub in, he kind of gets lost. I don’t know if he starts thinking he’s not valuable or he’s not going to help us and I take the blame for that.”

It’s a nice quote and all that, went a long way to helping a quick game-over story have some oomph, but really it’s little more than a coach taking a bullet for an under-achieving player.

I guess the only rotation thing I’d do, if Jay really believes that, is make Belinelli the first sub – putting him in for DeRozan – and bringing Antoine Wright in a few minutes later for Turkoglu.

Not sure that works, though, because there seems to be a continued desire to stretch out the rookie’s first-half minutes and taking him out first cuts him back a bit.

A quandary, indeed.

But it’s easily solvable.

Maybe Belinelli, who has some very good games in the exact same rotation, should just play better more often.

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Hey, you gals and guys did a good job filling the mailbag on the off-day. Didn’t see one “When’s Reggie coming back?” question, very few “woe is them” rants of despair. Good questions about the process and the league.

Way to go. But with a shindig to attend Saturday night (which is usually the Answering Hours) it’s going to have to get pretty much finished Saturday during the day, which leaves you just today to get more in.

Send ‘em here, as usual.

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See ya.

Comments

[Reid]

Joe smith is out Doug not Josh Smith

Blogger's note: Got it. Early morning mush-mind to blame.

[Allen]

Is bargs back tonight?

Blogger's note: You're kidding, right? We won't know until tonight or at the very least until after shootaround, as has been mentioned in various places at least three times that I can think of

[John Smith]

Still says Josh Smith Doug. Those editors arent doing their job! Great work on the blog as usual! Easily one of the best reads in the morning.

Blogger's note:That was on me, not the editors. But now, I believe, it's truly fixed

[Foret]

Hey Doug, I'm not one of the "Where's Kaman" chastisers, but hard to agree with you on the write-in ballots. It's a futile effort not worth wasting time over.

Spencer Hawes is in 12th place with 10,733 votes - are you really surprised that 11,000 people haven't written Kaman's name down? Who takes a pen to the arena? If he was a punch-and-drop option on the card he would occupy the 6th slot between Oden and Jefferson.

Has anyone ever made the team as a write in? I believe not but lack the fact checking capabilities of a beat grunt.

[erc]

The walks may be the problem.
It's said that dogs take on the personality of their owners. Let Super Son walk SD and he might be a lot less cranky -- at least until someone disagrees with him.

Blogger's note: Subtle. Yet cheap. And not at all unexpected.

[Dave Joseph]

hi
I would like to know what Raptors coaches can be thinking
to let a POINT GUARD namely Banks stay on the floor
after taking the ball down the court and taking a shot right away without even thinking of passing the ball to
any of other 4 players all of which have a better chance of making the shot.

[Mike H]

Wouldn't give the all star voters too much credit with Tracy McGrady leading the way without even playing a game

[erc]

Being ready is half the battle.
Your retort was neither subtle nor unexpected and cheapness, like beauty, is a relative term.

[Matt M]

The Raps are in tough tonight. Small, quick lineups seem to give them a lot of trouble and with Horford and Smith up front Bosh and whoever will have their hands full. Hopefully Bargnani and Calderon are back so that the Raps can field a complete lineup.
If Calderon can't go then I agree Turk and Belinelli are better options than Banks. Maybe handling the ball more will help Belinelli with his focus on the game. It seemed to help Parker last year. I might consider Derozan over Wright, but understand Triano might prefer a veteran presence to the rook. All the speculation might be moot as Triano doesn't seem to like to changing his lineups. So really, I expect to see Banks on the floor tonight. Either way I hope the Raps will gut out a win. They certainly could use a few more of those under their belt.

[MC B-Rad]

How come it doesnt seem anyone is asking coach why the big drop off in minutes for Derozan? Have you asked him specifically why this is happening? It seems he gets love in the beginning/first half of a game, doesnt do anything to warrant being pulled, but barely gets back in in the second half. Any guesses why? Anyone in mainstream asking Jay about this?

Blogger's note: Your information is wrong. In the last five games, he's played 24:29, 24:35, 24:53, 27:02 and a high of 30:00 in the extended garbage time in Atlanta. He averages 19.8 per game so, in fact, they're up. So perhaps the "mainstream media" is focused on other things.

[GM]

I agree with Foret I. Write-ins are useless. It's not gonna happen.That's why it's important the selection committee gets it right. Of course, that's almost impossible with the early deadline they set.

Not so sure the Atlanta game was all on the Raptors. Surely the way they lost was, but my guess is that Atlanta's a very good team this year. The only chance the Raps have tonight is the let-down factor. If the Hawks come in thinking it'll be a cakewalk, and the Raps realize they have to play their best the whole game, then things might just work out.

[Andrew]

Hi Doug,

I don't understand why it's worth anyone's time to read the blog, insult you, and then come back to read your response to the insult. My suggestion is you might do well by not posting such comments, or responding to them. Seperating the wheat from the chaff, right? I'm a little nervous that the Raps might get spanked without Jose or Bargs tonight (that is, if they can't play). Is a good short-handed effort enough to keep people calm? Or, are we just too crazy a bunch to stay calm after a loss? Keep up the great work. Much appreciated.

[kelsey]

Yesterday some one commented on Calderon and Bargnani defence that lost game in Milwaukee(being smart). I will be the 1st to say there defence is not good, however the raptors all together team defence is not good. I dont think Toronto has morphed in a culture of being a good defense team at this point, partially coaching-yes, patially players -Yes..I never stated that Raptors are a better team with out these players, cause they are not. However long term Colangelo will have to really look at these players. There is no way Raptors will ever be good defense with Hedo, Calderon and Bargnani in starting line up bottom line. Hence not be a threat in NBA..Colangelo Lock up Bosh and market Bargnani (as we cant move Hedo with that contract) Peace!

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

That was an interesting and very open quote from Triano about Belinelli. I know you field an absurd number of comments suggesting rotation changes for the Raptors, but Triano was being pretty frank. Do you think he is considering starting Belinelli and bringing DeRozan off the bench? Or would that inflict too much damage on DeRozan's confidence? The kid seems pretty tough.

I like the DeRozan pick by the Raps--even if Jennings was still on the board, though no one could have predicted Jennings would take off like he has. But the other guy I really like is James Harden. Going to be a good one. OKC is a really interesting team.

Blogger's note: No changes even being considered at the moment.

AG, Toronto

[MC B-Rad]

Doug...sorry I didnt make my question clear....i agree his (derozan's) minutes in general are going up...however, it seems he is getting all his minutes/touches in the first half and next to nothing in the second half...i watch every single game on 52 inch HD so its not like I am getting bad info; i've watched it happen...it wasnt a dig at you or "mainstream media"...the reason i included that line in my question was strictly because you guys are the ones that get direct access to the coaches and players and can therefore ask the question of why no second half love?

[The J]

Foret - Magic Johnson was voted in by write in the season after he retired due to HIV. Obviously, a very rare case. Hard to imagine thousands or write-ins for anything other than that kind of extreme.

[Leonardo]

Bargnani out is a disaster for the Raptors offense. Bargnani when the Raptors are attacking needs to be defended out of the perimeter and no other big gives that on that part of the field. On the defensive end Bargs brings more that what a lot of people think.

[anthony.mackay]

Lets hope the Raps play a little D tonight and its not just another Slam Dunk competition for Josh Smith..... although I do like watching his left handed windmills...

[Don_O]

Where's DeMar?..Jay's substitution patterns are puzzling especially when it comes to DeMar, he's been a solid producer in the first half but loses his touches and minutes in the third and fourth quarters. Jay needs to do a better job in involving the rook in the offense, considering his will and desire to attack the rim - something we miss dearly from our wings.