DeMar's got a big fan; and so does Marco

Something of a slowish day yesterday as they basked in the glow. A far cry from some day-after-game sessions, that’s for sure.

But a dearth of truly entertaining nuggets so you’ll have to do with these:

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The other morning, a few of us were standing around talking to Kobe Bryant after the Laker shootaround (including his Close Personal Friend Cabbie, whose Kobe stuff is, like all Cabral’s stuff, excellent) and the conversation gets to DeMar DeRozan.

Kobe lauds the kid for his work ethic and desire to improve and when I asked him if that’s a trait most youngsters lack, he was quick to agree.

“I think it’s the times that we live in. Players at an early age get spoiled too much, everything gets given to them … I think DeMar – (O.J.) Mayo is another one that I knew for a while -- those couple of guys are some of the few that actually work and enjoy playing the game.”

And I guess that’s one of the most impressive things about DeRozan, his willingness to put the work in to get better.

There’s no disputing his jump shot has improved since the first of the season – it’s still a bit wonky and he doesn’t have three-point range yet but it’s smoother – and his ball-handling skills are better. He spends a lot of time in the gym working, he spends a lot of time watching video with assistant coaches and he does take instruction to heart.

And what’s interesting to me is that 45 games into the season, he really hasn’t had a long lull. No collisions with the rookie “wall” it appears and I think that goes to how Jay’s handled him.

Consistent, but not overwhelming minutes, no wearing him out in the first 30 games and the fact he’s now played more games at a higher level this year than he’s ever played before haven’t had an impact.

They’ve fed him a lot but haven’t forcefed him a thing.

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Had a couple people wonder just how odd it was for a game to be decided on last-second free throws.

I offer last night’s Cleveland-Miami game as proof that, while rare, it’s not like it never happens.

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We were trying to think the other day if there’s ever been a Raptor quite like Marco Belinelli. You know, a guy who’ll try anything, always playing at a rather frenetic pace and capable of astonishing moves one minute and confounding ones the next.

I couldn’t come up with one very much like him at all and that’s why he’s become such a personal favourite to watch. You have to watch him because you never know.

Like Sunday. On one play, he catches a pass right in front the Lakers bench, pump-fakes a closing defender so badly that the guy goes right past Belinelli and almost lands in Phil Jackson’s lap.

So what’s Marco do?

Set his feet, square his shoulders and drill a wide open, standstill three?

Hell, no.

He sort of shakes his shoulders, splays his legs, and takes a inward-leaning odd-looking shot that gets nothing but net.

Classic.

And the kid can deliver a good line, too.

When I asked him about that specific play, and about what goes in that mind of his to make him try some of the things he tries, he looks at me, laughs at bit and says:

“I don’t know. That’s me. Maybe I’m a little crazy.”

How can you not love the kid.

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Know what I did last night?

I “lived” a mailbag.

In a very, very cool night set up through Ernst and Young with some hardcore Raptors fans-slash-way smarter than me financial gurus, a quite good question and answer session unfolded after a fine dinner.

A very good night, fine discussion, some very good probing questions and it affirmed my point that the level of basketball intelligence floating around this city is far, far greater than some think.

Thanks.

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I need some help here.

Is Reggie Evans most like:

Bill Russell?

Wilt Chamberlain?

Whatever deity it is you worship?

Seriously, if he doesn’t come back and get like 25 rebounds a night and leave a consistent trail of bloodied opponents in his wake, I swear some people are going to be disappointed. I can’t remember a guy who got this much better when he was hurt.

I like Reggie Evans, he’s a nice guy and a pretty good basketball player. But there needs to be some toning down of expectations. Even if he takes every single backup big minute away from Amir Johnson, and I don’t imagine that happens, we’re looking at a 16-minute-a-night defensive specialist.

Lord help us if he struggles.

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Here’s one for you:

In a discussion with one of the biggest shots of all around the Raptors yesterday, the topic was the relative euphoria around the Heroes Of The Hardcourt after Sunday.

The conversation, almost verbatim:

He: Yeah, but I was ticked off when I got home.

Me: Remember a bad play or something?

He: No, I watched TV.

Me: I know, no Dancing With The Stars re-runs, what a crappy night.

He: Shut up. I watched Sportsnet. We were like the 10th story on the news. Beat the Lakers for goodness sake. The Lakers! We were after the Edmonton Oilers skills competition. The Edmonton-freaking-Oilers skills competition. Do you believe that?

Me: Ah, yeah.

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Comments

[Doug]

Rule number 1: Do not watch Sportsnet for basketball highlights. They don't broadcast any basketball games, so why would they feature them on their highlight reels??
Sportsnet has become a strictly baseball and hockey network.

Stick with The Score. They do care about basketball there, and plus, as you mentioned, they've got Cabbie.

[Jacques]

I agree with "HE". Sportsnet, TSN, they should be supporting our T.O. teams first. Specially after bigs wins. They always put the Raptors second to everything else. Do they know that the Raps are playing better then the Leafs. The Score Rules!!!

[Leon]

maybe i'm wrong here, but i think the sportsnet thing says more about the sports media around here than the actual sports fans in toronto.

[Tim W.]

I hope that wasn't Bosh you were having the conversation with. And I agree that the Score is the network to watch for basketball.

[esajr]

hell, you are perfectly right doug, even during carter's time, i don't think of a player very mobile offensively and defensively as marco. he has that reckless mobility that you will like watching when he is playing. i think he is a complete player given enough playing time. he is not scared of body contacts defensively or offensively unlike Hedo and a nice ark on his shots. he likewise is not scared to commit hard fouls.

[Penny]

Doug- you can mention to wherever "HE" is that they actually mentionned the Raptors during the TNT broadcast of the Heat-Cavaliers game last night - about how Toronto has won 9 of their last 10 at home and are really coming on after a slow start.

[Mike]

Are Kobe and Cabbie actually friends off camera? I've always wondered that. And I don't just mean friendly with each other, I mean actual "friends".

Blogger's note: I have no idea how deep their relationship goes

[Tiger]

What to expect of Reggie?
Way back in the preseason our Friendly Neighbourhood Grunt blogged (wrote?) that Reggie was working hard on his free throws with one of the assistant coaches. If that didn't raise alarm bells amongst Raps fans, how about a 52.5 percent career average from the charity stripe? To call his field goal attempts in the preseason "bricks" would have been more than kind. And if his game was truly astounding, he would have averaged more than 20 MPG through his career.
I think it's fair to say that BC didn't get him for scoring or even for game-long physicality.
Maybe my hopes are too low (or not), but if his presence can boost team rebounding by just a few per game while forcing the opposing team away from the paint a few more possessions, wear down their bigs, give Coach Jay another option off the bench, I think that would be a great help to the Raps.
Combine the energy of Pops or JYD with with some basketball smarts and Reggie should be a fan favorite. I hope that wildly unrealistic expectations don't spoil his tenure here.

[Mark L]

If the Raptors turn things around and end up with say mid to high 40's in the W column, is Triano considered at all for coach of the year?

Blogger's note: Maybe, but nothing serious

[Ian]

I agree with you about Reggie. That thought has crossed my mind a few times recently. If he doesn't grab boards like Moses Malone then you are going to have a lot of angry posters demanding a trade.

[steve]

@Mike regarding Cabbie and Kobe, no idea how good of friends they are but it was kind of cool seeing this last year. During the Allstar Media stuff, Kobe and Shaq were being interviewed by NBC or TNT, Cabbie walks by and Kobe turns away from his interviewer to say whats up to Cabbie and they knock fists.

[james]

I may be fantasizing here, but Marco looks like a young Manu to me. Lock him up for the long term.

[robguy]

Thanks for the Blog Doug - this and a couple of other sources are way better than any sportscast on TSN or Sportsnet. The Score is better and it looks like many agree.
What surprised me today was the relatively positive article by Dave Feschuk and its reaction from some commenters. Feschuk regularly gets criticized for being too negative, now he is being bunched in with the s'oft Toronto band wagon media' - after 1 article! Sheesh. You guys cannot win it seems. I think it tells us a lot about some fans in this city.

[Geoff Read]

Hi Doug, Great blog on a slow news day. Just wanted to comment on some of the comments here on the Sportsnet thing. The anecdote was funny, and I can understand HE's frustration - but some of you people need to relax! Toronto IS NOT the centre of the universe and the truth of the matter is that it's quite possible more Sportnet viewers were interested in the Edmonton skills competition than in the Raptors game. I guarantee that was the case with rural viewers, and viewers west of... the 400? Thunder Bay? Point being, and I say this as someone who lived in Toronto for 10 years and loves the city, that Torontonians have a tendency to forget that the rest of Canada is not a mirror image of the city - while there are dedicated Raptors fans across the country, the constituency for NBA basketball in Canada is minuscule compared to that for hockey. The sports networks and their coverage reflect that. Put another way, why exactly should Sportsnet pander to Raptors fans in the GTA rather than Edmonton Oilers in Alberta?

[James Online]

Guys, like anyone, Marco's shot can be on or off a bit, but his floor game is always exciting and productive. Look at the +/- statistics, especially over the past few weeks. Against the Lakers, for instance, Marco was a +9, best on the team, and DD was a -8, worst. That is typical.

The "unpredictable" nature of Marco's game isn't all that unpredictable. Next to Jose, he's the best passer on the team, even though his assists total isn't as high as it could be. Watch him balance the floor while he's out there. He knows where to go to keep the offensive set in balance. DD stands around not sure of anything on offense. Good that DD's mid range jumper looks better, but he's really only effective if he gets a fairly clear path to the hoop and can slash/slice in there. That is not enough for a 2 guard. He'd be better at the 3.

What Marco (and the Raptors) need is more floor time. He's a basketball player, not just an athlete. If he had 30 minutes plus we'd have a player who will sometimes frustrate, but also deliver the amazing pass, use those quick hands to force steals and nervousness from opposing players, and stick to his man like glue on defense, BEFORE he gets the ball. Marco plays prevent defense, the way it shoud be played.

I write from the SF Bay Area where I had a chance to watch him over the past couple years. He was loved here, except by our overrated idiot coach (Don Nelson), who refuses to play young guys unless forced to because of injuries. Give Marco more time and get results.

Love watching the Raptors this year. Barg's development is impressive, Bosh is Bosh, nice one-two PG punch with Jose and Jarret, good work from Amir, and Marco's coming on strong!

[John]

Hey Doug, do you have a top 5 best work ethics among raptors rookies over the years?

Blogger's note: Not right now here; maybe in the morning if I remember

[The J]

A few thoughts:
1. Probably a redundant comment by now, but you should pass back to the Raptor big shot that they should never watch Sportsnet. They are pretty much focused on Hockey, which is not a bad thing as that is their niche. TSN is much more fair (I think the Raps were one of the top stories after play-off football), and a good middle-ground. And like most people have said, the Score is the only place to go for a true B-Ball fan.

2. In defense of Reggie, I would argue we have still won that trade. Even with the injury I would say Reggie's zero impact outweights Kapono's negative impact.

3. Who do you think has the bigger Kobe man-crush, yourself or Cabbie?
just kidding with the last one)

[ComMentor]

@aditya,

Do you take some sort of perverse joy in attempting to point out the mistakes and shortcomings of other people; especially Doug?

Between the five posts from you in yesterday's blog and the new post today (where you are apparently trying to correct what Doug obviously meant as a joke) I think I speak for the other readers here in wishing that you'd just keep this crap to yourself and stop wasting our time.

What makes it even worse is that you come across as a know-it-all and yet most of your 'corrections' are either wrong or pointless.

Just sayin'.

[Andre]

Ill be honest. I watched sportsnet once for the highlights, not sure what i was thinking, maybe i was tired. but it cycled through the hockey highlights 3 times (about 10 games in total) before mentioning the raptors won a game.
Same with tsn. I actually have never seen basketball highlights, unless they are airing the game. theScore is the best.
As for Evans, cant wait until he gets back. hes not going to "Wow" ppl, but he will do the dirty work, and play hard...

[KB]

Aditya. Dude, did Doug pick on you in school or something. What is with your hate ... you are wasting everyone's time ... In the future maybe you could put your name at the beginning of your posts so I know to just scroll down.

Better yet, start your own blog ... no one wants to hear your drivel. I love reading the disagreements between Doug and readers on basketball issues - you on the other hand bore and irritate the he'll out of me

and Doug - thank you for not responding to his last post ... have you thought about just not posting them?

[Michel G]

pet peeve, why don't you email Adnan Virk personally if you want to rip him to shreds. I wish people would get off this kick of criticizing bloggers' style and grammar. I'm a decent writer but I often find mistakes after I press the 'post' button.

I'll also add my two cents concerning Evans. It's great that he's back but unless it's a situation where his particular skills are required, like the other night when the Bucks were killing us on the offensive boards, I don't where he's going to get his minutes. By the time he gets back, we'll be past the 50 game mark with Amir firmly entrenched as the first big off the bench. On the other hand, the chances that Amir will resign with Toronto next are not great. He's unrestricted so somebody will throw money at him. Maybe we can package a couple of expiring contracts like Johnson and Wright's and get another wing player.

[John]

Hey Geoff, there is Sports Net West, Central, East, French, Elbownian... They all have wonderful, in depth programming of all 3 teams that are west of the 400. the "center of the universe" is forced to pay for all these in our monthly cable bills cause otherwise they would cease to exist. Why should I not get the "local" coverage that I want?

[Rob.V]

Have to agree with James (we're both obviously from the planet blargon) but Marco has a little (if only a smidgen) of Manu in him.

That's what makes Manu G I N O B L I!!!...it's crazy fun instinctive Basketball at it's best. If Marco becomes 50% the player Ginobli is... he's a keeper.

Let's see, we've exhauseted all of the "trade the bum" scenarios for Jose/Bosh/Hedo/Triano... along with virtually the rest of the team, um... Dude, it's inevitable... the deciples will demand a lynching of Reggie the very first time he misses a rebound... no doubt!!!

[paul]

Marco is the man. that bullet left-handed pass to bosh in the paint against the bucks was epic. His game v LA clippers earlier in the season was awesome too.

[GM]

Along with the first commenter, I've long since stopped watching generic sports highlight shows. I get all the info I need from the internet and the Raptors channel. One of my best friends is a hockey guy through and through, but he also appreciates all sports. Even he can't stand the endless hockey on these sports recap shows. And year-round, too. Enough is enough. I'm not saying basketball should get priority. It all depends on what's happening. Just as a regular season game shouldn't take precedence over a playoff game from another major league sport, a freakin' skills competition should never be above a regular highlight. That's like putting a HORSE competition on the highlights.