Of listening and watching and seeing an old familiar face

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

Angst? Oh, there’s angst among the masses, that’s for sure.

That Dallas win seems about an eon ago, doesn’t it?

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THREE POINTERS

Good seats to hear

Never mind seeing the game, the baseline seats we’ve got in Milwaukee are excellent for hearing the game, especially the byplay between subs and players on the court.

(The more alert among you will remember that last we were here, it was interesting to hear Bargnani, who sat out the game, being a relative chatterbox on the bench, calling out instruction and being more engaged than I had recalled).

Anyway, last night it was all about screaming defensive encouragement and a lot of angst over offensive rebounds being allowed.

“Get on the boards.”

“Grab a rebound.”

“Box out.”

And I’m sure some less nice words in there, too.

And the chief talker?

Marcus Banks, who was up repeatedly yelling encouragement and pointing things out.

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Game-deciding sequence

It doesn’t get much worse than this.

By the play-by-play I see, there were 15 seconds left on the 24-second clock and the Raptors were down three and there was more than a minute left in the game when Antoine Wright, a 32 per cent three-point shooter this season, hoisted a terrible miss from the corner.

Chris Bosh at that time had scored 42 of his 44 points, Andrew Bogut was on the bench having fouled out and I wonder if that wasn’t the time to, you know, drive the ball and be aggressive or get it to the guy with the hot hand.

Just sayin’.

Oh, and after the Wright miss, the Bucks come down, Brandon Jennings misses a layup (just one of the 16 misses he had on 21 shots) and the Raptors still have life, right?

Wrong.

Ersan Ilyasova shrugs off Hedo, tips in the miss, gets fouled, makes the free throw, it’s a six-point game with 1:28 left and it’s over.

That’s two horrific plays at precisely the right time.

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Speaking of …

Marco Belinelli, he played a grand total of three minutes, all in the first half and the only category in the boxscore he notched anything in was turnovers.

No shots. No rebounds. No assists. No fouls. No nothing except one turnover.

And when I asked someone who was privy to the decision not to at least give Marco a bit of time in the second half, this is pretty much the verbatim response:

“When he was out there, Jerry Stackhouse got five offensive rebounds in three minutes, that’s why.”

Actually, I think the 72-year-old Stack only had three but you get the drift.

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In other news …

(And by news I mean little items I couldn’t figure out what to do with)

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As good as it gets

That, folks, was as good an offensive performance as I’ve ever seen Chris Bosh put on.

Got to the free throw line 15 times, making 14, got Andrew Bogut fouled out, hit jump shots from every conceivable spot on the court.

He had 12 rebounds, four assists, played 43 minutes after going 42 the night before in Cleveland and was as good in the fourth quarter as he was in the first.

When it came time to decide the game, he watched Hedo Turkoglu dribble the ball out of bounds and Antoine Wright, a 32 per cent three-point shooter, take that corner three with 15 seconds left on the shot clock.

And when we got to talk to him after the game, it was the most disappointed and down I’d seen him this season.

Go figure.

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From the department of Celebrities In The Crowd, we had one in Milwaukee.

Seriously.

Saw the guy signing autographs after the game and he sure looked familiar. Not quite being up on my pop culture but vaguely recognizing the dude, it wasn’t until we were in the locker room waiting to talk to Raptors that someone let me know who it was:

“Did you see Master P here?”

Yes, erstwhile Raptor, and father of DeMar DeRozan’s college roommate, took in the game and the memories started flooding back.

I don’t know what was more fun to recall:

The night we were in Dallas for a pre-season game and the fans were chanting “We Want P, We Want P” until Butch finally put him in.

Or a night or two later in Edmonton when I watched with great delight Master P running the fast break on the wing while 7-3 Alex Radojevic handled the ball racing up the court.

Both of them are forever etched in my mind.

And no matter how hard I try, I can’t get the recollection out of my head.

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Finally got to talk to Jay at length before Wednesday’s game and a bit of the conversation was about what happened n Tuesday in Cleveland, mostly the reason for Belinelli and not DeRozan down the stretch.

(Wasn’t that much of a surprise to me, actually, since that’s what he’s done all year but there were a few questions from readers).

He brought up a point I, frankly, hadn’t thought of or noticed.

When DeRozan was on the court, LeBron James was covering him and by covering him, Jay meant not covering him. James was playing defensive rover and causing all kinds of issues for the Raptors.

Since DeRozan hadn’t really asserted himself going to the basket after the first quarter the Raptors wanted someone on the floor who would try to get to the rim, who could stretch the defence and who James would actually have to pay attention to.

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Oh, My Man Tom was Sammy Sidebar last night for the folks who run the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, here’s what his sidekick Charles came up with.

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This has nothing to do with anything. Or maybe it does

I was reading Vanity Fair the other morning at the shed at Pearson (how they can build a new billion dollar terminal and not make it. Big enough is a mystery only solve by the dolts at the airport) and there's a story on tweeting and those that do it far more than they probably should.

And there's a quote there from this woman, who as far as I can tell is quoted only because she tweets a lot, like that's some sort of accomplishment.

It says:

"Sometimes, when you're Twittering all the time, you even start to *think* in 140 characters."

That, dear readers, may be what's wrong with a lot of the world these days.

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Let’s see, seven of their next nine at home. Against the Bucks, Lakers, Heat, Pacers, Nets, Kings and Sixers, before the all-star break hits.

Yeah, 5-2 is the absolute worst they can go if they’re serious about being in the race for fifth, I think; 6-1 would be far better.

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Oh yeah, if you’ve got a minute and a puzzling question that needs to be answered, send it along to give me something to do before Sunday morning.

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Okay, having had a relatively easy day at Pearson (they’ve dumped the second pat-down of passengers for some reason), it’s time to head to the airport here and see what delights await.

See ya.

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Comments

[Parabola]

Doug, I know you've got much better things to do, but as an interesting follow-up to that Vanity Fair article you can read one of the participant's disappointed reaction: http://feliciaday.com/blog/disappointment. The article, author, and its tone have taken quite a beating in other media outlets.

[gdr]

Last night was the perfect example why Bosh may decide to leave. Very winnable game, he's tied his career high in points, the Bucks only threat fouls out and for 3 straight possessions, he doesn't get a touch. No one even looks in his direction. There's something seriously wrong with that! Until this is corrected, there is no chance this team finishes any higher than 6th and an early playoff exit is on the horizon. Keep up the great work Doug!

[OC]

Hey Doug, question for you.. why would anyone want to play in Milwaukee? also, is it just me or does Hedo seem
disinterested.. and please don't give me the usual thing i have been hearing, "he is just getting used to the new system"..half a season in and Turk is stinking up the joint..Raps should have gone after B.Gordon,
Take care man,

[Roger]

This is the type of game that would make Chris want to leave Toronto. Score 44 points and the rest of the team flat out doesn't show up.

[Wallace]

Nice article and blog today Doug. The frustration and dissapointment on Bosh's face was palpable on the video screen...must have been overpowering standing next to him last night. Hedo looks like he needs 48 hours of uninterupted sleep...instead of hanging out at Yorkville clubs till all hours. His "hopefully we can do better next time" refrain is getting silly now.

[pn]

Hi Doug,

Unrelated basketball story - I don't know if you've seen this yet, but it nearly made me lose my breakfast:

http://tinyurl.com/yar9z3q

[Manny]

Doug, i just don't understand... down the stretch when the game is on the line, the cavs go to Lebron; the lakers go to Kobe; Miami to Dwayne and so on... Why does the Raps so often go away from Bosh, especially in the 4th with the game he was having last night???? Just like you had written in your article, how is it that simple, basic principles of the game often elludes the Raps??? boxing out, going with the hot hand, going to your franchise player.... I understand the need to move the ball and share but c'mon... Do these guys really need to be told and reminded to rebound, box out or to verbally and visually point out that your franchise player and leader is having a monster game so give him the ball....???

[Anthony]

I'm sure your dealing with alot of hate this morning so I'll try not to go down that road... as you said Bosh could not be guarded last night ESPECIALLY after Bogart fouled out. Can you please give some kinda of logical explanation why Weight (the vet, who has voiced his displeasure with bad decisions by coaches and other players) decides to take that shot!
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I'd like to rant about Turk but a least he did drive the ball instead of shooting a fade away.. yes he missed but driving it was the right play and I bet he makes that shot if he could try it again. The only problem I have with Turk's shot is that it should have been Bosh taking it.
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Very sad to see Chris post the best scoring night of his life and loss to the Bucks... this is the type of loss that worries me when I think about free agency... :-(

[Logan from Saskatoon]

There is always a knee-jerk reaction to these losses. Well guess what people, there are going to be another 15 of them this year. You rip the team (and their roster decisions) when they lose, but when they win, BC and Jay are genious. Pick a side, either be a Raptor fan all the time, or pick a new team...grow up, this is professional sports.

[nestor]

hey doug,

the reason why they dumped the second body-pat is because the body screener is in today. hope you enjoyed your privacy while you still had it!

[O.J.]

I wouldn't have minded seeing Banks in there down the stretch in place of Jose. That back door lay up he allowed out of the time out was HORRIBLE! It's not like he's ever been a great game closer. Why not try a different look. On a similar note, Derozan had his strongest game against the Knicks & even though he didn't fair as well against the Cavs, he still had 14. Turk has not been as advertised in fourth quarters in the clutch. Why not give Derozan a try?

[Jacques]

Hey Doug, any chance we could land Manu Ginobili in the summer?

Blogger's note: Can't see how, money-wise especially

[K Price]

Doug I know you don't want Hedo bashing but seriously the coaches have talked to him what is the next step??..Maybe they should take him out of the starting lineup. He seems so non-chalant (spelling??)when being interviewed. Sure he has hit some big shots but is that what we brough him in for?? 2 or 3 big shots out of a 82 game season?? Especially for this amount of money. Something needs to motivate this guy and maybe the bench would be a start.

[Chris K]

I have to give some props to Marcus banks. This guy doesn't get a lot of PT but seems like a very good teammate.

[Penny]

Doug -That was a tough loss last night with CB4 playing such a monster game. Do you have any idea why the starting unit seems to come out so flat in the third quarter - everybody settles for jump shots for the first few possessions. This has happened in quite a few games this year. Maybe it is time to make a change to who starts the third quarter.

[Aaron J.]

DOUG,
This has been a problem with the Raps for a few seasons, and the reason they give up big leads and lose close games is... because they become a team of less aggressive jumpshooters, and for some reason they go long stretches of missing jumpshots. It's a frequent occurrance and Triano needs to start calling timeouts when he sees this pattern developing because it happens frequently.

[Rob.V]

Duude!

It sounds as though you were as dissapointed as the rest of us with the Raptors last 3 possessions last night. You'e not becoming a fan or anything are you?

Your (our) displeasure really lends to why alot of us feel Derozan should be playing more in the 4th quarter. If you're going to get poor decisions from a seasoned vet, then why not just go with the rook???...it couldnt be any worse.

It's not as though we are competing for a championship... we're a sub .500 team... TURN THE FREAKIN KID LOOSE!!!.

Bosh is having his BEST night in a long while taking it to Bogut who just fouled out.

Next 3 possessions:

Wright - missed 3
Bargnani - missed 3
Hedo - Turnover

Someone please tell me how it's possible that the rook could do ANY worse than this?

I think I'm losing my mind watching this team because yesterday I was preaching patience.

Today - VC for Hedo seems to makes sense because those last 3 years on Hedo's deal are going to be LOOOOONG!

Let's be frank, this team needs a second bonafide "star" alongside Bosh. I'm not saying VC is the anwser to that long term however Colangelo has a lot of money tied up into a lot of "role players".

If they feel Derozan is in fact "the one"... they need to start annointing him, NOW!!!

[doug]

Hedo driving to the hoop and losing it wasn't a big deal to me as its just a good b-ball move that never worked out...but Wrights shot was atrocious, and the question that should be asked is not why Wright took that shot (as he has shown a history of taking ill-advised shots) but why was he on the court at all...i wonder if its coincidence or not Bosh never meshed with Jermaine O'Neal at all, and now with Hedo their is no chemistry between the two....just wondering....I am not that big on career nights, I am big on wins and until the raps play consistently as a team which they have did numerous times to great success this season then there will just be more games like last night....

[Tiger]

Oh so familiar, CB4 leading where no other Rap will follow...
Not trying to be alarmist, but since the calendar turned the Raps are 5-5 and have held the opposition under 100 points only twice. That those two games came against the #2 and #4 teams from the west only adds to the frustration, they've shown that they can play well enough to get a good team out of its offensive rhythm for an entire game.
Barely adequate to inadequate defensive performances against the likes of the Pacers, Sixers, Knicks and Bucks suggest that lessons learned in December are slowly being forgotten. Or maybe the coaching staff is being outcoached. Or both.
Or maybe it is a simple matter of not playing down to the opposition.
Which is another habit of the Raps that is oh so familiar...

[Jeff]

Hey Doug,
As always great job on the blog. I'm not going to start ripping into Turk for, twice, messing up at the end of the game when it was within reach. This happens, people make turnovers, miss shots etc. My questioning is why he didn't look to go into Bosh. Even if your not having a great offensive and/or defensive game, don't you feel that with the amount of time hes been in the league (here is where the Vet. Leadership comes into play) he, out of all other players on the floor wearing Raptor colors, would notice this? Making great plays, or being a great player doesn't mean scoring the winning bucket, often it means being able to make the best decision. This is what bothers me most about Turk. What say you?

Blogger's note: Can't disagree

[Steve]

Guess the coaches didn't to tell Antoine Wright to be aggressive at the end of the game again. Maybe they also forgot to tell him he's in the game for his defensive play and that he's the 5th scoring option. That was frustrating to watch but the good news is there's another game tomorrow.

[Chris]

"Stuck with Turk"

Great blog. Not even going to go down the road of "who to get for Turk, etc.". Think BC has to stick this one out. However, my respect for Turk is way down. Don't blame the new "system" or lack of ball time. That's weak. Another 9 or so players are also in the "new system". Great players adapt and care. He doesn't have the killer instinct and that's why he will also be a mediocre player. Funny, he's already giving me VC flashbacks without the crazy ups and huge scoring binges. That said, I think he could make Toronto better if he changes his attitude.

[Hope Caper]

Hey Doug,
Great nite for Bosh, not so great for the rest. The refs seemed to be equal opportunity last nite which was nice for a change, the Cavs game was brutal. While this was a terrible loss for the fans it wasn't the Atlanta Hawks disaster. Two games the Raps haven't played well enough to win yet they were able to hang around. I know it isn't a W but it is netter than getting blown out. I think they pull it together and win the next one. You said they would have some ugly losses this year this one qualified.

[James Online]

The truth is the Hedo experiment is NOT working and will not work. I guess nothing will happen until the Bosh issue gets worked out. To watch Hideous Hedo sitting on the bench smiling, goofing off with guys on the other team, chewing on the mouthpiece, acting not interested, though, is very disheartening. It's like the Raptors are playing 4 on 5.

While Bosh was incredible yesterday, you don't beat even a mediocre team the way the Raptors played. Stand around. Throw it to Bosh. Watch him shoot. Raptors need to get the offense moving more dynamically.

The three minute stint for Beli was unfair. If he didn't box Stackhouse out, pull him long enough to explain that, and put him back out there. Derozan was absolutely terrible again, and if anyone is lost on defense out there, it's him. Just watch.

[Vijay C.]

Hi Doug,

Condolences to you and yours. I was just wondering, i know when the trade deadline is, but is there a "Waiver" deadline for teams to add and drop players?

Blogger's note: No. And thanks