Of rebounding and numbers and dancing in the streets of Ljubljana

Bulletin to those about to burn jerseys, rip the tops off bobbleheads or storm the ACC:

They will lose more games like they lost last night as the season goes on, beaten by inferior teams because they can’t put them away for whatever reason. It’s going to happen more than a few times, I suspect.

But they’re also going to win a few games against good teams when you least expect it, come out of nowhere to, oh, I dunno, beat San Antonio on the second half of a back-to-back or go into Orlando and win.

It’s just the way the game goes, and it’s fun.

Seriously, it’s fun.

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THREE POINTERS

(Is this growing on you?)

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Forcing the issue

How many times have so many of you lamented Toronto’s rather “reactionary” way of playing, doing things with rotations and play calls and defence to answer what opponents are doing?

Lots, right?

Well, against Indy they didn’t and despite the angst you all feel about the loss – and it might have set a season high for “I’m done with these mopes forever” comments – it was a rather good to see.

I’m talking about staying big when the Pacers went small, sticking with Bosh and Bargnani even when Indiana had Danny Granger at the four and three-point shooting Troy Murphy at the five.

It worked, too, for the most part.

They took advantage of the size difference on offence – it’s why Chris Bosh went to the line 16 times in the second half alone – and they did, all things considered, a good job of keeping Granger away from the rim and the paint.

Too many times, we might have seen a Toronto team sit one of its bigs in that situation, try to match the Pacers small lineup with a strange one of their own.

I’ve always thought it’s best to play to your strengths and last night they did.

Now, if they’d just won, it’d be an even more significant point.

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Andrea The Worm

Yes, 17 rebounds. It’s not a typo, it’s a career high and for one night, didn’t Andrea Bargnani look like a 7-foot glass-cleaning machine?

Well, sort of.

But when you watch it closely, part of the reason he gobbled up so many loose becomes pretty apparent.

On a handful of instances – not all, mind you – he was the lone big under the basket because Bosh was out taking care of Troy Murphy on the perimeter.

That made it relatively easy for him to grab up errant shots, and there certainly were a lot of them. One thing Andrea doesn’t do particularly well is rebounding traffic but when he’s one-on-one with a guy and there are fewer people crowding the paint, we’re starting to see him figure out how to go get the basketball.

I’m not suggesting it was a bad game on the boards because there have been times when he’s been isolated there and simply forgotten to box out or establish position. Seventeen rebounds, no matter how they are obtained, is a significant number.

The next step in his development is for him to consistently put up those numbers when there are a couple of more bigs around. Then, we’re talking The Italian Rodman.

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A bit of cheating

I noticed this the other day against Boston and then saw it again last night against Indiana. It’s a bit of a tweak, not a hugely significant change to playing defence but it’s worth noting because it works pretty well.

Watch the next time someone tries to drive the middle from the wing against Toronto, an off-guard or a small forward taking his man off the dribble from the wing into the paint.

Then watch the “other” Toronto guard, usually the point guard and a guy usually “hugging” his man on the weak side.

Now, instead of staying in contact with the guy he’s covering, that othe Raptors guard goes quickly and seriously to the free throw line to cut off the penetration that’s been killing Toronto for, well, forever.

They did it coming off Rondo on Sunday, they did it coming off Earl Watson last night and I would think they’d do it coming off Chris Duhon or Nate Robinson on Friday and Jason Kidd on Sunday afternoon.

Yes, if the guy driving the ball dishes quickly to his backcourt mate it gives up a pretty good 18- or 20-foot jumper but, you know what, I bet they’re okay with that.

I’m sure it’s been a part of the defensive philosophy all season and maybe they’ve been doing more often than I’ve noticed in the last two games. But I don’t think they’ve been doing it as effectively and if they defend like that, they’re going to be okay.

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And, the rest of the story, as they say

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It’s been about 10 hours since the game ended and I haven’t seen that Hedo Eats Pizza ad in that whole time.

My retinas are getting back to normal.

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Lots of incensed e-mails, well, a couple because you’ve been quite reserved so far, about third quarter and timeouts and why there weren’t any.

A lot of Fire Jay, What A Stupidhead He Is but, frankly, there wasn’t a run longer than two baskets by the Pacers in the entire quarter, no time when they rattled off a dozen points or anything ridiculous.

A 5-0 run made it 68-59 with about 8 1-2 minutes left; they settled down and another 5-0 run made it 72-68 with 6:30 to go and while maybe that’s the time for one, there’s a mandatory coming at the first stoppage below six minutes so why blow one.

I guess the only time would have been after a 5-0 run made it a two-point game with about 4:11 left but they actually survived that okay.

To suggest it was horrible clock management just isn’t right.

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Here’s what’s up in Indy in the aftermath. Don’t imagine there was a parade, but I bet they were whooping it up.

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Remember back in the day, when I used to trot out The Big Man Triple Double, a contrived stat contrived by an Old Grunt from around our place?

It’s for points, rebounds and made free throws and Chris Bosh now has two of them back-to-back.

It’s an impressive game and since power forwards and centres seldom have real triple-doubles (I don’t know that there’s been a 10-block game this year), it’s probably worth mentioning, so I will.

He had 20 and 10 and 15-20 at the line last night after 31 and 13 and a perfect 13-13 FTs the day before against Boston.

Those, despite coming in two losses, are pretty good numbers.

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How much do you love Rasho? Four minutes, six points on 3-3 shooting, three rebounds and two blocks? They’ll be dancing in the streets of Llubljana.

This after being he’d been a DNP-CD in seven of his last eight games.

Professional.

And the thing is: He got those minutes so Jay could grab some extra first-half rest for his regulars, knowing he’d go back to the usual bigs rotation in the second half.

Which is exactly what he did, and should have done.

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I believe an entire day went by yesterday without one zany Chris Bosh trade rumour.

Thank God for small mercies.

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Comments

[O.J.]

Doug,
I've been following the Raps since inception & unfortunately, maybe besides the 16-66 team, this team seems to have the least amount of urgency to their game. Although, I might get verbally abused for saying this, I think a lot of it has to do with Turk & Jose. Contract aside, Turk doesn't provide us with what we so dearly need in most of our losses, hustle pts, movement without the ball, boards & solid d. We did have a player who did that: Shawn Marion.

Which bring me to my second point, Turk and Jose can't co-exist on the court because they both dominate the ball (or want to). Jose can, but isn't comfortable as a a spot up shooter & neither is Turk. I don't think it's any coincidence that are longest winning streak came when Jose was hurt. Yes, Jose can shoot the ball, yes he is a good ball handler, but he uses those skills to keep us more perimeter oriented at times when games are at the rim. If we are to keep Turk, which is surely the case as he just signed, than should package Jose/Amir & go after a Caron Butler or someone of that level at the trade deadline (even if it requires going over the cap). Someone like that would be insurance on Turks no show games & show Bosh that we are serious about winning. Didn't Banks earned a certain level of trust with his tenacious D & steady management of the team on offense in his reserve role?

[Nick]

Disappointing loss, but probably had more to do with running out of gas in the 2nd half of a back to back. They played well in the 1st and the Pacers didn't break. Give them credit.

[Derek]

Hey Doug,
Frustrating loss last night (to put it mildly).

First - with Rasho coming in and playing so well early in the game, why wouldn't they have plugged him in later (in the 3rd of 4th) when the Raps were struggling. The commentators spoke at length about how "gassed" the big men looked at that point, playing their 3rd game in 4 nights - so why not go back to a "fresh" Rasho, who looked like he was playing well?

It concerns me that the Raps are getting (or already have) a reputation around the NBA. A reputation that no matter how big a lead they have on you early, don't give up, they'll let you back in. Normally when you see teams down by 20 or more, they sort of wilt, but against the Raps, teams keep fighting, and we always seem to let them back in. Not always to the point that they win, but at least to the point where they give us a scare. The more often the Raps let that happen, the more teams will keep fighting and the harder it'll be to put them away.

What to do with Hedo? On the heels of his "unhappy" comments the other day, he puts up another clunker last night. Mis-firing badly on a number of 3's (most of them ill-advised). He looks completely out of sync in the Raps offence, and with the amount of minutes he plays, its killing the team to have him in there as a bystander. Any thoughts on what they can do to get him going?

[Jon Kwok]

Not sure if you've discussed this rumor Doug but see below:
http://www.sportsnet.ca/basketball/2010/01/10/lakers_rumour/

Out of the NY post, Lakers "are willing" to give up Andrew Bynum for Bosh. I put that in quotations because its humorous. Bynum isn't quite in the same league as Bosh right now. Maybe at some point, but right now...still growing into his potential...and seems a bit injury-prone.

Thoughts?

Blogger's note: No disrespect, but you're days late getting to a bogus fabrication.

[Michel G]

A momentary 23 point lead at the start of the 2nd quarter is not as insurmountable a lead as everyone makes it out to be, especially for a team playing it's 3rd game in four nights. It would only have been a 10 point lead at the half if not for Wright's circus shot. Chicago blowing a 35 point in the 3rd quarter earlier this year is different. Is it me, or is Jose playing better defensively (or could it be that the team is playing better defense as a whole). It's time to put him back in the starting lineup and get back to normal. And finally, Hedo has to realize that he's not in Kansas anymore. There's no Dwight Howard to clean up your mistakes or a bevy of outside shooters to pass the ball to after you drive. He needs to find his niche and learn to contribute on a more regular basis with his new team. The Raps could be a really good team a year or two from now. I hope Bosh stays so we can fin out.

[George]

They looked tired and played tired in the second half. Maybe the younger legs of Weems and DeRozan could have ran longer. But who knows? It was a painful game to watch and I would have said the same even if they managed to pull this one out.

[JT29]

The only thing I don't understand about the loss last night was how Jay handled the rotation. With about 7:38 left in the 2nd Q, he brought Bosh back in the game. The Raps were up huge at that point (20 or 23). The offense was flowing, Rasho, Calderon, Weems, Belli and Amir were going real good (when they had Bargs instead of Rasho, that was the most fun I've had this whole season watching the Raptors). They were an awesome run and gun team at that point and the pace was fantastic. They put Chris back in, everything slowed down and then later Turk and things got to a crawl. Pacers kept cutting the lead down, Turk keeps playing terrible and Jay continues to leave him in as he constantly gets beat on D. I don't get it. If things aren't working, you change it. Johnson and Weems were great against the Pacers (matched up well) but they were ignored.

[GDS]

This is more suited for a mailbag maybe, but I would like to have your opinion on why the NBA advertises its athletes with false heights. For teams, what matters is what you do on the court, whether you do it at 6,3 or at 6,7, doesn't really matter. For fans, I guess back in the day you appreciated Barkley even more for what he did as a 6,4 dominating power forward than if he really was 6,6 (which would already be great). So who are teams/the league trying to impress? And what kind of message are they delivering to young kids who would like to compete in the NBA, a discouraging "this is a big-men league"? We have always had fantastic tiny or "undersized" (worst modern hoops term/obsession together with "upside") players, which should be a good thing for the whole movement and advertised as such. Thanks

Blogger's note: I honestly don't have an answer for you, it mystifies me

[Dan W]

The thing I thought Jay should have done in the third was maybe go to his bench sooner. It may not have made a difference but you could really see the Raptors starters were dead tired.

[CC]

was listening at McCowan last night.. you really jinx them.. :) do you think Jose is ok to start now?

[Thierry Middleton]

I understand that Hedo is a closer but in a game last night where he isn't playing well and hasn't played well recently why leave him in? He complained about not being able to handle the ball as much so as far as I could see they gave him more opportunities to do so and he didn't make much of it. I'm not gonna say he's a bust I'm just wondering why if as many coaches say 'they're gonna play the players playing well' why not give another player a chance at the end? rather than one that hasn't done much for a while now

[Peter]

I honestly don't know what everyone is upset about. They lost to Boston (which has to be expected) and then lost ONE GAME that they shouldn't have to the Pacers. They're still 7-3 in their last 10, and generally playing very well. They only had one bad half in the last game, and played very well for the first half. They're probably tired. If they lose to NY after getting some rest and practice, you can get upset, but one loss on the second half of a back to back, and really only playing poorly for one half is just reality in the NBA. They're a .500 (or so) team. They're not going to win 50 games, so this is what happens to a team that's likely going to finish the season within a few games of .500.
Now get it together for NY, win that game, and continue playing well.

[AS]

I blame feschuk for the loss.

[John]

Hey Doug. I noticed that JJ was forcing things alot more in the second half yesterday. Driving to the rim and putting up circus shots. The worst was when he dribbled the ball for the final 10 seconds of the shot clock and hoisted up a brick. He fit much better when he was letting the offence run through CB, AB and HT, fitting in and letting the wide open shots come to him. Do you think that this was a factor of Hedo having a tough night or do you think he is thinking about the starting job?

Blogger's note: I think he made a couple of bad decisions with the ball in the heat of the moment and with nothing on his mind except trying to make a play.

[Amir]

Hey Doug,

Just off topic, but I was in Ljubljana before Christmas and took a tour of their town hall. Look what I found in one of the rooms: http://tinypic.com/r/35i17ps/6
That room was filled with gifts from all around the world, but the tour guide seemed confused as to why I would gravitate towards a ball...

I also met the mayor and he said that he met with Harper a few days before I arrived.

Maybe Rasho can donate something nice with the signatures of the all the Raptors one day.

[dribbles]

I missed most of the first half, but Hedo looked noticeably gassed most of that 2nd half. If he isn't being effective and he's tired, I don't understand the decision to give him all those minutes. I also don't understand Jay's continuing love affair with the Jack-Jose-Hedo lineup. It looks bad way more often than it looks good, and they usually only play down the stretch of a game when they haven't had an opportunity to develop any chemistry in the rest of the game, not that Jose and Hedo mesh well anyway.

Jack and Marco were both forcing things too much in the 2nd half. They had all kinds of opportunities for pull-up jumpers but looked intent on trying to get as deep as possible into the lane. Earl Watson and A.J. Price won the battle of the PGs last night, and that should never happen.

[sg60]

Staying big while the Pacers went small doesn't mean anything when they refuse to go in the paint. A strategy is only useful if you execute. In the second half they couldn't make a jump shot to save their lives but somehow it never occured to them that it might be useful to force the issue, get into the paint and take advantage of the size mismatch. As usual, Bosh seemsed to be the only one who realized this and took advantage of it. The offence looked horrible in the second half, among the worst I've seen this season.

BTW, cudos to Bargnani for actually sounding like he was pissed off about the loss and how they played. He had a pretty strong defensive game but even he parked himself on the perimiter in the offensive zone for most of the 2nd half.

Blogger's note: They shot 15 FTs in the first half, 28 in the second; Bosh had 4 FTA in the first half and 16 in the second; on only three other occasions this season have they shot more than 43 FTs in a game; I believe your point may be a tad flawed

[Mike Z]

Doug I don't know how you would take this what I have to say but last night when the Pacers started to come back at about the middle of the third quarter I put my TV on "MUTE". I first got this notion the night before during the Celtics game. I am like all that watch the Raptors game on TV a Raptor fan!! I want to hear positives and constructive criticism about the Raptors from the Raptors voices on TV. Matt Devlin & Jack Armstrong talked all night long about Rojon Rondo on Sunday and last night it was Watson this Watson that.... I had enough. Much less frustrating just to watch the game on mute. Oh, I turned the sound up when the PIZZA PIZZA thingy came on.... Do you care to comment?

[John MacDonald]

Why no mention of how badly Hedo is playing in the last two games? I was screaming at the TV last night for Jay to take him out and put anyone else in. Clearly Hedo was having a terrible night and is paid to play well in the crunch but it seems to me more often than not he's played badly in the 4th quarter.

[kevin]

Hi there, do you think they were using the PG to help protect against penetration because the big that usually does it is out of position guarding the opposing 3 point shooting big?

Blogger's note: No, most times I saw the bigs were at the basket

[Don]

Why is Andrea being looked off in the post? His shot was off last night and giving him the ball in the post would have been a great way to get him going. On the defensive end, he is proving he can handle the opposing big men.

[Rob.V]

Duude!

We'll, I'm not suggesting they "fire" Jay however as the game was unfolding I was completely unipressed with him "taking the night off".

Without a doubt that game was on him!

An experienced coach (or me, or you, or anybody) takes a time out on ANY ONE of the "opportunities" you so astutely listed!!

If not to break the rythm and fan enthusiasm maybe to offer the guys who are gassed a breather.

Seriously, the first time out taken was AFTER we lost the lead, the 2nd after they hit the final (dagger) 3 pointer.

I said this earlier in the year because it's happend on previous back to backs - Jay has to start trusting his bench more!!

You have 3 of the better atheletes in Amir, Sonny, and DD sitting on the bench while the guys with no legs continue to plod along to failure.

The bench is what got them the 23 point lead in the first place.

Defending his teams performance is not admirable or acceptible in this instance because with some "basic" coaching - we win that game!

[Tiger]

I feel like ColumnBoy for bringing this up (blech!) but if people are so down on the Raps this morning, it could get much much worse by the time that Pacers gaggle comes to town to end the month.
The Cavs and Knicks are the only teams on the sched that haven't already beat the Raps this season, and if D'Antoni really does have his zoo playing better, we might see the Raps go 0-9 to end the month.
More likely the Raps will win a couple of games they "should", maybe luck into the other guys laying an egg or two, and lose a few games that will leave fair weather fans irate. 3-6 wouldn't be surprising, 5-4 might be good, anything worse very disappointing, any better unexpectedly good.
The bright side? Even if they bomb out and go 0-9, they'll probably still have a playoff seeding. (And maybe that's a problem with this horse, the carrot just isn't very big.)
Should be fun, in a masochistic kind of way.

[Steve]

I'm not sure I like the "Big Man Triple Double". If you hit ten free throws, you've scored ten points -- pretty much guaranteeing two of the three. You could theoretically achieve it without making a field goal.

Perhaps it assumes Shaq-like prowess on the free throw line, meaning that approximately 10 fouls were drawn?

[rob]

Hi Doug,
I m a big fan of the blog and read it every day like many others. But I have a suggestion that you can disregard if you don't think it is feasible:
how about adding a section every week , call it " the forgotten soldiers" or something like that, where you take a suggestion from a reader about a community or a canadian local heroe and have a short description of him and what he does. I know I have one in mind, he is a college basketball player who won't make the nba anytime soon if ever but is truly special in his own way.
I will send you more about him if you believe this could be done.

thanx as always.