Is Bosh the best and call the folks on the TV awards panels

Here’s one for you to chew on:

Is Chris Bosh the best power forward in the game today?

From this angle, the answer has to be yes.

He’s putting up career numbers (24 and 11 on 51 per cent shooting, 79 per cent at the free throw line and even 46 from three-point range) and competing more intensely every single night.

He hasn’t missed a game, which is not insignificant in the least, and the level at which he’s playing doesn’t waver.

Of the usual suspects in this conversation, Pau Gasol and Kevin Garnett have struggled with injuries and Tim Duncan is still Tim Duncan but I really think, having watched Duncan a few times this season, that Bosh is playing at a higher level.

Other than that? Yeah, Zach Randolph’s having a pretty good year and Carlos Boozer has his moments.

Of course the folks in Dallas will tell you Dirk Nowitzki is the guy and I suppose he's next in line but I don't know if he's playing any better than Bosh right now. Game-in, game-out, for what he’s asked to do on the team he’s with, Bosh is the best.

So, why?

Well, his new body, bigger and stronger, hasn’t betrayed him and it’s given him a level of confidence to operate inside that’s higher than it’s ever been.

He still possesses a deadly 15-foot jump shot from the elbow (and when you can make it like he does, no one should have a problem with him taking it) but it’s his power game that’s impressed me the most this season.

Sure, he used to go to the rim a bit but not as often and not as strongly.

There was a concern right off the bat that it would be hard for him to maintain his new-found strength because the normal tendency of players is to lose weight and wear down as the season progresses.

We haven’t seen much of that; I don’t know what exactly he’s doing in his down time or at parts of practice we don’t see but the kid is almost as strong today as he was on opening night.

I have no idea if this can last, nobody does, but if you had to vote today for the all-NBA team, I think you’d have to scrawl his name in the power forward spot.

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List time

(Remember these?)

So, a panel of a few friends and I, after minutes of deliberation and fully knowing we’ve forgotten some, have come up with this list, in order of bad to worst. And, trust me, there’s not a lot of difference between No 5 and No. 1:

The Worst Raptors TV Commercials Of The Modern Age

Sam Mitchell

The car one. You know, the one where they take a guy with a rather, um, strong personality and make him as boring as porridge.

Jason Kapono

The one where he practices for a zillion hours and watches all kind of tape and guys who know him say: “Um, Jason Kapono?”

Andrea Bargnani

Right. Come to arena, dress, warm up, eat pasta. Yeah. Right. Not higher on the list because they didn’t force him to speak.

Hedo Turkoglu

Eats pizza, drinks soda, seems horrible uninterested.

It would be sooooooo much better if he mentioned the pizza was free because he hit a shot at the buzzer of a 100-99 home win.

Chris Bosh

Great player. Gum pitchman? Not so much.

Considering his used car salesman and droll video skills, he wants that Juicy Fruit one out of the vault.

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If there’s one thing I’ve learned here over the past few years, it’s that a lot of you – not all, so don’t take this personally – have a tendency to eat your young.

So, let’s play a game for a wee bit of fun:

Today: Raps trade Bosh to Houston for Yao, Scola and Brooks.

Tomorrow: BC is a god, I tell ya; a freaking god. In BC We Trust.

Two weeks, four losses later: How could he trade the best power forward in the game today for a centre who won’t play until next year, what on earth was he thinking?

A month, eight losses later: Scola? Just another Euro stiff; I swear, Colangelo’s got a man crush on those non-North Americans and I am never watching this team play again until he’s gone.

Next fall: How are Yao and Andrea going to co-exist? Jeez, doesn’t the GM think about these things? And that contract? It’s worse than Banks’.

Or

Today: Raps trade Bosh to Los Angeles for Andrew Bynum, Adam Morrison and Jordan Farmar.

Tomorrow: BC is a god, I tell ya; a freaking god. In BC We Trust.

Two weeks, four losses from now: Bynum sucks, guess he was only good because he was playing with Kobe, Pau and Odom, shouldn’t the GM know this?

A month, 10 losses from now: Bynum? What a softie, he’s out again? Hurt? Man, doesn’t the GM do his homework before making trades, Bynum’s always hurt, we need a real GM. Morrison? He makes Kapono look like LeBron. Unreal. What a stiff.

Next fall: Bynum’s having surgery? And we’ve got three more years of paying him? BC has got to go.

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Oh yeah, trade deadline’s five weeks from tomorrow.

You all ready?

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Is it time?

To put Jose Calderon back in the Raptors starting lineup that is.

It’s been four games, two wins and two losses, since he returned last week in Orlando and there is no question he’s playing well.

He looks 100 per cent, is shooting 14-for-26 from the field with 20 assist in those four games, he’s getting to the rim on offence easily, he’s playing about 23 minutes a game and his defence, well, I’m not going to talk about his defence because it’s not as bad as you think but you won’t believe me.

Now, I don’t know if Jay shares this opinion, but I think the offence runs better with Calderon at the helm, he’s better at pick and roll and Calderon’s a better spot up shooter (no small fact when you consider the needs of Hedo Turkoglu to have the ball a bit more often.

With two days of practice and a shootaround before the Knicks game, I don’t know that there’s going to be a better time to get him some work with the first unit, get Jarrett Jack back working with the Young Guns and make the switch.

So, yes.

It’s time.

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In the time it’s taken you to get this far, Hedo Turkoglu could have had the ball about four times. What did with it when he got it is entirely up to him.

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The Heroes Of The Hardcourt are 19-20, the midway point of the season arrives Sunday, the schedule eases a bit when this month’s done and, a half in Indiana notwithstanding, they’re playing the best basketball they’ve played this season.

So, about where they should be? Careening towards a finish right around .500, maybe a game or two above and, in all seriousness, isn’t that just about right?

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Back to practice today to find out what wonders await. Should be fun, they’re all rested and probably ready to go and I guarantee you, they’ve forgotten all about Monday night.

Which means it’s time to come up with story ideas.

Hmm, Bosh to New York? How’s that sound?

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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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The Goods On The Game, Raptor at Pacers

A quick glance outside here and the weather's deteriorating.

A good night to hang at home and here, right?

Right.

A little Raptors-Pacers talk for your viewing pleasure

Points to make, and Bosh's future laid out (and a chat change)

And so another week begins, an entirely quiet one, though.

Game tonight, nothing until Friday, a day off for the lads tomorrow following the back-to-back? Need to search recesses of the mind to fill those middle two days.

But as I do, you read this:

A late change:

We were originally planning a noon chat to set up the game but guess what? That's Damien's time, and I'd forgotten all about that, and since we need moderators and stuff, we'll push the Raptors one back until 1 p.m.

Sorry for the confusion.

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THREE POINTERS

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How about Hedo?

Yes, he was not good, although let’s say he passes up four assists to score on his own. Does 13 and 5 on a day when he missed a handful of shots he normally makes seem more palatable?

But, yes, he was not good and it was interesting to hear him talk after the game about his role and finding it and the desire to have the ball more often rather than run up and down the court as some spot-up wing man.

The thing is: He has done that on a couple of occasions and the simple fact is that every close game the Raps have been in this year, he’s been an integral part of the final possessions.

He missed the shot in Phoenix, a good shot he just didn’t make; he had the ball all the time in a Dec. 1 loss at home to Washington and couldn’t make a shot; he was handling to end the game in Philly the other night and he drilled a big shot in the overtime win in Washington in early December.

So, he’s getting it with the game on the line, they just have to figure out how to get him more involved more often earlier, I guess. Then, everyone’s happy.

The over-riding feeling I got yesterday afternoon was frustration, which isn’t surprising given the way the game – and his game – turned out.

I think maybe one answer is in the rotation. He’s always the first guy out of the game, usually around the five or six minute mark of the first quarter and maybe stretching him out two or three more minutes then will get him in an earlier flow and help ease his mind.

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A bad, bad whistle

I was talking to someone after the game whose opinion on NBA refereeing I respect more than anyone in the city; someone with no bias and a wealth of experience.

The verdict: Not a very good game from the guys with the whistles, for sure.

Yes, you all think – and I concurred on most occasions -- that the refs were too inconsistent, too many calls went Boston’s way and it was kind of interesting to have that point validated by someone who knows.

The may object of ire was Eric Lewis, who made a few odd calls, including a goofy on Chris Bosh for post defence on Kendrick Perkins that I’m still shaking my head about.

It will be of no consolation but the word is that Lewis is generally considered a pretty good ref who, obviously, had a very bad day.

Trouble is, it took away from what was a pretty good game, all in all.

And this will be of no consolation, either, but the NBA “grader” who was in the arena would have filed his report to the league last night and I’m sure Mr. Lewis would have come in for some criticism.

It won’t ease the angst but it’s all that can be done.

Overall, I’ve noticed a lot of slippage by the refs this year, lots of odd calls, wild bouts of inconsistency and they need to get that cleaned up.

I maintain that NBA refs have the hardest officiating job in sports, and I also maintain they are not as bad as you think.

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I’m sure you noticed …

That as the game wound down and it was close, Jay went away from Jarrett Jack and Jose Calderon at the same time, using Marco with Jack in the final five or six minutes.

Why? I will surmise, with some legitimacy having spoken to a few people privately after the game, that they thought Marco was having one of his better nights – he had made a couple of threes, was getting to the rim – and that he might have been better suited to chase Ray Allen around.

It didn’t portend things to come on a regular basis, I’m told.

They still like Jack-Calderon and I suspect we’ll see a bit of it tonight in Indy.

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Let’s get to other stuff:

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In another quirk of scheduling, I’m sitting out tonight in Indy (although I will be in New York on Friday, giving me the win for the week, I guess).

But that doesn’t mean the usual hijinks won’t occur.

We’ll be here to chat at noon 1 p.m. for an hour or so and back at 7 p.m. for the in-game blog.

And, not to worry, I’ll be back out doing a huge chunk of travel in the next little while, which means more access, maybe more nuggets and that Super Family won’t have the Dad Distraction to contend with.

Trust me, after a week or so at home, they’re wondering when the next road trip is, too.

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I’m going to start this now, get it out of the way before the end of the week arrives: The New York Knicks will want Chris Bosh this summer.

They have money to spend on the free agent, they have “targeted” him (whatever the heck that means) and they are a below average team playing in a large media market.

So when the breathless headlines hit on Thursday or Friday and I yawn you’ll know why. Been there, done that.

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In Boston, once you get past the Patriot obits, here’s what the story said in the Herald.

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Speaking of Bosh and New York and the somewhat, ah, ravenous media in the Gotham, here’s a story you might want to take to heart:

(I may very well have told it here before but I’m sure it’s new to some of you.)

It’s 2004, doing the Pistons-Lakers final, an off-day in Detroit and Mehmet Okur, then with the Pistons, was to be one of the intriguing free agents that summer.

It’s the first of two off-days, a fellow from the New York Post, a Mr. Berman, it was, is chatting up Okur.

The next day, it’s not exactly a back page headline but the story stays Okur wants to be in New York the next year, or something just as strong.

We get our friends in the Pistons PR department – and that’s a fine group of gentleman – to ask Mehmet about the apparent scoop he’s given the Post.

Says Okur:

“He ask me if I like New York. I say yes, he make me Knick.”

I offer that only as a cautionary tale for what you might read this week.

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As Mike Wells points out here (You remember Mike? He’s kind of a regular here) things are not going swimmingly for the Indiana Pacers.

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All right, I see coasting and chilling and a quad vente latte from the Starbucks To The Stars in my immediate future. Best get at it.

See you at noon 1.

The Goods On The Game, Celtics at Raptors

Hi everyone.

Settled in? This might be a good one.

The result of a few nice quiet, yet challenging, hours

Way to go, folks.

Make a guy sit around hours on a Saturday having a quiet cocktail or two answering all kinds of questions about all kinds of things.

It’s a delightful way to spend a few hours, a bit of solitude, a bit of a challenge to think of answers and a cool way to do stuff other than off-day reports and game stories.

And …

Voila!

A mailbag.

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Q: Hi Doug, here's one for the mailbag, and feel free to edit this as you wish as I'm not sure how to word this concisely:

I'm consistently impressed with your online work and it's not unfair to say that your work, and reputation is well known throughout the NBA. I'm curious how a guy like yourself with seemingly little interest in learning new technologies has gone about creating a must read blog? How did the online portion of your work begin? Was it a department meeting, was it an idea that you had? Did you or someone else envision a niche for you to take advantage of? I realize that there is some luck involved but I'm a firm believer that most often, good luck in this type of thing comes from having a vision and making careful plans. So if you could elaborate on how the decisions were made to move into the online portion of your job, and maybe give us some idea of what types of things went right for you, I'd be really interested in hearing about that.

Peter L, Toronto

A: You know, there really hasn’t been a grand plan carefully scripted and some days I have no idea how we got here from there.

The genesis was originally moving the NBA notebook (Nothin’ but Net) from the paper to the web for space considerations.

From there what happened, as my fuzzy memory recalls, is just a natural evolution.

I liked the more conversational tone of the web stuff, and when we went to Europe in 2007 it was a perfect way to get little tidbits out there.

I’d like to say we sat down and mapped out a course of action but it was really just me thinking “hmm, what can we do now to expand our coverage?” and the bosses in sports and the web giving me my head to run with various ideas.

I’d suggest something, like the in-game blog we added last season the mailbag we started years ago, and every suggestion was met with approval by the big shots, which is quite heartening, actually.

Now, of course, the big challenge is to make it better and add new wrinkles; GruntTV’s one but there have to be others.

Maybe a meeting is in order.

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Q: Good morning Doug. With Bosh's impending free agency, a thought crossed my mind. We as fans often want a player to be 'loyal' to our city and decry him when he's not. On the hand, if a team wants to ship out a 'loyal' employee, it's lauded as a business move.

This seems to be a double standard, and I'm sure the players notice. Does there seem to be an overlying 'mercenary' attitude among players (I'm loyal to the team that pays my cheque) or how far should loyalty extend to the city?

Ryan K, Pictou County

A: Players notice, for sure.

And, yes, there does seem to a mercenary attitude to most of them because, in truth, they are commodities to be bought and sold by teams, just as they are commodities to market themselves to the highest bidder.

And I don’t have a problem with that, actually. Careers are so short and the money is so big, getting what you can when you can is the best way to settle the future.

Rare is it that we see someone give a “hometown discount” to remain with one franchise, it’s a phrase bandied bandied about something that hardly ever happens.

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Q: Hi Doug, It is great to see Tom Cheek one of the finalists (and leading in the voting at this point in time) for the Ford C. Frick Award. Spent many, many hours enjoying Tom Cheek and Jerry Howarth calling the Blue Jays - during those early (sometimes awful) years, through the building years and finally, to those glorious championship seasons. (I still can not visualize Joe Carter running the bases after hitting that homerun without hearing Tom Cheek's words: "Touch 'em all, Joe. You'll never hit a bigger homerun in your life!") So, a Top 5-er. Any sport, any team, any event: your personal list of five favourite play by play people. And, is (are) there any big-time "calls" they (or made by anyone in particular) that stick in your mind, too? Thanks!

Lorie P, London

A: Every single time I hear Jack Buck say:

“I don’t believe what I just saw”

after Kirk Gibson’s homer off Dennis Eckersley in the 1988 World Series, I get boosebumps.

Greatest.

Call.

Ever.

Now, I don’t know that I’d have Jack in my top five because it’d probably look like this:

Vin Scully.

Johnny Most.

Chick Hearn.

Keith Jackson.

And for under-stated elegance, Pat Summerall.

Now, that is certainly not a definitive list but it’s what I’ve got right now. I probably could be convinced on a couple of them but the top three are indisputable.

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Q: How does an indefinite suspension to a player affect a teams salary cap/luxury tax thresholds?

Shawn L, Bowmanville

A: It doesn’t at all. It saves the team some cash out of pocket but the cap and tax numbers they operate under remain exactly the same.

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Q: Hi Doug. Love the blog and read it everyday, even in the barren wasteland of Regina, SK. I am wondering about what your thoughts are about Vince Carter or HWSNBN (sorry if the acronym is wrong, going off memory and it is about as sharp as a beach ball). Do you think Vince will ever get his due respect from Raptor fans? I was once with the masses and had nothing but animosity towards the guy but then I started asking why? The more that I thought about it, the more I started to realize what he has done for the franchise by actually putting the Raptors on the map. During the good years, he brought an excitement to the team that no one else has been able to match. I am sure I am not alone in saying that he is also the reason that I went from a passive to rabid Raptor fan. I know people are probably going to disagree but I think it is unfair to put it all on Carter.

I am also curious to see if people will turn Bosh into a villain as well if he decides to leave because he feels the team cannot win. Thanks again for making the Blog interesting even on the slow days!

P.S. This is my official endorsement to send Doug Smith to Turkey to cover the Canadian Men’s National team. Please proceed by booking his ticket immediately. Also, next time Mother Star has a contest for the Raptors, you should think about opening it up to Canadians outside the GTA. Thank you.

Sean G, Regina

A: There is no way, in my opinion, that Vince will ever get the true credit he’s due from a majority of fans for what he did for this franchise.

I know there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people around the country, and perhaps the world, who became ardent basketball fans because of the buzz he created.

And it will be quite interesting if – and this is only an ‘if’ – Bosh leaves what the perception is. I would presume, because of the circumstances of his departure, which would be his decision in the summer rather than his desire in a season, might make it easier for fans to embrace what he did when he was in Toronto.

And thanks for the Turkey thing, much appreciated. But don’t get on The Star for the contest thing, for some reason known only to them, that was an NBA restriction.

A new title for snippets and the usual entertaining stuff

A dangerous trap game, sandwiched between a big road win and a big home game and they look utterly disinterested for much of the first half.

Time to fold, right?

Well, six weeks ago, a resounding yes to that question.

Now? Not so much.

Which is a testament to team growth, methinks.

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THREE POINTERS

(It’s a bit more catchy, no? And it was maybe time for a change. Same basic format and I appreciate all the suggestions).

Go right, young man

A couple of things on that final basket by Bosh jumped out at me even more than him finishing, getting fouled and making the game-winning three-point play.

The first was that he “slipped” the high screen, that is he cut towards the basket before hitting the guy guarding Turkoglu. It was a heads-up play because Dalembert took a step out early to slow Turk, Bosh recognized and headed for space.

The play, an anonymous e-mailer replied after the game, was always designed for Bosh to get iso’d but he got set up more quickly because he decided to slip it rather than wait for the contact.

The second?

Well, the second was where he went once he got the ball.

I imagine there were more than a few among you who figured he’d take a jumper, especially when Dalembert played off him a little bit.

But the drive was the correct play, what made it entirely more interesting is that, from the left side of the court, Bosh went right.

A lefty, his default move in that spot is go to left, towards the baseline. Scouts know it, coaches know it, heck, I imagine even he knows it.

He goes right all the time on the other side of the court but I don’t know how many times he’s gone into the middle from the left side.

But I do know this: Knowing scouts and knowing coaches, now that he did it once and won a game, they’re going to be thinking, “oh, oh, now we can’t overplay him as much.”

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Little play, big time move

In the scheme of things, it didn’t mean very much but there was an Amir Johnson play that, to me, was hugely impressive.

About seven minutes to go, if I’m reading my notes right, and Philly's Thaddeus Young is under the basket about to make a layup.

Johnson, behind him, not only blocks the shot, he takes the ball away from him in the same motion, an entirely difficult thing to do. They tied it up and a get a jump ball (I think Toronto’s up about three at the time) and the Raptors get possession after the jump.

The most surprising thing to me might have been the fact Johnson made the play without committing a foul.

Baby steps, baby steps.

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Bad, then okay

By all accounts, Hedo Turkoglu was invisible last night. One of those games where he really had little impact at either end, or shooting or passing.

Still …

With about 4 1-2 minutes left, whatever lead Toronto had was all gone and Turk hit a huge three from the corner, the only one he made in four attempts during the game, that gave the Raptors a wee bit of a cushion.

And then on that last possession, before making the right, quick pass to Bosh for the game-winner, you know the Sixers were showing hard on whatever screen Bosh may have set because they fully expected that Turk was going to go around the corner and either take a shot or hit an open teammate in the corner.

Some times, even guys who don’t play well can make a play when it’s needed most.

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In other matters that matter …

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Your statistical anomaly of the night.

Chris Bosh led the Raptors in points (29), rebounds (nine), assists (six) and turnovers (six).

Not sure what that is, but it’s a Quadruple Something Or Other.

To say nothing of a 1:1 assist to turnover ratio.

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I’m sitting there at the desk doing some typing after the game (I know, thrilling Friday night, no?) when I look up to catch a second of Cavs-Nuggets on the TV.

What do my eyes behold?

There’s Joey Graham posting up Anthony Parker, bumping him almost out of bounds and finishing with a nice floater in the lane.

That’s when I knew I was (a) too tired and should call it a night; (b) having some back flashback to a Raptors practice from any of the last three season, or (c) happy to see two ex-Raptors going at it each other, albeit early, in a game that mattered.

Still, it was kind of an odd feeling.

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In Philly, where My Man Jasner got to catch up with people but, sadly, not me, they seem to be gunning for Eddie Jordan, already as this story shows.

Man, that’s cold.

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Because I was able to watch the game on TV – and will mention the drunken scoreboard bug operator and the penchant for coming back late out of commercials to the first broadcast big shot I see – got to catch the little Antawn Jamison address to the Washington crowd during Sixers-Raptors halftime.

And, yes, it was probably a day late and a dollar short in many regards but it was also the first time the team was at home since the Arenas suspension.

It was a rather classy, quick speech from a classy young man.

It can’t possibly eliminate all the ill will created by the tawdry Arenas mess – and why do I have the feeling there might be more to this story as time unfolds? – but it was a baby step.

So was taking down the huge (and I mean four- or five-storey huge) picture of Arenas outside the arena.

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So the Celtics lose in Atlanta and they’ll be chuffed when they get here for tomorrow’s matinee. Great, eh?

Here’s how the fishwraps summed up that one.

Because the desire is always to give you the news first here, I’ll let you know what tomorrow’s (yawn!) story is:

“We have to play tougher.” “We have to hit first.”

“We can’t let the Celtics come in here and punk us.”

“They play physical defence, we have to match that.”

I have no idea who’s going to say what but that’s what they’re going to say.

And some of us will collectively roll our eyes and think:

“Don’t tell me. Show me.”

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All right, practice today (be the first time I’ve seen anyone since last Saturday in Boston, wonder if they missed me?) and then, perchance, a quiet time answering mail.

See ya.

The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Sixers

This is a very good night to be inside.

Glad you could make it.

GruntTV with a quiet little co-host