These are heady times indeed

Join Doug Smith at noon Thursday for a live basketball Q&A, as the Raptors get ready to take on the New York Knicks.

Another home win, another pretty solid outing, and a season-high two games over .500?

Man, things are going pretty good, aren’t they?

How many of you are waiting for the other shoe to drop?

Thought so.

But for now, rejoice!

And read this.

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THREE POINTERS

The right moment

Oh, those are a crafty group of coaches on that Raptors staff.

For most of the first three quarters, I’m wondering when they’ll send a second defender at Dwyane Wade or try to trap him coming off screens because they’d just been forcing him one way with only one defender.

Well, here comes the fourth quarter and here comes an entirely different look and it was all planned, as it turns out, according to Jay after the game:

“Throughout the game, we tried to show him different guys ad then we were sitting on trapping him. We waited and waited and waited and finally, in the fourth quarter, we thought it was time to hit him and make somebody else to have to make shots because the way he had it going for a while there, it was one of those games where you didn’t want to give him the opportunity to take over.

“We didn’t want to wait too long but he gave it up and other guys missed shots so the strategy worked.”

So there is method to the apparent madness.

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As good as it gets

I’m not sure Antoine Wright’s played a better game this season that he did against Miami and he was a huge part of the result.

Two plays back-to-back stood out.

Near the end of the third quarter, he wheels and deals in the lane (not a warp speed but with some determination) and misses a Marco-esque layup. But to his credit, he stays with it, grabs the rebound, gets up another shot the refs say was goal-tended, gets fouled and makes the free throw.

The next Miami possession – and this was a good play I bet few noticed – the Heat miss a shot. There are four or five guys battling pretty hard for the miss but Wright sneaks past them and steals the miss along the baseline. Heady play.

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Body control

Not sure exactly when it was, all I know was that it came in the second half because my notes are indecipherable, but there was an Andrea Bargnani move that perfectly sums up his development.

He got the ball at the perimeter on the left side and took off towards the basket; we had a perfect view of it on the angle he took.

He beat his man rather easily – and that’s not out of the ordinary – but when the second defender slid over to help, I think everyone in the gym expected a charge because, well, because that’s what he does.

But instead of barreling full tilt into whoever was there, he made a subtle move to his left, got his hip around the defender and finished with a finger-roll-like layup without the slightest bit of contact.

Pretty solid move from a guy who’s showing more solid moves every single game

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In other, you know, stuff …

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How screwed up are the Washington Wizards now?

They can’t trade Gilbert, not sure than can trade either of Butler or Jamison because they don’t know what the final resolution of the Arenas situation will be and who knows if GM Ernie Grunfeld will survive this awful mess.

But I give David Stern credit because the penalties he doled out yesterday made by far the most sense to me. Yes, it was beyond stupid what Arenas and Crittenton did but to do more than a rest-of-the-season-timeout would have, in my opinion been entirely piling on.

It’s a strong message but not too strong; stupidity will be penalized but there is a measure of compassion.

And I’m not entirely sure the Wizards, who are at least a bit complicit in this whole mess because of the way the coddled and cow-towed to Arenas over the years, are going to be successful if they try to void Gilbert’s contract.

Oh, I’m sure they’ll try and, yes, he’ll have that criminal record; and, yes, what he did was unconscionable but we live in a society where second chances abound and I don’t think they’ll end up winning what’s going to be a court-arbitrated decision.

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In Miami, Ira said this about that and the sneaking suspicion we both had is that it’s going to be a 35-game race between Toronto, Miami and Charlotte to see who finishes five, six and seven in the East.

Personally, I think the Raptors are heavy favourites to win and I think you can throw a blanket over the other two.

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He was Disappointed DeMar at news he didn’t have to subject himself to the Rookie-Sophomore Silliness on all-star weekend (and I really think it’s the weakest part of the entire affair) but at least the kid could crack wise a little bit:

“I might have more legs for the dunk contest.”

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Want to talk today?

How’s noon fit everyone’s schedule? Imagine it’ll work a wee bit better than yesterday when things slowed a Hakeem Olajuwon crawl thanks to the I-Thing launch and about a zillion live chats at 1 p.m.

Anyway, I’ll be here. Will you?

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Today’s the day, folks

All-star Subs Day.

A week or so ago I gave you what I thought the rosters would look like after the coaches voted with the provision that I could change my mind.

Well, I did a bit.

So, without further ado, I think this might be the way the coaches filled out their ballots, at least if they were, you know, as smart as I am.

Remember, coaches had to pick two guards, two forwards, a centre and two others and had some leeway on deciding who was, say, a centre or a forward and a guard or a forward.

East

Chris Bosh, Gerald Wallace, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith and Andrew Bogut.

West

Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Pau Gasol, Deron Williams and Zach Randolph.

You’re welcome, maybe this’ll save you some time tonight.

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Black Stars update!

I know it’s been a while (I think the last I mentioned it was when the tournament began, which seems like July) but the big semifinals of the African Cup of Nations goes today.

Black Stars vs. Nigeria at 11 a.m. Eastern time and Algeria-Egypt at 2:30 p.m.

Just so you can tune in the TV to catch it.

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Speaking of tonight, let's see what the Post has to say for comic relief.

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Oh, and speaking of tonight, I won’t be in the Garden, this was a long-scheduled Dave trip, we were supposed to split the trips to New York but I had to bail at the last minute a couple of weeks ago.

The plan, after a nice day of laundry, house-cleaning and, if there’s a Supreme Being some quiet time somewhere, is for a usual in-game thing for the 7:30 start.

See some of you then, barring any unforeseen developments.

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Comments

[Matthieu]

Hi Doug,

Thank you for the blog.

Quick question: Turk's points over the last three games: 6/9/6 but all the same T.O. wins the 3 games.

What can we make of that (knowing that stats do not tell everything about a player's impact)? Is that all that is needed from a player such a Turk? Is he useless? Underused?

Blogger's note: Neither, really. He's not shooting well, but he'll come around

[Matt Kovacs - Age 12]

I would not say for sure that the raptors have a locked up spot with Chicago playing the way that they are playing beating all those west teams. Do you think that that Chicago is playing the way they should, or in over their heads?

Blogger's note: I think Chicago's on a roll they can't keep up; but they are going good right now

[Sammy]

Great blog today Doug. Always fun reading your input on the team. I haven't enjoyed Raptors ball this much since the early Vince Carter days. Go Raps Go.

[Andrew]

Now that you mention it, I can't remember the last time I saw Andrea called for a charging foul. I remember a few years ago, even last year, it was as if every other time he went to the basket he was called for a charging foul.

[Andre]

Andrew Bogut and Derrick Rose? Sorry I disagree

I'd rather see Shaq in there then Bogut. And your boy Stephen Jackson should be there too. I told you they would be a playoff team.

Great win for the raptors, seems like they are on a roll

[John]

I understand the situations are different, and Gilbert's is more serious because a) he brought his guns to work and b) he acted like an idiot afterwards. But it seems weird that Arenas gets a full year suspension for having guns in the locker room whereas Stephen Jackson got a handfull of games for shooting his gun off at a strip club. I'd be more worried about the guy shooting his guns then the guy having a bunch of unloaded guns, but that's just me.

Also on the DeRozen rookie game snub, my understanding was that he got screwed by being in a draft class with lots good guards and they can't put a 5 guard line-up out for the game. Unless maybe they got Don Nelson to coach.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Top o' the morning to ye, Doug,
January is turning into an eye-opening intro for these Raps on the big stage. Their wins this month are far more impressive than their 9-6 December: no blowouts, they're taking their defence far more seriously, they're beating some top-drawer teams and taking care of business at home, big-time. I see most power rankings still have them down around 15-16, but where do you see them? (I'd peg them about 10-11 right now.) I'd be as impressed with a win tonight on a B2B in Madison Square as I was with the last two over far better teams. Go Raps!
Cheers.

[GDS]

chicago might be in the race too

[Alex]

Good All-Star picks Doug; I hope Kaman makes it, I think he deserves it this year.

[graham]

good game by the Raps who are showing they can overcome bad spells and other teams runs and still come out on top. Good to see Wright come back and have a great second half after a couple of cheap fouls in the first.
On that topic, is it just me or does Wade get away with more leading arm push-offs than any other player? Not so much e=when he goes to the basket, but his lateral movement at the top of the key he uses his off arm far more than his body to clear space and never seems to get called.

[Don W.]

With regards to the Washington suspensions perhaps both players, in order to stay in shape, can arrange to play pickup ball with Barry Obama at the white house. He seems to enjoy Basketballl and they are right there--seems like a good fit to me.

[Dan W]

Wrights defense last night was really impressive.
In 8 minutes Beasley had as many points and more rebounds then Hedo. He still contributed in the 4th with some clutch free throws. He just needs to find his game again because it will make this team so much better.

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug,

Let me get this straight...by your reckoning because the Wizards have kowtowed to Arenas at every turn they share in the culpability of Gil's monumental stupidity? That's like saying the Laker's who bent over backwards for Kobe were also responsible for Kobe being an alleged rapist, because they helped foster that sense of entitlement, Kobe carried himself with.

One was a thug with a gun...the other a thug used high powered attorneys.

Cheers

marc in panama

[Ali]

Cmon Doug, not one mention of Kris Humphries leading the Net's to their fourth victory. He looked great out there. Going to an awful team was the best thing that could happen to him. No one's going to complain when he goes into MJ mode.

[KB]

I listened to the moaning about Bargnani only getting 3 rebounds on the post show on the Fan ... really?!?! This guy is on fire - playing great ball, plays running through him, no longer just a 3 pt specialist. When will people give this guy a break and het behind him?

Doug, how much of this growth in Bargs do you see as natural growth and how much do you put on the coaching (from Smitch to Triano)?

Blogger's note: Impossible to quantify, a bit of both but probably more natural maturation

[Stephen]

is ti pretty much a consensus on here that the 8 teams in play-off position right now (Orl, Cle, Bos, Atl, Tor, Mia, Char, and Chicago) will be still playing come play-off time. Do any of the the others (Mil?) have a chance? I wouldn't sleep on Chicago as the Raptors' biggest competitor for the 5 slot ~ Thoughts

[KX]

Is there going to be a pre-game chat?

Blogger's note: Noon

[pn]

I, for one, am not waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The Raptors had five bad weeks to start the season, but have followed that with eight weeks of .650 ball in which they've beaten very, very good teams and have displayed a defensive commitment and intensity not seen in these parts for many years.

I think this team deserves lots of credit.

[JeffH]

Don't you mean he was DeJected DeMar? Hehe.

[dribbles]

How about that Zach Randolph? Gotta give him some props. I think just about everybody had written him off as talented guy but a chemistry killer who would never have the maturity you want in an NBA player. I think a lot of Raps fans remember that play in the ACC when he was with the Knicks where he dribbled the ball off his foot at the top of the key, came back and launched an airball 3. We thought that summed him up nicely. Guess there's always hope.

Andrea looked like he literally couldn't miss in the 3rd quarter but he disappeared again after he got hot. Seems to happen an awful lot to him. Anyway, good W. They've turned up their D in the 2nd halves of the last couple of games. Antoine can play in this league. He just has to play within himself and not try to create off the dribble too much (think Bruce Bowen).

[Anthony]

Hey Doug,
What about the play where Andrea avoided another charge after driving into the paint and dropped a nice pass to Chris for the easy two.
These guys are starting to develop some real chemistry and confidence playing together, Jose has been playing great since he came back and Jack is solid. If we can just get a little bit more out of Turk we would be easily winning some of these games instead of just barley squeaking out wins by a couple points.

[Mauro]

I think I saw You on TV!
You are normally so close to Amstrong and Devlin ?
And because I saw you tyoing while Andrea was entering for a substitution, I got a question: do you know if any players know you are online blogging from the court ?

Blogger's note: Not sure, I think some might know

[Steve]

Your description of Bargnani's step to the left to avoid the charge sounds a lot like the play that Belinelli made. Are you sure you didn't mix the two up? The only play like that from the game (that I recall) was Marco's, and it was a fantastic play.

Blogger's note: No, I got the right play; and I remember Belinelli's, too

[Chi of Steel]

Hi Doug,

Did you get a chance to talk to the other Doug? I saw Mr. Christie sandwiched between you and Jack Armstrong during the broadcast. He seemed genuinely happy to be there and acknowledged the fans with a wave and a bow. My fave Christie moment was when he did a Pizza Pizza commercial with another Rap (forgot who it was), and he wanted be Mats Sundin because they shared the same jersey number... thirteeeeen Sundiiiin.

Blogger's note: Had a nice chat with him, mostly innocuous family, life stuff. Was nice to see him. And he was quite taken with the reception

[rob]

Doug, with regards to Bargnani having only 3 reb. I saw him on a couple of occasions sealing Oneal and boxing out haslem...
I m not really concerned about his rebouding number becasue at the end of the day I think it is correlated with bosh having a big rebounding day and the raps outrebounding miami (which really shouldnt happn when their starting center has 3 reb. ) because bargnani is positionning himself well enough to give his teammates a chance to reb the ball.