This, that and a couple of other things

Cue the scary music.

They start the second half of the season just the way they started the first, against Cleveland and brimming with optimism.

Optimism that comes from what I think was their best game of the season.

-

THREE POINTERS

Some sequence

I don’t think they could have drawn this one up any better and it was truly indicative of the way the day went.

Late third quarter, the Raptors hadn’t folded, their lead was about the same as it was at halftime and Jarrett Jack turns the joint on its collective head.

He makes a crazy, “I have no idea what just happened” reverse layup that he finishes with a free throw for a three-point play.

He gets in front of Dirk Nowitzki at the other end, draws a charge, gets Dirk so riled up he gets a technical that Jose converts.

Next possession, Raps run as good a break as they did all day, a rebound, an outlet to Jack, a few dribbles and a pass that Amir Johnson finishes with a flush.

They’re up 17 with 1:16 left in the third and the game’s over.

Great, great sequence for Jack, who had this to say about the Mo Pete Tribute Shot:

“I don’t know how that shot went it. I heard the whistle and I kind of just threw it at the basket. I didn’t even know it went in until I heard the crowd start cheering.”

Sometimes it pays to be as lucky as good.

-

Has it come to this?

Chris Bosh makes half his field goal attempts, goes 5-for-6 at the free throw line, grabs a game-high 13 rebounds, has a couple of assists without a turnover and has a couple of blocked shots and the over-riding reaction is “ho hum.”

Seriously, he dominated everything the Mavs did to him; didn’t matter if it was Erick Dampier or Dirk Nowitzki or Mark Cuban guarding him, the kid did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted.

In one first half stretch he showed it all:

Tough, tough fadeaway from the right side in front of the Raptors bench, next a drive on the left baseline (he went left, not right) that gets him fouled and to the line and the next touch he drill a foul-line jumper.

Think at about that time, we knew it was going to be some kind of day for him; didn’t think he’d become an afterthought, though. But when you’ve been seeing that kind of stuff on a regular basis, it becomes the norm.

Still unbelievably good. But the norm.

-

Different look, same result

With the game slipping away from them (actually, it was probably gone and this was little more than a last-gasp act of desperation), the Mavs threw some zone defence at the Raptors.

Normally, that spells trouble for Toronto; the ball tends to stick a lot when they run offence against zones and they settle for quick, and usually not very good, jump shots.

Yesterday? Well, by my scribbling – and this is not necessarily bang-on, but it’s pretty close – the Raps scored on three of five halfcourt possessions against the zone, unhead-of success for them.

Even if that wasn’t the number, they handled it well, were patient and got good shots. Guess having some time to practice against such looks does pay off.

-

Now, some more.

-

I mention this only because someone else might have noticed and I’d be sure to be asked but, please, put this in the “Don’t Read Anything Into It” file.

Saw Henry Thomas, Chris Bosh’s agent, in the bowels of the Air Canada Centre before the game but I’m assured by those who know these kinds of things that it was nothing more than a regularly-scheduled visit that agents make to key clients throughout the season.

-

Speaking of celebrations, I think this is the first time in four or five years that these guys haven’t played on the Martin Luther King Day holiday in the states.

Last year, it was an afternoon game in Atlanta, a couple of other years it’s been night games in Minnesota.

-

Oh yeah, I’m out of the loop for a little while these next two days, dealing with, you know, stuff.

Will probably get a chance to post some comments during the day today but tonight’s not good, I can’t see a way to do anything much tomorrow morning and there can’t be a regular pre-game chat.

I think I could be around for an in-game blog tomorrow night but that’s still up in the air; I’ll have to let you know.

Thanks for understanding.

-

Fast Eddie Sefko, who’s a big fan of Canada, by the way, reported on the goings-on thusly.

-

Marco Belinelli just has the flu, nothing more, nothing to serious. The rather vigilant NBA health police, along with the local physicians, did the swabbing and the testing and he came back clean for the H1N1 virus.

Guess it’s good he got that vaccine, eh? And guess it’s good that there are all kinds of the stuff left and the botched process of doling it out wasn’t ruined by the fact the Raptors followed all the correct protocols in getting it, right?

Of course, if he’d had someone take it off a nurse in a bar late on Saturday night, we’ve have a Pulitzer Prize winner to write.

-

Speaking of Canada, we’re standing talking to Rick Carlisle before the game and I wondered just how many people he’d have in the crowd, seeing he’s from Ogdensburg, N.Y., and all and I recall many visitors coming when he’s been here in the past while coaching other teams.

Well, he says he’s got more than a few and Fast Eddie wants to know how far his hometown is. Carlisle, displaying a rather out-of-the-ordinary knowledge of international matters for a guy from the NBA, answers:

“Is that miles or kilometres?”

-

I can’t wait to catch up with these guys in Milwaukee on Wednesday. Should get great quotes, lots of solid insight, complete sentence answers to questions and generally good conversation.

Why, you ask?

Well, because today when they get to Cleveland, the Raptors will take part in a mandatory media-training session that’s a joint venture of the NBA and the players’ association.

It happens once or twice a year, they sit around and get some tips on how to handle the marauding hordes of media that engulf them every day.

I’ve never actually sat through one but I know the drill and I can hear three tips right now:

“Look the questioner in the eye.”

“Call him or her by name if you can, it makes them feel, you know, significant.”

“Don’t roll your eyes at silly questions.”

If history holds, it’ll last about a week.

(Seriously, though, this is a pretty good group of guys in that regard but a refresher course is never a bad idea.)

-

So long.

Comments

[jimt]

indeed for bosh hohum,but WOW just dominating :) barney also surprised me by having 0 fouls prob in support of sick belli's jersey.Speaking of jerseys i can guarantee ev1 that number 10 will advance to the real dunk contest lol.
Doug all the best to you and superfamily.

[Matt Kovacs - Age 12]

With Andrea playing so well as of late, can we expect him to get picked by the coaches to go to Dallas?

Blogger's note: That's a tough call, he'd have to get some serious consideration, I think

[Thane]

“I don’t know how that shot went it. I heard the whistle and I kind of just threw it at the basket. I didn’t even know it went in until I heard the crowd start cheering.”

Basketball 101 question for you, Doug.

I thought that a shot only counted if it happened before (or at the exact same time) as a foul? Otherwise the foul just resets the clock to 14, no?

Looking at Jack's quote above, it seems pretty clear that he didn't shoot until after he heard the whistle blow. Did the refs blow the call, or are players allowed to have shots count even if it's not taken until after the foul?

Blogger's note: Continuation, it's called; no dribbles and the play progresses

[christine]

Did the chicken make you at least smile with his Evolution of Dance? Come on Doug you have to admit it was somewhat good....

Blogger's note: Oh yeah, it's one of his/her/its top schticks

[Kevin Van Der Zwaag]

Hi Doug, just wanted to pass along my condolences to you and your family.

Blogger's note: Much appreciated

[Connor]

Wow, the comments at the end of the Eddie Sefko article look...familiar. Just replace Maverick names with Raptor names and you get the same sort of comments that are made here after a loss. Fans are fans.

[Anthony]

Very nice 48 minutes, I'll be sitting in the 3rd row for Fridays game and hope to see a similar effort level and focus.

[Mark]

Doug, agree with your commensts re Bosh, but I think a large contributing factor to him being able to do what he wants is the play of Barganani. He is starting to look like an all-star....can't remember his last bad game. Even against Pacers where he didn't have his shooting legs he grabs 17 boards is active, vocal and playing with passion. These two could be great together for the next five years.

[pn]

Doug, I'd like to add my condolences and best wishes to you and your family.

If anything, I hope that moments like these remind some of the trolls in cyberspace that there are real, living, breathing, feeling people on the receiving end of their comments and perhaps they should consider this before firing off bilious missives.

On another note, I think it's safe to say now that the Raptors have developed into a very good team. They've been playing at a .667 clip for the past 6 weeks, beaten some very good teams and shown a fairly consistent commitment to defence. I think it's fair to say that this stretch is not a fluke or simply the result of a soft schedule (half the teams they played in that stretch are .500 or better).

Personally, I think the team will improve even more when they get Reggie Evans blended in and a run at 4th in the East is not out of the question.

[Derek H]

About ago 2 weeks we were reading comments from some statistic loving ignorant fans who can't think for themselves or reason but just read Hollinger that the Raptors allowed 11 points per game less when Jose played little or no minutes. Had nothing to do with perhaps weaker opponents or the team having more time to play together or the play of Sonny Weems who took minutes away from Wright. Or Bargnani playing better defensively or the team as a whole. So the conclusion was the team was better with a Jack/Banks combo than with Calderon/Jack; oh ya where are those who were ripping the skin off of Banks for making $4 million per year as a 3rd string PG. Here is a statistic; the 6 games Jose has played since coming back from injury he has a better plus/minus than Jack in 5 of the 6 games. Also since Jose has been back they are giving up 103 points per game. Better than the number that the great Hollinger stated. Get rid of Jack!! You can take any statistic and ignore others to support your argument or agenda! So I can conclude they are better with Calderon than Jack. Someone mentioned Jack was a better passer than Calderon especially to the low post. And Jack is better at lobbing the ball or alley-oops than Calderon. Really?! lol

Someone made the idiotic comment that Colangelo was dumb for signing O’Bryant to a guaranteed contract. He could have used the paltry (by NBA standards) money to sign someone more useful. Really?! Because no other GM has any useless ‘cheap’ players on the bench. Everyone plays 20 or more minutes a game. Perhaps they could have signed Bill Russell or Kareem or maybe Latrell ‘I have to feed my family’ Sprewell. Or disregarding the NBA rules signed a superstar or up & coming star who would agree to $50,000 a season. The fact is every team has several players to fill the bench in case of injury. Why does O’Bryant not play. Oh because after their big man starters they have Amir Johnson and Nestarovic and hopefully Evans back soon. You don’t play 7 big guys in a game. And if they did not play Johnson enough minutes you would be criticizing Triano for not playing him enough.

And then I read a big idiotic paragraph about how the Raptors gave up a high shooting % against Orlando when Jose was in the game (sarcasm; because yes Jose is the only player on the court and Jack was never on the court at all when the Raptors gave up the 18 point lead they had). Show me even some statistics and numbers that back-up that idiotic statement. And how Jose made a bunch of mistakes but nothing mentioned about how Jack had 2 turnovers and hoisted two bad 3 pointers in the dying minutes; oh but that was probably Jose’s fault for not running the offense correctly. Then the comments state that Jose was a minus in the game (duh he was actually plus 4 and Jack a 0) and that a player making $8 million a season should never be below a plus/minus of 0 and should always be positive. Okay, so LeBron, Kobe, Bosh, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard are never ever a minus in a game. Oh by the way; Jose was a plus 32 against Dallas yesterday and Jack a big fat 0. And as earlier mentioned Jose has a better plus/minus than Jack in 5 of the last 6 games. There are a lot of guys making $8 million or more that don’t contribute any where near what Jose contributes.

And if you are reading this and intelligent enough what I have written is no slight on Jack. I like him. And nor is it to praise Jose and say he is a great top notch overall player. I like Jose. I think he can help the Raptors to become a top notch team. They are a very good PG tandem. My point is more that there are some stupid comments made here with no thinking and one-sided arguments made to support someone’s agenda especially when they particularly do not like a certain player or coach or GM.

End of rant (maybe until I catch up and read comments from the past week).

[Leon]

"And guess it’s good that there are all kinds of the stuff left and the botched process of doling it out wasn’t ruined by the fact the Raptors followed all the correct protocols in getting it, right?"

They hype surrounding H1N1 may be gone, but the concern over certain people getting the vaccine in time was legitimate. Of course, a dozen players would not "ruin" a nationwide vaccination campaign. (It appears as if you are belittling your readers here). The point is that many people (including myself) were incensed that the rich, famous and powerful got the vaccine before anyone else.

I think the protocols that you think the Raptors supposedly followed "correctly" is still to be determined. Unless you know otherwise, in many municipalities everyone (including doctors and nurses) were supposed to line-up with everyone else. Furthermore, there were clear "protocols" for priority groups. Aside from chronic medical conditions (unlikely), the only scenario that would fit the Raptors would be that they are caregivers to a child 6 months or younger. (Certainly not the whole team!)

As someone said earlier, if it is about exposure to the virus due to the nature of the athletes' work (bodily contact, travel, etc.)... then the workers at Tim Horton's should all have been first in line.

[Anthony]

Okay we are homers (at least I am)...... I also have supported the pick and play of Andrea Bargnani since day one...... The only player better from this draft at this point is Roy, who was never going to go #1.

So, what is the perception of Andrea around the league as a prospective All-Star this year? In the East is there another Center ahead of him. Other Centers: Can't pick Lopez on a 3 win team, Noah gets too much run and is one dimensional, Horford is really not a center with worse #'s, O'Neal would be a joke, Bogut blows hot and cold..... Am I missing anyone?

I think too little is made of Andrea's unique offensive game, which is an outside game that no other center plays.

Thanks for the time Doug and of course condolences too....

Blogger's note: David Lee. And thanks

[Andre]

Is this the turning point? the raptors maturing as a unit?

Doug, quick question. I know turk has been struggling. Do you think he just needs more time to adapt to the offence, and gel with his new role? Or do the raptors need to start having him run the offence sometimes. Like early second quarter, so that he can get hot? Just wondering about his situation.

[JT29]

Doug, condolences to you and your family. Your work and dedication here even as you go through this tough time is much appreciated by myself and others.

Blogger's note: Much appreciated

[Hope Caper]

Doug, a quick note. First, while your blogs add to the entertainment of following the Raps it is just that, entertainment, so take care of business at home. Second, Derek I agree with your rambling rant as much as I can understand it, and third Leon it was a comment, offhand, and we are not here to solve the nation's health problems and fourth, I would like to see these guys beat Cleveland or at least let them know that the Raps are coming and it is a long season.

[Francis]

Doug, thanks for everything that you do for us by keeping us informed and entertained!

More importantly do know that we are, or the majority of your loyal readers, have nothing but all the sympathy in the world for your families loss and wish you all Gods blessings during this difficult time!

Blogger's note: Thank you very much, it's appreciated

[Johnn19]

Nothing wrong with the Turks team play, passing, assists, rebounding,or fitting with either Jose or Jack.

All he needs to do is take good shots and make them, as he is shooting 29% and 63% fg's over the last 5 games.

He is in a KING SIZE shooting slump, and it will end eventually. He needs to contribute 16/17 ppg on a consistent basis for the Rap's to reach their potential.

[doug]

this is not a rant, but well it may turn into one as something is really eating at me lately....I have mentioned it before in passing, and that is this whole "second unit" talk people like to make when talking about Jose..these people that state that are either not watching the games or just figure that since Jose is not a starter he is a second unit guy...this is b-ball 101 for the pro game....there is NO second unit in the pros, zero, nada....yesterday in your in-game blog as i skimmed thru it after the game I noticed you made mention to a blogger about it.....and pointed out to them there were 3 starters on the floor...are these people not watching??...and if there are 3 starters or 2 every NBA team has a bench that goes 8-9 deep.....all interchangeable parts...there is no second unit in this day and age of the NBA.....so anyone that makes it part of their Jose argument is just showing their lack of understanding of the game and proving they are in fact not even watching or comprehending what is going on, on the floor...

[Mr. Law]

Sam Mitchell Sighting! look at the promo pic at nba.com for the OKC vs. Atlanta game that is on right now!

[Brian]

I really enjoy reading your insightful blogs, Doug. Thank you. My condolences to you and your family.

Blogger's note: Very much appreciated

[Tony]

Hi Doug, i use to hate early Sunday games because we never seemed prepared. I heard you or someone mention that Triano gets them together for a short court session on Sundays now, to get their mind on the game and get their basketball juices flowing. Do you know if they still do that? I think it's a fantastic idea and they do seem better prepared, Sundays of late.

Blogger's note: They do

[Derek]

Doug - is it true that Amir Johnson is a FA after this year? If so, have you heard any rumblings about the Raps signing him to an extension?

He's been incredibly solid all year and given his young age, looks like he still has tons of upside.

Even if the Raps are able to re-sign Bosh long term, Amir is a great change of pace coming off the bench, and if the Raps aren't able to re-sign Bosh, I think Amir only becomes more valuable (or necessary) for the Raps.

I'm sure how well he's played this year has caught the attention of some other teams around the league as well. I'd hate to see us lose him in free agency at the end of the year.

Blogger's note: He is, I haven't

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,Sorry to hear about your loss.take as much time as you need big guy,there's more important thing's in life than basketball/work most of us understand!

Blogger's note: Thanks very much

[RC]

Doug, condolences as well.

On another note, isn't David Lee listed as a forward on the all-star ballot?

[John]

Doug, i have a question about the salary cap. How are the Raps allowed to sign Bosh to more money than another team, and if they are allowed to pay him more money, does all that money count towards the cap?

One other note, the fact that AB is now being talked about being an all-star and he is locked up now for another 4 years at 10million a year, do you think this sways CB to stay in TO, knowing that he has an all-star to play next to that doesnt completely hand-cuff the team financially in the near future?