About Turk and time and hobnobbing with famous families

Everyone feeling a bit better today? Breathing a bit easier?

Now, I know the Raptors got back on the ground in Toronto about 12:30 Tuesday morning. Please, for the love of all that’s good in the world, if anyone saw any of them out getting a bite to eat and perhaps a drink, I do not want to know about it.

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THREE POINTERS

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The new Manu?

Not quite. But we were goofing with Hedo after the game that Sixth Man of Year might be something he’d like to consider.

“It’s too late for that, huh? Not enough games for that.”

But he, and you, should get used to it because I can’t see them going away from Weems for the rest of this season. And it seems everyone’s quite okay with that.

Turk, a pre-game media session, said he’s got no problem with the decision, Jay likes the athleticism the new lineup brings and there’s no way they should change it in the next nine games.

Actually, no one should be at all surprised at Hedo’s reaction.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over this season is that his default position is to laugh and joke and smile. It’s not that he isn’t upset or angry or disappointed in his effort but his immediate reaction to anything is to smile and laugh. It’s his character and it’s not going to change at this point in his life.

It may not fit the prototypical personality we like in our athletes, he doesn’t slam the ball to the floor or act disgusted or give the greatest angst-filled quotes. But it’s who he is and that’s got to be accepted.

Now, as a backup? Well, it’s not like he’s going to come into games and energize them or up the tempo or get the crowd roiling but he looked last night like a pretty solid second-unit guy.

And Jay made an interesting point before the game: When things were going well, Hedo, Jarrett and DeRozan were the starting backcourt. Now, they play together as a second unit and that can’t be all that bad.

If you look at the minutes distribution last night - Hedo at 28, Jarrett at 23 and DeMar at 20 – that’s not bad and I imagine that’s what we’ll see the rest of the way.

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Time(out) management

I know there had to be more than a few of you who were quite surprised, and likely upset, when 68.5 per cent free throw shooter Sonny Weems not only found himself on the court but at the line with the Raptors clinging to a two-point lead and 13.3 seconds left in the game.

The fact that he bricked the two foul shots must have led to more angst and visions of a total collapse. Well, here’s why he was there.

When Tyson Chandler dunked to make it 103-101 with 19.2 seconds left, the Raptors had one timeout to go. If they call it then, you know the Bobcats are going to foul on the inbounds pass and no matter what the Raptors do, Charlotte’s going to get the ball back.

And then, if they score with, say, 3.1 seconds left, the Raptors are not going to have a timeout to set something up to get a good shot, just like they ran out of timeouts the night before in Miami, when they sure could have used one down three with 1.9 seconds left.

And if the Bobcats don’t score, at least Jay’s got one left in his pocket to make offence-defence subs and move the ball about 60 feet up the court, which not only leaves them more space to in-bound it but makes it more difficult for Charlotte to go the length of the court and score off a steal.

That’s okay management, even if it meant Sonny had to be in an extremely difficult position.

The other thing to think about in that sequence is why, after the Chandler basket, did the Raptors inbound the ball to Bosh? Maybe he should have been the one taking it out, looking for one of the guards on the court instead of being the recipient of the pass.

Anyway, it worked out in the long run and I guess that’s all that really counts.

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Our go-to guy

Antoine Wright’s becoming a huge fave among the grunts. Good quote, accessible, good guy who’s playing well. What more can we want?

Last night, before the game and after we’ve grilled Turk, Antoine shows up at his locker right next to Turk, bugging us to get out of his way.

During the course of the conversation, he tells us they’re winning the game, no doubt about it, and warns us that if they lose, to not come around his little piece of turf after the game.

After the game and after they win, we get into the room and there’s Wright with ice on his knees, his feet in ice buckets and he’s feeling pretty good about things.

And, of course, we need quotes.

Except for one thing: He’s going to shower, politely excuses himself and if the game hadn’t dragged for 2:26, we would have gladly waited for him to give us some pearls of wisdom. Except we can’t wait, deadline’s coming and as he’s wandering to the shower, we make mention that we could sure use a quote:

“I told you.”

And then he’s off.

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A wee bit more? Just a wee bit because this is long enough.

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You know what would have made the Turk Goes To The Club story even better?

If he’d gone from the game to a Nelly concert and danced on the stage.

That would have been cool.

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You know how I’m always one to point out that you’re never “supposed” to win a game and that anything can happen and usually does?

Well, that generally holds true but I probably should note that the Los Angeles Clippers, they of the 27-46 record, play at Milwaukee on Tuesday night and probably won’t get to their Toronto hotel until after 2 a.m. Wednesday to face the Raptors to finish a back-to-back.

Does that mean Toronto’s “supposed to win?”

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Here’s what Rick had to say in the cyber pages of the Observer this morning.

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Right, the MJ story. Thanks for reminding me.

I’m sure I’ve told it before so you Irregulars who’ve heard it can scroll down.

It’s Portland, Tournament of the Americas, the Dream Team debut in 1992 and Michael’s playing, of course, and Jay’s an assistant coach with Ken Shields on the Canadian staff.

Jay and I are standing in a hallway of the old arena, just chewing the fat when who come walking down the hall all by himself but Michael.

I’m a bit in awe, I’m not sure how Jay feels and for sure neither of us are doing anything other than nodding, I imagine.

Well, doesn’t Michael see Jay and come to a dead stop, give him a big handshake, and tell him that there’s no way Jay should be coaching, he should still be playing and he’s way too young not to still be on the court.

Me? I’m dumb-founded and I think Jay’s a bit taken aback, too.

After a couple of minutes, Michael wanders off down the hall and Jay and I look at each other and, I swear, neither of us could say a word.

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So the other night in Miami, before the game starts, I notice Jose waving to some folks in the stands and after the game, I see him stop for a real quick hello with someone on his way to the locker room.

Figure it’s family or close friends and when I asked him about it, he kind of shrugged it off by telling me it’s just some people from Spain he knows. No big deal.

Well, my new friends and Raptor stalkers (Hello, London!) tell me in Charlotte on Monday that, no, it wasn’t just “some people” from Spain, it was in fact Rafael Nadal's Nadel’s family that Jose was hanging out with.

Seems they were in Miami for some big tennis tournament, they got together for breakfast and Jose runs in pretty good company.

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All right, ladies and germs. Got a good afternoon flight which gives me time to write an off-day yarn before flying on what could be quite a relaxing day.

Wish me luck.

And be back here Wednesday at noon to ask questions.

Comments

[doug]

I am not a Wright fan....why simple, yes he hustles, yes his defense is passable, his shot happy approach at times is annoying, but some of that falls on Jay as his philosophy and one he has passed onto his players is open shot shoot, which is good in theory, in practical terms not so good....but the reason why I am not a Wright fan is i am old school, by that I mean I remember watching Barry Sanders score a touchdown and he just either set the ball down or handed it to the official no histironics....or the Doctor would do a dunk and just turn and run down the floor, no shirt-popping, no theatrics....Wright is a talker, which a lot of NBA players are, but its a culture thats gotten out of hand, ....but Wright hasn't earned the right to talk, he's what a 5 point a game career guy, and 2 rebounds a game guy.....if he is the leader in our locker then this team has problems......he's good for quotes but he talks out of turn, and has this inflated view of himself........here is another case in point

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/174090-raptors-wright-annoyed-by-mj?eref=sihp

Jordan has earned the right to do what he does, Wright just makes a fool of himself...he just doesn't get it....the article is interesting the comments are more insightful

[James Online]

Favorite image from yesterday, courtesy of FoxSportsCarolina. As the Raptors began to fade in the third quarter, down six, camera zooms in on DeRozan and Weems sitting next to each other on the bench. Each has his hand up to his ear in the "talk to you by phone" position. They are carrying on a pretend conversation with each other, giggling all the while.
Second favorite image: Weems clanking the two free throws at the end.
Impressive.

[Francis]

Can fans get technicals and get thrown out of the building? For instance, what would happen if a passionate courtside fan went to the refs and said "**** you, **** you, and **** you" Sam Mitchell style?

Blogger's note: No technical but getting tossed from the arena would be quick and just

[Paul B]

From Mr. Grange

"And Bosh?

He’s been terrible since the All-Star break, and whispers around the team attribute it to everything from his new and New York-based girlfriend having his ear to him going to Dallas for All-Star and coming back having decided to move on and going into “protect my numbers and don’t get hurt mode”. Or maybe he’s preoccupied with getting his tattoo finished."

Doug, any word on what Colangelo was speaking about when referring to outside influences? Is it Bosh's girlfriend? Things really seem to be breaking down, politically, between Bosh and many associated with the team.

[Juan]

Greg, Tudor
The clock was an issue but there were at least 2 options available to advance the ball immediately before he put it on the floor. Guess we shouldn't be surprised though that Bosh is now holding the ball at both ends!
No disrespect to Doug but I think this week's required reading is Grange's From Deep blog yesterday. I'm surprised more tongues aren't wagging about it around these parts today.
Peace everybody,

[kazbid]

I'm not sure why everyone feels we executed well down the stretch - I saw the game and I recall the last 3 possessions being:
Hedo stepping on the sideline
Jack taking a really difficult off balance/angle layup
Weems missing 2 Ft's

Of course I'm happy the raps won but it we gave Charlotte 2 open 3's to take the lead and 2 easy layups..one of which they missed hence we won.

at least the effort level has been back up the last 3 games which is nice and it looks like Triano has designed new plays for high low feeds and getting bosh the ball in better positions.

still think changes are going to be needed in the off-season.

[Paul B]

Just a thought, and I'm sure there have been many before me, I just haven't read it yet...

Bosh's game dropped off immediately following his ankle injury. he's in the last mile of his contract, and then stands to make $130 million. One twist of fate, and it is all down the toilet. Perhaps he, or someone close to him, has reminded him that he needs to be healthy to get that $130 million payday, and this is the reason for his recent passive play. Just a thought

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,Do you think the large discrepency in fouls was because of playing on the road or his airness sitting close to countside?

Blogger's note: More a function of style of play as anything

[Max]

For a moment, fondly remembered the Dream Team (there was really only one) like it was yesterday.
Except it was eighteen years ago.
Thanks for making me feel so damn old, Doug.

[Rob.V]

@ Doug. You are so way off base here it's not even funny.

Wright cares about winning!!!.. you need guys like that on your team. The rest of the Raptors squad wilts and every opportunity. You want to fault the one guy who's willing (and has the stones) to stand up for his team??

MJ was a good player, but he's no Mark Cuban... he should go sit in his owners box while he tries to determine whether to take Kwame Brown, or Adam Morrison with the Bobcats next pick!!

Duude!!!
We all know about Bosh's comments regarding "the money will be the same regardless of city" however Colangelo is too shrewd of a GM not to cover all angles so I'm going to throw a hypothetical at you.

Bosh decides he's leaving. Rather than "accepting" an offer that may not be to Colangelo's liking what is the likelyhood that he doesnt just go out and sign his own FA's and let Bosh worry about his own paycheck.

Here's an example: Luis Scola, Manu Ginobli, and Ray Allen. With the MLE and about $15-$17million to spend if he renounces Bosh... this could get done!!

What do you guess the odds are on Colangelo renouncing vs.a weak sign and trade offer ??

[mando]

I am not a Wright fan....al terms not so good....but the reason why I am not a Wright fan is i am old school, by that I mean I remember watching Barry Sanders score a touchdown and he just either set the ball down or handed it to the official no histironics....or the Doctor would do a dunk and just turn and run down the floor, no shirt-popping, no theatrics....Wright is a talker, which a lot of NBA players are, but its a culture thats gotten out of hand, ....but Wright hasn't earned the right to talk, he's what a 5 point a game career guy, and 2 rebounds a game guy.....if he is the leader in our locker then this team has problems......he's good for quotes but he talks out of turn, and has this inflated view of himself........here is another case in point
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/174090-raptors-wright-annoyed-by-mj?eref=sihp
Jordan has earned the right to do what he does, Wright just makes a fool of himself...he just doesn't get it....the article is interesting the comments are more insightful
Posted by: doug

That's just a silly comment.

[Jack]

In the game with Miami the other night, I noticed something. During a timeout in the final minutes of the game, when they were trailing, Triano was saying something, pointing to his clipboard. Meanwhile, all the players on the floor were talking to each other. Bosh was talking to someone, I forgot who. So no one was listening to what Triano was saying.
It's a sign.

[mando]

"I am not a Wright fan....hand, ....but Wright hasn't earned the right to talk, he's what a 5 point a game career guy, and 2 rebounds a game guy.....if he is the leader in our locker then this team has problems......he's good for quotes but he talks out of turn, and has this inflated view of himself........here is another case in point
http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/174090-raptors-wright-annoyed-by-mj?eref=sihp
Jordan has earned the right to do what he does, Wright just makes a fool of himself...he just doesn't get it....the article is interesting the comments are more insightful"

Yes the best comment is this one:
"MJ and his ego can't sit down and shut up"

[Aditya]

@ doug (the commenter, not doug smith)
since wright is a 5 pt, 2 rebounds a game guy and a NBA player with experience starting for a playoff team (see dallas mavericks), and you are (presumably) a non-NBA player (unless you are doug christie), with career averages of 0 pts, 0 rebounds, you have also not earned the right to comment on this blog, so please refrain from it...

on another note, the antoine wright haters need to appreciate his competitiveness and his hatred for losing. the raptors haven't had many guys like him. can't say enough about the guy, he sometimes takes bad shots, you would too if you were in a contract year (i think he is)....but he more than makes it up for it on the defensive end and busts his ass on every play, every screen, every possession....(isn't that what we can all ask for)....

[Aditya]

@ Paul B.
"Saw Turk last night about 1 a.m. He and Bosh just coming out of Midnight mass (Avenue and St. Clair). They jogged to the ACC like old pals, where I overhead Turk say something about hitting the weights and the stationary bike.
Pass it on."
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You should be a story writer sir.

[Striker77]

Hey Doug,

Thanks for sharing that story.. I have never read that before, and I think its awesome.. I wish I could have seen Jay's face.

[NimzRapz]

doug, that reference you made about the nelly concert was about HWSNBN going to a concert when he was injured, right? If so, i am pretty sure it was a lil bow wow concert at the Much Music Awards and not Nelly.

[doug]

so are these people that believe Wright is this great revelation...the same people that thought the Raps were crazy for getting rid of Pops, ..or that JYD was such a effective player in his day....come on he is what he is...believe you want , and if he was such a valuable contributor to a playoff team the Mavericks why didn;t they keep him???...he only makes only over 2 million a year peanuts in the NBA.....you people are pretty east to wind up....I just don't like the guy, he has one mandate, its the last year of his contract...in 3 years tell me where he'll be....skill is helpful along with hustle....

[AT]

@Aditya
Who cares? Is this Grade 8 english?

[doug]

in regards tio Wright since a informative poster pointed it out....I thought I'd investigate how a playoff contender such as the Mavericks let Wright go.....last year they had 10 playoff games, Wright started 5....pretty good, unless you look further...he averaged just over 16 minutes a start, pretty low, and just over 5 points a game, ...and yet they could have had him for just over 2 million dollars...they chose not to.....all i am saying is this, if we want to be a serious contender then don't hand me clones of Pops, JYD which for whatever reason toronto fans love these type of fringe players..., but when they leave town they are out of the league...they are who they are....I'll say no more on Wright, just remember on this blog over a month ago i said Hedo would be the perfect 6th man off the bench.....Wright is who he is.....

[JHP]

Good Morning

Here is a kind of a rant. I'm glad Hedo is accepting his demotion well. It's 5am time local and I am headed to work to create some dumb ### form for my boss, which they will probably hate and to be honest I'm one of the lucky ones. I could be headed out to do demo work until I literally drop. So the news of this gentlemen making 10 million a year accepting his lot in life is not surprisng to me in the least. I accept my lot in life and I make a very small fraction of what he does. Then you could compare what he makes to a member of the military you is just trying not to get blown up. If they decide to take a day off very bad things could happen to their team mates.

Literally he is going to win the lottery every year for the next 5 years.