Time for change? Or just a time change?

So, how’s eighth place feel?

Yeah, didn’t think it’d feel that good.

Oh well, maybe it won’t last long.

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It seems no changes are coming.

Or maybe there are.

Jay was quite ambiguous when we asked about the possibilities of doing something after practice Friday, a session that included a good long look at some video and an hour or so on the court.

“We didn’t make any decision right now.”

What’s that mean? Well, what I think is happening is that he’d like to do something but he’s not sure what.

It’s not like Jose’s going great guns and far out-playing Jarrett and Antoine Wright hasn’t made a shot in about a week so it’s tough to do him for DeMar.

And, yes, Hedo’s been awful but it’s not like there’s a Hall of Famer waiting in the wings to replace him and if you take Hedo out, what’s the long-term implications?

Tough calls, all of ‘em, and that’s why there may not be any alterations.

“I don’t think anybody played themselves into a spot or out of. Or maybe too many guys played themselves out of spots and not enough guys played themselves into a spot.”

What they need, quite simply, is for Bosh and Turkoglu to play better than they did in Sacramento. If they do, they’ll have a chance to win; if they don’t, it’s going to be extremely difficult.

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Story time since we can’t keep hammering home roster moves, can we?

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You know, a lot of stuff happens out here with the Raptors.

To wit:

First year of the franchise, I’m working for Canadian Press and join the Raptors on a road trip out here so I can to up to Santa Clara and do a feature on this Nash kid.

Anyway, there are a couple of days off and they’re practicing at USF and Brendan Malone, bless his heart, used to let us sit in and watch practice, as long as we’re quiet as church mice.

So we’re sitting in the upper deck, quietly watching, when all of a sudden there’s a huge commotion courtside.

Some guy, and I gotta tell you, he looked rather, um, rough around the edges, comes wandering into the gym yelling:

“Carlos, my man. ‘Los! What’s up.”

Seems Carlos Rogers, who’d spent a year in Golden State, had made a friend who wanted to say hello.

I thought Brendan was going to strangle the guy, the team’s security officer at the time went racing down the stands to collar the interloper and Carlos was kind of standing there smiling.

Never saw the guy again, and never spoke at a practice, either.

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And then there was the time on the same trip when …

A former Sun grunt and I are sitting in the lobby of the Fisherman’s Wharf Marriott, breaking down the day and, as they say, chilin’.

Well, what to our surprise do we see but John Salley, his bags packed, checking out, having just been released by the Raptors.

It’s way late so we’re not sure how much we can get written before various deadlines and John’s not in a chatty mood anyway.

I remember him getting into a cab as we’re trying to interview him and the last thing he says is:

“Tell the people I love ‘em.”

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And then there was the time in 2004 when …

Friday, we’re reading the papers here and they’re going on about the fact the Warriors only scored nine points in the fourth quarter against Portland, not a team record for futility because they once scored two in a quarter in a game against Toronto.

I remember that night well, Raptors ended up winning the game in overtime, Mo Pete went nuts, and then they flew off to Phoenix for a game a couple of nights later.

And that, my friends, was the night a lamp gave its life to Kevin O’Neill’s anger; in that Warrior game, Jalen had broken a bone in his hand and the season was down the toilet.

So, too, was KO’s head coaching career as it turns out.

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I notice Toronto’s minor league affiliate down in Erie has signed Mike Sweetney.

In a related news story, a couple of all-you-can-eat buffet joints have suspended operations.

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Speaking of Golden State, here’s what was in the local papers this morning.

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Wanna go all Basketball 101 for a minute? There’s a good chance you’re going to see a lot of zone defence from the Raptors tonight because they – like so many teams – are followers as much as anything.

And the other night, Portland played a fair bit of zone in a win over the Warriors because it allowed the Blazers to keep their big men on the court. That gave them a decided advantage on the offensive end, where they simply pounded the ball into the post against the smallish Warriors.

So you can see these guys doing the same thing with Bosh and Andrea and Jay even talked about that very thing yesterday afternoon.

Of course, the concern is that when the ball goes to Bosh he holds it too long like he did the other night in Sacramento but maybe he’ll figure out ball movement is the key to any success they’re going to have.

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Okay, now I have to figure out when to do what, given the late game that I can only write for the web, an early flight and that whole stupid lose-an-hour time change thing that’s really going to screw me up.

Wish me luck.

At least shootaround’s pretty much next door and not over in Oakland, which may give me a chance to see the San Francisco St. Patrick’s Day Parade which is apparently going to be in the neighbourhood.

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Don’t forget, we’re back just before 10:30 East tonight for the in-game blog.

See ya then.

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Comments

[wake me up im dreaming]

offseason plans..... d'antoni gets fired by the Knicks. colangelo replaces triano w/ dantoni. do a s&t of Bosh for Lee. trade calderon & derozan to the wolves for Ricky Rubio. resign Amir. sign a solid wing with the mid level excpeption and voila .... we have a young exciting hopefully good team for several years. Ok, that's it for now. I gotta go start planning the parade. :)

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
Triano and Turkoglu are Colangelo's men. He brought them into the fold. So far, the results haven't been very good. Is it possible that, eventually, Bryan may have to decide between who stays and who goes? Because, somehow, the fit between these two men doesn't seem quite right.

[Blake Kennedy]

Zone defense is no solution against the Warriors; at least, not any more than M2M. Playing zone doesn't guarantee you get back any faster than M2M does: the Raptors will actually have to exert effort and sprint back. The first three steps in transition both ways is where the game will be won, there's no magical formula to the transition game. You need to put guys out there who both can and will have the discipline to sprint fast and hard in their first three steps, i.e. Antoine Wright should probably be a DNP-CD tonight (which doesn't differentiate tonight from most other nights for Antoine, if we're being honest). And Amir should probably eat into Andrea's minutes, and frankly Marcus Banks should eat into Jose's and Jarrett's minutes a little bit too.

Tonight will be about discipline in transition. If I were Triano, I would come into this game being completely prepared to yank guys the first instance I see them not sprinting hard in their first three steps. You can plan all you want tactically - and I'm a big believer of jamming the ball in transition, and pressing running teams M2M or a soft 1-2-1-1 all night long - but at the end of the day, discipline and effort 48 minutes long will be the only thing winning the day. This is no game for slowpokes and slackers, of which the Raptors are unfortunately overloaded. This is a game where Sonny, DeMar and Amir could look like a million bucks.

[James Online]

Doug, did Marco practice yesterday? Does he look fit?
Be careful with the Warriors. They could be a dangerous team to play tonight, especially given Raps poor recent play and Warriors' up tempo style.

[JHP]

I think it's rather telling that the opponent tonight has won but 17 games and nobody would be a bit surprised if Toronto does not win. I believe you mentioned it has been 9 years since the last win. Must be something in the air or water :-))) Now in prepartion for the in game blog I will head off for a nap.

[doug]

tonight will be a good sign at where Bosh is at...as he should have a big game against teh Warriors they can't effectively guard him, so Bosh and Barg's should have 50 between them...if not then its the wrong game were playing as the perimenter game should be secondary for the raps tonight....go inside again and again....good blog today, by the way....plus sometinmes change just for the sake of change is all right as coaches players get into routines, patterns you make one change it has a domino effect and righ tnow that may be a good thing....but that being said to put Wright into the starting line-up would give the wrong message, his teammates aren't stupid they've been watching his act all year long...you know a radical move and one that they did in LA to great success was when they moved Odom to the second unit, i think Hedo would be a fine fit there i really do and would not only excell but his role would be clarified....

[LeeZ]

A few things. Doug, you mentioned Bosh's holding onto the ball too long in Sacramento. I would respectfully submit that he's been doing that for a long, long time now. He started pretty much after the first couple dozen games, and his lagging effectiveness can be correlated to it. Don't get me wrong, he's played very well (apart from the last few games), but he could be so much better, if not for this horrible habit. As for the previous poster's comment about relegating Hedo to the second unit, I could totally see that happening, but next year, assuming his performance remains as poor as it is today. I could also see one of Jack and Calderon being moved, and Banks being the backup pg. Banks and Turk would play together on the second unit, giving Turk primary ball-handling duties and allowing Banks to do what he does best: provide stellar defence. As for the remainder of this year, Triano shouldn't hesitate to get Banks out there when he needs stops.

[doug]

my rational for pulling hedo out of the starting 5 and having him as the first big off the bench is not punitive, i just feel as odom does it would be the best fit for the team and pose match-up problems for the opposing coach...as it stands now hedo, Bosh,Bargs all starting sort of nullify each other and also puts a lot of pressure on the point guard to involve all 3 in the game...hedo always goes out at the 5 minute mark or so of the 1st quarter with relatively ineffectual minutes....so start Amir, thats gives you interior toughness, rebounding and a guy not having to get in the flow of the offense...sub him out with Hedo and then as other subs are coming in, hedo can be one of the players in conjunction with Jack or Jose that run the offense...same as in the start of the 3rd quarters, Have Amir start and that gives us defensive help, and to bring Hedo off the bench the opposing coach has to be aware of that and your forcing his hand to not only plan for it but to respond to it.....thats why odom is so valuable to the Lakers as the 6th man, he not only brings game, the opposing coach knows he is coming......it makes sense on so many levels and if hedo fights it as odom did initially, tough, but I am sure if you ask Odom now he doesn't mind, as look at the match-ups he gets when he comes in, plus he utilizes his playmaking abilities...its a win-win..

[aditya]

wow i just read ur article about the raps injuries...r u kidding me? i dont have time to write a lengthy statement.....but look at golden state who are injured more than the raps... injuries? raps have been fine.... seems like you didn't have anything interesting to write about....i dont blame you

[TdotHuskies]

We need a change. Hedo needs to be put in his place for his play this year and that's not necessarily reflecting on the way he's played recently but the way he's played all year. If your professional and I'm pretty sure he is since we're paying him top notch dollars you can come off of the bench or start.

But it is time for change it's too bad it won't happen until after the season is over.

[frugal]

Doug,

I've followed the team since 1995. You should be ashamed giving them an out with injuries. It's sad. They need to man up.