An expected result to open the worlds

A guy arrives at the office, clicks on website and sees Canada only down six to Australia in the third quarter at the worlds and the echo of Al Michaels reverberates.

Alas, no miracles.

The Canadian women hung tough with the Aussies for 25 minutes or so but then the cream, as they say, rose to the top and Australia pulled away for a 72-47 win to open the world championships.

No shame, or surprise, there actually. The Opals are outstanding with Lauren Jackson and Kristi Harrower each getting 13 and if Australia isn’t among the medalists when this thing’s all over, I’ll be shocked.

For Canada? Well, they got in a run, probably lost any jitters they might have had and the chance to advance out of the first round was always going to come down to games against China and Belarus and they come up Friday and Saturday.

A couple of hopefully now-familiar names led the women. Kim Smith had 11 and Teresa Gabriele had eight. Canada only got up 30 two-point field goal attempts and only made nine, which is not so good; and going 3-12 from three-point range was an issue, too.

Anyway, with Belarus having beaten China earlier today, 68-57, it looks like Friday’s Canada-China game (7 a.m. Toronto time) could be the one to determine who finishes third in the group and gets to move on.

We’ll be chatting with head coach Allison McNeill a little bit later today to flesh out the details of the game.

 

 

 

 

Time to re-think this whole numbering thing

We do seem to have a fascination with numbers here in our little corner of the world, don’t we? Averages, true average, ratings, points, assists, rebounds, whatever.

But maybe it’s time to retire some.

Like 2, 3, 4, 5.

When it comes to basketball positions, that is.

I think we’ve seen enough change in the game, and interchangeable parts, that to suggest some one is a shooting guard as opposed to a small forward, or a centre rather than a power forward, should probably be re-thought.

I know a lot of coaches have already done away with the distinction, they talk of wings and bigs rather than the traditional numeric system that’s been around for eons.

Guess it came up with all the hullabaloo I’ve been seeing over the likes of Andrea Bargnani and Amir Johnson and to a lesser extent Reggie Evans and even Ed Davis.

None of them are what consider “true” fours or fives but the question is: Does it matter?

The way the game is evolving is towards multi-faceted players and styles, everyone is searching out guys who can do a little bit of everything and can go to different spots on the floor and do different things.

No, Andrea is not a centre in the old school of thought and neither is Johnson. But what’s Pau Gasol? A power forward? Sure, when he’s on the court with Andrew Bynum I guess he is. But what about when he’s playing alongside Lamar Odom? Who’s the “centre” then?

What about Tim Duncan? Four? Sure, maybe next to someone like, oh, Tiago Splitter this year or David Robinson in the past? Or a five? Yeah, when Matt Bonner’s at the other frontcourt position, sure he is.

Chris Bosh? A centre? Sure, sometimes, I guess. Sometimes not.

Look at the twos and threes. What’s Kobe? How about LeBron? Do you really think either of them should be pigeon-holed? No.

Sure, there are those who still should be classified the olden way, I suppose. Shaq, who’s pretty much done; Yao, who’ll play half a game this year apparently; and Dwight Howard, one of the true “centres” left in the game. I’m sure there are others but they are the exceptions that prove a new rule around the game.

So instead of fixating on numeric positions and carrying on the way they did in the day of Wilt and Russell and the like, perhaps it’s time to see them for what they are:

Basketball players.

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Hmm, look what I found.  

Q: Thanks for the brief synopsis of the Women's Worlds. Honestly don't know how closely I'll follow outside of your blog, but I truly hope our Canadian ladies show well...and if by the sounds of it, it just means, showing up, competing and playing hard, then so be it. GO CANADA.

Having said that, you mentioned Canada seems to be in the Group of Death. If you were to take Canada out of their group, and replace the predicted 4th place team in each of the other groups (or just one based on your time), how would they finish? I realize they would be in tough in any group as this is THE WORLDS, but I am curious.

Thanks as always for broadening the spectrum of our basketball enthusiasm!

Peace

 

John D, Cairo

A: My depth of knowledge of the international women’s game still needs a lot of work but from talking to people who know the game, and what I know about it myself, I think they might finish fourth behind USA, Greece and France in Group B, I could see them qualifying out of Group C behind Brazil and Spain and they’d be in tough in Group D with Russia, Czech Republic and Argentina, although I think they could get the Argentines.

But you’re right, it is the worlds, it’s not supposed to be easy.

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Feel a sense of calm settling over the world today?

Leaves 4, Ottawas 1 and I don’t read a single report that talks about boos.

Thank goodness that order has been restored in the world of pucks.

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So Adam Silver and his folks and Billy Hunter and his gang of merry men sat down for a three-hour tour of CBA negotiations yesterday and it sounds like everyone left the room singing Kumbaya and holding hands.

Now, I don’t usually put any stock in quotes uttered after negotiation sessions but even I have to admit the tenor seemed far better after that one than it has been. No name-calling, no outright dismissal of information offered, no gloom and doom.

Of course, with the current collective bargaining agreement not expiring until June 30 there is all kinds of time for unpleasantries and posturing but it’s nice not to hear any on the eve of camp.

I’ve held all along that I don’t think there’ll be any games or days missed because of a lockout, I honestly think no one’s stupid enough to go down that road and kill the fatted beast that is the NBA and nothing I’ve heard of late has made me change my mind.

Sure, there have to be changes to the economic structure – perhaps in the percentage of revenue that goes to salaries, probably in the revenue-sharing model between the teams – but surely to all that’s good in the world, someone smarter than me sitting at that table will figure out a work stoppage is economic suicide.

Or not.

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There’s always room for more mail in the in-box. Let’s get it filled up.

You. Know. The. Drill.

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Spoiler alert:

Okay, looks like it’s going to be a morning with the computer screen trying to decipher Canada-Australia at the worlds. And then a chat with Allison and a player or two and a story long before you get to see the game on tape-delay on TV.

Here’s the thing: It could very well get ugly. The Opals are good, very, very, very good and having come off a pre-tournament win over the States, they look in fine form.

So don’t go in with great expectations, Canada’s two big games are Belarus and China and they come tomorrow and Saturday.

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Breaking down groups and a new guy joins our little cabal

We’re a day away from the start so let’s begin breaking stuff down.

(No, they didn’t move up media day, thankfully)

We’re going to have a big old package here today sometime and in the paper tomorrow that sets up the women’s world basketball championships that start Thursday in Czech Republic.

But, what the heck, let’s just the gun a little bit and look through the groups here; it’s not something we’d have space for in the paper anyway and it gives you an early glimpse at what to read about:

Here they are, with some notes, and a predicted order of finish. Top three of each team advance from first round to a second round-robin where they’ll meet three other teams in a second round-robin (Group A plays Group B, Group C meets Group D); top four from there go to the quarter-finals.  

 

Group A  

The teams: Australia, Belarus, Canada, China  

The skinny: This is, quite frankly, the Group of Death. Australia’s defending world champions and Beijing Olympic silver medalists; China was fourth at those same Olympics and Belarus was sixth at those Games. Yeah, Canada is in tough. Very, very tough. Was talking to Kim Smith of the national team yesterday on the phone and the one thing she mentioned was that it’s doubtful Canada could beat any of those teams in a seven-game series but that one win against one of Belarus or China would probably be enough to advance. I’m guessing they do get one.  

Group B  

The teams: United States, France, Greece, Senegal  

The skinny: This would seem to be a cakewalk for the Americans, who cruised to gold in Beijing and are, quite frankly, stacked with talent. France won the Eurobasket gold last summer but lost a couple of key players to injury this year and shouldn’t be a threat.

Group C  

The teams: Brazil, Spain, Korea, Mali.  

The skinny: Not much here, actually. Brazil looks to be the cream of the crop but it’s hard to imagine any of these teams being legitimate medal contenders. Spain’s not bad, though; and you know how I feel about Spanish basketball so there’s a bit of a rooting interest.  

Group D  

The teams: Russia, Czech Republic, Argentina, Japan  

The skinny: Russia might be the team that screws up the expected United States-Australia gold medal game (which I think to fans of the women’s game would be like a USA-Spain game in the men’s, had Spain had all its players). Second at Eurobasket last year, bronze medalists at Beijing, they’ve got a lot of talent honed in what some say is the best women’s domestic league in the world.

Okay, that’s that for now. But we’ll be back with more tomorrow.

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Okay, time for absolute honesty.

Read this about the D League affiliate. Closely.

Now, how many thought: “Sure, figures the Raptors would get hooked up with a D League team that hired a Euro to coach. Must have been that dang Colangelo again.”

And the guy’s name ends in a vowel!!!!!

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You know me and the pucks, right?

Don’t quite get it, don’t quite care much, don’t mind mocking.

Well, forget that for a minute.

There’s a new kid on the block here, Leaf Fan Vinay, and you all should take a moment out of your busy day to check out the newest blog we’ve got.

It’s here, he’s a good dude with a passion for the game and I’m thinking his offerings are going to be over-the-top good. Of course, come here every day to check in and do not forsake me but give LFV a shot.

Catchy name to his blog, too, isn’t it? We are nothing if not creative around these parts with our titles.

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It would appear that Carmelo Anthony’s days in Denver are numbered (check out the latest here) and what I’m thinking is whether or Masai was forward-thinking enough to get an out clause in his deal.

Welcome to the team, newbie; our best player wants out. Have fun.

Anyway, when he calls to ask my advice, I’m telling him to hold out for a Chicago deal that involves Noah or doesn’t happen.

The Bulls have the best pieces because if you look down that Knicks roster (and those are the two front-runners now) there is not a single thing of interest if I’m a rival GM, knowing Stoudemire’s not in play.

But I’m also wondering if this all isn’t way premature and that it’s January or February before anything gets done.

Does make for interesting reading, though.

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The First Lady Of The Beat, who seems to have forsaken us, is scheduled to depart next week for Delhi and the Commonwealth Games and I can be 1,000 per cent sure that since bridges are collapsing, there aren’t working toilets in the athletes village, and that there are huge security concerns on the streets, that media issues are even further down the line of things to fix.

And I’m pretty sure that if they called the whole thing off, she’d be just fine with that.

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Today’s the end of Birth Week, Super Wife Edition, and I imagine there’s some shopping in my immediate future. Got any ideas? I hear picture frames are a good idea. Or is that weddings?

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Mail? Got this one to start, just to get some info out, but we’re always looking for more.  

Q: Hi Doug, any word on whether preseason games will be broadcast nationally? If so, do you know who will be carrying them?

 

 

 

Mark M, Fredericton

A: No, not a single game is scheduled to be shown anywhere on TV at the moment. Or be broadcast on radio for that matter. It’s all going to be on us to bring you the gory details of delightful practice games. Lucky you.

To get your question here, or somewhere, click this.

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Roy Halladay won his 20th last night?

Outstanding.

With all the shenanigans of the summer, I’ve kind of lost track of baseball; it would seem to be time to get back in it and Doc winning his 20th sure is a good way to kick off a couple of good weeks.

I will say this, though; as a Person Of A Certain Age, I do miss the years when there were a lot more 20-game winners in the bigs.

Guess those staffs of Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, Mike Cuellar and Pat Dobson are no more.

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A big DWTS RIP to The Hoff.

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Who'll wear the biggest target this year?

Got to wondering the other day – in response to a series of questions on the topic – on who bears the most pressure or responsibility for whatever is going to transpire this season with the local Heroes Of The Hardcourt.

And while you know I don’t entirely like to single out one or two guys because it’s truly a team game, I guess I should.

I would say the guy we’re going to find out the most about would be Andrea Bargnani, who will no longer have the security blanket – or Albatross, depending on your view – of Chris Bosh around.

There have been moments when the big kid has looked extremely good and quite comfortable but that’s always been a decided second banana. Teams always game-planned for Bosh first and foremost; that’s not going to happen this year and if Bargnani doesn’t step up his game – at both ends of the floor – this is going to be one hellaciously long season, I fear.

Can he?

Well, it’s funny. There have always been snippets of, I don’t know, ego might be the right word, in Bargnani’s personality. There’ve been moments when you felt he felt he might be being under-utilized and that he’d relish an increased role. Nothing to outward, just a look, maybe a quick comment, stuff like that.

So maybe he can. He better for their sake because they need him to be very good.

We’ll go over some others as the rest of this week unfolds but I’d put Bargnani as the guy with the biggest target on his back right now.

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The Ed Davis news was a bit of a jolt, wasn’t it?

Six weeks takes him to the start of the regular season, you figure it takes at least two weeks for him to get back into game shape after starting “basketball-related activities” so you’re probably looking at him missing about 10 games of the regular season.

What’s it mean on the floor? Well, I’m not sure how much they were counting on Davis to play – they were certainly expecting him to be in the frontcourt rotation – so the big winner out of this maybe Reggie Evans, who could very well assume those minutes.

You might also see more of Linas Kleiza at the four with Bargnani or Amir Johnson at the five and I guess this is why they wanted guys with some positional versatility.

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Did my heart proud to see Rick Fox tripping the light fantastic in his DWTS debut; he’s near the lead after a night and I have a feeling he’ll last a good long time.

I also guarantee that if the boys from Oz got wind of it, he’d be, um, dealt with.

Wasn’t that perhaps the darkest hour of television ever?

I remember after one TV season seeing Fox somewhere and telling him how fascinated I was with the show and that it couldn’t possibly get more gruesome.

He looked at me and said something like: “I don’t know. How about a guy getting crucified to the floor of a jail cell?”

Now, that was not an hour of light, mindless TV.

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I mentioned last week that the Davis injury was just one of those things, a tough break in a bad situation.

And I know it’s all well and good that he and the other kids are out among the masses scrimmaging and playing games and connecting with the fans. I get that this team needs to make that connection and it’s kinda cool they’d use the social media to do it.

But, really. Maybe games of HORSE, or autograph sessions, or just hanging out.

The players collectively bargained for the “Love Of The Game” clause that’s in the standard players’ contract but I don’t imagine the clause exists to allow them to do things like send out messages to random fans and invite them to come compete against NBAers.

Anyway, tough break for a good kid.

And I will be totally surprised if there are tweets and messages setting up similar games for a very long time.

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So NBA coaches are wrapping up a couple of days of meetings in Chicago today. It’s an annual thing, they sit around and do some association work, they hear from the league how things are going to be new and improved all season and that they’ll never have a beef with the officials or league office.

(They then laugh uproariously at that last statement and go off to practice they’re indignation and complaining skills).

But I imagine they also have some time for social pursuits, to perhaps sit around in groups just talking about their teams, the game, life.

And I imagine it might go a bit like this:  

 

Alvin Gentry: “Well, we’ve got a new guy I’m really looking forward to coaching.”  

Jay Triano: “Ball.”  

Erik Spoelstra: “We’ve got some new guys, too!”

Chorus of 29 voices: “Shut up, kid.”  

Phil Jackson: “I’m smarter than all of you.”  

Chorus of 29 voices: “You’ve been telling us that for 20 years; we get it.”

Jerry Sloan: “Anyone want to step outside?”  

Stan Van Gundy: “I hate Miami.”  

Jay Triano, Byron Scott: “Tell us about it, Stan. Look at our rosters! We might not win 60 games between us.”

 

 

Avery Johnson: “I hired Sam Mitchell.”  

 

Chorus of 29 voices: “And let the entertainment begin!”

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Mail? I’d love some.

Thanks

You know the drill.

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Some things to be done, and quickly

One week.

One silly little week and then we’re at the start of camp and things will really get going. Can you folks hang on that long?

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Anyway, I guess it’s really time to start thinking about the season and how things might unfold and what you can look for from a team that – on paper at least – looks to be among the bottom-feeders in the East.

(Of course, the whole “on paper” part is the key because as much as you think you know what’s going to happen, you don’t; no one does).

I do think there are three things that have to happen right out the gate when they officially get on the court starting Tuesday morning.

And they are:  

 

Get systems, not sayings

Remember last year? “Protect the house” was all the rage with the defensive tenets and it did make a lot of sense. Until they kind of changed the way they defended the most simplest of plays, going away from a rather complicated group of principles about who switched what on what screens, when they went over or under or through.

They made it simpler about midway through the season and they need to start out this season one way and not deviate from it.

There shall be no messing around with the most important aspect of the game.  

 

Find out who starts.

They need to figure out right away who the starting point guard and small forward are. They need to resolve it right away so they can go about building some cohesion and chemistry and even though I fully understand that it’s not who starts but who finishes games that’s most important, defining roles immediately is big.  

 

Get in shape

A lot of these guys are in great physical condition already (another reason to be kind of glad the Boris Diaw deal didn’t go through) but I do think there has to be more of a premium put on fitness right off the bat. No situations like last year where guys come in puffy and stay that way too long.

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Here’s something that really bites.

When the Canadian women start at the world championships on Monday, there’s no way to see their three first-round games on live TV.

Sure, it’s all well and good that TSN has the deal to show the games but they’ve apparently decided that an endless loop of highlight shows in the morning is more important than live games.

The women play, if my read of time zones is correct, at 9:15 a.m. Thursday, 7 a.m. Friday and noon on Saturday but none of them are being broadcast when they actually happen.

Too bad, I guess. I know there are live streaming sites available (and least I presume there are) and I suppose I could pay FIBA some money to get their feed but, really, that’s not quite the point, is it?

Anyway, we’ll cover ‘em as well as we can from where we are those mornings but it’s too bad we can’t see them.

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All right.

When I whine about the Raptors pre-season and how it’s about four games too long and the games are jammed in together too tightly, remind me of this:

Apparently the pucks play nine pretend games that starts with back-to-back-to-back-to-back.

Yikes.

Lucky ticket holders for those ones.

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From the department of “I beseech you” please do not read this one at ESPN.com about Masai Ujiri and the Nuggets now entertaining offers for Carmelo Anthony and ask about the viability of a Toronto trade.

Please.

And thank you.

There is no fit, I don’t see a way in the world Anthony signs an extension here so to think otherwise is folly.

I guess the only possible way the Raptors could get involved is as a third team with their trade exception that might facilitate some multi-team deal but I haven’t heard a peep about that from anyone I’ve spoken to.

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So, hands up everyone who watched Into The Wind on Sunday night, the Steve Nash-directed film on Terry Fox.

It was compelling and powerful and well done and there wasn’t a dry eye on my couch when it was over.

Really fascinating stuff.

I know for a fact there are very smart, very well-read, very Canadian people out there who aren’t nearly as familiar with the Fox story – or who weren’t nearly as familiar with the Fox story, I should say – before that show was broadcast.

And if that is it’s most important legacy – that it gets the message of hope and determination and a willingness to sacrifice for the cause of others – then it’s done a wonderful service to our country and the world.

I know there will be repeat broadcasts on the night of Sept. 29 and twice during the day on Sept. 30, which is the Terry Fox National School Run Day.

If there is a principal out there at some elementary school who doesn’t gather her or his entire student body for one of those daytime screeners, she or he is doing the educational process a horrible disservice.

The thing that struck me about the show – aside from the presence of Star reporter Leslie Scrivener, which did my professional heart very proud – was the incredible behind-the-scenes video that they had. Snippets of the run, private moments not too many people would have seen, I don’t imagine, and raw, raw emotion from the incredible journey.

It’s a wonderfully strong film and I’m glad it’s been made so future generations will be able to see it and learn about a true hero.

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Hmm, wonder what I should tweet today? Not sure I’m exactly getting the hang of this thing, only done a couple – which is a couple more than I really ever thought I would – but the “followers” are growing and I guess that’s a good thing.

Trouble is, I can’t imagine you folks care much about what’s going on in the mundane existence I live.

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Think I should be overly concerned that, while driving home from an overnight soiree, the red “brake” light started beaming out from the dash of the smelly old Ford Focus?

Guess I know what the morning holds.

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The mail's in if you're interested

Okay, folks, have at it on this lovely Sunday morning; soiree over, back to the comments in a bit.

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Q: Why is it that whenever a player gets released or becomes a free agent it seems that it is the same teams that are interested in the player and seem to sign them. Those teams are Dallas, Miami, Boston, LA Lakers. These teams are always over the cap, but seem to always be in on every useable free agent. The Raps never seem to be able to get in on players like this. Why is that? What are those teams doing different that allows them to do this? Example, Dampier gets released and the rumoured teams are Dallas and Miami. Toronto could not add him if they wanted him.

 

Brian M, Barrie

A: Mostly it’s because those players are playing on veteran minimum contracts and would much rather play for good teams with the promise of some playoff money than in Toronto.

I imagine I would in the same situation.

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Q: Hi Doug. So it's almost the dawning of another NBA season, and if you were to be casting an eye with anything but unbounded enthusiasm about covering this year's version of the Toronto Raptors (no fear, trepidation or reluctance to embark on this one I bet!) were you aware that there are opportunities all over the world to participate in job exchanges lasting anywhere from a few months to a few years with some pretty cool and diverse organizations? So, if you were to pursue this as an interesting (or maybe "necessary-to- preserve-whatever-sanity-you-have-remaining???) kind of option, and if you were to cover, as is your expertise, a basketball team or league anywhere in the world, what would you choose? What, or who or where would most intrigue you to write about? Thanks! (And as for me, I'm off to complete my request to do anything, anytime, for as long as they'll have me at the Uffizi!)

 

Lorie P, London

A: I would without a second of thought, get a gig covering the EuroLeague while based in Madrid or maybe Rome.

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Q: Hi Doug: Unrelated to the Raps, but more about the changing nature of covering them. I will say, that I wasn't a really big basketball fan before I started reading your blog - so I have to thank you for bringing me along for the ride. I've thought a bit about it and it's your personality that I think hooked me on your writing, which in turn hooked me on basketball. Do you find that you are not only a journalist but also a bit of a celebrity as well?

 

Jon K, Hamilton

A: How about Human Pinata?

Seriously, in no way, shape or form do I consider myself that; I appreciate all the hellos and kind words I get from people I meet but, really, it’s nothing I seek or really want.

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Q: What if...things had worked out last season and the Raps had picked up a couple of promising youngsters and won a playoff round or two- would CB4 still be a Raptor today?

Or do you think his mind was made up long ago and he was gone no matter what?

 

D S, Toronto

A: On June 30th, I might have said he’d stay; after what transpired in the first week of July, now I’d say he was gone all along and nothing would have changed his mind.

I, like so many others, read it wrong.

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Q: How is Jose doing? What is protocol when a player gets hurt at the World Championships? Do the Raps just trust the Spanish (in this instance) team doctors to look after whatever was wrong, or do they get someone over there right away from the team medical staff?

Shawn L, Bowmanville

A: He’s doing fine, I’m told; should be ready, as was always expected, for the start of training camp in a week or so. What usually happens when injuries occur away from the team is that the team’s medical staff will consult with doctors wherever they may be – in this case Spain – and they’ll develop a course of treatment that both think makes sense. In a situation that would be far more serious, a team may send a member of it medical staff on the road to see first-hand what the situation is like. This wasn’t that serious by any stretch.

Davis injury cause for concern on several levels

The whole Ed Davis saga (we caught up with it here yesterday afternoon once it became clear exactly what had happened; no sense rumour-mongering until some facts were known) is a bit of a can of worms, isn’t it?

Kid goes out to run with the masses at some gym in Mississauga, suffers a knee injury playing and now no one’s entirely sure what the course of treatment is going to be or how long he’ll have to sit before starting his first NBA training camp.

And there are those in the organization who are worried the rookie big man might have to have a scope to find out just what’s going on inside that knee and while that’s not 100 per cent certain right now, I don’t think anyone should be entirely surprised if it happens.

Anyway, I guess the whole issue is whether Davis, and guys like DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems and Amir Johnson should be out in group Runs With Randoms hither and yon in the GTA.

I guess it’s good for their profiles and to a make a “connection” with the fans but the simple fact is, they get more than enough gym time in the Air Canada Centre, where there are first-class facilities, a better, softer court and, you know, staff around if something untoward happens.

Davis had already gone through a scrimmage in the practice gym before he struck out to the wilds of Mississauga and that pickup game and I wonder if that shouldn’t have been enough work for one day.

Now I also know that injuries happen anywhere and at any time, he could just have easily tweaked his knee in the Air Canada Centre as some gym out here in the boonies and this is little more than a bad break for what seems to be a good kid.

But there need to be some questions asked.

Does the league need to re-visit it’s off-season workout rules to allow for team supervision of these pre-camp runs?

Does the team need to make it clear that scrimmages need to take place in the team facility rather than some random gym? Is one run a day enough?

There are no easy answers; it’s just too bad the young fella had to get hurt.

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Mail’s almost done for the morning, which is good because I’ve got a soiree I believe I have to attend this evening but here’s one that got out of the bag early:  

Q: Hey Doug. Two near opposite questions today.

What do you think of the whole Omri Casspi hate crime incident? I am surprised the NBA hasn't come out and condemned it. Pretty disgusting.

With the blog and tweets and all you're showing your techie geek side - so I'm curious what kind of smartphone/PDA/slate/notebook you rock these days and if you are enjoying it/them. I’m in the market but having trouble pulling the trigger. Too many choices.

Be well

 

David W, Toronto

A: I’m as repulsed as any sane-thinking person would be about the Casspi incident (swastikas were painted over a mural of the first Israeli to play in the NBA a couple of times), it’s despicable and a whole bunch of stronger words. And I know the NBA shares my disgust and would condemn in the strongest possible terms if there was a request for comment. I presume there wasn’t one.

And, I use a good old Blackberry Curve; I’ve see all the other things out there and, frankly, I like the keyboard, I can do enough web stuff that it suits my needs and I’m such a Luddite I don’t thin I could handle many other bells and whistles.

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Oh, there is some good news on the Raptors injury front.

In conversations I’ve had with a few people over the last couple of days, it’s been made clear as a bell that Jose Calderon is healthy, happy and wise and will be ready to start training camp when it begins in just over a week.

Couple of people I spoke to ran into him over in Istanbul at the worlds and the little hamstring issue he had before the tournament began is all cleared up.

It’s as expected and not really news – it was never thought that it’d be a problem even when he hurt it in an exhibition game against the United States – but figured you might want to know.

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Joe Torre’s done?

Too bad.

Now, I’ve never had the opportunity to deal with him but he seems – by most media accounts I’ve read and the interaction I’ve seen him have with writers and broadcasters – to have had all the requisite traits I’d want in a coach or manager.

He treated the media with respect and patience, gave insightful and honest answers and was available.

That’d be the Holy Trinity of characteristics I’d want in a guy I covered every day.

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You know how teams are always bringing guys in for camp to have warm bodies for the regulars to, you know, beat up on?

Well, saw an interesting note here from Henry Abbott over a TrueHoop about a name you might recognize.

Russell Hicks is a Canadian, raised – I’m proud to say – in the Glorious Confines Of Niagara Falls (although Westlane over Stamford is an unfortunate educational background) and it’s nice to see him at least get a chance to hang out with the big boys for a couple of weeks.

And the other one?

I saw a note – it might even have been on that zany Twitter thing – that said Old Friend John Thomas is going to camp with the Minnesota Timberwolves, purely because he’s big and rugged and can bang with whoever they need him to bang with.

Thomas was, in a word, an original.

Great kid, great sense of humour and real sense of self-awareness. I remember he kind of walked away from the game for a little bit, travelled Europe with his then-girlfriend and kind of lived life.

Cool dude.

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A gathering Storm and new electronic frontiers

Hey, you saw the Storm win the WNBA title, right?

Swept Atlanta in another great game and I don’t care what you’re impressions are of women’s basketball, the three games in this final – all decided by three points or fewer – were dramatic and intense and as good as anything you’ll see on any court.

No, there weren’t highlight reel dunks or brilliant isolation moves but there was competition at the highest level, great plays, drama and emotion.

What more do you want?

Now, one last point on this because I really think it sets the women apart from the men.

They’ve just gone through a tough season, an emotionally draining playoff final – win or lose – and you’d think some down time would be called for, right? Nope.

By my count, Sue Bird, Swin Cash and Lauren Jackson of the Storm and Atlanta’s Angel McCoughtry are all off any second to play for their countries in the world championships that start next week in Czech Republic.

That’s pretty impressive to me. I can’t imagine the boys doing it.

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Was that the balance of power I felt shifting? Ronald Dupree? In Toronto? The shuddering in South Beach was palpable.

No?

No.

Anyway, the breathless news that the Raptors have signed the summer league veteran should be taken for what it is. Not much.

He’s a guy with a one-year, non-guaranteed contract coming to camp with a team that has 15 guys (maximum allowable) with guaranteed deals already.

I guess there is precedent for the Raptors paying someone to go away while they keep someone unheralded (goodbye, Luke Jackson; hello, Jamario Moon) but there’s no indication they like Dupree as much as they liked Moon.

And, I’m told, there are no plans right now to bring anyone else in to round out the camp roster.

Makes entire sense to me, too. I could never figure out the need for 18 or 19 or even 20 guys in camp, especially when the roster is virtually set. Extra bodies take time away from the coaches working with the guys they need to work with, the deny regular groups at least some repetitions in drills and scrimmages and they always end up being waived anyway.

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Yes, that was a tweet from me yesterday, all self-generated unlike the ones that go out when this drivel gets posted every morning.

I have no real idea what I’m doing, I was kind of dragged kicking and screaming into it by a friend (Hi, Marissa!!!!) but we’ll figure it out as we go.

It’s @smithraps, I’m told, and I promise not to give you the minutia of my life and relatively boring existence although who knows if I’ll be able to avoid it. I figure it’s for tipping you off quickly to stuff that’s coming, little innocuous observations at such things like practices or training camp and stuff like that.

I’m kind of a slave to this machine at it is so this tweeting stuff isn’t going to consume more of my life, I hope. But if it makes the job we do here better and more thorough, I guess I have to.

Now, I’m told this is Follow Friday or something? So, get following, I appreciate it and I’ll try to make it worth your while.

One thing we’re not going to do, I don’t imagine, is change the way we do games. I know some folks out there in my business use twitter to put up snarky or funny comments during a game and even though that sounds right up my alley, the way we do things now with the in-game bloggy thingy is much more interactive and I’m not about to give that up.

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So, I’m watching the Storm do its thing and the one enduring memory will be Fish in a Snicker’s commercial.

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Let’s get one from the mail, which seems to be down a pint these days.

If you want to help, here’s your last chance. I’ll take missives, hellos and questions here.

Q: I admit that I'm a Delfino fan. Given his impressive world tourney, how would you rate the Delfino for Johnson/Weems trade? Would the Raptors do that trade today?

J L, Oakville

A: Carlos for one presumptive starter who’s younger, bigger and has some potential and a relatively dirt-cheap backup with some athleticism and promise? In a second.

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This is, for all of us, Must See TV.

It’s Sunday night, on TSN2 and it’s the broadcast debut of Steve Nash’s documentary on Terry Fox, Into The Wind.

I haven’t seen it, I did see that it got raves at its theatrical debut at the Toronto International Film Festival and even more than a day-long Seinfeld retrospective or something like that, it’s TV I don’t want to miss.

I don’t imagine you should ever.

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List time, sort of.

This was also in the mail and gives you an idea of where I’d go on something like this:

 

Q: Doug, What would your starting lineup be if you had to win one game using any player to wear a Raptor Jersey in an NBA game. What would be your 2nd team, not using any of the 1st team. Now, if these 2 teams played each other which would you expect to win? Ross K, Burllngton

A: All right, I’m going to go on the premise that it is the career work of the players concerned and not just their time with Toronto, okay? I hope that’s what you meant.

My first team would be:

Damon Stoudamire, Chauncey Billups, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Chris Bosh and Hakeem Olajuwon and I imagine it would easily win a seven-game series against Alvin Williams, Damon Stoudemire, Doug Christie, Morris Peterson, Charles Oakley and Kevin Willis although if you’d let me, I’d use Antonio Davis over Willis.

You know what? Upon further review, I put Marcus Camby as my second-team centre.

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Time to really get ready for the season

Here’s another way to tell the season – or at least training camp – is right around the corner.

Am told the local coaching staff is headed off for its annual “retreat” this weekend, a time to bond, figure out what kind of stuff they’d like to do once camp begins, go over some of the bookkeeping and administrative crap they have to deal with and, if I know this staff, they’ll eat very well.

Anyway, it happens every year about this time – used to include some golfing as a diversion way back in the Sam Era, not sure that’s the case now – and it got me thinking.

Why don’t we have a Grunt Retreat?

You know, get the papers to fund a weekend away for eight or 10 of us so we could sit around and develop some of our own ground rules, hopes and dreams and expectations for the coming season.

Like? Well, like …

Start times

I’m pretty sure we’d all like nothing but afternoon games. No deadline pressure, still time to spend with the family over dinner. It’d be at the top of this guy’s list.

All for one, one for all

If we’re sitting there and someone makes a big shot and we can’t figure out whether it was 22 feet, 25 feet, 18 feet or some whether it was contested or uncontested, we shall come to a consensus, stick with one description and it shall become fact. After all, no need to confuse people who read more than one place.

After all, if we all say it's fact, it's fact; whether or not it's actually fact.

Put ‘em on probation

If, by consensus, we feel any player is not giving 100 per cent or staying within himself or just trying to help the team or simply trying to run, rebound, defend and do whatever the coach asks, we shall stop interviewing him until he learns that clichés are the devil’s work and should not ever be used.

I’m sure there are more that’ll come to me; I’ll save ‘em for some breakout session at our retreat, which I would like to hold in, oh, Maui.

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Hey, Bryan Colangelo’s on a coaching search!

(Stop! That’s not what I mean)

You need to go deep into the news files to find this out but John Treloar, who coached the mighty Erie Whatever They’re Calleds of the D League, got a new gig in the front office of the Phoenix Suns.

And seeing how the Raptors and Cleveland Cavaliers share the affiliation with Erie – although you’d never know it by the number of guys the Raptors have sent to the minors – they are being “consulted” on the search for a new head coach.

And, sadly, I don’t believe I’m in contention for the job.

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So, Casa Doug, with the notable exception of, well, me, is a Survivor House and everyone, with the notable exception of, well, me and Super Dog, was all in a tizzy with the new season starting last night.

Me? Yawn!

As some may know, my tastes in reality shows runs more to DWTS but if I had to go on one, well …

Since I can’t dance, don’t think I can dance, have no talent and won’t eat bugs, I’m figuring Amazing Race was right up my alley.

After all, it seems a lot like one gigantic (bad) road trip and that’s got to count for something, right?

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Let’s start the mail, and remember:

Click, write, send.

Q: Hi Doug, first off, thanks for the blog, love reading it every day.

This question is kind of a hypothetical one, and might be difficult to answer, but here goes.

Way way back in 1981, Jay Triano was drafted by the Lakers, I believe, but he never played in the NBA. I assume that at the time, with less teams in the league, it was much tougher to crack a roster than it is today. Which brings me to my question, if Jay was playing today, would he have been skilled enough to crack a roster of one of the now 30 teams in the league? I only ask because I know he was a very skilled player, and would be interested in hearing your thoughts on the topic.

Thanks Doug!

Peter R, Regina

A: As much as I’d like to think so, the way the game has changed, with the depth of talent, even though there are so many more teams, I don’t imagine a young Jay Triano would have a spot in the NBA.

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You know me and NBA refs, right.

Honourable men who do the best job they can under hugely difficult circumstances, men who need experience and common sense to do their jobs lest every game degenerate into a steady stream of free throws and fouls.

It is, in my opinion, the hardest game to officiate well, there could conceivably be a whistle on every possession and only those who’ve been around have the discretion necessary to allow the players to play.

This story by Howard Beck in yesterday’s New York Times saddens me a little bit because it is another step in a purge that’s been going on for a while.

Now, all refs are not great, don’t get me wrong. There are missed calls and there are those who seem to be too confrontational but it is a job that requires nuance and you only get that over time.

Anyway, on a personal note, I’m going to miss Phil Robinson, who worked the Raptors game in Madrid a few years ago and who I got to know a bit by wandering the streets around the hotel with him and his wife for a little while.

I’m sure the young kids coming in are good refs who know the rules. I’m also sure it’s going to take them a while to figure out the NBA game and what’s required to make one run smoothly.

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How to treat people and winning up a Storm

Let’s start with a bit of a digression.

Someone asked in the comments yesterday what I thought about the Ines Sainz incident, where the TV Azteca reporter from Mexico was reportedly harassed in the New York Jets locker room after a game.

The context was how female reporters are treated in the NBA and whether I’d witnessed anything like that in my years.

Generally speaking, the NBA is well ahead of the curve in its treatment of female reporters, of which there are quite a few. There have been isolated incidents – I remember Chris Gatling being fined $10,000 for some in appropriate comments to a Raptors game-night volunteer years ago – and I’m sure there are more immature boors out there hiding.

But that’s a rare exception in my personal history. The locker room is a workplace, for the athletes and for us. There are specific times we are allowed in and players know to treat us with respect and let us do our jobs. An overwhelming majority of them do.

Women in the locker room of pro sports teams is a simple fact of life – the same as it is men in the locker room of, say, WNBA teams, which have much the same media guidelines as the NBA.

There are idiots who will go out of their way to show their immaturity forever; they are a small minority, they need to be slapped down financially by the leagues they play for and they need to be called out for being the Neanderthals that they are.

Now, on an entire aside, I understand some screaming radio talking head at the FAN590 here in Toronto (some dude named Krystal or somesuch who to this point is an entire non-entity in the business here) tried to make his bones – weakly – by disrespecting a colleague of mine of this issue yesterday morning.

A punk move by guy who shows what’s entirely wrong with all-talk radio and a kid who gives that industry a worse name than it already has. But what else should I expect, right? Guy won’t have a normal discussion of an important issue because he’s too afraid. And it doesn’t make it about him.

Anyway …

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Erick Dampier was waived by the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday to get them under the tax level (no surprise there, it’s a move that’s been coming for a couple of months) and I think only one questioner asked whether he’d be a good fit here.

I don’t know what it is – maybe the time of year, maybe the realization that this isn’t a particularly good team on paper right at the moment – but this quasi-fascination with every player released, cut, waived, what have you, is quite interesting.

Dampier is not an upgrade of any significance over what they have, he’s a big and slow on a team that wants to be big and quick and multi-dimensional. A horrible fit, actually, who’d do nothing substantial to improve the team.

It’s my opinion that, having failed to do anything huge in the last month (and not for the lack of trying) that Bryan needs to sit back and wait and see how the first few weeks of the season goes before doing anything of substance.

And looking at anyone waived or cut or whatever at this point of the summer is not anything of substance.

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How ‘bout my Storm? Three point winners over the Atlanta Dream on Tuesday and now one win away from the WNBA title, up 2-0 in the best-of-five series.

Do I know how to pick ‘em or what?

Let’s do this really quickly from the mail:

Q: Hi Doug. Now that the worlds are over do what benefits do you see to the Raptors now that Jay can add World Championship Coach to his resume?

Dave M, Puslinch

A: The tangible ones will be in the technical knowledge he picked up being around a great staff and watching so many other good coaches work. As he told me for a story I did in Istanbul, there are sure to be sets and defences and the like that he saw in the tournament that he will use with the Raptors this season.

(Oh, I can hear the groans now, ‘great, he’s going to bring that Euro crap over here even more. What a dope, why don’t they fire him and get a “real” coach in here. And while they’re at it, why don’t they fire Colangelo, too; and Maurizio; and anyone who’s ever been off the continent!’)

The intangibles are that he has to be feeling a sense of accomplishment, a sense of confidence that could very well translate into the one thing he needed to improve on, self-admittedly: Becoming more involved on a personal level with the players.

There was no bad, none, in Jay doing that summer gig.

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Oh, mail call.

Click. Send. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

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Really, there has to be a better way to spend $150 than this, right?

Like some Old Beat Grunt Charitable Organization?

Buying food for a food bank?

Throwing it in the garbage?

Seriously, paying money to try out for a D League team seems, to me at least, the last thing you’d want to do.

Wonder how many saps, er, great basketball players who just need to be seen, that they’ll get to this.

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