A return of speed and an all-star ballot gaffe, as it turns out

We’re pretty much back to a series of unrelated items today since they didn’t work yesterday and, save for an hour answering questions and couple of hours doing this, neither did I.

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All indications I got yesterday were that Leandro Barbosa will be back in the lineup tonight, giving Jay a full complement of wings for the first time in a while.

And given Houston’s backcourt speed, I’m thinking we’ll see a lot of the Brazilian blur.

Toronto’s defence, while better than last year, still lacks in the whole “keeping people in front of them” department and a guy with Barbosa’s speed can only help.

But, as we know, it crowds the rotation a little bit.

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Speaking of crowds, it’ll be kind of interesting to see how the HOTH draw over the next little while, won’t it?

Seven of their next eight are at home and there are some good draws in there like Boston and Oklahoma City, there are a couple of Sunday afternoon tilts and I wonder if there’s any buzz whatsoever about this team, regardless of its record.

If I had to guess, I don’t think we see a sellout in these seven – maybe Sunday afternoon for the Celtics – but this is a perfect fortnight for these guys to gain some favour with fans who are very much in a wait-and-see mode.

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So, the all-star ballot is out and a couple of us are taking some heat here and there for the omission of Not Ronnie Milsap.

I remember the call and the debate and here’s kind of the stuff we were up against.

Having to get three players from every team – and having to strictly stick to 24 guards, 24 forwards and 12 centres from each conference – there’s a lot of to and fro to fill out the slots.

As I recall, it came down to Carl Landry as a third Sacramento King (the policy that’s developed in my two years is to only include the No. 1 draft among rookies and even then, it’s not a lock so no Cousins) or Paul Millsap as a forward.

Some of us – me chief among them – wondered if Millsap would have “all-star” credentials playing alongside or after Al Jefferson and we had been told (and the conference call was in mid-October, mind you) that Mehmet Okur would be back.

We certainly didn’t see a 46-point game coming from Millsap (thanks, Chris!) and, in hindsight, we got it wrong.

Funny thing about hindsight, though; it’s always 20-20 and creates a lot of room for debate.

Should Millsap be on the ballot? I guess so. Now.

Then? I thought otherwise, as wrong as those thoughts may be.

I don’t think apologies are at all necessary. The five of us – myself, Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated, J.A. Adande of ESPN.com, Art Garcia of NBA.com, Marc Spears of yahoo.com and Marv Albert took some time and effort to make what we thought were logical choices and missed one.

Do I think Millsap deserves to start as an all-star? Of course not. But, as things have turned out, I do think the Utah fans should probably have he option of getting him some votes.

It’s a hit-and-miss proposition, doing something like an all-star ballot a week before the season begins. Maybe we missed on that one but, overall, I’m quite okay with the way things turned out.

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Want to know what’s up in Houston? Jonathan tells you here.

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Quickly out of the mail:

Q: Hi Doug. I only caught the fourth quarter and wasn't at all surprised that Amir fouled out again. However, I just looked at the box score and discovered he only played fourteen minutes! What can be done to help a player not to commit fouls and do you think Johnson has been branded by the refs or is he really that foul prone?

Richard G, Toronto

A: While he’s better more often, Johnson still has a penchant for fouling too much mainly because his defensive footwork isn’t there yet – he’s had a tendency to guard mainly with his arms – and he still gets too many hanging around the offensive boards reaching and slapping for balls.

But, trust me, he gets his fouls entirely on merit, I’m pretty sure refs aren’t all that aware of his, um, stature and don’t go looking for him when he’s on the court.

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You lucky, lucky readers are going to find out more than you ever wanted to know about the D League early next week but there was some history made Thursday night.

Nancy Lieberman, an icon in the women’s hoops world, made her debut as the head coach of the expansion Texas Legends as the minor league season began.

Lieberman’s Legends lost 123-115 to the defending D League champion Rio Grande Valley Vipers, just in case you missed it.

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Take a shot at the mail right here, okay?

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No Yao tonight, right?

(That really screwed up my plans for a big Yao takeout in today’s paper, by the way)

What’s it mean? Well, Luis Scola might get 40 rebounds, Brad Miller and Andrea Bargnani will combine to jump a total of about four feet off the ground over the course of the game, and we won’t get to see the big fella play on Houston’s only visit here.

Too bad; Yao remains one of the most star-crossed stars of this era and it’s a shame. I like the way the guy plays and appreciate the way he carries himself with the burden of being his country’s iconic basketball star.

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Oh yeah, we will be back with the usual In Game Blog Thingy tonight and looking at the schedule, I’m only sitting out two games between now and the first of the calendar year so we’ll be quite regular with it and even do those two (at Indy and at New York) from the comfort of, well, maybe the comfort of somewhere else.

Anyway, see you tonight.

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Comments

[Jimminy]

Does the all star ballot have a write in option?

Blogger's note: It did and I believe it still does but I haven't seen one or gone on-line

[SS]

Hey Doug, any word if Jay plans to leave Sonny as the starter over Kleiza?

Blogger's note: Haven't seen 'em since Saturday, don't know yet

[sb]

Doug...

Two questions...really, I'm not joking around with these! :)

A). What's it like working with Marv-elous.?

B). Again, I'm serious on this question, answer with as much modesty as you like. Are you the man when it comes to hoops press in Toronto (Canada?)? I mean, you know that *we here* all think so, but sometimes I look at what you're up to in the big picture (the $10000.00 to charity from BC last year, the Writers' Association, the All Star Ballot selection thingy) and it really is impressive.

So, seriously, are you the man?

Blogger's note: Actually, Marv sent his names in independently and couldn't take part in the call.

[LeeZ]

In your opinion, has there ever been a better basketball play-by-play man than Marv? Do I smell top-five list time?

[Lorie]

Hi Doug,
Great to (finally) see a woman coaching at this level. While I don't know how many decades it might take to see an NBA team coached by a woman, do you see other D-League teams offering deserving women this same opportunity? Who might be next? Pat Summit? Anne Donovan? Lin Dunn? Vivian Stringer? Tara VanDerveer?
And if I can add to your's and @doug's songs that are great to hear again and sort of resonate even more today than they did when we first all heard them: Chris Rhea's "Road to Hell" (full version for the full effect) and Neil Young's "Ohio" still gets to me...and requires an immediate follow-up listen to "Rockin' in the Free World". (And "For What It's Worth" often leads me musically to "Sounds of Silence"...both strike me as more than just songs, but summoning a time and place.)

[Chi of Steel]

Isn't the whole process of having pre-determined stars on all-star ballots antiquated? Technology exists to have players ranked, sorted, filtered, etc. in real-time so players can make informed decisions rather than rely on cookie-cutter selections. The NBA can adopt the same software fantasy leagues use. This way, no glaring omissions and no unworthy mentions occur. The Internet is so pervasive, there's no need for paper ballots at the arenas.

[Ryan]

I heard in NBA 2K11 (a video game) the announcers say that this year's All-Star balloting will be less influenced by the fans. (Assuming this is true) can you elaborate on what the difference is?

Apparently the NBA did not like Iverson and McGrady getting voted into the ASG last year, though I think the fans should definitely have full say in the starters as it's for the fans they play for.

[Justin]

PAUL MILSAP

Blogger's note: Actually, it's PAUL MILLSAP.
But thanks for playing.

[GM]

Why does the league feel the need to get the ballots out so early? It's much too early in the season to even consider all-stars. They could get them out in December and it would be plenty of time both for the voters and for you guys who come up with the players. But it's not a big deal, I guess, since, as you said, Millsap won't be a starter anyway (unless he plays Bosh every week!) and it's the coaches who decide who the subs are.

I disagree about Amir's fouling, but it's not based on anything tangible. Refs are conditioned by reputation. Certain players have a rep and they'll look at them more closely. Or if it's a bang-bang play, they'll take into consideration who's involved. In a charge-block situation, guaranteed every time the "lesser" player will be the one who gets the foul, unless it's between two no-names or two all-stars. It's so easy after the fact to say, yes, those were fouls on Amir because they were called just because in practically every situation a foul can be called. It's up to the ref to make the call. Bargnani didn't stop fouling so much as the refs just decided he was a significant player so they don't call him for nearly as much as he used to get called for.

Also I just want to throw my opinion in with the others who can't get to every DSIGBT live but always read it after the fact. So keep on keepin' on. When games start at 4 our here, I have a lot of distractions which makes me have to pause the game and play catch-up. Not sure if we're reflected in your numbers, but we're out there, too.

[Bill]

Doug, I am quite disappointed in you. You avoid live blogging for the Raptors for what? So you can enjoy your secret second gig as a live blogger for Women's NCAA basketball? (http://tnjn.com/2010/nov/18/doug-smiths-live-blog-no-4-ten/) What do you have to say for yourself !?!?!

[The J]

"Maybe we missed on that one but, overall, I’m quite okay with the way things turned out."
Ugh, there you go again. You are such a Doug Smith appologist. I swear you must be on the Toronto Star payrole. I say things wont get any better until they finally get rid of Smith and Damien Cox. They need to give the Young Gruntz a chance and see what they can do. This "Journalist" experiment has failed.

[ChrisD1]

Doug - if you had to say, would you say this team resembles the 2003-2004 lowly team that was on a downswing, or an up and up team like the 1999-2000 Raps that just missed the playoffs? This team baffles me....

Blogger's note: I think the youth alone and the contract status of some of the kids makes more like 2000 than '04.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Okay, too tough to ignore the music discussions. Here are two going way back that I'd crank up the volume for: CCR Traveling Band and one of my all-time favorites, Fresh Air by Quicksilver Messenger Service. Dated? O you betcha.
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Nick M]

Amir Johnson's foul problems are definitely meritted. This guy makes at least one if not two fouls a game that must make Triano's head explode.
It seems as though every game Amir reaches on a guard (c'mon, when was the last time anyone saw Jose stripped by a big in the open court) or slaps at the ball after an opposing big has just snagged a defensive rebound, etc..., etc... Those of you who played basketball have all played with a guy like this - it is very frustrating.
@The J - I sure hope Doug is on the Toronto Star payroll!!!

[David Mac]

@Bill -- That 'Doug Smith' is a junior at Tenessee, Majoring in Journalism & Electronic Media, and minoring in Business. Different guy altogether.

[d]

Doug,

Have you ever been approached to do any Amercian TV show guest spots? It seems the company you share in the ballot selection have all been on TV, some like Adande are everywhere and Albert is a legend.
You seem comoftable in front of the camera, is it an idea you would at least entertain if asked to go say Around the Horn or PTI ??

Love your work !!

D

Blogger's note: I'm sure the American version of the CRTC might object

[jc]

Hey Doug,
I think I've found a way to save you some grief. At the top of your blog, keep a list posted of the Bargnani 2006 draft class (the one that had Adam Morrison going at number 3 and Patrick O'Bryant and Saer Sene going at 9 & 10 respectively) If anyone replies, "hey, we could have had Rondo with the 21st pick" or something equally intelligent, you know you can ignore the rest of the email.

[doug]

my thoughts on Amir and fouling is this...he can't contest every play, he needs to pick and choose more effectively..it doesn't mean not playing defense on a trip down the floor it means if a guy is beside or past your hip you've lost him and either hope for weak side help or a rotation to pick him up, if not let it go....his aggressiveness is fine, there are just a time and place thru the course of the game to have a aggression factor of say a 5/10 or close game, 4th quarter a 10/10...he's to valuable, he needs to learn which he is doing, it';s easy to forget how young he still is....be interesting with Barbosa to see the rotations tonight, we need his speed, and athleticism but his minutes will come a the expense of whose?....a song I really like but it isn't as "old "relatively as the others...is like a one hit wonder by a Seattle based band,,,Silent Lucidity by Queensryche...alos i remember seeing Neil on SNL once a few years ago doing the best version of Rocking in the Free World I have seen or heard...if he was a athlete you can say he was hitting on all cylinders that night, he brought his A game...a virtuoso performance...

[doug]

the internet is a beautiful thing and time flying by is not...that Neil Young performance was 21 years ago in 89, more then a few yearsa go, but anyonje thats a Neil Young has to see it, he's just on, the band is tight and the Maple Leaf patches on his jeans, just say it all....

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7luq7_neil-young-rockin-in-the-free-world_music

[Lorie]

Okay, following the Neil Young theme, did you catch Jimmy Fallon as Neil accompanied by Bruce Springsteen doing "Whip My Hair"? Check that out, but first, the same night watch Springsteen does his version of Patti Smith's "Because The Night". (Youtube has both.)

[Justin]

PAUL MILSAP
Blogger's note: Actually, it's PAUL MILLSAP.
But thanks for playing.

I did know that. I sent the comment before I read the full post. I went back to your spelling because I assumed you had it right. Oops.. I will read the full post before sending a comment next time.

Blogger's note: Trust me, I've had more than my fair share of "oops" moments; entirely understandable.

[B.F]

Just cerious if you know what their intro song was?
I was at the game Friday night and really liked it but I have no clue what it is!!

Blogger's note: I know it wasn't the Swinging Medallions but other than that, I can't help.