There was this about that

And that, folks, is why they play the games.

I feel sorry for the dozens and dozens of you who told us yesterday you knew what was going to happen because I presume in your infinite wisdom you didn’t watch and that’s too bad because it was the best game of the young season.

Anyway …

-

THREE POINTERS

Role reversal

Less than 10 seconds to play, team down three with the ball out of bounds.

They call timeout, set up a play and before they can even get it off, they can’t get the ball in and have to burn another timeout.

They come out of that timeout, still panic trying to get the ball to someone inbounds and end up botching the play beyond belief, committing a turnover that pretty much ends the game.

But for once, it was Toronto on the good end of that, not the bad end and watching them defend that second-to-last Orlando possession was unreal.

Not only did Jose make a great play to steal the eventual inbounds pass, the other guys simply denied their man any chance to go get the ball, switching some screens, chasing around others and generally playing as good defence as they are capable of.

Odd to see. In a good way.

-

Interesting calls

With Andrea running out of gas a bit and drawing so much attention from the Magic defence late in the game, it was left to DeMar DeRozan to carry the load.

And Jay gave him every chance to.

On a couple of key possessions late in the fourth quarter they ran plays where Bargnani went down to the baseline or about mid-lane to set a screen for DeRozan, who curled into the paint to take the ball from whichever point guard was on the floor at the time.

It worked like a charm, mainly because DeRozan mixed it up, attacking the rim or pulling up for short jumpers depending on what the defence gave him.

I’d look for that to be a staple of their offence from now on.

-

Using all his tools

It was notable that Jay went to Jose with about five or six minutes left in a tight game when the offence was really struggling with some stagnation and some turnovers because, as you know, some of us think Jose might be better in those situations.

But it was also notable that the coach put the ball in Jarrett’s hands for the last possession. Not sure I would have but I don’t get the big bucks to coach and it would appear Jarrett was just as taken aback, as he mentioned post-game.

“I was shocked I was out there. I mean I had been sitting over there the whole fourth quarter and then it’s like ‘What? I’m in?’ And then he drew the play for me. I was like ‘all right.’”

-

And, elsewhere …

-

Oh yeah, Vince’s beard?

His daughter likes it, it’s not going anywhere.

-

You know how Chris Bosh is saying a lot of stuff now that’s causing a kafuffle or two in the media?

Kind of funny, isn’t it, that we of the Professional Basketball Writers Association are going to formally present him with our Magic Johnson Award in a little pre-game ceremony tonight.

The award goes to the player who best combines on-court performance with steady co-operation with the media.

Bosh won for 2009-10 and tonight will be the first time we’ve had a chance to see him and make the formal presentation.

(Guess I better do a good job ironing the shirt tonight, shouldn’t I?)

Anyway, say what you will about Chris – and a lot of you are saying an awful lot – but he is good with the media, respectful of our needs, accessible, accountable and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times he didn’t want to talk in the seven seasons I covered him on a daily basis.

-

How’d they report that one in Orlando?

See what it says here.

What are they saying about tonight’s game in Miami.

Take a look at Ira’s stuff here.

-

This new Amway Center in Orlando is pretty darn nice.

It’s huge – even though it’s got fewer seats than the ACC it’s simply a far larger building – and since we were sitting among the people I got to walk around a bit.

Wide concourses, a variety of services, several different levels of seating and all kinds of cool amenities; I approve.

And I know there are some of you who’ll be in the neighbourhood, which is a bit rejuvenated and there seem to be all kinds of bistros and restaurants to hang out at. They’ve done a really good job revitalizing the area.

-

Speaking of Miami, a stroll down memory lane:

Another Sam blowout

This was a classic.

It’s the night he’s got on this cool cream-coloured suit, Larry Tanenbaum’s sitting about two seats over from the bench and the Raps are losing.

Well, some call goes against them – I don’t remember the specifics but it was apparently some egregious wrong done to them – and Sam snaps.

Gets a first technical, gets a second technical that gets him tossed out of the game and he walks about six steps on to the court, stands there and points directly at the three officials and says:

“Bleep you. Bleep you. Bleep you.”

And there’s a big shot from the league at the game doing some pre-playoff site surveying and to this day, I believe he’s deathly afraid of Sam.

-

First day on the job

It’s 1997, Isiah’s just left, Glen Grunwald’s got the gig and his first game as the new GM is in Miami.

He shows up entirely unsure whether or not he’s up to the task – in fact, he wondered that aloud to a couple of reporter types in a private moment – and he’s ready to hit the ground running.

He meets up with a team that’s really playing poorly and schedules a meeting with then-coach Darrell Walker to imbue him with a sense of confidence in one of those “okay, don’t worry, we’re going to get this thing turned around, let’s work together and make it work” meetings and about the first thing out of Darrell’s mouth is: “Hey, when you fire me, you’ve got to pay me all my money” or words to that effect.

And somehow, Glen went on not only to survive, but to thrive.

-

A crazy night

Not entirely basketball related but there haven’t been a lot of memorable moments in South Florida over the years so I’m digressing.

You know how the season always starts in late October, right? Well, that means we’ve been on the road for a few Halloweens over the years and the strangest one I remember was one in Miami way back in the 1990s.

We used to stay in Coconut Grove in those years and there’s this little nest of restaurants in a little courtyard-walking mall kind of area and, I tell you, you haven’t experienced Halloween until you’ve seen it “celebrated” by the boys and girls in Miami.

The streets were closed, the liquids were flowing and since I was much younger in the day, it was fun to sit around and watch the party rage on.

-

Mail?

Love some. I’ve got very little to do Sunday and another long layover at Dulles so why not give me something to do.

Send ‘em here and I’ll get to as many as I can.

-

 

 

The best intentions beaten by the clock

Seriously, I was going to get up about 5 a.m. and try to get this all finished before the 6 a.m. trip to the airport for the quick flight over to Miami.

Except that I didn't and now I'm typing furiously at Orlando International and I'm not going to get done before I have to board, I don't imagine.

So the usual fun and frivolity will be a couple of hours late today. Forgive me.

 

The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Magic

Hey everybody.

Ready for the one?

Settle in, it's Real Professional Men's Basketball

There's nowhere like Erie in the fall, and other fun things

Little more than a series of unrelated items, thoughts and digressions after a day of travel and no practice. But here you go:

-

Solomon Alabi and Ed Davis are with the team today but not for long, I’m told.

I think you’ll see Alabi assigned to Erie of the D League the first of the week so he can go down there and get some practice and game work with the Bayhawks.

And I’m told Davis may get some time down in the minors in the next little while (maybe a week or so away) to get some game work in as he comes back from knee surgery.

I guess both moves make sense, although I do think each of the young bigs would benefit almost as much from practicing against NBA guys than playing in a guard-oriented minor league, but as long as they’re not gone long, there’s no big problem.

The Davis move is the one I’m sure you’re most interested in, given the daily questions I get about his return.

Glancing at the Erie schedule, they play at home the 19th and 20th and then away the 26th and 28th so you’re logically looking at Davis getting back with the Raptors sometime after the 28th and – maybe – being in an NBA uniform for the Dec. 1 home game against the Wizards.

That’s if there are no setbacks, of course.

-

This trip?

Orlando-Miami back-to-back; two days off and then Washington-Philly back-to-back?

Oh yeah, I can see one win but they really, really need to get two for their collective psyches.

One puts ‘em at, what, 2-10 coming out of this brutal start? Hmm, that’s not quite good enough, is it? I would have said 4-8, maybe 5-7 would have been a legit goal the day before the season started.

-

Quick trip to the mall?

Q: At the beginning of the season, Triano said Andrea had to learn to play big minutes, but Triano, with his erratic substitution pattern gave him 20 minutes against Golden State and has rarely played him as much as 35 minutes a game. Isn't it time to let the big guy sink or swim? It's not like Triano has a lot of choices, but he doesn't appear to have much confidence in Bargnani.

Allan W, Toronto

A: Should Bargnani play more? Maybe but it’s not like he’s the forgotten man out there, although that seems to be the common misperception.

The Golden State game was unique in that he was in foul trouble, the guys who were playing ahead of him were playing quite well in the second half so I have real problem there.

And the fact of the matter is, he averages a team-high 33.3 minutes a game – about six minutes more than anyone else – and he played about 38 the other night against Charlotte. Not that far off his ’09-’10 season average of 34.9.

As long as Jay’s staying with a four-man rotation up front – and I think that’s wrong except on nights when there’s foul trouble – I imagine 35 a night is about what it’ll average out to.

-

Man, there is a lot of cable television available in this room.

No wonder everyone wants to live in this great land.

-

So, no Barbosa and it’s looking entirely like Kleiza won’t play at least tonight so that’s going to mean more time for Julian Wright and I wonder how he’ll handle it.

You know I like what he brings but the question is whether or not he’ll bring it every night.

I imagine he will because he seems to be quite professional about his work but there have been more than a few players who’ve looked extremely good in one-time appearances before they regress as time goes on.

Hope that doesn’t happen with Wright.

-

Yes, the Raptors have had a conversation or two with Erick Dampier this week in light of the deal he had in Houston falling apart.

No, there is no resolution but there’s still a possibility they’ll sign him.

-

In a three-hour layover at Dulles (not a bad airport, at all, as a matter of fact), I should have done a scientific study to see which souvenir was jumping off the shelves the most.

Would it have been:

The one with Dubya’s smiling mug on a fridge magnet asking:

Miss me yet?

Or

The one with the three-panel head shots of Bristol’s Mom going from normal to something approximately Edvard Munch’s Scream saying:

Stop the insanity.

-

What’s up in Orlando?

Let’s see what Josh was scribbling yesterday.

-

Speaking of Orlando, here’s the trip down memory lane:

A major meltdown

This was as classic night. They lose – I think Bosh might have been out with an injury but I don’t remember for sure – and we’re talking to Sam in the hallway outside the locker room.

All of sudden, entirely unprovoked, he starts on this all-world rant about – of all things – Jerome Moiso and how he can’t play him because he doesn’t work hard in practice and how he needs guys to take responsibility for their skill and it was quite a Sam Rant.

Anyway, we run into the locker room to ask Jerome about it – he had no idea what was coming – and he looked like a deer caught in headlights. Not sure why Sam did what he did but it sure made for an interesting story.

-

Prank time

Used to be a fellow who covered the beat for the Sun known as Quag and they got him good one day.

We’re at shootaround talking to the coach of the day (think it was Sam again) when all of a sudden two Orlando cops show up. They ask for Quag and start busting on him for blowing off a toll booth on some ride down an interstate and it looks entirely like they’re going to arrest him.

Turns out one of the Raptor media relations guys with connections down here had cooked up the prank with some friends.

But you should have sent the look on Mike’s face. Priceless and gave some juice to an otherwise boring shootaround chat.

-

This one might hurt

I still contend to this day that the shot that Bosh took at the end of Game 2 of the 2008 playoffs was a good one.

A 20-footer but a guy who made ‘em far more than he missed them instead of driving against Dwight Howard, who’d just blocked one of his shots, was fine with me.

The miss killed them and might have been the one play that decided the series (at 1-1 going home I’d like Toronto’s chances) but it was still a good shot that just didn’t go in.

-

Mail?

Click here if you like; we’re on the same schedule as last week with the usual drivel Saturday after the Friday game, Sunday after the Saturday game and a big ol’ mailbag on Monday so you’ve got lots of time.

-

Okay, new arena to check out and grief to give HWSNBN for his unfortunate facial hair decision.

See ya later.

-

 

 

 

A glaring hole and other delightful items

Hmm. Kind of glum out there, isn’t it?

Now 1-7 carrying the baggage of a six-game losing streak and heading into Florida for back-to-backs in Orlando and Miami?

Oh yeah, this has got fun written all over it.

-

THREE POINTERS

A major roster deficiency

We’ve alluded to it more than a few times since the season began and last night hammered it home again:

This team just doesn’t have a guy who can break his man down off the dribble when it’s most needed and no one has emerged with that skill.

And if no one does, I don’t see how they can win a close game other than by having the other team mess up.

The play in the final crucial possession was the kind of play they’re going to have to run, set a couple of screens for a point guard, hope he can get to the rim or hope that he can find someone open on the perimeter to knock down a shot.

Didn’t happen last night – Stephen Jackson played excellent defence on Bargnani – and it didn’t happen against the Knicks or the Kings, either.

And you can moan all you want about coaching and play-calling but Red Auerbach himself can magically turn someone into a great one-on-one player who can create havoc off the dribble.

Over to you, Mr. Colangelo.

-

A nice little find

Necessity being the mother of invention and all, it’s got to be at least a bit pleasing to some that Julian Wright has responded as well as he has to the chance at some regular minutes.

Jay mentioned after the game that there are still some concerns with how he defends trying to trail guys around screens but I like Wright’s one-on-defence, his hustle, his length and his intensity.

But what’s it all mean for him in the long run?

Probably nothing.

Unless Bryan’s willing to move Sonny Weems in some transaction, I don’t see where Wright fits into the rotation other than as a solid, deep backup who only plays when injuries hit.

Too bad, ‘cause the guy’s growing on me.

And if he rocks the quasi-Slick Watts look with the headband, all the better.

Pretty up-to-date guy, too.

Before the game, he was wandering through the locker room whistling Christmas carols and when it was pointed out that it’s not something we’re used to hearing, he made the point that it’s post-Thanksgiving and therefore all right to be thinking Christmas.

Not bad, most players aren’t quite up to date with the difference in Thanksgiving dates.

-

Three’s enough

Without David Andersen, Jay decided to not add a fourth guy to the rotation of bigs and I have no problem with it at all and think it’s something he should stick with more often than not.

Look at the numbers: Bargnani, 23 and 9 in 38 minutes.

Evans, 2 and 10 in 30 minutes.

Johnson, 16 and 9 in 28 minutes.

That’s pretty good production, no one really got stretched out minutes-wise and they all had good games.

There will be nights where foul trouble makes it necessary to go to Andersen but I feel pretty strongly that leaving it as a three-man gang whenever possible is the best thing to do.

Over to you, Mr. Triano.

-

And in other items ...

-

You know what the HOTH needed last night?

One of their point guards to have an other-worldly kind of night.

You look at that Charlotte team and it’s glaring deficiency is at the point where DJ Augustin’s a kid who may or may not be good and Shaun Livingston is an okay back who is one minor mis-step away from having his career end.

Trouble is, Jarrett had more turnovers than assists and while Jose had nine assists in less than 24 minutes, he did miss eight of nine shots.

And I’m not sure either of them did enough to make Larry Brown go, ‘oh, I’ve got to have that guy.’

The other side of the coin, of course, is what would they ever get from Charlotte in a deal.

No way the Bobcats are giving up Wallace or Jackson, Boris Diaw’s a tubby tweener who’s not appreciably better than anyone Toronto has and Tyrus Thomas shows up one night and not the next and after that, there’s not much.

Maybe Gerald Henderson’s an interesting player player but I’m not sure the Bobcats are interested in giving him up.

Trust me, there were people in the upper echelons of Rpatordom who hoped one of Jack or Calderon were outstanding just to pique the interest of the Bobcats; that didn’t happen and I don’t know if there’s a legit fit there anyway.

-

Check out Stevie Boy’s photo bloggy thingy from last night.

Click right here and enjoy.

-

Okay, I’m going to be on a plane or just landing on my Toronto-Dulles-Orlando journey about 11 a.m. today. Please be quiet for me for a minute, would you?

Thanks.

-

Wild night?

I’d say.

A minor electrical fire on press row kind of jazzed up the first half. Seems a wonky outlet kind of burned and the smell kind of put a damper on the fun of watching the game for almost the entire second quarter.

We had a trade of PA announcers at halftime when Herbie Kuhn’s voice went and backup Mike Cvitkovic just happened to be in the arena.

And then I walked around the corner to go the media room at halftime and almost ran into The Chicken, who was holding an ice bag to his head. Guess he/she/it got a little cut after whacking the noggin on something sharp after a first half schtick moment.

Odd night indeed.

-

Quickly from the mail:

Q: Hi Doug, I was intrigued by a comment in your recap of the Golden State game. You wrote "[i]n a season that has started about as badly as anyone connected with the team could have imagined, the Raptors are finding out all kinds of troubling things about themselves."

When the vast majority of NBA commentators forecast Toronto to be one of the worst teams in league, shouldn't management's expectation of something better raise a question about their objectivity and/or ability. This seems to be only the latest year where gaming, media, spectators suggest Toronto lacks credibility at many positions and is competitively challenged. Management then follows with public comments suggesting surprise/anger/hurt. Year after year though, the team more closely resembles the independent forecast than management's own.

Jeremy T, Toronto

A: Um, no, not at all. Management, players and coaches of every team in the league expect great things before a season begins. I don’t think anyone would, or should, expect someone closely associated to a team to say ‘we’re going to be bad’ before they’ve even played a game. Whether or not that optimism is misguided doesn’t really matter, I’d rather have them confident in their abilities rather than worried about failing.

But of course they’re not objective, they’re not supposed to be.

-

I’d love to tell you what they wrote in Charlotte about that one but the Observer took a pass on the trip and relied on the wire services for game coverage.

Oh well.

-

Want to get some mail in?

You know the drill.

-

All right, long travel day ahead, not sure wireless issues anywhere I’ll be but I’ll get to the inevitable comments whenever I can.

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Bobcats at Raptors

Hey folks.

Ready for this clash of the titans?

So am I.

Working hard and keep the streak alive (no, not that one)

Hey, look at it this way.

They didn’t lose last night. Makes today an easier day around these parts, too.

-

The theme of yesterday’s practice, and the theme of the entire season to date as a matter of fact, was the need to work hard and play hard for 48 minutes every game.

No slacking off for a few minutes here and there, no easing into games, 100 per cent intensity for the get-go.

I guess it was Cliché Day as well as Signing Day.

Anyway, it does get to a point that a lot of people have asked about lately and raises a question for which there is no logical answer.

Why?

Why do athletes – and it happens to every team in every sport in every city to some degree – seem to waver in their intensity every now and then?

Can’t say. Can’t be explained. It just is.

And to all of you who write in asking about it, I can only offer this: Do you have great days every single day at your job?

Do you work consistently hard every second of every day at the office or the factory or on the road?

No way.

You may think you are, but you’re not.

But to suggest these guys aren’t “trying” is, frankly, ridiculous. They may not be successful, the other guys might simply be better but it’s a disservice to suggest they don’t care.

I know that sounds entirely defensive of athletes and perhaps it is but I’ve been around them a very long time and I can assure you they do try and do care.

They don’t always win and they don’t always do the right thing and they make glaring mistakes and lose games but sometimes that’s just the way it goes.

But to think it’s lack of effort is wrong.

-

That said …

This team is not very good at the moment, there’s been some defensive slippage and I’m still not sold on the theory that the offence is good enough and if they don’t smarten up, the entire season could be in the toilet two weeks from now.

And then all we’ve got to look forward to are those “wow” moments in every game and the entertainment that a night out gives us.

Oh, wait a minute.

That should be enough, right?

-

Ed Davis Update

(And not since the never-ending ‘When Will Reggie Be Back’ flood a year ago have we spent so much time dispensing little or not information)

Anyway, he did a little three-on-three yesterday that was about his first semi-serious work.

But if you’re looking at timeline, look way down the road.

The kid’s going to need more than a few practices to get up to even close to speed and with the way the schedule breaks down, there’s not a lot of time.

I’m guessing – big guess, too – that you’re looking at two, maybe three, weeks at the earliest.

And, yes, I’ll answer this again next week. Promise.

-

So I see the Heat lost last night to Utah because Paul (not Ronny) Millsap went berserk and it’s pretty interesting, what’s going on in Miami.

There’s no question that team is great – you can’t have James, Wade and Bosh and not be really, really, really good – but there are some huge flaws, most notably in the paint and at the point.

Let me ask you this: If Pat Riley calls you, do you make a trade with him? No way, right? He’s got nothing you want, he perhaps helped orchestrate the biggest free agent coup ever and if you think some rival GM is going to help make that team better, I think you ought to think again.

Kinda cool, no?

-

Time to talk about the streak.

No, not the three-point one, that’s a fun one that gets mentioned once a game because the Irregulars like it.

Jarrett Jack’s streak; he’s at 295 straight games and counting and as he kind of limped out of the gym after practice Tuesday, he had this to say about his prospects for tonight:

“I’m definitely going to play. Still stiff but I’ll be out there. I’ll give my team 10, 20, 30 minutes. I’ll give them whatever I have.”

Jarrett’s third among active players on the Ironman list; Andre Miller’s at 620 and Derek Fisher’s at 420.

-

I swear, if Bristol is the DWTS winner (and she’s a semifinalist), there should be a federal inquiry. I’m torn, conflicted, confused as to whether the kid Kyle or The Lovely Jennifer Gray should win but it’s ABB. (Anybody But Bristol, in our love affair with acronyms).

-

Charlotte?

Here’s what Rick’s saying about the Bobcats, who are scuffling along almost as badly as the HOTH.

-

Let’s do a quick one out of the mail, shall we:

Q: Hi Doug. I know you don't get to every game in person. Wondering which assistant coach you think gives the best halftime interviews. I've been impressed with PJ's candour, and Jim Todd was always good.

Your favorite and why?

 

Jeff I, Toronto

A: You’re right, I see so few games on TV I probably don’t have as informed opinion as I should but I do see some and I do get to listen to some of the interviews when I’ve got the front row seat at home games.

And, because I’m as much about voice and inflection and style as information, I was huge fan of Jim Todd and like PJ’s style this year.

But, truth be told, I’m not sure there’s a lot of earth-shattering information that’s shared in those chats. They always have to defend better, rebound better, turn the ball over fewer times.

-

Now, I do see some good ones over there in the mail slot (I’m trying to whittle down a list of five favourite steak joints) but there’s always room for more and you know how to get there.

Click. Type. Send.

-

Sorry to disappoint any Irregulars out there but we can’t do a Question and Answer thing today, too much to do like banking, packing, writing, hanging around shootaround.

We’ll see if we can fix something up for Friday from sunny Orlando.

-

 

 

Of positions and maturity and an old story re-told

Seven down, 75 to go.

(Wait, that’s not nice)

Seven down, lots more fun ahead.

Really. Honest. It’s just a game, enjoy it for what it is.

-

THREE POINTERS

They may be on to something

I don’t know but the more I see them use Linas Kleiza at the four, the more I like it.

There wasn’t much to like about that Golden State game but when they made their late – and inevitable – run, it came with a rather unconventional lineup with Kleiza and Amir Johnson in the front court and it worked.

Not sure it works every night, and I think last night was as much reactionary to a smallish Golden State lineup rather than proactive to make things different, but I do think it’s something they should explore more often.

This is not a particularly good Toronto team at the moment with a somewhat odd roster loaded with wings so why not use that unorthodoxy to make other teams react.

What’s the worst that can happen? They lose?

Well, don’t see a lot of wins piling up this way, do you?

-

The Regend’s tough night

We knew there were going to be evenings with Reggie Evans was in tough, being under-sized and all and last night was one of them.

Yes, he hustled and got good rebounding position and fought like he usually fights for every possible loose ball but the length of the Warriors, specifically Andris Biedrins and Brandan Wright, simply negated him for far too long.

It’s why he only played 18 minutes – a season low – and while he did still get six boards in that time, he didn’t have his usual impact on the game.

There will be more nights like that, I’m sure. There are all kinds of things that effort and intelligence can overcome, but there are sometimes when the other guy is just too big and too quick and too long.

-

A star in the making

I can watch Stephen Curry play every night, I think.

Not just because his jump shot is so good but because of the way he now runs a game.

Remember, this is a second-year NBAer who really wasn’t a point guard until his senior year at tiny Davidson College and to see how far he’s come with his ball-handling and decision-making is pretty incredible.

There were a handful of times last night when he got the ball on the perimeter about halfway through a shot-clock and there was a relatively open shot to be had.

But he settled things down, resisted the urge to get a shot up and found an open teammate – usually Ellis – for a better look.

That’s maturity you don’t always see in a second-year player and speaks volumes on how far his game has come in a short time.

And, oh yeah, when he needed to dominate the game offensively, he did. The 16 points he scored in 12 fourth-quarter minutes was like watching a clinic.

-

Anyway, more stuff …

-

Kyle Massey has become the new Super Son DWTS favourite, in case you were wondering. Something about some Disney Channel thing or somesuch.

I haven’t watched in far too long, damn basketball keeps getting in the way.

-

So, are maybe the game ops folks and fans are getting on to something.

Been a couple of third quarter timeouts lately when they’ve broken out the Livin’ On A Prayer and I know the broadcasters have been in full throat and last night they tried to get the crowd to sing along, too.

Kind of worked and was a nice start to build on.

And the way things are shaping up this season, a rather appropriate title, methinks.

-

Right. The Vladimir Radmanovic story.

(And no one sent an e-mail to remind me, I had to get it out the crevasses of my mind, thank you very much).

Now, some Irregulars will have heard this before but what the heck, some newcomers haven’t and it’s a cool story.

Indianapolis world championships, 2002: Yugoslavia is in the semifinals against New Zealand and after some kind of halftime locker room incident – it may or may not have involved Radmanovic eating a banana, I don’t recall – Radmanovic decides (or coach Svetislav Pesic decides for him) that the bench is not somewhere he should be.

So up into the stands he goes, sitting there in his full warm-ups watching the game like any other fan, a section over from where Peter May, then of the Boston Globe, and I are watching somewhat awestruck.

I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a player leave a team in the middle of a game to sit among the people and I don’t imagine I ever will again.

A very odd moment indeed.

-

How’d the game play in San Francisco?

Like this.

-

A question of style.

Q: Hi Doug. I'm just getting back into your blog and I'm confused about the acronyms - HOTH and HOTHC which appeared twice today. The only thing that comes to mind is Houses of the Holy, but don't see how it relates to basketball. Anyway, your help would be appreciated.

Andrew N, Waterloo

A: Seems to be a difference in opinion as to whether hardcourt is one word or two.

I’m going with one so we shall forever refer to them as the Heroes Of The Hardcourt, or HOTH for short.

Interested in getting some mail in?

Click here and write, I’ll be glad to take it.

Figure we may as well start early since this weekend has another silly Saturday game, giving me an extra day to answer queries.

-

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Warriors at Raptors

Welcome back, everyone.

Glad you could join us.

Live: Raptors pre-game Q&A

Doug Smith handled reader questions in a live Q&A at noon Monday, fielding queries on Bryan Colangelo, Sonny Weems and Golden Star Warriors' abilities.