A guy's gotta shoot when a guy's gotta shoot, right?

Well, no new guys yesterday. No 10-day dudes, no trades, no more injuries, no nothing.

How boring.

-

We all saw Julian Wright struggle offensively the other night, right? Missed some easy shots inside and he’s a suspect jump shooter anyway (although I will say he might be the hardest practice worker on the team).

But he’s got to keep shooting it.

One of the tenets of this team’s offence, and it pretty much goes for any team in the NBA is if you’re open, take the shot because you need to make teams defend you.

Jay knows it. But he also knows that it’s better, in Julian’s case at the moment, to do something else rather than take jumper after jumper.

“If he never shoots it, they never respect it. If he drives to the basket the way he did in the second half (against Philadelphia) and finishes a layup, now they have to respect him a little bit more.”

And if Jay was Sam, I would have gotten a quick, “duh!” to the follow up question when it was suggested that, yeah, he’s got to take shots to keep defence honest but he’s got to make one or two.

“Absolutely. The guy works as hard as he can and he’s having a hard time making shots right now so the next thing you can do is keep the defence on edge by making a pass to someone else, setting a good screen or driving the ball to the basket. Do other things and hopefully the confidence comes back.”

-

It’s Fan Night.

Guess I should load up the best Of Rob Base CD in the car since he’s the halftime show.

But can someone tell me who he is first?

-

Hmm.

For some reason (space, I presume) they forgot to run in the paper the little item I did on Canada’s men’s team and the draw for the 2011 Olympic qualifier this summer in Argentina.

Anyway, Canada’s in a group with Brazil, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Cuba; the other group is Argentina, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Paraguay and Panama.

Top two make it to 2012 in London automatically, the next three get to go to a last-gasp qualifier of 12 teams (3 Olympic berths on the line) in the summer of 2012.

Canada’s chances?

Probably slim to get out of the first event (you have to think Argentina and Brazil have the inside track) and just as long a shot if they get to the second one.

The big thing, though, is the impact of an NBA lockout. If there is one and none of the NBA guys can take part, I like Canada’s chances of being one of the top two a lot better. Still don’t think they’re good but I like them better.

Oh, Matt Bonner? Still working on the citizenship thing to expedite matters and there’s been no political will to fast-track it. If worse comes to worse, though, he can become one of us in 2012 because of his marriage to a Toronto woman. That’d be too late for the qualifier, of course, so there still needs to be some work done on that front.

And I got to talk to him briefly last week when we were in San Antonio and he’s still all gung-ho to play for his adopted country.

If any of you have some juice with the doofus mandarins up the nation’s capital, make mention of Matt, would you? Canada Basketball thanks you.

-

What’s up with the Bucks?

This is up with the Bucks, courtesy of Uncle Tom.

-

Here’s a question I get often, or at least a version of it.

Q: In Thursday's blog you mentioned how they are still willing to work with Alabi, and see what he becomes. I have to wonder why the management would do that. If after half a season, he hasn't been able to work his way in to an NBA game (of significance) then we would have to assume that his ceiling is pretty low. There has to be someone somewhere worth paying the same money to, that you could at least expect to get a few minutes out of in a real NBA game. Can you explain what the thought process is in keeping Alabi for this year and next?

Thanks!

 

Peter L, Toronto

A: I don’t think anyone knows what Alabi will turn into and it’s far, far too early to cast him aside. And I doubt there is someone available and making the minimum salary for a second-round pick who’s better than anyone this team trots out on a regular basis.

Will Solo become a functioning member of even a mediocre team’s rotation? I have my doubts but I think you want to see him for long than four months to determine that. Let him keep practicing and improving and run him out in the summer league (if there is one) and see where he is.

And, besides, someone has to be the 12th or 15th man on a 15-man roster, why not a kid who might be something?

-

I see they did the starters for the all-star game.

You voted for Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, Amare Stoudemire and Dwight Howard for the East and Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Yao Ming for the West.

Now, we all know the selection of Yao is simply tomfoolery that comes of the love they have for him in his homeland but other than that, I think the fans got it right.

Can’t really see who would be a better choice than the nine guys and I guess it restores faith in balloting process.

The interesting thing, of course, is who the coaches pick as backups (they have to vote by Tuesday and the results are made public Thursday) because that’s where the debate rages.

I haven’t given it a lot of thought – we have days next week here to fill, and I’ll need the time – but the one guy I can see being snubbed is Golden State’s Monta Ellis. But we’ll get to that next week.

-

So, another silly Saturday night game (who are these guys, the Leaves?) means we’ll push back the mailbag until Monday again (it’ll give me something to do when I’m hanging out in Indy on Sunday) so click here if you want to hang with the cool kids.

See you tonight for the IGBT.

-

 

 

Comments

[Robert Bertuzzi]

During the Blazers v. Celtics last night Mike Fratello interestingly noted how the coach of neither team despite their own respective decimation by injuries--Roy, Oden, Perkins, which is at least three starters out of 10 starters combined--had ever raised the issue of injuries as an excuse.

Interestingly, both teams are in the playoffs at present because they have the depth to deal with injuries which is a function of, in part, spending more money though cases certainly exist where this can go awry, especially if you let Isiah Thomas run your team.

Perhaps it would be a one-note performance to write daily about how the talent level on this team, to put it kindly, is suck-y. Though it wouldn't make it any less right. Twas true before the injuries and has only worsened so now. But I'm not sure we are making any hay here with the continual injury-woe-is-me line of inquiry either. There are other organizational models for assembling teams and dealing with what besets all teams in the league. It's just not the case here.

[SEC]

No need for a best of Rob Base CD - he's a one hit wonder who had a hip hop hit, 'It Takes Two' by Rob Base and DJ Easy Roc. This was a song from like 1986 or 1988 and everytime I hear Fan Appreciation night with Rob Base, Im shocked at A) he's still performing and B) MLSE must be totally out of touch with their Fan Base if they think thats who the masses want as entertainment. LOL.

[Derek S]

Morning Doug,
In watching the Raps the last few games, one thing in particular has concerned me. Due to all the injuries, guys like Wright, Davis and Amir have been playing greater minutes - my assumption was that this might hurt us on the offensive end, but would presumably help us on the defensive end, so it'd be a bit of a balancing effect. Unfortunately, with those guys playing more minutes, I haven't noticed any tangible improvement on defense. And while Demar and Andrea have both had a number of good offensive games this year, I can't recall too many plays (let alone games) where they've shown any defensive improvement. Notice my wording there - I'm not looking for "great defensive performances" out of them, but I am looking for improvement and growth.
You'd think that on a team that's as defensively challenged as the Raps, that even marginal defensive improvement on the part of a couple of key players would be easy to notice, and I just haven't seen it. I remember in the pre-season, watching the Raps trying to play "pressure defense". Pressuring the inbound pass, doing a full court press, and being much more aggressive, getting up on shooters, etc. I can't remember the last time we saw that kind of defensive energy or attitude out of the Raps, even for a quarter, let alone a full game.
Is this a case of the coaches focusing more on the "strength" of this team (their offense) rather than their weakness (their defense/rebounding)? I'm not suggesting they're "ignoring" the defense altogether, but perhaps in looking at their personnel (and their respective skill sets), is it possible that the coaches think they have a better chance of winning by trying to out-score teams, rather than by trying to convince players who aren't that good defensively to try and focus on those traits?

[JHP]

Doug

Can this team get any younger? Since Reggie is the oldest, he better be traded :-)

[Matt M]

One hit wonders are the best. I hate long greatest hit albums.

[Lorie]

Good Morning, Doug!
But the very best thing about the Blazers v. Celtics game last night was that Bill Walton was part of the crew doing the colour commentary. (Did you catch his remark about KG "working on his repetitive head injury" during Garnett's pre-game routine with the stanchion?) Terrific that Mr. Walton's been able to survive and overcome the painful health issues he had. Do you know, Doug, if he will be part of the All Star Weekend broadcasting team? Might make the ho-hum less so!

Blogger's note: Don't know for sure, but he's usually around

[tim]

Anyone else terrified of Anthony Parker's upcoming free agency?

[Eddy]

Robert, careful or the MLSE sycophants will be calling you an idiot and explaining to you why the Raptors can't do anything to improve their team, even though, as you point out, other teams have managed to do so. They will also explain that the whole objective of this season is to lose as many games as possible, so when you are buying those 10 dollar beers just remember, losing is victory.

[DaveT (Ottawa -- er, Dublin)]

I'm not sure that the Oden, Roy and Perkins comparison is completely fair. For one, I think Perkins himself said if he wasn't injured, they would have won the championship last year (which may be fair, but is also using injury as an excuse). Also those teams are built to contend TODAY and they've lost 1-2 starters at any given time to injury.

(As a side note: the Blazers do tend to amaze me how they can keep losing players and still remain competitive, so I'm not completely disagreeing here.)

The Raptors aren't built to contend today. Not this team, not now. The hope was, in the past few years, they would see a marked improvement with the addition of a couple of guys. Hedo Turkoglu signed for quite a bit of money, Jose and Andrea were locked up at a slightly high number that ensured that other teams wouldn't get them (it's not necessarily overpaying in the same way that Joe Johnson may be overpaid, but somebody would have locked him up at a lower number, almost definitely). So when they lose Kleiza, Weems, Jose or Bayless, Evans and Barbosa you're missing 3-4 starters on this team (maybe only 1, max 2, starters on a decent contender, sure, but you work with what you have) and one of historically better sixth men in the league (Leandrinho).

The injury excuse isn't being used for why the Raptors aren't in the upper echelon of the league. It's being used to explain why the Raptors aren't currently in the race for 8th spot in the East: this team (built as it is) has been decimated.

[SA]

Hey Doug,

Now that the Raptors 2010-11 campaign is over (I keed) how about a list of NBA players favourite golf courses to play in April? Augusta? Pebble Beach?

And how about those Raptors on the Bayou (NOH) -- fifth in the West, 30-16 record, won nine in a row...Funny, I don't hear much about that amazing trade round these parts no more...(I know, I know -- its the injuries)

[Jeff]

Doug,
To the Guy who asked about releasing Solomon Alabo, tell him to go look at Ben Wallace's stats between 1994-1998 when he was undrafted, played in Italy, then spent the first two years do exactly nothing in the NBA, then the following two years (98-00) playing 25 mins per game. Big men take time. I'd rather wait and be wrong on a shot blocking center, than to be known as the team that released him before he developed.

[Kent]

"Anyone else terrified of Anthony Parker's upcoming free agency?"

YES.

"A guy's gotta shoot when a guy's gotta shoot, right?"

NO. There is a reason why teams leave him open. It's not a one-night struggle; he cannot shoot and is mostly a stiff. All he should be doing on the offensive end is to set good picks/screen, finish wide open dunks, and crash the boards. He shouldn't touch the ball unless he has to.

[HopeCaper]

Tim. AP would be a star on the Raps. I don't know what you are worried about. Thanks Doug. It must be a challenge to generate info about this team since we aren't sure who will be doing what when.I'm sure even the core group is not safe if a trade makes more sense so right now these guys are rentals. Thinking back I find Bayliss' comment about not used to losing a little disconcerting because I thought this meant that he would be stepping up his game. Not seeing that so far. Is it abillity? Injury?

[Big Smoke Gary]

I can't believe there hasn't been any word of the relationship between Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries in your blog.

I guess your slippin.

[Rob.V]

Dude, we may have to expand into other topics or teams.

I mean, I feel for you as much as us this season. There really are no more words, nothing that can be said, nothing interesting about this team... just nothing!!

This entire season has become "The DeRozan Show"... and nothing more!

Any interest in running a contest for my Friday February 4th game? I haven't forgotten that I was going to put up a pair of tickets through the blog last year but it never happend. Anyway, If we can use them here just let me know they're good seats and maybe some of the bloggers here who are certainly more "glass half full" than I am right now might want to go to a game (I wouldn't know how to facilitate on this end).

[J]

(tl;dr: We don't need to spend more; we need to spend more wisely. We have a small window to build through the draft and dump over-expenditures, then we can fill in what we still need through FA. No more mediocrity.)

Considering Portland has "the depth to deal with injuries" despite being without their franchise player and highly touted first overall pick, and their payroll is supposedly $721,024 higher than ours, then Robert Bertuzzi's argument that their depth is partly a function of spending more isn't that strong. Had we signed an additional minimum wage player, which would put our payroll ahead of theirs, would it have made a difference?

It should be obvious that the difference in depth and talent between Portland and us is more a function of spending money wisely (see Mr. Cook's post from yesterday) than simply spending more. Portland isn't even a good example now, but despite having $20 mil locked up by injured Roy and Oden, and another $7.4 mil invested in a big who barely plays (Przybilla), they're paying most of their remaining players very reasonably. I won't knock Bargnani because his salary is actually quite reasonable when you look at Aldridge, who gets paid 33% more. Evans and Stojakovic are our much less talented Oden and Roy. It would be better if Calderon was paid $1-2 mil less. Kleiza has been a major disappointment in his first year here. Barbosa, though a useful player and an improvement over the mistake he's replacing, is still being paid starter money to come off the bench. Wright's salary might not seem big, nor has he been a disappointment, but other teams get his kind of contribution for less. Johnson is worth his contract, but when many top teams have at least one solid starter on the cheap, we need him to be more than a fringe starter.

When you look at the top teams, there are three groups. Group 1 are the Lakers, Celtics, Mavericks, Magic, etc. They've had elite teams for years now, and it's not because they decided one day to spend. Their status is not the result of their payrolls; rather, their payrolls are a symptom of their status. They started with a good core (Kobe, Dirk, Dwight, and Paul/Kevin/Ray), built well around that core, then kept increasing their payroll by adding pieces via the MLE and re-upping key players. That's how you end up with a payroll that exceeds the salary cap by $30 mil without pulling an Isaiah Thomas.

Group 2 consists of the exceptions: teams like the Heat or the Hornets, who would be difficult to duplicate. One team built on the cheap because a bunch of young superstars decided to take paycuts to play together, and the other is only good because Chris Paul is that good. Unless lightning strikes twice, neither should really be modeled after.

Group 3 are teams like the Bulls, the Knicks and the Thunder. One day, when their rookie scale contracts run out, they'll join Group 1, but until then, they all have at least several under-compensated core players, either due to good timing (Rose and Noah drafted back-to-back), good drafting (Chandler and Douglas late 1st round, Fields 2nd round), or both (the Thunder). This allowed the Bulls to add Boozer etc. and the Knicks to add Stoudemire etc. when the teams were ready for the next step.

So while losing talent for essentially nothing (Bosh) is never good, our fall could not have come at a better time. It's all about timing. We now have a small window where, assuming Davis and DeRozen can become above average starters, we can try to build through the draft. We have a few years before DeRozen and Davis will demand bigger cap hits. During this time, we need to add talent via the draft or via smart trades (Jack for Bayless was a good start) and remove cap dead-weight. That means moving Barbosa for youth or a draft pick, only re-signing Evans if he agrees to a big pay-cut or a one-year deal, only re-signing Wright at under $2 mil, not overpaying for Weems, keeping at eye out for a potential Kleiza trade, etc. Hopefully we'll find someone worth building around soon, then we can add another core player via free agency, then continue to flesh out the team via the MLE. It will be painful, but it will be worth it.

[Mark V]

A one-hit wonder? what about "joy and pain"! and, sunshine, and rain? what else, what else?? no? nevermind then.

On that note about Solo, while his ceiling may not be that of an NBA starter or 6th man or 7th or 8th even, I guess developing guys to fill the 10th-12th roles can still be valuable to giving a team the depth it needs to, say, overcome injury issues... and the less he sees court action, the lower his price tag will stay, I'd imagine. Certainly affordable for now to see if he can move up a few spots into the tail end of a rotation even within the next couple of years. Besides, he seems like a nice guy. =]

[Phil A]

What ever happened to Michael Redd?

[Juan]

Rob Base will probably do "Joy and Pain" tonight. At least half of which is pretty apropos for the season so far.

[doug]

some days depending on my mood i thoroughly enjoy this blog and on others it just frustrates me...today it frustrates me as yesterday there were some clear and lucid arguments made in regards to the Raptors and payroll...today first comment and right away I go man people just are frustrating...what "model" are you talking about with the Celts??...as Perkins is a fine player but he is no Pierce, Allen, or Rondo...and if Mike Fratello says it then it must be true,come on...you want to compare models....Pierce drafted, Garnett, Allen picked up in trades and other pieces drafted or FA'S etc...let's see we drafted Bosh,Barg's, traded for Turk, signed Jose...difference is this, Pierce is a better player then Bosh, it's the draft, it happens and Bosh left...Turk never panned out...what would have happened to the Celts if Pierce never blossomed into the perennial all-star he is, and let's say Garnett's injuries made him a marginal player...the Celts wouldn't be where they are...it happens as a GM you try and hope...also to say the Raps shouldn't use injuries as a excuse is all well and good, but when before the season people were saying they might win 30-35 games...and then off of that squad you lose major man games to starters, then yes it is going to have a impact...a major one....like the later poster said why in pre-season were the Rps using more pressure defenses etc...then now...answer is simple, one new players, players put in different roles can't practice for one thing as there isn't enough bodies, and secondly to run a up-tempo defense takes bodies, healthy bodies there is no way as a coach Jay can do that now with the lack of bodies he has...and i agree Bill Walton is just a interesting guy and just says whatever he thinks, sometimes just to stir the pot but it's all good, he reminds me of Johnny Miller in golf just says what he thinks...

[Smalahove]

Re: All-Star voting tomfoolery, seems to me the local fans were pretty good at stuffing the ballot box for some guy named Bosh, he used to do quite well. Take the Toronto vote out, and I suspect his numbers would have been microscopic.

[onemanweave]

'people just are frustrating' -- doug. Relax. You used to be one. Remember?

[AK]

Doug,

Since you're the VP in charge of all-star ballots, do you see the NBA ever changing the ballots from picking 2 G's, 2F's and a C, to picking a PG, 2 Swings (SG and SF) and 2 Bigs (PF and C). This year's West team highlights the problem. Durant and Melo are both SF's, or more accurately, Swing men. Why should one of them have to be annointed as the PF without a real PF on the starting unit, particularly when the West has the likes of Blake, Love, Pao, Aldridge et al. This change would also reflect the way the league has changed -- most good teams need a strong PG, 2 swings and 2 bigs, but not necessarily a traditional back-to-the-basket Center.

Feel free to address this in the mailbag...

AK

[doug]

@onemanweave I still am last time i looked and i realize I can be frustrating as well...

here is a excellent discussion with Donnie Nelson, and the life of a GM and how they rolled the the dice with Dirk and just hoped and had patience...sort of sounds familiar..

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/zarrabi/2011/01/25/donnie-nelson-pierce-was-the-safe-money-nowitzki-was-the-smart-money/

[Kent]

'people just are frustrating' -- doug. Relax. You used to be one. Remember?

This is the best post of the day so far.