They played, they lost, life drones on at its usual pace

Well, well, well.

That was something, wasn’t it?

Not sure what but it yielded this:

-

THREE POINTERS

Fire brigade

I knew it was coming, and there’d been a trickle that turned into a bit of a flood Saturday, and I guess it has to be addressed.

No, I don’t think Jay’s getting fired; no, I don’t think Bryan’s getting fired and neither should.

The kneejerk reaction to Saturday was predictable but the manner in which defeat was achieved was an aberration; missing 67 shots and playing atrociously offensively is not something that’s been an issue for this team so far this year. If it had been, I’d be stark raving mad having watched so much.

No, Jay’s doing what he can with a young, suspect roster; Bryan’s got the flexibility to make significant moves if they come up later this year or in the summer and it’s time to stay the course, not blow it up.

This is a young team with an unproven and sometimes over-matched roster and it always was going to a difficult and at times trying season. Anyone who thought otherwise when the season began was sadly misguided.

Toss in the loss of three key players in Evans, Barbosa and Kleiza and the inherent pressure that puts on players not yet ready for the roles they’re asked to play, losses are going to mount.

But to change course now? Silly.

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A frustrating sight

I would be kind of supportive of Andrea standing out behind the three-point with his arms in his air and a look of exasperation on his face a lot of times (and I must have seen it a dozen times last night) if I were to once see something else from him:

Movement.

You know, a cut through the lane, a flare to the sideline to create some other space for cutters, something, anything.

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He’s got a point

So it’s mentioned to Jay that perhaps putting Sonny back in the starting lineup would cut into the bench scoring production and he brings up a pretty good point.

“Our bench was getting about eight points a game for a while, so … might as well get them when we can.”

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More? Yeah, there’s more. It’s what we do.

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Two seats down from me Saturday night was the guy with the hardest job in the arena.

That’d be old friend Jimmy Powell (some of you Vancouverites may remember him) and he’s working, as he has for years and years, as an NBA scout for the Pacers.

At one point, when the Raptors had a rather odd conglomeration of players on the court, I looked down and wondered just how he was diagramming the 1-2 screen-roll with Jerryd Bayless and Trey Johnson.

And whether it was really worth his while to be there.

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So you can deliberately punch a guy in the groin while he’s elevated taking a jump shot and the NBA does nothing about it?

Oh, wait.

Celtics-Lakers on TV today, right?

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Wanna know what’s up in Minnesota, where they’re relishing win No 11? It’s here.

And they say this about the Pacers, in case you were wondering.

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Got this one out of a rather full mailbag that’ll be up tomorrow morning sometime.

Q: Hi Doug. I was just wondering about the popularity of your website when the Raps are struggling.

Do website hits decrease when the team is playing poorly and increase when they are playing well? Just wondering about the dedication of the "irregulars" I guess.

Thanks, and keep up the good work.

 

Kyle S, Ottawa

A: It’s funny, but it doesn’t make that huge a difference, actually. Yeah, the blog hits (at least on the way I track them) are down marginally this season but they still average about 13,000 a day and if there’s an issue or news, they can spike. We had one day in the last 30 (not sure which one it was) that went over 20,000.

But there are some Irregulars who have gone missing, some I miss a lot (you know who you are), some I’m quite fine with not hearing from so I imagine the overall interest has taken a wee bit of hit. It’s why I’m thankful those who remain, do.

I must admit, thought, I’m kind of interested in what the numbers would be like if this team was really good.

-

Guess there was lots of room over at the TV broadcast location (better for Jack and Matt to chat and promote their T-shirts and generally have their fun.

Why the space?

There was no local broadcast in Minny of the 11-34 Raptors facing the 10-34 Timberwolves and there won’t be any next Friday when the same two juggernauts meet in Toronto.

Some programming exec needs a raise or a promotion or something.

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Me? I’ve got the Wales tonight because I don’t think the Campbells have the depth.

What? Not like that anymore?

Oh, ok. Guess I’ll put on my AFC jersey and watch the other one.

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I’m looking at the boxscore some Saturday, see FGA: 101 for Toronto and I’m thinking somewhere, Sam Mitchell is smiling.

And maybe not just because they got up 100 shawts.

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The things you see in a lobby bar working on a blog late a night.

A horde of funsters comes wandering in, obviously from some event, and when they spy a guy sitting at a table typing at midnight on a Saturday, their curiosity is piqued.

And in the conversation that ensues I find out that Northstar Residential from here is having its annual Holiday Party and I’m thinking, what’s the holiday?

And it’s explained that, sure, why wouldn’t you have a Christmas/Hanukkah party on Jan. 29, doesn’t everyone?

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Ah, Indy.

Best and most famous shrimp cocktail you can imagine at St. Elmo’s (think horseradish that makes your eyes water, shrimp that would make Bubba Gump blush) and dinner at the sister joint next door.

It would seem to be a day to forget about, you know, the job.

Except I know some of you still have questions and should send them here for the mail.

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Okay, time to go catch the big bird to Indy, not sure about airport wireless here, I’ll get to the many comments (and the bit about not firing guys should rile up the stomachs of some of you) when I can.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[doug]

@binder..."schtick" was the right word as whether you realize or not sport is what you get down at your local Y or gym,rink, ball diamond etc..."pro" sports is sport, but first and foremost it is entertainment, ..did you happen to watch the Lakers-Celts game today...Van Gundy/Jackson just rambled on as well at times...as the game explains itself, it's not paint by number, where you need everything laid-out for you...or shouldn't have to..

[Ted S.]

I think some of the irregulars are choosing to take the approach: if you have nothing nice to say, don't say it. Nothing against the blog. I want this team to bottom out, change some of the management team, and begin building a winner. Who wants to read comments like that? Who wants to answer loaded questions that are geared towards that same goal?
.
Somehow, I remain a fan.

[jhp]

Doug, an interesting year in the NBA. Several records for futility appear ready to fall. Wondering what your thoughts are on this ?

Blogger's note: Hmm. Lack of parity more than other times? I'll think about it, if you don't mind

[Dave]

http://hangtime.blogs.nba.com/2011/01/30/durant-bosh-is-fake-tough-guy/?ls=iref:nbahpt2

any comment on this Bosh story?

Blogger's note: Let me think on it a day

[Michel G]

Hey Doug. Thanks for the 'Fire brigade' section. I don't what people expected this year either.

[GM]

* If Matt and Jack only did their unfunny schtick during uninteresting games between two horrible teams, maybe I'd excuse it. But it's each and every game, no matter what's going on on the floor. If they were at least funny, it would be tolerable. But they're not even close. They're folksy at best.
* It's interesting that the last two posts you've led with a Bargnani thrashing, and none of the commenters jumped in to join you. And when you don't, then a bunch of people rag on him. Maybe you should do that every day.
* In the IGBT, you said the coaches don't share the opinion that Wright is any good. Or at least, that's how it read. Are they unanimous in their opinion of him? I guess they know more than us, but I really think he's more valuable than a Weems. Wright does more. Weems is a better scorer (although less disciplined), but Wright is a better defender, rebounder, facilitator and may have a higher bball IQ. He had one bad game where he took too many shots, but Weems has had plenty of games where he's taken bad shots. I'd be interested to hear more specifics on what they don't like about Wright and what Weems gives them, apart from scoring. And this is meant as no knock on Weems. I just think Wright is a better fit. Guys looking for their own shot on a team like this can spell disaster.
* Things may be bad, but the Cavs have lost 20 in a row! That's incredible. I forget the old Grizzlies record. Was it 23? Was Byron playing for them then?

[G Beck]

The Raps should really look to trade away what remains of their assets like Weems for some veterans and play out the remainder of the season to get into the draft sweepstakes. Of course they will lose out to the Cavs in that respect to salvage what there is from a rather weak draft class, one of the weakest projected in recent years. Blowing up the team is not even in question since either way it would devolve into revolving doors of young prospects, and will be years from competing. And Triano, it's not his fault that the team has been beset with all these injuries, but it doesn't demand too much of acumen to see that any other coach would've done similarly if not better than what he's been able to do so far this season. Being blown out by 20 to a good team I'd understand, chalk it up to a team learning from facing an insurmountable adversity and not losing head; but to one of the worst teams in the league with the poorest FG% defense is another thing that just can't be glossed over and attributed to almost all players of the team having a bad day. Maybe it was just a bloody coincidence that brought all the problems plaguing the team to starkest possible light and some scrubs on the opposition having a field day to season best records every time this team plays.

[David Bain]

This was not a season that was a 'lost cause' from day 1. When the Raps opened the season with Evans dominating the boards, the team had enough rebounding power to match -- even outmatch -- the better rebounding teams in the league. There was a night in November where we lost to the Lakers by 5 points. We outrebounded them by 18 boards and yet they had 13 more free throws than us -- the difference in the game. There were still issues with the team -- bad defense, too many turnovers, players were inconsistent, but we were a good fast break team, good in the paint, had good depth and scoring from the bench...But then Evans goes down, then Weems, then Barbosa, and the team has shown huge, glaring structural flaws. Mainly with the bigs who aren't big, with Bargnani's defense and rebounding, and with scoring from the SF and bench. Bargnani and DeRozan are being focused on by defenses. BC had that trade for Chandler and Diaw that fell through and would have helped immensely (even with the loss of Calderon and Evans) but has not compensated with the arrival of another meaningful big man since. That has been the team's downfall more than anything -- an inability to sustain the losses of Evans, Weems, and then Barbosa was the icing on the cake. The GM has got to compensate when the team takes a 'huge structural hit' -- and BC didn't. Why trade for Peja if you didn't plan to use him? And then broadcast that fact. At the same time trading away some of your depth with Andersen and Banks making it basically a 'three for one trade' -- Bayliss for Jack, Andersen, and Banks. I like Bayliss but not that much.