Guess I take back what I said; thanks, American Airlines

Well, well, well.

Seems the boading process was just a psych job, we’re half an hour delayed at least and that’s just enough time to get this done.

And it takes the pressure off at the other end.

-

THREE POINTERS

Well …

What did you think of him?

Blake Griffin, of course, or The Next Big Thing.

Tell you the truth, I was a bit underwhelmed but I’ll cut the kid a little bit of slack since it’s about Rookie Wall time, middle of a long road trip, bad team, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

He does seem to play hard – although there were a few loafing defensive plays I happened to catch – and seems to have great footwork around the basket.

He’s good, definitely the rookie of year and he could be extra special when it’s all done; off one game, I’m not quite ready to call Springfield yet.

-

Whose fault is it?

Hey, did you see early in the game when Randy Foye absolutely blew by DeMar DeRozan and finished with a big dunk?

Then did you see DeMar turn around and look at Amir and say, “where the bleep were you?”

And Amir took full responsibility for blowing the help, he turned to DeRozan and said, ‘yep, you’re right’ and things were all well and good.

While that’s not quite the kind of “communication” coaches want (they’d rather it comes before the uncontested dunk, you know) at least there was recognition that something bad had happened and responsibility taken.

-

An odd, odd look

Were you as surprised as I was to see Trey Johnson out on the floor to finish off the first half?

With Jose, against a backcourt of Bledsoe and Davis, as I recall.

All part of the pre-game planning, according to Jay.

“Trey’s a little bit bigger and we could put him on Baron Davis, he could be a little bit more physical, and that stopped him from trying to go down into the low post area and try to post up. When they went with two smalls, like we knew they would, we talked about different rotations and who could guard who down there.”

-

More?

I’ve got some.

-

Here’s one for you:

How would have liked Blake Griffin in a Raptors uniform?

You have to trust me on this but it comes from a guy I trust without doubt and it works like this.

Way back after the Clips on the lottery, there was a call made to determine if there was any interest in a deal that would have sent Chris Bosh to the Clippers for the No. 1 overall pick with Toronto willing to take back the then-monstrous contract of Baron Davis in the deal.

Didn’t happen, too bad.

-

Time to say thanks.

Checked out the counter thingy on the hits to this place Sunday morning to get a mail bag answer and I see it’s gone over the 16,000,000 mark.

I realize it’s a function of time as much as anything but, really, a word of thanks to the Irregulars and others who keep coming here, even when things are bad with the team.

-

Oh, yeah, Super Wife, you there?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

-

Okay, how about this:

The league leader in dunks is Dwight Howard, who had 145 before the game against the Lakers on Sunday.

The leading Raptor?

Amir Johnson, who had 57 before Sunday.

Not sure what it means but I bet some of you will find it marginally interesting.

-

Pitchers and catchers today or this week?

Outstanding.

-

From the Department of Glutton For Punishment, I offer:

Guess where I am or are going.

Indianapolis, depending on when you’re reading this.

Yeah, I haven’t had enough of that fine city and relish the chance of a snow and/or ice storm but am headed back to catch up with that Bosh fellow for a day or two (Miami gets the Pacers on Tuesday) before the Heat hit Toronto on Wednesday night.

I have no idea what he’s going to say about coming back, or whether he’ll have any nugget of news to impart but as I told a friend the other day, you never know what might happen.

Besides, two days of not having to go to practice here might be the kind of break I need heading into the all-star break.

-

How’d that Raptors-Clippers game go over in Los Angeles?

Let’s check the pages of the Times, shall we?

-

So for some reason known only to the people who control the channel-changer at this little bar I go to after games, I got to watching the end of Grammy Awards with someone who knows far, far, far more about current music than I do.

Turns out the dude Wyn Butler from Arcade Fire, yeah, the ones who won the big award at the end of the show, is a big basketball fan – big guy, too, at about 6-7 – and he plays a little bit, as well.

Plays so much that after some gig they did here in the summer, I guess it was, he and a couple of his buddies that got hooked up in a little pickup game with noted music fan Matt Bonner.

Man, the crap you learn here! Impressive, no?

-

You saw the little contretemps between Jose and Baron Davis, right?

The one where Davis got the technical foul?

Well, seems there was nothing really untoward about it, Jose said he had the ball after a whistle, Davis wanted, Jose didn’t want to give it up and Davis said something inappropriate.

But the two seemed to be going at it pretty hard at it all night and when I asked Jose after the game if there’s any history or bad blood between the two, he was genuinely surprised.

Seems Calderon and Davis are both clients of the shoe company Li Ning, they spent time together in China this past summer and if there are issues, it’s news to Jose.

-

All right, now it’s almost time to board again. Really. Or at least that’s what they say.

-

Oh yeah, because of the travel and now the delay, no idea when I'll get to the comments, but I will.

 

Comments

[jimt]

matt bonner what a rock star.lol it seems beiber fever is hitting the celeb all star game as well,GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Canada baby baby baby oh,i mean eh!
p.s happy Vday to my wife,mistress and mom luvya lots :)

[Peter]

I joined the IGBT a bit late yesterday, and started watching the game around the same time. I have to admit, I was a little surprised to see Blake's stats at the end of the game. It may have been ho-hum to watch, but 21 points and 15 rebounds is extremely impressive for a rookie. The fact that he's hitting double double's more then not, makes last night's game a very typical Blake Griffin performance. No YouTube moments, but flat out incredible stats. I loved what Ed Davis did, as did you, but I don't think I would have downplayed Blake Griffen as much as you did in the IGBT, or the post game story. It could be argued that he's the only reason that the Clips were in the game.

[Dan W]

Your not gaining BC any more fans by telling us there was a chance he could have Gotten Blake Griffen for Bosh instead of the trade exemption and a couple of low first round picks. Although I imagine all of us Raptors fans would have been equally mad last year with Griffen out injured and Bosh putting in a career year stat wise.

[Mike D.]

My favourite sequence of the game: Jose tries to stop a two-on-one fast break, Griffin catches a lob and throws down a huge dunk then gives Jose a "take that" glare. Astonishingly, at the other end Andrea drives, puts a shoulder into Griffin, plants him in the front row AND gets the blocking foul call. It was great to see the Raps willing to go toe-to-toe in a physical game.

[JHK]

Is that it for the super wife? A shout-out on the blog?
I wish it was that easy...

[O.J.]

Hey Doug, I wouldn't comment on trade speculation but since you posted it..... A deal for Blake Griffin and Baron Davis (still a pretty serviceable starting pg who can penetrate defenses) in exchange for Bosh would seem like a no-brainer wouldn't it? It would've have at least bolstered our starting lineup significantly with B. Davis, DD, Weems, Bargs and Blake Griffin...Jose, Davis, Amir and Barbosa coming off the bench.

[SEAN]

Why oh why Doug did you have to tell us about that supposed traded scenario between the Raps and Clips on draft day? You realize this will be the topic d'jour for the next 10 years right? I won't be able to work all day knowing this could have happened. Almost as bad as the Kobe for HWSNBN trade rumours back in the old regime which I just got over yesterday. I jest of course. Have a happy V "the final battle" day!

[LeeZ]

Hey Doug, you said "a call was made". Just curious: was the call to the Raptors or from the Raptors?

Blogger's note: I believe the call was initiated in Canada

[Kent]

"Way back after the Clips on the lottery, there was a call made to determine if there was any interest in a deal that would have sent Chris Bosh to the Clippers for the No. 1 overall pick with Toronto willing to take back the then-monstrous contract of Baron Davis in the deal."

Doug, but this is good info.

I must say however that, just for this alone, Colangelo should have been fired. All that stuff about no one really knew if Bosh would leave at the time is bull. Everybody (even Jalen Rose, though he got the team wrong) knew he was leaving. But no, let's keep Bosh and surround him with as many Europeans as we can find. This is sick.

Blogger's note: Jalen didn't "know" anything more than you did two years ago. Don't kid yourself, please. And what if it was Toronto that initiated the call? Anyone getting fired for that?

[Lorie]

Hi Doug,
Back to Indy??? For a Bosh tete-a-tete??? C'mon, surely it has waaaay more to do with St. Elmo's and some firey horseradish than a chance to probe the thoughts of a milquetoast hoopster? Anyway, it'll be our little secret. So, a few firsts last night. Blake Griffin to the ACC where he was upstaged by (a very deserving) Ed Davis. Good on Davis, I say. Ed strikes me as a kid with a very very promising future with the Raptors. Hope he was encouraged by his own performance last night. And speaking of encouragement....how about another rookie performance last night? That one at the Grammy's? For his rookie performance at that event, I saw an energetic and confident performance, that belied his years. No, not that Bieber kid! I'm talking Mick Jagger!!!(Couldn't believe he'd never done the Grammy's.)Can that guy (still) perform! There's Celebrities, there's Rock Stars and then there's Legends. To enjoy his tribute to Solomon Burke was to watch a legend at work! Did you see it? Safe travels, and savour that shrimp!

[JohnnyB]

Morning Doug,
Am I crazy to suggest that Bargnani seems to be a lot fearless in the clutch compared to the one that faltered in the situations in CB1?
Anyways, great win. Love the Blog

[Nick M]

Just want to add a fourth pointer.

Demar's hustle.

At the end of the half the Clips find Jordan on a leak out. The closest man to him is Demar (who I believe was involved at the end of the previous play-so he's definitely not expected to guard against the outlet) and he looks out of reach. In this situation it is usual to see the chaser give him the dunk and end the half but Demar noticed it was a bad free throw shooter and used all his athleticism (not sure if any other Rap could have caught up to him) to track him down and prevent the easy dunk. It also served the added benefit of allowing the crowd to witness and jeer, the always entertaining, airball from the free throw line.

Even as he is becoming a focus on the offensive end it is nice to see Demar still doing the little things!

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Hope springs eternal – Spring Training! Cue the Snoopy dance music!
Happy Boshing, Doug. Would you mind asking how he's coming along, redeeming those godawful "seven years to make up for"? Or maybe he'll take you up on an offer to rephrase that bit now. Thanks.
Cheers. Go Raps!

[JW]

Wow, Baron Davis and Blake Griffin would have been a really nice trade for Bosh. Doug, any idea on who made the initial call and which team rejected the deal?

Blogger's note: I believe the call was initiated in Canada

[Morty]

Doug,
Please spread the word to all the irregulars out there, and tell them to tell all their friends at the game Wednesday. Can we please not give Chris Bosh the Vince Carter treatment? His situation was nothing like Carter's. Carter signed his contract then decided to quit on the team. Bosh gave everything he had every night to this franchise. He wanted to win in Toronto. It wasn't happening so when his contract was up he decided to go somewhere else and try a different approach. He should be greeted with a thunderous ovation for everything he did for the Raptors franchise.
(Not to mention, as the Cavs fans reminded us earlier, the fans here don't need to get this Heat team fired up).

[The J]

So we could have had Blake Griffin, the most exciting and possibly most full of potential rookie since Bron Bron? And all it would have cost us was a guy who we all knew was probably leaving and having to suck it up and take Boom Dizzle for couple years? Wow, Blake Griffin and Baron Davis sound a lot better than a trade exception. I guess we can add another strike to BCo's record. But I guess hindsight is 20/20, and the reality is it wasn't Blake it was the #1 pick. Which means there was all together the possibility it would have been Bosh for the selection of some European project we had never heard of.

Sorry, that's angstier or me than usual. And on Valentine's day no less.

Blogger's note: Well done on the jumping to conclusions department. Wrong, but what's that matter, right?

[The J]

I guess reading the comments and bloggers notes I should take back what I just said. If BCo initiated the call he has done nothing wrong and was actually looking for the right move. Still too bad it didn't happen. Also as far as Griffen getting hurt last year. There is no guarantee that would have happened as it was in a Clippers uniform, and in the What if game of life anything could have changed by being in a Raptors uniform (slightly less bad luck I guess).

[LeeZ]

"Blogger's note: Well done on the jumping to conclusions department. Wrong, but what's that matter, right?"
Doug, you may be regretting giving us that little morsel of "the trade that could have been". No doubt you will be inundated, and this is already my second missive on the topic, so I admit I'm one of the inundators. So how about this: is there any way you could post, with as much clarity as you can without betraying your source(s), as many details as you can? For example, you've already indicated that you believe the Raps initiated the call. Do you happen to know whether Bosh for Blake and Baron was the Clippers' suggestion or the Raps'? And do you know who turned it down? And if it was, indeed, the Raps who initiated the call, does that not seem to indicate that they were interested in trading Bosh rather than holding onto him and building around him? Basically, any details you feel comfortable adding to what you've already given would be greatly appreciated. In any event, thanks for the scoop!

[sam]

I just love the diverse reactions you get when you supply a bit of information to us - You tell us a call was made to see if there was any interest with a proposed deal Bosh for Davis and the first over all pick -
From that I take "a call was made" and there was no interest - It sounds like
BC was doing his job to improve the team - just like he was doing in the summer when the the trade with Charlotte fell through.
So tell me - Why would anyone call for his firing? Becasue he was looking at options. To assume that everybody including a talking head like Jalen Rose knew Bosh was going to leave is something I don't really buy into.

A nice game yesterday - A win is a win, even against a team like the Clippers. It was good to see some toughness from unlikely sources - Andrea and Jose. Davis pretty solid, and foul troubles aside Amir gave it his all.

[The J]

Doug, well I read your response to my 1st post after I admitted I had pegged the situation wrong. My original thought was that it was more likely people calling the Raps to aquire about Bosh than the other way around, because at the time the Raptors were taking the wait and see approach on his future in Toronto. Or at least that's what they were saying publicly. The fact that they were calling ANYONE at that time is actually a little surprising. In fact, I would think the signing of Hedo was a major indication that they were hoping to keep Bosh, and were of the belief he would stay the whole time. But like I admitted I did jump to conclusions. I guess as a Raptors fan you get used to seeing great opportunities slip through our collective fingers. And despite being once a strong believer in Colangelo, my faith has definetly slipped in the last few years.

[m]

" But I guess hindsight is 20/20" when your head is up your butt.

[Derek S]

Afternoon Doug,
So I'm trying to do a little "reading between the lines" here. Since you disclosed the nugget about the #1pick & Baron Davis for Bosh phone call, people seem to be up in arms about the fact that this is apparently another "black mark" on BC's record. You noted in response to several comments that the call about this deal was actually initiated from Toronto's end (as far as you're aware).

Based on this info, it appears that BC and Raps management WERE willing to part ways with Chris Bosh, had the Clips been agreeable to this proposal. This runs contrary to the opinion that many people seem to hold, that BC was blindly willing to hold onto CB4 until the bitter end, on the off-chance that he might decide to stay in Toronto.

So if anything, we should credit BC & the Raps for the fact that they "attempted" to make a play such as this (and managed to keep it quiet). You can't fault BC for the fact that the Clips decided to gamble on the draft pick, rather than taking Bosh.

As someone else commented earlier, if the Clips had agreed to this deal, BC would've no doubt been vilified at the time for giving up Bosh (the face of the franchise) in exchange for a draft pick. Even more so after Griffin got injured for all of last season. And in spite of the negative blow-back he would've received for trading Bosh at that time, he was still pursuing the deal anyway - if the version we've heard of this is accurate, I say kudos to BC.

[J]

I keep hearing the following theme in the comments today (and I paraphrase):

"We could have had Blake Griffin? Fire BC/BC sucks."

Could have? Only if it was BC who turned the deal down. But good on almost everyone for jumping to conclusions. Also, at least try to judge the offer from the viewpoint of before the 2009 draft. I thought Griffin would be solid, but had no idea he'd be this good. Don't kid yourself thinking hindsight makes you smarter than you really are. Same with the "everyone knew Bosh was leaving" crap. "Everyone knows" every player worth a damn wants out of Toronto. "Everyone knows" Toronto is a horrible place to live. "Everyone knows" Toronto fans are some of the dumbest in the league. If we're going by what "everyone knows", then don't all of those oft-heard/read statements have to be true?

[J]

Also, if people thought logically, they'd realize that even without being told that the call originated from BC's camp, it's less than likely that it was a done deal just waiting for BC's signature. The #1 pick just to dump a big contract for potentially a one-year rental? I'm sorry, but if I'm Clippers management, I'd seek confirmation that Bosh would be willing to sign an extension after the trade. But I guess since "everyone knew" Bosh was going to leave Toronto to join [friends/a winner] in [NY/Chicago/Miami/NJ] and become a true [superstar/3rd fiddle], I'm sure the Clippers felt confident he would sign an extension even without asking!

[MJ Walk]

Great game for Ed Davis--not the flashy dunks that everyone goes nuts over but just a solid game. Wouldn't it be great to have a team like the Pistons of 5-10 years ago--no super stars that need to be coddled, but just a team of solid players that know how to win.
With regards to the Grammy awards--it appears that the Canadian press has failed to cover the lifetime achievement award given to George Beverly Shea. Born Winchester Ontario February 1, 1909, Shea is still singing at 102 years of age. He holds the record for singing live to the most people ever with the estimate being about 220 million or more over his career. Also 16 consecutive weeks at MSG, seven nights a week to sold out crowds. I don't believe this man has ever been given the order of Canada or one of our other major awards. How Sad!