A bit of fraying at the edges for the first time

Well, wasn’t that something?

Now, I was out and didn’t pay a whole lot of attention after the first, oh, seven minutes so I don’t think I can get to the usual format.

Maybe tomorrow if tonight’s any better but not today.

So …

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ONE POINT

If you’ve read Dave’s piece from the game, you’ll know there was a bit of an issue between Jay and Julian Wright, who refused to go into the game.

That can only mean one thing:

They’ll need to suspend Julian for a game for the usual “conduct detrimental to the team” reason they always give.

Now, you know I quite like Julian, he’s a hard worker, maybe the hardest worker on the team, but you cannot behave like that without there being repercussions.

The funny thing is, I don’t think anyone saw anything like this coming. The one thing about this team that’s stood out all season is how they did keep working and got along and suffered the losses without any noticeable fractures or anything.

I guess there always comes a point when people do irrational and wrong things and a beat-down administered like the one last night must have been the breaking point.

I don’t think there are any long-term problems but this is an incident that has to be dealt with. And from what I know of professional athletes and coaches, it’ll be dealt with and they will move on.

And I imagine everyone’s pretty dang happy that there are only 10 games left before the season is over.

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Now, on to more.

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So now I get it.

You come for the basketball but stay for the TV theme songs.

I love this place.

(Most of the time).

And I figure the numbers are down but the comments are up and I’m guessing if we do a few other-than-basketball-things once this season comes to a close, we’ll be all right.

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This is too much.

OMG, LOL? In the dictionary?

Isn’t a dictionary where you go to, you know, find words?

Really.

Now, I know I’m not perfect and certainly don’t speak the King’s English or spell it right all the time but, come on.

The ruination of the language continues.

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How’d that play in San Francisco?

This is how.

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Yes we have winners in the contest and I think they’ve all been notified.

I’m told the numbers were once again quite good, somewhere north of 1,500 so, again, thanks very much.

And we’ll see some of you, I hope, at the game Wednesday.

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There’s all kinds of mail, it seems, which will give me something to do after a drive to the peninsula; this one is an early snippet:

Q: Hi Doug. The acquisition of James Johnson has been a really pleasant surprise. He has the size, defense, and handle that make me think at the tender age of 23 he has a lot of upside. Do you think anyone in Chicago is thinking that they might have let a good one get away?

 

Andy F, Aberdeen

A: Nah. Given their circumstances, maybe the best team in the East, Luol Deng playing well, the financial benefits they got moving Johnson, I’m sure the Bulls are just fine. You never want to let a young talent go away for nothing but they can live with the repercussions of their decision quite happily.

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Man, do I know how to pick ‘em or what?

NCAA games, that is.

But incorrect prognostications aside, is there a better story in all of basketball than the Butler Bulldogs?

Tiny school, kids who aren’t likely to be NBAers, at least not significant NBAers, and they’re on the verge of two Final Fours in two years?

Not bad and I guess it’s the best thing about that tournament.

I remember covering the Final Four that George Mason was in a few years back in Indy. I stayed at the same hotel as the team and with the other giant programs there – I believe it was Florida, UCLA and LSU – it was great to see a bunch of kids no one had heard perform on such a large stage.

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So, what to expect tonight in Los Angeles?

Well, I know everyone connected with team is tired, most are probably quite cranky and they can see the end of a long and difficult trip on the horizon and a lot of them will just want it over.

So, you can see that it all adds up to Blake Griffin having about seven zillion dunks and another dull night for the HOTH as they get ready to come limping home.

Or maybe we get one of those “That’s why they …” moments.

Kinda makes you want to stay up a bit late and see what transpires, doesn’t it?

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Comments

[Kristian]

Bargnani - ZERO rebounds in 27 minutes. And this is our best player folks.
Doug can you please see if there's a stat for the most minutes played by a 7 footer who did not get a rebound in a game?

[Johnn19]

Goodbye to Julian Wright, good luck on finding an NBA job next year.

[Johnn19]

Doug, did not watch the game, what happened to Calderon, who only played 13 minutes in the 1st half ?

Blogger's note: Don't know, haven't spoken to anyone in California yet today

[dribbles]

You can argue that Wright should have gone into the game, but if you ask me Triano showed disrespect to Wright by asking him to play in that game in the first place.

Wright has barely played in weeks, only getting into a game or two if it's already out of hand, and he barely played even before James Johnson came over. Everything I've read and seen with my own eyes tells me Wright worked as hard as anyone on the team (practice from what I've read, and in games) and apart from maybe Amir, played more consistent defence and with more consistent energy than any other player on the team.

I know Triano has his fans but I'm not one of them. You can't say you value defence and you can't say you're going to hold guys accountable when you pin your best wing defender to the bench and you don't bench the guys who are clearly slacking. Wright didn't do himself any favours in a contract year but I totally support his decision. Triano gets a free ride in this city ostensibly because his roster is severely lacking in talent, but other coaches have done a lot more with poor rosters. I'll be really interested to see if he's back next season.

Blogger's note: Showed disrespect by telling a professional basketball player to go play in a game?????? Wow.

[Dave]

Doug:
I think everybody is surprised by Julian's reaction. It will be interesting to see how he explains it. In the post game scrum Jay said he went to the washroom just before that and maybe wasn't feeling well.

As for new words, they also added muffin top.I have heard that word around my house for some time now. However, it is a word that should come with a warning to all men. It is best not to add it to your vocabulary as you will suffer consequences every time you use it. Don't try it in any conversation with Super Wife. You have been warned.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

So much for those "ain't gonna let it happen again" mental notes from the Denver game... that's one mighty short collective attention span. Is this what happens when a young, undermanned team gets hung out to dry at the trade deadline? Sure starting to look that way. Cheers. Go fish.

[Diablo]

Jose had an injury...icing down leg during game...I'm guessing he's out tonight?

[coachd]

If the Raps are looking for someone to sit on the bench and just come in during blow-out games and pay them 2.85 million for doing that. I'm their man. Julian Wright deserves the benefit of the doubt because he seems like a good guy and , in some way, I can understand his frustration, but that was not a good move on his part.

[Matt M]

Ruination of the English language? I'm sure Shakespeare or Hemingway would cringe at the way most things are written now. Including this blog. So if you want to 'preserve' the English language you really have to start by stating which point in history we should all arbitrarily hold as the standard. It's not like the English language was static before the current crop of teenagers found texting or twitter.

[Blake Kennedy]

I fully support Julian Wright. That halfwit at the head of the bench has turned us into the worst defensive team in the league for the second year in a row (something that's only been done once before in NBA history, by the 1997-8 and 1998-9 Denver Nuggets), and with the SF position wide open all game because James Johnson was playing a lot of minutes at PF, he chose not to go to Julian Wright despite seeing this team get obliterated. Not even for a possession or two to see if he could change the game. Not until the game was into a 30-plus point deficit.
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Triano has conducted himself like a disgrace and allowed this team of wimps to disrespect the game ever since he took over. Now he asks Julian to go in there when the game is a whitewashing and take partial blame for what happened? When he was ready earlier? Good on Julian to refuse. It's about time somebody drew a big, red circle around the leadership of this team and that's what he did. Kudos. Suspended? He deserves a handshake and a raise.
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Some players should be suspended for multiple games for conduct detrimental to the team after last night's show, starting with Andrea Bargnani. Hell, the way he's played here in the 5 years he's been here, he should be suspended for multiple seasons for conduct detrimental to the team. 27 minutes, zero rebounds, zero steals, zero blocks. I shudder at the thought of him being here any longer.

[elwyn jennings]

i kinda thought that the dictionary was a place to find words?? well, in a hundred years, if LOL and OMG are no longer common words, where else might they be found? Acronyms are, generally, found in the OED; check, for example, NATO...which, surely, is not a word.

And seriously, the term 'aggression' is misused by sports doods so badly that it should make a purist cringe.

[Robert Bertuzzi]

Good for Julian Wright. Every time the GM brings in one of his reclamation projects (and perhaps Julian is one himself though he seems more like a trade throw-in) the coach either has to or feels compelled to trot them out there on a too regular basis for, I suppose, evaluation purposes. In the process, by all accounts, a hard-working, good teammate like Julian Wright gets bumped out of the rotation.

If these new players were good and the team was winning, fine. But Alexis Ajinca, might love his mom and dad and be a humanitarian with a Noble Prize in his future but he is a terrible basketball player. Jerryd Bayless is at least a legitimate NBAer but gets limited burn on a (really) good team (which is still the long term goal here, right?) and the latest and greatest saviour James Johnson should concern himself more with using his right-hand to put the ball in the basket rather than using his right foot to kick balls out of the basket. If he is so enamored with the latter maybe he should try his hand (or foot) at soccer.

And since these players are 23 years old (or soon to be) and 24 years old then we can say that they will not be the star turn this franchise desperately needs and which was acknowledged yesterday. With the oddest of exceptions, the true stars in this league are all-stars by this age.

[Jeff]

A lot of you people on here are delusional. If a player refuses to enter a game (that's his damn job) then a suspension, fine or release would be in order. Who cares how many minutes this guy has played or that he worked so hard and never got into a game, when called upon you do your job. If he was any good he would have been getting more minutes anyway. If truly this was a sign of disrespect then I hope his NBA playing days are over. The coddling has got to stop.

[Wallace]

The Warriors are a team with not much of an interior presence. The Raptors have a 7 foot center drafted No. 1 in the entire draft. In 28 minutes he puts up 7 points, 0 rebounds, 0 blocks. No heart. No guts. No pride. Disgusting display.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=612860564]

Julian has every right to be feel disrespected. To be asked to go into a game down 30+ points in the 3rd? He should have been inserted in the first 8 minutes when the game was getting out of hand don't you think? He's not the best offensive player but last night, no one was. He might be one of the best defensive players on the team and doesn't even get called upon in the first??? Cmon Doug, stop turning a blind eye on the way Triano coaches. This team lacks D and consistency on both ends so if the main problem is the D, then why not have Julian out there? Not like anyone else was playing D.

[HopeCaper]

Hey Doug, I didn't see that one coming either. Julian always seemed to have a positive attitude, what a shame. Just as amazing to me is that somehow someone can look at this situation and blame Jay. Fringe players are going to sit from time to time as the staff gets a look at different players in different situations. Julian must know that.
While I understand the team is tired I think it is telling what happens to this team with no rebounders and no Jose. In truth this game is an indictment of the rest of the players. Bayless has a long way to go and any false sense he might have of being a premier player coming from a better team should now be gone. While he is getting better at not turning the ball over, his shot and pass selections are sometimes brutal and runs the offence off the track. He has work to do. Sonny is playing like he doesn't want a contract and maybe he doesn't with the Raps. Ajinca is too similar too Andrea and really just a poor imitation of him. I don't think any team can carry two of them. 20 feet and in Andrea is pretty accurate and I'm not sure why Jay and the team isn't insisting that he stop floating on the 3 line. I wouldn't mind him being out there if he were just out there for the occasonal shot but unfortunately he is out there a lot and doesn't get the ball ( nor should he all the time as he isn't lights out from there) and so he has nothing to offer inside. He tries to put the ball on the floor and the only move he makes is the fake shot to draw the foul. Most of the time he can't create for himself. Certainly James, DeRozen, Sonny, Jose, Jared, to name a few all need to step up their game when it comes to creating for themselves and their mates. I think some of the uncertainty earlier in the year about how good or how bad this team is due to injuries is starting to clear up.

[Aditya]

one of the raps assistants was talking to julian wright during the first half....the tall white guy who is a new assistant this year on the raps.....(i forgot his name, gimme a break)..... wright was muttering stuff after he left as well....i knew something was wrong then....

jay triano has lost his players... honestly, whats there not to understand..... you dont play defense, you dont win games......61% is what GSW shot last night.......

[Aditya]

one of the raps assistants was talking to julian wright during the first half....the tall white guy who is a new assistant this year on the raps.....(i forgot his name, gimme a break)..... wright was muttering stuff after he left as well....i knew something was wrong then....

jay triano has lost his players... honestly, whats there not to understand..... you dont play defense, you dont win games......61% is what GSW shot last night.......

also, i am happy julian wright is standing up for what he thinks is right...the guy is intangibles and there has to be a place for an intangibles guy like him on this team which lacks defensive values.....why didnt triano put him in during the second quarter....why wait till the 3rd quarter when the game was pretty much over.....why is a 7 footer shooting big man who struggles laterally like bargnani (i am tlaking about ajinca) playing....

furthermore, i remember bargnani talking about running up and down the court a few years ago when BC came to toronto and was talking about running up and down the court (ala phoenix suns, altho not quite 100 shots per game)....hes like (i am paraphrasing): "I would love to run up and down the court, i think i am more suited to that, would be a lot of fun".....and you can see by example of last night, that bargnani is not suited to a helter-skelter type of a game where you need to have basketball instincts, because he has none.... he's so much more mechanical now than he was and its hurting his ability to play better basketball.....

honestly, DEFENSE.....(what the hell are the raps chanting in the huddles when they huddle, something like "lets lose this game so that we can finish this season and go on vacation")......

[Joe]

Hi Doug,

Who are you picking in today's NCAA matchups: Butler, Florida, Conneticut, or Arizona. Thanks

[paolo - Roma]

Doug, I never can accept to see a player refusing to play. He receives money just to play. Maybe he is an hard worker but he is not enough clever to deserve to play in the league. Does he not want to go on the floor? The team must suspend his contract's payments immediatly for his behaviour.

[Eddy]

I wonder if anyone is going to be disciplined for serving Toronto fans the same substandard product, year after year? Like Wright, the fans should refuse to enter the game until someone figures out how to prevent them from reaching new levels of futility and setting all the embarrassing records in the NBA

[J]

@dribbles:

"but if you ask me Triano showed disrespect to Wright by asking him to play in that game in the first place."

I'm sorry, but who should Triano have played instead? Barbosa, apparently. I suppose Wright deserves more respect than Barbosa?

If Wright refuses to play during garbage time, and he doesn't get to play during non-garbage time, then I take it he just wants to be paid ~$3 mil for doing nothing? If he truly didn't feel well last night, then fine, I take all of this back, but if it was just a matter of "respect", I don't care if he's normally a hard worker or the team's best defender, he can stay at home if he maintains that attitude.

[AT]

who the heck to "JULIAN WRIGHT" think he is????
What a bunch of baloney!!!
And even still what he did, Jay let him try to save face by saying that maybe he wasn't feeling well.
I think this deserves much more than a one game suspension... but it does not matter, for sure, it sealed his departure from this team... one way or another in the not too distinct future.....

[rob]

sorry doug, but dribbles is right. if jay feels wright's not good enough to play in a close game, then why ask him to play in a blowout.

[Thane]

Doug, dictionaries are descriptive historical books, not normative books. They don't say how the language should be, only how it's being used.

Lol is a word commonly used by millions.