A night of dubious achievements

Truly a series of unrelated random items today; it’s one of those days the morning after a dreadful game and a day that was spent mainly in the room writing.

With an off-day in Phoenix, we should be better tomorrow.

Or not.

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THREE POINTERS

Like it was unexpected …

Yes, the HOTH got drilled, never really in the game, not a whole lot of energy and they couldn’t really make a shot which let the Nuggets run and transition defence is not this team’s forte at the best of times, it certainly wasn’t going to be against one of the fastest offences in the league.

So what’s it all mean?

Nothing, really.

As we’ve said now for months, this version of this Toronto team is not particularly good and prone to wild bouts of inconsistency because they are young, some of them are probably worn out from the season and losing begets losing in many cases.

But to put a lot of weight on Monday’s outcome?

Nah.

Chalk it up to a bad game by an inconsistent team and hope they have more gas tomorrow in Phoenix.

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A big number

There’s a boxscore anomaly we look for every now and then known as a trillion, or two trillion or three trillion.

It’s when a guy plays whatever minutes and doesn’t do a thing. No shots, no rebounds, no fouls, no assists, no steals, no nothing.

Now, a garbage time one trillion’s no big deal, happens fairly often to end-of-benchers but we got one last night I don’t think I’ve seen in a long, long time.

Julian Wright had a 10 trillion.

He was on the court for 10 minutes, 16 seconds with nothing. Nada. Zip.

Now, I quite like Julian and there are aspects of his game I’m impressed with but, wow, that’s a feat.

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Things I never thought I’d see …

They put these little notes on the end of final boxscores that have notable individual performances highlighted.

These two tell you what kind of night it was:

MEMO: Ajinca career high rebounds, was 6 vs. G.S. on 12/7/10

MEMO: Ajinca season high points, was 10, done twice, last at Charlotte on 2/22/11.

Yep, big night indeed.

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Here we go with the more.

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I haven’t been around in a few days, anyone seen Sherm Hamilton dancing in the streets wearing his Virginia Commonwealth jersey? And to you NCAA aficionados out there, how cool is that two schools from Richmond, Va., are in the Sweet 16 and only two from the Big East are?

Guess that’s why they play the games.

(Hey, that’s quite an astute statement, isn’t it?)

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This is what kind of day I had yesterday, which I believe was a first in all my years.

I flew from one city to another and got to the new hotel in time to have breakfast in the concierge lounge before it closed for the morning.

I wouldn’t recommend it.

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When good guys do good things, you get this.

My man E. Smith, he of the dulcet tones and the Raptors insight, has branched out a wee bit into the world of fashion.

Now, Irregulars know me and fashion so take this for what it’s worth but Eric’s got this fund-raising thing going on for Japan disaster relief that you should really take a look at.

He’s designed a T-shirt that you can buy, with the proceeds going to help send some money over to Japan in the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami.

You can go here to buy it and here to learn all about it and I suggest you do.

Oh, as my inner fashionista says the shirts look cool.

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I cannot think of a more stark contrast in NBA crowds that going from Oklahoma City to Denver on back-to-back nights.

Super-charged to somnambulant.

And while the PA dude in Oklahoma was way over the top and the noise was incessant every timeout and stoppage in play there was a genuineness to it that was kind of refreshing.

Monday in Denver?

Yawn.

The place wasn’t full – the Nuggets aren’t a great draw yet – and, yes, the game stunk but even with that, there was still a feeling of boredom or something that pervaded the arena.

I guess there’s some middle ground but right now if you ask me, I want the noise because it was fun.

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So my spies tell me Kirstie Alley was the surprise hit of the opening night of DWTS? That true?

Oh, and one report said:

“The football player is quite good. The wrestler not so much. Worst guy was someone no one has heard of.”

And, you know, I know what all that means but I’m also glad I’ll be home next week to put names to the, um, descriptions.

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Contest?

Right. The contest.

It’s here, it’s for tickets for the Milwaukee game next week (six sets of two) and the skill testing question, I think is relatively easy.

It’s not like we’re asking you a Geometry 101 question like a the definition of octahedron or anything.

(No, I have no idea what that means but I presume it’s got something to do with eight)

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How did they report on that one from the Denver viewpoint?

You can see right here.

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Here’s one out of the mail:

Q: Hi Doug,. Just finished watching the HBO doc on the Running Rebels of UNLV. Coach Tarkanian mentioned Lloyd Daniels and I remember him playing for the Raptors for a brief period. Do you recall his time with the team? Any stories?

Thanks

 

 

Sonny B, Toronto

A: I saw that one Sunday morning, too. Pretty good look at that program.

Anyway, Sweet Pea was a 10-day guy in a wretched year, he played six games in January, 1997 (mid-way through the horror of the 16-66 season) and I remember him having a big night and pretty much winning a game for them in Cleveland.

About three days later, he was gone, never to return.

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I never, ever get invited to weddings like this.

Ever.

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I knew there was something odd about this trip, quite aside from the gorgeous weather we’ve had in Oklahoma and Denver and how it made me remember that it can indeed be nice outside.

It’s that we came to Denver from the East and that never happens.

We always seem to get here from the West, losing an hour and dealing with the altitude and being tired the whole trip.

And, yes, a quick check of the guide shows that we’ve come from west of here every year since the 2001-02 season and on five occasions since then the games here have been at the end of a back-to-back, which is another blow to any chance they’d have to win.

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Comments

[Steve]

Forget the NCAA -- everybody should check out the end of this Unicaja Malaga/Real Madrid game, complete with Garbo highlights.

Wow.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zijh7EAAH6g&feature=player_embedded

[Mike D.]

Doug, I apologize but I didn't see any of last night's game. Would you mind telling me who JJ was usually assigned to guard when he was on the court? In particular, I'm curious whether Jay tried him against someone like Harrington, who usually causes match-up problems against pure PFs or smaller wings.

Blogger's note: He had a little Chandler, a little Harrington, a little Smith

[Johnn19]

With Denver 27-7 at home and Raptors 6-28 on the road going in, and their team history at the Mile High stadium, any other result would have been the biggest upset of the year in the NBA.

Tough role for J. Wright who has been made redundent by JJohnson, and only played 9 mins previously, since JJ arrived, and 17 mins in the last 17 games.

For interest's sake Raptors after the Denver debacle are now 5-8 W/L with JJ starting, not great but better, and more competitive.

[Brent]

Doug, will Julian be getting the gears from other NBA players today after his, uh, amazing(?) statistical feat last night?

Blogger's note: No

[LeeZ]

@Steve: OH. MY. GOD!!! That is hysterical! Thanks for that clip. And you're right, this is an absolute MUST-SEE. I don't speak a word of Spanish, but I love it when Garbo blocks that shot and the announcer talks about "casa", presumably a Spanish riff on "not in MY house". And not that I have anything against Matt Devlin, but can we fire Matt and hire the announcer in the clip? He's amazing! Watch the clip, and watch it all the way to the end. You won't regret it.

[LeeZ]

One more comment about @Steve's clip: I love how Garbo blows a kiss to the crowd after he made that clutch three. I miss Garbo. So do the Raps. It is really really unfortunate the way things went down in Toronto for him.

[Tim]

Points the Raptors have given up in their last seven trips to Denver, dating back to 2004 (all losses):

112, 117, 107, 137, 132, 130, 123. That's an average of 122.6.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Morning Doug,
Yeah, well, mama said there'd be days like that... Hope everyone is suitably embarrassed, P.O.'ed, challenged, whatever it takes to mentally log this one in the "ain't gonna let it happen again" corner of the brain, to draw upon again when needed (and it will be needed at regular points throughout every season for as long as they play the game, especially in back-to-backs).
Young guys can have all the talent, drive, energy and best intentions in the world, but they'll get trumped by experience in this league three times out of five – until they've amassed more of it themselves.
@Steve, thanks for that fabulous Malaga/Madrid finale. It's worth replaying just to hear the announcer, never mind the excellent visuals. (Hope he didn't have a back-to-back....)
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Tim]

Octahedron? Someone was watching Jeopardy! last night.

[Lorie]

@Steve: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. What a great piece of video. Between watching your Real Madrid/Unijaca Malaga clip a couple of times and Kirstie's Cha-Cha from last night, the Raptors' Disaster in Denver is pretty much forgotten! Ahh, Garbo. If only there was a way to get you back. And bring that play-by-play guy with you. Can you imagine Jack and he calling a game together??? HOOOOLLLLAAAA!!!! And, Doug, a FASHION link?! Can this day get any better? (Seriously, well done E.Smith. Great design, great price and the people of Japan have a great need for anything we can do to help.) Safe travels, Doug, and Salud!

[Andrew]

Hey Doug - thanks for the link about the t-shirts. I work close to the Desi Wear shop and stopped in at lunch to pick up a shirt. They said they wouldn't be ready until tomorrow. I'll be going back to pick one up then!

[HopeCaper]

@LeeZ that was a great clip but as far as Matt is concerned I think I have him figured out. He was hired as a colour commentator not a play by play guy. Once he got here and figured out what the Raps wanted he adjusted and tries to do both- announcing and commentating. In fact when he and Leo get on a roll the game is superfluous. Fouls, steals, shots, plays go on but the intrepid Devlin soldiers on. Leaving us to figure out what is giong on.
I even wrote him when he first got here and asked if he might, ahem, pay more attention to the game. While the annecdotes are mildly interesting I thought the focus was on the game? His response? He has a certain style that we will get used to. He could be right. Or not!
Doug I don't know how you continue to make lemonade but you do and keep up the good work. I am concerned that guys like Sonny aren't making the most of their time on the floor. Last nite he played like the guys who should be tired instead of going to the rim on a regular basis. Jack noted that when the boys are tired they tend to jump it up rather than run it up ( I paraphrase).

[Mike D.]

Is there an app to save only the 0:44 - 0:47 part of that Real Madrid clip, where we see Garbo box out as the opponent's shot nears the basket, and make it play repeatedly on Andrea Bargnani's iPhone? :)

[Tony]

What a great finish to that game.
Talk about long distance 3's

[g.t.]

learnt a new word today Doug. somnambulant

Thanks

[Mike kovacs]

Doug how much do you think that denver's homecourt advantage is improved by the altitude?

Blogger's note: A substantial amount

[Chris C]

That might be the first box out Ive seen all year!

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Uh oh, Doug,
Did you see this? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42183592/ns/business-careers/
I'm not too worried, though. Can't imagine an In-Game Blog Thingy from Hal. And Hal hath no snark like a grunt scorned. Or something like that.
Happy travels, sir. Cheers.

[GM]

The announcers in Denver and OKC need to read the game a bit more. In the Thunder game, it was back-and-forth the whole way with lots of lead changes. No doubt the crowd would be loud no matter what he did so he could lay off a bit. In Denver, the game was a stinker almost from the get-go so the announcer could have got more involved.

Bring back Jorge!

[AT]

@Steve Thanks! that was fantastic!!! Garbo looks pretty good!!!