A series of thoughts and mildly interesting observations

A series of unrelated items from the ramblings of an idle mind.

Enjoy.

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Remember back in late January and early February when it was suggested that perhaps the dog days of the season were upon us?

Well, those were poodles.

These are big old German shepherds.

Really, 18 games left, nothing really to play for and it can be a dangerous time for a team, its coach and its fans.

What’s to play for? Can selfishness kick in? Will players continue to work hard to improve, individually and in the team concept?

Jay thinks so (and, yes, I would have been shocked had he not) as he told us Thursday. But he also issued the requisite warning:

“Pride. I think a of these guys have pride and they want to do well but if guys aren’t going to what we’re asking them to do as far as fitting into our team or fitting in the right way to play, which we’ve tried to preach all year, then if they don’t do that, then we won’t play them.”

But I do think the one trademark of this team that’s been around all year is that this group does work hard and I don’t see any reason why that wouldn’t continue between now and the middle of April.

They may be young and inexperienced and, most nights, physically over-matched but they do play and want to get better.

I have no clue what that translates into with wins and losses but that’s probably not the biggest consideration. Yes, they want to win every game they play but playing hard and getting better and more familiar with each other is equally important.

And what of you, the people who watch?

Well, as it’s been for most of the last two months, I think it’s a matter of taking each game as a one-off entertainment opportunity. At this point, don’t look big picture if you’re in the stands or in the house. Watch, hope it’s a fun night, cheer for good plays and wins and take every game on its own.

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I read a note somewhere yesterday that Frederic Weis is retiring over in the French league.

Two notes:

He still did provide me with the most impressive thing I ever saw Vince Carter do when Carter leapt over him during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Incredible moment.

And I also remember the night the Knicks drafted him and passed on this local kid named Ron Artest.

Yeah, that draft’s an exact science, for sure.

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You have to give Chris Bosh credit, don’t you?

He was quite vocal about wanting the ball in a better spot for him, vowed to be more aggressive when he got it and then went out against the Lakers and did exactly what he said he would, 24 points, most of them from inside and coming against two guys – Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum – who’ve given him fits in the past.

Not bad at all, even if it did spoil the night of tens of thousands who were on couches hoping the Miami train wreck kept getting worse.

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What’s going on with the Pacers, besides them freefalling and my man Mike Wells suggesting more than one of the players seem to have thrown in the towel?

Well, here’s what he wrote today and if you’re able to catch the Pacers pre-game show on their local broadcast, make sure you do. You never know which of your favourite grunts may show up.

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Speaking of Los Angeles, you heard about Kobe, right?

Game ends, Lakers lose after he’s taken a series of increasingly peculiar shots down the stretch. Quick jumpers, long threes, an odd assortment of quite perplexing decisions was hardly Kobe-esque.

But there was, an hour or so after the game, shooting all by himself on the court in Miami and I guess it was such a good show, some of the grunts moved from the press room back courtside to watch him.

That’s an extra-added bonus for a night’s work and probably gave everyone a unique angle for their stories, which is never a bad thing.

I’ve heard of Raptors going upstairs to the practice court to shoot or work out after games, never a visiting player, though.

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This has to be at least a little heartening to fans of the HOTH.

After a very light practice Thursday, Alex English was spending an awful lot of time working on mid-range jump shots with James Johnson and it looks as if Johnson will be Alex’s responsibility over the summer.

Seeing what Alex did with Amir Johnson last summer, that’s got to be a good thing, right?

I asked Alex what kind of flaws or quirks they see in Johnson’s form and what they have to work on.

They want him to release the ball more in front of his forehead rather reach back behind his head to start shot (that’s the fatal flaw in Julian Wright’s jumper) because the fewer moving parts, the better.

But the one thing more than anything else, Alex said, was they want to see Johnson snap is wrists more forcefully as he takes a shot and hold his follow-through a split second longer.

This is not something that’s going to happen overnight, and a lot of the success will be determined by Johnson’s work ethic, but it’s a start.

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You read where Air Canada is making some veiled threat about taking away some of its NHL sponsorships over the latest gruesome incident in the game.

Wonder who’ll be the first enterprising sort to ask that airline if they’ll also stop accepting money for flying teams around with their charter service?

Yeah, don’t imagine that’s going to happen.

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Speaking of airlines, had a guy ask in the mail the other day for a “favourite airline” list and it’s taken a while but …

Now, understand that I don’t fly an awful lot of international carriers, most of my journeys to Europe or Asia have been with the Air Canada so things like El Al, which I’ve heard nothing but good about, can’t be included.

But if you’re floating around the skies, I can recommend:

Lufthansa.

Took it to Turkey, great service, somehow it just felt like more space for long flights.

USAir.

I like that that hubs are in Philly and Charlotte, a couple of good airports.

Northwest, or Delta, or whatever it’s called now.

Lots of options through lots of hubs and they seem to fly to more NBA cities than the others.

Continental

Again, I don’t mind the hub being in Cleveland.

American

For some reason, the check-in process seems to go more smoothly.

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Oh yeah.

Mail.

Here.

Please.

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Comments

[Simon]

It's Stumpy. Stumpy is going to be on the Pacers pre-game :)
Also, if you ever do go to Israel (which you should, what an incredible place) don't fly El Al. It's ridiculously overpriced and the in-flight entertainment is minimal at best.
Finally, with the Raptors ... well, let's just play for pride. I still think they are looking good for next year. Unlike Cleveland, which is mixed and matched with guys left over from the LeBron era (plus the Baron), this team has some great young pieces. I'm really enjoying watching Ed Davis on the boards, I think they stole him at number 13. I'd love to see them bring Reggie back for one more year to help mentor him as a rebounder.

[E.M.]

Umm, Doug? Didn't you put Delta twice on your list?? :)

Blogger's note: Oops. Got it fixed now. Thanks

[radar]

Pity you havent flown any of the Asian airlines Doug - they blow any North American or European airline out of the water (figuratively speaking!). My all time fav is Singapore Airlines...Korean and Emirates follow closely.

[Derek S]

Morning Doug
I agree that Alex English working with James Johnson can only be a good thing. I guess my question though is does that mean that Alex is "done" working with Amir? Although Amir has improved, there's certainly still more room for improvement, and given Amir's young age, he can definitely still use the tutoring. Surely Demar and Ed Davis could use the shooting assistance as well to continue their development? I guess my question is how many guys can Alex work with and still be effective? I'm not suggesting we bring Dave Hopla back, but given the number of young/developing guys on our team, do the Raps perhaps need another guy, similar to Alex's background/skill set to help Alex with some of these guys?

Blogger's note: Nope, doesn't mean that all. Coaches work with lots of players

[sam]

Just 18 games left - Where does the time go?

[Kent]

I know there is no such thing as a Kobe Stopper but, man, D-Wade is as close as they get. D-Wade has two major advantages over the other so-called Kobe Stoppers like Battier and Bowen. First he makes Kobe work on defense and that takes away his legs on the offensive end. Second, D-Wade is a shot blocker; he is the only one quick enough to not only get a hand in the face but actually stuff the shot. A hand in the face is not going to make Kobe miss because by the time your hand is on top of his face, he has already done all the aiming he needs to do. Thereafter, it just about trusting muscle memory and following through. But with Wade's threat as a shot blocker, Kobe has to change his shot (shoot a little higher or get it off quicker). Probably the reason why Kobe felt his game was out of sort and needed extra work after the game.

[Jack]

So English is working with James and Amir Johnson on their offensive game. Who's working with Bargnani on his defensive game? Whoever it is should be fired.

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

Airlines: Cathay, hands down. Closely followed by Emirates. And I've had good experience with British Airways and SAS. Funniest named airline I've ever been on--Yeti Air out of Kathmandu.

Watched the last half of the Heat-Lakers tilt. That LeBron character may be a jerk, but he sure can pass when he wants to. Man. Blistering.

AG, Toronto.

[joe]

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the insights on Alex English helping Johnson with his shot. That had me wondering, how much time is actually spent on teaching fundamentals to professional players? Is that something that's reserved for training camp, summer workouts, or occasionally during the season?

Blogger's note: Every practice

[The J]

It's funny that the Heat can beat the team they would be most likely to see in the Finals, but can't beat the teams they would most likely have to get through to see them.

Doug, who does Bargnani usually work with in the off-season, or does he do his work independently? Do most players work on their game in the off-season, or is it just the younger developing players?

Play for pride? Makes sense. But I don't suppose we could talk them into playing for high draft picks could we?

Blogger's note: No, someone went; and, at the moment, it escapes me who. You also have to realize this is once or twice a summer, not every day. For anyone
And if you want to ask players to quit or cheat themselves or their teammates, go right ahead

[gottabehonest]

Hands down, Air Canada is the most disappointing -- on so many levels.

[Dennis]

Interesting inside take by Jalen Rose on what sort of troubles the Raptors franchise went through during the VC heydays. A great podcast and the raptors bit starts around the 45 minute mark.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/player?rd=1#/podcenter/?id=6198290&autoplay=1&callsign=ESPNRADIO

[Geoff M]

"Just 18 games left - Where does the time go?"

It actually goes directly into the loss column. Here's to next year!

[doug]

in watching the game last night...the Heat played very well and they do present match-up problems for the Lakers.The Heat have trouble with strong power forwards and centers, Bynum and Gasol both played soft last night and were a step slow as well.Plus I thought the Lakers played into their hands by playing a perimeter game and not pounding it inside. Last year I thought the Lakers achilles heel would be there point guard play, it wasn't, but to me Fischer,Brown and Blake this year are their major weakness (and Blake's fall-off in his play has been surprising, he doesn't get the triangle offense and is lost, you can see it). In terms of putting value on regular season games I don't, as playoffs, 7 games series, and coaches making strategic changes from game to game is what it is all about. Yes I agree let's get this season over with and on to the playoffs as they will be Jim Dandy's this year.

My thoughts and prayers go out to those in Japan, that tsunami footage is just unbelievable, devastating stuff....

[Mike kovacs]

Air canada just ended our march Break cruise. (Almost) all flights from London cancelled today due to snow and there is no room on others for us to make it on time before the boat leaves. I guess we'll go see some more curling...

I flew on Austrian airlines 3 yrs ago and it was excellent.

Blogger's note: Oh, man, that sucks

[D-Mac Ottawa]

I will most certainly second the notion that this year's playoffs should be exceptional. Especially after last year's, which seemed exceptionally 'off' the mark for, you know, playoffs.
I'm tending to think it could be an exceptional year for March Madness as well. Upsets-o-plenty, early and often, just seem to be in the cards, based on outcomes all over the map the past couple of weeks. Texas is likely to be a sentimental favourite in these parts.
Finally, just grateful to have the opportunity to enjoy any manner of comfortable entertainment right about now. Mother Nature is none too happy these days. Japan deserves our best thoughts, prayers and help.

[Peter]

When a colleague of mine found out I liked basketball, he asked who I cheered for. I said the Raptors, and he said, aren't they terrible, though? I said, yeah not a great year, but they're my team.

I think you gotta stick by your team, through thick and thin (more thin than thick throughou the years, but you know what I mean). It might be archaic to think this way, but I feel that you can't just be a fan when a team is winning.

Now, I know people are going to say that they aren't mad at the Raptors, per se, moreso the way the team is run, coached, whatever. But I feel at the end of the day, you can't give up on your team just because they have a bad season (or 15).

Thanks for the blog Doug, always a great read.

[doug]

b-ball fans are lucky as we get Doug's blog to be entertained by, or vent and talk to other passionate fans, whether we agree or disagree is irrelevant...but we also get the musings of Bill Simmons , here is his in-game report from last nights Heat-Lakers game, he's just so good at mixing humour, pop culture, and his opinions and knowledge in a very readable, entertaining style...

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/110311&sportCat=nba

[Kari]

To hear that Kobe Bryant was shooting around in the gym after losing to Miami really goes to show us more and more why he is one of the greatest players in the NBA.