I hope the story never ends; and Canada gets its Olympic task

Okay, we got Linsanity out of the way, now it’s time for the real party.

All set for Bonnerpalooza tonight?

I am.

Until then …

-

THREE POINTERS

So, Lin

Okay, if there’s a better story in sports – now or in the last half of a decade or so – I sure can’t think what it is.

As we’ve been saying all along it’s one of the great tales of our time and last night just made it even greater. I hope the kid never wakes up.

(Oh, and no one – NO ONE – got Joe Boyd or bothered to mentioned it yesterday? For shame)

Anyway, Lin as a player?

Dramatic, no question; fearless, without doubt. Complete? Not quite.

Can’t, or won’t go left, and a huge defensive liability but who really cares. Shot’s a bit flawed, kind of flung over the shoulder; and, as I mentioned, he couldn’t cover you last night.

But who cares that Jose abused him for three quarters until the Knicks got wise and shifted a bigger, stronger defender on to him?

Who cares that he almost had a triple-double of points, assists and turnovers?

Who cares about any of that right at the moment?

The kid’s got stones – that game-tying and-one drive was a man’s play, the shot to win it was stone cold – and he’s writing one of the greatest scripts I can imagine.

I don’t know how it will eventually end and I’m not entirely sure I care how it will eventually end because Jeremy Lin is providing us with a great, great narrative that’s all about what’s good in sports.

He seems to be a very nice fellow, appreciative of his opportunity, self-confident enough to know what he means to his team, respectful without being dismissive of the sometimes-fawning media that’s turning him into something extraordinary.

He seems quite likable and that’s probably part of it: If he was a knucklehead people might be hoping he’d fail.

He’s not and anyone who doesn’t like this story needs to re-examine his or her outlook on sports.

This is that good a story, he seems to be that good a kid and his playing limitations don’t mean a thing.

If Jack Buck was there last night, the words would have been ringing in our ears: I don’t believe what I just saw.

-

Odd matchups

Give Dwane Casey a bit of credit for looking past horrid defensive matchups to get his best players on the floor.

At one time, third or fourth quarter, I think it was, I looked up to see Linas Kleiza guarding Amar’e Stoudemire and in the whole list of things that Kleiza can do, guarding a big, strong power forward is way down the list.

But necessity being the mother of invention and all, Casey needed to do something and his defensive system is good enough that even undesirable matchups have a way of working out most of the time.

Don’t imagine it’s something they want all the time and if Amar’e had any lift left in his legs – I was astounded at how often his show was blocked and how easy the Raptors blocked it – it might have been troubling but, for the most part, it worked well.

-

That final play

Should Jose have been up closer to Lin, taking away a jump shot we knew was coming as the seconds ticked off?

Yeah, probably. He did a good enough job taking away Lin’s right hand – there was no way he was going to be able to get to the rim – but crowding him a bit more in the final five seconds might have made it a bit harder to get that shot off.

Doesn’t matter, though.

No way the kid was missing it. We all knew that.

-

A wee bit more

(And sorry I’m late, apparently sleep is a good thing we need every now and then).

-

You can have your Beebs or Biebs or whatever; I’m sure there have been other big name celebs at games, too, who are more famous or whatever but, I tell you, Steven Van Zandt made the night.

Check out the solo in this E Street clip.

Oh, and I was trying to find a Sopranos clip for his alter ego Silvio Dante but the, um, use of the language kinda precluded it.

Oh well.

-

So, the draw’s been done and Canada now knows its road to the women’s basketball tournament at the London Olympics.

Canada has been put in a preliminary round group with France and Mali at the 12-country event that starts in late June in Ankara, Turkey as they chase one of five spots in the Games.

The top two teams after a group round-robin advance the quarter-finals and the four quarter-final winners get Olympic berths and there’s one more that the four quarter-final losers will play for.

Not quite sure of the relative merits of their first round opponents – I need to do a wee bit more homework over the next little while – except to know that France is pretty good.

The cross-over quarter-final group is Croatia, Korea and Mozambique and I’m sticking with what I’ve said all along:

I really like this Canadian women’s team, they aren’t particularly big but Alison McNeill coaches ‘em really well, and I fully expect to be covering them in London.

-

Here’s a treat.

Stevie Boy was the shutterbug on duty Tuesday and here are some of the pictures he produced.

Yes, he is quite good, isn’t he?

-

Mail? May as well start it.

Go here, do your thing, keep me busy.

Thanks.

-

I got a closeup look at the Dallas Mavericks championship ring before Casey and Tyson Chandler had their little pre-game ceremony last night and …

Wow.

It’s huge, diamond-encrusted, looked like platinum or silver to me and, believe it or not, hardly ostentatious.

I figured, and I’m sure some of you did, too, that Mark Cuban would come up with something gaudy and over the top.

He didn’t.

If a $40,000 ring can be understated, these ones are.

-

 

 

Comments

[Greg]

Why didn't Casey do whatever needed to get Shumpert off of Calderone? Shumpert made it impossible for Calderone to set the offense and was pressured the whole way. The pressure stalled the offence and cause some bad plays. I know Barbosa was having a great game but should Casey have put someone bigger in the game (like JJ) to force Lin back on to Calderone?

Blogger's note: Maybe; but why would the Knicks change? What they needed was Bayless; let Jose play off the ball

[JHK]

I don't care what the haters say, Lin is legit.
He was obviously over looked because of his racial status and the school (Harvard not being a basketball school).
As an Asian-Canadian, I am very happy for him to prove everyone wrong because we all get over looked in every day life at school, jobs and socially.
Go Lin, you have revitalized my passion for the game.

[AT]

geez... I have not following this Linsanity too much but since when did six games make such a big stink???

Doug, maybe there is a list question here... who are your biggest "flash in the pans" or "one hit wonders" in all of sports?

[Lorie]

Doug!
Ha! We talkin' "Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo."? If not, I'm stumped. Temporarily. Not beaten.

Blogger's note: We're not.

[Pat]

I like the Jeremy Lin story as much as anyone else but it is ridiculous how the crowd at the ACC cheered for him when he made the winning basket. We're supposed to be cheering for the home team no matter who is playing for the opposing team.

[JT]

It was like the Raptors threw that game in the 4th Quarter, but more specifically in the last 5-6 minutes. Match-ups weren't working, they were out rebounded and undersized. Offense stopped moving. Yet Casey did NOTHING. They needed a Gray or Magloire to defend, rebound, and box out Chandler so Amir could guard Amare on a more regular basis (I don't know if it was a switch but I saw Kleiza on Amare almost non-stop down the stretch). Silly. I hate that the Raptors basically gave this game away to the Knicks and into Lin mania. Pathetic D by Jose in backing off in the dying 5 seconds so the kid could get his shot.

[Dan]

Jose was great for two quarters. His defense and turnovers weren't any better then Lin's. Would also be nice to see Derozan do a bit more. He really needs to work on his ball handling. I think that could help his game even more then improved shooting.

[JHK]

@Pat:
Fans were cheering for a Knicks win.
They were cheering for Linsanity (feel good story), and for tanking (A. Davis, in case you haven't heard/seen him play).

[sam]

I have to admit the Lin kid is pretty impressive. He took some knocks last night and kept getting up. The HOTH lost traction in the fourth in a entertaining game - The last play of the game will be analysed to death no doubt - but the HOTH shouldn't have been in that position, tied with seconds left and the ball in the hands of the knicks -

[JHK]

I meant they weren't cheering for Knicks win, pardon my mistake.

[Moshigh]

@ JT I feel your pain.. I was Irate, that pretty much ended Valentine night with my wife. She drank wine I drank water and went to bed.

@ JHK I second your point to a extent. Yes I agree great great story for Asian's young men who aspire to play basketball. Yes Im sure people probably overlooked him because of race to point. However its just the perfect storm.

Where I have to let you know. Try living as a black man one day, I'll gurantee you will see what it is to be overlooked, socially, finanically etc. I cant even walk thru a parking lot with out people hurrying to lock there doors, going into a bank near closing with funny eye's, cashing a flippin cheque for crying out loud. I could go on and on. Just wanted to open some eye's. As majority of you cant fathom what many us go thru each day!!

Lets go Raptors at least they are fighting, the tankers are glad for another loss. Im not. Lets see what happens tonight

[Kristian]

"Okay, if there’s a better story in sports – now or in the last half of a decade or so – I sure can’t think what it is."

Doug, did you forget about Tim Tebow already? That was as big, if not a bigger story. However you rank them they would have to be 1-2.

Blogger's note: This is waaaaaaaay bigger than Tebow, who at least was an accomplished collegian; that's a distant second

[Peter]

I think the thing that makes Lin so impressive is that he IS so flawed. The fact that the average fan can see WHY he was cut from two teams, and WHY he was the end of the bench player, and see him playing WITH all of his flaws, but still, somehow come out with big scoring nights, and lead his team to wins. That's the story that people like to see.

Oh, and in regards to the racial aspect. It's certainly part of the story. Maybe not why he was cut, but the size of his following is definitely related to race. An asian friend of mine gathered together last night in a bar with about 50 of her Asian friends, none of them have watched, even a single NBA game in the past couple of years, but they were all cheering Lin on last night. They fully admit to me, that it's not just the story, but also the fact that Lin is of Asian background. This isn't a colorblind world, and I don't think that it's racism to include race as a part of the story.

[DannyFromFreddy]

Lin is a likeable kid but I just wish he wouldn't assume that God would have a hand in this. If GOD did have a way of affecting our world, I would hope that it would be for something a lot more important than basketball.

[Lorie]

Okay, Doug, so are you referencing Joe M. Boyd who played for the Texas A&M Aggies - and was named their MVP - back in '39? And if so, why??? (You're absolutely sure it's not that "Damn Yankees" thing?)

Blogger's note: Ooops, misread earlier; Damn Yankees indeed! Well played

[Derek]

Morning Doug,
Was at the game last night - James Johnson and DeRozan both seemed to have a tough night with the Ref's. Having some tough calls go against them, and (DeRozan in particular) not getting any calls on the offensive end. Was also a bit surprised that Shumbert was able to get away with being as physical with Calderon as he was (I've seen far less contact get called before).
.
Doug - Can you explain how/why Casey uses Magloire? Is he injured? Some games he doesn't play at all, other games he seems to play very few minutes - in spite of the fact that when he plays, he typically has played very well. I kept waiting for him to make an appearance last night (figured he'd have done well against Chandler), but he never got on the court. Don't understand the thought process behind his minutes - any ideas?

Blogger's note: Matchups, Chandler's a bit quick

[Derek]

One more thing - strangest sight of the night at the game yesterday. An asian teenage boy, who at every stoppage in the game would stand up and hold up a jersey to display it to the crowd. The jersey he was holding up was a RAPS jersey, but on the back, he had #17, and the player name read " LIN - KNICKS". Huh? I get a Knicks jersey, but why would you put that on a Raps jersey?

[Joe H]

Wow Doug Smith is seriously going to disregard to brutal play of Leandro Barbosa and that final Raptors possesion? Dude drives the lane with no where to go... somehow gets the ball back and then chucks up an air ball? Why is everyone stuck up on this guy? Absolutely no basketball IQ. Also he is a bench player... why is he getting the final possesion? I thought Dwayne Casey was a good coach... its called drawing up a play.

Im happy Lin drained that 3 down our throats... That guy is awesome.

Blogger's note: Trust me, there's lots of stuff I disregard

[Greg]

I can't believe how often Tim Tebow's name keeps getting mentioned in comments about Jeremy Lin... the guy was named "Mr. Football" in FL his senior year of high school, played QB for one of the top college programs in the country and then was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. And somehow that's some kind of underdog story? The easier and more obvious NFL comparison to be made here (and it's even got the religious angle too if that's what's driving the comp) is to Kurt Warner.

[LeeZ]

You can debate all you want about how José should have been way more in Lin's face, the clock having ticked down and all, and you'd of course be right, but you're all missing the point, IMHO. José should never have been on the court in that situation. JJ should have been guarding Lin. I mean, this is just patently obvious, and frankly, I'm at a loss to explain why JJ's not in the game not just last night, but most nights when the Raps need a stop late in the game. Even on a so-so night for JJ like last night, he is CLEARLY and indisputably our best permimeter defender, capable of guarding one through four. Lin, with his lack of speed, would have been a PERFECT candidate. Doug, am I missing something here?

[valit]

Morning Doug,
Lin is a good story and maybe the best sports story right now in North America but I can guarantee you that In Europe nobody ever heard of him. More than that, in Africa, Zambia's victory is all over the newspapers. Lin Who?...so a little perspective is necessary. I was at the game last night, very close seats and in 5-6 controversial calls, the refs blew the whistle only one way..towards the Knicks. I dont blame the refs for the loss but in a game where the last shot was the decisive one, they influenced the game . I also was ashamed of the fact that more people cheered for Lin than for Raptors. In my section, people were booing Linas and Jose and in my opinion this is wrong. I dont care if the guy is Asian or Martian, he can be from my home town, but the bottom line he plays for New York and I am a raptor fan...sorry for the rant.

[Grant]

@Moshigh

I read a book recently that might interest you; it talks about some of the stereotypes you mention in your post and how these affect one's performance in sports, academics, etc. The book is called, whistling vivaldi: how stereotypes affect us and what we can do, by Claude M. Steele.

[Lorie]

Phew. Great. 'Cause my next guess was that Joe Boyd kid I sat behind in third grade...and those dots seemed unlikely to connect. Cheers! And Go Raps!

[jimt]

Good morLIN ev1 :) I am Luvvin the raps play as of L8.Sure they lost a few close games but imagine the current squad now add Bargnani,Bayless,Jonas,high draft pick,and oodles of Cash to pick up some nice pieces and the raps are going to start crushing teams.Future looks bright.Im still pissed about that 5 second call vs Lakers.I truly feel that if it was Say Kobe inbounding that call would either not have been made or that call would have resulted into a time out for Kobe.Raps get no respect and the ref in question if googled has a seriously shady gambling past.end of rant :)
Go Raps Welcome Home Bonner.

[Penny]

I also was wondering why neither of the bigs nor JJ were in at the end of the game. One of the reasons we lost (besides the atrocious balhandling from DeRozan and Barbosa) was because the Knicks got 6 offensive rebounds in the last quarter. Also Jose was our top point getter and there were absolutely no picks being set for him to get his shot in the last few mintues as it was all 1 against 5 isolation plays for either DeMar or Leandro.