Take Linsanity for what it is: A really nice story

We are witnessing, and being inundated by, a truly perfect storm with this whole Jeremy Lin thing that’s hitting town today.

It a very nice story (undrafted kid perseveres, takes NBA by storm for a week so far) dropped into the middle of the (oft-over-the-top) media centre of the universe at a slow time in the North American pro sports calendar and – presto! – it’s Linsanity.

I think it’s a wonderful story, no question about it. I hope the kid goes on to have nothing but success in his NBA career and that he plays for a decade or more and is held up as a shining example of someone sticking it out until the find the perfect situation for themselves.

Which is precisely what Lin has done. He joined a point guard-starved team that plays a system perfectly designed for his talents at a time when the two biggest names on the roster were out with either family tragedies or injuries. You cannot script it any better and Lin has benefited – as has a good-story-starved New York media – like no one before him.

But is Lin’s ascension, as has been suggested, really an indictment of the NBA talent evaluation system overall? Does the fact he’s had four excellent games and one good one in his first five mean there are dozens of other talented young forgotten players out there who’d do the same thing given the same chance?

Probably not.

Look, drafting and finding free agent players as we’ve said for time immemorial is an inexact science. You do your diligence, decide what your team needs and make a choice based on all kinds of factors.

Lin was caught in numbers games pretty much everywhere he went. The Warriors had Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry; the Mavs (as Dwane Casey points out in today’s tome) had committed – rightly or wrongly – to Roddy Beaubois when they had Lin at summer league. Houston? Kyle Lowry and a full roster.

Almost everything in pro sports – heck, almost everything in life – is about timing. Some guys get a chance at precisely the right moment, some never do. Too bad for those who don’t but life ain’t fair all the time.

I think we need to commend and celebrate Lin for what he is: A young player who stayed with his dream and took advantage of his shot when it finally came around.

There is no bigger story here, I don’t think. The evaluation system has its flaws, we all knew that; and hindsight’s a wonderful thing. But to think this exposes some horrid flaw in the system ignores one point: Stories like Lin’s come around once in forever; if the system was really screwed don’t you think there would have been others before.

Like Lin for what he is: A good player on a sub-.500 team playing a style perfectly suited for him after bouncing around a few places that weren’t.

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Be careful.

Watch out for arrows today, okay?

I (heart) you.

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Oh, I didn’t check with anyone at Customs and immigration but what if the Knicks landed and when they checked passports they found out that Lin’s name is actually Joe Boyd?

Might explain a few things, no?

(That may need some googling)

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I’m not sure if the Blue Jays were in on this Cuban kid Cespedes or not but the outfielder signed with Oakland yesterday so it’s a rather moot point at the moment.

And I have no idea if the kid can play – scouts seem high on him and they know more than you or I – and left field still, I think, is a bit of an issue with the TOD.

However, I do like that they’ve re-signed Casey Janssen to a relatively inexpensive, short term deal ($5.9 million over two years with a club option on a third, Griff says). By some quirk of scheduling and the games I saw last summer, Janssen looked all the world to me like a very good setup man; good stuff, the right disposition for the job (did I sound like Dwane just now?) and I think he’s going to be a key guy in what seems to be a vastly improved bullpen this year.

The coolest thing? We’ll get to see him and the others pretty soon; pitchers and catchers are on their way to Dunedin right now.

Sweet!

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Know what really bites?

Forgetting you’re almost out of coffee and having to make half a pot of weak stuff at 5:30 in the morning.

What a dope.

Speaking of, I waver between the Colombian and Ethiopian and Dominican blends for the drip system here. What’s the best I can get?

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Wondered when this was coming.

Not sure if many of you heard the idiotic statement, or tweet, put out by boxer Floyd Mayweather yesterday suggesting all the love for Lin was race-related and how if he wasn’t Asian this might not be that big a story.

Right.

I tell you, some people should not be let near a keyboard, or at least have every public utterances vetted, don’t you think? I am all for free speech and making an ass of yourself whenever you like but, really, someone in the public eye, who has fans who actually believe things you say carry some weight needs to think a bit.

Anyway, I guess part of me is a bit surprised someone else hasn’t done this before now. It’s the world, sadly, we live in.

Immediate reaction:

Yawn. Double yawn.

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Wondered when this was coming:

Q: When Jerryd Bayless first suffered his ankle injury, a fan asked your opinion on Jeremy Lin. You didn't think it was a good idea to pick him up? At the time, I thought Lin would be better offensively than Carter, the Raptors' third string PG. Also, Lin has a future in the NBA whereas Carter is near the end of his career. What's your opinion now Doug? How did the Raptors miss out again?

Geoffrey E, Toronto

A: Yes, I didn’t think it made any sense to pick up Lin, or any other point guard, when Bayless was hurt and I still don’t. No sense, to me, in waiving a guy and paying him not to play at that point to add a third point guard to a team that has next season as its priority and not necessarily this one.

And, yes, Lin is without question thriving offensively in a system built perfectly for his skills, as I mentioned above; he may or may not have had that success here, you don’t know and I don’t know.

So, in late-December when Jerryd was first hurt – and with an injury he did and will come back from – picking up an unemployed point guard who’d been cut by a couple of teams didn’t make sense to me.

Hindsight. It’s a wonderful thing, isn’t it?

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Wild ending, the art of storytelling and other fun stuff

I know for some the ending left you cold but, really, that was a pretty entertaining afternoon, no?

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THREE POINTERS

Kobe lobbies, or praises.

You decide.

Asked if he was surprised by Jose Calderon, after his own Porous Laker Point Guards had been scorched for a career-high 30 from Calderon, this is what Bryant had to say:

“No. I know he can do that. You're impressed when you don't expect a player to have games like that. I fully expect that from him. He's a great player. He's always been one of my favourite point guards. So it wasn't surprising at all.”

Now, you know Kobe knows that somehow Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak is going to see that quote and that’s might be what it was all about.

But – and this is big – people who know these things and make these decisions tell me that there is no fit whatsoever with the Lakers for Calderon – and just as important, he doesn’t fit into the Lamar Odom trade exception the Lakers still have – so it’s a non-starter.

And you tell me: After watching Calderon the last little while (17 assists one game, 14 assists and zero turnovers another, a career-high 30 on Sunday) why in the world would they want to move him.

Don’t give his salary as a reason – the Raptors can still get to about $15 million to spend next summer and still have his then-expiring contract as a trade chip if they want – and the way he’s playing, it’s, to me at least, a ridiculous notion to move him. He’d be quite content being a backup next season and I want a guy like that on my team.

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So, the call

The NBA tweeted last night that official Scott Foster got that five-second call right (it’s kind of detailed in the game story) because the count actually got to 5.8 seconds.

Well, that is fact – there’s no disputing time – but what they didn’t say was that the officials blew it by ignoring Dwane Casey screaming timeout for about the last 2 1-2 seconds.

But as tough a call as it was, the truth is the Raptors still had a shot to tie or win with 3.7 seconds left after Kobe missed the one free throw and they didn’t get a good shot.

Oh, and there’s this, which might not have been a big factor but who knows:

You know me and the extraneous crap noise they insist on blaring during games, right?

Why in the world did the people who control such things believe it necessary to PLAY MUSIC while a home team guy is trying to inbound the ball with about four seconds left in a one-point game?

Really!!!

The fans weren’t loud enough? They felt pulsating crap was just that little bit of extra noise everyone was missing?

I just don’t get it.

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Doing his job – well

For a guy who doesn’t play an awful lot, Jamaal Magloire plays well when he’s asked, he does his job with professionalism and intensity and he is always – always – the first guy off the bench during timeouts or during play either shouting encouragement or instruction to every one from point guards to centres.

A point on his effort:

There was a play when he somehow got switched out to cover Derek Fisher on the perimeter, one of those odd occurrences that come up in a game every now and then.

Now, a handful of veteran centres would have backed off, unwilling to be embarrassed when a tiny little point guard blew by them.

Not Magloire. With Casey yelling “stay up, stay up” that’s just what he did; I don’t remember how the play ultimately ended but that’s Magloire doing what he knew was right for his team. A lot of other guys might not have.

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Just a little bit more:

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Okay, I can get behind this.

A song I’ve actually heard and like quite a bit wins at the Grammys?

Nice.

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So Garth Woolsey comes out of retirement to nail a Trent Frayne obit and the passing of the sportswriting giant was, as you’d expect, a topic of late-morning conversation in the press room Sunday.

Aside from lamenting the loss of another great – and Frayne’s passing may have truly been the end of an era because the circumstances of the business suggest there will be no more like Frayne, Milt, Chester, Jim Coleman or Scott Young – hearing the praised heaped on Frayne for his style made me think.

What makes good sports writing?

And as we read about Frayne, and read about all those other greats of his era, it’s the ability to, sorry for the modern vernacular, multi-task that I really believe sets the good ones apart from the mundane.

You have to be able to write about people and issues and plays with equal ability, you have to do one sport one day and one the next, all the while entertaining and educating your audience. You need longevity and the ability to make ‘me laugh one day, say “hey, I didn’t know that the next” and cry the day after that.

There are far too many “screamers” in our industry, I’m afraid, men and women who want all too often to become part of the narrative rather than describe it. It is all well and good to offer a well thought out opinion every now and then, to help “guide” the reader, but it’s always got to be about the story and I’m not sure that’s the case sometimes these days.

It seemed to have been in the era of Frayne and those other greats; and that’s the one true lament I have.

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This is entirely personal preference but I would prefer to watch Kobe Bryant over LeBron James every day.

I know, I know, I know.

Both great, two distinct styles but I’d much rather see Bryant dissect a team rather than James try to bull his way through one.

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So, we’re just about wrapped up the writing portion of our afternoon when AP Ian points out from a few seats down that Zambia and ivory Coast are in a classic penalty kick final of the African Cup of Nations.

(Yes, we have eclectic sports tastes, don’t we; and thanks to the magic of live streaming and the internet they can be satisfied).

Anyway, I get down to Ian’s spot just in time to see the wild celebration and a couple of quick repeats of the game-winner in the 8-7 triumph.

Very cool because any team known as the Copper Bullets deserves some support. And then it strikes me that there’s something about Zambian football that I should remember but I can’t.

Not too long after, a little tweet thing arrives from Sports Illustrated (I’m telling you, I hope this internet isn’t really fad, it’s quite cool) and, dang! – there is something

And you should all read this piece about a tragic plane crash because it’s long-form magazine writing we don’t get in sports too often any more.

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The Goods On The Game, Lakers at Raptors

Hello.

Ready for the last Sunday matinee of year?

The end of the weekend mail and a couple of big losses

Back in the days when sportswriters truly mattered, we were blessed in this country with an abundance of giants. They told stories well, make subjects come to life and the likes of them will never been seen again in an era dominated far too much by opinionated screamers more interested in making their point than telling a story.

Too bad.

The world lost Trent Frayne on Saturday; the world is a lesser place today.

RIP to one of the greats.

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And now, the mail.

And if we’re going to do Question Of The Day over at the new place, we need questions – probably Raptors-specific – so help a fella out, will you.

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Q: Thanks for Dickens recommendations, Doug!

Now that books have entered the blog, permit 2 "book questions":

Phil Jackson used to give books to his players - books he felt that might motivate them or perhaps help them with some aspect of their lives. Do you know of other coaches who have used book-giving to assist their players' mental approaches and at the same time books that show the coach knows and cares about the players? Do you think such an approach can still work with the current generation of NBA players?

If you had to choose ONE BOOK as required reading for NBA players would you choose a biography of a former player? If so, which one?

Charles N, Mexico

A: I’ve never heard of a coach doling out books ever, other than Phil Jackson and his desire to send messages or deliver lessons to his players. And since many of them – mostly the younger ones – have short attention spans and interests that run more to video games, social media and music, I don’t imagine it would work. Would be a nice thing to try.

I also don’t know if there’s a biography of a player I could recommend as the ONE book because many of them are, well, a bit self-serving and not all that interesting.

Given the context of many of their lives, though, I had to chose one work of basketball non-fiction and one of general fiction, I’d probably leave The Inside Game: Race, Power and Poverty in the NBA by my friends Wayne Embry and Mary Schmidt-Boyer in the their lockers and it would be sitting on top of a copy of Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird.

Would love to have them read those two and to hear them discuss them.

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Q: Hi Doug. I saw your piece on Steve Nash and was amazed at how consistently good he is at the age of 38, especially playing at the PG position which I think is arguably the toughest position to play.

Three questions:

Steve Nash takes a lot pride in conditioning himself, are you surprised that more players do not do the same thing?

Can you provide a top 5 list of players who achieved the most despite not being the most athletically gifted.

Greatest Nash accomplishment? Two time NBA MVP, approaching top 5 all time assist leader group.

Thanks again Doug!!

Monty M, Toronto

A: I think other players try to, just without the level of success that Steve’s had. It’s the willingness to do the work, some measure of physiology probably factors into it and one thing I really think has helped Steve is his off-season love of playing some soccer. It keeps him fit in maybe a different way – different muscles, different training regimens – and breaks up the monotony while allowing him to get workouts in.

As for five other guys?

That’s tough because they’re all good at something but at a level of significance in their careers, I might give you Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Charles Oakley and, oh, why not old friend Jason Kapono. Others? Irregulars must know some.

Nash’s two MVPs are without question, in my mind, his crowning achievement and greatest accomplishment; others tend to come simply from longevity, which might be his second-best accomplishment, lasting this long.

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Q: Good Morning. Will there be any Raptor presence at the All Star break? If not does that make your job easier or harder?

John P, Madison, WI

A: It doesn’t look now like there will be any Toronto representation at the all-star weekend and I believe that will be for the first time ever.

It is going to be entirely odd so it should allow me to pursue other story lines – Steve Nash, the state of the game in this crazy year, the other dominant players of the time – so it might be fun. And fun is always easier than, say, trying to come up with a fresh all-star angle about a guy you’ve been covering every day during the season.

I’m kind of looking forward to that aspect of the weekend.

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Q: Hey Doug: I know that you don't like draft questions this early in the season, but I had to ask: do you prefer draft, bottle or can?

Keep up the great work - we appreciate it!

Tim H, Windsor

A: Finally.

A draft question I like!!!!! Oh, a no-brainer. Unless the joint is really sketchy and may only clean its lines once a generation (and I don’t frequent such establishments too often), it’s draft, can, bottle in that order.

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Q: Off-the-court question this time, Doug: in your experience, what's the correlation between players' style on the court and off the court? Do the more flamboyant players tend to dress up more, drive fancier cars, and so on? Or are there Jekyll and Hyde types...say, a blue-collar Reggie Evans type driving a blinged-up Escalade?

Mike D, Toronto

A: I’ll give you just one that I know first hand: Oak was as blue collar a guy as you’ll ever find in professional sports and he dressed with a flair no one I’ve covered could match.

So, as the old saying goes …

Ya never know.

There is no real correlation between on court play and off court style; the most exciting player I ever say play – perhaps you’ve heard of him, Carter was his name – was a rather bland guy where accoutrements of life were concerned.

What's that old saying?

All together now …

“That’s why they play the game!”

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THREE POINTERS

Just what they need

If a guy who’s seven feet tall and a rather bulky 260-plus pounds can be understated, that’s just what Aaron Gray was against the Celtics.

Didn’t do too much, didn’t do too little, gave ‘em what they needed and it might have been one of the more quiet 11-rebound games of the year.

Now, I’m not entirely sure he can keep it up in a lot of matchups with quicker big men but for this week, if he does that, they’ll be more than happy.

Andrew Bynum tomorrow. Amar’e Stoudemire or Tyson Chandler on Tuesday, maybe DeJuan Blair on Wednesday; some equally bulky bigs the Raptors got Gray specifically to play against.

Not sure where he fits long-term – I’d say at the very, very best he’s the fifth big man next year if they have any interest whatsoever – but he’s recently been giving them everything they’ve asked.

One of the knocks on Gray – at least from scouts and other NBA types whose opinion I trust – was that he’s got a propensity to try to do more than he’s capable of; if he just plays his game like he did against the Celtics, there might be room for him.

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Why coaches go gray

Dying seconds of the first quarter, Pierce has the ball in isolation at the top of the circle, everyone in the gym knows he’s going to try to get into the paint and do something.

Dwane Casey’s up yelling. Scott Roth’s up yelling. All directed at Amir Johnson, who’s guarding Mickeal Pietrus, who is standing in the corner right in front of the Celtics bench.

“Stay at home, Amir! Stay at home!”

Of course, Pierce drives, Amir slides over in the paint, Pierce hits a wide open Pietrus, who drains a three.

Why would he do that?

Easy.

Simply a logical reaction to a play that’s unfolding and when you hear coaches talk about the need for “discipline” on defence, that’s precisely the situation they’re talking about.

I’ll give Amir a bit of a pass on that one; it was an instinctual reaction and he does so many other things well, he gets a bit a break.

But it’s the kind of thing that drives coaches batty.

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Quite the gem

There’ve been a couple of so-so games of late for Jose Calderon but that was some performance Friday, wasn’t it?

A tidy 38 minutes, 17 points on 12 shots but just three three-point attempts and a game for the franchise record books in the most important point guard stat.

Against a team that’ll press you full court, he had 14 assists and zero turnovers. No bad lob passes that were impossible to complete, no rushed feeds in the paint that get knocked away, no offensive fouls, no being stripped in transition.

Second-time in history that a Raptor has had that many assists and no turnovers in the same game; Damon had 15 and 0 back in ’97.

(Full disclosure: It’s an odd stat because I’m told there was one game where Oak had a dozen assists and no turnovers and I can’t believe I don’t remember that one because it happens about as often as an eclipse).

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A wee bit more before I head out to practice while grinding Super Son to have the driveway nice and shoveled for my return:

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I hear there’s some big ceremony or somesuch at the pucks tonight?

So where do we rank Mats Sundin among the sporting heroes of our era and our area?

I don’t pretend to know the intricacies of the game on the ice – I’m going to leave that to experts like Mr. Cox, who can surely help me out next New Year’s Day – but I do know a thing or two about personalities and professional athletes.

And I think Sundin – who I’m not sure I’ve ever spoken to outside of a scrum or two – was precisely the kind of guy who should be honoured.

He was honourable and loyal during his career, there is no question he was physically gifted as a hockey player, and he seemed, from afar, to genuinely care about his teammates, his franchise. He worked as hard as he could, carried himself with distinction and class, he gave an honest effort every night.

I’m not one for retiring numbers except in very extreme situations that begin with championships.

I am, however, in favour of finding other ways to celebrate greatness on rare occasions; I believe this to be one of them.

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Mail? There was a request in the mailbag but we may as well make it here. Besides, if we’re going to do “Question Of The Day” here in the newest Faceoff thingy (Sorry, Jenni, I mean Facebook thingy) I need a stockpile.

Thanks. Work your magic here, people.

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When you people of Toronto get around to waking up and realizing two insane siblings are running your city into the ground and making it somewhat of a laughingstock, I know who you want to vote for:

Dwane Casey.

With this quote and this quote alone, he usurps Pinball as The Sports Figure Most Likely To Win An Election In A Landslide In A City That Elected The Puppet Of The Brother As Its Mayor.

“Our crowd was unbelievable. I can just imagine, once we get this program built, how the crowd is going to be. That’s one thing that’s impressed me about Toronto. I’ve been in some great sports towns in Dallas and Seattle but the fans in this city are great. They love sports, they know sports and, like I told the guys, once we get this thing going, once we get it built the way we want it built, we’re going to have the best fans in the NBA. They just tonight showed it.”

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Okay, off to practice if the Smelly Ford Focus doesn’t balk at the snow; don’t forget IGBT here tomorrow. It’s an afternoon game so I expect a large gathering.

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The start of the weekend mail

Here you go, at least a start.

Not a whole lot this weekend so far, and not a whole lot leftover for tomorrow so if you’re so inclined, here’s how you can help a fella out.

Now, give a little while and we’ll be back with the usual post-game fare.

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Q: Greetings, man, oh man did the Wikipedia link turn into a digression of huge proportion Wednesday night and into the following day!

Joined the blog at the start which preceded the family dinner gathering by a few a minutes, kept having to find excuses to get up from the table, "I'll get your milk Boo!", in order to follow along with the blog. So anyway, the fifteen year old hears me say something about Wikipedia which turns into a two-hour (!) discussion over our government's attempt to gain some level of control and accountability of the Interweb, much to the teenager's credit, he passionately and commendably presented his very idealistic view of the impending "censorship" and "destruction" of his beloved Interweb. Teens as a rule don't spend that much time and energy discussing anything with a parent, consider myself quite fortunate to have had the opportunity.

So, Wiki answers the question and, of course, YouTube has the episode available (at least for now) and all that leaves me with something to watch when I get home tonight. Fully twenty four hours after the search began!

I actually do have a basketball question today as well. Mention has been made of DeMar's (and others) need to bulk up. What level of pressure might be laid on someone in that position from the team, or perhaps their agent? It would strike me as a potentially slippery slope towards "quick solutions".

As always thanks for what you do.

Doug T, Brantford

A: There’s nothing untoward about it, nor is there a huge sense of urgency to the issue. I’m sure that when it comes time to develop off-season plans that the team can follow closely because there will be no lockout that weight-training will be high on the list of things to do and I’m sure there is an added emphasis on weight work even now during the season. But it’s not as much a “quick fix” type of thing as it is an obvious long-term training issue.

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Q: I was wondering if you felt that some of the offensive woes, especially of DeRozan can be traced to Alex English not being in staff. I know that he played a role specifically working with players offensively and they ALL seem to have dropped off from last years production except Andrea. Any connection? Also I know you don’t really address draft issues but with a lottery pick seemingly inevitable, do you draft for need or best available. While this draft projects as deep, it seems that projections are that this year is good for big men, of which we seem to have plenty... so which philosophy would you take?

Randy M, Crystal Beach

A: I love Alex for his personality, his accomplishments, the work he did here with the Raptors but, really, his departure has nothing to do with the offensive struggles for most of this season. And, really, we’re only talking about the games Andrea’s missed. What’s behind team’s lack of production has to do with overall talent level – they don’t get nearly the production out of the small forward spot or the combined big men that they got a year ago – coupled with a shift in emphasis and total dedication of practice time from offence to defence for the first third of the season. And it’s not like Alex, bless his heart, was the choreographer of the offence a season ago, he was an okay teacher in practice but designing plays and calling sets was Jay’s bailiwick.

Draft? Take the best player, or the one you hope will be the best player but when it comes to make that decision, there’s all kinds of subjective reasoning that goes into deciding who the “best player” is so I’m not sure there’s a clearcut distinction.

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Q: Hey Doug. Zero Raptors in ESPN's Top 25 Under 25. Yet, it doesn't look like they're going to be bad enough to grab a top 3 or even top 5 pick. As a fan, should I not be really, really concerned about this?

Thanks

Bevan L, St. Thomas

A: Sure, if you want to obsess over a subjective list put together by a website about some kids who have yet to really prove themselves in the NBA, you should be “really, really concerned.” If you’d rather wait and see how things develop, it might be a bit easier on the nervous system.

Your choice. But I give the ESPN guys credit, they got you talking about one of their lists. And that’s what they’re there for.

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Q: Hi Doug. I shouldn't but I do. I am never happy when the Raps lose, but when they do it allows me one of my guilty pleasures. I love watching the look on Casey's face during interviews after a loss. There is something about the expression on his face that leads you to believe that beneath this stoic exterior is a man who is gritting his teeth through this experience, so he get to the work of tearing the flesh off of someone in the locker room. I don't know if he really is prone to tirades or not, Doug where would you rank him among Raptor coaches according to their use of ballistic tongue lashings?

Rob N, London

A: Oh, he’s not at the top, that’s for sure, that’d be the domain of guys like KO and Sam and Darrell Walker back in the day.

One of Dwane’s best attributes is his patience, he knew what he was getting into before he even took this job and while it has to be killing him to see the failings of his roster, he’s got the big picture in mind, he holds his breath, and his tongue, and soldiers on.

But, trust me, inside he’s got to be going nuts.

The Goods On The Game, Celtics at Raptors

Hey folks.

Ready?

It's back: Check out our latest that includes an old video favourite

Well, well, well.

How about this?

We’ve got something new again, our own Toronto Star Raptors facebook page because, well, because that’s what we do.

Jenni – our Social Media Editor and the woman who’s going to make it all work and, actually, do most of the work – tells me it’s going to have a whole bunch of extras you might not get in my run-of-the-mill existence.

Some photo galleries, stuff like a “Question Of The Day” and bells and whistles galore.

It’s been up there on the interwebs for a couple of days but they finally got me to sit still for a minute for a return of – wait for it – Grunt TV, which we’ll make a regular part of the fun.

Go here and “like” it, please. Offer feedback and comments and we’ll see how it goes.

 

 

No Bayless for Raptors against Celtics tonight

Oh, oh.

Jerryd Bayless will not play for the Raptors on Friday night and this has the potential to be one of Toronto’s most difficult offensive nights of the season.

If not ever.

Robbed of one of their most accomplished scorers, the Raptors are going up against one of the toughest, most veteran defensive teams in the league in the Boston Celtics, a team that’s already held Toronto 73 and 64 points in two games this season.

It is a difficult task at the best of times and now without Bayless and Andrea Bargnani, still on the shelf with a strained left calf, it becomes exponentially harder.

For those keeping score at home, fewest points a Raptors team has ever scored in game is 56 at Minnesota in 2003. Just in case you were wondering.

And in saying that Bayless (sore left ankle) won’t be able to go tonight, coach Dwane Casey said he’d use Anthony Carter at the backup point guard because it’d “be unfair” to subject either Gary Forbes or Leandro Barbosa – neither of whom possess the greatest ball-handling skills – to the routine fullcourt pressure that Celtics guards Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley bring to bear.

The announcement won’t come until right at game time but look for the Raptors to start Jose Calderon, DeMar DeRozan, James Johnson, Ed Davis and Aaron Gray. It’s a bigger lineup but one that’s offensively challenged.

“With our bigger group we match their size (but) at the same time we take a little bit of our offensive firepower off the floor,” Casey said after Friday morning’s shootaround. “But it’s also that they’re one of the top defensive teams. They still have (Kevin) Garnett and they’ve got Paul Pierce playing at a high level defensively, Ray Allen is playing a high level and Rondo is a one-man wrecking crew.”

 

Tennis and pucks and a wee bit of basketball. Must be Friday

We’re a bit all over the map today in a traditional Friday thing since we did a whole lot of basketball – including a one-man discussion of the relative merits of Kobe and Pierce in the history of their franchises in today’s Nothing But Net.

So …

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Believe a little clarification is necessary here today.

It’s about me and tennis.

It’s not the sport I’m not fond of by any stretch of the imagination; I quite like it at its highest level. It wasn’t too long ago that I woke up a few times through the night and remained awake to catch some of that epic Djokovic-Nadal match from Down Under because it was so compelling, as championship matches in Grand Slams tend to be.

There isn’t much better and more dramatic than two guys going at it tooth-and-nail with so much on the line, each pushing themselves to the absolute limits of their abilities in a sport that is absolutely about individuals going head-to-head against each other.

McEnroe-Borg. Connors-McEnroe. Sampras-Federer, Federer-Nadal, Djokovic-Federer, Nadal-Djokovic. All thrilling, all interesting, all great sports theatre.

No, I guess it is the whole notion of a team event in an individual sport that I kind of don’t get.

Or, better yet, it’s the proliferation of events, and the somewhat dumbing down of the Davis Cup that have turned it into something that won’t be destination viewing likely at any time this weekend.

There are simply too many tournaments to get pumped up about very many of them; the Davis Cup seems to have turned from the best against the best into some multi-level competition that is almost too confusing to follow.

(Tell me, honestly. How many people do you think saw the Canada-Israel tie last year and couldn’t figure out that it wasn’t the “real” Davis Cup but some kind of play-in weekend just to get the country into the Davis Cup? I’d venture to say more than a few).

Anyway, that’s me and tennis, like it is me and golf (the Ryder Cup’s lost some of its allure thanks to the Presidents Cup, the hype now about the Walker Cup but at least in golf it’s a one-and-done week) and while I hope for great matches, the “event” leaves me cold.

Good luck, though, to the lads.

One good thing about this one:

Twenty years ago, Daniel Nestor upset Stefan Edberg out in Vancouver in one of Canada’s best Davis Cup moments ever. Me, a desk jockey at The People’s Wire Service at the time, was dispatched to Pearson to chronicle the return of the conquering Canadian hero and while I have nothing but admiration for Nestor and what he’s accomplished in the last two decades he was, how shall I say this, a rather difficult interview as a shy teen and it was far from the best story I’ve ever written. Won’t have to do that again, I’m sure.

Remember it?

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So, all-star subs?

Guess I nailed it a bit and, sure, you could absolutely make the case that Rudy Gay should be on the West over Dirk Nowitzki or that Josh Smith should replace Joe Johnson on the East but, for the most part, I think the coaches got it right.

One thing that’s going to be interesting over the next few weeks is which of the all-stars tries to back out because in this compressed season, everyone would rather have that weekend off.

But you know the league knows that too and David And His Henchman aren’t going to look too fondly on guys backing out and there are going to have to be all kinds of serious doctor’s notes before anyone gets to ball.

And if I have to go, they should have to go.

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Hey, this is pretty cool in the “yes, it’s high school basketball and I really don’t get excited about high school basketball” vein but still …

They announced the players for that McDonalds All-American Game that’s in Chicago next month and Canadians got a couple of spots.

Brampton’s Anthony Bennett, who goes to Findlay Prep in Vegas, is in the boy’s game and Nirra Fields of Quebec, who goes to high school in LA on her way to UCLA, will play in the women’s event.

Having a boy in the game is old hat but – and I might be wrong on this but I don’t think so – Fields is most likely the first Canadian girl in the game.

Cool, eh?

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So, I see my boy Damien thinks it might be a good idea that I join 100,000 or so crazy pucks aficionados at some outdoor event in a year or so.

Yeah, right.

I’m thinking of all the zany manufactured sports events, a hockey game in a football stadium in the dead of winter would rank right down there with UFC as something I’d like to go witness.

Say this for the pucks, though: They can take a not bad idea and beat it into the ground like no one else can.

Maybe as a one-off deal in one specific situation, such a thing was unique and mildly interesting. Now? Now this stuff has become some commonplace it has little juice to it, it’s a bit of a thing that elicits yawns.

There are so many of these games – NHL, AHL, college, junior – I have expect the KHL or someone to want to hold the next one in the wonderful outdoor facility of M. Grange ™ who I understand through the wonder of twitter has become a rink-maker supreme, if only Mother Nature would comply.

Like a whole lot of other sports and their big-time events – and I’m looking at you, NBA All-Star Saturday Night – outdoor hockey has become old and cliché and someone with a bigger marketing brain has to come up with something more interesting. And soon.

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Mail?

That’d be nice. Traditional Friday Afternoon In The Media Room awaits, please give me something to putter around on.

Thank you.

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I guess the only burning question around the Raptors today is this: What do they do if Bayless can’t go tonight, or for the next couple of games.

(And I fully expect, in the ultra-secret world of injury reportage, we might not find out until 7 p.m. tonight whether that’s the case or not, giving you even more reason to tune in to the IGBT).

Anyway, I can’t for the life of me see them going back to Gary Forbes tonight. The Celtics, with Rondo and Avery Bradley, have two of the more pesky full-court defenders, and back in Boston a while ago, I remember Forbes having such a difficult time even getting into the offence, that Dwane went to Anthony Carter quickly.

So if there’s no Bayless maybe there’s more Carter or maybe they go with a rather bold stroke and let Leandro run the offence for a few minutes.

And, no, the Raptors should not waive somebody and pay them to go away just so they can sign a guy to a 10-day contract. That makes no sense at many levels: It’s relatively costly and by the time a new guy learns the defence and offence either 10 days will be up or Bayless would be back. Guess they just have to suck it up, as they did in that 13-game stretch Jerryd missed earlier this year.

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Hmm.

Tell me, dear Irregulars, what’s a FreshCo grocery store like? Some of us find it quite fun to explore new food stores – it’s rather therapeutic and relaxing, actually – and with a Whole Foods in the neighbourhood now and a FreshCo opening today, I need some intel.

Got any?

Thanks.

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