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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Comments

[Gerald]

On November 11, 2000, Oakley's line over 40 minutes in a 98-75 beating laid on the Chicago Bulls:

10 points on 5-11 shooting;

12 assists, zero turnovers;

11 rebounds, one offensive

1 steal,3 fouls.

A relatively competitive game, blown apart by the Raps in a 34-19 4th quarter.

[Cluck Kent]

Doug, normally you are the classy guy taking the high road and scolding those on the extreme side so I continue to be surprised by your total disgust for all things Rob Ford. Look, I'm glad he's not my mayor either, but in the end he was the tonic needed for David Miller. The city had to stop the insane spending increases and if Ford can do that then Amen. It's like some giant bruhaha between the Star and the Sun with the readers being the losers because people want news, not just opinions of people who have an axe to grind or something to gain from the mudslinging. It's simply not professional and it devalues the contributions around it.

Now, I'm not the most mature guy in the world and Lord knows that has it's draw backs on a regular basis, but if the Star and the Sun can't find a way to get back on the straight and narrow and provide more objective insights than the recent political mudslinging then I`m willing to suspend my lack of interest in all things WWE and suggest a night of cage matches between the scribes from both publications.

In all seriousness, I get both papers and I`ve never been closer to dropping both subscriptions and joining the ranks of those that only read for free on the interwebs. It`s starting to feel like the papers are written by those same kids still living in their parents basements who post here.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
Did you see that your paper is letting people try to design the uniforms for the pucks, for their big shindig next year? Have you put in your suggestion? Being the fashionista that you are, I'd be real interested in seeing your design!

Blogger's note: Riiiiiight! Guess I should start formulating a plan

[TLI]

@Cluck - totally agree overall: news writers today (especially in Toronto) seem to be more interested in playing politics than reporting on it. All semblance of journalistic objectivity has disappeared from the front pages.
But in defence of our favourite grunt, this is Doug's blog, not The Star's front page. We welcome his opinions on dancers, musicians, tennis players and all the irregulars; why not his sentiments on the Smelly Fords?
As you suggest, though, I'd like to see journalists, as a profession, draw a much harder line between current events reportage and their own water cooler rants.

[Vancouver]

Hey Doug, Good to hear Dwayne giving the fans a shoutout :) - One question I have for you is, in the wake of Jeremy Lin's success, how rare is it to find these D-Leaguers who come into the NBA and give quality minutes? Have the Raptors ever found a gem like this? (I can't really think of any Raptor who has 'outperformed' already high expectations)

Blogger's note: The Raptors? Never. Rest of league? Never, at least not to this degree

[Dan]

I see no reason that Doug shouldn't comment on the Fords. It has nothing to do with the politics of The Star, just his own personal view. And given that the Fords are a total embarrassment and remarkably nasty toward anybody that dare oppose them, I'm glad to see people calling them out. It astounds me that two people as anti-intellectual and as mean-spirited as Rob and Doug Ford could ever be elected in Toronto.

[Derek]

Hi Doug,
I was at the game last night, and it was a great game to watch. So much more fun (win or lose) when the Raps play defense and rebound they way they did last night. I've been really impressed by the improvement I've seen in James Johnson (after the slow start he had early in the season). Still wish I was seeing more out of Ed Davis on a consistent basis though. My big "beef" though has been the two free agent veterans we brought in - Butler and Carter. I realize Carter doesn't normally play much unless one of Calderon and Bayliss are hurt, but for a guy who was touted as a seasoned pro who's always ready when needed, he's looked pretty horrible to me all year, anytime that he's played. Only worse has been Butler, who's % is horrible, and worse, he jacks up 3's early in the possession when its not needed, and is weak on defense. Given that this is clearly a rebuilding year, wouldn't the Raps be better off ditching those two guys, and bringing in young/unproven guys with some potential upside, rather than guys just finishing out their last contracts? I'm glad to see that Johnson seems to be getting the bulk of the minutes over Butler now, but I still cringe with Butler or Carter are on the court.

[james]

If we posit a continuum for Toronto, with admirable on one end and appalling on the other, Mats Sundin is the former and Rob Ford the latter.
A wonderful game against Boston by another admirable Toronto athlete, Jose; I confess I watched it twice.

[john]

Well said Cluck. Its just two stubborn children in a sandbox and both look equally childish. Both are wrong and both are right. Its too bad a sports writer from Mississauga feels compelled to tow the paper line and comment on something that doesn't affect him or have anything to do with sports.
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What I would like to see is a columnest from the STAR come up with a plan to balance the budget in the city without chasing even more wealth and jobs out of the city with more tax increases. TO is a mess. I feel sorry for any Mayor of Toronto right now.

[BK]

Re: Gerald
Wow.
I think most of us are here because Mr. Doug Smith is a "classy guy" and gives us information and a bit of entertainment over the course of our day.
I really don't have to defend him at all, but we read his opinions on a lot of different subjects and it's too bad if some people want to take offense...
Mr. Smith made a comment, in keeping with the informal tenor of his blog, that was more to do with Dwayne Casey or Pinball rather than making a political comment. I got a chuckle from it. Do you have anything to say about basketball, baseball, popular culture, or anything?
To take one line out of Mr. Smith's post seems to be axe grinding and mudslinging.
How about commenting on Aaron or Amir or Jose? Pretty good game against the Celtics, wasn't it!
If you have an axe to grind then maybe you should comment on Mr. Royston James columns instead of on a sports blog.

[Matt M]

Good game by the Raps. Hopefully the Raps can stay focused this week as they seem to have a bit of break coming up with only one game being played next week. With the grind that this season has presented I'd imagine many are looking forward to the rest.
Although the 'why we play the game' shtick was cute the first four hundred times it was trotted out feel free to retire it for a while.

[J]

People need to be a little more careful when responding to others. The poster's name is below the post, not above. =)