No big numbers is really no big deal in a solid debut

So, what’d you think?

Kid looked okay, didn’t he?

I was trying to figure out along with my boys Tim and Sid on the radio yesterday afternoon where the debut of Jonas Valanciunas fits in the history of the Raptors and we figure there was probably more interest in him than in anyone before.

Maybe Vince but Carter sat out a lockout and didn’t have a pre-season so that doesn’t really count; no one else created as much buzz, I don’t think.

Sure, it had a lot to do with the delay because of the injury and the proliferation of social media that makes everything a talking point for everyone but I don’t recall a more anticipated pre-season game maybe ever.

Unfair? Probably. Sign of the times? Unquestionably.

So how’d the kid do?

Just fine, I’d say.

Didn’t fill up the stats sheet but I don’t imagine he will very often this season. But he seems to make the right basketball play almost every time, he’s in the right spot at both ends of the floor, he’s active, quick, willing to bang and looked pretty comfortable.

Sure, there was the blip when he took the ball off the rim for a goaltending call that would have been a good play in Europe but he also set solid screens to get guards free and rolled hard and quickly to the basket after setting them that attracted enough attention to free Andrea Bargnani for open corner threes.

The kid’s going to be okay and I know there will be all kinds of expectations on him when he gets home but there seems to be nothing in his makeup to suggest that he’ll be at all fazed by them.

Here's the game story.

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If that wasn’t the best finish to a night of baseball in a very, very, very long time, I don’t know what was.

We were courtside when Ibanez hit the game-tying homer in the ninth – a tad incredulous that they hit for ARod – but saw the extra-inning homer in the press lounge after writing. Gutsy call to hit for Rodriquez, as thrilling a finish as I can remember.

And then after a quick stop for a couple and some wings at Hoops (yeah, the Winter Diet is upon us) was back in the room watching the A’s go berserk with three in the ninth to beat the Tigers (I can only imagine the angst in Detroit today) to win that game.

It was a brilliant end to a night; man, you’ve got to love sports, don’t you?

And I’m sitting here about 7 a.m., finishing this missive off and Mike and Mike on ESPN are replaying the final two Ibanez at-bats with the television call and it’s being done by Dan Shulman and we need to repatriate the guy if at all possible.

-

Yeah, this is Bob Seger land in a lot of ways but …

Who doesn’t like a little Motown?

This would be near the top of the list, right?

Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, not bad. Didn’t hear it at the game, or anything like it. Should have, though.

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Yes, that was a pretty solid play to try and win the game at the buzzer for the Raptors.

A bunch of cuts off Bargani with the ball at about the elbow and a Jose three-pointer from the top.

Familiar?

Should be, we saw it about three or four times last season – they got a good shot every time, the one I remember best was in Utah when a shot tied the game at the buzzer, I believe – and it was entirely predictable.

I know, and you know, Dwane’s got some other last-season play calls in the bag of tricks and he broke into a rather sneaky smile when he was asked about it.

“We have a few (more), we can’t give them away at this time. We always get good looks on it … there’s counters to it so they’re ready. But again, we don’t have a lot of our offensive sets in.”

Best thing about it, by far?

That it was a three-pointer to win or lose; if they’d gone for two and the tie, there would have been some angry people around because pre-season overtime should not be allowed.

Settle it with free throws, or a sprint, a blind draw; anything but overtime. So, thanks Dwane.

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Mail?

Please.

And don’t forget there’s a game on Friday so anything to do with stuff like rotations or whatever might not be all the timely.

But you know I love to hear from you – and it was very nice to see some familiar names around the IGBT last night – so do you’re stuff.

Click. Write. Send.

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We’re sitting in the lobby of the luxuriously appointed Auburn Hills Courtyard Marriott (three whole floors, just down the driveway from Wendy’s and Tim Horton’s, which are the only joints for lunch within possible distance) and who comes around the corner?

Anthony Parker.

He’s now working as a scout for Orlando, was finishing a Chicago-Auburn Hills back-to-back and he’s getting a bit more use to how the other half of the NBA’s travelling circus lives during the season.

No complaints, though; that’s not his style at all.

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The Things You See, Vol. 182,391,457

We’re staying on Opdyke Road just down from the Palace between the old Silverdome and the arena, an area we’ve frequented an awful lot over the course of 15, 16 years.

There’s this place on a corner, Harry’s Liquors, that’s been there forever and it’s a rather rough tumble joint. One floor, kind of like an old gas station building, bars on windows, hand-written signs for any manner of booze and a rather scary looking place, to tell you the truth.

(The only thing that would make the tableau more perfect would be in the joint next door was a gun shop, or a massage parlour)

Have never gone in, it would either confirm my suspicions about the seediness of it or all illusions would be gone if it was even close to nice inside and I don’t want to chance that.

Anyway …

We’re driving by yesterday and see a new sign that offers:

Two 40-ounce bottles of Bud for $6!

That’s 80 ounces of beer for six bucks?

Can you imagine the kind of crowd that deal would attract?

No, we didn’t go in.

Next time we’re here is for an off-night on the Thursday of American Thanksgiving.

Can’t wait to see what the specials are that day. A buck a bottle of Wild Turkey, perchance?

-

 

 

Comments

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
Good news! My employer has finally taken the 'block' off YouTube, so I can now see your video posts!

[LeeZ]

Three signs from DD last night, two of them very encouraging, one not so much.
1) That steal of his off the Piston big, when he snuck in behind him. Can't remember ANY time last year when he came down from the help side to try and steal a ball like that, but that's just the kind of play a young athletic two should be making.
2) His attempted thunder dunk where he took off from about 15 feet and attempted to posterize the Piston big. SUCH a welcome sight!!! No dipsy-doodle. No double clutch. No scoop layup. The guy's got explosive hops and he showed NO. FEAR. OF. CONTACT.
3) Several times during the game he took some really ill-advised shots, all jumpers, all early in the shot clock, and almost all from the exact same spot: on the baseline, about 19 feet away, with him twisting to get his shot up against an in-your-face defender. Why? Why on earth would he feel that THAT'S the shot the team should be taking there? Worst example? The one he hoisted up with, I dunno, a dozen seconds left in the game.
But all in all, I liked what I saw. Apart, of course, from his typical atrocious inability to find his man coming off screens. Good god, he's been abused like that hundreds of times, isn't it time he learned?

[LeeZ]

Something you said in the in-game blog last night caught my eye. In response to someone jumping on the 10-minute-old-Drummond-is-the-next-Wilt-Chamberlain bandwagon who suggested that maybe the Raps made a mistake in bypassing Dwight Howard Part Deux, you wrote: Nope; they already had a bigger big coming, was never,ever, ever a consideration nor should it have been. Since I'm feeling devilish this morning, I'll play the devil's advocate: why should that have stopped the Raps from drafting him? When Portland (I think it was Portland) drafted Sam Bowie ahead of His Airness, their rationale was they didn't need a shooting guard. That of course is the Mother of All Examples of why a so-so team should never draft for position but rather for the best player period. Now, needless to say, Drummond has gaping holes in his game and will take time to develop, and who knows how good/bad he'll be, but if the Raps liked his potential, why should they have let the fact that they were waiting on Val influence their decision to bypass Drummond? Over to you, my good man.

Blogger's note: There were questions about his game, his maturity level. The Raptors had a huge need for a wing shooter, it was, to me, a no-brainer. And, yes, the Drummond lad looked pretty good in a few minutes of his first pre-season game. And I don't the Raptors had any interest in his potential

[TL]

80 ounces of beer for six bucks? No... 80 ounces of Bud!

[David in Oakville]

Obvious Guys says: 5 Bucks for 80 ounces of Bud, no thanks that is still more expensive than regular unleaded.

And... I know I shouldn't but I sort of feel sorry for A-Rod today.

Totally agree about Dan Shulman, had the game on the radio in the kitchen listening to Dan & Orel.

[Mike D.]

I'm having some trouble reading the IGBT (can only get the first page), so my apologies if the question is repetitive: have the "why didn't we pick Drummond instead of Ross, then trade Jonas for a wing?" questions started yet?

Blogger's note: Oh yeah

[Arlene Erven]

A couple of weeks from now, it will be interesting to compare Andre Drummond with Valanciunas. I was impressed with Drummond's play last night. That kid has good hops and great hands.

Blogger's note: How about a couple of months, or a couple of years

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
Just read the IGBT (otherwise occupied last night). I noticed that when JV made his first appearance, Lorie asked if he was walking on air. I think a better question - based on some fans' expectations of him - would be, was he walking on water ;)

[jwss]

Sam Amico asked a scout to describe Jonas Valanciunas' game. The scout said it bounced between "soft" and "scared". Whatever team employs this guy is in trouble.

[jb]

I thought Jonas looked like he was running around with his head cutoff. Lots of energy but didn't do much. A couple of times he missed his assignment or couldn't get back in time and Jonas Jerebko got 2 easy scores out of it. I don't care if he scores much but it's the rebounding and defense that is needed from him the most. The fact he didn't get one rebound in 13 mins and Andrea got 1 rebound in 22 mins and the Pistons out rebounded the Raps 47 to 32 is pretty scary. The only reason the Raps were in the game was b/c of the 11 threes they made.

Of course this is the preseason, it doesn't mean anything and it's Jonas' first game...I thought he did...meh.

The other rookie, Terrance Ross was kind of invisible...barely knew he was in the game.

The Piston's rookie Andre Drummond looks special not b/c of his stats...but just the combination of size and the incredible athleticism. The block he made on DeMar was pretty sweet, the ball hit his wrist, he was so high. He's just so fluid for a big guy and he made an impact on the game every time he was on the floor. Of course this is just one game.

[Chris]

This is only the preseason and I think everyone needs to remember that. My concern is that these guys have had many great coaches year after year of their development. So how can so many of the defensive basics be so often forgotten. Box outs, close outs. It doesnt need D Casey to teach them this.This should have been drilled in their heads since they started playing in elementry school. Its about effort and smarts, and too many of the raptors dont do these little things. Even on the last tip in by Maguire, how can he not have a single body anywhere near him. He's massive! And killed us inside all night. And Im sure the coaches of the raptors were very animated about putting a body on him. That is my concern. I dont care about defensive schemes, or up tempo offence. If we cant block out the biggest rebounding threat when the game is on the line, we are going to continue to lose games that are very winnable and for this team to make the playoffs, games like this one in the regular season that should be W's will continue to frustrate everyone involved.

[Jose]

"Didn’t fill up the stats sheet but I don’t imagine he will very often this season"

This is the most anitcipated rookie in history?

Are we supposed to be excited about this?

Is there anyway we can turn back time and get Grunwald back? At least he was semi-competent enough to judge talent and put a real team together.

Blogger's note: I actually don't care whether you're excited or not

[JHK]

No mention on Drummond?
Guarantee he will be an all star one day.

Blogger's note: Ok. What are the winning lottery numbers this week? I could use early retirement

[LeeZ]

omg, I am getting SUCH a kick out of all this Drummond-for-God talk!!! You have to admit, Doug, we do keep you entertained at times!
:-)

Blogger's note: Yeah, that'd be a word, I guess

[Slap Dog Hoops]

My stat of the night has to go to Aaron Gray--6pts 7rbs in 18 mins.

[john]

Hey Doug, what is with the Angst-O-Meter going off so early? It's amazing the number of people who are tossing away JV after one pre-season game, coming off injury for the last couple weeks and playing only 13 minutes. I don't suppose anyone saw him seal off a defender for DD's dunk did they? No he didn't score much, but still had 2 blocks and 1 foul.
I thought for a pre-season game where the Raps played 14 people, (Detroit played 11) and didn't have Lowry they looked OK.
-
Could we make a pact and watch on only the last 2-3 pre-season games before the coach, GM and President get fired?

[jc]

@ jb
"I thought Jonas looked like he was running around with his head cutoff. Lots of energy but didn't do much. A couple of times he missed his assignment or couldn't get back in time and Jonas Jerebko got 2 easy scores out of it."

Take a look at the first Jerebko play. JV was stuck behind under the Pistons basket after going for the rebound, the pistons pushed the ball up the floor and JV was still the closest guy to Jerebko at the Raptors end of the court.

For all those who think we drafted the wrong big, keep in mind that most of what Drummond did was prove he can put the ball in the basket if it's already one foot or less away from the basket. A great skill but you need more than that.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
Don't you think that if we had offered Bosh enough; drafted LaMarcus Aldridge instead of Bargs; kept Roy Hibbert instead of trading him away; drafted Jrue Holiday instead of DD; taken Brandon Knight instead of JV; and taken Andre Drummond instead of Ross; that we'd be a shoe-in for the Finals this year? What in the world was BC thinking??

[jb]

@jc

yes, he went for an offensive rebound(which he wasn't close to getting) when he should have been running back on defense to pick up his man. And b/c he went for the rebound, Jerebko had an easy basket.

I don't know if Jerebko was his man on that play or if it was Andrea's man...but Andrea was on Monroe/other big at the time b/c no one else was. Andrea should have shifted over and try to take a charge when he saw Jerebko running free but Andrea is a useless help defender. Had Jonas got back on defense, the play would have been prevented.

" what Drummond did was prove he can put the ball in the basket if it's already one foot or less away from the basket."

...and what did Jonas prove...that he can't even put the ball in the basket or rebound since he didn't do any of that in the game? Drummond looks like he has a chance to be special b/c of his combination of size and athleticism but it doesn't mean he will get there...just like it doesn't mean Jonas will be a stiff.

Like I posted previously, it's just one game in the preseason...it doesn't mean anything. It might take 3 or 4 yrs to determine who is the better big man btwn those two.

Doug asked what people thought about Jonas based on last night's game, I answered "meh"....is all.

Blogger's note: The rush to judgement in the world today will be the ruination of mankind, I swear. They need to invent a pill, they really, really, really do

[Cluck Kent]

Preseason is a terrible way to end a six month basketball drought. No doubt about that. There were times last night when it looked like the keystone cops had suited up for both squads.

I was one that wondered why we didn't pick Drummond instead of Ross (based purely on pre-draft hype - no knowledge of either player) and sure enough, if they were both to retire after last nights game, Drummond would have had the better career. It didn't help of course that the Detroit TV guys were hyping Drummond every moment he was on the floor, saying what a great character guy he was...I thought that was supposed to be his biggest short coming? Anyway, I do agree that you should always draft the BPA, and I guess in 5-10 years we'll know if we did.

[m]

"Blogger's note: The rush to judgement in the world today will be the ruination of mankind, I swear. They need to invent a pill, they really, really, really do"
So, so true.

[Gordo]

Afraid I agree with John. On that particular play, Jonas was only one going for the offensive board. Of course, Andrea was no where near the basket. He was on the perimeter. Jonas was nowhere to gettng that offensive board because he was the only one trying. The ball was pushed up the court. The other inside player has to protect the key until Jonas gets back (which he was hustling to do so). Of course Andrea was nowhere near protecting the lane.
The reason that our boy didn't fill up the stat sheet was that they only called his number on offense twice. Now here's a play you should look at if you want to know the impact he will have this season: the ball was ouleted and Jonas ran hard down the middle of the floor. Sideline pass to DD. Last Piston back dropped to cover the hard charging Jonas. Lane was opened up for DD, who slammed it home. Guess what? No stat for Jonas. Huge part of making that basket happen. This is a kid who has seen 2 hours of action in 3 weeks and he played tiny minutes last night. the stats will come and be a bonus to plays like this one. If I was going to be concerned (and Im not....yet) it is Andrea's potential to revert to the old defensive habits that frustrated us all in the past. Its way too early o come to any conclusions.

[doug]

I was busy today and read this blog mid-day as always the comments just floored me....then later after work did the same...felt no desire to comment as the comments on here from a few left me speechless....unreal, after one game of a meaningless pre-season schedule we are enshrining a guy into the HOF, another who hasn't had a training camp, plays and he is a bust and another in Ross is the same...people get real, you want life, you want to get pissed about something, well here is a 14 year old girl that committed suicide over cyber-bullying....sporets is NOT

[doug]

oopps keyboard skills not the best...sports aren't life is what I was saying relax this is life...

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1270262--b-c-victim-of-cyber-bullying-commits-suicide

[Arlene Erven]

You are absolutely right, Doug. Sports are not life....but a diversion from the realities of living. Terrible tragedy that a 14yr. old has to commit suicide.
A US election upcoming whose outcome could change the world.
Unfortunately we get caught up in the "sport as god"...and forget the human tragedies around us but we are not totally to blame. Maybe we should stop reading the sport's pages.....