No time for talk, bad breaks happen and you deal with 'em

So three key guys are hurt and the schedule’s a bear and they’re 2-6 and things aren’t likely to get any better for at least the next couple of weeks.

Big whoop.

The last thing anyone wants, or anyone connected with the HOTH should do, is wallow in any measure of self-pity about their lot in life at the moment.

It’s simply time to suck it up and go play. Play harder, play smarter, play better; it’s that simple because no one should pay much attention to any suggestion that the injuries to Kyle Lowry, Alan Anderson and Landry Fields are either an excuse or a crutch.

I know Dwane pretty well and I’m sure that’s the message he’ll deliver: No one wants to hear how bad things are, no one really cares, this is a man’s league and it’s time to man up.

That goes particularly for Andrea Bargnani, who has been a disappointment this year (“We’ve to got to find a way to get him going,” was how one insider put it the other night in Indy) but it’s also true for everyone else left standing.

This team was built for some depth, they were crowing about it at camp and now it’s time for that depth to be put to use, especially given that two of the three injured guys play on the wing.

But is losing them a horrendous blow?

I don’t think Dom McGuire and Terrence Ross are appreciably worse than the missing Anderson and Fields; that’s probably pretty close to a wash. Toss in Kleiza – and he got a maintenance day yesterday for a sore ankle – and I don’t know that they’re any the worse off.

Yes, Lowry’s a tough one to lose because of the trickle down effect it has. It means Jose Calderon has to handle the ball more and that’s going to wear him down a bit (there’s a big difference in playing 38 minutes at point guard in a game and playing 25 at the point and 13 at shooting guard) and no one’s sure whether John Lucas III is a point guard, a shooting guard or some Heat Check kind of hybrid who may or may not have “it” on any given night.

But all that’s neither here nor there, really. It’s not like the Celtics, Magic, Sixers, Bobcats or Pistons are going to take it easy on them in the next week; it’s not like the league is going postpone games because the roster is depleted.

It’s really simple:

They have to play better and more consistently. Sure, guys are hurt but no one wants to hear it.

And to their credit, no one connected with team is using the injuries as any kind of excuse; they know what they are and what’s ahead of them.

It’s not time to talk, it’s time to play.

-

Who says we don’t cover high school sports well enough?

This isn’t good enough for you?

In other news, the Grey Cup actually arrives in Toronto once every few years, imagine the football-loving Mayor of The Big City Next To Hazelville would be front and centre.

Oh, guess not.

-

Yeah, I’ll be in Philly on Monday night, probably renewing acquaintances with the good folks at The Palm but part of me wishes I could be back home.

Because that’s Neil Young night in Toronto and that’s one cat I might actually pay money to see.

Wouldn’t you?

-

I take great pride in saying I have neither read nor seen a single thing to do with Twilight and the news that the final movie is out today elicits nothing but yawns.

But you young’uns enjoy it, okay.

-

Say what you will about Brian Burke as a sports executive (he’s the Grand Poobah of the Pucks, I hear) but he’s got a social conscience and you cannot dispute the good he does for various charities around the city.

We know that Maple Leaf Sports is a great supporter of the Canadian armed forces, the companies foundation goes excellent work in the community and Burke gets in there with the people and helps out.

I’m told that last night, he and a bunch of other Toronto executives slept outside in sleeping bags to raise money and awareness for Covenant House, a private charity that supports homeless youth.

So bust on him all you will for whatever it is he does with the hockey team but all due credit for getting out in the community to help raise funds for worthy causes.

-

I will not gloat about Miguel Cabrera winning the AL MVP over Mike Trout yesterday because I do not want to take the wrath of the WAR guys and those of that ilk.

I will say I was a tad taken aback by the margin with which he won, I guess that strikes a bit of a blow for those who think advanced metrics are just part of the equation, not the deciding factor. A winning team helps just as much, I’d suggest.

I also don’t for a second believe there’s an age divide between those who would choose one over the other; it’s not like all old fogeys like me discount the in-depth stats and it’s not like all kids like you think numbers are the end all and be all in any kind of debate like this.

But that’s what’s great about things like this, isn’t it?

You can debate all you want, no one’s “right” and no one’s “wrong” and anything in sport that leads to fun conversations is a good thing. I’m not talking about conversations that begin with “you’re dead wrong and stupid, too” but conversations that are nice to have while sitting around a table somewhere.

-

It’ll be mail sometime tomorrow morning – I am soooo taking advantage of a chance to not set the alarm for 5 a.m. – so get the queries in now so I can stool sit and answer them this afternoon.

Click. Write. Send.

And since Not Grace is going to Boston, there's no IGBT Saturday (I'm planning on being somewhere on a stool watching the game somewhere cozy) but we'll be back Sunday.

-

Oh yeah, for those who wondered.

I see the Raptors rookies finally got cute little girly backpacks to carry around for the season.

Best one I recall was Garbo, who was about 40, with a Dora The Explorer bag in his rookie season. Yeah, that was odd.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[Lorie]

Good Morning, Doug!
Nice review yesterday @doug - Bob Dylan with a Tom Waits rumble. Hmmm. How about Bob Dylan AND Tom Waits? On stage together? That'd be an unforgettable night. As was this one. Neil Young (and, Doug, have you been at one of his concerts before?) introducing Tom Waits at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. (And isn't that the greatest HOF of them all?)
http://youtu.be/oMqL6INs1VE
And we've got some mayor-type issues here in London right now, but nothing to compare with those you've got with that guy in Toronto. Great line from the story: "While the mayor bounded across the field to shake hands with the opposing team, the Eagles doused their coach with a cooler of orange Gatorade. Several of them — linemen, no doubt — lifted Rob Ford on their shoulders." And today's headlines are telling of all sorts of scary news (What? No more Twinkies?) and worriesome warnings (Trump's hotel shedding glass on the streets of Toronto...could've been worse, I guess. Could've been that thing on his head coming down on us...) but one you should pay attention to, Doug: stay away from ice cube vending machines in hotels! The reports tell of almost unspeakable hazards. The moral of the story? Don't drink alone in your room - protect your health and get yourself out to bars, pubs, and watering holes. I guess. :) Cheers! And Go Raps! (but gingerly)

[deener]

I don't even need a calendar anymore......

If I just look at any sports website and confirm indeed that the Raptors are a doomed failure and headed to the lottery already, I know it must be mid November.

Is this the most medically inept team in the history of the NBA? It looks like it. The training staff should surely be looked at and revamped. I cannot think of another team in the last 3 seasons with more injuries than this one.

For purely the maintenance of self confidence, I hope the Raps manage to win a few games this year. If all is lost, I sense the locker room is going to be an awful place, full of somber lads and unmotivated players. Good luck to BC or the new GM this offseason in convincing anyone to come here and play in this quagmire.

Who knows though. If the Jays are authorized to spend spend spend, then maybe, just maybe, the Raptors too become a luxury tax team and makes some definitive and bold moves in 2013/2014.

Enjoy the season folks !! Lets hope Ross breaks out now that Fields is gone for a few weeks and JV continues to learn and grow.

My guess for total victories with current roster : 19
Should be good enough for 3rd worst overall, lets just hope that pick ends up in the top 4 !!

See you all around lottery seasons when the speculation begins and BC trots out his "organic growth" speech for the 6th year running, if he even still has a job by then.

[john]

So basically the raps have the same team they started with last year and played well till AB got hurt. Looking at the upcoming schedule there are lots of winnable games even with this roster. I guess this explains a little of Fields shooting issues?
As for Neil Young, I went a concert of his a few years ago and it was awful. It was a tour called ‘this town’ or ‘my town’ or something. There was an intermission break and hordes of people were exiting and were laughing at how bad they thought it was. Since sitting through the first half of that concert I find it hard to listen anymore and I was a pretty big fan back then.

[Boko]

“We’ve to got to find a way to get him going,” NOT! He's to got to find a way to get himself going, period. The coach is responsible for preparing & motivating a team, a collective. Pro athletes have to be responsible for getting themselves prepared & motivated, and nobody else.

I actually prefer the current swings to the previous swings! However, I'd still play Andrea at SF, and rotate Jonas, Amir & Ed at C/PF. Andrea, DeMar & Linus might be our best swing rotation.

[Mike D.]

Doug, I question the language in one part of your injury update article: did Landry Fields in fact "scurry" to doctors? I don't think he's the kind of guy who struts, and because he was genuinely concerned he probably didn't saunter, but "scurrying" just sounds so.....so....rodent-like. Sprinting? Racing? Rushing?

Blogger's note: "Fleeing?"

[sam]

Since Lowry and Fields went down, the team has seen some good performances from Jose, Amir, DD and Kleiza - Admitedly Andrea has been hit and miss and needs to find his grove for the HOTH to be successful - I'm not sure I can write off the next couple of weeks and it will be a good test to see what TRoss can do with more minutes. Realistically we weren't seeing much from Fields, and hopefully his revcovery time will also help him find his shot.
A wise man once said: That's why they play the games......

[Dave B]

Is the TOD trade finalized yet?

Blogger's note: Nope

[Raprap]

"Raptors must suck it and play despite injuries …". The person who does the headlines on the main sports page needs to be spoken to. Just saying.

[Derek]

Any body else like the like link from the main sports page "Raptors must suck it and play despite.." Pretty sure an 'UP' is missing in there but hey thanks for the chuckle

[Born-Ghost]

Seriously, injuries or not, if this team isn't sniffing around the playoffs in 3 months doesn't BC have to go? What's the sense in keeping a GM with almost no success in the role any longer. And Ed Stefanski is not the answer people...if they cut ties with BC then they have to cut ties with everyone involved and refresh completely. It's starting to look like the pre-season optimism (that many in the media had too, not just fans) might have been misplaced. Off to the trade machine to dream of decent AB trades....

Blogger's note: Have fun with the fantasy trades; not like they have any semblance of realism but spend your idle time as you wish

[Steve]

"Is this the most medically inept team in the history of the NBA? It looks like it. The training staff should surely be looked at and revamped. I cannot think of another team in the last 3 seasons with more injuries than this one."

Portland would probably like a word with you.

Blogger's note: And perhaps Minnesota, and maybe the Knicks. It's too easy, like shooting fish in a barrel

[Boko]

Hey, Naysayers, with Kyle leading the likes of Jonas, Amir, Ed, DeMar, & Terrance for the next 4 years, I see a bright future, especially under Coach Casey. In the meantime, José & Linus are contributing.

However, Andrea has to get himself to the next level, plain & simple.

[Johnn19]

The best GM move by Colangelo this year, was to keep Jose Calderon with
the Raptors to play PG.

Can anyone imagine Lucas 111 as the Raptors starting PG, backed up by
______ ???? with Lowry likely to be out till December, and 9 games, 6 away, including 3 back to backs till the end of November to play.

[HopeCaper]

Who would have thought that Jordan did the Raps a big favour by not taking Jose. By the same token how stupid would BC look right now based on his efforts to trade one of the best PGs the Raps have ever had? Personally I don't have a problem with Jose being with the team with Lowry as the PG. Lowry shows that he can score but his assists are not there. Jose is a master passer and if Lowry can get by his own ego has a lot to learn.

[Rob.V]

JL3 will contribute.
-
I watched a fair amount of Bulls games last season and I don't think what he did for the Bulls, or how he played in pre-season for us was "fluke".
-
He puts the ball in the hole. I'm more confident that he will come in and give us some punch off the bench much more than AB ever averaging 8 boards a game.
-
But there lies the problem, no?. "Our" expectations of AB are just that... and nothing more.
-
Do you guys think that BC comes into work each day, or watches games blindfolded?.
-
Don't kid yourself, he's looking at every player on this roster (including AB), and if he feels there is a good move to make, he'll make it. It's not like he's ever been shy about making a deal.
-
You cannot try to implement a rookie center, and new PG and give the experiment all of 3-4 games with AB and make a decision on pulling the trigger on a trade. We've got to realistically give this team 20 games before we know what we have.
-
Patience!

[Mos High]

@ ROb V ...I agree with patience, I hate sounding like a broken record But Bargnani has not shown any improvement, doesnt look like he was aggressively in the Gym this off season, no new moves, obviously not better on defense. He has hit his ceiling, he will not get better its his 7th year!!! He isnt a rookie or even 3rd yr guy. I know u can trade him for a bag of sticks, but he needs to in order for this team to take a whole new direction.

Jose is in contract year, no surprise he is playing better. But he is still defensive liability. The Raptors having pulled that trade off to get Chandler it could have ment a world of different things lets not kid ourselves, A defensive tower in the middle!! come on.

For the previous poster who thinks Bargnani can play 3, come on, so Raptors could have even more defensive rotation issue, NO WAY!!!...

More T Ross, remind Klezia he doesnt have green light every time down the floor

[john]

@Mos High, Jose is within an assist and a point of his career average so what is your opinion that he is playing better in this, his contract year, based on what exactly? He's doing the same things he has done for 7 years! As for those of you who think an AB trade would yield a bag of sticks you are horribly out of touch. Consesus seems to be that he is playing horribly thus far and I agree the team should be getting much more out of him, yet he is almost dead on his career averages for points and rebounds and is considered a pretty good deal at 10 million a year. How do you people formulate these opinioins??? Based on what exactly??

[Boko]

Mos High, I just said that I would play AB at the 3, so that a) he wouldn't be taking minutes away from Jonas, Amir & Ed, and b) so that we wouldn't have to play inefficient players like Landry & Alan there. Do I want Linus playing? Yes. Do I want more minutes for Terrance, yes. However, Terrance is a long way from being efficient. Still, I'd rather watch him approaching his ceiling for the next 5-10 years ... than watching Alan & Landry slog it thru another game.

[Rob.V]

Mos.
-
I actually meant patience with Colangelo in figuring out if this team will work as constructed.
-
I don' think we can use the Chandler theory anymore. He would have been a band aid on the hole CB4 left however Chandler became a free agent "after" the deal fell through. Chances are he would be gone now anyway, or we would be grossly overpaying for him when I think JV is the right move long term at C.
-
Personally, I would not want to be paying Chandler $15 million a season (for the next 3) to get me 10-7- and under 1 block per game. I know there are intangibles to his game however that's too much money for a team that was rebuilding.
-
BC knows this team better than us, and unlike others I think he's a good GM.
-
Hey, I get just as frustrated with Andrea because he has the "talent" to be a borderline HOF player (yup, I said it).
-
I won't be surprised when Colangelo makes a move this year.. and I wouldn't be surprised if AB was included in a package if the right deal came along.
-
I guess we'll see what happens.

[Jeff]

One of the problems with Bargnani is he's settling for too many jump shots - a bit too trigger happy which results in a poor FG%. He should be in the gym doing drills such as only being allowed to drive to the basket, no outside shots allowed. I remember AB last year he would drive a lot more, and pull up for a short jumper which will increase his FG% and get him to the line more.

[JC]

Doug, just quickly on Trout/Cabrera - when you say "A winning team helps just as much, I’d suggest.", are you intending to support Cabrera or Trout? Because Cabrera's team won 88 games. Trout's won 89 in a stronger division. And the Angels had the best record in all of baseball from the date they recalled Trout from AAA until the end of the season.

Blogger's note: They did; and watched the post-season on TV

[joeu]

John, regarding Neil Young,

If by chance you are referring to the 2003/2004 Greendale tour, Neil basically put on 2 full shows each night. Before the break was Greendale, the album soundtrack to his film project, and after was a full-on, raise the rafters, Iron horse set and encore. I was there, and I assure you it was a superlative performance.

And just wondering ... You're "a big fan" but don't recall the Tour you actualy saw him on ?

[truth be told]

"We’ve to got to find a way to get him going"

They absolutely do. Get him going out of town and to another team via trade.

Colangelo stubbornly holds on to a piece that should have been gone in a "rebuilding" effort.

He is the largest salary obligation on this team and brings very little right now other than subpar shooting.

Even if he's shooting well the team should want to move on from the type of player Andrea is. They said they wanted to change the culture of the team but the very same "culture" you want to get rid of currently takes the most shots on your team. There is no coincidence that he has been a key component of many losing Raptor squads, which is not all on him mind you, but his efforts or lack thereof have gone noted by many for many years now.

Time to move on.

Blogger's note: Except he doesn't take more shots than anyone on the team and he has played on the two most successful teams of the past decade and doesn't have the largest salary on the team. Other than that, you're bang on.

[Mos High]

@ John, I think most of Raptors fans who watch every game. Know that him scoring 16pg 5 rb..Career average 15ppg 5rb.. Does not lead to winning. The bottom line is that he doesnt make winning plays on both ends of the court. He will never change, 3 coaches have tried. Let him go to a good team where he can watch the game from the bench.

Ok Jose is doing the same all his career, as good as he has played over his career it hasnt translated into making Toronto better, his defense is poor, liability.

@ Rob V I agree in away about Chandler, but we really dont know what could of happened. Overpaying for a defensive lockdown guy a pillar or paying couple million less for Jose who really has done nothing good to make this team a winner.

biggest weakness of the guys I mention Jose and Bargnani is defense. They are just not good at it and this team in last several years is not strong enough to hide them.
Why has Carmelo not made finals...Defense!!! However knicks are playing good defense this year.

Yes Bargnani is not getting paid huge money, but he isnt earning the money either...7 Yrs far too much for this team. People kill Bosh for wanting to leave, who would want to stay on a sinking ship. Calderon can stay a back up as I ve said for years, Bargnani as well. But not starters

[Ben]

Do you think there is any correlation between being a 'great' player and being a durable player?

It seems guys like LeBron, Dwight, Kobe, CP3 etc (the NBA's elite), rarely get injured. Does it have to do with their work ethic? Natural talent not get injured? Luck?