When everything old becomes new again

Yeah, I’m way late, like an hour late, hope no one was waiting.

Confluence of 90 minutes sleep coming out OKC, a long day Wednesday and a post-game meeting with an old friend brought solid slumber.

We’ll be better next trip to the central time zone.

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THREE POINTERS

Ah, Vince.

He’s like the ghost that haunts the franchise or something, right? The curse?

But I have a question to ask since I’m hearing all this stuff about how he didn’t want to leave and how it all ended when it finally ended and I’m thinking one thing:

Is this 2004 or 2012?

Seriously.

The stuff about him going to the staff the day before he got traded and telling them he wanted to make it work and would do whatever it took to make that happen is so old, it’s become new again.

It’s been written here for years and years; it was the day before the trade went down, in a conversation with a coach in the Nordstrom’s at the Circle Center mall in downtown Indianapolis in which he said he’d do whatever it took to make things work – come off the bench if necessary, work wherever in the rotation best suited the team – and that was conveyed all the way to the top of the food chain.

The next day – the very next day! – they panic and do the worst trade in franchise history.

So, yes, there is more than enough blame for that debacle to go around, but to think it’s “news” is dead wrong.

Two more points:

No, I don’t for one second think they should even consider retiring No. 15, Vince was the most gifted player in franchise history and he put the team on the map and was responsible for its greatest success.

Maybe there is a way for them to honour him with the 20th anniversary coming around, maybe there’s a Ring of Honour or somesuch for Carter and, perhaps, four others as the top five of the first 20 years.

But retire the number? No way. Shouldn’t even think about it.

And this whole thing about him coming back somehow to end his career with the Raptors?

Well, what did you expect him to say but yes? If he wants to play after this deal is over, and he will have reached his 15-year goal at the end of this (you can read about that here) but why would he limit his future possibilities by saying no? That would make no sense.

Look, the guy can still play, we saw that last night. But I don’t know if next season he’s a good fit in Toronto, it’s a nice thought that I cannot imagine becoming reality.

And now we will leave Vince until the middle of next month when the Mavs come to Toronto and we dredge up something old as new again, again.

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Wither Ed?

Well, since you asked, I asked Dwane about Ed Davis and his limited role last night and it was, as I should have known, nothing to do with him.

“Amir had it going, it had nothing to do with Eddie … Andrea and Amir had it going and I wanted to ride with them.”

That’s hard to argue with, actually. Johnson had basically his best half of the season in the second half and so, too, did Bargnani and that’s why Davis didn’t see the court after halftime. I might have been convinced to give Davis the four minutes that Acy got but that’s not my decision to make. And it wasn’t the deciding moment of the game, the deciding moment of the game was the first 12 or 15 minutes.

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Wither Andrea?

Yes, it was a solid second half and some pretty good numbers (25 and 9 on 20 shots but five misses on five three-point attempts) and on the whole he wasn’t bad at all against the Mavs.

But his lack of hustle and intensity in the first quarter bordered on shameful and was a huge component in the HOTH being so far behind so early.

There’s probably not one solution to that issue – and I am in no way advocating taking him out of the starting lineup – but I think it might be a good idea to run two or three of the first three or four plays for him every night since he’s always been a guy who wants to get involved early and if he gets going offensively, his defence and overall effort perks up.

I know that’s kowtowing a little bit but I’m okay with that, they need him to be better more quickly and, most nights, you’ll find out early what you’re going to get and can react accordingly.

Worth a try?

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More?

There’s a bit because I’ve prattled on too long as it is.

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Once more to the Dallas tunes, if you don’t mind.

They don’t make ‘em lke T-Bone Walker anymore, do they?

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This is just off the heart of downtown Dallas and perhaps the Parking Gougers in downtown Toronto would take note?

Nah, didn’t think so.

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Mail’s really down for this point in the week, can you help a fellow out, please.

Click. Write. Send.

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Two things I’ve come to hate with, as a wise woman once said, the white-hot intensity of a thousand suns after a few days on the road.

People who get off an escalator and stop dead in their tracks.

Next time, I swear, I’m running right through you and knocking you asunder.

Then I’m going to step over your prone body and hope your luggage has spilled all over the floor and everyone can see your private bits.

And I’ll giggle.

People who talk – loudly – on their phone in the airplane the second it hits the ground.

Text, people! Or e-mail! We all know the flight was fine and we really don’t give a rat’s bum that you love your loved ones, are glad to be home and will meet them at the usual place.

Silence sometimes is golden.

And get off my lawn!

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Comments

[larry lukeeborg]

ditto me re the mobile phone thing...i am holding out as long as i can before i succumb and buy one

[m]

Carter would like to have his Raptors' jersey retired (Headline)
DALLAS -- If the offer ever came from the front office, Vince Carter wouldn't mind if one day the Toronto Raptors retired his jersey.

He also wouldn't mind one day returning to Toronto and ending his career with the Raptors.

How does the story match the headline? "Wouldn't mind" is not the same as "would like". The interviewer asks a loaded question and Pavlov's dogs start barking.

[GM]

I started liking the Raptors the year Vince was traded. I had never heard that story before, so even if it's old news, it's still news to me! And, I have to assume, lots of other newbies.

I didn't start watching the game last night until the second half so missed the first quarter. But I see they were "only" down by twelve. So the game was hardly lost then. That is, it wasn't an insurmountable deficit. So the decision to play Quincy over Ed -- who, according to you, all the coaches have been raving about -- in the third and fourth quarters was, I'd say, not a good one. In fact, a very bad one. Was Casey thinking the game was over?

I'm all for line-up changes. Not as punishment, but just as a way to see what else might or might not work. Just because Landry Fields (who I like, by the way) was a big signing doesn't mean he should start. Talk about kowtowing! It's clear he's struggling mightily. Instead of looking at it as a demotion or punishment to Fields, think of it as a promotion or reward to a bench player who is playing better. You say Kleiza is a defensive liability. That may or may not be true but is his defense worse than Fields' offense? Indeed, is Fields' defense so good that the Raps aren't allowing opponents to run up big first quarter scores? Uh, no. So why not try it? Fields would still play. And if he's got it going on, he can play longer.

Similarly Ed for Jonas. It's no knock on the young guy if he learns the ropes coming off the bench. I say this just because Ed Davis is also a young player who has put in the work and should not be playing just 5 minutes a game no matter who is playing well.

As for Bargnani, I don't think having him come off the bench will do any good (although I could be wrong). But I do like the idea of giving him stern incentives quarter by quarter. If he's dragging his butt in the first quarter, he's not playing much in the second. If he doesn't have at least 2 rebounds in given quarter, he doesn't play much in the next one. Whatever. But I think he's getting fewer boards this season because he's out behind the 3-point line. And why is he out there? Because that's where he's told to go in the offense. JV is taking up the low post area, where Bargnani was stationed last year more often. It's no surprise that Bargnani got 9 boards last night when Jonas didn't play much.

Finally, Albert Einstein and George Carlin have more false quotes attributed to them than anyone. The one about having a generation of IDIOTS is one of them, i.e. false. Still a good quote, but not uttered by him.

[Geoff Read]

Great blog today... had to chime in and agree with your two rants. On the second one, cell phones generally generate all sorts of behavior that I loathe. Talking on the phone when you're out with someone else; having your phone go off in lectures, movie theaters etc., staring down at your phone and texting instead of engaging with the real live people you're with. I could go on. About a decade ago I was on my way up to York University and I got a taste of what was coming. There was a girl sitting in front of me on the bus who did the whole loud cell phone "everyone look at me" conversation with a friend. That was annoying. But then I realized that she was talking to a friend who was waiting for her at the bus stop and when the bus pulled in the university they both starting shouting into their phones - on our end we heard "Look at me, look at me I'm on the bus waving at you, can you see me?" It was one of the most self-involved and stupidest things I've ever seen.

[LeeZ]

@RobV: I think Louis C.K. shares your sensibilities. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the Post Office sketch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOmwZUsgBBE
As for everyone piling on Lucas, good grief, people, he's played a couple of minutes a game, adding up to a ridiculously small sample size. If he were ever put in a situation where he had to play extended minutes and STILL played like this, o.k., you can start to worry. What I've noticed, though, is that he's playing really, really...small. I don't mean his height per se. I mean his game. Whereas in the pre-season he played with a lot of "balls" and swagger and took it to the rim often and with confidence, now his game looks tiny. He's playing a very timid brand of basketball.
As for Fields, I would send him down to the minors for a couple of games, tell him to shoot, shoot and shoot again. One might argue that he won't gain a lot of confidence playing against scrubs, but I beg to differ. He needs to start seeing his shot fall in. Doesn't matter who the opposition is. Doug, odds on him being shipped down?

Blogger's note: Zero

[adam]

don't u love it when bored puck-heads start making observations like " send him to the minors"

exactly what minors would those be?

[LeeZ]

Zero chance of him being sent down??? Alright, my friend, when (not if, WHEN) he gets sent down, I'll come to Toronto and you'll buy me a steak dinner and all the beer I can drink (no worries, I'm a cheap drunk). Deal? (and I'm talking Ruth's Chris, not Ponderosa or some such place!)

[David in Oakville]

Lots of great comments today. Rob V had me LMAO and MOS made me angry all over again. @Mos, you forgot the piece de resistance from the Carter trade, the 9 million buyout of Zo so he could return to the Heat and eventually win a Championship, although medically unfit to play in Toronto.

I agree, sitting AB for several games or quarters might be the only way to remind him that as a professional, it is his responsibility to arrive ready to play each night.

And for those who believe that AB should be moved, I think this is the year it happens. If he doesn't improve, no way Bryan can expect to keep his job if he demonstrates a stubborn resistance to move a guy he drafted #1, when it has become clear to everyone that the Zenith of AB's NBA career is as a 6th man off the bench on a good team (and that ain't the Raps right now)

[GM]

I just saw a photo of Fields on the Score. It was him frozen midair shooting. And just what I suspected, the heel of his hand is on the ball. Any basketball coaching book will tell you to get the ball off the heel of your palm. You should be able to slip a couple of fingers underneath. I don't think this is just a photo trick or a one-time thing, because I've noticed it in the past, only it was on video so he was moving and I couldn't be sure. Man, that's an ugly shot.

[doug]

my thoughts on the starting unit are this...I feel that you need to have 4 offensive players (that are in a perfect world good solid 2 way players) and one strictly defensive player...as to start the game you are facing in most cases the others team best 5, so you have to meet them head on....well with this unit we have JV ,(who i would keep there) who is a rookie and his offensive production erratic, then Fields no offensive production, then Bargs whose start to the games has been cold and not a factor ...that leaves Lowry and DD or did now with Jose again not a offensive catalyst we don't stand a chance....with DD and Lowry we were still mismatched, and we were and are playing into the others teams hands....so for me Bargs stays as does DD and JV....I would just put Anderson or Kleiza in there....also a point no one is really mentioning is we do miss Kleiza he brings a skillset this team could use right now...and in regards to last nights game I thought Casey's subs to start the 4th were mystifying to say the least, how Quincy got those minutes and not Ed is beyond me....I am totally in agreement with being perturbed ok pissed at people that do the "lottery dance' in convenience stores, I drink a lot of Diet Coke so am in convenience stores more then I should be, many times I just leave money on counter and walk away, even if it is too much, as its just too annoying too stand ...last week in Shoppers Drug Mart at least 15 people in line well one guy was going through about 30 tickets......you want angst there was plenty in that line, even "serenity now " never worked.......ok cheers...

[Penguin]

The attention to VC is sooooooooo tiresome.
A very good player? Absolutely.
A player who actually never lived up to his potential in part, at least, because he didn't like to train in a gym? Also true.
A drama queen? Oh yes.
The original poster child for what an athlete should not be in the way he forced his exit from Toronto? Also true. LB only followed in his steps. The trade that Babcock made sucked, but JC put him in a corner. It's tough to make a good trade when everyone knows you're desperate. That being said, it may not have been the best long-term move, but I would have simply nailed his ass to the end of the bench, possibly even as an inactive player.
Do not want him back and will continue to boo him every time he touches the floor or a ball in Toronto.

Oh, and as for Bargs, I've been defending him and his potential for years. I'm worn out. There must be some way to light a fire under this guy every night, but if there isn't one found soon, look to trade him.

[Hope Caper]

I agree with GM, Bargs is too far out when he gets the ball. For him to drive it has got to be one or two steps. Three or four, you got trouble. If that is the offence then that is on the coach. If not its on the PG. I thought it was notable that when Jose runs the game Bargs offence goes up and DeRozen who can create for himself stays about the same, except his rebounds and assists are up this year. Big improvement in him so far. To me JV should get a look at everybody for two reasons: 1) he gets a chance to compete against vets, gives him experience, 2) and if he is effective against certain match-ups then you use him there and rest someone else.