A new way to lose and an awards debate

There’s about three minutes left, maybe less, and Matt Moore of CBS Sports.com leans over from his seat next to me and says:

“Have they lost a tough one like this before?”

And I’m thinking: Triple overtime, double-overtime, at the buzzer, sometimes by one, two or three points but, no, not ever by gamely fighting back only to their hearts ripped out when a rally falls just short.

So, you can put that one on the list, too.

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THREE POINTERS

Good Kyle, finally

No, the first half was not kind to Kyle Lowry at all, he looked slow and a bit out of sorts, kind of like we’ve seen him in the past week or so.

The second half, I’d think almost anyone would agree he was exponentially better. Not super quick attacking but more determined and he ended up the night with 24 points and, most important, a season-high 11 free throws.

Yes, he may have looked a bit selfish but, to some degree, that was by design, as he told My Man Gumby, who bailed me out with some locker room quotes after I listened to Dwane.

“The past few games I have been trying to find my teammates and myself and I realized I had to be more aggressive for me to play a little better individually.”

And that may be the way he has to play to be successful.

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Make or miss, it’s the way of the world sometimes

Nuggets are clinging to a one-point lead with about two minutes to go and Ty Lawson hits a big three from the wing.

Raps come right back down, Terrence Ross misses an open corner three that would have made it a one-point game again.

Both good shots; one goes in and one goes out and sometimes it is just a matter of a make and a miss.

Ross, though, was good, again. He had 12 and 6, didn’t get lost too often on defence and was on the floor during the big comeback because he had earned the right to be out there.

He’s eventually going to push DeMar for minutes and if they can get away with using DeRozan at the other swing spot for a few minutes each night, I like the look of both of them on the court at the same time.

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Amir Miller?

No, there was no way they drew up that three-pointer for Amir like it unfolded. There were too many guys too close to each other for anything to make sense and it was an entire panic job.

And it was far more a “heave” than a “shot” but it went in; just don’t think that means he’s got any kind of green light to shoot them more often.

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And now, as the man used to say, here’s the rest of the story.

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I guess I have no real quibble with LeBron James being named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year yesterday. His basketball accomplishments were second to none, his transcendent skills are shocking. He had a year for the ages, of that there can be no doubt, silencing most of the critics who had railed at him for years.

But …

(And you had to know a “but” was coming)

It strikes me as a rather North American selection, and one that cast a long, loving glance at the professional sports that dominate our pages and our television sets. And that’s fine, Sports Illustrated knows its audience, knows what it needs to do to entertain, educate and, yes, placate them sometimes.

Me?

I don’t have a vote in any of those end-of-year awards things and that’s fine.

If I did, however, and was after a Sportsman of the Year who transcended pure athletics, achieved a rare status from unique circumstances, I’d have made a strong case for Great Britain’s Mo Farah.

His athletic accomplishments cannot be ignored, winning the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres is stunning.

His story, Mogadishu-born, barely conversant in English when he moved to Britain, his rise to sporting excellence is a great story of perseverance and skill.

He is an inspiration in a way that LeBron cannot be and Fara’s year was incredible.

But so was Usain Bolt’s and so was Lionel Messi’s and I would imagine some non-North American-centric publication will honour some of those people, too.

But, as I said, I cannot quibble with the selection of James, he is a singular talent who had a year for the ages.

But I can present at least one alternative and isn’t that what these awards are for: To stir debate and discussion and good natured arguing that gives people an outlet from the stuff they usually argue about.

However, one more question:

Who in the world gives out Sportsmen of the Year awards on Dec. 3? I can see Dec. 25 or Dec. 31; this is way too early, a rush to sell magazines and memorabilia and whatever. It is more of the too much, too soon life we’re subjected to.

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So I see they’re selling the old Vancouver Grizzlies practice court for a nifty $13,000 or so. Imagine they’ll get it – I know the people who run the Molson Centre in Montreal should buy if they have any hopes of attracting another pre-season game because the one they used this season simply wasn’t good enough.

But the story caught me by surprise because I hadn’t realized there was any old Vancouver Grizzlies stuff lying around.

Now, $13,000 is a bit out of my snack bracket but if there’s other stuff around, I might be interested. Stuff like

A copy of Big Country’s $65 million contract.

Seriously, how good would that looked framed and hung in some position of prominence so that every time someone says, ‘so-and-so just got the worst contract ever, I can’t believe they paid him that much’ you can point and say, “son, back in the day …’

A picture of Brian Winters smiling.

Seriously. Just one. Okay, not even a smile, I’ll go for a grin. Or even a rueful look. Please.

Michael Heisley’s purchase agreement

Just to see how bogus it was; and to see if the word “relocation” was in there at all.

And, of course, this would be special, too.

 

 

Comments

[Andrew Potter]

How about an unopened crate full of Grizzlies Steve Francis jerseys? No doubt there is some third-world village out there sporting these items that were never meant to be.

[J]

There was a comment yesterday that the job of the media is to be critical of a sports organization and call for change. I'm sorry, but that is the biggest crock I've read in a while. The media's job is to provide coverage and information that the average Joe may not have access to. It is not to serve any individual's personal agenda, but I understand how that small tidbit may have been lost somewhere amidst the growing torrent of professional and amateur pundits. If you are unhappy with the organization, be an adult and write to the Raptors organization yourself. Stop trying to spread your unhappiness every time someone does not belch as loudly or rudely as you.

It is completely ridiculous to expect one journalist/blogger to parrot the very same opinion as you and with the same degree of fanaticism. There are so many differing opinions, and so many different personalities; if the mere notion of Doug not mirroring your own personal temperament offends you... well, that says more about you than about him.

I don't know how many times I've chuckled to myself seeing Doug write a negative word about _____, and then some schmuck, clearly a sporadic reader or one with extremely poor reading comprehension, drops in and tries to call him out for never criticizing _____. Laughable. I'm not saying everyone should read and memorize every single blog post, but if you are writing an uninformed opinion, don't try to dress it up like it's not horse manure.

I am by no means happy with the team's start. While I didn't expect to be .500, I also did not expect so many close, heartbreaking losses, one after another after another. Does this hurt their playoff chances? Of course it does. Is the season over? Are you kidding? Why even have 82 games if the first 18 games (first 5, actually, for some here) is all you need to make that determination. The Pistons started the season 0-8, and the Bobcats matched their previous season's win total after only 12 games; one looked like a lottery team and the other a playoff contender. Since then, the Pistons have surged past us in the standings, and the Bobcats have fallen back out of the top eight. Four of our 14 losses were lost by one possession, and a fifth was lost after triple overtime. That is how tiny the difference is between being a 4-14 team and a 9-9 contender. The team's cohesion has nowhere to go but up right now, and here's hoping they regain some momentum going into the new year (9 out of 12 games are against teams presently under .500).

[GK]

LOL. Nice close to the blog today. It provided me with a chuckle and that's always a good way to start the day. Well done.

[Sharkey]

Serious discussion question. Worst contract by a Canadian basketball team: Big Country or Yogi Stewart?

[511]

In the IGBT at the end, " And DeRozan misses a 3 at buzzer; a Raptor game through and through". At that, I almost cursed and I almost laughed. Much like how I've felt while turning the set off after an astonishingly high percentage of games so far this year. It really was a Raptor game through and through. Just like you said.

[Ollie H.]

At least they made a game of it, the game in Denver every year is usually a debacle (which I thought after the first half it was going to be), but they showed promise in making it a game. That said, both Lowry's and Amir's 3's at the end were extremely low % shots and were lucky to go in, but it at least made Denver nervous - but as you said good shots sometimes don't go down and bad shots do...

[Lorie]

Hello Doug,
So, about that discussion on the SI Sportsman Of The Year thing? Are you saying, - and I quote you here - arguing can be 'good natured'? Go figure. Who knew. You mean there's not always an absolute right and wrong, winner and loser, vanquished and victor? Kidding, of course. For all its wackiness, I'm still amazed by the education potential of the Internet. And stuff like this impresses the heck out of me: I can watch great debates. Seriously. And guess what? Did you know that not all debates are on topics like political science, philosophy and religion (which can still be wildly entertaining depending on the participants: watching Tony Blair and the late Christopher Hitchens debate "Is Religion A Force For Good In The World?" was a breathtaking experience). I'm linking to a that featured Malcolm Gladwell, Buzz Bissinger, Tim Green and Jason Whitlock debate this statement: "Ban College Football". It's a lively debate with stimulating sharing of thought and opinion even while they frequently - and strongly - disagree with one another. But done in a respectful, and yes, even good natured way. And the winners? Well, we the viewers, I would say, for being able to experience it.
http://intelligencesquaredus.org/debates/past-debates/item/589-ban-college-football

[Geoff Read]

This gives me an idea for a new marketing slogan for the Raptors: "The Toronto Raptors: Finding a Way to Lose since 1995."

Better than the Leafs' slogan, "Remember 1967 (please)?" but still sad.

Bad teams find ways to lose. Good teams find ways to win. This is a bad team.

And I'm still not a Kyle Lowry fan. Someone (can't remember who) said it best in the comments the other day: he's like TJ Ford but not as good.

[Ray Allen]

A new way to lose! Just don't show up in the first half.

[Rob.V]

One of the more frustrating games last night.
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I agree. When Ross enters the game there seems to be a change in effort as well. He also seems to be good at making the pass that leads to the pass. We need to find more minutes for him because win or lose I don't think anyone will question his effort.
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And that's why they lost wasn't it? Defensive effort. Let's be clear, this team does "not" have a defensive "disposition". They slouch and get back lazy on d if their shots are not falling. Sure, after making a few 3's they came to life however there should be no credit for playing hard... late! There are no full marks for letting the game get out of hand and then fighting back.
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This team is defective! as constructed.
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There is zero flow to their offensive game. One pass, jacked shot. Two dribbles, jacked shot. Just terrible on the offensive side of the ball. Then, after we've chucked a terrible shot... we get out hustled in transition on the way to our basket.
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No discipline on offense, and no effort on D if their shot's are not falling.
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More?, sure!
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No Boards = No Wins!.
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This team competes when they get on the glass however without looking at any box scores I would venture to guess that they have won the rebounding totals maybe 3 or 4 times this season and that is indicative of their record.
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Let's be clear, this team just does not work well together on either side of the ball.

[Liam]

I'm sorry, I just can't watch Barny play on this team very much longer. I'm sick of his shot attempts, his unwillingness to go the rim and box out, his blazay attitude, I'm sick of him. God please get rid of him he is like the 7 foot thorn in my side, if I have to watch him throw up one more catch and shoot 3 pointer early in the clock or his signature zero arc elbow jump shot clanker I will go insane.

[james]

Thanks a bunch for the Grizzly (or is that grisly?) memories. Some of the more excitable contributors to this blog should be aware there are worse things than an underachieving team.

[Jeff]

If I recall Big Country had some pretty good years with the Grizzlies; however fitness levels and subsequent injuries did him in. That's the problem with all of the guaranteed contracts, if a player doesn't want to excel once they achieved their big payday the team is handcuffed with the contract.

Amir's 3 pointer was in response to Al Jefferson's vs. the Raps - Denver fans were probably in disbelief.

[GM]

That CBSSports.com writer typifies the problem with national writers. They claim to know about each and every team, but they only know the broad strokes, starting with the win-loss record. They have no idea about the level of competitiveness. He probably saw the woeful record and figured they must get blown out regularly. Although in his defense, I sometimes think that's how the panicky fans feel, too.

Maybe the LeBron choice is a North American one, but wouldn't the other names be Euro-centric? Trust me, those publications overseas never take the new world into consideration. They're just as self-centric as the North American publications.

I loved Brian Winters as a player on the Bucks. I got to talk with him a few times in Vancouver and was pleased to see what a warm, kind person he was. And he even smiled off the court!

Blogger's note: Got to know him a bit better when he coached the WNBA team in Indy, a good guy indeed

[m]

@liam
," his blazay attitude, I'm sick of him."
Well, I'm sick of your blasé attitude towards spelling and the English language. Why would your mindless rant have any credibility when you can't even spell correctly?
Doug. I quite agree with your comments regarding Mo Farrah. I think that people like Lebron are as much a creation of the media as anything.

[GM]

I gotta admit I got a good laugh at the word "blazay".

Rob.V, you nailed it (almost). The Raps have won the battle of the boards 5 times this season (and tied once). But when you look at averages, it doesn't look so bad. In their 18 games, they've averaged 40.7 rebounds and their opponents have averaged 43.8.

As frustrating as it is to watch Bargnani rebound (or not), do you ever notice how many more he would get if he didn't defer to his teammate. For instance, he and a teammate will get to the ball at the same time, he'll see it's his teammate then let him have it. If he took them instead, his numbers would go up by 3 or 4 a game and there'd be a lot less criticism about his board work. But the bottom line in those situations is his team got the rebound. Of course, this doesn't account for the times he lets his check get the board. Still, though, he'd be at respectable numbers if he were a little more selfish when rebounding.

[Ray Allen]

@J

Sure, the job of the media is to give the fans a source of information that isn't readily available. But it's also their job to give the FANS a voice, to hold the organization accountable for poor decisions. But I guess after years of reading vanilla 'It'll all get better" articles, you've grown accustomed to kool-aid drinking journalists. Oh wait, they'll criticize management and coaches, after they've left.

You, as a fan, are the reason why city hasn't seen any success from the organizations. You don't demand anything better, so why expect anything better. In fact, I have written to the Raptors. I've stopped going to games, I've stopped buying merchandise.

Yeah, we could be 9-9, but we're not, we're 4-14. Have we lost some close games? Yes. But too many close game losses are the sign of a bad team.

We're could go on a run? With this wing rotation? Are you drunk? In case you haven't noticed, we have been in the lottery for 4 straight years (soon to be 5) and have one legit prospect. Jonas. That's it. One legit prospect. Think our organization is really all that great?

Blogger's note: About the very last thing I need to do is give you a "voice"

[sam]

@Liam: Andrea shot 50% last night - Pretty much the highest percentage on the team....I'd say that was a good scoring night for him....

I have to agree with Rob V - Not a lot of flow to the offence which at times makes it difficult to watch. An extra pass or two would garner higher precentage shots I presume.

[grits]

The Griz had their moments. First year, I attended games at GM Place on consecutive Saturdays, Jan 13 and 20, and they had good games against the Heat and Knicks, with Country going up against Mourning and Ewing, and the Griz won them both. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/VAN/1996_games.html

I still have the poster from the first game in Vancouver, tip in by Chris King at the buzzer in OT, wide angle view of everyone on their feet just as he scored, I had it framed with my ticket from the game. I know, I'm a loser.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

@grits, You're not a loser, you're an actual basketball fan. Good for you!
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Hope Caper]

Well Doug I have been saying all along that Lowry is more of a 2 than a 1. If you keep Lowry at the PG then you have to have more passers on the floor and a couple of players or more who can create off the dribble. Sounds like a re-make to me or let your only true PG run the show.

[Nick M]

This gives me an idea for a new marketing slogan for the Raptors: "The Toronto Raptors: Finding a Way to Lose since 1995."
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@Geoff Read that is a great slogan. Start making some t-shirts, this would be a great gift idea for any Raps fan. My wife would line up to buy me one.

[Ari]

Actually did see a strange sight a couple of months ago here at a Foot Locker in Melbourne, Australia - original Grizzlies and Raptors jerseys. Not just a single one hanging up on the wall either, but a whole slew of them in different sizes, and both home and away jerseys. Bryant Reeves, Stoudamire, I think I even saw a Zan Tabak one in there. Never ended up buying one (especially at the full basketball jersey price) because I still think they're pretty darn ugly.

Also regarding some of the comments of late, I saw a great article by Joe Posnanski regarding not understanding the anger of some fans...

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/hop-on-pop.html

[Penguin]

Yes Bargs shot 50% last night...BUT...he made one great drive to the basket late in the game, taking his man and laying it in. Why do we only see him do this once every game or two? Then shortly thereafter, he followed that by losing the ball on a dribble (we see that more often) and then, under a minute to go (actually, I think it was under 30 seconds), he does a catch and shoot 3 with plenty of time on the shot clocks and clanks it. Have to agree with Liam (without the misspellings) that Barney is driving me insane. Love what I'm seeing in Ross and I see DD improving steadily. Lowry has me worried. I've said it before. He holds the ball too long, dribbles too much, and keeps driving into two- and even-three man coverage, sometimes dishing it off successfully and other times either turning it over or getting blocked. He keeps reminding me of Mike James or TJ Ford, and that's not a real good thing. The skills are obviously there; I'd just like to see more consistent use of them.

[doug]

the New Orleans Pelicans will take some getting use to, I like the other name they were considering better, the Brass....this Raps team needs a true inside scoring presence, not a center, a Randolph or Rudy Gay type....were missing one key piece, a frustrating season for sure, when we thought it couldn't get more frustrating it does...if I had a few extra dinero I would love that floor a one of a kind keepsake.....ok cheers...