Change, of some sort, might not be a bad idea now

How’s everyone today?

That good, eh? Cool.

All right, still the crack of dawn here so it’s a new day, new challenges, new fun.

Here you go.

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THREE POINTERS

Change coming?

Just doing some tea leaf reading and no one has suggested this anywhere near the record, on or off, but I don’t think it would be a surprise if you saw Amir Johnson starting and Jonas Valanciunas coming off the bench. Maybe as early as Friday.

Now, please, for the love all that’s good in the world, do not take this as some huge slight at Valanciunas, he is still good and going to very good and he is not personally to blame for what’s going on. And even the harshest critics would admit he’s had a lot of quite good games for a kid 19 games into his career.

But he’s also learning and maybe it’s easier to learn against second unit guys now.

I still think it was right to start him from the beginning to see what he had and to throw him right into the fire; some nights it worked, some nights it didn’t.

But they are at a crucial juncture of the season and I think maybe it wouldn’t be that bad an idea.

It might be tough for Dwane to sell to his bosses but that’s part of the job. It’s not like Valanciunas won’t still get his 25 or 28 minutes or whatever it is, they’ll just come later in the game.

And it’s certainly not a done deal but I think it’s something they should consider.

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But why not the other guy?

Oh, you mean Andrea?

Two reasons:

Whether you like it or not, they need his offence, or at least the threat of it, out there as much as possible.

You may not believe it and, yes, he’s had some dreadful shooting nights, but teams do pay major attention to him, still.

It should have been no surprise to any basketball person that Kyle Lowry benefited greatly from Bargnani’s mere presence on the court late in that Sacramento game.

Dwane even mentioned it when the discussion got around to Ed Davis’s role in the Kings game.

“We needed spacing for Kyle to get to the bucket; Andrea would space the floor for us. Eddie would have been our next option but with (Bargnani’s) three-point shooting, it would space the floor for Kyle to get into the paint because he had it going.”

Tell me that doesn’t make sense. You can’t.

And, if you want your second unit to provide some energy – and all good teams do – I don’t see how Bargnani coming off the bench does that. It doesn’t.

And the next time he goes for 25 or 30, you’ll agree. For a night at least.

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A slashing three?

Michael Pietrus gets the ball on the left wing just after halftme and we all figure a three-pointer’s coming, at best.

Whoah.

Two or three dribbles, he’s in the paint, up in the air and dunking. With some authority.

And someone asks when was the last time we saw that from a Raptors small forward.

Vince?

Might have been. Now, Pietrus isn’t going to do that every time, or even every game, but if he can at least be an attacking threat, it’s got to help, right?

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A tiny bit more before the cab comes to go to the airport to continue this journey.

And the fact we’re only two games into five is a tiring thougt.

But, first. Mail. Please. Give me something fun to read. Thanks.

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So, I’m told by the great Scott Howard-Cooper that, no, we weren’t in the “new” terminal at the airport here and that the luggage in that picture was leftover/forgotten from the old terminal and that there is an even newer one that houses some other airlines.

Don’t think we get to it this trip but I like new airports so hopefully next year.

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Hey, Super Son?

I know you’re reading this because you read it every day, right?

Well, there’s this guy named Dave Brubeck and I don’t imagine you’ve ever heard of him but …

Go tinkle the ivories a wee bit and do some sax practice. Listen to this and I’ll be back Tuesday night to check it out.

Love,

Super Dad.

RIP, Dave Brubeck.

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So me and Quag arrive in Salt Lake City one year on Grey Cup Sunday and like all good Canadians, we’re trying to figure out where to watch the game.

I find us a spot with a lot of TVs, including about eight that hang over a very nice bar. I sit down, ask the person pouring if it’s possible to see a game from Canada, he checks and says, sure.

And then he changes one of the TVs hanging over the bar to the Grey Cup and takes a New England Patriot game off.

A woman wearing a Pats jersey, breaks the land speed record charging up to the bar with malice aforethought and I’m banished to a tiny booth with about a 10-inch screen to watch the game.

Nice of them to do it, though, and it’s made me go back there every time we’ve been in Salt Lake City since.

Just can’t remember the dang name of the joint.

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Oh yeah, one more thing.

Bryan? You’re accountable.

There, that satisfy some of you?

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So Kobe goes over 30,000 points for his career, only the fifth player to do that all time and loads of people are making a huge deal of it.

Yes, it’s a significant accomplishment and good for him but this is one of those fake milestones, I think.

Don’t get me wrong, Kobe is a brilliant player and will go down right near the top of the greatest of all time lists when he’s done, I’m sure.

But these kinds of cross-era milestones leave me wanting a little bit. Kobe plays in the era of three-pointers, and guys like Oscar Robertson didn’t. Kobe plays in an era where hand-checking on the wing and guys in the past could be physically impeded from getting to the basket.

Yes, 30,000 points is tremendous but it’s also a product of the times, too. That can’t be forgotten.

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Comments

[Mike D.]

Doug, deep in the various articles about possible Bargnani/Gasol trades was one rumour that Minny would offer Derrick Williams as part of a trade, and that they had shopped him around draft night and his value was low. Any sense of whether Williams is an archetype tweener bust or one of those "good player buried behind better players" that BC has sometimes successfully "re-drafted" via trade?

Note that this question was artfully crafted as a request for comments on a player, not as a request that you comment on the Bargnani/Gasol trade rumours.

Blogger's note: I'd lean more to the "not so good" end of the spectrum but you never know. He's also got a relatively tiny contract and much more would have to be put in any deal

[AT]

@Arlene.. obviously Devlin is referring to how many possessions the raptors needs at a minimum to tie or take the lead... but what's worse in my opinion is when Jack Armstrong says the raptors are STUCK 2, STUCK 10.....

Doug, what is your opinion on Barngani? After all this, do you think that BC should stick with him or do you try and move him?

Blogger's note: They're 4-15, they need to explore all possibilities. That's just common sense and if there's a deal they think makes sense for Bargnani, they should do it. I just don't think there is one

[truth be told]

To further comment on spacing.

In the 3rd Raps were down 12 when Ed came in. When they brought in Andrea they were up 1. They lost by 7, correct?

My other comment didn't make it to the board so I will restate what I said very briefly.

'Spacing' is another excuse. Teams have been playing basketball long before my time or even your time Doug and the stretch 4 and spacing is not a necessity to winning in the NBA. Great teams have won championships with conventional 4 and 5's.

It's almost a complete fallacy (Andrea being so necessary for spacing the floor)when you watch the game and see that after the 1st quarter, teams are letting Andrea take his jumpers. They are giving him his 'space' to shoot!!!LOL

Casey suggested that Andrea's spacing was necessary for Lowry to get off in the 4th? How then did they manage to make that run without Andrea on the floor in the 3rd and 4th? The offence seemed to be just fine and wasn't jumbled up at all due to lack of 'spacing' no? Lowry hit shots in the 4th that were difficult and you have to tip your hat to him. It had nothing to do with Andrea being able to 'space' the floor.

Just like against SA, we're seeing more teams let Andrea fire away (why not when you shoot under 40%). The bar is incredibly low when we are giving heavy minutes to a volume shooter because of the incredible 'spacing' he is providing a 4-15 team. LOL

[Dave T (Ottawa)]

The thing with a Bargnani trade is it will get you fired whether you do it or whether you don't do it.

Say Andrea ends up on the Spurs, Nuggets or maybe even the Mavs. He provides floor spacing, is surrounded by talent and gives a cool and collected 16-18 pts, 5-6 rebounds, re-learns how to show hard on a pick and roll and all of a sudden he's a "very good player who was wasting away on some mediocre-at-best Toronto teams". Since you couldn't surround him with the right talent, you get sacked.

And I do think Bryan is on the hot seat and with the current direction of the team, it's very possible he doesn't get renewed (I think he's a solid GM, but change is sometimes good, too).

Lose-lose. Do you hold out for the team to come together or do you make a move to see if new pieces are needed. Unlike a lot of the commenters, I don't have an answer.

[AA]

Funny they didn't need "spacing" when they went on that run without Bargnani, and "spacing" didn't help when Bargnani came back in the game and they lost the game.

[Greg]

Doug, in reading your in-game blog last night, you said that you thought Casey was just putting Bargnani in at the end of the game to give Ed a chance to catch his breath after the gritty comeback ("Here comes Bargs", "Not for long, I don't imagine. This is more about rest for Ed").

You watched as I did the trainwreck that followed. While Andrea did manage to get one single rebound that landed in his lap and take an admirable charge as he was steamrolled by one of Sacremento's bigs, he failed to box out, provide credible help defense, and his outside shots were not even close. Anything he gave to Kyle in "spacing" was given back on flawed defense, lack of rebounding, and wasted possessions. I actually feel sorry for Andrea in these situations. It was not his decision to stay on the floor.

On Tuesday night, Houston mounted a similar comeback (down 16) against the Lakers and Kelvin Sampson (acting coach!) stuck with three of his reserves for the entire fourth quarter where they combined for 23 of their 34 points in that quarter. This was not a slight on his starters - he had eyes and stayed with what was working at the time.

So are you saying now that you didn't expect Ed to be put back in the game at the end, or are saying you were surprised that Casey stuck with Andrea last night, but now understand his reasoning after his post-game explanation?

Like you, I have been watching the Raptors from the beginning. There have been many frustrating times before but I have never been compelled to write a letter to MLSE about a situation before. I have now.

I'm not worried about this year any more. They would have to go on a miracle run or get extremely lucky to not give up their draft choice this year. If that trade for Lowry is not to become a complete waste, management has to convince Kyle to resign. I wonder how he was feeling at the end of the game last night as he continues to out-rebound our seven foot star player. If the platitudes about changing the culture continue while "hot" players are benched at the end of games for obviously "cold" players, he will be going elsewhere.

I know it's just a boy's game played by men but it's also a business and the customers will also be going elsewhere if this doesn't change soon.

Blogger's note: Was a bit surprised and fully understood the explanation when it was offered

[DC]

Has anyone asked if Bargnani is dealing with lingering ankle/calf/leg issues? He looks like mehmet okur this year after looking like dirk nowitzki last year. Aside from the public relations campaign that preached a more talented roster that would compete for a playoff spot before the team played 1 regular season game, Andrea's inconsistent performance is clearly the biggest disappointment for the raptors.

[Drew]

I thought the reason Amir was coming off the bench in the first place was his chemistry with Jose Calderon. Do you think if this change was made it would make Valanciunas more of a focal point on offense? Especially since it would probably be him getting the pick-and-roll looks with Jose instead of Amir.

Blogger's note: Tough to say; but Valanciunas is not yet skilled enough to the focal point of anything

[larry lukeeborg]

gee, i think i'd hate to work / live / eat / breathe with most of the posters on here.

[Tom]

What I find interesting about all this talk of trading Bargs is that everyone assumes that the other team (lakers, etc.) want Bargnani. Our team is 4-15 and he's a player with obvious deficiencies... It takes two team to make a trade...

[Dell]

The problem right now is that there is no market for players who can replace Yawni. Before calls for trades, one needs to ask "who exactly is available?" It is easy to say that to trade for a small forward or a post up PF, but are the other teams willing to part with these players? I would love to trade a multi-dimensional forward for a one dimensional Yawni-but the other GM likely would not. Therefore, the team has the players they have now and they have to find a way to produce with the team or find a GM willing to roll the dice. Stay clear of a Gasol scenario, however!

[Paul B]

"But he’s also learning and maybe it’s easier to learn against second unit guys now"

Have to totally disagree with this line of reasoning. Why do we want it to be "easier to learn" for JV? It should be hard, and he should learn from playing against the best.

The playoff dream is over, now, already, not over the next two weeks. Moving JV to the bench marginally improves the starting line up (currently), but that isn't going to win them enough to get back to 500, where they need to be. The playoffs are already out of the question, in my opinion, and so the focus of the season should be on development, most importantly, JV, KL, DD, TR. To develop into potential stars, they should, in my opinion, be playing against the best every night.

Blogger's note: They don't share your opinion; nor do I think they should

[Boko]

1) They wouldn't need Andrea's O if they had another decent swing.

2) If I'm the coach, I sit Andrea down and tell him that his minutes will be a direct reflection of his PER/Min, and that he's on the bench until he shows me that he's practicing exactly that, or Amir. Jonas or Ed gets hurt or tossed out of a game.

3) Can you tell me that we don't need a second big on the court setting picks, screens, rebounding & blocking shots?

Don't get me wrong, here. I love your work here, but I honestly dislike Andrea's game more.

[Ryan]

Here's a question for you:

If Casey sits Andrea, does Stern step in? :)

[p00ka]

doug you should be fired for being so incompetent. How can you not see how much of a trainwreck bargnani isl.

Blogger's note: Ah, the people. How I love them and their valuable insight. Thanks for being a reader, I am truly flattered

[Jeff]

I agree with this - "I know it's just a boy's game played by men but it's also a business and the customers will also be going elsewhere if this doesn't change soon"

We have lived the Bargnani enigma for 7 years now - he is not suddenly going to get it and the so called spacing does absolutely nothing if he can't make shots and offers nothing else. Please trade this guy - and if he ends up on a good team where he will fit in better and just focus on offence and not be the saviour of the franchise then so be it, it happens. A lot of times the first pick doesn't live up to the hype with the team that drafted him, but succeeds somewhere else. It happens, make a deal, get something back, get some guys who are hungry and go from there. How much worse can the team get without Bargnani?

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

For those Raps fans who haven't seen this yet, take note:

http://www.raptorshq.com/2012/11/15/3648230/the-toronto-raptors-drinking-game

With this game there is plenty of reason to celebrate the current season. And the worse Bargnani plays, the more fun you have!

Doug--I admire your professionalism and perseverance. But if the quality of play continues to stink, might I suggest that you start playing The Raptors Drinking Game on the sideline? It might be the only way to maintain your sanity...

AG, Toronto

[Mos High]

@ Jeff....I agreed how much worse can this team be.

There is nothing else to focus on until something happens with Bargnani (less mins in crunch), team starts winning or he is traded.

maybe there isnt a trade out there for him, hopefully there is. I believe most of us true Raptor fans are just tired of watching a guy like Bargnani because it looks like he doesnt really care all the time or enough. Yes looks dont always tell story, but hey.

13 of 18 games 5rbs or less...7 of those 13 3 or less rebounds...Honestly this shows no hunger bottom line. This team is snake bit, but it also has a so called #1 or maybe he is #2 guy who doesnt go all out. Or his all out isnt enough.

Bad defense fine, bad shots fine, but the now hustle is the absolute killer and no excuse.

I like the example another poster gave about the Houston win over lakers..The coach went with that Rookie Smith down stretch because he was playing good. Bargnani always gets benefit of the doubt. Its too much

[Brad B]

"How much worse can the team get without Bargnani?"

Well, I suppose someone should check the stats and see where Bargnani slots in compared to the other Raptors in terms of points, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, and +/-, all per 48 minutes.

Alternatively, what if Casey benches him for a game to see just how not having him on the floor contributes to the team performance? Personally, I think that's a bad idea.

[Rob.V]

Here's a trade:
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Andrea to OKC for Toronto's 1st round pick next summer.
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If that's not the quickest way to get fired, I'm not sure what is?
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Seriously though, decide who your "core" is. I'd say DD, Lowry, JV, and Ed Davis... and shuffle the decks.
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Not just trades for the sake of trades, but rather guys that have been in the playoffs. Experienced guys that can help you win- now!
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Let's call it the "Glen Grunwald Approach". There are plenty of vets out there that you could trade for that would help. Gasol is one of them for sure.
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Look, everyone wants to point a finger at Andrea (I could care less) however the reality is that you need a big who can rebound, protect the rim, and anchor the D beside his skill set. I'm not a fan of hanging out by the 3 point line either (never have been) however this team had marginal success playing Andrea beside CB4 and even the likes of a Nesterovic.
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New players, injuries, some waffling on behalf of the coach, a rookie big in the starting lineup - it all counts towards the losing!
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Let's be clear. You're not 4-15 because of one player- SMH!
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And if you want Andrea traded so badly does it make any sense whatsoever to bench him now?.
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How's that for keeping or raising the value around the league. Hey look league, this guy is terrible!!!. He's so bad we've just benched him... now, you think you might be able to let Lebron go for him?
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Nope! I want a couple of back to back 25-30 point nights. You want your players to have "perceived" value when you trade them. A GM's job is not easy.
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As mentioned yesterday, it's 99-1 that something will happen on or about Dec 15th... it just feels so faaar away right now.

[LorenintheWoods]

Something I never would have thought at the start of the year - Maybe (just maybe) this team misses it's starting small forward from last year?

I'm trying to find a big difference between the lineups from last year's excellent defence and this year's pathetic displays - Kyle Lowry has been an upgrade, and Jonas has held his own for the most part.

James Johnson was an indecisive train-wreck on offence, but man could he block a shot, and he was quick enough to recover on defense when he did some gambling - he had a knack for forcing turnovers when defending in the post, and was often the first man out on a fast break.

The other major factor in the defensive decline is obvious to anyone with a set of eyes - Andrea Barngani doesn't try hard enough. That's more damning that a lack of talent in my books.

Kyle Lowry, in two minutes less time per game, is out-rebounding Andrea by more than a board a game. I get that Andrea's strengths are in other areas (even if he's not showing them) - but when you have a weakness that glaring, no amount of chucking on the other end can make up for it.

[Jeff]

Point is the Raptors aren't winning with Bargnani so move him, see what you can get. And try not to fall in love if you compare his stats to the other Raptors - he takes way more shots, more minutes and is not contributing defensively.

How a trade can shake up the team - for example (and Chicago would never do this) but trade Bargnani, Calderon and someone else for Luol Deng and Taj Gibson. You get a SF and PF back and Chicago gets a backup PG for Rose and a scoring big (Noah and Boozer look after the defence). Just an example but trades are out there.

Blogger's note: Don't you find it a bit weird that about 40 words after saying "Chicago would never do this" that you suggest things are "out there?"

[Liam]

Well that was a ho-hum loss, they looked poor. Ed Davis played well along with Lowry, DD was un-impactful in his efforts to drive the lane. Baryawni ok, I don't need to highlight his decrepit stats. I also do not want Bco to trade for Gasol. JV should be starting, Barny can't do muich about him...let him play out his contract here and then good riddance unless someone trades, maybe trade deadline we can get pick for him or something.

[m]

"I feel completely demoralized as a Raptor fan".. by a basketball team!? Not much of a life ya got there buddy!
"gee, i think i'd hate to work / live / eat / breathe with most of the posters on here.
Posted by: larry lukeeborg |" Can't help but agree with that.
On a brighter note, did you know that it's little Richard's 80th b'day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEmJW2sOUs&feature=share

[GM]

It's clear they should sit or trade Bargnani because they're practically undefeated when he doesn't play... Wait... Oh, nevermind. His teammates must love playing with him because he takes the blame for everything. No one looks at anyone else's glaring errors or hero-ball that goes nowhere. Instead, we can all focus on Bargnani. Hey, ever hear of confirmation bias. Look into it: http://skepdic.com/confirmbias.html

Now don't get me wrong. I'm all for accountability and I think Bargnani should be held accountable for his subpar play this season. When he's not putting out a solid effort, he should sit. I wouldn't even be against not starting him. But I loved what @Dave T (Ottawa) said: "I don't have an answer."

Last year (Bargnani's best), he was the defacto centre. He also posted up regularly and drove the ball more regularly. He also wasn't stationed out behind the 3-point line as frequently. I've got to believe that's a coaching thing. Maybe with JV down low now, Casey has sent Bargnani outside. I really doubt he's allowed to just go wherever he wants. The team has a system. Players can't just freelance. So while Bargnani must be held accountable, so must the coaches. Go back to what was working last year (pre-injury).

Doug, you touched on my pet peeve, saying JV, as a bench player, would play against other bench players. That simply and demonstrably isn't true. Basketball is too fluid a game. Fouls, injuries, playing time all contribute to who plays when and against whom. At any point in any game, you'll see starters out against bench players, bench players mixed in with starters, and any other combination. Stating that bench players go up against other bench players implies a sort of agreement the coaches have with each other, that at a given time all the starters will come out and bench players will enter.

If JV goes to the bench, he'll still get to go up against very good players, some of whom will be starters. And he'll still get his minutes.

Finally, @AT, I couldn't agree more with you. That STUCK 2 nonsense Jack Armstrong has been saying for eons has got to go.