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.

-

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.

-

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.

-

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?

-

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.

-

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.

-

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.

-

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.

-

Oh yeah, one more thing.

Bryan? You’re accountable.

There, that satisfy some of you?

-

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.

-

 

 

 

Comments

[Boko]

Brad B, I started to do the stats research, and gave up after finding that 5 Raptors, including Kyle, have a better blocks/minute rate than Andrea, AND 8 Raptors, including Kyle (again), Landry & Linus, have a better rebounds/minute rate. I think that Andrea is hurting us mostly cause there is no way that coach Casey prefers Andrea's total game to Amir's, Ed's, Jonas', and even Quincy's. Easy points start with great D, and Andrea is NOT giving us anywhere near great D! It's time to ship him out ASAP. I don't care how many points he scores, he's terrible to watch as a total basketball player. The Dirk strategy is NOT going to work with him, cause he doesn't work hard game by game, minute by minute. Last year was a one of ... what are we going to do, get a new coach every year so he can get motivated again?

[Ryan]

Yeah not much of a life I have, because my life entirely revolves around the Raptors right? Did I say I was demoralized as a human being or my life was ruined?

Just like any other Raptor fan out there, it's the same. I'm less likely to watch, I'm less likely to buy anything Raptors, I'm less likely to go.

The fanbase in general is demoralized. It doesn't mean we're all waking up every morning going "oh man, I can't live anymore, the Raptors suck!"

[Mos High]

@ GM ...Yes I dont think anyone is saying team is better without Bargnani. I personally know for sure Bargnani is not the only glaring issue on this team. BUT BUT..

If your so called #1 player has plays like he has no drive it filters down thru the team.

If your #1 player plays bad defense it filters down

If your #1 player doesnt make players better it filters down

If your #1 player is not respected by teams and ref's it filters down

If your #1 player constantly takes ill advised long jumpers it filters down thru the team

I know everyone gets my point. I dont enjoy knocking Bargnani as he is on the Raptors and Im a serious Raptors fan, but there comes a time!!! Its over!!
Keeping Bargnani has help stiffle this team as they have been trying to build around a guy who will NEVER BEEN A #1 on a NBA team

Bottom line this TEAM NEEDS A CHANGE. There is no excuse for Bargnani, none

I have no issues with Jacks stuck phrase, just a term

[Nile Séguin]

I think Bargs coming off the bench is at least worth trying. Lowry didn't have him for spacing last year and he did fine. Not to mention if Jonas can learn better playing against bench players then maybe Bargs can get his mojo back playing against bench players. It is too early to panic but not too early to bench Bargs.

[SR]

Hi Doug... Just curious, how do you rate Pau's defence? Never heard of it as being an issue, but just wondering.

Blogger's note: Doesn't really matter, he'll get ripped here inside of a month, guaranteed

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Hey, How about a little musical change of pace to help take our minds a bit off the "Il Groggo" death watch here. This one seems appropriate enough (and there's plenty of good material in James Hunter's repertoire for Super Son's sax education, Doug): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kXR5VZd-lKc
Cheers. Go Raps...

[Robert Moses]

Still defending losing, eh Doug?

Blogger's note: Such incredible insight. Yawn.

[sportschic]

I fear that if Colangelo moves Andrea now, when surely his value is lower than it has been for a while, in the future people will complain about how little he got for Bargs.

I agree something needs to be done to improve the team *somehow*, but I would be surprised if Colangelo is getting offers that knock his socks off.

[J]

So much unhappiness these days. Allow me to preface the rest of this post by agreeing that Bargnani has been abysmal this season. That said...

1) We need to dump him for Rudy Gay/Kawli Leonard/Kidd-Gilchrist. We get the swing we always wanted, and they get (pick one or more) salary relief/scoring punch off the bench/more Italian fans to drive up ticket sales. Not that Memphis/San Antonio/Charlotte would ever make that trade, but trades like this one are out there!

2) There's little to no downside to trading Bargnani now; over the last two seasons, the Raptors have shown great ability to lose games without him. They've gone a combined 10-26 (0.278) without him, which isn't that far off from their 17-32 (.347) record with him. I think they have the concept of losing nailed down without his services.

3) I don't know why everyone is pointing fingers at Bargnani. The real culprit is (pick one) Davis/Valanciunas. Stats don't lie. In our 21-point loss to Memphis/3-point loss to Denver, Davis/Valanciunas had a team-leading plus/minus of -24/-18. Coincidence? I think not! Had Davis/Valanciunas sat out the game, we would have won by 3/15. Get rid of that bum! If you can't see that, Doug, you need to be fired/slushied/wedgied.

4) Okay, okay, so I lied. The REAL elephant in the room is the hushed up point guard controversy! The best deal BC ever made was the $25 x ? he paid in buying you all off with replica Raptors jerseys. It's obvious that Calderon should be starting over Lowry (the team played 0.286 ball with Calderon starting, compared to a dreadful 0.167 with Lowry), but until BC is fired, Casey won't dare bench BC's prized acquisition. Mark my words: unless BC goes now, Lowry will not see his rightful place on either the bench or the waiver wire and the season is as good as over.

(In case anyone takes this post seriously, please note that the only bit intended in a serious vein was the preface.)

[David in Oakville]

Good Afternoon Doug,

I know a lot of the youngsters who play this game prefer RAP & HipHop, but I have always thought basketball was well suited to Jazz and you can't consider jazz without thinking about Brubeck.

Dave Brubeck is one of the 6 CD's that is almost always in my car's CD player.
+
I agree with Rob V. and every other trader... buy low, sell high. Right now Bargnani's value is at an all time low. If the Raps want to move him, they better help him solve his problem. I don't see how you do that by sitting him down.
+
Re: Pau Gasol - be careful what you wish for. At least Bargnani is only an ineffective 10 million a year player who could still be amnestied (worst case) before the start of next year by the next "saviour" GM. Again, Rob V. makes sense when he says wait to see what develops by Dec 15th.

[Lorie]

Isn't it breathtaking? The magic that can happen when those blessed with uber talent - as well as familarity and respect for one another's skills - put on a performance for the ages? And no, I'm not talking about the HOTH, or even Kobe, but of Mr. Brubeck and friends. Thanks for the link, Doug. What fabulous performances. And it's always satisfying - as a musician who spent much of her time in land of the bass clef - to see that bass solo. Very nice stuff. They really blew the dust off an old standard and gave it new life. Kick up your heels, Margie. You're cool. Again.

[JL]

In all hopes they won't have to trade Calderon with Bargnani because Caleron brings a lot of positives to this team. But agree that Bargnani must go. I have been defending him for many years just as other comments have said, I too have seen myself not believe.

[Jeff]

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?"

Ok Doug. But no Doug. What I meant was Chicago likely doesn't have a desire for Bargnani, but some other teams do. For example, Sacramento has a center who rebounds and scores, they could use a scoring PF. Add Calderon In exchange for Jason Thomson, Marcus Thornton and Travis Outlaw. Kings get some depth and experience.There must be some GM's out there who believe if they add Bargnani to the team he will finally get it.

I personally don't like Gasol - but there must be a 3rd team (playoff bound) who would want in on the deal. And speaking of trades throw Kleiza in as well - we need more players who can dribble and have moves around the basket, not off balance chucking hook shots.

[doug]

decided to watch my first Raps game in a bit last night....and the way Casey coached in the 4th had me flummoxed, and then that explanation he offered afterwards about spacing had me saying to myself, "he's kidding right"...the dude has no sense of offensive b-ball (and I mean offensive as in offense not the other meaning although it too applies)....I wouldn't want too be BC right now as how to right this ship could be a problem especially with us possibly not having a 1st rounder.....we need territorial rights as they had in hockey a eon ago hence why Leafs/Canadians were perennial powerhouses, if we had territorial rights we at least could look forward to Andrew Wiggins....ok cheers and folks this is going to get uglier before it gets better thats a given.....cheers...

[james]

I wasn't expecting a belly laugh today, but . . .
"SR: Hi Doug... Just curious, how do you rate Pau's defence? Never heard of it as being an issue, but just wondering.
Blogger's note: Doesn't really matter, he'll get ripped here inside of a month, guaranteed"

I have finally figured out why this Andrea-hatred is vaguely familiar. Once upon a time, there was a Toronto player called Frank Mahovlich. He was, it was said, an enigmatic and lazy underachiever. He was more or less run out of town to play with, first, Gordie Howe, and then Jean Beliveau. Great success followed, all the way to the Hockey Hall of Fame and, of all places, the Canadian Senate. I am not suggesting Bargnani will end up in Springfield, but there is something about Toronto that seems to focus on what a guy can't do rather than what he can do.

[GM]

In regards to Gasol's defence, Doug wrote, "Doesn't really matter, he'll get ripped here inside of a month, guaranteed" And to that may I add: Ding! Ding! Ding! Here are some scenarios: 1. Raps keep Bargnani and no matter how he plays, he'll be ripped and Colangelo will be ripped. 2. Raps trade Bargnani for Gasol and he ends up sucking, in which case he will be ripped and Colangelo will be ripped for not getting more for a player people think sucks. 3. Raps trade Bargnani for Gasol and he ends up playing great, in which case Colangelo will be ripped because Pau is too old/has wonky knees/is getting too much money, etc. 4. Raps trade Bargnani for anybody else and Colangelo will be ripped for the same reasons as #3 and #4.

[Chuck Swirsky]

Doug, have you noticed that you disagree with pretty much all of your readers. Way to go, dude.

Blogger's note: You're wrong

[Steve]

"3) I don't know why everyone is pointing fingers at Bargnani. The real culprit is (pick one) Davis/Valanciunas. Stats don't lie. In our 21-point loss to Memphis/3-point loss to Denver, Davis/Valanciunas had a team-leading plus/minus of -24/-18. Coincidence? I think not! Had Davis/Valanciunas sat out the game, we would have won by 3/15. Get rid of that bum! If you can't see that, Doug, you need to be fired/slushied/wedgied."

+/- is an awfully inaccurate statistic at the best of times, but it's interesting that you are only willing to apply it to those games but decided to skip our most recent outing. Why could that be? Oh looky, it's because Bargnani put in a solid -18 by himself.