Might a subtle change be ahead

Well, does a 58-1 finish to the season tickle your fancy?

Guess that’s what it’ll have to be.

Funny what happens when an okay team plays a very good one that’s rested and playing at home?

At least it wasn’t another 12-point loss.

Anyway, sorry I’m late; figured 45 more minutes sleep to get it to a four-hour night was more important. Knew I could get this done on the layover in Houston.

-

THREE POINTERS

Change coming?

No one’s saying it out loud, nor are they really hinting at it, but I can see Landry Fields back in the starting lineup in place of Mickael Pietrus by this time next week at the latest.

Nothing against Pietrus but he was always a stopgap and he really isn’t giving them anything at all in the scant few minutes he’s playing these days. And you figure on those wonky knees it’s just a matter of time before he needs a night or two off.

And the way Fields played in San Antonio – typically solid if unspectacular – why not let him start the first and third quarters and see what you get. Dwane was kind of impressed with Fields.

“I thought he picked us up in that one stretch where we were kind of lagging a little bit … he gave us great energy, ran the floor, loose balls. Playing out of position a little bit at the three-four but I was wanting to get him a little burn and to get him back into the fold.”

It’s not like Pietrus is some integral part of the future, or even an asset to be dealt. He was a last-gasp shot at plugging a hole when Anderson and Fields were hurt; now they’re healthy, why not use them?

So do you do it Friday in New Orleans or Saturday in Orlando? Or do you wait and let them get three more practices in and do it next Wednesday at home?

-

Setting them up

There weren’t too many memorable moments – in fact, there were none, really – but there was one Amir Johnson move I thought was interesting.

Came with about two minutes left in the third quarter when he got the ball about a metre behind the free throw line. Instead of unfurling his shot – which had been smooth most of the night – he drew a respectful defender (I think it was Duncan) to him and then drove by him for a layup.

It wasn’t a pump fake, per se, but Johnson’s shot had been effective enough that they got right up on him and if he can do that and get by his man, he becomes a far more dangerous offensive player.

-

Makes entire sense

Am sure you all saw the Casey statement that Calderon remains the starting point guard when Lowry returns and, really, it was a no-brained of a decision.

Yes, Lowry has skills the HOTH need - primarily his ability to get to the rim - but why in the world would Dwane mess up something that's going so well?

What I think we might see is less of Calderon and Lowry on the floor at the same time because those minutes when one of them is playing off the ball are now better spent with Terrence Ross on the court. They were reluctant to do that early in year because Ross had that "deer in the headlights" thing going on but that's dissipated a lot now.

No, Ross did not have his greatest game in San Antonio - there were a handful of defensive lapses - but he's shown enough.

-

More?

Not sure how much more there is, the 4 a.m. wakeup call has me a wee bit tired but what the heck …

-

So the cabbie taking us back from the game was a de facto tour guide, a former cop turned film worker turned part-time cab driver (yeah, quite the career arc).

He drives us by the Cameo Theatre where they do live productions now; in the past it apparently was one of the homes of heavy metal music in Texas.

I’m a bit taken aback that groups like AC/DC or Guns N’ Roses would be popular in these parts and he says:

“They say there are three Gs in Texas: God, George Straight and Guns N’ Roses.”

So …

-

How's this for technology.

(And you know me and technology, this is going to take some getting used to)

Thanks to Santa, I've got one of these nifty little iPad mini things and an app that let's me type far more comfortably on a packed plane.

So I'm jammed in this window seat for the quick flight over to Houston and I can work on this, e-mail it myself when we get to Houston and hopefully get it all done before that flight segment.

Cool, eh?

And I’m sure there are all kinds of other tricks with this thing that I can do; any advice greatly appreciated.

-

Hey, heard there was some snow back home?

In Canada. In late December! Go figure.

Did the army get to Toronto yet?

-

Caught up with the first Bowl game of the season in person. Our hotel in San Antonio was home to the Texas Longhorns, who’ll meet the Oregon State Beavers the AlamoBowl on the weekend.

Was a rather sedate group last night – didn’t see a single drunken fan in the hotel when we got back to decompress – and it’s a far cry from the most raucous group we’ve seen in person.

That was one year in Dallas and you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a bunch of pig mask-wearing Arkansas Razorback fans snorting around the lobby of the old hotel we used to stay in by the old Reunion Arena.

Sooey, indeed.

-

 

 

Comments

[Mich]

Hey Doug,

Your iPad mini has a built in dictation feature. Here is a link http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5176?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

You need wifi or cell service for it to work, so probably not best suited for the plane ride, but might be handy for those 4 am blog post.

[Robert Bruce]

Hi Doug, After reading about your United Airlines saga, I offer this cathartic, classic rendering, in solidarity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo&list=FLQxSS1XrWjpWibxcFNzVQrw&index=1

[Rob]

Bad luck on the JV front. Was really looking forward to him going up against anthony davis. Where would you rate JV in terms of ROY race? 3rd after davis and lillard?

Blogger's note: Doubt it but haven't even considered it, to tell you the truth. And won't until April

[Jim]

For the commenter above... JV doesn't even rank on the NBA.comrookie ladder. Even Ross is above him http://www.nba.com/rookie-ladder/

[Mike D.]

All right, Irregulars, the winning streak has ended. It's time for us all to re-focus on demanding that someone be traded.....or fired.....or ideally both.

I'll get the ball rolling by pointing out that according to the ESPN trade machine, the following trade between three under-performing teams would work perfectly:

To Raptors:
- Dwight Howard, C
- Kevin Love, PF
- Ricky Rubio, PG
- Earl Clark, SF

To Lakers:
- Andrea Bargnani, PF
- Jose Calderon, PG
- Jonas Valanciunas, C

To Timberwolves:
- Kyle Lowry, PG
- Amir Johnson, PF
- Linas Kleiza, SF
- Alan Anderson, SG

The Raptors get an immediate talent upgrade, the Lakers get a pair of young, athletic 7-footers plus Jose to back up Nash, and the Timberwolves get a bunch of hard-working team-first guys to replace the disgruntled Kevin Love and oft-injured Ricky Rubio. This is trivially easy, and I demand the immediate firing of BC for not having done it already.

[mark]

Funny how cab driver fits in so many interesting career paths. Once knew an auctioneer/rodeo announcer/cab driver.

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
I'd love to see Fields and Calderon in the starting unit this Friday. I think that their style of play would mesh well together. Maybe they can develop the same kind of chemistry that Calderon and Johnson have developed. Might be fun to watch. As for Lowry, his play this season hasn't been impressive. He may be at a crossroads in his career. How he reacts the next few weeks may go a long way in determining what kind of career he has.

[Mike D.]

@Mark, did he provide a rapid-fire running verbal total of the money on the meter? Might be entertaining......at first.

[Avinash]

Hya Doug, I was somewhat surprised to see Coach Avery Johnson getting the sack.Your thoughts? & a Happy New Year to you. Thanks for a wonderful year.

Blogger's note: Thanks. Nothing But Net stuff up soon

[Heath]

Spoken with P.J. yet about the Nets?

Blogger's note: Have a text in, no reply yet

[Joe]

Hi Doug,

We did a wee bit of snow...10 cm last night. You'll be happy to know that your tax dollar was hard at work as Hazel had all of the plows out and running to clear the streets of our fair city of Mississauga this morning.

[GM]

Weren't you just saying Fields isn't as good as anyone playing ahead of him? And now after 18 minutes of playing time, he vaults ahead of them all. Actually, I like Fields and hope he can return to his first year level. That would require him to, you know, have the ability to hit an outside shot. I fear with him and Calderon playing together, there won't be enough offence in the starting lineup. Add Gray and even Ed Davis and that spells trouble with a capital T.

I hope Casey didn't speak to soon about Calderon having earned the starting job. Let's see how they react to this loss. If they lose these next two, it's back to square one, isn't it?

If Valanciunas doesn't figure into the rookie leaders, I wonder if people assume he's a second year player. As in, they just look at last year's draft and do their calculations based on that. Surely he'd be in the top ten, no?

[m]

@mark re cabdriver careers The incredible Quebecois fiddler, Jean Carignan was a taxi driver in Montreal.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6DfrB7l5JI

[doug]

never saw game last night, well thats a lie I flicked back a few times just too see score...as I was watching the Kennedy Center Honours which I usually don't watch...but with Buddy Guy and Led Zepplin it was must see tv, and it didn't disappoint what a night of music...and to end it was this version of Stairway to Heaven by Ann and Nancy Wilson/Jason Bonham which even brought Robert Plant to tears, a phenomenal rendition..ok cheers..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_DOJa99oo

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Last night was one of those games where the score didn't indicate how close the game actually was. The Raps played pretty well for, again, about 42, maybe 43 minutes. Consider that the starters got outscored by the Spurs starters 55-25, the night could have been a wholescale disaster - but it wasn't. The Raps just aren't the Spurs. But they're not the Washington Generals anymore either. Glad to see Fields back. Just another layer of depth.
Cheers. Go Raps!
P.S. Did super Family make good its escape from The Great White North? Made it to Montreal from Ottawa via VIA. But barely. And it takes a LOT of weather to stop a train. It's Winter Wonderland in these parts!

Blogger's note: They arrived, bag didn't; about to strike out for some dinner, perchance an Abita or six and some jazz

[doug]

not that his has anything to do anything but it annoys me and why we have bullying...what the heck is wrong with parents nowadays??...this is from the star today and the mother wants sympathy?/...my god unreal try being a parent, I remember once in school for a past indiscretion I got the strap, (yes they once had it). I went home and my dad said to me (as they had to call home and inform them) and he said to me which I will never forget and taught me to talk responsibility for me actions..he said " I don't want to hear it you must have did something wrong"...and I had and that was it over......it was me that was wrong, not the school or my parents or anything...what is this mother teaching her son???....

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1307727--teen-arrested-for-posting-high-school-fight-video-to-facebook

[james]

What a wonderful tribute to your late colleague, Randy: mesmerizing; really well done.
Thanks also to @m for the Ti-Jean Carignan link from this former cab driver and Mariposa devotee.

Blogger's note: I appreciate that very much

[Richard Rafton]

hey Doug, given your trials and tribulations with airlines recently, curious as to why you would accept " So I'm jammed in this window seat for the quick flight over to Houston " and dealing with airports, check-in, security, arrival etc when you could rent a convertible for a 2-1/2 drive and see some sights, maybe a sidetrip to La Grange...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3RLIU7T39I