These are the darkest days in a long, long time

Well, this trip can’t end fast enough and all that stands between me and comfort of home is a flight to Vancouver, a couple hours of laying around and then a long flight back.

Fitting end.

Anyway, one last late one thanks to the time zone thing …

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THREE POINTERS

Gotta do something

I’ve been around this team for a very long time and know the misery of some bad seasons and horrid stretches.

This is close to the worst I’ve seen in many a year.

There just seems to be a lethargy that envelopes this group at key times in games and the mood is dark almost consistently.

Now, that’s entirely predictable given the circumstances and I’m not getting the sense that everyone truly hates each other but they are 4-18 and nerves are on edge.

Everyone knows something has to happen – big trade, small trade, something else – if for no other reason than to change for change’s sake. I’m not usually a proponent of that and I do honestly believe there are some nice pieces here but …

It’s 4-18, no one’s happy, no one can possibly be anything close to happy and the sense you get is that more than a few of the people around the team want something to happen just to get it done and over with.

That puts a lot of pressure – even more than usual – on Bryan and Dwane but that’s what they get the big bucks for.

I don’t know what it’ll be but something’s gotta give before people start punching each other.

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An odd sight

If you had asked me which of the Raptors would throw a mouthpiece at a referee I would have had to go far down the list before I got to Amir Johnson.

That was so totally out of character it’s not even funny.

But out of character or not, you cannot throw things at officials, and you can’t hit them with what you’ve thrown and you can’t get to the point where you’re physically restrained from going after him.

Now, no one knows what was or wasn’t said – Amir said there were no words spoken, but I suspect a couple might have been – and David Jones, the referee, is not blameless in this at all.

But throwing stuff?

I’m thinking Amir’s lucky if all he gets is a two-game suspension and three or four might be more likely.

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Whither Kyle?

I am not at all laying the blame for this totally at the feet of the new starting point guard but I’m wondering where all this “leadership” and “grittiness” stuff we heard so much about has gone.

There is more than enough blame to be spread around but I thought – and was told – that Lowry had one of those “screw this, I’m getting us out of this funk” attitudes in him.

Haven’t seen a lick of it, which is too bad because this team needs someone to take it by the collective neck and shake vigorously.

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More? Very little since I have to run to write off-day stuff and catch a plane.

We’ll recap my own highlights and lowlights of the trip tomorrow morning.

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I haven’t seen a lot of “cool” people in various airport lines over the years that have me want to say something to them.

I can remember seeing some TV guy – home repair dude, if I recall correctly and a friend I was talking to at the time tried to get me to say hello but I didn’t – but that might have been it.

But I did run into the parents of the Notre Dame football kid, Manti Te’o, while waiting in a never-ending security line at LAX on Monday morning; we were off to Portland, they were going to Honolulu and I did take the time to tell them how proud they should be of their son, who seems as grounded and as normal as you’d hope. Plus, I understand the kid can play a little bit.

They were equally polite and seemed a bit taken aback that a guy from Canada would even know about their son and his exploits.

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I had no idea who or what Sklyar Grey was but I knew someone sung this song and it seems a tad appropriate to me.

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I’m going to tell you, the highlight of the trip (at least the part that didn’t involve finding a very cool bar and new beer in Salt Lake City) had to be the half hour I spent hanging out with Christine Sinclair on Monday afternoon for this piece.

I don’t see an awful lot of Canadian women’s soccer, although I did cover the bronze medal game in London and a couple of games in Beijing, so the only interaction I’ve had with her have been in post-game scrums and mixed zone interviews.

Not surprisingly, she’s far more engaging and funny and witty in a one-on-one situation sitting outside at a Starbucks than in those stressed moments right after a game.

A couple of snippets that didn’t make the story.

On the bronze medal, post-game euphoria:

“My parents, they joke, ‘you’re not in any of the celebration pictures, where were you?’ … I just collapsed on the field in tears.

"You’re just exhausted and just completely overcome with emotions. You’re so happy and it was just too much.”

On the team’s place in the world now:

“For so often when we played the Americans, and not just the Americans but the other top teams in the world, like Germany and Japan, it’s almost like we’ve gone in there sort of going, ‘ok, we’re going to lose, we might have a chance at winning’ and John Herdmann, who I can’t believe isn’t up for coach of the year, he should have won it hands down, he changed our mindset, he changed our attitude, he had us believing we could beat any team in the world and it didn’t have to be a fluke.”

Anyway, a lovely time, made this horrid trip a large bit better.

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Not sure the out-of-town Irregulars will get this but there was a big bike lane controversy in Toronto a little while ago; I imagine the Bully Mayor (who may not be the Mayor next month) would have a conniption if he saw this that I saw yesterday in Portland.

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Okay, I’m out; if you’ve got some pressing queries or want to say high and try to make my life a tad better, let’s start the mail.

Here. Now. Thanks.

Oh yeah, I have a two-hour layover in Vancouver in a bit but that's the only time I'm going to get to posting comments until close to 10 tonight so ...

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Raptors: One game, two players and a lot of composure lost

Different city, same late start, same deadline issues.

So here you go; instead of seeing a fresh gamer in the late edition of the paper, you can see it here.

 

PORTLAND – Dwane Casey was dejected, Bryan Colangelo looked ashen, the players once again were dragging themselves around another locker room after another one-sided defeat.

The Raptors lost a game, they lost some players, Amir Johnson uncharacteristically lost his cool and if there’s been a lower point for this franchise in the last five years than Monday night, it’s hard to remember when it was.

With another long stretch of dull play marked by bad decisions, loose ball handling and a lack of effort, the Raptors fell 92-74 to the Portland Trail Blazers here, wrapping up an 0-5 western road trip that got increasingly ugly as it unwound and limping home with a 4-18 record that’s among the worst in the NBA.

It was about the same as so many games this season, it’s getting ridiculous. The Raptors were okay to start, had stretches where they were competitive and at the first sign of adversity they went into a shell.

And there is no easy fix. Coach Dwane Casey pointed to the short-handed lineup he was forced to use for long stretches of Monday and that may have been factor on one particular night but the funk that’s enveloped this team as the road trip wore on is troubling.

And if Colangelo tossed around words like embarrassing and disappointing about the third game on the journey, one can only imagine what he thought after his team lost its 10th game in 11 outings and 11th straight on the road.

The frustration level that had been building for days finally got to Johnson, who was thrown out of the game midway through the third quarter.

Johnson was wrestling with referee David Jones over the ball following a Trail Blazers free throw; Jones finally had enough, hit Johnson with a technical and threw him out of the game.

Johnson had to be restrained by teammates from going after Jones but did get an arm free enough to take his mouthpiece out and throw it at the official.

The league will undoubtedly come down with a suspension for Johnson tomorrow; the length of which cannot be estimated.

It was the first public display of disgust by a player but Johnson has been too valuable on too many nights to cost his struggling team like that.

“It’s out of character, my teammates know me, fans know me if they’ve been watching my career, I never lose my cool,” said Johnson. “I never say anything to the ref or get mad, the only techs I ever got were for hanging on the rim or slapping the backboard.

“Before every free throw, I always go rub the ball and give it right back to the ref. The ref didn’t let me have the ball and we kind of got into a tug of war. No words were really said and from then on he ejected me out of the game and I kind of lost my cool from there.”

It came at the worst possible time for the Raptors, who lost Andrea Bargnani to an elbow injury after just eight minutes and Kyle Lowry to an injury to his right triceps that sidelined him for the second half.

“We had so many guys go down, Andrea and Kyle and I don’t know what happened with Amir, he kind of lost his mind there a little bit,” said coach Dwane Casey.

“We can’t have that. On a night when we’re short-handed and we’re in a situation where we’re scrambling, we just have to have more discipline than that.”

But even with the guys leaving the game and Johnson’s ejection, the Raptors showed all the same atrocious traits that have marked so many of their losses.

When things got difficult they caved; when they needed someone to step up and dominate, no one could. They made mistake after mistake and ended up losing badly to a team that was missing two starters in Nik Batum and Wesley Matthews.

“Get everybody healthy, that’s the No. 1 thing. We’ve got go from A to Z and get people healthy,” said Casey.

“Linas (Kleiza) is out, (Mickael) Pietrus is still gimpy, now Kyle’s out, Andrea’s out; we’re going to have a makeshift crew and hopefully be ready by Wednesday.”

The Blazers got 30 points from LaMarcus Aldridge, who dominated a ravaged Toronto front line.

The Raptors got 20 from DeMar DeRozan and 14 from Ed Davis but the stats really don’t matter, they were out of the game by the middle of the third quarter.

 

 

 

The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Trail Blazers

Finally, the end of the longest trip of the year.

It cannot come soon enough.

Of trust, toughness and the athlete of the year

This whole Groundhog Day of a season would be damn easier to handle if Andie McDowell was involved, that’s about all I’ve got to say.

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THREE POINTERS

The ball can actually move

Side-to-side, that is. In Toronto’s offence. We know it can, we saw it in the first half and parts of the third quarter yesterday.

Want to know why?

It didn’t happen all the time but it did happen a lot and it was when they put Kyle Lowry off the ball to start half court sets.

Now, I’m not laying this all on Lowry at all but he does have a tendency to dominate the ball far too much. Getting them into an offence that doesn’t immediately start with him handling the ball worked quite well the few times I saw it Sunday afternoon.

Yes, he does have to have it in his hands a bit but he seemed far more comfortable moving it on when he was the second or third touch.

As we know, there is a level of Hero Ball to this team when things start going south; it’s funny that they forget what worked so well early in a game.

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Some toughness?

I know it doesn’t really count because it was just one game but there was a welcome level of feistiness to these guys Sunday, wasn’t there?

Saw the nice Kleiza elbow to Blake Griffin, Valanciunas hit some people and even Bargnani – yes, Andrea Bargnani – gave as good as he got in the post.

It was, to grab a word from the distant past, a nice “disposition” to see and something we haven’t seen in a long while.

Now, I’m not suggesting they’ve turned some imaginary corner or anything like that or will be known forever as thugs but that’s the kind of physical play – sneaky and open – that they need.

It could have just been than they were collectively fed up with what’s going on, which is another big step in the process of salvaging something out of this season.

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So where from here?

Wish I knew.

I do think they still need to make some kind of change – to the starting lineup, the rotation, the roster – and I’d hope that three good quarters against a very good thing isn’t some kind of Fool’s Gold for them.

It’s interesting, in the wake of Bryan’s weekend public pronouncements, that the overwhelming feeling I got from public and private conversations is that everyone is taking their fair share of blame.

No it’s not strictly a talent issue because there is more than enough talent to have won more than four games.

No it’s not strictly a systems issue because we’ve seen those systems work for extended periods of time, just not often enough.

I think, at the very heart of the matter, it’s a trust issue.

And that’s entirely down the chain and might not be surprising.

Now, I’m not saying that people don’t like each other or think they are being undermined or anything like that; I think it takes time to develop trust that the general manager will get the right players, the coach will use them correctly and that the players trust the coach will use them right and their teammates will treat team right.

It’s something that absolutely takes time; with this team it’s taken too long.

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More? Okay.

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Big day back at Mother Star.

Some of the Wisest Minds In Canadian Sports will sit around a board table and decide the winner of the Lou Marsh Award and probably drink coffee and eat bon-bons and whatever other delights are available.

Logical choice, right?

Has to be Christine Sinclair?

Probably, and we all wrote about it when she was becoming one of the best stories of the London Olympics, but if I know my colleagues and friends, there will be some discussion about other possibilities.

Sinclair, of course, was in many ways an un-Canadian Canadian at the Games. She was tough and wanted to win at all costs, she spoke her mind, ripped officials and was one of the best players on a good team that captured the attention of the country.

I would suspect she will win, and likely with little contention and it will be an excellent choice.

But I’m going to give you one other to think about:

If becoming an Athlete Of The Year has to do with doing your best when it counts the most, you have to think about My Favourite Trampolinist.

Mock the sport all you want – and I know you want to – but at the most significant event of her career, under the biggest pressure and with the most on the line Rosie MacLennan came up with the best performance of her life and won a gold medal.

That’s incredible to me. She didn’t just win, she won knowing she had to have the performance of her career and nailed. That has to be worth something, right?

But I bet it’s Sinclair and that’s another outstanding choice.

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I think I’ve only seen bits of one episode of the seldom-seen TV show Portlandia but it’s got a pretty catchy theme song and since we’re headed there in a couple of hours, why shouldn’t you hear it, too.

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It’s about a 100-metre walk from our seats to the press room at the Staples Center.

By the time I’d walked back to dump off my machine at the end of the game and walked back towards the court to go do some locker room interviews, all of the courtside seats had been removed, the basket stanchions had been collapsed, most the Clippers signage around the court was down and that’s how quickly they move to covert it from one Los Angeles team to another.

And at about 4:30 p.m. Pacific time when we walked to find a cab, the Laker court was down and it was like the Clips had never existed.

Of course, since the Clippers are the best team in L.A., that’s not exactly true.

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Yes, Jonas is a popular young fellow with Lithuanians on the road; was a group of about 50 waiting for him before the game in L.A. and I can only imagine what it’ll be like in Portland tonight with all the Blazers fans who fondly remember Arvydas Sabonis.

You know what I like about the kid the most, maybe?

He is not jaded yet, he’ll stand and sign autographs and speak to people and every time he sees even a beat grunt, he has to shake hands as a way of greeting.

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The (late) end of the weekend mail

I’m not sure if I found all the questions I’d stored but I hope so. If not, I’ll look a bit harder tomorrow.

But until then, enjoy this bonus mail and we’ll be back with the usual fare sometime Monday. No promises on when given the time zone thing and an early flight out of L.A. but it’ll be here sometime soon.

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Q: Season's Greetings, Doug (Or is it too soon for that?) Every now and then Twitter is really cool. I might've first dipped my toe in its waters to follow celebs, but quickly saw that it was more useful for me as a link to really interesting stuff - concert clips, links to magazine and newspaper articles, sporting events, etc.

So yesterday one of those 'interesting' links appeared and it was to a podcast featuring none other than our own Doug Smith on Chris Sheridan's show. Fun to listen to - sounds as though you two go back a long way - but something he mentioned caught my attention and it was how in your role as President of the PBWA, you are sometimes called upon to negotiate 'situations' that might arise between a member writer and the team he covers, and I guess, the NBA too?

Anyway, he said he thought you were very good at this part of your gig and I'm wondering if when you leave all the glitz, glamour and good life of the beat writer's avocation behind you, is this something you might want to pursue?

Hey - if the pucks are still pucking around in meeting rooms in NYC, maybe you can lend a hand, or voice, or swift kick somewhere useful! Cheers.

Lorie P, London

A: Oh, no. Yes, I’ve loved my time as the PBWA president – the second two-year term expires this season – and it’s been cool to mediate things between members, teams and the league but once it’s done, I am done working as any kind of mediator. I’d rather just express my opinions and let someone else listen to those of others (I keed, a bit).

And, yes, Mr. Sheridan and I go back a couple of decades, we’ve covered too many NBA, international and Olympics events than I or my liver would care to remember. He’s one of the greats.

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Q: Hi Doug. I am sure you have felt like a judge at a witch hunt lately. I am sure you have your fair share of mail from the Lowry haters, Jose haters, Demar haters, and Bargs haters. I actually like all of them and would hate to think of where we would be without them. Who do you receive the most rants about? Why do you think this is?

Andy F, Aberdeen

A: This year? Andrea for sure. Last year? Jose for sure. Year before that? Jay I believe it was. Tends to move from target to target

And why? Perception is reality, fans perceive one player or coach is responsible for what’s going on – absolutely incorrectly but it’s easy to rip from a lack of knowledge – and then it becomes piling on from others. It’s kind of like a mob mentality.

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Q: Greetings, so Los Angeles another place with a spectacular number of places to visit and see(and a few that it is better you don't!) A personal fave albeit somewhat south of the sprawling megalopolis, a little brew pub in the beach side enclave of Laguna Beach. First spot that I ever encountered pumpkin flavoured beer. May well retire there one day.

Anyway today's thought process revolves around "professional pride". Certainly the Jazz game was a shock insofar as the speed to and degree of, capitulation. And one thought that I was left with was this game could be a very necessary step in the maturation of the HOTH.

The frustration and embarrasment of the players might well provide the necessary incentive to buy into some plan hatched for the purpose of becoming competitive.

Not entirely fair maybe to ask you this, but …

Do you feel that there is sufficient cohesion between the parts (players) to see the solution in the form of this group? (My meaning is looking around their dressing room the faces they look at are for the most part, faces that they can believe in?)

Thanks for what you do.

Doug T, Brantford

PS It wonders me what Charles Darwin would think of the crosswalks in the Jazzs' hometown.

A: I do think they believe, yes. But I also think their confidence might be at an all-time low that’s troubling. It be all that they need is one win out of nowhere, some big victory over a good team that helps a turnaround. Or maybe they need a close win over a bad team just to validate what they’re doing.

I do see cohesion, but as you’d expect, some nerves are frayed; they’re 4-16 and everyone knows that’s no good.

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Q: Hi Doug. What are the rules on trading an injured player, especially one that may be out for an extended period of time, 6-8 weeks?

Thanks,

Trevor B, Saskatoon

A: No rules against it. Generally teams acquiring players require that they take physicals but if everyone knows a guy is injured and will be back, they take that into consideration and do the deal.

But there nothing in the rules to prevent it, if that’s what you mean.

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Q: Hi Doug. A general NBA question. I often hear that early afternoon games are tough since the players are more adapted to late nights than early mornings. If so, is it more difficult for the western conference teams to play in the east than the eastern teams playing in the west? Is there evidence, statistically or anecdotally, to suggest this? If all teams lived in the same time zone do you think the gap between the east and west would be even greater than it is now? Thanks for your thoughts!

M S, St. John’s

A: I don’t have the statistical data but I do know there is a rhythm to a season that, if disrupted, can cause at least a bit of confusion.

But over time, I think good teams will win out and I don’t know that there’d be much disparity at all.

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Q: Hi Doug. How would Casey or yourself get this team upbeat and confident? What are the teachable moments from Utah that you would stress and build upon?

Thanks for your insight

Scott R, Toronto

A: There were very few teachable moments in Utah, what I would do – and I don’t know if he did it – was show parts of the first and second quarters when things were going okay and make them see – again – that they can be good if they trust each other at the end of the floor.

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Q: You wrote the other day that the biggest problem with the defence at this point is Valanciunas being a step slow on the rotation (due to being a rookie). What are the other problems and what are the approximate contributions of all the problems to the slide back towards the bottom of the league from the middle of the pack last year (in points/100 possessions).

Jim R, Toronto

A: The other problems are basic: Kyle Lowry gambles a bit too much on the perimeter which leads to open lanes; DeMar DeRozan’s having a harder time this year keeping his man in front of him, with the same result; and Andrea Bargnani is slow to rotate and is not having as big an impact on the ball in high screen-roll. It’s been a breakdown in almost every facet of the game. Correctible if Lowry stays home; DeRozan works harder and Bargnani is more energetic, as he was a year ago.

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The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Clippers

And how is everyone this fine Sunday afternoon?

The start of the weekend mail

Hey folks.

Had a bit of an issue with the stuff I got Saturday and late Friday (I inadvertently deleted a file) so this will have to do for now and I promise some bonus mail on Monday or later today.

Enjoy this and we’ll see some of you about 3:30 east this afternoon, right?

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Q: Hi Doug. Following up on a subject that was mentioned in Monday's IGBT regarding food/meals/snacks provided to the media. What percentage of arenas provide decent to good/great offerings? You seemed a bit underwhelmed with Denver's menu. Does it tend to be consistent by arena (good/less good)? Or hit and miss? As a food lover myself, these things are of vital interest.

Cheers!

Kate C, Toronto

A: I would say 40 per cent offer what you’d call “good” fare. Most of it is mass-produced dinners that are passable rather than outstanding.

And it’s pretty much the same year to year in every arena; Staples would be among the best, Miami among the worst. We don’t ask for much other than a variety of fresh stuff; Staples always has lot of choices, Miami has pre-fab slop most nights.

But we know who has good dinners and who has stuff we can pass on so we adjust our daily eating habits accordingly. We might pass up a late post-shootaround lunch if we know dinner will be good, we’ll load up on deli sandwiches at 3 p.m. for bad arenas and wait for post-game wings or somesuch. The dietary habits of some grunts leaves a lot to be desired.

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Q: Good day Old Friend. I say Old friend because I have been reading your blog and articles for a very long time. So although you don't know me I certainly know alot about you. Kinda weird how that works.

Anyways, just writing to clarify something with regards to the Chiefs playing the game on Sunday. I believe (not certain) that the league left it to the owner whether to play the game or not. And the owner of the team left it up to a vote amongst the players. The player captains voted and decided to play. So although I agree with you that no one should ask of the players to go out there in these circumstances, the choice was left to them and they decided to play.

Just wanted to point that out.

Thx Doug! (Mr. Smith?). What do you prefer for future emails?

Georges B, Ottawa

A: That is a good point that I was unaware of in the immediate aftermath. But I also wonder if there wasn’t some subtle pressure from above since I have been told by friends in Charlotte that the team was told to continue with its travel plans in the very early afternoon on the Saturday. Regardless, I don’t think I would have voted to play.

And I like Old Friend, works for me. And I appreciate the sentiment.

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Q: We did get to hear Leonard Cohen at ACC. Wish you'd been there, Doug, if for no other reason to hear poetry at the ACC rather than the insipid music accompanying our Raps point guards as they try to get into their half-court offense. But poetry brings up the question of players as readers and the overall ways coaches connect with players. Phil Jackson gave books to his players as a way to bond with them and show them other ways-ideas. Coach Mike Katz did same with his players at Humber and Univ of Tor. Does this work for the pros? Is a coach going to reach the modern NBA player with this kind of concern for their personal development?

What is the relationship between effective coaching and concern for players? I get the feeling Pop in San Antonio will receive lots back from the four vets he was concerned with when he gave them a day off the schedule.

Charles N, Toronto

A: I honestly believe that the good coaches treat the men they are in charge of like men; and it varies on how they do that. The relationship is often dicey, though, because it would take a while for a coach to understand which players need to be coddled and which need to be challenged. I guess it’s not unlike real life, where you need to know how to get the most out of your employees and I also truly believe all employees are not created equal and you treat more valuable workers a bit differently.

I think books would work with some players but some would say “what is this” and be lost. It takes a good coach to know which player is worth the effort.

As for Mike Katz, one of the great basketball minds in Canada, I understand there was a great event for him a couple of weeks ago. I missed it but he remains one of the all-time greats I’ve come across in the game in Canada.

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Q: Hey Doug. Sekou Smith said that Kobe is "Top five on most people’s list and in everyone’s top 10.". Do you agree? Where is he for you?

David S, Calgary

A: This is one of the great debates in the game, isn’t it?

You have to put Jordan, Robertson, Russell, Abdul-Jabbar and maybe Wilt in the top five, no?

And what about Larry Bird? Or Elgin Baylor? Or a few others you can probably guess.

Today? Today I have Kobe in the top 10 for sure but I can’t figure out whether he’s No. 6 or 8 or 9 or 4.

Nice conversation on stools, though.

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Q: They say it never rains in southern California. Is this true? Lots of talk of opportunity, though.

Assuming New Orleans is going to give the Hornets name back to Charlotte, will Utah help out the anti-pelican lobby and give the Jazz name back to N.O.?

How about The Raptors changing their name to The Huskies? Maybe it would change their fortunes. The guy could give up the chicken suit and become Sgt. Preston, or even better, Sgt. Renfrew and Cuddles (Dave Broadfoot reference)

Bob E, Kanata

A: What? No Dudley Do-Right? Imagine the logos!

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Q: Hi I Love your blog and column, thanks so much for the great job you do. I will greatly miss it if and when I have to subscribe for it.

Thanks so much.

Gerald B, Mill Cove, NB

A: There’s no indication now that will be the case. Let’s see how things play out whenever it is in 2013 that things change.

But thanks for the kind words.

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Q: Question regarding weight training. Was here watching an excellent game by Mike Petrius, and they spoke of him being in the gym in the morning.

Now, most people I know cannot fathom lifting weights the day they are supposed to shoot a ball (makes you all gimpy), but we hear NBA Players who have excellent workout regimes, which includes lifting during their game days.

Without the usual answer that athletes are simply better than us, and that they are freaks of nature to be able to recover.

How do they really pull this off I wonder?

Atif K, North York

A: Well, it’s not like they do some Lou Ferrigno workout an hour before any game. Mostly it’s to get the body working, to work up a sweat and get the juices flowing, so to speak.

Just like when you see guys riding stationary bikes during a game, it’s just keeping the body going.

Oh, and they are a bit super human compared to many of us mortals.

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Q: I have a question, but first: Oh, woe is me. I hold tickets for the season to watch at team that sucks . . . again, another year, every year since I bought those tickets! We hear lots of excuses: one night it's attention to detail, another it's spacing, a third it's the big Italian that went 4 for 20 without playing defense, sometimes its injuries, or "we just have to play for 48 minutes" -- too often it's all of them. Despite all of this, players with marginal talent or (unfulfilled) promise get big, long-term contracts. It seems that players, the GM, maybe even the coaches all live inside a bubble and act from a sense of entitlement, or a state of perpetual rebuilding.

Here's the question. Do you agree that there is no real accountability -- true mutual accountability -- for producing results in the organization? What is your prescription?

JP B, Ottawa

A: I disagree. There is accountability, just not impatience. And obviously not to the level that some fans want; sorry abut that, but that’s the way it is.

Dwane is accountable to Bryan, Bryan is accountable to his bosses on the board, it’s just that, as most prudent businessmen do, they realize that throwing everything away and starting over all the time might not be the best idea. But, trust me, when things go bad, underlings hear from their bosses, they just don’t make it public all the time.

Anger, frustration bubble over; what will it all mean?

No, that was not a pimptastic night by any stretch of the imagination, was it?

Worst one of the year, popped up kind of out of nowhere and very, very difficult to watch if you were a fan, I imagine.

The good news?

There’s another one tomorrow! And then Monday again. Sweet.

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THREE POINTERS

A natural reaction

Yes, there was an awful lot of angst around the team after the game last night, entirely predictable and, in some odd ways, a good thing.

Guys were pissed, at each other, at the coaches, at the circumstances, at the constant losing.

Isn’t that the way things are supposed to be?

They probably stayed in the locker room for an extra 20 minutes or so after the game for a ‘clearing of the soul’ session or, given the season, some airing of grievances.

Needed?

Of course it was; the season’s in the toilet at the moment, no one can possibly be happy and if they chewed each other out, good on them.

I don’t think the anger will last for too long, it was a reaction to circumstances and those circumstances could change. But a good, honest exchange of ideas and thoughts can’t hurt.

(And since the gamer was written it didn’t bother my deadline so that was cool, too).

But just see it for what it was: An emotional reaction to some terrible times. Nice to see the emotion, don’t imagine there’ll be long-lasting aftershocks.

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A case in point

You know that I’m impressed with the way DeMar DeRozan is playing this season because his game is evolving quite nicely.

But all this “we don’t get calls” stuff is starting to get tiring.

And last night, sometime in the third quarter, I think it was, it boiled over too far.

DeRozan was hit – maybe fouled, maybe not; the whistle didn’t blow so it wasn’t – and he hit the deck. Not sure if he was shook up or what but he laid on the court looking askance at the officials while the Jazz went down the court and the guy DeRozan was guarding hit a wide-open three in the corner.

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So what’s next?

I can understand Dwane’s reasoning for not making lineup changes last night (I think it’s explained in here in case you missed it) but something has to give.

He told us after the game he’s back on a search for eight or nine guys who’ll bring it every night and I wonder who he’ll settle on.

As for the starters?

Well, no one can suggest the first quarter was the issue last night, and it wasn’t the issue the other night in Sacramento either so maybe that’s not the major problem.

But if they are going to go with something stark, why not do Lowry, DeRozan and Ross? Small, sure, but it’s not like they’re getting brilliance out of that three spot anyway.

All I know is that the feeling from everyone involved that something has to happen and has to happen soon.

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Just a little bit more, I have a plane to catch.

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What do you think the world of music would be like if the tragedy that occurred on this day in 1980 hadn't happened?

And I cannot for the life of me believe it was 1980 when John Lennon was killed. Where'd the time go?

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I don’t know but this has to be the safest city around for pedestrians. And if it’s not, it’s because there are some less-than-bright people wandering the streets.

First off, there are signs painted at every corner of every intersection telling people what to do.

And if you come to a crosswalk in the middle of the block, they leave those bright orange flags that you’re supposed to use to cross. Take one on one side, deposit it on the other.

Now, that’s protecting the walkers.

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No clue what tonight’s going to turn out like after we get to L.A. and attend a practice but I owe you mail Sunday morning and there’s time to get in on the fun.

You know the drill. Entertain me.

Thanks.

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Of course, I write “airing of grievances” and, like me, you all think of …

It’s almost FESTIVUS!

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Seriously, if you ever get to Salt Lake City, go to Lumpy’s, an excellent sports bar, and do yourself a favour and order a bottle of Epic Brewing’s Brainless Belgian-style golden ale. You will not be disappointed.

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Okay, far shorter than usual but I have to run; check in with you from L.A. sometime later.

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Raptors "splintered apart" in Utah rout

And now for something completely different.

Because of some wacky deadline issues, here's what would normally be a second-edition story for the paper available to you here and now.

And, yes, we'll have the usual fare here for you in the morning.

 

SALT LAKE CITY – Nerves are frayed, tension is mounting, frustration is off the charts and now it’s time for the Raptors to somehow keep it all together.

It won’t be easy, there is no question about it, and after Friday night’s ugliness here, you have to wonder if the job can be done at all.

“I thought we splintered apart, didn’t stay together,” coach Dwane Casey said after the Raptors were drubbed 131-99 by the Utah Jazz.

“Tonight is the first time I’ve seen us give into whatever it was and that’s what we talked about in the team meeting. Hopefully that’s the start of togetherness; again, talk is cheap. We have got to get back to the fundamentals of basketball, whether it’s guarding the ball, rebounding, transition. Everything was exposed tonight from a team level.”

And for all the chatter about not getting too frustrated and staying the course, there were more sideways glances at teammates and open and evident frustration than there’s been all season.

Now with a 4-16 record a quarter of the way through the season and still two games left on this arduous western road trip, nerves are raw.

Casey kept the team about twice as long as normal after the game and said the discussion would stay “in the family.”

“Everybody said what they had to say and we have to realize this is time to step up -- everybody from myself to the last guy on the team,” said DeMar DeRozan.

“Everyone has to step up and play with pride because it’s getting out of hand right now.”

The Jazz simply did what they wanted against a Raptor team that looked as dispirited as it has all season.

Utah hit 13 of 23 three-pointers, dominated on the glass and led comfortably from about the middle of the second quarter on.

Even without Al Jefferson and Derrick Favors, they were able to score practically at will.

“We worked on a scrambling drill yesterday and we dared guys to shoot jump shots,” said Casey. “We’re going to get it fixed, whatever it takes, whatever seven or eight guys it takes to get it done, we’ll get it done.”

Paul Millsap had 20 points and Enes Kanter 18 for Utah while Andrea Bargnani led Toronto with 20 in a game that devolved into extended garbage minutes in the fourth quarter.

“It was a pick up game I think more than anything else down at the end,” said Casey. “That’s not who were are, that’s not what we’re going to represent with our organization; we have one of the best ownership groups in the NBA and we’re going to represent them the right way and that’s not how you represent them.”

Casey said before the game that he toyed with the idea of changing is starting lineup – replacing Jonas Valanciunas with Amir Johnson – but didn’t make a move after closer review of Wednesday’s game in Sacramento.

:I hinted at possble lineup changes, but again I think that would send the wrong message,” he said. “We want to be patient with our young kid (Valanciunas) and sometimes it’s frustrating. Sometimes he’s frustrated a little bit but he’s growing. As many mistakes as he’s making, he’s also growing.”

Besides, there was more than enough blame to spread around.

“That’s why you should always watch the film because he didn’t make as many mistakes as you thought he did,” Casey said. “Even though we gave up 56 points in the paint (agains the Kings), everyone had a little of that from top to bottom.

“We’re patient with Jonas and we’re going to keep the lineup the same. Again, if we get in trouble we still have Amir and Eddy who are doing an excellent job of bringing energy, athleticism, speed and quickness to the table in case we get in trouble.”

 

The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Jazz

Happy Friday night, everyone.