A dog of a game but that's going to happen sometimes

Yeah, I know it’s late but look at it this way: It’s five days into the new year and the resolution to get at least a little bit more rest is still alive.

Anyway, that was a stinker, right?

Bad game, bad play, never in doubt, Cousins was incredible and the locals got drilled.

It’s happened before, it’ll happen again. Big whoop. Spend a little time figuring out what went wrong and move on. There’s 59 more to go.

-

THREE POINTERS

Had to happen

With two bigs, you had to figure it was only a matter of time before size, or lack thereof, finally caught up to them, right?

Yes, you can get away with Alan Anderson or Landry Fields as your fourth big against a lot of teams in the league but it’s obvious the Kings are not one of them.

Cousins, Thompson, Robinson and even the not tall but thick James Johnson did pretty much whatever they wanted to do all night.

Toss in the foul trouble that turned it into the worst night Amir Johnson’s had in maybe a full season and that made it even worse.

So, yes, they could have used Jonas Valanciunas for his size and six fouls and, yes, they could have used Andrea Bargnani for his size, six fouls (rip all you want but we’ve seen he’s not a bad one-on-one post defender) and his ability to draw bigs away from the basket to guard him.

But the night was an aberration, at least of late. Aaron Gray got in foul trouble, Johnson got in foul trouble, Quincy Acy tries but he’s over-matched and thing that worked so well for so many games – a small, somewhat unorthodox lineup – was ineffective.

It’ll be that way every now and then until they get a full complement of big men but that’s not likely to be until February.

-

Do not panic. Again.

It was, simply, one of those nights.

Bad matchup, a great player on the other team having an other-worldly night, couldn’t make a shot, couldn’t get a shot, played listless.

It’s going to happen.

And it’s going to happen again in the next 49 games, I promise you.

The two things everyone’s clamouring for when it comes to the lineup – and some of you were mighty impatient last as the chance at a 53-game winning streak to end the season vanished – don’t work.

You can’t take Aaron Gray out of the lineup, you need the 10 or 12 minutes he gives you to save wear and tear and fouls and minutes on Amir Johnson and Ed Davis.

You can’t take Mickael Pietrus out of the starting lineup because you need the two logical replacements – Landry Fields and Alan Anderson – to plug holes other places. Maybe – just maybe – you do Fields for Pietrus one day next week and find another way to massage minutes but this is going to be a month of minutes management and buying time until Valanciunas and Bargnani are back.

-

One of those nights, redux

So we laud DeMar DeRozan one day for his work and work ethic and the way he’s been playing and he goes out and lays a 3-for-11 egg with just 14 points (saved by an 8-for-10 night at the line).

He looked, like the all did, a split second slow, a second or two hesitant to move the ball and just out of sorts.

The one sign things weren’t working, and I hope you noticed, was the number of times they found themselves scurrying around to get up a shot as the 24-second clock got ready to expire.

Had to be a dozen, maybe more, and that’s because too many guys dribbled too long and too often and I know that’s a point Dwane is going to make rather forcefully today.

-

A wee bit more before I get into the day.

-

Okay, we called for The Picket Fence play and they never ran it, the bums.

But a lot of the IGBT Irregulars knew what it was and that made me proud.

And there is no question that Hoosiers is the best basketball movie ever made; it cannot be disputed, I’m afraid.

Sure, I giggled at Space Jam and Basketball Diaries was really good (the movie, not my piece from the London Olympics) and I’ll put Glory Road and Rebound (the Earl Manigault story) up there but, no, Hoosiers is and forever will be No. 1.

Right?

-

My day? It’ll involved a bit of sitting around and sitting around is boring with nothing to do. A lot of the mail’s been answered but there’s room for a bit more.

Click. Write. Send.

-

Okay, if this story I see about Lance Armstrong possibly coming clean and admitting he cheated is right, it will send off paroxysms of laughter around here.

Yes, we are a forgiving society and have so often given athletes and politicians and whoever a second chance when they’ve made mea culpas and admitted mistakes but, really.

How hollow is this going to ring and, yes, a lot of the ones we hear that cause forgiveness are fake but, wow, this guy?

If stories are to believed, and there are too many of them from too many different people, not only did Armstrong spend years vehemently denying what he might now may admit but he also spent those years trying to ruin the lives of so many people casting accusations that are now known to be true.

Look, the Livestrong organization does great work, money has been raised for cancer research was important (although if you have time to read this tome you may come to think differently) and he was a compelling figure in the sports world.

But the attacks on those who dared to question him, the vehemence with which he went after those people, the pain and hurt he caused while trying to protect a series of systematic lies just irks me no end.

We, as I said, can be forgiving of those who apologize and that is a good thing.

But at some point, maybe some need to say, “No, we don’t accept your apology or explanation. Go away.”

-

 

 

Comments

[Canadian Paul]

Morning Doug. 2 things that would have plugged the hole against Cousins last night were not tried. Zone defence and/or doubling Cousins on the catch. Why not?

Blogger's note: They played a fair amount of a matchup zone and sent a second defender, when they could, on the dribble a fair amount of the time

[Kerry]

Not even a mention of He Got Game?

[coachd]

Hi Doug,
Hoosiers in a walk.Nothing comes close. I have to say that Will Ferrell's was pretty funny though. Maybe you could come up a lsit of the best 5 sports movies of all time?

[jon]

Seemed like Ross had pretty limited minutes. After that 26 point effort against the blazers, wouldn't you have thought he'd get a bit more playing time?

[Hope Caper]

Couldn't agree more on the play of the team Doug. The only thing I might suggest is that MK was procured because Fields was down. Yes he plays the 4 at times but maybe that could be padded with some more time for Acey. Gray has a lot of heart but if he is not up to the task let Acey burn the fouls instead of Amir. Those early fouls really hurt the Raps who were, as you pointed out, not up to scratch.

At one point 4 Raps fighting for the rebound in their end, not a King in sight, and they somehow lose the ball out of bounds. Anderson's facial expression of disgust was telling.

I have a question on guarding cousins, Amir was playing stand up defence and Cousins bumped his 3 times moving Amir about 3 feet at a time. After the 3rd bump Amir got the foul.I have seen this happen in other games many times. I don't understand why is the "bumper" not getting the charge call?

[Boko]

There's something from last night's game that I'll never understand that coaches do: sit a player with 2 fouls, and rarely use him again. Fact: Aaron Gray was our only big big enough to compete with DeMarcus Cousins. Why not play him until he fouls out? It would tire the opposition out more, and keep us in the game longer, wouldn't it? Yes, he can't score. So, get our points from everyone else! I just don't get sitting him for most of the rest of the game ...

[Peter]

I still have friends who believe that Lance Armstrong is innocent, or at the very least, that he didn't do nearly as many bad things as have been reported. They still claim that because he hasn't failed a drug test (which isn't true) that he never cheated. At the very least, an apology might but the truth out there for those that still worship the ground that Lance walks on.

[doug]

games like last night happen, and also what gets me is how people confuse a players on court and off court issues with talent....Cousins needs to mature and has his issues but it in no way means he is not talented or to under-value that talent, the kid can play plain and simple no matter what his other "issues" are as he is a match-up problem for all teams...B-ball people got it right with Rodman as the average fan or non-fan thought Rodman was b-ball wise what his issues were off the court, his partying ways etc....well they were 2 separate entities and he is where he belongs talent wise in the hall of Fame.....Cousins is the same and any GM turning away from him due to his other issues is making a big mistake, I'd take him in a second.......Hoosiers best b-ball movie yes but for shear laughs and parody of a defunct league Will Farrell's Semi-Pro takes the cake.....last nights lesson don't look past a opponent towards a more exciting one (Thunder) it's the NBA baby, anyone can win at any time...ok cheers...

[Rob]

Just read that piece on the livestrong foundation. Shame so many sports heroes and the rolemodel image they put on, turn out to be anything but, once the truth comes out, and were fooling us all along. Ben johnson, Lance Armstrong, Tiger Woods, Roger Clemens, OJ Simpson..... heck even Kobe Bryant, who managed to sweep that issue under the rug.

Next up: The jamaican sprinting team. Hope i'm wrong, but its mathematically almost impossible to have 3 of 4 fastest people from a tiny nation of a couple million, with limited budgets, to dominate rest of world so thoroughly.

[Tim H.]

Hey Doug:
"they get a full complement of big men but that’s not likely to be until February." When I read that, my first thought was, "That long??"

Until I realized we are talking about not even four weeks! As you often say, "How did that happen??"

[gordm]

I don't really get this idea of a player needed for 12 minutes, starting. He can spell a player just as easily coming off the bench. If he comes off the bench against the oppenents 2nd string guy, he doesn't hurt us as much (especially offensively). If it is a match up thing, i can understand. But Grey shouldn't be starting, period, If you feel anderson and Fields are better at the three, then one of them should start and the other should get the majority of bench minutes, period.

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,How about the Jesus Shuttleworth Movie?

Blogger's note: Firmly in Top 10

[john]

@rob, a few facts about recent sprinting history,
-Ben Johnson and Donovan Baily are both Jamaican by birth.
-When Canada won the 4x100m relay, not one member of that ream was actually born in Canada.
-A Jamaican born sprinter has held the world record for pretty much the last 20 years.

It is in fact not "nearly impossible", but given that Jamaicans have dominated the 100 meters for so long its now a mathematical reality....

[Mike kovacs]

Re Livestrong and cancer research - I am not surprised at what that article says. As somone who does medical research I know that many organizations raise money that the public believes is mostly going to fund research when, in fact, it is not. Also i hate to say it but the 20 million that Livestrong reportedly put into funding research from 1998 until 2005 is not as much as you would think. A large randomized clinical trial of a teatment in only a few thousand people would often cost well over 1 million dollars.

[Brad]

What I got watching the game was that the Kings just played the Raptors' game better than they did; they were really active on defense, which bothered the shooters and disrupted the passing lanes, and yes, their bigs' offense were too much for the Raps to handle.

[james]

White Men Can't Jump . . . the movie, that is. Great soundtrack too.

[sportschic]

I see Kobe Bryant's on twitter now. Do you follow other teams' players or just Raptors?

Blogger's note: Some, not all

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

Lance Armstrong should apologize fro stealing Sheryl Crow away from me. Not that I ever met her. But he didn't help my chances any.

Hoosiers was good but I have a fondness for those goofy basketball movies from the 70s, like Fast Break (Gabe Kaplan and Bernard King!), One on One and The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh. None were any good, but I still remember that time. We'd go see anything that had basketball.

Another really good, forgotten one is Inside Moves with David Morse and John Savage. Made in 1980, hard to find.

AG, Toronto.