Dull night, dull game and a crooked cabbie story

That was a rather dull night, wasn’t it?

Game had very little oomph, it seemed to drag on forever and outside of the Aaron Gray dunk, not sure there’s a memorable moment.

Yet, still …

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THREE POINTERS

Too fancy, schmancy

Look at the numbers:

Jose Calderon plays 29 minutes with zero turnovers.

Kyle Lowry plays 15 minutes with zero turnovers.

Yet the story of the game was the 14 turnovers Toronto committed and the 24 points the Nets got off them.

So where was the screw up?

Well, it was in trying to do too much with too many players unfamiliar with each other trying to make the picture-perfect play.

It’s trying to throw bounce passes in traffic in the paint; trying to throw lobs from bad angles; it’s, as Dwane said, simply trying to do too much.

“It’s admirable that we’re trying to move the ball but see the great play but make the easy play. We’re trying to just squeeze it and it’s not there; we have to make better decisions with the basketball.”

It’s not that there was any one player worse than the others. Gray, who hasn’t played in a week, had three of them; Amir Johnson, Ed Davis and DeMar DeRozan had two each.

All of them have to be a bit more careful with the ball.

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It’s what they do

So, I’m watching Terrence Ross miss about seven jump shots and Alan Anderson miss the four shots he took in his eight minutes of play and only one thing comes to mind:

Shoot ‘til you miss; shoot ‘til you make.

Actually, two things, that and:

You’re either hot or you’re due.

Seems Dwane is of the same mindset because when the subject of Ross’s tough shooting night came up, he quickly dismissed it.

“He’s a shooter, he’s got to keep shooting it, he and Alan both are shooters, I expect the next one to go in and they have to believe that, too. That’s what they’re on our roster for, to shoot the basketball. I believe in them, that’s the shots they work on every day in practice and they’re going to fall.”

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A minor criticism

We all know DeMar DeRozan is having a pretty good year, his game is expanding, he’s defending a bit better and even if the natural progression is a bit slower than some want, it’s still there.

Still …

Still I’d like one night – and I know people in the organization feel this way too – for him to say, “screw it, we’re hurt, we need this game and I’m getting it for us.”

And he needs to go off for 30 or 35 points, take and make the big shots and put his team on his back.

Maybe it’s just not in his nature quite yet but it’d sure be nice if he could find that will, wouldn’t it be?

I guess it’s nice that he’s had a 37-point game this year – it took him 60 minutes of a triple-overtime game to get it – and the 30 he had at the win in New Orleans was nice.

And, yes, I am fully aware this is picking a nit but there are some nights when he just needs to grab a game by the throat and take it.

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More?

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So, I’m looking through the list of Brooklynites and there’s all kinds of famous ones but this dude’s got to be near the top of list for his genre, right?

And if you ran a loop of Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield, that’d be pretty cool, right?

Now, that’s just of that era; the likes of George Carlin, Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Bill Cosby and Jerry Seinfeld might be on more contemporary list.

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Yeah, we may as well start the weekly process.

Mail? Sure.

Click. Write. Send.

You know that I love to hear from you, right?

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Now this is paying the price for not being from here. And a telling tale about some the crooks driving cabs in the New York City area.

I’m standing outside the hotel making idle chitchat with the doorman and I ask him what the fare to LaGuardia would be. He tells me (boss, you’ll find out when I do the paperwork) and he suggests that if I’m leaving the hotel around 8 a.m., I’m probably better off taking a Town Car on a flat rate than pay the meter rate in a Yellow Cab. Traffic won’t hike the price, it’ll be more comfortable and besides, he says, a Yellow Cab might take me the scenic route.

Or …

Seems three Japanese businessmen, new to the country, arrive one day in a cab and the meter reads $47.50. The bandit driver charges each of them the meter fare, they tell my guy later on, because he says it’s like an airplane, each passenger pays for a seat.

Crooks.

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Wonder what took so long?

Saw the story yesterday that some guy is suing the San Antonio Spurs because they rested those four guys in the game at Miami.

Yes, America is a litigious society with too many lawyers with too much time on their hands, it has been affirmed again.

Anyway, I figure this case gets laughed out of court, right? I know it was a tough break to show up and not see the key players on one team and you can debate Gregg Popovich’s merits forever but it’s a caveat emptor world out there; sometimes people get hurt, sometimes people get sick and it goes for sports events and theatre performances and all kinds of things.

But a lawsuit? Seems a stretch. And very American.

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Okay, not entirely sure about Dino-bytes today and what time they might be done; it’s pouring rain here, my flight’s not supposed to be back until after noon so we’ll give it our best.

But, yeah, I’ll get to the game for an IGBT.

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Comments

[WallG]

Doug, what about Ed Davis putting Hump on a poster? Or even Ross' put back jam at the end of the game? Neither of those were impressive or memorable to you?

[JHK]

I honestly don't think Derozan has 'it' to take over a game.
Reasons:
1. Predictable moves: a lot of teams have figured him out now.
2. Not enough strength or finesse: he can't finish in traffic by dunking hard or laying it up softly.
3. No 3: he still doesn't have a 3 pointer.

Meaning, he can only score by a long 2, which is hardly reliable anyways, or by getting to the line but guess what, we are not LA or Miami.

[TLI]

Suing the Spurs? Much as I hate how America rushes to the (judicial) court so much, I have to sympathize. When it happened, I really felt for the modest-income Dads who saved up to take the kids to see a few of the greats at their one really good NBA game this year and got gypped.

True, you have to roll the dice on injuries - but nobody was hurt; just absent.

If I bought tickets for a Rolling Stones concert, then found out Mick & Keith were taking the night off to watch TV, I'd at least want my money back. And an apology to my kids would be nice.

[AT]

I did not follow the link about the lawsuit against the spurs but glad someone is doing something about it (even if it is laughed out in court). I hope it is a major inconvenience to the spurs and particularly Popovich. As great of a coach he is, and the legend and future hall of famer that he also is: He thinks he is bigger than the game. From rolling his eyes at halftime reporter questions (you only get two questions, right?) to this stunt (in passive aggressive protest to the league schedule maker) he thinks he can do whatever the heck he wants.
I never really understood what "bigger than the game" meant, but now I do.

[LakeSimcoe]

DeMar (and the Raps) should also stop looking around for any no-call. In 3Q they paid too much on one occasion, leading to 2 easy 3's for Nets, which is the margin we lost....

And that Reggie's knee...looked too awful to me.

[Lorie]

Yup. The game was dull and I tuned in after the Graviator did his apparently splendid dunk...so, yeah. It happens. But there's always the next game. And the blog in the morning featuring - gasp! - the hilarious Henny Youngman. Heard all these jokes before. And I hope I'll hear many of them again. But they still make me laugh. And, as a matter of fact - watch through to the end of this trailer for the lovely film "The Most Exotic Marigold Hotel" and you'll hear one of them today.
Still funny. And like all those things that are golden, comic gold endures. Thanks for the laughs, Doug. Cheers! And Go Raps! And to the net, DeMar, to the net...from both sides of it.
http://youtu.be/Qd4gI56_84I

[p00ka]

it's your own damn fault if you think paying 47.50 per person isn't suspicious.....

[DaveB]

In reference to the Spurs being sued, Miami sat Wade, Bosh and Haslem in the fourth quarter recently because the coach is not happy with their effort and hustle. I wonder if this Miami lawyer will now sue Miami. Where does this start and end? Do you sue teams if players are injured? Do you sue teams if teams rest players at the end of the season?

Yesterday I commented about Alan shooting too much and that his percentage is dropping. I guess it is not his fault because it appears that is what his coach wants.

I guess the Raptors were playing over their heads with their winning streak and have now settled back to reality. It would sure be nice to see a couple of players return from injury to see what this team really has and where they need to make changes.

I hope you have a safe and good flight.

[Rob.V]

Agreed. I haven't noticed DeMar in the post as much lately. I'm not sure this is by design. He did take Ellis the other day on the block however maybe I simply haven't been paying enough attention because his post ups seem to have tailed off recently.
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A Draftnet excerpt prior to the DeRozan draft:
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Despite all of his physical attributes, is often satisfied to 'go with the flow'. Does not look to dominate. He plays hard, but rarely full throttle.

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Not so sure I agree on this one.
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I, and most people purchasing tickets to games would not launch a lawsuit however there is some merit to this.
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The facts are that you simply pay a lot more money for certain games. A Kings game may only cost $100 however a Miami Heat ticket could be say $350 (or more).
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There are premiums for certain games and although there is no avoiding injuries this was clearly not the case. There should be an obligation by the NBA and each team to field their best players.
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Popovich blatantly disregarded the league and the fans.
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Again, most of us would not think in terms of legal action however for as many times as the average fans have been screwed over by the millionaires and billionaires during lockouts etc... they should be held accountable as well. A settlement on the ticket prices seems fair, and Popovich should know better.

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Raptors? They need another major winning streak (soon) or it's simply not going to happen. Each and every loss brings them closer to more "development" games. The question is when is the cut off date. If they are 10 games under at the trade deadline they will have to consider more time for Ross, Acy, and JV assuming they will all still be with the team.
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The reality today is that they would have to go 28-16 over the last 44 (Bucks 1 game over at the moment) for a shot at the post season. Not impossible, however the schedule has evened out so this type of winning % will be tough.

[sam]

Depth at the bigs is rather thin right now. Ed and Amir can only play so many minutes. I thought Aaron Gray aquitted himself quite well. He is a little slow, and he doesn't have the best hands, but plays to his strength of being a big body who gets in the way. A good role player....

The injuries keep piling up....Amir's wonky ankle - add Kyle to the list, and Jose getting a knee from Reggie in the hip....not to mention JV's broken finger, and Andrea's elbow.
Kyle's return to the court and explosion in the 4th quarter was a welcome sign.

[Colin K]

The Aaron Gray dunk is actually a season highlight for me. Glad I saw it.

[DaveB]

Doug:
People are often asking for information on the Canada National Basketball league, the National programs and college players. This is a RSS feed that has a good collection of articles of all of the above,

http://feeds.feedburner.com/sportsblogs/raptorshq?format=xml

and the site itself:

http://www.raptorshq.com/

Enjoy

[Gerry Tanner]

My favourite from that time was Lonesome George Gobel. Dry sense of humour with real sense for ad lib.

[Steve]

Surprised to see much griefing of Popavich in the comments today over a case which is clearly a publicity stunt for the lawyer involved more than anything else. Anyone expecting Popavich to be "taught a lesson" is going to be sorely disappointed.

[m]

When you buy a ticket to a game, all you are entitled to is a game.

[john]

Interesting points about the lawsuit but I can understand it in a way. They are selling tickets to an event, in that event there are actors/players that are heavily advertised to be performing. You buy a ticket only to find out that the company putting on the show has sent people home for no other reason than they felt like it. It’s not like they were sick or hurt or even performing poorly. It can't be compared to the end of the season where it would be reasonable to assume that some star players would get rest in a game in preparation for the playoffs. This was really a middle finger to all the people who purchased tickets. Hence the big fine. Sometimes when you flip the bird you get a punch in the nose...

[D-Mac Ottawa]

I managed to tune into the game just as Brooklyn rattled off 8 straight in the 4th. Lights out. Man, the Raps looked short (as in tiny) out there next to Blatche and Lopez. And The Regend takes up enough space to make whoever's around him look smaller, too. (I was in an elevator with him once – the guy's titanic.)
Good reference, @Lorie, to "Exotic Marigold". That and "Cloud Atlas" were two great, mostly overlooked, movies of 2012. (P.S. I also thought "Life of Pi" was a better movie overall than "Lincoln" – it totally delivered in terms of what you want from a movie, and then some.)
And good call, @Gerry Tanner: Lonesome George!! Jonathan Winters on Steve Allen, anyone? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwWDa1xPTPA
Cheers. Go Raps!