Knowing roles, not knowing what to do and not knowing people

Say one thing for the HOTH, they continue to confound and entertain and pull rabbits out of their hats.

And now riding a four-game win streak, they get four days off to reflect.

Which I did, too.

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THREE POINTERS

Doing the job

Been a pretty good stretch for John Lucas III, no?

Big fourth quarter on Sunday, a couple of big shots on Tuesday and his big 15-minute stretch last night in New York with the dagger on that little fade from the corner over Jason Kidd in the last minute.

This team is pretty lucky, actually.

In much the same way Aaron Gray was a pro and ready to contribute when he got his chance, Lucas bided his time as the third point guard, barely played and comported himself well until he got his shot.

Now, also like Gray I think Lucas is best served as a third guard rather than a primary backup and these three games certainly haven’t done anything to change my mind. He still has some issues with his decision-making and running and offence and those aren’t going to go away.

But he can make a shot – the big one last night – and he’s obviously professional enough to be ready when his team needs him.

Doesn’t lessen the need for a guard – and that has to happen in the next week – but at least made it less crucial over these last two games.

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Speaking of …

Landry Fields has probably had a lot of good days in his life, although I can’t imagine many were better than yesterday.

As we find out through the tweeter (and that really does lay life bare for some people) he got engaged to his girlfriend during the day, he gets a matchup-driven start in the city where his career began and plays extremely well guarding one of the best scorers in the NBA.

Now he’s off, apparently, for a couple of days away with his fiancée and all has to be well in the world.

Not a bad day, all in all.

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So, where are they?

Well, on a bit of an ascent, actually.

I’ve wavered between thinking they might play important games in April with some faint chance at the eighth spot and thinking the horrid start had – as my man Perk once uttered – shot the season behind the ear.

But three quality wins in a four games – at Indy, over Denver and at New York – were totally unexpected (before that stretch, you might have thought one was good, two would have been a pleasant surprise and three was unthinkable) and who knows what might happen now.

Give ‘em all credit – Bryan, Dwane, the players – because they are playing entertaining games, playing hard and seem to have something good going on.

Kind of makes the unofficial “second half” of the season worth waiting for, no?

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A wee bit more.

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

(The card, flower and chocolate companies thank you)

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No, I’m not all that big on Valentine’s Day and not that big on “love songs” but if you were to play this a couple of times tonight when you’re dancing with the Missus (or the Mister) it’d be a good mood-setter for the day.

Mr. Clapton has some singing chops.

Me? I’ll likely be in some saloon in Houston watching Lakers-Clippers and hanging with the other all-star weekend hostages.

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Couple of housekeeping matters, if you don’t mind.

We’ll be here – live once again from some departure lounge at Pearson so we can wait out the inevitable delays together from 11:30-12:30 this morning (flight’s allegedly at 1:20 or so) so come armed with your questions and hellos.

And if you can’t make it, there’s askdoug@thestar.ca for whenever I can find time for a weekend mailbag or two; not much over there now, help a fella out, would you?

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So, Turk.

Goes back to Turkey, takes some kind of supplement, it’s got a banned substance in it and, boom, he gets nailed by the PED police and gets a 20-game ban.

Hilarious. Really.

Look, I like Turk, quite a bit. Was a funny guy whole stole a bunch of money when he was here but he never, ever struck me as a guy who’d take something to help him have enough recovery ability to hasten is workout regimen to return from an injury.

And maybe that’s why I found the story so hilarious.

That and the fact that now two of the eight players who have ever been caught using PEDs used to play hear – Lindsey Hunter was the other ex-Raptor – made it even more interesting.

I’m not naïve enough to think that Turk – or the other seven who got caught – are the only players who put illegal substances in their bodies, although it’s kind of ridiculous to me that any athlete would take something even close to dubious during a season.

If you want to take something, there are armies of team staff and league staff and union staff who will tell you what you can take; trying to “sneak” something you got on your own is courting disaster.

It’s unfathomable to me that any player in any sport would go rogue; it makes no sense and speaks to a level of invincibility that’s troubling.

I don’t feel in the least bit sympathetic towards Turk, or any player in any sport who offers a lame “I didn’t know what was in it” excuse. There are ways to find out, people to help you do it and if you don’t and you get caught, tough noogies.

Speaking of Turk …

That never gets old.

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I guess nothing should really shock us about athletes who are idolized because we have so often been disappointed and stunned to learn of their human failings long after we’ve lauded them for their athletic expertise.

It’s hard being a fan though, isn’t it? People we think we know do things of an unspeakable nature and we should all start examining the reasons why we cheer.

And as I’ve warned a few times before, we need to cheer for athletic ability and competition and that alone.

We can’t pretend to know or like or admire anyone for any other reason because these men and women are humans and many have demons.

We need to appreciate them as athletic entertainers because to get too caught up in their lives away from the sporting venue is ask for disappointment.

I wrote this about Oscar Pistorious this past summer as an athlete and I remember being miffed at myself for not writing a longer, more in-depth piece on him as a man.

Given what’s transpired, I’m glad I didn’t.

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Comments

[Robb]

Something that shouldn't be lost is that this Raptors squad is most definitely a playoff team. Whether or not they make the playoffs is another story.

Started the season 4-19.
Since then 17-14.

That's a playoff team. Here's hoping the laws of nature work with them down the stretch.

[HopeCaper]

Seems ironic many spent the earlier part of the season saying this team wasn't as bad as they appeared to be. Now...
Bargs will figure it out, hopefully while he is a Raptor.
Thanks to Sam on the Jose update. I hope the Raps take a look at re-signing this guy but I doubt Detroit lets him go without an offer.
Have fun at the All Star game Doug. I would love to see one live, like in TO.

[El]

Six 3s for Jose last night!

[james]

Loved that ugly win; one hopes Alan A. isn't going anywhere.

Now, as this is a "sports blog", please forgive a brief lapse into puckdom. Last spring while briefly contemplating the bizarre spectacle of Sidney Crosby, in apparent homage to the game's "culture", engaging in fist fights upon his return from concussion-land, I made an agreement with a chum who once played Tier-Two Junior on the Prairies: If and when the marvellous young Ottawa Senator defenceman, Erik Karlsson, was injured by one of the predators or blockheads of the NHL, we would never watch another game. And now that moment has come. We agreed then that Erik was simply too small, too skilled and too Swedish to be anything but a target destined for a short career. So after 58 years, it's goodbye hockey, although I suppose this divorce could have happened decades ago when Bugsy Watson sliced open Bobby Hull's face with the blade of his stick. The only thing more predictable than "Cookie" (as Crosby calls him, leaving out "Monster") raking his skate blade across the back of Karlsson's ankle was the unanimous opinion of every member of both TSN/Sportsnet puck panels that this hit-from-behind was a tragic accident. Here is a prediction you can take to the bank: Next Saturday, the proprietor of "Coach's Corner" will blame the victim. I will not be watching.

[john]

WOW, What a lot of angst for a team that just won 4 in a row against some pretty good opponents.
It seems the same people who want AB gone are the same ones who wanted to amnesty Calderon last summer. Yes, he looked pretty lost on a couple of plays where he was trying to guard 2 people, and he should have fouled Chandler on the last one, but does everyone forget his block and two altered shots on Staudamire under the basket?
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Speaking of Staudamire how would you like to be paying his $45 million salary over the next 2 years. He looks like he’s 50 years old. Where are all the commenters raving about how many championships the Knicks were going to win with those two guys?
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The only thing this team should do for the rest of the year roster wise is to get another point guard for insurance. Please let this team play together for a while and get an identity. They haven't started the same five guys for five straight games all year. I want to see some continuity in the roster and not more upheaval. Despite what some think, other than the PG spot this is a pretty deep team. They showed that last night. Kudo’s to coach Casey for creating the match-ups he did.

[Geoff Read]

How sad is the whole Pistorius thing? That's all I can say. There can be nothing approaching sympathy for a man who kills his girlfriend...

BTW - today is the billion people rising day or something - people around the world are dancing to show their support for ending domestic violence against women. So everyone should shake their tailfeather at some point.

[LeeZ]

O.K.
It's been a half dozen games now since The Trade and one thing seems apparent: Kyle Lowry is not the point guard we need to bring out the best in RG, nor the rest of the starters, for that matter. The guy we need is some Spanish dude, dark hair, cool sideburns, what's his name again? Yep, THAT guy. Rather than having to watch KL make his perimeter pass to Gay and then watch Gay POUND THE BEJEEZERS out of the ball, in place, for 12 seconds, we could be watching José do his magic and setting up Gay and DD curling off screens or doing the pick and roll with Amir (or even Bargs) to perfection or even taking his own lethal shot. Then bring in Lowry from the bench and let him do his thing: drive drive DRIVE and lay it in or kick it out or dish it inside. Rinse, lather and repeat. This solves our problem as to where we're going to find scoring from the second unit, frees KL to be KL (right now his skills are being wasted), lets our top offensive weapons operate at peak effectiveness and, last but not least, provides fans with entertaining basketball. Doug, whaddayathink?

Blogger's note: Like I've thought for a while, Kyle is an acquired taste I've not yet fully acquired

[joeu]

The point about Barganni is : anyone that saw the Raptor's 2011 season knows what he is capable of in this league. If he's going to regain that form, I'd rather that it be with the Raps. And although Gay changes Barganni's role on this team, he will be a better contributor solely because he wants to be, and can figure out how to fit in. Given that he's got a new starting point guard and a new, ball-dominant front court player to integrate with, four games is not enough time. Barganni should close out the season in Toronto.

[GM]

@Rob V, you nailed it. I thought the same thing when Rautens and Devlin called out Bargnani on those Chandler dunks. It wasn't even his man. It was a quick pass over to Chandler. Sure, Bargnani might have been able to get over quicker, but I don't think he'd have been able to stop him. I can totally see any of the other bigs in that situation. But fans tend to remember the hits and forget the misses. He played decent man defence. I wasn't paying all that close attention but I remember a nice blocked shot he had in the key. Yes, of course he could do more -- like rebound the occasional shot. Gay is a volume shooter (and a pretty bad one, as it's turning out) but so far he's done other things to help the team. And make no mistake, that wasn't just the odd bad game that players have on occasion -- Gay has been consistently having those woeful shooting nights all season.

So far I'm hating the offence since Jose left. It is u-g-l-y. Granted, winning helps. But it seems as if there's way more one-on-one ball, with different guys taking turns trying to see what he can do one-on-one. I don't see that being sustainable.

[Grant]

@lee: Great to see you keeping those Euro stereotypes in play! Can't wait for the next time that Valancuinnas has a bad game so I can hear them again.

[doug]

people Jose is gone....he's not coming back time to move on, we have won 4 in a row because we have a diversified line-up finally, with scoring coming from multiple places on any given night...this team is infinitely better and people around the NBA know it, we still have a ways to go, but were a much better TEAM.....@Leez good little piece but your missing or forgetting one key point we got Gay because we traded Jose for him, thankfully and Lowry is fine with this group....it amazes me how many people live their life in the past on this blog and also that we are winning and some people still whine and complain they remind of when I was a kid, they'd be the one's who take their net and go home when they never got their way....cheers...

[GM]

Forgot to mention the refs. Man, have they been worse this year or what? And not even just against the Raptors. I mean, across the board bad. I wonder if there's been a league mandate to let things go more this year. There's this old adage that if both coaches are complaining, they must be doing something right, but I don't think that's true. Both coaches have legitimate reasons to complain. They're missing stuff all over the place and inconsistent.

[gordo]

Ok. Although, this is off topic it is driving me nuts. Hunting Prep, you know who's team. in in this area this weekend. I have now, heard and read they are playing in Hamilton but it could be at McNab vs McNab High Schoo Sat at 5pm. I have also heard that it is being played at McMaster on Sunday at 2pm. Wow, arguably the greatest high school bb player since Lebron James, who just happens to be Canadian, is playing in the GTA and searching frantically to find the venue where he is playing. Can anyone tell us for sure where it is?

[LeeZ]

@Doug the poster: Um, Doug, I'm not as young as I used to be, nor is my memory as good as it used to be, but I'm not brain dead: I do realize we traded José to get Rudy (but thank you for condescendingly reminding me; much obliged!). I was referring to the possibility of getting José back next year, and no, actually, you're wrong, KL is NOT just fine with these guys. Rudy is having to do FAR too much work to get up a shot because KL, unlike José, doesn't have a CLUE how to get the ball to him (or anyone else, for that matter) in the ideal position, something that José does better than almost any other pg I can think of. So you get the worst of both worlds: Kyle is stifling his best skills (beating his man off the dribble and in the process creating opportunities for him or his mates) in favour of dribbling the ball up the court, making a perimeter pass to someone about 40 feet from the hoop, and then JUST STANDING THERE, like everyone else on the team, while the pass recipient tries to go one on one for a dozen seconds. He is HORRIBLY suited at getting his mates touches in the right position, whereas José is PERFECT at that. And Kyle is a WONDERFUL penetrator and offensive weapon, skills that are being WASTED with him on the first unit. Yes, we have won four games, no one is disputing that. But we've won them despite the current configuration (and thanks to the bump Rudy has given us), not because of it.

[J]

There's some terrible logic floating around about the four game win streak.

First, because we won the last few games, we cannot criticize bad play or suggest ways to improve. Guess that's why people tend to jump on anecdotal one game samples to prove their point; couldn't possibly do it while winning, right?

Second, I was a proponent of the Gay trade when almost everyone was down on it, but all this "we're winning because of him" is getting out of hand. I will take a win anytime, but to suggest that we would have definitely lost without him is silly. I'm sorry, but that's something nobody can ever know. It's one thing if he completely dominated the game, but his game-winners, while certainly appreciated, are receiving too much credit. This isn't hockey; if Gay was more efficient with his shot selection (or if he had a better PG to put him in a better position), then the team may not have needed a last possession game-winning shot in the first place. I still like the trade, but this team is obviously not complete yet. Yup, we've won four in a row, including three against some really good teams, but we held our own against the Pacers even prior to the trade (won one, lost one, both by a margin of two points) and we only beat Denver by ONE point, and they were missing two pretty damn good starters. Just as I advocated that the team wasn't as bad as its terrible start, the current team isn't as good as its four-game win streak indicates either. We need a lot more from our PG position than hoping Lucas is on fire.

[PRB]

Any chance we'll ever see basketball take PED's seriously? I mean, yes they have something they describe as testing but you'd have to be an idiot to get caught ... which Turk might not want to hear. Anyway, I find it absurd that they limit you to two random tests per year. Does that mean after your second test you're free to put whatever you want into your body because they can't test you again? And don't think that after their second test virtually every player goes down this road ... too many other sports have shown the depths to which PEDS is a problem. There is no way that a handful of positive tests somehow exonerates basketball. As we all know, Lance Armstrong never failed a test and look how often they tested him.

On top of that, a 20 game ban seems ridiculous and no deterrant what-so-ever. When some sports ban 2 years for a first time offence, I think 20 games is meaningless.