Solid game, too many mistakes and some special cartoon fun

Yeah, sorry I’m late; the 5 1-2 hours of straight sleep on a game night is big.

Anyway …

Did you notice that the Raptors gave up 88 points? That’s three straight games where opponents have scored 88 and my math abilities tells me that’s an average of 88 points a game.

Which, as I mentioned yesterday, is the numbers of keys on a piano but it’s also …

And no scrolling but if you don’t get that, I’ll let you know about him later.

On with the show.

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THREE POINTERS

So, what’s up today?

Speaking with a couple of people around the league late, late last night, there was little going trade-wise but, as was pointed out to me, Bryan once got a deal done at 2:55 p.m., beating the deadline by five minutes.

So …

But there has been talk and who knows what happens this morning.

I would say the most realistic guy to be moved would be Alan Anderson; he’s got a cheap contract that’s expiring, he’s shown some ability to hit shots and play defence this year and if he’s the guy that’s got to go out to get a point guard back, well, so be it.

Other than that, I’m hearing there’s precious little interest in Bargnani, the other piece Bryan would probably like to move.

The rest of ‘em?

It’s the core and I cannot see him parting with anyone of them.

But, like we point out every year, things can happen fast which means a lot of sitting around and waiting today.

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Costly mistakes

They call them empty trips or empty possessions and when you hear Dwane talking about “winning basketball plays” this precisely want he doesn’t mean.

The HOTH claw back to tie thanks to other-worldly shooting for about a four minute stretch and you can feel momentum swinging.

But they go through six possessions and get just one free throw out of it, going Gay miss, Gay turnover, Gay miss, Lowry free throw and Lowry turnover, Gray miss and the game’s effectively over.

Now, I didn’t have a problem with a lot of the possessions, you want the ball in Gay’s hands because he’s proven he can make the plays; he just didn’t.

So you move on to the Knicks tomorrow.

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Playing afraid

That’s what I saw in Andrea Bargnani last night after he came in and missed his first three shots.

He looked nervous, tentative, unsure, you name it and it’s the first time I’ve seen that look from him in a very long time.

He passed up shots, drifted even more on offence and it looked like the last thing he wanted was the ball.

As we know, confidence is the one trait every player has to have, especially a shooter -- you’re either hot or you’re due, shoot ‘til you make, shoot ‘til you miss – and he definitely didn’t have any of that last night.

And since it looks right now that he’s going to be around – and he should be, they need to find out if this is permanent and the rest of the season will give them time to see how he fits as a bench player – he needs to find that confidence. And quickly.

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More?

There’s always more!

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Seriously, when someone gets around to writing the book on this Oscar Pistorious case, they’ll have to sell it as fiction, won’t they?

It’s incredible and compelling in a sad, tragic way because a woman lost her life but I can’t stop reading about it.

The detective faces attempted murder charges?

The “witness” who heard the screams was 300 metres – at least – away from the house.

You can’t make this stuff up, can you?

I don’t know how it’s going to turn out but I’m going to read about it every day.

Can’t remember a crime that’s turned into such a weird, sad story in a long, long time.

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Mail. Please.

I have a feeling there’s going to be a lot of time spent loafing around Case Doug before 3 p.m. and I could get a head start on non-trade, non-game specific chatter if you’ll help a fellow out.

Click over there to the right or askdoug@thestar.ca to say hello.

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How about that Steve Nash?

Remember the scrawny kid from the small school who wasn’t all that highly regarded?

Well, he now is fourth on the all-time assists list; he’s got MORE CAREER ASSISTS THAN MAGIC JOHNSON after getting seven last night. He’s got 10,144, behind John Stockton (15,806), Jason Kidd (12,004 right now) and Mark Jackson (10,334 and the guy Nash will end up passing in his career). That’s nuts.

I know it’s got a lot to do with longevity (Nash is at 1,182 games, Magic got his in 906) but isn’t longevity a mark of greatness by itself?

You don’t play 17 seasons without being special and I’m not sure what’s going to happen in the future but when they come to write the history of basketball in Canada, Nash will go down as the country’s greatest player.

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Okay, suspense killing you?

That’s 88 Fingers Louie!

From the Flintstones. You remember him, right?

And it start the debate in this cluttered mind, and need some help.

Was the Flintstones the greatest cartoon of that era?

I’d say yes, barely beating out the Jetsons with Rocky and Bullwinkle a close third and Tom and Jerry chasing the medallists.

Agree?

And how many of you are now singing this

or this?

Tee-hee.

Gotcha

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Stevie Boy was at the game, as the IGBT Irregulars will know.

Here’s some of his always good stuff.

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Comments

[Andy]

At least we have Landry Fields... Great contract, right Doug?

Blogger's note: Nothing wrong with the contract all; and why do you care, it's not your money

HAHA... You're officially the last person left in the world who doesn't think it's a terrible contract. As far as it not being "my money", there's a little thing called a salary cap - the good teams use their salary cap efficiently, the bad teams don't! So that's why I care, despite it not being "my money." Not a tough concept.

Blogger's note: Yawn.

[Primo Pasta]

If Bargnani was told that he must go 40 days without Primo Pasta, how would he react?

Blogger's note: Cheap shot, first and last warning, don't bring that kind of crap here again

[Peter]

Hi Doug,

I agree with you about Landry Field's contract not being all that much money. But I've seen you mention a number of times, "Why do you care, it's not your money."

I think people see the moves being made around the league, and many are financial moves to avoid the new repeater luxury tax rules, and fans ask you, as an expert, what role his contract might play in limiting the Raptors.

On a roster where nearly half of the players can play a wing position, Landry does stand out as a high dollar figure for what you might be getting from him.

Given that you have Alan Anderson, and Terrence Ross on the roster, who make considerably less, but can fill some of Landry's minutes, and given that Landry is having a tough shooting year, I think it's fair for fans to ask you about his contract.

I don't think it needs defending, I think people are legitimately wondering if Landry's contract is limiting what they can do to improve the team. Logic would say that it is, as there are days where Landry is hardly used, and in the games where he is used, fans feel that the Raps have other players who could give what Landry gives you.

So to me, it seems to be a fair question. Fans know that you don't have access to all of BC's conversations, but perhaps a few are wondering what would have happened if the contract for Landry Fields was never signed?

I like Landry, but I still wonder the same thing. I don't ask, because I just have to assume that we'll never know.

Blogger's note: It hasn't limited a thing, and won't. They are barely at the tax level and will get below with amnesty or other moves; they have not had a situation arise that they couldn't do because of it and it's a non-factor. If they should happen to move Anderson today, or more likely let him go in the summer, Fields may be a relatively cheap backup, to tell you the truth. And a veteran presence.

[Penguin]

I'm laughing.
Most days, the comments section is full of Anderson haters. Shoots too much, holds the ball too much, etc. He has a great game last night and everyone here loves him. Fact is, he's been a very useful and very energetic, hustling player all season. Likewise, most days, everyone hates AB and can't wait to see him traded. Today, for some reason, there are a bunch of comments defending him. I agree that he shouldn't be given away. I'd rather keep him than do a HWSNBN-type trade. But, I also think that it's time for him to go if a good deal can be done, perhaps in the summer. Otherwise, keep him as a useful player off the bench. Last night we saw "bad Rudy", trying to do everything himself, particularly in the fourth quarter. Still not sure that Lowry is the long-term answer, but I'd at least like to see us get a back-up who is more pass-oriented and gets the whole team more involved, much as Jose did.

[Peter]

"It hasn't limited a thing, and won't."

I guess my only question about that would be, who is NOT calling, who might have called had the Raps been in a different financial situation.

That's an unanswerable question. But thanks for your response, and I do hope that others see that there is a polite, and impolite way to state an opinion here, or ask a question.

I feel for you Doug. Some people just can't ask a question without taking a dig, and that's not fair.

[doug]

'it's not your money"...beautifully said as why people go on and on about what a player earns makes no sense and cap level which they don't have a clue about confounds me....team salaries are fluid not stagnant, we have Kleiza's money coming off books, maybe Barg's etc...if BC wants a player he gets a player any contract is moveable (hedo)...plus why can't MLSE pay luxury tax for just once?/...why do people care if they do??, look around teams do, so people quit being the accountant for MLSE..like Doug said "it's not your money" so why give a flying frig...cheers

[Chuck]

Doug,
You can't have it both ways. One on hand you defend terrible contracts such as Bargnani and suggest their of no consequence but then when the team can't get rid of the guy, you conveniently neglect to mention that no other team in the league wants to pay him what he's making for the production that he gives. Sure at some point he'll become an "expiring contract" and have some value for that, but until then the Raptors are stuck with him because he's being paid way too much. So while it's true it's not my money paying him, I care because it limits the teams ability to continue to improve when bad contracts are handed out.

[Penguin]

Holy smokes, a report at 2 p.m. that the Raps have pulled off a trade of Hadadi for Telfair. If that's all the Raps are giving up for Telfair, BC is a genius...or something approaching it anyway. We'll see...I guess.

[Penguin]

P.S. (and gosh I wish the Star had an editing function for posts (not to mention darker typeface on these blogs), I'm not suggesting Telfair is a great player, but he's not a bad back-up option, has an expiring contract, and we gave up less than nothing for him.

[john]

Contracts.
Does everyone forget that BC offered Fields that money so he could get Nash? Get over the fact that Fields is making just over league average salary for the next two years and needs desperately to re-learn to shoot a basketball in the offseason. I think his court sense and the way he plays will make him a good player next year when he gets a shot again and can help on offense.
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It has been said a million times that players are not the league currency anymore, contacts are. Everyone can talk about this player or that player but nothing will happen unless the contracts make sense cause the tax penalty could be double the amount of the contract in coming years.
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Speaking of clues about salaries and cap and being confounded, how are Kleiza and Bargs salaries coming off the books? They both have contracts for next year.

[GM]

"you want the ball in Gay’s hands because he’s proven he can make the plays"... Well, yes. But if we looked at his career, he's also proven that he can't make plays. That is, he's probably missed more end-of-game possessions than he's made, but we tend to remember the heroic big shots, and forget the bad possessions. This isn't meant as a knock on him personally but on the whole system of always having one guy try to do it all. Plus it becomes a bigger problem when that one player selfishly wants to do it all himself.

Someone mentioned "bad Rudy" showed up last night. I would say all but his first game as a Raptor he's been there. That is, a one-on-one player looking to get his. As I've said, they've been winning so it erases a lot of complaining, but that style of play isn't sustainable for long. There's a trickle-down effect where other players then want to get theirs, too, when they're not touching the ball in good position for long stretches.

That being said, Memphis is a tough team and the Raptors didn't get blown out. But man, most of their games have been ugly, offensively-speaking, since the trade. That kind of low-percentage, grind-it-out game that is probably more successful, but sure ain't pretty. I've never understood the term "the beautiful sport" for soccer. I've always felt basketball is much more beautiful. But not when it's played like the old Pistons or Knicks.

[Mike kovacs]

Damn - could have got him back:

Adrian Wojnarowski@WojYahooNBABlazers will send the draft rights of Giorgio Printezis to the Thunder as part of the Eric Maynor deal, source tells Y!

[Andrew Gregg]

Hi Doug:

I like the Telfair deal a lot--how can you not appreciate something for nothing? I also remember what a big deal Telfair was supposed to be coming into the NBA 9 years ago--a graduate of the storied Lincoln HS in Coney Island and NY State's Mr. Basketball. But he is also a classic case of a guy who could've used some university seasoning before coming to the NBA (speaking of...whatever happened to all-name player and direct-from-HS-to-NBA bust Korleone Young?).

But the move that surprised me the most was Sacramento sending rookie Thomas Robinson to Houston. That's the fifth overall pick from a very good draft class--Houston wins that one. But it's bizarre, isn't it? I hear it's a salary dump, but how much of a burden is a rookie contract, especially for an effective player?

Can't figure that one out.

AG, Toronto

PS: Speaking of Lincoln High, Darcy Frey's "The Last Shot" is required hoop fan reading and it helps, in part, to explain why Stephon Marbury can be such a nut.

[doug]

@John Kleiza amnesty ..Bargs possibly traded in summer actually probably will be....also here is a good read on how new tax system will impact teams it's actually a pretty fair system and it mostly goes after "repeat offenders" MLSE has room to maneuver plus their a billion corporation about time they spent,.. cheers

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1457745-how-nbas-luxury-tax-penalties-will-impact-elite-teams

[John]

@doug. I think it's easier to say trade AB than it is cause no one wants your baggage for free and the Raps will have to take something back in the way of a contract so maybe AB is off the books but a contract will take his place.
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I think everyone one would like to see MLSE spend but I want to see them break the bank big time when they are a player away from a championship, not to just make the playoffs.
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The salary cap is fair and I think in two years there will be much more parity than there has been in the past. For example I would bet that the big 3 in Miami are not together past next year and are one more cruise ship accident away from breaking up sooner!

[DaveB]

"Blogger's note: Your cap knowledge is sadly lacking".

Doug, I will be the first to admit that my cap knowledge is sadly lacking. What I see is that the salary cap is usually under $70K. Rudy will make over 37K the next two years. I misunderstood that as 37 each year.

Sorry.

[J]

As a tiny clarification on the Fields contract (no misunderstanding stated here today as far as I can tell, but I've seen it every other time his contract is mentioned), the offer sheet to Fields was indeed motivated to some degree by our pursuit for Nash's services. However, because the mere existence of the offer sheet took him out of the Knicks' equation, the structure or size of the deal was *not* actually motivated by Nash, but by BC's desire that the Knicks not match the offer sheet. Even if the Knicks matched, they still would not be able to include him in a deal for Nash; therefore, one has to conclude that BC wanted Fields whether or not Nash signed with us, and not the silly theory that has been erroneously parroted by everyone who disagreed with the signing.

[Joe]

wow.. raptors go 6-3 since the gay trade, all three losses vs tough defensive opponents, and 2 of them were close. yet everyone is still bashing the raptors. only in raptor land. stay classy raps fans.

[Greg]

Always gonna be Looney Tunes, specifically Bugs Bunny for me. Flintstones get the silver, and Rocky & Bullwinkle the bronze.