Stinky game, grandstanding pols and rating the burgers

Well, anyone who didn’t think these guys had stinkbomb or two left in them between now and end of the season obviously hasn’t been paying attention all year.

They sure got a smelly one out of their system last night, didn’t they?

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THREE POINTERS

Slow, or non-existent motion

For lo all these games, offence hasn’t really been an issue for the lads, they’ve found ways to score somehow practically every night.

Some evenings it hasn’t been pretty, too much isolation, not enough repeated screen-roll but it’s been effective because the guys on the weak side were moving a little bit and getting the defence moving which made it easy for the guy with the ball to either get a shot or make a play.

Last night?

Not a bit of movement. Stagnant with the ball and on the other side of the floor and it was mind-numbing, not to mention ineffective.

Dwane’s been talking all season about “getting the ball to the other side” with passes or penetration but last night at least, it was if the Raptors – whoever had the ball – thought there were crocodiles on the other side of the court, that’s how afraid they were to swing the ball.

Now, I don’t imagine it’s permanent, and for seven or eight games it hasn’t been an issue but, man, was that gory last night.

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A ref or an ump?

Sure, they blew the call on the foul with eight seconds left, didn’t think Anderson tripped Garrett and it would appear the TV replay would prove me right but that’s not too big a deal. The game was decided.

No, it was after the call, when everyone was arguing and gesticulating and generally letting the frustration of the night out that was the issue.

Dwane’s all over ref Gary Zielinski right in front of us, so much so that the assistant coaches had to get between them to save Dwane some cash.

And what’s the ref do?

Prolong the argument. Dwane was finished and instead of doing what any professional would do – which is walk away to the other side of the court to calm the situation – Zielinski went back at Casey with a couple of comments of his own.

It was silly and uncalled for.

For as horrible as the NBA officiating has been league-wide this year, they need to at least comport themselves as pros and veterans; this guy didn’t in the least. That's the kind of actions of confrontational baseball umpires, not NBA refs.

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Give one of ‘em credit

If there was one good thing out of the night it was how active and aggressive DeMar DeRozan was right from the get-go.

Not sure the kid’s getting enough credit for the consistency of his effort and play this year but when all those around him were sluggish and blah, he was doing what he’s done all year, make mid-range shots, get to the line (he shot nine free throws) and playing his game.

I’ve had a couple of private chats with him over the last couple of weeks and I’m not sure there’s anyone on the team more focused on trying to at least make a serious playoff run.

He scoreboard watches, his play has been for the most part exemplary and if he keeps it up, he might just carry them to hugely important games in April.

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More? Always.

Okay, there is no way in the world I understand this whole Harlem Shake thing. Someone needs to explain it to me and even then I probably don’t get it but the kids on the team sure seemed to have fun with it.

Go figure.

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I have a lot of respect for the San Antonio Spurs, as we all know. Great organization of consistent winners and a model for the league in many ways.

But after reading the second note in My Man Monroe’s piece here, I have some serious issues with some of the players.

Seems a team outing – full on a bus trip – to In And Out Burger didn’t go over too well with some of them and anyone who doesn’t like In And Out Burger is someone I have issues with.

In fact, if you’re going with the list of all-time good, greasy, bad-for-you burgers, here’s the top three:

(And I’m going only on road joints, it’s Harvey’s over all others here; maybe McDonald’s second and if I never have another Wendy’s burger, I’d be fine with that)

Steak ‘N Shake

The grilled cheese burger, three kinds of cheese, double patty, thick Texas toast, is a wonder to behold.

In And Out

Tony Parker, cementing himself near the top of my favourites list, called the double-double “awesome” and I can only hope he had fried onions on it.

Five Guys

I know. It’s as much about the mountain of fries as it is the burger but, man, they’ve got some good grease going for them at most spots. And since there’s one about three kilometres from Casa Doug, I’m thinking lunch before Cleveland for sure.

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Mail? I know you can see the link over there to the right but it’s askdoug@thestar.ca and I could use a nice hello or two. Please and thanks.

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You know, there’s truly nothing like a grandstanding politician to give me a couple of paragraphs of rant.

Not sure if you heard but Andrew Wiggins was named the USA’s prep school player of the year yesterday, a pretty big honour.

Well, I saw a tweet from That Harper Fellow congratulating him and it struck me that he wouldn’t know Andrew Wiggins from Adam I don’t imagine and all it was, was pandering and trying to ingratiate him with a group of people he has never reached.

(No, this has nothing to do with politics, it has to do with politicians of all stripes so don’t get your knickers in a knot)

So, I’m waiting for someone to ask the leader of the country’s ruling party whether he’s going to go to his sports minister today and try to find some money they’ve denied team sports in Canada to put back in the funding pipeline.

That would do an awful lot more to ingratiate a politician (Official Motto: We Want Gain Power And Then Retain It Any Way We Can) that some out-of-nowhere tweet of congratulations.

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Having finally dumped the Smelly Ford Focus on some unsuspecting junk yard a while ago when Super Wife upgraded to something new, wish me at the Smelly Ford Taurus (bigger, a bit faster, waaaaaay old and kind of broken down) luck on our jaunt around the lake.

It does mean I’m out of this loop for a fair bit this afternoon, don’t take it personally if comments get delayed.

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Comments

[LeeZ]

Harvey's? Harvey's??? HARVEY'S???? Are you out of your MIND??? Harvey's SUCKS, man!!! It's got tons of filler! And the one thing they used to get right (fresh cut fries) they ended about 20 years ago. You want a burger, Doug? You need to come to our Nation's Capital and head straight to Hintenburgers. Now THAT, my friend, is a burger!!!

[kathyt]

Unfortunately I injured myself while watching last night’s game, right now I’m listed day to day... hopefully my eyes will recover for tomorrow night's game.

A vote each to Harvey’s, Hero Burgers & Burgers Priest.

[Peter]

A question about that blown call last night at the end of the game. It appears to me that if the foul stood, that it would have been a clear path foul.

It looked, on tv, that one of the refs came out of the huddle around the TV and talked to the Washington coach, and you could see the ref mouth the words, "no foul" or "there was no foul".

Of course, they couldn't take back the foul call. Is it possible that they didn't end up calling the foul a clear path foul because there was in fact, no foul?

That sequence seemed to be very odd, but I would assume that if a foul never occurred, that the best thing the refs could do to make up for it would be not to determine if the offensive player was passed the defence, but instead to recognize that because there was no foul, there can't be a clear path foul.

Can you clarify if this is what happened?

Blogger's note: No, I can't.

[nasko]

man, from Focus to a Taurus, you know how to trade..... down :)

Good luck with the drive

[David in Oakville]

Good Morning & Safe Driving!

Good day for a drive, the sun is shining and the roads are dry. May all your roads be winding and empty and your views all scenic.

Am I the only one who feels a twinge of guilt when guys who I have 10 to 15 years on and who get 10 times the amount of exercise that I do, talk about treating themselves to one greasy burger every three years? Bloody hell, I guess I am having fish tonight.

Any thoughts on the Shake Shack in NYC Doug? There is something to eating a burger, fries and a shake outside on windy Madison Avenue in the middle of March. At least the shivering helps to burn some calories and the extra grease promotes warmth.

GO RAPS.. ROCK THE CAVS!

Blogger's note: There's a Shake Shack a block down from the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott I stopped at; pretty good

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Yeah, what @LeeZ said. Or The Works. And they're spreading soon to a neighbourhood near you (which of course likely means they won't be nearly as good if franchises are being mass-produced).
There was a great chain in New Mexico (may still be, not sure) called "It's-a-Burger". Great stuff. I just never knew how to order two of them...
Hope your gem of an SFT has snow tires! Happy travels.
Cheers. Go Raps!

[Will]

Listening to the radio I just heard a couple of interesting tidbits.

Apparently Ottawa's NBL team is getting a name and a logo at a press conference this afternoon. Hopefully the team can find a niche here, although it will be tough if they're out in Kanata.

The NBA apparently is going to require all fans to pass through metal detectors at all arenas, including the ACC. Interestingly enough as this is league policy it won't apply to the Leafs.

[marc in panama]

Hola Doug

As for a fast food burger....

Steak 'N Shake can't hold a stick to Shake Shack....I'd wait i10 deeo in line n the rain for one...I have.

And my In n Out order is double double Animal style, fries light, and fresh, if they aren't fresh ill wait. And a coke.

In Canada...I'd pass all other burger places for a Five Guys.

Now it's 9am and I'm craving a burger...

Ciao amigo,

marc in panama

[jwss]

The cynic in me believes that ALL politicians' acts are driven by one overriding desire - to gain or retain power. Having said that I think Mr. Harper may have more validity here than you attribute.

For one, he appears to be a sports fan. He's a hockey dad, takes his kids to pro games in various sports, and one of his hobbies is writing a history of hockey. He's also to be a trivia nut. Hey, he was on his high-school's "Reach For The Top" team (for those who remember that show). So he very well may know who Andrew Wiggins is.

And on the plus side for basketball, one could say this is evidence of the growing popularity of the sport in Canada when the Prime Minister feels compelled to comment.

[sam]

I was thinking while watching last nights gem of a game that the Raptors really haven't been blown out this year. I may be wrong - but during the 4 -19 start to the season the games were pretty close.

Games like last night with little ball movement are hard to understand, let alone watch, given the pieces on the team. Perhaps a little creativity might be in order. There was a nice pass from Gay to Andrea for a basket, and DD was solid through out. The new look Raptors seem to turn the ball over far too much for my liking, whether it's dribbling into 2 or 3 defenders and getting stripped of the ball, or some suspect passing.
It would be beneficial I think to get the ball in the hands of some of the bigs as well with some basic pick and rolls.....

I hope they fair better against he Cavs...

[KK]

+1 The Burger's Priest. Doug, you must.

[Geoff Read]

I logged on last night to say I hope the Raptors didn't stink because I was actually going to be able to watch the game... clearly I jinxed the team, because they were awful.

DeRozan's been great this season. Now that T. Ross has tailed off a bit I'd say Demar's play has been the most positive development around the team this year. Valanciunas also gives me hope going forward.

In good old T.O. I think Lick's, especially at the original location in the Beaches, has to be on a best of burgers list.

In L.A., being a Quentin Tarantino fan I sought out Big Kahuna Burger and came away impressed.

And Doug: I can't believe you have McDonald's on your list. I'm going to go out on a limb here and state that I find the Whopper can be deeply satisfying. I don't much care for Burger King otherwise, but the Whopper hits the spot. With the Whopper, it's all about the tomato - if the tomato is good, the burger is good. If the tomato tastes like it's been in deep freeze for 12 months... the burger tastes like cardboard.

LeeZ: I agree with you wholeheartedly about Harvey's fries - the old fresh cut fries were awesome. The new ones just taste like everyone else's crappy fries. But I agree with Doug that the burgers are still good, especially in comparison to other mainstream fast-food competitors.

[J]

I have to echo your sentiments on the Harlem Shake, Doug, and I don't know if that's a sign that I'm officially uncool from age (considering the world has deemed it so popular it's become an Internet meme).

I watched another video before the Raptors' edition to figure out the craze, but my initial reaction was "is that it?" What apparently makes it viral (i.e. its short length) actually detracts from it in my opinion. The video is over before I can form an opinion, and while I appreciate the video because it does come from our beloved Raptors, I don't see why I would ever care to look through the other 100,000+ variations available. Watching a bunch of people I don't care about dancing around in boxers or costumes just doesn't appeal to me, but I'm sure I'm missing the point. =p

[DaveB]

As I am currently in Texas, you have to try a Whataburger. They are mainly in Texas (all over the place) but they can be had in Phoenix and Oklahoma City.

I am not sure if this is correct by the stats but it seems to me that for the past couple of years the Raptors don't play with any energy after they have had two days off. It seems they need to have games close together.

When your "star" player goes 1 for 11 it is difficult to win. I know it is time to move on, but the qualities Jose brought to this team (handling pressure, low turnovers, moving the ball) will be missed as the team moves forward. I don't think that is the last stinker we will see this year.

I saw last night that Harper had tweeted about Wiggins and I was pleased. I grant you that a politician's only goal is to get re-elected, but as jwss stated, he is a sports fan. Given a better state of the economy in the country, he might give money to Basketball. As long a Southern Ontario elects people like Dalton who drags the whole country's economy down, there won't be money for anything. When the province's debt is almost as big as the federal one we will all have to do with less.

http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/02/19/the-deadbeat-bunch-2/?utm_source=_BRKK9GB8xBiD9X&utm_content=macl72&utm_medium=email

[D-Mac Ottawa]

I don't think you're missing a thing, @J. Truly. Cheers. Go Raps!

[LeeZ]

Doug, if you will allow me, I'd like to piggyback on your burger theme in order to survey the Irregulars on a subject near and dear to my heart, to wit: pizza. Specifically, where's the best place to get a great pie in the GTA. I lived in Toronto for 2 decades, and Camarra's was far and away the best pizza joint in the city. Are they still the best, or is there a new kid in town?

[james]

As long as the horse meat is kept to a minimum, I'm grateful. At the Pink Bicycle, a few blocks from The Empress, you can get a sublime mutton burger.
I sense DaveB and I would have little in common politically, but we are in complete agreement about point guards (which, after all, is more important).

[JHK]

Veggie burger with guacamole at Milestones is superb...
But seriously... ground beef on a bun a.k.a. burgers are the most overrated food on this planet.
I would much rather go for a shawarma or gyros.

[joeu]

Road tripping for work in a broken down Taurus ? This may not end well at all.

I don't get the Harlem shake either, but it's kids having fun, what can you do, except to laugh with them.

[larry lukeeborg]

considering the endless, more perjorative comments available, saying that harper is grandstanding is compliments him!

[Geoff Read]

LeeZ: on pizza.... For greasy after-bar offerings I was always a fan of Massimo's on College. It's good.

For a similarly thinner Italian-style pizza, Frank's Pizza on St. Clair West is very good. For something more plebeian and basic but that tastes damn fine, Dave's also on St. Clair near Christie is a hidden gem.

And if you ever get a chance to eat pizza in London Ontario, don't miss Tony's on Dundas St. across from the Western Fair. It's the best thick pizza I've ever had, bar none.

[Greg]

Doug; Still not sold on Lowry as the answer at the point. Don't see any measureable upgrade from Bayless (in fact, Bayless seemed to have a higher improving/learning ceiling), and he definitely seems incapable of running/controlling the offensive game. Gets blown by at about the same frequency as Jose, closes out better on the perimeter, but gambles more on steals, and leaves his man frequently to go rebound hunting. What are the chances of taking a run at Jose as a free agent in the off-season?

Blogger's note: Slim but never say never

[Mike kovacs]

For how bad last night's game was if a few more foul shots went in and a few less shots stayed down they would have won that game. the defefence was especially good in the first half and it seemed that Washington would have given up easily if the raps had got any lead.

Doug in the warmup I was concerned that the Raps were too loose - ie they were doing showboat dunks for the fans rather that take things more seriously, or am I off base?

Blogger's note: A bit of a stretch, but I hear you

[Tom]

D-Mac and J, don't over think Harlem Shake thing. It's just about having some fun and maybe making a few people smile. I'm with joeu, it's just kids having fun dancing stupid... Made me laugh

[GM]

Stinkeroo. Man, watching them stand around watching each other was bad. If they had played Fields more than 5 minutes, you'd at least have seen one guy make cuts and move without the ball. I still don't get why he's able to play major minutes against one of the best scorers in the league but isn't able to get significant minutes against the Wizards.

That call on the non-foul wasn't a factor, but it illustrates how bad the reffing is in the NBA. Refs are always calling the result rather than the action. They see a guy fall so there must be a foul. They see a guard throw his head back as he's going by a defender so the defender must have fouled. It's farcical. I have no idea why they've gotten this bad this fast.

Pretty sure the Queen doesn't know the 100-year-olds she fires off congratulations to, either. It's the job of the head of state to congratulate the citizens, but they can't be expected to follow everything.