Great entertainment and great topics for discussion

What a great game, no?

Exciting, Kobe’s brilliance, a big Nash three in the overtime and enough HOTH mistakes for you to chew on for a week or so.

Big night, indeed.

Anyway …

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THREE POINTERS

Make or miss, one of those nights

There will be – and has been – all kinds of dogging of Rudy Gay for the 7-for-26 night and the desultory fourth quarter and overtime that he had.

But as the game story points out, it wasn’t as if they could have gone to DeRozan – that Bryant fellow made sure of that – and it’s funny how many people who had slagged Alan Anderson figured he’d have been a better option.

But Dwane made it clear post-game that in those circumstances, it’s going to be Gay.

“He’s our go-to guy. He’s our closer. He and DeMar both … We were trying to get him looks that he normally hits but he had a tough night. We still have to depend him and have him put us on his back.”

Sometimes the back’s a bit wonky.

Now, the only thing you might want is a bit more pick and roll but that’s not this team’s specialty and the presence of Dwight Howard dissuades that, too.

Maybe some 3-2 screen roll or even 1-3 screen roll might have worked and when they come to getting more creativity in the offence, I’m sure that’s what they’ll work on.

But for now? It is what it is.

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Oh, yeah, Andrea

Kind of got lost in the night but Bargnani leaving after just about nine minutes was troubling.

Ran into him in the hallway outside the locker room while waiting post-game for Dwane and got a really brief word:

“I don’t know what happened. I got caught up in a pick and roll. We’ll see how it is tomorrow.”

Now, it’s not like he’s integral to any late playoff run but it was, I thought, important for him to finish well. For his own psyche, for the team’s and for Bryan to have a bigger body of work to peddle on the market this summer.

Of course, we don’t know how long, or even if, he’ll be out – I won’t go guessing until there’s some legitimate report – but it kind of sucks that he suffered any kind of setback.

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A great place

I can watch Laker games at Staples forever.

Not sure if you noticed on TV but there’s no inane “in-game host” screaming, the scoreboard doesn’t tell anyone when to cheer and how loudly to cheer and, with the exception of a bit of that Gangnam Style stupidity for a wee bit in the second half, they kind of let basketball be the story and the show.

Shocking, I know.

And they gave us a little of this in one timeout and not sure you can get enough Cotton Eye Joe during a break in a game.

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More?

Quickly because it’s late and I have to get up, write and fly all day.

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Yeah, we missed on Leonard Cohen and Margaret Atwood for sure on the Cool Canadians thing yesterday. But that’s about all I’m going to give you, despite the overwhelming, and much appreciated comments we got yesterday.

Lots of okay names but in too many cases, I think we might have forgotten that there’s a distinction between famous, rich, accomplished and cool.

Cool is relatively undefineable as my man Potter Stewart would say.

(Google him and pornography and you’ll see my point)

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Holy crap.

What is it about Italy and Canada in the baseball?

Yeesh.

No, I didn’t find a place to see it at lunch out in L.A. so I have to try to follow it on the tweeter and it was a tad disheartening.

And wasn’t it last time, when they were in Toronto that the Italians beat Canada out as well?

Déjà vu all over again as the man once said.

But I think the entire format of the event is so messed up that it makes me wonder if it will ever take off.

I’d love to see a bigger first round – where one upset loss isn’t debilitating – of maybe six teams with the top four moving on to a single elimination medal round (I believe that’s how they did it in the Olympics, if I’m not mistaken) but the limits on pitch counts and time of year probably make that impossible.

Too bad because a global tournament should probably be a bit bigger and differently run.

That said …

They lost to Italy!!!

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You know, I had to look back at my boxscore for what might become something of a regular happenstance here given how halftime arrived in Phoenix the other night.

But John Lucas made a shot to make it 52-40 with about six minutes to go in the second quarter and the Raptors couldn’t get a stop and a bucket.

Too bad.

But in honour of the other night …

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Okay, I’ve got a whole whack of mail done (I think you’ll get an omnibus mail bag Sunday morning unless enough people think breaking it into two makes more sense) and since the flight is going to eat up most the day, you’ve got until about noon to get your questions in.

And – be warned – I’m only taking one on the decision, right that it was, to use Gray in the OT over Valanciunas in the overtime.

Thanks.

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Comments

[Rob]

What a contrast for last 8 minutes of game. most of crunch time shots went to a $256,000 player vs a $18,000,000 player.

No slight to AA who actually played well down stretch and hung with it on defense and offence.

Why cant gay or DD free themself for a pass?? Kobe got the ball every time at other end

[AT]

everyone seems to put JV and Ross in the same sentence but it makes NO sense to let that kid sit on the bench with two more fouls to give. He is NOT a liability out there against all teams in the second half and probably would have been just fine last night. And I hope Casey saying Gay is their go to guy in the closing moments of games now and forever, is just to keep the element of surprise there when they go in a different direction in the closing moments of games... but sometimes going with hot hand sometimes makes more sense than going with your pre-ordained hero (especially when he is being covered by a couple of the best defensive players in the league).

Casey is a good coach but he has more than his share of losses this year...

[DC]

It's disappointing how Dwayne Casey has recently been using scapegoats to get over loses. It was Lowry ruining their defensive rhythm then its Valanciunas being a step late, now it's Rudy Gay missing shots he should make.

Dwayne Casey needs to stop calling out his best players and take OWNERSHIP for a loss. This one was clearly on Kobe Bryant taking over along with Dwayne Casey making poor coaching decisions.

The Amir double-team was working so well that they needed to go back with it. When I saw Aaron Gray coming into the game it was obvious it would come back to bite us in the butt. Dwayne could've put ANY player in other than Gray for the double. You don't need a big to foul Dwight if Kobe passes it and the big would be switched off anyways. Gray is the slowest guy on the team. Just an complete brain fart of a decision by Dwayne.

[Sam]

Fun game to watch last night......
I'm not sold on the Rudy is our closer talk...I see he was covered pretty well and DD was too..... But there are other options on the floor.

[DaveB]

Maybe most of what is wrong with the Raptors can be explained with; "But Dwane made it clear post-game that in those circumstances, it’s going to be Gay."

“He’s our go-to guy. He’s our closer. He and DeMar both … We were trying to get him looks that he normally hits but he had a tough night. We still have to depend him and have him put us on his back.”

I think Casey is a good game plan coach as he is able to get a lot out of the team. However, he is an extremely poor end of game coach, thus many of the losses. The concept of going with a predetermined guy is more High School than NBA. Why not go with the hot hand. There was a reason Rudy was able to get going; the Lakers knew he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn last night. When Casey put Gray out there finish the game, I knew they didn't have a chance. Now you had two players on the floor that no one had to guard.

I wasn't a fan of the Rudy trade and I haven't seen anything from him to change my mind. As long as he is with the Raptors they will be a mediocre team. Memphis replaced him with a marginally more efficient shooter who plays some defense and they are doing very well.

The Raptors gave away the game last night and are no longer fun to watch. I kicked myself for staying up to watch the game last night. It is like not being able look away when you drive by an accident. You can't help yourself. Will I never learn?

[KC]

Rudy Gay cannot shoot. At all. This is not news unless you're Bryan Colangelo, I guess.

[Ray]

These are shots he normally makes? I guess I must have missed this consistency that Casey is referring to.

And why is Jonas sitting? We're losing games in the 4th anyways, might as well a) try something different b) give the kid some experience.

[Phil A.]

The ineffienciency of Rudy Gay's game was my main concern when the Raptors acquired him. He does possess the ability to create his own shot but too often he's still taking shots with high degree of difficulty. I also find that he settles too much for 3 point shots. I also understand that he has a knack for being clutch in late game situations but the Raptors would never be in those situations if he took better quality shots through the earlier stages of games. WIth all that being said, I think Derozan should be the number 1 option on offence. He has a consistent mid range game and also likes to attack the rim.

[TLI]

Oo-ooo - lots of anger here today! Great game to watch, though, I thought.
For my part, too, I don't believe Dwayne is making scapegoats of his players so much as making observations of their development and expectations. And Rudy is really the only one who can make his own shot, in most cases -- the closing plays should go to him but we'd probably like to see him turn it into a smart pass to the next option more often.

[Baya]

I am at awe about Kobe's performance last night. He doesn't have to prove anything to anybody because his body of work puts him as one of the best if not the best clutch player ever. Being always anti Lakers, Boston and Heat fan, wishing them to fail and burn any time they play, Kobe of all players of these teams in my book build a status that actually I like him to succeed and be who he really is. As a die hard Raptors fan, never liking to see my team lose, his heroics make me happy and at the same time gutted. He is the testament of perfection in key moments and should be studied in schools as a prime example of sheer will, power, talent and dedication, which goes far beyond sports into general human achievements.

[Clayton]

"We were trying to get him looks that he normally hits..."

I know the post-game interviews are usually a forgettable waste of everyone's time, but this really annoyed me. The next time you see Dwane Casey, please direct him to Rudy Gay's shooting stats at NBA.com. He might like to reconsider that statement.

[Andy]

I don't understand what Casey is trying to do with this team. It's been unofficially acknowledged that we're not making the playoffs. The whole notion moving forward was to accomplish 3 things:

1. Give JV and Ross minutes to develop, seeing, with Casey NOT seeing that a priority in the first 3/4th of the season.

2. Get Andrea's mojo going - whether it's for him to be a part of the team moving forward or to increase his value going into the offseason. He blows one assignment and gets immediately yanked from the man who said he's going to ride Bargnani "Hell or high water" after a 0-11 game. The man is an Italian - he has pride. You take a guy who was supposed to be a franchise player and reduce him to a man who plays 9 minutes within the course of less than half a season and you're going to get a guy whose confidence will be shattered. I cannot believe how insensitive Casey is to that. This applied to a lesser extent, to Landry Fields.

3. Get the team to gel. The "core" going forward: Rudy, DD, Lowry, Bargnani, Amir, JV, Fields and Ross will need time to gel. Play these players so they can get accustomed to each other and make the final 19 games an extension of training camp next year, so we can get some tangible results next year. Alan Anderson and Aaron Gray DO NOT NEED MORE minutes. NOBODY sees them as a part of the immediate future, and for them to be getting 45 minutes between the two of them is the most frustrating thing to see as a Raptor fan.

Please Doug, tell me if there`s anything wrong with what`s been just said here.

Blogger's note: Too tired to tell you anything; not that it would make any difference if I did

[Bob Wesley]

Hey Doug,Raptors should'nt hang there heads!they got beat in OT on the road by a living legend.

[Rob.V]

Okay, I'm bitter! I guess I still do care. The game just ended for me so it's fresh, and I will apologize in advance for my rant which extends the length of that novel you studied on that girls back along your travels this week.

Prior to the game I was thinking that the absolute best case scenario would be for Bargagni to go for 40, and the Raptors win. Why?, for the same reasons you alluded to. Trade value, and to keep the Lakers behind the Jazz (to keep me happy). Of course the exact opposite happened.

Well, after yesterday's posts I’m not sure what's cool, but I can tell what is not cool.

Those late game offensive possessions and player substitutions... that's what's “not” cool. Frankly, they were amateurish.

This one has to be on the coaching staff, no?

Not only for Gray being part of that shockingly terrible double team on Kobe, however there appears to be no play calling from the bench when the game is on the line. If those plays were called by the bench, they’d better get back to work.

Let’s revisit:

Raptors up 4 with 60 seconds to go. 4!. They rebound the ball and rather than a time out, get the ball to Kyle (or something), Gay takes the ball the length of the floor for a charge call… with 18 seconds left on the shot clock no less.

But they have a reprieve, Kobe misses the next shot. Ah, but these are our Raptors.

So okay, still up 4!. Kyle then proceeds to get the best possible look (right) by jacking a 3 - clank!. 30 seconds left.

Look man, you gotta be better than that. The coach has got to manage these possessions much better than this.

Go to OT. Still up 3 with only 50 seconds left and Gay hoists up another 3 – clank!!!!

Are you kidding me?

Again in OT.

Gray (shockingly) runs up past the 3 point line to double Kobe, and in the process sets the best screen of the night, on guess who?, yup, you are correct... Alan Anderson!!… allowing Kobe to "go right". Then him an Jesus pick up a coffee and danish prior to parting the red sea... on their way to the easiest dunk of the evening (winning bucket).

Are you kidding me???. Just a ridiculous comedy of errors!

Now, Casey may have forgotten more about Basketball then I will ever know however there were other options if you wanted to double Kobe up past the 3 point arc. If this was the strategy you are essentially eliminating your big on Howard on the block so why not go Fields?. Even Q (as a rookie) would have been a better "defensive" option than Gray in that position.

Poor substitutions and our (floor) decision makers on this team just do not seem to understand the “value” of crunch time (quality decision making) possessions.

The coaching staff absolutely has to get to these guys.

It’s not the first time these HORRIBLE shot selections have been taken with the game in the balance.

If the goal is the playoffs and eventually EC championship, if this is what we were/are rebuilding for then the question needs to be asked at the end of this season:

Do we have a PG to take us there?

Is DC the bridge, or the guy that will get us there?
I love Casey but you still have to ask the question if you're the GM.

Example with the PG position: When Kyle was asked in the locker room after the game he said we just missed shots. I believe AA missed one, and DeMar missed one down the stretch. Now, in no way was he passing the buck or singling them out all, but what was alarmingly to me is when PJ pressed a little further and asked about aside from the missed shots Kyle was there anything else you could put your finger on with respect to shot selection (virtually begging the correct answer) Kyle says: nope, we just missed shots!.

I guess he's right, but the answer should have been we missed (TERRIBLY SELECTED) shots, and both Rudy and I should know better.

This tells me that they just don't see it! Who is the floor general? Who is responsible for getting good quality shots. Who tells Rudy not to rip up the floor for a 1 on 4 with 1 min left in the game when you're up 4?.

The Raptors deserved a win last night (as with other nights) however they still do not have anyone who is able to direct traffic in the last 5 minutes of tight games (and we must include the coaching staff because it's happening over, and over, and over!).

Okay, so how do we get better here? Maybe it's a big time post player in the summer (Al Jefferson?)... or we are going to need to see some significant improvement from JV in the post like Casey has alluded to this time next year. And if Casey truly believes this, then all of the posters here are correct. Play JV in the 4th because when the hell else is he going to gain this experience?. We have 23-24 games of which to get started on for next season. So get to it already!

Somehow, someway this team has got to learn from this and start making smarter Basketball decisions when the game is in the balance because the mental losses this year are off the charts.

Lakers?. Good for them, but Kobe will stall at 5... and this makes me happy. That team as is will not win anything. They don't play D anywhere required for championship level teams. Oh, and yes I know Nash hit a late 3 to help but the Lakers are going to have to move him (no I'm not crazy).

The most ridiculous thing is to bring in a Nash at 39-40 years old ($13 or so million) to let Kobe play PG and use Nash as an off the ball spot up shooter. Sure, he can make those shots however Nash is the equivalent of Jason Kapono on that team right now. There is no way the Lakers win anything with the roster as such, and financially it doesn't make sense either.

Thanks for hanging in there with me folks... and now back to our regularly scheduled program.

[Bryan]

The cynics here make me laugh. Such self-involved, cry-babies that can't enjoy a good game without whining about it. Gay hits that shot and every single one of you is writing something different. No doubt he needs to improve his decision making to better implement his skill set. The team needs a reset (i.e. new season) before things can really get rolling anyway. JV has shown incredible potential and his future with the team is exciting to contemplate. A little sting at the end of the game? Sure, if you didn't feel it, you're not a serious Raps fan. But lighten up, grow up and be patient. Chalk up a tough loss to Bryant's tough shots and get over it.

[Justin]

I hope there are some major moves in the summer. This whole organization is disappointing and fans deserve better.

I just don't understand Dwayne Casey's thought process. It's not our players who lost these last few games, its our coach and he needs to take responsibility.

[GM]

Wow. Just wow. Rudy Gay is all I thought he'd be -- and more! He misses 10 straight (or more) and Casey still goes to him in the clutch over a hot DeRozan. Hey, I guess he was due! 26 shots for 17 points. Nice. I have no problem with him being the number one option at the end of a game, but that doesn't mean he has to take the shot. It just means he gets right of first refusal, so to speak. But the team shouldn't just stand there and watch him.

Which brings me to Kobe. Boy, Nash must love playing there. He gets 2 assists last night, 1 assist the night before. At least Kobe is a tad more consistent as a volume shooter than Gay, but still. No matter what the outcome, hero-ball sucks.

Count me as one who'd like to have seen Jonas out there when Amir fouled out. Every single player has a weakness. I don't think Jonas' weaknesses are any greater than Gray's. But Jonas' strengths are greater than Gray's. It's not like Jonas was completely outmatched out there.

[Nick]

I get that the coach doesn't generally answer to the fans directly. But seeing as the media is the only avenue we've got, and no one is willing to ask Casey where he gets his inspiration for some of the most boneheaded rotations of all time -- how do I go about asking him myself?

For all I know, there are simple answers: maybe there's a stipulation in Jonas's contract that prohibits him from playing after the 3rd quarter or something. I don't know, but since no one else is asking him, how do I go about doing it?

I'm only partially being facetious -- I genuinely want to hear what explanation Casey can possibly concoct to explain this madness.