All of the weekend mail, unless more arrives

All right, folks, this is what I’ve got so far but I haven’t looked over there in a bit. Was a stool night.

Empty house, no plans until watching the game at 6 p.m. so if there’s more, I’ll putter around on ‘em.

Happy Easter.

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Q: Hi Doug, Happy Easter! So my Dad, bro and I are all huge basketball (Raps) fans. My brother has made the following statement: If I had to call it right now, I'd say Nuggets over the Heat in six in one of the most exciting Finals of all time.

I'd like your thoughts.

Also, watching Calderon be interviewed by Leo and Matt just made me miss him so much, he is such a good guy. They mentioned they did dinner last night with him and 'the guys'. Who are the guys? Was it the whole team?

Finally, how far in advance do the Raps make their summer plans? Do any of them actually stay in Toronto? Do you know what any of their plans are, I pray they will spend the off season 'getting better' as that seems to be the resounding comment made in almost every interview. Thanks so much!

M S

A: I’m not quite ready to get to the Finals picking yet because there’s so much uncertainty in who’ll finish where and what the matchups would be. But I agree Denver has as good as shot as anyone if they can get some homecourt advantage at some point. But with San Antonio, Memphis and Oklahoma City in the mix, the West could be incredible.

Not sure who had dinner with Jose, imagine it wouldn’t have been the entire team since others may have had plans but I heard it was about 7 or 8 guys including some of the support staff.

The players have started making plans but none will reside permanently in Toronto, they all have “homes” to get to. Most, however, will be back three or four times for appearances, to visit friends and to hang out.

I don’t know of any specific plans but all will be visited regularly by members of the coaching and training staffs wherever they are to be worked out and checked up on.

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Q: Hi Doug.

I wanted to write my 3 biggest negatives and positives on the Raptors season and maybe get your comments;

Negatives

To me the biggest disappointment was the defence. It seemed like Duane had them going in the right direction last year and I was optimistic this would carry-forward to this year. But defensively this team has taken a big step back

The whole Andrea thing. There's not much more to say but he really lost me after that 2 for 19 disgrace

Kyle Lowry. His ability to run an offence and score definitely has not come as advertised when the trade was made

Positives

The play of Amir Johnson has to be the highlight. What a warrior

The improvement in Demar's game. He's scoring more consistently (but the ball handling - yichh)

Maybe the Gay trade, but that is still up in the air

Thanks Doug

Marvin Hoppe, Toronto

A: Can’t disagree except to suggest Jonas has been a positive but, again, we’re really jumping the gun with more than three weeks left in the season.

Let’s get it over with before we do the post-mortems, okay? That’s what I’m going to do.

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Q: Doug

Re: streaks and their effect on teams-players.

Of course a streak gets noticed. They are very rare and hard to do!

Now we have The Heat; we've had The Dolphins, Dimaggio's hitting streak is the stuff of novels and full books - and will likely never be equaled.

How do you assess the meaning of streaks? Do teams and players really want to keep them going?

Maris almost died during his HR "streak season". Why are we SO enamored of them?

Charles N, Mexico

A: I think there’s a large sense of pride among players – and organizations – that keeping a streak going once it gets close to something newsworthy is very important to them. There were people in the Raptors organization, for instance, who were quite tied into the three-point shooting streak. I also know Mo Pete was really interested in his Ironman streak a few years ago.

Why do we like them? I guess it’s part of history, it’s being caught up in some on-going narrative that gets you through what is sometimes a dull part of a season and it’s bearing witness to something no one’s seen.

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Q: Doug

Imagine, if you would, that you are an up and coming GM. You are presented with three openings, the Raptors, the Cavaliers, and the Wizards. The offers are all the same and contain the same clause - your pay will double if the team makes the playoffs in 2014.

Which team do you choose that gives you the best chance to make the big money? And why?

Thanks for the reporting and the blog.

Adam M, Halifax, NS

A: Hmm, good one. I’d probably go with Washington because of their mix of youth and experience and I like the combination of Wall and Beale better than Irving and Waiters, as a twosome that is; Irving’s the best player in that group by far. But, and this is the HUGE issue, you have to guarantee me that both Irving and Wall are able to play a full season and nothing has happened that would suggest that’s true.

I like Toronto’s wings and bigs as much as any of those other two and would likely put them second.

But it’s Fool’s Gold because what’s on the roster today is unlikely to be on the roster in the fall and those summer decisions will be the most significant thing.

And before people go off half-cocked – or fully-cocked – about the draft pick the Raptors don’t have that the other two have, this is my point: NONE of those three teams needs to get younger, they all need more veteran presence.

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Q: Doug

A great SI cover, about the famous NCAA victory by Texas Western over Kentucky in 1966 that ties nicely to your nice comments about George Chuvalo. Also surprise link to current NBA basketball. I wonder whatever happened to the two players in the photo?

Bruce, Mississauga_

A: I think the one guy went into MMA and fights Danny Ainge for some championship belt soon.

Or not.

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Q: In your Thursday's blog you stated that you will do an evaluation of the team as the season closes out. I think we can all agree this has been a disappointing season. I really think there is enough talent on this team to be better than they are. Without giving away too much from your end-of-season evaluation (EOSE) what is the biggest issue. Is it as simple as needing a floor General

Is it that the pieces don't fit together? Is it lack of physical and/or mental toughness? Is it that the system don't fit the players or vice versa? Is it motivation? Or is it a combination of all of the above?

One thing that I thought at the beginning of the season and Jack mentioned it last night, I thought Jamaal was a critical piece of last year's team and they miss that toughness. Can this explain the lack of defense?

Dave B, Cornwall

A: You people are killing me with all this stuff about the season wrap-up when I have to save some of it for when, you know, the season wraps up.

But it is definitely a combination of all those things and I’m going to add two more:

I don’t know that there was a very high trust level among teammates early in the season that caused a lot of those late-game failings and I do think there needed to be more offensive creativity at crunch time in all those games they lost in the last 90 seconds or so.

And no on Jamaal. Sure, they missed the very few minutes he played but it doesn’t explain the lack of wing defence or man-to-man responsibility.

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Q 

Hi Doug,

 

I have given up on the Raptors, as they seem like a rudderless ship adrift with no captain any where in sight. So let's talk music...I am determined to get you to see that great music is still being made. Ray Lamontagne is so shy he used to play with his back to the audience.....but man oh man can he belt it out. Watch the first song in this BBC clip!

Andy

A: Well, I can’t give up on ‘em because I get paid to write about them and quitting is not an option.

But that does imbue some optimism about the state of the art today.

Thanks.

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A good sign and some astronomical numbers

Well, that was ridiculously easy and if the nine games I’ve got left to cover go as swimmingly, I’ll be one happy grunt.

Smelly Ford Taurus will be on the road all morning, will get to what you’ve go to say when I land back home.

Enjoy.

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THREE POINTERS

Best game in a long time

From Jonas Valanciunas, that is.

Sure, he made some defensive mistakes but, big whoop, everyone does and the kid played hard and well and is showing some of the toughness this team simply lacks. He fights for position, plays hard and is really finishing the season strongly.

One moment caught a lot of people’s eyes:

In the second quarter, he gets the ball on the baseline about 15 feet away and everyone’s expecting to either get rid of it or turn around and try to back his man down. Nope, he squares up, surveys the situation and hits a jumper.

Not all that huge in itself but if he can make that shot and bring guys out to guard him, imagine how effective he’ll be with a pump fake and drive?

That’s going to really make him dangerous and I think he’s bright enough to know how special that can be.

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Making the right point

You know how I’m always saying that it’s probably better for fans to concentrate on what a guy can do instead of what he can’t do and that you can make amends for individual failings in a team concept?

Well, I don’t know that I can put it much better ever than Lawrence Frank did when were talking about that exact point yesterday morning.

“Look, every player is going to have their holes so it’s just putting all those pieces together and figuring out how it all fits.

“The thing is, for what they can’t do, that’s why you have four other guys on the court: to make sure it fits. Now, if you have a bunch of guys that can’t do the same thing, you’re in trouble. Same thing if you’ve got a bunch of guys that can do the same thing, you’re probably in trouble also unless they accept their roles.”

And that’s the art of putting together a team; some GMs get it more quickly than others and the good ones can simply make it work.

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How to take care

Lots of angst about the number of careless and silly turnovers the HOTH are making of late; averaging about 16 per game over the last little while and they only had 10 last night.

Biggest thing? The right guys had the ball. Dwane can live with a few Lowry gaffes a night, that’s just part of the way the point guard plays, but it’s the other ones that drive him batty.

“Kyle’s an attack guard and he’s got the green light to attack. What we’ve got to do now is get the ball back in his hands and get it in his hands on the break. A lot of our turnovers are happening because our wings are initiating the break.”

Last night, Gay had one and DeRozan had one and it was the lowest turnover total in a while.

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More? Quickly, yes.

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I was wondering when it would happen.

Every time – and I mean every single time – I drive down here, when I’m trying to find a local radio station and when I do, it never takes more than about half an hour to hear him.

This time? This time it took the hour or so drive to the hotel Thursday, the 15 minutes or so back and forth to shootaround and then, finally, on the drive to the game, we got it:

Not much better in the Bob Seger catalogue than this, that’s for sure.

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How about these silly numbers.

Justin Verlander? $180 million.

Tony Romo? $108 million.

Buster Posey? $167 million.

Those are some out of this world contracts that were handed and out and good on those guys for getting them. They are huge gambles for the teams, of course, because they stretch out over so many years but it’s not my money so I guess I really don’t care.

But you know who should be miffed, at least a little bit?

LeBron James. And Kevin Durant. And Kobe Bryant.

Look, those NBA guys are, frankly, underpaid. They cannot ever get the kind of salaries that are commensurate with their abilities and place in the game and anything close to what they’re worth in terms of creating revenue for their employers.

Don’t get me wrong: The money they make is ridiculous and all that those deals yesterday will mean is having to work harder on estate planning but, really, the way the NBA hamstrings its best players on what they can make sure seems unfair when held in contrast to other pro sports leagues.

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Okay, I don’t remember which of you fine Irregulars it was but Super Wife and Super Son got to Jack’s in Nashville and they appreciate it. And they’d already had their tickets to the Opry so I presume that went well, although they haven’t checked in with me yet this morning.

Now it’s off to Memphis and I got that handled for them but thanks for the Nashville stuff.

Of course, that they’re gone gives me, um, freedom so I’m thinking drive back this morning, make sure Super Dog is doing okay and then maybe a wee bit of time on a stool watching games and doing mail.

Send me some, would you?

Thanks

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The Goods On The Game, Raptors at Pistons

Happy Easter, everyone.

Hope it's been a good day.

Talk is futile until the one big Raptor decision is made

I don’t imagine too many people would be too surprised by the tone of the comments Jose Calderon made yesterday when we sat for the better part of half an hour after the Pistons practiced.

It’s the kind of guy he is, as we all knew before he went. Genuinely loved the city and the organization, felt at home in Toronto and was truly appreciative of the opportunities that were presented to him.

A lot of times, you’ll hear ex-players pay lip service to their former teams – I know the tone, I’m sure you’ve all read between the lines in some stories – but this was heartfelt.

But before anyone gets too excited about the part of the story where he talks about the door being open to a return, a few words of caution.

There will not be much money to spend and it’s obvious that Bryan and the upper management have thrown their hats in the ring with Kyle Lowry and for them to back off on that commitment after just one year would be a huge reversal of form.

But …

And this is the “but” that we’ll get into a fair bit more over the next three weeks or a month and something that has to be taken into consideration when anyone is discussing anything to do with this roster and the summer.

Who’s making the decisions?

We all know that the organization has a team option on the final year of Bryan’s contract and while I feel confident in guessing that he will be back – and we’ll get into that a bit more, too – it is not a 100 per cent certainty and until that piece of business is taken care of, all bets are off.

If ownership – which has been dead silent on the matter all season, as you’d expect – decides to stick with the status quo, I don’t see an awful lot of major change on the top half of the roster.

But if ownership decides to “go in a different direction” as the saying goes, who knows what will happen.

Would a new guy want to blow everything up and get back to square one, subjecting fans to more and more years of futility and rebuilding? I doubt it, I still think there are pieces here that are more than adequate, but that possibility exists.

So as much as we chat chat and rant about what shape this team should take next year, who’ll coach it and who’ll be on the roster, we can’t do anything until we know for certain who’s running it.

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My bonnet. Where the heck is my bonnet?

There’s a parade and every year I can’t find it.

Oh, there it is.

And, of course …

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Okay, it’s Easter and not being a man of religion it’s not the biggest day of the year for me and pardon my heathenism but …

Chocolate, right?

So, the best?

Well, anything Cadbury would work for me and hiding those little foil-wrapped eggs all over the house for Super Son a decade or so ago was a lot of fun (hiding some he’d never find that I could have late Easter Sunday night was always a grand idea) but if you’re going out to find something to for the urchins, here’s one rule:

If it’s a big chocolate bunny, it has to be solid. None of those shell things because it’s a huge disappointment to open the package, go to break off the head (and you always eat from the head down) and find that it’s hollow.

Trust me, your kids will notice.

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One more Jose thing?

Here’s one other fact he mentioned about the summer and while his agents will hate it, I believe it to be 100 per cent true.

“No, money never was the most important thing for me, I think at this point in my career, it’s not going to be ‘if you give me more, I’ll go there. No way.’

“That’s not going to be it at all. It’s going to be everything, the team, the city, family-wise, it’s going to be everything under consideration for sure.”

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Did Jarome Iginla ever get to Boston? I was busy yesterday and never heard.

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Hey, folks, the mail’s a little slow coming in, can you do something about that.

It’s at askdoug@thestar.ca and since Super Wife and Super Son are off on a weekend-long driving adventure to hear music in Nashville and Memphis, it’s me and Super Dog from tomorrow noon until Monday night.

And, yes, I will be finding ways to find stools and perchance dine out but there will be time to answer questions and you know how much I like that.

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Just because some people sometimes ask, here’s the Nothing But Net thing from this week.

The interesting part is down the bottom with the little note about the league – again – making a public admission that officials blew a game-altering call, this time against Minnesota and for the Lakers earlier this week.

What astounds me is that the official who missed the call can’t be more than 10 feet away from the play, I have no clue what he could have possibly been watching but it’s a shocking failure of a guy who’s supposed to be a professional and at the top of his craft.

I guess these public admissions of egregious errors are made to offer some kind of solace to the aggrieved parties; all they truly do is show blatant mistakes. And while solace is nice, there has to be some way for the NBA to better train its officials. I don’t know what it is, but there are some smart people in the head office, they need to figure it out.

This year has been the worst I can ever remember for consistently bad officiating and I wonder if it’ll ever get any better.

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On capitulation and two great Canadian coaches

Hey look: A morning offering that’s all basketball.

Who’d a’thunk it?

Don’t worry, it’s pretty much an off-day today, we’ll be back to normal tomorrow morning.

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THREE POINTERS

This about sums it up

Now, at some time I’m going to sit down seriously and try to come up words to fully describe this season but that’s for another day because – yikes!!! – there’s three weeks less a day and 11 games to go.

But when we were talking to Dwane after the game, he came up with the sentences that almost perfectly describe what transpired last night and what’s transpired most of this season.

“We didn’t respond when they got physical. We were looking for calls and they’re not calling them.”

Drops mic. We’re done here, nothing to see, time to move on, folks.

Really, the lack of mental toughness, and physical toughness to some major degree is the over-riding failure we’re seeing in the last quarter of another dead season.

It’s 75-75 after three, crowd’s still marginally in the game, a team that hasn’t played since Saturday is at home and what do we get?

Capitulation.

Now, there is more than enough blame to go around – again, that’s for closer to the end of the year and it’s not one guy or one coach or one GM – but unless these guys find some mental fortitude, they’ll never be anything other than a team that can sometimes steal a game here and there.

It, above all else, has been the major failing since this thing began.

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Oh yeah, there’s this, too

We read breathless analysis a week or so ago that the best shot in basketball is a three-pointer and it may be analytically correct.

As lone as someone one makes one every now and then.

After throwing up a 4-17 furball from distance on Wednesday night – that’s an atrocious percentage by any standards – Toronto is now shooting, as a team, 22.8 per cent in its last five games (26-for-114) and 28.6 in its past 10 (59-for-206).

That’s not efficient and no one can possible tell me that it is so if they are going to believe in that “take lots” theories, they might want to mention to the GM that they need people proficient from beyond the arc. Heck, they’d probably settle for marginally good rather than proficient because, right now, they suck.

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Oh yeah, there’s this, too

The HOTH, who just a month ago were talking playoff run going into a “winnable” home game against Washington, are now percentage points behind the Wizards and 10th in the East and a meager 2 1-2 games up on 11th place Detroit.

How’s that make all you feel?

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More? We’ve got some, as usual.

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Fans are understandably impressed with the young Canadian basketball talent that’s out there and everyone was suitably proud of Andrew Wiggins and an injured Trey Lyle being named to the world team at the Nike Hoop Summit, one of the biggest talent showcases around.

But, to me, the most impressive announcement was that Roy Rana of Ryerson will once again coach the world team.

That’s a big deal, bigger than big, and speaks volumes about Rana’s talents and his place in the game, one aspect of Canada’s basketball growth that often goes a bit under-reported.

Canada Basketball needs guys like Roy out there spreading the word and making the contacts and developing his own skills to keep the program moving in the right direction.

There was a time when coaching in Canada lagged behind a lot of the world’s middling powers in basketball and it was the failing even further in arrears.

Now? Now I think it’s a bit of a strength and it’s guys like Rana, dedicated, willing to learn, able to get out and meet the right people and say the right things who are leading a resurgence.

Yes, the likes of Wiggins winning major awards and the strength of the young group is impressive.

So is what Roy’s doing.

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Okay, am entirely unsure when I’ll get to any comments because the Smelly Ford Taurus is scheduled to roll on down the highway starting about 7 a.m. so I can get to picturesque (and by picturesque I mean quite gloomy) Auburn Hills, Mich., by midday.

But while you’re trying to figure out what to say, think of what you might want to ask because the mailbag’s open (askdoug@thestar.ca) and you know how much I love to hear from so many of you.

I should be back mid-afternoon and expect to find all kinds of fun stuff to deal with.

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Hang on a sec.

Did someone say roll on down the highway?

Man, get a load of that hair.

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Speaking of Canadian coaches, had a great hour-long chat with Lisa Thomaidis yesterday afternoon, the fruits of which you’ll see over the next couple of days or so.

Suffice it to say she’s quite impressive and I think Canada Basketball hit a home run by hiring a homebred coach who is innately familiar with the program, the players and the nuances of being a national team coach in a country where the best players are spread all over the world.

One of the more interesting part of the conversation was about what young girls need to do to develop skills that will best suit them.

“Probably the biggest thing that we need our players to do more of is play one-on-one. And against a variety of different players, playing against people who are quicker than them, taller than them, shorter than them; whatever it is. To have them understand we need players who can break down, who can create an advantage, who know how to create a shot for themselves.

“I think that’s something that isn’t emphasized as much. Someone else made the comment that the game has become, or the development has become, that players go to a team practice and they work on team stuff or they play a ton of games. And there’s not as much emphasis on the individual skill development … We’ve lost some of that edge that we need to get back to.”

She’s dead right on that, I think. The more young kids play and develop individual skills, the better they’ll be in the long run; there cannot be too many games where kids stand around and don’t do a lot for long periods of time, there can’t be an endless stream of walk-through drills working on plays that never are run.

So if you’ve got a young girl who wants to play, let her; get here out learning the individual skills and creativity the greats need.

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The Goods On The Game, Hawks at Raptors

Hello, folks.

All's well?

A story worth listening to and a bit of Raptors summer plans

When it comes time to talk about the great Canadian sportsmen of the past 30 or 40 or 50 years or so, the list is always predictable and dominated by those practitioners of the pucks.

Well, here’s one and I’m glad to see he got his due yesterday, even if it was a bit overshadowed by the stupendous work of our Olympic Rookie Of The Year and the rest of our city hall staff once again chronicling the misadventures of your Mayor.

George Chuvalo doesn’t get nearly the credit he should for what he accomplished as a boxer when the fight game really mattered.

Him getting the Key To The City from Toronto yesterday was a nice honour, if a couple of decades too late, but the best thing it did was cast him in the spotlight, albeit for a day, and perhaps bring his story to a whole lot of people who have never heard it.

As a fighter, he was incredible, never knocked down or out and he fought all comers at time when the sport was not fractured and when it attracted great athletes chasing a belt.

(Quick, name two heavyweights today, I dare you)

He was tough and unrelenting and unafraid of anything and when you stepped into a ring with George, you were in for a scrap.

No, he did not win a major title and never beat the true greats of the game but he fought them with determination and honour and as a Canadian athlete, he deserves more recognition for his historical accomplishments than he generally gets.

And the rest of his story (and I knew Stumpy would nail it) is even more significant. Can you imagine the emotional torment of a live that’s included the loss of so many family members to the evils of substance abuse? I can’t.

But George, who I know a little bit from a long-ago time spent typing a bit about boxing, fought on because that’s what he did. He took all the shots and kept coming and as motivational speaker now, his story is one that a generation should hear.

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Oh yeah, I could listen to this stuff with regularity and it’s pretty cool to have friends who drop stuff like The Lumineers on you, I have to say.

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I believe I read somewhere yesterday that Jim Clancy will start Game 3 this season for the Yankees.

And Bob Baylor will play short ‘til Jeter’s ready.

Or not.

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A digression, but you brought it on yourselves.

People, people, people.

So I go and mention the 40th anniversary of Dark Side Of The Moon and an Alert Irregular comes back with the 40th anniversary of The Young And The Restless and then I hear how good it was.

Two words, and two words alone:

General Hospital.

Way back in the day, as just a young scribbler, I worked at a place (hello, Woodstock!) that published an afternoon paper so we had to be at work about 6 a.m. to start getting the pages done and we’d be finished about noon.

Well, what were we to do except have lunch and loaf around someone’s apartment after lunch (it was a pretty close and young staff) and, of course, that meant the TV was on.

And GH was the personal favourite.

Remember Luke and Laura’s wedding? I do.

Old Edward Quartermaine? Sure.

(I went on to work with a woman who last name was Quartermain a few years later and that was kind of cool).

The Cassadines? Sure.

Monica Quartermaine? A crush.

Look maybe the Young and the Restless was okay but if you’re afternoon was All My Children (remember what’s her name who lost all the Emmys?) and General Hospital (and I can’t for the life of me remember the 2 p.m. show) it was a pretty good day.

Now, of course, it’s some NCIS rerun or a healthy dose of Criminal Minds that covers off an afternoon on the couch.

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So we’re at practice yesterday trying to come up with some legitimate story idea (I hit on Alan Anderson, since I hadn’t written much about his future in a while) and the conversation with Dwane is wide-ranging.

It settles on what a few of these dudes have to do in the off-season to improve their games and, as expected, the one guy we’re chatting about is Terrence Ross, who has to get bigger and stronger and work on all aspects of his game.

But Dwane mentioned one thing that each guy has to do and it’s true scut work and I’m not sure it’ll happen.

He thinks, and he’s right, that the lack of solid defence has killed these guys all year so while it’s all well and good to take, or make, 500 three-pointers a day, he and the staff have started to devise an off-season plans for each player that involves such rudimentary defensive work as slide drills, agility drills and footwork drills that hopefully, makes them a bit quicker to react and might give them a chance to guard their man at least a little bit better one-on-one.

I’m dubious that an NBA player will spend part if his off-season workouts doing slide drills when there are shooting drills to do but on the occasions when Raptors coaches are with them they will as part of the coach’s grand plan.

We, as they say, shall see.

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Let’s start this mail process; a free Good Friday afternoon in delightful Auburn Hills and a Saturday with life to myself should give me lots of time for good answers.

It’s askdoug@thestar.ca for all your hellos and whatever.

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Now, I guess, we find out a bit more of what Ricky Romero is made of.

I don’t think anyone could have been too surprised the one-time TOD ace was sent down yesterday (Griff’s got the gory details here) and Romero should have nothing but peace and quiet and no distractions as he plods along in Single A trying to work out mechanics that have been, it would appear, been messed up since about the second month of last season.

We saw what a rebuilt process did for Roy Halladay way back what seems like eons ago and if Romero can handle it as well as he did, well, things will work themselves out.

I can’t pretend to know his mental makeup well enough to figure out whether he can handle this situation, although he always presented himself as a young man whose mind was/is strong enough to handle anything thrown his way.

Whether that’s actually the case remains to be seen, people often talk a good game, whether they can do it is an entirely different matter. Guess the only saving grace is that we’re talking about someone at the back end of the rotation and JA Happ may prove to be an adequate replacement in the fifth starter’s role.

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Nuanced brilliance and what did you absolutely have to own

A night of terrific loafing – dinner, nap, lounging, and maybe or maybe not a couple of handfuls of potato chips – included a whole lot of time watching the Miami-Orlando game and two things came to mind

I really like the way the Orlando broadcasters – Matt Goukas and David Steele – do a game because they do it as a game, not a TV show. Gotta be among the best local broadcasters in the league.

Oh, and the Heat are damn good.

Yes, they basically toyed with an under-manned Orlando team for about 2 1-4 quarters before turning it on but there’s now a nuance to the Miami game that makes them a bit more delightful to watch.

For a long time, I thought LeBron James was just too much power and not enough finesse and I am dead certain that he was. But now, his game has somehow slowed down and gotten better, his ability to carve a defence with his athletic ability and his mental acuity have taken his game to – yeah, I know, it’s a horrible cliché – another level.

I don’t know if it’s the fact they are somehow breathing easier and playing more freely now that they have a championship on their resume or what but the manner in which they are dispatching teams during this 27-game winning is awesome.

And it starts and ends with James, who has handled himself nearly perfectly on and off the court since the idiocy of The Decision and who can now, in my opinion, be held as one of the shiny beacons of the game.

Yes, his skills are off the charts good – his passing abilities and ability to see the court and make the right pass would probably put him among the top five point guards in the league if he actually played that position – but the way he handles himself has changed as well. He looks more relaxed, more subtle in the way he dissects a game.

Just better.

I don’t when, or if, this streak will end – I’ll be interested to see who San Antonio rests on Sunday afternoon – but what we’re seeing is unprecedented, both from a team and an individual view.

And when the MVP ballots arrive in the next couple of weeks, I cannot imagine anyone anywhere filling it out without LeBron at the top of the list.

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Okay, we missed the 40th anniversary of the release of Dark Side Of The Moon (yeah, we truly are Of A Certain Vintage) and that was too bad because it’s got to be on the list of greatest albums ever, right?

And I’m figuring there were three must-have albums back from that era, maybe not at precisely at the same time but if you were growing up, you needed …

Dark Side of the Moon

Best track? I’d vote this one maybe.

The White Album

I remember sitting and singing every word to the second side at some high school house party and I think the ladies were impressed.

Let It Bleed

Will fully admit I wasn’t a big Stones guy back in the day.

Your list?

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The Raptors?

Well, judging by some comments you’ll be glad to know they are not shutting down Rudy Gay but there’s no promise he’ll play every game the rest of the way.

He, like us all, is day-to-day.

Other than that, was a terrifcly quiet day around there yesterday, as I presume the rest of the season will be.

This might the oddest end-of-a-lost-season situation I can remember given all the circumstances.

They are not playing for any kind of draft position, they seem to have what they think is the core together and they are truly playing out the string.

The biggest issue, and we’ll get more into this as the next three weeks unfold, is that no one can even get excited about a summer because of the clouded front office issues.

Yeah, it’s a strange time indeed and without suggesting such tomfoolery as “holding people accountable” I wondering what, if anything, people want to read about these blokes the rest of the way.

Guess that’s on me to figure out and since I’m only going to miss one more game – Sunday in Washington – it’s almost time to put the thinking cap firmly on the old noggin.

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You know, I don’t watch a lot of golf any more, seems I don’t have time for the white noise it is on weekends, no time for Thursday-Friday viewing and the interest has just waned.

It’ll come back for the majors, I’m sure, and I did spend a couple of minutes yesterday asking people how Tiger was doing but, basically, it’s “blah.”

Too bad, because there was a time I knew the personalities and the abilities and the money leaders but somehow that’s just gone away. And anecdotally, I think that might be a bit common, my circle of friends is about the same as I am, mildly interested in majors until the back nine on Saturday but otherwise barely paying attention.

Too bad because …

Did you this from the weekend?

Sergio Garcia goes up a tree to hit a shot?

And Nicholas Thompson makes a ho-hum par from standing in a lake.

What’d they used to say?

Yeah, these guys are good.

And fun to watch on the highlights.

Oh, and Cathal nails the Tiger Woods story.

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Just so you know, the pandas are in quarantine after arriving safe and sound.

Resume your lives now.

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A decision that has little real impact; and another list

We’re going to be all over the map a bit here today, and I can see that becoming the norm as we lurch through the final three weeks of another awful regular season.

It’s like Groundhog Day without Andie McDowell and that’s no Groundhog Day at all.

Anyway …

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Back to a bit of the grind today after the blocks – and I – took Sunday as a day of rest (I can totally recommend it) with the usual stuff of practice.

And since there’s precious little in the way of news about the only thing we’ll be trying to find out is if they’re going to shut Rudy Gay and his bad back down for the final three weeks or so of the regular season.

Since I wasn’t in New York and only chatted with a couple of people electronically yesterday there’s no clear indication but there was a wee hint that maybe, yeah, it’s time to give him some rest.

And it doesn’t matter if it’s a week or two or the rest of the year because I’m not sure what’s left to be accomplished.

Of course, wins would be great to at least bring some sunshine into an otherwise drab part of the season – it’s always better to feel good for at least a couple of nights – but I wonder if the whole “getting used to playing with each other to be ready for next year” attitude is actually a factor.

Sure, there is some familiarity to be gained but I don’t know that it’ll be any more than has already been gained and, frankly, this is now more about Valanciunas and Ross than it’s ever been; I think there’s a good enough baseline of Gay, DeRozan and Lowry that the coaches know what they have to do to maximize their talents and the teaching of those new systems or ideas will be done next year at training camp rather than in the handful of legitimate practices they have left.

Looking at the schedule realistically – and knowing that if there’s just one day between games that it’s more a maintenance day rather that a real work day – there are two, maybe three good days left.

One of them is today, one of a Monday in Chicago in the middle of that Minnesota-Milwaukee-Chicago trip but other than that, it’s game, day off, game or back-to-back, day off and precious little time.

So if they do decide that Gay’s back needs some rest – and we don’t know if that’s the absolute case – I’m not sure what will be lost.

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Okay, here we go.

We’ve come to the general consensus, I believe, that the two seminal Canadian bands – and yes, one is a wee stretch – would the Band and The Guess Who, right?

So …

Knowing that everything’s subjective and some acts are more, um, polarizing than others, I think I’d give you these next five, in order, as pretty darn solid.

Tragically Hip

They might even get to the top two in some lists, I bet. Enduring, original, impactful.

Rush

This is the one that evokes so much passion on each side but I saw them when I was in high school so they count.

BTO

Yes, I am of a certain age.

Steppenwolf

If you count them as Canadian, they have to be on the list, right?

Blue Rodeo

I’ll listen to them today, actually.

Now, here’s a second five and, yes, this truly is an exercise in futility and personal preference and we’re talking about acts known as bands rather than individuals.

Cowboy Junkies, Max Webster, Arcade Fire, Great Big Sea and …

One of people Of Even A Greater Vintage.

Who doesn’t like a little Guy Lombardo?

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Now, I am 100 per cent certain my bracket is dead and I would bet that goes for a lot of you, too.

But I don’t care because this Florida Gulf Coast thing is pretty amazing and gave life to the tournament for the first weekend at least.

Not only do they go to a school where dorms are right by the water – I still think it should have campuses in strip malls of interstates – they just seem to have an awful lot of fun playing and don’t really care.

Besides, an Alert Irregular saw this on the tweeter and sent it along and maybe Super Son puts it on the list of campuses to visit.

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Okay, about the only panda I care about or know is Red Panda and while I seldom see any part of NBA halftime shows, she’d be right up there with Quick Change near the top of the list.

But I’ve been so inundated with stories of these real pandas that are en route to the zoo I may have to take a trip out the wilds of Scarborough or wherever the zoo actually is sometime this summer to check ‘em out.

They do look kind of cute but given my history at a zoo, I’m sure whatever day I go, they’ll be asleep in the back and hundreds of us will be standing around looking at an empty cage and cursing under our breath.

It happened with those Komodo dragons or whatever the heck they were and I don’t know that I’ve ever seen an elephant when I’ve gone, either. And if you can’t find something the size of an elephant, not sure there’s any reason to go.

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All -- maybe -- of the weekend mail

Okay, I had to shut this down late afternoon on Saturday to head to the peninsula, see Super Grandpa, perhaps have peanuts for dinner while tossing the shells willy-nilly on the floor (Hello, Mick and Angelo’s) before the night unfolded.

I’ll check sometime Sunday afternoon to see if there are enough questions to warrant another edition.

See ya.

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Q: Hello Doug!

Well, once again, we Raptor supporters are wallowing in the misery that is the end of this season: thirteen games and counting. Not that we're counting. Except that we are. Again. And I'll tell you something – just between you and me - I think that if it wasn't for the fellowship and fun of your IGBT, I might've already turned the page and the dial on the Raptors. So, thank you for doing what you do to keep so many of us engaged

and educated - and, somehow even entertained - by the HOTH.

After reading the USA Today interview with George Karl that you linked to in your 'Nothing But Net' feature this week I've got a couple of questions.

Now, I know you're not privy to the workings of Mr. Karl's mind, but I'm wondering if, based on your own experiences, you could offer some insight for me.

First, this quote from George Karl: "There should not be an entitlement that because you get paid the most money, that you should finish every game. But if you don't do it, then the agents are going to call and the players are going to mope and so you negotiate that. It's a compromise as a coach."

My question: Was that a figure of speech that 'agents are going to call' or do players' agents literally call coaches if the players they represent aren't happy? Seriously? Don't most players have someone on the team - if not the coach, then an assistant, even another player - who they can confide in if they're unhappy about, for example, the number of minutes they're playing?

And my next question is based on his quote about leadership roles on teams. Here's the quote from George Karl: "No, I think Andre is the pro in our locker room. I think Iguodala will get there. I think Ty is coming there. I think Gallo (Gallinari) - I always think it's a little harder for a European player to take that responsibility, but I think Gallo has that personality and mind to do that."

On the teams you've seen, do you agree that it's harder for a European player to take on a leadership role? And if so, why do you suppose that's the case? Thanks.

And good luck at your poker thing! Do you have a 'lucky' game? Are you a serial bluffer? And, do you wear a cool pair of Ray-Bans while you're playing like they do on TV?

Lorie P, London

A: Oh no, sadly, that’s very true. Agents might not phone coaches directly but they will phone or meet with general managers with things like “why isn’t my guy playing” or “why isn’t the coach using my guy this way where he’s more effective” and it’s all part and parcel of life in the NBA. For most coaches and GMs it goes in one ear and out the other but if it’s incessant, it could cause trouble. And while that’s all happening, players are indeed whining to each other or a staffer or someone.

Great, no?

And I think Europeans, or Africans, or anyone, do have a problem quickly assuming leadership roles for a lot of reasons. It could be a language thing when a guy first comes over, it could be unfamiliarity (a lot of the North Americans would have played college or high school or AAU ball against or with each other and have a comfort level and a pecking order) or it could just be the “foreign” players take longer to let their personalities come out.

But it happens, I don’t think anyone can dispute who the leader is on the Dallas Mavericks and I’d suggest Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have risen to the top in San Antonio.

Poker? I generally just wear the look of abject disappointment at another bad hand dealt me.

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Q: Hi Doug

The challenge for me in writing this question is to not come across as overly negative (I have suffered your wrath before so kudos to you that I keep coming back).

This morning in your blog you mention you think the Raps may need a leader to help them through rough patches during a game and help avert the poor play before it turns into a quarter or more of lousy basketball.

This brings me to Kyle Lowry. When we acquired him he was sold to us as a tough Philly kid (backed by Alvin Williams who we all love) who was full of fight, great character and toughness. What I didn't know was that he had an average to below average NBA point guard handle, that he wasn't a particularly great one on one defender nor that he pounded the ball into the deck ala Mike James (I know, I know, he got 10 assists last night)

My question is does he not have the makeup to be the team leader either? Can he not serve in this role you describe?

If the answer is no what exactly does this player bring to the party?

Thanks Doug. Love your work and read you faithfully and please understand that some of your followers have sunk a lot of money (3 seasons being a season ticket holder and countless years of mini-packs) into the team and sometimes our frustrations are just a result of not even being in the hunt for a playoff spot for I don't know how long. I know some nights we get entertained in losses but after a while....

Sincerely

Mike in Cambridge

A: I don’t know that Kyle has the strength of personality or the temperement to be the kind of vocal, get-in-your-face leader most very good teams have.

But he brings quite a bit, actually. He may not be the best point guard in the game, or the conference, or the division, but he can play. Not the way most people like or anticipated but he can make shots, get to the rim and while he gambles too much on defence, that kind of attitude does set a tone. Is he an all-star in the making? No, never was. But he’s not a bum by any stretch of the imagination.

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Q: OK Doug, you leave your current gig to become the super-commissioner of the new NBA with the job of creating a world bball structure. How about something like this?

A world super league of sixteen teams, initially with eight from North America and four each from Europe and Asia. Three continental leagues of at least sixteen teams each. At the end of each season, teams are promoted/demoted to/from the super league, say four for NA and two for the other leagues. In addition to the league play there would be a tournament involving all the teams in all four leagues with single knockout format.

There are obvious practical and financial difficulties to be overcome, but it would be fun.

Bruce, Mississauga

A: I see your idea but it needs some tinkering, that’s for sure. Mainly because there aren’t nearly as many competitive club teams in Asia or Europe (not mention Africa or South America) to make it work.

I’d suggest – without the difficulties of “relegation” and the financial woes that would bring – that 14 in North American and 10 from anywhere else would be a pretty cool thing.

And, who knows, once they build enough suitable arenas in Europe and develop the finances in sponsorship, TV deals and ticket costs, we might see a European NBA division in a decade or so. I’ll be the first to sign up for the London-Madrid-Rome-Istanbul road trip.

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Q: Hi Doug

I'm asking on behalf of a couple of friends whose basketball genes may be less than ideal: can you think of an elite perimeter defender, currently playing in the NBA, who's on the shorter, stockier side for his position?

I'm looking for someone whose technique they could watch. Most of the perimeter stoppers seem to be spidery types a la Bruce Bowen.....the best I could think of on short notice was Dwyane Wade, but I'm a ways behind you in games watched.

Thanks

Mike D., Toronto

A: I’m not sure I’d call Tony Allen short and stocky but he’s also not long and lithe and he’s a guy every player should emulate defensively. And I guess this guy might be more backcourt than perimeter but I really like Avery Bradley in Boston for the way he disrupts teams.

But short and stocky in the commonly held perception among normal humans? Not sure I can come up with many names off the top of my head.

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Q: Hi, Doug,

Please change back to old photo. You look old and tired in your new picture From my heart!!

Daniel H

A: Actually, I think old and tired is a true representation.

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Q: Good Morning

Earlier in the season I asked how many games have been lost to injury. I was wondering if you give us an update. Probably not a record but a telling stat none the less.

Thanks

John P

A: They’re up to 144 with Saturday’s game (Gay and Bargnani are hurt). I haven’t gone through the other teams individually but I’d suspect that would be on the high side of the league average.

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Q: Greetings, between a season running out, a baseball team not yet playing real games and a winter hanging on an aggravatingly long time the last few weeks certainly have been kind of dull. However we have the Masters to look forward to, and would imagine the Mother Ship's golf guide as well(unless the economy has snuffed it) so things are looking up.

In reaching for questions, one did come to mind. Often spoken about our local pucks is the effect that coming to Toronto can have on opposing players. Perhaps lots of friends and family to attend the game, memories of their junior days in and around southern Ontario and as well, I suppose, the stature of the Buds. Effect, in the sense that as players on the visiting team they find extra incentive to play a strong game in front of friends and family. Admittedly the population of the GTA would play a role here but if we were to look for an American city that shares the same situation for the hoopsters, would there be one?

Secondarily, beyond the obvious (New York and LA) is there a NBA city that the players find particularly distracting? A city that most players really like to play at and enjoy the opportunities off the court?

Regarding weekend choices, a chance to be with old friends is something that should not be lightly dismissed. In my own group of fifty-somethings we have already lost a couple. Time marches on and stuff that we tend to take for granted can be taken away while we are not paying attention.

Thanks for what you (and the Irregulars) do

Doug T, Brantford

A: Because of the wide disparity in backgrounds and hometowns of NBA players, and the lack of any kind of junior system, I’m not sure there is a city like the one you describe. Maybe New York? But even that’s a stretch.

You may find this hard to believe, and I did, but Atlanta is at, or near, the top of that list, taking out New York, LA and Miami, that is.

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Q: Hi Doug,

Sorry no basketball question today, but I know you have some interest in baseball. So a sporting related question none the less.

Given the result from the WBC and how many key players from the blue jays play on the Dominican Republic's national team. Do you think it's possible or appropriate for the jays to play the Dominican Republic's national anthem one time maybe during the home opener? I'm sure they would recognize them somehow it's just what teams do.

I would think it would be cool though, no?

Has anything like this happened before in basketball or any other sport?

Thanks,

Chris M, Toronto

A: Might be cool but might also set a difficult precedent given the cyclical nature of rosters these days. What would happen if they had a team with several players from other country, would they have to do it again?

I don’t have knowledge of that ever happening in North American pro sports; what lots of teams do is have “heritage” nights for various ethnic groups that includes pre- and post- and even in-game entertainment geared to specific nationality. I would presume the Blue Jays might look at that at some point this season.

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Q: I now live in eastern Ontario, but had the pleasure of living in Alberta (Oilberta) in the early 1980's and was there for Calgary mayor Ralph Klein going off about the " "bums and creeps" from eastern Canada coming to Calgary and living off of welfare.

Oh and I am looking forward to an article about the new Women's basketball coach. My daughter played for her as a Husky and has all good things to say about her.

Art Holloway

A: I’m actually supposed to sit down with Lisa this week when she’s in Toronto for some meetings and presume we’ll get to know a bit more about her following that chat.

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Q: Hey Doug,

I have a list question for you. I would like to know who have been the most disappointing Raptors players over the years. Not the worst, but the most disappointing, say top 5. So which player fell the furthest from their respective expectations. I think we would all agree that Araujo was a disappointment but was he further from expectations than say Fred Jones, or Hedo, or Joey Graham, or Andrea, or Jermaine O'Neal. I'm sure there are other

players that you can think of over all the years that I haven't mentioned.

Also, when I say expectations, I mean the team's expectations not the fans.

Thanks as always,

Jay

A: Well, first and foremost would be Hakeem Olajuwon, followed by Jermaine O’Neal and Hedo Turkoglu with Jason Kapono on the list and here’s one few ever mention: Remember Nate Huffman and how he was going to come back from Europe and fit right in? Not so much.

That’s a pretty good five, no?