Of Jonas, Mo and a Top 3 pub story

That was entirely predictable, wasn’t it?

Make a run to make it close and then the Heat get a bit more serious and it’s over.

Guess the only notable thing to me was the lack of buzz in the building. It get way quiet most of the afternoon, never expected that.

Anyway …

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THREE POINTERS

More to come

I’m not going to say it was a breakthrough game by any stretch for Young Jonas because he was operating against a sub-standard front line but there were definitely some promising signs yesterday afternoon.

More than a couple of times they gave him the ball in the post and let him go to work, his ability to get off that little hook in the lane was impressive and now there’s more work to do to develop that aspect of his game.

Especially where he starts, according to Dwane.

“I thought Jonas did a heck of a job on the boards, crashing the offensive boards for us, made his free throws, had a couple of post moves.

“We want to try to get him deeper in the post on his post position.”

Once he gets stronger so he doesn’t get pushed off the block he’ll be more effective; once he gets more adept at passing out of there, it’ll be even better.

It’s a thing to work on as the season ends.

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Catching up

Sure was nice to see Mo Pete for a bit, he’s living down in Florida, looks like he’s quite enjoying life and catching up was cool.

Good kid, Mo.

We got to talking, of course, about his time in Toronto and one thing he said hit home.

He was remembering his rookie year and the start of his career and how much having a solid veteran crew helped him along. Not only because of what he learned on the court but what he learned about being a pro. You cannot discount the value of advice from elders and if you look around that HOTH locker room, what’s the one thing that’s missing?

An old head or two. Just to help keep kids in line, like Mo told us:

“I was scared to miss practice, I thought that I’d get beat up or something.”

Oh, and here’s the video thing they did for him during the game.

Top notch stuff.

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Changing the game?

The Heat were out-rebounded 51-26, out-scored 62-38 in points in the paint and won with tremendous ease.

The old saw about needing to protect the rim and battle on the boards takes a beating when Miami is concerned and it’s throwing a lot of conventional wisdom out the window.

I’m still not sure they’re a lock to win a title because of those flaws but the fact they are so extraordinarily good while being smallish and ineffective on the glass is something to talk about.

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The more?

Sure.

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Well, Canadian Music Week is upon us.

And, yes, I have people who will drag me kicking and screaming into the 2000s during the week but …

Doesn’t get much better than The Band, right?

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I couldn’t find the probable pitchers or anything but we’ve got Netherlands-Dominican Republic in the WBC semis tonight and you know who’ll I’ll be cheering for!

Although the thought of a Dominican-Puerto Rico final tomorrow night is pretty juicy.

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So St. Paddy’s Day comes and goes and it gets a guy thinking about Ireland and, yep, it’s Irish story time:

Third.

Best.

Pub.

Day.

Ever.

(First is the time I crashed Derek’s 75th birthday party on my maiden appearance at Ye Olde Cheshire Cheese; the second was when the First Lady Of The Beat and Not Grace Kelly and I met Santa Claus and insulted some Finns at the same place).

Anyway, this might be a bit long and I’m not sure if it’s been told before but what the heck …

Super Wife and I are in Ireland cruising one year and of course people at work know about our trip and the late, great Randy Starkman tells me he’ll never forgive us if we don’t stop at the Hynes Pub in Ballinasloe, owned by an aunt of Randy’s wife, Mary Hynes.

Now, we’re nice and sociable people and we certainly are going to do this on our drive over from Dublln to Galway because (a) who doesn’t like a pub and (b) who doesn’t like a pub?

We get there are 3 p.m. on day, intent on having one and saying hello getting over to Galway to hang out.

Well, we order, ask if Mary’s aunt Frankie is there and, sure enough, she comes out from the back and I tell her I’m a friend of Mary’s and a colleague of Randy’s and we bring greetings from Toronto. We chat, she goes off to the back to work and we’re getting ready to leave.

Here she comes again, all smiles, and says:

“Well, that’s it, you’re all set. You’ll stay around the corner at Mary’s, it’s all set up, go have a little sleep and be back here around 7. We’ll have some music.”

Um, okay. We go to her friend Mary’s bed and breakfast, get a quick nap, get back about 7 and it turns into one of the all-time nights. More than a few pints – a lot more than a few – a flautist, a singer, I believe there was a guitar player and a fiddler, too, and, well, it was a legendary night.

And the head-throbbing, green-around-the-gills drive to Galway the next afternoon was a tough one.

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Ready for March Madness?

Guess we have no choice, it’s upon us.

Our young fella Andrew put together a pretty thorough look at some guys you should pay attention to (it’s here and there's more here) and it’s an impressive list, probably the most impressive of all time.

We’ll figure out a way to make some picks you can mock but it likely won’t be until Wednesday or Thursday morning, after the silly play-in games tomorrow night.

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Comments

[Steve]

"Guess the only notable thing to me was the lack of buzz in the building. It get way quiet most of the afternoon, never expected that. "

I don't know the place seemed to be pumping at the end of the third when they tied it up but it's hard to keep the crowd going when you start the fourth with a 4 to 20 something run.

[SAS]

To have such a rebounding and points in the paint advantage and lose, comes down to the horrific 3 point and midrange shooting they displayed. With Lowry and Derozen struggling mightily with there shot and not getting any 3's to fall did us in. If the Raps could hit 3 or 4 more of there 20 3's instead of going 2 for 20 would've been the difference for sure. Ray Allen was the one who beat us with his barrage in the 4th and throw in Battier making 1 or 2. Not to mention Derozen made a couple of jump shots and then stuck with it chucking up an off balance jump shot which led to a 3 the other way, then Gay started doing the same and there goes the game. Great effort though by these guys, especially Amir and JV! You just got to play a perfect game and dominate in every category against the Heat.

[Marcus]

Some how-some way the "yapping" at the referee has to stop. The Blue Jays got into this last year with Bautista and from there it spread to the younger players which will eventually happen with the Raps. A quiet word at the appropriate time will serve the same purpose.

Once again this team was let down at the point guard spot and I am not talking about the back-ups. Until this team signs a veteran who can take leadership and pass the ball into the post or even run some pick and rolls they will not start to reach their potential. This will take some additional money and with the current structure it may be tough. In addition I am not sure what Lowry's value is on the trade market. It would seem to be less than the 1st round pick they gave up for him.

[Mike D.]

I agree with your comments on Jonas - he's looking better and better. Hoping that at the end of the season Dwane hands him the key to the weight room and tells him not to come out until he can bench-press Roy Hibbert, squat the Memphis frontcourt, and reverse-curl an average-sized shooting guard.

[Greg]

...great to see Mo Pete rockin' the #4 prominently on his shirt at the game - an obvious shout out to a hard-working, never-say-die kinda Raptor player with a heart as big as some NBAer's inflated heads... QUINCY ACY.

[Rob.V]

A couple of observations:

LBJ took the afternoon off. Seriously, he didn't really assert himself (that was the Wade show yesterday) and I think Lebron was still near a triple double. As I watch the Heat I think the chuckster is right. There is no way you are going to beat the Heat at a perimeter game. Even their "center" is stepping out to hit 3's with regularity. It's going to take a Laker team (no, they wont get there) with Howard/Gasol or the Memphis bigs to punish the Heat in a 7 game series.

Mo Pete: Was a really nice tribute. And that's what its all about for us crazy fans of Toronto. Sure, his circus like shots helped however all this city wants are players that come to work with their work boots and lunch pail. Results are important, but if you have heart like Mo Pete... we're good win or lose!

Is it just me or does anyone else wish Rudy wasn't so cool! Rudy's talent with Mo Pete's demeanor would be great, right?

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Great story. So how did you follow up your Ballinasloe hospitality in Galway? Hair of the dog?
From a tie to stuck 13 in a blink – the Heat are looking even better than last year.
The MoPete tribute was great, and does help put recent Raps history in perspective with those days – those were truly competitive teams with a level of talent that was always far more promise than potential. Nostalgic.
Cheers. Go Jays!

[Geoff Read]

The Band is awesome. One of my absolute favourites. So much better than Rush.... (I keed...).

I didn't watch the game, I confess. The outcome seemed so beyond doubt I didn't see the point.

[Phil A]

Lebron James was coasting throughout the whole game and he still came close to a triple double. It almost seems like this league is too easy for him.

[Bob]

Bargnani 6 yr
Gay 6 yr
Gray 5 yr
Johnson 7 yr
Kleiza 6 yr
Lowry 6 yr
Pietrue 9 yr
Telfair 8 yr

Not sure but that looks like more then enough veteran presence on the team.

Blogger's note: Someone in his 30s who's done something; and you cannot put Pietrus, Telfair, Kleiza or Gray on any list; they don't play enough to have any sway

What do you consider Veteran ?

[Lorie]

Hey Doug,
Thanks for the links to the March Madness stuff; had a notion that this year I'd base my picks on teams with Canadian players. And looking at the number and quality of Canucks appearing in the tournament, I'm thinking this might be the best strategy to (finally) win the family pool. Instead of that kid of mine who reads nothing of scientific statistics or prognosticating via probabilities and presumptions, and who bases her picks totally on the cuteness of the team mascots. The same kid who emerges triumphant every darn year. So, The Band. Rick Danko and Bob Dylan co-wrote this song. And I sure loved it when I first heard it on Music From Big Pink. But I think young Canadian singer Serena Ryder gives a solid performance of "This Wheel's On Fire', too. And, hopefully there's no kicking and screaming involved here for you, just click the link. And enjoy. And if you enjoyed that, I think she also nails Leonard Cohen's 'Sisters of Mercy'.
http://youtu.be/K5fgwA8cHx0
http://youtu.be/QWptHoAmJzQ

[Lorie]

Oh, and here's a link to a piece by Zach Lowe writing for Grantland about yesterday's Raptor-Heat game. It was particularly nice to see the well-deserved complimentary remarks about the excellent antics from the Raptor's mascot. Brava and/or Bravo, to The Chicken! (Will you please translate and extend congratulations when next you see him/her/it, Doug? That is one of the crappiest things about not being *at* the games: missing the always splendid stuff the Raps' mascot does game in and game out.)
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/54527/we-went-there-20-observations-from-the-heats-22nd-consecutive-win

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Nice link, @Lorie. If there's one Raptor that hands-down deserves to have his/her/its jersey retired, it's The Frickin' Chicken!
Cheers. Go Jays!

[D-Mac Ottawa]

... sorry, that should have read "that claws-down deserves to have his/her/its...
Cheers. Go Amir!

[Paolo]

Doug, I know my comment will appear silly in the northern-american basketball continent.

But I (and the 99% of the European NBA fans, players, coaches has the same opinion) think that the top 5 European coaches are BY FAR better coaches than all the last 3 Raptors coaches. None of them is in the NBA. They have experience, international Basketball knowledge, They speak 5 or more languages, they travelled all around the basketball world, winning euro League, national championships, Olimpic medals. The Raptors coaches in the last 10 years all seem unexperienced and unable to manage top players coming from other countries. Calderon never included one of them in his best coaches list. I think that the same concept is in all the not american Raptors players mind.
Garbo, Andrea, Rasho are always enthusiastic speaking about Messina, Scariolo, Ivkovic.

30 years ago the NBA had the same approach with the players. I just remember the first 2 Petrovic's seasons. He was ready to be a sort of Croatian Westbrook but he was sitting on the bench for 2 years when every european top coach had predicted 20 PPG in his first NBA season from the first game.

[JHP]

Doug I'm hoping you have a great day and have an opportunity to watch the Heat game.