One's done, one comes back and the selections are in

Pardon the intrusion but this is being written by The Ghost Grunt; figured we’d give one to you from the proper perspective.

The Ghost stands over here instead of over there and asks this question instead of that question and, in a perfect world, is the perfect Grunt.

Enjoy.

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THREE POINTERS

End of days?

If you’ve thought you’d seen the end of Linas Kleiza this year, turns out you might be right.

In a little chat before the game, he told he’s been told by the coaching staff that he’s not going to get in a game between now and the end of the season.

Sure, he wants to play -- “I’m healthy and ready to go” – is how he put it but he also understands. And he’s not at all going to rock the boat.

“This organization and the franchise have been great. They let me get healthy with no pressure. I understand what’s going on.”

Kleiza’s next action is likely to be at the European championships for Lithuania this fall in Slovenia. Whether he’s back with Toronto next season – he’s got two years left on his deal – is something Bryan has to decide this summer.

Hang on. Slovenia. Eurobasket. Me, Rasho and Jonas?

Boss? You there?

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Not end of days

Not entirely sure why but the decision to put Mickael Pietrus in a game for the first time for eons was premeditated, Dwane told us after the game.

“We wanted to give Mickael a look, that was on purpose to give him a look out of our typical rotation but, again, the rotation had nothing to do with the competitive level in the first half.”

Now, I don’t quite get it – it’s not like Pietrus is part of any long-term plans and just over three minutes of action is hardly a way for someone to prove himself but, what the heck, it’s not my decision to make.

And Dwane’s right, his sudden appearance had nothing to do with Toronto’s complete second quarter capitulation.

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Seeing a bit more

Now, it’s not like another point guard who is from Spain or something was out there running stuff but we did see far more high screen-roll stuff last night than we have in a very long time.

Specifically with Valanciunas, who had one of his best games in some time.

One thing though: I think Jonas has to learn to set the screen – and the point guard has to set him up to set the screen – a bit closer to the basket.

A couple of times, I remember one with Telfair near the end of the third quarter, he was so far from the basket the defence had all kinds of time to react to his roll.

But it was a good thing to see.

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More?

Just a wee bit, they’ll be calling my flight soon.

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All right, Canada Music Week, right?

So let’s go back a bit and a question:

Who do you prefer?

Neil?

Or Joni?

Enjoy both.

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All right.

Mock to your heart’s content.

Sitting around yesterday morning and partially being urged by Tall Foreheads who’d prefer I’d be held up to ridicule, got one of those bracket things filled out.

It’s here, please go gentle with the comments and know that there is a little bit of method to my Madness.

And, besides, why not pick Michigan State, maybe it was the Mo Pete influence from last week.

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Oh, and the more has to include the first mail call of the week, it’s pretty empty over at askdoug@thestar.ca and you know how I love to hear from you.

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You know what?

I’m thinking Canada Basketball got it dead right by hiring Lisa Thomaidis to replace Allison McNeill as the head coach of the women’s senior team.

Sure, they could have gone and hired some sexy European name, a man or woman with some big reputation in the FIBA game or they could have probably found some NCAA coach or WNBA assistant who wanted to make her or his name on the international stage on the backs of the Canadian program.

But if we learned anything in the decade that Allison was at the helm, it’s that there is a need for a consistent message from the top of the program and there really needs to be some familiarity in the organization.

Look at Thomaidis’s bona fides in this little story?

CIS coach of the year, a decade of working with the national team; she was a player in both the CIS and Europe and I’d say those credentials stack up with any of the other applicants. And would be far, far better than some.

Now, it’s not going to be an easy job – I don’t know how many of the women from the London Olympics team want to go four more years – but there is a tremendous group coming up behind them that’s been through a handful of Canada Basketball developmental and junior programs, players that Thomaidis is familiar with.

Solid hire, all around.

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Man, if I didn’t have a friend or two in Cleveland, I would be full of glee at what LeBron James did to the Cavs last night.

And specifically Dan Gilbert.

Now, I detested the way in which James left Cleveland – The Decision was one of the most ill-advised PR moves in the history of PR but the way Gilbert reacted was equally embarrassing.

And for him to be showing even any kind of olive branch to James – who can become a free agent again after next season and whose return to Cleveland is being whispered about – makes me sick.

Wish I could have seen Gilbert’s face every time James hit a three-pointer.

I bet it was priceless.

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Okay, if USAir, Air Canada and LaGuardia don’t screw me up -- yeah, like that trifecta is going to come in – should be on the ground in time to see the first March Madness game.

And, yes, it will bore me.

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Comments

[RK]

It would be a real pleasure seeing you in Slovenia! Hopefully the Tall Foreheads will at least consider sending you out here. And our local breweries are more than capable to satisfy your thirst....:)
Rasho is doing one hell of a job promoting the competition, all while being his usual relaxed and endearing self.
Hope you drop by for a visit.
Thanks for your hard work.

Blogger's note: I would love to

[Derek]

Morning Doug (or Ghost Doug - LOL),

I'm curious, now that we're a couple of months removed from the big Rudy Gay trade, what is your opinion on whether or not that trade made Toronto a better team than it was previously?

There was an initial improvement in the first couple of weeks after the trade, then a trend the other way in the weeks following.

I wasn't thrilled with the trade when it initially happened, was cautiously optimistic (and hoped I was wrong) when the Raps went on their initial run after the trade, but unfortunately now I feel that my original concerns were well placed.

Friends who know far more about basketball than I do, warned me about Gay's "high volume, low percentage" shooting, and that certainly seems to be the case. Plenty was made about the close friendship between Gay and Lowry, but that doesn't seem to have translated to any great chemistry on the court.

Given the cost (draft pick, big money contract and the loss of a young player I really liked in Davis), if you were sitting in BC's shoes at the time (seeing what you've seen thus far), do you make that trade?

Personally as a fan, I liked the chemistry the team had, and I'd have been alot more optimistic going into next year with Davis, a draft pick and cap flexibility than I am with the present situation.

Following on your theme, I'm afraid I see myself turning into a "ghost fan" next year. Ghost me shows you where I should be - in my season ticket seat, wearing a jersey I bought and buying concessions at the game - but the real me is at home, occasionally checking the scores online once a week with waning interest in a team that seems to have turned into "Charlotte North".

Blogger's note: Made them different; not necessarily better

[Star Analytics Dept, Desk 358 Mumbai]

Greetings Ghost Smith,

A little humour at our expense, nice touch.

But rest assured, the algorithm to replace you is almost done. We are just tweaking the snarkiness quotient and adjusting the humour. It won't be long now.

[David in Oakville]

Good Morning Doug,

E. Smith made a good point last night that I imagine (but have not checked) the stats bear out. An unintended consequence of the Gay trade has been the drop off in bench / second unit scoring. With Jose & Ed Davis gone, the second unit relies on individual efforts and never manages to establish a rhythm. While it is still a small sample size, the Gay trade does not seem to have substantially improved this team. Looking at what is left, the Raps will be hard pressed to reach the lower end of our expectations for wins (unless we get some garbage wins against teams resting their stars for the playoffs).

Truthfully, about the only thing I am looking forward to is the return of Jose and the start of the playoffs.

[Geoff Read]

Neil Young or Joni Mitchell? I like both a lot. They were and are hugely influential musicians and you could make the case that when they appear on stage together with the Band in "The Last Waltz" that you are seeing perhaps the three most influential popular musicians in Canadian history - Young, Mitchell, and Robbie Robertson.

That said, here is an observation about some shared characteristics of the two that are not so flattering: both are narcissists, both are egomaniacs, both are self-centered, and both sometimes treat other people, including their fans and fellow musicians, quite poorly.

Don't care about the NCAA. Never have. It's better than College football because at least the best teams play each other in a tournament (is there anything stupider than the bowl and ranking system?) but the college game is so inferior to the NBA I just can't be bothered.

[DaveB]

I did visit Slovenia a couple of years ago. It is a beautiful country with great and friendly people. The scenery is great from the Julian Alps to Lake Bled. Ljubljana is a very nice city with a mixture of the old and the new. I strongly encourage The Star to have a Basketball grunt at these games.

I hope you connections work for you and that you have a safe flight home.

[Mike D.]

Doug, since ghost behaviour is programmed into the applicable system after consultation with the real professionals, can you please clarify for us how the Ghost Irregulars respond to a fairly non-controversial post like today's? Do they agree with your comments on the Raptors or simply ignore them and rant about losing to Charlotte? Applaud your bracket picks or become embroiled in a 50-response flame war on the expected outcome of March Madness? Without consulting the IrregularVu system we're not sure what we should be doing.

Blogger's note: As always, they will do as they wish

[Alan C.]

Pietrus for 3 minutes, but no Kleiza at all -- does that make any sense to you?

Blogger's note: If you read the top of the blog, sure; what if they want to make sure Linas is healthy in July

[AT]

Why not give Pietrus a look? If you can find good veteran guys that can take the 9-12 spots at league min but can also step in for injuries, it makes sense. Use the money at improving 1-7/8. One of the main problems with this team was too many role players 3-12.

[Avinash]

Excellent music choices - impossible to choose between the two. Thanks!

[KX]

Ever plan on an IGBT for a NCAA game? I think it will be cool.

Blogger's note: You might be on to something

[O.J.]

Do you think BC would consider moving Lowry in the offseason if he doesn't show much these last few games, or do you think he would be concerned about upsetting his best player, Rudy Gay? I definitely think the off-season (maybe in a deal with Bargs) would be a better time to seek a trade rather than mid-season. Do you envision Ross one day supplanting Demar in the starting lineup do to his ability to extend defenses with his 3 pt shooting?

Blogger's: Anything's possible

[Rob.V]

When Pietrus came into the came I was absolutely dumbfounded! There is no logical reason to play him at this point.

- No reason to showcase him.
- Keep him sharp?- for what?
- No significant foul trouble to have to go that deep.
- Agent/Players request? Maybe.

An absolute head scratcher. SMH!

Rudy had 4 turnovers last night and Kyle had 5. Rudy has coughed up the ball 13 times over the last 3 games. Tough to win like that.

They're going to have to get Rudy the ball in the low post more where (extensive) dribbling is not required. One or two bounces on the way to the hoop. That's it, nothing more.

Neil! You'll never hear such a bad (technically speaking) voice sound so good. With the really great artists it's never really about technical ability. It's style, and Neil always had a really great "style" of singing. Jagger, Kurt Cobain, at first listen you would swear they were the worst singers of all time, and they very well may be. Same with Neil, but they're really good at being bad!

[Peter]

@Rob V.

There is ONE logical reason to play Pietrus at this point. The season is over, he's been glued to the bench, they have nothing to lose by playing him, and it shows him some respect for working hard in practice, and not making a public scene about his role. According to Doug, they told Linus he's not playing, so maybe they did the rounds and told Pietrus, thanks for being you, we'll let you play a little bit out of respect for you.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

Not only did Rudy cough up 4 TO's last night, he had the cajones to yap at Amir after the last one. Amir made a move toward the hoop, and Rudy threw the pass behind him – that's on the passer! (Unless he was passing to Amir's ghost position, of course.)
Actually, Rudy should be showering nothing but high praise on Amir and thanking him for carrying the team-load of heart and ethic he does night in and night out. I've never seen Amir quit on a play (let alone 20) to stand around and bitch about a non-call. Okay, I have seen him throw a mouth guard; but that was WAY after a whistle or two; the only thing in play there was, well, more heart and ethic.
Cheers. Go Jays!

[gavin]

I dont know Doug I think these past few games are saying alot about the coach. They are making the same lazy inbound, out-pass give aways that they were making in November. And the effort in Charlotte was awful. Wasnt Casey brought in to change the culture of this club? Looks like the same club as all years past, totally check out once the playoffs are out of reach. This is the same team that was hot once Rudy came over. Then they lack effort once the playoffs push is done.

[sam]

Turn overs are a problem for Rudy and Kyle - as well as passing to an open man -
Earlier this year Kyle was annointed starting PG and labeled the best player on the team by a few folks. Rudy Gay joins - and now he's named the best player on the team. I'm not sold on either of them.
As Mr Smith often says the team is different - not better, just different.
Different isn't as entertaining to watch....

[KX]

If you're doing the IGBT for March Madness you should do a Gonzaga game. Looking forward to it!

[john]

Can someone explain to me the whole 'different and not better' argument. .333 winning percentage before RG and about a .500 winning percentage with RG. In most math classes that’s better. Lets face it, Jose has not helped Detroit at all so please stop calling him some kind of saviour and he is a free agent in June and ED's numbers are way off what he had here which brings up the whole big numbers on crummy teams theory. Memphis beat OKC yesterday and he had 3 fouls and a whole bunch of zero’s in the box score.
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Gay has shot 55% over the last three games now that teams have to pay a bit of attention to DD. He’s a career 44% shooter. He's played 20 games and everyone wants him traded already?
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Why does everyone keep talking about losing flexibility? They traded $14million to get RG's $18million and now all of sudden they don’t have any flexibility cause they have 4 million more in salary? Kleiza will be amnestied cause that’s all his contract is worth which will give them some room. They were right at the cap before the trade so I don’t see the whole losing flexibility argument.

[Boko]

AT, role players ARE the two most glaring voids to fill now. I don't know which is more important, though: a #2 PG that can actually pass to a teamate, or a #2 C/PF that can actually rebound.

[D-Mac Ottawa]

@john, It's not about Jose or ED – they're gone.
And the rap is not on Jose for Detroit's record. That poor guy's great misfortune was to be traded from a poor team to an even worse team. His recent teams' records have everything to do with Bryan Colangelo and Joe Dumars, and nothing to do with Jose Calderon. Otherwise, it's like saying Detroit is a bad team because Jose is its point guard – so does that mean the Heat are a great team because Mario Chalmers is their point guard? Um, don't think so.
The problem in Raptorland remains that this still isn't a team – it's still a disjointed collection of miscellaneous parts. There's no really discernible engine or theme or plan or any clear connection between the dots. A third of the parts are pretty usable; another third can't be used, because they're perennially or long-term injured; and the other third is projected to be gone, either because their contracts are up or because they don't figure into whatever the long-term "organic growth" "plan" might happen to be.
And after the typical nice start that happens when you insert new blood into a line-up (how many 10-dayers and mid-season newcomers have we seen come in and have a career night and then, 10 days later... they're gone or buried at the end of the bench?), we're now seeing that this current collection of parts plays no better together than the season's starting collection of parts – and sometimes worse, and they're usually far less entertaining, win or lose.
So, from where I sit, BCo's job this summer is no different or easier than it's been any other summer – bring in yet more new bodies, hopefully, for once, with some idea about why and how they might fit together well enough to actually play effectively WITH each other. Only then do you have a team.
The Raps are different right now – they can score but they give any extra scoring right back with way too many turnovers, they either can't or won't defend well for any length of time, and the drop in assists is your best indication that they aren't playing well together as a TEAM. So, no, they're not better.
No one could have watched last night's game, or any of the past week's games, and argue otherwise. When a Raps-Bobcats game can make March Madness look good, that's bad news. It's even worse news for the locals to be labelled "Charlotte North" – and I think @Derek absolutely nailed it there.
Cheers. Go Jays!

[GM]

Different, not better... How about different and worse? If you take away that dreadful 4-19 start, the Raps were just as good or better than they are since the trade. And certainly played a more entertaining brand of basketball. It's awful now. In my opinion, that is, lest anyone think I'm stating fact. It's kind of disillusioning. I thought they had a good nucleus to move forward but now I'm not so sure.

[J]

@john:

You're joking right? I was and am still for the trade and your arguments are ridiculous.

"ED's numbers are way off what he had here which brings up the whole big numbers on crummy teams theory."

Actually, it brings up the whole playing bench minutes behind Zach Randolph theory. If you weren't for some inexplicable reason trying to compare apples to oranges (i.e. more playing time to less playing time), you'd notice that Ed is actually scoring and rebounding at roughly the same rate, while his block numbers have been much improved.

"They were right at the cap before the trade so I don’t see the whole losing flexibility argument."

Flexibility is sometimes overrated, but your comparison is not only near-sighted, it depends on comparing $14 mil to $18 mil and calling them the same. Yes, clearly if we re-signed Calderon at ~$11 mil next year, our cap situation would only be $4 mil better than with Gay (and there are situations where that would actually be very important), but that's your narrative and a strange one to force others to adopt. When people mention losing flexibility, they obviously mean losing the flexibility to either re-sign Calderon at a more affordable rate (in which case there might be a cap difference of another $4 mil or more on top of the existing $4 mil) or to not re-sign him and use the cap room on someone else. There's your flexibility.

"333 winning percentage before RG and about a .500 winning percentage with RG. In most math classes that’s better."

Ever heard of sample size? Since you apparently have no problem at using a three-game sample size for your following argument, allow me to do something similar. In our 22 games after the Rudy Gay trade, we are 10-12 (.454). In the 22 games before the Atlanta game (which was affected by the trade), we were 12-10 (.545). If you're going to try to extrapolate a 22 game stretch into a season long pace, then it's just as credible to say we were already a .500 team after we worked out our early season kinks. Thus, different, but not necessarily better.

"Gay has shot 55% over the last three games now that teams have to pay a bit of attention to DD. He’s a career 44% shooter."

I've been long arguing that Gay's last several seasons is more indicative of his ability than this year's blip, but why is it that teams "have to pay a bit of attention to DD" only the last three games, and not, say, the last six or seven? Because Gay had a couple ugly games before the last three? So arbitrary.

[J]

@Boko:

While I agree on the positions, I'd argue that it's our starting PG and PF/C that are the most glaring voids if we intend on being more than just a contender for the last two playoff spots next season. I don't care if we improve the PG spot from outside or with much improved play from our incumbent, but we need more consistency and value (above and beyond someone who just repeatedly dumps the ball to Gay) from the position. And while I think Amir is the current heart of the team, we'd be a better team if we could afford to have him be our 3rd big, backing up the 4/5 for 24 minutes a game.