Some interesting numbers, both good and bad

Another first.

Don’t think I’ve ever posted a game-story or anything to the blog while riding some kind of mass transit but we’re on the BART coming back from Oakland to San Francisco, it was getting late and sleep beckoned and there you have it, a gamer from a subway car.

Ain’t technology grand?

Anyway …

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THREE POINTERS

A big change

You probably noticed, because you’re all astute observers of the game when you’re not chatting with me at the IGBT, that the Raptors spent a large part of the game playing with a traditional two-bigs lineup.

Whether it was Bargnani-Johnson or Johnson-Valanciunas or Bargnani-Valanciunas or the few minutes it was Bargnani-Gray, there wasn’t a whole lot of “small” ball with either Fields or Anderson at the four.

And, funnily enough, last night was the first game in 10 games that the Raptors out-rebounded an opponent.

Yeah, really.

Now, I can see times when small works but sometimes I think they might rely on it too much.

And last night it helped them to stay big, even it didn’t help them enough to win the game. No, the lax defence was mostly wing- and guard-related; having a couple of bigs out there didn’t kill them.

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Too little help

Oh yeah, 118 points is nice and a lot of guys had big scoring nights but still …

The Raptors only had 16 assists in the entire game and that’s not nearly good enough.

Too few of the basket were the “easy” kind you get when you swing the ball and make the extra pass and get a layup or some totally uncontested shots and it’s a dangerous precedent and speaks to the “ball sticking” tendencies of this offence.

Dwane was talking early in day about how well the ball swung on Saturday; he had to be dismayed when he looked at the number after the game.

They need to figure that out with this group because there will be nights when shots aren’t falling and they’ll need ball and person movement and right now, they don’t get nearly enough of it.

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A big, big night

Without doing a lot of video or statistical research (it’s about 5:30 in the morning out here, gimme a break) I’d say that was Amir Johnson’s best game in a very long time.

Check this out, thanks to some tweeter stuff I saw late last night:

Johnson had 12 offensive rebounds and it’s the first time since 1995 and only the eighth time in NBA history that someone’s put up those offensive rebounding numbers while coming off the bench.

What I liked most is how active and strong he was; the Raptors really can’t afford to send more than one, maybe two, guys to the offensive boards because they’re transition defence is suspect and they need everyone to get back.

For Johnson to stick around basically on his own and in traffic and put up those numbers is pretty impressive.

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Of course there’s more.

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And this seems apropos, no?

(I have no idea how I think of these things. Really. Glen Campbell?

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Hmm.

This is kind of troubling, the news that some hotel chains are going to make it a bit tougher to use “points” for free stays.

As you may know, I’m a Marriott guy pretty much through and their points program is like a renewable resource.

I build them up, Super Son and Super Wife use ‘em up (you think I want to fly or drive somewhere and stay in a hotel on vacation?) and we repeat the process annually.

Now, I’m not about to give up my points/rewards gig with the chain and their service is exemplary and consistent and that’s great because you don’t want a lot of hotel surprises when you get on the road.

Still …

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Funnily enough, neither in Milwaukee nor San Francisco have I been able to keep up on the Brier.

Who’s winning?

And if you’re talking about white noise television, doesn’t curling absolutely take the cake? You have to pay attention for, what, about four minutes an end? And even then, you don’t really have to because you’ll hear the volume of the voices go up when things get good or important.

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Another hotel question.

How come you can stand at a bathroom sink, turn on a tap and water comes pouring out like nobody’s business and then you step back three feet and the shower has zero water pressure?

I need some engineering help here.

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Okay, on this list of old-time dramas, where’s this one rank?

I’m saying behind Cannon and Kojak and maybe ahead of Mannix but no one’s ever going to top the Rockford Files but Karl Malden was pretty cool.

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I have a bone to pick with someone.

You know on these trips with days off between games we’re always trying to figure out how we’ll spend those days, especially in nice weather where there’s something like, say, SPRING TRAINING BASEBALL to watch?

Well, we get the first look at this week’s schedule and the HOTH are suppose to work from 11 a.m. to about 1 p.m. in Phoenix and since we don’t land until after noon we’re thinking: “Good, get the stuff written off post-game stuff in San Francisco, miss practice due to time and we’ll find some cool way to kill the afternoon.”

But, noooooooo.

The brainiacs switch practice from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Phoenix, we can get there to hang out at it, it’ll take a couple of hours after to write and, boom, there goes a day.

Thanks, folks.

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Comments

[sam]

It was good to read that Andrea had a strong night - I can only assume his defense matched his offense. Hats off to Amir as well. To me he is the unsung hero of this years edition of the team...

[Rob.V]

What was that???

I just watched the game so the sting is fresh. The 3rd quarter saved my soul for about 12 minutes however that was one of (if not the worst) games of the season.

Yup, that was a game for all of those who say they would prefer a free flowing game over say a defensive 2 point struggle (win or lose) against a Memphis or Indiana team. Please remember how terrible that was last night. TERRIBLE!!!

Buddy ball for 3 quarters, and like needles in my eyes. Games like that seriously make me "not" want to renew my season seats next year.

This team is regressing defensively, and one wonders if the players have given up on the season.

That's your fathers Raptors right there. That's the history of Toronto Raptors basketball right there. That was a "flashback" to about 12-13 years of garbage we've had to endure and frankly basketball I never, ever, EVER want to see again from this franchise.

I want veterans this summer. I want pros. Pros with experience that know HOW TO WIN (what a concept?). MLSE needs to go into luxury tax territory if need be (if only for a season to earn some respect back from it's fans). We're loyal, and patient... but enough is enough. I know we don't have money to spend this summer, but vet's, vet's... and more vet's please!

Now, I don't think games like that resemble anything close to what coach asks so they are going to get a pass, but lets hope they want to compete on the defensive end in Phoenix on Wed night.

Make no mistake about it, these are serious losses. No, not for this season however this franchise should be on "high alert" over the past 3 games because losing is one thing - defensive "compete level" is entirely another issue.

Some players may have quit, but lets make sure we're taking notes too... and get them the hell out of here!.

The effort (or lack thereof) on D is entirely unacceptable!

I don't care if it's a 59-58 loss in Phoenix but there had better be a solid 45 minutes of defense played with minimal lapses.

There can be NO QUIT for this team this year, NONE!.

[john]

Hey Doug, I have thought that Amir was better coming off the bench in the long run. He doesn’t have the post game they need. He's trying to be a stretch 4 shooting 15 footers when they really need him to develop some 'go to' post moves.
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I missed the game but read the game story on NBA.com and they are piling on now. Here is a quote
"THE STAT: The game continued a strange trend for Bargnani and the Raptors; Toronto is now 0-10 this season in games where the former No. 1 overall pick scores 19 or more points. Of course, Bargnani's non-existent defense on his opposite number might have something to do with it."
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The guy finally hits some shots so they burn him for defence like he is the only guy on the floor!

[Tabber]

Brier standings courtesy TSN:

Newfoundland and Labrador Brad Gushue 5 0
Ontario Glenn Howard 4 0
Northern Ontario Brad Jacobs 4 1
Quebec Jean-Michel Menard 4 1
Manitoba Jeff Stoughton 3 1
Northwest Territories/Yukon Jamie Koe 3 2
New Brunswick James Grattan 2 3
Saskatchewan Brock Virtue 2 3
Alberta Kevin Martin 1 3
British Columbia Andrew Bilesky 0 4
Nova Scotia Paul Flemming 0 5
Prince Edward Island Eddie MacKenzie 0 5

No surprises except Kevin Martin is having a tough time with the new rocks, and Gushue and Jacobs may be finally moving up to the elite - I said may be.

Blogger's note: Kevin Martin is 1-3? Shocker. No Wrench? Or Gowsell?

[DMcG]

Bargnani played a very good all around game, including being possibly the best defender on the team last night.
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Rudy is a black hole on offense, and continues to be nonchalant on defense outside of his few steal/block highlights.
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I don't understand why coach Casey leaves Lucas in the game for as long as he does sometimes, especially when defense is the problem. Try as he may, he gets abused by whoever he tries to cover.
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The hotel shower issue is about regulators in the shower heads to reduce water usage. Some are removable plastic inserts (after original manufacturing add-ons?) that easily slide out, but newer ones seem to have these regulators made as fixtures in the head.

[Alex L]

Hey Doug probably a low flow shower head installed. I recommend bringing your own in your luggage and replacing the shower head during your stay.

[David T (Ottawa)]

I hear you Doug,

Air Canada "status"es have changed dramatically in the last year: 35K miles used to give Star Alliance "Gold" status, and perks therein. Now it's "Silver" status, the perks are all "pick 1 of 2" options and so on.

At the root, it's just value-added stuff (though I'm sure it's built into the price...), but that sort of thing made semi-frequent travel more palatable, hence helps it stay semi-frequent rather than avoided-whenever-possible.

There goes my free lunch!

[Danny Himmel]

Speaking of low flow shower heads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlrtQb24Qxw

I might rate Streets of San Francisco a little higher than you. You also need to add The FBI and Dragnet to that list.

DannyFromFreddy

[Sharkey]

I asked a hotel manager why there's no pressure in any hotel showers once. He told me all the hotels do it to save on the water bills. Which kind of makes sense when you think about how many showers are in a giant hotel.

Raptors comment...ugh. It's going to be a long final month.

[Geoff]

I sure agree that Bargs may have been the best defender out there last night and that Rudy is a big black hole. Whenever he touches the ball it's dribble, dribble, dribble. Shades of Bosch when he got the ball. And 6 turnovers! Any opinions on whether Rudy's game can change and he starts to pass more in time?

[Sam Merrifield]

Playoffs, we hardly knew you.

GO BC GO!! Keep building teams that are oh so close, oh so far!

We'll still support you!

[KX]

Enjoyed the crowd last night at Oracle Arena but I gotta say the concave ceiling is a bit depressing for someone sitting in the upper bowl. Great game nonetheless.

[Marcus]

An astute observation on how many guys should go for the offensive rebound leaving few to defend if they do not get it.
Lowry continues to "rebound suck". The minute a shot goes up he is running in under the basket and leaving his man. He is also doing the same thing on the defensive end. It makes the stat line look good but he is too small to be a factor amongst the trees. If the other team gets the rebound he is left crossing half court as the ball is going up at the other end.
One other factor when Demar, Gay or Lowry do not get a call going to the basket they are constantly yapping at the officials and not getting back. This leads to odd man breaks which usually results in the other team scoring. This is something the coaching staff must address.

[Omari]

I thought it interesting that Billups had a conversation with Lowry recently and told him not to blow the chance Toronto has given him as lead point guard (and to see Lowry posted a near triple double yesterday and another in the Milwaukee game.) Lowry definitely needs to take heed of Billups' advice as someone who was in a similar situation in Detroit. It may have been Billups' last chance to really turn his career around and become one of the better pg's in the game when he was given the opportunity as lead guard with the Pistons.

Blogger's note: Check the date on that conversation; not quite as "recent" as you'd think

[Matt M]

One day soon I hope that Casey hands the reigns to Valancunias and Ross (and to a lesser extent Acy) instead of just paying lip service to playing for the future when asked by the Toronto media. I could see the current rotation being acceptable if the Raptors had decent results from playing the veterans a lot, but given their record that clearly isn't the case. I'm pretty sure JV and Ross could have easily given up 46 points in the fourth just as well as the veteran players did last night and maybe have some experience to show for it. Fifteen and eight minutes is unacceptable for where the Raptors are at right now.

[Steve]

"One other factor when Demar, Gay or Lowry do not get a call going to the basket they are constantly yapping at the officials and not getting back."

I actually think that Demar has wound back on this a lot this year. Lowry and Gay not so much but they are just getting used to this part of being a Raptor ;).

[Lorie]

Nothing can touch The Rockford Files. But any show with Robert Stack comes close, so my number two is "The Name Of The Game" (anyone remember it? Gene Barry, Tony Fraciosa and Robert Stack...late 60's. Remember it as being very cool) and "The Untouchables" is number three. And, Go Brad Gushue and your team from Newfoundland and Labrador. Always liked Brad ever since, after winning the Gold for Canada at the 2006 Turin Olympics, he immediately called his mom who I think wasn't well at the time and couldn't travel to Italy to watch him play. And she cried, and he cried and everyone watching in my house cried. Such a sweet moment. Lackadaisical water pressure woes? Not unusual. In fact, far too frequent. And so I've been travelling with my own shower head for awhile now. (Doesn't have to be the most expensive one out there...just be sure it has unrestricted flow...) And until today I was sort of embarrassed to admit doing it. But, now I read that I'm not the only one. The things we can discover here! This place continues to amaze. Now, work's done and I'm looking for some baseball - either Spring Training or World Baseball Classic but right now the several sports channels I pay for are offering soccer (actually a pretty good match between Man U and Real Madrid), darts, tennis, poker and a replay of Maple Leafs Action from last freaking season. Sigh. Guess I'll take the dog for a walk.

[doug]

low flow shower heads...all it does to me is bring back memories of a classic Seinfeld episode...Raps on the road out-west where they have a atrocious track record, relax people we'll be fine...cheers...