Ron Turenne/Getty Images

July 3, 2009, Adrian Wojnarowski:

“Turkoglu had agreed on a five-year, $50 million deal with the Blazers, but changed his mind and is headed for a five-year, $53 million deal with the Raptors. Toronto would have to renounce three free agents – Shawn Marion, Carlos Delfino and Anthony Parker – to create the cap space for Turkoglu.”

This is a surprise, and I’m not happy. It’s not that Turkoglu is a bad player; it’s that I think this is a bad signing. He’s 30 already, was never really worth $10 million a year, and the thought of renouncing all the free agents and losing the right to use the mid-level and bi-annual exceptions makes me sick. Assuming everything goes forward as I expect it to, my home team will look like this:

PG: Jose Calderon, Roko Ukic, Marcus Banks
SG: DeMar DeRozan
SF: Hedo Turkoglu
PF: Chris Bosh, Reggie Evans, Kris Humphries
C: Andrea Bargnani, Patrick O’Bryant

Of course, that’s only 10 guys. 11 if you count guard Quincy Douby, who is on the team but has a contract is not guaranteed. The remainder of the roster must be filled with minimum salary players. And while it is certainly possible to Morey it, finding a rotation player with only a minimum deal at your disposal is a difficult thing to do.

The roster has gaping holes. Point guard depth, wing play, rebounding, and athleticism were lacking in 2008-2009. The only player I’d be comfortable calling a “good defender” here is the third-string point guard. As much as I love the DeMar DeRozan pick, I am terrified of counting on just him and minimum salary guys to fix all of this. Turkoglu represents an offensive upgrade over Shawn Marion, but downgrading in rebounding and defense makes little sense for this squad.

I don’t see this team making the playoffs and, if I’m right, I don’t see Chris Bosh wanting to stay in Toronto. And if I’m right about that, well… fuck. I don’t want to be right about that. He might be the best player this franchise has ever had and I can’t bear to see him leave as he approaches his prime. Blah.

July 9, 2009, Chad Ford & Marc Stein:

The Dallas Mavericks and Toronto Raptors, living up to the wild tenor of the past few weeks in the NBA, have hatched a complicated sign-and-trade arrangement that went through numerous constructions Wednesday before resulting in an agreement in principle that will send Shawn Marion to Dallas and absorb the Raptors’ much-anticipated signing of Hedo Turkoglu.

This is a surprise, and… wow. Memphis facilitated another big deal? Didn’t Otis Smith say he wouldn’t do a sign-and-trade? Antoine Wright’s coming, too? Devean George’s agent can’t nix this, right?

The deal means that the Raptors don’t have to renounce their free agents and they get to keep their mid-level and bi-annual exceptions. Bryan Colangelo was prepared to fill the roster out with minimum salary guys, but now he doesn’t have to. Suddenly, the future isn’t quite so bleak. I still don’t like Turkoglu’s contract, but he can play. Anthony Parker’s rumoured to be headed to Cleveland, but he loves Toronto and maybe he’ll spurn them like Turk spurned Portland. Delfino’s a decent wing guy and it seems like he wants to come back. I’ve heard Rasho Nesterovic would probably take the bi-annual exception and this team could use his post defense. And there are a handful of players I’d love to sign with the mid-level.

I wonder if Colangelo had been trying to do this all along. It seems crazy that Orlando would help out an Eastern Conference rival like this for a trade exception they might not use. The Raptors have a chance to have a pretty good off-season now. Thank you to whoever gave BC this idea.

July 10, 2009, Dave Feschuk:

“After (the league) said yes … I said, `I’m stunned. This is the first time any of my crazy ideas have ever passed muster with you guys.’ I’ve had a lot of them over the years, `Can we possibly do this, this and this?’ And (the lawyers will) eventually find something to stop it. When they actually said yes, I was very surprised.” – Steve Fruitman

Here’s the guy I have to thank. Of course, it took number-crunching from four teams (five if you include the Chicago Bulls, the team that didn’t end up in the final version of the trade) and the man himself says that Bryan Colangelo “worked his tail off” to get it done, but it seems as if these talks would not have happened without a chartered accountant named Steve Fruitman.

It’s up to Colangelo now to use his newfound flexibility to fix some of the flaws I talked about. I’m very impressed that he got this done while dealing from a position of weakness after committing to Turkoglu, but this means nothing if the rest of the summer is, um, fruitless.

So, what happened between then and training camp?

The biannual exception, as expected, went to Rasho Nesterovic. The mid-level exception was used to sign his teammate from Indiana, Jarrett Jack. Bryan Colangelo was given the go-ahead to essentially buy Marco Belinelli from Golden State, sending Devean George and cash to the Bay Area. The Raptors couldn’t retain Anthony Parker, but they were able to sign Carlos Delfino and trade him and Roko Ukic to Milwaukee, in exchange for Amir Johnson and Sonny Weems. Here’s the Raptors’ roster heading into the season, again excluding Douby and his unguaranteed contract:

PG: Jose Calderon, Jarrett Jack, Marcus Banks
SG: DeMar DeRozan, Marco Belinelli
SF: Hedo Turkoglu, Antoine Wright, Sonny Weems
PF: Chris Bosh, Amir Johnson, Reggie Evans
C: Andrea Bargnani, Rasho Nesterovic, Patrick O’Bryant

Oct. 16, 2009, Kelly Dwyer:

“They can play. They can play solid ball on both ends, help teams, and most of all? They sop up minutes. And what most teams and fans fail to understand when a squad supposedly underachieves is that minutes don’t actually end with the two best players. They trickle all the way down.”

This quote isn’t actually about the 2009-2010 Raptors’ bench, but it may as well be. Not only are two of the players in question from Indiana’s 2008-2009 squad playing for the other side this evening at the Air Canada Centre and Tuesday at Conseco Fieldhouse, I see some parallels between these two clubs.

Last year’s Pacers were one of the league’s most fun teams to watch, even as a non-playoff team. They had the 3rd-fastest pace in the league and played in an abnormal number of close games. They were able to beat teams they probably shouldn’t, securing wins over the Celtics, Lakers, Magic, Cavaliers, and Nuggets. Obviously, it was great to see the continued ascendance of Danny Granger, who made his first All-Star team and won the Most Improved Player award. But even in losses, I always enjoyed the team as a whole, including the reserves. With injuries and role changes, I saw Jarrett Jack, T.J. Ford, Brandon Rush, Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster, Rasho Nesterovic, and Marquis Daniels both start and come off the bench. No matter the combination, the Pacers were worth my time.

Now, back to the Raptors. It’s been a season of highs and lows, but even when people were writing pieces like these and I agreed with them, I loved the bench.

Jan. 30, 2010, Holly MacKenzie:

Jay Triano on the difference between the first few months of the season and now: “We’ve gotten used to each other, where to play guys, what their strengths are. I also think our depth has been a major factor. If we’ve struggled with starts, our second unit has come in and played very well.”

Read that whole thing. Triano mentions Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, Antoine Wright, Rasho Nesterovic, Marco Belinelli, and Jarrett Jack. None of these guys would be here without that Fruitman-inspired four-way trade. All of them have contributed to the Raptors’ recent surge, which has led to people writing pieces like these.

I named Amir Johnson to my All-OTN Team because of his effort early in the season. If you catch a Raptors home game, pay attention to the crowd noise when he checks in and out of the game and you’ll see that the city has fallen in love with him, too. I don’t have much to add to what I wrote about him months ago – aside from Chris Bosh, you could make the case that he’s been the most consistent Raptor this season.

Sonny Weems has been a pleasant surprise. His effort and athleticism on the wing is similar to Johnson’s in the frontcourt. Can’t say he’s been an efficient scorer but he’s fantastic on the break and he’s an active defender. He’s found a role on this club and that’s not bad for a dude who only played 55 minutes all of last season. It’s worth noting that he and my rook DeMar DeRozan are best friends off the court and that he has a highly amusing pre-game dance routine. Seriously, it’s awesome. From the start of the pre-game introductions until the ball is tipped, he does his thing, with just a brief pause for a team huddle. I’ve been to a fair amount of games at the ACC this year and I have yet to get sick of this.

Antoine Wright had a horrific start to the year on the offensive end and I’d still advise you to stay away from his basketball-reference page. Still, he brought toughness and a commitment to defense and was a valuable guy to have in the locker room. Lately, he’s knocking down his open shots and not trying to do too much. I’m not quite ready to say he’s turned the corner, but his play has been encouraging. The Raps probably don’t get that win against Miami the other day if they don’t have Wright guarding Dwyane Wade in the fourth quarter.

You can check Rasho Nesterovic’s basketball-reference page because he has a hilariously awesome PER of 18.9. Unfortunately for Rasho, though, this is mostly a function of small sample size – he’s racked up 22 DNP-CD’s and his 8.9 minutes per game is by far the lowest of his career. As a fan of his heady, underrated game and the way he’s improved throughout his career, it disappoints me to see him riding the pine. I understand it, though – with the way Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani, and Amir Johnson have been playing, it’s hard for Jay Triano to find minutes for Nesterovic. Still, the coach raves about him and you have to love his professionalism. He sits for a few games in a row and, when a matchup or foul trouble dictates that he gets some minutes, he produces. At 33 years of age, but he still has that soft touch, basketball IQ, and post defense. Let’s NBA… occasionally.

Marco Belinelli totally drives me crazy with the shots he takes. Lots of leaners, lots of fadeaways. Often contested, and often from behind the three point line. I’m not sure I’ll ever get completely comfortable with this, but I can’t deny he’s entertaining. Also, about half the times that I yell at him as he shoots, the ball goes in. I haven’t done a study on this, but I’m quite convinced that the difficulty of his shot attempts has no correlation at all with his success rate. He can be a terrific passer, too, which kind of makes up for the fact he’s a liability on D. Oh, and this probably could be a separate post, but there’s kind of a dearth of quality shooting guards in the NBA so having a bad defender at that spot on your bench isn’t that big of a deal.

Jarrett Jack has had the biggest impact of the Raptors’ off-season acquisitions and this is particularly satisfying to me because of the way the season started. For the first three weeks, he struggled to find his place as the team struggled to develop chemistry. His shot was not falling, his assist totals were inconsistent, and he didn’t provide the defensive upgrade Raptors fans were looking forward to. I absolutely loved the signing in the summer and now had to grit my teeth as the Raptors lost games and fans ripped him to shreds online. I still believed in him, but I was worried. He didn’t seem like the same player I had been watching for years. Now, though, all of that is a distant memory. Jarrett supplanted Jose Calderon as the starting point guard when he went down with an injury and even I, a long-time Calderon supporter, can’t argue for changing the rotation now that he’s back. The Raptors’ tear has coincided with Jack getting more minutes and becoming more comfortable with his teammates on the court. He has been doing a great job running the offense (he scripts plays!), getting to the basket, and being a leader. He’s playing his heart out, as he always has, and he’s developed a bond with Amir Johnson, Sonny Weems, and DeMar DeRozan that has led Raptors Security Consultant Willis Richardson to dub them the Young Guns. Raptors fans love him now and I start twitching when I think about where the team would be without him.

And where is this team now? 25-22 heading into this Indiana game, good enough for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. They’re on a 4-game winning streak and they have the league’s 2nd-best record since December 18th. The offense? Elite. The defense? Much improved, even though the early-season incompetence still leaves them dead-last in defensive efficiency on the season. And the bench is producing. They’ve beaten the Cavaliers, Spurs, Magic, Mavericks, and Lakers, with all but that first one (opening night) coming in 2010. With a soft February schedule, the Raptors have a good chance of keeping this momentum going. People are legitimately excited about this team now and I love it. We have an honest-to-goodness entertaining team in this city, with guys who will hustle and can jump out of the gym. Raptors fans, enjoy this. While you’re at it, be very appreciative of Steve Fruitman.

David Liam Kyle/Getty Images

Just two games on the sched, Tuesday night, and I only watched one of them. This doesn’t feel right, and neither does being done with writing by 1:00 AM. A much quicker BfB than normal as we hit the halfway mark of the season.

Cavaliers 108, Raptors 100

• “Conflicted” doesn’t even properly capture how I felt watching LeBron James in this game. Generally, when I watch players I love up against the Raptors, I’m simultaneously rooting for them to do well and for the Raptors to win. It’s weird – things get tricky when it’s a close game and a favourite of mine on the opposing team makes a big play. With LeBron, it’s weird every time I watch him anyway. I feel privileged to watch him as he makes breathtaking plays, and then I get angry as he needlessly hoists up three-pointers. As Twitter favourite Noam Schiller pointed out, LeBron’s shot selection was plain stupid at times. He could score whenever he wanted to on drives or post-ups, but he chose to bail the Raptors out with jumpers on numerous occasions. As a Raptors fan, I was hoping he would jack shots because I knew my team couldn’t stop him otherwise. As a LeBron fan, I wanted to yell, “do that every time!” when he scored around the rim. Every missed jumper had me instinctively frustrated and then thinking, “well, at least the Raptors have a chance.” Unfortunately, the Raps didn’t capitalize on those chances.

• One reason why: Chris Bosh disappeared down the stretch. This bothered me because of the stage: a nationally televised game with essentially no NBA competition. People who don’t watch every Raptors game will have seen this and assumed that this is who Chris Bosh is. After an unbelievable start to the game, he missed his last two field goal attempts in the first half and then went just 2-6 in the second half, almost entirely on jump shots. In the whole game, he only shot 3-4 from the line (he averages 9.2 FTA’s). I feel guilty criticizing Bosh at all with how amazing he’s been all season, but I can’t let him off the hook here. Sure, his coach and his teammates should have made more of an effort to feature him. Sure, he can’t be expected to do it all by himself. But he’s got to demand the ball and he’s got to be aggressive when his team needs a bucket. That doesn’t mean no jump shots – if his man is playing off him, I want him to take the J because he’s so damn good at it. I still don’t think 4 free throw attempts is acceptable, though. And I don’t think franchise players should be held to just 5 points in the second half very often.

• Marco Belinelli and Hedo Turkoglu are going to take years off of my life. I’ve seen both of them at various times described as having “high basketball IQ” but I think that’s basically because they’re European and are good at passing. Seriously, they take some of the most maddening shots I’ve ever seen. Sometimes, they go in. Other times, you know as soon as it leaves their hands that there’s no chance. And I haven’t even mentioned the defensive end of the floor… K, I’m not a hater, I’ll stop there.

• I don’t want to hate on Jay Triano either, for a couple of reasons. First, no one should expect Toronto to beat Cleveland in Cleveland. Second, I think .500 is an acceptable place to be right now with the Raptors’ roster and tough early-season schedule. But, again, I have to complain a bit. I just can’t see the logic for keeping both Jarrett Jack and DeMar DeRozan on the bench for the entire fourth quarter. DeMar was fantastic, scoring 14 points on 10 shots and showing the same aggressiveness that was there against the Knicks the other day. I have learned not to expect his good early minutes to be rewarded with fourth quarter burn, but his play in this one had me hopeful. No dice. Now, Jack: the man started at point guard and scored 11 points on 6 shots, but played less than 22 minutes. I haven’t been a huge fan of the duel point guard lineup that’s received a lot of crunch time minutes for the Raptors this season, but against Mo Williams and Delonte West I’m cool with it. There’s also the fact that Jose Calderon failed to play the same type of ball we’d seen from him in his past couple of games. He missed shots I assumed he would make and he lost Mo Williams on a couple of occasions. I wouldn’t have been mad if he was sent to the bench along with Marco and Hedo.

• Positivity: Antoine Wright was very good for Toronto on both ends. This man took a lot of shit earlier this season, at least online, and I’ll admit that much of it was deserved. In this game, he produced just fine in his 23:49 of action: 12 pts (5-8 FG, 1-1 3PT, 1-3 FT), 5 reb (1 off.), 1 TO. This, while putting in more than respectable work against LeBron on the other end.

• Speaking of LeBron, that guy who I blasted just a few bullet points ago… He barely missed a trip dub: 28 pts (8-18 FG, 0-7 3PT (!), 12-14 FT), 9 reb, 11 ast, 3 blk, 3 stl, 3 TO in 41 minutes. The man is incredible, right?

• Mo Williams had one of his best games of the season. Check the line: 22 pts (7-15 FG, 4-8 3PT, 4-4 FT), 3 reb, 10 (!) ast, 4 TO in 37:37. He remains terrifying to me when he’s left open, but Cleveland fans know his shot has been inconsistent at best. Especially in the last two weeks. On nights like this, when he is hitting his shots AND piling up assists (he averages only 5 a game), Cleveland is going to win the vast majority of the time. And they did here, even though I don’t think the team played very impressive basketball on the whole.

Heat 113, Pacers 83

• I recorded this game and intended to watch it following Raps/Cavs, but the final score is just gross. I asked the internet if it was worth my time and this is what Jared Wade said: “Don’t bother. Flash had 18 in the first. Other than that? Huge waste of time.”

• I feel bad for Pacers fans. They start games terribly so freaking often. Sometimes, they make a run and make things exciting. Against the Raptors and Suns recently, they had huge comeback victories. This time? They were down by 17 after the first and they were outscored in each of the following quarters.

• Some efficient stat lines to look at: Dwyane Wade had 32 points on 20 shots in 31 minutes. Michael Beasley had 21 (on 15 shots) and 10 rebounds, but it took him 40 minutes. Brandon Rush, with his sub-50 TS%, remarkably finished with 17 points (on 10 shots) along with 10 rebounds in 36 minutes.

• Again, I feel bad for Pacers fans.

I took a break from daily recaps last week, but trust me when I tell you I didn’t take a break from watching ball or reading about it. There’s no way I can let a week of action go by without sharing my thoughts, so here’s a mammoth recap. I’ve done this before, using Twitter updates and YouTube videos to guide me. This time, I went through my Delicious bookmarks and picked out a bunch of my favourite links from the week. Took forever, but it’s fun to share the work of some of my favourite writers.

Monday, Dec. 14

“Bucks Fans Respond to Bogut’s Incentive” – Fred Birman takes a look at Squad 6 for the NYT’s Off the Dribble blog.

I’ve linked to an article on Squad 6 before, but you may have missed that and this is a great piece. If you didn’t know, Squad 6 is “a wild cluster of standing, chanting and screaming fans decked out in wigs, sombreros and even a man brandishing a wrestling-style championship belt.” Bucks center Andrew Bogut held auditions for people to be a part of it, and all members go to the games for free. The important thing: you have to stand up the whole game and make noise, or you’re not allowed back. This kicks so much ass.

“Sometimes the truth hurts…” – Matt McHale of By The Horns takes an honest look at his team.

This is a bit of a depressing read, but it shows exactly how Bulls fans had to feel after their team’s performance against the Boston Celtics. It’s hard to follow a team that doesn’t play up to its potential on defense and runs one of the ugliest offenses in the league. These Bulls are not fun to watch, leading to fan frustration that is intensified by the fact that it’s hard to trust the team’s management. One reason that fans don’t trust the management is because of the whole Ben Gordon situation. After messing with their highest-scoring, hardest-working player’s role and minutes for years, they screwed him around in contract negotiations and eventually let him walk for nothing at the end of his rookie deal. Anyway, as McHale covers here, the Bulls really miss Ben Gordon. They had hoped that John Salmons would make up for his absence, but he’s apparently forgotten how to shoot the basketball (38.5 FG%, 32.7 3PT). So has Kirk Hinrich (35.5% FG, 29.6% 3PT). Without Gordon, the Bulls can’t spread the floor properly. The result, so far, has been a team that takes and misses a lot of long, two-point jumpers. Not fun.

“Rose and Vinny on Rose’s role” – Matt of Blog-a-Bull comments on a couple of pieces about Chicago’s young PG.

In addition to fretting over the generally ugly basketball their team has been playing, Bulls fans have been worried about their potential franchise player, Derrick Rose. There’s no sense skirting around the issue: he’s been disappointing this season. At first, his unspectacular play could be blamed on the fact he was coming back from an injury, but it has persisted. The problem is that the flaws we saw last season – poor man and team defense, poor outside shooting, and an only decent ability to create for his teammates – are still there, and his breathtaking drives to the basket are less frequent. Not many Bulls fans are jumping off the bandwagon completely, but few are as excited as they were last season. If you ask me, he’s still got a chance to be one of the very best players in the league. He’s got elite quickness and scoring ability and he’s only 21 years old. I think he’ll get better the year goes on, and, even if he doesn’t, we will see improvements next season. It’s important that he works on his weaknesses in the summer, though. And part of that responsibility is on the franchise that’s paying him – the Bulls have to make sure he is working on the right things so he can develop into the player they want him to be. A coaching change might be a start, here.

“NBA ‘Watchability’ Scale: Ranking Every Team Based On Entertainment, Not Talent” – Mike Prada of Bullets Forever tells us which teams he’s watching on League Pass.

If you somehow missed this last week, you’ll notice immediately that those Bulls I’ve been talking about are right at the bottom, heh. Anyway, as a League Pass addict I loved reading this and agree with the vast majority of what is said here. The Bucks are WAY TOO LOW at #11, though – I’d have Jennings and Co. in a three-way tie with the Rockets and Thunder, right at the top of the list.

“The Day T-Mac Lost The City Of Houston” – Clutch goes over a couple of clips from a Rockets/Raptors game last year that non-Rockets fans might have never seen.

Okay, this is a bit random… but I remember this game well. Not for McGrady’s loafing, although I do remember talking about that. I remember this because I watched this one at Raptors Fan Friday and, surprisingly, it was a blowout in the Raptors’ favour. Once the game was out of hand, Von Wafer had his coming out party, starting a streak of 12-straight double-digit scoring games after a string of DNP-CD’s. I ran into the great J.E. Skeets on the street later that night and we conversed about all things NBA. I drunkenly harassed him about why he hates Mike Bibby so much, but didn’t get a concrete answer. I’m pretty sure I made some absurd claims about how awesome I was at basketball as a 9-year-old living in Australia, too. Good night.

“Who is the MVP at the Quarter Pole?” – Zach Lowe at Celtics Hub says, based on numbers, you could make the case that Rajon Rondo is Boston’s MVP.

“Rondo giving it his best shot” – Gary Washburn takes a look at Rondo and his improving jump shot.

This is just the start of the Rondo love from last week. It’s great, isn’t it? Fine, I know, I know. Most people don’t like Rajon as much as I do. Just let me have this: Rondo is improving on his weaknesses and is possibly, POSSIBLY the key to the Celtics’ hot start.

“Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle Can Probably Beat You At Table Tennis” – Zac Crain shares a video from Dynamic Table Tennis TV.

Maybe it’s just me, but I found this incredibly amusing. I love finding out that NBA people have strange hobbies. This almost beats finding out that Todd MacCulloch has become a professional pinball player. I also love that this isn’t the last weird Carlisle link I have for you this week. Just wait.

“Haslem Accepts New Role, Still Wants To Stay With Heat” – Tim Povtak of NBA FanHouse takes a look at the classy, consistent power forward.

A few telling quotes from and about Udonis in this piece. It’s actually from December 13, so I’m cheating a bit. I think it flew a bit under the radar, though, and you should read it. People don’t talk much about Haslem because his game lacks the, um, flash of some of his teammates, but he is a solid, dependable pro that all 29 other teams would love to have.

“With Blazers Struggling At The Point, Bayless Wants More Minutes” – The Baseline shares a quote from a frustrated second-year player.

There’s really not much to analyze here. Jerryd Bayless wanted more playing time when this was published. Just know that I’m smiling while I type this. If you don’t know why, you absolutely must keep on reading.

“Post-game thoughts: Raptors 101, Rockets 88” – Scott Carefoot of RaptorBlog takes a look at the Raptors’ point guard situation after this Sunday afternoon win.

Carefoot starts this piece by saying there should be no debate about whether or not Jarrett Jack should start at PG for the Raptors. In his view, Jack should start and the Raptors should be looking to trade Jose Calderon. Well, um, I think there is still a debate and I have to disagree with him. I love Jarrett Jack, but he can’t do what Jose Calderon does. Even against good defense, Jose does a tremendous job of running the offense and finding guys shots where they are comfortable. Two years ago, the man should have been an All-Star with the way he was shooting from all areas of the court, distributing the ball, and playing decent defense. Last season? Different story. Jose was hurt all year and couldn’t play D. This season? Well, that’s where things get complicated. His defense has remained pretty awful, although in my opinion he is still easily a net positive because of his offensive play. But it’s led some people, like Carefoot, to reasonably argue that Jack is better for the squad. He’s playing pretty damn well right now as Jose is sitting out with a hip problem. Calderon’s current status is making me question whether or not he was ever healthy this season. The key question here is whether or not we’ll ever again see the guy who should have been an All-Star two years ago. That guy wasn’t close to being the worst defensive PG in the NBA. Jarrett Jack is not nearly as good as that guy. I hope we get him back and this debate ends.

“Wizards’ Arenas missing the mark mentally” – Mike Jones of the Washington Times examines the strange clutch mistakes Gilbert Arenas has been making.

Reading quotes from frustrated players always bums me out. It’s especially upsetting when it comes to Gil, though. The guy was/is known for his immense swagger. Agent Zero isn’t meant to be missing free throws at inopportune times. He isn’t meant to doubt himself. But he’s human, so this stuff is happening. It’s all a part of the comeback process, I guess. More on him later. For now, a few videos before we move on to Tuesday’s stuff:

Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game breaks down Josh Howard’s performance in his return to the court. This is a part of his fantastic Moving Pictures series – watch the others if you haven’t already.

Rockets players meet the Aaron Brooks bobblehead.

Happy Holidays from the Phoenix Suns

Tuesday, Dec. 15

“Carlisle On Mavs: ‘We Make Hard Work Out Of Sex’” – Um, the story is in the title.

Remember I said I had another weird Carlisle link for you? Well, yeah, this is it. If there’s a better (or funnier) way for a coach to express that his team is making things unnecessarily difficult, I haven’t heard it. Just brilliant.

“Chris Paul’s role: Superstar” – Henry Abbott examines what’s going on with Chris Paul and his Hornets, referencing some work done by Niall Doherty of Hornets247.

I feel a bit stupid linking to TrueHoop. Everyone reads TrueHoop. I’m not linking to the Simmons/Gladwell piece from this week, even though I enjoyed it. But then again, I think this Henry Abbott piece might have slipped by some people. It’s an interesting question – could Chris Paul possibly be hurting his team? Could the guy who dragged a team seriously lacking in talent to 49 wins last season be preventing his club from getting more wins now? The answer: um, maybe. Abbott’s intention is obviously not to diminish Paul’s brilliance, but rather to ask if his talents are currently being used properly. Here’s my take: Paul isn’t 100% and he is playing far too many minutes. You’ve no right to be mad at CP3, but if you’re mad at coach Jeff Bower for having him out there for so long, trying to do everything, that’s fine with me.

“The Knicks On Defense: Quarter Season Report” – Bandwagon Knick looks at the Knicks’ D using data from Synergy Sports.

I absolutely love reading pieces like this one. I’m definitely a stat geek and I think this kind of highly specific data helps us understand the game better. If you haven’t caught many Knicks games this season (and I wouldn’t blame you if that was the case), you’ll learn a lot. I’m especially appreciative that this post is focusing on DEFENSE, as that side of the game is so damn hard to quantify. I wish this info was available for every team in the league… well, actually it is, but it’s not cheap.

“So many deck chairs, so little time- 2009-2010 Golden State Warriors season through 24 games” – Jae from Golden State of Mind provides a harsh but fair critique of the Warriors’ start to the season.

I can’t say I actually enjoyed reading this, even though it’s excellent. Nellie’s Warriors have long been one of my favourite teams to watch, but this season they mostly frustrate me. I love Curry, Ellis, Randolph, and Morrow, but I don’t love the sloppy basketball they’re playing. Jae tells fans to let go of their playoff hopes if they still have them and can’t find a single bright spot in the season aside from Stephen Curry, kinda. Damn.

“GM 24 Recap – Snapped” – Philadunkia examines how the Sixers finally ended their losing with with a win over Golden State.

“Game Notes: Warriors at Sixers” – Tzvi Twersky of SLAM gives an account of his experience at the game.

Oh, this was a fun game for me. I’d been waiting for Philly to get a damn W. The best part was how A.I. played; here are a couple of quotes:

“What really impressed us is that he looked like he is finally getting his legs under him. He was quick, active and used his legs to go into his jumper instead of fading away. Getting his left knee drained twice may have helped and we’re sure having a couple days off did not hurt either.” – Philadunkia

“AI doesn’t seem upset that he’s not getting the ball too much (he’s playing off the ball, and goes plays at a time without touching it). He seems happy just to be playing meaningful minutes. Got to love that.” – Tzvi Twersky

There are a couple of things I don’t like, going back and reading these. Elton Brand only played 16 minutes off the bench in this one, even though he was effective. Oh, and Ivey’s knee problem has meant he’s only played one game since. Blah.

“The difference between admiration and awe” – The Roy Halladay trade inspired Scott Carefoot to think about Chris Bosh’s place in the hearts of Toronto fans.

The basic argument here is that, while Chris Bosh is certainly popular in Toronto, the fans don’t love him the same way they loved Roy Halladay or Vince Carter. If Bosh leaves town, they will be disappointed but not utterly devastated. Living in Toronto, this rings true to me. It’s unfortunate because you can make a very good case that Bosh is playing better basketball this year than VC ever has. The love we had for Vince here can hardly be overstated, though. We loved him like Philly loves Allen Iverson and Cleveland loves LeBron James. There was a time when he was the most exciting player in the world and we all took great pride in having him play in our city. With Bosh, it’s not quite the same and Carefoot captures that perfectly. As for Halladay? Wrong sport for me, sorry. But Wagman threw up on the street after finding out he was gone.

“Blair still a great unknown” – Jeff McDonald shares a couple of great quotes about rookie DeJuan Blair from Coach Popovich.

Rookie love, people. I dig it. The key Pop quote is here: “He’s a strange dude. Those things he does out there, I don’t know how he gets them done. I don’t know what his game is. I don’t know what to do with him.” This is hilarious to me. One of the best coaches in our game is saying even he doesn’t understand how Blair gets it done. The point is that Blair doesn’t really have any post moves, lacks height, lacks elite athleticism, but somehow manages to grab rebounds better than almost anyone in the league and score well around the basket. Pop doesn’t run any plays for Blair; he just throws the guy out there and hopes he delivers. The vast majority of the time, he does.

“Is Al Horford playing out of position or just creating a new one?” – Peachtree Hoops’s must-read on Al Horford’s improvement and where he fits with the future of the center position.

So good. The idea is that, even though Horford is a non-traditional center, he matches up favourably with almost every 5 in the league. With the way he’s producing and the wins the Hawks are piling up, it’s hard to argue this point. And all of this makes me happy. I was a bit worried about him when he didn’t make the second-year leap I expected him to. Turns out we just needed to wait a year.

“Sit down for this: NBA’s vital signs checking in just fine” – Ken Berger says that, despite attendance being down, there might be more NBA fans than you think.

Really interesting read. It sucks that so many arenas have so many empty seats, but at least people still seem to care about the league. It’s encouraging to know that TNT’s NBA ratings are up. The question becomes, then, how is the NBA going to make money off its new, young fans? Surely, a huge portion of the NBA’s 1.7 million Twitter followers are not coming to games. How many of these fans are shelling out the cash for League Pass Broadband? Can the NBA make up for the lost ticket revenue in other ways? I don’t know, I’m just asking questions here.

Wednesday, Dec. 16

“Recap: Cavs 99, Nets 89 (Or, That Was Just As Good As Any Other Regular Season Win! Technically Speaking!)” – John Krolik of Cavs: The Blog gives some insight into the Cavs/Nets game from the night before.

First, I have to say you should always Krolik’s stuff. Really, you should read all of the people I’m linking to here, but I’m mentioning Krolik in particular because I always feel like I’ve learned a lot when I read his stuff. I’ll admit that, despite LeBron’s awesomeness, the Cavs would not crack the top 10 in my watchability rankings. This means I miss more of their games than, say, Thunder games. I basically feel like I’ve watched the games after I read his detailed recaps, though. Anyway, the key thing that stands out here to me: Krolik appreciates Jamario Moon’s rebounding and believes that this skill would be key in small-ball lineups that feature LeBron James at the 4. He also implies that Mike Brown should, you know, actually play LeBron at the 4. I’m 100% with him on this. I loved the Jamario signing at the time (and the Parker one, too) mainly because it would allow James to get more minutes as a PF, where he is even more of a matchup nightmare than at the 3. I’m really hoping coach Brown experiments with this more as the season goes along. Even if he doesn’t, I still say the Cavs had a pretty damn good off-season. Moon and Anthony Parker may not have been loved much in some sectors of Raptors Nation when they were starters last season, but they’re more than capable role players in Cleveland. And as for Shaq, well… It hasn’t worked out that great so far, but methinks the move will pay dividends in the playoffs if/when they match up with Orlando. And you can’t forget that all they gave up for him was Ben Wallace and Sasha Pavlovic.

“Phoenix Suns Remain Undefeated at Home with Win over Spurs” – Phoenix Stan happily reflects on a big Suns win at Bright Side Of The Sun.

This was one of the most memorable games of the week, if only for Goran Dragic’s performance. His 18 points were a career-high and he played great D, too. This man has made such great strides this season. It’s been said elsewhere, but I’ve gotta say that he’s impressed the hell out of me all year long. Watching him last season, I just couldn’t see him becoming a real rotation player. I love it when I have to eat my words about things like that.

“Thoughts on Pistons – Rockets: McGrady’s Debut” – Rahat Huq puts Tracy McGrady under the microscope.

Gotta show some love for the newest member of the TrueHoop Network, Red94. I hadn’t read any of Rahat’s work until the TrueHoop debut, but have devoured everything he’s written since then. Great stuff. Anyway, if you missed it, this is really all you need to know about T-Mac’s first game back. Love the little note on rookie Chase Budinger at the end, too.

“Media Row Report: Blazers 95 Kings 88” – Ben Golliver at Blazers Edge

“Blazers Mount Comeback, Edge Kings 95-88” – Tom Ziller at Sactown Royalty

“Game 23 Recap: Blazers 95, Kings 88” – Zach Harper at Cowbell Kingdom

All three of these writers are fantastic. The fact that I just happily re-read three different recaps of a game I watched should speak to that. Anyway, check these posts out and see the love for Jerryd Bayless and Tyreke Evans. Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the negative comments about Spencer Hawes just a little bit. I don’t hate much on here, but I have to say Hawes is one of my least favourite players to watch. He’s got nice touch on his shot, but he doesn’t play like a big man. He doesn’t have much athleticism, doesn’t grab many rebounds, and doesn’t play good defense inside. These are some of the same criticisms that have been fairly levied on Raptors big man Andrea Bargnani, but there’s a difference: Bargs has, albeit slowly, improved on his weaknesses each season. Plus, he occasionally does phenomenal things offensively that make me momentarily forget he has any weaknesses at all. Can’t say the same about Spencer.

“Post Up: Return of T-Mac” – Holly MacKenzie.

“Behind the Box Score, where the Spurs can’t guard anyone” – Kelly Dwyer.

“Lion Face/Lemon Face 12.16.09: Shaqzunas O’Nealkaus Edition” – Zach Harper.

Honestly, if you’re not reading the Post Up, Behind the Box Score, and Lion Face/Lemon Face every morning, I don’t particularly want you reading me. I look forward to these every day and could link them all over this post, but that would be a bit redundant so I’m just doing to do ‘em all here. You’ll notice some props given to Michael Beasley for his performance against Toronto in all three, and his quote featured in both Holly and Kelly’s pieces is my second-favourite from last week. It would seem that Dwyer is with me on Chase Budinger and Harper is with me on Spencer Hawes. Finally, um, I have to quote this bit of Lion Face/Lemon Face:

Seriously Toronto defense, go kill yourself. You’re putting all of these nice, fine Canadians into some jigsaw, Saw type of torture machine every time you hike up the shorts, sit down in a defensive stance and then allow a ton of points on a lot of easy shot attempts. Please check yourself and quick wrecking this Canadian pride.

“Back-to-Back Preview: Bulls and Bucks” – Dexter Fishmore of Silver Screen and Roll looks ahead to two games that (spoiler alert) the Lakers end up winning.

Including this because Fishmore totally eviscerates the Bulls in a way that not even Bulls bloggers have done thus far this season. Also, if you don’t love Andrew Bogut already (and you should because you know about Squad 6), you will after you watch the video of him high-fiving the air after a made free throw.

“Appreciating Charlie Villanueva: Perfect in the Post?” – Mike Payne of Detroit Bad Boys takes a close look at Charlie Villanueva’s success in the post.

I knew Charlie V. was scoring pretty well this year, but damn. He’s this unstoppable down low? I had no idea. This is an awesome use of specialized stats and it’s very encouraging for those who are worried about Detroit spending all their cap space on “two bench players” this past summer.

“Rondo’s Latest Trick: Consistency” – Jeff Clark of CelticsBlog argues that Rajon Rondo’s consistency this season means he should make the All-Star Team.

That’s right, another Rondo piece. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, but I loved it. I’m telling you (and so is Jeff), this guy has been a monster. The hate is irrelevant. He’s playing out of his mind and there’s no doubt in my mind that he deserves an All-Star nod.

“Nowitzki relishes role in crunch time” – Tim McMahon of ESPN Dallas uses statistical and anecdotal evidence to prove Dirk is as clutch as they come.

I fear Dirk in the clutch. He’s come up big at the end of games numerous times this season and the play where he beat my Bucks with his shot over Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is permanently etched into my brain. We were talking about consistency with Rondo, and, man, I’m not sure “consistent” is a strong enough term to talk about Dirk’s excellence in his twelfth NBA season. He has been so reliable all year that it’s hard to even know what to say about him. I expect a dominant performance every time he steps onto the court and that’s pretty much what I get.

“Warriors’ new slogan: Buy tickets or else Randolph gets it!” – Tim Kawakami remains very critical of the Golden State organization as he discusses the fact that Anthony Randolph is on the trading block.

It’s obvious Kawakami gets some joy out of slamming the front office. But, really, with the way they’ve treated their fans, I don’t blame him. The guy writes with anger but the anger is fucking real and I love it. I don’t, however, love what the Warriors are doing. At all. Randolph is a 20-year-old second-year player and the team has been screwing around with his playing time since he got to the Bay Area, regardless of how he’s performed on the court. Actually, you know what, I DO love that he’s on the trading block. Anything to get him out of there. Anything to avoid a Tyrus Thomas scenario. This kid has SO MUCH potential, I can’t bear to see him fail to realize it.

“Someone Over The Rainbow” – Rob Mahoney delves deep into Russell Westbrook’s game.

Man, what great writing. Seriously, I hope no one stopped after Monday or Tuesday. Look at the people in this section – Krolik, Ziller, Harper, MacKenzie, Dwyer, Mahoney, and the list goes on. These are pros. I’m just trying to learn from them. Anyway, Westbrook: the guy has such obvious potential to be an elite player. He is exciting as hell right now and his defensive abilities are off the charts for a second-year point guard. However, he doesn’t play like a “pure” PG and his decision-making can drive you a bit crazy. If you’re like me, reading this will keep you optimistic and patient when it comes to the possibility of him becoming who we want him to be.

“Livingston Keeps Moving Forward Without Looking Back” – Chris Tomasson of NBA FanHouse talks to Livingston and other players about his journey back to the NBA.

I’m just going to assume you know about the injury. Just reading the first couple of paragraphs made me feel sick, but I was smiling by the end of the article. Shaun has long been one of my favourite players and I can’t describe how happy it makes me to see him playing and contributing at the NBA level. It’s just a bonus that he’s on one of my favourite teams. He had unlimited potential when he was drafted and that’s curbed a bit now, but, really, fuck it. That’s not the point. I guess it kind of sucks if he never makes an All-Star team, but the fact that he’s playing at all is incredible. What a story. Root for this man and respect the hell out of him. Thank you.

“Ron Artest returns to Chicago and talks about environment” – Mike Bresnahan writes about Ron Artest as he returns to Chicago.

Remember I said the Beasley quote was my second favourite? Here’s, by far, my favourite quote of the week:

“It’s great. I take it on dates and everything. Fine wine. A lot of romance. A lot of kissing up. Trying to get used to her and hopefully she’ll give me her number. I love the triangle.” – Ron Artest, when asked about his relationship with the Lakers’ offense.

“Bynum hopes shoe swap will keep him healthy” – Vince Ellis.

“Suns forward Jared Dudley adds 3s to defense” – Paul Coro

If there’s a news story about an All-OTN Team guy, I’ve gotta share it. Not a whole lot here, though. Apparently, Will Bynum’s damn sprained ankles may have been related to the fact he was wearing shoes unsuitable for how he plays. And Jared Dudley has improved his NBA game the same way he improved his college game, by working extremely hard. That’s how he became one of the league’s best three-point shooters. But you already knew that.

Thursday, Dec. 17

“Just because you’re moving…” – Holly MacKenzie takes an honest look at what’s been ailing the Raptors.

Man, that Wooden quote. I LOVE that quote. I think the first time I heard it was when commentator Jack Armstrong said it during a Raptors broadcast years ago. Not 100% on that, but I do know it’s been with me for years. So, yeah, I was sold after the first line. But I kept reading and kept nodding my head as I agreed with everything and I kept grimacing as the mutual dissatisfaction with this Raps team sunk in. What’s bothered me most in the Raptors’ losses is that sometimes they just don’t play like a team I’d watch if I didn’t feel like I had to. I like every single player on this roster and feel like I’ve got to know them through reading and watching interviews and hearing stories about them during their time in this city, but, as a group, it’s just not working a lot of the time. If you look at the teams I love watching (ex. Rockets, Thunder, Bucks, Suns…), they seem to play better than they are. I love the little things they do. It’s ball movement, togetherness, hustle, and defensive intensity that get me. These Raptors have rarely had these things for a full 48 minutes. Even though they were projected to be a bad defensive team and that’s been their downfall, you get the feeling they are underperforming when you consider the talent on the roster. In short stretches, or, rarely, in one entire game, you see how dangerous this team could be if they got it right. This team gives defenses fits with its outside shooting and offensive execution. At times, these guys play solid team defense, especially when the more athletic bench players are in the game. But there have been so many little, stupid mistakes that add up throughout games. These mistakes lead to a sense of frustration on the part of both the players and the fans. Here’s hoping these decrease as the season rolls on and watching and writing about Toronto’s team becomes more fun.

“Despite setbacks, Oden optimistic on his future” – David Aldridge’s fantastic piece on Greg Oden and his rehab.

I’m sure you know how great of a writer David Aldridge is and I’m pretty sure you’ve already seen the videos and read the quotes from when Oden talked to the media at practice last week. I’ve got to link to this anyway, just in case you missed it… plus, I really want to be able to share a fantastic fact that I learned reading it: Oden’s dog is named Charles Barkley McLovin. You have to love that.

“Boris Diaw’s Fade Out” – Brett Hainline of Queen City Hoops searches for an answer to the Boris Diaw conundrum.

Diaw hasn’t been fitting in with this Bobcats team since Stephen Jackson arrived. It was great when he started producing for them after he came from Phoenix, but it was somewhat of a surprise as well. His star had certainly faded in Phoenix ever since his role was minimized with the return of their other key players. It seems like the same thing is happening in Charlotte now and it’s a problem. This Charlotte team is going to make another run at the playoffs and if they’re going to finally make it they will need his help.

“Game 24 Recap: Kings 112, Wizards 109” – Zach Harper of Cowbell Kingdom

“Tyreke Evans, You Are A Maniac” – Tom Ziller of Sactown Royalty

I wanted to limit the amount of times I linked to the same people, but I’ve done it again. If you missed the Wizards/Kings game on Wednesday night, I’m a bit mad at you. But you can kind of make up for it by reading these great recaps and watching the videos. It sort of broke my heart to see Gilbert lose the ball at the end, but Tyreke Evans is just so unbelievably good. How is this man a rookie? It’s ridiculous. Fellow rookie Omri Casspi gets some much-deserved love in those writeups, too.

“Arenas overshadowed by $111 million deal?” – Michael Lee of the Washington Post talks to Gilbert about the big contract hanging over his head.

If I was Gilbert, I wouldn’t want to hear about the contract all the time either. But, unfortunately, that’s what comes with signing those deals. It’s going to come up, especially when you’re not producing like other people who are making that kind of money. To me, though, the root of the issue is expectations – both what we expect from a near-max-money guy and what we expect from a guy working his way back from a serious injury. I have to emphasize that making all that money doesn’t make you perfect. Making that money doesn’t make you completely responsible for the team’s fortunes. And, in this case, making that money doesn’t make you immune to rust and doesn’t make you recover from injuries at a superhuman rate. I’m sure different Wizards fans had different expectations for Arenas going into this season, but if you’re upset with his individual play I think you have to re-evaluate yours. Obviously, his late-game anti-heroics have been a bit of a shock, but is it a catastrophe that his efficiency is down from where it was before he missed two full seasons of action? Is it unexpected that he has trouble elevating at the basket now? It shouldn’t be. We’ve seen flashes of Gilbert’s former self this season but we’ve also seen a man who is mortal like the rest of us. He’ll get back to being Agent Zero, but it’ll take time.

“Phil designs Kobe’s heroics” – Kevin Ding of The Orange County Register gives some great insights about Kobe’s game-winner against Milwaukee.

You’ve probably already read this and know about Kobe’s flashback to the 1991 finals. It just felt wrong not to mention it in a weekly recap. Gotta say, I was rooting for the Bucks hard in this game. Like always. But when that shot went in, I wasn’t upset. That’s just greatness and I can’t be mad at that. The blocking call a couple of possessions earlier, though? I can be mad at that. Utter bullshit.

“New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni says sitting Nate Robinson was nothing personal” – Frank Isola of the New York Daily News shares some quotes from Mike D’Antoni about Nate Robinson’s benching.

Bah, this confuses me. I want to believe D’Antoni, but I find it difficult. Is Nate that destructive on the floor? Does he really make the team that much worse? What’s different from last season, when he was effective? It’s hard for me to argue against the benching with the way they’ve played better without him, but I think Robinson’s skills make him worthy of playing time. Mike is saying that Nate is “a good guy” and he’d “play Satan himself” if he thought it’d help the team, and I’m left wondering how honest he’s being about the whole situation.

“Q&A With Daryl Morey” – Jason Friedman interviews the Rockets’ GM at the quarter-mark of the season.

Before I talk about the content, I have to give huge credit to Jason Friedman and Rockets.com. I read more articles on the Rockets’ official site than all of the other teams’ sites combined and that’s pretty much just because of Friedman’s stuff. Now, onto Morey: I love his genuine and thoughtful answers to all the questions here and, when asked about team-building and what he’s learned since he’s been on the job, he gives the best anti-tanking argument I’ve ever heard. It’s simple as hell, but I’ve never thought of it this way. When you’re winning games, your players become more valuable. They’re seen as “winning players” and the demand for them goes up throughout the league. Houston’s positioned themselves to be a major player in the trade market if they want to because they have a bunch of guys on short, inexpensive contracts and they’re winning. This is the other side of the coin when you’re talking about accepting losses in order to get good draft position.

“Cavaliers’ West dealing with issues ‘one day at a time’” – Dick Jerardi of the Philadelphia Daily News gets some great quotes from Phil Martelli, Delonte’s college coach.

This is another “big” article from last week, so I’ll leave the content alone and assume you’ve read it. I just want to add that West is a HUGE part of this Cavaliers team. I know he’s coming off the bench right now, but he might be the team’s second-most important player. He doesn’t look like he should be, but he’s well above-average on both ends of the court and, if the Cavs are going to do more playoff damage than they did last year, they need him. I don’t know the extent or the details of the mental health issues he’s facing, but I hope for his own sake and for the sake of NBA fans that he gets everything straightened out as much as it can be. I’ve said Cleveland isn’t one of my favourite teams to watch, but that has nothing to do with Delonte.

Friday, Dec. 18

Jerryd Bayless was the star on Thursday night, so all of the internet’s all-stars were talking about him on Friday morning. Some evidence:

“Behind the Box Score, where the Blazers have a new stud” – Kelly Dwyer.

“The Post Up: J. Bayless!” – Holly MacKenzie.

“Lion Face/Lemon Face 12.17.09: JERRYD BAYLESS JUST HAPPENED EDITION” – Matt Moore.

“Jerryd Bayless and the Liberation of Combo Guards” – Tom Ziller.

“Media Row Report: Blazers 105 Suns 102” – Ben Golliver.

“If You Don’t Know, Now You Know (Part 2)” – Rey Moralde.

“Jerryd Bayless!! Woooo!!” – Mark Schiralli aka mookie.

Yes, I know I said I would only link to those daily recaps once. Whatever. I don’t have a whole lot to add here on top of all those great pieces, but I’ll say this: I was fucking overjoyed watching Bayless do his thing that night. I thought he’d be a fantastic player when he came out of college and the one thing that pissed me off about that great Portland squad last year was the fact that they didn’t give him a chance. It’s true that his per-minute numbers were shit last year, but I’m telling you there was a reason Blazer fans wanted to see him play more. His talent was obvious, but he was being used incorrectly and sparingly. It’s so great that he’s a big part of their offense these days, even though I hate that it had to come at the cost of half their roster being injured.

“Links: My Decade” – Lang Whitaker doles out some nostalgia.

Seems appropriate that right after I talk about Bayless, the new thing, I go to something that’s been in my life for years: The Links. I’ve already told you the inspiration for my All-OTN Team came from Lang. Him talking about Robert Horry’s incredible performance in the 2005 finals along with a collection of animated .gifs definitely had me going down memory lane. It wasn’t that long ago where I didn’t read any of the people I’m linking to now except for Mr. Whitaker. Every day, I checked Hoopshype and SLAMonline for my NBA news. That was it. Then came TrueHoop and Ball Don’t Lie and the bazillion blogs that I read now. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t miss the simpler times – the wealth of information and analysis out there today is amazing. Just fun to take a look back for a moment.

“Arenas hoping Agent Zero can save Wizards” – Marc Spears gets some amazing quotes from Gilbert Arenas and touches on some rookie big men, Anthony Randolph, and more.

I think I’ve said enough about Gilbert and Anthony Randolph. Just read Spears’s piece if you haven’t. He and Woj turn out consistently excellent stuff for Yahoo!, but you know that already.

“In praise of the Big Piranha” – Nate Arch of Canis Hoopus gives props to Kevin Love after a Wolves win.

With Al Jefferson around, I’m not sure I agree that Kevin Love will definitely become the Wolves’ MVP, but I’m ready to be convinced. I’ve been a Love fan from the start – he does a ton of good stuff on the court. Some of it shows up in the boxscore; some of it does not. As Arch rightly points out, Kevin’s ability to contribute in multiple areas makes him potentially the team’s best player. I don’t want to steal too much from the post, so just read it. I’ll say this, though: if he didn’t already have such a big role and put up such good numbers, his intangibles alone would make him a lock for my All-OTN Team

“Game 24 Recap: Dallas 100, Oklahoma City 86” – Zorgon of Welcome To Loud City recaps the entertaining Thunder/Mavericks game.

I’m going to forgive Zorgon for writing this recap a day late because of the recognition he gives to my man Serge Ibaka. The All-OTN Team’s center was named the “Thunder Down Under” in this excellent recap. Key sentence: “Many props go out to Ibaka for significantly improving his game throughout the course of the season.” Wow. He’s significantly improved his game in a month and a half. That’s big. This guy was supposed to be a project. I’ve been telling you, keep your eyes on this him…

“Changing course: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City’s offensive star, is turning heads with his defense” – Darnell Mayberry talks about the part of KD’s game that others are not talking about.

If you haven’t been watching the Thunder play, I can tell you it’s all true. The most impressive thing I’ve seen from Durant in the NBA is not his ridiculous scoring ability – I knew he had that. It’s the fact that he’s worked on his game and turned weaknesses into strengths. There’s nowhere that’s more apparent than on the defensive end – no one has made more defensive strides than him in the last two years.

“KG: Klutch Guy” – Bent from CelticsBlog shows that Kevin Garnett has come up big at the end of games this season.

It’s impossible to make that “Garnett disappears in the clutch” argument now. So don’t do it. Thanks.

“One Pounding Dribblers Anonymous” – Scott Souza tells us how far Kendrick Perkins has come with his game.

Heh, another Celtics piece. My Toronto friends are going to hate me if they read this. Anyway, with all my Rondo love I’ve kinda neglected the Celts’ man in the middle. Kendrick has been a great defender for a couple of years now, but what’s really worth noting about his current campaign is the improvement he’s had on the offensive end. He’s making quick moves and getting easy baskets. The rest of the league can’t be happy that he’s becoming a legitimate offensive threat.

“Then and Now: Tony Parker” – Jeff Garcia of Project Spurs tracks Tony Parker’s maturation as the Spurs’ point man.

It seems so long ago that TP was a rookie and we didn’t know how good he was going to be. Remember when we were worried that he couldn’t shoot? How about when the Spurs almost signed Jason Kidd? This is a good look at how he’s become one of the game’s best PG’s.

“Pistons’ Will Bynum made himself into NBA player” – Jo-Ann Barnas.

“Pistons find a Swede surprise in Jonas Jerebko” – Vincent Goodwill.

“Rookie Austin Daye has been good for the Pistons” – Ted Kulfan.

Obviously, my favourite piece is the one on All-OTN Team member Will Bynum. You should read all three, though – they are fantastic reads. Plus, you need to learn about ‘em. These unheralded Pistons are all playing very good basketball right now.

“Brandon Jennings, Social Media Misfit” – Bethlehem Shoals gives his take on the $7,500 fine the league doled out to the rookie.

Obviously, Shoals gets this completely right. All day Friday, people were discussing the absurdity of this fine. He sent a message to his fans from his phone after a win, at a time where he’s allowed to talk and text on it. And now he’s $7,500 poorer. This is just stupid. At least Brandon hasn’t followed through with deleting his Twitter account.

“Raptors pile it on Nets, who continue to search for answers” – Holly Mackenzie’s gamer for the Raps/Nets game on Friday night.

A late Friday link, but had to include it because it’s the exact right angle. I was at the game and intended to root for my Raptors, but took absolutely no pleasure in how they got the win. I said it felt like a Globetrotters game, with all the fast break dunks the Raps were getting. Chris Douglas-Roberts was working his ass off all night, but some of his teammates were not. Holly points out that, somehow, the Nets had as many turnovers as field goals in the first half. Ugh. What an ugly game. Try not to feel bad for CDR while reading that, I dare you.

Saturday, Dec. 19

“Video: Rockets’ Landry embeds teeth in Nowitzki’s arm” – J.E. Skeets comments on the unbelievable collision from Friday night.

I have to lead with this for Saturday. I’m sure you’ve heard about it. Nothing more to add; I still can’t believe it.

“You Know the Drill: Cavs 85- Bucks 82” – Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball recaps Bucks/Cavs.

“Recap: Cavaliers 85, Bucks 83 (With Special Bonuses!)” – Mitchell of BrewHoop recaps Bucks/Cavs.

This was an enjoyable game, even though my Bucks lost. Quickly going to say that Milwaukee fans are spoiled by these two great blogs, and I’m going to quote each of them about Brandon Jennings:

“Maybe it’s because I’m a fellow skinny PG, but when I see Brandon bust his hump getting a hand in the shooter’s face, it makes me happy. He won’t be able to outmuscle anybody, but he can make shooters miss through sheer annoyance. I chalk it up to good coaching (thanks, Kelvin Sampson!).

_

This point is less about Jennings’ use of the lost art of “hand-in-face” and more about his exceptional effort. He plays like a guy who flat-out loves the sport, and if he works in practice as hard as he does in games (which I hear he does), he’s going to be huge.” – Mitchell of BrewHoop, on Jennings’s shot defense.

“Jennings finished 5-21 and wasn’t able to create anything for the Bucks on the last play. Not that creating against Cleveland is very easy, they’re among the league’s best defensively and this is the second time in Jennings’ life he’s played them. So had he created a good look or hit a three there, it would have been beyond exceptional. That’s how things typically are in the league for rookies and it’s something we’ll likely be seeing more often than not the rest of this year despite Jennings’ talents.

_

But it’s not too difficult to envision the end of games two years from now when Jennings IS able to create something and the Bucks DO have the talent to win these kinds of games. And then Bucks fans will be talking about their superstar and how he’s the reason they’re winning. I hope.” – Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball, on Jennings at the end of games.

“Mr. $111 Million Drops A Determined 45 Points Against Former Team” – Kyle Deidie of Truth About It joyfully discusses Gilbert’s breakout game and shares other reactions to it.

YES! This game was so fun to watch for me, just to see Gilbert light it up. I know the Warriors team defense was pathetic, but still. He dropped 45. Finally. After all the depressing crap I linked to earlier with him, you know this is my favourite piece. Let me have this: Woooooo!

“How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Jonathan Bender” – Seth Rosenthal of Posting and Toasting is impressed with the newest Knick.

Man, it was awesome seeing Jonathan Bender on my TV playing basketball again. And, whoa, I didn’t expect him to have a debut this good. Did you watch that video? He does NOT look like a guy who hasn’t played pro ball in years. I know it’s just one game, but still. This is encouraging. Be happy.

“The Recap: December 19th, 2009” – Holly MacKenzie.goes over Friday’s games for The Score.

Wow, this feels like the millionth Holly Mack piece I’ve linked to. I originally wanted not to have more than one link by the same person. Oh well. You should be reading The Recap on The Score every day, whether it’s Holly or Scott Carefoot doing the work. Anyway, the reason I’m linking this? Check the quote of the game for the Memphis/Indy:

“There are too many words to describe what he’s meant to this team so far. He’s been an energy guy, a guy who’s been a leader for this team and a veteran. Going out and putting in the work he’s been doing on and off the court has been amazing.” – Mike Conley on Randolph’s presence.

Holy shit. I’m guessing you didn’t expect to be hearing that kind of thing about Zach Randolph. I certainly didn’t, but I’m excited about it. You know I’ve been loving how the Grizz have been playing.

“GM 26 Recap: POW…How you like us now?” – Jeff McMenamin recaps the Sixers’ victory over the Celtics.

A good recap as always, but I have to single out the Elton Brand bit because it’s what I’ve been trying to say since the damn season started.

At center it should be a no-brainer to have Elton Brand start, but you never know with Eddie Jordan. For some reason Brand has been the odd man out of the rotation for most of the season and since Brand is such a class-act guy there’s been really no complaints out of the big man. Well for all the complaints which he left unsaid I’m going to make sure that you know them now. Brand should start, Brand should play over 35 minutes every game, Brand is still capable of putting up 20/10 every night, Brand is a leader on and off court, and Brand will shock the NBA in the second half of the year. Give the man his due. He cares more about dominating at the game of basketball than he does about the contract which he signed a little more then a year ago. I’m tired of the media saying it’s his fault for underperforming when Jordan has played him less then 30 minutes in 12 games this season. This [Holiday/Iverson/Iguodala/Speights/Brand] is the starting five which will lead the Sixers to wins like the one against Boston last night.

“Rajon Rondo’s Assists Demand Our Attention” – Greg Payne of CelticsBlog.

“Rondo’s frustration, and why can he do whatever he wants” – Red’s Army.

I’m saying no more about Rondo. Just letting other people do the talking for me.

“Robinson wants trade from Knicks” – Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports shares a trade demand from Nate’s agent, Aaron Goodwin.

“Agent Says It Is Time for Robinson to Leave” – Howard Beck of the New York Times reports the same thing. I think his was first, but you have to be a member of NYTimes.com to read it.

I think my feelings on this should be obvious. If a trade means Nate will actually get to play basketball, I’m all for it.

“Kirk Snyder: A life unraveled” – Ross Siler of the Salt Lake Tribune tells Kirk Snyder’s sad story.

Man… I don’t know what to say. This is just really, really fucking sad. At least we’ll always have this.

“Dennis Rodman’s fame benefits rich and poor” – Dan LeBatard with a fascinating (to say the least) look at where Dennis Rodman is at right now.

Um, wow. With this and the Snyder story… Just wow. So much crazy stuff in this article. I do, however, know that the answer to the question on the side of the page regarding Rodman and the Hall Of Fame is a definite “yes”.

“Free Amir” – Tom Liston’s ode to Amir Johnson.

I needed the Saturday section to end on a happy note. A song about an All-OTN Team member, set to The First Noel? That’ll do just fine.

Sunday, Dec. 20

“Bailed Out By a Star: Kings 96, Bucks 95” – Tom Ziller recaps Evans/Jennings. I mean… Kings/Bucks.

What a game this was. I LOVED watching the league’s two top rookies go at it. Both played very well. I can’t wait to see them do it again for the next, oh, fifteen years or so. I was rooting for the Bucks, as usual, so I didn’t appreciate Tyreke’s amazing game-winner as much as, say, Ziller. But, still – great game. And Tyreke Evans is indeed a star.

“Clippers 112 – Philadelphia 107 – Overtime – Improbable” – Steve Perrin of Clips Nation recaps Clips/Sixers.

“Clippers 112, Philadelphia 107 (OT)” – Kevin Arnovitz of ClipperBlog recaps Clips/Sixers.

The end of the fourth quarter was insane. Check Arnovitz’s piece for the video. I still can’t get over it. These are two L.A. Clippers blogs, and neither of these writers are saying Iggy’s shot was definitely no-good. That was the closest buzzer-beater I have EVER seen.

“Magic get defensive against Blazers” – Philip Rossman-Reich goes over the Magic/Blazers game.

This wasn’t the prettiest game, but the Magic got the win. What’s notable for me this bit about Vince Carter:

This was the kind of game where Orlando needed him to do other things. And Carter did that. Vince finished with seven rebounds and three assists and did a decent enough job defensively to try and make up for some of his offensive failings tonight.

So, even though he hurt my fantasy team, Vince was able to be a positive for Orlando in a winning effort. This, despite having a miserable (1-14) shooting night.

“Rockets 95, Thunder 90” – Darnell Mayberry’s notes on a Thunder loss.

“The Rockets do it again on the glass to take down the Thunder” – Royce Young of Daily Thunder gives his take.

Ahh, two of my favourite teams facing off. I was rooting for Oklahoma City, but knew this would be a tough matchup for them. The Rockets seem to just have their number. Anyway, serious love for Ibaka here. Mayberry points out that he played all but 1:40 of the final period and that his block on Chase Budinger was so big that they replayed it on the jumbotron despite the fact this was a ROAD GAME. Young, well, he said this:

Serge Ibaka ladies and gentleman. The line for the fan club starts right behind me. He had 10 points on 5-5 shooting, grabbed eight rebounds and blocked two shots in just 23 minutes. He’s going to be getting 30 a night soon and potentially sending Nenad Krstic into extreme role player mode. You watch.

Erm… fan club… I have to line up behind someone? But I named him to my team! Argh, fine… I’m with you, Royce. Gotta love the “Chewblocka” nickname too, ha.

“Sunday Discussion – Offensive… to say the least” – J.G. of Daily Thunder ponders whether OKC’s offense needs re-tooling.

Another solid Daily Thunder post. This is a really intriguing question to me. I commented on it, actually, but there are 82 freaking comments there now so it’s lost somewhere in there. I think a big part of the issue is what you think of the previously discussed Russell Westbrook. I believe in him and think he’ll get it, so I’m more inclined to stick with Brooks’s system.

“Team Resiliency Strikes Again” – Jason Friedman of Rockets.com gives Houston’s perspective on the Rockets/Thunder game.

Hey, check it out, Friedman again! I told you there’s quality stuff on the Rockets website all the time. Read this piece if you want to know why I fell in love with this Rockets team. It’s all there.

“Read Between The Lines” – Graydon Gordian of 48 Minutes Of Hell examines the last ten seconds of Saturday’s Spurs/Pacers game.

This is a really interesting look at how 10 seconds can be a pretty good microcosm of a season. Tim Duncan has been the saving grace of the Spurs’ year; everyone else is surrounded by question marks. I should elaborate about Saturday night – it was a bit crazy. This Spurs game was decided by one point and a dunk from Timmy D. ended up being the game-winner. You already know about the Iggy and Evans shots. In addition to all of this, the Chicago/Atlanta game went into overtime and the Bulls pulled out a victory. With all that, plus wanting to watch the rookie battle, plus catching bits and pieces of the Suns/Wizards game (which turned out to be a Phoenix blowout), I was flipping channels like a motherfucker. Yay for League Pass.

“Interview: Jazz Rookie Wes Matthews Making Most of Opportunity in Utah” – Chris Littmann’s video interview with the Jazz’s undrafted rookie.

Just watch the damn thing. If you can’t appreciate that an undrafted rookie who thought he was going to play this year in Europe is now starting for Jerry Sloan’s team, you have no soul.

“Raptors use late run to put away Hornets” – Eric Koreen’s game story for Sunday’s Toronto/New Orleans matinee.

I love hearing that DeMar DeRozan and Sonny Weems are being called Batman and Robin these days. It’s been obvious since the start of the season that they have great chemistry off the court and, now that Weems is seeing consistent time, they’re showing it on court as well. I went to this game, mostly because I wanted to see Chris Paul, and I didn’t get exactly what I was expecting. Paul was held in check by Marcus Banks and Jarrett Jack and an ankle injury. Not that he would admit the injury was bothering him. It was nowhere near a perfect game for Toronto, but I loved watching the bench guys get after it and I am currently not as discouraged with the team as I was earlier in the week. When I got home, I took in some more games and have a few things to say. First, Zach Randolph! Remember that Conley quote? Yeah. Dude had 32 pts and 24 rebs (9 offensive) yesterday against Denver. This came in a winning effort. Several of those points and boards came at timely moments, keeping Denver from getting too close. To quickly wrap up (because, Jesus, this is long): The Celtics/Wolves and Lakers/Pistons games went pretty much as you’d expect, Brandon Roy was a beast against Miami in a Portland win, Dallas impressively took care of Cleveland without the services of Dirk Nowitzki, and the Knicks managed to beat Charlotte on the strength of a huge Danilo Gallinari block in the final seconds. Now, a couple more links and this is over…

“As Weird as Finger Panes” – Bethlehem Shoals is inspired by the fact that the New York Times said Darko Milicic’s lasting impression will be the fact that he was immortalized in the name of the FreeDarko blog.

Instantly, this is a classic FD piece. It prominently features Amir Johnson, which pleases me, but I must say I definitely do NOT associate anything resembling a sinking feeling with him now that he’s on my Raptors.

“Jumping head-first into the Bucks’ ‘Squad 6’” – Andrew Wagner of OnMilwaukee.com joins Squad 6 for a game.

And we finish how we started. Just a fun piece about what it’s like to go crazy in Bogut’s section for the night. Check the video at the bottom, too.

Layne Murdoch/Getty Images

I’m eschewing the normal BfB format at least for one day. It might just be the spazzy band I went to see last night, but I’m feeling a bit ADD and want to ditch the normal structure and just give some thoughts about the games I watched on Saturday and Sunday.

First up, did you see that Milwaukee/Portland classic on Saturday? Yes, I’m calling it a classic. I know this one might slip by a lot of people, but it shouldn’t. This was a hard-fought double-overtime game that featured several huge clutch plays by the two best Brandons in the world and, really, you should see it. If you missed it and you’ve got League Pass Broadband or a less official means of watching previously played games, get on that. Neither of the awesome Brandons actually led their team in scoring, as big men LaMarcus Aldridge and Andrew Bogut stepped up in that area on Saturday night. Both had very memorable moments that I almost feel like I shouldn’t ruin for you here, even though this is kinda supposed to be a recap. Hm. Here’s what I’ll do: if you want a full recap of this fantastic 108-101 Milwaukee win, just head on over to Bucksketball. I couldn’t possibly do a better job telling the story. One thing to add before I move on: Luc Richard Mbah a Moute is amazing. He played the best defense I’ve ever seen on Brandon Roy. Sure, Roy got his 23 points, but he needed 24 shots to get them and not a single one of them was easy when LRMAM was on him. What’s so incredible to me about Luc Richard is his versatility. I’ve seen him matched up with Brandon Roy, LeBron James, and Dirk Nowitzki this year, and each time he seems like the perfect guy to guard the superstar. What a defender.

As happy as I was to see the Bucks beat the Blazers, I was distraught to see the Wizards fall to the Pacers that same night. If you haven’t heard, it was a bit of a wild finish. Okay, that’s an understatement. It was one of the most surreal finishes I’ve ever seen. With 22 seconds left in the 4th quarter, Earl Boykins hit a seemingly-impossible shot at the end of the shot clock over T.J. Ford to put his team up 4. On the next possession, Tyler Hansbrough was fouled with 13 seconds left. Psycho T hit the first FT, missed the second intentionally, and Mike Dunleavy was fouled on the rebound. Lil Dun made both free throws to make it a one point game, and the Pacers fouled Gilbert Arenas with 6.6 seconds left on the next possession. When Gilbert stepped to the line, I wanted him to make those free throws as much as I’ve ever wanted anything in a basketball game. He had his first triple double in five and a half years and now had the opportunity to make up for that crucial 0-2 appearance at the foul line down the stretch of the Boston game 2 nights earlier. When he missed the first one this time and I saw that look of confusion/uncertainty on his face, my heart sunk. Then he missed the second. Ugh. At least it looked like his team would still win… but then T.J. Ford raced down the court and put up a crazy lay-up that ended up going out of bounds as the buzzer sounded. Relief, I thought. But no. The referees went to the replay and concluded that the ball had gone out of bounds off the Wizards and there was still half a second left in the game. Alright, fine.
“Just don’t fuck this up, Washington,” I thought. But fuck it up they did, as a foul was called on Brendan Haywood on the inbounds pass. This was a very, very questionable call – it seemed they were calling a foul on Mike Dunleavy’s shot attempt, which, to me, would have been impossible to get up in that amount of time. Lil Dun stepped to the line and calmly netted both free throws, again, and the Wizards’ JaVale McGee very confusingly stayed out on the perimeter on their final play, where he was supposed to slash to the basket and try to get an alley-oop tip-in with 0.1 seconds left. McGee received a pass behind the three-point line and chucked up a shot that had no chance of a) going in or b) counting. So it ended, 114-113 for Indiana. Blah. On TV, they kept showing Gilbert’s confused/sad face and it was killing me. It’s so strange to see him shaken. Before the injuries, Gil was one of the most upbeat, confident guys in the game and you just knew he would make clutch free throws like that. Now, there’s clearly something off and it’s not just physical. I really, really hope he gets his mojo back quickly. This was simply an awful way to lose a game. For more, read the recap at Truth About It and, if you want to get a bit depressed, watch the video at the bottom.

I should quickly touch on the other crazy finishes on Saturday. Unfortunately, with all the basketball happening on Saturday, I missed both of these ones. First, the overtime Charlotte/Dallas game. This proved a couple of things that we should already know – you really want Dirk Nowitzki on your team at the end of games and the Dallas Mavericks are a very, very good team. Dirk scored 18 of his 36 points in the 4th Q. and OT, including the game-winning jumper (surprise, surprise). Dallas won this game 98-97 even though it probably shouldn’t have, which is what good teams do. Dirk started off 1-for-10 and 7-22 as his team trailed for almost the whole second half, but they managed to put a run together and come out on top. Stephen Jackson said, “We competed and did everything we’re supposed to do to win this game,” and he might be right, but it wasn’t enough. Moving on, that Denver/Phoenix game seemed like a great one. I’m a bit pissed that I missed it, but I was watching the Laker game I haven’t got to yet whilst recording the Bucks/Blazer thriller. Carmelo Anthony had another great night in a winning effort, scoring 32 points and adding 8 rebounds. On the other side, Steve Nash contributed 28 points and 7 assists, but it wasn’t enough… Or was it? See, you could easily argue that he deserved a couple more points than that. With less than 30 seconds left, Nash drove to the basket with Nene covering him and missed a layup. The Suns were down 2 at the time and forced to foul when Denver recovered the rebound. Thing is, Nash could barely get off the ground on his shot because of the contact from Nene. There was not a hard foul on the play, but there was a quite obvious foul that prevented Nash from doing what he wanted to do, and the refs swallowed their whistles. The Nuggets ended up winning 105-99. It’s unfortunate, but these things happen. I’d be incredibly frustrated if I was a Suns fan, but it’s hard to blame the loss on that alone. Phoenix raced out to an early lead but it was their tired legs in the second half of a back-to-back in the Mile High City lost them this game, even if the refs didn’t do them any favours.

One more game to talk about on Saturday (I’m not doing all of them): Jazz vs. Lakers. I’m just going to focus on two wing players: Kobe Bryant and Wesley Matthews. Wait, Wesley Matthews? Really? Yes. This undrafted rookie was absolutely huge. I believe he had 15 points in the first half and he finished with 19 and 6 assists in 37 minutes. Him starting for Jerry Sloan is one of the best under-the-radar stories in the NBA. I want a full feature on this guy because I don’t know enough about him. I do know he has some game, though. He can knock down open shots, slash to the basket, and defend better than almost any other rookie. I’m loving what’s happening in Utah with this kid. Anyway, next, Kobe. Looking at the boxscore without knowing the context, you’d think I’m crazy for singling him out. 16 points on 24 shots, going 1-9 from the line? Ouch. I can’t remember the last time Kobe had a line that bad. But that’s not the story. The story is that Kobe played 37 minutes in this game despite his broken index finger and his stomach bug. That stomach bug meant he had to get IV fluids pre-game and at half-time. But he still played as hard as he possibly could because he’s Kobe Bryant. It was an odd thing to see, Kobe so… mortal. All he had was not enough this time. There were tons of missed jumpers and he was moving in slow motion, but he wanted to play and he believed he could help his team win. It wasn’t to be, as the Jazz won 102-94, but that’s alright. The Lakers aren’t hurting in the win department right now, at 18-4. It was just inspiring (and, at the very end, admittedly a bit sad) to see him out there when maybe no one else in the league would have been. Again, there is only one Kobe.

Okay, finally, Sunday! This day started out swimmingly for me as a Raptors fan. I had thought of getting tickets to see the Raps/Rockets matinee, as I love the way Houston plays and Toronto always seems to find a way to beat them at home, but I was scared off by the Raptors’ recent performances. This club has struggled mightily against good teams and, in my eyes, the Rockets are a good team. If Toronto was going to win, everyone on the team would have to bring the same energy they always get from All-OTN Team member Amir Johnson. Yesterday, that happened. The Rockets fell 101-88 and it was fantastic. The Raptors out-worked Houston, the team that out-works everyone. Hedo Turkoglu (23 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast) had his best game of the year and Jarrett Jack (17 pts, 8 reb, 8 ast) stepped up big-time in Jose Calderon’s absence. Sonny Weems was given minutes that had previously gone to Antoine Wright and Marco Belinelli and he made the most of them. 11 points and 4 rebounds in 30 minutes sounds okay, but what’s great is how he brought energy and defense and contributed where he could on offense. Wright is a solid defender, but his offensive decision-making has been very lacking this year. Belinelli is a great shooter, but he lacks the athleticism that makes Weems such a threat in the open court and such a nuisance for offensive players. I’m not saying Sonny has earned himself a permanent 6th man role based on one performance, but it was very encouraging. This, from a guy who played 55 minutes all of last season. On the Rockets’ end, I should mention the horrible day for Trevor Ariza and the great one for Carl Landry. Ariza lost his cool after starting the game 0-9 from the field. With his team down big, he swung his elbow at DeMar DeRozan after he coughed up the ball. It wasn’t close to connecting, and one has to wonder if he was actually *trying* to connect, but it was scary. He was tossed from the game immediately. Good news, there seems to be no bad blood between these two L.A. guys after the incident. Onto Landry: 25 points on 10-13 shooting, with 7 rebounds (6 offensive). And, again, I’m not surprised. If you’ve been following along since the season began, you’ll know how high I am on this guy. It was great to hear the Raptors’ announcers fawning over him last night; he deserved it. No Toronto player could deal with him down low. If his team had properly moved the ball and connected on more open shots, his effort could have been part of a winning effort, but today wasn’t Houston’s day. Thankfully.

Atlanta beat New Jersey by 27 yesterday and it went exactly how you might expect. New Jersey started off pretty well, keeping it close for the entire first quarter. Then, Atlanta separated itself. New Jersey has some talent at the top of its roster, but it’s really hard to stay close with teams when they go to their bench. I want to say New Jersey should have more wins right now, but look at who’s playing the minutes. Trenton Hassell and Josh Boone started last night and combined for 40 minutes. Rafer Alston shot 0-8 in his 23 minutes and yesterday was far form his first awful-shooting game this year. Bobby Simmons saw 21 minutes of action, Eduardo Najera 13, and Sean Williams 7. Terrence Williams ended up with some nice numbers, though, getting 18 points and 7 rebounds in Chris Douglas-Roberts’s absence. Atlanta is just too talented for New Jersey and that’s the way it’s going to be most nights. Brook Lopez and Devin Harris are great, but Courtney Lee should not be a third option (as much as I dig his game). Atlanta has no such depth problems. With Marvin Williams out, Mo Evans stepped into the starting lineup and kept up the hot shooting that we saw in the Toronto game. He shot 4-4 from downtown and finished with 22 points on 13 shots. Not bad at all. The strange part of this game was that the Nets actually didn’t shoot too porly – even with Alston going 0-8, they finished the game 44-87 from the field. That doesn’t matter when you can’t stop anybody or grab a rebound, though – Atlanta went 49-99 from the floor in this 130-107 victory.

Next up, Memphis vs. Miami. I saw the first half of this game and, just like the Atlanta/New Jersey game, didn’t really need to watch the second half. I might go back and watch the third quarter, though, as Rudy Gay put on a show. After an impressive first half where he scored 20 points, he exploded for 15 more in the third quarter that saw Memphis outscore Miami 31-18 to give them a 26-point lead before the beginning of the fourth. The final score? 118-90. Jeez. From what I saw in the first half, the Grizzlies made the Heat look old and slow. They pushed the ball at every opportunity and converted most of the time. Rudy Gay had an amazing reverse dunk on the break and, for the first time in my life, I saw Zach Randolph throw an alley-oop pass. It still boggles my mind how this team is playing. This is the last team I expected to come together as a team and play exciting ball. It’s great to watch, even though I’d have preferred Miami gave them more of a fight on this particular evening. Dwyane Wade did as much as he could in the half of action that I saw, matching Gay’s 20 points in the first half. He only scored 5 in the remainder of the game, though, finishing with 25 to Gay’s 41. He really needs his teammates to step up, though. When your second-leading scorer is Dorell Wright with 16, you’re not winning the game.

You remember what I said about the Bucks/Blazers game? Yeah, if you can watch the Thunder/Cavs game from last night I highly suggest you do that too. The Cavs’ dominant fourth quarter soured all of it a bit for me, but it’s still more than worth your time. You can see Kevin Durant looking like a true megastar in the first half, All-OTN Team member Serge Ibaka putting in a perfect 4-4 performance and making me proud by moving his feet so well on D, and… well… You can see the LeBron James Show. You can analyze this game from many angles, but no matter how you look at it LeBron won this one for his team. After eating a kid’s french fry in the second quarter, he had numerous consecutive highlight plays, including a vicious reverse dunk on the break, a deep three-pointer, and a chasedown block on Thabo Sefolosha. Still, the Thunder had the lead, which they kept for most of the third. With a minute and a half left in that 3rd Q., James scored 7 straight points and he added another three-pointer before the quarter was done. It’s amazing now looking at the boxscore and seeing that he went 5-8 from downtown because these threes weren’t regular threes. The majority were pull-ups from a few feet behind the line. This is an impressive shot to begin with, but, when LeBron hits it, it must make you feel helpless. He’s impossible to stop when going to the basket, so you have to give up the outside shots. Now, when he’s willingly launching them and they are dropping in perfectly? You’re screwed. I can’t fault Thabo or the Thunder for how they defended James last night; LBJ was just too good. As I said, though, the 4th was a bit of a bummer. Oklahoma City tried to match James’s heroics from downtown and didn’t have the same results – they went 1-8 from downtown in the quarter. Their other attempts were mostly 2-point jumpers. Rough. Still, they had a chance to win. They were down only 4 with just a little over 4 minutes left in the game when Mo Williams broke their hearts. Just as it seemed the Thunder had gotten an important stop, Mo drained a three from past halfcourt as the shot clock expired. The only word for this is deflating. The crowd was silenced and the Thunder saw the writing on the wall, losing their energy and failing to score for the next 3 and a half minutes. Watching the ball drop through the net and seeing the reactions from the young players on the Thunder killed me. Oh well. Still a nice effort in a great game, and these guys will have plenty of opportunities to get their revenge. Final score: 102-89, Cavs. But it felt much closer.

In the last game of the week, San Antonio went to the Staples Center to match up with the Clippers and came away with a convincing 115-90 win. Like the other blowouts, I only caught the first half. The Spurs had balanced scoring, with 21 from Duncan and 17 apiece from Manu and RJ. Rookie DeJuan Blair chipped in with 14 and 9 in just 17 minutes, as well. The Spurs dominated in the first Q., but the Clips ended the second on a run and cut the lead to 10 before San Antonio ran away with it in the 2nd half. Gotta say, the Spurs impressed me in the first half. I can’t say they had their Eff You moment, but I was encouraged with what I saw, even though it came against some kinda crappy Clipper defense. They spread the floor like the Spurs of old, they got contributions from everyone, and Manu looked kind of like the old Manu. Slower, I’ll give you that, but still deadly. We might have to get used to the fact that Ginobili will never be as explosive as he used to be, but he’s still got his smarts. He’s got his jump shot. He’s got his crazy ability to see angles other people don’t. There is still room for improvement here, but if he just plays like he did last night the Spurs are in pretty good shape. As for the Clippers, um, you have to hand it to Baron Davis for suiting up and coming off the bench despite a stomach ailment, but they didn’t play winning basketball on either end. I should also mention that Ricky Davis played 21 minutes. That was a bit weird.

We’ll finish this off with a few highlights:

An additional lucky break for Indiana against Washington:

My man Pops Mensah-Bonsu pleasing the home crowd with a nasty block:

Rudy Gay’s amazing reverse:

Mo’s dagger:

Joe Murphy/Getty Images

I’m really glad I didn’t end up going to the Raptors/Wolves game last night. I considered getting last-minute tickets to check out the classic uniforms and see Jonny Flynn’s first game in Toronto, but this was a League Pass Night. Armed with my remote, Twitter updates, and my new PVR, I was able to catch all of Raptors/Wolves, all of Bucks/Celtics, the 4th quarter and overtime of Cavs/Grizzlies, and the crazy finishes of Bulls/Nets and Kings/Hornets. Oh, and I’ve got Clippers/Magic recorded. My only regret: missing pretty much the entire Suns/Mavericks game, which is always a great matchup and last night featured Steve Nash scoring 8 of his 27 points in the final minute but still falling 102-101 to his buddy Dirk’s squad. Oh well.

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum:

“I think what Will has done is solidify himself here as a one of our core guys going forward. He has cemented himself as one of the core members here. That’s how we look at him. We look at him as a long-term guy who’s going to grow with this team. Will was given an opportunity last year, when we signed him and brought him aboard, and he’s one of those kids that got the opportunity and he just grabbed it and took it and never let it go. He’s the poster child of when you get that opportunity, don’t let it slip. And he hasn’t. He hasn’t let it slip.” – Joe Dumars, who plans to re-sign Bynum at the end of the season.

Jared Dudley: 11 Pts (2-5 FG, 2-3 3PT, 5-6 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 1 TO, 2 PF in 29 mins.

Foul trouble led to Dudley entering the game early and he helped spearhead a 9-2 run to close out the first quarter. 11 points on 5 shots is not too shabby if you ask me – you have to like that he went 5-6 from the line. On this team, where he might be the 5th offensive option when he’s out there, getting to the line will really help bring his numbers up. But we know Jared Dudley isn’t about numbers. Unfortunate that his team couldn’t pull out a win in this battle, and he might have nightmares about being matched up with Dirk Nowitzki in the post, but this is still a fine night for Jared.

Amir Johnson: 2 Pts (0-1 FG, 2-2 FT), 7 Reb (4 Off), 2 Stl, 1 Blk, 2 PF in 13 mins.

Only 13 minutes for the second straight game, which isn’t helping the man’s stats. He still managed to get an impressive 7 rebounds in limited action, though. It was fun to watch him battle with Kevin Love for rebounds under the basket, but the Raptors decided to run with Bosh and Bargnani in the frontcourt for almost 40 minutes apiece because they needed scoring in the worst way.

Rookie Watch

DeMar DeRozan: 15 Pts (4-10 FG, 7-7 FT), 6 Reb (3 Off), 2 TO, 4 PF in 24 mins.

Another strong effort from DeRozan. He is being very aggressive on offense so that he can help the team even if his jumper isn’t falling. He had 7 quick points in the third quarter and you have to be impressed with those 7 made free throws and 3 offensive rebounds. I still think the Raps should make more of an effort to involve him on offense, but I have no complaints about where the high-flying rookie is right now.

Jonny Flynn: 17 Pts (6-14 FG, 2-4 3pt, 3-4 FT), 4 Reb, 8 Ast, 3 Stl, 3 TO, 2 PF in 32 mins.

A nice game from Flynn, with a large group of family and friends in attendance. He is looking more comfortable on the court now that coach Kurt Rambis has realized this roster is not right for the triangle offense. A few things stand out: his beautiful pass to Wayne Ellington on the break, his use of left-handed passes (a rare skill, as pointed out by Raptors colour commentator Leo Rautins), and his unfortunate turnover in crunch time that led to a Hedo Turkoglu dunk. Sorry I didn’t attend your first game in T.O., Jonny – I’ll be there next year.

Taj Gibson: 20 Pts (8-12 FG, 4-8 FT), 6 Reb (4 Off), 2 Ast, 3 Blk, 1 TO, 5 PF in 36 mins.

After being benched in favour of Brad Miller, Gibson posted a career-high in points and earned starters’ minutes. It’s nice to see 3 blocks from him, and the 4 offensive rebounds are huge. If he wants to become a legitimate starting 4 in this league, though, he’s going to have to get on the defensive glass. Still, great work from the 26th overall pick.

Tyreke Evans: 25 Pts (10-17 FG, 0-1 3PT, 5-8 FT)

This kid looks like a star right now. He scored 9 points in the last 2:02, getting to the basket at will and almost winning the game for the Kings by himself. He missed a potential game-tying shot with just a few seconds left, though, which set the stage for Andres Nocioni to miss the free throws required to extend the game. A great effort from the rookie, but his team fell 96-94 to a Hornets team that got 24 Pts/12 Reb from David West, 17 Pts/12 Reb from Emeka Okafor, and 15 Pts/12 Ast from Chris Paul.

Brandon Jennings: 17 Pts (7-19 FG, 0-4 3PT, 3-3 FT), 3 Reb (2 Off), 4 Ast, 4 TO, 5 PF in 39 mins.

As has been the theme with my favourite rookie as of late, there was some good and some bad here. The good? Jennings shot 7-12 inside of 12 feet. Celtics commentators Tom Heinsohn and Mike Gorman complimented his floater near the end of the 3rd quarter and it brought a smile to my face. The bad? His outside shot isn’t falling, he had as many turnovers as assists, and he had a very rough time trying to stay in front of Rajon Rondo. Methinks he’ll have an easier time and a better stat line against the Raptors tonight.

Fun With Stats

Free throws turned out to be extremely important last night in many strange ways. In the Raptors/Timberwolves game, Toronto found a way to go 40-48 from the line to counteract their awful shooting (26-81 FG, 2-21 3PT) from everywhere else. The Wolves shot 19-23 from the stripe, which is a great conversion rate, but with that kind of free throw disparity it is very hard to win games. In the Hornets/Kings game, both teams shot very poorly from the line – New Orleans finished 14-23 and Sacramento finished 9-19. Ew. In a game decided by 2 points, that is huge. Fitting that the game was decided when Andres Nocioni missed an essential free throw at the end. Conversely, both Phoenix and Dallas shot incredibly well in their game. The Suns went 25-25 and the Mavs went 20-23 in a game decided by only 1 point. Finally, in Los Angeles, Dwight Howard had an uncharacteristically decent night from the line on his 24th birthday, going 11-15. Clips coach Mike Dunleavy said, “If he was shooting free throws like he normally does, we would have been in the game.” Worth noting that Howard also finished with 7 blocks and 5 assists in this 97-86 victory.

In what has become one of the most frustrating storylines of the season for me, Ramon Sessions continues to waste away on the Timberwolves’ bench. Despite being effective in his limited playing time last night, he only saw the floor for 15 minutes. Seriously, Kurt, I understand that Flynn is your #1 point guard. I agree that it should be that way. But for God’s sake, play Sessions next to him. There is no way you can justify Corey Brewer, Damien Wilkins, and Wayne Ellington getting 27, 26, and 21 minutes respectively and ignoring Sessions, especially when you’re losing games.

LeBron James posted season highs in both points (43) and rebounds (13, 4 offensive) in 45 minutes of an overtime loss to the Grizzlies last night. You can knock the Cavs for reverting back to their predictable “LeBron Offense” when the going got tough, but it was effective. He scored Cleveland’s last 13 points. I’d quibble with the shot selection on some of the 11 threes he took, but it’s hard to criticize LeBron too much – it was a brilliant performance, even if his team came up short on the defensive end.

Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson scored 25 points apiece in a win over the suddenly-beatable Denver Nuggets. The two combined to shoot 16-35 from the field and 17-20 from the free-throw line. Wallace continues to somehow lead the entire league in rebounding, as he contributed 16 rebounds (5 offensive) as well. Captain Jack added 6 assists and both of them added solid defense. The Bobcats may not seem like a scary team, but I would NOT like to be an opposing wing player going up against these two.

Sophomores Brook Lopez (25 Pts, 10 Reb) and Derrick Rose (27 Pts, 7 Reb, 10 Ast) came through with big games last night. Both are playing their best ball of the season, as Lopez is a better basketball player when Devin Harris is on the court and Rose is a better basketball player when he’s, you know, healthy. The Nets squeaked out a victory when Harris converted with 15 seconds to go, countering the floater Rose had made on the previous possession. The Bulls’ last shot to take back the lead came in the form of a missed John Salmons 3-pointer, as they couldn’t find a way to get Mr. Rose the ball.

Impressive

O.J. Mayo: 28 Pts (10-18 FG, 3-4 3PT, 5-5 FT), 5 Reb (1 Off), 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 7 TO, 3 PF in 45 mins.

Zach Randolph: 32 Pts (10-19 FG, 1-1 3PT, 11-11 FT), 14 Reb (7 Off), 2 Ast, 4 Stl, 1 Blk, 1 TO, 4 PF in 47 mins.

Honestly, the whole Memphis team impresses me. The vast majority of the time, they play team basketball and they work on D, which is not at all what I expected of them after what I saw last year. Those Mayo/Randolph numbers are fantastic, but you have to also appreciate the work of Rudy Gay, who started the game 2-10 but still managed to finish with 21 points whilst chasing LeBron James around screens all night. Mike Conley finished with only 12 points in 39 minutes, but there were no bigger points in this game than his driving layup off of a hesitation move that froze Shaq with 3 seconds left in overtime. Huge win for the Grizzlies, who are gaining new fans with their surprisingly enjoyable play.

Jarrett Jack: 17 Pts (3-8 FG, 0-3 3PT, 11-12 FT), 7 Reb (1 Off), 8 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 4 PF in 37 mins.

Chris Bosh: 21 Pts (8-18 FG, 5-7 FT), 16 Reb (5 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 3 Blk, 2 TO, 1 PF in 38 mins.

These two college buddies were huge for the Raptors in this gritty win. Sure, Bosh’s line isn’t as nice as the ridiculous 25 Pt/12 Reb (7 Off) IN 22 MINUTES he posted the other night in Chicago, but it’s still damn good. I’m not sure if Bosh is getting the recognition he deserves this year – he’s having a legitimate MVP-level season and has a PER of 27.4. Raptors fans will be interested to know that Vince Carter’s highest PER with the Raptors was 25.0 in 2000-2001, which was the only time he came within 4 points of Bosh’s current rating. Jack did an admirable job starting in place of the sidelined Jose Calderon, making up for his poor outside shooting by getting to the line way more than a point guard is expected to. The 8 assists are nice, too, and the haters have mostly quieted down.

Andrew Bogut: 25 Pts (11-17 FG, 3-3 FT), 14 Reb (4 Off), 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 Blk, 7 TO, 2 PF in 39 mins.

Jeremy Schmidt of Bucksketball warned pre-game that Kendrick Perkins is precisely the type of defender that tends to give Bogut problems. And he did, sort of, causing the big Aussie to turn the ball over 7 times. But Bogut also was able to score very, very efficiently. The Bucks, as they usually do, made a concerted effort to feed him early and he delivered. He showed his diverse skill-set last night, scoring on hook shots, drives to the basket, turn-arounds, and lay-ups, using either hand. And I haven’t even mentioned how he protected the paint and defended the pick-and-roll. Another great performance against a fellow big man coming into his own. If the All-Star Game was tomorrow, Andrew Bogut would have to be backing up Dwight Howard at the 5-spot for the East. No doubt in my mind.

Kevin Garnett: 25 Pts (9-13 FG, 7-9 FT), 9 Reb (1 Off), 2 Stl, 2 TO, 4 PF in 33 mins.

Bogut wasn’t the only impressive big man in Boston last night. KG set the tone early with a dunk on the very first possession of the game. He showed no respect to Ersan Ilyasova on either end of the floor, despite the formerly-masked Turk’s best effort. His jump shot was falling and he was able to score inside a few times, too, looking more like the KG of old than he has all season long. He did a masterful job defending the pick-and-roll, which is no easy feat when it’s being run by Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut. Garnett’s antics are as annoying as ever (slapping the ball out of a rookie’s hands after a whistle, really?), but I very much respect how he produced for the Celtics last night.

Rajon Rondo: 11 Pts (3-9 FG, 0-2 3PT, 5-7 FT), 9 Reb (3 Off), 13 Ast, 5 Stl, 1 TO, 4 PF in 38 mins.

That looks like an old Jason Kidd line. What’s most impressive is that he was able to record this near-triple-double without scoring a single point in the first three quarters. This man is one of the very best all-around point guards in the game and he taught my guy Brandon a few lessons last night. Jennings struggled to stay in front of Rondo (like every point guard in the league does) and he was bothered by Rajon’s pesky defensive effort. Even though Garnett was superb, to my eyes the Celtics’ point man was the biggest reason they pulled away down the stretch and secured a win.

Quoted

“What I’ve been impressed with is the tempo that he plays at. Even though he’s quick, he doesn’t play quick all the time. He’s scoring but he’s keeping everybody involved. That’s a sign of maturity for a young player.” – Doc Rivers, on Brandon Jennings, pre-game.

“He’s the best Australian I’ve ever seen.” – Celtics play-by-play guy Mike Gorman, on Andrew Bogut.

Tweeted

@BothTeamsPlayed: There’s no possible way I could hate Nocioni more, but if you miss one of these and don’t force OT…..

Moments later…

@BothTeamsPlayed: No judge in America would convict a person for murdering Andres Nocioni. None.

@Adaye5: Watchin the MEN vs CLE game and watchin my boy @rudygay22 guard lebron and try to get through a thousand on-ball pick…JEEEEEZ

@statcenter: 4 NBA games tonight decided by 1 or 2 pts – and the team with the worse record coming in won all 4.

To Read

Discerning Morey’s Philosophy by Rahat Huq

The Art Of The Steal: How Trevor Ariza has become a passing pickpocket by Jason Friedman

The Importance of being Allen Iverson by David Aldridge

Get Well Soon, G.O. by Holly MacKenzie

To Watch

Devin Harris’s ridiculous buzzer-beating 3-pointer off of one foot:

The Birdman and a Frenchman have a block party in Charlotte:

One last look at Allen Iverson’s return to Philly, with a conversation between him and David Aldridge:

To listen

Kelly Dwyer talks to Rockets.com

Ben Golliver and Kevin Pelton discuss Greg Oden in the latest Dontonio Wingcast

Gary Dineen/Getty Images

A quick recap this morning, due to time constraints. First, though, I should mention Saturday night. I skipped out on BfB yesterday because I didn’t want to talk about the horrible thing that happened in Portland. I feel like I should acknowledge the other stuff that took place that night, though: DeMar DeRozan kicked ass and made me happy, Jarrett Jack tied his shoe while holding onto the ball and made Bulls fans angry, Steve Nash and Vince Carter owned their respective 4th quarters to secure wins, Joe Johnson helped his Hawks win ugly, Kevin Love put in his second straight double-double in a win against the Jazz, and the Spurs are apparently not to be feared anymore. Okay, we good? Onto Sunday…

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum: 16 Pts (3-12 FG, 1-1 3PT, 9-14 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF in 28 mins.

Bynum continued his poor field goal shooting but also continued to make up for it by getting to the foul line. In the interest of fairness, I’ll mention that some of those free throws came at the end of the game on intentional fouls, but it’s an impressive number nonetheless. His team took care of the struggling Wizards, 98-94.

Shannon Brown: 12 Pts (4-10 FT, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 TO, 0 PF in 19 mins.

No dunks for Shannon last night. Bummer. He came up big in the 4th, though, hitting back-to-back threes (!) when the Suns were trying to make a game of it. Another Lakers blowout, 108-88.

Jared Dudley: 9 Pts (3-7 FG, 2-3 3PT, 1-2 FT), 5 Reb (3 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 TO, 1 PF in 24 mins.

Jared knocked some down threes and worked his ass off. If you didn’t know, that’s what he does. He drew the unenviable (not a strong enough word) task of guarding Kobe Bryant for long stretches and kept the intensity up even when the point differential was enormous. Hated to see the Suns fall behind like that, but still loved watching Dudley play. Oh, another thing: HoopsHype named him the NBA’s MVT. And… one more thing. I came across this fantastic picture of him:

Serge Ibaka

J.G. of Daily Thunder wrote a great piece on Ibaka yesterday. While I’m incredibly biased and want to see him get all the minutes he can get, the distribution of playing time in Oklahoma City is becoming quite a tricky puzzle to solve.

Rookie Watch

Brandon Jennings: 24 Pts (9-22 FG, 0-2 FT, 6-6 FT), 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 3 TO, 1 PF in 40 mins.

Yeah, he only shot 41% from the field, but that represents a better shooting percentage than the vast majority of his teammates could muster yesterday. After a stunning 11-0 Milwaukee run to start the game, the Cavs’ picked up their defense when Shaquille O’Neal moved to the bench. The Bucks were scoring at will on high pick-and-rolls early, but these dried up when the Cavs ratcheted up their defensive intensity and the Bucks’ offense degenerated into “give Bogut the ball and hope for the best”. Cleveland ended up going on an unfathomable 29-0 run that spanned some of the 1st and 2nd quarters, fueled largely by the great play of Delonte West off the bench. In the second half, Jennings put a lot of pressure on Cleveland’s D and found ways to score, but it was way, way too late. I loved his play and I love his team, but damn. That was a beating. The final score, 101-86, doesn’t really tell the story.

Austin Daye: 11 Pts (5-5 FG, 1-1 3PT), 2 Reb, 2 PF in 12 mins.

In the second half, creative Pistons coach John Kuester put the 6’11 Daye at 2-guard. It worked mighty well, as, um, he didn’t miss a shot. His 7 points in the third quarter were huge and he added a couple of key baskets in the 4th. Only 12 minutes, but those were 12 BIG minutes. This kid really has the potential to be a dangerous offensive player. He might need to put some weight on, though – I think he’s the only NBA’er skinnier than Kevin Durant.

Jonas Jebreko: 10 Pts (3-8 FG, 1-3 3PT, 3-4 FT), 11 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 38 mins.

Look at that – 38 minutes! That’s more than any other Piston in this game and it allowed the rook to get his second career double-double. I continue to really dig this kid’s game. I like him for the same reasons I like Omri Casspi – he’s tough, skilled, and plays both ends of the floor. I’m really interested in how Kuester will distribute the minutes when Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince come back. The Pistons might not be loaded with elite-level guys, but they have as many rotation-worthy players as any team in the league, save for the Magic.

Omri Casspi: 14 Pts (5-8 FG, 4-4 3PT, 0-2 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 1 TO, 5 PF in 19 mins.

And speaking of Casspi… These are some nice numbers. I’d have more than stats for you, but I didn’t catch much of the game. Going to give it a close look later today, as I recorded it with my brand new PVR last night. Anyway, 4-4 from downtown? Great to see. He continues to confuse me with his free-throw shooting, though – by all accounts his stroke looks fine, but something’s going wrong when he lets the damn ball fly. He’s at 50% on the year, whilst shooting 51.2% from behind the arc! That’s messed up.

Tyreke Evans: 30 Pts (10-19 FG, 0-3 3PT, 10-12 FT), 4 Rebs (3 Off), 4 Ast, 3 Stl, 2 TO, 5 PF in 39 mins.

‘Reke continues to make his case for ROY… You have to love him doing his D-Wade impression against the real Wade (who bested the rookie with 34 points on 16 field goals with 10 assists to boot). It’s obvious that Evans is extremely gifted at getting to the basket. Looks like a special player. He couldn’t lead his team to a victory last night, though, as the Kings dropped their second in a row after winning four straight, falling 115-102 to Wade’s Heat.

Impressive

Alright, here’s where the time constraints are kicking in. No “Fun With Stats” today, and I’m going to be quick with who impressed me yesterday and stick with just the Cleveland/Milwaukee game. For the Cavs, Delonte West and Anderson Varejao were phenomenal off the bench. Delonte played a very, very efficient game, somehow managing 21 points on 9 shots in just 24 minutes. He was simply brilliant on offense, dominating Milwaukee’s usually-stellar D and getting numerous and-1s around the basket. You have to think he rejoins the starting lineup at some point soon. Just hope he has his head straight. Varejao was almost as dominant as Delonte, but it won’t show up in the stats. He did his work on the defensive end, effectively protecting the paint and stopping penetration at the same time. In his first 16 minutes on the floor, he was +31. Crazy. Before I move on, I have to mention the Bucks’ Luc Richard Mbah A Moute. I expect amazing defense from him because that’s what he does, but he surprised even me yesterday with how well he defended LeBron James. No one on this planet can stop LeBron, but LRMAM can at least make life more difficult for him. I think he’s the best in the world at guarding the MVP, and with his ability to guard 1-4, he might be the best defensive player in the league overall.

Quoted

“It’s very tough to be a superstar in this league, but right now he’s doing an unbelievable job for this team, for this franchise and he’s only going to get better.” – LeBron James, on Brandon Jennings.

“The biggest thing I was saying to the guys was we can’t lose to the Nets. No disrespect to them, but if we want to start taking steps forward and going in the right direction, we have to win games vs. teams like the Nets.” – Al Harrington, after his Knicks took down the Nets 106-97 in the afternoon. No disrespect, really? Because to me, that is very disrespectful to the Nets. Not that they haven’t earned this, but still.

“He pretty much came in and changed the complexion of the game. We needed something, so it was great for a young guy to come in and make that kind of contribution.” – Ben Gordon, who was limited in action yesterday because of his lingering ankle issue, on Austin Daye.

Tweeted

@cdouglasroberts: I’m late, but respectt to my big dog AI. Glad he’s back in the “A”. Cuz retired for 13 hours. Haaaaa. #1 hardest player I’ve EVER guarded. If I was to give out my own MVT, I’d have to give serious consideration to CDR.

@KDonhoops: Also, I just clicked over to the Y! NBA page, I didn’t know, and I’m … no other way to put this, crying. This just isn’t fair. Well, I know I wasn’t alone.

To Watch

Rockets broadcaster Matt Bullard hilariously castigating referees:

Raptors broadcaster Jack Armstrong hilariously enjoying some in-game entertainment:

LeBron James ruining a nice Brandon Jennings play:

The third instalment of the “One Rookie” series starring my boy DeMar DeRozan:

To Read

Some great quotes from AI’s first practice with Philly.

A look at what’s happened to ex-Syracuse guard and ex-SLAM High School Diary keeper Eric Devendorf.

Some clarity on the Portland/Andre Miller situation

Nothing easy, except scoring on the Raptors. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

Finished this up late again today, my apologies. I wish I could blame the mental trauma from that Raptors loss, but that wasn’t even it. I might have to change the title to Basketball For Brunch. Anyway, let’s get to it.

The All-OTN Team

Will Bynum: 10 Pts (4-9 FG, 0-1 3PT, 2-2 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 7 Ast, 1 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 33 mins.

On night where Rodney Stuckey (17 points on 16 shots, 4 Ast) and Ben Gordon (18 points on 16 shots, 0 assists) didn’t score very efficiently or distribute, Bynumite stepped up with a team-high 7 assists. Pity it wasn’t enough to help a not-yet-100% Gordon get a victory against his old team, where a smattering of ignorant fans were booing him.

Shannon Brown: The Lakers didn’t play last night, but here’s a video of Lamar Odom gushing about “Mr. Fantastic” for his Let Shannon Dunk campaign:

Favourite bit there: “Even the shots that he blocks or tries to block are like posters.” Yup.

Jared Dudley: 6 Pts (2-6 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), 3 Reb (1 Off), 1 Ast, 2 PF in 21 mins.

Uninspiring numbers for Jared in another bad loss. The Suns failed to score 100 points for the second time this season and the second night in a row, falling 107-90 to Cleveland in a game that by all accounts didn’t feel even as close as that. I’d like to tell you Dudley’s hustle and defensive intensity was a positive (as it was in their loss to the Knicks – see the “Aside from Jared Dudley and Steve Nash…” sentence here), but I can’t be sure because I didn’t see the game and none of the recaps I’ve seen have mentioned his name, preferring to focus more generally on his team’s epic failure. We know he’s keeping his head up, though.

Amir Johnson: 9 Pts (4-6 FG, 1-2 FT), 7 Reb (3 Off), 1 Blk, 2 TO, 5 PF in 19 mins.

“If you are looking for bright spots in this game, Amir Johnson certainly is one of them, if not the brightest one.” – Leo Rautins, during the Raptors telecast.

I fortunately did not see too much of this horrible 146-115 blowout as it was happening (although I feel like I saw every second because of all the tweets and text messages I read), but I believe I saw the perfect microcosm of Amir Johnson’s game during a timeout of the Bucks/Wizards game. In one possession in the first half, Amir Johnson grabbed a difficult offensive rebound, kicked the ball out, eventually received it again, and hit a tough inside shot. On the ensuing defensive possession, he had a vicious block but then sent Zaza Pachulia to the foul line after the Hawks recovered the ball. That is Amir: activity all of the time, even if his team is getting slaughtered. 5 fouls in 19 mins, though. You know I love the guy, but I have to mention the fouls.

Serge Ibaka: 2 Pts (1-2 FG), 2 Reb (1 Off), 1 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF in 6 mins.

Rats. Only 6 minutes for Serge. Sort of hard to complain, though, as I would have played Nick Collison over him on this night too. Collison was brilliant as he returned from a sore knee – 18 points on 8-9 shooting, with his one miss coming on a three pointer at the end of the shot clock with 20 seconds left in the game. Add in the defense (drawn charges, 1 steal, 1 block) and his team-high 7 rebounds (5 offensive!) and he might have been the most important player in this 117-106 Thunder victory over the Sixers. But wait, this is supposed to be about Serge Ibaka! Not to worry, I have a link to share. Here’s Tom Haberstroh of Hoopdata giving Ibaka some love for contributing more quickly than anyone expected and being a major contributor to his team’s elite defense around the basket.

Rookies

Brandon Jennings: 17 Pts (7-21 FG, 2-8 3PT, 1-2 FT), 2 Reb, 7 Ast, 1 Stl, 0 TO (!), 5 PF in 36 mins.

There’s some good and some bad here. Obviously, looking at the stats, you don’t like the shooting. I can tell you one positive from this though – Jennings made more floaters than he missed last night. That is HUGE. As per Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus, Jennings’s recent shooting slump is mostly because he is missing shots around the basket. My eyes tell me that this is because, rather than getting all the way to the hole for layups, Jennings is shooting a lot of contested floaters around the rim. In Jennings’s words, from the always-excellent Bucksketball:

I learned in pre-season that I wasn’t going to be able to go to the rack that much, so I had to change things quickly and get a floater going. It makes things easier. It’s still in the development phase.

I’m not worried at all about Brandon’s 3-point shot. He had an off-night from behind the arc last night, but that happens to everyone. If he gets more consistent with his floater, I don’t see how you stop him. You already can’t let him shoot from distance and have to be terrified of his pull-up jumper. Watch out, league.

…I can’t move on from Brandon without talking about the last few possessions of the game, though. I was on an emotional rollercoaster watching this. First, he took a ballsy pull-up jumper with 50 seconds left when his team was down by 1 and then committed a silly frustration foul when it missed. Then, with his team down 3, he hit an incredibly difficult leaning three to tie it up with 10.5 seconds left. I’d say it got me out of my seat, but I was already standing up. Unfortunately, on the next possession, he bit on an Earl Boykins pump-fake and sent him to the line for what turned out to be the game winning free throws. The game ended when Luke Ridnour (who played a great game, more on him soon) badly missed a desperation three with 1 second left in the game. I can’t have been the only one who wanted Jennings to get that last shot.

DeMar DeRozan: 21 pts (6-11 FG, 9-12 FT), 3 Reb, 2 Ast, 3 PF in 30 mins.

I really wish his career-high didn’t come on a night like this. But then again, it gives me something positive to think about. Look at that, 12 free-throw attempts! Love that. I saw DeRozan get two impressive and-ones near the end of the first half and it would seem that he kept up that aggressiveness for all of his career-high 30 minutes. Raptors colour guy Leo Rautins, who has not been one to hand out excessive praise to the rookie, said he played with “hustle and determination that wasn’t necessarily shared by his entire team.” That’s a very polite way of saying it.

Jonny Flynn: 12 Pts (5-12 FG, 1-4 3PT, 1-2 FT), 2 Reb (1 Off), 9 Ast, 2 TO in 30 mins.

Gotta love those 9 assists, even if the 12 points on 12 shots is a bit blah. Whenever I watch Minnesota play, I feel like Flynn deserves more assists than he gets – he simply does not have shooters on the team that will convert open looks. Luckily, Ryan Gomes knocked down some shots tonight, going 8-13 including 2-3 from downtown to score 20 points. One of his threes came off of nice behind-the-back feed from Flynn with 1:39 left in the game. The miss? It came with 1:14 left on a wide open corner three, set up by… you guessed it, Flynn. It’s easy to dismiss the rookie from Syracuse, trying to run the triangle with an incredibly unbalanced team, but you shouldn’t. He can play. This was the first time he had recorded 9 assists in an NBA game, but it won’t be the last.

Toney Douglas: 17 Pts (7-11 FG, 2-5 3PT, 1-2 FT), 1 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 PF in 21 mins.

Nice line for Toney Douglas. He can really, really score. Reason #958 I’m happy Allen Iverson ended up in Philly: he’s not taking minutes from Douglas. I’m not getting too optimistic about his standing in New York, though – this performance came on a night where they were losing by 22 at the end of the third quarter. Douglas only got these minutes because the game was lost and Nate Robinson is in the coach’s doghouse. Blarg. Stupid Knicks.

Tyreke Evans: 26 Pts (7-14 FG, 0-2 3PT, 12-14 FT), 5 Reb, 6 Ast, 4 TO in 32 mins.

Now this I can be optimistic about. Yeah, it was against Indiana. But isn’t it crazy that we suddenly EXPECT the Kings to beat Indiana? This team has a 9-8 record and a 4-game winning streak despite losing Kevin Martin five games in and not seeing a single minute from Francisco Garcia. Huge credit has to go out to Paul Westphal and everyone in the rotation, especially Evans. I admit that, as far as ROY is concerned, I’m with Kelly Dwyer and not Zach Harper, but Evans has been fantastic this year. He can get to the basket and score with ease and has played point guard with much greater success than most people imagined he would have. If he shoots fewer jumpers and gets to the foul line at a rate similar to last night, I might have to reconsider my stance on the aforementioned award before this season is over.

Fun With Stats

Blowout city: There was a point last night where, of the eight games being played, four of them (TOR/ATL, NYK/ORL, PHX/CLE, DAL/NJ) had a point differential of at least 20.

Let’s get the Raptors out of the way: Chris Bosh scored 2 points, going without a field goal for the first time since November 6, 2007, when the Raptors were routed by the Milwaukee Bucks. Bosh only played 16 minutes, sitting during the first time because he was in foul trouble. One of those fouls was assigned to someone else at halftime, but by then it was way too late. Oh, and the Italian Rodman? Andrea Bargnani failed to grab a single rebound in almost 22 minutes of action last night. Sad face.

No more negativity here. Let’s talk about some point guards. I love me some point guards. First, Jason Kidd: 16 Pts (5-6 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-4 FT), 8 Reb, 10 Ast, 5 Stl, 1 Blk, 4 TO, 1 PF in 34 mins. Wow. That’s… insane. I’d be impressed with a line like that even from 2002 Jason Kidd. The downside is it added insult to injury, as he did this whilst etching his former team’s name into the record books in a most unflattering way. Next, Russell Westbrook – weird line for him. Definitely not the perfection of J-Kidd, but check this out: 7 Pts (1-11 FG, 0-3 3PT, 5-6 FT), 5 Reb (2 Off), 15 Ast, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 3 PF in 33 mins of a winning effort. Again, wow. He was supposed to be a scorer, someone who could get his but would have trouble involving his teammates and being a true point guard. Well, hey, critics: 15 assists! He already has more than half of the 10+ assist games he had last year and we’re only a month in. Let’s just ignore the terrible shooting on this night. Hell yeah, development! Thunder!

Now, onto the bigs. I’ve gotta mention Brandon Bass here – this beast has been waiting patiently to be unleashed this season, as Stan Van Gundy has understandbly opted to keep the floor spread with the sweet shooting of Ryan Anderson and Matt Barnes off the bench at the 4 spot and stay big at the 5 with Marcin Gortat. With Bass out of the shuffle, he has been unable to show us what we saw from him last season: rebounding, interior scoring, solid D, and the mid-range shot. Against the Knicks, however, there was no need to stay big off the bench, so Bass got Gortat’s minutes at center. He responded by scoring 17 points in just 17 minutes, shooting 7-12 from the field and adding 3 rebounds. This is how you earn more minutes. Also, Marcus Camby had a Marcus Camby night: 9 points on 4-6 shooting, with 19 rebounds, 4 assists, 5 steals, and a block in 39 minutes. I miss seeing those numbers on my fantasy team. Gotta wonder, though – as Kelly Dwyer mentioned in the BDL chat yesterday, do the Clips try to trade Camby? His value has to be pretty high and Griffin is going to need every minute he can get when he comes back. Just something to think about.

One more tidbit before I move on – not only did Zydrunas Ilgauskas become the Cavs’ leader in games played last night, he moved into third place on the team’s all-time scoring list. He now trails only LeBron and Brad Daugherty. Effing great night for him.

Quoted

Argh, a bunch of depressing ones today. I apologize.

“It’s not the coach. Red Auerbach couldn’t coach us the way we are playing. It’s us. It doesn’t matter who you bring in. It starts in here. You have to have heart. You have to have the heart to overcome something like this.” – Chris Douglas-Roberts, after his team became the lone team in NBA history to lose its first 18 games.

I’ve been following CDR closely this season. I feel worse for him than any other player in the league. It’s not hard to see how rough this has been for him. He’s never been through anything similar to this in life. I really hope they win a damn game soon. Anyway, onto more depressing stuff – here are ex-Yellow Jackets and current-Raptors Chris Bosh and Jarrett Jack, post-game.

“We can’t give up 75 points in the half and expect to be successful in this league. We can’t come in with the mindset that we’re just going to outscore everybody. It’s not possible.” – Jarrett Jack.

“We’re not playing D and we’re not rebounding – we’re shooting ourselves in the foot twice.” – Jarrett Jack.

“You can’t say we did anything right on defense. We should be embarrassed, everybody should be embarrassed. Us, coaches – everybody who was involved in this game should be embarrassed.” – Jarrett Jack.

“I was upset that we don’t buy in on the defensive end of the floor and every time something happens, it’s, ‘it’s okay, it’s alright.’ It’s not alright. We’re letting problems go by without attacking them or challenging them or bringing them to the forefront or getting them solved.” – Jarrett Jack.

“Everybody can’t just walk on eggshells around here and act like we’re playing good basketball. We’re not, we’re playing terrible.” – Jarrett Jack.

“We haven’t stopped anybody all year.” – Chris Bosh

“We don’t get on the ground, we don’t consistently get rebounds, we give up points in the paint… We’re just not a good team.” – Chris Bosh

Jesus. It’s not even 9:00 AM and I need a drink. This is bad. Very, very, very bad. It’s only early December, but I’ve seen previous awful Raptors teams lose games like this. Well, rarely EXACTLY like this – I mean, down by 30 at the end of the third? Anyway, it’s obviously not the loss to Atlanta that bothers me. The Raptors need a win in the worst way, but I wouldn’t have been too upset with an L if they had just shown some signs of life on defense. Jay Triano stressed from training camp onwards that defense would be his main focus – he knew he had the pieces to be a great offensive team, but this squad severely lacked athleticism and one-on-one defensive skills. To compensate, you have to play extremely focused, smart team D. The Raptors have done this only for small stretches this year and haven’t done it at all during this 5-game losing streak. Damn it. I need a happy quote to cheer me up…

“That’s the closest I’ve ever come to tears on the basketball floor.” – Zydrunas Ilgauaskas, on his big night. The fans chanted “Z” for him. Yay!

Impressive

These will all be from the Bucks/Wizards game, since it had my complete attention.

Nick Young: 21 Pts (7-12 FG, 0-1 3PT, 7-7 FT), 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 TO, 2 PF in 34 mins.

Gotta love his aggressiveness. The man just knows how to score at the NBA level. You can criticize him for being sort of one-dimensional, I guess, but when that dimension is great, it’s okay. Same argument I’ve always made for Ben Gordon, even though Young isn’t near Gordon’s level yet. Love seeing him starting again, though – those erratic minutes and DNP-CD’s from the early part of the season were starting to piss me off.

Earl Boykins: 13 Pts (3-5 FG, 7-10 FT), 1 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 TO in 19 mins.

I’ve always loved watching Earl Boykins play. You know why. He’s the tiniest guy on the floor, by far, but he doesn’t play like it. The effort, the confidence? Always there. I’m definitely enjoying his return with the Wizards, and so is Gilbert Arenas, as it’s allowing him to play off the ball. Put a smile on my face just to see Boykins on the floor at the end of this game, let alone seeing the ball in his hands on the Wizards’ final possession. Still not pleased with the result, but whatever. Go Earl.

Hakim Warrick: 20 Pts (6-9 FG, 8-8 FT), 4 Reb (3 Off), 3 TO, 2 PF in 32 mins.

14 of those points came in the first half, including two aggressive and-ones and the missed shot that resulted in Scott Skiles’s ejection. Quick note on that if you didn’t see it – Skiles was miffed that Hak didn’t get the foul, so he approached the nearest ref and screamed at him. Upon receiving a technical foul, Skiles made a “T” with his hands and screamed, “Technical!” in the ref’s face. For this, he received another tech and was ejected. After storming to about halfcourt to let out some more steam, he went back to the locker room. Anyway, Hak – love the effort, as always. Nice to see the shots falling tonight and VERY nice to see all those free throw attempts. It’s ridiculous how many of these Bucks I look forward to watching – him, Jennings, Bogut, Ilyasova, Bell, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute (come back soon!), Meeks, Delfino, and…

Luke Ridnour: 20 Pts (9-16 FG, 2-6 3PT), 4 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 PF in 33 mins.

Whoa. Didn’t expect that. I didn’t even expect to become a Ridnour fan. This year, though, he’s proven to be a much more than capable backup point guard, even if I’d much rather have the ball in Jennings’s hands at the end of the game. You won’t see 20 point games from him all the time, but last night wasn’t that much of a statistical aberration. He has a PER of 18.3 this season. I love that Skiles has been playing him and Jennings together from the start, realizing that the advantages that the pair bring on offense far outweigh the defensive limitations of having two small, thin point guards on the floor on D. I wish Kurt Rambis would realize the same thing and play Jonny Flynn and Ramon Sessions together more often in Minny. While they did see some time sharing the floor last night in their 97-95 loss to Memphis, Sessions still played 6 fewer minutes than Damien Wilkins even though he was hot, going 7-9 from the floor.

Tweeted

@NBAKays: I’m starting to think that the Raptors are not a very good defensive basketball team. (When he tweeted this, the Hawks had 118 points with 9:41 left in the game.)

@NBAguy: @jeskeets who’s your squad?

@jeskeets: @NBAguy The [/covers mouth] Raptuyfdgyrs.

That does it. I’m going to puke.

@HowardBeckNYT: Not that anyone cares, but the Mavericks have scored 90 points on the Nets with 6:54 left in the third. They lead 90-66.

@johnschuhmann: This may be the Nets’ best offensive game this season… and they’re down by 27.

At least I’m not alone.

To watch

Al Thornton off the backboard to himself:

Trevor Ariza on Chris Kaman:

Apologies for not mentioning the Rockets/Clippers game until now. I fell asleep and missed it, bummer. Seems like it could have been a good one for three quarters, until the Rockets put the Clippers away with a 26-13 4th Q to win 102-85. Aaron Brooks managed 22 points on 9-11 shooting from the field.

Caron Butler on poor Andrew Bogut:

Derrick Rose’s alley-oop from Brad Miller:

LeBron’s sweet chasedown block in the throwback uni:

To read

Britt Robson, one of my favourites, takes a look around the league for SI.

Kendrick Perkins is getting scary good, says Chris Forsberg of ESPN Boston.

Bethlehem Shoals’s take on Ron Artest for the Baseline.

Eddy Rivera’s great interview with J.J. Redick for Third Quarter Collapse

Hey, check it out – a new feature! This is the debut of Basketball for Breakfast, my stab at a daily recap. I know, I know, there is already a wealth of excellent recaps in the NBA blogosphere. I read them all and that won’t change. This isn’t an attempt to compete with anyone; I’m simply trying to add something of my own. I’ll do my best to keep it fun and unique.

The All-OTN Team

Amir Johnson: 2 Pts (0-2 FG, 2-4 FT), 7 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 4 PF in 20 min.

Not the most impressive stat line in this 106-102 loss to the Wizards, I’ll admit. He was enjoyable to watch, though. The man always brings the energy. Those 7 rebounds? 6 of them came in the first half, including an amazing grab that he followed up with an assist to a cutting Chris Bosh. What’s most impressive about Amir’s rebounding is that he gets them in different ways – last night, I saw him tip the ball to himself, tip it to his teammates, and straight-up wrestle it away from opponents’ fingertips. He is one of the few Raptors in the franchise’s history who manages to get rebounds that he shouldn’t. The 4 fouls in 20 are unfortunate, but he’s still learning.

Jared Dudley: 7 Pts (2-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, 1-2 FT), 7 Reb (3 Off), 1 TO, 2 PF in 18 min.

Again, these numbers won’t blow you away, but they rarely do with Jared. I’ll tell you this: I didn’t see much of this 126-99 blowout, but in the couple of minutes where I tuned in during the 2nd quarter I saw Jared Dudley make three impressive plays in succession: hitting a three-pointer, drawing a foul underneath the basket, and saving a possession for his team. Clyde Frazier, calling the game for the Knicks, seemed positively smitten with him. It’s always nice to get 7 rebounds from your backup small forward, too. Shame his effort wasn’t anywhere close to enough to avoid this embarrassing defeat.

Shannon Brown: 4 Pts (1-6 FG, 0-2 3PT, 2-2 FT), 2 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk, 3 PF in 23 min.

Argh. More crappy numbers. Doesn’t mean he had a bad game, though. On the night where his new website launched, he entered the game with 1:07 left in the 1st quarter and stayed there through most of the 2nd, absolutely shutting down sharpshooter Marcus Thornton. Brown quite obviously wasn’t on the court to score; he was there to stop Lil Buckets from doing so. And he succeeded – Lil Buckets couldn’t get anything going in the first half. Unfortunately, the Hornets didn’t Let Shannon Dunk on this night, as his best opportunity was a missed alley-oop from Kobe Bryant. His one FG was pretty nice, though:

Rookie Watch

DeMar DeRozan: 2 Pts (1-4 FG), 2 Reb, 1 Ast, 2 TO, 1 Blk, 1 PF in 16 mins.

Not a standout night for DeMar, as he missed a couple of jumpers we know he can make. It’s important to remember what his role is on this team, though. Since Jay Triano has opted to play him pretty much exclusively with the starting unit, he is not asked to take a lot shots and doesn’t get many opportunities to get in rhythm. We saw some nice plays, though – DeRozan’s 1 FG came on an alley-oop from Jose Calderon, where he didn’t have the angle to slam it down so he adjusted and layed it in. His block on Gilbert Arenas in the 3rd quarter was fantastic, too. I’ve got to add that the 1 Ast is a bit deceiving, as he made a couple of aggressive plays that led to scores where he was not credited for any stats. One in particular stands out, where he drove on the right baseline and kicked it out to Chris Bosh, who found Andrea Bargnani at the top of the key for three. That’s a hockey assist. Nice to see. Still firmly on this bandwagon.

Ty Lawson: 13 Pts (5-7 FG, 1-1 3PT, 2-3 FT), 5 Reb, 5 Ast, 2 PF in 24 mins.
Very nice line for Lawson, on the night that his alma mater beat my Spartans by 7. 13 points on 7 shots, in 24 minutes? You have to love that efficiency – this is why statheads love him. And why you should love him? He can score in various ways, as he hurt the Warriors last night with his jump shot, his runner, and his ability to get to the basket. He outscored fellow rook Stephen Curry on this night, despite playing 16 fewer minutes and attempting 7 fewer field goal attempts. Another fun fact: his PER so far this season is 17.6. His teammate J.R. Smith’s? 15.1. Can’t give Denver enough credit for acquiring him in the draft.

Dante Cunningham: 6 Pts (2-6 FG, 2-3 FT), 5 Reb, 1 Ast, 4 PF in 18 mins.

Four fouls in 18 minutes? Ah, rookies. You have to be happy for Cunningham, though, as he made his first career NBA start last night due to LaMarcus Aldridge nursing his knee. While he obviously didn’t make up for Aldridge’s production, he had a positive impact on the game with his hustle. You know I love players like that. And I’m not the only one, check out what Seth Johnston of Bust A Bucket had to say:

Energy like Cunningham’s is something I am craving more and more as we sit and wait for the team’s bigger personalities to sort out their issues. I want a hyperactive role player power forward to just go nuts out there and provide me with some sort of vicarious catharsis. So thanks for giving me a little of that, Dante.

Darren Collison: 20 Pts (7-14 FG, 2-4 3PT, 4-4 FT), 5 Ast, 2 Reb, 4 TO, 2 Stl, 2 PF in 34 mins.
Collison continues to be awesome. I cannot BELIEVE Byron Scott was playing Bobby Brown over him earlier this season. I mean, I feel bad that Byron is without work, but I’m sorry, that was inexcusable. A kid this quick, with his ability to penetrate, knock down shots, and play defense? You put him out there over a chucker like Bobby, every time. Some analysis from Niall Dohery of Hornets247:

He would have had a few hockey assists if anyone kept count, and he was pesky as always on defense. He had two nice plays against Kobe, first getting by him on the perimeter late in the third quarter, keeping him on his back and then using a hesitation dribble to open up a gap for the layup. About a minute later he shadowed Bryant brilliantly to slow down the break and help stop the Lakers getting an easy bucket at the end of the period.

Additionally, he had a crazy buzzer-beater at the end of the 1st half. I’ll put the video here when/if it surfaces.

Fun With Stats

Brendan Haywood shot 1-8 from the line last night against Toronto. This, obviously, hurt his team. Fortunately, he made his minutes worthwhile by doing a very respectable job on Chris Bosh, who was held to 7-22 from the field. If the big man had just made his free throws, though, this game wouldn’t have come down to the final couple of minutes. The Wizards managed to escape with a victory after Hedo Turkoglu committed an unforced turnover with 31 seconds left in the game, but if you’re a Wizards fan you have to think it shouldn’t have got to that point.

In the Phoenix/New York game, the Suns failed to reach 100 points for the first time this season. The Knicks managed 100 points by the end of the third quarter. I should also point out the magnificent work of Danilo Gallinari: 27 pts (10-19 FG, 6-12 3PT, 1-2 FT), 10 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Blk, 0 (!) TO in 36 mins. Check out what Seth of Posting and Toasting had to say about Gallo’s fantastic all-around game:

He looked much more confident and made his way into the center of the court to participate more in the offensive flow. There were backdoor cuts, frontdoor cuts, and even a stop-and-pop banker from about 12 feet out.

So great that he’s being more than just an excellent three-point shooter, isn’t it? I am sure that Francesco Cappelletti of Ball In Europe is proud as hell right now.

Also scoring from all over the floor last night was Anthony Morrow, who scored 27 points against Denver while only hitting 2 three pointers (in all of his other 20+ games this year, he’s had at least 4 threes). It may be because of the limited bodies the Warriors have at their disposal right now, but I can’t tell you how happy I am to see that gorgeous shot launched so often these days.

Two more statistical shout-outs for before I move on – Michael Beasley and Ray Allen were huge in winning efforts. Beas was one point short of his career high, finishing with 27 points on 8-15 shooting from the floor and 11-12 (!) from the line. Pleasing his fantasy owners, he also contributed 8 rebounds, a block, and a steal. Jesus Shuttlesworth came through with his best game of the season, too, as he poured in 27 points on only 9 field goal attempts. When you go 5-6 from downtown and 10-10 from the line, that type of statistical improbability can happen. Oh, and he threw in 5 rebounds, 5 assists, a block, and a steal. Nice to have you back, Ray Ray.

Quoted

“They spread, they go, and they’re kind of all over the place.” – Carmelo Anthony, on Golden State’s offense, from Denver’s telecast. So few words here, but I don’t think he’s missing anything.

“Who are these guys?” – Clyde Frazier, on the Knicks, from New York’s telecast. I must say, Clyde, I was wondering the same thing. 71 points in the first half?

“Just pathetic defense by the Suns.” – Clyde Frazier again, providing spot-on analysis of how Larry Hughes was able to amass about 48 assists in about 4 seconds against Phoenix.

“I’m happy for our fans. They got to go home and watch (North) Carolina and Michigan State. If any of them were smart, they would have left early and watched that game.” – Larry Brown. Wait, there’s more, check out this next gem…

“I think even Doc Rivers had 12 points.” – Gerald Wallace. Ouch. I don’t think you need me to say any more about last night’s Boston/Charlotte matchup.

“I decided today I was going to be more aggressive. It’s fun. It relieves the pressure, it gets me off the ball and puts me back into my old mode where I was just scoring.” – Gilbert Arenas. I was quite impressed with Gilbert last night, even if he’s not quite back to his old self yet. Actually, that gives me an idea…

Impressive

Gilbert Arenas: 22 Pts (7-17 FG, 3-7 3PT, 5-5 FT), 3 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 TO, 1 Stl, 1 Blk in 38 mins.

It took Gil a little while to get going with his shot, but he was dishing out assists as soon as the first quarter began. Only once the fourth quarter began did Agent Zero really join the party, but when he did it was something to see. Like the Gilbert of old, he took control of the game near the end, scoring 12 points in the final frame. Not trying to ignore Antawn Jamison’s 10 fourth-quarter points, but Arenas was leading the team. As a Raptors fan it was annoying, but as a Gilbert fan it was heartening. Give him some more time and he’ll be dominating more quarters.

Andrea Bargnani: 20 Pts (8-14 FG, 2-4 3PT, 2-2 FT), 11 Reb (4 Off), 1 Ast, 2 TO, 1 Blk, 5 PF in 35 mins.

I could definitely get used to seeing double-doubles next to Bargs’s name. Love that. The Italian Rodman grabbed 7 of those boards in the first half, with 3 of them coming on the offensive end. As always, you love his efficient scoring, but when Bargs is boxing out properly and getting after it inside, all of Raptors Nation is proud. More of this please, sir. Oh, almost forgot – his one block came against Earl Boykins. I can’t recall a single instance of Earl Boykins getting a perimeter jumper of his blocked in the NBA, but Bargs managed to do it. Kudos.

Tweeted

@stackmack: On the pizza promo front: Turkoglu’s ONLY make in the fourth quarter was a pointless three at the buzzer to win pizza for the crowd.

@Nat77: Raptor fans cheered when for a buzzer beating slice of pizza and booed while their team was only down 3 and had a chance… #teampromofail

@LakersReporter Lakers crowd is incensed with N.O. scrapping during garbage time enough to threaten free tacos. 99 pts. w/04.8 left…

BAH. Rant time. This stuff pisses me off. Get rid of all of these stupid promotions. If the crowd is chanting, I want it to be about the game. End of story. And, Raptors fans, you’re letting me down lately. I love your passion for the team, I love that there seem to be a gazillon of you on the internet, but smarten up. This isn’t directed at all of you (after all, I am a Raptors fan), just the pizza people and the two fools in the section next to me who were heckling Chris Bosh on Sunday. Not cool.

@ticktock6: I think it’s hilarious that my entire twitter feed is cracking jokes about that Devin Brown airball. Lord, it was so bad. I’m still laughing

@kpelton: Every time I watch this Hornets-Lakers game, Bobby Brown is shooting. He does not lack for confidence.

I don’t even know how I feel about the Browns anymore. It’s just ridiculous at this point. At the beginning of the season, I was screaming at Byron Scott for playing them. Now, they both kind of need to be on the court for at least some stretches, but come on. What is going through their heads with some of these shots? The Devin Brown shot Ticktock6 from Hornets Hype is talking about was honestly one of the worst shots I have EVER seen. Very comparable to Zach Randolph’s boneheaded end-of-game three-pointer last year, except it came in the 1st quarter with plenty of time on the shot clock. As for her reaction (which was the same as mine) – sometimes, you have to laugh because the only other option is to cry. I’ll definitely post the video here if it surfaces later today. Here’s hoping.

To Watch

Lamar Odom destroying Hilton Armstrong:

(This spot is reserved for when nba.com puts up John Thompson’s interview from last night about Allen Iverson. Come on, guys.)

To Read

Generally, I’m going to use this section for articles/posts published the previous day, leaning more heavily on stuff that hasn’t been linked much elsewhere (like this piece on Carl Landry, this one on Jarrett Jack, this one on Mike Wilks, and this one on the Wolves). Today, though, I’ve got to direct you to three excellent Thanksgiving-inspired pieces from a few days ago. If you’re American and you took a break from the NBA for a couple days there, I forgive you, but do yourself a favour and read these. The first two speak perfectly for me, and the last one speaks to me.

Giving Thanks To The Game, by Holly MacKenzie

Guess what I’m thankful for? by Kelly Dwyer

A Different Set Of Eyes, by Tim Donahue

Ah yes a new season is upon us. It’s a time of wonderment, of unbridled optimism, of limitless possibilities. There are still a few weeks before the season starts and cold reality slaps the majority of the Association in the face, but I figured I’d get a head start. Optimism is running wild in Toronto, but there are a few pitfalls that Raptors Nation is overlooking.

First, while Jay Triano is a highly respected international coach, he is a rookie NBA head coach. The NBA game and the European game are very different (see: United States Men’s basketball teams in 2002 and 2004). Jay has never led a pro training camp. He’s never developed the battle plan for an NBA season. He’s never managed the ego and minutes of 15 grown whiny, selfish babies for an entire season. He’s never really dealt with media criticism. He also has a key new face as an assistant coach. Marc Iavaroni was a highly, highly respected defensive-minded assistant coach with Phoenix. Then he bombed out as a head coach. How will he react to what effectively is a demotion? He’s now behind a maturing head coach. Again. This is the same place his career was 7 years ago when D’Antoni was hired in Phoenix. Will he demand the same respect in the room that he had? The other difficulty Jay has is implementing a system. In Toronto it’s a blank slate with so many new players. The blank slate can work out in either really good or really bad ways; totally depending on how it is used by the coach, and how it is accepted by the players. Will Jay, a rookie coach, be able to capture a team made up of some fairly veteran players? Will he and Iavaroni be able to come up with a defensive scheme that can hide Hedo Turkoglu completely? That will help out Jose Calderon? Will he be able to teach Demar DeRozan to adapt to the NBA game quick enough to be a presence on the floor?

These are just some of the problems the Raptors face. They’ve got a rookie at the 2, a defensively-challenged player at the 3, and a question mark at the 5. Bargnani developed nicely towards the end of last year, but this summer with the Italian team his progress seemed to stagnate. He isn’t good defensively (although he was showing improvement last season), and will be asked to carry a large load this year without Jermaine O’Neal to hide behind. He should benefit from playing one position all year, but will the team benefit out of it? Hedo Turkoglu, like Bargs, is a good offensive player. No-one doubts that. With Orlando last year he hit some monster shots, and generally was one of Orlando’s best players. That’s nothing to sneeze at. That said, defensive problems can be masked when you have Dwight Howard behind you. Offensive problems can be hidden much the same way. Turkoglu is 30 and isn’t exactly an ‘athlete’ by NBA standards. He had five dunks last year. He came from a team with one all world player, 1 all star, and a point guard who embarrassed Jose Calderon when the two clubs met up two years ago. As for DeRozan, yes he had a good final four last year. But look at his numbers from the whole season. Sure there was improvement, but he didn’t exactly blow people out of the water for the first half of the year. In fact, he didn’t do a lot of anything for the first 2-3 months of the season. The adjustment from college to the NBA is a much tougher transition than the transition from high school to college (especially considering that jump for him was from Compton High to USC, or a trip of about 22 minutes by car). How is he going to handle being on his own? How is he going to handle the responsibilities of being a man both on and off the court? How is he going to handle being asked to defend the Wades and Kobes of the world? Is too much being put on the young man’s plate at once? He’s shown himself to have a good attitude and seems to have all the tools, but asking a 20-year-old to put everything together for his first NBA game, or even season, is a bit much. He is very much a raw talent still.

The bench appears to be a source of strength for the Raptors, but looks can be deceiving. Jarrett Jack deserves minutes. Marco Belinelli and Amir Johnson need minutes to improve, as they are young and talented. Rasho Nesterovic and Reggie Evans were both good pickups for depth, but Rasho is getting up there in years. And while Reggie Evans gives 110% every time he’s on the floor, he just isn’t that skilled a ball player. Let’s take a look at last year’s stats – His rebounding rate is an outstanding 19.0% (meaning he grabs 19% of the available rebounds when he’s on the floor), but he has a turnover rate of 21.3% and a TS% of 51.4%, both of which are absolutely horrible for a big man. The man had a PER of only 10.4 and, considering the weight PER gives to rebounds, that is a red flag. You don’t need advanced statistics to understand Reggie’s limitations, though. Watch him play for just a few minutes and you will see a guy who stands out for his aggressive play, but is a liability on both offense and defense. He misses easy put-backs, fouls unnecessarily, and tries to do things he can’t do. I love the effort he brings and hope it’s contagious, but he can’t really be on the floor for longer than 10-12 minutes a game.

Sure the bench also has Antoine Wright, Sonny Weems and Quincy Douby, but realistically if the Raptors are counting on them for anything more than mop up duty, we’re all in a heap of trouble. The question facing Jay is how do you get the young guys minutes, while allowing the vets to play an important role (something all successful teams need) and keep everyone happy? Can you play Evans minutes that cripple the offense, even if he earns them through hard practices? What if Belinelli proves that Don Nelson was right to bury him on the bench in Golden State? Quincy Douby showed promise in summer league, but that’s meaningless. Amir Johnson has been in the league 4 years, and still hasn’t come close to this massive potential he is sitting on. The kid is loaded with talent, but it’s been 4 years and he hasn’t been able to put it together. After learning from Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess, maybe the question shouldn’t be WHEN he is going to put it together, but rather WHY he hasn’t thus far. If he doesn’t get consistent (and stop fouling so much) soon, suddenly the bench is counting on the offensively challenged Evans, the elder statesman of Rasho, and the enigma of Patrick O’Bryant. Eep.

Additionally, if Belinelli, DeRozan, and Wright all prove to be unable to start at the 2 guard, suddenly the Raptors may be facing a situation where backup PG Jarrett Jack needs to do so. He proved to be capable at the 2 last season in Indiana, and there are advantages to having two floor generals on the court at once, but this is not ideal in all situations. Against bigger 2s, Jack is overmatched. His good defensive instincts can’t compensate for the fact that he’s only 6’3 and 200 pounds.

Moreover, in the NBA, all good teams have a go-to guy. I’m talking about guys who can carry a team to a win when everyone else is having an off night. Granted the Raptors have Bosh but, and I say this as both a Bosh and Raptors fan, how many times in the past 4 years has Bosh lifted the Raptors on his shoulders and carried the club to a win? What about Jose or Bargs? How many times did Hedo lift Orlando to wins? The Raptors just don’t have ‘that’ guy who can create his own shot and score at will. It’s been a hole since Carter left and it continues to be a hole today.

Health is also an issue. We saw what a hampered Jose meant to the Raptors in the wins/loss column, even though his individual stats were still pretty good. I know Jose took the summer off and is in perfect health now, but what if Jose misses time again? Or picks up a lingering injury? Sure that can be said of most teams starting point guards, but on the Raptors, a team that seems to be based on ball movement, that impact is much more profound. Jose is the captain of the ship, without him they’re rudderless. Then there’s Bosh. Bosh has been pushing himself HARD this off season, adding over 20 pounds of muscle. This seems like a good thing, until you remember that’s not Bosh’s body type. His body was never intended to pack on too much weight, and sometimes bulk can be a hindrance. We haven’t seen how this will impact his movement; will his post moves be slower? Will his shot be the same? What about his overall speed, one of his best attributes. Will he be able to run the court the same? And what if Bosh picks up a nick or two (as has been known to happen?). Bosh won’t want to sit and watch in a contract year; he will play unless he is physically unable to. Even if that means playing worse than he should. We also can’t forget with age comes increased probability of injury. The Raptors have a few guys who are up there in years: Jose, Evans, Rasho and Hedo are all over 28 and have fairly considerable miles on their bodies. An injury to any of those would have a pretty negative impact on the club.

Then there’s the opposition. Where do the Raptors fit in the East? The top 3 are still Orlando, Cleveland, Boston (in that order until proven otherwise it says here). Chicago looked very, very good at tiems last year and should only improve this year; especially if someone can find some electrodes to bring Luol Deng back to life. Detroit brought in Charlie V and Ben Gordon, plus Chris Wilcox to address some frontcourt problems. Washington is getting back Gilbert Arenas, plus got a number of very serviceable parts in the (now very, very one sided) trade of the 5th overall pick. Miami is still Miami. KG may have said it, but if any athlete truly embodies the “Anything is possible!” statement it’s Dwayne Wade. Beasley should improve this year too, which will help Wade, since he’s basically been a lone wolf for the past few seasons. Atlanta kept things together and also should have their young guys getting better. Charlotte looked pretty good towards the end of last season and with continuity they should improve their record. The Raptors are in the mix with all those teams, plus Philly and Indiana. With only five playoff spots available after the big 3, can we say with any certainty today that the Toronto Raptors are a lock for the playoffs? Well considering the Raptors today have never played a meaningful game together, I’d say no. Can I be proven wrong? Sure. I hope I am. But a playoff run would necessitate a lot of things going right for the Raptors and a lot of things going wrong for other clubs. So in the immortal words of The Wolf, let’s not start sucking each other’s dicks just yet gentlemen.

Ah yes, a new season is upon us. It’s a time of wonderment, of unbridled optimism, of limitless possibilities. There are still a few weeks before the season starts and cold reality slaps the majority of the Association in the face, so I’m going to embrace the optimism. To those who know me, this is no surprise; optimism is practically my middle name. But this year just FEELS different for some reason. The Raptors have almost completely remade their team. With a new coach, new philosophy, new feel overall.

I firmly believe confidence is the most underrated intangible in sports. When teams get on a roll, each win seems to build on the last. That confidence allows for clarity in the last seconds of a chaotic game. It allows for proper plays to be run and shots to be taken properly, not rushed. Panic is the enemy of any coach. One of the biggest problems in the past for the Raptors was a lack of confidence. Of swagger. At the end of close games, particularly last year, you could feel the anxiety on the bench. Not a good look for a winner. So, why should this year be any different? Well, the Raps have a few things to build confidence around.

Firstly there’s Jay Triano. I’m an unabashed Smitch fan. I loved the intensity he brought to every game, to every play. I love how he expected the best out of every player in uniform and anything less would get your ass parked on the bench. That said, he wasn’t the greatest X’s and O’s guy. The lack of a proper plan on both offense and defense lead directly to many of the losses we encountered last year. Granted Smitch was gone by December, but unfortunately for Jay, it’s tough to implement a new philosophy mid-season. There just isn’t the practice time to change bad habits. This year, Jay is working with a blank slate. He has a defensive wizard to help him out (Iavaroni), and the confidence of being entrusted with helping prep the future Dream Teamers. Jay’s learned from the best, from Coach K to Jim Boeheim and Mike D’Antoni. Now, with a full training camp, he gets to pass everything he’s learned on to the Raptors, and frankly I’m excited to see what the guy can do. He’s definitely much more of a players’ coach, he’s good with the X’s and O’s and he brings a calmness to the bench. No matter what happens, he is in control. For the players on the court, that’s big. The player can look over to the bench and feed off that calmness, and that should translate into less panic on the court.

Next on the docket: the players who will be learning from Jay. One of the bonuses of the total remodelling of a franchise is that all bad habits are GONE. Everyone is starting fresh, everyone is on the same page. That’s one BIG good thing. The second is when you replace Jason Kapono with DeMar DeRozan, you get a huge upgrade all over the court. DeRozan was a decent defender and rebounder in college (I don’t think I need to mention his ups). Since then, all he’s done is add a ton of muscle and work his ass off in the practice gym. Bringing in Reggie Evans and Rasho Nesterovic are obviously a boost to the Raptors front court depth but their true value may be more in the intangible category. Every report out of Raptors training camp we’ve heard is how those two guys are forcing Bargnani to alter his game: to grow. They’re forcing him to work, to adapt, to bang, to fight on the court. We know about Bargnani’s emerging offensive prowess, but I’m looking for big things from him defensively. Hedo Turkoglu is not a good defender. There’s no two ways about it. Then again, before the JO trade the 3 was handled mostly by Jamario Moon. Nothing against Jamario, but if he is starting for your NBA team, missing the playoffs should not be coming as a surprise. Basically: if Turk can score 18+ points most games, the extra offense will make up for the step back on defense. Jose on the other hand is a mediocre defender who had a terrible year in 2008-2009. Last year, he was hampered with a bad hamstring (word on the street is it was an over 2-inch tear), which basically made it impossible for him to stay in front of his man. Having him back at full health is an improvement over last year defensively at the point. So the starting 5 overall loses some defense because of Hedo, but there should be improvement from within at the 1 and the 5. As far as rebounding goes, losing Shawn Marion is obviously painful to the team rebounding effort, especially when considering his replacement is Turk. But, remember they replaced the Parker/Kapono combo with DeRozan/Wright, plus replaced Voskuhl/Mensah-Bonsu with Nesterovic/Evans/Johnson. Time will tell, but I’d say with all these changes, it’s a wash or maybe a slight improvement on the boards. The wild card in that is DeRozan. He has the abilities, he just has to make the most of them.

And speaking of Rasho/Reggie/ Amir, the Raps’ 2nd unit is ready for war. With these guys, plus Wright, Jarret Jack, Sonny Weems, Patrick O’Bryant, Quincy Douby and Marco Belinelli coming off the bench, the Raptors have options. This group includes some good defenders and rebounders. There’s some offense here, as well. Jack proved to be a more than effective point guard last season. Amir Johnson is one of my favourite underrated players in the Association. He’s an athletic monster who goes hard every second he’s on the court. If there’s a loose ball near the hoop, watch out. He’s going up HARD. Rasho is Rasho, he has proved his worth over the years. All in all, I’ll go so far as to say the Raptors 2nd unit could be as strong as any in the Association. The bench’s main impact though will be at the end of games, in my opinion. I’m not sold on opponent’s FG% as a really great stat for one simple reason: a stop at the end of the game is worth more than a stop in the first quarter. The Raptors lost so many games in the last minute last year that it made my head and heart hurt. My liver didn’t talk to me for weeks after the season ended. If the Raptors now have the ability to sub in a few lockdown defenders for a big defensive stand, that is worth than a few extra wins this season. Especially when you pair this with the improved offense the Raptors bring to the court. The example I gave my cohort on this blog James was, say a team has in general a good defensive game. They give up in three quarters an average of 23 points against. But they blow up one quarter and give up 35 points. The opponent’s FG% might not be that bad, but that still would count in my book as a bad defensive game (for me, a defensive collapse in the 4th causing a loss is always going to be a bad game). Go check tape of the first Nets/Raptors game last year. Granted, the Nets played well in the 2nd half, but if Carter wasn’t left open not once but TWICE at the end of the game, the Raptors probably win. And by probably I mean almost certainly. In fact, I don’t want to talk about this. I feel sick again.

How can I make myself feel better…. oh yeah! The Raptors offense is, in a word: wow. Jose back at full health to distribute the ball; DeRozan flying all over the court, tracking down loose balls, throwing down dunks and generally slicing through the defense; Bosh with his newly developed size and desire to get to the post more; Bargnani with his continued growth from last year and the Turk impact to hit big shots and find open teammates make the Raptors starting 5 INCREDIBLY dangerous. All can shoot, all can pass, all can get to the basket. If any team tries to double team any single Raptor, watch out. These guys can and will find an open man, and he can and will make the right shots and passes. The bench gives numerous different looks as well. Amir Johnson is a beast around the basket offensively (youtube him – if you’ve never really watched him before, get ready to fall in love, Toronto). Belinelli can shoot and is an underrated ball handler. Jack is worthy of being a starting 1 or 2 on some teams. He can handle the ball, he can shoot, he can get into traffic in the lane, he’s tenacious, he wants to win, and he’s a natural leader. The sky is honestly the limit for this club on offense. I don’t have anything else to say about it. It should be a masterpiece.

That is the biggest reason the Raptors will be amongst the top tier of the Eastern Conference this year. The Raptors, unlike most teams, and unlike what conventional wisdom or any basketball coach worth his salt would normally say, can win giving up over 100 points a game. Why? Because the Raptors can score 110 a game and not blink. The team is almost impossible to defend. They will shoot a high percentage. They have guys who will fight and scrap for loose balls. They have lockdown defenders and veteran leaders on the bench, they have a healthy Jose Calderon looking to rebound, and most importantly, they have Bosh. Bosh took last year as a personal insult. He wants to be the best. He wants to be the 3rd guy next summer in the Wade/LeBron talk. The only way for that to happen isn’t to improve his own stats (which are already pretty mind-blowing), but to improve the overall success of the team. Bosh needs to prove that he can lead a team to wins, to the playoffs, and beyond. If he wants to seriously be considered in the LeBron/Wade conversation there is no other way. Bosh knows this. He saw success coming from the post rather than the elbow, so he bulked up to stay healthy enough to bang under the hoop all year. He has 4 guys to pass the ball to who are dangerous players. And most importantly, the dirty secret of the Raptors this year: Bosh doesn’t need to carry the team to wins. If Bosh has an off night there are enough other weapons that can carry this club. Bosh won’t be counted on to break down defences as time winds down on the game clock now that Turk is around. Bosh won’t be forced to backup at center due to injuries, thanks to the depth that currently exists up front. He won’t be seeing as many double teams due to the overall firepower of the club (who gets left open – Jose? Bargnani? Turk? DeRozan?). All Bosh has to worry about this year is himself. So to recap: Healthy Jose, HIGHLY motivated Bosh, improved Bargnani, upgrade at EVERY SINGLE OTHER POSITION, except possibly defence and rebounding at the starting 3 (but improvement off the bench and in other spots).

So where are the extra wins to get the Raptors into the playoffs coming from? Well, the rest of the Eastern Conference may not be as strong as advertised when you look at it closely. Miami is counting on Jermaine O’Neal’s health this year (check his quotes – it’s freaking groundhog day for him) – any Raptors fan can tell Heat supporters how that’s going to go. Philadelphia got worse, Atlanta stayed the same, Boston has to seriously start looking at life without KG being KG (if they don’t have him at or near full strength, there’s no sugar-coating it, they will be much worse), the Knicks actually might have gotten worse (if that’s possible) and the Nets definitely did. In fact, the only teams that improved are Orlando, Cleveland, Charlotte, Washington and Chicago. Charlotte’s improvement MIGHT net them the 8th seed, Orlando and Cleveland were already one and two in the east. So that means two teams in direct competition with the Raps improved, while 6 or 7 either stayed the same or got worse. Including potentially every team in the Raptors division. Even if the Raptors had thrown out the same line-up as last year, they’d probably improve by 2-3 spots, but they aren’t throwing out the same team. The Raptors are throwing out potentially the best offense in the entire Association. 4 more wins last year and the Raptors leapfrog Indiana, Charlotte, New Jersey and Milwaukee. All of whom got worse this offseason. 7 more wins and they leapfrog Detroit (who may or may not have jumped off a cliff this offseason) and make the playoffs.

I went through last season’s results and picked out some losses that don’t sit well with me. Last season, the Raptors lost 129-127 to New Jersey in OT (in a game that could arguably go down as the worst loss in franchise history); 98-97 to Portland. They lost to Detroit, Philly, New Orleans, New Jersey again (by 7), Golden State (by 6), Milwaukee by 10, Indiana by 7, Milwaukee AGAIN by 11, MEMPHIS by 8 (scoring 70 points), the Knicks by 30 (the freaking Knicks!), Detroit by 4 in OT, Charlotte by 13 and Charlotte by 26 back to back (!), the Knicks by 9, Indiana by 29, and Washington by 2. Theoretically, every one of those should be a win. Obviously teams lose games they should win all the time, but that right there is 19 games that could easily have been wins. If they had won 9, suddenly the Raptors were 42 and 40 and in the 6th spot.

Last year, the Raptors scored 99 PPG and allowed 102. Even if the team defence doesn’t improve from last year (and I think it will), the offense scoring 106+ points a game translates to wins. Pure and simple. Even if that’s only an extra 4 or 5 that they would have lost last year, add those with the loses that were games thrown away last year and suddenly the Raptors are looking at 46-47 wins and the 4th spot overall. Is it that easy? Absolutely it is. The competition got worse and the team got better. Good teams beat the teams that they should beat. This club is built to withstand injury. This club is built to score. And this club is being moulded right now into a team that can play passable defense. The injection of heart (guys like Evans and Rasho, plus the extra motivation of Jose and Bosh to prove to themselves and the world that they are among the best ballers in the world) and leadership also boost the intangible qualities of the club. With a little confidence and some swagger to go with it, the kind that can only come from seeing success and building on it, and this could be a team to fear. If they get on a roll, watch out. This is a good team, now they just have to prove it.