Christmas is Over and so is the Losing Streak

Tim Duncan’s whining was ignored, Gregg Popovich (why the two ‘g’s?) was ejected and the Raptors handed the defending champion Spurs just there second home loss this season when they (in the words of Yahoo! Sports) “hammered” San Antonio 83-73.

STATS!:

• The Spurs shot 31.9% from the field.



• Brent Barry (calf) and Manu Ginobli (finger) did not play.



• Kris Humphries had 14 points and 11 boards in 25.5 minutes.



• Jason Kapono scored 10 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter.

I've been noticing some positives in Bargnani's game lately, too - last night he moved well with the ball and played sick defence on Duncan when asked to. Il Mago managed three blocks and, seriously, even boxed out a few times. I also noticed that a single one of Andrea's legs is as wide as my torso.

Raps-Rockets tonight at 8:30 p.m. EST! McGrady won't play, so I'm guessing jeans, diamond earring and a blazer over a t-shirt.

Merry Chirstmas!!

Got the flu...Bad

It's been a rough few days for me and the Raptors. I got the flu, and they lost two in a row to the Blazers (somewhat forgiveable considering Portland's win streak hit 10 last night against the Nugs) and the Sonics (immitigable).

I didn't see the Sonics game, but the score, 123-115, is enough to tell me how the Raps' defence performed.

I did, however, watch the fourth quarter of the Blazers game. But basketball is a fast-paced game, and I could only watch portions without feeling dizzy and wanting to vomit.

The big attraction, aside from the game itself, was Bargnani vs. Roy, and it was clear who won that showcase. I'll defer to the Globe's Matthew Sekeres for some interesting dino-dribble on that one.

Back to bed. Ugh.

On the Value of our Captain and the Health of his Little Friend

There was a notion floating around, curiously, that the Raptors didn’t necessarily need Chris Bosh to win regular season games. Their bench is deep, ran the argument, and they have a young stud named Andrea Bargnani waiting for an opportunity to carry the team.

Until Sunday, with Bosh sidelined by a groin injury, the Raptors were 10-10. Not bad. Then CB4 returns, and what happens? The Raptors win four in a row (versus Houston, Atlanta, Dallas and Indiana), in which Bosh looks like a rabid all-star on crank, averaging 20 ppg, 11 rpg and 1.5 bpg. Alternatively, Bargnani played in three of the four wins and is averaging 3.3 points, 1.0 rebound and 30% from the field in 12 minutes a game. Granted, Il Mago is coming back from a hyper-extended knee, but he’s looked clumsy, indecisive and vacant in those three games.

Bargnani’s career has been one of constant development and regression. Just when you think he’s comfortable, he’s injured. When you think he’s improving, he shits the bed. I still like his talent, but I’m increasingly souring on his game. Write these words on tracing paper, take them to a tattoo artist and ask to have them inked on your sternum: This year is an audition for Ill Mago. If he tanks it, or simply doesn’t impress Colangelo further, he will be dealt. His value is high in the eyes of the Association, but concerns about having two power forwards as the future of this franchise are legitimate. BC’s never hesitated to trade young players, and I can see it happening again. To be honest, I wouldn’t be disappointed. In the meantime, I desperately (seriously) want Il Mago to succeed.

A few more nuggets about the four-game win streak:

- the Raps are allowing 84.25 points per game over the streak.
- Kris Humphries is averaging 13.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 59% FG, in 27 mpg.
- I’ve never seen Toronto as a streaky team, win-wise, but checking last year’s schedule, the Raps did string together six wins in a row in early April ’07.

We’re continually reminded of the hellish December for the Raptors, but after Boston tomorrow, the Raps have games against the Clippers, Blazers and Sonics before facing Phoenix. Wins!

The word on Terrance Jerod Ford: After reading the Globe’s Michael Grange write this intense précis of TJ’s injury and injury history my brain and fingers conceded. There’s nothing else to add except that TJ plans to sit for a week before even approaching rehab. The post tends toward the apocalyptic at times, but it is ultra-informative. Respect to the best hoops writer in Canada.

Negative Reinforcement

After hearing Stephon Marbury blame Zeke and then Zeke blame Marbury and then Zeke bench Randolph and then Randolph pout and then Zeke, Marbury and Randolph blame the fans(!) one can’t help but wonder: 1) How, with any minute particle of integrity, can the New York Knicks continue to employ Isiah Thomas? 2) When will someone offer a legitimate psychiatric assessment of Starbury’s mental infirmity? 3) When will anyone take responsibility for the apeshit situation in New York?

In reference to point number three, it won’t be Jamal Crawford who, just a few days ago, offered a mannered critique of his team’s effort. The comments reminded me of similar ones made this year by Richard Jefferson of the Nets and Andre Iguodala of the Sixers. In the spirit of free inquiry I’ve decided to investigate the effects of these players’ words on their, and their teams’, performances.

Jamal Crawford – comments: “A lot of it is just effort. When you compete you always give yourself a chance to win. Some nights we compete harder than others. We got to get better than that. It's something we shouldn't be talking about."

The game after: Dec. 10, 99-89 loss to Dallas. Crawford scored 19 points (not so bad) on 6-22 shooting (bad).

Richard Jefferson – comments: “It's a joke. The fact that we even have nine wins right now is amazing to me the way we've been playing. It seems we've been down double digits so many games. I don't know what to say."

The game after: Dec. 9, 104-89 loss to Washington. Jefferson scores nine points on 4-12 shooting with five turnovers.

Andre Iguodala – comments: “We've got to do something, anything — maybe make a move,” Iguodala said. “I don't know. This is getting out of hand. We've got to do something to turn things around. We're not doing a good job as players. Everybody in the organization needs to step up.”

The game after: Nov. 23, 83-78 loss to Detroit. Iguodala scores 17 points on 4-17 shooting with four turnovers.

Somewhat related, Vince Carter was booed for going 5-17 in a loss to the Clippers.

Controversy Over

Seeing as they were both in the Philips Arena Tuesday night, Anthony Johnson is not Darrick Martin in dark make-up. But both mens' necks look like a pack of hot dogs.

The Parity of Warren G's "Regulate" and Sunday's Raptors Win

Nate Dogg and Warren G: 93 – Brothas Shootin’ Dice: 80

If today’s Raptors game was a rap song, it would probably be “Regulate” by Warren G and Nate Dogg – with G representing the Raptors team and Dogg representing Chris Bosh. The Raptors lost two in a row coming into the game and they get down early to the Rockets, which, for our purposes, is analogous to Warren G wanting to play a dice game with strangers on a street corner and then getting jacked for his “rings and rolex.” But Nate Dogg shows up just in time, and “pulls out (his) strap and lays them bustas down.” Similarly, Bosh returns from a groin injury that sidelined him for six games and contributes 21 points, 10 boards and four blocks (one of which was a late-game, fast-break pin on Tracy McGrady). Unfortunately for the Raptors, the game didn’t end up with them taking hos back to the Eastside Motel, but it did end with a win, putting Toronto fourth in the tenuous Eastern Conference.

But other factors contributed to the win, like:

• Yao Ming and McGrady average a combined 47.7 ppg this year. The Raptors limited them to 38 combined on Sunday.
• The Raptors out-rebounded the Rockets 48-35 (18-8 on the offensive glass).
• Kris Humphries, who, lately, had been playing like Rafael Araujo with advanced osteoporosis, managed 16 points and nine boards in 23 minutes.
  

MoPete Watch: Poor Morris didn’t play in Sunday’s game against Seattle. He’s day-to-day with a strained back.

News Flash: The Suns are Good

Phoenix Suns: 136 – Rehabilitation wing of Toronto General: 123

The mind of a Raptors’ fan between 9:30 p.m., December 3 and 7:15 p.m., December 5 - You never know, this is the NBA. The Suns could have an off night. Look at last game against Charlotte, the guys really pulled together. If they can just keep that up and make a few defensive stops, they’ve got a shot.

The mind of a realist for the same period: The Phoenix Suns could have dined on raw chicken, replaced their sneakers with tap-dancing shoes, worn space suits over knights’ mail over scuba gear and played three games against the Spurs in the afternoon before their tilt with the Raptors, and the Suns still would have won.

Without Bosh and Bargnani, arguably the Raptors’ first two options on offence, Toronto focused on their transition defence to at least slow down the Suns, the result: a hilarious total of 70 baskets made for Phoenix (field goals + free throws).

More than anything this game illustrated the prodigious gap between mediocrity and excellence. The excellent, like the Suns, step out of the locker room after halftime, stare you in the eyes while gripping your gonads, and then twist until you tear up and vomit in your mouth. Even with Bosh and Bargnani – at their best –the Raptors aren’t beating the Suns. The Raptors may have a bench full of guys capable of scoring 20 on any given night, but the Suns have at least 5 guys capable of scoring 30 on any given night.

One of those, the NBA’s reigning Sixth Man Award winner, Leandro Barbosa, dropped 35 tonight in just 28 minutes. And, as with the rest of the Suns, it’s not that he actually did, it’s the way that he did: three-pointers, fast-break lay-ins, pick and pops, iso-penetration. The Suns can do everything. The only hope of beating them lies in an interested defence and a glacial, but potent, offence (like the Spurs). In fact, I think that the Suns will win the title this year, even if they do face the Spurs in the Western finals. Not a daring prediction, true, but an honest one.

Some positives:

• TJ Ford looked amazing, scoring 27 points on 12-19 shooting. It would have been nice to see him pass more, but who would he have passed to, Hump? It also bears considering that he got most of those against the Suns’ bench late in the game.
• The Raptors shot 10-16 (62.5%) from three tonight. They lead the NBA in three-point accuracy, shooting 43.3%.
• Jamario Moon tied Keon Clark’s Raptors franchise record of 11 consecutive games with a block. Let’s hope Moon doesn’t take life advice from Clark - Keon’s Wikipedia entry reads like a compendium of bad choices.
  

Next game: 7:30 p.m., Friday in Boston versus the Celtics. Gird yourself, December looks dirty with games against Dallas, Boston (twice), San Antonio, Phoenix (twice) and Houston (twice).

Thank you David Stern, for the Charlotte Plopcats

Watching a second-place New Orleans Hornets’ home game, with 13,000 vacant seats, can make you question the NBA’s penchant for expansion. At other times, say, when your top three scorers are injured and you see a Charlotte Bobcats team bus pulling into the ACC, and guys like Primoz Brezec and Jeff “Journeyman” McInnis tumbling out of the windows, you feel like expansion is a great leveller, and means to spread the beautiful game of basketball.

With Chris Bosh, Andrea Bargnani and TJ Ford dressed for church, the rest of the Raptors issued the Housecats their sixth straight loss tonight, 98-79. So without the big three, how did the Raps improve to 10-8? Apart from the seeming submission of Charlotte head coach Sam Vincent (a man whose basketball summit was appearing on a 1990 Hoops error card which featured Michael Jordan in jersey number 12), and a complete disinterest from every player in orange, here’s how:

- The Raptors outrebounded the Housecats 46-35 (with 12 of those from Jamario Moon and seven from Jose Calderon).
- Toronto shot 61.5% from three and 50.7% from the field.
- Every Raptor that stepped on the court scored (including Darrick Martin) and six Raps scored in double-figures.
- “Good Joey” Graham showed up accumulating 13 points on five of six shooting.
- Toronto outscored Charlotte 46-34 in the paint.

But if the Hornets are like a cold beer, the Phoenix Suns - the Raptors next opponent – are like a quart of rat poison. If Bosh is the champion that we think he is, expect him to pull his tank top, short pants and plimsolls out of the closet for Wednesday’s home game against the Suns.