So, the Raps have made it official, Jay Triano will stay on as head coach following his “interim” stint, where he led the Raps to a 25-40 record.

I like Jay and I think he’s a decent coach, better than the record indicates. Obviously I love the fact that we have a Canadian-born coach coaching the only Canadian NBA team.

But I admit, I do feel a certain uneasiness about rewarding a coach with a 25-40 record (a record that was only boasted by a 9-4 stretch against some terrible competition in the last month of the season). Especially after that coach replaced a coach who was 8-9 after 17 games. I mean, isn’t it expected that the replacement at least do a better job than the guy who was fired?

On the other hand, we all know Bryan Colangelo’s options were limited. He still has to pay Mitchell this year (and next?). So he couldn’t afford to pay someone big bucks – Triano’s deal as a first-time coach with a poor record is likely dirt cheap (speculation is that the deal is between $1.6 and $2 million a year, three-years, with the third being a team option). And even though I doubt Bryan cares, you know MLSE loves the idea of having a Canadian coach.

Also, as I’ve said before, Mitchell should not have been fired 17 games into the season - he should have been fired after last season (or better yet, released following the 2006-2007 season). If Jay had been coach from the start of last training camp, I truly believe the season would have been better - not a LOT better, but I expect they would have been closer to .500 and in the playoffs in the weak east.

And I’m glad we didn’t just hire a retread who’s failed in five other places. The only “available” coach I liked was Flip Saunders; even though he never won a title, in 13 seasons as a head coach, he has 10 seasons over .500, seven 50-win seasons, and made the playoffs 11 times, reaching the conference finals four times. I believe he would have been great here, but the Wizards smartly grabbed him right away. But I didn’t want an Avery Johnson (whose players on a great Dallas team practically mutinied on him last year) or Eddie Jordan (whose talented Wizards teams were about as inconsistent as can be). Even Jeff Van Gundy couldn’t coax a playoff win out of a very deep, talented Houston team.

So, that meant the option was bringing in someone completely new – either an untried assistant or someone from Europe, like Etore Messina – or bringing back Triano. I personally would have been intrigued by the “new blood” approach - sometimes you need to take a gamble - but I just don’t think Colangelo and MLSE were willing to roll the dice with someone completely untested. Our impatient fanbase would likely have been very upset about hiring a no-name. So Triano was really the only choice. He’s not completely “untested,” the team showed SOME promise under him, he’s cheap, and he’s a Canadian so who can hate on that?

In many ways, he really was the only choice.

And, I will admit I am very curious to see what he does with a (hopefully) revamped roster, a (hopefully) new crop of assistants, and a full training camp. I see Doug Smith is saying one or two of Gord Herbert, Alex English or Mike Evans might be back, but I hope none of them are. No disprespect to them, but the team needs fresh voices. I don’t have a problem with Iavaroni staying on, I love the thought of Alvin Williams in some role, but for one or two other spots, I would like some new blood – preferably one veteran, someone like a Del Harris, who’s been around the block a few times, and one young whippersnapper with some fresh ideas. Doesn’t that make more sense than keeping any of the guys who have been here through the team’s last two incredibly disappointing seasons?

Anyway. I’m going on record as saying I believe Jay’s a better coach than the 25-40 record. But I agree with those that say coaches get too much blame for a team’s failure and too much credit for a team’s success, so I’m not going to predict what impact his hiring will have on next season - I believe that is really in the hands of Bryan Colangelo, and the players he brings in that make up the roster that Jay coaches. If it’s a solid, balanced roster with a full 15 players, I expect we’ll see a much improved record. If it’s another flawed, thin, 13-man group like last year? The record will be worse. But neither should fall on Jay’s shoulders - it’s all on Bryan’s.

All right, it’s been a busy couple weeks in the personal life, but things are rolling for the Raptors. Five straight wins? Two of them against playoff teams? Outrebounding the opponent in every single one? Not bad, not bad at all!

Of course, it’s ultimately meaningless since the playoffs are a practical impossibility and other than Orlando, none of these teams are particularly talented; Oklahoma City, the Clippers, Chicago and Milwaukee are all under-.500 teams, and only Chicago is playing meaningful games. And let’s not forget that right before this little streak, this team lost nine of 10, including two absolutely disgusting stink-bombs to the Bobcats.

But, there is something to be said for finishing on a positive note, especially for a guy like Jose Calderon, who’s playing extremely well after playing poorly for 60 games. If he can play like the Calderon of last year for the final few weeks games and get his confidence up for next year, that’s huge; it’s never a good thing to have a bad year and then have nothing but negatives to think about for a whole summer.

Same can be said about Bosh, and even Marion; both are playing well after having bad stretches. Meanwhile you’ve got guys like Joey Graham and Pops Mensah-Bonsu playing for contracts, their play of late has probably ensured they’ll at least be in the league next year.

Then there’s Andrea Bargnani. Has any one Raptor ever had such a big turnaround in a single season? I mean, the home crowd was booing this guy in December when he missed free throws! Now he’s become one of their most effective all-around players and a go-to guy? Unbelievable, but true. Check out these stats:

December: 24 MPG, .346 FG%, .273 3PT%, 3.4 RPG, 8.6 PPG
Jan-Feb: 36 MPG, .454 FG%, .420 3PT%, 6.5 RPG. 18.9 PPG
March: 33 MPG, .518 FG%, .519 3PT%, 5.9 RPG, 20.3 PPG

And the numbers don’t even tell the whole tale. For one thing, he’s added (or if not added, is suddenly using) things we haven’t seen before – pump-fakes, crossovers, pull-ups – and the latter is most significant since it’s helped him avoid all those charges he used to get called for.

On defense, he’s not picking up as many cheap fouls (except for the Orlando game, where he was brutalized by the referees) and his defensive improvements that we saw earlier in the year, in terms of moving his feet and boxing out, have remained solid.

He’s certainly not perfect – he’s still averaging 1.75 turnovers to only 1.1 assist, and he could definitely get those rebounding totals a bit higher – but the improvement in only a few short months is remarkable. I remember back at the end of January, when the improvement first became evident, we all said, “let’s wait to see him do consistently for a while before we say he’s back on track.” Well, it’s been almost three full months of solid, consistent play, so I’m saying it. He’s here, he’s on track, he’s doing what we need, at the position he is best suited for, on a regular basis.

Of course, for most of those three months, the Raptors were routinely terrible so it’s hard to say his improved play has had any impact. But once again, it’s a huge positive going forward, and as we all know, Bargnani is probably the only player that is guaranteed to be here next year, so his improvement is a definite positive.

As for what this team might look like… who knows? It’s pretty much all up in the air. Bargnani will be back; I think Calderon will be too. Ukic, Humphries, yes; maybe Pops. But Bosh? I think Colangelo will talk to him and unless he’s convinced that Bosh will re-sign, I think BC will quietly try and move him. If he goes, Colangelo had damn well ensure that one or both of Marcus Banks and Jason Kapono are packaged with him.

I suspect Graham will be gone; I like Joey, but let’s be honest, he hasn’t really worked out here. I think he deserves a chance to give it a try somewhere else.

Parker is a big mystery. I love the guy, you know that. But he can’t be the starting two guard on this team, he can’t be playing 35 minutes a night. He’d be a great steadying influence off the bench… you know, provided there are actually quality starters ahead of him. If you can bring him back for two years at 1.5 per year? I’m OK with that.

Marion? Well, what’s his value? Who knows? Anyone have any interest in him? I still think he thinks he’s worth a lot more than anyone else does. I have no interest in him at anything more than 6 million a year. And even then, that interest is tempered by what else is out there; in other words, if there’s anyone better to throw that money at, we need to be aware and not just give it to Marion.

There’s also Carlos Delfino to consider. The Raps still have his rights. I like Delfino; I didn’t think he was utilized well last year. Mitchell jerked his minutes around too much, and he never had the opportunity to initiate the offense, something he’s proven in international play that he can do. I think with consistent minutes and a better defined role, he’ll be much more effective, and he won’t feel the need to jack up threes. But how much is that worth? 4 mil, maybe 5… anything above that, I’m not biting. Not in this economy.

Anyway, there’s only a couple of weeks left, then we can forget about the Raps for a while we watch what should be an exciting 2009 playoffs. Come June we can start to think about what’s gonna happen this summer.

For the next few games, let’s just hope they’re as exciting as the past few!

Well, as distasteful as it all is, I’ll mention the lawsuit reported today against Chris Bosh. Chris’ ex says he cut her off and hasn’t supported their kid since her birth. Chris says he’ll take of his responsibilities. In other words, classic he said/she said.

I’m not going to speculate or cast aspersions on anyone. I for one trust the courts to sort this stuff out. If she’s trying to “play him,” as some say, hopefully the courts will recognize that and not let her get away with it. If Chris has been a deadbeat, hopefully the courts will figure that out and that kid will get the support it needs.

At the end of the day, that’s all that matters. Both of these people, both adults, need to sort their shit out – and if they need the help of a court, fine – and get right to making that kids life the best it can be. That’s a simplistic view, perhaps, but honestly… that’s what the focus has to be.

As for what’s going on in the rest of the Raptor world, well, not much. They’ve signed someone named Quincy Douby to a 10-day, and brought back Nate Jawai, to fill out the bench for the last couple weeks. Perhaps that means they’re getting ready to give Bosh, Jose and Bargnani extended rests? A little more Roko-motion? I’m not a fan of “shutting players down” unless they’ve got an actual injury – there are still people paying to see these games, and they’re paying to see the best players after all, and I vehemently disagree with tanking. But if those players play 5 or 6 fewer minutes than usual, if the young guys get a little more burn, I think we can all live with that.

Now, couple other things… I’ve been writing intermittently, finishing up my Watchmen review, my Secret Invasion Review, and some thoughts on iPhone 3.0. But it’s been a crazy couple of weeks so I’ve not had time to edit them and get them posted. It’s all coming soon, though. Stay tuned.

Well, that was awful. Like stepping in dog poop. You know you can wipe it off on the pavement or grass but that stink is gonna stick with you all day.

Actually that kind of sums up the whole season. Sigh.

I figured the Raps would drop last night’s game, but I thought it would be fun to watch. Instead, it was awful to watch, especially when seeing the Bobcats - the Charlotte freakin’ Bobcats, with all of 700 people in the stands - play exactly the sort of basketball this Raptors team SHOULD be playing. Moving the ball. Setting screens. Taking easy, open jumpers. Getting out in transition. Honestly, they dismantled the Raptors easily, and it’s not like they broke ground on some new basketball schemes to do it - they played fundamental ball and hit open shots and the Raptors were completely clueless.

Not much point in analyzing this one, the Raptors did nothing well, they lost badly to a team that’s 10 games under .500. It’s the latest outing, in this seemingly never-ending season, that the Raptors did not show up, did not hustle, settled for jumpers, did not defend, did not rebound, didn’t get back in transition, didn’t do much of anything. How is it possible, that a team of professionals plays like that on a regular basis? I just don’t know. You expect it to happen a handful of times in a season - every team has their off day, their slump - and you know you can get blown out by good teams, even when your team plays well. But with this team, it happens every other game it seems, and they get killed by good and bad teams alike! I just can’t understand it, I have no explanation, and it’s driving me slowly insane.

Hey, a win! A big one, too. And against that dreaded two-headed TJ Ford/Rasho Nesterovic monster!

How annoying is it that the last Raptors game, even though it was a loss, was a fantastic basketball game against a good team – but not on TV, and this game, a win, but a thoroughly boring blowout win over another underachieving team – was on CBC and probably seen by the most people? Figures, right?

Oh well. Always nice to see your team win, and even though it was a blowout, there were some exciting moments, courtesy Shawn Marion and Pops Mensah-Bonsu.

Fast forward to the third quarter, Raps leading but the game is still pretty back and forth. Then Bargnani hauls in a rebound, takes one dribble, and throws a lead pass (it’s true, it happened!) to a streaking Marion. I’m assuming we’ve all seen Danny Granger get destroyed by the Matrix by now; if not, youtube it, and agree with me that it was the most sensational dunk the Raps have seen since Air Canada was patrolling the skies. I know Joey’s had a couple nice slams and even Bosh has posterized a couple guys, but man, that was an absolutely sick display of hops from Marion. He simply obliterated Granger on the play; I actually felt embarrassed for the guy.

Marion had an alley-oop on the next play and PMB kept things jumpin’ with more hustle than we’ve seen from the anyone on this team in the last 22 months, and the rout was on. All in all, the Raps outscored Indy 37-19 in the period and never looked back.

Doug Smith mentioned this morning that Pops’ play might actually be driving up his price – out of the Raptors’ pay range. He might be right. Five games, 18.6 minutes, 7.6 points, 8.6 boards? Granted, his team has a 1-4 record, he’s missed 18 of 30 shots and has notched a total of one assist. But he’s also taken charges, played hard on defense, and hustled after every ball. Naturally, you say “you can’t make a judgment on five games!” but you know how this league works. Show even an ounce of potential, and someone will offer you a million dollars. If he averages 6 and 8 the rest of the way, and keeps hustling like that, this summer someone will offer him a two-year, $5 million deal. They’ll say, “if he can develop any sort of offensive game besides cleaning up misses, and can stay out of foul trouble, he could average a double-double!” And they may be right.

Hopefully, playing for the Raps will keep his success obscure, and the economy will keep his value down. I would love for him to be here next year – he is bringing everything this team has been missing – but I really don’t want to overpay for him!

As for the rest of the team, Bosh was frustrating to watch yesterday, as he went through the motions on offense. He settled for jumper after jumper, watching each one clang off the rim; he finally went inside, got a dunk and a short jump hook… then went back to clanging jumpers. What the hell, man? Indy’s got no one that can guard you! Take it to them, especially when the J is off! Sigh. Luckily Bargnani (27, on 9-11) took up the slack. Great game from Il Mago, still recovering from the flu.

Meanwhile, Jose Calderon had his second great game in a row, leading everyone to cry, “if only he’d been healthy all year, this team would be so much better!” Who knows if that’s true, and besides, I still see no reason why that hamstring hasn’t healed. Oh wait, I know the reason: we have the worst medical staff in the league. (I notice Jermaine O’Neal, who could barely stay on the floor for us, hasn’t missed a game and is playing 31 minutes a night for the Heat. I rest my case). If any changes are made this summer, I hope “new medical staff” is at the top of the list. Anyway. I really do enjoy watching Calderon play when he’s mixing up the drives and the jumpers. He’s so much more effective, and even if his defense is weak, he at least makes the opposing PG pay on the other end. I hope he keeps it up.

Anyway. It’s back to action tonight against the suddenly-superior Charlotte Bobcats. Larry Brown is turning that team around folks; they’re a game-and-a-half out of the playoffs and will likely break the franchise record for wins (a dubious 33). We could put a serious dent in those playoff hopes with wins tonight and Friday; but the Bobcats have strengths at many of our weakest spots. They penetrate and kick, they have some rebounders, they hustle. We don’t do those things, not often anyway, and we don’t stop other people from doing them to us.

Still, talent wise, these teams are on even ground. This could actually be an entertaining game, and lo and behold, it’s actually on TV! Prediction, hmm… well, I think the teams will split these two meetings, and Charlotte will take it tonight, by 9.

It’s funny, I keep saying that at this point, with the season over, all I want to see are exciting games. Well, they’ve had three of those in the past week but thanks to TSNFU, I haven’t been able to see them! Such a ridiculous situation.

Sounds like it was a great game last night, with the raps clawing back in regulation, and again in OT, before falling short. No surprise there, but nice to see then hang with a team that usually kills them, to give the home crowd a show.

Sounds like Calderon finally started going to the whole last night. Where’s that been all year? Looks like PMB had another solid game, marred by a youngster mistake on the final play. That’s tough, but no one else on the team would have made that play so I’ll forgive it.

Bargnani only played a few minutes thanks to the flu bug; that’s a shame, he’d been playing so well lately. Calderon set the franchise assist record, congrats to him - too bad it couldn’t come in a winning season.

Well, now the so-called easy stretch begins. Can they finish up 8-8? 10-6? 12-4?? Hey, a guy cab dream…

Well, we’ve got another tilt in this seemingly never-ending Raptors season tonight, where our boys look to drop their seventh in a row to the Pistons…and fall 20 games below .500..

20 games. That’s a sobering number. I mean, obviously, this team is underachieving, but that really puts it into perspective. That number shocked me. Let’s take a look at it, historically, for the Raptors.

In 2005-2006, they finished 27-55, although they may well have avoided the 20-games-under stat had Chris Bosh not gotten hurt. They had the brutal 1-15 start, but then played around .500 ball the next couple months; but when Bosh went down, it was over, they lost 12 of the final 13 games, finally hitting the -20 mark at 26-46 on March 31.

That was a funny season in that expectations were, in a way, abnormally low; after all, Rob Babcock said before the season that the team would probably win less than the previous year (when they only won 33). So I don’t think you can call that record at all disappointing - it was expected.

In 2002-2003, the Raps went 24-58 in what I call “the lost season.” Everyone seems to have forgotten this season, not surprisingly; it was over quickly (-20 on January 10, when they were 8-28) and not much memorable happened. But it was a disappointing season in that, coming off three straight playoff appearances, we all expected a bounce-back season. But Vince Carter couldn’t stay on the floor, and even when he did play, he had lost the ability to put the team on his back. Antonio Davis, Jerome and Alvin Williams battled injuries, missing a combined 45 games, and the Raptors struggled just to fill the roster; they didn’t dress 12 players a single time. MoPete was the only Rap to appear in 80 games.

Going back, 1997-1998 was the low point in Raptors history; they didn’t even make it out of December before falling to -20. An unbearable 17-game losing streak had them at 2-22 on December 17th! The previous two years weren’t much better, as they hit -20 in March of 1997 and February of 1996. Those can be forgiven, as expansion years, of course, but the point I’m trying to make here, is that the current season now matches up with the worst seasons in this team’s short history.

What’s sad is that, unlike those years, there is no excuse this year. We’re not an expansion team. We didn’t lose a record number of games to injury. We didn’t start with a brand-new coach or GM and our GM didn’t lower expectations before the year started. We didn’t have a sad-sack roster without an all-star. In fact, we had, according to Bryan Colangelo, the best Raptors team ever assembled - one bona-fide all-star (Bosh), another former six-time all-star (JO), one guy on the cusp (Jose), and a number-one draft pick (Bargnani). We were expected - in fact, I think you can say we were ASSUMED - to be in the playoffs.

But we’re not. We’re about to go 20 games under .500. And given those expectations, and lack of excuses, I’m prepared to say that this might be the worst Raptors season ever.

Is there any chance the Raps can stave it off? They’ve got some easier opponents coming up, and Detroit’s not the same old Detroit, right? Well, they’re not, but that doesn’t make a difference. They’re still better than us at every position, unless Rasheed Wallace doesn’t play; even then, I think Jason Maxiell and Antonio McDyess will have no problem guarding Bosh and Bargnani. If they can take our two best players out of the game, what else do we have? As we’ve shown all year, not much.

I don’t want to say it’s hopeless, since as I indicated, the Pistons aren’t the same old Pistons (only 32-31), Rasheed is banged up, and Allen Iverson is on the shelf too (although I’d argue they’re better without him). But given the lack of interest the Raps have shown lately, and given that the Pistons, a team with some actual passion, are still fighting hard for playoff positioning (they’re in 6th, 2.5 back of Miami , and you better believe they want that #5 seed so they can avoid the Cavs, Celts and Magic in round one) I don’t see the Raps putting up much of a fight. Pistons by 17.

Incidentally, I just want to say, again, for the record, I will not be calling for Bryan Colangelo’s head in this space; yes, he’s made some bad moves, yes, this team has gotten worse the past two years. But if you seriously believe there is someone else out there available who could do better, please, let me know. In fact, if you think it’s all doom and gloom, I’m going to mention this:

In the past 10 years, including this one, the Raptors have been to the playoffs five times. Take a look at the rest of the league:

Cleveland: 4, including this year.
Boston: 6, including this year.
Orlando: 6, including this year.
Atlanta: 2, including this year.
Miami: 7, including this year.
Detroit: 9, including this year.
Philly: 7, including this year.
Milwaukee: 6, including this year.
Chicago: 3
New Jersey: 6
Charlotte: 0, in 5 seasons
Indiana: 7
New York: 3
Washington: 4

LA Lakers: 9, including this year.
San Antonio: 10, including this year.
Houston: 5, including this year.
Utah: 7, including this year.
New Orleans/Charlotte: 7, including this year.
Portland: 5, including this year.
Denver: 6, including this year.
Dallas: 9, including this year.
Phoenix: 7
Golden State: 1
Minnesota: 5
Seattle/OKC: 3
Memphis: 3
LA Clippers: 1
Sacramento: 7

The Raptors are tied for 16th in playoff appearances in the past 10 years. So middle of the pack. Is that good enough? Of course not. The fact that four of them were first-round exits hurts, a lot. But it could be worse - much, much worse. Reading some of the crap out there makes it sound like this is the end of the world or that Colangelo should be fired or the entire roster traded or whatever. You know what? Building a successful NBA team is not easy. It just isn’t. And, it takes time. Those “consistently good” teams are rare. Only one team has made the playoffs every year in the past 10: San Antonio. 3 more have 9 appearances. The next highest is seven. All that should tell you one thing: in a 30-team league, with a salary cap and free agency, it’s hard to maintain that high level of play. When the entire system is DESIGNED to keep teams “on an even ground,” those that have success are the exception, not the norm.

And you know what? We have a GM who’s still respected around the league (and has past success - unlike players, most GMs don’t get worse with age), we have a great arena, we have an ownership that has been willing to do everything except spend the luxury tax (which I think is reasonable). And we have the most passionate fans around. Would you rather we were just shaving salary without regards to wins, like Memphis (or even Phoenix)? Would you rather we had owners and GMs who don’t care/are incompetent, like the Clippers or T-Wolves? Would you rather our fans didn’t give a crap, like New Jersey or Atlanta?

I’m not saying that we, or the team, should be satisfied with what we’ve got. I’m not - I want more, absolutely. But when things get rough like this season has been, you can’t just focus on the negative. Looking at the bigger picture - which you simply must do when the smaller picture (this season) is so ugly - you can see this team still has things going for it, and that things could, in fact, be a lot worse.

… and it wasn’t even that close.

Sigh. Another disappointing, yet not at all surprising effort. Sigh again.

I guess getting solid effort from everyone involved would be too much to ask. How is it that Bargnani, who had the flu, was the team’s best player? He started out strong and slowed down (11 in the first, 10 the rest of the way), but I think you could expect that from a guy who’s sick. What you’d also expect is for everyone else to pick it up for him. But no one did, the Raps were outscored by 15 in the second and it was over.

Man, our defense stinks. How do you shoot 53%, have all five starters in double figures, and still lose - and not even be close?  Raps were outscored 92-74 through three quarters, and were still down 17 with 2:30 to go, which is when garbage time started. And how does Sam Dalembert - who, from published reports, Philly was about to throw in the doghouse, then padlock the doghouse shut for eternity - go for 19 and 13, with 3 blocks? The guy is a human foul machine with terrible footwork, yet he only had two PFs against us. Way to take it to him, guys! Argh.

Bright spots for the Raps, other than Bargnani’s hot start? Well, there were some transition opportunities, and Marion took advantage, scoring 18 on 7-12. Also questioned the team’s effort after the game, which is becoming a regular post-game staple. He’s definitely not wrong, but is anyone listening?

Hey, does anyone else think Marion is having a positive effect on Bargnani? I haven’t actually seen enough of the games (thanks, TSNFU!) but in the 10 since the trade, Bargnani’s averaging 21/6 on 51% shooting. Of course, they’re 2-8 in those games, but those are good numbers; he was averaging 16/6 on 38% shooting in the 10 pre-Marion games.

Of course, it’s just as likely that it’s plain old inconsistency that’s caused the spike. On the season, Bargnani’s still only averaging 16/5.4/44%. I guess I’ll take that, though I’ll note this: his per-36 stats are only marginally better than his rookie season - when the team was winning. Improvement? It’s a start, but I need more, especially in the W department.

Anyway, back to last night; it’s official, I am becoming a fan of Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Guy’s averaging 8 boards a night in 14 minutes! Of course, that’s in three losses, but still, I like the hustle. He pulled a post-game Marion himself, wondering about effort; not sure he’s in any place to do that, as the new guy who’s bounced around the league (and world) in the past year…

Still, the fact that the two newest guys are questioning other guys’ effort is pretty telling.

It’s not hard to guess who they’re talking about. I don’t know what is up with Chris Bosh this year. Only 4 rebounds, in 34 minutes? Really? Even last year when things weren’t going well I always thought he played hard. This year, he doesn’t seem to be into the games at all. And he’s clearly not stepping into the leadership role, otherwise guys wouldn’t be saying stuff like that.

It’s disappointing because I know Bosh is better than that. I know he’s got talent, and I know he’s got fire. Where is it? I want the Bosh from the past two years back! Where’s the guy that started the season out averaging 30 and 12, with 10 trips to the line a night? Bring him back!

Calderon is also bearing the brunt of a lot of frustration, and if I hear about that hamstring one more time, I’m sending him to Rocco Baldelli’s doctor. Seriously. I mean, we all knew he was a bad defender, but he’s been unbelievably awful this year; is that hamstring really to blame? And hey, what happened to the guy who would turn the corner off a screen every few times, to keep the D honest? I know he still shoots it well and I know he takes care of the ball - I love those traits about him. But we need more than that. We need a little fire, a little scrap, a little aggressiveness!

Still, I think the biggest disappointment has to be Jason Kapono. (Is that ’cause I said aloud, often, in the pre-season that he should be the starting 3, and he’s made me look like an ass? Absolutely. Nobody makes a fool of me!!)

Seriously, though, I always knew he was overpaid, but I had to assume a great pure shooter like that had a place on a team - especially a team of shooters like the Raps. And he seemed like he knew what he was doing out there, despite his physical limitations. Last year, I thought maybe Mitchell just didn’t know how to use him, and that with the tighter rotation (i.e., more minutes) and new big man (O’Neal), he’d find his niche.

That didn’t happen. Then Mitchell got axed and I thought, maybe Triano knows how to get him involved. Well, he had a couple good shooting nights in December, but has since regressed even more! Not only can’t Triano find a way to get him into the offense, the guy’s shooting is worse in all three categories than last year, despite averaging 6 more minutes!

If he was overpaid as a shooter - and now he can’t even do that - then he is utterly worthless. I mean, he does nothing else well. Nothing. I can’t believe we’re paying him $6 a year for the next two. How did BC not see that his success in 06-07 was purely due to Shaq and Wade drawing the defense all game long? I know that’s easy for me to say, and hindsight is 20/20, but as GM, isn’t it BC’s job to see these things?

Well, it’s officially the Raptors’ first sub-.500 season of BC’s Raptors career. I hope it hurts. It should. I hope it motivates him to clean house, to try extra hard this summer to turn it around.

Sorry for the lack of recent updates; a vacation (to Vegas, where I did not bet on the Raptors) combined with the usual lackluster results from the Raptors haven’t left me the time or motivation to write. (It’s especially hard to analyze when 2 out of every 3 is on TSNFU. I’d love to know how that’s working out for them; I’m guessing they’re really pleased they backloaded the schedule. I assume they did that because they were expecting a playoff run, not the most disappointing season in Raptors history. No one’s pressuring Rogers now ‘cause no one gives a shit! So the joke’s on you, fuckers!)

Anyway, at least the past two losses, both of which I did not see a second of, appear to have been entertaining, close affairs, and that’s good - it’s a shame I missed them. The fact that they played a couple good teams fairly closely, combined with having a little break from following the team, was good for me - I am looking forward to watching the game tonight, even though I can’t imagine the Raps winning, simply because I haven’t seen a game in over a week and am jonesing a bit. Oh wait, I forgot… it’s on TSNFU. Sigh.

Philly is having a disappointing season of their own, though certainly nothing like Toronto’s - they’re at least in playoff contention and have been stayed around .500 all year. Still, they were expected to do better after signing Elton Brand last summer. Instead, they started slowly, fired the coach, and only picked up a little momentum when Brand got hurt. But they couldn’t even sustain that, and are 3-7 in their last 10.

Of course, as bad as that all sounds, I’m a Raptors fan, and can only wish the Raptors were having a similar season. Instead what we’ve got is so much worse.

As for the Raps, well, it’s clear that it’s time to give the young guys some serious burn. I’m talking specifically about Roko Ukic and Pops Mensah-Bonsu. Heck, maybe even Patrick O’Bryant. Now, I’m not advocating “shutting anyone down” or giving guys days off like Don Nelson. And honestly, that doesn’t even make sense because, for example, Roko’s never going to be a starter, so why would you start him? But, you do want him to be your primary backup in the future, so why not give these him a consistent 15-20 minutes a night now, let him play through his mistakes and see how he responds? Same with PMB and O’Bryant. You need to determine if these guys have the tools to be contributors, and now is the time to do it. Are these guys good enough to be the 6-8th men on the bench, or are they forever destined to be 9-12 material? And you don’t want another Roger Mason situation, where you never give the guy a chance (even though you had nothing else to play for) and you end up losing a prospect who goes on to become a quality starter.

Not only that, but, let’s see, we’re 23-41 playing Bosh, Bargnani, Jose and AP big minutes… putting some new player combos out there can’t possibly produce any worse results, can it?

I like what PMB has brought. 8.5 boards in 13 minutes? I’ll take that any day. Roko has proven he’s the only Raptor other than Joey that will consistently get to the rim; he needs to learn to finish there, but at least he’s not settling. And O’Bryant, well, he’s big, and he’s got enough potential to have been a #10 overall pick; he hasn’t shown anything in the pros yet, but this is the perfect opportunity for him to do so.

And, if these guys can, in fact, play, maybe that gives fans some optimism for the remaining month of play? Maybe it gives us a reason to care, or even be hopeful about the future?

So, it’s the Raps’ final game on the West coast tonight, on TSN2 for us all to not see. Sigh. (I’m so tired of this ridiculousness, I don’t even have the energy to say “Fuck you, TSN” anymore, so I’m simply calling it TSNFU.)

Steve Nash remains questionable - he turned his ankle Tuesday and did not play last night, a 132-106 loss to the Lakers. Clearly, they’re not the same team without him, but I don’t think you can say this makes the Raptors’ job THAT much easier - a team trotting out Leandro Barbosa, Matt Barnes, Grant Hill, and Jason Richardson, not to mention the Big Shaqtus, still has more talent than the Raptors. And I will not soon forget how well Jared Dudley played against us in Charlotte, either, and in fact, I seem to recall more than a few second-tier (or lower) players having big nights against us the past two seasons, so look out for one of Alando Tucker, Louis Amundson or Robin Lopez to have a career game.

Gee, I’m not at all pessimistic, am I?

Still, even I have to admit, if ever there was a chance for the Raps to steal one from the Suns, it’ll be tonight. The Raps look to be as close to healthy as any team is this late in the season, only missing Humphries and maybe Joey Graham; and even though it’s a road game, they’re well-rested, having arrived Wednesday, while the Suns played on the road last night. The Suns have been team turmoil the past couple weeks, what with nearly trading Amare, nearly trading Shaq, firing their coach, and losing Amare to injury, while the Raps are finally starting to settle in with Shawn Marion, and have won two straight.

So yeah… this isn’t as hopeless as say, the last four trips to Phoenix, where the Raptors are 0-4 and have lost by an average of 14 points. The last victory? February 10, 2004. Vince Carter led the Kevin O’Neill Raptors to a 101-94 victory with 29 points, and MoPete added 7 three-pointers. (Ah, the good old days. That 101 may well have been a season-high in the O’Neill era!)

In fact, that game was the last victory against the Suns, home or away. Steve Nash rejoined the Suns following that 2004 season, and they’ve won nine straight against us since. Do we subconsciously lose to the Suns, in order to make Canada’s greatest basketball player ever look better? Well, if that’s the case, maybe his absence tonight will make a difference.

For the Raps, Shawn Marion has played well the past four games, doing a lot of little things while not making a huge impact on the score sheet. I think it’s been enough time that he’s ready to take more of a role in the offence; I know he can run the pick and roll with Calderon, and he actually, you know, does the “roll” portion of it (whereas, 95% of the time, Bosh and Bargnani just pop, rarely ever rolling to the hoop). If Shaq gets into any sort of foul trouble or needs a rest, the Raps should have a lot of open lanes to the hoop tonight. I know we’re not the Lakers, but LA dropped 60 points in the paint on the Suns last night, so Bosh, Bargnani and Marion should be able to get a lot of short-range opportunities.
For the Suns, it’ll either be Steve Nash or Leandro Barbosa at the point, and either one is obviously going to be a big concern for the Raps; Nash is Nash, he’ll be great, and Barbosa’s as fast as they come. Given José Calderon’s, um, “suspect” defense, I fear a lot of drive-and-dish for Nash or a lot of Barbosa blow-bys-for-layups tonight.

Either way, dribble penetration is going to be the key. If the Raps can limit it, they’ll have a chance. It’ll be a challenge - as you know, it’s a huge weakness for the Raps, and in Barbosa, J-Rich, Barnes, and even Hill, the Suns have guys that can break down a D off a dribble. But if the Raps can limit it, and not have an off-shooting ngiht of their own… is the upset possible?

The Suns are tired and shorthanded; the Raps are well-rested. As long as Toronto comes out looking energized - no 16-point deficits in the first quarter, please - I actually think they’ll be able to take this one. Raptors by 12.