Marcos Baghdatis and Andy Roddick

Watching Marcos Baghdatis upset Andy Roddick at the Australian Open, I realised that tennis is a metaphor for other sports. First of all, I share commentator Dick Enberg’s opinion that the reason we all love sports is because anything can happen. Secondly, this match illustrated a bevy of non-sport related fundamentals that are relevant to any athlete or coach

What I learnt from Andy Roddick: Roddick’s body language was appalling. He looked like a loser, quibbled with the umpired, and at times did not seem to be in a ready position. There are things you can’t control - the arena roof closing due to the weather, net chords, crazy Greek fans cheering in the stands like a soccer match - but you can always control how you carry yourself. Keep your head up and your shoulders erect. Play your game, ignore the umpire. Do your best and play until the last point.

What I learnt from Marcos Baghdatis: Baghdatis came into the match with a gameplan and stuck to it. He was very aggressive, playing inside the baseline and forcing Roddick to back up. Although he was talented, he knew he needed to be disciplined the beat the world’s second ranked player. Baghdatis patiently constructed the points so that he could use his forehand as much as possible. He ignored the rankings, put himself on the line, and won a great match.

This match was won on the court, where Marcos Baghdatis out-worked Andy Roddick. But it was also won off the court because Baghdatis was not intimidated by his favoured opponent and out-prepared him. Had Baghdatis completed one task but not the other, the result may have been reversed. If Baghdatis didn’t work hard because he thought that he’d out-prepared Roddick and assumed that that was enough, the result definitely would have changed.

I truly enjoy basketball, but I enjoy the spirit of competition more. I love watching two athletes playing against each other in a major championship, doing whatever they can to win. Miniscule differences - mentally and physically - decided who was saluted by a stadium of cheering fans and who faced a “long walk” back to the locker room. The thrill Baghdatis experienced when he attained a new personal best (and the challenge of the work still needing to be done) makes the effort and sacrifice entirely worthwhile.

Firing General Managers, Part I

Rob Babcock got canned today. Was it the right thing to do? I don’t know.

Although still negative, my feelings for the embattled general manager have mellowed. Obviously, recent games have highlighted that the Raptors lack the wing scorer to share load with Chris Bosh and be complemented by Mike James. But I’m reluctant to re-start the rebuilding process again. All things considered, the team was improving.

Best Four Moves: I listed an additional good thing because it’s important to focus on the positive.

• Acquiring Mike James: This was a tremendous trade. Guys like James, Damon Jones, and Tony Parker complete good teams. Dealing Rafer Alson for him was a steal. However, James is not a secondary scorer and is trying to do too much lately. He needs help (via a trade) so he can focus on filling the Ron Harper spot in the Triangle (if the Raptors ran that set).
  
• Drafting Charlie Villanueva: I thought this was a reach at the time but I was wrong. Charlie V provides shooting, depth, and energy. I’d like to see his role increased so that he becomes a bona fide sixth man.
  
• Signing Chris Duhon to an offer sheet: Chicago matched this contract but it showed a keen eye for talent. A backcourt comprised of Duhon and James would be superb. He is the type of young player Toronto should target in the second round of the draft or in free agency.
  
• Hiring Sam Mitchell: Firing Kevin O’Neill was a mistake. O’Neill knew the game and would be great for a young team. However, I’m impressed with the development of Chris Bosh; Mitchell and his staff deserve credit.

Worst Three Moves

• Trading Vince Carter: The Raptors start Rafael Araujo at centre. Alonzo Mourning is a key contributor for Miami. Eric Williams cannot play defence. Where is Aaron Williams? When trading an elite player, you must get an elite player in return (Los Angeles made this mistake in the Shaquille O’Neal trade -- Dwayne Wade was the only player who had close to equal value and they didn’t get him). One of the worst trades ever. Maybe Vince was soft and cancerous but he can light it up. The Association is a players league. Make it work (see Phil and Kobe).
• Drafting Rafael Araujo: Since the days of Oscar Robertson, Bob Cousy, and Jerry West, guards have dominated the Association. What use is a 6-11 dude who loses jump balls to a 5-9 guard? Passing over Andre Igoudala, Chris Duhon, and Trevor Ariza was a giant mistake that sits on the end of the bench during crunch time.
• Matching Morris Peterson’s offer sheet from New Orleans: Overpaid ($5M/yr) and over-rated (only makes baseline jumpers). This was valuable cap room the team could have used during the 2005 and 2006 summers.

Overall Grade: C+

My question is: given the performance of the Maple Leafs, will Richard Peddie hold another news conference in the near future and announce what a tough decision it was to let Pat Quinn go?

Chris Bosh and Improvement

I updated the Post Moves of the Month for January and February 2006. February’s move was posted early because I saw Chris Bosh do it down the stretch vs. Portland and was fairly impressed. He came high ball side, drove the lane, and finished with his left hand. Bosh is continually in the process of improving himself and has become one of the top forwards in the league.

Bosh’s game isn’t perfect; he sets mediocre screens and needs to add range to his jump shot. In crunch time in the Trailblazers game, he committed two faux-pas: neglecting to box out Zach Randolph and failing to get open on the game’s final play.

(By the way, Sam Mitchell should have used a play with more options -- the Raptors almost committed a five second violation and settled for a low percentage shot. For example, if Bosh had down-screened for Mike James on the weak-side, Morris Peterson flashed to the corner, and Matt Bonner flared to a shooting spot, the Blazers would have needed to defend the entire court and could not have doubled Bosh inside. Secondly, Jalen Rose was shooting well and would have been a viable option for a return pass after he inbounded the ball and stepped on the court. Hindsight is 20/20 although at the time I was confident that Rose was going to take and make the shot.)

Chris Bosh’s name is floated in discussions about the Eastern Conference All-Star team, Team U.S.A., and possible Los Angeles Lakers free agent signings (and desevedl so). It won’t happen but four of the top 5 picks in the 2003 N.B.A. Draft may represent the United States at the Olympics. It was considered a weak pick at the time but the Detroit’s selection of Darko Milicic looks absolutely terrible now. I don’t think Toronto made a poor pick -- choosing Bosh over Dwyane Wade is reasonable due to what the team needed and position scarcity.

One can only assume that when he selected Darko as the second pick, Joe Dumars was taking the same bad acid that Rob Babcock dropped when he chose Rafael Araujo in 2004. Carmelo Anthony is better than Milicic (because he actually plays) but perhaps Dumars felt that Tayshaun Prince filled the 3-spot better for defensive and chemistry reasons. Maybe Dumars passed on Flash because he wanted Rip Hamilton to be the man. OK. But if Detroit had taken Bosh, they would be unstoppable (they may be unstoppable now). No team in the league could match up with a frontcourt of Bosh and Rasheed Wallace in the fourth quarter (San Antonio can match up with them now but would be unable to touch that lineup). Furthermore, the upcoming free agency of Ben Wallace would not be a problem. Truly, it was an atrocious selection that should go down next to choosing Sam Bowie instead of Michael Jordan among the worst draft picks of all-time.

In closing, I really appreciate how Chris Bosh rolls. It seems like the career of Alvin Williams has reached its conclusion so I need a new favourite player in the Association. Bosh hasn’t reached the level of Alvinsanity yet, but he has potential.

Professional Athletes

Vince Young declared for the N.F.L. Draft today. In professional sports, always follow the money for this reason. Good idea Vince, there was nothing left to prove in Texas. (In retrospect, Carson Palmer definitely made a great decision by signing an eight-year extension last week.)

The only difference between college and professional sports is that the professional athletes can get paid above the table. In college, Coach K gets the American Express commercial because Christian Laettner made a turnaround at the buzzer back in 1992. In the N.F.L., when the Patriots win three Superbowls, it’s Tom Brady and his offensive line who are rewarded by Visa, not Bill Belichick. I don’t mean to demean coaches, but as outlined below, players are the ones who make plays and win games.

Bad Trades

The Raptors lost 105-104 to the New Jersey Nets today. Vince Carter made a three point shot with 0.1 seconds left, highlighting three points:

The Raptors were generally hosed in last year’s Vince Carter trade. Stats by Vince Carter today: forty five minutes and forty two points -- stats by players traded for Vince Carter: DNP-CDs and fifteen minutes, seven points by Alonzo Mourning in the Heat-Blazers game. Key Lesson: Trade quality for quality. The Lakers also made this mistake last year by trading one of the top twenty players in the game (Shaquille O’Neal) and neglecting to get one in return (Dwayne Wade). Don’t trade quality for garbage. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Shooters make shots. Many players do not realise that not all players are shooters. Anyone can take shots, but shooters put the ball in the basket. Key Lessons: If you aren’t a shooter, don’t take shots you can’t make. Also, when up two in a last-second situations, don’t let a shooter spot up for a three; make them put the ball on the deck.

Morris Peterson horsed around with Vince Carter and got ejected. Key Lessons: Mind your manners next to Steve Javie, don’t call the officials’ attention to yourself, and do your talking on the scoreboard, like Vince did with 0.1 seconds left.

Sports on Television

When I watch sports on television, why must the announcers spent countless moments discussing minutiae absolutely irreverent to the game? What function do sideline reports serve? Why do commentators feel the need to speak as if the viewers are a gang of mush-heads?

For example, why was Matt Leinart’s dad shown repeatedly during the 2006 Rose Bowl? It seemed as if he was on the screen more often than his son, who was quarterbacking the Trojans. Since Mr. Leinart wasn’t the player who came up inches short on fourth down nor did he score the winning touchdown with nineteen seconds to go, why was this visual noise clouding my screen so often?

Players make plays (Critical, often over-looked note: not all athletes who participate in sports are players). LenDale White scored three touchdowns, Reggie Bush vaulted over twelve defenders to score, and Vince Young largely won the game single-handedly. The Elias Sports Bureau possesses many interesting facts about these players that I would have enjoyed hearing about. Why dilute the intensity of sports with sappy melodramatic storylines? To me, sports are appealing because every game is different. These quasi-theatrical sidebars are merely rehashed versions of the same tired themes (overcoming adversity, redemption, family).

On the subject of U.S.C.’s decision to go for it on fourth down, I don’t necessarily loathe the call. A punt probably seals the victory, but Vince Young is Superman so it’s hard to say. However, why leave Reggie Bush on the sideline? At worse, he’s a decoy to the ball carrier; in the best case scenario, he gains thirty yards on a pitch-out. Perhaps he could have pushed the pile and given U.S.C. the yards they needed (again).

Homer Simpson said it best when he decreed that “you don’t make friends with salad.” To paraphrase: “you don’t leave the Heisman trophy winner on the sideline on the play that will determine the National Championship.”

A Basketball Rant

On Friday night, my friend accused me of going on a “basketball rant”. I was only responding to his questions about the Pistons, Spurs, and Suns so he could have stopped me at any time by stopping his questions.

Those three teams are arguably the three best in the Association. My friend’s point was that they more or less play a motion offence with a few exceptions.

Recently, Phoenix has been using this “diamond set” often, signalled by Mike D’Antoni, in addition to their transition and pick and roll games. The “diamond set” gives Steve Nash some options by setting ballscreens (do not go under the screen -- the Timberwolves hedged with Kevin Garnett, an excellent option for teams with athletic seven foot tall players). Detroit has their Circle Play for Rip Hamilton and San Antonio has been running a lot of side screen and rolls with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

Tony Parker has been very effective lately. His high shooting percentage makes him one of the most effective point guards in the world. Apparently, he devotes significant time to practicing the difficult shots that he attempts in the paint.

Since these three teams have talent, they don’t need as many plays. They can set their three core players (Detroit: Billups, Hamilton, Prince/Wallace; San Antonio: Duncan, Ginobli, Parker; Phoenix: Nash, Marion, Diaw) in a triangle and let them play. Since they have excellent supporting casts, defences must respect the shooters (R. Wallace, Finley, Jones).

Chris Bosh has been as effective as Tim Duncan recently. Bosh is playing a lot of minutes and taking a lot of shots. However, he’s making a good percentage and getting to the line often. Duncan has been awful from the line lately, which drags down his effective field goal percentage.