Local Basketball

Lost in the playoffs Saturday, 67-60 at York. Perhaps a call could have gone the other way or a basket not rimmed out but athletes make plays. Must get fitter, happier, more productive over the off-season so we are in a position to make more plays down the stretch next year.

Raptors blew a massive in Dallas. Bosh and James went off to a certain degree. However, it was Darrell Armstrong (defensively) and Dirk Nowitzki (offensively) that made plays in crunch time.

Indiana beat Michigan State on Sunday. Michigan State had overcome a large lead but after Paul Davis fouled out, the Spartans didn’t make plays and the Hoosiers won.

In the Toronto District 4A playoffs, the top two teams (Eastern Commerce and Emery Collegiate) lost in the semi-finals, creating a final between Northern S.S. and West Hill Collegiate. West Hill was a huge favourite but they got smoked. Northern stopped with a 2-3 zone and scored with excellent outside shooting.

There are multiple ways to make plays, from the opening tip to the final horn. Mistakes are never final and the game is never over until the final buzzer. Student-athletes always have the opportunity to make plays to win the game.

The Raptors badly need a perimeter defensive stopper, a shooter, and a wing who can take the ball to the basket. Getting Bryan Colangelo is a good start. Conventional wisdom said that Steve Nash was too old when Phoenix signed him in July 2004 and most pundits believed that the team was in deep trouble when Joe Johnson wanted out and Amare Stoudamire was injured. The speculation was wrong; Phoenix is not too expensive, very athletic, and very good. Hopefully sunnier days are ahead for the Raptors.

Too Much Burn

So Chris Bosh made the Eastern All-Star team as a reserve. He deserves it. Position scarcity, attitude, and talent make him one of the most fifteen valuable players in the Association. He's not a true post but he goes down there occasionally and exemplifies good post play. Once his shot becomes a little better and he learns to set screens, look out.

So why does Sam Mitchell want to kill him? He should not play fifty minutes in a game. The Raptors lost to the Spurs 125-118 in overtime because Michael Finlay blew up and their two best players played 94.3% of the game. The Raptors aren't a deep team but they aren't that shallow either. James and Bosh should average about forty minutes. Spreading out the shots and minutes will develop the third option the team sorely needs.

A March to Madness

The execution during the second half of Tuesday’s Duke-Carolina was poor. There were some very sketchy turnovers and players did not display good awareness of the time and score situation. Case in point, the Heels were down three with about eighteen seconds to play. Two-for-one is a viable strategy but you need to go for the quick two quickly. Instead, Carolina ran around with like chickens with their heads cut off, tried a two with mere seconds remaining, missed, and fouled.

Carolina had used their last timeout after a score to set the defence. They executed good ball pressure and - after forcing Duke to call timeout - fouled Greg Paulus, who was an excellent choice. During the timeout, Roy Williams should have sent two plays in, one in case Paulus makes the foul shots (which he did) and one in case he misses and they only need a two. Apparently nobody was listening. Nevertheless, Carolina is a young team and can learn from these mistakes.

Duke on the other hand is not playing up to its experience. There are four seniors in the seven man rotation. They have to play more calmly under pressure. The A.C.C. is a tremendous conference and I highly recommend A March to Madness but Duke must curtail these nail-biters. Mike Krzyzewski said it’s not the number of minutes a player plays that count but the intensity of those minutes. Mental focus can help win games down the stretch (vs. Boston College, vs. Florida State) but mental focus also includes taking care of business and seizing control of the game in the first half.

The Carleton Ravens could fall into the trap of letting a bunch of teams run with them. They don’t and they kill teams from the opening tip onwards. The Ravens are motivated and focused enough to make the most of the talent and win three consecutive C.I.S. National Championships. Of course if they played Duke they’d lose by thirty-seven points.

A Bad Trade for Both Teams

The Raptors traded Jalen Rose, a first round pick, and cash to the Knicks for Antonio Davis. Wayne Embry commented that it’s helpful to have cash room when rebuilding. Not to disparage Embry, but that’s in a situation when players want to play for your team. If players don’t like playing in Toronto, the Raptors need talent to rebuild. I would be surprised if there is a large free agent signing this summer and it may have been a better idea to wait and trade Rose for younger players next year.

Larry Brown said that the Knicks needed a veteran guard who could score. They shouldn’t -- what about Stephon Marbury and the fourth and fifth year guards on the team? Given that everyone drops a hundred points on them, they need a lockdown wing defender. Jalen Rose dislikes stopping people as much as the rest of the Knicks roster. New York’s management is incompetent, I suspect the coaching is poisonous, and the players are terrible yet somehow they are horrendously over the salary cap and according to Bill Simmons have screwed up their lottery picks for the next five years.

Davis won’t really help the Raptors. Bosh doesn’t need him. Davis is an upgrade over Pape Sow and Rafael Araujo but he’s still not a true centre. The benefit of the expiring contract is that there is plenty of cap room to resign Chris Bosh and Mike James. It’s relevant to note that Mike James is not a second option and the team should not be constructed under that premise. The Raptors still require a wing who can ball and some role players who can defend. According to the Spurs’ model, they have Duncan and Parker but they still need Ginobli, shooters, and defenders.

In summary, the trade is largely a wash and helps neither team. The Raptors’ future will be determined over the summer. The Knicks are in rough shape no matter what. Some of their younger players play hard and have talent, but the roster must be cleaned up before they go anywhere.