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A Pound is Better Than A Handshake
Posted on | September 30, 2009 | No Comments
“With the NBA fearful of the damage an H1N1 flu outbreak could create on the league, the league office has passed down an anti-handshake directive.
Players and coaches have been asked to greet each other via more sanitary means of contact, such as fist pounding.”
Yes, because it’s important that before sweating and breathing all over one another for 48 minutes, players try to be as careful as possible about passing on germs.
And am I the only one who can see in some bizarre way the fist pound completely replacing the handshake as a way of greeting someone? When the President does it, it’s pretty much main stream. With people’s paranoia about germs, is this the beginning of the end of the handshake?
Then again, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. No more sweaty handshakes, limp handshakes, crushing handshakes. No more being judged on how hard you squeeze, how long you hold the shake and whether or not you let go first.
So does this mean that Stern and the other executives will be doing that? Mark my words, this is where it starts. Soon, you’ll be fist pounding your mother, who will be commenting on fist pounding etiquette. Speaking of which, I wonder what that will be…
Welcome to the Cleveland Circus!
Posted on | September 29, 2009 | No Comments
Wow, is anyone starting to look forward to watching what happens with Cleveland this year? I don’t mean on the court, although that will probably be entertaining, too, but they are starting to look like the Golden State Warriors of the East. No, don’t worry, no one has demanded a trade, but in terms of shear off court entertainment, Cleveland is far and away becoming a circus. That would happen just with Shaq, who, as he gets older, slips more and more into dementia as he says more and more ridiculous things and can’t seem to act his age. I mean, Phoenix basically gave him away for nothing because the veterans (shouldn’t he be counted as one) grew tired of his act. It was fine when he was winning Championships, but when he doesn’t even help you make the playoffs, then what’s the point.
Obviously LeBron’s free agency situation is going to hang over the city until next summer. Nothing’s going to change that. Is there an over/under on how many times he’s going to be asked the same question about free agency? In every single city? How long before he snaps at someone (I would) for asking a question they know they won’t get answered?
Of course, now Delonte West is making some noise in this department. First, this summer, he’s pulled over for having SEVERAL loaded concealed weapons while driving his motorcycle (why on earth do you travel with more than one loaded gun?? Why would you need even one?), then he doesn’t show up for the first day of training camp. And it’s an unexcused absence.
Is this really how you want to start the march towards what is supposed to be LeBron and the Cavs first Championship in what is possibly the most important season in Cleveland history?
Now, I like West’s game, although I would like it a WHOLE lot better coming off the bench, but do me a favour and check out West’s past a little bit. Apparently he’s been mentoring Michael Beasley. And he’s supposedly on medication to control his mood swings.
Check out this quote I found from West about what a romantic night would involve…
“One more thing: When we’re on the yacht eating, we’re going to have some Popeyes chicken. That’s for dinner. It’s to let her know, put a mental image on her mind, first and foremost, if you ain’t from the hood, you don’t like Popeyes chicken. Everyone there loves Popeyes chicken and the biscuits — phew. But that’s just getting it on her mind, saying, you know, ‘Yeah, I can wine and dine you, but I’m a little rough around the edges and I’m keeping it real with you. I can be romantic, but this is real, we’re going to eat some chicken tonight. Chicken and biscuits.”
So the guy is on a YACHT, keeping it real. I guess he’s been taking lessons from Allen Iverson.
This is going to be fun…
To Start Or Not To Start, DeMar Is The Question
Posted on | September 29, 2009 | 7 Comments
As training camp begins, there are quite a few questions surrounding the Raptors. Will Bosh be able to recover from his hamstring injury and make the next step to become a top tier player? Will Bargnani continue his play from the latter half of last season, and has anyone told him he’s allowed to touch the ball AFTER someone misses a shot? Will Turkoglu earn his new contract? Will the Raptors be able to stop any teams from scoring?
Of course, there are questions revolving around lottery pick, DeMar DeRozan, as well. Other than wondering whether Jessica Simpson will let him in on the Proactiv secret, one of the most common questions surrounding the high flying rookie is whether or not he will start, and more importantly, whether he should.
When Jay Triano stated that he felt DeRozan would start, depending on how he did in training camp, there were many that criticized the decision. DeRozan is certainly a talented player, but he hasn’t played a minute in the NBA, so some feel handing him the starting position isn’t doing him any favours. Rookies, no matter where they are drafted, should earn their place, not have it given it to them. Well, yes and no. While it is a nice idea to make a player earn his place, when so much is being invested in the player (not only monetarily, but also with where he was drafted), the development of the player and the future of the team should take priority.
DeRozan is in a different position than many lottery picks. When OJ Mayo came out of USC, the Memphis team he was drafted by was lacking in talent. He ended up playing heavy minutes (11th in the league), and taking the second most shots on the team, to Rudy Gay. Mayo ended up being the top rookie scorer, but his play noticeably declined as the season wore on, and he’s starting to pick up some of the bad habits one does when being thrust into a main role too early. Due to the heavy offensive load, Mayo’s defense started to suffer, and because of a lack of offensive options, he’s becoming known as a selfish player. He’s got a world of talent and it would be a shame for him to end up going down the same road that Damon Stoudemire went down.
Stoudamire was, of course, the Rookie of the Year for the Raptors in their inaugural season. So how could he be considered a disappointment? Well, because he was thrust into the main role so early, he picked up bad habits and couldn’t sustain that level after he was traded from the team. It was not only the statistics which he never came close to reproducing, but also the level of play. In Toronto, he was a huge threat that looked poised to be an All Star. After he was traded to Portland, he couldn’t find his role if it wasn’t the main man. Obviously his scoring went down, with more scorers on the team, but so did his assists and his shooting percentage, which was never good to begin with. It’s not often that a player peaks during his rookie season, but that’s exactly what happened with Stoudamire.
Of course, on the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got Darko Milicic. Touted by Chad Ford as a future superstar, stronger than Gasol, better in the low post than Dirk, and more comparable to Garnett than any European player, Milicic famously was drafted 2nd by Detroit only to languish on the bench for a veteran laden team that went on to win a Championship that year, with no thanks to Milicic. Although he hasn’t exactly excelled since escaping the situation in Detroit, there’s no telling what he might have done if he were put in a better situation from the beginning.
What does all this have to do with DeRozan? Well DeRozan, thankfully, is not in either of those extreme positions. He’s in a very favourable position in terms of development. He’ll be depended on to play some minutes, but there will be little pressure on him to perform. He won’t need to score, so he can concentrate on developing all facets of his game in order to become a better all around player.
Now the question is, where will this happen best? Will it happen if he’s forced to fight for minutes off the bench, or would it be better if he knew he was going to start the first and second half of games and get at least a dozen minutes every game? More if he performed well. I think it’s obvious where I think he’d develop best.
Players that excel off the bench usually have a single great attribute. They can be energy guys, excellent shooters, great defenders or glass cleaning rebounders. The one thing about bench players, however, is that they’re usually expected to make an immediate impact on the game. Jarret Jack is a good bench player because he’s a very good defender but he can also play two positions, and can shoot. He also gives a different look to Calderon. The same is true of Reggie Evans. He’s a different type of player than both Bosh and Bargnani, and his rebounding and toughness are good sparks to be able to bring off the bench.
DeRozan, while a great mid range shooter and highly athletic player, is not a player who would make an immediate impact on the game, at least not early. He needs to get to know the flow of an NBA game and learn how to play with other great players. He needs to learn how to play without the ball and when and when not to shoot. Will he do this best playing with Calderon, Turkoglu, Bosh and Bargnani, or Jack, Wright, Evans and Nesterovic? I think DeRozan needs to learn how to play with the better players. If he came off the bench, he would need to score more, since really only Jack is a good scorer off the bench. Without much of an outside game, DeRozan needs time to develop his offense, without being forced to rely on it for minutes.
Besides, the Raptors would need Belinelli’s scoring and creativity coming off the bench a lot more than DeMar’s athleticism. In many ways, Belinelli can be compared to Manu Ginobilli. They’re both high energy players that can shoot the lights out and do so without a second thought. Spurs coachGreg Popovic likes Manu off the bench not only because he gives the second unit some scoring, but because he provides instant offense and immediately changes the game when he comes in. Really only one player provides that on the Raptors, and that’s Belinelli. DeRozan will hopefully become a very good player, but he’s not instant offense and he’s not a game changer at this point in his career. If Belinelli started, he’d be fighting for shots with Bosh, Bargnani, Turkoglu and Calderon. Belinelli’s best attribute would almost be lost. The player that starts with those four shouldn’t need the ball, and Belinelli does, to be most effective.
The main reason that DeRozan should start, though, is because he will always know when he will play, and what will be expected of him. He won’t be sitting on the bench, wondering when he will get in, or what he will be asked to do. Bargnani benefitted from this, and DeRozan should, as well. Does he deserve to start? I’m not even sure what that means. Starting shouldn’t be a reward, but something that is done for the benefit of the team and the development of the player.
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