This game would have been something special for Canadians back in the day but the rivalry lost its shine when the Grizzlies picked up and moved to Memphis. Too bad, the fans in Vancouver deserved better and it was interesting to hear recently that the "commish" David Stern admitted that things could have (should have) worked in Vancouver. But they will move forward and probably won't go back.
Having been around the league, many of my fellow media types still lament not being able to go out to Canada's west coast as they miss the city. Again, the Canadian in me says shame on the NBA but sometimes big business does not always care about the little person. On that note, I'm going to do some digging to see if I can find out where the Naismith Cup is stored. It was the trophy that went to the winning team in the annual Toronto Raptors vs. Vancouver Grizzlies preseason game. Hmmm, wonder if it's a glorified vase or something?
Some interesting numbers for you as there has been a lot made of Toronto losing leads. The Raptors have won 15 of their last 16 first quarters but have only managed to hang on for seven wins in those games. The problem, as of Jan. 5, is while Toronto was tied for top spot in the NBA in first-quarter winning percentage with Cleveland and Detroit, they were 29th in second-quarter winning percentage, just ahead of Sacramento. They seem to do a good job in the final quarter winning it 53 per cent of the time but sometimes it just isn't enough.
All eyes will be on the guy who will probably be the Rookie of the Year; namely, , O.J. Mayo. But don't sleep on the Grizzlies young center Marc Gasol. Yes he is the brother of Los Angeles Lakers' centre Pau Gasol and is playing very well since getting more floor time after a fractured hand has put Darko Milicic out of action. Marc is actually trying to break the rookie record for field-goal percentage, which was set by his older brother. It says here that with the way the younger Gasol plays, the Lakers would be better served to have the two trade personalities for the playoffs.
So what kind of fire-storm will there be if the Portland Trail Blazers, who are threatening legal action against any team that signs Darius Miles "with the purpose of adversely impacting the Portland Trail Blazers' salary cap and tax positions," actually go through with litigation. Yes it might put them in a tough spot from a salary standpoint but how can they prove that the other team did it just for that specific purpose? What if, like some other misguided teams have done over the past few years, they think he can play and just make a bad decision?
Danny Granger of the Pacers is having a superb season thus far but with his team 13th in the Eastern Conference, it will be interesting to see if he is voted to the all-star team.
