There is an old adage in the NBA about “playing the full 48 minutes” and it is usually the lament of a team that has let a game slip away in the final minutes after building a lead. But the Toronto Raptors are looking at that axiom from the other side after their last two games that saw them record come-from-behind wins.
Wasn’t that some comeback by the Raptors in Los Angeles on Friday night against the Clippers? Toronto tied a franchise record for the largest comeback in team history as they ran down the Clippers and erased a 22-point deficit to win. The game got so ugly early that with a 10:30 tip on the east coast, many turned off their televisions and radios only to awake to see a shocking result. Oh and they just didn’t win by a point or so at the buzzer. They won that baby going away with a 104-89 score.
There was great energy from bench players as Marco Belinelli was tremendous scoring 15 points off the pine, playing a huge role in the comeback victory. Head coach Jay Triano was upset at another poor start but ecstatic at the grittiness of the team to keep battling and pull out the win. He actually remarked during his post-game news conference that even when Toronto was down by 22 points, somebody (we find out later it was assistant coach Alex English) said “we’re going to come back and win this thing.”
A few tweaks to the defensive strategy and a line-up that Triano seems to like with Antoine Wright and Amir Johnson spearheading the defence seemed to spark the Toronto resurgence. With those two in the game, it is a line-up that has formed the basis for many a defensive charge early in the season. The question seems to be which other two or three players Triano will use to complete the line-up. Jarrett Jack is occasionally part of the group on the floor and the rest according to Triano depends on match-ups.
Friday night, it was Belinelli and Andrea Bargnani, the two Italian national team players who supplied some of the offensive firepower. It figures the two of them would have good chemistry playing together regularly for their homeland and being inherently familiar with one another on the floor.
But while Raptor fans rejoice at a comeback win Jose Calderon, who had a stellar second half scoring 16 points on 7 of 10 from the floor with five assists, cautioned that this can’t happen regularly against good teams. In particular, Calderon pointed to the next three games against Phoenix, Denver and Utah, saying there had better not be slow starts.
It was a homecoming for DeMar DeRozan and it is one he’d like to forget, scoring only two points in 11 minutes of action. But the rookie was the subject of many a pregame discussion and interview. The best line came from Hedo Turkoglu. When asked what DeRozan brought to the team, the veteran simply deadpanned “donuts.”
Triano was in a comedic mood before the game as well when it was pointed out the team had terrific offensive efficiency numbers. He started by saying, “We have plenty of guys who can make plays,” before finishing his explanation. However when it was pointed out the defensive efficiency was near the bottom of the league he paused and started with the same line smiling and saying, “We have plenty of guys who can make plays.” It invoked laughter from the assembled media and when it subsided, Triano discussed the defensive issues facing his squad.
So what’s the over-under in Phoenix Sunday with two of the NBA’s top scoring teams (Phoenix 2nd, Toronto 4th)? The bad news for Toronto is that Turkoglu is listed as questionable for the game as he is still nursing a hip injury that had him playing in considerable pain against the Clippers. The Raptors chose to have Turkoglu ride a stationary bike at practice Saturday in Los Angeles before leaving for Phoenix as he did not take part in any on court activity.
A noble gesture by LeBron James to say that no player should ever wear the number 23 to honour Michael Jordan. But really, all the King -- or maybe I should call him Boy King -- is doing is showing his age, and perhaps some will disagree and say the same about me. I guess you could call me “wise LeBron” disagreeing with “young LeBron.”
Let’s not take anything away from Jordan as six titles is a phenomenal accomplishment, but he is not the most decorated player in the game when it comes to championship rings. That honour goes to Bill Russell, who has to take off a shoe to count his championship rings. It was Russell, who while winning championships in Boston was enduring some of the hatred of a polarized America at that time in history. In fact many of the African American players paved the way battling overt racism in the NBA at a time when the Civil Rights movement was running head first into resistance from many that cheered them in arenas. A prevailing attitude of “we’ll cheer for you but you still you will not like us” was ubiquitous in American society. Speak with Lenny Wilkens about that time and you’ll hear about not being able to stay in the same hotel as teammates or eat in the same restaurants and it leaves a lasting impression.
Yes Jackie Robinson has his number retired by Major League Baseball for something of social significance and that was a worthy honour. While Michael is the greatest player of LeBron’s generation and all the kids grew up idolizing Jordan and his high-wire acrobatics, I am old enough to have seen the duels on a grainy black and white Philco between Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson at the end of his career and when my parents got a brand spanking new colour TV, I watched Dr. J, Julius Erving, set the league abuzz with excitement when he came over from the ABA, paving the way for Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and countless other great players to perform amazing NBA feats.
Jordan was terrific and also was the right person at the right time to help catapult the NBA into its global expansion. But there are others like Russell and Robertson that paved the way for those, like Erving, Bird, Johnson and Jordan who came later. The league would not have existed had it not been for the likes of its early pioneers. It may not have mattered to some if the league survived in its infant stages, it may have died and we wouldn’t be having this argument, but it did and its early cast list deserves credit for not only their terrific and legendary play but for their sacrifices. A chat with Hall of Famer Wayne Embry gave me a true appreciation of how the players literally stood up to the owners, threatening to not take the floor while sitting in a locker room to get a share, and not necessarily a big one, but a share nonetheless, of the money being made by basketball.
LeBron is still a young player right now and is gaining some perspective. As said earlier, it is tremendous that he wants to recognize Jordan. Even though he will probably turn out to be a generational phenomenon in his own right, the question is does he fully understand that while the game marches forward, the names change and there will always be great players? Certainly not always the calibre of Jordan but the torch always seems to be passed. Michael was amazing; the question needs to be asked, does he deserve to have an entire league retire his number? Oh yeah, and LeBron says that he will “probably wear his Olympic number” next season, which was number six. Yes it happens to be the same number of championship rings that Jordan has in his possession but how ironic is it that it also happens to be the same number as Russell.
OK the old man rant is done!
