Three things to ponder from easy Raptors win over Nets on Drake Night
Totally uneventful night and I know this probably shouldn’t be said out loud but what the heck:
You know how every now and then in the past I’ve lamented the fact that there’s little to write about after games of a team that loses all the time?
Well, same holds true on the other side of the coin; it’s getting more difficult each night to find interesting and untold angles to write about games.
Any help would be taken under advisement.
Anyway ...
-
THREE POINTERS
An unexpected move
Remember a week or so ago, when we saw Jonas step totally out of character with a really good high post move where he faked a handoff, spun over hls left shoulder and drove the lane to score? Was a helluva move we haven’t seen since and it’s one he should use more.
Well, Amir came up with one much the same last night that falls entirely into the same category.
It came off a usual set, where he got the ball at elbow and everyone in the gym saw him get the ball and expected the handoff to Lowry or some guard cutting off him.
But, no. He faked left, drove back to his right, made a nice little dump off pass to Valanciunas, who had an easy dunk.
It was an excellent counter to aggressive defence where, as Jack Armstrong says, the Nets defended the play rather than the player.
That kind of instinctive play, if it happens more often, makes ‘em harder to cover, more effective and it’s the kind of reactive move that can get a big, easy basket when it might be sorely needed.
Need to see it more often.
-
Moving them around
It was a move sort of born out of necessity but it also speaks to Dwane’s increasing trust in somewhat unorthodox defensive assignments.
It was in third quarter, Lowry had picked up his third foul but they needed him on the floor; trouble was, getting a fourth really quickly would have been a huge issue.
So what did Dwane do?
Instead of taking Lowry out – and Vasquez had been struggling – he moved Ross over on to Deron Williams, hid Lowry on Alan Anderson for a few minutes and they survived.
(Lowry did get his fourth about two minutes later on a bogus block call but they didn’t get a bit more time out of him)
What it said, though, is that Casey trusts Ross enough to give him an important defensive assignment covering a point guard when he seldom does.
Ross’s length should be troubling to some guards and it might be the kind of shift in assignments that screws up an opponent for four or five minutes, which is sometimes all you need.
-
Worthy of a night
I don’t know what anyone’s opinion is of TGA (that’s a new one and stands for The Global Ambassador) but here’s what I think, if it matters.
Sure, there’s a measure of self-promotion in things like a “night” but there is nothing fake about the feelings TGA has for the team, and his city.
Look, he doesn’t need the fame, I’m told he’s known globally and has, to steal a line from Perk, more money than Yoko Ono. He could quite easily just go about is business being his “brand” and taking care of his business. No one would really question that, right?
But he does love the team, loves the city, comes across as a solid self-effacing guy who just wants to help if he can and enjoy a game every now and then from a good seat.
That he’s famous and wealthy and whatever really is secondary, he comes across as wanting to do things for the franchise because he wants it to do well, not for personal gain.
And I don’t mind that at all.
As I’ve said repeatedly, his presence and title may not help much – 20-6 is way more noticeable and important around the league than Drake Night is – but it doesn’t hurt and the way he’s handled it has been fine.
Good on him.
-
More?
Just a little bit because I am waaaaaaaay late after inexplicably sleeping through the last punch of the snooze alarm (sorry if I worried you) and a long day awaits.
-
The tradition continues …
-
Don’t forget we’re back here at noon for an hour of electrifying Question and Answer and if you can’t make it, the malbag’s there at askdoug@thestar.ca and there’s really not much in it s far.
Get to work, folks.
-
So how about that Cuba news, eh?
I’ve never been and don’t imagine I’ll ever go but opening the country up to the United States is going to have one little impact on the sport I cover on a regular basis.
No, it’s not like there’s going to be an influx of Cuban basketball players making their way to the NBA – the sport is basically an afterthought behind baseball there – but I’ve had many friends over the year make sure they made the trips here during the regular season so they could pick up Cuban cigars they couldn’t get back home.
And, yes, I’ve taken one or two with me on a road trip.
In the big global news world, I always immediately think of how it’s going to effect me. That makes sense, right?
-
Back to the post-game for one little thing.
Dwane did it again.
I knew this old saying and have used it often but when he was talking about last night’s game and what it would have meant to have this roster last spring he drooped it on us and I swear I was one of few people in the room who’d ever heard it.
“Shoulda, coulda, woulda,” he started.
“If ifs and buts were candies and nuts, we’d all have a Merry Christmas, right?”
Dwane’s getting old, I’d say.
-
