Another Weekend...Some More Big Games...

So Friday has arrived and Game 3 is hours away. We'll see if the troops are ready and can use the momentum from Tuesday's win to steal a game or two in the Swamp. I wish just one person could document the transformation Bosh undergoes from his day time identity of Ronnie Devoe to the perenial All-Star we have come to know and love for game time...

They had to put his name at the bottom, just to throw people off. Now you know...

Apparently a hobbled Kidd is a game time decision, but someone should tell him that when guards do the Willis Reed-thing...it never works. Ask Isiah and he only did it for part of a game. I guess this will allow the media to be further distracted by the obvious flaws Kidd brings to the court, and conversely puts even more pressure on the other Nets to finish or score in general. And you wonder why Vince has been struggling with the pressure...the press with absolutely burry him if the Raps win this series (you know RJ will get that 'recent injury' pass too). Laugh if you wanna, but it really does suck to be VC...(sorry Cor).

Big crazy shout out to K up in Cali for finding a way to get a ticket to the best game of Lackers/Suns series last night without even relying on his own personal Ari (...hey, screenwriters is connects too). From what I have ascertained thus far; the Staples Center makes the ACC look really drab, they love them some Jack down there and Mexicans make for some pretty belligerent (some may say gansta) ball fans...I guess that gritty component of the fan base compensates for the lingering 'X-lister' stench around the arena. Too bad Kobe and friends will lose Game 4 - nobody said it'd be anything but an uphill battle out there...

Yeah he's got a strong back...but what's the name of that Game song...the one where he disses all the video gullz...oh yeah.

Speaking of Cali, I managed to catch Game 2 of the Golden State series and that team is an endearing group of nutty characters playing some incredibly frantic ball - check out Don Nelson on the sideline, and you'd swear he's been downing shots of Jack during the TV timeouts. And I thought Garbajosa looks like he just came off a bender...It'd be nice to see them pull off the upset, but regardless of what happens, at least you know their fans will have a sense of humour about it.

I guess now would be a good time to mention I have secured a ticket my own damn self for Game 5 out here: Lower Bowl too. It's just that I'll have to spend the rest of the weekend Jeezy-ing it up, slanging rocks and such to make that happen...should be a great game if I live to see it...

Time to purchase the 'Good luck' 40 and dust off that 'three day straight' gear...we'll see if Raps' beige out trumps Net beiges one more gain. A win tonight would go a long way towards a:(found at The painted Area; courtesy of some Ugly Bosh face and photoshop)

New Jersey Nets = Fergie

Over the first two games of the Raptors playoff series against the Nets, I have taken to referring to New Jersey as being a bunch of roaches: mostly for their ability to flourish in the ugliest of possible environments and their seemingly natural stubborn unwillingness to ‘die’ or at least for the moment, fold. Naturally, the metaphor is unflattering and possibly a little too vague, so perhaps another can be introduced to better illustrate this tendency for the Nets to be successful at perpetuating ugly play, an ugliness that goes unnoticed by a good portion of the masses, who mistake their somewhat seductive exterior (their two All-Stars forming the corner stones of the ‘Big 3’) as something of inherent worth. You wonder what these people see in NJ, possibly not bothering to take a closer look at what they appear to admire, because if they did…

And then it struck me: the New Jersey Nets are…"Fergilicious".

Some of you expect this to bring sexy back...no, really.

Yes, the collective face of this team, that notable troika of Kidd, Carter and Jefferson appear to impress – I mean, two of them have been all-stars for years and all are former Olympians (a different type of All-Star team). But let’s look a little closer…

Kidd can still pass and run an offense: in fact, he is the only person on the roster with that capacity. I’ll make this brief…the man cannot stay in front of anybody defensively and can only score in the most negligent defensive moments that any defense may extend to him. It’s a joke how deficient these areas of his game are: there’s only so much the metaphorical photoshop can do (zone defense and constant reaching ignored by refs and wide, WIDE open threes on the other end…thanks Lawrence) to make this guy look good here. Game 2 is a good bet to be his best scoring game of the entire series, which amounted to – 14 points on 5-14 shooting? Not so pretty…

Ah, Vince. What more can I say that hasn’t been already experienced by any Toronto basketball fan in the past decade. Still, the mental fragility he displays at this stage of his career boggles the mind: even I was surprised how shook Vince has appeared in the ACC – it’s like he’s half man, half-way crook (if there were such a thing…). Even when he makes the effort to try and assert himself on offense, all it takes is one miss and he looks ready to break out in tears. I’ll just leave it at this: somebody please give dude a hug…

"Please, whatever you do...don't funk with my heart..."

Over his career, RJ seems to have gotten more than his fair share of the NBA media machine's hype without really doing that much to distinguish himself on the court. His defensive game seemed to propell his reputation as a two way player, however it's his offensive game that is basically flawed, stained by that less than steady jumper (playing beside Kidd is a good way to look better as a shooter tho). Even his strength appears to be a mirage, as I can’t recall seeing a player in the NBA that takes more advantage of that skip step when going to the basket…it’s like he’s unable to not travel. But that’s Jefferson; he’s someone who needs to be enabled to be effective (witness non-existent defense played on him in Game 1). I still don’t know how he made that ’02 Olympic roster, but the fact that he hasn’t been invited to the latest installment of U.S. national team shows where his career trajectory is headed. One thing that will be clear by the end of this series:

Anthony Parker >>> Richard Jefferson

In short, the Nets' version of winning basketball is a fugly one. They expect to ride their flawed ‘Big 3’ to victory, something which will only happen if their opponents play poorly, at best (the Raptors have had a combined 31 assists as a team in the first two games: that total was a typical stat for an average game in February). This whole discussion is really moot, because the Nets can’t possibly have any serious pretensions about winning a championship with this squad: unreasonable doesn’t begin to describe that thought. Putting NJ next to any true contender, is like put Fergie next to any true singer. Or genuinely attractive woman. Both will be exposed. Some folks will be resigned to this reality and some just won’t want to hear it. Either way, in the end, you know that it won’t be pretty.

Nuff said.

Now that Sam Mitchell is officially coach of the year, it's seems even more odd that it's been generally accepted that Lawrence Frank will be setting to pace as far as strategic maneuvering and other coaching posturing. So the best Raptor fans can hope for is to have Sam to properly manage the rotation (poor in Game 1, much better in Game 2...it still matters) and inspire some of the underwhelming performers of this series to step up (Bargnani and, sigh, Joey Graham). But figuring out a double-teaming scheme of the post other than the most basic one that leaves the passer with a wide open look; unlikely. And funnily enough, typical to Sam, he’s completely unapologetic about this: while contrasting Frank and Mitchell, this reporter refers to such X’s and O’s as ‘overcoaching’. Funnily, seeds of doubt still seem to lay in the shadows of Mitchell’s career as Raptor coach, with a bidding war looming for Sam’s services. Colangelo could definitely use this as an out should he seem to think that the Raps need a coach with slightly higher tactical acumen to take them to the next level. I may be in the minority here, but I believe that’s a very important card left to play, and for once in this team’s lifetime I can honestly say my trust in our GM’s decision-making is absolute. But for now, it’s like the song goes: “you got to love the one you’re with…” Especially when your common enemy is fug.

And so it goes...a lesson in game management and the NBA agenda

First things first, let's keep it real: it's just the first eff'n game...

So the Raptors came out the gates more like the team with nothing to play for than the streaking squad that ran through the second half of the season wrecking havoc 'round the Lig. You can't expect to win a playoff game like that...it's just not gonna happen.

And yes, at the risk of giving in to the most obvious paranoia, the refs didn't quite choose to subscribe to the traditional thinking for the role of the official concerning home court advantage. The last five minutes or so were most painful, the span between say 4 and two minutes in particular. Bare witness to the following calls made during what was an 83-82 game:

• phantom loose ball foul call against Humphries on the defensive end
• allowing RJ to travel in attempting to throw up a runner on which he consequently received 2 free throws for
• ignoring contact on a Parker 17 footer by Carter (game log credits RJ) which ended up hitting the side of the backboard and going to Jersey
• missing an obvious RJ carry, even by NBA standards, which lead to...
• the most egregious case of pre-emptive superstar treatment - phantom foul call on Parker while Vince was in the process of pulling up for a 19 footer: 2 shots
• some good ol' fashioned soccer-style fuckery, as Nachbar dives on a defensive rebound (!) and draws the loose ball foul which leads to 2 shots as the Raps are in the penalty

This all happened in a two minute span, as the Nets only came up with only two field goals (Nachbar dagger three and uncontested Vince lay-up) in the last five minutes. I have yet to mention the 'psyche job' the refs performed on Bosh by flagging him with two quick phantom calls to begin then game, and later denying him calls in the post against those mighty defensive stalwarts Jason "I got 6 fouls...and apparently don't need em" Collins and Mikki Moore. Then again, if anyone seriously wants to dispute this as a natural reality, I would suggest Mark Cuban as a shoulder to cry on. But if you do happen to want to focus your ire over the officiating, might I suggest directing that anger towards #31, Mark Wunderlich, Jason Kidd's favourite stoppage play conversational partner.

As I mentioned previously, the Raptors are going to win games clearly and decisively: relying on stretch runs will be an impossibility. I guess the obvious offending party here would be Sam Mitchell, the recently anointed coaching savant...

It could be argued the turning point of the game was removing Bosh and the resulting momentum that was created near the end of the first half, with the Raps closing down the Jersey lead to 44-41. With under two minutes left, the Nets went on a 7-0 run to enter the locker room with a 10 point cushion. Really, Mitchell spent the game reacting to Frank's moves, whether it was the match-up zone the Nets occasionally employed to Lil' Lawrence's judicious use of time outs. Frank clearly set the pace and controlled the game from a coaching standpoint.

But perhaps the most damaging coaching decision Sam chose to make was his insistence on leaving Joey Graham out for extended minutes. Joey's production (4 points, 4 rebounds, 35 minutes) was troubling, but what really stinks is his refusal to use MoPete as merely an alternate non-option. Given Garbajosa's absence, the 3 position is already razor thin, so not using a viable and experienced option because of some petty, personal feud is inexcusable. To put it bluntly, the Raps were outscored at the small forward position 50 to (a charitable) 7. Even counting RJ's abnormally large output as Parker's first half negligence, that's still a roughly 30 plus point difference. That even outstrips the 34-12 advantage in point production the Raps enjoyed from the lead guard position (I know, Kidd had 15 assists, five more than Ford and Calderon combined...).

Well, it's looking like I'll be at Game 2, so hopefully I will be a live witness to the adjustments that need to be made by the Raptors. The Nets have revealed their junk defenses and other gimmicks now, so barring Wunderlich from pulling a complete snow job, I anticipate the Raps coming out a signifcantly different squad on Tuesday. The end result should be different too.

Last Minute Post: And it all comes down to this…Nets vs. Raptors Playoff Preview

So the Raps seemed destined to cruise into a nice, safe first round series with the Arenas-less, Butler-less Wiz. Now it’s cardiac arrestsville for us Raps fans, cuz guess who’s coming back to town – who says you can never go home? That’s right, Vince Effin’ Carter and the somewhat streaking Nets. Personally, I’d be lying if I said that I’m happy about this: spin this how you want, but how could anybody be upset with a guaranteed pass to the 2^nd round that the Washington series potentially afforded. And to top it off, there appears to be a bit of momentum behind the Jerz, which capped off their season splitting Bulls wigs (thanks Chicago…) to secure this Atlantic Division showdown. On paper, I almost think it would’ve been to the Nets benefit to play Chicago in the first round (they did take the season’s series 3-1 and appear to match up well with those no superstar having-punks), but considering the boiling emotional undercurrent and infamous history these two teams share, it would be difficult to judge a Nets/Raptors series by match-ups alone. Which doesn’t mean I won’t try and do it tho…so here it is, the traditional break-down.

Point Guard
Nets: The Nets have Ason Kidd, and it’s interesting that while the Nets have gone 5-1 in April (8-2 in their last 10) Jason has reverted back to ‘Ason’. In the month of April, Kidd has been shooting 27.6%, averaging 8.8 points a game: during this time he has compiled more assists and rebounds (!) than points. It’s safe to say, the only place Kidd will be putting up big numbers is on Richmond Street (Inside…perhaps…fo’ old time’s sake…): ladies, if you’re looking for a recently divorced light-skin, be ready to mingle.
Inappropriate comments about one’s skin colour and private life aside, we haven’t even gotten to the biggest drawback of having Kidd on the court: his defense. I hear that some ‘professional’ commentators have finally started to join the bandwagon in acknowledging that Kidd is unable defend any above average point guard in the Lig. Although this may be the obvious precedent, this is a man who let Anthony Johnson go for a Curtis in the final game of last year’s playoffs series against the Pacers. At this point in his career, it would be inaccurate to label Kidd as anything less than a defensive liability. It will take some serious smoke and mirrors to keep this fact from being exploited, but expect Lawrence Frank to try…don’t be surprised if you see some extended periods of the Nets using zone, especially when TJ is on the court.
These are two big negatives, so why is Kidd so important, vital even, to the overall functioning of the Nets? He can pass. To put it short, he is the only player on the Nets roster who will pass, voluntarily. This Nets squad is not particularly good with ball movement, so it is almost essential that he is logging big minutes to keep the team running smoothly. Plus, he is also one the best rebounders on the team, an important fact in that he can initiate the break better by hitting leakers as opposed to running it himself. Either way, his court savvy is irreplaceable for the Nets. It’s like the song goes: “You take the good, you take the bad…”
The back-up is Marcus Williams, a predictably erratic rookie, best known for his college exploits of not passing to Denham Brown and stealing labtops. Like the rest of the Nets, he appears loathe to pass, but has shown the ability to create for himself and even, at times, finish. His one on one tendencies, while making him generic to the roster also, unsurprisingly, cause him to be turnover prone: don’t expect to see him much this series.
Raps: The play of point guards TJ Ford and Jose Calderon have been a large reason for the Raps success this season…y’all know the names and the deal. Both have enjoyed moments of spectacular play, and compliment each other nicely. It should be interesting to see who Sam leaves out on the court during crunch time.
Overall, the Raptor point guards must be aggressive offensively and look to take advantage of Kidd, who will, no doubt, wear down over the series. That being said, if Frank throws out the junk defenses, don’t be surprised to see extended periods of Calderon, whose poise and outside jumper will be a sticking point for the Nets. It shouldn’t be surprising to see the Raps outscoring the Nets by 20 at this position…
Advantage: RAPTORS

Shooting Guard
Nets: I, more than anyone, am weary of this analogy, but sadly it seems to ring true every time Vince pops back into our lives: he is that girl that we had the messy break-up with and continues to leave us affected to this day. Everyone knows all about Vince, but to his credit, he has absolutely put this team on his back down the stretch, playing some of his best basketball heading into the series and is a legitimate triple-double threat. There is always an ‘x’ factor (ex…heh, heh…pardon the pun) with Vince and his inherent immaturity still befuddles to this day: will he take on and rise to the challenge of an overtly hostile crowd, or will he buckle at the first couple of missed shots? So much drama with the ex’s…
Raps: Anthony Parker has been another Colangelo steal, a glue guy who has had a stellar end of the season, leading the Raptors in scoring in a number of games down the stretch. A smart and tough defensive player, Parker’s three pointers from the corner have become an indispensable part of the Raptor’s half court sets. Juan Dixon has been an exceptional mid-season pick-up and someone who has earned Mitchell trust, as he has been given significant playing time since joining Toronto. Dixon is an exceptional scorer who is adept at creating for himself and knocking down shots, but lacks the size to be a stopper defensively.
Overall, it will be tough to deny Mr. Carter, especially given his recent form. The Raptors will have to make him work for everything he gets and play him as physical as possible (which is why Joey Graham will get his turn with Vince). Hopefully the crowd will get to him, but that’s another double-edged sword with Vince. If there’s a positive to this match up, it’s that the Raptors appear to finally have players that will produce some offense from this position – at least it will keep the Nets honest, because you know Vince isn’t trying to expend any energy on defense.
Advantage: NETS

Small Forward
Nets: As friend of the family Bill Walton alluded to during their season ending game against Chicago, Richard Jefferson is not the same player he was before his most recent season-ending injury, probably because he’s not playing near 100%. While not on the level of Kidd, RJ can do his fair share of brick-laying (even when healthy), as in the last two games he has shot a combined 7-30: however, he has shown an ability to compensate by drawing fouls, as he was 21-24 from the free throw line during those games. While not providing the same defensive presence the team has come to expect (they already have Vince dogging it on the regular), a crippled Jefferson is still, for all intents and purposes, the trailing portion of the Nets big three. Bostjan Nachbar may actually be a better indicator than RJ on the Nets overall success: during the month of April, he has averaged 15.2 points per game coming off the bench, while shooting 54.8% from the field and a blazing 59.4% from three.
Raps: Since Garbajosa went down, Joey Graham seems to have slid into Sam Mitchell’s good graces, as he has been a started all through April, averaging a respectable 15.2 ppg on 49 % shooting. A big, strong bodied presence when active, Joey has never been accused of being an intelligent player. I would say MoPete could surprise people with his production in the playoffs but now he has to overcome a recently hyper-extended knee in addition to his place in Mitchell’s doghouse. Still, if he can manage to not shoot every jumper fading in random directions, he could put a lot of pressure on the Nets team defense – something he would love to do to the team of his old buddy Vince.
This match-up is a toss up, particularly with an injured RJ logging big minutes (35.5 in April) semi-healthy and the savvy rookie Garbajosa out. The small forward position has been a sore spot all year for the Raps, as consistent scoring from the 3 has been hard to come by: when they do get it, they are hard to beat. Whoever manages to step up (Graham, Nachbar, Peterson) at this position could be a difference maker in the series.
Advantage: EVEN

Power Forward
Nets: Awww, suki suki. Look what we have here. A big reason the Nets are stringing win streaks together at the end of the season has been the presence of the Mikki Moore and to a lesser extent, Josh Boone off the bench. Moore, in particular has been holding down the frontcourt, sliding into Nenad Krstic’s role of knocking down his 6-10 shot attempts from 15 feet with surprising regularity. Even Boone got into the act, regularly putting up double-doubles with some extended minutes in March. But make no mistake here, there’s a lot of subterfuge going on here with the statistics: both these players derive their offense solely off the consequence of the various iso sets and the resultant double-teaming of their more heralded team mates, especially Vince. These guys create nothing for themselves, and are not a threat in that capacity.
Raptors: …on the other hand, we have Chris Bosh. If this is a defining series for the rebuilding Raptors, this goes double for the legacy of Bosh. As the line goes, if Chris Bosh comes out hungry, the Nets frontcourt definitely qualifies as something to eat. It would not be outrageous to say Bosh, individually, has more talent than the Nets’ big men, combined. It’s just a matter of showing it.
Lawrence Frank has probably been losing sleep over this. Bosh will, no doubt, see a series of defensive looks and traps from various angles to keep him off balance. It will be more of a mental series for Chris than any other Raptor: like Vince, he will get the superstar treatment, and by treatment, I mean focus. Don’t be surprised to see Jason ‘I got 6 fouls to give’ Collins get matched up with Bosh in the post, furiously trying to push him out of the key to the 18-20 foot range. Funny thing is, Bosh can hit those too. For Moore/Boone to get anything here will be a total let down for Toronto and a huge victory for Jersey. Conversely, Frank may have to concede Bosh’s points, accepting that reality and working around it.
Advantage: RAPTORS

Centre (yeah, you up in Canada now, bitch…)
Nets: The Nets thin front court got thinner when ‘Need a vowel’ Krstic went down for the season. ‘6 fouls to give’ Collins occupies the starter’s position here, but don’t expect to see him on the floor for starter’s minutes. He brings virtually nothing offensively to the team, although he might be their best rebounding big (although still less effective than their POINT GUARD). He’ll probably use at least half of those 6 fouls in the 20 odd minutes he’ll see of the court. Expect to see the resurrection of Uncle Cliffy Robinson for the playoffs. This old man will be dusted off and allowed to randomly jack from the perimeter: their version of an ancient Bargnani, if Bargnani was born in Buffalo and had a love for that good smoke. With the Raptor’s potential to get up and down the court, NJ will also probably be using a lot of small line-ups.
Raptors: Our version of the make-shift centre comes in the form of Rasho Nesterovic. He is a polished big with some surprising passing ability, a decent mid range game and the ability to play a goalie-like role on defense. What he also happens to be is the opposite of hard. This is a 7 footer who is less likely to dunk from inside 5 feet than any other 7 foot individual playing basketball on the planet. Like Collins he doesn’t usually see starters minutes, and will contribute on a proportionally basis to his minutes.
The script-flipper here is the presence of super-rook and imported Italian flavor, Andrea Bargnani. As a legit 7 footer, he will be a mess to match up with for the Nets. His game and poise has developed by leaps and bounds during the season, and his confidence in sticking the 3 is almost at a veteran level. The Nets only option maybe to have their most mobile big, Moore, chasing Andrea around outside while Collins hacks away at Bosh. Frank will be praying for the rookie jitters to strike, because if they don’t, it could get really scary for NJ here.
Advantage: RAPTORS

Bench
Nets: Lawrence Frank will probably run an 8 man rotation, so expect Nachbar, Boone and Uncle Cliffy to be the chosen three with Williams, Antoine Wright and Hasan Adams as the odd men out. Nachbar’s three point touch will be the definition of bench scoring for Jerz, and if the Raptors let him average strong double-figures, it will be a problem. With outside shooting at a premium, the Nets really will miss Eddie House here.
Raptors: Calderon, Dixon and MoPete will provide the bulk of the bench scoring and figure at least two out of three to enjoy a good series. Kris Humphries will be supplying the bulk off the bench and depending on how Sam wants to play it, his role could be significantly lessened with a smaller line-up. Personally, I think the under-lengthed Humphries could wreck some havoc with the inadequate rebounders that litter the NJ roster.
Ultimately, the Raptors must limit Nachbar’s effectiveness and the open looks Vince et al could provide; he has enough skill to keep defenses honest and will even put it on the floor occasionally. The rest of the Net bench is, realistically, just filler. Expect Calderon to excel in this series, in particular, and could create a huge buzz for himself by dogging the still highly regarded Kidd. When the Raps offense is running crisply, there will be a lot of open looks available. It shouldn’t be too surprising to see Dixon and/or MoPete to have some reasonably big games. Advantage: RAPTORS

Coaching
Nets: Lil’ Lawrence Frank has managed to get his team tuned up and peaking at just the right time. Under his direction, Frank has managed to get the team to understand their strengths and the Nets seem to have accepted the offensive leadership that only Vince can provide. A lot of smoke and mirrors have come into play with the Nets success, as even Frank has had to except that his roster is inherently flawed and work to find ways to make more talented teams play down to his team’s level (what other team in the Lig will win while expecting one of their best players (Kidd) to get significantly outscored by his opposite number). He deserves a lot of credit for the team’s relative success.
Raptors: Coach Sam Mitchell has turned a lot of heads by successfully orchestrating the turnaround of a young, unfamiliar roster. The ability to develop players seems to be his greatest asset as he has yet to be called a superior tactician. While he appears much more polished in dealing with players (well, people in general) than in the past, Sam’s doghouse still plays a large part in his handling of the rotation (ask MoPete). This series could provide some significant insight into the question of Sam’s ability to successfully coach a contender.
Advantage: NETS

Intangibles
Nets: Comes down to a single word: experience. Yes, the Nets are coming into this series on a roll, something that the Raps cannot claim. But ultimately, the playoff experience on this roster should bolster the confidence of a team that clearly is lacking in overall talent. The holes on this roster are tremendous. But Lawrence Frank has managed to find a style for this team to play to give them a chance to win on any given night. Kidd deserves much of the credit for facilitating this style, which ultimately works to enable Vince. Defensive effort will also be a focal point: the Nets will have to force or merely hope the Raptors are not at their best if they are to win this series.
Raptors: The fact that the Raptors have managed to reel off wins after a rough start should come as no surprise. The team has bought into a philosophy of sharing the basketball that belies the traditional ‘isolate the superstar and wait for results’ ethic the permeates throughout the Lig. At their worst, the Raptors dump the ball to Bosh in a random part of the court and just stand around the perimeter and watch, which is par for the course for a good portion of teams. Even with Garbajosa injured, the Raps have a deep and diverse roster, which combines some unique talents with some stabilizing agents: they can be very tough to stop when they are clicking. The Raps must remember to do the little things, and play physical when they have to. The team defense has also been shaky at times and must tighten up if Toronto expects any sort of playoff run. At the end of the day, this is a young team with little playoff experience (even the coach is new to this), but expect the Euro-influence to provide a stabilizing influence.
Advantage: DRAW

Some possible scenarios...

What a Nets win will look like: An uglied up game that features Vince having a big to gigundus game with a secondary scorer emerging. The Nets will out rebound the Raps and work their iso-based offense to shoot a relatively high percentage, generally nailing their open looks. Chris Bosh and TJ Ford will have varying degrees of sub par games and the Raptors, as a team, will shoot horribly. Any advantages in skill the Raptors may have, particularly in team play, will be nullified by the impeccably crafty tactics of Frank and the inability of Sam to figure a way for his inexperienced squad to overcome them. Expect the Nets to score in the high 90s and the Raps to be in the high 80s, low 90s. If the Raps do not completely succumb to ugly ball and manage to hang in and keep it close, they will collapse down the stretch, with Jerz riding Vince for all he’s worth in crunch time. Either way, VC will end the game by searching for his moms and locking eyes with her, as they will share the most unknowing knowing stare in the history of man. Raptor fans will alternately want to cry and puke. Bleeding may also be involved. If New Jersey moves on to the 2^nd round (where they will promptly lose), they will leave behind the scattered, emotionally-drained carcasses of Raptor fans strung out like crack heads aimlessly across the GTA (and at least one in LA).

What a Raptors win will look like: All cylinders will be firing for the Raptors as they will revel in their balanced team scoring with 4 or 5 guys reaching double figures. Bosh will either dominate and have a huge individual game or use the attention he will garner to provide his team mates with open looks and have a solid statistical game. The Raps will shoot well to extremely well, as none of Frank’s defensive schemes and gimmicks will work. Vince will have a big to average game as no secondary scorer emerges. The Raptors will put on a show and win comfortably. If the Raptors happen to win a close game, they will have escaped with a victory while succumbing to Jersey’s lowest common denominator ball. At this point, the Raps must realize they have completely lucked out and should appropriately strive to never be put in that situation again.
As the series closes out, New Jersey fans will curse and wish their team had settled for the lottery. Everyone will know Kidd can no longer guard anyone and VC will agree to terms with Orlando in the summer. Jay-Z will get that feeling he got when he first heard ‘Ether’, then make a call to LeBron.

Final Outcome: It’s clear this series could be a flashpoint for the Raptors’ future trajectory as a franchise: although even I've been overly dramatic about this, their world will not end if the Raptors do not to make it to the 2nd round. In a weird way, Jersey is coming into the playoffs with an almost necessary delusional state to succeed in the short term: this team is clearly not built for a long playoff run and at the end of the day, could making it to the second round possibly be considered any sort of accomplishment?With tip time rapidly approaching, I'll leave it at this. There will be high points and there will be low points, but regardless what most of the experts say, I have to believe the better team will come out of an extended series. I'd say 7 games, but I really think we can win in Jersey.

RAPTORS in 6

It's on like tron...

And You Actually Wondered Why Chappelle Turned Down the 50 Mill?

This comes from my love for denouements as much as from my desire to wrap up a particularly unsavory chapter in the history of popular media-related issues. Don Imus has been fired from MNBC and CBS radio has followed suit protecting its moral integrity/bank. There. Now he can go to satellite radio, where he and his bitter listeners can bigot-it out to their hearts content, lamenting the inherent unfairness in being born a member of the majority in today’s society. Life truly is a bitch. Or is it accountability? Either way…there is a bigger picture to this.

The real 'Negrodamus'?

So to all those people who still have to ask why they can’t say the things that rappers et al. "get away with" on the regular: you are the reason there is no Chappelle Show. He gracefully bowed out without the media pressure because he knew you couldn’t handle it. And seeing his material get twisted through the mainstream was probably too much for him, anyways…

Hope everyone is happy now. For shizzle. You know I won’t even go near this foolishness again…

Oh and a big statement game tonight versus the Pistons. My first attempt at purchasing playoff tickets has seemingly been thwarted by unoccupied Leaf fans. I guess it’s the price you pay when a hockey town ain’t got nuthin’ better to do…and here I was thinking I wouldn’t have to share in the suffering of a Leaf-less hockey post season.

Life’s a Bitch When You’re Expected to be Held Accountable for Your Actions….

Well, let’s not go that far yet…

So there’s this guy, a radio hot of a show for a huge radio network. Works for a big corporate entity. But he’s a former full-fledged shock jock, bit of a loose cannon. He has a sizable loyal audience too…because to them, he speaks his mind…not some watered down PC mush here…son tells it like it is. Some people actually love him. The sort of people Karl Rove has wet dreams about (when he's not rapping...he prolly even imagines they live in Ohio)…

Anyways, this guy…his name is Don Imus. And he must have a soft spot for sports or something, because he decided, in that annoying and obnoxious, talk-pause sorta way, to speak on the ladies' NCAA College Final. He was gonna cut up women’s basketball using that razor sharp wit typical to the talk show host breed. Only the best he could come up with was this. Now it’s all over the news and, consequently, he's been given a vacation.

Between all the talk of free speech and white folks clamoring on message boards over what colloquialisms are appropriate to say and lamenting how they can’t say anything good while throwing out some serious Al Sharpton hate comes a question I believe is overlooked. One of accountability. It’s incredible, if not in conceit alone, that an old white man could come up with something like that and think he could, for lack of a better term, get away with it. And I’m sure if the corporate overlords’ cost-benefit analysis goes through, he still ultimately might.

More than anything, I think this incident is symptomatic of an underlying current of thought that has (surprise) flourished during the Bush administration along with partisan politics and fundamental Christian dogma. Granted, it’s less sinister, but epitomizes all that fuels the negative image of America around the world.

It’s this notion of ideally and blindly reducing every scenario to a base equality or sameness. That’s not to say everyone doesn’t deserve equality in the sense of fairness or treatment. It’s more like not every scenario can be treated as equal because the world not structured that way. It is impossible to deny context to any dialogue.

You can’t run around saying dropping the ‘n bomb’ has the same impact as using honkey or cracka. And just because rap artists use certain insensitive characterizations, absorbed enthusiastically by its given demographic, does not mean some old white man with a mainstream radio show that acts as a national forum can liberally incorporate them in an attempt to contemporize his humour and not expect not to come off as abjectly bigoted. Even if he didn’t have all those precedents (Imus’ true nature betrays him as the logic behind that off handed remark reaches a depth of ignorance that is truly mind boggling).

My point is this. In this era of globalization, where mainstream culture can be affected by any number of counter-cultures with a startling quickness and foreign cultures can be examined with a relative ease and thoroughness unique to this time, context is more important than ever. Different people have different views that exemplify their particular cultures. And that has to be understood and respected. It is impossible to expect that everyone in our shrunken global village will conform to the same beliefs or even general views of conduct. What constitutes appropriate behaviour can not be just leveled off to some standard (cough...American) view. There are often significant historical backgrounds that shape these societal elements, so to deny this and expect to blindly treat everyone as the same is not just insensitive, it’s foolish. For the U.S. to deny this sensitivity in its foreign policy will just continually fuel further backlash in a painfully vicious cycle. Not only it is ridiculously impractical, it is ultimately harmful.

This ethos is readily apparent domestically as well (cuz it sure helps as a subliminal sales pitch to secure that strategic voting block). Why white folks feel so hard done by their perceived double standard of what constitutes appropriate speech for who is tired as it is unconstructive. It can only lead down one slippery path. If you really take issue to the presence or practice that results in such material, one only has to look at how it enters the mainstream and the rich conglomerates that shuck criticism and co-sign their profits under the motto of ‘That’s just entertainment…”. Trying to insert the same characterizations in real world scenarios open up a whole new view for interpretation, reflecting the harsher truths that often come with it. There's just no way to translate between the two.

To deny context is to deny uniqueness and diversity itself: being a minority should not subject one to sacrifice their individuality. So not being the same means exactly that. It means respecting differences. Fair treatment demands that. But, then again, fairness doesn't always win elections.

Imus should be fired. I chose not to go into all those reasons why: they were just too self-evident. But I don’t necessarily expect him to be.

Similarly, even if he does get fired, there are a plethora of places he could go to pick up right where he left off. There’s always someone who profits…it’s just not us.

This post, at least the part that mentions accountibility, is dedicated to Pacman Jones, who goes to show that when you make it rain, you're bound to get soaked.

And as far as that comparison of the Rutgers ladies' team to the Raptors goes...I guess it'll take the playoffs before Americans notice our relative lack of melanin on the roster...wouldn't surprise me if we even get more fans off of it. For some more interesting viewpoints, check out Slamonline: specifically here and here (for Etan the Poet's take...my NBA content for the day)