Anyone find a missing ID?

As I sit here, the morning after, I’m listening to O.C.’s new album – a song called “This is me” comes on. The Raptors obviously don’t know the words, because they certainly don’t seem to have any identity yet. The same team that came an overtime frame away from sweeping their 3-game road-trip was nowhere to be found in the 2nd half of a home-game against the Lakers.

The 1st half was competitive, but defenseless (The Raptors shot 40%, compared to LA’s 56%). If Kobe hadn’t hit a 23-foot buzzer beat, the deficit would have been only four points at the break - And this was after the Lakers started the 2nd on a 10-0 run. The start of the 3rd was almost a mirror-image - beginning with a 10-2 run for LA - en route to outscoring Toronto 31-18.

After that, the Raptors managed to barely outscore the Lakers’ benchers, 29-21 in the 4th quarter (only recent-starter Sasha Vujacic was on the floor for the final frame, while the other foursome was comprised of a rotation of rookies and role players).

Lakers 102, Raptors 91

Chris Bosh played a pretty well, despite missing a few easy buckets at crucial times, finishing with 22 points (6-14 shooting), 10 rebounds and a career-high 6 assists… On the flipside, Kobe Bryant “took what the defense gave him” and jacked up a season-low 12 shots (hitting 5 of them), but dished out a season-high 9 helpers. Lamar Odom spread it out, per usual, scoring 19 points, adding 5 boards and 4 assists.

I got to speak to one of the legends of the game afterwards in Coach Phil Jackson. The man has 9 championships – guided MJ and the Bulls to 6, and then Kobe + Shaq to the LA 3-peat. The “Zen-Master” is truly a man who commands respect… and a huge media scrum. It was tough to get in, but as usual, I slid in right by his shoulder. Everyone was jumping on each other to get their questions in, and I guess he saw I wasn’t trying to be overtly rude like the others, because he kept looking over to me, as to let me get my thoughts in…

“Coach, you guys came out with two crucial runs… to start the 2nd, 10-0… and then a 10-2 run to start the third. How important is it to dictate the tempo early in the frame?”

“That’s the key about basketball,” he said. “You shorten your opponents’ runs, and lengthen your own. Anytime you can run more than 6 points in this game, you have to feel fortunate.”

Just like the other coaches whom I respect so much (and have spoken to) – Jerry Sloan and Mike Fratello – Jackson looked me dead in the eye. You really learn to appreciate the importance of that when there are so many people trying to toss in a penny for his thoughts.

After he wrapped up his scrum, it was off to the Lakers’ locker-room. Lamar Odom was up first. This guy was the polar opposite: Answered questions in 5 second spurts, looked at you while asking the question, and then drifted off during his response.

Kobe, on the other hand, was entirely different from what I would have expected. Most “stars” just want to speak their peace and get back on the plane (or at least, in my assessment), but after arriving late to the scrum, I stuck my mic in his face and asked:

“Kobe, you know, you tossed up only 12 shots… but played distributor, dishing out a season-best 9 assists. Was that something you consciously decided to do, or did it just pan out that way?” (He’s recently been under fire for attempting over 30 shots a game)

…dead in the eye, Kobe responds: “Nah, I just go in and play the game…You know, we’re prepared, and defensively they tried to pack the lane in on me… Just tried to find the open guys and continue to hit open shots. Next time we play them, we’ll see if their defensive strategy’s the same. If it’s the same, I’ll continue to do the same thing – kick it out to the open guys.”

It’s truly an honor and privilege to speak to these guys – I love it.


(a photo taken by a friend who works at a Serbian Newspaper.)

==
Backtracking to that road trip now… in brief:

In Washington, the Raptors couldn’t stop giving up open looks to Gilbert Arenas and Jarvis Hayes (37 and 21 points respectively), and the Wizards came out victorious in overtime…

Wizards 119, Raptors 111 (OT)

The Raptors, as seen late versus the Lakers as well, didn’t box out at the free-throw line and gave up easy 2nd chance buckets. Antawn Jamison had 26 points, 14 rebounds and 6 assists. Chris Bosh had 27 and 9 boards. Morris Peterson, who had a great game (if he wasn’t in foul-trouble in the 3rd, I honestly believe the Raptors could have won), sent it to overtime on a gorgeous follow-up to an ugly 3-point attempt. He unleashed from the top of the arch, the ball grazed the rim and rebounded him and into his soaring arms… In one continuous motion, he ran back to his office in the corner and jacked up another three-pointer – SWISH – with 5.1 seconds left. Then it was off to overtime, where it’s very tough to win – especially on the road. Jose Calderon had his best game in the NBA – 8 points, 9 rebounds, 13 assists.

==
Another game against Vince Carter; Another game against the Nets; Another road win.
In what was a quality wire-to-wire performance from the Raptors, they soundly beat New Jersey for their most-convincing win of the season.

Raptors 95, Nets 82

Rafael Araujo tripped up Vince in the lane, and as usual #15 crumpled as if he’d been shot JFK-style. Back, and to the left.
He lay in the fetal-position for a good 3 minutes, wincing in pain, before getting helped off the court. He returned a few minutes later, and was miraculously better when he saw an open lane (but when he missed… oh there’s the limp). Chris Bosh had 29 points and 13 rebounds. Mo Pete, a season-high 24 and 9.

==
The road-trip began in Atlanta. A home-coming for Sam Mitchell and Joey Graham, and Bosh’s “3rd home” – he went to Georgia Tech. Even with all the tickets they bought, there was still only about 5,000 fans in the stands. Pretty sad. But when it’s the two-worst teams in the NBA, I guess you can understand.

Raptors 102, Hawks 101

Jose Calderon fed a pretty double-teamed pass to Charlie Villanueva to break a 98-98 tie with 2 seconds left. Joe Johnson had a chance to tie it, but grazed the line, stepping out of bounds. Mo Pete hit 2 free-throws and Salim Stoudamire (Damon’s cousin) nailed a buzzer-beating 3 to help my fantasy team (and boy do I need the help this year).

Chris Bosh had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Charlie V finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

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I’m covering a practice on Sunday after the Raps’ game vs. the Bobcats. We’ll talk then.
Thanks for listening, and please, feel free to leave me comments about what you like, dislike, and want more of.