As explained in more detail in an earlier post, Danny Granger had already gotten one technical in the opening minutes of Indiana’s 95-90 win over the Raptors tonight. So when he blocked a dunk attempt by Ed Davis — then stared Davis down — Danny got his second tech. That’s taunting, and it’s against the rules. Also against the rules: continuing to play in a game after you get two techincal fouls.

So it was off to the showers for Mr. Granger, who shot 1-for-8 before his departure.

No related posts.

Pop quiz hot shot: You’re up 3 in an NBA game on the road with 17 seconds to play. The other team is inbounding the ball. WHAT DO YOU DO????

Do you employ the old-school, traditional strategy and play good defense and presume you can prevent the other team from tying it up with a three-pointer? Or do you go with the statistically superior strategy of putting them on the line so you can’t be forced into OT by the team hitting one shot? To me, this question is usually a no-brainer. You foul. But there were 17 seconds left and that is a much grayer area than if there were, say, 7 seconds to play.

Fortunately, all this becomes much, much easier when the opposing coach runs an out-of-bounds play that inbounds the ball to former All-Star Jamaal Magloire, who hasn’t shot above 50.0% from the line since 2007. David West fouled Jamaal, who is affectionately called — and shoots free throws like a — Big Cat, either intentionally or not. And Magloire airballed it. And the Pacers won.

Sometimes, a kicker in football will drill a field goal so convincingly that it is common parlance to say about the, for example, 52-yarder that “That woulda been good from 65.” Well, this was the opposite: Jamaal, that wouldn’t have been good from 12 feet. (video via Deadspin)

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Here are ten random thoughts related to Indiana’s 90-85 win last night over Toronto.

• Paul George started off the game making a crossover, pull-back jumper in the mid-range; drilling a shot-fake, dribble right, step-back three; and knocking down a contested catch-and-shot three from the right wing on a swing pass to the weakside. At some point during all this, Matt Moore of CBS Sports and Hardwood Paroxysm offered up the following assessment: ”I feel like Paul George is Mega-Man. Whatever player he beats, he absorbs their abilities. He’s got a crossover and step-back now.”

• Justin Bieber was in the building.

• In rotations news, Dahntay Jones and Tyler Hansbrough were the first two players off the bench. Vogel presumably left George in because of his hot shooting, Hill did come in just a few possessions later anyway. More notably, Darren Collison played the whole first and fourth quarters, logging nearly 38 minutes at the point overall. George racked up nearly 40 minutes himself, leaving only 17 for Hill at both guard spots. Hill has struggled and Collison was mostly excellent last night so it could have been the product of game situations, but it certainly didn’t look like Pacers fans should expect any of the rotation volatility

• Hibbert was successful down low with some hook shots in the first half. He made one nice sweeping hook early and had another after an offensive board with about 5 mins left in the second quarter. Overall, Roy Hibbert was the second best Pacer in the first half but he wasn’t involved enough. As always, this is in large part to do with him playing with wings who struggle to get him the ball in a good position. But he needs to find a way to not disappear, particularly when the teams is struggling that badly to score. He picked it up after the half, creating space down low for a nice alley-oop try. Try being the key word, however, as he missed the dunk. Such anomalies happen, of course, so no need to fret. Important part was that he was there at the rim, open. He also had a nice pick and pop with Collison early in the third and an excellent post move at the 9-minute mark. It was a strong, purposeful finish. Like his earlier hook shots.

• The Collison/Tyler pick-and-pop got the offense back from the abyss late in the first half after Tyler hit long twos on back to back possessions. These were Hansbrough’s only two buckets unfortunately.

• Aside from those aforementioned two Roy hook shots, for most of the first half, the whole offense was step-back jumpers. Paul George made two so it seemed OK. Then Dahntay Jones took one. And Granger missed another. The result was 38 first-half points. Shooting 15-for-42 (35.7%) in a half is one thing, particularly in the second game of a rushed season. Getting only 8 FTs (and only making 5 of those) while shooting that poorly — against a team with such a defensive void on the interior — is just not trying. There was no penetration, no cutters and no transition after Raptor misses. The offense in the first half could best be described as statuesque. Make no mistake, there was only one reason the Pacers were up by four at the half: they were playing Toronto.

• Danny twice lost the ball on the way to the hoop. I mean, these were ugly, juvenile, JV turnovers. But he seemed unperturbed. Still kept pushing the action, finishing at the rim once early on a very strong one-on-one move and in the third quarter in a mini-transition after Collison steal.

• DC came up with both a nice deflection and a nice steal in transition. Last season, his defensive lapses were more half-court/fighting-through-screens based, but the effort and awareness was encouraging.

• Twice in the third we saw just how savvy West can be on the low block. It’s hard to even call what he did post moves. They’re more just read-and-react deception plays. He just moves the ball around a little and waits for the defender to swipe or change his shoulder angle slightly. Then he attacks the soft spot and counters if there is a chance he will be shut off. It’s all predicated on nearly imperceptible balance shifting and a process of feeling out the defender. Then he just puts up a non-text-book shot either right before or right after you think he is going to pull the trigger. It’s very tough to defend and he is never out of control. He never has to commit to a sweeping spin or a power-drop-step or a dash across the lane. It’s low risk and there’s always a counter or an out. He defines what will happen and the defender is powerless, almost antsy.

• George Hill was not productive last night. He wasn’t productive in game one either. This, undoubtedly, is starting to worry Pacers fans, who have gotten to watch would-be rookie Indiana back-up forward Kawhi Leonard average almost 15 rebounds per 36 minutes so far in two games for San Antonio.

To me, Hill provided the most encouraging moment of the game, however. It came on the all-important play in the fourth that put the Pacers up 12. In fact, it was the first Indiana possession of the fourth. The team hadn’t been able to get any action to work on the play. By the looks of things, they may not have even been trying — instead just relying on their trusty ol’ “pass the ball around the perimeter harmlessly until the shot clock starts to run down” system. At this point, for those players who have been on the Pacers for a few years, that is basically the default.

After a swing pass to Dahntay on the left wing yielded nary a threat of exploiting the defense, Jones gave the ball right back to Hill with five seconds remaining on the shot clock. Here’s where the team usually panics. Hill didn’t.

Instead, he made a purposeful dribble right, hesitated a little and took another hard dribble towards the paint. His man stuck with him but he forced one of Toronto’s wing defenders to hedge towards what was a clear threat of penetration. With the shot clock nearing two, Hill calmly picked up his dribble and threw a strike to Collison’s shooting pocket in the corner. Darren, all alone since Hill drew his defender, squared up, took his time and buried the three.

This was the type of routine play that Hill has participated in, and watched his teammates execute, for years in San Antonio. But it is something that looks almost like an offensive epiphany to anyone who has been observing the Pacers offense in recent years. (Much like the final FG of the game was for Mike Wells.) “Wait? You mean they can still use the tail end of the shot clock to generate a good look? They don’t have to wildly flail around and panic and play hot potato or heave some off-balanced prayer at the rim any time the play breaks down and the shot clock gets below 5?”

In the preseason, I wrote about this phenomenon that has taken hold in the Pacers offense, calling it a “learned helplessness.” I speculated that — more than Indy adding their individual talents they can use to add points — what the Pacers most needed from Hill and West was a sense of poise and an ability to remain committed to getting good shot under duress. At no point has Hill looked more capable of doing exactly this than he did when he grabbed control of this possession and made the level-headed decision that led to a three.

Make no mistake: Hill needs to play better. But he may already be adding something more vital to this team’s long-term success than points.

No related posts.

Saddled with high expectations after a subtly superb offseason and following a dominating win in the season opener, the Pacers defeated a not-as-awful-as-we-thought Toronto Raptor squad in what was the home opener for Canada’s only team.

The beginning of the game looked exactly as we expected in the beginning of the season after an extended lockout and abbreviated training camp. The team were throwing the ball everywhere, except in the basket. At the end of the first quarter, Toronto had just eleven points. Granted, part of that could be the pesky prowess of the Pacers’ rangy defenders. But still. Eleven!

To be fair, the rustiest part of the post-lockout NBA may be the officiating, but more on that later. The officiating has been awful thus far. Great examples in this game included obvious basket interference, an airball free throw that didn’t stop play and a foul called on Lou Amundson when a Raptors player leaned right into him.

Regardless, for the second straight game in as many attempts, the Pacers shot under 40% but came out on top. Tha seems to be a sign of better things to come (and the team is already on pace to go 66-0).

Speaking of things to come, Paul George appears to be dramatically improved from his rookie season. It’s prudent to avoid any outlandish predictions, especially since the opponents combined for just 52 wins last season (a sum less than that compiled by seven individual teams). Thus far, however, he appears confident and improved, a legitimate force that teams will need to game plan for defensively.

George still has a lot of growing up to do as a starter in the NBA. As a glaring example, he shot — and missed — a three-pointer with the shot clock turned off at the end of the third quarter when the Pacers could have held for the last shot with a 10-point lead. That absent-mindedness led to a Toronto basket on the other end. Still, he could really be something — and that could happen relatively soon.

Last year, George became a lockdown defender whose offensive presence was mainly a liability except in transition. Now, his perimeter shooting has become a legitimate threat (he hit 4 treys tonight), which will only help spread the floor and open up the interior for Roy Hibbert, David West and Tyler Hansbrough.

Though George may have been the flashiest, Darren Collison was quietly magnificent. As the team still adjusts to a revamped system with new pieces, Collison has kept the offense serviceable despite poor shooting. George Hill will certainly play better and become more comfortable, but for now, the battle for the starting point guard spot isn’t even close. Case and point: The Pacers were +16 with Collison in the game, -8 with Hill.

Early excitement for this season centers around the Pacers extreme depth, in which any of seven players (supposedly) could lead the team in scoring on any given night. But in the second game of this shortened season, it became patently obvious that Danny Granger still runs the show.

With the once-comfortable lead dwindling down to five, Granger nailed a deep three to push the lead back to arm’s reach with just over two minutes left in the contest. A minute later, now up just two, he hit another triple to help ice the game. before West did so for good with a jumper of his own.

Danny Granger: Still the leader; still the man; at least for now.

Other Thoughts

• In a game played north of the border, nothing is more entertaining than yelling “He shot that from (insert obscure Canadian location here)!” Based on Paul George’s showing from long range, I got to use Ottawa, Prince Edward Island, Calgary, Vancouver and Prince Albert (yes, it’s a real city there).

• A.J. Price is the Dominic Rhodes of the Pacers. He spends all game on the bench getting hype out of his mind and bounces around to congratulate his teammates during timeouts. At some point this season, Collison will get in foul trouble, and Lance Stephenson will be serving a suspension for setting off firecrackers in Vogel’s office (or whatever teenage delinquents do these days). Then, we’ll actually get to see Price play. Sources say he wasn’t half-bad in the Pacers playoff series last season.

• Officiating has been awful thus far. Great examples in this game included obvious basket interference, an airball free throw that didn’t stop play and a foul called on Lou Amundson when a Raptors player leaned right into him.

• Some people like Amundson’s potential, but if you ask me, Jeff Foster cannot get healthy fast enough.

No related posts.

Join me and Tim tonight right here after the game for some discussion of what is hopefully once again a good Indiana team beating up on another NBA weakling. The plan is to go live at 9:00 pm, (you can join the conversation here) presuming no overtime or major technical difficulties. If there are recurring tech issues, apologies in advance. We’re learning this new system on the job and doing our best to get some instant reactions for ya. So, embarrassing snafus and all, we prefer to just throw ourselves in the fire rather than wait until, say, game five when all the logistics are 100%.

Please let us know what you think about Pacers Talk Live in the comments.

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Veteran Jeff Foster (back) did not travel to Toronto so he could meet with Dan Dyrek, the team’s physical therapist consultant. Foster, who has a history of back problems, re-injured it during the Dec. 20 preseason game at Chicago. He hopes to return to the lineup next week when the Pacers are on a four-game trip.

Big man Jeff Pendergraph also remains on the shelf so we may see the Pacers debut of Lou Amundson.

No related posts.

Well, sorry.

I’m not going to go into any more detail about the particulars of this one.

Because this is a team in crisis, and the only thing that is really important to the narrative of this season anymore is whether or not this an still actually a basketball team or just a collection of 15 co-workers who are now just counting down the days until school’s out for summer.

I’m not the type of basketball viewer to walk around harping on Mighty Ducks-style platitudes. In fact, I’m a guy whose actual senior year book quote in high school was Homer Simpson’s “Well, boy, you failed. The lesson here is: Never try.” Rudy Ruettiger I am not.

But there simply wasn’t a ton of effort out there again tonight — particularly on the defensive end of the floor. The Raptors aren’t the worst team in the league — that’s the Cavs. But they might be the easiest team to push around physically. With Evans now back from a major ankle injury that had sidelined him since November, the Raptors have toughened up. But it’s not like going into Toronto, a team that recently lost back-to-back games to New Jersey in London, and winning is a difficult proposition.

Yet the Pacers only led for 43 seconds in this contest that was never close. Again, worse than the outcome was the way the team looked.

Really, all you need to know about this one is that the most tenacity the team showed can after the game was already decided. Leandro Barbosa took a shot rather than just dribble out the clock like a good little boy scout would. Most likely, he remembered when Darren Collison popped a jumper with the clock dwindling and the Pacers up big in a Raptors loss to the Pacers a few weeks ago. (It was Frank Vogel’s first game coaching if I’m not mistaken.) Well, Danny Granger, in particular was highly upset by what he perceived as Barbosa’s disrespectful shot attempt. There is an unwritten rule that you don’t try to score if the other team has already surrendered and there is less than 24 seconds left in the game. You just dribble it out, shake hands and head to the locker room. So it’s understandable that Granger would take offense.

But when you loaf around the court and get embarrassed, for the sixth straight outing, mind you, I would think that there are bigger things to be frustrated about. Perhaps Danny deserves the benefit of the doubt here and this was just his larger frustration about his team’s futility boiling over in a mis-directed manner … but it sure made him look silly. As a captain, you can’t motivate your team to come out here and give enough of an effort to even hang with a terrible, terrible team, but you’re ready to get all fired up about an impolite act by a Raptors reserve? After the game, Danny said the following about the incident: “If I was on him I would have took his neck off him. That’s unsportsmanlike. I would have taken his head off and busted his lip.” Nice priorities. (In Danny’s defense, he did shoot OK and got to the line 8 times on his way to 25 point so he was at least paying attention on the offensive end.)

Getting back to the team-wide malaise, I watched on TV with Toronto broadcast feed and even their announcers repeatedly seemed shocked at how nonchalant Indiana looked. At one point, fairly early in the game, one announcer mentioned that it’s “hard to believe that’s a Pacer team battling for a Playoff spot.” After half time, their play-by-play guy tried to re-set the stage for viewers, stating that the playoff-hopeful Pacers were “a team desperate for a W.” His partner quipped that “they don’t seem [desperate].” They also took several shots at Danny Granger, criticizing his lackluster effort getting up off the ground to get back on defense at one point and generally mentioning his disinterest on that end of the floor altogether.

The Pacers announcers were seeing the same thing. Indiana legend and should-be-Hall of Famer Slick Leonard offered these gems:  “We have no interest in the defensive end of the floor” and “Time to get out the big ol’ mirror and have these guys look at themselves in it” and “We’re out there Mickey Mousing around.”

That about sums this one up.

Will probably sum up the ensuing loss to the Knicks in Madison Square on Sunday, too.

Related posts:

1. A Total Team Effort
2. Larry Bird Criticizes His Players: “We’re Just Not Getting the Effort”
3. Game #12 Recap – Too Little, Too Late

Aside from the second six minutes of the second quarter and all the turnovers and Danny Granger being unable to hit water from a boat, this victory over the Raptors was exactly what the Pacers needed. More than just winning, it was an attitude shift. I wasn’t at the game, but inside my television set, it appeared as though there was a near-palpable difference in the players’ attitudes. Roy Hibbert looked like a kid out there compared to the mopey, Eeyore-impersonating, rain-cloud carrier we have seen for much of the season. Paul George and Tyler Hansbrough played like confident veterans. Darren Collison seemed unshackled.

It was at times ugly, but the offense was free-flowing, which is rarely an adjective that I have used to describe this team over the past few seasons. 25 turnovers suggest that it was too free-flowing. And DC’s 6 turnovers suggest he could maybe use some shackles. But the team looked like they were having fun out there for the first time in a while, and they really looked to be making a concerted effort to share the ball, particularly by getting it to Roy in the deep post, a location from which he destroyed Toronto’s interior. There were a lot of cutters and a lot of interior passing. Again, there was too much and Danny, Darren and Roy all forced things, but like that paperweight your son made you for your birthday, it’s the thought that counts.

The transition defense was also notable. That’s one of those things that is all attitude and effort and the Pacers got back multiple times, breaking up at least three opportunities when they were outnumbered and back-pedaling. That’s saving 6 points. Pretty big deal.

Getting back to Roy’s low post work, look at his shot chart. You don’t get open directly under the hoop as often as he did tonight unless your are really busting your ass. He planted and backed down the Raptors’ “bigs.”

OK. Let’s not pretend this was a perfect game from Roy. He turned the ball over too much, was sloppy and awkward looking at time, and a couple of his early shots were very much of his now-patented “no-look hook” variety. But that’s just picking nits when we’re talking about a guy who had only had one double-double so far in 2011 before this evening. 24 points on 19 shots to go along with 11 boards and 2 blocks? Plus some tremendous interior defense on the same night that the opposition shot 41.3%? That will work, sir. Welcome back. I was starting to forgot why I ever thought you were good.

Speaking of someone who is good … Paul George.

This kid is just can just flat-out play basketball. I have been enjoying his play more and more of late, but the way he attacked the rim tonight and got to the line was just a joy to watch. I regularly criticize Granger when he doesn’t get into the lane, but ultimately, Danny is always going to be more of a shooter than anything else. He and I both know this. George, on the other hand, looks natural going north/south and trying to dunk on any fool silly enough to try to jump with him. His dribble moves don’t seem blinding in a Dwyane Wade sense or even spellbinding in a Paul Pierce sense, but particularly when he grabs a rebound or a loose ball and takes off up the court, it just looks right … if that makes any sense. He’s just smooth.

Between that, his rapidly improving defense and his ability to shoot from the mid-range (and hopefully further out), it is starting to seem inevitable that he will become the team’s starting two guard this. I suppose Vogel could stick with Mike Dunleavy, Jr. all year (provided he doesn’t get traded, which he very well might) and use George to buoy the second unit (something he has said he might do with Hansbrough), but considering that one of the stated reasons for getting rid of O’Brien was his unwillingness to play the young kids, I imagine Bird will put a little pressure on Vogel to make sure Paul keeps getting 25 mpg. Whether he starts or not is, I guess, academic, but I think it will happen eventually.

Speaking of guys who should start … Tyler Hansbrough, ladies and gentlemen. He played an excellent game on his first night back from pneumonia , hitting 6 of his 13 shots for 14 points in 16 minutes. He also added 6 boards. And his energy should be even more useful on a team that is no trying to re-assert itself as a squad that can beat any team in this league on any given night.

Another wrinkle added by Vogel was playing Dahntay Jones. I almost forgot he was on the team. I mean, he looked as mediocre as ever during his 10 minutes of court time, but it was interesting to see him, and not James Posey, head out there. Vogel has said that we will see less small ball going forward, so that makes you wonder whether or not we will see much Posey at all. With George deserving a lot of minutes on the wing and Lance Stephenson presumably getting a shot at the rotation at some point, there wouldn’t seem to be much time left for Posey. Similarly, AJ Price will likely remain the second point guard with TJ Ford only seeing the court due to injuries or foul trouble. I don’t think we will be seeing the TJ/AJ back court again anytime soon.

In the end, it was a very good win that the team now gets to bond over as they race to get away from the storm to get to Cleveland. And if you thought the Raptors was bad, wait until you see the Cavs. These guys are hilarious.

UPDATE: Here are two comments from John Rabjohns of the Indy Star reflecting what I expected: Vogel will probably keep a similar rotation to what we saw tonight. That’s fine by me. At one point seven minutes into the first quarter, I realized that the starters were still in. And then Vogel made a few substitutions and let those guys plays together for an extended stretch. It was so simple and so effective that I was wondering whether or not it was even allowed. It was like he was going out of his way to set a rotation and allow his players to become comfortable playing next to one another within established roles.

Odd, I know — but perhaps crazy enough that it might just work.

Related posts:

1. Meet Frank Vogel
2. Tyler Hansbrough to Start? Jim O’Brien Insinuates As Much in His Now-Typical, Antagonistic Tone
3. Start-ling

Fortunately, does not apply to the Toronto Raptors.

It’s tough to know what you’re going to see when you play the Toronto Raptors. They are only 8-12 on the year but have beaten Eastern Conference contenders Orlando and Boston as well as Oklahoma City. They are by no means good, but they can apparently sneak up on people and steal some wins.

A lot of this inconsistency is probably due to their youth.

The Raptors start four players 25 or younger, and the 29-year-old Jose Calderon and the 28-year-old Leandro Barbosa are the rotation’s elder statesmen. Two of these youngsters in particular are probably feeling really good today.

“Power” forward Amir Johnson probably had the best game of his six-year NBA career yesterday, scoring 22 points on 10-for-14 shooting to go along with 16 boards (8 offensive), 3 steals and 2 blocks. The 23-year-old has a loooong way to go to live up to the five-year, $34 million contract he signed to remain a Raptor last summer, but this a good start. Hopefully for Indiana it doesn’t continue.

Another guy many Indiana fans hope will never become a high-quality player in this league is combo-guard Jerryd Bayless. Well, I don’t think anyone specifically wants him to have a bad career — they just don’t want a controversial personnel decision to come back to bite the team. Bayless was originally drafted by the Pacers in 2008 but traded just minutes later (along with Ike Diogu) for Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts. Thus far, it’s hard to argue that Bayless has been so good that it could counteract the contributions that Jack, Rush and McRoberts have made. Then again, Bayless never really got a chance to prove himself in Portland and has definitely shown some flashes of scoring brilliance in his young career. (And at 22-years-old, he is very young compared to the 25-year-old Rush.)

But Bayless has played more than 20 minutes in each of his last three games in Toronto (which coincidentally just traded Jarrett Jack for him right before Thanksgiving), shooting 16-for-31 (51.6%) while averaging 15.3 points, 4.7 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 4.0 free-throw attempts and only 1.3 turnovers per game during this stretch.

Jerryd Bayless has faced the Pacers in the past, but this will be the first time that Pacers fans can go into the game expecting to get an extended look at the kid their GM passed on.

Let’s hope he, and the whole Raptors team really, has an off night.

(This doesn’t fit into the Young Raps on the Prowl narrative, but it’s also important to note that Roy Hibbert really has nobody to guard in this game. Andrea Bargnani is their “center” and all he does is shoot. And Amir is not a good match-up for Roy due to his athleticism and quickness. Will be an issue — but shouldn’t be a problem.)

Pacers vs Raptors By the Numbers

Related posts:

1. Game #49 Preview: Jurassic Park 2
2. Game #12 Preview – Our Resistable Force Meets Their Movable Object
3. Game Recap #37: Pacers Beat the Best National Basketball Association Team in Canada

Sam Holako of Raptors Republic, however, has a much more nuanced take of the team and has been covering it all year. And luckily for us, he was nice enough to stop by to share his dino wisdom. Below is a Q&A we did. Also, I returned the favor and answered a few questions on the Pacers generally and tonight’s game specifically for him as well. So be sure to stop by Raptors Republic and check out more from me and Sam over there.

Jared: An underrated story of late is that your Raptors are 15-5 since December 18, making it one of the most successful teams in the whole league over the past six weeks. What has been working so well over the last 20 games that wasn’t during the first 28?

Sam Holako: A few key things happened during this stretch:

1. Bargnani has really stepped up his play. He is rebounding better and scoring more efficiently, but most of all, his defense in the post has been shockingly good from where it was — just ask Tim Duncan and Dwight Howard.
2. Jose Calderon lost his starting role due to injury, but is proving to be far more effective coming off the bench since he has returned. He also is a team player and will do whatever it takes to win, so the move to the bench doesn’t bruise his ego as much as it would others.
3. When the Raptors go to their bench, there is real production. Marco Belinelli and Sonny Weems are very aggressive on offense, Antoine Wright has been playing great defense at the 2/3, and Amir Johnson is a beast.

Jared: Hedo had a big game last week against the Knicks, dropping 26 points and 11 rebounds. And more importantly (to me anyway) is that he gave us the best postgame quote for the year with “Ball.” I think it’s safe to say that the Turkoglu acquisition wasn’t looking great at the beginning of the year. How about now?

Sam Holako: It’s still not looking great, but it isn’t ALL his fault. Hedo is the kind of player who needs the ball to be effective, and Triano is finding it hard to effectively use Hedo in a rotation where the point guards (Jarrett Jack and Calderon) also need it in their hands. His postgame quote was not only epic, but indicative of what it will take for him to get back to the levels he played at with the Magic. He isn’t helping the cause by not attempting to adapt to a new team/concept/style of play. Doesn’t look like a great signing, all things considered.

Jared: Amir Johnson looked very good the other night and that alley-oop was ridiculous. Discuss.

Sam Holako: Amir Johnson is a favorite of everyone. He’s one of those blue-collar guys who gets in the game and battles like a warrior. He is very aggressive, very athletic, reasonably consistent and gets after it. His only knock is that he gets something like 6.8 fouls per 36 minutes, which affects his minutes depending on how quickly he picks them up. When he plays in control, like he did Sunday against the Pacers (1 foul in 20 minutes of play), the guy is playing himself into a full mid-level contract at the end of the year.

Jared: Pacer fans aren’t going to get to see DeMar DeRozan in either game, but he has been playing pretty well. What type of player do you expect him to be around this time next year? Also, I have him winning the Dunk Contest. Is that correct?

Sam Holako: DeRozan is an interesting kid. We haven’t had an athlete like him since Vince Carter, but he is very raw. His jumper has improved significantly since the start of the year, but his career will be made on how aggressively he attacks the rim off the dribble. The guy is a gym rat and is always practicing, so it will come — just a matter of when. Truthfully, I see him as a poor man’s Vince Carter; he isn’t quite as explosive, but he will be a solid starting shooting guard in the league. The Dunk Contest is just a formality to make Nate Robinson feel important. DeRozan takes it.

Jared: Lastly, how depressing is it that Bosh is definitely leaving this Summer? Or are you still holding out some hope?

Sam Holako: I have always contended that he was going to resign with the Raptors unless they were just God-awful. With the Raptors trailing the Celtics by only 3 games in the division (and sitting in 5th place in the East), things are looking up. With the CBA up at the end of next season, he can’t afford to leave the $30 million or so on the table if he resigns with another team. The only way I thought he wouldn’t be a Raptor come next season is if in fact he does have a pact with Wade/LeBron to play together, in which case, Toronto wouldn’t be the destination for that grouping of talent with our cap situation and all. At the end of the day, the Raptors are HIS team, and Toronto HIS city; if he leaves to join Wade/LeBron, he loses that.

Related posts:

1. Game Recap #37: Pacers Beat the Best National Basketball Association Team in Canada
2. Game #12 Preview – Our Resistable Force Meets Their Movable Object
3. Toronto Introduces Jarrett Jack