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One game, some things, V1.46
1. To my eye he wasn't angry. He wasn't sullen. He was frustrated, resigned, perplexed. But not angry. Which in some ways made Chris Bosh's call-out[amp]nbsp;of his team even more worthy. He didn't say anything anyone who who has watched the Raptors this season hasn't said to themselves, or anyone else who would listen. But when the cornerstone of an organization stands up and calmly questions the courage and will of his teammates in the most important parts of basketball games, it's news, and it's worth paying attention too. Is he right? There's no doubt that there is a lack of alternative play-makers on the roster, after Bosh. But at least part of the problem is that the top-six or top-eight of the Raptors roster is likely just not that good, or hasn't been this season. Bosh is Bosh, and Calderon is tough to quibble with. When Ford is on he can impact the game against nearly anyone, but that's an uncertain proposition. Beyond that the Raptors have a lot of depth players and quality people, but compared to a teams that have legitimate aspirations of reaching the second-round of the NBA playoffs, let alone beyond, the Raptors fall short, and Bosh is very much alone.
2. Allen Iverson seems like a cool guy. The pre-game love-fest is always conducted with varying degrees of sincerity. Iverson isn't too showy about it, but he makes a point of standing near the spot where the players all come over to wipe their sneakers and just offers a kind of warm welcome to all the Raptors guys as they come on the floor. He wishes Herbie a happy Easter; asks Bosh if his knee is okay. Nothing showy or phony, just a welcome into his Hall-of-Fame experience.
3.[amp]nbsp; Denver leads the NBA in scoring and tattoos. Iverson? Carmelo? Kenyon Martin? Anthony Carter? They all have tattoos pretty much every where. Marcus Camby, by my count, has five that I can see. He's the only starter not in double-figures. Then the come off the bench with J.R. Smith who has tattoos over the back of both of his hands, which is always a sign of tattoo commitment. They have to go seven-deep get to Linas Kleiza before they go tattoo-free. Chucky Atkins gives them some unexpected tattoo depth of the bench.
4. Carmelo Anthony might do more damage off one dribble than an player in the league. It starts when he get catches the ball a good step inside the three-point line. From there he's very a dangerous to shoot, so that requires defenders to play him tight and then he's got a nice series of fakes he goes to work with to get his guy off balance; but he's also surprisingly explosive, and when he gets a little room – and it only takes a little – he can put it on the floor once, maybe twice and get all the way to the rim, where he finishes great. Plus, he's a fierce offensive rebounder -- of his own misses, at least. I'd be shocked if he didn't win a scoring title or two sooner than later.
5. I hate this call: the shooter – for argument's sake Allen Iverson – gives a fake. The defender – let's say Anthony Parker – jumps on the fake. The shooter then contorts himself unnaturally in order or to cause the defender to make contact. The referee calls the ‘foul' and the shooter is rewarded for … what, exactly? Putting himself in a situation where he's got no hope of taking – let alone making a shot – and invading the defenders' ‘verticality' in the process? At least some of the time the correct call here should be a charge, because if the shooter didn't jump into the defenders' space there wouldn't be any contact. I'm not saying that there aren't some occasions when the defender drifts into the shooter's space. But every time? That's not a call, that's a tradition.
