Didn’t have a chance to watch this game but caught chunks of it on radio so I was at the mercy of Paul Jones when trying to understand what exactly was going on. After the Arsenal defeat, things are in a bit of a daze but as I was drifting in and out of consciousness, something about TJ Ford and Jose Calderon returning to form was mentioned. There was also some talk of Bosh making a legitimate bid to assert himself in the paint against Mrs. Gasol. When the Grizz went up 10-0, all signs pointed to a continuation of the mini-slump the Raptors were but the course self-corrected and soon the more talented Raptors prevailed. Refer to NBA.com’s coverage for the technicalities of the game.
I want to talk about The Wrap, the post-game show on the Fan 590 hosted by Eric Smith with the help of constant noisemaker Paul Jones. I listened to about 4 callers in a row call in about TJ Ford and Jose Calderon and ask the dumbest questions possible. The first guy wondered whether come playoff time, who would get the preference in crunch time if we had to pick one. The second guy suggested that Calderon might wilt under the pressure of the postseason and the intense NBA playoff environment. The third guy asked whether there was any precedent set for alternate starters, he gave an example of Calderon starting five games, then TJ starting five games and then Calderon starting five games and then….The fourth guy wondered if TJ Ford is intentionally not passing the ball to Andrea Bargnani when he’s open in the corner.
With callers like these, it’s hard to listen to The Wrap even when Eric Smith is trying his level best in keeping this a moderated forum for Raptor fans, however retarded some of them might be. Listening to the game tonight it became even more clear to me why Paul Jones shouldn’t be a play-by-play guy, he’s a color guy or a studio analyst at best. It’s just not his thing to call dunks and crossover moves, he’s more of an after-the-fact analysis guy, something he’s actually good at. So when he was comparing Rasho’s skyhook to Kareem and Rasho’s baseline move to Hakeem, although it was in the spirit of humor, it still didn’t sound right. And why does he have to start the call of any half-decent play with ohhhhhh, it’s always ohhhhhh, Ford with a fadeaway jumper and ohhhhh, Bosh with a facial. Ohhhhh just means he doesn’t have anything else to say.
Raptors win, NJ and NY idle. Division lead is 4.5. You can check out some of the highlights here. Here’s the Game in a Flash:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_BGxG1OGZw]