Spurs Cry Foul But Still Down 3-1

The Lakers were well on the way to taking a 3-1 advantage last night and doing it easily. But a few mistakes down the stretch by Kobe Bryant gave the Spurs on last chance to save the game. Brent Barry took the final shot and thinks he was fouled. The Spurs have always seemed to have issue with Referees and this is another example of it. But before people start claiming all kinds of crazy things here is the truth it rare you see a foul called on a last second shot. This is not about NBA refs having it in for the Spurs. It is not something to raise eyebrows about and wonder if the Refs are all dirty. For a foul to get called in that situation in usually has to be obvious and in this case I don’t think it was. The Spurs got out played for a great deal of the 47 minutes and 57 seconds prior to that and this is why they lost. I personal think if you are a champion like the Spurs you need to act like it and accept that calls are not going to always go your way. There past whining and complaining about calls doesn’t help them in these situations as well. Referees are human and as such can remember these things. It is not to say that they are bias against the Spurs but that it is simple human nature to not give someone who is constantly complaining about your job performance the benefit of doubt. So, San Antonio you are down three games to one deal with it.

 

Eastern Playoffs

The Pistons would like to get in a position like the Lakers will have with a chance to win a series on their home floor. To do that will be a tough task especially if Chancey Billups is only able to give moments of greatness and not a complete game of it. Rajon Rondo on the other hand needs to find his improved game that he has shown earlier in the playoffs. The lack of point guard play is hurting the Celtics and much like with the Raptors, Kevin Garnett needs solid point guard play to work at full capacity just like Bosh in Toronto. It can be a challenge when you best player plays in the post as you need to get the ball to him. Guys like Kobe and Lebron do not have to count on another player to feed them the ball. This has been an ugly series to watch as defence may win championships, but it sure doesn’t make a pretty series when both teams become reliant on it.

 

Girl Power!!!

I recently wrote a blog on Candace Parker of the L.A Sparks. Talking about her debut in the WNBA. I have heard the jokes before of could Anthony Parker beat his sister. In response to the blog on one posting site I saw someone suggest the Raptors should sign her. I am pretty sure the person was being funny but could that ever happen? A women in the NBA? Well that is one little girl’s dream to make it so. A 12 year old girl in Oregon says her dream is to be the first female to play in the NBA. I use to think lots of things at 12 years old too but they didn’t all happen. Why this girl’s dream has become known to the world is that she was kicked out of a boys league, not because she could not play to the level of the boys, in fact the exact opposite, the 6ft girl was taking it to the boys. The fact that there is a 12 year old male or female that is as tall as me blows me away. But this story is just wrong to me. If she can hold her own and play, the girl should be able to play. So some 12 year old boys get humbled a bit, and maybe learn to respect a female as their equal, is there anything wrong with that? Do I think this little girl will ever pull off her dream of playing in the NBA and not the WNBA? No honestly I don’t think it can be done. But at 12 years old am I going to stop her from working to that goal? Not a chance anymore than I would go tell a bunch of 5 year olds that Santa is a phony and the Easter Bunny is too. So Jamie Nared may never make the Dino Nation Blog again but I just wanted to say good for her and dream big. As for the morons that run that league they need to understand that at 12 years of age all kids boys and girls are just out to have some fun and something like this is making them grow up to fast. So let the girl play you boneheads. If you want to read this entire story I will provide you the link below.

Girl Banned From Boys League

Raptors T.J Trade Rumours

From a little girl’s dream to my headache that is this Raptor off-season. Part of my job as I see it in writing this blog is to know not only the news and basketball but what fans like you are talking about. The endless trade ideas of T.J Ford being shipped everywhere under the sun have just got me to the point of nuts at this point. I have to stop and remind myself that Ford is a good player after reading all of this. The reality is as good as he is the risk you take by trading for him at this point is far to high for too many people to gamble on. A lot of the things I read are not based in any solid fact it is just a lot of people trying to add 2+2 and come up with 4. It was a good move to get Ford in the first place and anyone that thinks otherwise really has no idea about the Raptors at all. Jose Calderon at the point Ford was acquired was not ready to be the starting point guard of the Toronto Raptors. I still have my concerns about it now. I think he is far more ready for that role at this point though. But here is my problem. I take you back to another Raptor point guard that was here prior to the Jose Vs. T.J era. Mike James had an amazing season in his only year with the Toronto Raptors. He was able to get himself a big fat contract with Minnesota as a result of that success. I am totally cool with that, if players can get money they deserve it. Owners makes lots of it and under a cap system to some degree every player has to think about their own careers. That being said would I have been that G.M to give him his payday? No way JOSE. Which brings us back to Calderon. He had a tremendous season and no one is going to deny that fact. The question is can he play to that level and beyond going forward? If he can the question shifts to how much money is he ultimately going to cost you? If that number is to high or for to long you could be left with a problem for your franchise moving forward. I would very much like to see both Jose and T.J back as Raptors. But am I willing to do it at all cost and over pay Calderon and thus force a bad trade for T.J Ford? I do not think I am willing to do that. Ultimately you have to not just look at the short term of things but the long term of things as well. The best possible solution is to be able to increase Ford’s trade value and get something of value in return. Second to that is you trade Calderon who’s value may never be higher than at this point in time. But it is a very tricky problem that is not as cut and dry as people like to make it seem. The reality of things is this has got far out of hand and I am unsure if you can correct it to create a situation in which the Raptors can wait it out and see if they can keep both to the trade deadline, that is what they would like to do. I think ultimately that is the best way you get max output from this situation to me.

Bryan Colangelo may be able to surprise me but I think he is hard pressed to make a deal for T.J Ford that could have a situation that improves the Raptors from where they are at. Trading Calderon would not only be an unpopular move but it would also put the Raptors at risk with Ford being in a fragile state as far as long term health goes. The one thing I am certain of is this problem will be the make or break moment for Bryan Colangelo as far as Raptor Fans go. Till this point Colangelo based on his reputation and success he has brought has for the most part avoided much negative press and fan reaction. If he does not make this work out right those days will be over and he will be looked at in a much different light. I just go to bed each night thanking God that it is him making this choice and not Rob Babcock. Rob Babcock couldn’t find value for Vince Carter, so there is no way he could find any for T.J Ford or Jose. Bryan Colangelo will do what is best for this franchise in his mind and be confident enough to do it in the face of fan outrage if they do not agree.

Tags: Billups, Bryan Colangelo, Candace Parker, Celtics, Jamie Nared, Jose Calderon, Kevin Garnett, Lakers, Mike James, NBA REFS, Pistons, Rajon Rondo, Spurs, T.J Ford, WNBA