http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/nb...core-where-too-much-T-J-Ford-ha?urn=nba,70144 Wednesday, Mar 5, 2008 11:45 am EST Behind the boxscore, where too much T.J. Ford happens By Kelly Dwyer Sorry this is up so late today. I couldn't stop staring at the sweet new redesign. Orlando 102, Toronto 87 T.J. Ford: 20 points on 8-13 shooting in just 16 minutes. Seven turnovers, good defense, two assists. Doesn't seem like that horrible a line. The seven turns are awful, but 20 points in 16 minutes is terrific (terrific!), and 20 points on only 13 shots is even better. So why couldn't I stand T.J. Ford during this game? Was it the smirking? The way he ordered starters toward the end of the bench with a point, while Ford (a reserve) stuck to his seat in the middle of the bench? The way he scored point after point on bad shot after bad shot in the fourth quarter? I'm a Ford fan, I really haven't had one profound thought about the guy's personality that headed in either direction during his five-year run as an NBA employee; and yet, tonight, I kept muttering a phrase that rhymed with "what a stick" over and over. Ford wasn't the reason the Raptors lost tonight. In fact, he aided the winning cause more than he did the losing effort, but the man stood out. As you'd expect, the Magic dominated the paint, Dwight Howard (though he got away with some moving screens) was great (19 and 14 rebounds in just 29 minutes), and Hedo Turkoglu (24 points, eight assists, seven rebounds) did a bit of everything. Back to T.J. Ford: if he had a mustache, I'd understand. That would mean that his evil twin brother had kidnapped him and left him to suffocate in the back of a Trans Am. But I didn't see a mustache tonight, and that's significant.
Hide before Tinman comes and scolds you for being a Toronto fan and tells you to playing with toy dinosaurs.
