Waiting for The Waiting Room

NOTE: This week's blog post is not about the Raptors or the NBA

Over this past weekend I went and saw the documentary The Waiting Room. The documentary films a day in the emergency waiting room of the Highland Hospital, a publicly funded facility "committed to maintaining and improving the health of all County residents, regardless of ability to pay," according to the hospital's mission statement.

The hospital has been in operation since 1927 and has around 73,000 visitors to its emergency room annually, which equates to about 200 visitors per day.

Often heavily congested and seemingly understaffed, the waiting room is filled with patients who have no health insurance and are either unemployed or underemployed.

The documentary followed multiple patients as they waited for care, revealing their various health afflictions while they did so. I found it remarkable how the filmmaker was able to translate to the viewer the mundane, painfully boring feeling of sitting in a waiting room all day with an annoying injury because that's what I felt in the 80 minutes watching The Waiting Room. I was waiting for the documentary to get interesting, only that it never did.
 
I felt like I was watching a story that's been told before. Michael Moore has documented the broken U.S. health care system in his documentary Sicko. It's a struggle for unemployed, uninsured citizens to receive health care in the U.S. and The Waiting Room only reiterated that fact. Financially, the subjects in the movie have no other choice but to use the Highland Hospital emergency room. Those subjects don't have family doctors they can afford, so long wait times mount. Patients featured in the doc were often showed frustrated by the wait times. Is this supposed to be compelling to the viewer, especially to a Canadian viewer?

To most Canadians, seeing an emergency waiting room filled with people is a common sight. Unless a patient has an immediately life-threatening affliction, the person will be sent through a triage process then placed on the waiting list. I've had to wait in an emergency waiting room three times. Once when I needed stitches to seal a cut I received during a basketball game - the wait time was around six hours. The second time was when I needed stitches to seal a cut on my chin - I was told I would be awaiting at least five hours so I left instead. The third time was when a friend suffered a concussion after a fight outside of a social. My friend was given attention promptly by an ER doctor, but still had to wait four hours before receiving a cat scan to ensure there was no brain hemorrhaging.

 Lengthy emergency room wait times are a problem in Canadian, where health care is publicly funded. So much so that the Ontario government and Winnipeg Regional Health Authority have announced plans to shorten wait times because they're too long.

Meanwhile, the U.S. is able to expedite care if a person can afford a family doctor or health insurance. The system favours those who have money and shuns those who don't. The U.S. system is such a contentious issue that it has divided the country in two politically, with the Democrats supporting and the Republicans opposing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. The act aims to make health insurance more affordable through means of subsidies, mandates, and tax credits.


Although I found that The Waiting Room was unoriginal and boring at times, I could somewhat sympathize with the people of the documentary. Patients have no other alternative and the doctors are faced with a seemingly insurmountable daily work load.

While The Waiting Room didn't explicitly criticize U.S. health care, the stories weren't meant to support the system. The documentary tried to put a face to the millions of Americans without health coverage. It did so, but not in a way that compelled the viewer.

Your 2012-13 Los Angeles Lakers!

The Lakers will not make the playoffs

Expectations were high at the beginning of the season once the Lakers landed Dwight Howard. And for good reason: Howard was easily the best center in the NBA, even if having him on your team could mean having a disgruntled superstar constantly clamouring for a trade. The Lakers already had an immature center with promise in Andrew Bynum, but the return on swapping Bynum for Howard seemed obvious, especially considering Bynum hasn't played in a single game this season due to injury.

Bynum had already dealt with a string of injuries over his career, was prone to act out during games (see here, when he almost killed J.J. Barea), and had at times voiced his displeasure about playing with Kobe Bryant. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, he also has a ridiculous/awesome haircut that no one can explain.

From businessinsider.com:

 

 

Howard meanwhile, was coming off a season where he was constantly in the media, flip-flopping on whether he wanted to leave or to stay in Orlando, and injured his back severely enough that he required back surgery to repair a herniated disc during the offseason.

For Howard, his rehabbed back is the reason why he's underperformed thus far. He doesn't look nearly as explosive as he has in recent years. He doesn't play so far above the rim that it appears no one can jump with him anymore, and I can't tell whether his slow defensive rotations are a function of his laziness or his inability to shuffle quickly enough to stay with guards.

The Lakers' problems are more pervasive that just Howard's diminished play. They're weak defensively, having allowed 101.5 points per game so far - good for 26th in the NBA; their bench contribution is almost non-existent - Earl Clark and Jordan Hill are "key" bench players; and Mike D'antoni seems bent on implementing a run'n'gun offence on one of the slowest, oldest teams in the league - the Lakers are the fourth-oldest team behind only, the Knicks, Heat, and Clippers.

I'm not sure why the Lakers decided to hire Mike D'antoni instead of proven ego handler Phil Jackson, but the move hasn't paid off. L.A. sits at 17-25 on the season, good for 12th in the Western Conference. They're only four games back from the Rockets for eighth place, but the team doesn't seem to be improving upon their chemistry. Over their last 10 game, L.A. is 2-8.

One of the few bright spots for the Lakers is Kobe Bryant. The man is 34 years old and averaging 29.2 points per game, good for a second place tie in league scoring. Even Kobe playing stellar offensive ball can't will this team to win.

The Lakers have no chemistry, don't play defence, and trade rumors involving Howard and Gasol are already swirling. Gasol always says the right things during interviews, supporting his team and acting like the negative criticism doesn't affect him, but he's demonstrated before that he takes criticism to heart, playing in slumps at times. With a team as overly scrutinized like the Lakers, I don't see his play changing any time soon.

Overall, this season is turning out to be a blemish on the entire Lakers organization. A starting lineup loaded with veteran superstars, anchored by one of the best centers in the league yet struggling to contend for a playoff spot even after a new coach was brought in after five games to salvage the season is embarassing. I'm not a fan of the Lakers to begin with and would usually take pleasure in seeing this over-hyped team flounder, but at this point, the story is becoming old and drawn out.

It's time to accept that the Lakers aren't a good team.

All-Star Predictions

Let's take a break from talking about the Raptors (mainly because talking about the team week by week has taken me from emotional highs to emotional lows - mostly emotional lows) and focus on something that's always hyped up yet very seldom delivers: The All-Star Game!

The all-stars won't be announced until Thursday night on TNT, but I'm going to spoil my one or two readers and provide a list of the players who should be all-stars starters - you know, if the league didn't leave voting for starters up to fans, making the All-Star Game nothing more than a popularity contest.

"But aren't you just a fan, Matt? What gives you the credibility to name who the starters should be?" is what you're saying.

My answer: nothing. Let's get started!

East All-Stars Starters

C - Chris Bosh
Bosh will start only because there are no other quality centers in the East with the exception of Tyson Chandler. I expect Chandler to be selected to the East reserves.

PF - Carmelo Anthony
Anthony, averaging 29.3 ppg and 6.2 rpg, deserves this starting spot. He has been the offensive center piece for a Knicks squad that sits only half a game back for best record in the East. Even if it is the East, that's still an impressive accomplishment for a team that hasn't done anything meaningful in the playoffs since the 1999-2000 season, where they made it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

SF - Lebron James
Best player in the world. I think that's enough.

SG - Dwyane Wade
In the meager East, Wade is the best shooting guard. His only competition? Joe Johnson. Exactly. 

PG - Kyrie Irving
Irving is playing out of his mind so far this season. Unfortunately, there's no way the fans will vote him in ahead of Rondo.

West All-Star Starters

C - Marc Gasol
It's either Marc Gasol or Tim Duncan who's going to win the starting position. Duncan is a more recognizable name but Gasol is playing better. Timmy-D is almost 40 years old and his decline has been blatant. He's still a solid center but it's time to give it up to someone else.

PF - Blake Griffin
Blake Griffin is a freak of nature and legitimately terrifies me with some of his dunks. Most of my picks are based on merit or a dearth of talent (thanks Eastern conference). This pick is based solely on the spectacle that is Blake Griffin. He needs to be a starter just so he can dunk on the other nine players on the court and run back with a look on his face that says, "Yeah, I don't give a shit."

SF - Kevin Durant
The second best player in the world. I think that's enough.

SG - James Harden
Harden has shown he can consistently be the go-to option on a team, slashing and getting to the rim on what seems like every offensive possession. He won't win the starting position though. The ageless wonder, Kobe Bryant, will start.

PG - Chris Paul
Paul has lead the Clippers to the second best record in the NBA this season. His numbers are nearly the same as last year, with the exception of a slight dip in scoring. Paul usually doesn't have to score for the Clippers to win but will if he has to. His game against the Lakers earlier this year is enough evidence to warrant this selection.

Like most All-Star Games, this year's will probably be underwhelming. Combine that with the over-hyped dunk contest and it should amount to a disappointing weekend. Having said that, I can't wait!

 

 

 

Crashing back to reality

Another letdown

Just when I became optimistic about the Raptors turning around they're season, they go and lose to the Kings to bring my world crashing down. The Raptors are now on a two-game losing streak, having lost to both Sacramento 105-96 and Oklahoma City 104-92.

Yes, Toronto wasn't expected to beat OKC, but their loss to Sacramento was a little hard to take. The Raps squandered a second-quarter lead, thanks to their cold shooting (38 per cent).  Demarcus Cousins destroyed the Raps, dropping 31 points and grabbing 20 rebounds. Yep, that Demarcus Cousins: the player who was suspended a few games earlier for conduct detrimental to his team, the Cousins who has been named in trade rumors, and the Cousins deemed by some as still too immature to succeed in the league.

I'll be honest, I'm still bitter about the loss (if you couldn't already tell). Cousins has the potential to be a franchise player and he showed that potential when the Kings beat the Raptors. When Cousins puts together a strong game like the 31 and 20 he had against the Raps, I see the parallels between him and Zach Randolph. Like Randolph, Cousins has all the potential to be an all-star player. Unfortunately, also like Randolph, Cousins is struggling with immaturity through the early years of his career. 

Randolph always put up good numbers regardless of which team he played with, but problems always seemed to follow him. He was nearly charged criminally for misleading police during a shooting while with the Portland Trailblazers and struggled to get playing time with the New York Knicks, despite the terrifying potential combination of him and a blimp-sized version of Eddie Curry dominating the paint.

It wasn't until Z-Bo landed in Memphis after eight NBA seasons that he finally pieced things together. He lead the Grizzlies on an impressive playoff run, where the Griz upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2011 playoffs before eventually losing to the Thunder the next round.

Cousins meanwhile is in his third year, is currently averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game on the season, and is producing 21.6 points and 13.8 rebounds per game - similar to Randolph's career numbers (not including the last two seasons) - over his last five games. He hasn't had serious accusations brought against him like Randolph has, but Cousins has been criticized a number of times for immature conduct, which is only hurting his team.

Cousins in only 22 years old. Randolph was 29 when he joined the Grizzlies and stopped being a headcase. I'm rooting for Cousins because he's a dynamic, dominant player when he's mentally focused. I just hope it doesn't take him seven more years to reach that level of play on a consistent basis.

Something serious

Usually I refuse to propagate the tragedy porn that is prevalent in the media these days but I would be doing an injustice if I didn't post this.

Here, poor Jimmer Fredette is suffering a seizure. I know I can say all of you are with me in offering condolences and hoping he's all right.

Get well soon, Jimmer!

Raptors on a roll

Yes, you're looking at that right. The Toronto Raptors have won eight of their last nine games. Sure, they're still in last place in the Atlantic division, but the Raps are finally doing the things winning teams do on a consistent basis - namely, play defence.

Over their last nine games, the Raps are holding teams to 90.4 ppg, nearly nine points lower than their points allowed season average of 99.2 ppg. I'm not sure what has inspired the Raptors to hunker down on the defensive end, but it's exciting to watch.

Last night's game against Portland was basically a blow out after the second quarter. As a Raptors fan, I expected the Raptors to do Raptors-like things to make this game more competitive - you know, stop playing defence, start taking too many threes, and start giving up offensive rebounds. However, the Raptors seemed to get stronger as the game progressed. Players were sprinting out to their defensive rotations, the Raps had decent ball movement, and Amir Johnson was even making plays like this.

Toronto's schedule will continue to be kind to them. The team has five games remaining on their six-game home stand, most against mediocre teams, with the exception of the Thunder. If the Raps can win their other home games, they'll have a record of 16-21. Still nothing impressive, but a stark improvement from their 4-19 start.

This next video has nothing to do with the NBA, but it's absolutely ridiculous. I have to post it.