The “what, you expect us to play D as well??” edition.
Adams – well, well……look who saw the floor. And, hey, look who is sporting the TMAC Shoulder Pad 4000. How nice. Guess he must have damaged it turning the handle on his door at home when he ordered Domino’s.
Bargnani – continues to be head and shoulders above last season. Couple nice shots of him running his own fingers through his hair. Work that gel, Andrea, work that gel.
Bosh – gotta admit I am on the fence here. Is the proper reaction to walk away from your team during the game? It certainly sends a message, but the correct one? I think no, but if it works, so be it. I would have loved to see him lay into his guys on the bench in-game, but as long as he lets it flow in the locker room, all good. Garnett played textbook D on the guy, yet Bosh was able to rattle off 24 points.
Calderon – his D is just horrendous. Full stop. Can he find his teammates on a fast break? You bet…but how often do we do it? You take that one advantage away from him and his subpar effort on defense just gets magnified. To offset it, run more. Listen to your coach and “go go go”. Jose ran a one person fastbreak today and it was embarrassing.
Graham – not quite sure why he came in for Hump when he did. Not sure at all. Makes me wonder if Sam is maybe showing what he does have for talent, which isn’t much. His big body could have served us well today, but he was ineffective and pulled.
Humphries – nice hustle, great work in a crowd. Exactly the energy we needed with HO being down and exactly what he didn’t bring against Jersey, where it could have been a difference maker. As is typical, he faded late in the game. Took 2 great charges to try and stem the tide as well.
Jawai – you know a song I really like? Heart of Glass by Blondie.
Kapono – took absolutely no shots, yet was a +11. Man, I love that stat. So telling on how great a player a guy like Kapono is, right? Don’t know why you guys are all over this guy. He is +11 against the NBA Champs baby!!! No shots. Dreadful.
Moon – came out hard and showed some energy. That’s how you play with a chip. Unfortunately it was more of a ripple than a chip. Actually shot at a 50% clip but was a bit over the top on D, picking up some silly fouls. Still, better game than most this year.
O’Neal – Guess Devlin made it over to the HO house and rubbed enough Tiger Balm on Franchise Jrs knee. He shouldn’t have played. Was this game that important? Neither the coach nor the GM should have allowed it. You don’t want to be embarrassed, get more talent on this team, don’t throw a guy on the floor that is on the verge of possibly going down for a while. That was one of the dumbest decisions I have seen this franchise make.
Parker – add another to the inconsistency wheel that is AP’s season so far. I agree with Devlin when he said Parker may be working too hard on D and that is taking away from his offensive game, but even on that side of the ball he isn’t performing up to standards. He is one guy, though, that I do believe if he can string together a few good games, he gets on a roll.
Solomon – no thrill for the Will today. If I can guess what Mitchell is thinking, he comes back next game. Slap him on the wrist and let him stew a bit.
Ukic – a little flash of good ball. Active hands, but, like Solomon, a gamble. Of course, we were down big, so not a huge gamble, but had it been a closer game, I’d hate to see it. He committed the most turnovers on the team today and that is also a cause of concern, but won’t improve unless he plays. Playing him, though, might hurt you early in the season. Tough call.
Driving The Bus: Chris Bosh
Under The Bus: Joey Graham
Game Theme: Domination
60 Raps
The game was over before it started after two turnovers and 10 straight points for the celtics.
KAPONO TOOK NO SHOTS, NO SHOTS, NO SHOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THIS GUY DRIVES ME FUCKING CRAZY, HE ADDS NOTHING,NOTHING, AND NOTHING TO THIS TEAM!!!!
EVEN CB TOOK AND MADE MORE THREES THAN THIS FRAUD THREE POINT CHAMPION.
JK COULD AT LEAST BE A GOOD BENCH WARMER LIKE HASSAN ADAMS, OK MAYBE NOT.
did we run one set for an open look for anybody?…do we have a play?do we have a defensive philosophy .we just run the fuck around like morons.a reflection of sams mind is what we are.
I’m guessing if Bosh has any balls ,he’s marching his skinny ass up to BC ’s office and demanding some fuckin help…because I cant be an mvp by myself….
6 million for kapono and u cant draw up a play to get him off?0 shots…..u have idiots screamin that kapono is shit now,lol….its the coaches responsibility that if the team cant freestyle,U CALL A PLAY.
Under the bus: Calderon and Parker for their D on Rondo and Allen. Care to explain why Parker’s leaving Allen in the corner to pinch Garnett? He’s looking like a 33yr old washed up Euro out there. Calderon’s idea of playing D is playing tight and really hard. Too bad he doesn’t have the lateral quicks to stay with anyone and didn’t bother to read the scouting report on Rondo – make him shoot.
Here`s a 1 & 2 Summary
Boston vs Toronto
12 Rebounds – 7
8 Turnovers – 11
11 Assists – 14
Then the killer
62 points to Toronto`s 35
As for the 3,4,5 point spread
56 to 68
The 3 spot – my biggest concern at one point, and potentially still – has given way to the 2. Hammer that spot, as well as the 1, and voila … an attacking team`s Raptor anti-dote.
STOP SMITCHING
KAPONO IS A FRAUD – HE DOESN’T SHOOT EVEN WHEN HE HAS AN OPEN SHOT. GOTTA KEEP THAT PERCENTAGE UP. He probably pump fakes his wife all the time too!!!
i’d actually put calderon under the bus more then parker since allen can hurt you a lot of different ways. make rondo kill you on jumpers, not dribble penetration.
Sam to BC: “WTF do you want me to do with this team?”
BC to Sam: “Get us into the playoffs, or else!!”
Sam to BC: “This year???”
BC to Sam: “Yes .. and we’ll be even greater in 2010!!”
Sam to BC: “BTW .. I’m trying to sell my house in Toronto.”
BC to Sam: “Me too ….”
They can read all the scouting reports and watch tape all night but actually “doing it” is another ball of wax. BC’s philosophy is try and outscore your opponent with jump shooting. Not with dribble penetration, slashing, defence. And all our players minus Bosh and Oneil reflect that mindset.
KAPONO IS A FRAUD – HE DOESN’T SHOOT EVEN WHEN HE HAS AN OPEN SHOT. GOTTA KEEP THAT PERCENTAGE UP. He probably pump fakes his wife all the time too!
BEST COMMENT I HAVE READ IN A LONG TIME
Our GM is soft in case you haven’t noticed. When was the last time this guy got pissed off? lost his temper in an interview? exactly. It starts at the Top.
I miss Carlos.
C’mon, Boston beat the crap out of the raps…and they beat up on every team. Maybe it feels worse this time cause we blew the game before…
Big surprise…..enjoying GroundHog Day??
Get used to it….
When Bosh leaves and a smart GM pairs him up with LeBron/Wade/Paul/ pick your STAR of choice….and he starts to WIN, you will finally get the obvious….he cannot carry a team anymore than Garnett could CARRY Minnesota….
You dumb cunts that said the O’Neal deal as “good business” will look even more stupid (if that were possible) when the ACC crowd gets sparser and sparser and tickets can’t be given away…because they are LOSING…
and keep in mind: it was Colangelo that kept Mitchell, brought in Ford (medical case) O’Neal (medical case) Jawai (medical case) kept Graham (medical case:cretinism) brought in Adams, Solomon, Kapono….kept Parker when his contract is a valuable trade…threw away the draft pick last year (Batum, for example, is starting for Portland)….
O’Neal could not even compete with Brooke Lopez….having a good game against the Heat, whose center is UDONIS HASLEM does not mean you are a good business decision at 44 million…it means the GM that brought you in is lost….and the fans in that city that got excited because the lazy, cretinous media kept using the term “6 time All Star” and they are just stupid enough to believe them because actually using your own brain requires the sort of heavy lifting that Toronto fans just can’t be bothered with….it matters WHEN and it what condition you were IN when you were an All Star…Iverson’s huge contract ends THIS year….little risk…..O’Neal’s ends NEXT year!! Who in the fuck is going to take him at 22 million NEXT year???
Can’t wait to see who he signs next: Grant Hill? S O’Neal? Arenas? no wait….Steve Nash two fucking years from now because the cretinous Toronto media would LOVE that…..
Boston brought in THREE CURRENT ALL STARS at the 3 DIFFERENT positions on the floor…..they compliment each other….Colangelo brought in a washed up, crippled, old version of a player he already fucking HAD…
He should at least try NOW to trade Parker (because his is the only contract that works) for Kelenna Azubuike or some other YOUNG athletic wing who is going to be wasting away on a bench on some other team with REAL talent at the fucking wing position..(.and no, Moon makes 700k a year, he is not trade bait).
Parker has zero potential (unlike Bargnani) is a good team mate, won’t disrupt another team, can help off the bench and has a decent contract which will expire this year…unlike Kapono…who would also be of zero interest to a “real” team.
Colangelo started this mess when he brought in Ford and drafted Bargnani rather than Brandon Roy….he said he was worried about Roy’s medical condition…..jesus fucking christ.
Was it an error on the NBA site when it said Solomon had absolutely nothing in any part of the box score? No points, turn-overs, assists, rebounds, fouls, nothing?
Here’s the thing that I think many other die-hard Raptors’ fans … who have been intoxicated by the MLSE propoganda machine for a long time … do not seem to realize about vocal folks like ‘nunya’ and ‘joey’ and ‘flux’, etc. …
They are just as much a TRUE RAPTORS FAN as you are, and would love nothing more than to see this team, their favourite of the 30 in the NBA today … SUCCEED in HUGE WAY, one day in the not too distant future … so that they, too, could enjoy the experience with their friends and family, as long-time, super-dedicated residents of Jurassic Park.
To insult them and/or refer to them as somehow being Less-than-true Raptors’ fans is a major error in judgment.
I think its time to look at T.O starting 5. Except for Bosh and O’Neal all of these guys are basically nothin more than good backups and on a winning team should provide spark of the bench.
Only good thing that happened today is Ukic got little more time.
And yea altraps ukic turnovers really hurt toronto. His +9 and bringing 15 pt leads to single digits in his short time on the floor dont count. Man, it’s not his fault that “all star, best in the east PG” Jose got eat today and friday by 2 superior eastern PGs.
khandor i appreciate the defense for and understand the viewpoint from nunya, joey, and flux, (nothing against you guys, its just the people khan has singled out) but i havent seen anybody criticize them, so what is the point in writing that?
MoneyCarlo, please don’t use +/- to say a player had a good or bad game. Again, look at Kapono’s today.
His 5 turnovers in 20min is a concern for a team that is having trouble hanging on to the ball this season. Like I said, though, that only gets better with in-game experience. He made 2 great steals on average NBA players and it worked out. They were both gambles, but they paid off. If he went for them and it didn’t work out, he leaves his man pretty wide open. I can live with that in a blow out, but not so happy if it had happened against the Nets.
The kid has potential, just a shame we aren’t in a place where we can bring him along slowly.
Nunya and Khandor…both nice posts.
that 24 points by Chris Bosh were misleading. He had only 13 points by the time he was sulking at the bench and the game was already out of reach (he got the rest in losing a garbage time). KG only played 28 mins compared to Bosh 41, so the majority of Bosh points came when Powe or Scalabrine were guarding him.
KG owns Bosh on defence, there is no other way of saying it.
With all that capspace we spent signing european players wwith little talent or from Australia and Croatia we could have had a Pau Gasol, Marion, jr Smith, James Posey, Maggette, Josh Smith etc. Good God it baffles me
Look, we had the number #1 pick. You draft the most NBA READY player not the player that will need 5 years to develop. Rudy Gay or Brandon Roy or Aldridge – 2 could have been had. Draft 1 and use Charlie V for the rights to other player.
OR
Our first year we overachieved was when we should have cashed in all our assets. Calderon, bargnani, Humphries, Parker.
calderon for marvin williams was the offer
humphries for rights to Rudy fernandez/Miami 20th pick.
Barganai as a #1 pick who was tremendous and being compared to Dirk could have gotten us a Joe johnston, A Monta Ellis Maybe?
Hire Stan Van Gundy
Colangelo fucked up
Sounds like some tribal honking forum fans had their gonads cut off today!!! I guess it’s not entertaining when your home-town team shits between the bedsheets in full view and there’s no relief in sight … and in fact things seem to be heading downhill fast (the one all-star looks like he’s packing it in).
I guess the killer business questions must be: (a)what do you do if you’re Mitchell; and (b)what do you do if you’re BC ???
Venting one’s feeelings is cathartic, but jeeeez .. enough is enough.
Dino Gunners,
I’ve seen some around here get more than their fare share of abuse from other comment contributors who perceive themselves to be ‘true’ Raptors fans, in comparison to the vocal ‘naysayers’ who spell out their concerns with the direction this team has taken and think that the rot at MLSE starts much further up the food chain than the players on the floor or the head coach on the sidelines.
Instead of calling people names, insulting what they have to say, and attempting to shut them up [or dismiss their comments completely] it makes more sense to me, to ask them a question or two about what it is they have seen from this organization over the years that would lead them to believe the things they do and say what they’ve said here as legitimate Raptors’ fans.
Dino Gunners,
For an example of what I’m talking about … see any comment which includes the term “tribal honking”. : )
BC really has to do something before this season gets out of hand! The raptors are just not a very good team.
Boston1
Cleveland2
Orlando3
Detroit4
Atlanta5
Miami6
New York7
Philadelphia8
New Jersey
Milwaukee
Toronto
Chicago
Indiana
Charlotte
Washington
Now let’s talk draft picks …..
Thanks Khandor.. if anyone takes abuse here though, it’s you. And I for one admire your ability to stay calm while responding with rationale,logic and above all respect. I can’t do it, sometimes. It’s disturbing to see what people write. I guess its a natural response when confronted with superior intellect and knowledge.
Dino, you should read more of the comments. Nunya, Joey, Khandor, a few “every once in a while” posters and myself get/got blasted, more then a few times, for simply calling things how we see them, while being labeled as “haters”. And I, in part, have established some of my views thanks to the Khawizard (full disclosure).
Jord, hats off to ya, and to some degree Arsenalist, I really don’t know how you keep finding optimism within the trainwreck this team has become. Today was embarrassing. I even had a friend come up to me during family dinner today and ask what is wrong with this team (seen the 1st q at a restaurant today). They know little about basketball and I didn’t know how to respond. Just shook my head and said I don’t know.
Alt, I hope the real haters (oops, I mean optimists) have not gotten to ya, cuz this was a very mild edition of the work you do. What Bosh did was mind blowing to say the least, I don’t think I have ever seen a player do that, unless he himself was playing like crap.
Anyone catch the Celtics practicing their golf swings on the sideline? How big of a joke are we?
Flux, I’ve been talking Raptor ball online since the team name and logo was unveiled at Ontario Place. I’ve seen and read a lot worse thrown at me (and more well thought out) than what I’ve seen here. I also look at it in a positive light, in that it means people still care.
With respect to today, I watched the game at a bar, rushed home to start preparing for a Grey Cup party and did this post as I worked, so pretty quick.
Also, as I said to RapsFan, for some reason this loss (and how it was just ugly) surprised me and upset me more than Friday’s loss. Sounds odd, I know, but all the Vince hate has grown so old that it was kind of fun to watch him do what he did and remind us of what we need so much. Today, before the game started, I had flashbacks to Arse saying that this date should be circled on the Raptors calendar, my belief that the Raptors play up to their competition, and thinking Jose would still be a bit pissed off. Sound was off at the bar, so when I saw HO being introduced, I nearly did a messy in my pants. Unless he was cleared by the surgeon general, he should not have played. Why open at a disadvantage? Anyway, none of the things I thought they would show today actually happened and that shocked me. Watching Bosh’s reaction, I don’t think I was alone.
I suspect something bad is going on behind closed doors in regard to the Raptors. If BC doesn’t remedy this situation very quickly, there will be a tribal honking fan revolt in the ACC.
It definitely looks like several people have shut down on this team starting with coach Mitchell who may have concluded this Raptor roster is a losing cause … and if BC wants to buy him out, he’s all to willing to negotiate. Sam’s lack of enthusiasm, as compared to previous seasons, must be indicative of something bad brewing. I think Sam has concluded he cannot do much with this team and is waiting to be payed and released.
Perhaps even Moon has shut down, and avoids slashing to the basket and endangering the remainder of his bball career, which may not be in the NBA. He may be planning to return to Europe and hopefully get more money than he can get from the Raptors .. who did not renegotiate to extend his contract thus signaling to him he will be terminated after this season. Might as well save yourself physically since you have no future financial stake in the team. I suspect Moon believes he had earned a bigger contract after last year’s performance.
AP may also be looking to leave and return to Europe for more money and less work … because he has little value in the NBA … or maybe he will just retire after this season.
Bosh is another entire story …..
No, i’ve read the comments and i know the abuse some of you guys get. I thought khandor was refering dirrectly to the one written by ninya right above it (17). I appreciate everybody’s perspective on the raptors and it keeps the raps interesting. I just wanted to clear that up and move on.
I think the raptors are going to struggle to make the play-offs this season. At the beginning of the season I was fairly optimistic, even imagining a high seed. But judging by our poor defense and lack of supporting cast around Bosh, its going to be a fight. The next few games will be a telling stretch to see if the raps can overcome the ‘lose to good teams and beat the bad teams’ mindset. The scary thing about this mindset is it could easily become ‘blew out from good teams, competitive with bad teams and losing with some consistency.” And sadly, that won’t get it done to make the playoffs
Guess I just thought today’s game offered a lot of material for the piece. Was looking forward to a few laughs. ; )
As I stated yesterday, this team is mentally weak on many fronts and after that demoralizing loss vs NJ, I really don’t know how anyone expected this team to come out and be competitive, while knowing how insane KG and the Celtics are. Plus, you figure the Celtics were going to come out with the hammer since they realized the fragile mental state of the team. You can just see Doc saying: “OK guys.. this team is down on themselves after the other night.. let’s come out and deliver the KO punch. Think that should be the game.”
HO had to start to put on the “I care so much I play when injured” front and try to shut up the haters. If he misses 3 months now or the rest of the season, people will be able to say ” Are you insane? Dude played on one leg for us” when defending him or the trade.
Bosh’s reaction was again, mind blowing. This guy is not a superstar, his numbers be damned. He’s bought into his own hype way too soon,IMO. Under the bus=the team mates Bosh threw there. Leaders do not do what he did today – crybabies do. Get into someone’s face, kick a chair, do something. I mean you were screaming and yelling during the NJ game, where was that today? WEAK!
good post AltRaps…
I’m pretty worried about the next 5 games…
FAQ, I agree, “something is brewing” aka this team is in a deep funk. And I agree with Dino.. after a few days off.. these next few games will be very telling about the rest of the season.
For me it starts with Bosh. Again leaders don’t do what he did today, and it started a lot sooner then that huddle meltdown. It just seems he has a “well, I’m doing my job, you guys do yours” attitude. He needs to get these guys more involved because they all feed off him. If anything, he should have grabbed everyone in his own huddle and told them: “Forget the scoreboard, forget the numbers, let’s just go out there and show these guys we are a team, we have pride and we are competitive” At some point that’s all you can ask and then you build on that. But what does he do? FREAKING ACTS AS IF HE DOESN’T WANNA HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE TEAM??!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Like what? You are better then them, you don’t belong in the huddle? Get the f outta here. Acting like a primadonna. Slow you roll, playboy. You haven’t won squat but a Olympic Medal and in the NBA that don’t mean much. No playoffs, no ring, no MVP’s, no anything. So, slow you roll cuz guys don’t respect that gold too much.
This team has no chemistry and I think people have started pointing fingers in the locker room. Unless a stop is put to it right now, this are only going to get much, much worst. Step up Bosh, and not in the stat box, be a leader and get this team under control.
Being pessimistic all the time and having open agendas do not count as constructive criticism from the fans. Trolling after today’s loss is ridiculous.
The reality is nobody knows anything about the future. We all have some opinions based on our life experiences. Fans in general hope for the best and are positive about the future. Only a few contrarians would like to use arguments to predict the sky will be falling. It’s the easiest thing to do and doesn’t make anyone more knowledgeable or more intelligent however give bragging rights when things do go wrong. It is called negativity and in general I tend to stay away from such people. Only my love for the Raps make me read almost all the blogs, including this one, because I respect and understand the bloggers love and hope for the same team. I am absolutely disgusted by some of the comments read in this post.
In reality, on paper we have the ingredients for a winning team. The problem is the ingrdients do not mix and match together. It is up to the brass to find out the reasons and to take action. I personally believe the coaching is subpar and that there is no intrinsic reason to have a team with the likes of Bosh, Calderon, JO and Bargnani to underperform. I’m sure we’ll see changes in the near future as the situation cannot continue like this.
Flux … “mentally weak team” you say ???? … But I recall Mitchell told the media before the start of the regular season that the Raptor team was not “athletic”, but it was “basketball-wise.” …. Remember??!!!
Was Mitchell intentionally misleading the media and fans .. perhaps to sell more season tickets .. because it’s now in the open that this team is certainly not “basketball-wise”. Sure, if they are at full strength and playing lesser teams, they can win … but now they are missing JO, and what we witnessed today was a complete collapse … athletically AND basketball-wise.
Does anybody here have any empathy for Sam Mitchell having to practice with and coach this team during games? Doesn’t Mitchell’s body language reveal frustration and defeat .. and his post-game media interviews are extremely defensive and out-of-character for Sam … n’est-ce pas …????
Flux,
Personally, I would cut Bosh some slack today.
When little brother thinks he might be ready to challenge his older, accomplished sibling for the ‘King of the Hill’ position in the driveway … he usually gets his rear-end handed to him in a sling, at least, if his older bro is the sort of individual who is truly worthy of his admiration, in the first place.
IMO, KG fits the bill, to a T.
————–
Contrary to what others might think they saw from Bosh and Calderon & Co. today, when they were embarassed by the C’s, essentially for being ‘driveway upstarts’, two weeks ago, in that game at Boston … I did not see anything at all which I didn’t like or expect to see from the principal actors in this Dino-rhapsody.
Tomorrow is another day …
and, both, CB4 & El Matador will live to fight again [down-the-road apiece] when they are better prepared for the task at-hand, and closer to the peaks of their ability, as elite level basketball players in this League.
Til then, the Celtics’ player roster, i.e. from #1-15, is simply better than the Raptors’ is right now … with or without a healthy Jermaine O’Neal in the line-up … and, it’s Bryan Colangelo who needs to be held accountable for that, not Chris, Jose or Sam.
The credit I must give to Sam Mitchell is the continual development of our high-pick drafts choices. I am not sure if it is the inner-motivation of Bosh and Bargani but both have been much better this year. The problem is Sam is very one-dimensional. He inheirited a team five years ago which needed teaching and guidance and he has done that well. He seems to relate to any player personally. The problem is that Sam has not taken that next step with his players. He has spent the majority of his time and practise teaching, giving up on dedicated offensive and defensive sets. The other major thing he had going against him is the constant reshuffling of the roster. He must admire the position that Gregg Popavich is in. Now i am nowhere comparing him to the spurs coach in terms of coaching ability, but Gregg has had his core of Duncan, Ginobilli, Parker, and to some extent Finley and Bowen for the past 5+ years. He has created a style of play and the other pieces fill the same role that the departed player did. The problem with the raptors is that Sam hasn’t created a style of play and Colangelo has further extended the problem because when he reshuffles, he brings in players with totally different skill-sets than the players that have left. This leads to constant adjustments to the game plan and style.
Basketball wise doesn’t count for much on paper or in practice. I think we have see how wise they all are in the NJ game, during crunch time. I really don’t care what anyone says about what play Sam drew up; these guys fill their diapers and DO NOT execute. Period.
Just because you are intelligent, doesn’t mean you are smart. Just because you have huge muscles, doesn’t mean you know how to fight. Just because you are tall, doesn’t mean you can play ball. Just because you can talk doesn’t mean you know what you are talking about.. etc. etc.
And Daniel, no offense, you sound a little young, because yes, no one can predict the future, but some (as they have proven repeatedly(not me)) can predict it more accurately the others.
Khandor, I just think if we are ready to call the man a superstar, an MVP, the franchise and shower him with every possible accolade there is, we should also expect him to act like a leader. Today, against one the best teams in the NBA, he had the opportunity to do that and not only did he fail (which would have been fine) but then proceeded to act in a non-leader like fashion. That was incredibly frustrating.
Mitchell can only do so much with this sad excuse of a team. I don’t know if he’s an idiot I mean he’s coaching in the NBA so he must have some smarts to last this long. The personal on this team are good character guys who lack that fire, you cant change someones personality. Your either tough minded or your not, simple as that. It only rubs off on a player if they already have “it”.
If this team had Rasheed Wallace and Ron Artest what happens? Everyone is still soft and mentally weak except for Rasheed and Arest, that’s what happens.
Its players that make the coach. Doc Rivers worst in the L. Bring in KG and Allen now look where he stands. Lakers- bring in Pau Gasol and a healthy Bynum, look where Phil stands. Sam Mitchell 2006-07, bring in 10 new players, boom he wins coach of the year and 47 wins.
If coaching was everything why haven’t Jerry Sloan, Jeff Van Gundy, SVG, Pat Riley, Mike Diantoni, Aldeman, dont win every year? Exactly
On the record, Sam I think does tell players about the scouting reports, I think he can draw plays, He tells them all the time to attack the rim, to play defense, kapono too not dribble but they wont listen or dont have the talent to execute his game plan. He didn’t pull that shit in Miami because there was Wade and Shaq too keep him in check if he started to freestyle.
And He did Tell Bargnani to imbound the ball but Bargs got Timid.
Dino Gunners … hasn’t Sam essentially lost his motivation to coach what is essentially a flawed Raptor team?? Don’t you sense this happening to the man … because nobody can be expected to do miracles in the NBA … unless the management buys two all-star players to stack the team and then the miracles happen???
Have you noticed how many time Jose would come to Sam to explain what’s happening on the floor and Sam just nodding in agreement and that’s it … as if Jose is trying to offer Sam some help coaching during game situations?? I’ve see Jose go to Sam during a time out and speak to him when the coaches were conferencing. Something drastically wrong is happening on this team, and I don’t want to condemn anybody .. other than BC because he’s the President(?) and you usually find the bottleneck at the top of the bottle.
As for Bosh .. he’s not a naturally-gifted floor leader and he should not be expected to push the team. Ideally that should come from the backcourt guys who mostly handle the ball and dictate the play. The PF and C are only production guys who do the dirty work under the basket and wait for the ball. Big men are awkward and don’t see the entire picture on the floor playing with their backs to the basket. Leadership comes from the scooters … the PG, SG and SF positions.
Dino.. solid points. Then again, maybe great coaches can do that and develop a system at the same time? Which is what Sam haters expect, I assume.
Joey, I agree with that, as I have been waiting for an anti-Sam person to explain to me why he has kept his job this long or why the Knicks and other teams where looking for his services, if he’s as incompetent as they imply. I think these guys either a) do not understand what is being explained to them (since Sam shakes his head so often or says things like “If you are not going to do the things we teach in practice, you are not going to play”) b) simply fail to execute when the lights come on c) ignore what is being asked of them to do or d)i have no idea.
Yep
And when his players cant execute, thus, he goes deep into his bench to find the solution. That’s why there’s no set rotation because the players are not consistent to do what he says night in and night out. I would do the same thing. Give this guy an upgrade at pg, sg and sf then we’ll see what he really has.
FAQ, I agree, but I don’t think many Raptors respect Jose. (I dunno how he demands them to play D, when he doesn’t do it himself) Bosh has been sold as the the heart and soul of the team, the leader, the franchise etc. so do something, and please, at the very least, not what happened today. And if you are not comfortable in the leader position, again, don’t act like you did today. I just don’t see how this helps the team or makes your team mates feel better.
pakmacman,
When I look ahead at the next 19 games on the Raptors’ schedule, between now and New Year’s Day, I see legit reasons for you and other Dino fans to be concerned about where this team might be heading, as this season continues to develop.
As of Sun Nov 23 2008, the Raptors’ record is 6-7 … with the following slate of games on tap prior to Jan 01 2009:
v Cha
v Atl
@ LAL
@ DEN
@ UTA
v Por
@ CLE
v Ind
@ NJN
v Noh
v Njn
v Dal
@ OKC
@ SAS
@ LAC
@ SAC
@ POR
@ GSW
v Den
There are all kinds of different scenarios which might develop, in the interim … but the simple FACT IS, right now, (i) Jose Calderon is playing with a tender right hamstring, and (ii) Jermaine O’Neal will be coping with a re-injury to his left knee, for the foreseeable future.
The year is 2008, not 2006 … and the landscape across the NBA has changed dramatically since the Raptors captured their only Atlantic Division crown … e.g. witness Minnesota’s victory tonight in Motown.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. – Anonymous
Nothing more; and, Nothing less … than that.
It’s a harsh world, in the NBA, and there are no prizes given out for 2nd place.
And for those say Lebron James has it hard carrying all those scrubs on his team. No. All those players can play D, penetrate and rebound and are mentally tough. They have some talent there while were a jumpshooting team afraid of contact
Dino Gunners,
I agree with you … Style of Play, as Butch Carter [former Raptors' head coach] elucidated last week, has been a major problem with this team since the departures of Lenny Wilkens and Glen Grunwald.
Until MLSE can get this fixed …
Flux … big basketball players are no great minds .. they are just overgrown kids with a lot of money and sought-after basketball skills. In fact most of them are just big dummies who can afford their ignorance.
Tribal honking fans want to elevate athletes to some kind of higher intelligence because they are rich and famous … but their general IQ is pathetic. Academically most of them suck .. like many of the fans. Some thinking fans demand excellence from their heroes or else they are condemned .. while the tribal honkers can’t accept their heroes are impotent like them.
Professional basketball is a blend of athletic instincts and knowledge through experience … no great mental strength unless you mean ‘desire’. Adding fans into the mix and you get confusion.
It’s really a psycho-social case study …LOL
Sweet Baby Jesus.. that schedule looks scary! AltRaps, go ahead, pencil me in for 30 wins under a big MAYBE.
Joey, these guys seem scared of everything. And I mean everything. But hey, we got JO – swagger baby!
Flux,
I agree with you … Chris Bosh failed today, as an elite level basketball player and as a Leader.
Here’s what I think about failure, in general, and specifically getting schooled by your big brother.
RA 33, KG 32, PP 31, KP 24, RR 22
AP 33, JO 30, JC 27, CB 24, AB 23
The crossroads are ahead. It’s just a matter of time… (AND getting the right coach, BC!!!!!!!! Flip!!!!!!!!)
FAQ, I don’t expect someone who devotes the majority of their focus on developing one area of their life really well, to be well rounded or an intellectual.
But, I doubt any of these guys get to the NBA while being “big dummies”. And let’s not forget we are talking about kids here. Many of them are very young and spent their whole lives getting good at basketball and developing as young adults. They will have plenty of time to develop in other areas.
By mental strength, I mean confidence in abilities and execution. Then again, they don’t all have the DNA to keep their cool with the lights on and thousands of people watching.
The proof of the pudding is in the eating. – Anonymous
The proof of the sh!tting is in the seating.- FAQ
We can see that the Raptors are sh!tting around with no hope of change because most of this team should be sitting on the bench. This is not a NBA-quality team … and decent opposing teams will dissect this Raptor team and exploit it’s inherent weaknesses as the season wears on.
The Raptors are not jelling well because the athleticism and thinking is missing .. both from the players and coaches. Yes they can catch a few teams off balance and squeeze out a win, but I suspect most opponents know how to attack the Raptor’s weaknesses quite effectively.
It’s getting so that I don’t really enjoy watching the Raptors struggle .. it’s painful. I hope other NBA teams are televised so better players can entertain us.
Khandor, like i (tried to say) said, the failure would have been fine. It was the reaction to it that was frustrating. It was really the last thing I expected from him. I was blown away.
Yep as currently constructed and this is not hyperbole,we could not beat any team in the Eastern conference except the Miami Heat and Charlotte in a playoff series. We don’t have the wings and mental toughness to grind out a 7 game series. I have yet see a game since Colgelo arrived where we walked on too a court wanting bloodshed.
Is it just me or is Parker the biggest pussy I have ever seen in my entire life. The guy shows 0 emotion during games and interviews he’s always so sweet and composed my GF was like, this guy looks like a looser who is he ?
Derrick Rose
Joe Johnson
Danny Granger
Bosh
Biedrins
All up and coming stars and under 25
FLUXLAND – Nov 23, 2008 11:28 pm
Khandor, like i (tried to say) said, the failure would have been fine. It was the reaction to it that was frustrating. It was really the last thing I expected from him. I was blown away.
Sorry, but I must have gone to the bathroom when this outrage happened … so perhaps you can put it into your own words describing what you actually saw and what happened because of it. What did Bosh do/didn’t do? Thanks.