Despite a rough start to the preseason and the struggles of individuals, alas, the team as a whole, to get in regular season shape, Raptorland remains afloat with optimism. Of course, we have all been here before. For the past half decade, the fan base has levied large expectations on rosters and situations that may not have been worthy of such pre-emptive praise. I, myself, was worrisome that we would do the same this year as well. When Bryan Colangelo dropped the “50 win” bomb, I couldn’t help but feel a familiar pull to the over-optimistic.
But I have done well in tempering my expectations. I find 50 wins to be lofty, but am supremely confident that we are watching the molding of a top-5 team in the East. It certainly hasn’t been the presence (or lack thereof) of Turkoglu, the (lack of) health up and down the roster, inspired team-first offense from Marco Belinelli (uhh…), or the apparently pointless-in-game-situations added bulk to Bosh’s frame.
Instead, my expectations have remained buoyed on the life raft of Jay Triano. Long considered one of the top assistants in the league, Triano was largely respected by players and the basketball community alike for his work with Team Canada and then with the Team USA Selects. Handed a rag-tag roster at the end of a lost season, we saw little of what Triano was capable of last year.
Already this preseason, though, we’ve heard and witnessed things from a coach the good fans of the Raptors aren’t used to. Defensive focus that is more than lip service, the understanding of how to utilize role players, and the understanding that coaching is equal parts strategy and psychology.
Kevin O’Neill couldn’t handle the psychological part, and Sam Mitchell deferred the strategic to his staff of assistants. Triano seems to grasp the balance well, while bringing his unique vision of both to the forefront of Training Camp 2009. With zero results that could be described as positive in his career, Triano’s demeanor, approach, and basketball intelligence are all I need to convince me that this roster, which is the best top-to-bottom we have enjoyed in many years, is every bit as good as we are collectively expecting them to be.
There are a few key examples of what I mean that stick out, not the least of which is Triano’s insistence that rookie DeMar DeRozan will have to earn his playing time. It sounds simple, but most times franchises will force rookies into a role or minutes that they haven’t earned, or do the complete opposite and give them no chance to succeed. With the addition of Antoine Wright, Triano has a tool at his disposal to push and teach DeRozan. As he has indicated many times, the luxury of having Wright is that Triano can pull DeRozan at any point to coach him, without losing anything on the floor with the Wright substitution. I have seen far too many cases of coaching done by yelling from the sidelines or being left for the post-game, neither of which is an immediate nor effective teaching tool, it seems.
In addition, Triano seems to have a pretty sound grasp of how to run a training camp already. Whether it be bringing players along slowly, building from defensive basics upward, or bringing in notorious shooting guru Dave Hopla over a span of three non-game days, Triano appears to have found a balance between defense, offense, down time, and mental preparation. It sounds as if the amount of video time and “basketball study” is more than we’ve ever expected in Toronto, and it has me hopeful that this will be the most basketball-intelligent installment of the Raptors yet.
Of course, I shouldn’t have to convince you of Triano’s credentials. Coach of Team Canada, Coach of Team USA Selects, author of “Basketball Basics,” confidant of Steve Nash…the list of qualifiers goes on. Triano is without a doubt a great basketball mind. So far, it appears as though he’s doing a great job transferring that knowledge to his players, fostering a team vision that rewards defensive intensity, basketball intelligence, and a willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team (see Amir Johnson’s attitude on limited minutes, for a good example).
Whether this translates to Wins when the NBA season gets underway next week is yet to be seen. We’re all obviously on guard for a slow start given the training camp and conditioning troubles of the team, but a complete culture overhaul cannot be evaluated in just a few weeks anyway. At the very least, we’ll soon know if handling adversity and making adjustments is another skill to add to the lengthy list of Triano coaching qualities.
56 Raps
I have no doubt about his ability, I am just concerned that Triano is our third rookie(ish) head coach in a row. I would have liked to see a veteran coach who has been there and done that.
I realize that all the quality coaches are, you know, coaching already, but at least an investigation into it would have eased me as apposed to handing Triano the job without as much talking to another person.
I like what he has been saying, and what I have been seeing so far tho, so we will see. Solid article.
Who do you think should have been “investigated?”
I am pretty darn sure BC weighed out his options, and thought/investigated other possibilities before he re-uped Triano. I dissagree that he just handed him the job.
There are a handful of coaches who were out of a job, Eddie Jordan for one, who could have been talked too.
BC didn’t look into any other coach, he came out and said this. I’m sure he did some investigating on his own though.
I just wanted to see some sort of a search for the right guy, maybe more publicly.
Yes, it would be great if we have a veteran coach can guide the squad and secure us a spot in the playoffs. In fact, BC was interested on signing Flip Saunders and Ettore Messina (although this guy has no NBA experience but very influencial coach in Europe). But Raptors players, like Bargnani, Calderson, and Bosh admires Triano’s philosophy and prefers Triano’s services than any other available coach.
Don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll have some horrible mistakes along the way, but every success starts from mistakes. Every inventor, players, bussinessmen had a made of mistakes than success.
Nice article, couldn’t agree more about Triano. Solid move by Colangelo to keep him at the helm. Like you, I am being overly-cautious about my expectations, although somewhere in the back of my mind I believe this team can accomplish big things.
I really like the way the team is built, and I do feel like we are at least headed in the right direction again. At the beginning of the summer I didn’t feel the same way.
I can’t wait for the season to begin. I am hoping these guys gell fast. Team chemistry is a big factor in the NBA.
If the Raps do poorly, I think it likely will not be because of Triano’s coaching, or his defensive principles. When guards get exposed, the bigs need to know how to handle that.
I am a huge fan of thinking that coaches can change games. I think Adelman will take the Rockets to the 7th seed, even though he has one of the weakest rosters in the West. But, if the players don’t play, a coach can’t do much sometimes.
The key for the Raps is for a weak defensive guard to push the opponent into the help. If we don’t help: i.e. Bargnani is floating somewhere, and Bosh is a step late, we will lose.
If the Raps do poorly, it is because there are 9 new players on this team. Very hard job to integrate them quickly, win games and get into playoffs in one year, especially when Bosh/Hedo were injured most of the pre-season.
I disagree actually. For me the key is and always has been whether Bosh and Bargnani can work together on the floor at the same time. I think that the new faces will integrate well, in fact if Bosh and Bargnani can work out the rebounding and rotations. The chemistry begins with those two on this team. Calderon will keep a steady hand, and Turkoglu will be a nice playmaker/scrorer. Evans will play well etc…but it all rests on Bargs and Bosh in my mind. Their defensive rotations will dictate the defensive chemistry.
this is true. this is also where bargnani needs to step up and be more vocal. he seems timid saying something to bosh.
The Rockets team has been weakened by injuries but having two 6′8” wing players (Battier and Ariza) is a luxury Adelman has that other coaches would kill for.
Awesome article. I also have really high hopes for Triano, not only because he seems to have the support of everyone in the organization but because he’s not afraid to go away from his top player (Bosh) in order to succeed. I think a lot of coaches would try to simply ride their top player for an entire season to make an impact (see Smitch experiment). Triano is putting us in the best situation to have a good TEAM, not just a good player surrounded by some role players. I used to hate the fact that everyone in the building knew what the Raps were going to run 94% of the time. Now it seems like we have multiple options to hurt teams, not only because of our roster, but because of our new system.
I like Triano’s emphasis on defensive responsibility. Calderon, among others cannot allow unfettered penetration into the lane. However, maybe the biggest advantage of having Triano over SMitch is after time outs or at crucial stages of the game. So many times, we ahve witnessed SMitch getting out-coached ridiculously during short-clock inbound plays or right after time outs. Look back to any New Jersey-Toronto game to see Lawrence Frank make a fool of SMitch. Or how about SMitch’s ingenious defensive strategy of having Kapono guard Pierce at the end of a game agaisnt Boston. If you queue up the replay you can see Pierce’s eyes light up like a kid at Christmas.
I am just expecting the craftiness and ATTENTION to DETAIL and SITUATIONS such as Lawrence Frank from the New Jersey Nets. Nobody heard about this guy and even if he had Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson, okay yes Vince Carter, he always used his bench and match ups effectively and timely. I hope Triano just keeps on coming up with plans that will surprise us and can be executed by our players.
I like Triano and I think it is good that he is given a chanse. However, if he does not perform this year ( given that there are no serious injuries to the manin stars),the blame will fall on his shoulder. He said, he is happy with this roster and he had approved of all these players that BC got. So One can not blame BC or the personel for Triano’s short commings. From what I have seen so far though, His team defense is still quite shaky.
I am looking forward to see if we make any improvement in that area or not. That is Key for the Raps
I don’t think the results of this year should fall all onto Triano’s shoulders. He is part of the team, so regradless of the outcome, he should take part of the blame or part of the glory, but definetely not the majorty of it.
Coaches always get too much credit or too much blame. Triano can teach defense until its coming out his ass but it the players are unable, don’t buy in or try, they will not be a good defensive team. Its the details that matter with coaches. What I want to see is him not sticking to exclusively the X’s and O’s like he did last year. I want to see, if the situation merits, him take some chances or changing things up. I don’t want to see the same old every game… unless ofcourse its working.
If Jose is covering Deron Williams and is having problems defending him, will be move a sg or sf over to take over some defense, will he play Jack extended minutes, will he leave Jose? What will his scheme’s be when Shaq or Dwight are owning the paint (because just letting Bosh get pummelled last year sure wasn’t effective). If Bosh and AB can’t buy a rebound together, will he limit/reduce their minutes together? How will Jay use his players to overcome the obstacles they face.
After watching The Hour with George Stombolopolous, Triano (who was a guest) knows what exactly he want the team to transform (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN5XbRa2FwA). This guy has a plan before his interim tag was removed. Jay Triano is a winner, although he was unable to bring the team to the playoffs last year, but he never let his ‘i am a winner’ attitude to be dominated. I am confident to say that his confidence level is where it needs to be!
I know he is a ‘rookie’ coach, but I know that he see things in the game that a regular ‘fan’ cannot. If he was a horrible coach, I don’t think he would be the coach for the Raptors? BC should’ve pursued Flip Saunders, or that Ettore Messina? The answer: BC and the Board of Directors knows what Triano can bring to the table. As mentioned on this post, he was a head coach for Team Canada, and current coach for Team USA.
That interview really changed my perception on Triano. The guy is obviously qualified, but I hope this is one of those risks that pays off, not one that blows up in all our faces.
How can you call Triano a risk? I mean Coach of Team Canada, Coach of Team USA selects, NBA assistant for like what-7 years or so? I guess hiring anyone can be considered a risk (even Eddie Jordan!), but I mean come on, this risk is pretty calculated.
It’s not a huge risk since we know about what we are getting, but it’s a risk none-the-less. Imagine we brought in a Flip Saunders. Someone we can all agree is a more accomplished coach then Triano (at the moment). That is a safer bet, no? Can we agree on that?
Sure…Flips more accomplished…safer bet-not too sure…Triano is up and coming (albeit with a bit of a resume) while Flips kinda getting close to the past the expiration date…
Past the expiration date? We don’t like experienced coaches anymore?
Anyways, Triano will get his shot. I am pleased with him so far. I hope he was picked because Colangelo thought he was actually just the best man for the job, given all relevant factors. More realistically, I think he was chosen because he will listen to Colangelo more than any new coach.
Let’s see what Triano can do with this team. IMO, as stated, a lot rests on what he can do with Bosh and Bargnani.
In respect to BC and Triano; I agree with the listening part.
I said “kinda getting close” he still has a few years left.
Only time will tell if any coaches can make Bosh and Bargs work properly together…something I would have never said in the past…it’s just been too long now. I think this has got to be the make or break season with this front court duo.
that link you posted was broken, here’s the video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN5XbRa2FwA&feature=player_profilepage
p.s. I posted it on YouTube :P
Bargnani & Bosh are indeed our keys. Turkoglu & Calderon are sure starters on a playoff-bound team. Evans and/or Johnson are good subs at C/PF, as is Jack at PG.
O’Bryant & Nesterovic will keep each other sharp vying for the injury sub spot at C/PF.
Our question marks are at starting SG and at the SF/G sub positions. We have 6 guys vying for those two roles in a playoff rotation, and we have all year to get it right. There’s going to be so many ups & downs with Weems, Wright, DeRozan, Belinelli, Banks & Douby that we’ll think we’re on a roller-coaster ride. Personally, I’m rooting for Wright & DeRozan because of their size.
A bit too much Triano love orgy going on. That being said I think if everything goes as plan he could establish himself as an above average NBA coach…
50 wins is a pipe dream….We will play Orlando, Boston, Cleveland 4x each, the Lakers and Spurs 2x each…That’s 16 games where we probably have an 80% chance of losing; so that’s about 13 losses and let’s say 3 wins right there…that leavs 66 games left in the season, we’d have to win 47 of those going 47-19 the rest of the way through….considering the talent that’s out there in the NBA now that’s highly unlikely….I think 42-45 wins is more realistic.
I have to agree with your assertions and with your W-L estimate.
That being said, I think that the league (and the East in particular) is VERY competitive this year. Some of it is competition in tiers, but there just aren’t too many teams that will take a beating night-in, night-out.
If I had to pick teams that are just awful, I’d say:
EAST
- New Jersey
- Milwaukee
- New York is borderline, but they have some young talent and one more year under D’Antoni’s system.
WEST
- Minnesota
- Sacramento
- Golden State
- Memphis is borderline because I can’t imagine all those experiments working out, but there is enough talent on that roster to be dangerous.
I think that that the following number of wins will be attained by each seed in the east:
1st: 63
2nd: 58
3rd: 55
4th: 45
5th: 43
6th: 41
7th: 40
8th: 39
I honestly don’t see more than about 6 wins separating 4th from 8th in the East.
I think that if we grab the 5th seed, it will mean that we overcame early struggles with solid play later in the season, which would put us in a great position to upset the 4th seed.
And I also think that Atlanta is a pretty good matchup for us: Bibby isn’t someone who can exploit Jose these days, and our front-court should create major mismatches offensively against their undersized front-court.
I feel this article is premature. Triano hasn’t proved anything yet. If preseason is preseason and we can’t make resolute opinions about the team during this time, then we also can’t make them of the coach. We don’t know that he ran a good training camp, we won’t find that out until the regular season.
Triano is still very much under my microscope. I’m with Raps Fan in that I would have preferred someone more experienced. Yeah there were slim pickings this season, but there were certainly options back when Sam Mitchell was resigned after earning the CoY award.
Let’s refrain from praising Triano until we finish with a winning record this season *fingers crossed*
Everyone is rooting for Jay, but jury hasn’t even heard the case yet.
couldn’t have been said better
Any GM who didn’t re-sign Mitchell after the COY award wouldn’t have had a job for too long, or would have lost a lot of credibility. Re-signing was the right call, he made other mistakes that put us “2 steps back”.
Why wouldn’t he have a job for too long? Rick Carlisle was fired from the Pistons who brought in Larry Brown to take them to the next level and win a championship.
If BC had brought in the right coach after Mitchell, one that could have handled the CaldeFord situation better, one that had the x’s and o’s to close out games now that the Raptors were actually being scouted, one that knew that “defense could be taught”, then I doubt BC would have been in a hot seat about not resigning the “coach of the year”… especially after winning executive of the year the season prior.
The “Forderon” situation had nothing to do with Smitch…
It’s a management of egos. Smitch didn’t manage the situation correctly. Yeah it’s Ford’s fault for not being a team player, but another coach may have been able to maximize the talent better in the second season of Caldeford.
“but another coach MAY have” or the MAY not have. We shouldn’t assume this could be the case, and therefore Smitch is a bad coach because of it.
What happened with TJ was all TJ. He was given minutes when he came back, and he was given his starting role when he came back. He straight up blew it.
TJ got into it with (at varying degrees) Mo Williams, Jose and last year Jack….all 3 teams he has been on in his NBA career. Should we assume its the responsibility of all the other coaches there aswell or can we see that there is a pattern with TJ?
And a another thing, the article isn’t saying that he’s been amazing or that he’s definetly gonna be amazing, it is simply stating that so far things are good, and that we probably hired the right dude, to take us where we wanna go. I couldn’t agree more as I stated above, earlier. I too am optimistic, which is what the whole article is about. There will be learning curves, let’s hope for 45-50 wins…I know I am.
I came into the article expecting an optimistic view of Triano, using his BBall IQ as the grounds for such a view. What I got was an article praising Triano’s past accomplishments (that may or may not translate at the NBA level) and his current accomplishments that he hasn’t even done yet!
Just so you don’t claim I’m talking out of my ass:
“Triano was largely respected by players and the basketball community alike for his work with Team Canada and then with the Team USA Selects”
We already know this – what we don’t know is if this means anything in the NBA.
“Handed a rag-tag roster at the end of a lost season, we saw little of what Triano was capable of last year.”
We don’t know this. How do we know last season isn’t exactly what Triano is capable of? You can’t just make statements like this and end a paragraph.
——————
When the article does get to the point where it provides “examples” of Triano’s strong IQ as a source of optimism… well, it falls short. I mean, the examples don’t even refer back to the premise about Triano’s IQ and rely instead on opinions of his actions.
“There are a few key examples of what I mean that stick out, not the least of which is Triano’s insistence that rookie DeMar DeRozan will have to earn his playing time.”
This isn’t even entirely true. Before camp started, Triano talked about how DeRozan was going to be the starter. Once preseason started, aside from yanking him in that one game where he took two bad shots, I haven’t seen Triano “insisting” that DeRozan has to earn his playing time. DeRozan basically has the spot thanks to being a lottery pick, the underwhelming play of Belinelli, and the absence of Antoine Wright due to injury. Not saying he hasn’t been playing hard, but I haven’t seen many indications that Triano will take away his minutes if he isn’t playing up to snuff – hopefully that will change in the regular season.
“In addition, Triano seems to have a pretty sound grasp of how to run a training camp already.”
How do we know this? We can’t look at our preseason record as an indicator. We can’t just use what the media has told us because it’s likely biased and based on a few quotes rehashed by several different outlets into the same damn story. This is just not quanitifiable. The article refers to the video sessions and the focus on balance between defense, offense, and down time. First, we don’t even know if the video sessions are helpful, and it certainly hasn’t shown in preseason. Second, the offense is still stagnant and hasn’t been focused much in preseason… so much for balance.
Sorry for the critical view of the article, but the beginning was hard to read and in my opinion the content was a let down. If you want to provide your opinion on the subject, do some research and put some stats down or something. It looks like simply had an idea for an article, jotted it down, and posted it up. Which is fine, this is the internet and you can say w/e you want. I just don’t feel it was fleshed out enough.
‘Coach of Team Canada, Coach of Team USA Selects, author of “Basketball Basics,” confidant of Steve Nash…the list of qualifiers goes on.’
I would like Triano to do well but what do these things qualify him for?
The only basis we have to go on so far is his record as head coach last year, albeit in a transitional stage, and that is something he will have to improve before anyone can claim he is a good coach.
Right now the jury is out but I clearly don’t see how those things qualify him as a good NBA coach (right now at least).
If they only win 38-40 games this year can you still say the same things about him? No, you judge him based on the results which are always wins vs. losses.
What if they won 40 games and lost in the second round of the playoffs? Is he still a bad coach?
I would’ve preferred someone with more NBA head coaching experience, but I’ve liked his talk so far this summer/pre-season. I like the comparison to Lawrence Frank, and am hoping he finds success as a head coach in Toronto.
It’d be a great story.
Of all the available options BC had this summer, which coach would have been significantly better than Triano? Any veteran coach would have surely commanded a much higher salary than Jay. Could we have gotten Eddie Jordan? Possibly. Would the on-court production have improved significantly under his watch to justify the additional salary cost? (keeping in mind that we’re still paying for Sam Mitchell’s salary). I think that’s debatable.
The reality is that GM’s make basketball decisions balanced with financial considerations.
I think BC hired Jay truly believing he would produce a winning season. I just can’t fathom otherwise – especially during such a pivotal year where a bad season will most certainly result in the loss of your franchise player.
Triano is a puppet and the public will end up hating him like they did Smitch. Just sayin..
I don’t think the public hated Smitch… some did but definetely not all. He was just an easy excuse. Plus BC never wanted him to start with…. as was said earlier, the COY award required a resigning.
I loved Smitch man. He wasn’t a great coach, but I will always remember how he was the only one who defended TJ Ford when Horford raped him.
I always like Smitch to… I just think he was the wrong Coach for this team (and likely still would be this year)
He needs a team of lunch box men and classic position players (ie. true Centers,PF etc.), and run a half court offense.
Colangelo is a genius – hiring Triano (a canadian!) keeps the wolves and scribes at bay because no one can trash the selection. This is an assistant who has made it through the last two head coaches – obviously the decision to keep him on comes from way up on high, because there is no way that consecutive head coaches decide to keep on an assistant that is not their choosing. So Colangelo pulls the trigger on a Smitch firing (far too early in the season) and passes the reins to Triano (a canadian! coaching a canadian team!! what are the odds!!!) who actually does an adequate job. But at the end of last season, Colangelo is in the same position as he was with Smitch after he won COY. Not his guy, but really no reason to let him walk (you can’t fire a canadian!! he’s canadian!!!). And now Triano CANT go back to being an assistant. So Colangelo pays him the money to be coach. But the great part – really the genius part here – is Colangelo has just bought himself some more time to get his team in place. Because if Triano fails, it is on Triano. He was never Colangelo’s guy. But if Colangelo had brought in Eddie Jordan, and Eddie fails – well then that would be on Colangelo. And to top it off, then Colangelo has the nerve to anoint this a 50-win team. Anything less than a playoff birth spells the end of Triano and positions the Raptors in the final chapter of the Colangelo era. For now, consider us about 75% through the book.
“And to top it off, then Colangelo has the nerve to anoint this a 50-win team.”
You need to back up. Colangelo never said this is a 50-win team. He never predicted a 50-win season. What he did say is how 50 wins should be the team’s goal. If you actually take fault with that, then perhaps you’d be happier with Rob Babcock and his (and I paraphrase) “this team won’t amount to much”.
how important is a coach in the pros? I mean c’mon, really how much power does JT have? he needs MLSE to endorse him otherwise he’d be lucky to have an NBA job (there aren’t many around). He, IMHO, deserves a job but what can we really expect? He is a good coach but is also good to go along with BC’s vision, something Smitch was unwilling to do. Make no mistake, JT is the coach instead of SM because JT is BC’s boy.
I’m not saying Smitch was a better coach, just that BC hung a flawed roster on him and when he failed (and balked publicly) BC canned his azz. It wasn’t really to directly improve things. BC is quite machevillian.
Excelent article, and great title. His work ethic and basketball IQ is for sure a source of optimism. The fact that he gave basketball lessons in the Training Camp is something that make me trust in Triano. I wasn’t a fan of the move made by BC in the offseason that made him head coach, but later, after reading one great interview by Chislom and looking at his experience as a player and as a coach i start believing in him. The adition of Iavaroni was even better, together they could form a solid coaching staff. I think triano is the best fit in the system that BC is trying to build, a team with indentity and solid basketball IQ.
Hard to argue with the Triano choice for head coach. The man did win 23 games for us last season and this new defensive system he’s implementing looks like a real juggernaut. The players really seem to be busting their humps for him and buying in. Too bad the strangely disinterested and defensively challenged Demar Derozan ended up winning the “competition” for the job of 5th starter because Wright got injured and Belinelli shitcanned the preseason. I was really looking forward to watching him declare a “winner” out of those three – too bad Jamario Moon and Joey G. are no longer around to join in. Maybe we can stage some sort of basketball reality show – where the winner ends up becoming our 5th starter – “America’s Got B-Ball Talent” or some such.
Another great thing about JT is that he also seems to be really good at experimenting with different lineup combinations and figuring out which ones are losing propositions – though I am still waiting for him to find a combination that has a reasonable shot at putting up a W. So far, I believe we’ve found 18 different lineup combinations that don’t work. Maybe another preseason game against Boston will allow us to find some that do.
Also, in the year since Jay took the reins, I have seem great improvement in the Raptors. Just look at Bargnani, for instance. The big man used to average 9 points a game on a team that won 47 games, but the knock on him was that he couldn’t rebound. Now he still can’t rebound, but at least he averages 18 points a night for a team that wins 3 games out of 10. So that’s a step forward, (although in fairness, we ran Mike James out of town for putting up stats like that. That, and being crazy). And Calderon, he’s really improved under Jay’s watchful eye. I’ve never seen a man put out so much effort to play so little defense. How quickly has he fallen back from the all-star level? And who can forget the way Jay brought along young Humpheries, Graham, Bosh and Jawai? All three of those players really took their games to the next level under Jay’s tutelage. When it comes to who should be the head coach – I’m surprised there’s even a debate.
you know wats funny in that first pic is that just calderon, barney and trianno are the only remaining raptors… Its bad karma erase the pic
Nice article, I don’t see all this Smitch love though. I hated him as a coach. Sure I’d take him with me to a bar fight, but I don’t want him coaching the Raps. Not getting along with the GM isn’t a strength. JT getting along with BC is a benefit. I also think that BC did do his due diligence. He just made a choice of JT, a coach that has been with the team for a long time and a coach that was respected by his players. I think that JT and BC share a basketball philosophy. I think that BC thought about Mussina, I was kinda hoping for him, but I think BC decided Triano was a bettter fit. I trust his judgement.
You’ve got to treat a rookie coach like a rookie player – sometimes you have to let them play through their mistakes because if you get frustrated all you’ve accomplished is to train them to be successful somewhere else.
Hopefully Triano got a lot of rookie mistakes out last year.
Biggest encouragement last season. Triano called a time-out. Put in an in-bounds play when it mattered and the play worked. I couldn’t remember one time that happened with Mitchell.
The Raptors have everything: they come from a great city such as Toronto, very good management (BC and Gherardini, both also with US and Canada’s national Teams…), smart and confident coach (I like a lot his open way of exchanging experiences and collaborating with colleagues) and coaching staff, talented and deep roster. But time’s coming to translate all this into wins, which is not simple at all, especially when you have a lot of new players to get into a system. Many expect the start of the season to be tough due to the combined action of new players and the schedule. The way the Raps will come out of that possible negative balance, the kind of attitude they will show at the end of the tunnel, will tell us a lot about the rest of their season. I hope they’ll show the knowledge to assert themselves, to pretend the spot they seem to belong to, no matter how bad they might start. They lack a little of experience, and probably a little on defense too… IMO keys on the starting 5 will be Bargs and the SG spot. Andrea must keep evolving. DD hopefully will start to deliver soon, but if he doesn’t, we still have a good number of combinations to try.
My best guess is they are about 5-11 at the end of November. That’s when we find out if Triano’s plan is right and if this team is the same old bunch of pussies. They’re going to dig a hole for themselves. Will they get out of it? I have some hope but I had that last year too.
The crystal ball is still pretty foggy, but it is nice to get through camp and the pre-season with no drama of any sort, and a team that appears somewhat unified. I think Triano has said most of the right things, which may seem unimportant to some, but when you consider the ghastly ways that some coaches call out their players in the press (never works), he has struck the right tone. All that’s left to see is how the team meshes on the floor in regular season, and if Triano has the smarts to make adjustments as required. His mixed-bag half season suggested that he isn’t a master of panic and that is reassuring.